European Union bans Ghana's pineapples
Listed companies to release quarterly result
next year
Goods vanish from Customs premises
EGLE, GCPP hail President's initiative
Asikuma NDC Women map out strategies
Ghana police stranded in Kosovo
Expatriate's assault on chief confirmed
Christian Council asks government to stop water
privatisation
Fake dollar syndicate storms Accra …Nigerians
behind operation
No money missing at Nduom’s office
Counterfeit! Fraudsters on the loose!
Kufuor says fee increases absorbed to save
hardships on people’
$20,000 found in
Agrah’s flowerpot
“NDC can regain power only if…”
Presidential Jet, leased at $15million to go
for $9million
European Union bans Ghana's pineapples
The European Union (EU) has since July this
year denied access to pineapples originating from Ghana into their market,
writes the High Street Journal (HSJ).
This state of affairs, according to HSJ came
about as a result of claims by the EU that the chemical content of the
pineapples far exceeds the approved level endorsed by the EU.
All known chemicals sprayed on pineapples
during their gestation period should be reduced through natural process to a
minimum universally approved level before export. This level is known as "minimum residual level".
The EU says if this is not done, the
consumption of the pineapples would affect the health of consumers. In Ghana,
the chemical ethyl is used as a catalyst to facilitate the maturing of the
pineapple as well as give its golden colour. The EU claims tests conducted on
the fruit indicated that the "minimum residual level" of ethyl in the
fruit is eight times more than the EU's designated level for its markets.
This has necessitated the temporary ban until
correct structures are put in place to reverse the trend.
Augustine Adongo, President of Federation of
Association of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE) told HSJ that the ban was unfortunate
since the EU never informed Ghanaian exporters about the issue of "minimum residual level". He noted
that even in the present circumstances the machine, which could be used to test
the chemical content of the pineapples, had broken down.
The machine, which is located at the Food
Research Institute, has a defect in one of its parts that can be replaced at
the cost of $3,000. Adongo intimated that appeals made to the institute to
effect repairs on the machine had fallen on deaf ears.
"I made an offer that if finance is the
problem, the institute should apply to our federation for assistance. This
opportunity too, they have failed to make use of," decried Adongo.
He however said an American company named AMEX
International, in conjunction with USAID and the private sector have put
together a quality team that is working feverishly to put systems and
structures in place to restore confidence in Ghana’s exports.
The ban has currently affected the financial
base of Ghanaian pineapple exporters as most of the produce destined for the EU
market had to be sold on the local market.
More…/
Listed companies to release quarterly result
next year
The Ghana Stock Exchange, in its effort to make
the Ghana Bourse conform with international stock markets as well as encourage
free flow of information, will introduce a new regulation which will compel all
listed equities on the Ghana Stock Exchange to release quarterly financial
results to replace the half yearly results that exists currently.
This was announced by F.D. Tweneboa, General
Manager of Ghana Stock Exchange, when Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Ltd took
its turn on "the Facts Behind the Figures," a programme designed by
the exchange to enable management of listed companies meet the press, brokers
and institutional investors to explain events that do occur behind the scenes.
The GSE new regulation, when accepted, will go
a long way to improve the release of financial information concerning the
performance of the listed companies.
GRi…/
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Goods vanish from Customs premises
The Ghanaian Times reports that imported goods
worth millions of cedis have vanished from the premises of one of the
inspection agencies of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), leading
to a huge loss to the state.
The importers of the goods had failed to
collect 330 Final Classification and Valuation Report (FCVR) issued for the clearance
of goods, yet the goods disappeared.
Investigations are underway to find out where
the goods are or who cleared them without the relevant FCVR documents.
The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr
Akwasi Osei-Adjei disclosed at the closing ceremony of a two-day advocacy
seminar on clearance and shipment procedures for 41 Importers and Exporters
organised by the Private Enterprise Foundation, in collaboration with CEPS
under a UNDP-Ghana Government Private sector Promotion Programme.
Mr Osei-Adjei noted that the cumbersome
procedures at the various ports of entry had turned the ports into breeding
grounds for corruption and inefficiency.
"This does not only waste precious time of
business people, but also cause embarrassment to the country as it is badly
perceived by foreign investors,” he said.
The Deputy Minister said that in response to
those factors, the government was strengthening the human capacity of CEPS, the
Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS)
and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), under the Gateway Project.
Presidential stands cannot be sold out at any
sports event
The National Sports Councils (NSC) has said
that the Presidential Stand at the Kumasi Sports Stadium is a state enclosure
and therefore, cannot be sold out to the public on any occasion.
The NSC was reacting to a newspaper report that
Asante Kotoko was selling seats of the stand at Kumasi Sports stadium for its
matches.
According to the NSC, presidential seats at the
stadium and their occupation at any given function are the exclusive preserves
of the State.
"The Presidential Stand at the Accra
Sports Stadium too falls under the same category. The National Sports Council
is the sole implementing agency of the state on the issue", Mr Nelson
Ofori, Head of Public Relations at the NSC said in a statement.
The NSC, therefore, warned against patronising
any such ventures, adding that it was not against any club or group of persons
taking steps to market their functions at any state stadium.
But it pointed out that it was vital to respect
set protocol and basic administrative procedures.
GRi…/
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EGLE, GCPP hail President's initiative
The Ghanaian Democrat writes that the EGLE
Party and the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) have hailed President
John Kufuor's invitation to political parties to contribute to a public debate
to determine a formula for funding their activities in order to enhance the
country's democratic process.
The parties, however, appealed to Parliament to
consider revisiting the issue of funding of political parties, which it
rejected when proposals were presented to it for enactment after debates at
several fora throughout the country.
According to the Deputy General Secretary of
the EGLE Party, Alhaji Alhassan Bene, since political parties constitute the
bedrock of Ghana's democratic process, efforts should be made to strengthen
them through funding of their activities.
"The weakness on their fronts or their
demise would seriously undermine the country's efforts to deepen the democratic
culture that she has embarked upon," he said.
Alhaji Bene said the activities of parties have
become seasonal, active only when they are preparing towards presidential and
parliamentary elections and attributed the development to their poor financial
standings.
Mr John Amekah, General Secretary of the GCPP, said
even though they subscribe to the President’s initiative, they are strongly
convinced that holding public fora on the issue will be a waste of time and
resources.
More…/
Asikuma NDC Women map out strategies
The Breman Asikuma Zonal branch of the Women's
wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has held a meeting to reassess
its past activities and map out new strategies to mobilise more women into the
party.
The Central Regional Organiser of the Women's
Wing of the Party, Mrs Grace Afoakwa advised the women to take advantage of the
affirmative action programme initiated by the former First Lady, Nana Konadu
Agyeman-Rawlings to embark on projects to improve their lot.
She also urged them to form cooperatives to
enable them benefit from the various economic incentive packages instituted by
the government to promote their ventures.
Mrs Afoakwa also appealed to beneficiaries of
the Poverty Alleviation Fund to repay their loans in order to sustain the
facility and to enable others to benefit from it.
GRi…/
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Ghana police stranded in Kosovo
Intelligence signals which the Daily Guide says
it monitored indicate that a Ghanaian contingent of Policemen and women sent on
a United Nation (UN) Peace-Keeping mission in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo,
are currently stranded.
The contingent made up of a 31-member Police
Force, was dispatched by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Ernest Owusu Poku, to go and begin UN
civilian-Police duties in the former Yugoslavia Republic in August this year.
The police detachment, led by Superintendent
Thomas Osei, arrived in Kosovo on August 13, 2001 and were checked into a UN
Transit Hotel, according to the papers’ sources.
The Sources said when the Ghanaian Police
contingent set down to work, they were prevented from doing so on the basis
that they were wielding outmoded pistols that were not in tune with UN
standards. It was found out, after investigations that the pistols were 1945
Second World War specifications.
An SOS message was said to have been sent to
the IGP in Ghana to rectify the situation, but he in a faxed reply intimated that
the government was hard up with cash and could therefore not immediately send a
courier with the required items, suggesting rather that each member of the
contingent pay US$100 out of their per diem or allowances to enable the guns to
be sent to them.
The Guide says another 31 pistols and
ammunitions was dispatched to the contingent but to their horror and
consternation, the UN team took to laughter when they saw the pistols,
indicating that the pistols are reminiscent of the 1945 Second World War pistols.
“They were not only disfashionable, but they
were also rusty with wooden butts, long phased out of modern weaponry and
warfare. They were subsequently rejected,” states the Guide.
The woes of the contingent were further
compounded when they were made to lose between 30 to 50 Deutsch Marks (DM) as
payment for their hotel bills at their UN Transit Hotel in Pristina.
The contingent reportedly, live on a daily diet
of hamburgers and water at present, as their meagre resource are quickly
running out. "Our men and women are frustrated", said the paper’s
source.
GRi…/
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Expatriate's assault on chief confirmed
The Dispatch says a medical report from the
Police Hospital has given credence to allegations that Mr John Vouberg, the
Dutch Managing Director of Bonsu Voberg Farms in Somanya, assaulted Nene
Akpatsu Azza, IV, a divisional chief in the Yilo Krobo District of Somanya on
August 16. Mr Vonberg has denied assaulting the chief.
The report, issued by Dr Joe Aboagye an
Assistant Commissioner of Police at the Hospital, indicated that there were
specks of blood in the sputum due to an abrasion in the left buccal cavity,
headache with extensive superficial abrasion on the right shoulder, and
tenderness on the left side of the face. The reported carried also that he was
treated and discharged.
The paper recalls that The Crusading Guide had
in its August 23-29 edition, carried a story about how Mr Vonberg allegedly
slapped and spat in the face of Nene Azza IV. Mr Vonberg is also said to have
torn the chief's ornamental necklace into pieces in his (Vonberg's) office at
Aviation House in Accra.
Police sources, according to the Dispatch, have
revealed that Mr Vonberg, who was arrested, is currently on Police enquiry bail
pending further investigations.
GRi…/
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Christian Council asks government to stop water
privatisation
The Christian Council of Ghana on Friday
appealed to the government to stop privatising water because it will become
inaccessible to the majority of the urban and rural poor, the Public Agenda reports.
The council said in a statement that it
believes alternatives to water privatisation exist and would like the
government to consider a variety of water provision options.
Signed
jointly by the Rt. Rev. Dr Sam Prempeh, Chairman and the Rev. Dr Robert
Aboagye-Mensah, General Secretary, the statement said to privatise water is
like "handing down death sentences to the majority of rural and urban poor
in Ghana".
"This will leave people no choice but to
live on untreated and unhygienic water because they cannot afford to pay
economic rent for such services".
GRi…/
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Fake dollar syndicate storms Accra …Nigerians
behind operation
The Independent says although it is not privy
to strategic moves by security agencies on the clamp down of fake dollar
traffickers in the system, it can hint on authority that one of the syndicates
operates from Awoshie, a suburb of Accra in a house situated at an area called
Orgle.
It says for well over a month now some Forex
Bureax operators have been complaining about the circulation of some fake
dollars in the system.
One Ahmed Baba, a petty trader is the latest
victim to fall prey to the dubious activities of the Nigerian-run syndicate at
Awoshie.
Before the Ahmed encounter with the syndicate,
other victims according to residents in the vicinity had demanded their goods,
which those behind the operation had paid with the fake dollar.
Ahmed was thus warned by those who had been
witnesses to some of the nasty spectacles not to do business at a house tagged
“Igbo House”.
An obstinate Ahmed had a rude shock of his life
when the fears of the other residents were confirmed. Ahmed confirmed to The
Independent that the Nigerians are of Igbo extradition and said he met one of
them who gave his name as Okechukwu who gave him a hundred dollar note to
change because he does not have cedis and take his share.
Ahmed, unsuspecting, went to a Forex Bureaux
nearby in an attempt to change the dollar. “I was indeed shocked when I was
told by the Forex Bureaux attendant that the dollar was fake”, he said adding
that, “I was nearly arrested by other customers who thought I had come to dupe
the poor attendant.”
He said he had to convince the attendant and
the others that it was one Nigerian who gave him the currency.
More…/
No money missing at Nduom’s office
Investigations by the Independent have revealed
that no theft has occurred or has been reported at the Ministry of Economic
Planning and Regional Cooperation.
The Ghanaian Democrat, had in one of its last
week editions reported that an unspecified amount of money in dollar
denomination was missing from Dr Paa Kwesi Nkuom’s Economic Planning and Regional
Cooperation Ministry at the Flag Staff House in Accra.
The Independent says it however established
that there was indeed burglary at the Ghana Poverty Reduction Project / Social
Investment Fund Office located on the premises of the Flagstaff house, also
housing Dr Nduom’s Ministry.
Other institutions like Hon. J.H. Mensah’s
National Development Planning Commission and a Japanese projects offices are
all located at the Flagstaff House, the seat of Ghana’s first President.
The paper recalls that the Minister on his
return from a short vacation from the United States vehemently denied the
alleged of theft and described the story by the NDC mouthpiece as mischievous. He has threatened to sue the Ghanaian Democrat.
GRi…/
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Counterfeit! Fraudsters on the loose!
The Accra Mail recalls that a few months before
last December’s elections some politicians became extremely generous with cash
donations to their targets. It was later discovered that not all the notes were
genuine.
The fake currencies, after the elections
disappeared, but the Mail says it now seems they are creeping back into the
system and so near perfect are the fakes that many would find it impossible to
notice the difference between them and genuine ones.
It says a trader in the Okaishie area of
Accra’s business district grew suspicious when a young man presented ¢60,000 in
¢5,000 denominations in exchange for some quantities of toothpaste she was
selling. Having scrutinised the money, she realised something was wrong and
called her shop attendant for inspection.
The crook took to his heels leaving behind both
the toothpaste and his ‘money’. The woman informed the police and the Accra
Mail.
Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr David
Eklu, of the Public Relations Directorate, when contacted said the notes will
be sent to the Bank of Ghana for certification.
The crooks’ favourite bill is said to be ¢5,000
note, the highest denomination in the monetary system of the country.
GRi…/
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State paper, the Daily Graphic says Ghana is
poised to save millions of dollars as well as earn substantial foreign exchange
from the production of high grade and efficient electricity transformers and
industrial machines.
This follows the local production of these
machines by Bertini Romeo Bergamo (BRB), a local engineering firm, which, for
the past three years, has successfully refurbished burnt electricity
transformers for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and other institutions
in the country.
Mr Romeo Bertini, Managing Director and Chief
Engineer of BRB, made the revelation in a follow-up interview on an earlier
report in the Graphic on the success chalked by the company in the
refurbishment of burnt electricity transformers for the first time in the
nation’s history.
The Graphic says in its front-page story of
July 2, 1998, it broke the news of the BRB’s engineering feat and the timely
assistance it was rendering to the ECG and other institutions dealing with
electricity transformers.
Prior to this development, burnt transformers
of the ECG were shipped at significant cost to Union Electric of Nigeria for
refurbishment, after which they woefully failed to function effectively.
More…/
About ¢350b still untapped-for projects in 3
northern regions
An amount of ¢350 billion allocated to the
three northern regions to promote income-generating activities under the
Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) has not been disbursed due to lack of patronage
from the rural communities.
The project, which was started in 1999 and
which is expected to be phased out in 2004, has so far utilised only ¢5
billion.
Designed by the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture (MOFA) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD), it is being implemented by the district assemblies under the poverty
reduction programme.
Mr Salifu Mahama, Zonal Coordinator of the VIP,
announced this at the monthly meeting of District Chief Executives (DCEs) in
the Upper West Region at Nadowli at the weekend.
He urged the newly-elected DCEs to intensify
education so that many more communities in their areas could apply for the
facility for the provision of dams, agro-processing plants, bullock ploughs as
well as power tillers to promote income generating and farming activities.
More…/
Kufuor says fee increases absorbed to save
hardships on people’
President John Kufuor has said that the
decision of the government to absorb the increases in school fees is to give
Ghanaians what he called a breathing space.
He said although the cost of providing
education keeps rising, the government has realised that any increases in the
fees this year would bring untold hardships to the people.
“As a government which is very sensitive to the
plight of the people, we have had to listen to your concerns and absorb the
increases in fees,” President Kufuor said when he addressed a durbar of chiefs
and people of the Oguaa Traditional Area at the Victoria Park, Cape Coast, on
Saturday to climax this year’s celebration of the “Fetu Afahye.”
GRi…/
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$20,000 found in Agrah’s flowerpot
The Ghanaian Chronicle says after four weeks of
investigations, the State Security agencies are still trying to unravel the
source of $20,000 found in the home of Mr. Worlanyo Agrah, immediate past
General Secretary of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and a star witness in
the trial of convicted former Youth and Sports Minister, Malam Yusuf Isa.
According the Chronicle, security sources said
the amount was found in a flower pot of the recently completed Spintex Road
residence of Agrah early last month by personnel from the Bureau of National
Investigations (BNI).
The officers were on a search of Agrah’s
residence hours after his arrest and subsequent release on bail over the taped
evidence that revealed he had attempted to influence the direction of his
cross-examination by Ambrose Dery, counsel for Malam Isa, during the trial of
the jailed minister.
Almost a month after the discovery of the
dollars in the residence of Agrah, the security agencies, according to National
Security Chief, General Joshua Hamidu, are still investigating the case.
Asked whether the security agencies had not
virtually kept the issue under wraps because of the possible political
implications, General Hamidu answered otherwise and said it was inappropriate
for the security system to go to press with investigation it had not completed.
He said the security agencies will, at the
appropriate time avail the media of the necessary information.
The paper says efforts to speak to the new boss
of the BNI, Mr. Owusu Fordjour, or his deputy at the BNI headquarters on the
issue, Friday afternoon failed, as the paper was informed that they were
engaged.
Sources however say Agrah might be working out
a deal with the security agencies that may be more relevant to national
interest than the case against him.
He will not volunteer a comment on the issue
when reached by the paper saying, “My lawyers will get back to you on it.”
The discovery of the $20,000 has again
resurrected the strange and bizarre case of Malam Isa and the stolen $46,000 as
ruled by the Accra Fast Track High Court presided over by Justice Julius Ansah.
More…/
“NDC can regain power only if…”
The NDC can regain political power only if the
current government of the NPP led by J.A. Kufuor commit the same mistakes the
NDC committed while in power, reports the Chronicle.
Speaking on a wide range of issues recently,
Prof. George Ayittey, a lecturer at the American University in Washington D.C.,
said so far, the New Patriotic Party “is on track,” in spite of the hiccups of
massive rot that had accumulated within the last twenty years.
He cited corruption, arrogance of power, lack
of vision, and the tendency of political office holders to lose touch with the
masses as some of the pitfalls that the NPP must do well to avoid.
He noted that the fact that the NPP has been
able to halt the astronomical slide of the cedi whether “artificial or not” is
an indicator of the seriousness and commitment of the government to its sacred
pledge to the people of Ghana to turn around the economy and improve the lives
of Ghanaians.
According to Prof. Ayittey, the only constraint
facing the Kufuor government is that, as of now, nobody really knows the extent
of the rot.
GRi…/
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Presidential Jet, leased at $15million to go
for $9million
It is now a done deal and very soon the
Gulfstream III aircraft acquired by the previous regime and named Presidential
jet will soon be flying to a sellers’ market at Savannah, Georgia, writes The
Ghanaian Voice.
The jet, which the NPP government says its
acquisition was fraught with criminality, may be sold at a dawn price of $9
million.
President Kufuor has refused to use the jet and
says he will only do so if the real ownership of the plane was established.
President Kufuor saves KMA 800m cedis... Warns
Kumasi mayor
President John Kufuor has, according to the
Ghanaian Voice, warned the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) boss Kofi Jumah
from demolishing his Nhyiaso residence to rebuild it with a whooping ¢800,000
million.
The paper says it’s sources close to KMA
revealed that following the recent near electrocution of the Kumasi mayor at
his official residence, Jumah on alleged suspicion of foul-play, decided to
demolish the premises and rebuild it at the ¢800 million cost from the coffers
of KMA.
The source indicated that contrary to the
Assembly’s bye-laws that allow every decision to be discussed and approved
before its implementation, the KMA boss allegedly unilaterally decided to carry
out the demolition and rebuild the structure.
It was alleged that when some bulldozers were
made to get set to start the operation, an insider phoned President Kufuor who upon
enquires asked Gyimah to confirm what he had decided to do.
President Kufuor, it was said, asked him to
stop his action since it was virtually impossible to put up a structure at that
cost, considering the nation’s current coffers.
GRi…/
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