The Daily Graphic has on its front page pictures of the Madina branch of EcoBank and Western Union money transfer office, from where another armed robbery occurred yesterday. Five gunmen robbed the bank of GHC 60,000. The gunmen who were in a blue Toyota Corolla with no registration number packed in front of the bank and waited for their operation as soon as the bullion van carrying the money arrived. The policeman accompanying the van was shot and killed by the robbers. The paper also shows the front view of the office with the driver of the bullion van narrating the incident to some officials of the bank.
The Ghanaian Times also has as its lead story, the robbery which took place at the Madina branch of Ecobank. The only picture on the front page is with the headline Disabled Day Marked. It shows the President of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled in a discussion with Mrs. Frema Osei Opare, Deputy Minster of Manpower, Youth and Employment and Chris Dadzie, an official from ISODEC. Also with them are the Director of Social Welfare, Mrs. Margaret Kutsiati and the National Administrator Alexander Tetteh. The Daily Guide’s front page has the pictures of the Madina Ecobank robbery scene and the bullion van. The banner headline of the paper reads, Nana Beat Mills: NPP 46 per cent, NDC 23 per cent. It comes with photographs of the two Presidential candidates.
The Statesman dedicates its front page to the NPP. It shows the picture of the party’s presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo flanked by some party supporters during his campaign tour to the Volta Region.
The Chronicle shows the pictures of Captain Rtd. Kojo Tsikata and President Kufuor. Mr. Tsikata who is the former security co-ordinator of ex-president Rawlings is reported to have issued a statement rejecting his nomination for the National Awards.
EDITORIALS
The Ghanaian Times is not happy with the tall list of nominees for this year’s National Awards scheduled for the third of next month. The paper agrees that there are certainly many people of excellence who have made tremendous contributions and must be honoured. It however says there are too many on the list against whose names there are huge question marks. The Ghanaian Times suggests that a permanent body be set up to do initial nominations for short listing, with input from the public.
TheAccra Daily Mail unlike the Ghanaian Times is happy with the list of nominees for the national Awards. It says the list is wide-ranging and is devoid of politics of exclusion. The paper says the list covers the entire nation as well and for this reasons its legitimacy cannot be in doubt. The Accra Daily Mail congratulates all those named and commends President Kufuor for initiating a very patriotic means of bringing Ghanaians together.
The Chronicle echoes a plea by Women Commissioners at the various tertiary institutions in the country to the political parties to field more women as parliamentary candidates. The paper says the plea could not have come at the most appropriate time, when the country has barely five months to go to the polls. In the view of the chronicle women are not fairly represented when it comes to the country’s politics. It reminds the political parties that the days when women were consigned to the kitchen is past and gone.
The Daily Guide writes on the choice of running mates for the NDC and the NPP. It notes that in the NDC, the subject took on a divisive mode and provided materials for the media to feast on. The paper says it’s now the turn of the NPP where there has never been a dull moment these past couple of months as the subject takes centre stage. According to the Daily, there has been such an array of names staking their clam for the position that one begins to under whether the subject is not being trivialized.
Reflecting on Sunday’s tragic accident involving a 27 year old female singer at the Dzorwulu Railway Crossing in Accra, the Daily Graphic says it is about time the country’s rail lines and stations are ward off unauthorized structures. The paper calls on the Ministry of Harbours and Railways to demolish unauthorized structures as well as give squatters an ultimatum to quit the area. It notes that various activities are so close to the rail line and this, calls for appropriate actions to restore sanity and forestall further loss of life. The Graphic again asks the Ministry to fence off the railway line and put in place structures and systems to ensure that restricted areas remain just that.
