Bodies of Acheampong Afrifa exhumed!
New Governor for Bank of Ghana
"Let them reconcile first to God"
Tsikata coming down to answer allegations
'Council of State is non-partisan'
Eight parties flout law
City and Country Waste pact big fraud
Snakes invade house of KMA boss
Serious fraud office being misused
Former DIC boss to answer for 15 billion cedis fraud charge
Buffalo Soldier tells it all
Jaman District incurs 141.3 million cedis debt on security operations.
POTAG strike cripples K-Poly
Bodies of Acheampong Afrifa exhumed!
The Daily Guide says after four weeks of surveillance, it can report
now that the mortal remains of six Generals, a Brigadier and one Colonel who
were executed during the AFRC regime were exhumed on Wednesday august 8 and 9,
2001 from the Adoagyri cemetery, near Nsawam.
The exhumation was done
under very tight security, made up of a combined military/police team, and
assisted by prisons authorities. The exercise took about four hours on the
separate occasions with the press not allowed entry.
The bodies were later sent
to the 37Military Hospital for forensic tests to determine the identities of
the eight executed senior military officers.
The six were Gen. I.K.
Acheampong, Gen. F.W.K. Akuffo and Gen. Akwasi Amankwaah Afrifa, all of whom,
are former Heads of State.
The rest are Col. Roger
Felli, Brigadier Utuka, Air-Vice Marshall Yaw Boakye, Real Admiral Joy Amedume
and Major-General R.E.A. Kotei.
GRi…/
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New Governor for Bank of Ghana
The Ghanaian Chronicle says a veteran of the International Monetary
System and decidedly the most senior African in this other Bretton Woods system
is due to take over the very important chair of Governor of the Central Bank.
Mr P. Acquah, in his mid
50s has all but cleared his desk at the Washington office of this institution
which principle dwells on monetary policies while the World Bank deals with
cash matters.
Dr Kwabena Duffuor, the
incumbent, is on his way out after an eventful tenure heightened by media
reports of conflict of interest and damning assessment of the bank published
late last year by a joint team from the IMF and the World Bank.
The Chronicle says it has
copies of the report and the reaction of the bank's highest authorities on the
report, sections of which they have challenged.
Duffour reportedly, may
retire to the private sector where he has longed to go since 1994 when he was
plucked from the London Cheapside office of Ghana Commercial Bank as Manager to
head the Central Bank.
A quiet, but emotive man,
Dufuor is a far cry from the horrible years of Dr Kportufe Agama when political
influence and inefficiency became standard fare. Dufuor has been much decorated
in international banking journals, but his tenure officially ended last month.
The paper says its sources
informed also that another World Bank senior, Dr Nyani, was penciled in, but he
did not appear to be too enthusiastic.
More../
"Let them reconcile first to God"
Veteran Politician Joshua Attoh Quarshie has said that all persons who
will find themselves at the receiving end of the National Reconciliation
exercise, must first reconcile themselves with God since He is the Maker of all
human beings.
Speaking to reporters in
Accra, he pointed out that the atrocities committed by persons in authority
were so heinous that they are above human pardon.
Drawing an analogy from
the Bible, Attoh Quarshie said when Cain killed his brother, Abel, he might
have been pardoned by God if he had asked for forgiveness instead of stating
that he was not his brother's keeper.
"In our case in
Ghana, there is no thing like witch-hunting. It is the direct result of the
deeds of perpetrators of atrocities and they must be held responsible for their
acts", he affirmed.
He questioned how
decent-minded people could soon forget utterances like "Se mu su koraa na
meye no more" and suggested that in spite of this, offenders need national
prayers and forgiveness from God, then those offended would consider forgiving
them.
Mr Attoh Quarshie asked
Ghanaians to learn from the exploits of Dr J.B. Danquah, Akuffo Addo, Obetsebi
Lamptey, Dzenkle Dzewu and others who went through such trials pointing out
that sympathizers and ministers should have no fear of facing the music they
wrote through probity and accountability.
"Let them Reconcile
themselves first to God", he added.
GRi…/
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Tsikata coming down to answer allegations
Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation (GNPC), has decided to cut short his visit to Norway to answer
allegations of financial impropriety made against him by the government,
reports the Daily Graphic.
Mr Tsikata, who telephoned
the offices of the Daily Graphic on Thursday after a copy of the publication
was made available to him by some friends in Europe, said he left Accra last
Saturday to attend to some personal matters.
Asked to respond to some
of the allegations leveled against him, he explained that the matters raised in
the publication are too serious to deal with in a telephone conversation.
He expressed surprise at
rumours circulating in certain quarters that he is on the run.
Mr Tsikata gave the
assurance that at the appropriate time, he would respond to the issues raised
by the government.
Following the allegations
of impropriety leveled against him at a news conference by Albert Kan-Dapaah,
Minister of Energy last Tuesday, the Graphic made efforts to contact him but to
no avail.
Last Tuesday, Kan-Dapaah
ordered a forensic audit into the activities of the GNPC, which led to the loss
of $47 million to the state.
The investigation will be
carried out in eight weeks within the framework of the law, after which a
report will be submitted to the Attorney-General's Office for advice.
More…/
'Council of State is non-partisan'
A member of the Council of State, Michael Kwadwo Adusah, has said
members of the council are non-partisan and committed to the general well-being
of the people of the country.
He said the responsibility
that the nation has entrusted into their hands demands that members rise above
partisan considerations to meet the general challenges and aspirations of the
people.
Mr Adusah, who is the
Brong Ahafo Regional representative to the council, said in an interview at
Berekum, explaining that as a member of
the Council of State, he does not represent any political party but the people
of the region.
Mr Adusah therefore,
called on the people to rally behind him to enable him to discharge his duties
responsibly and effectively.
More…/
Small Scale industries to pay less on loans
The government has reduced the interest rates on loans granted by the
National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) to business entities from 20
per cent to five per cent.
The move is to enable
small business enterprises encountering difficulties in loan repayment to be
able to repay in order to qualify for new long-term loans.
Credit facilities for
which the interest rates have been reduced are the Special Business Assistance Fund
(SBAF) for artisans in the Upper East and Upper West Region, the Regional
Assistance Fund, PAMSCAD and the Revolving Fund.
Mr Abu-Bakar Sadique
Boniface, Deputy Minster of Trade and Industry, announced this at Wa on
Wednesday during a tour of the Upper West Region.
Mr Boniface, who was
addressing workers of the ministry in the region, said his visit was to examine
the potential that exists in the region to enable the government to channel
credit facilities to distressed industries.
Mr Boniface, who is also
the independent Member of Parliament for Salaga, said the NPP Government is
committed to the development of small-scale industries as a first step towards
the industrialization of the country.
GRi…/
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Eight parties flout law
Only one out of the nine political parties in the country, which took
part in the December 2000 elections, has submitted its audited accounts to the
Electoral Commission (EC) after the election, according to The Ghanaian Times.
Professor Ernest Dumor, a
member of the Commission, disclosed at the University of Ghana in Accra on
Thursday when he opened a two-day conference on the 2000 General Elections and
the Presidential run off but declined to name the party.
The 'Times' however says its
investigations have revealed that it is the Convention People's Party (CPP).
The Political Party Law makes
it obligatory for all political parties to submit such accounts to the EC.
When asked what the EC
would do to ensure that the other parties complied with the law, Prof. Dumor
said, "Even though the EC has powers by law to enforce the law, the same law
establishing the EC emasculates it from taking action."
He said, however, that
individual citizens had the right to demand such accounts and could even take
legal action to demand them from political parties.
GRi../
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City and Country Waste pact big fraud
The Weekend Statesman says it has been established that the City and Country Waste Limited (CCWL) which until June this year was in-charge of solid waste management in Accra, was in fact set up to defraud the country.
The paper says it can
reveal that the ˘22 billion waste collection contract signed by CCWL's
exclusive NDC Board of Directors, with the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA),
was rip-off.
Investigations have
revealed that the contract was fraught with irregularities, which enabled the
company the unrestrained opportunity to inflate its bills.
Whilst CCWL was being paid
$30.00 per tonne of waste collected, the company was in turn paying $5.00 to
the local sub-contractors who unlike the CCWL were using their own equipment
for refuse collection.
Taking advantage of a
clause in the contract which ceded the entire waste management in the city to
the company, CCWL whose total tonnage of refuse collected for the whole of last
year was 244,242.84, was claiming money for 372,440.76 being the total tonnage
of refuse dumped at the Mallam refuse site.
The CCWL presented the AMA
with a bill of over ˘70 billion for last year alone, far in excess of the
annual ˘22 billion guaranteed by the AMA in the controversial contract.
The contract was
eventually abrogated in June this year, because the AMA could not pay the
money. At the time AMA was entering into the contract, its annual income was a
little over ˘10 billion.
More…/
Snakes invade house of KMA boss
Dangerous snakes and other reptiles have invaded the official residence
of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Chief Executive following a long period
of neglect.
Workers rehabilitating the
building have in the past month killed more than 15 snakes. This development
has frightened the workers and occupants of the house.
Toilets and other
facilities at the residence are in deplorable state while six rooms cannot be
habited due to the serious state of disrepair.
These came to light when
the Ashanti Region Minister S.K. Boafo inspected a ˘200 million renovation
being undertaken at the residency.
About a fortnight ago, the KMA Chief Executive, Maxwell Kofi
Dwumah was nearly electrocuted by an exposed electrical wire.
The former Chief Executive
of KMA, Nana Akwasi Agyeman did not take full occupancy of the house save for
his occasional flings.
The Statesman says it has
further learnt that several landed properties belonging to the KMA are also in
a state of disrepair in the metropolis.
Presently, Arab
Contractors, an Egyptian contraction firm, have taken over the use of the
office and it is not clear under what terms the building was handed over to
them.
GRi…/
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Serious fraud office being misused
Mr Frank Essifie, a Ghanaian-born American with investment interest in
the country, has observed that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is being misused
by individuals to harass investors in order to frustrate foreign capital flow
into the economy, reports The Dispatch.
Describing the individuals
as self-seeking and viscous, Mr Essilfie, said they are Ghanaians whose
strategy is to seek foreign partners with attractive funds and then turn round
to frustrate such partners with the intention of driving them away to leave
their investments behind.
“There are also
unscrupulous officers at the SFO who are too willing to play ball”, he added.
In an interview with the
Dispatch, Mr Essilfie called on the government to either re-organise the outfit
immediately or even abolish it if the Police Economic Crime Bureau proves
capable of handling all cases of financial and economic loss to the state.
The SFO was established by
a Parliamentary Act, the Serious Fraud Act, 1993, to monitor, investigate and
on the authority of the Attorney-General, prosecute any offence involving
serious financial and economic loss to the state.
Mr Essilfie, together with
Mr Steve Kowals, an American, are being investigated by the SFO over alleged
siphoning of $350,000 out of Ghana for the benefit of Summa Holding Corporation
of the Cayman Islands.
The two represent the
interest of Summa, which holds 60 per cent shares in Spirax Metals Limited,
formerly GIHOC Metals.
They are also being investigated for charging high interest rates (in
US dollars) on loans contracted by Spirax Metals, which are deemed to be
contrary to Bank of Ghana procedures.
GRi…/
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Former DIC boss to answer for 15 billion cedis fraud charge
The Evening News carries that Mr. Emmanuel A. Agbodo, former Chief
Executive of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC), and Mr. Everest
Ekong, Managing Director of Goldcity Communication Group Limited (GCCL), who
were nabbed last week by the Bureau of National Investigations (BIN) for
allegedly defrauding the state of ˘15 billion have made their court appearance.
During their brief presence
in an Accra community tribunal on Monday, the two were jointly and
provisionally charged with stealing and fraudulently causing financial loss to
the state.
Their pleas were not taken
and each was granted a $120,000 cedis bail with one surety to be justified.
Their bail bonds were set
to be signed by persons the court said should be “men of substance.”
A BNI source, told “The
Evening News” that the accused were rushed to court to beat the 48-hour
deadline beyond which suspects are not to be kept in police custody.
This would also enable the
BNI to carry out further investigations into the matter before charging them at
a high court, which has jurisdiction over the case.
According to the source,
two others Mr. Angelo Lassey and Siegfried Sedziafa, both employees of the DIC
who have been implicated in the case, but presently at large, are being sought
for with assistance from the INTRPOL.
Sedziafa until now the
Public Relations Consultant of the DIC is believed to be cooling off in the
United States of America.
Lassey, an Assistant
Accountant and Sedziafa allegedly signed several fraudulent cheques involving
the deal.
The 15 billion cedis scam
was discovered during a special audit requested by the office of the President
and the National Security Council into transactions between DIC and Goldcity,
which were suspected to be fishy.
GRi…/
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Buffalo Soldier tells it all
Ghana and four other West Africa countries that intervened in Liberia’s
civil war ten years ago were used by Nigeria’s Head of State, General
Babangida, as a pretext to save a friend, says the first force commander of
ECOMOG, Lt. General Arnold Quainoo, The Public Agenda reports.
A story, appearing in the
Public Agenda says Quainoo, breaking his ten-year silence on that conflict,
said before the five countries decided to intervene in Liberia, the then
distressed President of Liberia, Samuel Doe had made approaches to his friend
the President of Nigeria, General Babangida and ECOWAS to save him from the
advancing forces of his adversary - Charles Taylor.
General Quainoo made this
exposure at the fifth session of the African Security Dialogue and Research (a
dialogue and research organization on civil-military relations and security
sector reform) series on “Regional Security”.
To mask his real
intentions, General Babangida, proposed that a Ghanaian commander heads the
multinational force assisted by a Guinean.
General Quainoo was
subsequently nominated by former President Rawlings and endorsed by the other
West African Heads of State.
“I am intended to believe
it was a front,” he said of General Babangida’s proposal of a Ghanaian
commander and a Guinean assistant.
General Quainoo for the
first time also gave a first hand account of how, Prince Johnson, one of the
leaders of the warring factions in Liberia captured Samuel Doe, when he visited
the Headquarters of ECOMOG.
He said on that momentous
day, three regal heavily guarded Lincoln Continental cars with their sirens
blurring approached his headquarters. He initially thought it was the American
Ambassador to that country, but rather an immaculately dressed Samuel Doe
stepped out of one of the cars.
Doe went up to dialogue
with Quainoo, but as they were in dialogue, Prince Johnson and his forces had
surrounded the headquarters. Johnson’s troops disarmed and killed Samuel Doe’s
guards. Samuel Doe was later captured and taken away by Prince Johnson and his
forces.
GRi…/
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Jaman District incurs 141.3 m cedis debt on security operations
The total outstanding debt of about 141.3 million which the Jaman
District Assembly allegedly incurred following a bloody conflict between the
people of Droboman and Japekrom (Mpuasuman) traditional areas in the Jaman
district of the Brong Ahafo Region has put the whole district in a serious
economic mess, Mr. Ofori Asubonteng, the District Chief Executive has observed.
A story appearing in the
Free Press says as at now the Jaman District Assembly could not initiate any
development project in the district and the assembly had to look for ways and means
of generating funds since the amount spent on the security operations following
the clash between the two towns about a year ago, had rendered the District a
highly indebted assembly. Mr. Ofori Asubonteng, the DCE said this in an
interview with the paper.
More…/
The Kumasi Polytechnic campus has been closed down following a four-week
strike action embarked upon by the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana
(POTAG).
The closure followed
another unsuccessful meeting held by the POTAG with the Minister of Education,
Mr. Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi on August 2, 2001 behind closed doors.
It may be recalled that on
July 13, 2001, POTAG served the education ministry a notice announcing their
withdrawal of service.
The content of the letter
disclosed that POTAG wanted a letter from the ministry authorising payment
based on the increment of the minimum wage from two thousand, nine hundred
cedis to four thousand, two hundred cedis by the former NDC government from
November 2000 to April 2001.
GRi…/
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