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TENSION MOUNTS T IN POLICE SERVICE •

Fallout from moves to impose DCE

Trouble Brews at Kwahu East Minister alleged •toRegional be manipulating Gov’t

STORY BY KOBINA GYASI ROUBLE is brewing in the Kwahu East District of the Eastern Region over alleged moves

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by the Eastern Regional Minister, Helen Adwoa Ntoso, to impose the incumbent District Chief Executive (DCE), Samuel Asamoah, who has been rejected by the Assembly mem-

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FDA’s integrity questioned Pharmaceutical • Society boss exposes

shady deals by officials

Officers, Junior Ranks angry over IGP’s extension

ALSO INSIDE:

STORY BY KOBINA GYASI

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HE President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSG), Pharm James Ohemeng Kyei, has launched a blistering attack on the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA)

Junior Fire Officers Warn Seniors/

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virtually accusing it of lacking integrity.

In an explosive press release issued to sections of the media last Tuesday, the PSG boss suggested that, the FDA gives false impression to the public that, it provides honest services and that, it is above re-

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|Gov’t pushes SMEs with GH¢50M/

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COVER STORIES

Thursday, 21st November, 2013

thenewindependent1@gmail.com

The 2014 Budget and Matters arising!

LAST Tuesday the Finance Minister, Mr. Seth Terkper, presented the 2014 Budget and Economic Policy on behalf of President John Mahama to Parliament.

THE Budget, christened a Transformational Budget, highlighted a lot of programme and activity areas geared towards the development of the country.

WHILE we laud the Minister and all those who put together the document, we on The New Independent also call on all implementers to ensure that, all activities and programmes are implemented devoid of leakages that will be to the detriment of the larger community.

OFTEN times, good policies are introduced but what we see is that, due to sheer greed and incompetence, such laudable initiatives do not get implemented and Ghana becomes the loser.

WE are calling on all heads of MMDAs to ensure that, the budget is implemented to the letter so that Ghana as a country comes out of its current economic doldrums.

WE are also calling on all anti-corruption agencies, especially the Auditor-Generals’ Department, not no shield those through whose acts of omission and commission the country loses huge sums of money.

WE believe that, if all those who embezzle or who supervise acts of embezzlement are brought to book and dealt with in accordance with the law, it will serve as a deterrent to others to desist from such practices.

WE on The New Independent believe that, this is not something we cannot do as a country, for how do we give out money, but will not put in place tracking mechanisms to neutralize moves towards reckless dissipation of same.

WE believe that, we will all continue to contribute our quota to the development of the country by playing roles that will eventually maximize benefits of the implementation of the budget to all Ghanaians.

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Tension Mounts In Police Service •Officers, Junior Ranks angry over IGP’s extension STORY BY PAA KWESI

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ENSION is mounting in the Ghana Police Service from the top right down to the junior ranks, including Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners, Superintendents and other junior ranks, The New Independent can report.

This development has arisen as a result of the recent decision to give the current Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Alhassan, a two-year extension by way of a contract.

The New Independent got wind of this deep seated anger in the Ghana Police Service following e-mails received, interactions with both senior and junior officers as well as phone calls received on the subject matter.

It will be recalled that, soon after the inauguration of the Police Council last week, a decision was taken by the Council chaired by Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah Arthur that, the current IGP’s term of office, which is to end early next year, be extended for two more years.

According to the angry police officers, the move by President Mahama and the Police Council is in bad faith and that, it does not promote hard work and commitment.

The Police Officers, who spoke to The New Independent on condition of anonymity, said, what has happened has the tendency of destabilizing promotions within the service and would lead to the marking of time at all levels of the Service.

They argued that, the issues being raised by those who championed this cause, and which are being used as the basis for the two year extension o f

the IGP, are untenable and misplaced.

They told this paper that, whatever achievements that are being trumpeted at the roof top, especially the visibility of the police, their efficiency and professionalism, were not achieved single-handedly by the current IGP, but through collaborative efforts of all members of the Police Administration, of which the IGP, Mr. Alhassan, is a member.

They said, it is wrong to pinpoint only one person and to shower praises on him without finding out how these developments came into being in the Service.

To the angry Police Officers, the extension of the IGP’s tenure will stagnate promotions at all levels of the Service, as moves have already began at all levels by some senior officers, who are to retire next year and the year after, already clamouring for extension, citing the IGP’s extension as the reason to also consider their applications.

This, the angry Officers, contend, has become the order of the day

since last week, as a result of the IGP’s two-year extension.

They also told this re’porter that, the IGP’s retention means that, movement at the top echelon of the Service will remain stagnant and will consequently affect all those who would have moved upwards if the IGP had been allowed to retire as expected.

“We are not happy at all with this decision, it is a bad one, and it has lowered morale,” an angry and worried Police Chief Superintendent told The New Independent.

Another angry officer of the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), also told this reporter that, “this is bad precedence that will affect promotions at all levels; we were all waiting for the big man’s retirement so that, we are also pushed upwards; now we will all go home at our ranks.”

For the benefit of our readers, we are publishing unedited, just a portion of one of the five emails received from angry Police Officers on the two-year extension granted the IGP, Mr. Mohammed Alhassan.

This was came from a Police Commissioner.

“Senior Police Officers are questioning the integrity of President Mahama over why he should contract the outgoing IGP, Mohammed Alhassan, who should have proceeded on his terminal leave on the 21st of October, 2013.

Is it that, the succeeding Commissioners cannot do the job? If the President thinks that, we the Commissioners cannot do the job, then he should pension us so we can go home and let Alhassan alone work? Does that mean all the past IGPs performed abysmally, that is why they did not get such a contract? Mohammed Alhassan is the 22nd IGP and this has never happened in the history of Ghana or is this the history MAHAMA wants to make? Security issues are not to be gambled with.”

COVER STORIES

Thursday, 21st November, 2013

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Trouble Brews at Kwahu East P Cont’d from page 1 bers on three occasions, on the Assembly and the District.

The New Independent has learnt that, all moves and attempts to secure a yes vote for DCE have failed as the second round of voting witnessed a drama of over voting, which was alleged to have been masterminded by the DCE’s assigns.

According to our credible information, the assembly members present and voting at the second round, were 33, but the end of voting, there were 37 ballots, but in spite of this development, the incumbent DCE secured 22 votes with 15 of the votes going against him.

At the third round, 32 assembly members were said to have voted and the DCE had 16 votes in his favour with the against votes increasing to 16, indicating that, the over voing was perhaps caused by his assigns.

The third round of voting, which also went against Mr. Asamoah, took place on August 12, 2013.

As part of her scheme to get the DCE imposed on the people, the Regional Minister is said to have placed embargo on all activities of the Assembly until her favourite, Asamoah, is approved, The New Independent has learnt.

A case in point cited is the contradictory stance taken by the Regional Minister, who after per-

mitting the Presiding Member, Daniel Agyapong, to hold an assembly meeting, later made an ‘U’ turn withdrawing the permission and insisting that, the PM should instead work to get the rejected DCE approved by the Assembly members.

Meanwhile angry Assembly members say, the Regional Minister’s position is depriving Kwahu East of development and called on President John Mahama to intervene to restore sanity.

“We expect President Mahama to intervene and bring the Eastern Regional Minister to order,” an angry Assembly member told The New Independent, adding that, “we are bent on rejecting Mr. Asamoah, so they should not bring him back, and if that means no development for us, so be it.”

The New Independent has learnt that, the rejected DCE nominee still lives in the official residence and still attends meetings in the name of the Kwahu East District, and the Assembly members are wondering under what capacity and with what authority he is doing all these.

In a related development, angry NDC youth in Kwahu East are also said to be bracing themselves up for another demonstration if the situation does not change, threatening that, if Asamoah is brought back, they would go on rampage and the consequences will be disastrous.

The Regional Minister could

not speak to this reporter when she picked her phone to react to the allegations as the nackground looked like she was in a meeting. We will make efforts to reach her for her comments in our next issue.

The rejected DCE, Samuel Asamoah on his part said, he is still in office because he has not received official notification from his superiors, who appointed him, to leave.

He told The New Independent that, it does not amount to respect on his part to vacate post or leave office without handing over properly to another person.

“As a sign of respect, I have decided to wait for directives from my superiors as to the next course of action, and as to how to proceed on the next line of action,” he said and added that, “ I have to prepare my handing over notes and properly hand over to another person if that becomes necessary.”

He was at a loss as to why all these thingsb are happening, because he has lived happily with everybody until his renomination and the matters that followed, but said, with God on his side, he believes strongly that, he would weather the storm.

Mr. Asamoah was however sure that, what is happening is an orchestration by some persons in the district and said, he would remain calm believing that, God will fight for him.

))Helen Adwoa Ntoso, Eastern Regional Minister

Julifort denies FDA’s integrity allegation of questioned •Pharmaceutical Society boss exposes shady deals by officials fake food stuffs

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ULIFORT bakery located at Dansoman in the Greater Accra region has denied allegations being made against them that their outfit is selling fake food items on the market.

The Bakery agency expressed outer dismay at the publication saying that their outfit only deals in bakery rather than selling drinks among other items.

Speaking to the New Independent, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bakery agency Madam Juliana Comfort Yaa Asantewaa Aseidu explained that the Yomi yoghurt at the heart of the controversy is not a product of hers but rather a product she buys from Yomi Yoghurt Company the producers of the yoghurt.

According to Madam Aseidu, there are several drinkables she sells in addition to the bakery and they are all up to standard adding that the Yomi Yoghurt has not even expired as is being perpetrated in certain circles.

A check by this reporter on the Yomi Yoghurt at the center of the con-

troversy showed that the product was manufactured on 06th November,2013 and is due to expire on the 6th of December,2013.

“As a nutritionist I deal with the chef life of products so am cautious with the kind of products I even sell in bakery” she lamented.

“I want Ghanaians to know that we don’t sell killer products as is being perpetrated in section of the media”.

Madam Aseidu hinted that she has been in the bakery industry for quite some time now and her wealth of experience gathered over the years wouldn’t permit her to sell killer products.

She even added that her bakery doesn’t even use manual way of bakery but rather use machines to do the bakery adding that this doesn’t allow hand contact with the products so it doesn’t flat on time.

Madam Aseidu however hinted that her outfit be disassociated with the story since they are innocent of the allegations.

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proach “… But from where I sit as President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, I get a lot of information from my professional colleagues who are pharmaceutical manufacturers and importers and I can assure him {FDA BOSS} that, none of them respects FDA, because of the alleged corruption, lack of transparency, arbitrariness, vindictiveness, know it all attitude and the autocratic style of the FDA,” Mr. Kyei fumed.

According to him, officials of the FDA have allegedly turned the place into a gold mine where they mine “gold” with careless abandon, adding that, pharmaceutical importers and manufacturers who want to register or even re-register their medicines through the front door have to wait for about two years or more to have priority attention

after allegedly putting their ‘weight’ on their applications.

He then drops the bombshell: “However the backdoor is allegedly always opened for those who cannot wait for two years or more to have priority attention after allegedly putting some ‘weight’ on their applications. If the leadership and staff of FDA are true Christians then I humbly urge them to read 1 Timothy 6:10 and Jeremiah 17: 11 and pray to the Almighty God to help them repent, otherwise they are seriously heading towards a dangerous land mine.

Further making damning revelations about the FDA, the PSGh boss said, the CEO and staff of FDA always give the impression that, Tobinco products enter Ghana by road just like some smuggled counterfeit medicines, adding that, such an attitude is just hocus-pocus to cover up their incompetence.

“All Tobinco products imported from India enter Ghana

through approved ports of entry,” Mr. Kyei affirmed.

He further dropped another bombshell: “ I also have evidence that, M r Samuel Asante Boateng, a Principal Regulatory Officer of the FDA has for the past five years been on the payroll of Tobinco Pharmaceuticals as a consultant to support Tobinco in all regulatory aspects of the business.

He is on a Consultancy fee of GHC2,000 a month and his consultancy appointment was allegedly endorsed by the CEO of the FDA, Dr. Opuni. This is a clear case of Conflict of Interest, he revealed.

Finally stripping the FDA naked, Mr. Kyei stated emphatically that, the seizure and destructions of medicines from hospitals, Regional Medical Stores and community pharmacies across the country by the FDA officials is unlawful and must be stopped.

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Thursday, 21st November, 2013

Junior Fire Officers Warn Seniors •Contempt of Court Awaits You!

BY S.O. ANKAMAH

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UNIOR Officers in the Ghana National Fire Service (G.N.F.S) have warned their seniors of the disastrous consequences of compelling them (juniors) to write a board examination this Friday.

They maintained that, should this happen, then the seniors would land themselves in the hands of “Contempt of Court” and if they don’t know it, they should go and ask the recent victims of this phenomenon at the hands of the Supreme Court.

The Junior Officers in the ranks of Station Officers 1 (SO1) and Group Officer 1(GO1) sounded the warning in an exclusive interview with The New Independent yesterday.

They disclosed that, their seniors are making subtle moves to make some of them write the exams so as to satisfy incoming recruits, from whom they have collected various sums of money and also fail most of them who write the exams in order to enable them make new recruitments into the service.

The angry Junior Officers, who have been at logger heads will their seniors for some time now, said the misunderstanding between them had landed them in court, and that, there was an injunction order on the service not to conduct any such examinations.

According to them, they went to an Accra High Court presided over by Justice Bright Mensah recently over a number of issues including this one.

According to them, they had sued their Acting Chief Fire Officer, Brig. Gen. John Bosco Guyiri and the Service over a number of issues.

However, the court ruled that, those sued by the Junior Officers were not the right persons to be sued. Also,

the addresses of the plaintiffs were not enough. This is because, there were four people who represented the entire Junior Staff.

The Court then directed that, they should sue the Attorney General (A/G), and also bring aboard all the alleged agreed 485 (Junior Officers contesting their seniors in court).

The Junior Officers maintained that, their Lawyer, Edward Sam Crabbe of Brookman - Amissah & Associates, consequently complied with the directive and in a new writ with reference number, BAA/ESC /DBY/13/609, dated October 30th, 2013, re-listed the case at the same court, with no fixed date for hearing.

They indicated that, copies of the writ hand been served on the Attorney General and for that matter, it had come to the notice of the Service.

In the said suit, the plaintiffs sought a declaration that, they be promoted, without writing and examination, as was consistent with their condition of service, compulsory training for them, and damages for the unlawful delay of their promotion over a decade as well as cost on full indemnity basis and any further orders as the court may deem fit.

These, they argued, still stood before the court and that, until the final determination of this case, anything contrary to their demands in the writ, constitute gross contempt of court and that is exactly what their seniors are bent on doing.

According to them, their seniors are going about subtly convincing the gullible ones among their rank that, the case they sent to court had been thrown out.

Therefore, they should go ahead and write the exams.

They described this as a blatant lie on the part of their seniors, stressing that, should they go ahead, they will land themselves squarely in the web of the almighty “contempt of court”.

I predicted Mahama’s win but face difficulty in governance REPORT: CALVIS TETTEH

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HE head pastor of Thy word chapel located at Old Barrier in the GA South Municipality Rev. Dr. Fiifi Mensah has revealed that he predicted President John Dramani Mahama win in the 2013 general elections but hinted that he was going to face difficulty during his reign as President.

Among some of the difficult challenges he was going to face were strong financial predicaments due to global harsh financial problems, difficulty in stable governance among other things and they are all evidence today the man of God explained.

Speaking at the induction ceremony and the one year anniversary celebration of Thy word Chapel, the man of God explained that men of God have now left their jobs as pastors and now following politics, an act he describes as killing the work of God. According to him, some men of God in a bid to secure favour from the government of the day even use their platforms for political show down all in a bid to get recognition.

“When we do that the congregation loses interest in the work of God adding that the word of God is the only thing that brings hope to the masses and as such must not be entangled into the game of politics.

However Rev. Dr. Fiifi Mensah called on the inducted men of God to be circumspect in the discharge of their duties adding that their commitments to God work is what is going to give them the breakthrough they need.

He also called on them to eschew favoritism, arrogance in the discharge of their duties hinting that these traits can only bring division in the house of God. As part of their anniversary celebration, the church made donations to P.M.L children’s hospital in Accra, items such as cartons of canned foods, Fifty pieces of Blankets, pampers ,drinks and an amount of money was presented to the Orphanage home as part of the church’s corporate social responsibility to society.

Rev. Fiifi Mensah however applauded Paul Kwesi Mensah an entrepreneur for financing the new church building adding that church needs such men in the service of the lord.

LOCAL NEWS

ENTERTAINMENT

Thursday, 21st November, 2013

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Iyanya jabs fan for suggesting he is gay

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IGERIAN music sensation, Iyanya, known in real life as Iyanya Onoyom Mbuk, has jabbed a fan for suggesting that

he might be gay.

The fan, who is one of his numerous followers on twitter, tweeted Monday that considering the ‘Kukere’ hit maker’s stat-

ure and looks, he might be gay.

Tweeting with the handle @ Homiebisho, the fan said: “Iyanya might be a gay.... With all his recent 6ix packs show..... Mtchewww”.

This did not go down well with the ladies man, Iyanya who hurriedly replied, “Your father Gay”.

The tweets between the two generated several reactions from Iyanya’s followers with many of them not amused by the gay comment. Some descended on the fan for the comment.

A fan, Chuks n3ro ‫@‏‬ Iamchuksynerol 18h https://

twitter.com/Iamchuksynerol/ status/402502026442973185 , tweeted that “@Homiebishop fool like u, attention seeker, go hug transformer n u will get as many attention u need, or ff LABI show 4 talks, Amusu#” He added that “@Homiebishop.How can u call iyanya a gay wen he got yvonne nelson free p***y ofall time,homiebishop beta calm down b4 thunder blow u”.

Another fan, mike lawal ‫@‏‬ travellinangels 19h https:// twitter.com/travellinangels/status/402477105931227136 tweeted that: “@Iyanya @Homiebishop u kno what u are and be hapi and if negative talk will make u grow higher inlife then na those bad belly people lost.”

The fan added that: “@Iyanya @Homiebishop iyanya pls dont let them get to u just enjoy ur life whatever u do people will talk positive or negative ok. ukno what”. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Ernest Dela Aglanu (Twitter: @delaXdela / Instagram: citizendela)

You’re A Big Shame to Womanhood •Angry Fans Tell Rukky Sanda

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HE African culture has always been hard on indecent dressing, though the Western culture accepts it as a way of life. To say dressing to expose some parts of the body is alien to the African culture is stating the obvious truth.

This may explain why some fans are angry at controversial Nollywood actress, Rukky Sanda and have termed her a shame to womanhood. This is coming after the screen diva attended a recent event, where she exposed her boobs.

In the olden days, females dress to cover almost all parts of their body, including the legs, but today, covering the laps is seen as not being in vogue. Back then, before the African culture got adulterated, seeing the bra strap of a lady was like an abomination, but nowadays, only a lady’s nipples is still held very sacred save for transparent outfits.

For Rukky Sanda, it is

not wrong to expose one’s boobs as she did this, when she attended the birthday party of Lagos big girl, Adenike Mustapha last week.

The actress-turned-movie producer was at the occasion with two of her colleagues, Ebube Nwagbo and Oge Okoye.

However, after the picture of the party hit the internet, she received massive lashing from fans, who were obviously not happy at her supposedly shameful behaviours. Some of them were not merciful in describing her in unprintable names. They wondered why a public figure would dress the way she did to an event.

‘Rukky Sanda should be ashamed of herself,’ one of the fans told Nigeriafilms. com. Another told us that, ‘that is why actresses are seen as women of easy virtue, they behave just like them.’ One of the vividly angry fans said ‘she is just a big disgrace to womanhood, she should be taught a good lesson.’

Eminem thankful to survive addiction

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S rap star Eminem has been speaking about his addiction problems.

During an interview with Zane Lowe, which was broadcast on Monday night on BBC Radio 1, the rapper said: “I certainly could have taken another path.”

The 41-year-old, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, spent time in hospital in 2005 being treated for an addiction to sleeping pills.

He says now he is better, he is able to connect with audiences again.

“I know that there are so many addicts in this world and people who have problems like that that don’t make it,” he said.

“I think that one thing that keeps me pushing forward is the music, and the passion, so I am thankful for that.”

The star’s eighth studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, was released on 5 November.

Asked by Lowe about how he deals with fame, he said: “I’ve never been an attention seeker.

“I don’t like to go in public and walk around and be like, ‘Here I am’.”

During the interview, the rapper was asked about surviving addiction, and what it was like to perform again.

“I think back then it was so big in my head,” he said.

“Let me take this and this, drink this and this and get through it, as opposed to see the people, connect with the crowd and have fun with it.”

Eminem also went on to talk about his plans for the future.

“I always write, and I probably always will,” he said. “Whatever point I decide I am going put the mic down or whatever happens like that, I always think I want something to do with the music.”

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Thursday, 21st November, 2013

Saviour Academy School Celebrates 4th Speech And Prize- Giving Day FROM LOVELACE OPOKUAGYEMANG , ANYAMAM NEAR SEGE

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R.YOHANE Abayateye , Proprietor of Saviour Academy School has said that the school has come very far , in spite of the enormous challenges it faced, but by his grace we are proud to say we have done well and that today’s celebration marks a historic day. He said the school which started with an enrolment of 20 pupils , now has a population of 410.

He said that the school has J.H.S.1 and noted that the main challenges facing the school are the buildings.

Mr.Abayateye made these statements when delivering his address at the school’s

fourth speech and prize-giving day held at Anyamam near Sege in the Ada West District of the Greater Accra region recently.

He said that the PTA and the school management have started six classroom blocks which is under construction, adding that the parent’s presence here is indicative of readiness for change of the face of the school which intends to produce intelligent students as future leaders for Ada and Ghana as a whole.

The Proprietor hinted that the aim of the school is to help the pupils to develop and improve upon their education, adding that the objectives of the school are to enhance quality education through teaching and learning.

He said that the mission of the school is to prepare the pupils for the future to take the places of their parents when they are no

more. He noted that the school seeks assistance to improve upon infrastructure and provision of dual –desks for the pupil’s.

He announced that the difficulties facing the school now are inadequate classrooms which leads to over population in the classrooms. ’We need desks and teachers quarters and called on benevolent societies in the country to come to the aid of the school ‘’.

On his part, Master Francis Buertey Tokoil, the School Prefect said that during the year under review ,academic activities of the school improved and added that the teachers did well by attending classes regularly.

He noted that the teachers in the school proved to be disciplined ‘’ hence, discipline was no problem for the school, ‘’ adding there is peace and freedom among the teachers and the students.

Women Everywhere Projects Holds Kids Charity Fashion Show 2013

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OMEN Everywhere Projects ( W . E .

Projects), an NGO dedicated to helping less privileged children and women, is organizing a charity fashion show that is aimed at giving opportunities to improve their living conditions.

Dubbed “little grown-ups” charity fashion show, the all kids’ charity event will be the first ever fashion show in Ghana featuring only creations for children from 2yrs to 15 years and will make use of DaViva Fabrics for various designs and occasions.

In a statement to the media, the Director of W.E. Projects, Mrs. Jeanne O. Iddisah, expressed the need to instill the value

of giving in our society from an early age with our children. “Through this we hope to harness the practice of giving back to the needy from a tender, developing age, which in turn will build a charitable generation for society”, she added.

The purpose of the fashion show is to donate part proceeds of the event to 2 charities, Lighthouse Christian Children’s home at Aburi and HIPS Charity at Weija. This will serve as a way of children giving back to less privileged children and society through donations. It will be a fun way for the shelter children to spend time outside their homes amongst other children, and enjoy a fashion show.

This year’s event is scheduled for Sunday,

24th November, 2013 at Crystal Park, East Legon, opposite the turning to the tunnel bridge 3pm to 7pm and tickets that serve as mini raffle tickets are being sold depending on the contribution parents would like to make to the cause.

The show will feature creations from the OJEANNE (Kids) as well as designs from Nahode Okai and there will also be performances, art exhibitions, face painting, and 9D Arcade games among other exciting activities for children.

Sponsors of the event include OJEANNE Clothing, Nahode Okai, Holiday Inn, Shakes and Flavors, Signature Studios, Crystal Park, Fashion GH, ETV, XFm, Sahara Rise, Peini and M94 Year Group.

National Public Transport Day Marked

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HE National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) has urging drivers to exercise caution behind the wheels as Christmas festivities approach.

The Commission is using the observation of the National Public Transport Day, which fell yesterday to drum home the need for caution as Christmas festivities are often noted for high rates of motor accidents.

A statement issued by the Commission read: The NRSC will recognize Wednesday November 20, 2013 as the National Public Transport Day, to raise awareness of road traffic crashes (RTC) as a development issue responsible for an average of 2000 death annually. RTC’s kill far more persons than violent crimes in Ghana.

The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) has since the year 2009 recognized the third Wednesday in the month of No-

vember as the National Public Transport Day with a call on public officials, politicians, policy makers, civil society actors and the media to patronize the public transport service in order to appreciate the need to help increase advocacy for reforms and quality of service within the sub-sector.

Nearly ninety (90) percent of our national public transport service needs are provided by private operators characterized by low road safety profile, semi-trained drivers and poor state of vehicles owing to low priority for vehicle maintenance among others.

This situation contributes to our national road traffic fatality challenges as nearly 23% of road traffic crashes victims are passengers or patrons of our public transport service buses.

“This year we focus on the driver. Our drivers have skill but also need knowledge to improve their conduct in the road environment. There is an urgent need

to prioritize capacity building of our drivers and their welfare. At the end of the day the driver like the top executive is manager of a very important resource in the organization and his needs must be prioritized” says Ing. Mrs. May Obiri-Yeboah, Executive Director of the National Road Safety Commission.

Provisional traffic crash data available to the Commission show that between January and September this year, 10,558 crashes have been reported resulting in 1,538 deaths and 9,741 injuries representing a reduction of reported crash cases, persons killed and injured by 3%, 10% and 7% respectively over the same period last year.

It remains our expectation as we approach the challenging season of Christmas and the New Year that, the media will increase and sustain the discussion of these matters in order that we arrive in 2014 alive.

UGBS Special Homecoming Event Held

BY LOVELACE OPOKUAGYEMANG

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ROFESSOR Kwame Ameyaw Domfeh, Dean of the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) has said that every alumni homecoming is traditionally a time of togetherness and sharing of stories and memories.

He stated that the 2013 is a special alumni homecoming which promises to be more exciting and rewarding as more and new members of the previous batches would come back to the school to relive sweet memories of their stay here.

He hinted that the spirit and intent of today’s event , like all other alumni homecoming remain the same to reaffirm and further strengthen the bonds between the alumni, students ,faculty and staff that make up the UGBS family . Prof.

Domfeh made the observation in his welcome speech at the UGBS’s Special Homecoming Event held at Legon in Accra.

He announced that generally homecoming is therefore about meeting old friends while making new ones, adding that it is about recalling “the old times”, while catching up with new developments.

He said “it is about being fired up by the growth and aspirations of our school, while contributing fresh ideas of your alma mater”. Prof. Domfeh “pointed out that he is therefore delighted that” so many of you are able to join us for UGBS Homecoming 2013, and noted that for 50years our beloved school has drawn young men and women from all parts of Ghana and the sub- region together adding that the school has sent forth alumni who carry UGBS’s spirit with them as they pursue their lives and careers in different parts of the country and abroad. He stated that the school has grown and expanded over the years, stating that from a humble beginning with less than 100 students in 1962, when it moved from Achimota to Legon , the school has a student population of more than 3,000 enrolled in this premises and more than 2,000 others pursuing their studies with Accra City Campus and Institute of Distance Learning and Continuing Education.

The Prof. hinted that to attain its objective to become the leading Business School in the African Sub-region and also provide world –class management education and research to support national development, it has become necessary to expand the existing infra-

structure and other facilities.

He disclosed that the building complex, which was put up in the 1960s and 1970s can obviously not accommodate “all our programmes and activities”.

On his part, Prof. Joshua Abor ,Vice Dean of UGBS, disclosed that today’s event forms part of the University of Ghana’s 65th Anniversary celebrations and said, this year, faculties of the University, are expected to hold alumni homecoming events on rotational basis.

He said that homecoming is usually a time for alumni to come back and meet with old friends, former mentors and lecturers, adding it is also a time to reminisce about years spent on campus. Prof. Abor hinted that, more so, the purpose is to promote a lasting relationship of mutual benefits and assistance to the University alumni as it seeks to involve the alumni in the work of the University and likewise to engage the University in the lives of its former students.

He said that “we also hope to take advantage of this occasion to launch the school’s Alumni association and to hold Year Group Caucus meetings”.

He believes it is always better to have a vibrant Alumni Association and said that all over the world, great Business Schools have strong and active Alumni Associations.

LOCAL NEWS

Thursday, 21st November, 2013

10% pay cut for President, ministers a PR gimmick

‘Children take the path parents make for them’

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•NPP MP

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HE decision of President John Mahama, his Vice and other appointees to give up 10 per cent of their salaries as part of government’s austerity measures is a Public Relations stunt, Dr. Richard Anane has said.

The Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso said the amount to be realized from the pay cuts by the government appointees was so negligible it could only serve the government’s propaganda purposes.

He was reacting to an announcement

by Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, that the President and his Vice, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, as well as all ministers had decided to take a 10% voluntary pay cut next year.

He said the money realised from the pay cut will be used to construct Community-Based Health Planning Services (CHPS) compounds, to provide maternal and neo-natal health

care services to rural communities.

According to Mr. Terkper, who made the announcement in Parliament Tuesday when he presented the government’s 2014 budget and financial state, the decision was to demonstrate leadership on the part of the president and his appointees.

Dr. Anane, however, believes the president could have done more if he was committed to tangible measures that will impact positively on the economy.

“If you take the average salary of a minister, it is about GHC8,000 a month.

Now 10% of that is GHC800. Even if we have a hundred ministers, you are saving GHC80,000 which is not much really,” he stated.

The former Minister for Roads, said the President should order his ministers to, like MPs do, buy their own fuel.

That, he said, would save the state substantial amounts of money.

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MPs should sacrifice 5% of salaries

•Shai Osudoku MP

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OLLOWING the announcement of a ten percent voluntary cut from the salaries of the President John Mahama and his appointees, the Member of Parliament for Shai-Osudoku, David Tetteh Assumeng, also proposed that MPs should sacrifice five percent of their monthly salaries in the interest of the state.

Delivering the 2014 budget in Parliament Tuesday, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Seth Terkper said “to demonstrate leadership, the president, his Vice, appointees and ministers of State have decided to take a voluntary 10% pay cut in 2014”.

According to him, the 10% monthly deductions will be paid into a dedicated fund to be used for the construction of specialized Community Health Programmes and Service (CHPS) compounds to deal with maternal mortality and neo-natal healthcare.

Although this gesture by the president has been hailed by many, others

especially the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) described it as cheap populism.

But David Tetteh Assumeng believes the decision by the president to donate 10% of his salaries as an austerity measure to mitigate the current economic crisis is a sign of good leadership.

“One thing I’m very much grateful about is the proposal by the executives to slash down their salaries by 10%.

That has been an issue I have been championing all along that we should do well to slash the salaries of people within the Article 71 bracket”, he pointed out.

The Shai-Osudoku MP further noted that if the president has taken the lead in expressing this gesture, then parliament should also follow suit.

Tetteh Assumeng said MPs must emulate the good example set by the president and sacrifice 5% for accelerated development.

ROF Steven Addai, a former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), has appealed to parents to lead responsible lives since parental influence was the most important determinant of what a child would grow up to be.

He said although society would impact heavily on the upbringing of child, parents’ influence was not in doubt.

‘Because genetically, you have profiled the child and you gave him or her no other choice. Even your social status can determine their social status as well as your financial status,’ he said.

Prof Addai was addressing about 500 couples and 400 bachelors and spinsters at a ‘Family Week’ organised by the First Baptist Church on the theme:’Family, the Key Instrument for the Harvest of the Kingdom’ in Tema.

According to him, the world was becoming more challenging because God’s consciousness was being replaced by the tyranny of the socalled experts.

He said information communication technology had unleashed great measures of knowledge and immorality on the present generation and called for societal and parental guidance in the use and consumption of knowledge.

Prof Addai criticised the wilful encouragement of relativism especially among the two main political parties which had reduced issues of national importance especially education and the welfare of children into political views and that this would ultimately frustrate national development and

cohesion.

He cautioned Ghanaians against the globalisation of immorality and the use of aid and other strategies to force homosexuality and other anti-Christian issues on poor countries and called on Christians to interrogate issues and ask the right question because ‘Christians have keep quiet for far too long.’

Prof Addai said the secular state concept had been hijacked by demonic minds and forces that are gradually wiping away Ghanaian traditional and cultural values and replacing them with immoral giveaways of the Western society which come in the form of ‘alternative lifestyles.’

Among these are anti-Christian marital concepts like cohabitation and the rationalisation of thoughts and issues considered as taboo.

He said education had become a tool for the propagation of sexual immorality, occultism and the indoctrination of evil ideas rather than a torch for enlightenment which instil in people the fear of God, respect for the elderly and the acceptance of honesty and hard work as the key drivers for personal development and nation building.

He called on Christian married couples not to give in to the prevailing thoughts and ideas which seek to rationalise divorce, single parenthood and other issues which undermine the institution of Christian marriage.

Prof Addai asked Christians to be on the alert but not to worry because in the midst of all that is happening the Christian is always victorious since God would always protect those who seek his love and providence.

Ablakwa hails tax waiver for local printers

D ))Dr. Richard Anane

EPUTY Education Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Abklakwa says the decision to remove taxes on raw materials for local printers is a boost for indigenous Ghanaian companies.

According to Mr. Ablakwa, removing the taxes will also lead to expansion of existing firms and create more jobs for the people.

Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Seth Terkper announced the tax waiver

while presenting the 2014 financial policy to Parliament, Tuesday November 19, 2013.

He said government will further provide credit support for the development of Small and Medium Enterprises.

Speaking in an interview with Myjoyonline.com, Mr. Ablakwa who is also the Member of Parlimanet for North Tongu said, the announcement is a fulfillment of government’s promise to Ghanaians.

“We can now print in Ghana competitively instead of importing finished books

which means exporting jobs to China and India. Certainly a boost to indigenous Ghanaian industry and job creation,” Mr. Ablakwa stated.

Meanwhile, government is to set up two modern farmers’ market to transform the way agriculture produce, especially grain, are marketed in Ghana, through the use of modern facilities and ICT. This forms part of the decision to modernise agriculture, Mr. Terkper said.

))Samuel Okudzeto Abklakwa

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BUSINESS NEWS

Thursday, 21st November, 2013

Gov’t pushes SMEs with GH¢50M

))Mr. Seth Terpker, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning

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OVERNMENT is arranging a total amount of GHC50 million to boost activities of the private sector and Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) to enhance the economic development of the country.

Having huge potentials for creating employment opportunities for people, government noted that the fund will partner the National Board for Small Scale Industry (NBSCL) to fa-

cilitate the merging of several SME finance and capacity building initiatives under one umbrella.

Presenting the 2014 Budget Statement in Parliament, today, November 19, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Seth Terkper, noted that the new SME fund, which is being piloted, is to sustain the SMEs. “Over the years SMEs have created jobs and mobilize activities in the formal sector, however, funds created to address

their limited access to financing and reducing the cost of borrowing have not been sustainable.

“In this respect, government is setting up a neo SME fund to boost support for SMEs. The pilot scheme will mobilize and deploy about GHC50Million from sources such as EDIF as well as pipeline sources including loans that have been approved by this house”, the Finance Minister indicated.

According to Mr. Terpker, the fund will have its source of money from the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) as well as loans approved by Parliament and also link-up with well established domestic institutions including the Exim Guarantee, the Venture Capital Trust as well as Rural Banks and Micro Finance institutions.

Additionally, the Finance Minister noted that with the review of existing legislation, support from EDIF will provide financial incentives to the export, pharmaceutical, poultry, textile, garment, SMEs and Agro processing sectors.

“As a new initiative to support the Ghanaian economy, government with the support from EDIF, following the review of the existing legislation, will provide financial stimulus to the following sectors: Exports, Pharmaceuticals, Poultry, Textiles, Garments, SME’s and Agro processing sectors”, Mr. Terkper noted.

EPA holds public hearing on the TEN Project

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HE development of the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme oil wells by Tullow Ghana Limited and its partners is estimated to cost five billion United States dollars, Mr Gayheart Mensah, the Communication Director of the project, announced on Monday.

He was speaking at an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) public hearing on the Environmental Impact Statement of the project which is dubbed the ‘Ten Project’ in Takoradi.

Mr Mensah said the cost included drilling and construction works and the government has 15 per cent share in the project.

He said the project will bring immense benefits to the country including transfer of skills, revenue, creation of jobs and building of capacities of local entrepreneur to take advantage of the oil and gas sector.

He said the project is located 60 kilometres from the Western Region and 20 kilometres from the Jubilee Field and covers an area of 450 square kilometers.

He said the project could produce 80,000 barrels a day for a period of 20 years.

Mr Mensah said FPSO Kwame Nkrumah would process and store oil from the project just as in the case of the Jubilee Field.

He said, ‘The TEN project will consist of oil and gas production wells, water injection wells and

gas injection wells’, adding, ‘Production will be gathered through subsea manifolds and conveyed by subsea flowlines to a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) which will be moored in the area of the TEN fields subsea equipment installation planned throughout 2015 and the target for first production in early 2016’.

Mr Mensah said the project was approved in May 2013 and it is anticipated that drilling would commence by the first quarter of 2014.

He said the project will not impact negatively on fisheries despite the fact that it will have a safety exclusion zone and there is little likelihood of oil spillage He said Tullow and its partners have the capability to manage major oil spillage should it occur.

Mr Mensah said flare ups will be undertaken mainly for operational reasons without any negative environmental impact.

Companies partnering Tullow for the project are Kosmos Energy, LLC, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) and Sabre Oil and Gas, he said.

Nana Yaa Afriyie Ofori-Koree, Social Investment Manager of Tullow, said women, children and the aged are catered for through the livelihood enhancement programme through consultations with stakeholders.

Ghana holds 2nd ‘Solo Exhibition’ in Abidjan

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HE Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) on Monday opened the second ‘Solo Exhibition’ in Abidjan to showcase made in Ghana goods, as part of demonstrating Ghana’s belief in trade with neighbouring countries.

The exhibition’ on the theme: ‘Borderless trade, enhancing Ghana - Cote d’Ivoire economic cooperation through trade’ will end on November 26.

Mr Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry speaking at the launch said the theme was carefully chosen to demonstrate Ghana’s desire to see the level of trade between both countries grow at an even faster and better pace.

He said the development of countries within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), into middle-income countries within the shortest possible time would depend to a large extent on how serious they tackle the level of trade and other economic activities amongst themselves.

Mr Vanderpuye called for the creation of a common railway line throughout the sub-region to boost trade and economic growth.

‘Increased intra-ECOWAS trade has the capacity to improve the livelihood of our people and to bring majority of them out of poverty than one would imagine.

‘I find this theme of borderless trade very appropriate considering the historic trade, cultural and dip-

lomatic relations that exist between the two countries,’ the Deputy Minister stated.

‘It is about time we take the bold step as two close allies in the sub-region to dismantle whatever remaining trade and economic bottlenecks and barriers that may exist between us.’

The Deputy Minister commended the able manner in which President Alassane Outtara steered the affairs of the regional body over the past few years.

He said the fact that the exhibition came so close on the heels of the just ended 7th ECOWAs Fair held in Accra, demonstrates Ghana’s preparedness to do all it takes to move the regional integration process forward through trade.

Mr Vanderpuye urged the Ivo-

rian business community and the private sector to consider the exhibition as a good opportunity and platform offered by the GEPA to engage in fruitful business deals with their Ghanaian counter parts.

The Ivorian Minister of Commerce, Handicrafts and Promotion of Small Scale Enterprises, Mr Jean Louis Billon called for more trade and economic collaboration between both countries.

Mr Gideon Quarcoo, GEPA Chief Executive Officer said it was because of the success of last year’s “Solo Exhibition” which the Authority organised in Abidjan that they have decided to stage another one.

He said: ‘Our presence here is a demonstration of our commitment to forge ahead with our Ivorian partners in moving our trade relations

to the next level. It is a demonstration of the vote of confidence that the Ghanaian private sector has in the economy of Cote d’Ivoire.’

Mr Bons A. Abambora, Acting Head of Ghana’s Mission said the success of the exhibition should not be measured by how much goods on the stand would be sold out, but by how many business deals that would be reached on the sideline of it between the Ghanaian and their Ivorian counterparts.

The launching ceremony which was chaired by Mr Aly Coulibaly, Ivorian Minister for Regional Integration, was also attended by members of the diplomatic community in Cote d’Ivoire, the business communities from both countries and the public.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Thursday, 21st November, 2013

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“I’d be a rotten thinker to reason like a British”

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RESIDENT Robert Mugabe says he doesn’t want anyone to be fooled by his impeccable Western style of dressing and his precise, teacherly use of English: He is African through and through.

“I am not British, I am not a colonial product because I am a complete Zimbabwean,” he told graduates at Great Zim-

babwe University near the remains of the 13th Century walled city, for which Zimbabwe, the former colony of Rhodesia, is named.

Addressing the students earlier this month, Mugabe had typically harsh words for Africa’s former white rulers.

“They think their right is to rob others of their resources,” he said. But black Africans have the right to their

own natural wealth and must “remain true” to local values after centuries of colonial rule that brought foreign cultures to the continent, he added.

The ascetic, austere Mugabe is a tough critic of the West, but he has been described as an anglophile and is known as a stickler for ceremony and detail.

At the graduation, he wore a sash, robe and

mortarboard, academic regalia used in some of Britain’s most conservative universities.

Mugabe warns, however, that his Western appearance can deceive.

He said the nation’s former British colonisers thought he admired all things British and had a British “way of thinking”.

After Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, “they said publicly the problem with Mugabe is that he thinks like us,” said the 89-year-old former teacher who was handed power as Zimbabwe’s first black leader by heir to the British throne Prince Charles and the departing British colonial governor in 1980.

“How can I think like them?”

“Goodness me! How can I think like them?” said Mugabe. “I would be a rotten thinker to think like them.”

But he does dress like them, and requires other Zimbabweans to do so, too. Since 1980, Mugabe has insisted on a strict suit and tie dress code among ministers and lawmakers in the Harare parliament.

The former guerrilla leader quickly abandoned Chinese-style Mao jackets in favour of tailored business suits with colour-co-ordinated neckties, breast pocket handkerchiefs and matching accessories, sometimes including flowers in the buttonhole of his lapel.

Other post-colonial African presidents have observed Western dress codes but few as elegantly as Mugabe.

President Kamuzu Banda of Malawi, who died in 1997, appeared in three-piece suits and a homburg hat but always carried an African chief’s flywhisk, made of lion’s hair.

Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya switched between regular suits and leopard skin shoulder wraps and headgear and also habitually carried a flywhisk. Former South African President Nelson Mandela broke the mold, preferring bright batik-style casual shirts, even on formal occasions.

Until Western travel and banking bans were imposed on Mugabe and his party leaders

to protest human and democratic rights violations about a decade ago, Mugabe regularly visited the upscale Harrods department store in London’s Knightsbridge district and Savile Row in Mayfair, the home of Britain’s best bespoke tailors.

Mugabe’s love-hate relationship with Britain Now he takes vacations in Malaysia and Hong Kong, Asian clothing and tailoring hubs, and shops on trips to United Nations meetings in New York and Geneva which are excluded from the travel bans.

At the annual state opening of parliament, Mugabe rides in a vintage British convertible Rolls Royce, escorted by police on horseback wearing colonial-style pith helmets carrying upright lances bearing flags and service insignia.

The nation’s judges attend the ceremony in scarlet robes, wearing traditional British wigs of bleached horsehair in the parliament house originally built as a copy of the British House of Commons legislature at Westminster, London.

Most Zimbabweans see no contradiction in Mugabe’s love-hate relationship with Britain and the West which he stridently criticises and calls racist at most state functions.

Top personalities mostly follow his sartorial example and defend the use of large cars in the largely impoverished nation.

“There is status involved here. It is a mark of authority. How can you be taken seriously and command respect if you are not properly dressed and if you don’t have a proper car?” said Harare business leader Edward Nyathi.

Mugabe is a keen sports fan and remains patron of Zimbabwe’s national cricket team though he no longer attends matches at the colonial Cape Dutchstyle Harare Sports Club across the street from his offices.

He once described the quintessentially British sport of cricket as “a game every young Zimbabwean should learn to play. It is a civilising influence”.

))Woman killed in Tunis by World Cup motorcade

Woman killed in Tunis by World Cup motorcade

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WOMAN was killed in Tunis on Tuesday after being hit by one of the cars in a convoy carrying the World Cup trophy, football’s international governing body FIFA announced.

The 37-year-old woman was hit “by one of the cars used in the symbolic World Cup trophy tour,” FIFA and its sponsor Coca-Cola said in a statement carried by the official TAP news

agency.

The accident took place on the motorway linking the Tunisian capital and the affluent La Marsa suburb, with private radio station Mosaique FM reporting that the victim was a mother of two and that the car involved failed to stop.

Ahead of next year’s World Cup in Brazil, the coveted golden trophy is making a tour of the world, taking in 88 countries in the course of its planned nine-month journey.

Uganda clamps down on opposition protests

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GANDAN police arrested key opposition leaders Tuesday after protests sparked by the imminent suspension of the capital’s mayor, also under arrest, opposition supporters said.

The opposition was protesting what they said was a move by President Yoweri Museveni to force Kampala’s mayor Erias Lukwago from office, after he was found guilty of abuse of office and threatened with impeachment.

“What has been happening in the last two days is a campaign to keep Museveni from having Lukwago removed,” said Ingrid Turinawe, a senior leader of the main opposition party, Forum for Democratic Change(FDC).

“He has been elected by the people and only the people should be able to remove him from office,” she said.

Police fired tear gas as demonstrators in Kampa-

la marched in the streets in support of Lukwago.

The mayor was arrested on Monday during demonstrations and released, but then he was re-arrested on Tuesday.

Police also detained leading opposition politician Kizza Besigye, FDC members said.

“We don’t know where he is being held,” Turinawe said, referring to Besigye. “He has done nothing, they don’t want him to walk, to shop, to be in town.”

Ugandan police regularly try to block demonstrations by the opposition supporters, who have staged a series of protests in recent years over rises in the cost of living, as well as frustration at Museveni’s 27-years in power.

Besigye, a former presidential challenger and an FDC leader, has been detained repeatedly as he has attempted to restart opposition demonstrations, and is often held for a few hours before being later released without charges.

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OPINION

Thursday, 21st November, 2013

AST Friday, President Mahama delivered one of the most consequential speeches of his presidency— on corruption.

Contained in the speech were directives to various persons and agencies to take certain measures. Since then, the speech has been dismissed by many as insignificant. For instance, the Executive Director of Ghana Integrity Initiative, Vitus Azeem said, ‘The Isofoton judgment debt, the Waterville, these are things that he has already instructed the Attorney General and we still have not seen any results, there is no action taken against the officers that were responsible for some of these judgment debts.’

Spokespersons for the opposition parties have also dismissed the President’s directives out of hand.

That is unfortunate.

While given the serial broken promises of Presidents/leaders from Nkrumah to Mills on corruption, we ought to be skeptical; the President’s speech should not be dismissed out of hand.

Corruption obviously remains a significant drag on our development and the president, any president is very important in our collective efforts to address corruption. This is particularly so given the nature of our constitution and culture. The President said, ‘Succeeding in the fight against corruption requires agencies in various autonomous institutions—the executive, legislature and judiciary—as well as, the general public to play

their part and play it well and we must think outside the box because the old ways will not meet the expectations of our people.’ That indeed is correct.

Unfortunately, while the President identifies the judiciary and the legislature as important institutions in the fight against corruption, he specifically requires little of them.

He states, ‘Two important instruments in the fight against corruption are still pending in Parliament: One is the Right to Information Bill. I hereby call on Parliament to treat this bill with the urgency it deserves. I undertake to give my accent expeditiously as soon as this bill is approved.’ That is the same thing Presidents Kufuor and Mills said about this bill.

The idea that a President who has a majority in this sycophantic Parliament cannot pass this bill if he wants to is BULL. If the President is serious on this bill, he can and must pass it in a matter days. The same goes for the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP).

On the Judiciary, the President asked for nothing. Here are two things he should have asked for. First, he should have joined my call and that of the NPP for the Chief Justice or some judicial body to or other things.

A court that can find someone in contempt for accusing it of bias risks its credibility when it is silent in the face of accusations that it is corrupt. Such a call from the President will be particularly appropriate given the Chief Justice’s own publicly announced desire to rid the country of

President Mahama Takes on Corruption

corruption. Charity, after all, begins from home.

Second, he should have asked the Judiciary to work with the legislature to shorten the judicial process. He needs not look beyond the election petition for an example of an unnecessarily long judicial process.

While the President’s call for strengthening CHRAJ etc was all reasonable, the President’s problem now is one of credibility. He must stop talking and take bold action. The public will start

believing him when those in high places who are manifestly corrupt lose their jobs. Amongst these will be Ministers and those implicated in the Anas tapes and the various judgment debt incidents.

Furthermore, the President must address the widespread perception that he and his family are involved in corruption and/or the allegations that he may be shielding family members from the law. While these perceptions may be untrue, they deny him

the credibility he needs to be a genuine anti-corruption crusader. Before leaving the President, he should consider launching a phone complaints platform rather than an online platform. More Ghanaians have access to phones than to the internet.

Surprisingly, the President mentioned neither the Police/Customs/Ports nor the Accountant General’s Department. To discuss corruption without mentioning these bodies is the equivalent of

discussing how babies are made without mentioning sex.

Our opposition parties must stop criticizing and join the fight against corruption. Let the NGO’s that have been making noise, the media practitioners and the political parties all march to Parliament to demand the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill and refuse to leave for days and IT WILL PASS. Also, when the President finally develops some backbone and starts acting against

>>One Big Happy Comics<<

corrupt public officials—past and present – let nobody accuse him of partisanship.

Finally, let our faith leaders join the fight against corruption. It is an indictment of them that we fill mosques and churches every weekend and yet are so corrupt day-in, day out.

They must not rest till we all become the examples against corruption that we aspire to be.

Let us move forward—together.

Arthur Kobina Kennedy

FEATURE

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Thursday, 21st November, 2013

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Does coffee really sober you up when drunk?

FEW years ago I went to a play at my local theatre with some friends. My husband arrived late and a little jolly, having been to his office Christmas lunch and spent most of the afternoon drinking wine. Luckily it was a comedy, but he laughed so much that even the cast looked surprised at his enthusiasm.

During the interval I bought him a coffee to help sober him up before the second act. By the end of the play he was a bit quieter, but was I right to assume it was the coffee that had done the trick?

The sedative effects of large quantities of alcohol are well-established. For the first hour-and-a-half or so, when blood-alcohol concentrations are high, people become more alert. From two hours after alcohol consump-

tion to around six hours, objective measures of sleepiness increase . Caffeine does the opposite, making people more alert, which has led to the appealing idea that a cup of coffee can cancel out the effects of a pint of beer.

Sadly it’s not that straightforward. Historically, studies of the effect of caffeine on people’s driving abilities when drunk (in the lab, not on the roads) have had contradictory results. Some have found it reverses the slowing of reaction times caused by alcohol, others have found it doesn’t.

More recently, a study published in 2009 was designed to tease out in more detail the effects of combining alcohol and caffeine. Mice were given alcohol followed by the human equivalent of eight cups of coffee. After the caffeine they seemed more alert, but they were still much worse than sober mice at getting round a maze.

So caffeine can counteract the tiredness induced by alcohol, which might explain

why a cup of coffee is popular in many places at the end of a meal. But it can’t remove feelings of drunkenness or some of the cognitive deficits alcohol causes. The reason is that

aldehyde dehydrogenase.

After several steps the alcohol is eventually excreted as water and carbon dioxide.

It takes approximately an hour for the body to me-

speed up the process. However its effects vary according to which function you’re looking at. One study, for example, found a large dose of caffeine can counteract the

It’s an appealing idea that caffeine can cancel out the effects of too much alcohol. Sadly, studies reveal it is not that straightforward. we have to metabolise the alcohol we drink in order to diminish its effects. The body processes it in several ways.

Mostly it’s broken down in the liver by two enzymes, alcohol dehydrogenase and

tabolise one unit of alcohol, although some people do it faster and some slower, depending on their genetic make-up, how much food they’ve eaten and how often they drink. Caffeine doesn’t

negative effects of alcohol on memory, but that feelings of dizziness remain.

There are also suggestions that caffeine can make matters worse. If you feel tired you are more likely to re-

alise that you must be drunk, but if the caffeine takes away some of that fatigue you might believe you’re sober when you’re not.

This might explain the findings of a study of American college students from 2008. Those who chose drinks containing both alcohol and caffeine, such as vodka and Red Bull, were twice as likely to get hurt in an accident and more than twice as likely to accept a lift with a driver who was over the limit.

This effect was independent of the amount of alcohol consumed. This is an early study on the topic in which the students choose their own drinks and reported themselves how much they’d drunk.

But it does illustrate how caffeine could fool people into thinking they’re sobering up, and some of the potentially disastrous consequences.

So if I go to a play on the day of my husband’s office party this year, I’ll know that only time will make a difference. I’ll have to hope it’s a production with a third act then.

Credit: BBC/Claudia Hammond

CMYK

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SPORTS

Thursday, 21st November, 2013

Khune, Chiefs fined over slogan

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AIZER Chiefs and their captain, Itumeleng Khune, have been handed a suspended R25 000 fine by the Premier Soccer League Disciplinary Committee.

‘Spiderkid’ was charged with displaying a religious slogan under his shirt during the Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates last month.

Both parties pleaded guilty and, over and above the suspended fine, Khune was also ordered to furnish a written apology and pay the pay the costs of the sitting.

In other cases, First Division side African Warriors were charged with a contravention of the provisions of the

football manual after failing to submit their team-sheet on time during their fixture against Chippa United on November 1.

The club paid an admission of guilt fine of R5 000.

In another matter involving Warriors, the club was charged with contravening provisions of the PSL Compliance Manual after their representative and a media officer failed to arrive on time for the pre-match meeting in the same match. They again paid an admission of guilt fine of R5 000.

Black Leopards paid a similar fine for failing to have the requisite medical personnel available prior to and at the start of their fixture against Thanda Royal Zulu FC on November 2.

Australia’s Tevita Kuridrani to miss Scotland and Wales Tests

Supreme Court overturns High Court’s decision to instate Nana Budu as E/R Football Chairman

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HE Supreme Court has overturned the decision by an Accra High Court to instate Nana Kojo Budu as the Chairman of the Eastern Regional Football Association.

An Accra High Court, earlier in July, ordered the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to instate Nana Kojo Budu as the Chairman of the Eastern Regional Football Association instead of Alhaji A.A Lawal, because Lawal has failed to account for his stewardship.

But the Supreme Court ruled against the High Court’s decision, saying the High Court has violated the law of natural justice because, Nana Budu did not lodge a protest or motion against the Electoral Commission that the election wasn’t free and fair.

It would be recalled that Nana Budu polled a total of 17 votes as against 147 by A.A Lawal at the Eastern Regional Football Association chairmanship selection.

With the latest development, Alhaji A.A Lawal will reclaim his position as the chairman of Eastern Regional Football Association.

T

EVITA Kuridrani will miss Australia’s autumn Tests against Scotland and Wales after being banned until mid-February for his red card against Ireland.

Kuridrani, 22, received a

straight red card following a tip tackle on Peter O’Mahony in the Wallabies’ 32-15 win.

The Brumbies centre, who has the right of appeal, is free to resume playing on 17 February.

Australia face Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday and Wales at the Millennium Stadium on 30 November.

Professor Lorne Crerar, the International Rugby Board-ap-

pointed judicial officer, ruled that Kuridrani’s offence warranted an eight-week ban.

He added a ninth week as a deterrent for this type of tackle - but then took four weeks off to reflect Kuridrani’s previously good disciplinary record and other mitigating factors.

The resulting suspension of five weeks can only be served during Kuridrani’s playing

schedule, meaning it will not expire until mid-February.

Australia have suspended six players for the visit to Edinburgh for drinking in midweek before Saturday’s win over Ireland.

Adam Ashley-Cooper, Nick Cummins, Liam Gill, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson and Paddy Ryan will not face Scotland.

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