Konongo (Ash), Oct. 25, GNA – The Asante-Akim Central Constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has taken delivery of nine motorbikes to aid the party’s electioneering campaign.       The donation was made by a Holland-based Ghanaian businessman, Mr Akwasi Smith.       Presenting the bikes over at a ceremony, he said, it was his contribution towards the goal of bringing the party back to power.       Mr Smith said having carefully analyzed the policy choices “brought to the table” by the NPP he was convinced that “this is the party to support to restore hope to the nation”.       The free senior high school (SHS) promise by Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, he noted, was “most refreshing” because of the critical importance of education to development.       It would provide an opportunity for children from poor homes to access second cycle education and this is something everybody should support.       Mr Smith appealed to the people to vote massively for the party on December 7.       The Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Anyimadu Antwi, said they were grateful for the gift, adding that, this could not have come at a better time.       He used the occasion to remind the party’s supporters about the need for all to accept to do their bit to ensure a resounding electoral victory.       Mr George Kyei Baffour, the Constituency Secretary, predicted they would win both the parliamentary and presidential elections in area by a wider vote margin.     GNA ...

Accra, Oct.25, GNA- Ms Rose Owusu, Justice of the Supreme Court on Thursday charged Notaries Public to use reasonable amount of skill, care and due diligence in the performance of their duties to avoid unpleasant consequences.    Under the Notaries Public Act, 1960(ACT 26) the Chief Justice is empowered to appoint any person who is considered fit and proper to discharge the duties assigned to that office by law or by the practice of commerce.     The practice has been that only lawyers of high moral character and proven integrity and of not less than 10 years standing at the Bar are appointed as Notaries Public to prepare important documents such as contracts, leases, powers of attorney, articles of partnership, wills and other instruments.     The new Notaries Public are Frederick Aboagye, Sylvia Ama Adusu, Fredrick Selby, Kweku Nyamekye Aidoo, Patricia Naa Afarley Dadson, Eric Nii Yarboi Mensah and Ruby Akua Aglagoh.    The others are Eudora Christina Oppong, Gifty Dede Tetteh, Anthony Matthews, Harriet Abban, Vivien Lamptey, Ghanew Aikins Mustapha and Stephen Ekow Ampah Korsah.    The rest are Albert Adaare, Archie Martin Danso, Prosper Xorla Nyahe, Christine Dowuona-Hammond, John Aidoo and Kwebena David Adu-Kusi.     Ms Owusu said the Supreme Court under Act.26 (4) is empowered for reasonable cause to suspend any Notary Public from practicing for any period or order the person’s name to be struck off the roll of Notaries.    She reminded them not to certify or propound false document with the intent to deceive, conceal and withhold documents pertinent to the subject of a notatial act which could make them liable to misdemeanor.     “I believe you are now aware of the onerous responsibilities and obligations that you are now assuming as Notaries Public. Your appointment as Notaries Public will definitely bring additional income but the additional income come with serious responsibilities,” she added.   Nene Amegatcher, President of the Ghana Bar Association commended the new Notaries Public for working hard to attain the feet.     He said as Notaries Public their work would be watched closely by the public as well as their clients and therefore asked them to ensure the highest professional skills in the performance of their duties.     Nene Amegatcher said the legal profession is demanding and as practitioners they must ensure due care and industry in the discharge of their obligations.   GNA ...

Accra, Oct 25, GNA- President John Dramani Mahama, on Thursday advised the military and other security agencies to remain loyal to the 192 Constitution of Ghana in the discharge of their duties before, during and after the December polls.     He said: “I want to encourage all of you to be professional and neutral in order to win the confidence of Ghanaians in the 2012 General Election.     President Mahama gave the advice during his maiden working visit to the General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces, since he became President of the Republic.    As part of the visit, the President handed over 265 operational vehicles comprising 200 military Pick Ups, 30 civil Pick Ups, 20 ambulances and 15 buses to the Armed Forces, to help in maintaining security during the elections.     He inspected a completed project on a 16-flat storey accommodation for General Officers and another 16-flat accommodation for other ranks of the Air Force, and interacted with school children at the Fifth Battalion of Infantry.       President Mahama said a plan to ensure peaceful polls was out and hoped that the security services would implement it to the letter by deploying the right people with adequate expertise to discharge their duties.    He said the presentation formed part of the retooling exercise for the military, and urged them to make judicious use of the equipment for the benefit of Ghanaians.     Lieutenant General Peter Augustine Blay, Chief of Defence Staff, said there was no cause for alarm in the December polls as security agencies were conducting surveillance and security checks to flush out infiltrators at the country’s borders.      He informed the President that following a series of regional meetings between the security agencies and the Electoral Commission, 5,000 troops had been deployed across the country to assist the police in ensuring the integrity of the elections.      Earlier on arrival at the General Headquarters, Burma Camp, a guard of honour, comprising three officers and 96 men, was mounted by a detachment from the Army, following which President Mahama took the general salute.    GNA  ...

Suhum, Oct. 25, GNA - The Suhum Police is looking for a former Assembly member for the Adakwa electoral area, Mr Seth Owo, for allegedly causing the death of a 32- year-old woman, Cynthia Akweley.     A family source told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the deceased died during an attempted abortion performed by Owo.     The source said Akweley has five children from a previous marriage and was staying with her boy friend at Memhyiaso near Suhum.     On September 09 this year, the deceased who was five months old pregnant went to Owo, who was noted for causing abortion to have her pregnancy terminated.     The source said in the course of terminating the pregnancy, Akweley died in the room.     Owo then informed Akweley’s boyfriend about the incident, who later hired a taxi cab and conveyed the deceased to the Suhum Government Hospital Mortuary.     The source said the senior mortuary attendant, Mr Emmanuel Tei, detected that the deceased was bleeding from her private parts and therefore confronted the taxi driver.     The driver, who became offended, abandoned the deceased and drove away.      Mr Tei reported the case to the police and they traced him to Adakwa and arrested him.     The police at Suhum confirmed the story and said the taxi driver, Joseph Atta, had been arrested and placed in custody and that the instrument used in performing the abortion had been recovered during a search conducted in Owo’s room.     GNA ...

Accra, Oct. 25, GNA – Dr Seth Adjei-Baah, President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has called on Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Ghana’s industrial sector and contribute to its socio-economic development.     He said increased inflows of Chinese direct investments in the industrial sector would ensure value-chain to boost the country’s economy.     Dr Adjei-Baah was speaking at the opening ceremony for the Third 2012 Ghana-Huabei China Trade and Investment Exhibition and 2012 Ghana-Huabei China Investment Seminar and China Commodities in Accra.     The four-day event is being co-organized by the Chinese Government and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Huabei China Trade and Investments, GCCI, Ghana Trade Fair Centre and Association of Ghana Industries.     Dr Adjei-Baah said Ghana’s economic and political stability were strong signals that made the country an appropriate and attractive business destination.     Mr Zhon Caijuan, Chairman of the CCPIT, said trade volumes between the two countries has increased over the years saying trade increased from 613,083,230 dollars in 2009 to 731,883,984 dollars in 2010 and had reached 1,109,427,949 dollars by the first half of 2011.     He expressed confidence that the exhibition would offer business operators in the two countries the platform to showcase their goods and services.     More than 100 Huabei enterprises from the agriculture, building and construction, energy, machinery, electronics, medical, pharmaceuticals, textiles, auto parts, tourism and mining sectors are expected to participate in the exhibition.   GNA ...

Accra, Oct. 25, GNA – Mr Peter Jones, British High Commissioner on Thursday inaugurated a water tower and amenity centre at Amasaman Legion Village in the Greater Accra Region for the Veterans Association of Ghana (VAG).     The facility valued at 4500 pounds sterling was funded by the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Service League (RCEL) in the United Kingdom.     Mr Jones noted that the facilities would contribute to the uplifting of the social life of the community and generate income to maintain the services.     He called on the caretakers to ensure that the facility is not over commercialised to the disadvantage of the beneficiaries.     He said the friendship and collaboration that exist between VAG and RCEL “would grow from strength to strength”.     Group Captain Jones Mensah, Executive Director of VAG said the history of the legion village started at the end of the First World War when demobilsed soldiers who were maimed were accommodated to be given medical care.     He said the initiative started in Kumasi with the establishment of Sofo Line Legion Village and at the end of the Second World War, other legion villages were created.     He explained that the original legion village was located in Accra close to the 37 Military Hospital to enable the inmates receive quick medical attention should the need arise.     Group Captain Mensah said after the end of the Second World War, the village had attracted much attention from the public and the focus was on the emancipation and welfare of the veterans, hence the movement of the facility to Amasaman.     He said some of the immediate challenges the veterans had were lack of electricity and water supply and an appeal was made to the RCEL for financial support.   GNA ...

Accra Oct. 25, GNA - To ensure that lotto retailers continue to sell the National Lottery Authority (NLA) products,  it has installed computer servers, related equipment,  and embarked on expansion works on its new and latest platform.     According to the NLA, the new platform would ensure that retailers assess their credit balances and facilitate business operations, following a shut down by SIMNET Ghana Limited, a service provider of NLA.      SIMNET Ghana Limited in October this year shut down its support system thereby crippling the business of the NLA and the two institutions, therefore, were engaged in a legal tussle over billings.     Mr Kplorlali  Shine Gbologa, Director of Corporate Planning and Sales, NLA, made these known at a meeting with its retailers from all sales zones in the Greater Accra Region, on Thursday in Accra.     He told the retailers that the NLA could not organise a meeting immediately following the shut down because the authority needed to take control before engaging them in a meeting.  Mr Gbologa said the purpose of the meeting was to explain the strides made by the NLA to expand its new platform facility so that it could absorb all affected retailers, and gather the process of assessing credit balances so as to refund their balances on the new point of sales machines.     He noted that the manner in which the shutdown was orchestrated could only lead to an attempt to cripple the business of NLA, adding “despite this, the NLA survived the SIMNET shutdown and is currently in operation not an optimal level.’      According Mr Gbologa, the NLA had taken swift measures to restore business to normalcy and added “all affected retailers will be trained and equipped with technical know-how in hand in handling and operating the new point of sale machines known as PADPM’s.     Mr Gbologa said these steps were expected to start from mid-November this year.        Mr David Lamptey, official of the Legal Section of the NLA, told the retailers that the Court of Appeal had quashed the ruling of an Accra High Court, which ordered the NLA to pay “a substantial amount to SIMNET Ghana.’’       He noted that the Court of Appeal has ruled that the High Court erred in law when it gave orders to the NLA to pay some monies to SIMNET Ghana.     GNA ...

Suhum, Oct. 25, GNA - Cadbury Cocoa International Partnership, has adopted two communities in the Suhum Municipality to improve the living conditions of the people.     The communities are Kokoteasua and Safroasa. Mr Kwame Asa-Ofori, a chief farmer, disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at a farmer’s forum at Kokoteasua on Thursday.     He said to that end the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership had constructed two boreholes and   donated 15 solar lamps to the communities.     It also donated 25 spraying machines; two knap sack machines, and a number of bicycles to school children in the communities to facilitate their movement to school.     Mr Asa-Ofori recalled that in November 2010, Cadbury Cocoa Partnership led by two officers, Mrs Yaa Peprah Amekudzi and Mr James Boateng, visited the two communities and informed the farmers that they wanted to partner them for sustainable cocoa production, sustainable livelihood from other means, institutional engagement, rural development, child labour and suppressed malaria and HIV/AIDS.     GNA ...