GRi Press Review
Ghana 21 - 05 - 2001
Ashanti
mourns victims of stadium disaster
Police
seize assets
Police to
protect project
'Documents
seized from Prempeh not classified'
Gov't to be
sued today
'….NDC
legacy, teachers can't speak English'
SSNIT
blames Charles Asare for 13 billion cedis scandal
CEPS boils
over Ntiamoah's appointment
Who owns
Sahara Oil Company?
Tragedy
wakes police up
NPP honours
heroes
'Report
cases of sexual harassment'
Banks to
commit 30 per cent of domestic debt to bonds
Ashanti
mourns victims of stadium disaster
An
inter-faith memorial service for the victims of the May 9, Accra Sports Stadium
disaster was held at the Kumasi Sports Stadium at the weekend, reports The
Ghanaian Times.
Organized
by the Ashanti Regional Funeral Planning committee, in conjunction with all the
religious groups in the region, it was attended by Ministers of State including
Mr S.K. Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr J. H. Mensah, Minister for
Government Business, Mr Kwamena Bartels, Minister for Works and Housing and
Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi, Minister of Education.
Also
present were Mr Herbert Mensah, chairman of Kotoko and Mr Harry Zakkour, Chief
Executive of Accra Hearts of Oak. It is believed that at least 74 of the
victims of the disaster were from the Ashanti Region.
Although
the bodies were not at the service, the ceremony was marked with grief and
weeping.
Addressing
the mourners, Mr J. H. Mensah advised the public to stop pointing accusing
fingers at each other, saying that, "insults and fights cannot bring back
the deceased to life. Rather, they served to drive the nation further
apart".
Mr Boafo,
on his part said the occasion should offer Ghanaians the opportunity to unite
or come together as a nation and forge ahead to prevent future occurrence of
such national disaster.
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Police
seize assets
The Daily
Graphic reports that a task force from the VAT Secretariat and the police has
impounded some assets of two companies in the Brong Ahafo Region for defaulting
in the payment of Value Added Tax totaling 388 million.
The
companies whose assets were seized are the Mim Timber Company (MTC) in the
Asunafo District and Nsemmere Quarry Limited at Buoku in the Wenchi District.
They owe the state 304.1 million and 83.9 million respectively.
Assets
seized at the MTC include three articulated Benz trucks and a Nissan Double
Cabin pick-up, while at Nsemmere Quarry, the task force impounded computers,
air conditioners, a Datsun pick-up and a dumper.
During the
exercise, organisations such as ADA Timbers at Berekum paid what they owed
immediately to the task force to avoid their assets being seized. The amount
involved was not disclosed.
More…/
Police to
protect project
The
Inspector-General of Police has ordered the Volta Regional Police Commander to
institute adequate security measures to protect the Quality Grains Project at
Aveyime in the Volta Region.
The order
follows reports that some saboteurs intend to destroy machinery, plantation and
other items of evidential value at the project site.
A statement
from the Police Public Relations Unit and signed by Assistant Superintendent of
Administration has also ordered that as a preventive security measure, no
persons will be allowed into the farm without authorization from the Police
Headquarters apart from genuine workers and farmers.
The
statement said, no land assessments, surveying or cartography will be allowed.
These
measures will be in force until the threats subside or the court case is
disposed of.
More…/
'Documents
seized from Prempeh not classified'
The acting
Auditor-General, Mr Edward Dua Agyeman, has stated that documents, which were
seized from the house of the former Auditor-General, Mr Osei Tutu Prempeh, are
not classified.
In a letter
to the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) following its request for a
review of documents it seized from the house of the former Auditor-General, the
acting Auditor-General, stated: "I found that the reports were all single
copies covering various years and appeared to be personal copies of the
Auditor-General, which are also available to all management staff of the Audit
Service".
He added
that, "these personal copies may normally be taken home as long as the
reports have been laid before Parliament."
The BNI
picked Mr Prempeh on April 13, 2001, from church for keeping the documents in
his house in contravention of official regulations relating to the handling of
vital state documents.
During the
search, 39 pieces of documents were seized from Mr Prempeh's house including
"Reports of Auditor General's Public Accounts" and "Statement of
Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments of the Bank of Ghana."
He had
maintained that the documents were the personal copies of the Auditor-General's
report to Parliament for the period 1992-1999, which had then been submitted.
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Gov't to be
sued today
A legal
process aimed at overturning last Friday's ruling of an Accra High Court that
turned over the controversial J.R. Cotton-owned Quality Grain rice-production
company to the Government of Ghana following the victorious legal action of a
minority shareholder in an American court, is likely to begin this morning,
according to The Ghanaian Chronicle.
Mr Oscar
Hudson, uncle of Ms J.R. Woodard (nee Cotton) took umbrage at the news that the
Attorney-General of Ghana had moved to take over the company despite the
unambiguous ruling of the Gwinnet County Superior court where he dragged Ms
Cotton to over the abuse of funds supposed to go into the Aveyime rice project
in Volta Region.
The court
presided over by Superior court judge Mr Justice Fred Bishop handed over a fine
of $7.2 million against J.R. and control of the company to her uncle Mr Oscar
Hudson.
'I hope the
Ghanaian Government would respect the property rights of Americans' Mr Jerome
Green, the African-American counsel of Mr Hudson said in an interview with the
Gwinnet-based daily newspaper at the time.
'We are alarmed
at the news that the Attorney General of Ghana has gone ahead and taken over
the company without even consulting us or speaking with us, Kofi Mr Green
anguished in a transcontinental telephone discussion in the wee hours of
Saturday.
Jerome
reportedly, repeated a fact that appears lost on most people - that it was Mr
Oscar Hudson who had been the true guardian of the money of the people of Ghana
over the years.
It was Mr
Hudson who tipped off the Government of the then President and his Vice of the fraud
that was being perpetrated by J.R. by alerting the Ghana Government through the
Ambassador to the US, Mr Kobby Koomson, of the serious forgeries and fraudulent
maneuvering of Ms. Woodard.
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'….NDC
legacy, teachers can't speak English'
The
Independent says the Minister responsible for Basic, Secondary and Girl-Child
education, Hon Christine Churcher last Friday painted a bleak and gloomy
picture of the country's educational sector.
According
to her the gloomy state of the country's education is the legacy the NDC left
for Ghanaians after several years of being in power, as schools were set up
haphazardly at places without feasibility studies as to their viability in
terms of patronage and availability of facilities for teachers.
"The
gloomy picture painted about education is not only true but gives cause for
concern", she stated, adding, "in some areas teachers cannot speak
simple English and in some cases classes are merged".
Hon
Churcher was contributing to a statement on changes made in the senior
secondary school by Hon. Angelina Baiden-Amissah, MP for Shama.
According
to the Minister, books meant for the schools especially in the rural areas do
not get to the designated areas and wondered into whose custody those books
were kept.
"Indeed
Education is in a serious crisis. Even in Accra there are ramshackle schools,
and as well, the sharp rural-urban divide is very traumatic", she
lamented.
She
therefore recommended that strong four-wheel drive vehicles be given to all GES
office for effective monitoring and supervision, as most of the roads in the
rural areas of Ghana in terrible conditions.
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SSNIT
blames Charles Asare for 13 billion cedis scandal
The Social
Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has put the blame for the 13.6
billion cedis, which has virtually gone down the drain on the shoulders of its
Director-General currently on leave, Mr Charles Asare, writes The Dispatch.
An April
2001 Audit Report commissioned by SSNIT dropped the bombshell, that as at last
March, SSNIT had spent 13.6 billion cedis (about $1.94 million) on a project
which, according to the report, would not serve SSNIT's best interest.
It also
named Mr Eddie Annan, Managing Director of MASAI, as another person related to
the multi-billion cedi deal.
The
revelation was contained in a letter from the acting Director-General of SSNIT,
Mr Eric Adjei, to Mr Asare, in reaction to one from the latter, both of which
were copied to the paper.
Mr Asare
had in his letter, queried Mr Adjei to articles in two editions of The Dispatch
on the misapplication of over 13 billion cedis. In the letter, copied to the
Minister for Finance, SSNIT's Solicitor Secretary and The Dispatch, Mr Asare
urged Mr Adjei to set the records straight by sending a rejoinder to the
Dispatch articles.
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CEPS boils
over Ntiamoah's appointment
The Free
Press says its investigations have revealed that potential trouble is brewing
at the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) over the appointment of Mr
Isaac Kofi Opoku Ntiamoah as the substantive Commissioner of the service. To
this end, the NPP government would have to move fast to avert any disturbances.
Among other
things, a section of the membership of the Senior Staff Association has accused
Mr Opoku Ntiamoah of actively lobbying for the position with the help of some
FM stations and newspapers, which portrayed him as the best man for the
position.
They have
also accused him of conspiring with the chairman of the Senior Staff
Association of the service, Mr George Adum Kwapong to write and circulate a
memorandum in the name of the Association, practically recommending and
nominating him for the post.
However, a
section of the senior staff have also pointed out that the appointment of Mr
Ntiamoah negates the NPP's promise not to reengage retired officers in order to
make way for young officers.
They
contend that Mr. Opoku Ntiamoah retired from the service in January this year
at the age of 60.
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Who owns
Sahara Oil Company?
The
Ghanaian Voice carries that at his first meet the press encounter, just after
his hundred days in office, President Kufuor told the nation that it did not
matter who the owners of Sahara Oil Company, the company now lifting oil for
the country are.
He had
indicated that his main concern as the President of Ghana was the fact that the
oil is lifted to Ghana.
The paper
says in the minds-eye of the President, the end justifies the means, not the
means justifying the end.
But to the
opposition NDC in parliament, accountability and transparency do not justify
the stance of President JAK and, as a result, the party has set in motion
private investigations to unmask the real owners of the company that started
lifting the crude for Ghana with the advent of the NPP government.
The
minority leader in Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin, is reported as saying the he
has gone beyond the Registrar General's office, within the register's office,
call cards and the key actors in the company "and things don't appear to
be pleasant at all."
He said he
has gathered oral evidence and documentary evidence, facts and figures and it
would be interesting for the facts to come out.
Mr Bagbin,
the NDC Member of Parliament for Nadowli North told this paper that,
"after we have finished with our investigations we will invite the
Minister for Energy to come to Parliament and answer a few questions. It is
very strange that there was no transparency in the award of the oil contract,
and also the contract was not opened to tender. I know we will come back very
soon because the evidence we have are so overwhelming and intractable."
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Tragedy
wakes police up
The Accra
Mail says after the stampede at the Accra Sports Stadium on May 9, which
resulted in 126 deaths, many people blamed the police for being the cause. The
police administration, shocked at the public outcry, has been jolted to
re-examine itself and its methods.
The Acting
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Ernest Owusu-Poku, who is yet to come to
terms with the sad events of the bloody Wednesday, last Friday summoned his Regional
Commanders to a conference in Accra and announced new orders that will keep
senior officers in check who would in turn, be expected to exercise the
necessary supervisory control over their subordinates.
The new
measures announced by the IGP include briefing parades and the personal
involvement of Regional Commanders in security arrangements for the various
football league matches in the country. The Regional Commanders would under no
circumstance leave security arrangements at football matches in the hands of
civilians.
Crowd
control methods and strategies will also be revamped as well as civil order
management methods for the police to be able to effectively handle and deal
with tensions and passions that have the potential to explode into violence and
lawlessness.
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NPP honours
heroes
The NPP
honoured over 900 polling agents and volunteers last weekend for risking their
lives during the 2000 presidential and parliamentary elections, reports the
party's mouthpiece, the NPP News.
The polling
agents who formed part of over 2000 volunteers recruited by NPP to monitor the
elections in the Volta Region were awarded with certificates and cash for their
meritorious services to the party and nation.
They were
made up of the party's polling agents, students from the tertiary institutions
and other volunteers.
The
ceremony was full of excitement as the heroes recounted their experiences
during the December 7 and 28 elections in a region known as the NDC's World
Bank" as far as elections are concerned.
Some of
them were maimed with bullet wounds, some were detained by the police, whilst
others were brought back to Accra by the former IGP, Mr Peter Nanfuri for no
apparent reason.
National
Chairman, Mr Samuel Odoi-Skykes saluted the heroes for their bravery and the
risk they took to ensure that democracy thrives in the country.
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'Report
cases of sexual harassment'
The
Director of the Tema sub-regional office of the Commission for Human Rights and
Administrative Justice (GHRAJ), Mrs Abena Bonso Eck has advised students and
children to report any form of sexual harassment to their parents or the law
enforcement agencies, writes The Ghanaian Chronicle.
She said
the rights of children are protected under the laws of the land and they should
therefore not hesitate to seek help whenever the need arises.
Mrs Eck was
addressing a youth forum organized by the National Commission for Civic
Education (NCCE) as part of activities marking the Constitutional Week at Tema,
near Accra attended by various youth groups drawn from the municipality.
She said
the Children's Act 560 of 1998 requires parents to provide their children with
their needs and urged the youth to express their views on issues that affect
them.
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Banks to
commit 30 per cent of domestic debt to bonds
The Banks
have offered the government a 30 per cent relief in its bid to reduce domestic
debt, which currently stands at nine trillion cedis, reports the Public Agenda.
The
restructuring process, which also involves the non-bank financial institutions,
covers three trillion cedis intended to transform the domestic debt into medium
and long-term bonds.
These would
be in the form of one-to-three year bonds, said Jean Aka, Managing Director of
Ecobank, who spoke on behalf of the banks at a press briefing on the final day
of a National Economic Dialogue. He explained that the restructuring did not
mean, the banks are writing off the debt the government owes.
Aka said
proposals sent to the government needed to address earnings from the banks'
secondary reserve holding which constitute a big portion of their liquidity flow,
adding that a conversion criterion ought to be fashioned in order not to
disturb their portfolios.
"Consequently,
the Ghana Association of Bankers propose that only maturing bills must be
converted and this should be spread in a manner that would allow banks to
converted part of their maturing bills and not just all their maturing
bills," he said.
"Our
proposition is that banks should be left with a float of 70 per cent of
maturing bills to ensure liquidity." He said the remaining 30 per cent
could then be invested in 10 per cent sequences of one, two and three year
bonds.
Such a
mechanism, he said, would ensure that banks would be in a position to fulfill
their obligation to customers who may want their deposits before the tenure of
the bond.
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