12/05/08
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Prof. Stephen Adei, has charged the government to take advantage of the global food shortage to double the country’s food production.
That, he said, could be achieved with good combination of policies including selective subsidies on initial capitalisation on production of rice, for example.
Prof. Adei made the call at the sixth congregation of GIMPA in Accra at the weekend.
Ninety-one graduands received various degrees, comprising Executive Master of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Administration, Executive Master of Public Administration, Master of Governance and Leadership, Executive Master of Governance and Leadership and Master of Development Management.
The graduands included Members of Parliament, captains of industry, public servants and chief executives of civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations.
On food shortage, Prof. Adei said if the rains went as predicted “we may have good harvest of local produce to cushion us”.
He noted that the country was not insulated from the pressures of imported inflation and pressures arising from the global food shortage and the unprecedented rise in oil prices.
He, therefore, cautioned the public “not to play games with these so we can find collective solutions to them”.
“I do not want to dwell on what could have been done such as hedging against oil price increases but as a nation we cannot sit down or wait for others to find solutions for us,” he stressed.
Prof. Adei commended the government for not pumping money into the system for short-term political gain.
However, he said, there was some evidence that the budget “could be in trouble”.
Prof. Adei said already inflation had inched up significantly.
That, he said, called for both fiscal and monetary policy authorities to work in tandem to ensure sustained prudent economic management.
“I believe in Ghana. I believe that our current political process will produce a good leader for Ghana this year. I believe we will weather the current national and global challenges,” he said.
Touching on leadership, Prof. Adei urged Ghanaians to work on their own performance and attitude and refrain from “cut throat” competition with others.
He said what GIMPA had sought to do in the recent past was to provide unique opportunity for the leadership of the country to add value to themselves and through them bless the nation with continuously improving management at all levels.
The Chief Executive of the Ghana Shippers’ Council, Mr Kofi Mbiah, who was the guest of honour, commended GIMPA for providing well-class leadership training in the country.
He, however, asked the authorities of GIMPA to maintain the balance between change and continuity in their expansion drive, in order not to sacrifice excellence.
Mr Mbiah urged GIMPA to adapt their programmes to the needs of industry, and challenged the graduands to keep updating themselves with the ever-growing globalisation.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Jirapa and the Course Leader, Mr Edward Salia, noted that there would be more pressure on the facilities of GIMPA due to the increase in the number of students and the variety of courses offered.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to support GIMPA with the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to meet its growing challenges.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Qatar NGO donates to 3 institutions
12/05/08
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE Rabitat-Duat Muslimeen-Ghana, an Islamic non-governmental organisation, and its partners from Qatar has donated relief items worth millions of cedis to three institutions.
The beneficiary institutions are the Osu Children’s Home, the Accra Rehabilitation Centre and the Weija Leprosarium.
Items donated included rice, sugar, cooking oil, soap, toiletries and cash.
Officials of the Rabitat-Duat and their foreign partners interacted with the inmates.
The Resident Co-ordinator of Rabitat-Duat, Sheikh Hadir Iddris Adam, said the donation was to address the needs of the poor in society as commanded by Allah.
He gave the assurance the organisation would continue to support the institutions to offer improved services to their inmates.
The leader of the Qatari delegation, Sheikh Taais Muhammed, said his outfit would do similar donations at Togo, Benin and Senegal.
At the Osu Children’s Home, the Director of the Home, Mrs Comfort Asare, thanked the Rabitat-Duat for the gesture.
She urged other Muslim organisations to also come to their aid.
An official of the Accra Rehabilitation Centre, Mr Joseph Kojo Atigah, said the donation was the biggest that the institution had received from any institution.
He stressed the need for donors to complement government’s efforts since the government did not have the financial wherewithal to support all institutions.
Rabitat-Duat is an Islamic organisation made up of Islamic scholars. The other scholars present at the donation were Sheikh Hussein Abdul Rahman, Dr Bashir Adam, Sheikh Kamil Muhammed, Sheikh Hussein Rahman and Sheikh Salman Muhammed Alhassan.
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE Rabitat-Duat Muslimeen-Ghana, an Islamic non-governmental organisation, and its partners from Qatar has donated relief items worth millions of cedis to three institutions.
The beneficiary institutions are the Osu Children’s Home, the Accra Rehabilitation Centre and the Weija Leprosarium.
Items donated included rice, sugar, cooking oil, soap, toiletries and cash.
Officials of the Rabitat-Duat and their foreign partners interacted with the inmates.
The Resident Co-ordinator of Rabitat-Duat, Sheikh Hadir Iddris Adam, said the donation was to address the needs of the poor in society as commanded by Allah.
He gave the assurance the organisation would continue to support the institutions to offer improved services to their inmates.
The leader of the Qatari delegation, Sheikh Taais Muhammed, said his outfit would do similar donations at Togo, Benin and Senegal.
At the Osu Children’s Home, the Director of the Home, Mrs Comfort Asare, thanked the Rabitat-Duat for the gesture.
She urged other Muslim organisations to also come to their aid.
An official of the Accra Rehabilitation Centre, Mr Joseph Kojo Atigah, said the donation was the biggest that the institution had received from any institution.
He stressed the need for donors to complement government’s efforts since the government did not have the financial wherewithal to support all institutions.
Rabitat-Duat is an Islamic organisation made up of Islamic scholars. The other scholars present at the donation were Sheikh Hussein Abdul Rahman, Dr Bashir Adam, Sheikh Kamil Muhammed, Sheikh Hussein Rahman and Sheikh Salman Muhammed Alhassan.
2nd Phase Kaneshie Station rehabilitation begins
12/05/08
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
‘TROTRO’ and taxi drivers at the Kaneshie Market Lorry Station have been moved outside the station to make way for the rehabilitation of the station.
The drivers now park their vehicles on the roads outside the station, while others park on the main Kaneshie-Odorkor road.
The Accra Market Limited, operators of the Kaneshie Market Complex, moved the drivers outside the station on Monday, May 5, 2008, to start the second phase of the rehabilitation work.
The first phase, which involved site clearing, earth works, gravelling and crash rock filling, started in July 2006 and completed in April 2007.
The second phase, which involves the cleaning of the lorry station, sectional area patching and final sealing, started on Tuesday, May 6, 2008.
The management of the Accra Market Limited engaged the services of the Zoomlion Waste Management Company to clean the market and remove all foreign materials, including plastics and bottles.
According to Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera, the Managing Director of the Accra Market Limited, the gravelling would start by Friday, and that soon after, the final sealing would be done with bitumen and chippings.
He said a car park for customers, 26 offices and rest rooms would be put up for the leadership of the various stations, and indicated that the lorry station could take 100 33-seater buses and 20 taxi cabs at a go, he said.
Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera said initially the estimated cost of the project was GH¢106,000 but due to the delay in executing the first phase by the contractor, the company spent GH¢125,300 on the first phase of the project.
That, he said, had shot up the cost of the total project to GH¢170,000, and indicated that the first phase was financed with a loan from the National Investment Bank (NIB), while the second phase was being financed from the resources of the company.
Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera gave the assurance that the rehabilitation work would be completed by Sunday, April 18.
He said soon after, the drivers would be allowed back to the station.
According to Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera, his outfit was now losing revenue as some of the drivers had stopped coming to the area because of the fall in their business.
Besides, he said, those on the Kaneshie-Odorkor road paid their tolls directly to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera noted that the activities of the drivers created inconvenience to residents, and indicated that his outfit had already appealed to the residents to allow the drivers to use the roads for the time being.
He urged the drivers to comport themselves and refrain from indiscriminate hooting of horns or urinating everywhere.
“The residents are patiently tolerating us. So you do not have to do anything to add to their inconvenience,” Mr Kra-Gyamera requested.
There are over 700 trotro vehicles and about 40 taxi cabs using the station. There are 25 stations, plying in and outside the Kaneshie Market Lorry Station.
The inner routes include Abeka Lapaz, Nima-Maamobi and Achimota while the long distance include Kumasi, Nkawkaw, Agona Swedru and Suhum.
Passengers are seen moving from one area to the other asking drivers and conductors of the location of their respective stations.
Some of the drivers complained of low patronage due to the inability of many passengers to locate their respective stations.
According to Addo Blay, a ‘trotro’ driver plying Kaneshie-Madina, some of his colleagues had stopped coming to the station due to the fall in their income.
He said some passengers now picked direct vehicles to Circle to connect to their respective destinations to avoid the inconvenience of struggling to locate the vehicles to their various destinations.
Trading activities at the market has also gone down as many customers who use vehicles have stopped coming to the market as they do not have a space to park their vehicles, according to Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera.
The Kaneshie Market Lorry Station is noted for its poor state. It has big potholes and the place becomes muddy whenever it rains.
Drivers find it difficult driving while passengers get their dresses soiled with mud.
With the rehabilitation of the lorry station, drivers and their passengers are expected to be spared the agony of driving and walking in the mud whenever it rains.
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
‘TROTRO’ and taxi drivers at the Kaneshie Market Lorry Station have been moved outside the station to make way for the rehabilitation of the station.
The drivers now park their vehicles on the roads outside the station, while others park on the main Kaneshie-Odorkor road.
The Accra Market Limited, operators of the Kaneshie Market Complex, moved the drivers outside the station on Monday, May 5, 2008, to start the second phase of the rehabilitation work.
The first phase, which involved site clearing, earth works, gravelling and crash rock filling, started in July 2006 and completed in April 2007.
The second phase, which involves the cleaning of the lorry station, sectional area patching and final sealing, started on Tuesday, May 6, 2008.
The management of the Accra Market Limited engaged the services of the Zoomlion Waste Management Company to clean the market and remove all foreign materials, including plastics and bottles.
According to Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera, the Managing Director of the Accra Market Limited, the gravelling would start by Friday, and that soon after, the final sealing would be done with bitumen and chippings.
He said a car park for customers, 26 offices and rest rooms would be put up for the leadership of the various stations, and indicated that the lorry station could take 100 33-seater buses and 20 taxi cabs at a go, he said.
Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera said initially the estimated cost of the project was GH¢106,000 but due to the delay in executing the first phase by the contractor, the company spent GH¢125,300 on the first phase of the project.
That, he said, had shot up the cost of the total project to GH¢170,000, and indicated that the first phase was financed with a loan from the National Investment Bank (NIB), while the second phase was being financed from the resources of the company.
Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera gave the assurance that the rehabilitation work would be completed by Sunday, April 18.
He said soon after, the drivers would be allowed back to the station.
According to Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera, his outfit was now losing revenue as some of the drivers had stopped coming to the area because of the fall in their business.
Besides, he said, those on the Kaneshie-Odorkor road paid their tolls directly to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera noted that the activities of the drivers created inconvenience to residents, and indicated that his outfit had already appealed to the residents to allow the drivers to use the roads for the time being.
He urged the drivers to comport themselves and refrain from indiscriminate hooting of horns or urinating everywhere.
“The residents are patiently tolerating us. So you do not have to do anything to add to their inconvenience,” Mr Kra-Gyamera requested.
There are over 700 trotro vehicles and about 40 taxi cabs using the station. There are 25 stations, plying in and outside the Kaneshie Market Lorry Station.
The inner routes include Abeka Lapaz, Nima-Maamobi and Achimota while the long distance include Kumasi, Nkawkaw, Agona Swedru and Suhum.
Passengers are seen moving from one area to the other asking drivers and conductors of the location of their respective stations.
Some of the drivers complained of low patronage due to the inability of many passengers to locate their respective stations.
According to Addo Blay, a ‘trotro’ driver plying Kaneshie-Madina, some of his colleagues had stopped coming to the station due to the fall in their income.
He said some passengers now picked direct vehicles to Circle to connect to their respective destinations to avoid the inconvenience of struggling to locate the vehicles to their various destinations.
Trading activities at the market has also gone down as many customers who use vehicles have stopped coming to the market as they do not have a space to park their vehicles, according to Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera.
The Kaneshie Market Lorry Station is noted for its poor state. It has big potholes and the place becomes muddy whenever it rains.
Drivers find it difficult driving while passengers get their dresses soiled with mud.
With the rehabilitation of the lorry station, drivers and their passengers are expected to be spared the agony of driving and walking in the mud whenever it rains.
Waste contractors ask AMA to pay them
12/05/08
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
PRIVATE waste management contractors have threatened to embark on a demonstration to demand the payment of the GH¢12.5 million owed them by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
The 17 members of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) gave the AMA a one-week ultimatum to pay the money, and threatened to suspend all their services if the assembly did not meet that deadline.
An executive member of ESPA, Mr Kwabena Kyei, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the waste contractors “are not intentionally taking an industrial action, but it is inevitable, since we do not have funds to operate”.
He said the GH¢12.5 million outstanding fee was an accumulation from last year that the AMA owed the waste contractors owed the AMA.
Mr Kyei said following the inability of the AMA to settle the arrears, the Central Government started paying the waste contractors from the HIPC and District Assemblies Common Funds with the anticipation that the AMA would pay the difference.
However, he said, since March this year, the government had not given the contractors any money, following the inability of the AMA to settle the difference.
Mr Kyei indicated that the cessation of the payment had affected their operations and landed them in financial difficulty.
He said the waste contractors owed their banks a lot of money because they could not get their money to pay back their loans.
More so, he said, due to the financial difficulty, the waste contractors were not able to pay the salaries of their workers, and that they could also not pay their fuel and spare parts suppliers.
As a result, Mr Kyei said, most of the vehicles used for the waste collection had broken down, thus affecting their operations.
“Our creditors are chasing us, salaries of our workers are outstanding for months, while most of our vehicles have broken down due to lack of maintenance,” he said.
Mr Kyei expressed worry that the whole Accra metropolis would be engulfed in filth if the AMA or the Central Government did not pay the contractors.
Besides, he said, there was the possibility of an outbreak of diseases in Accra as a result of the heap of refuse at the various markets, lorry stations and residential areas.
Mr Kyei said following the protestation of members of ESPA recently, the government had set up a committee chaired by the Chief Advisor to the President, Mrs Chinery Hesse, to look into the issue.
However, he said, “information reaching us indicates that they are not looking at the issue with the urgency it deserves”.
“So we are appealing to the Chief Advisor and her team to expedite action on our grievances,” he requested.
Refuse has piled up at various markets, lorry stations and residential areas in the Accra metropolis following the inability of the waste contractors to lift the refuse containers.
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
PRIVATE waste management contractors have threatened to embark on a demonstration to demand the payment of the GH¢12.5 million owed them by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
The 17 members of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) gave the AMA a one-week ultimatum to pay the money, and threatened to suspend all their services if the assembly did not meet that deadline.
An executive member of ESPA, Mr Kwabena Kyei, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the waste contractors “are not intentionally taking an industrial action, but it is inevitable, since we do not have funds to operate”.
He said the GH¢12.5 million outstanding fee was an accumulation from last year that the AMA owed the waste contractors owed the AMA.
Mr Kyei said following the inability of the AMA to settle the arrears, the Central Government started paying the waste contractors from the HIPC and District Assemblies Common Funds with the anticipation that the AMA would pay the difference.
However, he said, since March this year, the government had not given the contractors any money, following the inability of the AMA to settle the difference.
Mr Kyei indicated that the cessation of the payment had affected their operations and landed them in financial difficulty.
He said the waste contractors owed their banks a lot of money because they could not get their money to pay back their loans.
More so, he said, due to the financial difficulty, the waste contractors were not able to pay the salaries of their workers, and that they could also not pay their fuel and spare parts suppliers.
As a result, Mr Kyei said, most of the vehicles used for the waste collection had broken down, thus affecting their operations.
“Our creditors are chasing us, salaries of our workers are outstanding for months, while most of our vehicles have broken down due to lack of maintenance,” he said.
Mr Kyei expressed worry that the whole Accra metropolis would be engulfed in filth if the AMA or the Central Government did not pay the contractors.
Besides, he said, there was the possibility of an outbreak of diseases in Accra as a result of the heap of refuse at the various markets, lorry stations and residential areas.
Mr Kyei said following the protestation of members of ESPA recently, the government had set up a committee chaired by the Chief Advisor to the President, Mrs Chinery Hesse, to look into the issue.
However, he said, “information reaching us indicates that they are not looking at the issue with the urgency it deserves”.
“So we are appealing to the Chief Advisor and her team to expedite action on our grievances,” he requested.
Refuse has piled up at various markets, lorry stations and residential areas in the Accra metropolis following the inability of the waste contractors to lift the refuse containers.
Remove this heap of refuse - Kaneshie traders
10/05/08
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
FOODSTUFF sellers at the Kaneshie Market in Accra have appealed to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to clear the heap of refuse close to the market.
According to the market women, the refuse had been there for the past two weeks.
The refuse, which is on the street close to the Kaneshie Post Office, generates bad odour, with flies hovering over it.
Some of the market women told the Daily Graphic that due to the heap of refuse at the market, coupled with the odour emanating from it, their customers had stopped patronising their foodstuffs.
According to them, the customers had now shifted to the Agbogbloshie Market, a situation which affected their income and general livelihood.
The market women blamed the AMA for not impressing on the contractors to collect the refuse.
They also accused residents of Kaneshie, Bubuashie and Mataheko of continuously dumping refuse into containers which were already full.
The foodstuff sellers said some of the residents dumped refuse on the street during the night.
This reporter saw some people dumping refuse there, in the full glare of the market women, while the women hurled insults at those people.
Alice Mensah, 30, a tomato seller, was bitter that the poor state of the market had driven her customers away, besides the stench she had to contend with.
“We do not sell anything now. The people come, but when they see the refuse, they move away. Some of them go to Agbogbloshie,” she lamented.
“Now some people say if you want to catch a disease come to the Kaneshie Market because of the heap of refuse here,” according to Agnes Maxwell, an onion seller.
When contacted, the Environmental Officer of the Kaneshie Market, Mr Israel Tetteh Aryee, said the contractor, J. Stanley Owusu, had told him that its inability to collect the refuse was due to the breakdown of its vehicles and the fact that the AMA had not settled all its outstanding indebtedness to the company.
Besides, he said, the roads leading to the Oblogo dumping site had gone bad following recent downpours.
“The situation at the market is so discouraging. Sometimes it takes about two weeks before the contractors come in to collect the refuse,” Mr Aryee said dejectedly.
According to him, the market sellers generated 22 tonnes of refuse daily, while the residents of Kaneshie, Bubuashie and Mataheko generated about 66 tonnes daily.
The Managing Director of the Kaneshie Market Complex, Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera, said his outfit had held several meetings with the AMA and the contractors on how to solve the sanitation situation at the market.
He said the AMA and the contractors always promised to ensure the regular collection of the refuse and indicated that they started well but failed to sustain the momentum.
On the dumping of refuse by residents, Mr Kra-Gyamera said initially his outfit had rejected that idea but said they later reached a consensus with the AMA that the residents should dump their refuse there, since they did not have refuse dumps in their areas.
Consequently, he said, the contractors increased the number of containers from two to five.
Mr Kra-Gyamera said the worry was that the residents and some market women continued to dump refuse into the containers even when they were filled up.
“The residents bring the refuse in wheelbarrows and Kia trucks in the night to dump it there,” he said.
Besides, he said, the contractors failed to collect the containers on time, allowing the refuse to spill over onto the street.
According to Mr Kra-Gyamera, the situation was compounded because members of the surrounding communities had failed to register with the AMA to have their refuse collected from house-to-house.
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
FOODSTUFF sellers at the Kaneshie Market in Accra have appealed to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to clear the heap of refuse close to the market.
According to the market women, the refuse had been there for the past two weeks.
The refuse, which is on the street close to the Kaneshie Post Office, generates bad odour, with flies hovering over it.
Some of the market women told the Daily Graphic that due to the heap of refuse at the market, coupled with the odour emanating from it, their customers had stopped patronising their foodstuffs.
According to them, the customers had now shifted to the Agbogbloshie Market, a situation which affected their income and general livelihood.
The market women blamed the AMA for not impressing on the contractors to collect the refuse.
They also accused residents of Kaneshie, Bubuashie and Mataheko of continuously dumping refuse into containers which were already full.
The foodstuff sellers said some of the residents dumped refuse on the street during the night.
This reporter saw some people dumping refuse there, in the full glare of the market women, while the women hurled insults at those people.
Alice Mensah, 30, a tomato seller, was bitter that the poor state of the market had driven her customers away, besides the stench she had to contend with.
“We do not sell anything now. The people come, but when they see the refuse, they move away. Some of them go to Agbogbloshie,” she lamented.
“Now some people say if you want to catch a disease come to the Kaneshie Market because of the heap of refuse here,” according to Agnes Maxwell, an onion seller.
When contacted, the Environmental Officer of the Kaneshie Market, Mr Israel Tetteh Aryee, said the contractor, J. Stanley Owusu, had told him that its inability to collect the refuse was due to the breakdown of its vehicles and the fact that the AMA had not settled all its outstanding indebtedness to the company.
Besides, he said, the roads leading to the Oblogo dumping site had gone bad following recent downpours.
“The situation at the market is so discouraging. Sometimes it takes about two weeks before the contractors come in to collect the refuse,” Mr Aryee said dejectedly.
According to him, the market sellers generated 22 tonnes of refuse daily, while the residents of Kaneshie, Bubuashie and Mataheko generated about 66 tonnes daily.
The Managing Director of the Kaneshie Market Complex, Mr Kwaku Kra-Gyamera, said his outfit had held several meetings with the AMA and the contractors on how to solve the sanitation situation at the market.
He said the AMA and the contractors always promised to ensure the regular collection of the refuse and indicated that they started well but failed to sustain the momentum.
On the dumping of refuse by residents, Mr Kra-Gyamera said initially his outfit had rejected that idea but said they later reached a consensus with the AMA that the residents should dump their refuse there, since they did not have refuse dumps in their areas.
Consequently, he said, the contractors increased the number of containers from two to five.
Mr Kra-Gyamera said the worry was that the residents and some market women continued to dump refuse into the containers even when they were filled up.
“The residents bring the refuse in wheelbarrows and Kia trucks in the night to dump it there,” he said.
Besides, he said, the contractors failed to collect the containers on time, allowing the refuse to spill over onto the street.
According to Mr Kra-Gyamera, the situation was compounded because members of the surrounding communities had failed to register with the AMA to have their refuse collected from house-to-house.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Security personnel closed down a popular hotel
18/04/08
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
SECURITY personnel on Wednesday closed down the Greenland Hotel at Agona Swedru in the Central Region as a result of the inability of the management of the hotel to repay the remaining GH¢1.1 million which is part of a loan it took from the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB).
Sources close to the hotel indicated that the GH¢1.1 million was interest which accrued on an initial loan of about GH¢400,000
The security personnel, comprising four armed policemen and five bodyguards, in the company of some GCB officers, ordered the staff out of the hotel and locked up the facility.
A few people who were lodging in the hotel were not spared, as they had to relocate to other hotels in the area.
Only the security men were left behind to guard the hotel, under the supervision of the four police officers and five bodyguards.
When the Daily Graphic visited the hotel yesterday, its gates were still locked, with red bands around them.
Security men and some bodyguards were at the gate, apparently to resist any re-entry.
The security men, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were at the hotel about 10:30 a.m. when the GCB officials, in the company of the police, arrived.
They said some bailiffs showed them a court order for the closure of the hotel.
“The bailiffs presented the court order to close down the hotel so I could not prevent them,” one of the security men said.
He said the police officers ordered all the staff to move outside the hotel, after which they locked the gates.
“As I talk to you now, nobody is in the hotel. Operation is not going on,” he said.
The security man recalled that some time last year the GCB sued the management of the hotel for default.
A source close to the hotel indicated that it had received reservations from prominent people, including the visiting Spiritual Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Khalifatul Masih V, who is on a six-day visit to Ghana.
He said the closure would result in huge losses to the management, since all the foodstuffs and other ingredients in stock which had been locked up by the security men who closed down the hotel were likely to go bad.
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
SECURITY personnel on Wednesday closed down the Greenland Hotel at Agona Swedru in the Central Region as a result of the inability of the management of the hotel to repay the remaining GH¢1.1 million which is part of a loan it took from the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB).
Sources close to the hotel indicated that the GH¢1.1 million was interest which accrued on an initial loan of about GH¢400,000
The security personnel, comprising four armed policemen and five bodyguards, in the company of some GCB officers, ordered the staff out of the hotel and locked up the facility.
A few people who were lodging in the hotel were not spared, as they had to relocate to other hotels in the area.
Only the security men were left behind to guard the hotel, under the supervision of the four police officers and five bodyguards.
When the Daily Graphic visited the hotel yesterday, its gates were still locked, with red bands around them.
Security men and some bodyguards were at the gate, apparently to resist any re-entry.
The security men, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were at the hotel about 10:30 a.m. when the GCB officials, in the company of the police, arrived.
They said some bailiffs showed them a court order for the closure of the hotel.
“The bailiffs presented the court order to close down the hotel so I could not prevent them,” one of the security men said.
He said the police officers ordered all the staff to move outside the hotel, after which they locked the gates.
“As I talk to you now, nobody is in the hotel. Operation is not going on,” he said.
The security man recalled that some time last year the GCB sued the management of the hotel for default.
A source close to the hotel indicated that it had received reservations from prominent people, including the visiting Spiritual Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Khalifatul Masih V, who is on a six-day visit to Ghana.
He said the closure would result in huge losses to the management, since all the foodstuffs and other ingredients in stock which had been locked up by the security men who closed down the hotel were likely to go bad.
Accra to experience sever floods
02/04/08
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
Severe floods will hit parts of Accra between now and August as a result of unusually heavy rains expected in the southern parts of the country this year.
The numerous choked drains, the poor lay out and the putting up of structures on water courses in the national capital are likely to make the situation worse, Mr Amos Narh, a senior meteorologist of the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA), said, adding, “We just have to prepare for the worst.”
Mr Narh, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on Tuesday, said the rains would be accompanied by strong winds, thunder and lightning.
He explained that the expected rains would cause severe flooding, not only because of the continuous downpour but also because the rain water would have no way out of the city as a result of the poor lay out and choked drains.
He mentioned Avenor, Alajo, Sowutuom, Oblogo, Anyah, Santa Maria, Mandela and Weija as some of the areas that were likely to be hit by the floods.
Mr Narh cautioned against movement around electric cables and poles during rainstorms, pointing out that because of the expected strong winds, such electrical facilities could break down, while the roofs of buildings could be ripped off.
Describing last Monday’s rain in some parts of the country as only a 10th of the category of heavy rains expected, Mr Narh noted that it was scary to think that it was enough to cause so much flooding and destruction in parts of Accra.
One person was electrocuted at Osu in Monday’s floods, which Mr Narh said marked the beginning of the rainy season and indicated that the rains were experienced throughout the country.
He said other areas experienced rains heavier than Accra but did not experience any floods.
Accra-Airport recorded 41.2 millimetres (mm); Tema, 56.5 mm; Brong Ahafo, 20.3 mm; Kumasi, 35 mm; Koforidua, 9.9 mm; Yendi, 15.2 mm; Ho, 52.1 mm, and Akosombo, 46.8 mm.
Mr Narh expressed worry that people still built on water courses and low-lying areas, despite the inherent danger of their buildings getting flooded in the event of heavy rains.
“We are the causes of floods in Accra. It is our own doing,” he stressed.
The rains would peak in June and temporary break at the end of August, he said.
Mr Narh appealed to the media to help in educating the public on the need to desilt choked drains, abstain from dumping refuse into them and building on water courses.
It would be recalled that in June last year five people lost their lives in floods that hit parts of Accra. The casualties were recorded at Kwashibu, near Sowutuom, and Mallam.
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
Severe floods will hit parts of Accra between now and August as a result of unusually heavy rains expected in the southern parts of the country this year.
The numerous choked drains, the poor lay out and the putting up of structures on water courses in the national capital are likely to make the situation worse, Mr Amos Narh, a senior meteorologist of the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMA), said, adding, “We just have to prepare for the worst.”
Mr Narh, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on Tuesday, said the rains would be accompanied by strong winds, thunder and lightning.
He explained that the expected rains would cause severe flooding, not only because of the continuous downpour but also because the rain water would have no way out of the city as a result of the poor lay out and choked drains.
He mentioned Avenor, Alajo, Sowutuom, Oblogo, Anyah, Santa Maria, Mandela and Weija as some of the areas that were likely to be hit by the floods.
Mr Narh cautioned against movement around electric cables and poles during rainstorms, pointing out that because of the expected strong winds, such electrical facilities could break down, while the roofs of buildings could be ripped off.
Describing last Monday’s rain in some parts of the country as only a 10th of the category of heavy rains expected, Mr Narh noted that it was scary to think that it was enough to cause so much flooding and destruction in parts of Accra.
One person was electrocuted at Osu in Monday’s floods, which Mr Narh said marked the beginning of the rainy season and indicated that the rains were experienced throughout the country.
He said other areas experienced rains heavier than Accra but did not experience any floods.
Accra-Airport recorded 41.2 millimetres (mm); Tema, 56.5 mm; Brong Ahafo, 20.3 mm; Kumasi, 35 mm; Koforidua, 9.9 mm; Yendi, 15.2 mm; Ho, 52.1 mm, and Akosombo, 46.8 mm.
Mr Narh expressed worry that people still built on water courses and low-lying areas, despite the inherent danger of their buildings getting flooded in the event of heavy rains.
“We are the causes of floods in Accra. It is our own doing,” he stressed.
The rains would peak in June and temporary break at the end of August, he said.
Mr Narh appealed to the media to help in educating the public on the need to desilt choked drains, abstain from dumping refuse into them and building on water courses.
It would be recalled that in June last year five people lost their lives in floods that hit parts of Accra. The casualties were recorded at Kwashibu, near Sowutuom, and Mallam.
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