NEWS IN BRIEF Monday 19 May 1997

Accra African governments must initiate equal opportunities for industry and agriculture, Mr. Addo Iro, Senior Development Officer of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said today.

He stressed that the same policies and incentives provided to industrial development ought to be equally provided to the agricultural sector.

"Modern entrepreneurs must be groomed and encouraged to venture into modern farming," Mr. Iro suggested.

The UN expert was speaking at the opening of the 13th meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Industry and the Private Sector Forum.

Accra Mr. Justice D.F. Annan, Speaker, today proposed to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) to encourage and facilitate the organization of model parliaments at national levels.

This, he said, will help develop a healthy respect for representative institutions among the youth and also enable them to gain an insight into the actual functioning of such institutions.

Mr. Justice Annan was opening a three-day in-house seminar for members of parliament in Accra.

Accra A five-day international workshop to prepare trade unions to develop effective policies on Occupational Health and Safety, opened in Accra today for 17 union leaders of the International Federation of Builders and Woodworkers.

The participants from Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone will be guided to identify sources of risks at various workplaces and draw policies that will bind their employers to eliminate those risks and make the workplace safe and healthy.

Workers will also be educated to prevent accidents and diseases.

Accra Mr. Emile Short, the Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, said today Africa should tidy up the damage caused by ethnic and civil wars, by waging another war to reduce poverty and create a culture of respect for human rights.

"After the devastation by ethnic and civil wars resulting in the slaughter of innocent people and the displacement of millions, the greatest challenge we face today is how to end poverty, maintain peace and security within our borders and, above all, create a culture of respect for human rights and freedoms," said Mr. Short.

He was addressing some 40 West-African legal practitioners attending a five-day operational review workshop of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights which opened in Accra this morning.

Legal practitioners from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroun, Benin and Togo joined their counterparts from Ghana, Nigeria, the Gambia and Sierra Leone to discuss country-strategies for implementing a five- year action plan adopted last year by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Accra Vice President John Atta Mills today said Ghana will continue to advocate the free movement of people and goods within Africa to promote trade and regional cooperation.

Professor Mills gave the assurance when he received a special message of invitation for Ghana to participate in the forthcoming Cotonou Round Table Conference on Maritime Transport scheduled for June two to six.

The message was delivered by the chairman of the Ministerial Conference of West and Central African States on Maritime Transport (MINCOMAR), Mr. Joachim Mohotes Magoundi.

Accra Total equities traded on the Ghana Stock Exchange fell drastically when trading opened today.

The GSE All-Share Index, however, inched up 0.1 points to 386.18 points, up from the previous 386.08 points.

Total shares traded fell to 25,600 shares compared to Friday's close of 59,860 shares. Total offers today were pegged at 214,200 while bids stood at 4,684,740.

Accra African economies must work vigorously towards the creation of larger regional trading and economic areas if they want to be part of the global competition, speakers at the Conference of African Ministers of Industry (CAMI) opened in Accra said today.

This means African countries have to refocus their development strategies and adopt appropriate macro economic policies towards improving investment flows into the continent.

Ms T. C. Moremi, Permanent Secretary of Botswana Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Mr. Jean-Marc Deroy of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in their presentations agreed on the need for strong economic ties among Africans to be competitive. opportunities for industry and agriculture, Mr. Addo Iro, Senior Development Officer of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said today.

He stressed that the same policies and incentives provided to industrial development ought to be equally provided to the agricultural sector.

"Modern entrepreneurs must be groomed and encouraged to venture into modern farming," Mr. Iro suggested.

The UN expert was speaking at the opening of the 13th meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Industry and the Private Sector Forum.