NDC Rape At Tema Harbour ... 158 Vehicles Carted Away By Party Activists!

Reshuffle Blues: Sena Dansua Heads Sports Ministry

* Source: Daily Searchlight  / 26.01.2010

We should not forget Dr. Hilla Liman-PNC 

* Source: GNA / 24.01.2010

Ashanti NPP Chair mad at Nana Addo

* Source: Ghanaian Chronicle / 23.01.2010

African Top News:

Egypt: New find shows slaves didn't build pyramids

The seized cars debacle took a ballistic turn Wednesday as the deputy to the Castle-appointed Chairman of Confiscated Vehicle Disposal Committee, Carl Wilson, pulled a pistol on a National Security operative attached to the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) at the Tema Port State Warehouse.

Nana Kublan Olivier, thought to be a French national and a deputy to Mr Wilson, is being held by the Ports and Railway Police after he was disarmed by Chief Collector Nicholas Okporah of CEPS, when he threatened to blow off the head of a national security operative.

Olivier turned up Wednesday at the Golden Jubilee Container Terminal at the Port of Tema in the company of some National Security operatives from the Castle, armed with a document signed by his boss, Carl Wilson, seeking access to a container loaded with cars.

The CEPS officials at the spot, finding the procedure a breach of the stipulated arrangement, prevented the man from having his way.

The CEPS officials' stance was premised on the fact that the opening of containers with the marking UCL or Undeclared Container List must be guided by the Customs Act No. 634.

Angry at the turn of events, the man with the delegated authority of Carl Wilson and therefore the Castle, pulled a pistol after engaging in a brief war of words with some National Security operatives attached to CEPS at the port.

As he pulled the pistol, a scene was created but in a flash, Chief Collector Nicholas Okporah, the CEPS officer in charge of the State Warehouse at the Port of Tema, disarmed the Castle man to the relief of his colleagues.

Olivier was handed over to the National Security Council's representative at the port, a certain Lt. Col. Agodogoh (rtd) who ordered an emergency meeting between representatives of CEPS at the port and their National Security counterparts to discuss what had transpired as the gun-pulling Olivier was handed over to the Port and Railway Police, according to Oman FM's Moses Dawutey.

The Port and Railway Police Commander, ACP Adu-Amankwah, confirmed the story to Oman FM.

The Confiscated Vehicle Car Disposal Committee attracted disturbing headlines last week when it was disclosed that the chairman of the Castle-established body was involved in dubious deals as regards the disposal of the vehicles.

While some of the vehicles went for pittance, others simply went away gratis, to people dangling flimsy chits issued at the Castle.

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Alex Segbefia, defended the committee and the procedure for the disposal, asking that anybody with evidence against his appointee, Carl Wilson, should come forward.

Carl Wilson was arrested by some Castle operatives when he sent a car to a joint at Asylum Down for spraying under the cover of darkness, but he was released almost immediately.

The disposal of cars is part of the party cronies supporting mechanisms and the government is set to defend it to the hilt.

Source: GNA

Paul Collins Appiah Ofori, the controversial Member of Parliament for Asikuma Odoben Brakwa, has accused some close allies of former President Rawlings of stealing state money when they were in office.

According to P.C. Appiah Ofori, this occurred when he personally reported a lumber operating firm called Conglomerate for evading their tax obligation to the then President Rawlings when he was in office.

He indicated that he had just resumed work as the chief accountant of the company but realised that 10 years before he started working with them, they had not for once paid tax. He told parliament that upon prevalence from the institutions responsible, the company complied with the directive. He lamented that those men whose names he withheld paid just a little into government coffers and used the rest for their personal gains.

He indicated that when he reported their conduct to Rawlings, he was arrested and kept in a guardroom for hours before he was released. He made these allegations when he rose to contribute to the motion that the Ghana Revenue Authority Bill, 2009 be read the second time. He indicated that since the bill had not explicit provisions to punish people who would evade tax obligations; it should be withdrawn and revisited to include massive punishment for such people.

Even though the Majority Leader of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin prevailed upon to withdraw or retract since he could not substantiate his allegations concerning the former president, he resisted and indicated that he knew what he was saying was the truth. The Speaker Joyce Bamford Addo asked him to withdraw since it happened long ago and hence he could not provide any documentary prove to his allegations.

Also contributing to the motion, Minister for Communications, Haruna Iddrisu noted that, leakages in tax administration systems should be blocked to ensure that more revenue mobilization for the government. He added that, institutions responsible for enforcing these obligations should be up and doing.

The house rose yesterday for the Christmas and New Year holidays. The MPs would be away from parliament for 7 weeks and are expected to reconvene on the 26th of January, 2010.

Source: Daily Searchlight

Klagon, Dec. 19, GNA - The Tema Regional Police Command has arrested 16 suspected armed robbers at Klagon near Ashaiman, for attempting to rob a warehouse belonging to Novel Commodities Ghana Limited. Briefing the media in Tema on Friday, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Augustine Gyening, Regional Commander, said the Police had a tip-off that the suspects had come to seek assistance from the security personnel of the company to carry out the operation at the warehouse.

ACP Gyening said the security man in turn disclosed the information to the authorities of the Company who later reported to the Police. He said at about 8:30pm on Thursday, the gang stormed the warehouse full of rice with a truck to load the commodity.

He said another truck was parked outside waiting for the first one to finish loading, so that it could also load.

ACP Gyening said the Police, who had then laid ambush, pounced on the suspects and arrested 16 of them but their leader, whose name was mentioned as Bismarck, escaped.

The Regional Commander gave the names of the 16 suspects as Mohammed Fuseini, Mohammed Ali, Ibrahim Yussif, Issah Mohammed, Ishmael Addah, Yak= ubu Mussah, Awudu Kadri, Samuel Teye, Osman Gariba, Agyabeng Samuel, Osman Haruna, Abass Mohammed, Shaibu Mohammed, Dawuda Ali, Shaibu Issah, and Gariba Amidu adding that were all in Police custody. Mr Dan Obimpeh, Managing Director of the Company, said the 176,000 b= ags of rice in the warehouse were imported from Vietnam.

He said they started getting information from the armed robbers on Tuesday that they wanted to come and rob the place and so offered to give GH¢20,000 Ghana cedis to the security man.

He commended the Tema Regional Police Command for the good job done, and requested for the assistance of the security services, including the Police and the Military, to ensure security at the place.

Source: GNA

Sunyani, Dec. 14, GNA - The former President, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings on Saturday called on Ghanaians to support President John Evans Atta Mills to succeed because he has great intentions for Ghana. Speaking in Sunyani at a ceremony to mark the awards ceremony of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Brong Ahafo Region, Flt. Lt. Rawlings said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) "has no option but to succeed" because the party promised to liberate Ghanaians from economic hardship.

He said the current situation in the country required "candid criticism" to goad government on the right path, saying, "this should not be misconstrued as washing the party's dirty linen in public". Flt. Lt. Rawlings said Ghanaians had a responsibility to demand accountability from government, not only about financial prudence and propriety, but to get clarification about policies.

He said his critique of government was an: "Exercise in self-assessment and exposure of the realities that the ordinary folk face. There is talk of great efforts at fixing the economy, but the economy cannot be fixed unless the holes have been plugged. It is like pouring water into a basket."

The former Head of State said the people were suffering although the NDC promised to deliver them from the bondage they found themselves. "When I speak about these issues, it is because I cannot allow my beloved party to fail. Like I mentioned earlier, Professor Mills has great intentions for Ghana and each individual of sound mind has to help him succeed," he said.

Flt. Lt. Rawlings noted that the NDC had the requisite manpower and expertise to make the country politically and economically vibrant to ensure national development.

He commended the people of the Brong Ahafo Region for voting for the NDC in the 2008 elections.

He noted that the region had played significant roles in agriculture and tourism and called for concerted efforts to develop and exploit the region's tourism potential.

"Today as we celebrate Brong Ahafo@ 50 let us meditate on our dear country Ghana, pray for wisdom for our leaders and adopt a work ethic that exudes patriotism and dedication.

"Ghana is at the crossroads and we all have a responsibility to ensure that the change we clamoured for comes into reality. When we fail we fail together and when we succeed we do so together, so let us pool our resources and ensure that we succeed!"

Flt. Lt. Rawlings used the occasion to call for peace in Bawku, saying: "We need to help bring an end to this conflict.Let us work towards peace."

Source: GNA

 Kwesi Pratt Jnr., Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, has said for all who expect him to criticize the Mills administration to prove his objectivity and balance, they can expect to hear him speak only the truth and nothing else.

He said there is a funny expectation of persons who are compelled, by the nature of their vocation and profession, to do public analysis of events to be critical of the Mills administration because they were also critical of the Kufuor administration in order to prove their objectivity.

“Any time there is an issue, they say ah! But you criticized the NPP why are you not criticizing the Mills administration. If you want to be seen as objective and balanced, then fight Mills, then punch Professor Mills, then discredit his administration.

"Look, I think this is just hogwash. We did not criticize the NPP administration for the fun of it or because we hated the administration or because that other journalists have confessed ‘we were in a conspiracy to make anybody unpopular.’ We criticized things that we thought were unjustified. We criticized things that were wrong.

"So therefore if the current administration is doing things that are wrong, that look like what the NPP did, we have a responsibility to criticize them, you understand, to apply the same standards to the old administration and to the new administration. But we cannot fight the current administration for fighting sake just to establish that we’re objective!”

Kwesi Pratt who was speaking on Radio Gold’s discussion programme, Alhaji and Alhaji on Saturday, said objectivity is not a balance between fact and falsehood, but recognizing objective reality, so that if one administration was bad relative to another one, “it is our responsibility to say so.

“And in all honesty, in all honesty and sincerity, Sohini, (programme host) any day, give me the Kufuor administration and give me the Mills administration and I will select the Mills administration. Look at the gap, look at the difference between the two administrations – I am not shy, I am not ashamed of saying that I prefer the Mills administration any day, to the Kufuor administration.”

He said a record of achievements of the 11-month administration of Mills compared to the same period in the Kufuor administration best tells the story.

“Look, look, look, you look! Yesterday (Friday) there was a little discussion on Peace FM about our recent trip to South Africa, and I mentioned that look, for the six days that I was in South Africa, the total per diem allowance I was given was $500, all the people on the panel just burst out laughing, they were laughing, they were surprised because under Kufuor, the standard per diem for journalists travelling with official delegations was $250 a night. It’s been cut so drastically…this is a government which is committed to prudence in public spending and I recognize that.”

He also cited the recent announcement of the award of contract for the construction of 200,000 houses to cut back on the national housing deficit, the expansion of the School Feeding Programme, a stable cedi over the last five months, a drop in inflation the New Pensions Act and the Right to Information programme among several things.

He said against the backdrop of claims that the Mills government is slow or has not done anything, acknowledging these things is being objective. “I don’t care whether people say I’m objective or I’m not objective, what I care about is whether I say is the truth.

Source: joyfmonline

Deputy Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Hannah Louisa Bisiw, has demand that she is addressed by her titles.

“If titles were not to be used, they wouldn’t have been created?” She asked.

Bisiw was speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana Programme where Mr Kweku Kwarteng, Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and a co-discussant on the programme, addressed the President of the nation as “Mills.”

She insisted that Kwarteng addressed the President as “His Excellency, Professor John Evans Atta Mills” to show respect for his position.

To make matters worse, Mr Kwarteng again addressed the deputy minister as ‘Hannah’ and she became so alarmed that she maintained that she is addressed properly by her titles or else she will not allow the communications director to make his submissions.

It took the intervention of Shamima Moslem, host of the programme for the discussion to continue.

Source: My Joy FM Online

The founder and leader of the United Renaissance Party (URP) and businessman, Charles Kofi Wayo, popularly known as ‘Chuck’ has disclosed that he would resign from the Coalition he entered into with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) prior to the 2008 elections should the government fail to deliver on the campaign promises made to Ghanaians by August 4, 2010.

Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana programme recently, Mr. Wayo blamed the elites of this country as having done very little to alleviate the plights and sufferings of majority of the people of this country but used the opportunity to enrich themselves.   He did not mince words in pointing out that the leaders of this country have been repeating the same old things we began with as a country as that has not helped in the developmental efforts of this country.

The Lens Ghana

Fact-finding enquiries done by The Heritage newspaper have revealed that the decision by the President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, early this year, to drastically cut down the number of vehicles in his convoy has saved millions of Ghana cedis for the development of the country.

The Mills-led administration, in line with the National Democratic Congress campaign promise to cut down ostentation if voted into government, has for the past 11 months employed a lean presidential convoy. Under this administration, a minimum of three and a maximum of six or slightly higher than that number of cars are used, depending on the occasion and the distance. That is in a sharp contrast to the over 20 vehicles that became the norm under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.

A government source contended in an interaction with the Heritage newspaper over the weekend that, “Considering the huge number of travels that the president has to make within the country, and the quantum of fuel involved, the amount accrued over the past months runs into millions of cedis.’

The source noted that, in line with the style of the president, every pesewa saved by the austere measure would be “appropriately channeled into the development of schools, health centres and the provision of pipe-borne water to the millions of Ghanaians who are walloping in abject poverty.”

The source added that Prof. Mills has not only used the country’s resources judiciously, but also contributed immensely to reducing the heavy traffic on most of the busy streets across the country. “The president has lived at the Castle (the seat of government) and effectively performed government business for more than 10 months; that, for me, is enough to show how concerned he is about the canker of traffic in the capital,” it said.

Comparing what pertained under the erstwhile NPP regime to the current government, the source said, “Former President John Agyekum Kufuor operated from his Airport residence for the first 10 months, after renovating his residence and throughout his eight years of reign. “In contrast, the current president has functioned at the Castle, instead of his residence at Regimanuel Gray on the Spintex road to compound the already heavy traffic situation there.” Noble as the law professor’s resolve to reduce the number of vehicles involved in the presidential convoy may be, many concerns have been raised regarding his safety in a small convoy.

Political and security analyst, George Kuntu Blankson of the University of Cape Coast cautioned the presidency to increase the convoy to 10 or 12, depending on the security situation in an area of visit.

He praised Prof. Mills for fulfilling his promise of running a lean but very effective administration and cautioned officials to emulate the father of the nation so that the Better Ghana agenda could be achieved.

Source: The Heritage

 Tamale, Dec.7, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama, on Monday launched 17.3 million Euro Rice Sector Support Project (RSSP), aimed at boosting lowland rice production in the country.

He said the Project was one of several strategies government was embarking upon to revamp the local rice industry to meet domestic food demand.

Vice President Mahama said apart from maize, rice was the second most important cereal crop in the country and noted that its consumption had increased with total annual consumption reaching 500,000 metric tons. He said statistics indicated that over the last several years, production of the crop had fallen to about 10 per cent of national demand, making the country heavily depended on imported rice.

The Vice President said more that 600 million US dollars was being used to import rice, meat, fish and other products into the country annually adding that this substantial foreign exchange could have been conserved for more urgent national needs.

He said that government was determined to reverse the trend within the next few years by producing food not only for local consumption but for export.

Vice President Mahama appealed to the AFD to allow the government integrate the RSSP into the block farming programme

He said government intended to identify rice lands in the districts where the Project would be implemented and bring farmers in those areas together to make enhance mechanisation and extension services. The Agence Francaise de Develppement (AFD) is partly funding the Project with 13.8 million Euros

Mr. Francis Hurtut, French Ambassador to Ghana in a speech read for him by Mr. Benoit Lebeurre, Resident Manager of the AFD, said the Project covered a period of five years and was aimed at developing rice production in the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and the Volta Regions. He said under the Project, 6,000 hectares of lowland would be develo= ped with water control infrastructure and technical support to farmers. Mr. Hurtut said the Project would also focus on family farms, which were playing a major role towards food security and conservation of natural resources.

He said about 2,500 farms would be established and more that 15,000 people would benefit from the Project.

Mr. Stephen Sumani Nayina, Northern Regional Minister in a speech read on his behalf, called on the youth in the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions to take advantage of the project and go into farming rather than migrating to the South in search of non-existent jobs. He appealed to the chiefs and elders to provide land to enable the project achieve its objective.

Source: GNA

Nairobi — Osibisa, the great Ghanaian band, is celebrating 40 years of musical excellence with the launch of two albums, Osee Yee and The Very Best of Osibisa.

"We've decided to come up with two albums. The Very Best of Osibisa, is a compilation of our favourites and hits from over the years.

The second, Osee Yee is interesting well-played music with great spirit and enough of the original Osibisa flavour," band leader Teddy Osei told The Hindu newspaper of India recently.

Fresh from the band's just concluded tour of India -- the first in almost three decades -- Osei told The EastAfrican that the new albums will be launched on February 27 next year at The Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.

The 14-track fourth generation album Osee Yee, performed in the Ghanaian Akan dialect and English, has songs like Osuna, Watusi, Ayioko, Yen Ara Ghana, Higher and Higher, Boyengya, Too Much Going On, Saworowa, and My Sweet Lord (a gospel song).

The musicians on the new album are Osei (on sax, flute, African drums and vocals), Mac Tontoh (flugelhorn), Colin Graham (trumpet), Alfred Kari Bannerman (lead guitar), Emmanuel Rentzos (organ, vocals), Kwame Yeboah (acoustic guitar, keyboards, drums and congas), Gregg Kofi Brown (vocals), Kofi Ayivor (congas) and Alex Kwaku-Boateng (drums), among others.

The 17-track The Very Best of Osibisa compilation, specially chosen by Osei, includes their first instrumental jazz hit, Music for Gong Gong (bestseller on the pop charts in both the UK and US in 1971).

Woyaya (1971) later covered by Art Garfunkel, Highlife-influenced party favourite Sunshine Day (1975), Dance the Body Music (1976), Coffee Song (1976), I Feel Pata Pata (performed with the late Maria Makeba), Welcome Home, Ayiko Bia, Uhuru, and Nkosi Sikeleli Africa, among other hits featured.

As to whether their fans should expect more releases, Osei said: "It's very possible, but let's see how this goes first."

Osei attributes the bands' success to a number of factors.

"We have had many new band members who have introduced their own style of playing and modern technology has definitely lent a new edge to the sound. But our music continues to remains the same -- from the West Coast of Africa," he said.

"Osibisa's music still retains the Ghanaian highlife influence. London's varied sounds have definitely touched our music, which is where its global feel comes from. Our music exists because of the rich tradition and heritage of African sounds. Osibisa put African fusion with Western music genres on the world map," Osei noted.

"...Osibisa promises music that feels traditionalist, because the core of their music comes from the heart of Africa -- from deep-toned Congo drums, pounding out cross-rhythms in an unbroken torrent, without trampling on the intricacies of global sound," The Hindu observes.

"Osibisa were true pioneers. They were the first band to successfully promote West African music genres, not just in Britain (where they are based) but to the world, and were the first African fusion band to notch up a whole series of bestselling singles and albums in the pop charts - with more international hits than any other African band has enjoyed since...," writes Robin Denselow on the sleeve notes of The Very Best of Osibisa.

At its inception in 1969, Denselow notes: "...The Osibisa mix of what they called criss-cross rhythms that explode with happiness naturally included Highlife influences..., along with jazz, rock, calypso and other West Indian styles, along with a dash of disco and unashamed pop. They were a band who could hold their own along side the rock stars of the era, supporting the Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd..."

But in the 1980s it all suddenly changed, as these pioneers of the new global music scene fell from fashion just as the "world music" movement was beginning to gather momentum, Denselow writes, adding: "The band battled with record companies who wanted them to abandon their African influences and play disco, while hardcore fans of authentic African sounds were put off by those earlier pop hits. No matter. The band kept going, and they are still going, 40 years on, with a repertoire of very different songs, and an incredible history to look back on."

Source: Bamuturaki Musingizi

The New York State Senate has honoured Ghana''s first President

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah with a Legislative Resolution celebrating Nkrumah''s 100th Birthday. The resolution was proposed and led by Senator Bill Perkins of the 30th District of the New York State of the United States of America.