GRi Press Review Ghana 05 - 09 - 2000
Govt'll make it free, fair
NMC, others condemn 'shit-bomb' episode
What shit did this?
More shit-bombs coming
Minister, Deputy to resign - over fuel crisis
NDC MP denies story
Agbesi refuses to step down, as NDC ultimatum
to rebels expires
Govt approves 1bn for Tamale streetlights
Daily Graphic
Govt'll make it free, fair
The Daily Graphic reports that the
Vice-President, Professor J.E. Atta Mills, has given the assurance that the
government will do everything within its power to ensure free, fair and
transparent elections.
Prof. Mills, speaking during a farewell call on
him at the Castle in Accra on Wednesday by Mr. Ian Mackley, the outgoing
British High Commissioner, said the government will manage the transition to
the best of its ability to maintain international confidence in the country's democracy.
He gave the assurance that the government will
ensure the judicious use of resources from donor countries with the same policy
of transparency, probity and accountability it has pursued over the years.
Graphic quotes Vice President Mills as saying
that it is now obvious the country cannot continually rely on traditional
export commodities and should therefore change its trade relations and revamp
sectors like agriculture to produce more for both local consumption and export
to earn foreign exchange.
More…/
NMC, others condemn 'shit-bomb' episode
Graphic reports on its third page that the
National Media Commission (NMC) has expressed shock and dismay over the report
of the smearing of human excreta at the offices of the Crusading Guide and the
Dispatch by unidentified persons.
The Commission described the act as abominable,
which must be condemned unequivocally.
The NMC, in a release signed by its chairman,
Mr. Tim Acquaah-Hayford, recalled similar acts against 'The Ghanaian Chronicle'
and the 'Free Press' and called on the security agencies to undertake thorough
investigations into the matter and expose those behind the dastardly act.
Similar condemnation messages have come from
the Trades Union Congress and the Ghana Bar Association.
GRi…/
The Independent
What shit did this?
The Independent writes on its front-page that
the country's private press has in the two decades of the Rawlings era from the
military days to constitutional rule witnessed all forms of harassment.
The paper lists these as arrests and detention,
suspension of newspapers, dismissal of editors and legal terrorism in the forms
of criminal libel and sedition.
According to the paper, one other insidious and
rather primitive act of intimidation has been the smearing of human excreta or
faeces better and aptly put as shit on offices of newspapers.
It mentions the Ghanaian Chronicle and the Free
Press as press houses which were earlier treated with the mischief and says the
Crusading Guide is the latest to fall victim.
Representatives from across the political
spectrum and media organisations have, according to the Independent, condemned
the latest dastardly act.
Minister of Communications, Mr. John Mahama,
after a call from Prof. John Atta Mills, condemned the incident, describing it
as a regrettable evidence and wondering whether it had come from "agent
provocateurs who want to drive a wedge between government and the media at this
critical electioneering period."
However, Mr. Kwesi Pratt, of the Convention
People's Party, speaking on behalf of his party said, "the spread of human
excreta on the premises of the newspaper could only have been done by those who
have over the last 20 years made an art out of the blatant violation of the
human and democratic rights of Ghanaians."
The New Patriotic Party and the United Ghana
Movement also reportedly condemned the 'shit-bomb'.
GRi…/
The Accra Mail
More shit-bombs coming
The Accra Mail says even though the offices of
the Crusading Guide will exude an offensive odour, for sometime to come, the
belief is that there are more of such attacks coming for media houses which continue
to uphold truth in their vocation.
A cross-section of Ghanaians who the paper
interviewed said they would not be surprised if the dastardly act continues,
attributing the act to a group with a track record of using crude methods to
attack their opponents.
The respondents had noted that especially
targeted are the radio stations.
A middle-aged man is reported by the Mail as
suggesting the contacting of the sponsor of a similar attack on the Free Press
some years back for possible leads. He submits that the act was a delegated one
by someone with authority and with access to money for political activities,
believing that executors of the bomb must have charged a substantial amount.
The Mail writes that the dastardly act has
succeeded in damaging further the already battered image of the country, the
news having caught the attention of the world via the Internet.
A.R. Haruna Atta, the paper's editor stated
that the attack would not deter journalists from continuing with their crusade.
GRi…/
The Guide
Minister, Deputy to resign - over fuel crisis
The Guide reports that the Minority in
Parliament has called for the immediate resignation of the Minister of Mines
and Energy, Dr John Abu and his Deputy, Mr. Simon Abingya for deceiving
Ghanaians.
The call was made in a statement read in
Parliament on Tuesday, October 2 by Hon. I.C. Quaye, Deputy Minority Chief Whip
on behalf of Hon. Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minority Spokesman on Mines and Energy.
The statement contained that the Ministry had
neither been candid with the people of Ghana, nor kept faith with Parliament
and therefore the Minister and his Deputy should resign.
The statement said what was driving the cost of
fuel in the country was the rate of the falling cedi, which is a result of the
failed economic policies of the government.
Stressing that Ghanaians have been taken for a
ride, the statement indicated that the additional 10 cedis paid on petroleum
products was to acquire and hold in strategic stock for three months supply,
adding that if this was true, there should not be disruption.
GRi…/
The Crusading Guide
NDC MP denies story
The Crusading Guide reports that Hon. David
Lamptey, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Korley-Korle
Constituency has denied accusations of registration fraud against him, and is
threatening court action.
The MP, reacting to an earlier story carried by
the paper that he is holding the voter ID cards of two artisans, denied ever
being involved in any illegal registration of voters in his house.
"It is rather unfortunate that despite my
persistent denial of the allegation as published by your medium, it is still
making news", Lamptey said.
He also denied ever knowing Worlanyo Okai and
Harrison Dzededzi, the artisans, much more seeing them in his residence at
community 18, Tema adding that seeing people in his house could not form the
basis for the allegation that he had registered people in his house.
GRi…/
The Evening News
Agbesi refuses to step down, as NDC ultimatum
to rebels expires
The Evening News reports that Mr. Alfred Kwame
Agbesi, a leading member of the NDC who lost his bid to run on his party's
ticket for the December 7 parliamentary elections, has vowed never to step down
as an independent candidate.
Speaking to about 500 cheering supporters at
Ashaiman in Accra on Monday, Mr. Agbesi declared "if I withdraw, that will
be a big dishonesty to the people of Ashaiman. I am going ahead with my
campaign, because the people of Ashaiman want me, they yearn for a quality
Member of Parliament to represent them".
Mr. Agbesi told the paper that he is aware that
200 of his supporters contributed money to register him as independent
candidate because the decision to allow the incumbent MP to contest for the
third time was not right, undemocratic and unpopular."
His comments, the paper says, come as open
defiance to a seven-day ultimatum issued by the NDC, warning its members who
either filed nominations as independent candidates or on the tickets of other
political parties to rescind their decision or face disciplinary action.
In an accompanying story, the Evening News says
the NDC will on Thursday decide the fate of rebels who defied its admonishing
to withdraw their candidature for the December 7 parliamentary elections.
"So far three of them, namely Mrs. Esther
Agbodo-Nyamalor (Anlo), Mr. Alfred Agbesi (Ashaiman) and Mr. Yaani Labik have
all stated their intention to go ahead with their plans to contest as
independent candidates," the Evening News said.
GRi…/
The Ghanaian Democrat
Govt approves 1bn for Tamale streetlights
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural
Development (MLGRD) has released an initial amount of one billion cedis for the
take-off of phase one of the Tamale street lighting project, the Ghanaian
Democrat reported.
Mr. Mohammed Alhassan Adams, the Municipal
Chief Executive (MCE) of the area announced this at the second session of the
Assembly at Tamale, listing a number of roads in the municipality strategically
earmarked to benefit from the project.
He said apart from the streetlights programme
contract has also been awarded for the erection of traffic lights at some key
spots on selected major roads in the municipality to ease congestion.
The democrat quotes the (MCE) as that saying a
total of 153 million cedis was disbursed to about 68 groups to support poverty
alleviation in some households and communities while under the same programme
the Youth in Agriculture Programme (YAP) gave out about 20 million cedis to
some beneficiary groups.
GRi…/