Page 32: Daily Graphic, May 2, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE police have arrested two persons for allegedly defrauding a clearing agent of nearly GH¢20,000.
The suspects, Lloyd Mohammed, alias Smith, a Liberian, and Samuel Acheampong Boateng, a Ghanaian, are currently in custody pending further investigations.
Five others, who the police identified only as Yaw George, Kwasi Nyantakyi, Amponsah, Richard and Ocloo, are currently at large.
The Head of the Commercial Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Maame Yaa Tiwaah, told the Daily Graphic that the complainant, Mr Martin Appiah, who is a clearing agent, was said to have had a call from someone who identified himself as Kwasi Nyantakyi claiming to be in the United Kingdom and also a member of the victim’s church in Ghana.
She said Nyantakyi allegedly informed the victim that he was working with a horse racing company in the UK that needed a drug, Horsetalic Power, which was found in Ghana.
According to her, Nyantakyi informed the complainant that a colleague of his by name Smith, would be arriving in Ghana from London to purchase the drugs.
Supt Tiwaah said Nyantakyi allegedly directed the victim to see Amponsah, who was said to be based in Koforidua and sold the drugs.
She said when the victim went in the company of two witnesses to meet Amponsah in Koforidua, they were directed to meet Richard at New Tafo, also in the Eastern Region.
She said at New Tafo, Richard provided two bottles of the purported Horsetalic Power at a cost of GH¢2,000 to the victim after Smith testified that the contents were indeed genuine and requested for 10 cartons.
Supt. Tiwaah said the victim could only purchase five cartons of the purported Horsetalic power at a cost of GH¢17,500 from Richard.
According to her, after paying for the drugs and on their way to Accra, Smith excused himself for a brief moment but was neither seen nor heard from again.
She said the victim reported the matter to the police for investigations.
She said on April 25, 2009, the police had information that Smith, who was allegedly on the wanted list of the police for similar offences, was at a nightclub.
Supt. Tiwaah said Smith was arrested at the nightclub when the police swooped in there.
Later, she said, the victim led the police to arrest Boateng in Koforidua.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Ten police recruits dismissed - For using fictitious documents
Page 32: Daily Graphic, May 1, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
TEN recruits of the Winner Police Training School have been dismissed and handed over to the Winneba police for prosecution.
Four of the dismissed recruits were due to pass out on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 while the remaining six were in the junior squad.
They were dismissed after an audit revealed that they used fictitious documents to gain admission to the training school.
The four, who were due to pass out next Tuesday, are all females and have been identified as Pricilla Owusu Frimpong, Akosua Konadu, Solace Franklina Tublu and Bernice Bonney.
The other six, all males, were named as Bernard Allotey, Benjamin Antwi, Richard Kwadwo Abrokwa, Baffour Awuah, Augustine Opoku and Augustine Amankwah.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Samuel Asiedu-Okanta, Officer Commanding the Winneba Training School, told the Daily Graphic that the conduct of the 10 recruits was criminal hence the decision to hand them over to the Winneba police for prosecution.
He said the suspects were found out during routine checks by the school as part of the process to vet their results and school certificates.
The Winneba District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Francis Yiribaare, told the Daily Graphic that the suspects had been charged for forgery of official documents, possession of forged documents and altering official documents.
Story: Albert K. Salia
TEN recruits of the Winner Police Training School have been dismissed and handed over to the Winneba police for prosecution.
Four of the dismissed recruits were due to pass out on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 while the remaining six were in the junior squad.
They were dismissed after an audit revealed that they used fictitious documents to gain admission to the training school.
The four, who were due to pass out next Tuesday, are all females and have been identified as Pricilla Owusu Frimpong, Akosua Konadu, Solace Franklina Tublu and Bernice Bonney.
The other six, all males, were named as Bernard Allotey, Benjamin Antwi, Richard Kwadwo Abrokwa, Baffour Awuah, Augustine Opoku and Augustine Amankwah.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Samuel Asiedu-Okanta, Officer Commanding the Winneba Training School, told the Daily Graphic that the conduct of the 10 recruits was criminal hence the decision to hand them over to the Winneba police for prosecution.
He said the suspects were found out during routine checks by the school as part of the process to vet their results and school certificates.
The Winneba District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Francis Yiribaare, told the Daily Graphic that the suspects had been charged for forgery of official documents, possession of forged documents and altering official documents.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Former appointees asked to return state vehicles
Page 3: Daily Graphic, April 30, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ALL former government appointees who served under the Kufuor administration and are still in possession of state vehicles which are less than two years old have been given up to the end of this week to return them.
All other appointees who paid less than the value of the vehicles are also to top up their payments before they can legally take possession of them.
A Deputy Information Minister, Mr Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, who gave the directives at a press conference in Accra yesterday, said more than 50 of such vehicles, including 18 which were less than two years, were still in the possession of former appointees under the Kufuor government.
He said the government had made several approaches to the affected appointees but only a few of them had responded, adding that the Presidency, as part of its cost-cutting measures, was not in the mood to buy new vehicles, making some Ministers and Deputy Ministers using their personal vehicles.
He expressed regret that contrary to a February 23, 2005 circular, issued by the former Chief of Staff, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, that vehicles being requested to be bought by users should not be less than two years, such vehicles were not only bought but also undervalued.
Moreover, he said, the government also granted a 30-per cent rebate to the prospective buyers “even after the ridiculous values placed on the vehicles”.
Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa, who was supported by his colleague Deputy Minister, Mr James Agyenim-Boateng, cited that a 2008 Peugeot 607 saloon car in possession of Madam Cecilia Dapaah was valued for her at GH¢6,500, Dr Benjamin Aggrey-Ntim also had his valued at GH¢13,200 and Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, whose 2007 Peugeot saloon car was valued for him at GH¢5,450.
Fortunately, he said, most of those vehicles had not been transferred to the buyers.
Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa said but for the exercise mounted by the security agencies to retrieve state vehicles, a number of New Patriotic Party (NPP) officials who drove away a number of vehicles would not have returned them.
He said it appeared to the government that the NPP officials and their hangers-on were waiting for the so-called invasion of the security agencies before they returned the cars and help them to build their non-lethal arsenal of false complaints against the government.
“Indeed, the presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, only returned two official four wheel-drive vehicles that were in his possession for more than a year because he realised the security agencies were closing in on him,” he said.
He said while the government had had occasion to apologise to some personalities over the unfortunate seizure of their vehicles, those isolated cases could have been avoided, if officials of the Kufuor Administration had left the vehicles and other state properties intact.
Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa said for those officials whose vehicles were more than two years but were undervalued, new values calculated by the official government valuer, who was allegedly sidelined by the intended buyers during the valuation stage, “is what will apply in all cases”.
He said the government had consulted the former appointees, including some former Ministers, through their association, the Association of Former Ministers, and that a lot of correspondence had been exchanged.
According to him, through such communication, Messrs Albert Kan Dapaah, Osei Asibey Antwi and Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, had returned their vehicles.
He said the government was not pursuing those who had licensed their vehicles already but those yet to do so.
He said the government was not unaware of the expectations of Ghanaians on it and would remain focused on its core responsibility of improving their lot so that in 2012, Ghanaians would be the best judge.
“We know what our mandate is and we’ll not at all be detracted by anybody or group to forget about our promises to the people of Ghana. Irrespective of what some people say, the truth is that after careful evaluation and assembling of all the facts, it has been found that the state of the Ghanaian economy is not one to be proud of,” he added.
Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa said the government had not focused on debating and commenting on what he described as the lies of the NPP because it recognised that it had a more important task of halting the deterioration of the economy.
According to him, the prudent management of the economy by Prof Atta Mills had led to a slowdown in the rate of increase of inflation and the narrowing of the budget deficit of 0.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of the year as compared to the 1.7 per cent recorded for the first quarter of 2008.
On alleged breaches of the Constitution and promotion of ethnicity, Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa said it was strange on the part of the NPP to venture into such terrain and gave the assurance that the Atta Mills’s administration would neither promote nor encourage tribalism as it was evident in the composition of persons from all regions of Ghana in his government.
He said the Atta Mills administration had refrained from referring Ghanaians to the excesses of the Kufuor administration, including deliberate acts to denigrate the NDC by arresting its officials in church and preventing officials from travelling outside the country.
He said the NPP and its officials, fearing that any attempt by the government to investigate them would spell doom for a number of their leading members, had resorted to deliberate screaming through the media, thinking that would stop any such enquiries.
He said the government also found it unfortunate that Dr Kwesi Aning, a security expert, in furtherance of his political bias and attempt to embarrass the Atta Mills administration, should make claims of wanting to seek asylum.
“Quite clearly, the reasons for which he will be seeking the said asylum do not only sound funny, petty and ridiculous but can only be the imagination of a man desirous of finding fault where there’s none. And the platform on which he chose to make the claim and its linkage cannot be lost on us,” he said.
He said the government did not have any intention of pushing him to exile and advised him to report the persons allegedly threatening him to the police.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ALL former government appointees who served under the Kufuor administration and are still in possession of state vehicles which are less than two years old have been given up to the end of this week to return them.
All other appointees who paid less than the value of the vehicles are also to top up their payments before they can legally take possession of them.
A Deputy Information Minister, Mr Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, who gave the directives at a press conference in Accra yesterday, said more than 50 of such vehicles, including 18 which were less than two years, were still in the possession of former appointees under the Kufuor government.
He said the government had made several approaches to the affected appointees but only a few of them had responded, adding that the Presidency, as part of its cost-cutting measures, was not in the mood to buy new vehicles, making some Ministers and Deputy Ministers using their personal vehicles.
He expressed regret that contrary to a February 23, 2005 circular, issued by the former Chief of Staff, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, that vehicles being requested to be bought by users should not be less than two years, such vehicles were not only bought but also undervalued.
Moreover, he said, the government also granted a 30-per cent rebate to the prospective buyers “even after the ridiculous values placed on the vehicles”.
Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa, who was supported by his colleague Deputy Minister, Mr James Agyenim-Boateng, cited that a 2008 Peugeot 607 saloon car in possession of Madam Cecilia Dapaah was valued for her at GH¢6,500, Dr Benjamin Aggrey-Ntim also had his valued at GH¢13,200 and Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, whose 2007 Peugeot saloon car was valued for him at GH¢5,450.
Fortunately, he said, most of those vehicles had not been transferred to the buyers.
Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa said but for the exercise mounted by the security agencies to retrieve state vehicles, a number of New Patriotic Party (NPP) officials who drove away a number of vehicles would not have returned them.
He said it appeared to the government that the NPP officials and their hangers-on were waiting for the so-called invasion of the security agencies before they returned the cars and help them to build their non-lethal arsenal of false complaints against the government.
“Indeed, the presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, only returned two official four wheel-drive vehicles that were in his possession for more than a year because he realised the security agencies were closing in on him,” he said.
He said while the government had had occasion to apologise to some personalities over the unfortunate seizure of their vehicles, those isolated cases could have been avoided, if officials of the Kufuor Administration had left the vehicles and other state properties intact.
Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa said for those officials whose vehicles were more than two years but were undervalued, new values calculated by the official government valuer, who was allegedly sidelined by the intended buyers during the valuation stage, “is what will apply in all cases”.
He said the government had consulted the former appointees, including some former Ministers, through their association, the Association of Former Ministers, and that a lot of correspondence had been exchanged.
According to him, through such communication, Messrs Albert Kan Dapaah, Osei Asibey Antwi and Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, had returned their vehicles.
He said the government was not pursuing those who had licensed their vehicles already but those yet to do so.
He said the government was not unaware of the expectations of Ghanaians on it and would remain focused on its core responsibility of improving their lot so that in 2012, Ghanaians would be the best judge.
“We know what our mandate is and we’ll not at all be detracted by anybody or group to forget about our promises to the people of Ghana. Irrespective of what some people say, the truth is that after careful evaluation and assembling of all the facts, it has been found that the state of the Ghanaian economy is not one to be proud of,” he added.
Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa said the government had not focused on debating and commenting on what he described as the lies of the NPP because it recognised that it had a more important task of halting the deterioration of the economy.
According to him, the prudent management of the economy by Prof Atta Mills had led to a slowdown in the rate of increase of inflation and the narrowing of the budget deficit of 0.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of the year as compared to the 1.7 per cent recorded for the first quarter of 2008.
On alleged breaches of the Constitution and promotion of ethnicity, Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa said it was strange on the part of the NPP to venture into such terrain and gave the assurance that the Atta Mills’s administration would neither promote nor encourage tribalism as it was evident in the composition of persons from all regions of Ghana in his government.
He said the Atta Mills administration had refrained from referring Ghanaians to the excesses of the Kufuor administration, including deliberate acts to denigrate the NDC by arresting its officials in church and preventing officials from travelling outside the country.
He said the NPP and its officials, fearing that any attempt by the government to investigate them would spell doom for a number of their leading members, had resorted to deliberate screaming through the media, thinking that would stop any such enquiries.
He said the government also found it unfortunate that Dr Kwesi Aning, a security expert, in furtherance of his political bias and attempt to embarrass the Atta Mills administration, should make claims of wanting to seek asylum.
“Quite clearly, the reasons for which he will be seeking the said asylum do not only sound funny, petty and ridiculous but can only be the imagination of a man desirous of finding fault where there’s none. And the platform on which he chose to make the claim and its linkage cannot be lost on us,” he said.
He said the government did not have any intention of pushing him to exile and advised him to report the persons allegedly threatening him to the police.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Boniface defends sale of state bungalows
Front Page: Daily Graphic, April 29, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE immediate past Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, has defended the sale of government bungalows to private individuals and appointees under the Kufuor administration, arguing that it was done through due process.
He indicated that the sale of the affected government property was advertised and a committee subsequently set up to supervise it, explaining that the bungalows were not arbitrarily or selectively given out to beneficiaries.
Reacting to a Daily Graphic publication that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government intended to review the sale of all state bungalows, Alhaji Boniface said it was only the Supreme Court that could review the sale, not any administrative decision.
Alhaji Boniface further explained that the sale of government bungalows was not initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration but that it began under the first NDC government of former President J. J. Rawlings.
He said the sales programme was divided into two phases, 1998 to 2003 and 2003 to 2009, saying that “they started it and we only continued with the process”.
The former minister said it was, therefore, strange for anyone in the Mills administration to paint a picture that the sale was illegal or not properly carried out.
He was at a loss as to the basis of the review, after individuals had gone through the process and paid for the property.
“They should not divert the attention of the public to irrelevant issues. If they want, we can open the Pandora’s box and leave it to Ghanaians to judge,” he stated.
Alhaji Boniface expressed surprise that the Subcommittee on Transfer of Executive Assets of the Government Transitional Team never invited him to appear before it to explain or provide information for the committee before putting its report together.
The former Secretary to former President Kufuor, Ambassador D. K. Osei, denied knowledge of the sale of the bungalow that he occupied to any hotel or individual.
“As I speak with you now, I am still occupying the bungalow. No one has informed me that my bungalow has been sold,” he said.
Ambassador Osei said even if it had been sold, he did not have control or authority over the sale and wondered why his name should be listed in the report and not his bungalow.
“I am still a civil servant with the Foreign Service. I have two more years two serve and I have taken a leave of absence without pay,” he said.
He said it was not fair for his name to have been mentioned in the report because he did not have authority over the bungalow, nor was he in charge of the sale.
For his part, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng said the building had been sold to him in 1995 under the Rawlings government for GH¢20,000 after he had responded to an advertisement for its sale.
He, however, said he was later informed that the sale process had suffered a hitch and he was asked to wait until further notice.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng said when the building was advertised for sale by the NPP administration, he approached the ministry with the documents showing that it had already been sold to him but that the process had stalled, explaining that based on that the building was revalued for GH¢250,000 (¢2.5 billion) for him to pay.
“As we speak, I am yet to finish paying. I have all the documents covering the transaction, including the advertisement,” he said.
The Daily Graphic, in its April 28, 2009 issue, published that the government was to review the sale of all state bungalows which were carried out while officials were still in occupation.
The review of the sale was said to be in line with recommendations made by the Subcommittee on Transfer of Executive Assets of the Government Transitional Team which stated that government bungalows were not to be sold under any circumstance.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE immediate past Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, has defended the sale of government bungalows to private individuals and appointees under the Kufuor administration, arguing that it was done through due process.
He indicated that the sale of the affected government property was advertised and a committee subsequently set up to supervise it, explaining that the bungalows were not arbitrarily or selectively given out to beneficiaries.
Reacting to a Daily Graphic publication that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government intended to review the sale of all state bungalows, Alhaji Boniface said it was only the Supreme Court that could review the sale, not any administrative decision.
Alhaji Boniface further explained that the sale of government bungalows was not initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration but that it began under the first NDC government of former President J. J. Rawlings.
He said the sales programme was divided into two phases, 1998 to 2003 and 2003 to 2009, saying that “they started it and we only continued with the process”.
The former minister said it was, therefore, strange for anyone in the Mills administration to paint a picture that the sale was illegal or not properly carried out.
He was at a loss as to the basis of the review, after individuals had gone through the process and paid for the property.
“They should not divert the attention of the public to irrelevant issues. If they want, we can open the Pandora’s box and leave it to Ghanaians to judge,” he stated.
Alhaji Boniface expressed surprise that the Subcommittee on Transfer of Executive Assets of the Government Transitional Team never invited him to appear before it to explain or provide information for the committee before putting its report together.
The former Secretary to former President Kufuor, Ambassador D. K. Osei, denied knowledge of the sale of the bungalow that he occupied to any hotel or individual.
“As I speak with you now, I am still occupying the bungalow. No one has informed me that my bungalow has been sold,” he said.
Ambassador Osei said even if it had been sold, he did not have control or authority over the sale and wondered why his name should be listed in the report and not his bungalow.
“I am still a civil servant with the Foreign Service. I have two more years two serve and I have taken a leave of absence without pay,” he said.
He said it was not fair for his name to have been mentioned in the report because he did not have authority over the bungalow, nor was he in charge of the sale.
For his part, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng said the building had been sold to him in 1995 under the Rawlings government for GH¢20,000 after he had responded to an advertisement for its sale.
He, however, said he was later informed that the sale process had suffered a hitch and he was asked to wait until further notice.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng said when the building was advertised for sale by the NPP administration, he approached the ministry with the documents showing that it had already been sold to him but that the process had stalled, explaining that based on that the building was revalued for GH¢250,000 (¢2.5 billion) for him to pay.
“As we speak, I am yet to finish paying. I have all the documents covering the transaction, including the advertisement,” he said.
The Daily Graphic, in its April 28, 2009 issue, published that the government was to review the sale of all state bungalows which were carried out while officials were still in occupation.
The review of the sale was said to be in line with recommendations made by the Subcommittee on Transfer of Executive Assets of the Government Transitional Team which stated that government bungalows were not to be sold under any circumstance.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
STATE BUNGALOWS NOT FOR SALE 14 cases to be reviewed
Front Page: Daily Graphic, April 28, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE government is to review the sale of all state bungalows which were done while officials were still in occupation.
The review of the sales is in line with recommendations made by the Subcommittee on Transfer of Executive Assets of the Government Transitional Team which stated that government bungalows were not to be sold under any circumstances.
The properties listed for review include No. 1 St Mungo, occupied by and sold to Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, and No. 1 Liberation Road, occupied by and sold to Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
Others are Number 15 Fourth Circular Road, occupied by Capt Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (retd) but given out as gratis to the Sierra Leonean Embassy; No. 59 Fourth Circular Road, occupied by Mr Clement Eledi but sold to the Libyan Embassy; No. 7 Fifth Circular Road, occupied by Mr Alan Kyerematen but sold to Ogun Segun; No. 11 Fifth Circular Road, occupied by Prof C. Ameyaw-Akumfi but sold to Nick Hotel; No 31 First Circular Road, currently vacant but sold to Crystal Hill, and No. 6 Sixth Circular Road, occupied by Ambassador D. K. Osei and sold to Paradise Hotel.
The rest are No. 33 Patrice Lumumba Road, occupied by Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface but sold to Fati Seidu; No. 2 Sixth Circular Road, occupied by Prof Gyan Baffour but sold to Edmund Mills; No. 54 Osu Residential, Ringway Estates, currently vacant but proposed for sale to Poku Edusei and Ras Boateng.
A report by the committee on Government Executive Bungalows noted that the committee’s preliminary investigations showed that many of the bungalows had been sold off or demolished and transferred to non-public officials.
It noted, for instance, that out of the 69 prestige bungalows presented to the committee by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, 11 had been sold, while three had been converted into offices.
According to the committee, the phenomenon was difficult to explain, as it was beyond the comprehension of the committee.
“The executives of state who are caretakers cannot allow the bungalows they are occupying to be sold, either to themselves or to any other persons. This is in breach of Article 284 of the Constitution,” it noted.
Article 284 of the Constitution provides that “A public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts or is likely to conflict with the performance of the functions of his office.” (Conflict of Interest)
The committee, therefore, recommended an investigation into how the prestige bungalows were bought by Nick Hotel, Paradise Hotel, Crystal Hill, Fati Seidu, Edmund Mills and others when high-ranking Ministers of State were occupying them as sitting tenants.
It suggested the need to rationalise the principle of duty-post accommodation to avoid the situation where duty posts were sold to public officers in lieu of official bungalows.
It mentioned those converted into offices as No. 16 Third Avenue, Ridge, Regional Office of IDA, SRF; No. 68 Fifth Avenue Extension, Ridge, Office of the First Lady, and No. 50 Liberation, Ridge, African Centre for Economic Transformation.
The committee further asked the Mills administration to surcharge nine former government appointees the commercial rent and utility bills for illegally staying in government bungalows a year or more after they had resigned or had their appointments terminated by the Kufuor administration.
The affected appointees are Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Dr Geysika Agambilla, Mr Joseph Kofi Addah, Mr Kwamena Bartels, Ms Christine Churcher, Mr Majeed Haroun, Ms Gloria Akuffo, Capt Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (retd) and Mr Alan Kyerematen.
According to the committee, a principle should be established whereby the situation where government appointees whose appointments with government were terminated continued to occupy official government accommodation should be totally discouraged.
“For that reason, the above-listed persons who continue to illegally occupy government accommodation should be surcharged for all utilities, as well as rent calculated at commercial rate,” it noted.
It expressed regret that contrary to the principles of conduct of government business, state lodges were given out free to political appointees and family members.
It mentioned five beneficiaries of such lodges at the Cantonments area as Mrs Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, SSNIT lodges near the 37 Military Hospital for four years; Mr Kofi Kufuor, Kulpawn Lodge, two years; Nana Ama, Bosumtwi Lodge, three years; Ivor Agyeman-Duah, Sakumo Lodge, two years, and Mr Kofi Adomako, Ankobra Lodge, the duration of stay not indicated.
Touching on the Peduase Lodge, the committee said substantial questions had been raised about the quality of work done so far and proposed an investigation into the project.
It said the total cost of the project, which was awarded on contract on January 2, 2006 by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing and included the infrastructure upgrading of the Peduase village, was GH¢22,469,662.27.
The government further recommended the suspension of rehabilitation works on the Australia House immediately, while a technical audit be conducted to establish who really the contractors were and to retrieve all the movable property, such as equipment, furniture and television sets, removed by Super Care Group Ltd.
It noted that the Australia House, which was extensively rehabilitated in 2000, was now in very appalling conditions.
“The POP and the T&G ceiling in all the rooms have been ripped off. The wooden floor in the rooms has also been ripped off. All the furnishing items have been removed. The swimming pool is full of fungi,” it noted.
According to the committee, the conduct of work at site, starting from the engagement of contractors to the appointment of Mr Oppong Bio, a private financier, to fund the project, was done without due process.
“Sheila Sackey from the National Security Office who became the Comptroller of Household in the Office of the President gave out the contracts by word of mouth. One of the subcontractors on site, Super Care Group Ltd, an air condition servicing company, has brought in another private company, Prime Constructions Ltd, to undertake civil works valued at GH¢721,914.54. Super Care Group does not possess the requisite qualification and certification to undertake such a job. An attempt to bring in AESL belatedly was frustrated by Sheila, the Comptroller,” it said.
The committee, therefore, directed that a competent contractor be appointed to rehabilitate the Australia House immediately, which had been serving as a guest house for visiting VIPs.
It asked that Ms Sackey be recalled by the National Security Co-ordinator and investigated, which should be without prejudice to charges that might be levelled against her by a commission of inquiry.
It directed State Protocol and the Prestige Unit of the Public Works Department to assess the state of neglected and abandoned lodges in the Upper West, Volta, Central and Western regions.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE government is to review the sale of all state bungalows which were done while officials were still in occupation.
The review of the sales is in line with recommendations made by the Subcommittee on Transfer of Executive Assets of the Government Transitional Team which stated that government bungalows were not to be sold under any circumstances.
The properties listed for review include No. 1 St Mungo, occupied by and sold to Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, and No. 1 Liberation Road, occupied by and sold to Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
Others are Number 15 Fourth Circular Road, occupied by Capt Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (retd) but given out as gratis to the Sierra Leonean Embassy; No. 59 Fourth Circular Road, occupied by Mr Clement Eledi but sold to the Libyan Embassy; No. 7 Fifth Circular Road, occupied by Mr Alan Kyerematen but sold to Ogun Segun; No. 11 Fifth Circular Road, occupied by Prof C. Ameyaw-Akumfi but sold to Nick Hotel; No 31 First Circular Road, currently vacant but sold to Crystal Hill, and No. 6 Sixth Circular Road, occupied by Ambassador D. K. Osei and sold to Paradise Hotel.
The rest are No. 33 Patrice Lumumba Road, occupied by Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface but sold to Fati Seidu; No. 2 Sixth Circular Road, occupied by Prof Gyan Baffour but sold to Edmund Mills; No. 54 Osu Residential, Ringway Estates, currently vacant but proposed for sale to Poku Edusei and Ras Boateng.
A report by the committee on Government Executive Bungalows noted that the committee’s preliminary investigations showed that many of the bungalows had been sold off or demolished and transferred to non-public officials.
It noted, for instance, that out of the 69 prestige bungalows presented to the committee by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, 11 had been sold, while three had been converted into offices.
According to the committee, the phenomenon was difficult to explain, as it was beyond the comprehension of the committee.
“The executives of state who are caretakers cannot allow the bungalows they are occupying to be sold, either to themselves or to any other persons. This is in breach of Article 284 of the Constitution,” it noted.
Article 284 of the Constitution provides that “A public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts or is likely to conflict with the performance of the functions of his office.” (Conflict of Interest)
The committee, therefore, recommended an investigation into how the prestige bungalows were bought by Nick Hotel, Paradise Hotel, Crystal Hill, Fati Seidu, Edmund Mills and others when high-ranking Ministers of State were occupying them as sitting tenants.
It suggested the need to rationalise the principle of duty-post accommodation to avoid the situation where duty posts were sold to public officers in lieu of official bungalows.
It mentioned those converted into offices as No. 16 Third Avenue, Ridge, Regional Office of IDA, SRF; No. 68 Fifth Avenue Extension, Ridge, Office of the First Lady, and No. 50 Liberation, Ridge, African Centre for Economic Transformation.
The committee further asked the Mills administration to surcharge nine former government appointees the commercial rent and utility bills for illegally staying in government bungalows a year or more after they had resigned or had their appointments terminated by the Kufuor administration.
The affected appointees are Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Dr Geysika Agambilla, Mr Joseph Kofi Addah, Mr Kwamena Bartels, Ms Christine Churcher, Mr Majeed Haroun, Ms Gloria Akuffo, Capt Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (retd) and Mr Alan Kyerematen.
According to the committee, a principle should be established whereby the situation where government appointees whose appointments with government were terminated continued to occupy official government accommodation should be totally discouraged.
“For that reason, the above-listed persons who continue to illegally occupy government accommodation should be surcharged for all utilities, as well as rent calculated at commercial rate,” it noted.
It expressed regret that contrary to the principles of conduct of government business, state lodges were given out free to political appointees and family members.
It mentioned five beneficiaries of such lodges at the Cantonments area as Mrs Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, SSNIT lodges near the 37 Military Hospital for four years; Mr Kofi Kufuor, Kulpawn Lodge, two years; Nana Ama, Bosumtwi Lodge, three years; Ivor Agyeman-Duah, Sakumo Lodge, two years, and Mr Kofi Adomako, Ankobra Lodge, the duration of stay not indicated.
Touching on the Peduase Lodge, the committee said substantial questions had been raised about the quality of work done so far and proposed an investigation into the project.
It said the total cost of the project, which was awarded on contract on January 2, 2006 by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing and included the infrastructure upgrading of the Peduase village, was GH¢22,469,662.27.
The government further recommended the suspension of rehabilitation works on the Australia House immediately, while a technical audit be conducted to establish who really the contractors were and to retrieve all the movable property, such as equipment, furniture and television sets, removed by Super Care Group Ltd.
It noted that the Australia House, which was extensively rehabilitated in 2000, was now in very appalling conditions.
“The POP and the T&G ceiling in all the rooms have been ripped off. The wooden floor in the rooms has also been ripped off. All the furnishing items have been removed. The swimming pool is full of fungi,” it noted.
According to the committee, the conduct of work at site, starting from the engagement of contractors to the appointment of Mr Oppong Bio, a private financier, to fund the project, was done without due process.
“Sheila Sackey from the National Security Office who became the Comptroller of Household in the Office of the President gave out the contracts by word of mouth. One of the subcontractors on site, Super Care Group Ltd, an air condition servicing company, has brought in another private company, Prime Constructions Ltd, to undertake civil works valued at GH¢721,914.54. Super Care Group does not possess the requisite qualification and certification to undertake such a job. An attempt to bring in AESL belatedly was frustrated by Sheila, the Comptroller,” it said.
The committee, therefore, directed that a competent contractor be appointed to rehabilitate the Australia House immediately, which had been serving as a guest house for visiting VIPs.
It asked that Ms Sackey be recalled by the National Security Co-ordinator and investigated, which should be without prejudice to charges that might be levelled against her by a commission of inquiry.
It directed State Protocol and the Prestige Unit of the Public Works Department to assess the state of neglected and abandoned lodges in the Upper West, Volta, Central and Western regions.
No fears for electricity * ECG, VRA, GridCO assure
Front Page: Daily Graphic, April 28, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE three key players in the country’s energy supply chain say they are in good position to meet the electric energy needs of the country for 2009 and beyond.
While the Volta River Authority (VRA), the main producer of electric energy in Ghana, said it would meet the national demand of 1,562 Megawatts (MW), leaving a reserve of 227 MW, the Ghana Grid Company (GridCo), for its part, said a number of activities were underway to improve upon system performance and reliability by reducing the effects of obsolete equipment or redundancies. The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), for its part, said it had made huge investments in the expansion of its infrastructure to ensure adequate and reliable power supply to its customers within three to six months.
While the ECG distributes the energy produced by the VRA, GridCo is the sole transmitter, providing the lines for the distribution of the energy generated.
The chief executive officers of the VRA and GridCO, Owura Sarfo and Mr Joseph Wiafe, respectively, and the Managing Director of the ECG, Mr Jude Adu-Amankwah, announced these measures at a joint press conference in Accra yesterday on short to long-term plans to meet the country’s energy needs.
Owura Sarfo said the total national installed capacity of electric power plants was 1,916MW.
The plants, he said, were from the Akosombo Hydro Generating Station, the Kpong Hydro Generating Station, the Takoradi Thermal Plant Station (TAPCO), the Takoradi Thermal International Company (TICO), a new thermal plant, the Tema 1 Thermal Plant, and an 80MW thermal plant built by a consortium of mining companies in Ghana and handed over to the VRA for operation to support the supply base.
“Also available to support the power supply is a limited amount of power imports, currently 10MW, from CIE of Cote d’Ivoire,” he added.
Owura Sarfo said the reserve margin of 227MW available at any time could either be reserve capacity on a running generating unit or a reserve machine waiting to be connected to the system, saying that “in the event of a sudden change in the demand-supply balance, the reserve capacities on running machines are immediately called upon to correct the imbalance”.
The CEO of the VRA said the inclusion of the 200MW Sunon Asogli Plant and the implementation of a number of projects, including the Bui Plant, expansion works in Takoradi and private producer initiatives, should help address the power needs of the country and make some available for export.
For his part, Mr Wiafe said the power network was faced with overage and obsolete equipment, overloaded facilities due to inability to increase capacity to match demand, among others.
He said it was to address the effects of the state of the national power system that GridCO had installed the Automatic Frequency Load Shedding (AFLS) system to prevent total collapse of the power system.
He said it was to deal with some of the challenges that the company was constructing a number of transmission lines, including the Kumasi-Obuasi line, the Aboadze-Tema line, a third Accra Bulk Supply Point at Agyirigano, and doubling the capacity of the Mallam substation to improve power supply to Accra West.
He said all the projects, which also included the replacement of all equipment at the Volta and Akosombo switching stations and the construction of a second Bulk Supply Point in Kumasi, were scheduled to be completed between 2009 and 2011.
Mr Adu-Amankwah conceded that the ECG had not been able to expand its capacity to meet the seven and eight per cent annual energy growth rate due to lack of funds.
That, he explained, had led to a situation in which most of the network was overloaded.
He, however, said the ECG had secured a number of funding for investment in improving its infrastructure to improve power supply to its customers.
Some of the short-term investments, he said, were GH¢492,383 in Accra East, GH¢399,305 for Accra West, GH¢606,260 for Tema and GH¢529,653 for Ashanti West.
The rest are GH¢1.152 million for Ashanti East, GH¢916,865 for Western, GH¢1,392 million for Volta, GH¢483,966 for Central and GH¢362,287 for Eastern regions.
Mr Adu-Amankwah, who also outlined the medium to long-term investment plans, said the funds, which were being sourced from both donor and government of Ghana sources, were largely available.
Responding to questions on government subsidy, he said the subject was in the domain of the government and not that of the ECG.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE three key players in the country’s energy supply chain say they are in good position to meet the electric energy needs of the country for 2009 and beyond.
While the Volta River Authority (VRA), the main producer of electric energy in Ghana, said it would meet the national demand of 1,562 Megawatts (MW), leaving a reserve of 227 MW, the Ghana Grid Company (GridCo), for its part, said a number of activities were underway to improve upon system performance and reliability by reducing the effects of obsolete equipment or redundancies. The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), for its part, said it had made huge investments in the expansion of its infrastructure to ensure adequate and reliable power supply to its customers within three to six months.
While the ECG distributes the energy produced by the VRA, GridCo is the sole transmitter, providing the lines for the distribution of the energy generated.
The chief executive officers of the VRA and GridCO, Owura Sarfo and Mr Joseph Wiafe, respectively, and the Managing Director of the ECG, Mr Jude Adu-Amankwah, announced these measures at a joint press conference in Accra yesterday on short to long-term plans to meet the country’s energy needs.
Owura Sarfo said the total national installed capacity of electric power plants was 1,916MW.
The plants, he said, were from the Akosombo Hydro Generating Station, the Kpong Hydro Generating Station, the Takoradi Thermal Plant Station (TAPCO), the Takoradi Thermal International Company (TICO), a new thermal plant, the Tema 1 Thermal Plant, and an 80MW thermal plant built by a consortium of mining companies in Ghana and handed over to the VRA for operation to support the supply base.
“Also available to support the power supply is a limited amount of power imports, currently 10MW, from CIE of Cote d’Ivoire,” he added.
Owura Sarfo said the reserve margin of 227MW available at any time could either be reserve capacity on a running generating unit or a reserve machine waiting to be connected to the system, saying that “in the event of a sudden change in the demand-supply balance, the reserve capacities on running machines are immediately called upon to correct the imbalance”.
The CEO of the VRA said the inclusion of the 200MW Sunon Asogli Plant and the implementation of a number of projects, including the Bui Plant, expansion works in Takoradi and private producer initiatives, should help address the power needs of the country and make some available for export.
For his part, Mr Wiafe said the power network was faced with overage and obsolete equipment, overloaded facilities due to inability to increase capacity to match demand, among others.
He said it was to address the effects of the state of the national power system that GridCO had installed the Automatic Frequency Load Shedding (AFLS) system to prevent total collapse of the power system.
He said it was to deal with some of the challenges that the company was constructing a number of transmission lines, including the Kumasi-Obuasi line, the Aboadze-Tema line, a third Accra Bulk Supply Point at Agyirigano, and doubling the capacity of the Mallam substation to improve power supply to Accra West.
He said all the projects, which also included the replacement of all equipment at the Volta and Akosombo switching stations and the construction of a second Bulk Supply Point in Kumasi, were scheduled to be completed between 2009 and 2011.
Mr Adu-Amankwah conceded that the ECG had not been able to expand its capacity to meet the seven and eight per cent annual energy growth rate due to lack of funds.
That, he explained, had led to a situation in which most of the network was overloaded.
He, however, said the ECG had secured a number of funding for investment in improving its infrastructure to improve power supply to its customers.
Some of the short-term investments, he said, were GH¢492,383 in Accra East, GH¢399,305 for Accra West, GH¢606,260 for Tema and GH¢529,653 for Ashanti West.
The rest are GH¢1.152 million for Ashanti East, GH¢916,865 for Western, GH¢1,392 million for Volta, GH¢483,966 for Central and GH¢362,287 for Eastern regions.
Mr Adu-Amankwah, who also outlined the medium to long-term investment plans, said the funds, which were being sourced from both donor and government of Ghana sources, were largely available.
Responding to questions on government subsidy, he said the subject was in the domain of the government and not that of the ECG.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
New foreign service recruits resume work
Page 55: Daily Graphic, April 23, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
TEN out of the 30 new foreign service recruits whose engagement as Foreign Service Officers (FSO) was suspended by the International Relations Sub-committee of the Transition Team earlier this year have resumed work.
The 20 others who allegedly did not qualify or did not apply at all but were included in the list through fraudulent means were replaced by others who qualified but were left out of the original list.
The Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, confirmed to the Daily Graphic yesterday that the suspension of the recruitment exercise was to ensure that the selection process had been fair.
He said as it turned out after the investigations, it was realised that the process was breached but the anomaly had been corrected.
He said the earlier recruitment contravened the 1992 Constitution, which frowns on discrimination, and was also in breach of the rules and regulations for appointment of persons into both the Civil Service and the Ghana Foreign Service.
Throwing more light on the issue, Alhaji Mumuni said on March 18, 2008, an interview panel set up by the Ministry for the final stage of recruitment of 30 persons to fill vacancies in the Branch A5 FSO Grade of the Ministry reported to the former sector minister the ranking of the 155 applicants based on the scores they obtained at the interview.
He said the panel recommended that the top-ranked 30 applicants should fill the advertised vacancies.
Alhaji Mumuni said the former minister on November 21, 2008, however, unilaterally and arbitrarily changed the names of the applicants to be appointed and also increased the prescribed number to be appointed from 30 to 40.
He said the former minister, on January 6, 2009, further wrote to the Head of Civil Service with another list of 12 more appointees into Branch FSO A5 Grade.
According to him, the transition team observed that by increasing the number of appointees to 40 and later sending an additional 12, the then minister ignored the budgetary constraints that persuaded the Ministry of Finance to direct that only 30 of the applicants should be recruited.
“The Minister ignored the grading of applicants submitted by the interview panel by selecting only 10 of the top ranked 30 and replacing applicants with lower-ranked ones in his list of 40 appointees,” he noted.
Alhaji Mumuni said it was also observed that eight persons in the Minister’s list of 40 appointees did not even apply for the vacancies and were neither interviewed nor ranked.
He said it was based on those findings that the team recommended to the Office of the President the review of the recruitment exercise in accordance with the principle of meritocracy and the rule of law.
That, he said, led to the suspension of the exercise.
Alhaji Mumuni said after a review of the exercise, the Ministry decided to engage the 30 top-ranked persons recommended by the interview panel to be recruited, which included the 20 persons who were left out in the first exercise.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring fair play in all its actions.
Story: Albert K. Salia
TEN out of the 30 new foreign service recruits whose engagement as Foreign Service Officers (FSO) was suspended by the International Relations Sub-committee of the Transition Team earlier this year have resumed work.
The 20 others who allegedly did not qualify or did not apply at all but were included in the list through fraudulent means were replaced by others who qualified but were left out of the original list.
The Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, confirmed to the Daily Graphic yesterday that the suspension of the recruitment exercise was to ensure that the selection process had been fair.
He said as it turned out after the investigations, it was realised that the process was breached but the anomaly had been corrected.
He said the earlier recruitment contravened the 1992 Constitution, which frowns on discrimination, and was also in breach of the rules and regulations for appointment of persons into both the Civil Service and the Ghana Foreign Service.
Throwing more light on the issue, Alhaji Mumuni said on March 18, 2008, an interview panel set up by the Ministry for the final stage of recruitment of 30 persons to fill vacancies in the Branch A5 FSO Grade of the Ministry reported to the former sector minister the ranking of the 155 applicants based on the scores they obtained at the interview.
He said the panel recommended that the top-ranked 30 applicants should fill the advertised vacancies.
Alhaji Mumuni said the former minister on November 21, 2008, however, unilaterally and arbitrarily changed the names of the applicants to be appointed and also increased the prescribed number to be appointed from 30 to 40.
He said the former minister, on January 6, 2009, further wrote to the Head of Civil Service with another list of 12 more appointees into Branch FSO A5 Grade.
According to him, the transition team observed that by increasing the number of appointees to 40 and later sending an additional 12, the then minister ignored the budgetary constraints that persuaded the Ministry of Finance to direct that only 30 of the applicants should be recruited.
“The Minister ignored the grading of applicants submitted by the interview panel by selecting only 10 of the top ranked 30 and replacing applicants with lower-ranked ones in his list of 40 appointees,” he noted.
Alhaji Mumuni said it was also observed that eight persons in the Minister’s list of 40 appointees did not even apply for the vacancies and were neither interviewed nor ranked.
He said it was based on those findings that the team recommended to the Office of the President the review of the recruitment exercise in accordance with the principle of meritocracy and the rule of law.
That, he said, led to the suspension of the exercise.
Alhaji Mumuni said after a review of the exercise, the Ministry decided to engage the 30 top-ranked persons recommended by the interview panel to be recruited, which included the 20 persons who were left out in the first exercise.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring fair play in all its actions.
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