DAILY GRAPHIC

In its lead story, the Graphic reports that Mr. Edward Salia, Minister of Roads and Transport has denied any illicit dealings with any private company in the telecommunications industry during his term of office as Minister of Transport and Communications. In a front page banner headline, the story says Mr. Salia was reacting to publications in "The Ghanaian Chronicle" said to be based on a report by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), at a news conference in Accra yesterday. The Chronicle, according to the Graphic, alleged that at the onset of the rural telephone project, three years ago, a United Kingdom-based finance house which was helping to raise funds for the project and the then Post and Telecoomunications Corporation's (PandT) own consultants put the cost of the project for the southern sector at 38 million dollars. The Chronicle alleged that the SFO however discovered in official records that Mr. Salia and Capital Telecoms (the company which won the contract) represented by Messrs Danny Ofori-Atta and Fredi Asiedu, had quoted 45 million dollars as estimates for the same project. The Graphic says Mr. Salia contended however that he has no evidence that the SFO has issued any authentic report. GRI

"GES sets up committee on mission schools", is the headline of another Graphic front page story which says the Ghana Education Service (GES) Council has set up a committee to examine the call for the return of mission schools to religious institutions. The paper says the Minister of Education, DR Christina Amoako- Nuama, announced this at the opening of a national conference of managers of educational units at Ho. She said the setting up of the committee follows memorandum on the issue submitted to the ministry by the religious bodies asking for the right to manage and supervise the schools. GRi

The Graphic reports in its inside pages that a police corporal of the Dormaa Police Station who had been stabbed in the right eye by a recently-released convict of the Sunyani prisons, died at the Sunyani Central Hospital last Monday. The Graphic says Corporal C.K. Dogbe and another policeman went to ambush two suspects, Kwasi Manu and one Maxwell who were alleged to have stolen eight bunches of plantain from a neighbour's farm and hidden them at a cocoa shed at Dormaa. The Graphic quoting the police says in an attempt to arrest the suspects, Kwasi Manu pulled a sharp object from his pocket and stabbed Corporal Dogbe in the right eye. GRi