GRi Press Review
Ghana 18 - 04 - 2001
'NPP's 100
days eventful, productive'
BNI
rescinds decision
Case of 2
deportees revisited - GIS in a fix
HIPC is
bondage: Tanzanian Professor…But Achuliwor defends it
10 stalls
burned at K'si Central Market
'Past
glories won't help us'
CEPS gets
new boss
GCB's 24
Billion cedis loan stinks
ECG to sue
glass factory
Ashanti
Chief Arrested
ECG wastes
126B cedis
Government
asked to privatize GCB and GCAA
'NPP's 100
days eventful, productive'
State
daily, the Daily Graphic carries that the first 100 days of the NPP's
administration, according to the youth wing of the party, have been positively
eventful, productive and phenomenal, given the difficult circumstances under
which it assumed power.
"For a
government that has no experience in governance to be able to present a budget,
appoint its full complement of Ministers and Cabinet and keep the machinery of
state running flawlessly within a short time is phenomenal."
These were
contained in a statement issued on Monday by the Youth Wing of the party,
signed by its Acting National Chairman, Mr Kwame Twumasi-Awuah in Sunyani, to
commemorate the government's first three months in office.
It said an
objective analysis of its performance proves that the government has performed
creditably, especially given the "precarious nature of the economy it
inherited".
"President
John A. Kufuor and his team have proved wrong skeptics who thought that it was
going to plunge the country into chaos because of its lack of experience in
governance".
The
statement said the joining of the HIPC Initiative and increase in fuel prices
over the period under review are, nonetheless, some of the head-on initiatives
taken by the government to solve the country's socio-economic problems.
It welcomed
the creation of new ministries of Private Sector Development, Women's Affairs,
Basic Education and Girl-Child Education, describing marks its first 100 days
in office, we wish to commend president Kufuor and his team for their sterling
performance and resourcefulness in handling difficult national issues.
More…/
BNI
rescinds decision
The Bureau
of National Investigations (BNI) on Tuesday rescinded its decision to issue a
statement outlining details of the fresh cases for which Mr Victor Selormey,
former Deputy Minister of Finance, was arrested soon on his arrival at the
Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
Sources
close to the BNI told the Graphic late last night that the BNI had decided that
no statement would be issued until investigations into the cases are completed.
The arrest of the former Deputy Minister at the KIA last Sunday night caused
public discussions.
While some
have described the mode of the arrest as arbitrary and an infringement on Mr
Selormey's liberties as a citizen of Ghana, others contend that the allegations
against the former minister border on alleged economic crime, which must not be
treated lightly.
More…/
Case of 2
deportees revisited - GIS in a fix
The Ghana
Immigration Service (GIS) has stated that it is unable to send two foreign
nationals deported from Germany to Ghana to their countries because they have
refused to disclose their real nationalities.
This
problem is compounded by the fact that the Ghana Embassy in Germany and the
Consular Office in Brussels issued Ghanaian Emergency Travel Certificates to
cover the two deportees, without checking on their real nationalities.
The two,
Jojoh Francois, alias Richard Forson, who claims to be from Guadeloupe in Latin
America, and Lima Moubouh, a.k.a Samuel Osei, claiming to be a citizen of the
Democratic Republic of Congo, were deported from Germany to Ghana in 1995 when
they were found to be possessing fraudulent traveling documents.
So far, the
French Embassy in Accra and the Lome-based Embassy of the Democratic Republic
of Congo have rejected their nationality claims.
According
to the GIS, several investigations to ascertain their nationalities to
facilitate their subsequent repatriation have not yielded any results.
The service
has also lost about 199,500 CFA to the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of
Congo in its efforts to repatriate Lima Moubouh to Kinshasa.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to news@ghanareview.com
HIPC is
bondage: Tanzanian Professor…But Achuliwor defends it
A Tanzanian
Professor, Majorie Mbilinyi, has described her country's experience under the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative as "twenty years of
bondage", reports 'The Ghanaian Times'.
Under HIPC,
the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) strategic economic policy,
Tanzania enjoyed a two billion dollar debt relief out of the six billion
dollars that the country owed as external debt, she said.
Prof
Mbilinyi, speaking at a public forum in Accra, said that while "the so
called debt relief was still in motion, Tanzania, continued to contract
external loan agreements within the same period and the six billion dollars
served as outstanding external debt needed to be paid.
"What
Tanzania needed rather was debt cancellation, not debt relief where one still
had debts to deal with."
In a
related story, Mr John Setuni Achuliwor, Deputy Minister-designate of Communications,
however stated that under the HIPC initiative, Ghana would benefit from about
700 million dollars debt relief within the next three years.
This means
that debt relief for the first year will be 170
million dollars, which will graduate to 250 million by next year. Additionally,
it will waive the debt-servicing component of 280 million dollars that the
government would have had to find to service its external debt this year.
More…/
10 stalls
burned at K'si Central Market
Ten stalls
were burnt when fire swept through the Kumasi Central Market on Tuesday after a
heavy downpour in parts of the metropolis. Items worth millions of cedis were
completely destroyed.
According
to an eyewitness, the fire started at about 4.30 am when some old electrical wires
came in contact due to strong winds.
He said
that a call was made to the Manhyia fire station and the personnel responded
swiftly to put off the fire.
When
contacted, Mr Anthony Okyere, Officer-in-charge of the Manhyia Fire Service
station, told the 'Times' that it took his team about two hours to bring the
fire under control.
The firemen
had a hectic time because of the lack of access to the area.
The cause
of the fire is still under investigation and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly
has reportedly, expressed its sympathy to the victims.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to news@ghanareview.com
'Past
glories won't help us'
Reverend
Samuel Norye Mensah, president of the Full Gospel Evangelistic Ministry (FGEM)
has described as a shame for Ghana, a country left with a legacy of 265 million
pounds by her colonial master, Britain to be declared as heavily indebted and
poor, 44 years later, reports ‘The Evening News’.
According
to him, Ghanaians should blame themselves for the current economic mess because
they had mismanaged their own resources.
Preaching a
sermon at Tema near Accra to mark Easter Sunday, Reverend Mensah said "we
cannot blame any foreigner for our woes because we created our own
problems".
He
described the country as sick of a "one victory syndrome" which had
made it impossible for her to resurrect from past glories. He noted that until
Ghanaians stopped living on past glories and unnecessary pride, "we as a
people would be behind time."
Rev Mensah
said accolades such as "first nation south of the Sahara to attain
independence", "the black star of Africa," "four times
African champions," "the pride of black Africa" were all sayings
of the past, which had no relevance in the nation's development.
More…/
CEPS gets
new boss
The
Ministry of Finance will by the end of next week name the heads of the two
revenue agencies, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS).
Sources
close to the Minister of Finance told "The Evening News" that the
Minister is currently holding consultations with the President, Mr J.A. Kufuor
before the announcement.
The paper
says it can however confirm that Mr Kofi Opoku Ntiamoah who has served with the
CEPS for a period of 34 years is most likely to be appointed as the new
commissioner of CEPS. Sources said he is conversant with the administration and
operations of the service, as it has evolved over the period.
Mrs Janet
Opoku-Acheampong, formerly in-charge of Operations and now Acting Commissioner
of IRS will also get the nod as the Commissioner of IRS.
Mrs Opoku
Acheampong is said to be the most senior officer at IRS now and most qualified
and competent to handle the affairs of the IRS.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to news@ghanareview.com
GCB's 24 Billion
cedis loan stinks
Independent
paper, ‘The Dispatch’ says the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) has introduced
shocking, risky and startling guidelines in the granting of loans in Ghana in
its dealings with Omega Wood Processing Limited (OWPL).
OWPL was
incorporated on June 9, 1999. The next day, June 10, it applied for a loan at
GCB, where it did not have accounts.
On June 29,
1999, (19 days after applying for the loan), OWPL opened an account at the
Ahinsan branch of GCB and the bank’s Board in August 1999, granted the company various
loans totaling $3.5 million (about 24.5 billion cedis) without any security.
The GCB, in
the process, broke two existing regulations - the bank of Ghana rule that every
loan by banks should be guarantee adequate security, and granting loans to a
company whose track records were not available.
After The
Dispatch broke the story in its April 9-15 issue, investigations have revealed
shocking details.
The GCB’s Managing
Director and Board Members, Mr William Panford Bray, in a comment on Radio Gold,
an Accra private radio station last Thursday, April 12 said the normal
procedure is obtaining the necessary cashflows when a customer applies or
request for a facility.
He added
that it is important that in assessing the requirements, customers’ ability to
repay us is considered and therefore, the cashflow forms the basis of determination
but securities, which are only obtained to enable the bank assure itself that should
the inevitable happen, it has something to fall on.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to news@ghanareview.com
ECG to sue
glass factory
The
Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is to sue Tropical Glass Factory, formerly
Abosso glass Factory, at Abosso near Tarkwa in the Western Region to recover
the 1.46 billion-cedi electricity debt it owed the ECG, writes ‘The Ghanaian
Chronicle’.
The independent
paper says the decision by the ECG to resort to court action to recover the
money followed an apparent refusal by the factory, owned by the Togolese
opposition leader exiled in Ghana, Mr Gilchrist Olympio, to settle the debt
accumulated from 1995 to June 1999 when the power company decided to disconnect
its supply.
The Western
Regional director of the company, Mr D. Boa Essilfie who disclosed this to the paper
in Takoradi on Tuesday, said after all efforts to recover the money failed and
the fact that the company has also ceased production, his administration
decided to refer the case to the ECG headquarters in Accra for handling, adding
that he is optimistic “the court action would be the last resort".
Individual
companies and institutions in the Western Region collectively owe the ECG 39
billion cedis the including 1.46 billion cedis owed by the Olympio-owned
Tropical Glass Factory.
Interestingly,
instead of Mr Olympio seeing to the payment of the debt incurred by his company
to bail the ECG from its financial problem he decided to shift to the use of
marine oil which would have to be imported at great cost to fire the machines
at the factory after the ECG’s disconnection.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to news@ghanareview.com
Ashanti
Chief Arrested
The private
‘Daily Guide’ reports that three people including the Kotwi Asiedu Bonsi, 58,
last week, April 11, appeared before a Kumasi Circuit Tribunal for causing
disturbances in the Ejisu township. The rests are Kwaku Boafo, 32, a trader and
K. Kinfo, 30, a farmer.
They are
alleged to have used a gong-gong, a public address system and placards to
broadcast in the town that the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has decided to
destool Nana Aboagye Agyei II, Omanhene of the Ejisu Traditional Area.
Nana Bonsi,
Boafo and Kinfo pleaded not guilty to the charges of provocation of riot,
offensive conduct and abetment of crime and the tribunal chaired by Mr. V.C.
Senu granted each of them 5 million cedis bail with one surety to appear again
on May 30.
Granting
the accused persons bail, Mr Senu temporary restricted them from entering the
town until peace prevails there.
Facts of
the case as presented by the prosecutor, chief Inspector Fabian Kwaku Afesi are
that there has been a chieftaincy dispute between Nana Aboagye Agyei, Omanhene
of the Ejisu Traditional Area and his Krontihene, Nana Kotwi Asiedu Bonsi, pending
before the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
On March
26, this year at about 6 am when the two factions were preparing to go to the
Asantehene at his Manhyia Palace in Kumasi for the determination of the matter,
Nana Bonsi procured a "gong-gong" and a public address system for
Boafo and Kinfo to make a proclamation that Otumfuo Osei Tutu will on that
fateful day destool Nana Aboagye Agyei, while led to disturbances in the town.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to news@ghanareview.com
ECG wastes
126B cedis
The private
bi-weekly, Weekly Insight, says between April 1994 and March 1997, consultants
of the Electricity Company of France managed to Siphon 126 billion cedis out of
Ghana with the full approval of the Rawlings regime and the management of the
Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Although
these consultants were paid US $18,000,000 to reduce the commercial losses of
the ECG then put at 10 per cent, the losses doubled to 20 per cent, two years
after they had left the shores of Ghana.
As part of
their assignment, the consultants were also tasked to reduce the debtors to
sales ration of 160 days. This also increased to 200 days 24 months after their
contract.
Informed
observers say that the consultancy contract was a huge waste of Ghanaian
resources, which only improved the financial position of the Electricity
Company of France.
During the
period of the contract 14 French experts were flown into the country on an
average monthly salary of 96,000 French Frans for 36 months. The total amount
of money spent on their salaries was 44,919,000 French Francs.
The
Government of Ghana also spent 6,210,000 French Francs providing accommodation for
the 14 experts.
The travel
expenses of the experts came to 3,843,000 French Francs and the Ghana
government paid 288,000 FF for the education of 12 of the children of the
experts.
What is
interesting is that most of the capital items brought to facilitate the work of
the experts cannot be traced.
So far,
Insight’s investigations into the operations of the ECG revealed high levels of
corruption and inefficiency, which do not justify the proposed increase in
electricity tariffs.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to news@ghanareview.com
Government
asked to privatize GCB and GCAA
The Accra
Mail reports that Mr Craig Murray, Deputy British High Commissioner to Ghana,
has called on the government to speed up the divestiture of state enterprises
to raise more revenue to meet its obligations and reduce interest rates.
Mr Murray
said during a recent tour of the Volta Region that the speedy privatisation of
some public utilities would reduce government's over reliance on taxes.
"For a
start, government organisations like the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) and Civil
Aviation could be privatised to make substantial gains for the country",
Mr Murray further suggested.
His
suggestion that government should privatize Ghana Commercial Bank, according to
the independent newspaper, could generate a lot of debate because government is
reluctant to loosen its grip on the bank which has a wide network and plays an
important role in the government's development plans.
The
government is reported to have told World Bank officials pushing for the bank's
divestiture that it does not favour its wholesale privatisation.
The
proposed privatisation of the Ghana Civil Aviation in the past raised security
issues with many people arguing that as a first line of security the airport
should not be left in the hands of private operators.
In a post
budget lecture recently, Mr Amonoo Neizer of Data Bank Brokerage Limited said
the government's position on the future of Ghana Commercial Bank is conflicting
and asked the government to make its position clear.
GRi…/
Send your comments
to news@ghanareview.com