IGP speaks out
'Successful polls victory for democracy in Africa'
Ex-Ministers evaded taxes - CEPS
Crises in NDC over congress
Brutalisation of workers on Djentuh's land - top NPP man mentioned!
IGP speaks out
Mr Peter Nanfuri, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), on Tuesday lashed out at a section of the police service accusing them of undermining his initiative to transform the service to meet the challenges of the time.
He further accused some of the personnel of being interested only in money and things that would benefit them directly.
Mr Nafuri in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, said: “Young blood with initiative would have to be put into responsible places. When I started the transfers it was to achieve this, but I was stopped midway.
“It is sad that juniors, who are supposed to work with you, refuse to do the right thing because they know they can go behind you if you challenge them”.
The IGP who talked about the challenges he faced as the police boss in the country, said that on assuming office, he started to restructure and reassign some of the officers but it was resisted.
People use their influence with the top to kill initiative. Serving your nation is important, he said adding that the issue is a free hand where junior officers would not use their political influence to undermine you, he said.
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Ghana, Senegal make history - Kufuor
The Times in another story says President John Agyekum Kufuor observed on Wednesday that Ghana and Senegal have set the path of history in the democratisation process going on in Africa.
The two countries had made history by changing their incumbent governments through the ballot boxes for the first time and thus ensured a peaceful transfer of power, he said.
President Kufuor is said to have made the observation during a 30-minute stopover at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra by Mr Abdulai Wade, President of Senegal who was on his way to attend the Francophone-Anglophone summit, which opens on Thursday in the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde.
He stressed the need for Ghana and Senegal to consolidate the pace set to enable other countries in the sub-region and Africa as a whole to emulate.
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'Successful polls victory for democracy in Africa'
The President of the World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn, has described the December election in Ghana as a "great victory for democracy in Africa," the state-owned Daily Graphic reports.
In a congratulatory statement to the former President, Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings, the World Bank President said, "your dignified acceptance of the result of the vote and that of Professor Mills, have set a wonderful example. You and the Ghanaian people can be justifiably proud."
He said Flt. Lt. Rawlings personally set the tone by making it clear from the start that he would respect the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and the will of the people.
The World Bank, the message said, has been proud to work with him over the long period adding, "we have enjoyed very close and frank relations."
"Personally, I have greatly enjoyed our contacts. My visit to Ghana, during which you so arranged for me to address your Parliament, remains one of my favourite memories," he said.
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64 Regiment pledges support to govt
The Commanding Officer (CO) of the 64 infantry Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Lt. Col. Larry Gbevlo-Lartey, on Wednesday pledged the commitment of the regiment to protecting constitutional rule in the country, the Graphic carries in another story.
"We are not a coup-making regiment, neither was the unit established to perpetuate the rule of any one person but to ensure stability at all times and act as a rapid deployment force in emergencies," the CO told the Minister of Defence-designate, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, during a familiarization tour to the GAF on behalf of the President, Mr J.A. Kufuor.
He said the regiment was clear in the mission and the task assigned them and would continue to perform those duties to ensure stability in the country at all times.
He therefore, asked the Minister-designate to reassure the President of the loyalty of the unit to the government to enable it implement its noble programmes for Ghanaians.
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Ex-Ministers evaded taxes - CEPS
The Evening News says the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has confirmed that contrary to normal practice, it played no role in the re-registration of vehicles to out-going Ministers and political appointees of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Although the Minister of Communications, Mr John Mahama, did indicate on an Accra FM radio station that the former Chief of Staff, Nana Ato Dadzie, issued every beneficiary of the vehicles with three letters one to the recipient, one to CEPS and the other to the state valuer, the one to CEPS somehow never got to them.
According to CEPS officials, the norm is that whenever official vehicles were imported into the country in the name of government, the tax or cushion duties were waived.
The paper says its investigations so far revealed that the Ministers and officials who rushed to re-register the vehicles did so and managed to pay on the amounts quoted by the valuer of the vehicles minus the tax.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), according to some officials, should be aware of the transfer of ownership of the vehicles and the waived taxes that is normally added to the depreciated or discounted values.
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Crises in NDC over congress
The Independent says the shadow of former President Jerry John Rawlings is still hanging over the National Democratic Congress (NDC) making his selection for a flagbearer in the 2000 elections a problem child for the party as it draws plans for an impending congress in March.
The party reportedly, is seriously divided on whether to endorse its flagbearer in the December elections as its candidate for the 2004 elections.
A section of its top men are seriously contemplating holding the party's National Delegates Congress within the next three months to elect a flagbearer.
Proponents of the early congress premise their argument on the assumption that the NPP’s J.A. Kufuor, the current President won the 2000 elections because he had continuous visibility throughout because he was chosen two years before the 2000 elections.
They have also proposed that the defeated flagbearer Prof. John Atta Mills should be maintained unopposed for the 2004 elections.
Investigations by 'The Independent' revealed that the idea to keep the former Vice-President as flagbearer is being mooted by some members of the Atta Mills campaign team.
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Brutalisation of workers on Djentuh's land - top NPP man mentioned!
The Crusading Guide reports the brutalisation of workers of Mrs Maria O'sullivan Djentuh, an estate developer, at the site of Mariville Homes near Nungua, a suburb of Accra, on Sunday, January 14, 2000, by a group of over 20 men armed with clubs, cutlasses and pieces of blocks, pulling down some structures in the process.
One man working for a Brigadier in the area died in the attack.
The workers who on Tuesday talked to the paper said Mr Agyare Koi-Larbi, a legal practitioner and NPP Member of Parliament for Akropong-Akuapem, was the man who sent the men, believed to be landguards, to carry out the intimidation.
A worker who spoke under anonymity said the incident started about two months ago when the landguards surfaced on the land claiming that they were sent by the MP and the Teshie Wulomo with some elders who have their office just beyond our boundary."
The landguards said they were assured by Koi-Larbi to do their work because he won a court case on the land for which reason Mrs Djentuh was asked to stay away from the site.
He had asked them to pray for the NPP to win because he, as the Shadow Minister for Lands and Forestry would automatically be appointed the substantive Minister and he would do everything within his power to claim the land from the Teshie stool.
After the NPP's victory Koi-Larbi was alleged to have sold part of Mrs Djentuh's land to a woman, Nana, claiming Mrs Djentuh had vacated it as a result of the court's ruling.
Mr Frank Darmey, the works supervisor, corroborated the story and said on the said date a mob besieged the site and assaulted the workers.
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