President Mills Must Be A Worried Man

Related Stories   President Atta Mills must be a worried man after he was yesterday hooted at, at Nima, a densely populated part of Accra soon before his arch-rival, Nana Akufo-Addo, was ushered into the area amidst a jamboree and street carnival that ended up in a mammoth rally. While the president was given a cold reception, a red carpet was virtually rolled out for Nana Akufo-Addo who created temporary a hold-up in the area as the residents rushed out to mob him. President Mills had gone to Nima to inspect a particular big gutter and some roads in the area, as part of roads and a drainage inspection tour he was undertaking in Accra. It is not clear whether the persons that booed him out of the area were organized to embarrass him or they were persons genuinely expressing their frustrations at the state of the economy. During the inspection of the gutter, persons who heard of the president’s presence in the area formed a small crowd at the scene and it is not clear what prompted them to respond to the president’s wave with boos and catcalls, while some women present cupped their breasts into their palms and invoked curses on him. Others also stretched their lips forward and started making an “ooooooo” sound as they used the tips of their fingers in hitting their rounded lips to create a rather annoying rhythm. The noise from the angry crowd got louder and some of them started punching the air with clenched fists and wagging their forefingers in the direction of the president and his entourage. Some of the words yelled at the president are simply unprintable and in an apparent move to save the situation, President Mills and his team left the scene and zoomed out of the area in a long convoy, as they were followed with more boos. While Prof. Atta Mills was being booed out of Nima, Nana Akufo-Addo, a flag-bearer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), was entering the area. Nana’s presence had attracted a thick crowd, virtually making people ran over each other to catch a glimpse of him. Nana Addo made matters worse when he started waving through the opened roof of his vehicle. The people went into a crazy frenzy and literally started climbing people’s vehicles so they could touch and shake hands with him. Several motorists were heard fuming at the vehicular traffic that was formed as a result of Nana Addo’s presence. The NPP politician was on the second day tour of some constituencies in Accra to meet with the some delegates as part of his bid to win the party’s slot. Yesterday’s visit also saw him moving through some main streets in the Ayawaso Central, Ayawaso East and Korle Klottey constituencies before addressing a late rally at the Osu Ebenezer Church Hall. The tour took off on Tuesday and his message had been the same wherever he went: “I know what you are going through and what you are feeling; I am feeling same too but let us not give up. I want you to believe in your hearts and keep your hopes alive that a better government is coming soon.”       Source: D-Guide

Fraud all over disbursement & utilisation of Capitation Grant

A survey by the Centre for Democratic Development, Ghana (CDD-Ghana) has seriously indicted officials of the Ghana Education Service (GES), especially head teachers, for leaks in the disbursement and utilisation of the Capitation Grant, thereby defeating the purpose for which the grant was introduced. The survey exposed the deliberate inflation of enrolment figures by the said officials and delays in the release of the funds, some as late as three years, with an average misappropriation of GH¢600 per school in a year. Presenting the report in Accra yesterday, Mr Daniel Armah-Attoh, one of the researchers, did not drop any names but suggested that the spending pattern of the grant must be evaluated to determine whether it was conducive to improving education, as anticipated by the policy. He also asked that the relationship between the allocation, equity and improved quality outcomes in the educational sector must be assessed. The researchers suggested that the fixed amount of Capitation Grant per pupil per year must be reconsidered and that equity and need factors should be the basis for calculation because schools with huge populations would have more and would be able to meet basic essentials better than those with a smaller population of pupils, thereby leading to a widening of the social inequalities gap. The findings, which were contained in a report dubbed: “Public Expenditure Tracking Survey in Ghana: Tracking Capitation Grant in Public Primary Schools for the 2008 and 2009 academic year”, noted that because of the discrepancies in enrolment figures from the various quarters, there was the likelihood of the Ministry of Finance releasing funds for “ghost pupils”, with more going into the wrong hands. Explaining the discrepancies further, Mr Armah-Attoh said figures from head teachers showed that enrolment in schools increased by 45 per cent between the 2005/2006 and the 2008/2009 academic years. However, figures from district directors of education for the same period indicate an increase of 13 per cent. “We also found that GES enrolment figures for the survey districts were higher than those provided by district education officers by 32 per cent in 2005/06, 33 per cent in 2006/07, 35 per cent in 2007/08 and 34 per cent in 2008/09,” he said, adding that the inconsistencies in enrolment figures should be worrying because they gave room for corruption. Mr Armah-Attoh added that generally, majority of the district directors and head teachers received the Capitation Grant for the 2008/09 academic year in the middle, close to the end or at the end of the academic year and those were confirmed by the financial records of the head teachers. He said some of the payments that had been in arrears since 2006 had been paid in May, June and July 2009. He indicated that comparisons of the financial records of the district directors and those of the head teachers also confirmed leaks in the system and that at least 60 per cent of the schools surveyed experienced shortage averaging approximately GH¢600. Explaining the trends, Mr Armah-Attoh noted that apart from what could be attributed to corrupt practices, some head teachers whose school populations were small and were sited far away from the disbursement centres always received smaller amounts and, therefore, had to spend a chunk of the amount on transportation. On the payment of other levies, he said despite the Capitation Grant, half of the head teachers admitted that parents still paid other levies and fees. Forty seven per cent of teachers expressed similar views and most pupils and their parents agreed that they also paid levies and fees. “Not surprisingly, majority of the stakeholders (77 per cent of head teachers, 65 per cent of teachers and 52 per cent of PTA executives) believed that parents and guardians should pay some levies, irrespective of the Capitation Grant, to guarantee their interest in the education of their wards. “In contrast, 73 per cent of parents think that school authorities have no business asking them to pay any form of fees,” he added. Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Education Service, Paul Krampah, told Joy News that the government does not owe any arrears so far as the Capitation Grant is concerned. He said even though the scheme had problem with disbursement, it has been rectified. “Right now the disbursement from the government is on timely basis.” He however said the GES would have a critical look at the report and possibly streamline its activities to correct the lapses. Source: Myjoyonline.com/Daily Graphic/Ghana

GHS, Accuser in standoff

The Ghana Health Service is demanding a retraction from Yaa Bosomtwi         The Ghana Health Service is fending off damaging allegations of collusion with an international team of researchers accused of exploiting the ignorance of women in the Upper East Region. The team from the Colombia University which was conducting a family planning experiment in Navrongo is accused of wrongfully injecting a total of 7,500 women with drugs that inflict severe side effects. Their explicit consent, according to the accuser, was not sought. The women, it is alleged were also not told of the side effects. The drugs included Depo-Provera Contraceptive Injection and an unknown oral contraceptive. Side effects of the Depo-Provera drug include cancer, increased risk of blood clots or stroke, unexpected pregnancy and irregular menstrual bleeding. The accuser, Yaa Bosomtwi, is a Public Health Specialist and a Human Rights Activist who graduated from the Colombia University. She also once worked with the team that conducted the experiment. Now, the Ghana Health Service is denying the allegations. Dr. Awoonor-Williams the Upper East Regional Health Director said the research team could not have breached any laid down research codes since their work was carefully supervised by the Ghana Health service. He said the women were taken through a pre-counselling section before the drugs were administered to them and has therefore demanded an immediate retraction of the accusation from Yaa Bosomtwi. But Yaa Bosomtwi told Joy FM’s Evans Mensah on Top Story that she would not retract what is “factual” and dared the Ghana Health Service to institute legal action against her if she has slandered the Service. Story by Myjoyonline.com/Joy News/Ghana

Media Commission, GJA, others shocked at arrest of Ato Kwamena Dadzie

Kabral Blay Amihere, NMC Chairman   Email   Print Have Your Say ( 107 )         The Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere has expressed disquiet about the charging of Ato Kwamena Dadzie. The Joy FM Acting news editor has been charged under section 208 of the criminal code for false publication intended to cause fear and harm. But the NMC Chairman said a country that prides itself of having the freest media in Africa cannot be seen to be resorting to the use of such draconian laws to suppress the media. He said the country did not achieve that enviable reputation by criminalising freedom of expression. The General Secretary of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Bright Blewu said he was utterly shocked by the turn of events. He said the GJA was calling an emergency meeting to discuss the matter. Mr Blewu said he was confident the Attorney-General's office, to which the case has been referred, will throw the case out because in his view the issue does warrant the intervention of the police. The Executive Secretary of the West Africa for Media Foundation has urged patrons of press freedom to rise up against what he describes as increasing criminalization of comments by media practitioners. According to Prof Kwame Karikari, the trend does not augur well for the country’s young democracy. His statement comes after Ato Kwamena Dadzie, Acting News Editor of Joy FM was charged under section 208 of the criminal code for false publication intended to cause fear and harm. He would be prosecuted after he refused to disclose sources of a news story the station aired a few days ago in which it was reported that members of the Ghana Real Estate Development Agency (GREDA) received threatening text messages to back down on their opposition to a $10 billion housing project that government had entered into with Korea construction firm STX. Dadzie is due for court on Wednesday. But in a reaction, the ace journalist and media consultant Prof Karikari told Super Morning Show host Kojo Oppong Nkrumah the charge is not in the best interest of the country. “For us advocates of press freedom, the critical issue for us here is the sudden use of this particular legislation against the media,” he said citing the example of a similar charge against an NPP activist who was charged under the same law a few months ago. "If a radio station like Joy FM whose reputation every body knows is charged under a law like that then the threat of this law [undermining] press freedom is quite real,” he added. He thought that a government statement dismissing the story was enough as a rebuttal, “but beyond that for the news organization and the journalist to be arraigned before court on this criminal charge, it's not good faith enough on the part of the Ministry of Information in terms of promoting press freedom. He called on government to rethink its position on the use of this law. “It is a bad law for press freedom. It is a bad law for free expression,” he emphasized. He also expressed surprise at the seeming discrimination of the use of the law, given that Mathew Opoku Prempeh, MP for Manhyia has also made similar allegations for which Dadzie has been hauled before court nothing happened to him (Opoku-Prempeh). Story by Malik Abass Daabu & Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

IGP removes INTERPOL-Ghana boss from office

IGP MOVES INTO ACTION

…removes INTERPOL-Ghana boss from office while investigations into the sharing 

of US$49,000 continue

By Aaron Okyere

Unlike his predecessor P.K. Acheampong, the Inspector General of Police, Paul 

Tawiah Quaye, has indicated in practical terms that he would not cover-up for 

police personnel involved in one form of professional misconduct or the other. 

As a result, he has ordered the two bosses of INTERPOL-Ghana, Chief 

Superintendent Amponsah Asiamah and his deputy, Superintendent Peter Abila, to 

step aside while investigations continue into the withdrawal and sharing of the 

$49,000 ransom from the accounts of the Commissioner of CID of the Ghana Police 

Service.

Assistant Superintendent of Police, Nketia Yeboah who is the Third-in-Command at 

this INTERPOL-Ghana has thus been tasked to act as head of the unit. 

Daily Post’sintelligence within the Ghana Police Service says many police 

personnel are happy with the bold steps taken by the IGP to ensure that the two, 

Asiamah and Abila, do not interfere with investigations by the Police 

Intelligence & Professional Standards (PIPS) bureau.

It will be recalled that the Daily Post broke the story about how the 

INTERPOL-Ghana bosses withdrew US$49,000 ransom from the account of the 

Commissioner CID and shared it among themselves.

When the Daily Post interviewed the INTERPOL-Ghana boss, Amponsah Asiamah after 

the case was published, he admitted having the money withdrawn from the bank but 

denied that it has been shared by he and others. He said he has the money with 

him as exhibit to be used in court and thus invited Daily Post’s editorial team 

to come over the next day to see it for themselves.

Yet, two days later, in the Ghanaian Times, a faceless police investigator with 

INTERPOL-Ghana contradicted Amponsah Asiamah’s assertion that the money was in 

his possession when he said the $49,000 had been lodged in the Police 

Commissioner CID account and the money was still there.

Meanwhile, Daily Post intelligence has established that to cover up their act, 

the INTERPOL-Ghana bosses phoned the businessman in Nigeria who paid the ransom 

to come to Ghana for his money.

The businessman paid the ransom of US$100,000 after a dangerous Nigerian 

criminal, Emmanuel Emeka Nwangu ‘M’ and his Ghanaian wife, Patricia, who had 

been working for him, kidnapped his three-year-old daughter and brought her to 

Ghana.

A phone call from the two criminals directed the Nigerian businessman to pay the 

US$100,000 ransom into their Ecobank account which he did. The two then withdrew 

part of the money and deposited it into their Barclays bank account.

INTERPOL-Ghana which was on the heels of the two criminals obtained a court 

order to have the account frozen at the bank. They later took another court 

order to withdraw the money which they deposited into Police CID Commissioner’s 

account and then later cashed all which they shared among themselves.

Meanwhile, two people with Emeka Nwangu who were arrested after they tried to 

withdraw GH¢100,000 from the account were allegedly released after the Nigerian 

criminal sent a bribe of US$9,000 to the police bosses.

Intelligence available to the Daily Post reveals an attempt to muddy the waters 

and confuse Ghanaians by laying the blame of the saga at the door-steps of one 

David, said to be a BNI operative who has been relieved of his job for allegedly 

investigating the case involving the kidnapping of the three-year-old without 

authorization from his bosses.

With the child back safely to her father in Nigeria, the two key issues that are 

begging for answers are the whereabouts of Emeka Nwangu ‘M’ and why the 

INTERPOL-Ghana bosses shared the ransom of US$49,000.00. Investigations 

continue.

Source: Daily Post

Did P.C Appiah-Ofori influence STX withdrawal?

Paul Collins Appiah-Ofori         Government’s decision to withdraw the controversial STX loan agreement from Parliament may have been influenced by advice offered by anti-corruption campaigner P.C. Appiah-Ofori. The debate on the agreement was suspended last Wednesday after the Minority demanded that government furnishes members with some key documents. The MPs argued they would not be able to participate meaningfully in the debate if the joint venture and off-take agreements were not included in the original agreement. The deal was severally criticized by groups and individuals who say it doesn’t serve the national interest even before it went to Parliament for debate. However the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alban Bagbin told Joy News on Thursday that the agreement has been withdrawn pending further discussions with the president. “Listening to the debate and the direction that it was going, I thought that in the national interest it was important to brief the president on the debate, which I did, and the president advised it was essential that all those real issues raised were referred back to the [Finance] Committee [of Parliament] for proper deliberations before submitting it to Parliament again for us to continue with the debate,” he said. Mr Bagbin also conceded that there were some "inaccuracies" and "phrases" in the agreement that did not "represent the true position of the party". But the Member of Parliament for Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa has disclosed to Joy News that it was based on his counsel that the deal was withdrawn from Parliament. He said certain provisions in the deal were “absolutely fraudulent”, adding that ratifying it would have “created hardship for this country”. “So when things were going haywire for them [Majority in Parliament] I went to Honourable Alban Bagbin and counselled him that it is better for them to withdraw it in order to redeem the shame that would afflict them. And I am happy that he came out to announce the withdrawal after he had gone to see the president.” He however noted that the STX deal to build 200,000 housing units was a good one. “Anybody who has read the agreement would be for Ghana because it contains certain provisions which will make Ghana a better nation if such various requirements were made.” Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Sekou Nkrumah sacked!

Dr. Sekou Nkrumah         Dr. Sekou Nkrumah has been sacked as coordinator of the National Youth Council after criticising the leadership style of President Mills. This was confirmed by the deputy Sports Minister Nii Nortey Duah who signed the dismissal letter. The chairman of the Board of the National Youth Council Esther Cobbah, told Joy News the Board took a unanimous decision not to confirm Dr Nkrumah and has communicated its decision verbally to him before issuing out the letter. Citing reasons for the Board's decision, Esther Cobbah said the board was unimpressed with the work done so far by the acting coordinator. She said Dr. Nkrumah "blames everybody else but himself for the shortcomings of the council" in the discharge of his duties, "has not provided any vision or plan for the council" and has shown gross disrespect to the entire membership of the board. She made reference to recent interview Dr Nkrumah granted Joy FM during which he said that government had rejected the National Youth Policy and had directed the Youth and Sports Minister to draft a new policy in two weeks. This she said was untrue, adding the acting chairman did not demonstrate circumspection in his public utterances. The dismissal of Dr Nkrumah takes effect on 22 July, 2010. The chairman of the board said the council requires a new national coordinator but will follow the laid down constitutional procedures. Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Albert Abongo admits accepting gifts from STX but says they were not bribes

Former Works and Housing Minister, Albert Abongo         The former Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Albert Abongo has denied media reports that a 12-member government delegation that endorsed the STX Korea housing deal on behalf of the country in 2009 were bribed with US$2,600 by the Korean company. Mr. Albert Abongo said members of the delegation merely received gifts from the Korean company which cannot be termed as inducement. He said the gifts could not have compromised members of the delegation's judgments in respect of the STX housing deal. The Mail newspaper on Thursday July 15 quoted ‘a source’ as alleging that the delegation that certified STX Korea as capable of executing the housing deal was induced with a sum of US$2,600 each for for member of the delegation for “shopping” by the Korean company. The report further stated that each member of the delegation which included the Minority Leader, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu and Mrs. Cecelia Dapaah from the Minority side of Parliament took the US$2,600 bribe with the exception of a businessman, who refused the bribe. However in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday July 15, Mr Albert Abongo dismissed the report describing it as a complete fabrication. He revealed that what they took were only gifts and not bribes to induce them. “As the story goes, that we took some money is not the case, we were given gifts and those gifts if I can remember, my gifts included some souvenirs of their company, some flags, I was also given a watch and I think I was given a camera too for us to be able to take pictures if I wanted…and I don’t think that these are basically things that can compromise a high government delegation like ours”. According to the former Minister of Water Resources Works and Housing, the story cannot be true because the Minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was not part of his delegation but a later delegation which travelled to Korea separately and added that he cannot vouch for that delegation. “In fact the story mentions the Minority Leader but the Minority Leader was not in our delegation. Another delegation I understand went again and that was headed by the now Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban Bagbin and that delegation had the Minority Leader [as a member] and some members from the other side of the house”. The Ghana government deal with the STX Korea would see the latter building units of housing in the country worth US$10 billion. The project involves the building of 200,000 homes in Ghana by 2015. Meanwhile Parliament is expected to conclude the debate for the STX housing deal today Thursday July 15. Source: Citifmonline.com

NDC FIGHTS OVER ¢2BN DONOR’S CASH

… Konadu’s name pops up

By Simmons Yusif Kewura & Daniel Nonor

Mrs. Rawlings

THE alleged claim by the Wayome brothers (Alfred and Kobby Wayome) and Herbert Mensah, a football administrator, that they financed the last batch of supporters who were airlifted to South Africa to cheer the Black Stars to the tune of $1.5 million, has incurred the wrath of the national leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who are challenging their claim.

A source close to the party told The Chronicle that the trip, which cost GH¢500,000 and not $1.5 million (about ¢2.1 billion), was solely financed from the party coffers and was, therefore, surprised by the claim made by the three that they financed the trip.

The source further told The Chronicle that the Wayomes and Hebert Mensah were only trying to capitalize on the trip to do public relations work for Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, who is eyeing the NDC flag bearer position for the 2012 elections. According to the party source, the three gentlemen just wanted to create the impression that Nana Konadu cared more for the supporters than anyone else.

When The Chronicle contacted Mr. Asiedu  Nketiah, popularly known as ‘General Mosquito’, he said it was the party that sponsored the trip. He, however, refused to go into details because “I’m yet to inform my executive on the total amount used, and for that matter I would not comment further until I meet with them to brief them on the matter.”  The Wayome brothers told this reporter that they were in a meeting, when this reporter contacted them at their South Africa base, to get their side of the story. Though they promised to get back to The Chronicle in two hours time to explain their side of the story, they failed to do so at the time of going to press. However, several attempts to get back to them proved futile, as they failed to pick our call.

The conflicting report as to who sponsored the trip and the amount involved prompted the Progressive Nationalist Forum (PNF), a pressure group, to call on the President to set up a committee to investigate the source of the funds used to finance the trip
Both Hon. Elvis Afryie Ankrah, the deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development and Mr. Yaw Gyan, National Organizer of the NDC, told The Chronicle sometime ago that some individual philanthropists sponsored the stranded NDC Black Stars supporters. But this was sharply challenged when other party bigwigs alleged that some banks, including the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) and National Investment Bank (NIB) were behind the sponsorship.

Meanwhile, reports reaching The Chronicle indicate that over 150 Ghanaian football fans, sponsored by the government to South Africa to support the Black Stars at the ongoing world cup finals have been left stranded, with their chances of returning to Ghana unknown.

The supporters, mainly National Democratic Congress supporters and foot soldiers are said to be leaving at the benevolence of a South African Hotel manager, who is still housing them, even though the contract between them and the Ghanaian officials has expired.
The reports further indicate that, the stranded fans have resorted to selling some of their personal belongings in order to feed themselves, as general conditions at the camp keep deteriorating by the day.

About 430 fans returned on Thursday night while the final batch was expected to arrive in Ghana by Saturday June 26, 2010, as government budgeted for 15 days stay for the fans in South Africa.

Giving an explanation to happenings back in south Africa on Peace FM’s morning show, Hon. Stephen Ackah, MP for Suaman in the Western region and a member of the planning committee,   explained that the fans first arrived in South Africa in a jumbo aircraft, with some 518 passengers on board, but noted that some three other groups later joined them, which automatically inflated the numbers.

According to him, the planning committee had budgeted for 1100 supporters, but also noted that the extra people who joined were accommodated. He explained that the arrangement for the jumbo jet to return the supporters could not materialize, thus compelling officials to transport the supporters in groups.

He added that some supporters who were not on the official list to South Africa managed to get on board the plane, leaving some legitimate ones behind.

Meanwhile, a deputy Minister of information, Samuel Okudzato Ablakwa has told The chronicle that the President has tasked a committee to see to return of the stranded supporters to Ghana. He was emphatic that the supporters would arrive back home at exactly 9.45 pm, today.