GRi Press Review Ghana 04 - 10 - 2001
Review of VALCO accord won’t resolve problems
‘Be abreast to local Government law’
Woman re-arrested for possessing arms
Narcotics Board launches anti-drug campaign in second-cycle schools
Fate of Chief Justice in the balance
Apaloo is now on appeal.
Lome court installs Yankey as boss again
Villagers loot distressed ship
Drama at NPP Press Confab
Repeal of Criminal Libel Law is positive
'NDC needs Ashanti votes to win 2004 elections'
Otumfuo goes to the Volta
Beauty, Fashion and Music at Miss Ghana 2001
Review of VALCO accord won’t resolve problems
The Chief Executive of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, has stated that a review of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) agreement would not resolve the problems posed by the low tariffs being paid by customers, reports the Daily Graphic.
He stated further that the government would be sending wrong signals to prospective investors if the review of the agreement or relations with VALCO, are not handled with tact.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said this in an interview with the paper in reaction to its report on Tuesday’s that some highly-placed officials in the country have called on the government to review without further delay the electricity tariff currently being paid by VALCO to reflect prevailing realities.
The government reportedly, is scheduled to open new negotiations with VALCO in 2003 but the officials were of the view that the review should be done by December.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said VALCO, whose commitment and investment facilitated the building of the Akosombo Dam, has been a good and sensitive partner to Ghana and the VRA.
According to him, it will be unrealistic for the company to be called upon to pay the same tariff as that of other smelters elsewhere.
Dr Wereko-Brobby explained that it was this agreement that enticed Kaiser Aluminium of the United States of America to agree to invest in the country for the construction of the Akosombo Hydro Dam.
He was also quick to point out that the tariff being paid by VALCO represents the cost of generating hydropower and not thermal power.
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‘Be abreast to local Government law’
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr S.K. Boafo, has urged District Chief Executives (DCEs) to familiarise themselves with provisions of the Local Government Act 462.
He also urged them to study the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 1589 which established the sub-district structures of the district assemblies to facilitate the decentralisation process.
He said this when opening the third monthly meeting of District Chief Executives in Ashanti at Obuasi.
According to him the DCE’s understanding of the act is in line with the government’s policy to deepen the decentralisation process by supporting the sub-district structures.
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Woman re-arrested for possessing arms
A woman standing trial for illegally manufacturing firearms with the husband has been re-arrested for illegally possessing arms.
Beatrice Yeboah, 32, from Manso Mmpseaso who with her husband, Akwesi Oteng, is being tried for manufacturing arms, was re-arrested by the police in Kumasi on Tuesday
Oteng, however, managed to escape and the police have mounted a hunt for him.
Also arrested with Beatrice was Kwaku Gyamfi, a 19-year old driver's mate, hailing from Manso Duponso, a nearby town.
The Police found in their possession eight locally manufactured pistols and eight cartridges.
Assistant Superintendent of Police, I. K. Buabeng, told the Graphic in Kumasi on Wednesday that the suspects are facing trail for a similar offence at a Kumasi Circuit Tribunal.
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Narcotics Board launches anti-drug campaign in second-cycle schools
The Naroctics Control Board will, from next Tuesday, October 9, embark on a five-week drug prevention education in second-cycle institutions in the Central Region.
In all, 49 schools are expected to benefit from the programme being undertaken in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES).
A source at the board, which disclosed this in an interview with the Graphic, said the focus of he programme will be on new students, who are being regarded as the window of hope.
They will be educated on the dangers of substance abuse to enable them to build resistance to peer pressure.
There has been increased reportage of substance abuse in schools in the Central Region, particularly those in the Cape Coast Municipality.
The source said the board will encourage the formation of drug-free clubs in the schools to sustain the education programme.
It explained that although the focus will be on new students, officials of the board will also talk to the entire student body.
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Fate of Chief Justice in the balance
The fate of the acting Chief Justice, Mr. Justice E.K. Wiredu getting the nod to become the substantive Chief Justice of Ghana hangs on a slim thread, according to The Ghanaian Voice.
“It will be a miracle of fate and supreme out-maneuvering of the two sides in parliament before he can cross the finishing line”, says the Voice.
Mr. Justice E.K. Wiredu’s colleagues on the Bench and the Bar are said to have been irked by what one of them calls “unguarded” statement when he as the head of the Judiciary condemned the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law.
The paper carries that according to a minority Member of Parliament and an NPP frontbencher what Justice Wiredu has done is to tell the two sides of Parliament that they did something wrong when they supported and pushed for the Repeal of the Criminal Libel Law.
“We have been given a golden opportunity to deal with what Philip Kwaku Apaloo of H/No. B177/7, Kaneshie could not do,” they were quoted to have said.
Philip Apaloo on July 24 had taken Justice Wiredu to court challenging his eligibility for the Judicial Service top post but his writ was thrown out. He was further inflicted with an
eight million cedis damage.
Apaloo is now on appeal.
The paper says it is expected that when Parliament reconvenes on October 16 Justice E.K. Wiredu’s vetting will be high on the agenda and he would be taken to task to explain his position vis-as-vis the stand of the executive.
Nana Akufo Addo the Attorney General and the Minister for Justice has described the stance of the actins Chief justice as being his own personal opinion.
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Lome court installs Yankey as boss again
Workers at the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) over the weekend reacted in fury over news of the pronouncements of the Executive Secretary of ECOWAS to the effect that Dr George Yankey was out of office despite a favourable ruling of an Abuja high court, according to The Chronicle.
They are said to have immediately secured the services of a top Togolese lawyer, who put in an appearance before the highest tribunal of the land and successfully argued for the enforcement of the ruling of the Abuja court.
The action has nullified the loud proclamation of the ECOWAS Executive Secretary, Mr Lansana Koyate in Accra last weekend, says Chronicle which also reports that by noon on Wednesday, Dr Yankey was back at his desk accompanied by court bailiffs and policemen who removed the locks that had been changed by unknown thugs and replaced them with regular locks.
Yankey had sued the Council of Ecowas Ministers for writing to terminate his appointment, following representations from Ghana withdrawing their support for him despite endorsement from the previous Government.
Workers dressed in celebratory white clothes cheered and rejoiced when Yankey formally entered his office and picked up his pen to continue the work he had laboured for.
He had beaten a team of three - Mr Manieson, formerly with the Citizens Vetting Committee and Attorney General's Department (but with EBID for 10 years), Mrs. Clarke Kwesie, former Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South and Yankey, then the Director of the Ghana Gateway Project, a World Bank Project.
The President of the Tribunal de Premiere Instance de Chamber Civile et Commerciale, monsieur Abalo Petchelebia, concluded the hearing with a ruling that confirmed what the Nigerian court had decided.
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Villagers loot distressed ship
When the Nigerian-registered vessel MV DUKE OF NNEWI drifted ashore at Atorkor Slave Memorial Beach, near Anloga in the Volta Region, little did the crew suspect that their real ordeal was yet to begin.
The villagers in their hundreds using 'monkey ladders' and other improvised ladders got on board the vessel and stole everything except the engine.
Even clothes for the crew were stolen, and the policeman from Anloga station who went to prevent the looting also lost his wristwatch.
The skipper of the ship, Captain Balogun Dare, told the Chronicle that he set off from Lagos Apapa port in Nigeria for Tema with nine other crewmembers with general cargo on September 18, this year.
Barely three days later at about 0100 Hrs GMT, 44 nautical miles from the Port of Tema, the ship's main engine developed a problem and immediately anchored and the captain relayed an emergency message to the Tema Port Control. The control station advised him not to move until he had instructions to do so.
The ship-owner and an engineer used a speedboat to send the needed spare parts and on September 24, lifted the anchor and continued towards Tema.
After ten minutes sail however, the chief engineer reported oil spillage onto the exhaust that could cause fire outbreak. He therefore, shut off the engine completely and dropped her anchors.
But as a result of high under current in the Volta estuary the anchor was rendered ineffective and the tide then forced the 450 Dead-weight Ton (DWT) vessel to drift towards the beach.
About an hour after the drift ashore, hundreds of people, both young and old, swam from the Atorkor Slave Memorial Beach, mounted the vessel and stole everything in sight including spoons and cooking utensils.
When the captain attempted to restrain the looters, some allegedly pulled knives and threatened him. Then one of the two unnamed policemen who went to their assistance had his wristwatch taken from him.
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Drama at NPP Press Confab
There was drama at the NPP press conference on Wednesday when Mr Harona Esseku denied knowledge of the contents of invitation letters the party sent to media organizations to attend the conference, reports The Ghanaian Times.
Mr Harona Esseku said he directed the Press Secretary to invite the media to attend the conference being organized to explain the "Vision and the Role of the NPP in the New Political Era.
This happened during question time when a questioner wanted to know the theme of the press conference after he pointed out a paragraph that stated that the conference was called to react to the NDC's own held last week.
The questioner had indicated that contents of the invitation letter differed from the topic of the NPP chairman's address.
Mr Esseku accused the Party's Press Secretary, Mr Kwadwo Afari for not stating what he instructed him to write and apologized for the mistake.
However, when contacted, Mr Afari insisted that he did exactly, what he was instructed to do. He went ahead to produce the invitation letter that contained the chairman's directives.
The paper’s search revealed that the confusion was the reason why the General Secretary, Mr Dan Botwe, and the National Organizer, Lord Commey stayed away from the press confab.
Mr Botwe, it was alleged, visited the hospital at the last minute while Lord Commey also decided to visit Tema to escape being dragged to the press conference.
The two men decided to stay away because they disagreed with the chairman's unilateral decision to change the prepared speech.
A copy of the speech, which should have been read at the conference to debunk the false accusations of harassment, intimidation, persecution and prosecutions of ex-NDC
officials was actually produced.
Sources at the party's headquarters told the Times that the intransigence of the chairman and some members of the executive labeled as the 'President's men' in the national executive could cause problems for the NPP.
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Repeal of Criminal Libel Law is positive
The president of the West Africa Journalists Association (WAJA), Mr Kabral Blay Amihere has described critics who argue against the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law as enemies of the media.
He said WAJA like all other well-wishers of the media viewed the government's gesture to repeal the oppressive libel law as positive and a step in the right director to promote press freedom and enhance media practice in the country.
Mr Blay Amihere made this point when he called on the Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama at the Castle Osu in Accra on Wednesday to brief him on an impending meeting of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) to be held in Accra next year.
IFEX is an international network of human rights organizations, writers associations and journalists associations committed to the promotion and defence of freedom of expression worldwide.
The WAJA president noted that instead of making negative remarks about the repeal, the critics should rather commend the government for taking such an important decision to do away with the libel.
Mr Amihere said this remarkable move made Ghana, the first country in Africa to repeal such an oppressive law, which infringed on journalistic practice in a civilized society.
He said by this positive move WAJA, the IFEX and the media fraternity had become very convinced that the government was committed to press freedom.
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'NDC needs Ashanti votes to win 2004 elections'
Mr Alban Bagbin, the Minority Leader in Parliament, has stated that if the National Democratic Congress (NDC), was to recapture power in 2004, it must win not less than 40 per cent of the votes in Ashanti.
The party, therefore, has to put in more efforts and resources to make significant in-roads into the region that has traditionally remained the stronghold of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Mr Bagbin was speaking at a meeting with the regional executives and functionaries of the NDC in Kumasi.
He said Ashanti, with its huge voter population should be of special interest to the NDC and that everything should be done to make the people in the region to "see that we have better policies."
The Minority Leader saw the electoral defeat of the party in the last general election as an act of God to give Ghanaians an opportunity to "see the alternative and compare".
He noted that, policies, now accepted and being implemented by the government would only bring about hardships to the people.
"If at the end of their term they are able to reduce Ghana's debt by one dollar, I will cast my vote for them," Hon Bagbin said, claiming that within its relatively short period in office, the ruling government has contracted loans totaling over 700 million dollars.
He, however, said that as a developing nation, there was nothing the country could do about taking loans.
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Otumfuo goes to the Volta
The Akwantutenten festival of Worawora in the Volta Region has always been an exciting feature on the calendar of the Jasikan people but the celebration of the festival last weekend assumed a more exciting significance. The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II was there, says the Graphic Showbiz.
According to the paper, long before the festival, news had gone round that the Asantehene was coming to the Volta Region. As at last Thursday the news in town was that the Otumfuo had made a transit stop at Akosombo from where he would continue to Worawora on Saturday morning.
Expectations were pitch high and the people along the Akosombo-Asikuma-Kpeve-Kpando-Nkonya-Kwamikrom-Okadjakrom-Kudje-Worawora road could hardly wait.
All along the route on Saturday, there was frenzied waving and shouts of "woezo" and "akwaaba" as Otumfuo's motorcade drove by. The royal entourage was met at the outskirts of Worawora by the chiefs and elders where traditional welcoming rites were performed amidst salutes of gun shots.
The Otumfuo later drove past an milling and cheering crowd of school children and women who lined up the streets holding white handkerchiefs to bid 'akwaaba' to the Asantehene for his maiden visit to the Volta Region.
It was a great occasion for the people of Worawora who migrated from Kuntanase near Lake Bosomtwi in Ashanti in 1774 trekking through bush paths, crossing streams and rivers, journeying southwards and northwards to settle at Ofiebeposo.
The people had named their settlement at Ofiebeposo ‘Ewareware’ implying their journey and difficult journey but over the years it has been corrupted to read the current Worowora.
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Beauty, Fashion and Music at Miss Ghana 2001
The International Conference Centre in Accra was the venue last Saturday for a spectacular grand finale of Club Pleasure 2001 at which Miss Selasi Kwawu was crowned as Miss Ghana 2001 to take over the title from Miss Ghana 2000, Miss Ewurafua Hawkson.
Ama Catherine Solomon and Stephanie Abla Walkins-Fia came up as the first and second runners up respectively. The judges may have had a tough time selecting the queen but their choice met the approval of the audiences.
Miss Kwawu, took home ¢3 million plus a VW Polo Classic saloon car, a ticket to participate in Miss World and a monthly allowance for a year. The first and second runners up had ¢2.5 and ¢2 million for career enhancement, a desktop computer and a set of furniture each. A double door fridge and a television separated the first prizes.
The greatest entertainment package on the Ghanaian calendar attracted the crème de la crème of Ghanaian society, who turned out well fitted for the occasion, the sea of colours creating a 'designers paradise'.
The organizers spared no expense to pitch a truly impressive and well organized pageant that would leave an imprint on the minds of patrons for a while to come. The well designed and glittering brochure was the first sign to patrons that a really good show was to come.
The stage design was befitting any international pageant. The usual hitches that have become synonymous with such big shows were reduced to the barest minimum though at a point the MCs didn't seem to agree on what prizes were to be awarded.
The pair who were MCs for the event, Kwesi Kyei Darkwah and Shirley Frimpong-Manso seemed a little incompatible.
There's no disputing the fact that KKD is good at what he does, he was all sleek and style and practically over-shadowed Shirley who was obviously not too amused. She had to be called back on state a couple of times and her reluctance could easily be seen.
Some of the talent performances were unique all right but others fell flat. One contestant chose to play a set of drums but didn't seem to know which beat to play. One performed a good Indian dance and yet another a Spanish dance. Most of the girls were at their best.
The dreaded question times always set the good apart from the best and this time around the guys who were listening with rapt attention to make sure they did not miss any mistakes were a little disappointed as the mistakes were not very forthcoming.
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