GRi Press Review 24-02-99

With the under- 20 Sports Championship underway in Accra and Kumasi, the Daily Graphic devotes its front-page to the tournament with headlines like "U-20 tourney enters day 4... Guinean's fast after defeat", " Today's Group A duel against Angola.... its crucial, Satellites" , " We are not here for fun-Angola" and " Zambians happy with organisation"

The lead story has it that the coach of the Black Satellites, Giuseppe Dossena has never been tired to drive home the point that he is more preoccupied with his team qualifying for the World Championship in Nigeria than winning the African Youth championship currently underway in Ghana.

In as much as the Satellites winning of the African trophy will no doubt redound to the Italian coach's credit, he personally sees it more as icing on the cake, the paper said.

The paper says after undergoing a drilling in their opening match against bogey side Mali and surviving a scare last Sunday, courtesy of Abdul Issah Rahman's 45th minute penalty, Dossena and his boys have now moved into the anchor leg on their way to fulfilling that dream.

In a second story, the paper said core members of Guinea's Under-20 team after losing to Nigeria refused to take dinner last Monday and swore to knockout any other team that stands in their way to the African Championship final match.

Coach Ousmane Diop adds that the chief motivation for the accomplishment of what they have vowed to do is to seek vengeance against Nigeria who beat the Guineans 4-3 in a thriller of a match last Monday.

" Arrested. Two men who ate human flesh" is the headline of a story in the Insight. According to the story, the Police in Lagos have arrested two Nigerian men who killed women for lunch and dinner.

Clifford Orji and Dairu Ali found human flesh so delicious and killed an undisclosed number of women for their meal. When their hideout in Lagos was raided by police, human bones and flesh were found, some of which had already been prepared for consumption.

The paper says police suspect that the two men may be suffering from a behavioural disorder associated with drug abuse.

Under the banner headline: "Tribunal members weren't fit for Judicial Service" , the Ghanaian times reports that the Judicial Service yesterday explained that the regional tribunals at Cape Coast did not have full complements of panel members because the six names submitted by the Municipal Assembly were all disqualified.

The disqualification followed investigations by the Bureau of National investigations (BNI) which revealed that the nominees were either above 64 years, had a criminal records or were fully employed elsewhere. This are factors which the constitution and the Court Act do not allow, the paper said.

Mr Joseph Appiatse, personnel manager of the Judicial Service was reacting to a publication in the February 10 issue of the paper which stated that the two regional tribunals at Cape Coast were faced with shortage of panel members resulting in the lack of quorum at their sittings.

In another headline " Hammer woman opens defence", the paper says Rosemary Frimpong-Quartey, 29, the woman accused of murdering Nathaniel Quartey, her five-and-a-half-year old stepson, yesterday opened her defence.

Led in evidence by William Oduro, her assigned brief, she told the court that the injury that led to Nathaniel's death was caused by two bags which accidentally dropped on the boy from the top of a wardrobe near the place where he was sleeping.

Asked what the bags contained, the accused replied that one contained men's cloths and the other had watch and some jewels. According to the paper, that answer drew murmurs from the crowd.

Rosemary is accused of beating the boy to death with a hammer.

The lead story on the front page of the Independent reads

" Ablemkuma Central; by-elections to be Postponed"

According to the story, the by-election for the Ablekuma Central seat may not be held on March 12, 1999 as previously announced by the Electoral Commission (EC), due to a strong representation by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at an emergency meeting of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) held last Thursday.

According to the paper, clause 5 of Article 112 of the constitution states that when ever a vacancy occurs in Parliament, the clerk of Parliament shall notify the Electoral Commission in writing within seven days and a by-election shall be held within thirty days after the vacancy occurred.

But the second Parliament of the Second Republic, amended it and added that =85.." where a vacancy is created by the death of an MP, the by-election shall be held within 60 days after the occurrence of the vacancy."

On the strength of the amended clause, the NPP is requesting that the elections be postponed and also because, Mr Samuel Crabbe, who the NPP member for that is yet to be buried.

The 'Free Press', banner headline reads: " 2 killed in Ethnic Clash In Volta Region." The story says a longstanding chieftaincy dispute between two clans at Akpossokubi in the Volta Region degenerated into a bloody conflict and claimed two lives while six others were injured.

Quoting its own sources, Free Press says the Akan-speaking people of Akpossokubi were alleged to have attacked a group of mourners belonging to the Guan-speaking group of the area with whom they have been engaged in a chieftaincy dispute for over half century now. The communities are separated by a road but have refused the burial in public of the chief of either community.

The incident happened when the two communities clashed after each had organized burial ceremonies foe their chiefs.

In the process on person was shot dead and six others injured, the paper says.

The Ghanaian Chronicle the Dispatch both carry the story of Sergeant Alolga Akata-Pore a former PNDC, who is said to have broken his silence over the murders of three high court judges and a retired Army officer in the heady days of the 31st December Revolution.

Akata-Pore who is currently living in exile in London, is reported as having broken his 18 years silence as a result of President Rawling's Fourth Republic Day speech at the Independence Square in Accra on January 7 this year.

The Chronicle says Sgt Akata-Pore, has alleged that President Rawlings, then Chairman of the PNDC, povided an alibi for the resignation of Amartey Kwei, who it was rumoured as being involved in the murders, and then proceeded to have him executed.'

" Jerry told me that the explanation to be given for Amartey Kwei's resignation from the PNDC was that the Council people would be leaving and others joining the Council."

Mr Justice F.P, Sarkodie,Mr Justice K.A. Agyepong, and Mrs Cecilia Koranteng-Addow, all High court judges, and Maj (rtd) Sam Acquah, were abducted I their homes and murdered at Bundase, a miltary firing range near the Tema Michel camp on the night of June 30, 1982. Amartey-Quaye and tow others were executed for their part in the murder. But Akata-Pore, who was himself implicated by the Special Investigation Board which investigated the murders and Captain Kojo Tsikata, described as the brain behind the murders, were never prosecuted as recommended by the SIB.

The Chronicle says Akata-Pore claimed said he first heard of the murders on his car-radio and when he went to see Rawlings about it, he was shocked to have seen Amartey-Kwei taking it cool and relaxing on Rawlings' bed.

According to the Dispatch, Akata-Pore said when he heard that Amartey-Kwei, whom described as a close friend was involved in the murders, he tried to get the truth from him because he believed Rawlings could frame him Amartey-Kwei up, but he refused to tell him.

The paper says Akata-Pore felt at one stage that he was being investigated by Yidanah, another PNDC operative and his group for his alleged involvement in the murders.

" I was made to believe that Kojo Tsikata had asked Amedeka to implicate me in the murder of judges - l became wild. I became mad about it. And l can say this is what contributed to my arrest on that day, because from that time, l lost all trust in Kojo and Jerry," the paper quotes Akatapore as saying.

The Dispatch in a another front page headlined reads: " Limited Funds For Political Parties." According to the story a new Political Party Bill, is ready to be laid before Parliament. " The Political Parties Act, 1999" as the bill is known, was among some of the bills approved of after government had discussed a number of proposals.

It is reported that government rejected proposals for the creation of a Central Fund into which contributions and donations could be made by both local and foreign companies for the benefit of all political parties because could be a subject of abuse.

'The dispatch' says on insider says the rejection is based on experience from other countries which show that such a fund could give rise to under-hand dealings, " a recipe for confusion" .

The proposal says that since merged parties lose their separate identities and take on a new identity they should be treated as an entirely new party which must go through the entire process of registration. Government is reported to have extended the period for registered Parties to declare their assets from 30 to 60 days.

The Dispatch story also has it that government has accepted in principle, the recommendation of state support for political parties.

" It 'll be Ghana, Nigeria Final" predicts Nigerian coach, Tunde Disu in the banner story of the Graphic Sports.

According to Coach Tunde the two teams meeting in the final would prove the book makers right and hoped they top their groups to avoid meeting in the early stages of the tounament.

The story says the award-winning coach was full of praise for the Ghanaian side that beat Mali 1-0 in the opening match saying Mali had a psychological advantage having beaten Ghana 3-0 last June.

The coach is reported in the story as saying his team is ready by way of the training processes they undertook before the tournament. " We are more than prepared" , the coach was quoted as saying.

The Africa Sports says Kumasi Asante Kotoko will not pay 220m cedis to Hearts of Oak to secure the services of winger Kenneth Sarpong and Emmanuel Adjogu.

The paper says a meeting between Hearts boss Mr. Harry Zakkour and Kotoko's new chief, Herbert Mensah was dead locked as to what price to pay for the players. Harry is reported as demanding nothing less than 100m cedis for Emmanuel Adjogu.

While the midfield player is willing to take 40m cedis enticement fee to don the fabulous jersey. Demands being made in relation to Kenneth Sarpong shoots total purse wanted by hearts to 220 cedis.

The Kotoko boss has made it clear that his team's financial commitment makes it extremely difficult to meet the requirements.