Three Areeba Sub-Contractors Killed By Falling Mast

Three workers of Reime Ghana Limited, a sub-contractor of Areeba Network, were killed and three others injured here on Wednesday when an iron mast they were erecting fell with them hooked to it.They were erecting a 130-metre mast at Asufufuo in Sunyani, but after mounting up to the 24-metre mark, one of the four ropes being pulled by the other workers to support it, tore and they lost their balance.The dead were identified as Thomas Devor, from Mankranso, Bismark Kofi and the third, only known as Captain, both from Sunyani. Those injured are Godson Ackuah, Michael Kumi and Christopher Koblah who are said to be responding to treatment.Sunyani Municipal police commander, C.T. Yohonu, who confirmed the story to the Times wondered why ropes, instead of a crane were used to erect such a mast.The site engineer, Nicholas Amematey said the project was the third of its kind after two at Kukuom and Sankore.According to him, Reime Ghana Limited has worked with Areeba since 1997 and has never experienced such a tragedy.

NDC MP arrested for alleged fake gold deal

The Greater Accra Regional Police have arrested the National Democratic Congress MP for Sene in the Brong Ahafo Region, Twumasi Appiah, for his alleged involvement in a fake gold deal.Assistant Commissioner of Police, Akrofi Asiedu who confirmed the arrest to Joy News said the MP was picked up with others in the process of selling the fake gold to a businessman.Akrofi Asiedu, who is the Regional Police Commander, said the complainant, a Ghanaian businessman based in Amsterdam, alerted the police about his suspicion of the authenticity of 50 kilogrammes of gold the MP and his alleged accomplices were attempting to sell to him.The businessman is alleged to have told the police that he received a call from the MP from Amsterdam inviting him to come over to purchase the gold.He also told the police he had earlier been duped by the same group, alleged to include the MP.On the first occasion when he was sold the fake precious metals, he only realised he had been duped after he attempted to resell the commodity.He then called the police to lodge a complaint.According to ACP Akrofi Asiedu, the businessman said after that ill-fated deal, he said he received a recent call from the MP inviting him over for another transaction so he decided to follow up.He told the police that upon meeting the MP with his accomplices, they allegedly told him they had 50 kilogrammes of gold for sale and showed him only a kilo.He showed interest in the commodity and asked the group to produce the whole lot, which they did but when he insisted they should open them up from some boxes they were contained to be tested at the Survey Department in Accra, they were reluctant to do so, raising his suspicion.He then called the police who managed to arrest the MP and a few of his alleged accomplices. The police say they are investigating the alleged scam.
Joy news

Spio Says "He is the Man"

Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, one of the aspiring candidates for the flagbearership for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Thursday, appealed to party delegates to vote him as the Presidential Candidate to enable the NDC win the 2008 election.He made the appeal when interacting with some constituency executives, ward chairmen, supporters of the party and the media in Bolgatanga.Dr. Spio-Garbrah said he had all what it takes to make the party come back to power come 2008 if given the nod.He explained that, based on his domestic and international assignments and his persuasiveness and innovativeness, he stood the best chance of raising major funds as a flagbearer to strengthen the party structures at the ward, branch constituency, regional and the national levels.He intimated that he was the only aspiring flagbearer candidate who had combined experience of working at the Party Headquarters and member of the Functional Executive (2000-2), Member, Re-organization Committee (2001-2), as a Constituency Organizer (2003), as a Minister and Ambassador (1994-2000), as a chairman of the party's publicity committee (1996), Director of Communication of Presidential Campaign (2000) among others.Dr. Spio-Garbrah stressed that being a Communication and Marketing Professional, he knows exactly what was needed to revamp the NDC's image and make it more popular in order for it to win the 2008.He said he would work hard to unify all factions and interest groups within the party under the NDC umbrella, especially, those who have decided to sit on the fence because they felt aggrieved by the negative attitudes of some party executives.Asked on how he was relating with his other contestants, he said they were in good relationship and would give the necessary support to anybody who wins the slot.He explained that if he happens to be given the nod and subsequently becomes the President of Ghana his administration would help transform the Ghanaian economy to improve the livelihood of Ghanaians.He said having stayed within the Diaspora for a number of years he would lobby Ghanaians expertise there to contribute to the development of the nation and noted that this could be done through the down-loading of rich knowledge in the area of development.The Media, he said, was very crucial in building the nation's democracy and his administration would give the media all the necessary backing, be it the private or the state media to enable them to dispense their duties effectively as the fourth realm of the state.
Source:GNA

Ministry expands new communication strategy

The Deputy Minister of Information and National orientation (MINO), Mrs. Oboshie Sai Cofie has underlined the ministry's commitment to ensure that the positive achievements of government are explained to the people thoroughly. This, she said, was in line with the Ministry's clear-cut and unambiguous mandate "to ensure that the success story of this government's achievements gets told, gets told right and gets told to every single Ghanaian, in such a way that each will truly understand". Mrs. Sai Cofie was briefing High Commissioners and Ambassadors of Ghana's Missions on Government's new Communication Strategy and MINO's role in information management as part of a 4-day conference organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Accra. The conference, attended by 45 Ambassadors and High Commissioners, was to examine critically Ghana's domestic and foreign policies to enable the diplomats to rationalize the performance of their missions to ensure maximum contributions to the national development effort. It was also targeted at familiarizing the Diplomats with developments on the socio-economic scene at home in Ghana. Mrs Sai Cofie said Ghana, under President John Agyekum Kufuor, was firmly set out in a well thought out path of growth and stability, and all information must be constantly and consistently shared with the people of Ghana. She explained that although the mandate given her ministry appeared easy, it was a complex task, since it required proper management and dissemination of information for the understanding of the people. On the media landscape, Mrs Sai Cofie noted that the freedom enjoyed by the media had not only resulted in a growth of positive media practice, but had also led to a fall of professional standards among sections of media practitioners. This had led to the use of unacceptable language both in print, and on the airwaves, she said, adding that this had become a source of some concern for many well-meaning Ghanaians. "To help address this situation, this government on coming to power introduced the spokespersons concept to address various issues in the country," she said. Apart from the Minister of Information and National Orientation and his deputy, the new government communications strategy organizational chart has four government spokespersons, dealing with vital areas such as social services, governance, finance and economy as well as infrastructure. "These persons form part of government's information and strategic team to manage information in a manner that will get down horizontally and vertically to all sections of the public."