Review of PRINT MEDIA

DAILY GRAPHIC – WEDNESDAY, 30TH JULY, 2003

1. NATIONAL AMBULANCE SERVICE TO BE SET UP – PGS. 1 & 3
According to the paper, the Ministry of Health has announced the establishment of a national ambulance service to cater for emergency health cases throughout the country.

The service, which will take the form of operations of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), will be manned by personnel from the Ministry of Health and the GNFS.

Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Health disclosed this during his turn of meet-the-press in Accra yesterday.

According to him some ambulances have already been purchased for the operation of the service.

He gave the assurance that the formal sector workers’ deduction from the SSNIT for the proposed national Health Insurance Scheme has been designed in such a way as to avoid any adverse effect on the sustainability of the trust.

2. LABOUR LAW UNIQUE….SAYS AUSTIN GAMEY – PGS. 1 & 3
akot Mr. Austin Gamey, Labour Consultant and Conflict mediator has said the new Ghana Labour Law will inspire confidence in foreign and local investors to do business in the country.

According to him, the law is unique by all standards because Ghana has become the first country in the world to introduce such a law which will drastically reduce labour hostilities to almost nothing. Labour issues, he said, will no more be drawn to the courts because the new laws has checks and balances which do not give any undue advantage to parties involved in labour disputes.

He was speaking to the paper in an interview in Accra.

3. GHANAIANS IN DIASPORE FORM INVESTMENT CLUBS – PG. 17
The paper reports that, formation of investment clubs by Ghanaians living abroad to mobilize funds for investment in the country has begun in earnest in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.

The clubs will have the option to buy shares in commercial entities or buy outright any state company, which is put on divestiture and revamped it to become productive.

The Deputy Minister of Information, Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng disclosed this to the paper in Accra on the outcome of his recent trip to the USA to mobilize Ghanaians there to contribute to the economic development of the country.

According to him, the strategy is part of the government’s policy of creating the right platform and motivation for Ghanaians in the diaspora to contribute positively to the country’s socio-economic development.

4. OSAFO-MAAFO GETTING DISILUSIONED WITH DONORS – PG. 16
Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning has announced that the country is becoming increasingly disturbed about the failure of her development partners to live up to their promises.

According to him, considering the fact that 45 per cent of Ghana’s budget comes from donor inflows the problem could have adverse effects on the nation’s development agenda and dislocate the economy.

He said the government has decided to behave as a “proud but aggressive borrower” by insisting that development partners form a club and write their code of conduct while the government also does same to ensure that the two parties abide by their pledges.

He was speaking at the opening of the mid-year review conference of Regional Ministers in Kumasi.

He said already agreements have been signed with nine development partners including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the United Kingdom and Germany on the need to fulfill pledges.

He stated that the fiscal and monetary policy setting altered in the course of the first half of the year is significantly improving the outlook for reducing inflation and ensuring growth.

THE GHANAIAN TIMES – WEDNESDAY, 30TH JULY, 2003

1. 100 GARMENT FACTORIES SOON- PG. 1

According to the paper, government will by the close of next year, open about 100 garment factories in the country.

The project is part of the President’s Special Initiative (PSI) on Garments and Textiles and is designed to diversify Ghana’s exports from the traditional exports such as cocoa, gold and timber.

Nana Tweneboa-Boateng, Coordinator for Garments and Textiles of PSI disclosed this when Ms Misako Konno, the visiting UNDP Goodwil Ambassador, toured the Textile and Garments factory of Akosombo Textile Limited.

2. ?1BN FOR KMA MEMBERS ….AS SITTING ALLOWANCE – PGS. 1 & 3

The paper reports that, Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) spent ?1 billion as sitting allowances for its members during the past two years.

Over ?2 billion was also spent on the purchase of fuel to facilitate waste management and administrative obligations during the same period.

These were contained in a statement by the KMA in response to allegations by some aggrieved members.

They are questioning the integrity and achievements of the two-year Stewardship of the Metropolitan Chief, Mr. Maxwell Kofi Jumah.

The statement said also that the KMA spent an average of ?400 million a month on fuel mainly for the evacuation of refuse in the metropolis.

According to the statement all the monies were generated from the assembly’s own resources, adding that “but for the judicious use of the assembly’s internally generated funds for such interventions, Kumasi as a city, would have come to a halt.”

The statement pledged the readiness of the Chief Executive for a probe into his administration at any time, anywhere and anyday.

FREE PRESS - WEDNESDAY, JULY,30TH – 5TH AUGUST, 2003

1. GHANA LNKS BOSS DECLARES ….”APRAKU HAS NO HAND IN COMPANY” PG. 1 & BACK PAGE
The paper reports that, Mr. Nick Danso Adjei, Managing Director of Ghana Links Network Services, has denied rumours that the former Minister of Trade, now Minister for NEPAD and Regional Cooperation, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku has any interests in his company.

He stated that the customs Inspection Company was joint partnership venture between a Spanish national, Jaime Lopez and himself and that there was no other shareholders in the business.

He was reacting to current rumours that Dr. Apraku was a partner in his Company that was why they won the bid for imports inspection.

DAILY GUIDE - WEDNESDAY, 30TH JULY, 2003

1. KUFUOR GIVES $1M TO KORLE-BU MATERNITY – PG. 1 & BACK PAGE

Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Health has announced that President Kufuor has directed that $1 million should be released immediately to be used, to start rehabilitation work on the Maternity Block at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.

According to him, whilst this amount will be used to start the preliminaries on the work, discussions will also be going on between the government and its development partners for sourcing funds to finance the whole project.

He was speaking at the weekly “Meet-The-Press” Series in Accra yesterday.

He said the government is also discussing issues with its development partners for more funds in order to start work on the Medical Block at the hospital.

THE ACCRA DAILY MAIL – WEDNESDAY, 30TH JULY, 2003

1. GNA IS NOT SOURCE OF YA-NA MURDER STORY – PG. 1
According to the paper, the Ghana News Agency has repudiated a story on the Ghana Web that alleged that the plot to Kill the Ya-Na Yakubu Andani, Paramount Chief of the Dagbon Traditional Area, was planned at the office of the former Minister of the Interior, Alhaji Malik Alhassan Yakubu.

The Agency is investigating how it was credited with such a despicable story.

THE GHANAIAN CHRONICLE – WEDNESDAY, 30TH JULY, 2003

1. ATTORNEY-GENERAL SPEAKS NO LEGAL ACTION AGAINST J.J. NOW …… MEDIA MUST IGNORE HIM – PGS. 1 & 3
The paper reports that, Papa Owusu-Ankoma, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice has said the government has no intention to institute any legal action against ex-President Rawlings to compel him to disclose the names of the 15 ministers he claimed masterminded the serial Killing of women in the country during his reign.

According to him, the government has now realized that the ex-president is only trying to use the serial killings as a weapon to cause confusion in the country, but they as a government would not allow themselves to be caught in such a trap.

He said the government has serious business to attend to and would not dissipate its energy pursuing “frivolous matters in the law courts.”

He said the allegation made by the ex-president was criminal and that was why the police went to him to get more information but unfortunately he refused, insisting that he would only speak after the government had made a lie detector available.

He was speaking in an interview with the paper at Sekondi.

The Attorney-General said the lie detector is only used on suspects but not on informants.

THE INSIGHT – WEDNESDAY, 20TH –31ST JULY, 2003

VICTIMISED FOR “HELPING” FORMER PRESDIENT – PGS. 1& 4
According to the paper, Mr. Felix Oteng-Ampofo, Principal Technical Officer of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority claims to have gone through hell for properly registering four Toyota station Wagons brought into the country by ex-President Rawlings.

In a petition sent to the Speaker of Parliament, he claims that he was first interrogated at the BNI and later forced to resign after 22 years of service.

According to him, he used the normal procedure in the registration of the vehicles and therefore finds the treatment meted out to him strange.