Two groups clash at fast track
Boy, 3, dies after drinking Akpeteshie
Named police chief exposes NDC
Only the thieves are whining
Kwame Peprah for court
Armed robbers invade Legon
Electricity tariff to up by 220 per cent
Govt. footing Adu Boahen's hospital bills in UK
Who leads NDC-Obed, Spio or Konadu?
Right of Information checks corruption
African title for Toney
‘Subsidies on interest rates on loan must go’
Kotoko will win league-Ofori electronics
Vibe
FM in trouble
Let's
promote our Kente
Hearts
to smoke peace pipe
Two groups clash at fast track
Confusion broke out on Thursday during a
15-minute adjournment at the Fast Track High Court when a member of the
audience referred to the former Ministers and senior public officers standing
trail in the Quality Grain case as thieves, reports The Ghanaian Times.
Angered by the comment, another member of the
audience, an obvious supporter of the former government officials, rushed on
him threatening to teach him a lesson. This resulted in open quarrel, as others
joined the two opposing sides leading to heated arguments at the court.
According to Times, it took persistent pleas
from others to cool down tempers. The only policeman in the courtroom was
unable to deal with the situation.
Nana Ato Dadzie, one of the former government
officials, also angered by the comments, but perhaps happy about the challenge
posed by people on their side said: "you think we also don't have
friends?"
When proceedings finally resumed, Mr Iddris
Egala, a Chartered Accountant, denied that his company, Egala, Atiso and
Associates, prepared a feasibility report for contracting a loan for the
Quality Grain Project. He was being led in evidence by the Director of Public
Prosecutions, Mr Osafo Sampong.
More…/
Boy, 3, dies after drinking Akpeteshie
Three-year-old Kwabena Atta, collapsed and died
while his two-and-half-year old brother, Kwadwo Atta, was rushed to the New
Edubaise Hospital unconscious last Monday, after they gulped down a quantity of
Apeteshie suspected to have been laced with poison.
The half-bottle size of the local gin was meant
for their father, Egya Donkor, a fetish priest of Anwona village, near Anhwiaso
in the Adansi East District.
Two people, Kwasi Ahiadu and Kwasi Mensah, both
farmers of the village, have been arrested in connection with the incident.
Briefing the Times on Thursday, a police source
said that Ahiadu who belief that evil spirits were haunting him, went to Egya
Donkor's shrine with a half-size bottle of Akpeteshie about two weeks ago for
certain rituals to be performed for him.
On the way to the shrine, Ahiadu met a friend,
Mensah, who collected the bottle and drank some of the content. Mensah then gave
money to Ahiadu to buy some of the drink to top up the bottle.
After adding quarter-size bottle of the liquor,
Ahiadu took it to the shrine and left it with the priest’s wife, promising to
return later to see the priest later as he was not in.
Last Monday, the two little boys, during the
absence of their parents from home, drank some of the liquor and ate some soup
in an aluminum pot kept in a room.
A few minutes later, they fell unconscious and
were rushed to the nearby New Edubiase Hospital by neighbours but Kwabena Atta
died on the way. Kwadwo was admitted to the hospital with a bloated stomach.
GRi…/
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Named police chief exposes NDC
The Ghanaian Chronicle carries that one of
Ghana's leading intelligence and security chiefs with decades of experience in
external and internal security matters has in a short but extremely loaded
repudiation, delivered what should be a serious blow to the integrity and
credibility of the NDC's controversial press conference crying 'wolf' over
harassment.
"During the years that I served my country
from the rank of a Constable to the rank of Commissioner of Police, I
encountered series of unendurable pains and difficulties and only the good Lord
knows how He shepherded and steered me through up to date.
"I am presently on leave prior to my
retirement and appealing to politicians to leave me out of their political
strife and gambit", Mr Aboah, the police chief had stated.
He was reached on telephone on Thursday by the
Chronicle to find out how he was being traumatized or persecuted by the NPP
Government.
He said nobody had asked him any question,
neither had any member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) sought his
permission or sounded him out before adding his name to a list.
"I haven't complained to anybody, Kofi”,
he noted after reacting to introductory question about why he is enjoying his
retirement in Ghana and not Switzerland.
Aboah noted that he had heard his name being
mentioned and had read in The Daily Guide that he is one of names of the NDC
members and ex-Government officials allegedly being harassed, and for his
formal reaction he promptly sent a copy of his response.
Chronicle however says it is independently
cross investigating those being investigated and who may have legitimate reason
to cry wolf. Mr Aboah was the Director of Immigration by the time he retired
from the service last month.
More…/
Only the thieves are whining
Mr Charles Kofi Wayo, the defeated NPP
parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso East Constituency, has said it is
regrettable that nine months into the Kufuor administration, not a single
minister of the former ruling NDC has been convicted on corruption-related
charges.
According to Wayo, it is because of this that
alleged fraudsters in the NDC are whining and shouting about witch-hunting and
harassment.
He noted that as far as he is concerned, it is
not the NDC as a party that is being investigated. Rather, it is individual
members of the party who served in that government who are being asked to
account for their stewardship.
Kofi Wayo suggested that the BNI should create
a special squad of investigators who will go into government institutions and
get the record of accounts, sift through them and if they detect shortage of
funds, call those affected to explain. If they are unable to explain, they must
be arrested and locked up, he noted.
GRi…/
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Kwame Peprah for court
The Deputy government spokesperson, Kwabena
Agyepong, has given hints that Richard Kwame Peprah, the former Minister of
Finance, would soon be put before court to answer charges on the Presidential
Jet, reports The Daily Guide.
Mr Peprah is already under trial at a Fast
Track High Court over the $22 million Quality Grain scandal involving a Miss
Renee Woodard alias Mrs Juliet Cotton of the US.
The hint comes just under three days after the
hierarchy of the NDC said at a press conference in Accra that its functionaries
would not cooperate with the police, and neither would it cooperate with Bureau
of National Investigations (BNI) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in any
investigations into the stewardship of former office holders.
He also denied Mr Peprah has been invited 85
times by the security agencies to assist them in their investigation as is
being claimed by the NDC.
Speaking on Metro TV in Accra on Wednesday,
Agyepong said despite the protestation by the opposition NDC, the government's
probes into the stewardship of people suspected to have committed economic
crimes against the state, would continue unabated.
GRi…/
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Armed robbers invade Legon
The University of Ghana campus is currently
under siege by armed robbers who have set their eyes on lecturers, according to
The Evening News.
So far two senior lecturers, Dr Elom Dovlo of
the Department of Religion and Professor Kwame Karikari, acting director of the
School of Communications Studies, are reported to have been subjected to very
horrendous experiences.
Having sent frightful waves through the entire
body of lecturers and their families, the University authorities last Tuesday
went into convocation to which the Inspector-General of Police, Ernest Owusu
Pokua and his men together with other security agencies were invited to share
ideas on how to stop the "night-time gentlemen" from carrying on with
their diabolical activities.
One senior lecturer, who spoke to the Evening
News under anonymity wondered why suddenly the robbers are focusing attention
on university workers saying, "I don't even know what makes them think
that lecturers own some of the gadgets and monies they normally go after. When
they come they look out for electrical gadgets foreign money and trinkets.
He said so far, the Police Striking Force Unit
has been patrolling the entire campus from midnight on daily basis to forestall
further attacks on residents on the campus however, almost all the lecturers
were currently living in fear of being attacked as a result of the vulnerability
of the houses they occupied.
GRi…/
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Electricity tariff to up by 220 per cent
The Weekend Agenda carries that electricity tariff
is to go up by 220 per cent if the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission
(PURC), agrees to proposals from the Volta River Authority (VRA) to increase
tariffs, This is to enable VRA to import crude oil to run Ghana's thermal
plants.
According to Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, Chief
Executive of VRA this has become necessary due to the low level of water in the
Akosombo Dam, and mounting debts resulting in threats by Ivory Coast to cut off
power supply to Ghana.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on
Friday, Dr Wereko-Brobby said while the cost of electricity generation and
supply is ˘432 per Kilo watt/hour, Ghanaians only pay ˘194 per kilowatt/hour.
To avert the electricity crisis of 1998, he
said Ghanaians have to pay economic price for electricity consumption.
"Even though the lake level is low, there should be no panic, there will
be supply of power, so long as the public keep their side of the bargain by
paying the right price for electricity," he told the conference.
GRi…/
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Govt. footing Adu Boahen's hospital bills in UK
The Ghana Palaver says the NPP government has
reportedly spent about 10,000 thousand pounds sterling already (about one
billion cedis) to cover the medical expenses of Professor Adu Boahen, now
receiving treatment at the Cromwell Hospital in London.
It is also committed to bear all other expenses
at the hospital until the patient, a member of the Council of State and
one-time flagbearer of the NPP in the 1992 presidential elections is
discharged.
The Palaver recalls that the NPP while in
opposition strongly criticized the practice of sending top government officials
for treatment overseas and had indicated on page 32 of its manifesto prepared
before the last elections that, “the incoming NPP government shall abolish this
practice”.
GRi…/
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Who leads NDC-Obed, Spio or Konadu?
The Dispatch says it has been hinted by
well-placed sources within the NDC that names making the rounds in higher rungs
of the party of those likely to assume the flagbearship for the next general elections
are former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and the former
Attorney-General/Minister for Justice, Dr Obed Asamoah.
It says for those loyal to former
Vice-President, Prof. John Atta-Mills, should he decide to retire from active
politics, their choice would be the former Minister for Education, Ekwow
Spio-Garbrah.
None them has however indicated any interest
yet but their names are being mentioned by the well-placed sources who, have
those aspirations for them, according to the paper.
The NDC is expected to hold its national
delegates congress from 21 to 23 December 2001 where it is expected to elect
persons to fill positions on the national executive, with their main tasks
being to re-capture political power in the 2004 Presidential and Parliamentary
elections.
The outcome of the congress is likely to
determine who would lead the party in the 2004 Presidential elections, says the
paper.
GRi…/
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Right of Information checks corruption
A legal practitioner, Mr Akoto Ampaw has
reiterated the need for the Right to Information and Expression Act to be
enacted to make public servants and officials transparent and accountable to
the electorates.
Speaking at a forum organised by the Media
Foundation For West Africa (MFWA) to deliberate on the Institute of Economic
Affairs (IEAs) Draft Right to Information Bill, Mr Ampaw noted that the Act
would prevent secrecy and demystify the processes of governance. This he said
would stem the tides of corruption and abuse of power.
Mr Ampaw said the Right to Information Act,
which the media in particular is vigorously pursuing, could elude the public if
government agencies and departments do not practice a culture of proper record
keeping.
GRi…/
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African title for Toney
James Toney, one of Ghana’s boxing young
talents has been presented with the opportunity to shoot himself into
prominence on the continent, and the world.
He has been billed to fight for the African
Boxing Union (ABU) middleweight title in Accra next weekend.
Toney, who had knocked out every opponent since
he turned pro some months ago, faces Nigerian champion and Commonwealth rated
Sunny King for the vacant ABU belt.
The venue for this promising encounter is the
Kaneshie Sports Complex in Accra.
Toney, bronze medallist at the 1998
Commonwealth Games is a big prospect for World title, and he believes he would
use the ABU opportunity to launch his carrier into the international world of
professional pugilism.
Prince and Baseline International Promotions
Syndicate are the syndicate providing the stage for James Toney to assert
himself internationally on a bill called "Ogya Night".
GRi…/
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‘Subsidies on interest rates on loan must go’
The Executive Secretary of the Ghana
Micro-finance Institutions Network (Ghamfin), Kodi Atta-Bronya, has called for
the withdrawal of subsidies on interest rates on loans to enable
micro-financing institutions to play their meaningful role in the country’s
economic development, reports the Daily Graphic.
He cited the prevailing development in which
because inflation rate is coming down, interest rates are falling and banks are
announcing their base rates, as a clear demonstration that when those
fundamentals cost of borrowing would also go down.
Speaking at a workshop organised by Ghamfin for
120 delegates drawn from all over the country in Accra, Atta-Bronyah also suggested
that the ground must be leveled to enable more micro-finance institutions to
enter the field.
He underlined the enormous role that the
institutions could play in helping to ease the plight of the poor in the
society and said all impediments in the way of those who want to enter the
field must be removed.
More…/
Policed move to ward off trouble at Tanoso,
Subri
The Bibiani District Police Command has
directed the Sefwi Anhwiaso Police to put in place extra security measures to
protect life and property at Tanso and Subri, following reports of attempts by
a group of people to disturb the peace in the area.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), F.K.
Dogbe, in-charge of the district, also called on the people in the area to be
vigilant, remain law-abiding-and go about their normal business.
He has, therefore, called for increased public
cooperation and support and also urged the people to report the activities of
all suspected persons and groups to the police for prompt action.
The reported insecurity in the area has arisen,
following the publication of a report by the National House of Chiefs (NHC)
that gave recognition and re-designation of the Chirano area as a paramountcy,
a decision which was taken on August 31, 2001.
The NHC, in its decision, emphasised: “The
Sefwi Chirano case is not an elevation exercise, but a matter of proper
re-designation and recognition of the actual status of the stool as a
paramountcy.”
Since then, the chiefs and people of Chirano
have had the occasion to react to a publication by the Omanhene of Sefwi
Anhwiaso, Nana Gyebi, in which they described assertions by him to the effect
that trouble was gradually brewing between Chirano and Anhwiaso, following the
decision of the NHC as “a propaganda gimmick, misleading and indeed a smear
campaign.
GRi…/
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Kotoko will win league-Ofori electronics
A former
administrator of Kumasi Asante Kotoko F/C, Ofori Yeboah has predicted that
Kotoko will emerge winners of this season’s Star Premier League, despite the
disciplinary committee’s ruling that has pushed the club five points adrift of
the league leaders, Accra Hearts of Oak, reports the Asante Kotoko Express.
Yeboah, the proprietor of Ofori Electronics in
Accra said, traditionally, any Kotoko chairman who goes through stormy moments
from the beginning of his tenure eventually triumphs beyond his comprehension and
cited Simms Kofi Mensah as one chairman who struggled during his early days at
Kotoko but succeeded in the end.
He opined that the breaking of the 5-year old
jinx of Kotoko never winning against Hearts in a league match on no mean a day
than ‘Akwasidae’ could serve as the harbinger of good things to come the way of
the Porcupines at the end of the season.
GRi…/
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Vibe
FM in trouble
About
fifteen people claiming to be bailiffs and officials of the Social Security and
National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) on Thursday seized the equipment of an Accra
Radio Station Vibe FM, reports The Weekend Statesman.
The
men, including some policemen ransacked the studio and took away everything on
sight.
Close
sources to the station said its management was informed by the taskforce that
they have been ordered by SSNIT to close down the station. The taskforce
members however refused to talk to the press.
SSNIT
owns the Trust Towers, harbouring the FM station.
Mr
Kojo Mensah, acting Managing Director of Vibe said they were surprised at
SSNIT’s action to close down the station since they thought they had reached a
negotiated settlement concerning the debt it owed SSNIT which had risen from
200 million cedis to 506 million cedis after the courts awarded in favour of
SSNIT, plus interest.
GRi.../
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Let's
promote our Kente
The
Chiefs and people of Ejisu-Juaben District in the Ashanti Region have called on
the government to help them boost the market of Kente, which has been in their preserve
at Bonwire for over three hundred years.
"There
is now a considerable demand for Kente both in Ghana and overseas, especially
among Africans in the Diaspora as item of apparel. There is the need now than
ever to preserve this unique African Ghanaian product", the Kentehene,
Nana Addai Yeboah, also of the Faculty of Social Science of the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology, Kumasi noted.
Nana
Yeboah was addressing a durbar in honour of Ghana’s Ambassador designates when
they visited the town.
H.E.
Yaw Agyei,an Ambassador-designate on behalf of other colleagues promised that
they would do their best for the people to participate in appropriate
international exhibitions.
GRi.../
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Hearts
to smoke peace pipe
The Board of Directors, management, technical team, the Regional Chapters Committee (RCC) and the National Chapters Committee (NCC) of Hearts of Oak will meet to find an amicable solution to the confusion and tension which has engulfed the club following a directive for coach Jones Attuquayefio to proceed on leave.
According
to club’s mouthpiece Hearts News, the meeting, which will be convened on Friday
will seek to forge unity among the ranks of the Rainbows and put the club back
on track for fifth league trophy.
Hell
broke loose on Wednesday when embittered fans decided to register their dissent
at management's instruction to Jones to take a break by preventing the team to
train under the tutelage of assistant coach Ofei Ansah.
Coming
only a few days before the team's crucial game with Ghapoha, the five
administrative bodies of Hearts of Oak will also meet with the playing body
tomorrow.
The
meeting is expected to calm nerves and psych the players up before the club’s
match against Tema Ghapoha on Sunday.
Meanwhile,
coach Jones Attuquayefio will be back on the technical bench of Hearts, doing
what he knows best when the rainbow clad lads lock horns with Ghapoha on
Sunday.
The
follows the settlement of the impasse between the coach and management after he
was served with a letter to proceed on leave.
GRi.../
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