Two thousand to lose jobs at Ghana Water Company
Confusion
at NPP congress
JAK's trip
to Cote d'Ivoire…probe underway.
Chief, 4 others held for murder
Four die after taking ‘Ke Ba Shoo’
Legon students kick against dressing
Two thousand to lose jobs at Ghana Water Company
The 4,200 workers of the Ghana Water Company are bracing themselves for a massive retrenchment exercise under which nearly half the workforce might lose their positions in a restructured company.
The Public Agenda revealing the story says officials are putting a gloss over potential loss of 2,000 jobs, by painting a picture that the company was assisting redundant workers to set themselves up as private business entrepreneurs. The paper however recalled the history of retrenchment exercises in Ghana saying they are replete with unfulfilled promises which has left workers apprehensive about the exercise.
According to Deputy Managing Director; S.O. Lamptey, only about 60-80 workers would be retained by the restructured company, which would only supervise the assets of the company. Between 2,000 and 2,400 would be absorbed by the private companies, which will be involved in the new exercise.
"Those who are technicians," according to Lamptey, "will be assisted to set up on their own and registered with the new water company to undertake laying of pipes and repairs." The rest, likely to be of non-technical nature, would have to fend for themselves.
The Deputy Managing Director told this paper, though, that the situation was still fluid. "Nothing is concrete yet. We are still working out the modalities."
Meanwhile, authorities are busily defending their choice of foreign companies listed to participate in the restructuring exercise against accusations that their mother companies are facing crisis of solvency and competence in their home countries.
"If they are guilty, prove it." That is how the Water Restructuring Secretariat of the Ministry of Works and Housing challenged the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), about claims by the Non-Governmental Organisation that some of the multinational companies short-listed to run the water systems under the private sector participation have corrupt backgrounds.
ISODEC has alleged that some of the multinational companies short-listed to operate Ghana Water Company Limited's water systems have backgrounds tinted with corruption in their operation in other parts of the world. "No one has brought to us any court judgement," an official of the Secretariat David Amoah said of the allegations.
The ISODEC has countered, saying that it is not up to them to show the evidence, they argued that the Secretariat should use the State's machinery to check on the companies in the countries they are alleged to have operated.
Nine international companies were short listed after going through the pre-qualification stage. They include: N.V. Nuon/Biwater PLC, Compagnie Generale, Eax/hilliburton Brown, Saur International/Skanska International, United Utilities Overseas Holding Ltd and Suez Lyonnaise Dex Eaux for the Business Unit A.
The country's urban water systems have been divided into two business units. Another three companies; Saur International (France), Vivendi and Brown & Root (ltd), Northumbrian Water/Taylor Woodrow Construction have been short-listed for the Business Unit A.
The ISODEC maintains that Saur is alleged to have made as many as 12 corrupt and political payoffs in the World Bank-funded Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
Also Bouygues, the parent company of Saur and Suez Lyonnaise Des Eaux, is alleged to be under investigation for corruption and the operation of cartels in other parts of the world. In 1996 the former vice-president of Bouygues was charges with corrupt practices and imprisoned for invoice forgeries amounting to FFR. 3.2 million.
Bi-water, the British led consortium of companies specialising in water and sewage treatment is also under investigation for corruption in the Panama Privitisation Project, according to the Aganda.
GRi…/
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Ghanaian Voice
Dr. Tony Aidoo, described by the Ghanaian Voice as the loquacious showman who breaks his opponents down with the sheer logic of his arguments, has been disclosing to the paper the reasons for his invitation to the police on Friday October 12.
Dr Tony Aidoo said he was quizzed over a car he bought more than a year ago. "I was told that the vehicle was stolen from Italy and that the INTERPOL had sent notices that the car was wanted. I told them that I bought the car from the CEPS and that if they have any problem with the car, the right place to go is the CEPS and not me.
"I did a legal transaction with CEPS and I have fulfilled what I was supposed to fulfil. Go to CEPS to get the answers to the questions you are asking me," Dr Tony Aidoo is reported as telling the inquisitors.
More../
The "Ghanaian Voice" says investigations it conducted have revealed that ex-President J.J. Rawlings paid for the towels in the Delta Barrington Hotel when he was stranded in Halifax Canada on September 11, 2001.
The paper says it stumbled on the fact that President Rawlings gave 100US Dollars to his bodyguard Samuel Mensah to buy him similar towels because the towels were lighter and easier to use than his towels in Accra.
The Voice reports the bodyguard as having said that he decided to sign for the towels when he realised that the Boston University had informed the entourage earlier that it was going to pick up the bill for both Hotel rooms and other incidentals.
"We were in a difficult and an unexpected situation. I knew the President didn't have much money after the deposit of the 600 US dollars towards his room and that of Dr Tony Aidoo and Dr Kunbour who paired up in one room. I did not tell the President of my decision (before signing) for the towels. Even though he had given me 100 US dollars to change for it. May be that was the mistake I made. I thought I was doing the correct thing"
The Voice says the ex-President apparently only got to know of this situation upon his return to Ghana when sections of the media in their attempt to cover "the comedy of blunders" which the NPP government committed due to their poor handling of ex-president affairs in Canada sought to malign the ex-President.
The continues that Flt. Lt. Rawlings who was outraged by this development and was on the verge of taking the hotel to task before it was proven to him that it was his bodyguard W.O. Mensah who had in fact failed to make a cash payment.
He is said to have still directed that his personal aide, Mr Victor Smith, arrange to refund the amount involved since the towels were for his personal use.
Meanwhile the "Ghanaian Voice" says it has learnt that the Boston University has paid for the whole bill of Rawlings' stay at the Delta Barrington Hotel, which runs into 2,200 Canadian dollars and not 2,200 US dollars as the NPP Spokespersons led Ghanaians to believe.
GRi…/
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The
Ghanaian Chronicle
The Western
Regional Secretariat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has set up a five-member
disciplinary committee to look into the circumstances that led to the abrupt end
of the Jomoro constituency congress of the party last September 25 and make the
necessary recommendations to the regional executive, writes the Ghanaian
Chronicle
The
regional chairman of the party, Mr. Peter Mac Manu, who disclosed this to the
Chronicle in Takoradi last Wednesday, said his outfit has been able to identify
those who were behind the disturbances that led to the abrupt end of the
congress but they want to use the due process of the law as spelt out in the
Constitution of the party to bring them to book should it become necessary for
them to do so.
The
committee which was inaugurated by Mac Manu at the regional party office in
Takoradi last Tuesday, has Mrs. Cudjoe, Mr. George Offeigbu, the former
regional first vice chairman, Mr. P. K. Damoah, a party member from Wassa
Akropong, Mr. J. S. Appiah from Takoradi and Mr. Quartson, also a party member
from Sefwi Wioso as members.
According
to Mac Manu, after the committee had finished its work, his outfit will sit
down and look at the recommendations, and apply the necessary sanctions against
those who deserve it, to serve as a deterrent to other party faithfuls to
behave well.
Mac Manu
was on September 25 compelled to once again postpone the Jomoro Constituency
congress of the party at Nvelenu in the Jomoro district when confusion erupted
over the eligibility of some of the delegates.
An attempt
made by the party chairman and his men to scrutinise the names of the delegates
was met with a strong resistance from the very people who raised the legibility
issue. The ensuing confusion that erupted could not be contained by the Half
Assini police to enable the congress to continue. This compelled Mac Manu to
call off the congress once again.
A similar
problem occurred during the first abortive congress at HAlf Assinsi in July
when some of the delegates who were divided into two factions protested against
the genuineness of some of the names being called as delegates to replace some
of the ward chairmen who had deliberately been sidelined and prevented from
voting because they do not belong to the camp of one of the contestants vying
for the chairmanship post.
More.../
JAK's trip
to Cote d'Ivoire…probe underway.
The
Ghanaian Chronicle reporting on President John Agyekum Kufuor’s visit to Cote
d’Ivoire last week says Tuesday last week saw the Ivorian capital, Abidjan,
particularly the vicinity of Hotel Ivoire, very busy.
It says
security was tight, helicopters hovered around with long queues in front of the
forum grounds, Hotel Ivoire Conference Hall, where the President was scheduled
to attend the opening ceremony of that country’s reconciliation forum. The
paper described the atmosphere as charged with the spirit of reconciliation
The
conference hall was filled to capacity, according to the Paper, which also adds
that the hope for peace at the end of the day was paramount.
The
Chronicle, which says it gathered this from some interactions with the Ivorians
during interviews, adds that the forum would serve as a pivot around which the
whole unity talks would revolve and thereby restoring the country to its former
past.
The
peculiarity of peace and stability, which characterised the country over the
years was also firmly routed in the minds of the people. "My brother,
there have been some trouble but I say this country will have peace now,"
the paper quotes Pierre Kouame, a teacher, as saying.
This belief
was also far-fetched from the corridors of Ivorian political power. Anderson
Appiah, the government's Advisor on Media Affairs and personal interpreter to
President Ggbabo, told the Chronicle minutes before the start of the programme
that "I think everybody wants to finish with this problem. Since 1990 we
have become fed up of this problem. Because of this, we have always been
quarrelling, we need peace here. We want to do our best to get peace here in
Ivory Coast."
The Ivorian
reconciliation could be traced to the violence and instability, among others,
which ensued after the military adventures extended their ugly hands into the country's
body politic.
GRi.../
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comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
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Chief, 4 others held for murder
The chief of New Sawireso in the Juabeso-Bia District and four others are helping the Sefwi-Asempanaye police in their investigations into the murder of a 24-year-old farmer, Kwaku Oduro of Obeng-Mim, near Goaso.
The Ghanaian Times, which carries the story says the chief, Nana Kwame Nkrumah Adasa, and his accomplice, Kwame Obeng and Kwame Adu, were said to have killed the deceased for ritual purpose.
The body was found floating in the Sawire River without the heart, tongue and genital organ.
The ‘Times’ reports Police sources as saying that the suspects were arrested on a tip-off last Thursday following the discovery of the body on October 1.
The source said that the chief and Kwamena Adusa are brothers of the deceased. It was revealed that after the murder last June 21, the suspects buried the body in the deceased’s own farm.
After a fruitless search by a search party for the deceased, a report was made to the police. It is alleged that when the suspects heard of this, they secretly exhumed the body and dumped it in River Sawire, about eight kilometres, from the deceased’s cottage (Obeng-Mim).
According to the police sources, a group of farmers discovered the body at the bank of the river and informed the family who reported it to the police.
Investigations led to the arrest of the suspects who are now on police enquiry bail. They have denied the act. The body has since been buried.
More…/
The Greater Accra Regional Students Representative Council (SRC) at the weekend called on the government to expedite action to pay its part of 30 percent school fees to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted academic year.
Addressing a news conference in Accra, the SRC president, Master Kwaku Appiah Yeboah, said that even though schools had long re-opened, the government had not fulfilled its promises to bear the 30 percent cost.
That aside, he said the approved fees to be charged not being adhered to by most second cycle institutions. He said that some heads of schools have resorted to maintaining or increasing the old fees saying “this does not augur well for parents and wards.”
He alleged that, one of the leading schools was offering admission opportunities to parents who were willing to pay the old fees of over 1 million cedis for first year students but declined to mention the particular school.
The SRC President expressed concern about overcrowding in boarding houses and the manner in which boarding facilities were packed beyond their capacities.
GRi…/
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Daily Graphic
Four persons have died at Pokuase, near Accra, after allegedly drinking tots of “ke Ba Shoo”, an alcoholic beverage produced locally, reports The Daily Graphic.
Two others are on admission at the Nsawam Government Hospital, one in very critical condition. On of them, Welbeck Okine, is said to be in a very critical condition while the second person on admission, whose name was not disclosed, is out of any life threatening condition.
Hospital sources said in an interview that the four were brought to the hospital dead, while the other two, who were in critical condition, were offered admission immediately.
The hospital authorities directed those who sent the victims there to report to the police for investigations to be conducted into the circumstances that led to the death of the four.
According to hospital officials who spoke to us on grounds of anonymity the victims were said to have taken the drink after transacting a deal to purchase land at Pokuase.
They said after the transactions, the land-owners offered the victims drinks as demanded by custom and not long after taking some tots of the drink, the victims started behaving abnormally, as if they had had an attack of tetanus.
The officials said the four then complained of abdominal pains, and died one after the other. The two who were in critical condition and their dead colleagues were rushed to the hospital.
The officials could not immediately give the cause of death, but said it could be attributed to the drink, adding that “a post-mortem will confirm the cause of death”.
Latest information however revealed that another person has died bringing to five number of the dead.
More…/
Legon students kick against dressing
The Daily Graphic carries that the University Christian Fellowship and the Students Representative Council (SRC) Women’s Commissioner on Saturday stage a peaceful demonstration on the University of Ghana campus to draw public attention to indecent dressing among some female students at the university.
Although the protest march was poorly patronied, the few students, who took part in it, registered their disdain for immorality among female students on campus.
The protesters were pelted with water sachets while others hurled insults at them. But this did not discourage them in their resolve to draw public attention to what has generally been described as one the major concerns of both students and lecturers as well as visitors to the campus.
A number of people interviewed called for the introduction of measures to stem the wanton resort to such indecent dressing by a section of the female students to help restore some decency and discipline in the mode of dressing.
They maintained that even though they would not recommend the institution of a uniform dress code, they believe that, as adults, female students must be able to make up their minds on what constitutes decent dressing.
The President of the Christian Fellowship, Doris Yaa Aggrey, in an interview, said the issue of indecent dressing crops up every year on campus, with every batch trying to outdo the other and this results in the wearing of all kinds of miniskirts and other dresses that expose their bodies.
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The Office of the Attorney General has directed that the suspected serial killer, Charles Quansah, should be officially charged with murder.
The Daily Graphic, which carries the story, says the recommendation was based on available evidence, which confirmed that the suspect committed the crime.
Quansah, a 36-year-old driver mechanic, who is on remand, has confessed to killing eight of the women in the mysterious serial killings that rocked Accra and Kumasi between 1993 and last year.
Superintendent Angwubutoge Awuni, the Head of the Police Public Relations Directorate, who disclosed this in an interview, said Quansah will soon be arraigned before court.
There is not enough evidence to charge the rest of the suspects, he said, adding that the police are still investigating the matter.
More…/
The Polices in Kumasi have arrested Sergeant Ofosu Addo of the 4th Battalion Workshop of the Ghana Army in connection with the armed robbery incident at the Asante Mampong agency of the Otuasekan Rural Bank last Thursday.
The military authorities in Kumasi have, however, denied his involvement. But the Sergeant has been handed over to the Military Polices for further investigations into the case.
Already, six suspected armed robbers have been arrested, bringing to seven the number of suspects arrested in connection with the robbery during which two police officers were shot dead.
The suspects are Kwasi Mensah, from Winneba; Ibrahim Mohammed, Afram Plains; Akwesi Asoma, Mprim; Daniel Kukuo, Jamasi; Omuno Asamoah, Kumasi in the Central Region.
The military and police, in a joint-operation, succeeded in retrieving 27.6 million cedis stole out of the 44.9 million cedis stolen during the raid.
GRi…/
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