We cannot run university on government promise
- Ivan
Rawlings urges NDC members to remain united
Slash official perks – Banda tells government
Boakye Djan speaks
out again
Kludjeson under fire for alleged falsification
‘Commend us for probing P.V., Osei-Wusu &
others’
Probe chiefs appointment
Electricity meter reader in court
Asiseh pleads with Rawlings
Ethnic politics is dangerous
SSB Bank poised for action
Agbodo appears before SSNIT probe
Millions stolen from Nduom’s office - 4
arrested
Murder of women was political – Rawlings
NPP gov’t sets up anti-coup unit
Why Volta River Authority boss was fired
Kasoa residents mad at Construction Pioneers
TV licence – Why people hate to pay
Composers call for own body
Fight over ¢5,000 results in death
We cannot run university on government promise
- Ivan
The University of Ghana has flouted the
government’s directive to accept the old user fees from its students this academic
year, The Daily Graphic reports. The University’s stand is said to be causing
confusion over the payment of the fees.
The students insist on paying the old fees,
based on the promise by the government to absorb the difference in the
increase.
However, Professor Ivan Addea-Mensah,
Vice-Chancellor, says the government’s demand can only work if it pays fully
the rebate it has promised to absorb on behalf of the students.
Explaining the stand of the university in an
interview in Accra, Addae-Mensah, stated “we can not run the university on a
government promise”. He added that the release of the government’s subventions
to the university has been inconsistent and woefully inadequate for some time
now.
The Minister of Education, Professor
Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, has however gave the assurance that the government
will soon fulfill its obligations to the universities, following the increase
in the user fees.
In the meantime, he asked the university
authorities to make do with the release of the outstanding rebate of about five
¢5 billion for the 2000 academic year to carry out other obligations.
The minister gave the breakdown of the money as
follows: University of Ghana, ¢1,225,722,000; University of Cape Coast (UCC),
¢924,906,000; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST),
¢1,250,943,000; University College of Education Winneba (UCEW), ¢914,850,000
and University of Development Studies (UDS), ¢88,938,000.
More…/
Rawlings urges NDC members to remain united
Former President, Flt Lt Jerry Rawlings has
urged supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to remain united and
work hard to enable the party recapture political power in the next elections,
reports the Graphic.
The former President told a delegation of
Queenmothers from the Akatsi District in the Volta Region who paid a courtesy
call on him at his residence in Accra on Tuesday.
Flt Lt Rawlings said the deliberate attempts by
political opponents of the NDC and a section of the media to incite the people
against it will not work since the people have realised that conditions in the
country eight months ago were better than they are today.
The former President assured the queenmothers,
led jointly by Mama Ademovi II of Tsigbenu of Torve, Mama Tadushie Gbenyo II of
Kpeduhoe, and Mama Aviakpe III of Havi, that the NDC is undergoing a thorough
reorganisation, to prepare itself adequately for the next elections.
The MP for Anlo, Victor Gbeho, said if
Ghanaians are today enjoying freedom of speech, it is because the NDC prepared
the ground for it. “It is because we believe in freedom of speech, that is why
they could insult us and tell lies about us, even when we were in power, and
get away with it,” he added.
More…/
Slash official perks – Banda tells government
Alhaji Asuma Banda, Chairman of the Antrak
Group of Companies, has advised the government to save the billions of cedis it
spends on accommodation and expensive vehicles for ministers of state, other
government functionaries and members of Parliament.
Instead, he has advocated that all such
categories of officials should be well remunerated so that they could, on their
won, secure their own accommodation and transportation to save badly needed
funds for the state.
According to the Graphic, Alhaji Banda, who was
also the Chairman of the erstwhile Great Alliance of the NPP and the People’s
Convention Party (PCP), was speaking in an interview in Accra on Wednesday.
He said the government spends billions of cedis
of the taxpayer’s money annually to provide, renovate and maintain bungalows
for its appointees and functionaries. “If one considers the fact that the large
number of expensive vehicles, including four-wheel drive ones, and other
privileges such as the provision of drivers, cooks, and garden boys among
others are given to some government officials, then the actual cost to the
state economy would be regarded as prohibitive,” he contended.
The former Great Alliance Chairman pointed out
that at a time that the government has opted for the Highly Indebted Poor
Countries Initiative (HIPC) initiative and called for hard work and sacrifice
from all, such high expenditure can no longer be justified and supported.
“It is both unjust and unfair at this time when
we are a HIPC nation and asking the ordinary people to tighten their belt, to
continue to lavish such privileges on government functionaries. This clearly
does not give leadership example for which the ordinary people on the ground
must emulate”, he stressed.
GRi…/
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Boakye Djan speaks out again
The Crusading Guide carries that in a
contribution to the National Reconciliation Bill, to be brought before
Parliamentary when it resumes sitting, Major K. Boakye Djan (rtd), the former
Deputy Chairman and Spokesman of the defunct Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
(AFRC), after exhaustively studying the Bill, has proposed alternative ideas.
During a TV studio recording of a panel and
public discussion on the proposed Bill in London on August 25, 2001, Major
Boaky Djan, who went into exile 20 years ago, recalled that in February 1980
and July 1981, he held two press conferences in Accra on the AFRC and Ghana’s
immediate past then, where he said he was, and will always be committed to the
need to set up a Commission of some sort to go into the nation’s troubled past.
Major Boakye Djan, said the Bills name, “The
National Reconciliation Act 2001’, and the circumstances of its historical
application could easily be shown to be irrelevant to the unique Ghanaian
condition which it is being asked to address.
He maintained that the demands on the Bill as
an alien import had imposed on it an intent and scope that is too narrow and
abstract, and has glaring deficiencies.
The former AFRC Spokesman underscored that
National Reconciliation might be a solution for other countries with troubled
past such as South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and El Savador in Latin
America as well as Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa.
He therefore, proposed that, “an agreed peace
accord should be followed by a comprehensive settlement programme, which can be
seen to be fair and just to all affected parties.”
“For me, there can be no better mechanism to do
this than a Peace and Settlement Commission. In this context, the wrangle over
cut off periods for the proposed Commission becomes a side show,” he said.
According to Major Boaky Djan, what has
happened in Ghana is nothing more or less than a simple act of war and its
prosecution between factions within the political class for the state office
and power left vacant by the retreating colonial power.
Boakye Djan stated unequivocally, “Its periods
are self-defined. It all started in October 1954 when E.Y. Baffoe, an NLM
official and a defector from CPP, was stabbed to death by Twumasi Ankrah, a CPP
agent, in Kumasi.
GRi…/
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Kludjeson under fire for alleged falsification
The Chronicle writes that Hutchison Telecom
International of Korea, majority shareholders of Celltel, a private
communications company in Ghana, has warned the former Board Chairman of
Celltel and current President of the Association of Ghana Industries, Prince
Kofi Kludjeson, to desist from spreading falsehood about the board of directors
annual meeting held on June 25, this year, to avoid dragging the company’s name in the mud.
A letter dated July12, 2001 to Kludjeson,
signed by Ting Y. Chan on behalf of Khoo Chek Ngee and Carol Tsang Kit May,
majority shareholders, intercepted by the Chronicle, expressed the
dissatisfaction of the shareholders over recent developments in Celltel and
blamed them on Kludjeson, especially the status of Robert N. Palitz, the
Managing Director.
The majority shareholders denied having revoked
or terminated the appointment of Palitz, as managing director of the company,
as Kludjeson is propagating to the public.
“You are advised to note the points made below
and refrain from any further misrepresentation as to the Board Meeting
resolutions, in particular as to Robert N. Palitz’s appointment as MD of
Celtell Limited which continued unchanged,” the letter stated, adding that the
MD retains the full support of four out of six directors of the board who voted at the meeting.
According to the letter, those directors
Kludjeson marked absent “in the minutes” he is circulating were in fact present
at the June 25 board meeting through their alternate directors, in the persons
of Palitz, for Khoo Chek and Ting Yu Chan and Lung Hien Ching, for Tsang Kit
May, Caro, who are the 80 per cent majority shareholders of Celltel.
After the meeting on June 25, Kludjeson and K.
Ogba and Associates, the former secretary to Celltel, were said to have written
to the company’s bankers and copied some state institutions, including security
agents, claiming that the appointment of Palitz, as the MD of celltel, has been
terminated by the Board of Directors during the meeting.
Another letter was also sent to Westec Security
Service by Kludjeson, calling for their reinstatement after its agreement with
Celltel had been abrogated, it was alleged.
The paper says it’s sources said following the
misrepresentation by Kludjeison, Palitz was nearly bundled out of the country,
but the timely intervention by the Ministry of the Interior changed the
situation.
Following these developments, the majority shareholders
stated, that they had no option but to write to dissociate themselves from the
minutes being circulated. Kludjeison and his partners in Celltel have been in
some power struggle for sometime now.
More…/
‘Commend us for probing P.V., Osei-Wusu & others’
The Deputy Commissioner of the Commission on
Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), B.K. Oppong, has called on
Ghanaians to commend his outfit for the successful probe they instituted into
the alleged financial malpractices brought against Messres P.V. Obeng, Col.
E.M. Osei-Wusu and a host of other NDC former ministers.
He said it was rather unfortunate that
Ghanaians are condemning the commission for its inability to prosecute the
aforementioned ministers after their final report had found some of them guilty
instead of praising the commission for defying all odds to probe the
allegation, which was the first to have been instituted against serving
minister under the fourth republican constitution.
Oppong, who was speaking at the 3rd
Human Rights Week, themed “Freedom and Justice: Renewing our national vision,”
underway in Takoradi in the Western Region, said though they were unable to
prosecute the ministers, most of them were either sacked from office or
resigned honourably which, but for the probe, would not have happened.
GRi../
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Probe chiefs appointment
The Commission of Human Rights and
Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and the police have been called upon to
investigate Research Committees of the various Houses of Chiefs for alleged
corrupt practices, reports The Ghanaian Times.
Joseph Ebo Quarshie, President of the Ghana Bar
Association (GBA), said that "apart from the falsification of chieftaincy
declaration forms, they are said to be responsible for most of the chieftaincy
disputes".
He told the opening session of the third Human
Rights Week organised by the CHRAJ at Takoradi under the theme, that "If
chieftaincy, the oldest institution is not scrutinised, its respect and dignity
would be eroded".
Quarshie noted that some members of the
committees had become "laws unto themselves" and assisted in
"enrolling unqualified candidates".
He said corruption should be checked from all
sectors of the nation and the guilty culprits punished, adding that, "The
government's call for positive change would not yield any positive results if
the chieftaincy institution is neglected".
More…/
Electricity meter reader in court
Wilson Kumah, 39, alleged to have tampered with
a meter belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), rendering it
incapable of indicating the number of units of power consumed, was put before a
Madina Community Tribunal on Tuesday charged with fraud.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was
remanded in prison custody by the tribunal, chaired by Mrs Ivy Heward-Mills.
The prosecution told the tribunal that at about
7:30am on August 23, Kumah, an employee of Baham Company Limited, a company
contracted by the ECG to read meters, went to a house in Adenta near Accra to
read the said meter.
He afterwards told the landlord, Ms Koshie
Vanderpuiye, that he could tamper with the meter and render it incapable of
reading the number of units used if she could pay ¢1 million. While Kumah was
executing the job, Koshie alerted ECG officials at Adenta who rushed to the
scene and arrested him.
The tribunal rejected pleas by defence counsel,
Lawrence Attipoe, for bail and mitigation of the damage done.
Kumah is to appear again on September 4.
GRi../
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Asiseh pleads with Rawlings
The former Press Secretary of the National
Democratic Congress (NDC), Vincent Asiseh, has urged ex-President Jerry John
Rawlings to take a complete break from partisan politics.
"You have definitely outgrown party
politics and if so, the NDC, let your mind lie fallow, so to speak, and enjoy
the peace of silence," The Evening News quotes Asiseh as saying.
Speaking to the paper in an interview at Tema
on Tuesday, the former NDC activist said should Rawlings heed to his advise, his
physical, mental and spiritual energies will be rejuvenated in readiness for
the higher global opportunities that lie ahead of him in the future.
Asiseh who himself retired from active partisan
politics about two months ago, advised ex-President Rawlings to concentrate on
something more self-fulfilling.
"You should not allow the flies of
politics to be hovering around you, for you deserve better," he stressed.
Asiseh said when Rawlings first caught the
public eye in 1979, he showed such amasing strength and quality that swept
Ghanaians off their feet.
Rawlings, he said "had an infectious
leadership style, direction, clear message, clear processes and above all, a
laser-like focus" adding that in appreciation of this leadership style,
the nation at that time, placed at his disposal opportunities to lead Ghana to
the land he envisaged and promised.
After making two successful coups,
masterminding the nation to a new democratic rule and presiding over the first
sustained democracy in Ghana, Rawlings should now consider himself as someone
above partisan politics, he said.
"Rawlings must consider himself as a
Statesman with a respected voice on the international scene.
"The ex-President, must also consider
himself as a distinguished personality who have achieved the greatest political
sign-post for the nation.
"These, qualities, no one can take away
from him and he must, therefore, give himself a rest," he stated.
More…/
Ethnic politics is dangerous
Mr J.H. Mensah, the Leader of Government
Business has lashed out at politicians who stir up ethnic politics in the
country saying, "ethnic politics like religious conflict is one of the
most difficult issues to deal with in politics".
Responding to charges of unfair electoral
practices at the just ended NPP delegates conference allegedly masterminded by
influential personalities in the NPP and also the lack of ethnic engineering to
ensure fair regional representation, Mr Mensah declared, "people who
dabble in ethnic politics must do that with the greatest circumspection,
because the damage they can do is often more serious than any short-term
material or personal gain that can
accrue from playing the ethnic card".
Mr Mensah denied having said that the NDC
should be annihilated, saying the NPP needed a strong opposition otherwise
politics would not be interesting.
He however, predicted that the NDC is likely to
split after Rawlings unless it reinvigorates itself.
GRi…/
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SSB Bank poised for action
The SSB
Bank Limited has developed a new package for small and medium enterprises
(SME), according to The Accra Mail.
The
bank's Chief Executive, P.K. Thompson, who unveiled the new package to the
media in Accra on Wednesday said the bank recognises the role played by small
and medium scale ventures towards the growth of the country's economy and
therefore, a special department is being established in the bank to take care
of the "neglected players".
There have been previous efforts at supporting
the growth of this sector of the economy, but a lot of it had been mere
lip-service.
GRi…/
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Agbodo appears before SSNIT probe
The Daily Guide says evidence adduced before
the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice at its latest hearing,
shows that although the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) received a
cheque from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for the
payment of the divested SINGER building in
Accra, it paid the money into its own accounts using a cheque with a
different number.
CHRAJ is investigating, among other things, the
alleged conflict of interest in the purchase of the SINGER building in
1998.
During its hearing on Friday, the former Chief
Executive of the DIC, Emmanuel Agbodo, could not explain why the cheque number
on the receipt of payment was different from the cheque number quoted in his
own letter acknowledging receipt.
A petition filed by JOY FM citing several alleged
malpractices by senior management of SSNIT and their cronies implicates a board
member of the Trust, Kwame Addo in helping one Mawuli Ababio to purchase the
divested SINGER Building for 1.5 billion cedis and later sold it to SSNIT for
2.6 billion cedis.
SSNIT had earlier offered a 1.5 billion cedis
bid for the building, which was turned down, but Mawuli Ababio’s 1.5
billion-cedi offer for the property was honoured, because he offered better
terms of payment.
GRi…/
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Millions stolen from Nduom’s office - 4
arrested
The Ghanaian Voice says following the theft of
millions of dollars and cedis from a safe in Dr. Nduom’s office, four workers
have been arrested.
The four arrested are made up of 2 ex-workers
and two current members of staff all in the office of the Ministry of Economic
Planning and Regional Integration.
According to sources, the monies, which were in
a safe at the ministry, were discovered missing just before the Minister went
on leave recently.
The money, sources told the “Ghanaian voice”,
were meant for four social investment pilot projects funded by the United
Nation Development Programme (UNDP), and the National Development Planning
Commission (NDCL).
More…/
Murder of women was political – Rawlings
Fl. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, former President
of the Republic of Ghana, has said he agreed with the reported assertion by the
immediate past Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Odoi Sykes (NPP) that some
big men were behind the murder of women that dogged the nation.
President Rawlings, therefore, called on the
big powers to use the most sophisticated means at their disposal to help Ghana
get to the bottom of this heinous crime.
The former President is reported to have made
the call when the outgoing U.S. Ambassador, Ms. Kathryn Dee Robinson, paid a
farewell call on him at his Ridge Office in Accra last Monday.
According to him, arresting insane people in
the streets as perpetrators of these dastardly acts does not solve the riddle
of those responsible for the murder of the women. He added that democracy would
be meaningless if we cannot protect life and property.
GRi…/
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NPP gov’t sets up anti-coup unit
The Ghanaian Democrat says contrary to the wild
denials by the NPP Minister of Defence, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, that the party
intend forming their own unit in place of the 64 Infantry Regiment, it has
reliably learnt that an anti-coup unit is at a formative stage.
Members of the unit, mainly drawn from the 2ND
Battalion of Infantry at Apremdo, Sekondi, also include a few soldiers
handpicked from other units. “The tribal flavour was very strong in the
selection,” says the Democrat.
The paper says its investigations revealed that
the nucleus of the unit is currently in training at the Shai-hills.
Code-named, ‘Exercise Monkey Hill’, the
anti-coup unit is under the command of Captain Diabene from 2 BN and is said to
be enjoying special treatment, having all logistics at its disposal.
The NPP government reportedly, has an elaborate
programme for the unit with further training in batches abroad strongly on the
cards.
With the 64 infantry regiment now in a
quagmire, following the decision of the authorities to dismantle it, the NPP
anti-coup unit is on the verge of assuming a more prominent role in the Ghana
Armed Forces.
GRi…/
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Why Volta River Authority boss was fired
The Independent says information available to
it indicates that Gilbert Ohene Dokyi was fired as Chief Executive of the Volta
River Authority (VRA) because he refused to proceed on leave.
Sources close to the Energy Ministry disclosed that
Ohene Dokyi categorically refused to proceed on leave when he was asked to do
so, thus compelling the Government to dismiss him.
The former VRA boss’ dismissal is however said
to have resulted in some harsh reactions from some high profile executives in
the energy sector and at the Electro-Volta House, headquarters of both the VRA
and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Albert Kan-Dapaah was on Wednesday quoted by
the state-owned Daily Graphic as saying that the former VRA Chief Executive was
asked to proceed on leave and it was in the course of discussing this that the
information was leaked to the press.
Sources at Electro-Volta House opined that
whilst they cannot dictate to the Government on appointments the Energy
Minister should refrain from economising on truth regarding happenings in his
sector.
High profile executives at the Electro-Volta
House who spoke to this paper took the Energy Minister to the cleaners for what
one of them termed his "comical spins" in appointments to the
headships of the two energy institutions.
More…/
Kasoa residents mad at Construction Pioneers
The people of Kasoa and Amanfro in the Central
and Greater Accra Regions are flexing their muscles in a possible showdown with
the Construction Pioneers (CP), a German construction firm based in Ghana for
what they term the company's creation of nuisance to them.
Residents of Amanfro and Kasoa are up in arms
against the company because of the dust generated by the resurfacing of the
Accra-Winneba road.
The residents, who have threatened to storm the
offices of the company and also attack the workers, have appealed to the
Ministry of Roads and Highways to intervene immediately as a matter of urgency,
to bring the company to order, so as to avert a possible bloody clash.
Speaking to the Independent at Kasoa, some of
the Residents stated that the slow pace of work by the company at Official Town
and Kasoa, are causing health hazards for them.
GRi../
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TV licence – Why people hate to pay
Although it costs as little as ¢3,000 for a
whole year, most people would rather use that money on something else than pay their
TV licence fee… except, of course when they are threatened by the law, writes
Graphic Showbiz.
To these people, it is not the mere payment of
TV licence fee that bothers them, but the fact that they are expected to pay
the fee to GBC, the state-owned Broadcasting Company.
A Showbiz survey in Accra occasioned by a
regular stream of readers' letters received from dissatisfied viewers indicate
that many viewers would not pay licence fees because GBC "chops it for
nothing."
"TV licence? Oh, what do they show us on
TV for me to pay?" …"What if I do not tune my TV to
GTV?"…"For me, I believe TV licence has outlived its
usefulness," were some of the regular responses people gave to Showbiz.
The Head of the TV licence fee collection
office at GBC however, debunks this line of argument and considers anybody who
holds this view as naïve and ignorant about the law that empowers GBC to
collect the fee on behalf of the government.
"First and foremost it must be made clear
that licence fees are taxes and not levies", the GBC official explained,
"and for that matter nobody else has the power to collect taxes apart from
the government through the law it establishes for the imposition of a
particular tax.
"The administration of TV licensing takes
its power from the Television Licensing Decree 1966 (NLCD. 89), as well as
Television Licensing Regulation, Legislative Instrument 1250 (1991). This makes it clear that there is a legal
obligation on people who own TV sets to pay fees on them".
More…/
Composers call for own body
Ghanaian music composers have asked the
government to set up an independent body to be solely responsible for matters
concerning them and not to be boxed together with other copyright owners whose
business has nothing to do with performance.
According to the composers, the Copyright
Society of Ghana, in its present form under a Legislative Instrument does not
recognise the special status of composers as copyright owners and neither does
it adequately cater for the concerns of music composers.
Recently COSGA, the copyright office and other
stakeholders in copyright met the Attorney General and at the meeting, measures
were put in place to correct inefficiencies in copyright administration.
GRi../
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Fight over ¢5,000 results in death
A 26-year old unemployed, Francis Ezu, is in
the grips of the Gbi Bla Police (Hohoe) for twisting the neck of his friend
Isaac Amoako, 29, over ¢5,000 (about 80 US cents) resulting in his death.
Information gathered reveals that the two
friends attended a funeral. While there, they danced to entertain the mourners.
Onlookers noted that the deceased, Isaac Amoako was given ¢10,000 for dancing
very well.
The accused, Francis Ezu, allegedly demanded
that the money be shared equally, but Amoako, who was handicapped, objected,
but indicated that as a friend he would give him ¢2,000.
Not satisfied with this, the accused who was
always said to be beating his friend, once again started fighting Amoako.
They were separated by people around but
Francis once again cornered his friend for another fight. In the process, the
deceased was said to have bitten the leg of the accused who in turn grabbed the
deceased's neck, twisting it.
He was taken to the hospital where he died
during treatment. When was contacted,
the officer in charge of the Gbi-Bla Police Station, Chief Inspector Christian
Kwami Wortordzor, confirmed the story and indicated that the body of the
deceased, will be taken to the Police Hospital for autopsy.
GRi…/
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