Kufuor @Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting

Heads of states listen to closing remarks made by Ghana's President John Kufuor (R) at the Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting (CHOGM) final session in Munyonyo November 25, 2007.

Qualifying Groups For African World Cup 2010

Stage 2 of the CAF (Africa) World Cup Qualifying campaign was drawn today at a gala ceremony in Durban.With the pre-preliminary round already complete, hopefuls from across the continent will join top seeds such as Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon for the second of three Stages.There are twelve groups of four taking part, and the twelve group winners shall advance to Stage 3 along with the eight best-runners up.

From there, the 20 remaining teams will be split into five groups of four for a qualification battle that also serves to determine who will play at the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola.The four group winners in Stage 3 advance ot the World Cup, and they're joined by second and third place from each group at the Cup of Nations.

This means that South Africa will actually take part in the WC qualifying campaign despite being hosts of the World Cup, and Angola will do likewise in spite of being in the Cup of Nations.Angola will compete only for a World Cup place while South Africa will obviously play only towards a spot in the Cup of Nations.Those groups in full:Group

1CameroonCapeVerdeIslands TanzaniaMauritius

2GuineaZimbabweNamibiaKenya

3AngolaBeninUgandaNiger

4NigeriaSouth AfricaEquatorial Guinea Sierra Leone

5GhanaLibyaGabonLesotho

6SenegalAlgeriaLiberiaGambia

7CoiteD’IvoireMozambiqueBotswanaMadagascar

8MoroccoEthiopiaRwandaMauritania

9TunisiaBurkina FasoBurundiSeychelles

10MaliCongoSudanChad

11TogoZambiaEritreaSwaziland

12EgyptCongo DRMalawiDjibouti.

This Must Be a Joke----500 Women To March Naked

Over 500 women from 20 communities in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District of the Northern Region have threatened to march nude to the Osu Castle, the seat of government.

The women, who intend to embark on the march in the next few days say it is intended to express their shock and disappointment with what they term as `unfair and treacherous` allegations labelled against the DCE of the area, Hon. Madam Elizabeth Pigit Poyari, which has led to her recent dismissal from office..

The women, the Ghanaian Observer (GO) newspaper was told Monday, include all the tribal groupings in the distrct, and comprise Mamprusis, Konkombas, Bimobas, Dagombas and Ewes.
According to a women`s group leader, the 500 strong women in the area find the removal of their DCE as malicious and outrageous, `being motivated and engineered by her detractors and of the district that sees nothing good about women leadership and development.`
`They think women cannot lead them. And because this woman is a Konkomba, they vow never to see her administration perform.

It`s unfair to women and Konkombas,` one of the women in the group intimated to GO. The women, most of whom were in tears in solidarity with the DCE, accused the constituency’s NPP executives and others including, Mr. Daniel Bugri Naabu, a businessman based in Accra, Mahama Dubik, a legal practitioner in Accra, Thomas Ackar, a teacher and the constituency chairman, Mr. Amos Yambil of masterminding the removal of the DCE.

These people, they stressed, are rather those creating problems in the district and not the Honourable Pigit, saying `it is just that they hate to see a Konkomba woman lead`. Speaking to GO in Bunkpurugu, the spokesperson of the women, Madam Fushaa, hinted that they will walk nude to the Castle in protest against the DCE`s removal, adding, `It`s out of place to remove a development-oriented person like Hon Pigit.`

She said the DCE, as the first woman DCE in the area, has worked hard, which has brought about the transformation and development of the district, whiles her misanthropists do nothing than to execute plots upon plots to ruin the district down in the name of tribal superiority.`Any attempt to disregard her hard won reputation because she is Konkomba and a woman is unacceptable and unfair to all womanhood,` she reiterated.

The concerned group lamented that they did not understand the basis and criteria the President used to sack their DCE because, to them, she is a Messiah and Saviour of the District. `We don`t believe that`, they repeated, saying `the President may have acted upon hearsay`. The women coalition is therefore appealing to the President to re-appoint Hon. Pigit Poyari to continue the good works of the government in the district.

They noted that, the Hon. DCE in the area, has done a lot for women groups in the area. She is always concerned about the welfare of the women and the district, they revealed, calling on the President to consider their plea.Explaining the essence of a naked march, Madam Fushaa said it is so that `the whole international community and the world would know that women in Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo, which is a deprived district in the Northern part of Ghana, have had their rights squashed`. She said other women of the area living in Accra have also shown interest to join the protest because it is for women in general and against discrimination, unfair treatment, and divide and rule tactics in the area.

`We have seen the recent Jimbale crisis engineered by the constituency executives of the NPP in their so-called peace talks that ended with the war and its tribal tendencies, so we don’t want another Jimbale crisis`.Meanwhile, Hon. Elizabeth Pigit Poyari, who was last week admitted at the Tamale Teaching Hospital and was put under intensive care is still being threatened by the NPP executives in the area, the women alleged.

Further, people have raised worry and concern about the number of DCEs in the Northern regions fired by the President, attributing that to the `pull him down syndrome` that has bedeviled progress and prosperity in the region.
Source:Ghanaian Observer

Ghana's forest dwindling at an alarming rate

Ghana's forest cover of about 8 million hectares at the time of the country's independence had dwindled to less than 2 million hectares. Madam Esther Obeng Dapaah, Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, disclosed this, adding that over-logging by illegal chain-saw operators and timber contractors had compounded the problem.



She said excessive surface mining, conversion of natural forest into agriculture land, annual bushfires, expansion of infrastructure and changes in land uses also contributed to the dwindling. Madam Dapaah was addressing members of the Ghana Timber Association (GTA) at their Annual General Meeting under the theme: "Helping To Build Ghana Through The Conservation of Our Forest," at Akyawkrom in the Ejisu-Juaben District of the Ashanti Region on Friday.



She said the current state of the nation's forest resources should be a major concern to all Ghanaians since it was very critical to the survival of the forest reserve adding that the Ministry had stepped up efforts to reclaim the lost forest belt. Madam Dapaah charged the Forestry Commission to comply strictly with the provisions of the existing statutory legal regimes in granting timber harvesting rights, to stem the tide of unhealthy practices.




She said this would ensure that foreigners who had sited timber processing facilities in various tree plantations and forest reserves in the country without the requisite approval from the authorities were barred from operating. She said the effective implementation of existing legal provisions in respect of forest resources would assist in reducing illegal logging, waste control in logging and processing, as well as a significant reduction in over-exploitation of timber.



Mr Osei Kwame Boateng-Poku, president of the GTA, said the Association had established over 280 hectares of tree plantations, including teak, cedrella and edinam, at the Boumfuom Forest Reserve in the Asante-Akim North District as part of programmes lined up to boost the reserve.
He also said the Association would also establish 700 hectares of tree plantation within the reserve to ensure ecological balance of the area.

Source:

GNA

Ghana, Three Others To Share $2.9m

Canada is to provide a three-year $2.9 million support to four African countries, including Ghana, through Right to Play, an International sports NGO, to “bring the power of sports to the beneficiaries.”



Right to Play is to initiate an innovation that will help improve on the lives of children in Africa on the occasion of Universal Children’s Day.A yahoo website quoted Beverley J. Oda, Canadian Minister of International Co-operation, as saying “this funding will help provide coaches, staff and volunteers with training as well as sport equipment and education kits, allowing kids to receive a better basic education and to develop like skill such as leadership.”



“This multi-year funding from the Canadian International Development Agency ensures that Right to Play will be able to make a sustained and lasting impact in the lives of children living in Benin, Ghana, Mali and Rwanda,” the website said. It did not state the criteria for selecting the countries but said most children in developing countries were excluded from formal and non-formal education because of region, gender, ethnicity, ability, social background as well as the stigma of HIV/AIDS hence the support.



Right to Play aims to improve on lives of children in most disadvantaged areas of the world by using the power of sports and play for development, health and peace.

Source: Daily Graphic

NPP Gets Five Billion Cedis ...

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) nominations for its December 22 delegates congress to elect a flagbearer for the 2008 general elections, closed yesterday, grabbing close to ¢5billion as filing fees from the aspirants in the last two months alone. Eighteen of the nineteen people who picked forms and expressed interest in the race returned them by close of day yesterday, except John Kwame Kodua, who cited religious reasons.

The Kumasi-based lawyer and highly religious politician explained to Daily Guide that soon after picking the forms, he went into days of prayers seeking divine direction but failed to get a green light from God. He, however, insisted that his bowing out of the race had nothing to do with finance, saying that he had gathered enough money to run the race. Having charged ¢250 million per head as filing fee and another ¢5million for nomination forms, the party had 19 responses, when nominations were opened on September 22, 2007. The ruling party thus bagged ¢4.5billion from 18 registered aspirants and another ¢95 million for forms, thereby grossing ¢4.595 billion cash.

Those who have duly filed include Vice President Aliu Mahama; Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, former Minister of NEPAD; Daniel Kwaku Botwe, former NPP General Secretary; Boakye Kyeremanteng Agyarko, former Vice President of Bank of New York; Yaw Osafo Maafo, former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning; Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Barfour Adjei-Barwuah, Ghana’s Ambassador to Japan and Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, former Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Affairs.

The rest are Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor, former Minister of Defence; John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, former Minister of Trade and Industry; Papa Owusu-Ankomah, former Minister of Education, Science and Sports; Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy, a medical practitioner; Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, former Presidential Spokesman; Capt. Kwame Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey, former deputy Interior Minister; Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, former CEO of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital; Felix Owusu-Adjapong, former Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Prof. Mike Oquaye, former Minister of Communications, and Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, former Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing.

When contacted on phone, Evangelist Kodua, the only odd one out, was quick to point out that he had already sent a letter to the Administrator of the ruling party, informing him of his intention to withdraw from the race.Throwing more light on his decision not to contest the flagbearership race any longer, the Kumasi-based lawyer pointed out that contrary to speculations in town that he had no money, he would have filed if he had had the green light from God.

He said he had prayed with his elders over his intention to run, but when no clear response was coming, his team advised him to step aside. Earlier on Tuesday, journalists who had trouped to party headquarters after having had a hint that the Kumasi-based lawyer was storming there to formalize his application, went home disappointed when they realized that Mr Kodua, after all, would not be coming.One aspirant, who proved skeptics wrong when he successfully filed his nomination, was Capt. Effah-Dartey.The Berekum MP last Friday stormed the party office with an impressive number of supporters and paid up to be the 18th aspirant in the race.

In an interview yesterday, the NPP General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow, confirmed that Kodua had officially backed out and notified the party.He said even though the Kumasi lawyer did not explain why he would not run anymore, Kodua promised to help whoever wins the race.Ohene Ntow hinted that Effah Dartey, the last to file, would be vetted on Tuesday, after which the Vetting Committee would turn in its report.

He told Daily Guide that the vetting committee would eventually hand over the rest of the job to the election committee, which would then organize a ballot for the contestants for position on the ballot paper. He would not name the members of the Election Committee.

Delegates will be selected between November 28 and December 8, after which a verified list will be presented to all aspirants, he said.Meanwhile, the party has been meeting all aspirants regularly to iron out a few concerns raised.Nana Ntow conceded that the party has challenges, observing that this could be as a result of the fact that it was the first time it had to pick a presidential candidate while in power.

He, however, promised a clean and efficient process leading to the congress. “The stake is high, public and media interest is beyond bounds, and we cannot afford to fail,” he stated. The General Secretary said the party has secured the venue for the congress at the forecourt of Great Hall at the University of Ghana, Legon, with adequate transportation arrangements.Even though 18 people have paid the ¢250m filing fee, this does not rule out the possibility of alignments ahead of the congress.It would be recalled that in 1992, Peter Ala Adjetey filed and paid all fees expected of him, but later withdrew from the race, after checking himself. The December 22 Special Delegates’ Congress is expected to gulp most of the ¢5billion realized.

This is because the last such event organized by the party, cost the organizers some ¢2.5billion. A delegates’ conference held at Koforidua in January, 2007 brought together five delegates from each constituency.Ten delegates from each constituency and a significant number from the Diaspora are expected at the Legon Congress to pick a candidate towards the 2008 elections. Observers initially took many of the people, who rushed to pick forms, as mere passengers who only wanted to dance to the tune of the times, but 60 days down the line, only one of them has failed to return his forms.

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) only managed to raise a paltry ¢400m for its congress last year. Party sources hinted DAILY GUIDE that the congress left an accrued debt of ¢600m for the party to clear later.

Another Fuel Price Increase?

The prices of petroleum products have been increased. The prices have gone up between 7 and 8 per cent.

The new prices which were set by the Oil Marketing Companies and approved by the National Petroleum Authority, were announced Friday morning, November 23, 2007.

Just as the new prices were announced, Filling stations in the country have started selling the products at the new prices.

The maximum indicative price for Petrol is now 1.04 Ghana cedis up from 98 Ghana pesewas per litre.

A litre of Diesel is 1.03 Ghana cedis up from 95 pesewas. Kerosene has also gone up from 86 pesewas to 94 pesewas a litre.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is now 1 Ghana cedi from 97 Ghana pesewas.

This is the second time petroleum products prices have been adjusted in less than a month and the third since October 2007.

The Public Relations Officer of the NPA Steven Larbie tells Joy Business report that the reviews will no more be done monthly but according to price movements of crude oil on the world market.

What it means is that a gallon of petrol now sells at 4 Ghana cedis 68 pesewas or 46,800 cedis; while a gallon of diesel is 4 Ghana cedis 63 pesewas or 46,350 cedis.