Page One: November 17, 2007.
Story: Albert K. Salia
NINE people have been arrested in Accra and Kumasi by a Special Investigation Task Force for their alleged roles in the forgery of vital national documents which deprived the state of huge sums of money in domestic non-tax revenue.
They have been accused of conniving and condoning to forge and falsify official documents and pocketing the revenue that was due the state from the payment of fines, fees and charges.
They were arrested on the premises of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Births and Deaths Registry and are currently on bail.
With the exception of one of the suspects, the rest were described as middlemen.
They are Tahiru Chimburi, alias Djamba; Kojo Aboagye, James Amoako, all of whom were arrested at the DVLA offices in Accra, with Kenneth Afriyie Mensah and Ahmed Shamsudeen being arrested in Kumasi.
An official of the Births and Deaths Registry, Samuel Jojo Dolphyne, together with Ernest Amofa, 71, and his son, Nana Gyasi Amofa, and Daniel Kwasi Dwira were all arrested at the Births and Deaths Registry.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, told the Daily Graphic that the government had noticed a fall in the non-tax revenue from sources other than taxation from which traditionally most of the domestic revenue was derived.
He said although non-tax revenue had increased steadily since 2002, its mobilisation had encountered various revenue leakage problems.
The leakage, he said, included syndicates running parallel operations to duplicate and falsify documents and services provided by various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), thereby siphoning revenue which should accrue to the state.
On the methods employed, he said some corrupt MDA officials intentionally slowed down service delivery to create the environment to extort money from clients.
Others, he said, were involved in outright stealing and non lodgement of revenue collected on behalf of the government, poor accounting and reporting of revenue receipts.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said to curtail these bottlenecks, he had requested the services of the security agencies to help apprehend the perpetrators of those crimes against the state and ensure that they were prosecuted.
He said as a result, the Special Investigation Task Force was set up to embark on the exercise to stamp out the illegal operators to help minimise revenue loss to the state.
He said the exercise, which had started at the DVLA and the Births and Deaths Registry, would cover the Registrar-General’s Department and all such agencies throughout the country.
Mr Baah-Wiredu noted that members of the task force, for instance, gave out false information to some of the people arrested to process road worthy certificates, international drivers’ licences and birth certificates.
He said although the suspects refused to mention their accomplices working in those institutions, information gathered was that apart from collecting tips, the officials often pocketed the money that was due the state because of poor accounting practices and the complicity of some accounts staff.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Two in custody over ¢2.4 billion theft
Page 50: November 8, 2007.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A Senior accountant at the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) and an Accra-based businessman have been grabbed in the latest scandal to hit the CAGD.
Seth Bosompem, the accountant, and Stephen Trevor Hosiosky, alias Anderson Lokko, are in custody for allegedly defrauding the state of GH ¢245,645.73 (¢2.4 billion). They were arrested when they went to the bank to cash the money.
A source close to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the CAGD, on September 12, 2007, received a letter from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to pay Facol Roads Limited GH¢245,645.73 for road marking and traffic signs undertaken on the Kumasi - Mampong, Mankessim - Tetsi, Ejisu - Kumawu - Wuraso, Obuasi - Dunkwa - Ayanfuri and Kumasi - Sunyani roads.
It said Bosompem accordingly processed payment documents and sent them to a Deputy Controller, Madam Grace Adzroe, on September 19, 2007 to be signed.
It said the documents were then forwarded to the Bank of Ghana (BOG) to credit the accounts of the Ministry of Transportation in favour of Facol Roads Ltd.
According to the source, Bosompem, on September 24, 2007, again used the same Ministry of Finance release letter to process another document and this time gave it to the Controller and Accountant General, Mr Christian Sottie, to sign and the letter was instructing the BOG to pay the same amount to the accounts of the Ministry of Transportation in favour of Facol Roads Ltd.
It said this time round, Bosompem forged a Facol Roads Ltd letter directing the BOG to make direct payment into a personal account number 006020202331 being operated at the Airport Resedential Area branch of the Zenith Bank.
The source said it was later detected that the account was owned by Stephen Trevor Hosiosky.
He said the bank detected that the account name did not tally with the account number in their books and alerted Mr Sottie to cross-check the accounts details.
The BNI was then informed to investigate the matter.
According to the source, Stephen went to Zenith Bank on October 19, 2007 to fill a transfer form for the money to be transferred into his personal account and he went to the bank on October 26, 2006 to cash the money but was arrested.
It said a cheque with the face value of ¢360 million which Stephen had issued in the name of Boskin Company Ltd of which Bosompem was a director was retrieved from him.
It said Stephen mentioned Bosompem as his accomplice after he was arrested.
The source said when Bosompem was arrested, he did not deny the allegations.
The source said they had been provisionally charged with conspiracy, forgery of official documents and attempted stealing.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A Senior accountant at the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) and an Accra-based businessman have been grabbed in the latest scandal to hit the CAGD.
Seth Bosompem, the accountant, and Stephen Trevor Hosiosky, alias Anderson Lokko, are in custody for allegedly defrauding the state of GH ¢245,645.73 (¢2.4 billion). They were arrested when they went to the bank to cash the money.
A source close to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the CAGD, on September 12, 2007, received a letter from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to pay Facol Roads Limited GH¢245,645.73 for road marking and traffic signs undertaken on the Kumasi - Mampong, Mankessim - Tetsi, Ejisu - Kumawu - Wuraso, Obuasi - Dunkwa - Ayanfuri and Kumasi - Sunyani roads.
It said Bosompem accordingly processed payment documents and sent them to a Deputy Controller, Madam Grace Adzroe, on September 19, 2007 to be signed.
It said the documents were then forwarded to the Bank of Ghana (BOG) to credit the accounts of the Ministry of Transportation in favour of Facol Roads Ltd.
According to the source, Bosompem, on September 24, 2007, again used the same Ministry of Finance release letter to process another document and this time gave it to the Controller and Accountant General, Mr Christian Sottie, to sign and the letter was instructing the BOG to pay the same amount to the accounts of the Ministry of Transportation in favour of Facol Roads Ltd.
It said this time round, Bosompem forged a Facol Roads Ltd letter directing the BOG to make direct payment into a personal account number 006020202331 being operated at the Airport Resedential Area branch of the Zenith Bank.
The source said it was later detected that the account was owned by Stephen Trevor Hosiosky.
He said the bank detected that the account name did not tally with the account number in their books and alerted Mr Sottie to cross-check the accounts details.
The BNI was then informed to investigate the matter.
According to the source, Stephen went to Zenith Bank on October 19, 2007 to fill a transfer form for the money to be transferred into his personal account and he went to the bank on October 26, 2006 to cash the money but was arrested.
It said a cheque with the face value of ¢360 million which Stephen had issued in the name of Boskin Company Ltd of which Bosompem was a director was retrieved from him.
It said Stephen mentioned Bosompem as his accomplice after he was arrested.
The source said when Bosompem was arrested, he did not deny the allegations.
The source said they had been provisionally charged with conspiracy, forgery of official documents and attempted stealing.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Deputy IGP defies IGP
Story: Albert K. Salia
TWO of the three most senior officers in the Ghana Police Service, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and his deputy in charge of Operations are embroiled in a war of words.
While the Police Council, in a letter dated August 24, 2007 and signed by the IGP, Mr P. K. Acheampong, has directed Dr Kofi Kesse Manfo, his deputy, to retire with effect from September 1, 2007, Dr Manfo has, on the other hand, challenged the directive, describing it as unlawful.
However, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, when reached on phone in the Sandema District of the Upper East Region, said the decision reached by the Police Council was irreversible and that Dr Manfo had to go on retirement.
He said he had spoken to Dr Manfo, who had expressed regret about the tone of a letter he wrote to the IGP in response to the directive from the Police Council and indicated his willingness to withdraw the letter and proceed on leave prior to retirement.
In the letter, the Police Council requested Dr Manfo, as well as Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Douglas Akrofi-Asiedu and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Victor Tandoh to proceed on their terminal leave with effect from September 1, 2007.
The letter reminded them “to respond to paragraphs four, five and six of this Headquarters letter No. PO1100/269 on the above subject dated February 28, 2006.”
It drew their attention to a circular No. 22/SF 11/115 dated February 15, 1982 regarding accommodation in the service.
“You will accordingly enjoy 63 days grace from September 1, 2007 to November 2, 2007 and vacate your official residence immediately after that date,” it added.
But in a sharp rebuttal, Dr Manfo said in a letter in response that the order for him to retire could not be complied with because the directive was unlawful as the IGP acted ultra vires.
He indicated that he was shocked by the notice of the IGP.
That, the letter said, was because Dr Manfo was appointed as Deputy IGP by the President the same day the IGP was also appointed.
Dr Manfo said his position and that of the IGP were presidential appointments and consequently, it was the President who could ask either of them to retire.
“It is not you or any other authority who asks or serves us to retire,” Dr Manfo added.
He explained that if in the wisdom of the President any of his appointees needed to be replaced, retired or redeployed, he did so and that was not based on age.
Dr Manfo reminded the IGP that under the 1992 Constitution, the President had the prerogative to extend any appointee’s tenure, saying that “you cannot decide this for the President. If you do this, you will be usurping his powers”.
“If you feel I have to be retired, the way forward for you is to write to the President through the Minister for the Interior or the Police Council for his decision,” he stated.
Some senior police officers who spoke to the Daily Graphic were divided on the issue.
While some felt that the Police Council was right in its decision, others sided with Dr Manfo.
For others, the way and manner in which the issue was put in the media created the impression that it was an attempt to slight Dr Manfo.
They were of the view that the IGP could write to those occupying administrative positions such as Mr Akrofi-Asiedu and Mr Tandoh and not political appointees.
When the acting Police Public Affairs Director, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr Kwesi Ofori, was contacted, he declined to comment.
TWO of the three most senior officers in the Ghana Police Service, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and his deputy in charge of Operations are embroiled in a war of words.
While the Police Council, in a letter dated August 24, 2007 and signed by the IGP, Mr P. K. Acheampong, has directed Dr Kofi Kesse Manfo, his deputy, to retire with effect from September 1, 2007, Dr Manfo has, on the other hand, challenged the directive, describing it as unlawful.
However, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, when reached on phone in the Sandema District of the Upper East Region, said the decision reached by the Police Council was irreversible and that Dr Manfo had to go on retirement.
He said he had spoken to Dr Manfo, who had expressed regret about the tone of a letter he wrote to the IGP in response to the directive from the Police Council and indicated his willingness to withdraw the letter and proceed on leave prior to retirement.
In the letter, the Police Council requested Dr Manfo, as well as Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Douglas Akrofi-Asiedu and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Victor Tandoh to proceed on their terminal leave with effect from September 1, 2007.
The letter reminded them “to respond to paragraphs four, five and six of this Headquarters letter No. PO1100/269 on the above subject dated February 28, 2006.”
It drew their attention to a circular No. 22/SF 11/115 dated February 15, 1982 regarding accommodation in the service.
“You will accordingly enjoy 63 days grace from September 1, 2007 to November 2, 2007 and vacate your official residence immediately after that date,” it added.
But in a sharp rebuttal, Dr Manfo said in a letter in response that the order for him to retire could not be complied with because the directive was unlawful as the IGP acted ultra vires.
He indicated that he was shocked by the notice of the IGP.
That, the letter said, was because Dr Manfo was appointed as Deputy IGP by the President the same day the IGP was also appointed.
Dr Manfo said his position and that of the IGP were presidential appointments and consequently, it was the President who could ask either of them to retire.
“It is not you or any other authority who asks or serves us to retire,” Dr Manfo added.
He explained that if in the wisdom of the President any of his appointees needed to be replaced, retired or redeployed, he did so and that was not based on age.
Dr Manfo reminded the IGP that under the 1992 Constitution, the President had the prerogative to extend any appointee’s tenure, saying that “you cannot decide this for the President. If you do this, you will be usurping his powers”.
“If you feel I have to be retired, the way forward for you is to write to the President through the Minister for the Interior or the Police Council for his decision,” he stated.
Some senior police officers who spoke to the Daily Graphic were divided on the issue.
While some felt that the Police Council was right in its decision, others sided with Dr Manfo.
For others, the way and manner in which the issue was put in the media created the impression that it was an attempt to slight Dr Manfo.
They were of the view that the IGP could write to those occupying administrative positions such as Mr Akrofi-Asiedu and Mr Tandoh and not political appointees.
When the acting Police Public Affairs Director, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr Kwesi Ofori, was contacted, he declined to comment.
Man convicted for assaulting wife
Story: Albert K. Salia
Before proceeding to serve a five-year jail term, a 27-year-old convict yesterday turned to his wife and asked, “would you wait for me or marry another man?”
There was no answer for the man, Kwadwo Akyedee, who had been convicted for assaulting and causing harm to his two-year-old step-daughter.
Akyedee was said to have bitten the right cheek, left arm and the chest of his victim and used a cane to whip her leaving scars on her back.
The Public Relations Officer of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), Inspector Irene Oppong, told the Daily Graphic that the victim’s mother, Madam Dina Bamante, left the little girl in the custody of her husband while she went to the market.
On her return, Madam Bamante observed marks of human bite on the victim’s right cheek, left arm and the chest.
Inspector Oppong said when Madam Bamante questioned Akyedee, he denied knowledge but later admitted that he bite her to stop her from crying.
She said at another time, a concerned citizen living in the same area saw Akyedee lashing the the victim at the back.
She said when the concerned citizen, who was the complainant in the case, questioned Akyedee as to why he was beating the little girl so inhumanely, he said he gave a chamber pot to the victim to ease herself but she rather did it on the floor.
According to Inspector Oppong, the complainant rushed to the Nungua Police to report a case of assault and abuse of the little girl by Akyedee.
She said the victim was currently on admission at the Police Hospital.
Before proceeding to serve a five-year jail term, a 27-year-old convict yesterday turned to his wife and asked, “would you wait for me or marry another man?”
There was no answer for the man, Kwadwo Akyedee, who had been convicted for assaulting and causing harm to his two-year-old step-daughter.
Akyedee was said to have bitten the right cheek, left arm and the chest of his victim and used a cane to whip her leaving scars on her back.
The Public Relations Officer of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), Inspector Irene Oppong, told the Daily Graphic that the victim’s mother, Madam Dina Bamante, left the little girl in the custody of her husband while she went to the market.
On her return, Madam Bamante observed marks of human bite on the victim’s right cheek, left arm and the chest.
Inspector Oppong said when Madam Bamante questioned Akyedee, he denied knowledge but later admitted that he bite her to stop her from crying.
She said at another time, a concerned citizen living in the same area saw Akyedee lashing the the victim at the back.
She said when the concerned citizen, who was the complainant in the case, questioned Akyedee as to why he was beating the little girl so inhumanely, he said he gave a chamber pot to the victim to ease herself but she rather did it on the floor.
According to Inspector Oppong, the complainant rushed to the Nungua Police to report a case of assault and abuse of the little girl by Akyedee.
She said the victim was currently on admission at the Police Hospital.
IGP warns personnel
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick Acheampong, has demanded punitive action against personnel of the Ghana Police Service who are found to have applied excessive use of force against suspects.
He said such erring officers could face criminal prosecution and civil law suits, as well as liability for administrative disciplinary action, which could lead to their dismissal from the service.
The order came with a directive to all regional, divisional, district and unit commanders to organise durbars to educate police personnel under them on the limits permissible for use of force and the salient points of the Constitution, the Criminal Code and Service Instructions.
It comes in the wake of allegations of brutalities made against some security personnel including that which ended in the death of a driver, George Atuah, in the custody of the police at Suhum.
Elaborating on the directive in an interview yesterday, the acting Police Public Affairs Director, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwesi Ofori, said the IGP issued the warning in a circular to all the commanders following public complaints about police brutalities on civilians.
DSP Ofori said the IGP conceded that the police had the legal authority to use force to execute certain tasks but such force was prescribed by law.
He said the use of force by personnel of the service in recent times had given cause for much concern by the Police Administration hence the issuance of the circular.
“It must always be borne in mind that the use of force outside the limits permissible by law may bring the Police Service into disrepute,” he noted.
The IGP, he said, reminded the personnel that Article 15 (2) of the Constitution frowned on torture and other kinds of degrading treatment.
He said the IGP reminded the personnel further that Section 31 of the Criminal Code, 1960 stipulated the grounds on which force might be used by any person against another and that included members of the Ghana Police Service.
“Notably, Sections 32 to 45 of the Criminal Code then give further explanation of the grounds for the use of force as mentioned in Section 31 of the Code,” he added.
As regards the use of force by means of firearms, the IGP reminded the personnel that Service Instruction Number 97 provided the guidelines for personnel as to when they were justified to use force by way of firearms.
Those, he said, included when attacked by an armed criminal and the officer’s life was in immediate danger and all other means of defending himself had provided ineffective.
DSP Ofori said Mr Acheampong reminded the personnel that they could also used firearms to effect the dispersal of a riotous mob which was attacking or attempting to attack life and property, to prevent the escape or to effect the arrest or recapture of a person convicted of a serious felony or under arrest charged with a felony and to effect the arrest of a person who had committed a felony and was resisting arrest my armed force in such a manner as to endanger the life of the police officer concerned.
He entreated members of the public to co-operate with the police in law enforcement and the general maintenance of law and order.
He advised the public against doing anything to compromise law enforcement.
DSP Ofori said the public needed to co-operate with the police during arrests, random stops and searches and any police operation.
He said the police would continue to enlist public support in the discharge of their duties.
THE Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick Acheampong, has demanded punitive action against personnel of the Ghana Police Service who are found to have applied excessive use of force against suspects.
He said such erring officers could face criminal prosecution and civil law suits, as well as liability for administrative disciplinary action, which could lead to their dismissal from the service.
The order came with a directive to all regional, divisional, district and unit commanders to organise durbars to educate police personnel under them on the limits permissible for use of force and the salient points of the Constitution, the Criminal Code and Service Instructions.
It comes in the wake of allegations of brutalities made against some security personnel including that which ended in the death of a driver, George Atuah, in the custody of the police at Suhum.
Elaborating on the directive in an interview yesterday, the acting Police Public Affairs Director, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwesi Ofori, said the IGP issued the warning in a circular to all the commanders following public complaints about police brutalities on civilians.
DSP Ofori said the IGP conceded that the police had the legal authority to use force to execute certain tasks but such force was prescribed by law.
He said the use of force by personnel of the service in recent times had given cause for much concern by the Police Administration hence the issuance of the circular.
“It must always be borne in mind that the use of force outside the limits permissible by law may bring the Police Service into disrepute,” he noted.
The IGP, he said, reminded the personnel that Article 15 (2) of the Constitution frowned on torture and other kinds of degrading treatment.
He said the IGP reminded the personnel further that Section 31 of the Criminal Code, 1960 stipulated the grounds on which force might be used by any person against another and that included members of the Ghana Police Service.
“Notably, Sections 32 to 45 of the Criminal Code then give further explanation of the grounds for the use of force as mentioned in Section 31 of the Code,” he added.
As regards the use of force by means of firearms, the IGP reminded the personnel that Service Instruction Number 97 provided the guidelines for personnel as to when they were justified to use force by way of firearms.
Those, he said, included when attacked by an armed criminal and the officer’s life was in immediate danger and all other means of defending himself had provided ineffective.
DSP Ofori said Mr Acheampong reminded the personnel that they could also used firearms to effect the dispersal of a riotous mob which was attacking or attempting to attack life and property, to prevent the escape or to effect the arrest or recapture of a person convicted of a serious felony or under arrest charged with a felony and to effect the arrest of a person who had committed a felony and was resisting arrest my armed force in such a manner as to endanger the life of the police officer concerned.
He entreated members of the public to co-operate with the police in law enforcement and the general maintenance of law and order.
He advised the public against doing anything to compromise law enforcement.
DSP Ofori said the public needed to co-operate with the police during arrests, random stops and searches and any police operation.
He said the police would continue to enlist public support in the discharge of their duties.
Murder suspect arrested
Story: Albert K. Salia
TWO years after a love relation had turned sour and resulted in the gruesome murder of a man with the alleged connivance of his wife, the police are closing in on the perpetrators.
So far, five of the perpetrators have been arrested, the latest of whom was arrested by the police at the weekend from his hideout at Somanya in the Eastern Region.
Kofi Gumego, the suspect, had been in hiding since the murder of Stanilus Noah Tetteh at dawn of May 30, 2005.
The only person yet to be arrested is Stella Tetteh-Teikunor, wife of the deceased, who absconded after her alleged involvement was disclosed by one of the suspects.
Those arrested are Dade Wayo, Yao Davordzi alias Alhaji, Gabriel Obo Kudjo and Ahia Gumego, currently on bail.
A source close to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the arrest of Gumego should send a signal to Stella and all other criminals that they could run but could not hide from the law no matter how long it would take.
Recalling the incident, the source said Stella made a report to the Kwabenya Police at about 4 a.m. on May 30, 2005 that some men broke into her house at about 2 a.m. and attacked them.
It said Stella claimed she could not find her husband after the attack.
The source said a police team went to her house and detected that the main door had not been tampered with although the door to the master bedroom had been broken into.
It said the deceased was found lying in a prone position in front of his bed in a pool of blood and had multiple wounds on his face and at the back of his head.
According to the source, a man identified only as Michael, who lived with the couple, told the police team that he (Michael) opened the door to let in the deceased who had returned home at about 10 p.m. on May 29, 2005.
It said a few minutes later, Stella also came home after which he (Michael) locked the main gate and the main door to the house.
It said Michael said he later heard Stella knocking on the door to the bedroom but the deceased did not open it, resulting in Stella telling the deceased that she was going to sleep in the hall.
Michael, the police said, claimed he heard Stella scream and then later the deceased shouted “who was that” and then a bang on a door.
According to the source, Michael said a man entered his room to attack him but after a struggle the attacker escaped.
It said Michael said he later came out of the room to see the main door ajar and scaled the wall to a house two doors away from the deceased’s residence to call a police patrol team.
The source said when the police probed Stella further, she then said the attackers had tied her hands and asked her to lead them to her husband’s room where she saw the men kill him.
It said Stella further alleged that the attackers also ransacked her husband’s car before leaving after which she boarded a car to the police station to lodge a complaint.
The police said a brother of the deceased, Mr Adam Tetteh, told the police that the deceased had told him that he had on some months earlier received an anonymous call and the caller had told him (deceased) that Stella had hired their services at a cost of $9,000 to kill him.
According to the police, when Stella was confronted by the deceased and his brother, she admitted taking $9,000 from her husband but denied that it was meant to pay the services of people hired to kill him.
The source said Stella reportedly returned the money to the deceased after that confrontation.
It said the relationship between the couple became strained thereafter.
It said further investigations revealed that between March and April 2005, Stella allegedly sought the assistance of Ahia Gumego, a fetish priest at Agyekpo-Somanya, to use his spiritual powers to kill the deceased.
The source said Stella later approached Ahia Gumego to resort to physical means to kill the deceased, since the spiritual means was delaying and allegedly promised to pay him GH¢5,000 (¢50 million).
It said Ahia later recruited the suspects including his brother, Kofi Gumego, to execute the job.
The police said the suspects went to New Ashongman on board a Tico taxi and parked a few metres away from the deceased’s house.
According to the police, Gabriel and the taxi driver were left behind in the taxi while the rest scaled the wall of the deceased’s house, murdered him and took some of his personal belongings away.
“It was at this stage that Stella, in order to cover her involvement, feigned injury and went to lodge a complaint with the Kwabenya police,” it added.
The source said the autopsy report indicated that the deceased died from depressed fractures of skull and sharp object head injuries.
TWO years after a love relation had turned sour and resulted in the gruesome murder of a man with the alleged connivance of his wife, the police are closing in on the perpetrators.
So far, five of the perpetrators have been arrested, the latest of whom was arrested by the police at the weekend from his hideout at Somanya in the Eastern Region.
Kofi Gumego, the suspect, had been in hiding since the murder of Stanilus Noah Tetteh at dawn of May 30, 2005.
The only person yet to be arrested is Stella Tetteh-Teikunor, wife of the deceased, who absconded after her alleged involvement was disclosed by one of the suspects.
Those arrested are Dade Wayo, Yao Davordzi alias Alhaji, Gabriel Obo Kudjo and Ahia Gumego, currently on bail.
A source close to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the arrest of Gumego should send a signal to Stella and all other criminals that they could run but could not hide from the law no matter how long it would take.
Recalling the incident, the source said Stella made a report to the Kwabenya Police at about 4 a.m. on May 30, 2005 that some men broke into her house at about 2 a.m. and attacked them.
It said Stella claimed she could not find her husband after the attack.
The source said a police team went to her house and detected that the main door had not been tampered with although the door to the master bedroom had been broken into.
It said the deceased was found lying in a prone position in front of his bed in a pool of blood and had multiple wounds on his face and at the back of his head.
According to the source, a man identified only as Michael, who lived with the couple, told the police team that he (Michael) opened the door to let in the deceased who had returned home at about 10 p.m. on May 29, 2005.
It said a few minutes later, Stella also came home after which he (Michael) locked the main gate and the main door to the house.
It said Michael said he later heard Stella knocking on the door to the bedroom but the deceased did not open it, resulting in Stella telling the deceased that she was going to sleep in the hall.
Michael, the police said, claimed he heard Stella scream and then later the deceased shouted “who was that” and then a bang on a door.
According to the source, Michael said a man entered his room to attack him but after a struggle the attacker escaped.
It said Michael said he later came out of the room to see the main door ajar and scaled the wall to a house two doors away from the deceased’s residence to call a police patrol team.
The source said when the police probed Stella further, she then said the attackers had tied her hands and asked her to lead them to her husband’s room where she saw the men kill him.
It said Stella further alleged that the attackers also ransacked her husband’s car before leaving after which she boarded a car to the police station to lodge a complaint.
The police said a brother of the deceased, Mr Adam Tetteh, told the police that the deceased had told him that he had on some months earlier received an anonymous call and the caller had told him (deceased) that Stella had hired their services at a cost of $9,000 to kill him.
According to the police, when Stella was confronted by the deceased and his brother, she admitted taking $9,000 from her husband but denied that it was meant to pay the services of people hired to kill him.
The source said Stella reportedly returned the money to the deceased after that confrontation.
It said the relationship between the couple became strained thereafter.
It said further investigations revealed that between March and April 2005, Stella allegedly sought the assistance of Ahia Gumego, a fetish priest at Agyekpo-Somanya, to use his spiritual powers to kill the deceased.
The source said Stella later approached Ahia Gumego to resort to physical means to kill the deceased, since the spiritual means was delaying and allegedly promised to pay him GH¢5,000 (¢50 million).
It said Ahia later recruited the suspects including his brother, Kofi Gumego, to execute the job.
The police said the suspects went to New Ashongman on board a Tico taxi and parked a few metres away from the deceased’s house.
According to the police, Gabriel and the taxi driver were left behind in the taxi while the rest scaled the wall of the deceased’s house, murdered him and took some of his personal belongings away.
“It was at this stage that Stella, in order to cover her involvement, feigned injury and went to lodge a complaint with the Kwabenya police,” it added.
The source said the autopsy report indicated that the deceased died from depressed fractures of skull and sharp object head injuries.
Hearing impairment of 2000 persons saved
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Audiology Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has salvaged the future of more than 2,000 persons who would have otherwise ended up at any of the country’s schools for the deaf.
Eighteen months into the operation of the unit, known as the Hearing Assessment Centre, a third of the number were referred for hearing aid.
The head of the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department of the hospital, Dr E. D. Kitcher, told the Daily Graphic that it had been established that 209 of the children, whose parents claimed they could not talk, were found to have hearing impairment.
He said after the provision of some hearing aid, the children were now talking and in the mainstream educational institution.
The hospital invested more than ¢1.4 billion to establish a new Hearing Assessment Centre and received support from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which provided the equipment valued at $100,000.
It is furnished with the latest equipment to assess hearing disabilities in humans, from infants to the aged.
Dr Kitcher said since the establishment of the centre, the hearing capabilities of day-old babies were being examined for rectification.
He described the setting up of the centre as a good decision by the management of the hospital and that in developed countries, the Hearing Assessment Centre was the first point of call for persons visiting the ENT Departments.
That, he explained, was because an assessment would help the ENT specialist do a proper diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment.
Dr Kitcher said the unit currently needed £23,000 to sponsor one medical person to train in the fixing of hearing aids and appealed to philanthropists for support.
He said admission had already been secured for the person but the Ministry of Health said it did not have the funds to sponsor the person.
He said currently, patients who needed hearing aid were referred to private institutions which had them.
Dr Kitcher said if the centre had the requisite trained personnel to fix the hearing aid, it would save the patient some cost.
THE Audiology Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has salvaged the future of more than 2,000 persons who would have otherwise ended up at any of the country’s schools for the deaf.
Eighteen months into the operation of the unit, known as the Hearing Assessment Centre, a third of the number were referred for hearing aid.
The head of the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department of the hospital, Dr E. D. Kitcher, told the Daily Graphic that it had been established that 209 of the children, whose parents claimed they could not talk, were found to have hearing impairment.
He said after the provision of some hearing aid, the children were now talking and in the mainstream educational institution.
The hospital invested more than ¢1.4 billion to establish a new Hearing Assessment Centre and received support from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which provided the equipment valued at $100,000.
It is furnished with the latest equipment to assess hearing disabilities in humans, from infants to the aged.
Dr Kitcher said since the establishment of the centre, the hearing capabilities of day-old babies were being examined for rectification.
He described the setting up of the centre as a good decision by the management of the hospital and that in developed countries, the Hearing Assessment Centre was the first point of call for persons visiting the ENT Departments.
That, he explained, was because an assessment would help the ENT specialist do a proper diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment.
Dr Kitcher said the unit currently needed £23,000 to sponsor one medical person to train in the fixing of hearing aids and appealed to philanthropists for support.
He said admission had already been secured for the person but the Ministry of Health said it did not have the funds to sponsor the person.
He said currently, patients who needed hearing aid were referred to private institutions which had them.
Dr Kitcher said if the centre had the requisite trained personnel to fix the hearing aid, it would save the patient some cost.
Dispute over Achimota school rages on
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE protracted dispute over ownership of the Achimota Preparatory and Junior Secondary School (JSS) has deepened with the two contending forces, Achimota Secondary School and the management of the basic school, both earning the legal rights.
Over the past week, both institutions obtained court orders vesting the ownership of the basic school in their hands.
The Achimota Secondary School was the first to obtain the order to close down the Achimota Preparatory and JSS but immediately following that the IMC of the basic school also secured a court order to re-open the school to prepare for the next academic year.
The confusion and court orders came in the wake of the substantive case pending at the Court of Appeal.
The Tesano District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Philip Dugah, confirmed in an interview that one of the orders was came with a letter requesting for police assistance to close down the school while the second for the re-opening of the school did not have any such request.
He said in spite of the conflicting developments, all was calm at the school and said the police would only intervene in case there was a breach of the peace since the substantive case was in court.
The Board Secretary to Achimota Preparatory and JSS, Mr Daniel Kweku Brentuo, told the Daily Graphic that authorities of Achimota Secondary School obtained what was supposed to be an order from a High Court to close down the school and proceeded to do so on Friday, August 10, 2007.
He said the authorities removed the signpost of the Achimota Preparatory and JSS and erected a new signpost with the inscription “Achimota Nursery School”.
Mr Brentuo said the school authorities further repainted the premises in different colours with a conspicuous inscription “Achimota Nursery School” on one of the walls of the school.
He said following that, counsel for Achimota Preparatory and JSS sought a court order on Wednesday, August 22, to re-open the school.
According to him, despite the order to re-open the school, certain persons, allegedly acting on the orders of the Achimota Secondary School, locked up the premises on August 24, 2007.
Mr Brentuo, however, said acting on the orders of their lawyers, the locks were broken and the premises re-entered.
He said owing to the potential of those developments disturbing public peace, a report was made to the Achimota School Police on Sunday, August 26, 2007 after an emergency Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) meeting.
He said the PTA also made a report to the Tesano District Police Headquarters owing to what he termed “the attitude of Achimota School police”.
Mr Brentuo said vacation classes were in session at the school.
When contacted, the headmistress of Achimota Secondary School, Mrs Beatrice Adom, said counsel for the school was on holidays in the United Kingdom and was due to return at the weekend.
She explained that she had just taken over the school and was given a court order by the school’s counsel to implement. She declined further comments.
A brief prepared by counsel for the school, a copy of which she presented to the Daily Graphic, said Achimota Preparatory School (APS) occupied the portion of the Achimota School land from the cross-roads at the Achimota Police Station stretching eastwards to the boundaries of the golf course practice grounds.
It said originally, APS was granted a lease of the said area by Achimota School for a period up to 1970. Since the expiration of the lease in 1970, no new lease had been granted to APS and no rent received from APS for its continued use of the land.
The brief said after a protracted discussion in 1985, Achimota School refused a request to grant permission to APS to build structures on the land for their JSS programme.
It said APS was given three years to wind up its activities and give up the possession of the buildings to Achimota School. APS, it said, pleaded for extension for up to five years to enable it phase out its pupils completely with a further arrangement for Achimota School to absorb the pupils of APS in its JSS.
It said it was discovered that APS was abusing the new arrangement by including many other pupils who were not pupils of APS.
It said following a legal action against APS, Achimota School obtained judgement to recover the possession of the land and the buildings occupied by APS.
It said after the judgement was served on APS, they applied to the court for an order to set aside the judgement, claiming that they had an equitable right to occupy the land perpetually because they had been in possession since 1957, and that the eviction would cause severe hardship to their 1,300 pupils, as well as their staff.
According to the brief, the parties began attempts to settle the matter out of court and after the negotiations, the parties agreed that APS would not admit any new pupils from 1996 and that APS would phase out its pupils from Kindergarten Two to Class Six under a plan submitted by APS.
It said the agreed terms and the plan for phasing out the pupils were filed in the High Court on December 10, 1996 and January 31, 1997 respectively, as an agreement between the parties.
“Therefore, by the agreement between the parties, APS should have phased out its pupils by the end of the academic year in 2001/2002 and duly handed over the land and the buildings to Achimota School,” it added.
It noted that between 2002 and 2005, APS sought to prevent Achimota School from going into execution by making various applications to set aside the judgement of the court but their applications were dismissed.
It said a writ of possession was obtained in May 2006 to enable Achimota School levy execution of the judgement.
THE protracted dispute over ownership of the Achimota Preparatory and Junior Secondary School (JSS) has deepened with the two contending forces, Achimota Secondary School and the management of the basic school, both earning the legal rights.
Over the past week, both institutions obtained court orders vesting the ownership of the basic school in their hands.
The Achimota Secondary School was the first to obtain the order to close down the Achimota Preparatory and JSS but immediately following that the IMC of the basic school also secured a court order to re-open the school to prepare for the next academic year.
The confusion and court orders came in the wake of the substantive case pending at the Court of Appeal.
The Tesano District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Philip Dugah, confirmed in an interview that one of the orders was came with a letter requesting for police assistance to close down the school while the second for the re-opening of the school did not have any such request.
He said in spite of the conflicting developments, all was calm at the school and said the police would only intervene in case there was a breach of the peace since the substantive case was in court.
The Board Secretary to Achimota Preparatory and JSS, Mr Daniel Kweku Brentuo, told the Daily Graphic that authorities of Achimota Secondary School obtained what was supposed to be an order from a High Court to close down the school and proceeded to do so on Friday, August 10, 2007.
He said the authorities removed the signpost of the Achimota Preparatory and JSS and erected a new signpost with the inscription “Achimota Nursery School”.
Mr Brentuo said the school authorities further repainted the premises in different colours with a conspicuous inscription “Achimota Nursery School” on one of the walls of the school.
He said following that, counsel for Achimota Preparatory and JSS sought a court order on Wednesday, August 22, to re-open the school.
According to him, despite the order to re-open the school, certain persons, allegedly acting on the orders of the Achimota Secondary School, locked up the premises on August 24, 2007.
Mr Brentuo, however, said acting on the orders of their lawyers, the locks were broken and the premises re-entered.
He said owing to the potential of those developments disturbing public peace, a report was made to the Achimota School Police on Sunday, August 26, 2007 after an emergency Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) meeting.
He said the PTA also made a report to the Tesano District Police Headquarters owing to what he termed “the attitude of Achimota School police”.
Mr Brentuo said vacation classes were in session at the school.
When contacted, the headmistress of Achimota Secondary School, Mrs Beatrice Adom, said counsel for the school was on holidays in the United Kingdom and was due to return at the weekend.
She explained that she had just taken over the school and was given a court order by the school’s counsel to implement. She declined further comments.
A brief prepared by counsel for the school, a copy of which she presented to the Daily Graphic, said Achimota Preparatory School (APS) occupied the portion of the Achimota School land from the cross-roads at the Achimota Police Station stretching eastwards to the boundaries of the golf course practice grounds.
It said originally, APS was granted a lease of the said area by Achimota School for a period up to 1970. Since the expiration of the lease in 1970, no new lease had been granted to APS and no rent received from APS for its continued use of the land.
The brief said after a protracted discussion in 1985, Achimota School refused a request to grant permission to APS to build structures on the land for their JSS programme.
It said APS was given three years to wind up its activities and give up the possession of the buildings to Achimota School. APS, it said, pleaded for extension for up to five years to enable it phase out its pupils completely with a further arrangement for Achimota School to absorb the pupils of APS in its JSS.
It said it was discovered that APS was abusing the new arrangement by including many other pupils who were not pupils of APS.
It said following a legal action against APS, Achimota School obtained judgement to recover the possession of the land and the buildings occupied by APS.
It said after the judgement was served on APS, they applied to the court for an order to set aside the judgement, claiming that they had an equitable right to occupy the land perpetually because they had been in possession since 1957, and that the eviction would cause severe hardship to their 1,300 pupils, as well as their staff.
According to the brief, the parties began attempts to settle the matter out of court and after the negotiations, the parties agreed that APS would not admit any new pupils from 1996 and that APS would phase out its pupils from Kindergarten Two to Class Six under a plan submitted by APS.
It said the agreed terms and the plan for phasing out the pupils were filed in the High Court on December 10, 1996 and January 31, 1997 respectively, as an agreement between the parties.
“Therefore, by the agreement between the parties, APS should have phased out its pupils by the end of the academic year in 2001/2002 and duly handed over the land and the buildings to Achimota School,” it added.
It noted that between 2002 and 2005, APS sought to prevent Achimota School from going into execution by making various applications to set aside the judgement of the court but their applications were dismissed.
It said a writ of possession was obtained in May 2006 to enable Achimota School levy execution of the judgement.
Co-ordinate herbal research
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Director of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Professor Alex Nyarko, has called for a well co-ordinated research into the effectiveness and safety of plant medicine.
He said although a lot of research was being done on the effectiveness of plant medicine, the activities were unco-ordinated.
That, he said, did not help the development of plant medicine in the country and its use by patrons.
Prof. Nyarko made the call when the leadership of the College of Health Sciences paid a courtesy call on the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) in Accra on Wednesday.
He explained that most of the research being done into the effectiveness of plant medicine dealt mostly with aspects of the medicines.
He said one could find one research institution dealing with the efficacy of a plant in treating a particular ailment and did not cover its effects or how it could be combined with other medication.
Prof. Nyarko conceded that every drug had its side effects but health practitioners often considered the risk to benefit ratio before prescribing any drug to patients.
He expressed concern about the alarming rate at which Ghanaians patronised plant medicines especially those which related to sexual virility.
Prof. Nyarko appealed to members of the public to guard against the abuse of such herbal concortions, since they could have serious effects on them later.
The Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Professor Aaron Lawson, who led the delegation, noted for instance that when the World Health Organisation (WHO) accepted Artesunate Amodaquine as the treatment for malaria, local manufacturers instead of breaking the medication into dosages, decided to put it in one dose.
That, he said, resulted in the problems that many patients experienced with its initial intake.
He said the College of Health Sciences would hold its first College-wide Annual Scientific Conference next month.
The conference, which would come off from September 26 to 28, 2007, on the theme “Advancing the health of Ghanaians through research and capacity building”, will seek to disseminate findings of research to help Ghanaians improve upon their health status.
Until the decision to hold the first-ever college-wide conference, the various schools under the college had been organising their respective scientific conferences.
Prof. Lawson said the college considered the GCGL as a strategic partner in disseminating information to the public.
He said the college would, therefore, use the GCGL to disseminate the findings to be made at the conference to the public so that the ordinary man in the street could benefit from the findings of the research.
The Managing Director of GCGL, Mr Ibrahim Awal, pledged GCGL's support for the college by devoting some of its pages for the publication of findings to ensure that the college’s activities benefited the larger society.
That, according to him, would contribute to preventive health as the findings would make the public take their health seriously and be cautious in their lifestyles.
Mr Awal stated that the GCGL did not only believe in informing and educating the public but setting the agenda for national development through such activities.
THE Director of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Professor Alex Nyarko, has called for a well co-ordinated research into the effectiveness and safety of plant medicine.
He said although a lot of research was being done on the effectiveness of plant medicine, the activities were unco-ordinated.
That, he said, did not help the development of plant medicine in the country and its use by patrons.
Prof. Nyarko made the call when the leadership of the College of Health Sciences paid a courtesy call on the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) in Accra on Wednesday.
He explained that most of the research being done into the effectiveness of plant medicine dealt mostly with aspects of the medicines.
He said one could find one research institution dealing with the efficacy of a plant in treating a particular ailment and did not cover its effects or how it could be combined with other medication.
Prof. Nyarko conceded that every drug had its side effects but health practitioners often considered the risk to benefit ratio before prescribing any drug to patients.
He expressed concern about the alarming rate at which Ghanaians patronised plant medicines especially those which related to sexual virility.
Prof. Nyarko appealed to members of the public to guard against the abuse of such herbal concortions, since they could have serious effects on them later.
The Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Professor Aaron Lawson, who led the delegation, noted for instance that when the World Health Organisation (WHO) accepted Artesunate Amodaquine as the treatment for malaria, local manufacturers instead of breaking the medication into dosages, decided to put it in one dose.
That, he said, resulted in the problems that many patients experienced with its initial intake.
He said the College of Health Sciences would hold its first College-wide Annual Scientific Conference next month.
The conference, which would come off from September 26 to 28, 2007, on the theme “Advancing the health of Ghanaians through research and capacity building”, will seek to disseminate findings of research to help Ghanaians improve upon their health status.
Until the decision to hold the first-ever college-wide conference, the various schools under the college had been organising their respective scientific conferences.
Prof. Lawson said the college considered the GCGL as a strategic partner in disseminating information to the public.
He said the college would, therefore, use the GCGL to disseminate the findings to be made at the conference to the public so that the ordinary man in the street could benefit from the findings of the research.
The Managing Director of GCGL, Mr Ibrahim Awal, pledged GCGL's support for the college by devoting some of its pages for the publication of findings to ensure that the college’s activities benefited the larger society.
That, according to him, would contribute to preventive health as the findings would make the public take their health seriously and be cautious in their lifestyles.
Mr Awal stated that the GCGL did not only believe in informing and educating the public but setting the agenda for national development through such activities.
Deputy IGP withdraws letter
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Former Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Dr K. K. Manfo, has formally withdrawn a letter he wrote challenging a Police Council directive to him to proceed on retirement.
Sources close to the Police Administration told the Daily Graphic on Saturday that Dr Manfo’s withdrawal letter also expressed regret about the strong language he used in his letter dated August 29, 2007.
The sources said the letter had been received in good faith and that Dr Manfo had accordingly complied with the directive.
The Daily Graphic, in its September 1, 2007 issue, published a story in which the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick K. Acheampong and Dr Manfo were said to have been embroiled in a war of words.
While the Police Council, in a letter dated August 24, 2007 and signed by the IGP, Mr P. K. Acheampong, had directed Dr Kofi Kesse Manfo, one of his two deputies, to retire with effect from September 1, 2007, Dr Manfo , on the other hand, challenged the directive, describing it as unlawful.
However, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, when reached on phone in the Sandema District in the Upper East Region, said the decision reached by the Police Council was irreversible and that Dr Manfo had to go on retirement.
He said he had spoken to Dr Manfo, who had expressed regret about the tone of a letter he wrote to the IGP in response to the directive from the Police Council and indicated his willingness to withdraw the letter and proceed on leave prior to retirement.
In the letter, the Police Council requested Dr Manfo, as well as Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Douglas Akrofi-Asiedu and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Victor Tandoh to proceed on their terminal leave with effect from September 1, 2007.
But in a sharp rebuttal, Dr Manfo said in a letter dated August 29, 2007 that the order to him to retire could not be complied with because the directive was unlawful as the IGP acted ultra vires.
He indicated that he was shocked by the notice of the IGP.
In the letter, Dr Manfo said he was appointed as Deputy IGP by the President the same day the IGP was also appointed.
Dr Manfo said his position and that of the IGP were presidential appointments and consequently it was the President who could ask either of them to retire.
Meanwhile, in another letter dated August 17, 2007, the IGP has reminded 18 other officers that they are due for retirement sometime this year.
The 18 officers are made up of one Commissioner of Police (COP), 11 Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACP) and seven Chief Superintendents of Police.
It reminded those who had completed their terminal leave to hand over all police accoutrements to their Regional Commanders and hand over their commands to the next most senior officer designated by their Regional Commanders.
However, in the case of COP Francis Kwaku Agyeman, the IGP asked him to hand over to the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Administration.
While thanking them for their invaluable services to the Ghana Police Service, the IGP wished them the best in their future endeavours.
THE Former Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Dr K. K. Manfo, has formally withdrawn a letter he wrote challenging a Police Council directive to him to proceed on retirement.
Sources close to the Police Administration told the Daily Graphic on Saturday that Dr Manfo’s withdrawal letter also expressed regret about the strong language he used in his letter dated August 29, 2007.
The sources said the letter had been received in good faith and that Dr Manfo had accordingly complied with the directive.
The Daily Graphic, in its September 1, 2007 issue, published a story in which the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick K. Acheampong and Dr Manfo were said to have been embroiled in a war of words.
While the Police Council, in a letter dated August 24, 2007 and signed by the IGP, Mr P. K. Acheampong, had directed Dr Kofi Kesse Manfo, one of his two deputies, to retire with effect from September 1, 2007, Dr Manfo , on the other hand, challenged the directive, describing it as unlawful.
However, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, when reached on phone in the Sandema District in the Upper East Region, said the decision reached by the Police Council was irreversible and that Dr Manfo had to go on retirement.
He said he had spoken to Dr Manfo, who had expressed regret about the tone of a letter he wrote to the IGP in response to the directive from the Police Council and indicated his willingness to withdraw the letter and proceed on leave prior to retirement.
In the letter, the Police Council requested Dr Manfo, as well as Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Douglas Akrofi-Asiedu and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Victor Tandoh to proceed on their terminal leave with effect from September 1, 2007.
But in a sharp rebuttal, Dr Manfo said in a letter dated August 29, 2007 that the order to him to retire could not be complied with because the directive was unlawful as the IGP acted ultra vires.
He indicated that he was shocked by the notice of the IGP.
In the letter, Dr Manfo said he was appointed as Deputy IGP by the President the same day the IGP was also appointed.
Dr Manfo said his position and that of the IGP were presidential appointments and consequently it was the President who could ask either of them to retire.
Meanwhile, in another letter dated August 17, 2007, the IGP has reminded 18 other officers that they are due for retirement sometime this year.
The 18 officers are made up of one Commissioner of Police (COP), 11 Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACP) and seven Chief Superintendents of Police.
It reminded those who had completed their terminal leave to hand over all police accoutrements to their Regional Commanders and hand over their commands to the next most senior officer designated by their Regional Commanders.
However, in the case of COP Francis Kwaku Agyeman, the IGP asked him to hand over to the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Administration.
While thanking them for their invaluable services to the Ghana Police Service, the IGP wished them the best in their future endeavours.
First batch of FinASA graduate
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE first batch of 22 agricultural science graduates sponsored by the Finatrade Foundation have completed their studies in the country’s universities.
There are still 46 of such students studying at the University of Ghana, Legon, University of Cape Coast, University for Development Studies and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Twenty more needy brilliant students would be selected this academic year to add up to the 46 still in school and thus bring the total to 66.
Each of the beneficiaries is provided GH¢500 (¢5 million) bursary annually and also offered internship during the holidays by Finatrade Foundation.
At a ceremony to present certificates to the students, the board chairman of Finatrade Foundation, Ms Joyce Aryee, urged the students to establish networks to help each other.
She advised them to be good citizens and serve the nation to the best of their ability.
She appealed to agriculture-related institutions to support the foundation by offering vacancies for the students to do their internship while the foundation bore the cost of their allowances.
A board member, Mr Kwame Pianim, urged the students to rid their minds of the “who you know” mentality and explore areas in the agricultural sectors to create their own jobs.
He advised them to maximise the benefits of their youthfulness by engaging in productive ventures.
The Managing Director of Finatrade Group of Companies, Mr Nabil Moukarzil, pledged the commitment of the company to support Ghana’s development efforts.
He said the company would soon come out with a skills training programme to equip street children with employable skills as part of such efforts.
One of the beneficiaries, Ms Ellen Owusu Adjei, a product of UDS, said the bursary urged the beneficiaries on to study hard to justify the investment made in them by the foundation.
That, she said, was because the beneficiaries wanted the sponsors to sustain the programme since there were many needy brilliant students who needed such assistance.
The President of the Finatrade Scholars Association (FinaSA), Mr Frank Koomson, said the decision by the Foundation to sponsor Agriculture students was a bold and critical step taken to secure the future of agriculture, on which the economy of Ghana thrived.
“You have indeed endeared yourself to the nation as a major partner in private sector participation in socio-economic advancement, as Ghana makes strides towards the attainment of Vision 2015,” he added.
He said the association had decided to organise a career fair for Agriculture students in second cycle institutions throughout the country in November this year.
Mr Koomson said the fair was aimed at unveiling career opportunities in agriculture to students and, thereby help them to choose career paths, stressing that “there will also be a business plan competition for participants”.
THE first batch of 22 agricultural science graduates sponsored by the Finatrade Foundation have completed their studies in the country’s universities.
There are still 46 of such students studying at the University of Ghana, Legon, University of Cape Coast, University for Development Studies and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Twenty more needy brilliant students would be selected this academic year to add up to the 46 still in school and thus bring the total to 66.
Each of the beneficiaries is provided GH¢500 (¢5 million) bursary annually and also offered internship during the holidays by Finatrade Foundation.
At a ceremony to present certificates to the students, the board chairman of Finatrade Foundation, Ms Joyce Aryee, urged the students to establish networks to help each other.
She advised them to be good citizens and serve the nation to the best of their ability.
She appealed to agriculture-related institutions to support the foundation by offering vacancies for the students to do their internship while the foundation bore the cost of their allowances.
A board member, Mr Kwame Pianim, urged the students to rid their minds of the “who you know” mentality and explore areas in the agricultural sectors to create their own jobs.
He advised them to maximise the benefits of their youthfulness by engaging in productive ventures.
The Managing Director of Finatrade Group of Companies, Mr Nabil Moukarzil, pledged the commitment of the company to support Ghana’s development efforts.
He said the company would soon come out with a skills training programme to equip street children with employable skills as part of such efforts.
One of the beneficiaries, Ms Ellen Owusu Adjei, a product of UDS, said the bursary urged the beneficiaries on to study hard to justify the investment made in them by the foundation.
That, she said, was because the beneficiaries wanted the sponsors to sustain the programme since there were many needy brilliant students who needed such assistance.
The President of the Finatrade Scholars Association (FinaSA), Mr Frank Koomson, said the decision by the Foundation to sponsor Agriculture students was a bold and critical step taken to secure the future of agriculture, on which the economy of Ghana thrived.
“You have indeed endeared yourself to the nation as a major partner in private sector participation in socio-economic advancement, as Ghana makes strides towards the attainment of Vision 2015,” he added.
He said the association had decided to organise a career fair for Agriculture students in second cycle institutions throughout the country in November this year.
Mr Koomson said the fair was aimed at unveiling career opportunities in agriculture to students and, thereby help them to choose career paths, stressing that “there will also be a business plan competition for participants”.
Four securitymen implicated
Story: Albert K. Salia
Two policemen and two soldiers have been implicated in the brutal beating that led to the death of a mini-bus driver at Suhum last month.
This was contained in a report compiled by the committee set up by the Ministry of the Interior to probe the death of the driver, George Kojo Atuah, alias Maclean, in police custody on August 3, 2003.
Atuah’s death in police custody stirred controversy. Members of his family accused the security operatives of his murder but the police rejected that accusation and claimed that the man died of diarrhoea.
But the committee found Detective Lance Corporal Felix Kwasi Dagadu, Constable David Darko, both of the Ghana Police Service, Staff Sergeant Roger Adama and Cpl Ibrahim Bukari, both of the Ghana Army, guilty of the offence and recommended their prosecution to serve as a deterrent to others.
In the report presented yesterday, the committee established that the four, who were members of the nine-member patrol team which arrested the deceased, severely assaulted him, noting further that the pathologist’s report indicated that the deceased died as a result of massive internal bleeding.
Disciplinary action is also to be taken against the leader of the patrol team, Sergeant Samuel Egyin of the Ghana Police Service for dereliction of duty.
Atuah was arrested upon the allegation that he refused to stop at a police-military checkpoint.
The seven-member committee, chaired by Mr Edward Agyeman Duodu, a Principal State Attorney, also recommended that the government should pay adequate compensation to the family of the deceased and bear the cost of the funeral expenses as well.
Other members of the committee were Major B. B. Owusu, second in command of the First Infantry Battalion; Warrant Officer Class II Ambrose Fiador of the Army Headquarters; Nana Akrasi Sarpong and Mr Ernest Kwarteng, both of the Ministry of the Interior; Mr Samuel Bediako of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Fred Adu Anim of the Ghana Police Service.
According to Mr Duodu, members of the committee interacted with the District Chief Executive for Suhum/Kraboa/Coaltar, the District Police Command, members of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) in the area and the family of the deceased and visited the scene of the incident at Ayekotse, a suburb of Suhum.
He said the committee also visited Koforidua to interact with the Regional Police Command and also took evidence from members of the patrol team, the pathologist who conducted the post-mortem on the deceased, evidence from the nurse on duty at the time the deceased was rushed to hospital and eyewitnesses at the time of the incident.
Mr Duodu said it was established that all members of the patrol team were economical with the truth.
However, he said, the committee established that four members of the nine-member patrol team severely assaulted the deceased.
According to him, two members of the team had earlier on alighted from the vehicle and were not part of the arresting team.
He said the pathologist’s report indicated that the deceased died as a result of massive internal bleeding.
Mr Duodu said the leader of the patrol team abdicated his duty by not calling the subordinates to order.
He said two other remaining police officers did not play any role in the assault, hence nothing should be held against them.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, who received the report, said the government was convinced that both the police and the army were doing very well to combat crime through the joint patrols.
He, however, said such activities must be done within the confines of the law even when somebody was suspected of being a criminal.
According to Mr Bartels, while the government was appealing to Ghanaians to avoid the meting out of instant justice to suspected criminals, such efforts would go unheeded, if the police were found to be indulging in such acts.
He commended members of the committee for the excellent work done and gave the assurance that the report would be treated with all the seriousness it deserved.
The Ministry of the Interior set up the committee on August 15, 2007 to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of Atuah, following contrasting reports on how he died.
While the family and some members of the public said Atuah died as a result of brutalities in the hands of the security personnel, the police contended that he died of natural causes.
Two policemen and two soldiers have been implicated in the brutal beating that led to the death of a mini-bus driver at Suhum last month.
This was contained in a report compiled by the committee set up by the Ministry of the Interior to probe the death of the driver, George Kojo Atuah, alias Maclean, in police custody on August 3, 2003.
Atuah’s death in police custody stirred controversy. Members of his family accused the security operatives of his murder but the police rejected that accusation and claimed that the man died of diarrhoea.
But the committee found Detective Lance Corporal Felix Kwasi Dagadu, Constable David Darko, both of the Ghana Police Service, Staff Sergeant Roger Adama and Cpl Ibrahim Bukari, both of the Ghana Army, guilty of the offence and recommended their prosecution to serve as a deterrent to others.
In the report presented yesterday, the committee established that the four, who were members of the nine-member patrol team which arrested the deceased, severely assaulted him, noting further that the pathologist’s report indicated that the deceased died as a result of massive internal bleeding.
Disciplinary action is also to be taken against the leader of the patrol team, Sergeant Samuel Egyin of the Ghana Police Service for dereliction of duty.
Atuah was arrested upon the allegation that he refused to stop at a police-military checkpoint.
The seven-member committee, chaired by Mr Edward Agyeman Duodu, a Principal State Attorney, also recommended that the government should pay adequate compensation to the family of the deceased and bear the cost of the funeral expenses as well.
Other members of the committee were Major B. B. Owusu, second in command of the First Infantry Battalion; Warrant Officer Class II Ambrose Fiador of the Army Headquarters; Nana Akrasi Sarpong and Mr Ernest Kwarteng, both of the Ministry of the Interior; Mr Samuel Bediako of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Fred Adu Anim of the Ghana Police Service.
According to Mr Duodu, members of the committee interacted with the District Chief Executive for Suhum/Kraboa/Coaltar, the District Police Command, members of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) in the area and the family of the deceased and visited the scene of the incident at Ayekotse, a suburb of Suhum.
He said the committee also visited Koforidua to interact with the Regional Police Command and also took evidence from members of the patrol team, the pathologist who conducted the post-mortem on the deceased, evidence from the nurse on duty at the time the deceased was rushed to hospital and eyewitnesses at the time of the incident.
Mr Duodu said it was established that all members of the patrol team were economical with the truth.
However, he said, the committee established that four members of the nine-member patrol team severely assaulted the deceased.
According to him, two members of the team had earlier on alighted from the vehicle and were not part of the arresting team.
He said the pathologist’s report indicated that the deceased died as a result of massive internal bleeding.
Mr Duodu said the leader of the patrol team abdicated his duty by not calling the subordinates to order.
He said two other remaining police officers did not play any role in the assault, hence nothing should be held against them.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, who received the report, said the government was convinced that both the police and the army were doing very well to combat crime through the joint patrols.
He, however, said such activities must be done within the confines of the law even when somebody was suspected of being a criminal.
According to Mr Bartels, while the government was appealing to Ghanaians to avoid the meting out of instant justice to suspected criminals, such efforts would go unheeded, if the police were found to be indulging in such acts.
He commended members of the committee for the excellent work done and gave the assurance that the report would be treated with all the seriousness it deserved.
The Ministry of the Interior set up the committee on August 15, 2007 to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of Atuah, following contrasting reports on how he died.
While the family and some members of the public said Atuah died as a result of brutalities in the hands of the security personnel, the police contended that he died of natural causes.
Don't break the law to enforce it - Bartels
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Interior Minister, Mr Kwamena Bartels, has reminded personnel of the security agencies to operate within the confines of the law.
He said security personnel did not have to break the law to enforce it, since that would send a wrong signal to the public.
Mr Bartels said this when the family of the late George Kojo Atuah, alias Maclean, the mini-bus driver who was brutalised to death, called on him to thank him for the expeditious manner in which the committee set up to probe the death worked on the investigations.
The committee, which was chaired by Mr Edward Agyeman Duodu, a Principal State Attorney, submitted its report to the Minister on Monday.
The report indicted two policemen and two soldiers and recommended their prosecution.
Atuah left behind a five-month old pregnant wife, Madam Florence Asiedu, and a four-year-old son.
Mr Bartels explained that to be tasked with the job of enforcing the law did not mean that security personnel had the right to do anything.
He said the fact that the deceased was escaping showed that he was guilty but to pursue and beat him resulting in his death was very extreme.
He said the government was making efforts to deal with the problem of mob justice but if that phenomenon was perpetrated by law enforcement agencies, then it was serious.
Mr Bartels said the prosecution of the four officers would send the signal to the others to exhibit professionalism in the discharge of their duties, stressing that this was an exceptional case and a blatant misuse of power.
He said the police were doing an excellent job to combat crime in the face of the numerous challenges confronting them.
He, however, said there were a few bad lots who wanted to drag the reputation of the police into the mud.
Mr Bartels said the report had already been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Department for study and advice especially with regards to the issue of compensation to the family.
The leader of the delegation, Mr Kingsford Pobee, alias Wofa Yaw, expressed the appreciation of the family to the Minister for his swift response to the concerns of the public.
He said the report of the committee had put to rest the suspicions of the family and expressed the hope that the recommendations would be implemented as soon as practicable.
Atuah’s death in police custody stirred controversy. Members of his family accused the security operatives of his murder but the police rejected that accusation and claimed that the man died of diarrhoea in police custody on August 3, 2007.
But the committee found Detective Lance Corporal Felix Kwasi Dagadu, Constable David Darko, both of the Ghana Police Service, Staff Sergeant Roger Adama and Cpl Ibrahim Bukari, both of the Ghana Army, guilty of the offence and recommended their prosecution to serve as a deterrent to others.
The committee established that the four, who were members of the nine-member patrol team which arrested the deceased, severely assaulted him, noting further that the pathologist’s report indicated that the deceased died as a result of massive internal bleeding.
THE Interior Minister, Mr Kwamena Bartels, has reminded personnel of the security agencies to operate within the confines of the law.
He said security personnel did not have to break the law to enforce it, since that would send a wrong signal to the public.
Mr Bartels said this when the family of the late George Kojo Atuah, alias Maclean, the mini-bus driver who was brutalised to death, called on him to thank him for the expeditious manner in which the committee set up to probe the death worked on the investigations.
The committee, which was chaired by Mr Edward Agyeman Duodu, a Principal State Attorney, submitted its report to the Minister on Monday.
The report indicted two policemen and two soldiers and recommended their prosecution.
Atuah left behind a five-month old pregnant wife, Madam Florence Asiedu, and a four-year-old son.
Mr Bartels explained that to be tasked with the job of enforcing the law did not mean that security personnel had the right to do anything.
He said the fact that the deceased was escaping showed that he was guilty but to pursue and beat him resulting in his death was very extreme.
He said the government was making efforts to deal with the problem of mob justice but if that phenomenon was perpetrated by law enforcement agencies, then it was serious.
Mr Bartels said the prosecution of the four officers would send the signal to the others to exhibit professionalism in the discharge of their duties, stressing that this was an exceptional case and a blatant misuse of power.
He said the police were doing an excellent job to combat crime in the face of the numerous challenges confronting them.
He, however, said there were a few bad lots who wanted to drag the reputation of the police into the mud.
Mr Bartels said the report had already been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Department for study and advice especially with regards to the issue of compensation to the family.
The leader of the delegation, Mr Kingsford Pobee, alias Wofa Yaw, expressed the appreciation of the family to the Minister for his swift response to the concerns of the public.
He said the report of the committee had put to rest the suspicions of the family and expressed the hope that the recommendations would be implemented as soon as practicable.
Atuah’s death in police custody stirred controversy. Members of his family accused the security operatives of his murder but the police rejected that accusation and claimed that the man died of diarrhoea in police custody on August 3, 2007.
But the committee found Detective Lance Corporal Felix Kwasi Dagadu, Constable David Darko, both of the Ghana Police Service, Staff Sergeant Roger Adama and Cpl Ibrahim Bukari, both of the Ghana Army, guilty of the offence and recommended their prosecution to serve as a deterrent to others.
The committee established that the four, who were members of the nine-member patrol team which arrested the deceased, severely assaulted him, noting further that the pathologist’s report indicated that the deceased died as a result of massive internal bleeding.
Fintrade spends one billion on ICT
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Finatrade Foundation has so far spent nearly ¢1 billion towards the training of students in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The expenditure forms part of the commitment of the foundation to making ICT the driving force of the country’s development agenda.
The Executive Director of the foundation, Mr John Awuni told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the foundation believed that the youth, through the ICT programmes, could begin to use ICT to solve complex business problems for the country and also link up with their colleagues in the rest of the world.
He said the foundation, which was undertaking the programme in conjunction with the Ghana-Indian Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence, was seeking to promote ICT enthusiasm in the rural areas as well.
He said to sustain the programme, a trainer of trainers workshops had also been organised for teachers from the various second cycle institutions participating in the programmes.
Mr Awuni said the trained teachers were expected to effectively mentor students to develop their own programmes and participate in the I-2CAP competitions.
He said so far 333 teachers had been trained while 267 schools nation-wide had participated in the competition since it was instituted in 2005.
Mr Awuni said the encouraging aspect of the competition was the high female participation.
He said the foundation had also distributed more than 70 desktop computers, as well as mathematics and computer science textbooks, to the participating schools.
He said an I-2CAP web site had also been developed to serve as a forum for tutors, students and ICT instructors to hold online discussions, for students to download training materials and also post codes for review.
Mr Awuni said a national ICT competition would be organised in November this year, for past participants of I-2CAP competitions to enable the organisers to assess the impact of the training on the beneficiaries.
He commended the Director-General of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence, Ms Dorothy Gordon, for her continued support for the project.
THE Finatrade Foundation has so far spent nearly ¢1 billion towards the training of students in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The expenditure forms part of the commitment of the foundation to making ICT the driving force of the country’s development agenda.
The Executive Director of the foundation, Mr John Awuni told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the foundation believed that the youth, through the ICT programmes, could begin to use ICT to solve complex business problems for the country and also link up with their colleagues in the rest of the world.
He said the foundation, which was undertaking the programme in conjunction with the Ghana-Indian Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence, was seeking to promote ICT enthusiasm in the rural areas as well.
He said to sustain the programme, a trainer of trainers workshops had also been organised for teachers from the various second cycle institutions participating in the programmes.
Mr Awuni said the trained teachers were expected to effectively mentor students to develop their own programmes and participate in the I-2CAP competitions.
He said so far 333 teachers had been trained while 267 schools nation-wide had participated in the competition since it was instituted in 2005.
Mr Awuni said the encouraging aspect of the competition was the high female participation.
He said the foundation had also distributed more than 70 desktop computers, as well as mathematics and computer science textbooks, to the participating schools.
He said an I-2CAP web site had also been developed to serve as a forum for tutors, students and ICT instructors to hold online discussions, for students to download training materials and also post codes for review.
Mr Awuni said a national ICT competition would be organised in November this year, for past participants of I-2CAP competitions to enable the organisers to assess the impact of the training on the beneficiaries.
He commended the Director-General of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence, Ms Dorothy Gordon, for her continued support for the project.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Parcels content not cocaine — Police
Story:Albert K. Salia & Abigail Efua Rockson
EIGHTEEN bible-shaped parcels believed to be cocaine that were retrieved from an abandoned Opel Astra vehicle by the Tema police are said to be parcels of sand, corn flour and starch.
The parcels were found hidden in the boot of the Opel Astra vehicle with registration number GW 3757 W, parked behind the Black Star Line building in Tema.
The acting Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwesi Ofori, told the press in Accra yesterday that tests conducted by the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) on August 28, 2007 on the parcels submitted to it by the Organised Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) showed negative for cocaine.
He said it was established that the parcels were so packaged to look like cocaine but turned out to be sand, corn flour and starch.
He said the police believed it was a scam.
When DSP Ofori was asked to read a quote from the GSB report which described the content of the parcels as starch, sand and corn flour, he said the report was not available.
DSP Ofori said investigations would, however, still continue into the matter to enable the police to determine what was behind the scam.
According to him, investigations at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) showed that the registration number of the vehicle was fake.
As to whether the police had met the informant since then, the Tema Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) John Kudalor, said the police had been eager to meet the informant but without success.
He said although the informant had called twice to meet the District Commander, he failed to show up.
He said that had made the police to believe that the whole deal was a scam.
EIGHTEEN bible-shaped parcels believed to be cocaine that were retrieved from an abandoned Opel Astra vehicle by the Tema police are said to be parcels of sand, corn flour and starch.
The parcels were found hidden in the boot of the Opel Astra vehicle with registration number GW 3757 W, parked behind the Black Star Line building in Tema.
The acting Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwesi Ofori, told the press in Accra yesterday that tests conducted by the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) on August 28, 2007 on the parcels submitted to it by the Organised Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) showed negative for cocaine.
He said it was established that the parcels were so packaged to look like cocaine but turned out to be sand, corn flour and starch.
He said the police believed it was a scam.
When DSP Ofori was asked to read a quote from the GSB report which described the content of the parcels as starch, sand and corn flour, he said the report was not available.
DSP Ofori said investigations would, however, still continue into the matter to enable the police to determine what was behind the scam.
According to him, investigations at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) showed that the registration number of the vehicle was fake.
As to whether the police had met the informant since then, the Tema Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) John Kudalor, said the police had been eager to meet the informant but without success.
He said although the informant had called twice to meet the District Commander, he failed to show up.
He said that had made the police to believe that the whole deal was a scam.
Primex pledges to fight poverty
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE management of Primex Ghana Limited, distributors of Gino, Jago and Pomo products, have pledged the commitment of the company to alleviating poverty in the country.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Annu Gupta, said the ultimate aim of the company was to give back to the society which buttered the bread of the company.
He told the Daily Graphic, after his company had paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, that the aim of the company was to cater for the world’s poor by providing them with the highest quality products at affordable prices.
He said during the visit the company donated ¢25 million to support the Otumfuo Educational Fund and ¢11 million worth of products of the company to the Asantehene. The delegation included Mr Shailesh Kumar, National Sales Manager and Mr Eric Nyinaku, Administrative Manager of the company.
Mr Gupta said the company pledged its support for the various development projects which the Asantehene had initiated to improve upon the living conditions of Asanteman.
He said the company intended to start manufacturing its products in Ghana by middle of next year to create more jobs for Ghanaians.
Mr Gupta said the company intended to make Ghana its production hub for West Africa because of the good business environment.
He said the company had been associated with a cooking contest which was aimed at encouraging women to enrich the local recipes with its quality products.
“We know the needs of the people and, therefore, we provide the products to suit their taste,” he said.
THE management of Primex Ghana Limited, distributors of Gino, Jago and Pomo products, have pledged the commitment of the company to alleviating poverty in the country.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Annu Gupta, said the ultimate aim of the company was to give back to the society which buttered the bread of the company.
He told the Daily Graphic, after his company had paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, that the aim of the company was to cater for the world’s poor by providing them with the highest quality products at affordable prices.
He said during the visit the company donated ¢25 million to support the Otumfuo Educational Fund and ¢11 million worth of products of the company to the Asantehene. The delegation included Mr Shailesh Kumar, National Sales Manager and Mr Eric Nyinaku, Administrative Manager of the company.
Mr Gupta said the company pledged its support for the various development projects which the Asantehene had initiated to improve upon the living conditions of Asanteman.
He said the company intended to start manufacturing its products in Ghana by middle of next year to create more jobs for Ghanaians.
Mr Gupta said the company intended to make Ghana its production hub for West Africa because of the good business environment.
He said the company had been associated with a cooking contest which was aimed at encouraging women to enrich the local recipes with its quality products.
“We know the needs of the people and, therefore, we provide the products to suit their taste,” he said.
Lands Commission denounces Osu claims
Story: Albert K. Salia
Claims by the Osu Traditional Stool to lands around the Independence Avenue has been denounced by the Lands Commissions with the counter claim that compensation on those lands was paid to the claimants as far back as 1931.
The Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, Alhaji Hamidu Ibrahim Baryeh and the Chief Land Records Officer of the commission, Mr Emmanuel Odoi-Yemo told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the portion of land being claimed by the Osu Stool was part of a 351.27 acres of land for which the colonial government paid £11,165 in 1931, with £9,531 going to the Osu Stool as compensation.
The other claimants, the Odoi Kwao family, J. H. Adams, Chief Nelson and the Lawrence family collected £1,150, £240, £120 and £120 respectively after Mr Justice Hall entered judgement for the Certificate of Title for government to take control of the land.
Alhaji Baryeh said an appeal by another family to the West African Court of Appeal to be included in the list of claimants was dismissed in 1932.
He explained that the government acquired the land for the purpose of extending the European residential flats in the area.
According to him, the portion of land being claimed by the Osu stool had gone through many hands through leasing.
Giving a record of the leasing, he said, the government leased it to Mr Thomas Nicolson until 1957 when Mr Nicolson transferred it to Mobil Oil Ghana Limited.
He said Mobil Oil Ghana in turned assigned it to Metropolitan Insurance Company in 1998 with the latter transferring it to Ikophops Investment Limited in 2005.
Alhaji Baryeh said anytime there was a transfer, the government had to give its consent to the transaction since the government was the land owner.
Moreover, the government, needed to know the type of development the land was to be used for to help it determine the rent to be paid and the capital gains to be paid to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by the person seeking to transfer it.
Alhaji Baryeh said Ikophops Investment paid $1 million in addition to nearly ¢100 million stamp duty on the land.
Mr Odoi-Yemo said the doors of the Lands Commission were opened to any member of the public for verification on any disputed lands.
He said the resort to violence would send wrong signals to investors that it was not safe to do business in Ghana.
Claims by the Osu Traditional Stool to lands around the Independence Avenue has been denounced by the Lands Commissions with the counter claim that compensation on those lands was paid to the claimants as far back as 1931.
The Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, Alhaji Hamidu Ibrahim Baryeh and the Chief Land Records Officer of the commission, Mr Emmanuel Odoi-Yemo told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the portion of land being claimed by the Osu Stool was part of a 351.27 acres of land for which the colonial government paid £11,165 in 1931, with £9,531 going to the Osu Stool as compensation.
The other claimants, the Odoi Kwao family, J. H. Adams, Chief Nelson and the Lawrence family collected £1,150, £240, £120 and £120 respectively after Mr Justice Hall entered judgement for the Certificate of Title for government to take control of the land.
Alhaji Baryeh said an appeal by another family to the West African Court of Appeal to be included in the list of claimants was dismissed in 1932.
He explained that the government acquired the land for the purpose of extending the European residential flats in the area.
According to him, the portion of land being claimed by the Osu stool had gone through many hands through leasing.
Giving a record of the leasing, he said, the government leased it to Mr Thomas Nicolson until 1957 when Mr Nicolson transferred it to Mobil Oil Ghana Limited.
He said Mobil Oil Ghana in turned assigned it to Metropolitan Insurance Company in 1998 with the latter transferring it to Ikophops Investment Limited in 2005.
Alhaji Baryeh said anytime there was a transfer, the government had to give its consent to the transaction since the government was the land owner.
Moreover, the government, needed to know the type of development the land was to be used for to help it determine the rent to be paid and the capital gains to be paid to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by the person seeking to transfer it.
Alhaji Baryeh said Ikophops Investment paid $1 million in addition to nearly ¢100 million stamp duty on the land.
Mr Odoi-Yemo said the doors of the Lands Commission were opened to any member of the public for verification on any disputed lands.
He said the resort to violence would send wrong signals to investors that it was not safe to do business in Ghana.
Remove suspicions and perceptions
Story: Albert K. Salia
A RETIRED Diplomat, Mr K.B. Asante, has stressed the need for the suspicions and unhelpful perceptions that have characterised the relationship between civil servants and the political leadership to be resolved.
That, he said, was necessary if the civil service was to implement government policies with the understanding and zeal which would accelerate economic and social development.
According to him, the performance of the civil service had suffered a great deal from lack of understanding between the political establishment and the service.
Delivering the eighth Golden Jubilee lectures in Accra on Thursday, Mr Asante said “the political establishment and the public service should abandon unfounded perceptions and work together to administer the country with the confidence, passion and devotion which Ghana deserves. With such unity of purpose, Ghana can look forward to the future with hope and confidence”.
He was speaking on the topic “The Ghana Public Service: Assessment of its performance since independence and the way forward”.
According to him, if the achievement of the public service had fallen short of expectation, the way forward was to remove some of the identified unhelpful perceptions .
Mr Asante said there was a tendency to keep public officers away from political decisions as it was not taken kindly for civil servants to step into the shoes of ministers when they were away.
He explained that the issue of suspicion of loyalty of the public servant to the government in power had characterised the relationships since independence.
Consequently, he said, it was often felt that senior civil servants should retire when the government fell while the new government was suspicious of heads of public institutions.
“There is a long period of inaction in the service while the new government decides whether to continue with the existing heads of the public service,” he noted.
Mr Asante said the suspicion was unnecessary as a good civil servant was a professional who promoted the objectives of the government if such policies were clearly spelt out.
According to him, if the public officer failed in his or her duty or to comply with a policy, he or she could be dealt with.
Mr Asante said it was important that the civil servant absorbed himself in the policy of the government he served and promoted those policies and took cognisance of the national interest and changed circumstances.
“Someone has said that a good civil servant behaves like a woman of easy virtue. Actually, this is not correct. He does not serve two masters at the same time.
Mr Asante said a civil servant who had served a previous regime very well could be trusted to serve a new one with the same zeal and efficiency.
He said party affiliation and ethnicity should not determine positions in the public service and that rules should be respected and appointments be made with dispatch after a change in government.
He said a major failure of the Public Service had been its inadequate response to the aspirations of the government and the people, siting for instance that “the failure of the public service to react appropriately led to a faulty structure and system which still bedevils elementary education in the country today”.
Mr Asante, an octogenarian, who has seen the evolution of the civil service since independence, reminded Public Servants that their duty was to help achieve the objectives of the manifesto and policies of the party in power while suggesting politely but firmly how the pursuit of a party’s interest should not violate the national interest.
He said despite the occasional disappointing performance, the Public Service had done well in the past 50 years by reacting well to government demands.
According to him, civil servants had been bred in the tradition of cautious orderly progress, and favoured the transformation of the people but believed in hastening slowly with measured steps.
“Thus began the conflict between the Civil Service and government which wanted to accede to the people’s demand for rapid transformation, economic and social development,” he said.
He pointed out that the Ghanaian who was impatient for a better life would not be happy with delays in the implementation of government policies vis-Ã -vis a bureaucratic civil service.
Mr Asante called on the state to recognise the invaluable contribution of civil servants and reward excellent performance with suitable national awards, stressing that “salaries should be commensurate with responsibility, and differences in emoluments in the public service should be rational”.
“At 50, we should be mature enough to examine ourselves critically, accept our faults and shortcomings and resolve to improve rapidly. We have done moderately well. But we have the talents, the resources and a potentially good civil service to build a proud prosperous country,” he added.
A retired civil servant and former Ambassador, Dr E.M. Debrah, called for a national monument to honour the unknown civil servant who had served their country well.
The chairman of the Public Services Commission, Prof S.N. Woode, reminded public servants that the demand for expeditious and quality service was so high.
He, therefore, called on them to change their attitude to work by embracing the change required of them in the discharge of their duty.
A RETIRED Diplomat, Mr K.B. Asante, has stressed the need for the suspicions and unhelpful perceptions that have characterised the relationship between civil servants and the political leadership to be resolved.
That, he said, was necessary if the civil service was to implement government policies with the understanding and zeal which would accelerate economic and social development.
According to him, the performance of the civil service had suffered a great deal from lack of understanding between the political establishment and the service.
Delivering the eighth Golden Jubilee lectures in Accra on Thursday, Mr Asante said “the political establishment and the public service should abandon unfounded perceptions and work together to administer the country with the confidence, passion and devotion which Ghana deserves. With such unity of purpose, Ghana can look forward to the future with hope and confidence”.
He was speaking on the topic “The Ghana Public Service: Assessment of its performance since independence and the way forward”.
According to him, if the achievement of the public service had fallen short of expectation, the way forward was to remove some of the identified unhelpful perceptions .
Mr Asante said there was a tendency to keep public officers away from political decisions as it was not taken kindly for civil servants to step into the shoes of ministers when they were away.
He explained that the issue of suspicion of loyalty of the public servant to the government in power had characterised the relationships since independence.
Consequently, he said, it was often felt that senior civil servants should retire when the government fell while the new government was suspicious of heads of public institutions.
“There is a long period of inaction in the service while the new government decides whether to continue with the existing heads of the public service,” he noted.
Mr Asante said the suspicion was unnecessary as a good civil servant was a professional who promoted the objectives of the government if such policies were clearly spelt out.
According to him, if the public officer failed in his or her duty or to comply with a policy, he or she could be dealt with.
Mr Asante said it was important that the civil servant absorbed himself in the policy of the government he served and promoted those policies and took cognisance of the national interest and changed circumstances.
“Someone has said that a good civil servant behaves like a woman of easy virtue. Actually, this is not correct. He does not serve two masters at the same time.
Mr Asante said a civil servant who had served a previous regime very well could be trusted to serve a new one with the same zeal and efficiency.
He said party affiliation and ethnicity should not determine positions in the public service and that rules should be respected and appointments be made with dispatch after a change in government.
He said a major failure of the Public Service had been its inadequate response to the aspirations of the government and the people, siting for instance that “the failure of the public service to react appropriately led to a faulty structure and system which still bedevils elementary education in the country today”.
Mr Asante, an octogenarian, who has seen the evolution of the civil service since independence, reminded Public Servants that their duty was to help achieve the objectives of the manifesto and policies of the party in power while suggesting politely but firmly how the pursuit of a party’s interest should not violate the national interest.
He said despite the occasional disappointing performance, the Public Service had done well in the past 50 years by reacting well to government demands.
According to him, civil servants had been bred in the tradition of cautious orderly progress, and favoured the transformation of the people but believed in hastening slowly with measured steps.
“Thus began the conflict between the Civil Service and government which wanted to accede to the people’s demand for rapid transformation, economic and social development,” he said.
He pointed out that the Ghanaian who was impatient for a better life would not be happy with delays in the implementation of government policies vis-Ã -vis a bureaucratic civil service.
Mr Asante called on the state to recognise the invaluable contribution of civil servants and reward excellent performance with suitable national awards, stressing that “salaries should be commensurate with responsibility, and differences in emoluments in the public service should be rational”.
“At 50, we should be mature enough to examine ourselves critically, accept our faults and shortcomings and resolve to improve rapidly. We have done moderately well. But we have the talents, the resources and a potentially good civil service to build a proud prosperous country,” he added.
A retired civil servant and former Ambassador, Dr E.M. Debrah, called for a national monument to honour the unknown civil servant who had served their country well.
The chairman of the Public Services Commission, Prof S.N. Woode, reminded public servants that the demand for expeditious and quality service was so high.
He, therefore, called on them to change their attitude to work by embracing the change required of them in the discharge of their duty.
Government accused of bad faith
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Greater Accra Regional branch of the Health Workers Group (HWG) has accused the government of acting in bad faith in the implementation of the new salary structure for members of the Group.
It said the government had deliberately not shown the maximum commitment to resolve the impasse and should, therefore, blame itself for any consequences.
A spokesperson of the Group, Mr Nicholas Adjimani, therefore, warned at a press conference in Accra on Friday that any delay in the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) beyond this month, would not be tolerated.
He said the Group and the Ministry of Health signed the MoU on July 3, 2007 for the implementation of the new salary structure effective this month.
“Our sources of information indicate that as of today, September 7, 2007, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has not given the green light for the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to effect payment of the agreed salary,” he said.
According to Mr Adjimani, “any further delay in the payment of the agreed salary structure with regards to the MoU beyond September 2007, would not be tolerated by our entire membership”.
When asked whether the problem of the over bloated staff list of the Ministry of Health could cause a delay in effecting the payment, he said the Group was not responsible for dealing with ghost workers and should, therefore, not be used as an excuse not to pay them.
Mr Adjimani said the Group would put in place strategies at the end of the month on the next line of action to take, stressing that “a strike is a possibility. We are not ruling anything out”.
He said it was the conviction of the Group that members had been deceived for far too long.
He claimed that the leadership of the Group was sometimes accused of taking bribes from the government to go softly.
The Chairman of the Group, Mr Stephen Corquaye, said the government had dragged its feet for far too long.
He said the Group had even met members of the Council of State to resolve the issue but to no avail.
The three-point MoU, which was signed between the parties and made available to the media, noted that in view of the complexity with the process involved at the Controller and Accountant General’s Department in transferring the new pap scale to the payroll system, the agreed new salaries for the Group could not be effected at the end of July, 2007 as earlier anticipated.
“The new agreed salaries would instead be paid at the end of September 2007 by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department,” it said, but added that “the arrears will be paid effective January 2007”.
Based on the MoU, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health, Lepowura M. N. D. Jawula, submitted a letter dated July 18, 2007, to the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, for implementation.
THE Greater Accra Regional branch of the Health Workers Group (HWG) has accused the government of acting in bad faith in the implementation of the new salary structure for members of the Group.
It said the government had deliberately not shown the maximum commitment to resolve the impasse and should, therefore, blame itself for any consequences.
A spokesperson of the Group, Mr Nicholas Adjimani, therefore, warned at a press conference in Accra on Friday that any delay in the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) beyond this month, would not be tolerated.
He said the Group and the Ministry of Health signed the MoU on July 3, 2007 for the implementation of the new salary structure effective this month.
“Our sources of information indicate that as of today, September 7, 2007, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has not given the green light for the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to effect payment of the agreed salary,” he said.
According to Mr Adjimani, “any further delay in the payment of the agreed salary structure with regards to the MoU beyond September 2007, would not be tolerated by our entire membership”.
When asked whether the problem of the over bloated staff list of the Ministry of Health could cause a delay in effecting the payment, he said the Group was not responsible for dealing with ghost workers and should, therefore, not be used as an excuse not to pay them.
Mr Adjimani said the Group would put in place strategies at the end of the month on the next line of action to take, stressing that “a strike is a possibility. We are not ruling anything out”.
He said it was the conviction of the Group that members had been deceived for far too long.
He claimed that the leadership of the Group was sometimes accused of taking bribes from the government to go softly.
The Chairman of the Group, Mr Stephen Corquaye, said the government had dragged its feet for far too long.
He said the Group had even met members of the Council of State to resolve the issue but to no avail.
The three-point MoU, which was signed between the parties and made available to the media, noted that in view of the complexity with the process involved at the Controller and Accountant General’s Department in transferring the new pap scale to the payroll system, the agreed new salaries for the Group could not be effected at the end of July, 2007 as earlier anticipated.
“The new agreed salaries would instead be paid at the end of September 2007 by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department,” it said, but added that “the arrears will be paid effective January 2007”.
Based on the MoU, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health, Lepowura M. N. D. Jawula, submitted a letter dated July 18, 2007, to the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, for implementation.
Let your faith inspire you - Minister for Security
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Minister of National Security, Mr Francis Poku, has called on security personnel to let the virtues of their faith inspire them in the discharge of their duties in view of the daunting challenges characteristic of their work.
Mr Poku made the call at a church service to honour a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Peter Nanfuri, for his support for the creation and growth of the Catholic faith in the Ghana Police Service.
Mr Nanfuri created the Catholic Chaplaincy nine years ago and the church is christened St George Catholic Police Church and is located at the National Police Training School in Accra.
The former IGP is a mate of Mr Poku at the Police Training School and the two had remained as friends and a brother to each other since then.
A swivel chair donated by Mr Poku was also presented to Mr Nanfuri while the Police Administration presented him with a parcel and donated ¢10 million to support the completion of the church.
The Minister also used the opportunity to raise funds for the completion of the building.
The church service brought together Service Commanders of the various security agencies, a Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen and Ghana’s Ambassador to Serbia, Mr Nyaho Tamakloe as well as politicians of the political divide.
Mr Poku noted that the creation of the Catholic Chaplaincy in the Police Service had brought together personnel who shared the same faith.
In that way, he said, the personnel would be inspired by the faith and teachings of the church to discharge their duties honourably.
According to Mr Poku, security personnel go through a lot of challenges to ensure that every event goes well and so it was only spiritual strength that often guided them in their work.
He said God had been kind to the securty agencies for helping them to supervise major programmes this year without any problems.
Mr Poku said the National Security Ministry was interested in the spiritual development of security personnel and would, therefore, continue to co-operate with the church to ensure the spiritual development of members of the security agencies.
He expressed the hope that the building would be completed and dedicated before the end of the Golden Jubilee celebrations.
Mr Nanfuri said he was humbled by the honour done him saying that “I am shocked by the kindness showed me by my friend and brother Francis.
He expressed the hope that the core virtues of truth, love, mutual respect, honour and dignity would be inculcated in the people worshipping in the church.
That way, he said, the security personnel would serve the population in Christian principles of humility and integrity.
In a sermon, the Vicar-General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, Very Rev Fr Francis Adoboli, urged Christians to be united by their baptism in Christ since in Christ, there were no differences in religion, status or ethnicity.
He commended Mr Nanfuri on his enskinment as Jirapa Naa, Naa Ansoleh Ganaa II, and prayed for God’s blessing, direction and inspiration during his reign.
According to him, it was only the enskinment of the Jirapa Naa that Catholic bishops and priests participated in and exhibited the bond of relationship existing between the people of Jirapa and the Catholic Church.
The Parish Priest of the church, Superintendent Rev Fr George Arthur, said generations of the Catholic faithful would forever remember Mr Nanfuri for the seed he sowed for the church in the Ghana Police Service.
THE Minister of National Security, Mr Francis Poku, has called on security personnel to let the virtues of their faith inspire them in the discharge of their duties in view of the daunting challenges characteristic of their work.
Mr Poku made the call at a church service to honour a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Peter Nanfuri, for his support for the creation and growth of the Catholic faith in the Ghana Police Service.
Mr Nanfuri created the Catholic Chaplaincy nine years ago and the church is christened St George Catholic Police Church and is located at the National Police Training School in Accra.
The former IGP is a mate of Mr Poku at the Police Training School and the two had remained as friends and a brother to each other since then.
A swivel chair donated by Mr Poku was also presented to Mr Nanfuri while the Police Administration presented him with a parcel and donated ¢10 million to support the completion of the church.
The Minister also used the opportunity to raise funds for the completion of the building.
The church service brought together Service Commanders of the various security agencies, a Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen and Ghana’s Ambassador to Serbia, Mr Nyaho Tamakloe as well as politicians of the political divide.
Mr Poku noted that the creation of the Catholic Chaplaincy in the Police Service had brought together personnel who shared the same faith.
In that way, he said, the personnel would be inspired by the faith and teachings of the church to discharge their duties honourably.
According to Mr Poku, security personnel go through a lot of challenges to ensure that every event goes well and so it was only spiritual strength that often guided them in their work.
He said God had been kind to the securty agencies for helping them to supervise major programmes this year without any problems.
Mr Poku said the National Security Ministry was interested in the spiritual development of security personnel and would, therefore, continue to co-operate with the church to ensure the spiritual development of members of the security agencies.
He expressed the hope that the building would be completed and dedicated before the end of the Golden Jubilee celebrations.
Mr Nanfuri said he was humbled by the honour done him saying that “I am shocked by the kindness showed me by my friend and brother Francis.
He expressed the hope that the core virtues of truth, love, mutual respect, honour and dignity would be inculcated in the people worshipping in the church.
That way, he said, the security personnel would serve the population in Christian principles of humility and integrity.
In a sermon, the Vicar-General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, Very Rev Fr Francis Adoboli, urged Christians to be united by their baptism in Christ since in Christ, there were no differences in religion, status or ethnicity.
He commended Mr Nanfuri on his enskinment as Jirapa Naa, Naa Ansoleh Ganaa II, and prayed for God’s blessing, direction and inspiration during his reign.
According to him, it was only the enskinment of the Jirapa Naa that Catholic bishops and priests participated in and exhibited the bond of relationship existing between the people of Jirapa and the Catholic Church.
The Parish Priest of the church, Superintendent Rev Fr George Arthur, said generations of the Catholic faithful would forever remember Mr Nanfuri for the seed he sowed for the church in the Ghana Police Service.
Exercise Restraint- Baah-Wiredu
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, has called on members of the Health Workers Group (HWG) to exercise restraint for the ministry to resolve discrepancies in the staff list submitted for payment of their salaries.
According to him, while the ministry sympathised with the group, it was important that the discrepancies were resolved.
Reacting to concerns of the group in an interview yesterday, Mr Baah-Wiredu acknowledged receipt of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) submitted by the Ministry of Health with regards to the new structure and the implementation date.
He, however, said there were discrepancies in the number of staff list submitted for the payment as against what was budgeted for and, therefore, appealed to the parties to exercise restraint “and co-operate with the ministry as the issues are expeditiously resolved”.
Mr Baah-Wiredu explained that while the government budgeted for 45,675 staff, the MOH submitted a staff list of 51,556 for payment.
He explained that the revision of the Health Service Salary Structure was authorised on the advice that it would cost an extra ¢240 billion per annum.
The minister, however, said the implementation of the revised structure based on the data submitted by the MOH would bring an extra ¢428 billion cost to the national budget.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said the irregularities and the extra burden on the national budget was of much concern to the ministry.
According to him, the MOH was asked to reconcile the figures budgeted for last year as against the new list submitted so that the payment would be effected.
He expressed the hope that the new list would be submitted by Wednesday, September 12, 2007, to enable the ministry to give the clearance for the payment.
“I want to assure them that whatever is due them would be paid. The challenge at the moment is an issue for those handling the data to do it fast,” he said.
Mr Baah-Wiredu stressed the need for officers handling staff lists to always give the correct staff list to facilitate payment of salaries.
He denied that the government had acted in bad faith in the implementation of the new salary structure for members of the group.
Mr Baah-Wiredu noted that as a result of the revision, the salary levels of some health workers had also been varied to their disadvantage and said all those issues needed to be resolved.
He explained that the government was guided by the financial administration laws of the country and would, therefore, not act contrary to it.
Currently, he said, there were more than 600,000 workers on the government wage bill with the education and health sectors contributing the largest.
The minister said a major constraint confronting the nation was the issue of revenue mobilisation.
According to him, while the government could not over-tax the citizenry, there were many more people and organisations seeking tax exemptions.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said under the circumstances, it became extremely difficult for the government to meet the demands of workers especially when it was not budgeted for.
He said every demand made must, therefore, be in the context of the budget, and that should not appear as if the government was unwilling to meet the needs of workers.
“Every sector is important and we appreciate the contribution of everybody in the development effort,” he added.
The Greater Accra Regional branch of the Health Workers Group, last Friday accused the government of acting in bad faith in the implementation of the new salary structure for members of the group.
It said the government had deliberately not shown the maximum commitment to resolve the impasse and should, therefore, blame itself for any consequences.
It, therefore, warned that any delay in the implementation of the MoU beyond this month, would not be tolerated.
Last month, the Controller and Accountant General, Mr Christian T. Sottie, told the Daily Graphic that the country was overrunning its payroll budget for the year.
He explained that the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) had as of June, this year, already spent about ¢11 trillion out of the ¢19 trillion budgeted for wages and salaries for the whole year.
He indicated that the head count was likely to begin with the public health sector where the staff list had witnessed persistent increases within one year.
In reaction, the Director of Human Resource of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Ken Sagoe, said he was in favour of the head count provided the government would provide funds.
Explaining a possible reason for the increase in the staff list, he said the problem began when instead of transferring the existing list from the old Integrated Personnel Payroll Database (IPPD I) to the IPPD II, the staff were asked to compile a new list from the districts up to the head office.
THE Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, has called on members of the Health Workers Group (HWG) to exercise restraint for the ministry to resolve discrepancies in the staff list submitted for payment of their salaries.
According to him, while the ministry sympathised with the group, it was important that the discrepancies were resolved.
Reacting to concerns of the group in an interview yesterday, Mr Baah-Wiredu acknowledged receipt of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) submitted by the Ministry of Health with regards to the new structure and the implementation date.
He, however, said there were discrepancies in the number of staff list submitted for the payment as against what was budgeted for and, therefore, appealed to the parties to exercise restraint “and co-operate with the ministry as the issues are expeditiously resolved”.
Mr Baah-Wiredu explained that while the government budgeted for 45,675 staff, the MOH submitted a staff list of 51,556 for payment.
He explained that the revision of the Health Service Salary Structure was authorised on the advice that it would cost an extra ¢240 billion per annum.
The minister, however, said the implementation of the revised structure based on the data submitted by the MOH would bring an extra ¢428 billion cost to the national budget.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said the irregularities and the extra burden on the national budget was of much concern to the ministry.
According to him, the MOH was asked to reconcile the figures budgeted for last year as against the new list submitted so that the payment would be effected.
He expressed the hope that the new list would be submitted by Wednesday, September 12, 2007, to enable the ministry to give the clearance for the payment.
“I want to assure them that whatever is due them would be paid. The challenge at the moment is an issue for those handling the data to do it fast,” he said.
Mr Baah-Wiredu stressed the need for officers handling staff lists to always give the correct staff list to facilitate payment of salaries.
He denied that the government had acted in bad faith in the implementation of the new salary structure for members of the group.
Mr Baah-Wiredu noted that as a result of the revision, the salary levels of some health workers had also been varied to their disadvantage and said all those issues needed to be resolved.
He explained that the government was guided by the financial administration laws of the country and would, therefore, not act contrary to it.
Currently, he said, there were more than 600,000 workers on the government wage bill with the education and health sectors contributing the largest.
The minister said a major constraint confronting the nation was the issue of revenue mobilisation.
According to him, while the government could not over-tax the citizenry, there were many more people and organisations seeking tax exemptions.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said under the circumstances, it became extremely difficult for the government to meet the demands of workers especially when it was not budgeted for.
He said every demand made must, therefore, be in the context of the budget, and that should not appear as if the government was unwilling to meet the needs of workers.
“Every sector is important and we appreciate the contribution of everybody in the development effort,” he added.
The Greater Accra Regional branch of the Health Workers Group, last Friday accused the government of acting in bad faith in the implementation of the new salary structure for members of the group.
It said the government had deliberately not shown the maximum commitment to resolve the impasse and should, therefore, blame itself for any consequences.
It, therefore, warned that any delay in the implementation of the MoU beyond this month, would not be tolerated.
Last month, the Controller and Accountant General, Mr Christian T. Sottie, told the Daily Graphic that the country was overrunning its payroll budget for the year.
He explained that the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) had as of June, this year, already spent about ¢11 trillion out of the ¢19 trillion budgeted for wages and salaries for the whole year.
He indicated that the head count was likely to begin with the public health sector where the staff list had witnessed persistent increases within one year.
In reaction, the Director of Human Resource of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Ken Sagoe, said he was in favour of the head count provided the government would provide funds.
Explaining a possible reason for the increase in the staff list, he said the problem began when instead of transferring the existing list from the old Integrated Personnel Payroll Database (IPPD I) to the IPPD II, the staff were asked to compile a new list from the districts up to the head office.
Roko was threatened - Police
Story: Albert K. Salia
Police investigations into the murder of the Deputy Managing Director (Operations) of the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), Mr Rokko Frimpong, have revealed that before he was gunned down last Thursday, June 28, 2007 night, the deceased had been haunted for more than one year.
The four gunmen who murdered him dumped his body outside his Sakumono residence that fateful night, police sources said. Mr Frimpong had informed close relatives and a friend about serious threats to his life but made no such report to the Tema Police.
To ward off the threats, Mr Frimpong was said to have raised the wall of his house and told close associates not to show anybody where he lived.
The police sources further noted with disappointment that on the night of Mr Frimpong’s murder, a neighbour who had seen a car parked close to the deceased’s house for an unusually long time never took any particular interest and did not take any details of the vehicle.
They said it was only after the sound of a gunshot that the neighbour rushed out to find the assailants speeding off in the waiting vehicle.
Mr Frimpong’s murder on Thursday night was described by the police and neighbours as a “professional job”.
The gunmen did not take any of the deceased’s personal belongings or property and left after shooting him, an act which ruled out robbery as a motive for the murder.
Police investigations into the murder of the Deputy Managing Director (Operations) of the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), Mr Rokko Frimpong, have revealed that before he was gunned down last Thursday, June 28, 2007 night, the deceased had been haunted for more than one year.
The four gunmen who murdered him dumped his body outside his Sakumono residence that fateful night, police sources said. Mr Frimpong had informed close relatives and a friend about serious threats to his life but made no such report to the Tema Police.
To ward off the threats, Mr Frimpong was said to have raised the wall of his house and told close associates not to show anybody where he lived.
The police sources further noted with disappointment that on the night of Mr Frimpong’s murder, a neighbour who had seen a car parked close to the deceased’s house for an unusually long time never took any particular interest and did not take any details of the vehicle.
They said it was only after the sound of a gunshot that the neighbour rushed out to find the assailants speeding off in the waiting vehicle.
Mr Frimpong’s murder on Thursday night was described by the police and neighbours as a “professional job”.
The gunmen did not take any of the deceased’s personal belongings or property and left after shooting him, an act which ruled out robbery as a motive for the murder.
Three arrested over Roko's murder
Story: Albert K. Salia
THREE out of a seven-member gang suspected to have undertaken two gruesome murders in the Tema municipality have been declared wanted by the police.
The suspects, Tahiru Adams, alias Augantey, Jonathan Abi, alias Joe, alias Oboy and Atta Kakra, alias Kariyansu, are said to be part of the gang that murdered Roko Frimpong, a former Deputy Managing Director of the Ghana Commercial Bank and Kwartey Quartei, a retired worker of the Public Works Department on June 28, 2007 and July 17, 2007 respectively.
Four others have been arrested, but the police are tight-lipped on their identities.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Charles Tokor, Director of Operations of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), told newsmen yesterday that the three wanted persons were desperate persons and carried deadly weapons.
He said anyone who harboured them was putting his or her life at great risk.
ACP Tokor said the three were suspected to be hiding at Ashaiman, Tema, Agbogbloshie or Nungua, all in the Greater Accra Region, or Agona District in the Central Region or Takoradi in the Western Region.
He renewed a GH¢2000 (¢20 million) reward placed on the heads of the wanted persons by the Police Administration.
He said the gang had been involved in other high profile robberies within the Accra and Tema areas.
ACP Tokor said the police did not want to comment on the issue that the gang was contracted to undertake the killings but said at the appropriate time, “we will come out with the full facts”.
Nii Kwatey Quartey, 61, a retired officer of the Public Works Department (PWD), had just opened the gate to his Shalom Estates residence, expecting to receive a visitor, when the killers shot him in the chest and fled in a taxi, without taking any property.
The killers later abandoned the taxi with registration number ER 3531X off the Tema Beach Road and close to Sakumuno village. The Tema police later disclosed that the taxi had been used in an earlier robbery which was still under investigation.
THREE out of a seven-member gang suspected to have undertaken two gruesome murders in the Tema municipality have been declared wanted by the police.
The suspects, Tahiru Adams, alias Augantey, Jonathan Abi, alias Joe, alias Oboy and Atta Kakra, alias Kariyansu, are said to be part of the gang that murdered Roko Frimpong, a former Deputy Managing Director of the Ghana Commercial Bank and Kwartey Quartei, a retired worker of the Public Works Department on June 28, 2007 and July 17, 2007 respectively.
Four others have been arrested, but the police are tight-lipped on their identities.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Charles Tokor, Director of Operations of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), told newsmen yesterday that the three wanted persons were desperate persons and carried deadly weapons.
He said anyone who harboured them was putting his or her life at great risk.
ACP Tokor said the three were suspected to be hiding at Ashaiman, Tema, Agbogbloshie or Nungua, all in the Greater Accra Region, or Agona District in the Central Region or Takoradi in the Western Region.
He renewed a GH¢2000 (¢20 million) reward placed on the heads of the wanted persons by the Police Administration.
He said the gang had been involved in other high profile robberies within the Accra and Tema areas.
ACP Tokor said the police did not want to comment on the issue that the gang was contracted to undertake the killings but said at the appropriate time, “we will come out with the full facts”.
Nii Kwatey Quartey, 61, a retired officer of the Public Works Department (PWD), had just opened the gate to his Shalom Estates residence, expecting to receive a visitor, when the killers shot him in the chest and fled in a taxi, without taking any property.
The killers later abandoned the taxi with registration number ER 3531X off the Tema Beach Road and close to Sakumuno village. The Tema police later disclosed that the taxi had been used in an earlier robbery which was still under investigation.
Children with HIV/AIDS
Story: Albert K. Salia
A total of 21,282 children under the age of 14 are living with HIV/AIDS as of June this year.
Out of the number, about 95 per cent acquired the virus from their mothers with 4,461 needing anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
Out of the 4,461 needing ART, 40 per cent of them are under 18 months of age.
Less than four per cent of all people on ART in Ghana are children below 14 years of age.
A Consultant Paediatrician , Dr Lorna Renner of the Child Health Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that “it is known that children progress rapidly with 33 per cent before age one, 50 per cent before age two and 60 per cent by age three if they do not have access to comprehensive care”.
According to her, transmission rates from an infected mother to the child without intervention were estimated at 30 to 40 per cent.
Dr Renner said evidence on the benefit of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) showed it could reduce transmission by at least 50 per cent by screening and using simple prophylactic therapies.
She said weak PMTCT programmes also directly adversely affected maternal health and child survival.
She appealed to pregnant women to test their HIV status to facilitate their early treatment to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to the child.
“Without treatment, about 30 to 40 per cent of infected mothers would have children with HIV. But with treatment, you can cut the risk from below 15 per cent to two per cent depending on the drugs given,” she said.
Dr Renner said there were 403 centres nationwide which offered PMTCT services and appealed to pregnant women to take advantage of the services so as to give birth to healthy children.
She explained that after delivery, trained personnel follow up on the status of the children to provide appropriate treatment to the newly born in case they were born infected.
She said apart from the drugs, other ways pregnant women could reduce the transmission to their babies was through good ante-natal and post delivery care.
Dr Renner said a major challenge confronting the PMTCT programme was diagnosing of the pregnant women, as most of them did not want to be tested.
She said another challenge was the provision of tablets of smaller strength for children as the existing tablets were for adults.
She said a mother infected with HIV could breastfeed the child but it should be exclusive breast milk for six months before the child was put on replacement feeds.
“In providing care for HIV infected children, we must remember that young children have immature immune systems and are susceptible to common infections, as well as opportunistic infections,” she said.
According to her, comprehensive care for paediatric HIV/AIDS was lagging behind the scale of need, stressing that “we have to act now to stop the HIV pandemic from reversing gains in child survival”.
“We need easily preventive care services, family centred comprehensive care, optimising entry points for children with access to early diagnosis and strengthened linkages to supportive services, as the child’s health is dependent on that of other family members, as well as society as a whole,” she added, saying that “together we should all work towards an HIV-free generation in Ghana”.
A total of 21,282 children under the age of 14 are living with HIV/AIDS as of June this year.
Out of the number, about 95 per cent acquired the virus from their mothers with 4,461 needing anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
Out of the 4,461 needing ART, 40 per cent of them are under 18 months of age.
Less than four per cent of all people on ART in Ghana are children below 14 years of age.
A Consultant Paediatrician , Dr Lorna Renner of the Child Health Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that “it is known that children progress rapidly with 33 per cent before age one, 50 per cent before age two and 60 per cent by age three if they do not have access to comprehensive care”.
According to her, transmission rates from an infected mother to the child without intervention were estimated at 30 to 40 per cent.
Dr Renner said evidence on the benefit of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) showed it could reduce transmission by at least 50 per cent by screening and using simple prophylactic therapies.
She said weak PMTCT programmes also directly adversely affected maternal health and child survival.
She appealed to pregnant women to test their HIV status to facilitate their early treatment to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to the child.
“Without treatment, about 30 to 40 per cent of infected mothers would have children with HIV. But with treatment, you can cut the risk from below 15 per cent to two per cent depending on the drugs given,” she said.
Dr Renner said there were 403 centres nationwide which offered PMTCT services and appealed to pregnant women to take advantage of the services so as to give birth to healthy children.
She explained that after delivery, trained personnel follow up on the status of the children to provide appropriate treatment to the newly born in case they were born infected.
She said apart from the drugs, other ways pregnant women could reduce the transmission to their babies was through good ante-natal and post delivery care.
Dr Renner said a major challenge confronting the PMTCT programme was diagnosing of the pregnant women, as most of them did not want to be tested.
She said another challenge was the provision of tablets of smaller strength for children as the existing tablets were for adults.
She said a mother infected with HIV could breastfeed the child but it should be exclusive breast milk for six months before the child was put on replacement feeds.
“In providing care for HIV infected children, we must remember that young children have immature immune systems and are susceptible to common infections, as well as opportunistic infections,” she said.
According to her, comprehensive care for paediatric HIV/AIDS was lagging behind the scale of need, stressing that “we have to act now to stop the HIV pandemic from reversing gains in child survival”.
“We need easily preventive care services, family centred comprehensive care, optimising entry points for children with access to early diagnosis and strengthened linkages to supportive services, as the child’s health is dependent on that of other family members, as well as society as a whole,” she added, saying that “together we should all work towards an HIV-free generation in Ghana”.
Operation Westbridge yields results
Story: Albert K. Salia
Operation Westbridge, a collaboration between the governments of Ghana and the United Kingdom (UK) to combat the drug trade, has yielded 69 arrests and £40 million in narcotic seizures since its launch last November.
The haul comprises 244 kilogrammes of cocaine, 1.2 kilogrammes of heroin and 1,148 kilogrammes of cannabis with street values of £37 million, £280,000 and £3.4 million respectively.
The 69 arrests comprised 20 Ghanaians and 49 foreigners, mostly Nigerians, British and Dutch.
Of the arrests, 16 were made in the UK while the rest were made in Ghana.
A Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, announced this in Accra yesterday at the closing ceremony of a training workshop being part of the Global Container Project.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between it and five of Ghana’s security agencies on July 7, this year for a Joint Port Unit with personnel drawn from the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB), Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to profile all containers arriving at the country’s ports.
The training programme formed part of the MoU signed with the view to equipping the selected personnel with the requisite skills and technical capabilities to undertake the project.
Ghana is the second country after Senegal to join the Global Container Project to help deal with the scourge of drug trafficking.
Nana Boahen said recent events had put the issues of drug abuse and trafficking at the centre of the debate in the country as one of the real socio-economic plagues, which could seriously and negatively affect the very foundation of the country if not tackled holistically.
He said the potential negative effects of the menace had united Ghanaians to wage a war against the problem with the aim of rendering drug abuse and trafficking in the country the most unattractive activity for both Ghanaians and foreigners.
He said the government, the initiator of the drug war, had intensified its efforts and was determined to ensure its success.
“In the prosecution of this war, we have come to the realisation that an adequate response to the drug scourge and its attendant social, economic, health and security challenges is conditioned on a balanced vision, translated into a unitary policy that cannot be achieved unless all national institutions and international community in the field co-ordinate their efforts,” he noted.
Nana Boahen said Ghana recognised that unilateral action, conceived in a purely nationalistic context, could compromise the integrity of the international drug control system, stressing that “no country working alone can solve the drug problem”.
He said the government appreciated the collaboration between Ghana and other countries and international organisations at both the bilateral and multilateral levels as those collaborations had indicated the capacity to yield better results as evidenced in the Operation Westbridge programme.
He described the Global Container Project as long overdue since 90 per cent of the world’s cargo was shipped by container and that criminals and terrorists could easily exploit the method to smuggle illegal goods.
According to him, the benefits of the project would put drug traffickers and abusers out of business and at the same time reduce drug-related crimes such as money laundering, armed robbery and human trafficking.
Nana Boahen entreated the heads of agencies involved in the project to give their best support to the project to ensure its smooth operation.
He urged the trainees to exhibit the competencies that they had acquired to ensure a drug free Ghana and an advancement in the global fight against drug trafficking and terrorism.
The Spanish Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Jorge Montealegre, said due to the alarming problem of drugs in the country, members of the European Union (EU) community in Ghana decided to support the government to fight the drug menace.
He pledged the commitment of the EU to supporting the fight if there was evidence of co-ordination and co-operation among the various security agencies.
The Regional Law Enforcement Advisor of UNODC, Mr Flemming Quist, described the scourge of the drug problem as serious because large quantities of drugs had been stockpiled in the sub-region awaiting export to Europe and America.
He said Ghana had gained notoriety as a drug trafficking country.
He said international co-operation and information sharing was the best solution to deal with the problem of drugs.
Operation Westbridge, a collaboration between the governments of Ghana and the United Kingdom (UK) to combat the drug trade, has yielded 69 arrests and £40 million in narcotic seizures since its launch last November.
The haul comprises 244 kilogrammes of cocaine, 1.2 kilogrammes of heroin and 1,148 kilogrammes of cannabis with street values of £37 million, £280,000 and £3.4 million respectively.
The 69 arrests comprised 20 Ghanaians and 49 foreigners, mostly Nigerians, British and Dutch.
Of the arrests, 16 were made in the UK while the rest were made in Ghana.
A Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, announced this in Accra yesterday at the closing ceremony of a training workshop being part of the Global Container Project.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between it and five of Ghana’s security agencies on July 7, this year for a Joint Port Unit with personnel drawn from the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB), Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to profile all containers arriving at the country’s ports.
The training programme formed part of the MoU signed with the view to equipping the selected personnel with the requisite skills and technical capabilities to undertake the project.
Ghana is the second country after Senegal to join the Global Container Project to help deal with the scourge of drug trafficking.
Nana Boahen said recent events had put the issues of drug abuse and trafficking at the centre of the debate in the country as one of the real socio-economic plagues, which could seriously and negatively affect the very foundation of the country if not tackled holistically.
He said the potential negative effects of the menace had united Ghanaians to wage a war against the problem with the aim of rendering drug abuse and trafficking in the country the most unattractive activity for both Ghanaians and foreigners.
He said the government, the initiator of the drug war, had intensified its efforts and was determined to ensure its success.
“In the prosecution of this war, we have come to the realisation that an adequate response to the drug scourge and its attendant social, economic, health and security challenges is conditioned on a balanced vision, translated into a unitary policy that cannot be achieved unless all national institutions and international community in the field co-ordinate their efforts,” he noted.
Nana Boahen said Ghana recognised that unilateral action, conceived in a purely nationalistic context, could compromise the integrity of the international drug control system, stressing that “no country working alone can solve the drug problem”.
He said the government appreciated the collaboration between Ghana and other countries and international organisations at both the bilateral and multilateral levels as those collaborations had indicated the capacity to yield better results as evidenced in the Operation Westbridge programme.
He described the Global Container Project as long overdue since 90 per cent of the world’s cargo was shipped by container and that criminals and terrorists could easily exploit the method to smuggle illegal goods.
According to him, the benefits of the project would put drug traffickers and abusers out of business and at the same time reduce drug-related crimes such as money laundering, armed robbery and human trafficking.
Nana Boahen entreated the heads of agencies involved in the project to give their best support to the project to ensure its smooth operation.
He urged the trainees to exhibit the competencies that they had acquired to ensure a drug free Ghana and an advancement in the global fight against drug trafficking and terrorism.
The Spanish Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Jorge Montealegre, said due to the alarming problem of drugs in the country, members of the European Union (EU) community in Ghana decided to support the government to fight the drug menace.
He pledged the commitment of the EU to supporting the fight if there was evidence of co-ordination and co-operation among the various security agencies.
The Regional Law Enforcement Advisor of UNODC, Mr Flemming Quist, described the scourge of the drug problem as serious because large quantities of drugs had been stockpiled in the sub-region awaiting export to Europe and America.
He said Ghana had gained notoriety as a drug trafficking country.
He said international co-operation and information sharing was the best solution to deal with the problem of drugs.
Germany supports flood victims
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE German government yesterday presented a cheque for GH¢62,350 (¢623.5 million) to the National Catholic Secretariat for the purchase of food items for flood victims and displaced persons in the northern regions.
The food items are expected to be delivered from tomorrow (Friday).
The German Ambassador to Ghana, Dr Marius Haas, who presented the cheque, described the donation as an instant emergency reaction fund to a real disaster in the northern part of the country.
He said the donation was based on the temporary assessment made by the government and indicated that the situation was very distressing.
According to him, the damage was enormous and “a drop on a hot stone is better than nothing at all”.
Dr Haas expressed the hope that when final assessment was completed, the donor community and well-meaning organisations would respond appropriately.
He said the German government had always trusted the Catholic Church to undertake the delivery services excellently, hence the choice of the church to provide the relief services to complement the government’s efforts.
The Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops Conference and Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev Charles Palmer-Buckle, who received the cheque on behalf of the church, expressed the appreciation of the church for the gesture.
He said the church would endeavour to reach out to as many victims as possible in the three northern regions.
THE German government yesterday presented a cheque for GH¢62,350 (¢623.5 million) to the National Catholic Secretariat for the purchase of food items for flood victims and displaced persons in the northern regions.
The food items are expected to be delivered from tomorrow (Friday).
The German Ambassador to Ghana, Dr Marius Haas, who presented the cheque, described the donation as an instant emergency reaction fund to a real disaster in the northern part of the country.
He said the donation was based on the temporary assessment made by the government and indicated that the situation was very distressing.
According to him, the damage was enormous and “a drop on a hot stone is better than nothing at all”.
Dr Haas expressed the hope that when final assessment was completed, the donor community and well-meaning organisations would respond appropriately.
He said the German government had always trusted the Catholic Church to undertake the delivery services excellently, hence the choice of the church to provide the relief services to complement the government’s efforts.
The Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops Conference and Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev Charles Palmer-Buckle, who received the cheque on behalf of the church, expressed the appreciation of the church for the gesture.
He said the church would endeavour to reach out to as many victims as possible in the three northern regions.
Chief of Tefle arrested
Story: Albert K. Salia
A 53-year-old man, said to be the chief of Tefle in the Volta Region, has been arrested by the police for impersonation and forging of official documents.
Togbe Nelson Bribi alias Mcann Ambrose alias Edmund Munford alias Togbe Atsu Yao, the suspect, had acquired two different passports under two different names and opened two different bank accounts with the passports.
The two passports have also been found to have been officially issued to two other persons by the Passport Office.
A source close to the National Investment Bank (NIB) told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the suspect had gone to the Abeka branch of the bank on August 31, 2007 to withdraw GH¢2,300 (¢23 million).
It said in the course of processing the cheque, it was detected that the source of the cheque was a holder with an account at its Adenta branch.
According to the source, the name of the account holder at Adenta on its data was Mcann David Ambrose while the account at Abeka was Edmund Munford, but the pictures on its computer were the same.
The source said the bank became suspicious of the transaction and accordingly alerted the police to assist in the investigations.
It said the suspect was subsequently arrested because he had used different names and different passports to open the account.
The source said the investigations revealed that passport number H1828592 with which the suspect opened the Adenta account on July 5, 2007, had been officially issued to Jonathan Kabitey Okornor in February 2006.
According to the source, the passport with number H1139955 which the suspect used in opening the Abeka account on July 7, 2007, had also been issued to George Asenso in March 2003.
The source said during interrogation, the suspect mentioned his accomplice, Carvincal Lamberto alias Sampson Omeruah as opening the accounts for him to facilitate the receipt of money from abroad.
It said it was realised that the suspect used GH¢50 (¢500,000) to open the Abeka account and subsequently deposited GH¢5,000 (¢50 million) into the account but it was later withdrawn.
The source said in the first week of August this year, $5,000 was paid into the Abeka account from abroad and it was also withdrawn.
It said on August 29, 2007, GH¢2,300 (¢23 million) was again paid into the Abeka account.
The source said the suspect had then gone to withdraw it with a cheque issued from his Adenta account and it was through the course of verification that the bank suspected foul play.
It said the case had been referred to the Documentation and Visa Fraud Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for further investigations
A 53-year-old man, said to be the chief of Tefle in the Volta Region, has been arrested by the police for impersonation and forging of official documents.
Togbe Nelson Bribi alias Mcann Ambrose alias Edmund Munford alias Togbe Atsu Yao, the suspect, had acquired two different passports under two different names and opened two different bank accounts with the passports.
The two passports have also been found to have been officially issued to two other persons by the Passport Office.
A source close to the National Investment Bank (NIB) told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the suspect had gone to the Abeka branch of the bank on August 31, 2007 to withdraw GH¢2,300 (¢23 million).
It said in the course of processing the cheque, it was detected that the source of the cheque was a holder with an account at its Adenta branch.
According to the source, the name of the account holder at Adenta on its data was Mcann David Ambrose while the account at Abeka was Edmund Munford, but the pictures on its computer were the same.
The source said the bank became suspicious of the transaction and accordingly alerted the police to assist in the investigations.
It said the suspect was subsequently arrested because he had used different names and different passports to open the account.
The source said the investigations revealed that passport number H1828592 with which the suspect opened the Adenta account on July 5, 2007, had been officially issued to Jonathan Kabitey Okornor in February 2006.
According to the source, the passport with number H1139955 which the suspect used in opening the Abeka account on July 7, 2007, had also been issued to George Asenso in March 2003.
The source said during interrogation, the suspect mentioned his accomplice, Carvincal Lamberto alias Sampson Omeruah as opening the accounts for him to facilitate the receipt of money from abroad.
It said it was realised that the suspect used GH¢50 (¢500,000) to open the Abeka account and subsequently deposited GH¢5,000 (¢50 million) into the account but it was later withdrawn.
The source said in the first week of August this year, $5,000 was paid into the Abeka account from abroad and it was also withdrawn.
It said on August 29, 2007, GH¢2,300 (¢23 million) was again paid into the Abeka account.
The source said the suspect had then gone to withdraw it with a cheque issued from his Adenta account and it was through the course of verification that the bank suspected foul play.
It said the case had been referred to the Documentation and Visa Fraud Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for further investigations
Fraudster arrested
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE proprietor of First Touch Travel and Tours — who is believed to be behind the illegal printing, issuance and distribution of fake Ghanaian passports — has been arrested by the police.
The suspect, Nii Ocquaye Botchway alias Terror alias Gun, was arrested after one of his clients led the police to his office at Bubiashie.
His victim with a genuine visa embossed in the fraudulent passport, was earlier arrested at the Kotoka International Airport for possessing a fake passport.
The victim, who needed a passport to embark on an official duty, had paid ¢1 million to acquire a new passport through a “connection man”.
A week after parting with the money, a “new” passport with the number H1996785 and embossed with her picture, was handed over to her with the date of issuance as December 20, 2005 instead of any date of August 2007 depending on the day it was issued.
The explanation given her for the back-dating of the passport was because she had two valid visas in her old passport, which had expired in 2004.
Throwing more light on the issue, the Director of Passports, Mr Sylvester Parker-Allotey, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the office detected the loss of some blank passport booklets six weeks ago and alerted the Documentation and Visa Fraud Unit of the Police Service to assist in investigations.
He said it was later noticed that some passports bore the same serial numbers and consequently started tracking the originators of the passports.
He said it was also detected that some of the printed passport numbers did not match the perforated numbers on the booklets.
Mr Parker-Allotey said that meant that the problem was much more serious than anticipated, hence the need to redouble both its intelligence and operational efforts to apprehend the people behind it.
He said it was through such efforts that someone was arrested at the airport for possessing a fictitious passport.
He, therefore, warned the public of the syndicate printing and issuing out duplicate passports.
Mr Parker-Allotey said the police had also arrested a number of people whose passports had already been issued to other persons.
According to him, the victims of the syndicate were persons who are desirous of acquiring passports through passport contractors.
He warned that the law would deal ruthlessly with anyone who was found printing or in possession of such fictitious documents.
THE proprietor of First Touch Travel and Tours — who is believed to be behind the illegal printing, issuance and distribution of fake Ghanaian passports — has been arrested by the police.
The suspect, Nii Ocquaye Botchway alias Terror alias Gun, was arrested after one of his clients led the police to his office at Bubiashie.
His victim with a genuine visa embossed in the fraudulent passport, was earlier arrested at the Kotoka International Airport for possessing a fake passport.
The victim, who needed a passport to embark on an official duty, had paid ¢1 million to acquire a new passport through a “connection man”.
A week after parting with the money, a “new” passport with the number H1996785 and embossed with her picture, was handed over to her with the date of issuance as December 20, 2005 instead of any date of August 2007 depending on the day it was issued.
The explanation given her for the back-dating of the passport was because she had two valid visas in her old passport, which had expired in 2004.
Throwing more light on the issue, the Director of Passports, Mr Sylvester Parker-Allotey, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the office detected the loss of some blank passport booklets six weeks ago and alerted the Documentation and Visa Fraud Unit of the Police Service to assist in investigations.
He said it was later noticed that some passports bore the same serial numbers and consequently started tracking the originators of the passports.
He said it was also detected that some of the printed passport numbers did not match the perforated numbers on the booklets.
Mr Parker-Allotey said that meant that the problem was much more serious than anticipated, hence the need to redouble both its intelligence and operational efforts to apprehend the people behind it.
He said it was through such efforts that someone was arrested at the airport for possessing a fictitious passport.
He, therefore, warned the public of the syndicate printing and issuing out duplicate passports.
Mr Parker-Allotey said the police had also arrested a number of people whose passports had already been issued to other persons.
According to him, the victims of the syndicate were persons who are desirous of acquiring passports through passport contractors.
He warned that the law would deal ruthlessly with anyone who was found printing or in possession of such fictitious documents.
University of Ghana launches Distance Education
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE University of Ghana, Legon, has introduced its Distance Learning Bachelor’s Degree programme, after 12 years on the drawing board.
The programme, which is being implemented by the Centre for Distance Education, Institute of Adult Education (IAE) of the university is expected to attract nearly 1,500 students when academic work begins in November, this year.
Five courses, namely, Economics, Geography and Resource Development, Linguistics, Psychology and Sociology, would be offered when the programme takes off.
The courses will be offered at all the Workers’ Colleges of the university throughout the country and at the IAE in Accra.
More courses will be added in subsequent years.
The Head of the Centre for Distance Education, IAE, Dr Samuel K. Badu-Nyarko, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the programme was expected to offer university education and qualification to the increasing number of potential students who were denied admission to the university due to lack of residential and lecture space.
He said it would also offer university education and qualification to the equally high number of workers who could not attend mainstream university programmes because they were denied study leave for a long period.
Moreover, he said, the City Campus, which was initially designed for workers had been taken over by products of senior secondary schools (SSSs).
Dr Badu-Nyarko said the alternative was to introduce the Distance Education programme to provide university education to many of those who needed it but had been denied due to circumstances beyond their control.
He said all the workers’ colleges would be equipped with computers and journals to facilitate teaching and learning.
He said the modules for the various courses had been peer-reviewed by other universities and were found to be of the highest university standards.
Dr Badu-Nyarko said the students would also benefit from seminars and discussions as well as assignments to keep them busy so as to make maximum use of their period of study.
“We also have a communication system where the students can interact with their lecturers at anytime for verification of any daunting challenges in their studies,” he added.
According to him, tutors had been engaged to provide tutorials for the students while “all the students throughout the country will converge on the University of Ghana, Legon to interact with their lecturers and colleagues at least two weeks before they write their examinations during the holidays”.
Dr Badu-Nyarko said counsellors had also been engaged to provide counselling services to the students during their course of study and to guide them on employment opportunities.
THE University of Ghana, Legon, has introduced its Distance Learning Bachelor’s Degree programme, after 12 years on the drawing board.
The programme, which is being implemented by the Centre for Distance Education, Institute of Adult Education (IAE) of the university is expected to attract nearly 1,500 students when academic work begins in November, this year.
Five courses, namely, Economics, Geography and Resource Development, Linguistics, Psychology and Sociology, would be offered when the programme takes off.
The courses will be offered at all the Workers’ Colleges of the university throughout the country and at the IAE in Accra.
More courses will be added in subsequent years.
The Head of the Centre for Distance Education, IAE, Dr Samuel K. Badu-Nyarko, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the programme was expected to offer university education and qualification to the increasing number of potential students who were denied admission to the university due to lack of residential and lecture space.
He said it would also offer university education and qualification to the equally high number of workers who could not attend mainstream university programmes because they were denied study leave for a long period.
Moreover, he said, the City Campus, which was initially designed for workers had been taken over by products of senior secondary schools (SSSs).
Dr Badu-Nyarko said the alternative was to introduce the Distance Education programme to provide university education to many of those who needed it but had been denied due to circumstances beyond their control.
He said all the workers’ colleges would be equipped with computers and journals to facilitate teaching and learning.
He said the modules for the various courses had been peer-reviewed by other universities and were found to be of the highest university standards.
Dr Badu-Nyarko said the students would also benefit from seminars and discussions as well as assignments to keep them busy so as to make maximum use of their period of study.
“We also have a communication system where the students can interact with their lecturers at anytime for verification of any daunting challenges in their studies,” he added.
According to him, tutors had been engaged to provide tutorials for the students while “all the students throughout the country will converge on the University of Ghana, Legon to interact with their lecturers and colleagues at least two weeks before they write their examinations during the holidays”.
Dr Badu-Nyarko said counsellors had also been engaged to provide counselling services to the students during their course of study and to guide them on employment opportunities.
Warehouse collapses on six persons
Story: Albert K. Salia, Kofi Yeboah & Timothy Gobah
The Top Base neighbourhood at Gbawe in Accra was struck by disaster on Saturday afternoon when a warehouse under construction collapsed and killed six persons, including the contractor and wife of the Nigerian owner of the property.
Police sources named three of the deceased as Johnny Bukey, Kwame Nguah and Tina Kalu, who is believed to be the wife of the Nigerian owner of the warehouse. A fourth person’s name was given only as Joseph but the other two persons could not be identified.
Out of four other persons who escaped death, two were treated and discharged, while two others, whose names were given as Kweku Abeka and Chika Lekwuwu, a Nigerian lady, are on admission at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
Residents in the area believe that there are some victims still trapped under the concrete rubble.
According to the District Chief Executive of Ga West, Mr Brosby Quartey-Papafio, there was no permit for the construction of the warehouse, an assertion that was confirmed by three “Stop Work” notices, including a final warning notice, by the district assembly on the walls of the building.
The owner of the warehouse, identified as Mr Jonathan Kalu, a second-hand clothes dealer. He was on admission at the Mercy Clinic at Mataheko at the time of going to press.
He was said to be hard-pressed for the facility for the keeping of large quantities of bales of second-hand clothing which had been sitting at the Tema Harbour for many months, thus imposing a huge financial cost on his business.
Rumours were rife among residents that the concrete roofing did not dry sufficiently before the boards supporting it were removed, basing their allegation on the speed with which the structure was put up, coupled with the poor quality of work.
In the wake of the disaster, the DCE resolved to move bulldozers to the area this week to pull down all buildings that had no permit from the assembly.
Although eyewitnesses said three of the owner’s children were trapped, the Deputy Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) K. A. Boateng, who was at the scene of the accident, told the Daily Graphic that no child was traced after an excavator was brought in to help with the rescue operation.
There are conflicting reports about the number of people dead and the health institutions they were sent to. Whereas some people put the figure of the dead at six, others said they were nine.
Official records at the Accident Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital indicate that six victims were brought to the centre. Two of them were dead, one a male and the other, a female, believed to be the wife of the owner of the property.
Another two were treated and discharged while the remaining two were still on admission.
The two on admission are a male and an expectant mother, who is said to be a friend of the deceased wife of the owner of the building.
When the Daily Graphic visited the hospital yesterday morning, relations of the victims were trooping there to find out their condition.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred around 2.30 p.m. and as of 8 p.m., a rescue team, including personnel of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Red Cross, the police and the National Ambulance Service who were marshalled, were still digging the heavy debris to search for the dead and survivors.
The excavator was said to have been provided by Big Aidoo Construction Company, which is undertaking road construction works at Mallam, a suburb of Accra.
At a point in time when the excavator ran out of fuel, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, was said to have provided money to re-fuel the excavator.
Mr Morris, who residents referred to as Oga, was said to have escaped the disaster after he left the building site to buy yoghurt for his children.
Most of the workers were said to have been hired in from Russia, a suburb of Accra, to do the work.
Ms Botchwey, the Accra Regional Crime Officer, Chief Superintendent Boi-Bi-Boi; the National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr George Isaac Amoo; and the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Ben Brown, were among a number of dignitaries who visited the accident spot.
Although there were discrepancies in the number of people present at the time of the collapse, one of the workers, Mr Mohammed Akwan, who escaped, said he was with five workers inside the main building while an unidentified number sat close to one of the pillars.
He said his colleagues were removing the boards which had been used to support the concrete roof of the warehouse, when the structure collapsed on them.
Residents in the area claimed that three weeks after putting the concrete roof, they were surprised to see the workers remove the board that provided support for the structures.
A resident, Mr Christopher Nat Quartey, said workers on the site refused to heed several pieces of advice on the dangers posed by their shoddy work.
As of the time of filing this report, Mr Morris was yet to report to the police.
Mr Boateng said initially, four were found dead but the rescue team retrieved another body and a lady, who was among the injured, later died, bringing the number of the dead to six.
He said the police could not confirm whether it was the owner’s wife or not because two ladies, one who later died, were said to have been among the injured taken to hospital.
He said information available to the police indicated that there were other people standing close to the structure but they, however, managed to escape.
Mr Boateng appealed to developers to endeavour to always engage the services of competent artisans to construct their houses or structures.
He said a closer look at the debris showed that the items used for the construction right from sand to iron rods were of inferior quality.
Mr Quartey-Papafio appealed to the general public to endeavour to obtain permit before undertaking any development, adding, “We should be disciplined to forestall future occurrence of such disasters.”
Mr Ben Brown also underlined the need for developers to do the right thing by involving professionals in the work, pointing out that in trying to cut down cost, one might end up losing everything.
On the difficulties encountered during the rescue operation, he stressed the need for the nation to acquire sniffer dogs to help undertake such operations.
Last year, a similar incident occurred at the OA bus terminal in Kumasi when a three-storey building collapsed, killing some people in the process.
The Top Base neighbourhood at Gbawe in Accra was struck by disaster on Saturday afternoon when a warehouse under construction collapsed and killed six persons, including the contractor and wife of the Nigerian owner of the property.
Police sources named three of the deceased as Johnny Bukey, Kwame Nguah and Tina Kalu, who is believed to be the wife of the Nigerian owner of the warehouse. A fourth person’s name was given only as Joseph but the other two persons could not be identified.
Out of four other persons who escaped death, two were treated and discharged, while two others, whose names were given as Kweku Abeka and Chika Lekwuwu, a Nigerian lady, are on admission at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
Residents in the area believe that there are some victims still trapped under the concrete rubble.
According to the District Chief Executive of Ga West, Mr Brosby Quartey-Papafio, there was no permit for the construction of the warehouse, an assertion that was confirmed by three “Stop Work” notices, including a final warning notice, by the district assembly on the walls of the building.
The owner of the warehouse, identified as Mr Jonathan Kalu, a second-hand clothes dealer. He was on admission at the Mercy Clinic at Mataheko at the time of going to press.
He was said to be hard-pressed for the facility for the keeping of large quantities of bales of second-hand clothing which had been sitting at the Tema Harbour for many months, thus imposing a huge financial cost on his business.
Rumours were rife among residents that the concrete roofing did not dry sufficiently before the boards supporting it were removed, basing their allegation on the speed with which the structure was put up, coupled with the poor quality of work.
In the wake of the disaster, the DCE resolved to move bulldozers to the area this week to pull down all buildings that had no permit from the assembly.
Although eyewitnesses said three of the owner’s children were trapped, the Deputy Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) K. A. Boateng, who was at the scene of the accident, told the Daily Graphic that no child was traced after an excavator was brought in to help with the rescue operation.
There are conflicting reports about the number of people dead and the health institutions they were sent to. Whereas some people put the figure of the dead at six, others said they were nine.
Official records at the Accident Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital indicate that six victims were brought to the centre. Two of them were dead, one a male and the other, a female, believed to be the wife of the owner of the property.
Another two were treated and discharged while the remaining two were still on admission.
The two on admission are a male and an expectant mother, who is said to be a friend of the deceased wife of the owner of the building.
When the Daily Graphic visited the hospital yesterday morning, relations of the victims were trooping there to find out their condition.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred around 2.30 p.m. and as of 8 p.m., a rescue team, including personnel of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Red Cross, the police and the National Ambulance Service who were marshalled, were still digging the heavy debris to search for the dead and survivors.
The excavator was said to have been provided by Big Aidoo Construction Company, which is undertaking road construction works at Mallam, a suburb of Accra.
At a point in time when the excavator ran out of fuel, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, was said to have provided money to re-fuel the excavator.
Mr Morris, who residents referred to as Oga, was said to have escaped the disaster after he left the building site to buy yoghurt for his children.
Most of the workers were said to have been hired in from Russia, a suburb of Accra, to do the work.
Ms Botchwey, the Accra Regional Crime Officer, Chief Superintendent Boi-Bi-Boi; the National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr George Isaac Amoo; and the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Ben Brown, were among a number of dignitaries who visited the accident spot.
Although there were discrepancies in the number of people present at the time of the collapse, one of the workers, Mr Mohammed Akwan, who escaped, said he was with five workers inside the main building while an unidentified number sat close to one of the pillars.
He said his colleagues were removing the boards which had been used to support the concrete roof of the warehouse, when the structure collapsed on them.
Residents in the area claimed that three weeks after putting the concrete roof, they were surprised to see the workers remove the board that provided support for the structures.
A resident, Mr Christopher Nat Quartey, said workers on the site refused to heed several pieces of advice on the dangers posed by their shoddy work.
As of the time of filing this report, Mr Morris was yet to report to the police.
Mr Boateng said initially, four were found dead but the rescue team retrieved another body and a lady, who was among the injured, later died, bringing the number of the dead to six.
He said the police could not confirm whether it was the owner’s wife or not because two ladies, one who later died, were said to have been among the injured taken to hospital.
He said information available to the police indicated that there were other people standing close to the structure but they, however, managed to escape.
Mr Boateng appealed to developers to endeavour to always engage the services of competent artisans to construct their houses or structures.
He said a closer look at the debris showed that the items used for the construction right from sand to iron rods were of inferior quality.
Mr Quartey-Papafio appealed to the general public to endeavour to obtain permit before undertaking any development, adding, “We should be disciplined to forestall future occurrence of such disasters.”
Mr Ben Brown also underlined the need for developers to do the right thing by involving professionals in the work, pointing out that in trying to cut down cost, one might end up losing everything.
On the difficulties encountered during the rescue operation, he stressed the need for the nation to acquire sniffer dogs to help undertake such operations.
Last year, a similar incident occurred at the OA bus terminal in Kumasi when a three-storey building collapsed, killing some people in the process.
Two Cops arrested over sugar theft
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Police Administration has arrested six persons, including two policemen, believed to belong to a group that allegedly intercepts articulated trucks carrying rice and sugar from the Tema port to various destinations in the country.
Lance Corporal Haruna Adama of the Armoured Squadron Unit and Lance Corporal Gomez Abane of the Police Striking Force, were arrested at the weekend together with their civilian accomplices and are currently in custody pending further investigations.
The others are William Tornyo, 30, Eric Ofori alias Amex, 26, Memunatu Iddrisu, 28, receiver of the items, and David Ahiavie, 34.
They were alleged to have intercepted an articulated truck, with registration number AW 744 X on September 7, 2007, carrying 1,000 bags of sugar worth ¢250 million. The police have retrieved 135 bags of the rice while the Golf Three, with registered number ER 1362 W, which they used for the operations, has been impounded.
The modus operandi of the group was to intercept the articulated truck and “arrest” all the occupants of the truck and leave behind one of their own “arresting” officers.
The one left behind is often a driver who would then drive the truck to an unknown destination for the cargo to be discharged after which the truck would be abandoned somewhere.
Until the arrest of the six, the police were investigating two similar cases which happened within the last two months.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick K. Acheampong, has interdicted the two policemen and ordered a service enquiry into their conduct, the outcome of which is expected in seven days.
He pledged his commitment to purge the Ghana Police Service of criminals and appealed to members of the public who had suffered similar fate to report to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for assistance.
Mr Acheampong told the Daily Graphic that the Police Administration had been investigating a criminal gang including some policemen who for sometime now had been intercepting truckloads of rice and sugar between Tema and Kumasi.
He said the policemen would usually stop the truck, demand the documents covering the goods and inform the driver and the occupants of the truck that they had been arrested.
He said a member of the arresting team would be left behind to keep watch over the goods while the rest left with those arrested on the pretext of sending them to a police station.
Mr Acheampong said following the complaint lodged with him, he ordered the Organised Crime Unit, Crime Scene Unit, both of the CID, and the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) to jointly investigate the case.
“My brother, this is a bad case for the police and we have to send a signal to all that the Police Service is not a den for criminals,” he said.
According to the IGP, it was revealed that the group after intercepting and arresting the occupants of the truck at about 7 p.m. on September 7, 2007, took them to a spot near the El-Wak Sports Stadium then to Abeka, Kasoa and to Dansoman.
He said the occupants of the truck were released at about 6 a.m. on September 8, 2007 without any interrogation, caution or statement taken from them.
He explained that the investigators had to treat all personnel who had mounted checkpoints in the night as suspects and indicated that it was through such a thorough investigation that the police made a headway.
Mr Acheampong said he had asked the CID to prosecute the suspects as early as possible to serve as a deterrent to others.
He reiterated the appeal to anyone who had suffered a similar fate to report to the Organised Crime Unit on the fifth floor of the CID Headquarters for assistance.
THE Police Administration has arrested six persons, including two policemen, believed to belong to a group that allegedly intercepts articulated trucks carrying rice and sugar from the Tema port to various destinations in the country.
Lance Corporal Haruna Adama of the Armoured Squadron Unit and Lance Corporal Gomez Abane of the Police Striking Force, were arrested at the weekend together with their civilian accomplices and are currently in custody pending further investigations.
The others are William Tornyo, 30, Eric Ofori alias Amex, 26, Memunatu Iddrisu, 28, receiver of the items, and David Ahiavie, 34.
They were alleged to have intercepted an articulated truck, with registration number AW 744 X on September 7, 2007, carrying 1,000 bags of sugar worth ¢250 million. The police have retrieved 135 bags of the rice while the Golf Three, with registered number ER 1362 W, which they used for the operations, has been impounded.
The modus operandi of the group was to intercept the articulated truck and “arrest” all the occupants of the truck and leave behind one of their own “arresting” officers.
The one left behind is often a driver who would then drive the truck to an unknown destination for the cargo to be discharged after which the truck would be abandoned somewhere.
Until the arrest of the six, the police were investigating two similar cases which happened within the last two months.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick K. Acheampong, has interdicted the two policemen and ordered a service enquiry into their conduct, the outcome of which is expected in seven days.
He pledged his commitment to purge the Ghana Police Service of criminals and appealed to members of the public who had suffered similar fate to report to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for assistance.
Mr Acheampong told the Daily Graphic that the Police Administration had been investigating a criminal gang including some policemen who for sometime now had been intercepting truckloads of rice and sugar between Tema and Kumasi.
He said the policemen would usually stop the truck, demand the documents covering the goods and inform the driver and the occupants of the truck that they had been arrested.
He said a member of the arresting team would be left behind to keep watch over the goods while the rest left with those arrested on the pretext of sending them to a police station.
Mr Acheampong said following the complaint lodged with him, he ordered the Organised Crime Unit, Crime Scene Unit, both of the CID, and the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) to jointly investigate the case.
“My brother, this is a bad case for the police and we have to send a signal to all that the Police Service is not a den for criminals,” he said.
According to the IGP, it was revealed that the group after intercepting and arresting the occupants of the truck at about 7 p.m. on September 7, 2007, took them to a spot near the El-Wak Sports Stadium then to Abeka, Kasoa and to Dansoman.
He said the occupants of the truck were released at about 6 a.m. on September 8, 2007 without any interrogation, caution or statement taken from them.
He explained that the investigators had to treat all personnel who had mounted checkpoints in the night as suspects and indicated that it was through such a thorough investigation that the police made a headway.
Mr Acheampong said he had asked the CID to prosecute the suspects as early as possible to serve as a deterrent to others.
He reiterated the appeal to anyone who had suffered a similar fate to report to the Organised Crime Unit on the fifth floor of the CID Headquarters for assistance.
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