Accra
(Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - Law is inherently and inescapably a political
process. Perhaps the most vital area in which judges play an active role is in
the relation to the interpretation of the constitution.
Moreover,
Law of mankind and the administration of these laws are all imperfect, but
judges can, as human beings, “recognize the truth,” according to the English
jurist, Lord Denning, “then we may hope to escape from the dead hand of the
past and consciously mould new principles to meet the needs of the present.”
It was with
this in mind that the judiciary, with the support of the Ministry of Justice
went ahead to establish the Fast Track Division of the High Court, as envisaged
by the previous government but abused notably by a senior member of that
administration the then Deputy Finance Minister, Victor Selormey. Ironically,
Selormey was convicted and sentenced by the due process of the law by the very
mechanised system of the judiciary, through the initiation of which he caused
financial loss to the state.
However,
the Supreme Court’s landmark decision, which seems to annul the Fast Track High
Court as unconstitutional has been described by a constitutional scholar and
investment banker as portraying, what he describes as “internal politics within
the judiciary.” This observation appears to be in line with stories emanating
from the Judicial Service that a significant number of Supreme Court Judges are
not on cordial talking terms with their boss, Chief Justice Wiredu.
Nana Asante
Bediatuo, who recently advocated that Article 267 of the constitution, which
deals with stool lands must be removed, told The Statesman on Monday that the
decision last Thursday for Tsatsu is a damning indictment on the judiciary by
the judiciary. “You would expect that that all of the judges would be in
agreement. What is interesting here is the politics shopping up in the Supreme
Court.”
He argues
that the Chief Justice is the head of the judiciary and normally, “they tend to
speak with the same voice. However, by this decision what they are saying to
the rest of us is that a substantial number of our superior judges do not agree
with the administration of the judiciary by the new Chief Justice.” Nana
Bediatuo’s view support’s the legal argument that the points raised by Tsatsu
Tsikata in his writ centred more on administrative law rather than
constitutional law.
This school
avers that whereas Article 139 (3) of the constitution gives the Chief Justice
the power to create divisions of the High Court, the constitution is silent as
to the procedures to be followed. Therefore, if the process administered was
flawed then the matter does not touch on constitutionality.
“I don’t
even think there is a constitutional issue at stake,” Nana Bediatuo opines,
adding that those who voted in the majority “cannot be saying that the Chief
Justice had not the constitutional mandate. Besides, there is ample evidence
that the procedure used at the Fast Track Court is basically the same as that
of the ordinary High Court.” Indeed, Article 19 provides that a person charged
with criminal offence shall be given a fair trial, “within a reasonable time by
a court.”
And the new
regime was to rather enhance the process of administration of justice. So many
Ghanaians find it difficult to comprehend the yet to be delivered rationality
behind the recent decision. There is no question that any of the persons,
including Victor Selormey, who subjected themselves to the jurisdiction of the
Fast Track division of the High Court, had their fundamental rights abused.
“Given the
issues at stake and given that Tsikata had no substantial human rights
violation at stake, on a balance of competing rights, policy decision by the
judges would have been appropriate,” says Nana Bediatuo.
Many
commentators have mentioned that the ramifications of those who have already
received judgements on civil cases held at the Fast Track division stand to
lose more and having their fundamental rights disturbed than Tsatsu whose
grievance centred more on procedural niceties than substantial procedural
breaches.
The judges,
the Statesman has learnt, could have disposed of the case without making it a
constitutional issue. By virtue of our constitution, judges are, supposedly,
independent of politics. The constitutional doctrine of the separation of
powers may be observed. However, the constitution itself is a political
document and it is, ergo, difficult to see how its interpretation may be free
of political persuasion.
Indeed, the
rules of interpretation, devised by the judges themselves are designed to limit
judicial creativity. But, whiles Article 139 (3) is expressed in ordinary words
to maximize clarity and minimise vagueness or obscurity, the Supreme Court by
this decision appears to have read ambiguity into a document where clarity was
supreme.
It is from
this superficial deduction that many commentators, such as Nana Bediatuo are
suggesting that there may be political rivalry within the judiciary. “The
political colour as I see is that the three who voted with the Chief Justice
presumably like his administration of the court system.” He adds that “politics
is of course not new to any judiciary.” His fear is that this decision may
signal a “continuing dichotomy of the bench.” – The Statesman.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - The essence of justice, it is said, lies in a
fair hearing. The rule against bias is, therefore, strict. For instance, it is
not necessary to show that actual bias existed; the merest appearance or
possibility of bias will suffice.
Supreme Court
judge, Francis Kpegah, who sided with the majority in the constitutional case
last Thursday that shook the very foundation of Ghana’s legal system, also
appeared as a defence witness in the Victor Selormey trial held at the fast
Track division of the High Court late last year.
The
fundamental dictate of justice is that both personal or financial interest in a
case may disqualify a person from adjudicating. In the famous R v Sussex
Justices ex-parte McCarthy case it was stated that “justice should not only be
done but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.”
The fact
that Justice Kpegah, descended to appear as a witness for someone who was
eventually convicted by the same court upon whose jurisdictional competence he
ruled to the contrary smacks of bias to many commentators. Judges are expected
not only to be impartial in fact, but also to be demonstrably and clearly free
from the merest suspicion of bias as found in the landmark ruling of Dimes v
Grand Junction Canal Ltd (1852).
In the
McCarthy case, which has precedential value in our local courts, the applicant
had been charged with dangerous driving and convicted. On discovering that the
clerk to the magistrate’s court was a solicitor who had represented the person
suing McCarthy for damages, McCarthy applied for judicial review based on bias
on the part of the clerk. The clerk had retired with the magistrates when they
were considering their verdict.
It was
accepted that the magistrates neither sought advice nor were given advice by
the clerk during their retirement. Nevertheless, McCarthy’s conviction was
invalidated on the basis of the possibility of bias. According to Lord Denning
in a subsequent case, “the court looks at the impression which would be given
to other people.
Even if he
was impartial as could be, nevertheless, if right-minded persons would think
that, in the circumstance, there was real likelihood of bias on his part, then
he should not sit. And, if he does sit, his decision cannot stand. “The court
will not inquire whether he did, in fact, favour one side unfairly. Suffice it
that reasonable people might think he did.” He went on to conclude that,
“Justice must be rooted in confidence and confidence is destroyed when right
minded people go away thinking: “the judge was biased.”
The issue
of Justice Kpegah’s impartiality may be raised by the Attorney General during
the review. The review may not be heard until the first week in April since
after the judges’ opinions are delivered on March 20, the Attorney General may
need about a week to study the ratio of the decision.
In a
related development a group calling itself the NDC Legal Committee, chaired by
Mr Kwaku Baah, has called upon the Chief Justice “to decline to participate in
any review of the decision of the Supreme Court if the Attorney General should
proceed with his decision to apply for review.
The
Statement said, given the revelation that it was the Chief Justice who set up
the Fast Track division of the High Court, “There could not be a clearer case
of conflict of interest or a person being a judge in his own case than this
one.” As a servant of the law, the core of the Judge’s judicial duties require
him to fix bounds of whatever dispute or question has been brought before the
Court and reach a decision without fear or favour. – The Statesman
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - Though the far reaching consequences of the
February 28th ruling by the Supreme Court on a suit brought before
it by Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation (GNPC), are yet to be deeply felt within the Ghanaian body-politic,
tit-bits of information picked up by The Crusading Guide indicate a certain
level of apprehension and disappointment within the Donor Agencies and the
Investor Communities in the wake of that landmark 5-4 majority decision by the
highest court of the Land.
A
highly-placed source at the offices of the World Bank in Accra who requested
anonymity, expressed dismay, at the turn of events with regards to the Legal
sector Reform Programme initiated during the administration of the NDC
Government with funding support from the World Bank and other Donor
Agencies.
The source
disclosed that the World Bank had in the last 2 years funded the Legal Sector
Reform Programme initiated by the Ghanaian Judiciary with Governmental support
to the tune of nearly 2 million dollars. He said apart from financial aid the
establishment of the two Fast Track Courts (FTCs) in Accra as well as
networking the Supreme Court Building, the World Bank had training programmes
tailored to ensure expeditious and efficient delivery of justice in Ghana.
“We have
provided over one million dollars for the expansion of the Fast Track Court
(FTC) programme nationwide. It is really sad to hear that all our efforts were
in vain because the Fast Track Courts (FTCs) were (are) apparently illegal and
unconstitutional according to the Supreme Court of Ghana. It is most
unfortunate,” the World Bank source lamented.
He said to
make things worse, the tenders for the expansion and acquisition of equipment
were opened in the Supreme Court Building on Friday, February 22, 2002. He
wondered whether anybody had appreciated the international repercussions of the
ruling given by the nation’s highest court of February 28, 2002.
Yet another
highly-placed official at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) also
expressed profound disappointment at the latest development, and wondered
whether Ghanaian judges really understood the real implication of what
transpired of February 28?
The UNDP
official said the UNDP had, through the National Institutional Renewal
Programme (NIRP) supported The Fast Track Court (FTCs) programme in many ways,
all tailored to help modernize the judicial processes and to facilitate the
dispensation of justice in the country.
He
disclosed that the UNDP had already sponsored and funded the initial training
of selected Ghanaian Personal including a judge of the Appeal Court at Georgia,
USA in November and December 2000. This particular support, he said, led to the
materialisation of the Fast Track Court (FTC) concept.
The UNDP,
he revealed, further sponsored and funded “follow-up courses” on the Fast Track
Court (FTC) concept at Georgia in May 2001. In addition, it supplied the first
Laptops and Computers used in the Fat Track Court (FTCs) project.
“We have
supplied 25 PCs to be applied in the expansion programme, and are in the
process of providing financial support for the expanded FTC programme in 6
Courts in the Accra High Court Annex with wiring, networking and provision of
computers. Now we don’t feel encouraged to continue with this level of
assistance because we don’t see our way clear at all as to what exactly Ghana’s
Supreme Court judges really want”, he wondered.
Our
investigations also revealed that the African Development Bank (ADB) had also
supported the Fast Track Court (FTC) programme with an amount exceeding one
million dollars. It (ADB) had also adopted the Sekondi-Takoradi High Court as
its pilot programme, and pledged to finance it to become a fully-fledged Fast
Track Court (FTC).
“Now what
would become of that pledge when the Supreme Court says that the FTCs are an
illegality,” queried an ADB official who also preferred anonymity. The ADB
official also argued that apart from the direct negative effect of the Supreme
Court ruling on the commitments of the donor community with regards to the
continuity of the FTC programme, the decision could also adversely affect the
enthusiasm and readiness of serious and genuine foreign investors to invest in
Ghana.
“Serious
and genuine foreign investors want an enabling environment to do business in.
The Rule of Law and the integrity of the judicial process are very vital
ingredients in creating that enabling environment. The culture of endemic
delays characteristic of the Ordinary High Courts (OHCs) in particular and the
judiciary in general, do not inspire confidence in them (foreign investors), to
come to invest their energies, time and resources, hence the rational for the
FTCs. Indeed even local investors and businessmen/women prefer to have a
faster, credible, and transparent judiciary to what prevails now. The ‘Golden
Age of Business’ cannot succeed without an expeditious and efficient delivery
of justice; period”, quipped the ADB official. – The Crusading Guide.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - A Supreme Court Judge, Mr Justice G. K Acquah,
has called for the review of the provisions of the Legal Profession Act since
they inhibit the legal profession from asserting itself. According to him, the
Act also restrains the legal profession from fulfilling its functions as
independent, professional body within the state, exercising powers defined by law
for the conduct of the affairs of the profession.
Mr Justice
Acquah made the call at the 43rd Annual Law Week celebrations held
at the Ghana Law School in Accra on Monday. The celebration is under the theme
“National reconciliation under the present day dispensation challenges and
prospects.”
Mr Justice
Acquah said the provisions Act are outmoded, a hangover from the colonial era
and out of tune with the demands of time. He said under the Act, a General
Legal Council on which the Bar is represented, is charged with the
responsibility of orgainsing legal education and upholding standards of
professional conduct.
“It is the
Council not the Bar, which admits members to practise and the roll of lawyers
is under the control of the Council which also has the power to strike out
names of lawyers,” he added. This, he said, makes the Bar Association play
second fiddle to the Council because it is not consulted in matters concerning
its members although it has some representation on the board of Legal Education
and the Disciplinary Committee. He said for the legal profession to thrive, be
independent and effectively instill discipline in its members, it requires a
legal backing to give it teeth to bite.
Mr Justice
Acquah called on lawyers to take on cases without fear or favour and cautioned
that both popular and unpopular cases should be handled with the same degree of
professionalism and tenacity. He said it is the duty of the legal profession to
keep human rights provisions and principles in view, to work for their
attainment and to defend people as best as they can.
“The legal
profession ought not to look the other way when the rights of sections of
community are disregarded or individuals are hounded by security agencies on
account of their options. The profession should make itself the champion of the
rights of the people and a determined opponent of man’s lust for power,” Mr
Justice Acquah said.
He paid
glowing tribute to such legal brains of old as: Mensah Sarbah, Casely-Hayford,
Hutton Mills, J.B. Danquah, Akuffo Addo and Dr Ako Adjei who played prominent
roles in promoting respect for human rights, the protection of private property
and the sustenance of law.
“From the
earliest days of colonial rule, our lawyers took a leading part in organising
our chiefs and people to defend themselves against the expropriation of their
lands by the colonial power. Then in the 1920s and 30s they teamed up with
other lawyers and intellectuals from other British colonies in West Africa to
promote a common approach in their dealings with the colonial power.”
“These
lawyers have played their parts in securing and guaranteeing the rule of law in
our nation. It is now the turn of the present generation of legal profession
and those of you seeking to join the fraternity, to take up the mantle and
strive to ensure that the noble objectives of the 1992 Constitution to
establish the rule of law, freedom of the press and free and fair elections in
this nation are realized.”
Consequently,
he advised the students to come out as lawyers who view their responsibilities
as beginning and ending with serving their clients, and who look at law as a
set of mechanical rules to be manipulated for the interests of their clients,
adding that “they should think seriously of the fields of law, and strive to
acquire reasonable knowledge and skill in information and computer technology.”
Mr Justice
D.K. Afreh, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, who chaired the function, called
on lawyers not to be influenced by the lust for money but rather take their
training very seriously. He said it is necessary that they come together to
play an effective role of providing free legal service for people who need it.
Mr M.N.
Okyere, Registrar of the Ghana School of Law, appealed to the government to
expand facilities at the school to enable it to meet international standards as
well as enroll more students. Mr Isaac Mintah-Larbi, President of the SRC
called for a review of fees charged by the school since it has caused a lot of
problems for students.
He,
however, suggested that conferences and seminars could be orgainsed for
institutional and corporate bodies to generate income for the effective running
of the school. Activities lined up for the celebrations include legal outreach,
moot court, a seminar, football match and a thanksgiving service. – Daily
Graphic
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Coolum
(Australia) 05 March 2002 - President J.A Kufuor has said that, the terms of
agreement between Ghana Telecom Malaysia Telecom were not in the best interest
of the country. He said the board, management and procurement were all titled
in favour of all the Malaysia Telecom who only control 30 per cent of equity.
President
Kufour, who was speaking for the first time on the deal said Ghana, the
majority shareholder of the company had no active role to play in the
administration of Ghana Telecom which he said was unfortunate.
The
President made the call when a four-member delegation led by the Deputy Prime
Minister of Malaysia, Mr Abdullah Ahmed Badawi called on him at his residence
at the Hyatt Regency, Coolum, site of the ongoing Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting (CHOGM).
President
Kufour, who was attending the four-day summit was accompanied by Mr Hackman
Owusu Agyeman, the Foreign Minister, Miss Elizabeth Ohene Minister of State at
the Presidency and Mr Isaac Osei, Ghana High Commissioner to the United
Kingdom.
President
Kufour said his government, like that of the Malaysians, believe that the
government should be in partnership with private sector development for
accelerated economic growth. “My interest in Malaysia goes higher than
investment and centres on how Malaysia, even though, attained independence
around the same time as that of Ghana, has moved so far ahead in terms of
development,” he stated.
Mr Badawi
assured the President that Malaysia as a country, wants to cooperate more than
ever before with Ghana and be active in her development. He said that Malaysia
will try to establish working arrangements that will be beneficial to Ghana and
Malaysia. He said Ghana and Malaysia must establish the principle of equity and
cooperate in many areas of development.
In another
development, President Kufuor paid a courtesy call on Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II at her residence at the Novotel Twin Waters last Saturday. The
meeting, which was at the Queens request was held behind closed doors. Later,
President Kufuor told the press that, the Queen recalled her visit to Ghana
two-years ago and wanted to know the condition prevailing in the country now in
spite of the harsh economic measures taken by the government.
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Kwesi Botchway speaks on golden share
Accra
(Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - Dr Kwesi Botchwey, the former Minister of
Finance over the weekend joined the debate over the golden share, saying it is
how it is used that can be bad. He was speaking in an interview on Ghana
Television’s Kweku-One-on-One programme.
He said
Ghana is not the only country, which held something like golden share though he
did not name countries that did. Explaining, he said the government must make
sure it does not stand in the way of any good deal that involves cooperation
between countries and investors. “We must ensure that the golden share is used
in a principled way, in a way that will not deter them, but signal that the
government will not use it capriciously.” The former Finance Minister said the
issue must be subjected to dispassionate debate.
The debate,
which has been going on for some months now, appeared to have petered off
following statements made by the Chief Executive of Ashanti Goldfields, Dr Sam
Jonah in South Africa during a two-week gold conference and meetings. A report
in The Financial Times stated that discussions with the Ghanaian government
over restructuring its golden share showed signs that efforts to persuade Accra
(government) to relinquish its blocking rights are unlikely to bear fruit soon.
“In reality
the golden share’s bark is worse than its bite. It can’t be used to stop deals.
AGC would be sensitive to the emotional attachment to the golden share and
helpful to the government to restructure it so that it didn’t cause
embarrassment,” Sam Jonah said.
The
development signals a shift in strategy for the African gold mining group. It
had been hoping to persuade the government to surrender its golden share, long
seen as a deterrent to foreign investors in the company. “I believe the golden
share will be restructured. It’s an anachronism. But it can’t do what people
perceive it to do,” said Sam Jonah. “I can’t believe that if there was a good
deal on the table, the government would say: we have a golden share and will
stop it.”
The golden
share gives the Ghanaian government, which owns 20 per cent of AGC, a veto over
disposal of assets and leases and can be exercised in the event of liquidation.
Investors fear it could block a deal with a large mining companies. Analysts
believe AGC would be a takeover target as the consolidation of the gold mining
industry gains momentum. Possible bidders include Gold Fields of South Africa
and Anglogold, owned by Anglo American.
Although
the present government is seen as more investor-friendly than its predecessor,
it said recently it has no immediate plans to abandon the golden share. The
company has iconic status as Ghana’s largest company. Dr Jonah had been trying
to convince potential suitors that the golden share could be side-stepped at
the Investing in African Mining Conference. He insisted that the chances of the
government using its veto to block deals was slim.
Opponents
and supporters of the debate have been very vocal. One of the more respected
opponents of the golden share’s removal is US-based noted historian and
analyst, Dr Kofi Ellison. The other supporter is an equally celebrated analyst,
Dr Kwapong.
Dr Jonah
also played down any removal of the golden share as a condition of a proposed
$219 million refinancing struck with creditors. “These financiers are going to
become shareholders when 25 per cent of the bonds are equitised. It’s in every
shareholder’s interest for the shadows affecting the company value to be
lifted. – The Chronicle.
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Tamale (Northern Region) 05 March 2002 - An attempt by former President Jerry Rawlings to placate a sun-scorched crowd at the weekend by apologising for himself and querying the Vice-President, Aliu Mahama for coming late nearly resulted in verbal exchanges and a political clash of supporters at the weekend.
Rawlings in his usual abrasive manner began to lambast the Vice-President for keeping the crowd waiting for nearly two hours at the funeral of the former NDC Northern Regional chairman, Alhaji Maida. The programme started at 8.30 and the Vice-President arrived at almost 11.00 am. The former President did not understand why Alhaji Aliu was behaving as though he did not know protocol and went ahead to state that he (the Veep) had no business behaving the way he did.
When the Vice-President took the microphone, most of the high profile crowd were to receive the shock of their lives as, against his usual character and diplomacy, Aliu decided to translate what Rawlings has said in English into Dagbani for the benefit of the crowd. He then launched into a direct reply by telling the people that Rawlings did not know that he is no longer the bullying head of state he was. “Throughout his hey days when did he (Rawlings) ever follow protocol?” He asked.
Alhaji Mahama was not enthused about the former President’s impression that he (Aliu) had kept the crowd waiting in the scorching sun. After paying tribute to the late Alhaji Maida, the former President had said that the political change that occurred in the country was destined by “Allah” because Allah wanted Ghanaians to judge the differences between the NDC and the NPP.
The Vice-President intimated that it was wrong for people to try to do politics with the funeral of Alhaji Maida. He explained that former President Rawlings was aware that protocol demanded that he the Veep, as the highest political authority to attend the occasion was supposed to wait for the right signal before he could come. And called for no hanky-panky political game at the funeral.
By this time the political atmosphere had charged. But Alhaji Mustapha Ali, who translated the Veep’s speech into English managed to apply diplomacy, tact, and jokes involving the two parties to cool off the tension. Alhaji Mustapha Ali, MP for Gulkpegu Sabonjida and Deputy Minister for the Foreign Ministry, quickly rapped up the occasion with humour and jokes that sent both parties smiling.
Even though the deceased was an NDC chairman, members of the Busia-Danquah tradition decided to patronise the funeral rites because Alhaji Maida had had a long relation with that tradition. He was the vice regional chairman of the United Party (UP) in the Second Republic and was the Regional Treasurer of the Popular Front Party (PFP) in the Third Republic.
Besides, Alhaji Maida was one of the major leaders of one of the traditional chieftaincy gates that had had a long relation with the Busia-Danquah tradition. Added to that, he was a Muslim cleric and an opinion leader in the township. This, thus set the grounds for people of various political persuasions to troop to the funeral grounds, but it ended up to be a show of force between the NPP and the NDC.
The government delegation was led by Vice-President Alhaji Mahama Aliu. In his company were Ministers of state including Alhaji Yakubu Malik Alhassan, Minister of Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, Minister for Private Sector at the Presidency, Mr Ben Bukari Salifu, Minister of State, Prince Imoro Andani, Northern Regional Minister, Mr Mahami Salufu, Upper East Regional Minister and Mr Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the NPP and several Deputy Ministers and District Chief Executives.
As expected, virtually all the NDC bigwigs were in attendance, led by former President J.J. Rawlings, other members included Dr Obed Asamoah, Issifu Ali, Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, Mr Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader, NDC Members of Parliament from the north and former ministers of state. Also present were some members of the Council of State, traditional leaders and Muslim clerics. - The Evening News
GRi…/
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Tema
(Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - An emergency head count exercise undertaken by
Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has led to the discovery of 364
‘ghost’ names. For several years, these ‘ghosts’ were receiving huge sums of
money for no work done at the expense of the state.
Information
gathered from the Tema Port shows that the exercise was initiated by the acting
director of Tema Port and the director-general to ensure that only genuine
workers receive redundancy packages in the face of the pending privatisation of
the port. When the exercise ended, at least 100 gangs from the cocoa shed to
the stevedoring sections were probed.
It was
detected that the Ports Authority would have paid ¢3.5 billion to the ‘ghosts’
taking into account that on the average between ¢7 million and ¢10 million
would be packages for the affected workers. At least 16 senior officials from
the GPHA’s Pay Office and cocoa sheds have been interdicted for their alleged
involvement in the use of ‘ghost’ names that led to the loss of about ¢1.5
billion to the state.
Neither the
Director-General of GPHA, Mr Ben Owusu Mensah, nor the Director of Port, Tema,
Nestor Galley, were available for comments. Inside source, however, hinted that
the detection of the ‘ghost’ names initiated by the two first raised some
eyebrows, but its success has been hailed by the entire GPHA staff. – The
Chronicle.
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Bimbilla
(Northern Region) 05 March 2002 - Political parties contesting the Bimbilla
parliamentary bye-election have started intensive campaign in order to claim
the seat on March 14. Six persons, including an independent candidate, have
already filed their nominations to contest the poll.
The
candidates are for the New Patriotic Party
(NPP), Mr Dominic Nitiwul; National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr
Mohammed Abass; People’s National Convention (PNC), Andrews Ngoma; Great
Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Mr Abdulai Yusif; Democratic People’s Party
(DPP), Mr Aziz Abass; and Mr Aziz Iddisah, the independent candidate.
The
electorate has begun enjoying the largesse of some of the political parties,
which are desperate to win the bye-election.
While some
parties are giving out monies and food items, others are using bicycles among
other items as baits to lure the people to vote for their candidates.
According
to the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr Dan Botwe, the party is sure of winning
the poll because of hard work and commitment of its campaign team. He added
that the party is to train 206 polling agents to monitor the election and also
serve as foot soldiers during the campaign period.
Mr Botwe
described as false the allegation made by Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, General
Secretary of the NDC, that the NPP is using its incumbency as well as
government vehicles for the exercise. He explained that all the vehicles being
used by the NPP in their campaigns were hired from the VICMA travel tours, an
Accra-based tour operator.
The NPP
General Secretary rather accused the NDC of deliberately whipping up ethnic
sentiments in the constituency and entreated chiefs, opinion leaders and
assembly members to be wary of such moves. The chairman of the Publicity
Committee of the PNC, Mr David Nibi, said the party has been on the ground
since last June and will definitely win the bye-election.
The
Bimbilla Constituency Assistant Secretary of the NDC, Mr Mohammed Yahaya, said
the party has made adequate preparations to enable it to retain the seat by
winning the bye-election. He disclosed that the party is currently engaged in a
house-to-house meeting with the electorate to ask them to vote massively for
its candidate.
The
independent candidate, Mr Iddisah who stood on the ticket of the National
Reform Party (NRP) in the 2000 polls and placed third, expressed his optimism
to beat the other contestants in the election. “Now that my former opponents
are not contesting in the bye-election, I am the only veteran in the race
capable of winning the seat” he said. The national organiser of the DPP who is
contesting on the ticket of the party, also expressed confidence in winning the
bye-election since according to him “the people need change.” – Daily Graphic
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Tamale (Northern Region) 05 March 2002 - Scientists at a workshop at Tamale have cautioned rural communities to desist from using paracetamol, a painkiller, as a food tenderiser. This followed discussions at a workshop on processing and marketing of bambara beans and groundnuts during which it emerged that some rural communities use paracetamol, instead of the “kawe”, known otherwise as saltpetre, to tenderise food.
The foods that are mostly treated this way are beans and bambara beans and groundnuts to lessen the time required for cooking to save time and fuel. Some people in the rural communities also alleged that while they may experience stomach discomfort from beans and groundnuts tenderised with “kawe”, using paracetamol was good for them.
The scientists, made up of Dr Wisdom Plahar, Mrs Patience Larweh and Mrs Nana Takyiwa, all of the Food Research Institute, Miss Claire Coote of the Natural Resources Institute of the United Kingdom and Mr Sulemana Stevenson of Capsard, a local NGO, were unanimous in their call for a stop to the practice.
They argued that whilst consumers of beans and groundnuts tenderised with paracetamol may not experience any immediate discomfort, they could not rule out the possibility of long-term side effects since paracetamol is not meant to be used as food tenderiser.
Mr Stevenson said he and other scientists in Tamale carried out an experiment to check claims made by people who used paracetamol as tenderiser and it worked. “Using one tablet to cook a bowl of bambara beans and groundnuts had no significant effect but using two to three tablets per bowl led to faster cooking”, he said.
Some local food sellers who attended the workshop called for further research into the medicinal properties of kawe. A paper presented at the workshop said pre-soaking and boiling bambara beans in kawe reduced cooking time. The women said it was generally believed that kawe had medicinal properties and was sometimes used to treat stomach disorders. “While this traditional belief is generally widespread, no research has been carried out to confirm or disprove it. There is, therefore, the need for something to be done”, the women said.
Meanwhile, an official of the Food and Drugs Board has described the practice as criminal. Dr Alex Dodoo, Coordinator of National Pharmaco-vigilance of the Board, said that the use of paracetamol as a tenderiser could destroy internal organs such as the liver and the kidney, and could lead to death.
He said that paracetamol, even though one of the safest drugs, its misuse was a “sure way to death.” Dr Dodoo explained that the “overdose of paracetamol leads to the destruction of both the liver and the kidney. He said that taking more than four grammes of paracetamol a day was dangerous to the health of any individual.
Dr Dodoo said it was therefore medically wrong for anybody to use it for cooking. “It is only God who knows the quantity of paracetamol that they use in cooking those foods”. He said that old men and people with jaundice would suffer most since they already had weak livers and kidneys. - The Ghanaian Times.
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Koforidua
(Eastern Region) 05 March 2002 - A twenty-one year old student, Allen Ahiaku,
who considered himself orphaned by ex-President Rawlings has said he planned
killing the ex-President in the 2000 electioneering campaign but was only
stopped by his uncle.
Allen, who
is a son of the late dreaded jujuman, Yeye Boy, told a press conference at
Koforidua on March 1 that he had fixed the date of his assassination of
Rawlings on the day he addressed a mammoth rally of the NDC at the Koforidua
Jackson Park at the countdown to the 2000 elections.
“I planned
to kill him for inflicting the trauma of not having a father on me. Anyway, my
uncle prevailed on me to exercise patience as there is time for everything and
I eventually caved in,” he said. Flanked by his uncle, Bonsu, and his mother
Agnes Bonsu-Bandoh, Ahiaku said, “there are thousand and one ways of killing a
cat,” in answer to the question how he planned to eliminate the then Head of State.
But Allen’s
uncle’s moderating effect seems temporary. The boy who is a third year student
of Koforidua Secondary School has warned the Kufuor administration to scrap the
Indemnity Clauses which protect Mr Rawlings and his colleagues for them to be tried
or be prepared for a different showdown.
“If no
trial and no reparation, I will form an association of orphaned and widowed
people who have an axe to grind with Mr Rawlings, directly after I have
finished school, to ensure that the bodies of Rawlings and his people are
exhumed and tried - even if they are dead,” were Allen’s words. He narrated how
he had struggled in school as a result of the death of his father, arguing that
if Yeye Boy had been alive, he, his mother and sister could have enjoyed a
better life.
As
published in earlier by the Chronicle, Yeye Boy was suspected to have been
abducted and killed on February 28, 1982. What Allen, who was than a year old,
says he grew up to hear was that “they killed him because after helping them
come to power, my father was consulting for other soldiers who were feared to
be planning to overthrow the PNDC.”
One of the
rumours about the killing of Yeye Boy was that soldiers were ordered to go and
finish him because he had been abducting, killing and using innocent people’s
blood for various rituals at his shrine at Atiadzive in the Volta Region.
Confronted
with the possibility, the youth first pleaded ignorant, accepted the
possibility but insisted that so far as he was not tried in a court of competent
jurisdiction, his father did not deserve to be killed, burnt and thrown away -
the way it happened. The Chronicle.
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Kpabusu (Northern Region) 05 March 2002 - One person was shot dead and five others seriously injured following a dispute between members of the Al-Sunna and Tijanniya Muslim sects over choice of site for a mosque at Kpabusu in the West Gonja District. The dead was identified as Alhaji Liman Toma Imoro, 60, from the Tijanniya Sect.
The five injured persons are on admission at the Tamale Regional Hospital being treated for gun shot wounds. They were identified as Ali Mahama, 25, Fuseini Nurdeen, 22, Abdulai Abudu, 16, Seidu Aramani, 18, and Alidu Sheshe, 33.
Superintendent A.K. Darkey, Northern Regional Police Crime Officer, told the ‘Times’ that the immediate cause of the conflict had not been established yet. He, however, said that there had been a protracted conflict between the two sects at Kpabusu following attempts by the Al-Sunna Sect to build a mosque in the community, which has been fiercely resisted by the Tijanniya Sect. Superintendent Darkey said the West Gonja District Security Committee had been making efforts to resolve the conflict. - The Ghanaian Times
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