Ghana loses $500m - World Bank country director
Dark clouds over Aboakyer festival
156 nurses quit K'Bu Hospital
Casanova chief, 75, destooled
Peprah dismisses NPP's accusation against Veep
900 mil cedis lotto scam
Agony of importers
Foreign accounts of NDC big shots - Totobi's name comes up
Opposition made it impossible for Konadu - Tony Aidoo
Money flows at NDC congress
Ghana loses $500m - World Bank country director
The Daily Graphic’s banner story reports the World Bank as saying on Tuesday that Ghana lost about 500m dollars as a result of the unfavourable external market conditions which distorted the economy last year.
The story says the country suffered a 200m dollar loss from cocoa earnings as producer price tumbled while oil import exceeded the year's projected figure by 300m dollars.
Mr. Peter Harold, Country Director of the international financial body is reported to have told the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) that the loss has severely affected the country's foreign exchange reserves.
The World Bank, he said, is working hard with other donor partners to help Ghana to correct the imbalance.
The Graphic reports Mr. Harold to have stated that the government has already arranged for 200m dollars of donor inflows, due in the second half of the year, to be advanced to the first half as part of measures to inject more foreign exchange into the economy.
The story says the projected 150m dollar donor inflow gap which affected the country's cash flow last year has also been filled.
"We all understand the circumstances which led to the present situation and are committed to helping solve the problems", the Graphic quotes Mr. Harold as saying. .
However, he stated, economic managers need to ensure that in allowing the cedi to find its level, conscious effort is made to cut expenditure while the donor community is inspired to fulfil its pledges.
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Dark clouds over Aboakyer festival
The Graphic in another front-page story says dark clouds hang over the celebration of this year's Aboakyer Festival of the chiefs and people of Winneba in the Central Region in a matter relating to chieftaincy dispute.
The story says that while the Omanhene of the Effutu Traditional Area, Nana Ghartey, has made preparations for the occasion, the two Asafo companies who are key elements in the celebration have resolved not to participate.
The story continues that Nana Gyankuma V, Adontenhene of the Effutu Traditional area announced during a news conference that until the dispute over who has the right to install and destool the paramount chief of the area is resolved, none of the Asafo companies would be part of the festival.
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156 nurses quit K'Bu Hospital
A total of 156 nurses left the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital between January 1999 and March this year, an average of 10 in a month, to look for greener pastures elsewhere, reports the Ghanaian Times in a front-page story.
The story says during the same period, 77 nurses were employed to fill the vacancies. It continues that its investigations reveal that the situation is alarming and the hospital authorities have attributed the cause to "unfavourable and unsatisfactory working conditions".
"Korle Bu normally requires about 1,606 nurses to function effectively but as at December 31, 1999 it had only 984 nurses at post leaving a huge difference of 620", The Times concluded.
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Casanova chief, 75, destooled
The banner story of The Ghanaian Times says the chiefs and elders of Manpongteng in Ashanti, on Monday declared Nana Kwadwo Agyeman, Benkumhene of the town, destooled for his penchant for young girls.
According to the paper, Nana Agyeman, 75, was accused of defiling two children, aged 9 and 12, last year, impregnating the latter.
The Times says a spokesman for the Mamponteng Sub-Traditional Council who effected the destoolment, told the paper on Tuesday that the action of Nana Agyeman was against custom and tradition and that the council was acting to deter other chiefs from such deviant behaviour.
Nana Agyeman, said to have denied the accusation, is however reported to have earlier pleaded for amicable solution with the families of the victims, promising three million cedis worth of treasury bills as compensation for the younger victim.
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Peprah dismisses NPP's accusation against Veep
The Evening News says Minister of Finance, Mr. Kwame Peprah has dismissed accusations by the New Patriotic Party that the current downward slide of the economy is the result of Professor J.E.A. Mills' inefficiency as chairman of government's economic management team.
Mr. Preprah, reported to have made the statement at the extraordinary congress of the National Democratic Congress, said although the opposition knew the truth about the factors that led to the present state of the economy, they preferred to peddle lies instead.
Mr. Peprah said: "Mr Kufour has conveniently forgotten the fact that it is the same Professor Mills who had chaired the Economic Management Team that successfully ensured a stable economy in 1997, 1998 and 1999".
He likened the present economy to a schoolboy who had fallen ill, saying: "he shall not die... with a little administration of medicine he will surely recover and get back on his feet."
Mr. Peprah also expressed regret that after his press conference to explain government's position and to advice Ghanaians to change their consumption patterns and attitudes, a director of the Centre for Economic Policy Analysis (CEPA), in an interview with an Accra daily, castigated the government for taking all those decisions to get money into party pockets.
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900 m cedis lotto scam
A story carried on the front-page of the Ghanaian Chronicle says the director of the Department of National Lotteries (DNL), Col. Martin Gbikpi told the paper that the Department has foiled a 900m cedi scam.
The deal, detected in a single draw on April 8, involved planting of fraudulent coupons in legitimate "winning ones" causing an unusually high rise in winnings.
Chronicle says a task force set up on suspicion of fraud, detected in DNL's 'Strong Room' that all coupons lying on top of some bags had won in the draw of April 8.
"It appeared that somebody had actually put carbon copies of the winning coupons on top of the bags. We suspect this scam could not have been carried out by one person. There was a collusion", Col. Gbikpi was reported as saying.
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Agony of importers
The Chronicle says in another front-page story that importers have slammed as cumbersome and time wasting, the new import inspection scheme instituted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to replace the pre-shipment scheme a month ago.
The importers, according to the Chronicle, alleged that contrary to the assurances given by the Ministry that the Destination Inspection Scheme would ease the path for them to clear their goods it takes more than ten days for an importer to validate his import documents.
Inspections under the new scheme, the Chronicle says, are done at ports of entry by the Gateway Services Limited and GSBV. However, some importers, the paper says it talked to pointed accusing fingers at the operations of the two bodies, especially, the latter.
To cap what the importers term as a raw deal, is the payment storage fees charged by AFGO, sole cargo handling company, for as long as their imports are kept at its storehouse, which is through no fault of theirs.
Mr. Patrick Seddoh, Administrative Manager of AFGO is reported by the paper to have rather blamed the importers, claiming they do not go by laid down procedures to regulate the clearance of imports.
The Ministry is also reported to have expressed surprise at the complaints of the importers since thorough orientation for importers was made before the implementation of the new scheme.
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Foreign accounts of NDC big shots - Totobi's name comes up
The Weekly Insight says Mr. Kofi Totobi Quakyi, Head of National Security, may have some explanation to offer because its preliminary investigations indicates he is the proud owner of a foreign bank account whose reserves could be anything between three million and 10 million dollars.
The Insight says information that it gathered indicates that Mr. Quakyi had a fairly long meeting with one of the editors of newspapers investigating ownership of the account.
According to the paper, if confirmed to be true it would be one of the serious ironies in recent Ghanaian history, adding that as a student leader, Mr. Quakyi took a firm stand against the holding of foreign accounts by government officials and lambasted those who educated their children abroad.
The story continues that today, most NDC leaders are educating their children abroad and there are at least eight other Ministers and top ranking officials known to be holders of foreign account.
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Opposition made it impossible for Konadu - Tony Aidoo
The Dispatch says the Deputy Minister of Defence, Dr. Tony Aidoo, has given the opposition parties credit for making it impossible for the First Lady, Nana Konadu, Agyeman Rawlings, to stand as the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate in the 2000 elections.
The story, carried on the front-page of the paper says Dr. Aidoo, a close confidant of the First Couple, told the London based Ghana Review International that "here the opposition has been more clever than us. They knew this could well be the case so they started the campaign more than four years ago, creating the situation that will discourage the First Lady from actually going on if she ever had any intention of standing".
Dr. Aidoo, reportedly stated that the First Lady would have won hands down if she was to contest but said however that with Nana Konadu out of the race, the NDC would win the Presidential elections with an even wider margin than in 1996.
"What has the opposition got"? Mr. Aidoo is reported to have asked. "They have a history of destruction and we have a history of building”.
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Money flows at NDC congress
The Free Press on its front page reveals that the Volta Regional capital, Ho last Saturday, 29 April saw an unprecedented display of wealth by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) during its Extraordinary Delegates Congress.
According to the paper, sums of money ranging between ten thousand and thirty thousand cedis, depending on one's influence were paid to all those who boarded the fleet of buses to the congress.
The paper states that the amount was beside what was paid to the 2,500 delegates who attended the congress adding that
the number of vehicles that converged at Ho could possibly outnumber houses in the regional capital.
Some of these vehicles included state owned ones with GV registration numbers belonging to district assemblies, revenue mobilization agencies, Village Infrastructural Project (VIP) vans, pick-ups for district assemblies and Chief Executives official vehicles and PAMSCAD vehicles.
The paper adds that investigations conducted by it revealed specific instruction were given to all the 110 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to organise people with food and pocket monies with free transport to the congress.
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NPP salutes workers
The Free Press on its back page comments on the New Patriotic Party's address to the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and all workers of the country on the occasion of this year's May Day celebrations.
According to the paper, the address stated that, it is only fitting that our working people should celebrate this year's May Day, the first in the millennium, in a worthy fashion.
However, the hash economic conditions in the country, manifested in widespread poverty, inequitable health and educational systems, harrowing and ever-increasing unemployment will detract from their happiness on this joyous occasion.
The paper states that the NPP recognises the crucial role of workers in the national struggle and would like to reaffirm the party's faith in workers. It is the conviction of the NPP that the time has come for workers to reflect on the state of the nation and reassess their role accordingly.
According to the paper, the NPP assured workers in the country of its awareness that the TUC has been emasculated over the past 18 years by a government, whose policies have weakened the labour movement, thus putting the unions on the defensive in the assertion of their rights.
It concludes by expressing the NPP’s hopes that this new millennium will see Ghanaian workers stronger in their desire to participate more and more actively in the re-construction of the nation and thus equate their welfare with the prosperity of the country.
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