Seychelles vice president calls on Asatehene

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, has accepted an invitation to pay a visit to the Island of Seychelles at an appropriate date to be announced soon.The Seychelles Vice President, Joseph Belmont, who attended the African Union Summit which ended in Accra on Tuesday, announced this when he paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene on Sunday.He said: "My President has asked me to extend an invitation to you to visit his country at an appropriate date.

I have deep feeling to be here even though the moment for me to be here is short."A statement from the Manhyia Palace said Mr Belmont was met by the sons of the Asantehene (Ahenema) led by Oheneba Adusei Poku, Akyempimhene of Kumasi and ushered in to meet Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. Mr Belmont said some of Asantehene's descendants were still in Seychelles. He was introduced to Mr. Lewis Prempeh aged 65 and Ms. Molly Prempeh, 55, both surviving descendants.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II said the visit of the Vice President reminded him of his forefathers who were exiled to Seychelles by the British. He said in spite of the desire of the Ashantis for an honourable settlement, the British made impossible demands and in the end Nana Prempeh was taken away to Elmina.The Asantehene recalled that when the British saw that the Ashantis were making inroads to get their King back, they sent him to Sierra Leone and finally to Seychelles where he stayed for about 25 years.

He said when the Nana Prempeh returned from exile, Ashantis had profound memories of the Seychelles because he came back as a happy King.Otumfuo Osei Tutu said: "I keep on reminding the British that we still have bitter memories of the exile."The Asantehene said he had accepted to visit Seychelles, but this time not as an exile, adding that he would name where his forefathers stayed as Manhyia Palace.Mr. Belmont presented a book about the development of the Island of Seychelles to Otumfuo the Asantehene.

The Seychelles Vice President was accompanied to the Manhyia Palace by Mr Emmanuel Owusu Ansah, Ashanti Regional Minister.
Source:GNA

Leaders reject pan-African dream

Southern and East African leaders have rejected plans to set up a pan-African government, as suggested by Libya's head of state Colonel Moamar Gaddafi.Uganda's Yoweri Museveni says he backs economic integration but says Africa is too diverse for one government.Senegal, however, backed the plans and says a breakaway group could be formed.Ghana's Foreign Minister believes problems are inevitable but can be overcome as the European Union has done.

African leaders split on unityAn African Union summit in Ghana has overrun after leaders struggled to reach a compromise on moves to form a closer union.The three-day meeting has been dominated by calls for a so-called United States of Africa but while member nations agree on the goal of economic integration and eventual unity, most leaders have urged caution.Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, and Abdoulaye Wade, the Senegalese president, lead a group of countries who have been pushing for the immediate creation of a federal state.On Tuesday, Gaddafi called for a referendum to settle the issue."We ask all the heads of state to hold a referendum so that they will see that all the people want a United States of Africa," he said in a speech to the summit.

Wade also promoted the creation of a federal government when he spoke to journalists late on Monday.
"There is no salvation for Africa outside political unity. ... If we remain fragmented into little states, we will remain weak, politically weak," he said.
Asked about earlier Senegalese threats that a group of five or six states could forge ahead with federation, Wade said: "Theoretically, it is not excluded ... but I don't think we'll be going in that direction."If the conference as a whole makes progress towards a government that it calls a continental government , a union government ... that will create a basis that we can accept."Other countries, including the big regional powers of Nigeria and South Africa, have called for a more gradual move towards greater union.

"In Uganda, we are not in favour of forming a continental government now," Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan president, said.He said that while economic integration was possible, people from different regions of Africa were incompatible politically and forcing them together would create tension.Complex situation"I salute the enthusiasm of those who advocate for continental government now. I however, do not want us to move from one mistake - Balkanisation - to another mistake of oversimplification of very complex situations," Museveni said.Pakalitha Mosisili, Lesotho's prime minister, summed up the view of the moderates: "Even as we pursue this noble objective, we cannot ignore the factors that militate against it."He said surrender of national sovereignty was a "tall order".

Haru Mutasa, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Ghana, said questions also remain over who will pay for a united Africa."Most African countries can't even fund themselves, so will they ask the World Bank to give them money, and if they do what strings will come attached to it," she said.
Source:GHP

New Cedi in circulation on July 3

The Bank of Ghana announces for the information of the general public that the Ghana cedis and Ghana pesewas will be put into circulation on Tuesday, 3rd July 2007, the first banking day of the month.

Ghana Police declines permits for demonstrators at AU Summit

The police have banned all demonstrations during the African Union summit in Accra which starts Sunday.Several groups from across Africa had planned protests during the summit, which runs until July 3.More than 2,000 police and an unspecified number of soldiers have been drafted in to provide security for the summit in the Ghanaian capital.Accra Region Police Commander, Douglas Akrofi Asiedu told would-be protestors to postpone their demonstrations until after July 3.

"We said they should postpone it because the date selected for the demonstration is not ideal for security," he told a local radio station. "We are overstretched and it would be very difficult for us to get police to protect them."Amongst the wouldbe protesters were Zimbabwean activists led by the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change.Another group had intended to stage a protest against Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, for failing to investigate the deaths of 44 Ghanaian migrants in Banjul in 2005.Another organization had intended to highlight the Darfur conflict in Sudan.

Demonstrations do not necessarily need police permits in Ghana. But it is mandatory for organisers to inform the police and make security arrangements.
Source:GHP

UN Deputy Secretary General arrives for AU Summit

Ms Asha-Rose Migiro, United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary General, arrived in Accra on Thursday evening for the annual Summit of the African Union (AU) during which, she will call for stronger partnership between the UN and the AU on African issues. While in Ghana, Ms Migiro will speak on pertinent issues including the need to speed up efforts for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the war against the spread of HIV/AIDS and the empowering of women and girls.

She will also touch on issues of peace and security on the continent and the latest joint efforts by the UN and the AU to resolve the crises in the Darfur region of Sudan. The Deputy Secretary General is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with some African leaders.GNA

State of the World Population Report launched

Mr Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning on Wednesday launched this year's World Population Report and said the increase in urbanisation was inevitable but had positive sides that should be recognised.Launching the report jointly with Ms Hane Fama Ba, Director of the Africa Division of the UNFPA, headquarters in New York, Mr Baah Wiredu said "no country in the industrial age has ever achieved significant economic growth without urbanisation". The report under the theme: "Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth", looked at the problems faced by cities and the struggle to meet the current needs to prepare for future urban growth. The Minister outlined problems associated with urbanisation such as housing, poverty, and slums and admitted that the implementation of the country's on going Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) had an implication on the spatial mobility of economically active individuals and the growth of urban areas."The influx of rural poor to the urban centres therefore is an indication to the poor to take advantage of the opportunities in the urban areas. In 2001 for instance, the number of people living in slums in Ghanaian cities was estimated at 4.9 million and was said to grow at the rate of 1.8 per cent per annum".The Minister noted that to address problems associated with urbanisation, government had set priority strategies to upgrade slums areas through the strengthening of physical planning of urban settlements and enforcement of planning regulations.He mentioned other strategies as promoting adequate supply of safe and affordable shelter, developing and promoting local building materials, facilitating adequate finance for all income groups and upgrading basic services in the urban areas.Mr Baah Wiredu explained that there were advantages in urban areas over and above those in the rural areas in Ghana in terms of economic opportunities though urban poverty was real.He said the latest Living Standards Survey for 2007 had shown that whereas poverty levels had generally increased, it had worsened in the Greater Accra Region.He mentioned HIV/AIDS, housing and shelter, drainage, water and sanitation, as well as transport as some of the areas posing challenges not only to Ghana but the continent as a whole. He commended UNFPA for the leading role it had played in the dynamics of population and pledged to tackle the obstacles of urbanisation and share the benefits through prudent policies, good governance and strategic investments.Ms Fama Ba noted that poor people would make up a large part of the future urban growth and called for realistic planning for explicit consideration of the needs, rights and participation of slum dwellers and the urban poor.She said African governments that are responsive to their citizens and eager to achieve a sustainable growth path were increasingly looking to their cities and local authorities to play a greater role in the national development agenda".Dr Makane Kane, Country Director of UNFPA, Ghana, said the report was timely to address the global, regional and national dimensions of urban growth and proposals for the way forward at each level. He expressed the hope the report would lead to policy development and policy change where needed.Dr George Owusu, a Research Fellow of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana who commented on the report called for urban Development Strategy or Urban development Policy to address problems associated with urbanisation. Ms Grace Gyimah Boateng, President of Curious Minds, a non-governmental organisation, who spoke on the Youth Perspective called for partnership, dialogue and investment in the youth to address the enormous problems facing the youth affected by urbanisation. The report said half of the world's population comprising 3.3 million, will in 2008 be living in urban areas. It said the number is expected to swell to almost five billion by 2030. The urban population will double between 2000 and 2030 with many of the dwellers becoming poor, it added.
Source:GNA

They're Fighting Over The Oil Already?

By Cameron Duodu

It would be funny if it were not so serious. A company drilling for oil in Ghanaian waters has announced that its made a find.The highest figure put on the reserves it has discovered is 600 million barrels. Nigeria can produce that much oil in a single year. Currently, its producing about 2 millions barrels a day; if you multiply that by 365 days, you get 730 million barrels.Even the tiny bit of oil we've discovered is deep down in the sea and is yet to reach the surface and into a tanker. And yet, already, our politicians are at each other's throats, arguing bitterly about all sorts of irrelevant things.

DISCOVERY Was the discovery made earlier in the previous regime? Or was it only salt that was discovered under that regime?Are these the sort of questions that should preoccupy fully grown adults?One chap has even gone to the extent of saying that just because the $20 million given to the Ghana@50 committee for the celebrations has not been fully accounted for, Ghanaians should not, in his words, over-jubilate over the oil find.Let us grow up in our attitude to matters or we shall frighten away those who want to work with us to develop our country. Of course, everyone knows that oil and politics go together. There have been political squabbles all over the world, wherever oil has been discovered. From Texas to Iran, from Libya to Saudi Arabia, from Kuwait to Nigeria, the way the money from the oil should be shared, always causes trouble.But in all these countries, arrangements have been arrived at, some satisfactory, others less so, for governing the income from the oil. So let it be with us.Since we won't be getting anything from oil for at least a couple of years, we should use the time between now and the first sales, to work out our arrangements, so that we are not caught with our pants down.As far as I am concerned, we should be grateful even if all we get is enough oil to stop us from having to use our puny foreign exchange earnings to import the stuff. Right now, oil has passed the $70 per barrel mark and if we continue to import the stuff, our annual expenditure on it will pass the $200 million per annum figure given by Mr Kwamena Bartels. So that is where our concerns should be at the moment.I remember in 1979, when we ran out of oil and were queueing for days to obtain a few gallons of rationed petrol,I asked about a company that was supposed to be producing oil in our waters, Agri-Petco. It wasn't getting much; I think it was only about 15,000 barrels a day. But it would have been a grand gesture on the company's part if it had announced that, it was going to offer its production to Ghana, pending our ability to import oil from abroad again. That gesture never came.We should ensure that, such situations do not arise again in future to tease us. Can you imagine having petroleum shipped from your country, when its economy is grinding to a halt because there isn't a drop of petrol to be had anywhere? I am sure Agri-Petco could have argued and probably did that because it had a contract to ship its crude oil abroad, until such time as it had recouped its exploration exopenses, or something like that. But there had been what in international law could be considered an insurrection in Ghana, and it could have used that clause to help us out, if it had wanted to.
FUTURE Escaping from situations like that in future, will mean, using our experience to good account. We can't do that unless we view the oil industry from a national, as against party political, standpoint.That's why the bickering about the oil find should stop in its tracks right now, so that the Government can feel free to ask advice from opposition parties, if necessary; and to include the opposition when it is dishing out any appointments that come about as a result of establishing arrangements to govern the oil industry in its new guise.When we didn't have prospects for producing oil in respectable quantities, most of such considerations were of academic interest only. That is no longer the case, and to pretend that we can go on as usual with the instituinal framework we've already got, would not be realistic.It would be a good idea if Parliament were to send an all-party delegation to Nigeria and some of the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries to study their oil industries.Talking to government and opposition elements in such countries, if possible (not all of them are democracies!) would open our Parliamentarians eyes to the knotty problems that can arise in relationships between oil-producing countries and the foreign companies they work with, as well as the minefield through which these Governments have to wade, as they attempt to steer their way through the dual carriageway of satisfying local interests while, at the same time, not neglecting the huge demands that are made on central government finances, once it is known to reap revenues from oil.So God bless Ghana's nascent oil industry. Let us all rejoice that we have made a find, however small. If we don't show gratitude for the little we've got, we won't be given a large chunk, for nature abhors ingratitude.Of course, we are aware that production of oil in any country can lead to corruption; the destruction if traditional patterns of economic production, and social dismemberment, including civil war (Biafran civil war, Nigeria, 1967-70; the just-ending Sudanese civil war).But at least we are going into it with our eyes wide open. There is no reason why we should repeat other peoples silly mistakes, is there?
Source:Ghanaian Times