Month: September 2011

The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mr. Doe Adjaho, has called on the Akatsi District Assembly to set up a fund to cater for financially disadvantaged but brilliant students from the area.

Mr Adjaho who was addressing the Second Ordinary Session of the District Assembly said he had personally paid school fees for many students for a long time, adding: “I am getting tired, find a way of institutionalising the (assistance of our) children. ”

He noted that the Assembly could catch up with other districts in the country by starting the education fund.

Mr Doe Adjaho said the Ghana Education Trust Fund is constructing six class room blocks for some schools in the district, while GH 89,000 was made available for the supply of furniture for primary and junior high schools.

He disclosed that government had allocated GH 4. 2 million for the construction of all Akatsi town roads and drainages.

He noted that a number of towns and villages in the area have been hooked unto the National Electricity Grid, adding that government has allocated $90 million for the electrification of the entire Volta Region.

Mr Adjaho said the Dining Hall and the Girls Dormitory of Akatsi Secondary Technical Senior High School have been upgraded, while building of the boys’ dormitory is under consideration.

He said funding for Akatsi Ziofe and Metsrikasa roads, which should have been part of a $1. 8 billion loan package, had met some hitches and expressed the hope that government would find alternative sources to raise funds for the project.

SOURCE: GNA

A former Attorney General under the Kufuor led administration has rubbished calls for his prosecution over alleged damning publication in the leaked US diplomatic cable wikileaks.

A pressure group calling itself the Forum for Governance and Justice is leading the crusade for the prosecution of Joe Ghartey for allegedly covering up on cases of judicial corruption and narcotics.

The group quoted portions of the wikileaks publication in which the then US Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater said: “it is unclear why Boakye was not charged, but some contacts have suggested that Boakye may have some incriminating information on other individuals, causing the Attorney-General (Joe Ghartey) not to prosecute him.”

She was commenting on the infamous MV Benjamin narcotics tape recording.

The group also made reference to another tape recording in which a circuit court judge in the Ashanti Region was alleged to be demanding monetary rewards for favourable verdicts, an issue which also found its way into the wikileaks.

The group on the evidence of those two issues cited Joe Ghartey for official cover up and dereliction of duty.

They claim the ex-Justice Minister failed to bring the perpetrators to book in spite of the convincing evidence at hand and must be brought to justice.

But Joe Ghartey maintains such calls are borne out of mischief or ignorance of the facts.

In a statement, the ex-Justice Minister admitted meeting the US Ambassador to Ghana to seek support in authenticating the originality of the two tape recordings and to facilitate prosecution.

“The meeting which referred to the judges was at my instance and the purpose was to get technical expertise for voice authentication as part of general international cooperation to fight crime. The technical expertise was to be paid for by the Government of Ghana. At the time there were two matters that were being investigated which had recordings of some voices as very material evidence. Ghana did not have the capacity to undertake the kind of voice authentication that we required. One matter involved a judge and the other narcotics,” he stated.

In a subsequent interview with Joy News Joe Ghartey dismissed the assertion that he failed to conduct due diligence on the matter.

He said his outfit ordered the arrest of the alleged corrupt judge and begun investigations into the matter but the judge died before any prosecution at all could take place.

On the infamous cocaine saga, Ghartey stated that the AG’s office could only prosecute based on evidence available before it.

On that evidence, it was only possible to secure a verdict against two drug barons- Kwabena Amaning, alias Tagor and Alhaji Issah Abass which he did, and not against Kofi Boakye who was then the former Director General of Police Operations.

He said the Mills administration lost an appeal by the two drug barons but has not, as yet, proceeded to the Supreme Court to overturn the Appeal Court’s decision.

But he welcomed the decision by president John Mills to re-open investigations into the case and hopefully bring Kofi Boakye to book.

But one of the spokespersons of the Forum for Governance Dr. Clement Apaak said whilst the explanation of Joe Ghartey “makes sense he would not accept it in its entirety.”

He said it is disingenuous on the part of Joe Ghartey not to have prosecuted Kofi Boakye during his tenure as Justice Minister and is now calling on the NDC to do so.

Source: Joy News

Dadekotopon Member of Parliament Nii Amasah Namoale has presented 210 sets of wooden furniture valued at GH¢20,000 to the Rangoon Camp 2 basic school as part of efforts to make education a topmost priority in his constituency.

They are meant for a Junior High School (JHS) block Nii Namoale built for the school with funds from the MP’s portion of the the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) at a cost of GH¢58,749.34 early this year.

Nii Namoale, presenting them on Friday, stressed his resolve to encourage every parent in the constituency to appreciate the need to educate their wards as well as see to see it as their rights and responsibilities which should not be compromise in any way.

He said when every child of school going age went to school; parents and society would begin to see the immense impact that education would have on the society and people lives.

He also announced plans he had initiated to construct another three storey school block on the school’s compound to serve as a community Senior High School for qualified JHS certificate holders, who normally might not get admission in their schools of choice because of lower pass grades.

Mrs Comfort Mary Nyoagbe, Headmistress of the School and representatives from the Ghana Prison Service, jointly received the furniture on behalf of the school.

Mrs Nyoagbe expressed a profound gratitude to the MP, saying the MP, (who is also the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in-charge of Fisheries), had furnished all the classrooms in the school from one to six, besides today’s presentation for the JHS block.

“Thank you very much. We are all grateful and we will continue to pray for you in all that you do and hopes to achieve,” she said.

Superintendent Peter Afari Minta, Officer Incharge of Inmates Education of the Prison Service, on behalf of the Director-General of the Service thanked the MP for the donation, indicating any support to education was a worthy cause that should always be encouraged.

GNA

The Member of Parliament for the Ahafo Ano constituency, Stephen Balado Manu says the mad rush by some serving Ministers of State to annex parliamentary seats currently occupied by members of the ruling National Democratic Congress [NDC] is questionable.

According to him, the battle to unseat the incumbent MPs is fiercest in the Volta region adding that the battle is borne out of self interest.

Speaking on Adom TV’s BADWAM program on Multi TV, Mr. Balado Manu explained that some Ministers of State are fighting for Parliamentary seats because “they have successfully destroyed Mills and the NDC party and so are very much aware that they will lose power in 2012 and so they are looking for safer appointments. Considering the fact that the MP’s tenure is safer, they would want to grab that while they can”.

He added that “it is so obvious to the Ministers themselves that they do not merit another four year term and so the best way is to find a better way to abandon Mills in 2012 when the NDC suffers probably one of its biggest defeats”.

The Ahafo Ano MP also raised concerns over the proposed biometric registration system to be adopted for the registration of voters for the 2012 elections.

“A biometric voting system without verification is more corrupt than any kind of voting system” he noted adding that the system to be used by the Electoral Commission is not clear enough to ensure a free and fair election.

He said the verification of the biometric system is necessary to avert any form of electoral violence.

But the NDC’s Central regional Director of Communications, Ben Allotey Jacobs who was also on the show disagreed with the NPP MP indicating that the NPP has a hidden agenda to cause confusion during the upcoming elections.

According to him, “the NPP knowing very well that their Nana Addo was never going to become a President of this nation are quietly planning an attack.”

The NPP after their defeat in 2008, Mr. Allotey Jacobs recounted “started calling for a biometric system, so what has gone wrong” he asked.

“They asked for a biometric voting system and they have been given, so what exactly is the problem? NPP is preparing itself for electoral violence in the face of an electoral defeat at the expense of one person” he argued.

He said “it is clear and evident that they (NPP) the champions of the biometric [system] are now adding specifications to the system because of an agenda”.

He thus called on the NPP to allow the Electoral Commission to do its work.

A leading member of the New Patriotic Party and Member of Parliament for the Subin constituency, Hon. Isaac Osei has urged Ghanaians to entrust the reins of the country into the hands of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who he says, is capable of managing the country better.

According to him, the ruling NDC government has failed in creating an enabling environment for young people and local businesses to thrive.

He said that since the NDC took over power in 2009, the Mills-Mahama administration has not been able to fulfill the numerous promises it made to Ghanaians, prior to the 2008 elections.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show with host, Bernard Avle, Thursday September 15, the onetime Presidential aspirant of the NPP, said that the policy statement made by Nana Addo at the Liberty lecture will contribute to national development.

On 31st August, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo delivered the NPP’s policy statement, outlining what a new NPP administration under his leadership would institute to transform the country’s education, health, economy and other sectors.

Nana Addo delivering the statement which is expected to form the nucleus for the Party’s manifesto for the 2012 general elections, pledged to transform the Educational Sector and offer more opportunities to Ghanaians in the nation’s development under his tenure as President.

Members of the opposition NDC have condemned the Nana Addo’s policy statement labeling it as a statement full of contradictions.

However, Hon. Isaac Osei says a new NPP government would ensure that every single promise made by the NPP flagbearer is executed before the end of its tenure.

Hon. Isaac Osei also touched on the latest Wikileaks exposé saying that the US diplomats did nothing wrong in relaying information gathered from officials in Ghana.

The former Chief Executive of the COCOBOD also decried the current spate of insults that has engulfed the Ghanaian political scene, calling for an end to the distasteful behavior to what he says, ruins the culture of politics.

He also rubbished allegations that NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo is a drug addict, describing it as shameful. He noted that Nana Addo has never used drugs in his entire life and called on people who make such allegations to provide evidence.

He called on President Mills and Nana Addo to caution their members and bring an end to the rate of the insulting behavior that is creeping into the political terrain.

citifmonline.com

The Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has bemoaned the manner in which Ghanaians have used contents of the United States of America leaked cables to unnecessarily attack one another.

According to him, “Ghanaians as we are noted for our unity as a people and our ability to accommodate divergent views must not allow ourselves to be divided by the wikileaks exposures, which are secret documents not meant for the consumption of the public.

For about a month, the local media has been inundated with stories from the leaked cables most of which included conversation by senior government and public officials with U.S diplomats which among other centered on the personalities of leading politicians, sometimes even discussing their health statuses.

Contributing to a discussion on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show, Inusah Fuseini, called for the seizure of “hostilities’’ especially among the two leading political parties the NDC and NPP, as discussions on President Attah Mills and Nana Akufo Addo is doing no good to the country.

“The partisan nature of wikileaks discussions must stopped, we are tearing ourselves apart, our respected politicians including President Attah Mills and Nana Akufo Addo are being drugged in the mud , this must stop’’ he said.

Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Gomoa West, Mr Francis Kojo Arthur has assured his constituents that government would do its best to honour its obligations towards the education of the Ghanaian child.

He therefore appealed to parents to reciprocate by paying attention to the educational pursuit of their children to make government’s investments worthwhile.

Mr Arthur gave the assurance when he and the District Chief Executive, Mr Theophilus Aidoo-Mensah visited a number of schools in the area to welcome newly enrolled children to kindergarten and primary class one.

He appealed to teachers to refrain from using industrial action as a means to resolve their problems and rather resort to dialogue.

The new entrants were presented with uniforms, confectionery and plastic cups to make their first day at school memorable.

The two officials used the opportunity to inaugurate a four-unit block for Gomoa Akyemfo District Assembly Junior High School.

The GH¢31,000 block was financed with the district’s share of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund.

Mr Faithful Forson, Headmaster of the school commended the government for putting up the building, which he said is one of the important aspects of the delivery of quality education and the attraction of teachers and pupils.

Nana Aba Kaadze IV, Queenmother appealed to the Assembly to provide a Day Care Centre for the town, help in the completion of a primary school block and facilitate the rehabilitation of the town roads.

Mr Aidoo-Mensah expressed concern about what he described as the “false propaganda” the political opponents of the ruling National Democratic Congress are spreading in the mass media.

Nana Kobena Abbam, Ebusuapanyin of Nsona Clan, who chaired the function, urged radio stations to be circumspect about public interactive programmes such as phone-in calls, which could disturb the peace of the nation.

He appealed to the government to address the perennial water problem facing the area.

GNA