Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 – The searchlight on the government’s policy of zero-tolerance for corruption has been thrown on metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MDCEs) in the country.
A report submitted to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has cited some of the MDCEs for misappropriation of funds, arrogance, incompetence and insensitivity to the plight of the people in their districts.
The sector minister, Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, who disclosed this in an interview in Accra yesterday, said when found guilty, such officials will be dismissed and prosecuted. He said, already, some chief executives have been implicated and investigations are ongoing to determine the gravity of their offences and the next line of action to be taken against them.
He pointed out, for instance, that if any chief executive is found to have misappropriated funds or involved himself or herself in any form of criminal activity, he or she will be fired and tried, while those found to be arrogant, incompetent and insensitive to the plight of the people, will be relieved of their post.
He, therefore, advised MDCEs to emulate the President by being humble, sensitive, dedicated and accessible to the people they have been appointed to serve.
Adjei-Darko also disclosed that the release of funds to some district assemblies will be suspended following their failure to pay the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions of their workers. He also pointed out that invoices submitted by some MDCEs have revealed that some of the assemblies buy goods worth millions of cedis from VAT defaulters.
He said this came to light on his recent tour to some districts and emphasised that, “until the districts in question pay their workers’ contributions and deal with VAT registered companies, they should not expect any financial assistance from the ministry until the right thing is done”.
He has, therefore, directed MDCEs to submit their quarterly reports as well as endeavour to pay regular visits to the communities under their jurisdiction and get firsthand information about problems in order to find possible solutions to them.
Adjei-Darko explained that the image of the government is seen through the performance of MDCEs and said “if the chief executive is good, government is perceived to be good.”
In line with this, he said, the government will ensure that MDCEs perform to the satisfaction of the people. In the case of former MDCEs who have been implicated in the Auditor General’s report, he said their cases have been referred to the Attorney General’s (AG) Department for action.
Adjei-Darko declined to mention the names of affected officials but said the AG’s office is currently preparing the docket on them for civil proceedings to begin.
He said the ministry is currently collating data on the investment potentials of each of the 110 district in the country.
He said the ministry is also considering the possibility of establishing the “Farmers Market” in each of the districts to enable farmers to sell their produce directly to consumers without the interference of middlemen who tend to make such farm produce more expensive. – Graphic
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 – The National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) has formally invited former President Jerry John Rawlings to respond to allegations of human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by him or perpetrated at his command.
The letter of invitation, dated 27 May 2003, was sent to him through his lawyers, Kumbuor and Associates. The commission has given the former President up to 6 June 2003, to respond to the letter of invitation.
Ms Annie Anipa, Director of Public Affairs of the NRC, who confirmed this in an interview, said copies of the transcript of the evidence and the written statement of ex-Corporal Matthew Adabuga were attached to the letter of invitation.
She said the former President is requested in the letter to go to the commission to make a statement, following which the NRC will afford him the opportunity to tell his side of the story and cross-examine Cpl Adabuga. Ms Anipa said a date will be fixed for the cross-examination upon the commission's receipt of his response and statement.
One of the architects of the 31 December 1981 coup d’etat, ex-Corporal Adabuga, last Thursday told the commission that the Chairman of the erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), Flt Lt J. J. Rawlings, ordered the killing of the three High Court judges and a retired military officer in 1982.
He said Flt Lt Rawlings also took champagne from a refrigerator in their office to drink when the news of the murder of the judges and the retired military officer was broken to him.
Cpl Adabuga said he was in the office with Capt ((rtd)) Kojo Tsikata, Sgt Akata Pore and Flt Lt Rawlings, when Amartey Kwei came to inform them that they had finished the assignment on the judges.
He said Flt Lt Rawlings and Capt Tsikata also directed Amedeka and his colleagues to burn the smocks they used in the operation at Bundase to eliminate all traces. However, a legal team of the former President, led by Dr Benjamin Kumbuor, organised a press conference to deny all the allegations levelled against Flt Lt Rawlings. – Graphic
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 - The Minister of Information, Nana Akomea, has suggested to the National Media Commission (NMC) to find ways by which radio stations could pay royalties to print media organisations for reviewing their newspapers.
He noted that apart from the review affecting the circulation of the newspapers, they are also part of the programmes of the radio stations and said the payment of such royalties is not out of place because the stations are using the property rights of the media organisations to promote their businesses.
He suggested that such royalties should be paid into a fund to be managed by the NMC, which will share it among beneficiary newspaper organisations according to their circulation figures.
Nana Akomea made the suggestion when he paid a familiarisation visit to the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) in Accra yesterday. He was accompanied by his two deputies, Stephen Asamoah-Boateng and Andrews Awuni; Kofi Sakyiamah, Chief Director of the Ministry of Information, Nana Ohene Ntow, Government Spokesman on Finance and Economics, and Frank Agyekum, Government Spokesman on Governance.
The minister further suggested the need for the NMC to set up an audit circulation bureau for proper documentation of circulation figures of the various newspapers in the country.
He noted that the exact figures of newspaper circulation in the country is not known and that the setting up of the bureau and the publication of its findings quarterly will help in this regard. He was delighted about the massive transformation that the company has undergone and the content of the Daily Graphic.
Nana Akomea said the Daily Graphic, the company’s flagship, has exhibited a high degree of fairness and objectivity by opening up its pages to all kinds of opinions.
He expressed concern about the lack of a paper industry in the country because of its importance to the print media, since about 60 to 70 per cent of newspaper production depends on newsprint. The Managing Director of GCGL, Berifi Apenteng, said the company is undergoing a restructuring process to enable it to become more efficient, meet the challenges and position itself in the global market.
He said the company is, therefore, working on a five-year strategic plan to guide it in its endeavours. He said the Graphic Packaging Limited, a subsidiary of the GCGL, has also undergone a recapitalisation exercise and said nearly $2m has been invested to make it more viable.
Apenteng expressed concern about the unfair market competition, which is affecting the packaging industry. He explained that people who import finished packaging products have an advantage over those who produce them locally since the latter have to pay duty on their materials, which also affects the prices of the finished products.
He said although the Daily Graphic and its sister papers are the leading newspapers in the country, a lot more is being done to improve their content and design and also to get to other segments of the society that have not yet been reached.
Apenteng said the company is not only into profit making but also looks at national issues in its coverage of events, while serving as a platform for all levels of people to articulate their views. – Graphic
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 – The Senior Minister and Leader of the Economic Management Team, J. H. Mensah, has stated that the country is charting the right path to national development and progress. He said together with all stakeholders and development partners "we will build a confident, caring and disciplined country where wealth is created in freedom and shared in solidarity".
The Senior Minister was closing the annual National Economic Dialogue (NED) held in Accra on Tuesday.
The NED, which was on the theme: "Building a growing economy together”, assembled a wide collection of representatives from the private sector, civil society, government, academia, the diplomatic corps and Parliament to engage in broad-based discussions on important national issues.
Mensah said the fact that people from all walks of life and shades of opinion have accepted to take part in the discussions is a manifestation of society’s readiness to contribute its quota to the socio-economic development of the country.
The senior minister expressed the satisfaction that since the President, John Kufuor, declared the golden age of business a couple of years ago, a lot has happened to demonstrate to the people, both within and outside the country, how progressive the country is becoming.
He gave the assurance that the government will review the recommendations of the dialogue, which include expediting access to the ECOWAS market for Ghanaian goods, finding ways to improve and sustain the macroeconomic environment and providing opportunities for non-resident Ghanaians to invest in Ghana, closely.
“Indeed, some of them emanate from the government itself and are already being acted upon” the minister said and pointed out that “together with our partners from the private sector, labour and civil society, we should all co-operate to implement these recommendations in a systematic and well co-ordinated manner”.
Mensah expressed his appreciation to all participants, particularly labour, civil society, private sector, political parties and the development partners. The participants were unanimous in urging the government to muster the political will to implement the recommendations reached at the dialogue.
Dr Osei Boeh-Ocansey, Director-General of the Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF), said his foundation accepts the process of dialogue and expressed the hope that, we can build on this to develop our democracy, reports the Ghana News Agency.
"We are committed to the NED and hope that our partners, especially government will work within the parameters so agreed at this meeting." He asked the government to take another look at the review and monitoring process to make the outcomes more acceptable to all.
Kwesi Adu-Amankwah, Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) urged the government as the lead agency, to promote the items noted in the final document and ensure that it was made available to all Ghanaians. This, he noted will ensure that all the stakeholders move along with the programme. He expressed the hope that the dialogue will become a cardinal source of information to be tapped for development.
John Mahama, Member of Parliament for Bole, representing the Minority in Parliament, declared support for the process and expressed the hope that with time all groups in the society will be represented. He said the Minority is, however, not happy with the spate of waste in the system and asked government to halt it.
"It is important to note that the dialogue aimed not only at increasing revenue generation but to stop the huge waste in the system from the Presidency to the district assemblies. He said the economy was too donor-driven and called for the setting up of a potent internal source for financing development.
Dr Samuel Nii Noi Ashong, Minister of State at the Ministry
of Finance and Economic Planning, said the NED has come to stay and will
ultimately complement the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy and later be
included in the national budget to make it contribute to how poverty could be
eradicated. – Graphic
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 – The Leader of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Dr Edward Mahama, has commended the government for sustaining the National Economic Dialogue (NED). In an interview in Accra on Tuesday, Dr Mahama said it is his hope that the annual event will be sustained to become a permanent feature in the governance of the country.
“Eventually through such a process, we will end up with a national will so that we can achieve our objectives through a collective action,” he said. Dr Mahama said such processes are necessary for institutional building, the lack of which is the bane of Africa, and emphasised that the programme is a national economic dialogue, not an NPP dialogue.
He said the PNC has participated in all the forums that have been organised as part of the dialogue and stated that it is imperative that all the political parties take active interest in the programme so that their viewpoints could be reflected in the decisions instead of staying outside only to criticise the process.
Dr Mahama said he was touched by the address of President John Kufuor when he opened the dialogue and said it pointed at the attitudinal problems, which affect our efforts at sustainable development.
He said President Kufuor did not mince words in stressing the need for Ghanaians to change their attitudes and devote their time to hardwork.
Dr Mahama pointed out that “with this type of leadership, we can mobilise resources for common objectives and whether it is about increasing per capita income or going to the moon, we shall succeed with a common and collective will”.
In another development, Dr Mahama has commended the founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity, now African Union, on the 40th anniversary of the continental body. Dr Mahama, in a statement, commended the artistes of Ethiopia for organising a concert to raise funds to purchase food for those who are starving in their country and described the action as “a self reliant spirit”.
He suggested to the government of Ghana to send part of the country’s food reserves to Ethiopia in the true spirit of the extended family and also advised the government to charge farmers to produce more by offering them a guaranteed price as a stimulus to encourage the farmers to exert themselves to produce more food.
Dr Mahama further appealed to artistes in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and other African countries to organise concerts to raise funds to support their brothers and sisters in Ethiopia.
“For Africa to gain respect and avoid marginalisation she must earn her respect by solving her problems of starvation in the continent”, he stressed.
Dr Mahama commended President Kufuor for signing the West African
Gas Pipeline project and charged the government to handle our economy in such a
way that we can meet the requirements for the West Africa single currency by
the target date. – Graphic
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Madina (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 - The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Hon. Hawa Yakubu, yesterday told the Madina Ga District Magistrate Court that she wants her case to continue because the threat on her life is getting closer by the day.
Hon. Yakubu made this known to the court at the time the Magistrate, Mrs. Ivy Heward-Mills, was reminding counsel for the defendant, Tony Kwakye, about a concern which was raised for a peaceful settlement by a senior lawyer. This happened after two of the prosecution witnesses had given their testimonies and a date was being fixed for an adjournment.
The magistrate further said the chief of staff had even called to show interest for a peaceful settlement. But the MP, known as The Iron Lady of Ghanaian politics, noted, “I am aware of the interventions, but I know the threat is real and I want to continue with the case.”
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP, whose temper almost flared up as she was walking out of the court, said, “I am an executive member of the party and since the case started nobody has ever approached me about the case…”
Hawa said she lives not too far from the State House and the chief of staff has not even called her to make his intention known to her. All this happened after two of the prosecution witnesses had testified before the court yesterday.
The first of the two witnesses to testify, Miss. Joanna Achuliwor, a junior sister of the late Hon. John Achuliwor, MP for Navrongo Central, said she was at the Paga airstrip in Navrongo on 16 March, this year when the accused Mrs. Henrietta Aggudey, a businesswoman, gave her a message to be delivered to Hon. Hawa Yakubu the effect that they had waged war against the MP.
“On 16 March 2003, was the day my brother was buried, we went to Paga airstrip where sympathizers and friends who came for the funeral were departing for Accra. I was privileged to be there earlier than Madam Yakubu,” Joanna told the court.
She continued, “And there I happened to see Sister Haiti (she was referring to the accused), Hon. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey and some other ladies in a pick up. It was there that Sister Henrietta called me and asked ‘Did you see Hawa yesterday?’ and I said yes.”
Witness said the accused told her ‘if you see her (Madam Yakubu) tell her we have waged war against her, John has been buried, anything can happen.” Led in evidence by Police Inspector Ebenezer Darko, Joanna said because of the intimacy she enjoyed with the accused she decided to crack a joke and asked her, whether she was capable of waging a war and be able to withstand a counter attack.
At this point, she told the court that her brother, Iron, who gave evidence before the court during the last sitting, prompted her to be serious and not to take the message as a joke. She said it was then that she took message seriously.
“I left and informed my family members about what had happened,” Joanna went on, adding “not too long Hawa came and said she was going to greet Jake who was standing under a tree, my sister and I accompanied her.”
She said after Hawa had completed the exchange of greetings and they walked back to a structure from where they left to go toward Hon. Jake and the others, she informed Madam Yakubu about the threat and they advised that she left Navrongo.
However, the next of the two prosecution witnesses who gave evidence yesterday, Dr. Gheysika-Adombire Agambila, Deputy Minister for Ports and Railways and Harbours, said when they were disembarking from the airforce plane he overheard the accused saying she knew what Hawa had done over the years and she was ready for her. Hearing continues on 10 June 2003. – Chronicle
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Tema (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 - The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), reeling under the weight of allegations of irregularities in the award of Quay Two extension contract to a Dutch Company, INTERBETON, has caught the headlines again.
Director-General Ben Owusu Mensah has fired the first missile, which landed at the headquarters of the authority at Tema, gradually magnetising supposed victims to the frontline as the battle-lines draw.
He has restructured the authority’s management team and sidelined two key positions, the solicitor secretary of the GPHA and secretary to the board manned by Richard Deih and the chief engineer, Ray Anamoo respectively.
Also removed from the team are estate manager, Anthony Jim-Fugar, and Chief of Development and Corporate Planning, Cletus Kuzagbeh.
The Director-General has however maintained a five-man team made up of himself, directors of Ports Tema/Takoradi Gordon Anim and Nesta Galley respectively, Chief of Personnel and Administration, Kwadwo Andasi Bona, financial controller, Kwame Asante and chief internal auditor, Cyril Nertey.
Conspicuously missing from the team is the fishing harbour general manager, Maj. (rtd). Ntow, thereby placing the fishing ports activities directly under the supervision of the Director-General.
A memo dated 22 May 2003 ref. DG/Conf/V.43/069 from the director-general, headquarters wad headlined ‘Management” fired the shells. According to the memo, which was circulated to Director of Port, Tema/Takoradi, heads of department, Hqtrs, General Manager, Tema Fishing Harbour, with immediate effect management meetings will be restricted to the mentioned officials.
For the avoidance of any doubt, the mentioned officials will henceforth constitute the management team of the GPHA, it added.
The Chronicle gathered that there is high suspicion that the director-general’s reaction was induced by his claim that certain key officers leaked official documents to the Chronicle in respect of the Quay Two extension contract, which was snatched from the Chinese to the Dutch company, INTERBETON.
Speculations are that it was the Ewes and Northerners in the management who are perceived to be sympathisers to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who might have leaked the information of the deal to the paper.
Indications are that, the only Ewe left in the team, Nesta Galley, who is the director of the Takoradi Port, would have also been removed, but saved by the fact that the right substantive director could not be found yet.
He might be going soon however, it was gathered. With the alleged marginalisation taking place, the belief is that the stage is now set for not only tribal sentiments but also political angles being drawn into the management of the GPHA.
Another Ewe completely sidelined, according to our sources, is a Mrs. Torkunu, in charge of Marketing and Customer Relations of the GPHA, completing the cycle. The absence of solicitor secretary of the authority and secretary to the board, Richard Deih, an Ewe, who is to guide management on legal issues, has set tongues wagging whether there is any hidden agenda.
As for the chief Engineer, R.A.Y. Anamoo, information gathered has that there is open bitterness between himself and the Director-General over what could not be explained. Anamoo was the project engineer when Boskalis undertook the Tema Port dredging that ended last year.
Diving deeper, the Chronicle chanced on vital information that two members of the management team now sidelined, Anamoo and Jim Fugar, the latter an Ewe, were members of a local assemblage that evaluated biddings submitted for the Quay Two extension and even disqualified Interbeton and found China Harbour eligible, but the GPHA did the opposite.
About four years ago, the GPHA was soaked in a similar irregularity in the award of contract for the purchase of spare for the authority’s printing press.
With these trends, a consortium of companies who have been offered the dedicated containerised terminal operations, Built Operate and Transfer (BOT), are said to be entertaining fears that the investment will not be guaranteed for the fact that management of the GPHA may change its mind, in spite of what has been sealed.
Sources close to the board hinted that that body was aware of the shake-up, which seems to have been done on tribal and political line more than anything else, or, better still, to seal loopholes for information leakage. – Chronicle
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 - The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Telecom (GT), Oystein Bjorge, has said that customers of GT, including individuals and companies, owe the company to the tune of more than ¢100bn.
Bjorge revealed this to Chronicle yesterday when he spoke to the paper at his office. According to him, this amount of money does not include overdue bills from government ministries, departments and agencies but from only private customers and companies.
He said although several reminders were sent to people and institutions that owe the company, all fell on deaf ears. He said it is based on this that the company is going all out on a mass disconnection exercise shortly to retrieve all monies owed by customers.
He reminded customers of GT that phone lines, which would be disconnected, may be given to people who would be prepared to pay their bills on time.
He said the company is embarking on this exercise because they need pay their workers. On the fixing of 400,000 new fixed lines before 2005 and the extension of telephone lines to all secondary and tertiary institutions, he said an agreement had been signed with a vendor to supply them with switches and other radio equipment to start work.
“These pieces of equipment are expected in the country very soon, where the Customer Access Network (CAN) would be built immediately,” he added.
He also stated that the installation of fraud detection and prevention devices are almost complete and warned all Internet Service Providers who are still engaged in the illegal VOIP practices to desist from it. He held that one other measure that the GT is using to curb this illegal practice is to turn all telephone lines owned by the ISPs into one-way traffic.
Commenting on the promise by Telenor to train the staff of GT, he announced that a comprehensive training programme has been drawn up to train workers in turns at the their training school.
“Old training equipment at the school are being replaced for proper academic and practical training to be done,” he stated, acknowledging that mini training exercises are on going in company. He advised the public to be patient with them as they are doing all their capacity to undertake this huge task of improving telephone services in the country. – Chronicle
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 – As legitimate questions about the source of the quantity of diamonds shipped to Israel in November, last year, under the auspices of the Precious Mineral Marketing Company (PMMC) Limited remain unanswered, more revelations continue to emerge in Chronicle’s investigations.
Our sources at the PMMC office in Accra and DWS Ltd offices on the 17th Floor of the Yahalom building, Bezalel Street, Ramat Gan, in Israel, as well as documents available indicate that much is left to be desired about the real source of the 88,127.55 carats of diamonds shipped out in Ghana late last year.
As the fixation on the source of the diamonds intensified what has further fuelled the suspicion in the transaction is the emergence of a certain Joseph Herbert, who was credited by the PMMC as one of the small-scale diamonds dealers who sold the precious stones to DWS Ltd.
Chronicle’s investigations into the background of Herbert have established that he is the local purchasing officer for DWS Ltd who runs the company’s offices at the Diamond House.
What has given the game away is the latest revelation about Herbert’s role in the DWS set-up and his involvement in the purchase of this particular diamonds. Insiders are questioning the circumstances under which he emerged as one of the small- scale dealers and sold the diamonds to himself.
Herbert’s schedule as the purchasing officer, Chronicle learnt, is to buy diamonds from licensed small scale diamond dealers, but surprisingly in this transaction he was credited as a small-scale dealer who sold the diamonds to DWS.
Documents available and endorsed by the PMMC indicated that Herbert allegedly sold 17,244.66 carats of the diamonds to DWS, out of the total 71,852.90 carats which made up of the first shipment that left the shores of our soil on November 14, last year at $2.7 cent per carat and claimed ¢353,426,240m.
He did not sign voucher number 0117 for 10,089.90 carats which cost ¢93m which he allegedly sold to himself on 13 November last year.
Chronicle gathered that on 8 November last year Herbert was once again credited as the source of 545.45 carats of the diamonds his company (DWS) purchased and allegedly took away ¢99m as one of the small-scale dealers. He operated under license number 035 and gave his contact address as Box 119, Akwatia, in the Eastern region, it was learnt.
On 12 November last year, Herbert was again credited by the PMMC as the source of 5,534.33 carats of diamonds his company purchased at ¢136,978,250m which he duly signed the vouchers for the cash.
Insiders told Chronicle that when Herbert’s name appeared on the vouchers, which were fully endorsed by Peter Boachie and his boys, they realized that something had gone going awry in the transaction.
If the diamonds were not from a questionable source why should a purchasing officer of company turn up as one a small scale dealers he allegedly purchased the precious stones from?” Our intelligence source questioned.
About three months ago, Boachie, told Chronicle in an exclusive interview that if the diamonds were conflict diamonds, as alleged by our intelligence sources, the Israel authorities would have raised alarm on the arrival of the goods, since Ghana was a signatory to the Kimberlite Process, an international treaty that guards against the sale of conflict diamonds.
Boachie could also not give sound explanation as to why J.W Essel, a gold metallurgist, was made to value that particular consignment, and not Asante, deputy managing director operations, who doubles as the chief diamond valuer. Chronicle is withholding the names of other small-scale dealers who PMMC have their names accredited on their vouchers as the source of the diamonds.
Some of these small-scale dealers had told the paper that they knew nothing about the sale of the diamonds, even though PMMC had accredited their names as the source of the DWS diamonds.
It was gathered that PMMC on Monday, last week, summoned a meeting between the small-scale dealers who were accredited as the sellers of the diamonds to seek their support to close the hole in the deal and if possible cover it up and to discredit the Chronicle expose.
On 14 and 18 November, last year, the DWS shipped a total 88,127.55 carats from the shores of Ghana to Israel. The names of the consignees in the shipment were Penford (Israel) Ltd and Steinmentz Ascot Ltd. The PMMC boss, Peter Boachie, who emphatically stated that it did not contain conflict diamonds, endorsed the consignment.
Diamond is one of the minerals that have attracted a lot of
greedy Africans involved in civil wars because of its value in the world
mineral market, proceeds of which they use in oiling their war machines.
Herbert refused to comment on the issue when reached, except say that a meeting
be arranged between him, Benny Ashun, spokesman of DWS and Chronicle to look at
the issue. – Chronicle
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 May 2003 - Government has withdrawn new import duties slammed on rice and poultry products in March this year. In its 2003 budget dubbed ''Import Substitution Budget'', the government increased import duty on poultry products and feeds by 20% and that of rice by 5%.
This was to reduce consumption of these foreign products and encourage consumption and production of local rice and poultry products. But the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) threatened Ghana’s government to remove the new duties on the two products as a condition for approving Ghana’s programme with them this year.
With pointing fingers, the President of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn allegedly warned Senior Minister, J. H. Mensah in Athens to scrap the higher import duties on poultry and rice.
The Statesman newspaper says the government has succumbed and finally lifted the higher import duties slammed on the two products. The Customs Excise and Preventive Service has already reverted to the old duty rate. - Statesman
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London (UK) 29 May 2003 - Ex-President Rawlings has disclosed that his government rejected the HIPC initiative because it was considered inimical to the interest of the people of Ghana. He told a Law Doctoral Student in the UK that ''Contrary to your assertion that Ghana was a ''star pupil'', the PNDC went to the IMF/World Bank with our own carefully crafted development programme. At every stage where they tried to impose unacceptable solutions, we objected and explained our side of the problem''.
''They were a few occasions when we walked out of meetings and they had to plead with us to come back. At first, there were some rather ludicrous confrontations. For example, our request for funding to develop grain storage facilities in order to ensure food stability was turned down on the grounds that it would ‘interfere with market forces’. So we obtained funding elsewhere''.
But with time, we were able to soften the rigid stance of the lending institutions and make them more sensitive to our needs.
The ex-President said between 1984 and 2000, his government made enormous economic strides. But in the late 1990’s world petroleum prices soared whilst gold and cocoa crashed. ''Our development plans were thrown away and inflation climbed to around 40% just before the 2000 elections''.
Rawlings said contrary to efforts to blame these developments on bad management, corruption and siphoning of state funds; it was simply another example of the vulnerability of countries such as Ghana to external forces.
He also noted that long before the 2000 elections, pressure
was put on Ghana to accept the HIPC status. ''Cabinet, after carefully weighing
all the potential benefits and negative aspects of accepting such a status,
rejected it. It was the present government which decided to accept it'', the
former President added. - Insight
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