Ghana, the world’s second-biggest cocoa producer, plans a more than fivefold increase in coffee output by 2015 as it replants old farms.
The Ghana Cocoa Board, which also oversees the coffee industry in the West African nation, is targeting output of 10,000 metric tons, up from 1,700 tons now, said Noah Amenyah, a spokesman for the Accra-based board, in an interview yesterday. By 2021, production may reach 20,000 tons, he said.
“The board is weeding farms for farmers free of charge,” he said. “All other inputs and extension services are also being offered at no cost to the farmers.”
Ghana neighbors Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer and Africa’s third-biggest coffee grower. Both countries produce mainly the robusta variety of beans, which are used in instant coffee and espresso.
In 2012, the Ghanaian board, known as Cocobod, will encourage farmers to plant new trees that will quadruple the area under coffee cultivation to 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres), said William Quaittoo, the board’s manager for coffee, by phone July 25.
“We are taking advantage of cocoa-growing areas that are lying idle,” he said. Cocobod will spend 4 million cedis ($2.6 million), Quaittoo said.
Cocobod asked companies that buy coffee from farmers to register with the board, similar to the cocoa industry’s system of licensed buyers, Amenyah said. The agencies will be able to get loans from the board and banks to purchase coffee, he said.
The board is also considering setting a fixed minimum buying price for coffee beans, he said. Ghana establishes a similar rate at the start of every cocoa harvest
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Ghana Needs as Much as $3.6 Billion for Housing Each Year
By Ekow Dontoh (Bloomberg)
Ghana needs between $2 billion and $3.6 billion each year over the next decade to address a shortage of housing as the population of the world’s second- biggest cocoa producer climbs.
“We need to annually construct between 120,000 and 150,000 units of houses consistently for next 10 years to resolve the deficit, Alban Bagbin, minister for water resources, works and housing, told reporters in Accra, the capital, today.
Ghana’s population climbed 28 percent to 24 million people over the past decade, according to a census conducted last year by the Ghana Statistical Service. Government investments in housing haven’t kept pace with the expansion, Bagbin said. Ghana provides housing for many of its civil servants, including police officers and government workers.
The state raised $1.5 billion from a group of international banks, led by Barclays Capital, in a deal with STX Corp. of South Korea to build 30,000 housing units for security officials across Ghana, Bagbin said. The homes will be finished by 2015, he said.
Ghana wants to encourage more public-private partnerships to fill gaps in its housing sector by helping companies secure land grants and providing tax exemptions on building equipment, Bagbin said.
Ghana Cedi Gains for Second Day as Dealers, Miners Sell Dollars
Ghana’s cedi appreciated for a second day as mining companies sold dollars and traders speculated the central bank’s first auction of five-year bonds since 2007 will boost demand for Ghana’s currency.
The currency of the world’s second biggest cocoa producer gained as much as 0.4 percent to 1.5042 per dollar, its strongest intraday level since June 7, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It traded 0.2 percent higher at 1.5072 as of 1:26 p.m. in Accra, the capital.
The Bank of Ghana will offer 300 million cedis ($199 million) of five-year bonds on July 28, it said on its website.
“Currency traders took positions in anticipation that the bond auction on Thursday may weaken the dollar on offshore investor inflows,” Chris Nettey, a currency trader at Stanbic Bank Ghana Ltd., said in a telephone interview today. “Mining firms also sold the dollar today to finance their cedi- denominated activities.”
The currency of the world’s second biggest cocoa producer gained as much as 0.4 percent to 1.5042 per dollar, its strongest intraday level since June 7, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It traded 0.2 percent higher at 1.5072 as of 1:26 p.m. in Accra, the capital.
The Bank of Ghana will offer 300 million cedis ($199 million) of five-year bonds on July 28, it said on its website.
“Currency traders took positions in anticipation that the bond auction on Thursday may weaken the dollar on offshore investor inflows,” Chris Nettey, a currency trader at Stanbic Bank Ghana Ltd., said in a telephone interview today. “Mining firms also sold the dollar today to finance their cedi- denominated activities.”
Tullow Oil Rises in 1st Ghana Bourse Listing in 2-1/2 Years
Tullow Oil Plc, the London-based explorer with the most licenses in Africa, advanced in its first day of trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The stock, which listed at 31 cedis, climbed to 31.05 cedis by 10:04 a.m. in the capital, Accra.
The debut is the West African nation bourse’s first since November 2008, Elizabeth Mate-Koli, head of listing at the exchange, said by phone yesterday. The company sold 3.5 million shares at 31 cedis each, raising 109.5 million cedis ($73 million), Tullow said on July 21.
Tullow, which also trades in the U.K. and Ireland, operates Ghana’s Jubilee oil field, West Africa’s biggest discovery of crude from an offshore field in a decade. Daily output from the field is expected to climb to 120,000 barrels per day by August or September from 80,000 barrels now, according to Tullow.
The stock, which listed at 31 cedis, climbed to 31.05 cedis by 10:04 a.m. in the capital, Accra.
The debut is the West African nation bourse’s first since November 2008, Elizabeth Mate-Koli, head of listing at the exchange, said by phone yesterday. The company sold 3.5 million shares at 31 cedis each, raising 109.5 million cedis ($73 million), Tullow said on July 21.
Tullow, which also trades in the U.K. and Ireland, operates Ghana’s Jubilee oil field, West Africa’s biggest discovery of crude from an offshore field in a decade. Daily output from the field is expected to climb to 120,000 barrels per day by August or September from 80,000 barrels now, according to Tullow.
Freeze On Public Sector Employment, Youth Revolt Looms - TUC Warns
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) fears of a possible chaos and tension among the youth in the country if urgent measures are not taken to curb the growing unemployment situation.
Consequently, the labour union is asking the government to disregard the warning by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank and lift the freeze on employment in the public- sector.
Secretary-General of the TUC, Mr Kofi Asamoah, said in an interview with the Graphic Business that “we will assess the performance of government mainly on the basis of the number of jobs created during the year and not the level of inflation as the main indicator of its performance”.
The IMF and the World Bank have warned against an over-bloated public sector employment to stem the rising public sector wage bill and have therefore called for a tight fiscal monetary policy.
The IMF and the World Bank have in their Public Expenditure Review document for 2011 asked the government to cut recruitment into the public sector.
The two institutions maintains that the heavy burden of the public sector wage bill remains a major concern.
Between 2002 and 2008, wages absorbed an average of 44.5 per cent of total tax revenue. This number rose to 49.5 per cent in 2009.
But the TUC boss disagrees with “the notion that the public sector is over-bloated. The size of the public sector should not be measured by the size of the public sector wage bill only,” he said.
“It should appropriately be measured by the adequacy of essential services to the people of Ghana”, he stressed.
The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana estimates that about 230,000 youth enter the labour market every year, out of which only two per cent or 4,500 of the number are absorbed into the formal economy.
To the labour union, government has failed to articulate any strategy of its own that addresses the unemployment crisis.
“I regret to say that government has not considered the several proposals submitted to it by the TUC on measures to tackle the unemployment crises”, Mr Asamoah said.
“This portends a danger to the economy as this phenomenon, if not dealt with could explode in our face”, adding that “the trend is very scary, from where I sit, if the situation is not addressed, we are likely to see some tension among the jobless youth”, the labour boss warned.
Reports from the UN's International Labour Organisation shows Africa needs to generate 2.4 million jobs a year for the next five years in order to reach the UN’s goal of slashing unemployment to the current global average of 6.5 per cent by 2015.
But Employment and Social Welfare Minister, Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, had in an earlier interview with the Graphic Business said the picture is not that gloomy, considering the fact that government is examining various strategies in its review of the country’s employment policy that is yet to be presented to Cabinet.
”To contain the wage bill, the government has adopted a selective hiring freeze under which new recruitment is principally in the education and health services"
“The problem we are facing is not that of unemployment but under-employment: that is people who are just doing anything to survive”, he said.
“These are the people with no social protection whatsoever, and they are the ones we see selling on the streets and doing all sorts of menial jobs”, he added.
The review of the employment policy will entail skills training and employment placement to the teeming under employed.
At a presentation on the State of the Ghanaian Economy report by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research in Accra, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Economic Division of the policy think tank, Dr Felix Asante, said the continent faces many challenges, one of which is economic growth rate that are not able to create sufficient employment opportunities for an ever increasing demand for jobs.
He said inadequate employment also exacerbates poor human development and restricts social and political participation. It is also agreed that youth employment is a critical element of a nation’s stability and a proven antidote to the loss of hope which often results in social and political turmoil.
The picture is most dim for young Africans. The ILO says that 20 per cent of all Africans between the ages of 25 and 30 are jobless. Ghana is also faced with that problem- the nation mobilised a National Youth Employment Programme in 2006.
In the first four months of the initiative roughly 40,000 jobs were created, about half of those in agriculture. That industry is seen as risky by the ILO because many of its employees have "low and unstable" incomes.
Consequently, the labour union is asking the government to disregard the warning by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank and lift the freeze on employment in the public- sector.
Secretary-General of the TUC, Mr Kofi Asamoah, said in an interview with the Graphic Business that “we will assess the performance of government mainly on the basis of the number of jobs created during the year and not the level of inflation as the main indicator of its performance”.
The IMF and the World Bank have warned against an over-bloated public sector employment to stem the rising public sector wage bill and have therefore called for a tight fiscal monetary policy.
The IMF and the World Bank have in their Public Expenditure Review document for 2011 asked the government to cut recruitment into the public sector.
The two institutions maintains that the heavy burden of the public sector wage bill remains a major concern.
Between 2002 and 2008, wages absorbed an average of 44.5 per cent of total tax revenue. This number rose to 49.5 per cent in 2009.
But the TUC boss disagrees with “the notion that the public sector is over-bloated. The size of the public sector should not be measured by the size of the public sector wage bill only,” he said.
“It should appropriately be measured by the adequacy of essential services to the people of Ghana”, he stressed.
The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana estimates that about 230,000 youth enter the labour market every year, out of which only two per cent or 4,500 of the number are absorbed into the formal economy.
To the labour union, government has failed to articulate any strategy of its own that addresses the unemployment crisis.
“I regret to say that government has not considered the several proposals submitted to it by the TUC on measures to tackle the unemployment crises”, Mr Asamoah said.
“This portends a danger to the economy as this phenomenon, if not dealt with could explode in our face”, adding that “the trend is very scary, from where I sit, if the situation is not addressed, we are likely to see some tension among the jobless youth”, the labour boss warned.
Reports from the UN's International Labour Organisation shows Africa needs to generate 2.4 million jobs a year for the next five years in order to reach the UN’s goal of slashing unemployment to the current global average of 6.5 per cent by 2015.
But Employment and Social Welfare Minister, Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, had in an earlier interview with the Graphic Business said the picture is not that gloomy, considering the fact that government is examining various strategies in its review of the country’s employment policy that is yet to be presented to Cabinet.
”To contain the wage bill, the government has adopted a selective hiring freeze under which new recruitment is principally in the education and health services"
“The problem we are facing is not that of unemployment but under-employment: that is people who are just doing anything to survive”, he said.
“These are the people with no social protection whatsoever, and they are the ones we see selling on the streets and doing all sorts of menial jobs”, he added.
The review of the employment policy will entail skills training and employment placement to the teeming under employed.
At a presentation on the State of the Ghanaian Economy report by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research in Accra, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Economic Division of the policy think tank, Dr Felix Asante, said the continent faces many challenges, one of which is economic growth rate that are not able to create sufficient employment opportunities for an ever increasing demand for jobs.
He said inadequate employment also exacerbates poor human development and restricts social and political participation. It is also agreed that youth employment is a critical element of a nation’s stability and a proven antidote to the loss of hope which often results in social and political turmoil.
The picture is most dim for young Africans. The ILO says that 20 per cent of all Africans between the ages of 25 and 30 are jobless. Ghana is also faced with that problem- the nation mobilised a National Youth Employment Programme in 2006.
In the first four months of the initiative roughly 40,000 jobs were created, about half of those in agriculture. That industry is seen as risky by the ILO because many of its employees have "low and unstable" incomes.
Ivory Coast to boost oil drilling
Ivory Coast said Thursday it plans to boost oil drilling by year's end to become a major regional producer.
"We want to start drilling in seven wells by the end of the year to ensure a production of 300,000 barrels a day by 2020, up from 40,000 barrels now," Adama Toungara, the new oil minister, said during a meeting with press barons here.
"We want to make Ivory Coast a sub-regional oil power even though the country will not be an African Kuwait," he added.
He deplored the fact that oil drilling "dropped in intensity" under the rule of president Laurent Gbagbo, who was deposed after more than a decade in power and a bitter leadership struggle over disputed presidential polls last November.
Gbagbo was captured in an underground bunker in Abidjan on April 11 by forces loyal to Preisdent Alassane Ouattara, backed by France and the United Nations.
Toungara said the country awarded exploration permits to companies "which have neither the technical expertise nor the financial capacity to explore."
And he slammed the "bad governance" in the country's oil sector.
Out of 28 oil fields in the country, 23 are operated by firms from Canada, the United States, Italy, Russia, Ireland, Kuwait and Malaysia, according to official data.
Ivory Coast was until recently the leading oil producer in the eight-nation West African Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa, which excludes Nigeria, the top oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ghana's recent discovery of oil reserves off its coast last year sparked off a row with Ivory Coast over the border, with Accra accusing Abidjan of claiming part of its maritime
space
"We want to start drilling in seven wells by the end of the year to ensure a production of 300,000 barrels a day by 2020, up from 40,000 barrels now," Adama Toungara, the new oil minister, said during a meeting with press barons here.
"We want to make Ivory Coast a sub-regional oil power even though the country will not be an African Kuwait," he added.
He deplored the fact that oil drilling "dropped in intensity" under the rule of president Laurent Gbagbo, who was deposed after more than a decade in power and a bitter leadership struggle over disputed presidential polls last November.
Gbagbo was captured in an underground bunker in Abidjan on April 11 by forces loyal to Preisdent Alassane Ouattara, backed by France and the United Nations.
Toungara said the country awarded exploration permits to companies "which have neither the technical expertise nor the financial capacity to explore."
And he slammed the "bad governance" in the country's oil sector.
Out of 28 oil fields in the country, 23 are operated by firms from Canada, the United States, Italy, Russia, Ireland, Kuwait and Malaysia, according to official data.
Ivory Coast was until recently the leading oil producer in the eight-nation West African Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa, which excludes Nigeria, the top oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ghana's recent discovery of oil reserves off its coast last year sparked off a row with Ivory Coast over the border, with Accra accusing Abidjan of claiming part of its maritime
space
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Israel PM guards tell women reporters to remove bras
Foreign journalists on Friday spoke of their distress after being asked to remove their bras for a security check before being allowed into the offices of Israel's prime minister.
The three women were told by security personnel to undress and take off their bras for x-ray in two separate incidents at the Jerusalem offices of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week.
All three complied with the request, despite the distress it caused, in an incident denounced by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) as "unnecessary, humiliating and counter-productive."
Each of the women was taken behind a curtain in the lobby of the entrance hall and patted down before being told to undress, then their bras were passed out in full view of male and female colleagues and security personnel, to be put through an x-ray machine.
Their personal effects were also emptied out in public view and put through the machine.
"The Foreign Press Association strongly condemns the continued harassment of journalists attending media events at the prime minister?s office," a statement from the Tel-Aviv based group said.
"This type of treatment is unnecessary, humiliating and counter-productive."
Sara Hussein, who works for Agence France-Presse (AFP), described the incident as utterly humiliating.
"I can only describe the experience as among the most humiliating in my life," she wrote in a complaint to the FPA. "I have covered meetings of presidents at the White House and not been subjected to anything similar."
Neither of the other two women reporters, both of whom were deeply distressed by the incident, wished to be identified.
All three have filed detailed complaints with the FPA, which is pursuing the matter with the Israeli authorities.
Officials at the prime minister's office refused to comment directly on the two incidents, saying only: "We are aware of the concerns and we are looking into the matter."
In January this year, Netanyahu's security staff came under fire for ordering a pregnant Arab correspondent for Al-Jazeera to remove her bra in order to attend a cocktail event for the press at a five-star hotel in Jerusalem.
The FPA said it was considering whether or not to continue sending its members to events where they risked such treatment at the hands of the premier's security team.
"After repeated appeals and promises by security officials, it appears that the prime minister's office does not have the desire to stop this happening," it said.
"The FPA will begin consulting its members over whether the foreign media should no longer cover events at the PM's office as this is the only occasion where this type of incident occurs."
The three women were told by security personnel to undress and take off their bras for x-ray in two separate incidents at the Jerusalem offices of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week.
All three complied with the request, despite the distress it caused, in an incident denounced by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) as "unnecessary, humiliating and counter-productive."
Each of the women was taken behind a curtain in the lobby of the entrance hall and patted down before being told to undress, then their bras were passed out in full view of male and female colleagues and security personnel, to be put through an x-ray machine.
Their personal effects were also emptied out in public view and put through the machine.
"The Foreign Press Association strongly condemns the continued harassment of journalists attending media events at the prime minister?s office," a statement from the Tel-Aviv based group said.
"This type of treatment is unnecessary, humiliating and counter-productive."
Sara Hussein, who works for Agence France-Presse (AFP), described the incident as utterly humiliating.
"I can only describe the experience as among the most humiliating in my life," she wrote in a complaint to the FPA. "I have covered meetings of presidents at the White House and not been subjected to anything similar."
Neither of the other two women reporters, both of whom were deeply distressed by the incident, wished to be identified.
All three have filed detailed complaints with the FPA, which is pursuing the matter with the Israeli authorities.
Officials at the prime minister's office refused to comment directly on the two incidents, saying only: "We are aware of the concerns and we are looking into the matter."
In January this year, Netanyahu's security staff came under fire for ordering a pregnant Arab correspondent for Al-Jazeera to remove her bra in order to attend a cocktail event for the press at a five-star hotel in Jerusalem.
The FPA said it was considering whether or not to continue sending its members to events where they risked such treatment at the hands of the premier's security team.
"After repeated appeals and promises by security officials, it appears that the prime minister's office does not have the desire to stop this happening," it said.
"The FPA will begin consulting its members over whether the foreign media should no longer cover events at the PM's office as this is the only occasion where this type of incident occurs."
PRESS STATEMENT-AMA BENYIWA DOE MUST RESIGN HER POSITION
Central Regional Minister, Madam Ama Benyiwa Doe
We the Youth Members of Central Regional Youth for Unity, Stability and Development are calling on the Central Regional Minister, Madam Ama Benyiwa Doe to resign her position as Central Regional Minister for misappropriation and embezzlement of funds meant for the Cape Coast Sports stadium.
The fact of the matter is that we are fully aware that the Ministry of Finance as part of its efforts to honour President Mills's commitment to complete the Cape Coast stadium project allocated 500 million Ghana Cedis for the speedy completion of the project. We are aware that that 70 million Ghana Cedis has been released by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to the Central Regional Administration for the project to resume and be completed latest by March 2013. We were excited by this project as it would give hundreds of us youth who are unemployed and walking aimlessly along the beaches and markets something to do.
So far what we have seen are contractors coming and going from the regional office and on the site but no work has begun on this project. Our investigations reveal that instead of focusing to deal with this important project to lift up the image of the Region and to fulfil the promise made by President that Cape Coast will get a befitting stadium just like other regional capitals, The Regional Minister and her allies at the Regional Secretariat are alleged to be using the money for their selfish personal agendas. We are angry to learn that Madam Ama Benyiwa Doe between April and June distributed 3000 Ghana Cedis to all the women organisers of the party in the region without the knowledge of regional executives. She has also bought large tracts of land confirmed to be 100 acres each in Briwa and Mumford. She has also awarded 3 road contracts, 17 school building contracts and 8 contracts to rehabilitate the government houses in Cape Coast municipality to herself. Meanwhile Cape Coast Stadium which is needed to serve the needs of the people and restore the Central Region as a competitive arena for sports remains a dream.
We call on President Mills to set up a committee to investigate the circumstances regarding management and disbursement of funds by Madam Ama Benyiwa Doe, the conduct of officials of the Youth and Sports in the region as well as the Finance department of the regional secretariat in failing to follow proper procedure. We are tired and fed up with Ama Benyiwa Doe and others who are undermining the President's vision for the region. If the Cape Coast Stadium monies are not properly accounted for then we the members in Cape Coast and the entire region will advise ourselves in 2012.
Samuel Kojo Boham
Kwesi Orleans Lindsay
Ali Abdulai
Kofi Atta
Eric Beecham
Source-Central Region Youth for Unity, Stability and Development, Cape Coast, Central Region
Friday, July 22, 2011
Israel torn on apologizing to Turks over Gaza ship
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is debating whether to say sorry for storming a Gaza-bound Turkish activist ship last year, after its jurists recommended satisfying Ankara's demand for an apology to help fend off war-crimes lawsuits.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far voiced only "regret" for the navy's killing of nine pro-Palestinian Turks aboard the Mavi Marmara, but Israeli officials say support for a stronger show of contrition is spreading in his government.
Spurring the debate has been the imminent publication of a U.N. report on the seizure, which Israel predicts will mostly vindicate its Gaza blockade strategy while infuriating the Turks, who have said they would reject any such finding.
Hoping to avoid deepening the crisis, the former allies have been discussing a reconciliation deal, with Turkey insisting it include an Israeli apology. Netanyahu has not publicly responded but some top cabinet colleagues have voiced opposition.
"We are not ready to apologize, as apology, actually, is taking responsibility. You know, our soldiers on the Mavi Marmara were fighting to defend their lives," Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon told foreign journalists Thursday.
But other officials said Netanyahu had received legal advice that apologizing would forestall Turkish bids to prosecute, in international courts, the marines who clashed with activists while boarding the cruise ship on the Mediterranean high seas.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the lone center-left figure in Netanyahu's conservative coalition government, has called for compromise with Turkey "to put things behind us," citing the spiraling instability of a region where Israel lacks friends.
Asked whether Israel might change tack, Yaalon allowed that apologizing to Turkey "might be a debate" in the government and said his demurral was his personal opinion.
SIX-DAY DEADLINE
"We still have six days" to decide, he said, referring to Israel's announcement that the inquiry set up by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and chaired by
former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer would publish its findings on July 27.
The exact phrasing of an Israeli apology, should one be forthcoming, would have to be in "language that both sides can live with," a senior Turkish official told Reuters in Ankara.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has demanded Israel also compensate Mavi Marmara survivors and end Gaza's blockade.
Yaalon said Israel was willing to pay into a "humanitarian fund" for those bereaved or hurt aboard the ship. But Israel, having eased land crossings into Gaza, has signaled no change to a sea closure it says stems gun-running by Hamas militants.
Officials from both sides have been involved in the preparation of the Palmer report and are familiar with its contents.
Yaalon, Israel's senior envoy in the talks, said the Palmer report "actually supports the Israeli position regarding the legitimacy, the legality of the naval blockade and, as a result of it, the legality, the legitimacy of the interception."
The report would also "criticize the use of force by us," he said, but added this would not be tantamount to questioning the case-by-case conduct of marines who inflicted casualties.
Turkish officials have declined to comment on the specific content of the report.
Yaalon, a former chief of Israel's armed forces who in 2006 narrowly avoided an attempt by pro-Palestinian activists to have him arrested while on a visit to New Zealand, played down the importance of any Turkish help in averting legal actions.
Indemnification by Ankara, he said, would not be relevant in other countries where such "annoying" lawsuits can be pursued.
He added: "If we are ready to sacrifice our lives to defend the country, we should be ready to deal with this challenge."
An Israeli apology would incense Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Netanyahu's ultra-nationalist senior coalition partner, who has said the onus was on Turkey to make amends.
But Yaalon saw no threat of Lieberman leaving the government.
"The coalition is very strong," he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far voiced only "regret" for the navy's killing of nine pro-Palestinian Turks aboard the Mavi Marmara, but Israeli officials say support for a stronger show of contrition is spreading in his government.
Spurring the debate has been the imminent publication of a U.N. report on the seizure, which Israel predicts will mostly vindicate its Gaza blockade strategy while infuriating the Turks, who have said they would reject any such finding.
Hoping to avoid deepening the crisis, the former allies have been discussing a reconciliation deal, with Turkey insisting it include an Israeli apology. Netanyahu has not publicly responded but some top cabinet colleagues have voiced opposition.
"We are not ready to apologize, as apology, actually, is taking responsibility. You know, our soldiers on the Mavi Marmara were fighting to defend their lives," Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon told foreign journalists Thursday.
But other officials said Netanyahu had received legal advice that apologizing would forestall Turkish bids to prosecute, in international courts, the marines who clashed with activists while boarding the cruise ship on the Mediterranean high seas.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the lone center-left figure in Netanyahu's conservative coalition government, has called for compromise with Turkey "to put things behind us," citing the spiraling instability of a region where Israel lacks friends.
Asked whether Israel might change tack, Yaalon allowed that apologizing to Turkey "might be a debate" in the government and said his demurral was his personal opinion.
SIX-DAY DEADLINE
"We still have six days" to decide, he said, referring to Israel's announcement that the inquiry set up by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and chaired by
former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer would publish its findings on July 27.
The exact phrasing of an Israeli apology, should one be forthcoming, would have to be in "language that both sides can live with," a senior Turkish official told Reuters in Ankara.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has demanded Israel also compensate Mavi Marmara survivors and end Gaza's blockade.
Yaalon said Israel was willing to pay into a "humanitarian fund" for those bereaved or hurt aboard the ship. But Israel, having eased land crossings into Gaza, has signaled no change to a sea closure it says stems gun-running by Hamas militants.
Officials from both sides have been involved in the preparation of the Palmer report and are familiar with its contents.
Yaalon, Israel's senior envoy in the talks, said the Palmer report "actually supports the Israeli position regarding the legitimacy, the legality of the naval blockade and, as a result of it, the legality, the legitimacy of the interception."
The report would also "criticize the use of force by us," he said, but added this would not be tantamount to questioning the case-by-case conduct of marines who inflicted casualties.
Turkish officials have declined to comment on the specific content of the report.
Yaalon, a former chief of Israel's armed forces who in 2006 narrowly avoided an attempt by pro-Palestinian activists to have him arrested while on a visit to New Zealand, played down the importance of any Turkish help in averting legal actions.
Indemnification by Ankara, he said, would not be relevant in other countries where such "annoying" lawsuits can be pursued.
He added: "If we are ready to sacrifice our lives to defend the country, we should be ready to deal with this challenge."
An Israeli apology would incense Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Netanyahu's ultra-nationalist senior coalition partner, who has said the onus was on Turkey to make amends.
But Yaalon saw no threat of Lieberman leaving the government.
"The coalition is very strong," he said.
Libya's Gaddafi rules out talks
SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi ruled out on Thursday talks with the rebels seeking to end his 41-year-rule, casting doubt on a flurry of Western efforts to negotiate an end to a deepening civil conflict.
"There will be no talks between me and them until Judgment Day," Gaddafi told a crowd of thousands of his supporters in his home city of Sirte in a remotely delivered audio message. "They need to talk with the Libyan people ... and they will respond to them."
The rally in the quiet seaside city drew men wearing green hats, women waving flags and children whose faces were painted with pro-Gaddafi slogans.
Their vociferous support for Gaddafi -- and rebel declarations earlier that the war could not be ended through talks -- showed how far Libya may be from a negotiated end to its five-month-old conflict.
Rebels who have struggled to arm and organize themselves have suffered losses in the past week near the insurgent stronghold of Misrata and the eastern oil hub Brega, but are pushing ahead with their campaign to unseat the longtime leader.
On Thursday the rebels said their advance toward the capital had been slowed by the laying of hundreds of thousands of mines at Brega, but the frontline at Zlitan advanced to the closest it has ever been to the western city's outskirts.
Foreign diplomatic efforts to find a solution have intensified as the fighting drags on. China said it would work with the African Union, which has proposed a plan seen as less hostile to the Libyan leader than a Western plan that insists on his stepping down.
Chinese President Hu Jintao told his visiting South African counterpart Jacob Zuma that the Africans had played an important role in pushing a political solution.
"China greatly appreciates this and is willing to continue remaining in close touch and to coordinate closely with South Africa and the African Union on the Libya issue," Hu said.
France said on Wednesday Gaddafi could stay in Libya if he gave up power, an apparent softening of the West's stance in a new effort to find a diplomatic end to the war.
The United States said Gaddafi must quit, but whether he remained in Libya after that would be up to the Libyan people.
But Libyan officials have said before now that Gaddafi's departure was not up for negotiation and the rebels said on Thursday that no one seriously expected talks to end the crisis.
"No one talks about a political solution. Impossible. He closed all the doors," said Colonel Ahmed Bani, a rebel military spokesman. "What do we tell the widower? What do we tell the mother who lost her children ... We can't negotiate, people will devour us."
MINES AND TRENCHES
Bani said he expected a breakthrough in Brega in a few days, and in the western town of Zlitan within two days.
"We are advancing slowly and clearing the mines ... but we know that at the end, we will enter it (Brega)," he told Reuters in an interview in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
"The fall of Brega is the end of the regime."
Libya's front line near the oil town of Brega, one of the last strongholds of Gaddafi's forces, has been deadlocked for weeks.
Bani estimated that 400,000 mines had been planted around Brega and said the rebels, mostly volunteers with no military experience, were working to clear them with almost no help from experts. Gaddafi's forces have pushed back the rebels by filling trenches with petrol and setting them ablaze.
The rebel forces are now about 20 kms from the edge of Brega, but Gaddafi's forces still control the city and its oil installations, he said. The rebel forces are dug in east and south of Brega.
In Zlitan, on the coast road 160 km (100 miles) east of the capital, the rebel front line has advanced 4 kms in the past 24 hours, a major gain that leaves the rebels around 5 kms from the city's outskirts.
This is the nearest the rebels have ever come to Zlitan, a source familiar with the battles said. Three rebel fighters were killed and 25 wounded on Thursday in fighting outside Zlitan, according to hospital figures. Five rebels were killed on Wednesday by mines, the rebels said.
State TV showed what it said were fresh pictures from Zlitan and Brega in an apparent bid to show the towns were still firmly in Tripoli's hands. In Zlitan, dozens of Gaddafi supporters were shown chanting slogans of support.
Some analysts have said Gaddafi is running short of fuel and food, which could stoke popular unrest ahead of the Muslim month of Ramadan which begins next week. During Ramadan, people prepare nightly feasts after fasting by day.
The state news agency JANA said officials met on Thursday to ensure food supplies "reach consumers as soon as possible before the start of Ramadan."
Gerald Howarth, British Minister for International Security Strategy, said there would be no pause in the war for Ramadan.
"There will be no let-up in the coalition activities to protect the people of Libya," he said. "It would be highly irresponsible to give Gaddafi any excuse to inflict the kind of brutality that he has displayed in the past."
"There will be no talks between me and them until Judgment Day," Gaddafi told a crowd of thousands of his supporters in his home city of Sirte in a remotely delivered audio message. "They need to talk with the Libyan people ... and they will respond to them."
The rally in the quiet seaside city drew men wearing green hats, women waving flags and children whose faces were painted with pro-Gaddafi slogans.
Their vociferous support for Gaddafi -- and rebel declarations earlier that the war could not be ended through talks -- showed how far Libya may be from a negotiated end to its five-month-old conflict.
Rebels who have struggled to arm and organize themselves have suffered losses in the past week near the insurgent stronghold of Misrata and the eastern oil hub Brega, but are pushing ahead with their campaign to unseat the longtime leader.
On Thursday the rebels said their advance toward the capital had been slowed by the laying of hundreds of thousands of mines at Brega, but the frontline at Zlitan advanced to the closest it has ever been to the western city's outskirts.
Foreign diplomatic efforts to find a solution have intensified as the fighting drags on. China said it would work with the African Union, which has proposed a plan seen as less hostile to the Libyan leader than a Western plan that insists on his stepping down.
Chinese President Hu Jintao told his visiting South African counterpart Jacob Zuma that the Africans had played an important role in pushing a political solution.
"China greatly appreciates this and is willing to continue remaining in close touch and to coordinate closely with South Africa and the African Union on the Libya issue," Hu said.
France said on Wednesday Gaddafi could stay in Libya if he gave up power, an apparent softening of the West's stance in a new effort to find a diplomatic end to the war.
The United States said Gaddafi must quit, but whether he remained in Libya after that would be up to the Libyan people.
But Libyan officials have said before now that Gaddafi's departure was not up for negotiation and the rebels said on Thursday that no one seriously expected talks to end the crisis.
"No one talks about a political solution. Impossible. He closed all the doors," said Colonel Ahmed Bani, a rebel military spokesman. "What do we tell the widower? What do we tell the mother who lost her children ... We can't negotiate, people will devour us."
MINES AND TRENCHES
Bani said he expected a breakthrough in Brega in a few days, and in the western town of Zlitan within two days.
"We are advancing slowly and clearing the mines ... but we know that at the end, we will enter it (Brega)," he told Reuters in an interview in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
"The fall of Brega is the end of the regime."
Libya's front line near the oil town of Brega, one of the last strongholds of Gaddafi's forces, has been deadlocked for weeks.
Bani estimated that 400,000 mines had been planted around Brega and said the rebels, mostly volunteers with no military experience, were working to clear them with almost no help from experts. Gaddafi's forces have pushed back the rebels by filling trenches with petrol and setting them ablaze.
The rebel forces are now about 20 kms from the edge of Brega, but Gaddafi's forces still control the city and its oil installations, he said. The rebel forces are dug in east and south of Brega.
In Zlitan, on the coast road 160 km (100 miles) east of the capital, the rebel front line has advanced 4 kms in the past 24 hours, a major gain that leaves the rebels around 5 kms from the city's outskirts.
This is the nearest the rebels have ever come to Zlitan, a source familiar with the battles said. Three rebel fighters were killed and 25 wounded on Thursday in fighting outside Zlitan, according to hospital figures. Five rebels were killed on Wednesday by mines, the rebels said.
State TV showed what it said were fresh pictures from Zlitan and Brega in an apparent bid to show the towns were still firmly in Tripoli's hands. In Zlitan, dozens of Gaddafi supporters were shown chanting slogans of support.
Some analysts have said Gaddafi is running short of fuel and food, which could stoke popular unrest ahead of the Muslim month of Ramadan which begins next week. During Ramadan, people prepare nightly feasts after fasting by day.
The state news agency JANA said officials met on Thursday to ensure food supplies "reach consumers as soon as possible before the start of Ramadan."
Gerald Howarth, British Minister for International Security Strategy, said there would be no pause in the war for Ramadan.
"There will be no let-up in the coalition activities to protect the people of Libya," he said. "It would be highly irresponsible to give Gaddafi any excuse to inflict the kind of brutality that he has displayed in the past."
Monday, July 18, 2011
Kotoko clinch Sunderland partnership
Ghana giants Kumasi Asante Kotoko have today signed a partnership agreement with English side Sunderland FC.
A statement on Sunderland's official website on Monday said the agreement will seek to provide support in various areas for Kotoko while providing Sunderland with a leap into the emerging African market through the Ghanaian giants.
"The new partnership will see Sunderland share its coaching and business expertise with the Ghanaian club, offering practical support and advice in youth coaching, player development, fitness and medical matters and football business strategy. Kotoko in turn will work closely with Sunderland to help the club build and grow its brand in the emerging African territory," the statement said.
Sunderland chairman Nail Quinn said : "It was a huge honour to welcome the Kotoko officials to our club and I'm delighted that we have now formalised a partnership agreement with them.
"There's a tremendous passion for football in Ghana and I see a real synergy with Sunderland in that respect - football means the world to the people of Ghana and in that respect they are no different to Sunderland fans. There's an infectious enthusiasm for the game that is wonderful to witness and we are honoured to be working with Kotoko and the Ghanaian people
Ivorian arms smuggled into Ghana - WANEP
The West Africa Network for Peace building (WANEP)- Ghana says its intelligence gathering reports indicate weapons that were used during the Cote d’Ivoire political crisis have been smuggled into Ghana.
The organization says it fears that such weapons, which have been illegally acquired, could be used during the 2012 general elections to cause mayhem in Ghana.
It is against this backdrop, that the West Africa Network for Peace building has appealed to the security agencies in Ghana to conduct periodic community swoops to retrieve such weapons and ammunition from unauthorized persons.
The organization is also convinced that such a periodic exercise will boost the security agencies's determination to flush out miscreants whose activities endanger human security in most Ghanaian societies.
This was revealed in a four page document issued by WANEP-Ghana as part of its regular national security briefs under its Ghanawarn project that collates data on early warning signals.
The brief signed by Justin Bayor, National Network Coordinator of WANEP-Ghana highlighted armed robbery and proliferation of small arms, accidents and natural disasters as the three thematic areas that affected human security between March and April 2011.
Part of the brief revealed that 55 Ivorian combatants were arrested in the Brong-Ahafo Region while another person was arrested with 48 rounds of ammunition at Sefwi-Wiawso in the Western Region.
It added that the Greater Accra Regional Police Command arrested six out of twelve foreigners including an ex-Nigerian soldier and a policeman on two separate deadly occasions between the 20th and 24th April 2011 at the Bundumburam camp and Kaneshie for armed-robbery.
On road accidents, the brief recorded three major accident cases two of which involved Ministers of State, namely Deputy Education Minister Mahama Ayariga and Majority leader Hon. Cletus Avoka whose accidents occurred during the President’s tour of the Upper East Region.
A report submitted by officials of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) revealed that more than 4,000 people were displaced following consistent rainstorms in various parts of the country with the hardest hit being the Northern Regions and the Afram Plains.
The West Africa Network for Peace building as part of its recommendations implored the Ghana Immigration and the Customs Excise and Preventive Services to be more vigilant at the borders to reduce the influx of foreigners and small arms into Ghana.
WANEP-Ghana further urged the National Road Safety Commission, the district assemblies and other allied departments to map out disaster prone settlement communities and implement strategies that will help prevent avoidable flooding in those communities
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Kadhafi has 'suicide plan' for capital: Russia envoy
Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi has a "suicidal plan" to blow up the capital Tripoli if it is taken by rebels, the Kremlin's special envoy to Libya told a Russian newspaper Thursday.
"The Libyan premier told me: if the rebels seize the city, we will cover it with missiles and blow it up," Kremlin envoy Mikhail Margelov said in an interview with the Izvestia daily.
Margelov met Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmudi last month.
"I imagine that the Kadhafi regime does have such a suicidal plan," he added, saying that Kadhafi still had plentiful supplies of missiles and ammunition.
But Margelov, who has had rare access to senior Libyan officials, questioned reports that Kadhafi could be running out of arms in the drawn-out conflict.
Kadhafi had still not used a single surface-to-surface missile, he argued.
"Tripoli theoretically could lack ammunition for tanks, cartridges for rifles. But the colonel has got plenty of missiles and explosives."
Margelov met the Libyan prime minister on June 16 in Tripoli after holding talks in Benghazi earlier the same month. He has not met Kadhafi himself.
Russia abstained from a vote on a March UN Security Council resolution that opened the way for foreign involvement and has since criticized the campaign -- particularly arms drops by France.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday for talks on Libya, where Lavrov sought to play down differences between the countries.
However, the Russian foreign ministry said earlier Wednesday that Moscow would not take part in talks on Libya later this week in Turkey, which has also seen itself as a mediator in the conflict
"The Libyan premier told me: if the rebels seize the city, we will cover it with missiles and blow it up," Kremlin envoy Mikhail Margelov said in an interview with the Izvestia daily.
Margelov met Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmudi last month.
"I imagine that the Kadhafi regime does have such a suicidal plan," he added, saying that Kadhafi still had plentiful supplies of missiles and ammunition.
But Margelov, who has had rare access to senior Libyan officials, questioned reports that Kadhafi could be running out of arms in the drawn-out conflict.
Kadhafi had still not used a single surface-to-surface missile, he argued.
"Tripoli theoretically could lack ammunition for tanks, cartridges for rifles. But the colonel has got plenty of missiles and explosives."
Margelov met the Libyan prime minister on June 16 in Tripoli after holding talks in Benghazi earlier the same month. He has not met Kadhafi himself.
Russia abstained from a vote on a March UN Security Council resolution that opened the way for foreign involvement and has since criticized the campaign -- particularly arms drops by France.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday for talks on Libya, where Lavrov sought to play down differences between the countries.
However, the Russian foreign ministry said earlier Wednesday that Moscow would not take part in talks on Libya later this week in Turkey, which has also seen itself as a mediator in the conflict
French prime minister visits newly oil-rich Ghana
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon (L) speaks with Ghanaian President John Atta Mills in Accra.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Saturday visited Ghana, Africa's newest major oil producer, telling President John Atta Mills that France wanted to take part in his nation's development.
Fillon travelled to the West African nation on the second stop of a three-country tour that first led him to Ivory Coast, with his final stop Gabon.
Ghana was the only one of the three on the tour that was not a former French colony, having gained independence from Britain in 1957.
Fillon said the visit showed "France's willingness to participate in Ghana's economic development," adding that his country was re-orienting its policies toward Africa to further engage non-French-speaking nations.
"Many French companies are interested in doing business in Ghana," Fillon said at a meeting with Mills, with 2011 GDP growth estimates for the country having been put at around 12 percent.
Besides its recently discovered oil wealth, Ghana is seen as a democratic model in West Africa. Mills narrowly won presidential elections in 2008 and is running again in the 2012 vote.
Mills said at the meeting that his country had followed the path of democracy as the only way of attaining peace and economic development.
But the start of large-scale oil production in December has raised concerns over the potential pitfalls, with some warning of the corruption and economic mismanagement that has plagued nearby Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer.
French foreign trade minister Pierre Lellouche was part of the delegation along with several French business executives. Lellouche was also to attend an economic forum in Accra.
Three financing agreements with French development agency AFD were signed during the visit, including one involving urban development projects, for a total of some 50 million euros.
Fillon also paid tribute to Ghana's contributions to peacekeeping efforts, with Ghanaian troops having participated in a number of missions throughout the continent.
Iraq says Kuwait began port project unilaterally
Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday that Kuwait never officially informed Baghdad about a controversial port project, which his country says must be stopped.
Baghdad alleges that the neighbouring emirate's Mubarak megaport will hinder Iraq's access to shipping lanes.
"The astonishing thing about the Mubarak port is that the Kuwaiti side never mentioned it during our long discussions" over many outstanding issues, Maliki said in a statement from his office.
"Iraq only learned about it from third parties."
Maliki was reacting to remarks by a senior Kuwaiti official that Baghdad had been informed in advance about the project, his office said.
Earlier this month, Iraqi Transportation Minister Hadi al-Amari said Kuwait must stop work on the Mubarak port because it will block Iraqi access to shipping lanes.
Kuwait began work on the $1.1 billion (778 million euros) port in May. The facility, on Kuwait's Bubyan Island, is scheduled for completion in 2016.
The Gulf is the main export outlet for Iraqi oil, which accounts for the lion's share of the country's revenues, and Baghdad has started major work to modernise
its outdated ports.
Baghdad alleges that the neighbouring emirate's Mubarak megaport will hinder Iraq's access to shipping lanes.
"The astonishing thing about the Mubarak port is that the Kuwaiti side never mentioned it during our long discussions" over many outstanding issues, Maliki said in a statement from his office.
"Iraq only learned about it from third parties."
Maliki was reacting to remarks by a senior Kuwaiti official that Baghdad had been informed in advance about the project, his office said.
Earlier this month, Iraqi Transportation Minister Hadi al-Amari said Kuwait must stop work on the Mubarak port because it will block Iraqi access to shipping lanes.
Kuwait began work on the $1.1 billion (778 million euros) port in May. The facility, on Kuwait's Bubyan Island, is scheduled for completion in 2016.
The Gulf is the main export outlet for Iraqi oil, which accounts for the lion's share of the country's revenues, and Baghdad has started major work to modernise
its outdated ports.
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