Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says the landmark initiatives such as the digital address system and mobile money interoperability introduced in the first term of the government as part of the digital transformation drive are paying dividends.
He said those initiatives have become the building blocks for new programmes such as the National Rental Assistance Scheme, which was launched on Tuesday, January 31.
Speaking at the launch, Vice President Dr Bawumia charged the implementing ministry, the Ministry of Works and Housing, not to renege on its oversight responsibility in ensuring that the programme is successful.
The programme is starting off in six regions – Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern, Western, Eastern and Bono East.
But the Vice President said sooner than later it will be expanded to the rest of the country.
Minister of Works and Housing Francis Asenso-Boakye announced a GH¢30 million seed money for the take-off of the programme.
He the first six regions were considered on the basis of higher rent advance issues recorded.
Scheme Manager Richard Acheampong said the process has been so simplified that even a fifth-grader can go through.
He, however, indicated that an affordability assessment will be conducted for each application before approval.
Speaking at the event, the Secretary of National Tenants Union, Frederick Opoku, charged government to make the application process fair and transparent in order to rid it of favouritism.
Secretary-General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) Dr Anthony Yaw Baah appealed to the authorities to consider single mothers for the policy.
He said the launch comes timely as it will bring a big relief to a lot of workers.
Barely 24 hours after claiming journalist Latif Idrissu was not touched by any police officer, the Attorney General’s office is aggressively pursuing settlement talks.
State Attorney, Nancy Rita Twumasi Asiamah, literally begged the court for the case to be put on hold.
“My lady, my instructions are to ask for an adjournment. As we indicated on Monday, we have written to the police to advise them to settle.
“We are yet to get a response and I have been asked to please ask for an adjournment while we pursue that. I am pleading,” she stated.
This did not sit well with trial judge Justice Cynthia Wiredu who pointed out that the case has been outstanding since 2019 and earlier settlement talks had failed.
“Parties even settle cases after judgement. You had the opportunity to settle and failed to do so. The fact that you are pursuing this does not mean I cannot do my work.
“You have your instructions, I also have my work to do. Is it to delay the court? The trial can continue? Any time there is a settlement we can look at that,“ the judge said.
Lawyer for the journalist and The Multimedia Group, Samson Lardi Anyenini, told the court that his side was not opposed to the idea of settlement.
His concern was, however, the fact that the case had been delayed unduly.
“Respectfully, as we indicated to the court yesterday, plaintiffs have been amenable to settlement. We only wish that once same is commenced it will be speedy.
“Seeing that the suit has been pending for a very long time. While the first plaintiff, in particular, continues to bear the cost of medical treatment both in Ghana and the USA,“ he stated.
Justice Wiredu urged both sides to pursue the settlement talks without taking entrenched positions.
Mr Anyenini pointed out at this stage that certain comments made by the police were problematic.
He made reference to court documents in which the police had claimed the assaulted journalist was not suffering from any complications.
“Even in the face of clear medical evidence, they claim nothing has happened. Such positions don’t help”, he stated.
Justice Wiredu advised the police to consider getting an independent examiner if necessary.
She stressed that settlement is always the best approach.
Mahama Ayariga, MP for Bawku Central has warned that if the Governor of the Bank of Ghana does not step in and seek legal clarity on the programme to support banks through the Ghana Financial Stability Fund (GFSF), the implementing agency; Ghana Amalgamated Trust PLC (GAT) will end up offloading the shares of the domestic banks to third parties. This will effectively end up in the expropriation of the interests of existing owners of our indigenous Ghanaian banks.
In a letter written by Mr. Ayariga to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, the law maker raises concerns about what he says are the illegality and opaqueness of the operations of GAT and GFSF and how they could ultimately enable the take-over of our domestic banks by cronies of decision makers for the sector.
Mahama Ayariga has therefore called on both the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and Parliament to step in to ensure legal and policy clarity in terms of the intervention being made by Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to deal with the threats to the banking sector occasioned by the implementation of the Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) programme.
“The Minister of Finance has announced a debt restructuring programme involving a debt exchange by government domestic bond holders. Our total external debt stood at about GHC383 billion as at November 2022. Domestic debt constituted GHC195 billion. Total debt was therefore GHC578 billion in November 2022.
“Banks in Ghana hold about half of the entire domestic bonds of the Government of Ghana and individuals hold 11% of the Government bonds. The Minister of Finance has compelled domestic banks to “voluntarily” engage in a debt exchange with the Government in relation to the bonds they hold. This involves reduced coupons and deferred payments. Definitely, the liquidity, solvency and capitalization of these banks will be negatively affected. This also creates a problem for the financial sector as individual investors will be scared. Coming after the recent banking sector “cleanup” and the collapse of some banks it generated, people will shy away from depositing their funds in bank accounts. Our entire financial sector is in danger of collapsing,” parts of the statement said.
The Minister for Finance has announced a Ghana Financial Stability Fund and directed banks to approach Ghana Amalgamated Trust PLC for a rescue package. This letter to the Governor and those copied seeks to point out the danger of this remedial prescription of the Minister for Finance.
The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has refuted assertions that the party is divided following the change in its parliamentary leadership.
According to him, the reactions being seen as a result of the reshuffle are normal and should be expected after any change, citinewsroom.com reports.
He added that the majority of NDC faithful have accepted the change in the party’s parliamentary leadership.
“The NDC is not fragmented at all; it’s still a very united party. The truth about every decision is that every change comes along with new gainers, so you will definitely have some reactions.
“But the change has been welcomed by the majority of NDC members across the country, I guess even here [UK]. The reshuffle has brought some new excitement on the front of NDC,” Asiedu Nketiah is quoted to have said while addressing NDC supporters in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The national chairman also explained that the party’s change in parliamentary leadership was long overdue.
“This leadership ought to have been reshuffled around March 2021. I explained to Ghanaians that, because of our court case, we didn’t feel like proceeding with that work. And I indicated clearly that it was a work in progress and that somewhere along the line, we will come out to indicate to Ghanaians who our next leadership will be.
“And so I’m surprised that people were surprised about the move. In fact, we were running late for the changes,” he added
The change in the leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has led to some confusion in the NDC, with some members of the party, including some Members of Parliament, saying that the party’s parliamentarians should have been consulted before the move.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. He replaced the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority Leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
Some MPs of the party have petitioned its National Executive Committee (NEC) to suspend the appointment of the new leadership of the party in Parliament.
The NDC MPs, including Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka (MP for Asawase), Dominic Ayine (MP for Bolgatanga East), and Cletus Avoka (MP for Zebilla), who are calling for the suspension, argue that the appointment was not made by any of the party’s decision-making structures but was imposed by just a few people.
An NDC Minority Caucus meeting that was supposed to resolve topics of contention over a leadership change has been postponed again.
This meeting became necessary following the removal of Haruna Iddrisu, Muntaka Mubarak and James Klutse Avedzi as leaders of the Caucus with the appointment of Dr Ato Forson as the new leader.
Other appointments include MP for Ellembele as Deputy Minority Leader and Adaklu MP, Governs Kwame Agbodza as Minority Chief Whip.
Some 70 NDC MPs have kicked against the decision and have called for its rescission.
The MPs have addressed petitions to the NDC Council of Elders, former President John Mahama and Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin.
Party leaders were expected to meet the Caucus today to iron out these issues but the meeting has been postponed indefinitely.
Last week the Caucus was expected to meet on the same issue but the meeting did not materialise.
A source within the caucus told JoyNews’ Parliamentary Affairs Correspondent Kwaku Asante that the postponement of the meeting was necessary because tensions were still high within the Caucus and both sides of the argument have not softened their stance.
Again, following a petition to the party’s Council of Elders, some meetings have been arranged to bring the matter to finality.
The Council of Elders is meeting with some of the 70 MPs who have signed a petition asking for broader consultation on the matter.
The party is racing against time to calm the waters before Parliament resumes on Tuesday, February 8.
Members of the Korle Bu Doctors Association (KODA) have threatened to lay down their tools.
According to the doctors, the management of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has exhibited bad faith by failing to meet the agreed deadline on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and the Ministry of Health regarding the 13th-month salary payment.
They accused the management of refusing to heed the content of their letter dated 13th December 2022 not to make any unilateral payment of 25 percent on the arrears unless a clear timeline for payment for the rest of the arrears has been agreed upon.
“The management of Korbu refused to meet its own deadline of ‘reverting with the timelines for the settlements of the outstanding amount by 27th January 2023’ as captured in its letter to KODA dated 3rd January 2023.
“Beginning the 30th of January to 5th of February 2023, KODA expects management to come out with clear timelines for the payment of the arrears and to make this payment centralized one instead of departmental after all every payment goes into a central pool.
“If nothing is received KODA members would withdraw service to the Outpatient department as well as elective surgeries and procedures. This will commence on 6th February to 10th February 2023,” the road map for the strike said.
It added “if nothing is heard from the 13th of February onwards emergencies would be refused till all inpatients are discharged.
“It is the hope of KODA executives that this would be given its desired attention.”
Government is prepared to build a new school building in the neighborhood of the eight students who drowned on their way to school, according to Minister of Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum.
According to the minister, the move is part of efforts to address the calamity which befell the indigenes of Atikagome about a week ago.
Speaking on Accra-based GTV, he stressed the need for the safety of children to be treated with utmost priority.
He said government is committed to that cause, hence the plans to put up a befitting school edifice for the young lads within the community, which will also serve as memorial for their departed colleagues.
“I’ve directed that I’ll respond to the promise by the regional minister to build a school in that community where the children were traveling from so that they don’t have to travel from that community.
It will be reaclled that about a week ago, eight school children drowned in the Volta Lake following the capsizing of a boat on which they were travelling.
According to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the deceased were among 20 pupils who were in the boat travelling from Atikagome to Wayokope, where their school is located.
Twelve pupils however, managed to swim to safety.
The eight deceased, NADMO said, comprised five boys and three girls between the ages of five and twelve.
The Sene East District Director of NADMO, Ibrahim Wudonyim, told Graphic Online that before they got to the accident scene, some community members and Marine Police had managed to retrieve all eight bodies from the Lake.
“It’s something that’s on our emergency procurement system. We want to get PPA approval within a very short period of time and put up that building there to be in memory of those children we lost”, Dr Adutwum said.
He explained that the incident happened around 7:00am on Tuesday, January 24 and that the boat capsized midway.
The bodies of the deceased were subsequently sent to Atikagome, a fishing community.
The community was also thrown into mourning, shock and fear as a result of the incident.
Following this development, an education advocacy group called on government to provide life jackets to pupils and staff in island communities who commute by water.
In a statement commiserating with families of the deceased pupils, Eduwatch Africa said it was saddened by the deaths.
The group therefore called on the Ghana Education Service and other relevant stakeholders to roll out measures to avert such disasters in the future.
Meanwhile reacting to this in his interview on GTV on Monday, the Education Minister hinted that plans were afoot to resource such schools with life jackets and other relevant kits to enhance their safety.
“It something that we take seriously”, Adutwum added.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng, has assured that the internal investigation into accusations of corruption concerning the computerized school selection and placement system has been finalized.
According to him, the report is ready and “all consequential decisions within the report will be communicated.”
His comment comes on the back of a JoyNews-Fourth Estate documentary, ‘School Placement for Sale’ where it was revealed that some agents have been receiving bribes from parents to place their wards into Category A schools.
The documentary had further revealed that an earlier report concerning the nefarious phenomenon had been made to the Police CID for investigation by the outgone Director General of the Ghana Education Service, Professor Kwasi Opoku Amankwah and investigations had been initiated.
However, the Police investigations were cut short for an internal investigation spearheaded by the Ministry of Education to carry on.
Speaking concerning the internal investigation on JoyNews’ PM Express, Kwasi Kwarteng said, the Committee set up by the Minister of Education to carry out the investigation have already submitted their recommendations to the Minister.
“There were some recommendations from the committee and of course, some of the recommendations bother on internal decisions that even the Minister for Education himself must take. There were other decisions that we also had to rely on institutions like National Security, the Police and what have you.
“GES also had their role to play. But the point is that the report is ready, the Minister of Education has the report and all consequential decisions within the report will be communicated,” he said.
He said the only reason the report has delayed is because the Ministry had to await information from other institutions like the Police and the Ministry of National Security in order to draw conclusions and recommendations.
Kwasi Kwarteng assured stakeholders of the Ministry’s resolve to continuously work with them to ensure that the guiding principle of transparency and equity of the CSSPS is protected.
The Member of the Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North in the Ashanti Region, Collins Adomako-Mensah has lamented the impact of the new minority leadership in parliament, branding it as an incompetent and weak working force.
The lawmaker claims that the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) current leadership are not qualified enough to manage a country if power is ever transferred to them, because in his opinion, they are incapable compared to the previous leaders.
Speaking in an interview on Wontumi TV, the MP asserted that the nation is experiencing an economic crisis and needs competent and good leadership to manage its affairs rather than what he perceives to be weak leadership in the minority’s recent reshuffle.
“I always say that for the NDC, their problem is that they’ve been in government before. That’s their biggest problem. Now that Ghana is having a debt exchange programme because of an economic crisis, everybody knows that the economy is weak. Can you imagine handing a weak economy to weak leadership?
“How can we hand a weak economy to weak leadership? Because as we speak, we don’t even know who the minority leader is? “…then it won’t be a matter of debt exchange but rather double debt exchange. It will be chaotic, how do you do this?” he lamented.
The NDC, through its General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to announce the replacement of three members of its leadership in the House: the Minority Leader, the deputy Minority Leader, and the Minority Chief Whip.
The NDC picked Ato Forson to replace Haruna Iddrisu as leader of the Minority Caucus. Other changes are Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembele, who is the new deputy Minority Leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Minority Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the first deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is also retained as second deputy Minority Chief Whip.
An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail to lawyer of Evangelist Patricia Asiedua Oduro Koranteng, popularly known as Nana Agradaa.
Theophilus Donkor, had been charged with verbally assaulting police officers who were in the process of arresting Agradaa.
Theophilus Donkor’s bail comes after he pleaded not guilty to assault on a public officer and offensive conduct conducive to the breach of peace.
He was granted a self-recognisance bail by the court presided over by Rosemond Baah Tosu, Graphiconline.com reports.
The two parties were asked to consider resolving their case outside the court.
Mr Donkor is, however, to reappear on February 27, 2023.
Meanwhile, the lawyer has filed a motion challenging the authority of the police who arrested him.
Graphic.com stated that “the personnel from the Cantonments Police Station who arrested him did not have the authority to do so because the alleged crime was committed around the Accra Metropolitan Assembly area, a jurisdiction outside the operations of the Cantonments Police Division.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has justified its decision to spend over GH¢7 million on a project that was expected to cost a little of GH¢1 million cedis.
In a statement, the Ministry described media reports on the project as inaccurate and detailed reasons that accounted for the project shooting up to GH¢7 million.
Appearing the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament, on Friday, January 20, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the project that was initially supposed to cost the government GH¢1,435,728.99 was executed at GH¢7,967,886.57 because the contractor did not execute on time due to ill health.
The contract for the rehabilitation of Adu Lodge Guest House was awarded to International Development Resources on March 15, 2007.
But according to the Acting Chief Director of the Ministry, Ambassador Ramses Joseph Cleland, the project came to a grind a year later due to the ill health of the contractor.
The Ministry said the project was revisited in March 2019 and upon the request of the consultant, was re-valued to GH¢7,967,886.57 for the same contractor to execute.
But the Foreign Affairs Ministry in an attempt to set the records straight said the original award to Messrs International Development Resources (IDR) on 15th March 2007 by the Architectural Engineering Services Limited (AESL) was to demolish the originally existing 3 buildings that constituted the Lodge, at the time, and construct a new building of twelve (12) bedroom at a contract sum of Fourteen Billion, Three Hundred and Fifty-Seven Million, Two Hundred and Eighty-Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred and Seventy old Ghana cedis (14,357,289.77), equivalent to One Million, Four Hundred and Thirty-Five Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twenty-Eight new Ghana Cedis, Ninety-Eight Pesewas (GH01,435.728.98) after the redenomination of the Cedi in July 2007.
The contract sum was, however, revised in October 2011 to an amount of Four Million, Four Hundred and Thirty-Two Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty-Eight Ghana Cedis, Seventy pesewas.
Below is the full statement by the Foreign Affairs Ministry
The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament is complaining about the Electricity Company of Ghana‘s (ECG) indebtedness to the Bui Power Authority amounting to over $600 million.
The Auditor General’s report revealed that ECG failed to comply with its monthly payment plan thereby resulting in the outstanding debt as of December 31, 2022.
The report said the cash flow of the Authority could negatively be impacted if ECG continues to breach the agreed payment terms.
Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee sittings, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bui Power Authority, Kofi Dzamesi said efforts are being made to recover the money.
“I think that what the auditors say is very true, and we are taking steps to ensure that ECG pays us. But it’s becoming very difficult. But I’m happy to say that many times the Minister of Energy [Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh] does well by asking the finance ministry to come to our aid sometimes.
“So we will continue this negotiation and with the support of our minister, I think we will be able to handle this matter. But it’s really a problem,” Mr. Dzamesi stated.
The committee members recommended to the ministry of finance to ensure that ECG settles its debt to Bui and Volta River Authority (VRA).
The groups of Individual bondholders campaigning against their inclusion in the domestic debt exchange of the government are hopeful that they will be completely exempted from the program under amended parameters that the government has not yet published.
For them, including them will destroy household confidence in Ghana’s financial system and securities market.
On the Point of View on Citi TV, one of the conveners of the group and legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu said: “Sometimes we all get it wrong. Maybe the finance minister initially thought it could woo individual bondholders on board, but it didn’t turn out well. There is nothing wrong because it’s one nation. It’s been confirmed that government will honour its obligations under the existing bonds thus practically exempting us.”
The deadline for the Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) Program expires today, Tuesday, January 31, 2023, after several extensions.
Stakeholders are looking forward to the government’s next move given the agreements it recently reached with groups of individual bondholders and players in the banking and insurance industry.
The Vice President, in charge of research at IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Bright Simons, has even said, the Ministry of Finance is lacking the support of even Cabinet in its decision to include individual bondholders in the Debt Exchange Programme.
“What we are holding now in all probability is much better than what the Minister wants to offer. If the Minister is able to offer something better than what we are holding, then we wouldn’t be doing a debt exchange program. From what I have gathered, people are not interested in any new bonds, they want to hold on to what they currently have”, Martin Kpebu further expressed.
The individual bondholders during discussions with the committee set up by the government to resolve issues on the debt exchange programme stated that with the set target of 80% of eligible bonds, Individual Bondholders are not a critical success factor to the viability of the DDE programme, yet the impact of their inclusion has incalculable consequences.
As part of recommendations to the Technical Committee, they recommended that the government divest loss-making, defunct and troubled 17 State–own enterprises.
The Individual bondholders also suggested that the government review the Free SHS Programme to make it more efficient through effective targeting and allowing parents who can pay to do so.
The group stated that divesting the non-performing SOEs and reviewing free SHS alone will provide the government with GHS 2 billion.
It also urged the government to maintain the 2022 capital expenditure level by reducing the non–ABFA MDA and foreign finance Capex provisions by 50% which they claim will provide the 10.7 billion Ghana Cedis.
Today, Tuesday, January 31, the National Executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will meet with members of the Minority Caucus to discuss the changes made to their leadership in the legislature.
The meeting comes after the resistance that greeted the reshuffle which saw Haruna Iddrisu removed as Minority Leader and replaced by Dr Cassel Ato Forson.
Tuesday’s meeting is expected to explain to the caucus reasons behind the reshuffle and get the support of all aggrieved Minority MPs.
There has been a division among members of the group following a reshuffle of its leadership by the national executives of the NDC.
Speaking to journalists after a meeting with the leadership after his appointment, the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson assured of a collaboration with the former leaders of the caucus to deliver on their mandate in Parliament.
“We have just come out of a very successful meeting with the leadership of the party. We are going to deliver on our mandate. ”
“And as has been agreed with the leadership of the party, there will be a series of activities that will be undertaken beginning from today. We will have our maiden meeting with our leadership and the party leadership on Tuesday,” he added.
As part of the leadership changes, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle also replaced Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) needs a Christian as its flagbearer moving into the 2024 elections, this is according to Samuel Ayeh Paye, a former Member of Parliament for the Ayensuano seat.
He argued that the 2024 elections would be decided on the basis of religion, which is why he urged the NPP to select a Christian over a Muslim as its flagbearer ahead of the general elections of 2024.
Speaking on Adom TV’s flagship morning show Badwam, the Eastern Regional Campaign Coordinator for Alan Kyerematen explained that since John Mahama, the NDC’s top choice, is a Christian and the majority of Ghanaians identify as Christian, it was instructive for the NPP to select a Christian over a Muslim to lead the party.
Hon. Ayeh Paye pointed out that statistics show that Christians make up the majority of our people, thus any effort by the NPP to choose a Muslim as its flag bearer could hurt the party’s chances of remaining in power in 2024.
“As an NPP, I believe we should introduce someone with a Christian background,” he stated on the show hosted by Akwasi Nsiah, noting that only 17 percent of Ghana’s population is Muslim, compared to the country’s overall 71 percent Christian population.
“Whether we like it or not, the NDC will bring John Mahama who is a Christian, and once that happens, it means the 2024 election campaign will even take its major course in the churches, so let’s be careful we don’t present a candidate whose religious background will become an issue against us,” he insisted.
National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has all but endorsed former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu to sail through upcoming party primaries for the Tamale South seat.
Asiedu Nketiah said the four-time Member of Parliament (MP) had become so powerful in his constituency that it would even be surprising if he is contested at all when the primaries are held later this year.
“The outgone Minority Leader, Honourable Haruna Iddrisu, he is so powerful in his constituency, he is almost always not contested at all. I have my doubts whether anybody will contest him,” Asiedu Nketiah told party faithful during a meeting in London last week.
The one-time General Secretary was addressing concerns that the January 23 changes to the party’s leadership in Parliament was going to affect some of the replaced leaders at the upcoming primaries.
“They will not be impacted by the changes, one of the ousted persons, Dr. Avedzi (former deputy Minority Leader) is not going to Parliament again,” he explained.
On the case of Mohammed Muntaka-Mubarak, Asiedu Nketiah said despite recent challenge he was facing, “we didn’t think that this change will affect his fortune one way or the other and so we felt this is the best time to undertake these changes.”
He stressed that the advantages of expedition outweighed the concerns that were being raised about the timing.
NDC rings changes in parliamentary leadership
The NDC, through its General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to announce the replacement of three members: the Minority Leader, the deputy Minority Leader, and the Minority Chief Whip.
The NDC picked Ato Forson to replace Haruna Iddrisu as leader of the Minority Caucus.
Other changes included Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembele, who is the new deputy Minority Chief Whip.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is also retained as second deputy Minority Chief Whip.
The Tamale High court 2 is expected to hear the corruption-related case today, January, 31, 2023 involving four officials of the authority charged by the Office of the Special Prosecutor(OSP).
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) charged the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), Mr. Sumaila Abdul-Rahman and his two deputies, Stephen Yir-eru Engmen in Charge of Operations, and Mr. Patrick Seidu, the Deputy Chief Executive (Finance & Administration) for alleged corruption.
Also charged with the three is Mr. Andrew Kuundaari, the Chief Executive of A&QS Consortium Limited, a private consultancy firm.
The four are charged with conspiracy to directly or indirectly influence the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.
This will be first court appearance of the four suspects.
The deputy Communication Director for the governing NPP, Kamal-Deen Abdulai says the former Electoral Commission (EC) boss, madam Charlotte Osei was lawfully removed from office.
According to him, the laws will apply on anybody irrespective of the offender’s status in the country adding that when you flout it you cannot escape the consequences that come with the offends.
His comments come on the back of former President John Mahama questioning how State institutions have been bastardized in the country by the current administration.
Delivering a lecture on “Africa’s Strategic Priorities and Global Role” at Chatham House, London last Friday January 27, 2023, the former President also recounted how the former EC boss was removed.
Commenting on the lecture by the former President on Starr News, Mr. Kamal-Deen stated that it is unfair for former President Mahama to describe the removal of the former EC boss as frivolous on an international stage such the Chatham House.
“No matter who you are, our constitution is clear that no one is above the law and for His Excellency John Dramani Mahama who hascbeen the President of the republic of Ghana before, and who swore according to the constitution of Ghana and swore to uphold all the laws of Ghana.
“It will be very unfair to the system when he says that reasons for the asking of Charlotte Osei from office were frivolous. The question that comes to mind is that was Charlotte Osei taken out of office as a result of due process of the law? As a result, she has relented on her duties and to the extent that she has flouted the laws of this country or not, and if the answer is yes then I think that President Mahama should come again.
“I think it is unfair for a statesman to make such a statement. With the young people growing up we all have learnt that we need to be bonded by the laws of the country. We need to actually work with them and Charlotte Osei.
“The accusations that came for her removal emanated from the same institution, people she was working with. Even Commissioners that were at the same table had problems with her and she had problems with them.”
Mr. Kamal-Deen stated that the former President should not sit anywhere and formulate any story while the accusations and counter accusations from EC under the leadership of Charlotte Osei got her out of office.
“Me I will maintain that no matter how little a law appears and no matter how little a crime appears it is still a crime. So long as it is defined by the law as a crime and if it is punishable and if consequences are to come with them, they are supposed to come with them and of course you will face them as well.”
Akwasi Addae Odike, the founder and leader of the United Front Party(UFP), has chastised the National Cathedral Board of Trustees for what he alleges is their willingness to let President Akufo-Addo to dupe them into backing a dubious project.
He contends that the project is a personal commitment made by the president and shouldn’t be a burden on the state, and as a result, if the board ever had integrity and conscience, they should have resigned when the president began taking money from the state coffers to fund the project.
In an interview with Happy FM, the politician cum businessman asserted that the accusations levelled against some board of trustees by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency demonstrates the level of corruption and dishonesty they have engaged in, necessitating their resignation.
“The whole process was formulated on the premises of fraud. Nobody knows Jesus Christ, it is just a religion that we came to meet and worship. “Akufo Addo said he has a personal pledge with God. He told the entire nation that it was his private project to reward God. “He then formed a board of trustees who also came to tell us that the projects won’t be funded by the state. Then Akufo Addo came again and said that the building will now cost $350 million so, unless Ghanaians come and support it, now he has turned the whole cathedral into a state property.
“That was the day that all the board of trustees should have resigned if they had conscience and integrity…because same as Akufo-Addo said some time ago that, ‘I have been misled’. “So, should they? They should’ve also said that they have been misled…because they took the position because Akufo-Addo said it was his personal project, but if it’s now national, we don’t know what to tell Ghanaians so we’re sorry… the pastors that are leading in discussions with the construction of the National Cathedral have failed us. Akufo-Addo has lied and they’ve also pledged to support the lies,” he said.
Meanwhile, The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has accused Reverend Kusi Boateng, secretary and board of trustee member of engaging in a conflict of interest situation and also using double identities.
He revealed in a Facebook post that a whooping GH¢2.6million was transferred from the National Cathedral Secretariat to JNS Talent Centre Limited, a company owned by Rev. Kusi Boateng under his second name, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
He also alleged that the religious leader has been issued with a diplomatic passport which he finds very disturbing.
“I will want the Foreign Affairs Ministry to justify why Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng qualified for a diplomatic passport to begin with. Otherwise, everybody will be eligible to hold a diplomatic passport in this country,” he said in an interview on Okay FM’s ‘Ade Akye Abia’ programme..
“On 25th November 2021 the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration granted Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng a diplomatic passport. The diplomatic passport which expires on 24th November 2026 rather carries the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi and not Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng”.
The Minority Leader, his deputy, and the Chief Whip were among the leaders who lost their positions when the Minority Caucus in Parliament underwent a leadership change last week.
When the news broke, it was met with opposition from a section of Members of Parliament (MPs) who insisted that even though the party reserved the right to reshuffle leadership, the process was defective to the extent that there was no consultation.
In response, National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketiah disclosed that there were consultations and that the party took a decision after that process.
Aside being part of efforts to reorganize party structures, he identified the lack of cooperation between the Haruna Iddrisu-led Caucus and the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, who is also an NDC member, its longest serving MP till 2020 when he exited.
Bagbin’s election was largely credited to the Minority led by outgone Chief Whip Mohammed Muntaka-Mabarak’s vigilance during the voting process on January 7, 2021 when the 8th Parliament was convened.
Years down the line, the same Muntaka who raced through the chamber to retrieve a ballot from a ruling party MP, which process secured Bagbin the seat of Speaker, has routinely disagreed strongly with the Speaker on different issues.
Muntaka disagrees with Bagbin over absentee MPs petition
In April 2022, Speaker Bagbin admitted a petition against three absentee New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs – Henry Quartey, Sarah Adwoa Safo and Kennedy Agyapong.
The petition was filed by a former lawmaker, Ras Mubarak, which procedure Muntaka challenged as wrong. He said Bagbin ought to have admitted a petition from a sitting MP because Parliament was a master of its own processes.
Muntaka after the verbal exchanges filed a motion challenging Bagbin’s ruling and seeking to revoke or rescind the referral of three MPs to the privileges committee over absenteeism.
A memo addressed to the Minority Chief Whip from the principal assistant clerk at the table office said the motion had been dismissed by the Speaker.
Muntaka and Bagbin face off on vote of censure procedure
Bagbin had cause to ‘threaten’ Muntaka in November 2022 when they clashed over the procedure Bagbin opted to adopt in a Censorship Motion brought by the Minority against Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Muntaka during proceedings on November 11 vehemently disagreed with Bagbin’s decision to refer the censorship motion to a committee, interrupting him a number of times much to Bagbin’s chagrin
“Mr. Speaker, I come to second the motion with the clear indication that any attempt to move this matter to a committee will be a travesty of justice done to the chamber of this House.
Then the Speaker retorted again: “Hon. Members, I direct that all that the Minority Chief Whip has said after I have told him to withdraw and apologize, be expunged from the records. I so direct. Hansard expunge everything from the record.
“Minority Chief Whip, you’ll have a difficulty in catching my eye again,” reference to getting to speak again during the session.
Muntaka grants interview attacking Bagbin on multiple fronts
Late last year, following their spat over the Ofori-Atta Censure motion, Muntaka granted an interview to Accra-based Joy News, speaking to issues around his work and general operations of the House.
On Speaker Bagbin and his leadership style, Muntaka used harsh language describing Bagbin in part as a dictator who was running the House like a chief in a palace.
He insisted that the times he opposed Bagbin were on valid and legal grounds, promising to continue on that trajectory because it was in the ultimate interest of building Ghana’s parliamentary democracy.
He also compared Bagbin to his predecessor Mike Oquaye, stressing that the latter was far more accommodating of debate and readily saw the point of view of MPs unlike Bagbin.
Former Ghana Ambassador to India, Sam Pee Yalley has questioned the rationale behind President Nana Akufo-Addo’s obsession with building a National Cathedral at a time of economic austerity.
Speaking on Dwaboase on TV XYZ, the National President of the NDC Professionals Forum (PRO-FORUM) wondered which benefit the citizens stand to gain from the construction of a facility which President Akufo-Addo has said is a fulfillment of a promise he personally made to God before becoming the country’s leader.
In his estimation, the project is not a priority at a time economic hardship is being battled by almost every house hold with the government relying on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) support to balance the country’s finances.
“President Akufo-Addo is a bad leader; He is a bad driver who has led the country to a low level…And with all these economic challenges, he is focused on building a cathedral,” he lamented.
Sam Pee Yalley, a veteran legal practitioner chastised the managers of the economy and admonished the president to focus on tackling the economic mess his cousin, Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister for Finance, has created in the country.
“In this present age when Nigeria is implementing agricultural policies to feed its people; Rwanda is developing science…Ghana under this president we are going back to Biblical times, some 2,000 years back to look for Bible quotations when others are going to the scientific world,” Pee Yalley criticised.
To him, Akufo-Addo and his cohorts are stealing from Ghanaians in the name of the project.
“Why go into a contingency vault to build a cathedral?” he quizzed.
About 339 million cedis has been withdrawn from the country’s Consolidated Fund to finance the cathedral which has over the months irked most Ghanaians due to the opaque nature of the project’s funding.
Controversies
Apart from questions of accountability which have been repeatedly raised by the Minority in Parliament, there have also been concerns about the relevance of the project as the country cannot sustain its debts coupled with high inflation.
The questions led to two eminent clergymen and members of the Board of Trustees of the controversial National Cathedral project calling for its immediate suspension.
The two – Archbishop Duncan Williams and Reverend Eastwood Anaba asked for a financial audit to be undertaken before the project could continue.
Earlier in 2022, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, the founder and leader of the Lighthouse Chapel International resigned secretly from the Board of Trustees of the project.
In the letter sighted by Citi News, Bishop Heward-Mills expressed disappointment at the leadership of the National Cathedral for ignoring concerns he raised in several letters he wrote to them with the recent one being in June 2022 through the Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference.
Part of it reads, “I feel that the treatment of the issues I have raised in my several letters has been unfortunate. My letters have been ignored in the past; not attended to for years, and at best addressed flippantly.”
“You may recall I have spoken passionately and written extensively about the costs, the design, the location, the fundraising, the mobilization of the churches, and the role of the trustees. These, if heeded, would have made our project more achievable. Generally speaking, my inputs, my opinions, and my letters have been trivialized and set aside.”
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential hopeful, Alan Kyerematen, was mobbed by his supporters, on Monday, January 30, 2023, as he arrived in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi.
According to reports, Alan is in Kumasi to pay a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
A viral video of Alan’s arrival at the Kumasi Airport showed a crowd of supporters amassed at the airport as they awaited his arrival.
As he was alighting from the plane, some of the supporters could be seen jumping as they shouted, “this is the next president of Ghana.”
The former minister of trade and industry is expected to face stiff competition from Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and former Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, for the flagbearership position of the NPP.
Meanwhile, the vice president has been projected to be the flagbearer of the NPP in a recent study co-conducted by Outcomes International Ghana and the Centre for Sustainable African Development Initiatives (C-SADI) UK.
According to the survey, the most popular candidate for the New Patriotic Party flagbearer position in all 16 regions of Ghana is the vice president.
In all, the survey got responses from around 197,000 NPP polling station executives (PSEs) in all the regions.
“Data was obtained mainly through computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) technology between 15th November 2022 and 15th December 2022. Based on 95% confidence level and 2% margin of error a sample size of 6000 PSEs was used. However, 5641 PSEs were successfully interviewed (response rate of 94%) from all 96 constituencies.
“Greater Accra region had the highest number of PSEs interviewed with 1142 PSEs followed by the Ashanti region with 869 PSEs corresponding to 20.2% and 15.4% respectively. More than half of PSE’s who participated in the survey were Akan (54% [n=3056 PSEs]), and 46% (n=2585 PSEs) were non-Akan. In terms of religious distribution, 78% of the PSEs were Christian whilst 20.6% were Muslim,” the report stated.
After what was supposed to be a merger that should benefit all the institutions of higher learning involved in it, there is already an intense agitation by the largest of these three bodies.
The University of Media, Arts, and Communications (UniMAC), the first public university established by an Act of Parliament (Act 1059), is a merger of three specialised institutions: the Ghana Institute of Journalism, the Ghana Institute of Languages, and the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI).
However, the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) has stated that it is dissatisfied with management issues following the UniMAC merger and has threatened to withdraw from the merger.
GhanaWeb sources indicate that lecturers appear to be unhappy with the management of UniMAC.
“We are convinced that the merger cannot proceed without the statute, hence, we resolve to mount pressure on the interim council to attach much more seriousness to the enactment of the statute, to forestall the impending confusion and anxiety on our campuses, as a result of the excesses of the UniMAC management.
“Failure to act swiftly on the statutes will give us no option than to protest for GIJ’s withdrawal from the merger,” the source said.
The source also added that UTAG-GIJ members are of the view that the merger is needless because it involves three unequal institutions.
He explained that among the institutions involved in the merger, only GIJ is a fully-fledged university, and it would have been thought that the government would allow GIJ to absorb GIL and NAFTI.
“That did not happen. We suspect the merger is a move by government to silence GIJ and make it easier for government to control the university. For this reason, we are saying that for the merger to be operational, the government should amend the Act that establishes UniMAC, and make GIJ acquire the other two institutions. GIJ commands more resources than the other two combined. If this request is not granted, we will withdraw and be on our own,” he stated.
In the meantime, the lecturers at GIJ have resolved to wear red armbands from Monday, January 30, 2023, through Friday, February 3, 2023, as a way of pressing home their demands.
Broadcaster Paul Adom-Otchere has alleged that some supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) want the former minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, to rejoin the party.
According to him, the NPP supporters are not happy with the treatment of Haruna Iddrisu, the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, by the leadership of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He added that the NPP supporters argue that Haruna was an NPP member before he was snatched by a leading member of the NDC, Mohammed Ibn Chambers, and he is welcome if he wants to return to the party.
“Some NPP supporters called me as I was coming into the studio and guess what they said. They said “Haruna Iddrisu has been removed as minority leader, tell him to come back to us.
“They said “Paul didn’t you know that Haruna Iddrisu was with the NDC before he joined the NPP? He was with the NPP before Mohammed Chambers took him to the NDC,” Adom Otchere said during his Good Evening Ghana programme, which was monitored by GhanaWeb.
The broadcaster went on to play the hit song Lucky Mensah, Old School Girl, which was requested by the NPP supporters.
The change in the leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has led to some confusion in the NDC, with some members of the party, including some Members of Parliament, saying that the party’s parliamentarians should have been consulted before the move.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. He replaced the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority Leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, he will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
Some MPs of the party have petitioned the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to suspend the appointment of the new leadership of the party in Parliament.
The NDC MPs calling for the suspension, including Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka (MP for Asawase), Dominic Ayine (MP for Bolgatanga East) and Cletus Avoka (MP for Zebilla), argue that the appointment was not made by any of the party’s decision-making structures but was imposed by just a few people.
The Member of Parliament for Yendi, Farouk Aliu-Mahama, has said that Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia should be the flagbearer of his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Being a presidential or parliamentary candidate of a party, he believes, should not be based on the number of years one has been a member of the party.
He said that people saying it is the turn of Alan Kyerematen to be the flagbearer of the NPP are wrong because there were people on the scene before him, including Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, who contested with ex-President John Agyekum Kufour.
Aliu-Mahama, who made these remarks in a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Sunday, added that the vice president over the past few years has proven that he has the capacity and the competence to transform Ghana.
“My support for Dr. Bawumia is not because my late father wanted to see him at some point. I have seen the vice president, within the shortest possible time, become a force to reckon with in this country.
“He has moved the country as a vice president; he has done a lot. He has the vision to do more with the support of the president and has carried himself to the admiration of everybody; he is very competent.
“The vice president at least can lead Ghana to the promise land… Dr. Bawumia is somebody who stands tall, in the last 16 years, everything is about Bawumia. Even those who don’t like Bawumia are speaking about him,” he said.
He warned the party to be careful with how it handles the upcoming presidential primaries to ensure that it does not divide the party as it did in 2008, which led to the party losing the election.
He added that even though all the persons who have expressed interest in contesting in the party’s flagbearership race are competent, only one person can emerge as the winner.
Meanwhile, the vice president has been projected to be the flagbearer of the NPP in a recent study co-conducted by Outcomes International Ghana and the Centre for Sustainable African Development Initiatives (C-SADI) UK.
According to the survey, the most popular candidate for the New Patriotic Party flagbearer position in all 16 regions of Ghana is the vice president.
In all, the survey got responses from around 197,000 NPP polling station executives (PSEs) in all the regions.
“Data was obtained mainly through computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) technology between 15th November 2022 and 15th December 2022. Based on 95% confidence level and 2% margin of error a sample size of 6000 PSEs was used. However, 5641 PSEs were successfully interviewed (response rate of 94%) from all 96 constituencies.
“Greater Accra region had the highest number of PSEs interviewed with 1142 PSEs followed by the Ashanti region with 869 PSEs corresponding to 20.2% and 15.4% respectively. More than half of PSE’s who participated in the survey were Akan (54% [n=3056 PSEs]), and 46% (n=2585 PSEs) were non-Akan. In terms of religious distribution, 78% of the PSEs were Christian whilst 20.6% were Muslim,” the report stated.
The chief of Kweiman, Nii Anang Amartey, has raised concerns over what he says is the massive encroachment of Kweiman lands by the Chiefs of Oyarifa, Amanfrom and Danfa.
According to him, some individuals including the NPP Greater Accra Regional youth organiser, Moses Abor, have taken over the land in the area as the land is no longer serving its initial purpose which was cattle rearing.
Nii Anang Amartey said several petitions to the government have proven futile they are therefore calling of the Inspector General of Police and the Greater Accra Regional Minister to intervene to prevent landguards and security personnel from encroaching further.
Narrating the incident from the past, he said that somewhere in 1970, the government acquired the land from Kweiman Danfa and Amrahia.
The government then named it ‘Kweiman-Amrahia daily farm’ to rear cattle, but as time went on, the government did not use the land again so, they decided to take back our land.
Danfa and Amrahia were compensated but those at Kweiman had issues between the families involved and who the amount involved in the compensation should go to.
They therefore decided to go to court to settle it so they know who government should give the compensation to.
The chief said they won the case in 1992 and have since sent petitions and letters to government.
In 2019, they however noticed that some people have encroached on the land, so they started calling on government to draw their attention to it.
“…We found out that there was going to be a demolition, so the government sent one Clement Dzato to us.
“He came and said the government said he should embark on the demolishing. Since 2019 to now he has sold more than 80 per cent of our land. 80 acres and he is there today with his land guards and boys.
“We applied to the then NPP chairman Freddie Blay to help us. He introduced us to Ben, Ben brought Moses Abor – they are national security personnel and are helping us. We came with his team and said they are helping us, but right now as I am speaking, Moses Abor’s own is worse. So, we don’t know what to do hence the reason we want the government to intervene,” he said in an interview with GhanaWeb.
Husband of the Oyibi food vendor, at the centre of the food poisoning scandal, Yellow Sisi Special Waakye, has said there is no way his wife would intentionally harm her customers by poisoning the food she sells.
According to him, his wife, child and a sales lady ate some of the food they sold hence the reason they believe the food poisoning cannot be intentional.
Speaking in an interview with citinewsroom.com, the husband who spoke on condition of anonymity said; “My wife can’t do anything bad to her family nor her customers because we eat the same food anytime it’s prepared.
“My wife, one of her sales ladies and my daughter also reported to the hospital for treatment after eating the food. There is no way she will do anything to harm her customers,” citinews.com added.
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) confirmed in a statement that only one person died from the incident contrary to the earlier report that five people had died. They added that about 53 persons were hospitalized as a result.
According to citinews, the deceased man was the landlord of the parcel of land where the waakye joint is located at a place called Bush Canteen.
The wife of the deceased told Citi FM: “my husband ate the food on Friday [January 20, 2023] and was subsequently rushed to the hospital a day after when he was pronounced dead after a short while.”
The husband of the waakye seller also revealed that he had tried to get the landlord to seek medical attention to no avail.
“All attempts by my wife to convince the landlord to seek medical attention immediately after the situation happened were not heeded.
“It is very sad that the landlord passed. My wife did all she could to convince him to visit the hospital, but he declined. His death has left my wife and I disturbed but all we can say is sorry,” he added.
A Former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Koku Anyidoho believes that the latest comments by the National Chairman of the NDC Johnson Asiedu Nketia on why the changes to the Minority Leadership, is implicating the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin for being the brain behind the action.
Mr Asiedu Nketia has stated that the NDC cannot accept a situation where New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament cooperate with Speaker Alban Bagbin when NDC lawmakers are not doing same even though Mr Bagbin is from the NDC.
Addressing the NDC UK/Ireland Chapter during a visit to London after accompanying former president John Dramani Mahama for a public lecture engagement at Chatham House, Mr Nketia said “My priority in Parliament is to see our parliamentary caucus working together and also cooperating with the Speaker of Parliament. Why did we struggle to get an NDC person elected as a Speaker of Parliament?
“There are certainly some advantages and those advantages can be tapped into when your leadership is cooperating with the speaker. So we cannot have a situation where NPP is cooperating with the speaker and our NDC leadership has challenges with the speaker and if you are given a party whose leadership in Parliament is not working together, what will you do? You make the changes or you resign and I am not about to resign.”
Earlier, Mr Asiedu Nketia explained the decision to make the changes saying, that the key topics that come up for debates lately centre on the economy, energy and infrastructure.
To that end, he said the party felt it necessary to get their best men who are on top of these issues forward.
He told said on Tuesday, January 24 that “The debates and the other discussions will focus on the economy so you need to put your best man in the economy forward, that is what we have done.
“We also looked at energy. These petroleum and electricity challenges and so we needed to settle on Kofi Armah Buah, our former Energy Minister to be the deputy minority leader and then the other area is infrastructure, Kwame Agbodza being our man in infrastructure should play a key role. So that generally is what informed the changes.”
Commenting on this, Mr Anyidoho tweeted that “listen to Asiedu-Nketiah making a complete nuisance of himself in London, as he tries without success to disengage from the mess he has sunk himself in.
“He is implicating Speaker Bagbin – as being the brain behind the silly attempt to forcefully remove Haruna and co. He is hot.”
Mr Anyidoho added “What level of co-operation is he talking about? We know Bagbin put Mosquito on the Parliamentary Services Board (PSB). Is it because Haruna and co are refusing to ‘co-operate’ for dirty deals to be done that’s why they want to change and bring more pliant people to manipulate?”
According to the Ministry, the majority of the passports have been produced, with around 30,000 yet to be collected.
It said applicants have been notified via text messages but claims have been unsuccessful.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration wishes to inform the general public, particularly passport applicants about the urgent need for them to collect their printed passports from the various Passport Application Centres (PAC).
“The Ministry is concerned that even though applicants have been informed through text messages that their passports have been printed and sent to the various Passport Application Centres, most of them are yet to be collected. Accra and Kumasi Passport Application Centres alone have about thirty thousand (30,000) uncollected passports.
“In view of the above, the Ministry is calling on passport applicants who are yet to collect their passports to visit their respective Passport Application Centres to do so, as they would be required for future renewal.”
“Thanking the general public for their cooperation on this important matter, the Ministry takes the opportunity to assure that the Passport Office remains committed to its mandate of delivering enhanced service to the general public,” the official communique released by the Ministry on Monday, January 30, 2023 stated.
A private legal practitioner and leading member of pressure group, OccupyGhana, Ace Anan Ankomah has been recounting his life story.
Ace Ankomah in an interview on Foot Prints on Citi TV hosted by Samuel Attah-Mensah, said his advocacy work and social change campaigns are because he’s always irritated by issues affecting the country.
“I have always stated my views, I have neither been shy to say what I think. I’m no shrinking violet, I don’t pull punches, and I don’t suffer foolishness gladly. I see a country that has so much, yet so little. It’s a painful thing to look at Ghana.”
“Ghana irritates me very much. Every day, I give up on Ghana and the next day, I’m back still trying to see if we can make Ghana well. Every day I say let’s just give up, but sometimes I feel like let’s just forget it. It happens to me and I will say today I won’t bother myself with Ghana, in two hours I’m back writing something about Ghana, because this is Ghana”.
The outspoken lawyer who is also the Managing Partner at Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa and Ankomah law firm, explained that he’s now toned down on expressing his views on the happenings in the country as a way of disciplining himself.
Even with that, he said he still does his advocacy work via OccupyGhana.
“I can understand those who do not want to speak, it comes at a cost because everybody out there thinks they can insult you because you speak your mind. People say why don’t you speak too much of late? I said I grew up and decided to discipline myself. You know me I can pick a fight in an empty room, I don’t fear engaging in a fight with anyone. I can’t pull punches, so the best way to discipline myself is not to get involved at the human advocacy level. But I will do what l can through OccupyGhana,” he noted.
Ace Ankomah said the group has been able to make some impact on governments’ decisions despite the many threats its members encounter.
“OccupyGhana has never organised a demonstration. We rather join other groups’ demonstrations. The beginning of OccupyGhana was very rough. In one day, two members had acid on their car tires. People said you guys if you go on the streets, we will teach you a lesson. They said they will do a Morgan Tsvangirai out of you [us]–The Zimbabwean opposition leader who was beaten,” he underscored.
He said the group members lately do a lot of writing on issues that need change, and they are never tired.
“After the demonstrations what next? So we decided to carry the battle to an intellectual level and that has evolved. We realised that we don’t have to be on the streets, organise press conferences, speak to radio stations to make an impact anymore.”
“We decided to write, I do a lot of writing, and I’m never tired. I spend two hours every day doing OccupyGhana work. I tell my friends in government, I can follow you like a demon, I follow them and we harass them. Sometimes we sit back, and we are amazed at the things we have achieved by just writing letters,” Ankomah emphasised.
A joint task force of police and Ghana Revenue Authority( GRA) employees has detained the manager of the Spintex China Mall for failing to pay taxes.
It is immediately not known how much tax the company owes the GRA but Citi News’ Kennedy Twumasi reported that the manager was picked up Monday morning by a taskforce from the country’s revenue authority.
The manager of Sneda Mall on the Spintex Road was also arrested by the taskforce for the non-payment of taxes.
In October 2022, the GRA shut down some branches of China Mall over non-compliance with Ghana’s electronic VAT system.
GRA has embarked on a special operation to clamp down on companies defaulting on their tax commitments.
According to the GRA, a number of taxpayers have failed to file their returns through the authority’s certified invoicing system thus dwindling the revenue collection for the state.
Speaking ahead of an exercise to arrest business owners who have defaulted in the payments of their VAT, the Commissioner of the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) of the authority Edward Appenteng Gyamerah said they will continually embark on such swoops to ensure that companies do the needful.
The death of Isaac Dokyi, a National Service member working at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) in Tafo in the Abuakwa North Municipality, is being investigated by police in the Eastern Region.
According to eyewitnesses the deceased who was riding his bicycle to church last Saturday was crushed to death by a speeding private vehicle at the Opass Junction on the main Koforidua Bunso stretch.
Health professionals at the Akyem Tafo government hospital, however, pronounced him dead on arrival after he was rushed to the facility.
The Akyem Tafo police who have launched investigations into the cause of the accident have one suspect driver, a native of the town in custody to help with investigations after he reported himself to the police.
A visually impaired supporter of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said that he is unable to retrieve his GHc50,000 investment with Data Bank as a result of government’s ongoing Domestic Debt Exchange Program.
Speaking in an interview on Akoma FM, Agya Bray, who sells medical products, said that he went to the bank to withdraw his investment, which had matured, only to be told that there were no funds available.
He added that the bank told him that if he insists on getting his money back, he will have to lose GHc16,000 of his investment.
“I did not invest in a government bond. In 2007, I invested ¢500,000,000 (GHc50,000) in products of Ofori-Atta’s Bank (Data Bank), called the M-Fund and F-Fund. I went there for my money this past Tuesday, and they said that they don’t have any money for me.
“They told me that they can’t give me any money, and they were saying some things about haircuts and the IMF bailout the government was seeking. And I asked them why the government should be using my money to borrow from the IMF.
“Then they told me that if I wanted my money, they would let someone pay me, but I am going to lose ¢160,000,000 (GH¢16,000),” he said in Twi.
The NPP supporter said that he has always voted for the party, but if people like him lose their money due to the government’s debt exchange programme, they will abstain from voting in the upcoming 2024 elections.
A 48-year-old man’s family has filed a lawsuit against the 37 Military Hospital, a doctor, the Chief of Defence Staff, and the government.
The plaintiff is also demanding GH¢2 million damages for medical negligence leading to the deceased’s death.
The family contends that the death of Solomon Asare Kumah at the hospital in October 2019 was due to a breach of contract and negligence by the hospital and the doctor, Col. Dr Gao Appiah who took care of him.
Per the writ filed in 2021, the family argues that, “the hospital and its employees failed to exercise due care when they wrongly inserted Solomon’s breathing tube under his skin thereby denying oxygen for a considerable amount of time and as such causing stain on his heart and other organs and thus causing his death.”
The particulars of the negligence complaint were that, the 3rd defendant (Hospital) and its employees responsible for Solomon’s care, particularly the 4th defendant, (doctor) failed to exercise due care when they wrongly inserted Solomon’s breathing tube under his skin thereby denying him oxygen for a considerable amount of time and as such causing a strain on his heart and other organs and causing his death;
“The 3rd defendant and its employees failed to provide the appropriate standard of care when they failed to notice within reasonable time that Solomon’s tube had been wrongly inserted until he (Solomon) became extremely bloated;
“The 3rd defendant and its employees responsible for Solomon’s care, particularly the 4th defendant, failed to exercise due care when they failed to ensure on 16th September, 2019, that the drill required for Solomon’s surgery was in good working condition before cutting open Solomon’s skull, thereby exposing his body and organs to considerable strain and clotting in the vein, a condition which required an expensive procedure costing Solomon and his family the Ghana Cedi equivalent of five thousand five hundred United States Dollars (US$5,500.00) plus other expenses to treat;
“The 3rd defendant and its employees failed in their duty of care to Solomon when they failed to notice that Solomon had developed symptoms of clotting in the vein; and the 3rd defendant failed in its duty as a referral hospital to ensure that it had the requisite tools and equipment to treat Solomon’s condition before admitting him,” the writ stated.
Reliefs being sought
The family per the writ issued in 2021 is seeking the following reliefs…
a. A Damages of two million eight thousand two hundred and fifty-nine Ghana Cedis and fifty-seven pesewas (GH¢2,008,259.57) for negligently causing the death of Solomon Asare-Kumah;
b. Compensation to the widow and family members for mental distress, which eventually led to the death of Solomon’s father;
C. General damages for breach the contract between Solomon and the dr3 defendant;
d. An order for the recovery of special damages for breach of contract and for negligence resulting in the following losses;
The sum of twenty thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢20,000.00) being funeral and other expenses incurred; the sum of thirty-six thousand two hundred Ghana Cedis (GH¢36,200.00) being the sums of money collected from Solomon and or his family by 4th defendant through deceit, and unconscionable contract; the sum of ten thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢10,000.00) being the expenses incurred by family during Solomon’s 60-day stay at the 3rd defendant’s facility; and sum of the Ghana Cedi equivalent of five thousand five hundred United States Dollars (US$5,500.00) being expenses incurred for the IVC filter procedure at the National Cardio Centre, Korle-Bu;
e. Any other reliefs the Honourable Court deems fit;
f. Costs including solicitor’s fees of forty thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢40,000.00).
EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent, Murtala Inusah, reports that the High Court in Accra is expected to rule on an application from the family seeking the Chief of Defence Staff and the Hospital to release the report of its investigation on the matter pending the determination of the substantive matter.
Parties
The Plaintiff is the customary successor, and the administrator of the estate of Solomon Asare-Kumah (deceased) and brings this action in the capacities indorsed on the writ.
The Attorney General – 1st Defendant is the principal legal adviser to the government of Ghana and the constitutionally designated defendant for all suits against the State.
The Chief of Defence Staff – 2nd defendant is the head of the Ghana Armed Forces, and has oversight responsibility for the operations of the 3rd defendant herein.
37 Military Hospital- 3rd defendant is a state-owned referral hospital located in Accra, and was at all times material to the facts giving rise to the instant action, the employer of the 4th defendant.
Col. Dr Gao Appiah (doctor)- The 4th defendant is an employee of the 3rd defendant and the consultant surgeon in charge of the care of Solomon Asare-Kumah during his stay at the facility of the 3rd defendant.
In the upcoming pricing window of February, the Institute of Energy Studies (IES) predicts that gasoline would sell for roughly Gh15 per litre.
This according to the institute is due to the about 10% depreciation of the cedi against the U.S. Dollar coupled with the price of Gasoline and Gasoil increasing by approximately 14% and 7.6%, respectively on the global market.
This is despite the government’s introduction and receipt of about 40,000 metric tonnes of fuel under the gold for oil policy which seeks to source cheaper fuel in exchange for gold.
This is part of the government’s efforts at addressing the high cost of fuel at the pumps which have partly contributed to the hike in inflation in the country currently hovering around the 50 per cent mark.
Presently, the national average price per litre of Gasoline increased to Gh¢13.58 from Gh¢12.54, and Gasoil from Gh¢14.40 to Gh¢15.36 during the second pricing window in January.
To stop illicit cash flows out of the continent, President Akufo-Addo has urged for the adoption of tax policies among other things.
The president said illicit financial flows cost Africa close to 100 billion dollars which denies the continent the needed resources to facilitate growth and development.
Speaking during the closing session of the maiden African Prosperity Dialogues dubbed, ‘the Kwahu Summit’, the president said African states can only stop illicit financial flows out of the continent if they collectively institute measures.
“We need to pay serious attention to and arrest illicit financial flow out of the continent which is estimated at $88 billion annually depriving Africa of significant resources which could be used to support the continent’s development agenda.
“We must urgently and collectively institute comprehensive and unambiguous tax policies to combat tax-motivated illicit financial flows, strengthen legal and law enforcement systems and bring together national agencies to stem such flows.”
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has urged African countries to take inter-trade seriously to enable the continent to resist future shocks.
President Akufo-Addo said the decision by some 44 countries to sign up for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA) is a clear indication that the continent is ready to trade among itself.
He further promised to engage the remaining 10 African States to ensure the full participation of all African States.
“It is encouraging to note that as of November 2022, 44 members states have ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA), this is strong evidence of the growing political will and commitment of the leadership of the continent to achieve market integration in Africa, and it’s our duty to engage to ensure the full participation of all members states.”
In order to strengthen the continent’s ability to withstand future shocks, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged African nations to take inter-trade seriously.
Closing the three-day Africa Prosperity Dialogues, President Akufo-Addo said the decision by some 44 countries to sign up for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a clear indication that the continent is ready to trade among itself.
Mr Akufo-Addo promised that he will engage the remaining 10 African States to ensure the full participation of all African States.
“It is encouraging to note that as of November 2022, 44 members states have ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA), this is strong evidence of the growing political will and commitment of the leadership of the continent to achieve market integration in Africa, and it’s our duty to engage to ensure the full participation of all members states.”
Meanwhile, Vice president Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has disclosed that Africa will need between US$130 billion and US$170 billion annually to propel a sustainable growth of 5 per cent in order to bridge the infrastructural shortfalls of the continent.
Addressing a high-level conference in Accra of African Ministers of State, diplomats, policymakers, and business executives, who are discussing ways of fast-tracking the implementation of the AfCFTA, Dr Bawumia said even though the AfCFTA has set the stage for the transformation of Africa, its full prospects can only be realised through decisive steps by key African stakeholders, and a focus on some key broad areas he proposed.
Mr. Bawumia intimated that the continent should make conscious efforts to address the infrastructural deficit needed to facilitate the implementation of the AfCFTA which will likely come at a cost not less than US$130 billion a year.
“Africa needs between US$130 billion and US$ 170 billion annually to bridge its infrastructure gap and generate sustainable growth at 5% per annum or more. This presents immense opportunities for the private sector investment,” he noted.
The Telecel group’s management has assured Vodafone employees that there won’t be any layoffs as it takes over the business.
This follows the National Communications Authority’s approval for the transfer of the 70 per cent majority shares in Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (Vodafone Ghana) held by Vodafone International Holdings B.V. to Telecel Group.
There has been uneasy calm amongst the staff of Vodafone over their job security since the news of the takeover was approved.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Citi Business News, the co-founder and Director of the Board of Telecel Group, Nicolas Bourg, stated that there is no cause for concern.
“Not at all, we don’t have any plans to lay off anybody. That’s not the way we operate in Telecel. We proved it with different organisations that we have in different sectors.”
“Our plan is to keep every employee of Vodafone.” He stressed.
Last year, Vodafone Ghana applied to the NCA to transfer 70 per cent of its majority shares to Telecel but this did not pull through after it failed to meet regulatory requirements.
The Authority indicated earlier this year that the clearance was conditional on both sides making concessions and was issued in response to the assessment of the Telecel Group’s revised proposal.
The statement added that “Following the NCA’s decision, the buyer resubmitted a revised financial and technical proposal in December 2022 which demonstrated the needed capital investment to extend the deployment of 4G and launch innovative Fintech solutions,” the statement read in part.
“The NCA found that the revised proposal provided more clarity and certainty in terms of the funding required for the acquisition and commitments from both the Seller and buyer. In addition, the buyer has strengthened the overall governance and management team, and made firm commitments toward meeting the regulatory requirements of the NCA,” it further indicated.
Based on this, the NCA determined that the Purchaser’s revised plan now satisfies regulatory requirements, and as a result, it gave conditional approval for the transfer of shares to the buyer, subject to the filing of a staff retention strategy.
Mr Bourg expressed delight at the progress made.
“We’re very happy about it. It’s been a year of talking with them (NCA) for us to fit their needs and today we are in a very constructive state of mind with them.”
A national chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has pressed opponents to explain the strategy utilized by the national leadership when replacing the leader of the Minority Caucus in Parliament.
A number of the critics and opponents of the manner in which the change was effected, said even though the party has the right to ring changes, there was a problem with the lack of consultation and engagements.
One of opponents is Mohammed Muntaka-Mubarak, Member of Parliament for Asawase and immediate-past Minority Chief Whip, said the decision was taken by a few personalities instead of going through the National Executive (NEC) and Functional Executive Committees (FEC).
“I have heard also some people are questioning the method, and I ask them, let them tell me the method which we have flouted. Such decisions have never been taken at National Executive Committee meetings or Functional Executive Committee meetings.
“There are consultative processes that get the list and the list is announced. So, if anybody is asking for the minutes or NEC or FEC that approved that decision, let them produce the minutes of NEC or FEC that approved their own appointment, so we can them produce the minutes of the NEC or FEC that endorsed their removal.
“So, the decisions have been taken and these are the decisions of the NDC,” he stressed.
NDC rings changes in parliamentary leadership
The NDC, through its General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to announce the replacement of three members: the Minority Leader, the deputy Minority Leader, and the Minority Chief Whip.
The NDC picked Ato Forson to replace Haruna Iddrisu as leader of the Minority Caucus.
Other changes included Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembele, who is the new deputy Minority Chief Whip.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is also retained as second deputy Minority Chief Whip.
The National Cathedral Secretariat’s claim that they borrowed money from the Board of Trustees secretary, Reverend Kusi Boateng, has been contested by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu.
The GH¢2.6 million loaned amount has been contested by the MP who insists it was an irregular payment for no work done.
Ablakwa revealed on the January 27, 2023 edition of the Good Morning Ghana programme that it turns out that JNS Talent Center, a company Kusi Member is connected to, had received monies from COVID-19 funds, out of which they allegedly loaned a portion to the cathedral.
“This claim that he did us a favour and he gave the Cathedral Secretariat a loan …even though the Cathedral bank statement I have secured, at the time they said they were in distress and needed GH¢2.6 million desperately, they had GHC6 million sitting in their account.
“The bank statement of the National Cathedral at ADB, they had six million sitting in that account, so that story doesn’t add up,” he stressed.
He continued: “We now know that they (Kusi Boateng and JNS Talent Center) did their country no favour. It was our own money GH¢3.5 million COVID cash which he received for supplying tissue paper.”
He also tasked the Auditor-General to review their current report on COVID funds and capture the said transaction because there were doubts as to whether the tissue paper supplies were even honoured.
Abla Dzifa Gomashie, who represents Ketu South in parliament, has bemoaned the lack of freedom of movement within the continent, notably in the ECOWAS sub-region.
According to the former broadcaster, it was time for African leaders to actualize free movement within the region and between countries because that used to be the case before colonialism came to partition different countries.
In a video shared by influential African Wode Maya, the MP said: “We have to tell the story of who we are. That we can continue blaming colonialists for all we want but they have been gone for so long and we need to wake up and smell the coffee.
“We need to wake up, all these seemingly hen coop thing we are doing business in, against ourselves is depressing, truly truly depressing. I am willing to break a few protocols speaking the way I am,” he added alluding to her role as a member of the regional commission on Ewe.
“The excuses are too much, when they go and sit on our behalf, I expected them to do better than they are doing… you owe it to us as citizens and we are demanding that you do better by us,” he added.
Wode Maya had gotten into violent exchanges with immigration officials at the Ghana – Togo border as he tried to have his passport stamped.
“This is me fighting to save my camera at the Togolese border because I refused to pay a bribe of CFA 2000 in order for my passport to stamped,” he captioned a tweet that showed him in a confrontation with supposed border officials.
Struggles on our African borders are truly depressing……… pic.twitter.com/kUBrZ8J1LM— Wode Maya (@wode_maya) January 28, 2023
This is me fighting to save my camera at the Togolese border because I refused to pay a bribe of CFA 2000 in order for my passport to stamped???? https://t.co/Emhhqsl5Ey pic.twitter.com/NnmZyNnyvz— Wode Maya (@wode_maya) January 27, 2023.
The Ministry of Education has advised against the payment of money to individuals who guarantee the placing of students in Senior High Schools.
Preparations are underway to release Senior High School placement for the 2023/2024 academic year after the West African Examination Council (WAEC) released the results of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) last week.
The spokesperson for the Ministry, Kwasi Kwarteng said the selection to Senior High and Technical and Vocational Education and training schools is purely merit-based.
“The Ministry has received some complaints that we have some unscrupulous individuals that are exploiting prospective students and unsuspecting parents, so we feel it is the right time to let parents know that the CSSPS process is merit-based and at no point should they pay money to any person. If they have any challenges they should walk to the Ministry or the CSSPS secretariat, and it will be resolved,” Mr Kwarteng said.
In a separate statement, the Ghana Education Service (GES) said it is committed to ensuring a smooth merit-based placement process.
The statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Cassandra Twum Ampofo urged the general public to report persons who demand money for school placement to the Police.
As the favorite choice among delegates, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is expected to prevail in the New Patriotic Party‘s presidential primary and represent the party in the 2024 presidential elections.
This was contained in a delegates-based survey conducted by Outcomes International Ghana and Centre for Sustainable African Development Initiatives (C-SADI) UK.
The two firms jointly conducted the month-long survey between 15th November 2022 and 15th December 2022.
The survey also revealed that nearly 90% of the delegates believe that a candidate’s religious affiliation does not matter to them when electing a flagbearer. The study was done in all 16 regions of the country using an estimated 197,000 NPP polling station executives (PSEs) as the target population
Below is the FullResearch Ghana is an emerging democratic country seen as a good example for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. There are several political parties in the country but the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are the two dominant parties.
In spite of the current economic challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and precipitated by the Russian-Ukraine war, the governing NPP remains a major political force in the upcoming 2024 general elections.
One major political issue dominating the media landscape of Ghana in recent times is the question of who leads the NPP into the next general election. The key people to elect the next presidential candidate of the NPP are party delegates, made up of polling station executives, electoral area coordinators, constituency executives, regional executives, national executives and Members of Parliament among others.
The person who emerges as the presidential candidate is crucial as they are key in determining the direction and developmental agenda for the country when they subsequently become the president. A number of potential candidates have so far been identified.
They include Hon. Alan Kyerematen, a former Trade Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, a former Agriculture minister, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the current vice president, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong, a businessman and member of parliament, Hon. Boakye Agyarko, a former energy minister, and Mr Kwabena Agyapong, a former General Secretary of the NPP.
Other potential candidates include Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, a former member of parliament and minister of state, Mr. Kwadwo Nsafoah Poku, energy expert, Hon Joe Gartey, a member of parliament and former minister of state, and Hon, Francis Addai Nimo, a former member of parliament.
Given the importance of the NPP presidential candidate election, Outcomes International Ghana and Centre for Sustainable African Development Initiatives (C-SADI) UK jointly conducted a survey to determine who is likely to win the presidential candidate of the NPP. The study also looked into other socio-demographic factors that are likely to influence the outcome of the NPP’s presidential candidate election.
For example, how ethnicity/geography and religion affect the chances of viable candidates, as well as the basis on which delegates assess the suitability of a candidate.
The study was done in all 16 regions of the country using an estimated 197,000 NPP polling station executives (PSEs) as the target population. PSEs form the most important constituency as they make up more than 90% of the total delegates who will elect the NPP presidential candidate. Participants were selected using multistage probability proportional to size sampling (PPS) with implicit stratification.
Subsamples were taken in three steps: the constituencies in a region were the primary sampling units (PSUs), the electoral areas in the selected constituencies were the second-stage sampling units, and the NPP Polling Station Executives were the final sampling units.
Data was obtained mainly through computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) technology between 15th November 2022 and 15th December 2022. Based on 95% confidence level and 2% margin of error a sample size of 6000 PSEs was used.
However, 5641 PSEs were successfully interviewed (response rate of 94%) from all 96 constituencies. Greater Accra region had the highest number of PSEs interviewed with 1142 PSEs followed by the Ashanti region with 869 PSEs corresponding to 20.2% and 15.4% respectively. More than half of PSE’s who participated in the survey were Akan (54% [n=3056 PSEs]), and 46% (n=2585 PSEs) were non-Akan. In terms of religious distribution, 78% of the PSEs were Christian whilst 20.6% were Muslim.
Figure 1 shows the results obtained for the question on which candidate PSE’s would vote for if elections were held today.
The most preferred candidate for the NPP’s flagbearer position among PSEs is Dr Mahamudu Bawumia leading in all 16 regions as shown in figure 1. The closest contenders to Dr Bawumia are Mr Alan Kyeremanten and Mr Kennedy Agyapong respectively. It is worth noting that some PSEs (12.3%) indicated they have not yet decided on whom to vote for, but that does not significantly change the outcome.
Ethnic/geographic or religious background of the candidate did not appear to have a significant effect on PSEs voting preferences. Indeed, 9 out of 10 (86.4%) PSEs believe that a candidate’s religious affiliation does not matter to them when electing a flagbearer (see figure 2).
The main basis for assessing candidates’ suitability for flagbearer by PSEs include the vision of the candidate for the party (58.89% picked this as first or second choice), the vision of the candidate for the country (40.49% picked this as first or second choice) and the loyalty of the candidate for the party (32.51% picked this as first or second choice). Other prominent basis for assessing candidates were the perceived competence, humility, marketability, commitment, personality and the candidate’s contribution to the party.
This research is jointly published by The Outcomes International Ghana and Centre for Sustainable African Development Initiatives (C-SADI) UK. Further details can be obtained from Outcomes International Ghana or C-SADI.
On Saturday dawn, the driver of a Benz G-Wagon with the license plate ODUMA 1 – 21 crashed into the fence wall of a home in Batsona, Accra, damaging a parked car nearby.
According to eyewitnesses, the man is suspected to be a foreigner who was driving under the influence of alcohol.
He drove into the wall at about 1:30 am on Saturday after leaving a drinking spot in the area at Batsona.
Videos available to Citi News showed the broken wall and a smashed Opel car with the front part of the black G-Wagon in the broken wall.
Eyewitnesses say that personnel from the Ghana police patrol team were called in to investigate the incident.
Meanwhile, the vehicle of the alleged drunk driver has been towed to the Klagon police station, but residents say the police are dragging their feet with investigations.
Owner of the property Daniel Asare told Citi News that the driver has promised to replace the damaged Opel car, and other damaged items in the garage, and also fix the broken wall.
Despite the promise, Mr Asare said there must be a proper arrangement in the presence of the police which he looks forward to on Monday, January 30.
Over the weekend, a section of the Muslim population in Asawase Constituency Ashanti Region offered special intercessory prayers for Mohammed Mubarak-Muntaka, the district’s member of parliament.
The prayers were led by an Imam who gave a brief sermon for the purpose of the gathering. It is not known whether the MP asked for the prayers but he was not in attendance per our monitoring.
In a Facebook LIVE video shared by Asawase Lens portal, the Imam is heard speaking extensively about the importance of such prayers.
The post was captioned: “AL QUNUT PRAYER AGAINST EVIL MACHINATIONS DIRECTED AT HON. MOHAMMED MUBARAK MUNTAKA – MP FOR ASAWASE.”
Speaking in Hausa, he prayed elaborately for the Member of Parliament and against all his perceived enemies, be they human beings or other creatures.
“Allah in your own ways, by virtue of your all Knowing, all Seeing, all Hearing attributes; we submit before you all detractors of the Hon. MP, deal with them as you deem fit.”
The session, known as Qunut, involved a two-unit prayer after the sermon. It typically involves lengthy prayers said for a specific purpose or intervention.
Muntaka has been in the news recently after it emerged that he had been removed from the Minority Chief Whip position he has occupied for the past years.
He is among a bloc of MPs who are protesting the leadership changes citing the lack of engagement and consultation in arriving at the decision.
NDC rings changes in parliamentary leadership
The NDC, through its General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to announce the replacement of three members: the Minority Leader, the deputy Minority Leader, and the Minority Chief Whip.
The NDC picked Ato Forson to replace Haruna Iddrisu as leader of the Minority Caucus.
Other changes included Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembele, who is the new deputy Minority Chief Whip.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is also retained as second deputy Minority Chief Whip.
The husband of a food vendor,Yellow Sisi Special Waakye at Oyibi, has bemoaned how his wife’s business will be affected by the recent food poisoning incidence.
The unnamed man speaking on condition of anonymity with Accra-based Citi News said the incident has left his wife traumatized and that he is unsure that the business will bounce back again despite being a major source of livelihood for his family.
His wife, he said, haboured no ill intentions and would never had deliberately put people in harm’s way: “My wife can’t do anything bad to her family nor her customers because we eat the same food anytime it’s prepared.
“My wife, one of her sales ladies and my daughter also reported to the hospital for treatment after eating the food. There is no way she will do anything to harm her customers,” he stated.
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) confirmed in a statement that only one person died from the incident contrary to the earlier report that five people had died. They added that about 53 persons were hospitalized as a result.
According to Citi News, the deceased man was the landlord of the parcel of land where the waakye joint is located at a place called Bush Canteen.
The wife of the deceased told Citi FM: “my husband ate the food on Friday [January 20, 2023] and was subsequently rushed to the hospital a day after when he was pronounced dead after a short while.”
The husband of the waakye seller also revealed that he had tried to get the landlord to seek medical attention to no avail.
“All attempts by my wife to convince the landlord to seek medical attention immediately after the situation happened were not heeded.
“It is very sad that the landlord passed. My wife did all she could to convince him to visit the hospital, but he declined. His death has left my wife and I disturbed but all we can say is sorry,” he added.
The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, provided a second explanation for the party’s decision to change the composition of its parliamentary leadership.
Having earlier defended the decision to ring the changes amid the backlash from some Members of Parliament, the former party General Secretary revealed at a party gathering in London that a key reason was lack of cooperation between the outgone leadership and Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament.
He explained that there was no need to fight to elect a Speaker from the party yet turn round and be giving the Speaker problems at a time even the Majority Caucus maintained a cordial relationship with him.
What Asiedu Nketiah said:
“My priorities in Parliament, is to see our parliamentary caucus working together and also cooperating with the Speaker of Parliament.
“Why did we struggle to get an NDC person elected as the Speaker of Parliament? There are certainly some advantages and those advantages can be tapped into when your leadership is cooperating with the Speaker,” the National Chairman stated.
He continued: “So we cannot have a situation where the NPP leadership is cooperating with the Speaker while our leadership the NDC have challenges in cooperating with the Speaker.
“If you are given a party whose leadership in Parliament is not working together what will you do? You make the changes or you resign and I am not ready to resign.”
Asiedu Nketiah was addressing the NDC UK/Ireland Chapter during a visit to London where he accompanied former president John Dramani Mahama for a public lecture engagement at Chatham House.
General Mosquito as he is referred to, also stated that the party held consultations contrary to the view out there, but that it was the national executives who eventually took the decision because they are clothed with the capacity so to do.
Bagbin appoints Asiedu Nketiah to PSB
Asiedu Nketiah is a member of the Parliamentary Service Board (PSB), a position that he assumed when Bagbin became speaker.
Speaker Bagbin has routinely gotten into heated exchanges especially with Member of Parliament for Asawase Mohammed Mubarak-Muntaka, who incidentally was very influential in the processes that led to the election of Bagbin into office on the morning of January 7, 2021.
Bagbin had cause to ‘threaten’ Muntaka in November 2022 when they clashed over the procedure Bagbin wanted to adopt in a Censorship Motion brought by the Minority against Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Muntaka during proceedings on November 11 vehemently disagreed with Bagbin’s decision to refer the censorship motion to a committee, interrupting him a number of times much to Bagbin’s chagrin
“Mr. Speaker, I come to second the motion with the clear indication that any attempt to move this matter to a committee will be a travesty of justice done to the chamber of this House.
Then the Speaker retorted again: “Hon. Members, I direct that all that the Minority Chief Whip has said after I have told him to withdraw and apologize, be expunged from the records. I so direct. Hansard expunge everything from the record.
“Minority Chief Whip, you’ll have a difficulty in catching my eye again,” reference to getting to speak again during the session.
The newly appointed leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, at his home at Oyarifa, a suburb of Accra, on Thursday, January 26, 2023.
According to the new executive, their visit to the Speaker forms part of engagements they have been having since their appointment.
Addressing the press after their visit, the new deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Kofi Armah Buah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembele, said that they were resoundingly advised by Alban Bagbin.
“We have been having engagements the whole day and as part of these engagements, we visited the Speaker’s residence. I have to say that we were warmly received. We benefited from his wise counsel. And so, we are very encouraged by it,” he said.
The deputy Majority Leader also said that the main focus of the leadership of the minority caucus is to unite the caucus.
“Our priority right now is to make sure that we unite our caucus, that is our number one priority and that is so important to us.
“You cannot lead when you people are not united and that is our singular focus and we are confident we will do that,” he said.
Meanwhile, some MPs of the party have petitioned the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to suspend the appointment of the new leadership of the party in Parliament.
The NDC MPs calling for the suspension, including Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka (MP for Asawase), Dominic Ayine (MP for Bolgatanga East) and Cletus Avoka (MP for Zebilla), argue that the appointment was not made by any of the party’s decision-making structures but was imposed by just a few people.
The change in the leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has led to some confusion in the NDC with some members of the party, including some Members of Parliament saying that the party’s parliamentarians should have been consulted before the move.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic who replaced the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress dated January 23, 2023.
The Sunyani Municipal Education Directorate of the Ghana Education Service says it has placed under investigation the headmistress of Nyamaa Basic School for allegedly charging GH¢1,000 as admission fees from students.
According to a report by Dailyguidenetwork.com, the Sunyani Municipal Director of Education, Mark Godfred Domah, has confirmed the development.
According to Mr Domah, a report on the headmistress has been forwarded to the headquarters on the direction of the Ghana Education Service, while a three-member committee has been instituted to investigate the matter.
The members of the committee include the Public Relations Officer of the directorate, the Community Participation Director and the Basic Education Director of the Directorate.
The terms of reference of the committee include to establish and confirm otherwise of the allegation, to establish to what extent the practice has been going on at the Nyamaa Basic School and other basic schools in the municipality, and how many schools are involved in the practice and range of money charged from the students or parents.
The committee is also mandated to establish other relevant information that will help stop the canker going forward as well as make recommendations.
The municipal director noted that the directorate has in the interim met with the various school heads in the municipality including, regional unit heads, Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Islamic, SDA among others to advise them to strictly follow laid down regulations of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education as enshrined in policy document and code of ethics.
Participants of the meeting also included representatives from the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the Municipal Chief Executive of Sunyani and a representative from the regional directorate of the GES. “We are really on our guard. I always advise the heads that under no circumstances should they attempt to run public schools like a private school. We are implementors of national approved policy and anything beyond that is unacceptable and retards progress,” he cautioned.
Mr Domah further noted that there had already been some allegations of heads selling textbooks.
He emphasised that his outfit has started an investigation to establish whether the allegations were true, and to take appropriate action.
“We have code of conduct and we are going to follow due process and apply appropriate sanctions if the allegation is found out to be true. The MCE is mad about it. Nobody is happy about it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the three-member committee is expected to submit its report including recommendations within the week for further action.
The Constitution of Ghana under what is known as the Free, Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) policy mandates the government to provide basic education at no cost.
Despite its inception in 1995, the policy was implemented in 2005 under the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufour.
The policy, among other things, is aimed at expanding and promoting quality basic education.
Archbishop Charles Agyinasare, who founded and serves as the head pastor of the Perez Chapel International, has revealed that the country’s present financial crisis has negatively impacted his investment.
According to him, he’s unable to retrieve his GH¢106,000 investment due to the debt exchange programme introduced by government because of the country’s economic crisis.
The revered man of God disclosed this to his congregants.
According to him, his bankers said they could only pay him GH¢1000 every week till the total amount is settled.
“I’m going to say something, don’t make it political, I’m not talking politics, I’m talking Ghana, I’m talking about we being in a time like that where our monies have been failing if it has not already failed. Our banks cannot even pay people’s bonds, bonds which were risk-free.”
“I’m going to give you my personal testimony. I have an instrument with a certain financial institution– a bank. I have been saving for a very long time, and now it’s [accrued to] about GH¢106,000. I told my bank I was taking my money, they said they are going to pay me GH¢1,000 every week. That means that the GH¢106,000 will take me 106 weeks to get all my money back,” Archbishop Agyinasare recounted.
He said the managers of his bank bluntly told him that they are offering him that payment plan because of his status in the country.
“And when I said they should do something about it, they said they are trying because it’s me, Archbishop. Because some people come to our bank and they weep. With the restructuring [DDEP] that we are doing, some monies will take 30 years to be paid. And so I’m not talking politics I’m talking about reality,” Archbishop Agyinasare said.
The outspoken preacher anticipated that most companies in the country will soon be laying off staff because their monies will be locked up in the banks.
“When money failed in Egypt, they came to Joseph… So you and I are going to the Lord in prayer. With what is happening, very soon people are going to lose their jobs because companies who have monies and cannot withdraw their monies from the banks, will not be able to pay their workers. So think about Ghana first and not politics,” he said.
Archbishop Agyinasare thus led his congregation to intercede for the country in prayers.
Background
Following the country’s economic crisis as well as efforts to secure a $3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), government introduced the domestic debt exchange programme to help make its debt a bit bearable.
The debt exchange programme affects bonds and other financial instruments, a situation widely rejected by different groups.
A group known as the Individual Bondholders Forum has been pressing on the government to completely exclude its members from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, stating that their inclusion will destroy household confidence in Ghana’s financial system and securities market.
Banks, Insurance firms and other identifiable institutions billed to receive haircuts as a result of the debt exchange programme have publicly raised concerns.
