CEPS Busts Cocaine Deal at Tema Port
Who wins the Lambussie seat?
$500m coke lands at Tema Port
DCEs Sabotage Opposition MPs
Return Stolen $Bn Or No Aid - African Americans set conditions for bailing Africa out
Konadu versus Tsikata..who is telling the truth?
Government Attitude to Obuasi strike is Dangerous – Official
AMA’s billion dollars shady contract
Jesse Jackson promises to deliver $1m Private investment for Ghana Stock Exchange
The Daily Graphic in a lead headline story, reports that three big parcels of cocaine have been found concealed in a consignment of rice imported into Ghana from Surinam..
Officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service made the discovery when they examined the consignment of 400 bags in a 20-footer container currently at the Tema Port.
The report states that depending on its purity, the cocaine would fetch an estimated $200,000. The consignment which was shipped on February 21, this year and transshipped through Felixstowe in the United Kingdom on board a vessel "CMTB Asia", arrived at the Tema Port as its final destination on March 28 but has since not been claimed or cleared by anybody.
Mr. Robert Kwame, Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of Tema, who led a team of CEPS officials and other security personnel, acting on a tip-off, broke the seal to the container in the presence of a representative of Saga Ghana Limited (formerly UMARCO), the ship's agents, as well as some officials of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority.
Meanwhile preliminary inquiries revealed that the consignee of the cargo is "Karl Hans Rice" Imports and Exports, Accra with telephone number 00 –233-21 400365.
In another front page story headlined "Who wins the Lambussie seat?" the Graphic says a bye -election necessitated by the death on April 20, of Mr Luke Koo, Member of Parliament for Lambussie in the Upper west Region, will be held today.
The electorate of the Lambussie Constituency in the Jirapa-Lambussie District, who go to the polls today to elect an MP for the area, will be choosing from Mrs Alice Boon, the candidate for the NDC, Mr Anthony Baloroo, standing on the ticket of the NPP and Mr. Franklin Bie Ketting, candidate for the People's National Convention (PNC) All three political parties and their respective candidates are said to have engaged in aggressive caampaigning for the past three weeks in all the 15 electoral areas of the constituency, hoping to win the support of the estimated 13,000 voters for their respective parties.
So, who wins the Lambussie seat? Most political pundits on this bye-election see it as a straight fight between the NDC and the NPP, giving the PNC no chance at all. Given the huge victory the NDC chalked in the 1998 Parliamentary poll (80 %) as against the (13 %) for the NPP and seven per cent for the PNC; the general conservative nature of the area where people do not easily change their minds on political issues and allegiance; the hard campaign launched and the array of political advantages at the disposal of the ruling party, the NDC, appears set for a decisive win today.
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$500m coke lands at Tema Port , is the screaming headline of the Ghanaian Times. The paper says 400 bags of rice in a container which arrived at the Tema Harbour on March 28, this year, were each stuffed with 2.22 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine worth a total of 500m dollars.
According to a highly placed source at the Custom, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) Headquarters, the container had arrived from Surinam with registration number KNLU 3315893 and weighing 30,480 kilogrammes.
The paper says the local clearing agents were identified as Saga Ghana Limited (formerly UMARCO), based at Tema but they would not disclose the owner. So far no arrest has been made and investigations to identif the owner(s) continue.
The Times says the discovery was due to the vigilance of CEPS officials and other security agencies who had tightened their network of operations at the harbour.
In a second front page story on the Lambussie constituency bye-election taking place today the Times says three parties, the NDC, the NPP and the PNC, have sponsored candidates to contest the seat made vacant by the demise of the incumbent, the late Mr Luke Koo, who won the 1996 elections on the ticket of the NDC. . The paper names Madam Alice Teni Boon of the NDC, Mr. Anthony Baloroo NPP and Mr. Thomas Franklin Bie Ketting of the People’s National Convention as the candidates.
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In its lead story, the Free Press reports that several NDC-appointed District Chief Executives are using their partisan interests to control the MPs 20 er cent share of the district assemblies common fund, in a clear attempt to sabotage their development efforts.
According to the paper, some District Chief Executives are either refusing flatly or hesitating in signing cheques for funds released by the respective district assemblies for the MPs, most of whom are NPP members, under the pretext of either ensuring that the funds are properly used or accounted for.
The Free Press says the real intention of the DCEs is to deny the NPP Parliamentarians their constitutional right to participate in the development of their respective constituencies.
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"Return Stolen $Bn Or No Aid- African Americans Set Conditions for Bailing Africa Out" is the banner headline of this leading private newspaper.
The story has it that," there are strong hints that African Americans might not contribute to the Rev. Leon Sullivan's Peoples Investment for Africa Fund, aimed at assisting artisans, building schools and supplying pens and pencils to students, if these monies are to end up in the foreign accounts of African Leaders".
Mr. Abubacar Weaver, Vice-President of Boston-based African-American Seafoods who attended the 5th African African -American Summit where the fund was announced, said it is a good idea but the precondition for support is "the sincerity of African Leaders".
The founder of the Fund, Sullivan, is himself said to have asked African leaders to "strengthen my hand by stopping to line your pockets. Strengthen my hand by letting democracy work".
" If Sullivan is asking African Americans to give their life’s savings to Africa, well its not a problem if you have sincere people. But if you gonna have people like Mobutu’s in leadership positions, then no way", says Weaver.
According to the Chronicle, Weaver claimed that during the last 10 to 20 years, over $450 billion had been given to Africa by the IMF/ World Bank, European banks and Arab countries.
However, he said only 22% had been re-invested in Africa. Where is the rest of the money? "We’re talking about money that could have benefited and modernised Africa three times"
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The headline story of the Weekly Insight asks "Konadu versus Tsikata, who is speaking the truth" in a conflict of words between Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Ghana's First Lady and Captain Kojo Tsikata, former Head of National Security.
The paper says it has learnt from Tsikata’s associates that the army Captain had fallen out of government because of interference in his work by Mrs. Rawlings.
According to the story, Tsikata’s associates say the retired army captain has not met with President Jerry John Rawlings for the part 12 months as a result, and has not been present at Council of State meetings.
It says Mrs. Rawlings on the other hand had informed an Accra bi-weekly that she had no problems with Captain Tsikata and that he is still very influential in the corridors of powers.
"There was no decline of his influence in government", Mrs. Konadu was quoted as saying.
The Weekly Insight says what Nana Konadu sought to imply was that Captain Tsikata is still a part of government.
However, the paper says Captain Kojo Tsikata is alleged to be operating in Kabila’s Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Uganda and London.
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The paper carries a banner headline; "Government Attitude to Obuasi strike is dangerous – Official".
According to the story, a senior public official within the labour sector has commented that governments attitude to the Obuasi strike is dangerous.
The paper disclosed that, the public official who pleaded for anonymity stated that "If government can wait for almost a week before intervening in such a serious labour dispute involving one of the mainstay of the economy, then other union leaders will keep away in future similar circumstances.
The paper confirmed that, information available to them indicates that, the striking workers want an average monthly salary of US $500 and the removal of the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Sam Jonah.
The paper says there is also an indication of an alleged politicking in the Obuasi strike action, because when the list of corporate bosses to meet some VIP's during the 5th African-African American Summit was drawn, a senior government official was alleged to have cancelled Mr. Jonah’s name, with the excuse that "He is busy solving his strike crisis".
Meanwhile, a source close to the office of the President had described as a ridiculous outrageous and silly" suggestions that the government had actively encouraged the strike action, saying "it is the state that stands to lose, not Mr. Sam Jonah".
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On the front-page of the Statesman is the headline; "AMA’s billion dollar shady contract" The paper carries a story indicating that the assembly of a variety of sanitation vehicles and equipment at the Accra Metropolitan Authority’s (AMA) Waste Management Department (WMD) in Accra, signals the imminent commencement of one of the most ridiculous rape cases against the people of Ghana by a government agency.
The paper says, 17 months after the AMA’s multi-million-dollar contract involving a Canadian firm, "Group Chagnon International" and an NDC front company, "City and Country Waste Ltd". (CCWL), all seems to be set for the start of his great con-job under the guise of sanitation.
According to the paper, the contract involves the supply of $14,630,998 worth of Ghana Government guaranteed Canadian loans that come in equipment, given freely to the newly registered CCWL, under which all local contractors will work.
It says similar waste management companies floated by Chagnon in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, where Ash International collected about 10bn CFA Francs a year, and in Dakar, Senegal, have failed after the monopolies created woefully failed to live up top expectation and left the cities in more rotten states.
The paper further stated that investigations into the deal reveal that most of the vehicles brought in by the company are not even suited for conditions in the country.
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The front page of the paper reads "Jesse Jackson promises to deliver $1m Private investment for Ghana Stock Exchange".
The High Street Journal reports that the Rev. Jesse Jackson, United States Special envoy for Africa has pledged to co-ordinate the raising of US $1m in new investment to stocks listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. He stressed that the funds are an investment and not a donation, and should therefore be treated as such. The Investment will be made by Private American investors.
The Rev. Jackson hinted that his wall street project organisation in US which is a Consortium of private investors was interested in buying this will afford them a say on how the GSE is run.
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