Akwei’s mystery death
Court foils NDC Rigging Plan
Agyenim-Boateng gives NPP More Headache
Ghanaian Times WAEC to pay 6m
New code of ethics for schools
President’s office orders impeachment proceedings
Rawlings must go – workers demand
Akwei’s mystery death
The Accra Mail, a newly outdoored weekly news paper, in its maiden edition revisits the murder of Dr. Clement Akwei, former Greater Accra Regional director of the Veterinary Services.
In a banner headline ‘Akwei’s mystery death’, the paper reports that two years after the murder, the police have not been able to catch the culprits.
The paper quotes the Police Public Relations Director, Deputy Superintendant A. Awuni, as saying the police has still not identified the murderers because the public has not volunteered information, despite the five million cedis tag placed on the killers.
It will be recalled that Dr. Akwei was brutally murdered in November 1997 at Cantonments, one of Accra’s finest residential areas, in a swift morning operation described by crime experts as the work of a well-trained murder squad.
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Court foils NDC Rigging Plan
The paper flashes a banner headline "Court foils NDC Rigging Plan". According to the paper, a move by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to influence the Electoral Commission (EC) on the impending rebellion against Nana Akwasi Agyeman, Chief Executive, Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (K.M.A) has back fired.
According to the paper a hastily convened meeting scheduled for last Friday, to vote in favour of the KMA Chief Executive was torpedoed, when the Kumasi High Court slapped an eleventh-hour injunction on the presiding member and the Electoral Commission, restraining them from convening the meeting and conducting the election.
The paper continued that, the Assembly voted 50-2 in favour of the petition signed by 46 members of the assembly calling for a vote of no confidence in Nana Akwasi Agyeman.
The paper added that due to this vote, a high powered government delegation led by the Minister of Local Government & Rural development, Mr. Kwamena Ahwoi, Mr. Daniel Ohene Agyekum, Greater Accra Regional Minister and Prof. Patrick Twumasi of the office of the President and former High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, was dispatched to Kumasi on Wednesday in a move to stop the removal of the K.M.A chief executive from office.
The paper concluded that, as part of the government’s strategy, unconfirmed reports had it that 27 appointees were given symbols to be written on the back of the ballot paper as a way of identifying those for or against the K.M.A. Chief Executive, before the court granted the assembly members temporary injunction which was served the Electoral Commission.
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Agyenim-Boateng gives NPP More Headache
The paper carries a banner headline "Agyenim-Boateng gives NPP More Headache". According to the story, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is allegedly planning to wage an all out war against the former General Secretary of the Party, Mr. Agyenim Boateng for threatening to sue the NPP for an alleged embarrassment.
According to the story, an emergency meeting held last Tuesday, July, 13, at the Party’s headquarters agreed among other things to confiscate a printing machine
believed to have been bought by Dr kofi Abrefa Busia, Prime Minister of the second Republic, but which has been in the custody of Mr Agyenim Boateng.
Dr Busia it is believed bought the machine to be used in political organisation after his overthrow in 1972 for but was registered in the name of Mr Agyenim-Boateng to avoid being confiscated by the then military government..
According to the paper, some of the charges brought against the former General Secretary was failing to return three official cars in his possession after leaving office, and divulging party secrets to the "Democrat and "Palaver" news papers, which the Party considers as their bitter enemies.
Meanwhile, the paper stated that, the validity of this demand was questioned by the member of Parliament for Sunyani East and also the Minority leader in Parliament saying "if Mr. Agyenim Boateng must return the printing machine to the NPP, then all the leading members of the party who received huge sums of money from Dr. Busia from London must also return their booty to the party".
The paper concluded that Mr. Agyenim Boateng is comfortably operating his printing business without any fear or threat since the machines were officially registered in his name as far back as the 70s.
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WAEC to pay 6m
The Ghanaian Times reports that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has been ordered by a Cape Coast High Court to pay six million cedis to Mr. Bernard Abaidoo as general damages for wrongful cancellation of his examination results in 1996.
In a front page story headlined "WAEC ordered to pay 6m", the Times says the council will pay an additional 300,000 cedis and 500,000 cedis to cover for Abaidoo’s transportation cost and inconveniences associated with WAEC’s action.
The story reports that Abaidoo in 1995 sat for the November-December GCE ‘A’ Level examination but had his Economics paper withheld and later cancelled by WAEC, who barred him from writing any of its examinations for three years.
The Times furthered that it was later discovered that Mr. Abaidoo had been wrongfully punished, being innocent of WAEC’s claim.
The paper quotes Mrs. Justice Heward-Mills as saying, in her ruling, that Mr. Abaidoo had suffered immense loss as a result of WAEC’s action. "The potential damage to the plaintiff who was seeking to enter the University could not be calculated" the papersaid.
Mr. Abaidoo had sued the examination body for unlawfully and unjustifiably withholding his results and was consequently demanding damages, which the court
New code of ethics for schools
In another front page story the Times reports that the Ministry of Education will be introducing a new code of ethics for schools very soon, to help check acts of indiscipline.
The Times quotes Dr. Mohammed Ibu Chambas, Deputy Minister of Education in charge of tertiary education as saying that the increasing reports of indecent acts and criminality of various kinds concerning schools had been of great concern to the Ministry and the Ghana Education Service (GES).
These, he is reported as saying, were undermining the modest, achievements made in the effort to improve the countries educational system and warned that MOE, will not hesitate in applying the necessary measures to protect innocent children.
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President’s office orders impeachment proceedings
Writing under the heading President’s office orders impeachment proceedings, the dispatch reports of an impeachment proceedings being instituted against Dr. J.E. Oppong, Deputy Chairman (Programme) of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at the request of the office of the president.
According to the paper Dr. J.E. Oppong is being sanctioned for misbehaviour, incompetence and inability to perform functions of his office.
The paper indicates that a source close to the office of the president confirms the existence of the Acquah Committee set up to start the impeachment proceedings against the Deputy Chairman in accordance with the constitution.
The committee is made up of three judges. Other members include the Head of the Civil Service Dr. Robert Dodoo and Dr. Francis Agbley Deputy chairman of the Public Service Commission.
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Rawlings must go – workers demand
The Public Agenda reports that events on the local scene took a dramatic turn for the worse last week when protesting workers symbolically conducted the funeral of the Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Austin Game.
It was in reality President Rawlings and his government’s exit they were demanding by putting him in the same coffin with the deputy minister.
Also in the coffin says the Agenda, was Mr. Mohammed Hijagi, the Lebanese, Managing Director of Africa Automobile Limited (AAL) and its sister company Automobile International Limited (AIL), who is alleged to have pulled a gun on workers of his company who were demanding the right to unionise.
The report continues that as the placard-bearing members of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) poured out their grievances during their protest rallies, it was clear that one of their major concerns was what they perceived as the governments overriding concern about attracting investors at the expense of workers interest.
According to the report the workers accused President Rawlings of rarely missing an opportunity to caution workers against the possibility that strikes and other forms of unrest would scare off investors.
Gammey a former trade unionist is reported to have said on July 9 that his Ministry will not support any group of workers or management to aggravate the current labour unrest in the country. Although the Minister did not mention any union management in particular, observers believe it was a response to the deputy minister’s pronouncements, the workers said they had lost confidence in Gammey and would not sit down for their rights to be trampled upon.
The ICU is said to have given an ultimatum on July 8, two weeks earlier, demanding that government intervene to compel management of the AAL to respect the company’s workers’ right to join a trade union.
The denial of this right had resulted in violent clashes in June and the dismissal of some of the workers.
Commenting on the threat of death by the Lebanese on GTV, ICU general Secretary Napoleon Kpoh said "the MD pulled a gun to the head of employees and a report was made to the police yet the man is still walking around a free man". The police are reported to have said the matter was beyond them.
Meanwhile the shock waves following the bungled implementation of the government’s long awaited medium term wage policy and the resultant threats by workers to lay down their tools were yet to die down.
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