People, Places and Events
SIERRA LEONE
Elections to endorse General Momoh
Major-General Joseph Momoh was expected to be endorsed as President of the country in the October 1 elections in succes- sion to retired President Siaka Stevens. As the sole candidate of the country's only political party, All People's Congress, Gen. Momoh's victory has been considered a formality.The selection of Gen. Momoh who is 48 and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, as the sole candidate of APC has been seen as a wise decision to stem the probability of a military takeover after the retirement of President Siaka Stevens.
But Gen. Momoh has pledged to lead an administration constituted by civilians elected in accordance with the constitution.
Mano Union in financial problems
Work at the secretariat of the Mano River Union regional grouping has virtually stopped because the organisation's three member states - Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea owe its secretariat millions of dollars.Union Secretary-General Augustus Caine, told newsmen that Guinea owed two and a half million dollars, Sierra Leone two million and Liberia 1.25 million.
Lack of cash meant that work at the group's headquarters in Freetown has slowed to a virtual standstill, Union sources said.
Salaries for the 350 staff go unpaid for months and the cash squeeze is compoun- ded by a chronic shortage of transport and will be disappointing to voters, and the fuel in Sierra Leone's capital which often people of Liberia. make it impossible for people to get to work.
Union summit cancelled
A one-day summit of the Mano River union which was to bring together the heads of state from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone on September 27, has been cancelled. The Sierra Leone Foreign Minister said both President Lansana Conte of Guinea and Liberian Head of State Samuel Doe, could not attend the meeting.No official reasons were given for the leaders' inability to attend. Mr Doe faces presidential elections on October 15 which are due to return his country to civilian government after five years of military rule. Mano Union officials contacted about the cancellation were unable to say when the summit might now be held. The union, named after the river which cuts through the three member states, was formed in 1973 with the aim of creating a customs and economic union.
LIBERIA
Parties threaten boycott
Three of the four political parties in the country have pleaded with the Interim National Assembly (INA) and the Special Elections Commission, SECOM, to uphold sections 4.9 to 4.11 of chapter four of the elections law of Liberia. The parties, in a joint statement issued in Monrovia, said sections 4.9 to 4.11 grant all political parties and candidates the right of representation at the polls to inspect booths, ballot boxes, observe and witness the counting of ballots and votes cast for each candidate.The joint statement, issued by the Unity Party (UP), the Liberia Action Party (LAP), and the Liberia Unification Party (LUP), said such representation will ensure acceptance of whatever results were signed by the Clerk of Elections, his assistants and party representatives. The four political parties in the country have been meeting with SECOM to resolve the issue of party representation at the casting and counting of ballots.
The statement, signed by the standard bearers and witnessed by the national chairmen of UP, LAP and LUP, said the granting of these rights was the funda- mental basis of a fair election for a true democratic return to civilian rule. The joint statement, which was read by LAP's National Chairman, Counsellor Tuan Wreh, at the HQ of the UP, also said should SECOM not fully implement the elections law, they will have no confidence in the voting and the results of the elections ... and shall therefore not participate in the ensuing general elections and to do so
Gen. Doe reacts to boycott threat
Head of State Samuel Doe has, meanwhile, warned that the boycott threat was "an attempt to dictate to the Elections Commis- sion. They have accepted their defeat already and so they want to delay the whole process," said Gen. Doe, who is presiden- tial candidate of the National Democratic Party. The elections would not be post- poned, he said, adding: "As far as we know, the elections will be free and fair."Dismissal of Minister of Labour
The Minister of Labour, Brig-Gen. Frank Senkpeni, has been dismissed by the Head of State, Gen. Samuel K. Doe, for seeking the welfare and interest of workers of the Firestone Rubber Plantation Company. According to the press secretary to the Head of State, Mr Patrick Kon Gen. Doe took the decision following a visit to the Firestone Rubber Plantation Company at which time the workers informed him that Minister Senkpeni failed to seek their interests as labour workers.Funds for new national radio station
Head of State President of the Inter National Assembly, Gen. Samuel Kany Doe, has presented an amount of more than 256,000 dollars to the Liberian Broadcasting System, LBS. Presenting the cheque, the head of state re-emphasised the desire that a new national radio station which the contributions are being made would be heard worldwide.Receiving the cheque, Mr Washingt (LBS Director General) thanked the Head of State for his far-sightedness in creating the project and assured him that the fur will be utilised in the best interest of the Liberian people.
CHAD
Nigerian goodwill delegation
President Hissein Habre has received in an audience with a Nigerian envoy, Ukpabi Asika a message from General Babingida. The Nigerian envoy said he spoke to the President about the desire of Lagos to see that its borders with Chad reopened as soon as possible. Mr Asika added that in view of Chad's land-locked position, his country would reopen its borders as part of the policy of the interdependence of states in the region.Nigeria needed to maintain commercial relations with Chad, and fervently hoped that the borders would be open again within a reasonable period of time, Mr Asika said, adding that the reopening of the borders did not concern Chad alone, but also other neighbouring countries.
On bilateral relations, the Nigerian envoy said his country intended further to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and good-neighbourliness. He expressed the hope that President Habre's policy of national reconciliation would yield results so that the Chad people would be united in coping with the development problems facing the country. Finally, Mr Asika expressed the hope that peace returns to Chad and also that relations between Nigeria and Chad would improve with the change in Government and would last
Cabinet reshuffle
The Government of the Republic of Chad has been reorganised as follows: Mr Mahamat Nour Malaye has been appointed Minister of Health in place of Mr Kobila Djimasta who has been reassigned to another post. Mr Yoyama Baniara has been appointed Minister of Transport in place of Lol Mahamat Choua who has been reassig- ned to another post. Mr Seid Banche has been appointed Secretary of State for Agri- culture and Rural Development in place of Mr Salet Djiguir who has been reassigned to another post.BURKINA FASO
Border demarcation agreement
The Council of Ministers has met under the chairmanship of Capt. Thomas Sankara, the Chairman of the National Council of the Revolution. The council examined items on its agenda and noted with satisfaction the agreement reached between the national border commission and its Mali counterpart for the demarcation of 1,000km of the common border.This phase of the border demarcation did not result in any contestation. This first stage, which will certainly lead the way to further cooperation, is a sign of good understanding as far as the final demarca- tion of the Mali-Burkinabe border is concerned.
TOGO
Explosion near Ghana border
President Eyadema has issued a warning to trouble-makers who attack public installations.On September 27 a device exploded at a refuse dump in a lodging close to the Togolese-Ghanaian border. The explosion caused no physical or material damage.
Arrests after August bombings
The President of Togo has announced the arrest of several people suspected of being responsible for the attacks committed in last August at Lome. Gen. Gnassingbe Eyadema gave no details about the number and identity of the persons arrested. But according to the Togolese opposition in exile in Paris, more than 10 people, including two lawyers and university professors, have been arrested in Togo. The Togolese Movement for Democracy states that the people arrested have nothing to do with last month's attacks in Lome.NIGERIA
Talks on reopening borders
Talks on the reopening of Nigeria's land borders are to be held soon between Nigerian officials and their counterparts from the neighbouring countries. The Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, announced this in Lagos while speaking to newsmen after a reception for heads of diplomatic missions in Nigeria.He said that once the logistics were worked out, President Ibrahim Babangida would order the reopening of the borders. He said that the talks will be held after the return of the Nigerian delegation to the current session of the UN General Assembly.
The new Nigerian Foreign Minister spoke against the massive expulsion of foreign workers from Nigeria and against the closure of the country's borders. Receiving members of the diplomatic corps in Lagos, the new Foreign Minister who, before his appointment, had already condemned the expulsion of immigrant workers from Nigeria, said these measures taken under the two previous regimes were "wrong" and should not "have taken place", for, he added, "they violate our tradition of tolerance and hospitality".
Babingida opens seminar on economy
The Minister and commissioners responsible for economic matters are to hold regular and meaningful dialogue with representatives of the private sector in an effort to find solutions to the nation's economic problems. President Ibrahim Babangida stated this while declaring open a two-day seminar on Nigeria's economic recovery. The President said the collective ideas of leaders in the private sector could help in enriching the basis of the Government's decision-making. He stressed that since the Government was running an open administration, it intended to benefit from the vast experience and knowledge of others at various levels. and sectors in the country. General Babangida assured foreign investors that urgent effort would be made to streamline the procedures to eliminate bottlenecks and introduce workable incentives.He said the country needed to create the right conditions and atmosphere that will attract the much needed foreign capital to supplement local resources. The President asked the participants to undertake a thorough analysis of the nature and type of past economic policies, objectives and programmes and see to what extent they had been defective.
The seminar was jointly organised by the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce and the African-American Institute.
Fringe benefits withdrawn
The Minister of Internal Affairs Lt-Col. John Shagaya, has explained that fringe benefits for soldiers were withdrawn because of the slump in the nation's economy. He told troops of 174th Mechanised Battalion at Badagri that apart from the bad economic situation, the army was indebted to various parastatals..Fringe benefits temporarily withdrawn include cost allowance, overnight allowance and leave allowance, which have been reduced by half. Colonel Shangaya, who was formerly the commander of the Ninth Mechanised Brigade, is currently on a fare- well tour of units under the brigade.
Appointment of principal secretary
A new principal Secretary to the President has been appointed. He is Mr Hamidu Watanapa, aged 38. Mr Watanapa has held many administrative posts in the Borno State civil service. He rose to the position of Deputy Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1979, and was appointed Deputy Secretary at State House, Marina, Lagos, last year. Mr Watanapa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in government and a Master's degree in public administration.Concord gets new editor
The National Concord has a new editor. He succeeds Chief Duro Onabule, who is now the chief press secretary to President Babangida. The new editor is Mr Ben Onyeachonam, a pioneer staff and first news editor of the Concord Group of Newspapers. He served for two years on the Editorial Board of Concord Press before his appointment in 1983 to the post of General Manager (Eastern Operations) of Concord Press, and Managing Editor of Udoka - the Igbo weekly newspaper.An experienced journalist of many years standing, Mr Onyeachonam holds B.A. (Hons) Degree in Journalism, and M.A. Degree in Political Science from Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York.
Don't cheapen capital punishment
“The death sentence must not be made cheap and must not be the answer to every heinous offence," Prince Bola Abibola, the Attorney-General of the Federation of Minister of Justice has said. Asked in a BBC Network Africa interview whether he believed the death penalty as practised in Nigeria was really effective, the minister replied."What I believe is that the death sentence must not be made cheap. The death sentence must not be the answer to every heinous offence. "If that happens and if it is not judiciously and carefully used, it may become a thing that may not have the expected effect it should have and people will then start to look on death sentence as if it is just another punishment act."
Government to review state debts
The Federal Military Government says it will vigorously pursue the issue of debt management with the view to alleviating the difficulties facing State Governments. To this end, the Government will review guaranteed and unguaranteed loans. The Minister of Finance, Dr Kalu I. Kalu, stated this while addressing a meeting of the federation account allocation committee in Owerri, the Imo capital. He said that Nigeria's credibility and credit- worthiness abroad was viewed as one unified whole and not as components of 19 states.The Minister also gave an assurance that the committee would study the revenue allocation formula and make recommenda- tions to the Federal Government. Earlier, the Imo Governor, Navy Capt. Alex Madweke, had said that the quick economic recovery of the country depended on prudent financial allocation and resource mobilisation.
MAURITANIA
French loans
France and Mauritania have signed three loan agreements amounting to 5.5m francs, concerns agricultural research in the palm tree areas; the second, for 3m francs is for water projects in small urban centres and the third, for 1m francs, is to support French medical teams in Mauritania and to develop the country's medical laboratories.IVORY COAST
Loan for road programme
A loan of 18bn CFA francs has just been granted to the country by the World Bank and a consortium of banks headed by the Credit Commercial de France. The money will be used to finance the programme of development of Ivory Coast's road infra- structure.GHANA
Betrayal of participatory democracy
The Civil Servants Association has advised the Controller and Accountant-General to suspend its intention to pay the salaries of government workers through the banks until all the necessary modalities are completed, to avoid hardships to workers.At a meeting organized in Accra, the workers blamed the Controller for taking the decision without consulting them, the intended beneficiaries.
Describing the decision as "an act in contravention of the participatory democracy currently going on in the country", they urged the Controller to suspend it till all the necessary logistics and modalities associated with it were completed.
Caiquo removed as Trade Secretary
The committee set up by the government on April 4 this year, to inquire into the operations of the Ghana National Procurement Agency, has presented its report to Mr Ato Dadzie, Secretary to the PNDC Secretariat.Presenting the report, the chairman of the committee, Chief Superintendent S. Owusu Nsiah, said that "recognising the broad implications of its report, and the harm which rumour-mongering does to our society, the committee's report was based on nothing but the truth."
Receiving the report, Mr Ato Dadzie thanked the committee members for the despatch with which they tackled this important national assignment and hoped its recommendations would play an important role in the process of restructuring the existing system to enable the Agency to perform more efficiently. The committee was set up following a rift between the management of the Procurement Agency and the Secretary for Trade, Dr B.W.K. Caiquo, culminating in the interdiction of the Agency's Chief Executive, Mr Larbi-Siaw, by Dr Caiquo. Mr Larbi-Siaw was, however, reinstated by the government.
Meanwhile, Dr B.W.K. Caiquo has been removed as Secretary for Trade and has been re-assigned to the office of the Chairman of Committee of Secretaries. He has been replaced by the former Interior Secretary, Mr Kofi Djin.
New PNDC members
Major-General A. Quainoo, Force Commander, Ghana Armed Forces and Brig. Mensa-Wood, Commandant Military Academy and Training School have been appointed PNDC members. Col. E.K.T. Donkor (rtd) has been appointed Chief of Staff, PNDC HQ, in planningOther changes in the portfolio of Secretaries are Mr Kofi Djin - former Secretary for Interior becomes Secretary for Trade, while Col. J.M. Ewa (rtd) becomes Secretary for Special Duties at PNDC secretariat with temporary responsibility for the Ministry of Interior. Dr B.W.K. Caiquo, who held responsibility for Trade, reverts to his former position at the Office of the Chairman Committee of Secretaries.
Rawlings back home from China
The chairman of the PNDC Flt-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings has said that the Government would within the next few months start examining targets of national endeavours to find out how best they could be updated and improved.Flt-Lt. Rawlings made this disclosure on September 25 at a press briefing at the OAU Lounge of the Kotoka Airport on his return from a 10-day official visit to Ethiopia and China.
Flt-Lt. Rawlings who led a delegation to attend the 11th anniversary celebration of the Ethiopian Revolution, noted that Ghana's Revolution lacked that atmo- sphere of mission that was associated with the Ethiopian Revolution.
Ethiopia's Revolution, he reiterated, had a sense of purposefulness and urgency.
Akwanbo Festival turns into mourning
The twin villages of Ekumfi Akotsi and Bogyano in the Central Region are in a state of mourning after a Neoplan bus ploughed through a large procession of Akwanbo Festival celebrants and killed 26 persons on the spot.The people of the two villages had applied for a police permit to hold the pro- cession from one village to the other on the main Accra-Cape Coast road.
There were policemen at both ends of the procession to advise motorists to either slow down or to stop completely where appropriate. As the Neoplan bus sped on from Accra, one of the policemen signalled him to slow down, but the driver ignored the signal of danger.
Consequently, he drove right through the people killing first an elderly man who had stepped forward ahead of the rest to signal to the driver that it was absolutely necessary that he reduced his speed.
After the bus had crushed the man, the main stream of the procession helplessly fell victims one after the other. Scores of people were consequently killed or seriously injured. The progress of the bus was blocked by a car that had stopped directly in its way from the opposite direction, to prevent many. many more people from being killed. The many wounded and amputees were in hospitals at Cape Coast, Breman Asikuma and Mankesim. The driver fled, but his mate, who returned to pack their money away, was mercilessly beaten up and the bus set ablaze.
Junior ranks to serve on disciplinary committees
Junior ranks within the Ghana Armed Forces will sit on disciplinary boards within the Forces.Under PNDC Law 63, cases involving subordinate officers or men below the rank of Warrant Officer (WO) in the Ghana Armed Forces will now be judged by disciplinary boards consisting of two officers and three men from the other ranks.
And where the accused is a Warrant Officer, the Commanding Officer will sit on the case with two other Warrant Officers instead of two officers.
According to the Director of the Ghana Armed Forces Legal Services (DLS), Colonel Alexander B. Donkor, Law 63 changes the previous arrangement under which only officers appointed by Unit Commanding Officers sat on disciplinary court panels.
Colonel Donkor said that the law removes a potential source of tension within the Armed Forces because a major grievance among the junior ranks was that the composition of disciplinary courts enable officers to victimise the other ranks. Colonel Dankor said the new law is being put into effect in fulfilment of the PNDC's desire to obtain grassroot participation in decision making.
With immediate effect, therefore, he said, investigation and trial of cases would no longer be conducted by Commanding Officers or delegated officers alone. In all officers and three men would be appointed cases, he said, a disciplinary board of two to investigate, try and punish service offenders.
Obed Asamoah in New York
Dr Obed Asamoah, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, is in New York to attend the 40th session of the United Nations General Assembly.The session will discuss, among other things, the problem in Southern Africa, Afghanistan, Central America and Kampuchea, and the crisis in the world's economy.
Dr Obed Asamoah said since African the world economy, it was in their interest to come together to arrest the situation. From New York, the Secretary will fly to Damascus, Syria to attend a conference of the Afro-Arab Commission for Co-operation of which Ghana is co-chairman.
Dr Asamoah said the last OAU Summit emphasized the importance of the commission and hoped that the conference would lead to the strengthening of co- operation between Africa and the Arab countries.
Appia-Menka jailed by tribunal
Akenten Appiah-Menka, a lawyer and president of the Ghana Manufacturers of 1985, tax-free allowances totalling Association, and five others, have been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment and fines by the Public Tribunal in Accra for defrauding the state.Appiah-Menka was jailed for 18 months and fined £600,000 in default of which he would spend 10 years more in prison.
In addition to the fine Appiah-Menka will pay C8 million to the state as com- pensation failing which his property would be confiscated to the State.
Ben Dwimoh, a surveyor and valuer, who was tried in absentia, was jailed for one year and fined C400,000. He will go in for eight years if he fails to pay the fine.
Dwimoh would also pay compensation C6 million to the state.
Edward Ernest Ackah Nyamike, head of the Budget Section of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, was jailed for two years and fined C800,000 or 12 years in prison. Ackah, who was tried in absentia, will pay C10 million compensation to the Lands Department or lose his property.
Alfred Amihere, also known as Nana Milaba Kpanyili, chief of Mpataba, will go to prison for two years and pay a fine of C800,000 or spend 12 years more in jail.
Amihere, who was also tried in absentia, would pay C10 million as compensation to the Lands Department.
Simale Kpanyili, who was tried in absentia, was jailed for two years and tined C800,000 failing which he will go in for 12 years. Kpanyili will pay the Lands Department, C2 million as compensation or his assets would be confiscated.
Fred Owusu, Chief Lands Officer, will go to prison for one year, and pay £200,000 fine or six years in jail. Owusu would, in addition, pay £800,000 as compensation.
The convicts were found guilty by the Tribunal, chaired by Mr George Agyekum, on charges of conspiring to cause the State to incur a loss of C1,459,613 through false compensation claims in respect of the acquisition of Nzema stool lands in 1977. The land was acquired for the Ankasa Game Reserve.
Austerity measures at airways
In order to curtail excessive loss or revenue, Ghanair staff may only apply for tickets to travel when their leave has been approved, and new check-in procedures will ensure that the person travelling on such a ticket is actually the member of staff to whom it was issued. A temporary ban has also been placed on ticket concessions for relatives of staff.Travel abroad by staff on duty has been reduced to the barest minimum, since it has been found that duty travels are often not strictly necessary.
The board is also examining the rates of allowances for Ghanair crew, having noted with concern that in the first three months
C3,065 million, plus $358,365 in foreign exchanges, were paid out. A Ghanair Captain making a stopover in London, for example, collects a basic daily allowance of £103, while a KLM Captain gets £28.
Economic decline arrested
The annual bilateral negotiations between the FRG and Ghana have ended in Accra. At the end of the negotiations, a formal record was signed by the Secretary for Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwesi of Botchwey, for Ghana, and the leader of the five-member economic delegation from the FRG, Dr Priez Woolf.Under the agreement, the FRG will this year provide an amount of 31.5m DM for financial co-operation while another 15.27m DM will be made available for technical co-operation.
Speaking at the function, Dr Botchway stressed that with the introduction of the economic recovery programme, a decline in the economy has been arrested. He said, however, that there is still a lot more to be done. Dr Botchway announced that the Government is in the process of planning a medium-term plan which will be subjected to debate at the grassroot level from which much opinion will be gathered to enable the Government to know what to do. He thanked the FRG for her tremendous assistance in the on-going process.
The leader of the FRG delegation expressed the delegation's appreciation for the bold steps being taken by the Govern- ment to solve its economic problems. He said the impact of the new investment code will depend on its practical application. He pledged the FRG's continued support for Ghana and hoped relations between the two countries would be strengthened.
IDA gives $87m loans
The International Development Association (IDA), a concessionary lending arm of the World Bank, has approved a 27m dollar loan to Ghana, bringing to 87m dollars total IDA loans this year for the rehabilitation of the country's agriculture, industrial, transport and mining sectors. The loan was in addition to 60m dollarsthe association gave to the country last April. In both cases the loans were interest- free and payable in 50 years with a 10-year grace period in each case.
