Obeng, who called at the office of the “Evening News” to register his
displeasure with the roles of the police in the by-elections, said “it is most
unfair to the opposition parties for the police to stop them even when they
have obtained the permit to campaign or hold rallies.
“Everybody knows that the Vice President’s visits to these areas are not
coincidental and so if the excuse of his security is used to deny others their
constitutional rights, then the playing field is not being made even”. Obeng
said it was the expectation of the Ghanaians that the police Service would make
every effort to stay as neutral as possible, but the trend was becoming
unacceptable.
He said what happened at Navrongo, where the NDC, PNC, and DPP were
prevented from holding their rallies because the Vice President was touring the
area was highly unprofessional and must not be continued in other
constituencies. “it is important that the Electoral Commission and other
institutions charged with helping the growth of democracy ensure transparency
and remove all forms of abuse of the system, including the excessive use of
incumbency to political advantage,” he emphasised.
Obeng called on the Inspector General of Police, Nana Owusu Nsiah to
personally ensure that the police do not get themselves involved in the
politics of by-elections by allowing the government to dedicate what they must
do to them. – The Evening News
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
“Chronicle” can confidently say that most of the accidents recorded on
the Accra-Aflao road can be attributed to drunken-driving as the perception and
vision of the drivers are blurred as a result of too much alcohol in their
system.
The welfare officer for the
So far, three such drivers are on suspension and would be banned from
driving, if caught for a second time, he said adding, “Passengers pay to reach
their destination but no to and die on the road. He advised drivers to stop
over loading their vehicles and observe their axle weight, and drive within
normal speed limits and observe road signs.
The Public Relations Officer for AMA, Charles Parker-Allotey, told
Chronicle his outfit gave permits to people to operate chop bars and open
stores but not to turn to whole station into a drinking arena. He assured that
investigations would be conducted to ascertain that validity of the accusation
and, if possible, revoke the permits of those who have abused them.
The traffic officer of the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU), DSP
Ntim, said there is “traffic illiteracy” in the system which needs to be
tackled, once and for all, from the grass root level. He said out of a total of
57 drivers arrested this year for various traffic offences, 30 were high and
reputable position holders in society.
Superintendent Ntim regretted the refusal of drivers to patronise their
educational programmes and seminars, though they are organised to sharpen their
skills free of charge. The welfare officer said his outfit would intensify its
patrols on the highways to arrest all offending drivers to ensure the safety of
travellers at all times and suggested the study of road signs in syllabuses of
schools.
According to the MTTU of the Ghana Police Service, last year, Accra
alone recorded 7,597 accidents involving 11, 554 vehicles with 193 fatalities,
followed by the Ashanti region with 1,934 accidents involving 2,866 vehicles
leading to 168 deaths. – The Ghanaian Chronicle
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Investigations conducted by “The Statesman” during the past weeks have
shown that the senior lecturer failed to turn up for lectures during the
periods of the four by-elections. “Even on Wednesday, Dr Aryeh failed to give a
lecture on Succession at
The students further complained that their lecturer on Monday took-off
in the middle of a lecture period to sit beside his party’s founder,
ex-President Rawlings, who held a press conference that day. The students who
talked to the “The Statesman” bitterly complained: “Our lecturer just come to
the lecture hall and hurriedly brush through topics whenever he has political
activities to attend.
“The Statesman” learnt that there are seven core subjects, which a
student has to pass before proceeding to the next level. Dr Ayeh, the students
said, handles two subjects, namely, Succession and Jurisprudence but his
“frequent absenteeism has been a problem for some of us.”
According to some of the students, questions are set for submission to
the University authorities during mid-semester and, therefore, failure by
lecturers to complete topics within the stipulated time affects the students’
academic output. The students said even though Dr Ayeh is a competent lecturer,
they believe combining politics with his academic work is impacting negatively
on his knowledge on his students.
“We are the losers and the authorities must do something about it,”
complained one student. Another added: “Law is an intensive course and a
lukewarm attitude of a law lecturer undermines the noble profession.” They,
therefore, advised Dr Aryeh to divorce himself from active political activities
in order to deliver “quality, devoted and practical tuition to his students. - The
Statesman
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 09
April 2003 - The Minority Spokesman on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni has disclosed that the government has set up a
machinery to bribe members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC)
in Parliament.
He described the situation as
''plain bribery'' and added that the NPP had approached him with a juicy
appointment to lure him to their side. Alhaji Mumuni told the ''Evening News''
that several of his colleagues in Parliament have also been approached by the
NPP with appointments.
Asked to specify the sort of
appointment that was offered to him, he declined to comment. ''I will not tell
you the sort of approaches that have been made towards me''.
Alhaji Mumuni said it was the
intention of the NPP to poach members of other parties in order to create a
one-party state. He said the NPP had been uncomfortable with the way the
Minority has exposed their lapses in Parliament. ''It is therefore using all
unethical tactics to reduce the NDC’s membership in Parliament'', he added. – Evening
News
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 09
April 2003 - The outgoing Minister for Youth and Sports Edward Osei-Kwaku (MP)
has dared his critics and anyone who thinks he failed in his duties at the
ministry to arrange to engage him in debate of facts and figures.
According to him, nobody
could have done better than what he did for the ministry even though people may
decide to think otherwise. Osei-Kwaku, the only Minister not to be re-assigned
in the latest ministerial changes, was the third minister to occupy that seat
in the under three-year rule of the NPP administration.
First it was Mallam Issa who
is said to have misconducted himself when it mattered most. Papa Owusu-Ankomah
(MP) was next, but his reign was short-lived. Minister Osei-Kwaku who would not
countenance any suggestions of failure as the rational behind his being
dismissed said "Nobody could have done better than what I did in the past
16 months that he was in office and I repeat nobody".
Sports fans and analysts
before the reshuffle had criticized the Asokwa West MP severally for deliberate
bureaucracy, unwillingness to accept suggestions and a tacit attachment to
ancient sporting philosophies. His critics also accuse him of failing to take
pragmatic steps to develop the sports industry. But he would have and now seem
poised to face his critics squarely. “If I didn’t take about what I did, then
now is the time to talk about it” he told the Network Herald. Presently, he
would rather hold on to his views about the reshuffle.
He is more interested in how
he will compile his handing over notes and wash his hands clean of the
portfolio even if for a brief while. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Member of Parliament
for Asante Akin North was named the new minister to replace Osei Kwaku, but
with additional responsibilities for education. - Network Herald
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Amenfi West (Western Region)
09 April 2003 - The choice of Parliamentary Candidates for the two principal
parties, the NDC and NPP, in the Amenfi West Constituency in the Western
Region, has fallen on a brother and sister of the same mother. While Mrs. Agnes
Sonful (52), a teacher at Akrokeri Training College is billed for NPP; her
uterine brother, Gerald Danquah (37), a product of University of Cape Coast, is
standing for the NDC.
The situation has set tongues
waging with some people challenging the raison d'ętre of the two parties
choosing candidates from the same Aduana family "as if other families in
the constituency lacked credible citizens to fulfil the political aspirations
of the electoral area."
Ironically both chairmen of
the parties are also from the same Aduana family. Kofi Sekyi, the chairman of
NPP, is an elder of the family and an uncle of the two candidates; while the
Regional Vice Chairman of the NDC, George Dadzie, who is also an executive
member of the constituency, is an influential man in the family.
Gerald Danquah was elected
unopposed for the NDC; and Mrs. Sonful on the other hand, had to go through
primaries with Kwabena Essem, a former NPP Press Secretary, but won over 99 per
cent of the total votes cast. Some elders of the family have, however, called
for greater discipline and tolerance on their campaign platforms in order not
to create disunity in the family.
In the 2002 district assembly
elections, two members of the family contested in the same electoral area with
the female, Elizabeth Buah, defeating her brother, Adjei Buah.
The situation brought about
divisions among members, which are yet to be fully resolved. In an interview
with Sekyi, it came to light that the issue is purely political and not a
family affair, and that the choice of the two candidates would not affect their
campaign strategies.
"You know Mrs. Sonful is
older than Gerald Danquah. She is going to beat him like her junior
brother," he stressed. The NPP chairman said that even though the
constituency seat has been known to be an NDC stronghold, this time around
things would be different.
He recalled that in the 1992
general elections, which the other parties boycotted, the NDC won the seat
overwhelmingly; but in the 1996 election when the NDC won it again, the
difference was about 7,000 votes. According to the NPP chairman, in the 2000
election the difference dropped to 1,300 while during the second round of the
presidential election the NPP beat NDC with over 700 votes.
"This, coupled with the
development projects being undertaken by the District Assembly and the tarring
of Manso-Asankragwa road, meant there was no way the NDC could retain the
seat," he said. He praised the former MP, Kofi Asante, for the good work
he did as an MP and hoped that Mrs. Sonful when elected would continue from
where Asante left.
The NDC's Western Regional
Vice-Chairman, George Dadzie, who is a senior brother of both candidates, had
no comment to make since, according to him, he was in Accra and did not know
what was happening on the ground in the constituency.
He said he could only talk to
the press after he had consulted other executive members of the constituency.
However, there are
speculations in the constituency that the mother of the two candidates, Mrs.
Gyama Danquah, is a disturbed mother, agonising on whether to ask one of her
children to step down for the other or allow the two to contest. According to
The Heritage source close to the mother, she however, sees the situation as an
honour for the two candidates since they both come from her womb.
The Amenfi West constituency
became vacant following the resignation of the Member of Parliament for the
area, Abraham Kofi Asante, on Wednesday 26 April 2003. - Heritage
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com