Press Review 19 ? 4 ? 99

Daily Graphic/Ghanaian Times

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Both the Daily Graphic and the Ghanaian Times give prominence to a rail disaster in which four passengers died. The Graphic reports that four persons died on the spot while 23 other passengers were injured when a Takoradi-Accra night passenger train on which they were travelling, derailed at Oboom, a village near Nsawam in the Eastern Region, last Friday. The Times account has it that four people including a three-year-old boy, died on the spot while several other passengers sustained various degrees of injuries when an Accra- Takoradi passenger train derailed at Oboom, near Nsawam, on Friday.

The Graphic story headlined: ?4 die in rail disaster?, says the dead who are yet to be identified and believed to be a child and three adults, have been deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital mortuary in Accra while six out of the injured are on admission at the Nsawam Government Hospital. The Times, on the other hand, says the bodies, two female adults, a man and the boy, have been deposited at the Korle-Bu Teacching Hospital, pending identification and claim by the relatives. The Graphic says another passenger, Ama Komiya, who was said to be in very critical condition is on admission at Korle-Bu while the rest of the injured were treated and discharged. The paper quotes eye witnesses as saying the four were trapped to death by goods in the two coaches which derailed. According to the eye witnesses, immediately after the derailment, a swarm of bees descended on the accident victims, hampering rescue operations.

The Times, however, reports Detective Sergeant Dominic Darkey of the Accra Railway Police Station as saying the cause of the derailment would be established after police investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident. According to Detective Sergeant Darkey, the police had information of the derailment almost 24 hours after it had happened.

In a centre-spread story, the Graphic reports that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), loses over 70 billion cedis every year through illegal connections and other malpractices. The paper quotes Mr Safo Kantanka, Financial Controller of the ECG in the Eastern Region as saying out of about 398.6 billion cedis worth of power the company has bought from the Volta River Authority (VRA) this year, it has projected that about 78 billion cedis will be lost through such negative acts. Mr Kantanka, therefore, appealed to the public to complement the company?s effort to deal with such illegal acts to reduce the ?unacceptable huge Loss? to the minimum.

The Times in another story headlined: ?IGP cautions cops against extortion from suspects?, reports that the Inspector- General of Police, Mr Peter Nanfuri, at the weekend, cautioned police personnel to stop extorting monies from suspects before granting them bal. He also said to have asked the police to refrain from dealing in land cases and collecting debts for individuals. The paper says the IGP reiterated that the detention and handling of suspects must be in conformity with the constitutional requirements. He reminded the police that there could be no progress without change, and therefore asked them ?to wake up from their slumber? and take realistic steps to correct past error.

The Ghanaian Chronicle

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?Fall-out of Kufuor?s victory at Sunyani Congress?Trouble brews in NPP, Nana Addo complains of neglect, Ashanti party divided, Dan Botwe says all is well?, is the front page screamer of the Ghanaian Chronicle. The accompanying story says trouble is brewing hot in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in spite of the shoulder-slapping and hugging following the party?s success in the Ablekuma Central bye-election. The Chronicle says the NPP Council of Elders, under the chairmanship of Mr R.R. Amponsah, are currently investigating ?systematic attempts to denigrate, abuse and harassment of party members? who supported Nana Akufo-Addo in the presidential primaries which culminated in the election of Mr John Agyekum Kufuor as the party?s flag-bearer on October 24, last year. The paper says while the Elders brainstorm to try to patch the warring sides together, there is report in the Ashanti Region that the branch is so polarised by the outcome of the Sunyani Congress that members of one faction were refusing to attend even funerals involving the opposite camps. Both Nana Akufo-Addo and Mr J.H. Mensah, both presidential candidates at the primaries, are said to have written to the NPP National Chairman, Mr S.A. Odoi-Sykes, complaining bitterly about the divisive tendencies in the party and praying his intervention to save the party. Mr Dan Botwe, the party scribe, is said to have played down the problems. According to the Chronicle, the NPP General Secretary, has acknowledged receipt of the two complaints at party headquarters but said he thought they were ?only a little distraction? from the party?s elaborate plans to work towards election victory in the 2000 general elections. The Chronicle says Mr Odoi-Sykes has referred both complaints to the Council of Elders with instructions to ?investigate the allegations? and ?if the allegations are found to be true or of any substance, to make recommendations on ways and means of bringing an immediate end to to the matters complained about to ensure peace, harmony and unity within the party?.

In another front page story captioned: ?Akwasi Agyeman pulls pistol on cab driver?, the Chronicle says 24 hours after his face- saving press conference at which he pledged his loyalty to the Golden Stool, Nana Akwasi Agyeman, the Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, has relapsed into his ?brutish way? that had earned him a bad name. He is reported to have threatened to blow off the head of taxi driver with a pistol after which he ordered the deflation of the tyres of the vehicle with the registration number AS 1852 A. the paper quotes an eye- witness as saying that the vehicle has since been parked at the car park of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and efforts by the driver to get it released, have proved futile. Nana Akwasi Agyeman is said to have queried the driver for stopping on the road leading to the KMA offices. The driver is said to have run short of petrol on his way from Duaban, a suburb of Kumasi, to Adum and had stopped near the KMA offices to buy fuel about 200 metres away. The Chronicle says before the driver could explain that he had had a fuel shortage, the Kumasi Mayor pulled his pistol and threatened to blow off his head, to the shock of bystanders. He is also reported to have heckled the passengers who were on the taxi.

Weekly Spectator ************** ?Contractor runs for life?Fears he could be killed by ghost?, says a banner headline in the Weekly Spectator. The accompanying story says a 46-year-old Kumasi contractor, Mr Theophilus Owusu, showed ?a clean pair of heels? when he was approached by king-makers of his clan to succeed his late uncle The paper says the drama unfolded at Abura Abaka, near Abura Dunkwa in the Central Region, on March 28, when the Ebusuapanyin-elect, Mr Owusu refused outright to swear allegiance to his elders. He was to be Ebusuapanyin of Anona Kusubetsir clan. Mr Owusu was to succeed his uncle, Kobina Abaka, who died two months ago. The paper says this was after preliminary activities had been performed and Mr Owusu, clad in white calico with powder smeared on his body and with relatives dancing to the beat of ?fontomfrom? He was made ti sit on a white chair before the elders but as if hypnotised, he remained calm for several hours, looking straight into the eyes of the elders. The Weekly Spectator says as the drummers beat the fontomfrom with great dexterity, Mr Owusu got up as if to dance, but before those present became aware, he had jumped over some benches behind him and ran the race of his life, his action throwing the town into a state of confusion. He was said to have later been seen packing his belongings and getting ready to leave for Kumasi. According to the paper, Mr Owusu?s outright refusal to succeed his uncle was due mainly to the circumstances surrounding the death of his uncle. When contacted, he is reported as saying is uncle?s death was spiritually plotted and did not know what would befall him if he accepted the position. The paper says efforts are now being made to reach him to persuade him to change his mind and accept the position of Ebusuapanyin. If he still refuses, the Elders would look for a new family head.

Africa Sports

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In its lead story, the Africa Sports reports that sourness drowned supporters of Kumasi Asante Kotoko at the Accra Sports Stadium, last Saturday, when their beloved club slumped to another embarrassing 0-1defeat to ?Wonder Club?, Accra Great Olympics. The paper says it is Kotoko?s second 0-1 loss in the Premier League, after their distressing loss to Power FC in Kumasi, two weeks earlier. According to the Africa Sports, while the supporters of Kotoko sulked over the inability of their players to convert decent chances after the complete dominance of the game, their bigger anger and resentment were reserved for diminutive Referee C. Amevor from Ho in the Volta Region, and Assistant Referee Nicholas Dwomoh, whom they slammed and cursed for being responsible for the Kotoko?s reverses.

The Dispatch

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?Gov?t orders demolition of 307 houses?, says the Dispatch in a front page banner. The paper says information reaching it indicates that 307 houses would be demolished over the next two months. It says the government has directed the Accra and Kumasi Metropolitan Assemblies and the Volta River Authority (VRA) to demolish illegally built houses along or on waterways, on government lands and under high tension electricity poles. The Dispatch quotes a source close to the government as admitting that last week?s demolition of the 65-room hotel at the Airport Residential Area in Accra and President Jerry Rawlings' endorsement of that action, has forced the government to ask the three agencies to go all out. The paper says a cursory look at the list compiled indicated that apart from the current areas the Accra Metropolitan Assembly is working on at Labadi, Teshie and Nungua, they will have to demolish some houses at classy residential areas like Dzorwulu, Abelemkpe, East Legon and around the Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout, all in Accra. According to the Dispatch, the VRA will also be hard pushed to demolish houses built under some of their high-tension cables, which they started but discontinued without any explanation.

The paper says its investigations revealed that a meeting held by a section of the ruling NDC on Sunday, April 11, concerned certain aspects of funding for the party, adding that reports have it that in the course of the meeting, tempers ran high and there was a walkout by one of the participants who also happened to have considerable interest in the demolished hotel. The Dispatch says a senior member of the NDC, who refused to confirm or deny the April 11 meeting remarked: ?It was all just a coincidence?. According to the paper one of the principal shareholders of the demolished hotel, Alhaji Yusuf Ibrahim, is a top financier and an inner core member of the NDC. Mr Addokwei Addo, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive is reported to have said that the hotel which had been built on a waterway and without the necessary permits, had been responsible for flooding of the area during the rainy season.