Print Media Monitoring for 5th February, 2004

DAILY GRAPHIC – THURSDAY, 5TH FEBRUARY, 2004

1. THE 675 KILOGRAMME COCAINE CASE …. STATE APPEALS. AGAINST THE GRANTING OF BAIL – PGS. 1 & 3

According to the paper, the state has appealed against the decision of the Greater-Accra Regional Tribunal to grant bail to six persons who are facing trial for their alleged involvement in the shipment of 675 Kilogrammes of cocaine into the country.

The state has also applied for a stay of execution of the bail granted by the tribunal until the final determination of the appeal.

The accused persons are Kevin D. Gorman, a 59-year old American, Mohammed Ibrahim Kamil, a Ghanaian car dealer, David J. Logan, 43, Frank D. Laverick, 43, Alan Hodgson, 45, all Britons, and Sven Herb, 45, a German.

2. GEORGE AGGUDEY SUED FOR NON-PAYMENT OF TAX – PGS. 1 & 3

The paper reports that, fourteen former employees of Gocrest Security Limited, a private security company in Accra, have filed a writ at a Sunyani High Court against the Managing Director of the company, Mr. George Aggudey, for non-payment of tax and defaulting in the payment of their salaries since September last year.

The plaintiffs also claimed that Mr. Aggudey, who is also the flagbearer of the CPP, had also defaulted in the payment of their SSNIT contributions and income tax to the Internal Revenue Service since they were employed in June last year.

3. SCHOOL HEADS ASKED TO REFUND ILLEGAL FEES - PG. 17

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has directed heads of second cycle schools who have billed students for arrears of boarding fees for the first term, to refund such monies with immediate effect.

Subsequently, it has requested all parents who have made such payments to go for their monies without delay.

Official statement issued in Accra noted with regret the manner in which some heads proceeded to include in the bills of students for the second term an amount of ?121,333, which represented arrears of boarding fees per student for the first term.

4. DR. ROBERT CALLS ON KUFUOR – PG. 16

Dr. Richard Robert, President of Oral Robert University, has paid a courtesy call on President Kufuor at the Castle Osu.

Dr. Robert is in the country to participate in the “Ghana for Christ Crusade” which started in Accra on Tuesday.

He was accompanied by Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, a Ghanaian evangelist.

THE GHANAIAN TIMES – THURSDAY, 5TH FEBRUARY, 2004

1. CARTER CHALLENGES AFRICAN LEADERS TO CURB GUINEA-WORM – PG. 1

Former President Jimmy Carter of the United States has said that, there was no excuse whatsoever for leaders in West Africa to fail their people in the fight to eradicate the guinea-worm disease.

According to him there was no excuse for the people to suffer, unnecessarily from the guinea-worm diseases, adding: “In Ghana the ability, resources, knowledge and the support to fight and eradicate the disease are in place,” and called on the government to commit itself to the challenge by taking swift and immediate action to fight the disease.

He was speaking at a press conference in Tamale after visiting Jantong/Dashei Traditional Area, a guinea-worm endemic community in the East Gonja District.

Meanwhile President Kufuor has granted audience to the former US President, Mr. Jimmy Carter at the Castle, Osu in Accra.

He is on a two-day visit to Ghana.

2. 66 BOREHOLES TO RELIEVE GUINEA-WORM ENDEMIC AREAS – PG. 1

According to the paper, the people of Jirapa-Lambussie district of the Upper West Region will soon be drinking safe water, thanks to a project that will provide them with 66 boreholes.

The ?2.7 billion project, being executed under the second phase of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency programme, with funds from the World Bank, also seeks to control guinea worm and trachoma, an eye disease.

Lack of potable water in parts of the area has been identified as a major cause of the high incidence of the two diseases, which are endemic in some communities in the district.

According to the paper, Ghana has been described as the second most endemic region of guinea worm in Africa after Sudan.

3. JAPANESE GOVT SUPPORTS MALNOURISHED WITH ?365.4M – PG. 3

The Japanese government has signed a ?365,423,000 grant with the Zuo Development Committee, a community based organization in the Tamale Municipality of the Northern Region.

The grant, under the Japanese Government Grass roots Human Security Project is for the construction of a nutrition centre for the people of Zuo, a suburb of Tamale.

Mrs. Kazuko Asai, the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, signed for her government while Mr. Abdul Yaya Abubakar, an elder of Zuo, signed for the people of the area.

4. DRUNKEN STAFF PUT ON NOTICE … IN NAVRONGO HOSPITAL – PG. 1

The paper reports that, the Ghana Health Service Directorate in Navrongo, will deal ruthlessly with any health personnel found drunk during working hours.

Dr. Patrick Atobrah, Medical Superintendent in charge of the Navrongo War Memorial Hospital stated this.

Disturbed about the rate at which some health personnel in the Navrongo District had resorted to drinking, he appealed to drinking bar operators not to sell alcoholic beverages to any health personnel during working hours.

He was speaking in Navrongo yesterday, as part of a programame to mark the celebration of the Ghana Health Service Week in the district.

The week-long celebration has the theme: ”Eat well, Stay Healthy and Live Longer.”

THE ACCRA DAILY MAIL – THURSDAY, 5TH FEBRUARY, 2004

AGYEPONG AT NRC AT LAST …STILL SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH AND JUSTICE – PG. 3

A son of one of the abducted and murdered judges in 1982, Mr. Kwabena Agyepong who is now the Press Secretary to the President was at the NRC yesterday to call for the reopening of the case.

Mr. Agyepong who was at the Commission with his mother said the Agyepong family is not at the Commission to seek vengeance but only interested in the truth.

He said he believes most principal characters involved in the killing of his father and his colleagues “are alive and must assist the Commission to come to the bottom of the matter.” <4> THE STATESMAN – THURSDAY, 5TH FEBRUARY, 2004 VOTER REGISTRATION SET IN MARCH 16 – PG. 1 & BK. PG.

The 2004 budget is to be read today by the Finance Minister, according to insiders, the date for the reading was brought forward to prompt the release of funds for the EC to put the electoral process into full gear.

The paper, hints that the EC is settling on March 16 as date to open the voter registration process, which is expected to take two weeks.

The Voter ID for this year’s election is a much-improved kind on the previous one, indicating that old incidence of electoral fraud would be significantly reduced.

The main feature on this year’s Voter ID is that scanned copy of every voter’s photograph will be kept on the EC database and produced alongside the voter’s details at the polling booth.

Thus, the photograph on the voter ID which the voter presents will be cross checked with what the EC has before it on the table before a voter is allowed to vote.

THE INDEPENDENT – THURSDAY, 5TH FEBRUARY, 2004

“NDC IS LIKE AN IMPOTENT MAN” – PG. 1 & BK. PG.

Mr. Kwadwo Yeboah Fordjour, Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the NPP, has likened the NDC’s quest for political power in the forthcoming general election to an impotent man exposing his impotency.

According to him, what some impotent men usually do at dawn is to pick a quarrel with their wives because their wives refused to embrace them, even though they had been on same bed with the wives for the whole night doing nothing. Speaking at the inauguration of the Women’s Wing of the Techiman North Constituency of NPP at Offuman, he revealed that God’s curse on Ghana would be revisited on Ghanaians, “if we make the mistake of voting for the NDC.”

He inferred that Ghanaians have had all what the P(NDC) could offer in 20 years and know that they have nothing more to offer.

THE EVENING NEWS – WEDNESDAY, 4TH FEBRUARY, 2004

1. POLITICAL PARTIES FLOUT LAW – PG. 1

The paper says barely 10 months to the December general elections, all the registered political parties in the country are found to have flouted a vital provision of the political parties law.

The law among others requires of every party to have offices in at least two thirds of all districts in the country.

This, the EC found not to have been met by the parties during its recent inspection tour of structures of political parties through out the country.

Mr. Albert Kofi Arhin, Director of Election, yesterday disclosed these to the paper in an interview in Accra.

He explained that the inspection tour was to find out whether the political parties had complied with that provision of opening offices in the districts and whether they were functional or not.

2. LET’S RESPECT THE PRESIDENCY – PG. 2

The paper in its editorial advocates that the most irresponsible statement ever made in recent memory is the one that came from the lips of the MP for Techiman North, Mr. Isaac Adjei Mensah.

His referral to the sitting President as one who has brought hardship and therefore deserves to be shot for pushing the country’s debt to over ?76 trillion within three years, is most unfortunate, it said.

According to the paper, it has umpteen times complained about the utterances of our politicians who go on air or political platforms and hurl insults at each other just to win cheap popularity, which do not help in the country’s forward match to stability and progress.

It adds that the allegation that some members of the ruling party have suffered from itchy palms does not give members of the minority the right to single out the President and assail him with frivolous references.

It also said as Ghanaians, we have a culture and tradition to uphold. We do not look in the face of the elderly and call him or her names, so our politicians must always bear this in mind and be courteous to one another as we move towards the D-Day.

THE DAILY GUIDE – THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH 2004

NO ATTACK ON JJ’S HOUSE. IT WAS A FALSE ALARM! – PG. 1 & BK. PG.

The paper’s investigations to assess the extent of damage to the outer gate of former President Rawlings’ building at Agirigano, have disclosed that there has not been any such attack.

There was no mob action, neither was there any attempts by “a gang of hoodlums inflicting bottle wounds on any security man guarding the ex-President’s uncompleted sprawling one-storey apartment”, as claimed by Victor Smith, Special Assistant to the former President.

The paper not convinced about the alleged attempt to vandalise the ex-President’s house, made a detour to the Airport and Legon police stations, to appraise itself of the extent of police investigations into the matter.

The police at both stations, stated that their investigations were continuing adding, so far, they had not seen traces of any attack on the former president’s house.