No case against Nduom
Locating the Loot – CIA, FBI to help with investigations
Spate of armed robberies-the Commandos connection
We’ll restore health of cedi- President assures
Bid to deal with criminal cases-Judicial Service increases assizes
Kufuor moves against corruption-mass probes to begin
Trade Minister spells out his priorities
NPP plans to build Mausoleum for Busia, Danquah
NDC plants infiltrate ‘Asieho’
Don’t go away-NDC factions work on Atta Mills
Where are they now?
No case against Nduom
The Appointment Committee of Parliament last Friday brought down the curtain on the vetting of the first 27 ministerial nominees with what many described as the mother of all vettings, reports the Independent.
It was a 90 minute grilling of Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister Designate for Economic Planning Regional Intergration.
At the end of it all, Dr Ndom passed with flying colours to the admiration of the crowd that had interrupted proceedings with applause for Dr Nduom and jeers for some members of the Appointments Committee. On four occasions, the chairman of the Committee had to intervene to restrain the public.
With the demolition squad of Victor Gbeho, Alhaji Mumuni and John Mahama firing shots from every angle and with back-up questions from other members of the Minority and Majority.
Dr Nduom was asked questions that touched on his finances, his wife, his contract with the State Enterprises Commission and related questions about his company Deloitte & Touche.
It may be recalled that the vetting of Dr. Nduom hit a blockade on his first appearance when some members of the Appointments Committee raised a question about his being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office. His vetting was postponed because of that.
GRi…/
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Locating the Loot – CIA, FBI to help with investigations
The heat is on and it is a matter of ALL HANDS ON DECK. And in this instance President Kufuor’s government may be the winners and the previous NDC top functionaries who dumped money abroad may be the losers, says the Ghanaian Voice.
According to sources, Ghanaians don’t have to worry and scratch their heads over the monies that have been looted from the country because there are some agencies that have the full list, the size of lodgments, the times they were lodged and by whom.
According to the paper, for sometime now, the American CIA and FBI have set up a network to track such fortunes, because they wanted to determine whether the monies were being laundered from cocaine or drug sales.
Sources said after following up the transactions for sometime, they will be in the position to know whether the money was the result of cocaine transactions or otherwise.
“In our particular case, the monies were traced to kickbacks and illegal lodgments. The list is available and will be presented to President Kufuor soon” added the source.
So don’t worry, be happy the end is just in sight.
GRi…/
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Spate of armed robberies-the Commandos connection
The Chronicle says its intelligence report has confirmed that some personnel of the 64 Infantry Regiment popularly referred to as ‘Commandos’, are part of criminals who are behind the spate of armed robberies that have hit Accra and parts of the country in recent times.
Records made available to the Chronicle and corroborated in separate interviews with personnel of the Military Police revealed that as recently as August, last year, seven personnel of the 64 Infantry Regiment were dismissed from the military for their roles in separate robbery cases in the country.
They are ID No. 187779 Staff Sergeant Humphrey Komla Ogordor
187822 Corporal Mahmadu Gorka,
188153 Corporal Joseph Kwame Asante
188154 Lance Corporal Gyamfe Ohene
188153 Corporal Joseph Kwame Asante
189544 Lance Corporal Bright Amedo Fiawornu
189540 Private Aaron Djani and
188078 Private Kennedy Kwame Biaseh.
Two personnel of the 64 Regiment who were equally dismissed on charges of armed robbery were later identified as anti-NDC elements in the Regiment.
They are 177876 WOI Alexander Adu Hope and Sergeant Ghansah Kwaw.
A document sighted by the Chronicle at the office of the Army Commander dated March 1997 and signed by D.D. Ribeiro Addy, stated that the issue of anti-government elements within the 64 Regiment has been raised by the Director of Army Intelligence Personnel just before the general elections and information on the subject has confirmed the existence of such personnel in the unit. The document named WOI Adu Hope as one of such anti-NDC elements and recommended that such elements should be placed under close observation.
GRi…/
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We’ll restore health of cedi- President assures
The President, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, has said Ghana would draw capital from within the sub-region and overseas, if it tackles the devaluation characteristics of the currency successfully.
“We need to work on our currency and if we can tackle that problem successfully, we will be drawing capital from within the sub-region and overseas,” he said.
President Kufuor said this in an interview with CNN Internatinal’s ‘Inside Africa’ programme in Accra, which covered a wide range of issues, including Ghana’s legal system, the economy, education and health. The interview was the first since he took office as Ghana’s President.
On achievements after his term, President Kufuor said, “At the end of four years, we would have introduced sanity into the money unit of government, which is a rare commodity. People have not seen this within the 43 years of governance since independence.
“But at the end of four years, we would have achieved that and we would have helped to establish the legal system and the Judiciary in such a way that people will begin to feel that truly, justice is delivered with out fear or favour in this country,” President Kufuor stressed.
More…/
Bid to deal with criminal cases-Judicial Service increases assizes
The Judicial Service has increase the criminal session or assizes from one to four to enable it clear the backlog of criminal cases and improve the criminal justice system in the country.
Assize is a special court set aside to deal with criminal cases such as robbery, rape and murder.
Mr George a. Aryeetey, acting Judicial Secretary, who disclosed this to the Graphic in Accra, said the increase has become, necessary due to the recent upsurge of armed robbery in the country.
He said at present 95 cases of trial by indictment are waiting on the list with more coming in for hearing in the Greater Accra Region alone.
Mr Aryeetey said the increase is also to facilitate the decogestion of th prisen.
Mr Aryeetey said the assizes hear criminal cases once a year starting from October to the end of July and in view of the vast number of cases that the criminal session will deal with this year, his outfit, in consultation with the Chief Justice, decided to increase the number from one to four to facilitate the disposal of the numerous criminal cases in the country.
GRi…/
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Kufuor moves against corruption-mass probes to begin
The President, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor marked his first month in office last week with a powerful signal of his determination to cleanse the mess left by the former NDC government, reports the NPP News.
In a statement released on February 7, the President directed seven heads of financial institutions to proceed on leave and hand over to others in their institutions.
Heads of institutions affected were scandal-ridden SSNIT, National Insurance Company, Internal Revenue Service, National Investment Bank, State Insurance Commission and Agricultural Development Bank.
President Kufuor who has stated the commitment of his government to reduce corruption assumed office on January 7, confronted with the awesome task of a nation heavily indebted riddled with corruption and still bleeding from the rape against it by the NDC and its appointees.
Apart from the frightening external and internal debt of about 60,000,000,000,000 cedis (Sixty trillion cedis), greedy NDC officials had virtually emptied the state vehicle pool through their mad rush for vehicles at “donkome” prices under the guise of a contract, which was from themselves, for themselves, to themselves.
GRi…/
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Trade Minister spells out his priorities
The Ghanaian Times reports the Minister of Trade and industry, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, as stating that his immediate priority is to strengthen the private sector especially the manufacturing industry.
To that end, he said government would soon introduce loan-guarantee programmes to small and medium scale enterprises to enable them to gain access to credit.
The government, he said would soon create a long-term capital fund known as the Ghana Investment Fund (GIF) for large scale enterprises.
The Minister who made these known in an interview with the ‘Times’ in Accra on Friday explained that government would provide the private sector with the necessary assistance to make it vibrant.
He enumerated various measures that the ministry would adopt to facilitate the growth of the private sector within the four-year tenure of the government.
“We shall devote attention and efforts at attracting foreign direct investment into the country and more especially creating joint-ventureships between local Ghanaian firms and foreign firms in the country”.
In that regard, Mr Apraku noted that the ministry would encourage Ghanaians living abroad to invest in the country.
GRi…/
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NPP plans to build Mausoleum for Busia, Danquah
An emotional meeting attended by all the old hawks in the Danquah/Busia tradition took place in Accra last week at which the NPP decided as a matter of urgency to construct a befitting mausoleum in honour of Drs. K.A. Busia and J.B. Danquah.
The meeting was not without hot exchanges. Those, who are not mainstream right wing ideologues of the party kicked against the whole idea. They objected on the solid grounds that the economy should be the main focus of the party instead of indulging in frivolous expenditure in remembrance of the two men.
According to the Democrate, a protagonist of the whole idea disclosed to it that the whole project is actually meant to down-play Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s towering status as the founder of Ghana.
GRi…/
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NDC plants infiltrate ‘Asieho’
The Free Press says it has stumbled upon an ultra secret plan by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to infiltrate the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration with some of their sympathisers.
The uncomfortable truth is that the NDC has orchestrated a plan to plant its men in some key positions so that by their actions, they would seek to discredit the Kufuor administration.
The Free Press has learnt that one of such personalities is the former Deputy Managing Director (Finance and Administration) of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Mr Cobbina Kessie Junior.
There is no doubt about Cobbina Kessie’s loyalty to the former first lady in particular and the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in general.
This is one man who until October 30, 1998, was pushed unto the Board of Directors of the Ghana Water Company Limited to play the role of a mole.
The Rawlings administration could count on any information that was supplied by Cobbina Kessie because of the long-standing relationship between him (Cobbina Kessie) and Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, which dates back to their days at Achimota School.
GRi…/
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Don’t go away-NDC factions work on Atta Mills
Pressure is mounting on Prof. John Atta Mills ex-Vice President and NDC flagbearer for the 2000 elections to rescind his announced decision to go back to the classroom.
Mills hinted in a radio interview during the run-off that he would return to teach if he lost the 2000 presidential elections.
He is tipped to go to Stanford University in the United States or return to the University of Ghana, Legon.
Support for a Mills comeback comes form the cadre front, the so-called “Fante Confederacy” and some die-hard NDC conservatives.
The cadre core, particularly feels vindicated by the December 7th and 28th electoral disaster.
They warned in a communiqué to the NDC leadership in 1999 that the party was heading for a humiliating defeat unless it re-organised and empowered ordinary supporters.
Ex-President Jerry Rawlings is said to back Mills but his wife’s position is unclear.
Nana Konadu was one of Mills’ alleged unofficial contenders for the leadership of the opposition party, according to the Free Press.
GRi…/
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Where are they now?
According to the Accra Mail it has been following the progress of some NDC officials, especially some so-called Fante Confederacy, which includes the likes of Totobi Quakyi. Rumour has it that they spend most of their evenings at a wine bar in the Airport Residential area of Accra, drinking away and exuding airs of nonchalance and devil-may-care revelry.
According to the paper, a social gossip said; “they give the impression that they are still in power, showing off that they are awash in money.”
According to the socialite, “they come in smart shorts, trying to look like youngsters, with the old man D.S. Boateng in tow. They congregate around three or four tables where they boast that they are not out of power and how what happened in December last year was only a temporary setback.”
The Accra Mail has also been informed that they make constant references to their “White House” where their president lives. What is not certain is whether the “president” under reference is John Atta-Mills who stood against Kufuor and was beaten or Flt. Lt. Rawlings, the spiritual leader of the (P)NDC who is himself in search of something to do with his remaining days.
In the period leading up to the elections, he latched on to a certain mosquito agenda. This took many people by surprise, until a wag revealed that “he just wants to chop the Bill Gates money small!” It will be recalled that the multi-billionaire computer magnate in recent times has been donating millions of US dollars to Africa for the fight against certain killer diseases on the continent, which includes malaria.
Flt. Lt. Rawlings’ new found campaign against malaria somehow coincided with the magnate’s donation to Africa.
The other thing that’s come up for him is something the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan has asked him to do in the spirit of “volunteerism”.
GRi…/
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