100 cedis a month for Cathedral or 88 district hospitals? – A plus throws a challenge
Finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta presented 2021 mid-year budget to the parliament of Ghana on 29th July 2021. At the presentation, the minister made an appeal to Ghanaians to contribute Hundred Ghana Cedis (GHc100) a month towards the building of the National Cathedral.
This has sparked a debate on social media as some people see it as a misplaced priority.
Controversial musician turned politician, Kwame Asare Obeng popularly known as A plus has thrown a challenge to social media users to join in with what they would want Ghanaians to contribute 100 Ghana cedis for as he has chosen a contribution towards the president’s promise to build 88 district hospitals.
Cathedral
A plus wrote on his Facebook page
“I’m also asking for 100 Ghana cedis a month to help build the 88 district hospitals.
Where will your 100 cedis go? Cathedral or hospitals?
To join the challenge click on the hashtag to create a post.
Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia endorses the usage of Bitcoin in Africa
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says it is time African governments embrace digital currency (bitcoin) to facilitate trade and enhance other productive sectors of their economies.
He, therefore, lauded the Bank of Ghana’s decision to pilot digital currency later this year towards its nationwide roll-out in the near future, saying that it would give it the needed credibility and legal backing for usage.
Addressing participants at the opening ceremony of the Fifth Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference (GITFiC) in Accra on Tuesday, Dr. Bawumia said, Intra-African trade had created the need to establish a Single Central Payment platform on the African continent where financial system operators could carry out all cross-border payments smoothly.
To that end, the Vice-President believed that the Pan African Payment and Settlement System(PAPSS)- a central payment and collection infrastructure- would allow businesses on the continent to clear and settle transactions in their local currencies without depending on third-party currencies.
He said it would also provide an alternative to the current high-cost and long correspondent banking relationships by facilitating trade and other economic activities across the continent through a single, low-cost, and risk-controlled payment clearing and settlement system.
The event brought together Governors of the Central Banks in Africa, captains of industry, chief executives of financial institutions, and the diplomatic community to share ideas and engage in conversations that would create a conducive environment for boosting economic activities and promote growth.
It was held on the theme: “Facilitating Trade and Trade-Finance in AfCFTA; The Role of the Financial Services Sector”.
Vice-President Bawumia noted that digitisation had become one of the most consequential policies of President Akufo-Addo’s government and pivotal towards increasing economic activities, macroeconomic stability, and growth.
In that vein, a robust and resilient financial system would provide an impetus for productive investments, expand opportunities for jobs and wealth creation.
“As you may recall, in a bid to improve liquidity and strengthen the banking sector, the Bank of Ghana implemented a new prudential regulatory framework.
“The banking sector clean-up was aimed at promoting a financially stable banking sector.
“Concurrently, digitisation has also become one of the most consequential policies of the Nana Akufo-Addo government. When the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic hit and forced many economies into partial and total lockdowns, it reinforced the need to pursue digitization,” Dr Bawumia emphasised.
Bitcoin
He stated that mobile banking was proving to be a more convenient alternative to traditional banking channels as several routine banking and money transactions were now executed through mobile phones and electronic payment systems.
“Indeed, one has to recognise that for the financial services sector to play its role, there must be financial inclusion.
“The implementation of Mobile Money Interoperability in Ghana has shown that more people can be financially included, and this needs to be rolled out across Africa to ensure the growth of the AfCFTA vision,” he added.
To leverage digital technologies and digitized data, he said, the Central Bank had rolled out a couple of systems through its Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GHIPSS).
They include thee-zwich, Gh-Link, Mobile Money Interoperability, and QR Code and making sure that the underlying payment system runs smoothly is the least we should expect of the financial system if we are to realize the vision of continental free trade.
He stressed that since payments were at the heart of the day-to-day operations of a free trade system, negative spillover effects could be serious if something goes wrong.
Therefore in 2019, the Government introduced the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987), under the supervision of the Bank of Ghana, to consolidate the laws relating to payment systems, payment services, and regulated institutions in the electronic money business.
The advent of this legislation, Dr. Bawumia explained that, had helped deepen financial intermediation and financial inclusion, not only in Ghana but across the continent.
” I am hopeful that the rollout of the Pan – African system will synchronize successfully with the payment systems architecture developed by Central Banks across Africa and bring about a reduction in cost, time variability, and decreased liquidity requirements of commercial banks and central banks settlements.
Bitcoin
“I encourage the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), a partner entity in this conference, to help its members build a solid and resilient productive capacity to benefit from the AfCFTA implementation.
That, he said, would complement the Government’s effort in providing both the required leadership and investments in implementing the continental trade protocols and related action plans.
He expressed the belief that the conference would deepen the conversations on the need for Africa to design its unique models, which would provide an enabling structural transformation of Africa’s economy and thereby, placing Africa on a sustainable long-term growth path.
Information hiting the doors of Dikodre.com speaks out thar, The Deputy Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kofi Agyepong, has been appointed Deputy Director of Communications at the Jubilee House, the seat of the country’s Presidency.
Kofi Agyepong as Deputy Director of Communications at the Jubilee House
According to information, Jefferson Sackey, who is also currently a member of the Communications Directorate at the Jubilee House has also been elevated to serve as a Deputy Director of Communications at the Office of the President.
Mr. Agyepong and Mr. Sackey will both serve in the role previously occupied by Fatimatu Abubakar, who has now been appointed the Deputy Minister for Information.
Kofi Agyepong (left) and Jefferson Sackey (right), the two newly appointment Deputy Directors of Communication at the Presidency
The two newly appointed Deputy Directors of Communication at the Presidency are expected to work with Eugene Arhin, the Director of Communications, to spearhead information flow from the Office of the President.
Soldiers are not trained to shoot above the knee – Boakye-Djan
A former Spokesperson of the defund Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) Major retired Osahene Kojo Boakye-Djan has waded into the arbitrary shooting of protesters in Ejurain the Ashanti Region, killing two persons and injuring four others.
he said the military manual on training its personnel does not allow for shooting above the knee in order to cause deaf in situations other than war.
He added that the military men deployed to disperse the unarmed protestors in Ejura seemed unprofessional to him because real military officers would have used tear gas and water hose in that endeavor instead of aiming to kill unarmed civilians.
Major (Ret) Boakye Gyan said it was highly unmilitaristic for a soldier to shoot young boys running away at the sight of the military men in Ejura and even if it came to the point of shooting there were certain precautionary measures to take before shooting as the military training manual dictates.
He, therefore, described the killing in Ejura as an “aimed shot” directed to kill rather than control the upheaval in the enclave.
Major (Ret.) Boakye Gyan posited that in his assessment the soldiers deployed to Ejura to control the crowd were not trained personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces. Because Ghanaian soldiers are trained to go and defend the peace in other countries so how can they fail in their own countries.
He has thus entreated the military to investigate the debacle in Ejura because to him he does not believe they were real soldiers.
In an interview with Yaa Titi Okrah on Onua FM’s Pae Mu Ka programme, he insisted that trained soldiers will not dare to behave arbitrarily in the manner exhibited in Ejura.
He was commenting on the back of the military shooting in Ejura which resulted in killing two persons and wounding four others in the process of controlling a protest in that enclave.
“What is happening in the country resulting in the castigation of soldiers and military personnel saddens my heart. For example, what happened in Ejura where the protesters were running away and were shot from behind, the manual does not allow that. You make sure you disperse them either using tear gas or water hose or those things but to shoot from behind knowing that they might die is highly unprofessional.
“In any case, if you had to shoot, there must be so many steps to take, you should not shoot from above knee level. What we witnessed was an aimed shot, sorry I have to use that term because their practice was not that of soldiers. I strongly believe the one who shot the civilians was not a trained soldier, he can’t even be a trained police officer”, the veteran officer declared.
Ejura: I didn’t call for Military assistance – District Police Commander
Police
The Ejura District Police Commander, DSP Phillip Hammond has told the three-member committee that is probing the disturbances that occurred at Ejura leading to the death of three persons that he didn’t call for military support.
He said he only called for reinforcement and that did not mean that the Military must intervene.
Asked by a member of the Committee Dr. Vladimir Antwi Danso whether the Police lacked the capacity to control the crowd for which the Military stepped in, he said “We requested for reinforcement but it is not me personally as the District Commander who requested for the Military. I only requested reinforcement and they are the team that was brought to me.”
The Chair of the Committee who is also a Court of Appeal Judge George Kingsley Koomson, for his part said the media must accept criticisms from other members of the Ghanaian society
He said, inasmuch as the media have the right to criticize, others also do have the same right to subject their work to scrutiny.
His comments come after the Battalion Commander Lt Col Kwasi Ware Peprah said no media house has spoken to him on the disturbances that occurred in Ejura yet several reports have been filed.
“As we speak no media house has spoken to me as the Battalion Commander,” he said.
In response to what he said, justice Kingsley Koomson agreed with his concerns regarding the media and said among other things that we also have the right to criticize the media.”
Lt Col Kwasi Ware Peprah further told the committee that the military aimed not to kill anybody during the upheaval.
“There was no plan to kill anyone during the Ejura disturbance.
“The aim was not to kill, it was just unfortunate. If the aim was to kill then hundred people would have died.”
Meanwhile, Justice Kingsley Koomson has recommended that the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) apply for plastic bullets to control the crowd in Ghana.
He rejected the use of live bullets to disperse the crowd since this can be fatal.
He said this when the General Officer Commander- Central Command, Brigadier General Josephs Aphour appeared before the Committee on Wednesday, July 7.
“I think the Military will put in an application for plastic bullets we are talking at human lives, don’t be applying fire live bullet,” Justice Kingsley Koomson said.
The committee was formed by Interior Minister Ambrose Dery following the gruesome murder of Macho Kakaa in Ejura over the weekend.
There was also a violent clash among the military officers and the youth of the area who were demonstrating in that town on Tuesday, June 29 following the murder.
This led to the death of two persons with four sustaining various degrees of injury.
Brigadier General Josephs Aphour while answering questions posed by members of the Committee said “My Battalion Commander called me the day of the incident that that was happening in Ejura, the indent that we all know.
“Then I had a call from the Chairman of REGSEC that the situation was getting out of control and that there was the need for us at Operations Calm Lives to move inside, if not things will get out of control.”
‘I’d have asked MPs to reject $28M car loan If I had my way’ – Okaikwei Central MP
The Vice-Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Patrick Boamah says if he had his way, he would have asked his colleagues in the Chamber to reject the latest car loan laid in the House for Members of Parliament.
According to the Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, the state should rather consider purchasing cars in a pool for MPs to use during their term in office and hand over to their successors when they leave Parliament.
He contends that the public backlash that follows the procurement of loans is unfair when it is the case that MPs have to pay back the money while their colleagues in other arms of government access these vehicles as part of their conditions of office.
“If I had my way, I would tell my colleagues to reject the facility for the simple reason that all the other arms of government, vehicles are procured for them without going through the process where the media is always on the back of MPs for contracting a loan.”
The Minister for Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta presented a loan agreement for $28 million to Parliament for the purchase of 275 vehicles for members of Parliament.
Based on the amount and the number of individuals involved, each MP is expected to receive over $100,000 for the purchase of a vehicle.
The Finance Committee of the House is expected to consider the loan agreement and report to the house.
Mr. Boamah said his colleagues might explore other means of gaining access to such initiatives if the public continually criticise the move.
“If the public thinks that MPs do not deserve a vehicle to ride in, we should know, so we know our limitations and what the Finance Ministry can do to support our work.”
There have been situations of MPs failing to pay back car loans.
In 2017, the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) was on the heels of some Members of Parliament who bought their vehicles on loan but had defaulted in paying back several years after.
Reports indicate that letters that had been written to the MPS for them to honour their obligations did not receive any reply.
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, minister-designate for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has told Parliament’s Appointments Committee that she is a single.
Hon.Shirley Borctwey
Giving her self-introductory comments to the House ahead of her vetting, she stated that she is a grandmother but single.
I am Single
“Chair, my name is Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, a mother of two, a grandmother of one. I am single,” she said.
The former Member of parliament for Anyaa Sowutoum is before Parliament on her re-appointment to the position she is being vetted for.
The former Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Elvis Ankrah Afriyie of the NDC has revealed some so-called achievements and proposed Reforms by the EC.
NDC’s Proposed Reforms
The Ghanaian Politician stated at the Press conference that, after a painstaking review of the 2020 elections, the following are the preliminary proposals for electoral reforms which the NDC intends to engage various stakeholders such as the media, civil society organizations, religious leaders, traditional leaders, development partners, the diplomatic community, and the general public.
These preliminary proposals are as follows:
That, the participation of IPAC and its advisory role in the electoral process should be given legal backing, without encroaching on the constitutional independence of the Electoral Commission.
2. That, the EC adopts an equitable voting formula for political parties in IPAC deliberations based on their representation in Parliament.
3. That, the Electoral Commission complies with the use of the legally-prescribed Statement of Poll/Pink Sheet (Form 8A & 8B) provided for in our Election Regulations to prevent the omission of BVD entries so as to preserve the ballot accounting process and makes it possible to check multiple voting, ballot stuffing, impersonation and other forms of rigging.
4. That, the high rate of rejected ballots recorded in the 2020 general elections be addressed through the use of the appropriate ink pads and that same should be stipulated in our election regulations.
5. That, the EC employs and trains highly competent staff to accurately fill election result forms and collate results so as to forestall the reoccurrence of the widespread cases of arithmetic errors recorded in the 2020 general elections,
6. That, the Electoral Commission reverts to the time-tested election security arrangement where the deployment of security for election purposes is reserved to the Ghana Police service acting within a framework provided by the Electoral Commission. This security arrangement should have minimum involvement of the military and no interference whatsoever by so-called National Security operatives, as recommended by the Emil Short Commission. The party has constituted a committee to come up with a compressive document on electoral reform proposals and we shall share that with you in the coming days.
Ghanaian Politician and Former Minister of Youth and sports, Hon. Elvis Ankrah Afriyie reveals the so-called Achievement and Proposed Reforms by the EC in her speech at IPAC.
He Said, the National Democratic Congress has decided to boycott IPAC temporarily due to the bastardization of that revered body by the Jean Mensah/Bossman Asare-led Electoral Commission.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the framers of the 1992 Constitution in their wisdom created the Electoral Commission as an independent institution to perform its constitutional functions without the control of any person or group of persons. The independence given to the EC under the 1992 Constitution is based on the presumption that the Electoral Commission will at all times perform its duties conscientiously in the ultimate interest of Ghana. However, this does not mean that the Commission is not accountable to the people and can therefore decide to act whimsically or capriciously in ways that undermine our democratic experiment.
Unfortunately, the Jean Mensa led Electoral Commission has misinterpreted this independence to mean arrogance and non-accountability. And it is sad that the Supreme Court of the country endorsed this irresponsible conduct of the EC and allowed them to get away with the embarrassment they caused this country in the 2020 general elections.
Boycott IPAC
Ladies and Gentlemen, one unique convention of Ghana’s electoral system which has become international best practice is the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC). The rationale for IPAC, as it has been over the years, is to create a platform for consensus building on major issues affecting elections with key stakeholders involved in elections.
Boycott IPAC
Over the years, IPAC has served Ghana well as a platform where ideas are shared on various issues, before the EC takes substantive decisions on critical electoral matters. Indeed, to promote transparency in our electoral process, IPAC has been involved in the drafting of Constitutional Instruments on elections as well as procurement processes of the EC under previous Chairpersons. IPAC is supposed to serve as a platform where political parties participate in all electoral activities throughout the electoral cycle, such as, voter registration, exhibition of the voters register, printing of ballot papers, observing the voting process at all polling stations through polling agents as well as collation of results at both the constituency and national levels.
Unfortunately, since the June 2018 ouster of the chairperson of the Electoral Commission and her 2 deputies and their subsequent replacement with Jean Mensa and Bossman Asare, all these best practices have been thrown to the dogs.
The current leadership of the Electoral Commission has turned IPAC from a consultative and consensus-building platform to an information-sharing platform where the EC only comes to impose its decisions on IPAC without room for meaningful deliberations and exchange of ideas. It became so bad to the point that the EC even announced publicly that IPAC had agreed to the decision to compile a new register for the 2020 elections when the issue of a new register had not even been discussed at the said meeting.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Jean Mensa led EC appears to be in a world of its own. The Commission appears to be tickling itself and laughing. The Electoral Commission has for the first time in our history conducted elections that leaves doubts on the mind of Ghanaians and other observers on the credibility of the elections. The Commission declared wrong results and even after issuing an unsigned press release to subsequently correct same, the figures still do not add up. Instead of taking advantage of the election petition to clear itself of the mess caused, the EC failed to mount the witness box to testify and explain to Ghanaians how it arrived at its results.
These issues coupled with the non-equitable voting arrangement at IPAC meetings is the reason why we have taken a principled position to boycott IPAC until the right changes are effected to ensure fair and meaningful deliberations at IPAC.
The Ghanaian Politician and Former Minister of Youth and sports, Hon. Elvis Ankrah Afriyie reveals the so-called Achievement and Proposed Reforms by the EC in her speech at IPAC.
According to the Ghanaian Politician of the NDC, we have taken note of some proposals for reforms that the Electoral Commission has put forward for the consideration of IPAC. However, the first and most important reform required is for the EC to reform itself. Jean Mensa and Bossman Asare must be the first to reform and change their attitude of arrogance and bias.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, I will now proceed to do a critical and objective analysis of the four (4) reform proposals put forward by the EC.
So-called Proposed Reforms
So-called Proposed Reforms
1. Closure of polls at 3 pm in 2024
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, the NDC finds the proposal by the Jean Mensah-led EC to change the closing time of polls from 5 PM to 3 PM in 2024 baffling and mind-boggling. Since the 1992 elections, polls have always closed at 5 PM. This has worked perfectly without any challenges whatsoever. It, therefore, beggars belief that the EC would want to change this time-tested arrangement and go for a poorly thought-through alternative which is bound to disenfranchise eligible voters and create needless problems for our electoral system.
This is particularly so given the undue delay we usually record in the delivery of electoral materials to some polling stations and other technical challenges that usually characterize voting in this country.
Ghanaians will recall how a similar hasty decision by the EC to declare results within 24 hours after closure of polls in the 2020 elections failed miserably and led to the rushed declaration of a patently flawed results that yielded a percentage aggregate of more than 100%, by the Returning Officer, Mr. Jean Adukwei Mensah. One would have thought that Jean Mensah would have learnt the right lessons by now but that appears not to be the case.
Friends form the media, our position on this proposal is simple. The current arrangement of closing polls at 5 PM has worked perfectly in seven (7) general elections in this country and does not require any fixing. Like the Chairperson said in her speech, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
2. Substitution of periodic mass registration with continuous registration.
We wish to remind the Electoral Commission that the all-round continuous registration of eligible voters is not new. The law requires the Commission to put in place mechanisms to ensure that at any time that citizens become eligible to vote, they can be registered.
However, continuous registration cannot be a substitute for periodic nationwide registration because the all-round registration can only be done at the district offices of the Electoral Commission. Eligible voters may have to travel several kilometers to district offices to register and not everyone can do this.
Secondly, political parties always assign agents to observe the voters registration process. It will therefore be ludicrous for the EC to suggest that political parties should employ permanent agents at their district offices to observe the registration of eligible voters all year round.
This proposal also comes against a major challenge of transparency in verifying the claims of prospective registrants at the district office level.
3. Introducing an all-year-round Voter Exhibition exercise through the use of technology.
The proposal by EC to have a year-round exhibition is a laudable idea but cannot be a substitute for the periodic exhibition exercise of the voters register that is normally done after voter registration. This is simply because the Voter exhibition exercise is not only intended to afford voters the opportunity to verify and confirm their details but to also;
a) ensure ineligible registrants (minors and foreigners) are challenged and removed from the register.
b) help clean the names of dead people from the register.
C) afford voters the opportunity to confirm their captured biometric features.
And this cannot be achieved through the system the EC is proposing.
Given the errors that occurred in the run-up to the 2020 elections when this system was deployed and the fact that not all Ghanaians have mobile phones to assess this system, it cannot be a replacement for periodic Voters Register Exhibition.
4. Restrict data entry of election results to the constituency collation level and generate regional and national reports.
The proposal to have the entry point of data done only at Constituency Collation Centres will introduce another opportunity for rigging through hacking and other means of manipulation of the results. The way to build further efficiencies into the collation process and eliminate inaccuracies is to hire and train competent EC staff to ensure accurate data entry and collation and not to throw away the time-tested practice of collation at the national level.
Data entry and collation must be done at constituency level and sent to the national collation center for aggregation by the Returning Officer and with the participation of political party representatives. This will ensure accuracy and transparency in the aggregation of constituency results for free and fair election results declaration.
Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC
The Ghanaian Politician and Former Minister of Youth and sports, Hon. Elvis Ankrah Afriyie reveals the so-called Achievement and Proposed Reforms by the EC in her speech at IPAC.
The NDC has taken notice of several false claims made by the chairperson of the Electoral Commission Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah in her speech delivered at the just-ended two (2)-day workshop between the EC and the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) at Alisa Hotel in Accra.
According to Hon. Afriyie, the purpose of this press conference is to formally respond to and expose the many unfounded claims peddled by the EC Chairperson in her speech at the program and to explain to you the reasons for our boycott of these IPAC engagements.
Friends from the media, contrary to the claims by the EC Chairperson that the 2020 general elections was the best ever in the history of this country and calls for the nation to celebrate some so-called unprecedented successes chalked by the EC in the conduct of the elections, the facts show that last year’s elections was one of the most poorly conducted, flawed and manipulated elections in the history of this country, a situation that has undermined the strides we have made since the inception of this 4th republican democratic dispensation. And we say this for the following reasons:
Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC
Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC
1. The dubious handling of the printing and distribution of ballot papers and other electoral materials that led to ballot stuffing by the NPP in their strongholds and other regions.
2. The unprecedented number of rejected ballots recorded in the elections owing largely to the incompetence and recklessness of the EC in using unapproved stamp pads instead of the approved voting ink pad that we have used in previous elections.
3. The use of illegal Statement of Polls/pink sheets (Form 8B) that omitted BVD entries in about 7,581 polling stations, thereby undermining the ballot accounting process and the integrity of the entire results. This totally belies the the claim by Jean Mensah that only 11,000 people voted by manual verification in the 2020 general elections.
4. Widespread cases of patent arithmetic errors on the faces of pink sheets and constituency results summary sheets by incompetent EC staff in the filling of electoral forms and aggregation of valid votes.
5. Manipulation of figures by the EC leading to a disparity between constituency collated results aggregate (13,118,640) and regional collated results aggregates (13,119,460).
6. Padding of votes at the constituency collation centers in favor of candidate Akufo-Addo.
7. No proper collation at the national collation center by the Returning Officer for the Presidential elections, Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah.
8. Unprecedented cases of state-sponsored violence and killings at constituency collation centers occasioned by the reckless and unlawful conduct of some EC officials and the despotic Akufo-Addo government and in contravention of our time-tested election security arrangement.
9. Also contrary to the claim that the International community has hailed the conduct of the 2020 general elections as Jean Mensah will have us believe, the European Union is on record to have decried the non-transparency of the collation process for the elections. So flawed was the conduct of the 2020 general elections that for the first time in the history of this country, a whole district made up of the Satrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL) communities were deliberately disenfranchised by the EC for the sole purpose of assisting the New Patriotic Parliamentary Candidate, John Peter Amewu win the Hohoe seat. Is this what Jean Mensa and her bias Commission is inviting us to celebrate?
Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC
11. Again, the claim by the EC that an amount of $90 million was saved in the conduct of the 2020 general elections is completely contrived. The facts show that the state incurred avoidable financial losses as a result of the procurement of a facial recognition technology by the EC that turned out as a fiasco.
It is therefore ridiculous and laughable to say the least, that an Electoral Management Body that has failed to pay its temporary staff their allowances, five (5) months after an election will make the claim that they have saved the nation money. We wish to entreat the public to treat this baseless claim with the contempt it deserves and wait for a credible audit into the EC’s expenditure for the 2020 general elections.
Former Minister of Youth and Sports Reveals the So-Called Proposed Reforms by EC
Focus on Using the Halted Excavators in Developing the Country’s Projects #Stopburningexcavators
Since the start of the fight against galamsey and illegal mining activities, there have been several complaints and concerns raised by the victims of the Operation Halt II which not addressed now will cause the nation more than we intended to avoid.
On the 17th day of May 2021, “Xtra- Gold Mining Limited” a legally registered large scale mining company released a press stating how the Operation Halt II destroyed their 20 excavators and equipments through burning at their 5 concession sites . They further stated that they have been in operation since 2006 with necessary permits and documents, and honors their huge taxes, royalties, undertakes social responsibilities ,also even pay stool land fees to traditional authorities in the Atiwa West municipality.
The big question is , “are we really in to fight illegal minings or to create problems that we will later pay huge judgement debts to cronies , families and friends as compensation”?
“Or it is a planned loot and share in disguise activities the Operation Halt II are undertaking so some greedy individuals in government can capitalise on to get much monies from the state coffers” ?
Why can’t such huge machines used in the mining activities even if illegal be ceased by the government and allocated to the various MMDCES to undertaking developmental projects to benefiting the state rather than burning them which will incur more judgements debts as we have been witnessed in this country?
“Chairman Wontumi” today walking away with huge judgement debts , and we creating more of such means for many to looting the state to share? Are we serious as a nation Ghana?
It is high time the citizens stood up and demand accountability from our greedy leaders . How will you spend huge budget on this operation halt II and later créating more problems to be paid for in this HARDSHIPS this government has placed us?
#Stopburningexcavators
#Stopburningexcavators
As we speak, there are no alternative from government to taking care of the numerous youth who are been rendered jobless through the operation, the legal mining companies who employed many Ghanaians but their excavators are being destroyed will lay off those workers and many livelihoods will be suffocated .
#Stopburningexcavators
Enough is enough of this create and loot operation which will make few people billionaires through judgement debts in few months to come. Don’t be surprised when some people in government will start telling the victims to go to court , because they will plan everything to compensate government Sympathisers who are victims and later share the monies and render the nation dry.
Stop the burning of the excavators, provide alternative jobs to the victims of galamsey works.
The ongoing crackdown on illegal mining activities by the 200-man Operation Halt military team saw the burning of at least 20 excavators at Larbikrom, Dompem and Pamen, all in the Atiwa District on Sunday.
Reports indicate that 8 out of the number of excavators burnt on Sunday belonged to the National Women Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Madam Kate Gyamfua. The raid on the mining site is said to have delayed for hours after the military team was inundated by several calls from various quarters to cause a halt to the operation.
Military task force burns 8 excavators
The machinery, including some bulldozers reportedly hired to reclaim degraded land on the site, were eventually set ablaze by the military team.
In a report by Adomonline sighted by GhanaWeb, some individuals who claim to be workers on the site said the military officers beat up some of the workers and left the site with some alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages kept in a fridge.
The exercise is said to have been repeated at Akyem Larbikrom and Dompem where four excavators including two brand new ones, each valued at $120,000 were also set ablaze.
Other equipments burnt at the various sites include dozens of water pumping machines. The military team is also said to have seized some pump-action guns which were being used to protect the mining sites.
Military task force burns 8 excavators
Military task force burns 8 excavators
Military task force burns 8 excavators
One Nana Asante who is reported to be the secretary to the NPP National Women Organizer has expressed disappointment about the development while arguing that they had adhered to all the mining laws including reclamation of degraded lands.
According to Nana Asante, the military team could have considered the contributions of Madam Gyamfua to the NPP and retreated on its actions.
Meanwhile, a Member of the Small-Scale Miners Association in the Eastern Region, Alhaji Hussein Suronim has stated that the affected mining sites are not illegal but licensed small-scale mining sites that adhered to all the mining regulations and have thus condemned the military’s action.
The Mental health Nurse upon his findings says that the issues of neglect with regards to the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project has been major concerns to many and it is high time government converted them into National Rehabilitation And Technical/Vocational Centre to boosting human resources and economic growth.http://see sarkodie…
HOUSING
However, the Mental health Nurse said, there are many mentally ill people roaming (wandering) around our streets and market places which when necessary medical and psychological care given will help rehabilitate them into our society to fending for themselves and the nation. There are many drug addicts in our ghettos and slums wasting away in all areas that the government must pay attention to, to harnessing their energies ,skills and talents to boosting the state of the economy.
Convert The Saglemi Affordable Housing
He questioned that, why don’t we make good use of that Saglemi Affordable Housing Project by camping and training these youth and rehabilitating them back into the society to adding values to the economy since we are in crisis as a nation?.
“Mental Health and Psychiatric personnels are ready to helping in the psychological care as other experts will as well be helping in the Technical and Vocational training.
It is high time government thought outside the box to developing the country. When that program and policies are well outlined with no loopholes for corrupting the system, we shall as a country produce great tailors and seamstresses, Carpenters ,Masons, farmers , steel benders, and many others that will help building the socioeconomic growth of Ghana. State farms can be developed from such products to feeding the state” he said.
Convert The Saglemi Affordable Housing
Many prisoners can as well be brought to such centre for proper rehabilitation before being released into the society to avoid life difficulties that do meet them after prison stays.
“I am by this article calling on all well established CSOs, the media, Stakeholders, government appointees, technical experts to adding their voices to this suggestions to making better uses of the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project” he narrated.
It is possible with the right will and synergy. The borrowing is too much, we can create more revenues by rehabilitating our youth who are vulnerable and wasting away.
Mental Health Total Health. God bless our homeland Ghana and make us great and strong.
With the emergence of the Covid 19 pandemics, almost all activities are held virtually to adhering to the protocols stipulated by WHO and the Covid 19 Health management Team in the country. This has been the order of the season since the whole of 2020 and now 2021.
Today, 20gh data bundle from the telecommunication networks can’t take us through a 24 hour social media activities without being short of data. I am not talking about watching and downloading of U- Tube videos and stuffs, I am talking about normal social media stuffs like WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, .Data In Ghana Is Too Expensive
data in Ghana..
Data In Ghana Is Too Expensive
How do we expect our unemployed youth and students to purchasing these expensive ventures to studying and holding virtual teachings , learning and lectures?
How do we expect our undergraduates and graduates to undertaking research and learning when data is so expensive in Ghana that an average data per week is 50_100gh ?
Are we as a country helping the future leaders of this country since Technology is the order of the day?
The telecommunication networks with their agents in another breath are helping the fraudulent arm robbery activities as stated by the Ghana Police Service in their investigations with regards to the heinous crimes going on daily.
Dear Minister and MP, we need you to giving us assurances backed by well thought out rules and guidelines to reducing data and Airtime usage in the COUNTRY. We can’t take it any more.
The other concern of interest is the poor telecommunication networks across the country especially in rural areas. Access to information is very poor which is affecting the socioeconomic life of the people. It is my plea and utmost prayers that you role out expansion of telecommunication networks to every part of the COUNTRY for easier access to uninterrupted network for transactions, and proper information dissemination.
Data In Ghana Is Too Expensive
Hon minister, I will be much grateful if you respond to this open Letter to you and your high office to curbing draining of our pockets in data and airtime usage to saving the situation.
“What is happening in the country resulting in the castigation of soldiers and military personnel saddens my heart. For example, what happened in Ejura where the protesters were running away and were shot from behind, the manual does not allow that. You make sure you disperse them either using tear gas or water hose or those things but to shoot from behind knowing that they might die is highly unprofessional.
“If the public thinks that MPs do not deserve a vehicle to ride in, we should know, so we know our limitations and what the Finance Ministry can do to support our work.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Jean Mensa led EC appears to be in a world of its own. The Commission appears to be tickling itself and laughing. The Electoral Commission has for the first time in our history conducted elections that leaves doubts on the mind of Ghanaians and other observers on the credibility of the elections. The Commission declared wrong results and even after issuing an unsigned press release to subsequently correct same, the figures still do not add up. Instead of taking advantage of the election petition to clear itself of the mess caused, the EC failed to mount the witness box to testify and explain to Ghanaians how it arrived at its results.
