Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - The Fast Track High Court, which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court last week had disposed of 63 cases since it started work in March last year, according to statistics compiled by the Ghana News Agency.
Only two of them were criminal cases with the rest being civil cases. The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Fast Track High Court was unconstitutional, triggering hot debates on the verdict.
The Supreme Court by a majority decision of 5-4 gave the judgement in the case in which Tsatsu Tsikata, Former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), challenged the legality and existence of the Fast Track Court.
He was being tried at the Fast Track Court on charges of wilfully causing financial loss to the state. The criminal cases disposed of by the court were those brought by the state against Mallam Yusif Isa, former Minister of Youth Sports and Victor Selormey, former Deputy Minister of Finance. Both of them were jailed.
Mallam Isa was found guilty of stealing 46,000 dollars meant for the payment of bonuses of players of the senior national team, the Black Stars, during a World Cup qualifying match in Sudan on February 25 last year.
He was jailed for four years on both counts to run concurrently and ordered to refund the 46,000 dollars within two months or serve a 24 additional 24 months jail term. However, upon an appeal the 24 additional months in default was quashed.
Serlomey was on December 10, 2001 sentenced to eight years' imprisonment with hard labour, when he was found guilty on two counts of defrauding the state by false pretences. He was fined 10 million cedis each on two counts of conspiracy and was to go to prison for 12 months in default and the sentences were to run concurrently.
In addition, Selormey was to pay a fine of 10 million cedis each on two counts of wilfully causing financial loss of 1.3 million dollars to the state and in default to serve additional 12 months. The sentences were to run concurrently.
The Court Manager for the Supreme Court, Boadi Botchwey, said 162 cases were registered at the court between March and December last year out of which only four were criminal cases.
The rest were civil actions brought by bankers and other financial institutions, among other things. He added that about 99 cases were still pending out of which two were criminal cases.
These are the Quality Grain and Ghana Rubber Estate Limited cases, which were brought by the Attorney -General. In the GREL case, Hanny Sherry Ayittey, a leading member of the 31st December Women's Movement, Emmanuel Agbodo, former Chief Executive of the Divestiture Implementation committee, Ralph Casely-Hayford and Satirieh Dorcas Ocran were standing trial on various charges of corruption during the privatisation of the company.
They had all pleaded not guilty and were each admitted to self-recognisance bail. In the Quality Grain case, Kwame Peprah, former Minister of Finance and Ibrahim Adam, former Minister of Food and Agriculture, George Yankey, former official of the Ministry of Finance, Ato Dadzie, former Chief of Staff and Samuel Dapaah, former Chief Director at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture are being tried for various charges including conspiracy and wilfully causing financial loss to the State.
The five are alleged to have played different roles in the scandal that resulted in the loss to the State of more than 20 million dollars. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges and the court presided over by Mr Justice Kwame Afreh, an Appeal Court Judge, sitting as an additional High Court Judge, had granted each of them a self-recognisance bail.
In the case of Tsatsu Tsikata, the prosecution said he circumvented laid-down corporate objectives of GNPC, by-passed its Board and on his own committed the corporation to guarantee a loan of 5.5 million French francs.
The loan was granted by the French Aid Agency called Caisse Francaise de Developpement and given to Valley Farm, a private cocoa-growing company in which GNPC held an initial 17.39 per cent equity shares.
The Prosecution said when Valley Farm became distressed and defaulted in payment Tsatsu without prior approval of the GNPC Board paid CFD the principal loan plus interest totalling 6,919,123.23 French francs out of the corporation's operational funds. This act adversely affected the financial status of GNPC, hence a loss to the State, it said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - The defence team for five accused persons in the Quality Grain Company Limited case, on Monday, prayed the Fast Track Court (FTC) to adjourn the case for one month, until reasons for an appeal the defence lodged had been given.
The defence team had earlier filed a motion at the Appeal Court to stay proceedings at the FTC, but lost and the court was expected to give its reasons. George Sipa Agyare Yankey, former Director of the Legal Sector, Private and Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance, was to be cross-examined by Mr Osafo Sampong, Director of Public Prosecution, but this was however suspended.
The defence said it wanted the Supreme Court that declared the Fast Track Court unconstitutional, to also come out with its reasons, before healthy proceedings could go on. The defence referred to the " 5 - 4 " decision returned by the Supreme Court last Thursday, to support its case, saying the reasons could enhance its case.
Kwame Peprah, former Minister of Finance, Ibrahim Adam, former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ato Dadzie, former Chief of Staff, Samuel Dapaah, former Chief Director at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Yankey, have been accused of conspiracy and wilfully causing financial loss to the State.
The five are alleged to have played different roles in the scandal that resulted in the loss to the State of more than 20 million dollars. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges and the court presided over by Mr Justice Kwame Afreh, an Appeal Court Judge, sitting as an additional High Court Judge, had granted each of them a self-recognisance bail. The court adjourned the case to Monday, April 8.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - Dr Stephen Adei, Director-General of GIMPA, on Monday said this country needed a "jet track" legal system to ensure investor confidence necessary for the realisation of Ghana's developmental aspirations.
He noted that it was unfortunate for the Supreme Court to have declared the fast track court system unconstitutional in the twenty-first Century, saying: "what we need is not fast track courts, but jet track courts which are faster."
Dr Adei was delivering the second of two lectures organised by the Information Services Department (ISD) to mark the 45th Independence Day celebration under the topic: "Discipline - an essential tool for national development."
He said the Supreme Court's decision in favour of the unconstitutionality of the fast track court system did not only reflect the persistent indiscipline in the country, but also sent a signal to investors that "we are not serious about our court computerisation programme.
"This trend belongs to the 17th Century and we are still struggling over the constitutionality or otherwise of a feature as little as computerisation of the judicial system in the 21st Century," he said. "We need to be serious."
He observed that the country was plagued with the problems of poverty, corruption, environmental degradation, slow and unreliable judicial system and low productivity, among other things, all due to policy and management indiscipline by previous administrations.
Dr Adei said the country was heavily indebted and poor not by the doing of the current administration but due to non-observance of "developmental software".
"There is absolute disregard for proper work ethics, time management, honesty, commitment to work and other intangible but important values, which constitute the software that would generate the hardware in terms of infrastructure, jobs and food among other things."
He said the current government only acknowledged the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) status and did not cause it adding that the Minister of Finance was right in saying that the country could not spend what it did not earn as a first step of ensuring financial discipline.
He noted that the problems of ghost names on pay rolls in the civil and public service was absolutely unacceptable, saying that the Controller and Accountant-General and the Auditor-General must be held responsible.
Dr Adei explained that there were less than half a million public service workers and little over 100,000 civil service workers, saying that it should not have been that difficult to determine, who was being paid for work not done as it was easy to count over six million people in a day during an election.
"The Accountant-General and the Auditor-General cannot pretend as if they are rather helping the government to solve the problem of ghost names. They are to blame for the loss of over 300 billion cedis quoted by the Minister of Finance."
Dr Adei said the recent spate of student agitations in the country called for strict sanctions and where necessary the students involved should be expelled from the schools in question.
"The students involved in the recent Prempeh College, University of Ghana and polytechnic affairs have no business remaining students of their respective schools. They must be expelled with immediate effect.
"The polytechnic students leadership, who dared to issue an ultimatum to the President must be expelled and those who feel they cannot study to meet the upgraded standard should go home and allow those who can to be admitted into the polytechnics."
He said the act of indiscipline in schools can no more be treated with kid's gloves. "If we are serious about the future of this country - students' vandalism of the kind which happened at Prempeh College and University of Ghana Commonwealth Hall should attract strict punitive action."
Dr Adei also blamed military interventions for part of the problems the country was facing. "When soldiers are not able to discipline themselves to remain in the barracks and protect our territorial integrity, but decide to go to the Castle and into the ministries, we have a problem.
"Our history has shown that military regimes, resulting from undisciplined and unbridled desire in military men for civilian power has done us more harm than good."
He said this country needed a national disciplinary advisory board to oversee the formulation, implementation and maintenance of strict disciplinary codes. "I suggest that we visit our traditions and change for instance the famous Kwaku Ananse stories to reflect honesty and good morals rather than dishonesty as heroic values," he said.
"The man hours wasted on traditional ceremonies such as funeral and other rites must be reviewed," Dr Adei added.
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Tema (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - A Tema taxi driver breathed a sigh of relief after the grandmother of a seven-year-old schoolgirl he was alleged to have assaulted pleaded for the withdrawal of the charge against him because he was wrongly accused.
This was after the girl's teacher had confirmed to Madam Angelina Arthur that her grand daughter skipped extra classes to watch the school's games and was sexually assaulted by a schoolboy at the school's urinal on February 2, this year.
Madam Arthur said, based on the teacher's report, she felt that Isaac Agbeko, the taxi driver, who pleaded not guilty, should be set free and the tribunal responded by granting him two million cedis bail to re-appear on March 18.
Madam Arthur explained that when her grand daughter complained of some pains around her private parts soon after Agbeko, brought her home at about 4pm, she rushed her to a clinic.
A doctor who examined the victim said in his report that her hymen was not broken, but saw some aberrations by the side of her private part. "I therefore, rushed to the community two police and made a report against the taxi driver, and he was immediately arrested and put into cells while investigations continued," she added.
The tribunal was stunned when Madam Arthur said she even asked her grand daughter whether the driver did anything to her, but the girl replied that he only carried her from the car through the gate to their door.
Madam Arthur, a retired employee of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), said it was not until she took the girl to school to complain about what had happened to her that her class teacher reported to her that the girl did not attend studies the previous day after classes.
Chief Inspector Ben Agbedanu had told the tribunal chaired by Mr Ringo Cass Azumah, that Agbeko had been engaged for the past one year to pick the girl on his taxi and sent her home daily after school.
The tribunal had heard that on reaching the victim's house, at about 4 p.m. that day Agbeko allegedly carried the girl out of the car and while sending her home he inserted his finger into her private part. Chief Inspector Agbedanu had said that the victim struggled with Agbeko until he saw Madam Arthur approaching them, and then he quickly put her down.
He said the victim on reaching the room complained of some pains around her private part and when the grandmother questioned her, she was said to have claimed that the driver had inserted his fingers into her private part and a report was made to the police.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - Mr. K. B. Asante, a retired diplomat, on Monday bemoaned indiscipline in the country and called for codes of discipline that could be enforced.
"The joy of the 45th independence anniversary celebrations would only be meaningful if we pledge to subjugate ourselves so that we may rule ourselves, always controlled with a sense of discipline and hard work," he said.
Mr Asante was delivering the one of two lectures organised by the Information Services Department (ISD) to mark the 45th Independence Day celebration. The celebration is on the theme: "Discipline - an essential tool for national development."
He said indiscipline should stop now if the country were to have sufficient time to fashion and implement national development plans. "Enforcement of rules is one of our major weaknesses. Our national development goals will be impaired if we do not enforce discipline by appropriate sanctions or punishment."
Mr Asante noted with regret that leaders accepted invitations and then failed to turn up and sent people to read speeches for them. If they turned up they came hours late.
"We do not need donors to give us the essential tool of time management for national development. If we do not change our bad habits we shall remain a beggar nation." He said drastic measures were needed to establish appropriate time management in the national psyche and the media had an important role to play here.
Dr Asante said media personnel were fond of arriving late at assignments, which they should not be happy about adding that functions should start whether the television cameras were present or not since "we encourage them to persist in the backward culture of lateness if we wait for them".
He said the media should also help the learning process by being disciplined in their choice of language and what they write should help improve people's understanding and writing skills.
"National development will be impeded if we do not master English, the official language and cannot communicate well with the international community and with ourselves."
Mr Asante said newsreaders should show understanding of what they read and should not impose strange pronunciation on the populace because television and sound broadcast promote education that was so important for development.
Touching on discipline on the roads, he said it was bad and getting worse everyday with motorists ignoring the Highway Code and pedestrians roaming the streets "as if they were in Kojokrom."
He said the sight of garbage was revolting. The streets were littered with plastic bags and wrappings and the drains were choked with pots and tins and even human waste. If this continued, the statement said, the country would spend more time managing epidemics than development.
With the youth roaming the streets at the risk of their lives selling wares from other countries, Mr Asante said, they should be sent to camps dotted at vantage points all over the country so that they may farm and build feeder roads with simple tools.
"This may sound like Workers' Brigade of Nkrumah and Operation Feed Yourself of Acheampong. So What? Kristo Asafo gives substantial sums to charity regularly from its farming ventures and they rely heavily on dedicated labour and not sophisticated implements."
He said the leadership should modify the way of attracting investors and find ways of encouraging local investors by mobilising the savings of Ghanaians into investments.
Mr Asante noted that there was an exciting future for Ghana and called on the public to work together to make the nation great. A minute's silence was observed for dedicated Ghanaians like Wilson Sey, Yaa Asantewa, Mensah Sarbah, Paa Grant and the Big Six, who laboured for Ghana's freedom.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - A fifteen year old boy, who was kidnapped in
November last year at Kwadaso in Kumasi by two unidentified men in a Lagos bound vehicle was at the weekend reunited with his family in Ghana.
Master Enoch Kofi Yeboah, who secured his freedom through Interpol, Accra, was on his way to school on November 20, at Kwadaso when the two men, who offered him a lift, took him to Lagos.
Enoch, who looked traumatised, said while the vehicle was in motion, he protested to the men about the route they were taken since that wasn't the way to his school.
He was warned that if he tried to scream he would be killed. He was later gagged and made to lay on the floor of the car, covered with a blanket, and he slept intermittently through the long journey.
He said he did not scream when they were at Police barriers because the car was often parked far from the barrier while the driver went to see officers at the check points with the vehicle left unchecked.
Enoch said he managed to escape after the car was parked near a town with only one of the kidnappers, who was keeping watch over him engaged in a conversation with some people near the car.
He fled from the area and later met a woman, who informed him that he was in Lagos. He managed to secure a lift to Benin where his benefactor also abandoned him. Enoch said he was led to an SOS village in Cotonou, where he wrote a letter to his mother Monica Mensah, a tutor in Kumasi, who then informed Interpol Accra.
Mr Kwaku Opare-Addo, Head of INTERPOL Accra said his outfit contacted the Ghana High Commissioner in Cotonou, who secured the release of Enoch from the SOS village and for a passage to Togo from where INTERPOL brought him to his mother in Accra.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - A British parliamentary delegation currently in the country on Monday paid visits to some projects under the Accra Metropolitan Environmental Health Initiative (AMEHI) that have benefited from Department For International Development (DFID) of Britain funding.
Mr Tony Baldry, Mr Tony Worthington and Mr Tony Colma, who are part of members of the International Development Select Committee of the UK parliament, visited the Maamobi Polyclinic, the Millennium Peace and Harmony Base, both at
Maamobi and the Salaga Market at James Town to have a first hand knowledge about how the DFID-funded projects were being implemented.
The British government, through DFID provided about 5.7 billion cedis to AMEHI, an Accra Metropolitan Assembly initiative that aims at building partnership between the AMA and the Communities it serves.
The initiative, which is a process of people and organisations working together for a healthier city and environment, is being implemented in five pilot areas; James Town, Usher Town, Sukura, West Maamobi and Old Teshie, all low-income and high density areas within the Accra Metropolis.
Mr Solomon Ofei Darko, the AMA Chief Executive, said the provision of about 5.7 billion cedis by the DFID to AMA/AMEHI for the improvement of environmental sanitation in the metropolis was a clear testimony of Ghana-Great Britain co-operation. He said in the assembly's quest to improve environmental health conditions within the city, AMEHI has become an indispensable process.
Mr Darko said the AMA over the years had encountered enormous difficulties in keeping with its mission statement of "improving the living conditions of the people in the metropolis by providing and maintaining basic facilities and services in the areas of education, health, sanitation and other social amenities." The management of the city's waste, with a population growth rate of 4.2 per cent, had been met with enormous difficulties, he said.
The situation, Mr Darko had said culminated in deplorable sanitation conditions especially in low-income areas, hence the institution of AMEHI to operate on five pilot areas. "We have achieved great strides since the inception of AMEHI, through increased community awareness of environmental risk, increased community action to improve sanitation and increased communication and co-operation between community and local government as in the case of AMA."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - Calm has returned to the campus of Accra Polytechnic after the students clashed with riot Police during a demonstration last week, the Ghana News Agency said on Monday.
The tight security that was mounted at the campus last week had been relaxed and students were seen in study groups under shades while others were in the classrooms.
Mrs Caroline Anane, Acting Principal of the Polytechnic said there had been a complete calm and that those present on campus were non-tertiary students, who were about to write their semester examinations. All academic activities have resumed except the Higher National Diploma (HND) students, who had failed to return to campus.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on Monday urged Ghanaians to resist any attempt by individuals or groups of persons to subvert the 1992 Constitution.
"We wish to remind Ghanaians of their duty not only to defend and protect the Constitution but also to ensure its restoration in the unlikely event of it being suspended, abrogated or overthrown," it said in a statement signed by N. K Agboada, Director in Charge of Public Education, to mark the 45th independence anniversary, which falls on Wednesday, March 6.
The Commission commended Ghanaians for their hard work and perseverance towards the sustenance of the Fourth Republican Constitution and the nation's democracy as a whole and called on all Ghanaians to put their shoulders to the wheel of development to move the nation forward.
The statement said the NCCE was worried over poverty and HIV/AIDS that were threatening to erode gains that Ghanaians had made. It said it was also worried about the growing numbers of young and energetic girls from the three northern regions moving south to work as female porters (kayaye) in the Accra Metropolis.
It said the Commission would do everything within its power to discourage the young girls from coming down to Accra to work as porters. It called on non-governmental organisations to lend support to government's policy of poverty reduction to help reduce the impact of poverty on national development.
The NCCE said non-governmental organisations could help revamp the agricultural sector in the north while capacity-building programmes could be provided to the porters to enable them to redirect their energies into more productive ventures.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - The British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II has sent a message to President John Agyekum Kufuor on Ghana's 45th independence anniversary, which falls on Wednesday.
The message released by the British High Commission in Accra read: "It gives me great pleasure on the occasion of your National day to extend to Your Excellency Mr J. A. Kufuor and the people of the Republic of Ghana my warmest greetings and every good wish for a peaceful and prosperous future."
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