THE GHANAIAN CHRONICLE

The lead story on the front page of the Chronicle is under the banner headline: "Post Rawlings Presidential Race...NPP battle-ready for Konadu". The story says credible reports that Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings is holding herself in readiness to step into the shoes of her husband, as presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the next presidential elections scheduled for the year 2000, has "brought the full guns of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) blazing". "We are ready for her", Nana Akufo Addo, the Minority spokesman on legal and constitutional affairs told the Chronicle in Accra on Friday night. "The NPP is fully armed to deal with the threat she thinks she poses. This time round, we would not allow them (NDC) to have it cheap. "We will do everything to scupper their plans", the Chronicle reported Nana Akufo Addo as saying. The Chronicle says Nana Akufo Addo did not elaborate on how the NPP plans to deal with Nana Konadu's presidential ambition, but it is believed the NPP intends to be extra vigilant in areas they might have allowed the NDC to dominate at the last elections. GRI

The Chronicle in another front page story reports the disappearance of 216 bales of textile fabrics in two 40-footer containers from the Tema harbour, causing the nation to lose millions of cedis in revenue. under the headline: "Two containers of goods vanish from Tema Harbour", the paper says the disappearance of goods No. JHTF09259-216 bales of textile fabrics in delivery containers marked "African Business Holding" and freighted by "Cedile Maersk", is still under investigation with no arrests made, yet all the security chiefs at the port are still at a loss as to how such a thing could happen amid several security agencies at the port. The Chronicle says its investigations have established that one Peprah, a fork lift operator, who was an employee of Maersk Line, a shipping line, and his brother, a self-styled clearing agent, the principal character in the criminal act, are on the run and their accomplices keep eluding the port authorities and the police at the harbour. The paper says a committee of enquiry set up last April to probe the circumstances leading to the disappearance of the goods, among other references, is yet to release its report almost eight months after it was set up even though it was given three weeks to submit its findings. GRI

In a third front page story, the Chronicle throws more light on the October 31st murder of Dr. Abu Ahmed, the retired Managing Director of the Bank for Housing and Construction (BHC).

The paper reports quoting the head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service Mr. S.G. Aggor, that though preliminary clues are emerging which police investigators hope could lead to tracking down the killers of Dr. Ahmed, the total lack of public cooperation and volunteering information is a major setback to police investigations. "We are taking this and the murder of Dr. Akwei seriously and have assembled a special team to produce results but the apathy of the public towards the provision of information which could assist the police, is very disappointing", the Chronicle quoted him as saying in an interview. GRI