Print Media review For Nov. 21

DAILY GRAPHIC – FRIDAY, 21ST NOVEMBER, 2003

1. CEPS WILL BE RUTHLESS WITH ITS OWN OFFICIALS IF … ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER – PG. 1 & 3

According to the paper, CEPS has made it clear that it will severely punish any individual or group of customs officers found to have connived with the importers of the goods in the four articulated trucks impounded on Wednesday on suspicion of non-payment of duties.

It said officers found culpable would not only be dismissed from the service, but also prosecuted and in addition, made to pay up to 300 per cent of the customs duty evaded.

Mr. Pius Austin, Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of Public Relations, disclosed this in an interview in Accra yesterday.

According to him, CEPS had started investigations to find our whether customs duties were paid on all the goods being conveyed by the trucks.

2. ‘NPP IS BATTLE READY FOR 2004 ELECTIONS’ – PG. 12

Mr. Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the NPP, has said the party is not leaving anything to chance to retain political power in next’ years presidential and parliamentary elections.

“The NPP is battle-ready for the 2004 general elections and for that matter the party has not become complacent in spite of the good-will it continues to enjoy among the broad masses of the people,” he said.

He added that in furtherance of the party’s belief that its structures must be kept active after general elections, the leadership of the party outlined a series of programme after the last polls to prevent such structures from becoming moribund.

He said the good people of Ghana would not forgive the party if it failed to retain political power to continue with the good works of reshaping the social and economic structures of the country.

He was speaking in an interview with the paper in Accra yesterday.

3. COMPUTER CENTRES FOR 38 TRAINING COLLEGES – PG. 20

The paper reports that, the state of Michigan, in the USA, has decided to supply 2,800 pieces of computers free of charge for the establishment of computer centers in 38 teacher training colleges in Ghana.

The computer centres, which are expected to be established by July 2004, will be used to train teachers in information technology who will in turn impart the knowledge to their pupils.

To this end, a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the State of Michigan and the Ministry of Education at a ceremony in Accra yesterday.

Mr. Hansen Clarke, Michigan State Senator, signed on behalf of the State and Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports initialled for the Ghana government.

4. KUFUOR HOLDS CRISIS MEETING ON COTE D’IVOIRE – PG. 21

President Kufuor has held consultations in Accra, with Mr. Seydou Diarra, Prime Minister of the government of National Reconciliation of Cote d’Ivoire and Mr. Guillaume Soro, Minister of State for Communications in the government and leader of the New Forces.

The talks were aimed at breaking the current impasse in the Ivorian peace process and creating the appropriate conditions for the return of the Ministers of the New Forces into government.

5. EIDUL FITR HOLIDAY – PG. 21

The Ministry of the Interior, has announced that, Tuesday, November 25, 2003, which marks the celebration of the Eidul Fitr, is a statutory public holiday.

Official statement issued in Accra said, the day will be observed as such throughout the country.

THE GHANAIAN TIMES – FRIDAY, 21ST NOVEMBER, 2003

1. CHANGE INCOMES TO REFLECT ECONOMIC TRENDS - ISSER – PG. 1

The paper reports that, there is the need to change the scope of incomes policy in the country’s public sector agencies to reflect the changing trends in the economy.

Professor Ernest Aryeetey, Director of the ISSER, said this at a post annual lecture workshop in Accra.

He explained that it was through a change in policy that productivity would be increased by workers.

According to him, there was no way an income policy would be realised without the productivity of labour.

“The determination of income should have a link with productivity”, he added.

2. W. H. O. MUST BE AFRICA’S VOICE – PRESIDENT – PGS. 1 & 3

President Kufuor has urged the WHO to play the role of an effective advocate for Africa’s suffering masses.

According to him, that, it can do by enlisting the support of all powerful institutions around the world to fight the many diseases plaguing the continent.

He was addressing members of the Executive Board of the WHO who called on him at the Castle, Osu, to discuss how the health problems of the African continent can be solved.

He asked the WHO to continue with its efforts at eradicating the numerous diseases that have afflicted Africa.

3. IFAD PLEDGES MORE AID FOR GHANA – PG. 3

Mr. Lenmart Bage, President of International Fund for Agricultural Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the on-going poverty reduction programme in the country.

“The IFAD is highly enthused about steps going on to save Ghanaians from poverty and will help as expected,” he said.

He was speaking at a client exhibition and trade show at Mampong-Ashanti yesterday.

He disclosed that an amount of 136 million U.S. dollars had been contributed to the economy of Ghana in terms of loans and grants.

He announced that seven projects were being funded by IFAD to the tune of 71.32 million U.S. dollars.

THE EVENING NEWS – THURSDAY, 20TH NOVEMBER, 2003

BAGBIN: NDC TO RECAPTURE ACCRA. – PG. 1

Mr. Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader in Parliament, has given his assessment of the chances of the NDC in the 2004 elections.

He said based on his recent tour throughout the country, there were enough grounds to conclude that come 2004 the party would clinch an overwhelming victory.

He disclosed this at separate meetings with Tertiary Educational Institutional Network (TEIN) and the Upper West Regional Executives of the NDC at Wa.

He said the Greater Accra Region would fall to the NDC, adding that “not less than 80 per cent of votes will be cast in our favour and we will win 16 out of the 22 parliamentary seats”.

According to him, the NDC would be fielding credible candidates who would win seats in even Ashanti and Eastern Regions, which are the strongholds of the NPP.

“There is tremendous improvement in Central Region and the scale will weigh in our favour,” he said.

FREE PRESS – FRIDAY, 21ST NOVEMBER, 2003

NO WATER NO VOTE! – PG. 1 & BK. PG.

According to the paper, the people of Teshie have threatened to stop any attempt by any political party to mount a political platform to canvass for their votes and also resist attempts by the Electoral Commission to bring its ballot boxes for the 2004 general elections if steps are not taken immediately to permanently solve their water problems for them.

According to a letter addressed to the Electoral Commission by the Teshie Concerned Citizen Association, this decision has come about as a result of the chronic water shortage in the area which has not seen any attempt being made by the government to rectify.

The major concerns of the people are that, if it is a right for one to exercise his or her franchise during an election then it is a right to have water flowing everyday they declared.

NETWORK HERALD – FRIDAY, 21ST NOVEMBER, 2003

OUR BANKS ARE PRIMITIVE – J. H. MENSAH – PGS. 1 & 3

Senior Minister, J.H. Mensah and Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, have accused banks and financial institutions in the country of operating primitively and in poor fashion.

While Mr. Mensah thought banking system as presently structured is directly responsible for the seeming refusal of many Ghanaians to save because they generate and supervise delays in their operations, Mr. Osafo-Maafo condemned the attitude of the banks towards clients because “the system has no respect for time, whilst bank workers treat customers with impunity”.

Mr. Mensah explained that, “banking system causes a lot of delays, banking halls are very poorly organised and people spend hours in queues” just to transact legitimate” business.

The Senior Minister said this in his submission in support of the new “Payment System Bill” currently before Parliament.

The bill will provide legal framework for the establishment, operation and supervision of electronic and other forms of payment, clearing and settlement systems and for the rights and responsibilities of transacting and inter-mediating parties.

THE INSIGHT – FRIDAY, 21ST NOVEMBER, 2003

1. BANK OF GHANA STAFF KICK AGAINST RESTRUCTURING EXERCISE – PGS. 1 & 7

The paper reports that, Workers of the Bank of Ghana are besides themselves with anger over restructuring of the operations of the Bank and the claim that in the short term, Ghana could lose as much as ?120bn.

According to the paper, under the restructuring exercise, about 500 workers mainly from the Issue Department of the Bank are to be retrenched and their jobs are to be taken over by a currency counting machine, which has a margin of error of between 30 and 40 per cent.

The paper says with manual counting/checking of currency only 10 per cent of currency is rejected. Given the margin of error, the Bank will have to spend additional money to print more currency every year and it is expected that at least 40 to 50 per cent more will have to be printed.

2. COCOA EXPORTS IN TROUBLE – PGS. 1 & 7

The paper reports that, the export of cocoa, Ghana’s main foreign exchange earner, appears to be in deep trouble as a result of a multiplicity of factors.

The paper says last Tuesday, as many as 350 articulated trucks had milled up at the Tema Port waiting for their loads of cocoa to be taken off them.

In an interview with the paper, officials of the Cocoa Marketing Company said the congestion at the port had been caused mainly by the lack of adequate storage facilities, leading to regulation of the flow of cocoa to the take-over points.

According to the paper this was confirmed by a letter from the Ghana Cocoa Board dated October 31, 2003 and signed by MR. Sam K. Appah, Deputy Chief Executive.