Monday, May 30, 2016

MAHAMA UNDER PRESSURE OVER KILLER LIGHT BILLS

By William Yaw Owusu
Monday, May 30 , 2016

It is emerging that the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government is under pressure to reduce killer electricity tariffs (light bills) that have collapsed many industries and wreaked havoc on many homes.

Cabinet reportedly had a crunch meeting on Thursday, chaired by President John Mahama, to consider a possible reduction of the killer tariffs since the public outcry was becoming too intense with the opposition bashing the NDC administration.

Nana’s Promise
The government’s action is coming at a time that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate for the 2016 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has promised to reduce the killer light bills when Ghanaians give him the mandate to become president in the November polls.

High electricity bills which have been justified by the Petroleum Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, are collapsing businesses and causing public anger against the Mahama administration, making the government very unpopular.
The minister asked Nana Akufo-Addo to tell Ghanaians what he could do differently to reduce electricity tariffs when given the mandate to govern the country.
Nana Addo believes that the several taxes imposed on electricity consumers are the major cause of the public agitations, and has called on the government to scrap them or reduce them to bring relief to the people.

On his recent tour of the country, Nana Akufo-Addo and his entourage were continuously bombarded with outrageous electricity bills by electricity consumers showing them (Nana and his team) their (consumers’) light bills.

When he visited South Africa recently the NPP flagbearer pointed out that the mismanagement of the economy had reached a point where rent was even less expensive than electricity bills.

Tariffs Increment
The PURC increased electricity tariffs by 59.2 % for residential consumers effective December 14 last year. But it is turning out that many consumers are being charged monstrous rates, with some believed to be going as high as about 300%, leading to public outcry.

The NDC propagandists are blaming the ECG staff for deliberately fiddling with the meters in order to turn public anger against the Mahama government.
 
Ironically, President John Mahama recently beat his chest that he had succeeded in allowing the ECG to have a clean balance sheet with the astronomical increment.  The president said Ghanaians should be prepared to pay more for the enjoyment of constant electricity supply; yet with the tariff hikes, there seems to be shortage in supply as outages (dumsor) are still living with consumers.

The president last Thursday made a sudden u-turn claiming that a taskforce had been put in place to resolve the crisis.

With elections beckoning at the corner, DAILY GUIDE learnt that the taskforce will come with a reduction in tariffs to catch votes.

"Cabinet today (Thursday) approved the Inter-Agency Task Force put together to resolve complaints from the public regarding the bills and charges being received from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in respect of our consumption of power. 

"Following our very detailed and exhaustive discussions in Cabinet this morning, we approved the steps taken by the Ministry of Power and expect the taskforce, which comprises the Energy Commission, the ECG, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) and other stakeholders to submit its report and solution on June 03, 2016 for immediate implementation," the President said.

Gov’t Collusion
Minority spokesperson on energy, K.T. Hammond, waded into the debate when he said yesterday that Ghanaians are paying more for electricity because of collusion between the government, PURC and the Ghana Standards Authority to tamper with the revolutions per kilowatt hour on meters.

He told Citi FM that his investigations revealed that an increase in the number of revolutions per kilowatt hour had been sanctioned by the PURC, thereby increasing the amount individuals pay for electricity.
“I have conducted my investigation and what has come up is that somehow the PURC has sanctioned a situation whereby the number of revolutions that goes into a credit unit has been reduced considerably,” he averred.

Energy Levies Act
Energy analysis experts, the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), has also urged government to scrap the levies and taxes imposed on electricity, saying these levies had led to the immense increase in the electricity tariffs.

Executive Director at ACEP, Mohammed Amin Adam, told Citi FM that the Energy Levies Act which imposed these levies and taxes on electricity consumption are crippling local businesses and also argued that the scrapping of the levies would be more prudent than a reduction in electricity tariffs.

He explained that levies on power consumption were directly responsible for the significant increase in tariffs. “Another reason is the levies and taxes. Now you have 10 percent levies on every kilowatt per hour consumed then 17.5 percent VAT, then you also have a GH¢7 flat rate on every meter for all consumers,” he noted.




Thursday, May 26, 2016

I’LL REDUCE KILLER LIGHT BILLS - NANA

By William Yaw Owusu
Thursday, May 26, 2016

New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate for the 2016 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has promised to reduce the killer electricity tariffs (light bills) if Ghanaians give him the mandate to become president in the November polls.

High electricity bills which have been justified by the Petroleum Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, are collapsing businesses and causing public anger against the Mahama administration, making the government very unpopular.
The minister asked Nana Akufo-Addo to tell Ghanaians what he could do differently to reduce electricity tariffs when given the mandate to govern the country.

Nana Akufo-Addo believes that the several taxes imposed on electricity consumers are the major cause of the public agitations, and has called on the government to scrap them or reduce them to bring relief to the people.

After first calling on the authorities to reduce the killer light bills yesterday, Nana Akufo-Addo told DAILY GUIDE exclusively that “If the government cannot or will not listen to the calls for the reduction of electricity tariffs, it is important for the people of Ghana to know that God-willing, if I win the election later this year, I definitely will. I will definitely reduce electricity tariffs.

Killer Tariffs
The PURC increased electricity tariffs by 59.2 % for residential consumers effective December 14 last year; but it is turning out that many consumers are being charged monstrous rates, with some believed to be going as high as about 300%, leading to public outcry.

Currently, more than 62% of complaints received by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in the first quarter of 2016 were on overbilling as compared to the previous year’s 18%. And Customer Billing Data shows clearly that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is having challenges with the migration of customer information from the old billing system to the new billing software.

As a result, the PURC has ordered that ECG to suspend the use of the controversial software until things are normalised.

The NDC propagandists are blaming the ECG staff for deliberately fiddling with the process in order to turn public anger against the government.

Ironically, President John Mahama recently beat his chest that he had succeeded in allowing the ECG to have a clean balance sheet with the astronomical increment.  The president said Ghanaians should be prepared to pay more for the enjoyment of constant electricity supply; yet with the tariff hikes, there seems to be shortage in supply as dumsor is still living with consumers.

Nana Bombarded
On his recent tour of the country, Nana Akufo-Addo and his entourage were continuously bombarded with outrageous electricity bills by Ghanaians.

When he visited South Africa recently, the NPP flagbearer pointed out that the mismanagement of the economy had reached a point where rent was even less expensive than electricity bills.

“Can you believe that today in Ghana, for the ordinary Ghanaian, the cost of electricity is more than the cost of their rent? So forget even ‘dumsor,’ it is now ‘yɛnnsor,’ because you can’t afford to pay. That is where we are,” he had lamented.

Build-up Taxes
Nana Addo told DAILY GUIDE that a large part of the tariff increases is due to the build-up of taxes, including 10% energy levy which is charged for both domestic and commercial uses, a service charge of GH¢7 flat rate for every consumer and a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 17½% for commercial users.

Nana Akufo-Addo believes these taxes can be significantly reduced, which will in turn bring down electricity tariffs.

“I believe all of these figures can be significantly reduced to be able to bring the electricity tariff system in our country to a much more competitive relationship with that of our neighbours and what is going on in the region,” he sounded optimistic.

According to the NPP flagbearer, “It is important for us to recognise in Ghana that whatever we are doing, we are doing so in a globally competitive context; and if we don’t recognise that, many of the decisions we make about the management of our economy are going to put us at a disadvantage from the word go.”

Foreign Rates
Citing the prices of the wide disparity in electricity rates being charged domestic and industry users in Ghana as opposed to the charges in Cote d’Ivoire - a country which until six years ago was ravaged by civil war - Nana Akufo-Addo stressed that the tariff system in Ghana is putting Ghanaian enterprises in a very uncompetitive comparison.

“In Ghana, my understanding is that the tariff for commercial users is 32 US cents/kilowatt hour. The Ivorian equivalent is 13 US cents/kilowatt hour. Again, for domestic users, we are talking about 19.28 US cents/kilowatt hour, when Cote d’Ivoire equivalent is a tariff of 9 US cents/kilowatt hour,” he said.

Suffering Industries
Nana lamented, “So you put these things together, and already Ghanaian industry and economic activities are suffering unnecessarily.”

In the statement he released on Tuesday calling for a reduction, Nana Akufo-Addo said, “I have taken notice of today’s statement made by the PURC that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) should suspend its billing system. I think the matter is more fundamental and should go further than that.”



JJ CALLS NKRUMAHISTS CRIMINALS

By William Yaw Owusu
Thursday, May 26, 2016

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has described some of the politicians claiming to pursue the ideals of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, as criminals.

He again took a swipe at the late President John Evans Atta Mills whom he (Rawlings) brought into political limelight, tagging him as ‘shallow’ and ‘a disappointment.’

“Can you believe that those of us, we don’t even regard ourselves as Nkrumahists? Those who call themselves Nkrumahists are the worst offenders, criminals. From Mills till now, not even one single policy resembles anything Nkrumah stood for or believed in,” he charged.

The former president made the startling comments when he addressed a delegation from the Association of Cuban Trained Ghanaian Professionals at his Ridge residence in Accra on Tuesday - the eve of Africa Union (AU) Day.

Mr Rawlings, who founded the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) - a party having majority of its members claiming to be apostles of Dr Kwame Nkrumah - indicted his own party’s leadership, saying “they have done nothing to improve the living standards of Ghanaians.”

He stated that those claiming to be living the ideals of the visionary Dr Kwame Nkrumah were doing the opposite of what he stood for, in spite of the fact that Ghana had good policies to become prosperous.

Mr Rawlings, a coupist-turned-democrat, said the current crop of leaders have rather worsened the plight of the people.

“We are worst today than we were before. You know we did our bit from the 80s. In 1979, we had no choice; people were angry and it was a time of rage. We had to hand over but then we had to come back again in ‘81 or ‘82. We could have stayed on for another eight or 16 years just to work to consolidate situations very well and properly.

“And I made a suggestion to my colleagues that considering that people were becoming saturated with us or with me, let me let Justice Annan take over and I can be his number 2 or step aside. He can serve four years or eight years then I could come back; and that would be 16 years of consolidation because what we had noticed was that these characters would destroy anything and everything so let’s not allow it,” Mr Jerry John Rawlings (fondly known as Papa J) recounted.

The former military junta leader continued, “Some of my comrades said no and that it’s never been done before. Is that not what Putin did recently? We would have been the first to do it here,” adding, “That would have helped to consolidate because most often we make reference to institutions but the institutions rely on the human factor; and if those human entities are not bold enough to defy that which is wrong, that institution will be weak; am I lying?”

He again turned the heat on the late President Mills, saying, “We did everything possible to lift up this country and that’s why people kept wishing we were back. But as soon as we handed over, the guy turned the wheels 180 degrees.

“Some of the most outrageous things were happening. I remember trying to tell Mills and giving him details about some of the issues but it surprised me though that for a brilliant man like him, he couldn’t see. He was so shallow.”

Mr Rawlings, who has never hidden his disdain for Prof Mills even in the latter’s death, said, “Crime perpetuates itself if you don’t deal with it; and how Mills couldn’t see through this is something I couldn’t understand.

“It was so bad that even those who had been misused to jail innocent people - some in Ghana, some in Ivory Coast - were on standby to escape and this happened as we were approaching the 2008 elections. But our brother Mils had been so badly persuaded. As he put it to me, he had been advised to let things be and the money would flow. Mills was disappointing. Some of your so-called intellectual creatures are dumb.”



STAN DOGBE DENTS GHANA’S MEDIA IMAGE

By William Yaw Owusu
Thursday, May 26, 2016

The infamous attack by Presidential Staffer Stan Dogbe on a journalist of state broadcaster, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), in August last year has contributed to Ghana being dropped among countries ranked as having robust press freedom.

According to media rights group, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Ghana has dropped from “Free” to “Partly Free” in the latest global world press freedom ranking conducted by US-based Freedom House partly due to the presidential staffer’s action.

A news release from the foundation on Tuesday said that the murder of radio broadcaster George Abanga, aka King George, in the Brong Ahafo Region and the absence of Right to Information Law are also among the key factors for Ghana’s poor showing.

MFWA noted that “for ten years now Ghana has remained one of two or three countries on the African continent rated as having a free press freedom environment. This ranking has always reflected extremely positively on Ghana’s reputation in the global community as far as press freedom is concerned,” adding, “But in its recently released ranking for 2015, Ghana has been downgraded from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’.

According to the foundation, Freedom House cited its extensive contribution towards ranking Ghana, saying “freedom House notes that Ghana’s decline in ranking is as a result of ‘stepped-up attempts to limit coverage of news events and confiscation of equipment; increases in violence directed at journalists by the police, the military, political party members, and ordinary citizens’.”

Other reasons for the decline, according to the report, “are violations against journalists that went unpunished by the state; inaction by the President on a petition by 155 journalists on the attack by his staffer on a journalist; and attacks on journalists by political party activists and security forces.”

“The GBC declined to file a police report, treating the case as an “internal matter.” Subsequently, the MFWA and 155 journalists jointly petitioned Mahama to sanction his aide, but they did not receive a response from the president by year’s end,” the report noted.

Censorship
The report also cited ‘censorship attempts’ through a Content Authorisation Law by the National Media Commission and a directive of the Information Services Department (ISD) requiring journalists working with foreign media organisations to seek approval from ISD before filming and after filming, as well as submission to the ISD for approval before filming as being responsible for the drop in ranking. Also cited is the power crisis that had a heavy toll on media businesses in the country.

According to MFWA, the decline in press freedom ranking comes after it had warned about increasing incidents of press freedom violations and the possibility of such trends affecting the country’s ranking.

The MFWA urged the government, security agencies and political parties to act in ways that fosters press freedom and protects press freedom, adding, “the MFWA wishes to also remind President Mahama about the petition submitted by the foundation and 155 journalists to which he has since not acted on.”

The foundation also called on journalists “to adhere to professional standards and safety principles in the discharge of their duties.”

According to the Freedom House report, “Ghana has a total of 58 authorised television operators and 390 FM radio stations, of which 37 are state-owned, 273 are private, 63 are community-owned, and 17 are operated by universities. Dozens of newspapers, including two state-owned and two private dailies, publish regularly. Use of the internet is growing, but penetration remains low, at approximately 19 percent in 2014. Blogging and social networking have increased in urban centres.
“Economic sustainability is a challenge for Ghana’s media. The GBC receives inadequate funding from the government and must sell advertising to support operations, which leaves the outlet dependent on the large corporations that can afford its rates. 

Meanwhile, electricity fluctuations, known as dumsor, had adverse effects on media houses in 2015, forcing them to turn to costly alternative power sources in order to publish or broadcast. Journalists are poorly paid, and many are willing to accept money in exchange for covering particular events. In April, Mahama’s chief of staff came under criticism for giving between 500 and 1,000 cedis ($130 and $260) to prominent journalists he had invited to a meeting, including some known for criticism of the government. Most reportedly accepted the money”.





Tuesday, May 24, 2016

CHRISTIAN GROUPS FEAR FOR NOVEMBER POLLS

By William Yaw Owusu
Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Powerful Christian groups do not believe the Electoral Commission (EC) has been able to engender enough confidence among the political stakeholders to be able to organize credible general election in November.

According to the Christian Council of Ghana and the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the EC has a long way to go to convince Ghanaians, especially the political parties, that it is fully ready for the polls.

Transparent Elections
“The Electoral Commission bears the primary responsibility to conduct free, fair, transparent and credible elections in Ghana. Therefore, we expect the Commission to engender confidence among all players and continue to remain neutral, fair, honest and transparent in all its actions and decisions,” the two groups stated at the end of their Annual Joint Meeting, held at St. Theresa Catholic Church, Kaneshie, Accra, last week.

A statement jointly signed by Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, President, Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Most Rev. Titus K. Awotwi Pratt, Vice Chairman, Christian Council of Ghana, also appealed passionately to the political parties to call their followers to order in view of the already charged political atmosphere.
  
Circumspection & Decorum
“We note with worry and anxiety the current political atmosphere leading up to elections later this year and wish to call on all politicians and their supporters to be circumspect and decorous in their utterances and actions.

“We are distressed and worried by the current display of political impunity and complacency evident in intimidation, accusations, counter-accusations, hate speeches, intra-party and inter-party violence, threats of kidnapping and murder, among others, the group underscored.

The Christian leaders indicated, “The problems associated with the recent limited registration exercise have convinced us that some politicians and political parties will do anything and everything to win political power at all cost.”

EC’s Decisions
They said that the EC should continue to explain its actions to the stakeholders, adding, “Pertinent issues such as the problems associated with the limited voter registration exercise, the cleaning of the voter register as ruled by the Supreme Court, biometric verification, among others, need to be addressed now.

“Related critical issues, including what the EC intends to do with the proposed Steering Committee as well as the needed reforms to the electoral system as submitted by the Reforms Committee and the way forward for the recommendations of the 5-member Prof. VCRAC Crabbe Committee must be made known now.

“The proposed November 2016 elections may seem to be far but they are not. Thus, we appeal to the EC to act expeditiously and come up with a clear roadmap for the impending elections. We pledge our support and prayers for the process.”

Spy Bill
The group also touched on the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunication Messages Bill 2015 - popularly called Spy Bill - saying, “We think that the proposed Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages Bill 2015 is unnecessary and called for its withdrawal.”

They further discussed the controversial 3-year and 4-year duration at the Senior High School (SHS) level and asked the government to reassess the situation. “We recommend the adoption of a two-tier approach as contained in the Prof. Anamuah-Mensah Committee report,” the religious leaders posited.

They also condemned examination malpractices and leakages in the education sector and asked for stringent measure to prevent future occurrences.
They were deeply worried about the erratic power supply (dumsor), noting that it has collapsed many businesses and shut down industries.



Monday, May 23, 2016

‘SWEETHEART’ DEAL IN SMARTTYS GH¢3.6M SCANDAL

By William Yaw Owusu
Monday, May 23, 2016

It is emerging that the GH¢3.6 million paid to Smarttys Management and Productions Ltd for branding 116 Metro Mass Transport (MMT) buses was actually paid from the stricken Ghana Railways Development Authority account.

Incidentally, the Authority’s board is reportedly chaired by Selassie Ibrahim’s husband, Ibrahim Adams, of Quality Grains fame.

Actress Sellasie Ibrahim owns Smarttys which was handpicked for the juicy over-bloated contract.

Pressure group, OccupyGhana, has described the GH¢3.6 million bus branding contract as a ‘sweetheart deal.’

The government intends to revamp the railways industry by using Ghana Railways Development Authority funds for the construction of the Western Corridor Rail under the Ministry of Transport.

It was also established that Smarttys Management and Productions Ltd executed the branding contract even before the Ministry of Transport secured approval for the whole transaction.

OccupyGhana has been putting in the public domain detailed analysis of the contract after it obtained it from the Attorney General (AG), following receipt of the contract documents. It had issued a notice to sue the government if the AG refused to hand over details of the contract.

In the Smartty’s payment, which sent tongues wagging, the Ministry of Transport, under then Minister, Dzifa Attivor, wrote to the Ministry of Finance requesting that Smartty’s be paid for branding 116 buses for the MMT and the ministry in turn directed the Controller and Accountant General to process the payment.

The Controller in a letter of August 13, 2015 to the Bank of Ghana, requested for transfer of funds into the Ministry of Transport’s Special Operations Account (1018431540077) an amount of GH¢3,649,044.75 to enable the ministry make payment to Smarttys for the contract.

According to OccupyGhana, the infamous GH¢3.6 million bus branding deal was concluded some two clear months after then minister Dzifa Aku Attivor, had given the contract to Smarttys before the ministry wrote to the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) for approval for sole-sourcing, which is in clear breach of the rules and regulations pertaining to procurement by the government or state institutions.

OccupyGhana had issued a statement saying in summary that “On 28th July, 2015, some two months after Smarttys had completed the branding of the buses, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Transport, signing on behalf of the minister, then wrote to the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) for approval to sole-source the branding contract to Smarttys.”

The former minister was recently in the news asking the people of the Volta Region - stronghold of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) - to retain the party in power in order to save her from going to jail, if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is given the mandate to rule the country in this year’s elections.

‘Sweetheart’ Deal
Describing the whole contract as a ‘sweetheart deal,’ OccupyGhana said the Ministry of Transport gave four reasons for not opening the contract up for competitive bidding and said “those reasons, of course, did not include the fact that Smarttys had already concluded the branding.”

The group said the ministry gave some bizarre reasons, including urgency, major threat to national security and deployment of the buses as the reasons for solely awarding the contract to Smarttys.

Branding Policy
According to OccupyGhana, it did not make sense for the ministry to hold that the buses had been purchased under a social intervention programme and the colour code which had been selected for the buses was not consistent with the current branding policy of the ministry.

Surcharging Importer
“Why would the ministry with a branding policy on colours, order buses in allegedly wrong colours and then use almost $1m of our monies just to change their colours? Why was the person who ordered the buses in allegedly the wrong colours not surcharged with the cost of simply re-spraying them?

“And when have Ghanaians been bothered about the colour in which a bus is sprayed? What was the original colour and what made that colour so repugnant that more of our monies had to be spent to change it? And how do you change the colour by putting the faces of the president and former leaders on them?” OccupyGhana queried.



BNI DENIES COVER-UP IN JB's MURDER

By William Yaw Owusu
Monday, May 23, 2016

The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) says media reports suggesting that it was covering up facts on the gruesome murder of Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North in the Eastern Region, are false.

According to the security agents, they were rather helping to unravel the circumstances leading to the death of the MP.

A few days after the police had arrested Daniel Asiedu aka Sexy Don Don, the first suspect in connection with the killing of the MP (popularly called JB), the BNI took him into its custody and appeared to have taken over the case for further investigations.

But instead of going further with the case, the suspect’s statement to the police rather changed and the BNI was said to have kept him in solitary confinement.

Thumb-Printed Statement
Before he left the custody of the police to the BNI, Asiedu thumb-printed a statement making mind-blowing revelations about how he, together with two others, in connivance with JB’s security man, allegedly killed the MP.

He even mentioned the amount paid him by his ‘recruiter(s)’ as GH¢2,000 as well as the persons he supposedly committed the gruesome act with, and the role allegedly played by an unnamed MP belonging to a certain political grouping.

JB’s security man was said to be part of the plot, according to Asiedu, even though the man claimed he did not know when the assailants entered the house, suggesting that he was sleeping when they attacked his boss.

BNI Custody
However, when the BNI took over the case for further interrogation, Asiedu was said to have made a sudden u-turn, allegedly changing his thumb-printed statement by claiming that he had gone to the late JB’s house to rob and not to kill him.

Asiedu had allegedly told a team of BNI investigators that he went into the house to rob and that while removing a television set from the wall, the MP, who was then not asleep, tried to capture him by holding his neck and that out of fear, he stabbed him (MP) in the abdomen and the ribs before escaping.

Major U-turn
A police source told DAILY GUIDE last week that Asiedu was then reportedly insisting that the statement he gave to the police on February 11 - two days after the MP was killed at his Shiashie residence, East Legon, Accra - should be taken as the true reflection of what happened.

BNI Denial
Some concerned Ghanaians, as a result, raised eyebrows at the level of investigation conducted by the BNI into the case and questioned what it did after Asiedu had mentioned the names of his accomplices.

But BNI Director Pius Awelinga was quoted on Citi FM last Friday as denying any cover-up in the case and telling journalists that they only kept Asiedu in their custody on behalf of the police.

Interestingly, since the BNI released Asiedu back into police custody, the two alleged accomplices - being Junior Agoogo who appears to have been identified as Vincent Bosso and Avenger - have been picked up.

MP’s Assignment
Daniel Asiedu had said emphatically in his statement that it was Junior Agoogo and Avenger who recruited him for the crime and also said that when he asked them about the source of the money, the two had told him it was an MP’s assignment he had been asked to carry out.

Suspected Cover-up
One the eve of JB’s funeral recently, NPP MP for Obuasi East, Edward Ennin, lambasted the authorities for not doing enough to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book and said on Adom TV that he suspected an official cover-up.

According to the vociferous MP, there is a video recording that appears to show the moment the assailants of the murdered MP left the crime scene at his Shiashie residence.



DOCKWORKERS CHALLENGE SHIPYARD COUNTERPARTS’ CLAIMS

By William Yaw Owusu
Monday, May 23, 2016

The senior staff local union of the Maritime Dockworkers Union (MDU) of PSC Tema Shipyard Limited, which is under the Trades Union Congress (TUC), is challenging claims by the junior staff of Shipyard Limited that it does not protect their interests and welfare.

According to the senior staff, it was rather their professional engagement with the management of PSC Tema Shipyard that is helping to keep that strategic national asset afloat.

The Junior Staff Local Union of the MDU, led by Samuel Attram and Stephen Tetteh Quaye, chairman and secretary respectively, signed a petition last week to the presidency and all sector heads accusing the Tema District Council of the MDU and its general secretary, Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, of backing the CEO of Shipyard, H.R. Tunde Ali, to remain in office.

According to the junior staff, the only way for the shipyard to become effective is for the president to remove the CEO and also for the facility to be handed over to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).

However, the Tema District Council of Labour at a news conference last week debunked the claims and backed calls for the government to use a consortium of Ghanaian-owned companies to rescue the stricken PSC Tema Shipyard.

They said a consortium comprising the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) - as recommended by a committee in 2009 - could help revive the shipyard and they passionately appealed to the incensed junior staff to send their petition to the presidency.

A counter petition signed by Nicholas N. Kotey and Fuseini Shahamu-deen, secretary and chairman respectively, said they had no doubt that H.R. Tunde Ali and the management of the shipyard were striving to check corruption at the yard.

The senior staff said, “Since he took over the yard, customers do not leave without making full payments as compared to his predecessors where clients owed the company close to $3.5 million and the board had no other option than to write it off as bad debt.”

They said the report of the committee of enquiry into the shortfall of revenue in PSC account on the vessel MT Loulou in November last year as well as the Chris Ackumey report of 2010 had all served as an eye-opener for the management, which the CEO used to the benefit of the shipyard.

They said the bonuses that were not paid to workers last year were as a result of the financial constraints of the yard due to a turbulent financial year.

“One can only say that these allegations are as a result of the suffocation by the stringent security policies introduced by the CEO, making it impossible for people with their parochial interests to divert company assets into their personal coffers. Illegal activities in the yard have been minimized   to the barest minimum,” they claimed.

They also insisted that MDU had been very professional in handling issues at the yard and said Mr. Owusu-Koranteng is a man of integrity whose reputation “precedes him wherever he goes.”

“He has always had the plight of workers at heart and it is unfortunate that the newly-elected Junior Staff Local Union of MDU of PSC Tema Shipyard want to bring his name to shame,” they added.

The Senior Staff said their juniors peddled falsehood in their petition when they said their Collective Bargaining Agreement had not been signed since 2013.




Friday, May 20, 2016

MP 'NAMED' IN JB MURDER...3RD SUSPECT GRABBED

By William Yaw Owusu
Friday, May 20, 2016

The young man who is being held for allegedly killing Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu, New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North in the Eastern Region, has reportedly claimed that he is now relying on his initial statement he gave to the police.

He had earlier claimed that he and two other people were contracted to kill the MP.

Daniel Asiedu, aka Sexy Don Don, a 21-year-old native of Larteh in the Eastern Region, in his first statement, made mind-blowing revelations upon his arrest on February 11; and even mentioned the amount of money paid him by his ‘recruiter(s)’ as well as the role allegedly played by an unnamed MP belonging to a certain political persuasion.

JB’s security man was said to be part of the plot, according to Daniel.

The security man claimed he did not know when the assailants entered the house, suggesting that he was sleeping when they attacked his boss.

BNI Custody
However, when the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) took over the case for further interrogation, Daniel Asiedu made a sudden u-turn, allegedly changing his thumb-printed statement by claiming that he had gone to the late JB Danquah-Adu’s house to rob and not to kill him.

Daniel had allegedly told a team of BNI investigators that he went into the house to rob and that while removing a television set on the wall, the MP, who was then not asleep, tried to arrest him by holding his neck and out of fear, he stabbed the MP in the abdomen and the ribs before escaping.

Major U-turn
Yesterday, DAILY GUIDE learnt from police sources that Asiedu was reportedly insisting that the statement he gave to the police on February 11 - two days after the MP was killed at his residence at Shiashie, East Legon in Accra - should be taken as the true reflection of what happened.

In the said statement extracted from him by the police in Accra, Daniel Asiedu, who has been returned to the police from BNI custody following a court order, had admitted that he committed the gruesome murder for a reward of GH¢2,000.

MP’s Assignment
He had said emphatically in his statement that it was one Junior Agogo, who appears to have been identified as Vincent Bosso, and Avenger who recruited him for the crime and that when he asked them about the source of the money, the two had told him it was an MP’s assignment.

Avenger has reportedly been arrested by the police and it is coming at a time Daniel has left BNI custody.

Whilst in BNI custody, he was said to be in solitary confinement and at one point claimed in court that the security operatives wanted to kill him through food poisoning.

Interesting Narration
“I was at Zongo Junction dealing in second-hand mobile phones when my friends, by names Junior and Avenger, approached me and said they had a job for me to execute for an amount of            GH¢2,000. They did not tell me the type of job and I thought it was a stealing operation (sic),” Asiedu claimed in his statement.

He had told interrogators that on the following day, Tuesday, February 9, his two friends came in a taxi to pick him up at Madina Zongo Junction, went in the direction of Shiashie and stopped in front of a house and said there were flowers planted in front of the house.

Ladder
“It was Junior who called the security man on duty and told him he had arrived. In the vehicle, Junior was also talking to someone on his phone but I could not tell whether it was the security man or any other person,” he had said, adding that the security man assisted them with a ladder and a table and Junior climbed first, followed by Avenger and then he (Daniel) followed after sometime.

JB’s Room
The three of them entered the room through JB’s window while he was sleeping, according to Daniel. He said Junior took the late MP’s two phones and a catapult and handed them over to him.

“It was junior who stabbed JB with a knife,” he had claimed, adding that he (Sexy Don Don) left the catapult and his slippers behind.

He claimed he was paid the GH¢2,000 before they got to the crime scene and that he later used GH¢300 out of the GH¢2,000 to buy some clothes. He added that he kept the MP’s Samsung mobile phone and told the other two what he got from the room.

“When I received the money, I asked them how they got the money and Junior and Avenger told me that it was a certain…MP who gave them the job to do,” he averred.

Suspected Cover-up
On the eve of JB’s funeral recently, NPP MP for Obuasi East, Edward Ennin, lambasted the authorities for not doing enough to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book and said on Adom TV that he suspected an official cover-up.

According to the vociferous MP, there is a video recording that appears to show the moment the assailants of the murdered MP left the crime scene at his Shiashie residence.

CCTV Footage
A close circuit television (CCTV) appears to have captured that moment when Mr Ennin said a white Nissan Altima left the scene after the gruesome murder at dawn that February 9, 2016.

He said what he saw on the video clearly showed that the security agencies investigating the gruesome murder had not done enough to track down the perpetrators of the dastardly crime.

“I am telling you that I have watched a CCTV video footage. The assailant had dressed like someone ready to fight karate. He was in black attire. A resident in the area had his/her CCTV camera capturing the assailant.

“There was a white car (Altima K45) which is popular in town. What was the car doing in the area at that material moment?” he queried.