The Ashaiman Municipality is to have a new lorry park to end the frequent confrontation that ensues between the police and commercial drivers in the municipality.
This is the outcome of discussions between the Municipal Assembly and various transport associations operating in the municipality.
The Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Albert Boakye Okyere, confirmed this to the Daily Graphic and said the new lorry park would be located near the over-pass on the Tema-Accra Motorway, where there was a vast land to develop into a spacious lorry park.
He said the new lorry park would be occupied by long distance vehicles so as to ease movement to and from Ashaiman.
According to Mr Okyere, the assembly was young and would need funds for the project, which it has already started, and that the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment was playing an intermediary role to help the municipality to access funding for the project and that the site had already been cleared and levelled.
He said as an interim measure, the ongoing Urban Environmental Project in the municipality had targeted to provide some lay-bys to serve as parking lots for vehicles and taxis working in the municipality.
Mr Okyere said the Municipal Assembly had made the development of lorry parks and markets its priority.
Commercial drivers who operate from the Ashaiman lorry park claim that the park is choked and therefore cannot contain vehicles which need to park there for loading.
Some of the vehicles are compelled to park outside the lorry park and enter it one after the other as and when others drive out.
This results in the narrowing of the road into a single lane to the discomfort of other road users.
It was this congestion and inconvenience the drivers had been suffering that led to misunderstandings between the police and the drivers on many occasions, leading to the arrest of some commercial drivers.
The drivers accuse the police of exploiting the situation to their advantage and allegedly extorting monies ranging from GH¢50 from drivers who were not prepared to go to court when they violated any regulations.
It was the attempt to counter this arbitrary action of the police which resulted in the drivers clashing with the police, creating the mayhem that claimed two lives, with many others sustaining various degrees of injury.
The executives of various transport unions in Ashaiman moved in to save the situation, and they are now discussing the possibilities of getting an alternative loading area to ease the congestion.
They claim that the drivers wait outside to be issued with tickets before they enter the lorry park because of lack of space.
Briefing the Daily Graphic on the issue at Ashaiman, the first trustee of the Ashaiman branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, Mr Augustine Kyeremeh, said the transport unions, made up of the GPRTU, Co-operative and PROTOA, sent a delegation to the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly to discuss the possibility of providing them with another lorry park.
He said they were given the assurance that the Assembly would provide the drivers with a more spacious lorry park but had to continue with the existing arrangement while the area was prepared for them.
Mr Kyeremeh said presently all vehicles operating from Ashaiman to the regions used that same lorry park.
He, therefore, appealed to the municipal authorities to expedite action on the development of the more spacious lorry park to end all confrontations between them and the police.
Mr Kyeremeh said the police would be fair to them, if they ensured that all drivers were treated equally. According to him, some other groups who had not registered with any of the unions were rather given preferential treatment by way of allowing them to create their own parking areas, while the registered ones were arrested for wrongful parking.
When the reporter visited the lorry park, she noted that food vendors and other petty traders had occupied some of the spaces where drivers could have parked their vehicles.
Some people the Daily Graphic spoke to were of the view that if the traders were evicted from the station, there would some space for the drivers to park their vehicles and load.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
IGP ASSURES BEREAVED FAMILIES AT ASHAIMAN (SPREAD)
The Inspector General of Police, Mr Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, has assured the bereaved families of the two persons who died during the clash between commercial drivers and the police at Ashaiman of support from the Police Service towards the burial of the victims.
He said the death of the two was traumatic and therefore the bereaved families should be supported to give their dead relations fitting burials.
The IGP said this when he visited the families yesterday to express the condolences of the government and to mourn with them.
The two — Moses Kassim, 11, and Ofori also known as Alhaji, 24, — died during a mob action when commercial drivers and the police in Ashaiman clashed over alleged wrong parking.
The IGP, who arrived in Ashaiman at 10 a.m. yesterday, spent more than five hours, during which he toured the incident scenes to ascertain the extent of damage to property, met executives of the various transport unions, visited the homes of the bereaved and went to the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly where he was presented with a report on events on the day of confusion as investigated by the Ashaiman Security Council (MUSEC).
At the house of the bereaved, Mr Acheampong consoled and commended them for their comportment.
He informed them that the police had deposited the bodies at the Police Hospital mortuary in Accra and would also waive any expenditures on services provided by the hospital.
Mr Acheampong said the Police Administration would institute thorough investigations into the incident and act accordingly.
He therefore appealed to them to be calm as the law would be applied to the letter to ensure that the culprits were brought to book.
The mother of Kassim, Madam Dede Tetteh, could not hold her tears back and wept uncontrollably as the elders of the family commended the IGP and his entourage for coming to mourn with them.
The father of the 24-year-old deceased driver, Mr Ofori Braimah, thanked the government for showing concern but said the body was of more importance to them and requested that it was delivered to the family as early as possible.
Mr Braimah disclosed that his son converted from Islam to Christianity and therefore became Moses Ofori, explaining why he gained the alias Alhaji.
Later at the meeting with the transport unions, Mr Kwarteng urged them to educate drivers to be very conversant with road regulations.
He noted that the police and drivers were friends and therefore must learn to co-exist to avoid occurrences like what happened on Tuesday, June 3, 2008.
Mr Acheampong called on the two parties to exercise restraint because their action had led to the death of innocent people.
He stated that Ashaiman was a young municipality and therefore would need peace for growth, emphasising that such incidents would not augur well for them.
The IGP, who was accompanied by the Deputy IGP in Charge of Administration, Mrs Elizabeth Mills Robertson; and the Director General of Criminal Investigations, Deputy Commissioner of Police Frank Adu Poku, was conducted round the problem areas by DCOP John Kudalor.
The Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Albert Boakye Okyere, said the MUSEC report that was submitted to the IGP was to assist quicken the pace of investigations.
The report identified some causes of the incident that sparked off the riot.
Meanwhile, following a closed door meeting yesterday between the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, the Tema regional commander DCOP John Kudalor, the Ashaiman MTTU Commander, ASP Timothy Dassah has been interdicted.
Police sources said the MTTU Commander was cited for unprofessional conduct and the mishandling of the clash between the drivers and the police at Ashaiman on Tuesday.
The source said traffic offences were bailable crimes but the Ashaiman MTTU denied the drivers bail.
He said the death of the two was traumatic and therefore the bereaved families should be supported to give their dead relations fitting burials.
The IGP said this when he visited the families yesterday to express the condolences of the government and to mourn with them.
The two — Moses Kassim, 11, and Ofori also known as Alhaji, 24, — died during a mob action when commercial drivers and the police in Ashaiman clashed over alleged wrong parking.
The IGP, who arrived in Ashaiman at 10 a.m. yesterday, spent more than five hours, during which he toured the incident scenes to ascertain the extent of damage to property, met executives of the various transport unions, visited the homes of the bereaved and went to the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly where he was presented with a report on events on the day of confusion as investigated by the Ashaiman Security Council (MUSEC).
At the house of the bereaved, Mr Acheampong consoled and commended them for their comportment.
He informed them that the police had deposited the bodies at the Police Hospital mortuary in Accra and would also waive any expenditures on services provided by the hospital.
Mr Acheampong said the Police Administration would institute thorough investigations into the incident and act accordingly.
He therefore appealed to them to be calm as the law would be applied to the letter to ensure that the culprits were brought to book.
The mother of Kassim, Madam Dede Tetteh, could not hold her tears back and wept uncontrollably as the elders of the family commended the IGP and his entourage for coming to mourn with them.
The father of the 24-year-old deceased driver, Mr Ofori Braimah, thanked the government for showing concern but said the body was of more importance to them and requested that it was delivered to the family as early as possible.
Mr Braimah disclosed that his son converted from Islam to Christianity and therefore became Moses Ofori, explaining why he gained the alias Alhaji.
Later at the meeting with the transport unions, Mr Kwarteng urged them to educate drivers to be very conversant with road regulations.
He noted that the police and drivers were friends and therefore must learn to co-exist to avoid occurrences like what happened on Tuesday, June 3, 2008.
Mr Acheampong called on the two parties to exercise restraint because their action had led to the death of innocent people.
He stated that Ashaiman was a young municipality and therefore would need peace for growth, emphasising that such incidents would not augur well for them.
The IGP, who was accompanied by the Deputy IGP in Charge of Administration, Mrs Elizabeth Mills Robertson; and the Director General of Criminal Investigations, Deputy Commissioner of Police Frank Adu Poku, was conducted round the problem areas by DCOP John Kudalor.
The Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Albert Boakye Okyere, said the MUSEC report that was submitted to the IGP was to assist quicken the pace of investigations.
The report identified some causes of the incident that sparked off the riot.
Meanwhile, following a closed door meeting yesterday between the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, the Tema regional commander DCOP John Kudalor, the Ashaiman MTTU Commander, ASP Timothy Dassah has been interdicted.
Police sources said the MTTU Commander was cited for unprofessional conduct and the mishandling of the clash between the drivers and the police at Ashaiman on Tuesday.
The source said traffic offences were bailable crimes but the Ashaiman MTTU denied the drivers bail.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
ACTION PLUS TO SUPPORT VULNERABLE GROUPS (PAGE 11)
Action Plus Foundation (APF), a Christian non-governmental organisation (NGO), is to support vulnerable groups and individuals in the Tema metropolis with GH¢20,000 in the next six months to undertake viable projects.
Speaking at the first anniversary celebration of the organisation which coincided with the inauguration of the Tema branch, the Chief Executive, Reverend Fred Osei Anim, said the project would entail organising training programmes for young women in employable skills.
He said the foundation would also train beneficiaries in entrepreneurial skills and support them to set up small-scale businesses to empower them economically.
According to Rev. Anim, the foundation is working in partnership with the Ghana AIDS Commission to support educational programmes to effect behavioural change among sexually active people to avoid risky lifestyles.
He said as a Christian organisation, the foundation was committed to addressing issues on poverty, unemployment, education and supporting the campaign against HIV/AIDS.
Rev. Osei Anim said a number of young women in Ghana had migrated from rural communities to the urban centres to search for unavailable jobs and, therefore, ended up in the streets, adding that there was the need for programmes to cater for the interest of such people.
He added that it was necessary to save them from engaging in anti-social vices that endangered their lives.
He hinted that research by some social scientists had established that a number of these disadvantaged women were single mothers who could not afford to provide education for their children hence their children engaging in child labour.
Rev. Anim explained that the foundation would initiate programmes to support the women on the streets to train them in fashion designing, batik making, baking and cookery, hairdressing and computing.
He indicated that disadvantaged children aged between three and 18 would be given scholarships and appealed to churches to get involved in such projects to make them successful.
Rev. Anim said the foundation had been involved in fund-raising activities to support its projects and appealed for support from philanthropists, public-spirited individuals and organisations.
Speaking at the first anniversary celebration of the organisation which coincided with the inauguration of the Tema branch, the Chief Executive, Reverend Fred Osei Anim, said the project would entail organising training programmes for young women in employable skills.
He said the foundation would also train beneficiaries in entrepreneurial skills and support them to set up small-scale businesses to empower them economically.
According to Rev. Anim, the foundation is working in partnership with the Ghana AIDS Commission to support educational programmes to effect behavioural change among sexually active people to avoid risky lifestyles.
He said as a Christian organisation, the foundation was committed to addressing issues on poverty, unemployment, education and supporting the campaign against HIV/AIDS.
Rev. Osei Anim said a number of young women in Ghana had migrated from rural communities to the urban centres to search for unavailable jobs and, therefore, ended up in the streets, adding that there was the need for programmes to cater for the interest of such people.
He added that it was necessary to save them from engaging in anti-social vices that endangered their lives.
He hinted that research by some social scientists had established that a number of these disadvantaged women were single mothers who could not afford to provide education for their children hence their children engaging in child labour.
Rev. Anim explained that the foundation would initiate programmes to support the women on the streets to train them in fashion designing, batik making, baking and cookery, hairdressing and computing.
He indicated that disadvantaged children aged between three and 18 would be given scholarships and appealed to churches to get involved in such projects to make them successful.
Rev. Anim said the foundation had been involved in fund-raising activities to support its projects and appealed for support from philanthropists, public-spirited individuals and organisations.
The Ashaiman mayhem..MUM WANTS REDRESS (1b)
Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Ashaiman
Madam Dede Tetteh, the mother of Moses Kassim, the boy who was shot dead during the clash between commercial drivers and the police in Ashaiman last Tuesday, has called on the police to compensate her for her son’s death.
Madam Tetteh, 28, who was found in a pensive mood in her house at Ashaiman, surrounded by sympathisers, wept intermittently as she narrated the circumstances leading to her son’s death.
She said Kassim, the eldest of her seven children, attended the Ashaiman Government School and was in Class Four.
According to her, on Tuesday Kassim was to go to school on the afternoon shift and he was on his way to attend the call of nature when he was shot in the middle of the road.
She said the family was waiting on what action the police would take before it would decide on his burial.
Meanwhile, calm has been restored in Ashaiman after Tuesday’s bloody affair, during which two persons died and several others were injured.
Yesterday shops opened, traders displayed their wares and vehicles plied their routes, with passengers being conveyed to their destinations.
However, some residents said they still felt unsafe because they thought the drivers were not satisfied with the decisions of the police.
The police were found on parade at the Ashaiman Police Station, battle ready with helmets and guns.
When the executive of the Ashaiman Branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) was contacted, the First Trustee of the branch, Mr Augustine Kyeremeh, said the drivers would not go onto the streets again because their leadership was in dialogue with the police and other stakeholders for their demands to be met.
He said the five drivers whose arrest last Monday had sparked off the riot were released on police bail at 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday pending further investigations into the circumstances that led to their arrest.
Mr Kyeremeh explained that drivers in Ashaiman got infuriated when the police initially refused to grant bail to the arrested drivers.
He said drivers of the GPRTU and other transport unions in Ashaiman had complained to the police that some strange drivers operated at the same area but the police had not acted on it.
Mr Kyeremeh described the behaviour of the police as discriminatory and unprofessional and called on the Police Council to investigate their behaviour and act accordingly.
He alleged that the Judiciary had also not been fair to the drivers when they appeared in court for allegedly committing traffic offences because they were not given the opportunity to explain their circumstances.
Mr Kyeremeh appealed to the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly to erect signposts to enable drivers know where to stop to pick and drop passengers.
Madam Dede Tetteh, the mother of Moses Kassim, the boy who was shot dead during the clash between commercial drivers and the police in Ashaiman last Tuesday, has called on the police to compensate her for her son’s death.
Madam Tetteh, 28, who was found in a pensive mood in her house at Ashaiman, surrounded by sympathisers, wept intermittently as she narrated the circumstances leading to her son’s death.
She said Kassim, the eldest of her seven children, attended the Ashaiman Government School and was in Class Four.
According to her, on Tuesday Kassim was to go to school on the afternoon shift and he was on his way to attend the call of nature when he was shot in the middle of the road.
She said the family was waiting on what action the police would take before it would decide on his burial.
Meanwhile, calm has been restored in Ashaiman after Tuesday’s bloody affair, during which two persons died and several others were injured.
Yesterday shops opened, traders displayed their wares and vehicles plied their routes, with passengers being conveyed to their destinations.
However, some residents said they still felt unsafe because they thought the drivers were not satisfied with the decisions of the police.
The police were found on parade at the Ashaiman Police Station, battle ready with helmets and guns.
When the executive of the Ashaiman Branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) was contacted, the First Trustee of the branch, Mr Augustine Kyeremeh, said the drivers would not go onto the streets again because their leadership was in dialogue with the police and other stakeholders for their demands to be met.
He said the five drivers whose arrest last Monday had sparked off the riot were released on police bail at 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday pending further investigations into the circumstances that led to their arrest.
Mr Kyeremeh explained that drivers in Ashaiman got infuriated when the police initially refused to grant bail to the arrested drivers.
He said drivers of the GPRTU and other transport unions in Ashaiman had complained to the police that some strange drivers operated at the same area but the police had not acted on it.
Mr Kyeremeh described the behaviour of the police as discriminatory and unprofessional and called on the Police Council to investigate their behaviour and act accordingly.
He alleged that the Judiciary had also not been fair to the drivers when they appeared in court for allegedly committing traffic offences because they were not given the opportunity to explain their circumstances.
Mr Kyeremeh appealed to the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly to erect signposts to enable drivers know where to stop to pick and drop passengers.
MAYHEM AT ASHAIMAN...2 Dead, many injured (LEAD STORY)
STORY: Rose Hayford Darko, Ashaiman
A SEVEN-HOUR stand-off between the police at Ashaiman and irate drivers (whose ranks were later infiltrated by hooligans) yesterday turned into a bloody affair, with two persons confirmed dead and dozens injured.
With the bodies of the dead and blood scattered on the main street, Ashaiman, for the greater part of the day, looked like a war zone until nature intervened with a heavy downpour to wash away the blood and disperse the crowd.
It started as a misunderstanding between the drivers and the Ashaiman Police at 6.00 a.m. following the arrest on Monday of two drivers for wrongful parking. But the situation degenerated into a bloodbath when the stone-throwing mob was met with police gunfire.
Those who dropped dead from the police shooting were a driver in his late 20s, identified only as Alhaji, and a nine-year-old boy who was trapped in the commotion while selling sachet water.
There were unconfirmed reports that another person had died in hospital.
In the confusion, all roads leading to the town were blocked and lorry tyres were set ablaze in the middle of the roads.
Police vehicles and private cars belonging to individuals were smashed by the angry mob, leaving some beyond repairs.
There was looting as newspaper vendors and other traders had to run for their lives after their wares had been taken away by the stone-throwing mob.
An eyewitness, Mr Emmanuel Amoako, said about 5.00 p.m. on Monday, the police arrested 17 drivers for wrongful parking around the main Ashaiman lorry park.
He said about 5.00 a.m. yesterday morning, members of the Ashaiman Branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union went to the police station to plead for the release of the suspects but before any decision could be made, some unidentified people started throwing stones and sachet water into the compound of the police station.
Mr Amoako said as a result of the intensity of the action of the people, the police responded with the shooting of rubber bullets to disperse them.
He said a policeman had been hit on the forehead by a stone, seriously getting injured, while the nine-year-old boy who was also hit by a bullet died instantly because of the stampede.
He said the deceased driver, who also died instantly, had been hit by a stray bullet from behind. The injured were rushed to the Tema General Hospital for attention.
When the Daily Graphic reached the Ashaiman Divisional MTTU Commander, ASP Timothy Dassah, on telephone, he said he had taken refuge “somewhere” while waiting for reinforcement to handle the situation.
He said his men had been stoned and several of them were seriously injured but claimed that they were still under attack.
ASP Dassah said the Ashaiman MTTU towed five Urvan and 207 buses when the drivers took over the road around the main lorry park.
He said policemen from Tema and some soldiers from Michel Camp had gone to their aid but they had not been sufficient for the intensity of the situation.
The Tema Regional Crime Officer, Chief Superintendent Joshua Dogbeda, confirmed that the situation was under control.
He said officially the police knew of two deaths in the incident.
Chief Supt Dogbeda said the police were in the process of finding out from various health posts to ascertain the number of injured persons and whether there had been any other death during the riot.
A SEVEN-HOUR stand-off between the police at Ashaiman and irate drivers (whose ranks were later infiltrated by hooligans) yesterday turned into a bloody affair, with two persons confirmed dead and dozens injured.
With the bodies of the dead and blood scattered on the main street, Ashaiman, for the greater part of the day, looked like a war zone until nature intervened with a heavy downpour to wash away the blood and disperse the crowd.
It started as a misunderstanding between the drivers and the Ashaiman Police at 6.00 a.m. following the arrest on Monday of two drivers for wrongful parking. But the situation degenerated into a bloodbath when the stone-throwing mob was met with police gunfire.
Those who dropped dead from the police shooting were a driver in his late 20s, identified only as Alhaji, and a nine-year-old boy who was trapped in the commotion while selling sachet water.
There were unconfirmed reports that another person had died in hospital.
In the confusion, all roads leading to the town were blocked and lorry tyres were set ablaze in the middle of the roads.
Police vehicles and private cars belonging to individuals were smashed by the angry mob, leaving some beyond repairs.
There was looting as newspaper vendors and other traders had to run for their lives after their wares had been taken away by the stone-throwing mob.
An eyewitness, Mr Emmanuel Amoako, said about 5.00 p.m. on Monday, the police arrested 17 drivers for wrongful parking around the main Ashaiman lorry park.
He said about 5.00 a.m. yesterday morning, members of the Ashaiman Branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union went to the police station to plead for the release of the suspects but before any decision could be made, some unidentified people started throwing stones and sachet water into the compound of the police station.
Mr Amoako said as a result of the intensity of the action of the people, the police responded with the shooting of rubber bullets to disperse them.
He said a policeman had been hit on the forehead by a stone, seriously getting injured, while the nine-year-old boy who was also hit by a bullet died instantly because of the stampede.
He said the deceased driver, who also died instantly, had been hit by a stray bullet from behind. The injured were rushed to the Tema General Hospital for attention.
When the Daily Graphic reached the Ashaiman Divisional MTTU Commander, ASP Timothy Dassah, on telephone, he said he had taken refuge “somewhere” while waiting for reinforcement to handle the situation.
He said his men had been stoned and several of them were seriously injured but claimed that they were still under attack.
ASP Dassah said the Ashaiman MTTU towed five Urvan and 207 buses when the drivers took over the road around the main lorry park.
He said policemen from Tema and some soldiers from Michel Camp had gone to their aid but they had not been sufficient for the intensity of the situation.
The Tema Regional Crime Officer, Chief Superintendent Joshua Dogbeda, confirmed that the situation was under control.
He said officially the police knew of two deaths in the incident.
Chief Supt Dogbeda said the police were in the process of finding out from various health posts to ascertain the number of injured persons and whether there had been any other death during the riot.
Monday, June 2, 2008
'LIFT AVIATION FUEL FROM TOGO'
The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has urged Shell Company Limited and Total Oil Company to lift Aviation Turbine kerosene (ATK) from Togo to supply the Aviation industry as a means of solving the current shortage of the product.
The refinery had its stock of the white oil or the finished product depleted when the discharging arm of the intake point at the port developed a technical fault resulting in shortage of stock at the plant.
The Public Affairs Manager of TOR, Mrs Aba Lokko, said the stock of the white product was expected to arrive in the country by the weekend.
She explained that the faulty discharging arm was a delicate equipment that could not be substituted with any other machine.
She explained that though the refinery had a vessel with black oil waiting at the anchorage it could not be discharged of its cargo because of the technical problem.
Mrs Lokko said the refinery had been trying to repair the loading arm since last week when the vessel arrived at the anchorage but had not been successful.
She stated that the refinery had relied on Shell and Total for the lifting of the product from Togo because their Togolese counterparts had been the partners of TOR in the lifting of ATK from the refinery for supply to airlines.
Mrs Lokko was optimistic that it would not be long before the situation would be restored because TOR was in consultation with Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and hoped to find suitable cranes to lift the discharging arms for repair works to continue.
She said TOR had just completed a 20,000 cubic metre facility for the storage of the ATK and that would end the problems of shortage of the product.
Mrs Lokko said the refinery currently had the capacity for only one and half weeks stock and therefore it faced such problems when there was a hitch.
The refinery had its stock of the white oil or the finished product depleted when the discharging arm of the intake point at the port developed a technical fault resulting in shortage of stock at the plant.
The Public Affairs Manager of TOR, Mrs Aba Lokko, said the stock of the white product was expected to arrive in the country by the weekend.
She explained that the faulty discharging arm was a delicate equipment that could not be substituted with any other machine.
She explained that though the refinery had a vessel with black oil waiting at the anchorage it could not be discharged of its cargo because of the technical problem.
Mrs Lokko said the refinery had been trying to repair the loading arm since last week when the vessel arrived at the anchorage but had not been successful.
She stated that the refinery had relied on Shell and Total for the lifting of the product from Togo because their Togolese counterparts had been the partners of TOR in the lifting of ATK from the refinery for supply to airlines.
Mrs Lokko was optimistic that it would not be long before the situation would be restored because TOR was in consultation with Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and hoped to find suitable cranes to lift the discharging arms for repair works to continue.
She said TOR had just completed a 20,000 cubic metre facility for the storage of the ATK and that would end the problems of shortage of the product.
Mrs Lokko said the refinery currently had the capacity for only one and half weeks stock and therefore it faced such problems when there was a hitch.
TEMA YOUTH PREPARE FOR AFRICAN CHILD DAY (PAGE 54)
Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Tema
A youth conference in Tema has called on the leadership of the country to come out with policies which will recognise various agreements and conventions that have remained on the drawing board to the detriment of the child.
The conference was held in preparation for the celebration of the African Child day in June 2008 to highlight problems confronting the child and was supported by the Abibiman Foundation in Tema.
Addressing the conference, a 14 year-old-pupil of the TI Ahmadiyya Junior High School, Ms Sarah Agyebeng, said young people drawn from some schools in the municipality met on May 22, 2008 and, after deliberations, identified child labour, child trafficking, poverty, negative peer influence, drug and substance abuse and insecurity, among others, as some of the problems confronting them.
She noted that the best approach to preventing these from happening was for the law makers to urgently give attention to the development of children and young people.
Ms Agyebeng advocated that all fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution and other relevant national and international protocols, conventions and treaties should be invoked.
She appealed to all political parties in the country to use the Africa Child Forum 2008 to outline in their manifestos aspects which had to do with the child.
Ms Agyebeng also called on stakeholders, especially state institutions, UN Agencies and civil society to support the “Young People’s Manifesto” to help the youth to understand what the various manifestos of political parties propose for their development.
Another 14- year-old student of the Create School in Tema,Master Andrew Amoah, observed that the future development of any country depended on the quantity and quality of investment made in children.
He stated that young people continued to face challenges in realising their potential,and therefore had become vulnerable to socio-economic challenges due to vast differences in household poverty status.
Master Amoah congratulated the government for making efforts to move the country from a mostly agrarian, rural society with high fertility and mortality rates to a middle income country.
He said the government needed to implement a range of supportive policies to reap the full benefits of the potential of the child.
Master Amoah stated that these polices should include improved education, provision of sustainable and affordable local sources of food, enhancing public health outcomes as well as facilitating local investment to create jobs.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Abibimman Foundation, Mr Kwabena Ofosuhene, in an interview said the foundation was supporting the children to raise critical issues affecting the livelihood of children and young people of Ghana.
Mr Ofosuhene urged politicians to make issues affecting children their priority because apart from being future leaders, they held the key to development, and therefore must be well equipped to face the challenges ahead.
He urged all children to participate in the celebration of the African Child in June to create awareness and sympathy for the welfare of the child.
A youth conference in Tema has called on the leadership of the country to come out with policies which will recognise various agreements and conventions that have remained on the drawing board to the detriment of the child.
The conference was held in preparation for the celebration of the African Child day in June 2008 to highlight problems confronting the child and was supported by the Abibiman Foundation in Tema.
Addressing the conference, a 14 year-old-pupil of the TI Ahmadiyya Junior High School, Ms Sarah Agyebeng, said young people drawn from some schools in the municipality met on May 22, 2008 and, after deliberations, identified child labour, child trafficking, poverty, negative peer influence, drug and substance abuse and insecurity, among others, as some of the problems confronting them.
She noted that the best approach to preventing these from happening was for the law makers to urgently give attention to the development of children and young people.
Ms Agyebeng advocated that all fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution and other relevant national and international protocols, conventions and treaties should be invoked.
She appealed to all political parties in the country to use the Africa Child Forum 2008 to outline in their manifestos aspects which had to do with the child.
Ms Agyebeng also called on stakeholders, especially state institutions, UN Agencies and civil society to support the “Young People’s Manifesto” to help the youth to understand what the various manifestos of political parties propose for their development.
Another 14- year-old student of the Create School in Tema,Master Andrew Amoah, observed that the future development of any country depended on the quantity and quality of investment made in children.
He stated that young people continued to face challenges in realising their potential,and therefore had become vulnerable to socio-economic challenges due to vast differences in household poverty status.
Master Amoah congratulated the government for making efforts to move the country from a mostly agrarian, rural society with high fertility and mortality rates to a middle income country.
He said the government needed to implement a range of supportive policies to reap the full benefits of the potential of the child.
Master Amoah stated that these polices should include improved education, provision of sustainable and affordable local sources of food, enhancing public health outcomes as well as facilitating local investment to create jobs.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Abibimman Foundation, Mr Kwabena Ofosuhene, in an interview said the foundation was supporting the children to raise critical issues affecting the livelihood of children and young people of Ghana.
Mr Ofosuhene urged politicians to make issues affecting children their priority because apart from being future leaders, they held the key to development, and therefore must be well equipped to face the challenges ahead.
He urged all children to participate in the celebration of the African Child in June to create awareness and sympathy for the welfare of the child.
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