Month: August 2011

The Minister of Information and Member of Parliament for Talensi, John Akologo Tia has dismissed calls for the scrapping of the Information Ministry and condemned critics for calling for its closure.

According to him, those critics have been wrongly briefed about the work of the ministry and that has informed their erroneous view of the workings of the ministry.

Several persons including Professor Emmanuel Gyimah Boadi of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) and former Zebilla MP John Ndebugri are among critics who have described the Information Ministry as unnecessary and is only being used to churn out propaganda for the ruling government.

Professor Gyimah Boadi recently stated that due to the increase of mass media, he was certain that the Ministry has lost its significance, and must be abolished.

However, reacting to the criticism at a press conference in the Upper East Region on Thursday August 11, Information Minister John Tia strongly defended his Ministry, saying the Ministry cannot be scrapped since it is one of the most important Ministries to the government.

“I call such critics the greedy and least amongst us. When you say there are radio stations everywhere and the newspapers everywhere, as for the radio maybe because of the local dialect people can talk and leave it there but the newspapers: how easily accessible are they?

“What is worrisome to me since the changeover of Government is that it appears that what was right yesterday is wrong today. I just don’t understand that. Those who are calling for this are definitely members of the NPP. CDD and all those organizations never called for the scrapping of the Ministry of Information.

“Today they describe the Ministry of Information as a propaganda wing of the government, therefore it must go. They should wait, when they have their turn they can scrap it”.

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

Communication Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Akomea should have no fears of losing his job since the Flag bearer of the party; Nana Akufo Addo has no intentions of sanctioning him.

Scores of Ghanaians since the weekend have been calling for the sack of Nana Akomea for using abusive language on radio when he engaged the Deputy Minister of Tourism, James Agyenim Boateng in a political discussion.

The two were part of a panel discussion on JOY FM’s News File Programme which discussed the tape that allegedly contains the voice of a deputy Information Minister Baba Jamal heard promising some journalists car and cash as reward for doing government’s request. Government has been quick to dismiss the content of the tape describing.

Nana Akomea in his opening remarks had called for a voice expert to confirm whose voice it was on that tape, but the Deputy Tourism Minister James Agyenim Boateng held a dissenting view that an expert was not needed and that the comments of Nana Akomea had betrayed his intelligence.

Nana Akomea did not take those comments lightly and urged James Agyenim Boateng to retract and when he failed Nana Akomea told him he was a “stupid fool” to question his intelligence.

A section of the public condemned Nana Akomea for his unusual harsh words and called on Nana Akufo Addo to sack him as the Communication Director of the NPP.

But in an interview, Nana Akufo Addo condemned the politics of insults called for a political discourse that allows people to share their point of view without personalizing issues.

He however said he had no reasons to dismiss him, as per his briefing on the matter, he’s been made to understand that Nana Akomea was rather the victim and not the aggressor.

He added that the party’s constitution and structure does not lie in his power to sack Nana Akomea who was chosen by the entire party hierarchy.

Story : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Jomoro, Samia Yaba Nkrumah, has made history by being the first woman to chair a political party in Ghana.

She was elected over the weekend at the Convention People’s Party (CPP) congress held at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre in Accra.

Samia polled 1151 votes to beat three other contestants including the incumbent chairman, Ladi Nylander who could only manage 353 votes.

Former chairman of the party, Prof. Edmund Delle had 332 votes with Madam Bentsi-Enchill polling only 10 votes.

Samia Nkrumah, since joing the CPP barely five years ago, has ensured some level of rejuvination among the CPP youth who she has continued to encourage to take active roles in the party which has not made any serious impact in the last few elections held in the country.

She now faces a huge challenge in leading the CPP into victory in the 2012 elections while also working hard to retain her parliamentary seat.

Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

Mr Clement Kofi Humado, Minister for Youth and Sports and MP for Anlo, has said that instilling discipline in the youth was important for nation building.

He said it was important for all stakeholders to create a congenial environment that would help in dealing with the concerns of the youth in a structured environment.

Mr Humado said this on Tuesday at the National Cadet Leadership Training Camp in Takoradi.

He said the development of the youth was important adding that “we need not only deal with their disciplinary issues but also their behavioural and emotional concerns”.

The aim of the training camp was to teach and encourage Ghanaian youth to develop values such as patriotism, respect, discipline and self-reliance.

Mr Humado said the training programme was important as it would broaden the horizons of the youth and help them to become responsible adults.

He said it was important for the youth to be informed and armed with the necessary decision-making skills in order to deal with peer pressure and other negative influences.

He said government through his Ministry recently launched a programme for the establishment of 30 volunteer work camps in all the ten regions of the country.

GNA

NDC Member of Parliament for Adenta Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Hon. Kojo Adu- Asare, says it will be best if communicators for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) stay at home and stop appearing as studio guests on radio and television as he foresees them in opposition, “for so…so long”.

Assessing the current political strategy adapted by the NPP, the NDC Adenta MP accused the opposition of unnecessarily raising red flags over every noble government intention, yet, their untiring efforts over the last couple of months to level spurious allegations at the NDC all in a bid to paint the ruling party black, has contributed no scintilla of positivity to the nation.

“They are quick to raise red herrings any time they hear about development projects…In the last month, point to me one significant thing Ghanaians can stand on, for which reason they would want to vote the NDC out, and replace them with the NPP?” he rhetorically asked.

He pooh-poohed the recent “all hands on deck” and “listening campaign” tours embarked on by flagbearer of the NPP saying it all ended up with Nana Addo “eating yam and garden egg stew”.

“Things are not going on well in the NPP and they are hanging on straws to survive,” he added.

Speaking on Asempa FM, the Adenta MP who is noted for his affable disposition, stressed that the NDC will never let up on the linkage between the NPP and drugs, and maintained that the country was turned into a “drugs coast” under their regime.

“Whether you jump to the skies, swim in the waters, use the undergrounds… we will talk about drugs. If you show your heads during the impending campaign, we will give it to you, because that is what was flawed with your government,” he said.

He further stated that the NPP is so frustrated that they have turned their exasperations on Deputy Minister for Information, Baba Jamal, framing him up with some hogwash story about government’s attempt to bribe journalists.

Source: Peacefmonline.com

The Member of Parliament for Okaikoi North, Elizabeth Sackey says the ongoing violence in the United Kingdom (UK) may have dire economic consequences on many Ghanaians.

According to her a lot of Ghanaians depend on their family members who are based in the United Kingdom for remittance for their survival, and the continuing violence which has affected economic activities will impact negatively on them.

The United Kingdom capital of London has been engulfed in violence since last Saturday with a lot of youth looting shops and several houses being torched resulting in chaos in the city known for its calm and orderliness .

The violence and looting has been attributed to harsh economic policies that have made life difficult for some residents of the United Kingdom.

The unrest has spread to cities including Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham, with shops being looted and set alight, with about six people losing their lives in the process.

Contributing to a discussion on e.tv’s BREAKFAST TV show, the Member of Parliament for Okaikoi North, Elizabeth Sackey who condemned the violence urges government to take a cue from the ongoing unrest in the UK and desist from introducing economic policies that may worsen the already harsh economic conditions under which Ghanaians live.

She adds that it is the responsibility of every government to ensure the improvement of the welfare of the people by implementing policies and programmes that will make live comfortable for them.

By: Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Assin North, Kennedy Agyepong has served notice that if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) assumes power in 2013, the Acting National Coordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) Abugu Pele will be tried in court for causing financial loss to the state.

He says huge funds from the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) an institution which is not financially sound, have been used to pay journalist to do government bidding to ensure the ruling NDC government retains power.

The opposition NPP last week held a press conference, where the party gave a list of 15 journalists, some with their account numbers attached, of persons said to be journalists on a special payroll of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) in order to cover the monthly allowances to be paid them for their defence of the Mills-Mahama NDC government, especially in the run up to the 2012 general elections.

The party also produced as evidence, one of the said appointment letters dated 16th May 2011, in the name of Abdulai Issaka for internship at Metro TV, Upper East. The internship was to begin on 1st June 2011 to 1st June, 2013, which was signed by Abuga Pele, Acting National Coordinator.

Speaking on Oman FM’s ‘Boiling Point’ programme on Tuesday, the Member of Parliament for Assin North, Kennedy Agyepong stated that there is enough evidence to corroborate the NPP’s claim that NYEP funds have been misappropriated.

“The NDC’s shady deals of wanting to bribe journalists have been uncovered and we need to hold them accountable for their stewardship and this we must ensure is done’’ he said fumed.

He asserted that the voice on the tape which sort to woe journalist and is purported to be that of a Deputy Minister of Information Baba Jamal is indeed his, and there is no need for him to deny it since the NPP has in its possession some other voices of Baba Jamal when he embarked on a national tour which contains comments that implicate him much further.

By : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh