GRi Press Review 2 - 3 - 99

The Statesman

?US PRESS SLAMS Rawlings? is the headline in this edition of the statesman. The paper reports that Rawlings described by one American reporter, Steve Holland, as ?loguacious Rawlings? talked his way to dishonour during a press conference at the White House. According to the paper, the Ghanaian Community which met the President on his visit to the US was entirely NDC. It also states that when the President Rawlings was asked how achievable Ghana?s budget was, he launched into a defence of the integrity of his Finance Minister, Mr. Kwame Peprah, whose previous Ministerial appointments the NDC leader could not easily recollect and had to be helped out. The Statesman report said, whiles newspapers like the National had no time for the Ex- Flt Lt and merely mentioned him in passing others such as the ?Washington Post?, simply gave a very negative impression of the NDC leader. The Washington Post, described as ?one of the most venerable and influential American newspapers, took a dim view of both Rawlings and Clinton and did not mince words in a scathing report about him.

The two column story headlined ?Tension in Kumasi? on the front page of the Statesman says ?grief, anger and tension have built up into a charged atmostphere in Kumasi following media reports of the passing away of the Asantehene, Otumfo Opoku Ware II. Deeply offended by rushed reports which have touched cultural sensibilities and violated traditional norms over the management of the death of chiefs, the Ashanti traditional council yesterday summoned an emergency meeting at which journalists were quizzed over their sources of information on Otumfuo?s death. The paper asserts that the situation at the Manhyia Palace was extremly tense as the Council Presided over by the Bantamahene Bafour Awuh II met to discuss the issue. It continues that the traditional chiefs decked out in mourning cloths though tight lipped on the state of health of the Asantehene, could not hide their anger and disgust for the offense on a sacred traditional value considered one of the pillars of the institution of chieftancy. According to an authority on culture, the embargo placed on any report on the passing away of a chief until an official announcement has been made, is to afford the immediate circle of responsible authorities enough time to not only recover from the shock but to put in place the necessary arrangements to enable a peaceful transition.

The Independent

The Independent reports that some members of the press were detained at the Manyhia Palace in Kumasi for filing stories about the death of the Asante King without first clearing with Palace officials. Headlined ?Chiefs descend on the Press, GBC Threatened with closure and Independent Reporter detained? the story has it that all pressmen in Kumasi were summoned to the Manyhia Palace for a meeting with over 150 chiefs reported to be in mourning cloths.

?At the meeting ? the story continues ? the chiefs expressed their displeasure at the way GTV, Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Chronicle and Ashanti Pioneer reported the death of the Asante King, Otumfuo Opoku WareII, without clearance from Manhyia. The paper also claims that a BBC correspondent Kwabena Akosa Sarpong, has had to flee Kumasi for his ?dear life? for breaking the news of the demise of Asantehene on BBC last Thursday.

Meanwhile the GBC regional offices in Kumasi are under the threat of closure if the Regional Director fails to respond to a summon to Manhyia a second time.

Ghana Palaver

The Ghana Palaver in its banner headline which reads ?NDC committed to better living standards? reports that the NDC government as part of its social contract has promised to uphold and enhance the living standards of every Ghanaian and at no point will it abandon them since they remain the cornerstone of its development agenda. These, the paper says, were the words of the Vice- President, Prof. J.E.A. Mills when he addressed a mammoth rally of defectors who have joined the NDC through the Veranda Club at Yendi. Prof Mills welcoming the defectors, who the paper says are mostly NPP supporters, urged all those who cherished peace and development to join the NDC. The presidential advisor on Governmental Affairs, Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu disclosed at the rally that the NDC government has voted ?35 billion for road maintenance in the Northern region while ?4.8 billion has been earmarked for the Yendi township roads, this year.

Daily Graphic

The Daily Graphic has as its banner headline ?14 BEFORE TRIBUNAL?. According to the paper fourteen people including two police officers yesterday appeared before an Accra Circuit Tribunal for allegedly stealing eight boxes of unrefined gold valued at ?2.4 billion belonging to Amansie Mining Resources. According to the story, they all pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to steal and stealing eight boxes of gold bars valued at ?2.4 billion, they were remanded in prison custody by the tribunal and to reappear on April of this year. The paper disclosed that on February 16 this year a convoy of three vehicles belonging to West Coast Allied Services, a private security agency in Accra, were conveying eight boxes of refined gold bars valued at ?2.4 billion from the Amansie Mining Resources in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region to Accra, when on reaching Gomoa Abotsia, 10 men in military uniform attacked the convoy and made away with the Gold bars. The paper concluded that Police investigations have revealed that the attack on the convoy was a plan to steal the gold bars, thus the arrest the 14 people.

The paper has ?GJA appeals to Journalists to Value traditions? as one of its inside page stories. According to the paper, the Ghana Journalists Association has appealed to Journalists to respect time-honoured institutions and practices which do not offend human conscience and are meant to promote social order. According to the story a statement issued by the (GJA) and signed by the Vice President, Mr. Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, said recent media reports about the Asantehene have created embarrassment since they have tended to ignore valued traditions and accordingly appealed to journalists to excise extreme caution. The paper continued that the GJA has expressed regrets about any inconveniences that might have been caused the Asanteman Council as a result of the lack of respect for traditional values of Asanteman in the handling of matter about the Golden Stool.

High Street Journal

The paper has on its back page ?Cadbury Regional MD?s Brainstorms in Accra?. According to the paper, Cadbury Ghana Limited is playing host to Regional heads of Cadbury from all over in the world, in Accra this week. The paper says, the parent company Cadbury Schweppes P/C. UK has tasked its Ghanaian subsidiary to organise this year?s Regional Directors Conference between March 1-3 at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra. The paper continues that this is the first time the conference is being hosted in Ghana because its Parent Company has learnt that Cadbury Ghana is currently one of the fastest growing units in the group and has consistently shown high financial performance over the period of time. The paper concludes that the Managing Directors of some of its units in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, India, Pakistan and Ghana and the Directors from the head office are expected to attend.

The Crusading Guide

The Crusading Guide in a story headlined ?Rawlings peddles misinformation in America express dismay about a statement President Rawlings made at a joint press conference with US President Bill Clinton on the issue of dual citizenship for African- Americans in Ghana, during his recent official visit to the US. According to the paper, from a Ghanaian Parliamentary source, there have been no national legislative processes that could lead to the passing of any bill in our parliament to grant African-Americans the right to dual citizenship. The paper emphasised that the blame was to be put on the Ministerial and Parliamentary aides who did not adequately brief the President on the issue of dual citizenship for African- American. The paper concluded that President Rawlings in his explanation on the issue sounded inarticulate until President Clinton came to his rescue by diplomatically attempting to explain the general law on dual citizenship and pointing out how significant it will be for Ghana to initiate such a more.

The Statesman

The two column story headlined ?Tension in Kumasi? on the front page of the Statesman says ?grief, anger and tension have built up into a charged atmostphere in Kumasi following media reports of the passing away of the Asantehene, Otumfo Opoku Ware II.
Deeply offended by rushed reports which have touched cultural sensibilities and violated traditional norms over the management of the death of chiefs, the Ashanti traditional council yesterday summoned an emergency meeting at which journalists were quizzed over their sources of information on Otumfuo?s death.
The paper asserts that the situation at the Manhyia Palace was extremly tense as the Council Presided over by the Bantamahene Bafour Awuh II met to discuss the issue.
It continues that the traditional chiefs decked out in mourning cloths though tight lipped on the state of health of the Asantehene, could not hide their anger and disgust for the offense on a sacred traditional value considered one of the pillars of the institution of chieftancy.
According to an authority on culture, the embargo placed on any report on the passing away of a chief until an official announcement has been made, is to afford the immediate circle of responsible authorities enough time to not only recover from the shock but to put in place the necessary arrangements to enable a peaceful transition.

The Independent
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The Independent reports that some members of the press were detained at the Manyhia Palace in Kumasi for filing stories about the death of the Asante King without first clearing with Palace officials.
Headlined ?Chiefs descend on the Press, GBC Threatened with closure and Independent Reporter detained? the story has it that all pressmen in Kumasi were summoned to the Manyhia Palace for a meeting with over 150 chiefs reported to be in mourning cloths.
?At the meeting ? the story continues ? the chiefs expressed their displeasure at the way GTV, Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Chronicle and Ashanti Pioneer reported the alleged death of the Asante King, Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, without clearance from Manhyia.
The paper also claims that a BBC correspondent Kwabena Akosa Sarpong, has had to flee Kumasi for his ?dear life? for breaking the news of the demise of Asantehene on BBC last Thursday.
Meanwhile the GBC regional offices in Kumasi are under the threat of closure if the Regional Director fails to respond to a summon to Manhyia Palace a second time.