Accra, Nov. 7, GNA – Ghana’s Black Stars are rated among the top 30 best teams in the world after placing 29th in the November edition of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) monthly rankings. The Stars moved two places up to their current position with a point haul of 762 points according to the latest ranking released on Wednesday by the World soccer governing body. Information gathered by GNA Sports indicates that Ghana however maintained its fourth place on the continental rankings behind Cote d’Ivoire (974 points), Algeria (907 points) and Mali (772 points). The Stars only action in October was the lone goal win over the Flames of Malawi in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Lilongwe. Italy-based midfielder Afriyie Acquah scored the only goal of the encounter held on October 13 at the Civo Stadium in the Malawian capital. Cote d’Ivoire and Algeria are the only African teams in the world’s top 20 occupying the 15th and 19th positions respectively. African champions, Zambia occupy the fifth place with Egypt, Tunisia, Central African Republic, Gabon and Nigeria making up the top 10 ranked teams on the continent. World Champions, Spain retained the first position, followed by Germany with Argentina, Portugal, Italy, England, Netherlands, Colombia, Russia and Croatia completing the top 10 globally. GNA...
Tarkwa, Nov. 7, GNA - The circuit court in Tarkwa has sentenced a 20-year-old mason, Kwabena Abeka, to 2 years imprisonment in hard labour for unlawfully causing harm to his uncle, Kwasi Nyame. Abeka pleaded guilty to the charge. Chief Inspector Edward Paddy told the court presided over by Mr. Samuel Obeng Diawuo that on October 3, a misunderstanding ensued between Abeka and his uncle at the farm. The court heard that the convict became furious and hit the uncle on the head with a club, and he (uncle) collapsed. Chief Insp. Paddy said Akua Agyapomaah Hawa, who was on her way to the farm, saw Nyame lying on the ground, and she reported the case to the town folks. The prosecution said Nyame was sent to the Ateiku Hospital for treatment. Chief Insp. Paddy said after the incident, the convict went into hiding but he was arrested on October 7, at Enyinase, in the Western Region by a divisional chief of the town, Nana Kwamena Damoah III, and handed over to the police. GNA...
Accra, Nov. 7, GNA - Dr Angela El-Adas, Director General, Ghana AIDS Commission has said that the Commission is committed to renewing and ensuring the availability of female condoms in the country. She said the Commission would continue to support the Ghana Health Service in ensuring the training of service providers within the health sector as well as civil society organisations. Dr El-Adis, made this observation at the opening of a two-day female condom conference organized by the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa, (SWAA), Ghana on the theme, “Prevention, Pleasure and Protection”. The conference is to contribute to the re-awakening and ensuring sustained female condom procurement and advocacy leading to effective promotion and distribution in the country, as well as helping to improve reproductive health and rights. It was also to encourage the correct and consistent use of female condoms, and to increase uptake of the condoms nationwide, thereby contributing to the achievement of the national target of reducing new HIV infections by half by 2015. Dr El-Adis said female condoms were very important since they gave women greater control over safe sex negotiation, protected them from sexually transmitted infections including, HIV in cases where their partners were not receptive to using the male condom, and provided an additional option of contraception for couples. She said 60 per cent of women in Sub Saharan Africa were affected by HIV, while 56 per cent of affected persons in Ghana were women, adding that women in sub Saharan Africa were not only at risk of HIV/AIDS but were the most affected by the virus. Dr El-Adis assured that the female condoms had been tested and recommended and were 95 per cent secure all the time when used correctly and consistently as they protected women with the sense of security and from unwanted and unintended pregnancies. She urged all to support the reproductive rights of women, ensure the rights of women for HIV prevention, saying ""we must all wake up to promote, distribute, educate and use the female condoms"". Ms Nancy Ansah, President of SWAA Ghana said evidence had shown that Female Condom promotion, usage and accessibility had reduced drastically around the world, since there had not been any sustainable and integrated advocacy, promotion and distribution plan. She said the role of the female condom could not be underestimated since it was the only female device against unwanted pregnancies, HIV and other STIs. SWAA Ghana is a branch of SWAA International, a pan African women’s organisation established in 1990 which had since been actively involved in education and advocacy on HIV and AIDS and works in all the 10 regions of Ghana. It seeks to empower women to achieve quality sexual and reproductive health and rights by advocating through sensitization and engagement of the general public, to influence policies on sexual and reproductive health services and rights, contribute to the reduction of new HIV infection, stigma and discrimination and create a favourable policy environment. GNA...
Accra, Nov. 7, GNA – Ghana’s Black Stars will pitch their training camp for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital of Abu Dhabi.. According to the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the team will fine-tune their preparations for the 29th edition of the continental flagship football event in the gulf state from 7-16 January, 2013. The GFA says it opted for the Middle East against Ethiopia and Kenya due to the excellent facilities available comparable to South Africa, hosts of next year’s Africa Cup of Nations. “We settled on the UAE because of the excellent facilities comparable to what is in South Africa for the Cup of Nations. “The camping in the UAE will give our players the necessary concentration to prepare for the tournament. The UAE camping venue is also a good place for us to host friendly matches before the competition which is also key for our preparation,” said President Kwesi Nyantakyi. Before leaving for the Arabian nation, the Black Stars will hold a four-day non-residential camp in Accra from 2-6 January, 2013. Ghana are drawn in Group B alongside DR Congo, Mali and Niger. The Stars pitched camp in the UAE prior to the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, where they managed bronze on home soil. GNA...
Cape Coast, Nov. 7, GNA - Fifteen women from eleven of the 23 constituencies in the Central Region are contesting for parliamentary seats, in Election 2012. The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has the highest number of seven female aspirants, followed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), five, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), two, and the National Democratic Party (NDP), one. The Ghana News Agency learned that the Cape Coast North constituency has Dr. Mrs. Henrietta Abane, representing the NPP, and Mrs. Sarah Mary Bucknor for the PPP. The others are Mrs. Doreen Thomas Manieson, representing the PPP in the Komenda-Edna-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) constituency with Mrs. Veronica Esi Adu-Boateng vying on the ticket of the NDP in the Mfantseman constituency. For Gomoa West, Madam Leah Addison Simpson is standing for the PPP whilst another PPP candidate, Mrs. Grace Ignophia Appiah, is contesting the Gomoa Central seat with Ms. Rachel Florence Appoh, representing the NDC. Mrs. Mavis Hawa Koomson is the NPP candidate for Awutu Senya East and Madam Hanna Serwaah Tetteh of the NDC for the Awutu Senya West constituency. In the Agona East constituency, Mrs. Esther Aboagye is representing PPP while the NDC is represented by Mrs. Queenster Pokua Sawyer. Mrs. Georgina Nkrumah Aboa of the NDC is contesting with Mrs. Comfort Wilson Aggrey of PPP for the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa seat. For Assin Central, Mrs. Rosina Akuorkor Teye of PPP and Madam Sabina Appiah-Kubi, NDC are vying for the Assin South constituency seat. GNA...
Bekwai (Ash), Nov 7, GNA – Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is to address party supporters in the Asante-Bekwai Constituency on Tuesday November 13th. The event will enable the NPP flagbearer to make a statement to supporters in the constituency that the feud in the party was now over. The disputed 2008 parliamentary primary election threw the party office in the constituency into a turmoil, something that prevented Nana Akufo-Addo from campaigning in the area, though a traditional stronghold of the NPP. The seat was eventually won by an independent candidate, Mr Joe Osei-Wusu, who is now contesting the seat again but on the ticket of the NPP in the December polls. A press release signed by the Constituency Chairman, Mr Patrick Adu-Gyamfi, said there was now calm in the party and that all cracks had been mended. The presence of the flag-bearer, it noted could only invigorate the loyal supporters and give them the motivation and appetite to work hard and make the necessary sacrifices to substantially increase the party’s share of votes on December 7. GNA...
Accra, Nov 7, GNA- Black Stars Coach, Kwesi Appiah says his team is holding together with captain Asamoah Gyan who has just lost his mother. Gyan's mother, Cecilia Love Amoako passed away at the Ridge Hospital on Tuesday following a fatal accident around the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall in Accra. Appiah told GNA Sports: “I heard the sad news about the passing of Asamoah Gyan's mother and it is a very sad day for all of us in the football family.” “Indeed it is a very sad moment for those of us in football. My heart goes out to the player and his family. I will urge him and the family to stay strong in such a difficult moment. We are all holding together”. Gyan was appointed captain of the team barely a fortnight ago. He was expected to lead the Black Stars in an international friendly against Cape Verde in Lisbon, Portugal next week. His Black Stars teammate, Anthony Annan's mother also passed away when the team was in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. GNA...
Suhum, Nov. 07, GNA - Residents of Abobo Zonkor, a farming community near Suhum, have appealed to the District Directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to re-open the local junior high school which was closed down a year ago. Mr Emmanuel Budum, chairman of the Parent/Teacher Association (PTA), said closure of the school had brought hardship to parents. He told the Ghana News Agency that following the closure of the only school in the community, JHS pupils had to walk a distance of three kilometers to Suhum to attend school. Mr Budum said due to the long distance, many school children had stopped attending school, while some of them attend school twice in a week because their parents could not afford to pay their transportation to Suhum. Last year the district directorate of the GES closed down the school due to poor enrolment. Officials of the district directorate of the GES told the GNA that total enrolment was only six pupils before its closure. GNA...
Accra, Nov.7, GNA – Lawyers for Mrs Gifty Mawuenyega Tehoda, the dismissed police officer, on Wednesday amended an application she brought before the Human Rights Court seeking to enforce her human rights and an interim injunction against the Inspector General of Police over her dismissal. The plaintiff also cited two officials of the Police Administration for contempt of court for flouting the court’s orders by dismissing her while the case was pending in court. The officials who had been cited for contempt are Commissioner of Police Rose Bio Atinga and Chief Inspector Nantongma Yakubu Aggrey. In the main application Mrs Tehoda contends that her rights had been violated following her interdiction and subsequent dismissal. According to her, while the two actions were before the Human Rights Court, the Ghana Police Service served her with a dismissal letter thereby affecting the main action in court. Mr E.A Vedoagu, Counsel for Tehoda, said her client had filed a writ of summons seeking a number of reliefs from the court. He said the detention of Mrs Tehoda at the BNI and subsequent dismissal was unlawful and against her fundamental human rights. He said the allegation against her by the prosecution during the trial that she was the one who swapped the cocaine was wrong and with malicious intent. He said her client is also challenging that the Service Enquiry setup by the Police Service was illegal and a violation of the plaintiff’s human rights. Mr Vedoagu, said they are also seeking for compensation from the state for her wrongful dismissal from the service. On September 4, the Human Rights Court in Accra rejected the application for reinstatement of Mrs Tehoda into the Police Service on procedural grounds. DSP Tehoda was discharged three months ago for lack of evidence in the cocaine-turned-baking soda case. Prior to her discharge, the Police Service had interdicted her, stripping her of her position as the Deputy Head of the Commercial Crimes Unit of the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID). GNA...
Accra Nov. 7, GNA- The state on Wednesday prayed the Osu District Magistrate Court to give it a definite date so that the trial of Justin Katinan, an ally of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, could start. Katinan is to be extradited to Cote d’Ivoire to stand trial for alleged charges of robbery and murder. Mr Matthew Amponsah, Chief State Attorney, said they were filing the necessary documents for the extradition process and needed a definite date for trial to commence. Mr Patrick Sorgbodzor, counsel for Katinan, expressed his surprise at the submissions by the prosecution saying that it was the fourth time the state had made such a declaration. According to Mr Sorgbodzor it seemed the prosecution was not ready to start the process as such his client must be allowed to have his liberty. The court presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh, the Magistrate, urged the defence counsel to bear with the state and adjourned the case to December 20. Katinan was earlier on put before the Osu District court following charges of robbery preferred against him but was granted a GH50,000 cedis bail. However, on October 1, he was brought before an Accra Magistrate court charged with conspiracy to murder and two counts of murder. Katinan was said to have conspired with one Dalo Desire in Cote d’Ivoire to murder two men at Port Bouet in the Ivorian city of Abidjan. According to the report, the first murder of a 33-year-old welder, Kamagate Seyobou, took place on March 19, 2011 while the second one, of Diabate Drissa, 37, a trader, also took place on March 29, 2011, both at Port Bouet. A complainant, known as Kamgate Bakary, reported the incident to the Ivorian authorities. On September 29, this year, Ivorian authorities issued a warrant in respect of Katinan and informed the Ghanaian authorities that he was in Ghana and demanded his arrest. GNA...
Accra , Nov. 7, GNA - Ghana and the African Development Bank on Wednesday signed two financing agreements totalling 135 million dollars, to enhance the capacity of private sector institutions and to promote technical skills development. An amount of about 120 million dollars will be used for technical based skills training while 14.5 million dollars will go into institutional support projects. Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Finance and Economic Planning Minister signed for Ghana and Ms Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Resident Representative of the African Development Bank in Ghana initialled on behalf of her organisation. Dr Duffuor said government recognized the development of relevant technical skills as important to improving productivity and enhancing the country’s competitiveness. He said the development of job related competencies in Technical and Vocational skills was a catalyst for the development of small and medium scale enterprises, which represented a significant proportion of the country’s economy. The project, he said, would contribute to address the key issue of human capital development through increasing the capacity of the country to produce high calibre technical and vocational skills to facilitate readiness for technological change and meet the demands of industry. Specifically, the project aims to expand equitable access to public institutions, targeting females and the rural poor, improving the relevance and quality of Technical and Vocational Education training delivery and improving management of TVET at the coordination and school based institutional levels. On the institutional support project, Dr Duffuor said it would help strengthen the non-tax revenue mobilization framework, enhance the capacity of the Private Enterprise Foundation, National Board of Small Scale Industries and the Ghana Stock Exchange to support small and medium enterprise and enhance capacity in Financial sector policy formulation. In addition, the project will help in the development of an online Aid Management Information System to provide an automated platform to monitor and report on donor assisted activities thereby helping planners and policy makers to easily determine which donor is doing what, where and when. Ms Akin-Olugbade said the signing of the two agreements was a demonstration of the Bank’s continued engagement in Ghana and the beginning of the implementation of the Country Strategy Paper (CSP) approved in June this year. The CSP is the blueprint of the Bank Group operation spanning the period 2012-2016 and targets improving productivity in Ghanaian enterprises and supporting economic and structural reform aimed at improving the business environment. Ms Akin-Olugbade said the development of vocational skills would contribute to the provision of quality intermediate level, technical and vocational training skills needed to foster increased productivity and economic growth to reduce poverty. GNA...
Nyinahin (Ash), Nov 7, GNA – Mrs. Georgina Enyan, Atwima-Mponua District Director of Education, has asked teachers to show strong commitment and passion towards improving the quality of education. They should work hard, be punctual to school and make effective use of the contact hours. She was speaking at an orientation workshop held for 205 newly trained teachers posted to the district at Nyinahin. Mrs Enyan reminded them to uphold professional ethics and carry themselves with some dignity. She said they should not do anything that could create image problems for the teaching profession and praised the fresh teachers for accepting posting to the deprived communities. Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, underlined the need to strengthen supervision in schools and enforce discipline. This was necessary to enhance academic performance. He appealed to landlords to help provide accommodation for the teachers and other workers in the area. Mr Asiamah said they needed to be reasonable in their monthly rent demands. He promised to buy five motorbikes for those sent to the remotest parts of the district. The teachers were taken through the code of conduct of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and school community relationship among other things. GNA...
Sunyani, Nov. 7, GNA – The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has by the end of September this year, issued provisional licence to 216 microfinance companies to operate in the country. Five of the companies; Excel United Microfinance, Jopat Microfinance, KB Star Microfinance, Beneficial Microfinance and Big Dreams Microfinance, are in the Sunyani Municipality, Four of them; God is Perfect Microfinance, Golden Trust Microfinance, ACIT Capital Microfinance and Samag Microfinance, are in the Techiman Municipality one; Gifts Microfinance is at Dormaa Ahenkro. Mr Peter Ntsiful, Brong-Ahafo Regional Manager of BoG, who announced these through the Ghana News Agency, in Sunyani on Wednesday, lamented that some other microfinance companies were operating illegally throughout the country. He said the law enforcement agencies had been contacted to bring the culprits to book. Mr Ntsiful advised the general public to deal with microfinance companies that had obtained licence from the Central Bank. He warned the public of fraudulent microfinance companies that promise high interest rates and other incentives to entice clients. Mr Ntsiful said: “It is not practicable for a financial institution to offer 120 per cent interest rate or more within a year on the savings of customers. How can it pay the staff and other costs incurred during their operations”. The Banking Supervision Department of the BoG states that no person other than a body corporate, incorporated in Ghana shall be eligible to apply for a licence to carry out aspects of the microfinance business. Additionally, no person shall carry out microfinance business unless he or she has obtained from the BoG a licence for that purpose. On shareholding, the BoG stated that microfinance institutions such as Susu companies, deposit collection financial bodies and money lending companies should be restricted to only Ghanaians. Shareholding in non-deposit taking microfinance institutions may be exclusively Ghanaian, exclusively foreign or jointly Ghanaian and foreign. GNA...
Juaso (Ash), Nov 7, GNA – A policeman has appealed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies to insure motorbikes distributed to assembly members to provide some cover in the event of an accident. Police Inspector Manasseh Obimpe, Officer-in-charge of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) in the Asante-Akim South District, said they needed to recognize that riding uninsured motorbikes was an infraction of the law. He also suggested that the motorbikes should be registered in the names of the beneficiaries. Nana Yaw Osei, the assembly member for Tokwai and a lawyer, shared the views of the police officer and appealed to the assembly to act quickly on the insurance and ownership transfer. He rejected claims that the bikes were not the property of the assembly members and could not be transferred to them and said the assembly should have no difficulty passing a resolution to transfer the ownership to the members. Mr Kwadwo Akuamoah Boateng, the District Coordinating Director, said he was not in a position to facilitate the transfer of the bikes to the assembly members since there had not been any such directive from the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry. GNA...
Kumasi, Nov 7, GNA – Dr John Rex Gadzekpo, the Director of the Ghana Institute of Languages (GIL), has appealed to the students to help achieve the vision of the founding fathers by playing active role to consolidate the regional integration process. He said apart from learning and acquiring knowledge in different languages, the students owed it a duty to bring their colleagues from other countries together to promote African unity. He was speaking at a ceremony to formally admit 280 students into the Institute - the Kumasi campus. They are made up of 236 Ghanaians and 44 foreigners. Dr Gadzekpo said the GIL was a unique institution, bringing people of diverse cultures to interact and learn different languages, something that was critical for the continent’s integration. He advised the students to take advantage of the opportunity to break the language barriers and liberate the continent from the shackles of ignorance, diseases and conflicts. Mr Andrews Dery, the Head of the School, in Kumasi, said they were working hard to increase enrolment. As part of this, the school would launch vigorous campaign in the media to create awareness of the courses, programmes and the importance of learning foreign languages. He said a team would also be visiting second cycle institutions in the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo Regions to persuade students to enroll in the GIL. GNA...
Accra , Nov 7, GNA - At least one person is dead, while an unknown number of persons are trapped under rubble of the collapsed building that housed the Achimota branch of the Melcom Shopping Centre in Accra. Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, who went to the site on Wednesday, said rescue workers were trying to reach the trapped persons and provide ventilation to them. He has declared the collapse of the building a national disaster. Earth moving equipment are trying to make sure that ventilation reaches those trapped. Vice President Amissah Arthur said two people were taken out of the rubble initially but one did not survive. Some of the trapped people were speaking and there was the need to have silence for rescue workers to hear them and reach them early, he said. "They (rescue team) are trying to find ways to get ventilation to them," Mr Amissah-Arthur said, and appealed to the hundreds of onlookers around the area to move further away from the scene to enable the rescue team to effectively carry out their duty. Asked about the cause of collapse of the building, the Vice President said it was not the time to speculate and added "Let us rescue those trapped now," he said, adding that the rescue of those under the rubble was a matter of priority. Mr Amissah-Arthur said the number of those trapped was unknown and asked members of the public to cooperate with the task force at the site, made up of the Fire Service, National Ambulance, Police and a detachment from the Ghana Armed Forces to do their work. The Vice President was accompanied by Ms Hannah Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuye, Mayor of Accra, Lieutenant General (rtd) Henry Smith, Minister of Defence, and MadamElizabeth Sackey, Member of Parliament of Okaikoi North. The six-storey building was believed to have collapsed around 0940 hours with an unknown number of people trapped inside. An official statement signed by John Abdulai Jinapor, Presidential Spokesperson, said the President had directed the Vice President, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, the Chief of Staff, Mr John Martey Newman the Interior and Defence Ministers and the Security Chiefs to supervise and coordinate the rescue efforts. The statement said President Mahama had suspended his campaign tour of the Upper East Region and was heading to the site of the collapsed building at Achimota. It said the President was minutes away from his first point of call, Bawku, when he received briefing from the Chief of Staff on the incident. “The President was informed about the collapse of the building a short while ago and he is returning to Accra immediately,” a source close to the president told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) earlier. The the president’s convoy, which was close to Bawku, turned around to return to Bolgatanga, the regional capital. A message to Castle correspondents from Mr Jinapor read: “The President has suspended his campaign in the wake of trapped persons in the collapse of the Achiomota Melcom building.” The president was due to visit Bawku, Garu Tampe, Zebila and Binduri among others on Wednesday. A number of people are feared to have been killed. Rescue teams are at the site trying to reach survivors. GNA...
Bomaa (B/A), Nov. 7, GNA - Barima Katakyie Kwarfo Akoto, Omanhene of Bomaa Traditional Area, has inaugurated an internet café and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) training centre at Bomaa. The facility is estimated at about GHC5, 000.00 Mr Julius Nimfour, Examination Coordinator of Ghana Education Service (GES), said education was an investment of human capital therefore parents should ensure their children attained the best education. He said the 21st century required students who were well abreast with modern technology in order to solve their own problems, and appealed to teachers to improve their knowledge to enhance teaching and learning. Mrs Freda Prempeh, the New Patriotic Party parliamentary candidate for Tano North, ituency expressed appreciation to Barima Katakyie Kwarfo Akoto and appealed to students to make good use of the facility. Nana Opoku Nyantakyi, Bomaa Ankobeahene, appealed to traditional rulers to be circumspect as the nation prepared for Election 2012. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Barima Katakyie Kwarfo Akoto said since technology was advancing there was the need to establish the centre for the people. He appealed to the youth to take advantage of the opportunity and establish themselves after training to avoid indulging in social vices such as smoking and alcoholism which is rampant in the community. GNA...
Sekondi, Nov.7, GNA - The nationwide strike action embarked upon about one week ago, by the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) has not been called off. The Western Regional Executive Committee (WREC) of the association said this in a statement signed by its secretary, Mr. Abraham Quayson, copied to GNA in Sekondi. It said the WREC expressed regret about a press release issued by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of CLOGSAG on Tuesday, asking for the strike to be called off. According to the statement, the Regional Executive Committee said it found NEC’s action unconstitutional because such directive could only be given by the National Executive Council. It called on Regional Executives of the association to ignore this unconstitutional action by the NEC, until the National Executive Council meets to consider an intervention by the Civil Service Council. The WREC said, “On this note, we call on our members to continue with the strike unabated until the National Executive Council meets to consider otherwise”. The statement explained that the strike action was in response to Government’s indecision to pay premium to CLOGSAG members. It said: “We take this opportunity to thank our loyal members who rallied solidly behind us in the various districts in this fight for equity and fairness in the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure”. GNA...
(A GNA feature by Mohammed Nurudeen Issahaq) Accra, Nov. 7, GNA - "By the edge of Kodero Forest in remote western Kenya, local hunters discovered the body of 31-year-old newspaper reporter Francis Nyaruri, decapitated and grotesquely disfigured, his hands tied behind his back to render him helpless. It was January 29, 2009, two weeks after the reporter had gone missing while on a trip to Kisii, about 30 kilometers from his home in Nyamira", goes a news item on the website of Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) written by Tom Rhodes and Clifford Derrick. And in another episode, an online story from The Associated Press and ‘Haaretz’ Hebrew news website, dated April 18, 2008 says: “The Israel Defence Forces announced Sunday the launching of a formal investigation into the killing of a Reuters cameraman in Gaza, after a US-based human rights group accused troops of either firing recklessly or targeting the cameraman. Fadel Shana was killed while filming an IDF tank in Gaza on Wednesday, a day of heavy fighting”. The spate of attacks and threats against the safety of journalists, as well as incidents affecting their ability to exercise free expression, has rapidly gained ground over time. Statistics gathered by the Committee to Protect Journalists testify to the staggering number of journalists and media workers killed while performing their professional duties. According to CPJ, 943 journalists have been killed worldwide since 1992, with 48 having lost their lives in the line of duty in 2012 so far. Syria tops the list of countries classified as “Deadliest” countries in 2012 with 20 murdered journalists, followed by Somalia which accounts for ten. Next is Pakistan where five journalists have been killed and Brazil with three journalists murdered for doing their job. Since January this year, one journalist each has been reported killed in Lebanon, Indonesia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Brazil, Nigeria, Tanzania, Bahrain and Thailand. Since the onset of the war in Iraq in 2003, more than 280 journalists have been killed there, according to a U.N Human Rights Commission report. CPJ research further indicates that 57 journalists fled their countries of origin in the past year, with Somalia sending the greatest number into exile. Journalists also fled Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Rwanda – mostly to Kenya and Uganda. At least 26 journalists worldwide have disappeared while doing their work. Although some of them are feared dead, no bodies have been found, and they are therefore not classified as "Killed." Syria, Mexico, Ukraine, Iraq, Dem Rep of Congo, Algeria, Russia and Rwanda to mention but some. The safety of journalists and the struggle against impunity are essential to preserve the fundamental right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Without freedom of expression, and particularly freedom of the press, an informed and active citizenry, that essential critical mass required to make participation in the governance process a reality would be lacking. In an environment where journalists are not safe, citizens cannot access useful information. Hence, the benefits of democratic governance such as poverty reduction; gender equality and empowerment of women; the pursuit of justice and human rights; conservation of the environment, among other ideals, would be but a mirage. Indeed journalists’ ability to carry out their professional duties without hindrance deserves to be protected, considering the sacrifices they make to serve the public interest. Their presence in conflict areas, for instance, is important as they convey vital information from those hot spots to the rest of the international community. In times gone-by, the inscription “PRESS” on a vehicle or on a badge worn by anyone in a conflict zone was enough to insulate them against any form of attack or harassment wherever they went. The reality on the ground today is that journalists are increasingly being regarded as legitimate targets rather than impartial observers. Declarations such as “Those who live by the pen will die by the sword”, purported to have been issued by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria [Onadipe and Lord, 2007], provide a vivid insight into the mindset of such lawless elements. Little wonder, therefore, that the number of journalists killed while performing their legitimate duties around the world continues to soar. With the exception of a few instances, those journalists who got killed were not caught in crossfire or got shot accidentally. Rather, they were deliberately targeted and killed by combatants in the conflict zone, without any provocation. The vast majority of them were murdered outright in cold blood – such as shot by a gunman escaping on a motorcycle, shot or stabbed to death near their home or office, or found dead after having been abducted and tortured. The question that begs for explanation is: “Why media personnel?” There are no easy answers but some analysts view the trend as an act of desperation on the part of warring factions, while others interpret it as a demonstration of disdain/contempt by the perpetrators for civilized order and a challenge statement to the rest of the international community. And just before anyone gets trapped in the erroneous belief that those tragedies happen only in faraway places, it has to be recalled that similar instances of impunity have been recorded right here in Ghana in recent history. “THE body of Mr. Samuel Best Ennin, the enterprising and dynamic journalist whose life was snuffed out of him … by unknown assassins through gunshot, was at the weekend laid to rest at his hometown, Bribiwomanmu near Jakobu in the Amansie Central District of Ashanti”, a report on the website ModernGhana.com and dated 3rd April, 2007 announced. News about the shocking murder of Samuel Ennin, former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) is still fresh on the minds of members of the fraternity and his immediate family. The slain Regional GJA chairman, who was also the News Editor of Ashh FM in Kumasi, was sitting over drinks with some colleagues at Liberal Spot, a drinking joint in Kumasi on the night of February 9, 2007, when two armed men stormed the place and shot him in the midsection and the neck. To demonstrate the seriousness with which it viewed the late Samuel’s murder, the national executive of the GJA publicly pledged to give the police GH¢1,000 if they were able to apprehend the perpetrators of the crime. In April 2007, the police paraded Sheriff Kabore and Kwame Ayew, in front of journalists in Kumasi and claimed they were the killers of Ennin. From then on, the wheels of justice appeared to grind too slowly and even to date, five years down the lane, the case remains inconclusive. In fact, the Police and the Attorney-General’s Department have all gone silent about it. Has the matter been struck out? If so, on what grounds? And if not, what is being done as far as the prosecution of the alleged murderers is concerned? Or has Samuel Ennin’s case become another one of the numerous unresolved/abandoned ones of its kind that seem to have become the “Achilles’ heel” of the criminal justice system in the developing world! In the vast majority of such cases the perpetrators of these crimes are never prosecuted, especially in the so-called Third World. Hence, the problem of impunity arising from the failure to comprehensively investigate the murders of unarmed and defenceless journalists around the world and bring the perpetrators to justice, qualifies as an emergency and must begin to receive more attention from governments, human rights organisations and civil society as a whole. In response to such disturbing incidents, a number of protocols have been passed by the United Nations Security Council and other concerned international agencies against the deliberate targeting of journalists at the warfront, one of such protocols being the UN Resolution 1738. Article 79 of the Geneva Convention on measures of protection for journalists says among other things that journalists engaged on professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians. That they shall be protected as such under the Conventions, provided that they do not undertake actions that will contravene/compromise their status as civilians. As beneficiaries of the protection conferred by International Humanitarian Law on civilians, therefore, journalists and war correspondents are insulated against the effects of hostilities and against arbitrary conduct on the part of any party to the conflict even if they are taken captive. These conventions and protocols notwithstanding, the wanton killing of journalists in conflict zones has continued unabated and, interestingly, the day is yet to come when even just one member of a belligerent faction will be hauled before a court of law anywhere in the world for slaying a journalist with impunity. Therefore, more than anything else, it is the lack of prosecution that emboldens criminal elements in conflict zones to perpetrate more atrocities, knowing for sure that they can get away with it. So in addition to preventive measures, the fight against impunity and the promotion of the safety of journalists require the adoption of tougher action against those found culpable. Such acts amount to war crimes and can be prevented only if the International War Crimes Tribunal exerts pressure on world leaders to ensure that perpetrators are smoked out from wherever they may be and brought to justice. Furthermore, public awareness must be raised not only about these challenges but also the consequences that arise from a failure to act. Observed Barry James in his work on ‘Press Freedom’ (2000): “Every journalist killed or neutralized by terror is an observer less of the human condition. Every attack distorts reality by creating a climate of fear and self-censorship”....
Nsawkaw (B/A), Nov. 7,GNA - Mr Kwame Afram Denkyira, Programme Officer for Education at Action Aid Ghana, has said inadequate qualified teachers had contributed to the poor performance of Junior High School students in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Tain District and newly-created Banda District. He said the students’ performance declined from 63 per cent in 2010 to 51 per cent in 2011. Mr Denkyira said this at the Tain District Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) Network Platform at Nsawkaw in the Tain District. The programme was jointly undertaken by Action Aid Ghana and Social, Development and Improvement Agency to present their findings on factors affecting quality education in the districts and parliamentary candidates in the area attended. Mr Denkyira said BECE results in the Tain District in the past had not been consistent because it improved from 37 per cent in 2005 to 41 per cent in 2006, 42 per cent in 2007 to 44 per cent in 2008 and declined to 36 per cent in 2009. He appealed to the government to invest more in education to guarantee human resources for the nation and the need for the implementation of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) at the basic level. “Children’s right to education is among the fundamental human rights enshrined in all international documents which have been rectified by the state and in the 1992 Constitution,” he said. Mr Ibrahim Ahmed, Member of Parliament for Tain and NDC parliamentary candidate for Bandam, said ensuring quality education had been a major concern in the constituency. He said land had been acquired in every community to construct teachers’ bungalows and well furnished to attract more teachers and retain them in the area. Mr Ahmed said 20 teachers in the area would be sponsored to the university to improve teaching and motivate teachers to accept postings to the district. Mr Paul Amoh Paul, Secretary of the PTA Network, said most of the teachers in 13 out of the 15 communities in the district visited were not trained and only two had received two weeks of training against the policy of a three-week training required. Mr Amoh said out of the 183 teachers made up of 53 women and 130 men, 74 of them were pupil teachers and most of them did not attend classes because of irregular payment of their allowances. He appealed to the parliamentary candidates to ensure strict implementation of the policy to provide training as required and ensure payment of their allowances to ensure punctuality in schools. Mr Amoh urged the district assemblies to implement sponsorship schemes for teacher trainees and provide teachers with accommodation in deprived communities as well as the establishment of kindergarten required by the policy. GNA...
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