Vetting Cmttee Stays Away From Aliu Mahama

The scheduled, highly anticipated vetting of Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama on Tuesday afternoon turned out to be a no show.The vetting committee had appointed 3:00pm to meet and subject Aliu Mahama through the NPP?s vetting process mandatory for all who aspire to be presidential candidate and lead the party to the 2008 presidential elections.He made it to the venue about five minutes ahead of time but to his surprise, no member of the committee was present. Not even the chairman of the Council of State, Prof. Adzei Bekoe was around, and there was also no communication from the party.

The Vice President who looked disappointed told journalists that the incident was one of a few challenges within the party which he hoped would be addressed.But he repeated expressed his love for the party and Ghanaians and said it would not break his resolve to go for the topmost post.A publication in the PUNCH newspaper on Tuesday suggested the Vice President may not have a valid party ID card, one of the key requirements for flagbearer aspirants.Coming after newspaper publications which suggest the Vice President?s nomination papers may have been leaked, his campaign team is suspicions.

Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, a special aide to the Vice President was of the view that whatever ill-intentions anyone harboured against Aliu Mahama, may not be established. He however, maintained that the party has to explain what caused the obvious embarassment before the next scheduled meeting.So far attempts to get explanation from the party leadership have proved futile.A member of the vetting committee told Joy News he had earlier been informed about the postponement but without further explanation.
Source:JOY ONLINE

Use of arms banned in Anloga and environs

The Ministry of Interior has placed a ban on the carrying of arms in and around Anloga in the Volta Region and an Executive Instrument issued to this effect.

Mr. Kwamena Bartels, Interior Minister, announced the measure when he addressed police personnel dispatched to maintain peace at Anloga, following chieftaincy clashes there on Thursday, in which four people including a police constable were killed.

The Minister of Interior was at Anloga together with Mr. Albert Kan Dapaah, Minister of Defence and Mr. Joe Ghartey, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to assess the situation on the ground. They were taken round the scenes of the clashes including where the body of the police constable was damped near a lagoon and also visited the injured at the Keta District Hospital.Mr. Bartels on Thursday announced an imposition of a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Anloga as part of measures to put the situation under control.

He commended the police for exercising maximum restraint and acting professionally even though they lost a colleague in the fray. Mr. Bartels reminded the police that the crisis was not over and that they would be required to do their very best to enforce law and order, peace and stability in the area while upholding the rights of peace loving people in the area.Addressing a contingent of soldiers, Mr. Dapaah expressed confidence that they would put their peacekeeping experiences both locally and internationally to good effect at Anloga. He asserted that about 99 percent or more of the people at Anloga and its environs were peaceful and that only a few people were responsible for the trouble there.

Mr. Dapaah assured the soldiers that all the logistics and materials required for their operations would be put at their disposal. Except for Anloga where an atmosphere of apprehension could be felt with most of the people keeping to their homes, life in the surrounding communities appeared undisturbed as people were seen on their vegetable farms along the lagoon on Saturday while others went about their businesses.
Source:GNA

Ghana Must Lead Africa's Change-Akuffo Addo

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, one of the aspiring candidates vying for the NPP presidential race, believes it is time the world saw a successful African State and Ghana must take the lead in that direction.He said the integration of the sub-region under the Economic Community of West African States should become a critical part of Ghana's national development.

"We must get involved in the construction of a new West African State in particular and an African State in general”, he pointed out.Nana Akufo-Addo was addressing the NPP chapter of the Tertiary Education Students Confederacy of the University for Development Studies, Wa campus, at Wa on Tuesday, as part of his one-day campaign tour of the region.

Earlier on Saturday in Lagos, Nana Akufo-Addo, who met a group of influential Nigerians, including Vice President Jonathan Goodluck, at a social event, spoke of the need for Ghana and Nigeria to take charge in leading the sub-region of some 240 million people onto a plateau of growth, prosperity and security.He told his Lagosian audience that Ghana and Nigeria can do for West Africa what France and Germany did for continental Europe after the Second World War.

The two opposing sides in that war turned around to work together to build what has now become the European Union, through deepening economic integration and allowing the free movement of people, goods and services among member states.Akufo-Addo, a strong believer in an integrated Africa feels Nigeria and Ghana have a great opportunity to make it happen by driving the process within ECOWAS and beyond.He was also delightfully moved and encouraged by the sense of pan-Africanist consciousness that he witnessed in Nigeria.Back in Ghana, he continued the second leg of his national campaign which took him to the three northern regions. At the UDS, he urged students of the universities to get involved in national development and participate actively in the decision-making process to ensure that the right things were done to enhance the overall development of the people.He said for the nation to move forward, it must utilise her raw materials instead of only exporting it and called for the transformation of the economy, especially the industrial sector to provide jobs for the youth. Earlier, Nana Akufo-Addo paid courtesy calls on the Upper West Regional Minister, George Hikah Benson, the Chief Imam, former NPP Regional Chairman, the Yeri-Naa, the Akan Chief and Elders of Jengbeyiri.
Source:Cynthia Uche Addae

Parliament passes Anti-Money Laundering Bill

Parliament on Friday passed the Anti-Money Laundering Bill.The object of the Bill is to prohibit money laundering, establish a Financial Intelligence Centre and provide for related matters. The House after much debate rejected a proposed amendment that stood in the name of Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, (NPP-Amenfi East) and Mr Freddie Blay, First Deputy Speaker that sought to summarily convict a person for giving false information against a person in relation to a money laundering transaction.Members indicated that such a clause would stifle the flow of information on the illegal activity.The clause had stated that:" A person who maliciously provides false information against any other person in relation to a money laundering transaction commits an offence and is liable on a summary conviction to a fine of not more that five hundred penalty units or a term of not more than three years or both. 02 Nov 07

Dusk to dawn curfew in Anloga and Keta

The Interior Minister, Mr Kwamena Bartels has by Executive Instrument immediately imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on Anloga and Keta to ensure peace, law and order in the area. The 0600 to 1800 hours curfew has been imposed following the explosion of violence in the Anlo Traditional Area over the nomination, confinement and installation of an Awoamefia, resulting in the death of six people, including a policeman."The police and the military will strictly enforce this curfew and anyone, who breaks the curfew, will face the full rigours of the law," Mr Bartels said this at an emergency press conference in Accra on Friday.Mr Bartels noted that in the wake of the violence, the Government, by Executive Instrument had decided to invoke the authority of the Public Order Law 491 to stop any further processes leading to the installation of an Awomefia for the people of Anlo.He said a team of investigators from Ho and the CID Headquarters in Accra were investigating the deaths and had so far arrested 92 people who were being screened to identify the culprits.He said the issue of who was the rightful heir to the Anlo Paramount Stool should be settled through the constitutionally recognized structures of the Regional or National Houses of Chiefs, or the courts and not on the streets of Anlo or Keta or in the media.Mr Bartels said by Executive Instrument, the Minister of Interior had with immediate effect, prohibited all persons in the Anloga and Keta areas from carrying arms or ammunitions.He said though the Government stood by its position of non-interference in chieftaincy affairs it had an over-riding responsibility to ensure peace, tranquillity, law and order. The Minister appealed to traditional and opinion leaders and to all citizens, residents and well-wishers of the Anlo Traditional Area to assist the Government to ensure that calm prevailed.Mrs Oboshie Sai Cofie, Minister of Information and National Orientation, called on the elders of Anlo and Keta to advise the youth and encourage them to use constitutional means to address their problems.Meanwhile, the Fast Track Division of the High Court in Accra on Friday stopped the installation of Francis Nyonyo Agboada, Regent Torgbui Sri III, as the death toll in the riots at Anloga in a protracted chieftaincy dispute rose to six.The court, granting an order for interim injunction, barred the kingmakers, the Anlo Traditional Council and any other persons or institutions involved in the preparation and installation of the Awoamefia of Anlo forthwith "from holding any event to install the person named Fracis Nyonyo Agboada, also known as Regent Torgbui Sri III, as the Awoamefia scheduled for Saturday 3rd November 2007". The court presided over by Justice Marful Sau, an Appeal Court judge sitting as an additional High Court Judge, restrained the same parties from holding any meeting or event concerning or connected to the installation of Regent Torgbui Sri until further notice.The Court further directed that the service of the order be effected by substitution through the electronic and print media. The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Patrick Acheampong, who instituted the action, was represented by Mr Joe Ghartey, Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General and the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ms Gertrude Aikins.Mr Ghartey, in an Ex-Parte motion with supporting affidavit, prayed the Court to restrain the installation of the regent.He said the Anlo Traditional Council gave notice to the police about the installation and it was granted but violence broke out resulting in the death of four persons including a police officer. Mr Ghartey said two more people had been reported dead on Friday and that tension was still high adding that more confusion and bloodshed would happen if the event went ahead.He said unless the parties were restrained by the Court, the installation would go on.Mr Ghartey said the Government had the responsibility of restoring law and order by way of seeking the court order. He said although the IGP withdrew the permit, some people still wanted to go ahead with the installation."If the court should wait after 48 hours, it would be too late. The court should, therefore, grant an instant order since the nature of the case is volatile.He, therefore, prayed for a restraining order through a substituted service which should be published in the print and electronic media. Earlier on Friday, the Police Administration on Friday confirmed the murder of General Constable Moses Daba of the Volta Regional Police Task Force, who was kidnapped while on duty to maintain order in the chieftaincy conflict at Anloga on Thursday.A statement issued by the Police Administration said Crime Scene Management Teams and Detectives from the CID Headquarters had been dispatched to the scene to assist the Volta Regional Police in the investigations into the killing of the Police Constable and the others. The riots started when a faction in the raging chieftaincy dispute tried to prevent the performance of rites at a shrine to pave the way for the installation of Regent Torgbui Sri III as Awoamefia of the Anglo Traditional area.Eyewitnesses said the police clashed with the crowd that tried to stop the performance of the rites at the shrine resulting in three people being killed and several others sustaining injuries. The statement said furthermore, a joint team of police and military personnel had been deployed in Angola to restore order. Police said 94 people had been arrested and screened and 74 of them had been sent to Ho for further investigations."The police are, therefore, appealing to the factions in the conflict to exercise restraint and use all legitimate means to resolve their differences."Furthermore, we also appeal to the residents of the area to volunteer information that might lead to the arrest of those who murdered the Constable and the three civilians." Civilians confirmed dead on Friday are Israel Ahagzi, 28, Mana Senyo, 48, and Menco Tugba, 47.
Source:GNA

Asantehene Will Attend Head of State's Forum

Otumfuo Osei-Tutu II, Asantehene would leave the country on Thursday November 1, for the Federal Republic of Germany to participate in the third African Forum for Heads of State.

He would be accompanied by Nana Otuo Serebour, Juabenghene for the forum, which takes place between 2nd and 4th November at Kloster Eberbach Monastery Conference Centre, in the State of Hesse in Germany.

In a press release issued on Monday from the Manhyia Palace and signed by Mr G.B. Osei-Antwi, Media Relations Manager, Otumfuo would address the forum on Traditions and Modernity. The forum, which would bring together top politicians, businessmen and members of civil society organisations has the theme "Pushing Forward into the 21st Century, The World State of Flux: Answers from Africa and Germany."
Source:GNA

Ghana-Fuel Prices Shoot Up

Prices of fuel in Ghana have shot up after recent upsurge in the prices of crude oil on the world market.The indicative maximum price of premium petrol is now up by 4.11% to 97.78 pesewas per litre from 93.92 pesewas per litter quoted last month.Kerosene also shot up by 8.76% from 79.38 pesewas per litre to 86.25pesewas per litre.However, the indicative maximum price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) shot up significantly by 20.72% from 81.10 pesewas per GHp/Kg to 97.90 pesewas GHp/Kg which may be due to taxi drivers powering their engines with LPG.

The price of gasoline was not spared the shakeup as it also increased by 5.35% from 90.44 pesewas to 95.28 pesewas per litre.The indicative maximum price is a price beyond which an Oil Market Company (OMC) in Ghana is not allowed to sell petroleum products.It could be recalled that Oil prices, traded near a record high of US$93 a barrel and threatens an all time hit of US$100 if political tension and speculation continue in the Middle East, the hub of the oil industry.

Oil hit an all-time high of US$93.07 a barrel yesterday, because of the violence between Turkish soldiers and Kurdish guerrillas and a record low of the US dollar.According to officials from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), oil has risen for reason unrelated to supply and demand and that there is little the exporter group can do to lower price.OPEC is set to raise oil output by 500,000 barrels per day from November 11-18, 2007 in Riyadh for their third Heads of State Summit, an event that is usually a talking shop that makes no decision on supply policy.

Reasons adduced to the increases, according to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the NPA, Mr. Steve Larbi are not far fetched from the indicators on the futures market.The National Petroleum Authority ACT 691 was enacted by the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana to regulate, oversee and monitor activities in the petroleum downstream industry; to establish a Unified Petroleum Price Fund; and to provide for related purposes.
Source:Ghanaian Chronicle