Govt to be tough on departmental heads
“Fast
track court” saga – A research and comparative analysis
Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 March 2002 - Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, former Chief Executive of the
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), was on Monday invited to the
Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at the Police Headquarters, Accra, in
connection with ongoing investigations into his alleged mismanagement of the
GNPC.
Mr Tsikata
reported at the Police Headquarters in the company of his lawyers, Prof E.V.O
Dankwa and Major (rtd) R.S. Agbenoto. Prof Dankwa later said in an interview
that personnel of the CID only told Mr Tsikata to “go and come back on
Wednesday.” He said Mr Tsikata was not told exactly why he was wanted, but the
invitation is believed to be in connection with the charges levelled against
him in the recent court cases.
It would be
recalled that two policemen in mufti attempted to arrest Mr Tsikata in church,
disrupted the service at the Asbury Dunwell Church in Accra for about 10
minutes, and compelled the head pastor and the elders to intervene. The
leadership was said to have appealed to the policemen to allow Mr Tsikata to
take part in the worship after, which he will make himself available to the
police.
Mr Tsikata,
accused by the government of willfully causing financial loss to the state, has
won two major legal battles against the government in the past two weeks. He
first won a case he sent to the Supreme Court, challenging the
constitutionality of the Fast Track Court. The Supreme Court ruled by a 5-4
majority.
Last
Friday, Tsikata again had an Accra High Court upholding a preliminary objection
raised by his counsel who argued that the charge leveled against their client
was unconstitutional. – Daily Graphic.
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comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com.
Accra (Greater
Accra) 12 March 2002 - Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, the former Chief Executive of Ghana
National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), who was on Friday, last week discharged
by an Accra High Court on allegations of causing the nation to lose billions of
cedis, says he finds it very difficult to understand why the police had to
inform him of his arrest at church when he had always made himself available to
the security services at their invitations.
Speaking on
Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station, a day after two plain-clothed men
believed to be cops connected to the Deputy Attorney-General (AG), launched an
abortive attempt seize him, Tsikata could not comprehend the motive behind the
police move to inform him of his arrest at the time when he was going to seek
the face of his creator.
“I think it
is hard to understand a lot of things happening. I have made myself available
to the police on every occasion when the asked to question me about anything. I
have gone to their request… To have a situation such as I experienced on Sunday
when I was going to church, that is very difficult for me to understand.”
Tsatsu, who
stated his intention to honour the police invitation on Monday said, “They saw
me on Friday in court and they know where to meet me in order to send messages
about; why was it so important to them that in church I had to be informed that
I was going to be arrested?” Tsatsu wondered and hoped, “But I will hope that
whatever it is, we will get to the bottom of it.”
Tsatsu, who
intimated that within 24 hours of his first invitation to the police station on
November 29, last year he had five charges levelled against him, regretted the
statement by the Deputy Attorney-General, Ms Gloria Akuffo, on Monday on the
same radio station, which purported to have meant that he (Tsatsu) has been
discharged on technicalities.
“I think it
is a sad day for the country when the Deputy A-G says that fundamental legal
issues which have been brought before courts, including the Supreme Court and the
High Court, and that have been pronounced upon authoritatively are
technicalities. He continued, “You know for instance in the High Court last
Friday we were talking about legal principles, which are also universal
principle. The Judge actually gave a rendition in Latin, again showing how far
back that principle goes that you don’t charge somebody with a conduct which at
the time he committed that conduct it was not a crime. If you do, then what
that means is that you are retroactively applying criminal sanctions, something
that at the time the person did it he could have had no idea of a crime.”
Again,
Tsatsu noted that if the Deputy AG says that it is a technicality, then they
must have a look at the charges themselves or they must have a look at the facts
of the case and have satisfied themselves that this is the charge that is
appropriate for them to bring. “I didn’t write the charges against myself, they
brought out the facts which they thought was pertinent,” he contended.
The
recently acknowledged legal wizard also regretted that despite the laws of the
land saying that unless a man is found guilty by a law court he is innocent of
the charges labelled against him, he has found out over the years, especially
last year, that there were a number of people in the media, and other
individuals who had pronounced him guilty effectively and were looking simply
for a process that they would have regard as being a sort of fast track to his
conviction.
The Deputy
Government Spokesperson, Kwabena Agyepong, speaking on the programme later,
expressed the government’s regret over the incident and accepted the
responsibility from a point of view that government was going to take due
action. “We were surprised to hear such a thing because we believe that such
things have happened in the past and we have to learn from the mistakes of the
past. And when things like that begin to recur then you need to look within
yourself and accept some responsibility and take due action.” He noted that
even if the officials had the instructions to send a message, what they should
have done was to use their own discretion. – The Chronicle.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 March 2002 - The Government says it views the latest attempt
to arrest Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, former Chief Executive of the Ghana National
Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), as a calculated move to embarrass it.
Government
Spokesman, Mr Kwabena Agyepong, noted that there are certain elements within
the security system, who are bent on acting in such a manner so as to give
credence to the accusation by the NDC that the government was harassing former
ministers and top functionaries of the erstwhile regime.
Speaking in
an interview, Mr Agyepong said President J.A. Kufuor was to convene a special
meeting of the Cabinet on Monday evening to review the situation and take a
firm decision on the matter. “I can confirm to you that the decision which will
be taken by the government will be decisive and far-reaching,” he intimated.
Mr Agyepong
said, “it is significant to know that the senior police officer who is alleged
to have masterminded the operations had gone underground and cannot also be
reached by phone”.
Explaining
why the government thinks the botched operation was carried out to give it a
bad name and image, Mr Agyepong said although the Attorney-General instructed
the top police officer (name withheld) handling the case not to serve summons
on Mr Tsikata to appear at the police station for fresh charges to be preferred
against him, the officer acted contrary to the instructions and sent two
operatives to arrest Mr Tsikata.
“The
Attorney-General was emphatic on the day in question that they should not serve
Mr Tsikata at the church. For them to have gone back on his word to create a
scene at the church should be viewed as nothing but a calculated attempt to
embarrass the government and to give it a bad name, he said. According to Mr
Agyepong, since the botched operation, “the police officer has gone underground
and all attempts to contact him have proved futile.”
Mr Agyepong
stressed that since senior police officers have discretionary powers “one would
have thought that the officer involved would have acted properly, more so when
the Attorney-General had issued specific instructions on the matter.” From the
evidence available, he said, “it is quite clear that the police officer acted
unilaterally to bring the government into disrepute and public ridicule.”
Asked
whether or not it has been possible for the government to trace the two
operatives who were alleged to have gone to the church to arrest Mr Tsikata, Mr
Agyepong said “we are working on the statement by Mr Tsikata that he could
recognise the police officers as those who normally accompany the Deputy
Attorney-General and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to the court.”
He said the
two officers have, so far, not been emphatic on who gave the instructions for
the arrest but only told Mr Tsikata that, “we were sent by a top police
officer.” He alleged that what makes the issue intriguing is the fact that the
top police officer involved allegedly engaged in a telephone conversation with
Mr Tsikata’s counsel. “We have intelligence report to prove that,” Mr Agyepong
said.
“This is
the more reason why we believe that the operation was intentionally and
deliberately botched up to discredit the government,” the Government Spokesman
added. He reiterated the government’s view that “some operatives in the
security system do not owe allegiance to the state but are rather prepared to
serve certain interest groups to create an atmosphere of instability in the country.”
Mr Agyepong
made it clear that the government is going to be cleaning the system and “we
will go all out to do this.” He said “the government will definitely deal with
the propaganda machinery set up to create an atmosphere of insecurity.” – Daily
Graphic.
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comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater
Accra) 12 March 2002 - The Presidency and House of Representatives in Nigeria
may be heading for a fresh showdown as the House prepares to commence an
investigation into a $13 million (1.8 billion Naira) loan granted the Ghana
Government early this year by the Obasanjo administration, Joy FM has reported.
Quoting the
Daily Trust of Nigeria, it said the House is concerned about the 1.8 billion
Naira loan, which was approved by the Federal Government for the purchase of
100 Peugeot 306 saloon cars to be used as patrol cars by the Ghana police.
House
members, according to the report, are angry that the Presidency could
unilaterally grant such a huge amount as loan to purchase new cars for the
police service of a foreign nation when the Nigerian police are facing serious
crises of inadequate logistics and poor service conditions, leading to the
first-ever strike action by the police on February 1, 2002.
The
lawmakers have, therefore, vowed to raise the issue on the floor of the House
under a motion of urgent national importance and urged the House to investigate
how the loan was granted, the nature of the loan agreement, and where the $13
million was sourced from.
They said
the Federal Government had already supplied 50 of the 306 Peugeot cars worth $692,500
to the Ghana Police Service without demanding any down payment. The Federal
Government has also offered to spread payment for the 50 cars already supplied
over a three-year period. The second consignment of 50 cars will, however,
attract an interest of 2.5 per cent,” a lawmaker said.
The lid on
the $13 million loan was blown open in the Ghanaian Parliament when the
lawmakers demanded to know the source of the funds used in purchasing the 50
Peugeot 306 cars handed over to the Ghanaian police by President John Kufuor on
February 11, 2002.
Minority
Chief Whip in the Ghanaian Parliament, Mr Doe Adjaho, had contended that since
Parliament had not approved any loan for the purchase of the vehicles, it
deserved to know the terms of purchase, the terms of agreement if the vehicles
were acquired with a loan and who authorized the expenditure, among others.
In reply to
the queries from Parliament, the Kufuor administration, through the Information
Minister, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, confirmed that the vehicles were supplied
by the Nigerian Government. He explained further that Nigeria granted the $13
million loan “in response to our obvious need and show of fraternal goodwill.”
It is this show of “fraternal goodwill” that is now the source of the anger of aggrieved
Nigerian House members.
The
lawmakers wondered why the Presidency would approve $13 million for the
purchase of vehicles for the Ghanaian police when the total capital expenditure
for the Nigerian Police Force in the 2002 Appropriation Bill is only 2.9
billion Naira. Out of this amount, the sum of 100 million Naira is set aside
for the purchase of two Peugeot 504 saloon cars; 30 Peugeot 504 station wagon
vehicles; one Bedford lorry; one Toyota Landcruiser; one BMW motorcycle and 10
125cc Suzuki motorcycles.
Said a
House member, “We are worried about the action of the Presidency and would want
to know where President Obasanjo got the money to give the loan, when the 2002
Appropriation Bill is still before the National Assembly. Moreover, he stated,
the House must get every detail of the loan agreement and that the Presidency
must give adequate justification for the loan, considering the precarious
conditions under which men and officers of the Nigerian Police operate.
He said the
country is under siege by armed robbers, violent crimes and assassinations are
rampant with the police rendered helpless while the force appears incapable of
quelling the smallest communal conflict. – Daily Graphic.
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Cape Coast
(Central Region) 12 March 2002 - The Chief Justice, Mr Justice E.K. Wiredu, has
stated that the country’s judicial system is the best in Africa. He said the
high sense of discipline, efficiency and improved operations in the system
makes Ghana’s Judiciary a pace-setter among Africa‘s judicial systems and advised
that nothing must be done to draw “us back”.
The Chief
Justice was speaking at the 92nd Speech and Prize-giving Day of
Adisadel College at Cape Coast on Saturday under the theme “Academic excellence
through discipline.” He said one of the significant features of the judicial
system, which makes it outstanding is the introduction of Information
Technology (IT) into its operations.
Touching on
the theme, he said no institution or society can achieve excellence in an
unruly and disorderly environment. He attributed the poor state of affairs in
the country to indiscipline. Mr Justice Wiredu warned that the country would
fail to achieve its set goals and objectives, if people do not adopt
disciplined habits.
He advised
the students to develop the sense of hard work, humility and discipline, if
they are to accelerate the country’s development in future. Mr Justice Wiredu
also advised those in authority to live exemplary lives characterised by
discipline, noting that the misbehaviour of those in authority can be copied by
students.
He also
called on parents and guardians to create an atmosphere of perfection in the
homes to complement the efforts of school authorities in instilling discipline
in students. The headmaster of the school, Mr J.E.C. Kitson, said although
there have been some cases of indiscipline in the school, the students’
behaviour is quite commendable.
He said the
school is putting in place measures to improve upon discipline in the school.
Mr Kitson said the school continues to chalk successes in the academic field
and sports. He thanked the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) and the Old Boys
Association for contributing to the development of the school.
Deserving
students and teachers were awarded for excelling in their various fields of
endeavour. The 1977-year group, which organized the speech day donated a
16-seater bus and 200 bags of cement to the school. – Daily Graphic.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 March 2002 - It was about 2.00 pm in Philadelphia, USA
in1962. Robert Ellis, a stout Black America driver jumped behind the wheels of
a white Mayflower van. Right in front of him was Mr Ackah Blay-Miezah, clad in
a British suit and spotting a derby hat at the back seat of a posh Mercedes
Benz.
These two
cars were bearing numbers from Ghana’s Embassy in Washington. Ghana flags were
also hoisted on the bonnets of the vehicles. Blay-Miezah, the man sent to
America as a special spy for Ghana’s Prime Minister, Dr Kwame Nkrumah was
wielding his diplomatic passport and flashing it in the faces of American
security officers from one check-point to the other.
It all
looked like an official assignment of the Government of Ghana, which was being
coordinated by its embassy in Washington. It was far from that. The operation
was rather a conspiracy hatched between a club of American businessmen
and Ghana’s
chief spy to smuggle millions of dollars out of America to Canada. The
Canada-bound van was unsuspectingly loaded with dollars.
The
American businessmen were smuggling the millions of dollars outside America in
order to evade tax. The deal was that Blay-Miezah should use his diplomatic
influence to help the business group to smuggle the money out of America using
the Ghana Embassy in Washington as a decoy. Lo and behold, the deal which later
made Nkrumah’s spy a money bag was successful. Blay had been the Osagyefo’s listening
ear in the Philadelphia area as far back as the late ‘50’s.
The money
was safely transported from Philadelphia, the city where America’s Constitution
was signed, to Canada, courtesy Blay-Miezah, who according to investigations,
used his diplomatic immunity and free passage to sneak past American security.
Once in
Canada, an account was hurriedly opened in the name of Blay-Miezah, who used
his name, and diplomatic passport number of the opening of the account. This
made him the sole signatory to the account. Insiders say “as soon as the money
went into Blay-Miezah’s name the American business group lost their power over
it. The millions of dollars were now in his name and he could legally claim
ownership.”
This marked
the beginning of Blay-Miezah’s riches and affluent life. The Ghanaian
dollar-man was later described as a conman by some sections of British media
because they could not have any physical evidence of his business yet he drove
in Limousines and slept in the most expensive hotel in the UK. He was also
spotted in most cases with his bodyguards. It could be recalled that
Blay-Miezah, in his will, left an amount of $40 million to the people of Ghana.
While
others dismiss the claim that he had that much money, insiders maintain that
the legacy is real. Sources who were personally involved in several
negotiations on behalf of Blay-Miezah have also confirmed to the Chronicle that
Blay-Miezah left a lot of money behind. The only problem they said is that “the
real owners of the money would not let it go especially now that he is dead. It
is real my brother it is.”
According
to Mr Kojo Amoah (original name withheld), after the account was opened in
Canada, several chunks of the money was later transferred into accounts in the
Bahamas and Cayman Island. “From there, the money was invested in other parts
of the world and the earnings were re-invested. It was like a roll-over type of
investment so Blay-Miezah was only blowing the interest and returns on the
investments,” he said.
“This is
not a joke. I was personally involved and so were several officials of the AFRC
and PNDC regimes. I can bet with my last coin that most of the money will be in
the Bahamas, Cayman Island, Switzerland, Canada and Brazil. I know for a fact
that a lot of Blay’s money was later transferred to Brazil in the name of the
Ghana Embassy in Brazil.”
Franklin
Bawuah (original name withheld) also told Chronicle investigators in an
interview that the American business club led by Bob Chulman and Lowen Thal
were later blackmailed by Blay-Miezah, and that was why they continued to
bankroll his expensive lifestyles.
“They
promised to take good care of him and pay for all his expenses. Blay-Miezah
spent all his time at Cromwell Hotel, an expensive hotel in the UK at the time.
I remember that on one occasion he booked a suite at Cromwell Hotel for my
friend and I. He paid everything,” Bawuah said.
Years
later, Blay-Miezah run out of luck as Nkrumah’s government was overthrown. His diplomatic
passport also expired. He was desperately in need of a new one with the same
number since that was what he had used for all his bank transactions. “He
needed a new diplomatic passport with the same number and was almost impossible
especially coming at a time when Nkrumah was no more in power.
After going
round, he found himself in the hands of Kojo Tsikata, who assured to help him.
Kojo wanted proof of his riches. Kojo wanted everything to be done on the quiet
but Blay-Miezah was a talkative and a braggart,” Bawuah added.
Enter Kojo
Tsikata, former security wizard of ex-President Rawlings who was later chased
into exile by the same Rawlings regime. He is one person whose name keeps
popping up in Chronicle’s ongoing investigations into this matter. According to
Mr Bawuah, “I remember that Blay-Miezah picked up a phone and called one of his
banks in The Hague, Holland. I also remember that somebody was sent to Holland
to meet the bankers on his behalf.
“The
bankers after the meeting with the representative from Ghana sent a fax to
Blay-Miezah and told him all that had transpired at the meeting. Before that
person could return from Holland, Blay Miezah had circulated the news and the
faxed message around and this, I again remember, angered Kojo who wanted
everything to be done on the quiet.
After his
diplomatic passport with the same number was renewed, courtesy Kojo Tsikata,
Blay-Miezah was not allowed to travel alone for fear that he was going to run
away. He was always made to travel outside the country with two bodyguards.
Insiders told Chronicle investigators that Blay-Miezah used these two
bodyguards as propaganda and a symbol of his wealth.
“I recall
that on one occasion, whiles Blay-Miezah was in the UK, he gave 5,000 pounds to
his two bodyguards to go to town and shop. Before they came he vanished and
checked into another hotel and that was bad for the poor bodyguards,” another
source said.
“Look, the
money is there, the earlier we get interested and find out the better because I
know that there are several ex-officials of the previous government who know
where the monies are. They have taken their share already. As for the legacy
don’t doubt it; it is real. The only problem is whether Bob Chulman, Lowen Thal
and their group will allow anybody to go near the account. They have waited for
far too long,” the source continued.
According
to impeccable sources, officials of the NDC government allegedly managed to
transfer large amounts of that money to Brazil in the name of the Ghana
Embassy. This, according to the insiders, was during the time when one Dr
Awoonor was Ghana’s Ambassador to Brazil. “During Awoonor’s tenure of office as
Ghana’s Ambassador to Brazil, ex-officials (names withheld for further
investigations) traveled to Brazil one after the other for their share of the
money. If you doubt it go and ask,” the source urged - The Chronicle.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 March 2002 - Last week the Vice-President called on the commercial banks to be more sensitive to the financial limitations of their customers by reducing the minimum deposit requirement for opening a savings account after Barclays Bank had increased the amount to ¢1 million.
But, an investigation undertaken by The Evening News shows that the commercial banks were in all likelihood operating a form of a cartel to keep lending rates ridiculously high whiles selfishly reducing interest rates earned by clients with savings account to match those offered by the government on Treasury Bills.
In fact, when the paper posed the question to Dr Paul A. Acquah, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, he confirmed that the commercial banks have tended to respond to the easing of inflationary expectations more sharply on savings and time deposits than in reducing the rates at which they lend to their customers.
Moreover, figures from the central bank indicated that whereas the annual interest rate for the 91-day Treasury Bill had declined form 41.9 per cent in January 2001 to 23.3 per cent as at the end of February 2002, the average lending rate from the banks remained very high at 44 per cent. To show how high Ghana’s rates are, the Bank of England, just last week brought down interest rate to 4 per cent for UK consumers.
The implications of this go to the heart of the government’s policy to make the private sector the engine of growth. This is because, no matter what the government of the day does to enhance private enterprise, the ordinary entrepreneur relies heavily on the banks for capital and the necessary injection of cash to either start or support the growth of his or her enterprise.
But with lending rates set so high borrowing becomes unattractive. A business built on loans, the interest payments of which are that high tend to impede not only the growth but also the very survival of the business. Lenders, therefore, either tend to default in payments or over price their stocks to lose out on competition.
Last December interest on the 91-day Treasury Bill was 47 per cent. The banks responded by investing their money in purchasing Treasury Bills from the government instead of performing their traditional duty of lending. The banks were heaping so much revenue from Treasury Bills that many observers commented that the banks could not be bothered that their high lending rates were not at all attractive to its customers.
The Finance Minister was even forced to comment on this when reading this year’s budget statement. Osafo-Maafo noted that interest rates had declined significantly by the end of last year; unfortunately, this trend had not “been fully reflected in the lending rates of banks.” He observed that by the end of last month “bank lending rates have only marginally declined from a range of 39-55 per cent at the end of December 2000 to 39-53 per cent at the end of December 2001.”
This showed clearly that the base rate of banks had not moved at all to reflect on the positive macroeconomic indicators elsewhere in the country. When the Governor of the Bank of Ghana was asked by The Statesman whether the banks should not be seen as operating a type of a cartel, which keeps lending rates so high against the national interest, his response was equivocal. “As to whether or not the banks were running a cartel it is hard to say,” says Dr Acquah.
What is, however, clear is that since Dr Paul Acquah broke off his 29-year relationship with the International Monetary Fund, where he was Deputy Director, to take charge of the nation’s central bank on 1st October 2001, the local banks have been put under tremendous pressure to justify their high base rates, among others. A circular to all banks to show how they calculate to set their base rates got the banks panicking, consulting financial gurus to help them rationalise their seemingly unpatriotic habit.
But, the new governor further underlined his determination to sort out the banking sector by announcing earlier this month that the time is now appropriate to introduce a rate that signals to the market, the Bank of Ghana’s assessment of monetary conditions. He, therefore, introduced the Bank of Ghana Prime Rate, a responsibility undertaken by central banks all around the globe but woefully ignored by our own central bank. This, according to Dr Acquah, “is the rate at which the central bank would provide overnight funds to banks.
The prime rate is set at 24.5 per cent with immediate effect. “The rate,” he said, “will be reviewed as warranted by developments in monetary and credit conditions.” The commercial banks, under pressure, pre-empted the announcement. Barclays Bank began by reducing its base from 35 per cent to 29.5 per cent. Standard Chartered followed suit by going a half percentage better.
By the end of the week the country’s most profitable bank, Ghana Commercial Bank, responded boldly by cutting down their base rate form 34 per cent to 27.5 per cent. It is hoped that this will signal the beginning of natural competition between the banks. A culture which had been lacking in the past. – The Statesman
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Ho (Volta Region) 12 March 2002 - A Ho High Court on Monday refused an application to restrain Equitorial Ventures Limited (EVL) from going ahead with an agro-processing project on 2,000 hectares at Peki-Agbateh in the Volta Region. It therefore awarded ¢250,000 cost each to the defendants, the Lands Commission, EVL, the Land Valuation Board and the Attorney General’s Department.
Mr Justice P.K. Gyaesaeyor, the Supervising High Court Judge, gave the ruling in the case in which, Mr Kofi Sabon Asare and Mr Jonathan Y. Goli on behalf of 32 families from Peki-Wudome filed a writ, at the High Court seeking an interlocutory injunction to restrain the company from going ahead with the project on the said land.
He contended that the land belonged to the government since compensation had duly been paid to the plaintiffs, 33 years ago. Mr Gyaesaeyor said all parties in the case had agreed in their submissions that Legislative Instrument 12 had vested the said land in the government and that there was the need to preserve the status quo and not the right to the land.
Mr Gyaesaeyor indicated that granting of injunctions was discretionary and the court must be circumspect in granting it and advised the aggrieved parties to rather expedite action in filing a writ to contest the substantive suit. He dismissed the injunction on the grounds that the court did not want to prejudice the substantive case.
Mr Dick Anyadi, counsel for the plaintiffs, expressed his disappointment at the ruling, explaining that the claim by the defendants had infringed on the constitutional rights of his clients. Briefing newsmen after proceedings, Mr Anyadi indicated his intention to either appeal against the ruling or discontinue the case or file a writ at the Supreme Court based on Article 20 clauses 5 and 6 because the High Court was unable to protect the rights of his clients. Mrs Felicia Otchere-Darko, Chief State Attorney in charge of the Volta Region, represented the State. – The Ghanaian Times
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Wa (Upper West Region) 12 March 2002 - Henceforth, departmental heads who without tangible reasons, fail to attend Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) meetings where crucial development policy decisions are taken would be sanctioned. The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mogtari Sahanun, gave the warning during the signing of 2002 Performance Agreements between the RCC, respective departmental heads and District Assemblies at Wa.
The measure forms part of efforts at ensuring proper coordination, effective and efficient participation in decision-making and execution of policies and programmes to attain set targets. Mr Sahanun said regional and district heads are required to respectively seek proper approval from the RCC and their District Chief Executives before travelling out of their stations.
He noted that some heads of department were still resisting the idea of integration with the RCC by trying to live in their own islands. This is surely unreasonable and the RCC will sanction departments that fail to comply with the government reforms. Mr Sahanun said the objective of integrating Regional heads of Department to the RCC and district heads to the District Assemblies was to enhance the decentralisation process.
He told the heads to bear in mind that the signing of annual performance agreements was to ensure that they were in line with the new reforms established under the Civil Service Performance Improvement Programme (CSPIP). The Regional Minister said heads can improve on their performance by eliminating bureaucracy and being transparent, accountable and customer-focussed.
He was optimistic that if key and specific outputs enshrined in the performance agreements were effectively implemented, public administration system in the region would be reasonably improved. The Regional Minister, said the region was striving to be “Upper West Region” and that this can only succeed if all and sundry give the RCC and District Assemblies maximum cooperation. – The Evening News
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31st December campaigns for the
NDC
Bimbilla (Northern Region) 12 March 2002 - Personnel and resources of the 31st December Women’s Movement (DWM) have been fully deployed for the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) campaign for the Bimbilla seat in Thursday’s bye-election, The Statesman can authoritatively reveal.
This is the latest of a series of damning evidence which ridicule Mrs Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings’ protestations that her Movement is a Non-Governmental Organisation established for the welfare of Ghanaian women and not as a branch of a political party.
Meanwhile, with two days to facing its first electoral test since assuming power, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is very confident of winning, in spite of recent difficulties. Analysts expect the election results to give some indications as to the nation’s verdict on Kufuor’s administration so far.
Bye-elections are hardly ever won by the ruling party as it tends to serve more as a protest vote. Therefore, any significant rise in the NPP’s deposit from the last general elections can be seen as positive. However, according to the party’s General Secretary, Dan Botwe, whose groundwork for this election has been intensive and professional, the NPP expects nothing short of victory in next Thursday’s polling.
The party’s candidate is 25-year-old Dominic Nitiwul. The NPP was beaten to second place in December 2000, bagging less than 50 per cent of the NDC’s gains. Dr Ibn Chambas won the seat with 18,611 votes, the NPP got 9,117. The bye-election, prompted by the MP’s elevation as the new Secretary-General of ECOWAS, is expected to be a two horse race between the nation’s top parties.
In the last election Dr Mahama’s PNC could only muster 278 votes, coming 5th behind the NRP and CPP candidates. The NDC’s campaign kicked off with the usual verbal vitriols from the party’s leader, Jerry ‘Boom’ Rawlings. He is reported to have tried unashamedly to play on the very sensitive ethnic tensions in the north. Not to be left out, his wife has joined the band wagon via her DWM.
While women in DWM costumes of the NDC betray the talk of its NGO status of the Movement, the most compelling evidence of its deep involvement in the campaign are the presence of two mobile cinema vans in the NDC fleet. On two different nights, The Statesman team met two white Land Rover vehicles of the movement showing films of projects and achievements of the NDC when it was in government to residents in Bimbilla.
Both vehicles, one with registration number GR 2180J, while the other had its number plates removed, had “Video Production Unit” inscribed on them. Curiously but not surprising however, efforts to conceal the DWM’s involvement in the campaign through its ownership of the vehicles could not escape the discerning eye as the spot on the doors of the van, which used to display stickers of the movement’s logo was not so cleverly disguised.
Efforts by The Statesman team to take photographs of the dusty vehicles were repelled by NDC activists who threatened menacingly immediately the cameraman tried t take a snap shot. The deep involvement of the DWM in the Bimbilla campaign as part of NDC task force is bound to further complicate the movement’s desperate desire to extricate itself from the general perception as the Women’s Wing of the NDC.
The leader of the movement is the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings. Its General Secretary is former Local Government Minister, Mrs Cecilia Johnson while its National Treasurer, Ms Sherry Ayitey is the National Vice-Chancellor of the NDC. Its claim to NGO status not withstanding, the Movement is fully populated by NDC activists and has been in the forefront of political campaigns for the party in the past. – The Statesman
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 March 2002 - Following the triumphant entry into the
Bimbilla constituency by former President Jerry John Rawlings last week, all
indicators point to an outright victory for the National Democratic Congress
(NDC) in the up-coming bye-elections.
Already, a
team of NDC members, supporters and sympathizers led by the General Secretary,
Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, have pitched camp in the Bimbilla constituency and are
working round the clock to ensure victory for the party.
Also in
Bimbilla are Alhaji Farouk Brimah, former Deputy Minister of Environment,
Science and Technology and a member of National Executive Committee, Mr Bede
Ziedeng, former Deputy Upper West Regional Minister and now with the NDC
Headquarters and Nana Asamoah, Western Regional Chairman of the NDC.
Top NDC
leaders and activists have been moving in and out of the constituency, working
with the local executives to preach the NDC good news to the people of the
constituency and asking them to vote massively for the party for a better
tomorrow.
One such
team, led by Dr Obed Asamoah, Chairman of the Re-organisation Committee and
Alhaji Mahama Idirisu, Acting Chairman of the NDC’s Political Committee, has
already spent about one week in the constituency.
Ghana Palaver
learnt last Sunday, that another team made up of Mr Totobi Quakyi, former
Minister in-charge of National Security, Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, former Local
Government Minister, Mr D.S. Boateng, Former Presidential Staffer, Daniel Ohene
Agyekum, also former Presidential Staffer have also left Accra for Bimbilla to
beef up the campaign team.
A reliable
source at the NDC headquarters told the Ghana Palaver that virtually the entire
leadership of the party will be leaving for Bimbilla today to serve as polling
agents, observers and monitors to counter the dirty tricks of the New Patriotic
Party (NPP), which is also using the fact of its incumbency to its advantage.
In another
development, the Principal of Bimbilla Training College, a leading member of
the NDC, who was transferred to Tamale, has announced his resignation from the
Ghana Education Service (GES) saying he will not allow himself to be
intimidated by NPP agents in the GES. His resignation had created problems for
the NPP since he now has the freedom to campaign for the NDC.
Meanwhile,
in a desperate move to capture the Bimbilla seat, the NPP is spraying money all
over the constituency, reports Ghana Palaver Correspondent in Bimbilla. In one
instance, the NDC Chairman of Lankagi, a village on the Yendi road was offered
150,000 cedis and ‘T’ shirt by the NPP without finding out who he was. – Ghana
Palaver
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 March 2002 –
1. Court
Automation and Tsikata case:
(a) The view is held that court
automation can proceed irrespective of the Tsikata case and that all that is
required is to carry the computers from the FTC to the High Court and continue
to use them. This view was canvassed actively in a press release by Counsel for
Tsikata when the Tsikata camp realised from the various reactions on radio
phone-ins that public response to their stand had been consistently one of
condemnation than praise for what the public perceived to be a ‘subtle attempt’
to destroy a system that rather improved the delivery of justice. To assert
that the automation can proceed irrespective of the Tsikata case is a naïve and
simplistic way of looking at automation and can only come from those who do not
know how to automate a court system or, if they know, they are bent on causing
mischief.
(b) Need for Data - Carrying the computers from where they are
now will not automate the courts because the machines by themselves cannot
operate the courts. The machines need to be moved and fed with data. The data
can only be those relating to court procedure and court language.
(c) Computer literacy and court staff and
judges - More than 80 per cent of the judges and magistrates in this country
are not computer literate. Most of the registrars and members of staff of the
Judicial Service are not computer literate. They have to be guided as to how to
use the computers to generate the results required in court proceedings. The
few registrars and clerks who are computers literate have to be guided in the
use of the computers for court work because they too are lawyers. To carry the
computers to the court rooms operated by judges and registrars and court
officials who know next to nothing about computers is like buying a car and
giving it to a truck pusher and expecting him to operate the car to produce
results because what he does with his truck, i.e. moving from one place to the
other, is the same end result that will be produced by a car. Of course the
owner would have to give the truck pusher instructions. Of course, if one is
dealing with a system controlled by laid down rules in court processes, then
those instructions must be directly based on those rules. The instructions are
the guidelines that are now the subject matter of attack in the Tsikata case.
Without guidelines and without instructions, how does any serious minded person
say that just carry the computers from where they are now and put them to use
in the High Court? Can the computer use themselves without human intervention?
(d) Mischief - The mischief that we suspect could be at play lies in this- the reality of the court situation is that there are the following number of courts in place; (i) Two Supreme Courts; (ii) Three Courts of Appeal (iii) 47 High Courts; (iv) 10 Regional Tribunals; and nearly 180 Circuit Courts, Circuit Tribunals and Community Tribunals put together.
(e) Impossible task - No institution can
automate all these courts at the same time. The reason is simply that there are
neither the financial resources nor the manpower to do that. So one has to
start somewhere.
(f) Two parallel systems of courts- The
constraints of manpower and financial resources dictate that one can only start
with one or few courts. This necessarily implies that the new courts will have
to be run alongside the old courts for some time.
2. Pilot
project to be replicated
What the Chief Justice and Attorney-General
have been telling the public is that the FTCs in Accra are pilot projects and
will be “replicated” in the other courts and Regions Replication is a copying
of what has been put in place. If the FTC in Accra is illegal and
unconstitutional, then the illegality and unconstitutionality cannot be
replicated.
(a) There is no single activity in the
court automation programme that is not directly linked to the FTC. There is an
Oversight Committee in the Attorney General’s Department. At its meetings, all
references to court automation are references to the FTC and how to improve the
FTC to be replicated in the Regions. In the Judicial Service itself, there is
in place the Automation Committee. All discussions of the business of the
Committee are centered on the FTC with the view to improve them to be
replicated in the Regions. The software developed for the court automation was
based on the High Court Rules in so far as they are explained by the
guidelines, the court automation programme is inextricably interwoven with the
FTC. If the FTC is illegal and unconstitutional, then the court automation
programme as presently organised is equally unconstitutional and illegal. This
is the very serious and deleterious ramification of the writ filed by Tsikata
and the decision given by the Supreme Court.
(b) The FTC and court automation are
inseparable. Tsikata and his lawyers should know this and stop telling the
Judicial Service to go on with the court automation programme. Alternatively,
they should be good enough to tell the Judicial Service and the Attorney
General’s Department how the FTC can be operated separately for the court
automation programme.
(c) Automation is not done for the fun of it. It is done with an objective or aim. In the case of court automation, the objective is to speed up, expedite or make fast the disposal of cases. The Judicial Service chose the expression “FAST TRACK” because that I s what truly portrays the objective of the court.
(d) Nomenclature - Because the two courts will be run parallel for some time, it will be necessary to give a name to what Tsikata wants to put in place so as to distinguish the automated court from the others. This is important so that lawyers, litigants and the public will know where to go for their cases. What names do these lawyers and all those who share that view want for the new courts? Automated, Speedy, Expedited Court? That will take them back to the very objection they have raised to use of the expression FAST TRACK. Or are they telling the Judicial Service just to put out the computers and stop at that without giving any distinguishing marks?
(e) What the Fast Track does is to automate the courts. Tsikata and his lawyer say have no objection to the automation and so the court automation should proceed. What they should be understood to be saying is that they like the court automation and have nothing against it. So they cannot dislike the Fast Track so long as it automates the courts. What really are they objecting to? Just the name?
(f) One inevitable consequence of their argument is that they have no objection to the Fast Track so long as it results in automating the courts. What they do not like is the way the Fast Track is producing the results by the use of guidelines or how automation is being carried out by the Chief Justice or the Judicial Service in the name of the Fast Track. The question is, which law sets how the courts should be automated? There is none.
(g) Article 125(4) provides that the Chief Justice is the Head of the Judiciary and “shall be responsible for the administration and supervision of the Judiciary. It does not spell out how it should “administer or supervise the judiciary.” There is no law that sets out how the administration or supervision should be carried out. Who is Tsikata or his lawyer to decide for the Chief Justice how he should administer or supervise the Judiciary? And which law gives them the power to question how the CJ should administer and supervise the judiciary? If there is any law that empowers them to do that, they should name it publicly.
(h) Reference is sometimes made to Article 159 of the Constitution, which reads as follows: “The Chief Justice may, acting in accordance with the advice of the Judicial Council and with the approval of the President, by constitutional instrument, make regulations for the efficient performance of the functions of the Judicial Service and the Council under this Chapter”.
(i) The most important points to note under this article is that it refers to “regulations for the efficient performance of…”
(j) It does not spell out which regulations are covered by the article. There is no law anywhere setting out the decisions that should be treated as needing formal regulations under that article for the Chief Justice to comply with. Therefore he should use his discretion to decide when determining where he will need to make formal regulations under that article and where he will have to treat any decision as administrative directive or direction.
(k) The only condition for his decision is that it should be for the efficient performance of the Judicial Service and the Judicial Council. Every decision the Chief Justice takes should be for the efficient performance of the Judicial Service and the Judicial Council because no one expects him to take decisions that will run down his own department. It will be absurd for anyone to suggest that he should treat every decision as requiring a regulation under this clause and proceed to the Judicial Council. That would undermine the entire administration of the Judicial Service.
(l) This really underscores the basic issues before the Supreme Court; namely, whether the Chief Justice in producing the Guidelines and in establishing the Fast Track Division of the High Court should have proceeded under Article 159 or was right in treating the decision he took as administrative instructions or administrative directions.
(m) The Guidelines are not rules of court. If they were Rules of Courts, the Chief Justice is knowledgeable enough to have passed through the Rules of Court Committee under Article 157 of the Constitution. The Guidelines explain how the Rules of Court should be applied and that the Chief Justice in his capacity as the person in charge of the administration and supervision of the Judicial Service should be able to do. Each one of the Guidelines is rooted in the High Court Rules of 1954, LN 140A. If there is any rule in LN 140A should be applied, yet the lawyers in Tsikata’s camp point that out.
(n) Casts are awarded for any adjournment in all courts from the magistrates courts rights up to the Supreme Court. They are awarded as compensation for wasting the time of the opposing litigant when a case scheduled for hearing is adjourned at the instance of one party. That is why costs are not awarded for asking for adjournment in criminal cases because the individual cannot be made to compensate the State for time wasting. Award of costs against a defaulting litigant is not peculiar to the FTC.
(o) As for adjournments being limited to not more than three days. If the users of the courts are to have their cases disposed of in six months, how can the cases be adjourned for weeks or months so that the old ways of doing things will be applied for the same outspoken critics to complain of delays in litigation? In any case, adjournments in law are subject to the discretion of the judge and if Tsikata and his lawyers will be honest to the public, all the cases in court now being tried are adjourned for more than three days. Therein lies the statement that the Guidelines are administrative instructions or guides in that breach of the Guidelines carry no sanction while breach of the High Court Rules will be visited by sanctions imposed by those Rules. It is because they are guides only that the users are instructed that wherever there is a conflict between the Guidelines and the High Court Rules, the latter should prevail. –The Crusading Guide
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