GRi Press Review 29-1-99

GRi's Paul Osei-Tutu in Accra, reviews the Ghanaian press. The stories have not been verified and therefore we cannot vouch for their accuracy.

'Woes of Ghana Police exposed' is the front-page lead of the Free Press. It reports that as the crime wave in the Ghana mounts, the Ghana Police Service finds itself gravely understaffed. Currently, the manpower of the force falls far below the United Nation's ratio of one police personnel to a population of 500.

 The paper says whiles the population of the country stands at about 18 million; the strength of the Police Force is 15,436, a ratio of one policeman to 1,200 people. 

The paper quoted the IGP, Mr Peter Nanfuri as having made this disclosures when he presented a paper on the 'the police, the citizen and the Law' at a colloquium held under the theme 'The judiciary under the 1992 Constitution'. The IGP was said to have recounted that in 1964, when Ghana's population was 9.4 million, the strength of the Police was 21,000, which worked out at a ratio of one Policeman to 450 people.

 Another story on the front-page of the paper is 'Nigerian =91Sunset' recalls $5m bribery allegation against Rawlings'.

According to the story, the embattled family of the late Nigerian leader, General Sani Abacha, has threatened to expose all top-ranking personalities connected with alleged crimes he was alleged to have committed.

 According to the story which the paper said was carried by the Nigerian newspaper =91Weekend Sunset', the family had assembled vital documents they believe will not only exonerate the late General Abacha from his presumed crimes but also expose all those they believe are implicated. 

The family, armed with relevant document, is insisting that several key persons in the present government of General Abdulsalam Abubakar who have been portraying themselves as holy and incorruptible have had their hands soiled during the regime of the late General, the said.

 The Free Press said, according to another Nigerians newspaper 'Sunday Tribune', the family was insisting on an open trial for any of them suspected to have committed any crime. 

 Reporting on the on-going trial of Messrs. Kofi Coomson and Eben Quarcoo, Publisher and ex-Editor of the Ghanaian Chronicle and the Free Press respectively, the paper contends that 'Rawlings is in contempt of court =96 judge. Journalists' rights to fair trail endangered, but President is immune'. 

According to the story, Mr Victor D. Ofoe, the trial judge last Tuesday conceded to defence arguments that President Rawlings' comments on the trial were in contempt of court. 

The Judge said the comments amounted to prejudicing the issues of contention before the court and the rights of the accused persons to a fair trail. However, he ruled against the defence submissions for the trial to be aborted, because he could not be influenced in his judgement by the comments of the president.

 Ofoe said, though the President's comments were contemptuous of court proceedings, it would be impossible to cite him for contempt by virtue of his immunity under the Constitution, reports the paper.

 'Too late to remain in NDC- Reformers', reports the Weekend Statesman on it front =96page. According to the story, this was the solemn declaration of the NDC breakaway group, the Reform Movement, last Monday when they held their maiden press conference at the Presbyterian Conference hall in Accra. 

'We began as an NDC pressure group. We called for democratic reform within NDC. We wanted NDC leadership to respond to the needs and aspirations of ordinary party members.... However, the resistance of sections of the NDC leadership rendered fundamental reform of that once great party impossible. For us therefore, the struggle to reform the NDC is a closed chapter. We are moving ahead'; the paper quoted Goosie Tanoh, Spokesman for the group as saying.

 'Reform remnants turn to NPP faction... Is GHACEM funding Group?' is the Palaver's headline. The paper claims the remnants of the Reform Movement which constitutes the rump of the original movement within the NDC is in the process of forming an alliance with a faction within the New Patriotic Party. 

=91Ghana Palaver' Scouts who covered the Reform Movement press conference last Monday confirmed that most of the people who distributed the T-shirts and other materials in the vicinity of the Hall, before and after the press conference, were foot soldiers of one of the defeated NPP presidential hopefuls, says the paper.

 In addition, two young lawyers from the chambers of the defeated presidential candidate were sighted by our scouts among the well-heeled people at the Church Hall. 

The linkage between the remnants and a faction within the NPP has further been strengthened by a hand-written budget drawn up on a memorandum pad of the Ghana Cement Manufacturing Company (GHACEM) which the paper says is in the possession of its scouts.

 The paper says the memorandum pad contains the budget of the Reformed remnants for December 20, 1998 to January 20, 1999.

 The two dailies gave front-page prominence to General Abubakar's exoneration of President Rawlings of the $5 m bribe allegation. The Graphic headline reads; 'Abubakar absolves Rawlings' whiles the Times has '$ 5m bribe story not true- Abubakar'.  

The Daily Graphic says the Nigerian Leader; yesterday absolved President Rawlings of any wrongdoing when he categorically denied that his country paid money to the Ghanaian leader to help improve her international image. 

The paper says over the last couple of months, sections of the media in Nigeria and Ghana have been carrying stories based on allegations which was first published in the Nigerian Post Express newspaper, that Alhaji Ishmaila Gwarzo, the former Security Advisor of the late Gen. Sani Abacha had alleged that he paid $5 million to President Rawlings to help whitewash Nigeria's image.

 The Times quotes Abubakar as saying, 'there is no iota of truth in that statement. We have not found such allegation anywhere in the report submitted by the panel of enquiry'.

 General Abubakar is said to have made this denial in an answer to a question at a news briefing at the Kotoka International airport in Accra, when he made a stopover on his way to Conakry, Guinea to witness the coronation of President Lansana Conteh and to attend a summit of ECOWAS leaders.

Other headlines on the Graphic front-page are, 'Interest rate now down to 32%', 'WAEC introduces new English syllabus', 'New wage policy effective January 1' and 'cover price of Graphic, others up'.

 The Times has other headlines like 'NPP won't oppose state funding, but...', 'Govt agencies told to use Y2K computers' and 'Casual labourers need protection'.

 Under the headline; 'businessman sue GTA =96 over 5m cedis debt', the paper reports that the Ghana Tennis Association (GTA) faces imminent legal action following its failure to settle a 5.4 m debt it owes a businessman, Mr Lawrence Lartey since January 199.The paper says GTA incurred the debt last year when it hosted the first ITF Future tournament at the Accra Lawn Tennis Club, which Mr Lartey was contracted to supply 15 cartons of tennis ball worth that amount. 

According to a letter to the GTA, it had up to last Tuesday to settle the debt with interest rate of 48 per cent, failure of which would attract legal action. 

In another story, the paper reports that Mr.Harry Zakkour has taken legal action against the Graphic Corporation, publishers of Graphic Sports, and two others for associating him with a scandalous attempt to transfer Yaw Sakyi to a German club. 

The two others are Messrs Joe Aggrey, editor of Graphic Sports and Sam Okaitey, a staff, and author of the story headlined; ' Scandal Rocks Hearts' published in the Tuesday, January 7, 1999 edition of the paper.