More pix from the 59th anniversary of Christiansburg Crossroads shooting.

59th Anniversary Christiansburg Crossroads Shooting Incident marked-----PHOTO ACCOUNT

Wreaths were laid at the Osu Cenotaph on Tuesday to commemorate the 59th anniversary of Christiansburg Crossroads Shooting incident in which three Ex-Servicemen of the Royal West African Frontier Force were gunned down by the Colonial Police on February 28 1948.

Below are some pictures from the event:

Environmental performance, poor over last 50 years

Mr Emmanuel Salu, Deputy Director, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday said although Ghana was able to achieve a lot over the last 50 years, its performance on environmental issues had not been the best.

"Our natural resources such as the rivers and forests have not been properly managed, leading to deforestation and pollution of our water bodies, and worst still, is the problem of sanitation and littering in major towns and cities," he said.

Mr Salu was speaking at the inauguration of a 6-member national planning committee in Accra by Youth For Christ Heritage (Yufrist), an NGO and the EPA, with a mandate of drawing up an environmental consciousness programme in line with Ghana's 50th anniversary. The programme is on the theme; "Pepping up the desire for environmental consciousness, corporate partnership, a key strategy".

Mr Salu said although Ghana's population at independence was only four million and the 2007 figure stood at around 23 million, it did not give Ghanaians the justification to abuse the environment the way they were doing."Protecting the environment is a shared responsibility and agencies, NGO's and all well meaning Ghanaians should get involved in protecting the environment," he said

Our greatest handicap is our changing lifestyle in line with urbanisation. But with a little effort on the part of every individual about the environment, the nation would go a long way in achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs), which has one its pillars on the environment.

Mr Jehoiada G.K. Amuzu, Executive Director and Secretary to the planning committee urged all business entities to do their businesses in a manner that would take into consideration the interest of the larger society in ensuring a sound environment that would promote good health for all.He urged the business entities to support district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies in the maintenance of environmental sanitation of the towns and cities

CJA: Peoples' jubilee procession to go ahead

The Committee for Joint Action declared on Wednesday that the Peoples' Jubilee Process it has planned for Independence Day would come on.In a statement signed for CJA by Ms Emelia Arthur, the group said:

"For the avoidance of doubt ... we wish to make it abundantly clear that the Peoples' Jubilee Process scheduled for 6th March 2007 is going ahead."The CJA referred to statements by the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), a group calling itself the Campaign for Patriotism (CAP) and the police on the proposed march and said they were meant to stop them.

"All these statements are clearly designed to prevent the lawful exercise of our right to participate peacefully in the 50th anniversary as free citizens in a manner of our choosing rather than in a manner imposed by the state machine."The CJA said it wanted to provide "a popular platform for the masses as an alternative to the essentially elitist Ghana@50 programme". "We hope to underline the political significance of Ghana's independence as an important victory in the worldwide struggle of the ordinary people against elitism.

"We wish to celebrate Kwame Nkrumah, the pre-eminent strategist and tactician of the struggles against classical colonialism." CJA said threats by TESCON and CAP to stage counter demonstrations and the Police to confront the CJA marchers demonstrated "clearly their utter contempt for the constitution and the citizenry".
Source:GNA

Ghana@50: 24 African heads of state to attend

Twenty-four African heads of state are set to participate in Ghana's jubilee celebrations on March 6, 2007, the government said on Tuesday.

Briefing journalists in Accra, Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, NEPAD and Regional Cooperation, said a total of 65 delegations had confirmed their desire to be part of the celebrations.President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria is the Guest of Honour, while the Duke of Kent is representing Queen Elizabeth II of England.

He said that the bulk of arrivals and departures of the delegations were scheduled from March 5-7.Outlining the programme for the celebrations, Nana Akufo-Addo said President John Agyekum Kufuor would host a welcome cocktail for his guests and the Guest Speaker.From 2100 hours in the evening of March 5, there would be a re-enactment of historic scenes of March 5, 1957. There would be a commemorative Parliamentary Session with President John Agyekum Kufuor and his guest of honour in attendance.

Nana Akufo-Addo said after this, the President and his guests would move to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park (Old Polo Grounds) for a laser and fireworks display.He said there would be a jubilee parade at 0900 hours on March 6 to be addressed by Presidents Obasanjo and Kufuor.

This would be followed by a reception hosted by President Kufuor at the Castle Gardens and a dinner at the Banquet Hall of the State House. Other fora would be held at the Accra International Conference Centre and other sites currently been located.Nana Akufo-Addo noted that issues such as accommodation and transportation had been enhanced and taken care of to make the celebration a success.

He said except the Parliamentary re-enactment, the programmes in Accra would be duplicated in all the 10 regions.The Foreign Minister appealed to Ghanaians to take active part in the celebration and ensure that it remained a memorable event.
Source:GNA

Rawlings leaves for South Africa

The Former President Jerry John Rawlings on Monday night left for South Africa to attend a forum on fighting corruption.

A statement signed by the Special Assistant to the ex-president, Mr Victor Smith said his wife accompanied him.

The five-day meeting is being co-hosted by the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and South Africa.

It is intended to consolidate Africa's anti-corruption initiatives and infuse an African perspective into the definition, perspectives and mechanism for fighting corruption.

CPP condemns threats against journalists

The Convention People's Party (CPP) on Tuesday described the death threats issued against Mr Kweku Baako Jnr. and Mr Egbert Faibille Jnr., editors of Crusading Guide and Ghanaian Observer respectively as "a high form of barbarism".

A statement signed by Dr Edmund N. Delle, Chairman of CPP, said the party had observed that the death threats, via mobile phone text messages, coming closely on the heels of the murder of the Ashanti Region chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association, were unnecessary and must be condemned and resisted.This was because, he said, they had the potency to create panic in the society, particularly among journalists.

Dr Delle therefore asked Ghanaians to denounce violence and all other forms of intimidation of the media and appealed to Ghanaians to promote tolerance and peaceful co-existence."As the party for the masses which believes in freedom of expression we shall continue to support the media in its battle for democratic development," he said. 27 Feb. 07
Source:GNA