Kuntanase (Ash), Nov. 13, GNA - The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bosomtwe Constituency, Mr Simon Osei-Mensah, has called on politicians to ensure some level integrity prevailed in their electioneering campaign.   He said there was the need to do away with the mischief, falsehood and deliberate lies and be truthful and sincere to voters.   Mr Osei-Mensah said this when speaking at a press conference in Kuntanase to respond to the chicanery and deception being perpetuated by some political activists.   He said he found distasteful, the desperate attempts by the members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to claim credit for development projects initiated in the area by the Kufuor Administration.   Mr Osei-Mensah enumerated numerous projects he has helped to bring to the Constituency, citing among them, a three-storey girl’s dormitory at the Jachie-Pramso Senior High School (SHS) and the construction of another three storey block of flats to accommodate teachers.   He said there was not a single community in the area that had not benefited from his share of the MPs Common Fund over the last eight years and vowed to continue to be open, transparent and accountable to the people.   GNA...

President John Dramani Mahama has announced that government would in the coming years eliminate the use of kerosene in communities by providing electricity.

Accra, Nov. 13, GNA - Mr Edward Gyamerah, Assistant Commissioner of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), has reminded the public that one cannot operate a business without registering it with the Commissioner General.   "If you fail to register, you are not complying with the law, and enforcement measures could be applied against you," he said.   Mr Gyamerah said this at the Ghana Tax Justice Coalition stake-holders tax forum held in Accra on Tuesday.   It was under the theme: "Ghana's Tax Policy Environment: What Direction, Successes and Challenges?"    Touching further on taxation in the country, he said a number of factors made it difficult to enforce the country's taxation laws.   "Delays in the prosecution of tax offenders, difficulty in accessing locations of illegal businesses, and other challenges make enforcement quite challenging."   Mr Gyamerah said some solutions to the problem were the establishment of a tax court, the intensification of education on taxation, and immense collaboration between tax collection agencies within the country.   Mr Yakubu Seidu, Chief Revenue Officer at the Customs Division of the GRA, said: "It is unfortunate that whilst we want provision of hospitals, roads and other modern amenities, some of us still want to avoid paying our taxes."   He said taxation formed quite a bulk of government revenue and added that it was thus very important to ensure that all taxation outlets were fully utilized. "I urge all Ghanaians not to connive with smugglers to deny the country its due."   Mr Seidu cautioned importers that it was not possible for anyone at the ports to divert their goods in order to help them evade tax.   He said:  "The law makes it mandatory for all carriers to declare all goods on board. We would definitely trace and locate your goods because by the time the diversion is done, we know about their existence already."   Mr Sulemana Koney, a director at the Ghana Chamber of Mines, said one key means of broadening the tax net was to formalize all forms of mining in order to have those mining activities taxed.   He said the importance was seen clearly when note was taken of the fact that 80 to 90 percent of small scale mining was from the illegal mining industry.   GNA...

Mrs Justice Georgina T. Wood, Chief Justice has reassured that the courts were more composed to deal decisively with election-related disputes that would emanate from the upcoming December general elections.

Kumasi, Nov. 13, GNA – Alhaji Moctar Bamba, National Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said his party would be sincere to Ghanaians and deliver on its electoral promises.   The free Senior High School (SHS) policy was not just a campaign tool to win power but that it would indeed be implemented, if given the mandate to govern on December 7, he said.   He called on the people, particularly the Zongo communities, to ignore the ugly noise and desperate attempts by the political opponents of the NPP to make them to believe that this was not possible.   We have done our research and calculations and had no doubt that the nation has enough resources to make the free SHS education possible, Alhaji Bamba said when addressing a rally at Aboabo Number Two in the Asawasi Constituency, in Kumasi, on Tuesday.   He appealed to the gathering to vote massively for the NPP to help bring down the high rate of illiteracy and poverty, plaguing the Zongos.   He said the NPP would improve on the Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP), National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), School Feeding Programme and National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) introduced by the Kufuor Administration.   Alhaji Bamba an NPP government would salvage those safety nets that were collapsing under the watch of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and accused the NDC of bad management of the economy, which had led to widespread suffering.   Nana Okyere Tawiah Antwi, the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for area, called on the party’s supporters to step up their house-to-house campaign to assist the people to have better understanding of the party’s manifesto and win them over.   GNA...

Accra, Nov. 13, GNA – The National Democratic Congress (NDC) said it would review the Criminal Offences Act to define corruption to encompass all corruption-related offences.   “All offences that fall under the scope of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, will be captured,” the NDC stated in its Election 2012 Manifesto obtained by the Ghana News Agency in Accra.   It added: “Regulations under the Public Officers’ Liability Act will be enacted in order to give legal force to the Guidelines on Conflict of Interest and the Code of Conduct for Public Officers prepared by the CHRAJ”.   “The next NDC administration would amend the Public Procurement Act to make it more user-friendly and capable of dealing with corruption in public procurement and regulations under the Act brought into force”.   According to the NDC it intends to revamp the internal audit system under a revised Internal Audit Agency Act to make it more effective to combat corruption and wastage, adding; “Financial Administration Tribunal will be established and begin operation within the first year of the next NDC Government”.   The NDC said it would strictly enforce the Mutual Legal Assistance Act of 2010 to deal with cross-border corruption.      The party seeks to trumpet its aim at fighting corruption to attract votes as it intensified its quest to retain power pledged its commitment and steadfast in combating political corruption and immorality in the Ghanaian society when its mandate is renewed to steer national affairs for the next four years.   The party assured Ghanaians that the next NDC Government would revise Accra re-development policy to provide coherent and transparent guidelines on the acquisition of public lands.   The NDC would set up a Committee of Enquiry to investigate untoward public land dealings in the past and sanction all those who, through fraudulent means, cheated the nation, the NDC said.   The manifesto dubbed: “Advancing the Better Ghana Agenda,” noted that under President John Dramani Mahama, the next NDC administration would empower the sole Commissioner to continue to investigate all disputed judgment debts and financial settlements against the state and action taken to retrieve monies wrongfully paid out from the Consolidated Fund.   “The next NDC Administration will implement the Freedom of Information Act….the transparency and accountability record of the NDC Government has been sterling,” it said.   According to the party its position on corruption for Election 2012 hinges on what the party claims it has been “able to achieve in the last four years based on promises it made to Ghanaians in 2008”.   The party said whereas it has appointed a substantive Commissioner and a substantive second Deputy Commissioner to strengthen the Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the NDC Government in conjunction with key stakeholders has launched a National Anti-Corruption Action Plan.   The NDC Government has established guidelines for the payment of judgment debts and monetary awards based on out-of-court settlements.   “The Serious Fraud Office has been re-organised into the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) with an expanded legal framework;   The NDC said that the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) regulations has been ratified; the Petroleum Revenue Management Act has also provided an open and transparent system for disclosure and monitoring of petroleum revenues while the Public Interest and Accountability Committee was functioning effectively.   On narcotic terrorism, the NDC said it acknowledged that more effort was needed to ensure that the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) deals effectively and efficiently with the drug menace.   The next NDC Government has therefore proposed to intensify demand reduction and supply reduction methods of dealing with narcotic drugs as well as empower NACOB to undertake campaigns to create awareness about the effects of drugs.      It was again established that NDC government would make NACOB a security agency to enable it to collaborate effectively with the other security agencies in dealing with drug traffickers.   The NDC would also pursue the programme for legislative conversion of NACOB into an autonomous Commission, and establish drug rehabilitation centres for treatment, rehabilitation and re-integration into society of drug addicts.   It said: “various reports by international drug enforcement agencies indicate a significant decline in drug trafficking from Ghana”.   The NDC therefore declares that the next NDC administration would “Revive the Alternative Development Programme as a means of reducing or eliminating the cultivation of cannabis in the country”.   GNA...

Kumasi, Nov. 13, GNA – International artiste, B Clay, on Monday released his latest single, “Orphan”, to rave reviews in New York, United States,   A release mailed to the Ghana News Agency by the Akwaaba Media said “Orphan” is about the pain of a child in his daily struggles and its deep yearning for a parent’s warm embrace.   It said the concern of B Clay and many others on the unfortunate plight of children, who have lost their parents, has been a deep-seated one.   The release said during his childhood days in Ghana, one of the close friends of the artiste had the unpleasant and dreaded experience of becoming orphaned and the shared pain, it added, inspired B Clay to write the song.      “After witnessing firsthand, the effects (both physically and mentally) of a child losing both parents, I decided to stand in solidarity with all the orphans of the world through the song”, B Clay said.   Orphan is available on the iTunes and many other online music stores.   GNA...

Accra, Nov. 13, GNA – Emmanuel “Game Boy” Tagoe, World Boxing Association (WBA) International Lightweight Champion, has agreed to offer George “Red Tiger Ashie, a rematch if only he will fight in the Super Featherweight division.   Tagoe, who defeated Ashie with a majority decision in a hotly contested bout to win the WBA International Lightweight title in the early hours of Sunday, said he is ready to fight Ashie, but not prepared to go up in weight again.   Tagoe, who now boast of 21 fights, with eight knock outs and a loss, told the GNA Sports in an interview that, he was compelled to fight in the Lightweight division because of Ashie.   He noted “If he wants a rematch, then he should be prepared to fight me in the Super Featherweight division”.   “I went to his level to defeat him and so if he wants a rematch, he should be prepared to fight in the Super Featherweight division. If he is not ready to fight in my division, then he should forget about a rematch.” Tagoe stated.   Tagoe recalled, he once invited Ashie to fight in the Featherweight division, but the light skin boxer declined, adding that he extended a similar invitation to him when he moved up to the Super Featherweight but was turned down by Ashie.   “After beating him last Sunday in his own weight, I was convinced that I am the best on the local scene and there is no need to fight him again.   “My major focus now is to vie for the world title and I’m looking forward to that opportunity to make my case known on the international scene.   “I am ready to face the best in the world, because I believe that I can be a world champion in the shortest possible time.” Tagoe stated.   Tagoe’s condition, could shatter the dreams of Ashie in seeking a rematch, as the later might not be interested in coming down in weight.   Ashie, it will be recalled complained of cheating after the match, claiming he was the clear winner but was denied the fight by the judges and promoters of the event.   Last Sunday’s bout was touted as one of the best on the local scene after the famous Smith Odoom/Raymond Narh, ten years ago, which attracted a similar huge attendance.   The two boxers were touted as the best on the local scene following their impressive fight records as well as their style.   GNA...

Accra, Nov. 13, GNA – The 2012 National Best Farmer won on merit, Dr Kinsley Taah, Team Leader for the Best Farmer Selection Team said on Tuesday and debunked some media speculation of political favoritism.   The National Best Farmer deserved the award, and was selected based on the criteria set by the team through inspection of all 30 nominated farmers’ enterprise across the 10 regions as well as administration of a structured interview, he said.   Dr Taah, a representative of the School of Agriculture, University of Cape Coast, explained at a press conference in Accra that the National Best Farmer selection was done at three levels, the district, regional and national levels.   He said the district team was asked to investigate and present a list of potential farmers in the district, and the regional team was also to scrutinize and present the final list of three nominees from each region to the national team.   Dr Taah said the selection process was in two phases; the inspection exercise; which was done to verify what farmers had told the selection team, and the interview section; where farmers earned marks for correctly responding to each question.     Dr Taah said during the inspection exercise each selected farmer had to show all his enterprises, including crop farms, beehives, fishpond, and livestock to the team.   He said after the observatory inspection, the team conducted an interview where the farmers showed bio data, diversification of farming operation crops, scale of operation crops, environmental awareness and environmental friendly practice, major farming constrains and innovative solutions.   During the interview session each farmer had to demonstrate his or her record keeping, adoption of improved technologies in crop and animal agriculture, role of farmers in the community, farmers comment on local and national agriculture and general impression of farmer on farms.   Dr Taah said the selection of the finalist was based on collation of the final scores using an excel spreadsheet to compute the mean mark.   The marks is then ranked and the contesting farmer with the highest mean score, followed by the one with the second highest mean score and the third highest mean score were recommended to the ministry, while the highest ranked contesting farmer in each region then become the regional best farmers.   Dr Taah noted that the team did its work without prejudice and to the best of their abilities, saying “the 2012 National Best Farmer went through the process and qualified to win”.   The 2012 National Best Farmer Selection Team consist of acclaimed scholars representing various institutions led by Dr Taah, Dr Frederick Obese, College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, University of  Ghana;  Dr Elias Sowley, Faculty of Agriculture, University for Development Studies, Tamale; and Dr Henry Asumadu, Crops Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Fumesua, Kumasi.   The 2012 National Best Farmer was the 2005 Dangbe West District best rice farmer, 2006 Greater Accra Regional Best rice farmer and 2007 overall district farmer.   Thirty-Eight year old Mr Lemuel Kwashie Martey of Mannah Farms Limited in Accra was on Friday, November 2nd adjudged as the 2012 National Best Farmer.   For his prize, he will have a three-bedroom fully furnished house and a pick-up vehicle.   The 28th edition of the Farmers' Day celebrations took place at Abokobi in the Ga East District of Accra.   The theme for this year’s Farmers Day was: “Grow more Food: Strengthening Farmer Based Organizations for Market Place Bargaining Power”.   GNA...

Nsawkaw (B/A), Nov. 13, GNA – Mr Edward Gyamfi, Tain District Electoral Officer, has appealed to religious bodies to use their pulpit to educate the electorate on the need for peace during the coming polls.        “We need to use the pulpit as the medium to educate the electorate against violence during Election 2012,” he said.        Mr Gyamfi made the appeal after activists and sympathizers of the political parties in the district had undertaken a peace-walk and clean-up exercise as part of activities marking the 90th anniversary celebration of Nsawkaw Methodist Church at Nsawkaw.  The celebration was on the theme: “90 Years of Methodist in Nsawkaw, Achievements, Challenges and Prospects”.        Reverend Kofi Annan-Bennett, Minister-in-Charge of the church, called on politicians to refrain from using intemperate language and educate the electorate on their vision, policies and programmes when voted into power.        “Ghana has experienced peaceful elections since 1992 and Election 2012 should follow the same pattern for Ghanaians to live in peace,” he said.        Mr Osei Owusu, NPP Tain Constituency Co-ordinator, gave the assurance that the NPP would conduct its campaign in peace without any acrimony whiles the  NDC  Constituency Chairman, Mr John K. Abebrese, commended the church for undertaking the peace walk and clean up exercise that brought all the political parties together.        Rev Annan-Bennett later presented detergents, fruits, bed sheets and pillow cases valued at GH¢1,000 to the Tain Government Hospital as part of the celebration.        GNA...

Accra, Nov. 13, GNA - Dangme East District, Ada emerged the ultimate winner of the 7th Greater Accra Coordinating Council (RCC) Inter-Districts Sports Festival organized by the Greater Accra Regional Sports Authority at Ada Senior High School and Gorm Basic Schools respectively in Ada, Greater Accra.   The three-day Sports Festival, which was under the theme, “Peace and Unity through Sports for a Better Ghana” saw the Dangbe East District winning five gold medals, to beat Accra Metro who had four gold medals  to second position, whilst Ashaiman District had three gold medals to win the third place.   The event was used to unearth new sports talents and also select a nucleus of the regional team, for the Greater Accra Region ahead of the 2013 National Unity Games, saw Adentan District placing fourth with Tema Metro, Ga West, Dangme West, Ga East,  Ledzokuku, Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) and Ga South following in that order.       In all, over 800 Athletes and officials participated in the three-day sports fiesta sponsored by the RCC, competed in Football, Athletics, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Basketball, Netball and Handball.   For the first time in the history of the sports festival, all ten Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) under the Greater Accra Region participated.    They included; Accra Metro, Tema Metro, Dangme East, Ga West, Ga South, Ashiaman, Ga East, Dangme West , Adentan and LEKMA.   GNA...