GRi Press Review
Ghana 14 - 06 - 2001
NDC writ
dismissed
Police
retrieve arms cache from suspect
President
begins national tour
Rawlings
explains his speech
'Wabo no
free' Tony Aidoo slapped
CPP lauds
return to constitutionalism
The hero
policeman
Akwasi
Agyeman arraigned before court
Extend fast
track court to supreme court - Ebo Quashie
Ghanaians
in danger in Liberia
Victim
blames Pilot
Family
halts outdooring ceremony
Lotto
racket uncovered
NDC writ
dismissed
The Supreme
Court, in a unanimous decision, on Wednesday dismissed a writ filed by the
National Democratic Congress (NDC) seeking a perpetual injuction to restrain
the Electoral Commission (EC) from conducting elections of regional
representatives to the Council of State.
The Daily
Graphic says the court, presided over by the Acting Chief Justice, Mr Justice
E.K. Wiredu, held that despite the vacancy of the position of Chief Executives
for the various district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies, they can
continue to function with their presiding members and the duly elected members
of the assemblies, including the 30 per cent government representation in
place.
Other
members of the nine-member panel were Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo, Mr Justice A.K.B.
Ampiah, Mr Justice E.D.K. Adjabeng, Mr Justice George K. Acquah, Mr Justice
William A Atugubah, Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo, Mr Justice George Lamptey and Mr
Justice Theodore Kwame Adzoe.
The court
explained that the Chief Executives are only ex-officio members of the
assemblies and their absence cannot hamper the work of the assemblies, if
two-thirds of the assembly members are present at any of their sittings.
It
contended that it is the duty of the Electoral Commission to give notice to
conduct elections and if the assemblies could not undertake such elections
because they were not properly constituted, it would be the assemblies, which
should be sued and not the Electoral Commission.
The court
said the plaintiff's action was misconceived and frivolous and should not be
entertained. No cost was awarded.
The NDC
filed a writ at the Supreme Court, seeking a perpetual injunction to restrain
the Electoral Commission (EC) from conducting elections of regional
representatives to the Council of State.
According
to the writ the notice to conduct elections for regional representatives to the
Council of State was inconsistent and in contravention of Article 89 (2) and
242 © and (d) of the 1992 Constitution.
The writ
prayed the court to restrain the defendants from conducting the elections until
the final determination of the suit.
More…/
Police
retrieve arms cache from suspect
The Kumasi
police have, in a special operation, retrieved a quantity of arms from a
27-year-old man suspected to be a member of a group, which allegedly supplies
arms to robbers in the metropolis and other parts of the country, says another
Daily Graphic story.
The seized
arms include six pistols, five revolvers, 21 locally-made Sten guns and
barrels, all of which were seized from Ousmanu Abbass, a blacksmith, during the
exercise, code-named 'Operation Redeem Image'.
The police
also retrieved six unserviceable revolvers, 23 unserviceable pistols, a large
ammunition, including 410 cartridges of garden guns and four empty pistol
magazines.
Other items
retrieved were the magazine of a revolver, four locally made butts, three hacksaw
blades, eight files, a bellow, a drilling machine, an anvil and three boxes of
blacksmith accessories.
Another man,
whose name was given only as Daniel, believed to be the brain behind the
production of the arms, is on the run and the police have mounted a search for
him.
Briefing
newsmen on Wednesday, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Mr Goerge Asiamah,
said in line with efforts to clamp down on armed robbers and their source of arms
supply in Kumasi, the police set up a number of investigative teams.
He said
upon a tip-off, a team managed to find out the area where the arms were manufactured
and serviced.
One of the
investigators feigned interest in one of the locally made pistols and bargained
for a price of ˘30,000 and in the course of the negotiations Abbass was
apprehended.
GRi…/
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President
begins national tour
President John
Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday asked Ghanaians to exercise restraint and give his
government time to put the economy into good shape, writes The Ghanaian Times.
Although
the government is only five months in office, it has made efforts to put the
various sectors of the economy on sound footing, which would soon reflect in
the lives of the people, President Kufuor said at separate durbars at Kasoa and
Winneba as part of his nationwide tour to thank Ghanaians for voting the NPP
into office.
He said
that Ghanaians should exercise patience and allow the government to deliver on
its promises, instead of engaging in acts that sought to undermine the growth
of the economy.
More…/
Rawlings
explains his speech
Ex-President
Jerry John Rawlings said on Wednesday that it was unfortunate that the speech
he gave on June 4 had been given all kinds of misinterpretations, reports the Ghana
Times in another story.
According
to him what he really meant was that "the country should never see a June
4 again".
The former
President said this is a brief speech when Members of Parliament belonging to
the National Democratic Congress (NDC) paid a courtesy call on him.
He said
that "the current use of deception, distortions and the misconstruing of
situations and speeches are not helpful for the political climate nurtured from
the PNDC era to the NDC era".
Flt. Lt.
Rawlings said: "I hope we are not seeing anything like an inquisition, but
we are ready because our hands and hearts are clean".
GRi…/
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'Wabo no
free' Tony Aidoo slapped
Dr. Tony Aidoo,
former deputy Minister of Defence in the Rawlings administration and NDC
hatchet-man, was last evening slapped in traffic during the rush hour around
the Fox Trap Nite Club at Adabraka, Accra, according to radio reports monitored
by the Chronicle.
Dr Tony
Aidoo, known for his bravado and penchant for abrasive talk, did not fight
back.
His
assailant, an unidentified person driving a white Daewoo Tico with registration
No. GR 4048 Q, sped off towards the Ridge Hospital area, as the helpless Dr.
Aidoo, for a moment, looked on in dismay.
Narrating
his ordeal on radio last night, Dr. Tony Aidoo said as he was coming down from
the Trust Towers towards Adabraka, he head someone shout his name. When he lowered his side glass to check who
it was, he heard his assailant ask, "You are Tony Aidoo eh… you people are
no longer in power … you insulted my minister on radio yesterday".
Tony Aidoo
said before he could say anything the guy slapped him. 'He slapped me just like
that, Tony Aidoo said.
He said his
efforts to complain to a police dispatch rider who happened to be driving
towards him drew a blank.
GRi…/
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CPP lauds
return to constitutionalism
The Nkrumahist
Convention People's Party (CPP) has applauded the return to "a more
civilized political dispensation" in which decency and genuine
accountability had assumed their real meanings.
According
to The Crusading Guide, the Party has therefore rededicated itself to the
struggle for the preservation of constitutional order against adventurist
incursions.
This was
contained in a message issued and signed by the National Chairman of the party,
Dr Abubakar Al-Hassan on the occasion of the 52nd anniversary of the
formation of the CPP.
The message
said, 'while we take pride in the establishment of the party on June 12, 1949
and the heroic feats of our forebearers during the anti-colonials struggles, we
also rededicate ourselves to the struggle against the force that are responsible
for our present crisis of under-development".
GRi…/
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The hero
policeman
The Policeman,
Corporal Kwaku Wuo, stationed at the Kaneshie Police Station who single-handedly
apprehended two armed robbers, shooting one in the process was on Wednesday
promoted to the rank of a Sergeant at the Police Headquarters in Accra, reports
the Accra Mail.
He was also
presented with a certificate of commendation by the Acting Inspector General of
Police (IGP), Mr Ernest Owusu-Poku at a brief commendation ceremony attended by
the rank and file of the Ghana Police Service at the Police Headquarters.
Mr
Osusu-Poku said, "the singular action of Wuo has brought back smiles on
the faces of all policemen and women, after the Accra Sports Stadium tragedy,
which shook the foundation of the Service and adversely affected morale as
service personnel became objects of public ridicule."
He said
Wuo's gallant gesture should send a signal to Ghanaians that in spite of the
unacceptable and unprofessional attitude of some service personnel, there are
some who are prepared to exhibit the highest standards of professionalism in
their work.
The IGP
advised all policemen to emulate the bravery of the Wuo to gain the respect of
the public, adding, "no amount of stage-managed propaganda can win us
public trust, confidence and co-operation. It is only a high standard of
professionalism that can give us the co-operation we want the public to offer
us."
GRi…/
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Akwasi
Agyemang arraigned before court
The
Independent reports that the former Mayor of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly
(KMA) Nana Akeasi Agyemang is to appear in court soon for allegedly assaulting one
Yaa Ofusuwa, a cloths dealer in Kumasi.
Sometime
last year, the Kumasi Metropolitan Chief was accused by Yaa Ofosuwa of assault.
Nana
persistently pleaded his innocence and considering his relationship with the
former President no policeman could dare investigate the matter.
Nana Akwasi
Agyemang, The Independent learnt, shoved off the poor lady anytime Nana Yaa
went to the police to remind them of her ordeal at the hands of the then Kumasi
terror.
He once
threatened that he did not know the complainant and that there had not been any
occasion that he ever met the lady in question.
Not
satisfied by the apparent injustice meted out to her, Ofosuwa in April this
year, reminded the police of her predicament at the hands of the former Mayor.
With Akwasi
Agyemang's unofficial immunity stripped by the coming into office of the Kufuor
administration, the police mustered the courage to re-visit the docket and
investigate the woman's allegations.
The
Independent found out that the policeman in charge of the case had finally
established after two months that Nana Agyemang indeed assaulted the woman.
No date has
been fixed yet for the hearing.
GRi…/
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Extend fast
track court to Supreme Court - Ebo Quashie
The
President of the Ghana Bar Association, Mr Ebo Quashie has advocated strongly
that the Fast Track Court trying the Former Youth and Sports Minister needs to
be extended to the Appeal and supreme Courts because that is the only way the
fast track court system can produce its desired impact.
The Ghanaian
Voice says he made the call at the 15th speaker's Breakfast forum
held on Monday June 11, 2001 at the speakers conference Hall in Accra.
Contributing
to the discussions, Mr Ebo Quashie said it would amount to naught if after an
expedite action in the High Courts because they are fast tracked delays are
registered at the Appeals and Supreme Court.
He
therefore advocated that the fast track courts system be extended to the other
superior courts.
GRi…/
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Ghanaians
in danger in Liberia
The
Ghanaian Democrat says reports reaching its political desk point to Ghanaians
in Liberia being caught in a crossfire as the youth of the sister country are
up in arms against Ghanaians following a news report that Ghanaian Authorities
have been rounding-up Liberian citizens for working in Ghana without permit.
According
to signals received by the Ghanaian Democrat from Monrovia, Liberians are
hounding out Ghanaians who are said to have formed not less than five per cent
of the working population.
Most of
these Ghanaian work without any permit in the spirit of ECOWAS.
Liberians
went berserk last week following BBC and VOA news reports that a Liberian
broadcaster in Ghana, Mr Ambrose Darry, has been arrested and detained by the
new rulers in Ghana for not possessing relevant working documents.
GRi…/
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Victim
blames Pilot
Firm
director, scriptwriter and producer, Thyron T. Adusu has blamed the Air Force
pilot who flew the plane and aviation staff for making him lose one leg in the
Airlink air crash that occurred at Accra airport on June 5, last year which
took seven lives, reports The Graphic Showbiz
"I was
appalled," T.T., as he is better known, told a visibly touched Kwaku Sakyi
Addo on his programme Kwaku One-on-One telecast last Sunday on GTV. "I must say that the pilot must have
done something to the aircraft."
T.T. said
that although he is not an aviation expert, he has flown often enough to know
that when an aircraft is arriving at an airport, there is a system that tells
the pilot and ground aviation staff the proximity of the plane.
"For
us to crash and be left waiting for as long as thirty minutes is
appalling," he said.
The
statements by T.T., is about the only public criticism that has been made by
any of the 45 surviving victims of the crash. A committee, set up to investigate the crash, is yet to publicise its
report.
It appears
however that what comes out of the committee's report would not meet the
expectations of all the crash victims such as T.T. He is upset that there was "not enough transparency" in
the conduct of investigations into the cause of the accident.
"No
photos were taken, the wreckage was removed, and all that before a committee
was set up to investigate. Investigate
what?
GRi…/
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Family
halts outdooring ceremony
Relatives,
friends and well wishers who had gathered at the 'Unique step spot', Tema
Newtown to outdoor the newly born baby boy of Isaiah Gyamfi and Faustina Otoo
were suddenly taken aback when a group of young men 'red eyed, stormed the
premises and brought the ceremony to an abrupt halt.
According
to the P & P they told the bewildered invited guests that the baby being
out-doored belongs to their elder brother, a sailor who had gone to sea. It was a pathetic scene as the MC for the
ceremony called it off midway through while guests left the scene in anger and
disappointment.
Speaking to
the P & P, Maxwell Agbeko, an auto mechanic related that his elder brother,
has been in a relationship with Faustina, a native of Cape Coast for about
three years until she conceived sometime last year and gave birth on May 2,
2001.
He said
even though the lovers stayed at different places, Faustina continuously
visited his brother, Ernest Agbeko at his Nugua residence. Two weeks after the
birth of the baby, Agbeko named him Komla Agbeko Jnr, after which he left for
sea.
According
to Maxwell he was in the house on May 19, when he was informed that Faustina's
baby was being renamed by another man at Newtown.
He therefore
mobilized some family members to disrupt the ceremony pending the arrival of
their brother.
On his
part, Gyamfi, 34, who was naming the child related that he met and fell in love
with Faustina in January last year and had been with her until she became
pregnant.
He said he
also took care of all her ante natal expenses and also paid all the expenses
incurred at the Tema General Hospital where she delivered adding, "I was
therefore shocked to the bone when the young men stormed the naming ceremony to
claim the baby. Disappointed Gyamfi has however, threatened to drag Faustina to
the Department of Social Welfare to claim whatever he has spent on her.
All
attempts by P & P to get Faustina who is at the center of the controversy
to give her side of the episode proved futile as we were told she had traveled
to her hometown after the disgraceful incident.
GRi…/
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Lotto
racket uncovered
The
Department of National Lotteries (DNL) is yet to come to terms with a ˘900
million fraud case which has been the source of discomfiture to the department
for sometime now.
The Evening
News says investigations are currently going on to unravel the mystery and the
personalities behind the fraud, which is crippling the DNL.
"Evening
News" investigations have, however, revealed that staff of the sorting
room of the DNL have teamed-up with some members of the national Lotto
Receivers Union (NLRU) to visit the fraud on the nation.
Sources
close to NDL say about 200 staff who do the manual sorting of winning coupons
at the DNL hide blank coupons on their bodies and fill in the winning numbers while
sorting and mix them up with winning coupons for payment.
This,
according to sources close to the DNL has not only affected the operations of
the Department but also its contributions towards national revenue.
Apart from
the fraud being perpetrated at the DNL, a lot of the monies that are raised as
a result of the sale of coupons go into unconventional procurements, which
cannot be justified, the 'Evening News' learnt.
GRi…/
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