GRi Press Review Ghana 06 - 08

The Daily Graphic reporting on a statement issued by the refinery at the weekend said "the refinery does not anticipate any price increases or adjustments of petroleum products in the immediate future."

It said TOR will continue to ensure stable and secure supply of petroleum products to the Ghanaian market.

In another development, the Energy Minister, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, denied ever saying that the prices of petroleum products will go up in October.

Speaking to radio stations in Accra, he said what the government has done with the approval of Parliament is to introduce the petroleum tax that was withdrawn under the previous regime, but indicated that the prices are not likely to go up as being speculated.

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Search for macro-economic stability on course

A source close to the Bank of Ghana (BOG) says there is mounting evidence to show that efforts to ensure macro-economic stability is on course.

Through prudent monetary policy designed by the Bank of Ghana to ensure price stability, the national currency, the cedi, depreciated by 1.34 percent against the US dollar at the end of July. Last year, for the same period, the cedi depreciated 43.1 per cent.

The source said inflation has averaged 2.5 per cent on a monthly basis this year as against 3 per cent last year.

In addition, through rate tighter monetary policy supported by appropriate fiscal stance, inflation rate, which at the end of June stood at 36.6 per cent, came down to 34.9 per cent.

Also, interest rate, which was at 47 per cent, has come down to 44 per cent.

The source said the bank has not relented in its effort to maintain price stability, which is critical to sustainable economic development and poverty reduction.

Consequently, the bank has pursued a mopping up exercise using treasury bill auctions swaps, repurchase agreements, cash and secondary reserves requirement. The yield on 91-day instruments, the benchmark instrument, which has remained almost constant in the year 2000 rose from 41.99 per cent to 47 per cent at the end of last June.

From January to June ending, the net sales of treasury bill totaled ¢1,312.6 billion, as compared with ¢76.1 billion for the corresponding period last year.

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Ghanaian Times

President warns fuel smugglers

President John Agyekum Kufuor has expressed concern about the alarming rate of fuel smuggling to neighbouring countries by communities along the country's borders.

He said this "diabolical practice cannot be allowed to continue in view of its adverse effects on the economy", stressing that steps would be taken to deal with perpetrators.

President Kufuor expressed this concern at separate durbars at Sampa, Wamfie, Japekrom, Drobo, Dwenem, Seketia and Suma Ahenkro, all in the Jaman District on Ghana's border with La Cote d'Ivoire.

It makes no sense for the country to use her scarce foreign exchange to import fuel, only for it to be smuggled out for personal gains, The President said and charged the communities in the district, as well as other border communities to put an end to the practice and become real agents of the positive change slogan by acting as watchdogs over themselves to arrest the canker.

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Virgin Mary, son appear

The Virgin Mary was said to have appeared at the NAFAC grounds Tongo at the weekend, during a con-celebrated Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of Mary as part of the activities marking the Sixth National Sacred Heart Congress. With her was the baby Son, Jesus, says the Times.

The spectacle was said to have lasted for about 30 minutes.

While the congregation was having their morning devotion, the sky suddenly lit up, then changed into a blend of red and blue colours. The shining images of the Virgin Mary and Jesus then appeared. "They seemed to be in a dancing mood", one eyewitness told the 'Times".

As soon as the images appeared, those who saw them gave a shout, drawing the attention of the worshippers. They were momentarily held spellbound, and then went on their knees, in fervent prayer.

Madam Cecilia Afriyie of the Kumasi Diocese told the 'Times' that the scene made her to believe that "God is with His children anywhere and at anytime when they come together to worship in His name".

Describing, Madam Afriyie confirmed that she first saw red and blue colours, followed by shining images of the two (Mary and the Son, Jesus).

"These signs should tell Christians that Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself to really save mankind”, she declared.

For his part, Mr K.K. Marcel, of the Wa Diocese in the Upper West Region said that he saw the images of Jesus Christ and the Mother in the sky "and when I tried to look at my wrist watch it went blank".

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No World Bank conditionality on agricultural products

Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation has stated that the World Bank has not imposed any conditionally on the government for the removal of subsidy on agriculture.

The Times says he was reacting to views held by a section of Ghanaians that the World Bank has asked Ghana to remove subsidy in order to qualify for assistance.

"There is no conditionality and I wonder where people got that from, what they do not want is the government becoming the farmer but there is nothing wrong with (the) government providing support to the farmers."

Dr Nduom told the media at the Togolese capital, Lome during a recent official visit.

"We won't be put at a competitive disadvantage so (the) government will offer our fishermen and farmers the necessary support," he added.

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Public Agenda

SSNIT to crumble

A Public Agenda story says an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on Ghana's Financial System Stability Assessment has indicted that the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for failing to meet almost every important performance indicator as expected of the scheme since 1996.

The report, which was circulated among members of the Executive Board of the Fund, refers to another report produced by the UK Government Actuary's Department over 1997-1999 issued in March 2000.

Based on SSNIT's current assets, Ghana's social security institution could crumble by 2036, the report says.

This, according to the report, is against the background of the fact that SSNIT is recording significantly higher expense as against disturbingly lower income.

"The currently increasing membership of three percent per annum is concealing the large actuarial deficits that are accruing," says the report.

The administrative expenses of SSNIT are growing much faster than projected, according to the IMF. "SSNIT staff of 2,700 is very large for a scheme with only 500,000 (contributors)” and administrative expenses are very high, 22 per cent of contributions, or 4.2 per cent of funds invested.

The draft report confirms that real investment returns over recent years by SSNIT appear to have been negative. When inflation is brought under control, the cost of the scheme will increase further, the report points out.

The stated 1999 average nominal return on investment of 16.4 per cent leaves an insufficient rate of return in real terms, considering the current inflation rate of 37 per cent.

The most worrying indicator for the future health of SSNIT is the trend of the funding ratio – a ratio between the size of contributor's fund as a proportion of SSNIT's total investment.

The funding ratio has been declining when it was anticipated to rise and has fallen below eight, which is considered to be a long-term minimum target for a viable mature fund.

The drop, says the IMF, was mainly a result of provisions on non-performing assets.

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The Dispatch

SECAPS owner convicted

The Dispatch reports that an Accra Circuit Tribunal last Thursday found Secaps Hotel's Boss, Mr Smart Binitie, guilty of fraudulently issuing a dud cheque for $15,000 to his ex-business partner, Mr Robby Humbert Wijsman, a Surinamese based in Ghana.

Accordingly, Mr Binitie also Proprietor of Smart Travel Club International (STCI) was sentenced to a day's imprisonment and fined ¢1 million or in default, go to jail for six months in hard labour.

In addition he was to pay Mr Wijsman a compensation of ¢2 million or in default, spend three months in prison.

The sum total of ¢3 million was to be paid by the close of last Thursday.

Again, after completing his term in prison, Mr Binitie is to refund the $15,000 to Mr Wijsman.

Immediately after the sentence, Mr Binitie who had earlier appeared unruffled and well-composed in the dock blurted out repeatedly, "I will appeal, I will appeal …" and thus prompting his counsel, Mr F.K. Gamegah, to calm him down.

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NPP News

Tomato factory to be revamped

The NPP News reports that the Wenchi Tomato Factory in the Brong Ahafo Region is to be revamped to create employment for the teeming unemployed youth in the area.

When revived, it would also serve as a ready market for farmers in the area in particular and the country as a whole, as well as curb post harvest losses.

President John Kufuor disclosed this at a durbar organized in his honour as part of his four-day tour of the Brong Ahafo Region.

The President also announced that the Bui Dam project, which has been on the drawing board for sometime now would be seriously pursued.

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Ghanaian Democrat

Quality Grains registration in order

A Deputy Director at the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr Pius Kweku Addae, has stated that as far as the outfit is concerned they did nothing wrong in respect of the registration of Quality Grain Company, writes the Ghanaian Democrat.

Mr Addae, the officer-in-charge of registration, said this when giving evidence for the prosecution at the Fast Track High Court in Accra.

Answering questions during cross-examination from the defence team, Mr. Addae said the GIPC became aware of Quality Grain Company in August 1998 after a report on it was submitted by Mr Ankrah.

The prosecution witness told the court that a company is registered with GIPC if it is a joint venture or wholly foreign owned.

According to him, when you are registered with GIPC you will enjoy the clearance of agricultural machinery as was the case of Quality Grain Company because they enjoy zero-rated duty.

Mr Addae in answer to another question said Quality Grains’ earlier registration was rejected by the centre because there were problems with the shareholding structure.

He explained that this was however rectified according to the information made available to him. "I was informed after I returned from a course that the processing of the document had been done.

The witness stated that he spoke to Mr George Yankey, the fourth accused who confirmed the change giving Quality Grain 76% and Ministry of Finance 24% instead of 100% that the company initially brought based on it foreign incorporation.

He told the court that they consequently issued a certificate to the company to clear equipment from the port.

This he said was also informed by a confirmation from Bank of Ghana that the company brought in equipment worth $613,000.

Mr Addae said the company's certificate was not entirely released to them and that it is still in the custody of GIPC.

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NDC denies ejection story

The National Democrat Congress (NDC) has said it sees no iota of truth in the Free Press report of Tuesday, August 1, 2001 in which the paper carried a story that the NDC party has been ejected from its Volta Regional secretariat for non-payment of rent.

This was contained in a statement issued by the party and signed on behalf of its Media Committee Chairman, Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah in Accra. It described the story as false.

"The party had a mutual agreement with the owner of the premises in question to relocate to a new place to enable the landlord to renovate the old building".

The previous office, according to the NDC belongs to the Volta Regional Women's Organiser of the party who is also the wife of the Regional Chairman of the NDC.

It said the NDC over the years has enjoyed the hospitality of their landlord to the extent that the decision to move out of the building was taken by the Volta Regional Executive Committee of the party to allow their landlord to make some money out of a hotel business.

The NDC therefore wondered why the paper had sought to create animosity between it (the party) and its landlord, Mrs. Bertha Nunyuie.

The impression that the party owed rent leading to its ejection from the said building can only be described as malicious and a complete fabrication by the press and its financiers.

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High Street Journal

Government to replace ¢3 trillion in Treasury Bill debt with Inflation-Indexed bonds

The Government of Ghana is now close to a final agreement with the nation's commercial and merchant banks on final structure for the medium term bonds which will be used to refinance some ¢3 trillion out of the outstanding ¢9 trillion in public domestic debt.

The High Street Journal says negotiations have reached an advanced stage and now involve the Ministry of Finance, the banks themselves, the Bank of Ghana, British investment bankers acting as consultants, a plethora of legal experts, the Internal Revenue Service which is providing tax consideration inputs, and SEM Financial Services, an Accra based financial consultancy, headed by the renown Dr. Sam Mensah, which is acting as local consultants in the structuring of the debt.

The HSJ says its informed sources, acre close to the various negotiating terms, revealed that a break-through was achieved when the parties involved opted to replace an earlier proposal to structure zero coupon bonds with a new proposal to structure the instruments as inflation-indexed bonds. A secretariat, operating from the Bank of Ghana itself is now moving at full stream to finalise the new structure with the approval of all stakeholders, and move into the actual implementation stage.

Under the new structure to be implemented, the medium term bonds will carry floating interest rates, indexed to inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index computed by the statistical service. The coupon rate will be set as a yet to be determined margin above the inflation rate.

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13.2m kg goods exported through KIA, 1^st 5 months of 2001

During the first five months of 2001, a total of 13, 203,123kg of exports were taken out of the country by air through the Kotoka International Airport, representing a marginal 0.06 per cent increase over the 13,194,653kg lifted last year during the corresponding first five months.

The first five months of this year saw import volumes, brought into Ghana through KIA amount to 4,238,286kg. This is a significant 15.2% decrease from the 4,887,898kg that passed through the airport during the corresponding period of 2000. Going by the trend over the past years, import volumes will most likely remain depressed, until the last two months of the year when they can be expected to pick up again.

According to figures released by African Ground Operations Limited, AFGO, sole contractor handling import and export cargo traffic at the airport, most of the goods that passed through the KIA were carried by scheduled passenger airline flights rather than charter flights.

During the period, 56 per cent of total exports, went out through scheduled flights while the other 44 percent went out through charter flight.

Similarly, 2,533,447kg or 60 per cent of total imports through KIA came through scheduled flights, while only 1,704,839kg came through chartered flights.

However the statistics released by AFGO do not identify transit cargo, nor do they put monetary values on the imports and exports actually identified. The current government has hinted that it may not renew AFGO's monopoly contract of handling cargo at KIA when the current one, awarded by the previous government, lapses.

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Ghana prepares for World Summit on sustainable Development

Ghana's national consultative process on the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) has been launched in Accra to prepare for the summit slated for South Africa in September 2002.

Launching the process, Prof. Dominic K. Fobih, Minster of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST), said the process, which is going on all over the world, will feed into the sub-regional and regional preparatory workshops and finally culminate in the World summit next year, following after the Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992.

The summit in Rio was an event, which marked international commitment in providing public and political support for undertaking activities that promote sustainable development.

According to Albert Katako, coordinator of the programme, preparations for the 2002 Earth Summit include national and sub-regional assessments. The objectives of R10 +10 (i.e., 10 years after the Rio summit) are to conduct national multi-stakeholder assessments of progress in implementing the Earth Summit agreements regarding national strategies for sustainable integration and participation, and other critical issues.

It is also to identify implementation problems, and recommend solutions in the form of national, sub-regional and regional action programmes.

Others are to consolidate sub regional and regional recommendations and identify opportunities for cooperation among National Councils on Sustainable Development (NCSD) to advance implementation of the Earth Summit agreement, consolidate and present recommendations and action programmes to the UN Earth Summit III in 2002.

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Free Press / The Ghanaian Voice

BNI boss booted / BNI moves to cleanse image

The Free Press says there are credible indications that the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), which has been in the news lately over certain controversial arrests it made, would soon have a new head to replace the eight months administration of Mr Sam J Afari.

Mr Afari who was appointed on January 10, three days after President John Kufuor assumed office would be sent abroad according to speculations.

The new head for BNI, the paper learnt is Mr Ellis Owusu Fordjour, a former Minister of Education in the National Redemption Council (NRC) Government. Police sources explained that the change forms part of the government’s periodic rotation of top personalities in the security apparatus, intended to maximize output.

The change in leadership reportedly, was as a result of some ‘hasty’ decisions, which led to the arrests of some former ministers and government appointees as was the case of Hon. E.T. Mensah, former minister of Youth and Sports in the erstwhile NDC and the church abduction of the former Auditor General, Mr Osei Prempeh.

The arrests raised increased public concern with the newly elected NPP government.

In its story headlined ‘BNI moves to cleanse image’, the Ghanaian Voice says the BNI in view of the recent self-inflicted public damage of its image is moving fast to clean up the mess.

Well informed sources say it has therefore, decided to set up a legal unit within its outfit to seek legal advice on their activities before they move out to effect arrests of some perceived opponents of the government.

Insiders believe that if the security body had been properly advised, certain operations it undertook recently would not have been done.

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Teacher victimized for being vocal

A principal superintendent of the Ghana Education Service in the Savelugu-Nanton District in the Northern Region, Alhaji Issahaku Sibdoo has been summarily released by the Region’s Director of Education, Mr J.M. Bagonluri through the District Director, Nana John Poku.

The release follows alleged accusations that, the said principal superintendent was responsible for a publication in the “Free Press” of July 9 to 15, 2001, in which it was alleged that a senior accountant and his assistant, Mr Luke Wuobar and Stanley Baba respectively defrauded some 65 newly recruited pupil teachers in the district of some money.

Alhaji Sibdoo confirmed the story when contacted and said, “I have actually been very vocal on some malfeasance in the district. My resolve has always been that the right thing must always be done. I am surprised that, the reaction of the district and for that matter, the regional director of education to the Free Press story should be in a form of victimization.”

He described his release as arbitrary, adding “I should have been warned or made to face a disciplinary committee if indeed there was a case against me.”

Some officials at the GES offices in Savelugu who spoke to the paper expressed surprise about the action of the Regional Director, remarking that a commission of enquiry should have been set up to investigate the allegation if any against Alhaji Sibdo before any action was taken.

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The Daily Guide

GBL pays ¢42m for lying

An Accra High Court presided over by Justice Mrs Agnes Dordzie, has slapped a ¢40 million fine on the management of Ghana Breweries Limited (GBL), according to The Daily Guide.

The court also awarded costs of ¢2 million against the company for defaming a former member of staff of the company, and bringing his reputation into disrepute.

The award of the damages, follows the failure of the management of the GBL, producers of a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages such as Star, ABC beer, Bluna drinks and draught beers, to justify two separate unsolicited and unsubstantiated letters they had secretly dispatched to the management of Guinness Ghana Limited (GGL) somewhere in September 1998 intended to defame, malign and make false claims against a former employee of the GBL, William Thompson.

Thompson had resigned from the GBL to seek employment with Guinness, a competitor in the breweries industry in the country. By reference therefore the letter sought to describe Thompson, their former employee, as a thief and a fraudster, who was unqualified to hold himself out as a member of staff of Guinness.

These damaging letters written on two separate occasions, were not directly sent to the addressee nor his forwarding address. Rather they were sent to the Human Resource Manager of the Guinness with damaging reports about Mr Thompson.

As a result of the letters, the management of Guinness wrote to terminate Thompson’s employment without giving him any chance to defend himself.

He therefore, instituted his own investigations and realized that it was on account of letters written by Mr Kwesi Brew, the Human Resource Manager of GBL that had made his current employers, to terminate his appointment without giving him any notice.

Thompson therefore decided to institute an action in court to redeem his reputation and to demand ¢40 million by way of compensation from the GBL.

He also prayed the court to restrain the GBL from ever repeating the publication of the defamatory words about him.

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Worlanyo Agrah swerves all

The Osu Community Tribunal was a scene to behold last Friday, August 3, as the media in Accra surged there in their numbers to cover a breaking story.

The Daily Guide says topmost amongst the swarming media paparizzi present were, its reporter and those of the Ghanaian Times, the Daily Graphic, and The Ghanaian Chronicle.

Ready with their notebooks and pens, they rushed to the court in anticipation of catching glimpse of Mr K. Worlanyo Agrah, the past General Secretary of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) being brought there.

However, Mr Agrah swerved the tribunal, chaired by Mrs Ivy Heward-Mills, filled with people above normal capacity.

An Accra radio station had announced on Friday that Mr Agrah, would be arraigned before the Osu Community Tribunal immediately after he had been granted bail from the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) which had been holding him in their cells for 52 hours.

Upon the announcement, many journalists had thronged there to record proceedings but Agrah never showed up.

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The Independent

Forgery …Fake Police letterheads in use

Investigations by The Independent indicate that the Police are handling a land dispute case in which some interested parties are believed to have used a fake police letterhead to their advantage and stopped a planned demonstration by a faction.

On February 9, 2001 a letter from a so-called Operational Commander of the Ghana Police Headquarters-ASP Jothan Azulu purported to stop a planned demonstration by La Youth Association in protest against what they described as illegal dissipation of their ancestral lands.

The letter, which was supposed to have been signed by the non-existent Operations Commander A.S.P. Jotham Azulu, was written on the letterhead of the Public Relations Directorate and was for the attention of the Chairman of the La Youth Association.

It warned the entire executive that they would be held liable for any breach of the peace and as such called for an immediate cancellation of the demonstration. The forged letter succeeded in stopping the planned demonstration.

When contacted, a source close to the Police headquarters said that the letter purported to have come from the police stopping the demonstration did not originate from the police. He described it as a fake one for which somebody is being charged for forgery, adding that there was a danger that such forged documents could be used to commit the nation to fraudulent agreements.

The source said it is highly possible that some unscrupulous individuals are suing such forged letterheads in fraudulent deals and cautioned the public to be wary of such documents.

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Police invite Huudu

The General-Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alhaji Huudu Yahaya was last Thursday invited by the police in connection with the disputed Mercedes Benz car currently in his custody.

The paper recalls a story in its July 12 issue that told of how the rightful owner of the car, Fred Oware, stormed the premises of the NDC headquarters to retrieve the Benz from the NDC scribe but did not find him at post.

A police source at the headquarters said the police impressed upon the NDC scribe to return the car to the rightful owner, which he agreed but as at Friday evening, he had not kept to his word.

A police source hinted, “we have clinched a deal and we hope he will honour his promise. The source claimed there was an institutional error by the CEPS in allocating the Benz to Huudu Yahaya, but now the error has been identified and what is now left is for CEPS to either refund the money to Alhaji Yahaya or replace the car.

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The Accra Mail

NMC has no money for newspapers

The Accra Mail says it discovered on Friday that the main regulator of media activity in the country, the National Media Commission (NMC), is so cash-strapped that it cannot even afford to buy newspapers to perform its monitoring role.

The paper says its editor discovered this reality when it was following up at the NMC the outcome of an arbitration brokered by the commission between the paper and Network Computer Systems (NCS), a multi-media service provider.

Around mid-day when the editor arrived at the offices of the commission, it was embarrassingly clear that no one had seen the Accra Mail to even tell whether the newspaper had complied with the arbitration.

One way or the other the commission would eventually have got round to monitoring the compliance, but the fact remains that the NMC must be first in line to review copies of each day’s newspapers either with funds through its own budget or arrangements with publishers.

The Executive-Secretary of the NMC, Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, who was busy at work, had not seen The Accra Mail but the Mail did not fault him.

He had explained that due to budgetary constraints, the commission could not afford to buy the newspapers. They however, expected complimentary copies from the publishing houses. The Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) had intimated that it would call on its members to provide complimentary copies, but this has not been done.

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Homosexual teacher gets 7 years

An Accra Circuit Tribunal last Friday convicted a teacher, Adolph Kualor, 33, of the Light Academy in Adenta for sodomising a nine year-old boy.

The court, presided over by Mr Imoru Ziblim slapped him with a seven-year jail sentence in hard labour. He however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The small tribunal was choked with a lot of people, some standing outside, and after judgement was pronounced the victors took over the premises raising their handkerchiefs with songs of praise.

The prosecutor, Police Inspector Emmanuel Boison told the court that on 26^th June, 2000 at about 2.00 o’clock in the afternoon, the convict lured the victim to a ‘dungeon’ under the school staircase and forcibly had sex with him through the anus.

The court further heard that after the act the convict told the victim that if he disclosed it to anyone he would beat him and cause his dismissal. Four days after the boy reported to his mother that he had pain in the anus when urinating, he then disclosed to his mother, what the teacher had done to him.

GRi…/

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