DENMARK TO BAN SEX WITH ANIMALS

Why are the Danes harassing the horses?

Denmark is planning to banish bestiality, following the recent examples of Germany and Norway, said the country’s food and agriculture minister. The bill was long-awaited both inside the country and abroad.

 “I have decided that we should ban sex with animals. That is happening for numerous reasons. The most important is that in the vast majority of cases it is an attack against the animals,” the food and agriculture minister, Dan Jørgensen, told Ekstra Bladet, a Danish tabloid.

According to Jørgensen, one of the factors that prompted his decision was the damage done to his country’s reputation which laws still allow sex between humans and animals.

“And under all circumstances, any doubts about it should go to the animals’ benefit,” he said. “They naturally cannot say no to going along with it. Therefore, it should be banned.”

Seventy-six percent of the Danish population support banning sex with animals, according to a recent poll, carried out by Gallup.

The bill, which also requires changes in the country’s welfare animal laws, was introduced this year.

The absence of a law on bestiality led to a growth in animal sex tourism industry in the country.

In the recent years the international community closely focused on the lack of bestiality law in the animal welfare system of the country.

"I don't think the Danish government is doing enough to protect the animals. They need to do something to protect zoophilia in Denmark," Karoline Lundstrom, a Danish animal rights activist says in a documentary shot by VICE in April.

Bestiality is illegal in many countries, including Belgium, Canada, Australia and India.

Sweden banned zoophilia in April 2014 in a move backed by the country’s Rural Affairs Minister, Eskil Erlandsson. "There should be no doubt whatsoever that bestiality is unacceptable," The Local cited him as saying.

In 2012 the same ban was passed in Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government introduced the new law against the practice, saying animals should not be used "for personal sexual activities or made available to third parties for sexual activities … thereby forcing them to behave in ways that are inappropriate to their species."

SEX ABUSE AGAINST HORSES ON THE RISE IN SWITZERLAND

Horses Dozing

Switzerland is seeing a worrying increase in the number of sex attacks carried out against animals and in particular horses. Figures showed cases of animal abuse rose to 1,709 in 2014, an increase of 1,542 from the previous 12 months.

The findings are worrying animal rights groups as it is a problem that seems to be getting worse. The foundation, known as Tier im Recht (Animals in Law), said the amount of abuse cases reported was triple compared to a decade ago. 

However, it seems as though horses are coming under particular threat, with almost 10 percent of cases maltreatment of the animals involving bestiality.

“This rate is relatively elevated compared with other types of animals,” Andreas Ruttimann, a legal expert with Tier im Recht, told the Local.

“A total of 105 cases of animal cruelty to horses was registered last year, up considerably from previous years, but probably below the actual number of incidents,” he added.

Worryingly, the group believes the actual figure could be much higher, given that around 150,000 people in Switzerland take part in equestrian activities. It also adds that there are more than 110,000 horses at 18,000 farms in the country.

The 20 Minuten newspaper reported that experts believe that as many as 10,000 people living in Switzerland are suspected of practicing zoophilia (sex with animals). Tier im Recht says the higher prosecution rates are down to tougher animal protection laws being introduced by the government, to protect their welfare. 

Switzerland has a population of just over 8 million, meaning 0.125 percent of the population have a penchant for zoophilia.

Editorial

HOUSING THE PEOPLE

A number of Parliamentarians have raised eye brows over the cost of houses in Ghana and expressed concern about the lack of access by the poor.

At current rates a two- bedroom affordable house is priced at US$ 29,000 way beyond the reach of most Ghanaians.

In our view, access to housing is a fundamental human right and the Government and state institutions need to explore ways of making houses available to the masses.

One way of reducing the cost of housing should be the use of local building materials such as black cement and bamboo.

“The Insight” also suggests that the use of volunteers in the building of houses for the masses would also help to reduce costs.

Is it possible for Ghana to learn from the Cuban example of setting up construction brigades?

The people need houses and it is their fundamental human right?

PAUL AFOKO; Is He Becoming a Political Superstar?

Suspended NPP Chairman Paul Afoko: Photo credit Daily Graphic

By Ekow Mensah

Mr Paul Afoko, the suspended New Patriotic Party (NPP) chairman has become different things to different people and interest groups.

Members of the Akufo –Addo faction of the party clearly sees him as a spoiler determined to wreck the chances of their leader from becoming the President of the Republic.

 As far as Afoko’s supporters in the NPP are concerned, the man is a principled party faithful struggling to uphold the constitution of the party and the broad principles of accountability.

Interestingly, Paul Afoko is no longer just an NPP personality and is being discussed in all political circles both in and out of Ghana.

Only two weeks ago, some young people in the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) expressed surprise that the NPP has failed to appreciate the value of Paul Afoko in the 2016 elections.

They invited him to join the PPP’s effort to wrestle power from what they described as the incompetent hands of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

 Surprisingly, NDC serial callers have also been urging Mr Paul Afoko to abandon the NPP and set camp in their midst.

 They describe Mr Afoko as a seasoned politician who has a lot to contribute to nation building.

A texter to Radio Gold simply wrote “The NPP does not deserve Paul Afoko. He is too principled for them. He should join the NDC, the winning team”.

There are credible reports that some individuals within the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) and the Peoples National Convention (PNC) are also playing with the idea of inviting Mr Afoko to Join hands with them.

It is believed that Mr Paul Afoko is very resourceful and that his presence in any of the  so called small parties can change their fortunes in the 2016 elections.

 Before his suspension Mr Afoko had promised to give the NPP 250 pickups from his personal resources.

It is also just possible that a large part of his supporters in the in the NPP will leave with him if he decides to join another political party.

Perhaps Mr Paul Afoko is on his way to achieving superstar status in Ghanaian politics.

Editorial

STRAIGHTEN UP WITH THE PUBLIC

The arrival of the 225 megawatts power barge in the country potentially means the country has more means at its disposal in facing up to the current energy crisis.

This in itself is good news but many people are holding their breath because there is a lot of information we do not have.

We know that for the barge to be operational we will be asked to pay more for electricity. 

How much more is not that clear because various individuals are suggesting different figures.

Related to this is the cost to Ghana of having the barge. Beside purchasing fuel to run the page, we also have to pay other charges including rental.

As things stand, most people are anxious for an end, if not, a dramatic reduction in the power rationing regime. This does not mean, however any price at all will find easy acceptance by the public.

At the same time, we need to ensure that the steps taken to address the power crisis do not end up leaving us with debts which have the potential of crippling the economy.

The options may not be that many of the government, but we believe that a genuine search for solutions can yield an acceptable way out. 

In the meanwhile we call on those in charge to be open with the people  and provide clear and comprehensive information about what our energy situation is going to look like in the short, medium and long-term.

IMF CONDITIONS; They Are Crippling Ghana’s Agricultural Sector

Fiifi Fiave Kwetey (Agric Minister)

An Economist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Mrs. Grace Ofori-Abebrese has attributed failure of the agric sector to tough international Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionalities.

According to her, a directive by the Washington-based lender to government against allocating funds to the agric sector is the cause of the sector’s abysmal performance.

“It will be very difficult for the government to over spend against the IMF’s directive, so the government will not resource the sector,” Mrs. Grace Ofori-Abebrese.

Mrs. Ofori-Abebrese who is a Senior Lecturer at the KNUST’s Department of Economics was speaking Monday on Adom FM’s “Burning Issues” programme hosted by Afia Pokua.

Presenting the 2016 Budget Statement to parliament, Finance Minister, Seth Tekper announced that the agric sector grew by 0.04% this year, a figure some analysts have condemned as too low.

According to Mrs. Ofori-Abebrese, next year will be a challenging year for the sector because government will continue to ignore the sector.

“The government must look at how to solve the challenges of Ghanaian farmers to enable them work happily in the sector” Mrs. Grace Ofori-Abebrese recommended.

The Economist also called on the government to work at improving the living standards of farmers across the country to encourage them to do more to enhance Ghana’s economy.

Mrs. Ofori-Abebrese emphasized that a lot of the youth want to enter into the agric sector but because the sector is not attractive and lucrative, the youth are not willing to venture into it.

Editorial

FOOTBALL NONSENSE!

If you watch and listen to what goes on in all sectors of Ghanaian life you would be tempted to think that Ghana  is a paradise.

It is interesting that in a country which has not had regular power supply for more than 10 years, the citizens still manage to find time to discuss whether Black Star players deserve a wining bonus of US$ 10,000.

This debate raged on for more than two weeks and it was joined by people from all walks of life including those in charge of power supply.

How amazing?

So what would happen if Ghana does not participate in the World Cup competition?

These over pampered Black Star players have been playing soccer for so long  and we should be asking ourselves what the payment of wining bonuses to them has brought Ghana?

It is time to get serious!

CPP AGAINST TARIFF HIKES

Kwabena Donkor, Minister of Power

By Dede Amanor-Wilks

The proposed steep increases in utility tariffs have been dominating the headlines in Ghana as the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) recently concluded its consultations with stakeholders, including the Trades Unions Congress and the Association of Ghana Industries. Its final consultation was with political parties.

Curiously, neither the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) party nor the main opposition New Patriotic Party attended the final meeting chaired by PURC. And it was left to the smaller parties dominated by the Convention People’s Party (CPP)—which sent five representatives against one representative each from the People’s National Convention and the Progressive People’s Party—to shoot down the arguments for the steep increases presented in turn by the four utilities companies.

Arguments for the proposed price hikes were presented in turn by managers of four utilities companies, the Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company.

Prof Edmond Delle, CPP Chairperson

VRA said it currently cost between GH¢0.45 and GH¢0.60 to generate one kilowatt hour (kW/h) unit of electricity, which it sold to the ECG at just under GH¢0.15 per kW/h. It now wanted to charge GH¢0.37, about 150% more. It said that the fuel alone to generate that unit of electricity cost GH¢0.27 and that the difference had to be borrowed from the bank.

Similarly, GRIDCo, whose job it is to transmit the power from VRA to transmission stations around the country, said it spent 80% of its revenues on fuel. GRIDCo currently receives 4.05 pesewas per kW/h unit and wants an increase to 5.31 pesewas, representing a 31.1% increase.

The ECG said although its customer population was increasing, sales were going down due to technical losses, theft of equipment and illegal connections. Although an aggressive revenue collection drive had seen even schools disconnected, the Government of Ghana was still not paying its bills, which press reports have put at not less than GH¢400 million (about US$ 104 million). The ECG said it was currently charging 16.15 pesewas per kW/h unit and wanted this increased to 35.5 pesewas, representing a whopping 119.8% increase in electricity charges.

Ghana Water said that 80% of its customers enjoy what it called a “lifeline tariff” of Gh¢1.78 for 220 gallons or 5 barrels of water. The company said it was losing Gh¢6.20 on every cubic metre of water, in part due to the cost of imported chemicals used to clean river water polluted by illegal galamsey mining activities. It wanted to increase the Gh¢1.78 tariff to Gh¢4, an even larger 124.7% hike.

If approved, these increases would see customers paying close to 250% more for water and electricity combined.

Dr Abu Sakara

Besides vandalism, theft of equipment and illegal connections, the companies emphasised the cedi depreciation. Dollars were needed to purchase fuel and install equipment for the expansion of services, including power plants, generators, transformers and solar panels at substations, the utility companies said.

Of the four companies, VRA made the most forceful arguments to justify tariff increases. Its representative said that the energy problem was “not an NDC problem and not a political party problem”, but a “money problem”. He also claimed that customers who were reluctant to pay more than 14 pesewas for a unit of electricity routinely paid 49 pesewas to speak for 5 minutes on a mobile phone.

But this brings to mind the very reason why the public should resist any move by government to sell or lease out essential state services. Mobile phone operators everywhere make billions in profits from high charges to customers responding to a basic human urge to communicate. But even without much money in their pocket a person can still use their phone to receive calls, flash others to call back, or text messages.

By contrast electricity and water provision are essential social services, for which anyone seeking to govern the country must accept responsibility. The fact that working people cannot afford to pay more for water and electricity than is in their wage packet should not mean that they go without these essentials. These are the people whose taxes put money in government coffers. In return, they expect that government will cater for their needs.

In some industrially advanced countries where utilities have been farmed out to the private sector, it is still the responsibility of governments to ensure that poor and infirm or aged people don’t die of cold each winter because they lack earnings to slot into their electricity metres.

And in Ghana’s emerging model of electoral democracy, voters are beginning to demand that services and amenities be brought to their doorsteps as a condition for them to vote. It is therefore not quite true to say that the supply problems are a problem of money and not of political parties.

But to afford social services, it is fair to say that countries have to produce more and add value to what they produce at home rather than to export raw materials.

The problems facing the utility companies will only end when the economic problems underpinning the cedi slide are addressed. And these go beyond macro-economic stabilisation policies, such as those prescribed by the IMF/World Bank and embraced by the Government, which has been intervening in money markets since the start of the year to shore up the cedi.

For a very different kind of state intervention is required if Ghana is to grow sufficiently rich to meet the current cost of water and energy generation and to install sufficient capacity for the tens of millions of new Ghanaians who will be born in the next three decades.

Besides the critical need for government to pay its huge debts to the utilities companies, which was emphasised at the meeting by the CPP, the kind of intervention needed is one that will transform Ghana’s relatively low-value agricultural produce into high-value manufacturing activity.

Without such activity, Ghana will remain poor and the utilities companies will face an enduring problem of how to chase strong dollars with their weak cedi reserves.

* Dede Amanor-Wilks is a journalist, development specialist and member of the CPP.

Editorial

8TH COMMISSION

 The 8th National Media Commission (NMC) was sworn into office yesterday with Mr Kwesi Gyan Appenteng, an accomplished journalist as chairman.

It is significant that the election of Mr Gyan was without the very usual rancor and division and that the commission unanimously decided that he is the best for the job under current circumstances.

For us, this is an indication that the democratic experiment in Ghana is maturing and that the pursuit of partisan interests is gradually but surely receding to the background.

It is also perhaps a sign that the broader Ghanaian community accepts that journalists can be at the apex of regulating their practice.

There is still a lot of work to be done by the NMC in guranteeing the right of free expression and curbing what has come to be known as media terrorism.

The people of Ghana deserve a truly independent NMC which is focused on curbing the excesses of all in our society especially the media itself and the executive.

We congratulate Mr Kwesi Gyan Appenteng on his election

Martin Amidu Contemplates Forming Political Party

Mr Martin Amidu

By Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Edwin Appiah

Shunned by his own party, former Attorney-General Martin ABK Amidu may be contemplating forming his own political party to wrestle power from the NDC government.

Martin Amidu revealed his frustrations with the National Democratic Congress (NDC), pointing out that it appears to have abandoned its core values of accountability and transparency.

“One solution I may have to think about should the NDC Government and party continue on their unconstitutional path aided by their small boys with sharp teeth is whether I should also not Goosie Tanoh 2000 or Obed Asamoah 2004 against this dictatorship in Election 2016”.

Goosie Tanoh formed the National Reformed Party in 2000 while Dr. Obed Asamoah, a former National Chairman of the NDC formed the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) in 2006 and contested the 2008 elections.

Martin Amidu's comments were contained in a statement issued in Accra. He said he was disappointed after reading government’s White Paper on the Judgment Debt Commission report.

The former A-G is irritated that the Presidency is using the report for political propaganda ahead of the 2016 general elections.

Martin Amidu fought government through the courts and won three Supreme Court rulings ordering government to retrieve €47million from Waterville, $325,000 from Isofoton and GHC51 million from businessman Alfred Woyome.

The Supreme Court had ruled that payments made by government to these companies under the guise of judgment debt were illegal. Martin Amidu used these rulings to justify his accusation that government is unwilling to tackle political corruption within its ranks.

Since then, Martin Amidu has been hammering the Presidency for failing to retrieve the monies.

The Government White Paper on the Judgment Debt Commission, he says, once again demonstrates that government is not serious about fighting corruption.

Amidu says government is using the report to hound political opponents such as Asokwa MP, KT Hammond, who is a former deputy Energy minister under the erstwhile Kufuor administration.

“KT Hammond is ordered to be investigated by EOCO for US$900, 000.00 while Hon Ebo Barton Odro (now 1^st Deputy Speaker of Parliament of the NDC) goes free after an unauthorized payment of GH₵4,159,101.38”.

“What Ghanaian sense of justice is this than protecting card bearing members of the NDC while hounding mercilessly and dealing with political opponents whose fundamental rights and freedoms are also guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution?”

“When I call this unconstitutional conduct on the part of the NDC which is now deviating from core values, (and of which I am a foundation member), I am insulted with approval from the Presidency in a democracy.”

GAME CHANGER IN

Middle East

Russia's S 300

By Ekow Mensah

This is a game changer in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf and it would undoubtedly send ripples of fear down the spine of Israel and its allies.

It is the Russian surface-to-air defense system S-300 which is being made available to the Iranian armed forces.

The agreement for the supply of S-300 missile defense systems to Iran has already been signed and Tehran is expected to pay up to US$ 800 million for them.

The system should have been delivered in 2010 but Russia refused to do so then because it claimed that the deal was prohibited by the fourth round of United Nations Security Council sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.

Brigadier General Hossein Dehgan, Defence Minister of Iran says that his country will receive the most modern of the S-300 defense system.

The same system has been deployed by the Russians in Syria and it is believed that it has been the deterrent to western air strikes against Syrian government positions.

The S-300 is one of, if not, the world’s best surface-to air defense systems.

With the delivery of the system to Iran, Israel would think thrice before launching an air attack on the Persian Gulf state.

Editorial

Turkish Betrayal

The shooting down of a Russian Jet by the Turkish authorities can only be a betrayal of the so-called coalition against ISIS.

What can justify the Turkish attack on a Russian plane carrying out a raid on ISIS targets?   

Why will Turkish feel so worried about a friendly Russian Jet flying over its territory even if Turkish claims are to be believed?

It seems to us that the Turkish fixation with overthrowing the legitimate government of Syria is the only way to explain the drowning of the Russian Jet.

If Turkey can assist all kinds of militants to carry out military operations inside Syria then it is saying that there are circumstances in which national boundaries can be violated.

We fully condemn the Turkish attack on Russia and Syria as an action that does not help  the war on terrorism.