New minimum wage this month
EC explains delay in elections into Council of State
Danger – Psychiatric hospitals face shortage of doctors
Banda pledges 100m cedis to fund
Tribunal orders DNA test
Govt apologises for not consulting on HIPC
Old Woman’s hands cut off
Chief Justice bows out
Gov’t probes another finance institution
No bail for Hajia Ocansey
J.J.’s Arrogance caused our defeat
Alarm bells rings
Mallam Isa lied
ACDR man found with Grenade
JAK’s challenges start
New minimum wage this month
The Civil Servants Association (CSA) says the determination of a national minimum wage for workers this year by the Tripartite Committee must not exceed the end of this month, according to a story in the state-own evening paper, The Evening News.
Failure to speed up the process in the wage negotiations will encourage despondency and disloyalty between workers and employers by the end of the deadline.
Mr Smart Chigabatia, executive secretary of the CSA expressed these sentiments at the opening of a three-day national executive council meeting of the CSA at Cape Coast in the Central Region to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the association and map out strategies to move it forward.
Mr Chigabatia noted that while the government had increased petroleum by nearly 60 per cent, workers salaries had remained at a standstill.
That in addition to increase in water and electricity tariffs has resulted in untold hardship on workers.
He, therefore, urged the committee to avoid undue delays in the negotiation to ensure improved conditions of service for workers.
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EC explains delay in elections into Council of State
Nana Kofi Karikari, a senior electoral officer of the Electoral Commission has explained that the delay in conducting the elections into the Council of State does not come from the EC since the Commission is ever ready to do that anytime it is called upon to do so.
“The problem as at now is that, the District Assemblies do not have the full complements in terms of membership”, says Mr Karikari.
He said “the problem came about as a result of the appointments made in the previous administration to the District Assemblies”.
He told the Evening News that before the elections into the council can be conducted, an Electoral College, made up of two representatives from each District Assembly within a region who will vote under the supervision of the EC, has to be in place.
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Danger – Psychiatric hospitals face shortage of doctors
The state-own Daily Graphic carries that the country’s psychiatric hospitals may soon face a problem of shortage of qualified psychiatric specialists in view of the present situation where doctors seem reluctant to specialise in psychiatry.
Coupled with this problem is the fact that the few specialists in the system are ageing. At the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, out of the seven psychiatrists at post, only three are below the age of 60 years.
The Chief Psychiatrist of the hospital, Dr J.B. Asare, who would be 60 next year, disclosed this at the launching of this year’s World Health Day in Accra.
Dr Asare said: “The mental health sector is losing a lot of experienced and hardworking staff faster than other health faculties through retirement and travelling for greener pastures.”
He said at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital alone, 12 officers retired last year and 10 vacated their posts, whiles the Pantang Hospital currently has only 74 nurses of all categories.
He said this state of affairs makes the management of psychiatric cases very dangerous and, therefore, appealed to the government to, in the short term, remove the bureaucracy for re-arrangement of professionals on contract basis to address the problem.
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Banda pledges 100m cedis to fund
Alhaji Asoma Banda, Chairman of the Antrak Group, has pledged 100 million cedis towards the establishment of a Crime Prevention Foundation.
A US-based Ghanaian, Mr Kwesi Yeboah Amofah, and Mr Dele Momodu, publisher and Editor in Chief of Ovation Magazine, have also contributed 10 million cedis and 150 dollars respectively to the non-profit and non-partisan foundation.
The monies accruing to the foundation will be used to purchase police vehicles, modern communication equipment, among other items, for the Ghana Police Service.
This is expected to contribute to the enhanced mobility and effectiveness of the police, and strengthen the service to effectively combat the rising crime wave in the country.
Informants are also expected to benefit from the largesse of the foundation, while it will provide incentives for personnel of the service.
Alhaji Asoma Banda, who announced this during the launching of the foundation in Accra on Tuesday, said he decided to set up the foundation to help the government to provide the Ghana Police Service with the needed resources to discharge its duties efficiently and effectively, in the interest of the country.
The foundation will be managed by Alhaji Asoma Banda, Dr Baffour Agyeman-Duah, Associate Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development; Mrs Matilda Obeng Ansong, Deputy Managing Director, Ghana Commercial Bank; Mr Kwesi Nketia, a lawyer and a retired diplomat; and Fred Yeboah, a journalist and a public relations practitioner.
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Tribunal orders DNA test
A family tribunal at Sunyani presided over by Mr W.A. Wilson has ordered two men, one of them an evangelist, who are locked up in a protracted legal battle over the paternity rights over a 21-year old student, to submit themselves to a DNA test at the Berekum Holy Family Hospitals to determine who is the biological father.
The two men, Karikari Mensah of Kenyasi No 2, who claims to be an evangelist, and Adamu Ninkyiama, a settler farmer at Chiraa, both claim to be the father of the student, the controversy having raged on for the past two years.
The student is currently carrying two names, one given by Ninkyiama and the other by Karikari.
The woman in the centre of the drama, Akua Akyaa of Chiraa, is alleged to have befriended the two men within a particular period and had on different occasions presented the child to both men as their biological child.
The tribunal, in ordering the paternity test, expressed the hope that the outcome of the DNA tests would put to rest the two-year-old battle over who is the real father of the student, so as to give him the peace to continue with his education.
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Govt apologises for not consulting on HIPC
The government has admitted that it failed to adequately inform the public about the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative before opting for it, writes The Ghanaian Times, a state-owned daily.
Although there were some setbacks associated with the initiative, the government said that it faulted by not educating the public, thus leading to the objection by the mass of the populace.
Consequently, it has apologized to all those who got offended by its decision to join the HIPC without adequate public awareness.
The Central Regional Minister, Mr Isaac Eduosar Edumadze, gave the apology when he addressed the Municipal Assembly members and heads of department at separate meetings at Cape Coast in the Central Region on Monday. He attributed the government’s action to “limited time’ but pointed out that, “it was better to take bold decision to survive in the future”.
Mr Edumadze said that the government’s decision to join HIPC would open an avenue for negotiations to ensure that the country enjoyed more foreign funds for development.
He, therefore, appealed to all Ghanaians to support the government’s efforts to improve the economy and reduce poverty through the initiative.
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Old Woman’s hands cut off
For suspecting her to be a witch, a 25-year-old unemployed Kofi Kaachire, has chopped off the hands of his aunt, Madam Esther Asempa, 75. This happened at Tongor in the Kpando District of the Volta Region.
According to the Times he cut of her right lower arm and the left hand.
Kaachire claimed that he had been informed, “upon consultations,” that his aunt (his father’s sister) was the cause of his woes.
The old woman is now paralysed and bedridden.
Unable to do anything by herself, she has appealed to the government and the public to assist her, financially and otherwise, “to make life meaningful until death visits”
Esther Asempa lost her husband 15 years ago and is childless. She now depends on the benevolence of neighbours and relatives.
A family spokesperson, Madam Mercy Nimo said that in January, Kaachire, unemployed, attacked his aunt on her sickbed and slashed her head with a cutlass. Not satisfied, he chopped off her limbs, shouting, “witch, witch”.
He swore to kill her.
Neighbours who heard the old woman’s screams for help rushed in to save her.
The old woman was consequently rushed to the Peki Government Hospital where she was admitted.
Kaachire was later arrested by the police at Apinamang, near Anum, in the Volta Region but, according to Madam Nimo, nothing had been heard of the case since then.
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Chief Justice bows out
The Ghanaian Chronicle, an independent paper, writes that the Chief Justice, Mr Justice I.K. Abban, has gracefully bowed out of office as the Chief Justice of Ghana on grounds of ill-health.
The ailing Chief Justice, who had been at the helm of affairs as head of the Judiciary for seven years, last Monday announced his retirement from the Judicial Service to the Kufuor government, which duly accepted his retirement decision and appointed Justice Wiredu to be the acting Chief Justice till a substantive Chief Justice is found.
However, government has asked Abban to stay on in office till the end of this month so that he can hand over to Justice Wiredu.
Abban, 67, was due for retirement on May 14, 2003.
Had he not short-circuited his stay in office, he would have then chalked 70 years, which is the mandatory age for a justice of the Supreme Court to retire from the bench.
Justice Abban, who was called to the bar over 40 years ago, on April 18, 1959 stood firmly against the late military dictator, General Kutu Acheampong, when he was the Electoral Commissioner and refused to play ball with Acheampong to rig the election for the Union-Government. He had to escape to save his dear life.
However on February 22, 1995, another Military dictator turned democrat, ex-President Rawlings, appointed Justice Abban as the Chief Justice.
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Gov’t probes another finance institution
Another financial institution, Ghana Reinsurance, has been added to the list of four top institutions for probe over alleged massive financial malpractices, reports The Ghanaian Chronicle
The other government organisations to be probed are the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), State Insurance Corporation (SIC), and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
Disclosing this to the Chronicle in an interview last Monday, an economist at the Ministry of Finance and Special Assistant to the Minister of Finance, Dr T. Osei, said the ministry will soon institute a probe into the several reported cases of corruption at Ghana Reinsurance which have led to the loss of over 41 billion cedis to the state.
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No bail for Hajia Ocansey
Hajia Baby Ocansey, the baby faced con woman and waterloo of our antique security and intelligence agencies was arraigned before an Accra high court last Monday. She was refused bail by presiding judge Mrs Heward Mills, according to the private bi-weekly, ‘The independent’.
It will be recalled that since July last year when the Hajia absconded with $1.5 million dollars in a scandal believed to have been hatched with the connivance of some top officials of the Bank of Ghana, all efforts by the security agencies to trace her had proven unsuccessful, up until last weekend when she was accosted at a hideout in Madina.
Prior to her arrest she had led the security agencies in a wild goose chase and the sophistication of her antics had left pursuers baffled.
As far back as July 2000 the Independent had reported the sighting of Hajia at a funeral ceremony and believes if the responsible agencies had acted upon that information she would have long been brought to book.
Before her sudden appearance at Madina, Hajia was holed-up in one of her plush houses at Gbawe, another suburb of the capital and could only go out on her businesses trips, which included the collection of her rents at odd times.
Her rather awkward movements were all done as a way of eluding the security agencies who were on her heels.
She is to re-appear before the court on Wednesday 19th of April.
Hajia’s antics came to light during the heat of the revolution when together with some PNP stalwarts she was asked to refund monies believe to have been misused.
Typical of the Ada Moslem lady she managed to gain favours with the then PNDC regime where she operated on the quiet.
She, like most PNDC functionaries, changed with the tide and metamorphosed into the NDC. She has one of the biggest Moslem schools situated at Darkuman Nyamekye, a suburb of Accra.
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J.J.’s Arrogance caused our defeat
The Independent in another story says, the ex-presidential staffer on chieftancy affairs, Nana Akuoko Sarpong has declared that the defeat of the NDC in the general elections was due to arrogance on the part of Ex-president Rawlings.
Shouting on top of his voice, Nana Akuoko Sarpong said their electoral defeat late last year was because his advice was rejected by the former power brokers adding he was one of the close associates of Rawlings but due to reasons best known to himself the life leader of the NDC turned a deaf ear to all his warnings that there could be unfavourable signs in the run-up to last year’s elections.
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Alarm bells rings
The private daily, Daily Guide says alarm bells are ringing in the energy industry over the possible loss of Ghana’s shareholding in the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) project.
Chevron Nigeria, one of the joint venture partners of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has sent a proposal to the Ghana government in the bid to take over the 16% equity that Ghana holds in the gas project.
Industry watchers believe that if Chevron Nigeria succeeds in bulldozing its way through to acquire Ghana’s equity, it would have taken full control of the $450 million project that will utilise a 40 trillion cubic feet of gas to be sourced from Western Niger Delta of Nigeria to the GNPC power barge project in Effasu in the Western Region of Ghana.
Chevron has already picked up the equity stake that was earmarked for Togo’s owned Sotagaz.
The major stakeholders in the company are the NNPC of Nigeria, GNPC of Ghana, SOBEGAZ of Benin and SOTOGAZ of Togo.
Industry analyst are of the view that the Kufuor administration must not sell off GNPC’s 16% equity because of the bad name that has been given to the corporation, without looking at the benefits that the nation would derive in the long term.
“We do not have to throw away the baby with the bath water,” an energy analyst said.
The analyst noted further that it will be a big blow for Ghana to lose the equity of GNPC in the project because of GNPC’s role in bringing into being, the West African project and the fact that the project’s destination is Ghana, using facilities that have been put in place by GNPC.
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Mallam Isa lied
The Independent -owned Weekly Insight reports that preliminary police investigations show that Mallam Isa, the former Minister for Youth and sports lied with a straight face when he attempted to explain the circumstance under which he allegedly lost $46,000 belonging to the state.
Mallam’s claim that the money was paid to him in $20 and $10 bills has turned out to be false. Officials of the Bank of Ghana have told investigators that $40,000 of the amount was paid in $100 bills. The balance of 6,000 was paid in $50 and $10 bills.
According to Mallam he could not carry the money in his hand luggage because it was paid in smaller denominations and was therefore too bulky.
The state of the Mallam’s suitcase as delivered to police investigators is also being seriously contested by officers of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) who have been questioned by the police.
Police investigators found a big cut on the suitcase, when it was delivered to them for examination. However, officers of the GFA who handled the bag on the return of the former Sports Minister from Sudan, say there was no such cut on the suitcase when they handled it.
Police have also found that the number combination lock on the suitcase had not been tampered with.
Mallam Isa also allegedly sent the wrong carry-on bag to the police investigators on request. The bag Mallam sent to the investigators is said to be much smaller than what he travelled with.
He had earlier claimed that he put the $46,000 in his suitcase because his carry-on bag was too small.
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ACDR man found with Grenade
Peter Akorsu, a forty-two-year-old former member of the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR) has been arraigned before the Alao Circuit Court for unlawfully possessing firearms, reports the private bi-weekly, the Free Press.
According to the police report on the case, Peter Akorsu’s action is in contravention of section 192 (1) of act 29/60 as amended by NLCD 398.
The facts of the case as presented by the police are that some months ago, the Aflao police received reports of rampant cross-border crime, most of them committed along the Ghana-Togo border and on the Accra-Aflao trunk road.
As a result, the Police formed a Task Force to combat the activities of the criminals.
In the course of the exercise, two hand grenades were retrieved from him and police investigations later revealed that Peter Akorsu was a senior member of the CDR.
When he first appeared in court, the police prayed the court to remand him in prison custody since the docket on the case had been forwarded to the Attorney General’s office for advice.
Commenting on the issue, the presiding Judge, Francis Opoku lamented on the spate of armed robbery cases in the neighbourhood that has put fear into the people.
He advised the police to speed up in arraigning other accused persons who were also found to be possessing firearms for court when it sits today.
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JAK’s challenges start
The Dispatch, an independent paper, says the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of President John Agyekum Kufuor will celebrate its traditional 100 days in office on Easter Monday (April 16) and many Ghanaians will spend the Easter holidays resting and assessing his administration.
In helping the public with an assessment, the paper says its verdict is that it has been promising but President Kufuor’s challenges have just began.
In terms of his administration over the past three months, the government has had to deal with public pressure on how the President should react to reports of how some top functionaries of the former National Democratic Congress (NDC) bought their vehicles at very low prices; over calculated End of Service Benefits (ESBs) or ex-gratia awards and certain unexplained withdrawals from the Bank of Ghana. President Kufuor has kept a cool head, and these issues are being resolved.
The administration has on its hands, never ending reports on alleged acts of malfeasance by some highly-placed officials of the NDC. Then there are the vexed issues of those the government had asked to proceed on leave.
Of the issues raised, the NPP will have to take decisions of whether to prosecute the officials if the acts of malfeasance are proved true.
The administration, over the next three months, will have to issue interim reports on officials who have been asked to proceed on leave, as to whether for stated reasons, they should continue to be on leave or should resume work.
The appointment of Ministers and Deputy Ministers gave an indication of the pressures the Ghanaian Chief Executive Officer was going through. To avoid criticisms from some pressure groups, certain positions, which were usually reserved for the Deputy Ministerial rank, were given full Ministerial status. Then, he ran into problems trying to implement his all inclusive government idea. Members of other parties selected were virtually disowned by their parties and were said to be serving the Kufuor administration in their individual capacities.
As the NPP government crosses the 100th day mark, the patience of the average Ghanaian in expecting concrete steps towards realizing the promises on which the NPP was voted into power is waning. These include the plans for the creation of jobs, more accessible health care, reducing the cost of living and making agriculture a tool for eradicating rural poverty.
The average person is not expecting to suddenly see new and modern agricultural machinery in Accra. People however expect to hear how many have been ordered and when they would arrive.
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