Call in the veterans to solve murders - Senior Citizen
Upper East Service
Personnel allege ghost names
NDC party
executive asked to be transparent
NPP can change country's fortunes – Chairman
Armed robbers raid two houses in Accra
Slow start to exhibition of provisional voters' register
Accra (Greater Accra) 11 July 2000
Mr Peter Nanfuri, Inspector General of Police, on Monday said the police are not to blame for the slow handling of cases involving serial killing suspects.
He said apart from such cases involving thorough and in-depth investigations before the guilt of a suspect is established, the police have no constitutional right to detain a suspect for more than 48 hours after effecting an arrest.
Mr Nanfuri was addressing demonstrating women who converged at the Police Headquarters in Accra.
The women were demonstrating against the resurgence of the serial killing of women in Accra and the inability of the police to nab the killer or killers.
The women's action was part of measures being taken to impress upon the government and the security agencies the need to take more pragmatic and positive actions in tracking down those behind the serial killings and bring them to book.
The women, wearing mourning cloths with red head-gears and arm bands and waving placards, chanted dirges and war songs and complained bitterly about the inability of the police to halt the gruesome murders since they started about three years ago.
They also accused the police of not treating the killing of women under mysterious circumstances with the same zeal they did to the murder of two policemen at Ablekuma and the Kofi Kyinto murder case.
Mr Nanfuri said the duty of the police is to arrest suspects, finalise investigations into murder cases and hand the docket over to the Attorney General's Office for advice, and then hand suspects over to the courts for prosecution.
He said the police have no right to detain a suspect and monitor the suspect's activities after the court has granted him bail.
The IGP said the police were disgusted and embarrassed by the resurgence of serial murders of women.
"We have arrested a lot of suspects but the lack of evidence makes it difficult to prosecute them."
He, therefore, called on the public to co-operate with the police by furnishing it with information to help track down the perpetrators.
Mr Nanfuri s advised the women to contact the Attorney General's Department and the courts on the undue delays in taking action against murder suspects.
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Bolgatanga (Upper East) 11 July
2000
Mr Francis Afoko, a retired
policeman, has called on the Police Administration to seek the aid of crack and
experienced retried local crime investigators to help unravel the mysteries of
the Accra murders instead of going in for foreign detectives.
He said the country has retired
crack detectives who could assist if only they were officially invited.
Mr Afoko, who was speaking to the
Ghana News Agency at Bolgatanga, said members of the public are not forthcoming
with information on the murders because they are not sure their identities
would be protected.
Night patrols should be
intensified and random checkpoints mounted, especially during the night.
Every vehicle must be checked
irrespective of the make or number plate, he said, adding, "some policemen
at checkpoints always ask people ridding expensive vehicles to go without a
thorough check. This must stop."
Mr Afoko noted that if the
enthusiasm with which the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) mounts road
checks were shifted to the night patrols, the perpetrators of the gruesome
murders would be nipped.
He said the police should be more
proactive and not wait until the crime is committed for them to go in to
investigate.
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Upper East
Service Personnel allege ghost names
Bolgatanga (Upper East) 11 July
2000
National Service Personnel in the
Upper East Region on Monday claimed that they have identified ghost names on
their allowance pay vouchers (PVS) in the Bawku East District and called for
immediate investigations.
They have also resolved not to
participate in the celebration of the annual service week and threatened to
withdraw their services until their grievances are appropriately addressed.
The Regional National Service
Personnel Association (NASPA) executive declaring this at a press conference at
Bolgatanga, asserted that the Regional Secretariat is insensitive to the
concerns and welfare of service persons in the region.
The Regional President of NASPA,
Mr Konlan Binamin said there is lack of transparency at the Secretariat and
alleged illegal possession of NASPA documents such as cheque books and files by
some district co-ordinators.
He said the trend has rendered
administration of NASPA ineffective in the affected districts.
When the Regional Co-ordinator of
the NSS, Mr Charles Ayoung was contacted, he refuted the allegation of ghost
names on the PVS of some districts.
He, however, said that two service
persons alleged to have vacated their posts were still taking their allowances.
Mr Ayoung assured the personnel
that measures are underway to bring the culprits to book.
On the question of payment of
their arrears for November and December last year, Mr Ayoung said conditions
under which service persons are being paid their allowances stipulate that
payment should be effected from the date of reporting to the place of posting.
Adding however, that arrangements
were made with the NSS headquarters for the said arrears to be paid. "I
told them this and I don't understand what they are agitating for", he said.
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NDC party
executive asked to be transparent
Tamale (Northern Region) 11 July
2000
Members of the Garu-Tempane
National Democratic Congress (NDC) Youth Association in Tamale have called on
the National Executive of the party to institute transparent measures of
selecting parliamentary candidates to promote the principles of democracy and
fair play.
In a six-point petition signed by
the Acting Chairman of the Association, Mr. Andrews Bugri and released to the
GNA in Tamale on Monday, they expressed dissatisfaction with what they
described as the total lack of consultation and dialogue with the electorate,
when the National Executive of the party selected a parliamentary candidate to
represent them in the forthcoming general election.
They cited an impasse between Mr
Dominic Azumah, the incumbent MP for the constituency, and some supporters of
the party over his re-nomination.
The petition accused an outreach
team delegated by the party headquarters to resolve the issue of being partial.
"We are, therefore, urging
the party to send an impartial team to resolve the burning issue of the sharp
divisions" it added.
The petition warned that the NDC
is likely to lose the seat if prompt and serious steps are not taken to arrest
the situation.
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Tamale (Greater Accra) 11 July
2000
Dr Gamel Nasser Adam, Head of the
Department of Modern Languages at the University of Ghana, Legon has been
elected the parliamentary candidate of the Convention People's Party (CPP) for
Choggu-Tishegu constituency in Tamale.
Dr Adam was elected unopposed at
the constituency delegates' conference of the party in Tamale at the weekend.
Officials of the Electoral
Commission supervised the election.
Dr Adam thanked the delegates for
giving him the mandate to lead them in the December general election and
pledged to fight for good governance and the interests of workers when elected.
Adding that the focal point of the CPP's manifesto is the improvement of health
care delivery and education.
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Techiman (Brong Ahafo) 11 July
2000
Mr Kwadwo Yeboah Fordjour, Brong
Ahafo Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed concern
about the state of the national economy and called for a change of government
to turn the fortunes of the country around.
"The people are yearning for
a change, not only because the ruling government has ruled for too long, but
because their standard of living has fallen so low".
Speaking at a rally in Techiman at
which Mr Prince Oduro-Mensah, the party's parliamentary candidate for the
Techiman South constituency was introduced, the NPP chairman said the claim
that the difficulties the country is experiencing are as a result of external
factors "is false and is intended to throw dust into the eyes of the
people.
Mr Fordjour challenged the
government to do its homework by examining critically what has gone wrong
internally to address those problems.
He urged Ghanaians to vote
massively for the NPP, which, he said, can solve the problems facing the
country.
Earlier there was a float through
some principal streets of Techiman amidst brass band music and the distribution
of posters of the Flagbearer, Mr J. A. Kufuor and Mr Oduro-Mensah.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 July 2000
Armed robbers, numbering more than 12 raided two houses, brutalised the residents and made away with various sums of money and drugs at Southwest McCarthy Hill Estates, near Panbros Salt Industries in Accra.
The incident took place at dawn on Sunday amidst the firing of shots and threats of death. The robbers ransacked the two houses, one of which has a drug store attached, in a frantic search for money and valuables. This is the fifth time robbers have raided the drug store.
Speaking to the GNA, the terrified owner of the second house, who pleaded anonymity, said at about 1.35 a.m. on Sunday, he was awakened by the sound of people jumping over the wall of his house.
He said when he queried who they were, they replied: "Foolish old man, where is the money?"
They then advanced to the front of the house where they broke down the front door, took his son hostage and assaulted him and his grandson, both of whom they asked to show them where they could find money, while firing into the ceiling of the house to scare them.
They then left him and his grandson and broke into three rooms and took away five wrist watches and 150,000 cedis belonging to two of his daughters.
This, he said, gave him the chance to escape to look for help while the robbers continued assaulting the residents, including his wife, who is recovering from a recent surgical operation.
The man said the robbers left briefly only to return to look for him, saying since they could not get what they wanted, they would kill him and collect the keys to a Nissan bus parked in the house and make away with it. When they could not find him, they left.
He subsequently made a report to Weija police on Sunday morning.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 July 2000
The exhibition of the voters' register got off to a slow start on Monday with only a handful of eligible voters checking their names on the roll.
The Electoral Commission (EC) said the exhibition of the provisional voters' register throughout the country is to give registered voters and political parties the opportunity to undertake public inspection of the list.
The register is being exhibited at the various centres where the registration exercise took place earlier in the year. Registered voters are to make sure their names are on the roll at the centres they registered recently or in the previous exercises.
A tour of exhibition centres by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Monday showed lack of interest by members of the public some of whom said there had not been enough publicity on the exercise.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 July 2000
Dr. Charles Mensa, First Vice-President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), on Monday urged Ghanaian industrialists to ensure that their industries grow to be able to remain in the global competitive and liberalised market.
He said although the present difficult macro-economic situation and other external factors have contributed to the relatively slow industrial growth, there is a lot to be done at the company level to improve their competitiveness in the global market.
Dr. Mensah was opening a two-week workshop on "Strategic Management for Growth-oriented Companies" for members of the association in Accra.
It is meant to enhance the capabilities of industries to apply appropriate management measures in the rapidly changing environment and stay competitive.
"This is the time to develop the right strategies and skills to ensure optimal utilisation of our limited resources.
"Vision 2020 has challenged industries to spearhead economic growth to enable the country to achieve middle income status," he stated.
Dr. Mensa said, "local industries are having to face this challenge at a time when the economy is going through serious difficulties".
He said the AGI's role in industrial development should not be limited to policy advocacy alone but also to the provision of quality services through the development of its human resources to be abreast with the times.
Mr. Ebenezer Duodu, Director, Technical Services Division, AGI, stressed the importance of the workshop, saying it would enable the industrialist to stop old business practices.
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