GHANA POLITICAL ROUNDUP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 000746

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SNAR PREL GH
SUBJECT: GHANA POLITICAL ROUNDUP


1. (U) Summary: President Kufuor plans to bestow Ghana's
highest civilian award on opposition presidential candidate
John Atta Mills, to the vocal consternation of top New
Patriotic Party leaders. The Commission on Human Rights and
Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) accuses President Kufuor of
conflict of interest, following the President's decision to
personally chair the Bui Dam Authority Board. A renewed
communal clash in Bukprugu-Yunyoo District in Northern Region
results in eight deaths and the razing of a village. A
shipment of cocaine brought overland from Guinea was seized
on the road to Accra. Taxi drivers near Accra protest police
harassment; two people are killed by police when the
demonstration got out of hand. End Summary.

Kufuor Decision To Honor Mills Sparks Controversy in NPP
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2. (U) President Kufuor's announcement that he plans to award
Ghana's highest civilian honor to John Atta Mills,
presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress
(NDC),has caused controversy in Kufuor's ruling New
Patriotic Party (NPP). Some NPP officials, lead by the
National Women's Organizer, Rita Asobayire, and the National
Youth Organizer, John Boadu, are calling on the President to
rescind his decision. They have vowed to challenge Kufuor's
decision. Opponents of the move contend that bestowing an
honor on the former vice president only boosts his
credentials prior to the December election. Current Vice
President Aliu Mahama and several other notables are expected
to receive the same award.

Kufuor Is Accused of Conflict of Interest
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3. (U) The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative
Justice (CHRAJ),a constitutionally chartered body charged
with anti-corruption responsibilities, says that President
Kufuor has placed himself in a position of conflict of
interest by his decision to chair the Bui Dam Authority
Board. Bui Dam is a $600 million Chinese financed and built
hydro-electric dam project in Brong-Ahafo Region. The
president's decision to chair the Board is unconstitutional,
according to both the CHRAJ and opposition parliamentary
members, because the president's position as appointing
authority makes it inappropriate for him to chair the Board.
Acting Commissioner Anna Bossman also contends that the
president cannot hold any position involving personal profit,
and the Act establishing the Board provides for members to
receive emoluments. Defenders of the president note that
Article 58(3) of the Constitution allows the president to
appoint, or serve himself, on various boards, and that his
decision is appropriate and proper. Construction recently
began on the project, which had been subject to multiple
delays. The media has reported on Ghanaian construction
workers' complaints about worksite safety and pay conditions.

Drugs and Riots
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4. (U) Police, acting on a tip, on May 30 stopped a truck on
the main Kumasi-Accra road. Hidden beneath a pile of cow
hides were 399 bricks of cocaine. The Ghanaian owned vehicle,
driven by two Togolese and a Ghanaian, had originated its
journey in Guinea. The occupants of the truck were arrested
and the cocaine seized. (Comment: Ghana is increasingly a
transshipment point for narcotics, and it is unlikely that
the cocaine was intended for domestic sale. The
multi-national nature of this case illustrates that the
problem is increasingly a regional one, spanning West Africa.
End Comment).


5. (U) Communal violence in Ghana's Northern Region led to
the deaths of eight persons and the burning of an entire
village. Located fifteen kilometers from Togo, Jimbali
village in Burkprugu-Yunyoo District was the scene of
violence on May 28. The clashes were the result of a dispute
over access to a parcel of agricultural land. Police have
arrested several suspects and reinforcements have been sent
to the area.


6. (U) Taxi and bus drivers demonstrated in Ashaman, near
Tema (forty miles from Accra),on June 3, protesting
harassment by police. The drivers had surrounded a police
station to demand the release of colleagues they believed
were being held inside. A group of drivers, according to the
media, had been arrested the day before for parking in
prohibited places, a tactic the drivers allege is used by the
police to extract bribes. A group of drivers attempted to
free their colleagues from custody, and in the resulting
confusion police fired shots, killing two and injuring
others. One of the dead was an elementary student on the way

ACCRA 00000746 002 OF 002


to school.

DOLAN