24/08/09
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
SPECIAL Steels Limited (SSL), a Tema-based iron rods manufacturing company, has begun the installation of a new pollution control system to control the emission of exhaust gas to a safe level.
The pollution control system has an in-built chamber that cools exhaust gas after which the cold gas enters a bag filter unit which removes toxic elements from it.
Consequently, SSL has suspended the melting of iron scraps in the furnace to allow for the completion of the installation work by the end of September, this year.
This was evident during an inspection tour of the company on Thursday, following media reports of excess emission of smoke by the company.
The Director of SSL, Mr Vinod Rajan, told the Daily Graphic that the “objectionable” emission was due to some technical failure of the existing pollution control system.
He said the company had rectified the situation by changing the existing blower and replacing it with a higher capacity blower in the exhaust system.
Besides, Mr Rajan said, the company had modified the vantury, scrubber and fume suction hood, to further reduce the smoke.
He said the installation of the new pollution control system was also to meet the increased production at the company as it was to increase production from 2,000 tonnes per month to 4,000 tonnes per month.
Mr Rajan said the SSL had written to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlining the pollution control measures it was undertaking.
A copy of the letter dated August 11, 2009, said, “We humbly request that during the period of installation and test-run of the new pollution control system, the EPA deploys and runs the dust monitoring equipment the results of which will help us understand the level of performance of newly installed system and modify/rectify the stages if the need arises.”
When contacted, a Deputy Director at the EPA, Mr Lambert Faabehuon, confirmed the ongoing installation at the company and the receipt of a road map to control the emission from SSL.
He said the EPA had mounted testing equipment to monitor the emission level at every stage of the installation.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Unclaimed dead bodies choke Police Hospital
29/08/09
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
The Police Hospital Mortuary in Accra faces an imminent crisis, if steps are not taken to bury about 400 dead bodies, most of whom are unclaimed.
The hospital authorities hit the wall early August when the people of Bortianor refused to allow them to bury the unclaimed bodies at the cemetery at Mile 11.
The Medical Director of the hospital, DCOP Dr Godfried Asiamah, said the unclaimed bodies which had been at the mortuary for more than three months comprised mainly accident victims, street dwellers and insane persons whose identities were difficult to establish.
He told the Daily Graphic that the continuous storage of the bodies could break down the fridges of the mortuary.
To avoid that situation, he said, the hospital took steps to bury all the unidentified bodies in mass graves but the effort fell through when the people of Bortianor refused the bodies.
He said a similar exercise to decongest the mortuary was undertaken last April with the burial of 125 unclaimed bodies at the Mile ‘11’ Cemetery at Bortianor.
Statistics at the hospital indicate a steady rise in the number of unidentified bodies sent to the hospital’s mortuary. In 2007 for instance, 278 unclaimed bodies were buried and 373 were buried in 2008.
DCOP Dr Asiamah attributed the trend to road accidents in which those who died were brought to the hospital by the police or volunteers on the scene.
Additionally, he said whenever people died in the streets and their relatives did not come forward to claim the bodies, the police collected and brought them to the hospital’s mortuary.
“Numerous people die in the streets. They are picked up by the police and they end up in our mortuary,” he stressed, pointing out that the difficulty was always with people who died in such circumstances without any identification tags on them.
DCOP Dr Asiamah said the medical officers conducted post-mortem, while the investigative team conducted investigations into the circumstances leading to the death.
Thereafter, he said, his outfit made announcements in the media about the dead bodies for their relatives to come out to identify and claim them.
However, he said, on many occasions people did not come forward to identify and claim the bodies.
The Medical Director said the police were compelled under the circumstances to organise mass burials for the unclaimed bodies to decongest the mortuary fridges.
He explained that the fridges would break down if the bodies were not disposed of to make way for new bodies.
“If we do not decongest the fridges, they will break down, the bodies will then get rotten and release bad stench,” he explained.
DCOP Dr Asiamah said the hospital authorities liaised with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to pick the bodies in refuse trucks to the Mile ‘11’ Cemetery.
According to him, his outfit used the internally generated funds to pay for the transportation of the bodies, which affected the financial standing of the hospital.
He said the hospital authorities did not organise mass funerals for the unclaimed bodies before the mass burial.
DCOP Dr Asiamah appealed to the public to report to the police whenever their relatives got missing and to respond to announcements for the identification of dead bodies.
He admitted that some relatives intentionally refused to come and claim the bodies of their relatives, due to the lack of funds to organise funeral arrangements. Some of the deceased might not have enjoyed good relations with their relatives while alive.
DCOP Dr Asiamah appealed to the public to always carry their identity cards to facilitate identification during emergency situations.
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
The Police Hospital Mortuary in Accra faces an imminent crisis, if steps are not taken to bury about 400 dead bodies, most of whom are unclaimed.
The hospital authorities hit the wall early August when the people of Bortianor refused to allow them to bury the unclaimed bodies at the cemetery at Mile 11.
The Medical Director of the hospital, DCOP Dr Godfried Asiamah, said the unclaimed bodies which had been at the mortuary for more than three months comprised mainly accident victims, street dwellers and insane persons whose identities were difficult to establish.
He told the Daily Graphic that the continuous storage of the bodies could break down the fridges of the mortuary.
To avoid that situation, he said, the hospital took steps to bury all the unidentified bodies in mass graves but the effort fell through when the people of Bortianor refused the bodies.
He said a similar exercise to decongest the mortuary was undertaken last April with the burial of 125 unclaimed bodies at the Mile ‘11’ Cemetery at Bortianor.
Statistics at the hospital indicate a steady rise in the number of unidentified bodies sent to the hospital’s mortuary. In 2007 for instance, 278 unclaimed bodies were buried and 373 were buried in 2008.
DCOP Dr Asiamah attributed the trend to road accidents in which those who died were brought to the hospital by the police or volunteers on the scene.
Additionally, he said whenever people died in the streets and their relatives did not come forward to claim the bodies, the police collected and brought them to the hospital’s mortuary.
“Numerous people die in the streets. They are picked up by the police and they end up in our mortuary,” he stressed, pointing out that the difficulty was always with people who died in such circumstances without any identification tags on them.
DCOP Dr Asiamah said the medical officers conducted post-mortem, while the investigative team conducted investigations into the circumstances leading to the death.
Thereafter, he said, his outfit made announcements in the media about the dead bodies for their relatives to come out to identify and claim them.
However, he said, on many occasions people did not come forward to identify and claim the bodies.
The Medical Director said the police were compelled under the circumstances to organise mass burials for the unclaimed bodies to decongest the mortuary fridges.
He explained that the fridges would break down if the bodies were not disposed of to make way for new bodies.
“If we do not decongest the fridges, they will break down, the bodies will then get rotten and release bad stench,” he explained.
DCOP Dr Asiamah said the hospital authorities liaised with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to pick the bodies in refuse trucks to the Mile ‘11’ Cemetery.
According to him, his outfit used the internally generated funds to pay for the transportation of the bodies, which affected the financial standing of the hospital.
He said the hospital authorities did not organise mass funerals for the unclaimed bodies before the mass burial.
DCOP Dr Asiamah appealed to the public to report to the police whenever their relatives got missing and to respond to announcements for the identification of dead bodies.
He admitted that some relatives intentionally refused to come and claim the bodies of their relatives, due to the lack of funds to organise funeral arrangements. Some of the deceased might not have enjoyed good relations with their relatives while alive.
DCOP Dr Asiamah appealed to the public to always carry their identity cards to facilitate identification during emergency situations.
Police Hospital to cremate dead bodies
05/09/09
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
AUTHORITIES at the Police Hospital are considering cremating the 400 unclaimed bodies at the hospital’s morgue, following the refusal of the people of Bortianor to allow a mass burial of the bodies at the Mile 11 Cemetery.
The Medical Director of the hospital, DCOP Dr Godfried Asiamah, therefore, appealed to organisations and philanthropists to support the hospital authorities with some funds to enable them to carry out the cremation.
The hospital authorities were in the news early August when the people of Bortianor refused to allow them to bury the unclaimed bodies at the cemetery at Mile 11.
Meanwhile, Dr Asiamah said the authorities of the hospital had appealed to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to secure a land for them to bury bodies.
He said if the AMA failed to secure the land, the hospital authorities would not have any option but to cremate the bodies, since the continuous storage of the bodies could break down the fridges of the mortuary.
According to him, some of the bodies were being kept on the floor in the cold room instead of the fridges.
In an earlier interview, Dr Asiamah said the unclaimed bodies which had been at the mortuary for more than three months comprised mainly accident victims, street dwellers and insane persons whose identities were difficult to establish.
He said the hospital took steps to bury all the unidentified bodies in mass graves but the effort fell through when the people of Bortianor refused.
DCOP Dr Asiamah attributed the trend to road accidents in which those who died were brought to the hospital by the police or volunteers on the scene.
Additionally, he said whenever people died in the streets and their relatives did not come forward to claim the bodies, the police collected and brought them to the hospital’s mortuary.
“Numerous people die in the streets. They are picked up by the police and they end up in our mortuary,” he stressed, pointing out that the difficulty was always with people who died in such circumstances without any identification tags on them.
DCOP Dr Asiamah said the medical officers conducted post-mortem, while the investigative team conducted investigations into the circumstances leading to the death.
Thereafter, he said, his outfit made announcements in the media about the dead bodies for their relatives to come out to identify and claim them.
However, he said, on many occasions people did not come forward to identify and claim the bodies.
The Medical Director said the police were compelled under the circumstances to organise mass burials for the unclaimed bodies to decongest the mortuary.
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
AUTHORITIES at the Police Hospital are considering cremating the 400 unclaimed bodies at the hospital’s morgue, following the refusal of the people of Bortianor to allow a mass burial of the bodies at the Mile 11 Cemetery.
The Medical Director of the hospital, DCOP Dr Godfried Asiamah, therefore, appealed to organisations and philanthropists to support the hospital authorities with some funds to enable them to carry out the cremation.
The hospital authorities were in the news early August when the people of Bortianor refused to allow them to bury the unclaimed bodies at the cemetery at Mile 11.
Meanwhile, Dr Asiamah said the authorities of the hospital had appealed to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to secure a land for them to bury bodies.
He said if the AMA failed to secure the land, the hospital authorities would not have any option but to cremate the bodies, since the continuous storage of the bodies could break down the fridges of the mortuary.
According to him, some of the bodies were being kept on the floor in the cold room instead of the fridges.
In an earlier interview, Dr Asiamah said the unclaimed bodies which had been at the mortuary for more than three months comprised mainly accident victims, street dwellers and insane persons whose identities were difficult to establish.
He said the hospital took steps to bury all the unidentified bodies in mass graves but the effort fell through when the people of Bortianor refused.
DCOP Dr Asiamah attributed the trend to road accidents in which those who died were brought to the hospital by the police or volunteers on the scene.
Additionally, he said whenever people died in the streets and their relatives did not come forward to claim the bodies, the police collected and brought them to the hospital’s mortuary.
“Numerous people die in the streets. They are picked up by the police and they end up in our mortuary,” he stressed, pointing out that the difficulty was always with people who died in such circumstances without any identification tags on them.
DCOP Dr Asiamah said the medical officers conducted post-mortem, while the investigative team conducted investigations into the circumstances leading to the death.
Thereafter, he said, his outfit made announcements in the media about the dead bodies for their relatives to come out to identify and claim them.
However, he said, on many occasions people did not come forward to identify and claim the bodies.
The Medical Director said the police were compelled under the circumstances to organise mass burials for the unclaimed bodies to decongest the mortuary.
Inside Sodom and Gomorrah - the ugly side
05/09/09
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
MANY were those who heaved a sigh of relief when the government announced its intention to evict the more than 40,000 squatters of Sodom and Gomorrah. The reason is that people shared the government’s position that the squatters there are a danger to national security.
As the name connotes, Sodom and Gomorrah, located within the central business district of Accra, gives true meaning to the Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, a communities that were destroyed by God because of their grave sins.
So in effect, whenever a community navigates towards the way of the Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, that community is bound to face the ‘wrath’ of God or that of the government of the day.
The Ghana Sodom and Gomorrah, formerly called Old Fadama or Ayalolo, became a shelter for some displaced people from northern Ghana fleeing the Kokomba-Nanumba war in the 1980s. Ever since then, more people, mainly from the three regions of northern Ghana, have also joined the fray.
Intelligence reports indicate that the squatters, who are divided along political, ethnic and chieftaincy lines, illicitly acquire small arms and light weapons, which they use to attack one another at the least provocation.
They are also alleged to be smuggling the weapons to their people up north in breach of national security.
The recent clashes between people suspected to be supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and from the Abudu and Andani Gates at the Kokomba Market that resulted in the loss of four lives, gives credence to the porous security situation at Sodom and Gomorrah.
Police reports indicate that of the number of suspected criminals rounded up in police and army swoop at Sodom and Gomorrah some time past, a number of criminals were identified and some of them were later identified as armed robbers. The police found “wee” and cocaine on some of them. There have been occasions when wanted criminals, including murderers wanted by the police, have been arrested at Sodom and Gomorrah.
Rape and defilement are common occurrence at the slum.
A walk through the slum paints a picture of disorder, desperation and a bleak future. People virtually sleep in filth. The ramshackle wooden structures stand close to choked gutters.
There are no roads while the walkways are right in people’s homes or even rooms.
Interestingly, there are squatters who claim to own the land, because of the structures they have put up. They take rent from other squatters.
There are indeed some youth as old as 18 who were born and bred in the area. School is of no essence to the squatters, although they have a nursery that some single parents ‘dump’ their children there to relieve themselves of the burden of having to cater for them.
The slum has a large number of chop bars and beer bars. Marijuana (wee) and other narcotic drugs are sold and smoked in the open, with the young ladies competing with their male partners.
There are people who sell cooked food there under very unhygienic conditions, further complicating the precarious health situation there.
The disorderly nature of Sodom and Gomorrah makes it susceptible to fire outbreaks; the slum records not less three fire outbreaks in a year, which destroy lives and property.
Interestingly, hardly does the fire settle down than the squatters begin to reconstruct their burnt structures. The reason is that if they delay, other squatters will trespass.
Due to the almost non-existent roads, fire officers from the Ghana National Fire Service are not able to access the road to put out fire; they are forced under the circumstances to break into some of the structures to get to the fire, a situation that allows the fire to rage for hours.
Another worrying scenario is that the activities of the squatters of Sodom and Gomorrah obstruct work on the Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project (KLERP). The squatters dump solid waste into the lagoon, thus compelling the engineers working on the KLERP to use excavators to clear the waste at a huge cost to the state.
Some of the structures have been constructed at the banks of the lagoon. According to the engineers, the squatters threaten them anytime they speak against their indiscriminate disposal of solid waste.
The Director of the Metropolitan Public Health Department, Dr Simpson Boateng, in an earlier visit to the slum, reportedly said that the squatters would be evicted because their “persistent dumping of refuse and human excreta into the Korle canal by the squatters at Sodom and Gomorrah is undermining work on the KLERP”.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, has indicated the government’s resolve to evict the squatters without any form of compensation or relocation. That is a bold decision. But the question many people are asking is whether the government has the political will to carry through this laudable exercise of nipping in the bud the security threat that the squatters of Sodom and Gomorrah pose to the nation.
It is the responsibility of the government to provide security to all Ghanaians, and that requires of the government to take decisive action to deal with any group of people who threaten national security.
The squatters are asking the government to relocate them somewhere, since they do not have any financial means to rent rooms in other parts of Accra. They are also not ready to go back to northern Ghana.
Some people have cautioned the government not to rush in evicting the squatters, since it could lead to the creation of smaller slums in parts of the city.
Human rights activists also feel that the government must of necessity try to relocate the squatters, since they have a right to shelter. They have blamed the government for allowing the people to stay there for long and assumed some right to their settlement there.
That argument is sound. But is the government bound to perform a task that it has not initiated, although the government could be said to have encouraged it by not acting fast?
It may not be out of place, though, if the government out of consideration finds a place to relocate the squatters, provided it has the means.
But the government could not be faulted in a way for evicting the squatters of Sodom and Gomorrah. But when is the axe going to fall?
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
MANY were those who heaved a sigh of relief when the government announced its intention to evict the more than 40,000 squatters of Sodom and Gomorrah. The reason is that people shared the government’s position that the squatters there are a danger to national security.
As the name connotes, Sodom and Gomorrah, located within the central business district of Accra, gives true meaning to the Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, a communities that were destroyed by God because of their grave sins.
So in effect, whenever a community navigates towards the way of the Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, that community is bound to face the ‘wrath’ of God or that of the government of the day.
The Ghana Sodom and Gomorrah, formerly called Old Fadama or Ayalolo, became a shelter for some displaced people from northern Ghana fleeing the Kokomba-Nanumba war in the 1980s. Ever since then, more people, mainly from the three regions of northern Ghana, have also joined the fray.
Intelligence reports indicate that the squatters, who are divided along political, ethnic and chieftaincy lines, illicitly acquire small arms and light weapons, which they use to attack one another at the least provocation.
They are also alleged to be smuggling the weapons to their people up north in breach of national security.
The recent clashes between people suspected to be supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and from the Abudu and Andani Gates at the Kokomba Market that resulted in the loss of four lives, gives credence to the porous security situation at Sodom and Gomorrah.
Police reports indicate that of the number of suspected criminals rounded up in police and army swoop at Sodom and Gomorrah some time past, a number of criminals were identified and some of them were later identified as armed robbers. The police found “wee” and cocaine on some of them. There have been occasions when wanted criminals, including murderers wanted by the police, have been arrested at Sodom and Gomorrah.
Rape and defilement are common occurrence at the slum.
A walk through the slum paints a picture of disorder, desperation and a bleak future. People virtually sleep in filth. The ramshackle wooden structures stand close to choked gutters.
There are no roads while the walkways are right in people’s homes or even rooms.
Interestingly, there are squatters who claim to own the land, because of the structures they have put up. They take rent from other squatters.
There are indeed some youth as old as 18 who were born and bred in the area. School is of no essence to the squatters, although they have a nursery that some single parents ‘dump’ their children there to relieve themselves of the burden of having to cater for them.
The slum has a large number of chop bars and beer bars. Marijuana (wee) and other narcotic drugs are sold and smoked in the open, with the young ladies competing with their male partners.
There are people who sell cooked food there under very unhygienic conditions, further complicating the precarious health situation there.
The disorderly nature of Sodom and Gomorrah makes it susceptible to fire outbreaks; the slum records not less three fire outbreaks in a year, which destroy lives and property.
Interestingly, hardly does the fire settle down than the squatters begin to reconstruct their burnt structures. The reason is that if they delay, other squatters will trespass.
Due to the almost non-existent roads, fire officers from the Ghana National Fire Service are not able to access the road to put out fire; they are forced under the circumstances to break into some of the structures to get to the fire, a situation that allows the fire to rage for hours.
Another worrying scenario is that the activities of the squatters of Sodom and Gomorrah obstruct work on the Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project (KLERP). The squatters dump solid waste into the lagoon, thus compelling the engineers working on the KLERP to use excavators to clear the waste at a huge cost to the state.
Some of the structures have been constructed at the banks of the lagoon. According to the engineers, the squatters threaten them anytime they speak against their indiscriminate disposal of solid waste.
The Director of the Metropolitan Public Health Department, Dr Simpson Boateng, in an earlier visit to the slum, reportedly said that the squatters would be evicted because their “persistent dumping of refuse and human excreta into the Korle canal by the squatters at Sodom and Gomorrah is undermining work on the KLERP”.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, has indicated the government’s resolve to evict the squatters without any form of compensation or relocation. That is a bold decision. But the question many people are asking is whether the government has the political will to carry through this laudable exercise of nipping in the bud the security threat that the squatters of Sodom and Gomorrah pose to the nation.
It is the responsibility of the government to provide security to all Ghanaians, and that requires of the government to take decisive action to deal with any group of people who threaten national security.
The squatters are asking the government to relocate them somewhere, since they do not have any financial means to rent rooms in other parts of Accra. They are also not ready to go back to northern Ghana.
Some people have cautioned the government not to rush in evicting the squatters, since it could lead to the creation of smaller slums in parts of the city.
Human rights activists also feel that the government must of necessity try to relocate the squatters, since they have a right to shelter. They have blamed the government for allowing the people to stay there for long and assumed some right to their settlement there.
That argument is sound. But is the government bound to perform a task that it has not initiated, although the government could be said to have encouraged it by not acting fast?
It may not be out of place, though, if the government out of consideration finds a place to relocate the squatters, provided it has the means.
But the government could not be faulted in a way for evicting the squatters of Sodom and Gomorrah. But when is the axe going to fall?
Media urged to focus on dev issues
10/09/09
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
SPEAKERS at a political parties/media seminar in Accra have criticised journalists and politicians for using divisive, acrimonious, untrue and defamatory language, which threaten peace and stability in the country.
They, therefore, urged the media to shift their focus to serious development issues, such as the effects of climatic change on the country’s future, the health implications of poor waste management, the falling standard of education, the alarming poverty levels and omissions and commissions in governance.
They further asked politicians to be cautious in their utterances.
The President of the African University College of Communications, Mr Kojo Yankah; a former member of the Council of State, Mrs Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie; the General Manager, Newspapers, Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh; and a senior fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Brigadier-General Francis Agyemfra, made the appeal in Accra yesterday at the seminar, organised by the IEA.
The Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Kwabena Adjei; the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Ohene Ntow; the Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan, and the Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mr Ladi Nylander, in their separate contributions also admitted infringements of the code on the part of politicians and journalists.
The seminar was to assess whether or not journalists and politicians have complied with the terms of the Political Parties Code of Conduct of 2008, which they all assented to. At the end of the presentations and contributions, both the media practitioners and politicians concluded that they had gone contrary to the terms of the Political Parties Code of Conduct before, during and after the election.
Mr Yankah, who spoke on “An Accountable Media and Politician”, said some of the reports in the print and electronic media were ill-informed, unprofessional and without any background information, while some politicians were dictatorial, arrogant and intolerant of divergent opinions.
He cited poor communication skills on the part of both media practitioners and politicians as the main cause of the use of divisive and inflammatory language by journalists and politicians.
He, however, ruled out any form of strict regulation of the work of the media.
“The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Code of Ethics cannot be isolated from a general course of study and body of knowledge called journalism. It is not code of ethics that makes a professional. A doctor is not a doctor because he knows the Hippocratic Oath. A Christian is not a Christian because he knows the Apostolic Creed,” he stressed.
Mr Yankah said both politicians and journalists were leaders, and indicated that despite their differences in ideology and party identification, “the media person and the politician should share common concerns for the public”.
He said while some media personnel were contributing to the country’s democratisation, others were highlighting attitudes that portrayed them as irresponsible and unaccountable.
Mr Yankah urged the media to give more voice to the marginalised in society, play their watchdog role and serve as channels for the expression of varied views and opinions.
He said polarisation of society through foul and insulting communication on party lines should be considered a subversion of the country’s ethos and asked journalists to refrain from attributing personal statements of politicians to their parties.
Mr Yankah proposed the adoption of a timetable during which all political activities must start and end, and recommended that six weeks after elections, all political party symbols should be taken off the streets.
Besides, he said, the media should have a timetable during the six months to introduce political party campaigns, and suggested that more energy and space should be given to providing information about the entire process from registration to accepting the results.
Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh, who gave an overview of the Political Parties Code of Conduct, gave instances where media reports and utterances of politicians were inflammatory.
For instance, he said, some of the reports carried on the airwaves prompted supporters of the NDC to besiege the offices of the Electoral Commission (EC) during the 2008 election, on suspicion that it was rigging the election results.
He said the reports which said that dead bodies of NPP agents had been discovered in the Volta Region “did not meet the Code of Ethics of either the GJA or political parties” and stressed that “such aberrations do nobody good”.
On the political front, Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh said some of the messages in the advertisements placed by political parties were “acrimonious, untrue, divisive and dastardly”.
Brigadier-General Agyemfra urged journalists and politicians to try to abide by the Political Parties Code of Conduct in their utterances, in order to maintain the prevailing peace and stability in the country.
Dr Kwabena Adjei said responsible utterances, which he described as political morality, must come from within, and challenged the media to be objective and non-partisan.
Nana Ohene Ntow asked both journalists and politicians to have good faith in and commitment to the terms of the Political Parties Code of Conduct, and urged the media to reflect the various shades of views in their reportage.
Alhaji Ramadan stressed the need for politicians to avoid ambiguity in their statements in order not to give room for misinterpretation by the media.
Mr Nylander urged the media to exercise restraint and not to go overboard in pursuit of selling their newspapers.
Mrs Afenyi-Dadzie, who chaired the function, charged journalists and politicians to be diligent in respecting the Political Parties Code of Conduct to ensure accountability to maintain their credibility.
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
SPEAKERS at a political parties/media seminar in Accra have criticised journalists and politicians for using divisive, acrimonious, untrue and defamatory language, which threaten peace and stability in the country.
They, therefore, urged the media to shift their focus to serious development issues, such as the effects of climatic change on the country’s future, the health implications of poor waste management, the falling standard of education, the alarming poverty levels and omissions and commissions in governance.
They further asked politicians to be cautious in their utterances.
The President of the African University College of Communications, Mr Kojo Yankah; a former member of the Council of State, Mrs Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie; the General Manager, Newspapers, Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh; and a senior fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Brigadier-General Francis Agyemfra, made the appeal in Accra yesterday at the seminar, organised by the IEA.
The Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Kwabena Adjei; the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Ohene Ntow; the Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan, and the Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mr Ladi Nylander, in their separate contributions also admitted infringements of the code on the part of politicians and journalists.
The seminar was to assess whether or not journalists and politicians have complied with the terms of the Political Parties Code of Conduct of 2008, which they all assented to. At the end of the presentations and contributions, both the media practitioners and politicians concluded that they had gone contrary to the terms of the Political Parties Code of Conduct before, during and after the election.
Mr Yankah, who spoke on “An Accountable Media and Politician”, said some of the reports in the print and electronic media were ill-informed, unprofessional and without any background information, while some politicians were dictatorial, arrogant and intolerant of divergent opinions.
He cited poor communication skills on the part of both media practitioners and politicians as the main cause of the use of divisive and inflammatory language by journalists and politicians.
He, however, ruled out any form of strict regulation of the work of the media.
“The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Code of Ethics cannot be isolated from a general course of study and body of knowledge called journalism. It is not code of ethics that makes a professional. A doctor is not a doctor because he knows the Hippocratic Oath. A Christian is not a Christian because he knows the Apostolic Creed,” he stressed.
Mr Yankah said both politicians and journalists were leaders, and indicated that despite their differences in ideology and party identification, “the media person and the politician should share common concerns for the public”.
He said while some media personnel were contributing to the country’s democratisation, others were highlighting attitudes that portrayed them as irresponsible and unaccountable.
Mr Yankah urged the media to give more voice to the marginalised in society, play their watchdog role and serve as channels for the expression of varied views and opinions.
He said polarisation of society through foul and insulting communication on party lines should be considered a subversion of the country’s ethos and asked journalists to refrain from attributing personal statements of politicians to their parties.
Mr Yankah proposed the adoption of a timetable during which all political activities must start and end, and recommended that six weeks after elections, all political party symbols should be taken off the streets.
Besides, he said, the media should have a timetable during the six months to introduce political party campaigns, and suggested that more energy and space should be given to providing information about the entire process from registration to accepting the results.
Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh, who gave an overview of the Political Parties Code of Conduct, gave instances where media reports and utterances of politicians were inflammatory.
For instance, he said, some of the reports carried on the airwaves prompted supporters of the NDC to besiege the offices of the Electoral Commission (EC) during the 2008 election, on suspicion that it was rigging the election results.
He said the reports which said that dead bodies of NPP agents had been discovered in the Volta Region “did not meet the Code of Ethics of either the GJA or political parties” and stressed that “such aberrations do nobody good”.
On the political front, Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh said some of the messages in the advertisements placed by political parties were “acrimonious, untrue, divisive and dastardly”.
Brigadier-General Agyemfra urged journalists and politicians to try to abide by the Political Parties Code of Conduct in their utterances, in order to maintain the prevailing peace and stability in the country.
Dr Kwabena Adjei said responsible utterances, which he described as political morality, must come from within, and challenged the media to be objective and non-partisan.
Nana Ohene Ntow asked both journalists and politicians to have good faith in and commitment to the terms of the Political Parties Code of Conduct, and urged the media to reflect the various shades of views in their reportage.
Alhaji Ramadan stressed the need for politicians to avoid ambiguity in their statements in order not to give room for misinterpretation by the media.
Mr Nylander urged the media to exercise restraint and not to go overboard in pursuit of selling their newspapers.
Mrs Afenyi-Dadzie, who chaired the function, charged journalists and politicians to be diligent in respecting the Political Parties Code of Conduct to ensure accountability to maintain their credibility.
Inflation target not attainable - CEPA
11/9/09
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) says the government’s end-year inflation target of 14.5 per cent cannot be achieved considering the economic challenges facing the country. It rather predicted an end-year inflation target of 20.9 per cent.
CEPA blamed the excessive spending on the part of the government last year and the failure of the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) to draw the government’s attention to its overspending for the country's economic challenges.
The Executive Director of CEPA, Dr Joseph Abbey, who was presenting CEPA’s Assessment and Critique of the 2009 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, in Accra yesterday, therefore, called for more resources from the international donor community and a greater growth-enhancement and efficiency in public expenditures than in the stabilisation package.
The publication touched on public capital, foreign-financed and pro-poor expenditures, Public Sector Wage Bill, energy subsidies and consultation mechanism on inflation. It contended that the economic programme for 2009 presented to and approved by Parliament with its social democratic principles was consistent with a strategy of Growth with Macroeconomic Stability.
Dr Abbey said CEPA's review of performance record over the last four years and analysis of the monetary policy-making framework led to the conclusion that “the year-on-year inflation target of 12.5 per cent for December 2009 was over optimistic and that like its predecessors would be missed by a considerable margin”.
That view, he said, was affirmed in the International Monetary Funds’ (IMF) stabilisation programme which revised upward the end-December 2009 to 14.6 per cent - an increase of 2.1 per cent.
“In CEPA’s view the targets set in the stabilisation programme are ambitious and would prove difficult to achieve given what could be achieved,” he stressed.
Dr Abbey said the inability to achieve the inflation target would have socio-political cost in terms of output and job losses and the additional poverty burden that would be placed on those least able to bear it, namely the already poor.
He said available evidence pointed to a slowdown in the tempo of economic activity and the continued increase in poverty indicators.
He quoted the World Bank document which states that: “The impact of the current macro-economic difficulties in Ghana comes at a time when many of the poor have not yet recovered from the impact of a series of shocks starting with floods and drought in [northern Ghana] during 2007, and the food and fuel crisis during 2008” to support his claim.
Dr Abbey said given the tight planned budget deficit target of 9.4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), total expenditure was projected to decline from 42 per cent in 2008 to 36.6 per cent this year, representing a reduction of 5.4 percentage points.
He mentioned Public Sector Wage Bill, energy subsidies, interest payments and the public debt, public capital and poverty-related expenditures as some of the critical expenditure items identified for the implementation of the budget.
Dr Abbey said the BWIs had introduced a consultation mechanism on inflation, which involves quarterly reviews for 2009 followed by semi-annual reviews starting in 2010.
Dr Abbey said whenever the realised year-on-year inflation rate fell outside the specified band, the government would have to complete consultation with the Executive Board of the IMF on the proposed policy response before requesting further disbursements under the stabilisation programme.
He said CEPA’s forecast for September 2009 is 20.5 per cent while the central target is 16.5 per cent with an inner band upper limit of 18.5 per cent and an outer band upper limit of 19.5 per cent.
“Thus, should the CEPA forecast for September prove as accurate as those in the earlier months, the Government of Ghana would be obliged to immediately enter into and complete consultation with the Executive Board of the IMF on an appropriate policy response — most likely an interest rate hike — failing which there would be no further disbursement under the stabilisation programme,” he said.
Dr Abbey said should the IMF cease further disbursements, the government would have to fall on the Bank of Ghana for funds.
That, he said, would result in a competition between the government and the private sector for loans, which would consequently raise the interest rate and the cost of doing business.
Dr Abbey, therefore, called for the inclusion of civil society organisations in the negotiation between the government and the IMF on the stabilisation programme.
He said the civil society organisations, such as CEPA, could offer policy options in order to prevent the situation where the IMF could stop further disbursements.
On government's overspending last year, Dr Abbey said "due to the lack of transparency and accountability on the part of the government the truth did not come out". Besides, he said, there were excessive use of money by politicians.
"Donors managed to cocoon the government from taking note. The World Bank cannot absolve itself from blame and leave Ghana to fend for itself," he said.
He said CEPA raised the red flag but lamented that "somewhere along the line our voices did not go far".
A member of the Council of CEPA, Mrs Matilda Obeng-Ansong, who launched the publication, asked the G-20 nations to make funds available for Ghana to achieve her target for the year.
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) says the government’s end-year inflation target of 14.5 per cent cannot be achieved considering the economic challenges facing the country. It rather predicted an end-year inflation target of 20.9 per cent.
CEPA blamed the excessive spending on the part of the government last year and the failure of the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) to draw the government’s attention to its overspending for the country's economic challenges.
The Executive Director of CEPA, Dr Joseph Abbey, who was presenting CEPA’s Assessment and Critique of the 2009 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, in Accra yesterday, therefore, called for more resources from the international donor community and a greater growth-enhancement and efficiency in public expenditures than in the stabilisation package.
The publication touched on public capital, foreign-financed and pro-poor expenditures, Public Sector Wage Bill, energy subsidies and consultation mechanism on inflation. It contended that the economic programme for 2009 presented to and approved by Parliament with its social democratic principles was consistent with a strategy of Growth with Macroeconomic Stability.
Dr Abbey said CEPA's review of performance record over the last four years and analysis of the monetary policy-making framework led to the conclusion that “the year-on-year inflation target of 12.5 per cent for December 2009 was over optimistic and that like its predecessors would be missed by a considerable margin”.
That view, he said, was affirmed in the International Monetary Funds’ (IMF) stabilisation programme which revised upward the end-December 2009 to 14.6 per cent - an increase of 2.1 per cent.
“In CEPA’s view the targets set in the stabilisation programme are ambitious and would prove difficult to achieve given what could be achieved,” he stressed.
Dr Abbey said the inability to achieve the inflation target would have socio-political cost in terms of output and job losses and the additional poverty burden that would be placed on those least able to bear it, namely the already poor.
He said available evidence pointed to a slowdown in the tempo of economic activity and the continued increase in poverty indicators.
He quoted the World Bank document which states that: “The impact of the current macro-economic difficulties in Ghana comes at a time when many of the poor have not yet recovered from the impact of a series of shocks starting with floods and drought in [northern Ghana] during 2007, and the food and fuel crisis during 2008” to support his claim.
Dr Abbey said given the tight planned budget deficit target of 9.4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), total expenditure was projected to decline from 42 per cent in 2008 to 36.6 per cent this year, representing a reduction of 5.4 percentage points.
He mentioned Public Sector Wage Bill, energy subsidies, interest payments and the public debt, public capital and poverty-related expenditures as some of the critical expenditure items identified for the implementation of the budget.
Dr Abbey said the BWIs had introduced a consultation mechanism on inflation, which involves quarterly reviews for 2009 followed by semi-annual reviews starting in 2010.
Dr Abbey said whenever the realised year-on-year inflation rate fell outside the specified band, the government would have to complete consultation with the Executive Board of the IMF on the proposed policy response before requesting further disbursements under the stabilisation programme.
He said CEPA’s forecast for September 2009 is 20.5 per cent while the central target is 16.5 per cent with an inner band upper limit of 18.5 per cent and an outer band upper limit of 19.5 per cent.
“Thus, should the CEPA forecast for September prove as accurate as those in the earlier months, the Government of Ghana would be obliged to immediately enter into and complete consultation with the Executive Board of the IMF on an appropriate policy response — most likely an interest rate hike — failing which there would be no further disbursement under the stabilisation programme,” he said.
Dr Abbey said should the IMF cease further disbursements, the government would have to fall on the Bank of Ghana for funds.
That, he said, would result in a competition between the government and the private sector for loans, which would consequently raise the interest rate and the cost of doing business.
Dr Abbey, therefore, called for the inclusion of civil society organisations in the negotiation between the government and the IMF on the stabilisation programme.
He said the civil society organisations, such as CEPA, could offer policy options in order to prevent the situation where the IMF could stop further disbursements.
On government's overspending last year, Dr Abbey said "due to the lack of transparency and accountability on the part of the government the truth did not come out". Besides, he said, there were excessive use of money by politicians.
"Donors managed to cocoon the government from taking note. The World Bank cannot absolve itself from blame and leave Ghana to fend for itself," he said.
He said CEPA raised the red flag but lamented that "somewhere along the line our voices did not go far".
A member of the Council of CEPA, Mrs Matilda Obeng-Ansong, who launched the publication, asked the G-20 nations to make funds available for Ghana to achieve her target for the year.
Hohoe rice farmers get US$35m credit
17/09/09
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
FIFTY eight farmers in Hohoe in the Volta Region are benefiting from a US$35-million facility from the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) to produce about 2,000 tonnes of rice this year.
MiDA will provide credit facilities to the farmers (nine nuclear farmers and 49 outgrowers) to prepare their farms, and buy fertilisers, pesticides and weedicides. It will also provide extension services and assist the farmers to process their yields.
Finatradegroup, a major player in the rice industry in Ghana and other places in Africa, has entered into an agreement with MiDA to buy all the rice that will be produced.
Consequently, Finatradegroup and MiDA have collaborated in the design of the project, processing and packaging of the rice.
ACDI VOCA, an agronomist company, is supervising the project, while Gbi Rural Bank Limited is offering the credit facility to the farmers on behalf of MiDA.
During a field visit to the rice farms, which are spread across the Hohoe Municipality, on Tuesday by the Director of Corporate Affairs of Finatradegroup, Mr John Awuni, the farmers were seen working on their various farms.
The rice farms are located at Ve, Lolobi, Gbi, Akpafu and Koloenu, among other areas.
Briefing the media, a senior agronomist and representative of ACDI VOCA, Dr Ben Dadzie, said reports available to MiDA indicated that local rice farmers faced problems of access to credit facilities, lack of inputs, inability to process their produce and above all the absence of a ready market.
To address the situation, he said, MiDA contacted the management of Finatradegroup and requested them to be the sole buyers of the rice produce, which they agreed to.
That partnership, Dr Dadzie said, encouraged MiDA to initiate the project since there was a ready market for the rice produce.
He said if the project succeeded, it would be replicated in the other regions of the country.
Dr Dadzie said the agronomy experts supervising the work of the farmers ensured that the farmers applied the appropriate fertilisers, weedicides and pesticides.
Addressing the farmers, Mr Awuni reassured them of the readiness of Finatradegroup to buy their produce no matter the quantity, as a way of encouraging local rice farmers to grow more to feed the nation.
“Your market is 100 per cent assured. There is a guaranteed market for you. There is no limit for the quantity you are going to produce. What you [farmers] have started is supposed to succeed,” he assured the farmers.
Mr Awuni asked the farmers to produce quality rice and assured them that Finatradegroup would offer them the best prices for their produce.
However, he said since the rice was for local consumption, the price would have to be within the means of local consumers for mutual benefit to the farmers, consumers and Finatradegroup.
Mr Awuni, who is also the President of the Ghana Rice Interprofessional Body (GRIB), made a commitment to help the farmers to have drying floors for their produce.
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
FIFTY eight farmers in Hohoe in the Volta Region are benefiting from a US$35-million facility from the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) to produce about 2,000 tonnes of rice this year.
MiDA will provide credit facilities to the farmers (nine nuclear farmers and 49 outgrowers) to prepare their farms, and buy fertilisers, pesticides and weedicides. It will also provide extension services and assist the farmers to process their yields.
Finatradegroup, a major player in the rice industry in Ghana and other places in Africa, has entered into an agreement with MiDA to buy all the rice that will be produced.
Consequently, Finatradegroup and MiDA have collaborated in the design of the project, processing and packaging of the rice.
ACDI VOCA, an agronomist company, is supervising the project, while Gbi Rural Bank Limited is offering the credit facility to the farmers on behalf of MiDA.
During a field visit to the rice farms, which are spread across the Hohoe Municipality, on Tuesday by the Director of Corporate Affairs of Finatradegroup, Mr John Awuni, the farmers were seen working on their various farms.
The rice farms are located at Ve, Lolobi, Gbi, Akpafu and Koloenu, among other areas.
Briefing the media, a senior agronomist and representative of ACDI VOCA, Dr Ben Dadzie, said reports available to MiDA indicated that local rice farmers faced problems of access to credit facilities, lack of inputs, inability to process their produce and above all the absence of a ready market.
To address the situation, he said, MiDA contacted the management of Finatradegroup and requested them to be the sole buyers of the rice produce, which they agreed to.
That partnership, Dr Dadzie said, encouraged MiDA to initiate the project since there was a ready market for the rice produce.
He said if the project succeeded, it would be replicated in the other regions of the country.
Dr Dadzie said the agronomy experts supervising the work of the farmers ensured that the farmers applied the appropriate fertilisers, weedicides and pesticides.
Addressing the farmers, Mr Awuni reassured them of the readiness of Finatradegroup to buy their produce no matter the quantity, as a way of encouraging local rice farmers to grow more to feed the nation.
“Your market is 100 per cent assured. There is a guaranteed market for you. There is no limit for the quantity you are going to produce. What you [farmers] have started is supposed to succeed,” he assured the farmers.
Mr Awuni asked the farmers to produce quality rice and assured them that Finatradegroup would offer them the best prices for their produce.
However, he said since the rice was for local consumption, the price would have to be within the means of local consumers for mutual benefit to the farmers, consumers and Finatradegroup.
Mr Awuni, who is also the President of the Ghana Rice Interprofessional Body (GRIB), made a commitment to help the farmers to have drying floors for their produce.
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