Story: Della Russel Ocloo
A DEPUTY Minister of Information, Mr Mohammed Baba Jamal, has described comments by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lower Manya, Mr Michael Teye Nyaunu, that President Mills is visually impaired as unfortunate.
Responding to the comments made by the MP suggesting that letters meant for the President were read and interpreted to him, Mr Jamal said they were misplaced, since “it is not possible” for the President to read every single letter that was directed to the Presidency on a daily basis.
Mr Nyaunu, the Campaign Co-ordinator of the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, in her bid for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearership, made the suggestion that President Mills could no longer read during a campaign forum for some selected party delegates in the Greater Accra Region.
According to the MP, the President's poor eyesight affects his work and so he needs to be voted out, since he has lost control of affairs.
“When you write a letter to report a minister to the President, he cannot read your letter and these circumstances clearly indicate that the man (President) is not in charge,” the MP had said.
Worse still, he said, persons in whose care the President had entrusted such confidential letters photocopied them and later went to the persons about whom the complaints had been made to report the complainants.
Explaining further, Mr Nyaunu had said the situation had become so serious that many of the people surrounding the President had taken control.
“Every minister is a President and nobody is controlling any minister. They are all on their own,” he told the delegates.
He accused Messrs Ato Ahwoi and P.V. Obeng of usurping the powers of the President.
“The only thing you will hear is that Ato Ahwoi and P.V. would say they are sacking somebody. This is the extent to which we are going but we can’t say this in public,” he told the delegates.
The MP, who expressed surprise at the manner in which the matter had got into the public domain, admitted the comments when quizzed by some media houses.
“I see the comments as infantile, childish and irrelevant to the selection of a candidate,” Mr Jamal said.
He expressed surprise at the fact that the MP, who was seeking to promote a candidate to the high office of the land, would denigrate the same office with such unwarranted criticisms.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
JUBILEE OIL PRODUCTION TO GO UP, DAILY GRAPHIC, APRIL 15, 2011 (BACK PAGE)
Story: Della Russel Ocloo
CRUDE Oil production from the Jubilee Field is expected to shoot up from its present 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 80,000 bpd by next week.
When this is achieved, it will be in line with the Jubilee partners’ strive to attain a production target of 120,000 bpd by August this year.
A source close to Tullow Ghana, the majority shareholder in the Jubilee Field, told the Daily Graphic in Accra that advanced measures are being put in place to achieve the said target.
It explained that following further discoveries, the company was in the process of completing work on the nine production wells to increase its production capacity.
An appraisal well, the source indicated, also confirmed a potential discovery of gas in the Sankofa Basin which would become the first development of non-associated high-quality gas offshore in Ghana.
"In Ghana itself, our appraisal activities this year alone are going to take us close to two billion barrels of oil if our upside predictions come true," it explained.
“And it is our expectation that with further completion coming on stream, we should be able to make the relatively young industry one that will attract the needed economic investment in the country,” it added.
The source said Tullow had plans to carry out a high-impact exploration and drilling that could potentially unlock about five billion barrels of oil at various explorative points across the country.
CRUDE Oil production from the Jubilee Field is expected to shoot up from its present 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 80,000 bpd by next week.
When this is achieved, it will be in line with the Jubilee partners’ strive to attain a production target of 120,000 bpd by August this year.
A source close to Tullow Ghana, the majority shareholder in the Jubilee Field, told the Daily Graphic in Accra that advanced measures are being put in place to achieve the said target.
It explained that following further discoveries, the company was in the process of completing work on the nine production wells to increase its production capacity.
An appraisal well, the source indicated, also confirmed a potential discovery of gas in the Sankofa Basin which would become the first development of non-associated high-quality gas offshore in Ghana.
"In Ghana itself, our appraisal activities this year alone are going to take us close to two billion barrels of oil if our upside predictions come true," it explained.
“And it is our expectation that with further completion coming on stream, we should be able to make the relatively young industry one that will attract the needed economic investment in the country,” it added.
The source said Tullow had plans to carry out a high-impact exploration and drilling that could potentially unlock about five billion barrels of oil at various explorative points across the country.
CORRUPTION STILL WITHIN STATE AGENCIES, US STATE REPORT, DAILY GRAPHIC, APRIL 18, 2011 (FRONT B)
Story: Della Russel Ocloo
The US State Department's 2010 Report on Human Rights in Ghana has indicted the country for corruption, which it says permeates majority of state agencies, regardless of the regulations in place to punish officials.
However, the Minister of Information, Mr John Tia Akologu, has taken exception to some aspects of the report, saying corruption is not anybody’s creation but a canker being dealt with by the government on all fronts.
The report, released in April this year and published on the website of the US State Department, cited the police and judicial officials for corruption, indicating that the police set up barriers to extort money from motorists, whereas judicial officials accepted bribes to expedite or postpone cases or otherwise lose records.
According to the report, it was the expectation of the US government that the numerous cases of embezzlement of public funds by ministries, departments, agencies and district assemblies uncovered during the 2010 Parliament Public Accounts Committee(PAC) hearings would be prosecuted, even as the government made strides to reduce corruption.
It also identified excessive use of force by the police which resulted in deaths and injuries, as well as prolonged pre-trial detention that threatened the condition of criminal suspects, as the worst form of human rights violation.
Expatiating on the human rights situation, the report indicated that although there were no reports that the government or its agents committed politically motivated killings, excessive use of force by the security agencies had resulted in the death of several armed criminal suspects and other persons during the year under review.
It cited an instance when an inmate of the Koforidua Prison died on his way to the hospital on April 28, 2010, with a local newspaper alleging that the deceased prisoner had died from injuries inflicted during torture, as against explanations from prison officials that he had died of illness.
It expressed regret that no post-mortem examination was conducted, as the Police Service denied requests by hospital staff to conduct same.
It also identified violence against women and children, including discrimination against women, gays and lesbians, as well as persons with disabilities as forms of human rights violation.
The report also cited the setting ablaze of an alleged witch in Tema, for which six people were tried, with frequent adjournments of the case, and said action could have been expedited to enable the case to move beyond the district magistrate court to a higher one.
Reacting to the report in an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Akologu expressed surprise at some of its contents and described them as baseless.
According to him, there had been no political situation in the country in which the government had unleashed the police on people, although there had been a few security concerns over the police and armed suspects engaging each other in gun battles which resulted in the death of some suspects.
Mr Akologu described the corruption charges as a canker which was not the making of the current government and indicated the determination of the Mills’s administration to wage a relentless war on corruption.
The US State Department's 2010 Report on Human Rights in Ghana has indicted the country for corruption, which it says permeates majority of state agencies, regardless of the regulations in place to punish officials.
However, the Minister of Information, Mr John Tia Akologu, has taken exception to some aspects of the report, saying corruption is not anybody’s creation but a canker being dealt with by the government on all fronts.
The report, released in April this year and published on the website of the US State Department, cited the police and judicial officials for corruption, indicating that the police set up barriers to extort money from motorists, whereas judicial officials accepted bribes to expedite or postpone cases or otherwise lose records.
According to the report, it was the expectation of the US government that the numerous cases of embezzlement of public funds by ministries, departments, agencies and district assemblies uncovered during the 2010 Parliament Public Accounts Committee(PAC) hearings would be prosecuted, even as the government made strides to reduce corruption.
It also identified excessive use of force by the police which resulted in deaths and injuries, as well as prolonged pre-trial detention that threatened the condition of criminal suspects, as the worst form of human rights violation.
Expatiating on the human rights situation, the report indicated that although there were no reports that the government or its agents committed politically motivated killings, excessive use of force by the security agencies had resulted in the death of several armed criminal suspects and other persons during the year under review.
It cited an instance when an inmate of the Koforidua Prison died on his way to the hospital on April 28, 2010, with a local newspaper alleging that the deceased prisoner had died from injuries inflicted during torture, as against explanations from prison officials that he had died of illness.
It expressed regret that no post-mortem examination was conducted, as the Police Service denied requests by hospital staff to conduct same.
It also identified violence against women and children, including discrimination against women, gays and lesbians, as well as persons with disabilities as forms of human rights violation.
The report also cited the setting ablaze of an alleged witch in Tema, for which six people were tried, with frequent adjournments of the case, and said action could have been expedited to enable the case to move beyond the district magistrate court to a higher one.
Reacting to the report in an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Akologu expressed surprise at some of its contents and described them as baseless.
According to him, there had been no political situation in the country in which the government had unleashed the police on people, although there had been a few security concerns over the police and armed suspects engaging each other in gun battles which resulted in the death of some suspects.
Mr Akologu described the corruption charges as a canker which was not the making of the current government and indicated the determination of the Mills’s administration to wage a relentless war on corruption.
ARICS BLAMED FOR NON PROSECUTION OF OFFICIALS, DAILY GRAPHIC, MAY 11, 2011, (CENTRE SPREAD)
Story: Della Russel Ocloo
The Auditor-General, Mr Richard Quartei Quartey, has blamed the Audit Report Implementation Committees (ARICs) of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for the failure to prosecute those found to have misappropriated state funds.
He said lack of co-operation on the part of the ARICs to implement the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament after it had made adverse findings against some officials was frustrating the work of the Audit Service.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, Mr Quartey said the Auditor-General’s Report was made available to the ARICs before it was presented to Parliament and he was, therefore, surprised that dockets on cases of malfeasance were still non-available.
Mr Quartey, who was reacting to a US State Department 2010 Report on human rights which indicted Ghana on corruption, expressed worry that the situation could undermine the government’s efforts at waging a relentless war against corruption.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mrs Getrude Aikins, in a recent interview, said although the Attorney-General’s Department was willing to prosecute, the non-availability of information from the appropriate investigative bodies had stalled the A-G’s actions.
According to Mr Quartey, majority of the cases of malfeasance were supposed to have been reported by the ARICs which had responsibility to act on the Auditor-General’s Report.
“It is in rare situations that cases of material findings involving large sums of money are immediately reported by the Auditor-General to the police,” he said.
He also expressed dismay at the non-existence of the ARICs at some of the MDAs, saying, “Whereas some MDAs have the committees in place but are malfunctioning, others are yet to establish them."
He said the Audit Service was currently concluding work on the 2010 audit reports on the Consolidated Fund, which would be presented to Parliament in June.
He expressed the fear that efforts being made by the service to clear audit report arrears would be undermined by the inaction of the ARICs.
Mr Quartey called on the committees to ensure that issues arising out of the Auditor-General’s Report were dealt with appropriately in order to enhance the government’s fight against corruption.
The Auditor-General, Mr Richard Quartei Quartey, has blamed the Audit Report Implementation Committees (ARICs) of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for the failure to prosecute those found to have misappropriated state funds.
He said lack of co-operation on the part of the ARICs to implement the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament after it had made adverse findings against some officials was frustrating the work of the Audit Service.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, Mr Quartey said the Auditor-General’s Report was made available to the ARICs before it was presented to Parliament and he was, therefore, surprised that dockets on cases of malfeasance were still non-available.
Mr Quartey, who was reacting to a US State Department 2010 Report on human rights which indicted Ghana on corruption, expressed worry that the situation could undermine the government’s efforts at waging a relentless war against corruption.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mrs Getrude Aikins, in a recent interview, said although the Attorney-General’s Department was willing to prosecute, the non-availability of information from the appropriate investigative bodies had stalled the A-G’s actions.
According to Mr Quartey, majority of the cases of malfeasance were supposed to have been reported by the ARICs which had responsibility to act on the Auditor-General’s Report.
“It is in rare situations that cases of material findings involving large sums of money are immediately reported by the Auditor-General to the police,” he said.
He also expressed dismay at the non-existence of the ARICs at some of the MDAs, saying, “Whereas some MDAs have the committees in place but are malfunctioning, others are yet to establish them."
He said the Audit Service was currently concluding work on the 2010 audit reports on the Consolidated Fund, which would be presented to Parliament in June.
He expressed the fear that efforts being made by the service to clear audit report arrears would be undermined by the inaction of the ARICs.
Mr Quartey called on the committees to ensure that issues arising out of the Auditor-General’s Report were dealt with appropriately in order to enhance the government’s fight against corruption.
THE CASE OF 72-YEAR OLD WOMAN, COURT ADJOURNS CASE, DAILY GRAPHIC, MAY 10, 2011 (PAGE 3)
Story: Della Russel Ocloo, Tema
The Tema Magistrate's Court hearing the case in which six people have been charged for allegedly burning a 72-year-old woman, leading to her death, has again adjourned the case to May 23, 2011 to await advice on the docket from the Attorney-General’s (A-G’s) Department.
The trial magistrate, Mrs Johana Yankson, who was not amused at the slow pace at which the case was travelling, did not mince words when the prosecution made the request for an adjournment.
She cautioned that the fact that similar cases had been pending in various courts awaiting advice on dockets from the AG’s Department did not mean that any delay on dockets should be accepted as a norm.
Counsel for the six accused persons, Mr William Lumor, was not in court when the case was called.
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Emmanuel Addai, told the court that the docket was sent to the AG’s Department for advice in December 2010 after the police had received the pathologist report on the deceased.
He said checks at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Registry revealed that the docket was still receiving attention at the AG’s Department and pleaded for more time.
Mrs Yankson, however, objected but adjourned the case for two weeks because counsel for the accused did not turn up.
She further tasked the prosecutor to follow up and report accordingly to the court on the next adjourned date.
The principal suspect, Samuel Ghunney, in a dramatic twist, ran after the Daily Graphic photographer, Ms Roseline Abban, for attempting to take photographs of him outside the court premises.
A fear-stricken Ms Abban ran to Mr Kwamena Ofosu Yeboah, the son of the deceased, Ama Ahimah, who was also in court to observe proceedings, to avoid being attacked by the suspect.
“So you people do not have any work to do apart from taking photographs of me to be posted onto BBC?” Ghunney asked.
The suspects, Ghunney, a 50-year-old photographer, and Emelia Opoku, a 37-year-old teacher, with the support of Samuel Fletcher Sagoe, 55, an evangelist; Nancy Nana Ama Akrofie, 46; Hannah Sagoe and Mary Sagoe, 52, were alleged to have tortured and set ablaze the old woman, leading to her death, when she strayed into their compound at Community One, Site 7 in Tema.
The deceased, Ama Ahimah, a native of Ajumako Asassan in the Central Region, was said to have been doused with kerosene laced with petrol and set ablaze on November 20, 2010. She passed on a day later.
The Tema Magistrate's Court hearing the case in which six people have been charged for allegedly burning a 72-year-old woman, leading to her death, has again adjourned the case to May 23, 2011 to await advice on the docket from the Attorney-General’s (A-G’s) Department.
The trial magistrate, Mrs Johana Yankson, who was not amused at the slow pace at which the case was travelling, did not mince words when the prosecution made the request for an adjournment.
She cautioned that the fact that similar cases had been pending in various courts awaiting advice on dockets from the AG’s Department did not mean that any delay on dockets should be accepted as a norm.
Counsel for the six accused persons, Mr William Lumor, was not in court when the case was called.
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Emmanuel Addai, told the court that the docket was sent to the AG’s Department for advice in December 2010 after the police had received the pathologist report on the deceased.
He said checks at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Registry revealed that the docket was still receiving attention at the AG’s Department and pleaded for more time.
Mrs Yankson, however, objected but adjourned the case for two weeks because counsel for the accused did not turn up.
She further tasked the prosecutor to follow up and report accordingly to the court on the next adjourned date.
The principal suspect, Samuel Ghunney, in a dramatic twist, ran after the Daily Graphic photographer, Ms Roseline Abban, for attempting to take photographs of him outside the court premises.
A fear-stricken Ms Abban ran to Mr Kwamena Ofosu Yeboah, the son of the deceased, Ama Ahimah, who was also in court to observe proceedings, to avoid being attacked by the suspect.
“So you people do not have any work to do apart from taking photographs of me to be posted onto BBC?” Ghunney asked.
The suspects, Ghunney, a 50-year-old photographer, and Emelia Opoku, a 37-year-old teacher, with the support of Samuel Fletcher Sagoe, 55, an evangelist; Nancy Nana Ama Akrofie, 46; Hannah Sagoe and Mary Sagoe, 52, were alleged to have tortured and set ablaze the old woman, leading to her death, when she strayed into their compound at Community One, Site 7 in Tema.
The deceased, Ama Ahimah, a native of Ajumako Asassan in the Central Region, was said to have been doused with kerosene laced with petrol and set ablaze on November 20, 2010. She passed on a day later.
FACTOR LOCAL CONTENT IN NATIONAL ICT, DAILY GRAPHIC, MAY 12, 2011 (Centre Spread)
Story: Charles Benoni Okine & Della Russel Ocloo
Communications Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has called on the national Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy Review Task Force to incorporate local content in the ICT policy to provide a better platform for local companies to participate actively in the sector.
He said local companies had been largely left out of the booming ICT sector and underscored the need for the new policy to provide opportunities for them.
Mr Iddrisu made the call at the launch of the National ICT Policy Review Forum in Accra Wednesday. The two-day forum, which is being attended by experts in the sector, will consider policies on cyber security, broadband policy, geo-information and ICT, climate change and the environment.
According to the minister, a World Bank study had revealed that there was a boost of 1.38 percentage points to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for every 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration.
Presently in Ghana, broadband penetration stands at about five per cent and it is expected to grow faster in the coming years with the entry of optic fibre networks such as Main One, Glo 1, as well as MTN.
“Having made significant strides in expanding telephone subscription to over 17 million and growing, Ghana should now be focusing on broadband penetration to ensure efficient Internet services in the country,” Mr Iddrisu said.
“Today, the e-Government Network Infrastructure project to provide broadband access for the districts is ready,” he added.
The National Communications Backbone Company has terrestrial fibre optic transmission network that runs from Accra through Takoradi, Kumasi, Sunyani and Wa to Paga and Tamale and back to Accra through Techiman, Kumasi, Nkawkaw, Ho, Akosombo and Tema.
The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, in a speech read on his behalf by the Head of Policy Monitoring and Evaluation at the Presidency, Dr Tony Aidoo, commended the ministry’s decision to review the policy to cover new areas.
According to him, the development of broadband policy was necessary to satisfy universal obligations and promote efficiency of use.
He indicated that climate change and the environment required the development of new policies that would improve technology transfer, mitigation and adaptation.
On cyber security, Mr Mahama said over 24 high-profile cyber attacks were reported in the first three months of 2011, with the EU, the Australian Parliament and several organisations falling victim.
That, he said, was an indication for the development of a comprehensive security policy, along with reporting mechanisms, to discourage such illegalities.
The Chairman of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Professor Nii Narku Quaynor, expressed regret that Internet penetration had become less attractive, although Ghana pioneered the approach, and called for a periodic review of the country’s ICT policies.
The United Nation’s Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director for Ghana, Mr Kamil Kamaludeen, for his part, urged the task force to again take a critical look at the regulatory framework to anticipate the future development of the sector, while considering infrastructure to take care of the interests of all sectors of the economy.
Communications Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has called on the national Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy Review Task Force to incorporate local content in the ICT policy to provide a better platform for local companies to participate actively in the sector.
He said local companies had been largely left out of the booming ICT sector and underscored the need for the new policy to provide opportunities for them.
Mr Iddrisu made the call at the launch of the National ICT Policy Review Forum in Accra Wednesday. The two-day forum, which is being attended by experts in the sector, will consider policies on cyber security, broadband policy, geo-information and ICT, climate change and the environment.
According to the minister, a World Bank study had revealed that there was a boost of 1.38 percentage points to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for every 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration.
Presently in Ghana, broadband penetration stands at about five per cent and it is expected to grow faster in the coming years with the entry of optic fibre networks such as Main One, Glo 1, as well as MTN.
“Having made significant strides in expanding telephone subscription to over 17 million and growing, Ghana should now be focusing on broadband penetration to ensure efficient Internet services in the country,” Mr Iddrisu said.
“Today, the e-Government Network Infrastructure project to provide broadband access for the districts is ready,” he added.
The National Communications Backbone Company has terrestrial fibre optic transmission network that runs from Accra through Takoradi, Kumasi, Sunyani and Wa to Paga and Tamale and back to Accra through Techiman, Kumasi, Nkawkaw, Ho, Akosombo and Tema.
The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, in a speech read on his behalf by the Head of Policy Monitoring and Evaluation at the Presidency, Dr Tony Aidoo, commended the ministry’s decision to review the policy to cover new areas.
According to him, the development of broadband policy was necessary to satisfy universal obligations and promote efficiency of use.
He indicated that climate change and the environment required the development of new policies that would improve technology transfer, mitigation and adaptation.
On cyber security, Mr Mahama said over 24 high-profile cyber attacks were reported in the first three months of 2011, with the EU, the Australian Parliament and several organisations falling victim.
That, he said, was an indication for the development of a comprehensive security policy, along with reporting mechanisms, to discourage such illegalities.
The Chairman of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Professor Nii Narku Quaynor, expressed regret that Internet penetration had become less attractive, although Ghana pioneered the approach, and called for a periodic review of the country’s ICT policies.
The United Nation’s Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director for Ghana, Mr Kamil Kamaludeen, for his part, urged the task force to again take a critical look at the regulatory framework to anticipate the future development of the sector, while considering infrastructure to take care of the interests of all sectors of the economy.
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