Thirty six declare assets
700 visitors miss PANAFEST
Five arrested over '419 scam'
Consultants, contractors to be jointly surcharged
Ghana Airways’ loss is our loss - Says hoteliers
Bagbin and the mystery Nissan Patrol
IT for 2nd cycle schools
Instant justice! (Zero tolerance on armed robbery)
I.E.A. pushes Govt to recover millions …from NDC waste pipes
Former Minister stands accused
NPP Congress in danger
DIC boss arrested
S. African chiefs savour Asante culture
Cash and Carry to be replaced soon
Coup can't occur in Ghana - Tony Aidoo
No Coup is justified
Girl, 15 in love with rapist
Thirty six declare assets
State paper, the Daily Graphic says thirty-six ministers and deputy ministers of state have, since assuming office in January, this year, declared their assets and liabilities to the Auditor-General, as required by law.
About 30 others have collected their assets declaration forms, and are yet to fill and submit them to the Auditor-General.
"In fact, it is only the ministers who were sworn into office recently who have not come for their forms yet", said Mr Kwao Aidoo, Secretary of the Audit Service Board.
He said in an interview in Accra on Thursday that the assets declaration exercise with the ministers and deputy ministers has been very smooth, as they called at the Audit Service offices themselves to pick the forms, and returned them within a short time.
Mr Aidoo explained that the ministers who have not yet declared their assets have a period of six months from the time they took office to do so, saying "the deadline is not yet over".
"The newly appointed District Chief Executives (DCEs), and Presiding Members of the District assemblies, also have six months to declare their assets", he added.
According to Mr Aidoo, majority of the former ministers of state under the NDC administration declared their assets while in office and just before leaving office.
"At least 40 of them submitted their assets declaration forms to the Auditor-General at the time they were leaving office", he said.
The Audit-Service Board Secretary said a large number of other public office holders have also declared their assets, and cited the Judicial Service as an outstanding public declare their assets consistently and willingly.
He said at present, about 300 office holders of the Judicial Service nationwide, comprising judges of the various courts, registrars and other key officials, have submitted their assets declaration forms to the Auditor-General.
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700 visitors miss PANAFEST
More than 700 Africans in the Diaspora determined to participate in this year's PANAFEST, could not do so due to traveling bottlenecks.
Most of them however cancelled their flights at the last minute because Ghana Airways could not allegedly fly them to Ghana on the scheduled days.
Mr Konhain Halevi, Executive Secretary of PANAFEST, said many of them booked flights so they could arrive in Ghana to celebrate both the PANAFEST and Emancipation Day festivities but they cancelled their flights when they realized they had missed the programmes due to flight constraints.
Speaking to the Graphic after an Emancipation Day Durbar at Assin Manso on Tuesday, Mr Halevi indicated however that there are about 3000 people in the country for the PANAFEST celebration, which is an improvement over last year's.
So far, Mr Halevi said seminars, concerts and all other programmes for the celebration have gone on successfully and attributed this to the good coordination between the PANAFEST Foundation and the National Emancipation Day Planning Committee.
However, he said out of 350 stands constructed for renting at the trade expo at Cape Coast, about 100 of them were not rented by anybody.
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Five arrested over '419 scam'
Togolese security agencies last Monday arrested in Lome five persons suspected to have been operating the notorious advanced fee fraud syndicate, otherwise known as "419 Scam", in the West African sub-region.
They are Linus Ochoulo, Steve Ochendu and Evencs Ochendu, all Nigerians, and Prince Owundu and Chimar Ebere, both Togolese, who have been carrying out their activities particularly in Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria.
They are believed to have defrauded a number of Ghanaian businessmen and traders in Accra and Kumasi in the past few weeks, before returning to Lome.
A source close to the Police Headquarters in Accra said in an interview that the men were arrested, after the discovery of large sums of moneys in various convertible currencies in their possession.
The source said if there were enough evidence that the suspects have operated in Ghana before, then the "competent Ghanaian authority may subsequently request their extradition to Ghana to face criminal charges.
It asked those who have fallen victim to the syndicate and other members of the public who can identify the suspects to contact the INTERPOL Unit at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Accra.
The "419 Scam" is an organized fraud syndicate believed to have its origin in Nigeria. It operates by conning wealthy businessmen and institutions and sometimes government officials and agencies, into transferring huge sums of moneys into "419 Scam" bank accounts in various countries, as advance payment for the supply of certain goods in high demand on the international market. They also claim it will give their victims access to the hidden treasures of some past African leaders.
Described as the West African version of the Mafia, the "419 Scam" synidicate is also noted for kidnapping for ransoms, organized armed robbery, smuggling, fake passport and arms deals, in the sub-region.
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Consultants, contractors to be jointly surcharged
Consultants engaged on government projects would jointly be surcharged with contractors, who do shoddy work.
Mr Joseph B. Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, gave the warning at a quarterly meeting with Regional Heads of Department organized by the Western Regional Coordinating Council at Sekondi on Wednesday.
His warning followed concerns raised by a contributor at the meeting to the effect that "Ghana has suffered for far too long from shoddy work on government projects by some contractors".
Mr Aidoo said shoddy work associated with some contractors in the past would no longer be tolerated under the present administration.
He, therefore, charged regional heads to be particularly involved in projects being undertaken for their respective departments to ensure that monies from the toil of Ghanaians were not thrown down the drains. "We must ensure that monies released by the government for projects are scrupulously utilized in the best interest of Ghanaians.
GRi…/
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Ghana Airways’ loss is our loss - Says hoteliers
The Weekend Agenda carries that the mess being created by the national flag carrier, Ghana Airways is spilling over beyond the air line industry to other tourist related business in the country.
The national airline’s persistent inability to keep to flight schedules, which invariably leads to passengers being stranded at various airports, is now creating booking problems for hoteliers as.
Passengers booked to fly with the national airline have had to contend with these unscheduled changes in the travelling arrangements of their patrons.
The uncertainty that has characterise the flight schedules of Ghana Airways means passengers checking out of hotels leave messages that their rooms be reserved for them until their flights finally depart the Kotoka International Airport.
This situation should ordinarily have meant more cash for the hotels but industry sources say it is a terrible headache and a loss-maker in the long term.
An important business predictor for hoteliers is the number of reservations they are able to secure at the end of the day. However, the current situation means they are often unable to confirm reservations while being forced to be considerate to guests who may have run out of cash.
To make matters worse, some incoming tourists have been canceling their hotel bookings in Ghana because of Ghana Airways’ failures in honouring flight schedules.
Some operators in the hotel industry have started complaining about this development.
Figures are not available, according the Agenda but industry sources are concerned that the industry is losing huge revenue as a result of the problems emanating from Ghana Airways. A hotel manager who asked not to be named pointed out that the airline and hotel industries complement each other.
The just-ended Homecoming Summit and the Pan African Festival (PANAFEST) that followed a week after, created the biggest headache for the hotel operators. While some reserved rooms were not occupied because the patrons were left stranded in the US and other European cities, other hotels had to host their guests for extra days because the airline cancelled their outward-bound flights.
“The net result is that other tourists looking for accommodation cannot be booked because we are not sure of when those being occupied will be free,” one hotel manager said.
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Bagbin and the mystery Nissan Patrol
The mystery surrounding the disappearance of a Nissan patrol GT 1645 D belonging to Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHAPOHA), crashed by Minority Leader Alban Bagin, has been unravelled according to The Weekend Statesman.
Bagbin, then board member of GHAPOHA was allegedly using the car for the 1996 electioneering campaign when it was involved in an accident at Awisa near Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The insurers, State Insurance Company (SIC), replaced the vehicle but it can’t be traced when the paper searched GHAPOHA’s offices.
But records at the SIC reveal a contrary picture. According to the SIC records, the giant insurance company had replaced only one vehicle for the Ports Authority in the last five years and that vehicle was not being driven. It was not a Nissan Patrol either.
The vehicle, a Toyota Landcruiser with registration number GT 9779 D was being driven by Raphael U. Kumaedzo, a director of the company when it was involved in a fatal accident at Denu near Aflao on June 4, killing everybody on board. This was five clear months before Bagin’s accident, and raising the question of where his car is. “This is the mystery the new GHAPOHA board has to unravel”, writes the Statesman.
GHAPOHA reportedly, was not enthused in releasing the vehicle to Bagbin as he was not entitled to one as board.
The MP for Nadowli when contacted admitted crashing the vehicle but denied using it for political campaigns.
The abuse of power by politicians on GHAPOHA’s board, according to the paper, was rampant during the NDC administration.
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IT for 2nd cycle schools
All second cycle institutions in the country will soon be provided with Internet facilities as part of government’s programme to ensure that Information Technology (IT) takes root in the schools.
The Minister of Transport and Communications, Felix Owusu-Agyapong said this at the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry and the UNDP for the implementation of the Mobile Telecenter To-Go (MTTG) pilot project in Accra.
He noted that in this era of globalisation, Ghana would be left behind, if efforts are not made to bring secondary school students on board the IT world.
The MTTG, is part of the UNDP Internet Initiative for Africa (II@programme) being undertaken in 10 African countries including Ghana.
The programme, which aims at enhancing the impact and wider use of the Internet as a tool for individual and organisational development, falls within Ghana’s priorities for the promotion of Internet service in the country.
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Instant justice! (Zero tolerance on armed robbery)
A huge crowd assembled just after midday, Thursday in the vicinity of Caprice Hotel in Accra to perform one single-minded purpose - lynch some suspected armed robbers, writes the Accra Mail. Two were torn to pieces and two others escaped.
By the time the Mail got there, the mutilated bodies had been taken away leaving the tell tale signs of instant justice with policemen engaged in housekeeping.
The drama was the usual bravado of armed robbers. The four young men had stolen a car, whose insurance and roadworthy certificates did not match, and selected a victim at one of the SSB Banks in Kokomlemle. After snatching their booty, they made a dash for it in their get away car, but lady luck, run out on them around Caprice, partially as a result of the law of Karma and partially as a result of public and police vigilance.
The Mail had an exclusive peep into the lucky charms and talismans in the car when it was being towed away by the police. One of the charms was a sheet of paper with Arabic inscriptions, supposed to be a prayer to ward off bad luck.
It is rather a regular feature now in armed robberies to have such talismans, believed to be prepared by Mallams, to ensure success of the operations. The suspicion is that the Mallams are major accomplices, and receive a share of the booty when the operations succeed. This time, their Mallam let them down badly and they drove right into the jaws of death. The Tesano Police Division is handling the case.
The paper writes that the Public it seems, may eventually lynch armed robbery out of existence, because the sentiments expressed by the lynching crowd was almost blood-thirsty with many young men gleefully and openly talking about how they used a boulder or stick to smash the heads of the suspected robbers.
Attention is also being turned to dealers in second hand electronic gadgets like televisions, sound systems and computers who according to views now becoming widespread, receive the stolen goods from armed robberies.
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I.E.A. pushes Govt to recover millions …from NDC waste pipes
The Kufuor administration has been urged to make efforts to retrieve all monies owed the state in order to maximise revenue.
These domestically and externally guaranteed gout debts, running into hundreds of millions of dollars include those owed by National Investment Bank, SSNIT, SIC, Ghana Commercial Bank and the Divestiture Implementation Committee.
This was contained in a newsletter released by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and authored by Prof Bartholomew Armah, a research fellow of the Institute.
One private enterprise, which came up for special mention as major debtor of government, was the tottering Ahwoi family company, CASHPRO.
The newsletter revealed that CASHPRO owed the government several millions of dollars and if these monies were recovered, it would enhance revenue.
Other NDC sponsored initiatives which drained the nation of resources and monies which needed to be recovered were the Business Assistance Fund (BAF), Youth in Agriculture Programme (YIAP), Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) and the Council of Indigenous Business Associations (CIBA).
These initiatives that were mainly seen as efforts by the NDC regime to create jobs and income for their followers became a viable gold mine for certain NDC functionaries who shamelessly embezzled hundreds of millions of cedis from the funds.
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Former Minister stands accused
It has emerged that the former NDC Minister for Works and Housing, Hon Isaac Adjei-Mensah, during his reign at the Ministry, issued instructions to institutions under his Ministry to award contracts to contractors with no recourse to the appropriate procedure, says The Ghanaian Chronicle.
One of such institution is the Ghana Water Company Limited currently under a Ministerial probe.
At its sitting on Wednesday, this week, committee members could not bring themselves to comprehend how contractors were handpicked for a large scale contract which should have been opened to tender.
It became clear that the then Managing Director of GWCL took advantage of Adjei-Mensah's unprofessional attitude and, together with his two deputies, handpicked their cronies for contracts at the company.
Giving evidence before the Justice N.Y.B. Adade Committee, Alex Kwaku Sarfo-Danquah, Chief Quantity Surveyor at the Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area (ATMA) of the GWCL said out of a total 36 contractors engaged for phase one of a meter fixing project, Adjei-Mensah had seven on board with Charles Agyei sending a list of 16 to the surveyor with the instruction that they all be awarded contracts.
The then Deputy Managing Director in charge of Finance and Administration, Kobbie Kessie was not left out of the deal as he also gave instructions for four contractors to be given jobs, while his other colleague in charge of operations, Mr Lamptey had one man on board.
It also came to light that the Castle, which was the office of Ex-President Rawlings also sent a note instructing that a contractor be offered a job although Sarfo-Danquah could not tell who specifically from the Castle issued the note.
It became evident from evidence tendered in by Sarfo-Danquah that the contractors had a field day doing their own thing since they had powers that be behind them.
I was negotiating from a weaker stand,” he said while admitting that the contractors were forced down his throat by more powerful people.
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NPP Congress in danger
Credible information reaching the Chronicle in Takoradi has revealed that the scheduled NPP Western Regional Delegates Congress which comes off on Saturday, would be slapped with injunction a day to the event to prevent the regional secretary from going ahead with the congress.
The writ, which is expected to be filed at the Sekondi High Court, Friday morning follows the decision by the party to limit the number of delegates who would be attending the congress to vote to just two instead of four (4) as mandated by the NPP Constitution.
Letters written to party faithful and signed by Mr Francis Quansah, acting regional secretary of the party sighted by the paper indicated the inability of the party to raise adequate funds for the congress as reason for limiting the delegates to two instead of four.
But the explanation, sources say did not go down well with some of the contestants and the floor members of the party who thought the regional executive members who are also contesting the positions are trying to use financial constraint as an excuse to turn results in their favour.
Chronicle learnt that the NPP constitution states clearly that delegates to congress must include all the constituency chairman and their secretaries plus two floor members of the party.
This means that if an injunction is not slapped on the congress for them to follow the constitutional provisions of the party, the regional executives would influence the constituency chairmen and their secretaries who are well known to them to vote against the other candidates contesting the executive positions.
Chronicle also learnt that the regional executives have already given an order that only the constituency chairmen and their secretaries would be allowed to vote as delegates, thus confirming the suspicion of the party members that the regional executives are up to something.
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DIC boss arrested
The former Chief Executive of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC), Mr E.A. Agbodo, and Mr Everest Ekong, a Nigerian and managing director of Goldcity Communications Group (GCGL), have been arrested by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for allegedly defrauding the state of ¢15 billion.
The Ghanaian Times who broke the story says two others, Mr Angelo Lassey, Assistant Accountant, and Mr Siegfried Sedziafa, Public Relations Consultant, both of the DIC, are on the run.
The deal was exposed after a special audit requested by the Office of the President and the National Security Council into payments, bank statements and other documents related to payments made by the DIC to GCGL.
A source told the 'Times' that between May and December 2000, Agbodo authorized over ¢18 billion to be paid to the GCGL for consultancy services and advertisements.
The payments were made out of proceeds from the sale of divested state enterprises, but under the act establishing the DIC, expenditures such as advertising and consultancy services, should be paid under the public Enterprise and Privatizations Technical Assistance Project (PEPTA), a World Bank funded programme for which DIC is a beneficiary.
Under the same Act, proceeds of the divestiture are to be used exclusively to pay Ghana Government's net liabilities.
Clearly, the payments to GCGL constituted misapplication of funds since there was no evidence of prior approval from the Ministry of Finance.
The source said that the audit further disclosed that of the amounts paid for advertisements and other expenditures, only about ¢3 billion was utilized for advertisements and other promotional activities. The remaining ¢15 billion was stolen or diverted for their private use.
Siegfried Sedziafa as was revealed by the audit, is a director and signatory to all the accounts of GCGL at Barclays Bank, Osu branch.
Angelo Lassey, an Accounts Officer of the DIC, doubled as the accountant for GCGL.
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S. African chiefs savour Asante culture
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, on Wednesday held a colourful mini-durbar of chiefs at the Manhyia Palace here in honour of the visiting eight-member delegation of Chiefs from South Africa.
The visit was to enable the delegation from the Free state Province to have a first-hand insight into how the Asante traditional system operates.
They were also at the Manhyia Palace to seek the assistance of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II in the formation of an African Traditional Rulers Union.
In his welcome address, the Asantehene called on traditional rulers to take advantage of the dawn of democracy pertaining on the continent and assist various national governments in the promotion of the people's welfare.
'It behoves on us all, as leaders of our communities to help in the alleviation of poverty, diseases and conflicts by assisting the central governments, he said.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu said that for chiefs and traditional rulers to assist in the development of their various countries, they should desist from displaying acrimony towards their governments.
He pointed out that democracy could only thrive in Africa if traditional rulers were able to offer good advice to politicians.
Chief L.C. Mota, paramount chief of the Free State Province and leader of the delegation, said that traditional leaders should do everything possible to co-exist with their governments in order to uphold the tenets and principles of democracy on the continent.
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Cash and Carry to be replaced soon
A new health care financing policy to replace the present Cash-and-Carry system will be introduced soon.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Moses Dani-Baah, who disclosed this, said that the new policy, which would include health insurance, is almost close to starting.
He was speaking on Wednesday at the commissioning of a computerized Tornography scan equipment for the Trust Hospital in Accra.
The machine, the third of only four in the country, was installed at the hospital in November last year, and has since been providing improved x-ray services for patients.
The Deputy Minister said that the new policy would use the pre-payment method of financing health care.
Under this system, patients would have paid for the cost of treatment even before the need arose for them to seek health care.
Mr Dani-Baah explained that the new policy would also promote other forms of healthcare financing and prevent the payments of cash at the point of service delivery.
He expressed the hope that when operational, it would ensure an equitable distribution of and accessibility to health care.
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Coup can't occur in Ghana - Tony Aidoo
The National Democratic Congress' (NDC) Director of Research, Dr. Tony Aidoo, has declared that it is a remote possibility that a coup d'etat can happen in Ghana, reports The Dispatch.
According to him, factors such as international opinion, the renaissance and re-orientation of Africans weigh heavily against the possibility for a coup d'etat.
The ex-Deputy Defence Minister made the statement last Wednesday in a special edition of Talk About Africa on BBC World Service which also hosted a former UNIFIL Commander, Gen. Emmanuel Erskine (rtd), the editor of The Crusading Guide, Mr Kweku Baako Jnr., and moderated by Kwaku Sekyi-Addo, BBC Correspondent in Ghana.
Dr. Aidoo was, however, quick to add that the conditions for a coup d'etat are invariably "pregnant" when there is yawning gap between electoral promises on one hand and delivery on the other.
The panelists were commenting on the recent interview former President Jerry John Rawlings granted the BBC which provoked mixed reactions from both Ghanaians and the international community.
He advised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration to rather concentrate on their campaign promises and desist from their "Fascist" modus operandi of harassing, defaming and demonizing ex-President Rawlings and the NDC.
The NDC Research Director also cited the dismissal of public servants perceived to be NDC sympathizers from their positions as one of the machinations to destroy the NDC.
He stated that the NPP administration is exhibiting double standards with security matters. He wondered why President Kufuor has replaced Rawlings military security with Police personnel whilst surrounding himself with men from Nigeria and Israel.
Mr Baako was of the view that a coup in Ghana is possible but it cannot be sustained, explaining that there is always the "lunatic fringe" who can go berserk and wreak havoc on our infant democracy.
Nonetheless, he admonished Ghanaians to exercise the self-discipline exhibited under the NDC's eight-year rule, which was fraught with infractions.
A coup, he continued, is a fundamental illegality punishable by death and cannot be justified by any soldier "any time any where".
He admitted that there has been a slip or two on the part of the NPP but disagreed with Dr. Aidoo that NDC members and sympathizers are being harassed.
The Crusading guide editor also rebuffed claims by Dr. Aidoo that President Kufuor has as security personnel Nigerians and Israelis.
He noted with surprise that Dr Aidoo was basing his claims on a Nigerian newspaper publication.
Gen. Erskine wondered whether the government has put in place a solid security system that could prevent any coup attempt.
According to him, no security system is hundred percent foolproof, adding that it is very difficult to justify a coup and advised civilians not to create conditions that will compel the military to violate their own code of discipline.
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No Coup is justified
The Daily Guide quotes the Leader of Government Business and Majority Leader in Parliament, J.H. Mensah, as saying that there is no justification for describing coup makers as reformists or corrective regimes.
According to him, the concept of military overthrows and the consequence of that action do not merit such descriptions.
Speaking on a Radio current affairs programme, HOTSEAT, Mr Mensah said it is very difficult to justify the 1966 coup that overthrew Ghana's first President Dr Kwame Nkrumah. The Majority Leader says sometimes, coup makers do not even know what they are about. "We create a certain situation where people think they can stage a coup. The history in Ghana suggests that we must look at this matter very seriously."
He also argued against the use of economic difficulties as an excuse for military take-over since governance creates challenges that call for debate and amicable solutions rather than Coup d'etat.
On growth of business in Ghana, Mr Mensah observed that pressure on the banking system in the country has contributed to its inability to support business.
According to him, because institutions such as the Electricity Company of Ghana and Tema Oil Refinery subsidise their products, they always run at a loss and are forced to borrow from Banks to make up for the loss. This practice, he said, has put a lot of burden on the banks thereby rendering them ineffective in financing productive business venture.
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Girl, 15 in love with rapist
As if it is the literal replay of King David's amorous escapades with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, as written in the Old Testament, a 15-year-old girl who was recently raped by a 21-year-old driver's mate, has turned round to defend the convicted rapist, now serving an eight-year jail term. The girl's defence is that she is of age.
According to the girl, Mariama Alhassan, a resident of Buabeng in the Western Region, at the time that she was allegedly raped, her age was 19 and not 15 as is being claimed.
This claim has therefore set a Kumasi High Court Judge and the Attorney-General's Office, to ask a bone expert to examine the girl's bones to determine her actual age. Mariama claims her late mother had told her she was 16 about three years ago.
Meanwhile, the court trying Kwame Adama, her alleged rapist, has been compelled to adjourn hearing on the case while efforts are being made to contact the alleged rape victim's biological father in Cote d'Ivoire, to assist in providing evidence of Mariama's true age.
Kwame Adama, 21, was sentenced by a Dunkwa-On-Offin Circuit Court sometime this year for defiling Mariama, 15.
Not satisfied with the sentence, Adama decided to file a writ for an appeal against his sentence.
The appeal is currently being heard at the Kumasi High Court, where in an anti-climax, the alleged rape victim, had turned round to defend the rapist.
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The Evening News says although Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, NDC MP for Bimbilla, is yet to get the nod for the proposed position of the Executive Secretary of the ECOWAS, indications are that various political parties have began manoeuvres to win the seat in case of a bye-election.
The NDC, CPP and NPP are currently at the forefront on the campaign, having set their machinery in motion to win the seat.
The parties are said to have started underground preparation in the event of the bye-election.
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