GHANAIAN TIMES

"TEMASCO headmaster removed...For drunkenness", is the headline of the lead story in the Times. The Times says Mr Abednego Agyepong, Headmaster of Tema Secondary School (TEMASCO), has been relieved of his post by the educational authorities for alleged persistent drunkenness. The Times says the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Solomon Obeng, confirmed this in Accra on Friday, saying that last week, the Minister of Education, Dr Christina Amoako-Nuama, during a surprise visit to the school, found that the headmaster was not at post. Mr Obeng, the Times says, explained that since the headmaster's residence is nearby, the Minister, accompanied by the acting Director of Senior Secondary Schools, Mrs Efo Blay, went to the residence of the headmaster only to find him drunk. Consequently, Mrs Blay submitted a memorandum on the incident to the GES Director-General. From the memorandum it was concluded that the situation was such that the headmaster should be relieved of his post as he could not be permitted to remain in that capacity. GRI

In another front page story, the Times reports that a 38-year- old chainsaw operator, Samuel Adu, undertaking illegal timber extraction in a forest at Tenkong, a village near Mankranso in the Ashanti Region, was trapped to death by a tree he was felling, about a fortnight ago. The Times says the body has been deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital mortuary for autopsy. The paper, quoting the Mankranso Police says the deceased went into the forest at about 10 a.m. last September 27, to undertake unauthorised felling of timber. He was trapped by a tree he was felling and some farmers in the area who heard his shouts rushed to the spot only to find him dead. GRI

"GBA boss speaks against tribalism", is the headline of another front page story in the which says the President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Mr Sam Okudzeto, has urged Ghanaians to bury tribal sentiments that has become a cancer in the country, saying that the blend of different tribes has been the hallmark of successes of most advanced countries. Mr Okudzeto, the Times says, advised the media to discard the idea that people placed in certain sensitive positions, are there because of their tribal affiliations, saying that honesty, hardwork and merits are the yardstick. The GBA President who was delivering the last in a series of the "Willaim Ofori-Atta Memorial Lectures" in Accra explained that it is not in the national interest for people to be given positions on account of their tribal lineages. "When people are united, there is nothing that they can't do as a nation", the Times quoted him as saying. GRI