Disruption
of work on landfill site costs Gov’t 37m cedis daily
Health
Ministry to train nurse assistants
Secondary
school graduates to be employed as teachers
Indian tourist
jailed
Man, 22, steals 78.5 million cedis using sika card
Ex-NDC MP
before court
Kumasi
mayor on collision course with council
Attorney-General
not ready for Soussoudis
31st DWM
and NPP Women fight over Tema Market
The Daily
Graphic says the state is loosing 37 million cedis daily due to the action of
some residents of Kwabenya to block access routes to the construction site of
the new Accra landfill being undertaken by Taysec Construction. So far, 770 million cedis has been paid to
the construction firm, following the suspension of work on the project.
The acting
Director of the Waste Management Department of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly
(AMA), Ben Mensah Laryea, told journalists at the construction site that out of
the 6.5 million cedis British Government grant, an amount of 3.5 million pounds
has so far been utilised on the project.
The money, according to Mr Laryea, was used to undertake preliminary
preparations and also to construct an access road to the site, among other
things.
According
to him, the people blocking access to the landfill site have no cause to do
that because there is an agreement between the chiefs and a few affected people
for the necessary compensation to be paid
"Moreover,
speculations that the landfill will have health hazards on residents are not
true because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Water Resource
Commission, the Urban Environment and Sanitation Project and other regulatory
bodies have proved otherwise," Mr Laryea stressed.
More…/
The
Ministry of Health is to start a programme to train nurse assistants to assist
in the health delivery system in the country.
The Daily
Graphic, which carries the story, says under the programme, those to be
recruited will be trained for six months to assist qualified nurses in the
hospitals
Moses Dani
Baah, Deputy Health Minister, who disclosed this in an interview, said after
two years of work in hospitals, the nurse assistants would be given the
opportunity to train as full-time nurses, adding that discussions are still on
going to finalised modalities, such as the educational qualification and the
number to be recruited.
Mr Baah
said the ministry is expected to recruit the first group of nursing assistants
for the programme from next month.
Currently,
the country has less than 10,000 nurses and this small number does not satisfy
half the requirements for health institutions in the country.
More…/
The Ghana
Education Service (GES) has been given the mandate to employ Senior Secondary
School (SSS) graduates to teach in deprived basic schools in the country. The
move is to help resolve the shortage of teachers in deprived areas and to
improve the teacher-pupil ratio in such areas.
The Daily
Graphic reports the acting Director-General of the GES, Alex Tettey-Enyo, as disclosing
in an interview in Accra on Tuesday that the exercise, which begins this
academic year, would involve the recruitment of qualified SSS graduates to
teach in disadvantaged basic schools upon requests from district education
directors.
He could,
however, not give the number of teachers to be recruited but said the
directorate would look at the demand from the deprived areas vis-ŕ-vis
"manpower ceiling" approved by the Ministry of Finance.
The
exercise would be carried out on a pilot basis until the conditions in such areas
are improved to attract more qualified teachers.
More…/
Indian
tourist jailed
The Osu
Community Tribunal in Accra has jailed a sixty-two year old Indian tourist,
Murari Chatterjee, for one week in hard labour, for checking out of a hotel
without settling his bills.
Chatterjee,
who is also believed to be a member of the "419 Scam" syndicate,
pleaded guilty to defrauding by false pretence. He is to be deported after
serving the sentence.
The
tribunal, chaired by Nana Donkor, was told that the accused arrived in the
country on 25 September 2001, and checked in at the Holiday Hotel, at Dzorwulu,
in Accra.
The
prosecution said, after spending four days at the hotel, the accused sneaked
out, leaving behind a bill of 2,540 dollars being the cost of accommodation and
other services he enjoyed at the hotel.
According
to the prosecution, on 19 October 2001, the Managing Director of the Holiday
Hotel, Kwabena Amoakohene, spotted the accused standing in front of the Mascot
Hotel at North Kaneshie and immediately caused his arrest.
A search on
him by the police revealed documents, asking certain individuals and companies
to make huge advance payments for the supply of certain goods, as often done by
the "419 Scam" syndicate.
The
prosecution said the accused had enjoyed accommodation and other services at
the Mascot Hotel to the tune of 11.76 million dollars at the time of his
arrest. However, the Mascot Hotel management did not make any complaint against
the accused.
GRi…/
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Man, 22, steals 78.5 million cedis using sika card
A 22-year-old unemployed, Robert Aryeh, has been arraigned before an Accra Circuit Tribunal for using a stolen Sika Card to withdraw a total of 78.5 million cedis from various branches of the Social Security Bank (SSB) Limited.
According to The Ghanaian Times, the tribunal chairman, Mr Ziblim Imoro, asked Aryeh to assist the police in arresting his uncle, Seth Ashley, a staff of the Cape Coast branch of the SSB, who is supposed to have given him the Sika Card.
The tribunal heard that on 20 September 2001, Robert Aryeh withdrew 5 million cedis from the SSB branch of North Industrial Area, Accra with the stolen Sika Card. The following day, he went there seeking to withdraw another 5 million cedis, but the bank officials became suspicious and detained him.
Mr Aryeh was handed over to the police and upon interrogation; he disclosed that his uncle, Ashley, who was with the Sika Card section of the branch, gave him the card to withdraw the moneys.
It was found that Robert had withdrawn a total of 78.5 million cedis from several other branches of the bank, using the Sika Card. The bank, upon verification, found that the owner had deposited 98 million cedis out of which Aryeh had withdrawn 78.5 million cedis. The court has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Ashley who is currently on the run.
More…/
The Ghanaian Times says Aluworks Limited has as at the end of September 2001, made a profit before tax of 47.8 billion cedis, as against, 36.0 billion cedis for last year.
The increase of 33 percent was made possible through a strong export demand, which has also enabled the company to achieve good results fairly in line with targets set.
According to the company’s un-audited statement of results for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2001, the company has exported 41 per cent of its sale tonnage for revenue of 11.7 million dollars, within this year.
Its net turnover increased from 161.69 billion cedis as at the end of September 2000 to 217.00 billion cedis in the same period, this year showing a growth of 34 per cent.
Interest expense was nil showing negative 100 per cent compared to the same period last year where interest expense was 571.5 million. This reflects a healthy working capital position of the company. Earnings per share showed a decrease of 55 per cent from last year’s figure of 1,933 to this year of 872 cedis.
Aluworks provided 1.2 billion for income tax and the National Reconstruction Levy. The company’s issued shares have increased to 42 million cedis as a result of the 2:1 bonus issued at the end of July 2 this year.
GRi…/
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Ex-NDC MP
before court
Francis
Adu-Poku, defeated NDC MP of Asunafo South in the Brong Ahafo Region and
Managing Director of Franadup Company Limited, will appear before an Accra High
Court on Friday November 2, 2001 for allegedly failing to pay Sumini Boama Company,
a construction firm in Tamale, the cost of a project he contracted them to
undertake, but has failed to pay for.
The
plaintiffs are demanding 88,286 million cedis as the value of work done and
damages from the former MP who contracted them for the job after his company
collected an initial sum of 55 million cedis as mobilisation fees from the
Ministry of Education for the same job. The former MP failed to execute the
contract after he won the bid from the ministry.
The
defendant has challenged the plaintiff's assertion, arguing that they are not
entitled to any claim. In his statement of claim, the company's manager, Abu
Masahudu, stated that on March 3, 2000, Adu-Poku, who had won the contract to
build a school block, teachers flat, KVIP (a local latrine) and a library at
Zabzugu in the Tatale District of the Northern Region, subletted the construction of the school
block to the plaintiff.
The
plaintiff stated that under an agreement between the two companies, the
defendant agreed to bear responsibility for all financial obligations due the
plaintiff from the mobilisation fees collected by him.
According
to the plaintiff, while construction was going on and had reached lentil level,
they were informed that the contract had been terminated and that the former
Asunafo South MP, knew of it but refused to convey the message to the
plaintiff.
The
defendant also failed to pay anything out of the mobilisation fee of 55,468,983
cedis to the plaintiff company as agreed on, according to the Chronicle.
Following
this new development, the defendant contracted valuers to assess and value the
work done by plaintiff and they put the value at 88,282,608 cedis. The former
MP has denied ever agreeing that his company would negotiate all financial
obligations due the plaintiff and pay them accordingly from the mobilisation
fees collected by him.
More…/
Kumasi
mayor on collision course with council
The Ghanaian
Chronicle carries that the metropolitan Chief Executive of the Kumasi
Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Maxwell Kofi Jumah, is on a collision course with
the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) over transfer of staff.
In what has
been described as absolute disregard for authority in the face of sworn oath of
allegiance, Mr Jumah, who is also known as Kofi Ghana is said to have refused
the transfer of about 50 revenue officials to other districts.
The said
transfers were effected by the RCC as part of career development for the staff,
some of whom had been at post for more than 37 years. Some of the districts affected
by the MCE's refusal are Amansie West, Asante Akim South and Adansi East.
According
to RCC sources, Amansie West has only five revenue officers while Asante Akim
South and Adansi East have seven and four respectively. The KMA has over 150 revenue officials
including 86 commissioned revenue collectors.
The RCC has
confirmed Jumah's refusal to release the staff on transfer. He has also not
accepted the postings of other staff to the KMA, rendering them stranded.
Jumah,
according to RCC sources, had initially refused the release of the staff on the
grounds that an audit team was auditing the KMA. Several months after the audit
team had finished its work and issued reports, the MCE is still refusing to
release them.
GRi…/
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Attorney-
General not ready for Soussoudis
Eight clear
months after the arrest of Michael Soussoudis, cousin of former President
Rawlings for illegal possession of arms, the Attorney-General's Department
(AGD) is yet to advice the prosecution on how the case should proceed.
The Evening
News says this came to light on Tuesday 30 October 2001 when Soussoudis
appeared before a Circuit Tribunal in Accra to answer charges relating to the
illegal possession of weapons.
When the
case was called, the prosecutor announced that they are still waiting for
advice from the Attorney -General's office since they had not heard anything
from them for quite a long time and therefore was not sure of what was going
on.
The
announcement prompted Mr. K. Amponsah-Dadzie, counsel for the accused to
request for a long adjournment in order to carry on with their lives as the
frequent visits to the courts was disrupting their business schedules.
He
maintained that if the adjournment is granted, the AG's office would be free to
serve notice on them anytime they were ready to continue with the case.
Mr
Amponsah-Dadzie served notice of their intention to file a motion to compel the
police to return all or some of the licensed and seized weapons to his client to
help him defend himself due to the increasing crime wave it the country.
In the same
breath, he indicated that the passport of his client was with the police and
added that he also intends to file a motion for its return since it served no
purpose for the police still keeping it.
The case
was therefore adjourned to 27 November 2001 to enable the AG's office to come
up with the advice, failure of which would lead to another possible lengthy
adjournment by the court in favour of the defence.
It is recalled
that on February 25, 2001, a significant number of arms and ammunition were
found at the Labone residence of Soussoudis during a police swoop. This was
after a two-week ultimatum given by the government on 6 February 2001
requesting all those in possession of unlicensed arms to hand them over to the
security agencies had elapsed.
More…/
31st DWM
and NPP Women fight over Tema Market
Even though
Ghanaian market women are known to be politically shy and do not get deeply
involved in partisan politics, the trend no longer exists, especially at Tema
Community One market, where two factions have turned the place into a partisan
political arena, The Evening News reports.
The
factions, Tema Community One Market Association and Tema Community One Traders
Union are engaged in a bitter struggle as to which of them should control
affairs of the market.
The Tema
Community One Traders Union inaugurated about two months ago by, Mrs S.E. Asong
Narh, Municipal Chief Executive of Tema is said to be using their political
connections with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to dislodge their rival,
who are known to be affiliated with the 31st December Women's Movement.
The Traders
Union has also petitioned the Chief Executive alleging that the decade-old
Community One Market Association has collected various sums of money from
traders under the pretest of providing them with stores. This has prompted the
Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA), who are the landlords of the market, to request
for Police investigations into the allegation.
Investigations
by the "Evening News" revealed that on 5 October 2001, some persons
namely, Madam Adjoa Nyantakyi, also known as Akosombo, Rose Mensah, Mary
Frimpong and Mr S.K. Animpong, purporting acting as officers of the Traders
Union, attempted to forcibly take over the office of the Market Association.
However, members of the association resisted the illegal take over and drove
the intruders away.
To
forestall any ‘nasty incident’, members of the Tema Community One Market
Association have filed a suit at a Tema High Court restraining their rivals
from taking over their office, which is located in the market.
GRi…/
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