Bimbilla bye-election now March 14
Police grab Boatemaa’s suspected
boyfriend
Market mummies flee as Cape Vars
students pull their ‘rods’
Ghana, Nigeria labour unions to
resist military interventions
Gambaga witches refuse to go home
Amakye Dede gears for Easter
release
Development fund loans to
attract 15 per cent interest
Accra (Greater Accra) 21 February 2002 - The
Ministry of Trade and Industries has finalised an agreement with financial
institutions to charge 15 per cent interest rate on their Export Development
and Investment Fund (EDIF) for export.
The Minister of Trade, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku
disclosed this in an interview after the inauguration of a sixteen-member
committee of the National Codex Committee in Accra. The committee will
represent the country on the International Codex Committee.
It is tasked with the duty to provide support
to the Ghana Standards Board in the production of food standards, which would
be incorporated into the relevant enabling regulations for the Food and Drugs
Law. The committee has as its chairman a nominee from the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture.
The minister said the 15 per cent rate is very
conducive for exporters considering the current interest rate of about 30 per
cent charged by financial institutions in the country.
Dr Apraku said the major task is to increase
the volume of export of non-traditional exports in the country from the current
$400 million to an appreciable target. He expressed regret about the fact that,
export of non-traditional products have stagnated over the past five years and,
therefore, called on exporters who access the loans to pay back to them.
At the inauguration of the board, the minister
charged the members of the committee to form alliances with other neighbouring
countries in the sub-region. This, he said, will ensure that, they have an
effective negotiating team, which will guarantee that their collective goals
are achieved.
Dr Apraku again called on the members to
exhibit a high level of integrity that will ensure higher standards in the food
industry. The minister said the international market has become competitive,
which requires that countries adopt higher standards in food production for
export.
Members of the committee include
representatives from the Ghana Standard Board (GSB), Ministry of Health, Nutrition
Unit, Representatives from the Animal and Production Division, Ministry of Food
and Agriculture, Food and Drugs Board, Consumer Association of Ghana,
Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana, and the
Federation of Association of Ghanaian Exporters.
The rest are representatives from Ghana Export
Promotion Council (GEPC), Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Food Research
Institute, Medical Officer Accra Metropolitan Association (AMA), Prof S.K.
Sefa-Dede and Mrs Isabella Mansa Agra. – Daily Graphic.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 21 February 2002 - The
Electoral Commission has rescheduled the date for the holding of the
bye-election in the Bimbilla Constituency in the Northern Region.
A release issued in Accra on Wednesday and
signed by Mr K. Sarfo-Katanka, Deputy Chairman said in compliance with election
regulations, the date has been shifted from Saturday, March 16, to Thursday,
March 14, 2002.
It said the dates set for the filing of
nominations still stand. The release said the election is to be held between
the hours of 7.00 am and 5.00 pm. The change was the result of miscalculation
of the date of the election from the day of the filing of nomination, which
should not be less than 10 days and not more than 14 days.
The Bimbilla seat became vacant following the
resignation of Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, who has taken up appointment as
Executive Secretary of ECOWAS. – Daily Graphic.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 21 February 2002 - A
couple at the centre of the sex and murder drama that hit Accra on Monday has
been arrested by the police to assist in investigations.
Kofi Wadie, who is alleged to have been
involved in an illicit affair with Jane Abena Boatemaa, leading to her murder
by her husband, was led to the police on Wednesday, by his lawyer after the
police had launched a manhunt for him.
His wife, Faustina Osei, who allegedly leaked
the alleged relationship between Boatemaa and Wadie to Kwabena Omari, the
deceased’s husband, was also invited by the police for interrogation. Police
sources said they were looking for Wadie in order to have firsthand information
from him following his wife’s allegations.
The source said the docket on the
investigations will be sent to the office of the Attorney-General for advice.
Kofi Wadie, a drinking bar operator at Sabon-Zongo in Accra, had not been seen
since the shooting incident on Tuesday.
Deputy Superintendent of Police and Commander
of the Korle-Bu District of the Ghana Police Service, Ms Helena Cobbina, said
in an interview that efforts by the police to track down the suspected
boyfriend for interrogation had not yielded results until his lawyer brought
him to the police station.
On Tuesday, 57-year old self employed man,
Kwabena Omari, allegedly shot and killed his wife (Boatemaa) and her sister,
identified only as Yaa Yaa, a 28-year old hairdresser at Gaskia, an Accra
suburb. Omari shot himself in the cheek in a suicide attempt after shooting a
third person, Kwame Asante, described as an arbitrator.
Asante sustained injuries on his back and was
treated and discharged at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on the same day. DSP
Cobbinah said a search at Wadie’s place of abode, workplace, and other areas
within the Accra Metropolis proved futile as he was nowhere to be found.
She said Wadie might have been hiding at
Anamase (his hometown) in the Akyem Oda area or Anyinam, both in the Eastern
Region. She said the police intensified their efforts to ensure that Wadie is
located to assist in the ongoing investigations into the gruesome murder of
Boatemaa and Yaa Yaa. DSP Cobinnah said the families of the suspect and the
deceased have arrived in Accra from Obomeng Kwahu for discussions with the
police.
She said it is only after the discussions that
the police, with the consent of the family of Boatemaa and her sister, that
autopsy will be filed. DSP Cobinnah said Omari was responding to treatment and
that he was scheduled to be sent to the theatre later on Wednesday for a
surgical operation. – Daily Graphic.
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Market mummies flee as Cape Vars students pull their ‘rods’
Cape Coast (Central Region) 21 February 2002 -
The authorities of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) are doggedly
investigating the mystery surrounding the indecent behaviour of some students
of Casely Hayford Hall during the Hall Week celebrations that has brought the
name of the institution into disrepute, Chronicle has learnt.
Before the authorities can unravel those who
were involved in the said indecent behaviour that had left a sour taste in the
mouths of hordes of people, mostly market women at Kotokoraba market, an
indefinite ban has been placed on the Hall, preventing it from participating in
such event again.
A few weeks after the lifting of an earlier ban
on demonstration and float at UCC, the leadership of Casely Hayford Hall wrote
to the authorities of the school, applying for permission to stage a float and
demonstration during the celebrations of the Hall Week.
Having assured the authorities to be of good
behaviour and comport themselves well during the float in the Cape Coast
municipality, they were given the green light by the school’s authorities,
Chronicle has learnt.
The whiff of what was in store during the
celebrations of the Hall emerged when, during a demonstration on campus, the
students stormed VALCO Hall and destroyed property belonging to their
neighbours without any cause. Property destroyed was estimated at ¢5 million.
As if that was not enough, the students decided
to go on the float the next day, December 5, last year, in the municipality of
Cape Coast on anti-HIV/AIDS campaign, which was seen as a move in the right
direction.
But this laudable move turned sour at the
Kotokoraba market when in broad day light before hundreds of market women, some
of the students stripped naked to demonstrate to the women how to put on
condoms to the disbelief of all assembled.
The women, who could not stand the nightmare
they were witnessing, abandoned their wares and deserted the market during the
time that the students were around. As the women ran helter-skelter to avoid
witnessing such display of uncivilized and indecent behaviour, the students who
had stripped naked did not care a hoot as they moved from one end to the other,
displaying their precious ‘rods’.
“There was total pandemonium in the market as
people, mostly women, ran to seek solace to avoid the students’ madness,” a
trader who spoke on condition of anonymity to Chronicle revealed.
Sources within the corridors of UCC confirmed
the indecent behaviour of the students, saying a committee had been set up to
investigate the incident. “Everything possible is being done by the committee
to fish out those students who were involved in that shameful indecency during
the Hall Week celebrations,” the sources said.
It also came to light that the authorities at
VALCO Hall had forwarded the estimated cost of the property that was destroyed
at the Hall to Casely students for settlement. “It is surprising that just a
few weeks after the ban on demonstrations and floats in the school were lifted
for a similar reason, students did not learn anything from such a ban only for
them to soil the name of the school in their first outing,” an authority who
did not want his identity to be known told Chronicle.
The source said since the students were not
prepared to give out their colleagues, the committee was threading cautiously
not to rush into conclusions, hoping that at the end of the day those students
would be fished out to face sanctions.
According to an official source, their doors
were open to anybody who has information on those students who were involved in
such acts to come forward with the information, but the question is: will
people respond to such a call? – The Chronicle
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Accra (Greater Accra) 21 February 2002 - Mr
Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of Energy has said that Mr Kofi Wayo, the
self-styled energy expert is not a practicable man who can offer constructive
suggestions on the way forward to the energy crisis in the country.
"It is worthwhile talking to experts at
the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) about the energy
situation in the country and not Kofi Wayo who is empty and not
practicable," said the Energy Minister. He was responding to questions
from contributors on JOY FM programme 'Ghana Speaks' on Wednesday morning.
Kofi Wayo had earlier on the same morning on
Radio Gold, another FM station, accused Mr Kan-Dapaah of not being suitable to
head the Energy Ministry since as a Chartered Accountant he rather supervised
the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) which was engrossed in corruption and
malfeasance.
Mr Kan-Dapaah asked "how can I take such
advise from Mr Wayo that I should ask people to fetch water to fill the
Akosombo lake? Kofi Wayo is my good friend. I have been meeting him very often
in my office, but he is not a practicable person," he stated.
According to Mr Kan-Dapaah, Mr Wayo once came
to his office to discuss with him about the possibility of making him (Wayo)
the Chief Executive of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR). But, he said after examining
his credentials and probing his background, he realized that Mr Wayo is an arms
dealer with no background in energy at all.
On accusation by Mr Wayo that he is not
qualified for the Ministry, Kan-Dapaah said, "we don't really need a
technical expert to head the Ministry. I am the political head and I have
excellent people working for me in the sector institutions and also within the
Ministry.
"I want to believe that when it comes to
knowledge in energy matters, you know Kofi Wayo is my good friend and we
converse, but with all due respect to him, I know much more about energy, than
he knows in his life time", said the Minister.
Answering a question as to whether the NDC
should be blamed for the present power crisis, he stated that it would rather
praise the NDC for initiating moves to solve the power crisis experienced in
1998. He said when the problem started in 1998 he took the NDC government on by
pointing out to them that they had only hydro sources without thermal
complementation.
According to him, the NDC took steps to provide
the thermal complementation such that today, the installed capacity was much
more than the demand. The NDC, he said, solved the problem as far as capacity
supply was concern before they left.
"That is why I keep on saying that, the
problem we have in 1998 and today are different. They would have been the same if the NDC had not successfully
solved the problem in 1998. But by introducing the Aboadze Thermal
complementation, to a very large extent, they solved the problem. The only
problem we have today is that, we cannot evacuate all the power generated from
there to the Eastern corridors. There are so many areas that I can blame, them,
but on this occasion, I cannot blame them," he said.
On his expectations on the energy crisis, the
Minister said measures that had been taken so far, should be enough to solve
the problem. He said "come April, we are expecting an emergency power
plant of 150 mega watts that would give an even bigger assurance and we would have
more to fall on in case there is double accidents for instance." - Evening
News
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Ghana, Nigeria labour unions
to resist military interventions
Abuja (Nigeria) 21 February 2002 - The Trades
Union Congress (TUC) of Ghana and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) have
agreed to commit themselves to the struggle for democracy and resist military
interventions in their respective countries.
For this realization, the two countries have
agreed to exchange information on socio-political situations in their
respective countries. These were contained in a press release issued at the end
of a four-day bilateral conference held at Abuja in Nigeria.
The two labour unions urged the governments of
Ghana and Nigeria to be more responsive and accountable in their
administration. They renewed their commitment to work with NGOs and other civil
society organizations for the defence and consolidation of democracy.
They expressed concern about the political
developments in Zimbabwe and condemned the restrictive and repressive measures
being adopted by the Mugabe government to undermine the democratic process in
the country.
They have, therefore called for a free, fair
and transparent election and a halt to the intimidation and harassment of
political opponents. The two labour unions urged the Mugabe government to
accord international monitors unrestrained access to observe the impending
general elections in Zimbabwe.
The two bodies agreed to establish and promote
stronger fraternal bonds between them and share experiences on areas of mutual
concern affecting workers. They also agreed to identify the role of trade
unions in promoting the growth and development of ECOWAS and the African Union.
- Evening News
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Gas tanker vanishes at Tema Oil Refinery
Accra (Greater Accra) 21 February 2002 - The
Management of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) is currently grappling with how a
tanker load of Liquefied Petroleum Gas was able to beat all the strict security
check-points at the TOR and vanished into thin air.
According to TOR sources, the Tanker decked
with yellow and white paintings with an inscription Manbas Gas went to the
refinery on Thursday January 24, 2002, got its huge tank filled with Liquified
Petroleum Gas (LPG), beat the security check points at the marketing
department, TOR security and finally Customs, Excise and Preventive Service
(CEPS) security and managed to drive away without leaving behind the Waybills
that are normally left at the three (3) security check points.
The Waybills the Ghanaian Voice sources said
are meant to reconcile the amount of transactions that takes place on a given
day. When it was discovered that this was not done and that the Manbas Gas
tanker had disappeared into thin air, it was hoped upon hope that the tanker
would come back for another lifting.
As
providence would have, the truck drove straight to the refinery again hoping
for another "free" lifting and it was arrested. Currently, the tanker
is packed in the yard of the refinery at Tema.
The Ghanaian Voice has gathered that management
has set a five-man committee to go into the whole incident. It is believed that
this tanker could not have evaded the whole security checkpoints without the
help of insiders. The Ghanaian Voice
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Accra (Greater Accra) 21 February 2002 - Ghana
ex-First Lady and President of 31st December Women’s Movement, Nana
Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, has urged all NDC members to help protect and uplift
the image and dignity of the party.
Nana Konadu made these remarks at a reception
organized by her husband, Mr J.J. Rawlings for few selected media personnel and
NDC stalwarts at their North Ridge residence in Accra. Konadu hoped that the
occasion would be the beginning of seeing the NDC as one big family where each
would be the other’s protector.
“I hope it would be the beginning of seeing the
NDC as one big family where each would be the other’s protector,” said Konadu,
adding, “I think that we should all help to protect and uplift the image and
dignity of the NDC wherever you are.” Konadu also took the opportunity to
welcome the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair who had just arrived in the
country, wishing him a happy stay in Ghana. – The Crusading GUIDE.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 21 February 2002 – The
Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr S.K. Boafo, has called on the judiciary to purge
itself of all negative tendencies in order to ensure an efficient service
delivery system in the country.
He noted that some members of the public have
become disillusioned at the turn of events in some of our courts during the
process of dispensation of justice. Mr Boafo made the call at the opening
ceremony of the Criminal Session for 2002 legal year in Kumasi recently.
According to him, as much as the Judiciary is
handicapped in many ways, some of the reasons for the delays are unacceptable
and cast a slur on the effectiveness of the Judiciary.
He submitted that, “we all agree that it is the
responsibility of the state to ensure the safety of its citizens, the
government is doing all it can to equip the security agencies to effectively
carry out its important role for the courts to carry out its duties efficiently
and effectively”.
Mr Boafo expressed concern about accidents on
our roads and illegal timber operations where offenders are released or granted
bail and more. He therefore sounded a note of warning to the courts to build a
reputation that can stand the test of time and beyond reproach if the country
must attract the much needed investors.
The supervising High Court Judge, Mr G.M. Quaye
said it is unfortunate that some departments, organization and institutions
fail, refuse or are reluctant to release some of their staff to serve as jurors
when the need arises. According to him, this tendency had most often led to the
delays in constituting the jury for any meaning prosecution during Criminal
Assizes.
“Serving as jurors is a civic responsibility
and failure to do so could carry some unpleasant consequences for the offending
the offending person, department, organization or institution”, he stressed. He
therefore appealed to anyone who has a role to play during Criminal Assizes to
do so effectively, conscientiously and effectively to assist in the proper
dispensation of justice. – The Crusading Guide.
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Gambaga (Northern Region) 21 February 2002 -
Most inmates of the Gambaga Witches Camp have refused to go back home even
though a women advocacy group, Women’s Development Agency (WDA), has offered to
resettle them at their various communities. They consider the camp as a more
secured sanctuary against attack on them by members of their communities.
Mrs Matilda Adisah Nangtoma, Director of WDA,
said this when she briefed the press about the activities of the agency, which
has been operating in the Northern Region. Mrs Nangtoma explained that even
though the continuous incarceration of the women at the camps violated their
fundamental rights, the women preferred to stay there until the end of their lives
for fear of being lynched, the normal punitive action taken against them.
Even the few who dare to go home are not able
to cope with the stigma and isolation by their people. Mrs Nangtoma said that
the WDA had decided to give financial support to families of those who had been
lynched to take legal action against perpetrators of such crimes. That, she
said, would send the signals to the people that it was against the law to lynch
suspects, especially on unsubstantiated allegations like witchcraft.
Mrs Nangtoma further said that WDA would soon
launch a special project against Female Genital Mutilation, and this would
include sponsoring people to expose practitioners of such acts for legal action
to be taken against them.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 21 February 2002 -
Abrantee Amakye Dede, the Ghanaian highlife maestro whose absence from the
showbiz scene for the past ten weeks has been deeply felt by his teeming fans
is coming home. “I will be back home early enough to organize the release of my
long-awaited album for Easter,” he told Showbiz in a telephone conversation
last Monday.
Showbiz had called Megastar, Abrantee’s
Artistes management Company, earlier on in the day over the whereabouts of the
highlife musician who has not been seen in the country since winning a District
Best Farmer Award early last December.
Graciously, Megastar had phoned up Abrantee in
Washington, USA, to speak with Showbiz. According to him, he had to sacrifice
his potential engagements last Christmas to be in the US to complete his album
whose release had delayed. “I am anxious to have it done and ready for Easter,”
Abrantee said.
Megastar Production Manager Eric Antonio,
himself a cut-edge keyboardsman, said that Abrantee’s new album is expected to
carry a different sound since it will be his first album recording in the US
having done most previous ones in Germany. Mr Antonio said that the new album
is almost ready. “We have only a couple of touch-ups to do and that will be
done with only one or two studio sessions.”
Megastar has been rather tight-lipped about the
title of Abrantee’s forthcoming album but expectations are that it will be
bouncier than his ‘Adukro Mu Nsuo’ released in 1999. While in the US, Abrantee
Amakye Dede has been putting up a few performances for Ghanaian communities
there.
Last December, Amakye Dede was honoured as the
overall Best Farmer for the Ejisu-Juaben District in Ashanti. The occasion was
the celebration of the 17th National Farmers Day. He has large farms
of yam and cocoyam, 200 goats and sheep, and rears grasscutters on his farm at
Kubease. – Graphic Showbiz.
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