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Thursday, June 2, 2011

Ghana national security men (BNI) seizes "Atta Mortuary Man" movies

A movie producer has expressed utter disgust at the seizure of Video CDs of two of his yet-to-be-released movies “Atta Mortuary Man” and “Oh Uncle Atta,” by persons said to be armed national security men.

Kofi Asamoah claimed the men besieged the premises of his distributor on Saturday and seized 13,000 copies of the CDs which they took to the offices of the BNI.

The Distributor, George Walker Darko, who was arrested but later released Saturday evening confirmed the story to host of Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Kojo Oppong Nkrumah on Monday.

According to Mr Darko, no reasons were given for the seizure except the unequivocal instruction by one of the muscled men that the movies could not be released to the public.

He could not fathom how and why his two comedy movies which have no political inclination or content, except the titles - both of which could manifestly be linked to the President John Atta Mills - would be seized.

He explained that efforts by his distributor to convince the men that the movies had no political coloration fell on deaf ears as the men sang the chorus that they were operating with an order from above.

According to him the two movies have been given a clean bill of health by the Ghana Cinematography Control Board which has the statutory mandate to evaluate contents of movies before they are aired to the public.

He said despite the Board’s decision, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation prior to the seizure refused, for no justifiable reasons, to promote the movies even though he was ready to pay for it.

Explaining the synopsis of the movies, Kofi Asamoah said “Atta Mortuary Man” is purely a comedy in which the lead actor-Agya Koo, playing the role as Atta, is a susu collector who after fraudulently embezzling the amounts he had collected from the residents decided to ran away from the vicinity. Finding himself in a new locality, he had to pursue other jobs for a living and settled on being a mortuary man.

He noted that similarly, the “Oh Uncle Atta” has no political connotation.

For now the 13,000 CDs are still with the BNI, he said, adding the movies were supposed to be released this week.

He expressed deep frustration at what he described as needless impediments being put on his way by national security over harmless movies that are purely for comedic purposes.

He also lamented the huge financial costs that went into the production.

The National Security is yet to react to the allegations.

Meanwhile, Deputy Information Minister Baba Jamal has said in an interview with Peace FM Monday that the 13,000 copies of the movie were seized because the producer did not complete censorship procedures.

He further explained that though the movie itself had been censored and approved by the Cinematography board, its posters and adverts had not yet been scrutinised since the producer did not make them available at the time the movie was under scrutiny.

Mr Jamal said until the adverts and posters have been properly censored, the movie should not be sold. He added that the national security had to intervene and seize the copies to ensure that laws governing film production were strictly adhered to.


Story by Nathan Gadugah and Dorcas Efe Mensah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

STX In Danger

Source: Daily Guide - Daily Guide

The controversial STX Housing project, which sparked intense debate before the deal was approved by Parliament, appears to be stalling as the Ghanaian and Korean partners are virtually trading punches.

The partners are battling it out in court over the sourcing of funds for the project, while the government panics, with the dream of building the supposed 30,000 houses for the country's security agencies fizzling out.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) government reached an agreement with STX Engineering & Construction Limited, Korea, through its subsidiary in Ghana for the construction of 200,000 houses in Ghana within a period of five years, estimated at $10billion; and in August 2010, Parliament approved an initial off-take agreement for 30,000 housing units for the security agencies at a proportionate cost of $1.5 billion.

However, sources of funding for the project as well as the alleged attempt by STX Korea to remove the Ghanaian directors from the company has cast serious doubts on the take-off of the project, five months after the ground-breaking by President Atta Mills amidst fanfare.

STX had promised to bring the money from Korea as captured in the agreement, but that has not happened, compelling the government and local partners to look elsewhere for cash.

According to DAILY GUIDE sources, the sovereign guarantee issued by the Ghana government to STX to enable it to raise a loan has allegedly been given to B.K. Asamoah, the man who facilitated the deal to source for funding in the financial market without reference to the Koreans.

This side-stepping is what has infuriated the Koreans, prompting them to go to court to dismiss the Ghanaian directors.

The government is trying feverishly to make things appear as if all is well with the project, as Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alban Bagbin says the parties have been spoken to.

When Mr Bagbin was asked by Joy FM about additional sources of funding for the project he simply said, 'The money is available so it is not an issue of funding. I won't disclose the source of additional funding but the money is coming into our account at the bank of Ghana.'

He continued: 'There is no difficulty in sourcing funds. Funds have been sourced and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning can confirm that money is available.'

Mr. Bagbin said since the Bank of Ghana issued sovereign guarantee to cover the project, there is mad rush by banks to provide financial support for the project.

He also alleged that the government is committed to the project, saying, 'It is government's project and not STX project. Government definitely has a plan B to continue with the works. The parties are in court we can deal with the technical team.'

He said the problem between the directors was as a result of a breakdown in communication and that government has another strategy to ensure that the project still continues even if the standoff is not resolved on time.

B.K. Asamoah is credited largely for bringing about the STX Korean deal, which the Mills administration is hoping would provide accommodation for many Ghanaians; but sensing that the Koreans are planning to remove him from the company through an emergency board meeting, he went to court in Accra to stop the move.

In the motion, Mr. Asamoah wants the court to declare as illegal and wrongful, notices of an impending extraordinary meeting where he and another director, J. B. Asafo Boakye would be dismissed.

Recently for instance, Danquah Institute (DI), a policy analysts group, raised red flags over the implementation of the project because of what it calls 'the government's ambiguity, changes and re-arrangements with sources of funding of the project'.

A fellow at IMANI Ghana, Kofi Bentil, has also challenged Bagbin's claim that there is funding for the project and stated that evidence available clearly showed that there is no funding for the project.

He further challenged the Minister on Joy FM to come out with the details of the names of organizations which have provided the money and the amounts involved.

He said such details should not be concealed and treated as though it was a national security matter.

He reiterated his belief that the STX project is a misplaced priority which government should have avoided.

According to him, money for the project will be of better use if channeled towards solving the perennial water problems the nation faces.

By William Yaw Owusu

Ghana Minister admits building 20-room mansion on waterway


Deputy Minister for Agriculture, in-charge of Animal Husbandry, Alfred Sugri Tia, Wednesday admitted ownership of a five-acre waterlog land, located at the Tema Golf City Estates, on which he is putting up a 20-room mansion.

Though the building project, according to neighbours started recently, the Deputy Minister, in a curious submission, told Citi FM and Joy FM Wednesday that he was constructing the housing project for his former poultry farm workers who were laid off when the farm was shut down in 2007.

“The Minister is only playing politics. He is struggling to show that he started the project before his appointment. But we live here with the floods and we know when he started. How come his men are working day and night, four years after he shut down the poultry if indeed this mansion is to provide accommodation for them?” commented a Golf City Estates resident yesterday.

Even though a building consultant puts the housing project at GHC2.5 million (25 billion old cedis), the Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Nalerigu/Gambaga, insists the 20-room mansion will not cost more than GH¢100,000.

The NDC has been putting up a basic 6-unit classroom block at GH¢220,000 in Tema.

Speaking on Accra based Joy FM, Dr Tia stunned his listeners when he said he was not sure of the number of rooms in the building, even though he had earlier said on Citi FM that the building contained 15 rooms.

“The rooms are about 18 thereabout; it could be 20; I am not too certain,” he told listeners Joy FM.

Neighbours of Dr Tia say they live in danger of having their homes and belongings drowned in floods because of the decision by the Minister to put up the massive 20-room building on a water way in the area.

They blame the unusual flooding of the area in recent times on the fact that the Minister’s building has eaten into a part of a bridge, blocking the free flow of water.

Over 30 detached houses in the area suffer from severe floods whenever there is a heavy downpour, a situation which the residents say is getting worse and damaging their property.

“We never used to face this problem before the Minster and his wife started their building project,” lamented a neighbour who refused to be named for fear of reprisals.

When the New Statesman visited the area, workers were busily at work and neighbours were busily complaining. Work on the site goes on nonstop, day and night, seven times a week, according to residents.

Most obviously affected by the waterway blockade is the Delawen Poultry Farm, located right opposite the Minister’s building. The animal husbandry lost over 10,000 birds and hundreds of sheep at an estimated cost of GHc70, 000. This loss, according to sources at the farm, occurred during the recent rains.

Some resident say the Minister has ignored all their complaints. “He’s serious about showing us where power lies and we are seriously reeling from it,” one resident cried.

After several complaints, including clear warnings from the Tema Development Corporation and the Tema Municipal Assembly, construction on the waterway stopped. But, this was only for a short period before work resumed full steam.

Our checks at both the TMA and TDC suggest that the authorities have been impressed upon “to allow the Minister to break the law”, said a TDC source, and “to get away with murder,” added a TMA insider.

Yaw Kudjorji, a resident, shared his frustration with our reporter. He said the residents were tired of making official complaints to both the TDC and TMA because “nothing happens.”

His fear was that things could get worse as the raining season kicks in and the flooding could cause more havoc than so far endured.

Another resident could not hide her anger and exasperation. “We are afraid that any rainfall can flood all our houses due to one man’s negligence and power as a Minister,” said Madam Florence Donkor.

2 Ghanaians Fighting while airborne Boeing 767 ?

Before things got out of hand, it was a typical annoyance that happens once a flight gets airborne: A passenger hit the recline button and sent his seat intimately close to the lap of the guy sitting behind him.

What followed wasn’t typical at all: a smack to the head, peacemakers diving about the cabin to intervene and a pair of Air Force F-16 fighter jets scrambling into the night skies over Washington.

It happened late Sunday, just after a United Airlines Boeing 767 bound for Ghana with 144 passengers took off from Dulles International Airport.

Not long after the 10:44 p.m. departure for the overnight flight, the offending seat was lowered into the offended lap, and a fight ensued. A flight attendant and another passenger jumped in between, said sources familiar with the incident who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details.

The pilot has complete authority over the aircraft, a United spokesman said, and he decided to return to Dulles to sort things out rather than continue the transatlantic flight to Ghana when he was unsure of the scope of the problem.

[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]


Airline and Homeland Security Department officials said they had no other details on the incident.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, pilots have learned to be wary. In recent years, disturbances have revealed terrorist attempts to ignite explosives hidden in shoes and underwear. Air Force fighter jets stand ready to respond to situations such as this one, in which passengers, who might be terrorists, cause trouble in flight.

(LISTEN: The audio between the pilot and the control tower)


A 767 can take off with 16,700 gallons of fuel, and for the more-than-5,000-mile flight to Accra, Ghana, it probably would have needed all of it. The full load of fuel weighs more than 57 tons, and, although a 767 can get that weight airborne, it can’t land with it.

As the plane turned back to Dulles, an air traffic controller directed the United pilot to fly around for about 25 minutes, shadowed by the fighter jets, to burn off an undetermined amount of fuel.

(RESPOND: What would you have done if you were on the plane)

Audio transmissions indicate that the two Air Force fighters scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base at 11:03 p.m, just as the plane reentered Washington airspace.

Five minutes later, the fighter escorts took up position 1,000 feet above the jetliner as it headed toward Dulles, sources said.

At 11:10 p.m., the controller asked about the passenger who slapped his neighbor, and a voice from the cockpit replied: “The passenger is not secured at this time; the passenger has settled down, though, but an assault has taken place, but at this time he is not secured.”

Members of the Dulles police force met the flight at the gate, said Rob Yingling, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Officers determined that the incident didn’t warrant pressing charges, Yingling said.

It was probably expensive, however.

In addition to the fuel cost — jet fuel averaged $3.03 a gallon last month — the flight was delayed until Monday. Given that no arrests were made, there was no official record of the incident, and the identities of the men involved were not known. It was unclear whether they were on the flight when it left Monday morning or, if so, where they sat, United spokesman Mike Trevino said.