Reduce HIV/AIDS through
poverty reduction
Ghanaians export Liberian
refugee's goods outside
Chief Justice says automation
of courts will continue
HIV-Positive rapist jailed 20
years
Stop the vilification
campaign against Asantehene
Mob attempts to kidnap
forestry officer
Obuasi (Ashanti Region)
The angry ex-workers blocked the road with
blocks, tables and chairs and deflated tyres of some of the company vehicles.
In the process of dispersing them the police fired warning shots injuring six
of the workers. According to some executive members of the ex-workers, AGC had
been delaying the payment of their entitlements.
Sources close to AGC management indicate
that the over 900 casual workers will be paid their entitlements on Wednesday,
16 July. Meanwhile, a letter from the Ministry of Manpower Development and
Employment signed by the acting Chief Director, J.K. Bapuuroh
and addressed to the Managing Director of AGC, stated that the payment of ex-gratia award should not be confused with retrenchment or
severance award for which a formula is normally negotiated between the parties.
"An ex-gratia
award on the other hand is a gesture on the part of the employer as a sign of
goodwill for the workers' contribution to the organisation", the letter
said. The Ministry, therefore, asked AGC to pay one-month salary across board
considering the level on which the worker was. In addition, the company is to
pay two weeks salary to each worker if there is evidence that their contracts
were abrogated without any notice.
According to the letter dated
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Reduce HIV/AIDS
through poverty reduction
Tema (Greater Accra)
Samuel Evans Ashong
Narh, Tema Municipal Chief
Executive, said these at a day's HIV/AIDS prevention workshop organised by the
National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) for its workers in the Greater
Accra Region at Tema.
The theme was: "Prevention of New
Infections of HIV/AIDS and NADMO." He said the Social Relief Fund
instituted at the national level and Poverty Alleviation Fund at the district
level were some of the interventions instituted by
government to ginger up economic growth at the local level.
The Municipal Chief Executive, however,
said against the backdrop of the teaming, jobless youth on the streets, these measure did not appear to have registered a
significant impact on the society. "Clearly, the job market in the public
sector appears to be close to saturation point,
consequently, there is an over-riding need to stimulate economic growth of the
private sector through carefully selected supportive measures."
Narh said, even though, there was an
unacceptable level of moral permissiveness among the youth, in some instances,
it was dictated to by dire economic stress.
He urged NADMO workers to examine ways of
shielding the teenagers from pornography purveyed by the Internet or telecast
by television stations, adding that parents and guardians and teachers had a
crucial role to play in this regard. The Ghana Aids Commission, in conjunction
with the National Communication Authority could fashion out some guidelines for
Internet service providers and TV stations, he said.
Nii Abotsi Dortey III, Presiding Member for the Tema
Municipal Assembly, chaired the function, which was also attended by all the
District Chief Executives in the Region.
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Tema (Greater Accra)
This followed an emergency meeting between
Professor Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi,
Minister of Ports, Harbours and Railways and the drivers on Saturday to resolve
their complaints.
Alhaji Adamu Yussif Danjumah, Acting Chairman
of the Tema branch of the Ghana Haulage Truck Drivers
Association (GHTDA) told the GNA that members had resumed work following the
Minister's assurance that their allegations would be investigated thoroughly to
ensure their smooth operations.
"If by Wednesday we do not hear
anything from the Minister the entire executives will move to meet him in
Asked whether the drivers in the Northern
parts of the country had complied with the directives in view of the alleged
detention of about 50 trucks by the security agencies, Alhaji
Danjumah said since he had not received any further
complaints from them that was an indication that they had resumed work.
He protested against frequent
interruptions in the haulage drivers' operations by the security agencies as
well as government policies that had discouraged most of them to divert their
services to other countries since the carting of goods to the land-locked
countries in the sub-region started five years ago.
"We pray that the government will
adopt the collection of road tolls to generate more revenue as is being done in
other parts of the sub-region, instead of resorting to the use of the weighing
scale, which only promote corruption."
The Acting Chairman said the executive
members of the association were prepared to place their knowledge and
experienced in road transport at the disposal of the government, should the
Minister involve them in his programmes on the haulage of goods.
"Initially we made several attempts
to offer meaningful suggestions and advice to the government for a workable
solution, which would generate more revenue but we had to abandon the exercise
because we encountered a lot of frustration." At Saturday's meeting, the
drivers engaged in carting transit goods from the
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Addressing a consultative forum in
The forum was organised by the Electoral
Commission (EC) in collaboration with KAB Governance Consult and USAID and
attended by representatives of political parties, district assemblies, the
security services, labour and professional organisations, judiciary, House of
Chiefs and the media.
It was to sensitise the people to discuss
the financial challenges of running political parties in the country, recommend
for government's consideration ways of improving financing of political parties
and ways of election financing, as part of efforts to deepen and strengthen
democracy in Ghana.
The Regional Minister said, "we need to encourage debate on the matter so that at the end
of it all, we will be able to determine which path will complement our chosen
democratic path and sustain good governance". Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the EC, spoke on "Financing
political parties in Ghana, Challenges and alternatives" and noted that
public funding of political parties is a wide-spread phenomenon and that the EC
is not trying to invent it.
He observed that every government has
exploited incumbency in the country and if people have come to the realisation
that it is not good, it must be changed collectively as a nation. Dr Afari-Gyan indicated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was
a party that was agitating for public funding and now that it has come to
power, they will do well to make it work.
Samuel Yorke Aidoo, Ashanti Regional Director of the EC, noted that the
task of consolidating political parties in the country was crucial to the
socio-economic and political development of the country.
The Rev Joseph Osei-Bonsu,
Catholic Bishop of Konongo/Mampong Diocese, urged the
participants to reflect on what they have learnt and what to be done to nurture
the nation's democratic process.
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ECOWAS Spokesman in
The Force to be commanded by a Nigerian
General, Brigadier-General Festus Okonkwo is expected
to be in
Ugoh said, "The Force must be allowed to
do their job unimpeded so that progressively peace will be achieved for
Ugoh said The UN Secretary-General, Busumuru Kofi Annan
and US President, George Bush would be meeting on Monday to discuss the
commitment of the US to the Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia.
The meeting would centre on the number of
troops to be deployed by the
A closed-door meeting of ECOWAS Military
and Defence Chiefs in
In a related development, Liberian Women
Pressure Groups that have waged a peaceful protest for peace since the one
month-old ECOWAS brokered Peace Talks started in
In a Press Statement signed and issued in
"We, therefore, appeal to LURD and
all warring parties with similar intentions to exercise restraint, continue to
dialogue and honour all agreements arrived at during the Peace Talks," a
statement signed by Mrs Theresa Leigh-Sherman, Leader of the group said.
Meanwhile, ECOWAS Chief Mediator, General Abubakar Abdulsalami is meeting
with staff of the mediating team to reconcile the various memoranda submitted
by the stakeholders at the Peace Talks to work out a transitional process as
part of a comprehensive peace plan for
The Mediators were working behind the
scenes to resolve major differences among the three warring factions that had
taken entrenched positions about the transitional arrangements especially on
the leadership and composition of an interim government.
The 30-day framework proposed by the
ceasefire agreement on June 17 to fashion out a transitional process with all
the stakeholders expires on Thursday.
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Somanya (Greater Accra)
The communities, Akutunya,
Lower and Upper Odave, and Kotokoli,
which are four out of the ten CBO's in the district
which had embarked on a series of activities to sensitise the youth on the
reality and dangers of the disease.
The District Focal Person, Ms. Augustina Nartey, who announced
this on Sunday at Somanya at one of a series of
anti-HIV/AIDS rallies being organised by the CBOs,
asked the youth to adopt a positive sex life-style.
She said part of the funds had been used
to train 160 volunteers as contact persons to help reach the people at the
grassroots with the information on the pandemic. Each community of the four CBOs had recruited forty volunteers who would embark on
house-to- house visits to disseminate information on the mode of contraction
and prevention of the disease.
Madam Nartey
disclosed that the Ghana AIDS Commission has mandated the district to identify
and organise the people infected with the disease into groups to enable the
Commission, in collaboration with the district, give them the necessary
assistance.
She, however, expressed regrets that the
infected persons have refused to be organised for fear of stigmatisation. This
situation, she noted, was hampering their work in forwarding a specific
proposal to the GAC for funds for their upkeep.
Madam Nartey
appealed to more donor partners and NGO's to come to their aid to supplement
the efforts of the Ghana AIDS Commission in the district.
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Ghanaians export Liberian
refugee's goods outside
Among such products are leather wares such
as shoes and bags that the inmates at the settlement learnt to manufacture
through skill training offered them by the support of the United Nation High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This came to light
on Monday when Mrs Needa Jehu-Hoyah,
Public Relations Officer of the UNHCR took journalists around the camp to
observe, among other things, the on-going registration exercise of all refugees
in the country.
The exercise, which started last week with
an average daily registration number of about 3000 people, would be completed
by the end of this month. Briefing the press, John Connell, Senior Chairman of
the Camp Governing Body said some Ghanaian exporters have contacts with some
shoemakers in the camp to order shoes and other goods and export.
He expressed gratitude to the
Connell said their survival and happiness
so far could largely be attributed to the greater degree of self-sufficient and
self-dependent as well as their readiness to assist each other to start some
business of their own. He noted also that most of the farm produce inmates were
trading in at the camp were produced by refugee farmers at the camp who engage
in farming activities either on their own or in partnership with the Ghanaian
farmers in neighbouring villages and towns.
Touching on the peace and security
situation, David Tarway, Secretary General of the
Council described as unfortunate the way the media had portrayed inhabitants at
the camp as being a group full of miscreants. He said most of what the media
publishes about them was not the true reflection of the refugees because the
press had always failed to get in touch with the authorities adding,
"Because we are vulnerable and financially handicapped, we could not
organise press conferences to debunk them."
Tarway said Liberians at the camp were praying
and hoping that the political situation would improve to enable them to return
home. He said many refugees, since arrival in
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Chief Justice says
automation of courts will continue
Ho (Volta Region)
The Chief Justice assured Ghanaians that
the current reforms and Automation in the Judicial Service were fully on course
and would never be permitted to derail. He said the Service needed dedicated,
hardworking, honest and disciplined personnel both on the bench and
administration to realise its objectives.
Justice Acquah
said he was putting in place a number of measures including an annual report
scheme, which will report on the output of every court and the performance of
every judge especially those manning single courts. He said the scheme would
set out the names and particulars of every member of staff in each court or
unit of the Service, the conditions of every court and other relevant
information.
The Chief Justice said he hoped the annual
reports would enable the Service to reconcile the number of staff on the ground
with those "on our payroll" to weed out ghost names and promote transparency
and efficiency with available resources.
"This automated system can only be
achieved if we discard our old ways of doing things - an attitudinal change in
our justice delivery system, a change that requires a certain degree of
discipline on the part of all the players". The Chief Justice appealed to
judges to note that the automation was meant to relieve them from taking down
court proceedings in long hand and try to listen as much as possible and
intervene only when necessary to clarify an issue.
''It is also meant to facilitate speedy
processing of the entire trial, guarantee transparency and fairness in
adjudication of cases to create confidence and respect in the justice delivery
system,'' he said.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah,
Minister of Justice and Attorney General said: "we have under our
Constitution among other things solemnly declared and affirmed our commitment
to freedom, justice, probity and accountability."
He said this commitment would be a mirage
if the confidence of the people in the administration of justice were
undermined. " It
would be a mirage if our people think that the system can be misused and abused
to achieve unjust ends." Papa owusu-Ankomah
assured that the government would continue to support the efforts of the
judicial service to reposition it to meet the challenges of justice delivery.
The Volta Regional Minister, Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa urged the
Judicial Service to mount nationwide public education on the import of the Fast
Track High Courts. He said this was necessary to disabuse the minds of the
public about the misconceptions regarding Fast Track Courts.
Justice Paul Gyaesayor,
Volta Regional Supervising High Court Judge, urged the Chief Justice to provide
the necessary back up to the courts automation system in order to sustain the
modernisation process.
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HIV-Positive rapist
jailed 20 years
Asamankese (Eastern Region) 15 July 2003 - A 31-year-old man with HIV-positive, who defiled a 12-year-old class six pupil has been sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment by the Asamankese Circuit Court. Samuel Atta Kakrah, alias 'Crashing" 31, a lotto receiver, pleaded guilty.
Detective Police Inspector K. A. Boateng, told the court, presided over by S. S. Appiah, that the girl used a path in front of Kakrah's house at Akyem Sagyimase, near Kyebi, in the
Eastern Region to school.
He said on 6 May this year, at about
On her return, Kakrah
asked her to send it into his room. He quickly followed and gagged her and
forcibly had sex with her, Inspector Boateng said.
Kakrah gave the girl 200 cedis
and warned her not to tell anybody or else she would die. However, on 12 May
the prosecutor said, the girl who could no longer bear the pains in her genital
organ reported the matter to her mother who in turn sent her to the
A report was made to the police and the
accused was subsequently arrested. The prosecutor said in Kakra's
statement, he admitted the offence but claimed the act was upon the consent of
the victim. The judge, Appiah ordered that Kakra should be sent to the Kyebi
hospital for the determination of his HIV status and a report issued by the
hospital said "a thorough HIV test has been conducted on Atta Kakrah and he is found to be
HIV positive".
In sentencing him, the judge noted that Kakra possibly knew of his HIV status but deliberately
infected the girl and described it as a "very wicked act." Appiah said the prison authorities should be notified of
the HIV status of the accused.
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Buduburam (Central Region) 15 July 2003 - Ghanaian
exporters have started to appreciate and export some products manufactured by
Liberians at the Buduburam refugee settlement to
countries in the sub-region.
Among such products are leather wares such
as shoes and bags that the inmates at the settlement learnt to manufacture
through skill training offered them by the support of the United Nation High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
This came to light on Monday when Mrs Needa Jehu-Hoyah, Public
Relations Officer of the UNHCR took journalists around the camp to observe,
among other things, the on-going registration exercise of all refugees in the
country. The exercise, which started last week with an average daily
registration number of about 3000 people, would be completed by the end of this
month.
Briefing the press, John Connell, Senior
Chairman of the Camp Governing Body said some Ghanaian exporters have contacts
with some shoemakers in the camp to order shoes and other goods and export.
He expressed gratitude to the Ghana
government for the sustained security granted them, saying, "this alone has provided us the opportunity to be very
enterprising, with people striving to do something on their own."
"You may wonder how these shops are spreading at the camp, some liaised
with big shops and business people in the city of Accra who assist them to
acquire wares to sell at the camp," he said.
Connell said their survival and happiness
so far could largely be attributed to the greater degree of self-sufficient and
self-dependent as well as their readiness to assist each other to start some
business of their own. He noted also that most of the farm produce inmates were
trading in at the camp were produced by refugee farmers at the camp who engage
in farming activities either on their own or in partnership with the Ghanaian
farmers in neighbouring villages and towns.
Touching on the peace and security
situation, David Tarway, Secretary General of the
Council described as unfortunate the way the media had portrayed inhabitants at
the camp as being a group full of miscreants. He said most of what the media
publishes about them was not the true reflection of the refugees because the
press had always failed to get in touch with the authorities adding,
"Because we are vulnerable and financially handicapped, we could not
organise press conferences to debunk them."
Tarway said Liberians at the camp were praying
and hoping that the political situation would improve to enable them to return
home. He said many refugees, since arrival in Ghana had not had contacts with
their relatives whether abroad or in Liberia.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 15 July 2003 - The Investigator
in Daniel Abodakpi and Victor Selormey,
two Former Ministers of State, trial could not produce a letter he said he
received from the INTERPOL when he appeared before an Accra Fast Track Court on
Monday.
Abodakpi and Selormey
are charged with causing financial loss to the State. The investigator Jeff
Edward Musore, Assistant Superintendent of Police
(ASP), who was led in evidence by Anthony Gyambiby,
told the Court that the several attempts he made to contact Dr Fred Owusu-Boadu, a Consultant to the Science and Technology
Park Valley project proved futile. ASP Musore said he
tried to contact Dr Boadu by using the telephone
numbers on his letterheads but this did not yield any results.
He said he sent a letter through the
INTERPOL and received a reply. However, he could not trace the letter from the
INTERPOL in his file when he decided to show it to the Court. The Prosecution,
therefore, prayed the court to adjourn the matter to enable the Investigator to
tender the report from the INTERPOL.
Abodakpi, Ex-Minister for Trade and Industry and Selormey, Ex-Deputy Minister for Finance are being tried on
seven counts of conspiracy to commit crime, defrauding by false pretences and
wilfully causing a total loss of ¢2.73bn to the State.
They have denied all the charges and are
on self-recognisance bail in the sum of ¢3bn each. Continuing his evidence, ASP
Musore, attached to the Commercial Crime Unit of the
Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police Service, told the court
that on April 25 to 27 April the then Commissioner of Police referred a special
audit report to him for investigations.
He said he studied the Special Audit
Report and found out that $400,000 had been transferred into Dr Boadu's account at ECOBANK so he proceeded to investigate
how the money was transferred and who authorized the payments for the contract.
ASP Musore
stated that he visited the Ministry of Finance and ECOBANK and he obtained two
letters, one dated 10 April 2001, which was instructing the Bank to transfer $100,000
into Dr Boadu's account for a feasibility study he
conducted for the State.
The Investigator said he questioned the
Director in charge of Operations at the Bank, who said he made the transfers on
Selormey's instructions. Musore
stated further that Selormey signed the second letter
for the payment of $300,000 or its cedi equivalent into Dr Boadu's
account for feasibility study into the Science and Technology Valley Park.
According to the Investigator the monies
were paid in tranches because the balance in the
Trade and Investment Account was insufficient. Musore
said during his investigations he also found out that an amount of $500,000
allocated for logistics support by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Ministry
of Trade (MOTI) on TIP Account had been transferred into an account at ECOBANK.
The Investigator said he, therefore,
proceeded to the MOF and talked to the Chief Director of the MOF, who denied
any knowledge of the contract between the US government and Ghana. A further
search at the MOT also indicated that there was no contract, the Investigator
said.
ASP Musore said
he, therefore, visited the Gateway Secretariat and met J.A. Ollenu,
the then Secretary of the Secretariat, who also expressed surprise about the
said contract. Later, ASP Musore said he sent the
copies of the documents on the Science and Technology Park Valley to the
Management Development and Productivity Institute for evaluation. Hearing
continues on 13 October.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 15 July 2003 - The
Task Force Commander in the Dagbon Traditional Area
on Monday announced the renewal of the curfew imposed on the area. A statement
issued in Accra on Monday and signed by E. P. D. Barnes, Chief Director of the
Ministry of the Interior, said the curfew hours would be from midnight to 0400
hours.
The statement said the curfew would be in
place until it is suspended or revoked by the Task Force Commander. The curfew
was imposed in March last year following bloody clashes between the Abudu and Andani Gates in the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute in which at east 30 people,
including the Ya Na were killed.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 15 July 2003 - The
British High Commission on Monday warned people who sells its visa forms and
said United Kingdom visa application forms are free. A statement by the High
Commission in Accra said application forms could be downloaded from the
Internet or collected from any of the Commission's offices in Accra and Kumasi.
"We are aware of claims by certain
'facilitators' that they can obtain visa application forms for a fee. This is
false," the statement said. Explaining the format for visa acquisition,
the statement said all applications must be accompanied by a Barclays Bank
draft for the relevant fees.
Standard, Student Standard, Transit
Standard and Returning Resident Visas cost ¢530,000 each. Direct Airside
Transit Visa cost ¢400,000; One-Year Visa is ¢885,000; Two-Year Visa ¢1,030,000
and Five-Year Visa is ¢1,300,000.
Settlement Visa cost ¢3,835,000;
Certificate of Entitlement cost ¢1,620,000; Long Term Visa is ¢1,105,000 and GV
3 is ¢440,000. The statement urged applicants to hand over their Bank drafts to
Cashiers at the visa Section and collect an official receipt for all monies
paid.
It reminded all applicants to attach all
the necessary documentation and requirement when submitting forms. The
statement said the passport of a visa applicant could be collected on his/her
behalf, with an authority letter, identification card, collection ticket number
and the payment receipt.
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Stop the vilification
campaign against Asantehene
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 15 July 2003 - The Ashanti Graduates and Professionals Network (AGPN), has condemned what it said 'persistent and calculated attempts' by some sections of the Ghanaian media, social commentators and politicians to mount a vilification campaign against the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Asanteman.
A statement issued and signed by its
President, Andy Osei-Okrah after an extra-ordinary
meeting in Kumasi, said although the campaign had
gone on over the years, it has taken a new dimension since the assumption of
office by President John Agyekum Kufuor.
''The unfortunate attempt to downgrade the
integrity and the name of Asanteman began with the
attack on visiting foreign dignitaries calling at the Manhyia
Palace to pay a courtesy call on the Asantehene.''
''It should not be forgotten that the Asanteman has a proud history and that since ascending the
Golden Stool, Otumfuo Osei Tutu's exploits has won
him worldwide admiration and has made him a hot commodity.''
It said it was regrettable that some unscrupulous
elements in the society had turned their evil eyes on the King's noble,
innovative and genuine efforts to improve the lot of Asanteman
and Ghana as a whole with the sourcing of the World Bank grant.
The Network said it was particularly
saddened by the unsavoury remarks about the King when he had gone to great
lengths to explain that he started negotiations for the grant as far back as
the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration and the purpose for which
the grant would be put.
''It is unacceptable and outrageous for
any objective and fair-minded journalist, social commentator or politician to
either impugn or seek to question the motive behind the grant.''
The statement said the Network believed
that those behind the dirty campaign were overwhelmed by the achievements of
the Asantehene within the relatively short period of
his reign and are determined to use mischief to link him to partisan politics.
It advised Ghanaians to frown on smear
campaign and tribal politics for peace and harmony to prevail in the country.
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Mob attempts to kidnap
forestry officer
Dormaa-Ahenkro (Brong Ahafo) 15 July 2003 - Bernard Tabil, Dormaa District Forestry Officer, was at the weekend assaulted by a mob who allegedly attempted to kidnap him near his residence at Dormaa-Ahenkro in Brong Ahafo.
Narrating his ordeal to the Ghana News
Agency (GNA) Tabil, 35, said he was on his way home
after work last Friday when the mob numbering about 30 to 35 attacked him.
He said the mob allegedly claimed that
Nana Akosua Fema Dwabeng, Queen mother of the Dormaa
Traditional Area, had instructed them to bring him to the Palace.
The forestry officer said he declined to
go with them "since I found it inappropriate to respond to the call at
that time of the day and promised to be at the palace the next morning.
"The group insisted and attempted to
push me into a Tico taxi and this resulted in an
exchange of blows between me and some of them for about 30 minutes."
Tabil said the timely intervention of one
Sergeant Stanley, a member of military personnel on duty in the district, saved
him else he would have been lynched by the group. ''During the struggle my bag
and purse containing some vital documents and money were taken away,'' the
forestry officer who received injuries and was treated at the Presbyterian
Hospital in Dormaa Ahenkro
said.
He said just before the soldier's
intervention, Baffour Twene,
a brother of the Queen mother who was with the group, called on the rest to
leave him (Tabil) alone. Tabil
said he suspected his untiring effort to stop illegal timber operations at Twene also in the District was the root cause of the
attempted kidnap.
Charles Samuel Moses Brew Jnr, Superintendent of Police in-charge of Dormaa District when contacted confirmed the story and said
that two drivers, Isaac Asare and Kwaku
Ansu, had been arrested by the Police to assist in
investigations.
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Nana Akenten
made the denial when she called at the Kumasi Office
of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Sunday. She said Policemen from the Striking
Force Unit in Kumasi only went to the town to arrest
a group of 16 suspects including Kwame Acheampong,
the Assembly Member, who allegedly assaulted some patriotic citizens of the
area with canes and sticks to stop them from providing communal labour on a
clinic being constructed for the community by the Catholic Church.
The offence of those patriotic citizens,
according to the Queenmother was that they had defied
an order by the Assembly Member that they should boycott any invitation to
attend communal labour made to them by the Chiefs.
Nana Akenten
alleged that about two months ago, Acheampong severely beat up the gong-gong
beater of the town for not consulting him before beating a gong-gong to invite
the people to attend communal labour.
He also seized the gong-gong, which he
said was still in his custody and a report was made to the Police at Ahwerewa where the case was now pending. She said since the
incident the relationship between the Chiefs and the Assembly Member had been frosty
as "our position is that we are going to apply appropriate customary
sanctions against him for his conduct".
Nana Akenten
said anytime the Chiefs attempted to organise the people for any development
activity, the Assembly Member would use a megaphone to tell them "to
ignore us". "It happened that we asked the people to provide communal
labour on the clinic project and those who responded to the call were set on by
the Assembly Member and his small band of supporters, using canes and sticks to
whip them".
The Queenmother
alleged that Nana Agyeman Badu
Prempeh, Adontenhene, had
to flee to Ahwerewa using a bush path to make a
report to the Police. She said as there was not enough Policemen at the
station, they decided to go to
Nana Serwaah
said it was, therefore, not true that the arrest was over the youth demand for
probity and accountability as alleged by Acheampong and his gang.
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