President Akufo-Addo has, in the clearest terms, declined the call on him to reshuffle his ministers.
The president, who is currently on a tour in the Ashanti Region during a radio interview with Otec FM on Monday, October 17, 2022, said there is no need to make changes to his list of ministers as they have all met his expectations.
“I feel many of them for me have done outstanding work. Their output has been considerable, and that is what I look at. If the output measures expectations, then I don’t have any strong reasons to heed the call,” the president is quoted in a report by Modernghana.com.
The president has been under intense public pressure to reassign and sack some of his ministers over what is described by some critics as their incompetence in discharging their duties.
The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has dominated the list of individuals whose heads are being demanded.
Calls for the minister’s sacking have heightened in recent months due to the current performance of the Ghanaian economy and its resulting economic hardship.
President Akufo-Addo has been honoured with another position after being elected as chairperson of the Gulf of Guinea Commission.
The Gulf of Guinea Commission is an organisation founded on the tenets of dialogue, consensus, and ties of friendship, solidarity, and fraternity. It was established on July 3rd, 2001 in Gabon to defend the shared interests of Member States and to promote peace and socioeconomic development.
Member States that are party to the Treaty include Angola, Cameroon,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
President Akufo-Addo, after his election on Thursday (October 13, 2022), met with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The meeting was centred on deepening the bonds of cooperation between Ghana and France.
In addition, President Akufo-Addospoke at an Asia Society France event and spoke with Catherine Colonna, France’s minister of state for Europe and foreign affairs.
President Akufo-Addowill inspect development projects in the Ashanti Region as part of a five-day working trip.
The President is also scheduled to commission projects and confer with traditional leaders of the area as part of the activities of the tour which commenced yesterday, October 16, 2022.
Projects to be inspected include the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Maternal and Children’s Block, Kejetia/Central Market Phase Two, Obuasi Trauma and Accident Hospital, and Boankra Inland Port Project.
Others are the Anwiankwanta-Obuasi and Santasi-Apire Road Projects, Oforikrom, Nsuta and Trede Agenda 111 Projects, as well as a sod-cutting ceremony for work to begin on the Suame Interchange.
Additionally, the President Akufo-Addo will inaugurate some completed projects such as the Toase Magistrate’s Court, residential accommodation for the Appeals Court judges, the ECG KATH 33/11 kv Primary sub-Station, and Nsuta Maize Processing Factory under the ‘One District, One Factory’ programme.
The President is also expected to meet the paramount chief of the Ashanti Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, popularly known as the Asantehene, to deliberate on pertinent issues affecting the region.
It is unclear what both parties will be discussing during their meeting. However, there are high expectations that the Asantehene will raise the issue of illegal mining, otherwise known as galamsey (which has been rampant in the region) since it has been a subject he has constantly been touching on recently.
Following its adverse impact on communities in the region, the Asantehene has, on various occasions, (especially during meetings with high-profile personalities), amplified the need for the fight against galamsey in the country to be prioritised and tackled in earnest.
Recently, during a meeting with the United States (US) Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, Otumfuo lamented over the failure of the government to effectively eradicate galamsey, in spite of the various measures and task forces introduced to curb it.
Subsequently, during the first General Meeting of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs in 2022 chaired by the Asantehene, he described the government’s galamsey fight as a charade, accusing the government of shielding the real perpetrators of the menace.
The Asantehene bemoaned the negative impact of galamsey in the region and charged his sub-chiefs (whom he alleged were receiving bribes from financiers of galamsey) to endeavour to make the fight a success by rejecting any form of inducement from those engaged in galamsey.
Former Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, is advising the government to be transparent as much as possible with data on revenue, expenditure and arrears in order not to delay the urgent economic programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Ghana’s economy is reeling under severe pressures, from rapid currency volatility, to higher inflation and interest rates.
Speaking at a media dialogue on Ghana’s negotiations with the IMF, Mr. Terkper said if the government fails to exhibit transparency with the data, the country will not get the programme as expected on time and that will hurt the economy more.
“What has dominated the discussions during the first round and going into the second round is a possible debt restructuring, refinancing or however, you may call it. And, we will give some examples and that is because we all know that debt is a problem that faces the nation. But I also want to remind us that debt is the outcome of raising revenue and borrowing beyond that revenue to the point we are in debt distress….there should be no question about that. And therefore, we have also faced downgrade.”
He mentioned that in a typical IMF programme, it will start from revenue, expenditure, and management of arrears “to give us the fiscal balance and go all the way to the fiscal and go into debt – where we are facing the difficulty”.
“Everything shows clearly that we are protecting certain expenditures as seems to be what is coming from some government officials, then a Fund [programme] is a non-starter. Because it means that you are saying that the Fund gives you money to continue with the pattern of your behaviour. You should know that the Fund knows it all; if you read Article 4, they follow our debates, they know what is going on, they have an office here”, Mr.Terkper disclosed.
He further pointed out that a fast programme from the IMF will depend on whether the country can provide all the available date for scrutiny and approval.
“So I think whether we can do a fast programme or not depends on whether we can lay it all on the table. It can be shocking, but we need to lay all on the table”, he added.
Mr. Terkper also dismissed the perception that the ratings agency have been harsh to developing countries, saying, the developed countries have not been left out of the equation, citing the United Kingdom as an example.
A group of illegal small-scale miners (galamseyers) have taken to the popular social media platform Tik Tok to mock President Nana Akufo-Addo’s effort at combating the menace.
In a video shared on the Twitter handle of broadcast journalist, Kafui Dey, a caterpillar earth-moving machine is seen busily at work while two other galamseyers use water holes to ‘wash’ the deposit placed on a board.
While this is ongoing, a voice behind the camera runs a commentary on what is happening. The unidentified masculine voice taunts President Akufo-Addo saying that they were working in the wee hours of the day while emphasizing that the president does not know everywhere in Ghana.
While questioning President Akufo-Addo on remuneration for workers, the unidentified voice goes ahead to mention that galamseyers are able to make at least GH₵500 a day.
He dares the president that even if their earth-moving machines are seized, they will use their hands to do the galamsey activity.
“The galamsey work is seriously going on. We can’t stop the galamsey. This is the school we attended. If our machine is seized, we swear to use our hands in the washing. Everybody gets work to do. You can get GH₵500 in just one day. Which of your workers do you pay GH₵500 a day?” the voice is heard saying.
Meanwhile, GhanaWeb cannot confirm the site from which the video was shot and when it was also shot.
Background
President Akufo-Addo in an address to the National House of Chiefs expressed concerns over galamsey activities which he admits has been a lost battle over the years.
He said even though he put his presidency on the line to combat the menace in 2017, its results have not been what he expected.
The president said he paid an electoral price for his fight as he lost votes and, in some cases, NPP MPs in the 7th Parliament lost their reelection bid in mining communities.
He stated that the fight against illegal mining can only be won with the support of chiefs as well as stamping out politics from it.
“It can only succeed if it is a truly national battle that no one seeks to exploit for political gain, as we saw in the last election. The progress of our country depends on all of us, all citizens of Ghana, all Fellow Ghanaians, pulling together to defeat this existential threat to our future,” President Akufo-Addo said.
Ghana has been waging war on the activities of illegal miners however it is widely believed that the fight has not yielded the desired results.
The discoloured nature of water bodies as well as general environmental degradation has been used as a testament to the failed fight.
In a meeting with Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on October 16, President Akufo-Addo said his government will end the galamsey menace.
“We are here to eradicate galamsey and surely, it would be eradicated,” he said.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to go out and tell the success story of his administration.
He said it was always important for the President to let Ghanaians know what he had been able to achieve, so that the people would appreciate his works.
The Asantehene said this when the President called on him at the Manhyia Palace yesterday at the start of his four-day official visit to the Ashanti Region.
Otumfuo Osei Tutusaid it was good that the President was in the region to inspect development projects undertaken by the government and wished him well on his visit.
Appreciation
He also expressed appreciation to President Akufo-Addo for making it a tradition to seek his blessing at the Manhyia Palace before embarking on officials trips to the region.
He recalled that on the two occasions that Nana Akufo-Addo had contested the presidential election, he had visited him at the Manhyia Palace to seek his blessing, adding that he would continue to pray for the President to succeed.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu said he had religiously followed the President’s delivery and expressed the hope that by the time his mandate was over, he would have achieved what he had promised to do for the country.
Silencing critics
Briefing Otumfuo Osei Tutu on his visit, President Akufo-Addo said he was in the region to inspect some of the projects being undertaken by his government.
He said his critics had accused him of sidelining the Ashanti Region in the development of the country and indicated that by the end of his tour of the region, those critics would be silenced because it would come to the fore that the government had undertaken massive development projects in the region.
Giving examples to buttress his assertion, the President said the Ashanti Region had benefitted from improved road development, with over 300km of asphalted overlay already undertaken, while 32 hospital projects were being undertaken.
Galamsey
On illegal mining, the President assured the Asantehene of the government’s resolve to bring an end to the menace, noting that as a result of the attention the government had devoted to the fight against the canker, the issue had become a topical one, with everyone talking about it.
He expressed delight at the way galamsey had become a topic for discussion.
Boankra Inland Port
From the Manhyia Palace, the President inspected work on the Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal project, where he was assured that the $330-million project, popularly referred to as the Boankra Inland Port Project, which had been on the drawing board for about 18 years, would be completed by March 2024.
The concessionaire, Ashanti Ports Services Limited, a joint venture of Afum Quality Limited of Ghana and DSS Associates of the Republic of Korea, made this known.
The project covers a total land area of 413 acres.
President Akufo-Addo was informed by the concessionaire that it was working to deliver the project within the scheduled date, and that by the end of 2023, 80 per cent of the work would be done.
The concessionaire was hopeful that the eastern and the western railway lines would be completed on schedule to further improve the viability of the Boankra Inland Port.
History
The idea of the Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal project has been in the pipeline since the days of the Kufuor-led government.
But that government encountered a number of challenges, with the exit of the NPP administration in 2009 worsening matters.
Cutting the sod for the construction of the port on November 5, 2020, President Akufo-Addo explained that the Boankra Inland Port project was initiated to provide services for importers and exporters in the middle and the northern parts of the country and also act as a major conduit for the efficient transportation of transit traffic to and from the landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
After completion of the terminal, it will be fitted with an inland clearance depot, customs bonded and unbonded estates, commercial areas such as banks, offices and trading facilities, vehicle parking areas, light industrial areas and an administration complex.
The project will also offer significant employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled labour during the two phases of construction and operation.
Beyond job creation, there are other ancillary small and medium-scale businesses that will be located within the enclave to support the operations of the terminal.
“It is noteworthy that the transformation of the Ghanaian economy from a raw material producing and exporting one to an industrialised one will be given a huge impetus with the coming onstream of this facility.
“Government’s commitment to establish firmly the economy of Ghana on a solid path of industrialisation, with the view to delivering a vision of self-reliance, development and prosperity for all, is unwavering,” he added.
Commitment
The concessionaire, according to President Akufo-Addo, was committed to the realisation of that project.
Additionally, the concessionaire was expected to design, engineer, finance, procure, construct, operate and maintain the project and transfer title to the government after 30 years.
“It is my hope and expectation that the concessionaire will not renege on the confidence reposed in it and will take all the necessary actions to deliver the project on schedule and on budget,” he added.
The President expressed the hope that “this project and other similar infrastructure projects, such as the development of the Keta Port, the Tema-Akosombo Railway Line and the ongoing expansion projects at the Tema and the Takoradi ports, would make a positive contribution in ensuring that Ghana derives maximum benefits from the AfCFTA”.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been elected chairperson of the Gulf of Guinea Commission.
The commission is an organisation established to defend the common interests of Member States, and promote peace and socio-economic development based on the bases of dialogue, consensus, ties of friendship, solidarity and fraternity.
After his election as chairperson of the organisation on Thursday (October 13, 2022), President Akufo-Addo also held bilateral discussions with the French President, Emmanuel Macron.
The discussions were centered on strengthening the ties of co-operation between Ghana and France.
President Akufo-Addo also addressed a Session of Asia Society France; and held a meeting with Catherine Colonna, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Former Parliamentary Candidate for NDC in Anyaa Sowutuom, Emmanuel Adortey Allotey has faulted the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the worsening economic situation in the country.
He says the Akufo-Addo administration has failed to turn around the economy as promised in the build-up to the 2016 election because it lied its way into power.
The fundamental struggles of Ghana’s economy have remained since the NPP took office under the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government, and the indicators appear to be unfavourable.
He mentioned that the NPP’s constant attribution of the economic mismanagement to the NDC during its campaign was indicative that it was taking the citizenry for granted.
Speaking with Kwaku Owusu Adjei on Adwenekasa on Accra-based Original FM 91.9, Mr. Allotey said that, “I think right from the onset, the foundations were established on deception. And when you build something on deception, within a matter of time, it is going to collapse. So basically, they came into office riding on lies. They came into office pretending that somehow they were going to reduce taxation and at the same time increase expenditure. So right from the word go, they were deceiving the people.
“Right from the beginning, they absolutely lied to the country, especially when they made it look as if the whole of the problem was simply about the question of mismanagement when they knew it was not.”
Emmanuel Adortey Allotey explained that the financial resources at the disposal of the NPP should reflect in the output of its various flagship programs but, unfortunately, that has not been the case.
For the first time, former President John Dramani Mahama has opened up about why he and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) could not provide the needed evidence to make their case in the 2020 election petition.
On December 30, 2022, the former president dragged the Electoral Commission led by Jean Mensa (1st Respondent) and Akufo-Addo (2nd Respondent) to the apex court over the 2020 presidential elections on an allegation that the results announced by the EC were not the accurate results.
The petition details “serious violations of the 1992 Constitution by the Electoral Commission and its Chairperson and Returning Officer for the Presidential Election, Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa in the conduct of their constitutional and legal responsibility.”
The petitioner sought, among others, a declaration from the Supreme Court to the effect that “the purported declaration of the results of the 2020 Presidential Election on December 9 2020, is unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”
But the seven-member panel of the Supreme Court on March 4, 2021, held that the petition filed by former President John Dramani Mahama was unmeritorious and unanimously dismissed all other applications moved by the petitioner, including two reviews.
Speaking in a VOA interview monitored by GhanaWeb, John Dramani Mahama intimated that NDC could not make its case because the pink sheets used by the EC to record the election results did not make room for the people to be verified before they could vote.
“In the last elections, a lot of things went wrong. On the pink sheets that we record the results, they did not make allowance for the number of people biometrically registered.
“And that is why when we went to court, and they said, why don’t you bring your pink sheet? It would have been useless because you bring the pink sheet, and there is no recording of the number of people verified.
“It is only when you have that recording which must match up with the number of ballots in the box (that you can make a case). And so, if the Electoral Commission gives you a form that does not make provision for the people verified then what is the need for us to put our figures in the verification machine,” he said.
The former president further stated that most of the challenges in the 2020 elections have still not been resolved.
He added that the NDC has taken a cue from what happened in the 2020 election and has decided to go into the next election with its “own referrer”.
Former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, has observed that Ghana’s four-year term for every government is insufficient for the needed investment in developing the country.
He indicates that, unlike other countries where governments have ample time to roll out their ideas and ensure seamless development, the same cannot be said about Ghana.
“We have a four-year term like they have in America and not as they have in other countries where there are five terms, so it is very little you can do in terms of infrastructure; we will do our best.
We will Invest in the health sector, invest in Education, invest in the economic infrastructure, but all these must be geared towards creating opportunities, especially for young people to be able to realize their full potential and be able to find jobs in the economy. I think that’s what we will be looking at,” he said in an interview on Voice of America.
The leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 election said another focus of a new NDC government would be strengthening public institutions in the country and intensifying the fight against corruption.
He reiterated his calls for the review of the 1992 constitution. He believes that after 26 years of using the constitution, it will be right that some tweaking is done to help build the country.
Founder and Leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai Odike, has announced his intention to petition the IMF regarding the illegal mining crisis, also known as the “galamsey”, plaguing the nation.
He proposed that the Bretton Woods institution make combating galamsey a condition for granting Ghana the aid it seeks.
“We (UPP) want this to be part of the conditions attached to the bailout. I am imploring the IMF to bring galamsey issues as part of the conditionalities to secure this bailout.
“This will push the government harder to take decisive decisions to mitigate this menace. The United Nations Security Council too must come in,” he said.
Despite efforts to curtail the menace, galamsey continues to be a major challenge in the country. Although various task forces, including ‘Operation Halt’, have been introduced to keep it under check, some officials under the current administration have been accused of heavily partaking in the menace.
On Monday, October 10, 2022, the Chief of Dompim-Pepesa, Nana Nyonwah Panyin IV, alleged that the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Deputy Lands Minister George Mireku Duker, and the Tarkwa- Nsuaem Chief Executive, Benjamin Kessie, are engaged in galamsey.
Although there is little proof to support the claim, Bernard Antwi- Boasiako, the NPP’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, has recently appeared on lists of well-known people who are involved in galamsey.
It is impossible to overstate the effects of illegal mining on Ghana’s water bodies and forest cover. According to data from COCOBOD, the country lost about 19,000 acres of cocoa farmland to galamsey between 2019 and 2020.
Therefore, Akwasi Addai Odike noted that President Akufo-Addo should step down as it appears that the current administration has failed in its attempt to address the threat.
The government is spending $740 million on the “water for all” program, which provides access to potable water.
Speaking during the opening of a town water project in Tuna, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia noted that the government’s efforts to provide both rural and urban residents with portable drinking water had been successful in reducing the prevalence of cholera and other diseases linked to poor sanitation.
We are all aware that the sixth Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations is to provide access to clean water and adequate sanitation for all people.
The Akufo-Addo administration has a policy of “water for all” in this regard.
“This water for all policy has resulted in an investment program of about 740 million dollars in terms of investment in water systems in various towns and communities,” he said.
The Vice President intimated that Ghana has over the last five years not recorded a single case of cholera due to the huge investments made to provide clean drinking water and increasing the overall access to water to 87%, 96% for urban access while rural access stands at 74%.
“If you will all avert your mind, Ghana has not had a single case of cholera in the last five years. Not one single case of cholera,” he added.
Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has said the Akufo-Addo administration is determined to make all persons who are caught engaging in illegal small scale mining (Galamsey), to face the full rigours of the law.
He indicated that the Chinese national, Aisha Huang popularly known as Galamsey Queen, who was arrested for allegedly re-entering Ghana without permission after her deportation, and the others with her will all face the law for their actions.
Aisha Huang was denied bail yet again on Tuesday October 11.
She was denied bail by an Accra High Court, where she is facing four charges pressed by the Attorney General.
Speaking to journalists after the case, Mr Jinapor said “One of the key pillars on which we are seeking to deal with this issue of illegal small scale mining is law enforcement and prosecution, particularly as it relates to foreigners.
“As you can see, the Attorney-General himself was in court and he himself is conducting this trial, prosecuting the cases in a very spirited and enthusiastic manner.
“I think it helps my work, when you have an Attorney-General who is diligent and serious about prosecution and ensuring that all perpetrators are brought to book, I think it is a big boost and I am very thankful to him for the work he is doing.
“We will continue with our efforts on all fronts – law enforcements, reforms as well as the prosecutorial part, which we are fully committed .
“As you can tell, this Aisha Huang lady, the government of President Akufo-Addo is committed to bring her and other persons who are involved in illegal mining to face the full rigors of the the laws.”
The Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah has announced the judges residential complex in Kumasi in the Ashanti region is going to be commissioned next week Monday.
The Chief Justice said this when he was speaking during a meeting with the leadership of Judicial Service Staff association of Ghana in Accra on Tuesday October 11.
Explaining why he appeared late at the meeting, he said “Please accept my apology for not being here on time. Indeed, yesterday I was unable to come to work because I had to attend to more pressing matter in Kumasi and I came just this morning. As some of you may be aware, we are going to commission the residential complex in Kumasi on Monday and we have invited some of the Directors to be with us.
“So, I had to spend the whole time with the consultant, the contractors, and the regional Minister.”
In April last year, President Akufo-Addo cut sod for the construction of 20 residential facilities for Court of Appeal judges in Kumasi.
Supported by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, President Akufo-Addo cut the sod to signify the beginning of construction works for the accommodation facilities.
“With the collaboration of the Ministry of Local Government and the District Assembly Common Fund, 20 townhouses and a guesthouse are being built to be used as permanent residences for Court of Appeal Judges based in Kumasi, who will be mandated to handle cases in the northern part of the country,” Mr Akufo-Addo said.
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Abu Jinapor has declared, in no uncertain terms, that he will support the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia when the “time comes, and he decides to run” for the flagbearership of the NPP.
Speaking in Kpalbe on Sunday, in the Savannah Region, during the visit of the Vice President, as part of his working visit to the North, Abu Jinapor, who is also the Member of Parliament for Damongo, said, in his view, the best person to lead the NPP to the 2024 elections if he decides to contest when the time comes is none, but Dr Bawumia.
“At this moment, considering many things, including his competence and hard work, there is no other person. When the time comes and His Excellency the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia decides to contest, I will support him fully and work hard together party stakeholders in the Savannah Region for his hard work, and competence.” Abu Jinapor said.
The Lands and Natural Resources Minister noted further that the 2024 Election won’t be an easy battle and for the NPP to retain power, the party needs someone like Dr. Bawumua, who will be widely accepted and can effectively communicate everything the government and the party have done.
“Dr Bawumia has served with humility and honour and I can say without a doubt that, he has Savannah, the north and Ghana at heart,” Abu Jinapor noted.
The Vice President resumed his working tour of the northern regions on Sunday in the Savannah Region.
As part of his programme, he paid courtesy calls on traditional rulers, and inspected government projects, including the Agenda 111 District Hospital in Kpalbe and the ongoing works on the Fufulso-Bunjai Road, before commissioning a market complex in Salaga.
Part of the Vice President’s delegation are; Minister of Interior Ambrose Dery, Minister of Defence Dominic Nitiwul, Presidential Advisor on Health Dr. Nsia Asare, and Former Chief Whip Frederick Opare Ansah.
The Savannah Regional branch of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described as whimsical and unnecessary the recent visit by the Vice President, Mahammud Bawumia to the Savannah region.
Vice President Bawumia during his tour of the region over the weekend indicated that the newly created Savannah Region has witnessed much development under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
According to him, the creation of the region by the Akufo-Addo led administration was the strongest indication that the growth and development of the region was at the heart of government.
Dr. Bawumia inspected some on-going projects in the region as part of his visit to the region.
But, the NDC in the region says the tour by the Vice President is ‘hollow’.
“The desperate attempt by the Vice President Bawumia to recover his lost integrity and redeem his bruised reputation by touring the country appears whimsical and a waste of the tax payers money,” the Communication Officer for the Savannah region, Malik Basintale said in a press release.
He continued: “It is rather unfortunate that among the comic attitudes of the vice President Bawumia, he chose to travel several miles from the seat of government with over 25 luxurious land cruiser V8’s and over 100 staff just to commission an old rural market, an NGO-owned borehole and water system and the foundation of a building labelled “Female surgical ward”, “Laundry block” etc in the name of agenda 111. (Pictures attached).”
Below is the full statement by Savannah NDC
BAWUMIA’S DESPERATE VISIT TO THE SAVANNAH REGION WHIMSICAL AND A WASTE OF THE TAX PAYERS MONEY.
We have keenly monitored the Vice President’s visit to the Savannah region and still find it difficult to comprehend the motive and rational behind his hollow tour around the region.
The desperate attempt by the Vice President Bawumia to recover his lost integrity and redeem his bruised reputation by touring the country appears whimsical and a waste of the tax payers money.
It is rather unfortunate that among the comic attitudes of the vice President Bawumia, he chose to travel several miles from the seat of government with over 25 luxurious land cruiser V8’s and over 100 staff just to commission an old rural market, an NGO-owned borehole and water system and the foundation of a building labelled “Female surgical ward”, “Laundry block” etc in the name of agenda 111. (Pictures attached).
It is shameful, that after 6 years in office and with the failed promises, pledges absolutely nothing to show, Dr. Bawumia still finds comfort in campaigning to the people of the Savannah region after admitting himself that he was used for the “dirty works” by the NPP in a recently leaked tape which obviously leaves his reputation and credibility questioned.
To zoom in, Let me request from Dr. Bawumia the whereabouts or current state of their old promises to the people of the Savannah region:
Where is the Damongo water project you promised the people of Damongo in 2018 after truncating the contract signed by the erstwhile John Mahama government.
Where is the Daboya bridge you promised the people of North Gonja in August 2021?
Where is the regional house of chiefs you cut sod for in 2020?
Where are the factories you promised the people of the Savannah region under 1D 1F?
Where are the permanent jobs your government promised the Nabco retirees in the Savannah region?
Why is the Busunu-Daboya road still in a deplorable state after funds were made available by the erstwhile John Mahama government and why is the contractor not being paid to go back to site?
Where is the senior high school your boss, Akufo-Addo promised the people of the North East Gonja?
What is the state of the Salaga -Makango road and why are works slowing on it?
Why is the fufulso-Sawla road not being maintained after 6 years of being in office?
Why has your government abandoned the Bole teacher training college started by H.E John Mahama.
These are the first ten (10) basic questions we need answers to as we haven’t seen or heard the Vice President, Bawumia mention the state of all these promises they made to us, throughout his 2- day tour and just in case they have forgotten, we will always be here to remind them.
Signed:
Malik Basintale
Communication Officer
NDC- Savannah region.
The ex-Deputy Minister of Finance, Fifi Kwetey, has accused the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of being full of selfish individuals who do not have the country’s interest at heart.
According to him, the party has never supported policies or agendas that will lead to the country’s development which they will not benefit from.
In an XYZ TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Fifi Kwetey added that the party can be akin to the woman in the Bible who, after killing her child, wanted the child of another woman divided because they would rather see Ghana destroyed than implement the much-needed policies that do not benefit them.
“The larger spirit that drives our friends in the NPP is the spirit that does not hold well for the country. They opposed independence. They opposed our effort to become a republican state. As far as they are concerned, if we are not going to have it, then nobody should have it.
“You know the story of King Solomon and the two women, where one of the women slept on her child, which caused his death while the child of the other woman was alive. And the one who had slept on her child said the baby alive was hers and should be divided. Unfortunately, the NPP represents that woman that wanted the child to be divided.
“NPP, unfortunately, has that behaviour; if we are not going to get it, let it be killed, let it be destroyed. So, they opposed the Akosombo Dam, they opposed that Motorway, in 1992, they opposed the Constitution of Ghana, they opposed VAT, they opposed GetFund, they opposed ESLA. It is like once we are not in charge, we don’t want it,” he said in Twi.
Ranking Member on Parliament’s Trades Committee, Murtala Mohammed, says the Bank of Ghana (BoG) cannot be blamed for the harsh economic situation the country is plagued with.
According to him, the Akufo-Addo administration must be blamed for the current crisis.
He explained that even though some policy measures by the Bank of Ghana have heightened an already dire situation, it should not be forgotten that the Central Bank is not entirely independent of the Executive arm of government, thus the current administration has a hand in decisions taken there.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, he said “I’ve listened to my good friends there and they all seem to be blaming the Bank of Ghana, it is the government who should be blamed; the President, the Vice President and the Minister for Finance for abysmally, disastrously managing this economy. They are those who should be blamed.
“So I’m not surprised that they’re saying that when they go to the Bank of Ghana, the Bank of Ghana blames the Ministry of Finance; they go to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Finance blames the Bank of Ghana. It will be the height of naivety to assume that the Bank of Ghana is absolutely independent of the executive. All the economic policy decisions for which reason we’re in the mess for which we are is occasioned by the policies of this government.”
He was reacting to comments by the Ghana Union of Traders’ Association President, Dr. Jospeh Obeng, who had blamed the Bank of Ghana for failing to find a viable solution to the worsening inflation situation.
According to him, the Bank of Ghana’s resort to hike monetary policies has merely served banks and not the general public who have instead been hit hard.
He added that the monetary policy hikes have rather contributed to the inflation situation rather than reduced it.
However, Murtala Mohammed believes, the policy decisions of the government is what is to be blamed.
He noted that the government has failed to control the country’s penchant for relying on importation of goods, some of which could be produced in large quantities locally.
He said the failure of the government to enforce the strict importation restrictions that the erstwhile Mahama administrationhad left behind has driven imports at an all-time high and thus putting even more pressure on the cedi.
“We are spending over 2billion dollars annually importing [rice and poultry products] into this country. Just in 2016 we were spending about 500million dollars importing same. So if you’re spending over 2billion dollars on the importation of rice and poultry products within a year, what it simply means is that every year you need to look around to get the over 2billion dollars to import those products into your country.
“You don’t buy them with cedis. Now if you’re taking 2 billion dollars every year, it certainly will exert pressure on your domestic currency and that is the problem. Look why is it that in 2014 we were able to reduce the importation of rice into this country by 40% and there was a surge in production of local rice by 60%? It was as a result of a visionary policy decision.
“So we at the Ministry of Trade, the GUTA people know, recently I heard them lamenting over decisions taken by this government in which they were not involved. He knows that when we were in government, I was the Deputy Minister for Trade, we had an open-door policy for them. And they could call me …as late as 1am and we’ll talk.
“There was no single policy decision we took at the Ministry of Trade that involved trade that we didn’t involve them, not even a single one. But policy decisions have been taken, formulated without them. Why are we not where we are?” he said.
He has thus suggested that the government revisits some of its policy interventions to stall the further depreciation of the cedi.
The Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has expressed his country’s gratitude to Ghana for standing by them amid the Russian invasion that started in February this year.
Kuleba arrived in Accra on Wednesday, October 6 and departed on the 7th, with Ghana being the third stop of his African tour. He had earlier been to Senegal and Ivory Coast.
While in Ghana, he delivered a message from President Volodymyr Zelensky to his counterpart Akufo-Addo and also held talks with Foreign Affairs minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey.
It was during this meeting he revealed that Ukraine was grateful for Ghana’s support through the current crisis, citing specifically a statement at the 77th United Nations General Assembly in Akufo-Addo’s address in September.
He said Akufo-Addo’s: “Every bullet and every bomb fired at Ukraine is felt in Africa,” statement was the clearest and the most eloquent statement, which reflected the global repercussions of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
“We have to stop this war, we will be winning it, because we defend the right cause, the principle of sovereignty, the principle of territorial integrity of the nation,” he is quoted to have said in a Ghana News Agency report.
Kuleba also disclosed that aside from boosting bilateral and especially trade relations between Accra and Kyiv, Ukraine would soon be opening a full diplomatic mission in Accra.
Security Analyst, Prof. Kwesi Aning has said President Akufo-Addo’s meeting with the National House of Chiefs on galamsey activities in the country would amount to nothing.
On Wednesday, President Akufo-Addo met with the National House of Chiefs and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives [MMDCEs] over the galamsey menace.
The meeting was to afford the President the opportunity to find other means of dealing with the problem.
But Prof. Aning believes the meeting by the President will have no impact on the fight against galamsey.
He noted that for many years now, the government’s utterances have not corresponded with actions taken, hence, the meeting was just a façade.
“I do not think it [the meeting] is going to have any impact at all because when you look across the spectrum of public action and public implementation, what is the nexus between public utterances and implementation? That correlation cannot be positive. So that meeting is a nice meeting that brought people together, they had opportunities for photoshoots and that is that. I am not expecting anything at all to come out,” he said on Newsfile, Saturday.
“Ghana has become a state under siege – a beleaguered state in which there is a state within the state that is influencing the way policy relating to mining is made, understood or implemented.”
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has vowed to deal with persons within his government who may be found complicit in illegal mining activities.
The President said the government has for several years been struggling with the fight against ‘galamsey’, hence government officials cannot continue to compromise efforts against the menace.
“I am not here to threaten anybody, but I want you to know that this is a struggle that I take very seriously and I will not be in a position to protect anybody against who evidence is massed up about their complicity in this matter…I am a lawyer and I always deal with facts and when the facts are brought against you, you will be invited to comment on them,” he told the Chiefs and MMDCEs during his meeting with them on October 5.
Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, joined the list of politicians who wished Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia a happy 59th birthday.
The Vice President on Friday, October 7 marked his birthday with a celebration at his residence with some cured lepers from the Weija Leprosarium and prominent personalities, particularly politicians.
In a Facebook post, Adwoa Safo shared a picture of the Vice President with the caption: “Stride into 59 Years of Allah’s Fulfilment and Greatness, Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia”.
About Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Dr. Bawumia was born on October 7, 1963, in Tamale to the late Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, former Chairman of the Council of State (1992–2000), and Hajia Mariama Bawumia.
Born into a large family, Mahamudu Bawumia was the twelfth of his father’s 18 children and the second of his mother’s five. Mahamudu Bawumia attended the Sakasaka Primary school in Tamale and gained admission to Tamale Secondary School in 1975. He was President of the Ghana United Nations Students’ Association (GUNSA) in 1981.
After graduating from Tamale Secondary School, he went to the United Kingdom where he studied banking and obtained the Chartered Institute of Bankers Diploma (ACIB). He took a First Class Honours Degree in Economics at Buckingham University in 1987.
He then obtained a master’s degree in Economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, and obtained a Ph.D. in Economics at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1995.
His areas of specialization include Macroeconomics, International Economics, Development Economics, and Monetary Policy. He has numerous publications.
He became an economist and banker by training and went on to serve as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ghana between 2006 and 2009.
Dr. Bawumia was running mate to Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 and 2012 elections which they lost. He became Vice President on his third attempt with Nana Akufo-Addo after winning the 2016 and 2020 elections.
The founder and leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP) has said that the meeting President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had with chiefs and Metropolitan Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) on the fight against galamsey will amount to nothing.
In an Onua TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Thursday (October 6), Akwasi Addai Odike alleged that most of the participants at the meeting, including the president, are beneficiaries of “galamsey.”
He added that the president’s meeting can be akin to a meeting of shareholders of a company who are meeting to discuss how they will share their profit.
“The meeting the president had in Kumasi had no benefit. The president went to meet MMDCEs, is he not the same person who appoints them? Does he not have a Chief of Staff who is supposed to sack MMDCEs who are misbehaving? Do you have to call all of them together?
“The meeting the president held in Kumasi was a galamsey shareholders’ meeting. The chiefs are blaming the government for the menace, the government is also blaming the chiefs. These are the two groups who went to meet. They are the shareholders in galamsey.
“The president just went to make a speech. He did not state any strategy to stop the menace, and he is not going to because he is a direct beneficiary of the galamsey proceeds. Everything shows that Nana Addo is a direct beneficiary of galamsey proceeds. The chiefs are also beneficiaries of galamsey,” he said in Twi.
He added that Akufo-Addo, after all the resources at his disposal, including the army and putting his presidency on the line, is now asking chiefs to help in the fight against galamsey.
President Akufo-Addo, during his meeting with chiefs and MMDCEs in Kumasi on Wednesday (October 5), urged chiefs across the country to get themselves involved in the fight against illegal small-scale mining since they are the custodians of lands in the country.
“80 percent of the lands in this country continue to be under your custody, much of it having been acquired through the blood and sacrifices of your ancestors. The remainder of 20 percent, which I hold in trust of the people of Ghana, derived from state acquisition from you.
“What this means is that ultimately, the welfare of the state of the lands is our joint responsibility, although by statute the minerals in the soil belong to the president in trust for the people,” he noted.
Former President, John Dramani Mahama has underscored the need for government to tackle the growing rate of youth unemployment in the country.
He asserts the high rate of youth joblessness is a matter of national security concern that needs serious tackling.
“Government owe it as a responsibility to do all they can to secure the peace and safety of the nation but above all to reduce youth unemployment. This is necessary to ensure that the young people do not become easily recruitable to fill the ranks of the insurgence due to frustration and lack of opportunity”, says Mr. Mahama.
He was speaking as a special guest of honour at the 2022 Convocation at Liberty University in Michigan of the United States.
The former President while condemning the activities of Boko Haram in the sub-region revealed that the youth stand a chance of being recruited if opportunities are not created for them.
“Ghana is an Island of religious calmness in a sea of turbulence as almost all our surrounding neighbours have in recent times experienced some major form of insurgency, coup d’états or other conflicts including religious conflicts.”
“In all these acts, one thing is clear, leadership at all levels including the family, the school, the church, the government all have the responsibility to educate and inform the impress young members of our society about the imminent threats and dangers out there”, he emphasized.
Terrorist activities happening in Sahelian countries such as Burkina Faso and Mali have become a major concern to the government, hence the need for stringent measures to ensure the safety of the citizenry.
Ghana’s security agencies have been put on high alert over threats of terrorism in the country.
The government said several efforts are underway to ensure that the country is protected from any form of attack following reports that terrorist groups are looking to expand southward, with countries such as Ghana in focus.
Since the government is currently negotiating with the IMF, Mr. Amidu has called nationalists and crusading civil society organizations to insist on and demand openness and accountability from them.
Mr. Amidu has therefore urged patriots and crusading civil society organizations to insist and demand transparency and accountability from the government in the manner the negotiation with the IMF is being undertaken now.
“This year, the International Monetary Fund is to be the excuse for Ghanaians being asked to tighten their belts while the political elite loosens theirs and feed fat on our sweat. We should not wait for the IMF to be used by the authors of our economic hardships to blackmail the nation and ram an austerity budget down our throats without any consultation for our inputs into and acceptance of the proposals. We must ask for transparency and accountability now. The 1992 Constitution gives us the right to do so and put Ghana First,” he wrote in a statement.
The finance minister is upbeat that the negotiation with the IMF “will be fast-tracked to ensure that key aspects of the programme are reflected in the 2023 Annual Budget Statement in November 2022.”
Mr. Ofori-Atta has also disclosed that a team of government officials will from this weekend travel to Washington, DC in the USA for two weeks to continue negotiations with the Fund to fast-track the deal.
But the former Special Prosecutor argued the People are entitled to know the content of the dialogue with the Bretton Woods Institution billed to form part of the Minister for Finance’s 2023 Budget Statement to Parliament.
He said the government has refused to be guided by the resistance its unpopular economic policies such as the E-levy were met with in the past.
“In the November 2021 Budget for the year 2022, this government rammed down our throats the E-Levy that went to Parliament without any prior consultation with the generality of the people and stakeholders. It is an understatement to say that a majority of Ghanaians were against the E-Levy but with arrogance and impunity, the government corruptly bought its way with the political elite to approve and enact the E-Levy into law. The consequent reaction from Ghanaians is there for all to see how successful a reception that policy received and is receiving.” Martin Amidu added.
President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe says it is unlikely Traditional Authorities will discontinue their interests in an entreprise they benefit from despite Akufo-Addo meeting them over the galamsey menace.
President Akufo-Addo says the protection of the lands against illegal small-scale mining also known as galamsey should be the responsibility of the traditional rulers and the government.
Addressing the House of Chiefs at the Ashanti regional capital Kumasi on Wednesday, October 5, 2022 President Akufo-Addo indicated that ownership of the lands rests with both the government and chiefs hence protecting it should be a collective one.
“80 percent of the lands in this country continue to be under your custody, much of it having been acquired through the blood and sacrifices of your ancestors. The remainder of 20 percent which I hold in trust of the people of Ghana, derived from state acquisition from you.
“What this means is that ultimately, the welfare of the state of the lands is our joint responsibility, although by statute the minerals in the soil belong to the President in trust for the people,” the President explained.
He also pleaded for the support of the chiefs in applying stringent measures to curb the galamsey menace in the country.
Commenting on Akufo-Addo’s meeting with the House of Chiefs over the galamsey menace, Cudjoe who described the traditional rulers as the godfathers of galamsey said they[Chiefs] have a vested interest in the entreprise hence do not share the same sentiments with the President on the national crusade against illegal mining.
“Galamsey just got another bad name today. The godfathers assembled to disown their own child but will continue benefitting from its existence,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
The National House of Chiefs has called on President Akufo-Addo to pay them economic, sitting and traveling allowances amidst current economic hardship.
President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II who spoke on behalf of the chiefs when they gathered at Manhyia on Wednesday, October 5, to address illegal mining activities in the country said government needed to pay the outstanding quarterly allowances owed them.
“We urgently appeal to your government to pay Nananom’s outstanding quarterly allowances. We also demand economic, sitting and traveling allowances to reflect present-day economic conditions.”
Ghana’s economy has fared badly in the last couple of months with economists pointing to record high inflation rates, fuel price hikes, and the Cedi depreciation as the basis for their claim.
Government has consistently blamed the situation on the ravages of Covid-19 and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war but has assured that it is implementing measures to mitigate the impact such as seeking an IMF programme in the interim.
Amidst the downturn, Ghanaians have lamented the impact the economic situation is having on their cost of living.
In view of this assertion, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II has urged Russia, being led by President Vladimir Putin to cease fire in the ongoing Ukraine invasion.
The Akufo-Addo government has announced a 21 percent increase in the producer price of cocoa.
The announcement comes after the minority caucus of Parliament warned Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and thus the government against any attempt to short-change cocoa farmers by announcing prices that are below GH¢1000 per a bag of cocoa.
“After all this uncertainty, government should not announce any price below GH¢1000 per bag, or GH¢16,000 per tonne. Ghanaians are all witnesses to the historic depreciation of the Cedi. In 2021, COCOBOD used an exchange rate of GH¢6 to $1.
“We wish to remind them that the dollar is now more than 10. Even at the dollar equivalent price, farmers and all stakeholders including LBCs and Haulers should receive higher prices and margins this year,” parts of a statement issued by minority’s Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, on Wednesday, October 3, 2022 read.
In a statement issued, on the same day, by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the government said that the 21 percent increase translates to GH¢800 per bag of 64 kg. gross weight and takes effect from Friday, October 14, 2022.
“The 21% rise in the producer price of cocoa is a testament to government’s resolve to ensure farmers earn a decent income and make cocoa farming lucrative. Government will continue to implement initiatives to build a robust, resilient and sustainable cocoa industry where cocoa farmers and their communities will thrive.
“To ensure a decent standard of living for Ghanaian cocoa farmers after retirement, government will from November 2022 move from the pilot phase to the implementation phase of the Cocoa Farmer’s pension scheme.
“The Scheme remains an unprecedented achievement under His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo,” parts of the statement read.
Read the full statement below:
REVIEW OF THE PRODUCER PRICE OF COCOA FOR THE 2022/23 COCOA SEASON WEDNESDAY, 5TH OCTOBER 2022
Introduction
The Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC), under the Chairmanship of Hon. Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, met and agreed on the Producer Price of Cocoa for the 2022/2023 season which opens, Friday, 14th October, 2022.
Producer Price
We are pleased to announce that Government has increased the producer price of cocoa by 21% from GH¢10,560 per tonne to GH¢12,800.00 per tonne. The producer price represents 89.99% of the net FOB value. This figure translates into GH¢800 per bag of 64 kg. gross weight and takes effect from Friday, 14th October, 2022.
The 21% rise in the producer price of cocoa is a testament to Government’s resolve to ensure farmers earn a decent income and make cocoa farming lucrative. Government will continue to implement initiatives to build a robust, resilient and sustainable cocoa industry where cocoa farmers and their communities will thrive.
To ensure a decent standard of living for Ghanaian cocoa farmers after retirement, Government will from November 2022 move from the pilot phase to the implementation phase of the Cocoa Farmer’s pension scheme. The Scheme remains an unprecedented achievement under His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo.
Other Rates and Fees
The Committee has also approved the rates and fees for all other stakeholders in the supply chain. These include the Buyers’ margin, Hauliers’ rate, warehousing and internal marketing costs, as well as, fees for disinfestation, grading and sealing and scale inspection.
Government Support and Commitment
Government will continue to support cocoa farmers through the pests and diseases control programme (Mass Spraying) and rehabilitation of diseased cocoa farms. Government will also assist cocoa farmers by making the requisite inputs such as fertilizers available for farmers to buy to increase farm productivity. Government is committed to continuing to supply certified planting materials that are drought tolerant, early bearing and high-yielding.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as you may be aware, the European Union will soon legislate Regulations on due diligence on Deforestation and Forest Degradation. This places enormous responsibility on us to ensure that cocoa is sustainably produced in Ghana. Issues of deforestation and forest degradation remain important in meeting the EU due diligence requirements.
Once completed, the CMS will establish a national mandatory traceability system which will be transparent and accountable. This will ensure that all Ghana cocoa beans are traceable from the port of shipment to the plot of land that produced the beans. This is a key requirement under the European Union Due Diligence requirements.
I am pleased to inform you that the first component of the CMS, which involves the establishment of a reliable farmer database (farm mapping and enumeration), is expected to be completed by the end of October 2022.
Before I resume my seat, I wish to assure all stakeholders that COCOBOD has made available funds, jute sacks and related logistics for the smooth take-off of the 2022/23 Main Crop Season.
The Office of the Vice President has denied media reports that his recent tour of the Northern Region is a subtle campaign.
The Vice President on Sunday began a three-day tour of the Northern Region to inspect ongoing government projects, interact with chiefs and people and commission completed projects.
But many have accused the Vice President of using the tour to campaign in his bid to replace Nana Akufo-Addo as the NPP’s leader in the 2024 election.
Speaking to Citi News, the spokesperson for the Vice President, Dr. Gideon Boako said the Vice President was just engaging with people in his community.
“Some of them are technically not party people, but the fact that he lives within their community, he has a property within their community, and he comes back home after work, they want to visit him and talk to him, and it is quite normal.”
“It is time for him to avail himself to the community for people to come and interact with him,” Mr. Boako said.
President Akufo-Addo says the activities of illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’ pose an existential threat to the country.
The President said the menace is a common enemy all Ghanaians must help defeat.
“The progress of our country depends on all of us, all citizens of Ghana, all fellow Ghanaians pulling together to defeat this existential threat to our future,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo
He made the comments when he addressed the National House of Chiefs on the issue on Wednesday.
At the same meeting, President Akufo-Addo urged the chiefs to take partisanship out of the ‘galamsey’ fight.
According to him, the fight is a national battle and must precede all other interests which he stressed is the only way the fight can be won.
President Akufo-Addo
“There are many things I intend to beg of you during the close door session of our meeting, but one of the most significant which I have to state now is to seek your assistance to take partisan political interest out of the fight against ‘galamsey’.
“It can only succeed if it’s a truly national battle which no one seeks to exploit for political gains as we saw in the last election,” he urged.
Meanwhile, he intimated that neither he nor his government is against mining.
However, what he opposes is irresponsible mining.
“I have said it before. We are not against mining but we cannot accept mining in a manner that risks destroying our country.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo believes the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey can be won if it is not politicized.
He holds the view that until the menace is treated with a nationalistic approach, the fight against it cannot be won.
Speaking at a meeting with the National House of Chiefs, the President bemoaned how all efforts to fight galamsey have failed.
“It is obvious that, if we are to win the fight, you and l have to take the lead to collaborate closely to do so. That is why I am here today. After our meeting, I will also be meeting with the other half of the local government [institutions]-the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives in the ninety metropolitan, municipal, and district areas across the country, where mining activities take place, to seek their active collaboration.”
He also called on the chiefs to support government’s effort in dealing with the menace.
“There are many requests I intend to make of you in the close-door session of our meeting, but one of the most significant, which I have to state now, is to seek your assistance to take partisan political interests out of the fight against galamsey.”
“It can only succeed if it is a truly national battle, which no one seeks to exploit for political gain, as we saw in the last election.”
President Akufo-Addo will have in-camera meeting with the National House of Chiefs over illegal mining activities happening in the country.
The media will not be able to take coverage or provide information on the issues to be discussed by the President and the Chiefs.
The President visited Manhyia in the Ashanti Region today, Wednesday, October 5, 2022, for a conference to find lasting solutions to illegal mining, known in the local parlance as galamsey.
The conference comes at a time when galamsey activities have heightened in the country and many have called on the government to up its game.
“We have not got the results I’ve been looking for. My stands on the issue cost my party and I significant losses in the mining communities. It turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was not reckless. It was a simple truth.
It is obvious that if we are to win the fight, you and I have to take the lead to collaborate closely to do so and that is why I am here today,” he entreated.
Following his meeting with the House of Chiefs, the President will engage the other half of the local government, that is Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Areas where mining activities have been taking place.
Galamsey and those involved
In 2021, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, while delivering a speech at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology during a Regional Consultative Dialogue on Small Scale Mining, said traditional authorities are abreast of individuals engaged in galamsey.
“30% of the people before me know those who dabble in galamsey. If we suppress the truth, we would be having nice works shops like this but it won’t lead us anywhere or end the illegal activity”, he said.
There are reports that government officials are also engaged in the canker, but evidence is yet to be provided.
Galamsey is killing the water bodies
Water bodies, forest reserves, farmlands, and homes have been given up by individuals and communities or encroached by small-scale illegal miners to draw out minerals, particularly gold.
River Ankobra, River Ofin, Afu Afu Stream, River Bonsa, Totoa Stream, Nwui, River Tano, River Bia and Amoya Stream have all been polluted due to galamsey.
The intensity of the pollution varies from river to river and from stream to stream, according to recent reports from JoyNews.
President Nana Akufo-Addois engaging the National House of Chiefs and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to find lasting solutions to the illegal mining activities happening in the country.
The conference is being held at Manhyia in the Ashanti Region, one of the regions worst hit by illegal mining.
Among matters to be discussed is quarterly allowance for chiefs.
This meeting comes at a time when reports have it that some MMDCEs are involved in Illegal mining activities in their jurisdictions
Illegal mining, also known as “galasmey” has deprived many communities of good drinking water and forest vegetation.
On Tuesday, 4 October 2022, Mr. Amoabeng, whose bank also failed during the first term of the Akufo-Addo administration, said to Nana Otu Darko on CTV’s morning program, Dwabre Mu, “I was upset by the fall of Heritage Bank since it was young.”
He said, “The Bank of Ghana had awarded a licence to Heritage Bank and Heritage Bank had not been operating for long so, unlike UT Bank, it had no bad loans or anything and it was a wholly-owned Ghanaian firm that we had to foster to expand.
“Secondly, the owners of Heritage Bank found it fit to appoint a solid board”, he noted, adding: “I mean, the chairman was [Prof] Kwesi Botchwey. When it comes to finance in this country, he is the safest hands you can get; he’s seen it all”.
“As chairman, the board members run the bank, not the owner, so, I don’t know Seidu Agongo – as I told you, I haven’t met him before – but I know Kwesi Botchwey and I know his track record.
“So, if you have a bank that hasn’t got any baggage, it’s fresh and it’s got a board headed by Kwesi Botchwey, then it means its closure was a worse decision than UT Bank”, he further noted.
“As for UT Bank, we owed and they could have bailed [us out] but decided not to bail; that’s an option. That is why I mention that Heritage Bank, for example, was collapsed out of sheer wickedness”, he added.
Mr Amoabeng observed that the “unfortunately thing is the Bank of Ghana is supposed to be independent but I don’t think they were independent with their decision on Heritage Bank because, if they were independent, why do you issue a licence and withdraw it”
“When you were issuing the licence, didn’t you know the owners and the board?” he asked.
“It means they were told to withdraw the licence”, he deducted.
“And it’s not a fair way but it’s another dangerous path that Ghana has taken”, he regretted, noting: “Every institution has been politicised including even the army”.
“And that is why I am saying that for Heritage Bank, the institution that is supposed to be independent of the government, even though in principle, issues a licence and then withdraws that licence when the company hasn’t even done anything wrong”, Mr Amoabeng added.
Mr Amoabeng made similar comments a couple of years ago saying he found it “extremely odd” for the Bank of Ghana to have collapsed Heritage Bank Limited, which had no bad loans on its books and was being run by the “right people” within the industry.
In his view, the revocation of the licence of the Ghanaian-owned bank, whose founder, Mr Seidu Agongo, has always argued was above board, as far as its books were concerned, was not only politically motivated but also “extremely unfair and unfortunate”.
Asked directly by TV3’s Paa Kwesi Asare in an interview on Business Focus: ‘Do you think, as many think, that some of the decision to close down certain banks was politically motivated?’ Mr Amoabeng answered: “A few of them; specifically Heritage Bank”.
“I don’t understand the issue because the Chairman of the Board is Dr Kwesi Botchwey. I have a lot of respect for him when it comes to finance in this country and managing Boards and he will not, in my estimation, ever accept to be Chairman of a bank that is not right and dealing in all sorts of things. I can say that for him”, Mr Amoabeng noted.
“So”, Mr Amoabeng noted: “I find it extremely odd that a bank – and it had not started doing business for it to have bad loans and all those things – and for you to say that the owner didn’t have what it takes [doesn’t meet the fit-and-proper criterion] or however they put it, I mean the owner doesn’t run the bank, he’s a Ghanaian, he’s got the money, he’s appointed the right people to run the bank for him, so, what is the excuse?”
“I find that extremely, extremely unfair”, Mr Amoabeng asserted, adding: “Maybe I don’t have all the facts, but from where I stand, I find it really unfortunate”.
The Bank of Ghana revoked Heritage Bank’s licence on Friday, 4 January 2019 on the basis that Mr Agongo, the majority shareholder, among other things, used proceeds realised from alleged fraudulent contracts he executed for the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), for which he has been facing prosecution together with former COCOBOD CEO Stephen Opuni, for the past four years.
Announcing the withdrawal of the licence, the Governor of the central bank, Dr Ernest Addison, told journalists – when asked if he did not deem the action as premature, since the COCOBOD case was still in court – that: “The issue of Heritage Bank, I wanted to get into the law with you, I don’t know if I should, but we don’t need the court’s decision to take the decisions that we have taken.
“We have to be sure of the sources of capital to license a bank; if we have any doubt, if we feel that it’s suspicious, just on the basis of that, we find that that is not acceptable as capital. We don’t need the court to decide for us whether anybody is ‘fit and proper’, just being involved in a case that involves a criminal procedure makes you not fit and proper”.
However, Mr Agongo responded with a press statement in which he said that the “not fit and proper” tag stamped on him by the central bank was “capricious, arrogant, malicious and in bad faith”.
According to Mr Agongo, “In purportedly making the determination, the central bank obviously had little regard for the time-honoured principle that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction”, adding that: “The fact that I have a case pending before the High Court is a matter of public knowledge but my guilt or innocence is yet to be determined by the Honourable Court”.
“The determination that I am not a fit and proper person to be a significant shareholder of HBL because the central bank suspects the funds are derived from illicit or suspicious contracts with Cocobod is not only calculated to pre-judge the outcome of the criminal proceedings but also violative of the principle of presumption of innocence to which every individual is entitled. Since when has suspicion become a substitute for credible evidence?” Mr Agongo asked.
Also, the erstwhile Prof Botchwey Board issued a statement on the matter in which it said: “Heritage Bank was by the Bank of Ghana’s own admission, a solvent bank. It never received liquidity support from the Bank of Ghana.
“Its corporate governance record had never been impugned by the Bank of Ghana. We believe we have been done a grave injustice and a terrible precedent set that does not bode well for the future”
President Nana Akufo-Addowill be meeting the National House of Chiefs and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to discuss the problem of illegal mining in Ghana.
The meeting will take place later today, Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at Manhyia in the Ashanti Region, one of the regions worst hit by illegal mining.
This follows indications that some MMDCEs are involved in Illegal mining activities in their jurisdictions.
Speaking to Citi News, Chairman for Public Relations for NALAG, Clement Wilkinson says all local authorities must back the government’s effort to fight galamsey.
“All MMDCEs should be careful of giving business operating permits on our water bodies,” he said.
It’s really sad that those NPP politicians, such as Bawumia, Akufo Addo, and Ken Ofori-Atta, who were obsessed with power and tricked Ghanaians into thinking John Mahama was dishonest and unable to lead the country,have now experienced the bitterness of their lies and dishonesty.
The majority of Ghanaians, including many NPP supporters, want Akufo Addo out of office because he has shown himself to be not just a liar and an ineffective leader, but also to be extremely corrupt.
Ghana has reached a critical point where the extreme hardships, high crime, and unemployment rates, along with the nation’s crumbled economy, depressed currency, and pervasive corruption, have taken control of people’s lives and forced many tribal bigots and some NPPsupporters to admit that if they continue to support tribalism, Ghana will never advance to provide better living conditions for the poor.
The wreckage, bloodshed, corruption, and destruction brought about by Akufo Addo and his NPP government, are now visible to the people who were misled into thinking that Mahama was the most dishonest and corrupt leader in Ghana’s political history.
How is it possible that a man who had pledged to make Ghana’s economy the best by protecting the public’s money would rather choose to destroy the country in such a horrible manner, without a solution, and even legalize corruption in the nation?
I’ve been referring to Akufo Addo’s legalization of corruption in Ghana because if one pledges to fight corruption, any politician or judge involved in scandals must be forced to lose their jobs immediately and sentenced to prison.
However, Akufo Addo has chosen to include individuals like Eugene Arhin, Charles Bissue, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, and Paul Adom-Otchere, who were involved in serious corruption scandals, in his government instead. That is how corruption became sanctioned by the government.
Imagine what the late politician Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, well known as Sir John, was able to amass in the shortest amount of time. What does it matter if a person has the whole world but loses his soul?
What will be the advantage of such selfishness, which includes robbing the poor or stealing the public’s money, including COVID funds by transferring into either private or foreign bank accounts? Politicians, judges, and other senior government officials abandon the bible after taking an oath with it and proceed to do contrary to what is written in the holy book.
I firmly believe that many politicians don’t know what is actually written in the Bible that they use to swear the oath before taking office because of their desire and want for power, which the majority of politicians exhibit through their appetite for accumulating a fortune.
If they do, politicians would not lie and cheat in order to defeat rival political parties. The suffering of Akufo Addo and his NPP politicians will never cease because the word of God cannot be ridiculed.
Is it accurate to say things that tend to go around return? My opinion is that if the Bible claims in Proverbs 19:5 that “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape,” then it is very likely that Akufo Addo or the NPP, in general, are receiving the punishment they deserve for lying and saying many things that were false against John Mahama in order to win power. The NPP government has done worse than what was alleged about him.
Akufo Addo failed as a president because he has so many criminals, including judges, journalists, and religious leaders, backing him. More importantly, in spite of the crime and destruction, he has brought upon our beloved country, as well as his indecent relationship with a Ghanaian-Canadian nurse, Serwaa Broni, Ghanaians continue to blame Mahama for the nation’s problems.
Why are they unwilling to criticize the president and why was Mahama treated so badly?
The president has run out of options and solutions and is unsure of what to do as a result of the gloomy and stagnant state of affairs in Ghana. Akufo Addo can’t control what he says since he is an arrogant man. Any wise leader who recognizes his failure must remain silent and work to resolve the issues, instead, the president promised to “ensure the NPP retains power before he leaves office.”
If you are a concerned Ghanaian and consider how the NPP government has destroyed Ghana, including the so-called economist Vice-President Bawumia, beginning with the collapse of the banking institutions, printing new high currencies into an already unstable market, and destroying the livelihood and businesses of thousands of Ghanaians with the implementation of the failed E-Levy, you’ll know that the NPP government has long gone to the opposition.
Therefore, every Ghanaian, regardless of their level of education, should be interested in knowing what the NPP plans to do to maintain that power and prevent it from happening.
If the president, Nana Akufo Addo, says that he would make sure the government remains in place before leaving office, or if any unthinkable NPP politician says that the party will break the 8th cycle, which is inconceivable, it is clear that they are working for a sinister end.
Akufo Addo is not merely a selfish, inexperienced politician; he also lacks empathy, morality, and integrity.
Ghanaians witnessed how he disregarded criticism about the use of expensive jets for international travel. It was already too late when he saw the seriousness of the trouble into which our country had descended. People who formerly vowed never to visit the International Monetary Fund and even criticized John Mahama for doing so are now licking their wounds.
I wasn’t surprised when I read that some of the ignorant NPP politicians, such as Ernest Owusu Bempah, were blaming John Mahama for the NPP’s decision to approach the IMF. What might savvy Ghanaians expect from such a government? A nation’s capability to combat corruption depends on its ability to remove individuals responsible from their positions and bring them before the law.
It’s time for Akufo Addo to acknowledge the fact that he has failed miserably in every endeavor, including his pledge to combat corruption. Including dishonest politicians and media in his cabinet, means he has endorsed corruption.
Such a regime is not what Ghanaians desire. Eugene Arhin and Paul Adom-Otchere should be imprisoned or Akufo Addo should resign; otherwise, the NPP will not receive even one percent of the vote in the 2024 elections, and nothing the corrupt Jean Mensa and Kwasi Anin-Yeboah will do would help the NPP administration succeed.
Source: Ghanaweb
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Okaikwei North, Fuseini Issah, has refuted assertions by some factions in the public that the Akufo-Addo government said it was not going to borrow.
He intimated that neither President Akufo-Addo nor Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia categorically stated that Ghana was never going to borrow money under their watch.
Speaking in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Tuesday, the ex-MP added that there is nothing wrong with borrowing money for development and that even advanced countries, including the US, borrow.
“Nobody said that we were not going to borrow. At no point did we say we were not going to borrow. Aid and borrowing are different.
“Borrowing is part of normal government business. No government on earth does not borrow; it is part of normal governance and normal fiscal policy. Nobody said that we were never going to borrow. It is not written anywhere,” he said.
Also, he said that the current hardships in the country can not be blamed on the Akufo-Addo government.
According to him, the main reasons for the hardship are the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and the mess created by the government of ex-president John Dramani Mahama, which the Akufo-Addo administration is still fixing.
Prior to the 2016 election, Vice President Bawumia said that there was no need for the Mahama government to borrow because Ghana had enough resources.
“I worked at the Bank of Ghana, and so I know that Ghana is rich. It is because the managers of the economy are incompetent, and so all they think of is borrowing. The NPP, if voted in, will harness resources to develop Ghana. I am telling you we can develop Ghana without borrowing, the money is here,” he said.
He has since stated that the statement he made is being misconstrued and that he meant that an NPP government will borrow responsibly.
President Akufo-Addo also, before he came to power, said that Ghana has an abundance of money needed to transform Ghana.
“God has not placed us on this rich land to be poor. Ghana is not a poor country. The money is there in abundance. It’s just a matter of priority,” Akufo-Addo said.
National Youth Organizer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), George Opare Addo, has asked Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to tender his resignation as president of the country.
He holds the view that the president has failed woefully in his fight against illegal mining otherwise known as galamsey.
In two separate Twitter post, Opare Addo who is seeking reelection as National Youth Organizer of NDC observed with concern the state of water bodies which has been polluted by illegal miners.
He suggested that the government ought to be blamed for the state of the water bodies which Nana Akufo-Addo put his presidency on the line to fight the menace.
“State of rivers in GH now. If this doesn’t provoke you as a young person, then I understand why this gov’t takes us for granted. Resist this gov’t before they plunge this nation into a point of no return. Protest and let your voice be heard, protest, don’t defend,” Opare Addo tweeted on October 3.
“You claimed to put your presidency on the line to fight the destruction of our environment, yet failed woefully to combat illegal mining. Where’s the honour? Akufo-Addo must resign if he can’t keep his word to solve simple challenges. Resign now, Mr President,” he added.
Background
The conversation on galamsey resurfaced following the rearrest of Chinese galamsey kingpin Aisha Huang and her accomplices.
She has been remanded into police custody as she faces her prosecution. Again, many civil society organizations have expressed concerns over the heavy pollution of water bodies which has compelled the Ghana Water Company Limited to threaten to shut down mining communities.
Pressure group, Occupy Ghana, has urged President Akufo-Addo to declare a state of emergency in mining areas as the country wage war on illegal activity.
The President, it will be recalled placed his presidency on the line in the galamsey 2017 however many hold the view that the fight has not been a success as a result of the discoloured nature of water bodies and some top officials found complicit in the fight.
Nana Akufo-Addo opines that he paid a political price for his fight as he lost votes and in some cases, NPP MPs were unseated in mining areas.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addohas directed the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) to investigate the circumstances under which some state agencies were cited for infractions in the 2021 Auditor-General’s report.
The President says SIGA must present its report to the Chief of Staff within four weeks.
The President was speaking at a meeting with Board Chairs of State Owned Enterprises.
“I am directing the Director General of SIGA to work with the Auditor General to draw down the causes of the infractions, identify persons responsible, and make the necessary recommendations as prescribed by law,” he said.
The president noted that the current trend of affairs did not reflect well on the various enterprises.
“It is a clear indication of poor supervision and management, as well as poor enforcement of implementation and sanctions of the needed measures.”
The President thus charged the board chairs to ponder over why Specified Entities were not faring well whilst their counterparts in the private sector were thriving in the same sectors and making gains.
“I charge you to change the narrative. I look forward to a better picture when we meet next year by this time,” he said, encouraging the entities to trade amongst themselves to increase production and patronage of domestic products and services.
Pressure group, OccupyGhana has asked President Akufo-Addo to immediately declare a state of emergency in all mining areas in the country.
To them, this will help the President and his government streamline mining activities in the country.
In a press release issued on Monday, it urged President Akufo-Addo to seek advice from the Council of State before publishing a Gazette on same.
“We, therefore, request that you take immediate steps towards declaring a state of emergency in every mining area in Ghana.
The release from OccupyGhana
“In accordance with article 31(1) of the Constitution, these steps would be, first, seeking and obtaining the advice of the Council of State and, second, publishing a Proclamation of the declaration in the Gazette,” the group urged.
Meanwhile, it has also asked Parliament to be recalled from its vacation for it to pass the state of emergency.
“Thereafter we expect Parliament to be recalled from its vacation, for the government to place before it the facts and circumstances leading to the declaration of the state of emergency under article 31(2).
“Considering the gravity of the situation, we fully expect Parliament to agree with the government and provide that the state of emergency should remain for such period as Parliament may determine so that the government can get a grasp of the situation,” the release added.
This call has been supported by the Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil.
According to him, this is the best solution to the matter now.
“The current vision of government for the Kwadaso College of Agriculture is to upgrade the institution into an agricultural university, with collaborative support from the prestigious Mendel University of the Czech Republic.
“And here, I want to recognise in our midst the presence of our compatriot, Professor Samuel Darkwa, a lecturer and representative of the Mendel University, at this occasion. Professor, I have been apprised of your tireless efforts to help bring about the desired transformation of Kwadaso College, for which we are grateful.”
These were the words of the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Friday, 30th September 2022, at the centenary celebration of the Kwadaso Agricultural College, in Kwadaso, in the Ashanti Region.
With the Kwadaso College established in 1922 to help maintain the then Gold Coast’s enviable position of being the leading producer of cocoa in the world, the President noted that the College has, since, evolved into a centre of excellence, with increased capacity for training.
According to President Akufo-Addo, “the Kwadaso College of Agriculture can, to date, boast of having trained some one hundred thousand (100,000) young people as agricultural assistants, who have since been absorbed by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Local Government Service, Ghana Cocoa Board, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, as well as the private sector, over the years.”
Having produced a significant number of graduates, who have moved on to leadership positions in industry, academia, civil society and entrepreneurship, he noted that “the record of the College in contributing to the human resource development of this country is testament to its strength”.
One hundred (100) years after the establishment of the College, the President stated that the time is ripe to reposition the institution to harness its full potential, and that is why the decision has been taken to upgrade Kwadaso Agricultural College into an agricultural university, with collaborative support from the prestigious Mendel University of the Czech Republic.
“It is my understanding that the agricultural university will take care of the academic and professional development of our human resource for the agricultural sector. If successful, the plan will include establishing satellite campuses in Ejura and Wenchi Agricultural Colleges,” he said.
The President continued, “The reason why the establishment of this University, dedicated to agriculture, excites me very much is because we will produce the requisite numbers of human resource to support research, impart knowledge and provide leadership in the sector.”
Stressing the need for the country to scale up consciously the number of middle level professionals who provide hands-on support in the sector, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the fact that the Kwadaso College of Agriculture, and, indeed, other colleges, are already laying the foundation for developing such category of human resource, as some graduates of these institutions have begun benefiting from training in Government’s greenhouse internship programme in Ghana and Israel.
“The trainees at such centres are prepared for entrepreneurship by being equipped with academic knowledge and practical skills in greenhouse technology. Once established, the transformed agricultural university and other colleges will serve as incubators for the development of more agricultural professionals in the country,” he said.
The President, therefore, pledged the continuing support of Government to make the upgrade of the College into a University a reality, and charged the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to step-up efforts, and strengthen the partnership and collaboration with the Mendel University to realise this vision.
“The collaboration between the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Mendel University exemplifies the wisdom of collaborating to make our institutions very valuable to our developmental efforts. I am confident that this celebration will ignite that spirit of togetherness and make this a reality,” he added.
The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party, Richard Ahiagbah, has bemoaned how external factors like the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have impeded the current administration’s development agenda.
He thinks it will be unfair to assess government’s performance without taking these factors into consideration.
“If we are having a conversation between 2017 and 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, no one would have predicted that we will someday find ourselves in this economy, considering the growth trajectory we were on.”
“In the three years of our first four-year term, we were growing. And then in the fourth year, something happened. Our situation can be likened to a student, who had impressive grades in the first three years, and then fell sick in the final year, which affected his punctuality, and ultimately his academic performance in the final year. Would we say he was a bad student?”
“This is the exact situation we, the NPP, find ourselves in. People are prejudiced in having this conversation. We need to compare our records with that of the NDC, and make a fair judgement.”
He further accused some policy analysts of not being completely transparent to Ghanaians, but “picking and choosing the numbers or the parochial interests.”
This, he believes, accounts for the negative perception most Ghanaians have of the government.
“When the economy was picked up in 2016, they knew where the numbers were, but they are silent on it. Even now, we have posted first and second-quarter growth, but nobody is willing to talk about it, all they do is political advocacy and go around saying everything is bad. That is problematic, that, unfortunately, is what we have to contend with.”
The NPP Director of Communications is however hopeful that government will revive the economy despite all the challenges.
Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wireko-Brobby, has revealed that President Akufo-Addo’s flagship programmes have created over 5.3 million jobs for the Ghanaian people.
Delivering a speech at this year’s Ghana Job Fair dubbed “Green Edition” in Tamale, the Hemang Lower Denkyira MP noted that “these jobs are either formal or informal, permanent or temporary and full-time or part-time.”
According to him, government initiatives such as the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), Youth Employment Programme, One-District-One-Factory Initiative, and the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme, are what have contributed primarily to the over 5.3 million jobs.
This feat, Mr Wireko-Brobby described as unprecedented and the first in the history of the Fourth Republic.
The Deputy Minister’s assertion comes at a time when Ghana is witnessing a dramatic increase in unemployment rate.
Despite the government’s initiative to solve the devastating unemployment rate in the country, the labour force that is without work as of 2020 was 4.65%, a 0.34% increase from 2019.
Ghana’s unemployment rate in 2022 was 4.70%, a 0.05% increase from 2020.
In the second quarter of 2022, the Annual Household and Expenditure Survey (AHIES), under the Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa Project, revealed that the unemployment rate rose from 13.4 percent to 13.9 percent (1.8 million people).
Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Anim, revealed that at the end of June this year, about 850,000 people who had jobs at the beginning of the year lost their jobs. Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations has maintained that the government is committed to investing in programmes and creating more opportunities, especially for the youth, to have adequate income security.
He touted that, as part of efforts to create jobs and equal opportunities, his outfit has created an enabling environment for all relevant stakeholders to foster linkages and build synergies for job creation.
“As a responsible government, we would continue to roll out more programmes and interventions to give hope to the teeming youth who hitherto were in a state of despair.
He further added that ”the newly introduced YouStart initiative would also complement existing programmes to create more decent opportunities for the youth.”
Although the government has said it is committed to addressing youth unemployment, it failed to sustain its NABCO programme, which enrolled 100,000 graduates.
The programme which commenced in 2017 was brought to an end on September 1, 2022, after government faced challenges with paying allowances to trainees of the programme.
Bernard Allotey Jacobs has charged the leadership and members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to protect the President of the Republic, Akufo-Addo, at all costs.
The former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Central Regional Chairman was alarmed at the embarrassment that the president had to endure at the Global Citizen Festival held in Accra on Saturday, 24th September, 2022.
The President was booed by a section of the crowd gathered at the event while addressing them.
The disgruntled patrons could be heard chanting ‘away’ to elicit their disapproval of the President’s presence during the concert which was televised on national screens and via YouTube to an audience across the globe.
Expressing his resentments over the patrons’ conduct, Allotey Jacobs accused the opposition NDC of orchestrating the move.
As a veteran in politics, he strongly believed the NDC stationed some people within the crowd to hoot at the president and also mobilized bloggers to blog it so as to create an impression that Nana Addo is unpopular with the masses.
“You would realize that some bloggers have been organized behind the scene just to take pictures and then make noise about and that is propaganda,” he told Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s morning show “Kokrokoo”.
Allotey also took a swipe at the rank and file of the NPP for failing to avert the incident.
“Your leader is always your leader. You should ensure any path he charts is clear. What he (President) said was full of wisdom and hope . . . They should be conscious of themselves that though it’s left with two years for the President to end his tenure, once he is the leader of the party, he needs the protection of every party member. For the party, your leader is more important than anything else,” he advised the ruling party.
A Political Scientist, Dr Richard Amoako Baah is worried about the extent of damage the Akufo-Addo government will cause before exiting the office.
According to him, “every single day this man remains the President, the country is in peril.”
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Dr Baah said the President is incapable of running the affairs of the country that would transform the lives of its people.
“We set our system up to fail. Everything is at the pleasure of the President. So if we are not lucky and he is incapable as we’ve seen in this government this is what is going to happen.
“You advise him, but he doesn’t listen so there is nothing for you to do but to watch him. I supported him wholeheartedly now I have seen the result and I can’t say otherwise,” he stated.
Dr Baah, therefore, called for a new constitution that would reinstate checks and balances in the governance of the country.
“We need to write a new constitution, this one cannot be amended, it is broken. Write it with inbuilt checks and balances. Take some powers away from a particular arm of government,” he stated.
Failed New Patriotic Parliamentary aspirant for Kpone Katamanso, Hopeson Adorye has accused three leading members of the opposition National Democratic Congress of orchestrating the public booing of President Akufo-Addo.
President Akufo-Addo while presenting an address at the Global Citizen Festival held in Ghana on Saturday, September 24, 2022, was booed by some patrons of the event.
While trumpeting the accusation by the ruling New Patriotic Party that the incident was orchestrated by the NDC, Hopeson Adorye has gone on to name three officials of the party as the brains behind the booing.
In an interview with Okay FM, Hopeson Adorye alleged that the Editor of the Herald Newspaper, Larry Dogbey, Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini and NDC Communication Team Member on Creative Arts, Baba Sadiq were the masterminds behind the booing incident.
According to him, the three recruited seventy-five boys from Fadama and paid them GH¢120 to boo at the president.
He noted that the plot was masterminded after Baba Sadiq being an entertainment industry player picked up information that the president will be at the festival.
“Because Sadiq of 3 Music Awards is an industry player and has a connection with the lead organizers, when he heard it, he and Larry Dogbe and Suhuyini met at a particular place to plan.”
“They contracted 75 boys from Fadama and paid each one of them GH¢120. The videos trending is a testament to it. It was from one particular shot,” Hopeson Adorye alleged.
However, Baba Sadiq and Larry Dogbe who were both named by Hopeson Adorye as accomplices to the plot have both denied the allegation.
“Obviously, this can come from somebody who is not well in the brain. For a person to actually say this is what Sadiq will engage in; I am above that. I am above these things. I will never engage in such things. It’s a lie,” Baba Sadiq in a reaction on Okay FM said.
He noted that the allegation was a deliberate attempt to run him down.
“We have people who practice very bad politics and they will stop at nothing to destroy people they think are hardworking, people that are above them, people that have shown and proven that the things they do, they cannot do the littlest of it,” the CEO of 3Music said.
Hopeson Adorye who was adamant about Baba Sadiq’s response alluded that he has voice recordings of a meeting between the plotters of the hooting.
However, Baba Sadiq emphasised that he is yet to meet Alhassan Suhuyini in the entire year and has never met Larry Dogbey before.
He dared Hopeson Adorye to produce the supposed voice recording noting that he is waiting on the advice of his lawyers to decide on his next line of action.
Founder and leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG)Percival Kofi Akpaloo, has expressed doubts about the leadership skills of Agriculture Minister Owusu Afriyie Akoto in charge of the nation’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs program.
He argued the sector ministerhas run out of ideas to add any progress to the development of the agricultural sector.
“There was a major problem with the prices of the raw materials, especially maize and soybean. Maize, for instance, went up by 100%, and then wheat and soybean all went up,” he said.
“Why must we import frozen chicken and maize while we can grow some in Ghana? President Akufo-Addo has to relieve him of his post, “Kofi Akpaloo exclusively told Accra-based Angel FM.
He further revealed that the Minister for Agriculture had disobeyed the president’s directives to save the local poultry industry.
President Akufo-Addo has often touted the progress of the planting for food and jobs programme, alluding to the feat it has achieved.
This, he said, is a complete misapplication of the subsidies.
Leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Dr Amoako Baah, says President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo begged Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to reconsider a decision to resign from office.
Dr Amoako Baah, speaking in an interview with Joy FM, noted that President Akufo-Addo is insisting on the finance minister keeping his job because they were relatives.
“If the finance minister was not a relative of the president, he himself would have resigned. I hear he tried to resign actually; the president begged him not to. All because the president needs him. Whatever it is he was doing, he is the one who understood what he was doing. He was the one who made it work, and so the president needs him no matter what. This situation we are in is not like other times. This is a peculiar situation of family and friends,” he stated.
There are calls for Mr Ofori-Atta to be relieved of his position, with some critics citing the current economic challenges facing the country.
The decision by the government to enter an International Monetary Fund programme despite its earlier position against the IMF has also been cited by several critics of the finance minister.
Dr Amoako Baah, in the interview, described Mr Ofori-Atta leading Ghana’s IMF negotiations as counterfeit logic.
“How is it possible that the very person that is trumpeting the idea that we are not going to the IMF, we have the means to make it work, we don’t need to go to the IMF, we are a proud nation and all of that. Then we end up at the IMF and suddenly this same person is the one who has become the champion of dealing with the IMF. How is that possible?” he questioned.
Dr Amoako Baah, who is a senior political science lecturer, called the minister’s integrity into question, saying, “This is what is called counterfeit logic; it has no integrity nor whatsoever.”
Another musician, Fuse ODG, has issued a statement saying his legal team is in contact with the authority for using his video for the promotional video in question without his approval. While the mystery surrounding the Ghana Tourism Authority’s use of Kirani Ayat’s video without the musician’s consent has yet to be clarified.
“As a company, we feel that the last few days have exposed an issue in Ghana that goes beyond the office of the President: The lack of respect and understanding of intellectual property.
“We have sanctioned works in the past for government use,most notably, our 2018 record “Bra Fie” ft Damian Marley, which was used as the theme song for the Year of Return; which we launched via our TINA festival alongside the President,” parts of the statement issued on September 29, 2022, read.
While sympathising with Kirani Ayat, Fuse ODG and his New Africa Nation in the press statement said the government has made mistakes “in this situation, but hopefully, they can simply hold their hand up and take corrective action to compensate accordingly.
“Going forward, the solution must be to invest in more education around intellectual property. This is something the ministry can do both internally and for the creative sector as a whole. Ghana has always been an influential voice in music globally and a lot more can be done to support artists from an early stage.
“In the meantime, our legal teams are in discussion with the ministry and their legal team in order to resolve this issue.”
Kirani Ayat in a tweet accused President Akufo-Addo of using excerpts of his music video ‘GUDA’ for a promotional ad.
“The president of Ghana has used my video ‘GUDA’ in this ad to promote Ghana. I was actively reaching out to the Ministry of Tourism in 2018/19 to use this video to push tourism in the North and got NO reply, yet today it’s in an ad and no one reached out to me for permission,” he shared on September 28, 2022.
The Ghana Tourism Authority in response said contrary to the claim by the musician, the footage was acquired legitimately through an agency and has been using it since 2019.
“For the record, the footage in question was acquired legitimately from a bespoke creative agency as part of a project in 2019.
“This video has thus been played severally locally and internationally without any issue. The content was used in accordance with the terms agreed with the agency and not as being alleged,” the GTA statement read.
Agency responds
The agency at the center of Kirani Ayat and the Ghana Tourism Authority, GTA, feud, Samsal, has denied ever granting permission to the Authority to use the promotional video it produced with some part of the musician’s video.
In a September 28, 2022 statement, the agency explainedthat it entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GTA to promote Digital Wrist Band – a wrist band that granted access to highly sought-after events slated for the Christmas season – to tourists and foreigners.
Per the MoU, the agency said GTA was to give it the needed support in terms of finances and logistics in order to produce video content to market Ghana to the world in that regard.
Consequently, Samsal said it put together a video reel (mood board) for the GTA that included parts of Ayat’s ‘GUDA’ video to demonstrate the vision it had for videos it intended to subsequently create for the campaign.
It stated emphatically that it did grant GTA the permission to share the mood board whiles also categorically denying that the video put out by the Authority and president was not the very one it had created.
Leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Dr Amoako Baah, has claimed that President Akufo-Addo pleaded with Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to rescind a decision to resign from office.
In an interview with Joy FM, Dr Amoako Baah argued that President Akufo-Addo is insisting on the finance minister keeping his job because he is his relative.
“If the finance minister was not a relative of the president, he himself would have resigned. I hear he tried to resign actually; the president begged him not to. All because the president needs him. Whatever it is he was doing, he is the one who understood what he was doing. He was the one who made it work, and so the president needs him no matter what. This situation we are in is not like other times. This is a peculiar situation of family and friends,” he stated.
There are calls for Mr Ofori-Atta to be relieved of his position, with some critics citing the current economic challenges facing the country.
The decision by the government to enter an International Monetary Fund programme despite its earlier position against the IMF has also been cited by several critics of the finance minister.
Dr Amoako Baah, in the interview, described Mr Ofori-Atta leading Ghana’s IMF negotiations as counterfeit logic.
“How is it possible that the very person that is trumpeting the idea that we are not going to the IMF, we have the means to make it work, we don’t need to go to the IMF, we are a proud nation and all of that. Then we end up at the IMF and suddenly this same person is the one who has become the champion of dealing with the IMF. How is that possible?” he questioned.
Dr Amoako Baah, who is a senior political science lecturer, called the minister’s integrity into question, saying, “This is what is called counterfeit logic; it has no integrity nor whatsoever.”
Former New Patriotic Party parliamentary candidate for Kpone Katamanso, Hopeson Adorye, has alleged that people who booed President Akufo-Addo at the recently held Global Citizen Festival were paid an amount of GH₵120 by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Speaking in an interview with Accra-based Okay FM on September 28, Adorye alleged that the NDC through the Chief Executive Officer of 3 Music Awards, Baba Sadiq, Larry Dogbe and one Suhuyini organized seventy-five Fadama boys to stage the incident.
He opined that the booing was orchestrated by the NDC as a result of the one-sided video from the incident even though ‘all the bloggers in Ghana were present and streamed live’.
He mentioned that the president was not originally billed to be at the event but was able to make it because he had arrived a day earlier from the 77th United Nations General Assembly.
Baba Sadiq, he alleged was the mastermind having picked up information from organizers of the event that the president was going to be present.
“Per the information I had, it was the Trade or the Tourism Minister who was supposed to be at the festival to address the attendees.
“But the fact that the president attended one in South Africa and requested that if it comes to Ghana, he will be happy. It was going to Nigeria.
“One of the two ministers was supposed to come because of President Akufo-Addo’s UN engagement. But fortunately, the president was able to arrive before the day of the event.
“They had conversations with him and it was agreed that he will come. Because Sadiq of 3 Music Awards is an industry player and has a connection with the lead organizers, when he heard it, he and Larry Dogbe and Suhuyini met at a particular place to plan.
“They contracted 75 boys from Fadama and paid each one of them GH¢120. The videos trending is testament to it. It was from one particular shot,” Hopeson Adorye said.
President Akufo-Addo was among high-profile dignitaries who graced the Global Citizen Festival which took place at the Black Star Square in Accra on September 24.
When it was his turn to deliver a short presentation, a section of the crowd began to chant and clap ‘away, away….’.
The president remained calm and delivered his speech. Deputy Communications Officer of the New Patriotic Party Ernest Owusu Bempah has in a statement accused the opposition National Democratic Congress as orchestrating the plot to embarrass the president.
However, the NDC has rejected the accusation insisting that the booing was only an indication of the frustrations of Ghanaians.
