Reconciliation Law not targeting any group of people - Kufuor
Government names panellists for
Reconciliation Commission
Reconciliation Bill- religious bodies urged to intervene
Help make the Reconciliation Law a success
Majority and Minority still split over
Reconciliation Law
Owusu Ankomah on
reconciliation act
Ghanaians urges to use Christ’s birth for genuine reconciliation
Johnny Koroma on reconciliation
House begins screening amendments on National Reconciliation Bill
B.A. Mensah says forget reconciliation
Debate on Motion on National Reconciliation Commission Bill continues
Report on Reconciliation Bill laid
TUC endorses reconciliation move
Reconciliation must embrace all regimes – GUNSA
'Reconciliation must cover only military regimes'
Accra (Greater Accra) 31 January 2002 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday said the Reconciliation Law was not intended to target any particular person or group for persecution.
The government only sought to provide an opportunity for people, who were aggrieved, to air their grievances and for the state to intervene to secure the appropriate redress to reconcile the nation and move it forward in unity and harmony, he said.
The President said: "It was a matter of deep regret to me that there was such acrimony during the debates. Let me state clearly that there is no hidden agenda on my part in the matter of this law."
President Kufuor said this on Tuesday when he delivered his Sessional Address on the State of the Nation to the Second Session of the Third Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana in Accra.
Members of the Council of State, the diplomatic corps, politicians, chiefs, the clergy and Service Commanders were at the Parliament House to listen to the two-hour address read from a 26-paged booklet.
The former President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife Nana Konadu also attended. The Minority group in Parliament on seeing the couple greeted them with cheers to which they responded as they took their seats on the front row of the public gallery.
President Kufuor said the independence of the National Reconciliation Commission in its work would be totally respected by government to ensure that it commanded trust and co-operation across board.
"This is the only way its objective of helping to reconcile the nation can be secured," he said.
The President appealed to Parliament and Ghanaians to co-operate with the Commission to discharge its function for the good of all Ghanaians.
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Government names panellists for Reconciliation
Commission
Government
is reported to have nominated members of the soon to be established National
Reconciliation Commission. The panelists include, Justice E.K.Amuah Sekyi, a retired
Supreme Court Judge as Chairman of the Commission; Professor John Nabila of the
Institute of African studies, University of Ghana; Malvi Wahab Adam, Ameer and
Missionary in charge of the Ahmadiya Muslim Mission and Christian Appiah-Agyei,
former Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress.
Others
are Mrs Sylvia Boye, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Ghana Education
Trust Fund; Mrs Maragaret Nkrumah, Headmistress of SOS Tema (and wife of Dr
Francis Nkrumah, son of Ghana’s first President) and General Erskine (rtd),
former Commander of UNIFIL. The rest are Professor Florence Abena Dolphyne,
former pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana and Bishop Palmer Buckle,
Catholic Bishop of Koforidua.
The
Statesman newspaper says some of the prospective panelists it contacted
confirmed that government has indeed contacted them. They were however
reluctant to comment since they were yet to receive their letters of
appointment. The President in consultation with the Council of State is contemplating
on the names. The ‘Statesman’ quotes sources as saying that the National
Reconciliation commission will be institued in the next few weeks. - The
Statesman
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Gomoa Adaa
(Central Region) 22 January 2002 - The Chief of Gomoa Adaa in the Central Region,
Nana Okutwer Bekoe 111 has appealed to the Catholic Bishops Conference,
Christian Council of Ghana and other religious groups and traditional rulers to
intervene to resolve the differences between the minority and the majority in
Parliament over the passing of the Reconciliation Bill.
Nana
Okutwer Bekoe appealed to the Executive and the Legislature to ensure that the
bill became a unifying law rather than a document for polarisation of the
nation.
Speaking to
Ghana News Agency at Gomoa Adaa at the weekend, the chief said the Bill was so
important that any misunderstandings that could affect its credibility must be
resolved to make it acceptable to all.
"Let
us ensure that the bill wins the confidence of all Ghanaians," he said it
is unfortunate that the 200 Members of Parliament (MP) could not reconcile over
the passage of the bill. Nana Okutwer Bekoe commended the government for its
achievements during the first year in office.
He said a
solid foundation had been laid for the advancement of the economy and appealed
to Ghanaians to exercise patience for
the government to implement its policies to bring the promised positive change
into the living conditions of the people. He urged the people, especially workers
to be modest in their demands from the government.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 January 2002 - The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Nana Akuffo-Addo, on Monday urged all critics of the National Reconciliation Law and those others going about prophesying doom to rather help make the law a success.
This is because the law does not have any sinister motive or secret agendas to pursue, he said. Speaking to the ‘Times’ in an interview in Accra on Monday, the A-G said the law was focused on the various military government because they constituted the only period in the country’s history, which had not been scrutinized.
According to him, all the civilian regimes had been subjected to various commissions of enquiry when they were overthrown by the military. Nana Akufo-Addo said that if the NPP government had any secret agenda, there would have been other ways to do it other than the law.
“We could have been fighting for the removal of the entrenched clauses in the constitution which indemnified the PNDC government”. Nana Akufo-Addo said that the President could also have used the powers conferred on him by the Constitution to simply appoint people into a National Reconciliation Commission without passing it through parliament.
After all, he said, the President brought together the Stadium Disaster Commission to investigate the May 9, 2001. Accra Sports Stadium Disaster without passing it through parliament.
According to him, all the civilian governments were being kept out of the law without exception adding that, “it is consistent on that count”. “This means that all the governments from the First Republic to the Fourth Republic are excluded by the Law,” the Attorney-General said.
He explained that, military governments could not be said to be the same as civilian democratic governments because in civilian governments, there is the law of habeas corpus but in military governments this law is thrown away. Habeas Corpus is an order requiring a person to be brought before a judge or court.
Nana Akufo-Addo said, all over the world, reconciliation had been restricted to specific periods, such as in South Africa, where it was put after the Sharpeville massacre of 1961 whereas Nigeria chose the Military governments.
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Majority and Minority still split over
Reconciliation Law
Accra (Greater Accra) 19 January 2002 - The controversy surrounding the National Reconciliation Bill resurrected at the National Theatre during the Public Forum on Parliament with the NDC and the NPP militantly defending their partisan positions on the issue until the Speaker Mr Peter Ala Adjetey ruled that enough was enough.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said it was the NPP which has it in its manifesto that, it would set up a reconciliation commission and owed it to their campaign promise and the majority would do that.
He wondered why those calling for the 1957 time frame would not call for the amendments of the entrenched provisions of the 1992 Constitution, which protected those who violated human rights.
Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, NDC, Kumbungu and Ranking Member on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs said that the Majority's objection of the time frame to begin from the independence era was to defame political opponents.
"The passage of the Bill means that there is a perceived agenda that is political, which is either regional or national to target political opponents," he said.
Nana Akufo-Addo and Mr. Mumuni were responding to a question as to what efforts were made to ascertain the views of Ghanaians on the issue which majority of the people recommended the time frame to start from 1957, but the majority in parliament rejected and passed the bill.
The Forum was on the theme: "Democratic Governance Under the 1992 Constitution-Challenges and Prospects", which drew a crowd and many asked questions freely.
Mr. Mumuni said, "if the bill was not passed to defame political opponents why was the frame set to cover only military regimes and not including civilian governments where there were gross human rights abuses."
He said if the time frame was extended, it would strengthen the independence of the commission to carry out with its duty without any influence and the suspicion that a political opponent was the target.
He said, it was surprising that the overwhelming national view following series of fora that the cut off point should be 1957 was rejected.
Nana Akufo-Addo debunked the claim, saying that the purpose of the bill was to respond to the cries of the victims throughout the country and that nobody would be victimised.
He said the previous government never made any commitment to reconcile with the people of this country and that there was no perceived political agenda to defame any political group in the country.
The Attorney-General said Parliament has been given the mandate by the people to enact laws for the nation and the Majority would not surrender its authority in Parliament to the Minority.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 January 2002 - The Majority Leader
and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Paapa Owusu Ankomah, has stated
that the indemnity clauses in the 1992 Constitution which immune architects of
the military regimes that the country has experienced from prosecution
compelled the NPP government to come out with the National Reconciliation Bill
to enable those who were wronged during the reign of those regimes to have
their voices heard.
According to him, the bill, which has already been passed by
Parliament and has also received presidential assent is not meant to witch-hunt
architects of these regimes but to reconcile the country by giving compensation
where necessary to those who were badly hurt.
Speaking at a public forum organised by the Regional
Co-ordinating Council (RCC) at Sekondi last Sunday, Owusu Ankomah said
Parliament decided not to extend the period to 1957 because they believe those
regimes were legitimate ones and that if anybody was hurt there are
constitutional avenues to seek redress.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 January 2002 - The Gonjas, Kokonmbas and the Nanumbas in the East Gonja District have hailed the National Reconciliation Law describing it as an opportunity for them to reconcile with one another.
The three ethnic groups have been living in fear of one another following the Kokonkomba-Nanumba ethnic conflict in 1993 and 1994, which spilled over to Salaga and its surrounding areas.
Mr Abu-bakr Saddique Boniface, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry and an Independent Member of Parliament for Salaga said in Accra after interacting with his constituent that the people saw the law as unique since it would enable them to air their grievances for redress.
According to Mr Boniface, the people said they were willing to appear before the yet to be formed National Reconciliation Commission to state human rights abuses they suffered.
During the conflict many people died and property including livestock, houses and farms were destroyed and those hurt have been nursing grudges against the perpetrators.
He said the people expressed their satisfaction with the fact that the Commission would encourage people to come out and confess and ask for forgiveness and for those wronged to be compensated in a way by the state.
Mr Boniface said it was necessary for those who have some reservations about the law to understand that the legislation could not receive a hundred per cent support but that it should also be understood that the logistics involved in the work of the Commission was colossal.
"It is, therefore, necessary that the cut off time frame should be limited and those, who also felt wronged in the constitutional regimes could use the "window" the reconciliation law made room for to seek redress."
Mr Boniface said it would be imperative for the members of the Commission to have the decency and the courtesy to entertain those aggrieved ones who would come through the "window". The Deputy Minister appealed to all to come to terms with the position of Parliament on the reconciliation law.
Mr Alhassan Yahaya, a spokesman of the Minister's campaign team, commended the government for the ongoing rehabilitation work on the roads in the Salaga Township.
He said it takes more than five hours to travel from Mankago to Tamale, a distance of 154 kilometres instead of two hours adding that the area produces large quantities of yams and livestock.
Mr Yahaya said "the two senior secondary schools in the area are under resourced, the district police station is in a rented premises and the last time the area saw a tarred road was about 30 years ago".
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President signs Reconciliation Bill
Senior
Minister, Mr Joseph Henry Mensah, has hinted that the President has signed the
Reconciliation Bill into law.
At a
people’s assembly at Winneba at the weekend, he stated that the Reconciliation
Law is expected to bring Ghanaians together to accelerate the development
process in the country.
He said the
New Patriotic Party is committed to providing an atmosphere for free expression
of opinions and views on all national issues. He said many people suffered all
kinds of atrocities under various governments and the “wounds have to be healed
and people reconciled and compensated, if necessary, for the country to move
on.”
Mr Mensah
said such important laws are necessary to promote the development of the
country and appealed to all Ghanaians not to play politics with the
reconciliation exercise.
He assured
the gathering that the government is concerned about the plight of the rural
people and will ensure that everything is done to improve living conditions in
those areas through the various poverty reduction interventions.
Mr Mensah
made it clear that the government will not discriminate against any group of
people in the disbursement of the poverty alleviation fund.
In a
related development, Mr Mensah has asked the various houses of chiefs to ensure
that the process of gazetting chiefs is devoid of corrupt practices. He noted
that the dubious manner in which some chiefs are gazetted has contributed to
the increasing number of chieftaincy disputes in the country.
Mr Mensah,
who was addressing a well-attended people’s assembly at Agona Swedru, stated
that the corrupt practices do not augur well for the chieftaincy institution.
He urged chiefs to live up to expectation and also help resolve the many
chieftaincy disputes institution.
He urged
chiefs to live up to expectation and also help resolve the many chieftaincy
disputes in the communities. The Senior Minister said the government’s policies
in the past year have stabilized the economy, adding that “the extra three years
will focus on creating jobs, improving health and educational standards”, and
called for support from the people to make this possible. - Daily Graphic
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 11 January 2002 - The Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Alban
S.K. Bagbin, said the Minority is investigating allegations that Parliament did
not have the required constitutional quorum when it passed the National
Reconciliation Bill and if the allegation is supported with evidence, then
definitely, it would erode the legality of the whole bill.
The bill, he said, becomes unconstitutional and therefore it
would have no force of law. “You can have less than one hundred (100) members
of the house for discussion but in taking a decision, you need, by our
constitutional provision, to have more than half and that is one hundred and
one (101). That is the position, so if they (the Majority) actually passed the
bill with less than one hundred and one members, then it means the bill is
actually not legal”.
Hon Bagbin, who was speaking to the “Ghana Palaver” in an
interview in his office said, “this is a legal matter we can easily take to
court”.
Torching on President Kufour’s comments during the ninth
anniversary celebrations, the Minority Leader said, “I am actually unhappy to
hear the President say he was going to assent to the Reconciliation Bill,
because we have gone a step further to petition the President as a party and
not as the Minority in Parliament”.
He said, he was aware the National Democratic Congress
(NDC), in their petition, has appealed to the President to exercise his powers
under the constitution by declining to assent to the bill and refer it back to
Parliament, stating some of the reasons that have been expressed by Civil
Society, the International Community and the minority in Parliament.
Mr Bagbin said, to get a reconciliation in the country, all
sectors of the people, all class of people must feel that they are part of the
process and you need the total co-operation of the people before you can get a
reconciliation.
The way the bill has been passed, he said where even
Parliament itself is not speaking with one voice, it will not be able to
achieve what it was intended for.
Asked, now that the President is ignoring your petition,
what would be your next line of action? Mr Bagbin said, he thinks it would be
in the interest of the whole nation, together with civil society to reappraise
the situation and see how best to go about it because if you compel people to
the commission, you cannot compel them to reconcile with you.
Reconciliation, he noted, is a different exercise, totally
different from the normal bills that is passed in Parliament and said, “It is
so sensitive that we should as a nation commit ourselves to genuine
reconciliation or we would just be deepening the difference already existing in
the country”.
Explaining the viewpoint of the Minority on the bill, Mr
Bagbin said, the objective of the bill as it stands now, is to look at the
military regimes, trying to reconcile the military with the civilian
population, but if you are talking about National Reconciliation then the
objective of the bill must go beyond that.
He said, here, one is talking about human right abuses,
violations, tortures and trying to set the historical records straight because
most of the time, what we refer to as official statements is not the plain
truth.
Take, for instance, the September 1969 Yendi massacre, where
69 people were mowed down in cold blood but official sources under the Busia
regime gave the number killed as 23, he emphasised. Now, the Minority Leader
said, the people want to come before the commission and testify of the heinous
and abrasive acts committed against them to set the records straight.
He said, the focus of a genuine National Reconciliation is
on the victims and not the perpetrators, the people who caused human rights
abuses or tortured the victims.
“We are now trying to see how we can assuage the suffering
of the victims and try to reconcile them with these people who were suspects or
criminal perpetrators, that is what we are looking at”, Mr Bagbin said. – The
Palaver
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 11 January 2002 - A
Koforidua-based legal practitioner, Nana Addo-Aikins has appealed to President
J.A. Kufuor to refer the National Reconciliation Commission Bill back to
Parliament for a consensus decision to be taken on it before his Presidential
assent.
In a press release, he referred to the boycott of the Bill
by the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentarians at the
voting stage in Parliament and described the situation as “constituting a
serious constitutional hazard for which a special Presidential directive is
needed to solve.”
Nana Addo-Aikins, a former Public Tribunal Chairman under
the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) regime, therefore, urged the
President to “see the seriousness of the matter, invoke his Constitutional
powers under Article 106(7,8a) of the Constitution and refer the Bill back to
Parliament for reconsideration, bearing in mind the urgent need for
Parliamentary and public consensus.” - The Palaver
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 10 January 2002 - In spite of the belief of most Ghanaians that
the National Reconciliation Commission Bill is the product of Parliament, the
“Voice” can reveal that it was decided and approved by cabinet and only brought
to the House for its approval.
According
to Honourable Doe Adjaho, NDC Member of Parliament for Avenor and the Minority
Chief Whip, the whole Bill was designed behind the scenes and that it is his
believe that some NPP front liners were not even in favour of the Bill.
Honourable
Doe Adjaho was speaking to the Ghanaian Voice in an interview at Parliament on
last Thursday January 8. In the same interview, Hon Adjaho threw a challenge to
the Ministry of Finance, Mr Osafo Maafo to disprove that his Minister did not
over spend on contingency and administration contrary to the 2001 Appropriation
Act that was approved by Parliament.
Whiles
lauding the NPP for the focus of the People’s Assembly, he said some of the
questions and answers were misleading. - The Ghanaian Voice
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 10 January 2002 - A former PNDC Secretary, Dr Ayirebi Acquah
has suggested that people who are appointed to the proposed National
Reconciliation Commission be vetted by Parliament.
He said
Parliament is more representative of the people of Ghana and its endorsement of
people charged with such great responsibility would go a long way to make them
credible and make their report more acceptable to the people.
Dr Ayirebi
Acquah made the suggestion in an interview with the “The Evening News” at the
Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) where he participated in the
“People’s Assembly” to mark the ninth anniversary of the Fourth Republic.
He stated
that such a move by Parliament would also signify the involvement of the
minority in the appointment of people to the Commission. According to him, it
was only when the appointees were fully vetted by Parliament that their
recommendations and report would be credible and acceptable to both the
majority and the minority.
He stressed
the need for the reconciliation, saying that many acts of commission and
omission had happened over the past 50 years some of which were criminal. Dr
Ayirebi Acquah said there was the need for a new spiritual foundation to be
built for all Ghanaians considering what had happened in the past.
On the
trial of some former government officials, which some people described as
political persecution, Dr Ayirebi Acquah said where there was criminal charge
against any individual, investigations must be fully conducted and the law
takes its course in a most transparent manner in accordance with rule of law
and natural justice.
He
commended the government for its good economic policies, which had brought down
inflation, interest rate and stabilised the cedi.
The former
PNDC Secretary however, cautioned the government to be wary of giving out high
salaries and wages to workers without a corresponding measure to ensure real
purchasing power.
He said
such a move could cause serious problems for the government and make it very
unpopular in the end. On the first anniversary of the NPP, he said it had a
quite peaceful and successful year, which all Ghanaians must be congratulated.
He said it was the perseverance and resilience of Ghanaians that made the year
a very successful one.
On his
part, Mr Johnny Hansen, a leading member of the Convention People’s Party
(CPP), said the NPP government had done well so far by being very democratic.
He said the government had also heightened the democratic consciousness of the
people and hoped that the trend would continue. - The Evening News
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Accra (Greater Accra) 10 January 2002 - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has kicked against the National Reconciliation Bill, which was recently passed by Parliament, contending that it is fundamentally flawed and totally incapable of achieving national reconciliation for the people of Ghana.
The party has, therefore, petitioned President J.A. Kufuor to take a second look at the bill before giving his assent, since in the party’s view the bill threatens to divide Ghanaians as it goes contrary to the popular will.
In a press statement signed and issued by Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, General Secretary, in Accra last Tuesday, the National Executive Committee of the party said it was convinced that to avoid the spectre of the nation’s negative past haunting the people and adversely affecting national unity and coherence, the reconciliation effort should seek to address past abuses on the basis of understanding, not vengeance.
“The process should be holistic and not desegregated and selective. It should encourage reparation and not retaliation in order to promote lasting unity and forge national consensus,” it stated.
According to the statement, the view of the party has always been that the best framework for a sustainable, genuine and sincere reconciliation for the nation is one that is extensive, inclusive, transparent, participatory, non-retributive and incorporates bipartisan political support.
The statement drew attention to public hearings on the National Reconciliation Bill on issues relating to the mandate, time-frame, composition and selection process of the members of the Commission vis-a-vis the rights, liberties and privileges of witnesses appearing before it or persons affected by the findings of the Commission.
The Party’s position also informed and guided the amendments which the minority group in Parliament proposed to the National Reconciliation Bill, stating that the intention of those amendments were to achieve the following effects:
(a) extension of the time mandate from the March, 1957 to the January, 1993 (or to the eve of the inauguration of the Commission, if that was preferred). In doing so the Minority Group in Parliament was guided by the sentiments and widespread support for this view by many well-meaning Ghanaians, citizens, religious and civil society groups such as the Catholic Bishops Conference, the Ghana National Association of Teachers, the Northern Region House of Chiefs, to mention but a few. It was also noted that it was the consensus of participants at a high profile international conference on national reconciliation in Ghana, organised and sponsored by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development in conjunction with Civil Society Coalition and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). This was on June 20-21, 2001 at M-Plaza, Accra. Section 9 of the Conference Declaration was in the following terms:
“The time frame for examining cases of abuses and injustice should not be too restrictive and targeting people. It was agreed that the time frame for the Commission work should be from March 6, 1957 to 6th January 1993.”
(b) The Minority Group also proposed amendments on the selection process which, it was felt, should be more participatory, inclusive and consultative-a process that included a role for Parliament and civil society which would contribute to the legitimacy, credibility and independence of the Commission and assure broader interest, ownership consensus regarding the mandate of the Commission.
(c) amendments were also proposed by the Minority Group in Parliament on the power of the Commission to ensure that the fundamental human rights of citizens as guaranteed under our Constitution are not violated by the wide powers of the Commission and that witnesses appearing before the Commission or persons against whom adverse findings and safeguards are applicable to Commissions appointed under Chapter 23 of the Constitution.
The party statement noted that the Majority in Parliament, totally disregarding the peculiar character of the Bill as a national reconciliation bill, determined to side-step the popular will of the Ghanaian people, contemptuous of the opinion of national and international experts on reconciliation and transitional justice decided to subvert the very pristine principles upon which reconciliation is based.
It was in these circumstances, the executive committee observed, that the Minority Group staged a walkout preferring not to be part of a process that is so flawed as to amount to a veritable subversion of the people. “The Bill was subsequently passed without the participation of the Minority Group and passes with all its inelegancies and flaws,” it added.
The National Executive Committee is convinced that the National Reconciliation Bill as passed is fundamentally flawed and totally incapable of achieving national reconciliation for the people of Ghana. The National Executive Committee is further convinced that in order to avoid the spectre of our negative past haunting us and adversely affecting our national unity and coherence, our national reconciliation effort should seek to address past abuses on the basis of understanding but not vengeance.
“The process should be holistic and not disaggregated and selective. It should encourage reparation and not retaliation in order to promote lasting unity and forge national consensus.” To this end the Party has petitioned His Excellency the President not to assent to the Bill in its present state but to allow further consideration and accommodation in the lee ways provide by our Constitution.
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Nkawie (Ashanti Region) 10 January 2002 - Mr Kwasi Danteh-Afriyie, Member of Parliament (MP) for Atwima Mponua, has asked the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to climb down from its entrenched position to support the government's efforts at reconciling the nation and heal the wounds of the past.
He noted that the country could not move forward when there was bitterness, acrimony, strong desire for revenge of past wrongs and ill feelings towards one another.
Mr Danteh-Afriyie was contributing to discussions at a People's Forum held at Nkawie in the Atwima District to mark the first year of the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) administration.
It was attended by a cross-section of people and provided an opportunity for them to ask questions and seek clarifications on issues ranging from the disbursement of the District Assemblies' Common Fund (DACF), Reconciliation Bill, education and the general development direction of the district.
The MP said it should not be lost on any Ghanaian that there could not be any other better place for him or her other than Ghana and for that matter all must work together with a common sense of purpose and understanding to build the country.
Mr James Adusei Sarkodie, MP for Atwima Nwabiagya, re-affirmed the government's determination to ensure financial discipline and prudent fiscal policies to facilitate the country's industrial takeoff.
He announced that he would use his share of the DACF to assist train the unemployed youth in the area to acquire employed skills in batik, tie and dye, soap and pomade making among other things to make them become self-supporting.
Mr Charles Yeboah, District Chief Executive, said the assembly had initiated moves to recover the 259 million cedis owed to it by defaulting beneficiaries of the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF).
He said following court action against some of the defaulters, the assembly had recovered 79 million cedis of the outstanding amount.
The District Chief Executive gave assurance that they would be fair in the disbursement of the PAF and would not be discriminatory.
Mr Yeboah said the district within the past year saw tremendous improvement on the development of school infrastructure, feeder roads and provision of health facilities and announced plans to replace the Cash and Carry System with a Health Insurance Scheme in the area this year.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 08 January 2002 - A Koforidua-based legal practitioner, Nana Addo-Aikins has appealed to President John Agyekum Kufuor to refer the National Reconciliation Commission Bill back to Parliament for a consensus decision to be taken on it before his Presidential Assent.
In a press release he referred to the boycott of the Bill by the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentarians at the voting stage in Parliament and described the situation as "constituting a serious constitutional hazard for which a special Presidential directive is needed to solve."
He noted that the prevailing situation, which called for a second look at the Bill, in its present form, "could go out of hand if it is not given the serious and quick attention it deserves."
Nana Addo-Aikins, a former Public Tribunal Chairman under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) regime, therefore, urged the President to "see the seriousness of the matter, invoke his Constitutional powers under Article 106 (7, 8a) of the Constitution and refer the Bill back to Parliament for reconsideration, bearing in mind the urgent need for Parliamentary and public consensus."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 02 January 2001 - Mr. Osie Kyie Mensah-Bonsu, Deputy Majority Chief Whip on Monday announced a compromise position by the New Patriotic Party to back the demand of the National Democratic Congress to extend the National Reconciliation Bill to the first republic.
He said he has proposed an amendment to the Bill after the minority group in parliament lost the vote on the issue and boycotted proceedings in the house.
Mr. Mensah-Bonsu was speaking at a symposium on, "Majority and Minority relations in parliament: "Prescription for a good governance", at the 53 annual new year school under way at the University of Ghana, Legon organised by the Institute of Adult Education on the theme: "Good governance and sustainable national development."
He said, "if the minority group have exercised patience for the result on the vote on his proposed amendment, there would have been no need for the walkout during the final debate on the bill."
He said the NPP had always stressed the need for consensus building on all matters affecting the interest of the nation so that the focus of parliament was not diverted.
He, however, explained that the NPP limited the debate on the Reconciliation Bill to only the military regimes because they were covered by transitional provisions that made it impossibly for aggrieved persons to seek redress for the extra judicial actions they suffered.
Mr. Mensah-Bonsu said "any form of infringement against the fundamental human rights of any Ghanaian by present or past government should be condemned by Parliament in the interest of the country's evolving democracy.
He said the constitutional provisions making it mandatory for the executive to nominate 51 percent of ministers from parliament adversely affect the decision of the majority in the house.
The Majority, therefore, look forward to increase co-operation with the minority to forge a unity of purpose in the development process.
Mr. Doe Ajaho, Minority Chief Whip said some development in parliament shows that the majority do not want to help the minority in keeping the executives on its toes and accountable to the people.
He cited an amendment motion he moved, asking for a supplementary estimate on why the government was spending over and above 122.5 billion cedis of what was legally authorised to be spent in the appropriation act, but was dismissed.
"The majority voted against the motion clearly they do not want to embarrass their government, as I stand here I do not know what the 122.5 billion cedis is being spent on. Indeed the greater part of the amount was already spent before the presentation of the mid-year budget review."
Mr. Ajaho said this attitude not only subverted good governance but it also breed mistrust and suspicion between the majority and minority. "Indeed it makes nonsense of the zero tolerance for corruption slogan of the NPP government, especially when one comes to realise that development moneys were misapplied."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 December 2001- The Very Reverend Dr Paul Kwabena Boafo, Superintendent Minister of the Calvary Methodist Church, on Tuesday said
Christians did not need any law from anybody to enable them to reconcile with one another.
He said the recent law passed by Parliament on reconciling the nation would come to nothing if there were no change of heart and the willingness to forgive, as Christ would have wished Christians to do.
Preaching a sermon on Christmas Day at the Calvary Methodist Church at Adabraka, Rev Boafo said the need for Ghanaians to reconcile with one another was paramount but before that could happen every individual must start the exercise from his or her heart and home first.
He said "this is the time that Ghanaians must allow joy, love and peace of God to prevail in the country. "The purpose of Christmas is to reunite man and God. The most significant reason for the celebration of the birth of Christ is the reconciliation that it brings between man and God. You cannot unite with God if you cannot live in harmony with your neighbour."
He said God in his own wisdom manifested himself in Christ to reconcile with all sinners. Rev Boafo, who spoke on the theme, "The purpose of Christmas and reconciliation", said Christmas brought joy, love and peace to mankind.
Rev Boafo, who earlier baptized 41 children advised parents and the elderly not to hinder children from coming to God because the Bible said that theirs was the kingdom of God. " Anybody who tries to turn these children away from God has a punishment".
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 27 December 2001- Ghanaians have been called upon to use the birth of Jesus Christ as a platform for resolving to genuinely reconcile with people that had either meted out injustices to them or wronged them in one way or the other
Primate S. K. Adofo, Head of the Brotherhood Church, however, stated that such reconciliation should be absolute and not based on any conditionality.
Primate Adofo, who was delivering the Christmas sermon at the Brotherhood
Church at South Suntreso, Kumasi, said reconciliation during the Christmas period was necessary if the birth of Christ were to make any significant impact on the lives of Ghanaians.
Primate Adofo explained that Jesus was born with the mission of coming to reconcile mankind to his creator and which he succeeded in doing in its totality.
He stressed that the dinning and wining which had virtually become the order of the day during Christmas should be downplayed in favour of sober reflections and a focus on reconciliation with neighbours at all levels.
Preaching the Christmas sermon at the "True Light of Christ Church", at Abrepo, in Kumasi, the Reverend J. K. Gyimah, Founder of the church, said the only way Christmas could make a positive impact on society was for Ghanaians to accept to entirely forgive the wrongs of their friends and enemies.
He said such forgiveness would have no impact unless Ghanaians backed it up with a strong goodwill to forget the wrong deeds and above all demonstrated practical moves at co-existing with their supposed foes.
Rev. Gyimah appealed to those Pastors, who have resorted to the use of any available platform to project their personal authority and powers in performing miracles and healings thereby sidelining the true teachings of Christ to change.
Rev. Gyimah said their by acts and selfish claims they were only seeking to undermine the principles on which Christ founded the church, stressing that they should now re-orient their activities towards the proclamation of the teachings of Christ and give credit to Him alone.
At the Gospel Revival Church of Christ Temple at Sofo-Line, Kumasi, Bishop J. N. K. Boateng, Founder and Leader of the church, advised Ghanaians to see the Christmas period as an occasion for streamlining their perception on national policies and programmes by discarding their subjective stance on national issues.
He urged them to use the birth of Christ as an avenue for resolving to be more analytical and objective in assessing decisions, policies and programmes evolved by the government.
Bishop Boateng said that though it was right to criticise, it was crucial for those who do so to strive to offer alternative suggestions that could easily be adopted to move the nation forward.
He entreated Christians to discard the wrong notion that the value of a Christian would be assessed by the size of the church such Christians belonged to or the popularity of the church.
Bishop Boateng stressed that Christ's birth should remind people that Christians would be judged by their ability to use the teachings of Christ to positively transform their lives and that of their neighbours and their capacity to influence positive changes in society and not the type of church they attended.
At the Christ Apostolic Church, Osu, the Reverend Dr. Augustine Annor- Yeboah, Acting Chairman, said Christmas portrayed a period of joy, peace and reconciliation.
However these had eluded mankind because the world had neglected the word of God, he said.
Rev. Annor-Yeboah urged governments, especially in Africa to embrace peace and reconciliation to rid the continent of war and coups.
He asked people to confess wrongdoing and seek forgiveness in order to enjoy God's peace.
He said wickedness and hatred were a drawback to the achievement of peace and reconciliation.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 21 December 2001 - Mr Johnny Paul Koroma, former Head of State of Sierra Leone, on Friday said no person or group of persons should be blamed unnecessarily in any reconciliation move since this had the potential of backfiring and throwing the nation into disarray.
He said constant references to past wrongs and misdeeds could inflame passions, adding, "Forgiveness is a vital ingredient needed to move the nation forward."
Mr Koroma, Chairman of the Sierra Leone Commission for Consolidation of Peace (CCP) and now a born-again Christian, told the Ghana News Agency that those in authority "should examine themselves and individuals should also reconcile with themselves and try to forget the past."
Mr Koroma is in the country to chair the technical preparatory committee for an international conference on the peace process in Africa slated for March 2002 in Accra.
The Africa Regional Office of the World Federation of UN Associations will host the conference under the theme: "The United Nations and the Consolidation of the Peace Process in Africa - The role of UN Associations and Civil Society". He said Africa could move forward only if people learnt to forgive, forget and ready to move their countries forward.
"Africa has the problems it has because people do not want to accept that they are wrong and have made mistakes. Many people in Africa find it difficult to say I am sorry'', Mr Koroma said.
"People should not seek reprisals either. They must forget the past and forge ahead and seek better ways of developing their economies.
"If we, as Africans do not adopt this style, we may end up creating a vicious cycle as is the case in Sierra Leone today.''
He said that was why he had decided to lead the crusade for peace and reconciliation in his country "and slowly, but surely, we are making progress towards peace. I was sorry for the things I did and apologised for my men."
Looking sombre and making frequent biblical references and quotations, Mr Koroma said it was important for people to talk about problems that had plagued their country, but it should be approached in such a way that everybody would realise their fault and be prepared to apologise to end the matter.
"Repeated references to past misdeeds are dangerous for the country. We do not need to play on the peoples' minds," he added.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 19 December 2001 - Members of Parliament on Tuesday began an act of screening the various amendments tabled on the National Reconciliation Bill, known in Parliamentary practice as windowing.
Papa Owusu Ankoma, the Leader of the House, said the windowing was necessary because amendments that bore similar intentions would be reconciled to make the third reading of the bill less tiresome.
Already, indications were that the House would relive the fierce and uncompromising debate that characterised the second reading as it entered the consideration stage slated for Wednesday.
The Minority had tabled various amendments to dates, duration and nature of the proposed commission as made known in their submissions during the second reading.
One glaring instance was their amendment to the long title of the bill and the proposal that the coverage should date back to 1957. The original bill excluded all constitutional regimes from the period in which the proposed commission was to investigate.
In another development, the House adopted the report of the Committee on Communications on the ratification of the Acts of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) 1999.
The ratification of the Act would enable the Ghana Postal Service to improve on their relations with other Postal Services around the world.
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Addae-Amoako wants 1960 bomb throwers to
own up
Accra (Greater Accra) 19 December 2001 - A former National Organiser of the erstwhile People's National Party (PNP) on Monday called on the government not to restrict the period that the national reconciliation exercise would cover.
Mr Samuel Addae-Amoako, who returned recently from exile, told a news conference in Accra that; "as a CPP activist, I will be glad that those who organised the bombing campaign in the 1960s could own up and be forgiven by the entire state of Ghana."
"I am on the side of those who are campaigning for no restriction on the period that the exercise should cover but I do not believe reconciliation means we should throw our hands in despair and allow atrocious laws smuggled into the constitution to tie our hands," he added.
Mr Addae-Amoako also urged the Kufuor Administration to set up the necessary mechanism for the removal of the Transitional Provisions that, he said, had no place in the constitution and that it was based on libertarian values.
He said the provisions were a complete hindrance to the effective practice of democracy and an affront to "our willingness to give ourselves a constitution guaranteeing freedom and the liberty of the Ghanaian."
"The whole nation, I believe will support the government at the referendum. We cannot continue to be bonded by those who came by arms and misdirected our destiny in the course of which they enriched themselves at the expense of honest government founded on integrity."
The former PNP leading member also cautioned the NPP government to be wary of the many minefields associated with power. "Never again should this nation fall into the pit of disorder and arbitrary rule and plundering of state resources."
Mr Addae-Amoako also stated that most of the ministers of Ex-President Hilla Limann were highly incompetent and dishonest to hold public office. "I personally complained to the president on several occasions and made a submission at the party's congress for their removal but the government failed to act."
Mr Addae-Amoako who, many political analysts believe laid the foundation for the overthrow of the Limann regime with his court action against the party, said his action was to deal with dishonesty.
"It was to deal with the dishonesty on the part of some leading members of the PNP that I took court action against the National Chairman, the late Nana Okutwer Bekoe III, Acting General Secretary Professor Ivan Addae-Mensah, and the late Kofi Batsa, Chairman of the Publicity Committee."
He said the court gave a settlement judgment in which the party structures were clearly defined.
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Tamale (Northern Region) 15 December 2001 - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the government to put measures to arrest the current economic hardship facing the country. This was contained in a communique issued at the end of the regional delegates conference of the NDC in Tamale on Friday.
The communiqué mentioned high cost of living exorbitant school and hospital fees and urged the government to address them. The NDC said the party was facing political trial and that the government should put a stop to it.
The communiqué also called on the government to ensure that the National Reconciliation Commission Bill's reference starts from 1957 to date. The Bill should genuinely reconcile the nation and the Commission's membership should be non-partisan it said.
Earlier, in a resolution, the NDC said it cherished democratic values and wished to see internal democracy deepened. It called for unity and cohesion within the party to enhance democracy.
To achieve democracy, let us remember the issues of disagreement alongside the exercise of democracy, the resolution said.
Mr. John Mahama, Member of Parliament for Bole who addressed the conference, said the NDC would use the NPP campaign promises and slogans to defeat it next time because the NPP have not been able to deliver what it promised the people.
Who, today, could say, his or her life is better than the era of the NDC,? he asked. He said the NDC parliamentarians would continue to work hard to put the government on its toes to deliver.
On the impending national delegates congress of the NDC, he said, the party would elect people that would lead the party to victory.
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The Majority Chief Whip, Hon Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, has state that the proposed National Reconciliation Commission will not aim at opening old wounds and punish perpetrators of heinous crimes against innocent citizens of the country over a specific period in time.
He said the Commission among other things, would seek to appeal to victims of atrocities of the past to forgive and forget all the ordeal and trauma they had gone through and continue to experience, so that the State would compensation such people for all Ghanaians to live together again as one people.
Hon. Mensah-Bonsu was speaking in an interview with a Kumasi-based private FM station, Fox (97.9 FM) recently, in a reaction to the Minority MPs' walk out of Parliament on the November 23, 2001 in protest against what they called "the persistent insults and arrogant utterances of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo".
He said those who had moved heaven and earth to prevent the establishment of the Commission were only doing so far fear that it would be tasked among others at engaging in personal vendetta against those the NPP government perceived to have committed brutal acts against some people for personal and political reasons.
Hon. Mensah-Bonsu who is also the MP for Old Tafo Suame in Kumasi, noted that considering the argument surrounding the National Reconciliation Commission Bill currently before Parliament, there was no doubt that the whole country needs reconciliation.
According to him, the stumbling block was the timing, that is, which period should tbe commission start its work from and which regimes should be subjected to thorough scrutiny.
He said personally, he would have wished that the period was limited to only military regimes but added quickly that since the bill sought to reconcile the entire country, he would have no problem with anybody if the whole country decides that the period should start from 1957, when Ghana attained independence.
The Majority Chief Whip emphasised that the National Reconciliation Commission Bill does not seek to deal with cases of excesses on individual basis, rather, it is to compensate an individual who had been offended by the State and not another individual.
He explained further that the Commission, when set up, would work on issues concerning agents of the State who in the course of serving this country or somebody purporting to be acting on behalf of the State, and the course of that, offended an individual or group of persons.
Mr Mensah-Bonsu made it clear that acts committed in the name of individuals do not come under the tenets of the Bill. He disclosed that so far arguments that have been advanced by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs point to one thing; that they did not want the Commission to be established in the first place.
He said anyone who thought by sweeping the whole issue under the carpet would reconcile the nation, would have to re-think, since that alone would not make an embittered individual or group of persons forgive and forget the heinous crimes perpetrated against them and their loved ones.
Concluding, Mr Mensah-Bonsu emphasised that the earlier NDC MPs saw the need for the establishment of the Commission to address the issues of the past and heal the wounds once and for all, the better foe all Ghanaians as a people.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 December 2001 - The Joint Anglican Diocesan Council (JADC) of Ghana has suggested that members of the Reconciliation Commission to be set up should be drawn from both sides of the political divide.
In a 10-point communiqué which touched on most aspects of national life adopted at the end of its meeting at Bolgatanga, the JADC said members of the Commission should be "people of real proven accountability and probity."
While the resolution welcomed the government's decision to reconcile the country, it added, however, that true reconciliation must embrace the act of forgiveness.
The communiqué, signed by the Right Reverend Thomas Brient, JADC Presiding Bishop, also asked Ghanaians to strive for peace at all times and live in harmony with one another, saying that any acts of indiscipline and adventurism should be nipped in the bud to protect the country's young democracy.
"We condemn in no uncertain terms terrorism in all its forms. We urge all governments and non-governmental organisations to help in uprooting terrorism from the face of the world," the communiqué added.
It described the government's efforts to equip the Police and other security agencies to enhance their performance as a step in the right direction, adding that all Ghanaians must help to lift the nation up.
On the national economy, the communiqué praised the government's fiscal policies that had resulted in the relative stability of the value of the cedi against major international currencies.
It, however, urged the government to continue with pragmatic policies to lower the rate of inflation to make the average Ghanaian get the real economic benefits.
The communiqué' asked the government to adopt appropriate measures to lift agriculture and to add value to all exportable raw materials to enable the sector contribute more to the country's Gross Domestic Product. "We must produce more for home consumption and for export to maximise our foreign exchange earning."
The Communiqué also touched on health issues, especially the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which it said was real and frightening. It said the church would continue to preach abstinence as the only solution to the disease and also for schools to double their efforts at moral education.
It appealed to the government to speed up the process of handing over the management of schools and colleges to the religious bodies that established them.
The communiqué also condemned social and evil practices such as rape, defilement, armed robbery, murder and such vices. "We appeal to all well meaning Ghanaians to help put an end to such evil and shameful practices," it added.
The Joint Anglican Diocesan Council of Ghana comprises the dioceses of Accra, Cape Coast, Koforidua-Ho, Kumasi, Sekondi, Sunyani and Tamale.
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Blay lauds support for Reconciliation Bill
The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Freddie W. A. Blay has praised public support and input into the National Reconciliation Bill presently before the House, saying, "It has been overwhelming".
"I, therefore, plead that, until the last clause of the Bill is approved by Parliament, members of the public particularly organisations should continue to make their voices heard".
Mr Blay made the appeal on the occasion of the Charter presentation of the Tema Meridian Rotary Club, here over the weekend. The occasion also marked a banquet night meant to raise funds for a community library project in Tema.
According to the Deputy Speaker, the Bill seeks to reconcile the nation and individuals who have been victims of injustice in the past.
He noted that both sides of the political divide in Parliament have unanimously applauded the principle of the Bill especially so, as it will offer a window of opportunity through which people perceived to be enemies could shake hands with each other.
He said, even though it is late for individuals to provide input by appearing before the subject matter committee, individual Members of Parliament can still be lobbied on particular issues.
Mr. Blay lauded Rotarians for their contribution towards the provision of health services and facilities, especially in the eradication of polio in the Ghanaian society.
He further urged them to take advantage of the government's declaration of a golden age for business by exploring the opportunity to offer various ideas on how government should address developmental issues.
He stressed, "The Rotary Club may not be a profit-making organization, yet, many of your membership possess enormous expertise in business, science, technology and administration".
According to the First Deputy Speaker, the dynamics of development, the ever changing trends of world trade and business require that to succeed, development countries such as Ghana must take advantage of emerging opportunities as they arise.
He, therefore, called for a concerted approached in problem solving, the very reason for which government has opened its doors to all respectable bodies and organisations such as the Rotary Club.
In an address, Assistant District Governor, Charles Quist said "service being the product of Rotary, is heart warming and a great delight when a new Rotary and strengthens the team of volunteers.
The Charter President, Mr Kingsley Dista said as a club that have members who 'blow' their cast, rather, it is one which seeks avenue to help the under privileged in society. – Evening News.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 December 2001 - Parliament on Tuesday deferred the motion on the National Reconciliation Bill till Thursday when the Speaker, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey and the Minority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin, who have travelled, might have returned from their journeys.
The Speaker has gone outside the country while Mr Bagbin was said to have gone to his constituency, Nadowli South. Mr Freddie Blay, First Deputy Speaker, deferred putting the question on the motion when Papa Owusu-Ankomah, the Majority Leader requested that line of action should be taken after consultations with the leadership of the House.
Mr Doe Adjaho, Minority Chief Whip, promptly seconded the Majority Leader's position and said, "We are still consulting".
The Bill seeking to unite the country and to redress human rights violations suffered a set back on Friday, November 29, when the Minority walked out of the House as Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, Attorney-General and the Minister of Justice was winding up a debate at the end of the second reading of the bill.
The Minority accused the Minister of using abusive language and demanded an apology from him. The two sides of the House stuck to their positions with respect to the time frame that the Bill would cover.
The government said the National Reconciliation Commission to be established should concern itself with abuses during military regimes while the Minority insisted that the reconciliation efforts should date back to the day of Ghana's independence.
The House with 107 votes with none against resolved to ratify the agreement between Ghana and US on Narcotics Control. It was moved by the Minister of the Interior, Alhaj Malik Al-Hassan Yakubu moved the motion on the resolution.
The House also adopted three reports from its two committees, which were the Public Accounts Committee's report of the Auditor General on the Consolidated Fund for 1996, 1997 and 1998.
The rest were the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation on the Export and Import (Prohibition of Importation of Used LPG Cylinders) Instrument, 2001, LI 1693 and the report on the Water Use Regulations 2001 LI 1692.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 December 2001 - Hon. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, ex-deputy Eastern Regional Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for Fanteakwa, has warned that Ghana’s reconciliation bid will fall into the impasse that Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire’s are wallowing in, unless a bill acceptable to both opposition and government is passed on it.
“We shall be living in a fool’s paradise” if we think that by fashioning out a bill to exclude the First, Second and Third Republics in the scrutiny and putting the PNDC and NDC under the searchlight, we cannot achieve any meaningful reconciliation, he said.
He was addressing 220 delegates and observers of NDC who had converged at Suhum last Sunday to elect new constituency executives.
He predicted that the main protagonists, such as ex-President Rawlings and his top-ranking appointees would snub a Reconciliation Commission that will be formed to “try” people after the “one-sided” bill has been passed.
To Ampofo, the whole Initiative towards reconciliation looked foredoomed to failure because “you cannot reconcile the past when the present is not.”
Until the Kufuor government stop dragging ministers to court and getting negative stories about them splashed at the front pages of newspapers, there splashed at the front pages of newspapers, there will not be any genuine reconciliation.
“Why can’t the President and the ex-President come together? Why can’t the past finance minister and the present; the former Local Government Minister and the present sit together and discuss knotty issues,” he quipped.
As the NDC propagandist declared, he was equipping the functionaries with ammunition to do battle with the NPP operatives, retain all the NDC sympathizes and win others over to bounce back power in 2004.
In that quest, he exposed the NPP government as a hypocritical; group which prides itself as being liberal-democratic and one that upholds the Rile of Law, while, in actual fact, they resort to illegalities and double standards to achieve their political ambitions.
On the current mass cocoa spraying exercise, he charged that after President Kufuor had solemnly declared that no party card would be considered for offering jobs, the NPP is now recruiting only its members for the spraying exercise in his constituency and many other places.
“As for the cocoa farms, the reports reaching us from Juabeso Bia, Sefwi Wiawso and other cocoa-growing areas in the Western Region are that those belonging to our sympathizers are either completely skipped or the owners have to pay money to the NPP gangs before they spray,” Ampofo added.
The same government that promise to reduce fuel prices when the crude oil price falls on the world market is paying deaf ears to all appeals to reduce the local price now that the crude has tumbled from $36 to $18, he went on.
“If they think about Ghanaians, then we are calling on the government to reduce fuel prices now; if they don’t, they may please themselves by continuing accruing those huge profits from the high price for whatever purpose they know best.”
Though it had been made explicitly clear in the National Budget and estimates on its review should be submitted to Parliament for approval, Finance Minister Osafo Maafo had recently submitted estimates, not for approval, but for endorsement, the MP reported.
And though Parliament had earlier approved 1.2 billion cedis ad administrative contingency for the minister, when “he brought the review, they had increased the contingency to 122 billion cedis.”
As his audience cried out of surprise, he wondered what the government uses the contingency for. “Foreign travels and per diem”, he answered himself.
Other contradictions the ex-minister drew attention to were the government’s importation of right hand drives, double decker buses to introduce “mass deaths”, and the procurement of over 10 trillion cedis of loans in 11 months after heartlessly bashing the NDC for accumulating a 41 trillion cedis debt over two decades.
Ampofo considered it a serious travesty of justice that the opposition NPP, led by its Finance Spokesman Dr K.K. Apraku, who fought vehemently against VAT and the GET Fund are reaping their benefits and pecks. “And come to think of it, Osafo Maafo glorifies himself because VAT has exceeded its target”.
One other official who addressed the delegates, Stephen Frimpong Manso predicted that “they will continue to audit and investigate for the whole four years and will never be able to do anything till we whip them out of power in 2004.”
Steve, who was the District Chief Executive for Suhum and currently the Regional Youth Organizer for the NDC, noted that virtually all the development projects underway today were started or initiated by his party.
At Suhum, an Urban Five project initiated by the NDC will soon re-pave all streets, he concluded. – the Ghanaian Chronicle
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Prampram (Greater Accra) 04 December 2001 - Two National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament said at the weekend that they agreed with the principle of reconciling Ghanaians to promote peace and national development.
They however, said reconciliation means repentance and forgiveness and the process must be broad-based to cover all regimes from 1957 instead of any line being drawn to create division.
Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, MP for Ningo-Prampram and Mrs Anna Tetteh-Kpoder, MP for Awutu-Senya were speaking at the inauguration of Prampram Hairdressers and Beauticians Association at Prampram at the weekend.
Mr Mensah quoted the Bible and said: "God told the prophets to go and reconcile the people, therefore, there is nothing wrong in asking for reconciliation that will bring about togetherness and peace in the country".
However, the argument by others that some people were dead so the process should not start from 1957 did not hold water, he said. He said between 1960-66, about 300 people died or were maimed through bomb throwing at Kulungugu in the Upper East Region and other parts of Accra and Kumasi and such bomb victims would not be catered for if the process started from 1979.
"If one is shepherding the reconciliation bill, one should be reconciliatory and I, therefore, expect that when the Attorney-General goofed, he should have apologised in one sentence to me".
Mr Mensah was referring to his arrest on May 12, 2001 when he was placed in custody for 50 hours, saying that one Alhaji Bature whom he never knew, was also arrested for allegedly conspiring with him.
Mrs Tetteh-Kpoder said if the NPP government meant real reconciliation, then it should not create the impression that now that they were in power they wanted to show Ex-President Jerry John Rawlings and his NDC where power lay.
She explained that the NDC asked for genuine democracy because it realised that it was the people in this country who must decide on who should rule them through the ballot box, a feat Ghana had chalked through the good efforts of Ex-President Rawlings.
Mrs Tetteh-Kpoder said she became nervous when some journalists talked of coups d'etats, saying, apart from the fact that it scared away investors and stalled development, coup was a treasonable offence whose punishment was death.
People should not think of doing anything to promote it.
"The bottom line of reconciliation is that we want to live in peace and unity to bring about development, and if we have the goodwill we will achieve it", she added.
The Association elected Miss Esther Tetteh, as President, Miss Patricia Laryea, Vice-President, Miss Elizabeth Annan, Secretary, Miss Esther Ayiam, Treasurer and Miss Alberta Mensah, Organiser.
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By A. Harruna Attah
Debate on the National Reconciliation Bill is stalled. This is because the Minority in Parliament has decided not to have anything to do with it.
Their Leader, Mr. Alban Bagbin has said unless the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Nana Akufo-Addo apologises to them for unfavourable utterances against them in his winding up, they will not take part in debating the bill.
Effectively then, they are scuttling the bill, for at the time of writing yesterday afternoon, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice had not indicated his willingness to accede to the Minority demand.
The issue of national reconciliation caught the public fancy in the dying years of Rawlings' 20-year grip on power when it was felt by many people that June 4 and December 31, together with Rawlings' own abrasive nature had so traumatised the nation that, there was the need for the country to come to terms with that portion of its history so as to move into the new millennium without the excess baggage of a disuniting heritage.
Rawlings himself must have felt the pull of public opinion when he attempted a couple of grudging and half-hearted apologies. It was with those periods in mind that Religious Leaders, Journalists, Politicians and other representatives of the conscience of society kept asking for reconciliation and prayers for the nation.
Indeed, in the run up to Election 2000, the country erupted into one huge prayer ground because it was felt that one way or the other, violence would erupt.
The violence that would erupt was expected to be between Jerry Rawlings and his June 4 and December 31 adherents on one hand (not even NDC), and the rest of the country on the other.
In fact, the few instances of violence recorded were actually along those lines. When the President therefore spelt out his intension of setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in his Sessional Address in March, it was clearly with that mind-set. He wanted to reconcile the country in connection with the traumas of its recent history, that is June 4 and December 31.
The President was spot on, because barely three months after his Sessional Address on June 4, 2001, he was proved right when the main architect of those traumas was at it again threatening "BOOM!" against Ghanaians because parliament had voted to expunge June 4 from the list of Ghana's national holidays.
Events since the change of government early this year prove that June 4, and December 31 continue to haunt Ghanaians like no other period of the country's history.
Even the NDC, the main opposition party, which metamorphosed from June 4 and December 31, is haunted by those two dates, unable to free itself to lead the independent life of a bona fide political party.
And there is no wonder, because some of the loudest critics on the NDC benches in parliament, only a few years ago, when they belonged to the then opposition were equally loud in condemning those two periods as the darkest in Ghana's post independence period.
There will certainly be a watering down of the process if June 4 and December 31 are not made the heart of the reconciliation process. It is the bitter aftertaste of those two dates, which continue to linger in Ghanaian conscience, that called for the need to reconcile in the first place.
The Accra Mail has obtained excerpts of the Hansard in connection with the Attorney General's winding up (serialisation tomorrow). It is difficult to see what could have been so arrogant and insulting as to necessitate the Minority's boycott.
Certainly, the charge of arrogance cannot be used to stall parliamentary proceedings unless of course other motives are involved. What then could these motives be? - Accra Mail Online
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Special Report
Accra (Greater Accra) - As promised in yesterday’s edition of The Accra Mail, we are presenting in the public interest excerpts from the Parliamentary Hansard on the winding up of the Reconciliation Bill by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Nana Akufo-Addo, which elicited a Minority walk out and a call on the Minister to apologise. The Minority made up mainly of the NDC have threatened not to have anything to do with the Bill as a result.
Attorney General and Minister for Justice (Nana Akufo-Addo): Mr. Speaker, it is a source of considerable privilege and happiness for me that in this very short career as a Minister and as Attorney -General, I have had the opportunity to sponsor a Bill for such historic significance - (Hear! Hear!) - which enjoys the widespread support of the nation and, from my understanding of the debate, virtually unanimous support of this democratic assembly - the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana - (interruption.)
Mr. Bagbin: On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I thought we should have been praising him, not he praising himself (laughter.) But Mr. Speaker, the point of order really is this. We thought that the Bill was coming from the Government and not from him. We thought that it was coming from the Government, that is, the President's Administration, and not from him.
Mr. Speaker: I think that you are right in saying that it comes from the Government, but he, as the Attorney-General, takes a lot of the responsibility (Hear! Hear!) And I believe that a number of people have taken him on, with regard to, for example, the memorandum. So these are matters in which it is not possible to divorce hon. Nana Akufo-Addo's personality from the Bill.
Nana Akufo-Addo: Mr. Speaker, I was not praising myself. I said I was very happy and I was privileged to have had the opportunity to sponsor this Bill. That is not self-praise. (Hear! Hear!) Mr. Speaker, the first occasion, of course, was when the Criminal Libel Law was repealed. This is the second occasion.
There is clear recognition within the nation and in this House, where the elected representatives of the people are assembled, of the necessity for this process of national reconciliation has been established. Everywhere that the House's Select Committee, which is seized of this Bill, that is the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs went, in their public hearings and they made a commendable effort to go across the nation; within the means at their disposal.
They went to Bolgatanga; they went to Ho; they went to Kumasi; they sat here in Accra the overwhelming response of the people was to embrace and support the whole idea. Again, in this House, from all corners of this House, the people's representatives are unanimous in their support for the concept; and I speak for those in the Majority as well as my friends in the Minority.
Mr. Speaker, it can only be a matter of some optimism and hope for our country that this extremely healthy situation has developed - when this historic step of national reconciliation is being proposed, that there should be such national support and unanimity.
Mr. Speaker, it is to the credit of the President of the Republic, at whose instigation and on whose authority this Bill is being proposed to Parliament, that he has seized the historic opportunity represented by his leadership, to advance the settlement of the body politic of our nation and bring the acts of vengeance and the cycle of vendettas to an end.
Mr. Speaker, his statesmanship is to be lauded and I, for one, am confident that history will vindicate his conduct. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, I feel privileged to be his instrument in shepherding this historic Bill into law. (Hear! Hear!)
It is clear that this is an idea whose time has come; and I am sure it will succeed. The prophets of doom, who predict its failure, those who say that it will lead to even greater polarisation of the nation and the society and, in fact, even elicit upheavals and military interventions, are going to find that their fears would have no substance.
The idea is going to work; the body will be credible. It will achieve its object and the nation will be advanced and reconciled accordingly. Mr. Speaker, there are some who say, in this assembly, that the President being the leader of a political party, in a multi party state, cannot be trusted to handle this matter in a national and non-partisan manner.
He cannot be trusted to appoint the members of the Commission in a non-partisan manner. I, for one, consider this an unfortunate statement and an unfortunate inference.
It is this same President who, in fulfilling the manifesto commitment of his Party that was strongly endorsed by the people in the last December elections by a clear majority of the people - that is the verdict; that is the verdict of the 28th December, 2000; a clear decisive majority for his Administration (Hear! Hear!) - that this President )interruption.)
Mr. Bagbin: On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, clearly for me, there is a difference between winding up and moving a motion. The hon. Minister is asked to wind up. He is reopening new things as if he is moving the motion. I think that is not proper, and he should be clear on this.
Mr. Speaker: Hon. Minster, try to wind up.
Nana Akufo-Addo: Mr. Speaker, this aspect of the matter has been a subject of considerable debate and in winding up; I have to respond to it; otherwise, I will not do justice to my own cause. What I am saying is that, the President in fulfilling this matter chose not to proceed by executive fiat, as he was entitled to do, but chose the path of this Act of Parliament to set up the body. And he deliberately sought national support of the idea, fully aware that in this assembly there will be many different points of view.
Mr. Speaker, I am confident in the President's ability to exercise his power of appointment in the national interest. Proud member and leader of the Danquah-Busia tradition that he is, this President is fully aware that the verdict of 28th December, when he was elected by a decisive majority, transformed him from a party leader and a party's presidential candidate to the national leader, to the President of the Republic, to the President of all the people of this country and to all sub-groups of this country. And that is how he has been conducting himself and that is how he will continue to conduct himself.
2.00 p.m. Mr. Speaker, I am satisfied about the propriety of the appointment process; that he does it in consultation with the Council of State. But I am aware, Mr. Speaker, that there is some anxiety in this House and in the Committee about this appointment process.
The Committee has, indeed, indicated its intention to move an amendment to incorporate parliamentary approval into the process of appointment. It has the support of several Members of this House, including one of the senior figures, the respected former Chairman of the House's Select Committee on Education, the Member for Jomoro (Mr. J.E. Ackah). It does not appear to have the support of the Minority Leader. Mr. Speaker, what I can assure the House is that this proposal, as well as all other proposals that are going to come from the House, are going to be considered by me and members of the Executive with all due seriousness. And I can assure the House that wherever the public interest is advanced by these amendments, the amendments would be accepted. But one thing that we ought to make clear from the very beginning is any attempt to empty this legislation of its contents, to dilute its objectives, to water down its principles. Amendments cast in that frame will not be accepted on this side of the House. Mr. Speaker, we have been told (interruption.)
Mr. Speaker: Order! Order!
Mr. Bagbin: On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, if it is clear that they have taken a position and therefore it will not be tolerated by them, clearly we are not talking about reconciliation. And we will not be part of the position taken by them, because who determines that an amendment is going to water down (interruption.) - That is an unfortunate statement coming from the Minster for Justice.
Mr. Speaker: Strictly, I consider that as an intervention for information rather than as a point of order. I believe that you did not put it up as a point of order, but the hon. Member is posing a question to you. Do you feel like answering?
Nana Akufo-Addo: Mr. Speaker, let me repeat myself. I said any amendment that is brought to this House that will improve this Bill and serve the public interest is an amendment that we will readily accept. What we will not accept is any attempt to water down the purposes of this Bill, empty the Bill of its contents and dilute it of any significance. That is what we will not accept (interruptions.)
Mr. Speaker: Order! - Order! Hon. Members, to some extent, what we are doing is nothing short of anticipation. We have not yet come to the time when these amendments would be formally introduced. Notice may have been given of some of some of them, but they may not (interruptions) - Order! Order! Notice may have been given, but the amendments have not been moved. So probably, when we come to the time when these amendments are moved maybe, indications can be given. At this point in time, what is accepted and what is not accepted cannot be stated as a matter of fact. It cannot be.
The matter is still wide open. So all the Minister can say is that notice is taken of these amendments. They will be considered for what they are worth.
That is how I understand him to be saying - that they will be considered for what they are worth. Hon. Members, let us try and finish. We have an extended Sitting, as you can see. Let me say so formally that we have an extended Sitting.
I will put the Question as soon as the Minster finishes his winding up. Nana Akufo-Addo: Mr. Speaker, we have also been told with considerable force by several hon. Members that if the process is to be meaningful, the period of the Commission's work should begin on 6th March 1957 and end up on 7th January 1993. Mr. Speaker, in this very debate there have been suggestions that we should even go back further to 1951, which apparently was the beginning of political conflict in our country.
The Hon. Member, the former Minister, the hon. Alhaji Amadu Seidu has even told us today that we should incorporate the colonial period. I am wondering, Mr. Speaker, that a Bill that seeks to focus on the act of public authorities whether, indeed, this Bill is going to rope in Britain - whether the colonial power is now going to be joined to our proceedings in this House. I do not think, Mr. Speaker, that this is a course of conduct that would serve us very will.
Mr. Speaker, all over the world, the time frame for the work of these commissions is the function of a particular history of a given country and the objects of the Commission. If I may, Mr. Speaker, give just two examples, one from South Africa.
Even though the National Party took power in South Africa in 1948 and passed various laws that laid down the basis of the apartheid state by 1950, the period taken by the South African Commission was 1960, because that was after Sharpville. It was considered a period when human rights violations in that country heightened and the culture of disrespect for human rights markedly increased. So that was the South African example, which reflected the conscious realities of their own country.
Again in Nigeria, the Reconciliation Commission began its work, not from the First Republic of Nigerian independence, but from the intervention of the military in 1966, because once again, in the context of their own history, that is what makes sense. Mr. Speaker, in our country, where we have had four Republics in forty years, the consensus, the national consensus that pervades our country today, by common consent all over, is that the periods of the most grievous human rights violations have been these periods of military rule.
And that therefore is the focus. And it is over these eras of military rule that the clamour for national reconciliation has really gained ground. Mr. Speaker, if that is the case, my contention would be that the focus of the Bill is proper and fitting and corresponds to the realities of our own history. Mr. Speaker, I am aware that there would always be apologists of tyranny - people who would say that we should let sleeping dogs lie; people who would say that this is not the time to rake up old wounds; that there is no need for any enquiry that it would be too expensive; that it would involve upheavals; that everybody has done it; and that the work of this Commission is the work of a small group, who are bent on a political agenda. Mr. Speaker, these are predictable outbursts and they seek only to restrain the march of history.
2.10 p.m. Mr. Speaker, the best response that I can give to those considerations is the response that was given by the Ranking Member of the onstitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee (Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni), in his intervention, which is recorded in the Hansard of the 20th of November, 2001.
There has been a lot of quoting, Mr. Speaker. If you would just permit me briefly to make the following references to his intervention. And it is to be found in column 1309 of the Hansard of the 20th of November 2001. “Mr. Speaker, to the extent that there is a perception (interruption.) Mr. Speaker: You said 20th November?
Nana Akufo-Addo: 20th of November, sir - column 1309, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni (NDC-Kumbungu) - "Mr. Speaker, to the extent that there is a perception in our country that there are hurts and wounds and that the nation needs a certain amount of healing, then clearly, a reconciliation commission is apposite.
Mr. Speaker, the global trend as a component of transitional justice is to establish what has become known as Truth and Reconciliation Commissions which are charged with the responsibility of examining the past of the country and reconstructing the past and seeking to heal uncovered wounds. Mr. Speaker, human rights leaders worldwide have come to the consensus that genuine reconciliation and recovery would depend on confronting the country's past and that silence over the past would normally lead to bitterness and simmering conflicts."
Mr. Speaker, I cannot improve on that reasoning. If indeed the work of this Commission, if indeed the idea of this Bill, is merely the work of a small group, then this small group is truly representative, because there is overwhelming popular support for this Bill. And the Committee has so told us in its public hearing, and indeed, in this House that there is widespread support; and it has so manifested itself.
Mr. Speaker, we were told that there is a possible interpretation of this Bill, as being something directed to a particular segment of the society and that the military establishment in our country will see in this Bill a process of persecution, which may indeed call upon them - I do not know - to intervene in our affairs yet again. Mr. Speaker, I think that is the most unfortunate development in this debate.
Parliament, sovereign in its law-making power, elected in elections that are the most applauded in our history, in fulfilling its constitutional obligations to make a legislation, when it does so, is then faced with the language of threats and menaces.
Mr. Speaker, I do not think that we can develop our democracy under threats and menaces; and for myself, I do not think that that is the language that serves our purpose. I much prefer the constructive attitude of the Chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), the Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), the first President of the Fourth Republic, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, when he said that for his part, he will be prepared to appear before this
Commission, if he was satisfied that the Commission was composed of men of integrity.
That is a constructive and statesmanlike contribution to this debate and I commend his attitude to his supporters and Members opposite (laughter.) Mr. Speaker, the language of upheavals (uproar) - the language of threats (interruptions.) Mr. Bagbin: Mr. Speaker, definitely this is on a point of clarification. What is the Minister trying to imply by saying that he prefers that attitude than the attitude of his colleagues opposite the other side of the House (interruptions.) Mr. Speaker (interruptions.)
Mr. Speaker: Order!
Mr. Bagbin: Mr. Speaker, clearly I do not think that
the hon. Minister was listening to our winding up, because when I submitted,
followed by the Majority Leader, we had given a line of action; but that is
seriously abused (interruptions) - and you will not succeed.
Mr. Speaker: Hon. Member, you are not on a point of order; you are on a point of clarification. And you are seeking to indicate that the hon. Minister was not, or had not paid sufficient regard to the line you had taken. Hon. Minority Leader, I am pressing the point you raised. But as I understand it, the hon. Minister was reacting to a particular line taken by a particular Member (interruptions.) Order, please! He is certainly entitled to react to it. I do not think that he was reacting to your line. Well, hon. Minister, they say that by that statement you were referring to all of them and that it is not all of them.
Nana Akufo-Addo: Mr. Speaker, I commended to the Members on the other side - the attitude. That is all I said. I commended that. I felt that this constructive attitude that he had taken was commendable. Mr. Speaker, the language of threats, the language of upheavals in yesterday's Hansard (interruption.) Mr. Attor: Mr. Speaker, in referring to that constructive attitude, does he mean that those that he is referring them to were not constructive in this debate? Mr. Speaker because when our leader was winding up, the Minister was busy talking here. He has made up his mind. He has a script; and he was not responding to genuine fears (interruption.)
Mr. Speaker: You think he did not hear what your
leader said?
Some hon. Members: Not at all.
Mr. Attor: Mr. Speaker, what he is saying now is
completely different from the spirit in
which we made this debate is completely different from the spirit - it means
that we were not constructive (interruption.)
Mr. Speaker: Hon. Minister, they say that they were with a more charitable spirit than you are conceding to them. Nana Akufo-Addo: Mr. Speaker, I am responding to the matters on the record and I am responding in as charitable a manner as possible.
(Minority Members walk out of the Chamber.)
Mr. Speaker: Hon. Minister, you wish to continue with your (interruption.)
Nana Akufo-Addo: Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude. I am saying that the military are fully aware of the respect that this Government has accorded them and that any effort to pitch the military against the Government, Mr. Speaker, is not going to succeed.
Mr. Speaker, in the course of the debate, I was also challenged by the Member for Wenchi West (Mr. J.A. Nketiah) about my sense of fairness in not including the Second Republic over which my father presided amongst these things. Mr. Speaker, we have had Four Republics - one presided over by President Kwame Nkrumah, the other by him, another one by President Limann and until now by the NDC leader, ex-President Rawlings. All of these regimes have been left out without any discrimination.
And we have included in it, without any reservation, all the military Governments in our country, including the military Government of 1966, which as you know, Mr. Speaker, was one, which was supported by the forebears of our party.
Mr. Speaker, there was an attempt to question the
constitutional validity of the process we embarked on. No clear challenge was
made and I just wanted to put it on record that for myself, I am satisfied that
the process is absolutely legal and proper.
2.20 p.m. Mr. Speaker, the Minority Chief Whip and Member for Avenor (Mr. Doe Adjaho) asked properly about the fate of the recommendations of the Report, to which the Minority Chief Whip has also added his voice. It is a legitimate enquiry and we will have to address this matter before we conclude the enactment of this Bill.
And in the same vein, his criticism of section 26(4) appears to have considerable force and has to be responded to. Mr. Speaker, we are here in a representative assembly, whereby we are representatives, not delegates, and we take our decision on our assessment of the public interest, not because a poll on one radio station supports a particular position. Important as the work the radio stations and, indeed, the media is our democracy might be, they cannot determine the public interest or public policy.
That is for us to do in this assembly. Mr. Speaker, 30 years after the events and controversy, 10 years after he relinquished power, Augusto Pinochet, who inserted transitional provisions, very much like our own, into the Constitution of Chile, is, in his old age, the target of prosecution. We want to avoid those situations in Ghana and that is why we have proposed this Bill so that as the hon. Member for Jomoro (Mr. J.E. Ackah), we would have a process whereby we can address grave injustice, without a sense of revenge. Mr. Speaker, I commend the Second Reading of the Bill to the House. (Hear, Hear!)
Mr. Speaker: Hon. Members, the development that has taken place in the House, with the walk-out of the Members of the House who are Members of the NDC, is a rather unfortunate development. I had thought that we would be able to complete the Second Reading today; and we were almost just about getting there. Unfortunately, a little incident has precipitated a walk out. What I intend to do now is to suspend the Sitting and to ask the Majority Leader to be in touch with the Minority Leader, to find out whether it is not possible that the misunderstanding, which has led to this walk-out, can be sorted out so that we can return to this room to enable the Question to be put. Sitting was suspended at 2.22 p.m.
2.40 p.m. Sitting resumed. Papa Owusu-Ankomah: Mr. Speaker, you asked me to go and speak to my colleague opposite. Unfortunately, I could not get him or any of his colleagues in the leadership of the Minority. I was told that they were going to have a meeting. So Mr. Speaker, I am sure you can bring the sitting to a close and adjourn to Tuesday for the Question to be put.
Mr. Speaker: Very well, hon. Members, a little matter - I consider it to be little, but it may be, to some people a point of some significance. A point of concern, which I thought we could have resolved - sometimes a little bit of good humour and so on, on both sides - has unfortunately led to proceedings being brought abruptly to an end my suspending Sitting and going into Chambers to see whether the matter could be resolved. But as the Majority Leader has said, he has not been able to get in touch with the Minority Leader.
And I, myself, when I went into my Lobby sent my usher to see whether he could see him and ask him to see me. But when he went, he came back to say that he was not in his office. And he was informed that he had left his office and gone out. Where exactly, he was not told. So obviously, there was no way in which I could have remonstrated, if that is the correct word, with the Leader of the Minority, so as to ask his Members to come to the House so that the Question could be put. In the circumstances, and since we do not obviously have the necessary majority to take a decision, it is not possible for me to put the Question. In the circumstances, although we have a number to enable us to debate - I think, we have about 60-plus to enable us to debate - we do not have the number to enable us to take a decision.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah: Mr. Speaker, this is a Reconciliation Bill. It is a Bill of great import to the whole country. We do not want to take decisions alone regarding the Bill; that is why we are asking that we adjourn.
Mr. Speaker: Yes, you cannot take a decision from one
side of the House, even if you have a majority. That is what you are saying?
Papa Owusu-Ankomah: That is so. We do not want to take a decision like that.
Mr. Speaker: That is correct, on a Bill as important
as this. Hon. Members, having regard to all the circumstances, I regretfully
will have to adjourn the Sitting of the House to Tuesday, 27th day of November
2001 at 10 o'clock in the morning, when it is hoped it will be possible to put
the Question on the Second Reading of this Bill. The House is accordingly
adjourned. ADJOURNMENT
The House was adjourned at 2.43p.m. till 27th November 2001 at 10.00 a.m.
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The debate on reconciliation gathers momentum in and out of Parliament. While the Minority demands an apology from the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, and the Majority stick to its guns, other citizens suggest the calling off of all reconciliation efforts, saying there is nothing to reconcile writes The Weekend Statesman.
One such person, according to the paper, is B.A. Mensah, whose company International Tobacco Ghana Limited (ITG), was seized by the PNDC in 1989. He says there is no need to go over what has been done already after the overthrow of the 1st and 2nd Republics.
He argues: "If we were to follow the biblical exhortation, "Do unto other as you would have done to you," then we would be forced likewise to put Rawlings and co "before a firing squad without trial. That is what they did to others."
The Minority's call for extending the period of enquiry to Ghana's independence he says, is "nonsensical and simply delay tactics. Those who should have been reconciled have all died or been killed by Rawlings' men. What remains to be done is to proceed with criminal prosecution - without delay."
B.A. Mensah gives four reasons why it is only military regimes that need to account; two of them are: "Firstly, we did not vote them into power, they took power by force and without mandate. Secondly, they perpetuated the worst crimes, atrocities, cruelties and murder that our society has experienced in its forty-year history.
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Ho (Volta Region) 27 November 2001-There were indications that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government would buy a new Presidential Jet with a capacity of 83 passengers next year, Mr Steve Akorli, Member of Parliament for Ho-East said at the weekend.
In addition the government would increase the daily allowance of officials, who travel outside the country, from 90 dollars to 250 dollars a day.
Mr Akorli, who was a former Minister of Roads and Transport in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, made this known at the 5th Bi-Annual Volta Regional Youth and Women's Wing Delegates' Conference at Ho.
He said the NDC's defeat in last year's election was an opportunity for Ghanaians to assess the NPP government to enable them to make informed choices in the 2004 elections.
Mr said the NPP was incapable of governing as expected because the Danquah-Busia Tradition had become rusty from the 30 years that it was out of power. "Staying without an activity over the period was making them dormant and rusty... as reflected in the hasty and reckless manner, this country is being governed", he stressed.
The government's review of this year's budget in November at a time when it declared that the economy was on course, showed inconsistencies in its approach to the management of the economy.
Mr Akorli said the government was taking credit for the positive results of the Value Added Tax (VAT) and the divestiture of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) initiated by the NDC, despite the fact that NPP resisted them when it was in opposition.
He noted that government was disbursing 180 billion cedis, accruing from the divestiture of SOEs and 500 million cedis, from VAT in spite of its condemnation of those measures.
The MP said the fall in inflation rate was unsustainable because it was dependent on the stable oil and commodity prices on the world market rather than the government's ability to manage the economy efficiently. He added that within 10 months of its administration, the government had borrowed 7.6 trillion cedis. There were doubts about the sincerity of the government's reconciliation initiative as it tended to limit its scope to military regimes alone.
Mr Akorli said none of the governments, which ruled the country since independence could be absolved from human right abuses. He suggested: "President Kufuor and ex-President Rawlings should publicly apologise for the excesses visited on some Ghanaians since independence, as a cost and time saving measure."
Members of the party should desist from petty squabbles and work hard to groom and market their candidates for the 2004 elections since the party would no longer enjoy the advantages of incumbency.
In an election supervised by Mr Robert Attamah, Ho District Electoral Officer, a six-member executive were elected unopposed. Mr Anthony Davordzi-Klutsey replaces Mr John K. Gyapong as Regional Youth Organiser with Mr William Attipoe and Mr Maxwell Owusu-Siaw as first and second deputy Regional Youth Organisers, respectively.
The position of Regional Women's Organiser went to Madam Mercy Kuada, who would be assisted by Miss Jessie Ekumebu and Miss Grace Gbedege Zakli. Mr Gyapong observed that the time of name-calling has elapsed, adding: "What is needed now is to elect time tested and dynamic people to lead the party to victory".
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Accra (Greater Accra) 24 November 2001- The Minority on Friday walked out of Parliament in protest over what they called the persistent insulting language by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Attorney-General and the Minister of Justice when he was winding up the debate on the National Reconciliation Bill.
Mr Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader, told a hushed press conference that the Minister was the stumbling block to the reconciliation. He accused him of being arrogant and insulting, saying he failed to tone down his temper despite the Speaker's effort to put him on track.
"The Minister kept referring to us as "these people" and said that the Majority would not accept a situation when amendments to the Reconciliation Bill would whittle or water down the intent of the Bill.
"What happens if the amendments are made that are not suitable to him? "By this declaration the Minister has already taken a stand only known to him on the Bill and we had to walk-out to register our protest against him", Mr Bagbin said.
He said when a Bill was enriched and passed by Parliament it seized to be the property of the executive and was called an Act of Parliament. Mr Bagbin denied that the walkout was a planned one, saying the Minority would contact the Speaker who, according to him, was supportive of the Minority's earlier protests against the presentation of the Minister.
Earlier in summing up, Mr Bagbin said the Minority would make amendments to the Bill to make the reconciliation the country was yearning for genuine. Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Majority Leader said the government was prepared to listen and that note was taken of concerns expressed by members during the debate.
He said the government had shown the political will to reconcile the nation in sincerity, adding that commitment was irrevocable. Nana Akufo-Addo moved for the second reading of the bill on Tuesday and members of the House in their contributions maintained partisan positions.
The NPP said the period to be covered by the Bill should be only the military regimes while the NDC stood its ground that the period should cover all regimes since independence.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 24 November 2001- Vote on the adoption of the report on the Reconciliation Bill scheduled for Friday has been deferred to Tuesday after the Minority walked out of the chamber in the dying minutes of the debate.
The NDC group said they found the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's language insulting hence their action.
The minister was winding up the debate for the vote to be taken. Papa Owusu Ankomah, Majority Leader, said: "We do not want to take a one-sided decision on this very important national exercise."
He said he tried to reach out to Mr Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader for a compromise as instructed by the Speaker but could not find him, adding that he was informed that they were meeting on the issue.
Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, Speaker, said: I thought that we could resolve this issue. I sent my usher to see him (Minority leader) but he did not find him. I thought that if I saw him, I would have remonstrated to him, if that is the right word, to ask his members to come back."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 23 November 2001- Mr J.H. Mensah, Senior Minister and Chairman of Government Economic Team on Thursday said the passing of the National Reconciliation Commission Bill is a big price for ensuring national unity, peace and stability.
He said this was an opportunity for righting the immediate past wrong doings, which could not be done during past constitutional regimes.
Mr. Mensah, who is also the MP for Sunyani said this when contributing to the debate during the second reading of the Bill at today's sitting in Parliament. He said he had recourse to call on the NDC government during the last parliament to initiate such a Bill but his call fell on deaf ears, as "my call was misconstrued to mean I was calling for witch hunt of members of the PNDC era".
Mr. Mensah said there was the need to create an atmosphere that showed that former presidents like Jerry John Rawlings do not feel threatened even though people still harbour feelings of personal vendetta.
He said he proposed that the commission was made to finish its job expediously and that the process was confined to deal with specific periods without digging unnecessarily into some past mistakes which are better forgotten.
Mr. Mensah said it was necessary that the activities of the commission are not made to look like it was a Truth commission as in other countries since the idea was to help solve wounds. He said it was gratifying that both sides of the House were fully united in its stand to ensuring the passing of the Bill.
Mr. John Kwekucher Ackah, NDC-Aowin-Suaman said many countries have bleak history and so there was the need for the history of Ghana to be looked at in a dispassionate way to end certain harboured sadness among the people.
He advised that efforts should be made so that the reconciliation exercise do not open wounds, especially following certain remarks been made by some government officials on the whole process.
Nana Asante -Frempong , NPP-Kwabre said a forum need to be created to allow for those who feel aggrieved to be given the opportunity to say their minds and clear the air of their mental agony. He said Ghana was not the first to undertake such an exercise and added "if we do not do it some people would continue to be sitting on time bombs".
Dr Kwabena Adjei, NDC-Biakoye said the set up of the commission was in the right direction especially during an era when there is disunity and festering sores. He said he was however doubtful whether by treating the festering sores it was not an orchestrated plan to achieve a certain political or parochial interest.
Mr. Joseph Darko-Mensah, NPP-Okaikoi North said vengeance was God's and appealed to all who have committed crimes to come forward, open up and asked for forgiveness of their "sins" to enable the commission accomplish its work..
He said this was the time for the whole country to unite and move forward by allowing for co-existence and to enhance the democratic dispensation. Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, NDC-Wenchi West said there should not be any ambiguities about the time frame for the Commission's work because for genuine reconciliation all issues need to be looked into.
He said if people did not take advantage of the structures in the past, then it was an indictment on the structures itself for non-performance. Mr. Nketia said, "if we want proper reconciliation, then we should not take half measures since half measures would not correct all the wrongs in the society".
He said looking at the memoranda, it seems the Attorney-General did not want the Commission to cover the period when his father was the President of the country and some people would certainly have cases of atrocities to complain about.
Mr. Nketia said chiefs, who are custodians of the land even before independence have their mode of reconciliation and their contributions should be sought in arriving at suitable reconciliatory moves.
He said the composition of the commission is another area of concern since the President and other ministers of state, in one way or the other, served in previous governments, which are now accused of certain atrocities.
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MP warns of coup d'etat , if...reconciliation concentrates on military governments
Accra (Greater Accra) November 22, 2001 - The Member of Parliament for Ho West, Francis Agbotse, has warned of a possible coup d'etat if the proposed National Reconciliation Commission is given mandate to investigate only military regimes. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP claims that if the commission were tasked to only investigate human rights violations committed under unconstitutional governments, some elements within the Armed Forces would consider it as a persecution of the military.
This, he said, could create some discontent in the army with a possible military take over in protest of the persecutions. Mr. Agbotse, urged Ghanaians to disabuse their minds off the notion that coup d'etats are a thing of the past saying that they can happen at anytime and should therefore be prevented.
The proposed reconciliation bill grants immunity against criminal prosecution. Mr. Agbotse however says civil action can be taken against witnesses. He believes that clear parameters should be defined to protect witnesses who testify before the commission.
The majority NPP has contended that the reconciliation should focus on only military regimes but the Minority NDC wants it to focus all human rights abuses committed from 1957 when the country attained independence and 1993 when the country returned to constitutional rule. The debate enters its third day on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the MP for Ho Central, Kofi Attor has warned that the reconciliation commission could be an expensive exercise. According to him, that as much as $20,000 could be spent on the commission, adding it is imperative that commission's mandate is clearly spelt out to achieve its primary aim.
According to the provisions of the reconciliation bill, the Commission should complete its work one year after it has been established but Mr. Attor contends that one year it too short a time. JOY Online
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Accra (Greater Accra) - When Parliament convenes tomorrow, the first Deputy Speaker, Hon. Freddie Blay will be in the chair to start the whole process of submission and the filing of amendments to the National Reconciliation Commission Bill.
This submission and amendments would go on for a whole week before Hon. Peter Ala Adjetey, the Speaker of Parliament comes back after the "cooling off" period to see to the passage of the Bill.
This conciliatory approach to the National Reconciliation Bill was reached after an all-evening consensus building approach, which involved the leadership of the House after the Minority walked out from parliament for the second time.
Nana Akufo-Addo, NPP MP for Abuakwa, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice had drawn the ire of the Minority in Parliament claiming he in a submission on the floor has insulted them when they questioned the capacity of the President to appoint members of the Commission. - The Ghanaian Voice
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Accra (Greater Accra) 21 November 2001 - The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey on Tuesday set the tone for the debate on the National Reconciliation Bill when he reminded members to remove emotions and acrimonious points that would not be reconciliatory in their contributions.
"You are reminded that we are considering the Reconciliation Bill and that matters that did not promote reconciliation should be kept out of the debate", he said.
Mr Adjetey made the point to bring Captain Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (rtd), NPP-Berekum and Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development on track when he began referring to issues of atrocities in the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) era.
"It is for us to acknowledge that there were injustices committed in the past during unconstitutional periods of governance." Capt Effah-Dartey said there have been feelings of bitterness by relatives of those, who suffered some degree of human rights abuses.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Attorney General and Minister of Justice took the House through the second reading of the Bill. He read the memorandum to the Bill and quoted President John Agyekum Kufuor, who in his inaugural address said, "our greatest enemy is poverty.
"And the battle against poverty starts with reconciling our people and forging ahead in unity. We have gone through turbulent times and we should not in any way down play or brush aside the wrongs that have been suffered. I do not ask that we forget, indeed we dare not forget, but I do plead that we try to forgive."
Nana Akufo-Addo said it was in the NPP Manifesto to establish a National Reconciliation Committee as a special assignment "to heal the festering sores within our body politic".
Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, NDC-Kumbungu said the establishment of the Commission posed a challenge to Parliament and the nation for desired reconciliation to be achieved.
He said a platform needed to be created to ventilate the wrongs so that there would be a healing effect instead of raking old wounds that would do no one good. Alhaji Mumuni said the history of the country needed to be authoritatively written with accurate events to establish the facts as they were and warned that "if at the end the Commission did not unite Ghanaians then we would have failed the nation.
"But that a story would be told where the perpetrators would listen and repent so that the repercussions would not be a boomerang." He said Ghana has all along been described as an oasis of stability and peace and that those attributes should not be destroyed on the altar of partisan and parochial interest.
He called for openness, an all-inclusiveness and participatory and consultative approach to the work of the Commission so that it would involve Parliament and civil society.
Alhaji Mumuni said at the appropriate time the Minority would make inputs into the Bill to enhance its passage. Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh, NPP-Nsuta Kwamang, said the appointment of members of the Commission by the President in consultation with the
Council of State was in the right direction.
He said those opposing the President from doing that were defeating the argument adding: "The Electoral Commissioner was appointed by the NDC (National Democratic Congress) government. The NDC lost the election so do we say that that appointment was wrong."
He said all the abuses in Kwame Nkrumah and Busia regimes had been atoned for and that it was the PNDC era that people had not been brought to book about human rights abuses.
Mr Cletus Avoka, NDC-Bawku West, cautioned that care should be taken that the objective of the Bill of uniting the country would not open the floodgates to destruction.
He said Ghana should take a cue from other countries that have established such commissions and examine whether they had achieved their objectives or that it was only money spent in futility to the detriment of people.
Mr Avoka said following from Ghana's experience of about 10 years constitutional rule could it not be said that the country was united enough to avoid the establishment of the Commission.
He said the money to be used on the Commission could better be utilised on strengthening the existing constitutional bodies that dealt with human rights abuses. It would also be better if such a fund were used to fight poverty, disease and under-development, which were the enemies of the people.
Mr John Kwekucher Ackah, NDC-Aowin-Suaman, said since the Bill was meant to be a national exercise it should be viewed in a national character and not focus on only those who suffered during military regimes since others too suffered during the First and Second Republics.
He said the membership of the Commission merits the consideration of the President but in seeking approval Parliament's role needed to be sought. Mr Ackah said what was most worrying was that the Committee was silent about Parliament's role in the Reconciliation Bill and advised the Attorney - General to take input from Parliament to make it more national.
Mr Seidu Adamu, NDC-Bibinai, said many people had suffered all forms of human rights abuses during all the regimes and that no violation could be said to be less grave than others.
He said the exercise of reconciliation should be holistic and not limited to any particular period and said there was the need for looking at the Bill in its entirety to make sure "we do not add more pain to injury".
Mr Stephen Adoma-Yeboah, NPP-Dormaa East, said it was only under unconstitutional governments and transitional periods that people could not seek redress under the law.
Mr Kobina Tahir Hammond, NPP-Adansi Asokwa and Deputy Minister of Energy, said there was the need for all to be given the chance to come out of their disenchantments to ensure national reconciliation.
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Accra (Greater Accra) Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Nana Akufo-Addo, has revealed that President Kufuor's government is prepared to make a concession that seeks to address some of the concerns aired by the opposition NDC over the periods of reference covered by the proposed Reconciliation Commission, The Statesman writes.
The specified periods of its remit are the eras of military rule, the periods of unconstitutional government, that is, from 24th February 1966 to 21st August 1969, 13th January 1972 to 23rd September 1979 and 31st December 1981 to 6th January 1993.
In an exclusive interview with The Statesman last weekend, the Minister said that the
Commission will have the discretion to investigate cases brought to it which do not fall within the specified periods. This is a major concession, considering the government's earlier stance against calls for the period of reference to cover 1957 to 6th January 1993.
The compromise, which is expected to be put to the opposition in Parliament today, is expected to go a long way to neutralize charges of selective reconciliation without actually diluting the purpose of the whole exercise.
Singing another conciliatory note, the Minister said: "We will consider any amendment which improves the Bill and serves the public interests."
The Commission, which will be appointed by the President, will be a fact finding body with broad investigating powers. Its functions include investigating abuses and violations of human rights, such as killings, abductions, disappearances and seizure of properties suffered by any person within the specified periods, with the view to recommending appropriate forms of redress. The object is to seek and promote reconciliation among the people of Ghana.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 15 November 2001 - Three papers, including a report on the National Reconciliation Bill, were on Wednesday laid in Parliament. The other two were a report from the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation on the Water Use Regulations L. I. 1692 and Unit Trusts and Mutual Funds Regulations L.I. 1695.
The report on the Reconciliation Bill signed by Mr Abraham Ossei Aidoo, Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs said: "When passed will be the first crucial step towards healing the festering sores within our body politic emanating from human rights violations inflicted by the state or its servants."
It said it would also enable the country to move forward as a united people and in addition send liberal and democratic signals to the international community. It said: "The quest for reconciliation also seeks to put to an end to the cycle of vengeance and political recrimination that has so far been our lot.
This noble exercise needs the support of all to ensure that the objectives of the Bill are achieved". Just after the Bill was laid Mr Doe Adjaho, the Minority Chief Whip prayed the Speaker, to give him a guide as to the Constitutional interpretation of
Article 106 (14), which stated that no report should be kept for more than three months when it was referred to a committee.
He said the Bill has been with the committee since July and that it had outlived its constitutional time frame and wondered what about what could be done under the circumstance.
Peter Ala Adjetey, Speaker, acknowledged that the Bill had actually been delayed but that the spirit of Article 106 was only to ensure that committees did not deliberately delay materials for legislation.
He said the Article did not say that if a material was delayed then it had become moribund and for that matter the House could not use it. The Speaker thus said the delay would not affect the validity of the Bill.
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Sekondi-Takoradi (Western Region) - The Omanhene of Essikado traditional area in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis, Nana Kobina Nketiah IV, has observed that anyone who refuses to confront what has happened in the past has skeletons in his cupboard, which he does not want exposed.
According to him, almost all the successive governments that this county has produced used what he termed as a super structure, which was created by our colonial masters to suppress the indigenous people.
He mentioned the crafting of certain policies, which were used to suppress those who did not belong to the camp of those controlling state apparatus. He said the use of this super structure by most of the successive governments divided the country and the only way this could be remedied is to confront what happened in the past with the view to reconciling the people, once and for all.
Nana Nketiah, known in private life as Dr Baffoe Maison, a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, was commenting on the National Reconciliation Bill, which is before Parliament, in an interview with the Chronicle at his private residence at Essikado on Monday.
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Accra (Greater Accra) - The NDC Youth Forum has called on the government to allow the reconciliation exercise to begin from 1957 if the purpose is to heal all old wounds.
A statement issued in Accra on Tuesday and signed by Iddrisu Haruna, the Forum spokesman's noted that the persistent insistence by the government that only coup-de-tat regimes particularly the Jerry Rawlings pre-constitutional era, be considered is beginning to give the Forum cause to doubt the sincerity of the ruling party's intentions.
The Forum stated that if that position is not changed, it has the potential of further polarizing the country and thereby defeating the whole purpose of reconciliation. The group failed to understand why the NPP government is not comfortable with the consensual date of 1957.
"The result of the regional forums on the proposed bill was crystal clear that the process should begin from 1957. Therefore, any departure from this popular position will amount to a disregard of the wishes of the majority of Ghanaians and other political parties," the statement said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) November 05, 2001 -THE Trades Union Congress (TUC) has thrown its weight behind the government's initiative to set up a national Reconciliation Commission.
A statement issued and signed by the Secretary General of the TUC, Kwasi Adu Amankwah said initiatives to reconcile the society are of importance, if democracy is to survive in the country.
The statement said a number of individuals and corporate bodies have suffered injustices since the Forth Republic. " This has left in its trail bitterness in some citizens and a conscious national effort is required to help the victims to ventilate their concern to enable the country to sweep behind it the cycle of vengeance and vendettas that has disfigured our history," it said.
The statement further noted that the reconciliatory language employed in both the memorandum to the bill and the bill itself is satisfactory. It said the congress is also satisfied that the commission is 'essentially a fact finding body' and shall make recommendations for redress.
"The TUC supports the periods specified in the bill that the commission's work is to cover, that is February 24, 1966 to August 21, 1969, January 13, 1972 to September 23, 1979 and December 31, 1981 to January 6, 1993," the statement added.
The congress recommended that the removal of a member of the commission should go through the same processes their appointment goes through.
The statement expressed the hope that the independence assured the commission in the bill will be genuine and no attempt would be made to starve it of both human and material resources to enable it to achieve its objectives. - Graphic
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) October 15, 2001 - Majority of contributors at the second public hearing on the National Reconciliation Bill held in Kumasi on Wednesday expressed the view that the period to be covered should start from the First Republic to reflect the true essence of reconciliation.
They feel that justice would be done if the time frame covered the first republic and not limited to only a specific period of time. The public hearing follows a proposal by the government to set up a National Reconciliation Commission and in pursuit of this therefore, a national reconciliation bill has been laid before Parliament.
The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, in conjunction with the Centre for Development of Democracy and the Civil Society Coalition, all non-governmental organisations (NGOs), has therefore, started a series of public hearings to solicit information, views and suggestions from a cross section of Ghanaians to enable the committee to take informed decisions.
The first public hearing was held at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region. The Reverend Brew Riverson, a retired educationist, asked that the period should start from 1949, when Britain granted self-government to the country to find out what went wrong to necessitate military intervention in the First Republic and the subsequent military interventions after that.
Mr Mike Bishop Owusu of Adehye FM at Bibiani, did not agree with the proposal that the President, in consultation with the Council of State, should appoint members of the reconciliation committee, since he could have swayed over the Council of State members to appoint his favourites.
He also agreed that the exercise should start from the First Republic and called on the political parties not to make the indemnity clause in the constitution a subject of debate during the 2004 elections since it would not help in the reconciliation exercise.
Mr S.P. Ofrang, an assembly member at the Asante-Akim North District Assembly, however, noted that since reconciliation went with compensation, the government would bite more than it could chew if the exercise started from the First
Republic.
He, therefore, suggested that it must start from June 4, which he said, marked the start of atrocities to many Ghanaians but cautioned that revenge should not be the basis of the reconciliation exercise.
In his opening remarks, Mr Osei Aidoo, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, noted that almost every government the country had had, breached the law in one way or the other.
He said the country cannot go on this way and that it was about time something positive was done about it. Mr Aidoo said there were a lot of people who had suffered at the hands of the state but due to the indemnity clause in the constitution, could not seek redress but cautioned, however, that the public hearings should not be a way to get the clause removed from the constitution.
Parliament, he said, was not in a position to tackle that clause yet and that the public hearing was a way to get an avenue or medium to give all those who had been wronged, an opportunity to get a hearing, adding that the commission would not be a court, where people would be prosecuted.
Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, a member of the committee, said the exercise was part of parliament's programme to reach out to Ghanaians to make representation to the committee. He said there was the need to reach out to the people so that the nation could be reconciled in order to move forward.
Alhaji Mumuni said the move, when handled properly, would unify the people, but warned that if it was not properly handled, it could throw the nation into chaos as if the "Pandora Box" had been opened.
He, therefore, urged civil society to be forthcoming for the exercise to unite all Ghanaians. In his welcoming address, Mr S.K. Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, said there was no gainsaying that reconciliation was vital for national unity and that the issue of reconciliation had in recent times been of great concern to all Ghanaians both young and old.
He noted government's commitment to an active policy of national reconciliation designed to heal and bind the wounds of the past, adding that this was a commitment that had the support of the nation.
"It is really time we freed the future from the past and enhance the possibilities of consolidating and deepening the hold of democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law in our dear country," he said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) September 29, 2001- The Western
Regional Director of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), Mr.
Samuel Bonyah, has called on the government to halt the setting up of the
National Reconciliation Commission (NRC).
He has instead suggested to the government to logistically
equip the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and
also improve upon conditions of service for the staff, who have handled similar
cases before and, therefore, have the experience to handle cases that would be
brought by aggrieved people who think they have been wronged by successive
governments.
Bonyah, who was speaking at a public forum organized in Takoradi last Thursday
by Legal Resources Centre, a non-governmental human rights organization, to
debate on the National Reconciliation bill which is currently before Parliament
said before the government can set up the proposed commission, it would have to
put in place the necessary logistics in terms of personnel and resources which to
him will be waste of money when CHRAJ could have been empowered to do so to
save money.
If CHRAJ is logistically equipped and the condition of service for the staff is improved, they would be spurred to carry out the exercise since they already have the experience instead of setting up a new commission, which would be a waste of resources, he said.
A former Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi, Ms Tabith Quaye who also spoke
at the forum supported the idea that CHRAJ should be empowered to handle the
cases in place of the proposed commission.
She, however, protested against Section 11 of the bill,
which empowers the proposed commission to enter into one's premises to search
without a warrant.
The said section reads: "where in the opinion of the
commission obtaining a warrant will defeat the purposed of entry, seizure and
removal of any article relevant to the investigations, enter, search, seize and
remove the article without a warrant except that the warrant shall be obtained
within twenty-four hours."
According to Tabitha Quaye, if the aim and objective of the commission is to promote national reconciliation then the suggestion in the bill that search could be conducted in one's house without a search warrant would defeat the very aim and objective of the commission.
The greater number of speakers at the forum supported the empowerment of CHRAJ
to handle cases instead of setting up a new commission altogether.
These speakers further contended that since CHRAJ has
offices in almost all the regional and district capitals, it would be easier
for those who have any grievances to approach any of these offices and lodge
their complaints instead of travelling all the way to Accra.
The suggestion that CHRAJ should be allowed to handle cases
instead of the proposed commission brought Mrs. Amua-Sekyi who works with CHRAJ
office in Takoradi to her feat.
According to her, CHRAJ is already saddled with so many
cases therefore, it would be impossible for it to take over the work of the
proposed reconciliation commission. Besides, she continued, the Act that sets
up the commission does not allow it to handle cases that are more than one
year.
Therefore, since the work of the proposed commission is to
handle cases that happened some years back, CHRAJ has no legal power to look
into it when the Act has not been amended.
The former president of the Western Region branch of the Ghana Bar Association
(GBA), Mr. Bodza-Lumor who chaired the function said if the people of Ghana are
of the opinion that CHRAJ should be allowed to handle the cases then the Act
that sets up the CHRAJ should be amended under the certificate of urgency by
Parliament which had already carried out similar amendments, this year.
Addressing the forum earlier, the Western Regional Minister,
Hon. Joseph Boahen Aidoo said the political history of Ghana has been
characterized by elements of exclusion, polarization, seclusion and divide and
at various points in time which has left foot-prints of bitterness, hatred, and
enmity among Ghanaians.
As a result of these instances, it is very difficult to
forget, but as human beings we should be able to forgive to heal the sores of
the past within the body politic in Ghana, he added.
The Executive Director of the Legal Resources Centre, Mr. Abdulai Mohammed Ayariga, on his part, said the setting up of the commission to enable people air their grievances has become necessary due to the existence of the Indemnity Clause in the Constitution and expressed the hope that the public would patronize it to put their grievances across.-Chronicle
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Accra (Greater Accra) September 11, 2001- The NDC Central
Region Parliamentary Caucus on Monday suggested that membership of the proposed
National Reconciliation Commission should comprise representatives of all
stakeholders.
It should also be subject to the approval of parliament, and
not "at the discretion of the President in consultation with the Council
of State", as the bill provides.
The MPs described as "unacceptable" that provision
in the bill, because according to them, "the Council of State itself is
largely not an independent body, neither is the President non-partisan as he
represents the Danquah/Busia tradition".
The parliamentary caucus made the call during the first in a
series of quarterly meetings with the media at Cape Coast. The meeting was
attended by four of the nine members of the caucus - Dr. Ato Quarshie, Mrs. Ama
Benyiwa-Doe, Mr. Samuel Adu-Yeboah and Mr. Mike Hammah.
The MPs said the NDC is not against reconciliation, but stressed that the modalities have to be clear and all stakeholders must be consulted. They proposed that the commission should comprise three members of parliament representing the main political parties, a representative each of the national house of chiefs, the Christian and Muslim communities and NGOs.
The MPs reiterated the NDC's stand that the commission's mandate should cover
all and not just the military regimes. They asked the government to let the
people also know how much would be involved in the exercise, to determine
" if it is justifiable to reconcile the nation that way" in the face
of the current economic constraints.
Touching on issues in the region, the MPs renewed their call
on the government to show commitment to its policy of zero tolerance for
corruption by instituting a probe into the activities of the Central Region
Development Commission (CEDECOM).
They alleged that the Institute of Chartered Accountants or
any professional accounting body in the country does not know Mr. David
Forster-Forson, the Executive Director and his company, Venture Consult, which audited
CEDECOM.
They expressed concern that earlier representations made on the issue to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, have received no response. The caucus called on the people of the region to rally behind them in their bid to ensure that all those found to have acted wrongfully are brought to justice. The MPs also called on the President to appoint a deputy regional minister as soon as possible.
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Accra (Greater Accra) September 03, 2001 - THE Ghana United
Nations Students and Youth Association (GUNSA) has recommended that the
proposed national reconciliation commission should not be selective in terms of
political regimes but must cover all past governments since independence.
The association also cautioned that “the commission should
not be used for witch-hunting or fault finding and must be devoid of partisan
affliction and manipulation to ensure impartial and independent outcomes”.
This was contained in a communiqué read to the press at a
news conference in Tamale at the weekend after the 38th GUNSA Annual Congress
held at the School of Hygiene by the out-going national president of the
association, Mr Ebenezer Malcolm.
The one-week congress was themed, “ Strengthening Democracy in Ghana-The Role
of the Youth”. The association commended government’s efforts in setting up the
reconciliation commission, since it could help heal the wounds of people
affected by the social, economic and political injuries of past regimes.
It condemned the practice by “some selfish politicians who
use the youth in campaigns and elections to achieve their political aims and
objectives”.
It called for the involvement of the youth in democratic processes by allowing them to contest political positions, adding that civic and political rights should be introduced in the educational curriculum of schools and colleges.
The association appealed to government to reconsider its
decision to privatise some utility companies such as the Ghana Water Company
Limited, the Volta River Authority and the Electricity Company of Ghana.
According to the association, the privatisation of these
companies would escalate the current economic situation, thereby worsening the
conditions of the people.
“We call for accuracy, transparency and, above all, adherence to the rule of law to ensure the realisation of the policy of zero tolerance for corruption as espoused by the government,” the association stated.
It also called for adequate remuneration and incentives for civil and public
servants to eliminate corruption in the system, stressing that stringent legal
action should be taken against any government official who would fall victim to
the policy.
An eight-member national executive was elected at the end of the conference to handle the affairs of the association. Some of them are Alfred Thompson, President; Kwesi Ofori-Atta, First National Vice-President, and Ms Mara Togobo, General Secretary.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 August 2001 - The Crusading Guide
carries that in a contribution to the National Reconciliation Bill, to be
brought before Parliamentary when it resumes sitting, Major K. Boakye Djan
(rtd), the former Deputy Chairman and Spokesman of the defunct Armed Forces
Revolutionary Council (AFRC), after exhaustively studying the Bill, has
proposed alternative ideas.
During a TV studio recording of a panel and public
discussion on the proposed Bill in London on August 25, 2001, Major Boaky Djan,
who went into exile 20 years ago, recalled that in February 1980 and July 1981,
he held two press conferences in Accra on the AFRC and Ghana’s immediate past
then, where he said he was, and will always be committed to the need to set up
a Commission of some sort to go into the nation’s troubled past.
Major Boakye Djan, said the Bills name, “The National
Reconciliation Act 2001’, and the circumstances of its historical application
could easily be shown to be irrelevant to the unique Ghanaian condition which
it is being asked to address.
He maintained that the demands on the Bill as an alien
import had imposed on it an intent and scope that is too narrow and abstract,
and has glaring deficiencies.
The former AFRC Spokesman underscored that National Reconciliation
might be a solution for other countries with troubled past such as South
Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and El Savador in Latin America as well as
Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa.
He therefore, proposed that, “an agreed peace accord should
be followed by a comprehensive settlement programme, which can be seen to be
fair and just to all affected parties.”
“For me, there can be no better mechanism to do this than a Peace and Settlement Commission. In this context, the wrangle over cut off periods for the proposed Commission becomes a side show,” he said.
According to Major Boaky Djan, what has happened in Ghana is nothing more or
less than a simple act of war and its prosecution between factions within the
political class for the state office and power left vacant by the retreating
colonial power.
Boakye Djan stated unequivocally, “Its periods are self-defined. It all started
in October 1954 when E.Y. Baffoe, an NLM official and a defector from CPP, was
stabbed to death by Twumasi Ankrah, a CPP agent, in Kumasi.
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By Prof. Stephen Asare, USA
United States of America - To "reconcile" means to
settle a quarrel or a feud between identifiable parties. Therefore, a
prerequisite for reconciliation is a quarrel and clearly identifiable parties.
The quarrel could be over property, persons (e.g., child custody), territorial integrity,
unfair laws, etc. The parties could be individuals, tribes, school teams,
nations, continents, etc.
Reconciliation involves bringing together the feuding or
warring factions and settling the issues that divide them amicably. Unless one
can identify the warring or feuding factions and the issues that they fight
over, any talks of reconciliation is as unripe as it is unnecessary.
The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
was set up by the Government of National Unity to help deal with what happened
under apartheid. The conflict during this period resulted in violence and human
rights abuses from all sides. No section of society escaped these abuses. In
the words of their chief justice,
"... a commission is a necessary exercise to enable
South Africans to come to terms with their past on a morally accepted basis and
to advance the cause of reconciliation.
One can see that talks of reconciliation makes sense in the South African context because the feuding parties can be clearly identified (blacks vs. whites) and the issue of contention can be identified clearly as apartheid.
Therefore, it is a question of bringing whites and blacks
together and finding a formula that will make them acknowledge and forgive
their past and look for ways to forge ahead in the future.
But what does reconciliation in Ghana means? Who are the feuding parties and what are the issues that they feud over? I cannot identify any feuding parties nor can I identify any issues that we have been quarreling over. It follows that reconciliation is just one more "imported" item that has no relevance to our needs (similar to the left hand drive buses).
What is, however, beyond dispute is that various crimes have
been committed in the last 20 years by members of the PNDC and their
functionaries. Aware of these crimes and the implications of being detected,
the PNDC has smuggled a very obnoxious and unacceptable transitional provisions
into the constitution which makes it impossible for peoples' whose rights have
been abused to seek a redress through the normal court system. Led by JAK, we
are acting like the proverbial ostritch with our necks buried too deep in the
sand to act on this critical and potentially explosive issue. Rather than
address this problem, we are dancing around with reconciliation and wasting
scarce resources on a commission that will achieve nothing.
We need to forget about reconciliation and focus on how we can expunge those obnoxious transitional provisions from the constitution. Anyone who has committed a crime should be held accountable. On the other hand, if we choose not to hold them accountable in the name of reconciliation then we should be consistent and empty all our prisons.
Free all criminals. That way the victims and the criminals will be perfectly reconciled.
GRi.../
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Accra (Greater Accra) July 17, 2001 -Former President Jerry Rawlings says he is ready to appear before any commission of enquiry that will be set up to look into the wrongs of the past.
There have been several calls for the re-opening of cases like the murder of the three judges and an army officer during the PNDC era in 1982. The calls have intensified since January with the government indicating its intention to establish a National Reconciliation Commission.
The timing of the exercise has generated much controversy
with pro-NPP groups calling for the period to be limited to the Rawlings’ era
only.
The former President gave his views on the establishment of a commission in an interview with the BBC. “ I have no problem appearing before any commission provided that, it is composed by objective minded people who are out to ensure a search for truth and reconciliation but quite frankly, that is not what I see as their agenda. No I don’t believe them,” he added. -JOY Online
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) July 03, 2001The Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin had stated that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would allow the PNDC/NDC era to be investigated only when the reconciliation exercise was extended to cover all regimes since independence.
He cautioned that the reconciliation exercise being envisaged by the government could unite the nation only when it told the people the "truth behind the Reconciliation Bill".
Mr Bagbin was speaking at a public forum organised by the Koforidua Polytechnic branch of the Tertiary Institutions Network (TEIN) of the NDC, at the weekend to mark its second anniversary.
He referred to the proposed Reconciliation Bill, which would be laid before Parliament on Tuesday and queried why the Bill sought to limit the exercise to only military regimes, "when severe atrocities and human rights abuses occurred in past civilian regimes".
He wondered why the "NPP government was afraid to extend the investigations to the Busia and Nkrumah regimes" where, according to him, "several disappearances occurred and bombs were thrown at political opponents".
The Minority Leader said contrary to its principles of democracy, the government was "only interested in entrenching itself in power and has devised a system of intimidation to put fear into its political opponents".
He alleged that the arrest and intimidation of NDC activists and appointment of people from other opposition parties into the government, were attempt to stifle the opposition and suppress multi-party democracy in the country.
Mr Bagbin, who is also the Member of Parliament for Nadowli North, pointed out that the criticisms of the government by the minority parties was not meant to bring it down but to ensure that the government did the right thing and "not misuse power".
He said the NDC was "happy that it was in the opposition since it would give the people the opportunity to judge the two governments during the 2004 elections".
Mr Bagbin explained that the re-organisation of the NDC was the first step in "putting the party on a sound footing" and urged the students to co-operate with the committee to come out with policies that would benefit the party.
The National Youth Organiser of the NDC, Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, attributed the defeat of the party in the December elections to "misinformation and politics of deception by the NPP" and said Ghanaians voted for the NPP because of lies told about the NDC.
He said the government has shown that it rather has "zero tolerance for criticism but not corruption" and has been waging a "campaign of lies to destroy the NDC". Mr Mensah said the arrest of some leading members of the party was a calculated attempt to collapse the party.
The MP for Bibiani, Mr Seidu Adamu reiterated that the minority criticisms of the government were not to run the country down but to offer "constructive advice" to enable the government to perform better.
He alleged that more than 2,000 people had lost their jobs within the six months the government took over power through "bad policies of fuel and tariff increases". The MP for Fanteakwa, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo said there was the need to allow the minority parties to grow to ensure true democracy in the country.
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Accra (Greater Accra) July 03, 2001 - Mr Vincent Asiseh, National Press Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed the view that ex-President J.J Rawlings should apologise to Ghanaians.
Answering questions on the need for National Reconciliation on GTV's 'Breakfast Show' last week, Asiseh blamed the current tension in the country on the former President, saying he (Rawlings) should have created a congenial atmosphere for National Reconciliation during his tenure of office, which he did not do.
The NDC Press Secretary conceded that, Mr. Rawlings on his own cannot render the requisite apology to Ghanaians, but the President, Mr J.A.K. Kufuor should create the situation to draw Rawlings into apologising to the nation.
Asiseh, defining Reconciliation and conciliation said what Ghanaians need at the moment was not reconciliation but conciliation. He said there was currently too much tension in the country as such a national reconciliation exercise would only provide a forum for people to get at each other. – Crusading Guide.
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Ho (Volta Region) July 02, 2001 - Government will carry out extensive consultations and public discussions to come out with acceptable modalities for achieving sustainable national reconciliation and unity.
Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister, gave this assurance when he addressed a get-together of some senior citizens in the Volta Region at the residency at Ho on Sunday as part of Ghana's 41st. Republic Day celebration.
He, therefore, called on the elder citizens, irrespective of their political inclinations, to offer their support and suggestions towards achieving sustainable national unity and reconciliation.
This is because it is the majority of the citizenry who stand to reap the benefits of peace and development or bear the brunt of a bad situation.
Mr Owusu-Yeboa suggested to the senior citizens to either individually or collectively, through pensioners bodies and similar groups, the media or memoranda, offer their views on how best to achieve lasting national reconciliation.
The Regional Minister reminded the elder citizens that national unity and reconciliation are extremely necessary now because unless the country is truly reconciled, it will remain divided and without any focus for development.
The government is, therefore, poised "to take all necessary actions to facilitate reconciliation and unity amongst Ghanaians", Mr Owusu-Yeboa assured.
Some of the senior citizens underscored the need for trust, honesty, love and fear of God among the citizenry for the achievement of peace, unity, reconciliation and development of the country.
The over 60 elder citizens included retired public and civil servants, farmers, reverend ministers, chiefs, traders and housewives.
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Accra (Greater Accra) - The Evening News quotes the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Dan Botwe, as saying that the proposed National Reconciliation Commission should limit itself to the excess of the various military regimes since independence.
He emphasized that the commission must pay attention to the regimes of 1966-69, 1972-79 and 1982-92 since abuse of human rights and other inhuman treatments were meted out to people in military regimes.
In an interview with the paper, Mr Botwe however, said that genuine reports made against certain individuals during civilian regimes should not be ignored by the commission.
"If in the course of the commission's sittings a report is made against somebody in a past civilian regime, the commission should have the discretion to open up that case so that in the end a true reconciliation can be achieved," he said.
According to Mr Botwe, the Reconciliation Commission is not aimed at harassing or witch-hunting anybody but to promote national unity and progress.
He said the Progress Party from which the NPP emanated, ruled Ghana for only 27 months and would not bother to subject that regime for scrutiny.
Citing examples of human rights abuses in civilian regimes, Mr Botwe noted that people who held different political opinions were wrongly arrested, detained and sometimes had their hair shaved between 1992 and 2000.
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Accra (Greater Accra) February 16, 2001 - Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor Thursday presented his maiden State-of-the-nation address, saying he would establish a National Reconciliation Committee, promulgate a code of conduct for government officials, as well as promote the rule of law and usher in a "Golden Age of Business."
He also called for joint efforts to improve the ailing economy, reinforce democracy for justice and reduce crime, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) reported.
"My government will support the continued modernisation of the process of administration of justice, enabling the judiciary to be fearless and independent," the Ghanaian leader added.
He said the National Reconciliation Committee would be a forum for aggrieved persons to air their grievances in order to promote national reconciliation.
Kufuor painted a bleak picture of the economy, saying that hard decisions would be taken to put it back in track.
He lamented "mismanagement, mass unemployment, low wages, high cost of living, rapidly depreciating currency, a colossal national debt, high dependency on foreign aid as well as declining educational and health opportunities, extensive corruption in public life, a cowed and demoralised private sector, hopelessness and despair."
Provisional figures indicate that the growth of Ghana's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for year 2000 was 3.7 per cent, far lower than the projected five percent in last year's budget.
The country's total debt stock stood at 41.1 trillion cedis at the end of December 2000. Out of this amount, 31.7 trillion, or 5.8 billion dollars, was external and 9.4 trillion cedis or, 1.7 billion dollars, was domestic. (about 6,800 cedis=1USD).
Kufuor said government would issue a policy statement regarding the IMF/World Bank-supported Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief initiative. The policy, he said, will be guided by the best interest of Ghana.
Kufuor also said that Ghana's Criminal Libel Law would be repealed as a mark of confidence in a responsible media. "Set free, I have no doubt our media will play their honourable role with a heightened sense of responsibility," he said.
"We shall expand the boundaries of freedom of speech by repealing that law which criminalises speech and expression," the Ghanaian leader added.
The Ghana Journalists Association has fought for several years for the repeal of the law, which, it considers outmoded. Several journalists were jailed under the previous government.
Kufuor said his government does not expect that Ghanaians would suddenly be transformed into saints, adding that there would still be miscreants in the country. He said the police, who are charged with upholding law and order, would be strengthened to protect the citizens and bring criminals to book.
The President said already, the police have stepped up their patrols in the cities, bringing armed robberies and other crimes under control.
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