AGI. TUC seek ways for reliable electricity supply
Drilling of second well under way
NPP advises youth to ignore defections
Encroachment on Motorway…MP threatens court action
They al take bribe – Akwasi Agyeman
NPP bracing up for another shocker…After Kwame Pianim
AGI. TUC seek ways for reliable electricity supply
The Ghanaian Times reports in a front-page story that the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have begun am three-day workshop to assess the prospects and requirements for providing Ghana with an assured, reliable and affordable power supply system. The Times says about 50 participants from the key socio-economic and power sector institutions are expected to attend the workshop. They would discuss among other topics, “The state of Ghana’s power sector, one year after crisis”, the impact of the power crisis and tariffs on industry and labour” and “Ghana’s power supply options to year 2050”. The paper says that a statement signed by Mr T.K. Gyan, Council Member of AGI, expressed the hope that the workshop would identify the principal policy issues and institutional framework, which would ensure the supply of reliable and affordable power to propel a buoyant and competitive industrial sector in Ghana.
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Drilling of second well under way
In a front-page story, the Daily Graphic reports that DANA Petroleum Plc, the oil exploration company undertaking oil prospecting activities in the South Tano Basin in the Western Region, will embark on a second drilling to determine the commercial viability of oil in the region. The Graphic, quoting Mr John Craven, exploration manager of the company, says that the second well, which be drilled shortly, will be deeper to be able to withstand the expected high pressure associated with the first drilling. Mr Craven who was briefing the press at the end of the Oil and Gas Conference in Accra, is said to have stated that the results of the test conducted from the first well have proved positive. The company has been prospecting for hydrocarbons in the offshore of the Tano Basin since 1997. The Graphic says that Mr Craven confirmed the discovery and explained that the drilling began on December 14, last year and it reached a total depth of 10,414 feet. He is reported as saying that subsequent testing proved the existence of hydrocarbons but following problems of overpressure, the exercise had to be suspended. The results of the well, he said, will be integrated with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation’s existing high quality seismic data to determine the commercial significance.
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NPP advises youth to ignore defections
The Evening News reports that the NPP has advised its youth to ignore the alleged defections by its members to the NDC and instead, work hard to ensure victory in the December elections. Mr Owusu Ampadu, Northern Regional treasurer of the NPP, is said to have given the advice at a meeting with the youth of the party at Nanton, to discuss issues such as youth employment and misuse of incumbency by the NDC. He is reported as saying that the continuous talk about defections of members to the NDC and sometimes showing some of the ‘defectors’ at rallies, is a sign of panic and insecurity on the part of the NDC. Mr Ampadu is said to have urged the youth to take their destiny into their own hands by working hard for the NP to win the forthcoming polls.
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Encroachment on Motorway…MP threatens court action
In a front-page banner headline story, the Dispatch reports the NPP Member of Parliament for Okaikoi North, Mr Joseph Darko-Mensah, as threatening court action to stop the illegal construction of a pubic clinic in the road reservation along Abeka-Lapaz Motorway in Accra, if the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) does not act promptly. The Dispatch says that Mr Darko-Mensah in a letter dated March 1, 2000, referred to a GHA letter of January 1, 2000 to him, which stated in part that “we wish to inform you that action has been initiated to stop the development in the road reservation of the Motorway Phase III. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your vigilance”. The paper says that the GHA letter, signed by its chief executive, Mr B.L.T. Sakibu, was in acknowledgement of Mr Darko-Mensah’s letter of December 12, 1999, on the illegal development. According to the Dispatch, the MP first drew the attention of the GHA to the illegal construction in a letter dated March 22, 1999, in which he requested for a clarification of the reservation of that land, with regard to another plot at Abeka-Lapaz, which some citizens intended to develop for the Nii Boiman Electoral Area in Accra…
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They al take bribe – Akwasi Agyeman
The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) chief executive, Nana Akwasi Agyeman is said to have dropped a bombshell last Saturday, when he accused workers of the assembly of taking bribes before doing their work. The Weekend Statesman says that Nana Akwasi Agyeman, against whom 46 members of the KMA have levelled charges of financial impropriety, made the accusation at the Kuma Minta Hall of the Kumasi Technical Institute, which had been packed to capacity for the inauguration of the Ashanti Region branch of the Jirapa Youth and Development Association. Mr Peter Nanfuri, the Inspector-General of Police, was said to be among the audience.
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NPP bracing up for another shocker…After Kwame Pianim
In its top story, the Ghana Palaver says that there are strong and irrefutable indications that Nana Akufo Addo, MP for Abuakwa and leading member of the NPP, might announce his resignation from the party sooner than later. According to the Palaver, the shockwaves, which the action will serve, are bound to make the resignation of Mr Kwame Pianim from the NPP, look like cannon fodder. The paper says that unimpeachable sources within the NPP have indicated that a powerful cabal in the party hierarchy has clandestinely agreed to make Ms Ama Busia, the running mate of Mr J.A. Kufuor, the NPP presidential candidate in the forthcoming general elections, in direct contravention of the party’s constitution. The story says t is a revelation, which has sent Nana Akufo Addo flying into range saying, “They are acting ultra vires. It is illegal, if they insist on that, I will resign from the party al together”. The Palaver says that NPP insiders pointed out that they are not surprised that Nana Akufo Addo’s resignation will be premised on the fact that he has been sidelined, ignored and side-stepped in the choice of a running mate to Mr Kufuor. This is because Nana Akufo Addo has all along felt that he is a more marketable candidate than anybody else in the NPP, Kufuor included.
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