Month: August 2016

Ranking Member of the Select Committee on Youth & Sports, Isaac Asiamah has told the Minister for Youth and Sports to go back to the classroom and learn what is expected from the position he is occupying rather than disturb the public with insults on whoever criticizes his performance.

In his view, Nii Lantey Vanderpuije, has since his appointment, demonstrated incompetence in the discharge of his duties as a Sports Minister and ought to have been sacked by the President by now.

Asiamah who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Atwima Mponua Constituency made this observation in an interaction with Kasapa FM’s Akwasi Nsiah on Kasapa Kasiebo (KK) on Tuesday.

He was responding to attacks on his persona by the Sports Minister for criticizing his performance.

Vanderpuije is reported to have said that the Ghana Premier League is not attractive.

However, Asiamah in response shifted the blame on the Sports Minister and challenged him to come out with pragmatic solutions to turn things around since it is his responsibility as the sector Minister to make the football league attractive.

He went further to call on the President to sack the Sports Minister for displaying incompetence on his job.

Vanderpuije who was not comfortable with the criticism in a message sent on a whatsapp platform belonging to a group of Sports Journalists is said to have described Asiamah as “Okoraseni” to wit villager who has connived with the President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi and others to tarnish his hard earned reputation.

But the Atwima Mponua legislature responding to the message said he was very surprised that the Sports Minister has ignored responding to the issues he raised and rather chose to insult him.

“All that he is doing are part of the incompetence that I am talking about. He doesn’t know what he is doing. He has no knowledge about the Ministerial portfolio he’s handling and should go back to the classroom to learn. This will enable him to understand what is required of him better”, he noted.

The Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wougon has advised President John Dramani Mahama to leave the Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party out of his campaign message.

Emmanuel Kyeremateng Agyarko said the President should rather focus his campaign message on issues related to development under his administration.

This follows the president’s call on Ghanaians not to vote for his opponent, Nana Akufo-Addo whom he described as a dictator.

While addressing party supporters at Bimbilla in the Northern Region, Mr Mahama hit hard at the NPP flagbearer accusing him of being divisive and leading the campaign to suspend the two National Executives of the party.

In a response on AM show, Mr Keremateng Agyarko said neither NPP nor its flagbearer did anything wrong in suspending its National Chairman, Paul Afoko, and that has been affirmed by the Accra High Court.

“Has he forgotten what is happening in his own party? The NDC has birthed about three different parties and the wife of the founder of the party has broken away to found her own party. A party which calls its founder a barking dog that has been tamed, and the President is talking about divisiveness?” the legislator quizzed on MultiTV’s AM Show on Thursday.

In Mr Keremateng Agyarko’s view, President John Mahama has no message for Ghanaians, hence his constant attack on the NPP Flagbearer.

“In his 2012 manifesto he told Ghanaians he would improve certain areas to make life better, that is what President Mahama should be updating the people on,” the MP added.

The former Chief Executive of the Food and Drugs Authority under the Kufuor administration lamented the deteriorating National Health Insurance Scheme, the ailing economy and the high level of corruption in the current government and urged the President to deal with those issues.

“On the issue of infrastructural development the President stood before us in Parliament and said by end of his term, he would have built 200 senior high schools, how many has he built? How many has he inaugurated?” Mr Kyeremanteng indicated.

The Member of Parliament rated the performance of President John Mahama 1.8 on a scale of 1-10.​

Lawyer for Bishop Daniel Obinim, Samuel Atta Akyea is alleging that the state is making a lot of capital out of his client’s case to deliberately overshadow the controversial Montie 3 release from prison.

“Is somebody else’s  private matter the most important issue in Ghana – Obinim flogging his adopted children could it be the most relevant issue to engage national attention?Why are we trying to major on the minor? Something which has cracked the very foundation of our democracy has been thrown away and now we’re just concentrating on private issues as a nation. Is it not part of the National security tactics? he questioned in an interview with host Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5 FM.

He said his client had denied defrauding the complainant in question by false pretenses as alleged against his.

He argues his client’s case is a bailable offense and hence expects the Police to be professional and process him for bail pending investigations.

Obinim was arrested Tuesday in connection with a gold fraud case involving GHS11.6million and was detained the night in the Police cells at the Nima Police Station after being transferred from Tema to the Accra Police headquarters for questioning.

He’s being charged for defrauding under false pretense.

Meanwhile, Bishop Obinim and one other associate Pastor have been charged with assault.

The Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection reported the founder and leader of the International God’s Way Church to the Accra regional office of DOVVSU last week for publicly flogging two teenagers in his church for fornication.

Also Human Rights Lawyer Francis Xavier Sosu and two others have filed suits against the pastor seeking to have the bishop arrested and prosecuted for his conduct.

In the presence of the whole congregation, Wednesday evening, the Bishop removed his belt, and flogged young couple and later invited one of his assistant Pastors to join in the action. He was captured in a short video which has since gone viral.

The incumbent Member of Parliament for Tatale in the Northern Region has announced his decision to go independent after losing the primaries to a New Patriotic Party candidate.

James Cecil Yanwube said he could no longer dismiss the call from party members who insisted that he should contest.

According to him, over 45 out of the 56 polling station executives  of the NPP had called on him to contest the December polls as an independent candidate and he could not disappoint them.

At a ceremony to announce his decision to go independent, Cecil Yanwube parried rumours of allegations that he is flirting with the governing National Democratic congress (NDC).

A group known as the concerned youth of NPP in the Tatale Sangule Constituency in the Northern Region accused the NPP MP who lost the primaries of flirting with the NDC, the party he came from to join the NPP.

The group is, therefore, asking members of the constituency to rally behind the aspiring NPP candidate ahead of the December polls.

But the MP has dismissed the claims. He also dismissed rumours he has dual citizenship.

He said his commitment to the NPP remains unshaken despite his decision to go independent.
He told the party supporters who converged at the event that he officially accepted invitation by the group of polling station executive to go independent because he had worked hard for the people of the constituency.

Touting some of his achievements, he said, he had offered several students in the area scholarship to further their education, constructed boreholes for 16 communities, built schools and rehabilitated others, among other list of development projects in just four years.

He said he “left the NDC in 2008 and joined the NPP and has since been a faithful and paid up member of the NPP. ”

He said he was the first person to switch political carpets, citing late Alhaji Alue Mahama who he said was in the NDC and joined the NPP, the Petroleum Minister use to be an NPP member but today he is in the NDC, Okujato Ablaklu was NPP but he is now NDC. I am not the first person to move from one party to another” he pointed out.

Mr Yanwube warned that he would be forced to sue the NPP aspirant Thomas Mbomba if he continuesto peddle lies about him.

He said even though he has decided to go independent, all the party supporters should remain committed to the party and vote massively for the party’s flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo and for him as well in the parliamentary primary.

Chairman of the Friends of Yanwube James Kpachin Tantare said but for what he called foul play in the NPP primaries, James Yanwube would have won the elections hands down.

He said there decided to call on him to go independent because in just four years they had seen the massive development he had brought to the area and they think he needs more time to complete more projects in the area.

Mrchin Tantare said the people of the area had vowed that they will not allow Mr. Yanwube to step foot in the community if he refused to go independent.

The Member of Parliament for Adaklu, Mr. Kwame Agbodza has expressed dissatisfaction over the progress of work on the Community-Day Senior High School project in the area.

The Ghc7.4 million World Bank funded project which is being executed by Messe SARBAH constructions Ltd at Adaklu-Abuadi, commenced in October 2015 and scheduled for completion at the end of September 2016.

However, it has emerged during a surprise visit to the project site by the MP and his DCE, Emmanuel Sky Ganaku with some traditional leaders that, the 3-storey E-block project with a gate house is currently 64 percent completed instead of an 80 percent completion.

This did not go down well with the MP, as he fears a delay in the timeline for the delivery of the school project, which is part of President Mahama’s 200 community-day SHS projects.

“This project was to be completed by September in anticipation of students’ enrolment in the new academic year. But with what we are seeing now, I’m doubtful if the school can be ready as scheduled,” Mr. Agbodza told Starr News and wondered why the project was behind schedule, when funds have been made available to the contractor.

“The consultant has confirmed that there is no problem about payment on this job. Government honours their certificates on time, so I do not understand why the work is now 64 percent complete instead of 80 percent.”

He, however, urged the contractor to speed up work on the project and deliver it on schedule, without compromising on quality as it is crucial for the improvement of education in the Adaklu district.

A director of the construction firm, Mr. Edem Sarbah acknowledged the delay in the execution of the project, and attributed it to the topography of the project location and some issues with the workforce. The challenges, according to him, have since been resolved and work is progressing steadily, with the introduction of night shift in order to meet the project deadline.

He has therefore assured all stakeholders of the company’s commitment towards delivering school project by the end of October 2016.

“There was a little break in the work because site was not really good and we also had a few issues with some of the workers, but everything is on track now. We have augmented our progress of work with night shift and we are doing double of what we were doing in order to meet the deadline.”

Meanwhile, work on the Lot B of the school project comprising a headmaster’s bungalow, staff quarters and a canteen, being handled by another contractor, Macoby Ltd is almost completed with some finishing works left to be done.

Majority Leader and MP for Nadowli/Kaleo, Alban Sumana Bagbin says the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been able to silence the vociferous opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) with its ‘Green Book’.

In his view, the NPP is so docile to the extent that their followers can no longer demand for accountability from the Akatamansonians.

“I don’t need to tell you more but the great Green Book has silenced even our most vociferous opponents and made nonsense of their rhetorical question ‘Na sika no wo he’ to wit “where is the money?”. It has also exposed their shameless efforts to let Ghanaians believe that nothing has been done in this country and to tag His Excellency the President with the incompetence tag”.

“Now nobody talks about ‘Na sika no wo he’. They’ve all been silenced by the great Green Book of the NDC”, argued Hon. Bagbin who is also the Leader of Government Business in Parliament.

He made this observation on Sunday when addressing thousands of party faithfuls who trooped to the Cape Coast multipurpose Sports Stadium to support the campaign launch of the umbrella family.

The Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Baba Jamal has said he learnt his major lessons in politics after a mysterious tape emerged allegedly concocted by some elements within the NPP that he bribed some journalists to spew lies.

Interacting with sit-in host Nana Aba Anamoah on Starr Chat Wednesday, Baba Jamal said he had the shock of his life in the incident which ultimately tamed him in politics.

Amidst the allegations brought against the vociferous politician, he was moved to the Tourism Ministry by the late President Mills whom he had served under his government as a Deputy Minister of Information.

Baba Jamal, the vociferous politician lost in frontline politics after the scandal made against him years back, but said it was a turning point for him where he learnt how to tread cautiously lest he stumble in politics.

For him, it was in his best interest that late Mills reshuffled him to the Tourism Ministry afterwards.

“When that thing happened it actually affected me as a person and my moral principle, because as a Mulsim the worst thing that you don’t want to happen to you is for somebody to call you a liar.

Meanwhile he has denied ever invoking curses on the New Patriotic Party after the mysterious tape emerged.

Baba Jamal’s alleged tape scandal

Mr. Jamal in 2011 was captured on an audio recording allegedly threatening to sack workers of the Information Services Department (ISD) if they failed to project the then Mills government in good light.

“Yours is to make government look good, whatever the circumstance. If the government buys sheep and gives it as a gift, you are free to say it is a cow. You are free to say that. If the colour of the sheep is black, you can say it was a white colourful cow,” he allegedly said per the audio recording.

He continued: “…If you take negative public [issue], you give it to us secretly. If we hear you have leaked it to the public we will fire you and we will defend it. I am just making it clear.

“We are going to the elections next year, so the MCEs, any ISD staff who is going against his ethics or mandate let us see him quickly before he sees us out.”