“Let’s attract investment
infrastructure” - Otumfuo
Bureau of National Investigations
probes Kintampo chief executive
¢200 million fund launched for
orphans
Aliu, Chambas won Bimbilla
for NPP
Accra
(Greater Accra) 18 March 2002 - It is five days now since the NPP gained 14,380
votes to claim the seat that was vacated by Ibn Chambas, the current Executive
Secretary of the ECOWAS. The NDC, which won the seat in 2000 with Dr Ibn
Chambas as its candidate, could only muster 9,080 to run a distant second.
Following on the heels of the NDC was People’s
National Convention (PNC), which polled 605. An Independent candidate, Aziz
Iddisah, had 289, Ward Brew’s Democratic People’s Party (DPP) had 154 votes and
Dan Lartey’s Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) had 144.
With this victory, the prediction the “Ghanaian
Voice” prediction made a week ago had come to pass. This victory of the
governing NPP has upset the prediction of knowledgeable political pundits
because in the main it was thought that the NDC’s strategy of reserving the
Wulensi constituency to a Konkomba was going to bear fruits but with hindsight,
NPP people strategised and beat the NDC people to their own game.
In fact, the whole tables turned to a different
direction when master strategist Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey who is still the
National campaign manager for NPP zoomed into the constituency and he had more
than enough raw materials to work with. It is believed that the Nanumbas who
are the tribesmen of Ibn Chambas advised the party that they were going to
throw their weight behind the Konkombas.
The strategy of the NPP was to convince the
electorate in the constituency that at least the NPP government has honoured Dr
Ibn Chambas who was all the time playing a second fiddle at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education during the administration of the
PNDC/NDC.
To them this showed that the NDC intentionally
sidelined Dr Ibn Chambas who was even qualified to be the leader of the NDC. To
them the compromise they had reached that a Konkomba should stand at Bimbilla
was a matter of political expediency.
Apart from this whiles the NDC field men were
in the main staying in Tamale and driving to Bimbilla everyday, Dan Botwe, Lord
Commey, the Deputy Minister for Manpower Development and Employment etc., etc.,
pitched camp in Bimbilla and made the people to believe or feel that they were
part of them. This aside, Vice President Aliu Mahama, who is a native son of
the Northern Region probably considered the Bimbilla bye-election as a test of
his popularity in the region?
His strategy of worshipping in different mosques
at various times was seen as an identification of his relationship with the
mosque worshippers. There is also another side of Vice Prez Aliu’s contribution
to NPP’s victory. “Ghanaian Voice” gathered that when he was a private
contractor with LIDRA, he used to provide sheep to be slaughtered for the less
privileged during the Ramadan season. Even though as the Vice-President he does
not have the means to continue to do it, his friends continue to do it on his
behalf.
The Ghanaian Voice also found out that some of
the Northerners who were almost always afraid because they were tagged as
aliens feel able and secure under the Vice-Presidency of Aliu Mahama. “We were
told that this is because his own father migrated from Kano and settled at
Yendi where he married two wives.”
These were the forces that the NDC had to
contend with, but they were behaving as if they were still in government,
expecting people to carry out their instructions without ‘paying’ for them.
They forgot that the days of using people without paying their services are
gone forever.
From now up to 2004 the NPP has the capacity to
help improve the lots of the people. The NDC must be told that this is not the
time to rely on empty promises if it hopes to win power in 2004. This is a
lesson to the upcoming election in Wulensi and the sooner the NDC stopped
directing its electioneering campaign from Accra the better it will be for it.
– The Ghanaian Voice.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 18 March 2002 - The management and Board of Directors of the
troubled national carrier, Ghana Airways, are anxiously awaiting government’s
decision on the fate of the company. They concede that there is no easy option
for the company, which is saddled with a $129 million debt burden, but an early
decision will be in the interest of the country.
At a meeting with the press in Accra, the
Chairman of the Task Force managing the company, Captain Kofi Kwakwa, said:
“Without the government’s support at this juncture, the national airline is
going nowhere. Time is of essence; for every passing minute, Ghana Airways is
heading for the abyss and a decision has to be made now to save Ghanair.
Creditors and Suppliers are constantly knocking
at the doors of the company for payment from the company whose assets have all
been encumbered. Captain Kwakwa submitted that at the instance of the present
board, management is pursuing cost-cutting measures, but it would be necessary
to consolidate all its debts with one financial institution at a negotiated
favourable repayment terms.
He told the meeting that the staff
rationalisation is not the major problem since it contributes only three to six
percent of the company’s expenditure. Captain Kwakwa said the company is a very
viable state-owned enterprise, which has been allowed to be degenerating into a
state of financial crisis.
“It is important that the balance sheet must be
cleaned up. The problem of the company is its cash flow,” says Captain Kwakwa.
He recounted what he called “questionable transactions” which the previous
management entered into such as the purchase of various aircraft without
authentic technical valuation and credit obtained from a UK-based firm at high
interest rate. Under the current management, net losses have been reduced from
of $3.8 million per month to $1.1 million from last October to December.
He expressed the hope that the staff will
appreciate the efforts being made by the present management, which has reduced
operational cost from 144 percent to 87 percent. This has come about because
the strategy has been to match capacity to demand,” Capt. Kwakwa said.
It was clear that before September 11, many
airlines were facing huge financial losses and the situation was worsened after
September 11. European governments are supporting their airlines while the US
Government has chipped in $5 billion into the industry after September 11.
On the question of merger, it became apparent
that it is not opportune to do so now. Mr Brown, also of the management task
force, explained that some members of staff stood against the unacceptable
practices but they never had a hearing. Consequently, they had to wait for the
appropriate time. He recounted the efforts being made by the management to
ensure the efficient performance of the company. Virtually all the members,
including its Chairman, Mr Sam Jonah, attended the meeting – The Daily Graphic.
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Two DC-9 engines can’t be
traced
Accra (Greater Accra) 18 March 2002 - There are
conflicting accounts as to the whereabouts of two Ghana Airways (Ghanair)
aircraft engines that were airlifted out of the country as far back as 1999.
The mystery surrounding the whereabouts of two
Aircraft DC-9 engines valued at $2 million (more ¢16 billion) is a sad
commentary about the management of the affairs of the troubled national air
carrier over the years.
The Ghanaian Chronicle’s investigations have
established that in 1999, Ghanair headed by Mr Emmanuel Quarter Jnr., whisked
the engines off to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the pretext that they were being
sent out for servicing at the Technical Division of Ethiopia Airlines. In spite
of the claim by Ghanair Management that the engines were sent out to Ethiopia
for servicing, Chronicle has learnt that the two engines were rather sold by
A.J. Walters Flyer, a UK-based company, which has a reputation for locating
aircraft parts in every corner of the world for sale.
Mr J.E.M. Brown, a member of the Management
Task Force (MTF) and the then Deputy Head of Engineering, who was charged by
Quartey Jnr., the former CEO of the national air courier, to deal with the two
engines, gave variable accounts of the engines when he spoke to Chronicle on
two different occasions last year.
When Chronicle contacted Brown last year over
the whereabouts of the engines, he claimed that the engines were sent out for
servicing and had since been brought back. On another occasion, Chronicle heard
a different account as to the whereabouts of the engines. More confusion was in
the account by another top former management member of the Quartey
administration, (name withheld) who told the Chronicle that they swapped the
engines with some spare parts from A.J. Walters Flyer. When he was asked to
list the number of spare parts that he claimed the engines were exchanged for,
he was not forthcoming.
Chronicle has established that in early 1999,
A.J. Walters Flyer, acting upon a request by an airline, which was in dire need
of a DC-9 engine, approached Ghanair looking for a DC-9 engine to purchase.
Upon enquiries, Ghanair agreed to off-load one of its engines to Walters Flyer
for sale, but the deal was kept away from the staff.
On January 6, 1999, a DC-9 engine number 688749
with part (identity) number JT 8D-17 and weighing 2446 kilos with $1 million
price tag, was flown to Bole International Airport in Ethiopia for ‘servicing’
that later ended up in the custody of Walters Flyer. Chronicle gathered that
after the engine had been flown out, it was detected that that particular
engine did not fit into the specification of the DC-9 engine they were looking
for.
When the first engine did not meet the
specifications, Ghanair, therefore, flew out another DC-9 engine as
replacement. The second engine, with number 654829 in identity or part number
JT 8D-17, was airlifted from Accra on February 11, 1999, through Ethiopia to
Walters Flyer. That engine also had a price tag of $1 million and weighed 2446
kilos.
What has still remained a mystery is that if
the engines were sold out, where are the proceeds? And if they were swapped as
one of the past top management member told the Chronicle, then it would
interest Ghanaians to know the kind of spare parts that the engines were
exchanged for.
Currently, one of the DC-9s purchased by
Ghanair from Venezuela is sitting at Naples, Italy. This aircraft found its way
into Italy because it was in a very deplorable state before it was purchased.
As a result of its terrible state, it was rushed to Italy for corrosion works
shortly, but lack of funds has kept it in Naples and the information available
to Chronicle indicates that demurrage cost alone swelled to millions. – The
Ghanaian Chronicle.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 18 March 2002 - The world of Ghana virtually comes to
standstill on the morning of Wednesday, March, 20, when the nine Supreme Court
Judges who kicked the Fast Track High Court to touch by a 5-4 decision, give
their reasons to an impatient Ghanaian audience.
Tsatsu Tsikata, a close ally of Ex-President
Jerry Rawlings and former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation, filed a writ at the Supreme Court on February 11, and submitted
before their Lordships that the 1992 Constitution did recognize the existence
of the Fast Track High Court, which was trying him for allegedly causing
financial loss to the state and was therefore unconstitutional. He also filed a
motion for an injunction restraining the Attorney General from proceeding with
the trial at the Fast Track High Court.
The five judges who upheld Tsatsu’s submission
are Mrs Justice Joyce Bamford Addo, Justice A.K. Ampiah, Justice Francis
Kpegah, Justice E.D.K. Agyabeng and Justice T.K. Adzoe. Chief Justice E.K. Wiredu
headed the four dissenters including Justice George Acquah, Justice William
Atugubah and Justice Sophia Akuffo.
The Lordships deferred their reasons to
Wednesday, March 20. But whatever it is, theirs is unenviable task. For
whatever reasons their Lordships assign, their verdict pronounced to a muted
court in Accra on February 28, 2002, exactly 54 years after the Cross road
shooting incident sparked off violent protest against the British colonial
masters and increased the tempo of agitation for self-government, has polarized
the already volatile national politics.
In spite of protestations to the contrary by
leading figures, both the ruling New Patriotic Party and the leading opposition
party, the National democratic Congress, appear to have politicized the issue.
The NDC organized a press conference and
welcome the verdict as confirming their opposition all along that the Fast
Track High Court was illegal. They demanded the resignation of the Chief
Justice and asked the government to back out of any review because any attempt
to do that would be twisting the arms of the judiciary.
They also invited the Chief Justice to decline
to consider any attempt by the government to seek a review of the verdict. On
an Accra FM station, Mohammed Mumuni, NDC Member of Parliament for
Kumbungu/Nandom described the Fast track High Court as a “Kangaroo Court.”
This brought the NPP National Chairman to his
feet. Haruna Esseku said he was saddened that the Supreme Court’s decision had
degenerated into a political battlefield.
“We consider the call by the NDC on the Chief
Justice to resign or decline to consider the review as a demonstration of
interference in, and compromising the independence of the judiciary. The
various statements by the NDC condemning the Attorney General for using the
process to seek a review of the Supreme Court’s ruling, especially in the view
of the ruling’s implication on our attempt to apply modern records and case
management systems to facilitate the delivery of justice.”
The Attorney General organized a press
conference of his own on the day of the verdict and announced that he will be
seeking a review. “I respect the verdict of the Supreme Court but I disagree
with it,” Nana Akufo Addo told the media. “I believe the court has made an error.”
A Government release signed by Jake
Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Presidential Affairs decried the political nature
that interpretation of the Supreme Court verdict was assuming. He said the Fast
Track High Court disposed off more than 60 cases, only two of which were
criminal. “What will happen to these cases, is at the heart of the President
and Attorney General’s concern,” the statement said.
The statement named Justice Kwame Afreh, a
respected Justice of the Appeal Court as the President’s nominee, in
consultation with the Council of State, to the Supreme Court. He said his name
would be sent to Parliament for approval. The statement was pooh-poohed by the
NDC, which threatened to boycott Parliament screening of the new addition to
the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has 10 members, nine of whom sat on the
Fast Track Case.
Since the verdict, the unconstitutional
declaration of the Fast Track High Court has become the main subject of
discussion in the newspapers and the airwaves. Ebow Quarshie, immediate past
President of the Ghana Bar Association said the Fast Track Court could not be
described as unconstitutional because it is a High Court and the judges who
presided were mostly Appeal Court judges who sat as additional High Court judges.
Describing the verdict as a “terrible day in the legal process” in the country,
Quarshie asked the Supreme Court to have a policy of sustenance of the rule of
law.
Former Attorney General, Obed Asamoah though
crowd over the decision. He saw the verdict as a “bold and courageous decision
based on the merits of the case and one which represents a victory for the
country’s democratic dispensation.”
Kwasi Prempeh, Director of Legal Policy and
Governance at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), wondered where
the verdict leads the country. He said on the face of it, there appears to be
some logic in it (Tsikata’s submission that the Fast Track Court was set up for
non criminal matters) but since a High Court is Constitutionally a court of
general (criminal and civil cases) jurisdiction, he wondered whether a special
division of the High Court could only exercise limited functions.
At an evening with journalist in Accra on
Thursday, former Supreme Court judge, Justice G.E.K. Aikins cautioned journalists
to be conversant with the issue before commenting. He was a bit uncomfortable
with the ruling but said when the reasons are given on March 20, there would be
the likelihood that all of them would be legally right.
Meanwhile, many Ghanaians cannot wait for the
next two days to come. The reasons and the Government determination to go for a
review would provide ammunition for political and legal commentators for a very
long time to come. The verdict has dealt a serious psychological blow to the
Government’s determination to fast track the trial of a number of leading
members of the NDC administration charged with causing huge financial to the
state. For the NDC members in question, it is a great respite. Most of them
faced an uncertain future. The party itself was virtually on the brink. – The
Public Agenda.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 18 March 2002 - The
Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has appealed to Barclays Bank International
to help attract investment to support the development of a strong
infrastructural base in the country. He urged the bank to consider making some
syndicated arrangement for credible investors to invest in the areas like
roads, telecommunication, water, education, health and the energy sectors.
The Asantehene made the appeal when a
delegation of the bank, led by Sir Peter the Middleton Group Chairman of
Barclays Bank PLC, donated 50 million cedis to support the Otumfuo Health
Foundation. He said Ghana is enjoying a lot of stability under the new
democratic dispensation, which made it possible for one democratically elected
government to be changed through the ballot box.
He said the new government has also initiated
moves to ensure steady growth and development but expressed regret that
response to efforts to attract foreign direct investment into the country has
not been encouraging. He recalled discussions he had with the top management of
Barclays Bank during his resent visit to the UK and reiterated the need for
banks to consider long-term investments in especially the agriculture sector.
According to the Asantehene, banks are
reluctant to invest in the sector because of the long gestation period involved
in getting their investments back. He said the agriculture plays a vital role
in national development as it is the basis for industrialisation, so banks
should consider coming out with products for this sector side by side investing
in areas that enable them to obtain quick returns on their investments.
He said it is this realization, coupled with
the fact that it is the responsibility of everyone to assist in national
development, that has motivated some people to help mobilise private funds to
support development programmes like education and health as in the education
fund and health foundation.
The Asantehene commended the bank for its
contributions to the development of various facets of the country’s economy since
it began operations in the country 75 years ago. He specifically mentioned
areas like health, education and support for the needy.
Earlier, Mr Kobina Quansah, the Managing
Director of Barclays Bank, briefed the Asantehene on the bank’s operations in
the country. He announced that arrangements are almost complete for the bank to
come out with a product to support small-scale enterprises in the country.
He said when this is finally done entrepreneurs
of small-scale enterprises like artisans at the Kokompe and Suame Magazine
would benefit from the package. Mr Kobina Quansah said the bank has also put a
committee in place to handle this package when it finally comes out. The
Barclays delegation also donated ¢10 million to support activities at the
Kumasi Cheshire Home. Daily Graphic
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Bureau of National
Investigations probes Kintampo chief executive
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo Region) 18 March 2002 -
The Brong-Ahafo Regional Bureau of the National Investigations (BNI) is
investigating a case in which the District Chief Executive (DCE), of Kintampo
is accused of being involved in the influx of the Fulani herdsmen and their
cattle into the district. The cattle are said to be destroying farmlands and
food crops.
Mr J.K. Bomfeh, is alleged to have been
influenced with about 37 cattle and cash of 400,000 CFA francs by the herdsmen,
making it difficult for him to stamp his authority to drive them away. He was
also said to have sought police escort for the herdsmen to protect their cattle
from attacks from Banda in the Wenchi District to Kintampo.
The herdsmen and their cattle were driven away
under a special military operation codenamed “Cowleg”, last year, but they are
said to have returned in their numbers and are engaged in destructive
activities in the district and its environs. The
allegations were leveled against the DCE by
some members of the public during a recent public forum held at the Kintampo
town Hall.
A BNI source, which confirmed the
investigations, said that they were determined to delve into the matter as the
government’s avowed policy was to reduce, if not eradicate, corruption in the
country. Mr Bomfeh was said to have, among other things, actually contracted
two persons- Stephen Atta and his twin brother – to lead the cattle from Banda
to the Kintampo District for a fee of ¢500,000 and six cattle.
Reacting to the allegations at the ‘Times’ office,
in Sunyani, the DCE denied ever being influenced with cattle or money. “These
are all lies and a calculated attempt to tarnish my image.” He stated that when
the military personnel were called upon to flush out the cattle from the
district, the herdsmen rather mentioned five people who were helping them to
come back.
The DCE challenged whoever was involved in the
allegations against him to point out which policemen were made to escort the
cattle to the district stating that he had not contracted anybody in any deal.
– The Ghanaian Times.
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¢200 million fund launched
for orphans
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo Region) 18 March 2002 -
The Brong Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), in collaboration with the
Apostles Continuation Church International Trade on Friday, launched a ¢200
million fund to support 30 orphans whose parents died in an accident last year.
Twenty-two members of the church died in the
accident, considered one of the fatal in recent times, when a vehicle on which
they were travelling from Apesika in the Kintampo District to participate in a
district annual convention at Nkoanza plunged into river Tanfi on December 27.
Several others sustained various degrees of injuries.
Mr Yaw Adjei-Duffuor, Deputy Brong-Ahafo
Regional Minister, who launched the fund on behalf of the Regional Minister on
Radio BAR in Sunyani, explained that the church, as an institution in the
region fell directly under the ambit of the RCC. That is the rationale behind
the involvement of the RCC in the launch of the fund, which coincided with a
mass funeral service for the departed souls.
The Deputy Minister said though the bereaved
families had held their respective funerals, the mass funeral service is being
organized by the Church to generate funds to cater for the survival of the
orphans and widows left behind.
Mr Adjei-Duffuor, who described the accident as
“awful, pathetic and shocking” said a special account, “Taafi Disaster,” had
been opened at the Standard Chartered Bank in Sunyani to receive donations. The
account number is 01001-678577-00. The Deputy Minister therefore, appealed to
benevolent organizations, financial institutions, Brong Ahafo citizens both at
home and abroad and all Ghanaians to mobilize all available resource, in cash
and in kind, to the fund.
Apostle Clement Brakatu, who is in charge of
the foreign mission of the church later told the Ghana News Agency in an
interview that the church had spent about ¢20 million towards the upkeep of the
orphans. Apostle Brakatu, who spoke on behalf of Apostle Kwadwo Owusu, founder
and leader of the church, added that the expenditure included burial expenses.
- The Ghanaian Times.
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