Budget statement contradicts fact on ground
Quality Grain case up for hearing Friday
Electoral Commission begins consultation
President inaugurates socks factory
Budget statement contradicts fact on ground
Accra
(Greater Accra) 18 March 2003 – Contrary to the claims made in the 2003 budget
statement by the Minister of Finance, Hon. Yaw Osaafo-Maafo, that the Ghana
Police Service (GPS) has been supplied with 100 rehabilitated Land Rovers,
Chronicle investigations have revealed that the spare parts to rehabilitate the
vehicles are still in the bosom of Land Rovers International (LRI) in far-away
United Kingdom (UK).
In his
address the Osafo-Maafo made a statement that; “the year 2002 has witnessed
drastic reduction in the crime rate, and that has been achieved through the
police and military. This achievement was enhanced by the acquisition of 413
vehicles of various types and rehabilitation of 100 Land Rovers”.
The last
time Chronicle checked from the Police Service, that is last week, 40 of the
said cars were sitting on the grounds of the Police headquarters while the rest
were said to be parked at the workshop of Mechanical Lloyd Company Limited
(MLCL), the company that was tasked by Land Rovers International to do the
servicing as the local agents of the company.
Further
probing by the Chronicle has revealed that, the parts of even the first 20 have
still not been supplied even though Ghana Police has placed a second order for
supply.
LRI made a
contract with the government of
The spare
parts were to be used to repair some of the Service’s broken-down vehicles,
which were supplied by the same company. The repair process would also offer on
the job training to some technicians from the police workshops.
To enable
Mechanical Lloyd repair as many vehicles as possible, it was necessary to
inspect each vehicle so that only the parts needed would be ordered, rather
than change parts just for the sake of it.
Mechanical
Lloyd and the GPS, therefore, set up a process where 20 vehicles at a time
would be delivered to the importing company for assessment and the relevant
parts would then ordered and shipped to the Police Service, who would clear the
parts and deliver them to Mechanical Lloyd for the repairs to be carried out.
On May 6
and 20, 2002 the GPS delivered the first 20 Land Rovers to MLCL for assessment
and then complete the list of parts for the first 20 vehicles which would be
sent to LRI by e-mail.
On
MLCL
prompted LRI that the pro-forma was being unduly delayed and so LRI sent a
pro-forma on 28 August, but there were errors and omissions on the pro-forma,
so MLCL decided to merge and correct the mistakes, after having sent an earlier
incomplete fax of 19 out of 30 pages MLCL received a faxed invoice which still
contained errors.
On
After MLCL
had confirmed the Land Rover pro-forma was acceptable, on 26 November 2002, it
appeared in the Financial Times newspaper in Britain, that “Land Rover is
having trouble supplying spare parts to dealers after switching distribution to
Caterpillar Logistics, the US-owned company at the centre of a parts crisis at
MG Rover, the problems at Land Rover, part of Ford, have left broken –down
vehicles in garages waiting for parts and led to formal complaints by dealer
associations, “parts supply has been problematic for sometime”, said Peter
Johnson, chief executive of Inchape, a dealer group.
Mechanical
Lloyd again sent a mail to LRI on 9 January, this year, which read, “ We are
aware that you have problems, however there seems to be lack of urgency with
this order, the length of time it’s taking is bordering on being preposterous.
The reasons and promises we are giving to the Ghana Police Service has worn
very thin. I do not know whether you are aware of the fact that the police
vehicles were sent to us as far back as May 2002.”
LRI
confirmed that the parts are now 100% available and they would complete the
pickings and packing of the parts by 22 February, this year.
In his
address the Osafo-Maafo made a statement that; “The year 2002 has witnessed
drastic reduction in the crime rate, and that has been achieved through the
police and military. This achievement was enhanced by the acquisition of 413
vehicles of various types and rehabilitation of 100 Land Rovers”.
Chronicle
authentically reports that, the statement made by the minister was untrue since
as at now 40 of the supposed 100 rehabilitated vehicles are parked at the
police workshop in
According
to sources officials at GPS, the Minister of Interior, last year, presented
some Land Rovers to GPS and during the handing over of the keys to the
Inspector General of Police the minister promised that the ministry would
supply another 100 rehabilitated Land Rovers since it was part of the contract
but since then the police has not received any such cars.
The
officials told this paper that, the delay in the rehabilitation of the vehicles
by LRI has upset the IGP since he needs the vehicles urgently to boost the
police’s drive to combat crime particularly armed robbery.
When the
financial spokesperson of the Ministry of Finance, Nana Owusu Ntow, was
contacted, he said, “Since the police are saying they have not received any
such vehicles then I have nothing to defend.” – The Ghanaian Chronicle
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Quality Grain case up for hearing Friday
The
postponements were necessitated by a suit which was filed at the Supreme Court
to challenge the constitutionality of one of the charges that have been
preferred against the accused persons.
Those on
trial are Ibrahim Adam, a former Minister of Food and Agriculture; Samuel
Dapaah, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture; Kwame
Peprah, a former Minister of Finance; Ato Dadzie, a former Chief of Staff at
the Presidency, and George Yankey, a former Director of the Legal Sector,
Private and Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance.
They are
said to have played various roles in the Quality Grains Company scandal that
led to the loss of more than $20m to the state.
They have
pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and causing financial loss to the
state and the court, presided over by Justice Kwame Afreh, a Supreme Court
judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, has granted them
self-recognisance bail.
The trial
was put on hold following an action by one Frank Bo Amissah, who sought the
interpretation of the Constitution on the charge of causing financial loss to
the state.
However,
when the case was first called on 5 March, counsel for the plaintiff, Nana
Adjei Ampofo, told the court that his client had decided to discontinue the
action for what he said was "for very personal reasons".
The
Attorney General, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who was the defendant, objected
and urged the court to go ahead and determine the case.
On Friday,
14 March 2003, the Supreme Court presided over by Mrs Justice Joyce
Bamford-Addo, went ahead to strike out the case and awarded ¢15m costs against
the plaintiff. This followed a 4-1 majority decision to grant leave for the
plaintiff to withdraw the suit.
The
majority decision was taken by Mrs Bamford-Addo, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood,
Justice S. A. Brobbey and Justice Sam Baddoo. Dr Justice Seth Twum dissented.
The
substantive case was first sent to the Fast Track High Court on
The
presiding judge then fixed 21 February for judgement, but it had to be deferred
to enable counsel for the accused persons to address contentious issues they
raised in their written addresses submitted to the court in early January.
A final
date for judgement may be fixed by the court on Friday.
Another
former public official, Tsatsu Tsikata, who used to be the Chief Executive
Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, is also facing trial at a
Fast Track High Court causing financial loss of more than ¢2.3bn to the state.
He is said
to have caused the loss in a transaction in which he is alleged to have
committed the corporation to guarantee a loan facility granted Valley Farms
Limited, a private limited liability company, by Caisse Francaise de
Development (CFD), a French development aid agency. – The Daily Graphic
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They have,
therefore, called on the
The New
Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress, (NDC) the People’s
National Convention (PNC), the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Civil Servants
Association (CSA) of Ghana, and the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), which
made the call in separate interviews in Accra yesterday, also asked the
government as a member of the UN to make its position clear on the matter,
report Charles Benoni Okine,Timothy Gobah and Mustapha Salifu.
The others
are the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA), the Ghana Centre for
Democratic Develoment (CDD-Ghana) and James Victor Gbeho, the immediate past
Foreign Minister and a former Permanent Representative to the UN.
They said
war on
Gbeho
described the attempt by the
Gbeho said
“it is a pity that US, supported by
Gbeho
called on the Security Council not to give up on putting pressure on the
The
Associate Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development
(CDD-Ghana), Dr Baffour Agyeman-Duah, said any war against
He said the
basis for a war against
He said the
On the way
forward, he said the inspectors should be given more time and also called for
UN troops to be sent to that country to assist in the disarmament process.
A lecturer
at the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA) of the
He said such
a war will undermine the authority of the United Nations and create a platform
for unilateralism to once again rear its ugly head in international politics.
Dr Antwi-Danso noted that with the demise of the
On the
likely effects of a war in Iraq on the country, he said the price of crude oil
is going to rise and countries such as Ghana that depend on oil imports will
face a general price hike.
A Level 600
student at LECIA, Agbelengor Ewomvor, said a war against
He said
She said it
is important for the
Prof Yaw
Saffu of the IEA said war on
He said
developing countries are already facing the pinch of the current prices of
crude oil and anything that will make the prices go higher will inflict
hardship on the people.
Prof Saffu
expressed regret that the US and
The New
Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said that the
move by the US, if not restrained will open the floodgates for some member
countries of the United Nations to flout UN resolutions with careless abandon
as well as bring untold hardship to the people of developing countries,
especially in Africa, reports Donald Ato Dapatem.
Consequently,
they have appealed to the
The
National Treasurer of the NPP, Michael Dugan, who prayed that the war should
not come on, said that the authority of the world body should also be
respected.
He noted
that the United Nations should also look critically at the factors as they
unfold and take a bold decision to resolve the Iraqi issues once and for all.
He said
that should the war break out, crude oil prices will definitely shot up and
urged Ghanaians to remain steadfast and should not regard any unhealthy
development on the international oil markets as the making of the government.
Baba Jamal,
the Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, stated that no one country can
arrogate to itself the authority of being the policemen of the world. He urged
the government to start putting in place pre-emptive measure so that the
rippling effects of the war will not derail the fragile economy.
The
People’s National Convention (PNC) on its part called on the
The PNC’s
position is that the “United States, supported by Britain and Spain, must
abandon the current attempt to plunge the world into a war and heed the voice
of the majority of states on the Security Council”, Dr Edward Mahama, the
leader of the PNC, said.
According
to the PNC, current moves by the
He called
on all peace loving nations to stand firm in defence of the peace and
legitimacy of the UN to ensure that world affairs are conducted in a civilised
manner. Charles Amoakwa of the Public Affairs Department of the Social Security
Bank Limited (SSB) said the threat of war in Iraq will have economic
consequences for the country since it is a leading producer of crude oil in the
world market, report Michael Donkor and Asamoah Boahene.
He said the
Kwesi Anim
of Sikkens blamed
A driver,
Felix Appiah, condemned the
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Electoral Commission begins consultation
It has,
therefore, made it clear that until the consultation process has fully run its
course, no clear-cut decision will be made in respect of the exact number of
constituencies to be featured in the next general elections.
Dr Kwadwo
Afari-Gyan, the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, disclosed this in an
interview in
Articles 45
(b) and 47 of the 1992 Constitution empower the EC to demarcate electoral
boundaries and to constitute as many constituencies as it (EC) may deem fit for
the purposes of national elections.
According
to Dr Afari-Gyan, issues in respect of changes of constituency boundaries are
intricate matters that need such broad-based consultations to amicably resolve.
“We, as a
commission, need to consult and take on board the views and concerns of bodies
such as the political parties, the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), the
government and civil society groups as a whole in any exercise designed to
alter electoral boundaries.
“This is
vital for the demarcation exercise as well as for enhancing representative
government, which is at the centre of our democratic order,” the EC Chairman
noted. Dr Afari-Gyan further explained that consultations with these bodies,
especially the government, are deemed necessary because the creation of such
constituencies has wide ranging financial and logistical implications which
fall outside the scope and ability of the EC.
He said
that largely on account of these financial and logistical obligations, the EC
has drawn up a number of scenarios on the delimitation of constituency
boundaries one of which could be adopted depending on the acceptance of the
corresponding obligations that come with it.
The EC
chairman referred to the contention of some groups in the society that there
should be no increase in the number of constituencies, at the moment and
asserted that if that were so, then people should brace themselves to accept
the possibility of re-adjustment of constituency boundaries.
In this
case, some regions could lose a number of constituencies while others would
gain a few more constituencies especially on account of population changes,
which constitute a very important criterion influencing such decisions.
On the
creation of more districts, Dr Afari-Gyan said that the EC was currently
engaged in the collection of information on the ground regarding the
feasibility or otherwise of the proposed new districts.
“As soon as
these are completed, they would be submitted to the government for the
appropriate decisions and actions to be taken,” he stressed.
Dr
Afari-Gyan pointed out that any decision to increase the number of districts
would also mean an increase in the number of constituencies in the country. – The
Daily Graphic
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President inaugurates socks factory
Tema
(Greater Accra)
The
factory, known as Network Knitwear Fabrics Limited (NKL), which began
operations in March, last year, currently employs 350 workers and produces
50,000 pairs of socks weekly for the
It is a
joint venture between NKL and Southern Textile Exchange in the
President
Kufuor said the factory is the first to be established in the country in the
non-traditional export sector to respond to the initial call for exportable
products to the United Sates under the African Growth and Opportunities Act
(AGOA).
He said the
establishment of the factory attests to the fact that Ghanaians can utilise all
the opportunities available to them to make life better for themselves in
particular and for the country as a whole.
He said the
achievement presents an opportunity for Ghanaian entrepreneurs to venture into
the
“All what
is left for us is to take our work seriously and produce more in order for us
to have our fair share of the global market”, he said.
President
Kufuor stressed that the government is poised to support any worthy venture
that will assist in its vision to raise the standard of living of the people in
the country.
He
commended the management of the factory for creating job opportunities for the
youth as a means of solving the unemployment problem in the country.
The
Chairman of the Board of NKL, Prosper Adabla, said the idea for the establishment
of the factory was conceived two years ago to take advantage of the President’s
Special Initiative on Garment and Textiles as well as the government’s policy
of the Golden Age of Business.
According
to him, he approached Southern Textile, which is the third largest socks
manufacturer in the
Mr Adabla
said when the proposal was studied, it was observed that the company could save
about $12m of its production cost if the factory is relocated to
He said the
quality of the socks manufactured is either equal or better than those produced
in the
Adabla
expressed gratitude to the government for its assistance and expressed the hope
that the factory will expand to help create more employment opportunities for
the youth. Clarence Wall of the Southern Textile Exchange expressed his
appreciation to the government for its support for the establishment of the
factory.
He
commended the workers for their excellent work, adding that “the quality of
products is beyond our expectation”. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr
Kofi Konadu Apraku, said AGOA holds a lot of promise to achieving the country’s
export-led developmental goals.
To this
end, he said, a number of initiatives have been undertaken which are aimed at
helping to maximise the benefits of AGOA.
He
mentioned the establishment of a Textile/Garment Training Centre at the Accra
Technical Training Centre (ATTC) to upgrade the skills of small scale
manufacturers in the garment sector in order to help them to export apparel to
the
Dr Apraku
announced that a secretariat has been established at the Ministry to support
and coordinate the activities of the private sector under AGOA as well as
facilitate activities such as training and capacity building for the private
sector to benefit from opportunities under AGOA. – The Daily Graphic
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 March 2003 – Following the arrest of 72 suspected armed robbers in Accra in recent months, the Greater Accra Regional Police Command is urging all petrol filling stations to re-introduce the 24-hour service. The police are prepared to offer some level of protection to interested stations.
Filling stations stopped the all-night service, after a series of violent attacks, some of which ended up in fatalities. But, after almost three years of denying motorists access to fuel after 10:30pm, confidence is growing among both fuel retailers and the police that it is time to free the trade from the fear of armed robbers.
“We are now asking all filling stations to open all night. We feel armed robbers should not win and we are doing enough to send the robbers on the retreat,” said a senior detective at the Regional Police Headquarters in Accra.
“It is wonderful news,” says Ernest Jonah, proprietor of Mobil Filling Station near ECG, Accra. “The early shut severely affected our business. It looks like the police are really winning the war against robberies.”
A medical doctor said “it will be of great help. It can frustrate even attending to emergencies in the night when you don’t have enough fuel in the tank. Great let go on and allow them to operate throughout the night.
It is however not clear if the police would ask retailers to contribute towards police protection. The habit in other countries where filling stations are fitted with CCTV cameras and bullet proof glass screens between the cashier and the buyer is yet to make it to these shores. - The Statesman
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 March 2003 - The privatisation of water would not take off this month as scheduled. It is also not expected to take off anytime soon. This is because the Ministry of Works and Housing is now preparing bids for companies that have qualified to undertake the project.
A source at the Ministry of Works and Housing blamed the delay in the implementation of the project, on the inability of the World Bank to submit its report on the project on time.
Currently, four companies – Ondeo Services, Combagnie Generale Deseaux, and Saur International all in France and Bi Water Company from Britain have been selected to bid for the contracts.
Two out of the four companies will be selected to take over the job of supplying water from the Ghana Water Company. The companies will be given ten years under a lease agreement to improve the water supply system throughout the country.
Concerns have been raised about the ultimate cost of water after the privatization and its effects on the poor, especially those in the rural areas, but the source told JOY FM that a unit has been established to ensure that low income earners and rural dwellers do not suffer any hardships from the privatisation of the water. - Myjoyonline
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Navrongo (Northern Region) 18 March 2003 – The statesman can authoritatively report that the opposition NDC has abandoned its dream of winning the next Tuesday’s Navrongo by-election. As at 2:00pm on Monday when this report was filed, not a single high profile NDC executive from Accra had pitched camp in the constituency whose capital, Navrongo is 845km from Accra the national capital.
Unlike the Wulensi by-election, which saw NDC heavyweights, led by Prof Mills, storming the constituency, Navrongo has seen very little of the party which until recently ruled the north. This paper’s investigations indicate that the situation is not helped by the thickening of bad blood between the Rawlings-Mills and the Obed-Botchwey wing of the party.
This virtual throwing of the towel into the electoral ring appears the more worrying considering NDC’s Clement Bugase narrowly lost to the late John Achiluwor by143 voter points in the 2000 parliamentary bout. But, indicate of this psychological loss of electoral-confidence, after three straight knock-outs from the “Elephant” is the NDC’s apparent flirtation with the idea of backing PNC candidate Gabriel Pwamang.
The Parliamnetary Minority leader and MP for Nadawli South, Alban Bagbin, whose arrival in the Nnavrongo on Saturday sent a glimmer of hope to the local NDC faithfuls, left six hours aboard the very Ghana Air force jet which brought him and a government delegation to Achiluwor’s funeral.
However, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Ferdinand Ayim and Dan Botwe stayed on in Navrongo to shore up the advance party of the National Organiser, Lord Commey, the National Youth Organiser, Mustapha Hamid, Women’s Organiser Rita Asobayere and the Regional campaign team. – The Statesman
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 March 2003 – More than two years after promising to set up an Office Accountability at the Presidency to regulate the conduct of ministers and official appointees to enhance the policy of zero tolerance” for corruption, the said office appears not to be materialising.
In the second half of last year, the Chief of Staff, Kwadwo Mpiani, explained that although the President was committed to making good his pledge to the nation on the matter, in order to ensure discipline amongst his ministers and functionaries, the difficulty was in finding the right calibre of Ghanaians who were untainted politically and could not be influenced into shielding anybody.
Several months after that pledge, the Office of Accountability is yet to be established and tongues are wagging as to whether the President as in Biblical lexicology has not “found even three righteous men in the land” who command enough political and civil respect and would not succumb to corruptible practices to man that office.
With calls to reshuffle ministerial appointees and the outright removal of others, particularly District Chief Executives (DCEs) for abuse of office and irregular practices, it has become very crucial to query what is going.
When “The Evening News” contacted the Chief of Staff on the matter, he was elusive and could not offer any explanation for the delay in setting up the office at the Presidency. About eight months ago, precisely on 19 August 2002 “The Evening News” carried a report on the front page captioned “Accountability Office in the offing” in which the Majority Leader, Papa Owusu Ankomah, affirmed the readiness of the government to establish that office.
He told an audience at a public lecture on “Anti corruption” in Accra that the government policy of “zero tolerance” for corruption was not just rhetoric but a practical policy which was yet to be operationalised.
According to the Majority Leader, about
20 per cent of procurement costs go into private pockets of civil servants
rather than to politicians as erroneously believed by the general public. Among
other things he called for a review of laws which hindered the fight against
corruption and reformation of corporate governance policies which were outdated
and faulty. – The Evening News
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