Cocoa smuggling: BNI capo grabbed

A National Security personnel, Kwaku Darko, has been arrested by the police CID for his alleged involvement in the recent smuggling of cocoa into Ivory Coast. Joy News sources at the Police Headquarters in Accra say Kwaku Darko, believed to be a Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) operative, was picked up Tuesday evening. The arrest comes in the wake of three-month comprehensive undercover investigations led by ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, on how Ghana's cocoa get smuggled. The video documentary has officers from the Army, Police, Customs and National Security engaged in massive smuggling of cocoa to neighbouring Ivory Coast. Already, eight customs officers and a policeman implicated in the cocoa smuggling have been arrested by the police CID. Mr Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who is also the editor of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, has hailed the initial arrest of nine persons identified in the video as “a good start”. That, notwithstanding, the journalist is pushing for more arrests to follow, as, according to him, his work indicted more than 40 people for their various roles in the smuggling of cocoa to Ivory Coast. Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline.com

UPDATE: Tullow Oil: Ghana Jubilee Field 1st Oil 4Q 2010

UPDATE: Tullow Oil: Ghana Jubilee Field 1st Oil 4Q 2010

By Angela Henshall

Dow Jones Newswires

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Tullow Oil PLC's (TLW.LN) Jubilee field in Ghana is on target to produce its first oil in the fourth quarter this year, with the first cargo expected as early as December, said a senior executive at the oil company Tuesday.

"First oil is on schedule for the fourth quarter, so discovery to first oil in 40 months," Tullow's exploration manager for Gulf of Guinea Robin Sutherland said at The Africa Petroleum Conference in London.

"We feel it is a common mistake that oil companies make in neglecting their exploration roots," said Sutherland. "We have no intention in doing this, and 80% of our 2010 capital will be spent in Africa."

He said the company is on target for the Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel to sail in May, and has already started well-completion activities.

Sutherland said the first stage development cost of the Jubilee field had remained within the original $3.1 billion budget. The field's output is expected to ramp-up to 120,000 barrels a day within six months of first oil produced.

Tullow has also developed its own transport company, including helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in order to access the site, Sutherland said.

Tullow is also in the process of developing oil fields in Uganda's Lake Albert basin and is in talks over licenses in two oil blocks on the Congolese side of the lake.

Tullow, Total SA (TOT: 59.02, -0.51, -0.86%) and Cnooc Ltd. want to form an operating company for the project in the Lake Albert basin. Each is expected to hold one-third of the project covering blocks 1, 2 and 3A, and the three are expected to inject at least $5 billion to develop fields in the blocks, according to people familiar with the situation.

Tullow is also still waiting for government approval of its proposed $1.5 billion takeover of the interests of Heritage Oil PLC (HOIL.LN) in two blocks in the country.

Earlier Tuesday Tullow said positive data from the Ugandan Kasamene-3 well encountered oil and proved the viability of this location as a future water injection point to support up-dip oil production.

Source: Fox Business

Mills Gives $5Million To Rawlings? - Raymond Archer

• Who will save Ghana from the economic vampires and these enemies of progress? »

It may be the biggest scandal since Watergate, but the Editor-In-Chief of the Enquirer newspaper, Mr Raymond Archer, has accused former President Rawlings and his wife of receiving an amount of five million United States dollars on the quiet from the government of President John Evans Atta Mills!

The money, ostensibly, is to complete work on the Calf Cocoa Factory owned by the Rawlingses, which is located at Kpone in the Greater Accra Region.

According to Raymond Archer, even though the Rawlingses have taken their share of the monies from the Atta Mills Administration on the quiet, they are busy incited the youth of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) against the government of John Evans Atta Mills because the youth allegedly are not being taken care of!

Mr Archer, who was speaking on the programme Alhaji and Alhaji on Radio Gold Saturday, accused former President Rawlings and his wife of receiving the money within six months of the NDC coming power, and then turning round to complain that the foot soldiers were not being taken care of, and wondered why they took the money if they knew that the times are hard.

On Sunday, April 11, 2010, Mr Kofi Adams, the Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress.

(NDC) and Spokesperson to the Rawlingses, was not picking up his calls, to answer whether or not his bosses had received the $5million, but if it is true that indeed the Rawlingses have received the huge amount from government, it would raise many questions, chief among which would be exactly the nature of the financing and whether the payment from government into private hands, has been approved by parliament!

Former President Rawlings has been at the forefront of agitation by the youth of the NDC against the Mills administration, constantly calling on them to rise up to keep the government on its toes because it is not taking care of them.

The revelation however that the same Rawlings and his wife have been paid five million dollars to complete their factory by Atta Mills would come as a surprise to many of the foot soldiers!

Source: The Daily Searchlight

Eight CEPS officials, one policeman arrested over Anas' cocoa smuggling story

Nine arrested over Anas' cocoa smuggling saga         Eight Customs officers and a policeman implicated in the smuggling of cocoa to neighbouring countries have been arrested by police CID. Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kwesi Ofori confirmed this to Joy News on Monday. The nine were captured on a video in a comprehensive undercover investigations led by ace investigative journalist and sub-editor of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Anas Aremeyaw-Anas on how Ghana's cocoa get smuggled. DSP Ofori told Joy News reporter Benjamin Tetteh the police have begun further investigations into the matter and will soon arraign the suspects before court. This he said is part of measures to rid the security of bad nuts, but was quick to add that the accused persons will first have their day in court to defend themselves. Source: Myjoyonline.com