Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur will on Tuesday leave Accra for Abidjan, La Cote d’Ivoire to attend a forum on international investments. The forum, which begins on January 29, 2013 and ends on February 1, 2013, …

Is Africa’s young population a risk or an asset?

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The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UT Holdings Limited, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, and a lawyer suffered a setback at the Circuit Court in Accra yesterday when the court ordered them to open their defence in a fraud case brought against them by the state. Dismissing a submission of ‘no case’ filed on their behalf by their lawyers, the court, presided over by Mr Francis Obiri, ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the two to warrant them to open their defence. They are, therefore, expected to open their defence on February 11, 2014. The two left the court premises in low spirits, while the complainant looked elated. The Offences Amoabeng has been accused of releasing title deed documents of the complainant, Naa Otuah Sawyne, which were in the custody of his bank to one Alexander Adjei, now deceased, to secure a loan of GH¢1,279,000 from the HFC Bank. His accomplice, John Aidoo, is also alleged to have altered the title deeds of the complainant to reflect Adjei’s name without recourse to the complainant. Amoabeng has pleaded not guilty to one count of fraud, while Aidoo has pleaded not guilty to one count of abetment of crime.  Both have been admitted to bail. The prosecution called five witnesses who testified against the two accused persons but the two filed submissions of ‘no case’ after the prosecution had closed its case. They had argued that the prosecution had failed to prove their guilt and for that reason the court must set them free. Open your defence Giving reasons for dismissing the submissions of ‘no case’, the court held that the prosecution was able to establish that the documents Adjei used in securing the loan at the HFC Bank did, indeed, belong to the complainant. The court held that the prosecution was also able to establish that Amoabeng wrote to the State Housing Company (SHC) requesting the SHC to transfer the documents into the name of Adjei without the consent of the complainant. It further ruled that the prosecution was able to prove that Amoabeng gave the document to Adjei to secure a loan at the HFC Bank without the complainant’s permission. Evidence against lawyer The court said Aidoo, who was the Solicitor Secretary of SHC at the time of the commission of the offence, knew that the complainant had not given her consent for her documents to be used as collateral for Adjei but he still went ahead to give approval for the document to be altered to bear the name of Adjei. Based on those pieces of evidence adduced by the prosecution, the court held an overall view that the accused persons needed to open their defence to state their side of the story. Facts of the case A Deputy Superintendent of Police, Aidan Dery, prosecuted the case. According to the facts of the case, as presented by the prosecution, Ms Sawyne is a novelist residing at Dansoman in Accra. In October 2005, the complainant decided to sell her house at Number 23 Ringway Estate in Accra and thus entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Adjei. Per the agreement, the complainant and Adjei agreed on $280,000 as the purchase price, which was to be paid in three instalments in October, November and December 2005. Adjei paid $100,000 on October 14, 2005, as agreed, but failed to pay the remaining amount. The prosecution said the complainant was billed to travel to the UK and for that reason she borrowed GH¢25,000 from UT Financial Services and used the title deed of her house as collateral. As part of the loan agreement, the complainant prepared and signed a deed of assignment conditionally in respect of sale transaction with the understanding that the final transaction would be witnessed by her lawyer, Martin Nwousu, and handed over to the buyer upon full payment of the purchase price. “Closed-door” transactions However, on May 22, 2006, Adjei allegedly used the complainant’s title deed, which was then in the custody of Amoabeng, to obtain a loan facility from the HFC Bank. On September 27, 2007, the prosecution indicated, Amoabeng, without recourse to the complainant, allegedly wrote a letter to the SHC informing it that Adjei had purchased the complainant’s house and, therefore, asked SHC to assign the property to Adjei. According to the prosecution, Aidoo, then the Solicitor Secretary of SHC, having records that the complainant owned the property in question, signed a letter of consent and gave consent to mortgage property on July 23, 2009, an act which he (Aidoo) had no capacity to carry out. Writer’s email: [email protected].

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[Vanguard]An upbeat Local Black Stars Coach, Maxwell Konadu last night said that Nigeria have come to the end of their fairytale run at the African Nations Championship holding in South Africa.

Cocoa farmers in the Gwira Traditional Area in the Western Region have expressed their displeasure at a move to cut down their cocoa tress to pave way for gold mining. They contended that cocoa farming had been the major vocation they inherited from their ancestors which had helped them feed themselves and their children over a century and it would be unwise to trade it for gold.  The spokesperson for the farmers, Opanyin Cephas Kwame, said the amount of compensation being paid per cocoa tree was woefully inadequate. The farmers expressed these sentiments at a public forum organised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for West Star Mining and Blue River Mining companies. The assessment forms part of the process of the proposed lower Ankobra basin alluvial gold mining project. Opanyin Kwame suggested that instead of the two companies paying a meagre one-off compensation to the farmers, they should rather pay the farmer every month till the land was reclaimed and returned to the farmer. He wanted to know what he would be doing (at his age) if today he was paid a meagre one-off payment and in future he wallowed in abysmal poverty, while the gates of the mining company would be shut to the farmers. According to him, the one-off payment that would be given to farmers was not enough to assist them acquire the same size of land elsewhere. Besides, there would be no money left to cultivate the new land to the stage it had reached now. He said it would be wrong for the mining companies to destroy their lifetime investment passed on to them from generation to generation. For his part, the Managing Director of the two mining companies, Mr Simon Enison, acknowledged the concerns raised by the farmers and assured that the company would ensure them the farmers did not lose their source of livelihood completely. He said the compensation package would be such that the farmers could have an alternative and sustainable source of livelihood despite losing the cocoa farm. An official of the EPA indicated that West Star Mining Company Limited and Blue River Mining Company Limited would limit land clearing to the immediate mining site and that future mining sites would not be cleared. The consultant to the companies, Mr Bright Afum of the University of Mines and Technology (UMAT), said the companies were prepared to pay compensation to all the farmers who would be affected by the exercise. He said the company would establish an alternative and sustainable livelihood programme that would support the farmers in the catchments areas where the company would operate, adding that special attention would be given to the farmers whose lands fell within the concession zone allocated to the mining companies. Mr Afum said a committee would be established to draw up a comprehensive compensation package, which would be 10 per cent more than the compensation package that was demanded by the government to be given to the affected communities. According to him, a Corporate Social Agreement (CSA)  would also be signed between the company and the traditional area.  The CSA would include an educational fund, health fund, employment quota, among others.

[This Day]Eternal West African foes, Nigeria and Ghana have another opportunity today to revive their rivalry as the home-based Eagles take on the Black Stars in the second semi-final of the 2014 African Nations Championship in South Africa.

[Vanguard]From the days of Independence Games in the early 1960s when the two countries were pitched against each other in the annual event to the modern times, every match involving them is sold out.

The people of Prestea Tuesday protested against what they described as the deplorable state of the town and worsening economic conditions. Led by the chief of the town, Nana Nteboah Pra IV, the residents hit the streets of the town, wearing red armbands and carrying placards with various inscriptions which summed up some of their worries. Some of the placards read: “Surface mining will kill us”, “What are you doing with our mines, Mahama?”, “Prestea is not Afghanistan”, “Bring back processing mining plant”, Prestea Boys abre”, “Prestea-Himan deserves better roads” and “Himan-Prestea, Yempenee ooo!’’ According to the demonstrators, the bad roads, the wanton use of military personnel to harass residents, poor conditions of the Prestea underground mine and unemployment were making life unbearable for them. Grievances The demonstrators said the town had been abandoned by succeeding governments, resulting in its deplorable state. They also cited the failure of Golden Star Resources Limited to reopen the underground mine which it had closed for maintenance for almost 12 years. They said the once-vibrant Prestea had now become a ghost town due to the inactivity of the underground mine and its deteriorating infrastructure. After the demonstration, the protestors, through Nana Pra, submitted a petition to President John Mahama through the District Chief Executive, Mr Wisdom Cudjoe. One of the demonstrators, Mr Shaibu Demo, said 12 years of the closure of the underground mine was enough to elicit the government's intervention. He said the closure of the mine had rendered more than 5,000 people unemployed, making them and their families wallow in poverty. A visibly angry woman, who gave her name only as Maame Abena, called for the immediate reopening of the mine. "If Golden Star Resources cannot reopen the underground mine, the government should take it back and hand it over to another company to employ our men," she said. Nana Pra asked for the immediate rehabilitation of roads in the area and the reactivation of the Prestea underground mine to provide employment and livelihood for the people. The DCE Mr Cudjoe promised to submit the petition to the Presidency. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Prestea-Huni Valley, Mr Francis  Adu Blay–Koffie, commended the demonstrators for the disciplined and peaceful manner in which they conducted themselves during the demonstration.