Tsatsu for High Court on Friday
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, a concerned citizen has filed an action at the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, Speaker of Parliament as the acting President.
According to Professor Asare, the purported swearing-in of Mr Ala Adjetey as acting President of Ghana on Monday, February 25, was inconsistent with or is in contravention of the 1992 Constitution and is therefore unconstitutional.
The appointment of Mr Ala Adjetey is therefore void and of no effect, he contended. The plaintiff is therefore seeking a perpetual injunction to restrain Mr Ala Adjetey and any other person, succeeding to the office of Speaker Parliament from performing the functions of President of the Republic of Ghana, except in the event of the President and the Vice President being unable to perform the function of the President.
The action was filed by the plaintiff’s counsel, Dr. P.E. Bondzi-Simpson. Professor Asare in his application said, on January 7, 2001 His Excellency, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, was sworn-in as the President of Ghana, by the then Chief Justice, His Lordship Kobina Abban, pursuant to Article 53 (3) of the 1992 constitution.
On Monday, February 25, 2002, it was reported extensively in the print and electronic media that the President was about to travel to Singapore and then to Australia to perform various duties in his capacity as Head of State and Head of Government.
In Singapore, President Kufuor was to meet the President and also the prime Minister of Singapore, and in Australia he was to attend a Conference of Commonwealth Heads of State and Governments.
According to the plaintiff, the same media that reported the President’s impending travels also reported that in the light of the Vice President’s absence from Ghana, due to his earlier travel on a Hajj to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the Speaker Mr Ala Adjetey was to be sworn in to perform the duties of President.
The Speaker, he noted was in fact purportedly sworn-in to perform the functions of President in a ceremony that took place in Parliament house, Accra, spanning the late hours of Sunday, February 25, 2002.
The plaintiff argued that the effect of the swearing-in of the Speaker to perform the functions of President is that, if not declared unconstitutional, void and of no effect, there would be two Presidents for the Republic of Ghana.
According to him, “a situation of dual Presidency creates, and is a recipe to creating untold chaos and confusion”. He said during the Presidency of Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings between 1993 and 2001, on two occasions, a similar situation occurred when the then Speaker, Mr Justice D.F. Annan was sworn-in to perform the duties of President.
The appointment of the Speakers by both the previous government and the present government, he said, were in all likelihood and most probably done innocently under the mistaken appreciation and misapprehension of the law.
According to the plaintiff, the facts aforementioned and the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Mr Ala Adjetey to perform the duties of President, are so notorious and well known that the honourable and august Supreme Court might take judicial notice of them.
He said Article 60 of the Constitution is silent on the situation where both the President and the Vice President are absent from Ghana at the same time. The plaintiff argued that the silence of the Constitution on the situation where the President and Vice President are absent form Ghana at the same time is nevertheless no reason to act unconstitutionally, even if the unconstitutional act was performed innocently.
When GRi contacted the Plaintiff in London, he said "it is incumbent on all of us to ensure that the provisions of the constitution are adhered to at all times".
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - Tsatsu Tsikata, former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), would be arraigned at a high court on Friday.
Reacting to the Supreme Court's ruling on Tsatsu's motion that the Fast Track Court (FTC), which was trying him was unconstitutional, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General said it had become necessary to try Tsatsu at another court.
Nana Addo said, even though, he respected the Supreme Court's decision, he disagreed with it. It was the same Supreme Court that dismissed the appeals of Mallam Isa and Victor Selormey and ordered that their trials should continue at the FTC, he said.
Nana Akufo Addo said his office was in the process of completing the necessary papers for a review of the court's decision, adding that should the review fail, the necessary legal steps would be applied to bring the process of the FTC into being.
He said the Chief Justice had the right to create a court to expedite action on the delivery of justice, and that in reality the FTC is a High Court. It was only a matter of distinction that the two words "fast track" were added to make it Fast Track High Court.
Nana Addo said the FTCs were not of the creation of the government, but the process for their establishment was started by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime. "I only inherited the process", he added.
Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Finance Minister and Mr Kwamena Bartels, Minister of
Private Sector Development flanked the Attorney - General. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Osafo Sampong and Deputy Attorney-General, Miss Gloria Akuffo were also present.
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Court responds to interlocutory injunction
application
Ho (Volta Region) 01 March 2002 - Mrs Felicia Otchere-Darko, Chief State Attorney on Thursday submitted at a Ho High Court that Article 20 clauses five and six of the 1992 constitution cannot apply to an interlocutory injunction application by 32 citizens of Peki-Wudome to stop some state agencies and Equitorial Ventures Limited (EVL), the investor (defendants) from interfering with the Agbate Settlement Farms at Peki.
The Agencies are Land Valuation, Lands Commission and Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).
She was responding to submissions made on Monday by Mr. Dick Anyadi counsel for Mr Kofi Sabon Asare and Mr Jonathan Goli, who have brought the application on behalf of the other plaintiffs.
According to clause five of Article 20 of the constitution, "any property compulsorily taken possession of or acquired in the public interest of a public purpose shall be used only in the public interest or for the public purpose for which it was acquired".
Clause six states that "where the property is not used in the public interest or for the purpose for which it was acquired the owner of the property immediately before the compulsory acquisition shall be given the first option for acquiring the property and shall on such re-acquisition refund whole or part of the compensations paid to him as provided by law or such other amount as is commensurate with the value of the property at the time of the re-acquisition".
Mrs. Otchere-Darko submitted that there was no deviation from the original purpose (agriculture) for which the land was acquired by government in 1975. She said the land has since 1975 remained the property of the government on payment of compensation to its owners and having satisfied all the appropriate legal requirements.
She said it was in pursuance of the original purpose for which the land was acquired that the government requested a feasibility report from MOFA towards its re-activation.
Mrs Otchere-Darko contended that as the owner of the land, the government sought German government financial support and expertise to manage the farm, which reverted to MOFA on the departure of the Germans.
She said EVL was therefore, on the farm with the "consent and concurrence of the government," which is the legal owner of the land in the interest of the Ghanaian public.
On plaintiffs submission that government acted in bad faith by ignoring their letter of interest in the land, the Chief State Attorney said the MOFA was still investigating their concerns and that the opportunity still existed for plaintiffs to put their case across to the government. She argued that other legal reliefs other than the interlocutory injunction were available for the plaintiffs to explore.
She contended that greater hardships would be suffered by EVL if the injunction was granted in view of the huge financial commitments it has already made in helping to realise the government's agricultural policy objectives, which included job creation.
Mr. Otchere-Darko said the public would similarly suffer from the denial of other benefits in addition to job losses from the injunction. On police presence on the farm, she said it was in the public interest to prevent the breach of the peace and secure the safety of both Peki citizens and foreigners there in view of incidents of attacks and threats on them by some citizens of Peki-Wudome.
She said considering the ingredients of balance, convenience and conduct by the plaintiffs and their supporters, they do not deserve the injunctions. In response, Mr Anyadi contended that the best remedy for the plaintiffs is their re-possession of their land for the application of their own purposes because the public interest in having EVL to exploit the land is only incidental.
He said it would amount to economic enslavement to argue that the few job opportunities to be made available by EVL was justification for having them on the land. Mr. Anyadi contended that the public interest and that of the country would be sacrificed to the huge financial benefits to accrue to EVL, since the area had been designated a Free Zone Enclave with all the benefits going to the investor.
He prayed that no court in the country should permit the exploitation of the people and the denial of their rights for commercial expediency. He said plaintiffs support the government's agricultural policy but are against the denial of the rights of the people through exploitation, "and the courts should stop these".
Mr Anyadi submitted that reference by defendants to the State Land Act of 1965, Act 125 was misplaced because it conveniently ignored Article 20, clauses five and six of the 1992 constitution. The court has fixed Monday, March 11 to give its ruling.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 – Professor Christopher Ameyaw Ekumfi, Minister of Education, on Thursday said the government intends not to dictate what should be the grading systems of the country's Polytechnics.
"The ministry remains convinced that the Polytechnics and their academic boards must be allowed to perform their proper roles of setting standards and grading systems in the polytechnics."
Prof. Ameyaw Akumfi, who was addressing Parliament on the Ministry's response to the Polytechnic issue, said Wednesday's demonstration was uncalled for, as efforts were being made to address the matter. "Even though the students have raised a number of issues, the grading system remains central to the current debate."
He said:" What we are witnessing is a replay of the University of Cape Coast episode. Government did not ask for suspension of the system. The students sat down and articulated the concerns, which were then discussed with their authorities."
The Minister said though issues like job placement, infrastructural development and academic progression are legitimate, more resources and medium to long-term planning would be needed to solve them. On academic progression, he said the answer lies within the Polytechnic system.
Prof. Ameyaw Akumfi said, "Polytechnics have been prevailed upon to indicate their readiness to run Bachelor (Tech) programmes. In assessing institutions for the suitability to run programmes, The National Accreditation Board (NAB) will evaluate staffing situation, infrastructure etcetera."
He said serious efforts are being made to improve on the infrastructure of all the country's Polytechnic. Prof. Ameyaw Akumfi said the educational review underway is to place emphasis on the technical and vocational education.
He said a master plan on this has been developed and turned over to the review team. "Quick answers may not be found to a number of the issues raised. Demonstrations certainly do not provide solutions."
Mr. Kosi Kedem, Minority Spokesman on Education, condemned the way the police handled the demonstrating students and appealed to the students to return to the classroom while they seek other forms of settlement.
He said the NDC is not sympathising with the students to gain political point, but rather sticking to principles, since " we know by now that students do not have permanent friends but permanent interest."
Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Minister of Defence, called for a clear definition of the High National Diploma and asked that post-graduate facilities be made available to Polytechnic students who have other academic inclinations.
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Tamale (Northern Region) 01 March 2002 - At the close of the filing of nominations on Thursday, six candidates had filed their papers to contest the Bimbilla Constituency bye-election scheduled for March 14.
The candidates are: Yusif Abdulai (GCPP), Mohammed Ibn Abass (NDC), Andrew Nogma (PNC), Ibn Aziz Abass for (DPP), Dominic Nitiwul (NPP), and Idi
Aziz Ididsah (Independent). Nitiowul was at the centre of controversy between the PNC and NPP
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - Two commercial bank officials and a businessman are being questioned by the security agencies for their roles in the opening of accounts by some foreigners to cash ECOWAS Travellers Cheques in the country.
They are Loiuse Dossey of Metropolitan and Allied Bank, Osei Boakye of Prudential Bank and Alhaji Amadu Bizo, a businessman and Forex bureau operator. Some of these cheques are suspected to be faked and could have a toll on the economy when honoured by Ghanaian banks.
Reliable security sources told the Ghana News Agency that they were investigating whether banking regulations were breached when the bank officials opened accounts for the foreigners, who were trading in Travellers Cheques.
The source said these foreigners and some Ghanaians studied the currency market in the sub-region, went to those with low dollar rates, got the travellers cheques from there and then moved to where the rates were higher and cashed them.
The sources said the security agencies were also to determine whether some of the West African nationals, who were arrested, breached regulations on the declaration of monies at entry points. "We also have to establish their links with the black market."
The sources said these people also abused procedures, since the Travellers Cheques were meant to facilitate business in the sub-region and not to be purchased by ordinary travellers.
They said businessmen, who used the cheques, were expected to provide invoices to the banks where a payment order would be issued to them to transact business but not to physically handle cash.
The security agencies said unless the Bank of Ghana established a mechanism to effectively monitor the use of the Travellers Cheques it could be manipulated to collapse the fragile sub-regional economies. Central Banks should also check serial numbers of Travellers Cheques against holders' names and passports to make detection of fraud easy.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - The Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, arrived in Accra on Thursday from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after performing the annual Moslem pilgrimage known as the Haj.
The Acting President, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, Ministers of State, the wife of Vice President, Hajia Ramatu, the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. General Seth Obeng and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Ernest Poku met him on arrival. Alhaji Mahama described the Haj as successful and said no incident was recorded among the Ghanaian pilgrims.
The Vice President said he visited the Ghanaian pilgrims in Mecca and Mina, where they prayed for peace, stability and prosperity for Ghana and the world. He also met world leaders and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and discussed ways of promoting trade and investment.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - Out of the 60 identifiable Ghanaian local languages, 15 have been developed and 11 of them are studied at various education levels, some even up to the university level.
The passage of the Educational Ordinance was good one in schools; however, its implementation has encountered numerous problems, which include difficulties to enforce it, predominant use of English at pre-school level and inadequacy of relevant textbooks in Ghanaian languages.
Prof. Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi, Minister for Education said this in an answer to a question posed by Nana Asante-Frempong, NPP-Kwabre, as to what the ministry's policy was on the study and use of Ghanaian languages in primary schools.
He said the policy made local languages compulsory at the lower primary while English was taught as a subject from primary four to six, thus English replaced local language while local language became a subject.
Prof. Akumfi said some of the problems facing the policy were inadequate number of teachers sufficiently trained in the local languages to teach them, difficulty of posting teachers with requisite language background and the wishes and perceptions of majority of Ghanaians for their children to learn to speak English fluently as an indicator being "educated".
He said the Ministry's present policy is that all pupils should study a Ghanaian language in school and that pupils in Primaries one to three should be taught in a Ghanaian language.
Instructions at all levels of primary would be English, however, pupils in Basic schools both public and private would be required to study a Ghanaian language as a subject from primary one. Where there are teachers, French would be taught from JSS level.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) on Thursday called on Ghanaians, particularly students, to exercise their constitutional rights in a responsible manner since misuse of that right could result in jail sentences.
A statement from the GBA and signed by Mr Paul Adu-Gyamfi, President and Mr Benson Nutsukpui, National Secretary, referred to the recent spate of violent demonstrations and protests by students said they, as future leaders must conduct themselves with decency and respect for constituted authority in exercising their rights.
"The Association acknowledges the constitutional rights of Ghanaians to demonstrate as part of their fundamental human rights and freedom of expression," it said. "The exercise of this constitutional right, however, must be conducted in a responsible manner and the GBA calls on all, particularly students of our secondary and tertiary institutions to exercise these rights in a responsible manner.
"In this regard, the Association condemns unreservedly profanities, indecent exposure, wanton destruction of state and private property and various provocative and insulting behaviour by students during the various demonstrations and protests on their campuses and in public."
The GBA warned that some of the conducts might constitute criminal offences, which could result in jail sentences and attendant negative consequences for the offenders.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - A representative group of Women Members of Parliament on Wednesday called on the bereaved family of Mrs Esther Ocloo to console and sympathise with them.
Mrs Grace Coleman, Deputy Minister of Finance, who led the delegation, said they decided to extend their condolences to the bereaved family, especially the widower who had devoted most of his life supporting his late wife in her work.
She said Mrs Ocloo played an inspiring role and was instrumental in ensuring the success of girl-child education in Ghana, which she supported to the fullest. Mrs Coleman said Mrs Ocloo not only played various roles in national development, but also ensured that the industrial sector got the needed boost and created employment opportunities for women.
She said Mrs Ocloo was a role model to women across the country and championed their cause in various capacities to be self-sufficient. Mr Stephen Ocloo, the widower, said her late wife was determined to support women, not only to go into politics, but to play a dominant role in society. He thanked the government for deciding to organise a state burial for her and thanked Ghanaians for their support.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - The authorities of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on Thursday said they do not detain patients who were unable to pay for their bills.
Such patients, Fred Dugbazah, Public Relations Officer (PRO), said were given to the Department of Social Welfare who investigated their backgrounds. "If the patient is found out to be a pauper, the social workers will recommend that the bill of the person should be waived," he said.
He said the hospital only acted on the recommendations of the social workers and patients who could pay were allowed to do so in instalments. The Ghana News Agency this reported that over 30 women had been detained at the maternity ward for their inability to pay their bills, ranging between 400,000 and 1.5 million cedis.
"These women are not detained but are allowed to pass through the laid down procedure of the hospital," Mr Dugbazah said. "For the month of January alone, the ward had 24 of such cases, amounting to over 24 million cedis where some have been declared paupers and have been allowed to go free."
Mr Dugbazah said there are similar cases in all the departments of the hospital and the figure for the maternity ward for February could be higher than that of January.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - Professor Kasim Kasanga, Minister of Lands and Forestry, on Thursday, declared the government's intention of setting-up "a one-stop shop" to ensure expeditious processing of documents by agencies to restore order and confidence in the land sector.
"The government's priority is on the development of the private sector and the land sector agencies have a pivotal role to play in ensuring the rapid development of the private sector," he said.
According to a statement by Mr. E. O. Anim-Mantey, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ministry, the Minister was speaking during a familiarisation visit to the Land Valuation Board and the Survey Department, in Accra.
Prof. Kasanga advised workers of the two institutions to change their attitude to work, eschew negative habits and to demonstrate they are part of the "wind of positive change taking place in the country".
The Minister urged them to be punctual, strive to achieve objectives of their organisations and to render efficient and effective service to clients as their contribution to national development.
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