Daily Graphic, Pg. 19, Sat. March 27/09
Story & Picture: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Yu Wenzhe, has reaffirmed his government’s commitment to support Ghana with both infrastructure and technical needs that will help the country to develop in all spheres.
According to him, China and Ghana has been friends for many years and it is part of his government’s aspiration to further promote the friendship and co-operation that exist between the two countries.
The ambassador said this when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC), Ms Akua Sena Dansua, at the ministry yesterday.
He said although the current global recession had affected economies in most countries, China was still committed to fulfilling its pledge of helping Ghana with development projects.
He mentioned some of the projects being executed by China in Ghana as the Bui Dam project and the building of schools and hospitals in different parts of the country.
He congratulated the minister on her appointment, saying that her ministry was important to the socio-economic development of the country and stressed China’s readiness to support activities of the ministry.
He said women played important roles in the development of China’s economy and advised that if women in Ghana were empowered they would be able to play a central role in developing the country.
He also congratulated Ghanaians on the 2008 elections, saying that although it was keenly contested, it was basically peaceful, free and fair.
Ms Dansua thanked the Chinese Government for the cordial relations with Ghana over the decades.
She called for more assistance in the areas of skills training for women and scholarships for the youth.
She said women constituted over 50 per cent of the country’s population while children formed 30 per cent, and therefore, there was the need for the two countries to partner each other to develop the competence base of women and children in order that at the end it would lead to the overall development of the country.
The minister appealed to China to support women farmers in the country with agro-processing equipment in order to stop the wastage that normally occurred during bumper harvests.
She noted that the government over the years had taken steps to enhance the status of women in the country and expressed the present government’s determination to continue in that direction.
Ms Dansua later presented a documentation of some of the conventions and protocols that Ghana had acceded to over the years to the ambassador and said they were all aimed at protecting the rights of women and children in the country.
She called on the ambassador to use his good offices to help the ministry to be well equipped in terms of computers and the development of the human resource base in order that they would be able to live up to the task for which it was established.
Ms Dansua also introduced to the ambassador the Deputy Minister for MOWAC, Hajia Hawawu Boya Gariba, and other members of staff including the Director of the Department of Children, Mr Peter Edduful, the acting Director of the Department of Women, Mrs Francesca Pobe-Hayford, and the Chief Director of the ministry, Mr Valentine Kuzuume.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wesley Girls class of '83 honours minister
Daily Graphic, pg 11, Thurs. March 26/09
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
When a group of women made up of the 1983 alumni of the Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast in the Central Region gathered at the Ghana Village of the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra at the weekend to celebrate the achievements of one of their mates, it was full of joy and excitement.
The programme was organised in honour of Ms Hanna Tetteh, a member of the year group who has been appointed as the Minister of Trade and Industries.
In the company of the current Headmistress of the school, Mrs Betty Djokoto, and Dr Mrs Rosina Acheampong, a past headmistress who headed the school at the time the group was in school, the old girls treated their former colleague to a buffet lunch amidst singing and dancing, reminiscing of their days in school.
After the lunch, the ladies — who are mostly lawyers, businesswomen and bankers — presented the minister with a citation and a plague with her picture and the crest of their former school embossed on it.
Excerpts from the citation read that “Hanna has always moved straight for her goal — She does not shimmy or hedge like some, or need the affirmation of friends or colleagues before making her choices. Her tenacity, flair, razor-sharp intelligence and level-headedness have brought her this far and will serve her very well in her ministerial role”.
It also said that “the WGHS class of ‘83 is among the privileged few who saw the beginnings of our illustrious sister whose meteoric rise we celebrate today. Just over 30 years ago, our unlikely group of ‘homos’ was thrown together for good or ill. Ours has been a long and interesting ride filled with laughter, tears, fun and escapades that can only be disclosed for a sizeable fee”.
Dr Mrs Acheampong, advised Ms Tetteh to always ensure that she was guided by the strict training that she acquired from her alma mater.
She also called on her to ensure that her school’s motto “Live pure, speak true, right wrong, follow the king” becomes her guiding principle in whatever she does as a minister of state.
Dr Acheampong said the school was proud for training some of the best women in the country and Africa as a whole.
Ms Tetteh in her response said she was humbled by the show of affection from her former classmates and hoped that she would be able to count on them whenever she needed their support.
She said the ministry that she was heading was one of the most important and pledged to work hard to justify the trust reposed in her.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
When a group of women made up of the 1983 alumni of the Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast in the Central Region gathered at the Ghana Village of the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra at the weekend to celebrate the achievements of one of their mates, it was full of joy and excitement.
The programme was organised in honour of Ms Hanna Tetteh, a member of the year group who has been appointed as the Minister of Trade and Industries.
In the company of the current Headmistress of the school, Mrs Betty Djokoto, and Dr Mrs Rosina Acheampong, a past headmistress who headed the school at the time the group was in school, the old girls treated their former colleague to a buffet lunch amidst singing and dancing, reminiscing of their days in school.
After the lunch, the ladies — who are mostly lawyers, businesswomen and bankers — presented the minister with a citation and a plague with her picture and the crest of their former school embossed on it.
Excerpts from the citation read that “Hanna has always moved straight for her goal — She does not shimmy or hedge like some, or need the affirmation of friends or colleagues before making her choices. Her tenacity, flair, razor-sharp intelligence and level-headedness have brought her this far and will serve her very well in her ministerial role”.
It also said that “the WGHS class of ‘83 is among the privileged few who saw the beginnings of our illustrious sister whose meteoric rise we celebrate today. Just over 30 years ago, our unlikely group of ‘homos’ was thrown together for good or ill. Ours has been a long and interesting ride filled with laughter, tears, fun and escapades that can only be disclosed for a sizeable fee”.
Dr Mrs Acheampong, advised Ms Tetteh to always ensure that she was guided by the strict training that she acquired from her alma mater.
She also called on her to ensure that her school’s motto “Live pure, speak true, right wrong, follow the king” becomes her guiding principle in whatever she does as a minister of state.
Dr Acheampong said the school was proud for training some of the best women in the country and Africa as a whole.
Ms Tetteh in her response said she was humbled by the show of affection from her former classmates and hoped that she would be able to count on them whenever she needed their support.
She said the ministry that she was heading was one of the most important and pledged to work hard to justify the trust reposed in her.
‘Lets address problems of unplanned settlements’
Daily Graphic Pg 20, Thurs. March 26/09
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayittey, has called for effective strategies to address the problems associated with unplanned settlements.
She noted that such unplanned settlements resulted in the creation of slums, poor housing conditions, congestion, air and water pollution, unsanitary living conditions and other related problems.
Launching the National Population Council (NPC) Fact Sheet Five on Population and Development in Accra, she noted that the major challenges posed by rapid urbanisation, particularly the growth of large cities, with its attendant problems of slums, unemployment, poor sanitation and crime, might threaten the aspirations of the country to reach a middle-income status by 2020.
According to fact sheet, projections by the NPC reveal that the country’s urban population will hit 51.5 per cent next year, a situation which will make the country an urbanised one.
The last population census in 2000 indicated that the urban population of the country was 43.8 per cent and that was further projected to hit 62.9 per cent by 2025.
Mrs Ayitey said even though urbanisation provided opportunities for poverty reduction and sustainable development, there was the need for serious considerations to be committed to proposals made in fact sheet five in order to fashion out effective strategies to address critical socio-economic and development issues that arose with urbanisation.
The minister bemoaned the fact that 42 per cent of households in the urban centres obtained water from unprotected sources such as wells, with 16 per cent from boreholes, while 25 per cent of the population also dumped their solid waste indiscriminately, with another 58 per cent using public dumping facilities or resorting to burning and burying of their waste at their backyards.
She said 95 per cent of the country’s total population also disposed of their liquid waste at unaproved places.
The Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, who chaired the programme, said there was the need for the country to document both the positive and negative sides of urbanisation to know the cost benefit.
She also called for more collaboration between the NPC and the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) so that the two could come up with periodic data to inform policy decisions.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Representative, Mr Makane Kane, in an address, said his outfit, which has been working with the NPC since 1994, was mostly concerned about how the fact sheets would be put to use.
The Executive Director of the NPC, Mrs Esther Apewokin, said a forum on population issues that would tackle urbanisation and development, as well as other critical issues concerning urbanisation, was to be organised later in the year.
The Deputy Director of the NPC, Mr Steve Grey, who presented highlights of the fact sheet, mentioned some of the causes of urbanisation as natural increase and migration, especially from rural to urban centres due to lack of quality education, job opportunities, lack of social amenities, poor infrastructure development, among others.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayittey, has called for effective strategies to address the problems associated with unplanned settlements.
She noted that such unplanned settlements resulted in the creation of slums, poor housing conditions, congestion, air and water pollution, unsanitary living conditions and other related problems.
Launching the National Population Council (NPC) Fact Sheet Five on Population and Development in Accra, she noted that the major challenges posed by rapid urbanisation, particularly the growth of large cities, with its attendant problems of slums, unemployment, poor sanitation and crime, might threaten the aspirations of the country to reach a middle-income status by 2020.
According to fact sheet, projections by the NPC reveal that the country’s urban population will hit 51.5 per cent next year, a situation which will make the country an urbanised one.
The last population census in 2000 indicated that the urban population of the country was 43.8 per cent and that was further projected to hit 62.9 per cent by 2025.
Mrs Ayitey said even though urbanisation provided opportunities for poverty reduction and sustainable development, there was the need for serious considerations to be committed to proposals made in fact sheet five in order to fashion out effective strategies to address critical socio-economic and development issues that arose with urbanisation.
The minister bemoaned the fact that 42 per cent of households in the urban centres obtained water from unprotected sources such as wells, with 16 per cent from boreholes, while 25 per cent of the population also dumped their solid waste indiscriminately, with another 58 per cent using public dumping facilities or resorting to burning and burying of their waste at their backyards.
She said 95 per cent of the country’s total population also disposed of their liquid waste at unaproved places.
The Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, who chaired the programme, said there was the need for the country to document both the positive and negative sides of urbanisation to know the cost benefit.
She also called for more collaboration between the NPC and the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) so that the two could come up with periodic data to inform policy decisions.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Representative, Mr Makane Kane, in an address, said his outfit, which has been working with the NPC since 1994, was mostly concerned about how the fact sheets would be put to use.
The Executive Director of the NPC, Mrs Esther Apewokin, said a forum on population issues that would tackle urbanisation and development, as well as other critical issues concerning urbanisation, was to be organised later in the year.
The Deputy Director of the NPC, Mr Steve Grey, who presented highlights of the fact sheet, mentioned some of the causes of urbanisation as natural increase and migration, especially from rural to urban centres due to lack of quality education, job opportunities, lack of social amenities, poor infrastructure development, among others.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Nigerians urged to be law-abiding
Daily Graphic, (spread) Tues. March 24/09
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Nigerian High Commissioner to Accra, Senator Musiliu O. Obanikoro, has called on Nigerians living in Ghana to be law abiding by comporting themselves and co-operating with the government to fish out the lots among them.
He also appealed to Ghanaians to stop generalising issues of criminality involving Nigerians living in the country.
He conceded that there might be some bad ones among Nigerians living in Ghana but that should not warrant people, especially the media, to generalise the issue by saying that all Nigerians were bad.
The Ambassador made these statements when he addressed the press in Accra on Monday.
He said relations between Ghana and Nigeria were too strong and therefore the media should not insinuate that Nigerians were bad whenever there was an issue involving a Nigerian to damage the goodwill enjoyed by both countries.
Senator Obanikoro said Nigeria was the number six foreign investor in Ghana and, according to him, official investments in Ghana by Nigerians amounted to $1 billion last year, stating further that other benefits that Ghana had enjoyed from Nigeria included the West African Gas Pipeline project, a 90-day oil credit for Ghana last year and the expansion of banking activities in the country.
“We are working closely with Ghana to create a better Ghana and vice versa and the media must not put this in jeopardy,” he added.
He said passing derogatory remarks about Nigerians on the airwaves was unhealthy for both countries, explaining that generalising every bad thing that a Nigerian did to affect all Nigerians could trigger enmity which, when not checked, could degenerate into something else.
Referring to current media publications on the activities of some Nigerians resident at Christian Village and a report by the Bank of Ghana concerning the Managing Director of Amalbank, a Nigerian, who is alleged to be involved in money laundering and other fraudulent deals within the bank, the High Commissioner said the media should not dwell on one- sided reports but rather ensure that they stated both sides of the story.
He said it was pathetic that although Africans wanted to make the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) work, it was difficult for fellow Africans to do businesses among themselves due to a few bad experiences which had all been generalised.
The High Commissioner gave the assurance that he was ready to co-operate with any institution that needed information on Nigerian residents in Ghana, saying, “I will never condone the irregularities of anyone and any perpetrator of any crime should be made to face the full rigours of the law when found guilty.”
He said the government of Ghana was doing enough to smoothen relations between the two countries and called on the media to join the platform that could bring prosperity and lasting peace between the two countries and the sub-region as a whole.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Nigerian High Commissioner to Accra, Senator Musiliu O. Obanikoro, has called on Nigerians living in Ghana to be law abiding by comporting themselves and co-operating with the government to fish out the lots among them.
He also appealed to Ghanaians to stop generalising issues of criminality involving Nigerians living in the country.
He conceded that there might be some bad ones among Nigerians living in Ghana but that should not warrant people, especially the media, to generalise the issue by saying that all Nigerians were bad.
The Ambassador made these statements when he addressed the press in Accra on Monday.
He said relations between Ghana and Nigeria were too strong and therefore the media should not insinuate that Nigerians were bad whenever there was an issue involving a Nigerian to damage the goodwill enjoyed by both countries.
Senator Obanikoro said Nigeria was the number six foreign investor in Ghana and, according to him, official investments in Ghana by Nigerians amounted to $1 billion last year, stating further that other benefits that Ghana had enjoyed from Nigeria included the West African Gas Pipeline project, a 90-day oil credit for Ghana last year and the expansion of banking activities in the country.
“We are working closely with Ghana to create a better Ghana and vice versa and the media must not put this in jeopardy,” he added.
He said passing derogatory remarks about Nigerians on the airwaves was unhealthy for both countries, explaining that generalising every bad thing that a Nigerian did to affect all Nigerians could trigger enmity which, when not checked, could degenerate into something else.
Referring to current media publications on the activities of some Nigerians resident at Christian Village and a report by the Bank of Ghana concerning the Managing Director of Amalbank, a Nigerian, who is alleged to be involved in money laundering and other fraudulent deals within the bank, the High Commissioner said the media should not dwell on one- sided reports but rather ensure that they stated both sides of the story.
He said it was pathetic that although Africans wanted to make the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) work, it was difficult for fellow Africans to do businesses among themselves due to a few bad experiences which had all been generalised.
The High Commissioner gave the assurance that he was ready to co-operate with any institution that needed information on Nigerian residents in Ghana, saying, “I will never condone the irregularities of anyone and any perpetrator of any crime should be made to face the full rigours of the law when found guilty.”
He said the government of Ghana was doing enough to smoothen relations between the two countries and called on the media to join the platform that could bring prosperity and lasting peace between the two countries and the sub-region as a whole.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Four land institutions to harmonise operations
Daily Graphic, back page, Sat. March 21/09
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE operations of four existing public service land institutions are to be harmonised to streamline land administration and avoid the acrimony and frustrations associated with land acquisition, ownership and use in the country.
The project, dubbed ‘The Land Administration Project’ (LAP), which will merge the operations of the Land Valuation Board, the Survey Department, the Land Title Registration and the Lands Commission, into a single institution to be known as the Lands Commission, received presidential accent in December last year under a new Lands Commission Act 2008 (Act 767).
The act seeks to consolidate about 166 land-related legislation and sources in the country into a single document to allow for easy reference and systematic land administration.
The new Lands Commission, which will be inaugurated soon, will have under it, a Survey and Mapping, Land Registration, Land Valuation and Public and Vested Lands Management divisions.
The Director, Human Resources, Finance and Administration, of the Land Valuation Board (LVB), Mr Mark Bayor, said this at a national delegates conference of the Public Service Workers Union (PSWU) of the LVB in Accra on Thursday.
He said the move would help to put to rest the issue of land guards and double registration of lands and would also bring sanity into land administration in the country.
The congress, which was on the theme: “Land Valuation Board in Land Administration Project (LAP), prospects and challenges", was aimed at electing new members to the PSWU and also to brief the delegates on what the LVB stands to gain in the harmonisation of the four institutions into one entity.
Mr Bayor, who called on workers of the LVB to brace themselves for a new and better opportunity, however, called on them to put away their old attitudes towards work such as lateness, laziness and idling about, in order to ensure that the new Lands Commission lived up to expectation.
He said the LAP was a Government of Ghana’s programme with support from six donor institutions to implement the National Lands Policy launched in 1999 and that the LAP was inaugurated in 2003 with the first phase of five years estimated to cost $55.5 million.
He said under the LAP, activities of the merging institutions had been streamlined thus facilitating some existing functions such as the revaluation and inventory taking of state acquired lands.
He, however, stated that the merger would cause a possible redeployment of some staff of the merging institutions including the LVB and, therefore, called for the provision of packages that would sustain the affected staff to avoid any unforeseen eventualities.
The Secretary General of the Ghana TUC, Mr Kofi Asamoah, who addressed the participants, said the successful implementation of the LAP would put to rest some of the difficulties that the nation faced in terms of land administration.
He said it was imperative for the LVB to train its staff so that they would be able to function properly in order to meet the standards of professionalism, competence and moral uprightness envisaged under the project.
He also called on the implementing agents of the LAP to ensure that the conditions of service of staff who would be transferred to the new commission would not be adversely affected.
He suggested that workers who would be retired should be made to receive severance awards due them.
Mr Asamoah further noted that the promulgation of the new act brought to an end, the unnecessary ambiguity regarding unionisation of staff of the land institutions, saying that the act emphasised the fact that the Lands Commission was a public service, thereby putting to rest the question of unionisation.
He gave the assurance that the GTUC would do everything possible to ensure that the legitimate interest of the affected staff of the LVB were not sacrificed during the implementation of the project.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE operations of four existing public service land institutions are to be harmonised to streamline land administration and avoid the acrimony and frustrations associated with land acquisition, ownership and use in the country.
The project, dubbed ‘The Land Administration Project’ (LAP), which will merge the operations of the Land Valuation Board, the Survey Department, the Land Title Registration and the Lands Commission, into a single institution to be known as the Lands Commission, received presidential accent in December last year under a new Lands Commission Act 2008 (Act 767).
The act seeks to consolidate about 166 land-related legislation and sources in the country into a single document to allow for easy reference and systematic land administration.
The new Lands Commission, which will be inaugurated soon, will have under it, a Survey and Mapping, Land Registration, Land Valuation and Public and Vested Lands Management divisions.
The Director, Human Resources, Finance and Administration, of the Land Valuation Board (LVB), Mr Mark Bayor, said this at a national delegates conference of the Public Service Workers Union (PSWU) of the LVB in Accra on Thursday.
He said the move would help to put to rest the issue of land guards and double registration of lands and would also bring sanity into land administration in the country.
The congress, which was on the theme: “Land Valuation Board in Land Administration Project (LAP), prospects and challenges", was aimed at electing new members to the PSWU and also to brief the delegates on what the LVB stands to gain in the harmonisation of the four institutions into one entity.
Mr Bayor, who called on workers of the LVB to brace themselves for a new and better opportunity, however, called on them to put away their old attitudes towards work such as lateness, laziness and idling about, in order to ensure that the new Lands Commission lived up to expectation.
He said the LAP was a Government of Ghana’s programme with support from six donor institutions to implement the National Lands Policy launched in 1999 and that the LAP was inaugurated in 2003 with the first phase of five years estimated to cost $55.5 million.
He said under the LAP, activities of the merging institutions had been streamlined thus facilitating some existing functions such as the revaluation and inventory taking of state acquired lands.
He, however, stated that the merger would cause a possible redeployment of some staff of the merging institutions including the LVB and, therefore, called for the provision of packages that would sustain the affected staff to avoid any unforeseen eventualities.
The Secretary General of the Ghana TUC, Mr Kofi Asamoah, who addressed the participants, said the successful implementation of the LAP would put to rest some of the difficulties that the nation faced in terms of land administration.
He said it was imperative for the LVB to train its staff so that they would be able to function properly in order to meet the standards of professionalism, competence and moral uprightness envisaged under the project.
He also called on the implementing agents of the LAP to ensure that the conditions of service of staff who would be transferred to the new commission would not be adversely affected.
He suggested that workers who would be retired should be made to receive severance awards due them.
Mr Asamoah further noted that the promulgation of the new act brought to an end, the unnecessary ambiguity regarding unionisation of staff of the land institutions, saying that the act emphasised the fact that the Lands Commission was a public service, thereby putting to rest the question of unionisation.
He gave the assurance that the GTUC would do everything possible to ensure that the legitimate interest of the affected staff of the LVB were not sacrificed during the implementation of the project.
Friday, March 20, 2009
'Peace Council capable of handling conflict'
Daily Graphic, (page 3), Thurdays March 19/09
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) has urged factions engaged in conflicts in the northern part of the country to allow the National Peace Council (NPC) to do its work to ensure lasting peace in the area.
It has also urged the security agencies to be swift and professional in apprehending trouble makers in the area to avoid political coloration.
The Chairman of the CCG, Rev Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, made the call on behalf of the council at its annual general meeting in Accra yesterday.
He also advised political parties to desist from any form of involvement that would aggravate the situation in the northern regions or any other part of the country.
Rev Dr Frimpong-Manso said the CCG had been on course as far as its quest for peace and good governance was concerned but added that “our major concern, though, is the renewed violence in the northern part of Ghana, specifically Tamale and Bawku”.
He, however, commended the government for its prompt action in addressing the situation in the affected areas.
He said the council, which will celebrate its 80 years of existence, would continue to follow with keen interest events on the political, social and religious landscape, adding that on the political scene, “we have enjoyed maximum co-operation from all stakeholders”.
He further called for co-operation from all denominations in the country and other identifiable Christian organisations to help in reviving the activities of the Ghana Evangelistic Committee (GEC) to help bring into fruition the third National Church Survey, which is aimed at witnessing the Gospel to Ghanaians.
“The council will continue to be the mouthpiece of its members in advocating a peaceful and just society where the highest premium will be placed on unity, respect, dignity and integrity of God’s creation,” he said.
Touching on the council’s financial status, Rev Dr Frimpong-Manso bemoaned its financial situation, saying that “during the year, partner support for the council’s core programmes reduced drastically, making it difficult to even meet some obligations of the secretariat”.
He further stated that although 2008 was an improvement on 2007, many member churches still owed the council to the tune of GH¢45,000 as of December 31, 2008 and called on members to honour their financial obligations.
The General Secretary of the CCG, Rev Dr Fred Deegbe, who enumerated some of the activities undertaken by the council in the year under review, said despite its financial constraints, the council made significant progress in the performance of its activities.
He said it was able to strategically position itself as a research-based advocacy institution and also engaged member churches in advocacy and capacity building to enable them to engage in issues of governance.
Rev Dr Deegbe also said the council was able to secure funds for the training and involvement of its members in voter education and election monitoring during last year’s polls and was also able to engage the council and local council of churches in peace building and conflict resolution in some conflict endemic areas of the country.
He said the CCG, in collaboration with other Christian churches, also organised a successful week of national prayer and fasting towards peaceful elections and collaborated with others in ensuring peaceful elections, transition and the smooth handing over to a new government.
On the way forward, Rev Dr Deegbe said the CCG was in the process of reviewing its constitution “to enable it to meet some of the challenges of change necessitated by the times we live in”.
He said the council would also concentrate on working on its main focus of socio-economic development, gender and human rights.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) has urged factions engaged in conflicts in the northern part of the country to allow the National Peace Council (NPC) to do its work to ensure lasting peace in the area.
It has also urged the security agencies to be swift and professional in apprehending trouble makers in the area to avoid political coloration.
The Chairman of the CCG, Rev Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, made the call on behalf of the council at its annual general meeting in Accra yesterday.
He also advised political parties to desist from any form of involvement that would aggravate the situation in the northern regions or any other part of the country.
Rev Dr Frimpong-Manso said the CCG had been on course as far as its quest for peace and good governance was concerned but added that “our major concern, though, is the renewed violence in the northern part of Ghana, specifically Tamale and Bawku”.
He, however, commended the government for its prompt action in addressing the situation in the affected areas.
He said the council, which will celebrate its 80 years of existence, would continue to follow with keen interest events on the political, social and religious landscape, adding that on the political scene, “we have enjoyed maximum co-operation from all stakeholders”.
He further called for co-operation from all denominations in the country and other identifiable Christian organisations to help in reviving the activities of the Ghana Evangelistic Committee (GEC) to help bring into fruition the third National Church Survey, which is aimed at witnessing the Gospel to Ghanaians.
“The council will continue to be the mouthpiece of its members in advocating a peaceful and just society where the highest premium will be placed on unity, respect, dignity and integrity of God’s creation,” he said.
Touching on the council’s financial status, Rev Dr Frimpong-Manso bemoaned its financial situation, saying that “during the year, partner support for the council’s core programmes reduced drastically, making it difficult to even meet some obligations of the secretariat”.
He further stated that although 2008 was an improvement on 2007, many member churches still owed the council to the tune of GH¢45,000 as of December 31, 2008 and called on members to honour their financial obligations.
The General Secretary of the CCG, Rev Dr Fred Deegbe, who enumerated some of the activities undertaken by the council in the year under review, said despite its financial constraints, the council made significant progress in the performance of its activities.
He said it was able to strategically position itself as a research-based advocacy institution and also engaged member churches in advocacy and capacity building to enable them to engage in issues of governance.
Rev Dr Deegbe also said the council was able to secure funds for the training and involvement of its members in voter education and election monitoring during last year’s polls and was also able to engage the council and local council of churches in peace building and conflict resolution in some conflict endemic areas of the country.
He said the CCG, in collaboration with other Christian churches, also organised a successful week of national prayer and fasting towards peaceful elections and collaborated with others in ensuring peaceful elections, transition and the smooth handing over to a new government.
On the way forward, Rev Dr Deegbe said the CCG was in the process of reviewing its constitution “to enable it to meet some of the challenges of change necessitated by the times we live in”.
He said the council would also concentrate on working on its main focus of socio-economic development, gender and human rights.
Horro at Abeka • Man, girlfriend in murder, suicide drama
Daily Graphic, (front page), Tuesday, March 17/09
A MAN and a his girlfriend, both in their early 30s, were yesterday found dead in a single room apartment at Abeka in Accra in what is suspected to be a combination of murder and suicide.
When the Daily Graphic went to the scene, the man had a rope tied around his neck, with the other end of the rope tied to the ceiling, while the woman was lying half naked on the bed.
The man was identified by his neighbours as Daniel Parku Jnr, a former worker of Westec Securities, while the woman, who could not be identified, was suspected to be his girlfriend by name Worla Ahado, who is said to be an itinerant house help.
Residents of the area could not say what exactly happened but they believed that the man might have killed the woman and later hanged himself.
They said the last time they saw the deceased was on Saturday and, therefore, they suspected that the incident might have happened on Saturday night.
A tenant, Mr Samuel Asiedu, who claimed to be Daniel’s friend, said the deceased were not married but were living together in the house.
He said they fought very often but it was never suspected that such a thing could happen.
“I knew they had separated but I do not know what exactly brought the lady back to the house on Saturday,” he added.
He said he had not set eyes on Daniel since Saturday, until Monday morning when other tenants started complaining of a terrible stench all over the house, with flies hovering around.
Mr Asiedu said they forced Daniel’s door open, only to find him hanging in the room, while Worla’s lifeless body lay on the bed.
He said the landlady was immediately notified and a report was made at the Tesano Police Station.
The landlady, Mrs Philomina Ayevor, said she had gone to knock at Daniel’s door on Sunday when he did not show up at a regular meeting organised in the house for the tenants but she thought he was asleep, since there had been no response.
She said they went on with the meeting without Daniel and woke up in the morning of yesterday only to get complaints from other tenants about an unusual stench from Daniel’s room.
She said when the door was forced open and she saw the lifeless bodies, she went to lodge a complaint at the Tesano Police Station.
She said she called for an ambulance to convey the bodies to the mortuary, but as of 12:20 p.m. when the Daily Graphic was leaving the place, the bodies were still in the room.
From the Korle-Bu Mortuary, Rebecca Quaicoe Duho reports that around 1.30 p.m., the Tesano Police brought the two bodies to the mortuary but the bodies were refused by officials of the mortuary.
According to police sources, the mortuary manager at Korle-Bu said the place was full and, therefore, they could not take the bodies, which were in advanced stages of decomposition.
The police, therefore, took the bodies to the Police Hospital Mortuary where they were received.
At the mortuary, an aunt of Worla’s, who gave her name as Dora, said she could not at first identify the deceased from the face because the body had decomposed. She said she could, however, identify Worla by a mark that she had on her belly which resulted from an operation.
She confirmed that Worla had been in an on-and-off relationship with Daniel and added that since September last year the deceased had been living with her at the Labadi Civil Aviation Quarters.
Dora said she had gone for a funeral on Saturday and that on her return she was told that Worla had left the house since Saturday and had not returned, adding that she called the deceased’s phone several times but no one answered it.
When the landlady was interviewed again at the Police Hospital Mortuary, she said Daniel had been living in her house for the past three years, noting that it was later realised that he had a mental problem, a situation which she said Daniel later confirmed to the household, adding, however, that he had been treated and he was, therefore, normal.
She said what baffled her was that when Daniel rented the room three years ago, he used the address and telephone number of Worla’s aunt (Dora) as those of a relative and, therefore, when the incident occurred and they were trying to reach his relatives, their calls went through to Worla’s aunt.
She further confirmed that it had been a while since she saw Worla in the house and, therefore, she thought that the two had ended their relationship.
Later, a source at the Tesano Police told the Daily Graphic that the police are investigating.
A MAN and a his girlfriend, both in their early 30s, were yesterday found dead in a single room apartment at Abeka in Accra in what is suspected to be a combination of murder and suicide.
When the Daily Graphic went to the scene, the man had a rope tied around his neck, with the other end of the rope tied to the ceiling, while the woman was lying half naked on the bed.
The man was identified by his neighbours as Daniel Parku Jnr, a former worker of Westec Securities, while the woman, who could not be identified, was suspected to be his girlfriend by name Worla Ahado, who is said to be an itinerant house help.
Residents of the area could not say what exactly happened but they believed that the man might have killed the woman and later hanged himself.
They said the last time they saw the deceased was on Saturday and, therefore, they suspected that the incident might have happened on Saturday night.
A tenant, Mr Samuel Asiedu, who claimed to be Daniel’s friend, said the deceased were not married but were living together in the house.
He said they fought very often but it was never suspected that such a thing could happen.
“I knew they had separated but I do not know what exactly brought the lady back to the house on Saturday,” he added.
He said he had not set eyes on Daniel since Saturday, until Monday morning when other tenants started complaining of a terrible stench all over the house, with flies hovering around.
Mr Asiedu said they forced Daniel’s door open, only to find him hanging in the room, while Worla’s lifeless body lay on the bed.
He said the landlady was immediately notified and a report was made at the Tesano Police Station.
The landlady, Mrs Philomina Ayevor, said she had gone to knock at Daniel’s door on Sunday when he did not show up at a regular meeting organised in the house for the tenants but she thought he was asleep, since there had been no response.
She said they went on with the meeting without Daniel and woke up in the morning of yesterday only to get complaints from other tenants about an unusual stench from Daniel’s room.
She said when the door was forced open and she saw the lifeless bodies, she went to lodge a complaint at the Tesano Police Station.
She said she called for an ambulance to convey the bodies to the mortuary, but as of 12:20 p.m. when the Daily Graphic was leaving the place, the bodies were still in the room.
From the Korle-Bu Mortuary, Rebecca Quaicoe Duho reports that around 1.30 p.m., the Tesano Police brought the two bodies to the mortuary but the bodies were refused by officials of the mortuary.
According to police sources, the mortuary manager at Korle-Bu said the place was full and, therefore, they could not take the bodies, which were in advanced stages of decomposition.
The police, therefore, took the bodies to the Police Hospital Mortuary where they were received.
At the mortuary, an aunt of Worla’s, who gave her name as Dora, said she could not at first identify the deceased from the face because the body had decomposed. She said she could, however, identify Worla by a mark that she had on her belly which resulted from an operation.
She confirmed that Worla had been in an on-and-off relationship with Daniel and added that since September last year the deceased had been living with her at the Labadi Civil Aviation Quarters.
Dora said she had gone for a funeral on Saturday and that on her return she was told that Worla had left the house since Saturday and had not returned, adding that she called the deceased’s phone several times but no one answered it.
When the landlady was interviewed again at the Police Hospital Mortuary, she said Daniel had been living in her house for the past three years, noting that it was later realised that he had a mental problem, a situation which she said Daniel later confirmed to the household, adding, however, that he had been treated and he was, therefore, normal.
She said what baffled her was that when Daniel rented the room three years ago, he used the address and telephone number of Worla’s aunt (Dora) as those of a relative and, therefore, when the incident occurred and they were trying to reach his relatives, their calls went through to Worla’s aunt.
She further confirmed that it had been a while since she saw Worla in the house and, therefore, she thought that the two had ended their relationship.
Later, a source at the Tesano Police told the Daily Graphic that the police are investigating.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Nurses hold unionisation workshop
Daily Graphic, Pg 40, Monday, March 16/09
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
A leadership workshop on unionisation for members of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association has been held for 200 unionised nursing staff in Accra.
The workshop, which brought together unionised nursing staff from the Eastern, Central, Volta and Greater Accra regions and was in collaboration with the Canadian Nurses’ Association, was aimed at incorporating union dimensions into the scope of work of nurses on the theme “Strengthening organisational capacity through organised labour”.
The Deputy Chairman of the National Labour Commission (NLC), Mr Kwasi Danso Acheampong, who addressed the nurses called on the government to consider issues which would propel the economy forward.
According to him, issues on labour have not been taken seriously in the country over the years, and noted that downplaying such issues would have dire consequences for the country.
Mr Acheampong who took the nurses through topics such as “incorporating labour relations issues in professional work” and “ethical dimensions of unionism”, said labour was the backbone of any country’s development, saying that it should be an important issue to move the country’s economy forward.
The Deputy Chairman who bemoaned the fact that the commission did not have outlets in the regions and districts to take care of workers’ concerns said although the labour law of 2003 called for the setting up of district offices, his outfit was financially constrained.
He said the commission planned to open branches in Takoradi, Tamale and Kumasi to save the situation where workers had to travel to Accra whenever they had a problem.
According to him, Article 21 Clauses 1 (e) of the 1992 Constitution makes freedom to form or join trade unions or other associations one of the general fundamental freedoms.
He said Article 24 (3) also guaranteed the right of every worker to form or join a trade union of his choice for the promotion and protection of his economic and social interests.
He, therefore, advised the nurses to incorporate labour relation issues in their professional work since by so doing they would not only be exercising their fundamental freedom but their economic right.
He however warned the nurses that freedoms and rights had their corresponding obligations or duties, saying that “the ethical or moral dimension of unionisation of nurses is how to form a trade union for the promotion and protection of your economic and social interest while respecting the legal obligation or duties imposed on you”.
He said trade union right forms part of the entrenched articles in the 1992 Constitution, saying that the rights in the Constitution had corresponding obligations which must also be respected.
The President of the GRNA, Mrs Alice Darkoa Asare-Allotey, said it was only when the association presented a solid front that it would be able to make a good impression and realise its objectives.
She said the workshop will, among other things, enable them to understand the need and urgency for unionisation in career nursing to stimulate their enthusiasm in union matters and also develop their capacity for an effective collaboration and networking with other professional colleagues within the work environment.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
A leadership workshop on unionisation for members of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association has been held for 200 unionised nursing staff in Accra.
The workshop, which brought together unionised nursing staff from the Eastern, Central, Volta and Greater Accra regions and was in collaboration with the Canadian Nurses’ Association, was aimed at incorporating union dimensions into the scope of work of nurses on the theme “Strengthening organisational capacity through organised labour”.
The Deputy Chairman of the National Labour Commission (NLC), Mr Kwasi Danso Acheampong, who addressed the nurses called on the government to consider issues which would propel the economy forward.
According to him, issues on labour have not been taken seriously in the country over the years, and noted that downplaying such issues would have dire consequences for the country.
Mr Acheampong who took the nurses through topics such as “incorporating labour relations issues in professional work” and “ethical dimensions of unionism”, said labour was the backbone of any country’s development, saying that it should be an important issue to move the country’s economy forward.
The Deputy Chairman who bemoaned the fact that the commission did not have outlets in the regions and districts to take care of workers’ concerns said although the labour law of 2003 called for the setting up of district offices, his outfit was financially constrained.
He said the commission planned to open branches in Takoradi, Tamale and Kumasi to save the situation where workers had to travel to Accra whenever they had a problem.
According to him, Article 21 Clauses 1 (e) of the 1992 Constitution makes freedom to form or join trade unions or other associations one of the general fundamental freedoms.
He said Article 24 (3) also guaranteed the right of every worker to form or join a trade union of his choice for the promotion and protection of his economic and social interests.
He, therefore, advised the nurses to incorporate labour relation issues in their professional work since by so doing they would not only be exercising their fundamental freedom but their economic right.
He however warned the nurses that freedoms and rights had their corresponding obligations or duties, saying that “the ethical or moral dimension of unionisation of nurses is how to form a trade union for the promotion and protection of your economic and social interest while respecting the legal obligation or duties imposed on you”.
He said trade union right forms part of the entrenched articles in the 1992 Constitution, saying that the rights in the Constitution had corresponding obligations which must also be respected.
The President of the GRNA, Mrs Alice Darkoa Asare-Allotey, said it was only when the association presented a solid front that it would be able to make a good impression and realise its objectives.
She said the workshop will, among other things, enable them to understand the need and urgency for unionisation in career nursing to stimulate their enthusiasm in union matters and also develop their capacity for an effective collaboration and networking with other professional colleagues within the work environment.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Women have been versatile
Daily Graphic, Spread. (Ghana at 52 special), Thursday, March 05/09
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
SINCE independence, many women have played different roles through their political, economic and educational endeavours to help lift high the image of their beloved country.
The contribution of women to Ghana’s politics after independence is significant, as it has helped to pave the way for more women to be elected into Parliament. The need to have more women represented in the Parliament of the First Republic led to the introduction of the Representation of the People’s (Women Members) Bill which was passed in 1960.
Through that act, 10 women were elected unopposed as Members of Parliament (MPs) in June 1960. Three of them, Susanna Al-Hassan, Ayanori Bukari and Victoria Nyarko, represented the Northern Region; two others, Sophia Doku and Mary Koranteng, represented the Eastern Region, while Regina Asamany was the Volta Regional representative.
The rest were Grace Ayensu and Christiana Wilmot, Western Region; Comfort Asamoah, Ashanti Region, and Lucy Anim, Brong Ahafo.
In 1965, Madam Al-Hassan was appointed as the Minister of Social Welfare and Community Development by Ghana’s First President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, while others were appointed as district commissioners.
In the Second Republic, there were two women MPs — Madam Akanbodiipo Lydia Azure, who stood on the ticket of the National Alliance of Liberals (NAL) and won the Sandema seat, and Madam Tedam Catherine, who won the Chiana-Paga seat for the Progress Party (PP).
In the Third Republic, five women served as MPs, and in the First Parliament of the Fourth Republic 16 women were elected as MPs, while in 1997 there were 18 women elected to Parliament.
In 2001, 19 women went to the Third Parliament of the Fourth Republic, while in 2005, 25 were elected to Parliament.
Presently, 20 women are in the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic and many more women are occupying key positions in the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature.
There is the first female Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo, who is a retired Supreme Court judge. There is also the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, who was sworn into office in June 2007 as the 24th Chief Justice of the country and the first woman in the history of Ghana to head the Judiciary.
A woman is also heading the Ghana Police Service (GPS) for the first time. Mrs Elizabeth Mills-Robertson is the acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP). Before her appointment, she was a Deputy IGP in charge of Administration.
One other versatile woman is the Director of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Ms Elizabeth Adjei. She was appointed to that office in September 2002 and she is the first female in Ghana to head the GIS.
She is responsible for determining the strategic direction and policy of the service and managing the development of the GIS in accordance with legal and international requirements.
Ms Anna Bossman is the acting Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). One other woman who is making Ghanaian women proud is Dr Grace Bediako who, since July 2004, has been the Government Statistician. Prior to her appointment, she was Chief of the Demographic Statistics Division of the United Nations.
On the educational front, many women have achieved higher laurels through hard work. One such woman is Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and first female vice-chancellor of a state university in the country. She assumed duty on October 1, 2008, succeeding Reverend Professor Emmanuel Addow-Obeng whose tenure as vice-chancellor ended on that same date.
She started life as a lecturer in the English Department of the UCC in 1986.
There is also the First Vice-President of the International Criminal Court, Judge Akua Kuenyehia. She was one time Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana.
Another personality is Mrs Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu. She is the UN Deputy Special Representative (Rule of Law) for Liberia. Her appointment was announced by the UN Secretary General on August 22, 2007. She was a professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana.
Professor Florence Abena Dolphyne rose through the ranks to become the first Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, a record which is yet to be broken.
On the economic front, many women are in industry and production and this has helped to boost the economy of the country.
Ms Joyce R. Aryee is the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines. She is the first woman to head the Ghanaian chamber and also the first woman to hold that position in Africa.
Another woman who will forever be remembered for her role in promoting women’s entrepreneurship is Dr (Mrs) Esther Afua Ocloo, the owner of Nkulenu Industries and pioneer in micro loans for women. She was one of Ghana's leading entrepreneurs and prominent exponent of the role of women in economic development and helped to establish the Women’s World Banking. She died in 2002 at age 83.
Another woman industrialist is Mrs Elizabeth Joyce Villars, founder of CAMELOT, a security printing, business forms manufacturing and design facility based in Accra and listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. She is the first qualified Ghanaian female computer programmer and is a systems analyst by profession. She worked as the Head of the Computer Department at the Volta River Authority and as a systems consultant with the West African Data Services Bureau Limited (WADSB). She is a past president of the Governing Council of the Private Enterprises Foundation (PEF) and also past President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).
There is also Mrs Sylvia M. Boye, who was once Chairman of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). Before that appointment she had worked with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and risen through the ranks to retire as the Registrar.
Another woman is Reverend Ama Afo Blay, who retired as the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service. She is currently a reverend minister with the Methodist Church of Ghana.
These achievements and many more which have not been recorded in history books have firmly placed Ghana at the forefront of efforts to see women rise to prominence in Africa and the world.
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
SINCE independence, many women have played different roles through their political, economic and educational endeavours to help lift high the image of their beloved country.
The contribution of women to Ghana’s politics after independence is significant, as it has helped to pave the way for more women to be elected into Parliament. The need to have more women represented in the Parliament of the First Republic led to the introduction of the Representation of the People’s (Women Members) Bill which was passed in 1960.
Through that act, 10 women were elected unopposed as Members of Parliament (MPs) in June 1960. Three of them, Susanna Al-Hassan, Ayanori Bukari and Victoria Nyarko, represented the Northern Region; two others, Sophia Doku and Mary Koranteng, represented the Eastern Region, while Regina Asamany was the Volta Regional representative.
The rest were Grace Ayensu and Christiana Wilmot, Western Region; Comfort Asamoah, Ashanti Region, and Lucy Anim, Brong Ahafo.
In 1965, Madam Al-Hassan was appointed as the Minister of Social Welfare and Community Development by Ghana’s First President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, while others were appointed as district commissioners.
In the Second Republic, there were two women MPs — Madam Akanbodiipo Lydia Azure, who stood on the ticket of the National Alliance of Liberals (NAL) and won the Sandema seat, and Madam Tedam Catherine, who won the Chiana-Paga seat for the Progress Party (PP).
In the Third Republic, five women served as MPs, and in the First Parliament of the Fourth Republic 16 women were elected as MPs, while in 1997 there were 18 women elected to Parliament.
In 2001, 19 women went to the Third Parliament of the Fourth Republic, while in 2005, 25 were elected to Parliament.
Presently, 20 women are in the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic and many more women are occupying key positions in the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature.
There is the first female Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo, who is a retired Supreme Court judge. There is also the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, who was sworn into office in June 2007 as the 24th Chief Justice of the country and the first woman in the history of Ghana to head the Judiciary.
A woman is also heading the Ghana Police Service (GPS) for the first time. Mrs Elizabeth Mills-Robertson is the acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP). Before her appointment, she was a Deputy IGP in charge of Administration.
One other versatile woman is the Director of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Ms Elizabeth Adjei. She was appointed to that office in September 2002 and she is the first female in Ghana to head the GIS.
She is responsible for determining the strategic direction and policy of the service and managing the development of the GIS in accordance with legal and international requirements.
Ms Anna Bossman is the acting Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). One other woman who is making Ghanaian women proud is Dr Grace Bediako who, since July 2004, has been the Government Statistician. Prior to her appointment, she was Chief of the Demographic Statistics Division of the United Nations.
On the educational front, many women have achieved higher laurels through hard work. One such woman is Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and first female vice-chancellor of a state university in the country. She assumed duty on October 1, 2008, succeeding Reverend Professor Emmanuel Addow-Obeng whose tenure as vice-chancellor ended on that same date.
She started life as a lecturer in the English Department of the UCC in 1986.
There is also the First Vice-President of the International Criminal Court, Judge Akua Kuenyehia. She was one time Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana.
Another personality is Mrs Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu. She is the UN Deputy Special Representative (Rule of Law) for Liberia. Her appointment was announced by the UN Secretary General on August 22, 2007. She was a professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana.
Professor Florence Abena Dolphyne rose through the ranks to become the first Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, a record which is yet to be broken.
On the economic front, many women are in industry and production and this has helped to boost the economy of the country.
Ms Joyce R. Aryee is the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines. She is the first woman to head the Ghanaian chamber and also the first woman to hold that position in Africa.
Another woman who will forever be remembered for her role in promoting women’s entrepreneurship is Dr (Mrs) Esther Afua Ocloo, the owner of Nkulenu Industries and pioneer in micro loans for women. She was one of Ghana's leading entrepreneurs and prominent exponent of the role of women in economic development and helped to establish the Women’s World Banking. She died in 2002 at age 83.
Another woman industrialist is Mrs Elizabeth Joyce Villars, founder of CAMELOT, a security printing, business forms manufacturing and design facility based in Accra and listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. She is the first qualified Ghanaian female computer programmer and is a systems analyst by profession. She worked as the Head of the Computer Department at the Volta River Authority and as a systems consultant with the West African Data Services Bureau Limited (WADSB). She is a past president of the Governing Council of the Private Enterprises Foundation (PEF) and also past President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).
There is also Mrs Sylvia M. Boye, who was once Chairman of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). Before that appointment she had worked with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and risen through the ranks to retire as the Registrar.
Another woman is Reverend Ama Afo Blay, who retired as the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service. She is currently a reverend minister with the Methodist Church of Ghana.
These achievements and many more which have not been recorded in history books have firmly placed Ghana at the forefront of efforts to see women rise to prominence in Africa and the world.
Another Carnage •11 perish in Okyereko accident
Daily Graphic, Front Page. Tuesday, March 03/09
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho, Adawukwaa
A spot between Winneba and Potsin on the Accra-Winneba road which has become notorious for motor accidents yesterday claimed 11 more lives in yet another accident when nine people died on the spot and two others later at the Winneba Hospital following a crash involving a Ford passenger vehicle and a stationary truck.
The Ford, with registration number GW 4306 Q, on which 18 passengers were travelling from Kwamanteng to Accra, ran into the stationary truck at Adawukwaa, near the Okyereko Junction.
Over the past two weeks, 21 people, including those who perished yesterday, had lost their lives in accidents on the same stretch of road when their vehicles were involved in similar accidents.
On February 19, 2009, a Metro Mass Transit bus was involved in an accident, claiming the lives of four people. Again, on Saturday, February 28, 2009, a pick-up was involved in an accident with an articulated truck and a 51-year-old man, Mr Kingsley Amoako, lost his life, while his driver, Samuel Otiwa, is currently recuperating at the Winneba Hospital.
Then on Sunday, March 1, a soldier and three others lost their lives on that same stretch of road, while a woman carrying a baby at her back was also knocked down, with the baby dying instantly.
The nine who died in yesterday’s accident are currently at the morgue at the Winneba Hospital. They include two women, six men and a two-year-old baby boy.
Seven others, two women and five men, including the driver of the Ford, are responding to treatment at the same hospital.
The Winneba District Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nana Ofori, confirmed yesterday’s accident to the Daily Graphic at Winneba.
He said his outfit was informed of the accident around 7.15 a.m. yesterday, saying that when they got to the scene, nine people were already dead and they managed to transport the dead and the injured to the Winneba Hospital, with two others dying at the hospital.
Describing the scene as “horrible”, he said information gathered so far indicated that the Ford driver, who gave his name as Isaac Nketia, 31, attempted to overtake another passenger vehicle but ended up running into the stationary truck, with registration number GT 5020 C, which had burst its back tyre and had parked there the previous evening.
He said the police had arrested the driver of the articulated truck, Amidu Ahmed, to help with their investigations.
Deploring the rate at which accidents occurred on the Winneba-Kasoa stretch of road, ASP Ofori said within a period of two weeks five accidents had occurred, resulting in the death of 21 people.
When the Daily Graphic visited the victims at the hospital, the Medical Superintendent, Dr Prosper K. Aniwa, said the five were in stable condition.
The Hospital Administrator, Mr Anthony Appiah-Nti Obeng, who took the Daily Graphic round the ward, said the hospital was overwhelmed by the number of accident victims that it attended to monthly and called on the government to declare that stretch of road an accident-prone zone to warn drivers.
One of the victims who are on admission at the hospital and who gave his name as Yona Adjoh Bofu, a 34-year-old photographer, said he and five others were travelling to Kwamanteng from Tema New Town to attend a friend’s father’s funeral.
He said they joined the Ford from Kwamanteng to Accra and that on the way the driver picked other passengers.
The driver of the Ford, who also managed to speak to the Daily Graphic but was visibly in pain, said he resides at Kwamanteng and normally started his daily work from there to Accra before he loaded to Takoradi.
He said the accident occurred because the tree branches and the stones the stationary truck driver had put on the road to warn other drivers were not visible enough and he ended up driving on the stones, which threw him off balance, resulting in his hitting the truck.
Others on admission at the hospital include Ishmael Tetteh, Martin Alakyerema, a 41-year-old student of the Winneba Training College, and Samuel Koomson, 22.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho, Adawukwaa
A spot between Winneba and Potsin on the Accra-Winneba road which has become notorious for motor accidents yesterday claimed 11 more lives in yet another accident when nine people died on the spot and two others later at the Winneba Hospital following a crash involving a Ford passenger vehicle and a stationary truck.
The Ford, with registration number GW 4306 Q, on which 18 passengers were travelling from Kwamanteng to Accra, ran into the stationary truck at Adawukwaa, near the Okyereko Junction.
Over the past two weeks, 21 people, including those who perished yesterday, had lost their lives in accidents on the same stretch of road when their vehicles were involved in similar accidents.
On February 19, 2009, a Metro Mass Transit bus was involved in an accident, claiming the lives of four people. Again, on Saturday, February 28, 2009, a pick-up was involved in an accident with an articulated truck and a 51-year-old man, Mr Kingsley Amoako, lost his life, while his driver, Samuel Otiwa, is currently recuperating at the Winneba Hospital.
Then on Sunday, March 1, a soldier and three others lost their lives on that same stretch of road, while a woman carrying a baby at her back was also knocked down, with the baby dying instantly.
The nine who died in yesterday’s accident are currently at the morgue at the Winneba Hospital. They include two women, six men and a two-year-old baby boy.
Seven others, two women and five men, including the driver of the Ford, are responding to treatment at the same hospital.
The Winneba District Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nana Ofori, confirmed yesterday’s accident to the Daily Graphic at Winneba.
He said his outfit was informed of the accident around 7.15 a.m. yesterday, saying that when they got to the scene, nine people were already dead and they managed to transport the dead and the injured to the Winneba Hospital, with two others dying at the hospital.
Describing the scene as “horrible”, he said information gathered so far indicated that the Ford driver, who gave his name as Isaac Nketia, 31, attempted to overtake another passenger vehicle but ended up running into the stationary truck, with registration number GT 5020 C, which had burst its back tyre and had parked there the previous evening.
He said the police had arrested the driver of the articulated truck, Amidu Ahmed, to help with their investigations.
Deploring the rate at which accidents occurred on the Winneba-Kasoa stretch of road, ASP Ofori said within a period of two weeks five accidents had occurred, resulting in the death of 21 people.
When the Daily Graphic visited the victims at the hospital, the Medical Superintendent, Dr Prosper K. Aniwa, said the five were in stable condition.
The Hospital Administrator, Mr Anthony Appiah-Nti Obeng, who took the Daily Graphic round the ward, said the hospital was overwhelmed by the number of accident victims that it attended to monthly and called on the government to declare that stretch of road an accident-prone zone to warn drivers.
One of the victims who are on admission at the hospital and who gave his name as Yona Adjoh Bofu, a 34-year-old photographer, said he and five others were travelling to Kwamanteng from Tema New Town to attend a friend’s father’s funeral.
He said they joined the Ford from Kwamanteng to Accra and that on the way the driver picked other passengers.
The driver of the Ford, who also managed to speak to the Daily Graphic but was visibly in pain, said he resides at Kwamanteng and normally started his daily work from there to Accra before he loaded to Takoradi.
He said the accident occurred because the tree branches and the stones the stationary truck driver had put on the road to warn other drivers were not visible enough and he ended up driving on the stones, which threw him off balance, resulting in his hitting the truck.
Others on admission at the hospital include Ishmael Tetteh, Martin Alakyerema, a 41-year-old student of the Winneba Training College, and Samuel Koomson, 22.
Support for maternal health
Daily Graphic, Pg. 20. Thursday, March 5/09
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
GHANA is to benefit from a $30 million United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) donor support to help boost maternal health in the country.
The amount, which will be in tranches of $5 million for the next six years, will go into improving midwifery services in the country.
Dr Vincent Fauveau of the UNFPA, who made this known to the Daily Graphic in Accra after a forum on a joint programme by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the UNFPA on, “Investing in midwives”, said the UNFPA aimed at assisting 60 countries which had high maternal and neo-natal deaths in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
According to him, it was the UNFPA’s ambition to solicit donor support from international, governmental and non-governmental organisations to mobilise $500m to tackle maternal and neo-natal health care in 60 countries globally by 2015, which marks the end of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The MDGs are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development challenges and are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 Heads of State and governments during the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000.
The MDGs four and five specifically target child and maternal health and, according to Dr Fauveau, when the issue of maternal and neo-natal health was solved, it would have an effect on most of the MDG targets.
The UNFPA Deputy Country Representative, Mr Jude Edoche, in an address, also said the UNFPA was aimed at finding ways to improve quality of midwifery services, adding that countries with high maternal mortality rates needed to “enact relevant regulations to create the enabling environment for the practice of midwifery and develop strong and credible professional associations of midwives and educational institutions for the training of midwives”.
He said such countries were also to provide the necessary tools and supplies, ensure supportive supervision of both public and private midwives and raise the profile of midwives.
The President of the ICM, Ms Bridget Lynch, in an address, said the collaboration with UNFPA was aimed at strengthening midwifery, saying that the essential elements of a strong profession were improving on education and regulation and being part of a professional association.
She said the association aimed at developing a global standard for midwifery regulations and education, update global midwifery competencies and become a global tool for strengthening midwifery associations across the globe.
The ICM Secretary General, who gave an overview of ICM, said it was aimed at strengthening midwifery education and ongoing educational programmes and the role of the midwife as an educator.
She said the association also aimed to strengthen and support midwives’ professional autonomy to ensure that midwifery education, regulation and practice were designed and governed specifically by midwives, as well as promote and support midwifery research that enhanced and documented evidence–based midwifery practices.
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Elias Sory, said the country needed international partnerships in developing a higher educational system for midwifery at the bachelors and masters degree levels to provide the required competent tutors and researchers to teach in the country’s midwifery institutions as part of accreditation requirements and to also improve the image of midwifery.
He said the GHS viewed the poor maternal health statistics seriously, saying that despite the concerted efforts in improving maternal and child health services, “we continue to have skilled birth attendance of below 50 per cent”, adding that to help address the situation, the sector had chosen the theme, “Change for better results: Improving maternal and neonatal health”, for its programme of work this year.
Countries which are so far participating in the ICM/UNFPA programme include Ghana, Madagascar, Cote d’Ivoire, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, The Sudan, Haiti, Cambodia and Guyana.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
GHANA is to benefit from a $30 million United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) donor support to help boost maternal health in the country.
The amount, which will be in tranches of $5 million for the next six years, will go into improving midwifery services in the country.
Dr Vincent Fauveau of the UNFPA, who made this known to the Daily Graphic in Accra after a forum on a joint programme by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the UNFPA on, “Investing in midwives”, said the UNFPA aimed at assisting 60 countries which had high maternal and neo-natal deaths in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
According to him, it was the UNFPA’s ambition to solicit donor support from international, governmental and non-governmental organisations to mobilise $500m to tackle maternal and neo-natal health care in 60 countries globally by 2015, which marks the end of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The MDGs are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development challenges and are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 Heads of State and governments during the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000.
The MDGs four and five specifically target child and maternal health and, according to Dr Fauveau, when the issue of maternal and neo-natal health was solved, it would have an effect on most of the MDG targets.
The UNFPA Deputy Country Representative, Mr Jude Edoche, in an address, also said the UNFPA was aimed at finding ways to improve quality of midwifery services, adding that countries with high maternal mortality rates needed to “enact relevant regulations to create the enabling environment for the practice of midwifery and develop strong and credible professional associations of midwives and educational institutions for the training of midwives”.
He said such countries were also to provide the necessary tools and supplies, ensure supportive supervision of both public and private midwives and raise the profile of midwives.
The President of the ICM, Ms Bridget Lynch, in an address, said the collaboration with UNFPA was aimed at strengthening midwifery, saying that the essential elements of a strong profession were improving on education and regulation and being part of a professional association.
She said the association aimed at developing a global standard for midwifery regulations and education, update global midwifery competencies and become a global tool for strengthening midwifery associations across the globe.
The ICM Secretary General, who gave an overview of ICM, said it was aimed at strengthening midwifery education and ongoing educational programmes and the role of the midwife as an educator.
She said the association also aimed to strengthen and support midwives’ professional autonomy to ensure that midwifery education, regulation and practice were designed and governed specifically by midwives, as well as promote and support midwifery research that enhanced and documented evidence–based midwifery practices.
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Elias Sory, said the country needed international partnerships in developing a higher educational system for midwifery at the bachelors and masters degree levels to provide the required competent tutors and researchers to teach in the country’s midwifery institutions as part of accreditation requirements and to also improve the image of midwifery.
He said the GHS viewed the poor maternal health statistics seriously, saying that despite the concerted efforts in improving maternal and child health services, “we continue to have skilled birth attendance of below 50 per cent”, adding that to help address the situation, the sector had chosen the theme, “Change for better results: Improving maternal and neonatal health”, for its programme of work this year.
Countries which are so far participating in the ICM/UNFPA programme include Ghana, Madagascar, Cote d’Ivoire, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, The Sudan, Haiti, Cambodia and Guyana.
‘Financial constraint pushes women out of politics’
Daily Graphic, Pg. 11. Thursday, March 5/09
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE First National Vice Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mrs Araba Bentsi-Enchill, has observed that financial constraint is a major obstacle to women’s active involvement in politics.
According to her, the spirit of volunteerism that characterised politics some decades ago has dwindled and, therefore, politicians have to pay for every service that is offered them by individuals when they go on campaigns and that is pushing a lot of women out of politics.
Recognising the role of women during the independence struggle, she said some women played vital roles adding that most women who entered into politics in the First Republic were not educated but were traders or market women who financed political party activities and supported their male counterparts.
Mrs Bentsi-Enchill, who stated this in a interview with the Daily Graphic on the role of women before, during and after independence, pointed out that the negative perception that politics is a dirty game, as a result of the use of abusive language and stigmatisation of female politicians, had cowed most women who cannot stand such pressures into submission, making them reluctant to venture into politics.
Mrs Bentsi-Enchill who contested and lost the Cape Coast Parliamentary seat twice in 2000 and 2004 on the ticket of the CPP, mentioned the names of Daeda Ashikinsha, Akua Shoosho, Funny Sagoe and Akosua Ghana, and described them as unsung heroines who contributed in their own small ways to Ghana’s politics.
She said today, a number of women are financially handicapped and, therefore, cannot compete with their male partners on the same platform to win competitive elections.
She, therefore, called on political parties to seriously consider reserving some seats for women so that they could be represented in parliament, adding that the country’s development will be hampered without the active involvement of women who constitute over 50 per cent of the nation’s population in politics.
Mrs Bentsi-Enchill, who was once an assembly member for Asuoakye-Ankaful in the Central Region, said it was time for the government and women activists in general to seriously consider grooming more young women into politics saying that when the present crop of politicians phased out, it will not be easy getting a new crop of women to enter politics.
She commended the President J.E.A. Mills administration for appointing more women into ministerial positions since that would help encourage more women to go into politics.
As a former Central Regional Chairperson of the People’s National Convention (PNP) and CPP during the Third and Fourth Republics respectively, she called on the newly appointed women in government to excel in their assigned roles so as to serve as role models for the younger generation.
Mrs Bentsi-Enchill also called on women advocates not to only encourage other women to present themselves for elections but to set examples for others to emulate.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE First National Vice Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mrs Araba Bentsi-Enchill, has observed that financial constraint is a major obstacle to women’s active involvement in politics.
According to her, the spirit of volunteerism that characterised politics some decades ago has dwindled and, therefore, politicians have to pay for every service that is offered them by individuals when they go on campaigns and that is pushing a lot of women out of politics.
Recognising the role of women during the independence struggle, she said some women played vital roles adding that most women who entered into politics in the First Republic were not educated but were traders or market women who financed political party activities and supported their male counterparts.
Mrs Bentsi-Enchill, who stated this in a interview with the Daily Graphic on the role of women before, during and after independence, pointed out that the negative perception that politics is a dirty game, as a result of the use of abusive language and stigmatisation of female politicians, had cowed most women who cannot stand such pressures into submission, making them reluctant to venture into politics.
Mrs Bentsi-Enchill who contested and lost the Cape Coast Parliamentary seat twice in 2000 and 2004 on the ticket of the CPP, mentioned the names of Daeda Ashikinsha, Akua Shoosho, Funny Sagoe and Akosua Ghana, and described them as unsung heroines who contributed in their own small ways to Ghana’s politics.
She said today, a number of women are financially handicapped and, therefore, cannot compete with their male partners on the same platform to win competitive elections.
She, therefore, called on political parties to seriously consider reserving some seats for women so that they could be represented in parliament, adding that the country’s development will be hampered without the active involvement of women who constitute over 50 per cent of the nation’s population in politics.
Mrs Bentsi-Enchill, who was once an assembly member for Asuoakye-Ankaful in the Central Region, said it was time for the government and women activists in general to seriously consider grooming more young women into politics saying that when the present crop of politicians phased out, it will not be easy getting a new crop of women to enter politics.
She commended the President J.E.A. Mills administration for appointing more women into ministerial positions since that would help encourage more women to go into politics.
As a former Central Regional Chairperson of the People’s National Convention (PNP) and CPP during the Third and Fourth Republics respectively, she called on the newly appointed women in government to excel in their assigned roles so as to serve as role models for the younger generation.
Mrs Bentsi-Enchill also called on women advocates not to only encourage other women to present themselves for elections but to set examples for others to emulate.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Betty — first female Attorney-General and Minister of Justice
Daily Graphic, Pg. 11. Sat. Feb. 28, 2009
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
IN his maiden State of the Nation Address to Parliament recently, President J.E.A. Mills recognised the position of Ghana’s first female Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo, and said she occupied a unique position in the nation’s history.
The President indicated that the position of the Speaker exemplified the fulfilment of his wish to see Ghanaian women rise to assume even more prominent positions in the country.
Currently, Ghana also boasts of the first woman acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in the person of Mrs Elizabeth Mills-Robertson.
Coming after these was the swearing in of the first woman Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the country’s history.
Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu is one of the eight women ministers who have been vetted and approved by Parliament.
The NDC manifesto contains a clear commitment to women empowerment and in that document the party promised, among other things, that 40 per cent of its ministers would be women.
When she took her turn to answer questions before the Parliamentary Appointments Committee in Accra, Mrs Mould-Iddrisu touched on a number of critical issues, including obnoxious cultural practices that affected the rights of women.
Exhibiting a lot of eloquence and comportment, the then presidential nominee, who was sworn in on Thursday by the President, expressed her views on criminalising harmful traditional practices.
She said that was not the only solution to ending such practices as trokosi, female genital mutilation (FGM) and witch camps.
She said the target should be on advocacy and education to enlighten the people on the need to desist from such negative practices.
Citing Malawi as an example, she said it was a criminal act to call someone a witch in that country, saying that putting in place regulations or bye-laws, backed by public education, could also take care of such issues in the country.
She said with education and advocacy, perpetrators would respond favourably to ending the practice, saying that “shrine keepers are becoming eager to release their victims”.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu is the immediate past Director of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat in the United Kingdom.
She is on record to have, in the 1990s, chaired both the Ghanaian and African Regional groupings of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and co-founded the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) in 1999 and chaired it till 2003.
She said she believed in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), saying that the focus should shift to community dispute resolution which normally dealt with cultural and traditional issues which, according to her, most often favoured women, children, the disadvantaged and the poor in society.
She said the shift would help give more women access to justice, adding that women formed a majority of the population and, therefore, they should be given equal access to the law, saying that “women issues are dear to my heart”.
Her interest in the empowerment of women led her to champion the initiation of Ghana’s first Legal Aid Offices in 1985 which spearheaded the empowerment of Ghanaian and other African women through grass-root programmes for the sensitisation of women and children in the areas of access to justice, judicial reforms and dispute resolution.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu worked in several capacities at the Ministry of Justice from 1978 till 2003, rising to the rank of Chief State Attorney.
She has worked on several national and regional legal issues on behalf of the country globally, including issues on human rights and the rights of women and children, trafficking of persons in the ECOWAS sub-region and international humanitarian law.
Her remarks at the swearing-in ceremony that her appointment to the ministerial position was an honour to Ghanaian women, who formed the majority, and her promise to ensure the rule of law, separation of powers, access to justice and independence amply demonstrate her commitment to the advancement of the rights of vulnerable groups.
Expressing optimism and confidence in the minister to perform her role, the President was reported to have said that she had the qualities to deliver and emphasised that what the government wanted was “best and highest standards” in the administration of justice for the country.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
IN his maiden State of the Nation Address to Parliament recently, President J.E.A. Mills recognised the position of Ghana’s first female Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo, and said she occupied a unique position in the nation’s history.
The President indicated that the position of the Speaker exemplified the fulfilment of his wish to see Ghanaian women rise to assume even more prominent positions in the country.
Currently, Ghana also boasts of the first woman acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in the person of Mrs Elizabeth Mills-Robertson.
Coming after these was the swearing in of the first woman Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the country’s history.
Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu is one of the eight women ministers who have been vetted and approved by Parliament.
The NDC manifesto contains a clear commitment to women empowerment and in that document the party promised, among other things, that 40 per cent of its ministers would be women.
When she took her turn to answer questions before the Parliamentary Appointments Committee in Accra, Mrs Mould-Iddrisu touched on a number of critical issues, including obnoxious cultural practices that affected the rights of women.
Exhibiting a lot of eloquence and comportment, the then presidential nominee, who was sworn in on Thursday by the President, expressed her views on criminalising harmful traditional practices.
She said that was not the only solution to ending such practices as trokosi, female genital mutilation (FGM) and witch camps.
She said the target should be on advocacy and education to enlighten the people on the need to desist from such negative practices.
Citing Malawi as an example, she said it was a criminal act to call someone a witch in that country, saying that putting in place regulations or bye-laws, backed by public education, could also take care of such issues in the country.
She said with education and advocacy, perpetrators would respond favourably to ending the practice, saying that “shrine keepers are becoming eager to release their victims”.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu is the immediate past Director of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat in the United Kingdom.
She is on record to have, in the 1990s, chaired both the Ghanaian and African Regional groupings of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and co-founded the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) in 1999 and chaired it till 2003.
She said she believed in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), saying that the focus should shift to community dispute resolution which normally dealt with cultural and traditional issues which, according to her, most often favoured women, children, the disadvantaged and the poor in society.
She said the shift would help give more women access to justice, adding that women formed a majority of the population and, therefore, they should be given equal access to the law, saying that “women issues are dear to my heart”.
Her interest in the empowerment of women led her to champion the initiation of Ghana’s first Legal Aid Offices in 1985 which spearheaded the empowerment of Ghanaian and other African women through grass-root programmes for the sensitisation of women and children in the areas of access to justice, judicial reforms and dispute resolution.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu worked in several capacities at the Ministry of Justice from 1978 till 2003, rising to the rank of Chief State Attorney.
She has worked on several national and regional legal issues on behalf of the country globally, including issues on human rights and the rights of women and children, trafficking of persons in the ECOWAS sub-region and international humanitarian law.
Her remarks at the swearing-in ceremony that her appointment to the ministerial position was an honour to Ghanaian women, who formed the majority, and her promise to ensure the rule of law, separation of powers, access to justice and independence amply demonstrate her commitment to the advancement of the rights of vulnerable groups.
Expressing optimism and confidence in the minister to perform her role, the President was reported to have said that she had the qualities to deliver and emphasised that what the government wanted was “best and highest standards” in the administration of justice for the country.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)