GRi Press Review Ghana 04 - 10

The Daily Graphic reports Vice-President John Atta Mills as stating that the government will continue to work in partnership with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to enhance the development of the country.

He has, therefore, called for regular dialogue with the leadership of the TUC in order to find common solutions to problems, which confront organised labour and the country as a whole.

Prof. Mills in a chat with the newly appointed TUC Secretary-General, Mr. Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, at the Castle on Tuesday, said the government values its partnership with the TUC and reiterated the important role of the unionised body towards national development.

He explained that the government has not been able to address certain labour issues due to constraints, adding that it is already in close collaboration with the Private Enterprise Foundation to deal with problems affecting the private sector and how to promote its growth.

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'Herbal tests for AIDS cure encouraging'

Graphic reports in another front-page story that clinical laboratory tests carried out by the Ministry of Health on some herbal preparations for the treatment of HIV/AIDS have yielded encouraging results.

Six Ghanaian herbalists are said to be taking part in the exercise, which has been going on for five years now, to arrive at the scientific composition and acceptable consumption levels of their products.

Dr E.N. Mensah, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, said during a Meet-the-Press series in Accra on Tuesday that the test is taking place at the Mampong Akuapem Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine and in other health institutions.

He however, said that investigations are ongoing to establish the scientific formulation and other requisite data before the Ministry of Health would come out with a definite statement on the issue.

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The Ghanaian Times

Beware of spiritual cosmetics - Ministry warns

Ghanaians have been asked to beware of the infiltration into the market of certain cosmetic products alleged to possess spiritual powers, the Ghanaian Times reports.

A statement by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Accra, according to the paper, said the products, in the form of oil, powder and soap among others, are aimed at deceiving the public, considering the outrageous functions they were alleged to perform.

The Times lists a host of products that has flooded the market bearing inscriptions, which reveal their spiritual source.

Whereas some of them bear contact addresses others have no such information or country of origin.

The Ministry, according to the Times, said the unidentified products contravened the Ghana Standards Board / Food and Drugs and other goods general labeling rules of 1992.

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Stroke, diabetes top in Korle-Bu admissions

The Ghanaian Times reported in another front-page coverage that stroke, hypertension, congestive heart failure and diabetes, all non-communicable diseases, have for two consecutive years been ranked among the top 10 common causes of admission at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

Statistics made available by the Records Department of the hospital showed that in 1998, stroke took the number one position with 2,700 cases but diabetes took over in 1999 with 4,495 cases, a big jump from 1,552 cases in 1998.

The records indicated that other causes for admission during the two-year period included acute appendicitis, lobar pneumonia, meningitis, anaemia, malaria, fracture of the femur, goitre, intestinal obstruction and hernia.

The trend, according to a source at the Records department, might not be different this year.

Mrs. Juliana Dadzie, a dietician at the Diet-therapy Department of the hospital, said healthy eating should form the basis for avoiding non-communicable diseases.

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The Evening News

We win or sink together - NDC tells rebels

The Evening News reports that the Executive body of the Progressive Alliance has appealed to sitting MPs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who were not selected to contest the forthcoming general elections to forget the past and rally behind the party to win the elections.

They are also being asked to give their full support including material and financial to those selected to win the seats for the party saying that, "we should win or sink together."

The Eastern Regional Secretary, Mr. J.W. Agyekum, who the paper reports as having made the appeal, said also of party functionaries who have crossed carpets into other parties but are still maintaining positions in the NDC that until they do the proper thing, they would be disciplined.

"Any executive or party activist going contrary to the party regulations or directives would not be spared because, we hammer on discipline among such people," Mr. Agyekum emphasised.

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The Ghanaian Chronicle

SSNIT: A chapter of fraud

The Ghanaian Chronicle says nearly five months after it made contact with labour leaders serving on SSNIT's board about their strange silence on a damning audit report that implied possible insolvency of the nation's repository of pension funds, no material response from the Trade unionists has come.

The paper says in the front-page capture that it was told by Mr. Napoleon Kpoh in a telephone conversation that he was unaware that the 1997 audited accounts of the institution was so much in red that Coopers and Lybrand, the auditors, put the dreaded seal of a disclaimer on the records.

The international firm had discredited the 1997 accounts of SSNIT describing it as too chaotic and out of control with no reliable system to monitor movement of cash.

Chronicle writes that not a single member of the 15-member SSNIT board has made any disclosure of the festering rot gnawing the institution. "The Board Chairman, a pre-literate former clearing agent, Mr. Joe Boateng, would not countenance any discussion with Chronicle on pertinent issues about SSNIT, including his own suitability," states the paper.

Chronicle furthers that it is impossible to rationalise the conspiratorial inaction that followed the report except to deduce that the Board and the authorities that put them in place were complicit.

It says Mr. Henry Dei, Mr. Arthur and Mr. Kofi Ahlijah who were main pillars of the Trust walked off the job into their private worlds and stuck the Trust and the incoming administration with the debts and bad books.

Chronicle has on Tuesday put the matter to Mr. Henry Dei that he bequeathed a legacy of debts, bad investments and unserviceable loans running into over 100's of billions of cedis to the Trust.

He would however not admit the gloomy portrayal but stressed that he had laid a good foundation for the future.

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The Guide

Atta Mills must

The Guide reports that the Private Newspapers and Printers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) has stated that they will not boycott the scheduled Atta Mills' press encounter although it has reservations about security of reporters who will be attending the event. The association said it will seek a personal explanation from the Vice President, who so far has not spoken for himself.

The private media body reportedly arrived at the conclusion at the end of an emergency consultative meeting of the executives on October 2 to discuss the NDC flagbearer's impending press conference, following his failure to honour an earlier one under the initiative of Freedom Forum.

PRINPAG said it recognises and respects the concerns raised by those asking for a boycott, and has therefore mandated its President to initiate a discussion with them with the objective of bringing them on board the official position of the association.

PRINPAG, the Guide says, took into consideration the Vice President's courtesies to the association during the inauguration of its new Executive and is of the view that failure to reciprocate it may leave a sour taste in the mouths of those who canvassed for the views of a rapprochement between The Executive and the Media.

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The Ghanaian Democrat

NDC is still formidable in the UWR

The Ghanaian Democrat reports that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its alliance partners, the EGLE Party and the Democratic People's Party are still formidable, well organised and pretty certain of winning convincingly in the Upper West Region in the December elections.

Regional Minister, Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, who made the assertion, said notwithstanding the economic difficulties that the people are going through due to unfair external trade and world fuel crises, the people of the region have implicit faith and confidence in the NDCs good and wise leadership.

He said in this regard, the people have expressed their genuine desire and determination to return the NDC government to power.

The people, he said, have come to this conclusion as a result of the many and varied socio-economic development projects that have sprung up all over the length and breadth of the entire region.

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Ghana Palaver

NDC makes gains in Northern Region

The Ghana Palaver in a banner story writes that contrary to the loud claims of sweeping vital votes in the Northern regions, the NPP hierarchy is rather nervous and panicking following reports that they are losing grip on their stronghold, the Gulkpegu-Sabongida seat.

Palaver reports a highly placed source in the party revealing to the paper that if nothing dramatic is done within the next two weeks, that seat will be lost to the NDC.

"The NPP hierarchy is in jitters following the report of a research team leaked to them by an insider," the paper stated.

The report findings indicated that the race for the Tamale seat is now a 50-50 affair with the likelihood of it swinging in favour of the NDC, as floating voters showed their preference for the party.

Spin-doctors of NPP flagbearer, Mr. J.A. Kufuor, according to the report have been caught off-guard and are feverishly doing all in their power to churn out something to turn things around.

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