THE GHANAIAN VOICE

The Voice reports on its front page that for lack of an immigration detention camp in Ghana, foreign nationals involved in immigration offences who are sent to the country have had to spend days or months on end in the hot and inadequately ventilated cells at the Osu Police Station in Accra, which also serves as "remand homes" for suspects or hardened criminals. The paper in its lead story says currently, 11 such foreign nationals are languishing in the cells at the Osu Police Station, awaiting repatriation. The Voice says reliable police sources indicated that some of them have been tried and convicted are therefore being detained until arrangements for their repatriation are completed. It says cells currently houses more than 25 persons adding that four other suspects from Togo and Nigeria will be put before court by mid-week. GRI

"38 million dollars lagoon project hangs in the balance", says the Voice in another front page story. According to the paper, the well-publicised plans to turn Accra's "ugly' Korle Lagoon and its surroundings into a showpiece holiday resort do not seem to stand any chance of materialising in the foreseeable future. The Voice says nearly 10 years after the project was first mooted, neither the consultancy nor the actual contract for the dredging of the lagoon has been awarded. It says apart from the dredging of the lagoon, which is not only an eye-sore but also emits an unbearable stench, some restaurants and other recreational facilities are to be built along the banks of the lagoon. The paper says the handlers of the project, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the Ministry of Works and Housing, would come out to state categorically when the project would take off, except to explain the cause of the delay. The project was estimated at 38 million dollars out of which the government has already received 28 million dollars from the Kuwaiti Fund, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), while the government is expected to provide the remaining 10 million dollars. GRI