Mayhen at Aplaku
Goosie’s Company Owes Farmers
Jail BNI Boss
VAT rate to be adjusted
Tribunal Acquits Tema Chief, elder
Daily Graphic
The Daily Graphic with a front-page banner; "Mayhem at Aplaku" reports that Apaklu a village near Bortianor in the Ga district was thrown into shock and mourning following the murders of three persons.
The three died of gunshot wounds when they were attacked by assailants believed to be land guards operating in the area.
The Graphic states that the cause of the shooting incident was not immediately known, but residents claimed that a chieftiancy dispute has been raging between two factions in the village; the Sempe people of Accra and the Ada settlers.
The attackers, whom according to the residents, were from Ada faction, arrived at 11 am in two vehicles, fired warning shot indiscriminately and burnt down two houses.
Three persons died from gunshot wounds while three others who got hurt were rushed to the Korle Bu Teaching hospital in Accra, reports the Graphic.
Two of the dead are brothers, Oko and Tawiah Ofori and according to the Graphic when it’s reporters arrived in the village at about 3 pm, residents both young and old were wailing. It says it was particularly pathetic to watch the 65-year old mother of the two brothers who sat in between the two corpses wailing and calling out to them to wake up.
In a second front-page story, the Daily Graphic reports that the vice-president, Prof. John Atta Mills has announced that 780 new investments, valued at $1.3 billion, have so far been registered by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.
According to the paper the investments, which were registered since the introduction of the new investment code in 1994 is made up of 81.35 percent of equity loans, while the remainder is from indigenous holdings.
Professor Mills said this at the commissioning of an expansion project at the Crocodile Matchets (Ghana) Limited at Tema; the cost of which was put at an estimated 5 billion cedis raised from the companies own resources.
According to the Graphic report, the vice-president as saying, as far as international sources of new investments in the country are concerned, British Firms have consistently led the field with the establishment of 80 new projects since September 1994.
GRi../
Free Press
"Goosie’s Company Owes Farmers" is the banner headline of the mid-week edition of the ‘Free Press’.
The story says "a rural-based company, Transport and Commodity General Limited, believed to be owned by Goosie Tanoh, leader of the NDC break-away Reform group, is heavily indebted to cassava farmers in the Kete Krachi District of the Volta Region".
The Free Press also reports that the company has not paid any taxes to the coffers of the Krachi District Assembly after three years of operation.
According to the report "reliable sources" say the company whose main business is to buy cassava chips from farmers in the area and ship them overseas, secures the chips on credit.
The farmers, however, say they "always have to wait for three months before they are paid for their produce carted from their farms for export."
The farmers are said to have complained that they have barely enough to live on under the circumstances.
According to the story, the farmers have to go through the back door to solicit loans from the same company at cutthroat interest rates thus aggravating their economic hardships.
Mr Francis Sarfo, the District Chief Executive of the Krachi area is said to have confirmed that the company had not paid a pesewa to the Assembly.
The paper says Goosie Tanoh, a business executive and a politician shot into the limelight in the latter part of last year when he criticised the NDC in a radio interview and demanded reforms in the party.
Another Free Press story headlined "AFC Looks outside For Help" says the Alliance For Change (AFC) has appealed to the CHRAJ, Amnesty International, other human rights organisations, the International community, as well as concerned individuals to collaborate with it to bring to book the murderers of the victims of "Kume Preko" march four years ago.
The statement was signed by Mr. Kwaku Baako Jnr a member of the AFC in commemoration of "The March".
According to the story, while the AFC continue to console the families of the victims, it irrevocably assured them that all legitimate means would be adopted to bring the murders to book to ensure that justice is done.
"Our apprehension about the Killings of May 11, 1995 has been greatly heightened by the fact that good four years have elapsed without the government of the NDC, headed by Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, the self acclaimed apostle of integrity, transparency, social justice, probity and accountability making the police report public".
GRi../
The Ghanaian Chronicle
The Ghanaian Chronicle carried on its front-page a story on the treason trial of Captain James Owu, under the headline; ‘Jail BNI Boss’
The story says, Mr. Akoto Ampaw, counsel for the retired Army Officer, on 3 May, 1999 filed a writ at an Accra High court on behalf of his client asking for the imprisonment of Mr. Yaw Donkor, Director of Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) and Chief Inspector Frank Agbenyega, also of BNI for willfully and blatantly flouting the tribunal’s orders to transfer Owu from BNI to prison Custody on 23 March and 13 April, respectively.
The story says an affidavit submitted by Mr. Akoto Ampaw stated that the conduct of the respondents against the orders constitute, "a blatant, arrogant and contemptuous disregard for the force and authority of the Circuit Tribunal and is calculated to bring the system of administration of Justice into contempt and public ridicule".
Akoto Ampaw, the paper said, claimed in the affidavit that Owu was forcibly abducted from Sierra Leone to Ghana by its ECOMOG contingent leader and previously arraigned before court on the two said occasions.
The story said the Tribunal Chairman, Mr. Charles Quist, ordered on each occasion that Captain Owu should be transferred from BNI to prison custody, which Donkor and Agbenyuega have blatantly refused, thus constituting arrogance and a contemptuous disregard for the force and authority of the Circuit Tribunal.
"It is my respectful contention that the two are not above the laws of the land and are equally subject to the laws as any one within this jurisdiction and should be imprisoned", Ampaw was quoted as saying.
In another story, the Chronicle reports on a statement made by Dr. P. Kwesi Nduom, leading member of the Convention Party (CP) and a business Consultant that Ghanaians cannot create wealth if they destroy indigenous businessmen.
Dr. Nduom is reported in the paper’s front-page story to have urged the nation’s public and private press to desist from branding every businessman who appears successful as enemies of labour, cheats, thieves, cocaine dealers or friends of Government.
The paper says, Dr. Nduom, who was speaking at the 10th anniversary of the Independent, asked the public and private press to educate Ghanaians about the difficulties and the rewards that come with doing business in Ghana for the youth to emulate.
GRi../
The Dispatch
The banner story of the Dispatch captioned; ‘VAT rate to be adjusted’, informs that the government will monitor the performance of the Value Added Tax (VAT) and adjust the rate if necessary.
The story which published the contents of an April 13, IMF release on Ghana, titled "Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility Policy Framework Paper, 1999-2001", prepared by Ghanaian authorities in collaboration with IMF and World Bank officials, says the government hope to increase revenue to GDP ratio to 19 percent over the medium term.
According to the paper, based on the "Ghana-Vision 2020" document, the government has requested from the IMF, a new three-year Enhanced structural Adjustment Facility arrangement for 1999-2001.
The World Bank is also expected to approve a second Economic Reform Support Operation (ERSO II) in 1999 to deepen the reforms that are being carried out under ERSO I, approved in June 1998.
GRi../
Ghanaian Times
Tribunal Acquits Tema Chief, elder
The paper carries on its front page a story titled "Tribunal Acquits Tema Chief, elder". According to the story, a community tribunal in Tema has acquitted and discharged Nii Adjei Kraku II, Tema Mantse and Nii Shippi Armah, an elder in the trial of 13 elders concerning a clash of two factions in a chieftaincy dispute on January 13.
According to the paper, the two pleaded alibi.
The tribunal observed that the fact that others were acting on behalf of the accused persons does not defeat the plea of alibi.
The tribunal chaired by Capt. Philip Agbeyome (rtd) noted that the purpose of the application was to bring peace to Tema Manhean and keep the contestants at arm’s length, and warned that the judgment should not be a signal for any jubilation.
The paper recalling the facts of the case said the two factions clashed, when supporters of Nii Adjei Kraku tried to stop a press conference called by Nii Adjetey Kraku II, to declare himself as Tema Mantse (chief).
The paper concluded that one person received cutlass wounds while several others received lacerations from whips used in clash.
GRi../