Day: November 12, 2023

The Judicial Service of Ghana (JSG) has launched the 2023 Alternative?Dispute Resolution (ADR) Week in Takoradi with a public forum on the need to use ADR in resolving disputes.

It was on the theme: ‘Building the Pillars of Justice through Alternative Dispute?Resolution (ADR)’ and will be marked with a series of activities including workshops for the practitioners.

The ADR, since its inception in 2005, has sensitised the public on the importance of using alternative dispute resolution to speedily address cases instead of using the courts.

The Judiciary, as the third arm of Government, and under Article 125 (1) of the 1992 Constitution, is charged with resolving all kinds?of disputes under the laws of Ghana to guarantee peace and stability for national?cohesion and development.

The Judicial Service, in carrying out this mandate, initiated the ADR System of resolving cases by?parties and a neutral entity rather than resorting to litigation.

It resolves cases using mediation, arbitration, reconciliation, a
nd customary?arbitration among other methods to speed up the resolution process.

The Chairperson of the event, Justice Angelina Mensah-Homiah, said the ADR came?into existence in 2005 as a result of the increase in cases at the courts and the delay in administering?justice.

Since its inception it had largely reduced the load on the court by 32,?745 cases, she said, which brought finality to dispute as the parties involved?came up with their custom-made solution to the problem, having received satisfaction at the end of the day.

Some of the benefits, Justice Mensah-Homiah noted, were privacy, empowered parties, financial and?emotional relief, decongestion of the courts, building relationships, or preserving existing ones.

‘The ADR has come to stay as a reliable partner for the traditional justice delivery?system in achieving speedy, accessible and efficient justice delivery’.

Mr Alex Nartey, the Director of ADR, said cases directed to the ADR were not trivial as perceived by the public or less important t
o the?judges.

‘…. But the Judicial Service or the courts want to empower parties involved in a case to play a?critical role in resolving the case in a manner pleasing to them instead of staying in the court for a?judge to hear the matter and come out with his or her view,’ he said.

He admitted that sometimes the judge may be right in his judgement but that might not accurately?address the issue.

‘With the ADR, however, you are able to address issues conclusively including emotional?matters surrounding the issue. litigation is a ‘win, lose’ but ADR is a ‘win, win’ verdict?as both parties went home satisfied.’

Mr Nartey appealed to the media to share the news to address the crisis and build capacity and?knowledge in ADR as it would help reduce the number of cases in the courts to make the courts?very efficient.

That, he noted, would create a peaceful environment among the youth, marriage couples, business?partners, political parties, and churches.

The JJ Rawlings Foundation and the family Sunday commemorated three years of the passing of former President Jerry John Rawlings, describing his loss as a ‘difficult pill to swallow.’

On Thursday, November 12, 2020, Ghana was shaken by the sudden demise of the former President.

‘The shock and pain of the loss of a husband, father and champion of the masses was very heavy to bear and is indeed still a difficult pill for many to swallow,’ said the Foundation and Family in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency.

‘Today marks three years of the loss of a man who endeared himself to millions in our country Ghana, our continent Africa, and across the world.’

Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings stood for selflessness and a rare form of candour.

He was a strong man whose approach to leadership had redefined what ‘we ought to espouse as leaders regardless of our fields.’

The former President’s courageous hands-on style of leadership, juxtaposed with his understanding and appreciation of the struggles of
the common man defined his raison d’etre right throughout his life.

As the nation marked the third year of his passing, he would be remembered as ‘a man of the people,’ the statement said.

Former President Rawlings was a soldier’s soldier; a patriot; a fighter for the people, who loved his country deeply.

He remained boldly steadfast in his position on political and social issues that affected Ghana and other countries within the continent.

As President and former President, he never paused in his desire to help the underprivileged or distressed as in the cases of Buruli ulcer in the 1990s and the memorable photograph of him standing knee deep in flood waters at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

‘We cannot forget how one June 4 morning he cut short the celebration to visit the site of the June 3, 2015 disaster also at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle,’ it said.

‘As the JJ Rawlings Foundation and Family, we join all Ghanaians whose lives were impacted by President Jerry John Rawlings to celebrate his memory.’

The state
ment called on Ghanaians to revive the spirit of nationalism and love for country above personal pursuits and political bias.

Former President Rawlings stood for integrity, probity, accountability, equity, transparency and selflessness, it said.

It urged Ghanaians to reflect on his lifetime of dedication to those ideals and embody them in their daily lives.

‘As we celebrate the memory of Chairman Rawlings, we pray that we will unite as a people to lift high the image of our country, pursuing Ghana’s socio-economic revival and development with selflessness and purposeful devotion.’

World leaders must take decisive steps to address inequalities in all their manifestations, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has advised.

He said: ‘Unequal access to resources, opportunities and social provision is damaging to societies, incites hostilities and violence, and threatens peace and security.’

Inequalities had implications far beyond economic development as they undermined social cohesion and also bred resentment, he stated in an address, at the 2023 Paris Peace Forum, in France.

President Nana Akufo-Addo bemoaned the unequal access to opportunities and technology.

It was holding hundreds of millions of people from achieving their potential and realising their aspirations, he noted, underlying the need to foster economic equity to promote inclusive economic growth.

The President said it was imperative to invest in education, healthcare, and social safety nets to ensure that everyone, everywhere, had an equal opportunity to prosper.

Additionally, the President advocated a reform of the
global financial architecture ‘because the current system is not fit-for-purpose when it comes to addressing inequalities’.

The United Nations (UN), in its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Report 2023, says one in six people worldwide has experienced discrimination in some form, with women and people with disabilities disproportionately affected.

Inequality threatens long-term social and economic development, harms poverty reduction and destroys people’s sense of fulfillment and self-worth.

The UN Report estimates that year 2022 witnessed the highest number of refugees (34.6 million people) ever documented, with the COVID-19 pandemic also causing the largest rise in between-country inequality in three decades.

President Nana Akufo-Addo stated that conflicts perpetuated inequalities, and their prevention should be a global priority.

‘Simultaneously, we must take meaningful steps to combat climate change and support climate adaptation, while transitioning to sustainable green economies.’

He reiterated
the importance of reforming the institutions of global governance, particularly the UN Security Council, and correcting the longstanding injustice that the current structure and composition of the Council represented, especially for the nations of Africa.

‘We cannot continue to preach democracy and fairness around the world, we cannot insist on peace and justice around the world when our global security organisation is not seen by the majority of its members as having a structure that is effective, fair and just.’

The 2023 Paris Peace Forum was held to find common ground on the governance of global commons and global public goods in domains like climate change, outer space and critical minerals.

It was intended to facilitate dialogue, creating action-oriented coalitions and defining norms or pre-norms as a way to deliver efficient responses to the urgent challenges of the time.

The critical priorities related to protecting the planet and the people, ensuring trust and safety in the digital world, addressi
ng inequalities and accelerating SDGs, crafting peace and building a safer world.

The Forum was held on the theme: ‘Seeking Common Ground in a World of Rivalry’.

The Ghana Revenue Authority says it is ready to support companies in difficulties to revive their operations to be able to meet their tax obligations to the state and create employment for Ghanaians.

Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, said the Authority was not only interested in companies’ compliance to their tax obligations, but also in ensuring that those in distress were assisted to contribute to accelerated economic growth and job creation.

‘We are more interested in seeing companies grow to meet their tax obligations. So that mentality or sad notion that the GRA is only interested in getting the money and not so interested in whether the company will survive or not, is not true,’ he said.

Dr Owusu-Amoah was briefing the media after a tour of the revamped United Steel Company Limited, which was purchased by leading steel manufacturer B5 Plus Limited after it failed to meet its tax obligations and was put under administration and eventual sale.

He said the GRA was willin
g to engage and find out the situations at the company level and ways to help revive operations, adding that the GRA would just not go around and collapse companies.

‘So we are committed to making sure that we get the taxes at the same time to make sure that Ghanians also get the jobs and get production and our GDP going up,’ he said.

At the time of the sale, United Steel had an outstanding tax liability with interest and penalties as well as debts owed to banks and creditors amounting to over GHS400 million.

Dr Owusu-Amoah said B5 Plus Limited after it bought the company paid the tax liability of GHS149 million in full after taking advantage of the waiver of penalties and interest and also paid the monies due to the over 400 workers as well as

re-engaged many of them.

‘And then the factory has also, as you saw today, been completely put back on its feet to be able to produce and we’ll be getting over GHS 100 million annually in terms of taxes,’ he added.

‘When the factory was in operation, I had visite
d and looked around to see what we can do about it even though we’re still shutting them down trying to get the liability. And since we sold the factory we also have come to see whether the one that we sold it to is committed to the task.’

On whether the GRA would adopt the same strategy for companies owing taxes, the Commissioner-General said the GRA would use all compliance measures that were available in the law and ready to implement it to the letter.

However, he said any action taken would not be to collapse the company but explore whatever could be done to revive the company.

‘I think that you have gone around the factory, you

have seen that it’s a very big factory, need to be able to go to the extent of selling the factory and making sure that we have got our taxes, the principal taxes were paid in full, then it means that no matter how small or how big you are you ready to ensure that we will collect the taxes in full. But at the same time we also consent that the production should continue. Peopl
e should not be laid off and therefore when we’re selling we have to put all this into the negotiations,’ he said.

He said the GRA was on course in meeting its target for 2023 through various initiatives and enforcement actions.

He lauded B5 Plus Limited for the huge investment and impressive work in transforming the factory to the current stage.

The Chief Executive Officer of B5 Plus Limited, Mukesh Thakwani, lauded Ghana’s investment climate and the ample opportunities that needed to be exploited.

He said the buying of United Steel was a bit of a high value because B5 Plus had to re-equip the whole factory as everything from the roofing to machinery needed to be changed and ‘we have been working on that for the past six months.’

It has been quite challenging for us. What we expected and what we found on the ground was quite different but a lot of credit to the entire team being positive and optimistic and we are really looking forward to be generating a good products,’ Mukesh Thakwani said.

‘I think t
hat is one of the reasons that though we are working 24 hours, it has still taken six months and it will take another one and a half months for us to start this plant. Our target is that before December, we should at least be able to take some trials so that from next year, we are able to run this plant successfully and make everyone proud.’

He said the company had so far invested more than $35 million to revamp the factory and in the next two years with the increasing production line, it would invest another $10 million.

He said currently there were 420 workers and this could rise to more than 500 when other product lines come on stream.

‘We are not only targeting Ghans and the West Africa sub-regional market but the whole Africa region to take advantage of AfCFTA,’ he added.

He pledged to pay between GHS100 million and GHS 150 million in taxes once in operation and called for support, especially a ban on products that could competively be produced at the company.

Mr Kofi Iddie Adams, a National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament (MP) for Buem, has called on the leadership of the House to reconsider the policy of ‘out-of-station post-budget workshop’ for MPs.

This year’s Post-budget Workshop is expected to be held at the Rock City Hotel, Kwahu Nkwatia, in the Eastern Region, from Friday, November 17, to Sunday, November 19.

He explained that if the workshop was held in Parliament House in Accra, it would save the country some money considering the current economic hardship the citizens were facing.

Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister for Finance, in accordance with Article 179 of the Constitution, will present the Business Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for the year ending December 31, 2024, on Wednesday, November 15 to Parliament.

Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the Vice Chairman of the Business Committee, presenting the Business Statement for the Third Week Ending Friday, November 17, informed the House that the usual post-budget workshop
would be held from November 17 – 19, at the Rock City Hotel, Kwahu Nkwatia.

However, in his response, Mr Adams advocated that the workshop be held within the precincts of Parliament to save money.

‘If my call is adhered to, it will save the country some GhS1.4 million for accommodation just for MPs at an assumed cost of GhS1,700 per room,’ he said.

‘Mr Speaker, accommodating staff and other auxiliary staff of the House will make the cost of hosting the workshop outside very expensive.’

‘The current economic conditions of the country make it imperative for the Legislature to lead by example by opting for an in-house post-budget workshop instead of hosting the event outside.’

Addressing the Parliamentary press corps, Mr Adams disapproved of statements that MPs got distracted when such events were held in Parliament House.

‘…We sit in Parliament to transact even more important businesses than just a mere workshop; we are going to debate the budget right here; do we get distracted when we sit every day to d
o our business?

‘If we can do our business every day, it is possible to have the post-budget workshop here without any challenge at all.’

The Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) says it is gathering data to determine the epicentre and magnitude of the earth tremor that hit some parts of Accra Sunday, November 12, 2023, around 0720 hours.

‘GGSA notes with caution reports of an earth tremor in Awoshie, Kanda, Kasoa Nyanyano, and vicinity. Our team of seismologists is actively gathering data to determine the epicentre, magnitude and other factors of this event.

‘Please remain calm and follow the safety

measures: Drop, Cover, and Hold On. Stay

tuned for updates,’ the GGSA said.

The tremor said to have lasted for a few seconds, was reported in La, Sowutuom, Mallam, Gbawe, Awoshie, Kasoa, Bortianor, and Sarpeiman.

On Friday, March 11, this year, a similar event occurred in the national capital.

The tremor of 2.8 magnitude on the Richter Scale hit Jamestown, High Street, Ridge and its environs at 0900 hours.

Also, on Monday, December 12, 2022, three earth tremor incidents occurred in parts of Accra at 1149 hours with a magnitude of 2.1,
with the main event occurring at 11:53 am with a magnitude of 3.5, while the aftershock occurred at 11:58 am with a magnitude of 1.8 on the Richter scale.

An earth tremor is a relatively small or short-lived movement of the earth’s surface caused by the same forces that produce earthquakes.