Kludjeson
sued for fraud...7 others involved
Parliamentary
C'ttee visits cyanide spillage site
Poverty
alleviation funds not gifts
Human
rights body wades into ¢800m Bank frauds
Mr
Alfred Agbesi, who defied the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s order not to
contest the 2000 elections and stood as an independent parliamentary candidate,
has urged the leadership of the party to adhere strictly to the tenets of the
NDC Constitution if the party is to survive, The Evening News reports.
Mr
Agbesi referred to Article 15 (3) of the NDC Constitution, which requires that
party executives should be elected to hold office for two years, and noted that
the leadership has failed to abide by it.
“It
is the strong view of the members that the non-compliance of this provision at
the constituency, regional and national levels, is one of the major problems
that led to the defeat of the NDC in the 2000 elections,” he stated.
Mr
Agbesi, who is the Chairman of the Ashaiman Constituency Reorganisation
Committee of the NDC, told the fifth Biennial Delegates Conference of the
constituency at Ashaiman, near Accra at the weekend and urged party faithfuls
to relegate to the background those in leadership positions whose views and
wishes run contrary to that of supporters at the grassroots, stating that if
the party is to regain political power, then there should be a critical
assessment of the calibre of people in leadership positions.
The
NDC, he said, needs virtually new entrants to leadership positions, stressing
that “whiles living with the painful reality of being in the opposition, our
members are of the strong conviction that most of those perceived as being
anti-grassroots, should as far as possible, desist from playing any leadership
role”.
More…/
In
spite of persistent education by the Customs Excise and Preventive Service
(CEPS) on the need for vehicle buyers to crosscheck the authenticity of
documents on them before concluding such transactions, most people continue to
buy vehicles without heeding this advice.
The
CEPS has currently impounded hundreds of such vehicles smuggled into the
country. The vehicles are licensed at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing
Authority (DVLA) using fake documents and later sold to unsuspecting buyers who
then bear the brunt of the law. Through this means, billions of cedis in
revenue to the state are lost as the smugglers fail to pay any taxes.
Sources
at the service disclosed that CEPS suspects that the practice became very
rampant when the ban on the importation of over-aged vehicles was promulgated
in 1998 by the previous administration.
Investigations
conducted by the paper have revealed that CEPS has seized several hundreds of
such smuggled vehicles so far in a special exercise initiated by the
Commissioner, Isaac Kofi Opoku-Ntiamoah.
GRi…/
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Kludjeson
sued for fraud...7 others involved
The
President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and a director of
Celltel, a cell phone company, Prince Kofi Kludjeson and seven others have been
sued at an Accra High Court for acting fraudulently which has resulted in
financial loss and damage to Celltel Limited.
Consequently,
Celltel Limited, the plaintiff, is demanding from the defendants 474,232.60
dollars, an interest on the amount from October 1999 until the date of payment
to the plaintiff at the London Inter Bank Ordinary Rate (LIBOR) plus four per
cent. It is also claiming Counsel’s fees, and exemplary damages.
The
defendant is Inter-Ideal Limited, with other co-defendants as Stephen Kweku
Agrobesah, trading under the name and style Inter-Ideal Refrigeration and
Air-condition Services, Stephen Quarcoo Agrobesah and Michael Quarcoo Amedorme.
The rest are Lucas Paul Adotey Addo, Unilink Limited and Corporate Ventures
limited.
The
plaintiff contended that Prince Kofi Kludjeson, Stephen Quarcoo Agrobesah and
Michael Quarcoo Amedorme fraudulently and purposely set up a sham entity, with
the active connivance of Lucas Paul Adotey Addo, Unilink Limited and Corporate
Ventures Limited to swindle it through the supply of 24 generators valued at
509,274 dollars.
Tracing
the background, the statement said in June 1999, Celltel Limited through its
chairman, Prince Kofi Kludjeson required 24 generator sets for its operations
and therefore sought quotations from certain companies giving specifications
for the equipment it required.
It
stated that by a letter dated June 25, 1999, it showed that whiles Inter-Ideal
Limited was yet to be incorporated, persons pretending to be acting on behalf
of the company and who described it as having “rich experience and facilities”,
in connection with the supply and
installation of generator sets, gave quotations to supply Celltel with
generators worth 509,274 dollars.
The
delivery date specified in the quotation was six weeks, and Inter-Ideal Ltd.
required full payment as confirmation order. The defendant’s quotation was
accepted by the plaintiff, through a sham and fraudulent bidding process and
review of the bids, with at least the knowledge of one Prince Kofi Kludjeson, a
director of the Plaintiff.
The
statement said instructions was on October 21, 1999 given to Celltel’s bankers
to remit to the defendant by wire transfer, the sum of 509,274 dollars to the
bank account numbered 0321 2621 6251 at Standard Chartered Bank, Adabraka, as
provided by the defendant (or persons pretending to represent the defendant) as
its bank account in a letter dated October 20, 1999.
The
plaintiff contends this action to be fraud as Inter-Ideal Ltd had not even been
incorporated as at that date and accordingly could not own a bank account.
More…/
Parliamentary
C'ttee visits cyanide spillage site
The
Parliamentary Select Committee on Environment Science and Technology, led by
its chairman, Mr K.O. Darku, on Monday visited the Goldfields Ghana Limited
(GGL) at Tarkwa and Satellite Goldfields Limited at Akyempim both in the Wassa
West District of the Western Region.
The
committee held discussions with the management of the two gold fields and the
affected communities. During the discussions, the Acting General Manager of GGL
Mr Tim Scott said that the spillage occurred as a result of a break in one of
their pipes and explained that detoxification were immediately utilised in the
drainage area adjacent to the location area of the leakage.
Mr
Scott said following that leak, personnel of GGL were sent to Abekoase and
Huninso, the two immediate communities, to request residents to refrain from
drinking water from their streams until water sampling could verify that no
threat existed. "There was no time that the health of the residents was
threatened”, he indicated and accused a local NGO of sensationalising the situation.
More…/
Poverty
alleviation funds not gifts
President
John Kufuor has advised beneficiaries of the Emergency Social Relief Programme
(ESRP), the Forest Resource Plantation Project (FRPP), the President's Special
Initiative (SPI) projects and other poverty alleviation schemes introduced by
the government to erase the erroneous impression that such facilities granted
them were gifts and not to be refunded.
The
beneficiaries were reminded of the need to make good use of the loans because
the facility was intended to empower them to improve upon their economic
conditions in line with the government's vision to improve the living
conditions of every Ghanaian.
President
Kufuor gave the advice on Tuesday when he addressed a grand durbar at Damongo
in the Gonja West District organised in his honour by the chiefs and people of
the Gonja Traditional Area to mark the beginning of his three-day working visit
to the Northern Region.
GRi…/
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A
British national, Tim Gros, was on Monday arrested and placed in custody by
personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) for breaking the Country’s
immigration laws, reports the Daily Graphic.
He
is believed to have been living in the country illegally since the late 1990s,
and working without valid resident and work permits. The arrest of Gros,
General Manager of Expo Promotions, an events organising firm, followed an
official complaint by the Ghana Trade Fair Company (GTFC) Limited to the GIS.
The
GTFC had protested against the activities of Gros, who had advertised a fair,
“USA-Ghana exhibition,” to be held at the Ghana Trade Fair Centre, Accra, and
falsely described his company as official organisers.
According
to the GTFC, Expo Promotions had not been given the right to organise any event
at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre. “He has no resident permit nor
valid work permit to enable him organise any business activity in Ghana,” the
protest letter from the GTFC said.
It
explained that another company, Adstyle Limited, has rather been granted the
right to organise the fair, which has been slated for September 17 - 20, 2002.
The GTFC also warned that anyone who deals with the Briton in connection with
the advertised fair, do so at his or her own risk.
More…/
The
Parliamentary Service Board has approved Mr K.E.K. Tachie, as acting Clerk of
Parliament. Mr Tachie, 55, replaces Rex Owusu-Ansah, who retired on Sunday,
November 4, 2001.
The
Speaker of Parliament, Peter Ala Adjetey, who made this known at the sitting of
the House last Friday, commended Mr Owusu-Ansah for his invaluable services to
the nation.
The
Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Papa Owusu-Ankomah,
expressed the hope that even though Mr Owusu-Ansah has retired from the Public
Service, he will make his immense experience available to strengthen the institution
of Parliament.
The
Deputy Minority Leader, Mr I.K. Adjei-Mensah, on behalf of the Minority, wished
the retired clerk well wherever he will find himself.
Mr
Tachie attended Achimota School from 1960 to 1966 where he obtained the ‘O’ and
‘A’ level certificates. He then proceeded to the University of Ghana, Legon,
and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from 1966 to 1969.
Between
February and May 1971, he went on attachment and training in Parliamentary
Procedures, rules and practice in the British Houses of Parliament. He
undertook an Internship in Administration and Management at the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome from November 1977 to September 1978.
Mr
Tachie obtained a Certificate of Achievement for successfully completing a
professional placement in the Field of Public Administration and Legislative
Management. He served as the Clerk-at the-Table of the National Assembly from
1969 to 1972. He also trained at the
National Conference of State Legislatures at Denver, Colorado, United States,
Indiana University.
More…/
Members
of the National Woodworkers Union on Wednesday staged a two-hour demonstration
at Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region to press home their demand for the repeal
of the Legislative Instrument banning chainsaw operations in the country.
According
to the Graphic, they urged the government to reverse the ban to ensure regular
supply of lumber to the local market at affordable prices and also save the
business of members of the union, numbering about three million, from collapse.
The
demonstrators comprised table-saw operators, carvers, chainsaw operators, wood
sellers and carpenters, who carried placards, some of which read “President
Kufour save us”, chainsaw operators not enemies of Forestry Commission”,
“Chainsaw does not destroy the forest”, paraded some streets of Sunyani before
converging at the Civic Centre, where the Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the
union, Nana Twum Barima Appau II, read a petition the union intended presenting
to the President.
He
said the business of most of the union members are being destroyed as a result
of the ban on chainsaw operations, adding that most of them are the
breadwinners of their homes and the situation has created serious family
problems.
Nana
Appau noted that it has become clear that saw millers are not prepared to
adhere to the government regulation to sell 20 per cent of their product on the
local market.
He
expressed concern about the claims that chainsaw operators are the cause of the
deforestation in the country and described the assertion as false. According to
him, it is rather saw millers who destroy the forests and turn round to push
the blame on chainsaw operators.
GRi…/
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Human
rights body wades into ¢800m Bank frauds
The
Ghanaian Chronicle says it can reveal that the fraud which hit the Lower Pra
Rural Bank at Shama in 1999, when over 800 million cedis was embezzled is not
yet over.
The
Western Regional branch of the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative
Justice (CHRAJ), according to the paper, has subpoenaed the embattled bank to
appear before it to answer charges of wrongful dismissal of an employee of the
Bank, following it’s persistent refusal to furnish CHRAJ with a copy of the
investigative report upon which the appointment of the employee was terminated.
Mr.
Abraham Kwamina Denson, the employee was fired with four other members of
staff, for allegedly embezzling more than ¢827.7m. About a year a go, Kwamena
Denson filed a complaint with CHRAJ, challenging his dismissal from the bank on
the grounds that he was not among those alleged to have dipped their hands into
the coffers of the bank.
“I
categorically deny my involvement in the case for the fact that if I had had a
hand in the said deal or fraud at Effiakumah or head office, I would not in my
right frame of mind report the case to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO),” he
pointed out in an interview with the Chronicle.
More…/
The
Ghana Medical Association (GMA) says it will not prescribe any concoction from
traditional healers, except those that have been duly tested and certified by
the Akuapem Mampong Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine as a wholesome.
The
GMA also advised the Ministry of Health to regulate traditional medicine and
bring it to a standard that will be appreciable, while cautioning herbalists to
consider themselves as such and not doctors.
Professor
Agyemang Badu Akosa the immediate past GMA president, made the statement when
declaring his association’s position on the use of traditional medicine
alongside orthodox ones in government hospitals, as one advocated by a deputy
minister of Health
Commenting
on the many traditional doctors and their claims, Dr Akosa said, “they do not
have dosage guidelines and we think that it is not right to use their
medicines. Some of them are so diabolical that they douse their herbs with
paracetamols, antibodies etc. They call themselves doctors, they have
stethoscopes round their necks; they take blood pressures, is that traditional
medicine? It is a fraud on the Ghanaian society and we can’t stand that”, he
said.
In
a seven-point communiqué, the GMA implored the government to initiate as a
matter of priority, central and local government initiatives to “properly
manage waste and disposal in the country and ensure improved environmental
sanitation all over the country.”
More…/
The
Mayor of Accra, Solomon Offei Darko, has revealed that plans are underway to
beautify the city of Accra this year. With this, the mayor said, the roads and
pavements of the Accra metropolis, which have been turned into a market, would
be cleared to welcome this new positive change of beautification.
He
told the Chronicle that the AMA would allow an open market sale of Christmas
items on some of the major streets of Accra, which he said, would be blocked on
every Saturday to allow for this business till the end of this year.
Offei
Darko said he will negotiate with the people selling on the major streets and
pavements of Accra to be relocated at the end of the exercise. Asked whether
the people would not come back to the streets again to continue transacting
their business, Offei Darko said he would make sure they relocated to places in
the same localities they operate from.
He
said a vibrant street carnival would be organised in the city for traders to
encourage them to leave the streets and the pavements to free the city from
congestion.
GRi…/
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