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Tag: John Agyekum Kufuor

  • Dont lose touch with grassroots Kufuor advises NPP

    The former President, John Agyekum Kufuor, has advised the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) not to detach itself from the grassroots since doing so will destroy the democratic tradition of the party.

    He challenged them to uphold the tradition and not abandon it.

    The former president gave the advice in a goodwill message to the NPP at its National Delegates Conference held in Kumasi on December 19, 2021, and also urged the leadership to ensure reconciliation among the rank and file of the party.

    “With peace, unity, dedication, determination, and committed fellowship, the party and the government’s attractiveness will be urgently restored and deepened to sustain the government towards the year 2024,” he stated.

    Former President Kufuor urged the party headquarters to urgently equip itself with a professional strategic team to ensure its opponents did not outsmart the party in the current battle of wits to break the eight-year political party rule.

    He encouraged all party faithful, well-wishers and sympathisers to resolve “unshakably” to uphold and live by the tenets of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition of constitutionalism, democracy, the rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights, freedom of thought and expression in development and private initiative.

    “The golden rule of ‘each is our brother’s keeper’ must undergird these tenets, supporters, and members of the party must pray for God’s guidance and protection for the government in discharging its responsibility to the nation,” former President Kufuor implored.

    2024 will be about 16 years the former President Kufuor and former Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama ceased to be the face of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his running mate, Dr Muhammadu Bawumia, became the face of the party.

    After 16 years, many members of the great Osono Party think it is time to hit the refresh button and present a new and fresh countenance of the party to the people of Ghana.

    Others think that changing for a new face may accentuate the propaganda that the elephant party adores and places only Akans as presidential candidates. 

    But, for many, it is about winning elections and breaking the eight than merely satisfying a narrative of making a Northerner or Upper Region member a presidential candidate at all cost.

    In the face of this reality, the party needs a candidate capable of uniting members and leading it to deliver electoral victory bearing in mind how Ghanaians no longer trust politicians and political parties.

    This is why a combination of factors needs consideration to anoint a new face that brings not just refreshing hope to the people but, more importantly, can deliver reliable leadership to the party and nation.

    Reliable leadership is the most important factor because the 2024 elections are about who the people can trust more; who is more credible and trustworthy to win the people’s hearts.

    “What the party has always been concerned about is who is capable of winning the next election than where one comes from. The prevailing dynamics of Ghana’s politics, the credibility of individual presidential aspirants and what the people generally are looking for in the next presidential candidates, are thus the deciding factors,” Former General Secretary of the party, Nana Ohene Ntow, observed after the Kumasi conference.

    Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh

  • Former Mayor of Accra under Kufuor passes on

    A former Mayor of Accra under the John Agyekum Kufuor era, Solomon Ofei Darko, has died. 

    This was announced by his son, Nii Doodu Darko, who confirmed the news to GhanaWeb over a phone call. 

    “Hon Solomon Ofei Darko, the former mayor of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly has passed on after a short illness at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital on 31st December, 2021,” the statement said.

    The late former Mayor served under the Kufour-administration from 2000 through 2003.

    The family is yet to announce details of his final funeral rites. 

    Profile

    Solomon Ofei Darko was born on 26th January 1936 and died at the age of 86 years. Prior to his appointment as the Mayor, he had been the Environmental Programme Coordinator at the Borough of Hackney, London, UK. 

    Upon his return to Ghana in 1994, he joined Comptran Engineering and Planning Associates as a Programme Coordinator. 

    Hon Ofei Darko was also a past President of the Ghana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA).

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • All Ghanaians must be part of census – Kufuor

    Ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor has described the ongoing enumeration exercises as very important as it will help provide accurate statistics for national development.

    He has, therefore, urged all citizens to get involved and be counted, saying, the Population and Housing Census transcended all tribal, gender and religious persuasions.

    “Knowing the number of a population is not new, it is an ancient thing occurring even in the Bible where Mary and Joseph went to their hometown to be counted and that was when Jesus Christ was born,” he said.

    Ex-President Kufuor said this at his residence at Peduase in the Akwapim South District of the Eastern Region, when officials of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) went to get him and his household enumerated.

    He said every good citizen must avail him or herself to be counted to be able to assert his/her right and demand accountability from government.

    “To assert your right, you must be counted,” he said, adding that the nation must know the size of its population to facilitate governance and for the equitable distribution of social services.

    The ex-President cautioned people to properly check the identities of the census officials before allowing them into their homes to ensure their safety.

    Professor Robert Darko Osei, a National Field Monitor, who is also a Board Member of the GSS, led the team to enumerate the Ex-President and his household.

    He said the census, which was done periodically, would enable planning and projections with respect to the population to enhance the living conditions of the people.

    He urged the public to provide accurate answers to the questions with the assurance that all information collected would be treated as confidential.

    Source: GNA

  • Kasoa ritual murder: Stop giving exposure to fraudsters Kufuor tells media houses

    Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has charged the media not to give their platforms to fraudulent people and tricksters who make vain promises.

    His comments follow the recent murder of a 10-year-old boy by two of his friends at Coca-Cola near the Great Lamptey Mills School, a suburb of Kasoa in the Central Region, all in the name of making quick money.

    He indicated that the two suspects, alleged minors, who are aged 16 and 17, were victims of people who have been paying attention to fraudulent TV personalities.

    “How could young people do this? What do they know? Unfortunately, [the] media […] are giving so much exposure to tricksters and fraudulent people, promising everything. When you look at them you should know that these are people who are themselves just bad and ignorant. That is not the way for our society to go,” Kufuor told Joy Prime in an interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Tuesday.

    Kufuor further urged media houses to cut out content and people that could “defraud the society”.

    He admonished: “We need to do that, [the] media and, of course, the authorities too should come up and tackle all these people who are now virtually hijacking the airwaves with vain promises and trickery. They should be eradicated….”

    According to the Police, one of the suspects confessed that a spiritualist, whom they had discovered on television agreed to help them become instant billionaires if they would provide a human being and a sum of GH¢5,000.

    The two, per the police charge sheet, admitted that they killed the 10-year-old Ishmael by hitting his neck with a club.

    This was after luring him into an uncompleted building under the guise of selling him a video game at Lamptey Mills, a suburb of Kasoa in the Central Region.

    This development has incensed a large segment of the Ghanaian society who are calling for an end to the appearance of spiritualists and Mallams on television who promise unreasonable get-rich-quick avenues for the unsuspecting youth.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Rawlings death: Kufuor, Mahama, others to sign book of condolence on Monday State Protocol

    The State Protocol Department has scheduled former presidents John Agyekum Kufuor, John Dramani Mahama to sign the book of condolence opened in memory of the late President Jerry John Rawlings on Monday, November 16.

    The two former heads of state are expected at the Accra International Conference Centre where the book will be open between 10:15am and 10.45am.

    This will be after The Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament Aaron Mike Oquaye; the Chief Justice His Lordship Anin Yeboah; members of the Judicial Committee; as well as Justices of the Supreme Court have signed between 9.00am and 10.10am.

    According to a release by Nana Enoch Osei-Mensah, the Head of Protocol at the Office of the Vice President and Moderator of the signing of the book of condolence, details of the signing of the book will be available at the foyer of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on November 16 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

    The schedule, according to the statement, is necessary “due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

    The statement comes after the controversy surrounding why John Mahama and the NDC leadership were prevented from signing the book.

    On Friday, November 13, prior to his signing of the book, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the NDC General Secretary claimed that the book of condolence was taken away to deliberately prevent the NDC flagbearer from signing it.

    “We were at the residence of the family to offer our condolences,” Johnson Asiedu Nketia told journalists, Asiedu Nketiah told reporters. “The maternal family from Anlo was represented, the nuclear family as well. We were led by our flagbearer. Upon arrival, we were informed that the book of condolence had been taken to the [Accra International] Conference Centre, so we should go there.

    He continued: “By the time we reached there, the state officials had locked up the [Accra] International Conference Centre, taking the book away. When we enquired, we were told that they had been directed to prevent Mr. Mahama from signing.”

    Read below the full statement from the State Protocol Department.




    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Flashback: EC must not be a power onto itself – Kufuor

    In 2013, former President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor, advised the Electoral Commission from spearheading the electoral reforms.

    John Agyekum Kufuor made this comment after the Electoral Commission asked political parties to present their ideas geared towards electoral reforms in the country ahead of the 2016 general elections.

    Addressing the media at an IEA post-Supreme Court Verdict lecturer in Accra, Kufuor said: “You cannot arrogate yourself, you cannot correct yourself easily; the Electoral Commission is not power onto itself.”

    “The EC is an organ of an institution to the people and so cannot jumpstart the process of asking parties to send in proposals for reforms.”

    Read the full story originally published on August 26, 2018 on GhanaWeb

    Former President Kufuor has lashed out at the Electoral Commission for asking for proposals from political parties geared towards electoral reforms.

    According to him, even though the EC must be involved in the reform process, it must not arrogate the power of spearheading the reforms onto itself.

    The former president made this known to the media at an IEA post Supreme Court Verdict Lecture in Accra.

    He argued, “You cannot arrogate yourself, you cannot correct yourself easily; the electoral commission is not power onto itself. The EC is an organ of institution to the people and so cannot jumpstart the process of asking parties to send in proposals for reforms”

    President Kufuor said he expected political parties, academia, to come forward with ideas on reformation of the electoral processes without an invitation from the EC.

    Former President of South Africa, W.F. de-Clerk, who also spoke at the lecture suggested that a commission of enquiry be set up on what reforms are needed.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Its not good enough to appoint ministers from parliament Kufuor

    Former President John Agyekum Kufuor says the provision in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana that allows the elected President to appoint half of his ministers from Parliament is not good enough.

    According to him, the nature of governance and power provides that there is a checks and balance system which allows the three arms of government to have an oversight responsibility over each other.

    “The executive has his hands full, formulating policies, getting approval from Parliament, implementing and hold the entire society to live together in law and order. So why should a minister, who is part of the executive, be also saddled with the job of overseeing the work of the executive?” he quizzed.

    The former President told Kwaku Sakyi-Addo on rhis week’s edition of his Sunday Night programme that, when this happens, it gives room for contradictions with the Constitutions.

    “I am truly for strict separation of powers. So, that bit of the Constitution if I have my way, I will amend it to have the executive on one side, legislature the other side,” he said.

    J.A. Kufuor noted that his preference of a Constitution for Ghana would be the 1979 Constitution which gave room for strict separation of powers.

    He said the local governance system in Ghana, however, gives room for the electorate to demand accountability and transparency.

    “The slogan for a proper local governance system is from cradle to grave,” he said.

    He added that the Central government has always been too far from the ordinary people living in the hinterlands, so the MCE or DCE should be able to be elected by the people within the District or the Metropolitan Assemblies with Assembly Members becoming the legislature for the Assemblies.

    Mr Kufuor however believes that the Central government should have a say in the selection process of the MMDCEs.

    He indicated that within the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, the people know where one belongs to therefore one cannot become an MMDCE when your party is not in power.

    “We should do away with that hypocrisy and let the parties work. If the majority of the locality is for party A, let them do it but the Central government influence should be there to ensure that government has a say and wherever government is sending revenues to empower locality to run efficiently, then such government should have the right to demand accountability of the local governance,” he said.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Former President Kufuor, wife in isolation over coronavirus

    Information from a credible source suggests that former President John Agyekum Kufuor and his wife  Theresa Kufuor have gone into isolation after coming in contact with a Coronavirus victim.

    According to our source the former went into Isolation today, June, 5, 2020.

    This comes after President Akufo-Addo elected to go into self-isolation after “at least one person within his close circle tested positive for Covid-19.”

    A statement signed by Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Information Minister said on the advice of doctors, the president is from “July 4, 2020, taking a 14-day precautionary self-isolation measure in compliance with Covid-19 protocols.”

     

    mor coming soon

  • Akufo-Addo, Bawumia ticket dazzling — Kufuor

    Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has lauded the achievements of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in their first term in office.

    The successes, he said, had been reinforced by the telepathic relationship between the two gentlemen and, therefore, urged Ghanaians not to allow pettiness to divert their focus from the vision and the course that was being charted by the current administration.

    Speaking at the extraordinary meeting of the National Council of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Accra last Saturday, the former President said the current leadership did not talk but rather did the work.

    He said it was very difficult for political leadership to combine such vision and articulation as President Akufo-Addo and his vice had done and added that their partnership was appreciated by both the grass roots and those in higher authority.

    Extraordinary meeting

    The meeting was in two parts. The first session was a consultation with the council while the second session witnessed the acclamation of the flag- bearer of the party and the nomination and endorsement of his running mate.

    The former President was of the belief that the current leadership of the NPP would lead the party to victory to bring Ghana the transformation the citizens yearned for.

    “It is very difficult for political leadership to combine such vision and articulation as the two of them do. I always say our party is destined to lead in the transformation of the country and the party keeps on giving the leadership that will do the work for Ghana, and it is a typical example even in the midst of COVID-19.”

    Another mandate

    Mr Kufuor said “even though he did not subscribe to perfection by humans, the affairs by any leader who could achieve something like 70 and 80 per cent was almost like a saint.”

    That, he said, was what the current leadership of the NPP and Ghana had been working towards to realise.

    He was, therefore, hopeful that the people of Ghana would give President Akufo-Addo the mandate again to continue with the work that he started so ably.

    Party ideology

    Former President Kufuor who expressed admiration for the manner in which Vice-President Bawumia articulated the inclusive social interventions said that was the vision and the philosophy the nation aspired for.

    “People ask whether this party is leftist or socialist; we are not, but I tell you we respect capitalism with conscience. Capitalism that is human and this is why we fix the safety net below which we do not allow any human to fall under and that is the leadership we have today. This is what the two of them articulate so competently in all their term of office and within three and half years see what they have already achieved,” he told the gathering.

    Presidential ticket

    The General Secretary of the NPP, Mr John Boadu, who formally announced the candidature of President Akufo-Addo and his running mate for the December 2020 presidential election, said: “ Let me present to you the presidential ticket you are familiar with; we present to you the tried and tested ticket, we present to you the Akufo-Addo -Bawumia ticket. The ticket with an impeccable track record in terms of delivering its social contract with the Ghanaian electorate.”

    He said it was the ticket that promised and delivered and one which all Ghanaians could trust without hesitation, adding that from the qualities and exceptional consistency exhibited by President Akufo-Addo and the confidence he had reposed in Dr Bawumia, it was clear that he had an exceptional quality which the entire party must acknowledge.

    “Now the name Bawumia is a household name, the name when he does not even speak creates more problems for our opponents. When he speaks, that is worse for them. I can say without any shred of doubt that Dr Bawumia is one of the most successful Vice-Presidents of our country in all time,” Mr Boadu said.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Beautiful throwback photo of J.A. Kufour and wife Theresa pops up; stirs massive excitement

    The beautiful throwback photo comes as the prominent pair prepare to celebrate almost six decades of marriage.

    Former president John Agyekum Kufour and the First Lady at the time looked much younger with unblemished hues and lovely dark skin tones.

    While details of when and where the awe-inspiring image was captured was not highlighted, it is rapidly gaining traction online.

    In the photo which is being circulated on social media, then Theresa Mensah, donned a simple V-shaped attire while Kufour rocked his long-sleeve attire with style.

    The photo has already erupted some interesting remarks about the duo who have been married for nearly 60 decades.

    Jonathan Adjani admitted that: ”Theressa was very pretty at her youthful age.”

    ”God bless them…am blown,” he added.

    Ewurabena Agyepong said: ”Oh wow, madam Theresah was really beautiful.”

    ”Wow, beautiful couple then and now,”Maame Sarko wrote.

    Daniel Ampem was of the view that they are his ”inspirational couple”

    ”I love Kufour and his wife. They inspire me,” he said.

    Recently, YEN.com.gh reported that new photos of former president John Agyekum Kufuor and his wife, Theresa, have been shared online.

    The pair are set to mark their 58th marriage anniversary in 2020.

    In the photos online, former president Kufour and the former First Lady, Theresa, posed beside each other.

    The former president wore a colourful smock over a pair of jeans as he covered his hand around his wife’s neck.

    The duo glowed with lovely smiles.

    Theresa Kufour wore simple but gorgeous tie & dye fabric and accessorised her looks with small earrings and a gold necklace.

    Source: yen.com.gh