The Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has cautioned President Akufo-Addo against hastily engaging in a military intervention in Niger in the wake of the recent coup.
He has urged the President to avoid putting Ghanaian soldiers’ lives at risk.
Using Twitter as his platform, the MP emphasized that Ghana’s military currently stands as a testament to the commitment and professionalism of the nation’s officers.
However, he expressed concern that the government has not adequately invested in the necessary tools and equipment to support them.
He wrote, “Dear President @NAkufoAddo, you know better than us all the pitiful state of our armed forces for foreign military intervention in another sovereign state. You know that despite the professional attitude and disposition of our gallant officers, you have failed to retool and equip our forces. Do not send them to untimely useless death!”
Invoking international law, the lawmaker cited Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits any state from taking illegal actions that undermine the sovereignty of another nation.
He also challenged the notion of military intervention being considered by President Akufo-Addo and other West African leaders within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
“Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibits the illegal action you and your cronies in ECOWAS are considering. Even if you wanted to hide under Article 42, do you have a UNSC resolution authorising an intervention? There is no clear evidence of the 3-basis required to trigger R2P so respect the sovereignty of Niger,” he stated.
He advocated for a more pragmatic approach involving non-kinetic measures to engage, rather than an aggressive stance aimed at appeasing external powers. He insisted that any decision to involve the Ghana Armed Forces in a senseless war should require the approval of Parliament, emphasizing the demand for the same.
Sam George further recommended focusing the nation’s limited resources on improving the living conditions of Ghanaians and refraining from interfering in other countries’ affairs. He concluded by using the phrase “‘Dzi wo fie asem’ Mr President,” which translates to “Mind your business, Mr. President.”
President Akufo-Addo has encountered the wrath of Ghanaians over his government’s failure to address the many challenges facing the ordinary citizen.
Amidst a hike in petrol prices, a surge in the prices of goods and commodities, the government has imposed a 10 percent withholding tax on all betting, games and lottery wins.
The new tax measure being implemented by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) took effect on Tuesday, August 15, 2023.
Some citizens, particularly bettors, are displeased and have decided to vent their spleen, raining all sorts of insults and curses on the president.
Engaging the media, aggrieved citizens questioned the use of the funds generated by the government through the collection of taxes.
“When you go to the port, they charge all sorts of amounts, and now super bet they are taxing. What do you use the money for. What do our leaders use the money for,” ,a middle-aged man vented.
He noted that it is unacceptable for the government to ruin the reputation of former President John Dramani Mahama and do worse with regards to governance after given the nod.
“They should tell us. We are not stupid. You told us Mahama was not good, and we agreed to vote for Akufo-Addo. Now Nana is here, and look at what he is doing.”
One of the citizens noted that the president is not to blame, but rather his cousin and senior member of the New Patriotic Party, Gabby Otchere-Darko.
“It is not Nana, it is Gabby Otchere-Darko,” a man said.
They, however, in unison, came to the agreement that leaders who have robbed the country will be judged by God Almighty.
“What wrong have we committed to the leaders. Tell us. We voted for you, we have the power. You came to beg us but after voting for you, you take us as your children.
Be careful. The day you leave this earth, God will judge you. All of you spending Ghana’s money, God will judge you,” they said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE8JyBOnFHE
Meanwhile, the Youth Wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has noted that it will picket at the Ministry of Finance, occupy government offices across the country, and later start and scale up nationwide conventional and unconventional lawful agitations as a measure of resistance to the bet tax measure imposed.
Member of Parliament for Assin Central Constituency and Chairman of the Defence and Interior Committee, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has expressed his support for the deployment of Ghanaian troops to Niger if the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decides on a military intervention.
ECOWAS has urged member states to establish a standby force as a potential solution to the crisis in Niger.
The regional body aims to secure the release of President Mohamed Bazoum from house arrest and reinstate him as the constitutionally-elected head of state.
Scheduled for August 17, ECOWAS’ Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff will meet in Accra to determine the best course of action for restoring constitutional order in Niger.
In an interview with the media, Agyapong, a former member of the ECOWAS Parliament, asserted that a combined West African military effort would act as a deterrent to other states in the sub-region.
“We have an obligation as Ecowas countries and you cannot run away from it,” he said.
He highlighted that ECOWAS member countries have a responsibility to address such situations and prevent coup attempts. Agyapong emphasized that the situation in Niger should be used as an example to discourage future coup d’état attempts, considering the increasing frequency of such incidents in the region.
“should serve as a deterrent because coups d’etat is becoming rampant in Ecowas so we should use Niger to serve as a deterrent and say anybody who tries again, Ecowas will come after them and this is not the first time”.
Recognizing Ghana’s vital contribution to the force, he labeled Ghana as the second most significant country in West Africa and stressed the nation’s importance within ECOWAS.
“In fact, the second most important country in West Africa is Ghana. I’ve been an Ecowas member [of Parliament] before so it is an obligation.”
Agyapong asserted that allowing coups to occur within the sub-region could have serious consequences for political stability, leading to arrests, dissolution of parliaments, and curbs on press freedom.
“If we make a mistake and we allow coups d’etat all over West Africa, tomorrow it will be me and you and the first thing is that the two of us will go to jail first before anybody.
“They will dissolve Parliament, they will arrest journalists, check all the coups. So, the security of this county is very very important and no matter the amount of money prevention is better than cure. Prevention will not cost you as much as you are curing it,” he added.
He emphasized the significance of prioritizing security and prevention measures to avoid costly remedies.
The Christian Council of Ghana has issued a warning to President Akufo-Addo regarding the deployment of Ghanaian troops to aid in countering the coup in Niger.
This deployment forms part of the ECOWAS standby force’s endeavor to remove the recently established military leadership in Niger.
Addressing the media, General Secretary for the Council, Cyril G. K. Fayose, stressed the urgency for President Akufo-Addo to reconsider his current approach, urging him to halt and carefully consider the potential adverse consequences of the situation.
“The church is concerned because it a very delicate and complicated issue at this point. First of all any form of military intervension can have so many implications not only in Niger but the whole sub-regions. So it’s not only going to be go in there, get the military janta out and reinstating the president and then pack out,”he added.
Mr Fayose mentioned that proceeding without well-defined strategies could result in potential repercussions in the future.
The Council’s General Secretary emphasized their profound concern regarding the issue, highlighting its relevance to national interests.
“It is going to be a prolonged engagement, lives will be lost, there may be reprecurssions back here at home. People will flee the country and we will have to receive them etc. So I am in the opinion that we should explore all peaceful options before we can go in for a military intervention so the president…..”
He advocated for a renewed focus on peaceful approaches, acknowledging past unsuccessful attempts by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to stabilize the situation.
Meanwhile, Parliament has reportedly summoned top military officials and heads of various security agencies within the country to address President Akufo-Addo‘s decision to deploy Ghanaian troops to Niger.
On August 10, 2023, ECOWAS held a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, led by President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Chair of the ECOWAS Authority, H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This session was a continuation of a prior one on July 30, 2023, in response to the unlawful detention of President Mohamed Bazoum by the Presidential Guard in Niger on July 26, 2023.
During the meeting, ECOWAS reiterated its strong condemnation of the attempted coup d’état and the ongoing illegal detention of President Mohamed Bazoum, his family, and government officials.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) youth wing has unveiled a series of strategies aimed at pressuring the government to retract the imposed 10% tax on betting.
The move follows concerns that this taxation policy disproportionately burdens the country’s youth and the wider betting industry.
The implementation of the 10% betting tax, intended to generate revenue, has faced criticism and opposition.
NDC youth activists assert that this tax places an unfair burden on young Ghanaians who engage in betting for entertainment and sometimes as a source of income.
The National Youth Organiser of the NDC, George Opare Addo, issued a press statement expressing the party’s discontent with the tax. He stated, “We are resolute in safeguarding the earnings that young people acquire through betting.
Through protests, advocacy, civic engagements, and demonstrations, we will ensure our concerns are heard and demand that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia Government reverses its decision.”
The statement outlined their planned actions, which include staging protests at the Ministry of Finance and occupying government premises nationwide. They intend to initiate lawful demonstrations both conventionally and unconventionally, aiming to intensify the resistance against the tax.
The statement also mentioned efforts to mobilize young individuals to confront government officials and call for an end to perceived corruption and insensitivity within the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration.
Additionally, they plan to occupy the Parliament and other government agencies.
Ghanaian historian, Dr Nii Moi Thompson, says it comes as no surprise that President Akufo-Addo has a penchant for renaming significant institutions in the country.
According to Dr Thompson, such “weird obsession” was also portrayed by Joseph Boakye Danquah, whom the president traces his roots to.
The historian made the bold declaration in his article christened “Beware, the tribal supremacists: Myths of J.B. Danquah and the Big Six.”
“Danquah, however, had a weird obsession for naming places, like the president does today,” he wrote.
President Akufo-Addo, during the 75th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service of the University of Ghana on August 11, 2023, announced his intention to rename the University of Ghana after Joseph Boakye Danquah, a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention.
In 2018, President Akufo-Addo renamed the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) to the George Grant University of Mines and Technology.
It has emerged that Gold Coast would not have been renamed Ghana if Joseph Boakye Danquah had had his way.
According to Dr Nii Thompson, he had proposed, without any consultations, that the Northern Territories be renamed Fergusonia, after Ekem Ferguson, the surveyor from Anomabo who had done much work in the North.
The idea, he said, was, however, rejected by the British.
Also, JB Danquah sought to rename the Gold Coast Akanland, and later Akan-Ga.
The suggested the latter after he was reminded that there were more Gas than Akans in the colony.
“His most “valiant” name-changing effort was his suggestion after the 1948 riots that he and his relatives be put in charge of the Gold Coast, under the name Ghanaland.
The idea of course was laughed off by the British. He pioneered the tribalism that his inward-looking descendants are now perfecting with national resources. (Remember the president’s statement, “Yen Akanfo” during his desperate struggle to win power – and destroy the country?)” Dr Nii Thompson added.
Ghanaian economist and historian, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, has stated that a key figure among the Big Six during Ghana’s pre-independence era, Joseph Boakye (J.B) Danquah, held the esteemed position of a doyen among Gold Coast politicians.
However, Dr. Thompson emphasized that this title was attributed to Danquah before Dr. Kwame Nkrumah entered the political arena.
The economist argued that the “doyen” accolade lose its significance when compared to Nkrumah’s unparalleled experience in political organization and electioneering, rendering Danquah incomparable.
This information is detailed in Dr. Nii Moi Thompson’s comprehensive article titled “Beware, the tribal supremacists: Myths of J.B. Danquah and the Big Six.”
Dr. Thompson pointed out that, unlike Nkrumah who excelled as an adept organizer, strategist, orator, and a cherished figure among the populace, Danquah lacked these qualities.
To buttress his point, he stated that Dr. Nkrumah embraced batakari attire while Danquah opted for formal three-piece suits, even under the scorching African sun, creating a sense of detachment from his fellow citizens.
“Danquah and Ofori-Atta again lost the 1956 elections, exposing the limits of Danquah’s purported doyenness. He was a novice when it came to political organization and electioneering, no match for Nkrumah, the consummate organizer, strategist, orator, and man of the people. While Nkrumah wore batakari, Danquah preferred his three-piece suit in the hot African sun, making him a stranger to his own people,” He added.
He revealed that Danquah’s political influence dwindled after his electoral defeats in 1954 and 1956 to the Convention People’s Party (CPP).
“The Watson Commission referred to him in this manner, acknowledging that Nkrumah’s presence changed the dynamics. In the 1951 election, Nkrumah secured over 95% of the votes while Danquah managed only 53% (with Ofori-Atta at 51%) in Abuakwa. In the 1954 election, despite threats from the Okyenhene to deport CPP voters, both Danquah and Ofori-Atta, running on Busia’s Ghana Congress Party (GCP) after the collapse of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), lost to CPP newcomers. Out of 104 seats, the GCP secured only one, claimed by Busia with a narrow 11-vote victory in his Wenchi constituency over his CPP counterpart,” he added.
Read below full article:
Beware, the tribal supremacists: Myths of J.B. Danquah and the Big Six
As expected, the president’s recent suggestion that the University of Ghana might be renamed after his late uncle, Dr. J.B. Danquah, the Gold Coast lawyer and “nationalist,” has provoked a firestorm of criticism from a public that has clearly had enough of the tribal-supremacist agenda of the president and his kinsmen.
And none of them have articulated the rationale behind this agenda more brazenly than a relative of the president, lawyer Samuel Atta Akyea, who three years ago said the following on the television programme, Good Evening Ghana:
“If you remove the role of the Akyem people from the history of this country, we won’t have a history… The guy who named this country is from Akufo-Addo’s background. The one who wanted Ghana called Ghana… [was] J. B. Danquah….” Mr. Akyea went on to cite the Big Six, the leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) who were arrested by the British colonialists after the 1948 riots that accelerated the independence process, and reminded viewers that the president’s father, among the six, “was one of the individuals who are acclaimed as the pioneers of our independence.”
With this crude concoction of facts and fiction, they tend to believe that they own the country and can do as they please. Textbooks, for instance, have been doctored and Danquah given disproportionate prominence in Ghana’s history.
This peasant aristocracy sense of entitlement, especially among people occupying national offices, is a threat to social cohesion and national development. So let us demolish forthwith a few myths about J.B. Danquah and the Big Six, and tackle other aspects of Ghanaian history that the tribalists have bastardised to drive this dangerous ideology of tribal supremacy. (For the record, I condemn the term “Akyem mafia,” or any term that demonises an entire tribe for the folly of a few).
Myth No. 1: Danquah’s research linked the Akan of Ghana to the ancient Ghana Empire.
Fact: That credit goes to Rev. J. B. Anaman, of Anomabo and Sekondi, whose research took place in 1895, the year Danquah was born.
Myth No. 2: Danquah founded the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC).
Fact: Danquah himself described George Alfred (Paa) Grant, the wealthy Gold Coast merchant, as the “architect and founder of the UGCC.”
Myth No. 3: UGCC was the first political party in the Gold Coast.
Fact: The earliest known political parties (for municipal, not national, elections) were mainly the Accra Rate Payers Association and the Ga Manbii (Ga Nationalist) Party of Kojo Thompson in the 1920s. Lesser-known parties, such as the Asene Koo Wulu Party, later emerged in Accra and other municipalities like Cape Coast and Sekondi in the 1930s; never in Abuakwa, Danquah’s hometown. By the time the UGCC was founded in Saltpond in 1947, there were already other (if generally inactive) parties, particularly, the Gold Coast People’s League and the Gold Coast National Party. As a result, the name originally proposed by the founders was changed from Gold Coast People’s Party (GCPP) to United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), to rein in the other parties.
Myth No. 4: The Big Six were the architects of the 28th February 1948 demo that propelled Ghana’s independence movement.
Fact: George Padmore, Kwame Nkrumah’s political advisor, stated in his book, The Gold Coast Revolution, that the Big Six did “not” initiate the demonstration. Nkrumah was away from Accra on the 28th , and Danquah and the other four initially condemned the ex-service men for the violence that had been instigated by the reckless shooting of unarmed demonstrators by a trigger-happy British officer named Colin Imray. The British arrested the six politicians – Kwame Nkrumah, Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, Edward Akufo-Addo, J.B. Danquah, William Ofori-Atta, and Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey – more for their UGCC work than any direct involvement in the events of 28th February.
Who then was the architect of 28th February? That credit goes mainly to Mr. B. E. A Tamakloe, general secretary of the Ex-servicemen’s Union, who negotiated the demonstration with the governor; to whom the governor addressed all letters; and in whose name the permit for the demonstration was issued. He was supported by five other people, according to the Watson Commission’s report, making them the Real Big Six, but the five were not named.
However, all eight executives of the Union who planned the demo were named, giving us the Big Eight: (1) B. E. A. Tamakloe; (2) S. A. Codjoe; (3) R. T. Dodoo; (4) J. S. Laryea; (5) R. P. Craig; (6) F. L. Adjei; (7) J. D. Ankrah; and (8) G. E. Lutterodt. We need a proper history of Ghana.
And then there were the 29 martyrs who died from the disturbances of the 28th and the days that followed, including Sgt. Cornelius Nii Adjetey; Corporal Patrick Attipoe, and Private Odartey Lamptey, who were murdered by Imray. The Big Six, as a group, were accidental beneficiaries of history, their individual contributions to the nationalist movement notwithstanding.
Myth No. 5: Ashantis did not play any role in the independence movement because they don’t appear in the Big Six.
Fact: Ghana’s history is bigger than the Big Six, despite efforts by Danquah’s descendants to make the Big Six (and, within the Big Six, their relatives) the alpha and omega of our history. Krobo Edusei of the Ashanti Youth Association (AYA) was the chairman of the Kumasi committee of the nation-wide Anti-Inflation Campaign that was organised by Mantse Nii Kwabena Bonne (a chief of both Osu and Techiman, then part of Ashanti) in 1948.
When the Big Six were incarcerated in Kumasi, AYA plotted to storm the prison and free them, prompting the governor to whisk them to the Northern Territories, under stricter security, for fear that the hard-nosed AYA members may still make their way up north. Edusei later served nine months in jail for his political activism alongside Nkrumah. The AYA, in its militancy, had also demanded “self-government within the next five years,” compared to the UGCC’s gradualist approach of self-government “in the shortest possible time”.
The AYA, the Osu Youth Association, and the Sekondi Youth Association were among the youth groups that dragged Nkrumah from the UGCC and forced him to form the Convention People’s Party (CPP), which led Ghana to independence. They were the original foot soldiers! The proposed name for their new party was Ghana People’s Party, but Nkrumah asked that “Ghana” be reserved for independence and replaced it with “Convention” to show continuity, at least in name, from the UGCC.
Myth No. 6: Danquah named the Gold Coast Ghana.
Fact: That was simply impossible, as by 1957 Danquah’s political career was effectively over (he and Ofori-Atta having lost their seats to the CPP in the 1954 and 1956 elections). Only Nkrumah as prime minister in 1957 was in a position to propose that name, and he did. Danquah and the others criticised Nkrumah for choosing the name Ghana, and in his autobiography Nkrumah was forced to defend his choice.
Danquah, however, had a weird obsession for naming places, like the president does today. He had proposed, without any consultations, that the Northern Territories be renamed Fergusonia, after Ekem Ferguson, the surveyor from Anomabo who had done much work in the North. The idea was rejected by the British, much like his previous suggestion to rename the Gold Coast Akanland, and later Akan-Ga, when he was reminded that there were more than Akans in the colony. (He, like the president today and his fellow tribalists, was married to a Ga woman).
His most “valiant” name-changing effort was his suggestion after the 1948 riots that he and his relatives be put in charge of the Gold Coast, under the name Ghanaland. The idea of course was laughed off by the British. He pioneered the tribalism that his inward-looking descendants are now perfecting with national resources. (Remember the president’s statement, “Yen Akanfo” during his desperate struggle to win power – and destroy the country?)
Myth No. 7: Danquah was the “doyen of Gold Coast politicians”.
Fact: The Watson Commission described him as such but suggested that this was before Nkrumah came on the scene. Thus, in the 1951 election, Nkrumah won over 95% of the votes (from prison!) whilst Danquah scraped through with only 53% (and Ofori-Atta with 51%) in Abuakwa. In the 1954 election, both Danquah and Ofori-Atta, running on Busia’s Ghana Congress Party (GCP) after the collapse of the UGCC in 1951, lost to CPP upstarts, despite threats from the Okyenhene to deport anyone who voted for the CPP. Of the 104 seats, the GCP won only one – by Busia, who squeezed through his Wenchi constituency with an 11-vote victory over his CPP rival.
Danquah and Ofori-Atta again lost the 1956 elections, exposing the limits of Danquah’s purported doyenness. He was a novice when it came to political organisation and electioneering, no match for Nkrumah, the consummate organiser, strategist, orator, and man of the people. Whilst Nkrumah wore batakari, Danquah preferred his three-piece suit in the hot African sun, making him a stranger to his own people.
Myth No. 8: Kwame Nkrumah hated Ashantis.
Fact: The opposite was true. Nkrumah loved Ashanti and Ashanti loved him (and the CPP) back. One of the most fanatical members of the CPP was an Asante woman from Bekwai (but lived in Kumasi) who named herself Ama Nkrumah (the female version of Kwame Nkrumah) and pledged support to Nkrumah and the CPP with her blood. The CPP swept five of the six seats in the 1950 Kumasi municipal elections (6,210 votes versus 50 for the opposition), and would have won the sixth seat had it not been for a technical disqualification.
Ashanti was the first to benefit from Nkrumah’s Accelerated Education Programme of 1951, with the establishment of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Opoku Ware Secondary School in 1952, among others. Despite the terror attacks by the National Liberation Movement (NLM) in 1956 against CPP members, which led to an exodus of CPP refugees from Ashanti, the CPP won 8 seats in Ashanti, compared to 12 for the NLM in the 1956 election. The CPP won 43% of the total Ashanti vote and claimed NLM strongholds like Obuase and Asante Akyem hands down.
Suffice it to say that there is more to Ghana’s history than the Big Six, in whose shadow some now seek relevance and pre-eminence for their dead relatives. It appears that without the Big Six, they are nothing, unlike Nkrumah, whose legacy goes beyond the Big Six and stands on its own.
The public’s swift and no-nonsense rejection of the president’s loose talk about renaming UG after his uncle is a pointed reminder that Ghanaians would not tolerate the bastardisation of their history by any group or tribe, no matter how powerful or privileged they might feel.
Power, after all, in a democracy like Ghana’s, is fleeting. A word to the wise….
President Akufo-Addo’s ambition to one day rename the University of Ghana, Legon to JB Danquah University will meet stern resistance.
This projection is rightly so, as some Ghanaians have already registered their dissatisfaction with the name change for diverse reasons.
During the 75th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service of the University of Ghana on August 11, 2023, President Akufo-Addo announced his intention to rename Ghana’s premier university after Joseph Boakye Danquah.
He described Joseph Boakye Danquah, as the founder of the university owing to some contributions he reportedly made prior to its formation.
“And for me, the most poignant of those memories is the inestimable work Dr. J. B. Danquah did to mobilize the Ghanaian people to insist on the building of this university. It was the inspired leadership vision of this great scholar and nationalist, who’s described in his lifetime as the doyen of Gold Coast politics, that following the establishment of the Elliot Commission, tasked by the colonial government, to inquire into the possibility of establishing a university in West Africa, enable the Ghanaian people to reject the original decision of the British-colonial government based on the majority recommendation of the Elliot Commission that a single university be established in Ibadan, in Nigeria, for the whole of the then British West Africa, and got it to agree, through a series of passionate interventions in the then legislative council.
University of Ghana to JB DANQUAH UNIVERSITY! "Who knows… one day, it may well happen" – Pres Akufo-Addo pic.twitter.com/TYKxrPKR1t
“And with the enthusiastic support of the founders of Ghana to the creation of a separate university for our country, on the basis on his minority recommendation. How felicitous was that decision and how greatly it’s contributed to the growth of modern Ghana. It would be wholly-appropriate, and not at all far-fetched, to describe Joseph Boakye Danquah, as the founder of this university. A fact, which on the 75th anniversary of its existence, should be vividly recalled by all of us who have been, and are the beneficiaries of his work.
“Indeed, in many other jurisdictions where there is less heat in their politics, and more attachment to the historical records, it would not have been put of place to have this university named after him. Who knows, one day, it may well happen,” he said.
But some Ghanaians believe that the move by the president is misplaced.
An elderly man bitterly complained about how influential Ga personalities have been sidelined despite their tremendous efforts.
He contested that as far as the tertiary institution sits on the territory of the La Traditional Council, the decision to rename the university after an “Akyem” will be fought.
“There are the Gas, Ako Adjeis, Ashini Kois, who made Cocoa Marketing Board what it should be and they have forgotten about it. Their names should be put on the University of Ghana. Ashini Koi, Ako Adjei, they come from La. The University of Ghana is seated on the La Traditional Council land and we shall never agree.”
“Maybe he is dreaming. He was dreaming when he said so. Justice Olenus and others from La. How do you go to Akyem to bring somebody. We will not agree,” he added.
A young man entreated the president to remain focused on providing infrastructural development as well as employment opportunities.
“One thing we need to know is that the most important thing is we fixing the roads, building structures to create employment. There are graduates who are coming out of school who are struggling and finding ways to get a better job. Changing the name of a university doesn’t bring any benefit to us,” he said.
A middle aged man shared similar sentiments. He said: “It will not make the economy better. All the leaders we have had come to meet challenges. None of them was able to solve all the issues. So the name change will not solve any problem.”
A young lady who is currently unemployment urged government not to spend any funds to rename a university. She wants such funds to be used on projects that would be of benefit to Ghanaians.
He should just leave the name. So Presidents have died and we have not used any of those names. He should leave it. The money he will use to change the name can be used for something better. I just completed and I need work so he should use the funds for something better so we can all benefit from it.
Maybe he was dreaming. There are people from La where UG is. How do you go and bring someone from Akyem – Some Ghanaians react to the President's comment on renaming University of Ghana after JB Danquah#MetroNewspic.twitter.com/DA1GlXgSjh
The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has claimed that the rent for the Deputy Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) caused Ghanaians a whopping GHS900,000.
According to him, the deputy commissioner’s official residence was one of the properties razed in November 2018 to make way for the development of the National Cathedral.
In a Twitter post, the MP revealed the purported measures performed on the orders of President Akufo-Addo.
I have only recently discovered that on the instruction of Prez Akufo-Addo, the official residence of a Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ was also demolished to create more space for the construction of Akufo-Addo’s Cathedral.
“I have only recently discovered that on the instruction of Prez Akufo-Addo, the official residence of a Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ was also demolished to create more space for the construction of Akufo-Addo’s Cathedral.
“Thus far, taxpayers have spent over GH¢900,000.00 on rent for this Deputy Commissioner. (That is GH¢180,000.00 annually). CHRAJ is therefore one of the many institutions waiting to be compensated,” he wrote on Twitter.
Ablakwa’s allegations also included a list of other notable properties that were reportedly demolished for the project’s construction.
“Updated list of demolished properties: Judges’ Bungalows, Judicial Training Institute, Passport Head Office, Scholarship Secretariat, Malian Ambassador’s Residence, Comsys Ghana Limited, Waterstone Realty Apartment Complex and CHRAJ Deputy Commissioner’s Residence.
“Never again in our history should such presidential recklessness be tolerated. I really can’t wait for the Parliamentary probe to begin. Ghana First,” the tweet concluded.
Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Hon. Ignatius Baffour-Awuah has stated that most Ghanaians have become fond of made-in-Ghana clothes as a result of president Akufo-Addo’s interest in them.
Speaking on Monday August 14, 2023 at the launch of ‘Youth in Garment and Textiles Module’ at the Prempeh Assembly Hall in Kumasi he said, until president Akufo-Addo assumed office the patronage of these clothes were low as a result of the lack of sentization.
He explained that the majority of Ghanaians now dorn the african print at every occasion, lauding the president for being the pioneer, in this regard.
To buttress his claims he stated that ” Do you when you go to villages no one wears suit, for 6 years 7 months I have not wore suit before. I am always in made in Ghana clothes even when I travel outside.
“I once inquired from my tailor why it takes them forever to complete assignments from clients. His response was that, before Akufo-Addo became president African print clothes had not dominated Ghana, but after the president started wearing them it drew people’s attention to it, making the patronage high,” he stated.
Patronage of made-in-Ghana clothes high under Akufo-Addo – Employment Minister.
He further called on all and sundry to throw their weights behind government’s initiative by wearing made in Ghana clothes often.
The Employment minister added that supporting the agenda can also bridge the gap of unemployment rate in the country as that will create job opportunities for individuals in these field.
“Support government by wearing made-in-Ghana clothes at least twice a week in other to grant employment to tailors and seamstresses.You can only support wear made-in-Ghana as well as grant employment,” he added.
On the other hand, Member of Parliament (MP) of Old Tafo Constituency, Vincent Ekow Assafuah stated that the Youth Employment Agency’s (YEA) module is to address skill gaps and establish lasting employment prospects for young individuals who have an interest in tailoring or dressmaking.
According to him, the goal is not to only enhance the industry itself but also contribute positively to the economy.
“The Garment and Textile industry is one of the largest across the globe providing thousands of jobs to both skilled and unskilled workers. It is one of the oldest industry dating back to creation,” he added.
Speaking at the launchChief Executive Officer (CEO) of YEA stated that the module has been crafted to provide beneficiaries with a chance to gain comprehensive understanding and practical experience in diverse facets of tailoring and dressmaking.
These include fabric selection, cutting techniques, sewing, garment construction, pattern making, and alterations.
The program also aims to actively involve pre-existing apparel start-ups in order to boost the implementation process and attain the intended goals.
Training for the diverse skill domains will be conducted in collaboration with chosen Garment and Textile partner firms.
Additionally, micro and small-scale seamstresses and tailors will play a vital role by offering apprenticeships to the youth within their local communities.
Member of Parliament (MP), Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa of North Tongu has hinted on President Akufo-Addo’s plans to deploy Ghanaian soldiers to fight against the ongoing coup in Niger.
According to him, president Akufo-Addo must halt his strategy and present his policy on Niger to Parliament for thorough debate and scrutiny.
However, he criticized the president’s refusal to do so, labeling it as undemocratic and reckless.
In a tweet, Mr Ablakwa said “President Akufo-Addo must immediately stop his mobilization of Ghanaian soldiers for an ECOWAS war in Niger. He must submit his Niger Policy to Parliament for scrutiny. War & Bloodshed cannot be the solution; Diplomacy & Constructive Dialogue is. Africa needs a new leadership.”
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened an Extraordinary Session on August 10, 2023, in Abuja, Nigeria, under the leadership of H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chair of the ECOWAS Authority. This session followed a previous one held on July 30, 2023, in response to the unlawful detention of President Mohamed Bazoum by the Presidential Guard in Niger on July 26, 2023.
During the gathering, ECOWAS reaffirmed its strong condemnation of the attempted coup d’état and the ongoing unlawful imprisonment of President Mohamed Bazoum, along with his family and government officials.
ECOWAS also expressed deep concern about the conditions of President Bazoum’s detention and held the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) accountable for his safety, as well as the safety of his family and government members.
In a subsequent communique, ECOWAS reiterated its commitment to the measures and principles previously agreed upon during the extraordinary summit held on Niger on July 30, 2023. As a response to the crisis, ECOWAS has taken decisive action, including enforcing border closures, imposing strict travel bans, and freezing assets of individuals or groups obstructing peaceful efforts aimed at restoring constitutional order in Niger.
“Warn member states who, by their action directly or indirectly, hinder the peaceful resolution of the crisis in Niger about the consequences for their action before the Community; Call on the African Union to endorse all the decisions taken by ECOWAS on the situation in Niger;
“Further call on all partner countries and institutions, including the United Nations, to support ECOWAS in its efforts to ensure a quick restoration of constitutional order, in conformity with its normative instruments;Direct the President of the Commission to monitor the implementation of the sanctions ;
“Direct the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff to immediately activate the ECOWAS Standby Force with all its elements;
“Order the deployment of the ECOWAS Standby Force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger; Underscore its continued commitment to the restoration of constitutional order through peaceful means.”
In addition to the cries and profound sorrow evident on the faces of mourners, numerous high-profile individuals were observed at the venue.
Political figures, celebrities from the entertainment industry, and well-known religious leaders from all over the country attended the occasion.
They came together to express solidarity, pay their final respects to the deceased, and offer condolences to the grieving family.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Chief of Staff Mrs. Frema Osei Opare, Rev. Isaac Obofour, founder of the Anointed Palace Chapel, gospel musician Isaiah Ampong, and many others made a prominent appearance.
Dressed in sombre black attire, they engaged with attendees and conveyed their respects to the departed.
The funeral service for the late founder of Resurrection Power New Generation Church, Reverend Anthony Boakye, took place at both the Accra Sports Stadium and the Accra International Conference Centre.
The congregation included members of the church, relatives, various security personnel, and a multitude of sympathisers from around the world.
The funeral ceremony of the late Rev. Anthony Kwadwo Boakye was characterised by a host of events and interesting scenes.
Aside from the wails, and immense grief captured on the faces of sympathisers, scores of high-profile personalities were also spotted at the event grounds.
Politicians, showbiz personalities, and popular men of God across the country graced the event.
They solidarized, paid their last respects to the deceased, and also commiserated with the family.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Chief of Staff Mrs. Frema Osei Opare, Anointed Palace Chapel founder, Rev. Isaac Obofour, gospel musician Isaiah Ampong, and many others showed up in grand style.
Clad in black apparel, they were seen interacting with patrons and paying their last respects to the deceased.
The funeral of the late Resurrection Power New Generation Church founder, Reverend Anthony Boakye, took place at the Accra Sports Stadium and the Accra International Conference Centre.
In attendance at the funeral are members of the church, family, various security personnel, and scores of sympathisers from across the world.
National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has cautioned President Akufo-Addo against the deployment of Ghanaian troops to Niger to resolve its current military takeover.
During an interview on Asempa FM on August 9, 2023, Asiedu Nketiah regarded the proposition by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders to dispatch troops for the removal of the new military regime in Niger as futile.
Asiedu Nketiah urged all citizens of Ghana to voice their concerns and insist that Ghanaian soldiers not be dispatched to Niger for combat, asserting that such an endeavor would lead to the loss of lives for a purpose he deemed unproductive.
“… they should not play the fool with the lives of our brothers and uncles in this useless exercise. We are not taking any Ghanaian soldiers there.
“We are not taking any of our soldiers there. It is a completely useless exercise,” he said in the local dialect.
President Akufo-Addo has described the re-emergence of military coup d’etats in West Africa as unacceptable and added that it is also shunned by the international community.
He agreed to a collective decision by ECOWAS to deploy military troops to restore constitutional order if the presidential guard that ousted the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum does not reinstate him within one week.
President Akufo-Addo has joined other West-African leaders in Abuja, Nigeria to discuss the crucial political situation in Niger.
ECOWAS provided a deadline of Sunday, August 7, 2023, for the military leaders to relinquish power but the junta leaders failed to do so, prompting ECOWAS to hold discussions.
The bloc earlier threatened to return democratic governance through military intervention but that alternative is being reconsidered to due severe criticism.
President Akufo-Addo has paid tribute to the late former President of Côte d’Ivoire, Henri Konan Bedie, emphasizing his significant contributions to the nation’s economic growth.
Speaking after signing the condolence book at the Ivorian Embassy in Accra, Akufo-Addo praised Bedie’s role as a faithful public servant and highlighted their strong personal and diplomatic ties.
Bedie, who passed away on August 1, 2023, at the age of 89, was a prominent figure in Ivorian politics, playing a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s trajectory.
He served as the second president of Ivory Coast after its independence from France in 1960, leading until his ouster in 1999 due to economic challenges and corruption allegations.
President Akufo-Addo fondly recalled Bedie’s involvement as a minister for finance, contributing to the economic progress of Côte d’Ivoire during the 1960s and 70s.
He highlighted Bedie’s connection to Ghana, noting the former president’s ancestral ties and his dedication to nurturing friendly relations between the two countries.
President Akufo-Addo (right), commiserating with Tiemoko Moriko, Ivorian Ambassador to Ghana after signing the book of condolence at the embassy
Akufo-Addo expressed his sorrow at the loss of his friend and conveyed the condolences of the Ghanaian people and government to the Ivorian nation. He recognized Bedie’s enduring impact on both countries and his legacy as a dedicated statesman.
“President Konan Bedie was part of a great group of ministers when he was minister for finance who assisted the great leader, Félix Houphouët-Boigny to create the Côte d’Ivoire that all of us know which in the 1960’s and 70’s, experience great economic development and indeed, was the outstanding economy of West Africa at the time.
“President Konan Bedie as the minister for finance played a very important role in the development, he has been a faithful servant of the Ivorian people and the republic. He was also a very great friend of our country (Ghana). He treasured very much his ancestral links to Ghana and never failed to remind me that he was also a Ghanaian” President Akufo-Addo said.
“He was a man with whom I had very good relations and I have to tell you how sorry I am when I head the news of his departure and that is what I has brought me here today to come and register in the name of the Ghanaian people and government our sincere condolences over the loss of this illustrations public servant of Côte d’Ivoire” Akufo-Addo added.
The message written by President Akufo-Addo
Henri Konan Bedie’s remarkable journey began as the son of a humble farmer, and his academic excellence led him to study economics in France. Despite facing political challenges in his later years, his contributions and controversies have left an indelible mark on Côte d’Ivoire’s history.
President Akufo-Addo’s words reflect the deep respect and admiration for the late former Ivorian president, who will be remembered for his pivotal role in shaping the nation’s identity and direction.
Founder and leader of the Ghana Union Movement (GUM), Reverend Kwabena Andrews, intends to file a class action against the President of the Republic, Nana Akufo-Addo, over the National Cathedral project.
According to Reverend Kwabena Andrews popularly known as Osofo Kyiri Abosom, he will take up this action at a time when President Akufo-Addo no longer steers the affairs of the country.
In an interview on UTV, Kyiri Abosom said this would be part of his initiatives when he is elected president one day. He explained that the president would have to answer for the destruction of judges’ residence just to make way for a cathedral.
“If I become the president one day, I will take him (Akufo-Addo) to court over the National Cathedral issue, because why will he go and demolish the judge’s building to build the said Cathedral, Cathedral for what?
“All the churches will collapse very soon because we have waited upon the Lord for long and there are no benefits to that effect.”
He additionally put forth the idea of enacting regulations that would confine church services to particular days, with Sundays being the primary focus, in order to strengthen the religious observance.
I will take Prez Akufo-Addo to court if I am voted to power for wasting money on National Cathedral – Reverend Christian Kwabena Andrews (Kyiri Abosom)#UTVNewspic.twitter.com/HTxzxFzQXw
In his own words, “If it is possible, we should make laws that nobody should go to church on any other day except Sundays. If you will choose Friday, then only Fridays. So, we know that definitely Saturdays and Sundays belong to Christians.”
He further suggested that restricting church activities to specific days would reduce noise levels on other days and contribute to a more peaceful environment.
Meanwhile, North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has revealed that despite the suspension of work on the National Cathedral of Ghana project due to a lack of funds, the project’s debt continues to grow. As of early August 2023, the accumulated debt has reached a staggering US$52 million.
Ablakwa emphasized that even though construction activities are not currently ongoing, certain contractual obligations are responsible for the ongoing debts. Notably, a concept known as “suspension claims” requires the Ghanaian government to make monthly payments of US$500,000, even during the period of suspended construction. This practice has significantly contributed to the substantial debt that has accrued.
Breaking down the sources of the debt, Ablakwa provided the following information:
A certified claim of US$29 million from Ribade, the company responsible for the construction, arising from their decision to halt work and lay off staff in March 2022.
An interest claim amounting to US$13 million on the aforementioned US$29 million, as reported by the contractors.
An additional debt of US$10 million attributed to the suspension of work itself.
This information underscores the intricate financial challenges associated with managing large-scale infrastructure projects. It highlights the potential financial consequences that can persist even when construction activities are temporarily put on hold.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is displeased with certain contenders in the flagbearer race of his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who have been criticizing his government.
Speaking in a video from a recent gathering, the president expressed his perplexity over why certain individuals aspiring to represent the NPP in the presidential elections on December 7, 2024, would choose to criticize his administration.
He inquired how the contenders, who are openly criticizing his government, plan to persuade the people of Ghana to support the party in the upcoming 2024 elections if they persist in condemning his administration.
“I don’t see what we gain by attacking the record of our own government. When you do that, then you become the party candidate, what are you going to tell the people?
“That oh, it was Akufo-Addo who mislead you and mismanage affairs. I will be different. Even though I am NPP. I’m still under the elephant sign but I’m different.
“The people of Ghana will be that gullible? No, let us this be serious,” the president said.
Akufo-Addo, therefore, urged members of his party to stop speaking ill of his government and propagate gate its good works.
“So, the question is I think that if we’re talking about the record of the government, my understanding is that every NPP person, communicator, whoever you are… it’s your duty to try and defend that record and make sure that the people of Ghana buy it.
“Because at the end of the day, once this presidential primaries is over, that (the record of his government) is going to be the issue before the country,” he added.
10 people would be contesting in the NPP presidential primaries which are slated for August and November 2023.
A super delegate conference would be held on August 26, 2023, to reduce the number of contenders to five while the main primaries would be held on November 4, 2023, to choose the party’s presidential candidate for the 2024 elections.
The ten candidates include Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia; a former Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen; Kwadwo Poku, an energy expert; Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Joe Ghartey; a former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto; a former General Secretary of the NPP, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong; MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong; a former MP for Offinso North, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku; and a former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko.
President Akufo-Addo has emphasized the remarkable progress of the country despite challenges.
During the 2023 Founders Day celebrations held at the Jubilee House, he revealed that 88 percent of Ghanaians now have access to safe water and electricity.
He urged the country to acknowledge these milestones amid current difficulties.
President Akufo-Addo reiterated that the pursuit of progress should not be obscured by present uncertainties.
He lauded the increase in national electricity access from 79.3 percent in 2016 to 88.54 percent in 2022, positioning Ghana among the top six countries in Africa.
“Yes, there are difficulties, but let us not forget that 88 percent of Ghanaians presently have access to safe water, the national electricity access rate increased from 79.3 percent in 2016 to 88.54 percent in 2022, making us among the top six in Africa, and we are still expecting to achieve the 90 percent universal access rate by 2024,” he said.
He expressed optimism about achieving a 90 percent universal access rate by 2024.
He emphasized the elimination of financial barriers to education, with free Senior High school education benefiting 1.7 million students. Enrollment figures have reached historic highs, and efforts are underway to ensure gender parity in enrollment.
President Akufo-Addo outlined his commitment to guide Ghana’s transition from a raw material exporter to a value-added industrialized economy.
He acknowledged setbacks caused by factors such as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict but affirmed the government’s unwavering pursuit of a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid.’
Focusing on modernization, the President emphasized investment in the digital revolution, health, infrastructure, inner-city communities, security agencies, and anti-corruption initiatives. He projected that these efforts would propel Ghana toward becoming a modern, competitive economy.
Paying tribute to Ghana’s founding fathers for their vision and sacrifices, President Akufo-Addo underscored the need to break free from neo-colonial economic structures.
He emphasized building a prosperous, developed, and progressive nation, fulfilling the responsibility of being the first sub-Saharan colonial country to gain independence.
The event was attended by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Chief Justice Getrude Torkenoo, Madam Akosua Frema Osei Opare (Chief of Staff, Office of the President), former first lady Nana Agyemang Rawlings, and Mr. Sam Okudzeto, a member of the Council of State.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has strongly criticized President Akufo-Addo over his decision to abandon the Saglemi Housing Project while allocating over GHc500 million to the National Cathedral project.
In a post on his Facebook account, the former President alleged that the government’s decision to abandon the Saglemi Housing project was solely motivated by the fact that it was initiated during his own administration.
President Akufo-Addo conducted a sod-cutting ceremony on August 1st to launch the construction of 8,000 units of affordable houses with support from the private sector.
During the ceremony, President Akufo-Addo defended the decision to halt the Saglemi Housing Project, citing concerns about increased national debt if it were to be completed.
In response, former President Mahama criticized the government’s approach, asserting that the inability to secure funding for the Saglemi housing project while channeling significant funds into the National Cathedral project is a “stinging insult to Ghanaians.”
He argued that the government’s priorities appear skewed, as it appears willing to invest in the grand National Cathedral initiative but neglects a housing project that aims to provide economical housing solutions for the people of Ghana.
“It is unacceptable for Akufo-Addo to spend over half a billion cedis on a national cathedral project that has ultimately failed due to corruption and is now abandoned, yet refuses to commit funds to complete a housing project that will benefit thousands of Ghanaian families.
“Knowing the NPP government, they did not want to complete the Saglemi housing project simply because it was initiated by John Mahama and an NDC administration.
“Leaders must always prioritise the well-being of their citizens and ensure that they benefit from government resources and projects, regardless of who initiated them.
“The misplaced priorities of a government that claim it is unable to raise money to complete the Saglemi housing project and yet is willing to spend half a billion cedis on the largest civil excavation in Africa is a humiliating slap in the face of Ghanaians who entrusted Akufo Addo with their mandate.
“Just think about the countless number of Ghanaian families who could have had decent living conditions over the past 7 years and the individuals who could have had a place to truly call home in Saglemi.
Former Deputy Communications Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has strongly criticized the management of the Ghanaian economy under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo.
Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu maintains that the current administration has inflicted economic harm on the people of Ghana.
In a tweet posted on Monday, August 7, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu stated that the government has “committed economic atrocities, the latest being forcing the Bank of Ghana to lend tens of billions of Ghana cedis to government against the law, and leading to the former’s insolvency.”
He thus described the Akufo-Addo administration as “the worst government ever!”
This practice, in his view, is severely impeding the government’s operations.
He further cautioned that if this violation is not addressed, it could result in severe repercussions for the nation’s economy.
As revealed in the Bank of Ghana’s Annual Report and Financial Statements, the year 2022 saw the institution registering a notable loss of ¢60.8 billion.
This substantial deficit follows a contrasting scenario in 2021, when the Central Bank had posted a profit of ¢1.2 billion.
The causes of this reported loss, as outlined in the Annual Report and Financial Statements, can be attributed to a decrease in the Group’s net worth due to the repercussions of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) and the devaluation of certain assets.
Furthermore, the report discloses that the sum of its total liabilities and those of its subsidiaries surpassed its overall assets by ¢54.52 billion.
In contrast, the Central Bank had managed to attain a surplus of ¢5.72 billion in the year 2021.
The Central Bank, however, clarifies that the loss is not indicative of negligence on its part. Rather, it is attributed to the controversial Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
President Akufo-Addo has taken pride in his government’s accomplishments in Zongo communities and inner cities.
According to him, more infrastructure has been constructed in these areas than by any other government since 1993.
Speaking at a banquet held at the Jubilee House to commemorate Founders’ Day, President Akufo-Addo emphasized the significance of the Zongo Development Fund, established to address the needs of Zongo and inner city communities.
“We have established the Zongo Development Fund to address the needs of Zongo and inner city communities and under their auspices, we have constructed more infrastructure in the Zongo communities than any other government in the Fourth Republic.”
He noted the substantial infrastructure development undertaken under this initiative, surpassing the efforts of any previous government in the Fourth Republic.
While acknowledging the economic challenges and inherited colonial structures that hinder progress, the President called for a collective endeavor to transform Ghana’s economy from its raw material-exporting and import-retailing state into a modern, value-adding industrialized nation.
Amid economic difficulties, President Akufo-Addo highlighted his government’s achievements, including the successful implementation of the National Identification system with the Ghana Card, significant railway construction, and the establishment of multiple companies under the One-District One Factory Policy.
He also mentioned the establishment of fishing landing sites, increased funding for anti-corruption bodies such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).
“We have implemented successfully the National Identification system with the Ghana Card,” he began.
“We have constructed more railways than any other government in the Fourth Republic. We have established the Zongo Development Fund to address the needs of Zongo and inner city communities and under their auspices, we have constructed more infrastructure in the Zongo communities than any other in the Fourth Republic.”
President Akufo-Addo expressed his conviction that Ghana can overcome present challenges and continue to serve as a beacon of hope for the African continent.
President Akufo-Addo has affirmed his dedication to supporting any potential flagbearer candidate within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who can successfully unify the party and achieve triumph in the forthcoming presidential elections next year.
In a tweet shared on Wednesday, August 2, the president revealed that he shares the same privilege as all polling station executives across the country, allowing him to cast a single vote for an aspirant. This declaration transpired during his interaction with NPP communicators at the Jubilee House.
President Akufo-Addo noted that he will cast his vote for an aspirant who he believes can “inflict a third successive defeat on the perennial NDC Presidential Candidate, John Dramani Mahama.”
Furthermore, he highlighted the historical precedent of the ruling NPP, emphasizing that the party’s tradition has consistently rejected the notion of a president imposing a candidate. He underlined that the NPP has always steered clear of cultivating a cult of personality.
“The history of the NPP tells us that no President can foist a candidate on the party against its wishes. The NPP is not that kind of party. We have never subscribed to a cult of personality,” he said on Wednesday, August 2, when he met NPP communicators who called on him at Jubilee House.
“Indeed, our highly-respected former President, the first NPP President, John Agyekum Kufuor, in the aftermath of my election as NPP Presidential Candidate, by the 2007 National Congress, told the Congress that ‘the party has its spirit’, a spirit that cannot be ignored.”
I have just one vote, the same as any polling station executive anywhere in the country, and I will cast that vote for an aspirant who, I believe, can best unite the Party, and, above all, who can win the presidential election of 7th December 2024, and inflict a third successive… pic.twitter.com/vbLXXyUxSi
The president’s announcement over the NPP’s superdelegates conference and upcoming primaries did not sit well with some Ghanaians.
On social media, they criticized the president for failing to have his complete focus on the running of the economy. They noted that it is unpardonable for the president to have his attention on political propaganda as the country is yet to fully recover.
Ghana’s inflation is currently above 40 per cent and the country’s cedi depreciation is gradually stabilizing.
NPP super delegates conference
The ruling party is expected to hold its super delegates conference to select five aspirants to contest in the presidential race during the primaries in November on August 26, 2023.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has completed the balloting for its ten presidential aspirants for the super delegates conference slated for August 26.
On Wednesday, July 26, the NPP completed the balloting for its ten presidential aspirants for the super delegates conference.
On the ballot, Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong appears first, followed by former Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen.
Essikado-Ketan MP Joe Ghartey comes in at number three, Energy Expert Kwadwo Poku at number four, while Dr Afriyie Akoto, former Minister for Food and Agriculture will take the fifth position.
Also, former NPP General Secretary Kwabena Agyei Agyepong will be sixth on the ballot, former member of Parliament for Mampong Constituency Addai Nimo takes the seventh slot followed by former Trade Minister Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku at number eight.
Mr. Boakye Agyarko, a former Energy Minister is at number nine and lastly, the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is at number 10.
Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has stated that President Akufo-Addo has secured a regrettable position in Ghanaian history due to his administration’s involvement in endorsing the most unfavorable variant of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) initiative for the citizens of Ghana.
Dr Ato Forson says “Ghanaians must clearly understand that it is not the IMF which imposed these horrible conditionalities and austerity on them” but “rather the government of President Akufo-Addo”.
The Minority Leader articulated this viewpoint during his presentation of the Minority’s counterarguments to the 2023 mid-year budget review in Parliament on Wednesday.
Dr. Ato Forson highlighted that the ongoing IMF program in Ghana marks a distinctive occurrence in the nation’s history as it is the sole instance to incorporate debt restructuring measures.
“This debt restructuring programme has impoverished the rich, the middle class and, to a large extent, the poor”, he added.
The Minority Leader noted that the debt restructuring has rendered the banking and financial institutions insolvent and bankrupt.
“Almost all our banks, non-bank financial institutions and insurance companies declared huge losses in 2022 as a result of governments recklessness and mismanagement which resulted in this debt restructuring”.
Dr Ato Forson said Ghana “is in distress, our people are in despair and most Ghanaians have lost hope in this incompetent NPP administration”.
He lambasted the government for imposing avoidable hardships on the people of Ghana.
“All the hardships we are seeing and experiencing were avoidable. These hardships are needless”, the Minority Leader said.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has expressed his commitment to backing any aspiring flagbearer from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who can effectively unite the party and secure victory in the upcoming presidential elections next year.
In a tweet on Wednesday, August 2, he disclosed that he, like all polling station executives nationwide, has the privilege to vote for a single aspirant.
This statement was made during his meeting with NPP communicators at the Jubilee House.
I have just one vote, the same as any polling station executive anywhere in the country, and I will cast that vote for an aspirant who, I believe, can best unite the Party, and, above all, who can win the presidential election of 7th December 2024, and inflict a third successive… pic.twitter.com/vbLXXyUxSi
President Akufo-Addo noted that he will cast his vote for an aspirant who he believes can “inflict a third successive defeat on the perennial NDC Presidential Candidate, John Dramani Mahama.”
Furthermore, he highlighted the historical precedent of the ruling NPP, emphasizing that the party’s tradition has consistently rejected the notion of a president imposing a candidate. He underlined that the NPP has always steered clear of cultivating a cult of personality.
“The history of the NPP tells us that no President can foist a candidate on the party against its wishes. The NPP is not that kind of party. We have never subscribed to a cult of personality,” he said on Wednesday, August 2, when he met NPP communicators who called on him at Jubilee House.
“Indeed, our highly-respected former President, the first NPP President, John Agyekum Kufuor, in the aftermath of my election as NPP Presidential Candidate, by the 2007 National Congress, told the Congress that ‘the party has its spirit’, a spirit that cannot be ignored.”
President Akufo-Addo has emphatically declared that he and his government will not endorse or impose any candidate during the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presidential candidate selection process.
He dismissed claims suggesting that his government is intimidating or coercing party members to support a particular aspirant, specifically the Vice-President. He labeled such allegations as false and malicious.
The President made these remarks during a meeting with NPP communicators at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday.
Appeal He was responding to an appeal by the NPP Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, in relation to the party’s election of a flag bearer for the 2024 polls, and added that the party could not afford to allow what happened to it in 2008 to recur in 2024.
“The history of the NPP tells us that no President can foist a candidate on the party against its wishes.
The NPP is not that kind of party.
“We have never subscribed to a cult personality.
Indeed, our highly-respected former President, the first NPP President, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, in the aftermath of my election as NPP presidential candidate, by the 2007 National Congress, told the Congress that ‘the party has its spirit’, a spirit that cannot be ignored.”
Derailment He indicated that the derailing of the achievements chalked up by President Kufuor by the successor NDC government, from 2009 to 2017, in which John Dramani Mahama featured so prominently was obvious for all.
President Akufo-Addo noted that the eight-years of the successor NDC government was marked with dumsor, mismanagement of the economy, wrong and dangerous energy contracts and wanton corruption that dissipated any hope the Ghanaian had for sustained economic development, adding that “ Never again should we allow this to happen.”
Actions He noted that with the start of the final leg of internal contest of the NPP, some actions by a few members of the party were making the front pages for the wrong reasons.
“We are expending some of our energies hurling invectives at each other, instead of at our opponents, and, in the process, taking digs at our own Government.
It has been an anxious time for all who love our party, and who see us as the party that can bring progress and prosperity to our nation,” he said.
De facto He said it was for this reason that as President and de-facto leader of the NPP, he wanted to ensure that certain actions of yesteryear, which contributed to the party’s loss in 2008, were not repeated because “We cannot afford an internal campaign based on ethnic or religious considerations.”
President Akufo-Addo told the communicators of the party that he could beat his chest and say, without any fear of contradiction, that there was no one in the party who could say that he, President Akufo-Addo, had asked him or her to support this or that aspirant.
Sacked “I have not set out to dismiss any MMDCE or political appointee from office for supporting any particular aspirant; no Minister or Deputy Minister has lost their job or been threatened for openly campaigning for their preferred presidential aspirant.
“Neither has any caveat emanated from Jubilee House to the party across the length and breadth of the country demanding that candidate A should be supported over candidate B.
I know that this is not the way to go,” the president stated.
He gave the assurance that whoever was elected would be chosen freely and transparently by an Electoral College of some 250,000 people, “and not by President Akufo-Addo.
I have just one vote, the same as any polling station executive anywhere in the country.”
Vote He indicated, however, that he would “cast that vote for an aspirant who, I believe, can best unite the party, and above all, who can win the presidential election of 7th December 2024, and inflict a third successive defeat on the perennial NDC presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama.”
President Akufo-Addo reassured the party communicators of victory for the NPP in election 2024, and handing over to an NPP presidential candidate to be elected as President by the Ghanaian people, were what he was working for, and he expected all members of the NPP to share the same goals.
“I assume that we all want our party to win the 2024 elections decisively, our parliamentary candidates to win, again, the majority of seats in Parliament, and our flag bearer to become the president of the republic.
I expect and accept arguments on how we prosecute this agenda.
But I do not expect and do not accept that party members would do anything to jeopardise the goal we have set ourselves of winning the 2024 elections, and I will work with all who seek this objective,” he added.
The recent coup in Niger has sent shockwaves throughout West Africa, raising concerns about the stability of neighbouring countries.
In light of this development, security expert Vladimir Antwi-Danso has issued a stark warning about the potential implications for Ghana.
Speaking to Joy News’ Benjamin Akakpo on the AM Show, Antwi-Danso highlighted the need for vigilance and urged Ghana not to underestimate the risk of similar upheavals.
He expressed that the level of indiscipline and lack of human security within the country could make it susceptible to internal unrest and called for a collective effort to safeguard democratic principles and stability in the region.
This he explained is because, West African countries, to a large extent, share similar characteristics that make them vulnerable to political unrest.
He emphasized that “regime security” should be a thing of the past, and governments must prioritize “human security” to ensure collective progress. However, he expressed concern that many governments within the sub-region focus more on electoral politics and global norms of democracy, rather than genuinely upholding the rule of law.
“The point is that we have similar specificities within the West African sub Region. Regime security should have been a thing of the past, and human security assures the people of a collective way of moving forward. Unfortunately, government upon government within the sub Region are thinking about the next election, satisfying global norms that there is democracy – frequent elections, institutions of state etc. Rule of law. But then there is no rule of law,” he said.
Antwi-Danso cited Senegal as a concerning example, where underlying issues of unemployment and social unrest are simmering beneath the surface.
He pointed out that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) should be vigilant and proactive in addressing such challenges before they escalate into larger crises.
He warned against waiting for military intervention as a signal of trouble, indicating that systemic coups, driven by a need to avert implosion, could become more prevalent.
“It is only when the soldiers come in that we believe that something odd has happened. Look at what is happening in Senegal. What is ECOWAS waiting for before they trigger of the Panel of the wise to be able to at least, cool things down. And they have a problem with Casamance already. And then the population, a lot of them, it is about 18-20 percent unemployment rate in Senegal, and yet what is happening is so bad.
And when it goes so bad what happens is what I talk about as Systemic Coup. The military will just see that let us intervene before there is an implosion. So I will not be surprised that in future, you will see something like that in Senegal also,” he explained.
Ghana’s vulnerabilities
While Ghana has long been regarded as a beacon of democracy in the region, Antwi-Danso cautioned against complacency.
He believes that the country faces its own set of vulnerabilities, citing a high level of indiscipline and a lack of human security as major sources of concern.
Both of these factors, he believes, could contribute to potential explosions of unrest in the country as is already evident in the series of protests that has transpired over the years.
“With Ghana, we should be very careful. Let’s not play the ostrich that everybody sees Ghana as a serious Democratic country. The level of indiscipline in the country, the lack of human security is such that when there is anything untoward, we will see some explosion in Ghana,” he noted.
Antwi-Danso urged Ghanaian authorities and regional bodies to address the root causes of potential instability, promote human security, and prioritize the well-being of citizens.
The West African sub-region as a whole, also needs to recognize and address all security risks that service as ingredients for internal conflicts, to ensure lasting peace and stability, he added.
In other ways
Security
The coup could worsen the threat of terrorism and instability in the region, as Niger is a key partner of Ghana and other countries in fighting jihadist groups.
The UN envoy for West Africa, Léonardo Santos Simão, briefing journalists at UN Headquarters in New York following the coup, has warned that the Niger crisis could escalate terrorism throughout West Africa if not addressed quickly.
Economy
The coup in Niger could also have negative economic consequences for Ghana and other West African countries. Niger is a landlocked country that depends on its neighbours for trade and transit. ECOWAS has suspended all commercial and financial transactions between Niger and its 15 member states, as well as frozen the country’s assets in its central banks.
The coup could disrupt trade and commerce between Ghana and Niger, especially for goods such as onions, which Ghana imports from Niger.
For example, some onion sellers in Ghana are worried about possible shortages and price increase due to the ECOWAS border restrictions on Niger following the coup.
Niger is one of the main suppliers of onions to Ghana, as well as other countries such as Nigeria, Benin, and Togo.
The coup could also affect foreign investment and aid to Niger, which could have spillover effects on its neighbours.
According to the World Bank, Niger received US$1.4 billion in net official development assistance in 2019, equivalent to 13.4 per cent of its GDP. Any disruption or reduction of this assistance could worsen the humanitarian situation in Niger and affect its ability to provide basic services to its population, which could cause a refugee crisis.
Diplomacy
The coup in Niger could also pose diplomatic challenges for Ghana and other West African countries. Ghana is one of the leading democracies in the region, having successfully conducted eight peaceful elections since 1992.
It is also a strong advocate of regional integration and cooperation through Ecowas. Ghana has condemned the coup in Niger and called for the immediate release and reinstatement of President Bazoum.
However, Ghana could face pressure from other actors, such as France, the UN, or the AU, to take a more active role in resolving the crisis or supporting sanctions against Niger. Ghana could also face difficulties in balancing its relations with other West African countries that have different views or interests on the coup.
For instance, Ghana has close ties with Burkina Faso and Mali, which are both led by military juntas after recent coups. Ghana could be seen as siding with either the pro-democracy or pro-military camp in West Africa, depending on its actions or statements on the Niger coup.
The Niger coup could have significant impacts on Ghana’s political stability, economic development, and diplomatic relations. The situation requires careful monitoring and engagement from Ghana and other West African countries to prevent further deterioration or escalation of violence or instability.
The 2022 Auditor-General’s report has brought to light a troubling situation involving 59 deceased pensioners who are still receiving pension payments, amounting to an astonishing GH¢393,315.06, from public funds.
According to a news report on graphic.com.gh, this issue was revealed during an audit of the public accounts of various ministries, departments, and agencies.
The report places responsibility on both the Controller and Accountant General, as well as the director of the pensions unit, for their failure to stop these unauthorized payments.
The Auditor-General’s report highlights that these pensioners passed away between 2013 and 2019, yet their pension payments have not been discontinued, in clear violation of Regulation 92 of the Public Financial Management Regulations 2019.
This regulation explicitly mandates the immediate termination of salary payments to deceased employees and requires the Controller and Accountant-General to be informed promptly in such cases.
“Our review of pensioners files disclosed that the Controller and Accountant General did not stop the payment to 59 deceased pensioners from the FAAB system resulting in the payment of unearned pension totalling GH¢393,315.06,” part of the report stated.
Consequently, the Auditor-General has provided recommendations, urging the Controller and Accountant General to take action. Specifically, they are advised to ensure that the Director of the Pensions Unit recovers the excessive payments made to the beneficiaries of the deceased pensioners.
The report proposes that the retrieved funds be deposited into the Auditor-General’s Recoveries Account at the Bank of Ghana.
In the event of non-compliance, the Director of the Pensions Unit would be held responsible for repaying the amount.
The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has expressed deep concern about the governance of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government, stating that it poses a significant threat to Ghana’s democracy.
Taking to Facebook on Monday, July 31, Mr. Mahama urged Ghanaians to vote out the current administration in the upcoming 2024 election to save the nation from further challenges.
“Transparent and accountable governance in which opportunities are open to all and not just a few is the greatest guarantor of our democracy.
“The almost seven years of Akufo Addo and Bawumia’s maladministration is the biggest threat to the survival of our constitutional democracy. Only a CHANGE in this inept NPP government can ensure the sustainability of our democracy.
“The next NDC administration will work to restore hope to Ghanaians quickly. The business-as-usual approach to governance, lies and propaganda will not work. We cannot and must avoid repeating the mistakes of the NPP.”
He firmly believes that the nearly seven years of the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia administrations have put Ghana’s constitutional democracy at risk.
According to him, the only way to ensure the sustainability of democracy and restore hope to the people is through a change of leadership.
He emphasized the need to replace the current inept NPP government with the NDC administration.
Mr. Mahama stressed that transparent and accountable governance, where opportunities are accessible to all, not just a privileged few, is crucial for upholding democracy in the country.
He further warned against the business-as-usual approach to governance, lies, and propaganda, and pledged that the next NDC administration would work diligently to address the challenges and restore hope to the Ghanaian people.
In addition, John Dramani Mahama criticized President Akufo-Addo’s appointees for their conduct and actions, which he believes are in stark contrast to the president’s previous advice about seeking personal enrichment in the private sector, rather than in politics.
Mahama expressed his disappointment that the current behavior of President Akufo-Addo’s appointees deviates significantly from the president’s wise words spoken more than six years ago.
These remarks were made during his address to the graduating class of 2023 at the Academic City University College.
“Some of you who will find yourself in politics, I wish to sound a note of caution, as President Akufo-Addo said if your goal into office is to enrich yourself, then don’t come, go to the private sector.
“Very profound words were spoken by the President, more than 6 and a half years ago. With what is happening today, I’m sure the President himself does not remember he spoke these very wise words.”
Ghana’s Youth and Sports Minister, Mustapha Ussif, has officially requested the Office of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to consider the utilization of the $9 million earned from the country’s participation in the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar.
The Minister aims to establish a “precedent” for determining how these funds should be allocated, with a focus on funding preparations for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in 2023 and rehabilitating sports infrastructure at Prampram.
Mustapha Ussif highlighted the need for executive approval from President Akufo-Addo before proceeding with the planned allocation.
During a press conference, he expressed the ministry’s intentions, stating, “We are just about going to AFCON. We also want to develop some sports infrastructure.
“The FA has written that they want to improve the infrastructure at Prampram. It’s something we need to get executive approval for.”
To ensure transparency and accountability in the use of the funds, the ministry is seeking the necessary approvals from higher authorities before announcing their decisions to the public.
The main objective is to invest in sports development and infrastructure to enhance the performance of the national teams on the international stage.
Despite an early exit from the 2022 World Cup, where the Black Stars faced tough competition in a challenging group, the country remains steadfast in its commitment to nurturing footballing potential and improving sports facilities for future success.
Liberia’s 147th Independence Day celebrations had President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in attendance and he delivered a message urging West Africans to stand against any form of military coups within the jurisdiction of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
President Akufo-Addo expressed his belief that Africans should not endorse what he refers to as the unconstitutional means of altering administrations within the sub-region. He emphasized that the eradication of insecurity in West Africa is crucial for fostering development and progress in the region.
“It is incumbent that we all stand together in our generation to defeat the menace of coups and guarantee the peace and stability which are essential to the rapid economic development of our areas which is the surest way to banish poverty in our time and the same vain, we must reiterate our commitment to democratic governance in the ECOWAS space and reject all unconstitutional changes of government.”
The President’s call comes just 24 hours aftercoup attempt in which presidential guards in Niger kidnapped President Mohamed Bazoum and blockaded his home as well as important ministries.
The African Union (AU) has denounced the incident in the meantime.
The soldiers’ behavior was labeled “unacceptable” by the AU.
Former President, John Dramani Mahama has expressed dismay at President Akufo-Addo governance, citing a worsened economy and broken promises.
As the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer for 2024, Mahama believes Ghanaians were deceived by the Akufo-Addo-led NPP during the 2016 elections.
In an interview with the media, Mahama expressed sympathy for the country’s youth under the NPP government.
He recalls how the NPP focused their campaign on him and made numerous promises that remain unfulfilled for the citizens.
“I mean today, this is the highest unemployment in the history of Ghana. So it was just [about] say anything to win political power,” he stated.
“NPP came in with a lot of propaganda and they were prepared to promise heaven in order to win political power do a lot of the promises they made to Ghanaians were like just promise anything,” he averred.
“I mean I was watching a video of John Boadu saying oh! is it about jobs? If it’s about jobs, don’t worry. There’ll be so much [SIC] jobs that Ghanaians can do [and] we will have to go and bring foreigners to come and work to fill the rest of the vacancies,” he added.
One of the major concerns he highlights is the alarming rate of unemployment, which he claims is the highest in Ghana’s history.
Mahama accused the NPP of resorting to propaganda and making unrealistic promises to secure political power.
The recent World Bank report indicating that inflation pushed 850,000 Ghanaians into poverty supports Mahama’s assertions about the dire economic situation. He believes that President Akufo-Addo’s leadership has been a failure, and he urges Ghanaians to place hope in the NDC for a better future.
Confident in his chances in the 2024 polls, Mahama pledges to rebuild the country’s democracy and economy if elected.
General Manager of Citi FM & Citi TV, Bernard Koku Avle, has taken a swipe at President Akufo-Addo over his acceptance letter in response to Madam Cecilia Dapaah’s resignation as Sanitation and Water Resources Minister.
According to Mr Avle, the President appears to have a penchant for acquitting individuals accused of criminal offense while being investigated.
On July 23, 2023, Madam Dapaah announced her resignation owing to her involved in a theft case involving $1 million, €300,000, GH¢350,000, as well as jewellery and other valuables in her home at Akpelemkpe.
According to Madam Cecilia Dapaah, she decided to resign to “prevent this matter from becoming a preoccupation of government and a hindrance to the work of government at such a crucial time.”
She also assured of her willingness to cooperate fully with all state agencies to enable them fully establish the facts.
Hours letter, the president issued a letter approving Madam Dapaah’s resignation.
In the letter dated July 23, President Akufo-Addo said he was confident that the “integrity” “dear” Madam Dapaah exhibited “whilst in office, will be fully established.
This statement by the President, according to Mr Avle, continues to derail the justice system as individuals being investigated or yet to be investigated are paraded as blameless even before actually probing commences.
“It is not witch-hunting and the presidency should not write to exonerate her,” he said.
He therefore entreated the president from intervening in sensitive matters.
“It’s not in his place. He should let institutions work,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Avle has called for a probe into the wealth of Madam Cecilia Dapaah and Daniel Osei-Kuffour, her husband.
Currently, the Office of the Special Prosecutor is investigating Madam Dapaah over corruption and corruption-related offenses revolving around the alleged theft of significant amounts of money and valuable items from her residence in Accra.
Former president, John Dramani Mahama has stated that if he had caused even a fraction of the problems he perceives the current government to have created, Ghanaians would have criticised him.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, 25 July 2023, he accused the ruling party of employing a deliberate propaganda strategy to mislead the public into believing that both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are alike and urged Ghanaians not to fall for this deception.
According to Mr. Mahama, the NPP has fostered a crisis of confidence in Ghana’s democracy, leading people to view politicians as dishonest and power-hungry.
He stated that he would have faced severe backlash and condemnation had he done even one-tenth of what the current government has done during their eight years in power.
“They [NPP] have created a crisis of confidence in the population in our democracy because now it’s easy for Ghanaians to think that politicians are liars; they’ll just lie for political power. If I did one-tenth of what they have done these last eight years, I’m sure that I would have been pilloried and crucified on a cross by now. There’s a bit of hypocrisy in it.”
“It’s NPP propaganda…they are in their mess, and they want to draw everybody else into the same mess,” the flagbearer of the NDC for the 2024 elections added.
“They [NPP] are happy to push that mantra and make it look like, ‘Oww, you’re better off staying with us because if the NDC comes, it will be the same.’ That is the psychology of the propaganda they are doing, It’s not the same.”
He attributed this perceived hypocrisy to NPP’s propaganda, which aims to implicate others in their own shortcomings.
The NDC’s flagbearer for the 2024 elections highlighted his party’s achievements, emphasizing that the NDC has a track record of delivering tangible benefits to Ghanaians.
He pointed out that the NDC has been instrumental in expanding electricity coverage in the country, citing the national and rural electrification programs initiated during Rawlings’ tenure.
He also noted the NDC’s contributions to the digital revolution, telecommunications development, and the provision of water, which significantly increased during his time in office.
Mr. Mahama further criticized the NPP for not establishing any public universities but rather renaming existing ones after their party figures.
He urged them to accept responsibility for their actions and refrain from trying to portray both parties as similar, as the NDC and NPP have distinct approaches and accomplishments.
In conclusion, former president Mahama defended his party’s record and called out the NPP for their alleged propaganda, urging them to focus on their own actions and leave the NDC to pursue their objectives separately.
“We started the digital revolution in this country. I was the Minister of Communication when we divided post and telecommunications and created Ghana Telecom and allowed Spacefon and all the mobile operators to come in. We started laying fibre optics in this country. We did the eastern corridor fibre optic.”
“We’ve given more Ghanaians water than any party in the history of this country. When Prof [John Evans Atta Mills] came into office, water coverage was 55 per cent; by the time I left office, water coverage was 72 per cent.”
“Seventy-two per cent of Ghanaians had access to good drinking water. We have built all the public universities in this country. NPP hasn’t built one public university. They are just good at renaming them with their party figures. And, so, somebody builds a university and you come and name it Dombo University, Tedam University, and so, don’t let them come to tell us we and they are the same. We are not the same. They should just wallow in their mess and leave us alone.”
Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu, has appealed to President Akufo-Addo to commute all death row inmates’ sentences to life imprisonment.
This move would align with Ghana’s commitment to the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill 2022, which removes the death penalty from the country’s laws.
On Tuesday, July 25, Parliament passed the bill, technically eliminating the death penalty from Ghana’s legal system. Under the new law, the President will have the authority to change death sentences to life imprisonment.
In the past, the death penalty was part of Ghana’s Criminal Offences Code but had not been implemented during the Fourth Republic.
Human rights advocates have long called for the abolition of the death penalty, and the passage of the bill marks significant progress in this regard.
Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin expressed satisfaction with the repeal, urging the nation to celebrate this important step.
MP Francis Xavier Sosu, who actively supported the bill, emphasized the importance of President Akufo-Addo’s assent to the legislation and further appealed for the commuting of all current death row inmates to life sentences.
He believes this action will demonstrate a genuine commitment to moving away from state-sanctioned killing and towards a pro-life approach, while still denouncing acts of violence.
Renowned governance expert, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has expressed deep worry regarding President Akufo-Addo’s consistent approach to dealing with state investigative bodies concerning the recent Cecilia Dapaah’s stolen cash incident at her residence.
Following the acceptance of Madam Cecilia Dapaah’s resignation, President Akufo-Addo publicly praised her loyalty to protecting the government’s image, stating, “I am confident, like you, that, at the end of the day, your integrity, whilst in office, will be fully established.”
Speaking on Starr Today with Joshua Kodjo Mensah, the governance expert pointed out that the President should have refrained from making commendatory conclusions about Dapaah’s actions. Professor Agyeman-Duah noted that President Akufo-Addo has a history of avoiding direct accusations or levelling allegations against his appointees, and this consistency did not surprise him. However, he believed this was a missed opportunity for the President to take a high ground by simply commending Dapaah for her resignation, without preemptively assuming the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
The governance expert emphasized that the matter was still under investigation by the special prosecutor, and the conclusion was yet unknown. Making statements like the President’s might be interpreted as an attempt to influence or manipulate the investigation, potentially raising concerns about fairness and transparency.
“As the special prosecutor has set in and is going to Madam Dapaah’s house, we don’t know how the investigation is going to go. So if the President of the republic makes such a statement, then I am not surprised that people are thinking that perhaps there is going to be the clearing agent thing,” Mr. Agyeman-Duah stated.
The incident highlights the importance of preserving the principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty and the need for public officials to remain neutral and cautious while investigations are underway. At the time of the last update in September 2021, this issue remained a subject of concern, and any further developments or statements from involved parties should be closely monitored to ensure transparency and fairness in the investigative process.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has praised the late President John Evans Atta-Mills for his principled leadership, stating that he was not one to pursue power at any cost or manipulate state agencies for political gain.
He stated this during the 11th anniversary of late President Atta-Mills held in Accra on Tuesday, July 24, 2023.
“The Electoral Commission (EC) was truly independent and the judiciary did not live in fear of not satisfying the president’s wishes by their verdicts.
“He did not weaponize justice unlike what we are living through today. He was a great talent sporter and I count myself among his many proteges who have gone on to excel in our various fields of endeavor,” he said.
The former President also lauded the late Mills for upholding Ghana’s social and moral values high, as he “was unequivocal in his abhorrence of LGBTQ.”
Mr. Mahama, who served as Vice President to Prof Mills from 2009 until Prof Mills’ untimely death on 24th July 2012, expressed that he considers himself one of Prof Mills’ proteges who have achieved success in their respective fields.
On July 22, President Akufo-Addo embarked on a courtesy visit to Pope Francis in Rome, with the primary objective of strengthening diplomatic relations between Ghana and the Vatican.
This visit was a significant part of the President’s official four-day trip to Italy, during which Ghana aimed to reinforce the bonds of friendship with the Holy See.
As part of the visit’s itinerary, the Ghanaian delegation had the opportunity to tour the Pontifical Academies of Sciences at the Vatican, guided by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, a respected Catholic priest of Ghanaian origin.
During the meeting, the President expressed Ghana’s solidarity with the Holy See in addressing critical global issues such as the climate crisis, human trafficking, and the promotion of equality for all.
The visit signifies Ghana’s commitment to fostering a strong and constructive relationship with the Vatican, reinforcing their shared aspirations for a better world and a more inclusive society.
In the recent commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ papacy, which coincided with the National Day of the Holy See, President Nana Akufo-Addo praised the former for his commitment to the cause of humanity.
“Since his pontification in 2013, His Holiness, Pope Francis, has promoted fairness and equality amongst nations, and also preached against discrimination and exploitation,” he noted.
The Vatican has over the years been supportive of Ghana’s development agenda, especially in the area of education, health and youth development.
President Akufo-Addo has welcomed the resignation of Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.
This was communicated by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, in a Facebook post on Saturday, July 22.
He wrote: “The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has accepted the resignation from office of Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah as Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources and member of Government.”
According to him, President Akufo-Addo applauded Hon. Cecilia Dapaah’s “loyalty to the image and standing of his Government, and thanked her also for her wholehearted contribution and devotion to the progress of Government and the Nation.”
“He wished her the best in all her endeavours,” Mr Eugene added.
Minister for Sanitation, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, on Saturday stepped down from her position owing to pressure from National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament 48 hours after it was revealed that she had lost millions of dollars and cedis in her home.
Five individuals are facing charges for their alleged involvement in stealing millions of dollars and euros from Sanitation MinisterCecilia Dapaah’s house.
At an Accra Circuit Court, Patience and Sarah are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing, which include amounts of US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana Cedis.
Clothes valued at GH¢95,000, handbags, perfumes, and jewelry worth US$95,000 were reportedly stolen as well.
According to the minister, what is being reported in the media regarding the looted cash has some “inconsistencies”. She made this known in a press statement dated July 21, ahead of her resignation on July 22.
In her resignation letter, Madam Dapaah reiterated her earlier position stating that “Whereas I can state emphatically that those figures do not represent correctly what my husband and I reported to the Police, I am very much aware of the import of such stories around someone in my position.”
After news broke that Madam Cecilia Dapaah had millions of dollars in her home, some Ghanaians questioned the means in which she acquired them.
This has prompted Madam Dapaah to resign as she does not “want this matter to become a preoccupation of government and a hindrance to the work of government at such a crucial time.”
She has assured of her willingness to cooperate fully with all state agencies to enable them fully establish the facts.
“I have no doubt whatsoever that at the end of the processes, it will be fully established that I have conducted myself with integrity during my period in public service and I will be fully exonerated from all the allegations that have filled the public domain in the past 24 hours,” she added.
Madam Dapaah also used the opportunity to thank President Akufo-Addo for the opportunity given to serve Ghanaians.
Meanwhile, the President will soon appoint a new Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources.
An anti-corruption advocate, Vitus Azeem, has called on President Akufo-Addo to demonstrate his commitment to fighting corruption by initiating prompt investigations into the Cecilia Dapaah $1 million case.
Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah, has been in the spotlight due to a case she filed in court against her two house helps, who are accused of stealing substantial sums of money from her residence in Abelemkpe. The alleged theft involves a total of US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana cedis.
These reports have prompted individuals, including former President John Dramani Mahama, to criticize President Akufo-Addo for what they perceive as weak and corrupt leadership displayed by some of his appointees.
Vitus Azeem, the former Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), emphasized the importance of the president taking action to dispel such criticisms by demanding immediate investigations into the matter.
“If he wants to set a good example, he needs to commission an immediate investigation into this matter. And then if the investigations come out with findings that show that the monies were acquired illegally, then the necessary actions must be taken,” he explained.
Vitus Azeem however added that from past experiences, he does not think that anything will be done to the minister.
“But from past experience, we never see these things happen. He’s probably likely to come out wrong and say that the minister has done nothing wrong, then the battle will die,” he added.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has described as outrageous news regarding some millions of dollars and cedis stolen from the home of Water and Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah.
The former President in a tweet on Friday, July 21, questioned the Sanitation Minister’s rationale for keeping such huge amounts of money in her home even it was acquired legally.
“$1m + €300k and millions of GHS in a Ghanaian Minister’s home? Scandalous!! Even if genuinely acquired, why keep millions of hard currency at home?” he quizzed.
Owing to this incident, he questioned the leadership of President Akufo-Addo, hinting that the president has failed to set a good example for his public officers.
“Will @NAkufoAddo ever set a good example for public office holders in his administration?” he asked.
Millions stolen
Patience and Sarah are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a crime and five counts of stealing, which include amounts of US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana Cedis per a report from The Chronicle.
The accused are said to have also stolen personal belongings of Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, including clothes valued at GH¢95,000, handbags, perfumes, and jewelry worth US$95,000.
Patience has been accused of going solo in stealing six pieces of Kente cloth worth GH¢90,000 and six sets of men’s suits valued at US$3,000, belonging to Daniel Osei Kuffour.
Three other individuals have also been charged in connection with the theft being investigated.
29-year-old plumber, Benjamin, is accused of dishonestly receiving GH¢180,000, whereas Kweku Botwe, a 65-year-old trader, has been charged for dishonestly receiving GH¢50,000.
The third, Malik Dauda, 23, who is unemployed, is said to have dishonestly received GH¢1 million.
All five accused appeared before an Accra Circuit Court presided over by Judge Susana Ekuful on Thursday, July 20, 2023.
The court granted Sarah bail in the amount of GH¢1 million, and two sureties are required to deposit their Ghana cards with the court’s registrar.
The bail conditions are however subject to review as Judge Susana Ekuful was serving as a relief judge at the time.
During her briefing, Judge Susana Ekuful disclosed that Patience, along with her alleged boyfriends and father, has been remanded into lawful custody. However, Sarah, being a breastfeeding mother, was granted bail.
The prosecution revealed that Patience, also known as Maabena, had previously worked as a house help for the complainants, Daniel Osei Kuffour and his wife, Cecilia Abena Dapaah. Similarly, Sarah had also served as a house help for the couple.
The alleged thefts came to light in June of the current year when the complainants reported the incidents to the police after discovering missing cash and personal belongings.
Patience was caught red-handed as she had used a duplicate key to open and enter the couple’s room. Mr. Kuffour apprehended her upon returning home, having noticed that the room was unlocked and hearing suspicious noises from inside.
Subsequent investigations led to the recovery of the stolen items and money in possession of Patience and her associates.
It is alleged that the accused used the stolen funds to finance various properties and purchases, including renting a 3-bedroom apartment and a store in Tamale, buying vehicles, and funding other personal expenses.
The court has adjourned the case to August 2, 2023, to allow for further investigations.
President Akufo-Addo has called on the government of Portugal to support Ghana in transitioning away from its old economy, which heavily relies on the production, export of raw materials, and foreign aid.
Ghana aims to build a modern, value-added, and industrialized economy with a focus on modernized agriculture, establishing itself as a self-reliant player in the global economic landscape.
During a meeting with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in Lisbon, President Akufo-Addo emphasized the desire for increased trade and investment cooperation between Ghana and Portugal.
In his address, President Akufo-Addo stated that history held ample lessons that showed “that a rich trading partner, operating within a fair, trading system brings prosperity to both sides, far more than the exploitation of a poor partner.”
“Trade relations between Ghana and Portugal have evolved through history, and it is clear that a new paradigm has to be defined.”
“Out of this, a robust trading system between Portugal and Ghana will be created, which will generate mutual prosperity for the peoples of the two countries,” President Akufo-Addo stated.
Those observations, he stressed, were based on the fact that “we, in Africa, agreed that we have to be self-reliant and shed the image of beggars living on charity, aid and handouts, and make better and more intelligent use of our abundant natural resources in order to pull ourselves out of poverty and attain prosperity.”
This forum would enhance investment initiatives and foster job creation, particularly for Ghana’s youth.
The discussions encompassed political, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges, as well as multilateral cooperation, focusing on addressing global issues and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Member of Parliament for Buem Constituency, Kofi Adams, has called the government’s $2.6 million investment in developing a sky railway in Accra a swindle.
According to Mr Adams, the project’s contracting company lacks a license, and there is no feasibility report for the deal.
He feels that such a disastrous contract, along with many others under the Akufo-Addo administration, is to blame for the current economic crisis, rather than the Russia-Ukraine war or the covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s one of the scams. It’s a scam because there has not been any feasibility study, there’s nothing, the company has no license, we don’t know it from anywhere and you just give away $2 million dollars and nothing has happened,” he told the media.
He further said that the project is a sham because of inconsistencies in information provided by authorities.
“The current Minister for Railway Development is saying that we can’t have any sky train now. The CEO is saying it’s a project that is still alive. Who’s telling us the truth?” he quizzed.
In 2019, an agreement for a 194 km train track above ground, transporting nearly 400,000 passengers annually across five routes in Greater Accra, was signed at the Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg.
However, due to its high cost, the Minister of Railway Development, John Peter Amewu, reveals the project’s delay, citing other pressing needs in the country.
“I don’t see a sky train being done in the next three to four years, let’s be very frank to ourselves.”
“A kilometre of a railway line is about four to five times the cost of building concrete infrastructure in terms of building an asphaltic road,” Mr Amewu said.
NDC MPs condemn government’s payment of US$2 million to African Investor Holding Limited, located in Mauritius, for a train project that seems unlikely to proceed. They argue that the deal lacked parliamentary approval.
The Caucus urges the government to ensure a refund for the payment made to the company, which, according to the Minister, was made even before the project’s feasibility study had commenced.
“What was the reason for the government to act in a way to give out two million dollars? Who actually took the decision to pay this entity in Mauritius?
“Who authorised the payment of the two million dollars in terms of the feasibility studies and which normal decision maker pays out two million dollars as feasibility; before as they put it to determine whether the project is bankable?” the NDC MP for Adaklu Constituency, Kwame Governs Agbodza, said.
Member of Parliament representing the Madina constituency, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has revealed that President Akufo-Addo supports the Criminal Offences Amendment Act, which aims to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment.
In support of abolishing the death penalty, the Madina MP Francis-Xavier Sosu, while upholding international human rights conventions, said President Akufo-Addo at the UN voted for scrapping the death penalty from the statutes of countries around the world for the first time.
“The president [Nana Akufo-Addo] at the UN voted in favor of the abolishment of the death penalty for the first time, and he has even made public statements in support of the abolishment. It was the president that called for a cross-party approach to passing this bill when stakeholders called on him, and so he fully endorses and supports the position,” he said in a media interaction.
When the amendment bill was discussed in Parliament on Friday, July 14, Members of Parliament found themselves in a state of disagreement, causing division among them. The debate on the bill sparked contrasting opinions and viewpoints among the legislators.
The parliamentary debate on the amendment bill also sparked widespread discussion among the Ghanaian public. Different segments of society expressed varying views on the matter. Some individuals advocated for the complete abolition of the death penalty, citing reasons such as humanitarian concerns and the belief in rehabilitation over punishment.
On the other hand, there were those who argued in favor of retaining the death penalty, emphasizing its potential as a deterrent against heinous crimes and the need for justice to be served.
These contrasting perspectives contributed to a broader conversation among the Ghanaian populace regarding the implications and effectiveness of the death penalty in the country’s legal system.
Mr. Sosu emphasised that even though the death penalty has not been used since 1993, a corrupt government could still use it at any time to hunt down its opponents, as in the case of Myanmar.
“The government in 1991 said there were not going to be executions again, but 12 people were executed by firing squad in 1993, and from colonial times till 1993, 37 people were killed.”
“When you take the case of Myanmar, the country had not used the law for 42 years, but it was there on its books and last year when there was a military takeover, they used it against their opponents and gave legal reasons where four leaders were killed, and a hundred others were convicted to death.”
Having carried out its last execution in 1993, Ghana is considered abolitionist in practice, although no official moratorium on execution has been imposed.
The country’s domestic legislation, therefore, still provides for the use of capital punishment for crimes of treason under the Constitution and a series of other crimes, including murder, genocide, treason, and smuggling of gold and diamonds, under the Criminal Code and Other Offences Act.
The Armed Forces Act also allows for the use of the death penalty in cases of treason and mutiny by military personnel in times of war.
Ghanaian judges continue to impose death sentences, mainly in murder cases, despite concerns related to the circumstances under which these trials are carried out and the alleged miscarriages of justice or other violations of the right to a fair trial under Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
According to civil society reports, people condemned to capital punishment are imprisoned in a separate wing for males and a separate cell for women, sometimes in poor conditions.
On Thursday, July 13, 2023, President Akufo-Addo officially inaugurated the Eleanor Akufo-Addo Memorial Social Centre in Mampong, located in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
This significant event coincided with the 30th anniversary of the passing of Mrs. Eleanor Akufo-Addo, the late wife of the President and a respected member of the Botase community in the Mampong municipality.
The state-of-the-art facility, named in honor of Mrs. Eleanor Akufo-Addo, encompasses various amenities to serve the community.
It includes a spacious community center suitable for hosting social events, a hotel and restaurant, a well-designed car park, office spaces, and a lift to provide accessibility for individuals with mobility challenges, ensuring they can enjoy the facility on all floors.
During his address to the enthusiastic crowd, President Akufo-Addo stressed the importance of ongoing maintenance to preserve the center’s pristine condition.
He expressed his hope that when he revisits the facility next year, it will continue to be well-maintained. Furthermore, he expressed confidence that the center would be even better in a decade, reflecting the enduring commitment to its upkeep and development.
President Akufo-Addo urged the management of the Eleanor Akufo-Addo Memorial Social Centre to take charge of the facility’s operations, ensuring not only the provision of expected services but also prioritizing proper maintenance to ensure its sustainability and durability.
He expressed heartfelt gratitude to My Sisters Keepers Foundation, an NGO, for their generous funding and support in constructing this remarkable edifice as a tribute to his late wife, Mrs. Eleanor Akufo-Addo.
Acknowledging the emotional weight he carries on his late wife’s anniversary, particularly during visits to Mampong, the President found solace in the presence of Mrs. Eleanor Akufo-Addo’s sisters during these occasions. He paid tribute to their support and expressed gratitude for their presence.
Taking the opportunity, President Akufo-Addo expressed his appreciation to the people of Mampong for their unwavering support, both personally and for his government.
In response, Daasebre Dr. Osei Bonsu II, the Mamponghene and occupant of the Silver Stool of the Asante Kingdom, led the people of Mampong in a standing ovation, expressing their deep appreciation and gratitude to the President for the various developmental projects scattered across the Mampong municipality.
Emphasizing that the Social Centre belongs not just to Mampong but to the entire Mampong Municipality, Daasebre Dr. Osei Bonsu II encouraged citizens from all corners of the municipality to make use of the facility and support its activities.
During the event, Daasebre Osei Bonsu II took the opportunity to appeal to the President to commence the long-awaited Mampong Sports Stadium project. He expressed the deep gratitude of the Mampong community for the numerous developmental projects implemented in the municipality. The people of Mampong would be eternally grateful if construction of the Sports Stadium could commence promptly, ideally before the 2024 general elections.
In his welcoming address, Hon. Thomas Appiah-Kubi, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Mampong, assured the gathering that the Mampong Municipal Assembly would continue to provide unwavering support to ensure the Social Centre serves its intended purposes to the satisfaction of the public.
Hon. Kwaku Ampratwum Sarpong, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mampong and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, acknowledged the contributions made by various individuals, including former MP Hon. Francis Addai-Nimoh, MCE Thomas Appiah-Kubi, the Mampong Traditional Council, especially Mamponghene Daasebre Dr. Osei Bonsu II, and Mamponghemaa Nana Agyakomaa Dufie. He credited their dreams and tireless support for making the project a reality. The MP also hinted at the formation of a management team responsible for ensuring the effective and efficient management of the Social Centre.
The commissioning ceremony attracted a diverse range of attendees, including Municipal Chief Executives (MMDCEs), NPP Constituency Executives of Mampong, Nsuta, and Ejura, academics, students, business executives, health professionals, clergy, security officials and personnel, as well as heads of departments and staff from the Mampong Municipal Assembly and the media.
Notable personalities present at the event included Hon. Simon Osei Mensah, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and MP for Damango, and Edwina Nana Dokuwaa Akufo-Addo, the President’s Daughter, among others.
Former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has received plaudits for his contributions to the development of the country’s infrastructure from Bernard Oduro Takyi, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) media team.
He claimed that if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo could accomplish even half of what Mahama did, he would be named the class captain in heaven by God in a speech to party members, friends, and sympathizers in Kwatire Adentia, Sunyani West Constituency.
“If President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is able to deliver half of the achievement of former President John Mahama, then he would be appointed by God as the class captain in Heaven,” the communicator stated.
The former President Mahama’s accomplishments in delivering significant infrastructural development put him apart from the present NPP government led by Nana Addo, according to Bernard Takyi, a qualified chartered economist.
He made a point of highlighting the notable advancements made in the health and education areas while Mahama was president.
He stated, “Under the health sector alone, His Excellency John Mahama constructed, equipped, and operationalized five polyclinics in the Brong Ahafo region, namely; Kwatire, Techimantia, Bomaa, Wamfie, and Nkrankwanta. Our flagbearer, then president, built fifteen (15) community day Senior High Schools in our region and undertook several other educational projects.”
Bernard Takyi also pushed the audience to evaluate their region’s accomplishments since Nana Addo took power in 2017 and contrast them to the changes President Mahama started.
There have been allegations that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was present and did not intervene when his daughter, Edwina Nana Dokua Akufo-Addo, allegedly showed disrespect towards Ghana’s national anthem during a public event.
The incident, captured on a video that has since become viral on social media, reportedly took place during the 30th-anniversary commemoration of the passing of President Akufo-Addo’s late wife and Edwina’s mother, Mrs. Eleanor Akufo-Addo.
The video shows Edwina seated beside her father talking away on phone while the master of ceremony of the event announced the observation of the national anthem and thus called on the gathering to stand in line with protocol.
While she stood to observe national anthem, the first daughter of the president continued talking on her phone until midway through the anthem when she dropped the phone in her handbag and stood attention for the remainder of the anthem.
The video has attracted several reactions across social media with some users accusing the president of being nonchalant about his daughter’s conduct.
Coming at a time when the president has recently lashed out at a chief publicly for failing to stand for the national anthem, President Akufo-Addo is being accused by his critics of being hypocritical and failing to hold his family to his own standard.
“Nana Addo thought he and family are better than the rest of Ghanaians,” a Twitter user @AbdulaiMuniru wrote.
“And yet, he was really angry at the chief when he was not able to stand for the same anthem. Ghana we dey” @Twenty4Greg also wrote.
On Friday, June 9, 2023, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was captured flying into a rage at a public ceremony.
The president, during a ceremony at the Green Ghana Day event held at the University of Ghana, was captured reacting furiously and instructing the Greater Accra Regional Minister to take some action.
Inaudible for the most part of his rage, President Akufo-Addo is heard telling the regional minister to “go and tell him…, stand up…”
It emerged that the president’s action was incited by the failure of Nii Torgbor Obodai Ampaw, the chief of Mempeasem to stand for the national anthem.
The chief in a later statement apologised to the president while noting that his refusal to stand for the anthem was the result of ill health and the effect of a medication.
Nii Torgbor in his statement added that he subsequently took an active part in the event including standing for the national anthem when it was played later following the president’s outburst in spite of his health challenge.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo plans to formally open the Setuo Oil Refinery, a privately owned facility located close to the Tema Oil Refinery, in August 2023, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
An investment of $1.98 billion was made in the facility, which has a two-phase production capability of about 5 million metric tons of petroleum products annually.
Minister of Trade and Industry, Mawuli Ahorlumegah and Kobina Tahir Hammond, visited the facility to become familiar with it for this episode of BizTech on GhanaWeb TV. The facility hopes to produce up to 100 percent of the country’s needs by the time its second phase is finished.
Over the course of the two phases, the refinery is anticipated to process a variety of substances, including gasoline, jet fuel, LPG, sulfuric acid, diesel, fuel oil, and ammonia.
Additionally, it has the potential to provide direct employment for around 900 Ghanaians.
Artist manager Bullgod has once again expressed his displeasure with Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo and his administration.
He claims that he has never witnessed a candidate in Ghana’s history pleading with voters for their support.
He went ahead to say that Akufo-Addo and his government are arrogant, adding that they think they are wiser than God.
Bullgod has had an issue with the sitting government thus, it is not the first time the artist manager is expressing his disappointment in them.
In a video, Bullgod narrated how the president of Ghana in the past elections begged Ghanaians to vote for him so he can bring the change the country is yearning for, but has rather taken the country from bad to worst.
He said: “Akufo-Addo and his whole squad are arrogant. They feel they know than God and clearly, we see what is happening. This is the man who came begging the whole of Ghana. I have never seen candidates in the world or Ghana’s history begging for votes. Moving from Tamale to Accra and after begging, look at what you are doing. It is sad”.
He suggested that anyone who has a video of the president begging for votes during the 2016 and 2020 elections, should bring it out for people to know he’s speaking the truth concerning Akufo-Addo’s approach to winning the elections.
“And I am sure if you guys will do justice, you should be playing the begging clip so people would know and it wouldn’t be like I am saying it on top of mind. He was begging everybody”, he added.
The final funeral rites for the late Ghanaian playwright, Professor Ama Ata Aidoo are expected to take place on July 15 and 16, respectively.
The ceremony will take place at Abeadze Kyeakor in the Central region. The attire to be worn on Saturday, July 15 should be Black or Red. On Sunday, Black and White attires are to be worn.
The final rites comes after the pre-burial and burial service held on Thursday, July 13, at the forecourt of the State House.
At Thursday’s event, dignitaries such as President Nana Akufo-Addo, former President John Dramani Mahama; the African Union High Representative for Silencing the Guns, Dr Ibn Chambas; Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, Akosua Frema Osei Opare, and the 2020 NDC running mate, Prof Jane Naana Opoku Agyeman, were present.
Officiated by a large retinue of clergy led by the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, Most Rev. Dr Paul Boafo, it also attracted ministers of state, Members of Parliament, some members of academia, the military top brass, family and friends.
Reading a tribute, President Akufo-Addo quoted an African saying that: “Every time an elder dies, a library burns with him,” meaning when an elder passes on some amount of stored knowledge disappears.
He, however, explained that that could not be said about Ama Ata Aidoo who was a knowledgeable teacher, famous poet, flawless public servant and an outstanding writer, who possessed excellent mastery of the English language and put all into writing.
The President said the late professor was his contemporary in the 1960s when they were students at the University of Ghana, Legon and “someone with whom I enjoyed friendly and productive relations.”
President Akufo-Addo indicated that through her work, Ama Atta Aidoo made a tremendous contribution to the development of Ghana and Africa, and expressed so many of the feelings about the faith of Ghanaians and Africans.
The ceremony was interspersed with some of her poems, hymns by the Methodist Church and songs by the Winneba Youth Choir.
Prof. Ama Atta Aidoo passed on at the age of 81 in the early hours Wednesday, May 31, 2023, after a short illness.
Ama Ata Aidoo who received international recognition as one of the most prominent African writers of the 20th and 21st centuries wrote her first play, The Dilemma of a Ghost, in 1964.
For more than fifty years she has produced top-notch plays including Anowa, Pittsburgh, Our Sister KillJoy, her first novel published in 1977.
In 2000, Aidoo founded the Mbaasem Foundation, a non-governmental organization based in Ghana with a mission “to support the development and sustainability of African women writers and their artistic output”.
The academician who studied at the University of Ghana, Legon and held a fellowship in creative writing at Stanford University in California, was appointed Minister of Education under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) in 1982.
She resigned after 18 months, realising that she would be unable to achieve her aim of making education in Ghana freely accessible to all.
President Akufo-Addo has hailed the late Ghanaian playwright, Professor Ama Ata Aidoo, for contributing her quota to liberate Africa from a mentality that fosters inferiority complex and total dependence of the West.
The president made this profound statement on Thursday during the funeral ceremony of Professor Ama Ata Aidoo at the forecourt of the State House.
In his tribute, the president noted that the late playwright and former Education Minister contributed immensely to the emancipation of mental slavery despite not lifting a gun to fight.
“Even though she never took up a gun in Africa’s struggles for independence, her pen did the fighting in helping to ensure the liberation of the political and social consciousness of the African,” he said.
Her life’s work, he said was the classic example of the off sighted adage “the pen is mightier than the sword”.
Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo passed on at the age of 81 in the early hours Wednesday, May 31, 2023, after a short illness.
The octogenarian who received international recognition as one of the most prominent African writers of the 20th and 21st centuries wrote her first play, The Dilemma of a Ghost, in 1964.
For more than fifty years she has produced top-notch plays including Anowa, Pittsburgh, Our Sister KillJoy, her first novel published in 1977.
In 2000, Aidoo founded the Mbaasem Foundation, a non-governmental organization based in Ghana with a mission “to support the development and sustainability of African women writers and their artistic output”.
The academician who studied at the University of Ghana, Legon and held a fellowship in creative writing at Stanford University in California, was appointed Minister of Education under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) in 1982.
She resigned after 18 months, realising that she would be unable to achieve her aim of making education in Ghana freely accessible to all.
A political scientist at the University of Ghana, Prof Ransford Gyampo, has urged the Akufo-Addo administration to confront the damaging revelations made in a leaked recording regarding Ghana’s police commander, Dr George Akuffo Dampare.
The claimed scheme by persons presumed to be high-ranking members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and a key member of the Ghana Police Service to depose the incumbent Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, from office ahead of the 2024 elections was outlined in the stated hidden audio.
The unidentified individuals involved in the recorded conversation expressed frustration over the IGP’s alleged reluctance to align the police force’s activities with the interests of the ruling party.
They expressed reservations about his leadership style and alleged ties to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“I know there are others who are also good for this position. If I don’t get and this man is changed and those people that we think are our men get it, [I will be happy]… Because we need to break this 8. That is important, we need to break the 8… Because I wouldn’t want a doctor to become the flagbearer and then we lose the elections,” one of the men who is reportedly a police officer in the audio is heard saying.
As a result, they concluded that carrying out the NPP’s ‘Breaking the 8’ agenda would be difficult with Dampare as police chief.
Prof Gyampo, on the other hand, feels that if the current trend continues, the government should abandon any plans in that direction.
He posted on Facebook that the President should take decisive action on the recording to demonstrate that he is not considering such a scheme.
Lawyer Maurice Ampaw has predicted a mass sacking of government officials appointed by President Akufo-Addo should Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia be given the mandate to lead the come 2024 general elections.
He draws conclusion from what he believes to be a sidelining of members within the same political party by the late President John Evans Atta Mills when he assumed office in 2009.
In an interview on Okay FM on July 9, he said: “I see Bawumia as someone who is bringing good luck to Ghana, his government will be Bawumia’s government and not Nana Akufo-Addo’s government and Bawumia will sack all Nana Addo’s people from his side, all Nana Addo’s people will go away, all of them will expire when Bawumia comes, he will be like Atta Mills, do you remember what Atta Mill’s did to Rawlings, the same way that he will do.”
According to Lawyer Ampaw, the many Christian leaders Ghana has experienced have all failed to provide the necessary development, hence the need to give a Muslim leader the opportunity to change the country’s fourtune.
“When Bawumia comes we will make history, for the first time, we will get someone who is a Muslim and lives in the North. We have tried Christians who have disappointed us, using the name of Jesus Christ, they will be stealing, taking bribes and all, so, we are tired of the Christians,” he noted.
In anticipation of the November presidential primary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Ghana, ten candidates, including Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and former Trade Minister John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, have been actively campaigning throughout the country to garner support from party delegates.
As part of his campaign strategy, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has made a promise to appoint ten party members from each constituency to hold government positions if he is elected as the party’s flagbearer and subsequently becomes president.
On the other hand, Alan Kyerematen has expressed his commitment to provide a monthly salary and implement a social security policy for all party delegates during his tenure.
The remaining candidates in the race are Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Member of Parliament for Assin Central; Joe Ghartey, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General; Kwadwo Poku, a businessman and energy expert; Boakye Agyarko, former Minister of Energy; Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, former NPP General Secretary; Francis Addai-Nimoh, former Member of Parliament for Mampong; Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, former Minister of State; and Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, former Minister of Food and Agriculture.
