GRi Press Review Ghana 19 - 06 - 2001
2 to initiate legal action
'Selormey directed transfer of $1,297,500'
Don't be tin gods
4 robbers grabbed at Tema
Charles Taylor & Cronies grab Accra houses
JAK going back on promises
Theft suspect dies of brain injury
NDC moves to strip Rawlings of title
'Fun fool' MPs to be punished
Korle Bu in ¢500 million malpractice suit
GJA resolution of impasse between two editors inconclusive
2 to initiate legal action
Two victims of the June 5, 2000, Airlink crash are to initiate court action against the office of the Attorney-General for compensation, according to The Daily Graphic.
Mr Thyron T.T. Adusu, a film and advertising director and the proprietor of Mediatouch, and Mrs Afua Yeboah, a public relations practitioner and actress, who suffered various degrees of injuries as a result of the crash, are taking up the action in order to seek the appropriate remedy.
Mr Adusu had a severed limb, requiring amputation at the 37 Military Hospital, Accra, while Mrs Yeboah had a broken leg.
The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and Wing Commander Kekrebesi, the pilot of the ill-fated aircraft, are also to be roped into the legal battle.
According to the two victims, apart from the injuries they sustained, they have incurred losses and would continue to incur considerable expenses owing to the level of their incapacity.
Dr Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson, a legal practitioner, is expected to hold the brief of the case.
The crash occurred when a Fokker 27 aircraft with 52 passengers and crew from Tamale to Accra crash-landed at the Kotoka International Airport.
Six of the passengers died on the spot. The rest of the passengers sustained various degrees of injuries.
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'Selormey directed transfer of $1,297,500'
The Operations Manager of ECOBANK Ghana Limited, Mr Kwame Akaba, on Monday led evidence at the Fast Track High Court to show how Mr. Victor Selormey, the Deputy Minister of Finance in the NDC administration, directed the bank to transfer a total of $1,297,500 into the account of a United States based company.
In his evidence in chief, Mr Akaba told the court, presided over by Mr Justice Sam Baddoo, an Appeal Court Judge who sat as an additional high court judge, that on November 27, 1998, the bank received an authorization letter from the Ministry of Finance, signed by Mr Selormey to transfer $432,500 from the accounts of the Trade and Investment Programme (TIP) of the ministry to Leebda Corporation of Texas.
He said the directive was in respect of the first payment of consultation fee for a court computerization project carried out by the company.
The witness said on receipt of the letter, the bank effected a swift transfer of the money to Leebda Corporation via the attention of one Dr Frederick Owusu-Boadu, a Ghanaian consultant with the company.
Mr Selormey is being tried on six counts of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretences and willfully causing financial loss to the state.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and is currently on a ¢1.5 billion bail with two sureties to be justified, reports the Graphic in another story.
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Don't be tin gods
President John Agyekum Kufuor, on Monday admonished District Chief Executives (DCEs) not to see themselves as all powerful and begin to treat the people with arrogance, reports The Ghanaian Times.
"Please, remember that you have not been appointed to become tin gods to lord it over the people. Let humility be your guideline at all times," he advised.
President Kufuor gave the advice at the Institution of Local Government Studies. Madina, near Accra at the opening of an orientation seminar for the 100 appointed DCEs.
The five-day seminar is aimed at providing human resource capacity building to enhance, equip and strengthen the DCEs for proper governance.
To ensure probity and accountability, President Kufuor, has directed the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and his two deputies to monitor the performance of the DCEs on weekly basis.
The President reminded the chief executives of the deprivations, penury, suffering, immense hardship, which he described as real and daunting.
"Be fair and firm: help cut down and eliminate waste in the system, enforce law and order and promote peace," he charged.
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4 robbers grabbed at Tema
The Tema Police has arrested four suspected armed-robbers in the Tema municipality, according to The Ghanaian Times.
They are George Agoh, Paul Armarh Sabbah, Akwasi Paga and Akrobilla Nagodey.
Mrs. Agnes Sikanartey, Tema Regional Police Commander, disclosed these at a news conference on recent arrests made by the police.
She said that six others had been arrested for possessing narcotics at a hideout noted to harbour armed robbers at the Heavy Industrial Area.
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Charles Taylor & Cronies grab Accra houses
The Chronicle says reports indicate that at a time that Liberia has not been able to rent a property to house its Embassy, President Charles Taylor, estimated by THE TIMES of London to be worth $2.8 billion, like other leaders of the war-ravaged country, are amassing properties in Accra.
Taylor, whose family members live in Accra, is reported to have added a palatial residence housing his family members at McCarthy Hill, Accra, to his list of properties across the ECOWAS sub-region. Several of his ministers and ex-ministers have also snapped-up juicy properties in Ghana's capital, Chronicle gathered.
Ghana is the favourite address of Liberian leaders and refugees among countries in the West African sub-region and is home to an estimated 30,000 citizens who have fled the carnage at home.
Information gathered from the Liberian sources in Accra as well as reports in The New Democrat, a Liberian newspaper last week revealed that several Liberian leaders are acquiring properties and business interests in Ghana. Interestingly, Liberia, which is under UN sanctions and ravaged by a new civil war that has generated fear of uncertainty in Monrovia, has not been able to house its Embassy since 1996 when it was ejected from its Switchback Road-Cantonments office over its inability to pay rent for years.
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JAK going back on promises
The former Minister of Communications, Mr John Mahama, has said President Kufuor has broken his electoral promise of reaching out to the people and promoting rural development since he has been making external tours at the expense of visits to the regions of country.
"The President has in the past six months in office only visited his home base, the Ashanti Region, but has embarked on more foreign travels." This, the ex-Minister contends, is "unfortunate and a drain on the national economy", quotes The Chronicle.
The ex-Minister who was speaking in a telephone interview on Kapital Radio, a local FM station in Kumasi, suggested that President Kufuor delegates Vice-President Aliu Mahama and other Ministers to represent him on such foreign invitations and concentrate on revamping the national economy.
According to Mr Mahama, much as the President is expected to travel abroad to woo investors into the country, he should not shirk that responsibility to provide quality and affordable healthcare and education, food and other basic necessities towards improving living conditions of Ghanaians.
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Theft suspect dies of brain injury
Another Chronicle story says a pathologist report on a deceased who was on remand at the Community 1 police cells for allegedly stealing a container belt, revealed that the deceased, Akwasi Panin, a driver's mate died of severe cerebral oedema, subgratal haematoma in the occipital region and head injuries.
In the dock were Francis Avi, night watchman at the Total Filling station at Ashaiman and Ralph Amartey, a pump attendant charged with murder and were remanded to re-appear on June 27.
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NDC moves to strip Rawlings of title
In a bid to improve its public image and to present itself as a caring and tolerant party the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is set to make major amendments to its constitution, writes The Evening News..
The proposed amendments, which enjoy the support of the vast majority of the party's followers will automatically see radical changes in the leadership.
NDC insiders have told "The Evening News" that at its next national congress, the clause in the party's constitution, which confers on former President J.J. Rawlings the title Leader and Founder will be expunged.
"When passed, Jerry Rawlings will then have no constitutional role to play in our party" the insider said.
It is reliably learnt that the decision to abolish the position of Leader and Founder followed the numerous resolutions presented to the national re-organization committees of the party which recently toured the length and breath of the country to get the views of the rank and file as to how the party should be re-organized, after its defeat in the last general elections.
According to him majority of the supporters said the leadership made the mistake during the campaign in the last election by presenting Jerry Rawlings as if he was the Presidential candidate and not Prof. John Atta Mills.
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'Fun fool' MPs to be punished
The Daily Guide says some representatives of the people in the House of Parliament have been accused of playing truant when they report for work and thus fooling their constituents that they are in Parliament to pursue their interests.
This was made know by Hon A.S.K. Bagbin, Minority Leader in Parliament at a two-day induction seminar for Members of Parliament (MPs) at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Greenhill, Accra, at the weekend.
According to Mr Bagbin, some MPs "run-away" and virtually dodge sittings after signing the Attendance Register.
Hon Bagbin, who was the chairman of a discussion programme, made his concerns know after Rt. Hon. Justice D.F. Annan, former Speaker of Parliament and Rt. Hon Peter Ala-Adjetey, the current Speaker, had both expressed concern about absenteeism of MPs from Parliament.
Bagbin said in order to curb the canker of absenteeism in the Legislature the leadership of Parliament is taking a number of measures, one of which, is to make members sign the Register more than once in the course of the day's sittings.
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Korle Bu in ¢500 million malpractice suit
The Korle Bu Teaching hospital is due to appear in court to answer a case of negligence brought against it by a couple based in Accra, reports The Accra Mail.
Lawyers of Mohammed Awal, a travel and tour executive and his wife Portia Fordjour on June 12, 2001 filed a writ at an Accra High Court claiming general and exemplary damages in the sum of ¢500 million for the loss of their unborn baby, which they alleged died because of "deliberate negligence" on the part of a doctor and a team of nurses who attended to Portia when she was admitted at the hospital in February this year.
The action was taken because a letter written by the plaintiff's solicitor has been ignored by the hospital. In the April 5 edition of The Accra Mail, Awal said he was considering suing the hospital for the loss of his daughter.
The writ said during the nine months' pregnancy, Portia who is the second plaintiff, regularly attended the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, where a particular doctor took care of her. The writ said the doctor provided all the antenatal care for Portia throughout her period of pregnancy, until February 24 when a senior nurse predicted that she would deliver at 12.45. She did not deliver on February 24; neither did the baby come on the subsequent days (25 and 26 February).
According to the writ, even though the second plaintiff, with the consent of her husband (Awal) signed an authorization for a caesarian operation to be performed on her on February 24, the doctors did not perform the operation until late in the evening of February 26, 2001.
All through the period - which was from February 25-26 the medical team put her on drip, without food. The eventual caesarian operation revealed a dead baby.
The date for hearing is yet to be fixed.
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GJA resolution of impasse between two editors inconclusive
The Ethics Committee of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has resolved the imbroglio between Mr. Elvis Aryeh, editor of the Daily Graphic and Mr Kofi Coomson, editor of The Ghanaian Chroncile but there appears to be something inconclusive about the settlement, according to The Crusading Guide.
Readers will recall that in a radio discussion on May 2, 2001 on Joy FM, Mr Coomson made allegations of impropriety against the Daily Graphic Mr Elvis Aryeh, who also reacted in a Graphic editorial of May 3, 2001 and made a series of allegations of improper conduct against Mr Kofi Coomson.
Dissatisfied, Kofi Coomson, reacted to the Graphic editorial by making accusations of lack of professional judgement against Elvis Aryeh.
The Committee, made up of Mrs. Frances Ademola (Chairperson); Mr Kafui Asem; Mr Kwesi Afriyie Badu; Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu; Dr. Anthony Bonnah Koomson; Mr Kweku Rockson; Mr Frank K. Kludje (Member-Secretary) and Mr Bright Blewu (Member-Liaison); acknowledged that the two senior journalists were motivated by their desire to uphold media accountability.
However, it discovered that "their mode of approach fell short of professional etiquette".
Mr Coomson, reacting to the settlement told The Crusading Guide that he had told the Committee at least ten times that he was interested in the truth first and then reconciliation which he said appeared to be the preoccupation of the Committee.
He intimated that he gave it (Committee) a memo and court document as well as clues that could help them arrive at the truth themselves since Mr. Aryeh was unable and/or unwilling to substantiate any of the serious allegations he (Aryeh) made against him (Coomson).
Coomson recalled that Aryeh had come up with an excuse that he was unwilling to substantiate his allegations before the Committee.
"He has no evidence and the pressure should now be on the Board of Directors of Graphic Communications Group to restrain him from using State resources to fight his battle", Coomson said.
Meanwhile, many Journalists have expressed the view that the Ethics Committee had failed in really resolving the issue.
However, according to a post-settlement release signed by Mrs. Frances Ademola, Kofi Coomson had admitted that he had been unduly harsh in his criticism and in a like manner, Elvis Aryeh also conceded that he had reacted harshly under provocation.
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