GRi Press Review Ghana 14 - 11 - 2000
IGP given 72 hours ultimatum
The Daily Graphic / The Evening News
NDC, NPP clash at Alajo / NPP, NDC clash at Alajo
EC to erect scoreboards in all regional capitals
Electoral fraud
I will respect voters' choice
Kufuor steals Tema show
B.A. Mensah speaks out!
Cocoa farmer speaks out
IGP given 72 hours ultimatum
President Jerry John Rawlings on Monday gave the Inspector General of
Police (IGP) Mr Peter T. Nanfuri, 72 hours to submit to him a detailed plan on
how he (IGP) propose to deal with any further provocative acts by supporters of
all political parties, reports the Ghanaian Times.
The ultimatum was contained in a directive issued by the President to
the IGP calling his attention to the persistent reports of violence and
lawlessness around the country, resulting in serious injuries to members and
supporters of the NDC in particular.
President Rawlings asked the IGP to ensure that where arrests had been
made, the law should be applied.
The directive reminded him of his statutory responsibility to maintain
law and order as well as ensure the individual security of all law-abiding
citizens.
"As Inspector General of Police, you will take personal
responsibility for any inaction on the part of the Police and in consequence,
you may be called upon to relinquish the position", the directive said.
GRi…/
The Daily Graphic / The Evening News
NDC, NPP clash at Alajo / NPP, NDC clash at Alajo
The Daily Graphic and 'The Evening News' report on clashes between
supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic
Party (NPP) at Alajo, a suburb of Accra in the Ayawaso constituency on Sunday.
The Graphic says about eight people, mostly NDC supporters, sustained
various degrees of injuries while the NDC constituency office was vandalised.
The police have so far made no arrest regarding the attack, which both
sides said was started by the other.
A member of the NDC said a political argument between supporters of the
parties turned into a free-for-all fight.
The NPP supporters are alleged to have gained the upper hand and chased
their opponents to their constituency office where they destroyed valuable
equipment.
An NPP official refuted the claim and alleged that it was rather the
NDC that started the violence by attacking the NPP MP, Sheikh Quaye's residence
and destroying NPP flags.
The Evening News however states that the violence broke out following a
peace search initiative by the local Church of Pentecost at which the two
parties send their peace messages to the electorate.
More…/
EC to erect scoreboards in all regional capitals
The Graphic reports in another story that the Electoral Commission (EC)
is to erect 10 giant electronic scoreboards at convenient places in each
regional capital to inform the public of election results from the various
constituencies.
A national scoreboard would be erected at the Independence Square in
Accra to display the results received from the regions.
Mr Albert K. Arhin, EC Director of Elections, told the Ghana News
Agency in an interview that the exercise would take place at the end of
November.
He said the regional offices are linked to the 'Operational Room' at
the Headquarters by telephone, radio and fax machines to facilitate the
transmission of the results.
GRi…/
Electoral fraud
The Independent reports that some supporters and activists of the NDC
were chased out of the Agona Swedru offices of the Electoral Commission (EC) by
the Agona West Constituency executives of the NPP, when their alleged dubious
plan to fraudulently effect transfers into the constituency was exposed.
The NPP executives have accused the Swedru Electoral officers of
condoning and conniving with the NDC to rig the December 7 elections in favour
of the NDC.
The NPP, in a release, blamed the Electoral office of facilitating the
fraudulent exercise and warned that any further attempt by the NDC to rig the
election would be fiercely resisted.
The NPP functionaries indicated their strong suspicion that the
diabolical plan is being perpetrated with the connivance of the Electoral
officers in the district.
The NDC according to the statement transported trucks full of
supporters from outside the Agona District to the district electoral office to
effect transfers but the District Electoral Officer, Serebour Qaicoe denied
knowledge of the incident when the NPP contacted him.
GRi…/
I will respect voters' choice
The Ghanaian Chronicle says President Rawlings on Sunday raised the
spectre of peaceful elections when he solemnly declared at a gathering of
Christian faithfuls that he would respect the wishes of the electorate in the
December elections even if they made a choice that differs from his.
"That candour and apparent sincerity with which he said it touched
off a rapturous applause in the packed interior of the National Theatre,"
the paper commented.
He noted that it would be wrong for him even to suggest that the voters
are wrong when they make their choice on December 7 when these same people had
voted for him over the last two elections.
He said however, that should their choice let things turn around (with
the economy, etc) it may be God's desire to teach them a lesson.
President Rawlings had in his address expressed how much he looked
forward to leaving office and escape pressures that go with it.
He said he would continue to have the wellbeing of the country at heart
and would be praying for peaceful elections adding that, "let's make our
choices in the secrecy of the polling booths and not in the streets through
violence".
GRi…/
Kufuor steals Tema show
Tema came to a standstill, and business activities in the harbour city
came to a temporary halt last Saturday around 5 p.m. as a large crowd of NPP
supporters were thrown into wild jubilation, writes The Guide.
It said the large number of supporters decked in all kinds of hand made
party paraphernalia played music and danced amid shouting of party slogans as
Mr J.A. Kufuor, the NPP flagbearer set foot there.
It took the police personnel more than 30 minutes to create a safe
entry to escort Kufuor through the anxious and chanting crowd.
Speaking to the gathering, Mr Kufuor attacked the P(NDC) government for
mismanaging the economy for nearly 20 years.
He said an NPP administration would stabilise the currency and improve
the economy adding that the NPP leadership is a wise one, which will turn the
economy around.
GRi…/
B.A. Mensah speaks out!
Mr B.A. Mensah, a renowned business tycoon whose company -
International Tobacco Co. Ltd. - was confiscated by the defunct PNDC, under
Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, has stated that it is only when there is
transparency in the judicial system that a country receives bona fide
investment.
Speaking at a fund raising dinner dance of the New Patriotic Party in
Accra, he said no one wants to invest his or her money in a country where the
government may seize it arbitrarily without compensation where the recourse to
law is long, expensive and unfair.
"No one wants to invest in a country where the government treats
the law with contempt. Contempt indeed," he said.
He recalled the murder of the three High Court Judges and a retired
Army officer in 1982 and wondered the possibility of only one man, Amartey
Kwei, going ahead to kidnap the four, travelling with them to the bush across
strong police barriers, kill all of them and set them ablaze.
He said transparency "means Government that does not operate by
suspicion, nepotism and backhanders. Confidence in the judicial system means
knowing that if something goes wrong there will be a fair and public hearing
within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal.
Mr Mensah gave the assurance that the NPP would provide transparency in
government and the party's plans to modernise and reform the judicial system
would result in confidence being established in it.
GRi…/
Cocoa farmer speaks out
The Statesman reports on its back-page that a prominent cocoa farmer in
the Ashanti Region, Nana Yaw Boakye, has called on the government to furnish
the nation with details of a special account reserved for Ghana by the Cocoa
Buffer Stock Manager in London.
Nana Boakye said this is necessary because there were speculation that
the NDC government would dip its hands into the account to fight this year's
elections.
He recounted that in 1996, the government sacked Dr Adjei Maafo, then
Presidential aide in charge of cocoa schedule, upon a private media report that
it had withdrawn money from the special account.
It however, failed to pursue the matter further despite popular agitation
for a probe.
He said the account, which was set up in 1997 is shrouded in near
secrecy and thus could be easily manipulated.
GRi…/