Seth J. Bokpe's Ghana Newsreel

Use Campaign To Address Problems The Moderator of the Global Evangelical Church, Rt Rev Dr Edem Tettey, is urging the country’s politicians to use their campaign messages to address problems confronting the country rather than attack opposing parties. “When they mount the platform, we want to know what they want to do for us and how they will solve our problems. That will help us decide if we would vote for them,” he said Rev Dr Tettey, who spoke to graphic.com.gh on the sidelines of the commissioning and ordination of pastors of the Church, said, “we want to appeal to them to not insult one another. This ends up in retaliation and sometimes avoidable violence.” “Party supporters should not see each other as enemies. We are all partners in the development of Ghana; we should see ourselves as working towards a common goal and not to destroy one another.” “These days, a lot of lies and half-truths are peddled around just to score cheap political scores. It is not healt...

At exactly 5.15pm about two hours after the official announcement of the death of President John Evans Atta Mills, his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lowered at half mast the national flag and the flag of the NDC as a sign of respect of the departed party leader. President Mills passed away at 2.15pm Tuesday at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, just three days after his 68th birthday. With the news of the death of President going public, scores of party supporters swarmed the National Headquarters to verify, confirm or get an insight into what had happened from their national leaders. This is the first time a sitting Ghanaian President has died. It is also the second time this year that a sitting African President had died, the first one being Malawian President Bingu Wa Mutharika. Those who heard the news for the first time could not control their emotions but burst out in tears, while others stood in awe and shock. With the cloud of sorrow hanging ...

Three senior lawyers have advocated the prosecution of persons who contribute to huge judgement debts against the public purse. The economy is currently reeling under a heavy burden of judgement debt claims which have hit the $2 billion mark and still counting. The President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Mr Frank W. K. Beecham, Mr. Vonny Kulendi and Mr Chris A. Ackummey are among Ghanaians calling for accountability and holding accountable those culpable for the huge judgement debts on the taxpayer. In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the GBA President said a way to deal with the issue was to hold persons responsible for the debts accountable. “We have to look at every case on its merit and decide whether or not the offenders have done their job well. If, for instance, it is a state attorney who has not done his job well, we should discipline him,” he said. According to him, the GBA could not tak...

National records at the Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD) continue to deteriorate because of poor facilities. With the onset of the rains, signs of leakage are visible, making the keeping of the records under the required temperature difficult. Volumes of documents are, therefore, at the mercy of the weather. The archives serve as a research centre where scores of people go in search of information daily.  Meanwhile, many believe that the archives could use its volumes of documents to generate enough funds from the researchers to maintain the building. In January this  year,  facilities and conditions at PRAAD were published by graphic.com.gh, but seven months after the publication, virtually nothing has been done to save the national documents. An insider told graphic.com.gh that nothing had changed in the wake of public concern over the state of PRAAD which holds in its belly volumes of documents of national interest. The...

A Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr Inusah Fuseini, says Ghanaians must hold Mr Kwadwo Mpiani and Prof Mike Oquaye accountable for the $1.3 million Isofoton judgement debt hanging on the country’s neck. According to him, both Mr Mpiani, a former Chief of Staff and Prof Oquaye, a former Minister of Energy in the Kufour administration, acted with impunity in the abrogation of the Isofoton S.A. contract to provide solar rural electrification under a Ghana-Spain protocol. Mr Mpiani has been singled out for blame in the latest revelation in the series of judgement debts currently dominating public discourse, but in the latest twist to the Isofoton issue, Prof Oquaye is also being accused. The company is seeking damages amounting to $1.3 million following a breach of its contract with the ministries of Agriculture and Energy under the Kufour regime. Mr Fuseini who was addressing the media in Accra said “people must take responsibility for their actions. It is not just enough tod...

Mr Alfred Kojo Triddles, the Coordinator of the Media Analysts Group, a group sympathetic to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), is urging President J.E.A Mills and former President J.J. Rawlings to continue talks aimed at resolving their differences for the sake of party unity and progress, ahead of the 2012 polls. Reacting to a reported meeting between the two NDC leaders, Mr Triddles described the move as a morale booster for the teeming supporters of the party who are all worried about their strained relationship. According to him, an end to the impasse between the former and the current president would further improve the fortunes of the party ahead of the 2012 elections. He, however, cautioned, saying the former president instead of being actively involved in the campaign should rather take a back seat to prevent credibility crisis for the party. Former President Rawlings was reported to have met President Mills last week at the Castle to welcome hi...

Two thousand five hundred unsafe abortions were recorded at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital last year.  Out of the number, 875 involved people who used Cytotec, a drug used for the prevention of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID)-induced gastric ulcers. Cytotec, generally known as Misoprostol, is a medication registered for use to prevent gastric ulcers but it can also be used to induce childbirth. The Reproductive Health Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital has, therefore, warned that the abuse of the drug without prescription can cause infertility and even death. A source at the centre who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic said although the drug could be used to terminate pregnancy, it could lead to dire consequences for the user if the right dosage was not used. “If that right dosage is not used, it leads to bleeding, and if the user doe...

Barring any intervention by the government, seven properties belonging to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) will be put up for auction soon. The properties include offices of the AMA at No.1 Asafoatse Nettey Road and the official residence of its chief executive. Others are No. 6, 7th Avenue, Ridge, occupied by the AMA’s Director of Budget, Mrs Lydia Sackey, and the immediate past Deputy Director of Human Resource, Mrs Moira Ewa. The rest are Bungalow No. 4, 7th Avenue Close, occupied by Mr Valentine Amedo, the Director of Works; No. 5, 7th Avenue Close, Metro Coordinating Director, Mr Sam Ayeh-Dartey; No. 3, 7th Avenue Close (Main Block), Director of Finance, Mr Samuel Aryee; No. 2, 8th Avenue (Main block), Director of Waste Management, Mr Augustine N. Blay. The intended sale of the properties follows notices of auction placed on the said properties by an Accra ...

After many months of speculation and denials, it is now certain that a new party, the National Democratic Party (NDP), which, from all indications, has the backing of the Rawlingses, has been formed. Some of the leading members of the new party presented its application to the Electoral Commission (EC) in Accra on Wednesday for registration as a fully fledged political entity to contest the December 2012 and future elections. The symbol of the new party is a white flying dove carrying the ‘Gye Nyame’ emblem against background of black, red, white and green. A former General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Josiah Ayeh, is the Interim National Chairman, while Dr Mamboa Rockson is the Interim General Secretary of the new party. A leading member of the NDP, Dr K. Ofei-Agyemang, told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday that “the party also submitted its constitution and other documents to seek its approval to operate as a fully fledged political p...

THE government has commissioned a study to develop flood early warning systems (FEWS) for the three northern regions following recent floods that affected lives and properties in that part of the country. To that effect, the Hydrological Services Department (HSD) is collaborating with the Water Resources Commission (WRC) to make good use of flood models developed by HKV Consultants of The Netherlands for FEWS. With real-time data input from the HSD and the Ghana Meteorological Agency, the system will help forecast floods in the White Volta Basin to avert disaster in the three northern regions. The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Enoch T. Mensah, made this known when he took his turn to address the meet-the-press series in Accra yesterday. The minister also announced a number of water projects and rehabilitation works being executed in parts of the country. Among the projects, some of which he indicated had seen a lot of progress, were the Kumasi Water Proj...

THE Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has condemned the increasing use of intemperate language in the country, describing it as a threat to the rule of law. “History is replete with incidents of intemperate language that has torn nations and states apart. Let us love our country more than we disagree with one another,” the President of the GBA, Mr Frank W.K. Beechem, said at the 30th Remembrance Service for the three High Court judges and a retired Army officer who were murdered in 1982. “Falsehood is peddled as truth; the integrity of our leaders is impugned without just cause. The President of the Republic and other officials of state are addressed and caricatured in the most disgraceful manner, our chiefs are maligned and ethnicity is given a bad bane by our careless use of language. “We cannot and should not be complacent. Lately, there have been more pernicious threats to the rule of law. These threats manifest themselves in the abuse of our democracy, namely, the use of intemper...

THE Catholic Archdiocese of Accra has launched its 120th anniversary, with a pledge to look back at the successes and failures of its mission over the past 120 years. The church also launched a logo competition for the anniversary. It is open to young people under 25 years. The year-long anniversary, which starts on December 2, 2012, will reach its climax on November 24, 2013 with a massive congregation of members of the archdiocese at the Independence Square in Accra. The celebration will be on the theme: “120 years of Catholic Mission: Honouring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Building the Future”. The Accra Archdiocese covers the entire Greater Accra Region and some parts of the Volta Region. It currently has 21 parishes and 33 rectorates. Launching the anniversary, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, the Most Rev Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, said the period was a moment for the church to reflect on the many blessings that God had showered on it in Accra and its en...

PRAIRIE Volta, an agro-processing company, has presented 400 bags of rice to the United Nations in support of its humanitarian assistance in Ghana. The food aid, worth GHc 20,400, is to augment a current shortfall in food supplies of the various refugee camps which is estimated at $2 million. This is the first time a private entity in Ghana is making contributions to the UN towards the upkeep of refugees in the country. According to the UN , funding shortfalls affecting the World Food Programme coupled with the continuous influx of refugees in need of material assistance forced the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to reduce by about a third since April 2012, its monthly food supply to the refugees. The critical needs of the refugees include shelter, water, sanitation, health and education. Mr John Vandyke-Mensah, the Managing Partner of the company, who presented the rice was optimistic that the donation would go a long way to assist the refugee feeding pr...