Drama at Winneba - Asafo factions, Police defy orders.
NDC women issues threat
World Bank fund disappears
GSE shares outperform treasury bills and inflation over eight years.
Help, here come the police
Ghanaian Catholics give to the Vatican
New threats to human rights
NPP falling apart in Ashanti
Drama at Winneba - Asafo factions, Police defy orders.
The Daily Graphic reports on its front page that drama unfolded at Winneba on Saturday when the competence and discipline of the Ghanaian Police Service was put to severe test at the abortive Aboakyer Festival.
The report says not even the "obey before complain" policy commonly associated with the security forces came to play, as police personnel on duty repeatedly defied orders from their commander to halt proceedings at the palace of Neenyi Ghartrey VII, Omanhene of the Effutu traditional Area.
Commissioner of Police, V.V.K. Agbenato, who was commanding a large contingent detailed to maintain peace and order by enforcing the government directive that the celebration of the festival be suspended, is said to have on two separate occasions, shouted to orders to his men to act but were disregarded.
The report says the heavily armed police, who had earlier taken positions on the principal streets of the town, stood aloof when the Denstifo (Number Two) Asafo Company carried their catch, shoulder high to the palace amid singing and jubilation.
The story, which was also carried on the front page of the Ghanaian Times, adds that it was not until Neenyi Ghartey VII has performed the rituals of stepping on the deer three times and reciting some incantations to signify the acceptance of the animal by the gods, did the police in a desperate move to salvage their image seize the deer.
According to the two papers, the celebration of this year’s Aboakyer Festival ran into problems when the two Asafo companies Tuafo (Number one) and Denstifo (Number two) pulled out of the activities in protest against the decision of the Neenyi Ghartey, whom they perceived as not the rightful person, to organise and preside over the “deer hunt”.
Meanwhile, the reports says, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Peter Nanfuri, who called on the chief after the incident asked him to prevail on his people to maintain peace and order in the town.
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The Daily Graphic in another front-page story says that there has been a relatively low-key response to the re-opening of the voters’ registration exercise, which commenced on Saturday.
The report says a number of registration centres it reporters visited in Accra yesterday revealed that the overwhelming majority of registered voters were yet to cross check their names. Additionally, only a small number of people have applied to have their names entered into the register of voters.
According to the report, at three centres at La in Accra, a total of 29 people had applied to be registered while at Sakumono East, also in Accra, only four people applied to have their names on the electoral roll.
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The Ghanaian
Chronicle on its front-page says the controversial Chief Executive of the
Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has struck again after upstaging the popular
Ashanti Regional Minister Mr. Kojo Yankah and securing his removal from office.
The paper says he has in the last three weeks turned his guns on another popular replacement for Honourable Yankah, Mr Nuamah Donkor, the current Regional Minister, blown away all key top officials within the council, massaged the so-called group of 46 who passed votes of no confident against him in the local Assembly and effectively colonised the entire city’s levers of government and finance.
According to the paper, an enraged and exasperated Nuamah Donkor last week literally fled Kumasi to Accra to lobby NDC chieftains particularly, the First Lady, from whom both Nuamah Donkor and Akwasi Agyeman draw their support.
The paper says the two are at loggerheads over the Kejetia project while six departmental heads considered to be strict and reluctant to obey every unreasonable order were ordered to proceed on leave since February this year with no reasons and no idea of when they would be asked to report back at their posts.
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NDC women issues threat
The Dispatch says the test of the unity within the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will be put to severe test as the nominations for the running mate of Prof. Atta Mills and the 200 parliamentary seats are decided and announced. It will also test the resolve of the presidential candidate, Prof. Atta Mills, to withstand pressures from the various power blocs within the NDC.
The paper quotes what it calls ‘credible sources close to the women’s bloc of the party as revealing that the women have made it clear to those who matter, President Rawlings and Veep Mills, that there is the need to back the government’s decision of enhancing the participation of women in the governing process by allocating at least 40 percent of the NDC’s parliamentary candidature to women to be handpicked by them.
The second, the paper says, was that the running mate slot should be given to 52-year-old Mrs. Cecilia Johnson, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, General Secretary of the 31st December Women’s Movement (31st DWM) and women’s organiser of the NDC.
According to the paper, the women dropped the threat - that if these demands are not addressed, it will be too late for them to do anything drastic for the 2000 elections and held out the prospect of turning the 31st DWM into a political party.
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World Bank fund disappears
The Ghanaian Voice reports that the Ghana Herbalists Association has expressed shock at the conduct of some officials of the Ghana branch of the World Bank for allegedly denying the association members their right to benefiting from a loan grant since last year.
The paper quotes what it calls dependable sources close to the association in Kumasi, as saying that a number of herbalists are feverishly preparing to drag the top shots of the Ghana office of the World Bank to court to explain the rational behind their failure to release the alleged grant of 200 million cedis to them.
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GSE shares outperform treasury bills and inflation over eight years.
The High Street Journal in a front page report, says despite the rather bearish nature of the stock market in recent times, shares quoted on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) have given their holders higher returns for their monies over an eight year period than the much favoured treasury bills, and is at the same time, doing better than inflation over the same period.
This, the report says, was gathered from a presentation made by the Managing Director of the GSE, Mr Yeboa Amoa, last week at the Institute of economic Affairs (IEA) in Accra.
Mr Amoa, who called on the public to invest in shares, said statistics gathered over the eight year period, from 1991 to 1998, indicated that the GSE annual nominal return hit an average of 44.8 percent, whereas the treasury bills had a mean of 31.6 percent and inflation, 34.3 percent over the same period.
He is said to have added that the GSE annual return hit an all time high of 124.3 percent in 1994, followed by 113.8 in 1993, 69.69 percent in 1998, whilst it recorded an all time low of 8.9 percent in 1991 and –3.6 percent in 1992.
Comparing these with that of treasury bills, Mr Amoa said treasury bills returns never reached a three-digit figure in the review period.
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Help, here comes the police
According to the Accra Mail, if there is one institution that is quick to anger and very liberal with the use of force, then it is the Ghana Police Service.
The paper writing on how the Police brutalised a man who complained of a smoky police jeep, says the victim travelling from Abavana Junction to 37 in a taxi cab with his brother saw a smoky Police jeep in front of them and pointed it out to the occupants of the jeep.
However as thy got to their destination, the Police jeep also pulled up and out came one of the Policemen who started insulting him and threatening to lock him up. When he enquired why they wanted to lock him up, three others in the jeep pounced on him and gave him a sound beating tearing his yellow shirt in the process.
According to the paper, as he was being beaten a crowd gathered and the Policemen called for re-enforcement of about seven more policemen with guns. They took the victim and his brother away to the Police headquarters then later to Cantoments Police Station. They were later sent to Nima Police station and handed over to the officer in-charge without any charge.
The paper concluded that the two brothers were later arraigned before court, but the Judge dismissed the case saying the Policemen had taken the law into their own hands, they should have first referred the case to the court, so there is nothing that could be done about the case.
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Ghanaian Catholics give to the Vatican
The Accra Mail on its third page writes on how Ghanaian Catholics have contributed 101 million cedis to a common fund in the Vatican this year as part of their contributions to projects undertaken by the Catholic Church.
According to the paper this is to better the lives of people and those in need. The National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies of the National Catholic Secretariat, Rev. Msgr. Roger Aboteyuure, said, last year, Catholics in Ghana contributed 78 million cedis to the common fund for the Vatican. In return it got almost US $ 2.5 million for various projects by the Catholic Church in Ghana.
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New threats to human rights
The front page story of the Public Agenda states that the Trades Union Congress of Ghana (TUC) has warned of a looming threat to the fundamental rights of Ghanaian workers in the shape of proposed changes in the country's labour laws and predicted that some of this intended changes are a recipe for industrial chaos.
According to the paper, the Secretary General of TUC Mr. Christian Appiah Agyei, accused the government during this year’s May Day celebrations in Accra, of seeking to use the law reform to destroy the labour movement.
The TUC boss stated that "Instead of reforming our labour laws with the aim of increasing workers capabilities and motivating us to work hard and to direct workers efforts towards the achievement of national goals, as spelt out in the vision 2020 Document, it is gradually becoming very clear that the new labour Act is seeking to get rid of trade unions in particular, and organised labour in general."
According to the paper in a detailed 12-page comment on the draft Labour Act, 2000 the TUC generally welcomed the idea of reform and consolidation of labour laws but expressed strong objections to five Articles of the Bill. These are Article 167, which seeks to deny workers in essential services the right to strike, Article 118 on the certification to Collective Bargaining, Article 128 on Union Dues and Article 96 on Freedom of Association.
The Deputy Minister for Employment and Social Welfare Mr Austin Gamey stoutly defended the proposed labour law reform in a recent interview with a state-owned daily, claiming it will cater for worker's interest.
The paper recalled that the volatile and angry mood within the worker's movement was vividly demonstrated during the May Day celebration when some angry workers dressed in mourning clothes surged on the President, provoking a panicky reaction from some of his security personnel.
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NPP falling apart in Ashanti
The Ghana Palaver on its front page writes that what was supposed to be a fund raising rally jointly organised by the Asokwa East and Asokore Mampong constituencies of the NPP on Holy Saturday, April 22 at the KNUST junction can only pass as a flop.
According to the paper, if numbers, which really matter in the game of politics, is anything to go by, then the signs on the walls are clear adding that the flag bearer of the party, Mr J A Kuffour was in town alright but could not attend the function forcing the organisers to deceive the gathering that the rains prevented him from attending.
The paper adds that the flag bearer was advised not to attend the poorly patronised rally in a supposed stronghold of the party to save him from disgrace.
According to the paper the Asokwa East parliamentary aspirant, Dr Baffoe Bonney threw out journalists including those from the Statesman, the Crusading Guide, The Ghanaian Chronicle, Ghanaian Times and Radio Mercury from the function questioning " Who brought you here? I did not invite you so I have no time for you".
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