World Leprosy Day Mark

Daily Guide Africa
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A patient suffering from leprosy

INMATES AT the Weija Leprosarium will on Sunday, January 29 join the rest of the world to celebrate World Leprosy Day.

Leprosy is a an infectious disease of the skin, mucous membranes and nerves mainly occurring in tropical regions caused by a bacterium often leading to paralysis, disfigurement and deformity.

A release issued by the Lepers Aid Committee observed that the celebration helps us focus on the needs of the poor who are affected by the disease.

It also helps to tell the story to people who do not know that leprosy still exists and that it can now be cured.

“It helps us raise much awareness of creating a leprosy-friendly environment and the total elimination of discrimination perpetuated against lepers in Ghana,” it noted.

The statement observed that World Leprosy Day which has been observed each year on the last Sunday of January for more than 50 years is to commemorate those who suffer the devastating effects of the disease.

It further noted that although most people regard leprosy as an ancient disease that was eradicated years ago, new cases of leprosy keep emerging each year in Ghana and across the world.

“Sufferers had no choice in the past centuries than to be stigmatized and sent far away from their family houses to live with disabilities that are common in leprosy,” it indicated.

The committee added: “With the advancement of technology and the availability of drugs for treatment, early detected cases of leprosy are treated and cured.”

The committee added that Sunday’s activities will include a sod -cutting ceremony for the construction of an office as well as a visitor’s hall for the leprosarium.

It therefore urged Ghanaians to join hands in the eradication of discrimination against people with disabilities, especially leprosy and do away with all forms of stigmatization against lepers in their community.

 “As we join the world today in celebrating World Leprosy Day and in standing for those who face oppression and stigma every day, let us remember that we are one body, supporting and caring for one another. Let us come together and continue to do something beautiful for God.”

By: Ampem Gyeke-Darko 

Rawlings, Kufuor, Mills To Be Honoured

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John Kufuor and Jerry Rawlings

Former Presidents Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor and incumbent President John Evans Atta Mills are scheduled to be honoured this year for their various roles in the country’s democratic process at a programme dubbed ‘Celebrating 20 years of peaceful democracy in Ghana (1992-2012)’ slated for June 14, 2012 at the Accra International Conference Centre.

Organizers of the event, Pure Creations limited, a strategic marketing communication agency said “the aim of the event is to educate the populace on political tolerance, peaceful elections and electoral violence.”

It would equally be used to recognize institutions, politicians, distinguished statesmen and women and corporate Ghana who contributed their quota towards achieving a peaceful and democratic nation.

It is therefore putting together an art and photo exhibition dubbed, ‘Portrait Of The Johns’ to celebrate two decades of peaceful democracy in Ghana (1992-2012).

They would be honoured for their contributions toward the growth and maintenance of Ghana’s democracy.

The arts include autographed portraits of selected high-profile citizens, past and present presidents, as well as ministers.

There would also be awards for Ministers and citizens who excelled both in government and outside government within the period under review and awardees would be chosen by the public through polls in the dailies and on the internet.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pure Creations, Paul Boateng said “the main objective of the event is to celebrate 20 years of peaceful democracy in Ghana, honour and highlight the achievements of the various heads of state that have served during the period, honour other individuals and institutions that contributed to building peaceful and stronger democracy.”

“Bringing President Kufuor, President Rawlings and President Mills at a single event to promote peace and unity as we prepare for both parliamentary and presidential elections, we believe, will foster a sense of unity among Ghanaians,” he noted.

As election 2012 approaches, he noted that the event will serve as a perfect platform to educate the populace on political tolerance, implications of the use of intemperate language, electoral fraud, electoral violence, voting procedures and avenues for addressing electoral disputes.

Mr Boateng indicated that “this event will also present golden opportunities for companies to associate their brand names and logos to this entire important project.”

The event is set to be climaxed with a grand exhibition and peace concert at the Accra International Conference Center from June 14-20, 2012 where the following personalities and individuals are expected to be honoured for their contributions toward 20 years of peaceful democracy.

Ekow Nkensen Arkaah, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, John Dramani Mahama, Speakers Of Parliament, Justice D.F Annan, Peter Ala Adjetey, Begyina Sekyi-Hughes, Mrs Bamford Addo, Georgina Wood among others are expected to be honoured.

Others include Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Edward Mahama, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Prof George Hagan, George Opesika Aguddey, Maj. General Erskine, Prof Albert Adu Boahen. There would be awards for the best ministers.

The regional exhibition will be held in Tamale from May 11-13; Kumasi from May 18-20; Takoradi from May 25-27, 2012.

The organizers intend to present a Ghana flag dubbed the ‘Peace Flag’ to all the various presidential and parliamentary candidates to append their signatures to it to symbolize their pledge and commitment to peaceful, free and fair elections.

The flag would be sent to religious bodies, Electoral Commission (EC), security agencies, key stakeholders in the country and finally handed to the National Peace Council on the day of the grand concert.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu

MP calls for review of Airport Tax Amendment Act

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The Member of Parliament for Evalue-Gwira in the Western Region, Catherine Afeku, is advocating for the amendment of the Airport Tax Amendment Act 2010 ( ACT 813) to raise more funds internally for the expansion and the development of the airport receptive facilities.

The Airport Tax Amendment Act 813 was amended in 2010 to increase the airport service charges from USD60 to USD75 and above for both domestic and international flights.

This means that anyone travelling by air currently in Ghana might be paying between USD75 and USD100 as indirect tax to the state. Under the Act, 60% of the revenues generated goes to the consolidated fund while 40% is left for the Civil Aviation Authority and the Ghana Airports Company Limited for the purposes of expansion and development of the various airports across the country.

Speaking in an interview with Adom News, Catherine Afeku who is also a member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport said, the Act should be amended so that all the internally generated funds by the Ghana Airports Company will be channeled into the development of the airports.

She explained that the aviation industry in the country is growing rapidly, considering the rate at which domestic and international flights are increasing in recent times and judging from the number of airline companies registering in Ghana.

The MP stated that it is imperative to allow the Ghana Airports Company keep all the revenue it generates, rather than putting part of it into the consolidated fund.

The MP questioned the wisdom in the continuous borrowing of money by government for the expansion and development of airports in the country since enough revenue is being generated from the Airport Service Charge.

She said “it will be unnecessary for the government to go for loans with huge interests that will be paid by the next generation when enough money is generated into the consolidated funds that can be used to develop the necessary infrastructure of the various airports”.

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Zimbabwe: General’s Family Doubts Remains Were His

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Zimbabwe Independent (Harare)

Wongai Zhangazha

26 January 2012

Harare — THE family of the late retired army commander, General Solomon Mujuru, is not convinced that the charred remains found at his gutted Beatrice farmhouse were those of the decorated liberation war hero since the police had not positively identified the remains at the time a public announcement was made.

The general’s older brother, Joel Mujuru, told the ongoing inquest into the Zanu PF luminary’s death in Harare yesterday in an emotional outburst that he had reservations about the identity of the remains found at the burnt out Alamein farmhouse in August last year.

He made the remarks while cross-examining a Zesa expert, Douglas Nyakungu, who was based at Beatrice.

This is the second time during the inquest that the older Mujuru has questioned whether authorities were completely certain that the remains found at the badly burnt farmhouse were those of his brother.

On Tuesday Joel asked Assistant Inspector Jokonia Zaza from Beatrice Police Station if he was certain at the time he saw the body that he could identify it as that of the general. Zaza responded that the body was badly burnt and he “could not identify that it belonged to the general at that time”.

Joel also quizzed Nyakungu who had called the general on his mobile phone after the two had separated following a drink at Beatrice Motel on the evening of August 15.

“I don’t know whether it is him or not who was found at the farm,” said a distressed Joel. “Anyway, my question is whether the person who had called earlier; could you by any chance have been able to establish who he was talking to for a very long time?”

This was after Nyakungu had revealed that the general spoke to a mysterious caller for about five minutes before they bade farewell following their evening drink. Nyakungu said it appeared the phone conversation the general had was serious going by his facial expressions and hand movements.

“I am also very much interested if by any chance the police or NetOne or Econet can give this court a phone record as to who called the general so as to establish who this person who was being consoled by the general was and what they were talking about,” Joel said.

Nyakungu ruled out that the fire which engulfed the farmhouse was caused by an electric fault. Nyakungu said: “I do not know what caused the fire, but the investigations that we conducted, Zesa is not responsible for the fire that erupted at the general’s farmhouse. It was actually the fire that destroyed Zesa cables at the house. No Zesa equipment on the farm appeared to have started the fire.”

He said through the guidance of Chief Superintendent Crispen Makendenge, he observed that two breakers on the miniature circuit breaker were switched off, meaning they had suffered an electric fault, but others remained on.

“When I arrived at the farm later to carry out investigations, I discovered that the pipes covering the electric wires were burnt to such an extent that the points where a lamp holder will be connected were utterly destroyed. All circuit outlets (single and double) were destroyed; that’s when we suspected that theburning had caused the tripping of (the) breakers,” said Nyakungu.

“I say the fire had burnt the electrical cables because I observed that the wiring contained in the pipes did not have characteristics that showed that they had experienced a fault. In the event of an electric fault, pipes would have suffered a hole or they would have partially been bruised or burnt. However, I observed that pipes that were coming from above had not suffered any damages; the same applies to pipes which were on the walls. Therefore, fire destroyed the electrical setup in the house,” Nyakungu said.

The family’s lawyer Takor Kewada told journalists on Wednesday that in the event that the Mujuru family was not satisfied with findings of local experts, they were at liberty to hire international experts since this wasn’t a trial but an inquest.

“This is an inquest; it’s not a trial, so in the event that we are not satisfied with local experts we are considering calling international experts,”Kewada said.

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Zimbabwe: General’s Family Doubts Remains Were His

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Speed Up Expansion Works At Kumasi Airport – Otumfuo

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The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, says the board and management of the Ghana Airports Company (GAC) should have no further excuses to delay expansion works at the Kumasi Airport to raise its status to international standard.

This is because all challenges in respect of land acquisition for expansion of the facility had been resolved.

He said it was up to the board and management to take immediate steps to commence the project.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu said this when members of the board of directors of the GAC paid a courtesy call on him at his Manhyia palace in Kumasi.

The Asantehene said with the growing volume of passengers and air traffic at the Kumasi Airport, it had become imperative to increase the infrastructural facilities to ensure 24-hour air transport service to the people.

He urged the board to take bold steps to get the job underway.

Mr George Kuntu Blankson, the Board Chairman, expressed gratitude to the Asantehene for showing keen interest and commitment to the upgrading of the airport.

He said land acquisition had always been their major hurdle and with the problem now dealt with, work would soon begin on the project.

This involves the extension of the runway to land bigger aircrafts and improvement of the lighting systems and other facilities.

Mr Blankson said the Company had already secured a loan facility for the implementation of the project.

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President Mills To Unveil Nkrumah’s Statue

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The African Union (AU) will honour the founder and first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, with the unveiling of a statue in Addis Ababa, for the role he played in African liberation struggle and the Pan African Movement.

In line with that, President John Evans Atta Mills, who leaves Accra today, for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the 18th Ordinary
Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU, has invited Dr Francis Nkrumah and Ms Samia Nkrumah to join him at the unveiling ceremony in honour of their father.

The statue has been mounted at the forecourt of the newly constructed AU Building in Addis Ababa.

The President is expected to deliver the keynote address on the theme: “Boosting Intra-African Trade”, and also be the guest of honour at the unveiling ceremony.

The President is scheduled to return to Accra on Tuesday, January 31, 2012.

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Refs down whistle in Swaziland

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The MTN league games have been thrown into disarray after Premier League referees downed their whistles due to unpaid allowances.

The men in black have flashed a ‘yellow card’ to the Premier League of Swaziland (PLS) and National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS) for failure to pay them allowances for the MTN premier league, first division, FixedFone Cup and ZTE Cup games.

But the PLS say the NFAS did not have all their ducks in a row, on an administration side of things, to start with.

In a letter MTNfootball.com has in its possession addressed to the NFAS CEO Frederick Mngomezulu, the National Referees Association (NRA) secretary, Henry Mmema wrote: “We have engaged the PLS CEO about this matter but his response has not been convincing to us (referees).”

Interviewed by MTNfootball.com, Mmema said they have run out of patience with the PLS.

“We have not received our allowances for the MTN league, FixedFone Cup and ZTE knockout. This has made it hard for our members to attend games, hence the decision to stay away from the games if we are not paid tomorrow,” he said.

PLS CEO, Zwelonkhe ‘Sport’ Dlamini confirmed receipt of the letter from the referees, but he stressed that the delay was caused by the fact that his office closed early for the festive holidays.

He says, in defence of the PLS, that the claims were not coming in simultaneously hence they were finding it hard to process them.

The PLS/FA were yesterday locked in a meeting with the NRA Executive Committee in a bid to resolve the matter.

By Lwazi Dlamini

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Sudan Break Goal Curse At Africa Cup of Nations

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Sudan broke their seemingly ‘goal curse’ at the Africa Cup of Nations after coming from behind twice to hold Angola to a 2-2 draw in their Group B clash on Thursday in Malabo.

It was the first of goals to be scored by the Desert Hawks since March 6, 1976 where they held DR Congo (there Zaire) to a 1-1 draw in their group phase clash.

Famous striker Ali Gagarine, now a diplomat scored the only goal for the Sudanese in that encounter, with Mulumba N’daye scoring for the Congolese.

It however took more than 120 minutes for the 1970 African champions to score again after their score-less campaign at the 2008 edition hosted in Ghana.

The hero this time was Al-Hilal forward Mohammed Bashir who scored in each half as his team clinched a vital draw against the Palancas Negras in the Equatorial Guinean capital.

For Bashir, he will go into the history books for breaking a supposed ‘curse’ which stood for 36-years.

The Desert Hawks have a slim chance of advancing to the next round as Angola face Cote d’Ivoire in the ultimate Group C match next Monday in Malabo.

The Elephants are already qualified with six points, two richer than Angola whilst Sudan has a single point.

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Paintsil eyes quarters with Mali victory

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Ghana defender John Paintsil says Saturday’s game against Mali is just important like any other game for the sides 2012 African Cup of Nations hopes.

A win for either side would confirm their place in the next round of the competition.

Paintsil said on Thursday “it’s a crucial game” against the Malians at the Stade de Franceville.

“It’s a game that we are going to call it a do or die affair. That’s the game that would qualify us to the quarterfinal.”

Both sides are level on three points after Ghana beat Botswana 1-0 in their first game while Mali also won by a similar scoreline against Guinea on Tuesday.

Ghana are tipped as one of the favourites but for Paintsil, the Black Stars are not getting too far ahead of itself as they focus just on Mali.

“It’s a massive one against Mali. It wouldn’t be easy but we would keep our discipline and keep our heads focused and take one at a time just like we did in the first game (game against Botswana),” he said.

“We are very confident of making it to the next round and would play to win the next one (against Mali) and see how it goes from there. The reward after every game is the same, it’s three points, and that’s what we are determined to get.”

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West Africa: UN Officials Calls for Action on Sahel Problems

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UN News Service (New York)

26 January 2012

The United Nations political chief today called for the establishment of a mechanism to address the myriad challenges facing countries in West Africa’s Sahel region, which, he said, include a humanitarian crisis, lack of socio-economic development, insecurity and the threat of terrorism.

“To be able to deal with the challenges in the Sahel region and to have a comprehensive, long- lasting impact, we need to put in place a mechanism that would bring together all the affected countries and major outside actors in a coordinated manner to discuss the issues and devise solutions,” B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the Security Council.

Briefing the Council on the findings of the United Nations-led mission that visited Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania last month to look into the impact of last year’s crisis in Libya on the Sahel region, Mr. Pascoe said that it was clear that most of the challenges pre-date the Libyan conflict.

“On the question of the returnees from Libya, the topmost priority for the countries visited was to feed and reintegrate the vulnerable returnees and to help the affected communities cope with the loss of remittances,” he said.

“Compounding these immediate problems are underlying structural challenges and a looming food crisis in the area. There were strong appeals for the United Nations, working in tandem with the African Union and others, as well as with the new authorities in Libya, to find a mutually satisfactory framework for rebuilding relationships between the Sahel region and the countries of transit and destination,” Mr. Pascoe told the Council.

Recent developments in the region reinforce the concerns consistently made to the mission by its interlocutors in the countries visited.

The security situation in Mali has significantly worsened following heavy fighting on 17 and 18 January between Government forces and ethnic Tuareg militias in the north, an area close to the borders with Niger and Algeria.

Mr. Pascoe told the Council that Tuareg fighters, who are members of the self-proclaimed ‘Azawad National Liberation Movement,’ have asserted that they are seeking to drive the Government out of several towns where Tuareg communities are dominant.

In neighbouring Niger, President Mahamadou Issoufou, voiced concern on Sunday over the danger of similar violence occurring in his country, and affirmed his Government’s determination to avert the spread of Tuareg attacks.

“The security equilibrium in the northern regions of Niger and Mali is especially volatile due to the enhanced presence and heightened activity there of the Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb group and other criminal networks who use these vast, poorly guarded and largely desert territories as safe havens and training ground for their illicit operations,” said Mr. Pascoe.

He said that despite the structural challenges that international and regional efforts to address the Sahel problems would face, the readiness of all the countries inside and outside the region, as well as regional organisations and the UN system, to work together to develop a more comprehensive and coherent approach is encouraging.

“It is critical that the international community responds to the strong and consistent calls by the concerned countries to support ongoing initiatives.

“Some of the problems are directly related to the fall of the [Muammar] al-Qadhafi regime in Libya, but the mission’s interlocutors emphasized that most of the problems are long-standing ones, and current drought conditions make it obvious that the overall situation could deteriorate quickly,” said Mr. Pascoe.

He told the Council that a ministerial-level meeting is planned to review the situation in Sahel during the Africa Union Summit next weekend and develop approaches to deal with the problems. The report of the UN-led mission, which was headed by Sam Ibok, the Deputy Director of the UN Department of Political Affairs’ Africa II Division, will be discussed at that meeting.

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