Category: Key Issues

Accra,- The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has held the Government accountable for the recent violent attacks on a section of the public by the Military.

The NDC said the Government deliberately wanted to instil fear and anxiety in Ghanaians.

It accused the Government of deliberate militarisation of the society as part of a grand design to totally dominate the state.

A petition presented to Parliament after the NDC demonstration, dubbed: “March for Justice” on some principal streets of Accra, said Ghanaians had come to a point where sporadic acts of violence, killings and brutalisation of innocent Ghanaians should no longer be tolerated.

Ms Ruth Dela Seddoh, the Deputy Youth Organiser, presenting the petition on behalf of the group to the Leadership of Parliament, said: “The NDC can no longer sit down and watch the life of its compatriots snuffed out of them by the security agencies.”

“Parliament with its oversight role on the Executive should be able to lead an effort to halt the violence against Ghanaians.”

The Leadership of the House received the petition on behalf of Speaker Alban Bagbin.

Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, assured the demonstrators that the Leadership would investigate their concerns as the government was committed to protecting lives of the citizens.

He said the rights to assemble, demonstrate and express one’s grievances were all guaranteed in the 1992 Constitution.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said though the security agencies were there to protect lives and property, there had been instances of some of them going wayward since the return to constitutional rule.

He said the Petition could lead the House to inquire into the matter and any such investigation could also lead to tightening of legislation to prevent such from happening in the future.

The Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, commended the group for the peaceful demonstration and assured the members that Parliament would probe the issues and where it was necessary to rid the security agencies of those engaged in such behaviour they would not hesitate to do so.

“The unruly behaviour of the security agencies cannot be accepted anywhere in the country,” Mr Iddrisu said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has called for a shift in political debates from partisanship to programmatic evaluations of the vision carved out for Ghana.

The Party opined that the best path to achieve that vision was not to blame the CPP and President Dr Kwame Nkrumah for the collapse of the Ghanaian economy, or a lack of vision, otherwise it would be a clear misunderstanding of realities in the Country.

A statement signed by Madam Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong Kumankuma, Chairperson and Leader of CPP and copied the Ghana News Agency, said petty debates about what Nkrumah did or did not do, without acknowledging the failures of the current economic system to meet the needs of Ghana was the last needed thing.

“What is of merit, however, is a discussion about the fundamental guiding principles of this country. Our development has been staggered because our economic and social policies are not cohesive,” it said.

The statement said the commanding heights of Ghana’s economy were now in the hands of foreigners whilst indigenous Ghanaians did menial jobs.

It said the citizenry were not informed enough about the implications of policies proposed by parties beyond campaign talking points and it was time to bring Ghanaians back to the table.

“CPP is proposing a series of public debates, fueled only by facts and evidence, to discuss our trajectory and the policies and decisions that have real consequences in the lives of Ghanaians.”

The statement said since 1966 to date, successive governments had allowed the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other Western creditor nations to structure the context within which their client, Ghana, formulated her economic policy.

“The CPP would like to sound an alarm on the imminent collapse of the Ghanaian economy. Ever since the unfortunate coup d’etat of February 24, 1966, that overthrew the CPP government of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, successive governments have lost control of the levers of the economy to the extent that we are now a client nation to the World Bank IMF and other Western creditor nations,” the statement said.

It said with the state in control of the commanding heights of the economy, the CPP Government of Dr Kwame Nkrumah launched the celebrated 7-year development plan in 1963, which saw the establishment of almost all the legacy projects in Ghana today, from the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Ghana State Farms Corporation, Akosombo Dam, GIHOC Industries, Ghana State Housing Corporation, State Construction Corporation etc, all in 3yrs, before the coup.

“This led to the massive expansion of industry and jobs in Ghana that has never been replicated to this day. Ghanaians must understand that apart from the United States all the states in Europe and elsewhere have used the state enterprises system, as a first step towards building up their economies,” it said.

The statement said Ghanaians must juxtapose the performance of the CPP Government to that of the UP/NPP, and the (P) NDC approach, which abandoned, “indeed purposefully truncated the gains Ghana made under the CPP’s 7-year development plan and replaced it with the unbridled capitalism we see today.”

“The (P) NDC and UP/NPP have together, shut down and sold off most of the productive State-Owned Enterprises in the name of the private sector is the engine of growth,” the statement said.

“Clearly, trade liberalization and the unbridled private sector participation has shattered our local economy and decimated local industry and the entrepreneurial spirit of Ghanaians, leaving in its wake, certain endemic poverty that has robbed Ghanaians of their dignity. The CPP, by this press statement is calling for an honest assessment of the state of affairs and debate our path forward with Experts, Policy Makers and Politicians,” it said.

 

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, Parliament has directed its Defence and Interior Committee to find out why some military personnel brutalized some civilians in Wa over a missing mobile phone.

First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei Owusu, directed the Committee to present a report in four weeks.

The missing phone allegedly belonged to a soldier.

On Friday, a day after the incident, some members of the House, from the Minority Side, arrived in in the chamber, wearing red bands to register their anger against the reported violent behavior of the soldiers, and what they described as “insecurity in the country and the brutality of Ghanaians by the military.”

The soldiers, they asked, must be disciplined for taking the law into their own hands.

Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu asked the chair, Mr Joseph Osei Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker, to direct a joint Defence and Interior Committees to be swift in probing the alleged lawlessness to maintain the country’s peace and security.

The Committee, he added, must-visit Wa to apprise themselves of the development and circumstances leading to the impunity.

He came under Standing Order 70(2) of the House, which allows a member to raise a matter of urgent public importance.

He said: “We will not accept a state of lawlessness led by men in uniform. I am urging you to request your committee on Defence and Interior to act expeditiously if it means visiting Wa.

“I am asking the Committee to take up this matter because we risk cracking the civil-military relations that remain fundamental for our country’s peace and security.”

He referred to the recent brutalities by state security persons, killing two persons in Ejura, and said: “We have not put Ejura behind us yet, following the death of Ibrahim Mohammed aka Kaaka.”

He added: “yesterday as I watch some development in Wa, a very peaceful city in our country you could see men of the GAF beating and humiliating Ghanaian civilians.

The rights and freedoms of these Ghanaians are guaranteed under the 1992 constitution,” Mr Iddrisu said, and that whatever grievances any member of the GAF has, they cannot continue to take the law into their own hands.

“We are a country governed by law. We will not accept a state of lawlessness in this country led by men uniform” he added.

Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, observed that “there is creeping lawlessness led by some Ghanaian civilians.”

“We must be up to the issue,” the Majority Leader said.

Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul reported that the incident was true.

He briefed the House on intermediary measures taken so far; including issuing a statement to condemn the act, identified the people affected, and a delegation to the palace of the Wa Naa for conciliatory moves.

Mr Joseph Osei Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament who sat in for Speaker Alban Bagbin directed the Defence and Interior Committee to proceed to Wa to investigate the circumstances that led the military to assault civilians in the city.

Mr Owusu said what is important is not just those who were beaten, but all who were brutalized.

“I understand one person got his leg fractured, many were injured and hospitalized,” the First Deputy Speaker said, adding, “the fear and panic created in a society which hitherto was a peaceful society is worrying.”

He questioned the kind of relationship the GAF want to have with the civil population.

“Don’t forget your uniform and the number of ammunition you have would not be able to contain a civilian rejection that enough is enough…This is not a matter where apologies would be enough for this purposes,” he added.

 

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra,- Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has bid farewell to Mr András Szabós, the outgoing Hungary Ambassador to Ghana.

Mr Szabós, a career diplomat, was appointed Ambassador to Ghana in 2016 and concurrently accredited to the Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo and Burkina Faso.

During the farewell, the Minister congratulated Mr Szabós on the successful completion of his duty tour in Ghana.

She acknowledged Ghana and Hungary’s cordial relations with the adoption of common positions at international fora, particularly within the context of the Non Aligned Movement.

She hailed the interventions of the Ambassador, which resulted in the visit of Mr Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Policy, from November 30 to December 1, 2017, for the official opening of the Hungarian Embassy in Accra and establishment of the Hungarian Business Forum.

Madam Botchwey cited the forthcoming official visit of Hungary’s President, Mr János Áder, to Ghana on 13th January 2022, which would provide a unique opportunity to identify new areas of cooperation and elevate bilateral relations.

During Mr Szabós’ tenure as Ambassador, Ghana’s Parliament ratified the Agreement on Mutual Visa Exemption for Holders of Diplomatic and Service Passports (November, 2019) and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2019 on Cooperation in Water Management, with a commitment to working towards establishing a framework for seamless co-operation between the parties on the basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit, she said.

Madam Botchwey said the €50 million contract signed between the Jospong Group of Companies and the Government of Hungary for the construction of waste water treatment plants in Tamale and Takoradi would ensure Ghana achieved her targets under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Six on clean water and sanitation.

She recalled that Mr Mohammad Habibu Tijani, a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, led Ghana’s delegation to the 17th International Trade Centre’s World Export Development Forum in Budapest in 2017.

At the forum discussions were held with Mr Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian Foreign Minister, and Mr Zoltán Balog, the Minister for Human Capacities, to enhance bilateral cooperation, particularly in education, culture and sports.

She acknowledged Hungary’s immense contribution to education, especially with scholarships awarded to Ghanaian students increasing from 50 to 100 annually.

She commended the Hungarian Government’s donation of 3,300 pieces of surgery masks and N9s face masks to Ghana to help the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which was facilitated by the Ambassador and Mr Imre Hegyesi, head of a sludge management company in Takoradi.

Madam Botchwey assured Mr Szabós of government’s resolve to leveraging Ghana’s role as Chair of ECOWAS to promote democracy, good governance, peace and security within the sub-region.

She said the Ministry would support his successor to further consolidate the gains made.

Mr Szabós congratulated Ghana on her election as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council for 2022 to 2023.

He said the bilateral relations had grown stronger over the last five years, with Hungary establishing an Embassy in Accra to cement those relations.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, – The 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours has awarded Professor Amina Plummer, Education Director, The Owl’s Nest International School, Accra, Ghana, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE).

Accra, – The 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours has awarded Professor Amina Plummer, Education Director, The Owl’s Nest International School, Accra, Ghana, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

(MBE).

The Award is in recognition of Prof Plummer’s services to education and social work in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ghana.

The MBE is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service.

Prof Plummer is among 129 people who were recognized on the Queen’s Birthday Honours for their exceptional service to the UK and internationally.

On learning of her award, Prof Plummer was visibly elated and said: “I am delighted and honoured to receive this award and grateful to those who nominated me. It is wonderful to know that my vocation of 40-plus years is appreciated and recognised.”

“Thank you to everyone who supported me, especially my family, friends, colleagues and most of all the children and their families”.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Prof Plummer said, she was absolutely delighted to be nominated and considered worthy of the award.

Originally from Manchester, Prof Plummer spent the early part of her career supporting children, parents, and carers in the diverse community of Moss Side.

She went on to work as a lecturer at the University of Salford, with leadership of children and families and social inequalities and human rights modules.

As a counselling supervisor for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), her Master’s and PhD research related to safeguarding children, with a focus on Africa.

Prof Plummer moved to Ghana in 1999 and in 2007 launched an inclusive international school in Cantonments, The Owl’s Nest International School, teaching a UK curriculum.

She has also supported disadvantaged children and families in the local area through both the school and her charity work with the Street Children’s Empowerment Foundation (SCEF) in Jamestown, Accra.

In December 2018, the Academic Union in Oxford declared her Owl’s Nest International School as one of the ‘Best Regional Educational Institutions’ and recognized Prof Plummer as one of the ‘Educators of the Year’.

“I see the future of children in Ghana as a lot brighter because we are currently reforming our educational system. It is a very good thing, keeping teachers updated in their practice and in helping children to perform competitively in the 21st century,” Prof Plummer said.

“Education should not be taken for granted, it is an opportunity and I want to help to give more children in Ghana the opportunity to attend school”.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, – Four contestants from the popular TV reality television show ‘DateRush’, have qualified for the first stage of season two Reality TV show Rabby’s Starlet.

The four contestants; Success, Cilla Royal, Bella and Ruby would be looking to showcase their talent in the acting field and become stars in the near future.

Speaking in an interview, founder of the reality show Rabby Bray who is a popular actress said, the four ladies have been selected to next round due to abilities as budding actresses and a step further in their journey to stardom after getting a major boost from ‘DateRush show.’.

Success, who is known for her thrilling display on DateRush (Season 4&5), at the sidelines of the auditions which ended a few days ago said she had always dreamt of becoming a top actress, hence specifically choosing the Rabby’s Starlet TV reality show.

“The ‘DateRush’ platform is far different from Rabby’s Starlet in the sense that ‘DateRush’ is basically for entertainment and is not really a platform for me to showcase what I really have in myself; when it comes to acting.

“But, at Rabby’s Starlet, I would be given the opportunity to show how good of an actress I am and why I deserve a chance to be in the industry. I strongly believe that this is the platform for me,” she said.

Auditions for Season 2 of ‘Rabby’s Starlet’ reality TV show ended some days ago with 35 ladies shortlisted for the first stage with the final eight contestants to progress to next round after successfully completing various tasks and will include voting by the public.

The last eight would be camped at a luxurious venue over a period of time where they will receive grooming and undertake further tasks as part of the competition to choose the ultimate winner who will be crowned Rabby’s Starlet season two.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra,- President Xi Jinping of China, has reiterated that the era of China being “bullied” is over. Consequently, anyone who will try to separate the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese people is doomed to fail.

Consequently, anyone who will try to separate the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese people is doomed to fail.

President Xi, who is also the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, said this, on Thursday when he addressed a ceremony to mark the CPC’s Centenary, at the Tian’anmen Square in Beijing, China.

“Any attempt to divide the Party from the Chinese people or to set the people against the Party is bound to fail,” he said.

He noted that the more than 95 million Party members and the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people would never embrace such schemes.

“On the journey ahead, we must rely closely on the people to create history,” President Xi stated.

He declared: “Upholding the Party’s fundamental purpose of wholeheartedly serving the people, we will stand firmly with the people, implement the Party’s mass line, respect the people’s creativity, and practise a people-centered philosophy of development.”

He said the Chinese People would develop a whole-process people’s democracy, safeguard social fairness and justice, and resolve the imbalances and inadequacies in development.

It would also address the most pressing difficulties and problems that were of great concern to the people.

“In doing so, we will make more notable and substantive progress toward achieving well-rounded human development and common prosperity for all,” he said.

“We must continue to adapt Marxism to the Chinese context.”

President Xi said Marxism was the fundamental guiding ideology upon which their Party and country were founded, saying, “It is the very soul of our Party and the banner under which it strives”.

He said the CPC upheld the basic tenets of Marxism and the principle of seeking truth from facts.

He noted that based on China’s realities, they had developed keen insights into the trends of the day, seized the initiative in history, and made painstaking explorations.

“We have thus been able to keep adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times, and to guide the Chinese people in advancing our great social revolution,” he said.

He noted that at the fundamental level, the capability of their Party and the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics were attributable to the fact that Marxism worked.

“On the journey ahead, we must continue to uphold Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development, and fully implement the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,” President Xi said.

“We must continue to adapt the basic tenets of Marxism to China’s specific realities and its fine traditional culture.

“We will use Marxism to observe, understand, and steer the trends of our times, and continue to develop the Marxism of contemporary China and in the 21st century.”

President Xi said the Chinese People must uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics.

“We must follow our own path—this is the bedrock that underpins all the theories and practices of our Party.”

He said the founding of a communist party in China was an epoch-making event, which profoundly changed the course of Chinese history in modern times, transformed the future of the Chinese people and nation, and altered the landscape of world development.

President Xi said since the very day of its founding, the Party had made seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation its aspiration and mission.

He said all the struggle, sacrifice, and creation through which the Party had united and led the Chinese people over the past 100 years had been tied together by one ultimate theme—bringing about the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

He said to realize national rejuvenation, the Party united and led the Chinese people in fighting bloody battles with unyielding determination, achieving great success in the new-democratic revolution.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ejura (Ash), – The leadership of Ghana’s main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has visited the families of victims of the recent shooting incident at Ejura in the Ashanti Region.

The party said the visit was to show solidarity with the affected families and commiserate with them as they mourned their beloved ones.

“We are here to pay our condolences to the families affected by this unfortunate incident,” Mr Sammy Gyamfi, the NDC National Communications Director, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), on the sidelines of a funeral service for the departed souls at Dagomba-Line, Ejura.

Two young men, Nasiru Yussif and Murtala Mohammed, both in their 20s lost their lives in Tuesday’s June 29 mayhem and had since been buried in line with Islamic tradition.

The incident was triggered by the death of one Ibrahim Mohammed, alias Kaaka, 45, who was said to have been brutally assaulted while returning home on a motorbike on Saturday night, June 26.

He died at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) three days after the attack after his transfer from the Ejura Government Hospital.

What began as a peaceful demonstration on Monday, following the burial of Kaaka, turned violent as the protesters clashed with the security personnel detailed to maintain order, leading to the shooting of the two young men.

Four other people, who sustained various degrees of injuries in the tragedy, were sent to the hospital for treatment.

Two of the injured have since been discharged.

Mr Gyamfi said the party was worried about the death of the two young men and prayed for their souls.

“We are demanding justice for the precious lives lost,” he noted, saying nobody should be shielded in the course of investigations into the incident.

The NDC Communications Director said those responsible for the death of the two young men and Kaaka ought to be dealt with following the law.

The party leadership had earlier visited the Ejura Government Hospital to interact with those still on admission, saying the NDC wished them a speedy recovery.

Those making the trip for the funeral service included Mr. Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, NDC Director of Elections, Mr George Opare-Addo, National Youth Organizer, Mr Augustine Andrews, the Regional Chairman, and other executive members of the main opposition party.

Alhaji Abdul Wahab Alhassan, Spokesperson for the Dagomba-Line Muslim Community, said the bereaved families were grateful to the party for the visit.

Source: Ghana News Agency