GRi Press Review
Ghana 22 - 05 - 2001
NDC MPs
call off boycott
C'ssion
orders test on chairs
Audit
report was found in Mallam Isa's house
No vote for
Upper West?
Danger!
High rise buildings pose a threat
Stanchart
cashier exposes ¢84.2m fraud in K'si
'Ade Coker
Stand' closed
Jack
Bebli's smash & grab case
Cedi enjoys
positive change
Terror hits
NDC
Condemned
prisoners complain
Dark clouds
over Spacefon
NDC MPs
call off boycott
The Daily
Graphic quotes Mr Kenneth Dzirasah, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, as
saying on Saturday that members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would
join their colleagues and participate in the business of the House as from
Tuesday.
He said the
boycott by the Minority, following the arrest and detention of Mr E.T. Mensah,
MP for Ningo Prampram, by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) has been
"tremendously successful."
He told the
Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Akosombo that the Minority, by
virtue of its strength, experience and knowledge in parliamentary procedures,
is "indispensable".
He
reiterated that the boycott was to send a strong signal to the Executive and
other institutions on the need for them to adhere to constitutional provisions
and to assure all that the Minority is active to play its watchdog role.
He said for
the first time, the BNI has had to issue a statement to explain the reason for
the arrest and contended that this is enough evidence of the tremendous
pressure the boycott exerted on the Executive.
The Second
Deputy Speaker indicated that the boycott was the first of a series of actions
to be taken by the Minority to protect the rights of ordinary citizens and to
ensure that the government and its institutions operate within the
Constitution.
Mr Dzirasah
said the Minority expects the government to create an environment that will
promote vibrant democracy, through the strengthening of institutions and not
through intimidation.
He said the
Minority would table for discussion in the House the arrest and detention of
the member.
More…/
C'ssion
orders test on chairs
The
Presidential Commission on the Accra Sports Stadium disaster has ordered that
samples of the plastic seats at the stadium be sent to the laboratory for
examination. The directive is to help the commission to establish the quality
and durability of the chairs.
Mr Sam
Okudzeto, Chairman of the commission, gave the order during a visit by members
of the commission to the Accra Stadium to look for more evidence and inspect
the scene of the May 9 disaster.
Explaining
the rationale behind the directive, Mr Okudzeto said in an interview that since
the commission began sitting, it has heard that the throwing of the plastic
seats resulted in the firing of the tear gas and it is the position of the
commission that a laboratory test will help determine the quality of the seats.
When the
commission visited the stadium, members found out that the crime scene had been
cleaned. But while there were still pieces of the damaged plastic seats in the
stands and the footwear of the victims left in the security room, the awful
sight of blood on the stairwell, had been cleaned.
The
commission gave indication that it would find out who gave the order for the
disaster area to be tampered with when the Deputy Estates Manager of the
National Sports Council (NSC), Mr Benjamin Boateng, appears before it on
Tuesday.
More…/
Audit
report was found in Mallam Isa's house
A detective
Chief Inspector of Police, Mr Hope Nyadi, on Monday told the Fast Track High
Court trying the dismissed Youth and Sports Minister, Mallam Ali Yusuf Isa,
that during a search of the ex-minister's house, he found the audit report
which the accused claimed got missing with the $46,000.
Mr Nyadi,
who tendered the report in evidence, however, agreed with counsel for the
ex-minister, Mr Ambrose Dery, upon cross-examination, that the document that
Mallam Isa carried to Sudan was just a copy and not the original audit report.
The
detective was giving evidence in the case in which Mallam Isa has pleaded not
guilty to two counts of stealing and fraudulently causing financial loss to the
state.
He has been
granted bail in the sum of ¢500 million with a surety to be justified. The
surety was ordered by the court to deposit the title deed of a landed property
at the registry of the court as part of the bail bond.
Mallam Isa is
also to report to the head office of the Police Criminal Investigations
Department on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, until the determination of
the case.
In his
evidence, Mr Nyadi, who is the investigator in the case, told the court,
presided over by Mr Justice Julius Ansah, an Appeal Court judge, sitting as an
additional High Court judge, that while Mallam informed him that his wife gave
him 2,500 pounds sterling for the trip, she on the contrary told him that she
gave him $1,500.
GRi…/
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No vote for
Upper West?
The Evening
News reports that work has virtually come to a halt in the Upper West Region
because government departments and organisations have not received their
Expenditure Authorisations (EAs) since the beginning of the year to enable them
operate.
Investigations
conducted by the paper showed that except the Regional Coordinating Council,
the Health Directorate, Agriculture, Education and the Information Services
Departments, as many as 22 departments and organisations have not received EAs
on their Financial Encumbrances even though the year is in its second quarter
or precisely the middle of the fifth month.
Under the
circumstances, the departments and agencies are not in a position to meet
deadlines and set targets outlined in their performance agreements since
January 2001.
"The
Evening News" investigations revealed that productivity has slumped
considerably and may come to a total halt if there are no interventions to
mitigate the situation.
GRi…/
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Danger!
High rise buildings pose a threat
Investigations
by The Ghanaian Times have revealed that there could be a disaster in the event
of earthquake or a fire outbreak in most of the high-rise buildings springing
up in the capital, Accra.
This is
because most of the buildings are not only higher than 60 metres, they also
lack enough emergency exit points, fire suppression equipment, warning signs,
access routes and assembly points.
Some of the
buildings visited by the 'Times' were between 40 and 64 metres high and have 12
to 17 floors.
The story
says with the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) having only a 33-metre ladder,
acquired about a decade ago, it stands to reason that the ladder could not be
used to fight fire effectively on such structures, should there be a fire
outbreak - disaster is bound to occur.
Mr Emmanuel
Atenga, Director of Operations, GNFS headquarters, in an interview confirmed
the lapses in the availability and supply of equipment to the service.
However, he
was quick to add that the service had put in place measures to make up for such
lapses in order not to find itself wanting in case of any fire outbreak in the
high-rise buildings and other public places.
More…/
Stanchart
cashier exposes ¢84.2m fraud in K'si
The
vigilance of the staff of the Kejetia branch of the Standard Chartered Bank in
Kumasi has saved a customer from losing about ¢84.2 million through a
fictitious withdrawal.
Kwasi Addae
Agyei, 53, an Accra-based self-styled businessman, said to be the brain behind
the deal, is helping the Kumasi police in their investigations.
Briefing
the 'Times' here on Monday, police sources said the suspect arrived in Kumasi
from Accra last week Monday at about 2 pm with two cheques of the Accra High
Street branch of the Standard Chartered Bank. One of the cheques,
160464100100571200, was dated May 10, 2001 and had a face value of ¢45,320,000.
The other cheque, 100456011001005712, dated May 4, 2001, was for ¢38,920,000.
The suspect
presented the cheques to the Kejetia branch of the bank for payment but the
cashier became suspicious of the large amount and the manner in which he tried
to rush her through the payment process.
She
accordingly informed the bank manager and when the cheques were thoroughly
examined, they were found to belong to Hotel Investment Limited in Accra.
When the
company was contacted, its officials denied sending the suspect to cash the
amount and said that the cheques in question were stolen some time ago.
GRi…/
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'Ade Coker
Stand' closed
The North
Wing side of the Accra Sports Stadium, the stand at which over 126 soccer fans
perished in the horrific May 9 incident would be closed to spectators if the
2001 Star Premier League resumes on Sunday, May 27, writes The Chronicle.
This fiat
would be operational until the badly damaged railings lining the stairwells at
the stand popularly referred to as the 'Ade Coker Stand' are repaired,
Brigadier George Brock, Acting Chief Executive of the National Sport Council
(NSC), managers of the stadium property disclosed.
This
decision was reached at a meeting attended by officials of the NSC, the Ghana
Football Association (GFA) and Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA),
Brigadier Brock said, when testifying before the Presidential Commission
investigating the fatal incident on Monday.
He said the
decision to resume the league would depend on how soon a cleansing ceremony to
be performed at the "disaster scene" by representatives of religious
organisations is done.
The over
¢700 million sponsored league was suspended by the Ghana Football Association
(GFA) following the incident triggered by volleys of teargas tossed into the
stands by police personnel in a knee-jerk effort to control rowdy fans.
126 fans
who had come to witness a league match between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra
Hearts of Oak, two leading club sides in the country, were crushed to death
following the stampede that ensured.
More…/
Jack
Bebli's smash & grab case
The Former
Commanding Officer of the 64 Infantry Regiment, Lt. Col. Gbevlo Lartey, after
several months of pursuit, has finally admitted that he spent about ¢200
million representing money which was hijacked from a private contractor by a
group of armed soldiers led by Jack Bebli.
According
to him, the Army Headquarters instructed him to use the money, which belonged
to one Yamoah Boakye, a private contractor, for the welfare of his unit. This
order from the Army HQ was given at the time when Lt Gen Ben Akafia, the
immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was the Army Commander.
Lt. Col
Gbevlo Lartey was not able to adduce a single reason for the arrest, detention
and seizure of the money from Mr Yamoah Boakye, in Accra.
In response
to a Chronicle enquiry, the former CO, however, said that the
"instructions from the Army HQ at the end of the operation were that after
the preliminary investigation the matter should be handed over to the BNI for
further handling and the amount involved should be paid into the Regiment's
accounts for use on the unit's welfare".
Lt Col
Gbevlo Lartey continued "in response the amount was paid into unit
accounts for use on the unit's welfare".
Meanwhile,
legal experts have challenged the directive by the then Army Commander, Lt. Gen
Ben Akafia instructing the Commander of the 64 Infantry Regiment to use the
money for the so-called unit welfare because the money did not belong to the
Armed Forces.
Others have
also argued that it was improper for the Army High Command to order the
transfer of the case from the 64 Regiment to the BNI without the exhibit, which
in that case was the money.
GRi…/
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Cedi enjoys
positive change
The Accra
Mail says analysis of the performance of the local currency in the last quarter
of 2000 and the first quarter of this year shows that the local currency has
improved remarkably.
The last
quarter of last year marked the last days of the PNDC/NDC years and saw the
cedi in deep life threatening crisis.
So bad was
its condition that some people even suggested demonetisation as a way of
stemming the chaos.
During last
year its poor performance became an election issue as the dollar and other
major foreign currencies battered the local currency in the forex market.
In the last
quarter of the year 2000, the local currency lost much of its value opening at
¢6,658.36 and closing at ¢6,995.00 to the dollar, showing a fall of ¢336.64
within the period.
In the
first quarter of year 2001 the cedi opened at ¢7,000 and by the end of April
shot up to ¢7,242.00. It slipped slightly upward to ¢7,250.00 and remained so
all this while. The first quarter results show the cedi falling by ¢250.00.
Comparing
the performance of the cedi in the first quarter to that of the last quarter of
year 2000, the local currency has improved by 31.8%.
The Mail
says what probably worked the deal was the patriotic position the NPP
government took in support of the wobbling national currency.
Within days
of assuming office, Minister of Finance, Yaw Osafo Maafo announced the
intention of the government to prop up the cedi against the major foreign
currencies and since then, it has enjoyed a kind relief.
GRi…/
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Terror hits
NDC
The Daily
Guide says the twin city of Sekondi-Takoradi was over the weekend agog with
excitement over the publication by Friday's Dispatch that some yet unnamed
notable personalities in the NDC and the 31st December Women's
movement (DWM) collected some hefty sums of money from Mr Etienne Popelier, the
former managing director of Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL), in the Western
Region.
Their
excitement culminates from what appears to be one of the biggest looming
scandals to hit the outgone NDC government in a devastating manner, which,
according to their estimation is the greatest blow since losing the December
2000 elections.
The Guide
gathered this information when it became more than obvious that the facts
surrounding the bribery scandal are so notorious that it is being discussed in
the twin city in almost every notable beer bar in the town and at funerals held
over the weekend.
While some
are shocked at the news, others expressed disgust while others still could not
believe their ears.
According
to the allegations the former managing director of GREL had told security
officials in Ghana and France, investigating allegations of embezzlement and
his involvement in the 419 scam that he paid out $2.2m to some top officials of
the NDC and some members of the 31st December Womens' organization.
GRi…/
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Condemned
prisoners complain
Condemned
male prisoners at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison in the Eastern Region total
286, out of which 46 say they have been in (condemned) cells from between 12
and 15 years.
Their
spokesman, Mr Yakubu Karim, reportedly disclosed this to a team of human rights
protectors led by Mr Francis Emile Short, Commissioner, Commission on Human
Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), indicating that he had been in his
cell for 14 years.
A Report
issued by CHRAJ said this came to light when Mr Short and his team, among them
Mr Benjamin K. Oppong, Deputy Commissioner (Legal/Operation) and Dr. Ken
Attafuah, Director of Operations and Chief Investigator, visited the Nsawam
Prison on February 26, 2001.
Mr Karim mentioned
public tribunals "which handed draconian sentences to some of them to
which they had no chances of appeal," adding that overcrowded cells, lack
of ventilation, poor medical services, bad food and lack of running water were
some of the major concerns of the inmates.
The
spokesman pleaded that they should be granted amnesty.
GRi…/
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Dark clouds
over Spacefon
The Statesman
says the big cellphone company, Spacefon, looks set for big trouble, as one of
its major players, Richmond Aggrey, prepares for a corporate battle to recover
shares "politically" taken away from him some time ago.
Aggrey, a
US-based multi-millionaire with vast business interests in Europe, owns Afritel
(Ghana) Limited, which is a member of the communications conglomerate, Digital
Communications Group based in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1998,
Aggrey was the target of a presidential verbal assault, as ex-President
Rawlings devoted a whole section of his address at the Emancipation Day at the
Accra International Conference Centre, to attack him in characteristic style.
Aggrey's
investment foray into Ghana commenced in 1995, when Afritel applied for a
license to build a GSM cellular phone network. Before then, he had
distinguished himself in Nigeria where Afritel's affiliated companies, Digital
Communications Nigeria Ltd. and Mobile Telecommunications Services Ltd., had
weathered the stormy commercial environment to establish an enviable reputation
in operations and service.
GRi…/
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