the runner-up in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag-bearer race last December, Mr Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, has rescinded his decision to resign from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
This follows an appeal from the party to Mr Kyerematen to rescind his decision to resign from the party with effect from April 17, this year.
In a statement issued in Accra last night and signed by the National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Peter Mac Manu, the party said it had welcomed Mr Kyerematen’s latest decision and has put in place the neccesary processes to resolve Mr Kyerematen’s concerns.
Consequently, it said a six-member committee, under the chairmanship of Mr Samuel Odoi-Sykes with Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, Chief of Staff and Minister of Presidential Affairs as Secretary, has been set up to look into the concerns.
Other members of the committee are Mr Akenten Appiah-Menka, Mrs Cecilia Bannerman, Madam Ama Busia, and C. K. Tedam, all elders of the party.
The statement reminded all members of the party to keep “firmly at the back of their minds that unity, stability, and harmony are essential elements for winning elections”.
“I appeal to all members and supporters of the party to focus on the important task of working hard for a resounding victory in the December presidential and parliamentary elections,” the statement added.
It recalled that over the past week, the chairman and elders of the NPP on the advice of President John Agyekum Kufuor and the party’s flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had been engaged in a series of consultations to deliberate over issues arising out of the resignation of Mr Kyerematen.
It said that following this consultations, the national chairman of the NPP responded to the letter of resignation of Mr Kyerematen after which Mr Kyerematen rescinded his resignation.
In his letter rescinding his resignation, Mr Kyerematen wrote, “Following your appeal to me to consider my decision to resign from the party, and with the personal assurances you have given in your letter to address, in a timely manner, the concerns I have raised on various matters and also in consideration of the passionate appeal from His Excellency the President, the flag bearer, the elders as well as the rank and file of the party, I write to rescind my earlier decision to resign my membership of the NPP.”
The letter added that, “I hope this decision will contribute to the further strengthening of the party.”
It would be recalled that on April 17, Mr Kyerematen resigned from the party, citing harassment of his some of his supporters and last week Thursday, he reaffirmed his decision to resign from the party.
This culminated in the in the intervention of the President and the party leadership to get the matter resolved.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Lack of capacity hinders parties to submit accounts — Jonah
A Research Fellow at the Institute of Democratic Governance (DIEGO), Mr Kwesi Jonah, has attributed the inability of some political parties to submit their yearly audited accounts to the Electoral Commission (EC) to lack of capacity to carry out such a constitutional requirement.
Consequently, he has called for public support to the political parties to build their capacities to meet their constitutional demands.
Such support, he pointed out, would include beefing up their regional and constituency secretariats with qualified people, including accountants, to enable them to discharge their responsibilities dutifully.
Mr Jonah, who is also a Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, was commenting on recent reports by the Daily Graphic that only three out of the 10 registered political parties since 2000 were able to file their returns and statements of account for 2006 at the ECDocuments made available to the Daily Graphic by the Director of Finance at the EC, Mr I. K. Boateng, showed that as of December 31, 2006, only the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) had submitted their audited accounts to the EC, in compliance with the Political Parties Act.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), the People’s National Convention (PNC), the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), EGLE and the National Reform Party (NRP), however, failed to honour the constitutional obligation for 2006.
Mr Jonah explained that because the parties had not been able to acquire the services of trained financial staff to collect and collate such information and process it into an audited accounts from their various constituencies and regional to the national levels had always been a problem.
He said another reason that could be attributed to the inability of the parties to submit their audited accounts was that most of the 10 political parties mentioned only existed on paper.
He mentioned the National Reform Party (NRP), the United Ghana Movement (UGM) and EGLE as some of the parties that “do exist only technically”.
He also explained that some of the parties failed to submit their audited accounts because they might have solicited support from sources that were in gross violation of the nation’s laws.
Mr Jonah said the political parties had not violated only the law on the submission of their audited accounts to the EC but many of the conditions contained in the Political Parties Act 2000, which included having branches in all the regions, as well as having offices in not less than two-thirds of the districts in each region.
He also noted that although one political party might fulfil one of the demands, others might have satisfied other demands.
He gave the example of the DPP fulfilling the demand for the submission of audited accounts, while the NDC might have met the condition of having offices in two-thirds of the districts in everyregion.
Consequently, he has called for public support to the political parties to build their capacities to meet their constitutional demands.
Such support, he pointed out, would include beefing up their regional and constituency secretariats with qualified people, including accountants, to enable them to discharge their responsibilities dutifully.
Mr Jonah, who is also a Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, was commenting on recent reports by the Daily Graphic that only three out of the 10 registered political parties since 2000 were able to file their returns and statements of account for 2006 at the ECDocuments made available to the Daily Graphic by the Director of Finance at the EC, Mr I. K. Boateng, showed that as of December 31, 2006, only the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) had submitted their audited accounts to the EC, in compliance with the Political Parties Act.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), the People’s National Convention (PNC), the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), EGLE and the National Reform Party (NRP), however, failed to honour the constitutional obligation for 2006.
Mr Jonah explained that because the parties had not been able to acquire the services of trained financial staff to collect and collate such information and process it into an audited accounts from their various constituencies and regional to the national levels had always been a problem.
He said another reason that could be attributed to the inability of the parties to submit their audited accounts was that most of the 10 political parties mentioned only existed on paper.
He mentioned the National Reform Party (NRP), the United Ghana Movement (UGM) and EGLE as some of the parties that “do exist only technically”.
He also explained that some of the parties failed to submit their audited accounts because they might have solicited support from sources that were in gross violation of the nation’s laws.
Mr Jonah said the political parties had not violated only the law on the submission of their audited accounts to the EC but many of the conditions contained in the Political Parties Act 2000, which included having branches in all the regions, as well as having offices in not less than two-thirds of the districts in each region.
He also noted that although one political party might fulfil one of the demands, others might have satisfied other demands.
He gave the example of the DPP fulfilling the demand for the submission of audited accounts, while the NDC might have met the condition of having offices in two-thirds of the districts in everyregion.
Nduom meets Muslim community in Accra
The flag bearer of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom has met with the leadership of the Muslim Community and ask for their prayers and support in his bid to become the president of the country.
Dr Nduom said his party which was at the forefront during the fight for the independence of the country and would not do anything that would bring disunity and chaos to the country.
He said the CPP would concentrate on what better alternative it had for Ghanaians but would not resort to the use of abusive and inflammatory languages.
He promised to treat the youth of the Zongos with respect and would not use them to create trouble like some political parties were doing.
Earlier in an interview after the meeting he indicated mentioned that Electoral Commission (EC) had proved over the years beyond all reasonable doubt that, even with difficulty, it could be independent, free and fair, and therefore needed the support of all stakeholders to enable it perform its constitutional duties creditably.
Dr Nduom was speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview before he met the Chief Imam and his elders at the Abbosey Okai Central Mosque in Accra on Friday.
He was reacting to the recent claims by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) t on the bloated voters register in the Ashanti Region.
Dr Nduom advised political parties to consult the EC with their problems or take such problems to the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) which comprises all political parties but not to rush to the public under the guise of preventing what happened in Kenya to take place in Ghana.
According to him, that electoral dispute that took place in Kenya was about an electoral commission that could not perform its function creditably, but the current EC in Ghana had proven its independence and credibility through several elections.
On the alleged bloated register, he said he had listened to the EC officials in Accra and the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the EC who provided the national headquarters with the figures and “I believe that they have given me a perfectly OK explanation on the situation. I do not believe the voters register is bloated as some people are claiming”.
Dr Nduom who is the current CPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirim said the experience he had had during elections as an assembly member and two times as aspiring MP had thought him to be tactful with competing political parties.
He recounted what he described as a bitter experience when he won the 2000 election by the aggregation of all the ballots at the polling station, but when all the results we recounted at the collation centre, he mysteriously lost the election.
“As for the EC I don’t have any problem with them, but with other political parties, some of whom want to do things that I have seen them do before, example what they did in 2000”, he said.
Dr Nduom said it was based on this experience that the CPP was training over 250,000 polling agents for the 2008 elections to ensure that apart from the security that the EC would provided, the party could also assist to ensure a free and fair election.
Later at a meeting with the muslim leaders at the mosque.
Dr Nduom said his party which was at the forefront during the fight for the independence of the country and would not do anything that would bring disunity and chaos to the country.
He said the CPP would concentrate on what better alternative it had for Ghanaians but would not resort to the use of abusive and inflammatory languages.
He promised to treat the youth of the Zongos with respect and would not use them to create trouble like some political parties were doing.
Earlier in an interview after the meeting he indicated mentioned that Electoral Commission (EC) had proved over the years beyond all reasonable doubt that, even with difficulty, it could be independent, free and fair, and therefore needed the support of all stakeholders to enable it perform its constitutional duties creditably.
Dr Nduom was speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview before he met the Chief Imam and his elders at the Abbosey Okai Central Mosque in Accra on Friday.
He was reacting to the recent claims by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) t on the bloated voters register in the Ashanti Region.
Dr Nduom advised political parties to consult the EC with their problems or take such problems to the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) which comprises all political parties but not to rush to the public under the guise of preventing what happened in Kenya to take place in Ghana.
According to him, that electoral dispute that took place in Kenya was about an electoral commission that could not perform its function creditably, but the current EC in Ghana had proven its independence and credibility through several elections.
On the alleged bloated register, he said he had listened to the EC officials in Accra and the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the EC who provided the national headquarters with the figures and “I believe that they have given me a perfectly OK explanation on the situation. I do not believe the voters register is bloated as some people are claiming”.
Dr Nduom who is the current CPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirim said the experience he had had during elections as an assembly member and two times as aspiring MP had thought him to be tactful with competing political parties.
He recounted what he described as a bitter experience when he won the 2000 election by the aggregation of all the ballots at the polling station, but when all the results we recounted at the collation centre, he mysteriously lost the election.
“As for the EC I don’t have any problem with them, but with other political parties, some of whom want to do things that I have seen them do before, example what they did in 2000”, he said.
Dr Nduom said it was based on this experience that the CPP was training over 250,000 polling agents for the 2008 elections to ensure that apart from the security that the EC would provided, the party could also assist to ensure a free and fair election.
Later at a meeting with the muslim leaders at the mosque.
EC: Replace exercise is OK
The Electoral Commission (EC) has described the exercise to replace lost, defaced or destroyed voters identification cards as very successful.
It said although the 10-day exercise ended last Sunday, it was ongoing and that members of the public who had problems with their voters identification card could contact any EC office for replacement.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Director of Elections at the EC, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, explained that not many people patronised the replacement centres because they had not lost, defaced or destroyed their voters identity cards.
He said although the EC had no figures currently to prove its claim, random spot checks the commission conducted showed the exercise was a success.
The exercise started from March 14 to Sunday, March 23, 2008 between 7.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. each day, including weekends.
Mr Arhin said although the process was ongoing, the EC deliberately opened the 5000 replacement centres to afford as many people as possible access to EC offices to avail themselves of the opportunity to have their lost ID cards replaced at the replacement centres.
He explained that the exercise was also meant to ensure that people who had lost their identity cards did not undertake double registration under the pretext of their lost identity cards.
He said such a situation tended to bloat the register because those who had lost their identity cards did double registration.
However, due to the conflict in the Bawku area, the EC in collaboration with the Bawku Municipal Security Committee (MUSEC) postponed the commission’s programme in the Bawku Municipality.
It said although the 10-day exercise ended last Sunday, it was ongoing and that members of the public who had problems with their voters identification card could contact any EC office for replacement.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Director of Elections at the EC, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, explained that not many people patronised the replacement centres because they had not lost, defaced or destroyed their voters identity cards.
He said although the EC had no figures currently to prove its claim, random spot checks the commission conducted showed the exercise was a success.
The exercise started from March 14 to Sunday, March 23, 2008 between 7.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. each day, including weekends.
Mr Arhin said although the process was ongoing, the EC deliberately opened the 5000 replacement centres to afford as many people as possible access to EC offices to avail themselves of the opportunity to have their lost ID cards replaced at the replacement centres.
He explained that the exercise was also meant to ensure that people who had lost their identity cards did not undertake double registration under the pretext of their lost identity cards.
He said such a situation tended to bloat the register because those who had lost their identity cards did double registration.
However, due to the conflict in the Bawku area, the EC in collaboration with the Bawku Municipal Security Committee (MUSEC) postponed the commission’s programme in the Bawku Municipality.
Paul Ansah to contest NPP Asuogyaman seat
THE Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) representative in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Mr Paul Ansah, has declared his intention to contest the Asuogyaman parliamentary seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
"My aim for contesting the seat is to bring the entire constituency together to find lasting solutions to the problems of poverty, unemployment and under-development and ensure that the children of Asuogyaman get better opportunities to develop their talents," he said.
Mr Ansah, who said this in an interaction with some constituency polling chairmen, executives and supporters of the party in Asuogyaman, said the problem of the area had been precipitated by bitter chieftaincy disputes and disunity among the people.
The 47-year-old communication consultant who holds a postgraduate degree in Communications from the University of Ghana was of the view that another issue that had compounded the problems of the area was weak leadership.
He explained that it was sad to note that the constituency boasted of rich agricultural land, the largest man-made lake in the world, the Volta Lake, which was endowed with tilapia and other fish species, and Akosombo Textiles Limited, yet most towns and villages in the constituency were poor settlements with poor social and economic infrastructure.
"In 1996, the Danish Embassy, which sought to develop the tourism potential of the constituency, was advised against its plans because Asuogyaman was said to be unstable as a result of an almost 20-year-old conflict," Mr Ansah, who was the President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in 1992, added.
He also alleged that the top hierarchy of the Asuogyaman NPP was beset with a myriad of problems, including the divide-and-rule tactics of the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), and assured the people that if given the mandate, he would use his position to ensure that all members of the party were brought together as one family.
Mr Ansah promised that he would provide a change of leadership in the constituency "because Asuogyaman deserves a cleaner and more credible and capable alternative leadership that will work together with external development agents, the district assembly and the people".
He said his leadership would seek to promote the social, economic and cultural advancement of the people from the platform of a united constituency, provide opportunities for the people to engage in viable economic ventures, mobilise technical and financial support for such activities and promote the development of the tourism industry.
"My aim for contesting the seat is to bring the entire constituency together to find lasting solutions to the problems of poverty, unemployment and under-development and ensure that the children of Asuogyaman get better opportunities to develop their talents," he said.
Mr Ansah, who said this in an interaction with some constituency polling chairmen, executives and supporters of the party in Asuogyaman, said the problem of the area had been precipitated by bitter chieftaincy disputes and disunity among the people.
The 47-year-old communication consultant who holds a postgraduate degree in Communications from the University of Ghana was of the view that another issue that had compounded the problems of the area was weak leadership.
He explained that it was sad to note that the constituency boasted of rich agricultural land, the largest man-made lake in the world, the Volta Lake, which was endowed with tilapia and other fish species, and Akosombo Textiles Limited, yet most towns and villages in the constituency were poor settlements with poor social and economic infrastructure.
"In 1996, the Danish Embassy, which sought to develop the tourism potential of the constituency, was advised against its plans because Asuogyaman was said to be unstable as a result of an almost 20-year-old conflict," Mr Ansah, who was the President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in 1992, added.
He also alleged that the top hierarchy of the Asuogyaman NPP was beset with a myriad of problems, including the divide-and-rule tactics of the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), and assured the people that if given the mandate, he would use his position to ensure that all members of the party were brought together as one family.
Mr Ansah promised that he would provide a change of leadership in the constituency "because Asuogyaman deserves a cleaner and more credible and capable alternative leadership that will work together with external development agents, the district assembly and the people".
He said his leadership would seek to promote the social, economic and cultural advancement of the people from the platform of a united constituency, provide opportunities for the people to engage in viable economic ventures, mobilise technical and financial support for such activities and promote the development of the tourism industry.
Paul Ansah to contest NPP Asuogyaman seat
THE Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) representative in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Mr Paul Ansah, has declared his intention to contest the Asuogyaman parliamentary seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
"My aim for contesting the seat is to bring the entire constituency together to find lasting solutions to the problems of poverty, unemployment and under-development and ensure that the children of Asuogyaman get better opportunities to develop their talents," he said.
Mr Ansah, who said this in an interaction with some constituency polling chairmen, executives and supporters of the party in Asuogyaman, said the problem of the area had been precipitated by bitter chieftaincy disputes and disunity among the people.
The 47-year-old communication consultant who holds a postgraduate degree in Communications from the University of Ghana was of the view that another issue that had compounded the problems of the area was weak leadership.
He explained that it was sad to note that the constituency boasted of rich agricultural land, the largest man-made lake in the world, the Volta Lake, which was endowed with tilapia and other fish species, and Akosombo Textiles Limited, yet most towns and villages in the constituency were poor settlements with poor social and economic infrastructure.
"In 1996, the Danish Embassy, which sought to develop the tourism potential of the constituency, was advised against its plans because Asuogyaman was said to be unstable as a result of an almost 20-year-old conflict," Mr Ansah, who was the President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in 1992, added.
He also alleged that the top hierarchy of the Asuogyaman NPP was beset with a myriad of problems, including the divide-and-rule tactics of the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), and assured the people that if given the mandate, he would use his position to ensure that all members of the party were brought together as one family.
Mr Ansah promised that he would provide a change of leadership in the constituency "because Asuogyaman deserves a cleaner and more credible and capable alternative leadership that will work together with external development agents, the district assembly and the people".
He said his leadership would seek to promote the social, economic and cultural advancement of the people from the platform of a united constituency, provide opportunities for the people to engage in viable economic ventures, mobilise technical and financial support for such activities and promote the development of the tourism industry.
"My aim for contesting the seat is to bring the entire constituency together to find lasting solutions to the problems of poverty, unemployment and under-development and ensure that the children of Asuogyaman get better opportunities to develop their talents," he said.
Mr Ansah, who said this in an interaction with some constituency polling chairmen, executives and supporters of the party in Asuogyaman, said the problem of the area had been precipitated by bitter chieftaincy disputes and disunity among the people.
The 47-year-old communication consultant who holds a postgraduate degree in Communications from the University of Ghana was of the view that another issue that had compounded the problems of the area was weak leadership.
He explained that it was sad to note that the constituency boasted of rich agricultural land, the largest man-made lake in the world, the Volta Lake, which was endowed with tilapia and other fish species, and Akosombo Textiles Limited, yet most towns and villages in the constituency were poor settlements with poor social and economic infrastructure.
"In 1996, the Danish Embassy, which sought to develop the tourism potential of the constituency, was advised against its plans because Asuogyaman was said to be unstable as a result of an almost 20-year-old conflict," Mr Ansah, who was the President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in 1992, added.
He also alleged that the top hierarchy of the Asuogyaman NPP was beset with a myriad of problems, including the divide-and-rule tactics of the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), and assured the people that if given the mandate, he would use his position to ensure that all members of the party were brought together as one family.
Mr Ansah promised that he would provide a change of leadership in the constituency "because Asuogyaman deserves a cleaner and more credible and capable alternative leadership that will work together with external development agents, the district assembly and the people".
He said his leadership would seek to promote the social, economic and cultural advancement of the people from the platform of a united constituency, provide opportunities for the people to engage in viable economic ventures, mobilise technical and financial support for such activities and promote the development of the tourism industry.
CPP government will reorder priorities — Nduom
THE flag-bearer of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, has assured Ghanaians that if voted into power, a CPP government will put in place a comprehensive plan to renew and spread basic social infrastructure such as water, schools, roads and housing throughout the country.
This, he said, would be done by reordering the nation’s priorities and raising the necessary funds from domestic and international sources, as well as finding the best people to implement the plan with a sense of urgency.
Dr Nduom, who is also the CPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirim, was briefing the media after his first nation-wide campaign tour, dubbed “Community-based Campaign”, during which he interacted with key stakeholders and the general public to test the strength and appeal of the party.
He described as unacceptable the increasing rate of water shortage, which had made people in Accra always carrying buckets and containers looking for water, while many other communities in the country had not had access to good drinking water for years.
He said his administration would amend the Mineral and Mining Law to ensure that Ghanaians become the best beneficiaries of the mineral resources.
This, he said, would avoid the manner in which the extractive resources had been taken away for the benefit of foreign investors through a poorly defined sharing of revenue by the state.
Dr Nduom said his crusade to win the presidency would constantly focus on a positive campaign of ideas and solutions to problems to make the lives of Ghanaians better.
“I am the one who is actively looking forward for a debate with the other candidates so that Ghanaians can make a choice based on the ideas and solutions we are offering,” he said.
Dr Nduom said the key issues most people presented to his team during the tour were unemployment, corruption in the society and the need for the government to be seen to be caring about the people.
He attributed the lack of employment to the unrestrained access of the Ghanaian market to very wide imports that suppressed the nation’s ability to create jobs, although Ghanaian industries had the potential to produce other products that were basic and essential and could create jobs.
According to Dr Nduom, his priority would be the creation of jobs that would provide living wages for the youth and assured Ghanaians that just as he, as a businessman, had been able to create more than 500 jobs through direct employment in Tamale, Obuasi, Takoradi, Hohoe, Kumasi, Elmina, Techiman, Tarkwa, Kasoa , Accra and Tema, he as a president would create more jobs.
The National Chairman of the party, Mr Ladi Nylander, said the CPP was in the race to win power and not to play second fiddle to any political party.
This, he said, would be done by reordering the nation’s priorities and raising the necessary funds from domestic and international sources, as well as finding the best people to implement the plan with a sense of urgency.
Dr Nduom, who is also the CPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirim, was briefing the media after his first nation-wide campaign tour, dubbed “Community-based Campaign”, during which he interacted with key stakeholders and the general public to test the strength and appeal of the party.
He described as unacceptable the increasing rate of water shortage, which had made people in Accra always carrying buckets and containers looking for water, while many other communities in the country had not had access to good drinking water for years.
He said his administration would amend the Mineral and Mining Law to ensure that Ghanaians become the best beneficiaries of the mineral resources.
This, he said, would avoid the manner in which the extractive resources had been taken away for the benefit of foreign investors through a poorly defined sharing of revenue by the state.
Dr Nduom said his crusade to win the presidency would constantly focus on a positive campaign of ideas and solutions to problems to make the lives of Ghanaians better.
“I am the one who is actively looking forward for a debate with the other candidates so that Ghanaians can make a choice based on the ideas and solutions we are offering,” he said.
Dr Nduom said the key issues most people presented to his team during the tour were unemployment, corruption in the society and the need for the government to be seen to be caring about the people.
He attributed the lack of employment to the unrestrained access of the Ghanaian market to very wide imports that suppressed the nation’s ability to create jobs, although Ghanaian industries had the potential to produce other products that were basic and essential and could create jobs.
According to Dr Nduom, his priority would be the creation of jobs that would provide living wages for the youth and assured Ghanaians that just as he, as a businessman, had been able to create more than 500 jobs through direct employment in Tamale, Obuasi, Takoradi, Hohoe, Kumasi, Elmina, Techiman, Tarkwa, Kasoa , Accra and Tema, he as a president would create more jobs.
The National Chairman of the party, Mr Ladi Nylander, said the CPP was in the race to win power and not to play second fiddle to any political party.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has stated that it will take all measures within the confines of the electoral laws to secure a free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
As a first step the NDC had sought the assistance of EC officials who have trained 300 leading members of the party as trainer of trainers.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the National Organiser of the NDC, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo said the agents had been taken through all the nitty gritties of the responsibilities and roles of polling agents of the party as guided by EC’s hand book for polling agents.
He said with the second phase, the 300 trainers have started the training of 28, 000 for the forthcoming voters registration it was the expectation of the party that it would train at least 120,000 election monitoring agent.
He expressed worry that although the EC hand book for party agents action eight call on the agents to be active, free, vigilant and protect the interests of their political parties as well as their agents, without interrupting the electoral process, but in most cases the polling agents were made to sit about four metres away from the scene.
This, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said prevented the polling agents to pointing out double registration during registration exercise and double voting, impersonation and stuffing of ballot boxes because they were not allowed to get close to the polling station.
He recounted an incident at the Offinso bye-election, where the Member of Parliament for Lezdokuku, who was an NDC polling agent was arrested for interrupting the election process, because detected a malpractice going on and challenged it.
He called on the EC to bring together all stakeholders to come out with a blue-print on how election monitors can play their role meaningfully, but they were only confined to places far away from the polling station and only sign or otherwise when the process was over.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo also suggested that EC should organise a joint training for political party polling agents, the security agencies and EC officials to educate them on the need for the political party agent to be given the opportunity to get close and point out irregularities.
He said another stakeholder whose activities has great bearing on whether the election would be free and fair was the media, especially the state owned media.
He said the state owned media were obliged by the 1992 constitution to provide equal access to all political parties, which he said the NDC had realised was not the case.
As a first step the NDC had sought the assistance of EC officials who have trained 300 leading members of the party as trainer of trainers.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the National Organiser of the NDC, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo said the agents had been taken through all the nitty gritties of the responsibilities and roles of polling agents of the party as guided by EC’s hand book for polling agents.
He said with the second phase, the 300 trainers have started the training of 28, 000 for the forthcoming voters registration it was the expectation of the party that it would train at least 120,000 election monitoring agent.
He expressed worry that although the EC hand book for party agents action eight call on the agents to be active, free, vigilant and protect the interests of their political parties as well as their agents, without interrupting the electoral process, but in most cases the polling agents were made to sit about four metres away from the scene.
This, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said prevented the polling agents to pointing out double registration during registration exercise and double voting, impersonation and stuffing of ballot boxes because they were not allowed to get close to the polling station.
He recounted an incident at the Offinso bye-election, where the Member of Parliament for Lezdokuku, who was an NDC polling agent was arrested for interrupting the election process, because detected a malpractice going on and challenged it.
He called on the EC to bring together all stakeholders to come out with a blue-print on how election monitors can play their role meaningfully, but they were only confined to places far away from the polling station and only sign or otherwise when the process was over.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo also suggested that EC should organise a joint training for political party polling agents, the security agencies and EC officials to educate them on the need for the political party agent to be given the opportunity to get close and point out irregularities.
He said another stakeholder whose activities has great bearing on whether the election would be free and fair was the media, especially the state owned media.
He said the state owned media were obliged by the 1992 constitution to provide equal access to all political parties, which he said the NDC had realised was not the case.
Prepare handing-over notes before elections-Nii Moi
An economist, Dr Nii Moi Thompson, has proposed that six months before the handover time, all government appointees must ensure that institutions under their administration start preparing an inventory of programmes and projects expected, those being implemented and those already executed.
His suggestion was in addition to the call by the Ghana Political Parties Programme (GPPP) and the Institute of Economic Affairs’ (IEA) advice that the current four-week transition period between elections and handing over be extended to eight weeks by bringing election day forward to November 7.
Dr Thompson, who was a member of the 2001 transitional team, described his suggestion as “institutional transition”, where government appointees, especially ministers and DCEs, and the incoming government would have a dossier that would give it a better idea about what had been done so far and what was expected to be done.
He said any new administration would need an inventory of projects and programmes implemented and those yet to be implemented.
“The new administration would need to know all the financial inflows, inventory of internally generated funds, Government of Ghana funds, funds from donors, those expected and those that are being used,” Dr Thompson added.
According him, the six-month period inventory was necessary because of the culture of bad information and data generation, management and usage. “Even the current government has difficulty accessing data on its own performances, therefore, just imagine what will happen to an incoming government.”
He said from the bad experience of the 2001 transition, which he blamed on bad data collection, which was compounded by economic crisis, the collapse of the cedi, higher inflation and microeconomic dislocation, the call for the elections to be held on November 7 was very appropriate.
Dr Thompson also called for a review of the legal framework concerning the period of the transition to ensure that the administration of the country did not come to a halt, and cited the 2001 example where because there was no Finance Minister at the time, the Chief Director had to write letters to various ministries, departments and agencies to provide information that the transitional team wanted.
He said although those written to obliged and replied the request, in fact the chief director did not have the legal basis for making such requests.
He also raised the issue of spending and added that there should be a legal framework on spending during the period, because after the President had been sworn in, he would take time to appoint his ministers who would have to be vetted and approved by parliament.
Dr Thompson asked how the ministries, departments, agencies and bodies such the police and the military function, especially during emergencies that the country needed to spend money.
According to him, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on assumption of office had to freeze expenditure, especially on the payment of contractors by the former government, which later turned out to be a blessing for the country because some of the contractors had not executed any contract.
His suggestion was in addition to the call by the Ghana Political Parties Programme (GPPP) and the Institute of Economic Affairs’ (IEA) advice that the current four-week transition period between elections and handing over be extended to eight weeks by bringing election day forward to November 7.
Dr Thompson, who was a member of the 2001 transitional team, described his suggestion as “institutional transition”, where government appointees, especially ministers and DCEs, and the incoming government would have a dossier that would give it a better idea about what had been done so far and what was expected to be done.
He said any new administration would need an inventory of projects and programmes implemented and those yet to be implemented.
“The new administration would need to know all the financial inflows, inventory of internally generated funds, Government of Ghana funds, funds from donors, those expected and those that are being used,” Dr Thompson added.
According him, the six-month period inventory was necessary because of the culture of bad information and data generation, management and usage. “Even the current government has difficulty accessing data on its own performances, therefore, just imagine what will happen to an incoming government.”
He said from the bad experience of the 2001 transition, which he blamed on bad data collection, which was compounded by economic crisis, the collapse of the cedi, higher inflation and microeconomic dislocation, the call for the elections to be held on November 7 was very appropriate.
Dr Thompson also called for a review of the legal framework concerning the period of the transition to ensure that the administration of the country did not come to a halt, and cited the 2001 example where because there was no Finance Minister at the time, the Chief Director had to write letters to various ministries, departments and agencies to provide information that the transitional team wanted.
He said although those written to obliged and replied the request, in fact the chief director did not have the legal basis for making such requests.
He also raised the issue of spending and added that there should be a legal framework on spending during the period, because after the President had been sworn in, he would take time to appoint his ministers who would have to be vetted and approved by parliament.
Dr Thompson asked how the ministries, departments, agencies and bodies such the police and the military function, especially during emergencies that the country needed to spend money.
According to him, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on assumption of office had to freeze expenditure, especially on the payment of contractors by the former government, which later turned out to be a blessing for the country because some of the contractors had not executed any contract.
Paul Ansah files to contest Asuogyaman NPP
THE Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) representative in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Mr Paul Ansah, has filed his nomination to contest the Asuogyaman parliamentary seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He told newsmen that as someone born into a very harsh economic environment like many others in the Asuogyaman Constituency, he was prompted to enter into politics to help to ensure that children got better opportunities to develop their potential to make life meaningful to them.
Mr Ansah, who was president of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in 1992, said “I believe we have come to a time in the political history of our country when all must get involved in the effort to change the meaning of leadership and to boost public confidence in politics. Politics in Ghana must be made attractive to men and women of integrity who understand leadership to be selfless service to God and humanity”.
He said his involvement in Ghana’s democratic process dated back to 21 years ago when he joined the fight to restore Ghana to democratic rule.
“However, my two years stay in the Sahelian region, which happens to be the poorest region in the world, and the poverty and misery that I have come face to face with have actually stimulated in me a fresh desire to rise up to the challenges of leadership in Africa,” he stated
Mr Ansah said he had, therefore, vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to help find lasting solutions to the persistent conflict, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, disease and under development in the Asuogyaman Constituency in particular and in Ghana and Africa in general.
He said the number of development projects undertaken throughout the country and the successes chalked up in the fight against poverty, crime and corruption showed what a determined leadership and a determined people could do.
“Certainly, Asuogyaman requires a team player and a strategic thinker who knows how to plan, focus, motivate and influence people to identify their needs and achieve their goals, a leader whose influence is characterised by high ethical standards and motivated by a sense of ultimate accountability to God.”
The aspirant stated that by filing his nomination to be the representative of the people in Parliament he was seeking their mandate and support to work together with the government, external development partners, the District Assembly, Nananom and people to promote the unity of the constituency both at the party and at the community levels.
He promised to promote the development of social amenities, diversified agriculture, quality education, tourism, and quality health care and provide opportunities for the people of Asuogyaman to engage in viable economic ventures and to mobilise technical and financial support for such activities.
In addition, Mr Ansah said he would work with the various bodies to enhance the revenue generating ability of the District Assembly through direct participation in income generating activities to support its projects and programmes and design and implement youth development programmes that would help to tap the creative potentials of the youth.
He told newsmen that as someone born into a very harsh economic environment like many others in the Asuogyaman Constituency, he was prompted to enter into politics to help to ensure that children got better opportunities to develop their potential to make life meaningful to them.
Mr Ansah, who was president of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in 1992, said “I believe we have come to a time in the political history of our country when all must get involved in the effort to change the meaning of leadership and to boost public confidence in politics. Politics in Ghana must be made attractive to men and women of integrity who understand leadership to be selfless service to God and humanity”.
He said his involvement in Ghana’s democratic process dated back to 21 years ago when he joined the fight to restore Ghana to democratic rule.
“However, my two years stay in the Sahelian region, which happens to be the poorest region in the world, and the poverty and misery that I have come face to face with have actually stimulated in me a fresh desire to rise up to the challenges of leadership in Africa,” he stated
Mr Ansah said he had, therefore, vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to help find lasting solutions to the persistent conflict, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, disease and under development in the Asuogyaman Constituency in particular and in Ghana and Africa in general.
He said the number of development projects undertaken throughout the country and the successes chalked up in the fight against poverty, crime and corruption showed what a determined leadership and a determined people could do.
“Certainly, Asuogyaman requires a team player and a strategic thinker who knows how to plan, focus, motivate and influence people to identify their needs and achieve their goals, a leader whose influence is characterised by high ethical standards and motivated by a sense of ultimate accountability to God.”
The aspirant stated that by filing his nomination to be the representative of the people in Parliament he was seeking their mandate and support to work together with the government, external development partners, the District Assembly, Nananom and people to promote the unity of the constituency both at the party and at the community levels.
He promised to promote the development of social amenities, diversified agriculture, quality education, tourism, and quality health care and provide opportunities for the people of Asuogyaman to engage in viable economic ventures and to mobilise technical and financial support for such activities.
In addition, Mr Ansah said he would work with the various bodies to enhance the revenue generating ability of the District Assembly through direct participation in income generating activities to support its projects and programmes and design and implement youth development programmes that would help to tap the creative potentials of the youth.
Paul Ansah files to contest Asuogyaman NPP
THE Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) representative in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Mr Paul Ansah, has filed his nomination to contest the Asuogyaman parliamentary seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He told newsmen that as someone born into a very harsh economic environment like many others in the Asuogyaman Constituency, he was prompted to enter into politics to help to ensure that children got better opportunities to develop their potential to make life meaningful to them.
Mr Ansah, who was president of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in 1992, said “I believe we have come to a time in the political history of our country when all must get involved in the effort to change the meaning of leadership and to boost public confidence in politics. Politics in Ghana must be made attractive to men and women of integrity who understand leadership to be selfless service to God and humanity”.
He said his involvement in Ghana’s democratic process dated back to 21 years ago when he joined the fight to restore Ghana to democratic rule.
“However, my two years stay in the Sahelian region, which happens to be the poorest region in the world, and the poverty and misery that I have come face to face with have actually stimulated in me a fresh desire to rise up to the challenges of leadership in Africa,” he stated
Mr Ansah said he had, therefore, vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to help find lasting solutions to the persistent conflict, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, disease and under development in the Asuogyaman Constituency in particular and in Ghana and Africa in general.
He said the number of development projects undertaken throughout the country and the successes chalked up in the fight against poverty, crime and corruption showed what a determined leadership and a determined people could do.
“Certainly, Asuogyaman requires a team player and a strategic thinker who knows how to plan, focus, motivate and influence people to identify their needs and achieve their goals, a leader whose influence is characterised by high ethical standards and motivated by a sense of ultimate accountability to God.”
The aspirant stated that by filing his nomination to be the representative of the people in Parliament he was seeking their mandate and support to work together with the government, external development partners, the District Assembly, Nananom and people to promote the unity of the constituency both at the party and at the community levels.
He promised to promote the development of social amenities, diversified agriculture, quality education, tourism, and quality health care and provide opportunities for the people of Asuogyaman to engage in viable economic ventures and to mobilise technical and financial support for such activities.
In addition, Mr Ansah said he would work with the various bodies to enhance the revenue generating ability of the District Assembly through direct participation in income generating activities to support its projects and programmes and design and implement youth development programmes that would help to tap the creative potentials of the youth.
He told newsmen that as someone born into a very harsh economic environment like many others in the Asuogyaman Constituency, he was prompted to enter into politics to help to ensure that children got better opportunities to develop their potential to make life meaningful to them.
Mr Ansah, who was president of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in 1992, said “I believe we have come to a time in the political history of our country when all must get involved in the effort to change the meaning of leadership and to boost public confidence in politics. Politics in Ghana must be made attractive to men and women of integrity who understand leadership to be selfless service to God and humanity”.
He said his involvement in Ghana’s democratic process dated back to 21 years ago when he joined the fight to restore Ghana to democratic rule.
“However, my two years stay in the Sahelian region, which happens to be the poorest region in the world, and the poverty and misery that I have come face to face with have actually stimulated in me a fresh desire to rise up to the challenges of leadership in Africa,” he stated
Mr Ansah said he had, therefore, vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to help find lasting solutions to the persistent conflict, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, disease and under development in the Asuogyaman Constituency in particular and in Ghana and Africa in general.
He said the number of development projects undertaken throughout the country and the successes chalked up in the fight against poverty, crime and corruption showed what a determined leadership and a determined people could do.
“Certainly, Asuogyaman requires a team player and a strategic thinker who knows how to plan, focus, motivate and influence people to identify their needs and achieve their goals, a leader whose influence is characterised by high ethical standards and motivated by a sense of ultimate accountability to God.”
The aspirant stated that by filing his nomination to be the representative of the people in Parliament he was seeking their mandate and support to work together with the government, external development partners, the District Assembly, Nananom and people to promote the unity of the constituency both at the party and at the community levels.
He promised to promote the development of social amenities, diversified agriculture, quality education, tourism, and quality health care and provide opportunities for the people of Asuogyaman to engage in viable economic ventures and to mobilise technical and financial support for such activities.
In addition, Mr Ansah said he would work with the various bodies to enhance the revenue generating ability of the District Assembly through direct participation in income generating activities to support its projects and programmes and design and implement youth development programmes that would help to tap the creative potentials of the youth.
Review NMC Act
Political party leaders and senior journalists have called for a review of the constitutional provision on the National Media Commission (NMC), as well as the NMC Act, in the light of its experiences after its formation.
According to them, the review must ensure that the NMC was empowered to seek an order of the High Court when its recommendations were disobeyed, in the light of the increasing cases of media houses refusing to publish rejoinders and retractions.
They also called for modifications on the commission’s procedures, its composition, functions, mode of operation and powers of enforcement to enable it to better play its role in promoting the freedom and independence of the media as defined under Article 162 of the Constitution.
The two bodies made the call after a two-day workshop at Akosombo at the weekend. It was facilitated by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)-Ghana Political Parties Programme (GPPP) for senior media personnel and political party leaders to discuss the critical role of the two stakeholders in Ghana’s democracy as part of its commitment to ensure the conduct of free, fair, peaceful and transparent elections.
Some of the signatories of the communiqué were Dr Kwabena Adjei, the National Chairman of the NDC; Mr Ladi Nylander, the National Chairman of the CPP; Mr Kobina Arthur Kennedy, the representative of the NPP; Mr Roland A. Monney, the Vice-President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA); Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, the General Manager for Newspapers, Graphic Communications Groups Limited; Mrs Jean Mensa, the IEA Administrator; Ms Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, the Editor of the Ghanaian Times; Nii Laryea Sowah, the Executive Secretary of PRINPAG, and Mr Haruna Sumani, Policy Analyst, PNC.
The communiqué said the NMC must be moved away from group and lobby-based interest representation to one of principled representation.
It also urged media houses to develop in-house accountability mechanisms, including the establishment of an in-house Ombudsman system to which the public could complain when they felt aggrieved.
“The media must be accountable, but who they must be accountable to, how they must be accountable and for what they must be accountable must be the subject of public debate to feed into any future reforms, which must also consider the issue of prominence and time limits for the constitutional prescription of compulsory rejoinders, as well as the consequences of failure or refusal to publish such rejoinders,” it said.
On the enforcement of media code of ethics, the communiqué noted that the media, as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, did not enjoy the kind of immunities available to the first three estates — the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature.
“What is required is a kind of regulation in which media practitioners themselves will play a leading role to enable them to ensure that professional and ethical principles are maintained,” it said.
It said ethical re-writing of stories to maintain professional standards and ensure conformity with the editorial policy of media houses was allowed in media practice, adding, however, that any re-writing that resulted in factual inaccuracies was unacceptable.
The communiqué said the proliferation of FM radio stations had taken place in the absence of a framework for the liberalised airwaves and private broadcasting and that had culminated in some of the excesses on some of the stations.
It, therefore, called for a Broadcasting Act to provide the requisite framework for public, private, community and educational broadcasting and also that employers of media personnel must incorporate the GJA Code of Ethics into their employment contracts with their journalism staff so that they could be enforced at the organisational level.
The communiqué said with the continued maturation of Ghana’s democracy, one of the roles of the media was to continue to work to lessen political polarisation and tension in the society, especially in this election year when there was the temptation on the part of both the media and the political class to resort to rumour mongering, exaggerated claims, provocative utterances and character assassination.
“Fairness, accuracy and balance are the minimum demands to be made of journalists in an election year. While ensuring that basic professional standards are respected, practical and sustained efforts must be made by the media to get all sides of a story before publishing it to ensure truth and objectivity in reportage,” it said.
The communiqué said media personnel who interviewed politicians in this election year “must be competent, capable and confident. They must research into the subject matter of their interviews and seek to draw from the politicians what they can do and how they will do it”.
It called on politicians to avoid mudslinging and desist from utterances that raises political tension, while media interviews should also focus on issues.
“Given the importance of the 2008 elections in the consolidation of democracy, the GJA and the NMC are urged to update their guidelines for election coverage this year,” the communiqué said.
According to them, the review must ensure that the NMC was empowered to seek an order of the High Court when its recommendations were disobeyed, in the light of the increasing cases of media houses refusing to publish rejoinders and retractions.
They also called for modifications on the commission’s procedures, its composition, functions, mode of operation and powers of enforcement to enable it to better play its role in promoting the freedom and independence of the media as defined under Article 162 of the Constitution.
The two bodies made the call after a two-day workshop at Akosombo at the weekend. It was facilitated by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)-Ghana Political Parties Programme (GPPP) for senior media personnel and political party leaders to discuss the critical role of the two stakeholders in Ghana’s democracy as part of its commitment to ensure the conduct of free, fair, peaceful and transparent elections.
Some of the signatories of the communiqué were Dr Kwabena Adjei, the National Chairman of the NDC; Mr Ladi Nylander, the National Chairman of the CPP; Mr Kobina Arthur Kennedy, the representative of the NPP; Mr Roland A. Monney, the Vice-President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA); Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, the General Manager for Newspapers, Graphic Communications Groups Limited; Mrs Jean Mensa, the IEA Administrator; Ms Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, the Editor of the Ghanaian Times; Nii Laryea Sowah, the Executive Secretary of PRINPAG, and Mr Haruna Sumani, Policy Analyst, PNC.
The communiqué said the NMC must be moved away from group and lobby-based interest representation to one of principled representation.
It also urged media houses to develop in-house accountability mechanisms, including the establishment of an in-house Ombudsman system to which the public could complain when they felt aggrieved.
“The media must be accountable, but who they must be accountable to, how they must be accountable and for what they must be accountable must be the subject of public debate to feed into any future reforms, which must also consider the issue of prominence and time limits for the constitutional prescription of compulsory rejoinders, as well as the consequences of failure or refusal to publish such rejoinders,” it said.
On the enforcement of media code of ethics, the communiqué noted that the media, as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, did not enjoy the kind of immunities available to the first three estates — the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature.
“What is required is a kind of regulation in which media practitioners themselves will play a leading role to enable them to ensure that professional and ethical principles are maintained,” it said.
It said ethical re-writing of stories to maintain professional standards and ensure conformity with the editorial policy of media houses was allowed in media practice, adding, however, that any re-writing that resulted in factual inaccuracies was unacceptable.
The communiqué said the proliferation of FM radio stations had taken place in the absence of a framework for the liberalised airwaves and private broadcasting and that had culminated in some of the excesses on some of the stations.
It, therefore, called for a Broadcasting Act to provide the requisite framework for public, private, community and educational broadcasting and also that employers of media personnel must incorporate the GJA Code of Ethics into their employment contracts with their journalism staff so that they could be enforced at the organisational level.
The communiqué said with the continued maturation of Ghana’s democracy, one of the roles of the media was to continue to work to lessen political polarisation and tension in the society, especially in this election year when there was the temptation on the part of both the media and the political class to resort to rumour mongering, exaggerated claims, provocative utterances and character assassination.
“Fairness, accuracy and balance are the minimum demands to be made of journalists in an election year. While ensuring that basic professional standards are respected, practical and sustained efforts must be made by the media to get all sides of a story before publishing it to ensure truth and objectivity in reportage,” it said.
The communiqué said media personnel who interviewed politicians in this election year “must be competent, capable and confident. They must research into the subject matter of their interviews and seek to draw from the politicians what they can do and how they will do it”.
It called on politicians to avoid mudslinging and desist from utterances that raises political tension, while media interviews should also focus on issues.
“Given the importance of the 2008 elections in the consolidation of democracy, the GJA and the NMC are urged to update their guidelines for election coverage this year,” the communiqué said.
IEA launches draft bill
A proposed draft political parties bill, 2008 under the auspices of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), The Netherlands Instituet (NIMD) and the Ghana Political Parties Programme will be launched in Accra today.
The enactment of the draft bill into law is expected to mark another important milestone in Ghana’s political evolution and another success story testifying to the importance of the Ghana Political Parties Programme.
According to a copy of the proposed draft, it marks a departure from the current political parties Act 2000, Act 574 in three major areas.
First, the draft seeks the removal of the powers of the Electoral Commission (EC) in relation to the issuance of the final certificate of registration and vest it in the High Court.
It also seeks the reduction of the supervisory powers of the EC in relation to the financial accountability of political parties and also the relaxation of the rigid criteria for qualification for registration as a political party.
Based on the various challenges that the political parties faced acting within the confines of Act 200, Act 574, which they raised at various fora, the IEA/NIMD Ghana Political Parties Programme (GPPP) prepared concrete well-thought-out proposals and raised their collective voice on the issue.
It had inputs from national, regional and constituency executives of all registered political parties as well as officials from the EC and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).
A legal consultant was appointed to put together the draft proposals, which were subjected to country-wide stakeholders consultation.
The major proposals for amendment are that the penalty for the suppression of lawful political activity or compulsion to join a particular political party should be made severe enough to act as a deterrent, since the offences are among the worst democratic violations.
Another major proposal for amendment is that the prohibition of persons not qualified to hold public office from being founder members, leaders or executive members of political parties was damaging to people’s reputation as it would prohibit former presidents and persons who have retired from public office on account of having reached the compulsory retirement age of 60 from holding any of those positions in the party.
Another major proposal for amendment is the clause that enjoins political parties to submit annual accounts, including accounts in respect of general election in an election year, and not just after every general election and by-election as is presently the case.
The proposed draft Political Parties Bill was signed in attestation at a public ceremony on October 10, 2007.
The document expresses the hope that the Ghana Political Parties Programme under the IEA and the inter-party advisory committee (IPAC) would jointly sponsor a memorandum to the Attorney General for consideration and onward transmission to the Cabinet and Parliament for enactment.
The enactment of the draft bill into law is expected to mark another important milestone in Ghana’s political evolution and another success story testifying to the importance of the Ghana Political Parties Programme.
According to a copy of the proposed draft, it marks a departure from the current political parties Act 2000, Act 574 in three major areas.
First, the draft seeks the removal of the powers of the Electoral Commission (EC) in relation to the issuance of the final certificate of registration and vest it in the High Court.
It also seeks the reduction of the supervisory powers of the EC in relation to the financial accountability of political parties and also the relaxation of the rigid criteria for qualification for registration as a political party.
Based on the various challenges that the political parties faced acting within the confines of Act 200, Act 574, which they raised at various fora, the IEA/NIMD Ghana Political Parties Programme (GPPP) prepared concrete well-thought-out proposals and raised their collective voice on the issue.
It had inputs from national, regional and constituency executives of all registered political parties as well as officials from the EC and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).
A legal consultant was appointed to put together the draft proposals, which were subjected to country-wide stakeholders consultation.
The major proposals for amendment are that the penalty for the suppression of lawful political activity or compulsion to join a particular political party should be made severe enough to act as a deterrent, since the offences are among the worst democratic violations.
Another major proposal for amendment is that the prohibition of persons not qualified to hold public office from being founder members, leaders or executive members of political parties was damaging to people’s reputation as it would prohibit former presidents and persons who have retired from public office on account of having reached the compulsory retirement age of 60 from holding any of those positions in the party.
Another major proposal for amendment is the clause that enjoins political parties to submit annual accounts, including accounts in respect of general election in an election year, and not just after every general election and by-election as is presently the case.
The proposed draft Political Parties Bill was signed in attestation at a public ceremony on October 10, 2007.
The document expresses the hope that the Ghana Political Parties Programme under the IEA and the inter-party advisory committee (IPAC) would jointly sponsor a memorandum to the Attorney General for consideration and onward transmission to the Cabinet and Parliament for enactment.
Two call for probe into alleged bloated register
THE New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Institute for Democratic Development (IDEG) have called for a thorough investigation into the alleged bloated register in 13 constituencies in the Ashanti Region.
They said the investigation should establish the truth or otherwise of the allegation raised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to put the matter to rest.
While the NPP is calling for a committee made up of representatives of political parties, the Electoral Commission (EC) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) experts, the IDEG wants the EC and the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) to assign an independent body to investigate the issue.
That, the IDEG said, was crucial, since the impartiality of the EC and the IPAC in the issue of the bloated register was somewhat clouded.
The NDC recently raised alarm that an official data it obtained from the EC indicated that the number of registered voters in some constituencies in the Ashanti Region had more than doubled since the December 2004 elections. The EC refuted the claim that the voters register was bloated and consequently set up a two-man committee to look into the matter internally.
The General Secretary of the NPP, Nana Ohene Ntow, made the party’s position known at a press conference yesterday, while the IDEG’s suggestions were contained in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Dr Emmanuel Akwetey.
According to the NPP, it did not object to the EC carrying out its own internal investigations, “but with the lingering of the impasse without any open and transparent approach towards getting to the bottom of the matter, the suspicion and mistrust brewing over the register can only get worse”.
He said although the NPP respected the competencies of the EC, “I remember very clearly that there was consensus at the last IPAC meeting that a committee comprising political party representatives, the EC and IT experts investigates that matter with a view to clearing any doubts that may be hanging over the voters register”.
Nana Ohene Ntow described as “unwarranted” the accusation by the NDC that the voters register in the Ashanti Region had been bloated in order for the EC to use it to rig the elections for the NPP, adding that that was a baseless and mischievous fabrication calculated to call the credibility of the EC, the NPP and the whole electoral process into doubt.
He said the NPP did not register voters, neither did it have the capacity to rig elections, adding that as a responsible political party, it would not sit unconcerned while the NDC executed its diabolical plot of preparing the minds of Ghanaians to question the results of the December polls, particularly if the NDC lost them.
Explaining its part, the IDEG document said the political parties, especially the NDC and the NPP, had, over the years, indicated their mistrust for one another in various forms.
“It is also known that the NDC and the NPP have clashed over the purported motive for the alleged bloating of the voters register in the Ashanti Region. The level of mistrust among the political parties is so high that allowing them to take direct charge of the investigations may be counter-productive,” it said.
On the way forward, the IDEG said an independent body should be appointed by the EC, with the endorsement of IPAC, and its terms of reference and lines of reporting clearly defined.
“Eminent and well-respected Ghanaians who would constitute the independent body should have their names, terms of reference, findings and recommendations published in the interest of transparency,” it added.
The IDEG also suggested that the proposed independent body be sufficiently empowered to deal with the matter technically, professionally and expeditiously, as well to help to undertake a comprehensive review of the entire voters register, its management, including security of data and its access or retrieval procedures.
They said the investigation should establish the truth or otherwise of the allegation raised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to put the matter to rest.
While the NPP is calling for a committee made up of representatives of political parties, the Electoral Commission (EC) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) experts, the IDEG wants the EC and the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) to assign an independent body to investigate the issue.
That, the IDEG said, was crucial, since the impartiality of the EC and the IPAC in the issue of the bloated register was somewhat clouded.
The NDC recently raised alarm that an official data it obtained from the EC indicated that the number of registered voters in some constituencies in the Ashanti Region had more than doubled since the December 2004 elections. The EC refuted the claim that the voters register was bloated and consequently set up a two-man committee to look into the matter internally.
The General Secretary of the NPP, Nana Ohene Ntow, made the party’s position known at a press conference yesterday, while the IDEG’s suggestions were contained in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Dr Emmanuel Akwetey.
According to the NPP, it did not object to the EC carrying out its own internal investigations, “but with the lingering of the impasse without any open and transparent approach towards getting to the bottom of the matter, the suspicion and mistrust brewing over the register can only get worse”.
He said although the NPP respected the competencies of the EC, “I remember very clearly that there was consensus at the last IPAC meeting that a committee comprising political party representatives, the EC and IT experts investigates that matter with a view to clearing any doubts that may be hanging over the voters register”.
Nana Ohene Ntow described as “unwarranted” the accusation by the NDC that the voters register in the Ashanti Region had been bloated in order for the EC to use it to rig the elections for the NPP, adding that that was a baseless and mischievous fabrication calculated to call the credibility of the EC, the NPP and the whole electoral process into doubt.
He said the NPP did not register voters, neither did it have the capacity to rig elections, adding that as a responsible political party, it would not sit unconcerned while the NDC executed its diabolical plot of preparing the minds of Ghanaians to question the results of the December polls, particularly if the NDC lost them.
Explaining its part, the IDEG document said the political parties, especially the NDC and the NPP, had, over the years, indicated their mistrust for one another in various forms.
“It is also known that the NDC and the NPP have clashed over the purported motive for the alleged bloating of the voters register in the Ashanti Region. The level of mistrust among the political parties is so high that allowing them to take direct charge of the investigations may be counter-productive,” it said.
On the way forward, the IDEG said an independent body should be appointed by the EC, with the endorsement of IPAC, and its terms of reference and lines of reporting clearly defined.
“Eminent and well-respected Ghanaians who would constitute the independent body should have their names, terms of reference, findings and recommendations published in the interest of transparency,” it added.
The IDEG also suggested that the proposed independent body be sufficiently empowered to deal with the matter technically, professionally and expeditiously, as well to help to undertake a comprehensive review of the entire voters register, its management, including security of data and its access or retrieval procedures.
Alleged bloated voters register is true — GCPP produces evidence
The controversy surrounding the alleged bloated voters register has been deepened by the disclosure that figures obtained by the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) from the EC corroborate the claim by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The GCPP has consequently called for an independent body to investigate the issue and remove the extra names from the register before the voters registration process begins.
While the GCPP figures corroborate the figures obtained by the NDC, they both are at variance with the register distributed by the EC Chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, to the various political parties at the recent Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) held on March 4, 2008 in Accra.
According to the figures obtained from the EC by the GCPP which had a cover letter with reference number C/EC.07/SF.13/VOL2/100, dated June 14, 2007 and signed by Mr Daniel K. Amanyo on behalf of the chairman of the EC, some of the registered voters for Ashanti are as follows: Ejisu Juaben, 155,042; Ejura Sekyeredumasi, 84,182; Kwabre East, 124,842; Kwabre West, 77,264; Asante Akim South, 95,444; Asante Akim North, 129,046.
However, the register given by the EC at the IPAC meeting gives the following figures, Ejisu Juaben, 78,170; Ejura Sekyeredumasi, 38,114; Kwabre East, 62,733; Kwabre West, 38,802; Asante Akim South, 47,874; Asante Akim North, 64,683.
The letter covering the register stated: “I forward herewith information requested in your letter dated February 19, 2007 on the above subject or your study, please.”
“I am stunned by such revelation, the EC must apologise to Ghanaians and launch an independent inquiry to ascertain how the figures were bloated, correct the discrepancies and ensure that such a serious mistake never happens again,” Mr Dan Lartey, the leader and founder of the GCPP, told the Daily Graphic.
He said the register could not be used as a credible document to organise the 2008 general election with the huge flaws.
He said it was through such fictitious moves that elections were rigged in other countries such as Kenya, which culminated in instabilities.
Mr Lartey, who described the revelation as disgusting and a recipe for disaster, did not understand why the EC should institute a three-man investigative committee into such a matter.
“The EC is the one at fault, how can they be the investigator and a judge in a matter concerning them,” he said.
A statement issued earlier by the GCPP and signed by its General Secretary, Mr John Thompson, said the party was amazed at the revelation because at the IPAC meeting, when the question of bloated register came up, the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, distributed a document to all political parties.
The statement said Dr Afari-Gyan claimed that the document he distributed was the authentic one as far as the Ashanti Region was concerned.
“At this juncture it was suspected that the NDC might have tampered with the CD-ROM that they took from the EC,” it said.
The statement said later when the GCPP did its research from a document it had secured from the EC, it became clear that the figures provided by the NDC agreed with those the GCPP had obtained from the EC, and all the discrepancies that the NDC claimed were true.
The GCPP has consequently called for an independent body to investigate the issue and remove the extra names from the register before the voters registration process begins.
While the GCPP figures corroborate the figures obtained by the NDC, they both are at variance with the register distributed by the EC Chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, to the various political parties at the recent Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) held on March 4, 2008 in Accra.
According to the figures obtained from the EC by the GCPP which had a cover letter with reference number C/EC.07/SF.13/VOL2/100, dated June 14, 2007 and signed by Mr Daniel K. Amanyo on behalf of the chairman of the EC, some of the registered voters for Ashanti are as follows: Ejisu Juaben, 155,042; Ejura Sekyeredumasi, 84,182; Kwabre East, 124,842; Kwabre West, 77,264; Asante Akim South, 95,444; Asante Akim North, 129,046.
However, the register given by the EC at the IPAC meeting gives the following figures, Ejisu Juaben, 78,170; Ejura Sekyeredumasi, 38,114; Kwabre East, 62,733; Kwabre West, 38,802; Asante Akim South, 47,874; Asante Akim North, 64,683.
The letter covering the register stated: “I forward herewith information requested in your letter dated February 19, 2007 on the above subject or your study, please.”
“I am stunned by such revelation, the EC must apologise to Ghanaians and launch an independent inquiry to ascertain how the figures were bloated, correct the discrepancies and ensure that such a serious mistake never happens again,” Mr Dan Lartey, the leader and founder of the GCPP, told the Daily Graphic.
He said the register could not be used as a credible document to organise the 2008 general election with the huge flaws.
He said it was through such fictitious moves that elections were rigged in other countries such as Kenya, which culminated in instabilities.
Mr Lartey, who described the revelation as disgusting and a recipe for disaster, did not understand why the EC should institute a three-man investigative committee into such a matter.
“The EC is the one at fault, how can they be the investigator and a judge in a matter concerning them,” he said.
A statement issued earlier by the GCPP and signed by its General Secretary, Mr John Thompson, said the party was amazed at the revelation because at the IPAC meeting, when the question of bloated register came up, the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, distributed a document to all political parties.
The statement said Dr Afari-Gyan claimed that the document he distributed was the authentic one as far as the Ashanti Region was concerned.
“At this juncture it was suspected that the NDC might have tampered with the CD-ROM that they took from the EC,” it said.
The statement said later when the GCPP did its research from a document it had secured from the EC, it became clear that the figures provided by the NDC agreed with those the GCPP had obtained from the EC, and all the discrepancies that the NDC claimed were true.
Alleged bloated voters register is true — GCPP produces evidence
The controversy surrounding the alleged bloated voters register has been deepened by the disclosure that figures obtained by the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) from the EC corroborate the claim by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The GCPP has consequently called for an independent body to investigate the issue and remove the extra names from the register before the voters registration process begins.
While the GCPP figures corroborate the figures obtained by the NDC, they both are at variance with the register distributed by the EC Chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, to the various political parties at the recent Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) held on March 4, 2008 in Accra.
According to the figures obtained from the EC by the GCPP which had a cover letter with reference number C/EC.07/SF.13/VOL2/100, dated June 14, 2007 and signed by Mr Daniel K. Amanyo on behalf of the chairman of the EC, some of the registered voters for Ashanti are as follows: Ejisu Juaben, 155,042; Ejura Sekyeredumasi, 84,182; Kwabre East, 124,842; Kwabre West, 77,264; Asante Akim South, 95,444; Asante Akim North, 129,046.
However, the register given by the EC at the IPAC meeting gives the following figures, Ejisu Juaben, 78,170; Ejura Sekyeredumasi, 38,114; Kwabre East, 62,733; Kwabre West, 38,802; Asante Akim South, 47,874; Asante Akim North, 64,683.
The letter covering the register stated: “I forward herewith information requested in your letter dated February 19, 2007 on the above subject or your study, please.”
“I am stunned by such revelation, the EC must apologise to Ghanaians and launch an independent inquiry to ascertain how the figures were bloated, correct the discrepancies and ensure that such a serious mistake never happens again,” Mr Dan Lartey, the leader and founder of the GCPP, told the Daily Graphic.
He said the register could not be used as a credible document to organise the 2008 general election with the huge flaws.
He said it was through such fictitious moves that elections were rigged in other countries such as Kenya, which culminated in instabilities.
Mr Lartey, who described the revelation as disgusting and a recipe for disaster, did not understand why the EC should institute a three-man investigative committee into such a matter.
“The EC is the one at fault, how can they be the investigator and a judge in a matter concerning them,” he said.
A statement issued earlier by the GCPP and signed by its General Secretary, Mr John Thompson, said the party was amazed at the revelation because at the IPAC meeting, when the question of bloated register came up, the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, distributed a document to all political parties.
The statement said Dr Afari-Gyan claimed that the document he distributed was the authentic one as far as the Ashanti Region was concerned.
“At this juncture it was suspected that the NDC might have tampered with the CD-ROM that they took from the EC,” it said.
The statement said later when the GCPP did its research from a document it had secured from the EC, it became clear that the figures provided by the NDC agreed with those the GCPP had obtained from the EC, and all the discrepancies that the NDC claimed were true.
The GCPP has consequently called for an independent body to investigate the issue and remove the extra names from the register before the voters registration process begins.
While the GCPP figures corroborate the figures obtained by the NDC, they both are at variance with the register distributed by the EC Chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, to the various political parties at the recent Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) held on March 4, 2008 in Accra.
According to the figures obtained from the EC by the GCPP which had a cover letter with reference number C/EC.07/SF.13/VOL2/100, dated June 14, 2007 and signed by Mr Daniel K. Amanyo on behalf of the chairman of the EC, some of the registered voters for Ashanti are as follows: Ejisu Juaben, 155,042; Ejura Sekyeredumasi, 84,182; Kwabre East, 124,842; Kwabre West, 77,264; Asante Akim South, 95,444; Asante Akim North, 129,046.
However, the register given by the EC at the IPAC meeting gives the following figures, Ejisu Juaben, 78,170; Ejura Sekyeredumasi, 38,114; Kwabre East, 62,733; Kwabre West, 38,802; Asante Akim South, 47,874; Asante Akim North, 64,683.
The letter covering the register stated: “I forward herewith information requested in your letter dated February 19, 2007 on the above subject or your study, please.”
“I am stunned by such revelation, the EC must apologise to Ghanaians and launch an independent inquiry to ascertain how the figures were bloated, correct the discrepancies and ensure that such a serious mistake never happens again,” Mr Dan Lartey, the leader and founder of the GCPP, told the Daily Graphic.
He said the register could not be used as a credible document to organise the 2008 general election with the huge flaws.
He said it was through such fictitious moves that elections were rigged in other countries such as Kenya, which culminated in instabilities.
Mr Lartey, who described the revelation as disgusting and a recipe for disaster, did not understand why the EC should institute a three-man investigative committee into such a matter.
“The EC is the one at fault, how can they be the investigator and a judge in a matter concerning them,” he said.
A statement issued earlier by the GCPP and signed by its General Secretary, Mr John Thompson, said the party was amazed at the revelation because at the IPAC meeting, when the question of bloated register came up, the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, distributed a document to all political parties.
The statement said Dr Afari-Gyan claimed that the document he distributed was the authentic one as far as the Ashanti Region was concerned.
“At this juncture it was suspected that the NDC might have tampered with the CD-ROM that they took from the EC,” it said.
The statement said later when the GCPP did its research from a document it had secured from the EC, it became clear that the figures provided by the NDC agreed with those the GCPP had obtained from the EC, and all the discrepancies that the NDC claimed were true.
Akofo-Addo inaugurates campaign team
THE flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has inaugurated his national campaign team and charged them to ensure that the party increase its majority in Parliament and win the 2008 general election.
The team is made up of an Advisory Board headed by Mr Peter Mac Manu, and a national campaign committee, which is under the chairmanship of Mr Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, with Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku as its director with two deputies, Mr Roland Saka for the northern sector and Ms Sophia Horner-Sam for the southern sector.
Introducing the team at a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Accra yesterday, Nana Akufo-Addo also used the occasion to lay out his blueprint for the 2008 general election.
The membership of the advisory board include all the 17 other former presidential aspirants of the party, together with Mr A. K. Deku, acting Chairman of Council of Elders, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, Minister of Presidential Affairs, and the two national Vice-Persons of the party, Mrs Agnes Okudzeto and Alhaji Abdul Rahman Musa, the General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow, and the presidential candidate.
The national committee consists of five national officers — the Chairman, Mr Peter Mac Manu; General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow; National Organiser, Mr Lord Commey; Women’s Organiser, Ms Rita Asobayire; and the National Youth Organiser, Mr John Buadu, and chairpersons of eight specialised committees.
Other members are the presidential aspirant, Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo, Ms Mawusi Awitty and Hajia Rukia.
The chairmen of the specialised committees are Dr Arthur Kennedy, Communications; Mr Dan Botwe, Electoral Affairs; Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Fund-raising; Mr Alan Kyerematen, Identifiable Groups; Dr Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, Manifesto; Mr Nich Adi-Dako, Operations; Mr Victor Newman, Research; Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, Security; and Mr Felix Owusu-Adjepong, Traditional Affairs.
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, based on the excellent achievements of President J.A. Kufuor, the next NPP government is best positioned to implement its new priority programmes through the implementation of fresh ideas that will continue to make the country better.
He said an Akufo-Addo government would have four central thematic areas, namely, the continuing consolidation of democracy, modernisation of the society, structural transformation of the economy and the full engagement of Ghana in the process of regional and continental integration.
Although Nana Akufo-Addo did not specify the roles and functions of the campaign team, he said the team would work in conjunction with regional, constituency and polling station executives of the party.
Explaining his four thematic areas, he said his administration would deepen democracy by reinforcing the institutions that secure the rule of law, fighting corruption vigorously, strengthening the process of decentralisation to give local communities more resources and a bigger voice in decisions that affect their lives.
On modernising the society, he said this would be done through the protection of the environment, re-planning towns and cities and stringently enforcing the existing rules and regulations and doing so humanely, to ensure that the nation maintained a proper balance between rights and responsibilities and actively promoting the arts and sports, as well as instilling a greater sense of patriotism, confidence and pride in the average Ghanaian.
Expatiating on the transformation of the economy, Nana Akufo-Addo said his administration would focus on the production of value added goods and services, pursuing policy of empowering Ghanaians economically as a means of encouraging the accumulation and investment of Ghanaian capital locally and from the Diaspora, making the formal sector more attractive to the majority of local economic operators and investing a substantial percentage of the nation’s gross domestic product in research and development.
He said he would work to exert leadership on the African continent by helping to resolve conflict, enhancing security, consolidating multi-party democracy, and promoting regional and continental integration in allowing free movement of people, goods and services across board.
He called for the acknowledgement of the great strides the nation had made under the NPP, “yet we must also have the humility to appreciate that we still have a long way to go. We need to accelerate the development of our national economy so that opportunities will abound especially for the youth”.
Nana Akufo-Addo said because the welfare of the youth remained the major preoccupation of the nation, it must grow its GDP from the six per cent rate to 10 per cent systematically over the next decade to reduce poverty in the country.
He called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure that arrangements for the 2008 elections would secure a free, fair and transparent election “whose results cannot legitimately be questioned. There will be no justification for any group of people to disturb the hard-won peace of our country and to instigate the shedding of even a single drop of Ghanaian blood”.
Mr Mac Manu said the NPP had confidence in the EC but acknowledged the fact that as a human institutions it would commit some errors but such lapses must not be given sinister interpretation that might degenerate into any nasty situation in Ghana.
“We have taken note of the fact that leaders of the NDC have started a campaign on accusing the NPP of setting out to rig the elections. We have no iota of doubt in the NPP that the NDC has prepared a game plan whereby they intend to discredit and demonise the EC by feeding lies to the public,” he said.
He added that this was to prepare the grounds to reject the results of the election which they must now realise they had lost given the sterling performance of the NPP in the past seven years.
The team is made up of an Advisory Board headed by Mr Peter Mac Manu, and a national campaign committee, which is under the chairmanship of Mr Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, with Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku as its director with two deputies, Mr Roland Saka for the northern sector and Ms Sophia Horner-Sam for the southern sector.
Introducing the team at a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Accra yesterday, Nana Akufo-Addo also used the occasion to lay out his blueprint for the 2008 general election.
The membership of the advisory board include all the 17 other former presidential aspirants of the party, together with Mr A. K. Deku, acting Chairman of Council of Elders, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, Minister of Presidential Affairs, and the two national Vice-Persons of the party, Mrs Agnes Okudzeto and Alhaji Abdul Rahman Musa, the General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow, and the presidential candidate.
The national committee consists of five national officers — the Chairman, Mr Peter Mac Manu; General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow; National Organiser, Mr Lord Commey; Women’s Organiser, Ms Rita Asobayire; and the National Youth Organiser, Mr John Buadu, and chairpersons of eight specialised committees.
Other members are the presidential aspirant, Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo, Ms Mawusi Awitty and Hajia Rukia.
The chairmen of the specialised committees are Dr Arthur Kennedy, Communications; Mr Dan Botwe, Electoral Affairs; Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Fund-raising; Mr Alan Kyerematen, Identifiable Groups; Dr Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, Manifesto; Mr Nich Adi-Dako, Operations; Mr Victor Newman, Research; Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, Security; and Mr Felix Owusu-Adjepong, Traditional Affairs.
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, based on the excellent achievements of President J.A. Kufuor, the next NPP government is best positioned to implement its new priority programmes through the implementation of fresh ideas that will continue to make the country better.
He said an Akufo-Addo government would have four central thematic areas, namely, the continuing consolidation of democracy, modernisation of the society, structural transformation of the economy and the full engagement of Ghana in the process of regional and continental integration.
Although Nana Akufo-Addo did not specify the roles and functions of the campaign team, he said the team would work in conjunction with regional, constituency and polling station executives of the party.
Explaining his four thematic areas, he said his administration would deepen democracy by reinforcing the institutions that secure the rule of law, fighting corruption vigorously, strengthening the process of decentralisation to give local communities more resources and a bigger voice in decisions that affect their lives.
On modernising the society, he said this would be done through the protection of the environment, re-planning towns and cities and stringently enforcing the existing rules and regulations and doing so humanely, to ensure that the nation maintained a proper balance between rights and responsibilities and actively promoting the arts and sports, as well as instilling a greater sense of patriotism, confidence and pride in the average Ghanaian.
Expatiating on the transformation of the economy, Nana Akufo-Addo said his administration would focus on the production of value added goods and services, pursuing policy of empowering Ghanaians economically as a means of encouraging the accumulation and investment of Ghanaian capital locally and from the Diaspora, making the formal sector more attractive to the majority of local economic operators and investing a substantial percentage of the nation’s gross domestic product in research and development.
He said he would work to exert leadership on the African continent by helping to resolve conflict, enhancing security, consolidating multi-party democracy, and promoting regional and continental integration in allowing free movement of people, goods and services across board.
He called for the acknowledgement of the great strides the nation had made under the NPP, “yet we must also have the humility to appreciate that we still have a long way to go. We need to accelerate the development of our national economy so that opportunities will abound especially for the youth”.
Nana Akufo-Addo said because the welfare of the youth remained the major preoccupation of the nation, it must grow its GDP from the six per cent rate to 10 per cent systematically over the next decade to reduce poverty in the country.
He called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure that arrangements for the 2008 elections would secure a free, fair and transparent election “whose results cannot legitimately be questioned. There will be no justification for any group of people to disturb the hard-won peace of our country and to instigate the shedding of even a single drop of Ghanaian blood”.
Mr Mac Manu said the NPP had confidence in the EC but acknowledged the fact that as a human institutions it would commit some errors but such lapses must not be given sinister interpretation that might degenerate into any nasty situation in Ghana.
“We have taken note of the fact that leaders of the NDC have started a campaign on accusing the NPP of setting out to rig the elections. We have no iota of doubt in the NPP that the NDC has prepared a game plan whereby they intend to discredit and demonise the EC by feeding lies to the public,” he said.
He added that this was to prepare the grounds to reject the results of the election which they must now realise they had lost given the sterling performance of the NPP in the past seven years.
DFP holds maiden congress
THE Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) is now set to hold its maiden national delegates congress to elect its flag-bearer and national executive officers.
After months of media speculations of a possible postponement of the congress, the party has finally set April 4, 2008 for the congress to be held at the Accra Polytechnic.
It is on the theme “Restoring National Hope and Confidence”.
Nominations open today, Monday, March 17, 2008 and close on March 31, 2008.
Disclosing this to the Daily Graphic, Mr John Ameka, the Deputy General Secretary, said the decision was reached at its National Executive Committee meeting held last Wednesday.
He said the nomination forms for the flag-bearer positions would be available at the party’s national Secretariat only, while forms for national executive officers could be obtained from the national and all regional offices of the party throughout the country.
He said the cost of a presidential aspirant form is Gh¢ 500, while the nomination fee is Gh¢5,000. For the national executive positions, the forms cost GH¢ 10??????, while those vying for chairmanship, organiser, general secretary and women’s organiser would pay Gh¢ 200 as filing fee.
Those contesting as deputies for all national executive positions would pay GH¢ 100 as nomination fees.
Later in an interview, the National Chairman, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Issaka, said the announcement of the date and venue would put to rest speculations about the party’s congress date and venue.
He attributed the delay in holding a congress to the problems the party encountered in finding a venue and accommodation, which was occasioned by the MTN CAN 2008 tournament hosted by Ghana.
He said due to the tournament, the academic calendar of some of the tertiary institutions where the party wanted to hold its congress was affected “and the truth is that that has got nothing to do with financing”.
“Indeed, no political party can claim that it has no difficulty in raising expected funds for its activities. The DFP will certainly have some difficulty raising funds”, but that was not the reason for the delay, Alhaji Issaka said in response to speculations that the party was not able to hold its congress due to lack of funds.
He said as a serious political party, the DFP would always manage to prosecute its programmes within the schedule for the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The DFP finds it difficult to reconcile the assertion that the party is broke, with other allegations of the party being funded by stolen money from the NDC and some other sources,” Alhaji Issaka said.
He urged all political parties to see themselves as entities with common interest of developing the nation and engage in politics in a decorous manner and devoid of animosity.
After months of media speculations of a possible postponement of the congress, the party has finally set April 4, 2008 for the congress to be held at the Accra Polytechnic.
It is on the theme “Restoring National Hope and Confidence”.
Nominations open today, Monday, March 17, 2008 and close on March 31, 2008.
Disclosing this to the Daily Graphic, Mr John Ameka, the Deputy General Secretary, said the decision was reached at its National Executive Committee meeting held last Wednesday.
He said the nomination forms for the flag-bearer positions would be available at the party’s national Secretariat only, while forms for national executive officers could be obtained from the national and all regional offices of the party throughout the country.
He said the cost of a presidential aspirant form is Gh¢ 500, while the nomination fee is Gh¢5,000. For the national executive positions, the forms cost GH¢ 10??????, while those vying for chairmanship, organiser, general secretary and women’s organiser would pay Gh¢ 200 as filing fee.
Those contesting as deputies for all national executive positions would pay GH¢ 100 as nomination fees.
Later in an interview, the National Chairman, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Issaka, said the announcement of the date and venue would put to rest speculations about the party’s congress date and venue.
He attributed the delay in holding a congress to the problems the party encountered in finding a venue and accommodation, which was occasioned by the MTN CAN 2008 tournament hosted by Ghana.
He said due to the tournament, the academic calendar of some of the tertiary institutions where the party wanted to hold its congress was affected “and the truth is that that has got nothing to do with financing”.
“Indeed, no political party can claim that it has no difficulty in raising expected funds for its activities. The DFP will certainly have some difficulty raising funds”, but that was not the reason for the delay, Alhaji Issaka said in response to speculations that the party was not able to hold its congress due to lack of funds.
He said as a serious political party, the DFP would always manage to prosecute its programmes within the schedule for the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The DFP finds it difficult to reconcile the assertion that the party is broke, with other allegations of the party being funded by stolen money from the NDC and some other sources,” Alhaji Issaka said.
He urged all political parties to see themselves as entities with common interest of developing the nation and engage in politics in a decorous manner and devoid of animosity.
DFP holds maiden congress
THE Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) is now set to hold its maiden national delegates congress to elect its flag-bearer and national executive officers.
After months of media speculations of a possible postponement of the congress, the party has finally set April 4, 2008 for the congress to be held at the Accra Polytechnic.
It is on the theme “Restoring National Hope and Confidence”.
Nominations open today, Monday, March 17, 2008 and close on March 31, 2008.
Disclosing this to the Daily Graphic, Mr John Ameka, the Deputy General Secretary, said the decision was reached at its National Executive Committee meeting held last Wednesday.
He said the nomination forms for the flag-bearer positions would be available at the party’s national Secretariat only, while forms for national executive officers could be obtained from the national and all regional offices of the party throughout the country.
He said the cost of a presidential aspirant form is Gh¢ 500, while the nomination fee is Gh¢5,000. For the national executive positions, the forms cost GH¢ 10??????, while those vying for chairmanship, organiser, general secretary and women’s organiser would pay Gh¢ 200 as filing fee.
Those contesting as deputies for all national executive positions would pay GH¢ 100 as nomination fees.
Later in an interview, the National Chairman, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Issaka, said the announcement of the date and venue would put to rest speculations about the party’s congress date and venue.
He attributed the delay in holding a congress to the problems the party encountered in finding a venue and accommodation, which was occasioned by the MTN CAN 2008 tournament hosted by Ghana.
He said due to the tournament, the academic calendar of some of the tertiary institutions where the party wanted to hold its congress was affected “and the truth is that that has got nothing to do with financing”.
“Indeed, no political party can claim that it has no difficulty in raising expected funds for its activities. The DFP will certainly have some difficulty raising funds”, but that was not the reason for the delay, Alhaji Issaka said in response to speculations that the party was not able to hold its congress due to lack of funds.
He said as a serious political party, the DFP would always manage to prosecute its programmes within the schedule for the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The DFP finds it difficult to reconcile the assertion that the party is broke, with other allegations of the party being funded by stolen money from the NDC and some other sources,” Alhaji Issaka said.
He urged all political parties to see themselves as entities with common interest of developing the nation and engage in politics in a decorous manner and devoid of animosity.
After months of media speculations of a possible postponement of the congress, the party has finally set April 4, 2008 for the congress to be held at the Accra Polytechnic.
It is on the theme “Restoring National Hope and Confidence”.
Nominations open today, Monday, March 17, 2008 and close on March 31, 2008.
Disclosing this to the Daily Graphic, Mr John Ameka, the Deputy General Secretary, said the decision was reached at its National Executive Committee meeting held last Wednesday.
He said the nomination forms for the flag-bearer positions would be available at the party’s national Secretariat only, while forms for national executive officers could be obtained from the national and all regional offices of the party throughout the country.
He said the cost of a presidential aspirant form is Gh¢ 500, while the nomination fee is Gh¢5,000. For the national executive positions, the forms cost GH¢ 10??????, while those vying for chairmanship, organiser, general secretary and women’s organiser would pay Gh¢ 200 as filing fee.
Those contesting as deputies for all national executive positions would pay GH¢ 100 as nomination fees.
Later in an interview, the National Chairman, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Issaka, said the announcement of the date and venue would put to rest speculations about the party’s congress date and venue.
He attributed the delay in holding a congress to the problems the party encountered in finding a venue and accommodation, which was occasioned by the MTN CAN 2008 tournament hosted by Ghana.
He said due to the tournament, the academic calendar of some of the tertiary institutions where the party wanted to hold its congress was affected “and the truth is that that has got nothing to do with financing”.
“Indeed, no political party can claim that it has no difficulty in raising expected funds for its activities. The DFP will certainly have some difficulty raising funds”, but that was not the reason for the delay, Alhaji Issaka said in response to speculations that the party was not able to hold its congress due to lack of funds.
He said as a serious political party, the DFP would always manage to prosecute its programmes within the schedule for the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The DFP finds it difficult to reconcile the assertion that the party is broke, with other allegations of the party being funded by stolen money from the NDC and some other sources,” Alhaji Issaka said.
He urged all political parties to see themselves as entities with common interest of developing the nation and engage in politics in a decorous manner and devoid of animosity.
DFP holds maiden congress
THE Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) is now set to hold its maiden national delegates congress to elect its flag-bearer and national executive officers.
After months of media speculations of a possible postponement of the congress, the party has finally set April 4, 2008 for the congress to be held at the Accra Polytechnic.
It is on the theme “Restoring National Hope and Confidence”.
Nominations open today, Monday, March 17, 2008 and close on March 31, 2008.
Disclosing this to the Daily Graphic, Mr John Ameka, the Deputy General Secretary, said the decision was reached at its National Executive Committee meeting held last Wednesday.
He said the nomination forms for the flag-bearer positions would be available at the party’s national Secretariat only, while forms for national executive officers could be obtained from the national and all regional offices of the party throughout the country.
He said the cost of a presidential aspirant form is Gh¢ 500, while the nomination fee is Gh¢5,000. For the national executive positions, the forms cost GH¢ 10??????, while those vying for chairmanship, organiser, general secretary and women’s organiser would pay Gh¢ 200 as filing fee.
Those contesting as deputies for all national executive positions would pay GH¢ 100 as nomination fees.
Later in an interview, the National Chairman, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Issaka, said the announcement of the date and venue would put to rest speculations about the party’s congress date and venue.
He attributed the delay in holding a congress to the problems the party encountered in finding a venue and accommodation, which was occasioned by the MTN CAN 2008 tournament hosted by Ghana.
He said due to the tournament, the academic calendar of some of the tertiary institutions where the party wanted to hold its congress was affected “and the truth is that that has got nothing to do with financing”.
“Indeed, no political party can claim that it has no difficulty in raising expected funds for its activities. The DFP will certainly have some difficulty raising funds”, but that was not the reason for the delay, Alhaji Issaka said in response to speculations that the party was not able to hold its congress due to lack of funds.
He said as a serious political party, the DFP would always manage to prosecute its programmes within the schedule for the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The DFP finds it difficult to reconcile the assertion that the party is broke, with other allegations of the party being funded by stolen money from the NDC and some other sources,” Alhaji Issaka said.
He urged all political parties to see themselves as entities with common interest of developing the nation and engage in politics in a decorous manner and devoid of animosity.
After months of media speculations of a possible postponement of the congress, the party has finally set April 4, 2008 for the congress to be held at the Accra Polytechnic.
It is on the theme “Restoring National Hope and Confidence”.
Nominations open today, Monday, March 17, 2008 and close on March 31, 2008.
Disclosing this to the Daily Graphic, Mr John Ameka, the Deputy General Secretary, said the decision was reached at its National Executive Committee meeting held last Wednesday.
He said the nomination forms for the flag-bearer positions would be available at the party’s national Secretariat only, while forms for national executive officers could be obtained from the national and all regional offices of the party throughout the country.
He said the cost of a presidential aspirant form is Gh¢ 500, while the nomination fee is Gh¢5,000. For the national executive positions, the forms cost GH¢ 10??????, while those vying for chairmanship, organiser, general secretary and women’s organiser would pay Gh¢ 200 as filing fee.
Those contesting as deputies for all national executive positions would pay GH¢ 100 as nomination fees.
Later in an interview, the National Chairman, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Issaka, said the announcement of the date and venue would put to rest speculations about the party’s congress date and venue.
He attributed the delay in holding a congress to the problems the party encountered in finding a venue and accommodation, which was occasioned by the MTN CAN 2008 tournament hosted by Ghana.
He said due to the tournament, the academic calendar of some of the tertiary institutions where the party wanted to hold its congress was affected “and the truth is that that has got nothing to do with financing”.
“Indeed, no political party can claim that it has no difficulty in raising expected funds for its activities. The DFP will certainly have some difficulty raising funds”, but that was not the reason for the delay, Alhaji Issaka said in response to speculations that the party was not able to hold its congress due to lack of funds.
He said as a serious political party, the DFP would always manage to prosecute its programmes within the schedule for the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The DFP finds it difficult to reconcile the assertion that the party is broke, with other allegations of the party being funded by stolen money from the NDC and some other sources,” Alhaji Issaka said.
He urged all political parties to see themselves as entities with common interest of developing the nation and engage in politics in a decorous manner and devoid of animosity.
DFP holds maiden congress
THE Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) is now set to hold its maiden national delegates congress to elect its flag-bearer and national executive officers.
After months of media speculations of a possible postponement of the congress, the party has finally set April 4, 2008 for the congress to be held at the Accra Polytechnic.
It is on the theme “Restoring National Hope and Confidence”.
Nominations open today, Monday, March 17, 2008 and close on March 31, 2008.
Disclosing this to the Daily Graphic, Mr John Ameka, the Deputy General Secretary, said the decision was reached at its National Executive Committee meeting held last Wednesday.
He said the nomination forms for the flag-bearer positions would be available at the party’s national Secretariat only, while forms for national executive officers could be obtained from the national and all regional offices of the party throughout the country.
He said the cost of a presidential aspirant form is Gh¢ 500, while the nomination fee is Gh¢5,000. For the national executive positions, the forms cost GH¢ 10??????, while those vying for chairmanship, organiser, general secretary and women’s organiser would pay Gh¢ 200 as filing fee.
Those contesting as deputies for all national executive positions would pay GH¢ 100 as nomination fees.
Later in an interview, the National Chairman, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Issaka, said the announcement of the date and venue would put to rest speculations about the party’s congress date and venue.
He attributed the delay in holding a congress to the problems the party encountered in finding a venue and accommodation, which was occasioned by the MTN CAN 2008 tournament hosted by Ghana.
He said due to the tournament, the academic calendar of some of the tertiary institutions where the party wanted to hold its congress was affected “and the truth is that that has got nothing to do with financing”.
“Indeed, no political party can claim that it has no difficulty in raising expected funds for its activities. The DFP will certainly have some difficulty raising funds”, but that was not the reason for the delay, Alhaji Issaka said in response to speculations that the party was not able to hold its congress due to lack of funds.
He said as a serious political party, the DFP would always manage to prosecute its programmes within the schedule for the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The DFP finds it difficult to reconcile the assertion that the party is broke, with other allegations of the party being funded by stolen money from the NDC and some other sources,” Alhaji Issaka said.
He urged all political parties to see themselves as entities with common interest of developing the nation and engage in politics in a decorous manner and devoid of animosity.
After months of media speculations of a possible postponement of the congress, the party has finally set April 4, 2008 for the congress to be held at the Accra Polytechnic.
It is on the theme “Restoring National Hope and Confidence”.
Nominations open today, Monday, March 17, 2008 and close on March 31, 2008.
Disclosing this to the Daily Graphic, Mr John Ameka, the Deputy General Secretary, said the decision was reached at its National Executive Committee meeting held last Wednesday.
He said the nomination forms for the flag-bearer positions would be available at the party’s national Secretariat only, while forms for national executive officers could be obtained from the national and all regional offices of the party throughout the country.
He said the cost of a presidential aspirant form is Gh¢ 500, while the nomination fee is Gh¢5,000. For the national executive positions, the forms cost GH¢ 10??????, while those vying for chairmanship, organiser, general secretary and women’s organiser would pay Gh¢ 200 as filing fee.
Those contesting as deputies for all national executive positions would pay GH¢ 100 as nomination fees.
Later in an interview, the National Chairman, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Issaka, said the announcement of the date and venue would put to rest speculations about the party’s congress date and venue.
He attributed the delay in holding a congress to the problems the party encountered in finding a venue and accommodation, which was occasioned by the MTN CAN 2008 tournament hosted by Ghana.
He said due to the tournament, the academic calendar of some of the tertiary institutions where the party wanted to hold its congress was affected “and the truth is that that has got nothing to do with financing”.
“Indeed, no political party can claim that it has no difficulty in raising expected funds for its activities. The DFP will certainly have some difficulty raising funds”, but that was not the reason for the delay, Alhaji Issaka said in response to speculations that the party was not able to hold its congress due to lack of funds.
He said as a serious political party, the DFP would always manage to prosecute its programmes within the schedule for the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The DFP finds it difficult to reconcile the assertion that the party is broke, with other allegations of the party being funded by stolen money from the NDC and some other sources,” Alhaji Issaka said.
He urged all political parties to see themselves as entities with common interest of developing the nation and engage in politics in a decorous manner and devoid of animosity.
DFP holds maiden congress
THE Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) is now set to hold its maiden national delegates congress to elect its flag-bearer and national executive officers.
After months of media speculations of a possible postponement of the congress, the party has finally set April 4, 2008 for the congress to be held at the Accra Polytechnic.
It is on the theme “Restoring National Hope and Confidence”.
Nominations open today, Monday, March 17, 2008 and close on March 31, 2008.
Disclosing this to the Daily Graphic, Mr John Ameka, the Deputy General Secretary, said the decision was reached at its National Executive Committee meeting held last Wednesday.
He said the nomination forms for the flag-bearer positions would be available at the party’s national Secretariat only, while forms for national executive officers could be obtained from the national and all regional offices of the party throughout the country.
He said the cost of a presidential aspirant form is Gh¢ 500, while the nomination fee is Gh¢5,000. For the national executive positions, the forms cost GH¢ 10??????, while those vying for chairmanship, organiser, general secretary and women’s organiser would pay Gh¢ 200 as filing fee.
Those contesting as deputies for all national executive positions would pay GH¢ 100 as nomination fees.
Later in an interview, the National Chairman, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Issaka, said the announcement of the date and venue would put to rest speculations about the party’s congress date and venue.
He attributed the delay in holding a congress to the problems the party encountered in finding a venue and accommodation, which was occasioned by the MTN CAN 2008 tournament hosted by Ghana.
He said due to the tournament, the academic calendar of some of the tertiary institutions where the party wanted to hold its congress was affected “and the truth is that that has got nothing to do with financing”.
“Indeed, no political party can claim that it has no difficulty in raising expected funds for its activities. The DFP will certainly have some difficulty raising funds”, but that was not the reason for the delay, Alhaji Issaka said in response to speculations that the party was not able to hold its congress due to lack of funds.
He said as a serious political party, the DFP would always manage to prosecute its programmes within the schedule for the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The DFP finds it difficult to reconcile the assertion that the party is broke, with other allegations of the party being funded by stolen money from the NDC and some other sources,” Alhaji Issaka said.
He urged all political parties to see themselves as entities with common interest of developing the nation and engage in politics in a decorous manner and devoid of animosity.
After months of media speculations of a possible postponement of the congress, the party has finally set April 4, 2008 for the congress to be held at the Accra Polytechnic.
It is on the theme “Restoring National Hope and Confidence”.
Nominations open today, Monday, March 17, 2008 and close on March 31, 2008.
Disclosing this to the Daily Graphic, Mr John Ameka, the Deputy General Secretary, said the decision was reached at its National Executive Committee meeting held last Wednesday.
He said the nomination forms for the flag-bearer positions would be available at the party’s national Secretariat only, while forms for national executive officers could be obtained from the national and all regional offices of the party throughout the country.
He said the cost of a presidential aspirant form is Gh¢ 500, while the nomination fee is Gh¢5,000. For the national executive positions, the forms cost GH¢ 10??????, while those vying for chairmanship, organiser, general secretary and women’s organiser would pay Gh¢ 200 as filing fee.
Those contesting as deputies for all national executive positions would pay GH¢ 100 as nomination fees.
Later in an interview, the National Chairman, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Issaka, said the announcement of the date and venue would put to rest speculations about the party’s congress date and venue.
He attributed the delay in holding a congress to the problems the party encountered in finding a venue and accommodation, which was occasioned by the MTN CAN 2008 tournament hosted by Ghana.
He said due to the tournament, the academic calendar of some of the tertiary institutions where the party wanted to hold its congress was affected “and the truth is that that has got nothing to do with financing”.
“Indeed, no political party can claim that it has no difficulty in raising expected funds for its activities. The DFP will certainly have some difficulty raising funds”, but that was not the reason for the delay, Alhaji Issaka said in response to speculations that the party was not able to hold its congress due to lack of funds.
He said as a serious political party, the DFP would always manage to prosecute its programmes within the schedule for the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The DFP finds it difficult to reconcile the assertion that the party is broke, with other allegations of the party being funded by stolen money from the NDC and some other sources,” Alhaji Issaka said.
He urged all political parties to see themselves as entities with common interest of developing the nation and engage in politics in a decorous manner and devoid of animosity.
Two support state support for parties
TWO renowned Ghanaians, a political scientist and an economist, have advanced arguments in support of state funding of political parties in the country.
Mr. Kwesi Jonah, a Senior Lecturer at the Political Science Department, Legon, and Dr Nii Moi Thompson, an economist, said that supporting Ghana’s multi-party democracy through funding of political parties was in a way also creating conditions for economic development.
They argued that political parties were the building blocks on which democracy was built and therefore funding them would help to build their capacity and enrich public discourse and development while at the same time improving the quality of public policy.
In separate interviews, Mr Jonah, who is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), pointed out that people should, therefore, not draw a sharp distinction between building the country’s democracy and building economic development.
“My main arguments are that democracy and economic development are two vital processes that the country is passing through,” he stated.
He said that he had heard some people opposing the idea of state supporting political parties with public money.
According to Mr Jonah, it was erroneous for some people to argue that because Ghana had so many socio-economic needs such as hospitals, schools, potable water, roads and other such things, monies should rather be spent on those needs instead of supporting political parties.
Furthermore, Mr Jonah said, democracy and good governance were in themselves important for economic growth and development, hence, if the country’s political system was not democratic, it would be difficult to achieve economic growth and development.
“So we must support both processes because the two things go hand in hand,” Dr Jonah stated.
He explained that the developed countries in the world were also the most democratic and cited the US, Japan, Germany, UK and France as very developed and very democratic.
“So when you support political parties, you are in a way creating the conditions for economic development,”
Mr Jonah said and further argued that “we borrow money to support our economic development but people do not want to spend money to develop our democracy”.
This attitude must change, he pointed out, and stressed the need for the country to invest in her economic development and at the same time invest in her democracy.
He also pointed out that the Political Parties Law 2000 gave many responsibilities to the political parties, including opening offices in two thirds of the districts of Ghana and every regional capital.
The law also enjoined them to prepare and submit financial statement to the Electoral Commission and give an account of their electoral expenditures after every election.
“Where are they going to find the money to open offices and maintain them as the law requires,” Mr Jonah queried.
“So the law has given responsibilities to the parties and there is nothing wrong with supporting them with money in order for them to honour and meet these responsibilities,” he argued.
“I know that we have competing needs but these needs will be better met if we have a clean and democratic government and only political parties can give us that,” he said.
For his part, Dr Thompsom said people who had argued against state funding of political parties with the claim that the nation had more pressing issues than funding political parties had forgotten about how much Ghana invested in football alone.
He said the fact that individuals had formed political parties, with some of them abusing their offices, did not mean that they should not be funded, and suggested that funding could be given to those who had exhibited financial discipline, membership and financial drive.
“It is in our long term interest to have as many political parties as possible to engage in discourse and present credible alternative,” he said and added that “by helping political parties to sustain themselves, we will be reducing their dependence on predatory individuals who give them money ostensibly for altruistic reason”.
“Do you want cocaine barons to fund our political parties so that when the parties come to power, the barons would be made ambassadors and ministers? Only God knows where they will take the country to,” Dr Thompsom said.
He noted that because political parties were not financially sound, they were not able to engage the services of professionals, especially economists and development experts, to advise them on issues.
He said those experts who were politically inclined only offered their services as members and on part-time basis, and this accounted for weak capacity of the various political parties.
According to Dr Thompsom, although the country stood to gain more in funding political parties than not doing that, stringent measures must be put in place to ensure that the funds were used for the intended purposes and also accounted for.
Mr. Kwesi Jonah, a Senior Lecturer at the Political Science Department, Legon, and Dr Nii Moi Thompson, an economist, said that supporting Ghana’s multi-party democracy through funding of political parties was in a way also creating conditions for economic development.
They argued that political parties were the building blocks on which democracy was built and therefore funding them would help to build their capacity and enrich public discourse and development while at the same time improving the quality of public policy.
In separate interviews, Mr Jonah, who is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), pointed out that people should, therefore, not draw a sharp distinction between building the country’s democracy and building economic development.
“My main arguments are that democracy and economic development are two vital processes that the country is passing through,” he stated.
He said that he had heard some people opposing the idea of state supporting political parties with public money.
According to Mr Jonah, it was erroneous for some people to argue that because Ghana had so many socio-economic needs such as hospitals, schools, potable water, roads and other such things, monies should rather be spent on those needs instead of supporting political parties.
Furthermore, Mr Jonah said, democracy and good governance were in themselves important for economic growth and development, hence, if the country’s political system was not democratic, it would be difficult to achieve economic growth and development.
“So we must support both processes because the two things go hand in hand,” Dr Jonah stated.
He explained that the developed countries in the world were also the most democratic and cited the US, Japan, Germany, UK and France as very developed and very democratic.
“So when you support political parties, you are in a way creating the conditions for economic development,”
Mr Jonah said and further argued that “we borrow money to support our economic development but people do not want to spend money to develop our democracy”.
This attitude must change, he pointed out, and stressed the need for the country to invest in her economic development and at the same time invest in her democracy.
He also pointed out that the Political Parties Law 2000 gave many responsibilities to the political parties, including opening offices in two thirds of the districts of Ghana and every regional capital.
The law also enjoined them to prepare and submit financial statement to the Electoral Commission and give an account of their electoral expenditures after every election.
“Where are they going to find the money to open offices and maintain them as the law requires,” Mr Jonah queried.
“So the law has given responsibilities to the parties and there is nothing wrong with supporting them with money in order for them to honour and meet these responsibilities,” he argued.
“I know that we have competing needs but these needs will be better met if we have a clean and democratic government and only political parties can give us that,” he said.
For his part, Dr Thompsom said people who had argued against state funding of political parties with the claim that the nation had more pressing issues than funding political parties had forgotten about how much Ghana invested in football alone.
He said the fact that individuals had formed political parties, with some of them abusing their offices, did not mean that they should not be funded, and suggested that funding could be given to those who had exhibited financial discipline, membership and financial drive.
“It is in our long term interest to have as many political parties as possible to engage in discourse and present credible alternative,” he said and added that “by helping political parties to sustain themselves, we will be reducing their dependence on predatory individuals who give them money ostensibly for altruistic reason”.
“Do you want cocaine barons to fund our political parties so that when the parties come to power, the barons would be made ambassadors and ministers? Only God knows where they will take the country to,” Dr Thompsom said.
He noted that because political parties were not financially sound, they were not able to engage the services of professionals, especially economists and development experts, to advise them on issues.
He said those experts who were politically inclined only offered their services as members and on part-time basis, and this accounted for weak capacity of the various political parties.
According to Dr Thompsom, although the country stood to gain more in funding political parties than not doing that, stringent measures must be put in place to ensure that the funds were used for the intended purposes and also accounted for.
Two support state support for parties
TWO renowned Ghanaians, a political scientist and an economist, have advanced arguments in support of state funding of political parties in the country.
Mr. Kwesi Jonah, a Senior Lecturer at the Political Science Department, Legon, and Dr Nii Moi Thompson, an economist, said that supporting Ghana’s multi-party democracy through funding of political parties was in a way also creating conditions for economic development.
They argued that political parties were the building blocks on which democracy was built and therefore funding them would help to build their capacity and enrich public discourse and development while at the same time improving the quality of public policy.
In separate interviews, Mr Jonah, who is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), pointed out that people should, therefore, not draw a sharp distinction between building the country’s democracy and building economic development.
“My main arguments are that democracy and economic development are two vital processes that the country is passing through,” he stated.
He said that he had heard some people opposing the idea of state supporting political parties with public money.
According to Mr Jonah, it was erroneous for some people to argue that because Ghana had so many socio-economic needs such as hospitals, schools, potable water, roads and other such things, monies should rather be spent on those needs instead of supporting political parties.
Furthermore, Mr Jonah said, democracy and good governance were in themselves important for economic growth and development, hence, if the country’s political system was not democratic, it would be difficult to achieve economic growth and development.
“So we must support both processes because the two things go hand in hand,” Dr Jonah stated.
He explained that the developed countries in the world were also the most democratic and cited the US, Japan, Germany, UK and France as very developed and very democratic.
“So when you support political parties, you are in a way creating the conditions for economic development,”
Mr Jonah said and further argued that “we borrow money to support our economic development but people do not want to spend money to develop our democracy”.
This attitude must change, he pointed out, and stressed the need for the country to invest in her economic development and at the same time invest in her democracy.
He also pointed out that the Political Parties Law 2000 gave many responsibilities to the political parties, including opening offices in two thirds of the districts of Ghana and every regional capital.
The law also enjoined them to prepare and submit financial statement to the Electoral Commission and give an account of their electoral expenditures after every election.
“Where are they going to find the money to open offices and maintain them as the law requires,” Mr Jonah queried.
“So the law has given responsibilities to the parties and there is nothing wrong with supporting them with money in order for them to honour and meet these responsibilities,” he argued.
“I know that we have competing needs but these needs will be better met if we have a clean and democratic government and only political parties can give us that,” he said.
For his part, Dr Thompsom said people who had argued against state funding of political parties with the claim that the nation had more pressing issues than funding political parties had forgotten about how much Ghana invested in football alone.
He said the fact that individuals had formed political parties, with some of them abusing their offices, did not mean that they should not be funded, and suggested that funding could be given to those who had exhibited financial discipline, membership and financial drive.
“It is in our long term interest to have as many political parties as possible to engage in discourse and present credible alternative,” he said and added that “by helping political parties to sustain themselves, we will be reducing their dependence on predatory individuals who give them money ostensibly for altruistic reason”.
“Do you want cocaine barons to fund our political parties so that when the parties come to power, the barons would be made ambassadors and ministers? Only God knows where they will take the country to,” Dr Thompsom said.
He noted that because political parties were not financially sound, they were not able to engage the services of professionals, especially economists and development experts, to advise them on issues.
He said those experts who were politically inclined only offered their services as members and on part-time basis, and this accounted for weak capacity of the various political parties.
According to Dr Thompsom, although the country stood to gain more in funding political parties than not doing that, stringent measures must be put in place to ensure that the funds were used for the intended purposes and also accounted for.
Mr. Kwesi Jonah, a Senior Lecturer at the Political Science Department, Legon, and Dr Nii Moi Thompson, an economist, said that supporting Ghana’s multi-party democracy through funding of political parties was in a way also creating conditions for economic development.
They argued that political parties were the building blocks on which democracy was built and therefore funding them would help to build their capacity and enrich public discourse and development while at the same time improving the quality of public policy.
In separate interviews, Mr Jonah, who is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), pointed out that people should, therefore, not draw a sharp distinction between building the country’s democracy and building economic development.
“My main arguments are that democracy and economic development are two vital processes that the country is passing through,” he stated.
He said that he had heard some people opposing the idea of state supporting political parties with public money.
According to Mr Jonah, it was erroneous for some people to argue that because Ghana had so many socio-economic needs such as hospitals, schools, potable water, roads and other such things, monies should rather be spent on those needs instead of supporting political parties.
Furthermore, Mr Jonah said, democracy and good governance were in themselves important for economic growth and development, hence, if the country’s political system was not democratic, it would be difficult to achieve economic growth and development.
“So we must support both processes because the two things go hand in hand,” Dr Jonah stated.
He explained that the developed countries in the world were also the most democratic and cited the US, Japan, Germany, UK and France as very developed and very democratic.
“So when you support political parties, you are in a way creating the conditions for economic development,”
Mr Jonah said and further argued that “we borrow money to support our economic development but people do not want to spend money to develop our democracy”.
This attitude must change, he pointed out, and stressed the need for the country to invest in her economic development and at the same time invest in her democracy.
He also pointed out that the Political Parties Law 2000 gave many responsibilities to the political parties, including opening offices in two thirds of the districts of Ghana and every regional capital.
The law also enjoined them to prepare and submit financial statement to the Electoral Commission and give an account of their electoral expenditures after every election.
“Where are they going to find the money to open offices and maintain them as the law requires,” Mr Jonah queried.
“So the law has given responsibilities to the parties and there is nothing wrong with supporting them with money in order for them to honour and meet these responsibilities,” he argued.
“I know that we have competing needs but these needs will be better met if we have a clean and democratic government and only political parties can give us that,” he said.
For his part, Dr Thompsom said people who had argued against state funding of political parties with the claim that the nation had more pressing issues than funding political parties had forgotten about how much Ghana invested in football alone.
He said the fact that individuals had formed political parties, with some of them abusing their offices, did not mean that they should not be funded, and suggested that funding could be given to those who had exhibited financial discipline, membership and financial drive.
“It is in our long term interest to have as many political parties as possible to engage in discourse and present credible alternative,” he said and added that “by helping political parties to sustain themselves, we will be reducing their dependence on predatory individuals who give them money ostensibly for altruistic reason”.
“Do you want cocaine barons to fund our political parties so that when the parties come to power, the barons would be made ambassadors and ministers? Only God knows where they will take the country to,” Dr Thompsom said.
He noted that because political parties were not financially sound, they were not able to engage the services of professionals, especially economists and development experts, to advise them on issues.
He said those experts who were politically inclined only offered their services as members and on part-time basis, and this accounted for weak capacity of the various political parties.
According to Dr Thompsom, although the country stood to gain more in funding political parties than not doing that, stringent measures must be put in place to ensure that the funds were used for the intended purposes and also accounted for.
Islam never frowns at women leaders
The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharubutu, has added his voice to the call on the flag bearers of the various political parties to appoint qualified females as their running mates for this year’s general election.
He said the Muslim religion did not frown on women taking leading positions and roles in the governance of a country; therefore, he supported the idea of women taking active part and assuming the position of President or Vice-President of the country irrespective of that female’s religion.
Sheikh Sharubutu, who spoke through an interpreter, was sharing his view on the call by sections of society that it was time women took up positions as running mates to the flag bearers of the various political parties in the country.
Some popular female names that have come up include Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Mrs Oboshie Sai-Cofie, Minister of Information, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Director of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and Mrs Leonora Kyeremanteng.
When asked if he would endorse a woman president or vice-president, he noted that currently, a lot of women had acquired great knowledge and training and were making great impact on the lives of other women and society in general, therefore there should not be any objection to them taking up such responsibility.
He noted that the Islamic religion required that people who wanted to assume leadership positions acquire adequate knowledge, and that if the women aspiring to be President or Vice-President were qualified, capable and endorsed by the majority of the people that was all right.
He stated that the Islamic religion considered someone first as Muslim before his or her gender was regarded.
On examples of women who have acquired knowledge, experience and attained higher political positions, Sheikh Sharubutu mentioned female Members of Parliament (MPs) and Ministers of State with specific mention of Hajia Mahama, who is a Muslim.
He added that with the current democratic process, the person who would be chosen should be the choice of the people, adding, “You cannot assume a leadership position without the anointment of Allah.”
He said the Muslim religion did not frown on women taking leading positions and roles in the governance of a country; therefore, he supported the idea of women taking active part and assuming the position of President or Vice-President of the country irrespective of that female’s religion.
Sheikh Sharubutu, who spoke through an interpreter, was sharing his view on the call by sections of society that it was time women took up positions as running mates to the flag bearers of the various political parties in the country.
Some popular female names that have come up include Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Mrs Oboshie Sai-Cofie, Minister of Information, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Director of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and Mrs Leonora Kyeremanteng.
When asked if he would endorse a woman president or vice-president, he noted that currently, a lot of women had acquired great knowledge and training and were making great impact on the lives of other women and society in general, therefore there should not be any objection to them taking up such responsibility.
He noted that the Islamic religion required that people who wanted to assume leadership positions acquire adequate knowledge, and that if the women aspiring to be President or Vice-President were qualified, capable and endorsed by the majority of the people that was all right.
He stated that the Islamic religion considered someone first as Muslim before his or her gender was regarded.
On examples of women who have acquired knowledge, experience and attained higher political positions, Sheikh Sharubutu mentioned female Members of Parliament (MPs) and Ministers of State with specific mention of Hajia Mahama, who is a Muslim.
He added that with the current democratic process, the person who would be chosen should be the choice of the people, adding, “You cannot assume a leadership position without the anointment of Allah.”
Islam never frowns at women leaders
The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharubutu, has added his voice to the call on the flag bearers of the various political parties to appoint qualified females as their running mates for this year’s general election.
He said the Muslim religion did not frown on women taking leading positions and roles in the governance of a country; therefore, he supported the idea of women taking active part and assuming the position of President or Vice-President of the country irrespective of that female’s religion.
Sheikh Sharubutu, who spoke through an interpreter, was sharing his view on the call by sections of society that it was time women took up positions as running mates to the flag bearers of the various political parties in the country.
Some popular female names that have come up include Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Mrs Oboshie Sai-Cofie, Minister of Information, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Director of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and Mrs Leonora Kyeremanteng.
When asked if he would endorse a woman president or vice-president, he noted that currently, a lot of women had acquired great knowledge and training and were making great impact on the lives of other women and society in general, therefore there should not be any objection to them taking up such responsibility.
He noted that the Islamic religion required that people who wanted to assume leadership positions acquire adequate knowledge, and that if the women aspiring to be President or Vice-President were qualified, capable and endorsed by the majority of the people that was all right.
He stated that the Islamic religion considered someone first as Muslim before his or her gender was regarded.
On examples of women who have acquired knowledge, experience and attained higher political positions, Sheikh Sharubutu mentioned female Members of Parliament (MPs) and Ministers of State with specific mention of Hajia Mahama, who is a Muslim.
He added that with the current democratic process, the person who would be chosen should be the choice of the people, adding, “You cannot assume a leadership position without the anointment of Allah.”
He said the Muslim religion did not frown on women taking leading positions and roles in the governance of a country; therefore, he supported the idea of women taking active part and assuming the position of President or Vice-President of the country irrespective of that female’s religion.
Sheikh Sharubutu, who spoke through an interpreter, was sharing his view on the call by sections of society that it was time women took up positions as running mates to the flag bearers of the various political parties in the country.
Some popular female names that have come up include Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Mrs Oboshie Sai-Cofie, Minister of Information, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Director of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and Mrs Leonora Kyeremanteng.
When asked if he would endorse a woman president or vice-president, he noted that currently, a lot of women had acquired great knowledge and training and were making great impact on the lives of other women and society in general, therefore there should not be any objection to them taking up such responsibility.
He noted that the Islamic religion required that people who wanted to assume leadership positions acquire adequate knowledge, and that if the women aspiring to be President or Vice-President were qualified, capable and endorsed by the majority of the people that was all right.
He stated that the Islamic religion considered someone first as Muslim before his or her gender was regarded.
On examples of women who have acquired knowledge, experience and attained higher political positions, Sheikh Sharubutu mentioned female Members of Parliament (MPs) and Ministers of State with specific mention of Hajia Mahama, who is a Muslim.
He added that with the current democratic process, the person who would be chosen should be the choice of the people, adding, “You cannot assume a leadership position without the anointment of Allah.”
Islam never frowns at women leaders
The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharubutu, has added his voice to the call on the flag bearers of the various political parties to appoint qualified females as their running mates for this year’s general election.
He said the Muslim religion did not frown on women taking leading positions and roles in the governance of a country; therefore, he supported the idea of women taking active part and assuming the position of President or Vice-President of the country irrespective of that female’s religion.
Sheikh Sharubutu, who spoke through an interpreter, was sharing his view on the call by sections of society that it was time women took up positions as running mates to the flag bearers of the various political parties in the country.
Some popular female names that have come up include Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Mrs Oboshie Sai-Cofie, Minister of Information, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Director of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and Mrs Leonora Kyeremanteng.
When asked if he would endorse a woman president or vice-president, he noted that currently, a lot of women had acquired great knowledge and training and were making great impact on the lives of other women and society in general, therefore there should not be any objection to them taking up such responsibility.
He noted that the Islamic religion required that people who wanted to assume leadership positions acquire adequate knowledge, and that if the women aspiring to be President or Vice-President were qualified, capable and endorsed by the majority of the people that was all right.
He stated that the Islamic religion considered someone first as Muslim before his or her gender was regarded.
On examples of women who have acquired knowledge, experience and attained higher political positions, Sheikh Sharubutu mentioned female Members of Parliament (MPs) and Ministers of State with specific mention of Hajia Mahama, who is a Muslim.
He added that with the current democratic process, the person who would be chosen should be the choice of the people, adding, “You cannot assume a leadership position without the anointment of Allah.”
He said the Muslim religion did not frown on women taking leading positions and roles in the governance of a country; therefore, he supported the idea of women taking active part and assuming the position of President or Vice-President of the country irrespective of that female’s religion.
Sheikh Sharubutu, who spoke through an interpreter, was sharing his view on the call by sections of society that it was time women took up positions as running mates to the flag bearers of the various political parties in the country.
Some popular female names that have come up include Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Mrs Oboshie Sai-Cofie, Minister of Information, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Director of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and Mrs Leonora Kyeremanteng.
When asked if he would endorse a woman president or vice-president, he noted that currently, a lot of women had acquired great knowledge and training and were making great impact on the lives of other women and society in general, therefore there should not be any objection to them taking up such responsibility.
He noted that the Islamic religion required that people who wanted to assume leadership positions acquire adequate knowledge, and that if the women aspiring to be President or Vice-President were qualified, capable and endorsed by the majority of the people that was all right.
He stated that the Islamic religion considered someone first as Muslim before his or her gender was regarded.
On examples of women who have acquired knowledge, experience and attained higher political positions, Sheikh Sharubutu mentioned female Members of Parliament (MPs) and Ministers of State with specific mention of Hajia Mahama, who is a Muslim.
He added that with the current democratic process, the person who would be chosen should be the choice of the people, adding, “You cannot assume a leadership position without the anointment of Allah.”
IC Quaye foils bloody clash
The timely intervention and ingenuity of the Gretaer Accra Regional Minister, Sheikh IC Quaye last Friday foiled what could have been a bloody clash between the youths of Gbawe and Weija over the name and the citing of the capital of the Ga South Municipal Assembly.
He took the action when he had information that tension was brewing within the newly created municipality, with youth from Weija and Gbawe about to clash at the Institute of Technical Supervision (ITS) at Weija where the inauguration was to take place.
He quickly moved to the residence of the various opinion leaders of the two factions and held consultations with them and promised to change the name and the capital of the district from the advertised Weija to Ga South and Gbawe to save the situation.
The regional minister then moved to the inauguration grounds, where armed police men were keeping a buffer zone to keep the two factions from clashing and announced the new name, which was received with applause from both sides.
It all started when the creation of the new district was announced. The youth of Gbawe, led by Mr Samuel Akotey Quartey, who is also the secretary to Gwae-Quatey family, started writing petitions to the President and organising press conferences to the effect that it would not be fair to name the municipality after Weija.
On the day of the inauguration, the Gbawe youth clad in red and holding placard and singing war song marched from the Mallam Junction to the venue of the inauguration.
At the venue, Mr Quartey told journalists that while Weija was a small village within the municipality created, there were bigger towns which had all the necessary facilities capable to being a municipal capital.
“Our biggest problem is that Weija had been named after a constituency and also used in creating an area council so we want to ask the government is it because they hate other bigger communities or Weija is the only community within the municipality”.
Just as the Weija Youth were demonstrating at the inauguration grounds, the youth from Gbawe also called in red bands and carrying placards, entered the area.
But for the timely intervention of armed policemen, the two would have clashed. But this did not pass off without insults and insinuasive song from each other.
Another person who received commendation from both sides was Chief Superintendent Abubakar Mohammed, Divisionsl Commander of the Kaneshie.
Instead of asking his men to use force to separate the two groups, he made the leadership of the groups to understand that in the current democratic dispensation, any individual or group had the right to demonstrate.
But, he made them to understand that this democratic right must be exercised within the remit of the law and that it would be better to demonstrate to voice out their grievances without necessarily clashing to cause loss of limb or life.
The two groups in unison clapped for the police officer and abided by the admonition. The ceremony ended peacefully.
He took the action when he had information that tension was brewing within the newly created municipality, with youth from Weija and Gbawe about to clash at the Institute of Technical Supervision (ITS) at Weija where the inauguration was to take place.
He quickly moved to the residence of the various opinion leaders of the two factions and held consultations with them and promised to change the name and the capital of the district from the advertised Weija to Ga South and Gbawe to save the situation.
The regional minister then moved to the inauguration grounds, where armed police men were keeping a buffer zone to keep the two factions from clashing and announced the new name, which was received with applause from both sides.
It all started when the creation of the new district was announced. The youth of Gbawe, led by Mr Samuel Akotey Quartey, who is also the secretary to Gwae-Quatey family, started writing petitions to the President and organising press conferences to the effect that it would not be fair to name the municipality after Weija.
On the day of the inauguration, the Gbawe youth clad in red and holding placard and singing war song marched from the Mallam Junction to the venue of the inauguration.
At the venue, Mr Quartey told journalists that while Weija was a small village within the municipality created, there were bigger towns which had all the necessary facilities capable to being a municipal capital.
“Our biggest problem is that Weija had been named after a constituency and also used in creating an area council so we want to ask the government is it because they hate other bigger communities or Weija is the only community within the municipality”.
Just as the Weija Youth were demonstrating at the inauguration grounds, the youth from Gbawe also called in red bands and carrying placards, entered the area.
But for the timely intervention of armed policemen, the two would have clashed. But this did not pass off without insults and insinuasive song from each other.
Another person who received commendation from both sides was Chief Superintendent Abubakar Mohammed, Divisionsl Commander of the Kaneshie.
Instead of asking his men to use force to separate the two groups, he made the leadership of the groups to understand that in the current democratic dispensation, any individual or group had the right to demonstrate.
But, he made them to understand that this democratic right must be exercised within the remit of the law and that it would be better to demonstrate to voice out their grievances without necessarily clashing to cause loss of limb or life.
The two groups in unison clapped for the police officer and abided by the admonition. The ceremony ended peacefully.
Efforts to bring Aggudey on board proves futile — Nylander
THE National Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mr Ladi Nylander has said that several attempts to bring Mr George Aggudey, a former presidential hopeful of the party on board has proved futile.
According to him, the Mr Aggudey who was the party’s 2004 presidential candidate seemed to have rejected the olive branch extended by the party to all its members after the party’s congress.
Mr Nylander was answering questions from the media on why Mr Aggudey was the only aspirant who was not part of the party’s campaign team.
The occasion was the formal introduction of its National Campaign Team, which is made up of former presidential and other national executives as well as some leading members of the party at a short ceremony at its headquarters in Accra ,yesterday.
Mr Nylander explained that he had personally tried on several occasions to get in touch with Mr Aggudey to urge him to forget the differences that might have cropped up during the 2007 congress, but all to no avail.
On January 3, 2008 operatives of, Mr Oposika Aggudey, stormed the party’s headquarters and took away some items he had donated to the party.
The action appeared to be the fall out of Mr Aggudey’s attempt last December to lead the party once again to this year’s general election.
By noon yesterday, about 12 security men believed to have been drawn from Mr Aggudey’s own security firm, acting on his instructions, were busily packing the items into two pick-up vehicles, with registration numbers GT 1212 Y and GR 5050 X.
Party officials at the headquarters at the time of the packing included the Greater Accra Regional Chairperson, Mrs Susan Adu-Amankwah and the National Youth Organiser, Mr David Bomfeh, alias Kabila.
According to him, the Mr Aggudey who was the party’s 2004 presidential candidate seemed to have rejected the olive branch extended by the party to all its members after the party’s congress.
Mr Nylander was answering questions from the media on why Mr Aggudey was the only aspirant who was not part of the party’s campaign team.
The occasion was the formal introduction of its National Campaign Team, which is made up of former presidential and other national executives as well as some leading members of the party at a short ceremony at its headquarters in Accra ,yesterday.
Mr Nylander explained that he had personally tried on several occasions to get in touch with Mr Aggudey to urge him to forget the differences that might have cropped up during the 2007 congress, but all to no avail.
On January 3, 2008 operatives of, Mr Oposika Aggudey, stormed the party’s headquarters and took away some items he had donated to the party.
The action appeared to be the fall out of Mr Aggudey’s attempt last December to lead the party once again to this year’s general election.
By noon yesterday, about 12 security men believed to have been drawn from Mr Aggudey’s own security firm, acting on his instructions, were busily packing the items into two pick-up vehicles, with registration numbers GT 1212 Y and GR 5050 X.
Party officials at the headquarters at the time of the packing included the Greater Accra Regional Chairperson, Mrs Susan Adu-Amankwah and the National Youth Organiser, Mr David Bomfeh, alias Kabila.
Nii Dua appeals to chiefs, elders to ensure peace
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Ledzokuku, Nii Nortey Dua, has appealed to the chiefs and elders of Teshie Traditional Council to advise all the political parties in the area to ensure that the 2008 election is conducted in a free and fair manner.
Nii Dua promised to make the development of the area his priority when given the mandate.
He said as a member of the district assembly for 11 years, he was conversant with the problems facing the area and was the best person to lead the people to solve them.
“I am one of you; I have been working with and you also know my worth. I am, therefore, pleading with you to help me win the seat,” he told the elders.
Nii Dua, who was a sports presenter with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) but had to resign his position to contest the Lezdokuku seat for the NDC, said his priority as the MP for the area would be the provision of water.
That, he said, would start with the continuation of the water project which was started by the NDC administration but had been abandoned by the NPP government.
He said the provision of adequate potable water for people would go a long way to prevent diseases like diarrhoea which affected many people.
The NDC candidate said “all the roads which have been tarred in this town were done in the period when NDC was in power, and nothing has been added to it”.
He explained that because most of the roads were not tarred, people had taken undue advantage and encroached on the untarred roads, hampering smooth driving in the area.
Nii Dua said the problem also caused traffic jams in the area because there were very few arterial roads, forcing most motorists to use the main road.
Reverend Martey Odonkor, Regent of Atofoste, urged members and supporters of all political parties to see themselves first as a Ghanaians before considering their party affiliation.
He asked all the political parties seeking the interest of all the people to organise their campaigns with decorum.
Nii Dua said that the NDC had had enough of cheating, especially during the 2004 parliamentary election which was rigged in broad daylight and that the party would not allow victory to be taken way from it again.
Nii Dua made the appeal when he was introduced to the chiefs and elders of the Teshie Traditional Council in Accra after his successful election as the NDC candidate. Nii Dua contested the 2004 election on the ticket of the NDC and lost to Dr (Mrs) Gladys Ashittey, the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP.
Describing how the elections was rigged, Nii Dua said just before the ballot papers were to be distributed for transportation to the polling station, it was realised that the parliamentary ballot papers were short by 1,959.
Nii Dua said the NDC drew the attention of the EC officials to the shortfall and followed it up with a petition to the headquarters of the commission, but that did not yield any good results.
“After the election and the calculations of all the ballots cast at the various polling stations, we realised that the stolen ballot papers had mysteriously found their way into the ballot boxes, all in favour of the NPP candidate”, he added.
According to him, all these happened at 22 polling stations.
“We take part of the blame because some of our polling agents also gave in to things that led to some of these things that happened to us. But this time round our polling agents would be made up of able-bodied, experienced, loyal and committed party members who will not compromise easily ”, Nii Dua added.
He said but for his personal intervention, some of his supporters were going to demonstrate and prevent the EC from pronouncing the NPP candidate as the winner and pleaded with the chiefs to advise all the other aspirants and the EC against such an incident this time.
He said if it happened again, he would not be in a position to prevent his supporters from demonstrating.
Nii Dua promised to make the development of the area his priority when given the mandate.
He said as a member of the district assembly for 11 years, he was conversant with the problems facing the area and was the best person to lead the people to solve them.
“I am one of you; I have been working with and you also know my worth. I am, therefore, pleading with you to help me win the seat,” he told the elders.
Nii Dua, who was a sports presenter with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) but had to resign his position to contest the Lezdokuku seat for the NDC, said his priority as the MP for the area would be the provision of water.
That, he said, would start with the continuation of the water project which was started by the NDC administration but had been abandoned by the NPP government.
He said the provision of adequate potable water for people would go a long way to prevent diseases like diarrhoea which affected many people.
The NDC candidate said “all the roads which have been tarred in this town were done in the period when NDC was in power, and nothing has been added to it”.
He explained that because most of the roads were not tarred, people had taken undue advantage and encroached on the untarred roads, hampering smooth driving in the area.
Nii Dua said the problem also caused traffic jams in the area because there were very few arterial roads, forcing most motorists to use the main road.
Reverend Martey Odonkor, Regent of Atofoste, urged members and supporters of all political parties to see themselves first as a Ghanaians before considering their party affiliation.
He asked all the political parties seeking the interest of all the people to organise their campaigns with decorum.
Nii Dua said that the NDC had had enough of cheating, especially during the 2004 parliamentary election which was rigged in broad daylight and that the party would not allow victory to be taken way from it again.
Nii Dua made the appeal when he was introduced to the chiefs and elders of the Teshie Traditional Council in Accra after his successful election as the NDC candidate. Nii Dua contested the 2004 election on the ticket of the NDC and lost to Dr (Mrs) Gladys Ashittey, the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP.
Describing how the elections was rigged, Nii Dua said just before the ballot papers were to be distributed for transportation to the polling station, it was realised that the parliamentary ballot papers were short by 1,959.
Nii Dua said the NDC drew the attention of the EC officials to the shortfall and followed it up with a petition to the headquarters of the commission, but that did not yield any good results.
“After the election and the calculations of all the ballots cast at the various polling stations, we realised that the stolen ballot papers had mysteriously found their way into the ballot boxes, all in favour of the NPP candidate”, he added.
According to him, all these happened at 22 polling stations.
“We take part of the blame because some of our polling agents also gave in to things that led to some of these things that happened to us. But this time round our polling agents would be made up of able-bodied, experienced, loyal and committed party members who will not compromise easily ”, Nii Dua added.
He said but for his personal intervention, some of his supporters were going to demonstrate and prevent the EC from pronouncing the NPP candidate as the winner and pleaded with the chiefs to advise all the other aspirants and the EC against such an incident this time.
He said if it happened again, he would not be in a position to prevent his supporters from demonstrating.
Nii Dua appeals to chiefs, elders to ensure peace
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Ledzokuku, Nii Nortey Dua, has appealed to the chiefs and elders of Teshie Traditional Council to advise all the political parties in the area to ensure that the 2008 election is conducted in a free and fair manner.
Nii Dua promised to make the development of the area his priority when given the mandate.
He said as a member of the district assembly for 11 years, he was conversant with the problems facing the area and was the best person to lead the people to solve them.
“I am one of you; I have been working with and you also know my worth. I am, therefore, pleading with you to help me win the seat,” he told the elders.
Nii Dua, who was a sports presenter with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) but had to resign his position to contest the Lezdokuku seat for the NDC, said his priority as the MP for the area would be the provision of water.
That, he said, would start with the continuation of the water project which was started by the NDC administration but had been abandoned by the NPP government.
He said the provision of adequate potable water for people would go a long way to prevent diseases like diarrhoea which affected many people.
The NDC candidate said “all the roads which have been tarred in this town were done in the period when NDC was in power, and nothing has been added to it”.
He explained that because most of the roads were not tarred, people had taken undue advantage and encroached on the untarred roads, hampering smooth driving in the area.
Nii Dua said the problem also caused traffic jams in the area because there were very few arterial roads, forcing most motorists to use the main road.
Reverend Martey Odonkor, Regent of Atofoste, urged members and supporters of all political parties to see themselves first as a Ghanaians before considering their party affiliation.
He asked all the political parties seeking the interest of all the people to organise their campaigns with decorum.
Nii Dua said that the NDC had had enough of cheating, especially during the 2004 parliamentary election which was rigged in broad daylight and that the party would not allow victory to be taken way from it again.
Nii Dua made the appeal when he was introduced to the chiefs and elders of the Teshie Traditional Council in Accra after his successful election as the NDC candidate. Nii Dua contested the 2004 election on the ticket of the NDC and lost to Dr (Mrs) Gladys Ashittey, the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP.
Describing how the elections was rigged, Nii Dua said just before the ballot papers were to be distributed for transportation to the polling station, it was realised that the parliamentary ballot papers were short by 1,959.
Nii Dua said the NDC drew the attention of the EC officials to the shortfall and followed it up with a petition to the headquarters of the commission, but that did not yield any good results.
“After the election and the calculations of all the ballots cast at the various polling stations, we realised that the stolen ballot papers had mysteriously found their way into the ballot boxes, all in favour of the NPP candidate”, he added.
According to him, all these happened at 22 polling stations.
“We take part of the blame because some of our polling agents also gave in to things that led to some of these things that happened to us. But this time round our polling agents would be made up of able-bodied, experienced, loyal and committed party members who will not compromise easily ”, Nii Dua added.
He said but for his personal intervention, some of his supporters were going to demonstrate and prevent the EC from pronouncing the NPP candidate as the winner and pleaded with the chiefs to advise all the other aspirants and the EC against such an incident this time.
He said if it happened again, he would not be in a position to prevent his supporters from demonstrating.
Nii Dua promised to make the development of the area his priority when given the mandate.
He said as a member of the district assembly for 11 years, he was conversant with the problems facing the area and was the best person to lead the people to solve them.
“I am one of you; I have been working with and you also know my worth. I am, therefore, pleading with you to help me win the seat,” he told the elders.
Nii Dua, who was a sports presenter with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) but had to resign his position to contest the Lezdokuku seat for the NDC, said his priority as the MP for the area would be the provision of water.
That, he said, would start with the continuation of the water project which was started by the NDC administration but had been abandoned by the NPP government.
He said the provision of adequate potable water for people would go a long way to prevent diseases like diarrhoea which affected many people.
The NDC candidate said “all the roads which have been tarred in this town were done in the period when NDC was in power, and nothing has been added to it”.
He explained that because most of the roads were not tarred, people had taken undue advantage and encroached on the untarred roads, hampering smooth driving in the area.
Nii Dua said the problem also caused traffic jams in the area because there were very few arterial roads, forcing most motorists to use the main road.
Reverend Martey Odonkor, Regent of Atofoste, urged members and supporters of all political parties to see themselves first as a Ghanaians before considering their party affiliation.
He asked all the political parties seeking the interest of all the people to organise their campaigns with decorum.
Nii Dua said that the NDC had had enough of cheating, especially during the 2004 parliamentary election which was rigged in broad daylight and that the party would not allow victory to be taken way from it again.
Nii Dua made the appeal when he was introduced to the chiefs and elders of the Teshie Traditional Council in Accra after his successful election as the NDC candidate. Nii Dua contested the 2004 election on the ticket of the NDC and lost to Dr (Mrs) Gladys Ashittey, the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP.
Describing how the elections was rigged, Nii Dua said just before the ballot papers were to be distributed for transportation to the polling station, it was realised that the parliamentary ballot papers were short by 1,959.
Nii Dua said the NDC drew the attention of the EC officials to the shortfall and followed it up with a petition to the headquarters of the commission, but that did not yield any good results.
“After the election and the calculations of all the ballots cast at the various polling stations, we realised that the stolen ballot papers had mysteriously found their way into the ballot boxes, all in favour of the NPP candidate”, he added.
According to him, all these happened at 22 polling stations.
“We take part of the blame because some of our polling agents also gave in to things that led to some of these things that happened to us. But this time round our polling agents would be made up of able-bodied, experienced, loyal and committed party members who will not compromise easily ”, Nii Dua added.
He said but for his personal intervention, some of his supporters were going to demonstrate and prevent the EC from pronouncing the NPP candidate as the winner and pleaded with the chiefs to advise all the other aspirants and the EC against such an incident this time.
He said if it happened again, he would not be in a position to prevent his supporters from demonstrating.
EC welcomes Prez’s call for credible election
THE Electoral Commission (EC) has described President Kufuor’s call for credible elections in December as appropriate and timely and promised to live up to the challenge.
The Director of Elections at the EC, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, said the commission, as a human institution, could make mistakes and that was why the President’s call was a wake-up one for political stakeholders to work with it to ensure that the country attained free, fair and credible elections whose results would be acceptable to all.
Mr Arhin is currently leading a team of EC officials in Koforidua to train agents of the commission for the forthcoming replacement of defaced, destroyed and lost voter identity cards which will be carried out from the March 14 to 23.
He was reacting to the President’s call in a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic.
President Kufuor made the call in his anniversary speech at Thursday’s parade to mark 51 years of Ghana’s independence.
In the speech, the President reiterated his desire to hand over a united and peaceful country to his successor and, therefore, charged the EC to conduct the December 2008 elections in a credible manner so that the outcome would be acceptable to all contesting parties and the electorate.
There had been an earlier controversy generated over the voter registration figures in 13 of the constituencies in the Ashanti Region which were said to have increased by over 110 per cent between 2004 and 2006.
The EC refuted those figures, announced a probe into their source and distributed what it described as the “authentic” figures in the disputed constituencies to all the political parties for their perusal.
According to Mr Arhin, the EC had, since 1992, conducted credible elections and had been improving over successive elections and gave the assurance that the commission would live up to that reputation of delivering credible, transparent, free and fair elections in December.
He appealed to the political parties to see themselves as partners of the commission “who are in the trenches together” and not as enemies.
Mr Arhin said that partnership required that political parties who had problems concerning any of the processes of the elections must not hesitate to consult the EC for clarification and correction, not create tension.
He noted that when political parties went public on such issues, it tended to create credibility problems in the minds of the electorate and other stakeholders.
Mr Arhin said the agents who were being trained for the 5,000 electoral areas would be more than 5,000 because some polling stations were bigger and would require more than one person.
On the replacement of voter ID cards, Mr Arhin said over 5,000 agents were currently being given a one-week training on how to undertake the exercise at the 5,000 electoral areas.
He said the agents were being trained on how to question those who had lost their ID cards, how to answer questionnaire, among others.
Mr Arhin explained that the replacement exercise was intended to ensure that all those whose voter ID cards were missing, defaced or destroyed got new ones to prevent them from registering again when the voters register opened in May this year for those who had now attained the age of 18 to register.
The Director of Elections at the EC, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, said the commission, as a human institution, could make mistakes and that was why the President’s call was a wake-up one for political stakeholders to work with it to ensure that the country attained free, fair and credible elections whose results would be acceptable to all.
Mr Arhin is currently leading a team of EC officials in Koforidua to train agents of the commission for the forthcoming replacement of defaced, destroyed and lost voter identity cards which will be carried out from the March 14 to 23.
He was reacting to the President’s call in a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic.
President Kufuor made the call in his anniversary speech at Thursday’s parade to mark 51 years of Ghana’s independence.
In the speech, the President reiterated his desire to hand over a united and peaceful country to his successor and, therefore, charged the EC to conduct the December 2008 elections in a credible manner so that the outcome would be acceptable to all contesting parties and the electorate.
There had been an earlier controversy generated over the voter registration figures in 13 of the constituencies in the Ashanti Region which were said to have increased by over 110 per cent between 2004 and 2006.
The EC refuted those figures, announced a probe into their source and distributed what it described as the “authentic” figures in the disputed constituencies to all the political parties for their perusal.
According to Mr Arhin, the EC had, since 1992, conducted credible elections and had been improving over successive elections and gave the assurance that the commission would live up to that reputation of delivering credible, transparent, free and fair elections in December.
He appealed to the political parties to see themselves as partners of the commission “who are in the trenches together” and not as enemies.
Mr Arhin said that partnership required that political parties who had problems concerning any of the processes of the elections must not hesitate to consult the EC for clarification and correction, not create tension.
He noted that when political parties went public on such issues, it tended to create credibility problems in the minds of the electorate and other stakeholders.
Mr Arhin said the agents who were being trained for the 5,000 electoral areas would be more than 5,000 because some polling stations were bigger and would require more than one person.
On the replacement of voter ID cards, Mr Arhin said over 5,000 agents were currently being given a one-week training on how to undertake the exercise at the 5,000 electoral areas.
He said the agents were being trained on how to question those who had lost their ID cards, how to answer questionnaire, among others.
Mr Arhin explained that the replacement exercise was intended to ensure that all those whose voter ID cards were missing, defaced or destroyed got new ones to prevent them from registering again when the voters register opened in May this year for those who had now attained the age of 18 to register.
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