Press Review from GRi

The following headlines stories are from Ghanaian newspapers. The stories have not been verified by GRi. We cannot therefore vouch for their accuracy

The Statesman : " Join NDC or perish ... "

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The Statesman in a front page banner headline story, says the NDC government's determination to ensure the conscription of poor helpless hawkers into its ranks, lies at the heart of the current Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA)-cum military exercise to "rid Accra streets of hawkers". The paper says a combined team of the AMA Task Force on Environmental Sanitation and police and military personnel, has been chasing hawkers from the streets and sections of the central business district of Accra, under the guise of beautification.

In the pursuit of the exercise, the Ghana Street Vendors' Association, which has been battling the Young Traders' Association for market space in the city centre, is said to have suffered the most, as most of its members have been displaced from their places of work while others have been arrested. The paper quotes the secretary of Vendors' Association, Mr Charles Twum, as saying the association is a non-partisan organisation which seeks to promote the welfare of its members to ensure the smooth pursuit of their work. According to the statesman, the Young Traders' association is an openly partisan group, affiliated to the Veranda Boys and Girls Club of the NDC.

Ghana Palaver : Upper West NPP executive to quit en masse

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The Ghana Palaver, in a front page story, says information reaching it indicates that the entire Upper West Regional executive of the NPP is considering quitting office, following the persistent accusation against the members by the national leadership of the party.

According to the paper, the executive officers have come under a barrage of criticisms for misleading the national headquarters to sink a colossal amount of money and other logistics into the Lambussie bye-election, which the NPP candidate lost.

The Palaver says sources close to the Upper West Regional secretariat of the NPP indicated that the regional executive officers have been scolded since the May 26 bye-election.

The paper says though the anger of the national executive of the NPP is directed at the regional secretariat, the chairman and his secretary, as well as the Lambussie constituency chairman are those directly being blamed for their failure and the huge financial loss.

The Guide : 'Tico' cars, jeeps, for NPP 2000

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In a front page screamer, the Guide says a large fleet of 'Tico' cars ("Akwadaa wo ko hen") is in the pipeline to be procured by the NPP for the party's campaign in the 2000 elections. The paper says a source close to the party said the Tico cars would run cities and towns while about 40 cross-country jeeps would be distributed into the countryside. The party also plans to get additional motor bikes and bicycles to augment the fleet of vehicles. The Guide says Tico, which made its debut into the Ghanaian market about four years ago, selling for about three million cedis, is now going for about eight million cedis for a brand new and around five and a half million cedis for a 'home second-hand' one.

In a second story headlined: "Kids carry drugs at Tudu, the Guide reports that drug peddlers are now using innocent school children as couriers for their illicit trade ion narcotics. According to the paper, unsuspecting school children to and from school are called by the dealers and handed small parcels of narcotic drugs to be passed on to a buyer who stands a distance from the seller. The seller is said to direct the innocent school children to undertake what they assume to be a harmless errand, while the buyers wait eagerly for the couriers to deliver the drugs. The Guide says the dealers are a step ahead of the police because of the sophisticated gadgets they use in their operation.

The Independent: Don't scare away Ewes - Quarshigah

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The Independent says the Volta Region, currently referred to as the 'World Bank' for its massive voting for the NDC, will certainly be a factor in the 2000 presidential elections. The paper says the NPP aware that the region and its predominantly Ewe ethnic group, has been its 'Achilles Heel' and 'Waterloo', appears determined to do better in the next general elections. It says the NPP Presidential candidate, Mr J.A. Kufuor has hinted that the party would take every step to win votes in the Volta Region. The Independent says Major Courage Quarshigah (rtd), National Organiser of the NPP, speaking on what the party can do to win the crucial Ewe vote, advised NPP members to avoid derogatory remarks about Ewes and other ethnic minorities in their communities, who may not be supporters of the party. "We should rather endeavour to convince and bring such groups into out ranks, since such a strategy could be the key to the PP's victory in the next elections", his is quoted as saying.

The Crusading Guide: Peace FM radio station under fire!

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In a front page banner headline story, the Crusading Guide reports that the cream of Ghanaian popular musicians, most of whom belong to the Song Writers and Performers Association of Ghana (SPAG), have registered their disapproval at what they described as the "unprofessional manner" in which their music are being played on "Peace FM radio station. The paper says in a letter to the Managing Director of the radio station, Mr Reginald Amegatcher, a solicitor for Rex Omar and other members of SPAG, had asked him to advise Peace FM to take a licence from the Copyright Owners Association of Ghana (COSGA) before playing their music and to desist from the inimical exploitation of their works. GRi../

Daily Graphic: Govt loses 200bn cedis...

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The Daily Graphic reports in its front page lead story that Ghana lost about 200 billion cedis last year, through fraudulent Practices in the operations of bonded warehouses. The loss which represents 20 per cent of the expected revenue, resulted from the diversion of most of the goods meant for bonded warehouses. The Graphic quotes Nii Okine Adjei, Commissioner5 of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) as disclosing this in Accra. Nii Adjei said out of every two containers that went to the bonded warehouses, one found its way out illegally. According to the paper, 40 per cent of all goods that came through Ghana last year were warehoused. Nii Adjei is reported as saying that the inability of the bonded warehouse operators to follow laid-down regulations since the introduction of the facility in 1987, has led to heavy revenue loss to the state. According to him, the clearing of goods under a certificate of urgency, for instance, has been fraught with discrepancies as some of the documents have been found to be different from the actual goods cleared. He cited a recent incident in which some drugs were cleared under a certificate of urgency, only for them to be found to have expired.

Chief looting graves?

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The destoolment of a chief allegedly involved in grave looting, is the subject of another front page story of the Graphic. Under the headline: "Chief destooled for alleged involvement in grave looting", the paper reports that the Chief of Tweneduase, near Kumasi, Nana Twum Barima II, has been destooled following his alleged involvement in a grave looting incident in the town. Nana Twum Barima allegedly the services of one Kofi Mpaebo, a Benin national and a herbalist to dig the ancestral graves of Tweneduase with the sole aim of finding gold nuggets used to bury some chiefs. The Graphic says the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who ordered the chief's destoolment, expressed concern about the role of Nana Twum Barima in what he described as 'a criminal act', and at a time when the chieftaincy institution has come under so much public scrutiny. Otumfuo Osei Tutu is said to have noted that the action of the Tweneduasehene clearly portrays him as a greedy man, who is ready to sacrifice traditional norms and customs for money. GRi../

Ghanaian Times: 2 warders caught in drugs net...

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The Ghanaian Times says barely a month after an officer of the Sunyani Prisons was interdicted for dealing in Indian hemp in the prison yard, three other officers have found themselves in trouble for a similar offence. The paper says two of them, Corporals N.A. Lartey and Joseph Yevu, are being investigated on suspicion of dealing in Indian hemp after they were caught on August 11, this year, concealing 24 wrappers of the substance under a bicycle seat during a surprise search on the prison officials. According to the Times, one other, Corporal Wallas Meanyah, a nurse, expected to have known better the health implications of his action, has been demoted to a Lance-Corporal for smuggling five packets of "Tusker" cigarettes and a match box into the yard for sale to the inmates. Mr J.K. Ampratwum, Assistant Director of Prisons in charge of the Brong Ahafo Region, is said to have disclosed this at Sunyani at the weekend. Mr Ampratwum said another officer, who slept on guard duties and had the magazine of his sub-machine gun taken from him, was also facing disciplinary action.

Kumasi head teachers refund 24m cedis

In a second story, the Times reports that the heads of some public basic schools in the Kumasi metropolis, who were accused of embezzlement, have refunded 24 million cedis of the amount. They were said to have pocketed 34,354,800 cedis, representing watchmen and sports/cultural fees paid by the pupils during the 1998/99 academic year. The Times quotes Mr D.T. Gyimah, the Metropolitan Internal Auditor of the Ghana Education Service, as disclosing this when the paper called on him in Kumasi yesterday to inquire about the latest development in the scandal. Mr Gyimah said the refunded amount represented part payment made by 24 of the head teachers.