“Hello Selormey, hello Mallam Issa’
Reactions to Supreme Court’s unconstitutionality ruling
Rawlings rapes Castle car pool
Tsikata’s case - form triumphs over substance in chamber
Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - There was nothing in the demeanor of the nine
judges that gave a clue to the way they were going to rule after Prof E.V.O.
Dankwa of the University of Ghana Law School gave a rather tortuous and
unimpressive presentation for the better part of 75 minutes last Tuesday.
The
venue was the stuffy interior of the Supreme Court buildings set close by the
High Street of Accra, with tired giant fans caressing the air and making little
difference to the room’s temperature.
The
Chief Justice (CJ) Mr Wiredu, E.K. looked relaxed as always. Justice Kpegah, a
veteran of the Supreme Court was pensive, as always. Justice Acquah appeared
restless with the ding-dong argument of Prof Dankwa, whom the CJ fondly called
‘prof’, whenever he engaged him in a legal argument.
Ms
Justice Sophia Akuffo appeared to have a lower tolerance threshold with the
dueling, and betrayed a minimal snap in inflection as she pushed for direct
answers to her lawyerly questions. On a number of occasions, she fanned herself
with her fingers as the heat swirled around her.
It
may have impacted on Mr Justice Acquah seated directly next to her. He had a
more boisterous snap in his voice as he twirled his blue bic pen between his
fingers. It appears blue bic pens were de rigeur for Supreme Court Judges.
If
Mrs Joyce Bamford Addo was the only one who maintained elegant silence
throughout - no questioning, no probing, no nothing. It may also be because she
had a biro that was decidedly different. It was white. As white as her wig but
not whiter than that of Mr Justice Atutuga’s. He was seated next to the more
beefy Justice Adzoe, the latest entrant to the league of Supreme. Atutuga’s
boyish countenance made one inquirer ask in hushed undertone, “who is that
young man sitting in such auspicious company among those potentates?”
“Ssshh,
that is Mr Justice Atutuga, and he has the power to change your destiny with
the stroke of that thousand-cedi pen he is holding. On a still lighter note,
the colour of the wigs or pens engaged my attention though they had nothing to
do with Freedom and Justice.
The
Chief Justice’s wig stood out in its sober yellowness. It had no significance
or bearing whatsoever on the outcome, which, when it came later, shook the
firmament and changed the political temperature of the day.
At
the end of the day, the whole argument bore down to what is a fast track court.
At the Castle, the seat of Government, there was a sense of crushing defeat.
Some officials described the verdict as a coup, and began worrying about the
wider implications of Mr Tsatsu Tsikata’s temporary victory.
“What
are we going to tell the President,” one officer asked rhetorically. The
political orientation of the judges became a subject of discussion elsewhere.
Cold comfort as judges can never be removed unless they are found guilty of
corruption or reach retirement age.
The
impact is indeed huge and had already coursed its way to the international
media. In a way, it could be interpreted with great difficulty to signify the
consolidation of the growing perception of Ghana as a democratic country with
an independent judiciary.
But
at the baseline the remarks of one of the Supreme Court Justices His Lordship
Mr Acquah had a poetic ring about it when he pointedly told Professor Dankwa,
counsel to Mr Tsatsu Tsikata that “there is form and there is substance.” The
whole matter appeared to have been the triumph of form over substance. - The
Ghanaian Chronicle.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - The legal strongman of the National Democratic
Congress (NDC), Mr Larry Adjetey is pondering his next move following
Thursday’s judgement that effectively outlawed the phenomenon known as the Fast
Track Court. Should he move to get his colleague Mr Victor Selormey out of
Nsawam now or wait?
“I
have to study exactly what the ruling says and make a move that would be in the
best interest of my client. That is what will guide our next move. We have not
taken any decision yet, we have to get a copy of the judgement and study it.”
Selormey
was tried and convicted at a Fast Track High Court. Technically, he can walk
out of prison a free man. But he could be re-arrested and detained for at least
two days while a fresh docket is prepared and a fresh trial at a regular High
Court is started.
The
upside is that he can cool his heels and stay with his wife and family while
the grinding wheels of justice grind. And then the sentence may he higher or
lower. It is a toss up.
Ditto
Mallam Issa was also tried and convicted in what has now been declared an
illegal court. And two other fast track courts trying the former Finance
Minister, Mr Kwame Peprah and five others on the Quality Grain case, have now
ceased to exist. There will be no sitting at Justice Afreh’s Fast Track Court
on Monday as ordered by the judge Finito.
Mr
Justice Amoono-Money also has no Fast Track Court to preside over in the case
against Mrs Sherry Ayittey, Ralph Casely Hayford and others in the Ghana Rubber
Estates affair. The effect of Thursday’s judgement dissolves everything.
But
the questions are beginning to engage the minds of people. Did the Supreme
Court not show recognition to the Fast Track Court by referring a number of
appellants to the Fast Track Court? Did Selormey and his counsel, Mr Ambrose
Dery and his Mallam not seek guidance from Supreme Court after seeking leave
from Mr Justice Julius Ansah’s court to go to the Supreme Court?
And
didn’t Mr Sam Baddoo’s court also grant leave of reference to the Supreme Court
for interpretation? And were they not sent packing back to the Fast Track Court
for the trials to resume?
The
response to those questions are addressed by the specificity of the
applications made to the Supreme Court. Mr Tsikata and his team went for the
specifics, and punctured the bagaddacio of Nana Addo.
But
not for long. As ultimate game-boy, Nana promptly conceded defeat and his
respect and offered a re-match. Whether his political prefects would still back
him through on this embarrassing set back could be a tough call as talk of his
promotion rang on. - The Chronicle.
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Reactions to Supreme Court’s unconstitutionality ruling
Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - There have been mixed reactions to the Supreme
Court’s decision declaring the Fast Track High Court unconstitutional.
While
some of the country’s legal brains welcomed the verdict, others described the
decision as a blow to the government with serious ramifications for the
judicial system.
Mr
Ebow Quarshie, immediate past President of the Ghana Bar Association, expressed
surprise at the decision of the court.
He
said the fast track court cannot be described as unconstitutional because it is
a high court and the judges who presided were mostly Appeal Court judges who
sat as additional high court judges.
According
to Mr Quarshie, the court is so called fast track court because the proceedings
are automated. Describing the decision as a terrible day in the legal process
in the country, Mr Quarshie said the Supreme Court should have a policy of
sustenance of the rule of law.
He
said the decision has grave consequences for the legal system because orders
and rulings of the fast track court will be declared null and void if the
affected people initiate action to quash those judgments.
Mr
Quarshie said the decision of the Supreme Court does not guarantee automatic
release of those who were convicted by the fast track court, saying that “ the
convicts were committed to prison by warrant and they must initiate action to
order to quash the decision of the fast track court.
A
respectable retired justice who spoke on condition of anonymity said “I am
shocked at the verdict even though I have not read the judgment.” After all the
fast track court is a division of the High Court, which the Chief Justice has
constituted.
He
wondered if the Chief Justice empanels a High Court to deal with commercial or
land issues, it would be unconstitutional because it is not stated in the
Constitution as Commercial or Land High Court.
On
his part, Dr Obed Asamoah, immediate past Attorney General and Minister of
Justice in the NDC administration, described the Supreme Court ruling as “ a
bold and courageous decision based on the merits of the case and one which
represents a victory for the country’s democratic dispensation”.
He
pointed out that in holding out that operations of the Fast Track Court is
unconstitutional and thereby implying that all cases tried by it are null and
void, the Supreme Court has demonstrated its independence and freedom as
enshrined in the 1992 constitution.
According
to Dr Asamoah, although the Chief Justice is empowered by the Constitution to
constitute courts, he has to do so within the confines of the law, including
article 13 (a) of the 1992 Constitution.
He
stated that the creation of divisions of the High Court has to be followed with
other clear-cut measures, including which areas of the law it would deal with,
the appointment of specific and regular judges and its order to give legal
effect to such an action.
“In
the case of the Fast Truck Court these were not followed and this is why the
Supreme Court in exercising its powers has rightly-declared as
unconstitutional.” He said, the ruling had vindicated the positions of many
people who had hitherto held that the Fast Truck Court was an illegal body,
which ought to be scrapped.
A
private legal practitioner, Kwabena Akrasi Agyaben-Gyam, said the ruling would
have far-reaching consequences for the country’s legal system. According to
him, the ruling has nullified everything that the Fast Track courts have done.
Mr
Agyaben-Gyam explained that those convicted by the court can file an
application for certiorari to have their convictions quashed. On the fact that
reasons have not yet been assigned for the ruling, Mr Agyaben-Gyam noted that
it has no effect on the ruling.
He
noted that the reasons would serve as a source of reference for people who
would want to quote authorities in future. He said the decision is immediately
binding on all the lower courts.
Mr
Kwasi Prempeh, Director of Legal Policy and Governance of the Centre for
Development (CIDD), has explained that comments on the ruling now will be
largely speculative while the effects could be mixed. He said the ruling may be
good for development of constitutionalism, due process and judicial independence.
Alternatively,
the verdict may destroy the very values that augur well for democratic
practice. Mr Prempeh was not happy that the Supreme Court could not release its
written judgments at the same time with the oral ruling.
He
prayed that the court itself could have fast tracked its written judgment to
help the public to have a more robust debate and informed opinion about the
decision.
“The
calling of a fast track High Court, only shows that the court is using
installed case management system and technology that is designed to expedite
the delivery of justice,” he argued.
Any
notion that “Fast Track Court is fundamentally unconstitutional is
preposterous” and expressed the hope that it is not what the majority of the
judges meant. Otherwise, there will be “a problem with the quality of
constitutional literacy and competence of the court.”
Mr
Prempeh noted that reports from newspapers indicate that Mr Tsikata predicated
his claim on two distinctive administrative or processing errors. These are the
setting up of the fast track and charge preferred by prosecution. Mr Tsikata is
claiming that the particular High Court trying him was set up to try
non-criminal cases and so it did not have the jurisdiction to try him.
“On
the face of it, there appears to be some logic to that argument, but since a
high court is constitutionally a court of general (criminal and civil cases)
jurisdiction, he wondered whether a special division of High Court can only
exercise limited function or not. He agreed with Mr Tsikata that if the charge
sheet read the President versus Tsikata then there was an error.
However,
he wondered whether the errors are fatal from a constitutional standpoint. He
argued that, “it is an established principle that if a Supreme Court can decide
a matter on other legal grounds without invoking the Constitution, it ought not
to invoke the Constitution. Therefore, the judges could have decided on legal
grounds without reaching a Constitutional argument.”
Unfortunately,
“the court did reach the Constitutional argument, but has left us wondering
what this all means” he asked. He contended that if on March 20, it turns out
to be that administrative errors were the basis for the majority decision, it
would send a message that public officers have to be meticulous in their work.
They would have to learn that administrative negligence can be costly and can
have constitutional implications and that is what Mr Tsikata sought to show.
He
stated: “This may be a momentary psychological victory for Mr Tsikata because
at the end of the day, the errors that might have caused the majority of the
judges to rule in his favour are reversible errors.” Mr Prempeh noted that this
has been a positive step because unlike the previous time, the entire Supreme
Court was empanelled to hear and decide the case. - Daily Graphic
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Court dismisses PNC’s writ against Nitiwul
Accra
(Greater Accra), 1 March 2002 - A Tamale High Court, presiding over by Mr
Justice R.T. Aninakwah, on Thursday dismissed the motion filed by the People’s
National Convention (PNC) praying the court to restrain the Electorate Commission
(EC) from accepting the candidature of Dominic B.A. Nitiwul in the March 14
bye-election in the Bimbilla Constituency.
The
court awarded costs totalling ¢2 million against the plaintiff to be paid to
the first and second defendants, Nitiwul and the EC respectively.
In
his ruling, the judge observed that the plaintiff stood to suffer no harm,
since it could register another candidate and continue to fight its case to
claim any monetary loss in terms of whatever be the losses, consequent upon the
first defendant’s alleged conduct.
On
the other hand, he said, should the application be granted, the first defendant
stands to lose what may be his only chance ever of launching a parliamentary
career. “Denying him his right will also be denying him his fundamental right
under the 1992 Constitution, which grants him a right to freedom of
association,” the judge contended.
Justice
Aninakwah again noted that the writ of summons and the motion for injunction
were served at the same time when no leave of the court had been obtained. He
stated that “this is procedurally wrong and renders the application improperly
before the court.”
The
judge added that since the plaintiff did not file any statement of claim with
their writ of summons, the substantive case is therefore far from being ripe
for hearing. Mr E.D. Mahami represented the plaintiff while the first defendant
was represented by E.O.
Appiah.
The second defendant was not represented.
The
plaintiff last Monday filed a writ and a motion restraining the first defendant
from contesting the Bimbilla Constituency bye-election on the ticket of any
political party besides the PNC. The plaintiff also prayed the court to
restrain the second defendant from holding the first defendant out as a
candidate in the bye-election for the Bimbilla Constituency.
The
seat became vacant following the resignation of Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas on
February 15 to take up a new appointment as Executive Secretary of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
In
a related development, the man in the centre f the controversy, Dominic
Nitiwul, 25, has described the decision by the court to dismiss the motion as a
victory for democracy.
Nitiwul
who is a teacher at the E/P Secondary School at Saboba, said, “I had a clear
conscience before coming to the court that made me feel that I was going to win
the case,” adding, “I feel fine about it”. - Daily Graphic.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - The Government of President John Kufuor is losing sleep over what to do with Ghana Airways. The hawks within the Government machinery are asking for liquidation or the privatization of the airline in order to save it from its perennial cash flow problems as well its Heavily Indebted Poor Airline (HIPA) status.
But
the pragmatists are warning that prescriptions would leave the Government with
an egg on its face. Liquidating or selling it off, they argue, would be largely
seen as a huge public relations boost to the opponents of the New Patriotic
Party in the next elections.
Before
a decision is finally taken, the Government has commissioned a forensic audit
report into the operations of the airline. A confidential report prepared for
study by the President and his advisers and sighted by Public Agenda blames a
number of factors for the poor economic performance of ‘the Star in the Sky.”
Ghana
Airways indebted to its creditors is to the tune of $150m and still counting.
The report blames the general poor condition of the airline business throughout
the world. But it is descends heavily on political interference over the years
worsened by the 20 odd years rule of Flt-Lt Jerry John Rawlings and his
PNDC/NDC administration.
The
report identified a number of what it called negative organizational culture
for the poor state of the airline’s finances. These include rampant pilfering
and corrupt practices, uncontrolled authorization of discounted tickets, over
ambitious expansion of route network, frequent abuse of official/staff
privilege in carriage of baggage, unwieldy organizational structure, lack of
cost consciousness, death of professionalism/discipline and paucity of customer
orientation.
The
reporter also identified the unattractive nature of aircraft in the fleet as
one of the major reasons for which it has been losing customers. Under this
category, the report listed unappealing interior décor, obsolete in-flight
entertainment system, poor customer service, uncaring, unfriendly frontline
staff, limited maintenance facilities for aircraft and poor operational
reliability and punctuality.
“The
consequences of this poor performance has been the accumulation of substantial
debt, as cash flow generated from operations could not meet the financial
obligations of the company. Additionally, 1998 - 2000 was the period in which
the company contracted several loans with very unfavourable terms, ostensibly
to finance an ill-advised expansion programme it embarked upon. In the first
quarter of 2001, average monthly net losses have been to the tune of about US$
3.5 million, with serious implications for the debt position of the Company.”
The
report said Ghana Airways was earning about $500,000 in 1994 before it was
taken over by Speeding, a subsidiary of British Airways under Rex Lezard as
Managing Director, and contracted by Edward Saliah as Minister of Transport and
Communications to run the national airline.
The
report descended heavily on the agreement under which African Grounds
Operations (AFGO) owned by a close friend of ex-President Jerry Rawlings, was
given the right to be solely in charge of aircraft under-wing handling. “GH
(Ghana Airways) pays AFGO approximately $150,000 a month for aircraft
under-wing handling. Also, GH owes AFGO ¢2.0 billion and over $2.4 million. All
these would not have happened but for the forcible takeover of GH’s assets.
Public
Agenda can confirm that among several topics to be investigated by the audit
team is a list of what one official described as “questionable transactions
entered into by the past administration.”- Weekend Agenda
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has
described the government’s macro-economic targets as realistic and indeed
reasonable, taking into account past economic problems.
“Economic
targets must be realistic and achievable. It is better to have a conservative
target and exceed it than to have an ambitious target that you cannot meet,”
says a senior economist and research fellow of the Institute, Prof Bartholomew
Annah.
Prof
Annah explained that since 1995, the average GDP has been around 4.3 per cent.
He pointed out that inconsistent indicators have since characterized the
economy. “Today inflation could be a single digit and by tomorrow it will jump
to about 40 per cent.”
He
said although Ghana has experienced some stability since the beginning of 2001,
it takes time to build confidence in investors who have to be convinced that
the economy is stable and will remain the same for a long time before they
borrow money to invest for growth to occur.
Again,
he maintains that when inflation goes down, it takes time for interest rates to
also go down. “Even if investors borrow money from the banks to invest this
year, the impact will not be felt now. It will take a year or two so if one is
making projections one should take into account all these things,” Prof Armah
said.
The
Minority Spokesman on Finance and former Deputy Finance Minister, Moses Asaga
has however, described the Budget as a ‘Kwashiokor’ Budget, which lacks focus.
He said the government achieved economic targets for the past year because it
is not spending money.” But the economist said if the government controls its
expenditure mechanism, it can exceed its targets for 2002, baring any dramatic
externals shocks.
He
said the 2002 economic targets make some room for drought, which affects food
security, as well as some aspects of unforeseen shocks. On addition, Armah said
if investments in agriculture are well-thought out and it pays off it will have
a booming impact on the growth of the economy and eventually poverty will
decline.
According
to the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) 60 per cent of food crop farmers
live below the poverty line of ¢900,000 per annum. On the 60 per cent rise in
cocoa price, the economist described it as a progressive move but said
smuggling of cocoa from the country to Ivory Coast will continue so long as
there is a gap between Ghana’s producer price and that of its neighbours. In
the short term, the policy should march the differences in what Ivory Coast
pays for cocoa, he added.
On
the divestiture of the National Investment Bank (NIB), Ghana Commercial Bank
(GCB) and the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), Prof Armah thinks government
should play as minimal role as possible in the productive sector.
He
said government’s role in such areas should be indirect such as giving tax
incentives to banks, which invest in development projects in specific areas of
the country’s economy. “The problem with government getting into such areas
have been one of cronyism and practices that are inconsistent with sound
banking rules,” he said stressing “this has led to the collapse of some banks
in the country.”
Armah
also cited the case of Ghana Airways, which he alleged is almost bankrupt due
to bad management practices, as well as, the Tema Oil Refinery, which was
operating at a huge loss to the state largely due to political interference.
“NIB has been recapitalised in the past, however, one cannot bail out a system
without thinking of preventing a re-occurrence,” he said.
However,
Prof Armah was cautious when it comes to water and electricity. “Government
needs to set regulations on those two basic services to protect the poor. Here,
there should be a good database to determine who is poor and cannot pay.”
Prof
Armah said tariffs are unsustainable but if government sets its targets right
and gives a contract that has clauses to protect the poor, those who are rich
could pay to inject efficiency in the water distribution system.
Pointing
out that unless house-numbering system improves with poor people giving reasons
why they cannot pay the full cost of utilities, the nation will still be
subsidising those who do not deserve to be subsidised. - The Weekend Agenda.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - For the third time this year, ‘Ghana Palaver’ has disclosed that Value Added Tax (VAT) is going to be increased from 12 ½ percent to 15 percent under the 2002 budget presented by the Finance Minister Osafo-Maafo last Thursday.
This,
the Minister has not denied because he and the NPP think they can pull a fast
one on Ghanaians. According to Ghana Palaver’s Economic analyst, VAT increase
is not mentioned anywhere in the budget.
A
letter of intent- Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies, Memorandum of
Understanding (MEFP) of January 31, 2002, singed jointly by Hon Osafo-Maafo and
the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Hon (sic) Paul A Acquah, to Mr Kohler, the
Managing Director of the IMF, also did not mention any increase in the VAT, the
analyst said.
He
said a look again at the Budget, and in particular at Page 107, Appendix Table
Three of the printed version line 11 on Value Added Tax (VAT) has a budget
estimate of ¢2.2 trillion cedis as the expected revenue under VAT.
Another
look at line 19, said, “for the first time, a new revenue line has been
introduced into our budget called “Other Revenue Measure” and a budget estimate
of ¢454.8 billion has been attributed to this item.
Ghanaians,
the analyst said, have not been told what these “other revenue measures” are,
but calculate it as a percentage of the budgeted VAT estimate, and 20 percent of
the existing VAT rate of 12.5 percent equals 2.5 percent. That is where the VAT
increase is hidden.
“That
is Osafo-Maafo’s trick number one. But, we live to see how he and his NPP
Government will succeed with a VAT increase Bill in Parliament. We have not
forgotten ‘Yabremo’ 99.’ People have died foolish deaths in the NPP’s
meaningless struggle against the Vat. We are watching and waiting.”
Osafo-Maafo’s
trick number two. The budget, with all its increase in expenditure, is
completely silent on how much salary increase is being awarded civil servants.
‘Ghana Palaver’ can authoritative state that salary increase for civil servants
is not more than 20 per cent.
Again,
Osafo-Maafo, in his belief that Ghanaians are illiterates as far as financial
analyses are concerned, has sought to hide this fact. But a look at page 106,
Appendix Table 2 of the printed version of the Budget reveals it. For the first
time in the history of budgeting in this country, “Personal Emoluments” now
exclude social security contributions, which have now been moved to “Transfer
to Households.”
Using
this narrower base, the uninitiated will calculate any salary increase over
last year’s personal emoluments expenditure and get the impression that there
is much bigger increase. However, when you restore “social security
contributions” to “Personal Emoluments” so that you are comparing like items,
the increase is no more than 20 per cent.
This
‘Ghana Palaver’ finding is actually confirmed in Hon Osafo-Maafo’s letter to
the IMF, which we managed to download from the Internet in which he stated
categorically as follows: “ the Government has made provision for a 20 percent
full-tear increase in civil services wages…”
How
civil servants are expected to use a 20 per cent salary increase to offset
utility price increases of upwards of 300 per cent as well as school fees
increases, hospital bills increases and most likely transport fare increases is
something that our good friend civil servants union’s boss Chigabatia and his
comrades of the association will have to ponder over.
Trick
number three. Osafo-Maafo and his NPP spin-machine have been basking in the
glory of having reduced inflation from the NDC’s 40.5 per cent to the NPP’s
21.3 per cent. What they have never stated is that these are the end of period
(i.e. December 2000 and December 2001) figures.
The
more critical figures when discussing inflation are, however, the annual
averages because those give a more accurate assessment of the performance of
the economy during the whole year, whereas the end of the period figure could
be “flukish.” And, the annual average inflation figures given in the budget
itself tell an entirely different and very interesting story.
A
look at Page 105, Appendix table 1 of the Budget (printed version) shows annual
average inflation rate for 2000 (under the NDC) at 25.2 per cent, whilst the
annual average rate for 2001 (under the NPP) was 32.9 per cent. So was
inflation up or down under the NPP? Up, if you take the annual average rate,
and down, if you take the end of period inflation rate. - The Ghana Palaver.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - After incessant pressure to return vehicles he had illegally driven away from the Castle car pool, former President Rawlings has returned some of them, but without their batteries.
The
former President has close to 20 state vehicles at his disposal, all of them
liberally drawing fuel from the Castle fuel dump. This, notwithstanding the
fact that he is entitled, under the Greenstreet report, to only “one
chauffeur-driven car and free fuel.”
Taking
away the newest and choicest of the vehicles into private life had robbed the
Castle pool of much needed security and other fleet, including the very
expensive bulletproof Chevrolet wagon and its decoy.
Persistent
calls on him to return the vehicles yielded a limited response when drivers
from his “Jacuzzi junction” residence drove seven of the vehicles into the
Castle last Tuesday.
The
bizarre aspect of all, according to Castle sources, was that the vehicles were
started at Rawlings house after which their batteries were removed. They all,
therefore, arrived at the Castle and went dead because they could not be
restarted. The rest of the over one dozen vehicles are still Rawlings’ custody.
Meanwhile,
former Vice-President Atta Mills, who according to the Greenstreet report, is
not entitled to “one chauffeur-driven and free fuel” car, still has custody of
six vehicles, including two buses, all of which draw free fuel from the Castle
fuel dump. - The Statesman
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Commonwealth Hall apologises to authorities
Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 March 2002 - The membership of the Junior Common Room of the
Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana has apologised to the
Vice-Chancellor of the University for the indecent behaviour of some students
of the hall during the Vandals Day celebration and subsequent events.
An
apology letter to the Vice-Chancellor copied to other relevant bodies, signed
by the President and Secretary of the Commonwealth Room prayed that a positive
consideration be given to their plea.
It
is recalled that the Old Vandals Association of the university, last week
demanded an unqualified apology from students of the Commonwealth Hall, to the
chancellor and the entire university administration.
The
association also directed that the apology to be received by 5 pm last Monday
be rendered to the vice-chancellor, chairman of the university council, and the
entire membership of the old vandals through the national executive.
The
apology letter pleaded that “Any disciplinary action or policy that has been or
is being or will be adopted and implemented by the hall authorities with or
without the sanctions of the university authorities be discontinued.
“We
hope to prevent the re-occurrence of this unfortunate event.” The letter
appealed to the vice-chancellor to convey “our sincere apology to the
vice-chancellor, chairman of university council, all members of your
administration, the Hall authorities, the Old Vandals Association and all
others we might have embarrassed in the past few days.
A
cover letter from the Commonwealth Hall, attached to the apology letter, signed
by the Hall Master, Mr Harry Akussah, stated that the apology letter was
received at 4.0 pm on Monday. It said: “On the basis of the apology, I am
convening an emergency Hall council meeting today (February 26, 2002), to
review the situation and will communicate our views on the issue to you by the
close of day tomorrow.” - The Ghanaian Times.
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Kintampo
(Ashanti Region) 01 March 2002 - The fake medical doctor arrested at the
Kintampo District Hospital, is an ex-convict. Two persons, one of them a
Catholic nun, have sworn to attest to the fact that ‘Dr’ Paul Akyeampong, 31,
was a convict in a Navrongo prison.
Akyeampong
was arrested on Monday while he was taking a patient to the theatre at the
hospital. Police Inspector Emmanuel Quarshie, investigator in the case, told
newsmen at Kintampo that the police were conducting “serious investigations,”
into the allegations.
Nurses
at the hospital suspected Akyeampong to be fake after 11 days duty at the
hospital. They informed the police leading to his arrest. The suspect was said
to have told the hospital authorities that he was transferred from the Komfo
Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.
On
his curriculum vitae, he mentioned Professor Wereko-Brobby, Dean of the School
of Medical Sciences (SMS) and Prof Awuah Baah, of KNUST, as some of his
referees. Since he arrived on February 14 to be begin work, the suspect could
not prescribe any drug apart from touching the patients and wishing them well.
He only touched the patients and told them, “You will be well.”
The
suspect, a native of Akyem Achiase, claimed in his CV to have attended SMS from
1992 to 2001 and did his housemanship at KATH and the Saint Dominic Hospital at
Akwatia. He was said to have collected various sums of money from some of the
hospital staff. He has left behind a debt of about ¢400,000 being cost of
drinks he bought on credit.
Meanwhile,
Akyeampong was arraigned before a community tribunal in Kintampo on Wednesday,
charged with pretending to be a public officer. The tribunal, chaired by Nana
M.K. Aboagye, remanded him in police custody until March 13. - The Ghanaian
Times.
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