The government is in the process of renegotiating a stability agreement with mining companies to increase the royalty that the country gets from the extractive sector. President John Dramani Mahama said the renegotiation of the stability agreement was crucial because the existing one between the government and the mining companies lasted for up to 20 years. As a result, he said, even if the prices of gold and other resources went up on the international market, the mining companies stuck to the same amount of royalty. President Mahama was speaking yesterday during a courtesy call on him by members of the Economic Commission for Africa High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. The nine-member delegation was led by a former South African President, Mr Thabo Mbeki. The panel The High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa was formed, in collaboration with the African Union, in 2011, to engage with African leaders to find measures to deal with illicit financial transfers from Africa. Members are in the country for a consultation meeting on illicit financial inflows for 25 countries from West and Central Africa. The meeting is to raise awareness of the issue and come up with appropriate recommendations to deal with it. They had earlier held a consultation meeting in Tunisia for north African countries and another one in Zambia for south and east African countries. Africa has been losing $50 billion a year in the last 10 years from illicit financial inflows. The major culprits of illicit financial inflows are transnational companies. Stability agreement President Mahama noted that the competition among countries to attract investment in the extractive sector encouraged mining companies to sign the stability agreement with very low royalty for the countries. Fortunately, he said, many of the countries had now realised the harm. He said gold was a non-renewable resource, hence the need for the country to renegotiate the stability agreement to enable it to get a fair share from the resource. He said many of the companies had agreed on the renegotiation and indicated that the government was in the process of doing so. Tax break The President expressed worry that many foreign companies flouted the seven-year tax break that was given to them. For instance, he said, just before the seven years, the companies changed ownership, which meant that the country could not get any tax from them. President Mahama said the Financial Intelligence Centre which had been tracking the movement of money in the country had made some arrests, while investigations were ongoing. Besides, he said, the Bank of Ghana was monitoring illicit financial transfers. Pan African Parliament President Mahama said critical issues, such as illicit money transfers, could be best dealt with from a continental level, instead of dealing with them at the level of individual countries. He, therefore, advocated the empowering of the Pan African Parliament to pass laws that the member countries could domesticate in their respective parliaments. Thabo Mbeki In his remarks, Mr Mbeki said Africa lost a lot of capital through illicit money transfers. "If we can retain the money, it will help us address our development challenges," he said. The former South African President said it was necessary to have a close look at the issue of illicit movement of money and make recommendations on what should be done to address the issue in Africa. He underscored the need for civil society organisations to liaise with the government to deal with illicit money transfers.  

  The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, yesterday presented vocational and technical equipment worth more than GH¢850,000 to the Community Development Vocational and Technical Institute (CDVTI) in Accra. The equipment included tools for hairdressing, masonry, carpentry/joinery, catering, electricals, auto mechanics and dressmaking.  They form part of the ministry’s aim of equipping young ladies with male-dominated skills through the Gender Responsive Skills and Community Development Project (GRSCDP). The GRSCDP, which is a four-year Government of Ghana and African Development Bank (AfDB) project, is being implemented in 59 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) across the country. As part of the project which will elapse at the end of December 2013, 668 young girls from poor households have benefitted from skills training in masonry, plumbing, auto engineering and electricals, among others. The project is being implemented in 25 CDVTIs across the country. Mrs Oye Lithur, before presenting the items, said the GRSCDP was aimed at bridging the gender inequality gap in the area of job placements in the country.  She assured that her ministry was going to ensure that the project was extended so as to benefit more young girls from poor households. According to her, the ministry was focused on training young girls to acquire male dominated vocations so that they could take up jobs that would help improve their finances. She said her ministry was working at ensuring that it became more responsive to the needs of women, children and the vulnerable in society, adding that among some of the strategies that had been adopted included ensuring that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) were more sensitive in the area of gender budgeting.  The acting Project Manager, Mrs Cathrine Bob-Milliar, in an address, said the project had chalked up a lot of successes in the delivery of its mandate. Some of the successes she said included the training of 25 staff of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) in information and communication technology (ICT), as well as the provision of scholarships for eight staff of the MoGSCP, the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP). The project, she said, had also provided a total of 125 computers to vocational and technical institutes in parts of the country. Mrs Bob-Milliar called on the management of the CDVTIs to ensure that they maintained the equipment well. Writer’s email: [email protected]  

  As  part of activities to mark this year’s celebration of 16-days of activism against gender-based violence, the Ark Foundation has organised a community durbar to sensitise people to the need to protect children in homes. Organised under its ‘Girl Power Project’,  the durbar was held in the East Akim municipality of the Eastern Region, under the theme, “Child Protection: The Role of the Community”, and it brought together chiefs and elders, schools, assembly members, unit committee members, churches, opinion leaders, community child protection team and members of the community to discuss issues of child protection. They also shared experiences on ways to promote and protect children at the community level. The durbar formed part of activities under the Girl Power Project (GPP), which was aimed at helping girls and young women who live in an environment where there is respect for their human rights and dignity, so they could fully participate in the social, political and economic development of society.   This year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, which is from November 25 to December 10 every year, is being celebrated on the theme, “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women.”  The theme, according to the foundation,  capitalises on the crucial importance of an all-encompassing approach to end violence against women stating that as gender-based violence happens at all levels of society, it takes a concerted effort of all members of society to end the systems that perpetuate the violence.  To ensure that the theme becomes a reality, the Ark has called on the government, communities and families to intensify actions that protect children to ensure their survival, development and active participation in society.   

  The Micro and Small Loans Scheme (MASLOC) has given out GH¢44,000 in loans to 45 queens in the Central Region to support their business ventures. The President of the Central Regional Queens Association, Nana Ama Amissah, who is the Queen of Mankessim, received the money and thanked the scheme for the support. Nana Amissah said considering the unique role queens played in society, they could not engage in menial jobs. It was based on that, she said, that they appealed to MASLOC to grant them loans that would enable them to engage in decent jobs and also enable others to expand their businesses. The Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC, Mrs Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, said the scheme needed to recover about GH¢65 million in loans owed by people to continue to sustain it.  She said although the scheme had helped to change the lives of many, there was the need to get the people to repay the loans. Mrs Attionu, who was in the Central Region for a day’s working visit, also called on the Central Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Sarpong, and held a meeting with officials of the regional office of MASLOC. She told Mr Sarpong that MASLOC would improve the supervision and monitoring of loan beneficiaries to ensure that the beneficiaries paid back the loans. Mr Sarpong promised to help ensure the effective monitoring of MASLOC-assisted projects in the region. Mrs Attionu later interacted with fishmongers at Moree and assured them that MASLOC would commit more resources to support many of them if they paid their loans promptly. The women called for the prompt disbursement of the loans to meet the fishing season to ensure that their use was maximised. The Central Regional Manager of MASLOC, Mr Peter Dadzie, assured the beneficiaries of the scheme’s support to ensure that they maximised profits.  

  Public transport  fares will not be increased, despite a three-per cent upward adjustment in fuel prices by  the government, the Greater Accra Chairman of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Mr Robert Sarbah, has said. The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) revised upwards the prices of petroleum products with effect from Sunday, December 1, 2013, but Mr Sarbah told the Daily Graphic that the recent increment did not allow the union to increase transportation fares due to a convention that transport associations had signed with the government. According to him, the convention allowed the unions to increase transport fares only when there was a fuel increase of five per cent or more. He, however, explained that if there was another fuel increase which added up to the five per cent with the present imcrease, then the union would be compelled to increase public transportation fares. The GPRTU and the Progressive Transport Owners Association  (PROTOA) are the two major road transport unions in the country. The two operate under the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council. An increase in the prices of fuel triggered an upward review of public transport fares in September this year. No increase in fares This time round, the situation is different, as commercial drivers say they have not been instructed by their leaders to increase fares.  Mr Micheal Koomson, a ‘trotro’ driver plying between the Tema Station and Kasoa and belonging to the GPTRU, indicated that he and his colleagues at the station had not been asked by their leaders to increase the fare.  He said they only complied with instructions from the leaders. He stated that the decision by the leaders for them not to increase the fare posed no financial burden on them, as the fuel increase was minimal. Mr Kassim of Tema-Station to Odorkor shared a similar view, stating that “once we have not had any directive from our leaders, we will not increase the fare”. The NPA also increased the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 11 per cent and that of kerosene by 10.99 per cent.  Gas oil, which sold at 222GP a litre, will now be 226Gp per litre.  Premix fuel, however, saw no change in price. It will still sell at 116Gp per litre.  

  The Merchant Bank may have been stopped from recovering huge debts owed it by Engineers and Planners. But in a rebuttal, the Minister of Information and Media Relations, Mr Mahama Ayariga, said the President was not personally involved in the case nor tried to stop Merchant Bank from retrieving its debt. Engineers and Planners is owned by the President’s brother, Mr Ibrahim Mahama. “As the controversy over the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortis continues, it has emerged that the Presidency was petitioned to intervene in the matters surrounding the recovery of huge debts from Engineers and Planners, a company owned by Ibrahim Mahama,” a Joy news report has suggested. The report said lawyer for Engineers and Planners, Mr Tony Lithur, petitioned the President to intervene on the company’s behalf. Reacting to the report, Mr Ayariga stated that President Mahama’s intervention was triggered by the petition brought to government’s attention and that “President Mahama never directed the bank and its board as to what to do. He insisted that “President Mahama will not stand in the way of Merchant Bank to retrieve their money even if the person was his brother” and that his intervention was to give the parties hearing regarding the petition. Mr Ayariga explained that the firm was given the loan during Kufuor’s Administration and given five years but this was varied unilaterally to three and that the petitioners felt that it was politically motivated, hence their decision to appeal to the President.  The bank had attempted to recover a debt of $38 million from Engineers and Planners. According to the report, the bank’s board described the debt in a letter to the President, in response to Mr. Lithur’s petition as constituting 30 per cent of its 50 per cent non-performing loan portfolio. It said in that letter, the Merchant Bank Board referred to various meetings its chairperson had had with President John Mahama and his predecessor, President John Mills where they were asked on one occasion to explain to President Mahama why they refused to release funds to Engineers and Planners to meet their operational cost. After months of defaulting on its loan, Merchant Bank wrote a final letter to Mr Ibrahim Mahama on June 18, 2012 demanding repayment of a loan the company took from the bank but failed to pay on the due dates. It threatened to resort to legal action to retrieve the money if E&P failed to pay up. It said the threat probably triggered a petition to the President through the National Security Advisor by Mr. Lithur dated 4 July, 2012 and was received at the office of the President on 13 of July, 2012. Source: Joy FM  

The Chief Executive Officer of Tobinco, Samuel Tobin has been arrested and detained at the Nima Police Station, Asempa FM can confirm. It is not clear yet what he has been detained for but it may be related to recent media reports about the importation of fake drugs into the country by Tobinco. The Pharmaceutical giants have been in a tussle with the FDA over reports it imported fake drugs into the country. Tobinco has vehemently denied the allegation but conceded the G-Sunate plus it imported into the country was yet to be clinically tested on humans and was yet to be registered by the Regulator. The FDA proceeded to lock Warehouses belonging to Tobinco, an action the pharmaceutical giant believed was a witch-hunt. The controversy was taken to the Presidency, the Judiciary and Parliament in an attempt to resolve the impasse. The Chief Executive Officer of FDA Stephen Opuni was only Saturday reasigned to head the COCOBOD. It is not clear if the reappointment had anything to do with the ongoing controversy. On Monday, the CEO of Tobinco was also detained, Asempa FM reported on its Ekosii-sen programme. Even though a close source confirmed the detention he was not ready to go on record. The source say lawyers are working feverishly to secure bail for Tobin. 

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti claims he would turn the down chance to sign Barcelona forward Lionel Messi because he already has Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese has received widespread acclaim for his performances this season, including a stunning hat-trick for his country in the second leg of their World Cup play-off with Sweden, which sealed their place at Brazil 2014. The 28-year-old has also excelled at club level too and is a firm favourite to lift the Ballon d'Or in January, and Ancelotti says he would strengthen in other positions of his side rather than bring in the Argentine to the Bernabeu. "If I could sign one player for Real Madrid, it wouldn't be Messi, I'd rather reinforce another position," he told Italian broadcaster Radio Capital. "We have Cristiano, who needs Messi? God gave him [Ronaldo] a special gift." However, Ancelotti did joke that the capital outfit might be interested in bringing Messi to the club should Barca decide to sell the Argentine. He added: "If Barca sell Messi, they should call us."

 The Minister for Education, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has defended the government’s decision to scrap allowances for students in Colleges of Education (Teacher Training Colleges) across the country. The decision to scrap the Gh₵400 monthly allowance has been unpopular among trainee teachers across the country, with some of them wearing red arm bands to classrooms in a bid to impress upon the government to restore the allowance. Prof. Opoku-Agyemang is, however, convinced that the decision is a good one. According to her, since Colleges of Education have become degree-awarding institutions, it would be inappropriate to pay allowances to their students without extending a similar gesture to trainee teachers at institutions such as the University of Cape Coast and the University of Education, Winneba. “College of education is a tertiary institution just as universities are tertiary institutions. It’s difficult to understand why [students of] one should be paid to learn. In terms of justice, in terms of equity, it didn’t sound like a good idea,” she told Accra-based Radio Gold Monday. Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said due to the huge sums of money required to pay the allowance of trainee teachers, Colleges of education were unable to admit students beyond a certain government-defined quota. The scrapping of the allowance, she said, has now opened the way for many more students to be admitted. Explaining further, she said enrollment in the Colleges of Education increased from 9000 to 15,400 this year as a result of the allowance cut. “It’s a matter of opening door to many more people. Education is important, many more people must have access to education and this is what we are doing,” the Minister added.   Unapproved fees Touching on her Ministry’s drive to ensure that only fees approved by the Ghana Education Service (GES) are charged by secondary schools across the country, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said a hotline would be set up to enable parents report schools that charge unapproved fees. According to her, “extortionary measures” had been used in some schools to compel students to pay between Gh₵1500 and GH₵1700 in school fees instead of about GH₵600. She said action had been taken against some school heads that were found to have charged such unapproved fees. The Minister said efforts to clamp down on many more of such school heads were being hampered by the reluctance of some parents to report unapproved charges out of fear that their children will be victimised.   Quality education Prof Opoku-Agyemang also spoke of efforts to improve quality of education in the country. She said while Ghana’s education system was currently “very good”, it could get better if all stakeholders played their part in improving it. “In order to have quality education, we need quality teachers, quality students, students who are interested in learning, we need teachers who are committed to teaching, we need parents and guardians who are playing their role, we need the government to play its role also,” she stated. The Minister said the government lead the way by eliminating ‘schools under trees’ in the country and ensuring that existing educational structures had good supply of water and toilet facilities. She said social intervention programmes such as the supply of uniforms, learning materials and food to needy students would be intensified, while government would continue to invest in the training of teachers. She said 20,000 teachers had been trained in the use of laptops, while 30,000 were currently undergoing training as part of efforts to equip students with ICT skills. Mrs Opoku-Agyemang appealed to teachers to work hard in the classroom and avoid absenting themselves from school. “Many teachers are doing well, but others are not pulling their weight,” she said, warning that Ghana’s current 27 per cent teacher absenteeism rate was unacceptable. The Education Minister also urged school heads to play their part in ensuring that the quality of education is improved.

Refund of electricity bills based on the recently increased 79 per cent tariff which was reduced by 25 per cent begins this month. That was announced by the Divisional Manager in charge of Public Relations of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr William Boateng, at Koforidua. The Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) recently upped tariffs by 79 per cent,  which led to labour agitations, forcing the government to come in as a result of which the tariffs were slashed by 25 per cent. However, to enable the ECG to be on its feet financially to continue with its services, the government decided to absorb  the 25 per cent shortfall and reimburse the ECG. In an encounter with the media, Mr Boateng said consumers would have the refunds reflected on their December receipts and that of the subsequent months depending on the period of future purchases of the utility. He, therefore,  allayed fears that payments for the reduction would not be implemented. Mr Boateng, who did not elaborate on the circumstances leading to the increases, however,  indicated that  the government’s  intervention had brought peace and at the same time provided a guaranteed fund to enable the ECG to perform creditably. In answer to a question on street lights, Mr Boateng explained that installation and maintenance of such lights were not the responsibility of the ECG but rather the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, adding that the ECG only gave technical advice. The acting Eastern Regional Manager of the ECG, Mr Abraham Abebrese Anokye, briefed the gathering on a number of substations and other projects the company was currently undertaking in the region to improve service delivery. These included two primary substations in Koforidua, 33kv switching/primary station at Suhum, renovation of the Akwatia Bulk Supply Point and the construction of a double circuit line linking Tafo, Koforidua and Bunso which had been completed. He indicated that although his outfit was going the extra mile to better serve the people, frequent thefts of the company’s copper conductors were adversely affecting its operations and called on the public to help apprehend the culprits. Aluminum replaces copper The ECG, he stated, was on the other hand replacing the copper conductors with that of aluminum which was not attractive to the thieves. He also called on consumers to regularly pay their bills to make it possible for the company to generate funds to better serve the public.

The government is to incorporate family planning services for mothers into the free maternal care under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the country. The programme is to be run in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The Minister of Health, Ms Sherry Ayittey, announced this at the launch of the Dissemination of the Campaign on Accelerated Reduction in Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) Accountability Report and the Maternal and New Born Health Week Celebration in Accra. President John Dramani Mahama, who performed the launch, pledged his commitment to allocate more resources to build more health care centres and train more midwives to ensure the delivery of timely and efficient health care to pregnant women. CARMMA The CARMMA is an African Union initiative to promote and advocate renewed and intensified implementation of the Maputo Plan of Action for the Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa. The CARMMA accountability report, titled "Rising to Meet the Challenge of Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Ghana," captures the achievable commitments from 10 regions and 175 districts in the country to reduce maternal mortality. The launch was attended by regional ministers, health professionals and representatives of civil society organisations. It was held on the theme: "No Woman Should Die Giving Life: The Role of Local Authorities." Healthcare Ms Ayittey said the addition of family planning to the free maternal care was to provide improved family planning services for mothers. "It is to make sure that every woman has access to a family planning facility," she added. CHPS Compound The minister said the government, in collaboration with donor partners, would put up 2,000 Community Health Programme and Service (CHPS) compounds by the end of 2014. Besides, she said, more midwives and nurses would be trained and attached to the CHPS compounds to provide efficient health care for mothers. Consequently, she said, all the regions would be divided into zones to guide the supply of the midwives and nurses. She noted that the failure of many women to seek antenatal care and qualified care during delivery was the main cause of maternal mortality and added that the government would collaborate with civil society organisations and drama groups to educate women on the need to seek early care. Ms Ayittey said the government would intensify the national ambulance service to give instant emergency healthcare services to mothers. Maternal mortality Ms Ayittey said although the rate of materiality mortality had reduced over the years, "the figures are still not desirable." She added that maternal mortality was not an issue for the family or women alone but it was a developmental issue, which required the support of all. She, therefore, asked local authorities to agree to bear some costs in the operations of healthcare providers in their respective areas.

A United Nations report has shown that Ghanaian children stand the risk of intellectual disabilities because of exposure to lead contained in paints.   The report revealed that young children and pregnant women in developing countries including Ghana were exposed to high levels of toxic lead in paints used to decorate toys. It said parents, through no fault of theirs, may be exposing their children to the poisonous substance when they paint their child’s nursery or handing them a colourful toy. According to the report by the United Nations Environment Programme high levels of lead, which is normally added as a pigment is most present in bright colours such as yellow and red. The report said lead in paint poses a problem because children ingest lead during normal hand to mouth behaviour. It further noted that, damage to children’s intelligence and mental development occurs even when there are no obvious or clinical signs of lead poisoning. “When children are exposed to lead, this tends to decrease their performance in school and their lifelong productivity as part of the national labor force,” the report said. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), while childhood lead exposure contributes to an estimated 600,000 new cases of intellectual disabilities, an estimated 143,000 deaths are recorded annually. The research analyzed enamel decorative paints from Argentina, Azerbaijan, Chile, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia and Uruguay. The report is aimed at raising awareness among Governments, manufacturers and consumers not just that the problem exists, but that there are cheaper and safer alternatives to lead already in.

The Greater Accra Regional Health Management Team has held a meeting to discuss efforts underway to reduce maternal deaths in the region. For three days, representatives of28 health facilities shared ‘Best practices and innovations for the reduction in maternal and perinatal deaths in the various hospitals and clinics. Best practices Dr Mark Aglobitse of the Achimota Hospital said since 2011 there had been no maternal death at the hospital, which sees over 8,000 antenatal clinic registrants a year. The hospital, he explained, had achieved that through innovations adopted which had greatly reduced risk factors. He cited, for example, the fact that the hospital had expanded its maternity wing and added a theatre, adding, “This has reduced referrals, as the hospital is able to deal with more cases.” The expansion had also improved client flow, thereby reducing waiting time, he noted.  Dr Emmanuel K. Srofenyoh of the Ridge Hospital also listed many innovations undertaken by the hospital to reduce maternal deaths. Among those were the creation and utilisation of a triage area at the Labour Ward for initial assessment of all patients to pick those who needed immediate attention.  The hospital, he said, also used colour-coded wrist bands to help identify high-risk patients and foetal monitoring had also been improved. Furthermore, convertible labour beds had been procured to allow for more delivery space, he said, adding that that had eliminated the situation of patients lying on the floor. According to him, the hospital had reduced the rotation of specialised midwives to other areas of the hospital, identified and mentored staff to be ‘trainers’ and ‘champions’ of specialised clinics and also instituted a ‘Best Midwife’ awards scheme. Dr  Ama Tamatey of the La General Hospital said the facility recorded 11 deaths, as against 22 the year before, saying maternal deaths were audited within a week of occurrence. However, she said, post-mortem examination remained a challenge tothe hospital because it had no facilities to conduct the procedure. At the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipal (LEKMA) Hospital, pharmacy services have been introduced at the antenatal clinic and medicine fridges have been placed in all the wards to facilitate the timely administration of essential medication.  Daily antenatal clinics are also held and weekly morning clinical seminars for nurses and doctors are also held.  The Princess Marie Louis (PML) Hospital also reported that theatre nurses and critical care nurses worked as general nurses on non-surgical days to augment the staff strength. In a presentation to open the meeting, Dr Linda A. Vanotoo, the Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, said a strong functional health system was required to deliver and maintain quality health care to save the lives of women and deliver healthy babies. “Pregnancy is a physiological process; the complications are well known and studied, treatments are available for the various complications, trainings have gone on to address ‘perceived gaps’ to improve pregnancy outcome, yet women continue to die through the various stages of pregnancy and childbirth,” she said. Current situation Last year, 196 maternal deaths were recorded in the Greater Accra Region. Although this is lower than the 2011 figure of 242, Dr Vanotoo was convinced that a large proportion of the deaths were due to poor professional performance, poor adherence to technical precision and weak monitoring systems. The health service, she noted, continued to organise training on how to prevent complications, identify risk factors and  early warning signs to save mothers’ lives but there was little assessment of how the knowledge acquired was used to effect the needed change at service delivery point. Dr  Vanotoo emphasised that much as pregnancy complications could be picked up based on signs, clients also had explanations for those signs, citing the popular belief that having swollen feet in pregnancy meant the woman was carrying a male child. There was, therefore, the need for health staff to collaborate with their clients and help them appreciate the complications and their outcomes for a better outcome, she said.  Call to action Dr Vanotoo appealed to health workers to show dedication to duty at all times and at all levels by adopting the right attitude and  technical precision, as patients relied on the credence of the doctors, midwives, nurses, other staff and “we cannot afford to betray this trust”. She urged them to work with the relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to improve support structures such as road, water, food security, education for boys and girls to reduce maternal deaths. “Many interventions have been introduced in Ghana to save lives. The interventions are simple and well known; it is time to do things differently to achieve different results,” she said.

Sky Resources Travel and Tour, a travel and tour company, has filed a contempt suit against a director of the defunct STX Engineering and Construction Ghana Limited, Mr Bernard Asamoah, for flouting the orders of an Accra High Court. The court had ordered Mr Asamoah to withdraw $90,000 from STX  and give to Sky Resources as part payment of a debt he owed the travel and tour company. Ex parte application In its notice of motion dated November 29, 2013 and filed by its solicitors, Sky Resources said Mr Asamoah withdrew from Home Finance Bank $90,000 which was to be used to pay Sky Resources, although Mr Asamoah was aware of a court order regarding the payment to Sky Resources. Background Following a suit filed by Sky Resources, the Accra High Court, on October 28, 2013, ordered Mr Asamoah to pay $90,000 to the travel and tour company. However, Mr Asamoah failed to comply with the court order. In the first suit dated March 2012, Sky Resources had claimed that between January 10 and May 16, 2011, acting on the strength of Mr Asamoah’s representative and personal assurance of repayment, it issued airline tickets and provided other travel and tour services for Mr Asamoah personally and 15 others to enable them to travel to various destinations, all at a cost of GHc143,806. In its statement of claim, Sky Resources said it was expressly agreed or alternatively implied by the course of dealings between the parties that Mr Asamoah or alternatively all the 15 others would take steps to settle their bills, either in bulk or individually. It said unfortunately, neither Mr Asamoah nor the 15 others, individually or collectively, made any effort to settle the outstanding bill, a situation which compelled Sky Resources to take an overdraft facility from its bankers to meet its re-payment obligation to the airlines from whom the tickets had been purchased on credit. That, it claimed, resulted in the plaintiff accruing a total liability of GHc353,818. The plaintiff prayed the court for payment of the GHc353,818, with interest till the date of payment, award costs for legal fees and damages for breach of contract.

Eighteen students of the Seventh-Day Adventists (SDA) Nurses Training College at Kwadaso in Kumasi have been sacked for poor academic work. Addressing the ninth matriculation of the college in Kumasi, the Principal, Mr Daniel Atta-Tuffour, said the college would not compromise on poor academic work, since students would leave school to deal with precious human lives. He, therefore, charged the students to take their studies seriously to avoid being dismissed. A total of 342 fresh students, made up of 214 females and 128 males — the biggest in a single year since the inception of the college — were matriculated. Mr Atta-Tuffour said the Ministry of Health (MoH) had assured nursing students in public training institutions that the government had no intention of withdrawing their allowances. He said the assurance should calm down the fear among trainee nurses that they would suffer the situation of teacher trainees whose allowances had been withdrawn. The principal said the government’s assurance was a challenge to the students to study hard and come out as responsible nurses ready to serve the country, even under difficult conditions. He spoke against the practice of some nurses tending to play with their mobile phones when patients needed their attention. Mr Atta-Tuffour also deplored the situation in which students seeking admission to some educational and professional institutions had to ‘buy’ their way through. He said admission was not for sale at the SDA Nurses Training College, even though some parents attempted to influence admission. Touching on clinical training for trainee nurses, the principal said it was regrettable that some hospitals charged the students for their practical training. “I appeal to the Ministry of Health to do something about this, since it is a huge financial burden on students and parents,” he said. The President of the Central Ghana Conference of the SDA Church, Pastor Anthony K. Yeboah, said the church had secured a 20-acre land at Barekese in the Ashanti Region for the construction of new premises for relocation of the college. He said the church took serious interest in the health of the people because a “healthy people make a healthy nation”.

The Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organisation (SMIDO) is preparing to unveil a new prototype vehicle that runs without fuel, oil and water, by the end of March 2014. To be known as ‘SMARTI Magnetic A,’ the saloon vehicle would be a major technological breakthrough for SMIDO, which already has a prototype vehicle it produced early this year - SMARTI Turtle 1 - undergoing trials in the Netherlands. An official statement from the SMIDO headquarters in Kumasi issued at the weekend said the building of the prototype vehicle was about 80 per cent complete. “SMARTI Magnetic A is a new global prototype vehicle, that uses no fuel, oil and water with a trademark inscription of N-FOW indicating a vehicle that uses no fuel, oil and water in the SMATI Magnetic brand of vehicles. “That would become the hallmark of Ghana and Africa’s contribution to a new global revolution in the automobile industry,” the statement said. Giving details on the project, the consultant to SMIDO, Mr Nyaaba-Aweeba Azongo, said the SMATI Magnetic A had been designed to be environmentally-friendly. He said it would be economically viable to use the vehicle as it would save users some money. According to Mr Azongo, “The battery of the vehicle charges automatically upon movement and one requires the first 30km per hour to charge the battery which then automatically switches to the alternator, “ adding that  “One can also plug it to electricity to charge.” He said no decision had yet been taken to ship the vehicle to Europe for testing as happened to SMARTI Turtle 1. “The vehicle would have to be considered on its own merit in Ghana, registered and certified to be used on the Ghanaian soil and investment pulled domestically to ensure mass commercial production in Ghana,” Mr Azongo said. The consultant stated that the SMIDO Fund, an investment promotion sub-sector of SMIDO, was supporting the development of the vehicle. The President of SMIDO, Mr Sarpong Boateng, said the technological breakthrough” was a great revolution to deepen respect for artisan engineers as agents of change in the ‘‘wheels of nation development.”  He appealed to the government to show interest in the project to ensure that it materialised to bring fame and honour to the nation.

The general assembly of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has completed the re-examination of all outsourced revenue collection contracts entered into by the assembly and has come out with sweeping recommendations to close identified leakages that have resulted in the assembly losing millions of cedis in revenue. Among the recommendations were termination of contracts, re-drafting of agreements and enforcement of compliance of contract agreements. At the general assembly meeting of the KMA on June 3, 2013, members decided to set up a committee to re-examine all outsourced revenue collection contracts and other agreements,­ including Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) entered into by the assembly. The 12-member committee that undertook the task met 16 contractors and also went on a  fact-finding mission to projects sites, after which an executive summary of the findings and recommendations was issued by the general assembly. On outsourced revenue contracts, the general assembly mentioned one of the companies as Skymount Consult Limited, which the report alleged operated without any formal agreement with the KMA. The executive summary said, “The company had no physical location in Kumasi but operated from the KMA office facility.” Besides, the company did not have any tenancy agreement with the KMA on the use of its facilities. The report recommended the constitution of a team to work out charges for rent for the use of the KMA facilities, and a tenancy agreement reached with the company. Another company, Gold Street Real Estate Consult Limited that operated the central business district car parking project was also examined and it was recommended that the contract should be reviewed “to reflect the current situation on the ground.” On the management of the Sokoban Wood Village, the general assembly found out that the contract expired in January 2013 and called for steps to be taken to arrange for a new contract. The controversial Kejetia Terminal management also came up in the findings, with the general assembly coming out with some recommendations including taking steps to avoid entering into contracts of such nature in future. It further said, “The KMA may terminate the contract with Freko FD Enterprise Limited, the operators of the facility by invoking the termination clause, or may choose to renew the contract based on a whole new agreement with different terms of conditions.” The general assembly stated that henceforth, all contract agreements should pass through the legal department of the assembly or the services of a private legal firm could be engaged to review all agreements before they were executed. Again, the assembly should ensure that the procurement process was adhered to in the award of contracts.

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is to ensure the early passage of the Land Use and Spatial Planning Bill to bring about sanity and sound human settlement plans and to stop the haphazard physical development of the country, Ms Barbara Serwa Asamoah, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has said. She said the Land Use and Spatial Planning Bill, which was before Cabinet, when passed, would among others empower the Town and Country Planning Department to be able to enforce the strict adherence of its planning schemes throughout the country to end the current practice where developers and individuals put up structures not in conformity with laid-out plans for particular areas. Ms Barbara Asamoah made the assertion when she opened a two-day capacity building for journalists and media personnel from the Northern zone of the country in Kumasi. It was organised by the project co-ordinating unit of the second Ghana Land Administration Project (LAP-2). She said the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, working in concert with other concerned ministries and agencies with support from LAP-2, was pursuing the passage of the bill which will turn the town and country planning department into an authority  to ensure the sustainable and scientific planning of cities and towns of the country. According to the deputy minister, the bill had gone through a lot of processes and was before Cabinet.   The President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mr Affail Monney, said journalists must be well trained and knowledgeable to be able to play their meaningful role as opinion leaders and pacesetters and commended the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the LAP-2 for building the professional skills of journalists and media personnel. Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, the Director of Newspapers of the Graphic Communications Group, who chaired the opening ceremony, said land was a critical factor in the development of all nations, especially in Africa where over 70 per cent of the people carved their livelihood from the land and land related industry. The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, called on journalists to display non-partisanship in their line of duty  to gain credibity before  all sections of society, adding that they should focus more attention on developmental issues such as land reportage instead of politics. In all, over 50 journalists and media practitioners from the Northern zone of the country, namely Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions, participated in the capacity building.

THE Ghana Baptist Convention has appointed a full time President and a Vice-President to manage the affairs of the convention. Rev Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, the Senior Pastor of the Charismatic Baptist Church, Taifa, and Rev Enoch Nii Narh Thompson, the Senior Pastor of the Messiah Baptist Church were given the nod to steer the affairs of the convention for the next four years. They were elected to serve the convention at the 50th Annual Session of the church at the Baptist Women’s Retreat Centre at Ejura by the delegates, including pastors, deacons, deaconesses and lay members. The theme for the session was: “Harvest Time Today: Returning the Church to Intentional Disciple Making”, and it was addressed by Rev Justifier Nii Noi Ocquaye, the Senior Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church, Sakumono, and President of the Baptist Ministers Conference. The two are to be assisted by a nine-member denominational board, made up of Rev Dr Fred Deegbe, the Senior Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church, Accra; Rev Ocquaye; Prof Kwame Wiredu, the Chairman of the Ghana Baptist University Council; Dr Mrs Linda Forde, Mrs Beatrice Dodoo, Deacon Chris Sottie, Rev Kofi Annan, Rev Frank Ohene Kankam, Rev Kojo Amo and Rev Isaac Wuni. Rev Adu-Gyamfi thanked the delegates and promised to unite and strengthen the convention, including providing for the welfare of pastors, especially those in the rural and deprived areas. He said he would strive to enhance evangelism, missions, church growth and a retirement plan for pastors. Rev Adu-Gyamfi also gave an assurance to expand the Ghana Baptist University to include a course in Nursing and establish an Agricultural College at Ejura to help train local farmers to improve upon their practices and increase their output and incomes. Rev Thompson, for his part, promised to cooperate with the president to achieve the objectives of the convention. The outgoing President of the convention, Rev Dr Steve K. Asante, was optimistic that the new arrangement would enable the Baptist Church to make a greater impact on national development. At the session, 100 branches were honoured for their commitment and contribution to the convention, with the Calvary Baptist Church, Adabraka, emerging as the best contributing branch  this year. Thirty-seven ministers were ordained and charged by Rev Dr Asante to be good ambassadors of the church and to their calling. The session expressed appreciation to Rev Dr Asante and Rev David N. Ocansey, the outgoing General-Secretary of the convention, who is to remain in office to help the new executive appreciate the nature of their responsibilities before he would leave under a transitional arrangement. The session licensed 27 candidates, recognised 17 and affirmed the ordination of one pastor. Rev Adu-Gyamfi is a professional accountant and product of the University of Professional Studies, the Maranatha University College and the Baptist Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia, USA, and holds a Masters degree in Divinity, with specialisation in Christian Education. He served in various organisations as accountant for 12 years, Managing Director of Multi-Media Technology Ltd for 17 years and has 40 years’ experience in ministry, with 25 of them as Senior Pastor of the Charismatic Baptist Church at Taifa. He is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Ministry, with specialisation in Justice and Peace Building, at the Baptist Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia. Rev Adu-Gyamfi has served the Ghana Baptist Convention variously as Vice-President and President of the Ministers Conference; Chairman, International Missions Committee; member, Finance and Administration Committee, and member of the Executive Committee of the Christian Council of Ghana. He is married to Mrs Juliana Adu-Gyamfi and they have three children.

The Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) was last Friday adjudged the Tourism-oriented Media of the Year (Print) at the ninth edition of the National Tourism Awards held in Accra. The company received a plaque and a certificate for its immeasurable support towards the development of the tourism sector in the country. The Labadi Beach Hotel was adjudged the overall best tourism institution of the year.  The Five-Star hotel emerged from a list of reputable tourism institutions to claim the coveted prize. The event, which was instituted by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, is to promote standard and reward service excellence in Ghana’s tourism industry. In an address, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, said in 2014 the ministry would emphasise on standards enforcement, the marketing and promotion of Ghana’s tourism, both internationally and domestically.  “Good product quality is a necessary component of any sustained marketing effort and Ghana, as a destination competing with many others for its share of tourist traffic, cannot afford to a have a tourism landscape characterised by sub-standard facilities delivering services that do not meet international standards,” she said. She said the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) had been charged to vigorously sanction all unlicensed and illegal operating tourism enterprises. She said the ministry and its implementing agencies would facilitate and promote domestic tourism by encouraging social groups, including churches, trades associations, corporate bodies and Keep Fit clubs, to embark on tours within the country as key activities for 2014.  Mrs Ofori-Adjare commended all sponsors and stakeholders for their immense contribution towards the organisation of this year’s National Tourism Awards . The acting Executive Director of the GTA, Mr Samson Donkoh, said there was the need to develop the country’s tourism potential to enable it to compete favourably at the global marketplace.