The Crusading Guide says unconfirmed but credible information available to it indicates that in 1997 or 1998, Dr George Yankey, the then Director of Private Sector and Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance, was instrumental in persuading Kwame Peprah, ex-Minister of Finance, to sign a sovereign guarantee for a loan of $24 million from Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) for the construction of La Palm Hotel. The immediate beneficiary of that gesture was Daniel Taman, Chairman of Coco Palm Limited.

The former Minister reportedly, effected that act while he was attending a Commonwealth Ministers' Conference in Bermuda. That guarantee, according to a source at the Ministry of Finance, was neither issued with Cabinet nor Parliamentary approval.

A similar guarantee had also been given to the same party (Taman) for US$12 million for the construction of the Coco Beach apartments.

The source disclosed that to date, Taman has not repaid a dollar to GCB, "Meanwhile, George Yankey is said to be a proud owner of one of those Coco Beach apartments", alleged the source.

A letter from the Ghana Commercial bank headed "Recovery of Debt Owed by Coco Palm Limited" on July 27, 2001 and addressed to one E.O. Armah had instructed the solicitors (of the Bank) - Messrs Lynes - Quarshie-Idun & Co. to commence legal action for recovery of the debt owed to it (Bank).

The letter intimated also that GCB held keys to three of Coco Palm's houses for sale. The bank guarantee agreement signed for and on behalf of the Bank of Ghana (BOG) by Dr. G.K. Agama, the former Governor of (BOG) had stated, "By a Loan Agreement dated 18^th June, 1996 between Ghana Commercial Bank Limited ('the Lender') and Coco Palm Hotels Limited/La Palm Hotel Limited ('the Borrower'), the Lender has agreed to grant a loan of £7,000,000 to the Borrower to be repaid by equal half yearly instalments within a period of three years; It is a condition that the Borrower shall secure the repayment of the said loan with a bank of Ghana Guarantee in the sums equivalent to principal and

interest".

More…/

Appiah-Ampofo wants car transferred to him!

Ex-Commissioner of Insurance, Samuel Appiah-Ampofo, has made a passionate appeal to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Insurance Commission (NIC) to hand over to him the vehicle he was using while in office, at a very nominal price.

Appiah-Ampofo's appointment as Commissioner of Insurance was terminated by the Government with effect from July 18, 2001 - apparently as a result of a series of publications on alleged malfeasance perpetrated by him.

In his letter written on July 31, 2001, the ex-Commissioner expressed the view that the NIC had still not grown to the position where it provides substantial benefits on the termination of a staff member's employment. "However, the one entitlement which is applicable today relates to the right of certain senior staff to purchase motor cars which were allocated to them", he said.

According to him, regarding an Insurance Commissioner, the condition of service stipulates that on the termination of his or her employment the price at which he or she is to purchase his or her allocated vehicle is to be determined by the Board. "The Board therefore has absolute discretion to transfer the car to me at a very nominal value", he maintained.

Appiah-Ampofo said in the light of all his contributions to the development of the National Insurance Commission, the insurance sector of Ghana and the enhancement of the country's image abroad, the Board would be well justified in making such a decision.

GRi…/

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The Ghanaian Times

Another cop goes berserk

State daily, The Ghanaian Times reports that barely a week after a policeman ran amok, shooting dead two people and wounding about six other at Ayinase in the Western Region, another policeman at Konongo in Ashanti ran amok on Wednesday and wounded one person.

Constable Gabriel Tetteh, 26, of the Konongo Police Station, was overpowered and place in custody. His victim, Yaw Frimpong, 25, sustained gunshot wounds on his back and was treated and discharged at the Konongo Hospital.

Mr S.Y. Amponsah, Konongo District Police commander said that Constable Tetteh who was assigned guard duties at the Konongo branch of the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) from 6am to 2pm daily, reported for duty at 6 am on Wednesday.

At exactly 1.10 pm, the Cop, armed with an AK 47 rifle, with 20 rounds of ammunition, suddenly started firing indiscriminately sending people, including the bank staff and customers running for dear life.

Frimpong, who was passing by, was hit by a stray bullet on the scapula and was rushed to the Konongo Hospital for treatment.

Constable Tetteh was later overpowered by a team of policemen, led by DSP Amponsah who seized his rifle with 15 rounds of ammunition left and placed him in cells.

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Ministry to probe children’s NGOs

The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs and the Department of Social Welfare are investigating children related Non-Government Organizations (NGOS) to ensure that they are not engaged in activities other than what they were established for.

Some are said to import goods in the name of needy children, which they later sell on the open market. Others manage to solicit for funds from governments and donor agencies but fail to use them to support children.

Mrs Gladys Asmah, the sector Minister, said in Accra on Wednesday in reaction to some statements made at a Pre-Summit briefing on the 27^th Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Children to be held from September 19 to 21, in New York, USA.

It was alleged by some participants during discussions at the briefing, that some NGOs were exploiting children to enrich themselves.

Mrs Asmah expressed regret at the situation and said that the Ministry had received reports on some NGOs which only used children as a cover to make money, adding that it was consequently conducting investigations into the allegations.

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District development banks in the offing

The Ministry of Local Government is to set up District development banks for each of the 110 districts in the country, reports the Ghanaian Times.

This is expected to ensure that all districts would have their share of the Common Fund lodged in these banks.

Kwadwo Baah -Wiredu, the sector Minister who dropped this hint in Accra to throw light on the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) said that two years hence, the DACF would be 10 years and there was the need for a District Development Bank in each district and must be capitalized through the DACF by a 10 year period.

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B.K. Mends is dead

Mr B.K. Mends, a prominent national athlete in the 1960s is dead.

The late Mends who died on August 7, 2001 at Saltpond after a protracted illness was the first Ghanaian to run hundred yards under 10 seconds (9.6 seconds) during the first Osagyefo inter-regional competition at the Accra Sports Stadium in 1961.

In 1962 he won a gold medal with his teammates in the 4x400 relay race in the 8^th Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica in a record time of 39.6 seconds.

He was the former Western Regional chairman of the Match Commissioners Association and until his retirement from the Ghana Police Service as Superintendent, was a member of the Western Regional Football Association.

The late Mends who was survived by two wives and nine children would be buried on September 29 at Saltpond.

GRi…/

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The Accra Mail

Ghana Commercial Bank contributes 10b cedis for development

The Accra Mail carries that the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), the country's biggest commercial bank has so far contributed 10.969 billion cedis, towards the National Reconstruction Levy.

The levy was introduced in this year's budget to enable the government take a percentage of banks' profit for national development. Many banks initially sent warnings signals that the tax would reduce their net profits and weaken their competitiveness.

The GCB said this was made possible by the its impressive results for 2000 and the first two quarters of this year.

Shares of GCB increased from 692 cedis in June 2000 to 798 cedis as at June 30,2001. The 15 percent increase in the price of GCB's shares was largely due to huge profit before tax of 109.7 billion cedis for the half year ending, June 30,2000.

GRi…/

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Africa Sports

Osei Kuffuor’s contract on hold

Sports bi-weekly, Africa Sports writes that once again, Emmanuel Osei Kuffuor’s dream of earning the megabucks that he has long argued his talent deserves could fizzle out due to threats by Al-Ain club of the United Arab Emirates to pull out of the well publicised $500,000 deal.

The paper says it has learnt that the reigning Ghanaian footballer of the year has developed cold feet over the Al-Ain move and did not travel to the Emirates as scheduled last week for no specific reason.

The club is said to be furious and are threatening to call off the deal that would make Kuffuor $600,000 richer in the next three years. Should the Arab club carry out its threat, it would be the second time in one-year that Kuffuor’s dream of playing professional football outside the shores of Ghana has fallen through at the last minute.

He seemed very certain of going to Denmark but was stopped by Hearts who insisted they needed him for what turned out to be a successful Africa Cup Champions League campaign last season.

This time, Hearts officials say even they, do not know why Kuffuor is still in town.

While admitting that they are unhappy with some of the terms in the contract and the fact that Kuffuor put his signature to it when they had not scrutinised the documents, a source, within the Hearts management said they will do nothing to block Kuffuor’s move fully aware about how desperate he wants to play outside.

The paper however claims it learnt earlier on from Hearts insiders close to the deal that the club is unhappy with the contract terms and wanted the transaction off.

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Hearts, Kotoko coaches: Whose tactics reign supreme on Sunday?

Football connoisseurs strongly believe a game is won or lost from the bench and, how true is the assertion, asks The Africa Sports, which cites the modest gains in the current league by Kumasi Asante Kotoko as due to the phenomenal influence of German coach Ernst Middendorp.

The Porcupines have benefited from the German’s disciplinary measures to become one of the most disciplined teams in the country and that aside his tactical discipline has transformed Kotoko into a truly winsome side.

Today, players like Joe Hendricks, Dan Acquah, Aziz Ansah, Godfried Yeboah, Godwin Ablordey, Kwaku Duah, Joe Okyere and Stephen Oduro, to name a few, are better than the pre-Middendorp era.

From the Hearts of Oak angle, it is not accidental that Jones Attuquayefio today reigns as the best African coach, having successfully led Hearts to translate their ‘Continental Club Masters’ dream into reality.

The heart of Hearts, Ishmael Addo, is too quick to refer to Attuquayefio as the man largely responsible for his success story. The massive transformation of players like Amankwah Mireku and Emmanuel Osei Kuffuor also bear eloquent testimony to the influence of Jones.

The question then pops up: “Which of these two coaches tilts the scales on Sunday in the titanic clash at the Kumasi Sports Stadium?”

Besides the starting line up, it would be interesting to see how the technical bosses analyse the game from the bench.

In-fact Middendorp was at the Accra Stadium on Wednesday to watch Hearts’ technical stuff demolishing Obuasi Goldfields F/C 3-0.

But Jones also says he has viewed enough clips on Asante Kotoko for the time that Middendorp was at post. Who emerges then as the master tactician? Sunday will provide the answer.

GRi…/

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The Ghanaian Democrat

Presidential jet goes for $8.5m

The Ghanaian Democrat says secret negotiations for the sale of the presidential jet, Gulf Stream III, by the NPP government, as it had reported in its August 2 – 5, 2001 headlined: ‘New 80-seater Jet for Kufuor’ is now a ‘done deal' with the aircraft to go for $8.5 million.

Documents in circulation, according to the paper, point to an agreement reached for the disposal of the Aircraft between HSBC Bank, the Ministry of Finance and Gallen Limited and copied to Nana Akufo Addo, the Attorney General.

The understanding reached followed the lessee’s intention thus: “The lessee states that it has no further use for the aircraft and wishes the Lease to be terminated. The Lessee further requests that the owner appoint HSBC Investment Bank as its sales agent to effect the sale of the aircraft as contemplated in this agreement.”

The NDC mouthpiece carries that as part of the deal, the Government of Ghana is to deliver the Aircraft to Gulfstream’s facility in Savannah, Georgia and pilots from the United States have been chosen to fly it for the purposes of demonstration flights for potential buyers.

Under the sale agency agreement, if the jet is sold, the proceeds from the sale are to be lodged in the owner’s (Gallen Limited) account with the HSBC Investment Bank.

The owner, consequently, directed the Bank to apply proceeds so paid in or towards payment to the persons who shall have incurred the relevant expenses, of all amounts constituting proper deductions for the purposes of calculating net sales proceeds.

It further instructs that net sales proceeds be disbursed through a fourfold arrangement namely, towards payment of a management fee of $75,000 to HSBC Investment Bank for the sale of the Aircraft and; in or towards discharge of the secured obligations. Also, in or towards settlement of any amounts owing by the lessee under the lessee documents and; fourthly, any surplus shall be paid to the deposit account of the lessee held with the bank.

The paper recalls that the former government of the NDC leased the G-3 aircraft with the option of future purchase if need be.

The bank and the owner entered into a loan agreement on April 22, 1999 for the financing of a Gulfstream Model GIII aircraft with manufacturer’s serial number 493.

This lease agreement however, caused a lot of controversy in Ghana’s Parliament as the then minority group, the NPP, opposed the deal and even imputed shady deals to the acquisition of the aircraft.

The NPP, now in government are secretly negotiating the disposal of the G-3, seeing nothing wrong with holding back vital information to the public, alleges the Democrat.

GRi…/

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The Daily Graphic

Gov’t taking a look at proposals on duty allowance

The Ghanaian Cabinet is considering proposals for the replacement of the Additional Duty Hour Allowance (ADHA) offered to medical professionals with the view of coming up with more appropriate remunerations, reports the Daily Graphic.

This follows the realisation that the ADHA is not sustainable and would not cater for the future needs of medical professionals.

The proposals were submitted by the Ghana Medical Association and other medical professional bodies to cabinet, to replace the ADHA with a more sustainable package, which would take care of their future, especially during retirement.

The Minister of Health, Dr Richard Anane, said in Kumasi during his two-day tour of health institutions in the Ashanti Region that "All health professionals have agreed that the ADHA is not the answer to their problems and we should find a way of replacing it to make life more meaningful for them, especially when they go on retirement."

This year alone, the ministry has committed about ¢104 billion as additional duty hour allowances to health professionals as against ¢7 billion when the scheme was introduced a few years ago. "It has been noticed that this could not be sustained and if care is not taken, it would create problems for both (the) government and the medical professionals in future," he said.

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Student Union appeal to Cape Vars authorities

The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has appealed to the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to forgive all students involved in last March's demonstrations against the new grading system because it will help sustain the relative peace on the campus.

In a communiqué read to the press by the newly-elected president of the union, Edward Bawa, in Accra on Wednesday, it also urged the university authorities to create a platform for further dialogue on the issue.

The communique was part of resolutions passed at the recent congress of NUGS at Cape Coast. For the first time in the history of NUGS, the president was elected from the University of Development Studies (UDS) in the Northern Region, other than the three older universities- Cape Coast, Legon and Science and Technology

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Farmer butchers wife

A thirty-year-old farmer, Kakai Bawa, has butchered his wife whose name was only given as Ataa at Boama near Boankra in the Ejisu Juaben District.

A source said on Monday, around 4 pm local time, Atta who was preparing supper in the house had a message that the husband needed her to carry a snake he had killed in the farm to his house.

It said, Ataa who was then in the house in the company of her mother left for the farm, but minutes later, the mother heard her screaming, "mother save me, he is killing me".

The source said the victim's mother rushed to the scene only to find her daughter lying in the pool of blood with multiple cutlass wounds on her body.

According to a police source while on their way to the farm, the suspect allegedly butchered his wife and then absconded.

It said Ataa and Bawa have been married for five years with three kids but continued to quarrel almost everyday. Dshe is said to have had a miscarriage recently due to severe beatings she received from her husband.

GRi…/

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Evening News

About ¢5.7 billion missing – Baah-Wiredu

A total of ¢5.7 billion released by the previous government on the heels of the 2000 elections to the District Assemblies for rural electrification project has not been accounted for, writes The Evening News.

The situation on the ground at the various districts interestingly shows that the objective for which the monies were disbursed has not been realised.

These were unfolded by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, at a news conference in Accra to explain pertinent issues in relation to the District Assemblies Common fund (DACF) and steps to plug the loopholes in its disbursement.

The Minister, who said the amount was transferred directly to the former District Chief Executives in contrast to the guidelines, which allows only three per cent of the fund to be used to finance rural electrification, gave the breakdown as follows: ¢309 million for November 2, 2000, ¢968 million for November 9, 2000, ¢4.2 billion for November 20, 2000 and ¢221 million disbursed in November 30, 2000.

"It should be noted that the 2000 elections were slated for December 8, 2000. Why is it that, less than a month to election day, billions of cedis were being transferred to District Chief Executives?" he queried.

More…/

Americans look for missing relatives

Millions of Americans jammed telephone line across the United States to check on friends and relatives on Tuesday, after devastating aircraft attacks in New York, Washington and Pittsburgh, but despite the traffic, the U.S. telephone networks continued to operate.

With phone lines inundated, scores of Americans turned to the Internet to inform friends and relatives by e-mail that they were safe. The phone companies pleaded with callers to avoid making calls so that emergency calls could get through.

"We're experiencing double call volume of a normal busy day, which is generating network congestion. The network is fine. There's just too many calls," said Dave Johnson, a spokesman for AT&T Corp. the nation's biggest long-distance carrier.

Earlier on Tuesday, two commercial jetliners crashed into New York's World Trade Center after hijackings, causing the collapse of the landmark twin towers.

Another hijacked commercial airliner crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, and a fourth crashed outside Pittsburgh.

There was no immediate death toll, but the loss of life was expected to have been catastrophic. In Manhattan, the streets were clogged with pedestrians making calls on their mobile phones, although many said they were unable to get signals, and long lines formed at pay phones.

To alleviate some congestion, Verizon Communications, the nation's biggest local phone company and the dominant service provider in the northeast corridor, said late on Tuesday it would make calls from its 4,000 payphones in Manhattan free for the duration of the emergency.

"The long-distance networks are experiencing heavy calling volume." Said Mark Marchand, a spokesman for Verizon.

Verizon had a switching center, which routes telephone calls, on the 10^th floor of one of the now-demolished World Trade Center towers; the center had served about 40,000 lines in the building.

It has emergency operations staff monitoring its system and there have been no reported network failures. Verizon said the congestion had begun to ease despite a doubling of the number of calls it usually handles.

GRi…/

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Daily Guide

Court orders biscuit company boss to surrender passport

Mohammed Wolley, the Managing Director of the Ghana Biscuits Company (GHABICO), based in Accra, has been ordered to surrender his passport and other traveling documents to the police until a case of fraud and forgery brought against him, has been dealt with.

The case is about the fraudulent misappropriation of an amount of $38,900 concerning the purchase of a Roll Former Machine for the Aluminium Enterprises Limited (AEL), an Aluminium firm in Tema owned by B.K. Amandi, a Ghanaian businessman.

The order was given by an Accra Circuit Tribunal presided over by Mrs Anderson Yeboah, on Wednesday when the court sat following a case lodged by Amandi, Managing Director of AEL against Wolley.

Giving the order, Mrs Anderson Yeboah said the complainant, (B.K. Amandi) had entertained the fear that Mohammed Wolley (the Defendant) was preparing to leave the country in view of a pending case of fraud and forgery lodged against him.

The tribunal has adjourned the case to September 26, 2001, to enable the Attorney-General's (A-G's) Department to furnish it with the dockets on the case to allow for the continuation of the trial.

It will be recalled that two weeks ago the A-G's office demanded dockets on the case to enable it to critically study them.

The facts of the case are that while he was a director of the AEL, Wolley, in 1996, was entrusted with an amount of £136,150 to effect the payment of a Roll Former Machine in the UK, which the AEL had ordered from Evans Roll Former Limited, the manufacturers. Though the machine was subsequently delivered to AEL, it was later detected that Wolley only paid £97,250 and allegedly misappropriated £38,900 belonging to Amandi and the AEL.

GRi…/

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Ghanaian Voice

Rawlings stranded in Canada

Ex-president J.J. Rawlings who left the country last Friday September 7 for the U.S. is currently stranded in Canada, according to The Ghanaian Voice. The ex-president left for Canada en-route to Boston in the USA.

A reporter of the paper says he gathered this piece of news when he encountered the ex-president at a Canadian airport on Wednesday morning.

It is believed that with the closure of all airports in the U.S. following the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., the plane to carry him to the U.S. can't take off and land in the U.S.A.

The United States government has further closed its borders as it goes on hunting spree to arrest the perpetrators of this act which is worse than what happened at the Pearl harbour during the World War.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hackman Owusu Agyeman, said in Accra today that his Ministry has directed Ghana’s Mission in Canada and the US to give the ex-president the necessary assistance.

Mr Rawlings was on his way to Boston University in the US to deliver a lecture when his plane was forced to land in Canada due to the American tragedy, which lead to the closure of all airports in that country.

GRi…/

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Graphic Showbiz

Borbor Mfantse festival on deathbed

The famous Borbor Mfantse festival of the chiefs and people of Mankessim is now a ghost of itself. “In fact the festival has lost the usual pomp and excitement that characterises it because of a chieftaincy dispute in the area” says the Graphic Showbiz.

This year, the festival was celebrated without the Omanhene, Nana Amanfu Edu VI and his queenmother, Nana Amissah as a result of the dispute.

A chieftaincy faction opposed to them threatened to disrupt the festival. The faction reportedly wrote a letter to the Regional Coordinating Council asking that the festival be suspended because Nana Amanfo Edu is not the rightful heir to the stool.

They stated in the letter that if the festival went ahead, the faction would also celebrate another festival on Monday, September 10 therefore, the decision by the Omanhene not to participate in the festival was ostensibly to forestall any confrontation.

Instead of their usual glamorous ride in palanquins to the durbar grounds, the chiefs led by Nana Bentrefi VIII, Ankobeahene of the area, walked through the principal streets of the town to the grounds. Only one of the five Asafo Companies, the traditional militia groups, participated in the festival.

The late start of the programme due to the late arrival of government officials to the durbar grounds also marred the beauty of the festival as most of the people at the grounds left before the officials arrived.

The Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama in a speech, lamented that the chieftaincy institution, which is to galvanise people for development is now sowing seeds of division among the people, adding that this only draws back the efforts of the government to develop the communities.

GRi…/

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P & P

Angry mother poisons son

The P & P says it at times beats one's imagination as to why some women would endure the pains and discomfort of pregnancy and child birth, only to cruelly abandon or even kill these innocent children.

For the 34-year old native of Somanya in the Eastern Region, the only way to end the persistent tug-of-war between herself and her estranged husband, was to kill their three year old innocent son. She allegedly gave him poisoned food and abandoned him at the Abgogbloshie market in Accra to die.

According to Eric Addico, 38, he met and married Millicent Kortey some years ago and were blessed with a son, Emmanuel. He said the wife later took to drinking and since all attempts to persuade her to put a stop to it failed, he had no option but to call it quits.

Addico related that Millicent in his absence packed bag and baggage and left with Emmanuel, but he managed to trace her to Akuse and brought the child back to his residence to take good care of him.

He said he returned from work last August, 19, to learn that Millicent has again come for Emmanuel and left a note which read, "If one eats a bad scented food, one has to clean the hands well, to prevent further offensive odour."

Three days after her departure, her sister arrived in Accra to inform Addico that Millicent visited her at the market and abandoned the child in an unhealthy condition, and that he (the child) died when she was conveying him to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for treatment.

The result of a post mortem examination revealed that Emmanuel died from food poisoning. The police have, meanwhile, intensified their efforts to trace Millicent from her hideout and bring her to book.

GRi…/

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