From Joe Okyere, Cape Coast.
MOTOR cycles given to teachers by the Ministry of Education to alleviate their difficulties in commuting to school are hanging like albatross on their necks.
The reason being apart from the irregular monthly deductions from their salaries, almost a year into the deal, the beneficiaries face the wrath of the police each time they ventured into town.
According to a number of the beneficiaries The Mirror spoke to, even though the Ministry promised to register the bikes for them, the promise has not been honoured.
Aside that, they could also not take insurance policies for the bikes, thus exposing them to risks in case they were involved in an accident.
They said the situation has pit them against the police who insisted that they could not use the bikes without registration numbers and insurance.
They said thieves had also taken advantage of their situation to steal the bikes.
According to them, they were told that a bike costs GH¢960.00 and that GH¢15.00 would be deducted from their salaries each month but the deductions had fluctuated with some of them being deducted GH¢66.00 a month.
They said no tangible explanation had been given and each time they went to the Ministry to find out, the only answer they got was that the anomaly would be rectified.
Owing to these problems, they could neither claim motor cycle maintenance nor fuel allowance.
Some of the beneficiaries expressed dismay at the way issues were being handled and expressed regret for taking the bikes.
They therefore called on the Ministry to step up efforts to remedy the situation.
When contacted, the Central Regional Budget Officer, Mr Robert Mensah, who doubles as acting officer in-charge of Finance and Administration said it was the Ministry of Education’s Logistics outfit which could clarify the situation.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
SWEDRU CUT OFF BY FLOODS (SPREAD, JUNE 24, 2010)
THREE bridges connecting the Agona Swedru municipality to neighbouring communities have collapsed as a result of the flooding of the area last Sunday.
The situation has compelled residents of and travellers to the municipality to join long queues at both ends of the River Akora to commute between the eastern and the western ends of the municipality.
Travellers from Swedru to Accra, Winneba, Cape Coast, Sekondi-Takoradi and beyond have to make a detour through either Bawjiase and Kasoa or Breman Asikuma and Mankessim.
Electricity supply has also been cut throughout the municipality and its environs as a result of the flooding, while commercial activities have seriously been affected.
Even walking from one end of the town to the other is a problem, as policemen, who serve as guides, have to assist people who walk across the collapsed Akora Bridge on the main Swedru-Winneba Junction-Accra road.
Many buildings, electric poles and cables, property such as vehicles and personal belongings estimated at several millions of Ghana cedis have been destroyed by the floods, which were unprecedented in the history of the town.
During a visit by the Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, to some of the affected communities last Tuesday, some of the residents who spoke to the Daily Graphic said they had been devastated by the floods.
The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has temporarily accommodated over 1,500 flood victims from Zabon Zongo at the Agona Swedru Town Hall.
Several houses were also destroyed at Adawukwa, while rice and vegetable farms at the Okyereko Irrigation site were completely submerged.
Also submerged was Tekyem, a village near Awombrew in the Gomoa East District, whose residents were evacuated by the National Emergency and Rapid Response Unit of NADMO.
The displaced people are currently lodging in the primary and junior high schools and the Presbyterian Church at Awombrew.
Mrs Benyiwa-Doe blamed the flooding on lawlessness, lack of planning and monitoring in settlements and urged district and municipal assemblies to step up efforts to address the chaotic situation.
She consoled the victims, but praised them for saving the lives of some of the people trapped in vehicles that were swept away by the floods.
The chief of Agona Swedru, Nana Kobina Botwe II, called for immediate steps to reconstruct the main bridge over the Akora River which was built in 1920.
The Omanhen of the Nyakrom Traditional Area, Nana Nyarko Eku, urged the government to take the necessary remedial steps to bring relief to the people in the affected communities.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency and Rapid Response Unit, the 48 Engineers Regiment and NADMO are monitoring and assessing the situation to bring relief to the displaced people.
The situation has compelled residents of and travellers to the municipality to join long queues at both ends of the River Akora to commute between the eastern and the western ends of the municipality.
Travellers from Swedru to Accra, Winneba, Cape Coast, Sekondi-Takoradi and beyond have to make a detour through either Bawjiase and Kasoa or Breman Asikuma and Mankessim.
Electricity supply has also been cut throughout the municipality and its environs as a result of the flooding, while commercial activities have seriously been affected.
Even walking from one end of the town to the other is a problem, as policemen, who serve as guides, have to assist people who walk across the collapsed Akora Bridge on the main Swedru-Winneba Junction-Accra road.
Many buildings, electric poles and cables, property such as vehicles and personal belongings estimated at several millions of Ghana cedis have been destroyed by the floods, which were unprecedented in the history of the town.
During a visit by the Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, to some of the affected communities last Tuesday, some of the residents who spoke to the Daily Graphic said they had been devastated by the floods.
The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has temporarily accommodated over 1,500 flood victims from Zabon Zongo at the Agona Swedru Town Hall.
Several houses were also destroyed at Adawukwa, while rice and vegetable farms at the Okyereko Irrigation site were completely submerged.
Also submerged was Tekyem, a village near Awombrew in the Gomoa East District, whose residents were evacuated by the National Emergency and Rapid Response Unit of NADMO.
The displaced people are currently lodging in the primary and junior high schools and the Presbyterian Church at Awombrew.
Mrs Benyiwa-Doe blamed the flooding on lawlessness, lack of planning and monitoring in settlements and urged district and municipal assemblies to step up efforts to address the chaotic situation.
She consoled the victims, but praised them for saving the lives of some of the people trapped in vehicles that were swept away by the floods.
The chief of Agona Swedru, Nana Kobina Botwe II, called for immediate steps to reconstruct the main bridge over the Akora River which was built in 1920.
The Omanhen of the Nyakrom Traditional Area, Nana Nyarko Eku, urged the government to take the necessary remedial steps to bring relief to the people in the affected communities.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency and Rapid Response Unit, the 48 Engineers Regiment and NADMO are monitoring and assessing the situation to bring relief to the displaced people.
Friday, June 11, 2010
CAPE COAST COUNCIL OF LABOUR CALLS FOR REVIEW OF TARIFFS (PAGE 51, JUNE 11, 2010)
THE Cape Coast Metropolitan Council of Labour has added its voice to the call by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for the immediate review of the tariffs on electricity and water which were recently announced by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
This was contained in the resolution signed by the Chairman of the Metropolitan Council of Labour, Mr J. M. Aggrey, and the Secretary, Mr B. A. Brown, after a meeting in Cape Coast yesterday.
The resolution, which reviewed the high cost of living in relation to the woefully inadequate 10 per cent salary increase announced by the government and the recent high tariff increases, said the increases would negatively affect workers and the people.
It, therefore, expressed its solidarity with the TUC in rejecting the increases and called on the PURC to, as a matter of urgency, review the tariffs, in consultation with stakeholders, including the government.
The resolution said the council expected that the consultation would begin immediately and that the PURC should announce the downward review by the end of next week.
This was contained in the resolution signed by the Chairman of the Metropolitan Council of Labour, Mr J. M. Aggrey, and the Secretary, Mr B. A. Brown, after a meeting in Cape Coast yesterday.
The resolution, which reviewed the high cost of living in relation to the woefully inadequate 10 per cent salary increase announced by the government and the recent high tariff increases, said the increases would negatively affect workers and the people.
It, therefore, expressed its solidarity with the TUC in rejecting the increases and called on the PURC to, as a matter of urgency, review the tariffs, in consultation with stakeholders, including the government.
The resolution said the council expected that the consultation would begin immediately and that the PURC should announce the downward review by the end of next week.
Friday, June 4, 2010
PROJECT TO BENEFIT 20 TRADITIONAL AREAS (MIRROR, PAGE 34, JUNE 5, 2010)
From Joe Okyere, Nyankumasi Ahenkro
Twenty traditional areas throughout the country have been selected for the first phase of validation workshops on Ascertainment and Codification of Customary Law Project (ACLP).
Under the project, two traditional areas each from the regions are benefiting from the workshop to validate responses gathered in the traditional area during a field research conducted between June and July 2009.
A team of researchers conducted interviews with paramount chiefs, divisional chiefs, female traditional leaders, indigenous and settler farmers as well as people with disability, land-related institutional heads and other local informants, within the period indicated above.
The ACLP is a joint research project established by the National House of Chiefs and the Law reform Commission with support from the German Development Co-operation (GTZ).
Speaking to the press during one of the workshops for chiefs from the Assin Atandanso Traditional Area at Nyankumasi Ahenkro in the Assin South District, the Executive Secretary of the ACLP, Mrs. Sheilla Minkah-Premo, said two traditional areas each from the regions were selected for the first phase of the project and that 1600 traditional areas would benefit later.
Mrs. Minkah-Premo said the workshop is the 10th in the series and that the Eguafo Traditional area in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality is the other beneficiary from the Central Region.
The purpose of ACLP is the ascertainment and codification of the customary law rules and practices on land and family in the country.
She said it was obvious that even though customary law was an important source of law in Ghana, what constitutes customary law in a particular community was not always clear.
She said the impact of this uncertainty was most prominent and evident in two areas of law which affected the most significant facets of national life in the country; family law and land law.
She said the final output of the project would make use of land and family law certain and thus would assist in the settlement of disputes and bring more transparency in land transactions which would aid development.
The Executive Secretary said land transactions in Ghana are beset with conflicts between the customary practices, rules and norms on the one hand, and the formal and statutory law on the other.
Customary lands, which include lands owned by stools, skins, clans, families, tendamba, etc form a significant percentage of all lands in Ghana and that this state of affairs reinforces the need for the ascertainment and codification of customary law rules applicable to particular communities in the country.
According to her the project represents the very first initiative taken towards the fulfilment of the constitutional mandate given to the National House of Chiefs to undertake the progressive study, interpretation and codification of customary law with a view to evolving, in appropriate cases, a unified system of rules of customary law in Article 272(b) of the !992 Constitution.
The Law Reform Commission, a key partner in the project, also has the statutory mandate to promote law reform in Ghana and review all the laws, both statutory and otherwise, with a view to facilitate its systematic development and reform.
A Director of Research, Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture and a member of JSC who is also the representative of the National House of Chiefs, Dr. H.S. Daannaa, who spoke at the function, called for reconciliation between state law and taboos.
Dr. Daannaa commended the chiefs for their enthusiasm in the workshop since it would help in land acquisition, marriage, among others, and assist in solving most of the associated problems and contribute to development.
Twenty traditional areas throughout the country have been selected for the first phase of validation workshops on Ascertainment and Codification of Customary Law Project (ACLP).
Under the project, two traditional areas each from the regions are benefiting from the workshop to validate responses gathered in the traditional area during a field research conducted between June and July 2009.
A team of researchers conducted interviews with paramount chiefs, divisional chiefs, female traditional leaders, indigenous and settler farmers as well as people with disability, land-related institutional heads and other local informants, within the period indicated above.
The ACLP is a joint research project established by the National House of Chiefs and the Law reform Commission with support from the German Development Co-operation (GTZ).
Speaking to the press during one of the workshops for chiefs from the Assin Atandanso Traditional Area at Nyankumasi Ahenkro in the Assin South District, the Executive Secretary of the ACLP, Mrs. Sheilla Minkah-Premo, said two traditional areas each from the regions were selected for the first phase of the project and that 1600 traditional areas would benefit later.
Mrs. Minkah-Premo said the workshop is the 10th in the series and that the Eguafo Traditional area in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality is the other beneficiary from the Central Region.
The purpose of ACLP is the ascertainment and codification of the customary law rules and practices on land and family in the country.
She said it was obvious that even though customary law was an important source of law in Ghana, what constitutes customary law in a particular community was not always clear.
She said the impact of this uncertainty was most prominent and evident in two areas of law which affected the most significant facets of national life in the country; family law and land law.
She said the final output of the project would make use of land and family law certain and thus would assist in the settlement of disputes and bring more transparency in land transactions which would aid development.
The Executive Secretary said land transactions in Ghana are beset with conflicts between the customary practices, rules and norms on the one hand, and the formal and statutory law on the other.
Customary lands, which include lands owned by stools, skins, clans, families, tendamba, etc form a significant percentage of all lands in Ghana and that this state of affairs reinforces the need for the ascertainment and codification of customary law rules applicable to particular communities in the country.
According to her the project represents the very first initiative taken towards the fulfilment of the constitutional mandate given to the National House of Chiefs to undertake the progressive study, interpretation and codification of customary law with a view to evolving, in appropriate cases, a unified system of rules of customary law in Article 272(b) of the !992 Constitution.
The Law Reform Commission, a key partner in the project, also has the statutory mandate to promote law reform in Ghana and review all the laws, both statutory and otherwise, with a view to facilitate its systematic development and reform.
A Director of Research, Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture and a member of JSC who is also the representative of the National House of Chiefs, Dr. H.S. Daannaa, who spoke at the function, called for reconciliation between state law and taboos.
Dr. Daannaa commended the chiefs for their enthusiasm in the workshop since it would help in land acquisition, marriage, among others, and assist in solving most of the associated problems and contribute to development.
CHIEF JUSTICE DEPLORES CONDITION OF COURTS (MIRROR, PAGE 34, MIRROR, JUNE 4, 2010)
From Joe Okyere, Assin Fosu
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, has deplored the poor conditions of some of the Lower courts in the country and commended magistrates, judges and staff for working under such non-conducive environment.
She said conditions at most of the lower courts in the country are deplorable which need the collective effort of all stakeholders and assemblies to address.
Speaking after visiting the Magistrate Court at Assin Fosu to assess the condition at the court, Mrs Wood said she was, however, encouraged by the efforts of the Magistrate, Mr Joseph Blay, to get a new court complex built to house the dilapidated one.
It would be recalled that a snake emerged from the ceiling of the court last month during proceedings, creating confusion in the courtroom.
She said the conditions at the old structure are not the best and that it could not pass for a place where justice is dispensed.
Commenting on the new complex under construction, the Chief Justice said when completed, the court would be upgraded to a circuit court and possibly, a high court would be created to bring justice to the door step of the people to save aggrieve persons from travelling to Cape Coast.
Mrs Wood urged the people to take advantage of the alternative dispute resolution to resolve their differences and avoid long litigation.
An Appeal Court Judge with oversight responsibility for the courts in the Central region, Mr Samuel Marful-Sau, who accompanied the Chief Justice, advised the people to educate their children to enable them to become useful citizens in the society.
He advised them to avoid instance justice and uphold the principle of rule law for peace and development of the country.
The District Chief Executive for Assign South, Ms Sabina Appiah-Kubi, said the assembly would rehabilitate the old court building at Nyankumasi Ahenkro to serve as a court for the district, which has no court.
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, has deplored the poor conditions of some of the Lower courts in the country and commended magistrates, judges and staff for working under such non-conducive environment.
She said conditions at most of the lower courts in the country are deplorable which need the collective effort of all stakeholders and assemblies to address.
Speaking after visiting the Magistrate Court at Assin Fosu to assess the condition at the court, Mrs Wood said she was, however, encouraged by the efforts of the Magistrate, Mr Joseph Blay, to get a new court complex built to house the dilapidated one.
It would be recalled that a snake emerged from the ceiling of the court last month during proceedings, creating confusion in the courtroom.
She said the conditions at the old structure are not the best and that it could not pass for a place where justice is dispensed.
Commenting on the new complex under construction, the Chief Justice said when completed, the court would be upgraded to a circuit court and possibly, a high court would be created to bring justice to the door step of the people to save aggrieve persons from travelling to Cape Coast.
Mrs Wood urged the people to take advantage of the alternative dispute resolution to resolve their differences and avoid long litigation.
An Appeal Court Judge with oversight responsibility for the courts in the Central region, Mr Samuel Marful-Sau, who accompanied the Chief Justice, advised the people to educate their children to enable them to become useful citizens in the society.
He advised them to avoid instance justice and uphold the principle of rule law for peace and development of the country.
The District Chief Executive for Assign South, Ms Sabina Appiah-Kubi, said the assembly would rehabilitate the old court building at Nyankumasi Ahenkro to serve as a court for the district, which has no court.
BARBER DEFILES GIRL, 12 (MIRROR, PAGE 27, JUNE 5, 2010)
From Joe Okyere, Cape Coast.
A THIRTY-EIGHT-YEAR-OLD barber at Saltpond, Joseph Acquah, aka Kwame Attah, who thought he could do ‘an afternoon jump’ with a 12-year-old pupil is in the grip of the law after his unholy enjoyment.
Acquah who admitted defiling the girl in his caution statement, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared before the circuit court presided over by Mr. Justice Asiedu Badu.
He was therefore remanded into prison custody for two weeks.
According to the prosecutor, Inspector Daniel Agbezuhlor, Acquah took advantage of the absence of the victim’s grandmother, lured her into the grandmother’s bedroom and defiled her.
Inspector Agbezuhlor told the court that on February 27 this year, Acquah went to a drinking bar owned by the victim’s grandmother who had travelled to Kormantse to attend a funeral.
Inspector Agbezuhlor said the accused met the girl holding a loaf of bread which had been left in her care for her grandmother.
He said the accused allegedly advised the girl to take the loaf to a safe place in her grandmother’s bedroom but followed her to the bedroom and defiled her.
He said the screams of the teenager during the act attracted people who thought the teen was being beaten by her elder sister.
The victim narrated her ordeal to her grandmother on her return and after a report had been made to the police, the accused was arrested.
When the accused was called to question the evidence of a prosecution witness, Madam Adjoa Eguamba, who allegedly heard the screams of the victim while the accused was engaged in his sexual bout with the victim, he said he did not have any questions for the witness.
A THIRTY-EIGHT-YEAR-OLD barber at Saltpond, Joseph Acquah, aka Kwame Attah, who thought he could do ‘an afternoon jump’ with a 12-year-old pupil is in the grip of the law after his unholy enjoyment.
Acquah who admitted defiling the girl in his caution statement, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared before the circuit court presided over by Mr. Justice Asiedu Badu.
He was therefore remanded into prison custody for two weeks.
According to the prosecutor, Inspector Daniel Agbezuhlor, Acquah took advantage of the absence of the victim’s grandmother, lured her into the grandmother’s bedroom and defiled her.
Inspector Agbezuhlor told the court that on February 27 this year, Acquah went to a drinking bar owned by the victim’s grandmother who had travelled to Kormantse to attend a funeral.
Inspector Agbezuhlor said the accused met the girl holding a loaf of bread which had been left in her care for her grandmother.
He said the accused allegedly advised the girl to take the loaf to a safe place in her grandmother’s bedroom but followed her to the bedroom and defiled her.
He said the screams of the teenager during the act attracted people who thought the teen was being beaten by her elder sister.
The victim narrated her ordeal to her grandmother on her return and after a report had been made to the police, the accused was arrested.
When the accused was called to question the evidence of a prosecution witness, Madam Adjoa Eguamba, who allegedly heard the screams of the victim while the accused was engaged in his sexual bout with the victim, he said he did not have any questions for the witness.
MAN, 28, IMPREGNATES GIRL, 14 (MIRROR, PAGE 27, JUNE 5, 2010)
From Joe Okyere, Cape Coast.
When Justice Asiedu Badu told Kwame Teye to look at his ‘father-in-law’ (Papa Kobina) and the ‘father-in-law’ to look at his ‘son-in-law’, both could not look at each other as the ‘father–in–law’ stood beside Teye who was in the dock to answer questions on defilement which led to the latter’s 14-year-old daughter’s pregnancy.
Teye, 28, unemployed, who claims to be a driver’s mate and a spare driver, claims the 14-year-old class five pupil has been his girl friend for the past five months.
The prosecution’s case was that Mr Kobina had warned Teye, who is already married, about the amorous relationship between him and his daughter since January, 2009 but had been threatened by Teye.
The prosecutor, Deputy Superintendent of Police Kwarteng Addae of the Assin Fosu Divisional Police, said when the parents queried their daughter after detecting that she was pregnant, she mentioned Teye as the one responsible.
He said when Teye was arrested, he admitted having an affair with the girl and that she was his girl friend, claiming that she is rather 17 years old and not 14 as claimed by the parents.
Teye pleaded with Justice Asiedu Badu to allow him to work in order to look after the mother and the child.
In response, Justice Asiedu Badu said there may be elderly women who were looking for men to marry but instead of such men approaching such matured groups, they rather prefer to go after teens.
He advised those with the penchant for such dastardly acts to look elsewhere or have themselves to blame if caught.
Justice Asiedu Badu deferred sentence to Monday, June 7 and remanded the accused in prison custody.
When Justice Asiedu Badu told Kwame Teye to look at his ‘father-in-law’ (Papa Kobina) and the ‘father-in-law’ to look at his ‘son-in-law’, both could not look at each other as the ‘father–in–law’ stood beside Teye who was in the dock to answer questions on defilement which led to the latter’s 14-year-old daughter’s pregnancy.
Teye, 28, unemployed, who claims to be a driver’s mate and a spare driver, claims the 14-year-old class five pupil has been his girl friend for the past five months.
The prosecution’s case was that Mr Kobina had warned Teye, who is already married, about the amorous relationship between him and his daughter since January, 2009 but had been threatened by Teye.
The prosecutor, Deputy Superintendent of Police Kwarteng Addae of the Assin Fosu Divisional Police, said when the parents queried their daughter after detecting that she was pregnant, she mentioned Teye as the one responsible.
He said when Teye was arrested, he admitted having an affair with the girl and that she was his girl friend, claiming that she is rather 17 years old and not 14 as claimed by the parents.
Teye pleaded with Justice Asiedu Badu to allow him to work in order to look after the mother and the child.
In response, Justice Asiedu Badu said there may be elderly women who were looking for men to marry but instead of such men approaching such matured groups, they rather prefer to go after teens.
He advised those with the penchant for such dastardly acts to look elsewhere or have themselves to blame if caught.
Justice Asiedu Badu deferred sentence to Monday, June 7 and remanded the accused in prison custody.
NEW ARCHBISHOP FOR CAPE COAST (MIRROR, PAGE 35, JUNE 5, 2010)
From Joe Okyere, Cape Coast.
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Most Reverend Matthias Kobena Nketsiah, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast.
His Grace, Most Reverend Archbishop Nketsiah, 68, who was until then the Apostolic Administrator, replaces Peter Cardinal Kodwo Appiah Turkson, who has been appointed President of the Pontifical Council on Peace and Justice.
The Apostolic Nunciature in Ghana, Archbishop Leon B. Kalenga, announced the appointment at a short but impressive ceremony at the St. Francis De Sales Cathedral in Cape Coast last Monday.
Archbishop Nketsiah was born on April 14, 1942 at Kakomdo in the Archdiocese of Cape Coast in the Central Region.
He did his Ordinary and Advanced level studies at the St. Theresa’s Minor Seminary, Amisano and continued his philosophy and theology studies at the St. Peter’s Major Seminary, Pedu, Cape Coast.
He was ordained a priest on July 19, 1970 by Bishop Emeritus His Grace Akwasi Sarpong at the St. Francis De Sales Cathedral, Cape Coast.
Between 1970 and 1973, he served as assistant priest at the Agona Swedru Parish before being posted as a teacher to the Minor Seminary, Amisano from 1973 to 1975.
After studying canon law at the Pontificia Universita Urbaniana, Rome from 1975 to 1979 he taught canon law at the Major Seminary, Pedu, Cape Coast and later as chancellor and Episcopal Vicar from 1980 to 1981.
Between 1981 and 1986 he served as the parish priest at Ajumako Bisease and then a judge, Inter–Diocesan Tribunal, from 1986 to 1993.
After these and other positions, he was nominated Auxiliary Bishop of Cape Coast on November 24, 2006 and later as the Apostolic Administrator on October 27, 2009.
He is the Chairman of the Department of the Judicial Matter of the Episcopal Conference.
In his accepting speech, Archbishop Nketsiah expressed gratitude to Pope Benedict for the trust reposed in him.
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Most Reverend Matthias Kobena Nketsiah, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast.
His Grace, Most Reverend Archbishop Nketsiah, 68, who was until then the Apostolic Administrator, replaces Peter Cardinal Kodwo Appiah Turkson, who has been appointed President of the Pontifical Council on Peace and Justice.
The Apostolic Nunciature in Ghana, Archbishop Leon B. Kalenga, announced the appointment at a short but impressive ceremony at the St. Francis De Sales Cathedral in Cape Coast last Monday.
Archbishop Nketsiah was born on April 14, 1942 at Kakomdo in the Archdiocese of Cape Coast in the Central Region.
He did his Ordinary and Advanced level studies at the St. Theresa’s Minor Seminary, Amisano and continued his philosophy and theology studies at the St. Peter’s Major Seminary, Pedu, Cape Coast.
He was ordained a priest on July 19, 1970 by Bishop Emeritus His Grace Akwasi Sarpong at the St. Francis De Sales Cathedral, Cape Coast.
Between 1970 and 1973, he served as assistant priest at the Agona Swedru Parish before being posted as a teacher to the Minor Seminary, Amisano from 1973 to 1975.
After studying canon law at the Pontificia Universita Urbaniana, Rome from 1975 to 1979 he taught canon law at the Major Seminary, Pedu, Cape Coast and later as chancellor and Episcopal Vicar from 1980 to 1981.
Between 1981 and 1986 he served as the parish priest at Ajumako Bisease and then a judge, Inter–Diocesan Tribunal, from 1986 to 1993.
After these and other positions, he was nominated Auxiliary Bishop of Cape Coast on November 24, 2006 and later as the Apostolic Administrator on October 27, 2009.
He is the Chairman of the Department of the Judicial Matter of the Episcopal Conference.
In his accepting speech, Archbishop Nketsiah expressed gratitude to Pope Benedict for the trust reposed in him.
HURCH ELDER COMMITS INCEST (LEAD STORY, MIRROR, JUNE 5, 2010)
From Joe Okyere, Cape Coast
“I have resolved to bear responsibility for the incest case against my daughter. I am really sorry for any inconvenience my action might have caused my dear wife, family, daughter and my only son on earth.
“I regret my action and plead to God to forgive me. I am also ready to perform the required customary rites to my wife and my family to appease the gods of our land”.
These were the lamentations of a presiding elder of the New Apostlic Church at Twifo Mampoma, David Hayford Akuoko, 61, who doubles as a Farm Manager of the Essilfie Farms Limited at Twifo Mampoma in the Twifo-Hemang-Lower Denkyira District of the Central Region.
However, a Cape Coast Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Justice Beresford Acquah, dished out a seven-year jail term to him last Thursday.
When he appeared before the court two weeks ago, Akuoko pleaded guilty and was remanded in prison custody.
According to the prosecutor, Inspector Daniel Agbezuhlor, the accused on December 31, 2009 took advantage of the absence of his wife and had sex with his daughter.
Inspector Agbezuhlor said the victim returned from an all night and met the father performing some rituals in their hall.
He said after the rituals, the convict smeared some perfume on the body of the victim and dragged her to their bedroom and slept with her.
He said after the act, the convict warned the victim not to disclose the incident to anybody else she would die.
Inspector Agbezuhlor said on January 1 , this year, the convict and the daughter travelled to Accra to meet a relative from the United States and whilst in Accra, the convict again slept with her.
He said, thereafter, the accused made another attempt to sleep with the daughter and when she resisted, the convict gave her GH¢30 to convince her but she kept the money and when the mother returned from her journey, she informed her and showed the money to her.
He said when the victim’s mother and his son confronted Akuoko, he took offence and threatened his son with a cutlass but he managed to escape.
He said a report was made to the police and the convict was arrested.
“I have resolved to bear responsibility for the incest case against my daughter. I am really sorry for any inconvenience my action might have caused my dear wife, family, daughter and my only son on earth.
“I regret my action and plead to God to forgive me. I am also ready to perform the required customary rites to my wife and my family to appease the gods of our land”.
These were the lamentations of a presiding elder of the New Apostlic Church at Twifo Mampoma, David Hayford Akuoko, 61, who doubles as a Farm Manager of the Essilfie Farms Limited at Twifo Mampoma in the Twifo-Hemang-Lower Denkyira District of the Central Region.
However, a Cape Coast Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Justice Beresford Acquah, dished out a seven-year jail term to him last Thursday.
When he appeared before the court two weeks ago, Akuoko pleaded guilty and was remanded in prison custody.
According to the prosecutor, Inspector Daniel Agbezuhlor, the accused on December 31, 2009 took advantage of the absence of his wife and had sex with his daughter.
Inspector Agbezuhlor said the victim returned from an all night and met the father performing some rituals in their hall.
He said after the rituals, the convict smeared some perfume on the body of the victim and dragged her to their bedroom and slept with her.
He said after the act, the convict warned the victim not to disclose the incident to anybody else she would die.
Inspector Agbezuhlor said on January 1 , this year, the convict and the daughter travelled to Accra to meet a relative from the United States and whilst in Accra, the convict again slept with her.
He said, thereafter, the accused made another attempt to sleep with the daughter and when she resisted, the convict gave her GH¢30 to convince her but she kept the money and when the mother returned from her journey, she informed her and showed the money to her.
He said when the victim’s mother and his son confronted Akuoko, he took offence and threatened his son with a cutlass but he managed to escape.
He said a report was made to the police and the convict was arrested.
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