JAN 30, 2020

DIGITAL NO. 100827 THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
• Alex Dautey,
CEO of AD
Construction
Ltd
• Ms Gloria Afua Akuffo, AG
• Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, NDC Chariman
• Mr Justice Eric Kyei-Baffour, a
Justice of the Court of Appeal
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DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
Published by: EIB
Network / Heritage
Communications Ltd.
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CJ clears Justice Kyei-
Baffour in NCA trial
NEWSDESK REPORT
MR JUSTICE Eric Kyei-Baffour,
a Justice of the Court of
Appeal, with additional responsibility
as a High Court
judge, will continue to preside
over the trial of the five individuals accused
of embezzling $4 million belonging to the
National Communications Authority (NCA)
during the erstwhile Mahama administration.
That was the decision of the Chief Justice,
Mr Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, when he rejected
a petition calling for Justice Kyei-Baffour’s
recusal by one of the accused persons,
Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, a former Board
Chairman of the NCA.
“Your petition for His Lordship Justice
Eric Kyei-Baffour to recuse himself from this
matter is denied. Please, note that the rejection
of this petition does not mean that any
legitimate complaints will be ignored but will
be considered in the interest of Justice,” the
Chief Justice said in a response dated January
27, 2020.
Petition
On January 23, 2020, Baffoe-Bonnie petitioned
the Chief Justice to transfer the trial to
• Mr Justice Eric Kyei-Baffour, a
Justice of the Court of Appeal
another judge, following certain allegations
made against Mr Justice Kyei-Baffour by a social
media commentator known as Kevin
Ekow Taylor.
In a video posted on Facebook, Taylor
had made a plethora of allegations, claiming
that Mr Justice Kyei-Baffour was in bed with
the government and had an agenda to convict
Baffoe-Bonnie and the other accused persons.
Without providing any proof, Taylor called
on the Chief Justice to investigate his allegations.
Based on the video, Baffoe-Bonnie said in
his petition that he was afraid he would not
get a fair trial with Mr Justice Baffoe-Bonnie
in charge of the trial.
Petition rejected
The Chief Justice, in his response to the
petition, a copy of which has been sighted,
said he would not entertain the invitation to
investigate Taylor’s allegations because he
(Taylor) was not in Ghana and was not party
to the suit either.
Also, he said, Taylor had not disclosed his
source of information or provided any evidence
for any investigations into his allegations
to be commenced.
“Thirdly, it will certainly set a bad precedent
in the administration of justice for a
Chief Justice to embark on an investigation
against a sitting Superior Court judge, pursuant
to an allegation from someone who is
not an accused person in a trial, a lawyer for
the accused or in any way related to the accused,”
the Chief Justice stated.
Arrest warrant
Taylor is currently a wanted man in
Ghana, after Mr Justice Kyei-Baffour issued a
warrant for his arrest to come and explain
why he (Taylor) should not be committed for
contempt for the said video.
Mr Justice Kyei-Baffour issued the arrest
warrant on January 16, after he had ruled that
it would not be feasible to summon Taylor
because he (Taylor) was not resident in the
country.
According to him, Taylor’s video scandalised
the court, as it was highly prejudicial
and an affront to the administration of justice,
for which no civilised nation ought to
entertain.
Trial
Baffoe-Bonnie is standing trial with
William Mathew Tetteh Tevie, a former Director-General
of the NCA; Nana Owusu
Ensaw, a former board member; Alhaji Salifu
Mimina Osman, a former Deputy National
Security Coordinator, and a businessman,
George Derek Oppong.
They are alleged to have embezzled $4
million of state funds during the purchase of
cyber-security surveillance equipment or listening
devices for the National Security
Council Secretariat (NSCS), which was sponsored
by the NCA.
The accused persons have been charged
with diverse counts of wilfully causing financial
loss of $4 million to the state, stealing,
conspiracy, money laundering, among other
charges.
They have pleaded not guilty to all the
charges and are currently on bail in the sum
of $1 million each.
I paid $60,000 without instructions to GHL
BY MUNTALLA INUSAH
muntalla.inusah@dailyheritage.com.gh
THE CHIEF Executive Officer of
AD Construction Limited, Mr Alex
Dautey, who was sued at the Lands
Division of the Accra High Court for
unlawfully causing the demolition of a
three-bedroom estate house purchased
from his company, has accepted
full responsibility of the
demolition of the property sold to
the plaintiff 11 years ago at the cost
of $200,000.00.
Mr Dautey, the 2nd Defendant in
the case, also told the court that, “I do
not have at this moment the specific
covenants that were breached” by the
plaintiff that warranted the demolition
of the estate building.
The CEO of AD Construction
made this known to the Court
• Embattled Estate developer tells court
presided over by Justice Samuel Asare
Nyarko on day two of his cross-examination
by plaintiff ’s lawyer, Alhaji
Farouk Seidu.
Under further scrutiny from counsel,
the Defendant also told the court
that he paid the $60,000 to the Ghana
Home Loans without any instruction
from the plaintiff.
Below are few of the
questions and answers
Q: Now, in these exhibits you
changed figures regarding the sale of
the property at will.
Ans: I disagree. My Lord, I didn't
make the change at will. As I was saying
yesterday (Tuesday), once more, I
want to remind this court that nobody
will part with $101, 000 without signing
a contract and getting a receipt, so
My Lord, Exhibit 1 and 2, if you look
at them, were both prepared by me as
the seller and both were signed by the
plaintiff and the seller. When you go
further to look at Exhibit B and C
they were solely prepared by myself
for the means of convenience to assist
the plaintiff in this matter to qualify
for the $60, 000 mortgage granted by
Ghana Home Loans, the bank.
Q. Now Before the loan, was applied
for at Ghana Home Loans, the
building had been completed.
A. Correct
Q. And same was handed over to
plaintiff, is that correct?
A. Yes, it is correct
Q. From that time up to the time
the building was pulled down, neither
you nor your company had any interest
in the property.
A. I disagree. Because the estate is
laid out in a way that all the properties
within the estate which is the gated
community are inter-twined and we
crafted our sub-lease agreement allowing
us to enter any of the properties. I
mean the land, by sending a written
consent to our buyers because of our
interest in the land. The land on
which the properties of our buyers are
still belongs to us. The land still belongs
to the company. We did it so because
the sewage system for the entire
area goes to a central point within the
estate.
Q. Look at Exhibit E, what is exhibit
E?
A. Exhibit E is a sub-lease agreement
that we issue to our buyers.
Q. Exhibit E is the sub-lease
agreement issued to the plaintiff, not
to all, and this agreement is for how
many years?
A. 60 years
Q. I suggest to you that within the
said 60 years you have neither ownership
right nor interest in both the land
and the building thereon?
A. I disagree. We make the plaintiff
aware that during the question of
the lease all maintenance of the land,
the sewage system and the common
areas of the gated community will be
managed and solely managed by our
company. Due to that, we make the
plaintiff aware by giving out rules and
regulations governing the gated community
or estate and that is why My
Lord, I said that we have interest in
the land and we made the plaintiff
aware of that. So even until the house
was demolished, the plaintiff was
aware that all repair works on the land
and the house itself can only be carried
out by our company.
Q. You ordered the demolition of
property, is that correct?
A. Absolutely. After I carried out
the demolition, I wrote to the plaintiff
• CONTINUE FROM PAGE 3

WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
03
Witness disowns
statement
BY MUNTALLA INUSAH
muntalla.inusah@dailyheritage.com.gh
• In Ofosu-Ampofo trial
THE PRINCIPAL Witness in
the trial of the National
Chairman of the National
Democratic Congress (NDC),
Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo and
the Communications Officer of the
NDC, Anthony Kwaku Boahen, has
stirred controversy in court for denying
knowledge of a witness statement that
bears his signature.
In court yesterday when the trial commenced
with the State’s first witness, the
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP),
Mrs Yvonne Atakora Obuabisa, led the
witness, Benjamin Osei Ampofo Adjei, a
broadcaster at Adom FM, a radio station
in the Multimedia Group, to give evidence
by way of tendering in his witness
statement.
However, the witness, who also identified
himself as reporter and a sit-in host
for the morning show in the absence of
the regular host, told the court that he
had no knowledge of the witness statement
filed by the State which he was to
tender, even though it bore his signature.
Ampofo Adjei, although acknowledged
his signature on the statement, he
claimed he had no knowledge of the content
because he signed it at the time that
he was preparing for a 6:00 p.m. news
bulletin.
Reaction
Defence lawyers, led by Tony Lithur,
raised objection to the adoption of the
witness statement, saying that per the
directives issued by the Chief Justice,
the witness statement does not meet
the laid-down rules for same to be
adopted.
His position was corroborated by
Counsel for the 2nd Accused person,
Mr Boahen.
But the DPP, in a swift rebuttal, said
the witness statement was prepared out
of the Police Investigation statement
written by the witness and same had
been signed by the witness.
But after many tussles by the defence
and prosecution, the Accra High
Court adopted the statement when the
presiding judge, Justice Samuel Asiedu,
a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting
with additional responsibility as a High
Court Judge, ruled that as far as the
witness had identified his signature on
the statement, the statement was valid.
Audio tape
Also, the tendering of an audio
recording of an interview the witness
had with Mr Kwaku Boahen stirred
controversy as the DPP requested that
after tendering she would like it to be
played to the hearing of the Court.
The Court hinted that it had not
readily got the facility to play the
recording to its hearing at the
current sitting but would make
arrangements for it to be played
at the next sitting.
The case has been adjourned
to February 5, 2020 for hearing
to continue.
Background
The two NDC officials have
been charged in respect of the
infamous leaked tape and are
being tried at a Commercial
Court in Accra
presided over by Samuel
Asiedu. The tape is said to
have captured how the
NDC is allegedly planning
to commit crimes in the
country and turn round to
blame them on the ruling
New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Amongst the alleged
strategies are the creation
of a general state of insecurity
in the country
through kidnappings and
arson, and verbal attacks on
public officials like the
Chairman of the National
Peace Council, Prof. Emmanuel
Asante, and the
Electoral Commission boss,
Jean Mensa.
• Ms Gloria Afua Akuffo, AG
•Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, NDC Chariman
I paid $60,000 without instructions to GHL
• READ FROM PAGE 2
accepting full responsibility for demolishing
the property so I immediately
approached Ghana Home
Loans to pay in full the $60, 000
cheque that he paid to me. I called
the plaintiff to direct him where I
should pay his refund and I'm prepared
to come and meet him in
London to discuss any compensation
that he wants above the $101,
000 he gave me. And he told the
lawyers and the lawyers of the banks
will meet me in court. When the
matter came to court, I personally
and humbly approached his lawyers
and requested a settlement. We
couldn’t agree on the numbers, we
couldn't agree on the settlement
amount so I advised my lawyer to
inform the court that in order not to
waste the court's time, I, 1st and 2nd
Defendants, accept full responsibility
for the demolition and we should
wait for the decision by the judge for
the settlement of this issue.
Q. You remember that you were
at a point in time instructed by the
plaintiff to collect rents from the
tenants who were occupying the
property?
A. Yes. But when I collect the
rent from tenants, I render statements
of accounts to the plaintiff
Q. I suggest to you that the
whole period that you collected
rents from the tenants you never accounted
to plaintiff regarding
monies received from his rents for
the whole period?
A. I disagree. Because, if the
plaintiff has property that is being
managed for income and for seven
years and no account has been rendered
and plaintiff could not react,
then something is wrong. My Lord, I
did render an account to the plaintiff.
Q. You see, it is because you
were refusing to render accounts
that was why plaintiff asked you to
stop collecting rent of the property
A. I disagree. The plaintiff built
his house purposely for the mother.
The mother was with them in the
UK by then and the mother relocated
to stay in this property in
Ghana from London. During this
period, the property was not yielding
any income because the occupants
were family of the plaintiff. However,
it was incurring cost of maintenance
fees of $1,200 each year and
that accumulated during the period
• CONTINUE FROM PAGE 3

Digital January 30, 2020.qxp_Layout 1 1/29/20 7:37 PM Page 2
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
CSIR-SARI develops new
sweet potato varieties
FOUR NEW varieties of
potato have been developed
for cultivation
and consumption to
boost nutritional status
of the citizenry whilst
ensuring food security and improved
income for farmers.
The varieties, namely
PGA14008-9, PGA14011-43,
PGA14372-3, and PGA14398-4,
are high-yielding, early-maturing,
contain more nutrients, and tolerant
to pests and disease.
They have been developed by
the Savanna Agricultural Research
Institute of the Council for Scientific
and Industrial Research
(CSIR-SARI) in collaboration with
the International Potato Center
(CIP), a non-profit international
organization, focusing on roots
and tubers research and development.
Members of the National Varietal
Release and Registration
Committee (NVRRC) of the Ministry
of Food and Agriculture
(MoFA), who inspected the field
trials of the new sweet potato varieties
at Nyankpala on Tuesday,
•For their high-yielding and tolerance to pests and disease, the new sweet potato
varieties can boost food security in the country
were impressed at their development.
They, therefore, approved
the new varieties to be recommended
to the Minister for Food
and Agriculture to sanction the
formal approval and release of the
new varieties in line with the law
to allow for their cultivation and
consumption in the country.
Professor Jonathan Padi Tetteh,
a member of NVRRC of
MoFA, speaking after inspecting
the field trials of the varieties,
commended CSIR-SARI for the
efforts at achieving food security
and reducing poverty in the country.
Professor Padi Tetteh urged
CSIR-SARI to review and provide
a valid documentation on the four
sweet potato varieties and submit
it to the NVRRC of MoFA as
early as possible to be sent to the
National Seed Council.
Dr Tom van
Mourik, CIP Country
Manager, Ghana,
expressed gratitude
to members of
NVRRC of MoFA
for their positive response
and assured
them that the documentation
would be
made available to
them as soon as possible.
Dr Joseph Adjebeng-Danquah,
a
Plant Breeder at
CSIR-SARI, highlighting
the characteristics
of the new
sweet potato varieties, said CSIR-
SARI had been examining the
new varieties against four other
high-yielding varieties in multi-locations
(Nyankpala, Bawku, Wa,
Navrongo, and Tumu) from 2017
to 2019.
He said the PGA14008-9, a
pale orange-fleshed genotype, had
an average and maximum yield of
17 to 35 tonnes per hectare (t/ha)
of fresh roots and contains many
marketable size storage roots per
plant and weevil-tolerant.
He said the PGA14011-43 was
an orange-fleshed genotype with
vigorous vine growth and large
root size and produce up to 31.9
t/ha in three months. "The Average
fresh root yield is 19.7 t/ha
with maximum of 35.14 t/ha and
storage room matter ranging from
28 to 35 per cent," he added.
Dr Adjebeng-Danquah said
PGA14372-3 and PGA14398-4
had high dry matter and tolerant
to weevil damage making them
suitable for delayed harvest.
Also, PGA14372-3 has high
desirable low sweet taste to meet
consumer preference for staples,
whereas PGA14398-4 has sufficient
level of beta-carotene, a key
micronutrient for children and
women," he said.
He said CSIR-SARI had also
put in place measures to ensure
multiplication of the four new varieties
as well as making them
available to farmers and other actors
in the food chain.
Source: GNA
&Env.
Link ambulance services to NHIA
BY KOJO ANSAH
THE PRESIDENT
of Ghana Medical
Association, Dr
Frank Ankobea, has
called on the government
to place
emergency ambulance services
under the list of health interventions
covered by the National
Health Insurance Scheme.
The government continues to
absorb the cost of emergency ambulance
services since the establishment
of the National
Ambulance Service in 2004.
However, there have been
widespread reports that many operators
of the ambulances mostly
charge patients fee between
GHc400 to GHc500 before they
transported them from one hospital
to another. The amount, they
claim, is to buy fuel.
• Says GMA boss
Dr Frank Ankobea said emergency
ambulance services were
very critical to the survival of patients
so, there must not be any
reason bordering on financial
impediment to
deny any patient the
services. He, therefore,
suggested the services
must be covered under
the NHIS.
The National Ambulance
Service (NAS) was
established as an Agency
of the Ministry of
Health. The NAS is a
product of collaboration
between the Ministry of
Health and the Ghana
National Fire Service of
the Ministry of Interior.
The role and responsibility
of the NAS is to
establish and operate a nationwide
comprehensive pre-hospital emergency
service.
The Government of Ghana,
on Tuesday, January 28, 2020,
commissioning and distributed
307 ambulances under Government’s
flagship programme ‘One
Constituency, One Ambulance’, to
be added to the woefully inadequate
fleet that existed and became
a source of worry to
Ghanaians.
On EIB’s Agoo FM’s News
Analysis on Tuesday evening, Dr.
Ankobea, though commended the
government, he said the provision
of ambulances was a basic responsibility
of the government to
enhance the comprehensive emergency
system.
The President of Coalition of
NGOs in Health, Dr. Gabriel
Bernaku, told host of the program
Obaahemaa Nana Yaa
Mirekua that apart from listing
emergency services under the
NHIS, there was the need for
Ghana to establish National
Emergency Fund to create strong
financial support for emergency
services.

Digital January 30, 2020.qxp_Layout 1 1/29/20 7:37 PM Page 3
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
News
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
Neoplan shutdown put on
hold after govt intervention
BY KWAME ACHEAMPONG
GOVERNMENT
HAS intervened
to avoid the imminent
collapse
of Neoplan. According
to Starr
News, sources within the management
of the firm say state officials
are working with authorities of
the now struggling auto company
to continue to stay in business.
A top official of the company
told Starr News they had received
calls from the government to
offer it two months’ window to
address the issues facing the firm.
Workers of the company are
owed many months of salary arrears.
Reports say the decision to
shut down the firm follows the inability
of the minority shareholder,
the Fadoul Group, to
continue funding the company all
by itself, while the government
which owns the majority shares
contributed nothing to its operations.
In 2016, the company approached
the government to help
settle a debt of US$173,000 to
gain an additional 20 per cent
shares in the company.
However, the government did
not release the money to the company.
Neoplan shutdown
Neoplan Ghana Limited since
its setup on December 12, 1974
has produced over 4,000 buses for
Ghana and surrounding
economies but it has been scheduled
to shut down on January 31,
2020 according to a memo by the
company due to unprofitability
and recurring monthly losses as
reasons for the shutdown.
The memo dated on January
15, 2020 and signed by the Managing
Director of the company,
Mr Georges Nassar, titled; “Closure
of Neoplan (Ghana) Limited”:
“Management regretfully
informs you that Neoplan
(Ghana) Limited will be closing
down its branches on 31st January,
2020.”
“This is due to lack of contracts
and recurring monthly
losses incurred. As a result, all employment
contracts with the company
will be terminated as of the
said date until further notice,” the
memo added.
The company said the last time
it was given a government contract
was in 2002, which ended in
2010 and saw the production of
450 DAF/VDL buses for the
Metro Mass Transit Limited.
Over 10,000 govt
employees to
have salaries
stopped
A PAYROLL audit by the Auditor
General has uncovered
that over 10,000 employees
have either no justification or
sufficient information to continue
drawing salaries from
the public purse.
It has therefore asked the
affected employees to make
themselves available for enumeration
from January 28 to
February 11, 2020 at the
Audit-Service Headquarters
(Payroll Audit Branch), Accra
to avoid disallowance and surcharge.
This was contained in a
press statement signed by Mr.
George Swanzy Winful, the
Deputy Auditor-General of
the Central Government
Audit Department.
It said: “Notice is hereby
given that the Auditor-General
intends to disallow the
continuous existence of all
un-accounted for employees
on the payroll and surcharge
the amounts involves against
heads of departments, heads
of the management units and
the persons involved.”
The affected persons are
required to carry with them to
the Audit Service Headquarters
Biometric Registration
Form, SSNIT Biometric Card,
Payslip, Appointment Letter,
Recent Promotion or Upgrade
Letter, all academic certificates
and at least two
national identity cards (Voters
ID, Passport, Driver’s Licence,
and the National Health Insurance
Scheme).
Additionally, they should
provide approval letter for
study leave with pay or without
pay, gazette or affidavit
for change of name, contract
renewal letters for pupil
teachers or contract employees
and any other relevant
documents relating to their
employment.
The statement warned that
“failure to honour this final
invitation will result in the
Auditor-General exercising
his powers under Article-
187(7) to disallow the existence
and surcharge such
persons on the payroll. GNA
“Notice is hereby
given that the Auditor-General
intends
to disallow
the continuous existence
of all unaccounted
for
employees on the
payroll and surcharge
the
amounts involves
against heads of
departments,
heads of the management
units and
the persons involved.”
2Groups refused forms for
Deputy Chief of Staff
BY ISAAC BEDIAKO
THREE SEPARATE polling stations
executives stormed the Bantama
New Patriotic Party (NPP) office on
Tuesday, January 28, to buy the
forms for the same person with each
of them presenting a bank draft for
GHc.200.00.
This compelled the Executive of
the Bantama Constituency in the
Ashanti Region, led by the chairman,
to hold a closed door meeting with
the leaders of the groups where he
explained to them why he could not
sell three forms to three groups from
supposed same person’s camp.
However, after the closed door
meeting two of the groups gave in to
the North Suntreso polling station
executives and delegates to buy the
forms on behalf of the Deputy
Chief of Staff at the Office of President
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo
Addo.
The parliamentary primaries
forms are meant for Francis Asenso
Boakye, to contest the incumbent
Member of Parliament (MP) for the
constituency, Daniel Okyem
Aboagye
Speaking to Ultimate FM’s Isaac
Bediako, Chairman of North Suntreso
polling station, William Osei
Boadu, who picked the forms on behalf
of Asenso Boakye, said the incumbent
MP for the constituency
had failed to meet their expectation
in the social contract they signed
with him after voting out Kwabena
Kokofu in 2016 parliamentary primaries,
hence the need to bring in a
new person with track record to effect
positive change in the constituency.
•Delegates at Bantama picking forms
“I’m very grateful to represent my
electorate to pick the parliamentary
primaries forms on behalf of
Deputy Chief of Staff , Hon. Francis
Asenso Boakye. We constitute 11
electoral areas. I chose to pick the
forms because Asenso Boakye has
done amazing work in the Bantama
Constituency in general.
“In North Suntreso where I serve
the party as polling station chairman,
our roads were in very deplorable
state but now we can boast of good
roads through his support and connections
in government,” he said.
He also said a number of members
of the constituency had gained
employment in government and
some companies, while students have
also secured scholarships to further
their education, at the tertiary institutions
to PhD levels both in Ghana
and abroad.
“After checking all these personal
contribution of the Deputy Chief of
Staff, we believe he will be able to address
some of the challenges faced
by our people in this constituency.
That’s why we are calling on him to
come and lead us into Elections 2020
and also represent the interest of
Bantama in Parliament.
“If we compare him to our present
MP, Daniel Okyem Aboagye, it’s
fair enough to say Asenso is the right
person who can serve the interest of
Bantama constituency and that’s why
we have declared our support for
him,” he said.
Ultimate FM’s news checks revealed
the Deputy Chief of Staff
would arrive in Kumasi today, Thursday,
for the group to present the
forms to him at his family house.
However, it is not clear when the
incumbent Member of Parliament,
Okyem Aboagye, will show up to
pick his forms.

WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
06
DAILY HERITAGE DIGITAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
Editorial
Is the government really for our interest?
IT IS good to hear that just a few
days after the news that Neoplan
Ghana Limited, a bus-manufacturing
company, was going to be closed
down the government has
intervened to avoid its imminent
collapse.
It is said that the government is
going to offer the company two
months’ window to address the
issues facing it.
Workers of the company are
owed many months of salary arrears,
news reports say.
The reports say the decision to
shut down the firm follows the
inability of the minority shareholder,
the Fadoul Group, to continue
funding the company all by itself,
while the government which owns
the majority shares contributed
nothing to its operations.
It is also said in 2016, the
company, established on December
12, 1974, approached the
government to help settle a debt of
US$173,000 for the government to
gain an additional 20 per cent shares
in the company but the government
did not release the money to the
company.
The company said the last time it
was given a government contract
was in 2002 to end in 2010 for the
production of 450 DAF/VDL buses
for the Metro Mass Transit Limited.
The DAILY HERITAGE is at
a loss as to what to say in this matter
except to ask some questions:
• Did the State not give each of
the 23 Black Star players US$100,
000 as appearance fee at the 2014
Brazil World Cup, making US$
2,300,000, excluding their winning
bonuses and the ‘co-efficient’ tens of
thousands of dollars paid to GFA
officials, the technical team and State
officials like Sports Minister Elvis
Afriyie Ankrah? Is it not sad to note
that the appearance fee for just two
players could have save Neoplan in a
way? What is our priority?
• When in Ghana have the salaries
of politicians such as
parliamentarians, ministers of state
and their so-called special assistants
gone unpaid for even three months?
Are politicians who are paid solely
from the Consolidated Fund more
human than even those who
generate some revenue for the
country by their activities part of
which revenue goes into the
Consolidated Fund?
• Why should politicians, who
have the power to stem bad
situations to make life comfortable
for the people fail to be proactive but
always wait till the last minute and
come in to play God?
• When are Ghanaians going to
come together to demand
accountability from the politicians
who are just playing games with the
masses for their own selfish interest
of, for instance, getting the
opportunity for unbridled spending
of state revenue and enjoying some
privileges, rather than meeting the
needs and aspirations of the people?
The DAILY HERITAGE
wants readers to think about the
questions raised above and others
like them.
I paid $60,000 without
instructions to GHL
• READ FROM PAGE 3
the mother was living in the property. He
(plaintiff) didn’t do any payment to that effect,
so the mother left the property and went back
to London that she doesn’t want to stay in
Ghana again. So when, I went to London, I
met the plaintiff and he suggested to me that
I should rent out the property for him so that
I will use the proceeds of the rental income to
pay out the outstanding maintenance fee debt.
So during the first rental payment, he told me
to take part of the money to offset the maintenance
fee debt.
Q. The last tenant left the place in November
2016
A. Yes
Q. And thereafter, the plaintiff asked you
to hand over the keys to his brother and lawful
attorney, Jerry Amesimeku?
A. Correct
Q. And for months, you refused to hand
over keys to Jerry Amesimeku?
A. That is correct, because as at the time
he wanted the house and keys handed over
things were not adding up… all these feud
started because of maintenance fee payment,
so I travelled and before I came back, the
plaintiff instructed his brother to break into
the property, which he did. So on my return, I
• Embattled Estate developer tells court
ordered the plaintiff brother to move out.
And this misunderstanding led to the demolition
of the property which I still accept full
•Alex Dautey, CEO of AD Construction Ltd
responsibility.
Q. You claimed that you paid a certain $60,
000 to Ghana Home Loans?
A. Yes
Q. And you did that not on behalf of
plaintiff, correct?
A. My Lord, I paid the $60, 000, on behalf
of the plaintiff. I wrote to notify the plaintiff
and I wrote to the bank and they are aware of
what led to the payment of the $60, 000 for
which there was a receipt to that effect.
Q. Now you will agree with me that the
plaintiff instructed you to pay any money on
his behalf
A. Yes. The plaintiff never instructed me,
but I receive payment from the bank and I
found that it was prudent that if I demolish
the property which the bank has given me
money for, I should give the sub-lease documents
because as at the time the property was
demolished, the sub-lease agreement was with
the bank and has not been given to the plaintiff.
I gave it to the bank and in exchange they
gave me $60, 000 mortgage payment and that
is why I went to pay the money back without
even considering the balance left. I just refunded
what I collected from the bank, which
was 60,000 dollars.
Clarity on refunded $60,000
to the bank
The plaintiff, clarifying issues, said the
property cost $200,000 and $140,000 was paid
directly to the CEO of AD Construction. The
plaintiff explained that the $60,000 mortgage
from Ghana Home Loans was then paid directly
to Mr Dautey on receipt of all documents
to the bank
According to him, the mortgage was being
paid on the $60,000 at $810 per month for 15
years and on completion of payment all documents
regarding to the property would be
handed back to plaintiff by the bank and not
defendant as “I have nothing to do with him
until 60 years when the lease is due to be renewed.”
The plaintiff contended that after defendant
pulled down the house, he decided to pay
the bank $60,000 without my instruction and
“I informed the bank not to accept the
money, but they said their security is on the
house which is no more, so they will accept
the payment and will register all the documents
in my name, as the complete owner of
the house prior to its demolition, which they
did and posted all the original documents to
me.”
Plaintiff said at the time 2nd defendant
went and settled the loan with the bank, the
outstanding loan left at the time was around
$60,000 as mortgage life attracts interest for
the first few years before decreasing capital
and at that time “I have also paid $810 x 12
months x 10 years amounting to $97,000 to
the bank. He added that “If you do the calculation,
2nd defendant still owes me $97,000-
$60,000= $37,000.”
The case has been adjourned to today, January
30, 2020 for further cross examination.

Digital January 30, 2020.qxp_Layout 1 1/29/20 7:37 PM Page 5
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
Politics
DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
Coalition petitions Rawlings on voters register
BY KWAME ACHEAMPONG
THE INTER-PARTY
Resistance Against New
Voters Register
(IPRAN) has petitioned
former President Jerry
John Rawlings to seek
his counsel in its quest to stop the
Electoral Commission from compiling
a new register ahead of the 2020 elections.
A delegation of the coalition, led
by the People’s National Convention
(PNC) National Chairman, Bernard
Mornah, who met the former President
at his office on Tuesday, said the
Electoral Commission’s “refusal to listen
to wise counsel, particularly from
persons who have participated in the
electoral process for a very long time,
has led to very painful but wrong decisions”.
The coalition said while the Electoral
Commission may have a mandate
to compile a new register, “The mandate
must be within reasonable limits.
The mandate of leadership is vested in
the people and the Ghanaian people
are saying that apply some economic
reasoning. We are telling the Electoral
Commission that if it’s not broken,
don’t fix it!”
Detailing the group’s stance against
the Electoral Commission’s proposal,
the PNC Chairman said during the last
local government elections there was a
0.6 failure rate with the use of the existing
biometric equipment and questioned
why based on such a high
efficiency rate, the Commission would
wish to replace equipment and also do
away with 17 million names in the
voter database.
Mornah said civil society organisations
had gone into the market and
done an assessment of the features the
Electoral Commission intends to introduce
and realized that the Commission’s
budget of $833 million is 60 per
cent above budget.
Limited voter registration
The IPRAN spokesperson was
critical of the Electoral Commission’s
planning, stating that it was a waste of
resources for the Commission to organize
a limited voter registration exercise
in 2019 only to turn round a few
months later with plans to discard the
register it had only recently updated.
The coalition said compiling a new
voters register in an election year
would come at a huge cost to political
parties in terms of time and resources.
“Having the registration means the
parties have to jettison some of their
programmes to accommodate the
process. From May to July we expect
the Electoral Commission to compile
the register, after which they will have
to exhibit it.
“This will give the parties very limited
time to campaign. If you do a cursory
assessment, each political party
•Mr. Bernard Mornah presenting the petition to former President J.J. Rawlings
needs about ¢180 million to accommodate
the marshalling, training of registration
agents and other logistics for
the registration exercise,” Mornah said.
Expressing concern about the
hardline stance of the Electoral Commission,
Mornah noted that during the
last limited voter registration exercise
when the Commission was informed
there were approximately 1,700,000
potential new registrants, it estimated
for 700,000 persons and decided to
use only their district offices for the
processes against counsel from the political
parties.
“Eventually, when the registration
was done, with all the shortfalls, we
registered 1.2 million people, indicative
of the fact that if they hadn’t failed to
listen to counsel we could have had
more people on the new register,” he
said.
IPAC
The National Democratic Congress
Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo,
also expressed concern about the
seeming neglect of the Inter-Party Advisory
Committee (IPAC) by the current
Commission. He said Ghana’s
democracy had been managed on consensus
building since 1992.
“Even when the NPP boycotted
Parliament in 1992 and did not participate
in the election under your leadership
(President Rawlings’), IPAC was
designed so that NPP outside Parliament
can make some input into our
electoral laws as we moved into the
1996 elections, so that they will also
have some say.
“IPAC has been a time-tested institution.
Even though not backed by
law, by convention it has helped in
shaping the electoral process of this
country. Unfortunately, under the new
Electoral Commission leadership, engagement
with IPAC is not part of
their agenda,” Ofosu Ampofo said.
Former President Rawlings
Responding to the petition, former
President Rawlings called for patience
on both sides and urged the coalition
and the Electoral Commission to not
take entrenched positions. He urged
the coalition to ensure that eminent
personalities and institutions such as
the former Presidents, the Electoral
Commission’s Eminent Advisory
Committee and the Council of State
were all informed.
“There is so much mistrust that if
we do not find a way of dealing with
some of these issues, they will remain
and sour the atmosphere during the
election period. It will keep us very
close to an ignition point which will be
very unnecessary.
“This coming election is going to
be a truly serious thing and nobody
must take the process for granted or
think they can get away with making
the wrong moves. The steps being
taken must be transparent so no one
has any doubts about the integrity of
the process. Whoever wants to win will
necessarily have to win by free and fair
means,” former President Rawlings,
stated.
Let’s keep Akufo-Addo for implementing
'Year of Return'—Bulldog
h
ARTISTE MAN-
AGER Bulldog
has praised President
Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-
Addo for implementing
the ‘Year of Return’
initiative.
According to him, the initiative,
which saw Ghana host the Afro
Nation concert in December last
year, has sparked some excitement
in the entertainment industry.
Considering the successes
chalked up by the Year of Return,
Bulldog, born Lawrence Nana
Asiamah Hanson, is urging successive
governments to continue
the initiative.
The very vocal artiste manager,
speaking in an interview on Showbiz
927 on 3FM, was quick to
stress that it would be better to
maintain President Akufo-Addo
than to have a new leader who
would scrap the initiative.
Bulldog, who manages Dancehall
artiste Shatta Wale, said he
would not entertain any government,
irrespective of the party,
who would come to power and
shelve the Year of Return/Beyond
the Return initiative.
He said this while reacting to
the deal signed between the
Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA)
and Event Horizon Entertainment
Limited for Ghana to host the
Afro Nation concert for the next
five years.
Last year, there was a huge influx
of foreign nationals into
Ghana as the country rounded up
the successful Year of Return activities.
The year 2019 marked exactly
400 years since the first black
slaves arrived in Virginia in the
US.
For four nights last year, some
of Africa’s biggest acts took turns
to help write music history in
Ghana. If you mattered most in
music in Africa this year, the Afro
Nation stage was your playground.
From Shatta Wale, Burna Boy,
Stonebwoy, Wizkid, R2Bees,
Davido, D’banj, Kuami Eugene,
Olamide, to Teni, the list being
endless, “it was raining stars at the
Laboma Beach concert” which
ended on •Bulldog December 30, 2019.

DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
SPORTS
Abednego Tetteh handed
Hearts of Oak’s no. 36 shirt
STRIKER ABEDNEGO Tetteh
has been given the number
36 jersey for Ghana’s Premier
League giants, Hearts of Oak.
The former Bechem United
striker has been locked up in negotiations
with the Rainbow
club since returning to the country
after spells abroad.
He was heavily mooted to
feature in the club's last Sunday's
2-1 loss at home to sworn rivals
Asante Kotoko.
But the reports were
quenched following claims that
he was yet to put pen to paper at
the club.
The towering forward has,
however, completed paperwork
with the side and has been unveiled.
The 29-year-old forward will
wear jersey number 36 for the
Rainbow lads, after getting registered
when the second transfer
window opens in March.
Tetteh was a member of the
Bechem United team that won
the FA Cup in 2016 before leaving
the shores of Ghana to play
for Sudanese giants Al Hilal.
He also enjoyed time in
Ethiopia with Jimma Aba Buna
before returning to Sudan to
join Al Hilal Obeid.
Tetteh also played for Indian
sides Real Kashmir and TRAU.
• Abednego Tetteh, new Hearts of Oaks atriker
Barcelona offer trials to Matthew
Anim Cudjoe — Reports
THE SPANISH top-flight
powerhouse has expressed interest
in capturing the talented
youngster Matthew Anim Cudjoe,
footballghana.com can exclusively
report.
The current La Liga champions
FC Barcelona have decided
to give a two-week trial
to Asante Kotoko's whikzid.
The Catalan-based club has
joined Bayern Munich in showing
interest in the 16-year-old
attacker.
He has been invited to train
with Barcelona's youth team
'La Masia' with hopes of keeping
him until he turns 18 to
sign a professional contract.
It is believed that Bayern
Munich have officially written
to the managers of Matthew
for him to leave for Germany
in February.
Cudjoe was scouted during
the premier edition of the
Baby Jet invitational tournament
in 2018, where he became
the best player and top
scorer of the tournament.
His skills, passing and dribbling
abilities have earned him
the nickname 'Messi' from
Ghana football fans.
He joined Asante Kotoko
on a season-long loan deal
from second-tier club Young
Apostles FC. He has netted
one goal in the three league appearances
for the Porcupine
Warriors since his arrival.
• Matthew Anim Cudjoe, Kotoko wonderkid
Cudjoe was scouted during the
premier edition of the Baby Jet
invitational tournament in 2018,
where he became the best player
and top scorer of the tournament.
I’ll plead with GBA not
to revoke my licence
• Says Patrick Allotey
GHANAIAN
BOXER Patrick
Allotey has said he
will plead with the
Ghana Boxing Authority
(GBA) not to revoke his
licence after he assaulted a fan of
Asante Kotoko in Sunday’s Super
Clash involving Kotoko and
Hearts of Oak at the Accra
Sports Stadium.
Allotey had a tussle with the
supporter by name Matthew Siaw
and ended up injuring him.
According to a member of the
GBA, Alhaji Tophic, the boxing
rules state among other things
that a boxer is not supposed to
fight outside the ring irrespective
of the level of provocation failure
of which his licence would be
revoked.
But Allotey, after the incident,
has shown remorse and pleaded
with Ghanaians for forgiveness
for that unprofessional act he exhibited.
“Yes, I admit I did hurt him,
but I am very sorry. I was provoked
and I should have been
calm. I can’t defend myself over
this, all I say is I am sorry. My
managers have been there already
to plead on my behalf and I will
be there tomorrow to do same,”
he told Happy Sports.
“I will also plead with the
GBA not to revoke my licence,”
he ended.
• Allotey had a tussle with a Kotoko supporter by name
Matthew Siaw and ended up injuring him