GBA challenges President’s power…To appoint assemblymen
Test tube baby No. 100…Delivered at Pro-Vita
Latest on killer tape…Govt gives up prosecution…
Moves to disrupt big demo
Akufo Addo buys helicopter…Plane in Cote d’Ivoire
No registered political party stages demonstration – Kofi Awoonor
Kwame Peprah going
Lending rates rise 34% last week
GBA challenges President’s power…To appoint assemblymen
The Ghanaian Times reports in its top story that the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has criticised the President’s appointment of one-third of the membership of the district assembly as "highly undemocratic".
The Times says the GBA, commenting on the proposed constitutional amendment currently before Parliament, said "an assemblyman is a holder of political office and should be prepared to subject himself to the ‘heat and hurly burly’ of political campaign and electioneering".
To that end, the GBA proposed that all members of the district assembly should be elected. The association is said to have also stated that the Presiding Member of the district assembly should be elected by a simple majority of all members since "it is they who nominate him".
According to the story, the GBA further proposed an amendment to Clause One of Article 243 of the Constitution on District Chief Executives. The association contended that since "the DCE is the most important officer of the district assembly, he should be directly appointed by and answerable to the assembly".
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Daily Graphic
Test tube baby No. 100…Delivered at Pro-Vita
In a front-page banner headline story, the Daily Graphic a 38-year-old woman yesterday delivered the 100th test tube baby at the Pro-Vita Specialist Hospital at Tema, four years after the first such baby was delivered there.
The Graphic says the baby, weighing 3.07 kilograms, was delivered by a team of medical experts led by Dr Joe Mainoo, the specialist in charge of the hospital, through a caesarean operation lasting exactly 11 minutes.
The paper says the mother is among 13 patients who conceived out of 81 women who were treated using the newly-introduced micro manipulation technique, which enable a single sperm to be implanted into the female egg to achieve fertilisation.
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Latest on killer tape…Govt gives up prosecution…
The Independent in its lead story, says that the Rawlings Government is abandoning any plans to prosecute the publishers and journalists of the "Statesman" and "Joy FM" in what has come to be known as "the killer tape affair".
The paper says following the government’s failure to heed a call by Nana Akufo Addo and other groups for the setting up of an independent inquiry to unravel the truth about allegations on the killer tape, human rights groups are planning to establish an independent inquiry to look into the matter.
According to the Independent, as a fall-out from the "killer tape affair", Joy FM, which got embroiled in the saga, has sacrificed one of its editorial staff, Mawuko Zormelo.
The paper recalls that a few weeks ago, security agents picked up the Managing Director of Kinesic Communications, publishers of the "Statesman" and two staff of the paper, as well as some staff of Joy FM over the publication of the killer tape that, among other things, discussed a plan to kill a Roman Catholic priest in 1985, and the bomb blast in 1992 at Ringway Hotel, owned by the Akufo Addos.
Continuing, the Independent says also discussed on the tape were an abortive bombing of Provident Towers and residences of Captain Kojo Tsikata, former National Security boss and the late Tony Gbeho, an aide to President Jerry Rawlings.
The paper says the government reacted with haste when the tape as published by the "Weekend Statesman" and later broadcast by Joy FM, describing it as forgery and began a clampdown on the media by arresting staff of Joy FM and the Statesman.
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Moves to disrupt big demo
The Statesman, in a front-page story on the planned demonstration by the Opposition, says in spite of public assurances by the ruling NDC that it would not interfere with the "Yabre" demonstration on Thursday, moves are under way to disrupt the march.
According to the paper, sources allege that a meeting of top government officials took place at the weekend at the Castle to discuss the forthcoming demonstration and map out a response.
The Statesman says at the meeting, most of those assembled supported the position of the security agencies that the march be allowed to proceed smoothly without any interference whatsoever.
The basis of their argument was that since the Opposition is not prepared to back down from the demonstration, any attempt to counter it would only serve to re-enact a "Kumepreko" situation in Ghana.
The Statesman says reports, meanwhile, point to underground moves to create problems and blame it on the Opposition on Thursday. The moves, the paper says, include the use of thugs wearing NPP and National Reform Party "T" shirts mainly to engage in acts of vandalism.
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Akufo Addo buys helicopter…Plane in Cote d’Ivoire
The Ghana Palaver says Nana Akufo Addo, the Kyebi MP, has purchased a helicopter for the political campaign of the splinter group he intends to led for the 2000 presidential and parliamentary campaign.
According to the Palaver, the helicopter was bought by Nana Akufo Addo, who used his business partners in Cote d’Ivoire as his front men during the negotiations for the purchase of the aircraft.
The paper says its scouts have confirmed that the helicopter is currently being kept in Cote d’Ivoire and is expected to be flown to Ghana in the first quarter of next year, when Nana Akufo Addo clinches the presidential candidature of the new political he intends to forge from the anti-Kufuor elements in the NPP, the radical wing of the Convention Party and some other disgruntled politicians of various hues and colours.
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No registered political party stages demonstration – Kofi Awoonor
The Crusading Guide notes that the planned demonstration to be organised by five Opposition political parties on Thursday, November 25, has undoubtedly created some panic within the rank and file of the ruling NDC.
The paper says Prof. Kofi Awoonor, a Presidential Staffer, reacting to a question on the proposed demonstration, unequivocally stated that in a democratic society, no registered political party with members in Parliament, takes to the streets to put its case across. Such a method, he observed, could degenerate into violence.
The Crusading Guide says Prof. Awoonor mentioned the Conservative Party of Britain and the Republican Party of the United States and said they had never resorted and would never resort to street demonstrations in protest against the ruling governments of those countries.
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Kwame Peprah going
In its lead story, the Guide says despite the failed motion brought to Parliament by Dr Kofi Apraku, demanding the resignation of the Minister of Finance, Mr Kwame Peprah, his position is still hanging in limbo.
The paper says insiders of the NDP have intimated that it is the call by the Minority in Parliament, which is still keeping Mr Peprah as Finance Minister. According to the Guide, another consideration that is still saving the job of Mr Peprah is the Consultative Group Meeting (Donors’ Conference), which is beginning to day in Accra.
The paper says sources indicated that the President is keeping Mr Peprah to spite the Opposition for making demands for his resignation. It says the second reason why Mr Peprah is still ‘surviving’ is the fact that he is expected to account to the donors at tomorrow’s meeting.
The Guide says Ghana’s multilateral and bilateral donors are demanding an explanation for the use of billions of dollars that have been pumped into Ghana before any further assistance would be offered the country, in spite of the present precarious financial situation.
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Lending rates rise 34% last week
The High Street Journal reports on its front page that bank chiefs were caught in a flurry of management meetings all last week trying to figure out what to do with lending rates.
The paper says the options as they met to take decisions were few. They just had to increase their lending rates. According to the paper, even before last week, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana had notched its lending rate five points up from 28% of November 8 to 33% on November 15.
During the period, Social Security Bank (SSB) moved from 28% to 34%, Ghana Commercial Bank is between 33% and 41%. Barclays is reported as charging between 34% and 38%.
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