Let us address the needs of NPP foot soldiers - Crabbe

Mr Samuel Crabbe, Greater Accra Regional Chairman of New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Saturday appealed to the National Executive Committee of the Party to put in place measures to address the needs of members who had become disillusioned for being neglected by the Party. "The greatest threat to this Party is not the National Democratic Congress (NDC), but apathy due to the fact that we have not done a good job at ensuring that our foot solders and in many cases the needs of the executive were met". Mr Crabbe made the appeal when addressing the opening session of the Greater Accra Annual Delegates Conference of the NPP in Accra. It was attended by more than 270 delegates from the 27 constituencies in the region who took stock of all Party activities for the year and how to strategize for the future. He stressed the need for the Party to identify the needs of Party members and sought permanent solutions by helping them to become self-reliant. Mr Crabbe called for re-engineering of the Party to be responsive to the needs of members and also become a centre of excellence for the development of people with good leadership qualities and knowledge. "There is no institution anywhere that could better groom future politicians than a political party," he added. Mr Crabbe said Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) facilities at the Greater Accra Regional Secretariat would be replicated in all the 27 constituencies in the region and to link other areas via Wide Area Network (WAN). He said the Greater Accra Regional Secretariat would organise leadership workshops and computer training skills for members to improve on their skills and knowledge in ICT. Mr Crabbe announced that a business advisory board set up by the Secretariat was working with consultants to help members present their ideas in the right format to enable them access funds from micro credit schemes. Sheikh Ibrahim Cudjoe Quaye, Greater Accra Regional Minister asked members of the Party to be steadfast and not allow opponents of Government deceive them. "Government has delivered so well on its promises to the people, what is left is to make you fishers of men," he said. Sheikh Quaye called for unity among the rank and file of the Party to ensure that NPP increased its Parliamentary seats in the region to 20 during the 2008 general election. Mr Hackman Owusu Agyeman, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing said the Greater Accra branch of the NPP was a beacon for the other regions and urged the regional executives to close their ranks and forge ahead. He called on party members to take advantage of the numerous Government initiatives and financial arrangements to improve on their business activities.GNA

Cancer cases on the rise - GAEC

Professor Edward H.K. Akaho, Director General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) on Friday said within the next 20 years there could be 200 million cancer cases worldwide with 75 per cent coming from developing countries. He said realising the upsurge of cancer in the country the Commission had requested the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for assistance to upgrade and expand the Centre for Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine at the Korle-bu and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals and to establish a new one at Tamale to provide care for the patients. Speaking at the 40th anniversary celebration of the GAEC in Accra, he said these two centres had witnessed an increase in the number of new patients of which experts claimed that 70 per cent of the reported cases had reached advanced state. He said nuclear medicine in synergy with radiotherapy services had proved important since it provided tumour marker services for various cancers f the prostrate, liver and the colon. He said the IAEA had assisted Ghana to prepare a proposal to put in place a Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT) and that the programme being an initiative of Professor Mohammed Elbaradei, IAEA's Director General would enable early detection through screening including curative and palliative treatments. Professor Akaho said GAEC had realised the need for human resource development to manage and utilise its nuclear facilities of the radiotherapy and nuclear medicine centres, adding that there was presently a wide gap between the older generation of experienced nuclear and younger inexperienced staff. He said the GAEC was established by an Act of Parliament Act 204, now superseded by Act 588 of 2000 with vested responsibility for all matters related to the peaceful uses of atomic energy. He said though scientific research started far back in 1952 at the Physics Department of the then University of Gold Coast, (now University of Ghana) work in radioisotope application gained ground in 1959 with Ghana signing the Non Proliferation Treaty in 1970 after she had joined the IAEA in 1970. He said the main function of the Commission included peaceful application of nuclear techniques and biotechnology for the sustainable development of Ghana ensuing that nuclear safety and security were not compromised. Professor Akaho said the Research Reactor commissioned in 1995 and other nuclear analytical facilities had been used for analysis in geological, medical, biological and industrial materials for various sectors of the economy. He said the agriculture sector had benefited a lot from the commission in the area of gamma mutation breeding and use of tissue culture technique for cocoa, plantain, banana, pineapples, yams, sugar cane coconut and cassava.GNA

UK-based Tourism operators expressed interest to establish in Ghana

A delegation of “Madam Tussauds Group”, a United Kingdom (UK) based tourist centre operators, on Friday paid a courtesy call on President John Agyekum Kufuor at the Castle, Osu to express interest in operating business in Ghana. It plans working together with the Ghana Hall of Fame on three identified potential sites at Kpone, Kawukudi and the Motorway. Mr Glenn Earlam, the Managing Director, who led the delegation said they were keen to have a presence in the country, making Ghana, its first point of call in Africa. The Group specialises in the making of statues of prominent personalities. In the UK, about 2,500 tourists daily visit its centre. It also has other centres in China and the United States. President Kufuor said the Government would co-operate with the Group but noted that Parliamentary approval would be necessary. Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Minister of State of Culture and Chieftaincy, accompanied the delegation.GNA

NDC seeks accountability on presidential mansion

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has urged Parliament, especially its Minority Caucus to demand full disclosure of all the necessary financial information about the Flagstaff Presidential mansion. It laid special emphasis on what happened to the 30 million dollars loan approved for the project; how come the project was only 14 per cent complete and additional funds were being requested; has the 30 million dollars been exhausted already or it has not been released?" Again: "If the 30 million dollars has not been released where did the Government take the money from to start the project up to the 14 per cent state of completion?" The NDC in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Mr Johnson Asiedu-Nketia said it was shocked and dismayed at the response of the Minister of Presidential Affairs, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani to Parliament on Thursday November 16, when he was asked to disclose the contract sum (estimated cost) of the Presidential Mansion, which was currently under construction. In response to the question filed by the NDC MP for Tamale South, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister said he would know the estimated cost only after the construction of the project was completed. The statement said, "This answer, in our view, can mean one of two things, that no proper procedures were followed in the award of the contract and therefore no documentation exists on the tendering process, contract sum; or that this information exists but the Minister has something to hide, which makes the disclosure to Parliament injurious to his personal interest or the interest of his government. "Whichever way one looks at this, the Minister's actions and inactions on that fateful day have been prejudicial to the national interest." It said, "What makes the Minister's attitude even more difficult to understand is the fact that currently before the same Parliament is a request for approval of a loan facility of five million US dollars from STANBIC Bank Ghana Limited to be used as additional funds for the project. The statement said, "In the absence of satisfactory answers to these and the many other questions being asked by Ghanaians, no further disbursements of the national resources should be approved for the project."GNA