Mystery Illness among Global Resources Ghana Staff?

Fifteen colleagues of an oil services worker who died in Ghana are to be flown home.But Global Resources played down claims of a mystery illness among staff in Ghana after the death of pipe fitter Keith McKintosh, from the Black Isle in Ross-shire.The firm's chief executive Paul Wisely confirmed that some staff had complained of "minor" illnesses but said they did not appear to be related.They are to return to Britain after requesting to do so on compassionate grounds after the death of Mr McKintosh.None had "initially" requested to come home due to concerns about illness among the staff, Mr Wisely said."There have been a number of employees who have reported minor ailments, but there is no common thread to them," he said."These have ranged from sunburn and stomach ailments to mild malarial symptoms. Medical facilities and medical support are provided, and no Global employees were transported home from Ghana due to illness."He added that the cause of Mr McKintosh's death was still under investigation. "We expect to hear the results of the post-mortem soon," he said.His body will be repatriated as soon as possible, and a senior member of the company's management team has arrived in Ghana to offer support.Nine men will fly out of Ghana over the weekend. One has already flown home and flights have been arranged out of Ghana for the remaining five employees. The firm said a "significant number" of staff remained in Ghana.
Source:GHP

Corruption seems to Like the Kuffour Family

Newly unsealed documents in the United States federal bribery case against Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, describe a plan to steer profits to the son of the president of Ghana and a frantic effort to get the congressman to revive a lucrative deal in Nigeria as it appeared to unravel.
The newly available documents shed light on a telecommunications deal prosecutors say Jefferson was orchestrating in Ghana. They allege that Eddie Kufuor, son of Ghana President John Agyekum Kufuor, was to push the deal inside the government.
"Jefferson has told (the confidential witness) that is it likely the son of the president of Ghana will receive a share of the profits of a joint venture to be set up in that country in exchange for his assistance in obtaining the necessary approvals for the commencement of the business venture there," the FBI wrote in its search warrant application to search Jefferson's New Orleans home and the office of accountant Jack Swetland. Swetland has not been charged.
The documents show that Eddie Kufuor was one of those who traveled from Washington with Jefferson to Ghana, where the deal was pitched to numerous high-level government officials including the vice president and the minister of communications. Kufuor could not be reached for comment Friday.
The papers also state that Jefferson stored some of the of money he took from an FBI informant in soy burger boxes and other food containers in the freezer his Capitol Hill home.
For nearly two years, the Justice Department resisted legal efforts by The Times-Picayune and The Washington Post to open the records of what the FBI found when it searched Jefferson's homes in Washington and New Orleans, his car and the office of his accountant. Last week, more than a month after Jefferson was indicted by a federal grand jury, the government relented, and the documents were available for inspection Friday.
They contain no major revelations in a case that first burst into public view Aug. 4, 2005, when the FBI served its search warrants in a case that centers on Jefferson's efforts to help land African contracts for iGate Inc., a U.S. telecommunications firm. In June, the government indicted Jefferson on 16 counts of racketeering, bribery, fraud and obstruction of justice. He pleaded innocent and has vowed to clear his name in a trial scheduled for early next year.
The documents fill in some of the blanks in the story of how the government thinks Jefferson sought to profit from the African deals and how investigators see him as a central player in engineering the ventures.
The government alleges that Jefferson received more than $400,000 in bribes and millions of shares of corporate stock for helping iGate gain a foothold in Nigeria and Ghana. By 2005, it appeared that Jefferson had persuaded NITEL, the Nigerian state-owned telecommunications company, to use iGate's high-speed Internet technology, a deal he estimated would be worth $200 million or more.
But in June of that year, according to the documents, the deal appeared to be falling apart. NITEL purchased Chinese telecommunications supplies incompatible with iGate's technology. Wiretaps placed by the FBI overheard businessman Suleiman YahYah, who was the Nigerian contact with NITEL, urge iGate CEO Vernon Jackson to get Jefferson involved, the government said.
"The solution to the problem rested with Congressman Jefferson," the government wrote in its search warrant affidavit.
When FBI agents raided Jefferson's Capitol Hill home, they found $90,000 in his freezer. The money had been handed to Jefferson days earlier by an FBI informant, and prosecutors have noted that the money was neatly wrapped in aluminum foil.
Documents from that search show that the money was in frozen food boxes.
According to the FBI, Jefferson placed $20,000 wrapped in foil and rubber bands inside a Boca Burger box. Boca is known for its organic soy burgers. Another $20,000 was stashed inside a Pillsbury Pie Crust box.
Three stacks of cash containing $10,000 each were found inside a bag from the local "Yes Organic Market" grocer. Two more cash bricks, a total of $20,000, were found simply wrapped in foil in the freezer.
Around his house and in his 1990 Lincoln Town Car, the FBI found numerous documents related to iGate, Nigeria and the telecommunications deal. On the coffee table of his home, agents were careful to note they found a box of Reynolds Wrap, 200 square feet.
Source:times-picayune

CJA kicks against sale of ADB to Stanbic

The Committee for Joint Action (CJA) has become the latest group to kick against the request of Stanbic Bank of South Africa to buy the shares of Bank of Ghana in Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).The CJA, a pressure group made up of opposition parties, said: "The CJA is convinced that the grounds for off-loading the shares of ADB are clearly unacceptable. The process is not transparent and could lend itself to fraudulent manipulation by corrupt officials."Staff of ADB, TUC, Socialist Forum of Ghana and various individuals and organisations have voiced their opposition to off-loading the Central Bank's 48 per cent shares in ADB to Stanbic Bank.CJA said in a statement released in Accra on Thursday that, the main rationale for the deal was contained in recommendations from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), which argued that the fact that the Central Bank, being a regulator of banking, was a shareholder in ADB created a conflict of interest situation. "As a result of this blatantly absurd position, the World Bank and IMF are pressuring the Government of Ghana to off-load the Central Bank's share in the ADB."However, CJA said it saw no conflict of interest in the Bank of Ghana (BOG) owning a little over 48 per cent shares in ADB pointing out that BOG had set up an independent trust to manage its equity. The CJA also pointed out that ADB was doing "fairly well", moving to the fourth largest bank in Ghana with net assets of more than 700 million dollars.It said ADB's involvement in Western Union Money Transfer accounted for between 300 and 400 million per annum, while it had also acquired 10 per cent equity in Ghana International Bank and a significant equity in agricultural enterprises."The fact that agriculture, which accounts for 45 per cent of GDP, only receives six per cent of total bank lending is a pointer to a serious policy failure in the management of the sector. It is a matter that requires urgent national attention. That is a job for the Government and not the ADB."CJA said there was no guarantee that Stanbic would continue to maintain all the strategic branches of ADB and focus on agriculture if it was allowed to take hold of ADB.It asked Stanbic to expand its operations into agriculture, if its interest in the sector was genuine, or establish its own agricultural bank without having to take over the assets of ADB.
Source:GNA

PV Obeng denies ever taking bribe from SCANCOM

Mr P.V. Obeng, a former top advisor under the Provisional Defence Council (PNDC) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) administrations, on Friday de nied claims that he took bribes from Norwegian cement giant, SCANCEM."I know nothing of the alleged payments whatsoever and certainly nothing about the alleged Bank accounts in Switzerland or elsewhere," he said in a statement emailed to GNA from London."I wish to state here and now quite categorically that I have never ever made any admissions or any statements, to any person, in whatever shape or form which can even be remotely interpreted as an admission of receipts of any sums of money as consultancy payments from SCANCEM whilst in public office."Indeed I could not have made any admissions to matters which simply did not happen."An official of the Company who is in court in Norway for embezzlement has said he paid bribes into two separate accounts allegedly owned by Mr Obeng and former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings. Nana Konadu has also dismissed the allegations. Giving his side of the story he said he received and completed a questionnaire for a Norwegian newspaper and then received a phone call whilst in London from a journalist in Ghana."In the very brief conversation the reporter sought to know if I knew about a court case in Norway involving Mr. Tor Kjelsaas and his former employers, Scancem."The very poor connection did not allow for any lengthy conversation, which was in any case terminated when the line got cut off. It appears my simple reply to his queries is now what has been twisted or misinterpreted as my alleged admission to the receipt of millions of dollars for consultancy payments."Mr. Obeng said his Company did some consulting work for the Norwegian company SCANCEM after he left public office in December 1996 and had been paid for its services.He said he registered his consultancy company in the middle of 1997 after leaving public office in December 1996, and began a search for clients.He said in 1998 his consultancy firm was retained by four companies; two from Norway one from the United Kingdom and the other from the United States of America"One of the Norwegian companies was SCANCEM with whom my company entered into a retainer agreement which began in mid 1998 and expired in December, 2006."The monthly retainer fees paid by the company was exceedingly low even by local standards but we continued to work for them with the view of building the necessary foundation for the company and to build a good corporate profile." Mr Obeng said he did not work as a consultant for SCANCEM and SCANCEM never engaged him to work for them in any manner while in public office."Indeed I can emphatically say that during my long stay in pubic office I did not accept to serve on boards of companies, whether public or private, foreign or local because I am acutely aware of the conflict of interest situations I might be placed in. It obviously will defy logic to place myself in such a position in relation to SCANCEM".He said he had referred the matter to his solicitors "with firm instructions to take immediate, necessary and prudential steps to redeem the damage done to my image and reputation and certainly to assert the true state of affairs and specifically to circulate this matter to the Ghanaian Press".
Source:GNA

Parliament approves nominations of 12 Ministers

Parliament on Friday approved the nomination of Mr Akwasi Osei Adjei as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD and Mrs Oboshie Sai-Cofie as Minister of Information and National Orientation.The House also approved the nominations of 10 newly appointed ministers after the Appointments Committee of Parliament presented its report to the House after vetting the nominees.The Ministers are: Mr Ben Aggrey Ntim, Minister of Communications, Nana Akomea, Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment and Mr Joe Baidoo-Ansah, Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiative.Others are: Mr Samuel Owusu-Agyei, Minister of State in- Charge of Public Sector Reforms, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Nana Obiri Boahene, Minister of State at the Ministry of Interior and Ms Cecilia Dapaah, Minister of State at the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing. The rest are: Mr George Benson, Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, Eastern Regional Minister and Mr Alhassan Samari, Upper East Regional Minister.The House later approved an increase in the District Assemblies' Common Fund from the current five per cent to 7.5 of the total national revenue. It takes effect from January 1, 2008.Increasing demands on the assemblies by government institutions such as the Police Service, the creation of new districts and the implementation of the National Youth Employment Programme are some reasons for the upward adjustment of Fund.Members of Parliament called for effective monitoring and oversight responsibility over the Assemblies to ensure the proper utilization of monies sent them.They said the monitoring role of Members and auditing by the appropriate agencies must be strengthened.Meanwhile, the House is expected to rise next week Tuesday after an address by former UN Secretary-General, Busumuru Kofi Annan, at a special meeting to be held in his honour.
Source:GNA

Legon Lecturers Have no Place to Sleep?

The acute accommodation problem at the University of Ghana, Legon, has compelled some lecturers to live in boys' quarters.
Professor Kwesi Yankah, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University, said this on Thursday at a ceremony to formally hand over 11 bungalows at Kisseman in Accra acquired from the defunct Ghana Airways.
Professor Yankah said out of about 800 lecturers, the University had been able to accommodate only 330, adding that the rest were still living with friends and families with some facing possible ejection from their landlords.
He said the concerns showed by the public on accommodation problems of students must equally be demonstrated in the plight of lecturers' accommodation to help boost their morale in the discharge of their duties.
Professor Yankah said the acquisitions of the bungalows were some of the steps taken by the University towards alleviating lecturers' accommodation problems on campus to enhance service delivery.
He said the ability of the University to attract young lecturers to replace the ageing ones was dependent on the provision of decent housing units for them and thanked government for its support towards the acquisition of the bungalows.
In a related development, a delegation from the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) in Saudi Arabia, paid a courtesy call on the Pro-Vice-Chancellor to look at the possibility of areas of cooperation with the University.
Professor Khalid Alujaimi, leader of the delegation, said WAMY had offered to sponsor three students to the doctorate level to any University in the world to enhance the study and teaching of Arabic. Professor Alujaimi said WAMY had already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with over 20 universities in Africa.He added that any cooperation with UG would help afford its students to interact with other sister-universities on the continent and beyond to sharpen their Arabic skills.
Source:GNA

We are not Recruiting People to Work in USA

The US Embassy in Accra on Thursday denied that that it was recruiting people to work in the US. A statement issued in Accra by the US Embassy said: "It has come to the attention of the United States Embassy that certain individuals are disseminating erroneous information about job opportunities in the United States.

"The flyers that have been posted in the Kwame Nkrumah Circle area contain the following information: 'Work in United States: An American Consular Requires 90 Ghanaian workers urgently to be employed in our new Industries....'"The Embassy said it wished to inform the public that it had no knowledge of any on-going recruitment exercise and that persons who dealt with such individuals did so at their own risk. The Embassy said it was working closely with the Ghana Police Service on this issue.