‘Raise petroleum prices’
Revise Bills – of second cycle schools GES
Martin Amidu in big fraud
Kufuor sweeps NDC’s rot
SIC workers fume over Kufuor’s man
Kofi Badu drives away 300m cedis Pajero for 9m cedis
Subsidy on petroleum products under review
More State Assets undervalued
Chief witness is dead
ADB cashpro milk farmers ‘Defedefe’
‘Raise petroleum prices’
A Ghanaian economist has called on the government to raise the prices of petroleum products to ensure a sound economy and save the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) from total collapse, ‘The Daily Graphic’ said.
Professor Bartholomew K. Armah, Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Economic affairs (IEA), who made the call at a round-table discussion on the economy in Accra on Thursday, however, suggested that the prices should be incrementally spread over a one-year period to avoid potential inflationary impact of the measure and a subsequent economic hardship on the people.
The round-table discussion with the theme, “IEA measures for good economic governance and the need for security sector reforms in Ghana,” was organised by the IEA and attended by some Members of Parliament, top economists and administrators, representatives of donor agencies and diplomats.
He said although the crude oil price seems to have stabilised on the world market at the moment, the huge losses incurred by TOR as well as other economic factors make it imperative to raise prices on the domestic market.
“There is no option apart from increasing the prices, but there should not be a large price hike to achieve immediate cost recovery, since that will make life difficult for the people” he said.
Professor Armah said although it would not be easy for the government to increase the prices of petroleum products because of the likely reaction of the people, the measure is essential for economic stability.
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Revise Bills – of second cycle schools GES
The Ghana Education Service (GES) is reported by Graphic to have directed heads of all second cycle schools to revise their students’ bills and submit a copy each to the Director-General of the GES through their respective Regional Directors by March 31, 2001.
The GES has further instructed heads of the institutions whose charges for various items are higher than those approved by the Ministry of Education, to credit students accounts with the excess charges.
The directives were contained in a statement issued by the GES in Accra on Thursday.
The statement also reminded the Board of Governors of second cycle institutions of their role in determining the level of fees charged by their schools for practicals in Science, Home Science, Visual Arts and Technical practice, as well as school uniforms and utilities like electricity and water.
The statement said the charges for those items must be cleared with the Director-General through the respective Regional Directors adding that levies for PTA initiated development projects must follow the same procedures.
It said henceforth, students’ bills must reflect only the items featured in the list of the approved fees for schools.
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Martin Amidu in big fraud
The Weekend Statesman reports that the NDC Knight in shining armour, Martin Amidu, has been stopped in his tracks in yet another move to over-burden the Kufuor administration with more debt.
A fast move by the former Deputy Attorney-General and NDC Vice-Presidential candidate to ship out of the country with $2,511 (Two thousand five hundred and eleven dollars), ostensibly to pay his fees for a masters programme in the US has been halted and the money returned to chest.
Investigations at the Bank of Ghana have shown that on January 17, a letter from the Controller and Accountant-General (CAG) ordered the Bank to release the amount to the former Deputy Minister.
According to the order it was to be surcharged to the new NPP government.
Like most other acts by the erstwhile NDC government in its last days, the genesis of the deal emanated from the former Chief of Staff, Nana Ato Dadzie.
On January 5, two days to the expiry of its term, Nana Ato Dadzie signed a letter to the CAG ordering the release of $2,511 to Amidu to pursue the course at the University of Antioch in Ohio, USA.
Amidu whose suit against the President for alleged unconstitutional behaviour is still in the Supreme Court, has already taken his end of service benefits and driven away with a VW Passat from the government pool.
He had at the time of writing, returned the $2,511 when he was questioned by Kufuor’s administration.
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Kufuor sweeps NDC’s rot
Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister for Presidential Affairs, is reported by ‘The Guide’ as saying that it simply makes sense for all former political appointees to public office to voluntarily leave the scene, because their party has lost the mandate to rule.
He said those appointees were there to put into action the manifesto of the previous party and the visions of their leader.
Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey who disclosed this Thursday on Joy FM radio was of the view that the moment the old government and its leadership is out of office, the appointees should also come out of office.
He indicated that the request by the NPP government for all political appointees of the former government to leave the scene, cuts across board and that is why politically appointed ambassadors are being recalled from their stations.
The Minister for Presidential Affairs explained that the NPP government needs people to go out and propagate the ideals and visions of the party to the outside world, to ensure that President Kufuor and the NPP’s visions come to pass as they have only three and half years to convince Ghanaians that they are making a positive change.
“We need to have people who are politically with us to be pushing our policy, we cannot have somebody who is in opposition to President Kufuor to do that job for us, because such a person does not share our vision and ideals,” he said.
“People voted for us because they wanted the country to be governed in a way to ensure that their lives improved.”
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SIC workers fume over Kufuor’s man
The Ghanaian Chronicle reports that tension is steadily mounting at the State Insurance Company (SIC) Ltd over the appointment of Mr Victor Kusi-Yeboah to the post acting Managing Director (MD) of the company.
The paper says it gathered that the joy that greeted the news of the removal of the old administration headed by Mr Ebenezer Allotey and his two deputies Messrs E.C. de Graft and Nsiah Afriyie on Thursday was short-lived when the announcement came that Kusi-Yeboah has been appointed to act.
What triggered the tension immediately after Kusi-Yeboah’s appointment was announced was that he was part of the old administration that has created a lot of mess and calls for a proper clean-up exercise.
In a petition to the Finance Minister Mr Yaw Osafo-Marfo, the workers described his appointment as a betrayal since Kusi-Yeboah was an active member of the old administration whose leaders salaries were strangely removed from the SIC’s main payroll and remains a closely guarded secret till today.
As at Thursday evening, the chief accountant and the internal auditors have no idea of the fat take-home salaries of the dismissed directors and the six general managers among who is Kusi-Yeboah.
The workers have called for the dismissal of the three directors alongside the six general managers who have something to do with the ‘dismissed’ top men.
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Kofi Badu drives away 300m cedis Pajero for 9m cedis
The Chronicle says investigations at the Graphic Corporation, publishers of the state-owned Daily Graphic have confirmed that the former Managing Director Mr Kofi Badu took home a brand new Mitsubishi Pajero costing $50,000 for 9 Million Cedis days after the Supreme Court ruled that it is the National Media Commission, NMC, which should appoint the chief executives of the state-owned media houses.
Documents in possession of the paper indicate that model V6WGNXFL Mitsubishi Pajero bought by the corporation in 1997 and re-sold to Badu has a semi-high roof with inter-cooled turbo 2.8 litre diesel engine equipped to manufacturer’s tropical specifications.
The cross-country vehicle came equipped with remote controlled variable shock absorbers heavy-duty suspension and limited slip differential. It also has power windows, brakes and steering and was factory treated against corrosion in addition to other extras.
Badu in addition also took away a Honda Civic saloon car with registration number GR 1912 A which was said to have cost 2.8 Million Cedis and the car was never seen by workers of the corporation again even thought the corporation bought it.
The Honda Civic saloon car is part of a consignment of eight that the corporation bought for some of its senior personnel.
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Subsidy on petroleum products under review
The country will be at risk if it continues to subsidize petroleum products in the face of the present economic mess, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, the Energy Minister stated, according to the Evening News.
He said that considering the huge debt piled up by the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), it would not be in the interest of the country to subsidize fuel.
Mr Kan-Dapaah, speaking to newsmen shortly after the swearing-in of the second batch of Ministers by President J.A. Kufuor at the State House in Accra on Thursday said the pricing of energy products would be his immediate priority.
He said subsidies, generally do not help the economy, adding that he will draw the right balance and see what to do in terms of the subsidies of petroleum products.
TOR, he said, has piled up debts over the years and continues to incur 160 billion Cedis a month and described it as “outrageous”.
The Energy Minister said he would re-examine the issue of subsidies on petroleum products and see whether the country should go ahead to subsidize such products.
He said whatever decision the Energy Ministry takes on the subsidies of petroleum products would take into consideration the issue of affordability.
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More State Assets undervalued
A front-page story of ‘The Dispatch’ said as the NPP government of President J.A. Kufuor tries to put the recent rumpus over the value of some vehicles sold to ex-Ministers in the former NDC government behind it, evidence is emerging that certain state-owned entities have been undervaluing state assets.
“One such organisaiton is the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC)”.
Credible information available to the paper indicates that the GBC Board of Directors is grappling with a request from a former Director-General, Dr Kofi Frimpong, for some official assets to be sold to him.
The Board members are said to be unhappy at what one described as “ridiculously low prices for some of the GBC assets he still has in his care”.
One such asset is a 1997 Nissan Patrol Dr Frimpong was using in office and did not hand over when he left.
Dr Frimpong reportedly wrote to the Chairman of the GBC Board, Prof. George Benneh, requesting the vehicle should be sold to him. The GBC is said to have valued the vehicle at 25 million cedis.
Other GBC properties are said to be in Dr Frimpong’s custody including two generators that have been valued at 65 million cedis.
A member of the Board who pleaded anonymity, described the 25 million cedis for the Nissal Patrol and the 65 million cedis for the rest of the GBC properties as “cheap, insulting and ridiculous”, adding that, “if the Board approves this valuation, the people of this country will not forgive us.”
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Chief witness is dead
Mr Samuel Kweku Ghartey, Ashanti Regional Manager of the Bank of Ghana (BOG), considered as the star witness in the 1 billion cedis theft case at the Kumasi branch of the bank, is reported dead, according to a front-page story of ‘The Ghanaian Times’ said.
The deceased, who was Deputy Regional Manager at the time of the crime, is believed to be the one who blew the whistle on the deal.
Dependable sources close to BOG hinted the ‘Times’ on Thursday that Mr Ghartey was suddenly taken ill that day while at work.
He was rushed to the nearby Military Medical Centre and later transferred to the Military Hospital in Accra the same day but died soon on arrival.
The shocked officials at the branch are tight-lipped over Mr Ghartey’s sudden death.
The docket on the case itself has been sent to the Attorney-General’s office in Kumasi for prosecution of five employees involved to commence.
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ADB cashpro milk farmers ‘Defedefe’
The Free Press says once again, the poor cocoa farmer has been placed before the mercy of Cashpro and the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) under the farmers Hi-Tech Cocoa Production Scheme.
"A colossal amount of 14,158,650,000 cedis is said to have been debited to the accounts of the farmers to be deducted later from their sales of cocoa beans in the subsequent seasons," it said.
Whiles Cashpro under the Hi-Tech Programme slashed pollinators salary by almost 55 per cent and attributed it to ADB’s decision, a document by the latter, noted that Cashpro unilaterally prepared the accounts, which were subsequently adopted by the Bank.
The implication is that ADB did not do anything to the account placed before it by Cashpro on behalf of farmers.
A document signed by J.K. Debrah, Head/BDMD said “the selection of farmers and societies were done unilaterally by Cashpro and the list submitted to the Bank for adoption”. It said also that “reports submitted by Cashpro indicates that as at the end of October 2000, a total of 5,999,200,000 cedis has been released for labour and other services and 8,159,360,000 cedis for inputs supplied”.
The first sum, released for labour and other services, went for fertilizer, fungicide and insecticides applications, mistletoe control and pruning, while the second was for input distribution services and haulage distribution.
The paper said what is intriguing is that after placing all these items under labour and other services, Cashpro went on to mention that 13,999,200,000 cendis went into services and haulage services it rendered to farmers.
The company again provided two district distribution expenses in the name of inputs and haulage as 1.2 billion cedis and 1,399,200,00 cedis respectively.
"Cashpro therefore claimed to have spent 2,599,200,000 cedis to distribute inputs that cost 8,159,360,000 cedis to farmers", it said.
The paper says it can establish that whiles “Cashpro submitted these accounts to ADB for adoption in October 2000 it took the bank four months, dated January 7, to go round to identify the farmers to debit them with the account, apparently to cover-up in the face of the outcome of the elections.
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