I'm Not Dead,....... I'm Alive!

POOR RECORD keeping within Ghana's judiciary was made manifest yesterday when a Tarkwa-based magistrate was declared 'dead' by the President of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG), Mr. Justice Joseph Bawah Akamba.

The incident took place at the 28th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the AMJG in Accra.Justice Akamba mentioned the name of Mr. Kwame Gyamfi Osei, a magistrate at Tarkwa, who was present at the meeting, among members of the association who died in the course of the year.He therefore called for a minute's silence to be observed in their memory.Apparently shocked by the pronouncement, colleagues who were sitting by the virile and healthy-looking magistrate shouted, "He is here.

He is here", while he himself rose energetically declaring, "I am here, I am alive", amidst rib-bursting laughter from all present, including Chief Justice Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood.After the spontaneous laughter, president of the association resumed his speech by apologizing profusely to Mr. Osei for declaring him dead when he is alive.Mr. Justice Akamba then deplored the poor record keeping within the judiciary which had made him commit that unusual blunder."Record keeping in the service is so appalling and I'm glad it has happened this way. This is a true reflection of the sentiments on the ground. I am very sorry."He narrated how difficult it was for him to get the right records from judges and magistrates to prepare his speech.The AMJG President, who used the occasion to congratulate the Chief Justice on her appointment, asked her to work with members of the association as she could not do the work alone.

To members of the association, he said, “All should be on board because when we share the same vision and direction, we get to our destination quicker.”According to Justice Akamba, the judiciary had performed creditably despite the numerous challenges it faced. Though the conditions of service of members had improved remarkably in recent times, he called for further improvement to meet the rising cost of living.He asked members to practise “true internal justice” within the judiciary “so that it doesn’t only seem that we only dispense justice and democracy but practise it as well”.

Justice Akamba advised his colleagues, saying, “Let’s do away with archaic procedures” which caused undue delays in justice delivery.For her part, Mrs. Wood promised the judges and magistrates that the reforms started by her predecessor, the late Justice George Kingsley Acquah, would continue despite the challenges faced by the service.She promised the judiciary that there would be frequent refresher courses for members to be conversant with modern trends, and warned that those who failed to attend the courses would be sanctioned appropriately.“Foreign trips and courses will not become the preserve of a select few including my own self,” she added.

The Chief Justice encouraged magistrates and judges to use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods to clear the backlog of cases, adding that the system would enable them to deal expeditiously with criminal cases.She thanked her colleagues for their support and goodwill since she assumed office, and expressed the hope that they would work assiduously as they had always done.A Supreme Court judge, Mrs. Justice Sophia O.A. Adinyira, who chaired the meeting, called on her colleagues to ensure that all in society had access to justice.“We as the custodians and enforcers of the Constitution need to constantly remind ourselves that the achievement of the concept of access to justice depends heavily on the way and manner we administer justice.

“Despite the financial and infrastructural inadequacies that are facing the Judicial Service, we as judges and magistrates must continue to dedicate ourselves to building a truly independent, competent, efficient, and an effective judicial system.”Dr. Alfred Doku of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Cardiothoracic Centre took the justice dispensers through a series of prevalent diseases and ways to prevent them.Twelve retired members of the association were honoured.
Source:Daily Guide

Ata Mills @Asafutufiam festival...Pix Report

Ghana commends Germany for historic reunification

Ghana on Wednesday commended the Federal Republic of Germany for the historic reunification and pulling down of the dreaded Berlin Wall, which paved the way for the normalization of relationship between West and East Germany 17 years ago."Ghana shares in the joy of Germany for the achievement, which hitherto was never thought of. We are particularly gratified by the speed and consistency in the process for reunification," Nana Akomea, Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment, said in response to a toast at the 17th anniversary celebration of German reunification in Accra.

Nana Akomea, who headed a Government delegation to participate in the anniversary, which also attracted the German community in Ghana, the diplomatic corps, journalists and other West African nationals, called for greater cooperation between the two nations.German reunification took place on October 3, 1990, when the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).The start of the reunification process is commonly referred to as Die Wende (The Turning/The Change).

After East Germany's first free elections on March 18, 1990, negotiations between the two countries culminated in a Unification Treaty, whilst negotiations between them and the four occupying powers produced the so-called "Two Plus Four Treaty" granting full sovereignty to a unified German state, whose two halves had previously been bound by a number of limitations stemming from its post-World War II status as an occupied nation.Dr Marius Haas, German Ambassador, recounted the 50th anniversary of Ghanaian-German political relations as well as development cooperation.He said since 1957 the commitments made by Germany to Ghana exceeded one billion Euros."Just a few weeks ago a German delegation was here for negotiations on our bilateral development cooperation for the next two years. "Fifty-three million Euros, equivalent to approximately 69 million GHC, have been earmarked for direct budget support as well as for programmes in the fields of agriculture, private sector development, decentralization and law reform."

He said there was no other African country where the exchange of high and highest ranking political visits had been as intensive as in the case of Ghana in 2007.He recounted the visit of the German President Horst K=F6hler in January for an official visit and to participate in the Second Africa Forum.Dr Haas said President John Agyekum Kufuor had already agreed to attend the Third Africa Forum to be held in Germany early next month. During the visit President Kufuor would sign a partnership agreement between the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Republic of Ghana in Bonn.

"These demonstrate the quality of the Ghanaian-German relations and I am confident that these relations - characterized by friendship, harmony and confidence - will be maintained and even deepened in the years to come."
Source:GNA

Ghana Will Be Self Reliant Under My Rule

Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, an aspiring Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party on Wednesday said he would empower and build the capacity of Ghanaians to make the country dependent on its own resources if elected as President. He backed this vision by demonstrating to newsmen and onlookers, the use of bio-diesel extracted from the "jetropha" plant, and also showed 25 gallons of the product, he personally manufactured from his "jetropha" plantation.Prof Frimpong-Boateng said he has been using the fuel for his vehicles during his campaign tours to canvass support to become the Party's flag bearer.

According to Professor Frimpong-Boateng, he produces 140 litres of bio-diesel daily from his small "jetropha" plantation and believed this could be replicated on a large scale at the national level to drastically cut the country's over dependence on crude oil imports.He said this during an interaction with newsmen at Kaleo after presenting assorted drugs and clinical equipment worth about GH=A212,000 (120 million cedis} to the Islamic Clinic at Wa and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Hospital at Kaleo in the Nadowli district.

He said the donation was his "widow's mite" in support of those who needed medical treatment as a result of the recent floods that caused severe human suffering in the three Northern Regions of the country. On his chances of winning the NPP primaries, he said his chances of being victorious was good, because the delegates were beginning to see the meaning of the elections and were looking up to somebody like him. "We should not just make people leaders because they know how to talk.

I am unique because I have sacrificed to serve the people at the Cardio Thoracic Centre, the Ghana Medical School and as Chief Executive of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital"."My yes is my yes and my no is my no. These are the kind of people who should lead the nation and not people who are good at talking".

Drs Hany Al Hawari and Mohammad Nasilullah Khan of the Islamic Clinic and the Ahmaddiya hospital respectively, thanked the Presidential Aspirant for the donation and promised to put them to good use and wished him success in his Presidential ambition.
Source:GNA

Nii Moi Thompson...Utility companies don’t deserve tariff hikes

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission is expected to announce tariff increase of between 35 and 40 percent for electricity and water following a proposal by the utility companies to have their tariffs adjusted upward to meet their increased cost of production. They also say it will enable them to improve on their service delivery. But in a paper titled “the case against higher utility tariffs”, an Economist Dr Nii Moi Thompson argues that various tariff increases in the past, in addition to loans contracted have made little impact on their service delivery. He told Joy News that the inefficiencies of the utility companies must first be addressed before asking the public to pay more.

Nii Moi-Thompson aregued that in the recent past the government, based on arguements for a tariff increase, guaranteed huge loans for the companies which unfortunaletly did not reflect in any service improvement."In the case of Ghana water company there was $110.7 million in internationally guaranteed loans and then Electricity Company of Ghana, $143.1 million ...without explaining to us what happened to thses huge sums of money."The PURC has told Joy News that it will provide final figures on the quantum of increase and effective date of implementation by close of Tuesday.

It however provided a conservative estimate of 35 percent. The decision comes closely on the heels of government announcement of an end to the year-long energy crisis which affected effective supply of electricity and water. Interest groups in the energy and water sector have been making a case for the increases citing the need for full cost recovery and the need to improve on the infrastructure to guarantee good service delivery.

Kuffour Leaves For Addis-Ababa Tomorrow

President John Agyekum Kufuor will leave Accra on Wednesday for a three-day visit to Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, during which he will hold high level consultations with the African Union (AU) Commission on some urgent matters including recent attacks suffered by African peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region.

Rebels in the troubled Darfur region have reportedly attacked members of the AU peacekeeping force, killing at least 10 troops and seizing 40 others. A statement signed by Mr Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary to the President and Presidential Spokesman, said while in Addis Ababa, President Kufuor would hold discussions with Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi and also meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is leading a German parliamentary group on a visit to the AU Headquarters.

At the last summit of industrialised nations held in Heiligendamm, Chancellor Merkel, currently the G-8 President, pledged her commitment to debt relief programmes and raising development aid funds for Africa. The President is expected back home on October 5, the statement said.

Ghana Increases cocoa producer price

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday announced an upward adjustment of the producer price of cocoa from GH 9,015 cedis (9.15 million cedis) per tonne to GH 9,050 cedis (9.5 million cedis), effective from the 2007/2008 main crop season. With this, the Ghanaian farmer's share of the FOB now stands at 72.11 per cent up from the less than 50 per cent, they were receiving seven years ago.

The increase comes at a time when the price of cocoa on the international market had dropped from 1,900 dollars to about 1,500 dollars.Addressing this year's Cocoa Day at Bibiani in the Western Region, President Kufuor said the Government has also directed the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to ensure that bonus to farmers was paid in two installments every year.The first would be in July and the final payment before the end of the year.

The arrangement is meant to help them with funds, in the absence of micro-credit schemes, to support their children+IBk-s education at the start of the academic year.President Kufuor said other interventions introduced include the increase of the COCOBOD scholarship award beneficiaries from 2,500 students to 7,500, tarring of a total of 531 kilometres of roads linking cocoa growing communities in the six cocoa farming regions, distribution of 1,000,000 treated mosquito nets and the provision of solar street lights and solar torch lights.These, he said, were aimed at making sure that farmers would not only enjoy tangible benefits of their hard work but also discourage the drift of the youth to urban areas.

He said the Government's policy measures since the year 2001 had not only rejuvenated the cocoa sector but improved the real returns to farmers.President Kufuor used the day to convey the nation+IBk-s gratitude to the Ghanaian cocoa farmer for the invaluable contribution to the economy.The Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, said the Government was determined to ensure that loans were given to farmers at reasonable interest rates.He said they wanted to see agricultural interest rate pegged between 5-10 per cent with a maturity period of between 5 and 10 years. Mrs Frema Opare Osei, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, advised the farmers not to use children for labour-intensive and any other jobs on their farms likely to pre-dispose them to hazardous chemicals.Mr Isaac Osei, the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, warned that the Board would not allow cheating of the farmers through the adjustment of weighing scales by unscrupulous Purchasing Clerks.He said achieving the twin vision of increasing cocoa production and processing of 40 per cent of the output required hard work and encouraged the farmers to take advantage of the various interventions such as the mass cocoa spraying and hi-tech fertilizers to boost their output.Nana Yaw Gyebi, Omanhene of Anhwiaso, appealed to the Government to see to it that cocoa processing factories were sited closer to the cocoa producing areas.The Western Region produces 57 per cent of Ghana's total cocoa output.There were fraternal messages from the Cocoa Producers Alliance and the International Cocoa Organisation. The theme for the Day was Process and Consume more cocoa for good health and Economic Growth.
Source:GNA