Ghana Ranks 136 in Human Dev't

Inches Closer Towards 2000 High Mark
... 78% get less than $2 per day income

Ghana ranks as the 135^th best country to live in the world according to a United Nation report released today. It moves one place up in regard to the 2006 report, but still seven places down from her high of 128^th in 2003 and 1995. (read)

Ghana’s Human Development Index(HDI) value improved from 0.532 to 0.553 - which shows the country inching closer to her highest rate of 0.556 in 2000

The HDI launched by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on annual basis measures country’s performance in terms of improvement in life such as life expectancy, education attainment, health indicators and increase in real incomes.

Despite remaining a beacon of democracy, peace and stability in the sub region, the quality of life for most Ghanaians has not seen much improvement and has actaully dipped from the highs of 2000.

The report states that "In Ghana, half of children in the droughtprone northern region are malnourished, compared with 13 percent in Accra" .

The Human Poverty Index shows that there are 44.8% having less than $1 per day income and 78.5% of population lives below $2 per day income in Ghana.

The national poverty line stood at 39.5% in accordance with 2004 data

Ghana is ranked among "medium human development" countries and territories, scoring less than Botwana(124), Namabia(125), Gabon(119) and South Africa(121).

Ghana scores better than Nigeria(158), Senegal(156) and all of it's other west African neigbours.

Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada and Ireland rank as the best five countries to live.

The 20 worst countries to live in are all from sub-saharan Africa. The worst five are: Mali, Niger, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso with Sierra Leone at the bottom of the pack.

Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia were not included in the 177 countries ranked

Selected Data for Ghana

(last year's data in brackets))

• Life expectancy at birth = 59.1(57)
• Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) = 57.1(57.9)
• Combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio (%) = 50.7 (47.2)
• GDP per capita (PPP US$) =2480 (2,240)
• Adult illiteracy rate (%ages 15 and older) 42.1 (42.2)
• % of People without access to an improved water source = 25 (25)
• URL Ghana Fact Sheet

Source Ghanaweb.com

Tagor, Abass jailed 15 years each

Tears flowed at an Accra Fast Track High Court on Wednesday when two self-confessed drug barons, Kwabena Amaning aka Tagor, and Alhaji Isaah Abass were sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment each in hard labour.

Relations of the two convicts wept uncontrollably as they were whisked away under heavy police escort from the courtroom to begin their sentences.

The judgement caught the accused, prosecution, defence, journalists and relatives by surprise, as the judgement date was to have been agreed on Wednesday.

Tagor was in POP and on clutches following an injury he sustained while playing football in custody.

The court found Tagor guilty for conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs because he confessed to about his drug transactions.

He was, however, acquitted and discharged for buying and supplying narcotic drugs.

The court presided over by Mr Justice Jones Victor Dotse, a court of Appeal Judge, also found Abass, 54, guilty for conspiracy and engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs. The court, however, acquitted and discharged him on charges of supplying narcotic drugs.

The court ordered that the sentences should take effect from the day of their arrest. Meanwhile the Serious Fraud Office last year, confiscated assets of the convicts.

The two were said to have made confessions about their previous dealing in the drug business at the residence of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kofi Boakye in May last year. The said conversation was recorded and anonymously dropped at the Georgina Wood Committee set up by the government to investigate the missing 76 parcels of cocaine on board MV Benjamin, which docked at Tema last year. They pleaded not guilty.

Handing down the sentences, the court said it took into consideration the drug menace in the country and the fact that the nation was being used as a distribution point and the harmful effects of drugs among men and women.

"With the upsurge of the drugs in the country it behoves all of us to come together to fight the drug menace in the country," the court said. The court said sentences should be deterrent to others and corrective adding that it took into consideration the prime age of the accused persons.

The court noted that sentences were not prescribed by law and for that matter the court only used its discretion. The court was quick to say that some portions of the law had prescribed a minimum of 10 years.

Before handing over the sentences, Mr Ellis Owusu Fordjour, who represented Tagor, prayed the court to take into consideration the fact that his client was a first offender and pleaded that he should be dealt with leniently.

Mr Mohammed Attah who represented Abass drew the attention of the court of the days his client had spent in custody and prayed for the minimum sentence.

Ms Gertrude Aikins, Acting Director Public Prosecution (DPP), drew the court attention to the various stages in the drug business. According to her, while the users were fed by pushers, the pushers were also fed by the barons and prayed the court to met out punishment befitting the status of drug barons.

Source:

GNA

CPP goes to Congress

The third National Congress of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) would take place at the Great Hall of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi on Saturday, December 15, this year, a statement said today in Accra.



It said the Congress would be preceded by a meeting of National Executive Council (NEC) of the party on Friday, December 14 to approve the agenda for the congress.



The statement signed by Nii Noi Dowuoana, General Secretary of the of the party said the Congress would bring together more than two thousand delegates drawn from each of the 230 constituencies, regional executives the NEC, Council of Elders, Founding Members, MPs, Overseas branches, Youth and Women leagues and representatives from TEWSCHART. The congress would elect a presidential candidate to contest the 2008 elections as well as the election of national officers to steer affairs of the party for the next four years. Meanwhile, regional conferences for Western, Eastern, Volta Greater, Accra and Brong Ahafo Regions would be completed by December 8, while the conference for Eastern, Western Regions are scheduled for Koforidua and Takoradi on November 29 and December 8 respectively. The statement said it was expected that party members would play their respective roles to ensure an uninterruptible preparation leading to the event.



In that connection, contestants for the various positions at the Congress were reminded to desist from smear campaigns and acts that would denigrate the integrity or image of other aspirants so as to preserve the internal cohesion of the party 27 Nov. 07

Source:

GNA

Kenyan Airport Security in a Diplomatic faux pas with Ghana's Defence Minister

Defence Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah yesterday fought Kenyan security operatives when they tried to have him undergo a body-search at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, from where he was to emplane for home.

At Gate 8 of the airport, the Minister, who was returning home after an official duty in DR Congo, was stunned when a young Kenyan security operative asked him to submit himself for a search before boarding the Kenyan Airways aircraft, his diplomatic passport notwithstanding.It was the Minister’s Military Assistant, Wing Commander Appiah Agyekum’s angry response to the diplomatically incorrect search demand which attracted the attention of some Ghanaian passengers at the airport.

“You cannot search my Defence Minister. I am his Military Assistant,” he said.Upon discovering what they considered disrespect to their minister, the Ghanaian passengers rallied round the Minister in solidarity, showing interest in the progress of the standoff.One of them even said, “Ye be ye dede”, to wit: “We will make noise”. The Minister told the young Kenyan security man that he was not going to allow himself to be searched.

“If we had an ambassador here, would you have treated me this way?” he asked.Not even the security man’s decision to exclude the Minister’s shoes in the search could convince him to succumb to the Kenyan’s demand. One of the operatives retorted, “We would search even the Vice President. The only person we would not search is the President”.Another security operative, who sought to calm the nerves of the Minister, pleaded with him to allow the search to go on but the Defence Minister stood his ground as the standoff continued. Hon. Kan-Dapaah stood aside as the security men continued taking other passengers through the routine checks.

At a point however, he sought to go and sit outside the search area since he was not ready to be searched. He sat calmly at the passenger-waiting area of Gate 8 as a flurry of diplomatic activities went back and forth until he finally had his way and boarded the aircraft without being body-searched.A member of his entourage pleaded with some Ghanaians who wanted to stay behind and see the outcome of the standoff, to calm down as according to him, “It would be alright.”

There was relief on the countenance of the Ghanaians on board the Boeing 737-800 when the Minister finally made his way to the cabin after what appeared to be a diplomatic horse-trading.When Daily Guide asked him for a reaction, he showed the expected diplomacy by saying “that’s alright”, with a smile. When the flight landed in Accra and the Minister stepped out to the waiting arms of olive-green clad military personnel, who saluted in turns, the sharp contrast to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport diplomatic faux pas some five hours away by air, was crystal clear.
Source:Daily Guide

France Telecom Wins GT Bid

Few days after Singapore Telecom withdrew from the race to take over 51% stake in Ghana Telecom (GT), the Government of Ghana has selected Telecom France as the winner of the bidding process for GT.

France Telecom beat Vodacom and Portugal Telecom. The price is yet to be confirmed but sources close to the Ministry of Communication say it is between $500 million and $600 million

In all, twenty foreign investors expressed interest in Ghana Telecom when the Government of Ghana announced early this year that 51% of GT would be sold to a strategic investor in a bid to enhance efficiency and quality of service. The rest of the shares would then be floated on the Ghana stock exchange (GSE).

Ecobank Development Corporation (EDC) and Societe Generale are the transactional advisors for Ghana for the privatization.

Telecom France's revenue was up by 1.9% on a comparable basis to EUR25.9 billion (up 2.1% on an historical basis), reflecting a good second-quarter performance in the first half of 2007.

Source: Ghanaian Chronicle

From Rawlings' Office---NDC Running Mate

RE-NDC RUNNING MATE

It has come to the notice of the founder of the NDC, former President, that certain newspapers have made it their preoccupation to publish lies about the NDC and attribute such lies to him. One of such newspapers is The Point , which, in its last Friday’s edition published that ‘Rawlings okays Betty Mould as Mills’ running mate’. The founder would like to assure the party faithful that, the said publication is absolutely false and should be disregarded.

The founder has also indicated that the leadership is not unaware of the overwhelming Choice of the masses and wish to assure all the party faithful that the flag-bearer will at the opportune time, in consultation with the party’s council of elders and other appropriate organs of the Party, announce a running mate who will reflect that desire of the masses across the length and breath of the nation

Source: Victor Emmanuel Smith (Special Assistant and Director of Public Affairs)

Archbishop Condemns Condoms

MOST REV. Peter Kwasi Sarpong, Metropolitan Archbishop of Kumasi has condemned the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

He deflated the notion that usage of condom was the best option to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, stressing that the development was rather encouraging people, especially innocent youth, to indulge in premarital sex.

This lamentable development, according to him, was the major cause of the spread of the disease and the reported cases of teenage pregnancies in society.

Most Rev. Sarpong, who was speaking at the 2nd National Delegate’s Congress of St. Theresa of the Child Society of the Catholic Church in Kumasi last Saturday, cited abstinence from sex as the best option to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

He urged the people to lead lives worthy of emulation to help bring down the reported cases of HIV/AIDS to the barest minimum.

“If you are married, stick to your partner and if you are not married, do not engage in sex because it is a sin in the sight of God,” he stressed.

The Archbishop charged people in authority to be bold and speak against premarital sex among the youth, adding that it was a dangerous development which could impact negatively on the country in future.

“Pastors, chiefs, politicians and all those in authority should speak against fornication and adultery since it is the prime cause of HIV/AIDS pandemic.”

Most Rev. Sarpong also took a swipe at those engaged in human trafficking, and called for a stop to the practice, noting that the act, bedsides being sin in the sight of God, was also morally wrong. “How can a human being sell his fellow human being in this 21st century?” he queried.

The programme was under the theme “Creating the Culture of Peace at Home, Workplace and in the World”.

In her remarks, Madam Patricia Appiagyei, Chief Executive, Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), urged parents to train their children in the fear of God so they would grow up to be responsible and law abiding citizens.

She as well advised parents to serve as role models to their children, insisting that parents had vital roles to play in directing the future of their children.

Madam Appiagyei entreated residents in the metropolis to ensure good sanitary conditions, advising them to paint their houses to beautify the city ahead of the Ghana 2008 football tournament.

Source: Daily Guide