Month: June 2011

The Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, Ambrose Dery has said contrary to promises by the Mills administration to raise seed capital for work to begin on the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority [SADA], government owes the Authority GH¢ 500 million.

SADA is a government policy project aimed at bridging the North-South divide by creating employment opportunities in the poverty endemic regions of the country, particularly the three northern regions.

Speaking on Multi TV’s political talk show Minority Caucus, the Deputy Minority Leader who is also the Member of Parliament for Lawra-Nandom said even though the current NDC government had promised to start the SADA project with seed capital of GH¢ 200 million with an additional GH¢ 100 million to be generated “every year for the next 20 years; on that score alone, they owe the SADA account GH¢ 500 million.”

According to Mr. Dery, “contrary to the urgency that [the NDC] declared in their manifesto, they didn’t pass the SADA law until the middle of last year and since then, they’ve only given GH¢ 25 million and they’ve spent it to look like they’ve done what they were supposed to do which is not true.”

He noted that as far back as 1954, the “Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition came up with an idea for a Northern Development Fund and a Northern Development Authority. At the time that we went for the polls in December 2008, President Kufuor had already passed the Northern Development Fund Act and based on that the NPP in its manifesto said in 100 days it was going to establish a Northern Development Authority.

“We had worked and I remember at the session, Dr. Osafo Marfo and others calculating the amount of money needed to kick start this affirmative action and we came up with one billion dollars which was going to be raised on the open market. Then the NDC entered with its propaganda and talked about SADA, that they were going to take immediate and urgent action” he added.

The Lawra- Nandom MP described as fabrications, figures being quoted recently as funds realised for the construction of roads in the country.

“They went ahead two days ago to come out with fabrication that they’ve raised over 300 million dollars and 400 million dollars for roads and what have you, [only to make a quick u-turn to apologise],” he stated.

He said the NDC “should know that a lot of work has to be done before even that one matures and we’re in the third year of their four year term. Are they giving up? No, they still want to spin to tell people that they are delivering and that the Better Ghana agenda is on course.”

Source: /Multi TV/Ghana

A politician and media owner is contesting the call for a law to debar politicians from owning media houses.

Kennedy Agyapong insists the call is misplaced, urging rather, for stiffer regulations to whip unethical media houses in line.

The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa Prof. Kwame Karikari is waging a crusade to have politicians stripped of their rights to own media houses in Ghana.

He said in developing countries where the majority of politicians are not too sophisticated, they are likely to exploit their media outlets for their own parochial means and at whatever cost.

He contended the politicians use their media outlets as propaganda tools and sometimes engage in hate speeches and comments which could prove suicidal for the country.

Prof Karikari cited conflicts in Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria where the media was used as tools to fester ethnic tensions, chaos and violence.

“The problem is the media is becoming tools of partisan politics. That is where the danger is,” he told Joy News.

Asked if politicians could be banned from owning media houses in the country, the Prof responded in the affirmative but said it will not be without difficult challenges.

He said it is the politicians who enact laws in the country and will be difficult asking them to promulgate a new law which will prevent them from owning and running media outlets.

He said it is only a strong civil action that will instigate the passage of such a law in the country.

Prof Karikari hoped the new Broadcasting Bill which is yet to be passed into law will curtail some of the challenges.

But the Member of Parliament for Assin North, Kennedy Agyapong who owns Net2 TV, and Oman FM told Joy News the professor’s argument is flawed.

He explained politicians own just a fraction of media outlets in Ghana and could not necessarily be blamed for the excesses in the media.

He argued newspapers which are mostly owned by business men and not politicians are worse off in peddling sensational materials and mostly set the agenda which is picked by the radio and TV stations.

Mr. Agyapong argued the solution lies in getting real professionals to man the various media outlets as well as a strong guideline for media practice in Ghana.

Source: Myjoyonline.com

The campaign coordinator for the Nana Konadu for 2012 campaign team, Michael Teye-Nyaunu, has strongly condemned President Mills for declaring himself the winner of the upcoming flagbearership contest of the NDC for the election 2012.

With less than fifteen days to go for the flagbearership contest, President Mills on Wednesday June 22 told Municipal, Metropolitan and District Chiefs Executives at a conference that he has already won the contest and urged them not to worry.

Hon Teye-Nyaunu in an interview with Citi News described the president’s comment as premature and unfortunate.

According to him, none of the candidates can claim to have won even before the contest takes place in Sunyani from July 8-10.

The Lower Manya MP reiterated his earlier claim that President Mills is being misled by those around him as well as his supporters and advised him to brace himself for a drubbing in the Sunyani contest.

“I wonder how he (President Mills)could say that (he had already won). You see, this is why I say that the people around him are not telling the man the truth. He is talking based on the report that they brought to him and I pity him because nobody goes into a fight thinking he is going to lose but in this case he has already lost and for him to come out with that statement, it is premature. Because the responses we are receiving do not tell us that he has won or it is a done deal.

“They (Mills campaign team) have done enough by influencing delegates with money and motorbikes and adopting tactics that are unfair but all these things notwithstanding Nana Konadu is going to win and I think that is it premature for him to declare that he has won”

Meanwhile, Nana Konadu is touring parts of the Eastern Region to campaign ahead of the July congress. Hon Teye-Nyaunu said the response from the delegates indicates President Mills will be given a serious run for his money.

By: Citifmonline.com

Ms Samia Nkrumah, MP for Jomoro and daughter of Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, has picked up nomination forms to contest the chairmanship position of the Convention People’s Party.

She was at the party’s headquarters in Accra Monday afternoon accompanied by members of her campaign team.

“We need a drastic change, a reformation, a revitilisation within the CPP to some of our core principles that made our party great and strong.

“We need to speak now. We have a very low presence on the ground. So we need to go back to our core principles of connecting closely with the grassroots,” she told Joy News Nana Agyei Essuman.

She described as unacceptable, the current political situation in which only one to two per cent of the country’s population vote for the CPP during national elections.

“This situation is unacceptable for a party that ushered modern Ghana into being; that led, spearheaded our independence movement.”

Samia Nkrumah is optimistic she will be voted as chairman of the CPP after congress, saying she has already tested the ground and it is really fertile for her.

Source: Joy News

The NPP Member of Parliament for Bosomtwi, Simon Osei Mensah, has cautioned the state owned Daily Graphic Newspaper against allowing itself to be used to churn out propaganda from the government.

According to the MP, the national daily is gradually building an image for being a conduit to through which the ruling government publishes factually inaccurate stories intended to paint a good image about the government.

The Daily Graphic Newspaper has in recent times come under fierce criticisms from a section of the public who have found everything wrong with the state newspaper continually being employed to do the bidding of the government.

The MP, cites several instances where the paper has been used to prop up the image of President Mills and his government including the supposed acclaiming of President Mills by the U.N Secretary General Ban Ki Moon as the best President in Ghana which turned out not to be the case as reported.

Just yesterday Monday 20th June, the paper published on its front page that the government has secured an amount of $400 million loan facility brokered by the Vice President John Mahama with the World Bank to finance four major projects across the country, a good news which was hailed by supporters of the ruling party but later turned out to be factually inaccurate, causing the spokesperson of the Vice President John Jinapor to issue a release to clarify and set the records straight.

Speaking on Oman FM, the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwi, Simon Osei Mensah condemned the gradual trend of the Graphic Newspaper being used as a mouth piece of the ruling government.

He said the paper has gained credibility over the many years since its establishment and it was important that the managers of the paper took immediate measures to preserve the hard earned credibility.

“I find it difficult to understand why all the propaganda stories about the NDC government end up on the front pages of the paper, and incidentally they always turn out to be false, what is the government’s motive for doing this, he asked?

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

The Communication Director of the Akufo-Addo for 2012 Campaign has stated that the recent tour of Europe by the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was to offer the party leader an opportunity to meet and interact with registered party members across Europe.

Nana Akomea says Nana Akufo-Addo’s trip to Europe coincided with the biennial NPP International conference of party members who reside in Europe and America where registered party members come together to deliberate on future strategies.

“The NPP has about 30,000 registered members in Europe and in the Americas – we call them the overseas branches. The numbers are quite large – 30,000 – and their input into the party in terms of support has been very considerable so we even have given them representation at our national council,” Mr Akomea said.

Nana Akufo-Addo was in Europe last week to interact with Ghanaians, especially NPP sympathisers as part of his presidential campaign.

There have been questions as to whether the NPP flagbearer was focusing on the wrong people who may not have the opportunity to vote in the General elections in 2012.

But the Member of Parliament for Okai Koi South who was speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Tuesday said, the trip was part of efforts to reflect on past errors of the party and rebuilding the NPP as the party looks forward to recapturing power from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government in 2012.

He said Akufo-Addo’s interaction with “this very important constituent of the NPP” was to re-examine some of the reasons why the party lost the elections, put in place measures to address the deficiencies and then launch a campaign towards recapturing power from the NDC.

Responding to whether Akufo-Addo was not wasting his time addressing a small number of people when the large chunk of the supporters are in Ghana, Nana Akomea stated that this was just the beginning of such engagements.

“As for the programmes that will show a certain path, all of us will see it and I am sure when the time comes and the programmes are rolled out and put into the manifesto, Ghanaians will be excited about the new thinking and will go along with the party,” he explained.

He said it was necessary for the flagbearer to engage Ghanaians abroad because they are all potential voters who can make a difference if they decide to come down to exercise their franchise.

Nana Akomea hinted that the party was now getting ready to put together its 2012 manifesto.

He also revealed that “there are various teams putting together the new thinking that will go into the NPP manifesto; new thinking that we believe will be able to transform this country in ten years or so if Ghanaians buy into it.”

Source: Joy News

Northerners have been advised to resist cheap and selfish politicians who ride on their problems at the expense of development and peace in the area.

The youth have particularly been called upon to be wary of such persons who place them at the forefront of violence while they relax and enjoy life with their families.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, Kennedy Agyapong who gave the advice noted that young men and women who are not family members of such ill-conceived politicians are always influenced into perpetrating violence.

The outspoken legislator who was reacting to his contributions to growth of the region on Diamond Fm in Tamale re-echoed the need for the youth not to allow themselves be indoctrinated into violence.

He added that in the final analysis, the victims stand to gain nothing after being pushed into pursuing fruitless ventures like the burning down of houses and being caught on the wrong side of the law.

He accused politicians of failing Ghanaians indicating that a number of them had capitalized on the vulnerability of the country’s youth to their own advantage.

Mr. Agyapong whose contributions to Muslim communities had earned him the name Sheik Osman in Islamic circles said he was committed to devoting his entire life to fighting poverty and illiteracy. “Islam is not about violence but stands for truth and development,” he remarked.

It in the light of this he has donated GH¢10,000 to youth from both the Andani and Abudu ethnic groups who contacted him and expressed an interest in going into farming.

He added that his generosity to such groups were not borne out of any political interest but a part of his desire to see youth in the region develop well regardless of their political persuasion.

The Assin North MP criticized his colleague MPs from the north for failing to consolidate his efforts in demystifying the notion that the region was a haven for violence and under development calling for more concerted efforts. “They should give themselves a self critique on issues that are drawing back the fortunes of the north,” he said.

He promised the youth an additional GH¢100,000 and a new tractor if they put the little they had received to proper use hinting of plans to put up a rice mill in the region to help farmers.

According to him, he will monitor operations of the youth to ensure that they become useful to themselves and their dependants and serve as role models to others in propagating peace.

The northern region he emphasized was dear to his heart saying he had numerous projects in store for the area including catering for suspected witches and their dependants in the near future.

He said he still could not come to terms with how hundreds of poor women and their dependants could be torn away from their families and placed in witch camps assuring them of his support in due course.

Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) has observed that even though quality education was a fundamental human right, it remained a distant dream for many children in the world.

Making the observation in address read on her behalf at this year’s Day of the African Child celebration in Tema on Thursday, Mrs Azumah-Mensah who is also the Memeber of Parliament for Ho East pointed out that the single greatest stumbling block to the achievement of quality education for children in the world was poverty.

The Day of the African Child has become an important annual calendar event for African Union member states to reflect, sensitise and strategise on current issues affecting the welfare and development of children on the Continent.

The Day also seeks to draw the attention of all actors involve in improving the conditions of African children, and to unite their efforts to improve their living conditions.

This year’s celebration which marks the 21st anniversary of the Day had: “Address the Rural-Urban Education Challenges of Our time The Role of Stakeholders,” as its theme.

The MOWAC Minister said in many rural communities on the African Continent where poverty was endemic a lot of children were not enrolled in school.

She expressed regret that some of the enrolled children ended up terminating or abandoning their education when they faced financial difficulties.

Mrs Azumah-Mensah was of the view that quality education was not only about enrolment, but also about retention and completion.

She said since the implementation of the Ghana’s educational reform programme in 1987 considerable efforts have been made by successive governments to improve access to education for all children.

She charged stakeholders in education to collectively provide teaching and learning materials for schools to ensure that children were given the chance to excel.

The Minister reminded stakeholders of their over-riding role to ensure that all children in the country had access to quality education.

Mrs Georgina Asare, Tema Metro Officer at the Department of Social Welfare in charge of Child Rights Promotion and Protection, underscored the need to develop the human potential of the nation by starting from the child.

Mrs Asare expressed regret that the number of irresponsible parents within the metropolis kept rising day-by-day.

She therefore called for financial and logistic support, to enable the Department to execute its numerous education programmes on the responsibilities of parents towards their children.

Ms Kafui Amegah, Climate Change Ambassador of the Environmental Health Club, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called for clean environment in schools to promote good health for children.

Mr Frank Ebo Mensah, Project Director of the Positive Mindset International, an NGO urged government to provide the citizenry with the basic social amenities.

Mr Mensah also stressed the need for parents to inculcate right attitudes in their wards in order for them to grow into responsible adults.

Two NGOs, Abibiman Foundation and the International Day of the African Child and Youth – Ghana Coalition jointly put together the activities for the occasion.

GNA