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General News of Friday, 5 May 1995

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Arkaah Still in Trouble

Whoever thought the troubles confronting the Vice President Mr. K.N. Arkaah should start having second thoughts. According to information from Castle sources, the fight between the President and the Vice-President is still going on. This fight however seems to threaten the very foundations of the Fourth Republican Constitution.

According to sources quoted by the Statesman, President Rawlings, who before the "Rawlings-Arkaah" affair became public was unwilling to chair cabinet meetings, has turned over a new leaf, and marches into the cabinet room for every cabinet meeting ostensibly to chair it. Rawlings however never chairs any meeting but hands over to his "Prime Minister", Mr P. V. Obeng to spite his vice, Mr Arkaah.

The "undefined" role of Mr Obeng has been a source of great worry to many democrats. Most outsiders see him as the man running the country, a fact given more credence when the President referred to him as "my personal Prime Minister" during his recent visit to the US.

Meanwhile, Mr Arkaah, like a loose cannon, continues to embarrass the government. At a May Day rally in Accra this week, he called on workers of the country to stand up for their rights. He entreated them not sit by idly whilst the government passes laws which are not in their interest. Is Arkaah part of the government? Or do we have several governments in Ghana - some passing laws and some criticising them? The fourth republic is clearly under threat and the earlier Ghanaians wake up and call for the right thing to be done, the better.