Mubarak shuffles cabinet but protesters say "Go!"

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak overhauled his government on Monday to try to defuse a popular uprising against his 30-year rule but angry protesters rejected the changes and said he must surrender power.

On the seventh consecutive day of unrest in the Arab world's most populous nation, tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square chanting "Get out ... We want you out" and singing Egypt's national anthem.

Troops backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers made no effort to disperse the crowd even two hours after a curfew started, although helicopters flew overhead.

"This is all nonsense," said protester Omar el-Demerdash, 24, a research executive, adding:

"The demand is clear: We want Mubarak and his men to get out. Anything other than that is just not enough."

Egypt's powerful army now appears to hold the key to Mubarak's fate. Although the generals have held back from crushing the revolt, they have not withdrawn support for him.

The uprising, unprecedented in scale and intensity in this once tightly-controlled country, erupted last week when frustration over repression, corruption, poverty and the lack of democracy under Mubarak boiled over.

About 140 people were killed in clashes with security forces in scenes that overturned Egypt's standing as a stable country, promising emerging market and attractive tourist destination.

Mubarak, a close U.S. ally and a stalwart in Western policy toward the Middle East, responded by offering economic reform to address public anger over hardships.

On Monday he named General Mahmoud Wagdy, previously head of Cairo criminal investigations department, as the new interior minister. Wagdy's predecessor was reviled by many Egyptians because of the repressive tactics used by the police force to quash the opposition and criticism of the president.

Mubarak, clinging to power as his legitimacy vaporizes, on Saturday named his intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, a former military man, as vice president, a post vacant for 30 years. It was a move seen by some as a prelude to a transition in power.

He also appointed former air force commander Ahmed Shafiq as prime minister after sacking the entire cabinet.

But it appeared the moves would do little to turn back the groundswell against the 82-year-old ruler.

"This new cabinet is too little, too late. I think Mubarak will probably be gone well before 30 days is up," Zaineb Al-Assam, a Middle East expert at London-based Exclusive Analysis, told Reuters.

"There are some figures in the cabinet who are deeply unpopular. An example is General Wagdy. That's going to add to the protests. Mubarak will be seen by the army as a liability."

Dave Hartwell, Middle East analyst at IHS Jane's, said the government changes ruled out the possibility that Mubarak's son Gamal -- until last week widely viewed as his likely successor -- would take over.

"The speculation is these changes are being forced on Mubarak by the army and the conclusion is the army is now wielding influence behind the scenes."

Protesters called for mass rallies on Tuesday, saying one million people could take to the streets to mark a week since the uprising broke out.

Although the movement started with no clear leaders or organization, the opposition is taking steps to organize.

The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group, said it was seeking to form a broad political committee with Mohamed ElBaradei to talk to the army.

ElBaradei, a Nobel peace laureate and former head of the U.N. nuclear agency, has urged Mubarak to go and has lent his international stature to a movement that has lacked a leader.

The Brotherhood, which has wide support among poor Egyptians, has until now kept in the background of an uprising spearheaded by the young urban poor and students, fearing a harsh crackdown.

WEST WAIT-AND-SEE

World leaders were trying to figure out how to respond to a crisis that threatens to tear up the Middle East political map.

Most have urged Mubarak to introduce reforms but stopped short of calling for him step down, preferring to emphasize their desire for stability and democratic elections.

The United States, which has poured billions of dollars of aid into Egypt since Mubarak came to power has called for an "orderly transition."

Washington has long seen Mubarak as a bulwark in the Middle East, first against communism then against militant Islam.

As the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel, Egypt plays a key part in the peace process, and a change in leadership could have big implications for these efforts.

"We certainly don't want Egypt to fall into the hands of extremists," British Foreign Minister William Hague said in Brussels. "That is why we want an orderly transition to free and fair elections."

The crisis in Egypt follows a revolt that toppled the leader of Tunisia earlier this month and the wave of popular anger is also sweeping other countries in North Africa and the Middle East. It was the generals who persuaded Tunisia's leader to go.

Exclusive Analysis' Assam said Yemen, Sudan, Jordan and Syria all looked vulnerable to "contagion" but the greatest risk was in Saudi Arabia.

"U.S. interests are the first casualty. Indeed, U.S. allies in the region will be alarmed at the rapid drain of U.S. public support for an erstwhile ally like Mubarak," she said.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad said there was no chance the upheaval might spread to Syria, which has been controlled by his Baath Party for the last five decades.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Assad said Syria's ruling hierarchy was "very closely linked to the beliefs of the people" and that there was no mass discontent.

TUMULT HITS TOURISM

Foreign governments scrambled to ensure the safety of their nationals trapped by the unrest. One group of tourists was hunkered down in the Marriott Hotel in the Egyptian capital waiting to be taken to the airport.

"I had heard a lot about Egypt's history and the pyramids so I am very disappointed I cannot see all that, but I just want to get out," said Albert So, an accountant from Hong Kong.

Egypt's financial markets and banks were closed for the second day in a row.

International markets are also watching anxiously. Global stocks flattened out after opening down and developed market stocks were up.

Europe's benchmark Brent crude was just short of $100 a barrel on fears the unrest could spread among regional oil-producing nations.

Moody's downgraded Egypt to Ba2 with a negative outlook from Ba1, saying the government might damage its already weak finances by increasing social spending to calm the protests.

EU agrees to freeze assets of Tunisia's Ben Ali

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to freeze the assets of Tunisia's former President Zine-al Abidine Ben Ali and his wife, an EU official said.

The sanctions could be extended in future to other people considered to have misappropriated state funds, the official said.

Ben Ali and his family built up interests in many Tunisian companies and industries during his two decades in power, including hotels, banks, tuna exports, construction, newspapers and pharmaceuticals.

He was driven out by a popular revolt on January 14 and sought refuge in Saudi Arabia.

EU ministers meeting in Brussels were also expected to look at ways to offer better trade terms to Tunisia to help strengthen the country's economy.

Since Ben Ali's overthrow, the EU has been trying to create a new relationship with a country with which it developed strong trade and political ties during Ben Ali's 23 years in power.

France, Tunisia's former colonial ruler, Italy and Spain have all had good relations with Ben Ali and his government in recent years, while at the same time urging democratic reforms.

It was not yet clear where the Ben Ali family's assets were held, although Switzerland has said it intends to freeze any deposited there. France has announced measures to block any suspicious movements of Tunisian money.

Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign affairs chief, spoke to Tunisia's foreign minister by telephone Friday and invited him to come to Brussels this week to discuss how the EU could help the country as it tries to restore stability.

The EU plans to send a team of experts to Tunisia in the coming weeks to help plan new elections

Hundreds of Russians protest against Putin

MOSCOW – Several hundred people are demonstrating on a central Moscow square to call for the ouster of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The protest is being led by several prominent opposition figures, including Boris Nemtsov, who was arrested and jailed for 15 days following a similar demonstration a month ago.

Nemtsov's arrest drew Western condemnation and mobilized his supporters, who held daily pickets outside the jail where he was being kept.

The demonstrations are held on the last day of every month with 31 days to call attention to the 31st Article of Russia's Constitution, which guarantees freedom of assembly.

The city authorized Monday's rally, but it also authorized the rally Dec. 31, during which 68 people were detained.

Hundreds of police surrounded the square.

Alassane Ouattara calls for Ivorian cocoa export ban

The internationally recognised president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, is calling for all cocoa exports to be suspended from today.

It is the latest move to mount pressure on incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo.

Mr Gbagbo is refusing to step down, but at the weekend he lost control of the state accounts when a key ally, the governor of the West African central bank, resigned.

Ivory Coast is the world's biggest cocoa exporter and cocoa taxes are vital for helping to pay civil servant salaries.

UN's Ban urges solidarity over Ivorian election crisis

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for a united approach to the ongoing poll dispute in Ivory Coast.

Speaking at an African Union summit, Mr Ban said the world should "stand firm" against attempts by incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo to cling onto power.

Both the UN and AU recognise Mr Gbagbo's challenger Alassane Ouattara as Ivory Coast's president-elect.

Meanwhile, the AU is setting up a panel tasked with finding a legally-binding settlement to the Ivorian dispute.

The panel of five African leaders will be asked to find a solution within a month, reports say.

'African splits'

Addressing the AU summit in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, Mr Ban said: "We must preserve our unified position, act together, and stand firm against Mr Gbagbo's attempt to hang onto power through the use of force."

Earlier, the UN chief expressed his concern about apparent splits in African efforts to end the Ivorian crisis.

The AU is backing Mr Ouattara, who is running a parallel government from a hotel in Abidjan which Mr Gbagbo's forces have blockaded.

However, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni suggested earlier this week that the UN should not have recognised Mr Ouattara so quickly.

Separately, Mr Gbagbo's call for a vote recount has been taken up by some African leaders who appear increasingly reluctant to resort to the military option suggested by the West African bloc Ecowas.

Mr Ouattara is seen by many countries as the legitimate winner of November's presidential election.

But Mr Gbagbo is refusing to step down after the country's Constitutional Council, headed by one of his allies, ruled in his favour.

Nigeria: Borno politician Gubio shot dead

A candidate for governor in the north-eastern Nigerian state of Borno has been shot dead, officials say.

Modu Fannami Gubio and at least four other people, including a 10-year-old child, were killed by men on motorbikes after Friday prayers in Maiduguri city.

Mr Gubio was the candidate for the opposition All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) in April's elections.

A BBC reporter says there are deep divisions within the ANPP over his selection to run for governor.

Similar ride-by attacks have been blamed on the Boko Haram sect, who have been targeting police and politicians.

But the BBC's Bilkisu Babangida in Maiduguri say politicians and the police believe this killing was politically motivated.

Our reporter says the attack happened as Mr Gubio left his father's home after Friday prayers.

He was talking to his supporters when two motorcyles, each with a driver and gunman, approached and shot into the crowd.

Five people, including Mr Gubio, were killed instantly and two other people are being treated in hospital, our correspondent says.

"Obviously it's a political assassination," Borno's police chief Mohammed Jinjiri Abubakar told AFP news agency.

People hid inside their homes and shops shut as police cordoned off large neighbourhoods searching for the killers of Mr Gubio, AP reports.

Nigeria's recent elections have been tarnished by fraud and violence.

Maiduguri has also experienced a string of assassinations in recent months blamed on the Boko Haram sect, which is known locally as the Taliban and wants to see Islamic law imposed across Nigeria.

The sect is opposed to Western education and accuses Nigeria's government of being corrupted by Western ideas.

Hundreds of people suspected of being Boko Haram members escaped from prison last September after gunmen attacked the jail where they were being held in the city.

Clashes in Maiduguri between Boko Haram and the police in July 2009 left hundreds of mainly sect members dead.

The violence began after the sect members attacked a police station in Maiduguri in 2009 and clashes spread to neighbouring areas.

President Mills breaks ground for commencement of STX housing project

Accra, GNA - President John Atta Mills on Thursday performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the commencement of the eagerly-awaited Ghana National Housing Project, pushing the venture as "a legacy that history will not be able to write".


"This is a significant turning point in the history of our dear country. This is the change we promised …And government intends to leave a strong and positive legacy and the completion of this project will be a legacy that history will not be able to write," he said
The ceremony kick-starts the initial phase of the project that would witness the building of 30,000 housing units valued at 1.5 billion dollars for the security agencies across the 10 regions.

The grand plan of the project is to build a total of 200,000 housing units within five years to augment the national housing deficit.

Addressing a motley crowd at the adorned parade grounds of the Police College in Accra, President Mills said the STX Housing Project, was tied to the National Democratic Congress' 2008 manifesto commitment to expand infrastructure.

He said the successful implementation of the project signalled government's commitment to fulfil its promise to improve the living conditions of Ghanaians, reassuring workers that their well-being was at the heart of government's agenda.

President Mills, however, warned that government would not tolerate shoddy work because "we are not building houses for the sake of building; we are building houses that will stand the test of time".


"This is not about scoring cheap political points; it is about providing acceptable and durable accommodation for the hardworking Ghanaian worker…The tax payer is working too hard and we dare not abuse and waste the nation's scarce resources," he noted.

President Mills commended the Korean government for the gesture done Ghana to improve infrastructure to strengthen its economy, urging STX and all other players to put their best into the project.

Mr Jong Hwang Jung, Korean Minister for Lands, Transportation and Maritime, touted the ceremony as the "start of an unprecedented housing project in Ghana".

"This project would bring mutual benefits to our countries and I hope more co-operative projects would be undertaken between Ghana and Korea."

He commended Ghana for the move, stating that it would improve the lot of Ghanaians.

Water Resource, Works and Housing Minister, Mr Alban Bagbin, noted that despite the stormy tide the project passed through, the ceremony marked the "strong and uncompromising" commitment of government to deliver a "Better Ghana" by providing world-class affordable housing to Ghanaians.

He said his ministry would ensure that the project met quality and time obligations.

GNA

Jordanians rally against corruption and poverty

AMMAN (Reuters) – Jordanian activists rallied outside government offices Saturday as they tried to step up their campaign to force Prime Minister Samir Rifai to step down.

Inspired by unrest in Tunisia and elsewhere in the region, about 200 Jordanians gathered outside the prime minister's office shouting "Our government is a bunch of thieves" and holding banners reading "No to poverty or hunger."

"We've come from distant, rural areas to Amman to ask Rifai to leave," said Mohammed Sunaid, a prominent labor activist.

"We call for the overthrow of this government that has destroyed the poor. This government should be for all Jordanians not just the rich."

Jordan is struggling with its worst economic downturn in decades. The government has announced measures to cut prices of essentials, create jobs and raise salaries of civil servants.

Protesters say the moves do not go far enough and have staged rallies calling for the reversal of free-market reforms which many blame for a widening gap between rich and poor.

Protesters say the sale of state assets to foreign investors over the past decade has enriched the country's business and political elite but has done little to help the poor.

"We want a special court that will put on trial all those who sold the property of the Jordanian people ...," Sunaid said.

Others have called for constitutional reforms to curb the extensive power of the king who appoints cabinets, approves legislation and can dissolve parliament.

"We hope that citizens will be able to chose the government that represents them ...," said Ali Dalain, an activist and former deputy from the southern city of Karak.

Unlike Tunis or Egypt, the Jordanian state has long focused its economic drive and budget money on developing rural areas.

But discontent has grown nonetheless as the economic downturn weakened the state's ability to create jobs in the public sector which has traditionally absorbed poor tribesmen in rural areas.

Egypt riots knock Wall St to biggest drop in 6 months

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks suffered their biggest one-day loss in nearly six months on Friday as anti-government rioting in Egypt prompted investors to flee to less risky assets to ride out the turmoil.

Increased instability in the Middle East drove up the CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX), the stock market's fear gauge, as investors scrambled for protective positions.

"The market hates uncertainties, especially geopolitical ones, and based on how that shapes up throughout the weekend (in Egypt), next week's trading will be impacted," said Thomas Nyheim, portfolio manager for Christiana Bank & Trust Co in Greenville, Delaware.

Trading volume was the highest of the year at 9.97 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, compared to last year's estimated daily average of 8.47 billion shares.

The market drop ended the Dow's eight-week winning streak and pushed the S&P 500 below its 14-day moving average for the first time in two months. Disappointing results from Amazon.com

(AMZN.O) and Ford (F.N) further added to the gloom.

Developments in the Middle East could be a trigger for investors to sell at a time when many expected a correction after a market rally of about 18 percent since September.

"I think the next two to three weeks, the crisis in Egypt and potentially across the Middle East, might be an excuse for a big selloff of 5 to 10 percent," said Keith Wirtz, president and chief investment officer at Fifth Third Asset Management in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Nasdaq quotations for its main stock indexes suffered an outage of nearly one hour at the open, causing confusion among traders. Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ.O) blamed a glitch with its global index data service.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) ended down 166.13 points, or 1.39 percent, at 11,823.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was down 23.20 points, or 1.79 percent, at 1,276.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) fell 68.39 points, or 2.48 percent, at 2,686.89.

For the week, the Dow fell 0.4 percent, the S&P lost 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq dipped 0.1 percent.

Amazon.com (AMZN.O) shares slipped 7.2 percent to $171.14, a day after the online retailer recorded revenue below the consensus view.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) slumped 13.4 percent to $16.27 after a steep drop in quarterly profit. Rival automaker General Motors Co (GM.N) also lost 5.4 percent to $36.60.

Dow component Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) also fell 3.9 percent to $27.75 a day after its profit dipped.

In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak sent troops and armored

cars into cities in an attempt to quell street fighting and mass protests, and medical sources said at least five protesters had been killed and 870 wounded.

The VIX settled up 24.1 percent at 20.04. The percentage gain was the largest since May 20. U.S. Treasuries prices and the dollar -- assets considered safe compared to stocks -- rallied.

U.S. crude futures rose 4.4 percent to $89.43 a barrel as the protests in Egypt threatened Middle East stability. Oil companies with operations in the region were hit, including Apache Corp (APA.N) and Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N).

Apache shares were down 1.3 percent at $144.84 and Occidental Petroleum fell 3.3 percent to $93.81.

Equities garnered support from data showing the U.S. economy grew at a 3.2 percent rate in the fourth quarter as consumer spending accelerated.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,533 to 484. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers by 2,221 to 413.

Rwanda grenade attack kills two people, wounds 28

KIGALI (Reuters) – A grenade attack killed two people and wounded at least 28 in Rwanda's capital Kigali during the Friday evening rush hour, the police said Saturday.

Police spokesman Theos Badege said four people had been arrested in connection with the blast and investigations were underway. No details of the suspects were given.

The grenade exploded near a busy bus terminal in Giporoso, Remera, a suburb of Kigali.

Badege said the police cannot at the moment figure out the motive of those who threw the grenade, but were not ruling out that the attack was designed to cause instability.

"So far two people are dead and among the 28 who sustained injuries, 10 are critically injured and hospitalized," Badege told Reuters.

"This particular type was a hand grenade. It went off at around 7 p.m. Kigali time at Giporoso near the bus park.

"It could be an isolated incident, but we can't say it was by accident because someone was definitely moving with this grenade. A mini bus was also party damaged," he said.

Kigali was hit by a string of grenade attacks last year which the government has blamed on two high-ranking officers now in exile.

One of the exiles -- Lieutenant-General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, a former chief of staff and ambassador to India -- denied the allegations last year.

He said the Rwandan authorities had staged grenade attacks and then accused him of being behind them.

Nyamwasa now lives in South Africa. He was shot and wounded last June in an attack his wife blamed on Rwanda, a charge labeled as "preposterous" by Kigali.

Many grenades were left over from lengthy conflicts in the Great Lakes region and are sometimes used to settle scores.

While there has generally been little crime in recent years in the central African country -- where 800,000 were killed in 100 days in the 1994 genocide -- there are occasional bombings.

German left wing protesters take part

German left wing protesters take part in a demonstration to support their comrades who occupied a house in Berlin, January 29, 2011. German police plan to empty the occupied house at Liebigstrasse 14 in Berlin on February 2, 2011. The text on banner reads: 'Defend Liebig 14

Looters destroy mummies in Egyptian Museum: official

CAIRO (Reuters) – Looters broke into the Egyptian Museum during anti-government protests late Friday and destroyed two Pharaonic mummies, Egypt's top archaeologist told state television.

The museum in central Cairo, which has the world's biggest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, is adjacent to the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party that protesters had earlier set ablaze. Flames were seen still pouring out of the party headquarters early Saturday.

"I felt deeply sorry today when I came this morning to the Egyptian Museum and found that some had tried to raid the museum by force last night," Zahi Hawass, chairman of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said Saturday.

"Egyptian citizens tried to prevent them and were joined by the tourism police, but some (looters) managed to enter from above and they destroyed two of the mummies," he said.

He added looters had also ransacked the ticket office.

The two-storey museum, built in 1902, houses tens of thousands of objects in its galleries and storerooms, including most of the King Tutankhamen collection.

Two farmers from Abiriw shot by unidentified persons

Abiriw Akuapem (E/R), Jan. 27, GNA - Two farmers from Abiriw, Kwabena Adu, 35, and Kwadwo Adu, 36, were injured when they were shot in the chest and in the hip respectively on Wednesday by some youth from Dawu over a disputed land.

The two, together with five others, had gone to the land between the two towns when some angry youth from Dawu opened fire on them.

One other person, Asiamah Bekoe, 40, was kidnapped.

When news of the incidence got to the people of Abiriw, the youth from the area armed themselves and blocked the main street leading to the town in a bid to search every passing vehicle to vent their anger on those believed to be citizens of Dawu.

But intervention by the police from Akropong and Koforidua prevented the angry youth from carrying out their plan.
The two injured young men were taken to the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital at Mampong Akuapem but the whereabouts of the one kidnapped was still unknown.

Briefing the Ghana News Agency at Abiriw, the Akropong Divisional Police Crime Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police Anthony Addepa, said the police received information that some youth from Abiriw who went to their farms on the disputed land had been shot by some youth of Dawu.

He said a team of armed policemen were deployed to the scene where the victims were seen in pools of blood and taken to the hospital.

Mr Addepa said to prevent a possible clash between youth from the two towns the police went to the palaces of the chiefs of the two towns and appealed to the chiefs to advice their youth to desist from any violent act.
He said the police had arrested one Kwame Henaku suspected to be the brain behind the incident.

GNA

Abandoned affordable houses...squatters assume ownership

Source: Ghanaian Times


The Affordable Housing Project started by the former administration at Asokore-Mampong in Ashanti, has been taken over by squatters.

They have occupied portions of the uncompleted buildings after the various contractors had abandoned work for non-payment of jobs done.

Early settlers have turned themselves into landlords charging new comers between GH¢15 and GH¢20 for single room and GH¢100 for two and three bedroom apartment with hall toilet, bath and kitchen.

The squatters are believed to come from communities like Sawaba, Ayigya Zongo and Aboabo.

The Kufour administration initiated the housing project on a 50-acre land in 2006, in the bid to provide decent, and affordable houses for civil and public servants.

But, the Times has gathered that construction work on the about 800 flats of one, two and three bedrooms stalled in 2009.

Most of the project materials such as iron rods, PVC pipes, cement blocks, wooden doors, chippings, window and door frames said to belong to the government have been stolen.

According to the squatters, one Accapela, who claims to be a foreman of one of the contracting firms working on the project, began the renting out of the rooms to people seeking accommodation. Attempts to contact Accapela failed.

Life has not been easy, however, for the squatters as some of them told the Times that for about three times they have been chased out by some security personnel, "but we came back two or so days after".

The "occupants" have used black polythene sheets to cover the windows and wawa boards for the doors.

The Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council says it is aware of the situation and according to the Deputy Regional Minister, Anima Wilson, the government is working hard to put things right".

Mr. Ernest Banning, the project consultant expressed grave concern about the invasion of the building by squatters, describing the situation as difficult to control.

"The site is vast and you can't imagine how security personnel without arms can man the place at night when the squatter come in their numbers," he said.

Mr Banning said the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing was making every frantic effort to get funds for the continuation of the project and once work is in progress it will be very difficult for any squatters to find the place as "haven".

In Accra, Mr. Alban Bagbin, Minister of Water Resources, Works find Housing, told the Times that the past government embarked on the project without sustainable source of financing it.

Mr. Bagbin said the Kufuor administration took a 30 million dollar loan from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for the project but the money got exhausted before it left office.

On assuming power in 2009, Mr. Bagbin said the new government decided to source for additional 100 million dollars from SSNIT to complete the project. The amount is yet to be released.

According to the Minister, the project was not handled properly by the past administration as it was given to more than 400 contractors and the Ministry decided to purchase the materials for the contractors.

"We are aware of the difficulties facing the contractors and we will soon secure the necessary funding to complete the project," he said.

Mr. Bagbin said the squatters would be flushed out as soon as the Ministry secures funding from SSNIT and other financial institutions to complete the project.

War in Ivory Coast will have devastating effects on Ghana

GhanaWeb


BY KALSAK

Before I was born, there was a country called Ghana and later an infant organization formed and acronymed ECOWAS.
My heart pumped when I read the content of a press confab organized by the flag bearer of the opposition NPP, Nana Akuffo Addo regarding the stance of the president of Ghana, Prof. John Evans Attah Mills in the ongoing political fall out in Ivory Coast.

Prior to the NPP confab, Prof Mills made it clear that he cannot object to ECOWAS as a body’s decision to resort to war to bring sanity into the political scene in Ivory Coast. But he will not contribute troops to that course because Ghana’s military troops are already overstretched as a result of engagement in home and other international assignments.

In his press confab, Nana Akuffo Addo considers Prof. Mills’ stance as not clear and;
? Betrayal of ECOWAS by Ghana and
? Damaging Ghana’s diplomatic relations
This issues raised by Akuffo Addo to me are trivial rather than vital in comparison with Prof. Mills’ reasoning.
In my opinion, all that Prof. Mills is saying is simple. From his utterances, he seems to be saying; Ghana is a member of ECOWAS and for that reason, any decision taking by ECOWAS binds on her but Ghana is not in support of ‘war’ to restore peace to Ivory Coast. This stance by Prof. Mills to me is reasonable by all standards.
Why?
The answer is not far fetched; Prof. Mills must have considered the consequences of war in Ivory Coast on Ghana and realized that the negative effects out weighs the positive effects if there is any at all.

My Brothers and Sisters let us take our time to delve into some of these far reaching negative consequences that Prof. might have considered before arriving at his stance .

A war in Ivory Coast will lead to;
? Influx of Ivorian refugees into Ghana. Ghana will become the hub of Ivorian refugees than any other country in the ECOWAS sub region because of the close proximity, enviable Ghanaian hospitality and peace and above all stable governance. Taking a queue from what happened in the Liberian war, it would have been logical that most of the refugees flee to neighbouring Ivory Coast and Nigeria, but record shows that more Liberian refugees fled into Ghana than any of these two neighbouring countries. How much more if it happens in a country that shares boarders with Ghana. The influx of these refugees, will lead to a further pressure on Ghana’s economic resources, social amenities e.g. hospitals, schools etc amidst the import of communicable and transmittable diseases e.g. HIV and AIDS which is allegedly known to have eaten deep into the health fabrics of Ivory Coast with its numerous effects.
? Ghana’s oil field as a target; Ghana’s oil field boarders with Ivory Coast and we all know Ivory Coast has ones made an unsuccessful claim of portions of that particular oil field. Going into war in Ivory Coast will therefore provide a perfect platform for destroying Ghana’s oil fields by rival factions in the war and other secret groups in the Sub Saharan Region for selfish reasons. Considering even the initial start up capital for the project, Ghana will be hit with serious economic crisis if they succeed in destroying the oil fields.

The list of consequences could go on unabated but these two are the most critical few for any selfless leader to consider in arriving at a decision in times like this.

It is therefore sad and a pity for Ghana, that Nana Akuffo Addo’s selfish interest has engulfed his sense of mercy and pity and has not paused for a second to consider most of these things before organizing a press confab lambasting President Mills to score cheap political points.
I would have taken Nana Akuffo Addo serious, if he had suggested pragmatic alternative solutions to the problem in Ivory Coast rather than backing the decision by ECOWAS to use war.

Based on the above, I want to throw the following questions for us to ponder over.
? Is the betrayal of ECOWAS by Ghana as alleged by Akuffo Addo, more important than the innocent blood that will be shared and invaluable lost and pain it will bring to families who might lose their precious sons and daughters in a war sparked by a conspiracy of which they did not play a part?
? Diplomatic relations are formed in the prime interest of the citizenry of countries. The question here is; what becomes of a nations diplomatic relations, if her citizens for which it is fostered to protect are destroyed in a war?

Furthermore, my advice for the two candidates at the centre of this controversy is that, the solution lies with them. They should put the interest of the Ivory Coast first and consider the wisdom in the good old saying; a nightmarish end is better than a nightmare that never ends and smokes the peace pipe for the betterment of Ivory Coast and the world at large.

Finally, it is high time Akuffo Addo realized that Prof. Mills is the president of Ghana and for that reason assumes the position of an uncontested principal and has control over all Government operations and decisions.
I therefore challenge him to get real and practical rather than partisan and selfish in delicate issues of this nature.