THE Western Regional Police Command has impounded more than 250 rickety vehicles with expired road worthiness and insurance certificates.
Some of the vehicles were impounded for fixing improvised seats, cracked windscreen, weak carriers on top of their vehicles and overloading. Others also had worn-out tyres
The operation was led by the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Alhaji Hamidu Mahama. He expressed shock at the state of some of the vehicles and said it was important for vehicle owners and drivers to note that maintenance was very important in the transport business.
“From what we are seeing here, it appears that the people are only interested in how much money they make at the end of the day instead of the lives of innocent passengers,” he said.
Alhaji Hamidu said “This is what happens when the safety of the people is neglected to satisfy their profit motives.”
He said the police would continue with the exercise to ensure that the vehicle owners did the right thing by taking the rickety vehicles off the road to avert loss of lives.
“The vehicle owners should not see the exercise by the police as a bother but rather a proactive measure to ensure that life and property were protected” the commander said.
He said it was important for drivers to note that the lives of passengers and pedestrians were critical, hence the need to protect human lives.
He said the police would ensure that the exercise was carried out in all commands and divisions and districts of the police.
Friday, November 12, 2010
4 GHANA POST OFFICIALS IN FAKE DEAL (PAGE 23, NOV 8, 2010)
THREE out of four officials of the Ghana Post Company in Takoradi, who allegedly printed fake receipt books which enabled them dupe the company to the tune of more than GH¢16,000.00, have been arrested by the Takoradi Central Police.
The fourth suspect is however on the run and the police have mounted a search for his arrest.
The three officials are, Bismark Munkoh, Stephen Lirase, and Philip Boateng, with Kwesi Hagan, the Vaults Manger, on the run.
The suspects printed their own fake receipt books, which they issued to cover transactions with unsuspecting clients of the company between the period of January 1, 2009 and July 30, 2010. They also shared all proceeds from bulk mails after issuing the fake receipt to the clients.
Where a cheque was issued in the name of Ghana Post, the suspects would replace the cheque with fiscal cash from the vault with the connivance of the vaults manager, and share the money.
According to the police, Munkoh, who is the quality control manager had established close links with more than 35 clients of the company.
The police said when they receive bulk mail, he (Munkoh) would call the clients personally to inform them of their parcels. Sometimes, the corporate bodies and institutions called him that they were expecting such a bulk mail.
The police said when the group went for the mails of their clients, they would issue fake receipts to the clients as evidence of payment.
To continue with their deals, the police said, the four, led by Lirase who was the mail officer would sort the mails into the boxes without appropriate documentation from the counter.
According to the police, the company decided to carry out an audit when it realised that the sales from the Takoradi office was dwindling and that led to the discovery of the deal.
A total of 35 corporate bodies and other schools which were targets of the four, were visited during police investigations.
The police said when Munkoh, who was the principal suspect was interrogated, he admitted the offence and disclosed that the remaining leaflets in the said receipt book they were using was in the possession of Hagan who is currently at large.
The police said the three had been granted bail while they had intensified their search for Hagan.
The fourth suspect is however on the run and the police have mounted a search for his arrest.
The three officials are, Bismark Munkoh, Stephen Lirase, and Philip Boateng, with Kwesi Hagan, the Vaults Manger, on the run.
The suspects printed their own fake receipt books, which they issued to cover transactions with unsuspecting clients of the company between the period of January 1, 2009 and July 30, 2010. They also shared all proceeds from bulk mails after issuing the fake receipt to the clients.
Where a cheque was issued in the name of Ghana Post, the suspects would replace the cheque with fiscal cash from the vault with the connivance of the vaults manager, and share the money.
According to the police, Munkoh, who is the quality control manager had established close links with more than 35 clients of the company.
The police said when they receive bulk mail, he (Munkoh) would call the clients personally to inform them of their parcels. Sometimes, the corporate bodies and institutions called him that they were expecting such a bulk mail.
The police said when the group went for the mails of their clients, they would issue fake receipts to the clients as evidence of payment.
To continue with their deals, the police said, the four, led by Lirase who was the mail officer would sort the mails into the boxes without appropriate documentation from the counter.
According to the police, the company decided to carry out an audit when it realised that the sales from the Takoradi office was dwindling and that led to the discovery of the deal.
A total of 35 corporate bodies and other schools which were targets of the four, were visited during police investigations.
The police said when Munkoh, who was the principal suspect was interrogated, he admitted the offence and disclosed that the remaining leaflets in the said receipt book they were using was in the possession of Hagan who is currently at large.
The police said the three had been granted bail while they had intensified their search for Hagan.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
MAN SWINDLES EMPLOYERS (MIRROR, PAGE 34, NOV 6, 2010)
From Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Takoradi
BARELY 40 hours after being appointed as the sales and marketing officer of a firm in Takoradi, a young unassuming man has been arrested by the police for stealing.
Eric Essuman, is alleged to have broken into the vaults of his employer and made away with cash and cheques amounting to thousands of Ghana cedis.
After making use of the cash of more than GH¢5,000, Essuman was said to be in the process of cashing the cheques through a third party when he was apprehended.
According to the police, Essuman went to the bank to cash one of the cheques, but was asked to bring his identity card due to the face value.
To avoid detection, he then went home and asked a mobile phone prepaid card retailer near his house to go to the bank and cash the money on his behalf using her identity card since he could not find his.
Upon reaching the bank, and unknown to him and the phone card dealer, the bank manager had called the customer to confirm the issuance of the said cheque before payment.
The customer, according to the police, confirmed issuing the cheque but not to an individual but a company. The customer also informed the manager that he had informed the company not to present the cheque, since his outfit would be paying in cash.
The police said the customer then phoned the employers of Essuman, who told him that the cheque together with others in their vaults had been stolen.
The bank manager, according to the police, called for the arrest of anyone who presented the cheque to the bank.
After her arrest, the phone card dealer was made to call Essuman to go for the money.
He quickly rushed to the place for the money and he was arrested by the police.
About 25 different cheques issued to his employers with a face value close to more than GH¢15,200 was retrieved, but he could not account for the cash he stole.
He has since been remanded in prison custody to re-appear before court on November 15, 2010.
BARELY 40 hours after being appointed as the sales and marketing officer of a firm in Takoradi, a young unassuming man has been arrested by the police for stealing.
Eric Essuman, is alleged to have broken into the vaults of his employer and made away with cash and cheques amounting to thousands of Ghana cedis.
After making use of the cash of more than GH¢5,000, Essuman was said to be in the process of cashing the cheques through a third party when he was apprehended.
According to the police, Essuman went to the bank to cash one of the cheques, but was asked to bring his identity card due to the face value.
To avoid detection, he then went home and asked a mobile phone prepaid card retailer near his house to go to the bank and cash the money on his behalf using her identity card since he could not find his.
Upon reaching the bank, and unknown to him and the phone card dealer, the bank manager had called the customer to confirm the issuance of the said cheque before payment.
The customer, according to the police, confirmed issuing the cheque but not to an individual but a company. The customer also informed the manager that he had informed the company not to present the cheque, since his outfit would be paying in cash.
The police said the customer then phoned the employers of Essuman, who told him that the cheque together with others in their vaults had been stolen.
The bank manager, according to the police, called for the arrest of anyone who presented the cheque to the bank.
After her arrest, the phone card dealer was made to call Essuman to go for the money.
He quickly rushed to the place for the money and he was arrested by the police.
About 25 different cheques issued to his employers with a face value close to more than GH¢15,200 was retrieved, but he could not account for the cash he stole.
He has since been remanded in prison custody to re-appear before court on November 15, 2010.
TAKORADI AIRPORT GETS AVIATION FUEL STORAGE FACILITY (BACK PAGE, NOV 4, 2010)
A facility to provide adequate aviation fuel at the Takoradi Airport in anticipation of increased air traffic due to the commercial production of oil and gas has been inaugurated.
The facility which has the capacity to store 180,000 litres of aviation fuel as well as a reservoir which can contain 13,500 litres of water was constructed jointly by the Ghana Air Force, GOIL and Tullow Ghana at the cost of $480,000.
Inaugurating the facility, the Minister of Defence, Lt Gen Henry Smith, said with the increase in traffic there was the need for uninterrupted fuel supply to ensure smooth flights .
To ensure security in support of the country’s newly found oil and gas, he said the government had set up a ministerial committee on oil and gas which has been entrusted with ensuring the strategic direction of security in the sector.
He said the committee had developed plans to provide a framework for safety and security in the oil and gas industry in the country.
Lt. Gen. Smith said the committee had establisheded a petroleum security co-ordination centre to work closely with stakeholders in the industry by monitoring offshore and onshore facilities.
“In this view I call on the oil companies and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to be ready to assist the government and security agencies to acquire the basic equipment needed to ensure maximum security in this sector,” he said.
The facility which has the capacity to store 180,000 litres of aviation fuel as well as a reservoir which can contain 13,500 litres of water was constructed jointly by the Ghana Air Force, GOIL and Tullow Ghana at the cost of $480,000.
Inaugurating the facility, the Minister of Defence, Lt Gen Henry Smith, said with the increase in traffic there was the need for uninterrupted fuel supply to ensure smooth flights .
To ensure security in support of the country’s newly found oil and gas, he said the government had set up a ministerial committee on oil and gas which has been entrusted with ensuring the strategic direction of security in the sector.
He said the committee had developed plans to provide a framework for safety and security in the oil and gas industry in the country.
Lt. Gen. Smith said the committee had establisheded a petroleum security co-ordination centre to work closely with stakeholders in the industry by monitoring offshore and onshore facilities.
“In this view I call on the oil companies and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to be ready to assist the government and security agencies to acquire the basic equipment needed to ensure maximum security in this sector,” he said.
NON-PAYMENT OF BOPS AFFECTS STMA'S REVENUE (PAGE 18, OCT 30, 2010)
OFFICES of seventy-seven companies operating in the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Area are likely to be closed down for defaulting in payment of their 2010 Business Operating Permits (BOPs).
A defaulters’ list made available to the Daily Graphic show that the companies are owing amounts ranging between GH¢1,200 to GH¢12,000 which have accumulated to the tune of GH¢338,431.50 making it impossible for the assembly to raise enough money internally to support its development projects.
The advertising unit of the assembly has also threatened to prosecute telecommunication companies which have failed to pay fines and penalties amounting to about GH¢258,000 imposed on them for painting private residential facilities with their colours and logos.
The Acting Public Relations Officer of the assembly, Mr Opoku Boateng, said the assembly’s bye-laws stipulated that “the assembly may close down any business or suspend its activities until the appropriate fee is paid for the grant of a permit for the operation of businesses.”
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Sekondi, the Metropolitan Co-ordinating Director, Mr Zakaria Abdulai, said failure to pay those debts was affecting the assembly’s internally generated fund.
He said the assembly expected all those, who were supposed to pay taxes and all other forms of levies to the assembly, to do so to ensure the mobilisation of funds for the assembly’s projects.
He explained that aside from the common fund of the assembly, it depended so much on its internally generated funds for the execution of projects to meet the expectation of the people.
The acting public relations officer, therefore urged the defaulters to pay their Business Operating Permits and fines in support of the assembly’s revenue generation efforts.
A defaulters’ list made available to the Daily Graphic show that the companies are owing amounts ranging between GH¢1,200 to GH¢12,000 which have accumulated to the tune of GH¢338,431.50 making it impossible for the assembly to raise enough money internally to support its development projects.
The advertising unit of the assembly has also threatened to prosecute telecommunication companies which have failed to pay fines and penalties amounting to about GH¢258,000 imposed on them for painting private residential facilities with their colours and logos.
The Acting Public Relations Officer of the assembly, Mr Opoku Boateng, said the assembly’s bye-laws stipulated that “the assembly may close down any business or suspend its activities until the appropriate fee is paid for the grant of a permit for the operation of businesses.”
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Sekondi, the Metropolitan Co-ordinating Director, Mr Zakaria Abdulai, said failure to pay those debts was affecting the assembly’s internally generated fund.
He said the assembly expected all those, who were supposed to pay taxes and all other forms of levies to the assembly, to do so to ensure the mobilisation of funds for the assembly’s projects.
He explained that aside from the common fund of the assembly, it depended so much on its internally generated funds for the execution of projects to meet the expectation of the people.
The acting public relations officer, therefore urged the defaulters to pay their Business Operating Permits and fines in support of the assembly’s revenue generation efforts.
Friday, October 29, 2010
NO MILITANT GROUP IN WESTERN REGION — POLICE (MIRROR PAGE 27, OCT 30, 2010,
From Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu,
Sekondi
The Western Regional Police Command has rebutted reports of an emerging militant group in the Western Region and assured the public that it had proactive measures in place to deal with such situations.
It said the police were on the ground on daily basis with intelligence on the ground in the communities and would, therefore, not be taken by surprise.
This follows reports that a group calling itself Cape Militia had emerged at Cape Three Points in the region, threatening mayhem if residents did not benefit from the oil revenues.
Speaking to The Mirror in Sekondi, the Western Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, assured the nation that police intelligence was all over the districts and communities along the coast.
“We are always in touch with the people at the community level and the story reported by an Accra-based newspaper is not true,” he said.
“Our risk assessment covered all those areas even before the day of the first oil was announced and we are ready and the country should be rest assured,” he said.
He urged the media to take time to clear certain issues with the security agencies before going public in order not to send wrong signals to members of the larger community in the country and the world as a whole.
Alhaji Hamidu said the police was aware that peace was a priceless commodity and they would do everything to protect it.
Meanwhile, some chiefs in the affected communities have expressed shock at the story, describing it as baseless and calculated to discredit the people of the area.
“And we do not think that we will wait for an armed group to emerge in our communities and we will not report it to the law enforcement agencies.
“If we have issue with the oil revenue, which is yet to come or be declared, we will engage the state in a dialogue but not arm conflict,” they said.
Nana Kwesi Agyeman, chief of Lower Dixcove, said as a leader of the community, he would ensure that peace prevailed in the area.
The chief of Cape Three Points, Nana Akye-Kesse, expressed shock and questioned the motive for the publication.
Sekondi
The Western Regional Police Command has rebutted reports of an emerging militant group in the Western Region and assured the public that it had proactive measures in place to deal with such situations.
It said the police were on the ground on daily basis with intelligence on the ground in the communities and would, therefore, not be taken by surprise.
This follows reports that a group calling itself Cape Militia had emerged at Cape Three Points in the region, threatening mayhem if residents did not benefit from the oil revenues.
Speaking to The Mirror in Sekondi, the Western Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, assured the nation that police intelligence was all over the districts and communities along the coast.
“We are always in touch with the people at the community level and the story reported by an Accra-based newspaper is not true,” he said.
“Our risk assessment covered all those areas even before the day of the first oil was announced and we are ready and the country should be rest assured,” he said.
He urged the media to take time to clear certain issues with the security agencies before going public in order not to send wrong signals to members of the larger community in the country and the world as a whole.
Alhaji Hamidu said the police was aware that peace was a priceless commodity and they would do everything to protect it.
Meanwhile, some chiefs in the affected communities have expressed shock at the story, describing it as baseless and calculated to discredit the people of the area.
“And we do not think that we will wait for an armed group to emerge in our communities and we will not report it to the law enforcement agencies.
“If we have issue with the oil revenue, which is yet to come or be declared, we will engage the state in a dialogue but not arm conflict,” they said.
Nana Kwesi Agyeman, chief of Lower Dixcove, said as a leader of the community, he would ensure that peace prevailed in the area.
The chief of Cape Three Points, Nana Akye-Kesse, expressed shock and questioned the motive for the publication.
EXPATRIATE SPITS ON COP (MIRROR, LEAD STORY, OCT 30, 2010)
From Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Sekondi
An expatriate worker who allegedly spat on a policeman and called him a black monkey when the policeman attempted to arrest him has finally been apprehended by the police.
Aankit Patel, who is said to be an American volunteer, was said to have engaged in the act after the policeman had tried to arrest him for allegedly jumping a red light in traffic.
The policeman later managed to arrest Patel and escorted his vehicle to the Central Police Station in Sekondi.
Upon his arrest, Patel was said to have confessed to the police that he had behaved rudely.
“I spat on him and called him a black monkey who was coming to extort money from me. I am sorry. I have apologised a million times to the officer, the Ghana Police Service and the great people of Ghana,” Patel was reported to have stated.
According to a police source, Patel jumped the red light at a traffic interception and ignored the police signal to pull over.
It said Patel met a slow moving traffice, so the policeman pursued and managed to call him to order.
It was in the course of arresting him that Patel allegedly engaged the policeman, Corporal William Donkor, in verbal exchanges.
“Is it not money you want, you black monkey? I can give you all the money you want. You came to arrest me because of money. How much do you want?” the suspect was said to have retorted.
When The Mirror got to the scene, angry onlookers expressed concern about the level of indiscipline in society, and also by some visitors to the country.
When contacted, the Western Regional Police Command confirmed the story and warned visitors to the country not to take the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality for granted.
“Traffic lights are universal and we expected the suspect to respect them. Even when he was at fault, he should have taken his time to listen to the officer,” one of the officials said.
The suspect was charged with offensive conduct and other traffic offences and would soon be arraigned.
An expatriate worker who allegedly spat on a policeman and called him a black monkey when the policeman attempted to arrest him has finally been apprehended by the police.
Aankit Patel, who is said to be an American volunteer, was said to have engaged in the act after the policeman had tried to arrest him for allegedly jumping a red light in traffic.
The policeman later managed to arrest Patel and escorted his vehicle to the Central Police Station in Sekondi.
Upon his arrest, Patel was said to have confessed to the police that he had behaved rudely.
“I spat on him and called him a black monkey who was coming to extort money from me. I am sorry. I have apologised a million times to the officer, the Ghana Police Service and the great people of Ghana,” Patel was reported to have stated.
According to a police source, Patel jumped the red light at a traffic interception and ignored the police signal to pull over.
It said Patel met a slow moving traffice, so the policeman pursued and managed to call him to order.
It was in the course of arresting him that Patel allegedly engaged the policeman, Corporal William Donkor, in verbal exchanges.
“Is it not money you want, you black monkey? I can give you all the money you want. You came to arrest me because of money. How much do you want?” the suspect was said to have retorted.
When The Mirror got to the scene, angry onlookers expressed concern about the level of indiscipline in society, and also by some visitors to the country.
When contacted, the Western Regional Police Command confirmed the story and warned visitors to the country not to take the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality for granted.
“Traffic lights are universal and we expected the suspect to respect them. Even when he was at fault, he should have taken his time to listen to the officer,” one of the officials said.
The suspect was charged with offensive conduct and other traffic offences and would soon be arraigned.
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