GHANAIAN TIMES

The lead story in the Times says the Volta River Authority (VRA) has offered to pay compensations to Brong Ahafo farmers. The story says the VRA will at the end of this month, begin payment of compensations to 324 farmers in the Brong Ahafo Region who were adversely affected by the Authority's electrification project five years ago. Mr Frank K. Yeboah, Director of Real Estates of the VRA, who announced this in Accra yesterday, said procedures for the payments had been completed and approval given. He was reacting to a story in yesterday's Times which said farmers of Wenchi are threatening a showdown with the VRA if the compensations promised them are not paid immediately. GRI

"SHC workers obstruct court order...They lock up bailiff, plaintiff and police", is another front page story in the Times. The Times says the enforcement of a Writ of Fifa issued by the kaneshie Community Tribunal to seize some property of the State Housing Company (SHC) for non-compliance with a court order, was yesterday obstructed by irate workers of the company in Accra. The paper says bailiffs assisted by three armed police from the Kaneshie Divisional Command, were obstructed from carrying out their duty when they sought to take away a Nissan pick-up, GR 8517 G, they had impounded. The rampaging workers, according to the paper, stopped the bailiffs, seized the keys to the vehicle and locked the gates to the main yard. The lawyer of the company who also challenged the bailiffs, said he had filed an appeal against the judgement. GRI

The Times reports of a series of armed robberies in the Airport area within the last few weeks. Under the headline: Airport area suffers eight armed robberies", the paper says property and cash worth several millions of cedis, were stolen in the robberies. According to the Times a source close to the Airport Police, said on july 7, three robbers armed with guns attacked a couple in their home at New Dome at dawn. They demanded and got 200,000 cedis from the victims. They then ransacked the house, collecting most of the couple's personal effects into a Daewoo Racer car, GT 8852C and bolted. The robbers also took away the keys of another saloon car belonging to the man. The source said in the same area, armed robbers entered a house at dawn, took 70,000 cedis from the owner and loaded his deep freezer and other personal effects into a vehicle and bolted. It said on July 27, five armed robbers broke into a boutique at the SDA Junction at Adenta, loaded everything in the shop into a waiting taxi GR4816F and fled. The source said at East Legon, two armed men using a blue Ford taxi, GT5848B, entered the home of a couple at 2 a.m., forcibly took 1,500 dollars 400,000 cedis and packed personal effects of the victims into the vehicle and drove off. GRI