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Enemies of the Nation (2)–Raw deal in Tema

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 07:08:31 GMT

"As when the sun' gins his reflection
Shipwracking storms and direful thunder break,
so from that spring whence comfort seem'd to come
discomfort swells" Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 2

Though sunrise promises clear skies suitable for navigation, this very advantage so often turns out to be the cause of shipwrecking storms.

Oh how aptly the above Shakespearean quote describes the case of Destination Inspection Companies, GCNET and an array of importers who operate at the Tema Harbour! Launched amidst lofty hopes and expectations that these would help staunch the profuse bleeding of the Tema Port, Destination Inspection Companies (DICs), the GCNet system and the likes have ended up adding another burdensome layer to the mounting strata of incompetence, negligence and downright fraud that is plaguing Ghana’s potential breadbasket, thus threatening to wreck the boat of national development. The Customs Excise and Preventive Service, charged to keep the boat afloat, joins in the fray with reckless abandon of its mandate.

Aside the daily cases of bribery, corruption and other illegalities uncovered among clearing agents and CEPS officers at the port, there were multiple cases of fraud and mismanagement perpetrated by some institutions, under the watch of the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) at the Tema Harbour.

The New crusading Guide’s investigations revealed that Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet), Destination Inspection Companies (DICs) and a number of private companies were at the foreground of several acts of corruption and collusion within the port system. The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) is not left out in this case.

CEPS, which manages the activities of GCNet, Destination Inspection Companies as well as companies that transact business at the port, appears to have failed in discharging its duties. As a result, the cheating and corruption have become a free-for-all affair for the companies. The lack of an effective policing regime by CEPS in the revenue mobilization drive has led to miscreants evading tax with cheeky ease.

A look at the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS), a repository of all transactions engaged in by both genuine and dubious businesspersons across the country, showed a plethora of shady deals such as tax evasion, partial and full exemption grants. There was also evidence of other antics employed by companies to rob the nation. This is usually done with the assistance of CEPS officers.

The New Crusading Guide’s assessment of the electronic system showed dubious transactions by some officers who circumvent the rules to facilitate minimal or no duty payment, when short collections are identified. For instance, a tabular representation of the situation which we examined indicated that deliberate attempts are made by some of these CEPS officers to engage in transactions without the use of the electronic system:

Thus, in a particular situation, the records we perused stated that “on one occasion a supervisor asked an Examination Officer to release goods against a cheque of GH¢3,663.37. To date, there is no evidence in the system of the payment of the short collection of GH¢3,663.37 assessed”.

Another record uncovered shows that, “A Supervisor instructed an Examination Officer to release the goods because he (Supervisor) has secured the short collection of GH¢16,882.98. No evidence in system of short collection supposedly secured was paid and many more examples of deliberate manipulation of the system to cheat the state by some companies and their CEPS officer cronies”.
The many acts of corruption by CEPS, have produced a trickling effect on Destination Inspection companies, Importers and GCNet.

DESTINATION INSPECTION COMPANIES AND THEIR ACHILLE’S HEEL

In the past, people colluded with their various suppliers to reduce the value of invoices to ensure that they pay low taxes at the port. To check this, government brought in Destination Inspection Companies whose task was to check and find out the real values of goods imported into the country. DICs are paid 1% of cost plus insurance and freight on every import transaction.

Instead of concentrating on the terms of their agreement, some DICs have over the past few years been found to be cheating on the system through under-classification, misclassification and over classification of items. The New Crusading GUIDE therefore moved in to find out the truth about the situation.

Posing as an importer, our investigative reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, looked into how destination inspection companies work. The key issues The New Crusading GUIDE wanted to unearth were whether or not the charges by these DICs was commensurate with the services they provide; whether or not the DICs were discharging the duties for which the state had contracted them.

The paper imported a container of assorted goods under the name Hakim Dufour of an imaginary Emmanuel Tiger Shipping. A 1X 20 container STC with registration number IPXU3302534 and a seal number TSK1460655 were imported and cleared by our reporter. The container was laden with 300 cartons of sterilized chocolate milk with a gross weight of 3465, 00 kg; 500 cartons of sterilized peach and mango milk also with a gross weight of 5775, 00 kg and 800 cartons of sterilized strawberry milk of 9240,00 kg gross.

Though the original invoice would have required a payment of 14, 654.27 Ghana Cedis, an invoice was deliberately prepared by our undercover reporter to test the efficiency or otherwise of the system. The fake invoice bore a smaller amount to see whether the DI Company would be able to detect the fraud. We tended it in to the DI Company, but they could not detect the fraud. We successfully evaded 30% tax which should have gone to the state. Now, just imagine the thousands of transactions which go on with these DICs every day. If everybody is evading 30% tax, it definitely leads to the loss of billions of cedis.

What is interesting is that Customs officials are sometimes able to detect the fraud by looking at the values, but instead of checking the anomaly, most of them prefer getting their palms greased. DICs have also been found on the electronic system, using wrong HS or CPC codes in making declarations. These codes help to determine a duty rate of 5, 10, 20 or 30 per cent applicable to a particular transaction.

… OF THE GHANA LINKs, GSLs, BIVACs

Instances of wrong tactics employed by some DIs to cheat the system include the classification by Gateway Services Limited (GSL) of boiler pipes under an HS number which is zero rated for Duty and VAT, instead of the right one which attracts 10% duty and 12.5% VAT, resulting in a ¢56.329 million shortfall. On another occasion, GSL wrongly classified Latex gloves under an HS of 10% instead of one that attracts 20%.

There was also the usage by Ghana Link of wrong HS code attracting a10% duty for vinyl artificial leather instead of one that attracts a 20% duty.
Also, there was wrong classification of a consignment of waste paper from Belgium under an HS number which is zero rated, instead of being entered as one which is 20% dutiable.

GSL wrongly classified Jag Bitter alcohol under an HS number of less value instead of one which attracts a special tax of 20%. Then, there was also the classification of floor panels from the United Kingdom under an HS number at a duty rate of 10% instead of an HS number which attracts 20%.

Another wrong classification was made on woven mesh from China, using a zero rated code instead of the correct duty rate of 10%. There was also a classification of GSM copier paper; wrongly using a 10% rated code instead of the required 20%.

There was also the case of BIVAC. Records show a Classification of vertical blind fabric from south Africa under HS 3925300000(10%) instead of HS 63039200000(20%) by BIVAC. These acts form the crux of acts of corruption perpetrated by DICs.

THE BIZZARE TALE OF SERVISTAR, B5, AGRO DELTA COMPANIES

The first to hit our eyes when we dived into the electronic System was a company called Servister, an importer of frozen poultry, fish and meat products. We discovered that this company had devised strategies for evading tax worth millions of cedis on its imports. After importing the products, Servister protests that the values on the Final Classification and Valuation Reports (FCVR) from the inspection companies were too high. Subsequently, they applied for permission to clear the products “on permit”, pending the outcome of their petition to the DIC.

This action is in contravention of the laid down procedure, which stipulates that the goods must be valued and assessed based on the Transaction Price Database (TPD), supplied to CEPS by the appropriate Destination Inspection Companies. A deposit representing 150% on the assessed duties and taxes payable is taken by CEPS before the permit is issued.

The New Crusading GUIDE however, discovered that no evidence exists on the GCMS to show that this deposit had been taken by CEPS Tema in respect of all the permit transactions involving Servister. With the permit granted, the goods end up being sold on the market, with the appropriate import duty unpaid. If Servister had actually paid the correct deposit, which is usually in excess of the actual duties payable, they would have perfected those permits in order to recoup the excess deposited.

The company however skillfully paid only on the basis of their invoice values, not on FCVR or TPD values. Out of 881 transactions done by Servister only four had FCVR values. A careful scrutiny of the four transactions for which they went for FCVR indicates that those FCVR’s, though questionable, always uplifted the invoice values, making Servister to pay higher duties and taxes. To avoid paying the right duties the FCVR portions of their declarations on the database read like this is a very skillful way of evading tax.

In 2006 alone, Servister allegedly evaded tax in the region of millions of cedis with the connivance of CEPS officials who were expected to check this.

In comparison with similar products imported from the same region at the same level of quantity and cleared around the same time by another company, we found out that Francopat, a sister company, was paying higher values in taxes than Servister.

The situation goes further in the area of canned mackerels imported from the same place at the same period of time; having the same quantity and quality. There were huge disparities in the assessment of values. Steel Sheets, Milk Products, Batteries, Cooking Oil, Tyres, Fish, Fridges/Freezers were some of the products that importers have found dodgy ways of milking the state dry through tax evasion.

For instance, Agro Delta brings in cooking oil; they claim they process that as soap. They pay less value for that under the guise of processing. But when we hit the market, we realized that they were busily selling it as edible cooking oil instead of using it for soap. Who is investigating this company? All these evidence exist on the electronic system.

In 2010, FOB on unperfected declarations came to GHC103, 755,276 (about US$ 74,110,907). The projected amount that could have been recovered based on this FOB should have been GHC4, 162,784 (about US$ 2,973,417).

TOO MANY EXEMPTIONS

The scale of both partial and full exemptions has been growing in the country, with devastating effect on revenue collection. In 2005, a total of 1.649 trillion cedis was granted as exemptions at Ghana’s main ports. By the end of 2006, however, it had shot up to a total of GHc1, 125,124,115,114 . In 2009 an approximate amount of 815 million cedis and an equivalent of 545 million dollars was forgone in tax exemptions.

Agencies and individuals that benefited from exemptions were varied. They included manufacturing concerns, free zone operators, NGOs, mining companies, construction firms, and MDAs.

Nestle Ghana Limited imported approximately ¢555.728 billion CIF (US$61.069 million) worth of finished products. The duty/tax exempted on these imports amounted to ¢82.678 billion (US$ 9.085 million), an approximate increase of 83 percent over the total exemption of US$4.969 million that Nestle received in 2004 for its imports amounting to ¢488.728 billion (US$54.333 million) CIF.

Messrs Smart City Holdings Limited received partial exemptions amounting to ¢9.951 billion (approx. US$1.093 million) for its importation of bathroom slippers and polythene bags from Nigeria. This amount represents a 96 percent increase over a similar exemption (i.e. US$558,171) for the importation of similar items, which amounted to ¢25.53 billion (or approximately US$2.85 million CIF), that was granted the company in 2004.

Mis-discriptions, misclassification and undervaluation of imported goods on the Electronic System constituted the major source of revenue leakages. New goods (eg. tyres or electronic items) were declared as used, or the sizes or specifications deliberately mis-described (eg. Rim 17 tyres declared as rim 14 or 21” TV sets described as 14”TVs) Superior types of goods declared as a low quality products (eg. Porcelain tiles declared as ceramic tiles), or the actual quantity mis-described (eg. 3,888 sq. metres declared instead of the actual 5,104 sq. metres imported).

480 undeclared Sollatek AVS stabilizers that were found among a consignment of UPS and multi-guards from China; 16,144 kg of used clothing that were not declared in one particular container; 1,000 dozens kitchen towels that were not declared in a consignment from China. smuggling goods out of the ports. Two such prominent cases were the attempt to smuggle two containers from the Tema port, and the attempt to smuggle 2,566 mobile phones out of the AFGO Village at the Kotoka International Airport.

FAILURES OF THE WATCHMAN

GCNet operates the electronic system for processing trade and customs documents in Ghana. This electronic system, which has been provided by the state, is a database of the description and value of all goods that have been landed and have been cleared in the country and their respective duties and taxes paid.

It contains all transactions engaged in by both genuine and dubious businesspersons across the length and breadth of the country. It is only a select few of special people who know the secrets and can interpret the electronic system.

Although the system has been very efficient since its introduction into operations at the Harbour, The New Crusading GUIDE uncovered that GCNet has over the years failed to check reported cases of fraud which are detrimental to country’s revenue mobilization efforts.
GCNet’s running of the system has being quite successful until the discoveries of fraud in what has since been tagged as the “Elliot Ansah saga”.

Young Elliot went into the system one day and deleted records of some companies who were supposed to be indebted to the state. Though the GCnet control `system is so robust that any such attempt must be detected, it took CEPS to blow the whistle on Elliot’s activities. Elliot, after he was found out, submitted a letter of resignation and left the shores of Ghana without anybody arresting him.

Management of GCNet never gave reasons for arresting not Elliot, but only said they “have reported the matter to the Serious Fraud Office”.

In the company’s response to a questionnaire from The New Crusading GUIDE, GCNet indicated, that “had the anomaly not been detected at, the nation would have lost an estimated amount of GH¢29,000”. This however contradicted our checks, which indicated that the state would have incurred a greater lost than GCNet’s estimates.

CEPS ANIPA ENGAGES IN A MERRY-GO-ROUND GIMMICK

After we came across these anomalies in the system, the Deputy Commissioner of CEPS in charge of Public Relations, Annie Anipa, was contacted for an official response on some of the discoveries we made at the harbour.

The Deputy CEPS Commissioner requested for a questionnaire which was readily provided. We however found some of her responses unsatisfactory and called for a follow-up interview to clarify some points raised.

When we called to arrange a time for the interview, Annie Anipa said she was busy with other needs and needed time to prepare for the interview. Two weeks later [two days ago] she called for the interview. We got to her office for the scheduled time of 11am, but when we called, she refused to pick up.

As the chief institution in charge of Revenue mobilization for the nation, CEPS has once again fallen short in offering reasons for the apparent rot that is hemorrhaging Ghana’s tax system. Actions, such as those exhibited by Annie Anipa remain a tip of the iceberg in efforts to absolve CEPS from its responsibilities.

In our next issue, we bring you details of how Business Tycoons improve their lot through deals with CEPS officials to influence the auctioning of goods at the Tema Harbour. Be prepared for insiders’ account of how key CEPS officials sign contracts with business people to provide them with goods for a fee. Here, the much talked about auctioning process and gazettes are used as smokescreens to mislead the public. Stay tuned.

Source: The Crusading Guide

Heavy Duty Trucks Banned After 6 p.m. Country�wide

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:15:00 GMT

The Police Administration has banned the movement of heavy duty trucks country-wide after 6p.m. as part of measures to curb the carnage on the country’s roads.

After 6p.m., all checkpoints across the country are supposed to order every heavy duty truck to park and display triangles and reflectors till 6a.m. the following day,

These were contained in a directive from the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye, to all Regional Police Commanders in the country.

The directive said the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Service, in collaboration with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), was also to conduct a thorough examination of all trucks and offenders should be prosecuted. It said all long heavy duty and cargo trucks were supposed to park before 6 p.m. in an acceptable manner and completely off the road with enough reflectors to warn other road users.

Regional commanders across the country, it said, were to ensure strict enforcement of the directive, adding that offenders should be dealt with in accordance with the law. It also directed regional commands to come up with special operations on Fridays to ensure that the roads were free from careless parking and driving.

The Western Regional Police Commander, Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, told the Daily Graphic that the directive indicated that there were various rest sports on the highways and that drivers should be mindful of the time to ensure that they pull over to these places before 6 p.m. and park safely till the following day.

He said the enforcement of the directive in the region started yesterday.

“Today we pulled over 200 vehicles before 6 p.m. and ensured that they parked safely,” he said.

Alhaji Mahama noted that most of the drives who were stopped looked tired.

Source: Daily Graphic

(KLEFE) HO : Dev�t Association donates computers to school

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:21:44 GMT


Computers

Klefe Youth Development Association (KYDA) has presented seven flat screen desk-top computers with accessories to Klefe-Atsatime and Klefe-Dome Juniour High Schools.

The computers are to help build a firm foundation in Information Communication Technology (ICT) of students in the area.

Dr Prosper Nude, President of KYDA who presented the items, commended teachers in the two schools for helping to improve academic performance of students in the area.

“We are grateful to our teachers for restoring Klefe to its enviable position with best grades in external exams in the Municipal area and we can only hope for more wonders in future Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results,” he said.

Dr Nude urged the students to put more effort into their education and desist from boycotting classes for farms.

The Reverend Japhet Yaw Ledo, Klefe Education Reform Committee Chairman, said heights attained by famous people were through hard work and appealed to students from Klefe to persevere in their academic pursuits.

Mr Dotse Charles Kwasi, the Headmaster of Klefe-Atsatime who received the items on behalf of the schools, expressed gratitude to the Association and assured that the donation would challenge them to do better than the 95 per cent chalked in the 2010 BECE.

Togbe Afele Dzaga X, the Paramount Chief of Klefe Traditional Area in a speech read on his behalf, advised students to desist from roaming the streets at night and make good use of their time.

GNA

NATIONAL :Ghana tours America.

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 11:15:22 GMT


ghana- usa flag

Top-notched Pan-Africa musicians from Ghana are set for artistic performances in North America this year. Together with a group of eminent chiefs, cultural and tourist administrators, media personnel, trade specialists, and business executives, they will be leaving Ghana, for a three (3) month tour to the United States of America and Canada respectively.

The performances will take place during a tour in June and August 2011 as part of the celebrations of Ghana at 54 Independence Family Anniversary which is on March 6, 2011.

The tour dubbed, “MOPATOUR: Ghana-Living The Dream”, with the theme: “Ghana is Calling”, and sub-theme: “Living As One” would seek to create conducive environment for greater trade and investment as the basic international strategy for managing economic and natural resources effectively, to loosen the grips of poverty in Africa. It would also help strengthen ties between the Ghanaian youth, and other Africans in the Diaspora.

According to the President/ Tour coordinator, Ras Caleb Appiah-Levi said, this would create a platform to mould and make Ghanaians in the Diaspora disseminate their cultures and traditions to the up-coming Ghanaian-American, Ghanaian-Canadian and Ghanaian-Caribbean generations.

He said, it would enhance their knowledge, as well as encourage and instill a sense of appreciation; and, as such, create a positive Ghanaian and African image in the “roots of all rich cultures and traditions” of Ghana and Africa. During the tour, important topics as the Anniversary of Ghana’s Independence, the African Renaissance project; Agriculture and Food Security projects among other topics would be dilated on.

The project is being organized and promoted by NGO and corporate partners Panafrica-Ghana, Prodigy International Productions Association, Fujotek Limited, African Centre For Human Development and Partners in North America and Africa under the joint auspices of the World Council of Panafrican Organizations (PANAFRICA) and AGOA Training Centre Africa (ATCA) respectively,he mentioned.

He stated that some of the musicians to perform are, Simigwahene Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Abrantie Amakye Dede, Ras Caleb Appiah-Levi & His Ethiopian Idrins, Wind Afrique Band, Abankaba Cultural Troupe, Paulina Oduro, Della Hayes & Dzesi (Women of Color Band), Bessa Simons, Jackie Ankrah-Annan, Afro, Kaksey, Steve Bedi, and Moonlight (all based in Ghana); Kwesi Selassie (based in Canada), Kwame Bediako and Selasee Atiase (all based in the USA).

They would be supported by their American counterparts such as Actor-Singer-Guitarist Steven Seagal (Los Angeles, California), Infrared Rockers Band (St. Louis, Missouri), Auntie Niambi Shalewa (Chicago), Ray Greene (Boston, Massachusetts), Burning Spear (New York, NY) and Ras Matunji (Cleveland, Ohio), who will perform as Special Guests

Ghanaian and African musicians, and people from the music, culture and arts industries will also gather in Ghana, West Africa to launch a proposed “Give Your Heart To Africa Consolidated Relief Fund”, and a “Healing Africa Tour” project to support Africa’s union and development. Artistic and cultural performers representing the fifty-five (55) African States will gather to perform in homage and tribute to Africa in our quest for a Union of African States.

.In the USA, the tour will take the delegates to ten (10) States and fifteen (15) cities including Washington (District of Columbia), New York (New York), St. Louis and O’Fallon (Missouri), Columbus, Cleveland and Garfield Heights (Ohio), Chicago (Illinois), Atlanta (Georgia), Dallas and Houston (Texas), Los Angeles and San Francisco (California), Boston (Massachusetts), and Detroit (Michigan). The tour to Canada will be to Toronto and Ottawa (Ontario), and Montreal (Quebec), respectively, he concluded.

AMA /GHANADISTRICTS

NATIONAL : Cholera outbreak : 3 dead 48 hospitalized

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:56:08 GMT


Hospital ward

The cholera outbreak reported in parts of the country by the Ghana Health Service, has claimed three lives in the Greater Accra Region.

The Region has so far recorded 48 cases.

Deputy Director of the Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Edward Antwi confirmed the deaths to Citi News.

The Ghana Health Service last week confirmed the outbreak in parts of the country.

It has thus cautioned the public to take precautionary measures to avoid contamination.

Some of the measures include eating cooked food while it is still hot and washing hands with soap before eating.

According to Dr. Edward Antwi the Greater Accra Region is recording more of the cases.

Unfortunately we are seeing more cases. Last Monday we had reported 22 cases of Cholera across the Region. But as at the close of Thursday, the number has risen to 48. Whiles we appreciate the fact that people with the disease should report to the Clinic or Hospitals for treatment, we also want the public to know that we are not out of the danger yet, so people should keep to the preventive measures of washing hands with soap and water before they eat or come out of the toilet” he urged.

“People must maintain environmental hygiene. But more importantly, anyone with Diarrhea must rush immediately to a hospital or clinic for treatment”.

Also in the Central Region, one person has been confirmed dead at Agona Swedru with 45 others receiving treatment.

citifmonline.com

CAPE COAST : Anti–accident movement launched in Cape Coast

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:54:10 GMT


An accident scene

An NGO, Movement Against Accidents has been inaugurated in Cape Coast.

It is dedicated to the memory of Francis Pius Donkoh, a 7 year old boy who was killed by an articulator truck at Kwesimintsim near Takoradi recently.

The Catholic Archbishop of Cape Coast, Most Rev. Mathias Kobina Nketsia who performed the ceremony said Movement Against Accidents will send strong messages to complement the educational campaign to stop the carnage on the roads.

GBC
AA

HO : No robbery in Ho in six months

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:51:07 GMT


Robbery

The Volta Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police David Nenyi Ampah-Bennin, has said that for the past six months the Ho Municipal area had not had any armed robbery.

The region recorded 12 robberies in the fourth quarter of last year as against seven cases in the third quarter of the same year.

Mr Ampah-Bennin told the GNA that highway robbery had reduced drastically and that efforts were being made to reduce all forms of robberies to the barest minimum.

“This year will be an action year for us against criminals, road traffic offenders and people who deal in illegal drugs,” Mr Ampah-Bennin said.

Mr Ampah-Bennin said police in the region were devising innovative ways to combat crime and maintain peace for the region’s accelerated development and called for support from the general public.

“We thank the public for its support over the years but we need more of such support especially information on criminals so we can arrest them,” he said.

GNA
AA

Fellow �Akatamansonias�; Let�s Speak The Truth And Stand Up For Principles!!

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:52:27 GMT

Fellow “Akatamansonias’; Let’s Speak The Truth And Stand Up For Principles!!

Am I the only guy in the NDC who’s fed up with what is happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody traitor. We have gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, We’ve got people who has no idea where we are going leading us blind, and we can’t even tell the truth and stand up for principle much less tell the President, he is failing us. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “stay the course.”“Stay on which course?” You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize our party anymore. The President of Ghana who is also the leader of our great party is given a free pass to ignore party structures, divide our ranks, and look on unconcerned whiles babies in diapers berate the founder like nobody’s business.

While we’re fiddling with governance, the party is disintegrating and nobody seems to know what to do. And many of our people are looking on instead of asking hard questions. That’s not the promise of NDC our founder toil for. I’ve had enough. How about you?

A few fellow party activists who are blinded by petty parochial interest tell me to calm down and leave the rage for the opposition. They say, “Dela, you’re a party activist and you don’t have to wash our dirty linen in public.” I d love to – as soon as the President put on his thinking cup and start living the ideals, principles, values and idiosyncrasies of the NDC. I’m going to speak up because it’s my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as straight shooter. So I’ll tell you how I see it, and it’s not pretty, but at least it’s real.

Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this leadership? Well, we voted for them- or at least some of us did. But I’ll tell you what we didn’t do. We didn’t agree to become gaping sycophants and praise poets. We didn’t agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are tired with people who call free speech treason. And don’t tell me the fault lies in our stars or what have you. That’s an intellectually lazy argument, and it’s part of the reason we’re in this stew.

Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Jerry Rawlings? What happened to courageous leadership? There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?

Is there a good justification for why a government that won an election so narrowly should consciously marginalize so many among its core supporters? The Presidency have adopted divide and rule tactics and have also introduced exclusionism into the party. It is either you sing the chorus of “all is well” or to hell with you. Woe betides you if you dare offer constructive criticisms of the Mills’ administration. You are either label anti-NDC or “Rawlings Boy” The Presidency has suddenly targeted some ardent NDC supporters as Rawlings boys and girls who are rather out to destroy the party. During the recent pilgrimage to Mecca, some of our Muslim brothers and sisters even suffered the brunt of these unruly politicians on the basis that, they belong to Rawlings camp. According to President Mills and his cronies, no one is supposed to be sympathetic to Rawlings any longer because he is now in charge. How interesting can it get? And they want us to be silent over these matters.

I will never allow my voice to be stifled by those who wish I was never born to take position on issues that speak to the afflictions of my dearest party and nation.

Since President Mills won power promising ‘Better Ghana”, we have seen the adoption of a canker that was best identified with the NPP and which will destroy our party if not stopped. We witnessed the abuse of our internal electoral process through the distribution of money to sway the delegates to vote in certain directions in our constituency, regional, women, youth and even the national delegate conference in Tamale. Some of the elements who have emerged through this abominable syndrome are even unfit for party office. No wonder the likes of Ludwig Hlodze, the National Youth Organizer is unable to fashion out a credible programme to empower many of our activists who have lost faith with the system. Do we have to auction party positions and other appointments to the highest bidder? Since when did “Moneycracy” become part of NDC politics?

Whilst “the better Ghana agenda” is increasingly becoming a mirage by the day, “A better Stomach Agenda” is being practiced openly by the likes of Ato Ahwoi, John Mahama and other power mongers hovering around the presidency. Some are quietly rebuilding their financial kingdoms as the President snores while government PR machinery simply hallucinates and churns out one goof after another.

What does social democracy mean to our political leaders? What is the value of a governing concept that promises equitable distribution of resources, yet rewards a few greedy elites, and selected party patrons, with pillages while the majority bear the wrinkles of social adversity? How do we tell our nation’s children to cultivate morality when, in fact, we glamorize a vice president who has consistently shown gross indiscipline towards the founder? How can a leader of a nation lecture his citizens on fiscal frugality, and responsibility, yet his appointee’s displays unbridled opulence at the expense of the state?

Over the past few months, we have also seen the likes of Nii Lante Vanderpujie, an aide to the President, Yaw Boateng Gyan, national Organizer and other misguided persons from the Presidency travelling from region to region using the powers of the Executive to indulge in dishonest and dishonourable behavior by summoning party executives, telling stories, bad mouthing the founder and his wife, spreading falsehood and promising them vehicles, motorbikes, cash and other incentives in exchange for their silence. Can we survive on the path that we are treading?

We have allowed the euphoria and political adrenalin that greeted the uprooting of the NPP to dissipate because we have failed to pursue the agenda the electorate voted for. As a party in power we have failed to inspire. Some who should know better have chosen to sponsor the decimation and total obliteration of the ideals, values, principles and the idiosyncrasies of the party. We have failed to recognize the fact that the status quo that the NPP left behind is still intact. We have also failed to correct the wrongs of the past, they have become emboldened and Kufuor can look into Mills’ face and accuse him of corruption. Where lies our moral mandate?

Why should we continue to use the mistakes of the past administration to rationalize the growing failures of today? While there were some policy missteps and unbridled corruption under the NPP administration, the current government cannot sanitize its failures by juxtaposing them with the governing flaws of the erstwhile administration. The nation chose the NDC government with the thinking that they could offer a better alternative to the NPP administration. Sadly, we are confronted with arrogance, duplicity, waste, “moneycracy”, corruption, hypocrisy and colorful lies.

I mourn over the lack of consciousness among some of our leaders, our needless justification of government policies and an elitist conduct that puts our freedoms and dignity at risk. What has become of us? Were we not united people under one umbrella? Was not Rawlings’ NDC the party that raised the standard of governance in this country? When did the NDC that was blessed with competent leaders start producing rulers with weak characters? The real problem in the NDC is the battle between Truth and lies and it is the later that will be defeated finally for peace to prevail. Ghanaians know that the country’s problem cannot be solved in the term of a President (be it 4 or 8 years). However, it is the approach that is adopted, the urgency with which problems are tackled, the willingness to spend political capital to make structural changes and the modesty and selflessness displayed in discharging the mandate that would be noted in passing judgment on the government performance either at a polls or when its legacy is being assessed.

Every single member or sympathizer of the NDC has the responsibility to help government succeed or fail. If we choose not to criticize the obvious in the name of protecting the party or some personalities, we would be doing more harm than good.

I may come across, to some, as someone who is anti- establishment. But do I really? I wish those who don’t understand the perspicuity of a revolutionary mind would take some time to engage it, and not muddy their fine thoughts by hurling expletives at me; a trademark that is not uncommon to an average lying sycophant. Let’s free ourselves from a neocolonial mindset that adulates the impositions of an indigenous leadership whose vision for our party, and prescriptions for our nation’s many afflictions, far outweigh the economic diseases their groundbreaking policies seek to cure. We are deafened by, and tired of, the incoherence, and inconsistencies, of a leadership that lack self-expression on our nation’s future, yet snort like overweight piglets in anticipation for another four-year term in office.

The party gave birth to government and not vice-versa. The party therefore needs to hold government together and ensure that it develops policies that protect the lofty ideals of the NDC.

Enough Said!

I shall be back!

Drivers are persons too

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:38:52 GMT

I once met a Ghanaian medical doctor who was working as a taxi driver in Toronto. He needed the money to pay his way through school so he could get a qualifying certificate to practice in Canada. That was in 2007.In 2008, I met a Ghanaian architect who was also driving a cab in Washington DC. He had gotten so frustrated here he decided to immigrate. America has treated him well and as he grows older, he’s contemplating returning home. Having driven a cab for more than a decade, he has built three houses in Accra and has garnered sufficient capital to return home to, possibly, start his own practice.

Somewhere in 2001, as I sat in a ‘trotro’ at Adenta waiting for it to fill up I saw that the driver was reading TIME magazine. He would occasionally shake his head and smile to himself. Curious, I asked what he was reading. That sparked a very revealing conversation. He told me that he was a marine engineer in Germany. He had come home on vacation and he likes to drive the ‘trotro’ he had bought for his mother because the passengers help him “to test the pulse of the nation.”

Can anyone tell me that none of these three men could one day become ministers of state? Only a fool would think that it is wrong for anyone who once worked as a taxi driver to be given a ministerial appointment. If a bar keeper has been appointed a minister – and we are told she’s still a member of the team – why can’t a (former) taxi driver occupy the same position?

…I am warming up…

source: atokd.com

Rawlings would be a Pastor � Duncan Williams declares

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:31:27 GMT

Former President Rawlings

Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, founder and leader of the Action Faith Ministries, says God has told him that former President Jerry Rawlings would become a Christian priest in the near future.

Duncan-Williams, speaking at the 31st December watch night service to cross over into 2011 said he was speaking prophetically and that it was because of the call of God on the life of Jerry Rawlings, that he, Duncan, had stayed close to the former first family.

“I tell you and I am speaking prophetically that this man [Rawlings] would end as a pastor…And I have known this for a long time…you just wait and see”, the Archbishop noted and revealed further that Rawlings himself is very much aware of this “call” on his life and for that reason once upon a time, enrolled into a seminary to become a pastor but dropped out of the program under rather inexplicable circumstances.

Jerry Rawlings, who had attended the church service with his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, was by then standing on the Altar and facing the several thousands of church members.

When given as opportunity to address the congregation, the former President confirmed that he has a craving for doing God’s work and expressed the hope that he would either start his own church or join the Action Faith Ministries when the appointed time for him to start his ministry comes.

The former President, a communicant of the Catholic Church, has over the decades mentioned in his speeches the need for people to have the fear of God. He has however contradicted himself on countless occasions by his reference to deities and daring his critics to swear by river gods.

Duncan-Williams commands a large following and respect in Christian circles but despite his prophecy of Jerry Rawlings, not many Ghanaian perceive the ex-President as one who himself has the fear of God.

He has been widely accused of orchestrating several abductions and assassinations during the nineteen plus years he served as Ghana’s Head of State.

Source: DAYBREAK

Doctor dismissed for refusing to attend to patient

Fri, 7 Jan 2011 07:05:35 GMT

A medical doctor, who refused to attend to a patient at the Cocoa Clinic at Bubuashie in Accra, has been dismissed.

The Management of the Cocoa Clinic dismissed Dr. G. Osei who refused to attend to the patient who was rushed to the Clinic at midnight of 2nd December, 2010 during his duty hours in the Clinic.

Management said a committee which investigated the allegation established that Dr. Osei did not attend to Mrs. Irene Essumin when her husband brought her to the facility on the said date.

Asempa News on the 24th December, 2010, broke the story which prompted the hospital authorities to investigate it.

The patient and the husband, Pastor Evans Essumin had alleged that several calls by the two nurses on duty at the time for Doctor Osei to attend to Mrs. Essumin proved futile which compelled them to go home unattended to.

Pastor Essumin said the two nurses-Regina and Emmanuel- who attended to them, needed the doctor to prescribe a medication but several calls and banging on the doctor’s office door, would not persuade him to come out.

Fortunately, the patient survived the cruelty of Dr. Osei.

The Administrator of the Cocoa Clinic Gyau Mensah told Asempa News that, the attitude of Dr. Osei is in contravention to their mission statement and must not be accepted in the health profession, hence the decision to dismiss the him.

Management of Cocoa Clinic has also rendered apologies to Mrs. Irene Essumin and her husband Pastor Evans.

Mr. Mensah therefore assured the public that Cocoa Clinic would continue to deliver good health services to the general public.

He also apologized for what Dr. Osei did and promised that the Clinic is doing all it can to ensure that such a thing does not occur again.

Meanwhile, the Vice President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr. Kwabena Opoku-Adusei, has described Dr. Osei’s behavior as a breach of contract.

Dr. Opoku-Adusei said the doctor signed a contract to work for the clinic which he breached and could have resulted in the death of the patient.

Dr. Opoku-Adusei hailed Asempa FM for following the issue until action had been taken against the doctor.

NDC footsoldiers chase out 2 DCEs

Fri, 7 Jan 2011 06:02:27 GMT

Incensed youth of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Jacobu in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region went on rampage on Tuesday night after storming the residence of the District Chief Executive (DCE), Robert Fokuo, in a bid to beat him up.

The DCE was however not at home at the time, but the marauding youth, who were said to be wielding dangerous weapons and determined to teach the President's representative a bitter lesson, allegedly vandalized the house and beat the DCE's watchman, Kwame Appiah; after seizing his mobile phone and wrist-watch.

Three terrified children of the DCE, who hid to escape the wrath of the attackers, managed to call the police.

This led to the arrest of four foot-soldiers who were identified as Kingsley Ennin, District National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) Coordinator, who is also the Constituency Youth Organizer of the NDC; Evans Yeboah, District NADMO boss: as well as Yaw Bio and Razark Ali, who came from Anwiankwanta to join in the rampage.

Bekwai Divisional Police Commander, Chief Supt. Comfort Boateng who confirmed the incident to Daily Guide, said some members of the group escaped arrest but they would be tracked down to face prosecution.

She confirmed that the unfortunate incident happened around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday at a time Hon. Robert Fokuo was away in Kumasi.

"They forced their way into the house after banging on the main gate until it was opened. They attacked the DCE's security man and later vandalized the place by smashing and breaking louvre blades and doors to the corridor and the main hall," the police boss told journalists.

She disclosed that the gang embarked on the 'operation' with an unregistered motorbike and a taxi cab with registration number AS 6653 X, which were currently in the custody of the police.

Daily Guide gathered that the irate youth were infuriated by a sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of a market at Jacobu, which the NDC youth had warned the DCE against, because the area was perceived to be a stronghold of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NIT).

"The action follows an accusation also that the DCE had failed to help the bid of NDC members that contested the just-ended District Assembly level elections in the area, and the fact that he did not share the funding money of the project with them as party members," one of the sources revealed.

The DCE, when contacted, declined to comment on the issue.

In a related development, The District Chief Executive (DCE) for West Mamprusi, Laud Sulley Abudu Zakaria's decision to run out of his district in the early hours of Wednesday January 5, 2011, saved him from being lynched or maimed by some angry foot-soldiers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

But a member of the group warned: "We will chase the DCE anywhere we meet him."

The fuming foot-soldiers, who were wielding sharp implements and clubs, marched, alongside some leading members and constituency executives of the party, through the streets of Walewale, as they chanted war songs and openly insulted the DCE amidst threats that they would cause harm should they meet him in or outside his office.

The angry NDC faithful, numbering over 500, marched to the office of the West Mamprusi District Assembly with the intention of forcing their way into the office of the DCE, Laud Sulley Abudu Zakari, but came against a strong opposition from about 40 armed police officers who had stormed the district from Tamale.

A police source also told Daily Guide that the DCE had lost the support and cooperation of the District Police Management and personnel, due to the continuous humiliation and insults he piled on them. The same applied to other key security personnel in the district.

A petition presented to the District Coordinating Director, Alhassan Ziblim Al-Hassan, for onward submission to the Regional Minister and other stakeholders demanded the immediate removal of the DCE from office.

The party members and executives, in that petition, resolved that the official Nissan Navara pick-up being used by the DCE should be parked before the close of work on January 5, 2011.

Failure to do this, they warned, would result in serious consequences for the party, as the Executives had sworn to withdraw their services until an action was taken against the DCE.

Spokesperson for the group, Sulemana Mutaka, said the various youth groups of the party in the district had been very calm in the face of several provocations and gross disrespect toward the Constituency Executives and other leading members in the West Mamprusi district because of their loyalty to the NDC.

"Mr. Sulley Abudu Zakaria does not deserve to be a leader, nor a representative of a political party, because he does not have the qualities that can attract more followers and to unite them for development. That aside, the man has had problems everywhere he was sent to, as a teacher or headmaster and he has openly disrespected some chiefs in the district. This person cannot lead us to any campaign, due to the bad image he has created for himself, resulting from his mischievous activities at places where he ever served as a teacher and head teacher.

"We have sent some petitions about the behaviour of our DCE and the way he is making the party unpopular in this district, and yet no action has been taken against him. No wonder he goes round bragging that he has bought his position from the regional to the national level of the party."

He alleged that within a short period of being at post, Abudu Zakaria had had so much money that he bragged that if he was removed from office and his official car taken from him, he would buy a new Nissan Navara pickup and also build a mansion in either Kumasi or Accra and relocate there.

"By this, the President and whoever took the decision to put him there should know by now that he does not have the party at heart. We will keep quiet and we will see what will happen to the party in the district in 2012 but before then, we will not allow the DCE to enjoy from our sweat: Yes, we defied all threats and fears and campaigned seriously for the party," the enraged man added in the presence of the demonstrators.

This latest demonstration was the first this year but the second in the district in a matter of less than seven months.

There was a counter demonstration in the same district last year but alarm blew when the organizers soon complained that the OCR had failed to pay them an amount of GH¢2,500 out of a promised GH¢5000 they agreed upon.

Sourc: Daily Guide

NPP USA wants President Mills impeached. Government dismisses call

Sun, 2 Jan 2011 08:09:59 GMT

A section of participants at the 29th anniversary commemoration of 31st December, led by former president and lead architect, J.J. Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu.

The United States of America wing of the opposition New Patriotic Party is calling on Parliament to remove President Mills from office in accordance with Article 69 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

The group, per a statement issued by its legal committee at the weekend, says it deems the celebration of the 31st December, 1981 coup last Friday at no less a venue than the Flagstaff House, (seat of government and the official residence of the President of Ghana) as a treasonable offence serious enough to warrant the removal from office of the president.

However Deputy Information Minister, James Agyenim-Boateng says the call is unfounded and its proposers must come again.

According to the NPP, when the Supreme Court outlawed the declaration of 31st December as a statutory public holiday, “It follows that the State and the various Constitutional organs cannot, under the Constitution, engage in any activities designed to commemorate or celebrate this abominable event and high treason.

“Nor can the State or the Constitutional organs allow the resources and facilities of the state to be used for any such commemoration or celebration.”

The NPP says President Mills, who is the Chief Law enforcement Officer of the country, has failed to obey the order of the Supreme Court on the celebration of 31st December as stipulated under Article 2 (3) of the Constitution.

“The President has failed to enforce the orders and directives issued by the Supreme Court in the NPP v. Republic (December 31 case).

“The President has intentionally, willfully, purposefully, or negligently allowed the “treason celebrants” access to the Flagstaff House to be used for their illegal celebrations.

“The President has willfully violated his oath of office, which requires him to uphold the Constitution at all times.”

“Wherefore we call on Parliament to discharge its functions under Article 69”, the group said.

Article 69 of the 1992 Constitution deals with grounds upon which the president may be removed from office and states among other things, that “(1) The President shall be removed from office if he is found, in accordance with the provisions of this article -
(a) to have acted in willful violation of the oath of allegiance and the presidential oath set out in the Second Schedule to, or in willful violation of any other provision of, this Constitution; or
(b) to have conducted himself in a manner -(i) which brings or is likely to bring the high office of President into disrepute, ridicule or contempt; or (ii) prejudicial or inimical to the economy or the security of the State; or
(c) to be incapable of performing the functions of his office by reason of infirmity of body or mind.”

Neither here nor there



	Deputy Information Minister, James Agyenim-Boateng

Deputy Information Minister, James Agyenim-Boateng has dismissed the call, saying it is unfounded and its proposers ought to familiarize themselves with the Supreme Court decision.

He told Myjoyonline.com that rather than a celebration, the wreath-laying event to honour the memories of those who lost their lives on December 31, 1981, was not a state-sponsored event. Besides, it was attended by individuals who believe and share in its relevance and cannot therefore be said to be a state-organised observation.

Agyenim-Boateng explained that like all revolutions the world over, those who share in the ideals commemorate the occasion to remind themselves that never again must the nation allow situations to deteriorate to this length and never again must we travel this path. “It is not a celebration per se and I think we need to correct that impression. It is unlike a March 6 or 1st July where the public purse is committed to. I really don’t see the impeachment call in this, it is neither here nor there.”

Source & Story by Isaac Yeboah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Another post mortem on Koo Fori�s wife

Thu, 9 Sep 2010 07:49:18 GMT

Last week, Hi Newspaper promised to bring to readers update on the investigation involving the ‘strange’ death of Koo Fori’s wife, Mary Nana Aba Karikari who passed away about two weeks after she was operated on during labour at the Medifem Hospital & Fertility Centre, Dzorwulu in Accra.

Latest information say that three nurses of the medical facility were last Friday invited to the Sakumono Police Station for questioning in relation to the investigation.

When Hi visited the Larshibi Funeral home in Accra where the body is been kept pending (investigation and) burial, we gathered that another autopsy test has been requested by Dery & Co, lawyers of the investigated Doctor Bamful of the said medical facility, who doubles as a top gynecologist at the 37 Military Hospital.

When we met with Koo Fori at Radio Gold on Monday, he asked that we waited till after the investigation or even after the burial for his comments: “Nothing would bring back my wife, not even the best of investigations. Moreover, I didn’t report the Doctor or the hospital to the police, the security people thought they saw the need for an investigation due to circumstances surrounding her death”, he said.

Last week, Hi newspaper broke the news that an autopsy report, according to our source, allegedly indicts one Dr. Bamful of negligence on duty while operating on Koo Fori’s wife during labour.

“She suffered cardiovascular death among other explanations related to a blood vessel blockage”, Hi Newspaper learned.

Literally, according to our source, ‘almost all the waste that was supposed to be removed after birth was kept in the stomach, including the placenta”.

The late Mary Nana Aba Karikari, wife of comedian/broadcaster/actor radio presenter, Samuel Seth Kwabena Kyere Karikari aka Koo Fori, died on Saturday August 21, 2010.

Wake keeping and funerals have been scheduled for the Trade Fair on weekend October 8 and 9, a week after the funeral of music giant Mac Tontoh in the Ashanti region.

Source: Hi Newspaper

British woman falls victim to �sakawa�, loses $100,000 in Ghana

Wed, 8 Sep 2010 17:13:50 GMT

A British business woman who planned retiring into a new life with her new found internet lover has been defrauded of $100,000.

Mary Little had transferred part of her life-long savings to her supposed lover, Frederick Stalke, a retiring American Colonel, for him to prepare his New York house as part of plans for Little to move in.

It turned out the money went into a cedi account at reputable bank in Accra and with the help of an employee of the bank, the amount was withdrawn in three tranches by the fraudsters.

Little told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show host Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah on Wednesday she had built a relationship with Stalke for over seven months, via phone, camcorders and text messages after she first met him on a dating site, Match.com.

She was supposed to meet him for the first time in New York on September 19, 2009 and possibly start a new future together and that was the beginning of her painful revelation.

Stalke, she narrated claimed he was part of the soldiers withdrawn by the US government from Baghdad and was to take care of some properties wrongly shipped to Accra and would return to US in two weeks.

Whilst in Accra, Stalk allegedly got into some problems with the police and needed part of the amount to resolve the issues and invest the remaining in the property in the US as agreed by the two of them. He requested that the money be paid to his lawyer who was litigating the case for him.

“I had no reason to suspect this guy didn’t exist," she said. “The money actually didn’t go into a dollar account; the lawyer was fake. The account holder was fake; the money actually went into a local currency account and this reputable bank did not follow its protocol,” she lamented.

According to Mary Little, she called the Modern Hotel in Achimota, Accra where Frederick Stalk was supposed to have been staying for the two weeks only to be told he had been beaten up and taken to hospital. Later she learnt he had checked out from the hotel and has since not made any contacts to her.

Protocol

Mary Little said she is taking legal action against the bank for not doing enough due-diligence before the money was withdrawn.

According to her, she cross-checked from the Fraud Department of the UK Bank who confirmed the existence of the account in Ghana before she paid in the money.

She wondered how the Branch manager in Accra did not suspect how an 18 months old account owned by a trader could receive such a hefty amount, the first of its kind, without following the necessary banking procedures before releasing the amount.

Selfish

Five persons, the account holder, an employee of the bank and three others including a woman have been arrested by the police. They are currently being prosecuted at an Accra High Court.

There is no trace, at least not yet of Frederick Stalke. It is still not clear if he was party to this sophisticated scam, or was impersonated. Mary Little cannot also confirm if Stalk was indeed part of the US Army.

Narrating how the whole scam was uncovered, Little said she vowed not to go the way of many such victims who committed suicide after going through such ordeals.

She therefore had to liaise with the UK Fraud Department where she was told to be on the alert, that fraudsters are always selfish and would come back for more.

According to her, a lady purporting to be the daughter of the missing Frederick Stalke contacted her after several weeks to announce the death of her lover.

She claimed to be schooling in California but had to come to Accra to find out what had happened to her father. She wanted an amount of £3,000 to take care of the search for the father.

Mary Little said she was advised by the Fraud office in UK to send the money via courier.

Together with the Ghana police the fraudsters were arrested.

Trust

Mary Little said for her entire life she has been surrounded by people who are trust worthy and only thought of scams and 419s as mere phrases.

She only reads about it the media and did not believe she will fall victim to it.

Play the attached audio for excerpts of the interview

Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

NYEP outdoors new module, targets 10,000 jobs

Tue, 7 Sep 2010 07:48:54 GMT

A new module to the National Youth Employment Programme, The Youth in Road Maintenance and Repair, has been launched in Accra to offer 10,000 jobs to the youth nationwide by the close of the year.

A public/private sector collaboration between the Government of Ghana and Zeera Group, a private road and building construction firm based in Accra, beneficiaries of the Youth in Road Maintenance and Repair module will be tasked with the general maintenance of roads in the country, including filling up potholed roads, desilting drainages and clearing bushes by the roads, and to alert Roads and Highways authorities of works required on the roads.

The government will provide funding and other resources for the programme and youth to be employed under the module while Zeera Group will provide skills training as well as manage the beneficiaries, according to the Minister of Local Government, Mr. Joseph Yieleh Chireh, who launched the module.

Mr. Yieleh Chireh called for broader consultations to ensure the project rolls out harmoniously, and assured that resources have been identified to cater for the regular payment of benefits to forestall the teething difficulties associated with such initiatives. He asked beneficiaries to seize the opportunity and acquire skills as well as upgrade themselves to they remain employable. He was also of the opinion that that metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies would be doing the nation a great deal of service if they lent support by providing needed support and regularly supervising performance closely to ensure that “we get value for any money that the public will be using to support this private sector.”

Deputy Local Government Minister, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, who co-chaired the launching, described the initiative as a very important intervention particularly when the rains have set in and are growing potholes into manholes. The programme will also serve as a fresh reminder for the need to institutionalize a national maintenance culture.

He urged beneficiaries to be disciplined so that no ill testimonies would be given of them. Again this initiative, he said, brings to the fore the fact that governance is a process and particularly for foot soldiers and activists of various parties, the initiative must give them hope that the government is committed to its election campaign promise of finding solutions to the unemployment cases in the country by creating jobs.

Elvis commended the NYEP for setting itself a target of creating 164,000 jobs by the close of the year.

Better Ghana Agenda



	A section of the NYEP beneficiries at the event launching

The National Coordinator of the NYEP, Mr. Abuga Pele, who called the launch of the initiative a ‘giant leap’ and a reaffirmation of the NYEP and Ministry of Youth and Employment’s determination to pursue the government’sBetter Ghana Agenda, will provide the youth with jobs and ensure that they contribute meaningfully towards the economic and social development of the country.

He said the module will embrace both the literate and illiterate youth of the society, and will mark the end of potholes and ensure, safe, clean and tidy roads in the country.

“This will translate into substantial reduction of accidents that occur as a result of bad roads…and avoidable impediments that has been the bane of travelers in this country. It will also care for a substantial capital outlay needed to construct new roads due to the total deterioration of the existing ones due largely to lack of repairs and maintenance. Mr. Chairman, this will mean substantial savings to government which can be redirected to other equally important initiatives.”

Abuga Pele commended Zeera Company for taking up the initial responsibility of orgainsing, training and initial few months of payment of the beneficiaries.

The National Coordinator also announced the acceptance of proposals to increase the Talk-Time Tax from 20 percent to 60 percent which when operational, will ensure the regular payment of salaries of beneficiaries and ensure many more NYEP models are rolled out. Listen to the National Coordinator of the NYEP, Abuga Pele at this link.

Mr. James Danso Quayson, Communications Director of the Zeera Group, who read a speech on behalf of the executive director of the company, said the problem of unemployment is a global challenge for all governments all over the world.

He said all over the world, the success of developed economies have depended largely on effective youth employment programmes. “Everywhere in the world, young people depend, respect and believe in governments as a formidable determinant of how they turn out as a fulfilled people.”

Describing the youth as a determinant of cultural and social norms and the most productive, most passionate and creative segment of any society whose quality of the mind and passion of the heart is not wrinkled away by time as it does the skin, he said governments has to act right and fast to sustain that energetic spirit by asking the right questions.

“The right question is not how to create jobs – it is a good question though – the right question is not how to educate the youth - although that is also a good question, and the question is certainly not how to put money in the pockets of the youth. For us the right question is how do we make the youth love their country.”

Mr. Quayson said youth empowerment through skills training, education and employment is the best solution to the unemployment situation. Listen to Mr. James Quayson, the Executive Director of Communications of Zeera Group at this link.

Attending the programme were a number of deputy ministers, parliamentarians, Municipal and district chief executives and chiefs from Osu and La in Accra.

Story by Isaac Yeboah/Myjoyonlione.com/Ghana

Justice Oppong would have been disgraced � Kofi Adams

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 01:45:33 GMT

A Deputy General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress Mr Kofi Adams says Justice Anthony Oppong chickened out of the Ya-Na murder case because he didn’t want to confront the massive evidence of bias against him.

He said if the judge refused to recuse himself from the case, incontrovertible evidence would have been adduced to prove his guilt in the matter.

Kofi Adams was speaking on Joy FM’s news analysis programme, Newsfile Saturday, August 28, 2010.

“When the judge was running away from the obvious [facts] that will face him if he should continue to sit on the case, he now tried to bring in politics and make it look like the AG was attacking the whole Bench,” he stated, adding, “if the judge knew that he was clean, he should have stayed on [the case] and allow the case as they had started to continue to its logical conclusion but he ran away, he abandoned that course.”

Justice Anthony Oppong who was the trial judge of the case involving some 15 persons alleged to have played various roles in the murder of the overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, recused himself from the case following allegation that he made prejudicial comments on it at a drinking bar.

But he did not leave in silence. The judge challenged the Deputy Attorney-General, Mr Ebo Barton Oduro to provide proof of his allegations or render him an unqualified apology, denying ever making any of the comments attributed to him by the Deputy A-G.

“Barton Oduro, Esq accused me of being a drunkard and being irresponsible enough to have gone to a drinking bar and under the influence of alcohol made prejudicial comments about this case. I vehemently deny this. I have never been to a drinking bar and made any comment whatsoever on this Yaa Naa's murder case.

“I challenge Barton Oduro Esquire to substantiate this allegation or render an unqualified apology to me for running me down,” Mr Oppong noted.

He didn’t leave it there, “I have felt insulted, scandalized and indeed bastardized all in the name of the Attorney-General's office attempt to play politics with the Bench in general and with me in particular. I am no politician. I am a judge and have taken oath to dispense justice to all manner of persons irrespective of whatever.”

But Kofi Adams says he (Adams) may never feel confident that he will get justice or fair judgement should he have a case adjudicated by Mr Anthony Oppong.

He said “that is why … if I were the AG’s department, I would make some information available to the appointing authority to see what can be done as far as this judge is concerned but I wasn’t too comfortable [because] the judge was very political, he ended up exposing himself when, in dealing with the issues raised by the prosecution and the Attorney-General, he sought to bring the NDC as a political party into this matter.”

Supporting Mr Adam’s argument, Spokesperson for Vice-President John Jinapor rejected suggestions that the Deputy A-G’s evidence was banal since it was based on a third party account.

Mr Barton Oduro had said he had a tape recording of his conversation with a an unnamed lady who alleged that Justice Oppong had said the case against the 15 persons will be thrown out.

Mr Jinpor said the evidence against the judge was overwhelming and that there were people who were willing to testify against the judge in court.

Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Akufo–Addo Greets Okyenhene

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 04:33:48 GMT

The 2012 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo, has asked for the blessings of the Okyenhene, Osaagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, as he begins his 28-month journey to the December 2012 general elections.

It was the first maiden courtesy call of Nana Akufo-Addo since his landslide victory last Saturday as the flag bearer of the main opposition party. The visit took place at the OforiPanin Fie in Kyebi, in the Eastern Region.

Nana Akufo-Addo, in his short speech, thanked the Okyenhene, his cousin and customary grandfather, for his “ever constant moral support and guidance” and asked the Okyenhene to continue encouraging him in his political journey, which is in its 35^th year.

“At the weekend, Nana, I received a very humbling overwhelming endorsement from party delegates across all ten regions of the country. It has given the party a strong platform of unity and strength to challenge for the presidency and parliamentary majority in 2012.”

He continued, “Nana the dream of the founding fathers of our party, Dr Danquah, Dr Busia and the others are very much alive today. By the Grace of God and the votes of the majority of Ghanaians, we hope to recapture power in 2012 and extend the frontiers of liberty and prosperity for the masses of our people.”

In a brief response, the Okyenhene congratulated Nana Akufo-Addo on his 79% landslide victory and also called on him to work hard and pray hard in fulfillment of that dream.

He also congratulated the entire NPP for conducting the elections in a free, fair and peaceful manner and urged the other parties in Ghana and on the continent to see what they can emulate from it in the collective quest to enhance multiparty democracy.

Over 107,000 delegates across 128 constituencies in Ghana voted on Saturday to elect the 2012 Presidential Candidate of the NPP.

Nana Akufo-Addo went to Kyebi, after attending the parliamentary primary of the Atiwa constituency. Akwasi Amoako-Atta, the Atiwa District Assembly presiding officer, was nominated by Atiwa NPP delegates for the bye-election which takes place on 31^st August.

The seat was declared vacant on the death of Kwasi Ankama, the MP.The 2012 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo, has asked for the blessings of the Okyenhene, Osaagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, as he begins his 28-month journey to the December 2012 general elections.

In a brief response, the Okyenhene congratulated Nana Akufo-Addo on his 79% landslide victory and also called on him to work hard and pray hard in fulfillment of that dream.

Over 107,000 delegates across 128 constituencies in Ghana voted on Saturday to elect the 2012 Presidential Candidate of the NPP.

In a brief response, the Okyenhene congratulated Nana Akufo-Addo on his 79% landslide victory and also called on him to work hard and pray hard in fulfillment of that dream.

Over 107,000 delegates across 128 constituencies in Ghana voted on Saturday to elect the 2012 Presidential Candidate of the NPP.

The seat was declared vacant on the death of Kwasi Ankama, the MP.

Source: Abena Radio

Rot at STC: GH�81 million used for bribery

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:43:10 GMT

A committee of inquiry set up by the government to investigate alleged financial malfeasance at the Intercity STC (ISTC) Coaches Limited has revealed that an estimated amount of GH¢81 million collected from passengers as clearance fees from 2000 to 2009 cannot be accounted for by the management.

The clearance fees are paid by passengers to and from Abidjan, Cotonou and Ouagadougou, in addition to the normal fares charged by ISTC, to facilitate their smooth and quick movement through the many borders and barriers on the company's international routes.

According to the report of the committee made available to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, although the fees had been collected in the name of the company, there was no record of receipts, nor could the money be accounted for by the management.

The three-member committee, under the chairmanship of Mr Abu Millah, a financial consultant; said the clearance money was "money used to corrupt international public officials along the company's international routes".

"We believe the company can use other genuine means to get clearance on these routes and save passengers huge sums of money," the report stated.

The committee identified some major areas of financial malfeasance, including the sale of tickets jn foreign exchange and their conversion into cedis, the purchase of second-hand engines and parts, the-use of management imprest and questionable payments by management between the period under review.

Giving the breakdown of the estimated sums collected by management between 2000 and 2009, the report said GH¢2 million was stolen in 2000, GH¢4 million in 2001, GH¢4 million in 2002, GH¢6 million in 2003 and GH¢7 million in 2004.

The rest of the collections were GH¢8 million in 2005, GH¢8 million in 2006, GH¢9 million in 2007, GH¢11 million in 2008 and GH¢12 million in 2009.

The report noted that "the fact that these monies are not accounted for represents a serious control weakness which could facilitate fraud".

The committee, which also had Mr Francis Sey and Mr Eric Tetteh as members, recommended that the collection of clearance fees from passengers should, be stopped immediately because it gave Ghana and the company a bad name in the international setting.

It observed that the practice adopted by the company in respect of foreign exchange transactions also lacked transparency and accountability, which left room for corruption, which had resulted in the company suffering exchange losses.

It said by virtue of its operations in Burkina Faso, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire, the company received foreign currency, mainly CFA, from the sale of tickets to passengers.

From time to time, the company exchanged the CFA for local currency but did not keep records of the rates at which the exchange transactions were carried out, it noted.

The committee further observed that due to lack of procurement and stores managers from 2000-2004 and in 2008 and 2010, there were no proper internal controls over purchases of stores and materials running into huge sums of money.

It said the financial effects of the lack of an appropriate procurement arrangement at the ISTC could run into several millions of Ghana cedis.

It recommended that the Managing Directors and General Managers of Finance and Administration of the company from 2000 to 2009 should be held liable for the lapses.

On management imprest, the committee observed that all reimbursement made did not pass through pre-audit checks before cheques were written, a situation which was worrying.

To enhance transparency on road clearance funds, it said tickets issued to passengers on international routes should be divided into two parts - normal fares and road clearance fees - on the same ticket issued, with separate bank accounts.

For purposes of transparency and accountability in the handling of foreign currency, it recommended that all foreign exchange earnings or receipts should be converted through the banking system and that the company should open a foreign currency account for foreign currency earnings and receipts.

"And any time local cedis are required for the company's operations the bank should be requested to convert the foreign currency into cedis for the country’s use,” it noted.

Turning the spotlight on the SVANI contract which was entered into without a written agreement, the committee recommended that all transactions between the company and third, parties should have contracts signed to safeguard the company from embarrassment and unnecessary litigation.

It expressed regret at the financial weakness of the ISTC and asked the management to find a more reliable means of generating additional revenue.

When contacted, the Head of Business, Marketing and Public Relations of the company, Ms Gabriella Tetteh, confirmed that the Ministry of Transport had instituted an enquiry into the clearance fees being collected from the passengers by the ISTC,reports Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

She conceded that the clearance fees were "bribes" paid by the company to officials at barriers and borders on the company's international routes.

Ms Tetteh, who showed a copy of the report of the enquiry on her laptop, explained further that at first passengers on board the company buses used to pay those monies to the police and other officials themselves.

Later on, she said, officials of the ISTC had to collect the monies from the passengers when the bus was full for onward payment to officials manning the various barriers and boundaries on the Abidjan, Ouagadougou and Cotonou routes.

Asked whether the company was still collecting the clearance fees, Ms Tetteh said the system had now been streamlined.

She said currently clearance fees, collected from passengers were indicated on their tickets and given to the drivers as imprest, which was accounted for on their return.

Asked whether anybody had been punished as a result of the outcome of the enquiry, Ms Tetteh said she was not aware of any such action but indicated that senior management members of the company had been asked by the board to proceed on their accumulated leave.

Source: Daily Graphic

E.T. Mensah: NDC foot soldiers must propagate Gizele Yajzi�s confessions

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:07:52 GMT

MP for Ningo Prampram, Enock Teye Mensah is urging all NDC foot soldiers to procure copies of a new interview granted Accra-based Radio Gold Wednesday by controversialGizele Yajzi who has reiterated she has twins with former President J.A. Kufuor.

Kufuor on Tuesday denied the accusation, the first time since the allegations were hurled at him in 2004 by the American, saying those peddling the lies were jokers and that being who he is, he would have asked his wife for forgiveness and gone for the children if he really has had them because after all, they would have been his blood.

But Ms Yajzi has shot back at the former president, claiming she has not allowed her seven-year-old twins to see their ‘father’ because she cannot trust him when it comes to their security. “He is capable of anything,” she said. But she also says the two children, “very smart, black boys”, are in school and don’t really need anything from their ‘father’, knowing very well that their mother was taking good care of them. She also urged the Atta Mills government to sit up in its fight against corruption which she claimed Kufuor entrenched during his administration.

And the interview, conducted by Alhassan Suhini, is what appears to have sat very well with E.T. Mensah who hailed the programme and called on NDC foot soldiers to get the audio and play it in their communities to tell everyone the sort of ‘good governance’ that J.A. Kufuor presided over.

“…Babo, (Baffoe Bonney, CEO of Radio Gold) should take note, let’s do something about Radio Gold so that they can be heard throughout the country because this is a story that should be told again and again and again and I want to appeal to our foot soldiers ‘let us all go and get copies and play in our constituencies, this is something that people need to know.”

Story by Myjoyonline.come/Ghana

Source: myjoyonline.com