Court ruling against AGC…Govt to meet shareholders
Chief sells cemetery
Reform and United Ghana Movement join hands
Ashanti Goldfields may go bankrupt
Manhyia, Castle on collision course
Court ruling against AGC…Govt to meet shareholders
The Daily Graphic reports in its top story that the government is to hold crucial talks with major shareholders of Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) Limited to resolve all outstanding issues which will enable the company to conclude negotiations with its creditor bankers.
The Graphic says that the proposed meeting follows a court ruling, which granted stakeholders of AGC the mandate to convene an extraordinary general meeting within 21 days to elect a new board of directors for the company and other related issues. The paper says that AGC has been in liquidity crisis since last September because of its hedging programme culminating in some shareholders resorting to a court action to seek the removal of its board of director.
The Graphic says Dr John Abu and Mr John Mahama, Ministers of Mines and Energy and Communications respectively, stated this position at a joint press conference in Accra yesterday.
Dr Abu is reported to have said that since the crisis in October, the government had intervened and offered series of advice, including the restructuring of the board of directors and the management team with independent and internationally-recognised persons, as well as the restructuring of the company's capital structure.
The story says that Mr Mahama, on his part, stated that the present board and management team should be held liable for the mess in which the company currently finds itself.
He is quoted as saying that instead of finding solutions to the problems for which they responsible, the board issued warrants, which when exercised will dilute existing shareholders value, including the Ghana Government by ostensibly reducing government's share from 20% to 17%.
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Chief sells cemetery
In a front-page lead story, the Ghanaian Times reports that tension is mounting at Ohwim, near Kumasi, following the unilateral decision of the chief, Nana Adu Acheampong II, to sell the town's public cemetery to be developed into a petrol filling station.
According to the Times, the wrath of the people, especially the youth has reached such a level that unless immediate steps are taken by the appropriate authorities to intervene, a blood-bath cannot be ruled out. The story says that last Tuesday, the "Times" inspected the cemetery and found a portion which had been cleared by a bulldozer for the commencement of constructional work on the petrol dump.
The paper says a spokesman for the town's Unit Committee said that the chief, who is resident in Kumasi, had ignored protests by the people against the sale of the cemetery. As an immediate measure, the spokesman said the inhabitants had called for the intervention of the Ashanti Regional Minister and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to stop the sale. "Should that fail, we would certainly advise ourselves on he next line of action and it will be decisive too", he is quoted as warning.
The Unit Committee spokesman is said to have alleged that the chief had earlier sold a portion of land belonging to the Roman Catholic Primary and the Metropolitan Assembly Junior Secondary Schools to a private developer.
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Reform and United Ghana Movement join hands
The Evening News reports that the National Reform Party (NRP) and the United Ghana Movement (UGM) have embarked on a programme of co-operation towards Election 2000 and beyond.
The paper says that the basis of this joint initiative is their shared belief that the search for alternative policies and programmes is the paramount task of the political leadership in Ghana today. According to the story, the intention of the two parties is outlined in a statement on co-operation towards Ghana's development in the 21st century, which was signed jointly by Mr |Peter Kpordugbe, interim chairman of the NRP and Nii Armah Tagoe, chairman of the UGM.
"We believe that Ghana must, as a matter urgency, move away from the dangerous politics of personal patronage that is breeding so much conflict and strife. We must move towards politics that openly create a strong and popular vision of our common future. For it is only such politics that can build unity in the face of our immediate and future challenges.
It is only such a common vision that can bring about badly needed national reconciliation", the statement is quoted as saying. The paper says the two parties specifically, believe that Ghana needs a clear national development vision.
The statement said the cumulative local impact of structural adjustment is a deep and growing sense of despair and failure. "We believe that the intellectual and technocratic resources required to build this new vision are available here in Ghana. We believe it is our responsibility as political leaders to tap them and give them pride of place in our development process", the Evening News quotes the statement as saying.
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Ashanti Goldfields may go bankrupt
In a front-page story, the Statesman reports that the Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) Limited may be heading for bankruptcy, if an Accra High Court injunction restraining the company from contracting any loans is enforced.
The paper says that this is the submission made by the counsel for the AGC, Mr Kwame Tetteh, after the court, presided over by Mr Justice R.K. Apaloo, had upheld a motion filed by five shareholders of AGC. The shareholders, led by Adryxx Metal and Mining, are said to have sought a declaration to compel the directors of AGC to convene an extraordinary general meeting to determine whether the existing members of the board should be retained, and an injunction restraining the directors from contracting loans on behalf of the company, among other reliefs.
Mr Tetteh is reported to have submitted that the injunction placed on the company might likely deal the fatal blow to the crisis-stricken company. He said the company was on the verge of signing a new loan of about $10 million yesterday, February 10, to prevent AGC from going bankrupt, but the ruling would handicap it and pave the way for its liquidation.
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Manhyia, Castle on collision course
The Free Press in a front-page banner, reports that tension is growing between the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi and the Chieftaincy Division of the Office of the President at the Castle, Osu. According to the paper, this follows a directive on January 25, 2000, from the Minister of Chieftaincy Affairs and Protocol, Mr Daniel Ohene Agyekum, asking the Registrar of the Central Regional House of Chiefs, Mr E.C.K. Asante, to be in charge as Registrar for both the Ashanti and Central Regional Houses of Chiefs.
The paper says that the fate of Mr Dadzie Mensah, from whom Mr Asante is expected to take over, is now hanging in the balance. The Free Press says that not happy with the manner in which the transfer was effected without calling his attention, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II had asked the Office of the President to show some respect for the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs. Otumfuo Osei Tutu is said to have also asked the President's Office not to drag the Manhyia Palace into politics.
The story says that speaking at an emergency meeting of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs in Kumasi last Friday, February 4, Otumfuo Osei Tutu stated that if the House was respected then a copy of the letter of transfer should have been addressed to him.
The Free Press recalls that in 1999, the former Presidential Adviser of Chieftaincy Affairs, Nana Akuoko Sarpong, transferred the then Registrar of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs and brought Mr Dadzie Mensah from the Central to the Ashanti Region.
The paper says that according to a letter dated January 25, 2000, from the Minister of Chieftaincy Affairs and State Protocol, Mr E.C.K. Asante from the Central Regional House of Chiefs, was to revert to his former position as the substantive Registrar for both the Central and Ashanti Regional Houses of Chiefs.
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