Five Nigerians before tribunal
Move to minimise strikes
Pay up to avoid trial…VAT office appeals to defaulters
Parliament to resume Jan 11
Cayman Islands is vault for our stolen money…True or false?
Ghanair, BHC, TOR, BCCI and ECG to be sold
JJ, life after 2000…Interesting choices for the President
Everybody has HIV…Medical research reveals
Five Nigerians before tribunal
Five Nigerians, whom the police strongly believe are linked to the recent serial killings in Accra, have been arraigned before an Accra Tribunal charged with attempted murder, reports the Daily Graphic in its top story.
The Graphic says that the five, Victor Ogwenzy, Zeni Nwaese, Freeman Okonkwo, Duton Ediagi and Oluyomi Dotul, pleaded not guilty to the charge and the tribunal, chaired by Mrs Ivy Heward-Mills, granted them bail to report to the police every fortnight to assist in investigations.
The accused were arrested in a house at Asylum Down in Accra, where they allegedly attempted to murder one Deborah Ibeh, a Nigerian. The paper says that according to Mr Kwaku Dzakpata, Chief Superintendent in charge of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Operations, the accused lured the woman to the house, locked her in a room and attempted to murder her but she managed to escape.
He said when they were first arraigned before the court on December 16, 1999, on a charge of attempted murder, they were remanded in custody to re-appear on January 20, 2000. He said the court, surprisingly, recalled the case on December 30, 1999 and the five men were granted bail. According to Mr Dzakpata, Deborah, who is also known as Jennifer, is a singer and a dancer at Kilimanjaro Restaurant at Adabraka, Accra.
He said on December 11, 1999, she went to the restaurant to sing but as the bandsmen were not around, she decided to hang around for some time.
While she was standing by the road side, Victor, who was driving a red car, stopped by her and informed her that his girlfriend, Joyce, who happens to be Deborah's bosom friend, was seriously ill and had asked him to bring her to the house.
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Move to minimise strikes
In another front-page story, the Graphic reports that the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare has adopted measures aimed at minimising industrial disputes and building a stable industrial atmosphere for accelerated national development.
As part of the measures, the paper says, the ministry has taken a proactive posture by deepening consultations with all social partners so that labour disputes can be anticipated and checked before they explode.
The sector Minister, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, who disclosed this in an interview in Accra on Monday, is quoted as saying that "we need to build a peaceful and stable industrial atmosphere in order to become competitive in this globalised business environment".
"Employers and employees, as well as all other social partners, are also being increasingly encouraged to sit down together in an atmosphere of give-and-take to build consensus on labour issues", he added. He said this will enhance democracy in the workplace and help build mutual respect between workers and management.
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The Ghanaian Times
Pay up to avoid trial…VAT office appeals to defaulters
In its lead story, the Ghanaian Times reports that the management of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service has pleaded with all VAT registered persons to endeavour tom abide by the tenets of the VAT Law, ACT 546, in order to avoid the sanctions which will of necessity, have to be applied.
The paper, quoting a press statement issued by the Service in Accra yesterday, said that what would have been a successful story for 1999 was marred by a few recalcitrant persons as the VAT Service had the unpleasant duty of dragging them to court for various offences under the Law.
The statement, the Times says, however, thanked all VAT registered stakeholders and the general public for their contributions in diverse ways, towards the successful implementation of the new tax system in the past year.
The VAT Service assured the general public of its commitment to a continuous educational programme to ensure that the VAT is completely demystified.
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Parliament to resume Jan 11
In a second front-page story, the Times reports that the last session of the Second Parliament will resume on Tuesday, January 11, after the Christmas recess. The President, Flt-Lt Jerry Rawlings will deliver his last sessional address on Thursday, January 13, after a parliamentary public forum on Wednesday January 12.
The paper says that the agenda for the First Meeting of the House released in Accra yesterday, includes 13 bills to be brought before Parliament for enactment into law . Among the bills are the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, the Vice-President (Succession) Bill, Constitutional (Amendment) Bill and the Stool Lands Boundaries Settlement (Repeal).
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Free Press
Cayman Islands is vault for our stolen money…True or false?
The Free Press in a front-page banner headline story, says that most Ghanaians have never heard of Cayman Islands, but their hard earned foreign money, and perhaps part of loans contracted on their behalf, find their way to bank accounts in this far away island.
According to the paper, some government officials are reported to have opened accounts on this island, where they keep their ill-gotten loot for safekeeping.
The Free Press says that these accounts run into hundreds of millions of dollars at the time when Deputy Minister of Finance, Victor Selormey has declared to Parliament and the whole world that Ghana is bankrupt and broke.
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The Dispatch
Ghanair, BHC, TOR, BCCI and ECG to be sold
In a front-page screamer, the Dispatch says that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has always denied that it controls the economic policies of some sovereign countries like the Republic of Ghana.
The paper says the IMF may be right but to a point, because all the economic suggestions the Fund makes must be enforced if the countries involved are to avoid economic sanctions.
The Dispatch says that it was, therefore no surprise that when Ghana could not meet the IMF's economic suggestions at the agreed time, profuse apologies were offered. According to the paper, documents available indicate that the government has agreed with the IMF to go ahead with the divestiture of Ghana Airways, Bank for Housing and Construction (BHC), Bank of Credit and Commerce (BCCI), Ghana Railways, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Co-operative Bank and the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).
The Dispatch says that a time-table of prior actions to complete the first Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) review, structural performance criteria and benchmarks shows that as at mid-November, last year, the government had completed the divestiture of the State Transport Company (STC) and Ghana Cement (GHACEM). It says that by last month, the government was supposed to appoint sales advisers for the divestiture of Ghana Airways and ECG.
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The Ghanaian Chronicle
JJ, life after 2000…Interesting choices for the President
The Ghanaian Chronicle writes in a front-page lead story that the cloud of uncertainty which hung over what President Jerry Rawlings would do with his time when he leaves office in late 2000, started to clear last month, when it emerged that the President would follow the path of the world's statesmen, promoting peace and democracy.
The paper says that though the fine details of the Rawlings' project are yet to be made public, some 100 million cedis being 'seed money' for the establishment of the Rawlings International Centre for Peace and Democracy, was promised the President by a local committee that bestowed the "Gold Coast Award" on President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, at the Millennium Excellence Awards night last week.
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Everybody has HIV…Medical research reveals
In a front-page lead story, the Weekly Insight reports that some scientists say that there is a likelihood that all human beings are carriers of the dreaded HIV/AIDS causing virus.
The paper says according to the Huw Christie, editor of "Continuum", a London-based magazine dedicated to providing a fuller understanding of HIV/AIDS, the results of recent research imply either that HIV tests cannot reliably detect HIV, or that there is a 100% public prevalence of HIV infection.
The Weekly Insight says that in an article headed: "Rethinking AIDS", published in the magazine, "Index on Censorship", Huw writes that in many people HIV occurs at very low levels. It says that fresh research from New York University Hospital shows that if a person's blood is not diluted 400 times before testing, everybody reacts positive on an HIV antibody test, demolishing the 15-year-old proposition that HIV antibodies are made only in response to HIV.
The argument is that if all persons whose blood has not been diluted 400 times can react positive to an HIV test, then all persons must be carrying the virus at different levels.
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