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NDC Congress - We have created Ghana’s many challenges – Rawlings to NDC
President Mahama advises Ghanaians to pay for utilities
Source: GNA / 24.12.2014 President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday commissioned a 273 million dollar water project with a call on Ghanaians to pay for utilities to enable the companies to serve them better. He said government was no longer guaranteeing external loans for the operations of the utility companies and it was only through bills and taxes that could keep them in business. President Mahama was commissioning the expanded Kpong Water Project which would now produce 20 million gallons of water for existing and new consumers in Adjirigano, Adentan, Dodowa, Ashongman, Oyibi, and Ayi Mensah among other communities. The expanded project, which would now provide additional 186, 000 gallons per day, was funded by the Chinese Export and Import Bank in collaboration with the Government of Ghana. President Mahama said much as it was incumbent on government to provide basic amenities for its citizens, the citizens also had the reciprocal responsibility to honour their tax and other financial obligations to allow the system to work. He said water was a basic need, and his administration would, therefore, continue to provide it everywhere in the country, adding that government would ensure that all Ghanaians received potable water by 2025. Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, commended President Mahama for investing in the water sector, adding that it was the only administration that provided almost 70 million gallons of water throughout the country. He gave the assurance that more would be harnessed for communities yet to receive their share of the national cake. Alhaji Dauda said the other 20 million gallons component would be ready to serve more Ghanaians early next year, “especially communities that have not received water for the past 15 years will now receive it in their houses.” WOW - Electricity Comes To Ystradfellte ... Wales (United Kingdom) 1969
May The Power Be With You, over the new year...!
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Late president John Evan Atta Mills, firm statement about the demanded implementation of "Gay-Rights" in Ghana and Ghanaian culture, as demanded by Great Britain, or USA... Read also next page: "Ekumfi Youth Ask: Who killed Mills?"
Adom FM Ghana, might work only via Smart Phone or Tablet, in that case - please listen HERE live!.
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Use festivals to promote unity - Mahama
Source: GNA / 28.12.2014
President John Dramani Mahama on Saturday called on the people of Bawku to use traditional festivals to promote unity and peace in the area.
He said unity and peaceful co-existence among the various ethnic groups was the only way to bring development to the area.
President Mahama was speaking at the annual “Samanpiid” festival of the chiefs and people of the Bawku Traditional Area at Bawku.
He said Bawku was a vibrant commercial town and that with singleness of purpose the people would be able to attract investors to accelerate the area’s pace of development.
He said violent conflict was negative by every measure with dire consequences, and reiterated the need for the people to put the past behind them and to pursue peace and reconciliation.
President Mahama urged the Mamprusi ethnic group in Bawku to return to the Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee to continue with dialogue in order to consolidate the peace in the area.
The Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, noted that even though the area had gained notoriety for communal violence in the recent past, things had taken a quick turn for the better as peace had fully returned to the area.
“I wish to hereby assure our President and the other guests that Bawku is now very calm and safe for everybody”.
He conceded that the people of Bawku had come to the conclusion that no single individual or ethnic group could bring about peace in the area and that “no one individual group can achieve their parochial wishes by resorting to armed attacks”.
“Personally, I believe that all Bawku people should freely interact with one another and forget about the unpleasant past. I also believe in the burying of the ‘okro stick’ to signify an official end of the conflict”.
Naba Azoka II also called for the revival of the Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee, saying that it was necessary for the consolidation of the peace process.
He announced plans for the introduction of a degree programme in the Kusaal dialect in conjunction with the University College of Education at Winneba.
On the significance of Samanpiid festival, the Paramount Chief said it was essentially a post-harvest celebration. However, farming in the area was becoming unattractive because of the high cost of farm inputs and modern implements.
He added that most farmers in the area had now taken to the cultivation of maize which required fertilizers to produce a good yield. He, therefore, called on the government to consider the issue of fertilizer subsidy and make other agricultural inputs affordable to enable farmers to produce more food.
Mr James Zuugah Tiigah, Upper East Regional Minister, expressed appreciation to the Chiefs and people of Bawku for keeping the peace, and said government would ensure that Bawku becomes one of the most peaceful places in the country.
Source: GNA / 28.12.2014
President John Dramani Mahama on Saturday called on the people of Bawku to use traditional festivals to promote unity and peace in the area.
He said unity and peaceful co-existence among the various ethnic groups was the only way to bring development to the area.
President Mahama was speaking at the annual “Samanpiid” festival of the chiefs and people of the Bawku Traditional Area at Bawku.
He said Bawku was a vibrant commercial town and that with singleness of purpose the people would be able to attract investors to accelerate the area’s pace of development.
He said violent conflict was negative by every measure with dire consequences, and reiterated the need for the people to put the past behind them and to pursue peace and reconciliation.
President Mahama urged the Mamprusi ethnic group in Bawku to return to the Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee to continue with dialogue in order to consolidate the peace in the area.
The Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, noted that even though the area had gained notoriety for communal violence in the recent past, things had taken a quick turn for the better as peace had fully returned to the area.
“I wish to hereby assure our President and the other guests that Bawku is now very calm and safe for everybody”.
He conceded that the people of Bawku had come to the conclusion that no single individual or ethnic group could bring about peace in the area and that “no one individual group can achieve their parochial wishes by resorting to armed attacks”.
“Personally, I believe that all Bawku people should freely interact with one another and forget about the unpleasant past. I also believe in the burying of the ‘okro stick’ to signify an official end of the conflict”.
Naba Azoka II also called for the revival of the Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee, saying that it was necessary for the consolidation of the peace process.
He announced plans for the introduction of a degree programme in the Kusaal dialect in conjunction with the University College of Education at Winneba.
On the significance of Samanpiid festival, the Paramount Chief said it was essentially a post-harvest celebration. However, farming in the area was becoming unattractive because of the high cost of farm inputs and modern implements.
He added that most farmers in the area had now taken to the cultivation of maize which required fertilizers to produce a good yield. He, therefore, called on the government to consider the issue of fertilizer subsidy and make other agricultural inputs affordable to enable farmers to produce more food.
Mr James Zuugah Tiigah, Upper East Regional Minister, expressed appreciation to the Chiefs and people of Bawku for keeping the peace, and said government would ensure that Bawku becomes one of the most peaceful places in the country.
Accra to get 13 new modern markets
Panacea to the hawking problem?
Accra to get 13 new modern markets ("?")
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 26.12.2014
Accra Mayor Alfred Oko Vanderpuije says 13 new modern markets will be built in the national capital in the coming years.
Some of the new markets will be put up at the Rawlings Park, Makola market and Salaga market.
Vanderpuije says the project aims to help reduce hawking in the capital city.
Apart from the Makola and Salaga markets, there are several other markets dotted in the capital city.
They include the Kaneshie market, Osu Night Market, where market stalls are illuminated by hundreds of lanterns and candles at night; the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, popularly called ‘Circle’, Tema Station and a raft of others.
Despite the existence of these markets, hawking is commonplace in the capital city.
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly has employed several means in the past years to clear the streets of hawkers but to no avail.
The Mayor hopes the 13 new markets will be the panacea to the hawking problem.
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 26.12.2014
Accra Mayor Alfred Oko Vanderpuije says 13 new modern markets will be built in the national capital in the coming years.
Some of the new markets will be put up at the Rawlings Park, Makola market and Salaga market.
Vanderpuije says the project aims to help reduce hawking in the capital city.
Apart from the Makola and Salaga markets, there are several other markets dotted in the capital city.
They include the Kaneshie market, Osu Night Market, where market stalls are illuminated by hundreds of lanterns and candles at night; the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, popularly called ‘Circle’, Tema Station and a raft of others.
Despite the existence of these markets, hawking is commonplace in the capital city.
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly has employed several means in the past years to clear the streets of hawkers but to no avail.
The Mayor hopes the 13 new markets will be the panacea to the hawking problem.
We are living in a better Ghana - Bishop Heward-Mills asserts
We are living in a better Ghana - Bishop Heward-Mills asserts
Source: adomonline.com / 26.12.2014
The outspoken Presiding Bishop of Lighthouse Chapel, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills has urged Ghanaians to appreciate the symbols of development around them and know that they are better off than people in several other countries.
He said "when you look at all the shopping malls coming up in the country for instance, you can tell that we are living in a Better Ghana and we need to be grateful."
Bishop Heward-Mills was delivering his Christmas Day sermon on December 25, 2014 at the headquarters of the church, popularly known as the Qodesh, in Accra.
The Bishop is noted for his candid statements about the poor state of the economy, corruption, political hypocrisy and several other things going wrong in Ghana. So his Christmas Day "Better Ghana" statement got the entire congregation laughing out loud till he said "I am serious."
He explained that recently Ghana has seen several shopping malls like the West Hills Mall, Accra Mall, Marina Mall, A&C Mall and others, which are all symbols of the developed world coming to Ghana.
"When you go to these malls you see that America has been brought to Ghana and that is obviously a sign of a better Ghana. It did not use to be so but now it is," he said.
The Bishop also stated that recently he was in Guinea when Miss Guinea was crowned and her prize included a return trip to Ghana, which clearly meant that Guineans saw something in Ghana that they did not have in their country.
Dag Heward-Mills also said on a recent trip from Sierra Leone, he noticed that the Free Town Airport had only one aircraft sitting there, but on arrival in Ghana, he saw several aircrafts belonging to various airlines at the Kotoka International Airport.
"Clearly this is another sign that we are living in a better Ghana," he said. "In fact a wealthy friend of mine told me his two favorite cities in the world are Paris and Accra, so we should not downplay what we have."
Earlier in his main sermon, the Bishop said it was wrong for Christians to be so spiritual and not live up to their responsibilities in the natural world.
He explained that when King Herod decided to kill baby Jesus, God asked his parents to run to Egypt and they did, and that was how Jesus was spared from the sword of Herod.
"If Joseph had said that because an angel spoke with him about Jesus being the son of God, that angel should have protected Jesus in Jerusalem, Jesus would have been killed because Joseph refused to play his part in the natural," he said.
The Bishop, therefore, urged Christians to pay attention to what role they have to play in the natural to make the promises of God come to pass in their lives.
"We need to balance the spiritual with the physical – if God said you will be a doctor, you do not sit and fold your arms and become a doctor – you go to school and study hard before you become a doctor.
"If God said you will marry next year, you have to start being nice to people and start dressing good to look attractive – if you don’t, one year will pass and you will still remain single," he cautioned.
Dag Heward-Mills also used the story of Noah and the Ark to explain that even though God promised to save Noah and family from the flood, Noah had to do hard work by building a big ark, convincing his family members, chasing after animals to get them into the ark and packing enough food for all the different kinds of animals into the ark in order for God’s promise to be fulfilled.
Source: adomonline.com / 26.12.2014
The outspoken Presiding Bishop of Lighthouse Chapel, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills has urged Ghanaians to appreciate the symbols of development around them and know that they are better off than people in several other countries.
He said "when you look at all the shopping malls coming up in the country for instance, you can tell that we are living in a Better Ghana and we need to be grateful."
Bishop Heward-Mills was delivering his Christmas Day sermon on December 25, 2014 at the headquarters of the church, popularly known as the Qodesh, in Accra.
The Bishop is noted for his candid statements about the poor state of the economy, corruption, political hypocrisy and several other things going wrong in Ghana. So his Christmas Day "Better Ghana" statement got the entire congregation laughing out loud till he said "I am serious."
He explained that recently Ghana has seen several shopping malls like the West Hills Mall, Accra Mall, Marina Mall, A&C Mall and others, which are all symbols of the developed world coming to Ghana.
"When you go to these malls you see that America has been brought to Ghana and that is obviously a sign of a better Ghana. It did not use to be so but now it is," he said.
The Bishop also stated that recently he was in Guinea when Miss Guinea was crowned and her prize included a return trip to Ghana, which clearly meant that Guineans saw something in Ghana that they did not have in their country.
Dag Heward-Mills also said on a recent trip from Sierra Leone, he noticed that the Free Town Airport had only one aircraft sitting there, but on arrival in Ghana, he saw several aircrafts belonging to various airlines at the Kotoka International Airport.
"Clearly this is another sign that we are living in a better Ghana," he said. "In fact a wealthy friend of mine told me his two favorite cities in the world are Paris and Accra, so we should not downplay what we have."
Earlier in his main sermon, the Bishop said it was wrong for Christians to be so spiritual and not live up to their responsibilities in the natural world.
He explained that when King Herod decided to kill baby Jesus, God asked his parents to run to Egypt and they did, and that was how Jesus was spared from the sword of Herod.
"If Joseph had said that because an angel spoke with him about Jesus being the son of God, that angel should have protected Jesus in Jerusalem, Jesus would have been killed because Joseph refused to play his part in the natural," he said.
The Bishop, therefore, urged Christians to pay attention to what role they have to play in the natural to make the promises of God come to pass in their lives.
"We need to balance the spiritual with the physical – if God said you will be a doctor, you do not sit and fold your arms and become a doctor – you go to school and study hard before you become a doctor.
"If God said you will marry next year, you have to start being nice to people and start dressing good to look attractive – if you don’t, one year will pass and you will still remain single," he cautioned.
Dag Heward-Mills also used the story of Noah and the Ark to explain that even though God promised to save Noah and family from the flood, Noah had to do hard work by building a big ark, convincing his family members, chasing after animals to get them into the ark and packing enough food for all the different kinds of animals into the ark in order for God’s promise to be fulfilled.
No Boko Haram in Eastern Region - Ghana Police
Source: GNA / 26.12.2014
Cuba has observed its 55 years anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with Ghana, applauding government for showing solidarity to the Cuban Revolution and the release of the five Cubans incarcerated in US prisons for years.
"Cubans never forget that Ghana was the first African country, south of the Sahara, to recognize the Cuban revolution," said Mr Jorge Lefebre Nicolas, Ambassador of Cuba to Ghana.
"We also appreciate the support found in the Ghanaian Government to the cause of the Cuban Five but most particularly the Cuban people deeply appreciate the support of the Movement of Solidarity with Cuba".
He observed that the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States had far-reaching implications for both countries and for the entire inter-American relations.
The Cuban Five, also known as the Miami Five, are Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González.
They are intelligence officers arrested in September 1998, and later convicted in Miami of conspiracy to commit espionage, conspiracy to commit murder, acting as an agent of a foreign government, and other illegal activities in the United States.
Mr Nicolas noted that Ghana led the way for diplomatic recognition of Cuba in Africa where his country enjoyed many good and deep ties today.
He described the mechanism of political consultations between Cuba and Ghana on international and regional issues both countries had maintained over the years as a "real mechanism of diplomatic cooperation under a deep spirit of South-South cooperation."
"These consultations are particularly important in today's globalized world, where states face a large number of political, economic, social and financial challenges, and we must reinforce it," he said.
The Ambassador said the solidarity movement in Ghana added to the international struggle for the release of the Cubans Five that were serving what described as "unjust prison sentences in US jails for opposing terrorist groups".
According to Mr Nicolas, Ghana was one of the first countries to create a Campaign for the Cuban Five, and subsequently various Ghanaian governments over the years had also given material solidarity in the form of food donations, raw materials and fuel during the difficult times of the Cuban Revolution.
He, however, expressed dissatisfaction that over the 55 years, Ghana and Cuba had not done much to develop a commercial relationship and trade at the same level as the political and bilateral ties.
Vice-President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur noted that bilateral relations between the two nations suffered set-back in the 1960s, but expressed satisfaction that there had been some remarkable achievements after renewed relations in the 70s.
He said Ghana and Cuba relations thrived largely on social and economic justice as well as equity geared towards improving lives of the people.
Mr Amissah also lauded the Cuban medics’ services to rural Ghana and their healthcare system in general, saying it had become a diplomatic tool of success.
Hundreds of Cuban doctors, teachers, and sports coaches have served in Ghana over the years in the field of health, agriculture and sports.
In all the years, nearly 1200 Ghanaian students have graduated from scholarships offered by Cuba in various specialties.
In 2004, a Cuban programme for the eradication of malaria with technical advice and biological products from the Cuban company, Labiofam, began to work in Ghana to flush out mosquitoes responsible for the disease.
From 2006 a new phase in the project was initiated, which continues today, despite economic difficulties of both parties.
Mr Amissah expressed the hope the bilateral relations would continue to flourish for the mutual benefit of the two nations.
Ms Hannah Serwa Tetteh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, described the relationship between the two nations as that of "brothers and sisters" that created opportunities for Ghanaians in Cuba and for Cubans to do business in Ghana. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: GNA / 26.12.2014
Cuba has observed its 55 years anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with Ghana, applauding government for showing solidarity to the Cuban Revolution and the release of the five Cubans incarcerated in US prisons for years.
"Cubans never forget that Ghana was the first African country, south of the Sahara, to recognize the Cuban revolution," said Mr Jorge Lefebre Nicolas, Ambassador of Cuba to Ghana.
"We also appreciate the support found in the Ghanaian Government to the cause of the Cuban Five but most particularly the Cuban people deeply appreciate the support of the Movement of Solidarity with Cuba".
He observed that the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States had far-reaching implications for both countries and for the entire inter-American relations.
The Cuban Five, also known as the Miami Five, are Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González.
They are intelligence officers arrested in September 1998, and later convicted in Miami of conspiracy to commit espionage, conspiracy to commit murder, acting as an agent of a foreign government, and other illegal activities in the United States.
Mr Nicolas noted that Ghana led the way for diplomatic recognition of Cuba in Africa where his country enjoyed many good and deep ties today.
He described the mechanism of political consultations between Cuba and Ghana on international and regional issues both countries had maintained over the years as a "real mechanism of diplomatic cooperation under a deep spirit of South-South cooperation."
"These consultations are particularly important in today's globalized world, where states face a large number of political, economic, social and financial challenges, and we must reinforce it," he said.
The Ambassador said the solidarity movement in Ghana added to the international struggle for the release of the Cubans Five that were serving what described as "unjust prison sentences in US jails for opposing terrorist groups".
According to Mr Nicolas, Ghana was one of the first countries to create a Campaign for the Cuban Five, and subsequently various Ghanaian governments over the years had also given material solidarity in the form of food donations, raw materials and fuel during the difficult times of the Cuban Revolution.
He, however, expressed dissatisfaction that over the 55 years, Ghana and Cuba had not done much to develop a commercial relationship and trade at the same level as the political and bilateral ties.
Vice-President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur noted that bilateral relations between the two nations suffered set-back in the 1960s, but expressed satisfaction that there had been some remarkable achievements after renewed relations in the 70s.
He said Ghana and Cuba relations thrived largely on social and economic justice as well as equity geared towards improving lives of the people.
Mr Amissah also lauded the Cuban medics’ services to rural Ghana and their healthcare system in general, saying it had become a diplomatic tool of success.
Hundreds of Cuban doctors, teachers, and sports coaches have served in Ghana over the years in the field of health, agriculture and sports.
In all the years, nearly 1200 Ghanaian students have graduated from scholarships offered by Cuba in various specialties.
In 2004, a Cuban programme for the eradication of malaria with technical advice and biological products from the Cuban company, Labiofam, began to work in Ghana to flush out mosquitoes responsible for the disease.
From 2006 a new phase in the project was initiated, which continues today, despite economic difficulties of both parties.
Mr Amissah expressed the hope the bilateral relations would continue to flourish for the mutual benefit of the two nations.
Ms Hannah Serwa Tetteh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, described the relationship between the two nations as that of "brothers and sisters" that created opportunities for Ghanaians in Cuba and for Cubans to do business in Ghana. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Cuba applauds Ghana for solidarity
Source: GNA / 26.12.2014
Cuba has observed its 55 years anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with Ghana, applauding government for showing solidarity to the Cuban Revolution and the release of the five Cubans incarcerated in US prisons for years.
"Cubans never forget that Ghana was the first African country, south of the Sahara, to recognize the Cuban revolution," said Mr Jorge Lefebre Nicolas, Ambassador of Cuba to Ghana.
"We also appreciate the support found in the Ghanaian Government to the cause of the Cuban Five but most particularly the Cuban people deeply appreciate the support of the Movement of Solidarity with Cuba".
He observed that the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States had far-reaching implications for both countries and for the entire inter-American relations.
The Cuban Five, also known as the Miami Five, are Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González.
They are intelligence officers arrested in September 1998, and later convicted in Miami of conspiracy to commit espionage, conspiracy to commit murder, acting as an agent of a foreign government, and other illegal activities in the United States.
Mr Nicolas noted that Ghana led the way for diplomatic recognition of Cuba in Africa where his country enjoyed many good and deep ties today.
He described the mechanism of political consultations between Cuba and Ghana on international and regional issues both countries had maintained over the years as a "real mechanism of diplomatic cooperation under a deep spirit of South-South cooperation."
"These consultations are particularly important in today's globalized world, where states face a large number of political, economic, social and financial challenges, and we must reinforce it," he said.
The Ambassador said the solidarity movement in Ghana added to the international struggle for the release of the Cubans Five that were serving what described as "unjust prison sentences in US jails for opposing terrorist groups".
According to Mr Nicolas, Ghana was one of the first countries to create a Campaign for the Cuban Five, and subsequently various Ghanaian governments over the years had also given material solidarity in the form of food donations, raw materials and fuel during the difficult times of the Cuban Revolution.
He, however, expressed dissatisfaction that over the 55 years, Ghana and Cuba had not done much to develop a commercial relationship and trade at the same level as the political and bilateral ties.
Vice-President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur noted that bilateral relations between the two nations suffered set-back in the 1960s, but expressed satisfaction that there had been some remarkable achievements after renewed relations in the 70s.
He said Ghana and Cuba relations thrived largely on social and economic justice as well as equity geared towards improving lives of the people.
Mr Amissah also lauded the Cuban medics’ services to rural Ghana and their healthcare system in general, saying it had become a diplomatic tool of success.
Hundreds of Cuban doctors, teachers, and sports coaches have served in Ghana over the years in the field of health, agriculture and sports.
In all the years, nearly 1200 Ghanaian students have graduated from scholarships offered by Cuba in various specialties.
In 2004, a Cuban programme for the eradication of malaria with technical advice and biological products from the Cuban company, Labiofam, began to work in Ghana to flush out mosquitoes responsible for the disease.
From 2006 a new phase in the project was initiated, which continues today, despite economic difficulties of both parties.
Mr Amissah expressed the hope the bilateral relations would continue to flourish for the mutual benefit of the two nations.
Ms Hannah Serwa Tetteh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, described the relationship between the two nations as that of "brothers and sisters" that created opportunities for Ghanaians in Cuba and for Cubans to do business in Ghana. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: GNA / 26.12.2014
Cuba has observed its 55 years anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with Ghana, applauding government for showing solidarity to the Cuban Revolution and the release of the five Cubans incarcerated in US prisons for years.
"Cubans never forget that Ghana was the first African country, south of the Sahara, to recognize the Cuban revolution," said Mr Jorge Lefebre Nicolas, Ambassador of Cuba to Ghana.
"We also appreciate the support found in the Ghanaian Government to the cause of the Cuban Five but most particularly the Cuban people deeply appreciate the support of the Movement of Solidarity with Cuba".
He observed that the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States had far-reaching implications for both countries and for the entire inter-American relations.
The Cuban Five, also known as the Miami Five, are Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González.
They are intelligence officers arrested in September 1998, and later convicted in Miami of conspiracy to commit espionage, conspiracy to commit murder, acting as an agent of a foreign government, and other illegal activities in the United States.
Mr Nicolas noted that Ghana led the way for diplomatic recognition of Cuba in Africa where his country enjoyed many good and deep ties today.
He described the mechanism of political consultations between Cuba and Ghana on international and regional issues both countries had maintained over the years as a "real mechanism of diplomatic cooperation under a deep spirit of South-South cooperation."
"These consultations are particularly important in today's globalized world, where states face a large number of political, economic, social and financial challenges, and we must reinforce it," he said.
The Ambassador said the solidarity movement in Ghana added to the international struggle for the release of the Cubans Five that were serving what described as "unjust prison sentences in US jails for opposing terrorist groups".
According to Mr Nicolas, Ghana was one of the first countries to create a Campaign for the Cuban Five, and subsequently various Ghanaian governments over the years had also given material solidarity in the form of food donations, raw materials and fuel during the difficult times of the Cuban Revolution.
He, however, expressed dissatisfaction that over the 55 years, Ghana and Cuba had not done much to develop a commercial relationship and trade at the same level as the political and bilateral ties.
Vice-President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur noted that bilateral relations between the two nations suffered set-back in the 1960s, but expressed satisfaction that there had been some remarkable achievements after renewed relations in the 70s.
He said Ghana and Cuba relations thrived largely on social and economic justice as well as equity geared towards improving lives of the people.
Mr Amissah also lauded the Cuban medics’ services to rural Ghana and their healthcare system in general, saying it had become a diplomatic tool of success.
Hundreds of Cuban doctors, teachers, and sports coaches have served in Ghana over the years in the field of health, agriculture and sports.
In all the years, nearly 1200 Ghanaian students have graduated from scholarships offered by Cuba in various specialties.
In 2004, a Cuban programme for the eradication of malaria with technical advice and biological products from the Cuban company, Labiofam, began to work in Ghana to flush out mosquitoes responsible for the disease.
From 2006 a new phase in the project was initiated, which continues today, despite economic difficulties of both parties.
Mr Amissah expressed the hope the bilateral relations would continue to flourish for the mutual benefit of the two nations.
Ms Hannah Serwa Tetteh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, described the relationship between the two nations as that of "brothers and sisters" that created opportunities for Ghanaians in Cuba and for Cubans to do business in Ghana. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
General Quainoo speaks out! West African state plotted Sgt. Doe’s death
Source: The Ghanaian Times / 25.12.2014
General Arnold Quainoo, a former Army Commander, on Wednesday broke his long silence over his complicity in the assassination of the late President Samuel Kanyon Doe of Liberia.
This was at the launch of the maiden book of Dr Obed Y. Asamoah, the founder of the defunct Democratic People’s Party.
General Quainoo said he was not responsible for the death of the late President Doe, as was being alleged.
The former Army Commander said a West African state was behind the assassination of the late Liberian President Doe, adding that the plot to kill President Doe, "was done behind me" and he knew nothing about it.
"I am not prepared to mention the name of that West African country, but I will do so when I write my own book," he said.
"I had decided not to respond to the allegations, but because people have read the book, it is important I set the record straight," he said
Excerpts of the 764-page book titled, "The Political History of Ghana (1950-2013) – The Experience of Non-Conformist," sought to create the impression that General Quainoo was behind the killing of President Doe.
"On September 9, 1990, President Doe appeared at ECOMOG Headquarters with a contingent of about one hundred men to query the Force Commander for not showing due recognition of his position as head of an independent state. Before any discussion took place, President Doe and his men were disarmed. The Force Commander admitted taking President Doe’s weapon from him and giving it to an aide. Soon thereafter, Prince Johnson arrived with a contingent of about twenty-five men. It is alleged that they were not disarmed as Doe’s men had been.
"He was agitated, and fighting soon erupted between the Doe and Johnson’s forces. Doe was captured by Prince Johnson and later killed. The incident evoked widespread suspicion of ECOMOG’s complicity in the assassination, and General Quainoo became unpopular in several quarters and countries, including President Jawara of the Gambia, the then Chairman of ECOWAS. Press reports (particularly in West African magazines owned and operated by Nigerians) felt that the relations between General Quainoo, Prince Johnson, and the NPFL accounted for the incident. Attempts made by General Quainoo to see President Jawara to give his side of the story were unsuccessful," the book said.
"Was there a conspiracy to do with President Doe’s death? Did General Quainoo deliberately disarm Doe’s men, while not doing so with Prince Johnson’s men in order to facilitate his death? In fairness to General Quainoo, he was in conference with President Doe when Prince Johnson and his men arrived, so he could not order their disarmament. Did he have foreknowledge of Prince Johnson’s arrival after President Doe’s? There is no such evidence. However, it must be noted that when Lt. Gen. Bowen of the AFL accused Gen. Quainoo in Banjul on October 22, 1990, of partiality in the treatment of the Doe and Prince Johnson’s contingents by disarming one and not the other, Gen. Quainoo did not refute the allegation. There may have been good reasons for doing so, but that was used as the reason for not facilitating the interview he sought with President Jawara to give his side of the story," it added.
Even though General Quainoo explained that he was not responsible for the death of President Doe, he said, "I will further respond to issues about me highlighted in the book when I write my own book".
According to General Quainoo, President Doe was "killed by his own pride," because he never took advice.
He explained that in the heat of the Liberian political crisis, a plan was made for President Doe to flee the country and seek asylum in a different country.
The former Army General said arrangements were made for President Doe to leave the country through the Freeport in Monrovia, but when he got there, he never followed instructions from soldiers.
Thus, a siren was blown and the deafening noise, which could be heard a mile away, attracted his opponent, Prince Johnson, who rushed to the port.
General Quainoo said in the process, President Doe was captured and killed.
According to General Quainoo, in the tenure of President Rawlings, he sent him and another colleague to Liberia.
He said 20 minutes before the plane would reach Liberia, the pilot announced that the Liberian Army wanted to know whether there was one military officer called General Arnold Quainoo on board the flight and he got frightened.
General Quainoo said when he got to Liberia, he was welcomed by a fitting military parade, which he reviewed and received several salutes.
He said he was later told by the Liberian authorities that they instituted an inquiry into the death of President Doe and it was realised that it was not he (General Quainoo) who killed President Doe
On his "conflagration" statement, he said at the said Danquah Memorial Lecture, the late Professor Adu Boahene who delivered the lecture had put the economic woes of the country on the military.
He also alleged that the History professor said the citizens would not allow the military to meddle in the governance of the country.
After the lecture, he said, there was an opportunity to ask questions and when he got up, there was a deafening noise, with a section of the participants "shouting sit down with others saying allow, allow."
He said when he got up to speak, all that he said was that the military got itself involved in the affairs of the country because of the corrupt nature of politicians, and did not make any "conflagration" statement. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: The Ghanaian Times / 25.12.2014
General Arnold Quainoo, a former Army Commander, on Wednesday broke his long silence over his complicity in the assassination of the late President Samuel Kanyon Doe of Liberia.
This was at the launch of the maiden book of Dr Obed Y. Asamoah, the founder of the defunct Democratic People’s Party.
General Quainoo said he was not responsible for the death of the late President Doe, as was being alleged.
The former Army Commander said a West African state was behind the assassination of the late Liberian President Doe, adding that the plot to kill President Doe, "was done behind me" and he knew nothing about it.
"I am not prepared to mention the name of that West African country, but I will do so when I write my own book," he said.
"I had decided not to respond to the allegations, but because people have read the book, it is important I set the record straight," he said
Excerpts of the 764-page book titled, "The Political History of Ghana (1950-2013) – The Experience of Non-Conformist," sought to create the impression that General Quainoo was behind the killing of President Doe.
"On September 9, 1990, President Doe appeared at ECOMOG Headquarters with a contingent of about one hundred men to query the Force Commander for not showing due recognition of his position as head of an independent state. Before any discussion took place, President Doe and his men were disarmed. The Force Commander admitted taking President Doe’s weapon from him and giving it to an aide. Soon thereafter, Prince Johnson arrived with a contingent of about twenty-five men. It is alleged that they were not disarmed as Doe’s men had been.
"He was agitated, and fighting soon erupted between the Doe and Johnson’s forces. Doe was captured by Prince Johnson and later killed. The incident evoked widespread suspicion of ECOMOG’s complicity in the assassination, and General Quainoo became unpopular in several quarters and countries, including President Jawara of the Gambia, the then Chairman of ECOWAS. Press reports (particularly in West African magazines owned and operated by Nigerians) felt that the relations between General Quainoo, Prince Johnson, and the NPFL accounted for the incident. Attempts made by General Quainoo to see President Jawara to give his side of the story were unsuccessful," the book said.
"Was there a conspiracy to do with President Doe’s death? Did General Quainoo deliberately disarm Doe’s men, while not doing so with Prince Johnson’s men in order to facilitate his death? In fairness to General Quainoo, he was in conference with President Doe when Prince Johnson and his men arrived, so he could not order their disarmament. Did he have foreknowledge of Prince Johnson’s arrival after President Doe’s? There is no such evidence. However, it must be noted that when Lt. Gen. Bowen of the AFL accused Gen. Quainoo in Banjul on October 22, 1990, of partiality in the treatment of the Doe and Prince Johnson’s contingents by disarming one and not the other, Gen. Quainoo did not refute the allegation. There may have been good reasons for doing so, but that was used as the reason for not facilitating the interview he sought with President Jawara to give his side of the story," it added.
Even though General Quainoo explained that he was not responsible for the death of President Doe, he said, "I will further respond to issues about me highlighted in the book when I write my own book".
According to General Quainoo, President Doe was "killed by his own pride," because he never took advice.
He explained that in the heat of the Liberian political crisis, a plan was made for President Doe to flee the country and seek asylum in a different country.
The former Army General said arrangements were made for President Doe to leave the country through the Freeport in Monrovia, but when he got there, he never followed instructions from soldiers.
Thus, a siren was blown and the deafening noise, which could be heard a mile away, attracted his opponent, Prince Johnson, who rushed to the port.
General Quainoo said in the process, President Doe was captured and killed.
According to General Quainoo, in the tenure of President Rawlings, he sent him and another colleague to Liberia.
He said 20 minutes before the plane would reach Liberia, the pilot announced that the Liberian Army wanted to know whether there was one military officer called General Arnold Quainoo on board the flight and he got frightened.
General Quainoo said when he got to Liberia, he was welcomed by a fitting military parade, which he reviewed and received several salutes.
He said he was later told by the Liberian authorities that they instituted an inquiry into the death of President Doe and it was realised that it was not he (General Quainoo) who killed President Doe
On his "conflagration" statement, he said at the said Danquah Memorial Lecture, the late Professor Adu Boahene who delivered the lecture had put the economic woes of the country on the military.
He also alleged that the History professor said the citizens would not allow the military to meddle in the governance of the country.
After the lecture, he said, there was an opportunity to ask questions and when he got up, there was a deafening noise, with a section of the participants "shouting sit down with others saying allow, allow."
He said when he got up to speak, all that he said was that the military got itself involved in the affairs of the country because of the corrupt nature of politicians, and did not make any "conflagration" statement. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Life is difficult in Ghana – Kufuor
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 25.12.2014
Former President John Kufuor has said the current difficulties in Ghana require that President John Mahama puts in place policies that will reverse the trend and ease things up for Ghanaians.
"When you go to the market, everybody says life is difficult; it is common knowledge that life is difficult," Kufuor told Vision 1 FM on Wednesday.
According to him, the difficulties are so much that he cannot list all of them, but he mentioned high utility tariffs, cost of living and the fall of the Cedi in the first three quarters of 2014 as examples.
He said the President must make sure that intervening policies toward easing the difficulties inure to the benefit of all Ghanaians and not just members of the governing party.
Mr Kufuor nonetheless acknowledged that being a leader of a country is not easy.
Ghana is currently in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a three-year programme to rescue the ailing economy.
There were also demonstrations and protest marches by various labour unions in the course of the year over welfare and salary issues. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 25.12.2014
Former President John Kufuor has said the current difficulties in Ghana require that President John Mahama puts in place policies that will reverse the trend and ease things up for Ghanaians.
"When you go to the market, everybody says life is difficult; it is common knowledge that life is difficult," Kufuor told Vision 1 FM on Wednesday.
According to him, the difficulties are so much that he cannot list all of them, but he mentioned high utility tariffs, cost of living and the fall of the Cedi in the first three quarters of 2014 as examples.
He said the President must make sure that intervening policies toward easing the difficulties inure to the benefit of all Ghanaians and not just members of the governing party.
Mr Kufuor nonetheless acknowledged that being a leader of a country is not easy.
Ghana is currently in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a three-year programme to rescue the ailing economy.
There were also demonstrations and protest marches by various labour unions in the course of the year over welfare and salary issues. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
"Sick" Ghana running to IMF "hospital" for cure – Konadu
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 25.12.2014
Former first Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings has said she sees "no improvement" in Ghana's economy, adding that Ghana would not have run to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance if the economy was not suffering.
"…Nobody goes to hospital to see a Doctor if you are not sick. If you’re not ill, you don’t go to the hospital," she told TV3’s Nana Aba Anamoah in an exclusive interview aired on Christmas day.
The former Vice Chair of the governing party said countries only run to the IMF and the World Bank for help when they are in dire straits.
"You go to them when you really don’t know what to do and things are that difficult."
The Government of Ghana has been talking to the IMF for a three-year programme aimed at helping rescue the oil producing country’s ailing economy from the doldrums.
The Fund recently said it had reached a stage in the talks where it is offering assistance to the the government of Ghana to clean the public sector payroll.
"The IMF team is working with the authorities, and is working with the authorities in several areas including issues related to concrete steps in cleaning up the government payroll…" Deputy Spokesman, Communications Department of the IMF William Murray, revealed at a news conference in Washington Thursday, December 11, 2014.
The Government has been spending about 70 percent of tax revenue in paying public sector workers. That figure was reduced by more than 10 percent recently, according to President John Mahama, after all outstanding payments and arrears relating to the migration of workers onto the single spine salary structure was dealt with.
In July this year, the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) announced that it has deleted 3,179 ghost names from public payrolls in the Greater Accra region alone, between April and June.
Also in January this year, Deputy Minister in charge of tertiary education Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced that the government had deleted over 2,913 ghost names from the Ghana Education Service’s (GES) payrolls.
In November last year, 1,052 staff of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital could not be accounted for after a head count.
An additional 60 who were paid through the hospital’s internally generated funds (IGFs) could also not be accounted for.
Of the 1,052 members of staff, 490 belong to other institutions but worked under KBTH, while 84 were newly employed nurses at the hospital.
In March last year, about 1.3 per cent of Ghana’s GDP, translating into over Ghc1 billion, was paid to non-existent public sector employees or ghost workers in 2013, according to analysis done by Dr Joe Abbey, Executive Director of economic think tank Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA).
Dr Abbey said an average of Ghc100 million was paid to ghost employees every month in 2012.
"The question about ghost or ineligible workers dealt a decisive blow… our estimate was that as much as 1.3 percentage points of our GDP was being lost to these ghost payments and so a billion cedis was the estimate that we saw, like 100 million a month," Dr Abbey noted.
The public wage bill for 2012 ballooned to 72.3 percent of tax revenue as a result of the implementation of the single spine salary (SSS) structure. It had earlier been estimated at 60.9 percent by the President in November 2012 in the State of the Nation address.
The wage bill constituted 2.7 percent of GDP of the 12.0 Deficit. It translated into 1.91 billion Ghana cedis.
Apart from the IMF helping Ghana to clean up its public sector payroll, the Fund said it is finalising remaining details of the country’s "medium-term reforms, and seeking external financing assurances from bilateral donors and international institutions," before agreeing a final deal with the West African country about a financial package to assist the world’s largest cocoa producer fix its economy.
"Once this work is completed a financial arrangement to support Ghana's economic program could be agreed at staff level before being proposed for the IMF Executive Board's consideration. Right now, we are still working with Ghana in terms of nailing down details of policies that could be supported by the Fund and its Executive Board," Murray said.
Economic analysts have raised fears Ghana could be declared highly indebted Poor Country, HIPC as a result of its public debt which currently stands at 70 billion dollars.
Ghana’s currency–Cedi–tumbled in value by about 40 percent in the first three-quarters of 2014. It gained some stability against the Dollar and other major currencies of international trade after the Government infused $2.7 billion dollars into the economy through a $1-billion Eurobond flotation and a $1.7-billion cocoa syndicated loan.
::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 25.12.2014
Former first Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings has said she sees "no improvement" in Ghana's economy, adding that Ghana would not have run to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance if the economy was not suffering.
"…Nobody goes to hospital to see a Doctor if you are not sick. If you’re not ill, you don’t go to the hospital," she told TV3’s Nana Aba Anamoah in an exclusive interview aired on Christmas day.
The former Vice Chair of the governing party said countries only run to the IMF and the World Bank for help when they are in dire straits.
"You go to them when you really don’t know what to do and things are that difficult."
The Government of Ghana has been talking to the IMF for a three-year programme aimed at helping rescue the oil producing country’s ailing economy from the doldrums.
The Fund recently said it had reached a stage in the talks where it is offering assistance to the the government of Ghana to clean the public sector payroll.
"The IMF team is working with the authorities, and is working with the authorities in several areas including issues related to concrete steps in cleaning up the government payroll…" Deputy Spokesman, Communications Department of the IMF William Murray, revealed at a news conference in Washington Thursday, December 11, 2014.
The Government has been spending about 70 percent of tax revenue in paying public sector workers. That figure was reduced by more than 10 percent recently, according to President John Mahama, after all outstanding payments and arrears relating to the migration of workers onto the single spine salary structure was dealt with.
In July this year, the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) announced that it has deleted 3,179 ghost names from public payrolls in the Greater Accra region alone, between April and June.
Also in January this year, Deputy Minister in charge of tertiary education Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced that the government had deleted over 2,913 ghost names from the Ghana Education Service’s (GES) payrolls.
In November last year, 1,052 staff of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital could not be accounted for after a head count.
An additional 60 who were paid through the hospital’s internally generated funds (IGFs) could also not be accounted for.
Of the 1,052 members of staff, 490 belong to other institutions but worked under KBTH, while 84 were newly employed nurses at the hospital.
In March last year, about 1.3 per cent of Ghana’s GDP, translating into over Ghc1 billion, was paid to non-existent public sector employees or ghost workers in 2013, according to analysis done by Dr Joe Abbey, Executive Director of economic think tank Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA).
Dr Abbey said an average of Ghc100 million was paid to ghost employees every month in 2012.
"The question about ghost or ineligible workers dealt a decisive blow… our estimate was that as much as 1.3 percentage points of our GDP was being lost to these ghost payments and so a billion cedis was the estimate that we saw, like 100 million a month," Dr Abbey noted.
The public wage bill for 2012 ballooned to 72.3 percent of tax revenue as a result of the implementation of the single spine salary (SSS) structure. It had earlier been estimated at 60.9 percent by the President in November 2012 in the State of the Nation address.
The wage bill constituted 2.7 percent of GDP of the 12.0 Deficit. It translated into 1.91 billion Ghana cedis.
Apart from the IMF helping Ghana to clean up its public sector payroll, the Fund said it is finalising remaining details of the country’s "medium-term reforms, and seeking external financing assurances from bilateral donors and international institutions," before agreeing a final deal with the West African country about a financial package to assist the world’s largest cocoa producer fix its economy.
"Once this work is completed a financial arrangement to support Ghana's economic program could be agreed at staff level before being proposed for the IMF Executive Board's consideration. Right now, we are still working with Ghana in terms of nailing down details of policies that could be supported by the Fund and its Executive Board," Murray said.
Economic analysts have raised fears Ghana could be declared highly indebted Poor Country, HIPC as a result of its public debt which currently stands at 70 billion dollars.
Ghana’s currency–Cedi–tumbled in value by about 40 percent in the first three-quarters of 2014. It gained some stability against the Dollar and other major currencies of international trade after the Government infused $2.7 billion dollars into the economy through a $1-billion Eurobond flotation and a $1.7-billion cocoa syndicated loan.
::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Let’s invite Europeans to help us manage traffic – Konadu
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 25.12.2014
Ghana can seek help from Europe in managing the road traffic situation in the country’s major cities, former first Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has suggested.
"You can even manage traffic. The Europeans do it. They helped us to do it in 1986, 89, we can call them to help us," she said in an interviewed with TV3’s Nana Aba Anamoah aired on Christmas Day.
"You need to engineer traffic and redirect traffic," the former first Vice Chair of the governing National Democratic Congress said.
She believes the Government and authorities in charge of traffic management must not throw their arms in despair over the bad traffic situation in the country, but rather seek pragmatic assistance in dealing with the problem.
"We don’t just say: ‘Oh! So many people have cars that’s why we are suffering’. No."
Traffic jams and gridlocks are a regular feature in Ghana’s major cities – Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi. The situation gets worse during festive seasons.
Former President John Mills (late) once described the traffic situation in Accra as a "major headache".
Some areas noted for traffic jams in the national capital, for example, include the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, which is undergoing major overhaul, the Spintex road, the Central business district among others.
The gridlock sometimes becomes unbearable to the extent that the Mayor of Accra, Alfred Oko Vanderpuije turns himself into a traffic warden to help the situation. He was seen directing traffic on the eve of Christmas, at the Makola market within the Central Business District. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 25.12.2014
Ghana can seek help from Europe in managing the road traffic situation in the country’s major cities, former first Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has suggested.
"You can even manage traffic. The Europeans do it. They helped us to do it in 1986, 89, we can call them to help us," she said in an interviewed with TV3’s Nana Aba Anamoah aired on Christmas Day.
"You need to engineer traffic and redirect traffic," the former first Vice Chair of the governing National Democratic Congress said.
She believes the Government and authorities in charge of traffic management must not throw their arms in despair over the bad traffic situation in the country, but rather seek pragmatic assistance in dealing with the problem.
"We don’t just say: ‘Oh! So many people have cars that’s why we are suffering’. No."
Traffic jams and gridlocks are a regular feature in Ghana’s major cities – Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi. The situation gets worse during festive seasons.
Former President John Mills (late) once described the traffic situation in Accra as a "major headache".
Some areas noted for traffic jams in the national capital, for example, include the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, which is undergoing major overhaul, the Spintex road, the Central business district among others.
The gridlock sometimes becomes unbearable to the extent that the Mayor of Accra, Alfred Oko Vanderpuije turns himself into a traffic warden to help the situation. He was seen directing traffic on the eve of Christmas, at the Makola market within the Central Business District. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
"White Christmas" 5 Arrested for heroin at Kotoka
Source: Daily Guide / 24.12.2014
Five clearing agents at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the export of five parcels of heroin weighing 1.2 kilograms.
The suspects, Derrick Appiah Kubi, Edwin Quincy Arthur, Nii Sai Ashley, Daniel Kofi Asare and Frederick Ato Hawkins, were put before a court presided over by Francis Obiri and charged with conspiracy to commit crime and doing prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs.
They have pleaded not guilty and have been remanded on the orders of the trial judge while the case has been adjourned to January 7, 2015.
DSP Aidan Dery, the prosecutor, who presented the facts of the case, said the suspects are all clearing agents except Asare who is a loading man and they all operate at the Aviance Cargo Village at KIA.
According to him, following receipt of information that an imminent shipment of drugs was destined to Ghana via Air Cargo on December 9, 2014, officers of the National Counter Narcotics Centre (NCNC), in collaboration with their counterparts from the Surveillance Unit of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), were detailed to conduct a 24-hour day and night surveillance at the KIA Cargo Village.
He said on December 10, 2014 NCNC officers identified three packages shelved on Pallet R78 on E row at the Aviance Warehouse, but no one showed up to clear them.
Furthermore, he disclosed that on December 11, 2014 Ashley was identified to have initiated the clearing process and was successful in facilitating the movement of the packages from the holding shelf to the electronic security check point (Blue Gate).
In addition, DSP Aidan Dery stated that Appiah Kubi, Ashley and a host of others observed as they conducted what seemed like a counter surveillance on the car park.
The police officer said the packages were left unattended to till December 12,2014 when Arthur returned with another person and spoke to some Customs officials stationed at the warehouse.
Explaining further, DSP Dery said thereafter Arthur left with one of the Customs officials and met Ashley and three others at the main car park. According to him, after sometime on the same day the three packages were removed from the electronic checkpoint to the customs examination area and Asare was seen to have cut the sewn edges of the packages, folded the edges again and used brown cello tapes to seal them.
The officer said this was done apparently to make the packages appear as if they had been examined by Customs and the packages were once again abandoned. He said on December 16,2014 Customs officials opened the packages for inspection in the presence of Appiah Kubi and during the examination five brown parcels, each weighing about 1.2 kilos, were identified and concealed in the packages. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: Daily Guide / 24.12.2014
Five clearing agents at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the export of five parcels of heroin weighing 1.2 kilograms.
The suspects, Derrick Appiah Kubi, Edwin Quincy Arthur, Nii Sai Ashley, Daniel Kofi Asare and Frederick Ato Hawkins, were put before a court presided over by Francis Obiri and charged with conspiracy to commit crime and doing prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs.
They have pleaded not guilty and have been remanded on the orders of the trial judge while the case has been adjourned to January 7, 2015.
DSP Aidan Dery, the prosecutor, who presented the facts of the case, said the suspects are all clearing agents except Asare who is a loading man and they all operate at the Aviance Cargo Village at KIA.
According to him, following receipt of information that an imminent shipment of drugs was destined to Ghana via Air Cargo on December 9, 2014, officers of the National Counter Narcotics Centre (NCNC), in collaboration with their counterparts from the Surveillance Unit of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), were detailed to conduct a 24-hour day and night surveillance at the KIA Cargo Village.
He said on December 10, 2014 NCNC officers identified three packages shelved on Pallet R78 on E row at the Aviance Warehouse, but no one showed up to clear them.
Furthermore, he disclosed that on December 11, 2014 Ashley was identified to have initiated the clearing process and was successful in facilitating the movement of the packages from the holding shelf to the electronic security check point (Blue Gate).
In addition, DSP Aidan Dery stated that Appiah Kubi, Ashley and a host of others observed as they conducted what seemed like a counter surveillance on the car park.
The police officer said the packages were left unattended to till December 12,2014 when Arthur returned with another person and spoke to some Customs officials stationed at the warehouse.
Explaining further, DSP Dery said thereafter Arthur left with one of the Customs officials and met Ashley and three others at the main car park. According to him, after sometime on the same day the three packages were removed from the electronic checkpoint to the customs examination area and Asare was seen to have cut the sewn edges of the packages, folded the edges again and used brown cello tapes to seal them.
The officer said this was done apparently to make the packages appear as if they had been examined by Customs and the packages were once again abandoned. He said on December 16,2014 Customs officials opened the packages for inspection in the presence of Appiah Kubi and during the examination five brown parcels, each weighing about 1.2 kilos, were identified and concealed in the packages. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
E/R Police hunt for suspected 'Boko Haram' watchdog members
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 24.12.2014
Police in the Eastern region have launched a search for members of a vigilante group branded ‘Boko Haram’.
Members of the group, believed to possess extreme views on Islam, operating in Akim Ofoase are alleged to be torturing Muslim women who defy their orders.
Five members of the group have been arrested and subsequently granted bail after long hours of interrogation.
Police sources say the activities of the group had the blessing of Muslim leadership in the Zongo community as part of a strategy to make Islamic Law supreme in the Community.
Eastern regional Police Commander, DCOP Yaagy Akuriba in an interview with Starr News said no watchdog group in Ghana has the right to torture people for defying their religious beliefs.
“I don’t think you can constitute yourself into a law court and lash people for violating your regulations…I think that it is wrong”.
DCOP Akuriba added that Ghanaians must not be worried about the latest developments since the Police are in control of affairs.
“I am rather worried that the community is silent over this but this shouldn’t send any fears because that group cannot thrive”. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 24.12.2014
Police in the Eastern region have launched a search for members of a vigilante group branded ‘Boko Haram’.
Members of the group, believed to possess extreme views on Islam, operating in Akim Ofoase are alleged to be torturing Muslim women who defy their orders.
Five members of the group have been arrested and subsequently granted bail after long hours of interrogation.
Police sources say the activities of the group had the blessing of Muslim leadership in the Zongo community as part of a strategy to make Islamic Law supreme in the Community.
Eastern regional Police Commander, DCOP Yaagy Akuriba in an interview with Starr News said no watchdog group in Ghana has the right to torture people for defying their religious beliefs.
“I don’t think you can constitute yourself into a law court and lash people for violating your regulations…I think that it is wrong”.
DCOP Akuriba added that Ghanaians must not be worried about the latest developments since the Police are in control of affairs.
“I am rather worried that the community is silent over this but this shouldn’t send any fears because that group cannot thrive”. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Security Analyst slams Police over handling of Ofoase “Boko Haram” group
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 24.12.2014
Security Analyst David Agbee has raised concerns over the Police handling of the supposed Boko Haram model-like vigilante group at Akim Ofoase in the Eastern region.
According to him, the Police appear to be lenient in their approach in dealing with the group.
Members of the group, believed to possess extreme views on Islam, operating in Akim Ofoase are alleged to be torturing Muslim women who defy their orders.
Five members of the group have been arrested and subsequently granted bail after long hours of interrogation.
Police sources say the activities of the group had the blessing of Muslim leadership in the Zongo community as part of a strategy to make Islamic Law supreme in the Community.
They have, however, assured residents of the area to be calm as there is no cause for alarm.
But speaking to Starr News, Wednesday, Agbee said the Police must be tough on the group since their activities bothers on national security.
“This is not a matter that must be handled lightly. It bothers on national security and the police must be serious in their approach in curbing their activities from the community,” he stated.
“I have been disappointed in how the Police have handled the matter so far”. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: Starrfmonline.com / 24.12.2014
Security Analyst David Agbee has raised concerns over the Police handling of the supposed Boko Haram model-like vigilante group at Akim Ofoase in the Eastern region.
According to him, the Police appear to be lenient in their approach in dealing with the group.
Members of the group, believed to possess extreme views on Islam, operating in Akim Ofoase are alleged to be torturing Muslim women who defy their orders.
Five members of the group have been arrested and subsequently granted bail after long hours of interrogation.
Police sources say the activities of the group had the blessing of Muslim leadership in the Zongo community as part of a strategy to make Islamic Law supreme in the Community.
They have, however, assured residents of the area to be calm as there is no cause for alarm.
But speaking to Starr News, Wednesday, Agbee said the Police must be tough on the group since their activities bothers on national security.
“This is not a matter that must be handled lightly. It bothers on national security and the police must be serious in their approach in curbing their activities from the community,” he stated.
“I have been disappointed in how the Police have handled the matter so far”. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Two suspected highway robbers held
Source: GNA / 24.12.2014
Two suspected members of a highway robbery gang that attacked and seized cash and other valuables from travellers on the Kumasi-Cape Coast road have been arrested and being held by the police in Kumasi.
They reportedly blocked the road with a log at Kyiburoso at about 0200 hours on December 15, attacked a passenger bus and robbed those travelling on it of cash totaling GH¢ 9,700, mobile phones, a Ghanaian passport and other valuables.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kofi Boakye, the Ashanti Regional Commander, gave the names of the pair, as Usman Abubakari and Usman Issaka.
He told a news briefing that officers at the Brofoyedru barrier received information about the robbery and quickly responded by moving to the crime scene.
They also decided to mount snap road checks and that paid off as the two were caught hiding in a Mercedes Benz Sprinter Bus.
DCOP Boakye said Issaka was found with five mobile phones, two chargers and a passport stolen from one of the victims, Freda Konadu Yiadom.
His other colleague Abubakari had on him GH¢ 2,700.00, which he claimed was given to him by his brother at Assin-Fosu, but could not lead the police to the said relative.
The Regional Commander said the suspects have been identified by some of the victims as being part of the group that attacked them.
They have intensified efforts to arrest those on the run and put them before court. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: GNA / 24.12.2014
Two suspected members of a highway robbery gang that attacked and seized cash and other valuables from travellers on the Kumasi-Cape Coast road have been arrested and being held by the police in Kumasi.
They reportedly blocked the road with a log at Kyiburoso at about 0200 hours on December 15, attacked a passenger bus and robbed those travelling on it of cash totaling GH¢ 9,700, mobile phones, a Ghanaian passport and other valuables.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kofi Boakye, the Ashanti Regional Commander, gave the names of the pair, as Usman Abubakari and Usman Issaka.
He told a news briefing that officers at the Brofoyedru barrier received information about the robbery and quickly responded by moving to the crime scene.
They also decided to mount snap road checks and that paid off as the two were caught hiding in a Mercedes Benz Sprinter Bus.
DCOP Boakye said Issaka was found with five mobile phones, two chargers and a passport stolen from one of the victims, Freda Konadu Yiadom.
His other colleague Abubakari had on him GH¢ 2,700.00, which he claimed was given to him by his brother at Assin-Fosu, but could not lead the police to the said relative.
The Regional Commander said the suspects have been identified by some of the victims as being part of the group that attacked them.
They have intensified efforts to arrest those on the run and put them before court. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Marijuana smokers harass deaf students
Source: The Finder / 24.12.2014
Students and pupils of the Adjei State School for the Deaf are appealing to the Ministry of Education and corporate organisations to fence their school to save them from frequent attacks by marijuana smokers.
The premises of the State School for the Deaf has been turned into a thoroughfare because the school has no security person at the entrance; the fence wall around the school is uncompleted.
The ‘ganja’ boys access the compound to disrupt teaching and learning and harass the pupils and teachers.
Interacting with some of the students through a sign language interpreter, they told The Finder that they are in constant fear of being attacked and beaten by the marijuana smokers.
The marijuana smokers, the students explained, usually hide in the huge abandoned boys’ dormitory in the school to smoke their herbs, and when they are ‘high,’ they invade the compound when the students and pupils are on break and chase them with sticks.
Their teachers, most of them females, become helpless and scared so they quickly lock their classrooms when the students and pupils hurriedly ran in.
Lamenting to The Finder, the headmistress of the school, Madam Barbara Ennin, said “my students have told you what our prime problem is in the school. The marijuana smokers are harassing and terrorising my students and I want the fence walls to be constructed to protect the students.”
Madam Barbara wishes the female students could start using their boarding house, but “my fear is these marijuana smokers will attack the girls in the night and do something untoward to them.”
The headmistress said, “I have made series of appeals but nobody is paying heed to them. Please, and please, I need the school fence walls completed and security lights to protect our special students.” ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: The Finder / 24.12.2014
Students and pupils of the Adjei State School for the Deaf are appealing to the Ministry of Education and corporate organisations to fence their school to save them from frequent attacks by marijuana smokers.
The premises of the State School for the Deaf has been turned into a thoroughfare because the school has no security person at the entrance; the fence wall around the school is uncompleted.
The ‘ganja’ boys access the compound to disrupt teaching and learning and harass the pupils and teachers.
Interacting with some of the students through a sign language interpreter, they told The Finder that they are in constant fear of being attacked and beaten by the marijuana smokers.
The marijuana smokers, the students explained, usually hide in the huge abandoned boys’ dormitory in the school to smoke their herbs, and when they are ‘high,’ they invade the compound when the students and pupils are on break and chase them with sticks.
Their teachers, most of them females, become helpless and scared so they quickly lock their classrooms when the students and pupils hurriedly ran in.
Lamenting to The Finder, the headmistress of the school, Madam Barbara Ennin, said “my students have told you what our prime problem is in the school. The marijuana smokers are harassing and terrorising my students and I want the fence walls to be constructed to protect the students.”
Madam Barbara wishes the female students could start using their boarding house, but “my fear is these marijuana smokers will attack the girls in the night and do something untoward to them.”
The headmistress said, “I have made series of appeals but nobody is paying heed to them. Please, and please, I need the school fence walls completed and security lights to protect our special students.” ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Zabzugu DCE slams assassination of Salinkugalana
Source: GNA / 24.12.2014
Mr Issifu Alidu Laa-Bandow, Zabzugu District Chief Executive (DCE) on Monday described as “surprising and shocking the assassination of Salinkugalana Naa Sumani Tigu.
Naa Tigu, who was a chief at Salinkuya, a suburb of Zabzugu, has since been buried and so far the police have arrested four people in connection with his death.
Addressing the Second General Meeting of the Assembly at Zabzugu on Monday, he said the police are working very hard to ensure that the perpetrators of the dastardly act are brought to book.
“Any society that experiences conflict and insecurity cannot achieve any development. I believe that no single individual can ensure peace in our society.
“This requires a collective effort and I am committed to work with… stakeholders, the security agencies, traditional authorities, and civil society organisations to ensure that any situation that has the tendency to create insecurity is identified early and avoided,” he said.
Mr Laa-Bandow spoke against school drop out in the district, saying it is a common phenomenon to see girls of school going age raising children instead of being in school.
“In this day and age, we cannot allow teenage pregnancy to destroy the future of our girls.
“We all complain about moral decadence among the youth and yet tend to do nothing about it.”
He tasked the assembly to institute measures at the community level to discourage children from engaging in anti-social activities and should rather take their studies seriously.
Touching on moves to improve on education, he said contract for the construction of classroom blocks for Zabzugu Senior High School and Woribogu has been awarded and being financed from the 2011 allocation of the District Development Facility.
Mr Laa-Bandow said early next year, two other classroom blocks for Manguase and Rajia DA Primary school would be considered.
He said access to health care is still a major problem for people in the district, hence the decision to construct two Community Health Planning and Service Compounds at Ojoja and Gorkkuani in line with the directive of President John Dramani Mahama.
The DCE expressed disappointment that all roads in the district are in a very bad shape, leading to the rehabilitation of Zabzugu – Tikpralayili road and the construction of a few culverts and spot improvement at some portions of the facility.
The Kpukpaligu – Pagmado and the Nakpali – Maa roads have also been scheduled for reshaping and work has already started.
Mr Laa-Bandow said the assembly is collaborating with UNICEF and other stakeholders in the fight against open defecation while some local artisans have been trained in the construction of simple but effective household latrines.
He said feasibility studies have been concluded for the establishment of a rice project along the river Oti in 2015.
Interested farmers would be supported by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the areas of land preparation, inputs and extension services.
Other programmes such as the block farming and fertiliser subsidy are also expected to be reinstituted.
Mr Laa-Bandow appealed to contestants in next year’s district assemblies’ election to conduct their campaign in a very civil manner and should be careful not to allow their partisan interests to show in the election.
He stressed: “Let us all comport ourselves to ensure that the elections are conducted in a free and fair manner devoid of any violence and acrimony.”
He said the first phase of the assembly’s street naming project, facilitated the building of good data base for effective revenue mobilisation and the second phase would tackle property addressing. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Source: GNA / 24.12.2014
Mr Issifu Alidu Laa-Bandow, Zabzugu District Chief Executive (DCE) on Monday described as “surprising and shocking the assassination of Salinkugalana Naa Sumani Tigu.
Naa Tigu, who was a chief at Salinkuya, a suburb of Zabzugu, has since been buried and so far the police have arrested four people in connection with his death.
Addressing the Second General Meeting of the Assembly at Zabzugu on Monday, he said the police are working very hard to ensure that the perpetrators of the dastardly act are brought to book.
“Any society that experiences conflict and insecurity cannot achieve any development. I believe that no single individual can ensure peace in our society.
“This requires a collective effort and I am committed to work with… stakeholders, the security agencies, traditional authorities, and civil society organisations to ensure that any situation that has the tendency to create insecurity is identified early and avoided,” he said.
Mr Laa-Bandow spoke against school drop out in the district, saying it is a common phenomenon to see girls of school going age raising children instead of being in school.
“In this day and age, we cannot allow teenage pregnancy to destroy the future of our girls.
“We all complain about moral decadence among the youth and yet tend to do nothing about it.”
He tasked the assembly to institute measures at the community level to discourage children from engaging in anti-social activities and should rather take their studies seriously.
Touching on moves to improve on education, he said contract for the construction of classroom blocks for Zabzugu Senior High School and Woribogu has been awarded and being financed from the 2011 allocation of the District Development Facility.
Mr Laa-Bandow said early next year, two other classroom blocks for Manguase and Rajia DA Primary school would be considered.
He said access to health care is still a major problem for people in the district, hence the decision to construct two Community Health Planning and Service Compounds at Ojoja and Gorkkuani in line with the directive of President John Dramani Mahama.
The DCE expressed disappointment that all roads in the district are in a very bad shape, leading to the rehabilitation of Zabzugu – Tikpralayili road and the construction of a few culverts and spot improvement at some portions of the facility.
The Kpukpaligu – Pagmado and the Nakpali – Maa roads have also been scheduled for reshaping and work has already started.
Mr Laa-Bandow said the assembly is collaborating with UNICEF and other stakeholders in the fight against open defecation while some local artisans have been trained in the construction of simple but effective household latrines.
He said feasibility studies have been concluded for the establishment of a rice project along the river Oti in 2015.
Interested farmers would be supported by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the areas of land preparation, inputs and extension services.
Other programmes such as the block farming and fertiliser subsidy are also expected to be reinstituted.
Mr Laa-Bandow appealed to contestants in next year’s district assemblies’ election to conduct their campaign in a very civil manner and should be careful not to allow their partisan interests to show in the election.
He stressed: “Let us all comport ourselves to ensure that the elections are conducted in a free and fair manner devoid of any violence and acrimony.”
He said the first phase of the assembly’s street naming project, facilitated the building of good data base for effective revenue mobilisation and the second phase would tackle property addressing. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Mahama slashes Parliament's budget by 30%; MPs furious
* Source: Myjoyonline.com / 23.12.2014
President John Mahama’s decision to cut budgetary allocation to Parliament by 30 percent has incurred the wrath of members of the legislature.
The MPs allege the president’s decision is a deliberate attempt to render the house ineffective by starving them of the needed funds.
Parliament on Monday approved an amount of 185 million cedis for the services of the House for 2015, which is 30 percent short of what the service presented to the president for approval.
Joy News' Parliamentary correspondent Elton John Brobbey said Parliament requested an amount of 267.2 million cedis but the President recommended an allocation of 185.5million cedis representing a slash of over 30 per cent.
Member of the special budget committee of Parliament Professor Gyan Baffour who presented the report of the committee noted the reduction will affect all activities of parliament for 2015.
"The reduction will impact on all activities of Parliament for the 2015 budget year if nothing is not done about it," he said.
He named the Job 600 project, recruitment of support staff and research assistants will be worst affected.
MPs have been furious by the slash. Member of Parliament for Manhyia South Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, and MP for Adansi Asokwa, KT Hammond led a campaign for the House to reject the proposal but the House reluctantly passed it.
"We should not pay lip service to the fact that we are the masters of our own procedures," Hammond warned.
The Speaker and the Majority Leader Alban Bagbin said they will hold further discussion with the president to review the amount in the supplementary budget that will come next year. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
* Source: Myjoyonline.com / 23.12.2014
President John Mahama’s decision to cut budgetary allocation to Parliament by 30 percent has incurred the wrath of members of the legislature.
The MPs allege the president’s decision is a deliberate attempt to render the house ineffective by starving them of the needed funds.
Parliament on Monday approved an amount of 185 million cedis for the services of the House for 2015, which is 30 percent short of what the service presented to the president for approval.
Joy News' Parliamentary correspondent Elton John Brobbey said Parliament requested an amount of 267.2 million cedis but the President recommended an allocation of 185.5million cedis representing a slash of over 30 per cent.
Member of the special budget committee of Parliament Professor Gyan Baffour who presented the report of the committee noted the reduction will affect all activities of parliament for 2015.
"The reduction will impact on all activities of Parliament for the 2015 budget year if nothing is not done about it," he said.
He named the Job 600 project, recruitment of support staff and research assistants will be worst affected.
MPs have been furious by the slash. Member of Parliament for Manhyia South Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, and MP for Adansi Asokwa, KT Hammond led a campaign for the House to reject the proposal but the House reluctantly passed it.
"We should not pay lip service to the fact that we are the masters of our own procedures," Hammond warned.
The Speaker and the Majority Leader Alban Bagbin said they will hold further discussion with the president to review the amount in the supplementary budget that will come next year. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Bad leadership plunged Ghana into more hardship - Rev. Martey
* Source: Daily Guide / 23.12.2014
The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt Rev Prof Emmanuel Martey, has expressed concern about the increasing hardship and poor economic conditions in the country, asserting that Ghana needs a visionary leader to turn things around.
“No sooner did Ghana find oil that we were all plunged into more hardship just because of bad leadership. Lack of vision means lack of knowledge; hence dumsor dumsor,” he noted.
Speaking at the dedication of the extension block of the Basel Mission Guest House at the Asante Presbytery in Kumasi, Rev Martey stated that poor leadership was corrupting the country, thereby making its people poorer.
The Mission Guest House, which has 12-executive self-contained rooms, was constructed at the cost of GH¢850,000.
* Source: Daily Guide / 23.12.2014
The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt Rev Prof Emmanuel Martey, has expressed concern about the increasing hardship and poor economic conditions in the country, asserting that Ghana needs a visionary leader to turn things around.
“No sooner did Ghana find oil that we were all plunged into more hardship just because of bad leadership. Lack of vision means lack of knowledge; hence dumsor dumsor,” he noted.
Speaking at the dedication of the extension block of the Basel Mission Guest House at the Asante Presbytery in Kumasi, Rev Martey stated that poor leadership was corrupting the country, thereby making its people poorer.
The Mission Guest House, which has 12-executive self-contained rooms, was constructed at the cost of GH¢850,000.
According to the man of God, corruption had permeated every facet of the Ghanaian society such that there was disagreement over the truth.
“It is only in a corrupted country that truth becomes controversial,” the Presby Moderator indicated and added that this had come about due in part to loss of integrity by the leadership of our country.
“When we talk about these things they say the church should not talk about politics. Who said the church cannot talk politics? It is only those who don’t know the Bible that criticise some of us when we speak against the destruction of our country. And this is why the Presbyterian Church of Ghana cannot sit down,” Rev Martey submitted.
He said the Presbyterian Church, based on its sound biblical principles and practices, had a responsibility to speak against the ills in society to fight against misinterpretation of sound Christian teachings.
Rev Martey called on all Christians across the country to help give good counsel to the president, intimating that the presidency required someone of the calibre of the biblical Daniel to give divine direction to the nation.
He also said that Parliament needed to be infused with God-fearing and divine-driven people who would make good laws to advance sound morals and values.
According to him, the culpability of officialdom in the dwindling of moral and ethical values was palpable. and challenged Christians in governmental positions to live by the tenets of their Christian faith.
On his part, Rev Kofi Amfo-Akonnor, Chairperson of the Asante Presbytery, stated that today the Presbyterian Church and Ghana were suffering financially because they had drifted completely away from the noble philosophy bequeathed to us by our forebears.
According to him, the church was treading on a dangerous path by encouraging its members to give more tithes and offerings, and pointed out that poverty was going to increase in the years to come.
“Nobody should tell us that poverty will increase in the coming years looking at the trends of affairs in our country today. And nobody should tell the church that in the coming years both offerings and tithes will reduce at a speed we have never anticipated,” he stressed.
For this reason, the leadership of the Presbytery believed that the solution was the establishment of well-thought-out income generating projects by all constituencies of the church.
“As a Presbytery, we need to do much more to tackle the question of unemployment… by identifying and empowering young rural entrepreneurs whose emerging enterprises can be an effective means of job creation…,” he said. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
“It is only in a corrupted country that truth becomes controversial,” the Presby Moderator indicated and added that this had come about due in part to loss of integrity by the leadership of our country.
“When we talk about these things they say the church should not talk about politics. Who said the church cannot talk politics? It is only those who don’t know the Bible that criticise some of us when we speak against the destruction of our country. And this is why the Presbyterian Church of Ghana cannot sit down,” Rev Martey submitted.
He said the Presbyterian Church, based on its sound biblical principles and practices, had a responsibility to speak against the ills in society to fight against misinterpretation of sound Christian teachings.
Rev Martey called on all Christians across the country to help give good counsel to the president, intimating that the presidency required someone of the calibre of the biblical Daniel to give divine direction to the nation.
He also said that Parliament needed to be infused with God-fearing and divine-driven people who would make good laws to advance sound morals and values.
According to him, the culpability of officialdom in the dwindling of moral and ethical values was palpable. and challenged Christians in governmental positions to live by the tenets of their Christian faith.
On his part, Rev Kofi Amfo-Akonnor, Chairperson of the Asante Presbytery, stated that today the Presbyterian Church and Ghana were suffering financially because they had drifted completely away from the noble philosophy bequeathed to us by our forebears.
According to him, the church was treading on a dangerous path by encouraging its members to give more tithes and offerings, and pointed out that poverty was going to increase in the years to come.
“Nobody should tell us that poverty will increase in the coming years looking at the trends of affairs in our country today. And nobody should tell the church that in the coming years both offerings and tithes will reduce at a speed we have never anticipated,” he stressed.
For this reason, the leadership of the Presbytery believed that the solution was the establishment of well-thought-out income generating projects by all constituencies of the church.
“As a Presbytery, we need to do much more to tackle the question of unemployment… by identifying and empowering young rural entrepreneurs whose emerging enterprises can be an effective means of job creation…,” he said. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Boko Haram formed in Ghana; 3 arrested for torture (Starr FM speaks of 5 arrests)
* Source: Daily Heritage / 23.12.2014
Credible Information gathered by the Daily Heritage newspaper indicates that the Eastern regional police command has arrested three suspected Islamic extremists who formed a Boko Haram group at Akim Ofoase in the Eastern region, and have been engaged in torturing Muslim women who defy their orders.
The suspects are Abdullah Sulemana a.k.a taller, 30, Bukari Musa, 28, and Danjima Sheriff, 17. Other members of the group are, however, at large and are believed to be hiding in Nima, a suburb of Accra.
The suspects were captured in a minute and half video tape (in the possession of the paper) torturing and lashing female Muslims at Akim Ofoase Zongo who defied their orders banning Muslims in the community from transacting business or mingling with Christians in the area.
Preliminary investigations conducted indicate that the replica group of Boko Haram formed in the Akim Ofoase Zongo community was approved by the Muslim leadership in the Zongo community with the aim of running a pure Islamic community.
The Daily Heritage gathered in an interview with one of the victims, Lad Muhammed, who received over 100 lashes at her back by members of the Boko Haram group as punishment for buying food from a Christian; each member of the group gave her 30 lashes at the back for defying their order.
Confirming the story to the paper, the Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Regional Police Command, ASP Yaw Nketia Yeboah explained that the police upon receiving a tip off from the media, launched investigations into the matter and laid surveillance in the Zongo Community at Akyem Ofoase together with the Akyem Oda Police Command, which led to the arrest of the three members of the group.
ASP Yeboah added that the Eastern regional police command is on the ground to fish out the other suspects in their hideouts to face prosecution.
He said the Eastern regional police commander, DCOP Yaagy Akuriba has attached seriousness to the unfortunate incident, hence, digging deep into the matter to ascertain the root cause and masterminds behind the formation of the replica Nigerian militant group, Boko Haram.
He allayed public fears of the group being allied to Boko Haram in Nigeria, explaining that members of the group have no relationship with the Original Boko Haram group. The three suspects are currently behind bars at the Akyem Oda Police unit.
Boko Haram, literally meaning ''western education is abominable'' is an Islamist extremist group responsible for dozens of massacres of civilians and the abduction of more than 500 women and girls in its five-year insurgency in Nigeria.
Clashes between Muslims and Christians, common in Nigeria, radicalized the group and with frictions with local authorities escalated into retaliatory attacks.
After the group’s founder was killed by the Nigerian police in 2009, his followers went underground, swearing vengeance. Since then, Boko Haram has carried out a number of increasingly lethal attacks on villages, government buildings, police stations, prisons, churches and even mosques.
Many African countries including Ghana have strengthened their security set up to prevent the Islamist group from spreading its tentacles to the country, hence, the replica group of Boko Haram formed at Akyem Ofoase in the Eastern region is raising serious security concerns. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
* Source: Daily Heritage / 23.12.2014
Credible Information gathered by the Daily Heritage newspaper indicates that the Eastern regional police command has arrested three suspected Islamic extremists who formed a Boko Haram group at Akim Ofoase in the Eastern region, and have been engaged in torturing Muslim women who defy their orders.
The suspects are Abdullah Sulemana a.k.a taller, 30, Bukari Musa, 28, and Danjima Sheriff, 17. Other members of the group are, however, at large and are believed to be hiding in Nima, a suburb of Accra.
The suspects were captured in a minute and half video tape (in the possession of the paper) torturing and lashing female Muslims at Akim Ofoase Zongo who defied their orders banning Muslims in the community from transacting business or mingling with Christians in the area.
Preliminary investigations conducted indicate that the replica group of Boko Haram formed in the Akim Ofoase Zongo community was approved by the Muslim leadership in the Zongo community with the aim of running a pure Islamic community.
The Daily Heritage gathered in an interview with one of the victims, Lad Muhammed, who received over 100 lashes at her back by members of the Boko Haram group as punishment for buying food from a Christian; each member of the group gave her 30 lashes at the back for defying their order.
Confirming the story to the paper, the Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Regional Police Command, ASP Yaw Nketia Yeboah explained that the police upon receiving a tip off from the media, launched investigations into the matter and laid surveillance in the Zongo Community at Akyem Ofoase together with the Akyem Oda Police Command, which led to the arrest of the three members of the group.
ASP Yeboah added that the Eastern regional police command is on the ground to fish out the other suspects in their hideouts to face prosecution.
He said the Eastern regional police commander, DCOP Yaagy Akuriba has attached seriousness to the unfortunate incident, hence, digging deep into the matter to ascertain the root cause and masterminds behind the formation of the replica Nigerian militant group, Boko Haram.
He allayed public fears of the group being allied to Boko Haram in Nigeria, explaining that members of the group have no relationship with the Original Boko Haram group. The three suspects are currently behind bars at the Akyem Oda Police unit.
Boko Haram, literally meaning ''western education is abominable'' is an Islamist extremist group responsible for dozens of massacres of civilians and the abduction of more than 500 women and girls in its five-year insurgency in Nigeria.
Clashes between Muslims and Christians, common in Nigeria, radicalized the group and with frictions with local authorities escalated into retaliatory attacks.
After the group’s founder was killed by the Nigerian police in 2009, his followers went underground, swearing vengeance. Since then, Boko Haram has carried out a number of increasingly lethal attacks on villages, government buildings, police stations, prisons, churches and even mosques.
Many African countries including Ghana have strengthened their security set up to prevent the Islamist group from spreading its tentacles to the country, hence, the replica group of Boko Haram formed at Akyem Ofoase in the Eastern region is raising serious security concerns. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
I’ll not blame past gov'ts for energy problems — Prez Mahama
* Source: Daily Graphic Ghana / 22.12.2014
President John Dramani Mahama has stated that he would not blame previous governments for the current energy crisis.
“I will not blame any President or government for the energy problems; l will put all the blame on me, but I can assure you that we are working to solve the energy crisis soon,” he said.
President Mahama made the statement when he addressed a durbar of the chiefs and people of the Dormaa Traditional Area in Dormaa Ahenkro at the weekend, to climax this year’s Dormaa Kwafie Festival, which coincided with the 15th anniversary of the enstoolment of Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II as the Paramount Chief of the Dormaa Traditional Area.
The event, which was on the theme: “Anniversary of peace, development and distinguished leadership”, brought together chiefs and people from the traditional area, as well as chiefs from different parts of the country and high-profile personalities and politicians.
The Kwafie Festival, which is celebrated every two years, is used to settle all family disputes and grievances to pave the way for the social transformation of the traditional area.
President Mahama said the government was doing its best to resolve the irregular power supply situation.
He said in view of that, it had signed contracts with some international energy companies, including General Electric, to generate more power for distribution.
The President explained that when the Akosombo Dam was constructed, one out of the six turbines could generate electricity to cover the whole country.
But now, he said, the six turbines combined could generate power to meet only 50 per cent of the country’s demand for electricity, explaining that demand for power was now very high, as most members of the public now used many electrical gadgets and appliances.
He explained that the country needed to generate 220 megawatts (MW) of electricity every year in order to keep up with the demand for power, adding that power production would have to be increased from 2,800 to 5,000 MW within the next three years.
The President also announced that the government had voted money for the development of the Dormaa Campus of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) next year.
He commended the chief of Dormaa for his immense support for the establishment of the campus by donating many building materials and a large tract of land.
Touching on roads, President Mahama said the government was working to improve the road network in the Dormaa area, particularly in the cocoa growing areas.
He said the government had secured $150 million to finance road construction and improvement in selected regions, including Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, Eastern and Central.
The first phase of the project, he said, would start early next year, while the second phase would start in September 2015.
In addition, he said, the government had awarded a contract for the construction of a five-kilometre road in Dormaa Ahenkro to facilitate business activities, while aiding the free movement of vehicular traffic.
On the poultry industry, President Mahama said the Ministry of Food and Agriculture was working to develop the industry, indicating that veterinary services would be provided in the area to boost poultry production.
He disclosed that he had tasked the EDAIF to give out loans to poultry farmers to enable them to expand their farms.
Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu, for his part, said he would make sure that every child in the area who was of school age was enrolled.
He added that education was vital for national development and urged chiefs in the area to take interest in the education of their people.. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
* Source: Daily Graphic Ghana / 22.12.2014
President John Dramani Mahama has stated that he would not blame previous governments for the current energy crisis.
“I will not blame any President or government for the energy problems; l will put all the blame on me, but I can assure you that we are working to solve the energy crisis soon,” he said.
President Mahama made the statement when he addressed a durbar of the chiefs and people of the Dormaa Traditional Area in Dormaa Ahenkro at the weekend, to climax this year’s Dormaa Kwafie Festival, which coincided with the 15th anniversary of the enstoolment of Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II as the Paramount Chief of the Dormaa Traditional Area.
The event, which was on the theme: “Anniversary of peace, development and distinguished leadership”, brought together chiefs and people from the traditional area, as well as chiefs from different parts of the country and high-profile personalities and politicians.
The Kwafie Festival, which is celebrated every two years, is used to settle all family disputes and grievances to pave the way for the social transformation of the traditional area.
President Mahama said the government was doing its best to resolve the irregular power supply situation.
He said in view of that, it had signed contracts with some international energy companies, including General Electric, to generate more power for distribution.
The President explained that when the Akosombo Dam was constructed, one out of the six turbines could generate electricity to cover the whole country.
But now, he said, the six turbines combined could generate power to meet only 50 per cent of the country’s demand for electricity, explaining that demand for power was now very high, as most members of the public now used many electrical gadgets and appliances.
He explained that the country needed to generate 220 megawatts (MW) of electricity every year in order to keep up with the demand for power, adding that power production would have to be increased from 2,800 to 5,000 MW within the next three years.
The President also announced that the government had voted money for the development of the Dormaa Campus of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) next year.
He commended the chief of Dormaa for his immense support for the establishment of the campus by donating many building materials and a large tract of land.
Touching on roads, President Mahama said the government was working to improve the road network in the Dormaa area, particularly in the cocoa growing areas.
He said the government had secured $150 million to finance road construction and improvement in selected regions, including Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, Eastern and Central.
The first phase of the project, he said, would start early next year, while the second phase would start in September 2015.
In addition, he said, the government had awarded a contract for the construction of a five-kilometre road in Dormaa Ahenkro to facilitate business activities, while aiding the free movement of vehicular traffic.
On the poultry industry, President Mahama said the Ministry of Food and Agriculture was working to develop the industry, indicating that veterinary services would be provided in the area to boost poultry production.
He disclosed that he had tasked the EDAIF to give out loans to poultry farmers to enable them to expand their farms.
Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu, for his part, said he would make sure that every child in the area who was of school age was enrolled.
He added that education was vital for national development and urged chiefs in the area to take interest in the education of their people.. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
IMF blamed for Ebola spread in West Africa
* Source: Citifmonline / 22.12.2014
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been blamed for the rapid spread of the Ebola virus in three West African countries.
According to UK-based researchers, the IMF’s imposition of spending cuts on the affected countries led to “under-funded, insufficiently staffed and poorly prepared health systems” in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
The BBC reports that the IMF has denied the allegation.
An IMF spokesperson is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying, “such claims are based on a misunderstanding, and, in some cases, a misrepresentation, of IMF policies.”
A Cambridge University sociologist and lead study author, Alexander Kentikelenis is quoted by the BBC as saying, “a major reason why the Ebola outbreak spread so rapidly was the weakness of healthcare systems in the region, and it would be unfortunate if underlying causes were overlooked.”
The study described the IMF policies which required drastic reduction of government spending as “extremely strict, absorbing funds that could be directed to meet pressing health challenges.”
But a co-author of the study, Lawrence King has discounted the claims saying, the three Ebola-stricken nations met the IMF’s directives in 2013, just before the Ebola outbreak.
The Ebola virus since its outbreak in March 2014 has claimed about 7,000 lives.
The affected countries, especially Sierra Leone, are struggling to contain the disease.
* Source: Citifmonline / 22.12.2014
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been blamed for the rapid spread of the Ebola virus in three West African countries.
According to UK-based researchers, the IMF’s imposition of spending cuts on the affected countries led to “under-funded, insufficiently staffed and poorly prepared health systems” in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
The BBC reports that the IMF has denied the allegation.
An IMF spokesperson is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying, “such claims are based on a misunderstanding, and, in some cases, a misrepresentation, of IMF policies.”
A Cambridge University sociologist and lead study author, Alexander Kentikelenis is quoted by the BBC as saying, “a major reason why the Ebola outbreak spread so rapidly was the weakness of healthcare systems in the region, and it would be unfortunate if underlying causes were overlooked.”
The study described the IMF policies which required drastic reduction of government spending as “extremely strict, absorbing funds that could be directed to meet pressing health challenges.”
But a co-author of the study, Lawrence King has discounted the claims saying, the three Ebola-stricken nations met the IMF’s directives in 2013, just before the Ebola outbreak.
The Ebola virus since its outbreak in March 2014 has claimed about 7,000 lives.
The affected countries, especially Sierra Leone, are struggling to contain the disease.
GRIDCo: Power cuts to reduce during Christmas season if...
* Source: Myjoyonline.com / 22.12.2014
Power supply to homes will improve this Christmas if the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) is able to secure extra supply from neighboring Côte d'Ivoire to support current generation capacity.
Systems Control Manager at the power transmission company, Frank Otchere, told Joy News, residential areas and small scale businesses would have some respite because most heavy industrial consumers will also be breaking for the festive season.
He told Joy News' Hannah Odame last week, Ivory Coast has agreed to supply Ghana with power once they resolve their gas supply challenges.
But he adds that is not Ghana's only plan to improve the power situation.
"Some of the plans that we are working tirelessly is for TICO to come up. We have also worked out an arrangement with some industries to go down on their load. Typically they would have been at full load, but many of them are giving us 25% cut off from their normal supply so that demand will come down", he explained.
Ghanaians are currently enduring a severe load shedding exercise blamed on faulty equipment at the Electricity Company of Ghana and gas supply challenges from Nigeria.
Recently the load shedding became very severe. It was extended to industrial enclaves where factories get six days continuous supply of electricity followed by two days of power outage. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
* Source: Myjoyonline.com / 22.12.2014
Power supply to homes will improve this Christmas if the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) is able to secure extra supply from neighboring Côte d'Ivoire to support current generation capacity.
Systems Control Manager at the power transmission company, Frank Otchere, told Joy News, residential areas and small scale businesses would have some respite because most heavy industrial consumers will also be breaking for the festive season.
He told Joy News' Hannah Odame last week, Ivory Coast has agreed to supply Ghana with power once they resolve their gas supply challenges.
But he adds that is not Ghana's only plan to improve the power situation.
"Some of the plans that we are working tirelessly is for TICO to come up. We have also worked out an arrangement with some industries to go down on their load. Typically they would have been at full load, but many of them are giving us 25% cut off from their normal supply so that demand will come down", he explained.
Ghanaians are currently enduring a severe load shedding exercise blamed on faulty equipment at the Electricity Company of Ghana and gas supply challenges from Nigeria.
Recently the load shedding became very severe. It was extended to industrial enclaves where factories get six days continuous supply of electricity followed by two days of power outage. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
4 Remanded in custody for chief’s murder
* Source: Daily Graphick Online / 22.12.2014
Four suspects arrested in connection with the murder of the chief of Salikugu, a farming community in the Zabzugu District in the Northern Region, have been remanded by the Yendi District Court.
The court remanded the suspects into police custody for two weeks to enable the police to conduct further investigations into the case.
The suspects’ pleas were not taken.
They are Musah Alhassan, 45; Mohammed Dorkrudu, 50; Dozomaame, 25, and Nurudeen Mohammed.
They are among a group of persons alleged to have attacked and shot the Salikuga-Naa, Timani Tiga, 75, at his palace around 8.30 p.m. last Tuesday, December 16, 2014.
Meanwhile, the remains of the chief were released to his family last Thursday for burial, in accordance with Islamic tradition, after an autopsy had been conducted on it at the Yendi Government Hospital. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
* Source: Daily Graphick Online / 22.12.2014
Four suspects arrested in connection with the murder of the chief of Salikugu, a farming community in the Zabzugu District in the Northern Region, have been remanded by the Yendi District Court.
The court remanded the suspects into police custody for two weeks to enable the police to conduct further investigations into the case.
The suspects’ pleas were not taken.
They are Musah Alhassan, 45; Mohammed Dorkrudu, 50; Dozomaame, 25, and Nurudeen Mohammed.
They are among a group of persons alleged to have attacked and shot the Salikuga-Naa, Timani Tiga, 75, at his palace around 8.30 p.m. last Tuesday, December 16, 2014.
Meanwhile, the remains of the chief were released to his family last Thursday for burial, in accordance with Islamic tradition, after an autopsy had been conducted on it at the Yendi Government Hospital. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Mahama to NDC: We have a lot to do for Ghana
* Source: citifmonline.com / 22.12.2014
President John Dramani Mahama has admonished the newly elected executives of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) to put up their best since there is a lot of work to be done.
“We have a lot to do for Ghana, and a lot to offer Ghanaians now and in the years to come. Only the best will do and we will strive to offer the best,” he said.
Delegates of the NDC last Saturday elected new leaders to occupy various executive positions in the party.
Kofi Portuphy, National Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) was elected as the Chairman of the NDC, and Kofi Adams was elected as the National Organizer.
In all, 23 persons were elected to various positions in the party.
President John Dramani Mahama on his part, as the flag bearer of the party, congratulated all the newly-elected Executive officers.
He said: “I have called our new party Chairman, Mr. Kofi Portuphy, and congratulated him on winning a fair and democratic fight.”
“I have also conveyed, through him, my congratulations and very best wishes to all the other members – both retained and newly-elected – who will now form a new solid leadership to provide an even more effective organisation for our great party, so that all Ghanaians can benefit from the skills, commitment and expertise we have to offer.”
The President equally extended his immense gratitude to all the outgoing national executives of the NDC.
“Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Yaw Gyan and others who have been replaced are committed social democrats and lifelong NDC stalwarts, and we must thank them very much for all the sacrifices and contributions they have made for the sake of the party and for Ghana,” President Mahama stated.
He added that these experienced party colleagues will still be needed to share their knowledge and advice to assist the new executives and the party in moving the Government’s agenda forward.
The President commended Alhaji Huudu Yahaya for the great maturity he displayed in standing down from the Chairmanship contest in the larger interest of the party.
President Mahama also extended his congratulations to all members of the National Democratic Congress – at home and abroad – on the successful delegates conference that concluded peacefully, smoothly and successfully in the Ashanti Regional capital.
He urged all members of the party to rally together quickly behind the new executives in a renewed spirit of unity, dedication and commitment, so that the party can become stronger, better and more effective in delivering excellent governance and prosperity to the people of Ghana based on integrity, vision and patriotism. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
* Source: citifmonline.com / 22.12.2014
President John Dramani Mahama has admonished the newly elected executives of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) to put up their best since there is a lot of work to be done.
“We have a lot to do for Ghana, and a lot to offer Ghanaians now and in the years to come. Only the best will do and we will strive to offer the best,” he said.
Delegates of the NDC last Saturday elected new leaders to occupy various executive positions in the party.
Kofi Portuphy, National Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) was elected as the Chairman of the NDC, and Kofi Adams was elected as the National Organizer.
In all, 23 persons were elected to various positions in the party.
President John Dramani Mahama on his part, as the flag bearer of the party, congratulated all the newly-elected Executive officers.
He said: “I have called our new party Chairman, Mr. Kofi Portuphy, and congratulated him on winning a fair and democratic fight.”
“I have also conveyed, through him, my congratulations and very best wishes to all the other members – both retained and newly-elected – who will now form a new solid leadership to provide an even more effective organisation for our great party, so that all Ghanaians can benefit from the skills, commitment and expertise we have to offer.”
The President equally extended his immense gratitude to all the outgoing national executives of the NDC.
“Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Yaw Gyan and others who have been replaced are committed social democrats and lifelong NDC stalwarts, and we must thank them very much for all the sacrifices and contributions they have made for the sake of the party and for Ghana,” President Mahama stated.
He added that these experienced party colleagues will still be needed to share their knowledge and advice to assist the new executives and the party in moving the Government’s agenda forward.
The President commended Alhaji Huudu Yahaya for the great maturity he displayed in standing down from the Chairmanship contest in the larger interest of the party.
President Mahama also extended his congratulations to all members of the National Democratic Congress – at home and abroad – on the successful delegates conference that concluded peacefully, smoothly and successfully in the Ashanti Regional capital.
He urged all members of the party to rally together quickly behind the new executives in a renewed spirit of unity, dedication and commitment, so that the party can become stronger, better and more effective in delivering excellent governance and prosperity to the people of Ghana based on integrity, vision and patriotism. ::::: Back To Headlines :::::
Eat Ghanaian produce RICE! Work for Ghanaian farmers. Stability for the Ghana Cedis! - Ghana-Net.com ::: Campaigning this since 2007!
Ex-president Kufuor in big rice business (Ghana produce Rice!)
* Source: The Sun Newspaper / 18.12.2014
For every business magnate, US$400 million (GHC1.28 billion) is money that cannot be put into a competitor’s pocket. In the world of a president, that is an amount of money that can put up several classroom blocks, supply water, or even purchase enough fuel to deal with ‘dum-so.’
What about an ex-president? It is difficult to tell, but the answer may not be far if you read the mind of former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
That Ghana spends US$400 million on importation of rice is a headache to the former president. That amount is 147 short of the $547 million Millennium Challenge Account first compact which the United States awarded his administration to construct the N1 (George Bush) Highway, the Mallam interchange and other road networks, especially in the Afram Plains area of the Eastern Region....
Ex-president Kufuor in big rice business (Ghana produce Rice!)
* Source: The Sun Newspaper / 18.12.2014
For every business magnate, US$400 million (GHC1.28 billion) is money that cannot be put into a competitor’s pocket. In the world of a president, that is an amount of money that can put up several classroom blocks, supply water, or even purchase enough fuel to deal with ‘dum-so.’
What about an ex-president? It is difficult to tell, but the answer may not be far if you read the mind of former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
That Ghana spends US$400 million on importation of rice is a headache to the former president. That amount is 147 short of the $547 million Millennium Challenge Account first compact which the United States awarded his administration to construct the N1 (George Bush) Highway, the Mallam interchange and other road networks, especially in the Afram Plains area of the Eastern Region....
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