Dual
Citizenship Bill for Parliament
Govt
releases ˘90b for students loan
New loan
scheme for tertiary institutions
Nyaho
Tamakloe is dead
Mob
releases colleague from cell
Pastor
chased out of town
Assemblies
doing better under NPP
Breather
for two ex-Ministers as Gallopers arrive
Ghosts of
Pyram, R5 haunt entrepreneurs
Cop in
police grips for extortion
Quality
Grain Rice re-starts milling next week
Internal
Revenue targets ˘2.056 trillion in 2001
IGP snubs Rawlings - ‘We won’t return arms to your bodyguards’
Dual
Citizenship Bill for Parliament
President
John Agyekum Kufuor has told Ghanaians in Toronto that the Dual Citizenship
Bill will be presented to Parliament during its third meeting, expressing the
hope that Parliament will be able to pass the bill during its meeting, for it
to become law early next year.
The Daily
Graphic, which carries the story, says he was speaking to about 1,500 Ghanaians
in Canada, who organised a reception in his honour at the start of his historic
visit on Saturday.
Mr Kufuor
said the bill, when passed, will enable Ghanaians living abroad to participate
in the electoral process and other rights accorded all citizens of Ghana.
More…/
Gov’t
releases ˘90b for students loan
The
government has released ˘90 billion form the Ghana Education Trust Fund
(GETFund) for disbursement to students as loans this academic year.
The Graphic
reports a source at the Ministry of Education, as saying that the loans will be
channeled through the SSNIT Loans Scheme because the GETFFund Secretariat has no structures in place to
disburse loans to students.
The source
expressed the hope that the SSNIT Loans Scheme Secretariat will coordinate well
to disburse the facility to students as early as practicable. It said the
GETFund has so far disbursed ˘86 billion to educational institutions in the
country this year.
Accordingly
to the source, the five public universities received ˘9 billion to carry out
infrastructural development, while the polytechnics were given ˘2.4 billion.
Pre-tertiary education had ˘9.3 billion while other agencies under the ministry
were given a total of ˘5 billion.
More…/
New loan
scheme for tertiary institutions
The
Government is to establish a new loan scheme for students in tertiary
institutions. The new scheme will take into account the cost of various
programmes and the needs of students, particularly the less endowed.
The Deputy
Minister of Education, Rashid Bawa, making this known in Accra on Saturday at
the second congregation of the Accra Polytechnic in Accra, said studies have
been commissioned to advise the government on the scheme, with a view to making
it all-embracing to ensure that those who pursue courses that attract higher
fees benefit from loans that adequately cater for their needs.
More…/
Nyaho
Tamakloe is dead
The death
is announced in Accra of Dr Kwami Nyaho Tamakloe, a Medical Director of Nyaho
Medical Centre. He was 74. According to a family spokesman, Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe
died on November 1 this year after a short illness.
The late Dr
Nyaho Tamakloe was educated at the Mfantsipim Secondary School, from 1945 to
1949 and Trinity College of Dublin, EIRE; where he studied medicine.
After
working in many hospitals in England, he returned to Ghana in February 1960 and
was seconded by the Ministry of Health to the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Corps.
On June 19,
1960, he was enlistd into the Ghana Armed Forces and went to Congo as a Surgeon
to the Medical Team responsible to the Ghana Contingent. After a successful
Mission in the Congo, the late Dr Nyaho Tamakloe was seconded to Royal Army
Medical Corp Milbank in London for further training in General Surgery and
Orthopaedic.
On his
return to Ghana in 1965, he was made the Commanding Officer of the Military
Hospital with the Rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was promoted again in January
1970 to the post of Director of Medical Services in the Ghana Armed Forces as
Colonel, a position he held until he retired voluntarily on August 8, 1970.
During his
period in the Armed Forces, he was honoured within a Ghana United Nations
Medal, UN Congo Medal and Ghana Revolution Day Medal.
Dr Nyaho
Tamakloe started his private clinic (Nyaho Clinic) on March 4, 1971 with eight
specialists from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
The late Dr
Nyaho Tamakloe was involved in golf administration in Ghana and became the
President of the Ghana Golf Association from July 1993 to March 1996.
More…/
Mob
releases colleague from cell
An irate
mob, numbering about 100, from Nima, a suburb of Accra last Saturday vandalised
the Achimota School Police Station and in the process succeeded rescuing from
cell their colleague who had been arrested for recklessly riding a motor bike
without a registration number.
The damage
to property runs into millions of cedis. The mob destroyed stationery and
furniture, as well as other valuables at the station. The name of the suspect
was not given for security reasons.
The timely
intervention of a reinforcement of police personnel from the Regional
Headquarters saved the station from being burnt down by the rampaging mob.
Forty-five people were arrested by the police in connection with the attack and
are currently in custody.
GRi…/
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Pastor
chased out of town
A group of
angry youth at Gbao, near Banda-Ahenkro in the Brong Ahafo Region last Thursday
chased out of town the pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Reverend Moses Asante,
for exposing the forcible circumcision of four girls in the town.
Reverend
Asante, said to be a native of the town (Gbao), was accused of informing the
police about the practice, leading to the arrest of five people, including the
Odikro.
The five are
Nana Kwadwo Bosom, 80, Odikro, Nana Yawa Breh, 70, the Circumciser, Johnson
Kofi Billy, 45, Ernest Kwame Gyabaah, 23, and Kwasi Mensah, 20.
He is also
said to have incited some other teenage girls to flee the town to avoid the
traditional practice. It is recalled that a fortnight ago, a mob led by Kofi
Billy, Gyabaah and Mensah raided the Manse of the church and forced out the
girls who had taken refuge there to avoid circumcision. The mob also vandalised
some items and allegedly stole ˘1.1 million.
More…/
Assemblies
doing better under NPP
The Deputy
Minister of Local government and Rural Development, Captain Nkrabea
Effah-Darteh said at the weekend that if Ghana can halt corruption by 50 per
cent, the country would be a paradise.
Capt
Effah-Darteh alleged that on assumption of power, the New Patriotic Party (NPP)
government has been able to pluck many holes in the financial sector hitherto
used by some unscrupulous people to enrich themselves.
Addressing
the Third Ordinary Meeting of the Kwaebibirem District Assembly as part of his
tour of the district, he cited as an example, the Yilo Krobo District Assembly,
which used to generate ˘200,000 a week from the Boti Falls a month under the
NDC administration but was now generating as much as ˘8 million from the same
source under the NPP administration over the same period.
Similarly,
revenues generated on market days at Agona District is yielding ˘2.5 million a
week currently instead of the previous ˘400,000 under the NDC, and ˘18 million
for the Techiman District as against its previous ˘1 million.
GRi…/
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Breather
for two ex-Ministers as Gallopers arrive
The
Ghanaian Chronicle carries that the African Automobile Limited (AAL), under
media pressure over some vehicle-importation deal, last week took delivery of
the Gallopers for which it gave several delivery dates to the Ministry of Local
Government and Rural Development but failed to honour them.
The
vehicles, according to the paper, would be delivered to the ministry by the end
of the month. Sources at the Tema Port confirmed to the paper that almost 109
Gallopers belonging to AAL arrived in the country less than a fortnight ago.
Mr M.S.
Hijazi, Managing Director of AAL, who had told the Chronicle in an interview
that the Gallopers would arrive in the country around this time, could not be
reached throughout Friday for his comment.
The paper
says Mrs Cecilia Johnson and Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, both former ministers of Local
Government and Rural Government who declined comment during the it’s search on
the issue weeks ago, issued a press statement last week seeking to explain
their role in the Galloper deal.
Both
expressed the hope that with the Gallopers in, the reports would cease. The
Chronicle writes however that it has just begun investigations into vehicles
ordered by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government, which
were reportedly not supplied.
More…/
Ghosts
of Pyram, R5 haunt entrepreneurs
Local
entrepreneurs in Accra have started expressing concern about a non-bank
financial institution similar to the infamous Pyram and R5 that left some
individuals and business traumatised and crippled a few years ago.
This deal,
which started three months ago, is gradually encompassing the region, even
though it has taken a different strategy from those of Pyram and R5.
According
to the entrepreneurs, an initiative by the Integrated Micro Finance and
Business Network (IMF Business-fund) that is being propagated as aiming to
support local businesses with loan facilities is a well-calculated attempt to
defraud people.
Already,
the police administration is keeping a watch on activities of the IMF
Business-fund, as Chronicle learnt their chief Executive was recently invited
by the police for interrogation, after some clients reported the issue. Some
clients are also demanding the money used in purchasing the assessment form,
even though it is not refundable.
The CEO of
IMF Business-net himself denied that his outfit is out to dupe unsuspecting
persons, stressing that they stand to gain nothing as a corporate entity but
rather he had a spiritual vision to assist local business grow.
He however
refused to mention his name and none of his staff would give it out when
Chronicle called at their Kokomlemle Oroko street offices. Not even, incognito
telephone calls could help get his name even though, the paper says it can
reveal he boasts of a doctorate degree.
"It is
just something I want to help. You see, God has given me this vision and I am
down to earth to help them but God helps those who help themselves", he
said sounding very religious.
More…/
Cop in police
grips for extortion
Sergeant
W.P. Acheampong stationed at the Tema Fishing Harbour Police Station who
allegedly handcuffed a suspect for smoking Indian hemp and extorted ˘500,000
from him to drop the case is cooling off at the Regional Police Command police
cells with Kwame Akorful, a civilian who styles himself as a police officer.
The
Chronicle says Mr George Appiah, regional crime officer who disclosed this to
it, stated that the police officer handcuffed Kwame Owusu, the tanker driver
and demanded ˘20 million. While Kwame Owusu was in handcuff, he pleaded with
the officer and he agreed to take ˘500,000.
Sgt.
Acheampong, according to the crime officer, drove the suspect in his own
private car together with his friend Akorful to a friend of the suspect who
borrowed him ˘200,000 to add it to his ˘300,000 and gave it to Sergeant
Acheampong.
After
collecting the money, Sgt Acheampong drove the suspect to Kpone Police Station
and having introduced himself to the Policeman on duty explained that the suspect
has been granted bail at the Tema circuit tribunal but he (the police officer)
has lost his handcuff key.
According
to Appiah, one police officer on duty at Kpone police station gave Sgt. Owusu a
key and he freed his captive.
The
Chronicle says it gathered that following a tip-off, the regional police
command mobilised men and Sgt. Acheampong and his accomplice were arrested. A
search in his private car brought out the ˘500,000.
GRi…/
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Quality
Grain Rice re-starts milling next week
Signals
which “The Ghanaian Voice” says it picked at Aveyime-Battor, the nerve center
of the Quality Grains Company has shown that the NPP Government have completed
its programme to immediately resume the milling of rice at the project site.
“There is
ample evidence to prove that the milling of rice at the site will restart
before Wednesday November 14, 2001” writes the paper.
Though six
former officials are being tried in connection with the project for allegedly
causing financial loss to the state, the NPP Government has been sending its
agents to the site to activate operations.
The says its
investigations have revealed that Major (Rtd) Courage Quarshigah, Minister of
Food and Agriculture, has direct that rice produced at Asutuare, Kpong Farms
and those from Northern Ghana be sent to the Quality Grains Company at Aveyime
for milling.
Mr Ohimi,
Deputy Director of the Irrigation Development Authority (IDA) who is the
chairman of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) was at Aveyime on Thursday
November 1, 2001. He went in the company of another IMC member, Mr Christian
Bene, also of the IDA
The two men
held a meeting with the skeleton staff left at the mill site and Mr Ohimi,
according to the paper’s gatherings, informed the workers that the
NPP-Government through the Agriculture Minister has completed arrangements for
the resumption of operations.
GRi…/
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Internal
Revenue targets ˘2.056 trillion in 2001
The
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) hopes to raise ˘2,056 trillion this year as
revenue for government in contrast to that generated in 1998 and 1999 when the
service failed to meet its target, says the High Street Journal (HSJ).
In 1998 it
collected ˘785,436,693 as against a target of ˘850,000,000. In 1999, IRS
collected ˘901,663,758. However, it exceeded its target of ˘1,200,000 in 2000
by collecting 1,409,445,273, an excess of ˘209,445,273.
In an
interview with the HSJ, an official of IRS said, over the years, "we have
used various means to arrest tax evasion. We have since the beginning of this
year rather intensified these means. They include: tax education (using various
media to reach the taxpaying publics), tax audit and prosecution of
recalcitrant taxpayers."
He said in
the 2001 budget statement, provision was made for the following annual personal
tax reliefs: marriage relief - ˘300,000 per annum in respect of an individual
with a dependant spouse or an individual with two or more dependant children;
children's education relief - ˘240,000 per annum per child up to a maximum of
three children: individual sponsoring - eg.
Additionally,
the marginal tax relief has been increased from ˘900,000 to ˘1,200,000 and the
maximum taxable rate also reduced from 35 per cent to 32.5 per cent.
On tax
education, the official said the IRS has since the beginning of this year
intensified its continuous programme throughout the country with a view to
sensitize, educate and motivate taxpayers and potential ones to pay their taxes
and is being done through both print and electronic media.
GRi…/
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IGP snubs Rawlings - ‘We won’t return arms to your bodyguards’
An attempt by the Office of Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings to exploit the alleged armed robbery attempt on Patrick Kuntor to re-arm all ex-Presidential bodyguards has been rebuffed, according to the Public Agenda.
The paper says it has learned that in a letter dated October 25, 2001 the Office of the Ex-President asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to license all the body guards to protect themselves and the ex-President in attacks such as the one visited on Kuntor, bodyguard of the ex-President.
The letter, signed by Dr Tony Aidoo, former Minister of Defence insisted the attack was politically motivated and invited the Police capo to grant them the license to deal with the political menace.
But in a reply dated October 31, Mr Ernest Owusu-Poku turned down the ex-President’s request.
“I refer to your unnumbered letter dated 25:10:01 and comment as follows:” there is as yet no evidence to be adduced from the investigations made so far to suggest that the robbery attempt on the lives and property of the former president’s bodyguards at his house was a specially planned operation by ‘armed personnel. “So far it appears to be only an armed robbery attempt, like any of the others the police have encountered”.
He said also that the police administration have no evidence of information of a consistent and systematic series of attacks on the lives and property of the former President and his bodyguards and that if there was any such information or leads to that effect, it should be reported for investigation to be conducted.
“Applications for licenses to possess weapons are made by individuals. The application forms can be obtained from the various Police districts and stations. All applications for personal weapons for groups and societies are dealt with in accordance with the ECOWAS Moratorium, please”, the reply contained.
The Agenda says when it reached Superintendent Angwubutoge Awuni, Head of the Police Public Relations Directorate to explain the stance of the police, he said licenses of all political appointees and their body guards were revoked and their weapons collected when there was a change of government.
“It must be noted that the licenses to carry weapons were granted because of the need to protect them as functionaries of the government. Once they were no more in power, that privilege was no more applicable”, Supt Awuni stated.
GRi…/
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