Ghanaian Times

The front-page banner headline story of the Ghanaian Times "STADIA PROBE STARTS SITTING ... It invites memos from public" says the Special Committee set up by the Vice President, Professor Atta Mills to probe the Award of contract for the rehabilitation of the Accra and Kumasi sports stadia, will start inviting members of the public this week to give evidence. The three-member committee chaired by Lt. Col. Emmanuel Tagoe, with Messers Geoffrey Avah and Mr. Francis Assuah, a sports journalist as members the committee has requested that the memoranda sent to the committee should bear the full name and address of author, who should be prepared to testify or prove allegations. The committee is expected to consider matters regarding the Accra Stadium before moving to Kumasi at the appropriate time. The three-man team has been sitting daily from Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 3:00pm. However, The Times says, it's proceedings are in camera.

The President Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings has urged the international community to help solve Africa's hydra-headed agricultural problems to avert it from entering the next millennium as a hungry continent. According to the Times story headlined "Africa needs help to sustain Agric-President" he identified problems such as institutionalise corruption in the fishing industries, the land tenure system and conflicts that affect food production in many African countries. He is reported to have made the observations when he received Dr. Jacques Diouf, Director General of the Food and Agricultural Organisations of the United Nations (FAO) at the castle, Osu. "Africa cannot enter the next millennium as a hungry continent" he said and added that African countries must take steps to solve some of the problems. The Times says President Rawlings said there were a lot of malfeasance in the fishing industry and appealed to the FAO to help African countries to police some of the wrong doing in the industry. President Rawlings also points out that the bad nuts in the industry were clearing the fishes in Ghanaian waters through dubious means, these malpractices he continued raise food prices. Mr. Rawlings noted "we cannot develop if we do not do anything about conflicts on the continent", reports the paper. He also asserted that land mines which were planted on farm lands in some African states thus preventing people from farming was a problem that needs to be solved in order to help produce more food. GRi