GRi Press Review Ghana 16 - 10 - 2001
Six nursing mothers serving prison terms
Robber dies in custody
18 prostitutes fined
Conflict Resolution can improve justice delivery
Cabinet exams proposals on resettlement of Rawlings
'A-G's office is doing its best'
Three shot, chief missing
President cannot claim innocence - Koi-Larbi
Tsikata's GNPC under scrutiny
The people have spoken - 80% say no to MPs loan
Move to shift blame for filth
Nduom goes to court
Thirty-eight dismissed ATL workers reported dead!
The Minister of Finance has directed the Ministry of Lands and Forestry to stop, forthwith, payments for all items supplied on credited under the Forestry Sector Redeployment Programme being implemented by the Forestry Commission.
The ministry explained that the forensic audit has become necessary following the discovery by officials of the ministry, after a visit to the warehouse, that the quantity as well as the quality of goods supplied and the prices appearing on invoices submitted to the ministry by the Forestry Commission do not tally in any way.
"This ministry has had the opportunity to visit the warehouse to physically count and verify some of the items purported to have been procured under the above programme.
"It regrets that the quantity as well as quantity and prices appearing on invoices that we have sighted do not in any way tally with the physical quantity in the warehouse," the letter from the Ministry of Finance, dated October 12, this year, pointed out.
An amount of 2.057 billion cedis is involved in the programme. The main objective of the audit exercise, according to the letter, a copy of which the Graphic stumbled upon, will be to undertake a "value for money" review of the items produced so far, "as the prices and description of some of items are rather puzzling, if not bizarre."
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Six nursing mothers serving prison terms
The affected mothers gave birth to the babies after their incarceration, and the prisons have been the dwelling place of the babies since they were born.
Superintendent Solomon Antwi, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service in an interview in Accra, named the prisons as the Nsawam, Sekondi, Ho, and Kumasi Female prisons.
He called on the government to establish nursing facilities in the country's prisons to help cater for such babies, saying conditions in the prisons are not conducive to the health of affected babies.
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The Daily Graphic in a follow-up story, reports the Executive Director of Macbells Company Limited, Francis MacCathy, as denying that the alcoholic beverage, ‘Ke ba shoo’ being produced by his company caused the death of five persons at Pokuase at the weekend.
“If the people really drank anything labelled as ‘Ke ba shoo’, then it must be a fake product,” MacCarthy said, adding that he had drawn the attention of the Police to the sale of fake alcohol beverages labelled as ‘Ke ba shoo’ on the market but no arrest has been made so far.
According to him he led a team of police personnel to a house at Batsoona where some of his labels and drinks suspected to be fake were retrieved.
Asked whether he has certification for the product, MacCarthy said the Ghana Standards Board granted certification for all his alcoholic beverages, including ‘Ke ba shoo’.
He said he recently submitted samples of his products to the Food & Drugs Board for certification and is awaiting the outcome of their tests.
Meanwhile, the Food & Drugs Board has confirmed that a sample of the drink was sent to the board for evaluation and certification.
The only surviving victim, who is said to be in critical condition, has been transferred to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.
The cause of death has still not been determined since the post-mortem is yet to be conducted. Five people died at the weekend after taking the product.
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Robber dies in custody
Kwesi Mensah, believed to be the top hit-man of the gang of armed robbers who raided the Asante-Mampong agency of the Otuasekan Rural Bank last Thursday, is dead.
The other policeman, Constable G.W. Awere, on guard duty at the bank, was shot and killed by the robbers and his AK 47 rifle taken away. The weapon was later retrieved by the combined team of police, military and volunteers.
Mensah, from Winneba, was one of the six suspects who were arrested in connection with the robbery. The rest are Ibrahim Mohammed form the Afram Plains, Akwasi Asoma (Mprim), Daniel Kukuo (Jamasi), Omono Asamoah, (Kumasi) and Wofa Yaw (Fanti Nyankumasi).
According to police sources, Mensah sustained multiple cutlass wounds during a struggle with the team of police, military and residents of the town. His death brings to four, the number of robbers who have perished after the bloody robbery. The other three are yet to be identified
Sergeant Ofosu Addo of the 4th Battalion Infantry Workshop in Kumasi, is also helping the police in their investigation into the robbery. He is said to be the owner of the two vehicles, a Nissan Urvan bus, AS 2885D, and an Opel Omega, AS 4417R, suspected to have been used in the robbery.
About ¢27 million out of nearly ¢45 million stolen in the raid, was retrieved by the police and military in a joint operation.
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18 prostitutes fined
Apart from two of them who pleaded not guilty, the others pleaded guilty with one having an explanation for her involvement in the practice.
A 'friend of the court pleaded with the court to deal leniently with the accused persons stressing that under section 276, of act 29/60 the women must have been found to be "persistently" soliciting for men for immoral purposes.
He said that a one-night swoop by the police could, therefore, not suit the context of that section 276.
He also questioned why the police arrested only women while there were men who patronised their services.
The tribunal chairman, Captain Philip Agbeyome (rtd) advised the women to stay indoors at night for their own safety and find some meaningful ways of generating money rather than through "the sale of your bodies".
The women apparently amused at the sentence just counted monies to pay off their fines while raining insults on the female journalists who were in court.
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Conflict Resolution can improve justice delivery
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) has been identified as the best means to decongest the courts and ensure that no one is denied justice for any reason.
This would also enable judges to have more time to handle and come out with better decisions in cases that fall outside the jurisdiction of the ADR process, Nene Abayateye Amegatcher, a legal practitioner, expressed these view at a day's Awareness Creation Seminar on "Conflict Management and Alternative Dispute Resolution".
According to him, ADR would not abolish the conventional system of justice delivery, but rather complement it and make it more efficient.
"It is useful for resolving many disputes that never get to court, as well as settling 90 to 95 per cent of the cases that are filed in court," he said.
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Cabinet exams proposals on resettlement of Rawlings
The government has set up a Cabinet sub-committee to study the proposals for the settlement and entitlements of ex-President Rawlings within the confines of the Green Street Report.
Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Information disclosing this in interview with "The Evening News" in Accra, explained that in spite of the delay by the government to provide all the entitlement of the former President, "he is not being denied any facility that would make his life comfortable.
Reacting to claims made by Dr Tony Aidoo, former Deputy Minister of Defence on GTV last week that the former President has not been fully settled 10 months into the administration of the NPP government, the presidential affairs minister said the former President has almost every facility that makes life comfortable at his disposal although the state is yet to officially provide facilities due him.
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'A-G's office is doing its best'
The seemingly slow pace at which cases forwarded to the Attorney General's Office (AG) are handled is not deliberate, the Director of Public Prosecution Osafo Sam-pong has explained.
In an interview with 'The Evening News' he said cases may be seen to be delaying because investigations are on going, as the A-G continues to fish out for documents and conduct interviews.
The DPP cited corruption, embezzlement, financial impropriety, fraud and murder as examples of such cases, which need systematic investigations.
Mr Sampong again gave the case of Ebo Quansah, the alleged murderer of women, as one of such cases, which has had to receive a wide range of investigations.
On the issue of adjournment, he explained that the situation arises because a prosecutor may not be present, or in the case of the tribunals, a panel member may be absent.
Touching on the staffing situation at the DPP's office, he said, the AG is on course as far as the performance of his duties are concerned. He, however, added, "if they give us more people, we will welcome them."
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Three shot, chief missing
Three people received gunshot wounds and several residents were seriously injured last week Wednesday when two factions in a chieftaincy dispute declared war on each other at Ankwa-Dobro, a town near Nsawam, in the Akwapim Anafo Traditional Area of the Eastern Region.
The other faction in the dispute is led by his uncle and Abusuapanyin of the town, Nana Afum Kwasi. "We still haven't heard form Nana Duodu Kwadwo II. He has not called my house since he ran away and I don't know where he is ", Nana Gyan Kwasi, Aburihene and head of the Akwapim Anafo Traditional Council told Chronicle.
Gyan Kwesi's fears were confirmed by the Queenmother of Ankwa-Dobro, Naana Amponsah, who said she also did not know the whereabouts of Nana Duodu Kwadwo.
The Queenmother has fled the town and relocated to Accra following death threats against her. Residents say the chief was last seen when a taxicab he hired to the town was burnt, and he himself chased out amid gunshots from the other faction. He managed to flee into a nearby bush.
The three wounded individuals are currently receiving treatment at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra.
Sources say the clash between the two factions was very intense. Gunshots pierced through the air, knives and machetes glistened and clattered in the dark night sky, while the shrieks and wailings of many could be heard afar, Chronicle says it gathered.
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President cannot claim innocence - Koi-Larbi
President Kufuor's claim that he was not part of the failed attempt to give each Member of Parliament (MP) $20,000 car loan has been debunked by Hon. Agyare Koi Larbi, the maverick NPP member for Akropong.
In an interview after last Friday's Odwira Grand Durbar organised at Akropong, Koi Larbi also justified the public outcry over the deal, citing the current precarious economic conditions as making such a dole-out unacceptable.
"We have to presume that whatever the Minister of Finance does, he does it with the consent and concurrence of the President and the entire Cabinet. And so it is with the man in charge of Government Business," the Akropong MP argued.
He stressed that once the Majority Leader was involved in the transaction, nobody can disown any responsibility. "I think the Executive and everybody was aware".
Though an MP himself, Koi Larbi said he was personally against the idea of the government directly giving out the $20,000 or any amount for that matter, to the MPs as the car loans. What can be done, rather, is to ask the MPs to take loans from the banks whiles Parliament guarantees the payment.
"This way, it will become a simple commercial transaction and the risks involved will be taken by the MPs and not Parliament per se". In the event that a particular borrower is unable to pay before he leaves office, then his end-of-service benefits could be used to defray the remaining loan.
Asked to tell the upper ceiling of the amount which would be realistic, he answered that the "reasonability of the amount will depend on the salaries of the MPs and what their ESBs are likely to be".
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Tsikata's GNPC under scrutiny
The Statesman returning to the Tsikata’s GNPC story reports that a painstaking forensic investigation into the affairs of Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) is expected to expose a litany of monumental theft and abuse of office perpetuated under the leadership of Tsatsu Tsikata against the State-owned company.
The paper describes the GNPC as a company “currently in so dire a financial state” that its staff members have not been paid since July and are facing the prospect of heavy job cuts.
Interviews with staff and other key board members point to a shocking scale of corruption within GNPC in the ten years to 1997. Equally shocking is how this could have escaped scrutiny for so many years.
According to the paper, the forensic audit is being undertaken by the highly reputable international financial firm, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) on behalf of the NPP government to confirm or refute, among others, allegations of substantial money transfers from GNPC made to personal accounts controlled by Tsatsu Tsikata, who was for 20 years the head of GNPC.
The interviews suggest that funds were willfully directed from GNPC accounts with international banks in Switzerland, France and the USA, including the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), Credit Suisse, Societe Generale, Fleet National Bank and Texas Commerce Bank. The above accounts were apparently set up by Tsikata for hedging activities.
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The people have spoken - 80% say no to MPs loan
The Statesman says in a first-of-its kind public survey conducted by it, 80.4% of the 811 callers who participated said no to the scheme to give MPs a $20,000 loan each to buy a vehicle. Only 133 (19.6%) of members of the public who voted were in support of the loan.
The Weekend Statesman, gauging the public's reaction to the initial news of the $20,000, first, conducted a small straw poll of the streets of Accra and found people united against the loan.
The paper says it then decided that a nationwide telephone survey should be conducted to give a far scientific sample of what Ghanaians generally felt. Callers from as far as Wenchi, Tamale, Aflao and Techiman were asked, "Should your MP receive a $20,000 state-funded loan to buy a car?" 678 gave it a massive thumbs down.
In a related development, The Statesman says its attempt to get the Clerk of Parliament to furnish it with a list of all the MPs of the last two Parliaments who had failed to pay back their loans was futile. Amazingly, Parliament doesn't seem to have available the exact figures of loan defaulters and yet was prepared to grant another set of loans at an even higher rate to its members, states the paper.
The Clerk argued that a different set of Staff dealt with the old loans and, therefore, he was not able to locate the documents showing how much was owed and by whom.
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Move to shift blame for filth
As a result, the Government has summoned some former key Ministers, as well as Government officials to appear before an investigation team on the former City and Country Waste Management contract, which was hurriedly abrogated, under the NPP Administration, without taking into consideration its possible consequences.
The former officials invited for questioning, according to the NDC mouthpiece, include former Ministers, Kwame Peprah, Kwamena Ahwoi, Nii Okaidja Adamafio and Mrs. Cecilia Johnson. The officials are Mr. Jimmy Amissah, former Secretary to the President and Mr S.M.Y. Zanu, a Chief Director.
Following the abrogation of the contract, Accra is engulfed in filth, of the frightening magnitude comparable to conditions, which existed in the pre-Revolution days.
The paper recalls that it had to take Jerry Rawlings and his band of revolutionary supporters, including students and the youth in general, quite their time and strength to mow down piles of rubbish, heaped up over the years to make Accra clean in the early '80s.
Now, there is a return to filth, the paper points out, adding that the contractors, hired to remove the refuse are working below capacity and complaining about almost every aspect of their work.
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Nduom goes to court
Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, of the Ministry of Economic Planning has filed a writ of libel at the Fast Track Court against Mr. Jojo Bruce Quansah, Editor of the 'Ghana Palaver' and the Revalap Publishers and Suppliers Limited, publishers of the paper.
Among issues dealt with were the means by which Dr Nduom obtained contracts from the SEC, including that of holding himself out as a representative of a Deloitte and Touche (USA), at the same time when he also claimed to be operating another Deloitte and Touche Consultancy, under which he undertook other contracts, under the same organisation.
A case of conflict of interest was also cited in the report.
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The Ex-President, according to him, is the least troubled about anything that any newspaper publishes – “be it a political issue, manoeuvres, machination and so on to destroy him into disrepute”.
Mr. Smith was speaking to The Crusading Guide concerning the possibility of Mr. Rawlings being prosecuted in connection with the transcript of a recorded conversation (‘The Rawlings Tape), as published by The Statesman a year ago – “about some grisly events of the Rawlings era, which if the tape is to be believed, bear the direct handprint of the ex-president himself”.
The paper recalls that the airing on Joy FM of the recorded conversation which talked about the bombing sometime ago of the Ringway Hotel, a conspiracy to bomb the Provident Towers, the suspected arson of the late Tony Gbeho’s house at the Ringway Estates, an alleged plot to bomb Captain Kojo Tsikata’s Abelenkpe Residence and the murder of a Catholic Priest whose body was found on the beach in the early 1980’s, among other events, led to the arrest and questioning of some journalists including the Editor-in-chief of this paper (Kweku Barko), and the current Attorney General and Minster for Justice, Nana Akufo Addo on the orders of the NDC Government.
Though Smith said he had not listened to the contents of the famous tape recording, he maintained his boss was not in the least worried or scared about anything/anybody/ at all and that the famous “Albert/ Rawlings Tape” could go before the Attorney General.
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Thirty-eight dismissed ATL workers reported dead!
The Crusading Guide says this was disclosed to it in an interview with Messrs Bismark Twum Addo and Prince Ampong Darko, spokespersons of some of the dismissed workers at Akosombo.
According to the leaders, most children whose parents were involved in the dismissal exercise are now school dropouts. It was also revealed that some of them (dismissed workers) have had their marriages broken whilst others have been ejected from their houses. They have therefore petitioned the President to institute an enquiry into the matter.
The Crusading Guide recalls a story published with the headline, “DISMISSED ATL WORKERS PETITION MINISTER” in its 14th – 21st august 2001 edition. In the said story, the 298 dismissed workers were said to have petitioned the Minister for Manpower development and Employment to investigate the circumstances, which led to their dismissal.
The story also stated that in January 1999, the workers embarked on a peaceful demonstration to demand better wages during their wage opener negotiations. This resulted in the dismissal of the first 164 workers, including the Local Union Executive. It further stated that the 298 workers who were dismissed were those who had done long service (between 10 and 30 years) with ATL.
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