GRi Newsreel Ghana 24 - 09 - 2001
NDC condemns politicisation of cocoa spraying exercise
Tamale (Northern Region) 24 September 2001 - Two former Ministers of State are fighting over the ownership of a government divested company that one of them used a front man to purchase for them.
Mr Ibrahim Adam, former Minister of Food and Agriculture in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration and Mr Adam Kaleem, former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture in charge of Northern Region in the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) era, are at war over the ownership of the divested State Fishing Corporation at Tamale and Yendi.
Mr Adam used the name Hakson Construction Company to jointly buy the State Fishing Corporation in Tamale and Yendi with Mr Kaleem at 46 million cedis in 1994 and renamed it KADA Investments.
Mr Kaleem went to the Office of the Ghana News Agency in Tamale to complain that Mr Adam gave instructions to his cronies to organise armed groups to lock him out claiming that he has no shares in the company.
Documents made available to the GNA, however, showed that Mr Kaleem has initial 10 per cent shares while Hakson Construction Company has 90 per cent.
One Eric Nelson fronted for Mr Adam and signed the documents on his behalf. Mr Adam allegedly hid his association with Hakson Construction Company when the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) was investigating him.
Mr Kaleem said though Mr Adam paid 27.6 million cedis; he also paid 20 million cedis in addition to using his bank loan to renovate the building, which was almost collapsing with the understanding that his shares would be upgraded accordingly.
He said it was only two weeks ago that Mr Adam signed a letter as the Chairman of KADA Board dismissing him as the Managing Director of the company.
The letter challenged him to prove his ownership of shares in the company. Mr Kaleem showed the GNA documents on the acquisition of the company indicating that he signed and took delivery of the company and renovated it alone.
He said Mr Adam used the name of the company to register a fishing vessel he bought adding: "It was only a few months ago that I got to know about the vessel when the Internal Revenue Service wanted to know about its operations."
Mr Adam told the GNA in Accra that the Board of KADA dismissed Mr Kaleem for mismanagement and gross insubordination.
He said when Mr Kaleem was asked at a meeting of the Board to account for his stewardship, he became angry and walked out. Mr Ibrahim Yakubu Hardy, Mr Eric Nelson and Mr Adam, all directors of the company, signed the letter of dismissal.
Mr Adam said Mr Kaleem was offered 10 per cent of the shares but he has not paid for them. He said there was nothing illegal about using proxies and challenged Mr Kaleem to go to court.
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Tema (Greater Accra) 24 September 2001 - Three International oil companies are currently undertaking oil exploration at various established blocks in the country, Dr A. Ofori Quaah, Acting Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), said at the week-end.
They are Dana Energy Corporation of the United Kingdom, Devon Energy Corporation and Hunt Oil Company both of the United States.
Dr Quaah, who was speaking to journalists at Tema, said two other oil companies whose names he did not disclose were also negotiating for blocks to explore oil soon.
The new GNPC being set up with the staff to be retained after the retrenchment exercise would encourage oil exploration, he said.
They would also examine data at drilling sites, evaluate seismic data, geographical locations as well as geological and engineering data.
On the restructuring of GNPC, he said 489 workers have so far been requested to proceed on terminal leave another 108 have been retained to undertake day to day duties; "while we negotiate the terminal benefits for those redundant staff."
"Tentatively, we will start negotiations for packages of the redundant staff this week and hope to finish this by the end of September. After we have paid them off, the new GNPC will start with 72 employees as decided by the consultants."
On the 4.59 billion cedis Staff Provident Fund being audited, Mr Kalibi Abu Ali, Head of Finance said, following the submission of the draft report, efforts were being made to find out the so-called bank investments that the trustees of the fund claimed they made.
Among the Trustees of the fund being investigated are Mr Kanzing Tabariyeng, Internal Auditor, Chairman and Mrs Vivian Benasco, Personnel and Administrative Manageress.
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Apam (Central Region) 24 September 2001 - The Gomoa District Council of Labour has added its voice to the call on the government to defreeze the End-of-Service Benefits (ESB) to workers without further delay.
In a resolution passed at a meeting at Apam on Thursday, the council expressed its unflinching support for the Trades Union Congress on its stand on the restoration of the ESB.
The resolution said the harsh economic conditions in the country had made life unbearable for retired workers.
It said most of them die prematurely because of hardships, and urged the government to let retired workers enjoy the fruits of their labour.
The resolution called on all negative forces, which are fighting against the restoration of the ESB, to desist from it or face the might of workers power.
It urged the government to allow workers to manage the Social Security and National Insurance Trust instead of privatising it.
The resolution condemned the bombing of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the United States and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to book.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 24 September 2001 - Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, has called on West African nations to come together and help each other for development.
African states have great traditions binding them as one people with a common destiny, the Asantehene said when he welcomed Dr Peter Odili, Governor of the River State in Nigeria and his wife, Mrs Justice Odili, to his residence in Kumasi on Saturday.
Madam Hawa Yakubu, Minister of Tourism, Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister and Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, accompanied them.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu said the Economic Co-operation of the West African States (ECOWAS) must promote peace, political and economic stability and development in the sub-region.
Dr Odili said that even though his visit was private, considering the traditional and political relations between Ghana and Nigeria, he thought it expedient to call on the Asantehene.
He called for the strengthening of the cordial relations and commended the Asantehene for his role in the development of health and education in the region.
Madam Yakubu stressed the need for African states to tap their resources both human and material to develop.
Mr Boafo, who later presented a stool and a kente cloth to Dr and Mrs Odili at his residence, called for a joint venture between the Region and the State.
The Regional Minister stressed the determination of the government to work hard to win the confidence of the people.
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Apam (Central Region) 24 September 2001 - Beneficiaries of European Union (EU) micro projects who do not complete them before November 30, 2001, shall be blacklisted and forfeit the remaining part of their grant.
The Central Regional Minister, Mr Isaac Edumadze, gave the warning at a durbar at Apam at the weekend to mark the annual Akwambo festival of the chiefs and people at Apam.
He, therefore, urged the communities to mobilise all available resources to get their projects completed on schedule.
Mr Edumadze expressed concern about how partisan politics had created division among some families and communities, which, he said, had killed the communal spirit among the people.
He, therefore, appealed to Ghanaians to bury their political differences and rally behind the government of the day to help improve their living conditions.
The Regional Minister was not happy about the number of chieftaincy disputes in the region, saying that the regional and district administrations had virtually been turned into law courts to deal with chieftaincy litigations.
He said much of his time and that of the District Chief Executives is spent on arbitrations to the detriment of development projects, and cautioned District Chief Executives to deal with only chiefs who have been gazetted.
Miss Joyce Aidoo, Gomoa District Chief Executive, urged the people of Apam to unite and plan for the development of the town, saying without unity, nothing meaningful could be achieved.
Miss Aidoo urged parents to sacrifice and invest in their children's education for a better future. She exhorted teachers to find time and pay visits to their truant pupils.
Nana Edu Effrim X, Apaahene, appealed to the government to rehabilitate roads in the town, replace old and weak electric cables and provide telephone facilities for the people.
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Akosombo (Eastern Region) 24 September 2001 - The Deputy Director General of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) at the weekend recommended new strategies to help reconcile the needed speed with unnecessary delays in the civil and public services.
Professor Sakyi Awuku Amoa cited outsourcing, a strategy by which an organisation contracts out certain functions to specialized and efficient service providers who become valued business partners, for adoption by the government.
He was presenting a paper entitled "Reconciling speed of action with Bureaucracy: The Prospects of Outsourcing and Responsibilities" at a three-day seminar at Akosombo.
Prof. Amoa said the solution to the concern and worry about the bureaucratic delays called for a way out to reduce red-tapism in public administration.
He told about the 40 participants, including Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MPs and bureaucrats, that hiring out some of the duties of the public service to private companies would do the trick.
"To deal with the problems and challenges of delays in a bureaucratic administration, it would seem that outsourcing represents a useful strategy worth pursuing."
Prof. Amoa said the Auditor-general, for instance, could hire a private company to help audit some ministries, department and agencies.
He said outsourcing is done to reduce and control cost, improve host company focus, free internal resources for other purposes and to gain world class capabilities.
"What bureaucrats need to ensure is that factors which influence successful outsourcing are adhered to."
He agreed with the observations of participants that integrity, transparency, and effective monitoring were needed to ensure the success of outsourcing.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 24 September 2001 - The Ga North constituency of NPP Women's Wing at the weekend elected new leaders at a meeting at Madina, near Accra.
Mrs Amina Tcheldre was elected unopposed as chairperson while Mrs Regina Asante was elected first vice-chairperson, Mrs Akosua Busumpemaa, second vice chairperson and Mrs Theresa Siaw , third vice chairperson.
Miss Ekua Fremaa was voted secretary, Mrs Hanna Binda, treasurer, Miss Agnes Frempong, financial secretary, Madam Kate Mensah, porter and Madam Akosua Ampadu, public relations officer.
The Member of Parliament for the area, Mr Samuel Otu Darko urged the new officers to work hard to reorganise the wing to play its expected role in the development of the party.
Mr Adu Gyemfi, constituency chairman said the new executive would be sworn into office on October 6.
Present were the Greater Accra Region Women's Organiser, Mrs Mariama Amui and other constituency executive members.
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Obuasi (Ashanti Region) 24 September 2001 - The Adansi West District Assembly is indebted to the tune of over two billion cedis.
The total debt rose from 1,660,700,000 cedis to 2,340,803,543 cedis as at June 30, 2001 following a report on the Obuasi Horsey Park Market Project presented to the assembly by its finance and administration sub-committee.
The report said the assembly had to settle outstanding claims totalling 130,103,543 cedis to MBC Limited and African Roots, both contractors on the project.
Also, the project engineer has indicated that MBC has done work to the value of 550 million cedis for which certificates were being processed, the report said.
Apart from the outstanding debt, work on the project yet to be completed include paving of the ground, the provision of potable water, gates, security lights, transformer and passenger lounges estimated at 1.75 billion cedis.
Mr. Joseph K. Boampong, District Chief Executive expressed concern about the precarious state of the assembly's finances and said non-performing revenue collectors would be redeployed whilst the others would be retrained to upgrade their skills in revenue mobilisation.
"Happily, a budget line of 50 million cedis has been provided for capacity development in the 2001 budget estimates. I therefore urge the administration to ensure the speedy implementation of this training programme".
Mr. Boampong announced that the assembly has so far received about 1.2 billion cedis out of 2.1 billion cedis of its share of the District Assemblies' Common Fund for 2000.
"We want to depart from the past where we were spending up-front. We are henceforth going to spend only when we have money," he stressed.
He said out of the 21 projects prioritised under the EU micro projects programme submitted to the Micro Projects Management Unit (MPMU), 12 have been approved and ready for execution at the cost of 893.7 million cedis.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 24 September 2001 - The Youth and Women's Wings of the Eastern Regional branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have condemned the politicisation of the mass cocoa spraying exercise.
They also condemned the recruitment of only New Patriotic Party (NPP) agents and activists as the core of the various spraying gangs.
They, therefore, demanded a full-scale investigation into the whole " Cocoa Spraying Affair" to ensure that the exercise served national interest.
This was contained in a communiqué issued by the group after a day's seminar and meeting with members of the National Youth and Women's Re-organisation Team at Koforidua at the weekend.
The Communiqué called on the government to end the covert and overt press censorship being adopted to gag press houses perceived to be sympathetic to the cause of the NDC.
It further condemned the refusal of Volta Star FM station to allow the former Vice President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills the use of their facilities to express his appreciation to the people of Volta Region.
The group described as witch-hunting, the involvement of the National Security Co-ordinator in the auditing of the accounts of the 31st December Women's Movement (DWM).
They questioned the necessity for the "over blowing of the news on the auditing" when internationally acclaimed accounting firms like Deloitte and Touche has been auditing and submitting regular reports on the projects run by the DWM.
The Communiqué called for the payment of the ex-gratia of all the former District and Municipal Chief Executives without any further delay.
The group described as unfortunate, recent statement by the Minister and Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development that the former DCEs and MCEs could not account for 5.7 billion cedis released for rural electrification projects last year.
This was because some of them had confirmed earlier that at the time they left office, the amounts were lodged in their respective district assemblies accounts because the projects could not take off.
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Takoradi (Western Region) 24 September 2001 - Joseph Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, has called on Ghanaians to approach the issue of national reconciliation in a dispassionate manner, devoid of political, religious or ethnic sentiments.
He made the call at a public forum on the National Reconciliation Bill organised by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), a non-governmental organisation in Takoradi.
Mr. Aidoo said the wounds of the past within the body politic must be healed so that the nation can move confidently and boldly into the future.
He said a conscious and systematic search for consensus and compromise is necessary so that "we forge a greater unity in our nation and promote more harmonious society''.
Mr. Mohammed Ayariga, Executive Director of the LRC said the forum forms part of the legislative advocacy programme of the centre aimed at promoting public participation in the work of parliament to ensure good laws.
Mr. Hoenyefia Bodza-Lumor, a private legal practitioner, who presided, said the wide powers to be given to the reconciliation commission could be abused because of the absence of checks and balances.
He suggested that the Public Services Commission should appoint members of the commission and not the President as proposed under the bill.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) financed the forum.
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