Month: August 2012

The Deputy Central Regional Minister, Mr Aquinas Tawiah Quansah has advised churches to encourage their members to go into politics.

“In fact churches must support members to go into politics to change perceptions people have about politics,” the Deputy Minister made the call at a Youth Fellowship Conference at the Mankessim Estate Methodist Church at Mankessim on Friday.

He said Christians must go into politics to enact laws, which could promote the work of Christ.

Mr Quansah, who is the Member of Parliament for Mfantseman West, said “the dirty game” tag labeled politics would forever remain if Christians did not go into it and changed things which made people to perceive it as dirty.

The Deputy Minister advised politicians to purge themselves from the use of indecent language and personal vilifications to attract more noble and prominent people from going into politics.

“Politics must not be regarded as “do or die” affairs over which people must fight or even kill their opponents”, the MP stressed.

He appealed to Ghanaians not to make politics to divide them but to pray for politicians to do what was right and just at all times.

Mr Quansah appealed to politicians to stop pulling down their opponents in attempt to secure projects for their people but rather to pray for them to succeed in their efforts.

Mr Henry Kweku Hayfron, Mfantseman Municipal Chief Executive, appealed to Christians to set good examples for others to emulate.

He urged them to protect the environment as it had been said “cleanliness is next to Godliness”.

The MCE advised the youth to guard against the peace in the country and not allow any politician to use them to disturb the peace before, during and after December elections.

GNA

NDC members on the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament are accusing the chairman of the Committee of taking arbitrary decisions.

Member of Parliament for Yape, Amadu Seidu said Kan-Dapaah cannot arrogate powers onto himself by asking the Inspector General of Police to have embattled business man Alfred Woyome arrested and dragged before the committee without consulting committee members.

The committee had summoned Woyome to appear before it after he refused to appear on a previous invitation.

The Committee Chairman, Kan-Dapaah, Thursday vowed to have the IGP drag Alfred Woyome before the committee.

But the NDC member of the Committee said the committee chair cannot take that decision on the spare of the moment.

Amadu Seidu said he was expecting the Chairman to call a meeting of members to decide what line of action to take after Woyome failed to appear for the third time, even in the face of a subpoena.

“The chairman is not the committee, the committee is not the chairman,” he swore.

Alfred Woyome is being prosecuted for causing financial loss to the state in a controversial 51 million cedis judgement debt paid him in 2010 by the government of Ghana.

He refused to appear before the committee with the explanation that the matter is being heard at the courts.

Meanwhile, one of the lawyers for Woyome, Musah Ahmed said their client received the summons an hour before the time he was expected to appear before the committee.

That he said made it impossible for him to appear before the committee.

He said Woyome is a law abiding citizen and has all the way through this prosecution respected the laws of the land.

He said Parliament must stop any calculated attempt to have him arrested.

But the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Doe Adjaho told Joy News per standing order 151, it is only the Speaker of Parliament that has the power to issue a warrant for an arrest of an individual who fails to appear before a committee.

Myjoyonline.com

The Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrissu has hinted that government in keeping with its commitment to fighting corruption and being accountable to Ghanaians will soon present a document known as Public Officers Accountability Law to Parliament.

According to him, under the watch of the late President Evans Atta Mills, the then Attorney General Betty Mould Iddrissu was directed to work on the law which was to replace or improve the Asset declaration regime.

The Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom at a press conference on Tuesday August 21, 2012 in Accra, threw a challenge to all the presidential candidates to declare their public assets, health status, income tax returns and sources of campaign funding and that he would show the way by being the first to do so.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate Nana Akufo Addo when he took his turn at the IEA Presidential Encounter on Tuesday evening also expressed his commitment to declare all his assets in an effort to curb corruption in his future government.

However speaking on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana show on Wednesday, Hon. Haruna Iddrissu who is also the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, stated that the NDC government has been at the forefront of fighting corruption and ensuring accountability to the citizenry.

He was confident that the coming into being of the law will to a large extent improve practice of good governance and improve accountability.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh

The Convention Peoples Party (CPP) Member of Parliament for Jomoro, Samia Nkrumah will contest the upcoming December 2012 parliamentary election unopposed.

This follows her election by means of popular acclamation by party executives in the constituency.

The constituency office opened nominations for qualified members of the party in the constituency to contest but at the close of nomination the incumbent MP was the only person to have picked her nomination forms.

Samia, who is also the Chairman of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), is the party’s only MP in the 5th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana, but has refused to align herself with neither majority NDC nor the minority NPP.

She won the 2008 election garnering 19,916 votes out of the 39,826 representing 50.0% of valid votes cast.

Samia is credited for improving the standard of education in the area and also empowering women by supporting them with micro-finance.

The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma Central, Teophilus Tetteh Chaie has described the New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s attack on the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) as a diversionary tactic to take the attention of Ghanaians off the winning pair of President John Mahama and Vice President Amissah Arthur.

He said the largest opposition party; the NPP realizing that it has already lost the upcoming December general elections has resorted to using all manner of ridiculous measures to take some steam out of the NDC unbeatable duo who are poised and on course to registering a resounding victory in December.

The Pro opposition NPP Think Thank, The Danquah Institute in a press release criticized the nation’s broadcaster, GTV, accusing it of offering unfair airtime to one party against all others.

It added that the station through its activities has turned into a propaganda mouthpiece for the ruling NDC.

According to the Danquah Institute, GBC has ignored all other activities of other Presidential Candidates as the December 7 elections heats up and focusing on the activities of President John Dramani Mahama.

However speaking on Asempa FM’s Eko sii sen programme on Tuesday, Hon. Tetteh Chaie stated that the NPP’s attack is needless as GTV has done nothing wrong to warrant that accusation, adding that President Mahama is only on a thank you tour across the country for the support of all Ghanaians during the death of Ex President Mills, and is not campaigning as has been put out there by the opposition.

The MP posited that GTV as a state broadcaster has a duty to publicize the policies and programmes of government to the public and that GTV does its work without partisan consideration, adding that he was sure that an equal playing field would be granted to all the political parties.

He said the NPP is taking its own bitter pill that it gave to the then opposition parties in 2008 when it was in power and worked with GTV to deny other parties adequate coverage in the run up to the 2008 general elections.

Hon. Tetteh Chaie added that while the NPP concentrates its efforts on finding fault with the national broadcaster the NDC will continue to do what is electorally possible to win the election to enable it continue with the execution of the Better Ghana Agenda.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Mampong, Stephen Addai Nimoh has expressed confidence of retaining his seat by winning convincingly during the upcoming December Parliamentary elections.

According to him, his efficient output as the MP for the area put him in pole position to win the election by garnering over 85% of the votes that will be cast.

Speaking to Ghanamps.gov.gh, Hon. Francis Addai Nimoh stated that over the last three and half years he has exhibited quality leadership, ensured the execution of developmental projects in the area and has also sponsored several students in their education, adding that these among other things have endeared him to most of his constituents.

He noted that though he goes in a contest with the current Mampong Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Daniel Ohyeaman Appau, who he trounced in the 2008 elections with over 20,000 votes difference, he sees him as no match as he is poised to register another landslide victory.

Hon. Addai Nimoh was hopeful of launching his campaign that promises to yield a resounding victory for himself and the party after the NPP National Campaign has been launched on August 25th 2012.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh