New twist in NDC presidential race…It's now Konadu vrs Mills
Fake Castle official nabbed
Ghana asks Canada to review debt payments
Stop peddling lies…Goosie tells politicians
"Databank boys wrote Peprah's 'I quit' letter"
New twist in NDC presidential race…It's now Konadu vrs Mills
The Statesman writes in its lead story that the race for the post-Rawlings leadership of the NDC is far from over with a Mills-Konadu contest very strongly on the cards.
According to the Statesman, it is a clear case of behind the scene betrayal of Vice-President John Atta Mills by his boss, President Jerry Rawlings.
The paper says that President Rawlings' demonstration of anger over Mills' Tamale declaration and Rawlings' confrontation with his security boss, Totobi Quakyi, have combined to raise doubts about the much touted solid support of the President for Mills.
The Statesman says that impeccable sources within the NDC point to a simmering situation between the President and the group known in the NDC as the "Gang of Four" over the management of the Vice-President's bid to take over the Rawlings' mantle.
The four as said to be the national security boss, Kofi Totobi Quakyi, National Planning Minister, Kwamena Ahwoi, Presidential Staffer, Nana Ato Dadzie and former Deputy Finance Minister, K.B. Amissah-Arthur, who is now a special adviser to Vice-President Mills.
The paper explains that the cause of the latest explosion within what has become known as the "Fante Confederacy", was a visit by Prof. Mills to President Rawlings on the eve of the Vice-President's trip to Tamale.
It says that at the meeting, Prof. Mills is said to have told President Rawlings that he intended to make a formal declaration in Tamale of his bid for the NDC presidential nomination. President Rawlings is reported to have given his blessing, saying that it was long overdue.
The story says that following Mills Tamale declaration, which was reported to have been received with overwhelming approval by the assembled cadres, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings alleged to have been literally frothing with anger, confronted her husband over the issue. President Rawlings is alleged to have not only denied ever being privy to the Tamale declaration, but immediately called Totobi Quakyi on the phone to demand an explanation, venting his spleen on his long-time ally.
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Fake Castle official nabbed
The Daily Graphic reports in its top story that a 44-year-old man, Anabila Afeghera, who posed as a security official at the Castle, Osu, the seat of government, and reportedly defrauded a number of public officials and private individuals of millions of cedis, has been arrested by the police in Accra.
The Graphic says that Afeghera, who claims to be a farmer at different times in his operations, paraded under various pseudonyms like Akitah, Somtim, Tony, Akitah-Aggrey and Malik, allegedly managed to use his 'Castle connections' to collect the said sums of money from his victims, who are believed to include some ministers of state, highly-placed civil and public servants, as well as businessmen on the pretext of helping them gain access to the Executive.
The paper says that security sources, which disclosed this in Accra yesterday, intimated that the fake Castle official was arrested at the offices of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) last Thursday by the Osu Police when he went there to 'transact his usual business' with some top officials.
According to the Graphic, the Office of the National Security Council in Accra directed the police operation, after painstaking intelligence information had been gathered on the activities of the suspect.
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Ghana asks Canada to review debt payments
In a front-page story, the Ghanaian Times reports that Ghana yesterday appealed to Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to consider re-negotiating the terms of payment of Ghana's debts.
This is because Ghana is yet to recover from her fiscal budget and balance of payment problems, which were brought about by the rising cost of crude oil and the depreciating commodity prices of the country's major exports.
The Times says that these were the high points of a meeting the Vice-President, Prof. John Atta Mills held with the visiting president of CIDA, Mr Leonard Good, at the Castle, Osu.
The paper says that Mr Moses Asaga, Deputy Minister of Finance and Mr Joseph Awa Laryea, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, were the government officials present at the meeting.
It says that Mr Asaga set the tone when he said Ghana is currently facing problems of balance of payments because of the difficulties she went through last year. He is quoted to have said that the problems notwithstanding, Ghana continued to receive support, which was an indication of the faith her development partners had in the country.
He is said to have appealed to CIDA to consider re-negotiating the terms of payment so that Ghana could come out of her present difficulties. Mr Laryea is quoted as recalling that Canada had stood by Ghana even through the difficult period of the structural adjustment programme (SAP).
The Times says that Prof. Mills lauded Canada for her support for Ghana. The Vice-President is reported as saying that co-operation between the two countries had been mutually beneficial and expressed the hope that it would continue into the future.
The paper says that Mr Good, commended Ghana for her economic achievements and for the peace and stability she was enjoying. The CIDA president is in Ghana on a five-day visit to discuss development and Canadian assistance programmes. CIDA's assistance is the largest in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Stop peddling lies…Goosie tells politicians
The Evening News reports Mr Goosie Tanoh, spokesman for the National Reform Party (NRP) as urging politicians to provide hope for the electorate for a better tomorrow in stead of peddling lies.
"To us in the Reform Party, politics is the truth, love, unity for prosperity, and may God forbid if we lie to our people", he is quoted as saying.
Mr Tanoh was inaugurating an eight-member interim working committee of the North Ablekuma constituency of the party in Accra.
The Evening News says that Mr Tanoh stated that the days when politicians told lies to the electorate to win their mandate but failed to deliver are gone forever.
He is reported as saying that Ghanaians are now suffering and struggling to make ends meet due to economic problems facing the country and that there is the need for politicians to give the people hope by preaching the truth. According to him, the Reform Party believes in empowering and enlightening the people about their lives, communities and country, and work collectively towards solving the problems confronting them, instead of waiting in vain for somebody to help improve their conditions.
He urged the working committee to intensify their educational drive, change the people's perception on governmental and economic issues to enable them to take their destiny into their own hands.
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"Databank boys wrote Peprah's 'I quit' letter"
In a front-page screaming headline story, the Ghanaian Chronicle says that one of the four government advisers appointed to sort out what the Executive described as 'mess at Ashanti' has corroborated reports that the Finance Minister, Mr Kwame Peprah, former board chairman of the Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) Limited, had been forced to resign against his will.
The Chronicle says that confronted with the accusation that he had written the resignation letter, one of the four advisers, Mr Ekow Awoonor, vehemently denied and said "the Databank Boys did it", followed by a direct finger at the head of corporate finance, Mr Yoofi Grant, who alternated with Mr Ken Ofori-Atta in the damaging and relentless prosecution of the AGC and its chief executive, Mr Sam Jonah.
The Chronicle says that Mr Ekow Awoonor is currently fighting a desperate but losing battle to stay on the AGC board. It mentions the others as Messrs Mark Horne of T. Hoare London, Ken Ofori-Atta of Databank and Mr Jude Bucknor, managing director of Cal Merchant Bank.
The Chronicle says that the announcement of Mr Peprah's resignation at the time he was steadfastly behind the AGC boss and his board in defending themselves in the famous R.K. Apaloo trials, was greeted with shock and disbelief…
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