January 25

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News
DAILY HERITAGE, THURSDAY JANUARY 25, 2018
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
Carve good image
for the police
• Suame commander to personnel
FROM STEPHEN OPPONG
MENSAH, KUMASI
THE SUAME Divisional Commander
of the Ghana Police Service, Chief
Supt. Desmond Owusu Boampong, has
admonished personnel in uniform to
always strive hard to put up acceptable
behaviour to carve a good image for
the service.
He was concerned about the
decaying professional ethics shown by
some uniformed men to the chagrin of
the police hierarchy.
Chief Supt Boampong was also
worried about unprofessional attitudes
exhibited by some service personnel
who had, to a large extent, created an
avenue to bastardise civilians.
“I crave your indulgence as
personnel within an organisation whose
motto is ‘Service with Integrity’ to
show indelible behaviours to portray
you as the true servants of the public
but not to lord it over them,” he
advised.
Chief Supt Boampong gave the
advice when he addressed police
personnel of the Suame District of the
Police at its annual thanksgiving and
recognition ceremony.
He expressed the need for a good
rapport to be established between the
police and the general public to
enhance standardised policing.
“The public should not see us as
monsters but partners in combating
crime,” he added and urged the public
to respect men in uniform.
The Suame District Commander,
Supt. Prince Jude Cobbinah, explained
that the motive behind the programme
was to thank God for his protection in
•David Asante-Appeatu, IGP
2017 and ushering them into 2018
peacefully.
He pointed out that crime level
within the Suame district in 2017
reduced compared to 2016.
He indicated that no serious crime
cases were recorded by the district
during the last quarter of 2017 and
expressed the hope the trend would
continue to create a congenial
atmosphere for the people to go about
their business uninterrupted.
According to him, all reported
criminal cases recorded by the Suame
district were thoroughly investigated
and those found incriminated were put
before the courts.
“In 2018, the Suame district of the
police would liaise with the regional
command and the national
headquarters of the police as well as
other security agencies to fight crime to
the barest level,” he said.
“I crave your
indulgence as
personnel within an
organisation whose
motto is ‘Service
with Integrity’ to
show indelible
behaviours to
portray you as the
true servants of the
public but not to lord
it over them,” he
advised.
Journalists not interested
in RTI bill — GJA
BY LOIS DOGBE - INTERN GIJ
FOLLOWING THE justended
President’s
encounter with the media
held at the Banquet Hall of
the Flagstaff House on
Wednesday, January 17,
2018, the president of the Ghana
Journalists Association (GJA), Mr
Roland Affail Monney, has lashed out
at journalists for not being interested
in the Right to Information Bill
(RTI).
According to him, journalists failed
to take advantage of the encounter
with President Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo to ask about the RTI
bill.
He, however, said he was
impressed with some questions asked
the President which were based on
the economy, security, health and
corruption that affect everybody in
the country.
“Before I state whether I’m happy
BY OSEI OWUSU AMANKWAA
REGISTERED SMALL-SCALE
Miners in the country have stated that
collectively, they have lost some $551
million as a result of the ban on
small-scale mining activities.
The Ghana National Association
of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM)
says the figure is bound to go up if
measures are not taken to lift the ban.
The General Secretary of the
association, Mr Godwin Armah,
explained that “this includes steel
maintenance, underground
dewatering, equipment ideal time and
man hours.”
He added that about four million
people are being affected by the
continued ban on small scale mining.
The ban, which was imposed early
last year as part of the fight against
galamsey, is yet to be lifted.
The October 2017 timeline given
with the encounter or not, first let me
say I’m impressed with some relevant
questions, but some journalists asked
amateur questions.
“ [At] Such a high profile event,
one would have expected more, since
not everybody gets the opportunity to
speak to the President of the country,
so if God grants such opportunities,
you should have researched and done
your home work. The White’s would
say only a good product sells itself,”
he told Adom FM in an interview.
He added that earlier that day he
listened to a programme hosted by
Effia Pokuah on Adom FM , in which
a panellist said Ghanaian journalists
had scored zero over 10, in terms of
asking relevant questions.
“I listened to a commentary by a
professor and he said market women
would have done better than
journalists, and I agree with him,” he
said.
“In my candid opinion the high
questions were more than the low
questions, but because of the way
most were framed, all questions were
seen to be amateur but I believe
journalists did not score zero at all;
some asked intelligent questions but
framing them was their problem,” he
stated.
“Everybody has got a field of
specialization. When we come to the
field, there are good reporters who
might be poor in questioning and
vice-versa, so in asking people to go
out there, one must be sure to be
armed,” he added.
RTI bill
On the RTI bill, Mr Monney said
“we belong to the Coalition of the
Rights to Information, for 17 years
we have had problem with Parliament
having to assent that bill into law.
“It’s not only for journalists but
for everybody. It will help us because
if anything beats our understanding
one can get the information he wants.
Questions on the Right to
Information bill would have covered
the mediocre ones,” he said.
Compensate small-scale miners over $551m loss – Dr Graham
•Dr Yao Graham, General Secretary, Ghana National Association
of Small-Scale Miners
by the government was
extended by three months,
prompting protest by the
GNASSM. The GNASSM
says legal small-scale
mining firms are being
unduly punished.
The association made
this known at a Third
World Network’s
roundtable discussion with
journalists and stakeholders
on the role of artisanal and
small-scale mining on the
Ghanaian economy.
Speaking to Starr
Business’s Osei Owusu
Amankwaah, Coordinator
at the Third World
Network, Dr Yao Graham,
said the government must
compensate legally
registered small-scale
miners for the losses they
had incurred during the
period of the ban.
“I think that the
•Affail Monney, GJA President
government should pay the legal
miners whose businesses have been
damaged compensation. They should
be compensated by being treated
through political fiat; nobody
investigated if they have done
anything wrong, but their businesses
have been damaged.”
He wants the government to show
more concern about protecting local
business. He noted that since the ban
only expatriates owning big mining
firms have the right to trade in gold
business.
“So you see our politicians on the
front pages everyday shaking hands
with foreign investors; they are
destroying the business of locals.
That is not good. Nobody has found
anything against them; it is a blanket
political ban which is destroying their
business because of what illegal
miners are doing.”
He noted that many legal smallscale
miners are afraid to speak on the
matter due to the negative image of
the sector.
GITMO 2 now
Ghana’s
responsibility
– Govt
BY MOHAMMED AWAL
THE FOREIGN Affairs
Minister, Shirley Ayorkor
Botchwey, has revealed that
the ex-GITMO 2 detainees
will remain in Ghana despite
the expiration of their stay in
the country.
The Supreme Court last
year declared as
unconstitutional the admission
of the two — Mahmud Umar
Muhammad Bin Atef and
Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-
Dhuby – to the country by the
then Mahama administration.
The decision to host the
detainees in Ghana provoked a
firestorm of controversy and
outrage among Ghanaians,
with many expressing fear that
the move would undermine
Ghana’s internal security and
expose the country to attacks
from religious extremists.
A seven-member Supreme
Court panel, presided over by
Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo,
by a six to one (6 -1) majority
decision said the two are
illegally staying in the country
since the then government
allowed them into the country
without Parliamentary
approval.
The consequential order of
the court was that the
government should within
three months subject the
agreement to parliamentary
consideration and approval or
in default return the two exdetainees.
Speaking on the floor of
Parliament yesterday in the
wake of Minority’s accusation
of the government of
disrespecting the orders of the
Supreme Court, Madam
Ayorkor Botchwey said there
was no exit arrangement in the
agreement entered into by the
Mahama administration and
the United States (US)
concerning the duo.
“It is to be noted that no
exit arrangements were
originally discussed between
the two governments to end
the bilateral arrangement at the
time of negotiation. The US
has also been clear in our
discussions with them that per
the agreement, returning them
to the US is not an option
open to discussion or
negotiation,” she told
Parliament.
“This means that all
obligations relating to the two
subjects [have] now become
the responsibility of Ghana,”
she added.
•Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Foreign Affairs Minister