VZCZCXRO6412
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAR #0746/01 1631035
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111035Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6596

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 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶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 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶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 
---------------- 
 
¶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