New fuel prices condemned
The Civil Aviation contract…Ghana will now pay 55bnC more
Liberalised economy hurting micro, small-scale industries - Peprah
Sam Jonah flies out with family
Military take-over…No going back - Minister
Set aside part of profits to fund education - Director
Pupil survives murder attempt…Pastor, wife arrested
New fuel prices condemned
The Public Agenda reports that four main opposition parties have condemned last Thursday's fuel price increases, the fourth in four months, saying they place untold hardship on Ghanaians. In a lead story, the paper says the New Patriotic Party (NPP), United Ghana Movement (UGM), People's National Convention (PNC) and Convention Party (CP), in separate interviews with the Public Agenda, denounced the increases.
Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minority Spokesman on Mines and Energy, is reported as challenging. The basis for the price increases, saying the benchmark for determining fuel prices in 1997 was $25 per barrel. He said during this period, the crude oil was about $24 per barrel and one U.S. dollar was equivalent to 2,350 cedis.
Then petrol was 778.89 cedis, diesel 729 and kerosene 493 cedis. The Public Agenda says Mr Kan-Dapaah noted that the prices of petroleum products in Ghana since then have only slightly decreased even though world crude oil prices over the period fell to as low as $9 a barrel and the dollar was 2,750 cedis.
According to him, the increase was unnecessary unless the government can show otherwise by making available the formula for determining prices. The UGM leader, Dr Wereko-Brobby, who is an energy expert, is also said to have contested the increase, saying it was "dastardly because it is too mysterious", while the PNC leader, Dr Edward Mahama, lamented the docility of Ghanaians, which he said makes them allow anything to be forced down their throats almost without a fight.
The paper says Mr Kwesi Pratt, a leading member of the CP, described the price hike as "insensitive" and said it was an indication of the government's inability to deal with economic and social problems confronting Ghana.
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The Civil Aviation contract…Ghana will now pay 55bnC more
In a screaming headline story on its front page, the Dispatch says its on-going investigations into the Kotoka International Airport Phase II project under the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), have revealed that Ghana will now pay, over the next four years, $20 million (55 million cedis) interest on the $74 million loan (about 204 million cedis).
According to the paper, there was what can be described as "direct conflict of interest" in the Sky Consult, a consulting company belonging to a member of the Board of Directors of GCAA, Mr Abu Millah, who is working on the project. The Dispatch says it also uncovered a high level of in-fighting among some of the companies that bided for the project.
The paper says reports from some financial analysts indicate that the original funding attracted no interest but some of the bidders complained to their governments and this "threw a spanner" into the financial arrangements.
The funding, the Dispatch says, has now attracted a 5.3 per cent interest, running into about $20 million over the next four years.
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Liberalised economy hurting micro, small-scale industries - Peprah
The Ghanaian Chronicle reports the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Peter Peprah, as stating that fierce competition in the present liberalised environment, coupled with inefficient production methods of medium and small-scale enterprises, are hindering the sector from contributing its full potential to Ghana's economic development.
According to him, 50 per cent of the enterprises in Ghana are medium and small-scale, serving as a source of wealth and employment generation. Mr Peprah was speaking at a ceremony in Cape Coast, to mark the eighth anniversary of the municipality's Business Advisory Centre.
The Deputy Minister is reported as saying that the government has created the conducive environment for the development of the industrial sector, putting in place measures to address problems that constrain the private sector and frustrate potential investors. The measures include the granting of tax concessions and other benefits to enterprises located in the rural areas to promote equitable development activities throughout Ghana.
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Sam Jonah flies out with family
The Ghanaian Voice quotes sources as saying that Mr Sam Jonah, Chief Executive of Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) Limited, has left Ghana with his entire family.
The paper says Mr Sam Jonah has not been seen in the country for almost a month now, adding that it is not in a position to confirm whether or not the AGC boss has left on holidays. According to the Voice, Mr Sam Jonah has been under intense pressure following the setting up of the "Anyidoho Probe" and alleged leaks from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) probe into some divested companies.
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Military take-over…No going back - Minister
The Ghanaian Democrat in its lead story, reports that the Minister of Health Mr Samuel Nuamah Donkor, has stated emphatically that all the "necessary paper work and documentation have been completed for the military and police to take over the running of the Ridge Hospital, the La and Mamprobi Polyclinics.
He is said to have declared that the ministry will go ahead without fear or favour at ensuring the smooth running of these three hospitals by the security agencies. "For this reason, there is no logic for any individual or group of individuals to demand the withdrawal of the National Emergency Hospitals policy by the Ministry of Health", he is quoted as saying.
The paper says Mr Nuamah Donkor, who disclosed this during an interview, noted that over the years, the ministry and indeed the government has observed with a "state of melancholy and a demoralising episode" in which many Ghanaian patients are left to their fate and ultimately died, partly due to industrial actions and counter boycotts by health workers in Ghana. "Many babies, pregnant women, nursing mothers, the aged and several patients under emergency observations lost their precious lives because doctors and nurses wanted fatter pay packets", he is quoted as saying.
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Set aside part of profits to fund education - Director
The Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Dr Frank Young, has asked the private sector to set aside some percentage of their profits to assist in funding education in Ghana, reports the Daily Graphic in an inside page story.
The paper quotes Dr Young as saying that the numerous economic demands on the country do not make it possible for the government to fund education in its entirety, making it appropriate that all well-meaning Ghanaians support the government in its effort to ensure quality education.
The Graphic says Dr Young, who was the guest speaker at this year's Presidential Charity Ball fund-raising dinner/dance of the Rotary Club of Accra North at the weekend, explained that even in developed countries, funding of education is done by cost-sharing and asked the private sector and non-governmental organisations to accept the challenge and assist the government in this direction.
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Pupil survives murder attempt…Pastor, wife arrested
The Ghanaian Times in a front-page human interest story, reports that the Reverend Emmanuel Larbi a 45-year-old pastor of the Bible Believers Association Church at Asante Mampong, is in the grips of the police over an attempt to draw blood from a junior secondary school student, Florence Essa Mensah, for ritual purposes.
The paper says Larbi's wife, Beatrice Serwaa, 30, and Adjei Brown, 29, a member of the church, are also in custody for aiding and abetting crime. According to the story, a search at the pastor's inner circle at Tabre, near Jamasi in Ashanti, where the attempt took place, unearthed a collection of occult books and a picture of a "murdered" baby.
The Times says the police have it that Florence, also known as Osofo Maame, was returning from a crusade by the Church of Pentecost at Mampong at about 9 p.m. last Wednesday when a taxi suddenly stopped by her. It says the driver, known as Brown, asked her to board the car, promising that he would take her home after the passengers had alighted. Florence obliged and when the taxi got to a junction near the Mampong Government Hospital, the driver sped off instead of stopping for her to alight.
The story says that as Brown sped off, Larbi sprinkled a concoction on Florence, dazing her. When she regained consciousness after two hours, she found herself handcuffed in a dark room with some shabbily dressed men. The Times says a man. Who spoke in an unfamiliar language, pulled a syringe and attempted to draw blood from her neck and ribs.
The paper says quoting Florence, a police spokesman said she mentioned the name of Jesus three times and instantly, the men became nervous. They removed the handcuff and led her through a meandering path to the main Mampong-Kumasi road about 12.30 a.m. When she got home, Florence informed her parents about the incident and they reported the case to the police.
The Times says last Thursday, Florence led the police to the sanctuary where Larbi, his wife and Brow were arrested.
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