CHRAJ, CSO TO MONITOR CORRUPT POLITICAL PRACTICES (PAGE 16)

THE Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), in collaboration with civil society organisations (CSOs), has put in place mechanisms to monitor corrupt practices by political parties in the run-up to the December 7 general election.
That, according to the Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ, Mr Richard Quayson, was to ensure that there was much integrity among those who aspired to be in public office and that any presidential aspirant who would win the elections would represent the will of the people.
Mr Quayson, who was speaking to the Daily Graphic in Wa, said the move by CHRAJ and the CSOs was to discourage the alleged canker of vote buying by political parties.
He gave the assurance that results from the monitoring exercise would be published on a later date to draw the attention of people to the indirect effects of vote buying on the electorate and the entire country.
He said if acts of corruption during political party campaigns were checked, within the next 12 years the face of elections in the country would improve, with politicians talking more about reality during their campaigns, not fanciful things.
“Once we have all accepted multi-party democracy, the parties must play it fair. We must know that if parties use dishonest means to get the votes, the same dishonest culture will be exhibited by the politicians when they are in office,” the deputy commissioner stressed, adding, “Operators of the political system that should give us leaders must not corrupt it.”
Mr Quayson also described as very weak the argument that “we will take the items but we will not vote for them”, stressing that very good candidates could lose an election because they did not provide gifts or distribute items to the electorate.

UNKNOWN GUNMEN ATTACK ELEDI'S RESIDENCE (PAGE 20)

RECENT attacks on certain personalities in major cities of the country have been extended to Wa, capital of the Upper West Region.
This time around, the victim of the attack was a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Clement Eledi, whose private residence was besieged by unknown assailants.
The attack was said to have taken place at about 1 a.m. on Saturday, July 19, 2008 when some armed men stormed the deputy minister’s house and started shooting indiscriminately.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Deputy Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Augustine Gyening, he confirmed the incident and said his outfit was investigating the matter.
Mr Gyening, however, declined to give further details with the explanation that the investigations were at the primary stages.
Meanwhile, the Daily Graphic has gathered that the shooting was foiled by a policeman in the house who also fired back at the attackers, thereby compelling them to flee.
Mr Eledi was out of town at the time of the attack. When the Daily Graphic checked at the Wa Regional Hospital it was discovered that there was no casualty.

CHRAJ-MEDIA COLLABORATION ESSENTIAL (PAGE 21)

THE Deputy Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Richard Quayson, has called for effective collaboration between the media and the commission in dealing with human rights issues.
He said people ought to understand human rights issues to prevent others from trampling upon their rights.
According to him, that would also empower the public to hold public officers accountable for their actions.
Addressing a day’s workshop for media personnel at Wa in the Upper West Region, Mr Quayson said many people were ignorant about human rights issues and needed to be educated.
He said in order to reach out to more people, CHRAJ needed the media to make inroads and bring issues on human rights to the doorsteps of people.
On what CHRAJ was doing to prevent abuse of the rights of people, the deputy commissioner said a manual to improve human rights in schools had been developed for the Ghana Education Service (GES) to discourage the bullying and maltreatment of students.
“We are also preparing a code of conduct and documents on conflict of interest for public officers. This is aimed at improving the level of integrity for public life”, Mr Quayson noted.
He said most of the complaints received by his outfit were on human rights and administrative injustices, adding that on the average, the commission received 14,500 complaints annually, out of which about 85 per cent were disposed of in a year.
He said CHRAJ would not shield anybody; neither would it allow anyone to use the commission to ridicule anybody, and stressed that if the country dealt with corruption and human rights issues as well as administrative injustices, it would receive the appropriate public recognition.
“We need to put our house in order so that our wealth does not drain out, especially with the oil find,” Mr Quayson emphasised.
He also said CHRAJ was very serious about eradicating corruption in the country.

4 MORE UW DISTRICTS TO BENEFIT FROM LEAP (PAGE 21)

FOUR more districts in the Upper West Region are to benefit from the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme this year. They are Jirapa, Nadowli, Lambussie-Karni and the Sissala East.
This brings to five the number of beneficiary districts in the region since the LEAP programme was launched in the region early this year.
Presently, the Lawra District is the only district where the programme is being implemented under a pilot project.
The Programme Head of Community Care at the Upper West Regional Office of the Department of Social Welfare, Mr Andrews Kaayi Dimah, told the Daily Graphic that the number of beneficiary districts would be increased from the present 31 to 150 while the beneficiary communities in the various districts would also be increased from four to six.
“Unlike the initial implementation stages when we targeted only caregivers with orphans and the most vulnerable, this time around, we are roping in the aged. Mr Dimah called for an increase in the staff strength in the beneficiary districts as well as the provision of a means of transport to ensure an effective monitoring of the programme.
He also appealed to the respective district assemblies to complement the efforts of the department to make the LEAP programme a success.
The Social Welfare Officer also urged the communities, especially traditional rulers to take the LEAP programme as their bonafide, and also educate their subjects not to politicise the programme.
He said that was necessary because the identification was done by members of the community implementation committee, while the Social Welfare Department did the registration..
Mr Dimah further explained that there were conditions such as birth registration, child immunisation and registration of children under the NHIS, which must be honoured by people who would be identified.
He said failure to meet those requirements meant that such people would not benefit from the programme.

APRM, A GUIDE FOR GHANAIANS (PAGE 21)

THE Catholic Bishop of Wa, Most Reverend Paul Bemile, has described the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) as a guide for all Ghanaians.
The APRM, he said, was an eye-opener for many countries, institutions and even chiefs who are now trail blazers of the mechanism.
Bishop Bemile said this when he and Alhaji Issahaque Abdullai, a businessman and a former Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), called on the Upper West Regional Minister, Mr George Hickah Benson, to show him the national awards they received recently.
Bishop Bemile said the peaceful nature of the region was a clear indication that the people were beginning to cohabit peacefully with others, adding that the award was not for themselves alone but the entire region.
Commenting on the forthcoming general election, the Catholic Bishop stressed the need for Ghanaians to ensure that it was conducted peacefully, adding “We do not want what happened in Kenya to happen in Ghana because when that happens, there would be no President Kufuor or Kofi Annan to mediate.”
He gave the assurance that the Catholic Church in the region would make it a priority to pray for peace before, during and after the election.
Bishop Bemile expressed appreciation to President Kufuor for the honour done them.
The regional minister stated that the two awardees really deserved the awards.
He described them as role models who had done a lot for the region in particular and the country, and added that “a lot must be learnt from them.”

IT IS AGAINST LAW TO DEFACE PARAPHERNALIA (PAGE 16)

THE Commander of the Airborne Force Detachment in Wa, Lieutenant Michael Siaw Amoah, has reminded Ghanaians that it is against the law of the country to deface the paraphernalia of any political party.
He noted that acts of destroying posters or flags of opposing political parties would not increase the votes of any political party, but would rather inflame passions.
Lieutenant Amoah, therefore, appealed to all to live in harmony with one another before, during and after the 2008 elections.
“Destroying the posters of other parties is against the law, and one can be arrested for doing that,” he stressed, saying election, like football, has both winners and losers.
Lieutenant Amoah was speaking at the inauguration of a nine-member peace contact group for Wa in the Upper West Region.
The programme, which was sponsored by the UNDP, is a municipal peace initiative, which had the objective of promoting peace during and after the 2008 general election.
The group comprises representatives of the various royal gates, religious groups, political parties and other youth organisations in the region.
The Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission, Mr George Sarpong, who chaired the function, said security personnel were needed to promote peace, and not to oppress people.
Mr Sarpong advised the youth of the various royal gates in Wa to endeavour to document the history surrounding their lineages in order to build their confidence.
This, he said, would empower them to deal with each other peacefully after careful reflections, when the issues on successions arose.
Other speakers include the Deputy Upper West Regional Police Commander, ACP Augustine Gyening, and the Regional Head of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Kofi Adam.

DEVELOPERS ENCROACH ON WA AIRSTRIP (PAGE 49)

THE Upper West Regional Aviation Officer, Mr Clifford A. Appiah, has noted with concern the increasing level of encroachment by defiant developers on the land constituting the entire Wa airstrip.
Describing the situation as a serious threat to the safety and the security of users of the airstrip, Mr Appiah said erosion around certain portions of the strip was also of major concern.
Mr Appiah expressed the concern during a tour by the Upper West Regional Minister, Mr George Hickah Benson, and officials from the Wa Municipal Assembly and the regional Land Secretariat to the airstrip to ascertain the seriousness of the problem.
He noted that some residents had also cut the barbed wires which had been erected to safeguard the runway, thereby giving stray animals the leeway to move onto the runway with ease.
“On June 2, 2008, a goat crossed the Air Force plane which was transporting the Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, from Wa to Accra just as it was about to take off,” the aviation officer lamented, saying the situation could have brought a lot of grief to the entire country.
Asked if the number of aviation security personnel available was up to the task, he explained that with the support of the police, they were able to contain the situation.
“This airstrip is used mainly by VVIPs and VIPs and so all stakeholders must come together to ensure its maximum security, protection and maintenance,” he pointed out.
Mr Benson, for his part, gave the assurance that everything would be done to save the airstrip, since it was used not only by the President and his vice but also by all and sundry.
Meanwhile, the Daily Graphic gathered that in spite of efforts such as radio announcements and a series of meetings between officials of the regional Land Secretariat and the purported landlords, developers were still keen on putting up buildings around the demarcated area.
The Wa Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Mohammed Abdul Aziz, in an interview, blamed the problem on the inadequate capacity of the Building Inspectorate Division of the assembly, as well as connivance by some workers of the assembly with the developers.
He said a task force to monitor the siting of unauthorised structures in the municipality, as well as the proper issuance of permits for buildings, had been constituted to check the situation.