Malaysian given 72 hrs to leave… for offensive conduct
AMA served quit order
GNAT doubts FCUBE year 2005 target
NDC MP, DCE in sex scandal.
New date for revision of voters register
Min. to grade mining firms
Polling stations not boxing arena
Tapes on killings – 100 more tapes available
Kwaku Baah incites Kwahus against Ashantis
Bungled Census.
NDC Vice-Chairman calls for transfer of NPP activist
Malaysian given 72 hrs to leave… for offensive conduct
The Ghanaian times reports that the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has given Latib Abdul Tokimin, the Malaysian Chief Director in charge of marketing of the Ghana Telecom, 72 hours to leave the country. This followed the withdrawal of his residence and work permits, says the paper.
Mr Tokimin is said to have spat in the face of his Ghanaian driver, an act the service found reprehensive and an affront to the dignity of Ghana.
According to the paper, a statement issued in Accra yesterday and signed by Mr W.K. Aboah, Director of Immigration, said it took a serious view of Mr Tokimin’s attitude.
It therefore advised foreign employers and expatriates to treat their employees with due respect and dignity, irrespective of colour or race.
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AMA served quit order
The Ghanaian Times carries another story in which it reports that the Lands Commission has served the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) with notice to quit the area adjacent to the Novotel hotel in Accra to make way for the construction of two hotels.
The report said even though the notice has lasted months and a number of reminders have been sent, no visible signs are in sight indicating the AMA’s readiness to move out.
According to the story, this was announced by Mr Mike Gizo, Minister of Tourism, during the Ministry’s turn at the “meet the press” series in Accra yesterday.
Mr Gizo is quoted to have stated that survey works for the construction of the hotels, the ACCOR AFRIQUE International would commence immediately the AMA moved out of the place.
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GNAT doubts FCUBE year 2005 target
The Ghanaian Times also reports that the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has noted that the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) program may not meet its target as set for the year 2005.
According to the report, Mr Jacob Anderson, Volta Regional GNAT Secretary, said the continuous absence of certain basic infrastructure and inputs like decent classroom blocks, furniture, text books, in addition to inadequate supplies of items like chalk and class registers, among other factors, spelt bleak prospects for the programme, as far as its target year was concerned.
Speaking at this year’s Global Action Week for Education, he said: “We recognize the governments role in the provision of basic education in Ghana. This notwithstanding, there are still several schools in our village which do not have structures that are good enough to provide the requisite conditions for meaningful academic work”, reports the paper.
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NDC MP, DCE in sex scandal.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Avenor, Honourable Edward Korbly Doe Adjaho has denied allegations by the Akatsi District Chief Executive (DCE) Mrs. Victoria Nazzah Gidiglo that he attempted assaulting her sexually.
According to the paper, in a seven page petition sent to the first lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings and copied to other leading members of the party, the DCE narrated attempts by the MP who is also the Majority Chief Whip, to destroy her, destabilize her administration, the NDC Party and the District.
She said since her confirmation as the District Chief Executive for Akatsi in 1996, Mr. Adjaho had not only been non-supportive, but covertly and overtly vindictive. "He had virtually dragged me on a very rough and ragged road which could have destroyed me, the Party and the Assembly. But for my determination to uphold the confidence reposed in me by His Excellency, the President and to keep the District together."
According to the paper, Mrs Gidiglo said Mr Doe Adjaho called on her on 27 March 1999 with the constituency secretary Mr AK Domie, and while seeing them off, Mr Adjaho locked out Mr Domie and attempted to rape her.
The paper continue that, Mrs Gidiglo said in spite of the MP's diabolical schemes, she exercised the utmost restraint and sought audience with the MP for a settlement.
" This was why I opened my door to him on that fateful night only for him to nearly reduce me to an animal," the quotes her as saying.
However in an interview with the paper, Honourable Adjaho said the issue of rape came to his attention when parliamentary leadership drew his attention to a petition by Mr. P O Babbah, constituency propaganda secretary of the NDC at Avenor that disciplinary action should be taken against him.
In his reaction, the MP said the day in question he attended a function in the constituency and on his way back passed the DEC's house with Abraham Domie around 11:30pm, which they ended up drinking to settle their so-called differences.
He said as they were leaving and went through the hall she signalled him to stay behind, Mr. Domie went into the car to wait with the driver. He continues that as he stayed behind she started fondling him making him feel it was a bait to blackmail him, so he decided to leave and she started making noise.
When asked whether some one responded to her noise, the MP said Mrs Patience Kwami, a leading member of the 31st December Movement leaving in one of the rooms came out to see what was happening and seeing both of them standing went back to her room.
The MP questioned that if he attempted to rape her " how could she, the intended victim invite me to eat in her house less than two weeks later and visit me in my house in Accra within the same period."
The paper says the MP recounted all attempts by Honourable Attoh and the Trade and Industry Minister Mr Dan Abodakpi to settle the issue.
According to the story Mr Adjaho claimed that all attempts by the DCE to soil his reputation was due to his effort of fighting corruption in the Akatsi Assembly, some of which have been reported to the Commissioner of Police (CID) and brought to the attention of the President, the Vice-President and the First Lady.
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New date for revision of voters register
The Electoral Commission (EC) has rescheduled the reopening of the voters register from 15 April to 6 May, reports the Daily Graphic.
The report quoted a statement issued by the EC and signed by the Deputy Chairman responsible for operations, Mr David Kanga, as saying; “The Electoral Commission regrets to inform the general public, all registered political parties and prospective voters that revision of the voters register, 2000 has been rescheduled to commence on Saturday, 6 May and end on Monday 15 May 2000”.
The rescheduling of the exercise has become necessary due to unforeseen difficulties in the production of scannable registration forms in the United Kingdom, the statement said.
“It is the hope of the commission that all stakeholders and prospective voters take note of the new dates and cooperate to make the revision exercise a success,” the paper reports the commission as saying.
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Min. to grade mining firms
The Daily Graphic reports in its lead story that the Ministry of Environment Science and Technology has decided to grade mining companies in the country according to how effectively and efficiently they implement their environment impact assessment.
According to the report, Mr Cletus Avoka, the sector minister who announced this, said the aim of the exercise is to ensure sustainable mining in the country through sound environmental management practices.
He said the ministry is considering revisiting the old mining laws and regulations, which provided that no mining operation should take place 500 meters close to existing communities in other to prevent damage being caused to dwelling houses through blasting activities, which creates cracks in buildings.
Mr Avoka is said to have called on mining companies to work closely with the Environmental Management Committees of district assemblies to ensure sound environmental management.
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‘Polling stations not boxing arena’
The Eastern Regional secretariat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of training ‘macho men’ as polling agents, says a front-page story of the Evening News.
The report quotes Mr J.W. Agyekum, Regional Secretary of the NDC, who was speaking in an interview with the Paper on preparations being made by his secretariat to meet the challenges of the 2000 elections, as saying, “the polling stations are not boxing arenas to accommodate macho men.”
Mr Agyekum therefore cautioned the leadership of the NPP to ensure that those they are training will comport themselves well on the Election Day.
The paper reports him as saying the regional secretariats of the NDC have strengthened the party’s framework from top to the grassroots and the rank and file are committed to only one course – “to decisively defeat the NPP for the third time”.
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Tapes on killings – 100 more tapes available
The Weekly Insight devotes the whole of its front page to a report in which it states that there are very strong indications that at least 100 tape recordings of confessions of those who took part in the murder of perceived opponents of Mr Rawlings between 1979 and 1986 are available.
These tapes are said to be mostly in private hands and the one published by “The Statesman” is believed to be part of the stock, says the story.
According to the report, Major Kojo Boakye Djan, spokesman of the Rawlings-led Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), in 1980 claimed publicly that he had at least 80 tapes on the AFRC, which he was keeping in cold storage abroad.
These tapes, which are both audio and video, cover a wide range of issues including how and why three former heads of state and their associates were cold bloodedly murdered in 1979, the paper continues.
The Insight says Major Boakye Djan has so far resisted temptations to release any of the tapes in his possession but may not be able to stay mute if the debate over who did what in the AFRC opens after the exit of Mr Rawlings.
According to the report, former Police Superintendent Jacob Yidana and Captain Kojo Tsikata, former head of National Security are believed to have some of the tapes.
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Kwaku Baah incites Kwahus against Ashantis
The Free Press in a front-page story reports that Mr Kwaku Baah, National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Vice-Chairman, has questioned the wisdom of the people of Kwahu and New Juaben voting massively for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the 1996 Parliamentary and Presidential elections.
According to the story, in a typical public diatribe against the opposition parties, particularly the NPP and the Ashantis, Mr Kwaku Baah at an Eastern Regional Delegates Conference held at the Nkawkaw Secondary School last Monday, incited the Kwahus and the people of New Juaben against the Ashantis.
The Free Press says, in an apparent desperate mood devoid of shame, Mr Kwaku Baah, a legal practitioner who defected to the NDC after the 1996 general elections, did not understand why the people of Kwahu and New Juaben should sympathise with NPP, a party he claimed belonged to the Ashantis.
The report quotes a political analyst as saying that observers believe he has never been trusted since he defected to the NDC and that the party always suspect his loyalty. “The man has never been trusted ever since he began to flirt with the NDC but he thinks he deserves something better in the NDC than the position of Vice-Chairman.”
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Bungled Census.
The Chronicle reports that the just ended Population and Housing Census may have missed any claim of success despite a stiff upper lip and declaration of success from Dr Twum Baah, the Acting Government Statistician.
The paper says for a dress rehearsal, it may be a good exercise, but preliminary information flowing in indicates that it is a small flop.
The paper discloses that one of the biggest problems of the programme had to do with the complex nature and the length of the questionnaire the numerators worked with.
The paper says some of the enumerators continued working on questionnaires even when they get home because of the length and the time consuming nature of completing them.
According to the paper, the number of enumerators, given as 50,000 dealing with a potential population of some 18 million may have tasked the enumerators who expressed initial discontent.
The 12,000 cedis a day task may not have been too exciting an inducement, but some of the critical enumerators have challenged the 90% success rate attributed to the Government Statistician.
The paper states that on national television Mr. Famous Kudesey a supervisor at Nima One, densely populated areas of the capital, wondered aloud where Mr Twum Baah got his figures from, he put projection of success at 75%. However reports from Kumasi according to the paper, says the whole exercise was a flop.
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NDC Vice-Chairman calls for transfer of NPP activist
The vice-chairman of the Volta Region branch of the National Democratic Congress Mr C.K Awudi has pleaded with the acting chief executive of Community Water and Sanitation Agency to transfer Mr John Ametepee, an NPP activist from the district, writes the Chronicle in another story.
According to the paper in a letter to the acting chief executive of Community Water and Sanitation Agency in Accra, Mr Awudi Avenor who is also the Avenor constituency chairman of the NDC did not hide his bias against Ametepee.
It says reports received from the NDC branches in the constituency accused Ametepee of campaigning for the NPP on his official rounds, alleging, “He is too popular and might be the Party's next parliamentary Candidate for the next election”.
The paper continues that in order to further project himself in pursuit of his ambitions, Awudi said Ametepee on his own volition commissioned a toilet facility against protocol.
However the paper claims that, the District Engineer of DANIDA and the District Chief Executive of the Akatsi District Assembly denied knowledge of the said commissioning and ever giving authority to Ametepee to do so.
According to the paper, Awudi pleaded with the Chief Executive to transfer John Ametepee "as a matter of urgency from the Akatsi District before too much harm is done."
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