Review Of Print Media for 6th August 2003

DAILY GRAPHIC – WEDNESDAY, 6TH AUGUST, 2003

1. “ALLEGATIONS OF COUP PLOT. “NO CAUSE FOR PANIC” – PGS. 1 & 3

The paper reports that, government has assured the nation that it is in firm control of the security situation and that there is no cause for Ghanaians to panic.

Nana Akomea, Minister of Information, gave the assurance at a press briefing in Accra yesterday.

He, however, confirmed reports that three serving military officers were picked up for interrogation in connection with attempts by a group of soldiers to destabilise the nation.

He gave assurance that the government will make public any information about the intentions of the suspected officers when the National Security Council has reviewed the situation.

Immediately after the press briefing, the government issued a statement stating that on Saturday, August 2, 2003, the security agencies conducted routine investigations into matters relating to state security.

It said in the cause of the enquiries, three serving officers, a retired soldier and a civilian were interviewed and they were all allowed to go home after the interview.

2. PLOT TO IMPLICATE GOVT UNCOVERED – PGS. 1 & 3

According to the paper, government has uncovered a plot at the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons in which two jailed former Ministers, Kwame Peprah and Ibrahim Adam as well as a lady visitor, were coaching the jailed murderer, Charles Quansah, with photographs of some members of the government so that he (Quansah) could implicate them in the serial killing of women.

Consequently, the two former ministers have been relocated to different prisons in the country.

The jailed ministers and their lady accomplice, who claimed to be a member of the Ghana Legal Board, were found coaching Quansah in their diabolical plan to frame up ministers by showing him their pictures in the office of a prison officer.

Nana Akomea, Information Minister was briefing the press in Accra yesterday.

He dismissed the vile campaign by former President Rawlings that President Kufuor and his Cabinet members masterminded the brutal killings of 34 women between 1997 and 2001.

3. ?870BN HIPC MONEY FOR ASSEMBLIES – PG. 20

According to the paper, an amount of ?870 billion has so far been accumulated under the HIPC initiative and will be disbursed to district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies to accelerate the pace of development.

The amount includes ?117 billion which was disbursed to all the 110 district assemblies last year under the initiative to implement sanitation, health and educational projects in their respective areas.

President Kufuor announced this when addressing a durbar at Ashaiman in the Tema municipality.

He defended the HIPC initiative and said the policy was not adopted in vain.

4. 59 DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS GAIN ADMISSION AT KNUST – PG. 3

The paper reports that, fifty-nine students from less endowed senior secondary schools nationwide have been offered admission, this year to pursue various courses at the KNUST under a new policy to assist students from such schools to gain admission to the university.

All the students have aggregates higher than the cut-off points for their faculties but the university decided to offer them admission because KNUST believes that there are brilliant students in the less endowed schools who by circumstances beyond their control, are not making it into the public universities in Ghana.

5. AGC, ANGLO GOLD AGREE ON MERGER TERMS – PG. 33

Board of Directors of the South African based mining company, Anglo Gold and Ashanti Goldfields Company have agreed to the terms of recommended merger of the two companies.

Consequently, the two companies have entered into a transactional agreement and Lomin, a platinum miner, which has 27.6 per cent in AGC, has agreed to support the merger.

The combined group to be named as Anglo Gold Ashanti will trade in Ghana as Ashanti AngloGold.

AngloGold is expected to give AGC $1.1bn, about 680m pounds if the deal is accomplished, and this will also give AngloGold more gold reserves than Australia’s Newmont, which is currently the biggest gold miner in the world.

THE GHANAIAN TIMES – WEDNESDAY, 6TH AUGUST, 2003

1. ?103BN GETFUND MISSING – PGS. 1 & 3

According to the paper, a total of ?103 billion out of the ?168 billion that accrued from the GETFund for the 2000 is missing.

Government has still not found where the money is, almost three years after coming into power.

The Minister of Information, Nana Akomea announced this in Accra yesterday.

He was reacting to a call on government by the NUGS to immediately effect payment of the arrears of over ?400 billion into the fund or face court action.

He called on all, especially the NUGS, to demand answers from “those in government at that time or where that money is.”

According to him, the 12.5 per cent VAT rate became effective in June 2000, and deductions into the GETFund began accordingly during the same period.

He maintained that from June 2000 to December 2000, the schedule of deductions from the VAT showed a total payment of ?168 billion.

“At the end of 2000, six months after the deductions started, the amount in the fund was ?65 billion.

The records indicate that ?30 billion was transfered to SSNIT in November 2000, while ?1 billion was applied to the Chemistry building in Legon.

“If you set out the total deduction or accruals of ?168 billion, as per VAT records against payment and the actual amount of ?65 billion left in the GETFund account, there is an outstanding balance of ?103 billion that is un-accounted for at the end of year 2000,” he emphasized.

2. TOO MUCH RED-TAPE IN CIVIL SERVICE – GLOVER QUARTEY – PG. 3

According to the paper, Dr. Alex Glover Quartey, head of the Civil Service has expressed dissatisfaction with the excessive bureaucracy in the civil service and the nonchalant attitude of civil servants in the country.

He specifically condemned the cumbersome processes and procedures inherent in the service, the unfriendly attitudes of frontline staff and the delays which characterize the issuance of permits and licences to applicants.

He was opening a three-day sensitization workshop in Accra.

3. TOP FORESTRY OFFICIAL SACKED – PGS. 1 & 3

Mr. Francis Nyann, Assistant District Manager of the Juaso Forestry District of Ashanti, has been summarily dismissed for his involvement in illegal timber operations.

He was said to have aided a Kumasi – based timber firm to encroach on some of the forest reserves in the district a couple of months ago.

According to Mr. Atta Owusu, Ashanti Regional Manager of the FSD, the timber firm had been penalized with an indefinite suspension of its property mark.

THE INSIGHT – WEDNESDAY , 6TH – 7TH AUGUST, 2003

1. SPEAKER DENIES MAKING 37 FOREIGN TRIPS AND MORE – PGS. 1 & 4

The paper reports that, the Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey, has flatly denied that he has made 37 trips abroad since his assumption of office a little over two and a half years ago.

Speaking to the paper in reaction to an unsigned statement of allegation against him issued in the name of staff of the Parliamentary Service, Mr. Adjetey referred the matter to the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Kenneth E.K. Tachie.

Mr. Tachie who did not respond to any of the specific allegations simply said everything in the statement was false adding that some workers of the Parliamentary Service did not like the Speaker because he is strict.

2 J.J. DENIES COUP PLOT – PGS. 1 & 4

The office of the former President has emphatically denied that neither Mr. Rawlings nor any of his associates is involved in a plot to destabilise the country.

A spokesperson told the paper that media claims that the posting of intelligence reports on the internet are intended to create confusion and thereby facilitate a coup may be the paranoia.

“We can say emphatically that neither the ex-President nor any of his associates is faking security reports as a means of destabilizing the country.”

“The reports in the media are without foundation. Mr. Rawlings is fully committed to the democratic experiment and would do everything possible to protect our infant democracy,” he said.

The Ghanaian media had reported that a fake security report has been posted on the Internet alleging that the Presidential security guard is indiscipline.

It also claims that the Editor of the “Insight” is being used by the former President to incite soldiers against the government.

NETWORK HERALD – WEDNESDAY, 6TH – 7TH AUGUST, 2003

1. PURCHASE OF Y2K SOFTWARE – KWESI NDUOM’S CO. IN $446M LOSS TO TOR – PGS. 1 & 3

The paper says more startling revelations involving top-ranking public officials are dropping out of the government directed forensic audit into the debt-ridden Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).

Investigations by the paper into the yet to be released audit has uncovered financial loss amounting to $449,166,56 caused by the Minister for Energy, Mr. Kwesi Nduom’s Deloitte & Touch? Management Consulting, that also implicates the former CE of the refinery.

The discrepancy that led to the over 446 million dollar loss was observed in the acquisition of software to make the refinery Y2K complaint, in the wake of the Y2K scare that engulfed the world on the eve of the 21st Century.

The report also implicates members of the TOR Implementation Committee for the losses as a result of their failure to hold Deloitte & Touch? to schedule.

According to the paper, the forensic report has therefore recommended to the government of Ghana to proceed with a criminal action against Mr. Parker, Deloitte & Touch? and members of the TOR Implementation Committee, for causing financial loss to the TOR and the state.

THE STATESMAN – WEDNESDAY, 6TH AUGUST, 2003

1. EXCLUSIVE – BURKHARD “ZERO” ZIESE FIRED – PG. 1 & BACK PAGE

According to the paper, Burkhard “Zero” Ziese, the German-born coach of the Black Stars, who could not get his players to put on their scoring boots has been booted out of office.

The coup to bid him was plotted at the office of the Ghana Football Association and executed with precision yesterday as a necessary pre-emptive measure to save the battalion of national players from deserting the camp.

“He has been given notice of termination of appointment as provided by his contract”, confirmed by Kofi Nsiah, the General Secretary of GFA yesterday.

According to him, the clause 10 of the contract between Herr Ziese and the GFA provides for a one month notice of termination of the contract to be given and the zero performer’s dismissal takes effect from September 5.

Giving reasons for the termination, the FA says that their continued association with him has become embarrassing as he continues to antagonize the players.

THE EVENING NEWS – TUESDAY, 5TH AUGUST, 2003

POLITICIANS, SOURCE OF CONFLICTS IN THE NORTH – PG. 1

A lawyer, Ibrahim Adam in Tamale has said some politicians from the Northern Regions have taken advantage of the high illiteracy rate and poverty among the people to divide them.

This according to him, has contributed to conflicts in the area.

Mr. Adam was speaking on “Conflicts in the North, Causes and Solutions” at a day’s symposium organised by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) branch of the Northern Region Students Union in Tamale last Saturday.

The lawyer disclosed that conflicts in the North are political, economic, religious, chieftaincy and ethnic, saying “all of them have a common denominator of being encouraged by educated Northerners”.

He quickly pointed out that no matter what form conflicts might take in the North, some political leaders participated actively in sustaining them.