Reform Party says no to Rawlings
Did Ato Ahwoi & co. arrange sham deal?
Why Nduom demanded it
Jack Bebli indicted!
More troubles ahead of NDC!
Tension over millennium Aboakyer – Ministers run for their lives
Kofi Wayo’s bombshell on Rawlings
The Ghanaian Times/ The Daily Graphic
No threat to business
We'll address concerns - President Rawlings
Ghana to be postal hub of W. Africa
'Review Intestate Succession Law'
Lumba beats them all at Ghana
Music Awards 2000
Reform Party says no to Rawlings
The National Reform Party (NRP) has rejected outright the plea from President Rawlings and his Vice, Prof. John Attah Mills to rejoin the NDC, contending that issues, which made some members leave the Party are still prevailing.
Mr. Kyeretwie Opoku, General Secretary of NRP is reported by the Guide to have said during a telephone interview with Joy FM that their Party was not enthused or moved by the appeal.
The story says Mr. Opoku, in a comment on why they left the mother Party said, the internal democracy of the NDC was dead. Citing the gradual shift from constituencies to party headquarters, which in itself was becoming a 'fig leaf' for manipulation by people around the presidency and the President's household.
Also, he said the growing level of unchecked corruption within the system and its negative impact on the country's development efforts as a whole, has convinced them that the split from the NDC was more positive.
According to the Guide, Mr. Opoku further referred to the concerns they had expressed about the crises in policy management, the fact that people stopped working, the economy and the fact that the system as a whole was being allowed to leak.
"I think that it is pretty clear for everybody now that the worst had really happened", the Guide quotes him as saying.
"The party is disintegrating largely because you are not providing scope for people to express themselves freely on their views to make an impact on how things are run", the NRP scribe further said.
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Did Ato Ahwoi & co. arrange sham deal?
The Guide in another story says further information reaching it on a £480,000 deal between some PNDC officials and Willowbrook Ghana Limited in 1982 is zooming in on some top names who, are now out of government.
The Paper says the amount represents 15 per cent of £3.2million, transferred from Ghana to Willowbrook International at a time when the issue of probity and accountability was high on the agenda, and Ghanaian businessmen were being chased around for possible offences.
The Guide says its source in London and the Commonwealth Crime Secretariat dropped the names of Mr. Ahwoi, member of the then National Economic Review Committee (NERC) and later Secretary for Trade and Industry, Dr. Joe Abbey, also of NERC and former Finance Minister and Dr. Kwesi Botchway as those who arranged the transfer of the amount out of Ghana.
It says one Mr. Hughes, Chairman of Willowbrook, in a deal with Ghanaian officials caused the amount to be transferred from Ghana to pay its external debts contrary to what was operative in the country at the time.
According to the story, under the agreement between Mr. Huges and three Ghanaian officials alleged to be involved in the deal, 15 percent was to be paid to some unnamed Ghanaian officials, routed through the company's Swiss branch and then to Barclays Plc of London.
The story says Hughes had lunch with Mr. Ahwoi, Dr. Abbey and Dr. Botchwey in London after the transfer was made.
Barclays Plc London, is reported to have received the 3.2million less the 15 per cent which begun a long legal tussle between Mr. Hughes and the bank leading to the mentioning of the names of the three former government officials.
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Why Nduom demanded it
Dr. Kwesi Nduom, a leading member of the Convention People's Party, says he forced the executives to refund his 15m cedis deposit for the presidential slot when it became evident that some of the aspirants were only seeking positions and not the interest of the party, reports The Evening News.
Dr. Nduom, according to the story alleged that these people were unable to pay the stipulated 50,000 cedis for the party's congress but managed to raise the 15m cedis deposit for the presidential slot.
"I withdrew from the race as a sign of protest to ensure that the party puts things in their right perspective", Dr. Nduom was quoted as saying.
According to the eminent economist, the behaviour of those aspirants showed how selfish they were because they wanted power but did not want to contribute to the party's welfare.
Dr. Nduom, the report says, accused some of the leaders of engaging in newspaper politics rather than contributing to the growth of the party, adding that "those of us at the forefront of the party must set good examples by contributing to building the party".
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Jack Bebli indicted!
The Crusading Guide says it can confirm today that a bill of indictment and summary of evidence have been forwarded from the Attorney-General's Office to the Commissioner of Police (CID) in respect of Alhaji Sheik Sheiku Mohammed Bebli, a.k.a RSM Jack Bebli, 6th accused in a 2.4b cedi gold robbery, to stand trial with six others.
The Paper names the other six accused persons as Philip Asamoah a.k.a Agingo, Isaac Frimpong a.k.a Nii Baby Tei, Patrick Boakye Mprah, G/Cpl. James Doli, Augustus Oko Dartey and Kofi Bokor, a.k.a Kofi Bebli.
According to the paper, a letter dated March 15, 2000 and signed by a Chief State Attorney, Mr. Osafo Sampong, revealed that the seven have been variously charged with five counts involving the gold theft.
RSM Bebli, the paper says, is charged with the first count of conspiracy to commit robbery, contrary to Section 23(1) and Section 149 of the Criminal Code, 1960, Act 29.
According to the Crusading Guide, the summary of evidence indicated that the prosecution intends to call 13 witnesses.
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More troubles ahead of NDC!
Another front-page story in the Crusading Guide says, indications are that the ruling National Democratic Congress faces more troubles ahead in the selection of the Party's Vice Presidential candidate.
This situation, the story says, has arisen because the Coordinating Committee of the Savannah Club in the 'three Northern Regions' of Ghana are poised to fight for the common interest of the three regions concerning the choice of Prof. Mills' running mate.
The paper says a recent delegates meeting of the Coordinating Committee and the Zongos emphatically underscored their collective support for the NDC government but insisted that they want the Vice President to come from the North.
"The North in the political history of Ghana has lived up to expectations and deserves to be tried", they are reported to have said at the meeting.
They stated among other things that it would be wrong to compare the Volta Region, which has 18 constituencies to the three Northern regions, which have 43 Constituencies and therefore warned for an end to be put to comparisons being made between the two regions.
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Tension over millennium Aboakyer – Ministers run for their lives
The Independent reports on its front page that the Central Regional Minister, Hon. Jacob Arthur, his deputy, Mr H.Q. Jehu Appiah and the Awutu-Efutu-Senya District Chief Executive, Lt. Daniel Osadu last week Wednesday took to their heels to flee the wrath of the sub-chiefs of Winneba and the two Asafo companies, Tuafo No. 1 and Denstifo No.2.
Quoting its sources at Winneba, the paper says the Minister and his entourage were also booed and hooted at and as tension kept mounting, the government officials who were at Winneba to meet with the two groups had no option than to run for their dear lives.
According to the paper, the current agitation by the Asafo companies and the sub-chiefs against the Regional Minister and his Deputy is a confirmation of growing fears in Winneba that the days leading to this year’s Aboakyer festival will not be different from the tensed atmosphere, leading to the two previous ones with their attendant violence and casualties.
The basis for this year’s disagreement, the paper quotes its source as saying, emanates from the vow made by the sub-chiefs and the two Asafo groups never to recognise the Omanhene of the traditional area, Nana Ghartey VII.
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Kofi Wayo’s bombshell on Rawlings
The Accra Mail carrying a photograph of Mr Kofi Wayo devotes its front-page and page eight to an interview it had with the US based Ghanaian tycoon who is currently in the country and is causing stirs in political circles.
The interview quotes Wayo as saying, “Strictly speaking I’ve come to do what you call recce, to find out how I can fit in the system in order to change things and make life better for our people because our people are suffering too much”.
When asked why he had his first rally in Nima on arrival in the country, Wayo said Nima is his home and he found it very depressing how the people of Nima could be left in abject poverty, degradation and spiritual nullification.
Wayo, who in a disguised way expressed interest in contesting a parliamentary seat in the forth coming general elections, said he is seriously thinking about joining a political party in the country and asked to be given “a week or so” by which time he would have made up his mind.
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No threat to business
We'll address concerns - President Rawlings
The two papers in their banner stories report on the meeting between the President, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings and Mr.Don Short, President of the Africa and Middle East Group of Coca-Cola at the Castle in Accra.
The Ghanaian Times says President Rawlings has assured the business community that the peace and security of the country will not be disturbed by the forthcoming elections on 8 December, stating that stability and development has come to stay.
According to the Times story, President Rawlings expressed the conviction that the country's progress would not be affected by any destabilizing factors. "I feel confident about the level of stability in the country", the Times quotes him as saying.
The paper continues that the President expressed the hope that whoever emerged victorious in the next election, would do everything possible to ensure the stability of the country, because "no one would want to see the winding of the clock of progress back".
The Daily Graphic on its part, says President Rawlings has assured workers that the concerns they expressed during the May Day celebrations would be duly addressed.
According to the paper, the President Rawlings did concede that although some workers had misconceptions about certain policies, some of the issues they raised are genuine concerns and would be promptly addressed.
The story recalls that during the May Day celebrations, placard bearing workers among other things, expressed concern about the increasing cost of living and rights of workers to join unions of their choice.
The Graphic says the President intimated that he was particularly attracted by workers of the Tema PSC Shipyard who were dressed in mourning clothes and were bemoaning the fate of their company, the former Tema Shipyard and Drydock.
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Ghana to be postal hub of W. Africa
In another front-page story, the Ghanaian Times reports that Ghana will become a postal hub for the West Africa sub-region by 2002.
The paper says Mrs. Peace Ayisi-Okyere, Acting Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ghana Postal Company (GPC), said at a meeting of the postal hub project that when the project becomes a reality, the country will serve as an international mail transit centre for the international exchange of mails and parcels between the region and the rest of the world.
The project is jointly being undertaken by GPC, TNT International and Nepostal, an international postal agency, and would partly be financed by the Dutch Government.
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Review Intestate Succession Law
The Daily Graphic says in a back-page story that Dr. Oware Gyekye, Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), has reiterated the call for immediate review of what he termed "the over 15-year old intestate succession law" for better understanding and easy enforcement.
According to the paper, he also asked for a review of rules guiding the making of will to make it easier for people to make their wills.
Dr. Gyekye who, the story says was addressing an impact assessment seminar of the intestate law (PNDCL 111), said, the law has its attendant problems because of which family relations no longer assist in the settlement of funeral expenditure and educational expenses.
The story refers to the provisions in the law, which allocate almost all property to the spouse and children, saying: "Reviewing the law will help bring peace among all interested parties", he said.
Dr. Oware called for a change of attitude towards making wills adding that making a will does not mean that one was going to die but just a safe guard against the eventuality.
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Daddy Lumba is also
said to have won two other awards – artist of the year and album of the year –
both of which fetched him two million cedis more and two trophies.
The report says nineteen other musicians and a company were honoured at the programme, which the report says could have easily passed for a ‘Hollywood Affair’.
Daasebre Gyamena is said to have chucked the second position on the list of big winners with two awards to his credit. His ‘Kokooko’ earned him the Hiplife Song of the year and he was voted the Songwriter of the year for which he received two trophies and 1 million cedis each.
The awards for the Recording Label of the year and Executive Producer of the year went to Slip Music.
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