Ghana Supreme Court Has Spoken

Elections are a means of regulating political rivalries in the broader interest of the nation. As the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security highlighted in its 2012 report, the importance of elections with integrity lies in the legitimacy they confer on the winners and the security they ensure for the losers. Democracy is not about winner-takes-all politics; it is about the winner serving all his or her people and shoring up the rule of law.

The winner has to be given a chance to lead, and the losers have to find their rightful place in opposition, keeping the government in check and preparing rival policies to present to the electorate the next time round. 

In 1957, Kwame Nkrumah said, “We are prepared to pick it (Ghana) up and make it a nation that will be respected by every nation in the world.” Let us live up to Kwame Nkrumah’s aspirations today and show the world what we are capable of.

Call to Stop The Sycophancy

A group calling itself the Concerned People and Executives of the ruling National Democratic Congress within Tema metropolis, says it will resist any attempt to reinstate dismissed Chief Executive for the area, Kemps Ofosu-Ware.

A release issued on Wednesday by Kingsley Dotse Mensah for and on behalf of some members of the Assembly as well as some executives of the three constituencies in the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, described as "poor", the quality of leadership exhibited by the dismissed Mayor.

Kemps Ofosu-Ware is among 33 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives relieved of duty by president John Mahama after serving their four year mandate. Local Government and Rural Development Minister, Akwasi Opong-Fosu subsequently directed Regional Ministers to act in their stead pending approval of newly nominated MMDCEs.

However, Greater Accra Chairman of the ruling NDC, Joseph Ade Coker is unhappy at President Mahama’s appointments of Municipal Chief Executives (MCEs) and District Chief Executives (DCEs) in the capital.

"We believe that as a regional party, we have to make some inputs regarding the nomination or re-nomination of MCEs and DCEs in the region", Mr Ade Coker told Joy News.

But Mr. Ade Coker's reaction has been deemed by some party supporters in the region as a well-groomed plot by the leadership of the party to get the outgoing mayor reappointed.

"The bad leadership and personal character traits of Kempes Ofosu Ware simply served as a catalyst for the National Democratic Congress not getting a single seat in the metropolis, notable among which is the very seat he personally contested and lost by 3 votes although the president who doesn’t stay with the people here won in that same constituency by an overwhelming 2000+ margin".

They accused Mr. Kemps Ofosu-Ware of demonstrating "lack of understanding or consideration to the myriad of problems confronting the good people of Tema through his misplacement of priorities on projects and programmers".

"A typical example of this waste is a set of “Azonto” dancers he has personally erected with hundreds of thousands of cedis around the TDC traffic light while our mothers suffer from unbearable stench in our markets," the statement claimed.

The statement therefore appealed to the president to nominate a level headed replacement within the shortest time frame, to bring some sanity and confidence to the now vacant office and government in general"

Ghana Supreme Court To Be Fair

Ghanaians  has called on Supreme Court judges adjudicating the election petition to be fair and thorough in their examination of the facts, being presented before them by parties in the case.
Even though 24 million populations in Ghana are confident in the independence and credibility of the court, they believes a fair and thorough examination of all facts will lead to an impartial adjudication of the competing claims before the court.

A commodities boom, abundant foreign currency reserves, a democratically elected government and a new generation of educated young people endowed with huge potential. Sounds familiar? I am actually describing the Ghana of 1957.

It is perhaps hard for young people today to imagine how optimistic my generation was at the time of independence. Ours was one of the richest countries in Africa.

Like today, our raw materials were in high demand. Our national income was comparable to South Korea’s and our prospects were among the best in what was then called the “under-developed world.”

Yet, 30 years later, South Korea's annual income per head had risen to 10 times that of Ghana’s. It eventually joined the club of rich nations while we hope to become a “middle-income” country only by 2015. Our early hopes were dashed by exclusionary politics, poor economic management and corruption, which created and perpetuated political instability.

Since then, we have steadily regained lost economic ground and become a stable democracy, organizing a series of credible elections, leading to peaceful transfers of power. We can be proud of these achievements. Once again, Ghana’s youth is full of hope in the future. 

With oil coming on stream, and strong exports of other commodities, our economy is growing at a vigorous eight per cent and we have a second chance to raise Ghana into the world’s premier league within a generation.

But for this upbeat scenario to come true this time, we must not score own-goals”. We have to invest the revenues from our natural resources and agriculture into health, education and infrastructure for the benefit of all Ghanaians. We must make the most of our second chance, for we do not know whether there will be a third.

It is against this backdrop that Ghana awaits the momentous ruling of the Supreme Court on last December’s presidential election. The court has already won plaudits for its rigorous and professional work over the past months. The very uncertainty of the outcome speaks to the independence and credibility of the court.

What matters most is that its ruling be based on a thorough and fair examination of all the facts, leading to an impartial adjudication of the competing claims before the court.

The ball will soon be back in the politicians’ court. The successful party must overcome the temptation to gloat, and the other side must avoid the urge to cast doubt on the court and its decision. Succumbing to either impulse would be reckless and unworthy of responsible democratic leaders, and indeed of the people of Ghana, whose prospects depend on continued political stability. 

I am confident that the election dispute can be resolved peacefully through our institutions - provided the main parties respect the findings of the Court. Such an outcome will not only burnish our democratic credentials, but also bolster the hopes of a nation for a brighter, more prosperous tomorrow. 

As the chairman of the African Union panel that mediated a settlement to the post-election violence in 2007/2008, I was impressed by how responsibly Kenyans handled the uncertainties that came out of their last elections in March. The political parties were at pains to discourage violence by their supporters. 

Elections are a means of regulating political rivalries in the broader interest of the nation. As the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security highlighted in its 2012 report, the importance of elections with integrity lies in the legitimacy they confer on the winners and the security they ensure for the losers. Democracy is not about winner-takes-all politics; it is about the winner serving all his or her people and shoring up the rule of law.

The winner has to be given a chance to lead, and the losers have to find their rightful place in opposition, keeping the government in check and preparing rival policies to present to the electorate the next time round. 

In 1957, Kwame Nkrumah said, “We are prepared to pick it (Ghana) up and make it a nation that will be respected by every nation in the world.” Let us live up to Kwame Nkrumah’s aspirations today and show the world what we are capable of.

High Abortion Rates

Findings of a newly released study that in Ghana, a woman’s socio-economic status largely determines how safe her termination of an unwanted pregnancy will be.The study, 

“Factors Associated with Abortion-Seeking and Obtaining a Safe Abortion in Ghana,” by Aparna Sundaram et al of the Guttmarcher Institute based in the United State, (US), founds that while middle and upper-income women in urban areas were more likely than other women to obtain a safe abortion, women who were young, poor or without support of a partner were at a greater risk of having an unsafe abortion and experiencing injury or death.

The researchers, who analyzed data from the 2007 Ghana Maternal Health Survey, found that wealthier women were three times more likely to have a safe procedure than poorer women. They also found that women who had financial support from their partners were more likely to have safe procedure. ”A majority of women whose partners paid for some or all of the expenses had a safe abortion, while only few of women whose partners did not contribute did so.” Presenting the research findings at a disseminating workshop attended by players in the area of reproductive health in Accra, Aparna Sundaram, lead author of the study, said age was also associated with a woman’s ability to obtain a safe procedure. “Adolescents were especially vulnerable to having unsafe abortions. Teens were 77 per cent less likely to have a safe procedure than woman in their 30s and 60 per cent less likely to do so than women in their 20s.The researchers attributed this disparity to adolescents having less knowledge about where to obtain safe legal abortion, poorer access to financial resources and being more concerned about stigma and, thus, likely to ask for help. Previous studies have documented that even when safe legal options are available, the stigma associated with abortion is so powerful that it often leads women to seek an unsafe, clandestine abortion. “Our analysis makes clear that there is an urgent need to develop and enforce policies and programmes to lower unintended pregnancy rates and improve access to contraception and safe abortion services, especially among economically and socially disadvantaged women,” said Aparna Sundaram.

The researchers noted other important factors that led women to obtain unsafe procedures, such as a limited number of qualified abortion providers and the lack of awareness of Ghana’s fairly liberal abortion law. They stressed that in order to reduce the incidence of unsafe abortion and its harmful consequences, efforts must be made to destigmatise the procedure and educate women and the general population about the legal status of abortion in Ghana.

A reproductive health expert working with the Guttmarcher Institute in Ghana, Dr. Joana Nerquaye-Tetteh, said often, access to quality health services was determined by circumstances rather than need, with the less well-off experiencing the worse outcomes. “The tragic reality is that many women continue to put their health and live at risk to terminate a pregnancy, going to untrained providers or worse, attempting to self-induce. The resulting harm would be avoided if existing guidelines were actually implemented,” she added.

The Country Director of Ipas, an international organization which promotes the health of women, Dr. Koma Jehu-Appiah, who moderated the workshop, reiterated that unsafe abortion remained a leading cause of maternal death and injury in Ghana. He said to reverse this trend there was need for the collaboration of stakeholders including young people, women’s groups, religious groups and service providers. Discussions that followed the presentation of the research findings referred to actions that can be taken by the country to reduce death and injury as a result of unsafe abortion. On the subject of how to reduce unsafe abortion among young people, the workshop participants proposed the development of appropriate Information, Education and Communication (IEC)/ Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) messages for targeted youth populations, including in and out of school youth, rural youth and young people in poor communities. Young people, they further said, should be assisted to develop decision-making skills and empowered to make informed sexual and reproductive health decisions, while they were also provided youth-friendly services delivery at all levels. The participants further proposed that women should be reached with information on safe abortion and the Ghana Health Service standards and protocols be fully implemented to generally expand facilities and ensure access to service delivery. In addition, they said, subsidized and sometimes free services should be offered for the less economically empowered women.

The role of religious bodies in preventing needless deaths of women through unsafe abortion also came up for discussion.

Participants proposed improved collaboration between religious bodies and community development practitioners on important health issues including safe abortion. 

The Nation Ghana Now Have Enemies Within The Country

Ghana as a great nation been divined into political enemies among themselves, people living in the country Ghana have ricks lot of people's life    
In spite of the approval of the 2013 budget, the NHIA and other critical agencies will have to wait till May before being reimbursed as commonalities will not be completed before Parliament goes on recess. 

With the Parliamentary approval of the 2013 budget, sector ministries were due to reimburse agencies like the National Health Insurance Authority, (NHIA), the Ghana Education Trust Fund and contractors among others.

Unfortunately, all such entities would have to wait till May because the formula for the disbursement will not be placed on the floor of Parliament before the House rises for the Easter break by close of next week. 

 Parliamentary correspondent Elton Joy Brobbey, Chairman of Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government and Rural Development, Dominic Azumah described the delay as unfortunate. 

According to him, the Appropriation Bill which will pave the way for disbursement of statutory funds to institutions like the National Health Insurance Authority, the Get FUND and others, has not been passed. 

The passage of the Appropriation Bill authorizes the withdrawal of monies from the Consolidated Fund and other public funds for the purposes of meeting government expenditure and running of the state during a financial year.

NHIA  has however allayed fears of the possibility of the NHIS collapsing due to the delay because there is the possibility of Parliament being recalled for business should the situation warrant any such emergency. 

The NHIA has recently come under serious criticisms for its failure to reimburse service providers to NHIS subscribers. The situation deteriorated when the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) withdrew its services to about 42% of the Nation’s NHIS subscribers.

Angered by the National Labour Commission’s late invitation to a crunch meeting involving the government and the two striking teacher bodies, the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) say they are also laying down their tools.

Joy News can confirm that the union met today and has formally decided to join the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) on a nationwide strike.

The National Labour Commission Wednesday directed the government represented by the Fair Wages and Salary Commission (FWSC) to sit with GNAT and NAGRAT to resolve their grievances and report to the Commission in seven days. The teachers were supposed to go back to the classroom as negotiations continue.

But President of TEWU, Peter Lumor suggested that their members have been ignored, which he said is an indicative of the fact that the government does not take them serious.

“We have decided to ask TEWU members to join the ongoing strike, because the issue at stake does not affect only GNAT and NAGRAT members, it affects TEWU members also.”

He said their concerns have been raised several times and even when the Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur met organized labour on Friday, as well as the meeting with the Chief of Staff at the Flagstaff House on Sunday, their concerns were equally highlighted.

He therefore asked, “is it because we have not declared a strike people are not taking us serious? And you invite GNAT, NAGRAT to Labour Commission and you left out TEWU.”

Even though TEWU was invited to the Wednesday's meeting with NLC, Mr Lumor said they could not honour the invitation because it came in late at 9am when the meeting was also scheduled for the same day in the morning.

He explained “Our management committee was meeting and our members all over the country were calling [asking] what was happening and we have to meet, discuss and tell them something. So we could not postpone our management committee at 9am and go to that meeting.”

But Head of Communications at the FWSC, Earl Ankrah indicated that the Commission cannot be blamed for the late invitation, although regrettable.

Nevertheless, he said late invitation to emergency meetings such as the one held today was nothing unusual, describing TEWU’s absence as “unfortunate”.

He also wondered how TEWU’s decision to go on strike would pan out now that the NLC has directed GNAT and NAGRAT to resume work and go back to the negotiations table. He added that the call by TEWU “is a little disjointed” and called on them to allow negotiations to go on.

The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has said that its members will return to the classroom only if they see measurable commitment to address their concerns from government. 

The association said this shortly before entering into a crunch meeting with the officials from the National Labour Commission (NLC), the Ghana Education Service (GES), Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and Ministry of Finance to discus the stand-off between the teachers and the education authorities.

NAGRAT President Christian Addai Opoku said the teachers' body had outlined three conditions that must be met before they return to the classroom.

He said the GES was supposed to write to the finance ministry for requesting for monies to pay the striking teachers their maintenance allowance. "We want to see the answer from Ministry of Finance directing that these monies have been directed to GES to pay the maintenance allowance through Controller and Accountants-General's Department.

"Second, we also want to see that there is a letter from the Ministry of Finance directing the payment of incremental credit. We also want to see a letter mandating FWSC and for that matter GES to start the re-negotiation of teacher retention premium".

These actions, he believes should be enough to end the strike which is in its third day. 

President John Mahama and 2012 CPP Vice-presidential candidate, Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong have called on the striking teachers to soften their stance and reconsider their decision to withdraw their services. 

But the NAGRAT President believes that they have been flexible enough over the years. 

He said, "We are not saying that pay the monies into our accounts immediately, we are saying we want to see commitment to do this". 

He lamented that "people (stakeholders within the education sector) are just not being teacher-friendly".
The nation need a lot of people to come together to build the nation as a whole from all the political parties to work a great nation, and leave the negative plans against   the Government and serve Ghana as one.

Mahama To Deliver Maiden State Of The Nation Address

President John Dramani Mahama will  deliver his maiden State of the Nation Address to a full house in Parliament after the Minority rescinded its decision to boycott the proceedings.
 In fulfillment of article 67 of the constitution, which requires  to make this address at the beginning of each Parliamentary session. 

President Mahama speaks: According to Article 67 of the constitution, the president is to deliver an address on the state of the nation to this house. It is my privilege to welcome him.
We’ll continue to decentralize government by decentralizing some departments and exploring others to decentralize, giving greater authority to assemblies. 

Effective governance starts with the presidency. I’ll make every effort to see the constitutional review committee’s recommendations observed. We’ll mainstream local economic development via employment programs. 

Strengthening parliament is crucial. We must let it play its oversight role effectively. Almost all MPs have decent offices, and they’ll get new laptops with full internet connectivity. We’ll commence a feasibility study to construct a new parliamentary chamber block at the state house and explore appropriate housing for MPs to guarantee their safety. 

Civil society will continue to have a role dictating our direction and we’ll continue to practice freedom of religion. The churches should regulate the excesses of their members. 

We’ll work with the judicial council to provide new modern courtrooms and we’ll equip judges to properly execute their duties. We’ll promote citizen based monitoring of government. 

Transparent and accountable governance: We just used a barometric voters register for the first time and our elections were deemed free, fair, and transparent. We’ll keep providing the EC with the resources needed for reforms. 

The Tema Oil Refinery must once again become the most efficient in West Africa through private-public partnership. The navy, air force, and army have been retooled to protect our gas interests. The completion of the vessel tracking and monitoring system being installed will allow us to monitor incoming vessels via radar. 

An enterprise development center with support from Jubilee partners will be established in the Western region to help entrepreneurs take advantage of the oil opportunities there. It will be a win win for us and our foreign partners. 

We’re installing solar panels in off grid communities. The private sector has shown interest in renewable energy investments. We’ll commence the distribution of over 20,000 solar lanterns to reduce kerosene lanterns and their attendant indoor pollution. 

The broadcasting bill has been on the drawing board for a long time, and it’s now time to establish standards for electronic media. We must ensure balance, fairness, and objectivity in the media. Access to community radio will be improved. 

A major issue will be the implementation of the recommendations of the constitutional review committee, so we’ve established a CRC implementation committee. 

We should revise to criminal offenses act to expand the definition of corruption. We should give impetus to the fight against corruption by sanctioning those we catch and making an example of them. We’ll push for critical reforms with the attorney general. Our commitment to this fight remains unshakable. 

We hope to see the current problems finished in April, but the system will still be fragile for some time. 

Two engineers died in an underwater accident when trying to clear the West African Gas Pipeline. We’ve lost 250 megawatts of our electricity supply. I’m adequately aware of the challenges and discomfort the situation presents our citizens and businesses. We expect an additional 500 megawatts in capacity this year, including 133 by the end of February. 

The erratic electricity supply is of concern to me and I've worked hard to address it. The unreliable water supply is also bad, and the current exercises do not represent our progress. A series of events have set us back significantly, but we’re working to dig our way out. 

We will see improvements in flood control and sanitation in Accra. The minister of lands and natural resources has been tasked to see that mining meets the need and expectations of the communities where it takes place, creates jobs and does not hurt the environment. There is an unacceptable collusion between Ghanaians and illegal foreign miners, and we’re working to better regulate the sector so that mining better benefits Ghanaians.

Last year, we had a national sanitation exercise. The task force experience is being reviewed to engage all stakeholders in a more sustained and concerted effort to do away with rubbish. We need to focus on waste management, recovery, and recycling and incentives to engage the private sector in pollution control.

Exorbitant rents violate our laws and suffocate Ghanaians, I’ll work to address this. We must improve the supply of clean drinking water to all, and some of our efforts have already yielded results. In the long term, we need to decentralize water management for cost and delivery efficiency.

I’m interested in urban renewal and guaranteeing all Ghana’s access to safe toilet facilities. We will combine projects for urban housing and sanitation provision and waste disposal in areas that are overcrowded and lack hygiene. We will construct low cost units for lower income groups.

We’re looking at developing a new seaport in the west. We are investigating unauthorized charges at airports and harbors that burned importers. 

We’ve commission the exploration of plans for a new international airport in Accra and the expansion of airports in other cities. We’ll begin a feasibility study on collaborating with the private sector to establish a national airline.

As we continue, there will be significant signs of improvement in our railway network in the next three years. The private sector has a role to play in the ongoing modernization of railways. We’ve seen a boom in aviation, with passenger traffic through our international airport more than quadrupling in the last three years and domestic traffic increasing 10 fold.

Cocoa board is funding the upgrading of gravel roads in cocoa producing regions. We will rehabilitate and expand the Accra-Tema motorway and we’ll commence work this year on a new interchange at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Government’s plan to revamp the railway sector is ongoing. There has been progress in this sector. 

As for roads, we have clear plans for the roads and transport sector. These include the introduction of public private partnerships on certain roads. This year, we will move many ongoing road projects very near to completion. 

We will add over 500 kilometers of fiber optic cable starting at Ho and reaching 70 communities. We need to shift from analogue to digital television transmission. 

Telephone subscription here is close to 20 million, nearly double the number from 4 years ago. We need to improve broadband infrastructure, which can help us improve healthcare, education, and more. 

Private sector investment is only possible if we have good infrastructure- roads, regular water and electricity and communications networks. 

Tourism must help us realize the full economic potential of our culture and creative arts. The national Commission on Culture is being restructured as the government’s leading advisory on these areas. These industries must remain integral parts of our private sector. 

Manufacturing: We will facilitate the emergence and growth of a manufacturing sector by reviewing tax codes to make it more business friendly, we’ll have an envelope for ailing manufacturers and set aside industrial areas in certain cities. Work is ongoing on a $1.2 billion ammonia urea fertilizer plant through a partnership with the Indian government.

At least 70% of the world market price for cocoa should go to farmers. We will use technology to increase yield per hectare. 

A more coherent focus on fisheries and aquaculture development has been initiated with the establishment of a ministry and the planned establishment of a college.

Total land irrigation will be increased nationwide. Under a new world bank loan on commercial agriculture, we’ll invest in such projects that will allow year round farming. 

We will award contracts where companies are competitive in quality and timeliness of service delivery. Through modernization techniques like productivity enhancement techniques, better seeds, and access to tractors like technology have improved productivity. 

Partnership with the private sector has brought about accelerated growth and economic development. We are now 62 on the world bank’s ease of doing business list by country, but we need to do more. Private sector initiatives will now be supervised by the presidency, and the Private Sector Development Strategy will cover all angles of Private sector development.

We need to curtail public servants’ reliance on the use of state vehicles and free fuel. We’ve also taken measures to control MDA spending beyond their budgetary allocation. We’ll raise tax and non-tax revenue by plugging leakages.

Many of the gang of four, (now six) oil projects are nearing completion. We need to realign distortions in the pricing of fuel products. We’ve been shelling out GH¢150 million per month to companies handling distribution and this created an illicit smuggling industry.

As we struggle to settle the wage bill, public workers continue to demand wage increases and threaten to strike. The meat is now down to the bones and we must think about revising wages to improve national progress. We demand better services from our public employees commensurate with the money we pay them.

We must ensure that it does not constitute too big a strain on our economy. The wages are squeezing out crucial investments, and if we don’t do something soon, we’ll lack money for basic infrastructure and development.

The personal emoluments have about tripled in the past three years. We spend 60.9% of public revenue to pay public workers, nearly double the global prudent level. We did this to enhance fairness, productivity, and motivation in the public sector. 

The banking sector has seen an improved NPL ratio since 2009. These improvements have made Ghana an attractive destination for direct foreign investments. The challenge facing us now is the misalignment of budget items, like emoluments, debt servicing, and so on. 

The cedi has enjoyed relative stability, boosted by strong foreign reserves that have nearly doubled in recent years. 

In 2011, we may have been the fastest growing economy in the world. We are still moving into the full middle income bracket. We’ve made progress in macroeconomic stability with inflation in single digits for 30 months. 

Growers have been registered to support the operations of these factories and they have supported farmers with inputs like fertilizers. Based on their example, I am overseeing the establishment of the Western Corridor Development Authority.

The Savannah Accelerated Development Authority has facilitated partnerships to establish 3 agro processing factories in the north.

We will continue with the National Youth Achievers Award. We will revamp the youth training institutes for nation building training.

The youth are today’s leaders, not the leaders of the future. We need to create sustainable job opportunities by developing youth centers to promote youth meetings, cultural events, conferences, and more.

I request the FA and management to go to the drawing board and come up with a formidable team to take us to the world cup. A lack of planning can prevent us from participating in the Olympics and other events. We need to incentive's assemblies to maintain an athletic facilities in each district. 

A few weeks ago, the Black Stars were eliminated from AFCON. Almost a year ago, president Mills urged our football authorities to take penalty kicks seriously as it often is our downfall. What seemed humorous turned out to be prophetic. 

We need a strong and resilient economy. We’ve had consistent growth for decades. 

Oye Lithur is capable and her skills will soon be apparent through her work. 

The ministry will establish a database of our poorest people and work to enhance their access to social benefits. We cannot advance as a nation half poor and half rich. 

We have shown commitment to this program by making Dr Danaa a minister of state.

The mandate of the ministry for Gender, Children, and Social Protection is not for the promotion of gay rights but to bring the fragmented schemes addressing marginalized people together. 

It is important to be mindful of members of our society marginalized for cultural, economic, or other reasons. We will have programs to address these people. 

We’ve made progress towards universal access to HIV prevention. There has been a 25% decline in new infections among youth. The ongoing 5-year strategic plan should eliminate mother to child transmission and cut infection rates in half. Over 625,000 expectant mothers will be tested, among other things.

We will establish an Eastern Region university geared towards environmental research. We need to improve psychiatric treatment and better integrate it into healthcare. We’ll scale up the training of midwives, nurses, and allied health workers.

Government will incentive's special educators to see that our special needs students benefit from technology. 

We will construct 200 new community based senior high schools. This aggressive expansion also means the need for more qualified and motivated teachers and administrative staff. We’ll design and implement a distance education program for teachers taking advantage of modern communications platforms so that students and staff at these colleges can connect remotely. 

We will progressively expand School Feeding (Programmed) to all basic public schools in rural communities and give out free uniforms, textbooks, and laptops. 

We need to integrate kindergarten education into basic school. We shall expand kindergarten teacher training so that children begin acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills early and have a stronger base to build on. 

I extend a hand to social and religious bodies and private sector education operators to engage in this national exercise to expand access to and quality of education. 

We must expand access to education at all levels. We will reward outstanding educators and work to improve gender parity in education as well as working towards affordability. 

A sick population cannot accelerate our economy, and the healthcare system is still understaffed. We will work towards improving access, service quality, working conditions, and we will hire more staff. We will start establishing regional hospitals in the Eastern and Upper East regions, upgrade the Central and Volta regional hospitals into teaching hospitals so that we enhance medical training. We’ll build a new Kumasi Hospital to diagnostic  KATH. There will be an additional 1600 CHIPS(?) compounds. We will build more polyclinics. 

We need to use technology and innovation as well as public-private partnership to deliver a prosperous nation. We will build an economy that rewards hard work, an economy where nepotism has no place.

Through private sector partnership we will expand infrastructure such as roads and bridges, electricity, clean water, adequate medical care, and more. 

We must be proud of these accomplishments, but real challenges remain, there is a lot of work to do before we reduce poverty and expand infrastructure. These problems are formidable but not insurmountable. 

We can achieve more by working together. We have experienced great development in the last two decades - roads, expanding health facilities, and more. 

We have held 6 elections since 1992 with the (Electoral Commission) EC earning a reputation as one of the best electoral institutions in Africa. 

I entered public service to improve the lives of our people, to see children grow into responsible adults, where workers are proud of their country, where women are safe from maternal mortality and we all share in the benefits. 

Our recent elections have been called by international observers as the most credible, free, and fair since 1992. Our journey has been marked by improvements. 

We must put the people first, have a strong and resilient economy and expand infrastructure.

People are our most treasured asset, so we need human resource development through education, healthcare, and protection of the vulnerable. We must work on increasing our productivity and protecting those who can protect themselves. Jobs are key to leading a meaningful life. Our policies will be geared towards sustainable employment generation followed by a focus on wages. 

I promised to work hard to place us on the right path and avoid development obstacles. Ghana is a different place than when we began our journey to democratic governance.

Crusader Cry Over Corruption

Ghana's anti-corruption crusader Paul Collins Appiah Ofori has hinted that President John Dramani Mahama tried to influence him by offering him ministerial and ambassadorial appointments, both of which he rejected.

According to the former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, upon assuming office early this year and before appointing his first batch of ministers, President Mahama called him to his office at the Castle to make the offer.

Mr. Appiah Ofori said the president wanted him in to serve in government as a minister/ambassador to help fight corruption in his administration.

HE said when he was called to state his views on the anti-corruption warning the president issued to his appointees.

He told host Kwame Adjei Bohye that taking the ministerial/ambassadorial position would compromise his stand on corruption, so he refused to take it. 

Moreover, he explained, if he took the ministerial position, he would become a lone voice in government, which could lead to an early discharge from the Mahama administration.

When asked about the particular ministerial portfolio that the president wanted to give him, Mr. Appiah Ofori said the president did not mention it since he expressed no interest in taking any position in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government given that he is not a member of the party.

He claimed that when he rejected the ministerial post, President Mahama then offered to appoint him as an ambassador, a position he also declined.

According to Mr. Appiah Ofori, he rather promised the president that he would help the government by exposing corrupt practices among ministers and other government officials so that the president could take punitive action against the culprits.

He also reported asking the president not to let his calls to fight corruption be mere rhetoric as they were in the time of his predecessor, the late President Prof John Mills.

Mr. Appiah Ofori disclosed that he did some work for the late president uncovering certain corrupt deals but added that Mills failed to act upon the information, thereby institutionalizing corruption under his rule.

He said President Mahama’s demeanor clearly indicates his desire to fight corruption in government, affirming his own intention to help the president eradicate corruption in the country.

In his view, the fight against corruption should be led by the head of state since Article 35 (8) of the 1992 Constitution clearly states, "the State shall take steps to eradicate' corrupt practices and the abuse of power."

"If we get a head of state that faces the fight against corruption seriously, then Ghanaians shall find ourselves in paradise on earth," he said.

He noted, however, that a corrupt head of state would always cover up for his appointees when they engage in corrupt practices.

Mr. Appiah Ofori commended President Mahama for warning his ministers and appointees that he would hold them responsible if something goes wrong at their ministries.

"If you want to eradicate corruption, then the ministers should be held accountable and those found corrupt must be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others," he insisted.

President Mahama Warned His Ministers Over Corruption

President John Mahama warned his ministers that he will not countenance any act of corruption as he swore another batch of 17 nominees into office Thursday. 


He reminded them of the high expectations Ghanaians have for his government and challenged them to ensure that they do not disappoint. 

“People have a suspicion of office holders in terms of transparency and accountability.

“We are enjoined by the constitution to be held accountable for what happens in our ministries.

“I told the earlier batch that I swore in to think out of the box and take responsibility of the ministries that they are being sent to... The people of Ghana and myself will hold you responsible for the ministry and we expect that you will also hold your subordinates responsible for delivering on the mandate that you have been given,” he told them.

Majority leader and Minister in Charge of Government Business in Parliament Dr. Benjamin Kunbuor, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said they will do their best to ensure that the president’s vision and aspirations are realized.

Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr. Henry Seidu Danaa, Youth and Sports Minister Elvis Afriyie Ankrah and Communications Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah told Joy News they are upbeat about delivering on their promises.

Also at the Flagstaff House to meet the President were members of the Standing Committee of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. 

They were there to congratulate the President on his election and inauguration and to applaud Ghanaians for ensuring a peaceful election.

They declared that Ghana has again made Africa proud. For his part, President Mahama thanked the Catholic Church for the support it rendered the country during the election. 

He expressed surprise at Pope Benedict XVI resignation but described his move a brave one. 

He told them that Ghana is committed to working with whoever assumes the papacy next and that it is close to opening a diplomatic mission at the Vatican.

Flagstaff House Is Ready For Use

The ruling National Democratic Congress, NDC, had cited various reasons, including unresolved security concerns, for not running government business from the presidential palace. 

The Mahama administration last Thursday relocated the Presidency to the Flagstaff House where the President has since been conducting government business.

Speaking at a short ceremony to mark the relocation, President Mahama announced that he would move into his official residency in a couple of months, after completion of ongoing works on the project.
According to him, the project had two main components- one for offices and the other being the residency for the President- “and at the time the facility was being commissioned by President Kufuor” in 2008, “the project was fully completed”.

“The Office building was complete and allocations were made,” Mr. Mpiani explained. 

The former Chief of Staff criticised Dr. Don Arthur, then a member of the transition team in 2009, for making comments to suggest that work on the building lacked quality.

He said; Dr. Arthur "saw marbles and came out to tell the whole world they were cracks, when it took a mason to tell him they were marbles”.

Meanwhile the Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance, IDEG, Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, has blamed raging debate over the project, on the lack of systems to handle it.

Dr. Akwetey said little efforts were made to strictly follow procurement procedures and get local engineers involved to partner their Indian counterparts.

In a reaction, former Presidential Spokesperson, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong described as untrue, claims that due processes were not followed while putting up the magnificent structure.

Ghanaina Now Kown How The New Patriotic Party Are Pushing The Nation Away

Ghanaians can now see Clare the political parties that is driving the nation back who they call themserver elite the behave as arrogant children looking for food .
He said if the Minority had participated in the vetting, they would have stripped some of the nominees naked and submitted that their own unpopular decision to boycott the proceedings had thrown everything overboard.

Mr Agyepong wondered whether the Minority could not take their own decision regarding their participation in the vetting.

He said the National Executive of the NPP was not helping the party in any way.

He was of the view that since the national executive did not contribute anything to the campaigning of the parliamentary candidates, the party leadership should have allowed the Members of Parliament on the Minority side to take their own decision.

Mr Agyepong said he would have challenged the decision by the National Executive of the NPP but for the fact that he had travelled to Sierra Leone.

He said majority of the party's supporters were strongly against the boycott of the parliamentary vetting.

He said it was difficult to appreciate the fact that Minority MPs collected the money for accommodation only for them not to take part in the vetting.

Mr Agyepong said the NDC Majority were making a mockery of the Minority because of the boycott.

Mr Agyepong said once the NPP was in court challenging the results of the 2012 presidential elections, there was no need for the boycott of the vetting.

He, however, supported the case at the Supreme Court, since he believed the presidential election was cooked for the NDC.

Highly placed sources within the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), have revealed to The Herald that on January 14, 2013, before the rally, its bomb squad was summoned to the premises of the Bureau of National Communication to help dismantle a bomb made from dynamites.

The bomb had been discovered directly under a high voltage transformer, belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), and according to experts, many lives would have been lost and a huge number of properties destroyed had it exploded that day.

In December last year, a similar incident plotted by Michael Omari Wadie, a-one-time NPP parliamentary aspirant for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency seat, was foiled by a Police cum Military team who had gone to rescue officials of the Israeli company, Superlock Technologies Limited (STL), at Dzowulu. He was arrested trying to set an ECG transformer ablaze.

The January incident, however, demanded skill from the specialized Ghana Army team, called EOI, to dismantle the dynamites which are mostly used in Ghana by mining and constructions companies to break rocks, from the premises of the Bureau of National Communication on that fateful Monday morning.

The four dynamites with serial numbers 17083458, 17083462, 17083446 and 17083440 had been tied with a long cotton thread and placed inside a long, but shallow-stretching arc-shaped hole to enable the assailant/s ignite them with fire.

Meanwhile, the dynamites have been traced to a company here in Ghana, but it is not clear whether the state security apparatus has made any arrests yet.

Again, it is not certain whether the dynamites and the possible explosion which would have occurred, has anything to do with the numerous mysterious fire outbreaks occurring in majors markets across the country, especially in Accra and Kumasi, which the Deputy Communication Director of the NPP, Sammy Awuku made reference to during the Taifa event.

The 28-year-old, Sammy Awuku attributed the fire outbreaks to a misfortune which has befallen Ghana, because the will of Ghanaians to have Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP as president, was stolen and given to John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The same Sammy Awuku, it would be recalled led some young men and women belonging to the NPP to besiege the premises of STL in Accra prior to the announcement of the 2012 elections results, claiming the company was helping the Electoral Commission (EC) to rig the elections for then candidate John Mahama.

It was during this attack that Michael Omari Wadie, who is a member of the pro-NPP group, Alliance For Accountable Government (AFAG) was arrested trying to set an ECG transformer ablaze.

Ghana Is Now Rule Without an Opposition Parties

The decision was imposed on the minority MPs by the National Executive of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and blamed his colleagues for allowing party leadership to dictate to them on the matter.

A good Ruling Government cannot go on well with out watch their back for them .
1. The issue of homosexuality becomes a national topic because either the Vice President or Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection are perceived to be gay and lesbian respectively.

2. Tribal politics gain momentum and Akans, NPP, and Asantes become victims of this tribal hatred.

3. Politics of insults, and character assassination become the order of the day because the more you insult, the higher the promotion. Even party founders and their wives become victims. The Clergy, teachers, cocoa growers, nurses, and Christians suffer from these babies with sharp and poisonous teeth.

4. Politics of lies and propaganda is strengthened as even black sheep could easily be turned into white cow. A well-known gay in the person of Andrew Solomon could donate $20,000 to the president, but he could deny being a friend to him. Over 1.6m phantom jobs could be created in a spate of two years.

5. Armed robbers seize control of the state as Ministers of State either shoot themselves or get attacked by these robbers. Remember Dr. Benjamin Kumbuor's episode.

6. Massive Unemployment hits the country leading to the formation of Unemployed Graduates Association.

7. The standards of education at all levels seriously go down as the NDC draws its strength mostly from illiterates that accept the party's propaganda and lies.

8. The National (Public) Debt quadruples without a corresponding increase in socio-economic development. For instance, from GHC9.6bn as of 2009 to GHC23.5bn in 2011.

9. Many Ghanaians fall below the poverty line and this affects their standard of living.

10. Ghana unfortunately witnesses foot Soldierism that is characterised by seizure of state properties - toilets, toll booths, car parks, markets. They also determine which ministers should be appointed.

11. The level of corruption and thievery gets to a gargantuan level as the president, his brother, and ministers of state loot the state coffers.

12. Kyinkyinka, pampers, hampers become scarce commodities in the market because Ministers of State and Presidential Aides purchase them in bulk.

13. Load Shedding and Water Rationing are usually the party's solutions to energy crisis and water problems.

14. Strike actions and demonstrations among public sector workers become rampant.

15. There is general apathy among Ghanaians, especially Diasporans as people lose confidence in the calibre of people in the helm of affairs.

16. Machomen have the power to abuse innocent Ghanaians with impunity. They boast of their party being in government.

17. Team B Ministers are appointed or "greedy bastards" surround the president leading to mediocrity and economic mismanagement.

20. There is always profligate spending as huge amounts of money is spent on useless ventures like Nkrumah's birthday (GHC48m), Transition Team (GHC1.3m), NDC's party headquarters ($20m), Haiti ($3m), Military Jets ($250m) etc.

21. Judgement Debts suddenly become Negotiated Debts as the government doles out money to party members and companies for no work done. Eg. Woyome - GHC51.2m, Construction Pioneers - 94m euros, Isofoton, and African Automobile.

22. Foreign loan acquisition replaces taxation as the major source of government revenue; but such loans usually go into private pockets.

23. Ghana experiences disasters such fire outbreaks, floods, motor accidents, mining disasters, and spousal deaths without any proactive measures taken by the government.

24. Either a sitting president beats his Vice mercilessly and drives him away from Cabinet meeting, or Vice President "kills" the president to pave way for his political ambition to be materialised.

25. Factions emerge from the NDC leading to many breakaway parties - NRP, DFP, and NDP.

26. No major policy or programme is formulated or undertaken to move the country forward. All we hear is blame game politics.

27. Abuse of fundamental human rights of people as "fear and panic" replaces freedom of speech. Amina, Owusu Bempah, and Hon. Ken Agyapong come in mind.

28. State Security apparatus shows complete bias to the government and applies only selective justice. In effect, Ghana turns into a Police State.

29. Serial killings of women crop up; other women are stripped naked and caned in public.

30. Ghana turns into a Heavily Indebted and Poor Country due to reckless borrowing. Currently, each Ghanaian owes over GHC1000.

31. There is usually persecution and prosecution of political opponents for no apparent cause.

35. Either High Court Judges are murdered in cold blood or many ways are found to kill cats (Supreme Court Judges) by party chairmen.

36. Unwarranted dismissal of Ghanaians perceived to be political opponents. Eg. Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, Dr. Nsiah Asare, and employees of NYEP, NHIS, SFP etc.

37. Projects initiated by previous governments are left to rot. Typical example is the NPP's Affordable Housing Policy.

38. Constructive criticisms by the opposition are seen as insults and Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and even Caretaker Presidents respond to such criticisms with insults.

39. Collapse and poor management of pro-poor policies and programmes such as NHIS, free maternal care, school feeding.

40. Prices of goods and services - cement, electricity, water, gas, lorry fares etc go up arbitrarily