Print Media Review For Oct 20

THE DAILY GRAPHIC – MONDAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2003

1. ROBBER VICTIMS APPEAL TO IGP .…. RETURN OUR ?200M – PGS. 1 & 3

The paper reports that, six traders who were robbed of a total amount of ?200 million on the Bole-Bamboi-Techiman road in December last year have appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to order the Sunyani Police to release their monies to them.

The amount, they claimed, was retrieved by the police days after the alleged robbery.

According to them, although investigations into the robbery had been completed and their particulars taken, the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Command had refused to release the money to them for unknown reasons.

2. “WAR” ON SMUGGLED GOODS – PGS. 1 & 3

According to the paper, Revenue Agencies Governing Board and the security agencies are to start a nationwide exercise to impound goods smuggled into the country.

It stated that, it had been detected that goods, especially wax prints, smuggled into the country, were having a negative effect on local industry, as they sold cheaper.

Mr. Harry Owusu, Executive Secretary of the board disclosed this when he addressed a staff durbar of the CEPs in Kumasi.

According to him, other goods that had been targeted for the exercise included foreign cigarettes and food beverages.

He stressed that the fight against smuggling would now be tackled not only at the entry points but also at the point of sale.

3. KUFUOR, GBAGBO CONFER AT AKOSOMBO – PG. 3

President Kufuor yesterday held discussions with Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, at Akosombo as part of diplomatic moves to consolidate the peace process in Cote d’Ivoire.

He held similar consultations with the members of the Ivorian rebel forces and former Ivorian premier, Alassane Ouattara as well as representatives of the UN and ECOWAS in Accra.

According to the paper, the meeting with President Gbagbo, which lasted over an hour, was held behind closed doors.

4. “HELP REDUCE CORRUPTION IN GHANA” – PG. 16

Dr. Osei Boeh-Ocansey, Director-General of the Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF), has called on financial institutions to ensure good corporate governance with the private sector to help reduce the high rate of corruption in the country.

He explained that the weak corporate governance in the private sector had provided the opportunity for managements and some workers in the sector to use dubious means to weaken the operations of their businesses.

He was addressing a one-day seminar on good corporate governance in the sector at Elimina on Saturday. Dr. Boeh-Ocansey said the weak corporate governance in the sector had also led to financial and managerial mismanagement which had led to the breach of the rules provided in the Companies Code for private industries.

5. “…IT ERODES COUNTRY’S GAINS” – PGS. 16 & 17

Professor Kwesi Andam, Vice Chancellor of the KNUST, has said that corruption, bribery and indiscipline had combined to rob the country of the gains it could had realised from all the years of hard work.

He stressed that despite the efforts being made to speed up the process of development, the nation would have nothing to show if individuals did not change from their dishonest ways.

He was addressing the 57th graduation ceremony of the Trinity Theological Seminary in Accra.

He further said the country would continue to languish in poverty unless Ghanaians learnt to exhibit integrity in every sphere of life.

THE GHANAIAN VOICE – MONDAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2003

DENU FISHERMEN IN ARMS AGAINST KETU DCE. HE DIVERTS OUTBOARD MOTORS TO HIS GIRL FRIEND – PGS. 1 & 3

The paper reports that, the Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Mr. Kofi Dzamesi and Ketu District Chief Executive, Mr. Linus Codman Koffie have been accused of diverting four Yamaha 40HP outboard motors meant for Denu Coastal Association. According to the paper, the outboard motors are alleged to be in the custody of Miss Akua Vorde of Adina, a girl friend of the Ketu District Chief Executive, Mr. Koffie. The girl also operates a premix fuel station in Aflao on behalf of Mr. Kofi Dzamesi and Mr. Linus Codman Koffie, the two NPP appointees.

The paper says its investigations has also revealed that the four outboard motors formed part of 15 outboard motor machines supplied under the Ghana Poverty Reduction Project and Social Investment Fund (SIF) for the Greater Accra Zone.

PUBLIC AGENDA – MONDAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2003

150 GHANAIANS A MONTH, DIE FROM ACCIDENT, ….. KUMASI-ACCRA ROAD ACCOUNT FOR 25% OF ALL ACCIDENTS IN GHANA – PGS. 1 & 2

According to the paper, the Figure given by Ghana Road Safety Commission shows that 150 people die in this country every month (i.e Five (5) deaths everyday) through road accidents with over 1000 persons sustaining injuries.

More than 1000 persons of all ages die every year through the same cause, which also gives an average of over 10,000 injuries.

All those according to the paper happen in a country whose vehicle population is only 800,000.

The paper states further that the number of fatalities through accidents in Ghana is projected to be over 10,000 from 2003 to 2010 with over 70,000 injuries during the period.

THE HERITAGE – MONDAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2003

1. NPP DIGS OWN GRAVE – PROF. ATTAH MILLS – PG. 1 & BK. PG.

The paper reports that, the NDC Flagbearer, Prof. Atta Mills, has noted that the NPP government is digging the grave in which its ministers and, appointees would be buried.

According to the paper, he said the law, which the NPP used to jail some NDC government officials some months back, would be applied against all NPP members who fall foul of it, and not only people in government.

Addressing party functionaries at Ablekuma Central Constituency at the weekend, Prof. Attah mills advised the government not to stop at its intended prosecution of 17 District Chief Executives, who served under the NDC but add DCEs it appointed but have been removed because “what is good for the Goose is good for the Gander.”

2. GHANA ACCEPTS REJECTED SHEEP – SUSPECTED TO BE INFECTED – PG. 1 & BK. PG.

The paper says a controversial shipment of more than 50,000 Australian Sheep, which has been stranded in the Middle East for over 70 days because no country would take the animals, is finally headed for Ghana.

According to an Australian paper, The Sunday Telegraph, the government of Ghana has accepted the Sheep, but a decision on sailing around Southern Africa has not yet been made.

According to the paper, the shipment was originally intended for Saudi Arabia. They refused to take the sheep from MV Cormo Express, because they said that too many of the animals were diseased infected with scabby mouth, - a claim by Australia disputes.

THE GHANAIAN TIMES – MONDAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2003

AMA, OTHERS…TUSSLE OVER CEMETERIES – PGS. 1 & 3

The paper reports that, Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and three groups are in a tussle over the ownership and control of cemeteries in Nungua and Teshie for good reasons – money and health.

Those contesting the “prized assets” with the AMA are the traditional Councils of Nungua and some Churches in the Area.

According to the AMA, it wants to take over the Cemeteries currently in the hands of the traditional Councils, to forestall looming environmental and health problems.

Mr. Divine Sarpong, District Environmental Health Officer in Charge of the Kpeshie Sub-metro, explained that the manner people are buried in the two towns poses a potentially serious health hazard.

According to him, the graves are shallow and become a feasting ground for pigs that often dig them and leave an unhealthy mess littered about.

2. ARMED ROBBERS KILL POLICEMAN – PG. 1

According to the paper, a gang of about 10 armed robbers at dawn on Saturday, shot and killed Constable Sulemanu Abubakari, a policeman who was on guard duties at the premises of Tropical Cable and Conductors Limited (TCCL) at the heavy industrial area in Tema.

They took away his AK47 rifle and fled without stealing anything from the factory.

The incident occurred barely a day after a Police petrol team shot dead a suspected armed robber who opened fire on the team at Community 10.

3. EXPIRED GOODS FLOOD 3 NORTHERN REGIONS – PG. 1

The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has observed that there is a very serious breach of the board’s laws and ethical standards in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

According to the paper, a post-market surveillance carried out by the board revealed that there was a proliferation of fake and expired pharmaceutical products as well as food beverages on the market.

It has therefore decided to go all out to ensure that the laws of the FDB are strictly adhered to in order to protect the health of the consumer.

THE INDEPENDENT – MONDAY, 20TH 2003

J. H. MENSAH IS ANGRY! CAUSES POSTPONEMENT OF CONFERENCE – PGS. 1 & BK. PG.

The paper reports that, Senior Minister Joseph Henry Mensah is angry.

He has virtually gone AWOL at a time that he was needed most to lead a committee charged with the planning of an international conference dubbed “infrastructure Development” from October 17 to October 19, 2003.

The conference was under the auspices of the Ghana Government and UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Its objective was to build on the conclusions of the growth workshop to assist the Ghana Government in the articulation of its vision for infrastructure development for growth in Ghana and also to assess the role of the private sector in achieving this goal.

As of last Thursday when the conference was supposed to open, the Senior Minister was nowhere to be found and staff of his offices could neither locate his whereabouts nor reach him on his cellular phones.

While the bizarre conduct of the Senior Minister still a puzzle to stakeholders of the conference, Government, in that state of embarrassment quickly organised a miniature conference last Friday to contain and soothe the pain of participants who travelled from the US, Canada, some European countries, Asia and other sister African countries.

THE ACCRA DAILY MAIL – MONDAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2003

MILITARY EXPERT OFFERS SOLUTION TO DAGBON CRISIS – PGS. 1 & 7

Major Gen. Carl Coleman, of the Ghana Armed Forces Command College, according to the paper says solution to the Dagbon Chieftaincy crisis would depend on the separation of politics from tradition.

“I think tradition has been intertwined with politics, if we remove the political considerations, an answer to the Dagbon crisis would be found”.

The General was responding to a question on the Dagbon crisis at a roundtable discussion on “Chieftaincy Conflicts and National Security in Ghana”, in Accra.

NETWORK HERALD – MONDAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2003

1. NPP RURAL VOTES THREATENED – PGS. 1 & 3

The paper says the latest report from the Ghana Statistical Service suggests that more than 50 percent of Ghanaian households nationwide insist that their economic situations compared to last year has worsened, but approximately 23 per cent of the respondents in the preliminary report revealed they are better off now than before, an indication that only a quarter had their economic situations improved over the past year.

According to the paper, observers believe that this could be a potential threat to claims by officials of the ruling government that the party has made substantial inroads in the rural areas where majority of the respondents was polled.

The survey, the Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CWIQ) conducted between 2002 and 2003 is a monitoring report, which uses a number of poverty correlates to provide reliable household welfare indicators.

According to the paper, Acting Government Statistician, Dr. Kweku Twum-Baah, said at the launch of a simplified version of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) document, that the data revealed interesting observations such as a significant wide difference between the urban and rural areas.

2. STAR-KIST WORKERS RUSH TO GOVT – PGS. 12 & 3

The paper reports that Ministry of Employment and Manpower Development has acted on SOS calls from workers of star-kist Pioneer Food Cannery (PFC) by setting up a medical committee made up of a private medical practitioner, an Occupational Health Specialist and a Factory Inspector.

According to the paper, they are charged to investigate worker allegations of unsafe work environment that endangers the life expectancy of workers.

Sector Minister Yaw Barima (MP) who disclosed this to the paper, said that the demonstration of the government’s commitment to the worker’s plight is in the fact that the Committee has been given 10 weeks to conduct factory inspection tours and conduct thorough medical checkups on the workers to determine the truth or otherwise in the allegations.

THE GHANAIAN CHRONICLE – MONDAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2003

INTELLIGENCE EXPERT WARNS OVER GOV’T, MEDIA EMBRACE … TOO MUCH ANTI- RAWLINGS FOCUS IS DANGEROUS – PG. 1

The paper reports that, a security expert and military intelligent analyst last Thursday cautioned media practitioners over excessive criticism and focus on Ex-President Rawlings’ regime whilst being sympathetic to President Kufuor’s administration.

Dr. Kwesi Aning, the expert, told the GNA in an interview in Accra that “the media had done a great job, but they have consistently focused on the NDC as if the party is still in power to the detriment of an objective criticism of the incumbent government”.

According to the paper, Dr. Aning, who is a Senior Research Fellow at the African Security Dialogue and Research (ASDR), noted “the shifting of position from the extreme right-being critical about the former government to extreme left-of embracing the present government is perilous. “This is a dangerous phenomenon with a potential of degenerating into violence as elections 2004 approach”, he said.

FREE PRESS – MONDAY, 20TH – 26TH OCTOBER, 2003

JAKE, BARTELS FACE CHRAJ …. – PG. 1 & BK. PG.

The paper reports that, Minister for Tourism, Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey and Mr. Kwamena Bartel, Minister of Private Sector and Development will today appear before CHRAJ.

They were dragged there by the Minority Leader in Parliament, Hon. Alban Bagbin in connection with certain renovations and refurbishment which was done to both President Kufuor’s private residence and the Castle when Jake was the Chief of Staff in 2001.

According to the paper, the two would have to explain how the monies used for the project was spent and which companies supplied goods or undertook the work.

DAILY GUIDE – MONDAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2003

RAWLINGS REVEALS. WHY I KILLED 3 PRESIDENTS – PG. 1 & BK. PG.

Ex-President Rawlings, has made public why he executed his three predecessors, in a sensational event, which shook the world.

In an interview with “the Sun”, a Nigerian news magazine in Abuja, Nigeria, Rawlings disclosed that “we had no choice”.

Generals Acheampong, Afrifa and Akufo were summarily executed in 1979 after the then Flt Lt. J. J. Rawlings shot into power from prison, the paper reports.

Over 20 years after that bloody episode, Rawlings says even though “that was a regrettable situation, he had no choice”. if we hadn’t done it (shot the ex-heads of state), there would have been outrage against me, outrage against all of us. I am not too sure many (of our) officers would have survived. I am not too sure many civilians would have survived”.

He added, “the level of anger in the country was demanding blood”.

The ex-President also spoke on the current political situation in Ghana, saying that incumbent President Kufuor was gunning for his head, and doing everything in the world to tarnish his name and integrity.

“I would have wished that the incumbent government will give me the peace of mind to rest and put my memoirs together” he lamented.

“That is, if they (Kufuor’s government), will allow me to live long enough to write my memoirs”.

He accused his successor of incompetence and performing below expectation, while also launching a campaign of calumny against the Rawlings’ Administration.