NPP thrives on freedom of
expression-Akuffo-Addo
I have refused to budge under NDC pressure -
CPP candidate
Goosie denies misappropriating loan
NPP, PNC in electoral alliance?
SFO inappropriate to probe SSNIT – UGM
CPP calls for
vigilance on electoral process
Driver alleged to have crossed Presidential
Convoy arrested
Concerned Citizens deny allegation
Let's sustain
Farmers' Day – Akyeampong
NDC, NPP
supporters clash at Berekum
Protect children from hazardous work – Gamey
Cabinet expresses shock over Rawlings
accident
NPP loyalist
greets supporters with CPP slogan
Police arrest
Wellington and Coomson
Police poised to maintain peace during
elections – Boakye
Security committee condemns night rallies
NPP thrives on freedom of
expression-Akuffo-Addo
Aboso (Western Region) 07 November 2000
Nana Akuffo- Addo, Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa has said NPP thrives on freedom of expression and it is on this basis that the party would use to govern the country when voted to power.
He said dictatorship is unacceptable in the democratic dispensation. Nana Akuffo-Addo was addressing a party rally Aboso at the weekend.
Voting the NDC back to power would amount to a continuation of poverty, unemployment and economic hardship, Nana Akuffo-Addo said and called on the electorate to vote for NPP, which would address these issues.
Paapa Owusu Ankomah, MP for Sekondi said the police should not collaborate with electoral offenders on the voting day but expose them to enhance the credibility of the elections. He called on the polling assistants and party representatives to be vigilant to prevent rigging.
Mr Albert Obbin, parliamentary candidate for Prestea/Huni-Valley said four years is a period MPs should render account of their stewardship.
He said, however those who have failed their electorate are hiding under the 'continuity' slogan to demand mandate from them for another term of office.
Mr Obbin said the time has come to vote out those MPs who could not perform. Others who addressed the rally included Miss Gifty Kwofie, candidate for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Mr Kofi Ben Blay, Regional Director of Party Operations and Mrs Sophia Sam, Regional Treasurer.
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I have refused to budge under NDC pressure
- CPP candidate
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 07 November 2000
Mr Norbert Anane-Nyarko, Convention People's Party (CPP) parliamentary candidate for Asutifi North, on Monday denied that he has agreed to step down for the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He said that though he has been approached by the District Chief Executive, Mr Asante Hyiaman, and the paramount chief of Kenyase Number One, Nana Kwaku Acheampong, to withdraw from the race, he has refused to heed their demands.
Mr Anane-Nyarko, who said he was a long-standing cadre and functionary of the NDC before he defected to the CPP last August, was addressing a press conference at Sunyani to refute the rumours.
Mr Anane-Nyarko, who is a panel member of the Kenyase community tribunal, said he was the constituency organiser of the NDC campaign team and Kenyase zonal organiser of the Association of Committees for the Defence of the Revolution, among others, before he defected.
He described the rumour as a ploy by the NDC to cause a rift between him and his supporters, the majority of whom were NDC supporters who followed him to the CPP.
He also claimed that he has been under enormous pressure from the NDC to come back and support its parliamentary candidate, Mr O. Baah-Danquah, since his defection had caused mass desertion of the NDC supporters to the CPP.
Mr Anane-Nyarko admitted that he attended the NDC rally at Kenyase where President Rawlings knelt down and generally appealed to all those who had left the party because of the retention of Mr Baah-Danquah to come back but reiterated that he was not going to budge.
He said not only has Mr Baah-Danquah been an ineffective MP for the area but he has also been a hugely unpopular person and the people of Asutifi would never vote for NDC because of his retention.
"His retention by the party in spite of the strong opposition of the people is an indication that the NDC no longer believes in democracy and grassroots democracy for which reason the people have defected in their numbers to the CPP."
Mr Anane-Nyarko reiterated his determination to stay in the race no matter the cost and appealed to his supporters to ignore any rumour or speculation that he would withdraw to support the NDC candidate.
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Goosie denies misappropriating loan
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 07 November 2000
Mr Goosie Tanoh, flagbearer of the National Reform Party (NRP), has vehemently denied that he has squandered a multimillion- cedi loan granted to his firm, Transport and Commodity Company (T & CC), which exports cassava chips.
He said his company, now valued at about six million dollars, has earned the country close to 10 million dollars in foreign exchange, created jobs for about a 1,000 workers and provided guaranteed market for thousands of farmers since it was formed about six years ago.
"It is therefore not true that I have mismanaged the loan and collapsed the company as being alleged by the National Democratic Congress (NDC)."
Mr Tanoh was answering a question put to him by a caller when he was hosted on the Sunyani-based Radio BAR FM station on Sunday.
The caller wanted to know the veracity of the allegation of misappropriation of the loan levelled against him by the NDC during its recent regional rally held at Sunyani.
Mr Tanoh also denied that he used his influence then as a member of the government to secure the loan, and insisted that he got it on merit and did not see any crime in this since every genuine businessman is entitled to a loan in the country.
The NRP flagbearer said it is mischievous for the NDC to level the allegations against him since it knows very well that the loan was being used judiciously for the purpose for which it was granted.
"Even the government has 676,000 shares in the company following its consent to convert the loans into shares for which we have made a commitment to buy back by 2003."
Mr Tanoh pledged that an NRP government would give practical support and assistance to businessmen, irrespective of their political affiliations, as part of its wealth-creation agenda.
"A Reform government is going to be a government for people and business where every assistance, including training and credit support, will be given to every deserving person or corporate body to help create jobs and wealth."
Mr Tanoh described as a sign of desperation the NDC's spirited campaign to discredit him and predicted that whether the government likes it or not, Ghanaians are going to vote it out because it has woefully failed.
He hinted that his party might also collate its own results of the December election to ensure that "no party manipulates the bloated voters register to its advantage".
Earlier at a people's summit held at Sunyani to learn about the developmental aspirations of the people in the region, a disabled person, Mr Raphael Botchwey, expressed his disappointment about the failure of the parties to address the needs of the disabled.
Mr Botchwey explained that a lot of Ghanaians are disabled in one way or another due to poverty and poor health care and it is therefore prudent that the parties adopt specific programmes to address their needs.
"We form a sizeable part of the population and it is only fair that you outline specific provisions to address our needs to forestall the situation where some of us are forced to beg for a living."
Answering him, Mr Tanoh said a Reform government would solve the problems of disability through better health care, skill training and credit support to the disabled.
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NPP, PNC in electoral alliance?
Sankore (Brong Ahafo) 07 November 2000
Dr Edward Mahama, PNC candidate for president, on Sunday spoke about his party's vision of a political alliance with the NPP when he made a surprise appearance at an NPP rally at Sankore and canvassed support for the NPP parliamentary candidate for Asonafo South.
PNC did not field a candidate for that constituency. "This (vision) means politics of being opponents without being at war with each other since we are both pursuing a common goal to save Ghana", he said at the rally at which he urged PNC supporters in the constituency to vote for Mr George Williams the NPP parliamentary candidate.
The PNC flag bearer was in the town to address PNC party members, but met the NPP party holding its rally.
"Ghana needs a perfect change of government in this election since we are fed up with the ruling party's deceitful ways," Dr Mahama said.
He called on Ghanaians to help achieve a free, fair and transparent election to avoid chaos as has happened in some countries.
Mr Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the NPP, expressed concern about the halt in development projects in the Asunafo South constituency.
The constituency, he said, does not have good schools, electricity, roads and other basic facilities, despite its status as a major cocoa and food crop producer.
"This constituency has been neglected for too long, and it is time you cast your votes considering the future of the younger ones".
Dr Kweku Afriyie, Second Vice-Chairman of the NPP refuted allegations that the party, when voted into power, would drive away aliens, saying the NPP is for everyone irrespective of nationality.
At the rally were the Regional Party Chairman, Mr Kwadwo Yeboah Fodjour, the Regional Youth Organiser, Mr Kwame Awuah, and the Regional Secretary, Mr Anthony Kofi Kusi.
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SFO inappropriate to probe SSNIT – UGM
Accra (Greater Accra) 07 November 2000
The United Ghana Movement (UGM) on Monday said the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, rather than the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), should probe accusations of corruption and mismanagement at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, UGM candidate for president, declared that the SSNIT issue demands a much wider scope of enquiry, and a probe by the SFO would be "clearly inadequate and inappropriate".
"We believe that the most appropriate forum would be a Committee of Investigation established under the PAC with the power to subpoena any witness who has ever had anything to do with SSNIT," Dr Wereko-Brobby told a news conference in Accra.
He said an investigation should concentrate on SSNIT mismanagement in the crucial years between 1992 and 1997. He expressed fear that an SFO investigation would not reach that far back.
"We sense the emergence of a smoke screen being unveiled, through the orchestration of public hysteria, to divert attention from the real issues to the current management whose actions may be getting too close for comfort," Dr Wereko-Brobby told journalists.
Over the last two years, he said, the current management has drastically improved SSNIT's affairs and threatens to expose past wrongdoing. New management policies include reducing the number of "absurd" bank accounts from 187 to five and establishing a Treasury Department that reconciles cash and bank statements on a weekly basis, Dr Wereko-Brobby said.He accused the Government of trying to limit the scope of the investigations to the past few years to protect some of its appointees.
It is wrong for the Government to focus the blame on the new management that has been commended by the World Bank and the IMF, he said.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said Government could not pretend not to know anything about the matter until now when members of Government and the ruling NDC have served on SSNIT's management board since its inception in 1991.
He questioned why Government did not ask the SFO to investigate SSNIT in March 1999 when auditors reported management problems.
He also questioned the reinstatement of some SSNIT staff against whom allegations have been made, without indicating "what sanctions, if any, had been taken against them."
He attributed "SSNIT's woes" to bad investment decisions and inept financial management, saying the focus should be on good investment returns that meet the expectations of contributors.
A UGM Government, Dr Wereko-Brobby promised, would provide a clearer focus and purpose for the scheme and institute payment to unemployed workers.
"It (SSNIT) should also be able to support the National Health Insurance Scheme, while part of the funds should be invested to provide basic state pension that could be supplemented by private pension," he said.
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CPP calls for
vigilance on electoral process
Accra (Greater Accra) 07 November
2000
The CPP on Monday called on the
Electoral Commission, the Security Services and the International Community to
restrain the NDC from eroding the credibility of the electoral process.
The party was reacting to a
publication in "The Ghanaian Chronicle" on a purported confidential
memorandum from the General Secretary of the NDC to the Minister responsible
for National Security.
The Memorandum among other things
outlined plans for vote buying, the use of State resources for the NDC electioneering
effort, infiltration of organised labour and opposition parties and the
harassment of election officials.
The party in a statement said
although Mr Huudu Yahaya has denied the existence of the memorandum, an
employee of Camelot Limited, was arrested on the day of the publication for
illegally obtaining and selling computer diskettes of the NDC to the Ghanaian
Chronicle.
The CPP said the alleged
memorandum reveals "the dangerous mechanisation of the NDC, which could
erode the credibility of the 2000 election and plunge the country into chaos
and hooliganism".
It calls for an independent
inquiry headed by a High Court Judge with membership from civil society
organisations to probe the plans revealed in the memorandum.
The party pledged to abide by electoral
regulations, uphold the laws of Ghana and display a high sense of public
morality in its electioneering campaign.
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Driver alleged to have crossed Presidential
Convoy arrested
Tema (Greater Accra) 07 November 2000
The police in Accra have finally grabbed the driver of the Nissan Urvan minibus who they believe crossed the convoy of President Jerry John Rawlings on the Accra-Tema Motorway on October 29, this year resulting in an accident in which four presidential guards and a civilian died.
Daniel Dautey Chakitey, 30, was arrested at Somanya in the Eastern Region at dawn on Monday, a week after the accident in which President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu, escaped unhurt.
A source close to the Police Headquarters, Accra, told the GNA that the driver, who was hiding in his hometown, was arrested by a team of policemen from Accra after an intensive manhunt for him.
The source said Chakitey has admitted that he was the one who was driving the bus that crossed the president's convoy, which was travelling from Accra to Akosombo.
There were four persons, including his mate, in the vehicle, which plies different routes from Somanya, including Ashaiman, Kpong and Koforidua, the source said.
The First Lady, who said God saved them, appeared in public at Ashaiman on Sunday wearing a neck collar, saying she was suffering from bodily pains. Chakitey has been placed in custody pending further police investigations.
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Concerned Citizens deny allegation
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 07 November 2000
The Concerned Citizens Association of Kumasi has denied that a section of the population in Kumasi rejoiced over the recent accident involving the Presidential convoy in which four bodyguards of the President lost their lives on the Tema motorway.
The association described the statement attributed to Mr P.E.K. Antwi, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), as a fabrication.
A statement signed by Mr Stephen Oduro Kwarteng, Acting secretary in Kumasi at the weekend said nobody rejoiced in Kumasi over what happened.
The statement said the concerned citizens are therefore shocked at Mr Antwi's claim, adding that it is disheartening that such a national mishap should be reduced to political gimmicks.
"Whilst Mr Antwi thinks that by fabricating such a story he is pursuing a political agenda to his advantage, we think he is inciting a section of the population against the people of Kumasi and for that matter Ashanti".
The association challenged Mr Antwi to tell the whole world when and where the jubilation took place and those involved, otherwise he should apologise to the chiefs and people of Ashanti.
The statement said the concerned citizens would not sit down for Mr Antwi to disgrace the people of Kumasi and the entire region, adding, "we have had enough of such accusations in this region"
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Let's sustain
Farmers' Day – Akyeampong
Accra (Greater Accra) 07 November
2000
Mr Mike Akyeampong, Deputy
Minister of Food and Agriculture, on Monday said the next government after the
December 7 election should sustain the National Farmers' Day to motivate
farmers and fishermen.
Mr Akyeampong who was quick to add
that: 'I hope the NDC wins the election,' was speaking at a reception in honour
of 61 farmers and fishermen who will receive awards on Friday at this year's
celebration at Wa.
"Since the institution of the
awards by the PNDC government 16 years ago, our farms have expanded, our yields
have increased and our export earnings have increased," he said.
"The government will continue
to appreciate the efforts of our farmers and fishermen who toil to feed
us."
Mr Akyeampong said it was not only
the size and diversity of produce that were used to select the best, but
considerations like comportment and participation in community development also
played a part.
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NDC, NPP
supporters clash at Berekum
Berekum (Brong Ahafo) 07 November
2000
Eighteen supporters of the
National Democratic Congress sustained injuries when they clashed with those of
the NPP at Berekum on Sunday.
The NDC supporters were returning
from a rally at nearby Senase after going on a procession through the streets
of Berekum and Kato earlier.
The Deputy Regional Crime Officer,
Mr Moses Kwame Zidah, told newsmen that supporters of the NPP who had returned
from similar function at Akoforo laid ambush at the Senase junction, close to
Berekum Police Station and attacked their NDC opponents with stones.
The windscreens of four buses
hired by the NDC and the campaign vehicle of the party were damaged. Mr Zidah
said it took the police more than two hours to bring the situation under
control.
Two people alleged to be
supporters of the NPP were arrested but granted bail in view of injuries they
sustained. Police have taken statement from seven other suspects while
investigations are continuing.
Mr Isaac Amponsah, Constituency
Second Vice-Chairman of the NPP has denied that NPP supporters attacked their
NDC opponents.
Mr Amponsah said rather their NDC
opponents with stones and knives attacked some NPP supporters earlier in the
day adding that the Berekum incident was "a carefully planned
follow-up".
He accused the NDC of adopting
threats and intimidation against NPP supporters and said these were always
reported to police.
Mr Amponsah alleged that, a 50
strong NDC group called "the Nima Boys Club" was carrying out
"these acts of provocation".
He said that this has been
reported to the Berekum Gyaasehene, Nana Okofo Dartey and the Krontihene and
the acting president of the traditional council, Nana Ofori Appiah.
Mr Amponsah said he and a few
supporters were on their way to report an incident in which an NPP supporter,
one Yaw Martin was stabbed, to the police when they were suddenly attacked by
stone-throwing NDC supporters.
He denied that an NPP programme on
the Local Chris FM radio station that hosted Captain (Rtd) Nkrabea Effa Dartey,
NPP parliamentary candidate sparked the violence, saying the candidate rather
appealed to his supporters to remain calm in the face of extreme provocation.
Mr J. H. Owusu-Acheampong,
Minister of Food and Agriculture, and NDC parliamentary candidate when
contacted denied forming the "Nima Boys Club".
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Protect children from hazardous work –
Gamey
Sogakope (Volta Region) 07 November 2000
Mr Austin Gamey, a Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, on Monday called on institutions to adopt guidelines and practices that would protect children from exploitative labour and give them the opportunity to develop their full potentials.
Society needs to be concerned about children not only because they are vulnerable but also because they are the future leaders of the nation.
Mr Gamey was delivering the keynote address at the beginning of a four-day workshop to develop a national plan of action at Sogakope in the Volta Region.
More than 60 participants from government and non-governmental institutions as well as foreign stakeholders are attending the workshop organised by the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (PEC).
It is expected to design activities that would ensure the development of policy at national and sectoral levels to combat child labour in Ghana, ensure increased capacity of the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare and other social partners.
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Cabinet expresses shock over Rawlings
accident
Accra (Greater Accra) 07 November 2000
Cabinet has expressed shock at the fatal accident involving President Jerry Rawlings’s convoy in which four bodyguards lost their lives.
In a letter to the Secretary to the President, cabinet expressed its sympathies to the president and the first lady who escaped injuries when the accident occurred on the Tema Motorway on October 29.
The letter signed by Mr J.K. Bebaako-Mensah, Secretary to the Cabinet, also expressed its condolences to the families of the four bodyguards and wished those who are injured a speedy recovery.
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NPP loyalist
greets supporters with CPP slogan
Tema (Greater Accra) 07 November
2000
The Second Vice Chairman of the
Tema West Constituency of the NPP, Mr Sam Hammah, on Saturday surprised
supporters at a rally when he shouted a CPP slogan to welcome them. The
supporters remained quiet when he shouted "CPP woya woyaa" until Mr
Hammah quickly corrected himself and came out with the slogan "NPP Oseyee
Eshi" to a lukewarm response.
Some of the supporters thought a
CPP convoy following their parliamentary candidate, Mr Justice Jones Mensah, to
a rally at Lashibi, which had just passed by, confused the Second Vice Chairman.
He however explained that it was a
slip of the tongue since he quickly corrected himself.
Mr Hammah called on the electorate
to vote out the NDC because it has not done anything concrete to improve the
lives of Ghanaians. He said the NDC has nothing good to offer the nation adding
that, after years in power "we still have bad roads, pay high hospital
bills and school fees while taxes are unbearable".
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Police arrest
Wellington and Coomson
Accra (Greater Accra) 07 November
2000
The Police have arrested Felix Nii
Lantei Odartey Wellington in connection with a an alleged libellous statement
he was said to have made against the President, Flt Lt J. J. Rawlings on a GTV
programme "Breakfast Show" on Monday.
A statement signed by Commissioner
of Police (CID), Mr W K Aboah, also said Kofi Coomson, Chief Editor of the
Ghanaian Chronicle, had been arrested for questioning in connection with eleven
diskettes stolen from the NDC Headquarters.
The statement said five of the
diskettes had been recovered from him, while investigations continue.
Meanwhile, a release issued by the NDC secretariat on Monday said George Graham, an employee of Camelot Ghana Limited, has been arrested for allegedly selling documents belonging to the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
It said Graham has admitted selling 11 diskettes to the Editor-in-Chief of the Ghanaian Chronicle for which he has not yet been paid.
It said Graham was arrested when security agencies mounted an undercover operation after being alerted about an attempt to sell documents allegedly obtained illegally from the NDC secretariat.
Graham upon interrogation mentioned Mr Patrick Opata, a computer technician and owner of Condes Computer Services at the NDC Headquarters, as his source of the diskettes.
At the time of his arrest, Graham had obtained 20 diskettes from Opata, nine of which were retrieved from his home. Opata admitted giving him 20 diskettes.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 07 November 2000
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Monday said it has never been its policy to involve any security agency in its organisation.
A release signed by the General Secretary of the party, Mr Huudu Yahaya, in Accra said his attention has been drawn to a memorandum purported to have been written by him and addressed to the Minister responsible for National Security on the party's strategies to win the December elections. It was published in the Ghanaian Chronicle last Friday.
The General Secretary said; "no such memorandum exists".
However, he said, he suspects that a document he prepared for a seminar for NDC party functionaries about three months ago is what has been deliberately and maliciously doctored for sinister motives.
The release said this is part of the on-going orchestration of some opposition parties to prepare the grounds to question the outcome of the December 7 election. The matter has been reported to the security agencies for investigation.
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Police poised to maintain peace during
elections – Boakye
Accra (Greater Accra) 07 November 2000
The Commanding Officer of the Police Striking Force Unit, Chief Superintendent Kofi Boakye, says the police will use all their resources to prevent lawlessness during and after the December 7 elections.
In an interview with the GNA in Accra over the weekend, he said, "we (police) will make sure we maintain peace. We all want to see this country peaceful."
The police, he said, would ensure that the electorate exercise their franchise without fear or intimidation from hooligans or thugs from any political party.
Mr Boakye said the police would not tolerate acts of lawlessness as has happened in neighbouring countries, adding that they have put together contingency plans to tackle any problems or incidents that may arise during the elections.
Although the police are ill equipped, Mr Boakye said they would commandeer all available vehicles and the transport unions would be asked to supplement.
He gave the assurance that the police would remain "positively neutral" in maintaining peace no matter what happens.
" We are not out to intimidate anyone but when the situation slips into lawlessness, we will do what it takes to maintain peace and order. In any case, what is happening in neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire cannot happen in Ghana because no political party has been disqualified. Everyone has been given equal chance, and this is democracy."
" I think there will be free and fair elections. The process of voting is clear and transparent and I believe the Electoral Commission will do a very good job". He said the EC, the political parties and the government have a joint role of making the country peaceful.
"All parties should preach peace. Losers should accept the final results in good faith, and no matter what happens we should keep Ghana intact," he said.
Mr Boakye said people should put an end to provocative utterances and blackmailing others, adding, "there should be dialogue, this is the only country we have, and we must stay in it no matter the cost."
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Security committee condemns night rallies
Wa (Upper West) 07 November 2000
The Upper West regional elections security committee on Monday said it cannot guarantee the safety of people who organise or attend night rallies in the region.
The committee said organisers of such rallies do not comply with the public order act, which enjoins any party intending to hold an event to notify the police indicating its nature, time, place or route.
Speaking at a meeting between the committee and local leaders of some of the political parties at Wa, the regional police commander, Mr Francis Kwaku Agyemang regretted that none of the political parties in the region was adhering to this law.
The meeting attended by the NDC, NPP, PNC and CPP representatives, was to discuss ways of curbing recent acts of violence during which unidentified opponents of the NDC pierced nails through the tyres of the party's campaign vans and other incidents of stone throwing during night rallies.
Mr Agyemang who is chairman of the committee, said those who have been subjected to such acts of violence need not complain to the police because they failed to notify them on their intended rallies.
Mr Samuel Boadu, Wa district electoral officer, also complained that posters of presidential and parliamentary candidates displayed at key locations for identification by voters were being removed.
He appealed to the party leaders to educate their supporters against such practices.
Mr Adams Issahaku, regional organiser of the NDC called for a total ban of night rallies in order to minimise violence in the run-up to the elections. However, representatives of the NPP and the PNC, Mr Sahanun Mogtari and Mr Frank Tuo, vehemently opposed the suggestion, saying it was only at night that they can get voters in groups to canvass for support.
They contended that Upper West is not an island and any such ban should be nation-wide.
Mr M.K. Kabumah, PNC parliamentary candidate for Wa Central cautioned the NDC to abandon any sinister tricks it plans to unfold during the elections because the opposition supporters are prepared to counter them.
The party representatives stressed the need for the EC to organise regular inter-party meetings at both the regional and district levels before the elections to clear doubts and ensure transparency.
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