Towards national reconciliation…
More women going mad…From ‘broken hearts’
Mixed reaction over tidying-up of Accra
Gemann on death row…What next
Father kills son over sugarcane
Three communities construct 206 million cedis dams
Ghanaian TimesCoca-Cola votes $12 million to boost local services
Towards national reconciliation…
The Crusading Guide reports Dr. Edward Mahama, Presidential candidate of the People’s National Convention (PNC) in the 2000 elections as calling on President Jerry Rawlings to tell Ghanaians the truth about the abduction, murder and torching of the bodies of the three High Court Judges and a retired army officer on June 30, 1982, as a first step towards true national reconciliation.
"I believe that a true reconciliation means that Rawlings must step forward and acknowledge his part in the killing of the judges and the army officer", the paper quotes him as saying.
Dr. Mahama, the paper says, stressed that "it is only the truth and if there is no truth, there is no reconciliation. He should tell us the truth".
The Crusading Guide says Dr. Mahama, who had granted the paper an interview, expressed sympathy with Mr Larry Bimi, Chairman of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), who is said to be spearheading the call and the creation of a forum for the reconciliation of Ghanaians.
He said Mr Bimi is "hitting his head against the wall", because President Rawlings, the key figure who should be paving the way for reconciliation, has not shown any remorse for the atrocities "he had perpetrated ands is still perpetrating against those who do not agree with his kind of politics".
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More women going mad…From ‘broken hearts’
Marital breakdowns and increased acts of disappointment are sending many women to the psychiatric hospitals, says the Guide, quoting Mrs. Ama Benyiwa-Doe, Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare.
The Deputy Minister was launching the "International Day of Families" in Accra. Mrs. Benyiwa-Doe is reported as saying that women have been identified as the main victims of psychiatric cases in Ghana’s hospitals these days.
The causes, according to the paper, have been attributed to unsuccessful relationship with their male counterparts, leading to an increase in the frequency of marital breakdowns.
The International Day of Families was declared by the United Nations in 1993 to be celebrated on 15th May of every year to help increase awareness of family issues and highlight the importance of families, promote knowledge of the economic and demographic process affecting family members.
Mrs. Benwa-Doe is quoted as saying that in Ghana and in most parts of Africa, the family plays a very crucial in national efforts. "Attitudes towards other social groups are profoundly imprinted during childhood, within the family where parents and neighbours are the main actors".
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Mixed reaction over tidying-up of Accra
The paper says while for many residents of Accra the arrival of thousands of visitors into Ghana for the 5th African-African-American Summit is welcome news, others have queried the speed at which local authorities have been trying ‘to put on a clean face’ for outsiders, especially during
conferences and summits. The Independent quotes Abena Rebecca Amankwa, who sells shoe, polish as wondering why ‘’it has to take visitors before we clean up the system’’.
The paper says Abena had fallen victim to cane-wielding ‘machomen’ last Tuesday. According to the paper, her viewpoint is similar to what some other residents had said on the new wave that seems to have taken over the city.
The Independent says, unlike Abena, whose mindset is against the attempt at linking clean-ups to foreigners, Kwame Ampofo, a shoe vendor, said he saw nothing wrong with ‘‘cleaning up the city’s act’’. According to him, if the coming of visitors will always get the city authorities to act, hen ‘‘I pray t hat we get a high level conference in Ghana every month’’.
The Independent says frantic efforts have been set in motion to clean the façade of Accra to make it fitting to host such an august gathering.
It says certain streets have had their pavements and kerbs cleaned and painted, while a number of flowerpots have sprung up in the city. IN addition, the paper says, a number of rubbish bins have appeared on the roadsides of the city, especially around the Novotel Hotel.
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Gemann on death row…What next
The Graphic Showbiz in a lead story reports that "showbizman" Gemann, who is serving a death sentence for a 1995 shooting of a taxi driver over a fare, says that "he is very sorry for the incident" and asks for forgiveness from the family of his victim.
The paper says, Gemann, now a devout Christian, is said to have written a set of gospel songs to be recorded as an album and will be titled "Forgive Me".
According to the Graphic Showbiz, Gemann who was sentenced to death by an Accra High Court at age 33, for shooting a taxi driver at close range, says that although he has been sentenced to death, "God knows that the shooting incident was an accident".
The paper quotes a source close to Gemann’s family as saying that not only has Gemann regretted the incident but sees it as "very unfortunate".
According to the source, Gemann wishes to ask for forgiveness from the relatives of the late Mr Kwesi Adjei, whom he shot, with the message that it was an accident as he only wanted to scare him off and he never intended to kill Adjei.
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Father kills son over sugarcane
The paper in an inside page story, reports that Bleamezando, a farming community near Keta in the Volta Region, was on 9th April, this year, thrown into a state of shock, grief and mourning when a ‘covetous’ father butchered his 24-year-old crippled son over a sugarcane plantation.
The Weekend Chronicle says the father, 65-year-old Gabriel Abordi, allegedly offered a piece of land to his son, Anthony Ahelegbe, a former student of Atiavi Secondary School, for cultivation into which the boy had invested much labour. Quoting Madam Ablavi Dogbatse, an aunt of the deceased, the paper says Abordi became envious of his son’s farm and tried to seize it from him by force.
Arbitration was arranged and the elders and opinion leaders of the town advised the father to exercise patience until his son had harvested the sugarcane.
According to the aunt, the son accepted the suggestions of the elders but his father did not at first but gave in later after much persuasion. The Weekend Chronicle says about 11 p.m. that fateful day, the father took advantage of the silent night and
‘nicodemously’ sneaked into the farmhouse where the son was distilling ‘akpeteshie’. The paper says the father murderously inflicted several cutlass wounds on his son. Anthony’s shouts for help attracted people to the scene, who succeeded in disarming the father.
The Weekend Chronicle quotes reports as saying Anthony, the second of five children, died on April 23, after developing complications. The reports said the Abordi would be put before court on a provisional charge of murder.
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Three communities construct 206 million cedis dams
In an inside page story, the Graphic reports that three communities in the Nadowli District of the Upper West Region, have constructed three dams at a cost of 206 million cedis with support from the German Technical Co-operation Agency (GTZ) and the Nadowli District Assembly.
The communities are Takpo, Tabinase and Kanyingasible. The paper says the German Technical Co-operation Agency contributed 90 million cedis while the assembly provided 71 million cedis with the three communities providing labour, materials and constructing the speedways at a cost of 45 million cedis.
The Graphic the Nadowli District Chief Executive, Mr Samuel Suglo, in the company of Mr Alban Bagbin and Mr Emmanuel Zumakpeh, Members of Parliament for Nadowli North and Nadowli South respectively, have inspected the projects.
Mr Suglo is reported to have addressed the residents of the three communities and told them that the dams were provided to assist the people, who are predominantly farmers, to maximise their output and boost agricultural production in the area.
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Return to topCoca-Cola votes $12 million to boost local services
The Times reports that Coca-Cola Company, the world’s leading soft drink manufacturer, is to invest $12 million more in its bottling infrastructure in Ghana.
The paper quotes Mr Carl Ware, senior vice-president and president of the African Group, as saying that this was because of the confidence and trust that Coca-Cola Company has in the Ghanaian economy.
The expansion programme would involve the bottling line and accessory equipment in its manufacturing factories in Ghana. Mr Ware, the paper says, was speaking to newsmen at the Kotoka International Airport soon on arrival to participate in the Fifth African-African-American Summit, which was officially opened by President Jerry Rawlings yesterday.
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