Rivalry between Kufuor and Rawlings intensifies

Accra, Monday October 23 (DPA) - The deep rivalry between Ghana's President John Agyekum Kufuor and former President Jerry John Rawlings reached a new level with Kufuor accusing his predecessor of seeking to overthrow his government, reports said Monday.

Kufuor claimed that Rawlings had sought the assistance of the president of an oil-rich country to overthrow him during a bye- election rally in his home region of Ashanti, 320 kilometres north of Accra on Sunday.

Kufuor did not name the country, but pro-government newspapers had claimed over the past week or so that Rawlings had appealed to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for assistance to overthrow Kufuor.

Kufuor told supporters of his New Patriotic Party that his government had credible information that Rawlings had told the president of the oil-rich country that Ghanaians were fed up with his administration and wanted it overthrown.

He said Rawlings was therefore seeking assistance to overthrow the government.

Kufuor did not say whether Rawlings had received any assistance.

The relationship between the two men has never been cordial. Rawlings has persistently accused Kufuor's government of corruption and incompetence, while Kufuor has accused Rawlings of gross human rights abuses, corruption and bad economic management.

Rawlings, who staged two successful coups in Ghana country and won two elections in his 19-year rule, bowed out of power in January 2001.

He handed over to Kufuor who defeated his chosen successor, former vice-president John Evans Atta Mills, in December 2000.

Source:
German Press Agency

AMA to undertake another decongestion exercise

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) would commence a massive decongestion exercise this month and all who would be found hawking on streets would be prosecuted. This would commence after the new market, which would house 4,000 hawkers at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, is inaugurated by President John Agyekum Kufuor by the end of October.

Mr Stanley Adjiri Blankson, AMA Chief Executive Officer, who said this in Accra on Thursday when he received a 12-member Nigerian delegation, therefore asked hawkers to start moving to the new market this month.

The delegates comprised leaders from Kano State House Committee on Labour and Productivity; Bayelsa State Labour Council of Trade Union Congress and the Nigerian Labour Congress. The delegates, who are on an exchange programme, would also learn from Ghana's local governance.

"As from November this year it would be an offence for people to sell on the street. Culprits who fall foul to this would be punished by the law," the Accra Mayor warned. Mr Blankson said the market complex, including a health post, a Police Station a crèche and big warehouse would be known as "Pedestrian Shopping Mall."

He said the hawkers, who might not have space at the newly created mall would be housed at some traditional markets in the Metropolis. Mr Blankson said the mall would help to control hawkers and mobilize more revenue for the Assembly, which spent 60 per cent of its revenue on waste disposal.

"It would also help to control the activities of thieves, who loiter in and around the market. Hawkers in the new market would have to make use of their laminated identity cards." Mr Blankson said currently the Metropolis had a population of about five million and one of its biggest problems was migration.

He noted that because there were no jobs in most rural areas, the youth now move to the Accra to seek non-existent jobs and end up "perching" mostly in kiosks and containers. "There have been instances where vehicles have knocked down some hawkers and in the end they die. Hawkers also left behind filth."

The Accra Mayor briefed the Nigerians about the Assembly's move to improve the sanitation in the Metropolis saying its success was due to public education. He said in the past 85 per cent of the population did not pay for refuse collection but the Assembly was working on a new system known as “Pay and Dump."

He implored the delegates to come and invest in Ghana saying it was one of the safest countries in the West Africa Sub-Region. Mr Habib Hassan, Chairman on Labour and Productivity, Kano State, lauded the achievements of the AMA over the years in ensuring that the city was clean and safe for all.

He said they would sell Ghana's example to leaders in Northern Nigeria where hawkers and beggars had also invaded the streets.
GNA

Students appeal to NAGRAT to return to the classroom

The Greater Accra Regional Students' Representative Council on Thursday appealed to the Government and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) to speedily resolve the issues that have led to the five-week-old strike by NAGRAT members.

At a press conference in Accra to express the frustrations of students of second cycle schools for being neglected by their teachers since schools re-opened, Master William Boye, Regional SRC President, said students for some time now had been treated unfairly.

This is because strikes by members of NAGRAT had become an annual ritual, he said, adding that students had now become fed up with it and asked the Government to be sensitive to the plight of teachers.

He said Ghanaian students would be writing the same West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination with colleagues from the West Africa Sub-Region from April 2007 irrespective of whether they had completed their syllabus or not.

"The examinations are not in anyway marking time with NAGRAT's strike action," he said, and urged both the Government and NAGRAT to consider the plight of the students when taking their stand in the impasse.

Mr Boye said it was obvious that students were being deprived of their right to education granted them by the Constitution and queried: "Is this to suggest that Government through the Ministry of Education and NAGRAT are interested in us having a mass failure?"

He said teachers were the backbone of second cycle schools and without them everything came to a halt with discipline breaking down. Mr Boye said the absence of the teachers created an avenue for some students to roam about in town while at the same time creating other avenues for others to engage in drug.

He, therefore, appealed to the Concerned Parents Association, Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, Council of State, Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice and all stakeholders to intervene to resolve the impasse to enable NAGRAT members to return to the classroom as early as possible.

GNA

Cabinet approves 300 million dollars loan for affordable housing

Cabinet has approved a 300 million-dollar concessionary loan to further support and advance Government's promise of providing 100,000 affordable housing units by December 2007. Announcing this on Thursday in Accra, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, said the Company providing the loan would also construct the houses across the country.

"Government's role is to facilitate the process; with an eight-year moratorium if a flat is sold roughly at 130 million cedis the amount will be recouped in no time," he said. Mr Owusu-Agyemang said this when he inaugurated a Local Organizing Committee for the organization of a sub-regional conference dubbed "West Africa High Level Peer Exchange on Government Enablement of Private Sector Lending for Affordable Housing.”

The three-day conference to be held in Accra from November 27 to December 1, 2006 would afford participating countries the opportunity to share experience on how best governments could encourage the private sector and domestic services industry to invest in affordable housing.

Mr Owusu-Agyemang also announced that the Government had released funds to commence work on affordable housing in Tamale and Koforidua besides the ongoing projects at Tema, Nungua and Kumasi.
"When Government says it will deliver, it's not a matter of a joke. This clearly shows that something is being done and it is to ensure that the Government leads in the crusade to reduce the cost of construction in this country."

He said the design for the about 12 million-euro "Sodom and Gomorrah" affordable housing units project at Amasaman would soon be ready for construction to begin.
When the project is completed, a housing unit would be sold at about 6,000 dollars.

Currently, the country has a backlog in excess of 500,000 housing units and an annual demand of over 175,000 units. Government expects to clear this within the next five years.

On the upcoming conference, the Minister said the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, US Agency for International Development, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and UN-HABITAT would provide support.

Togolese President arrives for a day's visit

Mr Faure Gnassingbe, the Togolese President, arrived to a rousing welcome in Accra on Thursday for a day's state visit.

President John Agyekum Kufuor and his Vice, Alhaji Aliu Mahama were on hand to meet him at the gangway immediately the Presidential jet carrying him and his entourage touched down at the Kotoka International Airport.

He was then escorted to a saluting dais erected in his honour and as the Ghana Army Band struck the national anthems of Ghana and Togo, a 21 gun-salute boomed at the background. President Gnassingbe thereafter inspected a Guard of Honour mounted by three officers and 101 men from the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Army.

President Kufuor later introduced him to members of his Government. The two Leaders also exchanged greetings with an enthusiastic crowd of Togolese, who treated their President to some beautiful cultural displays.

President Kufuor and President Gnassingbe drove to the Castle where they held talks behind closed doors on bilateral ties.

WAEC immortalises dead Staff

The Ghana National Committee of West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Wednesday immortalized Mr Sakyi Asare-Menako, a Principal Assistant Registrar of the Council, who lost his life in line of duty by naming its examination hall at the Switchback Road in Accra after him.

The late Mr Asare-Menako was on the October 8, 2005, assaulted by a group of candidates after he had seized their mobile phones when an examination was in session at the Accra Academy Secondary School. Mr Asare-Menako, who was invigilating, suffered fatal injuries and died on October 11.

At a memorial service to honour and unveil a plaque at the examination hall, Reverend Robert Aboagye-Mensah, Presiding Bishop of Methodist Church of Ghana, described Mr Asare-Menako as a man with noble character, just and upright, who promoted justice and fairness and sought to prevent injustice.

"Seeking to prevent cheating at the examination hall and fight against corruption and injustice, our dear colleague, Asare-Menaku paid the ultimate price,” he said. "He was a man who stood for purity and honesty and in his own small way tried to exhibit all these characters to check examination malpractices. He was brutalized and died as a result," he said.

Rev. Aboagye-Mensah commended WAEC for honouring Mr Asare-Menaku for his great service and urged the Government to see examination malpractice as a serious offence. He appealed to the Ghana Police Service to ensure that the culprits, who caused the death of Mr Asare-Menaku, were brought to book.

Mr Kwame Ampofo Twumasi, Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sports, said examination malpractices were a menace that must not be countenanced since they posed a great threat to the recognition of WAEC certificates. He said in an attempt to address the problem, Parliament had passed the WAEC Act 719, which prescribed stiffer punishments for all kinds of examination malpractices.

The Deputy Minster urged churches; traditional leaders; opinion and community leaders to help in the education of students on the ills of examination malpractices. Mrs Patience Ayensu, Head of National Office of WAEC, condemned the acts of the students and expressed worry that candidates were becoming more desperate in their quest to pass examinations at all cost hence the nature of malpractices, which had graduated into sophistication.

She said the Council would not be deterred by the incident in its fight to stem the negative practices of students adding that with the passage of the WAEC Act: “We will ensure that candidates who will be caught violating any of the examination rules suffer stiffer punishments as enshrined in the Bill.” Mrs Ayensu appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to intensify efforts to ensure that the law dealt with perpetrators of the heinous crime.

She said in addition to naming the WAEC Examination hall after Mr Asare-Menaku, the Council would institute a bursary for the only son of the departed colleague up to the tertiary level.

North Korea claims nuclear test

North Korea says it has carried out its first test of a nuclear weapon, the state news agency (KCNA) has reported. It said the underground test, carried out in defiance of international warnings, was a success and had not resulted in any leak of radiation.

The White House said South Korean and US intelligence had detected a seismic event at a suspected test site. The White House said the reported test was a "provocative act", while China denounced it as "brazen".

In an unusually strong statement against its ally, China expressed its "resolute opposition" to the claimed test and said it "defied the universal opposition of international society". The BBC's Jonathan Marcus says North Korea's claimed test does not necessarily mean it has a fully-fledged nuclear bomb or warhead that it can deliver to a target.

Our correspondent says there will now be pressure on the UN Security Council to push for a resolution condemning North Korea and probably demanding a stiff menu of economic sanctions. US White House spokesman Tony Snow said: "We expect the UN Security Council to take immediate actions to respond to this unprovoked act."

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Beijing says China's statement is an indication of how strongly it is angered by North Korea's action, although Beijing will still be loath to support tougher sanctions against Pyongyang. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is in Seoul for a meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, said the test was "unpardonable".

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Japan had detected seismic waves, but could not confirm whether they were from a nuclear test. President Roh said the claimed test had created a "severe situation" that threatened stability in the region.

He said Seoul would react "sternly and calmly". The South Korean military - which has been put on a heightened state of alert - had the capability to cope with any North Korean provocation, he said. Seoul also suspended a scheduled aid shipment of concrete to North Korea, the state news agency reported.

'Historic event' When it announced the test, KCNA described it as an "historic event that brought happiness to our military and people". "The nuclear test will contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and surrounding region," KCNA said. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports that the test took place in Gilju in Hamgyong province at 1036 (0136 GMT). Russia's defence ministry said it was "100% certain" that an underground nuclear explosion had taken place, ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

The Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers have held a telephone conference call with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the issue, South Korea's foreign ministry said.

The development comes three days after the UN Security Council agreed on a formal statement urging North Korea to cancel any planned nuclear test and return to disarmament talks.

The Security Council had already imposed an embargo on the import and export of missile-related materials in July, after North Korea test-fired several missiles. Source: Njoyopnline.com+ bbcnews