GRi Press Review 24 – 01 – 2002

Daily Graphic

Metro TV charged with copyright violations

Death through circumcision was unfortunate - Doctor

Mob sets ablaze abandoned truck that killed 22

The Evening News

Asaga pledges support

The Ghanaian Voice

Times runs out for NPP Government…over Delta foods

The Crusading Guide

Rawlings accuses judiciary over Selormey’s sentence!

For the eyes of J.J. Rawlings

The Ghanaian Times

Jake explains Kmart’s problem

Akosa slams Cash-and-Carry

Rawlings reacts to comments on his statement

Health Ministry to take sex workers off Aflao streets

Graphic Showbiz

GTV loses ¢200 million to TV3

S.K. Oppong - The final journey

Weekly Insight

Kufuor’s Minsters In War Over Turf

 

Daily Graphic

Metro TV charged with copyright violations

 

The Police have charged Metropolitan Television (Metro TV), a private TV station, with copyright violations contrary to section 45 of PNDC Law 110.

 

Representatives of the company, Mr Fadi Fattal, Board Member, and Mr Gerald Ankrah, Assistant Manager, are to appear before an Accra Circuit Tribunal on Thursday January 24 following a complaint by Ghana Broadcasting Corporation against Metro TV for pirating their transmission of the CAN 2002.

 

Deputy Superintendent of Police Patrick Adusei Sarpong told the Ghana News Agency that the law stipulates that, “any person who infringes any copyright or neighbouring right of another person under this law shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than ¢10,000 and not exceeding ¢1,000,000 or imprisonment not exceeding two years or both.”

 

“In the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not less than ¢5,000 and not exceeding ¢50,000 for each day during which the offence continues.” He, however, noted that punishment under the law has been amended to conform to current trends.

 

Mr Sarpong said Metro TV in 1998 signed an agreement with TV Africa to receive and broadcast programmes of the latter under certain conditions.

 

However, in October 2001, TV Africa wrote to Metro TV terminating the contract, effective December 31. He said subsequently TV Africa signed an agreement with Ghana Television and was granted exclusive rights to telecast the CAN 2000 matches in Ghana.

 

Mr Sarpong said the two accused persons, however, pirated the signals of GTV and telecasted the match played on the January 19 live, using Ghana Television logo as well. He said the situation has become a source of worry to TV Africa that deemed it devastating to their interest and had threatened to terminate the signal to GBC.

 

Mr Fattal told the Ghana News Agency that they had not received any summons from the police.

 

In a related development, TV Africa has explained that Ghana Television is the only authorised station in the country allowed to rebroadcast the CAN 2002 in Mali. It has therefore, described as false the claim by Metro TV in the Daily Graphic of Tuesday, January 22, that it has a legitimate right to rebroadcast the tournament.

 

A release issued to the press in Accra on Wednesday and signed by Dave Kelly, Chairman of TV Africa, stressed that TV Africa holds the exclusive terrestrial rights to CAN 2002 in Africa, except South Africa and that it is the only company authorized to license broadcasters to rebroadcast the event.

 

It said no agreement has been reached with Metro TV in this regard and any other station broadcasting the games is doing so illegally. It assured Ghanaians that TV Africa is committed to ensuring that they watch all the matches and for that matter, their favourite Black Stars.

 

It said TV Africa has signed new contracts for which reason Metro TV’s continued piracy of the signal may result in a withdrawal of the signal from Ghana if the situation is not stopped.

 

The release appealed to the relevant authorities in the country and GBC to take the necessary steps to ensure that Metro TV stops immediately this blatant infringement on its rights in these days of “positive change” in Ghana.

More…/

 

Death through circumcision was unfortunate - Doctor

 

The Accra Metropolitan Health Director, Dr Andrew Arde-Acquah has described the death of the eight-year-old Devine Owusu as an ‘unfortunate medical accident’.

 

He said that what happened to Devine is a rare incident, which occurs once a while depending on the physiotherapy of the patient. Devine, an eight-year-old boy, died at the Maamobi Polytechnic from anaesthesia administered on him for a minor circumcision surgery.

 

Dr Arde-Acquah said in an interview that the Ministry of Health has started the process to help the aggrieved family to seek legal redress for the loss of their child, if they so wish. On the other hand, he said, the ministry is also prepared to meet the family if they decide to have arbitration instead of resorting to legal action.

 

He said investigation into the death revealed that Devine died from the anaesthetics, but emphasized that it was not an overdose.

 

Dr Arde-Acquah said Devine had the procedure alongside four other people, including two eight-year-olds on that fateful day. Dr Arde-Acquah stated further that though Devine was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital when it was realized he was not breathing properly, he could not be helped.

 

He said Devine’s death has been traumatic for the surgeon, Dr Doris Arhin, who has since the incident been reluctant to perform any more circumcisions. Dr Arde-Acquah advised the public to pass on whatever information they have on their physiology to the surgeon before any surgery.

 

“No information is trivial,” he said, adding that, such information can help the surgeon to know the little defects in the processes that make the body function.

 

The Senior Medical Officer in charge of the Maamobi Polyclinic, Dr M.K. Bresse, who also spoke, said the polyclinic started offering circumcision services about a year ago to people of all ages. He said about five of this minor surgery cases are done in a day with no fatal results.

 

Dr Bresse reiterated that the incident was unfortunate, especially since it is a disincentive for the doctor, who is the only one performing the surgery now.

More…/

 

Mob sets ablaze abandoned truck that killed 22

 

An irate mob on Tuesday set ablaze the abandoned timber truck on the Kumasi-Offinso portion of the Kumasi-Tamale main road, where 22 people died on the spot in a gruesome motor accident earlier in the day.

 

The entire engine compartment of the truck was burnt, leaving the trailer and the logs on it. The mob action notwithstanding, the vehicle is still parked in the middle of the road, posing danger to motorist.

 

This resulted in another accident at the same spot at dawn on Wednesday when a Kumasi-bound Hyundai cargo truck from Tamale loaded with maize also ran into the stationary truck, resulting in injuries to the driver and a lady passenger.

 

The two were rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi for treatment. Twenty-two people died on the spot and 40 others sustained various degrees of injury when a Kumasi-bound Neoplan bus on which they were traveling from Bawku was involved in an accident.

 

The accident happened when the Kumasi-bound bus, in an attempt to by-pass the stationary timber truck on a hill on the road nearly ran into an on-coming articulated truck from Accra. But in the process to avoid the head-on collision, it hit the truck, resulting in the fatalities and injuries.

 

Meanwhile, 45 out of the 54 victims in the Kodie accident who were rushed to KATH for treatment have been treated and discharged. In all 76 people were on board the bus. Nine of them are still on admission at the hospital.

 

They include Abu Kalifa, the driver of the Neoplan bus; Yaw Antwi, the driver’s mate; Kwame Bomeba, Kwadwo Grumah, and a lady identified only as Adwoa. The rest are Stephen Quaye, Cedric Amengor, a lady named as Zenabu, and Akua Ataa.

 

The driver of the Neoplan bus, Abu Kalifa, said in an interview that the weather was foggy and that on reaching the spot between Denase and Kodie, he realized rather too late that the timber truck loaded with the logs had been abandoned at the spot.

 

He said to avoid running into the timber truck he swerved to the left lane only to realise that there was danger ahead.

 

In a related development, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr S.K. Boafo, has expressed sadness at last Tuesday’s accident at Kodie, which claimed 22 lives. Describing the accident as a national disaster, the regional minister directed the KATH authorities not to demand mortuary fees from the relatives of the dead.

 

The Regional Minister gave the directive when he visited victims on admission at the hospital to wish them speedy recovery.

GRi…/

 

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The Evening News

Asaga pledges support

 

The former Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Moses Asaga has promised to offer his support and experience to ensure the success of the government’s policies towards the private sector.

 

“As an advocate of public private sector partnership, I will do everything possible to help the Minister of Private Sector Development, Mr Kwamena Bartels, to achieve the objectives and goals of his ministry.”

 

Mr Asaga who is also the Minority Spokesman on Finance said this during an interaction among participants at the just-ended workshop at Elmina. Organized by the Ministry of Private Sector Development and sponsored by the UNDP and DANIDA, the workshop was designed to map out strategies to push the agenda of factoring the private sector into the “Golden Age of Business.”

 

Mr Asaga said the NDC and the NPP seem to have similar attitude towards the private sector, however, “it is the approach which differ.”

 

Mr Asaga whose intervention drew punctuated applause from the participants was happy that the workshop was being held to provide support for the private sectors, which many economic commissions had identified “as the engine of growth.”

 

He intimated that there are challenges ahead, but was quick to add that “new areas need to be explored,” especially by way of technical inputs such as financial expertise and corporate lawyers.

 

There is also the need for a programme, which should seek to develop a Country Framework Report (CFR) to facilitate the processes.

 

The former Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Frank Abu, was worried about the country’s civil servants who seem not to have changed at all in their attitude to work. The former minister recalled that as a result of this attitude, he once told his staff that “Ministers don’t last, you have longer life.”

 

Dr Abu also formerly in charge of the Western Region, suggested that to make the civil service run effectively, the staff need to be retrained in the area of information technology so that information in the system, for example, could be easily accessed by the investor.

GRi…/

 

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The Ghanaian Voice

Times runs out for NPP Government…over Delta foods

 

Information circles are watching with bated breath what is likely to break out if the Kufuor administration continues to balk at complying with a United States Court order to pay in full the damages it has awarded to Delta Foods Limited, a Ghanaian company.

 

It is recalled that “Voice” carried the story of how the NDC Government reneged on an agreement with Delta Foods and the consequential long drawn legal battle, which the company won all the way from Ghanaian courts to the United States.

 

It is now known that had the government of President Kufuor on assumption of power redeemed its pledge to fully uphold the rule of law, the current uncertainty would not have arisen in the first place.

 

But, from the records, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Nana Akuffo-Addo, who, for reasons that are yet to be known started proceedings in the United States to set the order aside. He also failed to show any interest in urging the Government of the New Patriotic Party to demonstrate good faith in the much vaunted respect for the rule of law which is the cardinal benchmark of democratic governance.

 

In its issue of Friday December 21, 2001, the “Graphic” published as its lead story on the front page that a deadline has been set for a final settlement, the failure of which could compel Delta Foods to move for execution.

 

Investigations conducted by the “Voice” have revealed that Delta Foods has not yet instructed its solicitors in the United States to take legal action which would result in the seizure of Ghana's assets in both the United Kingdom for purely "patriotic" reasons but may do so if it becomes the only option.

 

It is further learnt that had the government done its duty in satisfying the judgement debt of 4.5 million dollars earlier it would have saved the Ghanaian tax-payer the over nine million dollars that have become due to Delta Foods excluding interests which accrue at the rate of 600 dollars per day from the date of final, irrevocable and irreversible   judgement.

 

But what is even more ominous is the possibility that the failure of the NPP Government to honour its legal obligations in this respect will send negative signals in the United States and elsewhere about its credibility in political, business and legal domains, particularly in the light of its declaration of the "Golden Age of Business".

 

It is on the cards that Nana Akuffo-Addo, the Attorney-General is fully conscious of the full implications of the Delta Foods affairs but what cannot be figured is his reason for trying to bluff his way out of a court order he sought to off-set but failed.

 

Dependable sources are firm in maintaining that he has been either misinforming, misleading or misdirecting the government on this matter until it is too late for any image-saving action to be taken.

 

But who knows? It may well be that Delta Foods can’t wait forever to be paid the damages for which it had fought and won through thick and thin.

GRi…/

 

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The Crusading Guide

Rawlings accuses judiciary over Selormey’s sentence!

 

“It came as a shock to me that this man should be sentenced to 8 years when you have not proven that this man made any financial gain from a simple and unfortunate administrative lapse”. This was said by ex-President Rawlings when expressing his disgust about how his former Deputy Finance minister, Mr Victor Selormey was treated by the Judiciary.

 

Rawlings tagged the whole process as a “travesty of Justice”. “This is a serious travesty of justice”, he said. Ghana’s ex-President argued that the court should have been able to prove that Victor Selormey was a criminal before slapping on him the 8 years sentence.

 

Ex President Rawlings was not happy with a front-page story carried about his visit to the Fast Track Court by the Ghanaian Times. He wondered why the Ghanaian Times refused to see the essence of the court proceedings and instead zeroed in on only his presence.

 

Rawlings also complained that a lot of important issues are raised by NDC members of Parliament, which are not covered by the media. He also added that he is “not unaware that the government machinery is doing everything possible to stifle some of the issues brought to bear on it by Parliament”.

 

On the on-going Quality Grain trial, he wondered: “are we pursuing justice or not? Is it an inquisition? Is it a political trial, are the questions I ask myself, I mean how do we end up by putting on trial people who have done what is correct and proper for this country”.

 

Rawlings reiterated that his administration put up a good project, conceding that they run into a little problem but steps were taken to investigate and protect the national interest.

 

“People are being tried for doing what is right and proper, you can take my words for it. But if these people were given another opportunity with or without Rawlings, they would go ahead and approve. They would do it over and over again and I would give the same go ahead. Because we knew it was a very viable project and we went ahead”, Rawlings submitted.

 

The ex-President contended that when his administration detected some lapses in the Quality Grain Saga they took the necessary steps to investigate it.

 

Rawlings described as “childish” the perception that his visit to the Fast Track Court was to test his popularity.

 

On the National Reconciliation Bill, the ex-President preferred to be silent for now, though he hoped Government will listen to both local and international opinions on the issue.

More…/

 

For the eyes of J.J. Rawlings

 

Ex-President Jerry Rawlings is in the news again. He is firing on all cylinders; questioning the integrity and impartiality of the judicial process some of his appointees in the erstwhile NDC government are facing at Fast Truck Court.

 

In the last week or so he has publicly described (on Radio Gold and Peace FM) the custodial sentence imposed on Mr Victor Selormey, ex-Deputy Finance Minister, by a Court of competent jurisdiction as a 'travesty of justice'.

 

He has also questioned the basis for the Quality Grain trial involving former Finance Minister, Mr Kwame Peprah, and four others, insisting that it was a 'show trial' undertaken by the NPP Government to justify its pre-election propaganda against the NDC government and party.

 

He called on Ghanaians to wake up to the dangers inherent in this development.

 

To educate and enlighten Ghanaians on the real issues involved in the Selormey trial, and the reasons that went into the judgement, we reproduce below the 19 main points advanced by the Prosecution which the trial judge, Justice S.G. Baddoo accepted as constituting a Prima Facie case against the accused, Mr Victor Selormey.

 

The Prima Facie case against Victor Selormey: At the close of the case for the prosecution the following evidence had been led before the court:-

  1. That the accused, Victor Selormey was a former Deputy Minister of Finance.
  2. That Ecobank held funds, including foreign currencies, on behalf of the Republic of Ghana.
  3. That these funds are disbursed on the instructions of the Minister of Finance.
  4. That the accused Victor Selormey was responsible for authorizing these disbursements.
  5. That a Legal Sector Co-ordinating Committee was set up to oversee the Legal Sector Reform Project.
  6. That the accused was not a member of this Committee.
  7. That this Committee was responsible for awarding contracts for the Legal Reform Projects.
  8. That consultancy services for the Production and Dissemination of Legal Information including courtroom recording was awarded to a company called VSM International.
  9. That the Committee charged with the Legal Sector Reform did not award or sign any contract with LEEBDA or Dr Boadu in connection with any services, or the supply of any equipment.
  10. That on the 27th of November, 1998 the accused, Mr Victor Selormey, wrote to the Managing Director of Ecobank that Messrs LEEBDA Corporation in Texas US, whose President is Dr Boadu, had provided consultancy services in respect of the court computerisation project and therefore the bank should transfer the sum of $432,500 to the corporation in the US.
  11. That on the 12th of February, 1999 the accused again wrote to the Ecobank, instructing the Bank to transfer the sum of $865,000 to LEEBDA, attention Dr Boadu in Texas USA, being the second and final payment for consultancy services, provided under the court computerisation project, Production and Dissemination of Legal Information systems in support of the private sector in Ghana.
  12. That these instructions to the Ecobank to pay LEEBDA in Texas US the total sum of $1,297,500 were never copied to the Accountant General or the Auditor General.
  13. That in response to these orders the Ecobank transferred the total sum of $1,297,500 to LEEBDA, attention DR BOADU in Texas US by Swift Transfer.
  14. That the representation made by the accused person Victor Selormey that LEEBDA Corporation had provided consultancy services had already been provided by VMS.
  15. That LEEBDA was initially awarded a consultancy contract, but the corporation wanted to supply the equipment as well.
  16. That when this request was refused and the corporation was given the option to either provide services or supply equipment, the corporation rejected the whole contract.
  17. Consequently the Committee for the Legal Sector Reform Project did not sign any contract with LEEBDA or Dr Boadu to provide any services or supply any equipment.
  18. Finally the prosecution was able to show by evidence that Dr Boadu had not paid the sum of $1,297,500.
  19. I therefore found as matter of law and fact that the prosecution had made a Prima Facie case against the accused person and called upon him to open his defence.

GRi.../

 

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The Ghanaian Times

Jake explains Kmart’s problem

 

The Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, has explained that the United States firm, Kmart Corporation, is only reorganising its operations and not out of business, contrary to reports.

 

He explained that by filing for Chapter 11 under the United States bankruptcy law, what Kmart did was to draw attention that it was reorganising after undergoing some difficult moments around Christmas time last year, hence it filed for bankruptcy and protection under the law.

 

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said this in reaction to Wednesday’s “Times” lead story on the issue with the headline “Kmart is Bankrupt”. The Minister explained that the American Bankruptcy law was different from the British bankruptcy law and were not the same in all respects.

 

He, therefore, described the “Times” headline in the Kmart story as not only incorrect, but a show of ignorance of the bankruptcy law which still kept Kmart in business and not to close down.

 

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey appealed to journalists and the media to always strive and be conversant with the bankruptcy law and other business laws to help them in their reportage.

 

The “Times” story said that Kmart, recently brought into the country to assist in the export and distribution of Ghanaian Textiles under the President’s Special Initiative (PSI), was bankrupt.

 

Quoting a BBC news report, the story said that the corporation, the second biggest discount retailer in the United States, accordingly filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. The BBC report said that suppliers had been deserting the 105-year-old chain, which urgently needed a cash injection and had had a poor Christmas.

 

The presence of Kmart in Ghana was facilitated by Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Mr Allen Kyerematen, following a deal reached after negotiations between him and the corporation.

More…/

 

Akosa slams Cash-and-Carry

 

Sixty-nine per cent of Ghanaians do not use the country’s health services. This is because they cannot afford to under the Cash-and-Carry system.

 

Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, Chief pathologist of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, said this at Tema on Tuesday. He was delivering a lecture to members of the Rotary Club of Tema on the “National Health Insurance-Is it a Possibility?”

 

Professor Akosa, who is the immediate past President of the Ghana Medical Association, said that the brain drain of medical professionals was worrying since the impact on the country was felt instantly.

 

He said that the situation could be halted if medical professionals were paid decent wages. “The country must stop treating its professionals abysmally,” he stressed.

 

Citing examples from other countries, Professor Akosa noted that it was rare for health professionals in Zimbabwe or Namibia to leave their countries for Ghana because they were satisfied with their own salaries.

 

“Even in neighbouring Nigeria, since salaries of health professionals were increased in the last six months, all Nigerian doctors in Ghana have left for home,” he added.

More…/

 

Rawlings reacts to comments on his statement

 

The former President, Flt-Lt Jerry Rawlings, on Wednesday regretted the misinterpretation given to the statements he made in his recent interview granted some radio stations.

 

A release from his office, signed by Mr Victor Smith, the Special Assistant and Director of Public Affairs, said “on Tuesday, January 22, 2002, some radio stations, namely, Joy FM, Peace FM, Radio Gold, broadcasted an interview granted by the former President of the Republic, Flt-Lt Jerry John Rawlings.

 

The main thrust of the interview was the media’s coverage of the on-going Quality Grain Trial, which in the opinion of the former President, is both inadequate, one-sided and does not reflect accurately the proceedings in court.

 

“Some of the observations by the former President, which were made in his usual frank and blunt manner, appears to have been misinterpreted as an attempt to prejudice the outcome of the case or scandalize the judiciary in general.

 

The misimpression is unfortunate and certainly not intended. The misinterpretation given to some of his statement is regretted.”

More…/

 

Health Ministry to take sex workers off Aflao streets

 

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has begun an initiative to combat the HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases at Aflao, the country’s eastern border town.

 

The programme known as the “West African Project to Combat HIV/AIDS” aims to eventually keep commercial sex workers (prostitutes) off the streets of Aflao and make them to acquire skills.

 

The MOH is undertaking this initiative in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). In furtherance of the programme, the Volta Region AIDS Commission is to be set up as part of strategies to combat the pandemic, which is fast spreading in the region.

 

Dr N.A. Addo, Senior Medical Officer in-charge of Public Health, announced this at a days’ seminar on Population Council in conjunction with the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA). Topics treated include “The HIV/AIDS Pandemic”, “Women in Development” and “Adolescent Reproductive Health and Family Planning”.

 

Dr Addo painted a gloomy picture of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the country and hinted that 160 billion cedis would be needed to cater for AIDS patients per annum by 2014 and about 70 billion cedis this year, if it was not controlled.

 

By 2014, about 344,000 AIDS patients between the ages of 15 and 49 were likely to die, he said, adding that the biggest “window of hope” for the country would be from ages five to14.

 

He stressed on the need for stakeholders to intensify their interventions to limit sexual transmission which should include promotion of abstinence, faithfulness and availability of condoms, delaying of onset of activity in adolescent, reducing the overall number of sexual partners and control of other sexual infections.

GRi…/

 

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Graphic Showbiz

GTV loses ¢200 million to TV3

 

The national television station, GTV has lost over ¢200 million to major rival station TV3 due to what television industry observes see as the nonchalant attitude of marketing officials of GTV which has driven sponsors to withdraw two popular programmes.

 

Since late last year “Greetings From Abroad” produced by Premier Productions and sponsored by Western Union Money Transfer, and lately “Things We Do For Love” produced by Ad Vantage Productions and sponsored by GSMF and John Hopkins University, have been axed from GTV and are currently running on TV3. For the current year, the two programmes alone are estimated to fetch over ¢200 million.

 

Greetings From Abroad is a programme, which seeks to bring Ghanaians living abroad and those at home together through the magic of television. In a chat with Showbiz, Nana Adjoa Awindor, managing director of Premier Productions International, producers of the programme, said she tried to get an evening slot for the programme on behalf of her sponsors who felt the GTV slot of Saturday afternoon was not good enough.

 

She said that she pursued her demand with GTV for quite a while to get them to re-allocate the programme but all her efforts proved futile. The best GTV promised to do was to shift it to 4.30 pm and even that was not forthcoming.

 

She said the programme’s sponsor’s, Western Union Money Transfer, therefore wrote a letter addressed to the Programmes Manager on the same issue but that did not yield any results either.

 

With no favourable response coming form GTV, the sponsors approached TV3 to request an evening slot and “that was it”. Nana Adjoa says that the evening slot that the programme now has at TV3 is working fine as the evening is more convenient.

 

She said that her production team will begin a new tour in March and together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be addressing issues concerning Ghanaians abroad.

 

With regard to Things We Do For Love, Mr Ivan Quashigah, producer and Director of the programme told the ‘Showbiz’ that the shift from GTV to TV3 was solely a sponsor’s decision.

 

He hinted however that Ghana Social Marketing Foundation (GSMF) and John Hopkins University, major sponsors of the programme who are also deeply involved in the production together with the producers, realised that the cost for the production together with the cost of airtime was becoming too much for them to bear.

 

They looked at the options available, went into negotiations with both GTV and TV3 and decided to go to TV3 who gave them a better package.

More…/

 

S.K. Oppong - The final journey

 

Come February 1 musicians, actors and sympathisers will troop to the Arts Centre to pay their last respects to the late actor and musician, Samuel Kwasi Oppong, popularly known as S.K. Oppong who passed away last December after a short illness. A family spokesperson told Showbiz that burial will take place at the Osu cemetery on February 2 and preparations are being made to give him a befitting burial.

 

Being one of six brothers born to Opanin Kwasi Tweneboa and Madam Abena Burunya, Oppong’s earliest musical influence was his father who was a palmwine guitarist. His father used to perform at funerals and other events and he used to watch and listen and often practised in his absence.

 

As the only one among his brothers who loved music, Oppong taught one of his brothers Kwaku Boa how to play the guitar and apremprensemna- the Akan hand piano- so he could have someone to play music with.

 

He began primary school in 1946 and left in 1955. Kwesi Koraa, leader of Kwesi Koraa Guitar Band noticed him and invited him to join the band with permission from his father. Oppong played with him for almost two years in the Brong Ahafo Region.

 

He left for Accra where he became a member of the Accra Trio. It was when the trio travelled to Kumasi to perform at the Kumasi Town Hall that they first caught the attention of A.K. Badu, a producer with Ambassador Records.

 

After the show A.K. Badu invited the trio to record in his studio and before he knew it, S.K. Oppong recorded and released his first album in 1959. Later that year Oppong started his own band, The Oppong Guitar Band, which was based in Accra and also performed in Togo and La Cote d’Ivoire. The songs that he wrote and performed were all about social issues like death, marriage, religion and worship and all kinds of relationships.

 

Gifted with some acting skills, Oppong started his concert party that same year and so included himself in plays whiles his band provided music. Oppong continued to perform live concert parties with his guitar band through the 1960s and into the 1970s, touring all over Ghana.

 

In 1972, Nana Bosompra, a producer at GBC invited Oppong’s band to perform some shows. It was after this that Nana Bosompra decided he wanted to produce a series of plays and that became the popular Osofo Dadzie. Oppong performed “Osofo Dadzie” for sixteen years.

 

Together with Nana Bosompra they created the Cantata series, which still runs on GTV weekly, and his absence will indeed be felt by its numerous viewers. Memories of S.K. Oppong will remain in the showbiz fraternity for a long time to come. He left behind a wife and nine children.

GRi…/

 

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Weekly Insight

Kufuor’s Minsters In War Over Turf
 
Some ministers in the Kufuor administration are reported to be engaged in an intense war over turf and despite moves initiated by President Kufuor to solve these problems, they still persist.

The Weekly Insight newspaper says “one fierce battle is raging in the financial sector where Honourable Osafo-Maafo has locked horns with Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister for Economic Planning and Regional Integration.” An attempt by the President to settle the dispute during his visit to Paris appears to have failed as the combatants continue to fire unguarded missiles, the paper alleges.

“Sources close to the Presidency told the Weekly Insight that the President has warned both ministers of the dire consequences of the struggles over turf. Before the Paris meeting, the President asked Dr. Nduom to work hard at improving his working relationship with Mr. Osafo-Maafo.” The troubles apparently began when Dr. Nduom allegedly asked an official of the Ministry of Finance for some vital information without reference to the Minister.

Mr. Osafo-Maafo is also alleged to have instructed members of his staff not to release any information directly to Dr. Nduom who is likely to take over the portfolio of finance in a Cabinet reshuffle expected early this year has not helped matters. Mr. Osafo-Maafo is said to have the full confidence of important sections of the leadership of the NPP whiles Dr. Nduom is said to be close to the President.

According to the newspaper, “the first sign of trouble popped up when discussions at a Cabinet meeting on the need for harmony in the financial sector was leaked to the press with slant. Newspaper reports earlier said Senior Minister, John Henry Mensah, who was then Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission was over bearing and that Dr. Nduom was unhappy with the situation.

The first cabinet reshuffle announced by the President appears to have confirmed the leak especially as Mr. Mensah was removed from his schedule. “Two weeks ago, the crisis burst into the open when The Independent reported the NPP hawks were tormenting persons who are known to be close to the President.”

The list of tormented friends of the President published by “The Independent” included Mr. Nick Amartefio, a businessman, Mr. Sam Jonah, Chief Executive of Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC) and Dr. Nduom. The paper’s publication fueled rumours and speculations linking a possible cabinet reshuffle with the campaign to off load the government’s Golden Share in Ashanti.

The apparently baseless accusation is that Mr. Osafo-Maafo is opposed to the sale of the government’s golden shares in AGC and that his removal as minister for finance may ease the way for Ghana to sell the priced shares.

There have been other reports of a fight between the Minister of education, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi and the Minister in charge of Basic, Secondary and Girl Child Education, Ms. Christine Churcher. “In this conflict too, Professor Ameyaw-Ekumfi has been portrayed as an outsider whiles Ms. Churcher has been described as a loyal member of the NPP with links to the Attorney-General, Nana Akufo-Addo,” the Weekly Insight said.

GRi…/

 

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