Page 21, Aug 4, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Adabraka Official Town Presbyterian Church on Saturday organised a free-health screening exercise for people in the Adabraka community as part of activities marking this year's Health and Environmental Week of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG).
The medical team, led by Dr K.O. Dako, screened more than 500 people of such diseases as diabetes, hypertension, malaria, obesity, poor eyesight, among others.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Second Minister in charge of the church, Reverend Michael Anim-Tetey, said the exercise was part of the church's social responsibility.
He said members of the church had for some time now been donating blood periodically to replenish the Blood Bank of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital to save lives.
Rev Anim-Tetey stated that Christianity was a holistic ministry and, "It is, therefore, our duty not only to cater for the spiritual lives of the people, but also their social and moral aspects to enable them have sound minds to worship their maker."
He added that the exercise was also aimed at complementing the efforts of the government to ensure the good health of the people to enable them contribute to the development of the country.
Rev. Anim-Tetey said during the week, talks were also organised to drum home to the congregation the need to keep their environment clean.
For his part, Dr Dako said people who were diagnosed with diseases unknown to them were advised to go to hospital for medication.
He called on Ghanaians to exercise regularly, eat a lot of fruits and vegetables to stay healthy, instead of the consumption of too much fatty food.
The catechist in charge of the church, Mr Eugene Addo, called on politicians not to see their opponents as enemies but colleagues who had different visions towards the development of the country.
"Let us see ourselves as one people and avoid acts and utterances that will lead to violence and loss of lives before, during and after the December elections," he said.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke to the Daily Graphic thanked the church for its gesture and called for such health-screening exercises to be organised regularly to ensure the good health of Ghanaians.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Parliament informed of Ala Adjetey's death
Page 19, Aug 2, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah & Ryan Knutson
THE family of the late former Speaker of Parliament, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, has formally informed Parliament of his death.
The 20-member delegation was received by the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi Hughes, in his office yesterday.
Mr Adjetey, 76, died at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on Tuesday, July 16.
Clad in mourning clothes, the members of the delegation informed the Speaker of preparations being made to give the late Speaker a befitting funeral.
The eldest son of Mr Ala Adjetey, Mr Larry Adjetey, who acted as the spokesman for the family, informed the Speaker that no date had been fixed for the funeral.
Mr Adjetey told the Speaker that since his late father was a man of many parts, there was the need for wide consultations before fixing the date for his funeral.
He stated that currently the family was in touch with the Ga Traditional Council, the Ghana Bar Association and other interested parties for the planning of the funeral.
Mr Adjetey added that the funeral committee would take into consideration the parliamentary calendar and the legal vacation before fixing the date for the late former Speaker’s funeral.
He expressed his gratitude to the Speaker, Members of Parliament (MPs), the government and all well-wishers for their show of sympathy since Mr Ala Adjetey’s death.
Responding, the Director of Public Affairs of Parliament, Mr Jones Kugblenu, expressed the condolence of the Speaker, MPs and the entire members of the Parliamentary Service to the bereaved family and promised that everything possible would be done to ensure a befitting funeral for the former Speaker.
Present at the ceremony were the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Freddie Blay; the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu; the Minority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin; the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, and some MPs.
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah & Ryan Knutson
THE family of the late former Speaker of Parliament, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, has formally informed Parliament of his death.
The 20-member delegation was received by the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi Hughes, in his office yesterday.
Mr Adjetey, 76, died at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on Tuesday, July 16.
Clad in mourning clothes, the members of the delegation informed the Speaker of preparations being made to give the late Speaker a befitting funeral.
The eldest son of Mr Ala Adjetey, Mr Larry Adjetey, who acted as the spokesman for the family, informed the Speaker that no date had been fixed for the funeral.
Mr Adjetey told the Speaker that since his late father was a man of many parts, there was the need for wide consultations before fixing the date for his funeral.
He stated that currently the family was in touch with the Ga Traditional Council, the Ghana Bar Association and other interested parties for the planning of the funeral.
Mr Adjetey added that the funeral committee would take into consideration the parliamentary calendar and the legal vacation before fixing the date for the late former Speaker’s funeral.
He expressed his gratitude to the Speaker, Members of Parliament (MPs), the government and all well-wishers for their show of sympathy since Mr Ala Adjetey’s death.
Responding, the Director of Public Affairs of Parliament, Mr Jones Kugblenu, expressed the condolence of the Speaker, MPs and the entire members of the Parliamentary Service to the bereaved family and promised that everything possible would be done to ensure a befitting funeral for the former Speaker.
Present at the ceremony were the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Freddie Blay; the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu; the Minority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin; the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, and some MPs.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Arms proliferation, threat to MDGs
Page34, Aug 1, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE proliferation of small arms is a major threat to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by developing countries, the Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, has stated.
He has, therefore, called for the strengthening of international co-operation and assistance, especially financial and technical, to developing countries to implement the provisions of national plans of action to combat the proliferation of small arms.
He was addressing the Third Biennial Meeting of States which was held in New York, USA, to consider the implementation of action to combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.
Nana Boahen said Ghana had achieved practical and measurable results in the implementation of the UN Programme of Action on the combating of small arms and light weapons.
He stated that Ghana had established a national commission devoted to the implementation of the programme of action from an integrated perspective.
The minister added that the commission was currently developing a national plan of action for arms control and management, which would provide a multi-year framework for the comprehensive set of activities to inform the strategies for addressing the small arms problem.
He explained that the plan reinforced some of the ongoing activities of the commission, such as awareness creation campaigns, arms collection and destruction activities and a national stocktaking exercise of state arms.
In addition, the minister said Ghana was collaborating with neighbouring states to harmonise their activities to control the smuggling of small arms across national borders.
Nana Boahen called for greater south-south co-operation, as well as south-north collaboration, since many states in the global south had relevant expertise and could have a better understanding of the context than those in the global north.
He suggested to countries to consider supporting and improving stockpile management and security, not just for the military sector but also the police and other security agencies.
Nana Boahen said Ghana appreciated the opportunity to participate in the meeting, since the process had enabled major exporters of small arms to show their political will to work with importing countries to curb small arms proliferation, among other benefits.
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE proliferation of small arms is a major threat to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by developing countries, the Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, has stated.
He has, therefore, called for the strengthening of international co-operation and assistance, especially financial and technical, to developing countries to implement the provisions of national plans of action to combat the proliferation of small arms.
He was addressing the Third Biennial Meeting of States which was held in New York, USA, to consider the implementation of action to combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.
Nana Boahen said Ghana had achieved practical and measurable results in the implementation of the UN Programme of Action on the combating of small arms and light weapons.
He stated that Ghana had established a national commission devoted to the implementation of the programme of action from an integrated perspective.
The minister added that the commission was currently developing a national plan of action for arms control and management, which would provide a multi-year framework for the comprehensive set of activities to inform the strategies for addressing the small arms problem.
He explained that the plan reinforced some of the ongoing activities of the commission, such as awareness creation campaigns, arms collection and destruction activities and a national stocktaking exercise of state arms.
In addition, the minister said Ghana was collaborating with neighbouring states to harmonise their activities to control the smuggling of small arms across national borders.
Nana Boahen called for greater south-south co-operation, as well as south-north collaboration, since many states in the global south had relevant expertise and could have a better understanding of the context than those in the global north.
He suggested to countries to consider supporting and improving stockpile management and security, not just for the military sector but also the police and other security agencies.
Nana Boahen said Ghana appreciated the opportunity to participate in the meeting, since the process had enabled major exporters of small arms to show their political will to work with importing countries to curb small arms proliferation, among other benefits.
NPP on course to win elections — Apraku
Page 16, August 1, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said its campaign towards winning the December polls is on course, and no amount of misinformation and vile propaganda by its opponents will ever detract its attention.
He has, therefore, urged Ghanaians to return it to power, stressing that “Ghanaians must not change NPP for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) because the NDC poses a threat to our stable democracy, good governance and the rule of law”.
The Campaign Director of the party, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, at a press conference in Accra, further urged Ghanaians never to change the NPP for the NDC because the “NDC will reintroduce higher inflation, higher international debts, higher interest rates and an unstable cedi”.
Dr Konadu, who was briefing the media on the first phase of the party’s campaign, said it became clear throughout their rounds that Ghanaians who had lived under the NDC and the NPP governance knew the difference between the two parties.
The first phase of the campaign, according to Dr Apraku, received overwhelming support from people in constituencies, which were the party’s orphaned constituencies.
Dr Apraku noted that while the NPP wanted to move Ghana forward, the NDC wanted to take Ghana backward, calling on Ghanaians to choose hope with NPP over the NDC campaign of fear, intimidation and polarisation of the country.
“The NDC want to put at risk all that we have achieved together over the seven-and-a-half years and the future we have outlined; Ghana cannot take a chance on NDC, because future generations shall never forgive us if we should take that risk,” Dr Apraku stated.
He said the choices before the electorate had become clear since the December election was about the respective records of NDC government and those of the NPP, their different visions for the future and the leadership abilities of their respective presidential candidates.
He noted that although some people were opposed to comparison, the party welcomed it, since it was the only reasonable basis for making the important choices that faced the electorate.
Dr Apraku added that the days on which decisions at the ballot were determined by ethnicity, misinformation and intimidation were yielding to the new politics of ideas, issues and records.
He said the NPP had laid a solid foundation for the economy, built infrastructure that had enabled it to fight poverty, provided free education and health care and expanded the frontiers of freedoms.
While conceding that the NPP had not been perfect, Dr Apraku said the party had been far better than the NDC government, which left the economy in a shambles.
He explained that although the NPP inherited a road network of 38,000 kilometres, it had been able to increase it to 62,000 kilometres, whilst the ‘Cash and Carry’ health care system they left behind had been replaced with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He said that the NPP government had also introduced the Metro Mass Transport and repaired the Accra-Nsawam rail lines - something the NDC could not do.
Dr Apraku said the NPP welcomed the campaign slogan “Hwe wasetena mu na to aba”, literally meaning Ghanaians should examine the conditions of their lives and vote accordingly, which some people had capitalised on, claiming that there had not been any progress since the party took over governance.
On the future plans of the party, Dr Apraku said Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo would be the President who would expand the benefits of the NHIS, improve its functioning and put more resources in sanitation.
He said an Akufo-Addo-led government would improve the security of all citizens by doubling the sizes of the police force, training and equipping them better and holding them accountable for all their activities.
The National Chairman of the party, Mr Peter Mac Manu, said the NPP was sure to increase its vote and number of Members of Parliament (MPs) in areas that were considered traditional strongholds of the NDC in the December elections.
He stated that the party made great strides in the Volta Region and the three northern regions during the 2004 elections, and expressed confidence that it would be able to double its votes during the upcoming December polls.
Other members of the party who took turns to address a number of issues included Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo, MP for Akim Oda; Mr Alan Kyerematen, former Minister of Trade, Industry, PSI & PSD; Dr Arthur Kennedy; Ms Gloria Akufo; Professor Mike Oquaye, MP for Dome-Kwabenya, and the General Secretary of the party, Nana Ohene Ntow.
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said its campaign towards winning the December polls is on course, and no amount of misinformation and vile propaganda by its opponents will ever detract its attention.
He has, therefore, urged Ghanaians to return it to power, stressing that “Ghanaians must not change NPP for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) because the NDC poses a threat to our stable democracy, good governance and the rule of law”.
The Campaign Director of the party, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, at a press conference in Accra, further urged Ghanaians never to change the NPP for the NDC because the “NDC will reintroduce higher inflation, higher international debts, higher interest rates and an unstable cedi”.
Dr Konadu, who was briefing the media on the first phase of the party’s campaign, said it became clear throughout their rounds that Ghanaians who had lived under the NDC and the NPP governance knew the difference between the two parties.
The first phase of the campaign, according to Dr Apraku, received overwhelming support from people in constituencies, which were the party’s orphaned constituencies.
Dr Apraku noted that while the NPP wanted to move Ghana forward, the NDC wanted to take Ghana backward, calling on Ghanaians to choose hope with NPP over the NDC campaign of fear, intimidation and polarisation of the country.
“The NDC want to put at risk all that we have achieved together over the seven-and-a-half years and the future we have outlined; Ghana cannot take a chance on NDC, because future generations shall never forgive us if we should take that risk,” Dr Apraku stated.
He said the choices before the electorate had become clear since the December election was about the respective records of NDC government and those of the NPP, their different visions for the future and the leadership abilities of their respective presidential candidates.
He noted that although some people were opposed to comparison, the party welcomed it, since it was the only reasonable basis for making the important choices that faced the electorate.
Dr Apraku added that the days on which decisions at the ballot were determined by ethnicity, misinformation and intimidation were yielding to the new politics of ideas, issues and records.
He said the NPP had laid a solid foundation for the economy, built infrastructure that had enabled it to fight poverty, provided free education and health care and expanded the frontiers of freedoms.
While conceding that the NPP had not been perfect, Dr Apraku said the party had been far better than the NDC government, which left the economy in a shambles.
He explained that although the NPP inherited a road network of 38,000 kilometres, it had been able to increase it to 62,000 kilometres, whilst the ‘Cash and Carry’ health care system they left behind had been replaced with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He said that the NPP government had also introduced the Metro Mass Transport and repaired the Accra-Nsawam rail lines - something the NDC could not do.
Dr Apraku said the NPP welcomed the campaign slogan “Hwe wasetena mu na to aba”, literally meaning Ghanaians should examine the conditions of their lives and vote accordingly, which some people had capitalised on, claiming that there had not been any progress since the party took over governance.
On the future plans of the party, Dr Apraku said Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo would be the President who would expand the benefits of the NHIS, improve its functioning and put more resources in sanitation.
He said an Akufo-Addo-led government would improve the security of all citizens by doubling the sizes of the police force, training and equipping them better and holding them accountable for all their activities.
The National Chairman of the party, Mr Peter Mac Manu, said the NPP was sure to increase its vote and number of Members of Parliament (MPs) in areas that were considered traditional strongholds of the NDC in the December elections.
He stated that the party made great strides in the Volta Region and the three northern regions during the 2004 elections, and expressed confidence that it would be able to double its votes during the upcoming December polls.
Other members of the party who took turns to address a number of issues included Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo, MP for Akim Oda; Mr Alan Kyerematen, former Minister of Trade, Industry, PSI & PSD; Dr Arthur Kennedy; Ms Gloria Akufo; Professor Mike Oquaye, MP for Dome-Kwabenya, and the General Secretary of the party, Nana Ohene Ntow.
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