GRi Press Review 05 - 09
- 2003
Tema-Sogakope highway now "Bermuda Triangle"?
Aspiring NPP candidate is British
Battle for Ashanti: Randgold CEO hones pitch on U.S. tour
Ghanaians asked to guard constitutional rule
IFC's $30m is not a loan
Govt to support rural communities
Govt to attract ICT operators
COCOBOD secures $650m for cocoa purchase
Environmental Protection Agency gets Executive Director
JJ, Boakye Djan told to leave Ghana in peace
Tema-Sogakope highway now "Bermuda Triangle"?
Tema (Greater Accra) 5 September 2003 - Indications are that the 85-kilometre Tema-Sogakope portion of the trans-continental highway under rehabilitation may end up becoming another Bermuda triangle if motorists do not drive with a great deal of care.
At least, 40 persons have lost their lives through road traffic accidents between April and August this year, when the actual site project commenced. Evidence of these accidents is displayed at the Prampram police station.
The Chronicle about two years ago, conducted investigations into allegations of supposed 'Bermuda Triangle' on our roads and incidentally, the Dawhenya-Bundase-Sege roads were mentioned. The rehabilitation work is presently gone beyond that portion of the highway.
Information gathered at the site has it that the accidents, now at 31, 80 injured with 10 dead occurred between kilometres 20 and 23 of the portion of the road, precisely around Bundase and Tsopoli. Interestingly, both expatriates and Ghanaians working share a sentiment of spiritual connotation.
According to the workers, some weeks ago earth-moving equipment on the road uprooted a strange pot with some contents.
The following day at a place where no human residence could be located, strangely enough, they went in the morning to find a very dark cat sitting on one of the equipment as if to suggest that, it was ready to operate the machine. As fear gripped them, the cat vanished from sight. Could that be the cause of the numerous accidents even before the rehabilitation?
An enquiry conducted by The Chronicle identified three things responsible for the accidents - defective vehicles, careless driving and the bad state of the road. Presently, 25 kilometres of the road has been gravelled and this has caused most of the accidents as a result of poor visibility from dust emitted by speeding vehicles. Even though the main contractors, Daewoo Engineering, have provided nine tankers to water the gravelled road this seems unable to solve the problem.
Drivers who were used to driving carefully on the patchy Tema-Aflao road are now speeding on the smooth portion of the road beyond the stipulated speed limit of 50 kilometres. They generate a lot of dust behind them, which blinds other drivers leading to accidents. About two weeks ago a flag man of the contractors, who was directing traffic was killed instantly by a vehicle he was directing.
The Prampram police station has in its custody 10 badly damaged vehicles including one that claimed the lives of some students from Keta who were going on vacation. Festus Antiyie, the site engineer of GOLF, the consultants of the project, expressed grave concern about the danger drivers pose to passengers and the construction workers fort over speeding on the road.
He said if they adhere to the 50-kilometre speed limit, the rate of accidents would be minimized. Tema regional police commander, ACP Agnes Sika Nartey, told The Chronicle that she would put traffic police on the road to check speeding drivers.
In a related development, motorists have called on SONITRA, contractors constructing the overpass across the motorway to Ashaiman, to create a detour to avoid the heavy traffic at the motorway roundabout at Tema. Commuters between Ashaiman and Tema, using the Tema-Akosombo road, queue for several hours in traffic. - Chronicle
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Aspiring NPP candidate is British
Wa (Upper West) 5 September 2003 - The self-destructive bug that hit the National Democratic Congress (NDC), a situation which political analysts believe contributed to the party's defeat in the 2000 general elections, seems to have infected the ruling NPP government.
And as if incumbency in itself is an infectious virus, the NPP primaries, reminiscent of that of the then incumbent NDC, is characterised by personality clashes, vitriolic attacks against opponents and protests against the candidature of some of the aspiring candidates.
By far what is most agitating the minds of many of the NPP faithful, is the political "red card" shown against the eligibility of Major (R'td) Edward Yirimambo, as the NPP 's parliamentary candidate, for the Wa Central Constituency.
In a petition to the national executive of the NPP, a section of the party's members in the Wa Central Constituency stated categorically that the retired Major is British citizen.
The group said, "following the 1979 AFRC coup d'etat, the said retired Major left Ghana and eventually sought and obtained asylum in Britain. For well over 20 years now he has been resident in Britain. There is every indication that the retired Major finally applied and obtained British citizenship".
The group disclosed that there was every indication that Major (R'td) Yirimambo at the time of filing the application to contest the NPP primaries had ceased to be a Ghanaian.
The petition therefore reminded the leadership of the NPP of the inherent danger in accepting the application of Major (rtd) Yirimambo for consideration as Parliamentary Candidate for the Wa Central seat.
The group contended that by "virtue of Article 8(1) of the 1992 Constitution he has ceased to be a Ghanaian Citizen".
The said article states: "8(1) subject to this article, a citizen of Ghana shall cease forthwith to be a Citizen of Ghana if on attaining the age twenty-one years he, by voluntary act, other than marriage acquires or retains the Citizenship of a country other than Ghana".
"At the time the retired Major left Ghana and sought political asylum and eventually applied and obtained British citizenship he was more than 21 years old. If therefore the retired Major has ceased to be a citizen of Ghana then he is not qualified to be a member of the NPP because article 3(1) of the NPP Constitution restricts membership of the Party to only Ghanaian citizens", the group maintained.
"Therefore", the group argued, "if the retired Major is not a Ghanaian Citizen then under Article 94(2) (a) of the 1992 constitution he is not qualified to be Member of Parliament.
The said article-94 (2) (a) states: "A person shall not be qualified to be a Member of Parliament if he: (a) owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana. Since as a British citizen the retired Major owes allegiance to Britain, he does not qualify to be a Member of Parliament in Ghana.
Signals picked up from the Western Region and other regions indicate that Health Minister, Dr. Kweku Afriyie who is aspiring for the Sefwi Wiawso constituency on the ticket of the NPP is being undermined by his closest challenger, one Lawyer Kwesi Blay.
The Independent is privy of some letters being circulated by Blay and his supporters to discredit the Health Minister. Although Dr. Afriyie denied every wording of the said letter when The Independent called on him to comment on the contents of the letters.
Dr. Afriyie however said he was aware that his opponent who is so scared of his (Afriyie's) candidature is resulting to the cheap below the belt exercise to discredit him. The Minister disclosed that the said Kwesi Blay at one of the party's meetings at Sekondi told party members that he would adopt any means possible to win the seat, which since 1996, he has competed for and lost to the NDC.
The Health Minister was not the least perturbed and assured his supporters that the elections at the primaries will settle for once who is who between the two.
In Central Region, The Independent gathered that the purported attack on the personality of Regional Minister, Isaac Edumadze is due to erroneous perception that the Minister is backing some aspiring candidates who are not in the favourable books of those agitating for the removal of Edumadze.
Other areas like the KEEA Constituency, where the NPP hierachy are all for the candidature of Energy Minister Papa Kwesi Nduom, is also seething with strong resentment from the local constituency branch of the NPP. Credible sources have hinted The Independent that some members of the Constituency branch of the NPP have resolved not to support Dr. Nduom, if the Energy Minister runs on the ticket of the CPP.
"The claim by some constituents is that should Dr. Nduom insist on standing for the CPP, the NPP would have no option but to back the DCE for the KEEA district, Ato Arthur. From the Ellemble Constituency, we gathered that the candidature of the First Deputy Speaker, Freddie Blay, is far from resolved because some elements in the Constituency branch of the NPP, have vowed to ditch the CPP man if he refuses to stand on the ticket of the NPP.
The picture is no different from the Ada, Mion and the Evalue Gwira Constituencies where the CPP was under the impression that with the kind of support their candidates enjoy in those constituencies, the field would have been left free for them by the NPP candidates. - The Independent
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Battle for Ashanti: Randgold CEO hones pitch on U.S. tour
London (UK) 5 September 2003 - With his ambitious bid for Ghana's Ashanti Goldfields in the balance, Randgold Resources RRS.L Chief Mark Bristow could come under pressure to detail his takeover pitch as he visits U.S. investors this week.
A cool response from investors in the UK suggests Bristow could face an uphill challenge in selling a takeover which would double Randgold's size. But people close to the situation say Randgold shouldn't be ruled out just yet.
Randgold started a battle for Ashanti AGC.GH when it proposed a $1.46bn all-share offer last month, to vie with a $1.1bn bid, also in shares, from South Africa's AngloGold ANGJ.J , the world's second largest gold producer.
Even though Randgold has not yet submitted a formal offer, Ashanti's investors have so far been lukewarm to a proposal, which would catapult Randgold to a leading position among gold producers.
Their biggest concerns are Randgold's smaller size -- it has a market value of about $590m compared to Ashanti's $1.2bn - its relative lack of experience operating gold mines and its limited $100m cash pile. Bristow is well aware of the skepticism, but he believes shareholder interest is growing.
"I think the information's getting around. I can honestly say there's no-one I've met that's not been receptive to the story," the told Reuters. Yet investors feel they still didn't have enough information about its strategy for an enlarged group to decide whether to accept a bid.
"It was nice to meet him and we discussed things in general terms. But there was no detail and I don't think we've got to a stage yet where we're going to make a decision one way or the other," said one UK shareholder who asked to remain nameless.
Another major shareholder said: "He put to bed a number of the balance sheet issues we had thought about...But I don't think either of the situations (bids) is clear."
CREDIBLE ALTERNATIVE
A U.S.-based Ashanti investor mirrored the wary view, saying Randgold had not so far proved itself to be a credible bidder. "If they brought some sort of significant financing to the table, that would change the picture quite a bit. But we haven't seen anything like that," the investor told Reuters.
More details may emerge this week and next, when Bristow hits the streets in Boston, New York and Toronto to talk to Randgold and Ashanti investors.
Despite the investor jitters, other people close to the situation say Randgold shouldn't be ruled out just yet. "I think Mark (Bristow) will come across as a credible alternative," said Mike Jones, an analyst with Canaccord Capital in London. "I think AngloGold is underestimating him."
Jones does not own Randgold shares and Canaccord does no investment banking for the company. A senior banking source close to the deal agreed.
"If we were in west Europe, they wouldn't stand a chance, but in the African context, they do stand a chance," the source said, noting that under Randgold's bid, the Ghanaian government and other investors would retain a 70 percent stake of the merged group, whereas their stake would be greatly diminished under AngloGold's offer.
"They're offering a different option," the source said. "AngloGold's is a takeover, but Randgold's is more of a merger. It's not a sale really, the Government wouldn't really have to exit at all."
The battle will heat up when Randgold submits a formal offer, expected in a few weeks when Randgold and Ashanti have finished sifting through each other's financial books. - Reuters
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Ghanaians asked to guard constitutional rule
Accra (Greater Accra) 5 September 2003 - The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has called on Ghanaians to jealously guard the current democratic dispensation from disruption by any military adventurist. He said military rule is one of the worst forms of governments the country ever experienced and that Ghanaians should never entertain it again.
He made the call when he presented a paper on "Fostering a Responsible Democracy Expectation of the Minority" at the inauguration of the "Good governance dialogue" organized by the Centre for Responsible Democracy-Africa (CRD) a non governmental organization, dedicated to fostering the ideals of good governance and democratic development. The programme was on the theme "Fostering a Responsible Democracy in Ghana: A collective Imperative."
He declared :I have personally assured the National Security Council that I will make available to them any information on anyone trying to make a coup and you should also as citizens of this country report such saboteurs to the appropriate security agencies for prompt action."
Bagbin indicated that the country had lived through with the coup makers since 1966 and it should learn from those heinous experiences and lessons learnt during their rule and put effective structures in place to ensure that we never go back.
He noted that in the current democratic dispensation where there is mass ignorance and illiteracy, weak institutions, and nascent democratic culture, it is the duty of the minority to challenge every abuse of power, breach of human right and waste of public funds and to expose them for public or parliamentary deliberations, criticisms and control.
He explained that by so doing the concerns and aspirations of the people were ably expressed and protected adding that "violence as an instrument of change never happens, unless there is a vacuum." The Minority Leader was of the view that government governed openly and honestly and not to react with intimidatory strategies.
Speaking on the theme "Fostering a Responsible Democracy, Expectation of the ruling Government, the Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr Joe Akudibila, said responsible government demands that all stakeholders uphold and be committed to the letter and spirit of the Constitution of Ghana and should understand that the supremacy of the Constitution was not negotiable.
He said responsible democracy demanded that the media be circumspect in their reportage on sensitive issues in order to reduce dangerous perceptions that tended to derail the democratic process. - Graphic
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Accra (Greater Accra) 5 September 2003 - The Accra Office of the Africa Project Development Facility (APDF) has explained that the $30m from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is not a loan as portrayed by the headline of a story published in yesterday's Daily Graphic.
It said the $30m was an indication of a country programme over a pilot period of three to four years. Modou Njie, the Regional Manager of APDF, who was speaking in reaction to our story, said that the strategy entailed the development of an SME Solution Centre (SSC), a one- stop shop to provide Integrated Services of Finance, Capacity-Building and Business Development Services, Business Enabling Environment and Access to Information.
He said that Ghana was one of the eight countries that may benefit from $228m joint IDA/IFC integrated programme fund aimed at the development of small businesses and the private sector in sub-Sahara Africa. Njie said that the funds were to be used for the range of activities mentioned above.
He said that the focus of the meeting reported was neither APDF/World Bank nor a loan for the private sector, but to facilitate the establishment of a structural linkage between the Ministry for Private Sector Development (MPSD) and Small and Medium Enterprise network.
He said that the IFC was expecting a mission next week in line with the new strategy of developing an integrated approach to SME development in Ghana.
He stated that the project proposal might be sent to the Board for its review in October, 2003 and not currently being reviewed. - Graphic
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Govt to support rural communities
Elubo (Central Region) 5 September 2003 - The government is to support rural communities to explore natural resources in their areas to reduce poverty in the country.
Lands and Forestry Minister, Prof. Dominic Fobih, who announced this said the government, remained focused in its programme of assisting the people to enhance their standard of living. The minister said this at the launch of the Amokwaw Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) at Amokwaw, near Elubo.
The CREMA project, which started with a grant of 4,600,000 Euros from the European Union's funded protected Areas Development Programme, offered the opportunity for local communities to manage and utilize wildlife and natural resources.
Prof. Fobi said any resource management strategy needed to actively involve the local people for it to succeed. He said the CREMA concept had been replicated throughout the country and also integrated within the district assembly and traditional authority systems. He disclosed that the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission was in the process of developing operational manuals to enable non-governmental organizations, district assemblies and other communities to start the CREMA process in their areas.
The minister, however, stressed that the devolution of powers to local community committees to manage and sustain wildlife and resources, did not mean that the Wildlife Division had abandoned its responsibility to conserve wildlife in those areas. He pointed out that the Wildlife Division reserved the right to withdraw the authority to manage any natural resources, if such resources were managed contrary to the CREMA constitution and wildlife regulations.
The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Ms. Sophia Horner-Sam, expressed concern that in spite of various measures and environmental policies on forest conservation in the country, forests continue to be degraded at a fast rate.
She said the destruction of forest reserves and the degradation of the environment had negative consequences on the land, residents and animals, and stressed the urgent need for concerted efforts to avert further degradation of the forest and depletion of animals.
The Executive Director of the Wildlife Division, Nicholas Ankudey, said the CREMA idea was not a ploy to eventually bring individual and community lands, entitlements and endowments under state control. He stressed the need for public education to dispel such unfortunate mistrust and suspicions that arose when prospective CREMA communities are approached on the concept.
The Omanhen of the Western Nzema Traditional Area, Awulae Annor Adjaye, who chaired the function, pledged the support of chiefs to ensure the success of the Amokwaw CREMA project. - Graphic
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Accra (Greater Accra) 5 September 2003 - A national policy to attract Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts into the country is being developed. Under the policy, the government would offer investors in the IT sector tax reliefs and other incentives.
Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, a Deputy Minister of Information, who announced this said the policy will ensure capacity building and also bridge the gap between industry and academia to speed up national development. He was launching the Computer and Technology News (CTN) Magazine in Accra on Wednesday.
The policy, he explained, would make Ghana the regional hub in the IT industry through the establishment of advanced training institutes. He said a lot of discussions had already begun with some foreign companies to enable them to relocate to the country.
He attributed the willingness of the companies to invest in the country to the prevailing democratic environment. Asamoah-Boateng said the idea of establishing a model ICT centre in the country was first discussed between the UN Secretary-General and President John Kufuor in India which was followed up later by the signing of an agreement between the two countries.
He said Ghana would replicate the software development in the IT sector from India and said the government would develop software, for export and the National Identification Programme. Government would also encourage the introduction of IT in educational institutions.
Ms Eva Lokko, Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), called on Information and Communication Technology (IT) experts to design products that would meet the needs of Ghanaians in all sectors of the economy.
She said lack of education on the use of the product had made many people to regard the IT system as foreign and emphasized on local programmes to enable more people to identify themselves with it.
C.K. Bruce, an executive of the CTN, said the company had broadened its scope to cover deeper analysis of issues of development and ways to maximize the use of the existing ICT system. He gave the assurance that the CTN would endeavour to make was essential for business to have news on what is happening in other ECOWAS countries.
Olu Sawyerr, African Regional Director of Delloite & Touche, called on the government to initiate programmes to promote IT in the country. - Graphic
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COCOBOD secures $650m for cocoa purchase
Accra (Greater Accra) 5 September 2003 - The Ghana Cocoa Board (GCB) has secured a $650m loan from the Barclays Bank PLC, Royal Bank of Scoltland PLC, Standard Chartered Bank and NATEX Banques Popularies to purchase cocoa for the 2003/2004 cocoa season.
It the highest in the history of the board, was arranged by the four banks and is repayable within a year. The loan is the eleventh successive loan facility provided by the participating international financial banks in the syndication. A similar syndication arrangement last year, raised $420m.
These were contained in a press statement issued in Accra yesterday by the Ghana High Commission in London. It said that at a signing ceremony in London, the banks for honouring her loan obligations over the years praised the Ghana Cocoa Board.
"They also commended Ghana for producing consistently, high quality cocoa which continued to command a high price premium on the world market", it said. The statement intimated that the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Kwame Sarpong, praised the four banks for the facility.
"He said by the facility, the banks' confidence in Ghana Cocoa Board in particular and the economy of Ghana in general had not been misplaced and added that the Board's hard won reputation as a first class borrower would not only be maintained by jealously guarded', it said.
According to the statement, Sarpong acknowledged the sacrifice, hardwork and commitment of cocoa farmers, which had resulted in the production of good quality cocoa to Cocoa Board through the local buying companies (LBC) in future. - Joy FM
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Environmental Protection Agency gets Executive Director
Accra (Greater Accra) 5 September 2003 - President John Kufuor has on the advice of the Governing Board of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appointed Jonathan Addo Allotey as Executive Director of the Agency.
Allotey who joined the EPA in May 1982, has a Bachelor of Arts and Masters Degree in Geography and Resource Development from the University of Ghana, Legon.
He also holds a Post-graduate Diploma in Rural Land Ecology Survey from the International Institute of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, Enschede in the Netherlands. - Times
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Ghana Telecom staff protest against SCANCOM
Accra (Greater Accra) 5 September 2003 - About 200 workers of Ghana Telecom (GT) belonging to the Communication Workers Union (CWU) of the Trades Union Congress, (TUC), on Thursday went on a four-hour demonstration through some parts of Accra against what they described as "bad business practices" by Scancom, operators of Spacefon.
Specifically, the workers protested against the disparity in the interconnectivity rates between GT and its rival, Scancom. They demanded that the Minister of Communications and Technology and the National Communication Authority (NCA) should give GT the opportunity to determine its charges as other communication operators have been allowed to do.
Wearing red bands, they threatened to shut down the transmitters of Scancom it the interconnectivity rates for the company were not reviewed. To that effect, they gave the National Communications Authority (NCA) up to Monday to come out with clear guidelines on the matter.
The workers further stated that if Ghana Telecom was not permitted to charge the reasonable interconnectivity rates, there was no way they could pay the $150m loan contracted from Alkatel Shangai for the expansion of GT facilities nationwide. - Times
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JJ, Boakye Djan told to leave Ghana in peace
Accra (Greater Accra) 5 September 2003 - A leading member of the youth wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has urged ex-president Jerry John Rawlings and his friend - turned antagonist, Major Boakye Djan, the former spokesman for the defunct Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) to leave the nation alone in peace.
John Boadu, the national youth treasurer said the trading of accusations between the two "self-proclaimed heroes" of an administration characterized by all forms of atrocities is nothing to benefit the country.
Speaking in an interview with The Chronicle in Accra, Boadu said it was unfortunate that the two personalities who were at the helm of affairs in the era of AFRC, should say such weird things against each other.
"These accusations and counter accusations are weird and childish, especially when the former president said he created Boakye Djan and described him as a coward among other things."
Boadu said Boakye Djan has also over simplified the events taking into consideration the role that he played during the reign of AFRC, especially with regards to the killing of the former generals.
Rawlings in an interview with The Chronicle said, "Look, the man is useless, I created him and gave him political life by naming him into the council. He is claiming to be a hero now because his name was mentioned in the radio announcement. The hero claims of Boakye Djan are absolutely hollow because the event of June 4 was brought about by hundreds of heroes all over the armed forces and that no single person could have brought it about." Mr. Rawlings added that though he respects heroic deeds, heroic claims are not his cup of tea.
Boakye Djan on his part told The Chronicle that he was the one who made the ex- president the chairman of the ARFC. "I put his name on board at the Air Force station as the chairman," denying all the claims of Mr. Rawlings, saying he was involved in all the stages.
Commenting on the demonstration of the NDC in Kumasi on Tuesday, Boadu said, he was glad that it has now dawned on the NDC to organize demonstrations while they have people representing them in the Parliament.
"I am also happy that the demonstration went on peacefully without any counter demonstration like what happened in the reign of the NDC". He said the issues raised about economic hardships and alleged corruption in the NPP government are nothing other than frustration on the part of the NDC.
He lauded the government for its decision to support the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) with HIPC funds, saying one of the aims of the HIPC is to support health so he sees nothing wrong with this proposal.
Boadu said he was surprised and saddened by the conduct of the minority in parliament in boycotting the debate on the health insurance bill. He said the NDC is now biting its fingers because it missed the opportunity to implement the scheme during its administration.
He said with the enthusiasm shown by the people on the NHIS in place of the discredited cash and carry system, the NDC feels uneasy about its inability to introduce it under its government. - Chronicle
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