Fraud
& serial looting at Volta Hotel
Malam
Isa heads for Supreme Court
Rawlings
and the Castle junction bomb
Man
on trial for crossing Kufuor's motorcade
The
Deputy Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in charge of
Operations, Mr. Kofi Asamoah, has called on workers to take advantage of the
introduction of upfront payment of tax relief by the government, state paper
the Daily Graphic reports.
He
therefore urged them to prevail on their employers to take the necessary steps
to ensure that workers benefit from the relief announced in this year’s budget
statement to improve their earnings.
In a
statement issued in Accra by the Public Affairs Secretariat of the TUC, Mr
Asamoah explained that, “the new procedures to ease the difficult and
cumbersome procedures enjoin the employer to collect forms from the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) and ensure that data concerning their employees are
entered on the forms and returned to the IRS for processing”.
Under the relief, an individual with a dependent spouse or at least two children could have 300,000 cedis a year, while a physically challenged person engaged in a business or employment will have 24 per cent deducted from his accessible income.
Persons
above 60 years are also entitled to 300,000 cedis a year as relief from any
business or employment, while children’s education relief is pegged at 240,000
cedis a year to any person sponsoring the education of his or her child or ward
in recognised educational institution, but limited to three children.
More…/
The
government has assured District Assemblies that all efforts are being made to
acquire the right type of vehicles for them to work with.
It
said 23 out of 110 Hyundai Gallopers Station Wagons which were acquired for
them had proven inefficient and there is, therefore, the need to look for
another type, preferably, Nissan or Toyota 4x4 to enable them to discharge
their duties effectively.
The
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, who
gave the assurance in an interview, said the contract between the government of
Ghana and African Automobile Limited (AAL) for the supply of vehicles has been
abrogated.
He
said the remaining 87, which arrived at the port, will not be accepted by the
government. Mr Baah-Wiredu said the vehicles apart from performing
unsatisfactorily are also sophisticated and will cost the government a lot of
money to maintain.
He
said the district assemblies are currently using the Poverty Alleviation
vehicles and reiterated that soon the right vehicles will be acquired and put
at their disposal.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said the AAL has agreed to replace the gallopers with Pajeros but indicated that, “we need to have our technical experts to assure us that they can perform before we accept them.”
More…/
The
Asantehene, Otumfo Osei Tutu II, has reiterated the need for beneficiaries of
the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Students’ Loan Scheme
to repay their loans to ensure its sustainability and effective development of
education especially at the tertiary level.
He
said although beneficiaries of the scheme such as doctors, accountants,
engineers, information technology specialists and administrators, are in
lucrative employment and could easily repay the loans, they have blatantly
refused to do so making it very difficult for the schemes’ expansion.
Otumfuo
Osei Tutu, therefore, urged friends and parents of the beneficiaries to put
intense pressure on them to repay the loans to motivate SSNIT to continue with
the scheme to ensure the effective development of the country’s human
resources.
He
said “unless the obligation of repaying the loan is met, SSNIT will feel
totally discouraged to continue with the scheme.”
Otumfuo
Osei Tutu said information available to him indicate that as much as 180
billion cedis of loans disbursed to students to enable them to complete their
courses successfully have not been paid back.
More…/
The
Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey has
appealed to Ghanaians to be moderate in their demands for improved standards of
living and contribute towards the success of the macroeconomic policies being
pursued by the government.
He
said the sound policies of the government over the past 10 months have resulted
in the stabilisation of the major foreign currencies, and lower inflation rates
among others. The minister said the success of the programmes is a clear
indication that government policies are on track and called for patience.
Mr
Obetsebi-Lamptey made the appeal at the 5th Speech and Prize Giving
Day of Nifa Secondary School at Adukrom-Akuapem in the Eastern Region at the
weekend.
He
reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring that living standards of
people improve through the even distribution of the “positive change will not
come by a sudden flight but with the support of all and sundry”.
Narrowing
his appeal down to teachers, the minister called on them to continue to show
greater dedication and commitment to their work and help turn out the best
human resources needed to rebuild the economy.
He
said the government is aware that teachers just like workers, will not be
satisfied with what they get but asked them to make do with what they are
receiving now as steps are taken to improve the lot of all working people.
GRi…/
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There have been a number of new entrants into
Ghana’s life insurance market over the last two years according to The High
Street Journal (HSJ). The Life under-writing firms, which stood at 15 in 1997
dropped to thirteen after Great Africa, Crusader, Trans Universal and Reliance
were delisted from transacting any business.
The firms have however risen to fifteen with
Enterprise Life Insurance Company being the latest. Other players in the vastly
improved market include State Insurance Company, (SIC), GLICO, Metropolitan,
Ghana Life, Vanguard, Provident, Star Assurance, Donewell, Quality, Beacon, CDH
Insurance, Unique, Phoenix and Network Assurance.
Although Phoenix and Network are registered as
a composite company to transact both Life and non-Life businesses, the former’s
class is not too active a portfolio.
The HSJ says the increase in the number of
operating firms over the past two years has actually intensified competition,
forcing higher levels of efficiency in service delivery and corporate
performance.
The number is expected to rise still, to give
further impetus to the drive for better service delivery and efficiency as
completion mounts.
Out of these fifteen firms, three companies
GLICO, Ghana Life and ELAC - specialize solely in life underwriting.
By the end of 2000, total asserts for eleven
life underwriting companies that took part in HSJ survey stood at 73.8 billion
cedis representing annual growth of 39 per cent since 1999 when total asserts
stood at 38.5 billion cedis. Gross premium at the end of 2000 amounted to 32
billion cedis and total shareholders funds went up to 13.19 billion.
More…/
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Sheikh
I.C. Quaye, has commended Standard Chartered Bank Ltd (Stanchart) for its
leading role towards advancing improvement in the banking sector. He said such
dynamism on the part of the bank has promoted a mutually beneficial
relationship for both the private and public sectors of the economy.
“We in the Government continue to monitor the
progress of Stanchart and note with admiration the fact that the bank has long
been an integral part of the financial landscape in this country,” he stressed.
Sheikh Quaye made the observation during the
launching of the First Drive Through ATM in Ghana, in Accra last Thursday. The
Drive Through ATM, is unique in the sense that a customer can withdraw money in
the comfort of his vehicle, without necessarily coming out.
He expressed the hope that Stanchart will
continue in its bid to support the Government’s efforts as the economy is now
showing signs of recovery to ensure sustainable growth and development in the
years ahead.
He expressed the hope that Stanchart’s deposits
and loans would reflect the bank’s contributions to national development
especially in the key sectors such as health, education, agriculture and the
environment as the economy improves.
The Regional Minister re-emphasized the
government’s bid to adequately strengthen the financial sector to enable it
spearhead the expected growth of the private sector.
“We are optimistic that with the support of the
banking sector, government’s economic policies and interventions will soon bear
fruits,” he added.
On the minimum deposits required by some banks when
opening an account, Sheikh Quaye lamented the new minimum of 500,000 cedis as a
deterrent and over and above the average Ghanaian worker, adding that the
policy has the tendency to have a negative impact on the level of savings and
invariably affect the economy.
He, therefore, implored the banks to review the
policy in order to accommodate and encourage a lot more people, especially
workers in the public sector, to save and also to enjoy the distinguished
services offered by leading financial institutions in the country.
GRi…/
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Stampede
at Legon
There
was pandemonium in the three-storey Balme Library Annex of the University of
Ghana on Saturday, when one of the ceiling fans on the third floor caught fire
during an examination, reports The Ghanaian Times.
As
a result, one student was seriously injured when he jumped from the second
floor to the ground. Many others also had various degrees of injury when they
tried to escape.
Students,
numbering about 800, were writing an Interim Assessment (IA) examination in
political science when the incident occurred.
Speaking
to the paper after the incident, most of the students, who were gasping, said
that about 10 minutes into the examination, they heard an unusual noise from
the third floor.
Consequently,
they started rushing out of the building. Whilst some thought it was an earth
tremor, others said they thought that some terrorists had bombed the building.
The
Times investigations however indicated that one of the ceiling fans on the
third floor developed an electrical fault and caused sparks and smoke.
On
seeing the sparks, one of the students shouted, "Get out! Fire!" and
started to run. This created a pandemonium, which made the building to shake as
the occupants of the third floor started to run helter-skelter.
Some
of the students were worried that the three-storey building did not have any
emergency exits. The examination paper they were writing had consequently been
postponed indefinitely.
More…/
President
urges Ghanaians to protect democratic system
The
President J.A. Kufuor has called on religious leaders in the country to continue
to pray for Ghana to ensure that whoever gets to the Castle to occupy the
presidency is the real choice of the people.
He
said Ghanaians are generally God-fearing people and live in a society of low
extremism and total tolerance for one another. He therefore called on Ghanaians
to protect this type of society where there is perfect understanding among the
people irrespective of one's political, social, and religious background.
President
Kufuor said this in Accra on Sunday when the Association of Muslim Chiefs
called on him at the Castle, Osu.
"We
must uphold this type of society and always remember that the era where brute
force was used to move people the way some individuals wanted it, is
over". "If people don't see things the way we see it, force, I think,
should not be used to let them see things the way we see them", he said.
He said the rule of law, which is the Constitution of Ghana is what all
Ghanaians must go by.
According
to him, Ghana is surrounded by unstable nations whose problems emanated from
misunderstanding and intolerance and asked the chiefs to pray to God to ensure
Ghana is spared of anything that will tear her people apart.
The
President explained that his all-inclusive call is aimed at stressing to the
people of Ghana the need for unity in diversity for the overall growth and
development of Ghana.
He
regretted that Ghana, over the years, went through a period of winner takes all
in her political arena, thus denying the country the benefit of the expertise
of people who never shared the political ideology of the government.
He
said his government would continue to tap the intellectual expertise of every
Ghanaian, no matter his political affiliation for the benefit of the nation as
a whole.
As
human beings, he noted that there may be differences in our beliefs and
thinking but urged that such difference should not be allowed to derail the
fortunes of the country.
GRi…/
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Fraud
& serial looting at Volta Hotel
Far
away in the Dam city of Akosombo, a very damming audit report of Akosombo
Hotel, which established acts of corruption, fraud and financial irregularities
against some public officers kept the Bureau for National Investigation (BNI)
working for several months, says The Ghanaian Chronicle.
Before
the BNI could up their investigations, the General Manager (GM) of Akosombo Hotel,
Mr Edem Kpodo, unwillingly sacrificed his job to compensate for his dismissal,
whilst officers from the government agencies caught in the net quickly run to
the government to refund monies they illegally squandered, according to
Chronicle.
Government
sources told the paper by Sunday evening that various sums of local and foreign
currencies have been recovered.
The
highlights of the findings of the internal audit report include cases of double
payments for goods supplied to the hotel, window dressing of accounts,
irregular accounting treatment of deposit refunds, tax evasion etc.
The
all-indicting 24-page report began with the treatment of cash deposit refunds
by the General and Finance Managers.
The refunds are in respect of monies paid in advance by government
agencies to the hotel's management for seminars and conferences, which did not
take place.
"We
observed an irregular accounting treatment of cash deposit refunds in respect
of conferences and seminars Ministries, Departments and Government Agencies
(MDS's) mostly cheques were cashed over the bank counter on account of these
refunds".
What
it means is that monies, which were paid by these ministries, and government
agencies, including the Castle, Osu, in respect of conferences, which did not
take place were not credited to the accounts of the respective agencies.
Rather, the management of the hotel colluded with officials from those
departments and issued personal cheques to enable them to cash the money over
the counter.
Hardcopy
evidence indicate that between January 1999-December 2000 alone, a total refund
of ¢175,404,560 and US$2,931 and ¢336,500 was made through separate cheques.
More…/
Malam
Isa heads for Supreme Court
Former
Youth and Sports Minister, Malam Ali Yusuf Isa, last Friday filed a notice of
appeal at the Supreme Court to challenge his four-year conviction by the Fast
Track High Court for stealing and fraudulently causing financial loss to the
state, which conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal recently.
The
grounds of appeal filed by his counsel, Mr Ambrose Dery, include a suggestion
that the Fast Track Court conducted the trial of the convicted Minister in a
hasty manner, which deprived him of his fundamental right to a fair trial under
the Constitution.
The
grounds also cited the refusal for the Fast Tract Court to stay proceedings for
Supreme Court to determine an appeal against the dismissal of a submission of
no case to answer and the constitutionality of the second charge against Isa,
as examples of the haste with which the trial was conducted.
Counsel
also argued that the Fast Track Court's refusal of his applications for
necessary adjournments to enable him facilitate the preparation of his defence
was another example of the hastiness of the trial. His right of appeal under
the Constitution was also held back by high fees peculiar to the Fast Track
Court system, the notice said.
The
notice also stated that the confirmation of his conviction by the Court of
Appeal has caused him a substantial miscarriage of justice.
It
stated further that the Court of Appeal erred in law when it failed to evaluate
the relevant evidence on record, and failed to determine whether the
circumstantial evidence by the prosecution led irresistibly to his guilt.
GRi…/
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All
those stories are lies - Civil Aviation
The
Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) says it will, within the next few days
organize a media conference to touch on certain falsehoods circulating in
certain circles in the country, reports The Ghanaian Voice.
There
has been recent circulation of unsigned letters highlighting on certain
negative but false issues affecting the Authority.
Mr
Aspden, the project Director of the Joint Venture Company handling the airport
expansion project has said that work has not stopped on the Airport Expansion
Project. "It is not at a standstill and if you go to the project site you
will see that everything is proceeding according to schedule," he said.
The
managing director P.W. the contractors on the project, Mr Sam Priddy, also told
the paper that they have been paid up-to-date for work so far done on the
project.
Efforts
to reach the acting Director General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority met
his absence as he was said to have travelled out of the country. When the GCAA
board chairman, Dr Amoako Tuffuor was contacted for his comments, the
'cool-head' could not hide his disgust and described those peddling such lies
as wicked, blatant and disgraceful.
He
said the GCAA had been paying $1.4m to the companies involved in the project
monthly and that there was nothing like people going on demonstration and
strike or the project getting to a standstill. "All those using these foul
tactics to smear the GCAA have their own agenda,” he said.
GRi…/
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Rawlings
and the Castle junction bomb
The
Public Agenda writes that ex-President Jerry John Rawlings has thrown another
'bomb' into Ghanaian politics with his disclosure that it would be easy to
place a bomb at the Osu Castle crossroads.
The
former President was quoted last week Thursday in an Accra private newspaper,
The Independent, as saying that he (Rawlings) had once been told by some
foreign security consultants, when he was President, that it would be easy for
a bomb to be placed near where the traffic policeman stands at the crossroads
leading to the Castle Drive.
This
revelation had predictably generated partisan responses from both sides of the
political divide. Both Rawlings' immediate aides and leading party
functionaries have been trying to distance themselves from this latest
controversial statement from the former President.
The
ex-president's aide, Victor Smith, had a convenient alibi in explaining that he
had just returned from a foreign trip and could therefore not comment on the
statement. Another aide, Tony Aidoo,
had his phone locked, while that of Ekow Spio-Gabrah of the NDC re-organisation
committee strangely went off on three consecutive occasions when the subject
was introduced to him. He answered the calls alright but when the subject was
introduced, his cellular phone went off on all three occasions, says the
Agenda.
More…/
Man
on trial for crossing Kufuor's motorcade
A
29-year-old motorist who allegedly dangerously crossed President John Kufuor's
guards has been hauled before the Madina Community Tribunal in Accra.
The
motorist, Nana Atsafor Asmah was driving a Mitsubishi space wagon with
registration number GR 680 F on October 10 from Adenta to Sakumono along the
Tetteh Quarshie Circle. On reaching the section that joins the Spintex Road, he
is said to have ignored the presidential siren and crossed the President's
guards, according to the Police charge sheet.
The
police report said the driver did not stop but rather sped off. He was given a
chase and arrested on the Spintex Road. The police brief said Asmah failed to
give any tangible reason for his action.
"He
resisted and refused to drive the vehicle to the Motor Traffic Unit of the
Airport Police Station," the police brief said.
Asmah
has therefore been charged for two offences. First, for dangerous driving,
"which nearly caused an accident" and failure to produce driving
licence for inspection by a police officer in uniform.
However,
Asmah says it is untrue that he drove dangerously, crossed a presidential motorcade
and failed to produce his driving licence. According to him there was no
presidential convoy in sight on the said day.
Asmah
rushed to the offices of Public Agenda to narrate his experience. It was about
10:30 pm and he was driving from Adenta towards the Spintex Road. Before
entering the Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout, Asmah recalls hearing distant sirens,
but they were nowhere in sight.
He
went round the roundabout and entered the Spintex Road without any
incident. Asmah had been driving on the
Spintex Road for a while when he noticed bright headlamps flashing from his
rear. Initially, he thought the driver of the car behind him was just
signalling that he was overtaking his Space Wagon.
Asmah
said he subsequently gave way for the car to overtake, but the occupants of the
car had other ideas. After overtaking his rickety Mitsubishi Space Wagon, the
car crossed him. A second one came by his side and a third at the back,
sand-witching him between the three cars.
The
next thing he noticed was a foot flying at his face, sending Asmah' spectacles
airborne. "One of the guards hit me on the ridge of my nose with a gun
butt."
He
was subsequently slapped across the face several times and pulled onto the
ground with the guards still assaulting him.
"They
lifted me into one of the cars and drove back towards the roundabout. Sand-witched between two well-built men,
they subjected me to both verbal and physical torture from the Spintex Road to
the Airport Police Station," Asmah told Public Agenda.
Asmah
says after multiple beatings he was thrown into the Airport Police Station
cells until the following day when made to visit the hospital due to the
multiple injury he sustained. A medical report from the Airport clinic said Asmah
suffered from multiple facial abrasions as a result of the encounter. Hearing
of the case continues on Monday November 19.
GRi…/
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