Big welcome for the Queen
The Queen is here…Thousands welcomed her at the airport
Crossfire over mysterious tape
Publication of forged tape…NDC is angry
Proposed tax increases…Don’t dare!, Govt warned
Secret armouries: Who owns them?
Reform Party on the "Albert" Tape
Big welcome for the Queen
The Graphic in a front-page story, reports that thousands of people from all walks of life converged on the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, to give the Queen of England a rousing welcome when she disembarked to begin a second visit to Ghana in 38 years.
The story is accompanied by a picture of the Queen and President Jerry Rawlings with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh engaged in a chat in the background.
The crowd, the Graphic says, included a 96-year-old ex-serviceman, Mr E.A. Quarcoe, who was at the London University when as a member of the scouts, he visited Buckingham Palace while wearing the Guild Cross of Bravery won during World War II.
According to Mr Quarcoe, Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess, on seeing him, inquired from him how he won the cross.
The paper says there was also an 80-year-old lady who was a member of the group that met the Queen during her first visit. The lady came to meet the British Monarch wearing a cloth with a portrait of the queen and the late Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, she bought 38 years ago. The Graphic says the Queen attired in a blue satin dress, waved at the crowd as she walked down the gangway.
President Rawlings and the First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, met the British Monarch and her husband at the foot of the gangway of a special British Airways flight that brought them.
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The Queen is here…Thousands welcomed her at the airport
The Ghanaian Times also reports the visit to Ghana by Queen Elizabeth II of England and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The paper says it was excitement unbound at the Kotoka International Airport yesterday when a sea of miniature flags of Britain and Ghana dwarfed the flowing numbers of Ghanaians at the airport to give the royal couple the most befitting welcome on their second visit to Ghana in 38 years.
The front-page story also carries a picture of President Rawlings escorting the royal couple to their cars after the arrival ceremony at the airport.
The Times says that to the majority of the youth in the welcoming party, it was a dream fulfilled. They had heard about the Queen’s first visit to Ghana 38 years ago.
According to the paper, some of the thousands of people, both old and young, had converged on the airport as early as 10 a.m., long before the royal couple, accompanied by Mr Robin Cook, British Foreign Secretary, arrived at 5.40 p.m.
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Crossfire over mysterious tape
The Ghanaian Voice says the battle lines are drawn, the stage is set and the combatants appear to have started warming up for a protracted engagement over the "Rawlings Tape".
The Voice in a front-page story, says this is the scenario portrayed as at the weekend regarding the controversial and mysterious tape and transcripts widely publicised as "Tapes from the Rawlings episode", by the "Weekend Statesman" and the "JOY FM" programme, ‘Newsfile’.
The paper says following the appointment of an investigation team headed by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Peter Nanfuri, to trace the source of he tape, which the Interior Minister earlier claimed preliminary investigations had established to be "crudely forged", Nana Akufo Addo MP for Abuakwa, at a press conference insisted that the source and contents of the tape should be thoroughly investigated.
Nana Akufo Addo is reported as saying that it would be more credible and appropriate if the proposed inquiry were handled by an independent judicial of quasi-judicial body.
This, he said, could possibly enable all aspects of the matter to be investigated and "not just the narrow issue of the alleged forged tape". The Voice says almost immediately after Nana Akufo Addo’s press conference, the Interior Minister, Nii Okaija Adamafio, came out with what was seen by observers as a stern warning to all those who might be implicated in the Nanfuri investigations to co-operate in their own interest.
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The Ghanaian Democrat
Publication of forged tape…NDC is angry
In its top story, the Ghanaian Democrat says the ruling NDC has noted with extreme anger and disgust, the malicious manner with which "JOY FM", a private Accra radio station, and the "Weekend Statesman" have in recent times, published and broadcast libellous materials against the President, Flt-Lt Jerry Rawlings.
"The NDC is not only angry, we are also outraged at the malicious and vicious attack on our leader, and we cannot be sure how long we can continue to restrain our following", the paper quotes the NDC as saying. The Democrat says the NDC reaction was contained in a statement issued by the party’s General Secretary, Alhaji Hudu Yahaya.
The paper says Alhaji Yahaya revealed that: "No people, no party, indeed no country, will stand idle by while its duly elected President is daily maligned, insulted and vilified in this cruel manner".
The NDC scribe is said to have recalled that in 1992 and 1996, when the Ghana was gearing up for elections, the same ‘nonsensical effusions’ were resorted to by the opposition and their mouthpieces, simply because they had wanted to malign the President, members of government and the progressive alliance thus inciting public agitation against the government. "This time, however, they have gone too far.
While we await the outcome of the investigations, we shall also keep all our options open", Alhaji Yahaya is quoted as saying.
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Proposed tax increases…Don’t dare!, Govt warned
In a front-page banner, the Public Agenda says workers, economic experts, manufacturers, opposition political parties and employers, have warned the government against any attempt to raise taxes, as such any action will be forcibly resisted.
The planned increases will not address Ghana’s immediate problems. The paper says any increase in taxes would increase the level of poverty in the country, stifle private initiatives and reverse any economic gain made, quoting the group.
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The Ghanaian Chronicle
Secret armouries: Who owns them?
The Ghanaian Chronicle says suspicions that caches of arms, that could be used to threaten national security, are stored in armouries outside the control of the security services found echo in Parliament, last Friday as Minority MP quizzed the Minister responsible for National Security, Mr Kofi Totobi Quakyi, during question time.
The Chronicle says the House heard that arms are kept at Kowus warehouse at Tema, Asutsuare, and in silos at Agogo and demands were made for immediate action to reassure Ghanaians hat they could be safe from such weapons.
According to the paper, the issue of the arms discovered in the houses of President Jerry Rawlings’ cousin, Michael Soussoudis and Tony Gbeho, also resounded with the MPs seeking to know how the matter was dealt with.
The paper says the concerns were touched off by a question by Alhaji Malik Alhassan Yakubu, MP for Yendi, who had asked the Minister whether he was aware that besides the Army and Police armouries, there were other places in Accra and other parts of Ghana where weapons were stored and if so, under whose control.
The MP is said to have also demanded what concrete steps were taken when caches of arms were discovered in the houses of Soussoudis and Gbeho. The Chronicle says replying, Mr Quakyi said he was unaware of the arms outside the control of the Army and Police, he, however, thanked the MP for the information on Kowus warehouse at Tema and Asutsuare and promised to investigate.
The paper says on Soussoudis and Gbeho, Mr Quakyi said some actions were taken but he would have to refer to the records to know exactly what they were.
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The Dispatch
Reform Party on the "Albert" Tape
In a banner headline story, the Dispatch says a leading member of the National Reform Party (NRP) has suggested that the way the government is handling what has become known as the "Albert" tape, has widened the credibility gap and there is the urgent need to put people’s minds to rest. Mr. Kyeretwie Opoku, the interim General Secretary of the party is reported as saying that he agrees that there is the need for an independent judicial investigation into all the issues raised regarding the "Albert" tape.
"We need to put people’s minds to rest. If there is conclusive proof that the tape is a forgery, they should tell us what it is, so that we can move on.
If there is no such proof, then let’s have the courage to deal with the issues raised by the tape. Even if the tape is a forgery, it refers to events that we all know took place"…
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