GRi Press Review Ghana 28 - 05

The Government is determined to reduce the current inflation rate of 40.5 to at least 25 per cent by the end of the year, according to the Daily Graphic.

A Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr G.A. Agambila, who gave the assurance, said the government is putting in place prudent economic policies to ensure that all imbalances in the economy are corrected to make the objective achievable.

He was speaking at the swearing-in of the newly-elected executive of the University of Cape Coast branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at the weekend.

It has as its President, Mr Michael Ampong; First Vice-President, Alexander Obeng; Second Vice-President, Felix Annor, and Stephen Kwaku Kankam, Secretary.

Others are Organising Secretary, Alexander Asamoah; Alfred Acheampong, Treasurer; Eric Amoah, Propaganda Secretary, and Emelia Amponsah, Women's Organiser.

Dr Agambila said as part of its efforts, government would promote the patronage of locally made products to help boost the work of private industries and reduce government expenditure of imports.

He said value would also be added to exports to increase foreign exchange flow into the country. He also indicated that government would stop borrowing from domestic financial institutions to make credit available to the private sector.

Dr Agambila noted that what the people of Ghana need to do to ensure the success of these policies is to patronize locally made goods.

"As we patronize foreign goods, we help the economies of other countries to grow to the detriment of ours," he pointed out.

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President off to Valencia

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Saturday night left for Valencia, Spain, to attend the 36^th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank and the 27^th Session of the African Development Fund.

He was accompanied by Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Dr Kwesi Ndoum, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Integration.

He was seen off at the airport by Vice-President Aliu Mahama, Ministers of State, the Dean of Diplomatic Corps, Mr Ibrahim Omar and the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ernest Owusu Poku.

Already in Spain for the meeting are Mr J.H. Mensah, Leader of Government Business, and the Minister of Finance, Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo.

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The Ghanaian Times

GIPC registers 32 projects

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) at the end of the first quarter of this year registered 32 projects estimated at 15.90 million dollars, The Ghanaian Times reports.

There were 19 joint foreign/Ghanaian registered enterprises projected to cost 10.56 million dollars and 13 wholly foreign projects also estimated to cost 5.33 million dollars FDI's. Initial capital transfers made amounted to 2.75 million dollars.

A GIPC first quarter investment report released in Accra said the expected employment opportunities to be created by these projects are 873 Ghanaians and 68 for non-Ghanaians.

Of the projects, the services sector registered 11 involving 9.51 million dollars followed by the manufacturing sector with 10 projects at an estimated cost of three million dollars in both foreign and local funding.

From September 1994 the Centre has registered 1,192 projects mainly in the service (325) and manufacturing (310) sectors of the economy.

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Legon students demand accounts of user fees

Students of the University of Ghana, Legon, are demanding that the authorities give them an audited account of both the academic and residential facilities user fees, as well as such other fees collected from them from 1999 to date.

The students say that although they have been paying exorbitant amounts, they are still over crowded in their halls while the facilities there are in deplorable conditions.

Mr Benjamin Ampoma-Boaten, president of the Students Representative Council, (SRC) said at a press conference on Friday that until the authorities had accounted for the user fees the students would be unable to pay any fees.

"As if our plight on campus is not enough, the Shylocks are proposing a new increment of Facilities User Fee from 224,000 to ¢350,000. "We reject totally, the proposed academic and residential facility user fees for the 2001/2002 academic year and therefore call for their complete review," he said.

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The Ghanaian Voice

Elizabeth Ohene throws more light on Rawlings' bodyguards

The Ghanaian Voice quotes Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State, Media Relations, as describing as unfortunate ex-President Rawlings' rejection of police bodyguards.

Ms Ohene in a Joy FM programme, last week said under a constitutional rule, it is the duty of the police to protect and to play the normal civil role of protecting and keeping order.

Ms Ohene said under the NPP as a civilian government, President Kufour is keen on making sure that the police play their rightful role as enshrined in the constitution.

She disagreed with a suggestion that during the transitional period it was agreed that the ex-President would have a say in putting together his personal security, adding 'that is normal military practice'.

Ms Ohene emphasised that even if the NPP government was going to keep the soldiers, which they are minded to do, it cannot be argued that the military hierarchy cannot move them around, because "that is just not acceptable. And it is also not a normal practice."

She re-emphasised that the NPP government as charged by the people with the ex-President, and that is President Kufuor's responsibility, he is very much accountable to the people of Ghana to protect Rawlings.

According to her that is what the law requires President Kufuor to do, and did not believe he would take any chances.

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The Daily Guide

Rawlings accepts bodyguard

The ex-President Flt. Lt. Rawlings has now accepted the "no-win" situation created last week when the government changed 25 military bodyguards who had guarded him for good 20 years, reports The Daily Guide.

According to a report filed to the BBC by Kwaku Sakyi Addo, Rawlings has now invited the policemen guarding him into the main yard of his North Ridge residence and has also offered them a share of his food.

The report said the police humbly declined the invitation opting to patrol the outer perimeters of the residence as they have been ordered to, but it was not clear if they partook of the snacks allegedly offered them by Rawlings or not.

They told the BBC reporter, 'No Problem' when he sought to get an update of the situation.

"This is in sharp contrast with earlier reports that the ex-president protested when he was informed of the change of the guards," according to the Guide.

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The Independent

'Flying coffin' back soon

The Independent says Ghana's presidential jet, the Fokker 28, dubbed 'the flying coffin" by the last Council of State is to be sent to Holland for rehabilitation very soon.

The refurbishment is to enable President Kufuor use the jet for his travels instead of traveling by commercial flights.

The Minister of Defence, Hon. Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor said this at a durbar to climax his day's visit to military installations of the Ghana Air Force in Accra.

The issue of the so-called flying coffin dogged debate in the last two years ever since the last Council of State turned itself into an authority on aviation.

The jet, which was bought by General Kutu Acheampong is not meant for long haul.

Former President Rawlings used it for long journeys and over taxed it which ran into a number of problems.

Prez Kufuor has not traveled on it since he came into power, neither has he used the controversial Gulf Stream jet leased under dubious circumstances by the old regime.

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The Ghanaian Chronicle

¢1.2bn tax evasion at Ghanair

The Ghanaian Chronicle says its ongoing investigations into the state of affairs at the Ghana Airways (Ghaanir) have uncovered series of questionable acts and administrative deficiencies under the former Chief Executive Mr. E.C. Quartey Jnr., plunging the national air carrier into serious financial crisis.

Between Quartey Jnr. and Mr Tim Stevens, Deputy Chief Executive (DCE), Business Development, the nation lost about ¢1.2 billion through salary tax evasion.

Also some valuable documents containing the records of the company's fleet of aircraft could not be traced, after Quartey's resignation in February, this year.

It has now been established that Ghanair posted over $100 million loss for 1999/2000 operational year.

In spite of the huge salaries they enjoyed, Quartey ensured that no income tax was deducted from his monthly salary for the four years that he was Ghaanir CEO and that of Stevens for his two years in office as DCE.

Quartey Jnr. was on a monthly salary of $7,000 which is ¢49 millions, using ¢7,000 exchange rate for the dollars, while Tim Stevens was on $6,000 salary which is ¢42 million at ¢7,000, per dollar exchange rate.

To outwit the nation on their tax obligations both Quartey's and Stevens' monthly salaries were prepared on Petty Cash Vouchers (PCVs). Through the use of PCVs even internal auditors were kept in the dark as to what was happening in the company, the Chronicle learnt.

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The Accra Mail

Aggrieved NPP supporters attack I.C. Quaye

"There is something enigmatic about Alhaji Inusah Issaka," comments The Accra Mail, which says also that "whenever he sets his foot on the political landscape, there is trouble."

Even though he has asked to be brought back to his mother party the NPP, there is already confusion about his sudden, about-turn. In the NDC where he had a brief sojourn, party stalwarts point accusing fingers at him as the cause of the group's poor showing in the last elections.

Party supporters and sympathizers of the NPP have stormed the office and house of the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Sheikh I.C. Quaye, requesting that Inusah should be snubbed with some threatening that they would advised themselves if the 'traitor' is accepted back to the NPP fold.

Meanwhile, Madam Hawa Yakubu who was sympathetic to Inusah's move and asked that he be accepted has attracted the opprobrium of a cross section of the NPP top hierarchy. An MP in a telephone chat with the paper, cautioned the party managers to be wary of NDC maneuvers to destabilize the NPP through Inusah.

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Public Agenda

Why some Gas are angry

The Public Agenda carries that behind the recent clashes between Ga traditionalists and some Christian churches over the traditionalists' ban on drumming and noisemaking are expressions of social frustrations and some politics, according to some researchers familiar with the issue.

"This (controversy) is really a diversion of the real and genuine grievance Gas might have," says Professor Gyimah-Boadi, Executive Director of the Center for Democracy and Devlopment.

Professor Gyimah-Boadi and some individuals Public Agenda spoke to identified land as a fundamental issue that has fuelled this problem.

"It is clear they have suffered a grievous alienation of their lands, (…) they have suffered encroachment from government and from private developers with or without the support of government," Professor Gyimah Boadi adding that, there are genuine equity claims Gas can make against government and some individual Ghanaians."

The issue of how to ensure that hosting the capital does not cost the Gas too heavily has come up sporadically in various forums. It is sometimes at the root of clashes over some plots of the land in the capital and has also pitted some indigenous people of the city against others, especially on issues of land sales.

"There should have been arrangement (…) for a progressive rent payment so that when times change the original owners can benefit," says Professor Mike Oquaye, a Consultant on Governance and Conflict Studies.

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Free Press

Sunyani 31^st DWM 'Aye Hot'

The once 'powerful' organization and women's wing of the erstwhile P(NDC) government, the 31^st December Women's Movement (DWM) is reported to have run-away from its Brong-Ahafo offices at Sunyani which was located in the Regional Administration Block without pursuit shortly after the December elections which swept the NPP into office.

The Free Press says its investigations into the fate of Mrs Rawlings' organization in Sunyani confirmed that the decision to "abandon ship" was for fear that their location in the government premises would be called into question.

It is alleged that two days after the December 28 run-off elections which resulted in the defeat of their parent organization the regional organizer of the 31^st DWM, Ms. Constance Ackon and the Brong Ahafo head, Opoku Kyeremeh secretly organized to pack bag and baggage at the odd hours between 11 pm and 1 am the following morning to their bakery site about 500 meters to the University of Ghana Institute of Adult Education in Sunyani.

Free Press has also gathered that similar acts of abandoning the movement and nonfunctioning of the powerful arm of the P(NDC) regime has hit almost all its branches in the country.

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The Ghanaian Democrat

'Decentralise Police Recruitment'

A Takoradi timber contractor, Mr. Isaac Kofi Nketiah, has suggested the recruitment into the police service to be done on regional basis by the regional commanders.

In addition, the background of those recruited should be scrupulously investigated from their hometowns, communities and their former places of work.

Mr Nketia, who was commenting on the recent performance of the police with newsmen at Takoradi, said such measures would go a long way to ensure that only people with good characters are employed as police personnel.

He noted that some criminals and other people with dubious characters have now found their way into the Police Service and are thus tarnishing its image.

Mr Nketiah, who was once a police officer, commended the acting Inspector General of Police, Mr Ernest Owusu Poku and his administration for their untiring efforts leading to the arrest of a suspect believed to be involved in the serial killing of women have been brought to book.

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High Street Journal

Money supply growth slows in response to BOG's tight monetary policies

The High Street Journal, (HSJ) says broad money supply, inclusive of foreign exchange, measured in technical terms, as M2+, grew by barely four percent during the first quarter of 2000, according to Bank of Ghana governor, Dr. Kwabena Duffour.

This is less than half the increase recorded during the corresponding period of last year.

Even more importantly, it means that if the central bank can continue its performance throughout the year, broad money supply growth will come up to about 16% a feat last achieved in 1999 when it grew by 16.1% to the applause of both Ghanaian and foreign financial economists.

Broad money supply growth M2+ is crucial to the performance of the economy since, along with the cedi's external value, it is the primary monetary determinant of inflation.

The other factor is the agricultural performance epitomized by the size and quality of Ghana's annual food harvest.

The lower the rate of broad money supply growth, the lower the rate of inflation is likely to be.

The Bank of Ghana's impressive feat in curbing broad money supply growth during the first quarter of the year is made all the more, clearly illustrated by the fact that the budget target for M2+ for 2001 is 32%, twice as large as what the central bank now anticipates it can achieve if it receives the pre-requisite cooperation from government's fiscal operations.

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NPP News

Kufuor warns Ministers

The New Patriotic Party's mouthpiece, the NPP News, says His Excellency President John Agyekum Kufuor has sounded another note of caution to his ministers not to throw their weights about but to serve the nation in humility.

Administering the oaths of allegiance, secrecy and ministers of state to 27 Deputy Ministers at the State House last Friday, President Kufuor reminded them that as members of government they were the servants of their compatriots who gave them the mandate to rule.

"I am not saying you should demean yourselves but you should not allow the weights of your offices to get into your heads or throw your weights about," he cautioned.

The president advised the Deputy Ministers to eschew showmanship, self-centredness and petty quibbling and work with their sector ministers and civil servants as a team because his government treasures team spirit.

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The Dispatch

Gbeho thwarts car theft

The Dispatch carries that last Wednesday, ex-Foreign Affairs Minister and Member of Parliament for Anlo, Hon. Victor James Gbeho, was nearly robbed of his VW Passat car.

Narrating the incident to paper, Hon. Gbeho said whilst driving home from Parliament on Wednesday, he observed two men in a car trailing him.

They followed him right to his gate at the Airport Residential Area. When he enquired about their mission, they told him they were officials from the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) sent to repossess the car.

Hon Gbeho then told them he was not going to comply since the car is his legal property, duly acquired and paid for.

According to him, when they persisted, he phoned the National Security Adviser, Lieutenant General Joshua Hamidu (rtd), and enquired whether he was aware of any directive to dispossess him of his car.

Gen Hamidu denied knowledge of the said directive and in turn asked him to tell the two men to leave and report back to whoever sent them, who should be asked to call the National Security Adviser.

Hon Gbeho advised them accordingly and also showed them a copy of a letter dated April 3, 2001 from the Chief of Staff, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey as evidence of full payment for the car, after which they left.

Asked whether he suspected any foul play, he answered in the affirmative, and attributed it to certain remarks he made the previous day on an Accra private radio station.

He said while answering a question on the assessment of the current political situation in the country, he advised that the security services must be kept in check if excesses and unrests are to be avoided.

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