The Evening News says its search has revealed that the Ministry of Finance under very inexplicable circumstances allowed the Bank of Ghana to guarantee two loan facilities of 7.8 million Pounds Sterling to Coco Palm Limited and 19.4 million US dollars to La Palm Beach Limited, all together totaling about ¢213.8 billion. The two companies are in the hospitality industry.

Ironically, the two companies are supposedly privately owned with the state having no shares or other financial interest in them. Again, the monies were paid out by the Ghana Commercial Bank, one of the few state banks that have been used for such transactions often, leading to their collapse from the huge outlays.

The paper says, having waited for the political storm to settle, the bank, through its solicitors, Lynes Quarshie-Idun and Company has written, in a no compromising tone to the Minister of Finance, Yaw Osafo-Maafo demanding answers to questions that should eventually, lead to the recovery of the loans.

The August 24 letter read in part, "we have noted, with a great deal of surprise, that although both transactions appear to be private commercial loans from Ghana Commercial Bank, Ltd. their repayment was guaranteed by the Central Bank, based on an indemnity given by your Ministry".

On August 2, 2001, the solicitors wrote to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, seeking particulars on the nature of the indemnity given to the Central Bank upon which they in turn guaranteed the repayment of the loans.

Records verified so far, do not indicate any parliamentary approval of the guarantee for such loans by the Central Bank, submits the paper.

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Payment for “dubious” contracts suspended

The Bolgatanga District Assembly has suspended the payment of contractors who were awarded contracts totaling over ¢300 million under "dubious circumstances", writes the Evening News.

The Assembly is currently reviewing such contracts to ascertain their true status as far as the development needs of the beneficiaries of such projects are concerned. Rockson Ayine Bukari, the District Chief Executive, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen at Bolgatanga at the weekend.

The contracts awarded at a time when funds were not available in the coffers of the District Assembly, he said, adding "this run contrary to the regulations and can therefore, be suspected to be tainted with malfeasance".

GRi…/

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The Chronicle

VANEF STC hit by theft, embezzlement

VANEF STC, one of the state-owned corporations whose divestiture is still subject to media investigations, is currently plagued with cases of theft and embezzlement at its sub-stations.

Fuel, spare parts, lubricants and money are diverted and stolen on a daily basis thus compelling management to organise a media encounter last Friday where they made known their frustrations.

Currently, 10 staffs of the company including two students on attachment are on interdiction for allegedly embezzling fund and stealing company property. This year alone, an amount of ¢30.4 million has been detected stolen at the Sunyani and Cape Coast stations of the troubled company whose services keep improving on paper but customers continually complain of below the average services.

Forty-four year old Loveson Kwasi Ahene, who was the terminal supervisor at the Sunyani station, is assisting the Kumasi police in their investigations into allegations of embezzlement involving ¢14.9 million. According to Sampson Gyamera, Traffic and Operations Manager of VANEF, the suspect has since refunded the amount in full, even though he will soon be arraigned before court.

The theft, according Gyamera, was detected after an audit of the accounts of the Sunyani station in May this year. He added that the amount stolen was systematically siphoned from ticket sales, baggage tag sales and parcel revenue.

GRi…/

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The Crusading Guide

Jerry blasts Blay and Baako!

Ghana's immediate past President, Flt Lt J.J. Rawlings stunned The Crusading Guide when he, in a gentle, receptive and cordial mood, registered his disapproval of what he termed "the garbage published by Kweku Baako Jnr., editor of the paper and Freddie Blay, Publisher of the Daily Guide and First Deputy Speaker of Parliament".

Ex-President Rawlings, according to The Crusading Guide, had been reached on telephone for an interview at about 3.30 pm before the paper went to bed. "I am sorry I can't talk to you, Mr Anas, I do not have any problem with you in person but your paper publishes garbage. I have no respect for your paper", Rawlings said in a rather cool and collected manner after the paper’s reporter had introduced himself and his paper.

"Who is your editor"? ex-President Rawlings reportedly quizzed. When he was told that Kweku Baako Jnr. edits the paper, he retorted that, "Baako and Blay publish filth", adding that he would therefore not want to grant any of those papers an interview.

"I am sorry I can't talk to you. If you were working for another paper I would have done so but your paper and Blay's paper (The Daily Guide) publish filth, no Mr Anas. I respect you but I can't do that", he said in a rather friendly fashion.

Pressed further to rescind his position, Rawlings remained adamant and advised that the reporter should talk to Mr Victor Smith, formerly of the officer of the 31^st December Women’s Movement. .

The paper says the ex-president hanged up after he had in a fatherly tone said "goodbye Anas, God bless.

The Crusading Guide had called the ex-President for his reaction to the press confab by Tsatsu Tsikata, ex-Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC), held last Thursday, to deny allegations leveled against him (Tsatsu) and his Management of the GNPC over the last 15 years or so, by the Energy Minister, Kan Dapaah.

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Amandi still in hot waters!

The Crusading Guide says contrary to reports in a section of the media that “tax dodger, B.K Amandi's” case has been withdrawn from the court, Dubik Yakubu Mahama of Internal Revenue Service (IRS), has categorically stated that he (Amandi) has been given up to 20^th September to pay over 700 million or face the court.

Lawyer Dubik Yakubu Mahama, Assistant Commissioner in charge of Tax Compliance at the IRS, explained on an Accra radio last Friday, that his outfit had given Amandi a fresh demand notice to pay on or before the 9^th of August 2001, adding that they (IRS) pre-empted "the whole thing by issuing him with criminal summons on the 8^th of August instead of 9^th of August".

The Assistant Commissioner disclosed that the IRS took that decision "because when Amandi was issued with a final demand notice, he rather chose to go to the Commission For Human Rights And Administration Justice (CHRAJ), where one Mr Oppong on the 2^nd of August 2001 decided to write to IRS that we should not collect the tax".

Lawyer Dubik elaborated that his outfit replied to (CHRAJ) telling it that it had no jurisdiction to dabble in tax matters. "So the Commissioner (of CHRAJ) wrote back to inform him (Amandi) that he had no jurisdiction over the case," the Lawyer noted.

GRi…/

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The Ghanaian Times

‘Windowless classrooms are dangerous’

Professor Kofi Awusabo-Asare of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Cape Coast, has expressed concern about the effect of ‘windowless classrooms’ on children.

He told the first quadrennial delegates conference of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) at Koforidua that “we are compromising the eyesight of our children”.

Prof. Awusobo-Asare said that the concept of education was to provide skills but noted that there were new skills of education, which every teacher must know and urged GNAT to be proactive and to be at the forefront of education research and publication to uncover what was hidden in education, The Ghanaian Times reports.

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Addo, Kufuor, Nettey to play on Sunday

To Hearts of Oak fans, the greatest news this week is the disclosure that the deadly goal scoring duo of the club, Ishmael Addo and Osei-Kufuor are to feature for the club against Kotoko in their September 16 Star Premier League encounter.

In addition, Jacob Nettey, who was in Israel a few weeks ago, will be available to be possibly joined at the defence by Stephen Tetteh, also expected back in the country before weekend, after some trials abroad, Coach Jones Attuquayefio, technical head of Hearts disclosed to the ‘Times Sports’ last Friday after a training session.

“It is likely they will be featuring on Sunday, it all depends on how they fare and blend with the rest of the team during the build up to the game”, he said.

According to him, everybody is putting his shoulders to the wheel to ensure victory on Sunday. This he believes will bring out the very best from the playing body as they try to outdo each other for positions in the squad.

Coach Attuquayefio however cautioned all Phobian fans to exercise the greatest restraint in during Sunday’s game involving the two most glamorous clubs in the country.

GRi…/

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Ghana Palaver

NPP implementing NDC manifesto

The Ghana Palaver says the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is copiously implementing policies contained in the Manifesto of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), without giving any credit to the originators of the ideas.

A typical example, the paper says, is the much publicised Forest Plantation Development Programme, which it says, President J.A. Kufuor launched amidst fanfare last Thursday at Ayigbe, a farming community in the Wenchi District of the Brong Ahafo Region.

According to the story, while the NDC in its manifesto (page 29) devoted a whole section on forestry, the NPP said nothing about it in its own document. “One of the measures, the third in the stated order, was for the NDC Administration to launch a Forest Plantation Development Fund to stimulate private investment in commercial forestry”, writes the paper, which adds that President Kufuor in launching the Forest Plantation Development Programme last week, did not give the NDC credit.

The Minister of Health, Dr Richard Anane, is also reported to have a few days earlier opened a course for the local training of physiotherapists, but had also failed to acknowledged picking the idea from the NDC, though it was the only party that had in its manifesto indicated that it will embark on local training of health specialists.

The Palaver, listing a number of other events, among them the homecoming summit, says although top NDC circles do acknowledge the good judgement of the NPP to continue the NDC policies and activities in the spirit of continuity, the ruling party would have been fair in acknowledging their origins.

GRi…/

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The Statesman

¢9bn for de-silting gutters in Accra

The Ministry of Works and Housing is looking into the disbursement of some ¢9 billion, by the NDC government, meant for de-silting drains in Accra, reports The Statesman.

The money, which cannot be accounted for, is said to be far in excess of the ¢2 billion allocated for the project in the ministry's budget for the year and was said to have been disbursed, even though the contractors have not been paid.

Now the contractors who actually did the job are up in arms and demanding to be paid, the Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, Theresa Amerley Tagoe, told The Statesman at Tema at the weekend, and said the Ministry is being flocked by contractors making various demands and it is quite clear that a huge sum of money has been misappropriated.

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Catechist dies from bat bite

Members of the Suhum branch of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana have abandoned their chapel for fear of "seeing the ghost" of their late Catechist, who died after being bitten by a bat during a church service last month.

The late Catechist, Samuel K. Agbemeva, was an accountant at the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) at Suhum, and reports say the bat bit him twice in the mouth.

A member of the church told the Statesman in Suhum that the catechist managed to kill the bat but he fell sick the next morning and was admitted to the Suhum Government Hospital but was later transferred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital where he died on admission.

"The mysterious death of our catechist has so much mystified the entire membership of the church that we're scared to congregate and worship together in the same chapel, the bewildered member of the church added. The late catechist has since been buried at his hometown, Keta, in the Volta Region.

GRi…/

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The Daily Guide

Kumasi Airport to resume operation

The Kumasi Airport is to resume commercial flight operations after activities at the Airport grounded to a halt about a year ago, according to The Daily Guide.

Presently, only military aircrafts carrying government officials and other personalities use the Airport. The Manageress of the Airport, Madam Rose Vera Kumi disclosed that a private airline, which will soon begin domestic flight operations in the country, will use the Kumasi Airport.

The runway is expected to be expanded to accommodate big aircraft but there are no immediate plans to upgrade the Airport to International Standards.

GRi…/

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The Independent

Aggudey's wife goes mad

The Independent carries that the wife of George Aggudey, a failed contestant for the Convention People’s Party's (CPP) presidential slot for the 2000 elections, last Friday, in an unusual display of bestial excellence, went berserk and inflicted multiple stab wounds on one Gifford K. Ansong, a second year student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Mrs Aggudey is said to have, in a 10-minute blitz, metamorphosed into a blood-drawing creature and used a stone and a fluorescent tube to administer multiple stab wounds to the young man who had gone to her residence to complain about the behaviour of one of the employees of her husband. Aggudey is the Managing Director of Gocrest Securities Ltd, a security agency.

At the end of the bestial orgy, the victim was drenched in so much blood that he had to be rushed to the Nima Police Station and subsequently, the Police Hospital for treatment.

Investigations by the paper revealed that around 11:30 pm on Friday, Ansong and some friends were walking by the road at Kokomlemle, a suburb of Accra, when a vehicle belonging to Gocrest Securities that was negotiating a bend nearly drove into them, compelling them to jump for safety.

When Ansong enquired from the driver why he was driving so dangerously, the driver retorted that, "my vehicle is covered with insurance that can pay for your death". This did not obviously go down well with Ansong as he drew closer to the driver to further explain what he meant by that.

Ansong, compelled by the driver’s behaviour had gone to the woman to complain where he was assaulted. The case is being handled by the Kotobabi Police.

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MP exposes ¢197bn deal at Water Company

The Ghana Water Company (GWC) as at the end of last year was indebted to a whopping tune of over ¢197 billion, according to The Independent.

The company, which is in what can be described as a "fast track privatisation lane," owes much of its indebtedness to the general public who fail to pay water tariffs. It is now estimated that only 25 per cent of water produced throughout the country is paid for.

Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu who is the Chairman of the Water Sector Restructuring Project made this revelation during a talkshow programme on Kumasi's Mercury Radio.

According to the MP inefficiency and ineffectiveness could also accounted for some of the problems leading to the huge financial mess of the cash strapped water company. Hon. Mensah Bonsu intimated that this, among other pressing issues, is compelling the ruling NPP to move in fast to privatise the company. Some political parties have however condemned this.

GRi…/

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Daily Graphic

Electoral body’s decision not backed by Constitutional Instrument

The Supreme Court has explained that it compelled the Electoral Commission (EC) to allow voters with thumbprint identity cards in the last general elections to vote because the EC’s decision to the contrary, was not backed by a Constitutional Instrument (CI), reports the Daily Graphic.

Giving reasons for its order on the 2000 presidential and parliamentary elections, it said the procedure of the conduct of any election in the country is enshrined in the Constitutional Instrument (C.I. 15), adding that any other regulations that sought to give directives to the conduct of the elections should fall under the CI.

The five-member court, presided over by Mrs Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo, observed that the people’s desire to adopt the present form of government based on universal adult suffrage requires the court to ensure that nothing be allowed to detract from a citizen’s voting right granted under constitutional democracy.

Other members of the panel were Justice A.K.B. Ampiah, Justice F.Y. Kpegah, Justice George Lamptey. In a unanimous decision on December 4, 2000, the court ruled that both photo and thumbprint identity cards must be accepted from voters in the conduct of the Parliamentary and Presidential elections.

It also ordered the Electoral Commission to restrict the functions of the polling agents, who until then had been instructed to accept holders of photo ID cards and critically scrutinise the identity of holders of thumbprint cards before allowing them to vote as enshrined in Section 19 of the Constitutional Instrument (CI 15).

A resident of Accra, Philip Kwaku Apaloo, filed a writ at the court to seek relief as to whether or not a photo ID card should be the only acceptable procedure for voting in the December 7 elections. Apaloo alleged that the act of the EC in abrogating the thumbprint ID cards was contrary to the provisions of the 1992 Constitutions.

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Cop floors gang-in attempt to snatch his rifle

The extraordinary courage displayed by Constable Kennedy Kudiabor of the Police Protection Unit has led to the arrest of a suspected armed robber who attempted to snatch his weapon from him.

The armed robber, in the company of a colleague, now at large, knocked down Constable Kudiabor of the Adabraka Police Station, Accra as he was walking to his duty post.

The two robbers, who were riding an unregistered Yamaha Motor-Bike, knocked him down at a spot near the former offices of the Pioneer Tobacco Company (PTC) at the Kwame Nrumah Circle, and attempted to take his rifle from him.

In the ensuing scuffle, he stood up to the robbers, defying the injuries he sustained and succeeded in knocking out one of them identified as Mussa, before he had support from two of his (police) colleagues who came to his rescue. The other suspect managed to bolt.

More…/

Stop defacing passports- Aliu adds his voice

The Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, has added his voice to the call on Western diplomatic missions in Accra to stop defacing the passports of Ghanaians whose visa applications are rejected.

He said it costs the government colossal amounts of money to print passports for its citizens, adding, when the passports of visa applicants are defaced by the embassies, the owners were likely to discard them and apply for new ones.

Alhaji Mahama raised this concern when the visiting British Permanent Under Secretary of State, Sir john Kerr, called on him at his office at the State House in Accra on Monday.

He said in this era of information technology, it should not be difficult for the embassies to record the identity of visa applicants whose applications have been rejected, without defacing their passports.

GRi…/

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Graphic Sports

Nana Butler calls for a united Oguaa

A former Chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Nana Sam Brew-Butler, has advocated the amalgamation of Cape Coast Dwarfs and Cape Coast Venomous Vipers to enhance the development of football in Cape Coast, reports the Graphic Sports.

Presenting a paper to stakeholders and other interested parties in football at the Central Regional capital, the ex-FA boss urged the indigenous people to join forces to merge the two clubs to ensure survival, high level of success and heighten their chances of victory in the premier league.

Nana Brew-Butler proposed the setting up of the new club limited by guarantee, which could either bear the name Excelsior FC or Cape Coast United FC.

He suggested that the new club, should among other things, be handled by a seven-member board of directors; and should have a General Manager with a Secretariat fully staffed to handle the club’s affairs; should constitute 50 main shareholders each contributing a minimum of 20 million cedis.

The club should also involve the support of all local, and traditional councils, schools, religious groups and business communities, as well as devise a suitable means that will create an atmosphere of total support for the club by all sections of the community.

Further moves proposed by Nana Butler, according to the paper, were the formation of the Under-12 and Under-17 teams to maintain a constant development of youth players; build a local academicals squad with players drawn from the numerous educational institutions and setting up a soccer museum in the Castle to build a strong soccer team in Oguaa.

GRi…/

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Hearts News

Hearts News share $100,000 to players

The board of directors of Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club Limited has released an amount of $100,000 to players and technical bench in partial fulfilment of the Board’s decision to pay to the players and technical bench a percentage of any amount it will receive from FIFA as compensation for the postponement of the World clubs championship.

The club received an amount of $750,000 from FIFA and the playing body is therefore entitled to $166,667.00 based on a 20 per cent share agreement reached with the players. Management has promised to settle the remaining $66,667.00 within six weeks to the players.

GRi…/

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Asante Kotoko Express

Kotoko to lodge protest

Kumasi Asante Kotoko says it plans to lodge a protest with the Ghana Football Association over the manner Referee Kwame Ghartey from Cape Coast abruptly ended the 18^th week league match involving Kotoko and local side Bofoakwa Tano at the Sunyani Coronation Park, reports the Asante Kotoko Express.

Kotoko, the paper says, believes the right thing to have been done was for the fourth referee to have taken to the lines for the 1^st Assistant Referee to handle the game if Referee Ghartey thought he was in no position to continue the game.

The paper reports the Accra representative of the club, Kwame Amoa-Bosompem, as having said after Sunday’s games that the statutes stipulate that in the failure of a referee to continue officiating a game the afore-mentioned procedure must be followed.

Even if the match officials felt that their lives were threatened, it would have been proper for them to inform the two teams, which they failed to do, he said.

“Our players stayed on the pitch till the stipulated 90 minutes had elapsed because we suspected something fishy when the referees left without any announcement”, he said.

The Express says it has meanwhile learnt that a decision on the outcome of the match will be made by the GFA in consultation with the Professional League Board.

GRi…/

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