Print Media Monitoring for 30th January, 2004

DAILY GRAPHIC – FRIDAY, 3OTH JANUARY, 2004

1. 2 JAILED 80 YEARS … MURDER CHARGE ALSO AWAITS THEM – PGS. 1 & 3

According to the paper, Sekondi High Court presided over by Mr. Justice C.J. Henyenugah, has sentenced two armed robbers to 40 years imprisonment each for assaulting and robbing a taxi driver of his vehicle.

The convicts, Michael Quaye 32, a driver, and Wisdom Tamakloe, 30, unemployed, also poured acid on the driver, resulting in his death.

Consequently, the prosecution has initiated fresh processes to try the convicts for murder.

2. “IMPLEMENT WUAKO COMMISSION REPORT TO THE LETTER” – PG. 13

The Youth Wing of the NPP has called on the government to implement the Wuako Commission’s report to the letter and ensure that all those who have been recommended for prosecution are put before court immediately.

They noted that the Dagbon crisis was taking a political dimension and if care was not taken some disgruntled elements would use the situation to cause anarchy in the country.

Mr. Mustapha Abdul Hamid, National Youth Organiser of the NPP, made the call at a press conference in Accra yesterday.

3. ECONOMY ON ROAD TO RECOVERY – PG. 29

According to Mr. Lloyd Evans, financial editor of the paper, one of the most difficult things to do in any economic programme is how to stop the negative growth of an economy, stabilize it and fuel it for positive growth.

Economic growth can be destabilize within Seconds but its repairs and resuscitation demand a lot of efforts and hard work.

According to him, the country’s economy since 2000 has gone through a very turbulent period.

Unfair world commodity prices, price hikes in crude oil and the general deterioration in the world economies have undermined the economies of most developing countries with Ghana not being an exception.

Notwithstanding these hiccups in the World economy, Ghana’s economy has been very robust.

Using the various macro-economic indicators, it can be said without any shred of doubt that the economy has been very stable and it is on the path for a take-off.

What is now left is to translate the improvement at the macro level into the micro level for industry, commerce and the services sectors to perform.

This is an article written by Lloyd Evans, Financial Editor of the paper and published in page 28 of the paper.

THE GHANAIAN TIMES – FRIDAY, 30TH JANUARY, 2004

1. CHAIRMAN BRYANT BRIEFS PREZ. KUFUOR – PGS. 1 & 3

The Chairman of the Interim Government of Liberia, Mr. Gyude Bryant, briefed President Kufuor yesterday on the current situation in his country.

During a meeting at the Castle, Osu, Mr. Bryant described the situation in Liberia as “stable” and said efforts were being made to make it even better.

Mr. Gyude Bryant was on his way to the United States of America to attend a Donors” Conference scheduled for this weekend.

2. “REVIEW POLICY ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE” – PGS. 1 & 4

The Northern Network for Education Development (NNED), an umbrella group of Civil Society organizations operating in the three regions of northern Ghana, has appealed to the government to rescind its decision to make the English Language the only medium of instruction at the basic school level.

In a statement issued in Tamale they expressed their concern about the effect on the country of the absence since Independence of a coherent language policy and the negative impact this had had on the country’s education system.

The statement noted that with English as the only medium of instruction, Ghana would never achieve the objective of universal formal education because in practice the majority of children would be denied their right of access to education.

3. EID-UL-ADHA – PG. 1

Monday February 2 has been declared a public holiday.

Official statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior, explains that in view of the fact that this year’s celebration of the Muslim holyday of Eid-Ul-Adha falls on February 1, which is a Sunday, the following day shall be observed as a statutory public holiday throughout Ghana.

4. FIRST LADY MAKES DONATION TO HEALTH SERVICE – PG. 1

The First Lady, Mrs. Theresa Kufuor, donated several items of medical equipment to Ghana Health Service (GHS) in Accra yesterday.

The items included a fully equipped new ambulance, two wheelchairs and four hospital beds.

Making the presentation, Mrs. Kufuor said it was her prayer to see every citizen of Ghana in good health.

Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, Director-General of GHS who received the equipment explained that the ambulance would be given to the Suhum Government Hospital since it was the only hospital in the Eastern Region without one.

THE STATESMAN – FRIDAY, 30TH JANUARY, 2004

OBED WARNS RAWLINGS TO STAY BACK – PG. 1 & BK. PG.

The paper reports that Obed Asamoah, National Chairman of the NDC, has advised former President Rawlings and founder of the party, to refrain from playing a “Front – runner role” in the party’s politics to ensure that the flagbearer, Prof. Mills, gets the needed “limelight” to enhance his chances of winning the December Presidential election.

The Chairman’s words may come as a thinly – disguised precaution to Rawlings, who is currently out of the country. The two-term President remarkably overshadowed Prof. Mills, the NDC Presidential Candidate in the last elections, drawing gibes to this day to the effect that Prof. Mills is not his own man and a “poodle” of his former boss, Rawlings.

According to the paper, Dr. Asamoah who was speaking on the “Morning Show” programme of the Sunyani based FM station Sky Radio, said the antagonism between Rawlings and him, which threatened to split the party after the 2000 election defeat is now behind them.

THE GHANAIAN CHRONICLE – FRIDAY, 30TH JANUARY, 2004

FOREIGN MINISTER OWES ME AN APOLOGY – KOFI COOMSON CAUTIONS EMILE SHORT – PGS. 1 & 3

The Publisher of the Chronicle, Nana Kofi Coomson, has revealed that Foreign Minister Nana Akufo-Addo deliberately pressurized one of the lawyers in his Chambers, Yoni Kulendi, to withdraw from representing him in his lawful challenge of Paul Victor Obeng (PV) before the CHRAJ inquiries in 1996.

According to the paper, Mr. Kulendi was the last of the strings of lawyers who withdrew from assisting Mr. Coomson in his anti-corruption crusade in the early days of the NDC Regime.

The realization of Akufo-Addo’s act of betrayal came to him five years later and Mr. Coomson says if Nana really has conscience, he should apologise to him as he (Akufo-Addo) has confessed to certain named individuals.

Kofi Coomson, who was reacting to media speculation that he failed to pursue to the conclusion his public outing of half a dozen ministers and top functionaries during the NDC administration, said, “it is all in the past and a lot of water has gone under the bridge and I am not personally against him but the records have to be set straight.”

THE ACCRA DAILY MAIL – FRIDAY, 30TH JANUARY, 2004

SEEDS OF ELECTION 2004 VIOLENCE, NDC FIRES FIRST SHOT…AS THE PARTY FANS ETHNIC FIRES IN DAGBON – PGS. 1 & 3

According to the paper, it’s been an open secret for some time that the NDC would be exploiting the tragedy of Dagbon in Election 2004.

The paper can confirm that evidence of this is now available. Currently on sale in parts of Dagbon for ?40,000 are NDC campaign “T” Shirts clearly exploiting the image of the late Ya Na Yakubu Andani on the front and the NDC umbrella on the back.

According to a legal expert who spoke to the paper on condition of anonymity this cynical move by the NDC has security implications since it is a politically provocative act in an area under a state of emergency.

The appearance of the “T” shirts in Dagbon is said to have stoked alight the local rivalries between the so-called Abudu and Andani gates and Knives are being sharpened for a showdown when the election campaigns heat up. But, ADM has information that the NPP Youth Wing is in consultation on how to handle this dangerous development.

THE EVENING NEWS – THURSDAY 29TH JANUARY 2004

GOV’T IS NOT AFTER RAWLINGS – AFARI – PG. 1

The paper reports that, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has stated that it has never been its agenda to target former President Jerry John Rawlings or any other individual.

It explained that the agenda of the party and the government all along had been bigger and above ex-President Rawlings.

Mr. Kwadwo Afari, Press Secretary of the NPP, was reacting to a call made by Dr. Vladimir Antwi-Danso, an international political economist that “government should not be seen as making it its agenda to pursue the ex-President.

Meanwhile, the Director of Public Affairs at the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), Miss Annie Anipa has dismissed the notion held by some Ghanaians that the objective of the commission is to target the Rawlings era.

She therefore appealed to people who impute political slants into the work of the commission, to remove their “lenses” and see it as one of the good things that has happened to this country, she said these perception are not correct.