Corruption Galore!

There is not a day that passes without allegations of corruption and/or corrupt acts on Ghanaweb. Now my Question is: Are Ghanaians so corrupt or it is just a political strategy to either stay in power or wrestle power, whichever applies?

Discuss

Ghana boosts cocoa price to fight smuggling

* Ghana raises producer price by a third
* Move aimed at fighting smuggling

* 2009-10 purchases drop 10 percent, hopes for recovery

(Updates with 2009-10 purchases figures)

By Kwasi Kpodo

ACCRA, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Ghana's cocoa regulator raised official cocoa prices by a third on Tuesday in an effort to stamp out smuggling that has slashed its official purchases volumes.

Prices for the 2010-11 season set to begin on Oct. 1 in the world's No. 2 grower will be 3,200 cedis ($2,238) per tonne, up from 2,400 cedis per tonne during the 2009-10 season, Finance Minister Kwabena Duffuor told a news conference.

The move was intended to discourage smuggling of cocoa to neighbouring West African states including top grower Ivory Coast, he said of a trend experts believe may have kept as much as 100,000 tonnes of cocoa off Ghana's books this year.

"The fact that they have made the price more competitive is a positive sign for domestic supply, and should stop some cross-border smuggling," said Sudakshina Unnikrishnan, commodities analyst at Barclays Capital.

She said it was unlikely to lead farmers to significantly boost production, however. "It's supportive for domestic supply, but it's not a game-changer," she said.
Ghana's official cocoa purchases totalled 632,024 tonnes during the 2009-10 season, down about 10 percent from the previous year, according to new Cocobod figures obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Duffuor said he expected purchases to recover to 700,000 tonnes in the coming season.

The lacklustre performance runs counter to Ghana's ambitious target of producing 1 million tonnes of cocoa per year by 2012, an amount that could allow it to rival Ivory Coast, whose output this year is running at around 1.2 million tonnes.

Benchmark cocoa futures for delivery in December traded around $2,820 per tonne in New York on Tuesday.


FARMERS MOTIVATED

Ghana's sector operates on a fixed-price basis whereas the liberalised Ivorian industry uses an indicative price system which is not binding and so its prices more closely track developments on the world market.

Farmers greeted the price hike warmly.

"We are happy about the bold decision by the government to increase the producer price and make it competitive with the indicative price of Cote d'Ivoire," said Nana Kwasi Ofori, a farmer and representative of central region growers.
"From what I see on the trees, more cocoa will come next year. The weather too is good and I believe we will get more than the 700,000 tonnes" he said.

Last week industry regulator Cocobod secured commitments worth $1.5 billion to fund purchases of cocoa beans for export in the 2010/11 season, according to the bank that was lead manager of the transaction.

That was 25 percent more than targeted as the facility -- which is used by Cocobod to finance purchases of beans -- was heavily oversubscribed.

Duffuor said Ghana was planning additional incentives to growers, who have often complained of low prices.

"To further reward hardworking farmers, the government has directed the Ghana Cocoa Board to work out and pay bonuses to farmers on the 2009/2010 main cocoa crop," Duffuor said.

(Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; additional reporting by Daniel Magnowski in Dakar; editing by Mark John)

Source: Reuters

Kosmos Bullies Govt Over ¢400bn Fine

As Govt Goes Panicky

Kosmos Energy, one of the operators in Ghana’s Oil fields, after being slapped with a 400-billion-cedi fine for negligently spilling a total of 706 barrels of toxic substances into the country’s marine waters, has in a three-page audacious letter virtually told the government of Ghana, to ‘go to hell and roast’, because it is untouchable.

Indeed, Kosmos has branded the government of Ghana as lawless, even though the permit issued by government to Kosmos to work in the country’s oil fields indicates that fines will be imposed in the event of negligence and violation of the permit conditions.

Further, a six-member ministerial committee that investigated the negligent spillage and recommended the fine on the American oil company concluded that Kosmos’ handling of matters relating to the toxic spill amounted to a cover-up. Yet, Kosmos says the government’s decision to fine the company is baseless.
Kosmos stated in the letter addressed to the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu, that the 400-Billion-cedi fine imposed on the company by government is “totally, unlawful, unconstitutional, ultra vires and without basis”. The letter was copied to the President, John Evans Atta Mills and the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Sherry Ayittey.
A copy of the letter intercepted from the offices of the lawyers of Kosmos, Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah, asked the Attorney-General to use her “best offices and endeavours to halt a process that legally and procedurally is fatally flawed”.

Further, it stated that “We hope that upon all due consideration of these legal flaws, you will intervene decisively and bring this lawless procedure to an end”.

Virtually, Kosmos admits that it has negligently spilled toxic substances into Ghana’s marine waters but believes that the company should be allowed to go scot-free because the government has no such legal authority to impose a 400-billion-cedi fine on it.

Disappointingly, the government appears to be panicky over Kosmos’ daring response, and, already some government officials are arguing that government should deal leniently with Kosmos, adding that judging by the tone of the letter, it was obvious that officials of the company are unhappy and angry with the fine.
These coward government officials have taken this position, under the fear that if Kosmos was not leniently dealt with, the company might finance the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the 2012 general elections to oust the government from power.
However, encouragingly, other brave government officials are of the strong conviction that the authority of government and sovereignty of the country should never be compromised or undermined under any circumstances.
Kosmos’ impudent letter was in response to a letter written by the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) dated August 3, 2010 to the company, imposing the 400-bilion-cedi fine on it for ‘negligently’ spilling toxic substances into the marine waters of the country.
But Kosmos has rubbished the authority of the minister and for that matter Government, for imposing such a fine on the company.
Kosmos stated in its letter that “The Minister has no power under the constitution or any other law of Ghana to impose a fine on any person in the event of an oil spillage. Under the constitution, Ministers of the Republic of Ghana are officers appointed by the President to exercise executive authority on his behalf. Penal measures are not within their province in the absence of express provisions of law.”
It added, “There is no Ghana law that confers powers of conviction and punishment for environmental offences upon the minister”
Kosmos argued further that even though the EPA was represented on the committee, the committee was not the EPA following the enforcement notice procedure outlined in the law. It said EPA may report to MEST but the Minister has no authority to fine any person in the name of the EPA, following her own ad hoc committee’s recommendations.
Within a period of five months (Between December 2009 and May 2010), the Kosmos on three different occasions, discharged Low Toxicity Oil Based Mud (LTOBM) into the marine waters of Ghana. The first incident occurred on the ABAN ABRAHAM Rig, the second and the third incident occurred on the ATWOOD HUNTER Rig.
On December 26th, 2010, the ABAN ABRAHAM drilling rig, working for Kosmos Energy HC spilled an estimated 698 barrels of the toxic during transfer of drilling fluid to a support vessel offshore in the Gulf of Guinea. A second discharge of drilling fluid involving seven 7 barrels occurred on the ATWOOD HUNTER on March 23rd, 2010.
The Minister for Environment, Science and Technology set up a Committee per letter No. MEST/GA/16, dated 30th March, 2010 to, inter alia, investigate the two incidents. While the committee’s work was in progress, a third spill occurred at the ATWOOD HUNTER on May 26th, 2010. According to Kosmos, the rig spilled an estimated one barrel of LTOBM fluid from the split joint packer at the moon pool area of the rig.
The Committee, chaired by the Deputy Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah made findings that The ABAN ABRAHAM incident was attributable to negligence.
Also it noted that the first ATWOOD HUNTER incident was due to negligence because of Kosmos’ failure to adhere to planned preventive maintenance.
In conclusion, the committee cited management lapses, coupled with negligence on the part of Kosmos Energy as being responsible for the ABAN ABRAHAM incident, adding that the handling of matters related to the ABAN ABRAHAM incident by Company amounted to concealment.
The committee continued that Kosmos Energy was in breach of its obligation to ensure that the right procedure and necessary safeguards were in place to minimize any risk of accidental spillage of this magnitude.
It said Kosmos Energy was liable, as due care was not taken to avoid such a huge discharge at this early stage of commercial drilling in Ghana.
“The first ATWOOD HUNTER incident occurred as a result of Kosmos Energy deferring their preventive maintenance schedule”, the committee noted in its report, a copy of which is in the possession of The Enquirer.
Finally, the committee recommended that Kosmos Energy should pay a fine of GH¢40 million (¢400billion). It added that proceeds from the fine should be allocated as follows: Coastal Zone Development Programme - 50%; Environmental Protection Agency-20%; Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology - 10%; Ghana Maritime Authority -10%; and Research -10%.

Source: Ghanaweb.com

Tony Aidoo castigates Britain for aiding NPP win elections 2000

Dr.Tony Aidoo, Head of Monitoring and Policy Evaluation at the Castle has accused Britain and Netherlands of leading foreign countries to mastermind the defeat of the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) in the 2000 elections and to bring the NPP to power.

Dr. Aidoo cited the UK Labour party as well as some commonwealth countries of engaging in various sinister activities to topple the then Rawlings-led administration.

He was speaking on Adom FM's Dwaso Nsem host Adakabre Frimpong Manso Wednesday, in reaction to reports by the Daily Dispatch newspaper Britain had a hand in the defeat of the NDC in 2000.

The paper quotes a former British Diplomat, Craig Murray as saying the British government conspired to push then President Jerry John Rawlings and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) government out of power through the 2000 elections by helping the opposition NPP tacitly.

Dr Aidoo said that President Rawlings had intelligence that his government was being undermined by West and presented a strong protest at all international conferences he attended.

The former Deputy Defence Minister said at a point when the actions of former British diplomat, Craig Murray became ‘too much’, then Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Victor Gbeho cautioned him to restrict himself to his diplomatic duties.

Dr Aidoo said he was therefore not surprised Craig Murray was reported as partly owning ARTOL, an oil company, “After all he was paid for the work he did for the NPP”.

The NDC stalwart stated that Craig Murray stormed the strong room of the Electoral Commission on voting day in 2000 when he did not represent any political party.

According to Dr. Aidoo though other people in the NPP have denied the allegations of Craig Murray, he believes in the claims of the former diplomat adding that he himself saw Mr. Murray at the electoral commission after which Kwabena Agyapong and Dan Botwe stormed the offices of the EC Chairman, Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan insisting on the declaration of candidate Kufour as the president.

However, Mr. Hackman Owusu Agyeman who has been mentioned in Murray’s book as the person he discussed the declaration of John Kufour as president at a meeting at Lababi Beach Hotel has described Craig Murray as “mad”.

He says he suspect Mr. Murray’s intention is to sell his book, else according to Mr. Hackman the allegations are completely bogus.

Mr. Owusu Agyeman recalls a call he received three days after the election when president Mills called on his phone and spoke to John Kufour who was then with him at a house at Airport area.

The Member of Parliament for New Juabeng North denies ever meeting Mr. Murray. “We won the election on a clean slate” said Mr. Owusu Agyeman.

He said he believes Craig Murray is making up those allegations to sell his new book, ‘The Catholic Orangemen of Togo and Other Conflicts I have known’. “I don’t know what is wrong with that man, I don’t understand his intentions. It is not true” screamed Mr. Owusu Agyeman.

In the 219 page book, the former diplomat who has become intertwined in Ghana’s Politics, claims he had meetings with NPP big-shots like Dan Botwe and others to persuade them not to declare Kufuor a winner as that would have proven an excellent excuse for the then President Rawlings to stage a coup.

On his part, Former General Secretary of the NPP, Dan Botwe, rubbished the allegations of Craig Murray. He conceded that though Craig Murray came to the strong room of the electoral commission on the voting day, he played no major role in the collation of the results.

Dan Botwe says he cannot understand why the former diplomat is making a big deal out of nothing.

Mr. Botwe who is also the MP for Okere admitted approaching the E.C. boss to state their intention to declare their candidate at the winner adding that he sees nothing wrong with that position since the NDC used similar tactics in the 2008 election.

“Look even you, radio stations call elections results after collating the results you receive from your reporters. It’s the same thing that we, the political parties do. And that is what we did” Mr. Botwe stated.

Though he says the parties can take a position in the trend of elections results, the final authority in elections is vested in the commissioner of the electoral commission.

Concerning Mr. Murray’s allegation that Mr. Botwe was nervous, the Okere MP admitted being nervous but explained that with the tension surrounding the elections, all those in the strong room were nervous.

On the credibility of Mr. Murray, Dan Botwe says the impression created by Mr. Murray that he played a key role in the voting is baseless and shows his own ignorance of Ghana's electoral process.

He advised Mr. Murray not to take credit in the success of the NPP in the 2000 elections.



Credit: Afia Pokua/Adom FM/Ghana


Source: Myjoyonline.com

Ghana Aug inflation eases to to 9.44 pct

ACCRA (Reuters) - Annualised inflation in Ghana eased slightly to 9.44 percent in August from 9.46 percent in July, the 14th consecutive monthly decline, the country's statistics office said on Wednesday.

The announcement comes ahead of a meeting of the Bank of Ghana's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee next week. A series of cuts have left the prime policy rate at 13.5 percent, its lowest level since January 2008.

"There is still room for further easing, and we anticipate a somewhat more cautious 50-basis-points cut at the September MPC meeting," said Razia Kahn at Standard Chartered Bank.

"For now at least, seasonal influences -- the favourable impact on food prices at this time of the year -- are in all likelihood helping to keep month-on-month increases in inflation in check. This should continue into September as well."

Annualised food inflation in August stood at 5.3 percent, Ebo Duncan, Director of Economic Statistics at the national statistics office, told a news briefing in Accra.
Source: Reuters

Mugabe says wants closer ties with West

By Cris Chinaka
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe wants normal ties with Western powers critical of its policies but will press ahead with a plan to hand control of foreign companies to local blacks, President Robert Mugabe said.

Mugabe told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that his government was waiting for positive movement from the United States and European Union to mend ties soured over the last decade by rows over the seizures of white-owned farms for landless blacks and charges of rights abuses and election fraud.

"We never refuse to talk to anybody," he said when asked whether he was prepared to talk to Washington and Brussels.

"But what I don't understand about the Europeans and the Americans is the negative attitude. How do they expect the kind of cold war they decided to wage on us, how do they intend it to end?"

Talks to improve ties with the EU have stalled over slow political reforms in Harare while U.S. President Barack Obama said last month he was "heartbroken" by Zimbabwe's decline.

Mugabe -- who last month told Western powers to go "to hell" over sanctions imposed on his ZANU-PF party -- said on Thursday: "They have imposed unjustified and illegal sanctions on us. The sanctions are comparable to the military aggression in Iraq".

IMPROVING RELATIONS

Mugabe said some Western countries had hoped that sanctions on Zimbabwe would help push him out of power.

"That kind of regime change is the exclusive right of the people of Zimbabwe ... I am born here and if my people want me to go, I go."
The 86-year-old leader said he hoped Obama and new British Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg would move to mend ties between Harare and the West.

"We are waiting to see what Cameron and Clegg will do and Obama also will do in regard to our situation and our relations," Mugabe said.

"If they decide the relations should remain what they are, then we will know that they too are aggressors and not different from their predecessors, but we are giving them a chance."

The United States and European Union imposed sanctions on state firms and travel restrictions on Mugabe and dozens of his associates nearly 10 years ago after a violent re-election campaign and at the start of often violent commercial farm seizures.

Mugabe was forced into a power-sharing pact with his rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, more than a year ago after a crisis over a 2008 national election that local and foreign observers say was marred by violence and vote-rigging.

LOCAL OWNERSHIP

Although the unity government has stabilised the economy and Zimbabwe registered its first growth in a decade last year, it has struggled to attract foreign aid and investment because of Mugabe's policies.

Mugabe told Reuters the government would proceed with a plan for local blacks to acquire 51 percent shares in foreign-owned firms, including mines and banks, despite criticism it will hurt investment flows into the country.

"It has always been our aim to have control of our resources ... and I don't think the private sectors of the Western countries would, in toto, decide to stay away," he said.
Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, says his policies are meant to correct colonial injustices and on Thursday he dismissed fears that the local ownership drive would be implemented haphazardly.

Mugabe also dismissed rumours of ill-health, laughing off suggestions that he was dying of cancer and had recently suffered a stroke .

He expressed frustration with Zimbabwean middle class blacks who criticise his empowerment plans to give them a stake in an economy in which the majority are workers and managers.

"We are saying to them you are like an eagle brought up among chickens, an eagle that doesn't know that it can do more than chickens and fly," he said.

Source: Reuters

British woman falls victim to ‘sakawa’, loses $100,000 in Ghana

A British business woman who planned retiring into a new life with her new found internet lover has been defrauded of $100,000.

Mary Little had transferred part of her life-long savings to her supposed lover, Frederick Stalke, a retiring American Colonel, for him to prepare his New York house as part of plans for Little to move in.

It turned out the money went into a cedi account at reputable bank in Accra and with the help of an employee of the bank, the amount was withdrawn in three tranches by the fraudsters.

Little told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show host Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah on Wednesday she had built a relationship with Stalke for over seven months, via phone, camcorders and text messages after she first met him on a dating site, Match.com.

She was supposed to meet him for the first time in New York on September 19, 2009 and possibly start a new future together and that was the beginning of her painful revelation.

Stalke, she narrated claimed he was part of the soldiers withdrawn by the US government from Baghdad and was to take care of some properties wrongly shipped to Accra and would return to US in two weeks.

Whilst in Accra, Stalk allegedly got into some problems with the police and needed part of the amount to resolve the issues and invest the remaining in the property in the US as agreed by the two of them. He requested that the money be paid to his lawyer who was litigating the case for him.

“I had no reason to suspect this guy didn’t exist," she said. “The money actually didn’t go into a dollar account; the lawyer was fake. The account holder was fake; the money actually went into a local currency account and this reputable bank did not follow its protocol,” she lamented.

According to Mary Little, she called the Modern Hotel in Achimota, Accra where Frederick Stalk was supposed to have been staying for the two weeks only to be told he had been beaten up and taken to hospital. Later she learnt he had checked out from the hotel and has since not made any contacts to her.

Protocol

Mary Little said she is taking legal action against the bank for not doing enough due-diligence before the money was withdrawn.

According to her, she cross-checked from the Fraud Department of the UK Bank who confirmed the existence of the account in Ghana before she paid in the money.

She wondered how the Branch manager in Accra did not suspect how an 18 months old account owned by a trader could receive such a hefty amount, the first of its kind, without following the necessary banking procedures before releasing the amount.

Selfish

Five persons, the account holder, an employee of the bank and three others including a woman have been arrested by the police. They are currently being prosecuted at an Accra High Court.

There is no trace, at least not yet of Frederick Stalke. It is still not clear if he was party to this sophisticated scam, or was impersonated. Mary Little cannot also confirm if Stalk was indeed part of the US Army.

Narrating how the whole scam was uncovered, Little said she vowed not to go the way of many such victims who committed suicide after going through such ordeals.

She therefore had to liaise with the UK Fraud Department where she was told to be on the alert, that fraudsters are always selfish and would come back for more.

According to her, a lady purporting to be the daughter of the missing Frederick Stalke contacted her after several weeks to announce the death of her lover.

She claimed to be schooling in California but had to come to Accra to find out what had happened to her father. She wanted an amount of £3,000 to take care of the search for the father.

Mary Little said she was advised by the Fraud office in UK to send the money via courier.

Together with the Ghana police the fraudsters were arrested.

Trust

Mary Little said for her entire life she has been surrounded by people who are trust worthy and only thought of scams and 419s as mere phrases.

She only reads about it the media and did not believe she will fall victim to it.

Play the attached audio for excerpts of the interview

Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Kufuor & Others Steal In Otumfuo's Name

*State Land Bought At ¢10 Million Sold For ¢950 Million And US$500,000*

*By Larry-Alans Dogbey*

The uttermost disrespect one could show a highly eminent personality like the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is to misappropriate a state property using his name, a traditional sacrilege which could attract the heaviest punishment from the Golden Stool.

Documents in possession of The Herald reveal that ex-President J.A Kufuor and other officials, who served in his administration, used the name of Otumfuo Osei Tutu to misappropriate pricy state land at Danyame, a suburb of Kumasi near the residence of the Ashanti Regional Minister, for their personal use.

The shocking thing is that the lands were sold for as low as ¢10 million, per plot, to the personalities, and within days, some of them were busily selling them out at a whopping ¢950 million while others had priced theirs for as high as US$500,000, for sale.

Impeccable sources close to Otumfuo Osei Tutu, whose maiden name, Barima Kwaku Dua, is the first on the list has disclosed to officials of the Lands Commission that the Otumfuo never requested for any land, yet he was allocated two plots, and till date, he has no idea who paid for the land on his behalf.

Insiders are of the opinion that the Asantehene’s name was used to give a cover of legitimacy to the illegal acquisition of the land, and to seal his mouth against talking about it. He is said to have braced himself up ready to give back the land, anytime, for state use.

Ex-President Kufuor grabbed as many as six plots, while Otumfuo Osei Tutu was given a paltry two plots.

Apart from ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor, other prominent officials on the list are ex-Chief of Staff, Kwadwo Okyere Mpian; two ex-Ashanti Regional Ministers, Sampson Kweku Boafo, and Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah; ex-Mayor of Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Patricia Appiagye and the current MP for Manhyia, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh.

Insiders disclosed that strict instructions had come from The Castle during the Kufuor Presidency, through the Ashanti Regional Co-ordinating Council to the Ashanti Regional office of the Lands Commission, that the land near the famous City Hotel, should be demarcated, and within days, it was done and allocated to prominent state officials and NPP apparatchiks at very ridiculous prices.

Prior to the ridiculous sale which started somewhere in 2004 and lasted till 2008, the smallest plot at Danyame-Kumasi, was pegged at ¢200 million. Even the land in question was not meant for sale at the time. However, the Kufuor-led administration forcibly had it put on sale under a scheme titled Kumasi Re-Development Scheme, and got sold to its officials with Ashanti descent.

Also on the list are Mr. Anthony *Oteng**-**Gyasi**,* ex-President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), owner and Managing Director of Tropical Cable and Conductor Limited (TCCL); the MP for Bantama and ex-Deputy Minister for Water Resources, Work and Housing, Cecilia Dapaah.

Others include Nana Kwabena Oduro, Adwoa Birago, Prof. Yaw Safo Boafo, Charles Osei, K Owusu-Poku, Ernest Yaw Kwarteng, Kwame Agyarpong Boafo, Baffour Owusu Asare Amankwatia, Kwaku Frimpong, Dr. Joyce Dontwi, Anthony Gambrah, Akwasi Banahene, K Owusu-Akyaw, Nana Kwame Kyeretwie, Johnson Asiedu, Mr. and Mrs. Oduro-Kwarteng, Osei Assiebey, Kofi Dua-Adonteng, Stephen Mensah Opoku Agyemang, Charity Osei and Alhaji Hamidu Ibrahim Baryeh.

Four officials of the Lands Commission also took part in the pillage. They are the ex-Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission in Accra, Alhaji Hamidu Ibrahim Baryeh; Mr. Owusu-Poku and Yaw Kwarteng Ashanti Regional Lands Officer and deputy, respectively and the ex-Ashanti Regional Lands Commission Chairman, Mr. Kwame Boafo, said to be a brother of Mr. S.K. Boafo, the ex- Ashanti Regional Minister .

While the chiefs and people of Ga Dangbe were screaming, and accusing officials of the Kufuor-led regime of looting their lands, their counterparts in the Ashanti Region were not being spared either.

Another interesting thing about the allocation is that some of the beneficiaries of the lands had also benefited from the juicy lands allotted in Accra as well.

For instance, ex-Minister for Ashanti Region, S.K. Boafo, has his name captured at the Lands Commission as a beneficiary of some costly lands in Accra, whilst Cecilia Dapaah is also a beneficiary of a plot at Cantonments, located a few meters away from the Togo Embassy, also in Accra.

The Herald has learnt that the Land Commission in Accra, chaired by Nana Adjei Ampofo, is in discussions to take back the land from the personalities. It intends to re-evaluate it for those who have already developed theirs to enable them to pay the right price for the land.

Source: The Herald/Ghanaweb

Latest typical Fraud Letters

• PAYMENT UPDATE‏
  

  9:01 AM
  

  Reply
   ▼
  

   JOHN ABOH
  
  

  jonnabhfbn@gmail.com
  

  
   

  From:	JOHN ABOH (jonnabhfbn@gmail.com)
  Sent:	Mon 9/06/10 9:01 AM
  To:	xxxxxxxx@hotmail.com

  
  Attn:
  
  
  The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has directed and ordered that the huge sum of money recovered from some Nigerian fraudsters arrested recently should be returned to their respective foreign-owners with immediate effect. So if you are already a fraud victim through any Nigerian or if you are a foreign contractor and you have executed any contract with any Nigerian and you have not been paid please report via this email.
  
  
  First Bank Of Nigeria PLC has been mandated to verify all the transactions and re-fund all the money recovered from these fraudsters to their respective owners. All Foreign Affairs Files has been handed over to our Bank for official use.
  
  
  We cannot determine the actual amount to pay the victims of these frauds because most of the transactions were long in the past and as a result this The Federal Government of Nigeria and The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the payment of US$7M (US$7,000,000)SEVEN MILLION US DOLLARS as compensation to all published beneficiaries.
  
  
  Your email-address is among the enlisted beneficiaries published for proper verification and immediate payment. If you have lost money to Nigeria through fraud or you have any other way which you have lost money to Nigeria Please, reply to our mail for confirmation so that we can begin processing the payment and transfer of your money to your custody. The Federal Government and The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed our Bank; First Bank of Nigeria to prepare the Transfer your money to your custody.
  
  
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  FBN
  

Key political risks to watch in Ghana

By Kwasi Kpodo

ACCRA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Ghana will join the club of oil-producing nations this year, offering it the chance to transform the fortunes of its aid-dependent economy.

Yet other countries have seen how the blessing of oil can turn into a curse, crowding out other sectors of the economy while triggering public spending sprees, official corruption and even fuelling insecurity.

Here are some of the risk factors:

THE OIL WINDFALL

A string of discoveries in the Jubilee offshore oilfield from 2007 mean Ghana is confident of total reserves there of around 1.6 billion barrels with potentially more in adjacent sites. First oil is seen due in December 2010, with initial output put at 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) and rising to 250,000 bpd by 2013 -- squeezing Ghana into the list of the world's top 50 producers. [ID:nLDE67N12M]

Aside from the state-owned Ghanaian National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), major players in Jubilee include UK-listed operator Tullow Oil Plc (TLW.L: Quote), U.S.-producer Anadarko Petroleum (APC.N: Quote) and privately held U.S. energy firm Kosmos.

In August, Kosmos cancelled the sale of its 30.875 percent stake in the West Cape Three Points block and 18 percent share in the Deepwater Tano to ExxonMobil (XOM.N: Quote), a deal Ghana said was in breach of Kosmos' commitments. Despite state oil firm GNPC reaffirming its interest in the stake, Kosmos subsequently said its policy now was to remain in Ghana.

What to watch:

-- Signs of a delay in the first oil. Ghanaian officials say preparations are on track for late 2010, but some analysts fear this is ambitious just three years after the first discoveries and say a 2011 start could be more realistic.

-- More ownership wrangles. GNPC has declared that it is interested in any opportunity to increase its holding in the Jubilee field. There has been persistent speculation it will team with a Chinese or other international partner to fund such a deal. Nothing has materialised so far, but Ghana feels that the country should enjoy a full share of the oil benefit.

-- More oil finds. Tullow announced on July 26 its Owo-1 exploration well had discovered a new oil field closer to Jubilee and that it was assessing its size.

THE ECONOMY

Oil is an unpredictable, potentially game-changing new factor for the economy. President John Atta Mills' government hopes the new revenue stream can help lift Ghana out of the low-income bracket of countries such as Afghanistan and Haiti into the middle-income ranks of Iran or Egypt -- a goal the International Monetary Fund says it could attain in a decade.

Economic growth next year is forecast to be among the highest in the world at close to 15 percent, while analysts see the Ghanaian cedi GHS= building on its 2009 gains.

The cedi appreciation has helped bring inflation down from 20 percent in early 2009 to 9.52 percent in June. But the downward trend appears to be bottoming out and analysts are split on whether further rate cuts are possible after a total 500 basis points of cuts from last November have brought the prime policy rate down to 13.5 percent.

Firm commodities prices are expected to provide an extra cushion to the economy and Ghana is determined the oil rush will not damage its gold and cocoa sectors. The latter could even supplant Ivory Coast's ailing crop as the world's biggest in around 2012. However smuggling of cocoa into Ivory Coast, where higher prices can be achieved, has hit official volumes.

What to watch:

-- The next meeting of the Bank of Ghana's rate-setting committee from Sept. 20. Some analysts predict a further cut of 100 basis points is possible, while others judge that the easing cycle is over for now.

-- Inflation taking off again. Price growth has now fallen into single digits. But then it is forecast to take off again on a combination of rising utility tariffs, public sector wage hikes and increased state spending. [ID:nLDE6791YZ]

-- A re-basing of economic statistics originally due around mid-2010 but now seen by year-end. A move to include parts of the informal economy in output data and rebalance weightings to reflect new business sectors, it will mean a statistical upgrade of the size of the economy by anything up to 50 percent.

PUBLIC FINANCES

Mills' government unsettled markets in August by announcing that debt arrears inherited from the former government meant the end-2008 public deficit stood at 24.2 percent of gross domestic product, almost double the previous estimate. Emergency measures brought the deficit back down below 10 percent by the end of 2009, and the government is banking on oil revenues helping it fall to 3-5 percent by 2012. [ID:nLP230649]

For 2010 the government wants to prime growth with spending in the energy sector, farming and infrastructure. But the IMF recommendation after its March visit to the country was clear: "Fiscal management remains Ghana's main challenge."

What to watch:

-- Higher public borrowing. The new spending plans have led to concerns the deficit could start ticking up again. Ghana's public sector wage bill -- at around 11 percent of GDP one of Africa's highest -- narrows the scope for any belt-tightening.

-- Ghana goes to the market for new funds. Ghana already has a Eurobond and was set launch a new $300 million issue before poor market conditions prompted it last September to hold back.

FOREIGN INVESTORS

By African standards, Ghana has a good name on governance. In corruption watchdog Transparency International's 2009 rankings, only Botswana, South Africa and Namibia were perceived to be more determined to tackle graft in sub-Saharan Africa.

Yet the wrangling over the Kosmos stake in the Jubilee field unsettled some investors, as did October 2009's news that Ghana wanted to renegotiate British mobile phone giant Vodafone Group Plc's (VOD.L: Quote) $900 million purchase of a 70 percent stake in the national phone company, Ghana Telecoms [ID:nLG231998].

Portfolio investors focus on the country's debut $750 million Eurobond GH032376037=RRPS. It is currently yielding around 6 percent against a launch yield of 8.5 percent.

Investors in Ghana's then paper-based bourse struggled to wind down positions when the global slowdown hit stocks in 2008. The GSE All-share index finished the year up 58 percent but the gains were practically wiped out last year. Despite the advent of an automated trading system in late 2008, daily trading volume rarely tops $1 million and illiquidity is a concern.

What to watch:

-- Further falls in interest rates make yields on Ghanaian stocks more attractive. The All-share index is up around 18 percent from the start of the year.

-- Relations with multinationals. The Kosmos and Vodafone sagas, together with moves to increase the amount that companies pay in mining royalties, show Mills' government could alienate investors with moves to stamp its authority. [ID:nLDE64P1XY]

Source: Reuters

A post by a CPA and an aspiring Africa CFE

Africa-fraud-less
Members Profile

Direct Link To This Post Topic: What Africa needs- CFEs
Posted: 28 Jun 2010 at 8:29pm
Hello guys,
l am new to the ACFE and should be a CFE by the first week of July. l must confess that l have decided to be a CFE with only one goal in mind. To go back to Mother Africa and awaken the eyes and hearts of our politicians. l have seen that the most egregious impediment on the way of devt in Africa and for that matter my beloved country Ghana is Mr Fraud. l think that if all African countries try in a way to combat fraud we will see devt and concrete economic results on the shores of Africa. What did Obama say when he visited Ghana? " The Devt of Africa lies in our own hands". There is too much fraud in Africa and it is time that we work deligently to curtail that fruad. The journey will be tough and gloomy but it must start from some where. In my opinion, the universities should start teaching a fraud introductory courses as part of their school curriculum and l think that with time the West African region should have their own CFE charter. The effects of fraud in Africa, in my opinion, have more stringent ramifications than the developed world. What happens when the police takes a bribe and allow some one to speed at 95miles per hour in a busy town?. He puts the community at risk. What happens when a senator embezzles money entrusted to him for regional devt? The whole region suffers from hunger, deprivation, epidemic etc?
l hope that l can meet new friends from the continent so that we can join hands to foster this dream.
l can be reached at agbekocpa@gmail.com. Thanks for reading guys.
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New Fraud Fighter
Members Profile

Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Aug 2010 at 8:47pm
Saw your post on the ACFE website. I am from Sierra Leone, West Africa, and agree with you 110%. Would like to stay in touch with you and see if we can collaborate our efforts in starting a chapter in Africa, and encourage colleges and universities to include the study of fraud in their curriculum. My e mail address is mightymaryone@yahoo.com

Regards
New Fraud Fighter.
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Phathu
Members Profile

Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2010 at 3:41am

I fully agree with you, Africa desperatley need CFE's to help in the war against corruption. it is actually becoming a culture of governance. as you know, the lower the perception of detection, the more difficult it will be to combat corruption. i am a newly qualified CFE based in South Africa. i will be happy to discuss and share ideas with you in this regard. you can contact me @ lukhwarenip@sac.limpopo.gov.za.

the struggle continues!!!
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Source: ACFE General Discussion Forum