Rawlings roars from Ridge

MILLS PANICS AT CASTLE
… But Bagbin says order won`t work
Posted: The Chronicle | Thursday, November 26, 2009

By Issah Alhassan & Charles Takyi-Boadu

THE DIRECTIVE issued by the President, His Excellency Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, to all Ministers of State to grant unrestricted access to sympathisers of the ruling party anytime they come to them, appears not to have gone down well with the Majority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Nadowli West, Mr. Alban Sumani Bagbin.
Perhaps feeling the heat from a recent series of attacks launched on his government by the Founder of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), ex-President Jerry John Rawlings, and other functionaries of the party, including party chairmen and cadres across the country, President Mills is reported to have instructed all ministers, through his Spokesperson, Mahama Ayariga, to grant unlimited entrée to supporters of the ruling party, anytime they visit their offices.

But the Majority Leader seems not amused with the President’s decision, saying the decree was far from being feasible, given the circumstances under which ministers operate in this country.

“I do not think this order of the President will work, in fact, it is not practicable in the sense you cannot tell the Minister to leave his busy schedules to attend to everybody who comes to his or her office,” he stated.

The leader of the august house was reacting to the President’s directives in an interview with Angel 96.1FM, a Kumasi-based radio station yesterday.

According to Mr. Bagbin, most of the current crop of Ministers are first-timers, who need a little more time to adapt to public administration, and as such, telling them to entertain party sympathisers would pose a lot of inconveniences.

He noted, “as a Minister of State, you are under constant pressure everyday to attend to government duties, it is even more difficult for those who experience public service for the first time, and I do not think they will have the leisure to entertain party sympathisers.”

Alban Bagbin, who has also waded into the recent controversy stirred by former President Rawlings following his comments that the Presidency had been hijacked by opportunists and sycophants, by supporting the ex-Presidents’ assertion, stated that the President ought to take a second look at his much-trumpeted lean government policy.

According to him, even though he does not find anything wrong with the President wanting to cut down government expenditure and raise revenue for the country, he believes the President can make few adjustments without necessarily jeopardising the agenda.

“To me, the lean government policy must be done with some human face. I believe there are few appointments the President can make, particularly to the Ministries, to complement the efforts of the Ministers.”

The Nadowli MP mentioned for instance, that the President can appoint a few technocrats to the Ministries to offer technical assistance and expertise to the new Ministers, for them to be able to perform creditably.

“I do not think the current situation is the best. The President wants to cut down cost, that is fine, but there are also few party sympathisers out there who toiled day and night for the party to get to where we are right now, and I am sure it would not be out of place to reward them,” he noted.

In a related development, Charles Takyi Boadu also reports that President Mills may have to revise his directive to political appointees to either give or create ‘space’ at their various places of work for supposed footsoldiers and members of his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), considering the heat the issue has generated across the length and breadth of the country, since the announcement was made.

Several callers to various radio stations criticised the President’s decision, which they perceived as an attempt to give preference to members of his political party.

Latest among those who have openly spoken against the ‘President’s initiative’ is a Senior Political Science Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kwasi Amakye Boateng.

In an exclusive telephone interview with The Chronicle yesterday, he noted that the President’s decision could further divide the country on political lines, and that he made a grave mistake by coming out with a directive, he described as unfortunate, since according to him, “it seeks to deepen political patronage in our body politics.”

He noted that no political party would want to go that way, since the the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies he directed the supporters to, are not employment creation centres, asking, “are they offices for employment, why are they going there?”

That notwithstanding, he noted that the resources available at these institutions are national ones, “so if we say that a section of society, members of a political party, should go in with legitimate concerns, we find out that the term legitimate concern seeks to legitimise an action/behaviour that in a democracy is illegitimate.”

This, in his opinion, could be a way of splitting society, considering the fact that the country was gradually being divided along political lines.

He also believes that the President’s directive is discriminatory, “simply because the impression is that if you are not a member of the NDC, then there is no way you are going to benefit from the largesse.

“You can’t wake up one day and go to the DCE that I’ve come, DCE, I need ABCD. So the place where they were directed to, itself, is problematic,” he stated.

Furthermore, he said the initiative sought to isolate only a section of society for special reward.

To him the directive seems to suggest that the President was trying to use national resources to build the NDC as a political party. This, he continued, “is also not desirable in a democracy.”

Mr. Boateng believes that this directive goes to buttress the fact that President Mills is giving in to pressures from his NDC party, and specifically from its Founder and former President Rawlings, who has accused the current administration of neglecting footsoldiers, whose toil and sweat brought the party to government.

The University Don argued that the footsoldiers and Mr. Rawlings have forgotten that a government is brought into office to help develop the nation, generate employment, not only for a section of society, but for a whole nation.

He advised the government to use the much-publicised Savannah Project to create employment, since rice was gradually becoming an important commodity on the market.

Ben Ephson`s analysis of ruling party

NDC doesn`t need Rawlings to survive
… Says party has grown beyond the `Rawlings-factor`
Posted: The Chronicle | Tuesday, November 24, 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu

Political analyst, Pollster and Editor-In-Chief of The Daily Dispatch newspaper, Ben Ephson, whose views matter a lot in modern-day Ghanaian politics, says the National Democratic Congress (NDC), as a party, does not need former President Jerry John Rawlings to survive any given elections.

This, according to him, was due to the fact that with time and over the years, the party has grown from an individual-centred one, into a whole political institution, and for that matter, no individual could lay claim to its fortunes.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Chronicle yesterday, Uncle Ben, as he is affectionately called, said Rawlings' exit from the NDC would not cause so much harm to the party, since the only effect it would cause, would be that “those who go to vote because of Rawlings, will not go and vote.”

On what would become of the NDC if the former President decides to leave the party as he has threatened, Mr. Ephson, said that would largely depend on whether or not he will go his solo way to form another party, or merely stay outside the confines of the NDC, a party he is credited to have formed, “it can affect the party in terms of apathy by people not going out to vote.”

Even then, he noted, “the party will still be strong,” stressing that be as it may, Rawlings' influence and the clout he has in the party does not have the tendency of having too much effect on the NDC.”

That notwithstanding, Mr. Ephson said, “given 3 years, the NDC will be stronger than a Rawlings party. He can't use years to form a party that can be stronger than the NDC.”

Because, “when we did in 2000-2004, the Rawlings support maybe 10%-15%, so if he says he's leaving to form his own party, then he cannot be stronger than the NDC, maybe with time but now…”

In one of his recent interviews with this reporter, Mr. Ephson attributed Mr. Rawlings' continuous attack on the character of President John Evans Atta Mills, as being out of frustration.

This was because Mr. Rawlings was finding it extremely difficult to come to terms with the fact that the incumbent President was exhibiting a level of independence.

Mr. Ephson, who is well noted for his electoral predictions, indicated that though perceptions may not necessarily be true, they may be very powerful considerations in politics, stressing, “so it is now becoming clear that Rawlings is getting frustrated at Mills' fair amount of independence.”

He therefore noted that the perception that Mills was still reeling under the shadows of Rawlings, might have some level of political current.

Whilst he concedes that Rawlings is very popular, Mr. Ephson noted that his popularity was not enough to win power for the NDC.

According to him, the NDC won 2008 election based on the character and personality of then candidate Mills, and not through the popularity or personality of Rawlings.

At any given time, he emphasised, both the NDC and NPP need floating voters to win power.

“Clearly Rawlings is not used to his ideals not being adhered to, so I think there is more honest frustration for not having his advise adhered to.”

That notwithstanding, he believes the NDC is better placed to come out of the challenges it is undergoing, with the belief that the situation would not get out of hand.

There is seemingly brewing tension in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the continuous attack on the personality of President John Evans Atta Mills by Rawlings. Credible, but confidential sources, close to both the seat of government, the Osu Castle and the party's Kokomlemle headquarters, told The Chronicle that the NDC is still grabbling with the rippling effects of Rawlings' recent outburst, which virtually sought to question the authority of the sitting President.

Rawlings is seen by some party members, and other members of the public, as trying strenuously to usurp the powers of President Mills to make it seem as though he is reeling under his shadow.

They see Rawlings' continuous attack on the President, as part of a deliberate ploy and 'hidden agenda' he is hatching, to not only create enmity, but also undermine President Mills the President, for not toeing his line.

According to our sources, this was gradually affecting the party, by gradually creating factions and power blocs in the party, which in the end is causing disaffection for the President among the populace.

Deceptive suspect remanded

… On three counts of fraud, conspiracy and issuance of dud cheque
Posted: The Chronicle | Friday, November 20, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

The suspect, who nearly landed some police personnel in a bloody clash with other colleagues on Wednesday, Kofi Boateng has been remanded into police custody for further investigations. This was when he appeared before an Accra Circuit Court, where he is facing charges of fraud, conspiracy and issuance of dud cheque. He is to reappear on November 23, 2009.
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Adom, told the court that the suspect had agreed to corporate with investigations, and had even given the names of one Alhaji and another Laryea as his accomplices.

Kofi Boateng is the man who raised a false alarm in the early hours of Wednesday, this week, to deceive the police headquarters into dispatching two patrol teams who were fully armed to his Teshie residence, under the pretext that his family being attacked by supposed armed robbers, when rather they were policemen who had been detailed from the Accra West Divisional Headquarters at Kaneshie, to effect his arrest.

But, for the professional conduct of two patrol teams, they would have engaged their other colleagues in a shootout, considering the information they received.

Upon reaching the house in Teshie where the suspect was hiding, the police, some of whom were in mufti and others in uniform, went straight to knock at his door.

His wife then showed up at the door, and inquired from the policemen what their mission was.

They told the lady they had been sent to bring her husband to the station, and proceeded to ask of his whereabouts.

When asked whether the suspect was in the room, the lady was said to have responded in the negative.

The source told the paper that they suspected mischief, since they saw somebody moving about the room. But, before the police could take any action, another team of police in three police patrol vehicles arrived at the scene ready for action.

But for the sighting of one of the men from the Accra West divisional headquarters who was wearing a police uniform, the police officers from Police Headquarters would have opened fire on their other colleagues who had gone to the house in a private vehicle.

Word Miracle church owns Avenor land

…But Ahmadiyya Mission still lays claim to it
Posted:The Chronicle | Friday, November 20, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

Details have started emerging about the true owners of the disputed land at Avenor, in Accra, which has been a subject of controversy between the Bishop Charles Agyin Asare-led Word Miracle Church International (WMCI) and Maulvi Wahab Adam-led Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission over the last couple of days.
Chronicle investigations have revealed the identity of the original owner of the land, as one Kofi Appiah. Mr. Appiah became the owner of the land on May 24 1977, by virtue of the fact that he was given the deed of entitlement of the land by its previous owner, one Nii Ayitey Cobblah after transferring ownership into his name.

This came to light after the paper put in an official search request at the Lands Commission in Accra to ascertain the veracity of the claims and counter claims of the ownership.

The findings that came out after the search indicated that before the Word Miracle Church, the land had been owned by four different people in the persons of Joseph O.A Lamptey and Richard T. Nettey, who signed a declaration in November 23 1976, and then transferred the title deeds into the name of another Numo Ayittey Cobblah, whose name has been cited in documents in both claimants of the land.

The findings further indicated that Numo Ayittey Cobblah in turn transferred and signed a conveyance in May 24 1977, giving the title of the land to one John Kofi Appiah.

But when Mr. Appiah passed on in April 18 2003, the ownership of the land automatically went to his son and estate, one Kofi Afriyie, who won a legal action instituted by his late father at an Accra High Court, presided over by his Lordship Justice G.A Aryeetey, against the then Ghana Water Engineering company limited over the same parcel of land.

It was after winning this legal battle that Mr. Afriyie sold the land to the Word Miracle Church International in the year 2004, and assisted them in registering it in their name. It was based on this route of title and ownership that the Chief Registrar of Lands at the Land Title Registry decided to register the land in the name of the church and subsequently issued them with a Land Certificate, dated September 14 2009.

However, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission still make a claim to the land, since according to them they got it through an Indenture executed on or about December 11 1985, between the Mission as the lessee and the same Numo Ayittey Cobblah (Korle priest) who conveyed the land to Kofi Appiah in 1977 and Nii Ayittey Agbofu II (Gbese Mantse) and Nii Amugi II (Ga Mantse) as lessors.

In a letter copied to the Presiding Bishop of the WMCI, Bishop Charles Agyin Asare, the General Secretary of the Mission, Ahmad S. Anderson expressed his utter shock and dismay at the church’s claim to own the land.

Whilst they take steps to protect and defend the integrity of the said land, he noted,‘we deem it necessary in the spirit of peace and brotherhood that guide the activities of all religious organizations like ours, to claim ownership of the land.’

The only document that the Mission appear to be banking its hopes on, in their bid to claim ownership of the land is an Indenture which in itself does not constitute a deed or title to a land.

That notwithstanding, it has indicated its preparedness to explore avenues with the WMCI in resolving the controversy, devoid of tension, acrimony, rancour and bad press that recent events relating to the land have engendered. They thus prayed for an amicable resolution of the stand off, since according to them, ‘endless litigation would not serve the best interest of any of us.’

Meanwhile, an Accra High Court on Wednesday granted bail to the General Secretary of the WMCI, Bishop Frimpong. He was arrested and kept overnight by the police, alongside twenty-four others on the day of the shooting incident, which claimed 2 lives on the disputed land. The rest have been remanded into prison custody till the next hearing.

RAWLINGS THREATENS TO QUIT NDC

Posted: The Chronicle | Friday, November 20, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

``If we do not wake up to correct the mistakes, I will not have anything to do with the party. I have died so many times for the party, been humiliated both locally and internationally. I cannot die for the greedy bastards who have wormed their way into government.`` - H. E. Jerry John Rawlings
Former President Rawlings, who is also the Founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has threatened to quit the party if President Mills and members of his administration do not sit up.

“If we do not wake up to correct the mistakes, I will not have anything to do with the party. I have died so many times for the party, been humiliated both locally and internationally. I cannot die for the greedy bastards who have wormed their way into government,” was how he put it, when he met constituency chairmen drawn from twenty-two constituencies in the Greater Accra Region on Tuesday.

Rawlings said he noted fundamental mistakes in the Mills’ administration right from the onset, but when he publicly pointed them out to ensure that matters did not escalate, nothing significant was done to improve the situation.

Instead, he noted that some of his own colleague-NDC members, tried to insinuate that he harbours presidential ambitions. “We have brought people into our midst who are unknown to the party, people we do not know,” he said.

He charged the rank and file of the party, especially the footsoldiers, “to wake up and take their destiny into their own hands. When we won, I thought I could retire and write my memoirs, but I am not being allowed to that. I have suffered humiliation, assassination attempts, and abuse, and now I am facing the same with my party’s government? We seem to be afraid to right the wrongs of the past, and now the criminals of the past government are emboldened, and many have entrenched themselves in the military and other sensitive institutions.”

The former President could not, but charge members of the party he formed, to demand accountability from Professor Mills and his NDC administration, since, according to him, “there is no point in complaining about unfulfilled promises without a courageous attempt to confront government.”

The constituency chairmen sought audience with the former President to express misgivings about the break in communication between the party and government.

They were particularly concerned about the failure of the Presidency to accord them audience, despite repeated requests, and said it was dampening the mood in the party.

But Rawlings said he was well-aware of the discontentment among most of the party supporters, saying, “they think you constituency chairmen are comfortable. Unfortunately, you are also in the same situation as they are.”

Spokesman for the group and constituency chairman for La Dadekotopon, Magnus Anyetei Sowah, said the supporters had spent years working for the party to return to power, but unfortunately the synergy between government and party had totally broken down.

According to him, the Ga constituencies had played a yeoman’s role in returning the NDC into power, and therefore noted that it was unacceptable that they were being ignored in such a shabby manner.

He mentioned how some members of government have sought to silence them by threatening them not to speak publicly about their disenchantment or face their wrath.

Furthermore, Mr. Rawlings said it was unfortunate that issues of electoral fraud that nearly caused the NDC to lose last year’s election, have not been brought to the fore, even though there was enough evidence to expose it, asking rhetorically, “do we not understand politics?”

For this reason, the former President said it was important for members of the party to make wise decisions during the ongoing constituency and polling station elections, to ensure that only people who genuinely care for the people are elected, saying “we should not allow this party to be destroyed by any self-seeker.”

Earlier last Wednesday, a group of former parliamentary candidates, drawn from the Greater and Ashanti regions, also called on the former President to express similar sentiments of discontentment with the party’s failure to accord its faithful courtesies and audience.

Their spokesperson, Augustus Kweku Eshun, said the government and party leaders had failed to take stock of how victory was achieved, noting that some policies being currently implemented by the government were unpopular with the people, and could affect the fortunes of the NDC in 2012.

The candidates, who took turns to express their grievances, said they were disappointed that some of them were being tagged as pro-Rawlings, and thus against the Mills administration.

“During the campaign, we all saw how former President Rawlings campaigned vigorously across the country for President Mills. How can anyone in his right mind now question our closeness to him? Is he not the founder of the party?” one of them asked.

The group said the party’s structures had weakened, and it was imperative that the founder took steps to check the problems engulfing the party. Former President Rawlings, in response, noted that it was important that the former candidates stay faithful and loyal to the grassroots supporters, and not pursue individual agendas.

“If we are faithful and loyal to what the people are saying, we will go a long way. I have heard disgraceful things. If they want to destroy government, they should go ahead, but they should not transfer that to the party. If I was a selfish person, June 4 and 31st would not have happened. “Some of our people are intoxicated with power, and have forgotten about the people. The NDC that was born out of the quest for justice is being destroyed, so NPP will return.”

The former President said the only way to ensure that sanity prevailed, was for the party faithful to be bold and defy attempts by a few to hijack the party, and ignore the will of the people.

“We need to be truthful, bold and courageous, and tell the government that the NDC needs to demonstrate that there is something better than what the NPP offered,” former President Rawlings said.

Dawn swoop lands peace officers in trouble

POLICE AVERT BLOODY CLASH
… After arresting officers are declared armed robbers
Posted: The Chronicle | Thursday, November 19, 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu & George K. Frimpong


Good professional conduct exhibited by police personnel detailed to effect the arrest of a suspect at Teshie, a suburb of Accra, averted what could have been a bloody clash in the early hours of Wednesday.
Upon seeing the police, the suspect intentionally raised a false alarm by making call to the police headquarters asking them to come to his rescue, as he was being attacked by armed robbers.

However, a team of over twenty armed police personnel, who were dispatched from the police headquarters to rescue him and his family from the supposed robbers, exercised the greatest sense of caution and restraint, when they got to the scene around 3:00 a.m.

Unknown to the police personnel, who had been dispatched from the police headquarters, the supposed robbers were their own colleagues, who had been detailed from the Accra West divisional headquarters at Kaneshie to arrest the suspect, a certain Kofi Boateng, who has eluded the police for several months, after allegedly defrauding another man of a whopping amount of GH¢18,000 (the equivalent of 180 million old cedis) under the pretext of providing him 40 drums of ethanol.

Sources at the divisional headquarters told The Chronicle that upon reaching the house at Teshie, where the suspect was hiding, the police, some of whom were in mufti, went straight to knock on his door.

His wife then showed up at the door, and inquired from the police what their mission was.

The security men then told the lady that they had been sent to bring her husband to the station, and proceeded to ask her of his whereabouts.

But, the lady reportedly told the police that her husband was not around.

The source told the paper that they suspected mischief, since they saw somebody moving about in the room.

Even before the police could take any action, another team of police pesponnel, in three police patrol vehicles, arrived at the scene ready for action.

But for the sighting one of the men from the Accra West divisional headquarters, who was in uniform, the police officers from the Police Headquarters would have opened fire on their on their colleagues, who had gone to the house in a private vehicle.

According to the police, this could have resulted in a bloody clash if they had not exercised the highest level of professionalism, considering the report they received when the desperate call came in.

When The Chronicle contacted the Accra West Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent Michael Kportufe Avadetsi, he confirmed the incident, but indicated that there was no confrontation between the two teams of police officers.

He told the paper that his men booked entry at the Kaneshie Police station before proceeding to Teshie for the operation, and subsequently when they got to Teshie where the suspect was hiding, they went to the station to inform the police officers there about their intended arrest.

According to him, the complaint in the case claims to have given an amount GH¢18,000 to one Nii Mensah to provide him with 40 drums of lentils alcohol, who in turn paid the money into the suspect’s (Boateng’s) bank account, since he had made claims that he was a worker at the Osu Castle, and that some of the products were being auctioned at the seat of government.

Five months down the line, Chief Supt Avadetsi said the Boateng had failed to produce the product, and also eluded the police, until he was arrested in the early hours of yesterday, and was now in custody.

John Boadu goes for Lord Commey`s post

…Banks hopes on experience, credentials
Posted: The Chronicle | Wednesday, November 18, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

The National Youth Organiser of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, has declared his intention to contest for the position of National Organiser of the party, a position currently occupied by his good friend, Lord Commey.
He has promised to give other competitors, including the likes of Alhaji Muctar Bamba and Isaac Eduasor Edumadze, who have openly declared their intentions to contest for the same position a good run for their money, considering the level of clout he has gathered with time.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Chronicle, Mr. Boadu was optimistic of winning the position, banking his hopes on the experience and credentials he has gathered in the service to the party over the years. Though it is not clear whether or not Lord Commey will contest for the position, credible sources at the party’s headquarters have told the paper that he would like to take a back seat for sometime, and for will not seek re-election.

According to our sources, considering the cordial relations between the two (John and Lord), it is most likely that Lord would give John his blessings.

However, John said his decision to contest for the position was borne out of the successive processes he has gone through in the party, right from the days when he was Polling Station executive to Constituency Secretary.

John said he proceeded to become Regional Information Officer to National Youth Treasurer and then to Finance Officer and finally to the position of National Youth Organiser, which he currently occupies.

That notwithstanding, he said he has served and paid his dues to the party, for him to seek the entitlement of that position. According to him, “I have acquired the necessary skills, I have worked under a lot of people in this party and I believe that I still need to put my service at the disposal of the party.”

Asked how he assesses his chances in view of the names that have come out as potential contenders for the position, John said “in my view, in terms of looking at experience and knowledge in politics, I think that it will be difficult for any of the names you are talking about to beat me.” The National Youth Organiser said “it will not be possible at all, especially with the work that I have done for this party at the Youth level.”

John Boadu further noted that he has received a lot of calls from party people on the ground and senior party members, and believes he has excelled in all the positions he has occupied, either by virtue of elections or appointment, and believe it is time for him to give his service to the party, and to organize it just as it was done over the years by the likes of Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd) and the incumbent, Lord Commey.

He believes these two individuals exhibited a great sense of leadership and style, which he intends to put altogether as one, to help the party win elections in the year 2012. He credited Quashigah for training party agents and communication and Lord Commey for his skills in event management and organization. “I have been with all these people. I’m going to combine both and bring dynamism in party organization,” he said.

Word Miracle challenges claimants

…and produces land certificate to show ownership of `disputed` land
Posted: The Chronicle | Wednesday, November 18, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

Lawyers and the leadership of the Word Miracle Church International (WMCI) yesterday tendered in documents to prove that they are the only and true owners of a parcel of land at Avenor, which resulted in a dispute that claimed two lives on Monday morning.
This was when the church invited a section of the media to their headquarters located at Dzorwulu in Accra yesterday, to show them proof of how they acquired the land through legal means.

Lawyer for the church and Accra-based legal practitioner, Adjei Lartey, who spoke on behalf of the church, produced a land certificate dated September 14, 2009, and signed by the Chief Registrar of Lands at the Land Title Registry, which gave the name of the owners of the 1.29 hectares (3.20 acre) of land situated at Avenor, as the WMCI.

He thus rubbished the claims and speculations making rounds in the media, as though the church had encroached on somebody’s property, saying “that is totally false.”

“From the records available at the Land Title Registry to the Lands Commission, the Word

Miracle Church is the bonafide owner of that piece of land located at Avenor.”

This, according to him, was evident in the fact that the church conducted all the legal processes before going into the purchase of the land in the year 2004.

He could therefore not find any wisdom in claims that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission owns the land.

In spite of that, the leadership of the church says it is prepared to meet anybody who has a problem with the land, to discuss the issue, and resolve it. “Any contesting claimant should hold his peace. If he is not satisfied with the proceedings so far, the law court is available and assessable, he can go and state his case, and we will be ready to meet him.”

According to him, the land was sold to the Nkrumah circle branch of the WMCI, by the late John Kofi Appiah and his existing son, and then went ahead to follow all the legal processes to get a registered title from the Land Title Registry to cover the land.

Prior to the issuance of the land certificate, he noted that the Registrar of Lands caused a publication in the Ghanaian Times newspaper, in which he sought to notify the public of their intention to register the said land, as required by law.

Since then, he noted that no single individual or group of persons had issued a caveat body, or even raised an objection against the sale or purchase of the land, and therefore stressed, “The certificate which has been issued is an indivisible title, which inures to the benefit of the title holder, which is the Word Miracle Church International.”

Due to an earlier judgment in favour of the church, he noted that they sought an order for leave for execution and demolition of the structures on the land, which was granted by an Accra High Court.

This, according to him, enjoined the police to assist in the removal of the structures last week Wednesday.

In their quest to develop the land, Lawyer Adjei Lartey noted that the church has had a series of consultations with the chiefs and people of the area, the Assembly Member, and the Okaikoi sub-metro, in which they outlined their plans for the area, including an adoption and elevation of the Avenor Community School.

Based on this, he said, “We find it inconsistent and unacceptable for anybody to claim that the church has no land in the locality.”

Asked of the identities of those who went to the land on Monday, the lawyer responded that they were those who assisted the police when they were recovering the land, since according to him, “the police saw them, assisted them, and they cannot be termed as landguards.

“The church never engages landguards, because we are owners of the land, and it doesn’t make sense if an owner of land will go and employ landguards on his own land,” he noted with emphasis.

The church however expressed regret at the incident which resulted in the loss of the lives of two individuals, describing it as unfortunate. They therefore expressed their heartfelt condolences to the deceased families for the loss.

Meanwhile, the church has indicated its preparedness to assist the families of the bereaved to find a resting place for those who lost their lives during Monday’s incident.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission has however sought to disassociate itself from the incident. A statement signed and issued in Accra yesterday, by its General Affairs Secretary, Alhaj Abdul Rahman Ennin, said, “the mission wishes to make it abundantly clear that it is not, and has not, been in litigation in court with any other religious body over the ownership of any parcel of land at Avenor.”

The Mission thus noted that it had not engaged landguards or any group of persons to fight in its interest. The statement however noted that the Mission owns plot number 165 in Avenor, by an indenture dated December 11, 1985, executed between itself and one Numo Ayitey Agbofu II (Gbese Mantse) as lessors, stressing that the latter issued the parcel of land covering an approximate area of 1.59 acres in the Avenor area.

It is thus not clear whether it is the same parcel land the two religious bodies are laying claim to.

NDC Chairmanship race

Kwabena Adjei, Anang in serious contention
Posted: The Chronicle | Tuesday, November 17, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

Despite the names of Alhaji Huudu Yahaya and Accra-based Legal practitioner, Larry Adjetey, been bandied around as potential candidates for the National Chairmanship position of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), the contest seems to be heading for a straight fight between the incumbent Chairman, Dr. Kwabena Adjei and the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the party, Daniel Anang.
Though none of the above-mentioned individuals have openly declared their intentions to contest for the position, The Chronicle has picked up signals from the party’s headquarters that the duo have indeed expressed interest in contesting for the National chairman position.

However, the names of Huudu Yahaya, currently the second Vice Chairman of the party, and Larry Adjetey, son of the late Peter Ala Adjetey of blessed memory, former Speaker of Parliament, have been completely ruled out by party supporters who think they do not have a strong base (constituency) in the party to run for the position.

The two front-runners, Dr. Kwabena Adjei and Daniel Anang remain tight-lipped as to whether they would contest the position. On paper, Dr. Kwabena Adjei has all the trappings of incumbency and has also toured all the ten regions. It was during his tenure that the NDC won power in the last election.

Dr. Kwabena Adjei also enjoys a considerable number of support from most NDC Members in Parliament (MP), with whom he served as MP in the Jerry Rawlings’ era. This makes his chances brighter, but political observers and key party functionaries believe he will have a tough time in battling Daniel Anang, whose exploits and initiatives in the party has earned him the nickname -‘Millenium/Champion Chairman’.

Daniel Anang is, however, considered as a thorough-bred grass root party man, having risen through the ranks to various positions in the party, including Chairman of the Ledzokuku constituency and later the Greater Accra Regional Chairman.

Mr. Anang, at a time he was a constituency Chairman, was credited for single-handedly organising the various constituency Chairmen in the region to form an association to lobby for their collective interest, an initiative he later carried over the regional level by forming the Regional Chairmen Association with similar objectives.

Considering his extensive links with key and influential party executives, which trickles down to the grass root, Daniel Anang is seen as the person to pose a challenge to Kwabena Adjei’s ambitions.

Police quiz Word Miracle Church

… Over gory Avenor shooting incident
Posted: The Chronicle | Tuesday, November 17, 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu & Stephen Odoi Larbi

The police have begun questioning the leadership of the Word Miracle Church International (WMCI) over a sporadic shooting incident which claimed one life at Avenor, near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, in the early hours of yesterday.
This follows claims that the church organised some landguards, including the one who was shot dead, to carry out an exercise in the area which is mostly occupied by people suspected to be squatters.

The police therefore invited the leadership of the church for questioning to ascertain the truth in the allegation.

A high-powered delegation from the church, led by its General Secretary, Bishop Hansel Agyei Frimpong, went to the Greater Accra Police Command to answer questions concerning the incident.

The church and the supposed squatters have given different accounts of what led to the shooting incident.

While the squatters accuse the church of sending armed landguards to the place to attack them, the church also claims it was the residents who started shooting at their workers who had gone to the site to work, and that they had not engaged the services of any landguards.

A certain Reverend Samuel Owusu Nsiah, who spoke to The Chronicle on the directive of the General Secretary of the church, said the police invited them as part of their investigations.

Whilst admitting that the church sent some people to the said land to work, he denied that those individuals were landguards, as was being speculated, since, according to him, they were labourers who had been engaged to dig trenches for construction work to begin.

He narrated that when these labourers went to the site to work last Friday, they were compelled by circumstances to abandon the idea, and left, since they were threatened by some residents in the area, most of whom he said, were squatters on the land.

According to him, they decided not to go there until yesterday, when the gory incident occurred.

Minutes after they started work, and were lifting some concrete blocks, the Reverend noted, the workers saw people coming from all sides, some of whom were wielding guns.

This, according to him, made the workers stop work, and they started running for fear of losing their lives.

At this point, he noted, the attacking group, which appeared to be well-organised, started firing shots into the workers who were fleeing, an assertion disputed by residents of the area, who said the people were landguards, and that they rather were the ones who fired the shots at them.

Residents in the area told the paper that the supposed landguards arrived at the site in a 207 Mercedes Benz bus, with registration number GT 4034 W, to continue with an unfinished demolition exercise they started last Wednesday, on a parcel of land they claimed to be owned by the Ahmadiya Muslim Mission, but suspected to have been resold to the Word Miracle Church by the Chief of the area.

The supposed landguards were said to be wielding pump-action guns, pistols, AK 47 assault rifles and machetes, amidst the chanting of war songs.

Their action, according to eye witnesses who spoke to this paper on condition of anonymity, infuriated the boys in the area, majority of who are artisans, to respond to their tantrums.

In the process, they narrated that one of the boys in the area confronted one of the landguards who was wearing dreadlocks, and dared him to go ahead with the demolition exercise.

This triggered a heated argument, which resulted in the death of one person whose left arm was amputated.

There and then, the whole area turned into a battlefield, with the residents running helter-skelter.

Sensing the danger of what could befall them, considering the number of people in the area, the landguards were said to have beaten a hasty retreat, by firing their way out with guns, leaving the amputee and their vehicle behind.

When the police team from the Regional Police Command and the Neoplan Police Station, in which jurisdiction the incident occurred, got to the scene at a time the exchanges had ended.

At the time The Chronicle visited the area, the Neoplan Police, led by Madam Diana Amoako, was busily interrogating some residents over the incident. They managed to retrieve some cartridges and machetes.

Madam Amoako however told The Chronicle that her outfit received the news via a radio report, and quickly responded by moving into the area with some personnel to restore order.

The police have since taken the dead body to an undisclosed mortuary.

The Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Rose Bio Atinga, told the paper that they had begun intensive investigations into the incident, and that the police have arrested 27 people in connection with the incident, 17 of whom are believed to be landguards.

KAKRABA QUARSHIE BEATS HASTY RETREAT

…After dragging A-G, BNI to Supreme Court
Posted: The Chronicle | Thursday, November 12, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

A leading member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Raymond Kakraba Quarshie who sued the government through its agents; the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), has backtracked.
He brought a suit against the two state institutions at the Superior Court seeking an order that any person appearing before any panel of the BNI shall be entitled to a lawyer of his choice. But barely two months after initiating the suit, Kakraba Quarshie, who happens to be a lawyer and a former executive of the NPP failed to pursue the case after the A-G filed her response.

He filed a notice of discontinuation saying that after having carefully studied the legal authorities cited by the AG in her preliminary objections, he has taken the decision to discontinue his action.

Kakraba Quarshie was seeking a declaration that “the decision of the government freezing the constitutional rights of NPP gurus and former government officials to have legal representation when they are invited to national security facilities for interrogation is oppressive, capricious, arbitrary, unconstitutional and a clear violation of Article 14 of the 1992 constitution and other statutes”.

This, according to him, was because the country’s Constitution guaranteed that every person shall be entitled to his personal liberty and no person shall be deprived of his personal liberty except in certain cases and in accordance with procedure permitted by law.

These exceptions, he said included the execution of a sentence or order of a court in respect of a criminal offence, of which a person has been convicted; in execution of an order of a court punishing a person in contempt of court; for the purpose of bringing a person before a court in execution of an order of a court or when a person is suffering from an infectious or contagious disease.

He also identified other exceptions which included preventing unlawful entry of that person into Ghana, or upon reasonable suspicions of his/her having committed or being about to commit a criminal offence under the laws of Ghana. But in her response to the suit, the A-G and Minister of Justice raised legal objections to the effect that the applicant’s suit was in contravention of Article 33 of the constitution which provides that any action seeking to enforce the fundamental human rights of a person must be initiated at the High Court and that it was wrong in law to sue the BNI instead of the Attorney General.

Kakraba Quarshie’s suit was necessitated by the invitation of several members of the previous NPP administration including Ministers to the BNI for questioning. Some of these former Ministers and the party itself protested against the decision of the BNI not to allow the affected Ministers to be accompanied by their lawyers when they were invited by the BNI.

Ban ethnic student unions on campuses

…Prof Agyekum suggests to school heads
Posted: The Chronicle | Wednesday, November 11, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu




A Senior Linguistics Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, Professor Kofi Agyekum has expressed concern over the proliferation of ethnic student unions on campuses of the various levels of education in the country, particularly at the Senior High Schools and the Universities.
He believes the existence of such groups in the country’s schools give credence to the occasional ethnic violence that is witnessed across the length and breadth of Ghana, since it tends to breed division instead of unity.

In an exclusive interview with The Chronicle, Professor Agyekum (Opanin Agyekum) noted that if the issue of ethnicity is not handled with care, it could plunge the entire nation into chaos. Though he admitted that there is nothing wrong with one associating with where he or she comes from, it becomes a problem “when the practice is carried to the schools”.

“My fear is that it is infiltrating into our tertiary institutions and the secondary schools level, where there are the mushrooming of ethnic groupings, such as Ashanti Students Union, Volta Students Union, Brong Ahafo Students Union, Western Students Union and a host of other such ethnic students’ unions”, he said.

Prof. Agyekum argued that the situation breeds the proliferation of more sub-ethnic groups such as the Sekyere Students Union, Amansie Students Union, Navrongo Students Union, among others.

This, according to him, “is a bad precedence that is being set’, and he asked rhetorically –”if we go on like this, how can we also guarantee that our lecturers will not be ethnocentric, and if you get a lecturer who is so ethnocentric, how is he going to look at the work of other students who are not from his ethnic group?” For this reason, the learned fellow said “I think its better we start to put an end to this phenomenon before it degenerates into something else.’

Asked about whether the existing ethnic student unions on the various campuses should be banned, the Legon Don responded in the affirmative. At the secondary school levels where much power is vested in the Headmaster, Assistant Headmaster and Senior Housemasters, he noted it is possible to nip the canker in the bud.

He wondered whether same could be said and done at the tertiary level, since according to him “at the University, the students are matured and know their rights”, wondering how the Students Representative Council (SRC) of a University would easily succumb to taking away the freedom of association of students.”

He noted that institutions like the media, churches, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the National Peace Council (NPC) of which the Linguistics lecturer is a member, could help to sensitise and educate Ghanaians on how dangerous the issue of ethnicity could become, if not handled with the care it deserves.

Mills under fire over Vodafone deal

… but management accepts decision
Posted: The Chronicle | Friday, November 06, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu & Daniel Nonor

One of the few people who have openly declared their intentions to contest for the position of National Youth Organizer in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) party and also a staunch supporter of the Mills administration, Mohammed Mubarak (Ras Mubarak) has launched a scathing attack on the government, over its decision to re-engage Vodafone in over the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA).
In a statement, Mubarak disagreed with the government’s decision and could not fathom why after several weeks of dithering over the review report, there was going to be a re-engagement with Vodafone for the fear of contravening International Laws, asking “What kind of a house slave mentality is this?”

“I feel betrayed by the government’s seemingly weak posture and I hope this is not what we are going to live with for the rest of the President’s term in office”, he noted, adding that “the ruling government has spat on the country’s sovereignty and our seventeen year old democracy.”

According to him, President Mills and his NDC administration “has adopted a posture that makes our constitution wilt, and it is unclear whether President Mills is ready to take on the corruption and unregulated greed of the Kufuor regime.”

Mubarak’s worry is based on the fact that the inter-Ministerial Review Committee has already concluded in its report that “the sale was shrouded in secrecy, fraught with irregularity, ignored time-honoured procedures, contravened the laws of Ghana, did not guarantee value for money and, therefore, was not in the strategic interest of Ghana,” and yet the government is going to re-engage the Vodafone.

“I can’t believe government and some commentators are pushing the argument that re-abrogating the contract would scare investors. Are we saying the State doesn’t have genuine concerns and that there are no provisions in international law that caters for our kind of situation?” he asked.

When economic value erodes, Mubarak said one would expect the ruling establishment to restore balance. That notwithstanding, he noted - “What we heard from government regarding the sale and purchase agreement of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone was not a restoration of balance, but a carte-blanche to foreign companies and their local accomplices to misbehave.”

Though he does not support any attempt to flout Article 36 of the 1992 Constitution which encourages the Republic to “promote foreign investment within Ghana, subject to any law in force regulating investment in Ghana, the young and affable Mubarak, who was a radio broadcaster at Uniiq FM, emphasized that “the argument about breaking international law is untenable.”

This, according to him, was evident in the fact that there are provisions in international law which the government could invoke as basis for renegotiating the contract, quoting Article 49 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations which states - “A state or an international organization is induced to conclude a treaty by the fraudulent conduct of a negotiating state or a negotiating organization, may invoke fraud as invalidating its consent to be bound by the treaty,” to back his claim.

Article 50 of the said convention which Ghana is a signatory to, further states that “a State or an International organization that the expression of whose consent to be bounded by a treaty has been procured through the corruption of its representatives directly or indirectly by a negotiating State or a negotiating organization may invoke such corruption as invalidating its consent to be bound by the treaty.”

Based on the evidence and claim of Committee which investigated the sale of Ghana Telecom (GT) to Vodafone UK, which suggested that the sale contravened sections 240 and 244 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) due to an allegation to the effect that members of the then majority in parliament took bribes before endorsing the deal, Mubarak said “the government’s priority should have been getting to the bottom of this very serious claim.

For this reason, he noted that the rank and file of the NDC has every reason to be livid with President Mills for what they may consider as floundering by the government. “The government was given 1,460 days to change things after the perverse eight years of Mr. Kufuor. It has spent nearly 250days frittering away the days.

He thus stressed the need for the government to move from its reaction style to an action one, and do more than it is currently doing, the consequences of which he said could have catastrophic results for the NDC in future elections.

A statement issued on Tuesday by the Chief of Staff, Henry Martey Newman said government has reviewed the report of the Inter-Ministerial Review Committee it set-up in furtherance of a campaign promise to review the sale of seventy percent (70%) of Ghana Telecommunications Company (GT) to Vodafone International.

It however, accepted the recommendation of the Committee to re-engage with the management of Vodafone International and ensure that there is compliance with the country’s laws. This process of re-engagement, according to government was without prejudice to any legal suits pending before the courts, stressing that it has no intention of abrogating the SPA.

The re-engagement would also include issues relating to the operation of the National Fibre Optic Backbone which is considered a strategic national asset by many Ghanaians. The National Communications Backbone Company (NCBC) which is managing the Fibre Optic Backbone will enable Government promote its key ICT policies and must be an open-access network that serves the whole country with competitively-priced services that will enable the rapid development of e-Government, BPO and other ICT Industries and Services.

By this action, Government is looking forward to the realization of the true value of the fibre optic backbone and a consideration of its policy objectives in order to arrive at an outcome that benefits the people of Ghana. As recommended by the Committee, Vodafone GT would be expected to provide detailed reporting requirements based on audited accounting and reporting principles for the attention of the re-engagement team.

Also to be considered is the possible return of some GT investments including landed properties and the Telecom Emporium to the Government of Ghana. Government would also ensure a conclusion to the processes that have already started for the decoupling of the Ghana Telecom University from the rest of Vodafone GT’s operations.

It also took note of the Committee’s findings in relation to the appalling financial state of GT before the SPA which the Committee attributed to gross mismanagement, financial malpractices and irregularities by Telenor/Telecom Management Partners (TMP) and later the three-member Interim Management Committee (IMC) and thus stressed its commitment to institute investigations into and an audit the management of GT by the TMP and the IMC, led by Engineer Dickson Oduro Nyaning.

Accordingly, Government said it would set up a Joint Working Team to engage with Vodafone to ensure that the decisions outlined are implemented. Vodafone position

Meanwhile Vodafone Group Plc has welcomed government’s position to re-engage it in the sale and purchase agreement which offloaded 70 percent shares in Ghana Telecom to it.

Vodafone in a statement issued yesterday said it “looks forward to a constructive re-engagement with the government to find ways that Vodafone can support Ghana’s goals even more in future. Vodafone is pleased to note the Government’s statement that it will not abrogate or renegotiate the agreement,”

The company said the Government of Ghana’s public commitment to Vodafone GT allows the company to move forward and focus on its goal of providing world-class services to Ghanaians.

And beyond the GH¢600 million investment the company says it has made, the statement said “Vodafone is committed to further investment in the company and its operations, including expanding and upgrading the National Communications Backbone Company.

“Vodafone has already extended the fibre network and plans to invest further to complete the Northern ring,” the statement affirmed and pledged the company’s commitment to uphold the highest standards of corporate behaviour in all its dealings.

Vodafone noted further that since its operation in the country, it has invested GH¢600 million in strengthening the company and improving the quality of its services, and welcomes the Government of Ghana’s position. The statement said Vodafone is pleased to re-engage with the Government to secure the long term future of Vodafone GT.

In May this year, government set up a Ministerial committee to review the transaction that the previous government had with Vodafone. The committee, however, recommended that the government consider renegotiating the $900 million purchase deal, claiming that most of the terms of the sale and purchase agreement with Vodafone were detrimental to Ghana’s interest, adding that the government of Ghana did not get value for money from the sale,” said the report.

In 2007, the previous government sold 70 per cent shares in the enlarged GT to Vodafone; on a cash free, debt free basis for 900 million dollars. The Enlarged GT comprised of GT fixed line operations, cellular operations (Onetouch), Broadband operations, GT call centre (Exzeed), SAT-3 submarine Fibre optics landing station and National Fibre Optics Backbone.

The deal has since generated huge controversies and public debate across the country, with some calling for a renegotiation of the agreement.

NDC gurus post rejected NYEP boss to NSS

...Ashie More is new Deputy Coordinator for National Service Secretariat
Posted: The Chronicle | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu



Mr. Emmanuel Ashie Moore, whose position as Greater Accra Regional Coordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) did not last for more than five months, following allegation that he has defrauded certain individuals in Accra, has been appointed as the deputy Coordinator of the National Service Secretariat.
Mr. Vincent Kuagbenu, the national Coordinator of the NSS, confirmed the new appointment when this reporter contacted him on Monday. Mr. Kuagbenu told The Chronicle that Moore’s appointment took immediate effect from Friday, October 30, 2009. He was appointed alongside one Alhaji Imoro Alhassan, who is said to be a thorough-bred staff of the Secretariat.

Moore’s promotion to a more responsible position has sent cold shivers down the spine of not only political observers, but also to some members of his own political party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who have doubts about his credibility, taking into consideration the fact that he has been accused of defrauding people.

Ashie Moore was recently appointed the acting Greater Accra Regional Coordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) amidst serious opposition from the youth wing of the Weija Constituency of the NDC.

Danger ahead of Ghana in 2012 if…

-Dr Kwesi Aning
Posted: The Chronicle | Wednesday, November 04, 2009

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

The head of the Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution Department at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Dr. Kwesi Aning, has warned that the 2012 elections will undermine the peace Ghana is enjoying, if the current skirmishes at the Kokomba Market in Accra, and Bawku in the Northern Region are not contained.
Dr. Aning was speaking on the topic ‘Actors in election violence; motivations, causes and manifestations’ at a conference in Accra, under the theme ‘Preventing election violence through legal enforcement and political tolerance’.

The programme was organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), in collaboration with the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to provide an opportunity to discuss the problem of election violence in Ghana, in order to find a lasting solution to it.

Taking a cue from violence that occurred in places like Akwatia in the Eastern Region, Tain in the Brong Ahafo Region, and Chereponi in the Northern Region, during and after the 2008 general elections, he said, “I think it is natural to to recognise that 2012 has the potential of being the most violent elections in this country.”

He has therefore stressed the urgent need for all stakeholders, including civil society groups, security agencies, media, the various political parties, especially the two major parties, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), and their agents, to guard against it, since it had the tendency of plunging the entire nation into chaos.

“We are going to see a dramatic escalation of violence as we move towards 2012,” said Aning.

This, he said, was due to the fact that there was an incentive structure and a profit motive attached to the violence that has characterised certain areas, saying, “if we don’t deal with them, they may become the defining points in our history.”

He discounted the usual rhetoric that Ghanaians were friendly and hospitable, since, according to him, that is only meant to please the international community, whilst Ghanaians are enemies of themselves.

He noted that the two major political parties - NDC and NPP - are fond of promoting violence instead of giving Ghanaians hope.

The Security Expert envisaged that the violence that would characterise the 2012 elections, would start from the primaries and transcend to the national platform, believing that the oil find and exploration could also contribute to this violence, as witnessed in other countries.

Dr Aning said Ghanaians seem to have lost control, since, according to him, the country and its citizens are currently driven by monetary benefits, whilst the country is being militarised.

It is thus feared that by the year 2012, the tools for the perpetration of some of these violent acts that have characterised our elections, would be employed through the use of machetes rather than guns.

“I shudder to believe what will happen when we open the voters’ registration in 2012,” he said, with a note of caution, “let Rwanda stand as an abiding caution to us.”

He also cautioned the media to desist from writing things that had the potential of giving substance to acts of violence, since, in his observation, headlines of the various newspapers in the country, for the past one month, bear the semblance of a worrying trend of violence.

Chaired by a former Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice V. C. R. A. C. Crabbe, the programme brought together the Country Director of the UNDP, K. K. Kamalddeen, the Deputy Interior Minister, Kwasi Appiah-Kubi, and the head of Programmes at the CDD, Kojo Asante.

The forum provided an opportunity for participants to discuss the problem of election violence in Ghana, and to answer questions bordering on what should be done to rid elections in Ghana of violence and intimidation.

‘Tarzan’s salary claim has no basis’

-Budget Officer
Posted: The Chronicle | Friday, October 30, 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu

The Director of Administration at the office of the President, who is also responsible for Budget, Sam Azu Aziakor yesterday told the Ghana@50 probe that Dr. Charles Wereko Brobby, the Chief Executive of the defunct Ghana@50 Secretariat is not entitled to any salary because he does not have any appointment letter.
When Wereko Brobby appeared before the commission recently, he appealed to the Commissioners to ensure that his salaries, which are in arrears, paid to him.

He however recalled that somewhere last year, the former CEO put up a memo which was addressed to him (Aziakor), asking him to initiate processes which would lead to the payment of his salary.

Upon receipt, Mr. Aziakor said he conferred with the former chief of staff, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani as to what should be done, since Dr. Wereko Brobby needed the money to go for some medical treatment. For this reason, he noted that they agreed to give him an amount of US$ 75,000 as advance payment of his outstanding salary arrears, which dated back to the year 2006, when he was employed as CEO of the Secretariat.

This claim by the Director of Administration baffled the Chairman of the Commission, Justice Duose, who ascertained from him the basis for which the said salary advancement was given to the former CEO, because the latter had not been given any appointment where his emoluments would have been stated.

Mr. Aziakor responded - “My Lord, I think in this case the salary had not been determined, so they were still working around it.” Aziakor, however, agreed that since no appointment letter was given to Dr. Charles Wereko Brobby, he was not entitled to any salary.

He nevertheless acknowledged the amount of GH ¢200,000 that Dr. Wereko Brobby used as a start up capital to establish the Secretariat, which has since been paid to him.

When he appeared before the Commission recently, Dr. Wereko Brobby claimed he was entitled to a monthly salary of GH ¢5000 and the government owed him a total amount of US$ 146,000 covering the entire period he served as CEO of the Secretariat.

Earlier, Mr. Aziakor took time to take the Commission through the role he and the office of the President played in the activities and operations of the Ghana@50 Secretariat, which he said was to convey executive decisions to the Secretariat.

He insisted that no official at the office of the President was directly or indirectly employed, or paid any money for their individual and respective roles.

They only prepared the pay vouchers and forwarded it to the appropriate authorities for payment.

As at Wednesday, October 28th 2009, he said his office had released about GH ¢7.5million to the Secretariat, with an outstanding balance of GH ¢782,262.20. The total debt of the Secretariat as at now stands at GH ¢11million.

Though the office of the President was somehow involved in the disbursement of some of the monies, Mr. Aziakor noted that no payment was made without the knowledge and consent of the CEO, Dr. Wereko Brobby.

He could also not tell whether the Secretariat got any surplus on their accounts as asserted by Dr. Wereko Brobby.

The Director of Administration at the office of the President could also not confirm whether any funds were released by the Secretariat to Ghana’s missions abroad for the celebration.

Fallout from Ghana@50 Chairman's remark

DUOSE GROWLS OVER ATTACKS
...'I did not call for killing of journalists'
Posted: The Chronicle |Fri, 30 Oct 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu & George Frimpong

The Chairman of the Ghana@50 Commission, Justice Isaac Douse has told The Chronicle that he has no evil intension against any journalist in Ghana, and that his recent comment that Ghanaian journalists are overly crtitical on public office holders because they are not killed as it happens in other parts of the world, was reported out of contest.

Justice Duose, who invited these reporters to his office to express concern over the report, was also not happy with an editorial by The Chronicle on the issue, which according to him, sought to create the impression that he wanted people to take the law into their own hands and kill Journalists in Ghana.

Justice Duose was quoted as saying - “Rwanda was caused by the press and if the press wants Rwanda to happen in this country, they will get it.

Fortunately for them, in this country, people don't kill Journalists, so they are going on.” Though he admits saying the things attributed to him, the Chairman of the Commission said the import of the message he wanted to convey to the media was taken out of contest.

According to him, it was unfortunate for some media houses to create the impression that he was advocating for violence against journalists. Justice Duose, who is an Appeals Court Judge, told The Chronicle that he respects fundamental human rights and the tenets of democracy, and would therefore not do anything to undermine these values.

“I will not be happy if Journalists are killed because it is part of my obligation to protect the rights of Journalists”, he said, adding “I unreservedly apologize to Journalists, any individual or group of persons who may feel offended by those comments I made”, stressing that he did not have the slightest intention to cause disaffection among the media.

“The comments were not made to invite people to kill Journalists”, he emphasised. This, according to him, is due to the fact that both Judges and Journalists are enjoined to protect human rights and life.

Justice Duose's alleged comments on journalists and the Rwanda factor came after the former Chief of Staff who was also the Chairman of the National Planning Committee of the country's 50th independence anniversary celebrations, Mr. Kwadwo Okyere Mpiani raised concern about the way people express suspicions against public officials, when he appeared before the Commission recently.

“I hope the press which is leading the campaign of vilification in this country has heard you well. As I sit here, they have started vilifying me.

I'm going to sit here just for a short while but they have already started pulling me down,” myjoyonline quoted him as saying.