The drama at Aboakyer festival..IGP orders probe
Kumasi New Patriotic Party Parliamentarians to sue EC
We've enough materials - EC
Kerosene lantern burns girl
Contractors heckle Peprah
NDC chairman bullies British partner…tries to deport him, despite debts owed the Britishman
New book on J.J. and June 4 executions
Hired agent spills the beans… NDC targets aliens for registration
Totobi denies foreign account story
Ashanti NDC cries foul
NPP condemns shortage of registration materials
The drama at Aboakyer festival..IGP orders probe
The Daily Graphic in its lead story reports the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Peter Nanfuri, as saying that the police administration is investigating press reports that some police personnel detailed to enforce the Central Regional Security Council's order to postpone the celebration of this year's Aboakyer festival at Winneba at the weekend, defied orders from their commanding officer.
He said in an interview at Tamale on Monday that whoever is found to have flouted the lawful orders issued by the commanding officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr V.V.K. Agbenatoe, would be dealt with according to provisions of the police service instructions.
Following a directive by the Central Regional Security Council that the celebration of this year's Aboakyer festival should be suspended in the interest of peace, a contingent of police, under the command of Mr Agbenatoe, was deployed in the town last Saturday to enforce the directive.
The police is said to have taken position on the principal streets of the town, the entrance and the premises of the Omanhene's palace but in two separate instances, some of them defied orders from their commander to halt proceedings marking the festival.
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Kumasi New Patriotic Party Parliamentarians to sue EC
The Daily Graphic says Members of Parliament (MPs) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Kumasi have threatened to initiate court action to restrain the Electoral Commission (EC) from continuing with the voters registration exercise if the commission fails to make adequate registration forms available at all centres.
The MPs said in a statement, that they will also not restrain the youth from demonstrating against the commission because of the acute shortage of forms at the various registration centres throughout the country.
The MPs claimed that information reaching them indicates that only 20 registration forms would be made available to each registration centre.
Considering the enthusiasm of the youth in the Kumasi metropolis to register in their numbers during the exercise, the supply of only 20 registration forms to each centre is woefully inadequate, the statement said.
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We've enough materials - EC
The banner headline of the Ghanaian Times says the Electoral Commission (EC) has said that there are enough registration forms in stock to cater for the revision exercise currently underway throughout the country.
The EC is said to have made this statement yesterday in reaction to reports that there is a shortage of registration materials such as registration forms, indelible ink, camera films, forms for objection and voter registration challenge forms.
The paper says Mr A. Kofi Arhin, Director of Elections, speaking in an interview, attributed the purported shortage to delays in the delivery and distribution of registration forms.
He is said to have explained that a total of 1.5 million registration forms were ordered for printing in London, but only an initial consignment of 475,000 was delivered to the EC on April 22.
According to the paper, Mr Arhin said there was no shortage as was being alleged and that the first consignment was distributed to the polling stations for the take-off of the exercise.
Distribution of the remaining consignment, which was further delayed due to freight charges at the ports, is currently underway he said, and urged those who could not register because of the shortage to do so now.
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Kerosene lantern burns girl
The Ghanaian Times carries, in an inside page, the sad story of an eight-year-old girl at Ho-Dome who seriously burnt on Sunday evening when the kerosene lantern she was lighting exploded.
The girl, Yawa Ton-Dzala, was engulfed by the flames from the explosion. She is currently on admission at the surgical ward of the Volta Regional Hospital where the authorities described her condition as "very critical."
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Contractors heckle Peprah
Mr Kwame Peprah, Minister of Finance was last Thursday heckled by a desperate contractor at the ministry of Finance over the government's failure to pay for contracts executed since last year, reports the Ghanaian Chronicle in a front page story.
He was among a host of contractors who besieged the office of the Minister, most of them bearing serious stories of penury over the length of time that they had not been paid, story said adding that the government owed the contractors 228 billion cedis.
Mr Peprah's ordeal is said to have continued the following Tuesday when he was spotted entering his car after the receptionist at his office had told the contractors that the Minister was not in town.
One contractor is said to have told the Chronicle that the Minister had earlier on told them that he was not prepared to listen to any thing and ordered them to depart from his Ministry.
According to the paper all efforts to get the Minister and his two deputies to comment on the issue have proved futile in spite of numerous calls to their offices, which were not returned.
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NDC chairman bullies British partner…tries to deport him, despite debts owed the British
In another front page story, the Ghanaian Chronicle reports of a case in which, the chairman of the Eastern Region branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and major contractors in the area are in the middle of a detention and attempted deportation case involving a British national who arrived in the country in 1997 and established a multi-billion cedi business with him.
The report says Mr Kenneth Ralph Morgan, is now in detention as an illegal immigrant at the headquarters of the Immigration Service for over eight weeks and as at the time of his arrest, he is said to be owed several millions by his business partners and had sued for recovery of his funds and some assets.
The NDC chairman and other partners, the report says, even bought a ticket, which they allegedly gave to the Immigration Service to facilitate Morgan's deportation.
Morgan in an interview with the Ghanaian Chronicle at his cell at the Ghana Immigration Service, said he was accused by his business partners, of having stolen180, 000 dollars and equipment belonging to them.
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New book on J.J. and June 4 executions
The Dispatch says a new 319 page book, Ghana: Peace and Stability - Chapters from the Intelligence Sector, due to be launched this afternoon, will give Ghanaians, a new inside account into Flt-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings and the June 4 executions; another inside story of the alleged sex scandal involving former vice-president, Kow Arkaah and Jemima Yalley; the saga of the late Dr. John Ackah Blay Miezah and his supposed millions of dollars and how the Progress Party government of the late Dr. K.A. Busia was informed of the coup by the first Brigade Commander, the late Lt. Col. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
The author of the book is Mr Kofi Bentum Quantson, one of Ghana's most experienced intelligence officers and currently the Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Board.
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Hired agent spills the beans… NDC targets aliens for registration
The Free Press reports that after successfully rigging the 1992 and 1996 elections, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) strong woman, Nana Gyamfuah alias Magajia, is being pressurised to do it again during this year’s elections.
The paper says its investigations revealed that Magajia has been charged with registering aliens to enable them to vote for the NDC during elections.
At least 500 aliens have been targeted for this nefarious activity but the peeved woman is baring her teeth and says “No, not this time”.
The paper continues that in 1992 and 1996, Nana Gyamfuaa is alleged to have mobilised aliens from other constituencies and got them registered in other Zongos and highly populated areas as well as the thickly inhabited Moslem communities.
The paper says when it conferred with Magajia in Accra, last Monday, she disclosed that some NDC top officials approached her early this year to try and strike another deal for this year's elections.
However, Magajia who is peeved by the NDC's failure to thank her for doing those dirty jobs, let alone rewarding her for the job, refused and has decided to spill the beans.
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Totobi denies foreign account story
The Weekly Insight carries on its front page, a rejoinder by Mr Totobi Quarkyi, Head of National Security, denying an earlier report by the paper that he had a foreign account with a credit balance of $3 million.
The rejoinder expressed surprise and a sense of outrage at the allegation and described it as having no basis whatsoever.
Mr Quarkyi, in the rejoinder, said the intent of the allegation is to malign him and set him up for public rumour and ridicule for reasons he cannot fathom.
He said it is obvious that given the current economic difficulties such a wild allegation involving such incredulous amounts of money can have grave implications, as some gullible members of the public might believe the story without any scrutiny.
Mr Quarkyi, who told the paper to retract the story, however said he is considering all options opened to him to seek redress.
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Ashanti NDC cries foul
The Ghana Palaver reports that the Ashanti Regional Secretariat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to investigate the incidence of mass transfer of votes from Kumasi to the Offinso North Constituency.
A press statement signed by Mr Paul Kwame Adu, Regional Administrator of the party, said the NDC has received reports that many voters in Ashanti-New-Town, Suame and Maakro in Kumasi, Ayaakaso, Ayesua and Namong in the Offinso South are being prevailed upon to transfer their votes to Offinso North.
This, the paper says, is being engineered by some businessmen from Akomadan residing in Kumasi and is designed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to boost its chances of retaining the parliamentary seat of the area in this year's general elections.
The statement called on the EC to take serious note of the reports and act to prevent all forms of malpractice during the revision of the voter's register.
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NPP condemns shortage of registration materials
The Evening News in its lead story says the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed concern about the shortage of registration forms and other relevant materials at various polling centres throughout the country.
The paper quotes Mr Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the NPP, to have said in a statement, that "reports coming in from our various offices in the regions indicate that the 20 forms supplied to the registration centres by the Electoral Commission (EC) are grossly inadequate"
It said the usual excuse of "technical problems" is not acceptable to the NPP and other fair-minded citizens.
The statement therefore called on the EC to take immediate steps to ensure that enough registration forms and other relevant materials are sent to the polling stations.
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