Civil Servants advise gov’t to adopt holistic method to wages
Best farmer urges probe
Seventy Policemen in varsities to quit
Ghanaians, Canadians walked out on Hackman Agyemang
How some mining companies cheat Ghana
The
Statesman alleges that emerging details of the ¢36.1 billion financial mess on
eight banks by Cashpro, a private cocoa purchasing firm, indicates that the company
diverted the money into the NDC election 2000 war chest.
Owned by
the Ahwoi brothers and managed by one of them, Ato, Cashpro used its fast
growing tentacles in the rural areas as conduits for channeling money to NDC
activities there, the paper said, claiming that it also gathered reliably, that
as a move to avoid the payment of huge debts, Cashpro is considering calling in
the receivers, by filing bankruptcy.
Established
less than 10 years ago, Cashpro whose initial funding is believed to have been
sourced from the District Assemblies Common Fund, consistently enjoyed most
favoured company status at the expense of hitherto more established ones like
Kiku Company Ltd., and even the state-owned Produce Buying Company (PBC).
The
Statesman story said it was the nature of government support and pampering of
Cashpro in this rather convenient quid pro quo arrangement that within five
years of its establishment, it had joined the league of 100 most successful
businesses in Ghana and was poised to take over the PBC.
However,
Cashpro’s inability to operate properly and the misapplication of the monies
led to its inability to settle ¢30 billion of its obligation. The principal and
interest accruing to the sum currently stands at over ¢37 billion, according the
Statesman.
More…/
The comedy,
absurdity and perplexity surrounding W.O.I Patrick Kuntoh’s now heavily
discredited story of an attempted robbery-cum-assassination on his property and
life, have taken on another bizarre twist with outlandish findings of an
investigation undertaken by a Statesman detective.
The latest
revelation, the paper says, does in fact, cast serious doubt on the state of
Kuntoh’s mental health.
The papers
investigations revealed that shortly after telling the world, including
Botswana, that he had been attacked by 15 to 23 men who, as he puts it, could
not have been armed robbers because they were between the ages of 22 and 35,
Kuntoh traveled back to the bushy haven of his 600 plus acres farm near Wenchi.
There, he
bragged to any villager who cared to listen that after returning to Accra in
the early hours of Wednesday, October 24, with the proceeds from the sale of
1,200 bags of maize, he was attacked by an army of opportunists but relying on his
great marksmanship, he managed to shoot dead two of the assailants after an
Afghanistan-like exchange of fire.
The paper
says this undoubtedly, has enhanced the rustic reputation of a man already seen
as a hero, due to the seasonal employment his farm offers to the locals, and
Kuntoh’s heroic exploits, according to his brother, Red (not to be confused
with Red, his neighbour whose blood was found near the scene of the alleged
crime) is the talk of Branam Town, a population of 2,700.
GRi…/
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A total
of 70 schools in the central Region scored zero percent at this year’s Basic
Certificate Examination (BECE) organised by the West Africa Examination
Council
(WAEC) in April this year, reports The Evening News.
Of the
25,589 candidates who took part in the examinations, 13,936 failed in all their
subjects in the 12 districts in the region. About 11,663 students obtained
aggregates between 6 and 30 in the region reputed to be the cradle of education
in the country.
These are
contained in a compilation of the BECE results collected from the District Chief
Executives in the region by the paper.
Thirteen
schools scored zero at the Twifo-Hemang-Lower Denkyira District, making it the
region’s worst. Out of 1,546 candidates presented at the examinations, 978
failed as against 568 who passed.
The district
had 24 schools scoring zero per cent last year which was also the worst
recorded in the region at the time.
The results
this year had Cape Coast Municipality as the best district with only one school
scoring zero percent.
More…/
The Greater
Regional Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Dr Alex Lutterodt has
advised the NPP administration to desist from the culture of feeding the public
with statistical data, which are meaningless and cannot improve the standard of
leaving of the ordinary people.
Addressing
party supporters at a consultative meeting held in Accra, he said there is a
great deal of direction and initiative that the state-sector is bound to give in
the development of the national economy, which cannot be so easily done by the
private sector, whose primary aim is profit and not the national interest.
Dr
Lutterodt added that it is against this background that investors shy away from
putting their moneys in important national projects where the social benefits
are more than the private benefits.
He noted
that over-reliance of foreign-exchange ownership and monopoly in the national
economy marginalises the role of the state, influence neo-colonialism and
undermines Ghana’s independence.
The Evening
News, which carries the story, reports that Dr Lutterodt advised the NPP
administration not to underestimate the unique role that the state-sector plays
in the development of the country.
GRi…/
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Civil Servants advise gov’t to adopt holistic method to
wages
The Civil Servants Association of Ghana (CSAG) has called on the government to adopt a more holistic approach to wage and salary rationalisation and other conditions of service of workers in the country.
A story carried by the Daily Graphic says the association deplored the selective justice accorded organisations and associations, which use threats of strikes to back their demands.
Commenting on the threat by the Greater Accra Council of Labour to lay down their tools to back demands for the restoration of the End-of-Service Benefits (ESB) in an interview in Accra on Monday, Smart Y. Chigabatia, Executive Secretary of the Civil Servants Association, contended that it is bad industrial practice for the government to respond positively to concerns of individual unions and professional associations only after they threaten to lay down their tools.
Even though the leadership of the association is against the use of threats of strikes and demonstrations to back demands for improved service conditions, including the restoration of the ESB and Pensions Chapter 30 (CAP 30), any attempt by the government to adopt “piece-meal approach” to the problem, will trigger off workers agitation, he said.
Mr Chigabatia said it was wrong for the previous government to suspend and abolish the payment of ESB and CAP 30 respectively for a section of government workers.
He said other government institutions such as the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana National Fire Service continue to enjoy the CAP 30 while civil servants have been put on SSNIT Pension, which he said is not motivating and rewarding.
More…/
The first Ghana Funeral Resources Exhibition, dubbed FUNEREX 2001, has opened in Accra. The exhibition is to focus on the fast developing funeral industry in Ghana.
Companies from South Africa and the United Kingdom are exhibiting to expose the public to other means of financing funerals at an affordable cost.
The President of the Ghana National Association of Funeral Directors and Chief of Bortiano, Nii Kwei Arku V, who opened the exhibition, said the show will serve as the base for the funeral industry in Ghana to learn from other countries on how to produce coffins, hearses and other funeral facilities at affordable prices.
In an interview with Mr Ettienne Bezuidenhoed of Penn Exhibitions, South Africa, he said his outfit felt it necessary to stage FUNEREX in Ghana to showcase cost-effective funeral facilities and also because the funeral industry has the potential of generating revenue for the country, given the right support and opportunities.
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One robber was killed while another sustained gunshot wounds when four armed robbers engaged the police in a shoot-out at a house at Nima in Accra on Monday morning.
According to a Graphic report, armed with locally-made pistols, the four had earlier raided a second-hand electrical appliances shop, Steve Enterprise, at Abeka at about 4 am, where they held the watchman hostage at gunpoint and succeeded in loading five refrigerators onto a Datsun Pickup and drove off.
But soon after their departure, the watchman hired a taxi, which trailed the armed robbers to a house at Nima, without the robbers’ knowledge.
The watchman then informed the Nima Divisional Police Headquarters who immediately dispatched two policemen with him in his taxi to their location.
As soon as the robbers set eyes on the police, they opened fire. The police returned fire, and in the process one of the robbers, who was hit died instantly, while another one, hit in the arm, fell.
At this stage, the policemen were said to have returned to their station to ask for reinforcement and a combined police-military team accompanied them. When they arrived, the robbers, including the injured one, had fled, but they later abandoned their Datsun Pickup at a spot at Nima. The vehicle has been impounded, and the refrigerators retrieved, while the three robbers are on the run.
When contacted, Dr K.K. Manfo, Accra Regional Police Commander, confirmed the story and said the landlord of the house, who refused to cooperate with the police, has been arrested and placed in custody, while investigations continue.
GRi…/
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Best farmer urges probe
The 1993 and 94 national best cocoa and coffee farmer, Nana Yaw Barimah Suadwa, has called for a probe into the activities at the Cocoa Input Stores in the Brong-Ahafo Region following alleged embezzlement of billions of cedis.
The money being proceeds from the sale of inputs such as spraying machines, insecticides, Wellington boots and other farming implements was allegedly embezzled by some storekeepers.
The storekeepers, whose names were not immediately known, were said to have been stationed at Goaso, Kukuom, Mim, Sankore, Asumura, hwidiem, Bechem and Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo region.
According to the Ghanaian Times, Nana Suadwa, who is the President of the Fianko Society of farmers in Kasapin in the Asunafo District, made the call in an interaction with newsmen at Fianko-Bonika, near Sunyani.
He said that the sale of the inputs began a few months after the government took office, adding that all the inputs had been sold.
More…/
Official money transfers from Ghanaians living abroad amounted to over 400 million dollars last year, the Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), Professor Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere, disclosed at the opening of a three-day national conference in Accra, on Monday, on “Migration and Livelihood in Contemporary Ghana”.
The amount, he said, was the third largest foreign earner for the country, after gold and cocoa. Professor Asenso-Okyere, who was commenting on how important international migration had become for the development of Ghana, said “that the amount can go much higher than this if the emigrants can be courted to love Ghana more.”
More…/
The government is to introduce new medium to long-term financial instruments on the market next year.
The Ghanaian Times which carries the story, says the move, which followed the successful performance of the Government of Ghana Index Linked Bond (GGILB) is to further deepen the financial system in the country.
Finance Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo disclosing this in Accra, said the government recognises that, without an active secondary market, the medium to long-term market for financial instruments may not thrive.
He reiterated the government’s commitment at assisting the financial sector to develop an active secondary trading market adding that as part of efforts to reduce the stock of domestic debt and its associated problems of high interest rate, the government launched the GGILB on September 7.
To that end, maturing 91-day treasury bills that fell due for redemption or re-issue at the weekly auction have been converted into GGILB which resulted in 200 billion cedis to be converted from short-term debt into a three-year debt as at the end of September.
It is expected that about 50 per cent of the current domestic debt stock of 6.1 trillion cedis would ultimately be converted into long-term obligations through the GGILB.
GRi…/
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The Chronicle says it appears the Dr Owusu Boadu-Victor Selormey deals are stirring more storm as it has learnt of deepening frustration within the security and law enforcement agencies over reports that the Attorney-General’s Office neither consulted them nor brought the matter of Selormey’s $45,000 car case for collective agreement before ‘cutting the controversial deal’ that has excited mixed emotions.
The paper says it gathered over the weekend that the security agencies put a lot of money and resources into conducting the investigations, and ordering forensic investigations that, in their opinion, showed that there was sufficient substance to convict Selormey and “there is a lot of hurt and discomfiture that their efforts have been treated in such a cavalier manner,” the paper quotes it’s source as saying.
The Selormey car affair involves transactions with his friend Dr Owusu Boadu who has so far fail to come down from his University of Texas-at-Austin base in the US to testify in any of Selormey’s cases despite court adjournments.
At the top of the Executive wing, there is also more anger that such a decision to let off Selormey, which had significant political implications should have been taken by the Attorney-General especially because of the ‘ripple’ effect that it could generate.
Sources say that Nana has had to apologise to the cabinet for his political faux pas. Not unexpectedly, sections of the public are accusing the NPP government of double standards in the handling of the matter because Mallam Yusuf Isa had offered to refund the $46,000 he lost but ended up being dispatched to prison. Other ‘small’ men have been prosecuted by the AG’s office over financial dealings that have involved less than $200.
Victor Selormey offered and did pay a disputed difference of $7,000 due to the state, claiming it represents the difference between the $45,000 that was paid and the invoice value of the car, but was granted that dispensation. The fraud inherent in the transaction was disregarded.
More…/
The Concerned Students claimed that the SRC’s accounts, which were later investigated by an executive committee set up by the Institute’s administration, are misleading and have failed to show a true reflection of the state of the students finances. They called for the Government’s intervention.
GRi…/
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Seventy Policemen in varsities to quit
Over 70 Police Officers, who have gained admission into the country’s tertiary institutions, are to stop their studies and return to post, following new directives, which have disqualified them from benefiting from study leave.
The Ghana Palaver reporting, says the directives have raised the minimum post-training service period from seven and half years to twelve years, for one to qualify for the study leave. This means only policemen, who enlisted before or during the 1988-89 period are entitled to enjoy study leave, with all its benefits.
What is causing an undue embarrassment is the fact that the directives have come rather too late, when some of the officers, who had gained entry under the previous conditions are already in their various institutions, paid the initial fees and purchased books in anticipation of reimbursement.
The directives were contained in a Police signal, sent by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), to all Commanders, a little over a week ago. The message was signed by one Superintendent Bright Oduro of the Police Administration.
A few years back, the minimum service period was three years but it was later raised to six years. Then the Peter Nanfuri administration further increased it to seven-and-a-half years, a condition under which most of the present “knowledge-seekers”, on gaining admission, applied for their study.
Describing the new directives, as “outrageous”, one of the affected officers, dismissed a suggestion that the action might have been taken due to the shortage of personnel. “If it is the question of numbers, then what about the over 200 men, who are sent on peace missions each year?” he asked.
He thinks in the wake of the growing sophistication of crime, it is necessary that the Police Service rather encourages its men to acquire more knowledge and go modern in combating social evils.
GRi…/
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The National Association of Lotto Writer and Agents has petitioned Parliament on Government’s intention to outlaw the operations of Private Lotto Operators in the country, reports The Crusading Guide.
The says this was disclosed last week by Mr Richard Asamoah, the Greater Accra Regional Secretary of the Association at a press conference in Accra, in a statement read by him and entitled “to react to Government’s intention to outlaw the operations of Private Lotto in the country”.
Mr. Mark Bosompem, the National Chairman of the Association, said the ongoing registration of all Lotto agents and writers throughout the country by the Association is estimated to hit about 1.5 million people excluding those working in Private Lotto Houses in the country.
He cautioned that any attempt by the government to outlaw Private Lotto Operation would bring untold hardship to a large number of Ghanaians.
GRi…/
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Ghanaians, Canadians walked out on Hackman Agyemang
Hon. Hackman Owusu Agyemang, the Ghanaian Foreign Minister and MP for New Juaben North was shell-shocked when some Ghanaians and Canadians he was addressing in Toronto walked out on him, reports The Ghanaian Voice.
According to the paper, the Foreign Minister was addressing a meeting at TOWN HALL at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Toronto Canada on November 3, 2001. In attendance were the President’s entourage including his wife, Mrs. Theresa Kufuor, Dr. Agambilla, Deputy Minister of Finance, Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Mr. D.K. Osei, Secretary to the President and Mr. Gabby Nketia, Special Assistant to the President.
Those who walked out in protest were some Ghanaians who did not understand the language he was communicating with. Hon Hackman was speaking in impeccable Twi language, which some of the people did not make head or tail of.
Although the walk out was not meant to run down the Foreign Minister they could not understand why a whole Foreign Minister should speak Twi at a TOWN HALL meeting, which was not attended by Akans only.
One Ghanaian said he could not understand why a whole Minister did not use the English language to reach out to all present.
GRi…/
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How some mining companies cheat Ghana
Participants at a round table in Accra have lamented alleged excess retention by mining companies of proceeds of foreign exchange in respect of their earnings from the export of minerals.
The High Street Journal carrying that story, says Section 29 of the Minerals and Mining Laws 1986, PNDC Law 153, allows a holder of a mining lease to retain in an external account and other releases not less than 25 percent of his/her expenses.
The external account shall be paid in trust on behalf of the holder by the holder with the consent of the Bank of Ghana.
According to Professor Bartholomew Armah, senior research fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs, (IEA) the law, however, sets a minimum proportion of 25 percent of export proceeds without setting a maximum ceiling. He said, in effect, the holder of a mining lease could retain all of his/her earnings in an external account.
Professor Armah was presenting a paper entitled “Public Sector Corruption and Macro-Stability Evidence” from the Auditor-General’s (AG) Report at the roundtable organised by IEA.
He said in 1998, Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) and Ghana Consolidated Diamonds (GCB) retained 100 percent of the total foreign exchange from their mineral exports. With regard to diamonds, he said the Auditor General’s report indicated that export proceeds, were wholly retained by exporters and no portions were sold to the Bank of Ghana (BOG) for cedis.
Professor Armah said the law allows for too much discretion on the part of lease holders, in determining the ceiling and this makes it difficult to make reliable projection of the amount of foreign reserves retained in Ghana.
Participants were alarmed at Prof. Armah’s observations as contained in the A-G’s report, with contributors alleging that some major reputable mining companies are flouting the provisions of the law and retaining 100 per cent of their foreign exchange earnings overseas.
They called for a review of the retention of proceeds in foreign accounts of the minerals laws and others, which give too many concessions to investors.
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A “Made in USA” trade show to be organised by Adstyle Ltd will be held in Accra from September 17 to 20, 2002. The fair will involve all countries in the West Africa sub-region.
Speaking to The High Street Journal in an exclusive interview in Accra, Eric W. Quarcoo, chief executive officer of Adstyle, said the show was originally slated for November 2002, but had to be shifted to September 2002, because the company’s organising counterparts in the USA Dennis Chrisban African Team Member advised that the fair would coincide with the “Thanksgiving Holiday” in the USA and many Americans normally celebrate the holiday with their families at home.
He said the Made in USA trade show for West Africa has as its main objective the promotion of foreign direct investment, business partnerships and links between American companies and business executives with their West African counterparts in the areas of distributorship, licensing, franchising, contract manufacturing, joint venture and other forms of business relationships.
GRi…/
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