Criticisms
should not deter govt
'Enact laws
to protect environment'
Govt will
act - Jake
The day a
judge was rebuked
Asutsuare
conflict victims to meet NDC
Aftermath
of cyanide spillage …hunger, disease threat looms
W.O.1
Kuntor quizzed by state security bodies
Don’t marry circumcised girls - Parliamentarian
Criticisms
should not deter govt
Ghana's
Ambassador to Italy, His Excellency Dr Kofi Dsane Selby, has urged President Kufuor
and his team not to be deterred by criticisms because perfection on earth can
never be achieved by anyone, stressing that with time Ghanaians will see the
results they are expecting.
The Daily
Graphic reporting, says Dr Selby gave the exhortation at a meeting of the
founding members of the NPP in Kumasi. The association used the meeting to bid
farewell to Dr Selby, who was billed to travel to Italy to assume office.
He said
people are accusing the NPP of not doing anything since it came to power, and
argued that even if the government had not achieved anything at all, the air of
freedom blowing over the country is enough achievement.
He referred
to the hullabaloo generated on the alleged $20,000 loan for MPs and said the
Minister of Finance had not even prepared the memo for the government, when the
criticisms began.
Dr Selby
reminded those holding positions in the government to hold the NPP in high
esteem, noting that even though they are in government, they should remember
that it is the party that produces a government and the party will forever
remain supreme.
More…/
'Enact
laws to protect environment'
An
environmental and development consultant, Mr S.B. Akuffo has called for the
enactment of regulations and the establishment of relevant institutions to save
the country from waste, health hazards and other environmental related
problems.
He said the
absence of physical national development planning schemes, obsolete regulations
and the inability of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) to
evolve physical planning, have culminated in the current state of waste
problems including the desperate moves by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA)
to construct a land fill site at Kwabenya as well as Djaman-Gbawe and the
protests by the residents in that area, against the dumping of refuse.
Mr Akuffo,
who is also the Managing Director of Goodwill Associates Limited, a private
consultancy firm was commenting on waste management problems especially in the
Accra metropolis and national development in an interview in Accra on
Wednesday.
More…/
Govt
will act - Jake
The
Minister for Information and Presidential Affairs, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, has
expressed the government's interest in the ongoing furore over the $25,000 gift
received by the Ghanaian contingent from the Governor of Nigeria's Rivers State
after the Black Stars 3-0 defeat by the Super Eagles in a World Cup qualifying
match in Port Harcourt.
"As a
responsible government, we have to be interested in the allegation," Mr
Obetsebi-Lamptey said on Wednesday in a Joy FM programme on the government's
zero tolerance for corruption.
He said he
had talked about the alleged bribery issue with the Vice-President, who also
said he had talked to other ministers about it and would continue to examine it
for necessary action.
The
Chairman of the Ghana Football Association, Ben Koufie, had earlier denied that
the money received from the Governor of River States Nigeria, was a bribe because
it was given in the open and he received it on behalf of the players and
officials in the presence of the acting Ghana High Commissioner to Nigeria, and
the Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, Joe Aggrey.
He said the
amount was shared among the 31-member contingent of players and officials. Each
official was given $800, except the Deputy Minister who did not take his, which
was then shared among the eight journalists who accompanied the team.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
NDC not
under probe
The Evening
News quotes the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dan Botwe
as saying that the NPP government has not instituted any probe into the
administration of the NDC as is being perceived.
He said
there has not been any occasion where party officials mounted a campaign
platform to allude that the NPP government would prosecute ministers of the
previous administration when it assumes the reigns of power.
Mr Botwe
who was speaking to paper in an interview in Accra on Wednesday on certain
pronouncements from the NDC, noted that the fact that some people mounted
campaign platforms to make certain disclosures before the party took over the reigns
of government, did not mean it was the policy of the government or the party.
"I do
not remember that any party official said it somewhere that when the party
comes to power we will prosecute ministers of the previous
administration," he said.
He noted
that even where financial malfeasance had been leveled against an ex-minister
like that of Mr Victor Selormey, the due process of the law is being allowed to
take place. "So there is nothing like the government gleefully pursuing
ex-ministers to haul them before court," he said.
Touching on
the zero tolerance for corruption policy declared by President Kufuor, the
general secretary said now Ghanaians have taken it serious and are conscious of
that, therefore this should sound as a note of caution for all public officials
in their dealings.
Commenting
on the Black Star's 25,000 dollars saga, Mr Botwe said the whole issue
cannot be
termed bribery, explaining however, that "it is unnecessary and that the
officials should have been circumspect, especially knowing the circumstances
surrounding the match before it was played."
GRi…/
Send your
comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
The day
a judge was rebuked
The
Chronicle says with razor-sharp prose, five Law Lords last fortnight expressed
sadness at the conduct of an Accra High Court, and an Appeal Court Judge for
failing to do their jobs well.
The court
also described two English men and a Ghanaian who had managed to get extremely
close to fooling Ghana (a beneficiary of Blay Miezah's will) and getting the
nod from the local courts as the true beneficiaries and custodians of the late
Blay Miezah's estate as 'Unscrupulous Gang' and 'shameless liars'.
His
Lordship, Mr Justice Ampiah, reading the judgement on behalf of four other
Supreme Court judges noted inter alia: "It is sad that the High Court and
the majority of the Court of Appeal (2:1) did not, with respect, critically
analyse the evidence to expose the mischief of this unscrupulous gang".
The court
had earlier made the following pronouncement: "Mrs Pennington is obviously
a shameless liar who in collaboration with her unscrupulous employer, Dr John
Kells and Nana Arvo Buah, forged the 1989 Will. She was procured to bear false
witness in furtherance of their grand forgery."
Quoting the
Bible, Justice Acquah continued: "She was an unworthy witness who in the
words of Proverbs 17 verse 28, vowed to make a mockery of justice. Not
surprisingly, she was afraid to come to Ghana to testify. Her employer, Dr.
Kells never appeared in court at all. Not even when the court moved to London.
They had their own agenda. But the truth shall in all circumstances eventually
triumph. As it now has."
Dr John Kells,
a close friend of the late Blay Miezah, had used a previously signed
letter-headed paper and typed what he purported to be the genuine will of the
late showman from Nzemaland. The will bore the signatures of Kells and Mrs.
Pennington, secretary to John Kells who also described herself as the private
nurse of the late Blay Miezah as witness to the will. It was dated 29th
January 1989. Kells sought the court's declaration that the January 1989 Will
is valid, genuine and not tainted by any forgery.
More…/
Asutsuare
conflict victims to meet NDC
The
Chronicle says it has gathered that victims of the Asutsuare conflict will be
marching onto the NDC party headquarters on Friday to meet the leadership of
the party.
Also to be
there is the Member of Parliament of Shai Osudoku, Hon Mike Gizo. The victims,
numbering about 130, according to the paper’s investigations, are not happy
with the continued silence of the NDC party over their plight, because to them
their crime was that they were identified by their assailants as NDC
sympathizers.
They also
complained of some aid in the form of cash and second-hand clothes meant for
them that could not be traced. In previous editions, the Chronicle had carried
reports of disturbances with political undertones, at the potentially
resourceful Asutsuare.
Two
factions had emerged in the town, whose opposing interests are in tune with the
two rival parties in the country, the ruling New Patriotic Party and the
opposition National Democratic Congress.
More…/
Aftermath
of cyanide spillage …hunger, disease threat looms
Despite
claims by the management of Goldfields Ghana Limited that the October 16
cyanide leakage at the Tarkwa goldmine posed no threat to lives and property,
the Chronicle says it can report of a looming hunger and disease in the
affected communities of Abekuase and Huninso.
The
residents of these affected communities are said to be gearing up for a
possible showdown with management of Goldfields Ghana Limited (GGL) as their
livelihood keeps worsening with the ticking of the clock.
Residents
of the area say the river Asuman, which used to be their only source of water
either for drinking or other commercial and social uses has now been poisoned
with cyanide. Abusuapanyin Wilson, family head of Huninso, told the paper that
the water from the river can still not be drank in spite of recent assurance
that it's safe for drinking.
The
Management of Goldfields however say cyanide poses no threat and that the water
was safe for drinking.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
W.O.1
Kuntor quizzed by state security bodies
The
Ghanaian Voice carries that W.O.I Patrick Kuntor was hauled before the Bureau of
National Investigations (BNI) and the office of National Security last Monday
November 5. He first appeared before the BNI at 2.00 pm and followed up at
General Joshua Hamidu's Blue Gate, the seat of National Security.
Present at
the two interrogations were the Director of BNI, Ellis Owusu Fordjour and Lt
General Joshua Hamidu, the head of the National Security. At both
interrogations the resource material for the two interrogations were the Police
investigation report that was presented by the Police at a press conference for
selected media houses last week.
The Voice
says the interrogators tried desperately to link the bullet exchanges in W.O.
Kuntor's house to an attempt at creating an atmosphere of instability by W.O.
Kuntor and ex-president J.J. Rawlings who was then not in the country.
The paper
furthers that the statement issued by the Police, according to W.O. Kuntor, was
childish adding that their lame and faulty conclusions have left him in no
doubt that what he at first took, as an attempt by armed robbers was actually
an assassination attempt.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
The
Ghanaian Times carries that ten people who allegedly beat up four policemen,
rendering two of them unconscious at Akame, a village near Denu in the Volta
Region, in a mob attack on October 12 have been remanded in prison custody by
the Aflao Circuit Court.
The
suspects are Kwasi Goro, 48, Yanta Goro, 63, Vincent Goro, 26, Danugoe Amuzu
36, and Lina Amemaseda, 66, all farmers. The rest are Bertha Agordzi, 32, Abla
Doli, 34, Gabriel Torgah Agbenyeda, 28, all traders, Awunyo Dogbe, 22,
unemployed and Joseph Kwashivi, 30.
Chief
Inspector Emmanuel Oppong, prosecuting, told the court that on October 12, Mr
Yaovi Dzatefe, a farmer, reported to the Denu Police that he had been assaulted
by Kwasi Goro and five others at Akame.
The three
policemen, Detective Sgt. Stephen Degbey, Constable Bright Gakpa and Sgt. Wofa
Ankamah were, therefore, detailed to Akame to arrest the suspects. When they
arrived at Akame, they met Goro in the town and arrested him.
The Times
quotes the prosecution as saying that while the three were waiting for a
vehicle to convey them and Goro, a woman raised an alarm and a mob from the
village, armed with catapults, stones, cutlasses and iron rods attacked and
beat them up until Sgt Degbey and Constable Gakpa fell unconscious.
Bertha Agbodzi,
one of the accused persons, rushed to the village for a solution of pepper,
which she sprinkled into the eyes of Sgt Degbey.
The fourth
policemen, Constable Evans Atitsogbe of Katanga Police in the Kete-Krachi
District, who was in a vehicle passing by, saw the scene and noticing the
plight of his colleagues alighted to rescue them but they beat him up too and
broke his wrists, which are now in Plaster of Paris (POP).
Chief
Inspector Oppong said that another policeman, Constable D.K. Nortey of Accra,
who was escorting a bullion van to Denu, also came across the scene and
reported to the Denu Police. Reinforcement was sent to Akame to save the lives
of the policemen.
He told the
court that all the suspects, including Goro, managed to escape in the wake of
the mob action but were arrested in different swoops in their hideouts.
More…/
High-tension
cables meant for an electrification project at Formanso, near Pra River in the
Asante Akim South District of the Ashanti Region, have mysteriously vanished
from the local Police Station where they were being kept.
Police
officers at the station have not been able to explain the circumstances
surrounding the loss of the cables, according to the Krontihene of the town,
Nana Adu Poku, who disclosed this at a meeting of the Formanso Nkosuo-Kuo in
Accra. He appealed to the authorities to investigate the matter.
The
community had secured 100 pieces of poles for the project from Busi and
Stephenson Ghana Ltd on a 2:1 basis.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
The Crusading Guide says President Kufuor and his Government’s much touted commitment to “due process of law” is under serious threat as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Accra Interpol Boss have treated with contempt an Accra High Court order.
The order for prohibition is for the IGP, Ernest Owusu Poku and Superintendent Opare-Addo, Head of Interpol to return a Mercedes Benz Car C240 to its owners - Jobesh Car Hiring Company.
According to the paper, the car, registered as GR 298 S, was seized on the orders of Opare-Addo on the 27th of April 2001 on the pretext that it was stolen and brought down from Nigeria, and that the owners were in Ghana to retrieve it.
The High Court Order dated 18th July 2001, said the IGP and Opare-Addo, the first and second respondents respectively, were to release immediately, the Mercedes Benz vehicle to Jobesh Car Rentals without further delay.
The Circuit Tribunal to which the owner of Jobesh Car Rentals, Ekow Baisie had been hauled to answer a charge of receiving a stolen good had also been asked to cease forthwith any further hearing of the case so that the matter deemed as a civil matter could be heard in a Circuit Court.
The prohibition order also maintained that if the IGP and Superintendent Opare-addo felt the said vehicle belonged to someone else other than Ekow Baisie Haizel “who possesses all the valid documents on same, they should respond to the writ of summons that was served on them from the Circuit court, Accra for that issue to be determined”.
When the Crusading Guide talked to Baisie Haizel on the matter, he said he was forced to file a motion on Notice for an order for Prohibition when he declined to write a statement relinquishing the ownership of the Car as directed by Opare-Addo.
Haiziel said Opare-Addo became annoyed when he (Haizel) refused to disown the car.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Don’t marry circumcised girls - Parliamentarian
The NPP Member of Parliament for Shama, Mrs Angelina Baiden-Amissah has suggested that women who have had their genital organs mutilated through cultural practices be declared unfit for marriage. They are to be shunned by husbands-to-be as a protest, she was reported by the Graphic Showbiz as saying.
This would help stop such “barbaric” cultural practises, Mrs Baiden-Amissah who is also the Chairman of he Parliamentary Committee on Gender and Children suggested in Parliament when she was contributing to a statement to commemorate last week’s 56th anniversary of the United Nations.
She said the law banning the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) has not been effective and that if female victims remain unmarried because prospective husbands refuse to marry them, they will put an end to the practice.
Practitioners of FGM believe that they do so to make their daughters more desirable to their future husbands.
Mrs Baiden-Amissah said Ghana was the first to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child but female genital mutilation has persisted in certain parts of the country. “I feel for these girls and as a woman I can feel in my own body when a sensitive organ like this bearing a lot of nerves should be chopped off by some people of a particular tribe and some religious groups,” she said.
More…/
Amber Hughes, a 22-year old black American student of the University of Ghana, last Friday had a good feel of the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality when she was crowned Miss Akwaaba 2001.
The event was organised by Sarbah Hall of the University of Ghana as part of activities marking its 37th Hall Week celebrations. It was also to formally welcome fresh students to campus.
Amber, who is in Ghana and Africa for the first time, won the hearts of patrons as she hit the stage, singing hiplife queen, Abrewa Nana’s Odo Filla. The applause that met her performance was simply deafening.
From her performance, it was clear that Amber was out to make a point that in spite of the American nationality she was very much in tune with her African ancestry. “She looked good in her kaba clothes and the way she picked her steps during the highlife segment was amazing”, says the Showbiz. For her prize, she received a personal computer (PC) with a year free Internet access.
GRi…/
Send your
comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com