GRi Press Review 12 – 03 – 2003
Beware, fake cedis notes in town-BoG
“I stand by what I said”- Justice Amua-Sekyi
House demands account for petroleum levy
Cabinet to examine demand for new region
Ghana Breweries reviews operations
Development dialogue kicks off in March
On the creation of new districts
NPP rigged elections even in opposition - Frances Asiam
Beware, fake cedis notes in town-BoG
Accra (Greater
Accra) 12 March 2003 - The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has confirmed the existence of
fake currency notes in the system. The bank, however, said the situation can be
brought under control, if people become more vigilant and scrutinise all notes
that pass through their hands.
The Head of Issue at the BoG, Ofei Bekoe, who disclosed this in an interview in Accra yesterday, said there is a vast difference between the fake and the original notes that should make it easy for the public to make out the genuine notes.
He said those involved in the criminal act normally use ordinary photocopiers and paper and since the notes have anti-copy and anti-scanner line structures, the illegally reproduced ones will be deformed.
“The public, therefore, only needs to exercise a little caution, vigilance and scrutiny to detect the fraud,” Bekoe stated.
He said the fake notes are usually lighter than the original and advised the public that in case of any doubt, they should refer the genuine notes to their bankers or any nearby bank to help in determining their authenticity.
He said the new currency notes of ¢10,000 and ¢20,000, for instance, have two main security features, namely, the public recognition features, which are designed to help individuals to identify genuine currency notes, and the machine readable features, which aid machines to detect their genuineness.
Bekoe said the public recognisable features on the ¢10,000 notes include a watermark of Yaa Asantewa as well as see-through features, which are perfectly aligned at the reverse of both notes, but appear unaligned when the note is duplicated by any means.
He advised the general public to exercise the caution warnings given by the BoG in order to complement the efforts of the bank to discourage the use of such currencies in the system, adding that "it is worth spending a few seconds to critically observe a currency than to get yourself carelessly swindled".
Bekoe also urged the public to handle the currencies with care since they cost much to print and said dirty and blurred currencies can make it more difficult to detect their authenticity, either by machine or manual.
He further advised members of the public, who may encounter such problems with other foreign currencies, to contact their banks for help.
The Public Relations Officer of the bank, Ms Esi Hammond
cautioned the public to be wary of fraudsters who claim they can turn ¢2000
notes into ¢20,000 notes, saying anybody who gives in will be showing signs of
lacking confidence in their own currency notes. – Daily Graphic
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 March 2003 - Former President
Rawlings says he would
take an active part in the 2004 Presidential and parliamentary election
campaign to ensure that the NDC wins the election. He however said that will
depend on whether the NDC flagbearer for 2004, Prof Mills would grant him the
opportunity ''because I don’t know how Atta Mills thinks''.
The former President accused the NPP of introducing a culture of silence in the country. He claimed that during his time (NDC administration), people were allowed to express their opinions through all manner of what he termed ''choobois or demonstrations''.
''But this time the NPP administration is not allowing it at all'' he complained. The former President wondered whether the same vocal journalists who campaigned against his government are the same people working in the media today, adding that it seems Ghanaian journalists are afraid of reporting the bad side of the Kufuor government.
Flt Lt Rawlings took the opportunity to deny media publications that he had gone to Congo (Brazzaville) to solicit arms to destabilize the government. When asked whether he had any such intentions, the former President replied with a big ''no''. Asked again whether he would respond to an invitation to lead a group that successfully launches a coup d’etat in the country he responded with a ''no'' yet again. - Daily Guide
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“I stand by what I said”- Justice Amua-Sekyi
Accra (Greater Accra) 12 March 2004 – The Chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission, Justice K. E. Amua Sekyi, has stated that he stands by the comments attributed to him at the close of the evidence of David Walenkaki, a former Commissioner of Police, last Wednesday 5 March.
He said it was in the light of the implications of the evidence of Walenkaki on the floor of the commission that he (Amua-Sekyi) made the remark attributed to him, stressing that “I stand by what I said.”
Justice Amua-Sekyi said in a statement issued yesterday that the verbatim record of evidence of Walekaki is available at the commission and that anyone who is interested may obtain a copy and judge for himself whether “my comment was justified”.
The chairman of the commission said after Walenkaki had testified on 5 March that the witness had made a fool of himself. He said ex-Inspector Alhaji Alidu Muhammad had alleged that Walenkaki had sent policemen to his house to cause his arrest and that in the course of arresting him, he had been shot and wounded in the leg.
He said when Walenkaki appeared before the commission to respond to the allegation, he brought with him a medical report which he said proved that the ex-Inspector had been certified as a mad person since 1975.
He said the commission confronted Walenkaki with documentary evidence provided by ex-Inspector Muhammad which showed that in 1983 and in 1985, he, Muhammad, had been given certificates of commendation by two former IGPs, Kugblenu and Omane, for his efficiency and dedication to duty.
He said Walenkaki’s response was threefold, first that Muhammad “probably” lobbied for the commendations; Muhammad did not deserve them and that the two IGPs flouted procedure in giving the commendation to Muhammad.
Justice Amua-Sekyi said the implications of the evidence given by Walenkaki were that in the Police Service as he knew it, policemen could lobby for commendations and that the two former IGPs were persons who could have been influenced by the practices.
He said it is also implied that he (Walenkaki) was a better
judge than the two former IGPs as to whether Muhammad deserved his commendation
and that he knew the procedure to be followed in giving commendations better
than the former IGPs. – Daily Graphic
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House demands account for petroleum levy
Accra (Greater Accra) 12 March 2003
- The Finance Committee of Parliament has recommended that the Minister of
Finance should be invited to account for all the monies that have accrued from
the levy imposed on petroleum products purposely for the Road Fund and kept in
an escrow account at the Bank of Ghana.
It said
this has become necessary because the levy of ¢170.00 imposed on petroleum
products for the fund has not been approved by Parliament. The Minister is also
requested to provide proposals on how the monies so far collected should be utilised
for the approval by the House before the end of its current meeting.
This was
contained in the report of the Committee on the Customs and Excise (Petroleum
Taxes and Petroleum Related Levies) (Amendment) Bill laid before the House
yesterday. The purpose of the bill is to revise the existing road levies on
petroleum. It also seeks to ensure the sustainability of road maintenance in
the country.
The
proposed road levy is ¢400 per litre of both premium petrol and gas oil.
According to the report laid on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee, Eugene
Atta Agyepong, by P.C. Appiah-Ofori, member for Asikuma/Odoben/Brakwa, members
also expressed dissatisfaction about the inability of the Road Fund Secretariat
to submit its annual reports to the House for the past three years, which is a
breach of the law that set it up.
The report
recommended that steps be taken by the relevant Parliamentary Committee to
ensure that the outstanding annual reports of the Road Fund Board as well as
their annual budgets for the utilisation of funds should be submitted to the
House immediately for consideration in compliance with the Act that established
the Road Fund Board.
The road
levy was instituted to generate adequate and sustainable source of funding for
maintaining the road network in the country. The government estimated that to
meet the required level of road maintenance, the levy will be increased
progressively to an equivalent of 9.5 US cents per litre of fuel over a
five-year period.
In 1996,
the levy was increased from 1.5 US cents to four
Due to the
fall in the value of the cedi, the prevailing levy at ¢230.00 is now equivalent
to only 2.7 US cents per litre as compared to the expected level of 9.5 US
cents per litre. The committee observed that the current level of 2.7 US cents
per litre is woefully inadequate to fund the current national road maintenance
programme.
The
committee was informed that an increase in the levy by ¢170, equivalent to two
US cents per litre being proposed to bring it to ¢400.00, equivalent of 4.7 US
cents, is still inadequate. The report said the Minister explained that the
increase in the road levy is a conditionality for the disbursement of donor
funds given by the donor community who insists that the levy should be
increased progressively to a level of about 9.5 US cents per litre.
The report
indicated that the Minister informed the committee that loans to the tune of
$220m, which were sourced by the previous government from the World Bank,
cannot be disbursed until the road levy is increased since the levy is far
below the previously agreed level.
It said
members expressed much concern about the illegal collection of the road levy,
since Parliament, the authorising body, has as yet not approved it. The
Committee observed that the legislation cannot be backdated since the
Constitution frowns on retrospective legislation.
The report
said the Committee also observed that due to the instability in Cote d’Ivoire
and the ECOWAS protocol on the cross-border movements, heavy-duty vehicles with
bigger axle weight are now plying the country’s roads conveying goods to
countries like Burkina Faso and Mali and that it is adversely affecting the
condition of the roads since the trucks are of heavier axle loads.
The
Committee recommended that as soon as possible steps should be taken to ensure
that these higher axle vehicles contribute to the maintenance of the roads in
the country through the payment of higher transit or road user fees. The Committee,
therefore, recommended to the House to approve the report.
Also laid
before the House was the report on the development financing agreement between
Some of the
benefits to be derived from the project include reduction in infant mortality
rate from 57 to 50 per 1000 live births, reduction in under five mortality from
108 to 95 per live births, live expectancy at birth would at least be
maintained at 58 years, reduction in HIV prevalence of 2.6 per cent and TB cure
rate from 43 per cent to 60 per cent.
The rest
are in-servicing training for 80 per cent of staff, establishment of community
based health centres in deprived areas, development of national agenda for
herbal and alternative medicine and the training of 6000 traditional and
alternative medicine practitioners to help streamline and improve upon their
activities in the country.
The House
also continued with the debate on the Financial and Economic policy of the
government for the year ending
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The
delegation, including eight sub-chiefs and royal sons of the Yagbonwura, was
led by the out-going Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Issah Ketekewu.
President Kufuor said he would not be able to give a definitive answer to the
chief's request but indicated that he will consider the feasibility of the
creation of an additional region.
President
Kufuor said the government will make every effort to develop the Northern
Region. He said the government had spent huge sums of money on peace and
security in the Northern Region following the Dagbon crisis and noted that such
resources could have been used to support the development of the area.
President
Kufuor stated that the Gonja area is a reservoir of resources which are yet to
be tapped. He explained that the government is aware of the deposits of lime
and gold as well as the agricultural potential in the Gonja land and noted that
the resources will be tapped to make a positive difference in the lives of the
people.
He said
only one company offered to bid for the contract for the construction of the
Bui Dam and indicated that the government is examining the possibility of
undertaking the project in conjunction with the Russian Government which was
instrumental in the design of the proposed Bui Dam during the First Republic.
On the
Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI), President Kufuor explained that the
PSIs are not meant to establish state farms as it pertained in the
Responding
to an appeal by the Yagbonwura to the President to extend his special
initiative on cassava to the Gonja Traditional Area, President Kufuor said the
cassava project at Bawjiase is a pilot one and will be extended to other areas
in future. – Accra Daily Mail
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The sharp
turnaround of the finances of the brewery was the result of effective cost
control mechanism, the restructuring of the company’s debt as well as the
streamlining of the foreign exchange operations of the company. The company has
also streamlined its supply and distribution chain and brought into focus its
top-line range of products to meet consumers’ demand.
Segun
Adebanji, Managing Director of GBL, outlining the preliminary financial results
of the company for the year ended
He said the
promotional activities of the company have equally been restructured to add
value to the demand for the various product ranges.
Adebanji,
who was assisted by other top management personnel of the company, stated that
in spite of the significant improvement in the underlying profitability of the
company for the year under review, the net result for the year was negative.
He
explained that this was due to the massive exchange loss of ¢7.2bn in respect
of euro-denominated debts and the interest burden of ¢9.4bn. The cedi depreciated
by 35 per cent against the euro in 2002, as it lost nearly 15 per cent against
the dollar.
In order to
address the exchange risk inherent in the euro-denominated debts and reduce the
interest burden by local borrowing, Adebanji said the principal shareholder of
GBL, Heineken, has approved a capital restructuring proposal submitted by the
company in November last year.
He said in
support of the scheme, Heineken has made a cash injection of 5m euros as a
deposit against shares and has committed itself to converting 7.5m euros
inter-company debts totalling ¢10.6bn euro coupons convertible bond into
equity.
The
managing director said part of the cash injection of about 3m euros has already
been applied to reduce the overdraft/medium-term loan position.
He said in
pursuance of the capital restructuring plan, an extraordinary general meeting
of shareholders will be held in the second quarter of this year to seek the
mandate of the stakeholders to carry out the restructuring programme. Social
Security National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is the major shareholder in the
brewery.
The
programme will be in respect of increase in the authorised capital of the
company to allow new issues of shares, increase the stated capital of the
company by issuing new shares under a renouncable right issue of the company,
with the objective of reducing the deficit on the income surplus account.
The
managing director, however, admitted that the competition in the brewery
industry will be keen during 2003 and that increases in fuel prices and the
further depreciation of the cedi vis-à-vis the euro will increase variable and
fixed costs.
He said the
expected growth in volumes and improvements of the product mix have
accommodated the increase in cost base of the company. - Graphic
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Development dialogue kicks off in March
The
programme, which begins on Tuesday, 18 March, at the Accra International
Conference Centre, is meant to bring think-tanks and institutions in the
country together to promote vibrant discourse on development policy choices. It
is envisaged to be a programme of critical public discussions on issues of
development.
The
objectives of the programme are to create a forum where development thinkers,
practitioners, beneficiaries and other stakeholders will engage in regular
dialogue over the critical issues and challenges of development in
Additionally,
it is meant to provide rich inputs into public policy making, implementation
and impact assessment. According to World Development Report 2000 and 2001,
attacking poverty presents a multinational view of poverty and underscores the
importance of increasing poor people’s access to opportunity, security and
empowerment for economic growth and poverty reduction.
Building on
the report, the World Bank’s strategic framework paper identifies two priority
areas for bank support to client governments, which are, building the climate
for investments, jobs and growth and empowering poor people and investing in
their assets.
There is
ample evidence that there are linkages between empowerment and development
effectiveness, both at the society-wide level and at the grassroots level.
Empowerment approaches can strengthen good governance, which in turn enhances
growth prospects.
Experience
also demonstrates that empowerment can improve development effectiveness and
pro-poor impact at the individual project level. According to the report,
evidence shows that projects in countries with strong civil liberties-
particularly citizen voice, participation and accountability — significantly
out-perform projects in countries with weak civil liberties.
However,
there remain many questions about what empowerment means, how it applies to the
bank’s work and what actions should be undertaken to move agenda forward. The
final section of the report documents tools and practices that can support the
implementation of an empowering approach to poverty.
The report
underlines four key elements of empowerment that must underline institutional
reform to include, access to information, inclusion or participation
accountability and local organisational capacity.
Empowerment
approaches focus on application of the empowerment framework in five areas,
which include, provision of basic services, improved local governance, improved
national governance, pro-poor market development and access by poor people to
justice.
The World
Bank’s comparative advantage in pursuing an empowerment agenda for poverty
reduction lies in relations with governments around the world. The bank
convenes stakeholders to stimulate debate, consensus and coalition building for
reform as well as support information disclosure, inclusion and participation,
particularly the poor.
Finally,
the bank can support the strengthening of civil society and government
institutions at the local and national levels. – Graphic
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 March 2003 - In 28th – 30th Jan. 2002 issue of this paper
we had the opportunity of reacting to a list of
the names which had been published in the Statesman purporting to be the names
of the nine members of the National Reconciliation Commission. The paper at
that time protested against the inclusion of some persons. The government on
In
protesting against some members of the Commission we stated as follows: “In
taking this position we wish to remind all and sundry that we are not by any
means doubting the credentials and the integrity of any of the persons. We are
rather worried because of people’s perception about some of the people which
might creates doubt about their impartiality. After all in even judicial
process, a judge sitting on a case if he or she is likely to be biased”. In
objecting to the membership of Gen. Erskine we stated.
“Gen
Erskine is not only a Senior Army Officer, but a politician who was a
presidential candidate in the 1992 presidential elections as well as a member
of the Committee that was set up to see to the reburial of the Senior military
officers who were the victims of the June 4 Uprising. Needless to say that his
public utterances on the event and the PNDC era are known to all”.
We
concluded, “As a Senior Army officer nobody can expect him to be sympathetic
towards any junior officer who staged the June 4 uprising”. Inspite of our
misgivings we were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, but his
performance on the Commission so far has convinced us that he is not the type
of person who must continue take part in the activities of the Commission.
To start
with, we doubt whether he really understands the mission of the Commission. To
him the Commission is a court of law otherwise he would not have said and acted
in the way he did when Col. Frank Bernasko (rtd) appeared before the
Commission. Certainly no objected-minded Ghanaian can forgive him for that
singular act. Again, how come that he saluted a junior officer who did not came
to narrate how his rights had been abused but used the platform of the
Commission to pour scorn on the former President at a point describing him as a
‘Bastard’ and indicated how he could be got rid off?
Indeed as a
member of the Commission, he is quoted as having blamed past military coups for
the economic woes of the country. But, the worrying aspect is what role Gen.
Erskine played in relation to the 1966 and 1972 coups. It is our view that this
must come from Gen. Erskine himself, in the spirit of national reconciliation. What
people do know is whether he took active part in the planning of the two coups
mentioned particularly the bloody 1966 coup which saw the callous shooting of
Brig. Bawa and the wickedness of a bloody thirsty military leader who killed
over 100 Ghanaians including civilians who he lined up at Flagstaff House,
after their surrender, within a matter of some minutes.
Said that
military leader in a question put to him by the Legon Observer “That thing
called the CPP was evil, its ideology and all those who made the CPP, what it
was were evil. I feel bitter when I talk- about it. Some-times I wonder if the
Ministers did not escape too lightly. They must thank Harley that a t least
some of them were not killed.” This was a person who was even awarded an honourary
doctorate degree by the
In the
meantime, a cross section of the population think that in the light of what was
said by the Chairman of the commission with regard to his reckless statement in
relation to the evidence provided by commissioner Wulakanki. Certainly many
consider the statement by the Chairman as ‘a prejudicial statement. They think
that it casts doubt on the impartiality of the Members of the Commission. The
general view is that the conduct of the commissioners themselves will determine
the fate of the Commission. Therefore the statement coming from the heart of
the Chairman himself is really worrying. - The Ghanaian Voice
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On
the creation of new districts
Sunyani
(Brong Ahafo)
The
Districts that applied are Jaman, Wenchi, Tano and Dormaa. However, after
everything was set, new Districts that did not apply at all had the “favor” to
be short-listed for justification. This did not happen by a miracle or divine
intervention. Some powerful hands changed the fate of the two other Districts
that applied. Our investigation revealed that some Ministers in the Region,
notably the Senior Minister Hon J. H. Mensah, Hon Ernest Debrah, Brong Ahafo
Regional Minister, now Substantive Northern Regional Minister and the Deputy
Brong Ahafo Regional Minister “twisted” the arms of the Minister of Local
Government and Rural Development to short-list their Districts that did not
apply at all in the first place for consideration. What is this? Truly,
exhibition of muscles and “Mafia tactics”.
As we go to
the press, we can report on authority that due to the positions and the influence
of these Ministers, the Tano, Sunyani and Kintampo Districts have been invited
by the Ministry of Local Government to justify why their Districts should be
divided. We would have thought that under the government of “Zero tolerance for
corruption” things of this nature would have been nipped in the bag. We call on
the government as matter of urgency to probe why these Districts that did not
apply for division have all of a sudden been short-listed for consideration.
Our investigation shows that a District as the Jaman is currently the biggest
District in the Region.
Why
wouldn’t the government like to consider a place that naturally qualifies for
division but an area that does not see itself big enough to apply for this
status? We are of the strong conviction that if there should be any
consideration it should be the three Districts that applied. This is a clear
case of “Kokofu” football, where if you don’t have a brother in the game, you
are not given a pass. Or Mr. President is compensating Maame Theresa and the
“Ankota”, J. H. Mensah? We believe the Minister responsible for this Ministry
should come out properly and immediately on this issue. It is unacceptable. The
deal is not transparent and open. - The Ghanaian Voice
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NPP rigged elections even in opposition - Frances Asiam
"The
Wulensi by-election has actually unearthed the electoral malpractices that have
been the phenomenon perpetuated by the NPP administration over the years even
when they were in opposition. Now that they are in power, the unheard of
vote-rigging is blatantly displayed through the Wulensi by-election", she
said.
Ms. Asiam
who made the claim to the Chronicle in an interview said the "scientific
method" of vote-rigging by the NPP over the years has been torn apart as
the NDC is now vigilant on their activities.
She
described the eve-of-election appointment of the deputy Northern regional
minister and the mid-night electrification project at Wulensi as uncalled for,
adding that even though it was a political gimmick, the appointment should not
be done in the eve of the election. Ms. Asiam accused the NPP of buying votes
from the electorate at the cost of ¢60,000 per voter and transporting many
youth from
"The
process of vote buying from the electorate at the cost of¢60,000 and replacing
their pictures with different pictures is a total bastardization of the whole
democratic process in the country. It gain increases the work load on the EC as
people go and register somewhere again just to get into the mainstream", she
stated.
She added
that in spite of the trick played by the NPP through the last minute
appointment, mid-night electrification projects intimidating of electorates,
NPP cannot in any away cow down the NDC.
The vocal
organizer stated that the culture of impersonation and voter-inducement
perpetuated by the NPP should be stopped, stressing that if the NPP wants to
perpetuate the culture of aggression, the NDC will meet them boot for boot
which would be chaotic.
According
to her if the NPP failed to accept the norms of electioneering, they will be
forced to accept it to allow free and fair elections in the country, revealing
that as the NDC has observed the tricks of the NPP, they will also look into
their internal election machinery to move quickly to the other fields to avoid
further losses to the NPP.
Continuing,
she accused the NPP of inculcating a high level of indiscipline in the youth by
giving them money to go and misbehave, which was contrary to the curbing of
indiscipline trumpeted by the vice president.
When the
glib woman was asked whether she conceded defeat and was satisfied with the
results, this is what she said "we did not concede defeat because we
waited patiently until the last box of the balloting papers were brought,
counted and the results were mentioned.
When you
concede defeat it means before the elections you give up. But as for the
results, we were not satisfied because from the very beginning, the NPP had
gone for vote buying and the day of the election imported a lot of people from
Accra not only to intimidate but also to impersonate", she intoned.
Debunking
the allegations that vote buying was perpetuated by her party, she said,
"we did not rig any election. We were a party that came out of government
so that democracy will be maintained. - Ghanaian Chronicle
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