The 2008 Presidential Candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, has dropped a hint of his intention to quit the party and contest the 2012 presidential election on a different platform.
To prepare the grounds for his next move, Dr Nduom has urged men and women who share in his aspirations to help him put together presidential and parliamentary campaign teams, other than the CPP, in the 10 regions and 230 constituencies for the 2012 elections.
Addressing some media houses on Saturday, the head of Dr Nduom's communication team, Mr Richmond Lamptey, said: “Dr Nduom has decided that it is time for collective action to create a new political order that is national in character and one which is different from what exist today.”
As the first sign of breaking his cord from the CPP, some people from the Nduom campaign team were seen, just after the announcement, removing all the CPP flags on the road that leads to Dr Nduom’s Coconut Groove Hotel.
Another point that lends credence to the fact that Dr Nduom is leaving the CPP is part of the statement which reads that: “Secondly, he [Dr Nduom] holds the view that one does not need to have an affiliated seat in parliament to become President.”
“Dr Nduom wants to encourage those who want to go to parliament in 2013 and are prepared to work and make sacrifices to get there to step forward. He also wants those who want to support and campaign for him to become president in 2013 to identify themselves and organise to work,” the statement added.
Mr Lamptey quoted the Youth for Nduom 2012, a youth group that supports Dr Nduom, which stated on December 5, 2011, that “considering the fact that 98 per cent of the electorate had in the past three elections not voted for CPP, it is clear that there is a lot of work to be done outside CPP, while urgent steps are taken to retain those who voted for Dr Nduom in 2008.”
Dr Nduom recently announced his decision to contest for the CPP presidential slot for the second time and came under a barrage of criticism for allegedly whipping up sentiments among some members of the party across the country to call for an early congress, with a threat to organise an National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to take that decision.
This infuriated Chairman of the party, Ms Samia Yaaba Nkrumah, who threatened to expel Dr Nduom from the party if he continued what she described as “Dr Nduom’s “nonsense.” This sparked accusations and counter accusations from leading members of the party.
The General Secretary of the CPP, Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, also pointed accusing fingers at Dr Nduom as the main cause of the dissonance in the party, and filed a writ at the Accra High Court to declare the intended NEC meeting null and void.
However, before the court could hear the case, the aggrieved members had rescinded their decision because the party had set a date for the presidential primaries.
Reading the press statement, Mr Lamptey said Dr Nduom was expected to announce the vehicle he would use for the 2012 elections before the end of this year.
He explained that what Dr Nduom was calling for must have a different character—less bureaucratic and more field and action oriented–from what had typically been the case in Ghana in the Fourth Republic.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Confusion Rocks CPP
Seven weeks into its administration, the Samia-led Convention People’s Party (CPP) executive is bound to have a clash with some members of the National Executive Committee (NEC ) about when to hold the Presidential congress to select a flag bearer for the 2012 elections.
Some members of the party purporting to be consisting of one-third of the NEC have advertised in the media that they would hold a NEC meeting on November 30, 2011 at the Du Bois Centre at 10 am to take a definite decision on the date for the congress.
But the Chief Executive of the CPP, Mr Ivor Kobinah Greenstreet, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said although one-third of the NEC could call for such a meeting, the memo he had received from the so called one-third of the NEC was unsigned and undated and therefore any decision that would be taken would be“null and void ab initio”
He noted that NEC was a formal meeting of the CPP and those unidentified group seeking to organise that meeting should adhere to the process.
According to Mr Greenstreet, their letter should be signed so that the party could verify the authenticity of their signatures as real members of NEC and also for proper notification to be made, coupled with the selection of a venue, mobilisation of appropriate logistics and setting of an agenda.
“Although the party hierarchy respects people’s democratic right, which is also guaranteed by the CPP constitution to be heard, the rank and file should understand that the CPP congress to elect its presidential aspirant for 2012 is not being delayed. The unidentified group cannot hold NEC on their own,” he cautioned.
He explained that the problem of the seeming delay in the holding of the congress to elect a presidential aspirant had occurred because of the new constitution that the party had adopted half way through the four year electoral cycle.
The constitution envisages that the newly elected officers steering the affairs of the CPP for one year before any presidential congress can be held. Even the so-called provision stating that the presidential congress should be held 24 months before national elections started their stewardship nine months even before this new executive took office.
The General Secretary noted that the CPP was therefore finding a middle ground in order for everybody’s interest to be satisfied but surprisingly, the party had not received any communication about all the grievances.
“Yet, someone has been manipulating all these sporadic outburst around the country, thereby washing the party’s dirty linen in public and bringing the name of the CPP into disrepute,” Mr Greenstreet, who did not mention any name, said.
He cautioned those sponsoring these people to beware that it was the same activities which had always engendered disunity and disorganisation which had been at the root of CPP’s woes and made it to secure only one per cent of the total votes cast at every national election in recent times.
He described the people sponsoring those purporting to hold the NEC meeting as “having confusing influence” adding that leadership of the party understood perfectly well that any excessive delay would be prejudicial to any future CPP presidential candidates bid.
Mr Greenstreet reminded those agitating that the party must conduct two outstanding regional congresses in the Western and the Volta regions and also solve the outstanding legal disputes as well as reorganise at all the polling station level .
All these, Mr Greenstreet noted, were geared towards putting the party in a position to avoid getting the one per cent it had been receiving; that would be a thing of the past.
Some members of the party purporting to be consisting of one-third of the NEC have advertised in the media that they would hold a NEC meeting on November 30, 2011 at the Du Bois Centre at 10 am to take a definite decision on the date for the congress.
But the Chief Executive of the CPP, Mr Ivor Kobinah Greenstreet, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said although one-third of the NEC could call for such a meeting, the memo he had received from the so called one-third of the NEC was unsigned and undated and therefore any decision that would be taken would be“null and void ab initio”
He noted that NEC was a formal meeting of the CPP and those unidentified group seeking to organise that meeting should adhere to the process.
According to Mr Greenstreet, their letter should be signed so that the party could verify the authenticity of their signatures as real members of NEC and also for proper notification to be made, coupled with the selection of a venue, mobilisation of appropriate logistics and setting of an agenda.
“Although the party hierarchy respects people’s democratic right, which is also guaranteed by the CPP constitution to be heard, the rank and file should understand that the CPP congress to elect its presidential aspirant for 2012 is not being delayed. The unidentified group cannot hold NEC on their own,” he cautioned.
He explained that the problem of the seeming delay in the holding of the congress to elect a presidential aspirant had occurred because of the new constitution that the party had adopted half way through the four year electoral cycle.
The constitution envisages that the newly elected officers steering the affairs of the CPP for one year before any presidential congress can be held. Even the so-called provision stating that the presidential congress should be held 24 months before national elections started their stewardship nine months even before this new executive took office.
The General Secretary noted that the CPP was therefore finding a middle ground in order for everybody’s interest to be satisfied but surprisingly, the party had not received any communication about all the grievances.
“Yet, someone has been manipulating all these sporadic outburst around the country, thereby washing the party’s dirty linen in public and bringing the name of the CPP into disrepute,” Mr Greenstreet, who did not mention any name, said.
He cautioned those sponsoring these people to beware that it was the same activities which had always engendered disunity and disorganisation which had been at the root of CPP’s woes and made it to secure only one per cent of the total votes cast at every national election in recent times.
He described the people sponsoring those purporting to hold the NEC meeting as “having confusing influence” adding that leadership of the party understood perfectly well that any excessive delay would be prejudicial to any future CPP presidential candidates bid.
Mr Greenstreet reminded those agitating that the party must conduct two outstanding regional congresses in the Western and the Volta regions and also solve the outstanding legal disputes as well as reorganise at all the polling station level .
All these, Mr Greenstreet noted, were geared towards putting the party in a position to avoid getting the one per cent it had been receiving; that would be a thing of the past.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Region has no locus to to disqualify aspirants--Ras Mubarak
One of the aspiring parliamentary hopefuls for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Ablekuma North, Mr Mohammed Ras Mubarak, has stated that the regional branch of the party neither has authority nor locus to disqualify any aspirant.
He explained that besides not having the authority, any attempt to disqualify an aspirant based on his personal opinion would be sending wrong signals about the NDC and would also be violating Article 7 of the 1992 Constitution.
Mr Mubarak who picked the number two position on the ballot paper for the primaries to be held on November 26, 2011, noted that if it was wrong for him to criticise the Mills government then those calling for his dismissal must also “find fault and expel former President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Mr Alban Sumana Bagbin, Dr Ekwow Spio Garbrah, Boakye Djan, among others, from the NDC for stridently criticising the Mills Administration at one time or the other.”
The Greater Accra Regional Vetting Committee of the party in its report which was made available to the Daily Graphic disqualified four persons from contesting in the forthcoming primaries.
It was, however, undecided on Mr Mohammed Ras Mubarak, and noted that it had left the decision as to whether he should contest on the party’s ticket or not to the national executive of the party.
The report said the regional vetting panel raised issues of various published articles and radio utterances by Mr Ras Mubarak castigating President Mills, the NDC government and the NDC leadership.
It said Mr Mubarak denied being malicious, and explained that he was only offering constructive criticism and that he had on some occasions commended President Mills. “He later apologised when it was pointed out to him that some of his actions and utterances were in bad taste and politically wrong.”
Explaining further, Mr Mubarak said he was not the least perturbed by the unconstitutional behaviour of a few members among the regional executives to leak the report to the press to make it seem like the region’s vetting committee had the final decision on the eligibility of any candidate.
He noted that the one who leaked the report had not read the NDC constitution, particularly Article 39 (e) which stipulated clearly that it was an offence for any member of the party to divulge confidential report of the party to any unauthorised person.
Mr Mubarak noted that he was focused on his campaign, which he said was going well in the constituency, and that the people would vote massively for him to represent the party in the 2012 elections and win the seat for the NDC.
“My eyes are fixed on the ball and I will emerge the winner in the primaries that will be held on November 26, 2011. This is because the NPP that had represented the constituency over the years had not provided leadership. This constituency needs a young and dynamic leadership and I promise to provide that”, he added.
“We have a tantalising opportunity to win the 2012 elections and increase our numbers in Parliament”, he added, and urged leading members of the party not to indulge in activities that would negatively affect the unity and peace needed for the 2012 elections.
He explained that besides not having the authority, any attempt to disqualify an aspirant based on his personal opinion would be sending wrong signals about the NDC and would also be violating Article 7 of the 1992 Constitution.
Mr Mubarak who picked the number two position on the ballot paper for the primaries to be held on November 26, 2011, noted that if it was wrong for him to criticise the Mills government then those calling for his dismissal must also “find fault and expel former President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Mr Alban Sumana Bagbin, Dr Ekwow Spio Garbrah, Boakye Djan, among others, from the NDC for stridently criticising the Mills Administration at one time or the other.”
The Greater Accra Regional Vetting Committee of the party in its report which was made available to the Daily Graphic disqualified four persons from contesting in the forthcoming primaries.
It was, however, undecided on Mr Mohammed Ras Mubarak, and noted that it had left the decision as to whether he should contest on the party’s ticket or not to the national executive of the party.
The report said the regional vetting panel raised issues of various published articles and radio utterances by Mr Ras Mubarak castigating President Mills, the NDC government and the NDC leadership.
It said Mr Mubarak denied being malicious, and explained that he was only offering constructive criticism and that he had on some occasions commended President Mills. “He later apologised when it was pointed out to him that some of his actions and utterances were in bad taste and politically wrong.”
Explaining further, Mr Mubarak said he was not the least perturbed by the unconstitutional behaviour of a few members among the regional executives to leak the report to the press to make it seem like the region’s vetting committee had the final decision on the eligibility of any candidate.
He noted that the one who leaked the report had not read the NDC constitution, particularly Article 39 (e) which stipulated clearly that it was an offence for any member of the party to divulge confidential report of the party to any unauthorised person.
Mr Mubarak noted that he was focused on his campaign, which he said was going well in the constituency, and that the people would vote massively for him to represent the party in the 2012 elections and win the seat for the NDC.
“My eyes are fixed on the ball and I will emerge the winner in the primaries that will be held on November 26, 2011. This is because the NPP that had represented the constituency over the years had not provided leadership. This constituency needs a young and dynamic leadership and I promise to provide that”, he added.
“We have a tantalising opportunity to win the 2012 elections and increase our numbers in Parliament”, he added, and urged leading members of the party not to indulge in activities that would negatively affect the unity and peace needed for the 2012 elections.
Friday, November 18, 2011
PNC, CPP pat govt on the back
THE Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the People’s National Convention (PNC) have patted the government on the back for taking bold decisions in initiating policies that would generate revenue for the country.
They, however, described the government’s budget statement for 2012 as “bold but not bold enough” to redeem the country from the shackles of constant and increasing dependence on donor support.
Reacting to the 2012 Budget and Economic Policy of the government presented to Parliament on Wednesday, the two political parties tagged it as “moderate” with some expectations met while others remained an illusion.
Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, the General Secretary of the CPP, welcomed the bold decision by the government to increase the corporate tax rate for mining companies from the current 26 per cent to 35 per cent and a windfall tax of 10 per cent, as well as the continuation of social interventions such as the provision of free school uniforms and textbooks and other poverty alleviation programmes.
He said all these bold decisions to generate revenue must be backed with concrete and concerted efforts at ensuring that they were implemented to derive the needed revenue.
“These bold decisions need to be complemented with far-reaching institutionalised policy to add value to our raw materials to create jobs and change the economic and social status of the majority of the people who are poor,” he added
He added that the feat chalked up by the government in the area of micro economic stability, particularly with the downward trend in inflation and interest rates, were laudable but added that these must be translated into creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youth and the creation of wealth for the poor in society.
Mr Greenstreet wondered what benefit it would be for the country if it continued to attain low inflationary rates but sectors like manufacturing and hospitality, whose activities have a direct bearing on the ordinary Ghanaian, were not accelerating in growth.
He described as dangerous the recent phenomenon where almost everything used in Ghana, from tooth pick to furniture, were being imported into the country at the expense of local industry and urged the government to refrain from paying lip-service to support local industries to grow and ensure that they were given the needed assistance to compete with their international counterparts.
On the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), Mr Greenstreet said the CPP fully supported such social interventions but expressed worry that the government had not been able to implement its own initial commitment.
He said it was strange that almost all the initial amounts promised yearly for the realisation of the objective had not been provided, and expressed doubts about the government’s move to organise meetings with donors to raise the needed funds.
Mr Bernard Mornah, the General Secretary of the PNC, commended the government for reforms in the personal tax to accommodate inflation and compensate for the erosions of disposable income of people, saying that this would allow those in the lower brackets space and give them some disposable income to spend.
He was full of praise for the government for taking the bull by the horn to increase corporate taxes for mining companies from the current 25 per cent to 35 per cent.
He said it was unacceptable for mining companies to enter mining concessions, expose the environment to poisonous substances, pollute water bodies and destroy the vegetation and after that, all the country got was some paltry five per cent as revenue, “while the whopping 95 per cent of the income goes to some people playing golf somewhere”.
When the Daily Graphic hit town to interact with people in the markets and the streets on the budget, many of them said they did not listen to the reading of the budget. Others were not even aware that the 2012 budget was read last Wednesday, while the few who commented, expressed divergent views.
A chartered accountant, Thomas Agbasi, stressed the need to build consensus on the $3 billion Chinese loan deal to enable the government to undertake development projects.
He expressed worry about the fact that the budget did not give enough indication of job creation, especially for the youth.
For his part, George Anokye, who described himself as a civil servant, said the GHc1 million budgeted for media development was very good because it would enable the media to perform efficiently and not do things that could plunge the country into civil conflict.
He said the support to develop the music industry was also laudable because it was the first time a government had taken such an initiative and expressed the hope that the government would do everything it had projected in the budget.
At the Tema Station, a shoe seller, Kwabena Ofori, said he expected the government to create markets for hawkers, since the Hawkers Market at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle was inadequate.
He said business, especially for hawkers, was bad these days and so it was difficult for him to cater for his family.
The Chief Executive Officer of Imani Ghana, Mr Franklin Cudjoe, said the budget might have met the expectations of the government but as to whether it met the expectations of the people was another issue.
He expressed scepticism about the achievement of a one-time premium pay policy under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which the government intends to implement next year.
Mr Cudjoe said the fact that the government kept postponing the implementation of the policy since it took office in 2009, meant it would be difficult to execute it.
On the projection of GHc1.24 billion from the export of crude oil in the 2012 fiscal year, he said there was nothing wrong in making such a projection.
He said if that huge revenue projection was achieved, it would be a shot in the arm of the government and facilitate infrastructural development in the country.
Mr Cudjoe had problems with the budget of GHc1 million for media development, describing the reason for that budget as too vague.
He said there should be a specific indication as to what the money would be used for and not just captured as a budget for media development.
They, however, described the government’s budget statement for 2012 as “bold but not bold enough” to redeem the country from the shackles of constant and increasing dependence on donor support.
Reacting to the 2012 Budget and Economic Policy of the government presented to Parliament on Wednesday, the two political parties tagged it as “moderate” with some expectations met while others remained an illusion.
Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, the General Secretary of the CPP, welcomed the bold decision by the government to increase the corporate tax rate for mining companies from the current 26 per cent to 35 per cent and a windfall tax of 10 per cent, as well as the continuation of social interventions such as the provision of free school uniforms and textbooks and other poverty alleviation programmes.
He said all these bold decisions to generate revenue must be backed with concrete and concerted efforts at ensuring that they were implemented to derive the needed revenue.
“These bold decisions need to be complemented with far-reaching institutionalised policy to add value to our raw materials to create jobs and change the economic and social status of the majority of the people who are poor,” he added
He added that the feat chalked up by the government in the area of micro economic stability, particularly with the downward trend in inflation and interest rates, were laudable but added that these must be translated into creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youth and the creation of wealth for the poor in society.
Mr Greenstreet wondered what benefit it would be for the country if it continued to attain low inflationary rates but sectors like manufacturing and hospitality, whose activities have a direct bearing on the ordinary Ghanaian, were not accelerating in growth.
He described as dangerous the recent phenomenon where almost everything used in Ghana, from tooth pick to furniture, were being imported into the country at the expense of local industry and urged the government to refrain from paying lip-service to support local industries to grow and ensure that they were given the needed assistance to compete with their international counterparts.
On the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), Mr Greenstreet said the CPP fully supported such social interventions but expressed worry that the government had not been able to implement its own initial commitment.
He said it was strange that almost all the initial amounts promised yearly for the realisation of the objective had not been provided, and expressed doubts about the government’s move to organise meetings with donors to raise the needed funds.
Mr Bernard Mornah, the General Secretary of the PNC, commended the government for reforms in the personal tax to accommodate inflation and compensate for the erosions of disposable income of people, saying that this would allow those in the lower brackets space and give them some disposable income to spend.
He was full of praise for the government for taking the bull by the horn to increase corporate taxes for mining companies from the current 25 per cent to 35 per cent.
He said it was unacceptable for mining companies to enter mining concessions, expose the environment to poisonous substances, pollute water bodies and destroy the vegetation and after that, all the country got was some paltry five per cent as revenue, “while the whopping 95 per cent of the income goes to some people playing golf somewhere”.
When the Daily Graphic hit town to interact with people in the markets and the streets on the budget, many of them said they did not listen to the reading of the budget. Others were not even aware that the 2012 budget was read last Wednesday, while the few who commented, expressed divergent views.
A chartered accountant, Thomas Agbasi, stressed the need to build consensus on the $3 billion Chinese loan deal to enable the government to undertake development projects.
He expressed worry about the fact that the budget did not give enough indication of job creation, especially for the youth.
For his part, George Anokye, who described himself as a civil servant, said the GHc1 million budgeted for media development was very good because it would enable the media to perform efficiently and not do things that could plunge the country into civil conflict.
He said the support to develop the music industry was also laudable because it was the first time a government had taken such an initiative and expressed the hope that the government would do everything it had projected in the budget.
At the Tema Station, a shoe seller, Kwabena Ofori, said he expected the government to create markets for hawkers, since the Hawkers Market at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle was inadequate.
He said business, especially for hawkers, was bad these days and so it was difficult for him to cater for his family.
The Chief Executive Officer of Imani Ghana, Mr Franklin Cudjoe, said the budget might have met the expectations of the government but as to whether it met the expectations of the people was another issue.
He expressed scepticism about the achievement of a one-time premium pay policy under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which the government intends to implement next year.
Mr Cudjoe said the fact that the government kept postponing the implementation of the policy since it took office in 2009, meant it would be difficult to execute it.
On the projection of GHc1.24 billion from the export of crude oil in the 2012 fiscal year, he said there was nothing wrong in making such a projection.
He said if that huge revenue projection was achieved, it would be a shot in the arm of the government and facilitate infrastructural development in the country.
Mr Cudjoe had problems with the budget of GHc1 million for media development, describing the reason for that budget as too vague.
He said there should be a specific indication as to what the money would be used for and not just captured as a budget for media development.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Gt Accra NDC disqualifies 4 aspirants. Ras Mubarak's fate hangs
THE Greater Accra Regional Vetting Committee of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has disqualified four persons from contesting in the forthcoming primaries.
It was, however, undecided on Mr Mohammed Ras Mubarak of Ablekuma North and noted that it had left the decision as to whether he should contest on the party’s ticket or not to the national executive of the party.
The committee also suspended a branch chairman of the Ayawaso Central Constituency of the party for misconduct. It explained that the branch chairman was suspended because he raised issues about the membership card he had issued to Mr Franklin Mensah and alleged that Mr Mensah had not fulfilled his promise after acquiring the card.
“We found that untenable since it cannot be proven and moved to have the branch chairman suspended for his mischief.”
The four suspended aspirants are the former Chairman of the Confiscated Assets Committee, Mr Carl Wilson, who was vying for the slot in the Weija Constituency; Mr Delali Emmanuel Brempong in the Ayawaso West Wuogon; Augustine Ken Eshum and Andrew Okaikoi, both of Okaikoi North.
Last Friday, a Deputy General Secretary of the party in-charge of primaries, Mr George Lawson, told the Daily Graphic that more than 10 people out of those who filed their nominations to contest in the primaries in the orphaned constituencies of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been disqualified.
However, he failed to disclose the names of those who have been disqualified and their constituencies. The party has also directed the Tano North Constituency in the Brong Ahafo Region to open fresh nomination since all the aspirants did not follow laid down regulations.
THE National Democratic Congress has set November 19 and 26, 2011, for the primaries to select aspirants for orphan constituencies in the northern and southern sectors, respectively.
The northern sector consists of the Ashanti, Northern, Brong Ahafo, Upper West and Upper East regions while the southern is made up of the Greater Accra, Central, Western, Volta and Eastern regions.
According to a copy of the Greater Accra Vetting Committee report, which was made available to Daily Graphic, “Carl Wilson’s past issues with confiscated (auctioned) cars and his withdrawal from the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff’s office were raised and his answers were unacceptable since he could not give tangible reasons for the President’s decision to ask for his removal. He also declined to comment.”
The report said having such a high profile case against him, the NDC would be sending wrong signals that it condoned “ wrongdoings if any or not” and added that even if he was allowed to go through, opponents of the NDC would use it against the party and the electorates would also reject him during the 2012 parliamentary elections.
The report said a Daily Graphic publication of July11, 2006, about Delali Emmanuel Brempong’s involvement in an alleged fraud was shown to him but he denied his involvement and claimed that the police had since cleared him.
According to him, he was rather a victim. He was asked to provide proof of verification.
The report described Mr Brempong’s issue as serious and therefore his nomination must be rejected without hesitation, otherwise it would spell doom for the party.
At Okaikoi North, serious allegations were levelled against Mr Andrew Okaikoi, including some publications to that effect. Others were raised by one of the contestants for the slot, Mr Augustus Ken Eshun.
“Andrew Okaikoi’s candidature in our opinion will pose many challenges to the party and at best will be an albatross on the neck of the NDC. Our opponents will use this to destabilise our campaign and even resort to the law courts for disqualification,” the report said.
The report indicated that since Mr Augustus Eshun himself found grounds for going public on someone’s disqualification, his admission of forged signatures which was also in the public domain should not be taken lightly.
“By using forged signatures on his nomination form, he has committed fraud. In his submission ,he admitted the offence of forgery and as such he cannot be recommended for approval.”
The report said the panel raised issues of various published articles and radio utterances by Mr Ras Mubarak castigating President Mills, the NDC government and the NDC leadership.
It said Mr Mubarak denied being malicious and explained that he was only offering constructive criticism and that he had on some occasions commended President Mills. “He later apologised when it was pointed out to him that some of his actions and utterances were in bad taste and politically wrong.”
“We recommend Mr Nathaniel Addo for approval. As for Ras Mubarak, we leave the decision to the party leadership.”
It was, however, undecided on Mr Mohammed Ras Mubarak of Ablekuma North and noted that it had left the decision as to whether he should contest on the party’s ticket or not to the national executive of the party.
The committee also suspended a branch chairman of the Ayawaso Central Constituency of the party for misconduct. It explained that the branch chairman was suspended because he raised issues about the membership card he had issued to Mr Franklin Mensah and alleged that Mr Mensah had not fulfilled his promise after acquiring the card.
“We found that untenable since it cannot be proven and moved to have the branch chairman suspended for his mischief.”
The four suspended aspirants are the former Chairman of the Confiscated Assets Committee, Mr Carl Wilson, who was vying for the slot in the Weija Constituency; Mr Delali Emmanuel Brempong in the Ayawaso West Wuogon; Augustine Ken Eshum and Andrew Okaikoi, both of Okaikoi North.
Last Friday, a Deputy General Secretary of the party in-charge of primaries, Mr George Lawson, told the Daily Graphic that more than 10 people out of those who filed their nominations to contest in the primaries in the orphaned constituencies of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been disqualified.
However, he failed to disclose the names of those who have been disqualified and their constituencies. The party has also directed the Tano North Constituency in the Brong Ahafo Region to open fresh nomination since all the aspirants did not follow laid down regulations.
THE National Democratic Congress has set November 19 and 26, 2011, for the primaries to select aspirants for orphan constituencies in the northern and southern sectors, respectively.
The northern sector consists of the Ashanti, Northern, Brong Ahafo, Upper West and Upper East regions while the southern is made up of the Greater Accra, Central, Western, Volta and Eastern regions.
According to a copy of the Greater Accra Vetting Committee report, which was made available to Daily Graphic, “Carl Wilson’s past issues with confiscated (auctioned) cars and his withdrawal from the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff’s office were raised and his answers were unacceptable since he could not give tangible reasons for the President’s decision to ask for his removal. He also declined to comment.”
The report said having such a high profile case against him, the NDC would be sending wrong signals that it condoned “ wrongdoings if any or not” and added that even if he was allowed to go through, opponents of the NDC would use it against the party and the electorates would also reject him during the 2012 parliamentary elections.
The report said a Daily Graphic publication of July11, 2006, about Delali Emmanuel Brempong’s involvement in an alleged fraud was shown to him but he denied his involvement and claimed that the police had since cleared him.
According to him, he was rather a victim. He was asked to provide proof of verification.
The report described Mr Brempong’s issue as serious and therefore his nomination must be rejected without hesitation, otherwise it would spell doom for the party.
At Okaikoi North, serious allegations were levelled against Mr Andrew Okaikoi, including some publications to that effect. Others were raised by one of the contestants for the slot, Mr Augustus Ken Eshun.
“Andrew Okaikoi’s candidature in our opinion will pose many challenges to the party and at best will be an albatross on the neck of the NDC. Our opponents will use this to destabilise our campaign and even resort to the law courts for disqualification,” the report said.
The report indicated that since Mr Augustus Eshun himself found grounds for going public on someone’s disqualification, his admission of forged signatures which was also in the public domain should not be taken lightly.
“By using forged signatures on his nomination form, he has committed fraud. In his submission ,he admitted the offence of forgery and as such he cannot be recommended for approval.”
The report said the panel raised issues of various published articles and radio utterances by Mr Ras Mubarak castigating President Mills, the NDC government and the NDC leadership.
It said Mr Mubarak denied being malicious and explained that he was only offering constructive criticism and that he had on some occasions commended President Mills. “He later apologised when it was pointed out to him that some of his actions and utterances were in bad taste and politically wrong.”
“We recommend Mr Nathaniel Addo for approval. As for Ras Mubarak, we leave the decision to the party leadership.”
Verification of biometric register... EC budgets for it
THE Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, yesterday put to rest concerns raised by some political parties and identifiable groups about the need for verification of the biometric register by saying that the commission has made provision in its budget to the government for the verification gadgets for the 2012 elections.
However, he cautioned that the verification per se was not the panacea to electoral fraud, double voting and stealing of ballot boxes, because what were required of all, especially political parties, were vigilance, honesty and decent electoral behaviour.
Speaking at the opening of the first international conference on peace and good governance by the West African Parliamentary Press Corps (WAPPC) in Accra, Dr Afari-Gyan wondered what the need for verification and biometric registration would serve when the EC was able to successfully undertake the exercise but on the election day people decided to carry ballot boxes away or engage in double voting.
The two-day conference is on the theme: “The role of the media in ensuring peace and good governance in West Africa”.
Verification of the intended biometric register has become a contentious issue among political parties and identifiable groups. While the New Patriotic Party(NPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Catholic Bishops Conference are pushing for verification, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) believes the verification process could put unnecessary pressure on the financial resources of the country.
The NDC also thinks that honesty and integrity on the part of stakeholders were what was required.
The EC Chairman urged the media and other commentators to allow the EC and the political parties ample time in a sober mood to discuss thoroughly the issues concerning the biometric registration and the intended verification.
He noted that dialogue was paramount because there could be instances where electricity would either not be available at all or go off at certain polling centres, adding that the stakeholders should agree on what would be the way forward.
Dr Afari-Gyan, who did not rule out the connivance of some political parties with electoral officers at polling stations to perpetuate electoral fraud, indicated that “the EC does not supervise stealing; it is rather the political parties that indulge in such acts”.
He said if the political parties which always wanted to resort to all sorts of frivolous means to win elections would mend their ways and exhibit high sense of honesty and sincerity, the country could use the resources for both the biometric registration and the verification to grow and sustain its democracy.
Regarding the budget for the verification, he reminded the gathering that as usual with all government-financed organisations, there were times their budgets would be reduced even when Parliament had approved of it.
He contended that there would not be the need to spend so much on biometric registration and verification which would require at least 23,000 gadgets if political parties “will not resurrect dead people to come to vote during elections”.
Dr Afari-Gyan gave an instance in Sene Constituency where children who could only go to the polling stations on their mothers’ backs were registered.
He expressed worry that some Ghanaians, particularly political party leaders and commentators, had either intentionally or out of ignorance confused the issues of biometric registration with biometric voting, with others pontificating as if the biometric registration was equal to biometric voting, explaining that “there was no logistical relationship between biometric registration and electronic voting”.
He admonished that knowledge was very crucial when it came to the work of the EC, especially with regards to registration and voting, and urged people who would make public pronouncements on such matters to first apprise themselves very well on issues “before polluting the air”.
The EC chairman also indicated that no country in Africa had ever used biometric verification for its biometric register during elections and said even in South Africa, the closest they came to was to check the identity cards and not biometric verification.
The Vice President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, in a speech read on his behalf by the Communication Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, challenged the media in West Africa and in Ghana in particular to muster courage and expose war mongers and others who indulged in the abuse of human rights.
According to him, the activities of such unscrupulous persons had the tendency to disrupt peace and stability.
He also appealed to practitioners in the inky fraternity not to hesitate to raise the red flags and make public hot spots in the country that could degenerate into violent conflicts, particularly chieftaincy disputes, ethnic and political tension.
He reiterated the commitment of the Mills Administration to ensure that there was peace, stability and unity of the country before, during and after the 2012 elections and challenged political parties not to engage in any parochial activity that would serve their interest but negatively affect the well-being of the state.
The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, urged the media in the West African sub-Region to acquire knowledge and research into issues so that their pronouncements on such issues could be very authoritative and factual.
However, he cautioned that the verification per se was not the panacea to electoral fraud, double voting and stealing of ballot boxes, because what were required of all, especially political parties, were vigilance, honesty and decent electoral behaviour.
Speaking at the opening of the first international conference on peace and good governance by the West African Parliamentary Press Corps (WAPPC) in Accra, Dr Afari-Gyan wondered what the need for verification and biometric registration would serve when the EC was able to successfully undertake the exercise but on the election day people decided to carry ballot boxes away or engage in double voting.
The two-day conference is on the theme: “The role of the media in ensuring peace and good governance in West Africa”.
Verification of the intended biometric register has become a contentious issue among political parties and identifiable groups. While the New Patriotic Party(NPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Catholic Bishops Conference are pushing for verification, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) believes the verification process could put unnecessary pressure on the financial resources of the country.
The NDC also thinks that honesty and integrity on the part of stakeholders were what was required.
The EC Chairman urged the media and other commentators to allow the EC and the political parties ample time in a sober mood to discuss thoroughly the issues concerning the biometric registration and the intended verification.
He noted that dialogue was paramount because there could be instances where electricity would either not be available at all or go off at certain polling centres, adding that the stakeholders should agree on what would be the way forward.
Dr Afari-Gyan, who did not rule out the connivance of some political parties with electoral officers at polling stations to perpetuate electoral fraud, indicated that “the EC does not supervise stealing; it is rather the political parties that indulge in such acts”.
He said if the political parties which always wanted to resort to all sorts of frivolous means to win elections would mend their ways and exhibit high sense of honesty and sincerity, the country could use the resources for both the biometric registration and the verification to grow and sustain its democracy.
Regarding the budget for the verification, he reminded the gathering that as usual with all government-financed organisations, there were times their budgets would be reduced even when Parliament had approved of it.
He contended that there would not be the need to spend so much on biometric registration and verification which would require at least 23,000 gadgets if political parties “will not resurrect dead people to come to vote during elections”.
Dr Afari-Gyan gave an instance in Sene Constituency where children who could only go to the polling stations on their mothers’ backs were registered.
He expressed worry that some Ghanaians, particularly political party leaders and commentators, had either intentionally or out of ignorance confused the issues of biometric registration with biometric voting, with others pontificating as if the biometric registration was equal to biometric voting, explaining that “there was no logistical relationship between biometric registration and electronic voting”.
He admonished that knowledge was very crucial when it came to the work of the EC, especially with regards to registration and voting, and urged people who would make public pronouncements on such matters to first apprise themselves very well on issues “before polluting the air”.
The EC chairman also indicated that no country in Africa had ever used biometric verification for its biometric register during elections and said even in South Africa, the closest they came to was to check the identity cards and not biometric verification.
The Vice President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, in a speech read on his behalf by the Communication Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, challenged the media in West Africa and in Ghana in particular to muster courage and expose war mongers and others who indulged in the abuse of human rights.
According to him, the activities of such unscrupulous persons had the tendency to disrupt peace and stability.
He also appealed to practitioners in the inky fraternity not to hesitate to raise the red flags and make public hot spots in the country that could degenerate into violent conflicts, particularly chieftaincy disputes, ethnic and political tension.
He reiterated the commitment of the Mills Administration to ensure that there was peace, stability and unity of the country before, during and after the 2012 elections and challenged political parties not to engage in any parochial activity that would serve their interest but negatively affect the well-being of the state.
The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, urged the media in the West African sub-Region to acquire knowledge and research into issues so that their pronouncements on such issues could be very authoritative and factual.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
4 PNC members petition Council of Elders
FOUR leading members of the People’s National Convention (PNC) have petitioned the Council of Elders of the party to investigate allegations ofabuse of power and corruption leveled against three national executive members of the party by Mr David Apasara, the National Treasurer of the PNC.
The group also threatened to go to court if these three persons, Dr Edward Mahama, Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan and Mr Bernard Mornah, the Leader, the National Chairman and the General Secretary respectively who were mentioned were not asked to step aside and investigated.
They argued that the perpetuation of these unfortunate acts by the leadership of the party would affect its chances of attracting votes and also meet the requirements of Sections 14 and 17 of the Political Parties law, Act 574.
This was contained in a petition jointly signed by Messers, Bernard Bamaame, Michael Anafo, Abubakar S. Wiyor, Haruna Abbas and Ibrahim Karim to the council of elders and copied to the Dr Mahama, Alhaji Ramadan , Mr Mornah as well as all regional chairmen of the party.
It said apart from the claims of embezzlement leveled against the leadership, the group was also afraid that the development in the party would affect the PNC’s ability to meet the Political Parties Law and in effect be barred from putting up a Presidential candidate for the 2012 elections as threatened by the Electoral Commission (EC).
In the September 28, 20.. edition of the Daily Graphic, Mr Apasara, PNC National Treasurer accused the three leading members of the party for fraud and embezzlement and spending the resources of the party without recourse to the laid-down procedures.
He explained that since he (Mr Apasara) assumed the constitutionally designated position of national treasurer in 2007, he had been sidelined in every aspect of the financial matters of the party and that all written and verbal complaints to the national executive and elders of the party had fallen on deaf ears .He added that although the law court was the last resort to seek justice, he had not been able to do so because he did not have the resources and time, hence his decision to go public about the issue.
The petition said “as members of the party we know that the PNC has received large sums of money from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), dues from party members and other donations made to the party through visits made outside the country by Dr Mahama, Alhaji Ramadan and Mr Mornah, but could not be accounted for as per the Political Parties Law” adding that all because the National Treasurer had been sidelined in the undertaking of his constitutionally mandated duty as the treasurer of the party.
The group also described a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party that was held on September 7, 2011 as unconstitutional, null and void under Article 43 of the PNC constitution because the Standing Committee and its subcommittees that should be established to undertake decisions for the party did not exist.
“This letter is a follow up to our petition dated September 9, 2011 to the elders of the party, complaining that the holding of constituency, regional and national congresses, including the budget for these congresses must be presented and discussed by the Standing Committee as required by Article 46 and 47 of the party’s constitution before being referred to NEC”, it said.
It should be appropriated that the powers and functions granted to the standing committee in the constitution was by congress and not the NEC, hence the NEC cannot usurp the powers granted to the standing Committee unless congress does decide to modify or revoke the powers granted to the Standing Committee by amending or repealing the relevant provisions of the constitution”.
According to the petition, “meeting that was held on September 7, 20.. turned out not to be a meeting of the NEC, because the people who attended and contributed at the meeting were largely not NEC members as required under Article 43 of the party’s constitution as amended. This type of arbitrary and capricious conduct violates Article 55 (5) of the national constitution.
“Therefore all the decisions, resolutions including the setting up of the purported committees are null and void and without any legal effect”.
It demanded the council of elders to make the appropriate announcements to nullify the dates for the opening of nominations to the national executive positions of the party, the holding of elections for constituency, regional and national congresses.
The group also threatened to go to court if these three persons, Dr Edward Mahama, Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan and Mr Bernard Mornah, the Leader, the National Chairman and the General Secretary respectively who were mentioned were not asked to step aside and investigated.
They argued that the perpetuation of these unfortunate acts by the leadership of the party would affect its chances of attracting votes and also meet the requirements of Sections 14 and 17 of the Political Parties law, Act 574.
This was contained in a petition jointly signed by Messers, Bernard Bamaame, Michael Anafo, Abubakar S. Wiyor, Haruna Abbas and Ibrahim Karim to the council of elders and copied to the Dr Mahama, Alhaji Ramadan , Mr Mornah as well as all regional chairmen of the party.
It said apart from the claims of embezzlement leveled against the leadership, the group was also afraid that the development in the party would affect the PNC’s ability to meet the Political Parties Law and in effect be barred from putting up a Presidential candidate for the 2012 elections as threatened by the Electoral Commission (EC).
In the September 28, 20.. edition of the Daily Graphic, Mr Apasara, PNC National Treasurer accused the three leading members of the party for fraud and embezzlement and spending the resources of the party without recourse to the laid-down procedures.
He explained that since he (Mr Apasara) assumed the constitutionally designated position of national treasurer in 2007, he had been sidelined in every aspect of the financial matters of the party and that all written and verbal complaints to the national executive and elders of the party had fallen on deaf ears .He added that although the law court was the last resort to seek justice, he had not been able to do so because he did not have the resources and time, hence his decision to go public about the issue.
The petition said “as members of the party we know that the PNC has received large sums of money from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), dues from party members and other donations made to the party through visits made outside the country by Dr Mahama, Alhaji Ramadan and Mr Mornah, but could not be accounted for as per the Political Parties Law” adding that all because the National Treasurer had been sidelined in the undertaking of his constitutionally mandated duty as the treasurer of the party.
The group also described a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party that was held on September 7, 2011 as unconstitutional, null and void under Article 43 of the PNC constitution because the Standing Committee and its subcommittees that should be established to undertake decisions for the party did not exist.
“This letter is a follow up to our petition dated September 9, 2011 to the elders of the party, complaining that the holding of constituency, regional and national congresses, including the budget for these congresses must be presented and discussed by the Standing Committee as required by Article 46 and 47 of the party’s constitution before being referred to NEC”, it said.
It should be appropriated that the powers and functions granted to the standing committee in the constitution was by congress and not the NEC, hence the NEC cannot usurp the powers granted to the standing Committee unless congress does decide to modify or revoke the powers granted to the Standing Committee by amending or repealing the relevant provisions of the constitution”.
According to the petition, “meeting that was held on September 7, 20.. turned out not to be a meeting of the NEC, because the people who attended and contributed at the meeting were largely not NEC members as required under Article 43 of the party’s constitution as amended. This type of arbitrary and capricious conduct violates Article 55 (5) of the national constitution.
“Therefore all the decisions, resolutions including the setting up of the purported committees are null and void and without any legal effect”.
It demanded the council of elders to make the appropriate announcements to nullify the dates for the opening of nominations to the national executive positions of the party, the holding of elections for constituency, regional and national congresses.
Biometric budget to go up as a result of ...
THE legal tussle involving the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Intelligent Card Productions Systems (ICPS) over the contract for the biometric voter register will increase the cost of the exercise by an additional GH¢20 million.
Additionally, the verification of the biometric registration, which was not part of the original project but is being demanded by some political parties, will cost the country another $20 million.
Explaining why the verification would cost that much, an official of the EC said the commission would need a gadget that would be able to store the bio data of each voter, which could be verifiable at each polling station, implying that the EC must secure at least 22,000 of those gadgets for the 22,000 polling stations nation-wide.
Initially, the EC had divided the country into five zones for the biometric exercise, but because of the legal battle which had affected the timetable of the EC, it has now decided to zone the country into four areas and increase the registration centres by an additional 1,300.
The increase in the number of centres will enable the EC to complete the registration in time and make up for the delay resulting from the court action.
On the verification, the source said the EC would have to subject the verification of the biometric voter registration to wider public discussions and if it was able to reach consensus, then it would be implemented.
In July this year, the government released GH¢50 million out of the initial budget of GH¢80 million for the biometric voter registration intended to be used for next year’s elections.
The legal tussle was started by ICPS, one of the companies that submitted proposals for the contract but was not shortlisted because, according to EC sources, the company did not have a certificate of incorporation.
Initially, ICPS went to court but reversed its decision and complained to the Public Procurement Authority. However, on September 27, this year, a second application filed by the ICPS for an interim injunction against the EC was thrown out of court.
The court, presided over by Mrs Justice Barbara Ackah-Ayensu, also awarded GH¢5,000 costs against counsel for the complainant, Mr E.D.K. Letsa, for abusing the court process.
The ICPS, in its application, had prayed the court to restrain the EC from awarding the contract on the biometric registration pending an appeal at the Appeal Court.
Additionally, the verification of the biometric registration, which was not part of the original project but is being demanded by some political parties, will cost the country another $20 million.
Explaining why the verification would cost that much, an official of the EC said the commission would need a gadget that would be able to store the bio data of each voter, which could be verifiable at each polling station, implying that the EC must secure at least 22,000 of those gadgets for the 22,000 polling stations nation-wide.
Initially, the EC had divided the country into five zones for the biometric exercise, but because of the legal battle which had affected the timetable of the EC, it has now decided to zone the country into four areas and increase the registration centres by an additional 1,300.
The increase in the number of centres will enable the EC to complete the registration in time and make up for the delay resulting from the court action.
On the verification, the source said the EC would have to subject the verification of the biometric voter registration to wider public discussions and if it was able to reach consensus, then it would be implemented.
In July this year, the government released GH¢50 million out of the initial budget of GH¢80 million for the biometric voter registration intended to be used for next year’s elections.
The legal tussle was started by ICPS, one of the companies that submitted proposals for the contract but was not shortlisted because, according to EC sources, the company did not have a certificate of incorporation.
Initially, ICPS went to court but reversed its decision and complained to the Public Procurement Authority. However, on September 27, this year, a second application filed by the ICPS for an interim injunction against the EC was thrown out of court.
The court, presided over by Mrs Justice Barbara Ackah-Ayensu, also awarded GH¢5,000 costs against counsel for the complainant, Mr E.D.K. Letsa, for abusing the court process.
The ICPS, in its application, had prayed the court to restrain the EC from awarding the contract on the biometric registration pending an appeal at the Appeal Court.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
EC Awards contract for biometric regsitration
STL/HSB/Genkey company Limited, an information technology firm, has been awarded the contract for the procurement of the Biometric Voters Registration (BVR) system for the 2012 general election..
It was selected by the Electoral Commission (EC) from a list of 47 companies that responded to the proposals for the expression of interest advertised in the media. Seven out of the 47 were initially shortlisted.
A document titled “Chronology of Biometric Voter Registration Procurement Process”, which contains the road map for the procurement of the BVR, prepared by the EC and distributed to political parties, stated the contract was awarded on October 4, 2011.
It said on May 23, 2011, the EC’s procurement department invited pre-qualified vendors to bid for the contract.
On July 11, 2011 six qualified vendors submitted their bids and three weeks later, on August 2, 2011, the EC undertook a technical evaluation of the tender documents of two vendors shortlisted for field tests.
According to the document, the EC invited stakeholders, including political parties to observe field and lab tests and a month afterwards the EC’s procurement team visited the local offices of the two shortlisted firms.
Intelligent Card Productions Systems (ICPS), which was one of the companies that submitted proposals/tenders for the contract was not shortlisted because according to EC sources, it did not have a certificate of incorporation.
Initially, ICPS went to court but reversed its decision and complained to the Public Procurement Authority.
However, on September 27, this year, an application for an interim injunction filed against the EC was thrown out of court. It was filed by ICPS and sought to prevent the EC from allowing other companies to engage in the biometric registration of voters (BVR) for the 2012 elections.
That was the second time ICPS had filed such a writ against the EC, after the first one had been dismissed by the Accra Fast Track Court (Commercial Division) earlier last month.
It was selected by the Electoral Commission (EC) from a list of 47 companies that responded to the proposals for the expression of interest advertised in the media. Seven out of the 47 were initially shortlisted.
A document titled “Chronology of Biometric Voter Registration Procurement Process”, which contains the road map for the procurement of the BVR, prepared by the EC and distributed to political parties, stated the contract was awarded on October 4, 2011.
It said on May 23, 2011, the EC’s procurement department invited pre-qualified vendors to bid for the contract.
On July 11, 2011 six qualified vendors submitted their bids and three weeks later, on August 2, 2011, the EC undertook a technical evaluation of the tender documents of two vendors shortlisted for field tests.
According to the document, the EC invited stakeholders, including political parties to observe field and lab tests and a month afterwards the EC’s procurement team visited the local offices of the two shortlisted firms.
Intelligent Card Productions Systems (ICPS), which was one of the companies that submitted proposals/tenders for the contract was not shortlisted because according to EC sources, it did not have a certificate of incorporation.
Initially, ICPS went to court but reversed its decision and complained to the Public Procurement Authority.
However, on September 27, this year, an application for an interim injunction filed against the EC was thrown out of court. It was filed by ICPS and sought to prevent the EC from allowing other companies to engage in the biometric registration of voters (BVR) for the 2012 elections.
That was the second time ICPS had filed such a writ against the EC, after the first one had been dismissed by the Accra Fast Track Court (Commercial Division) earlier last month.
Monday, October 10, 2011
DFP goes back to NDC
It is sealed and official.The Obed Asamoah led-Democratic Freedom Party(DFP) which was formed out of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) about five years ago has gone back to its roots, the NDC.
The merger was as a result of unity talks initiated by President JEA Mills with Dr Obed Asamoah, which was concluded with an elaborate extra ordinary and expanded national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the Art Centre in Accra on Saturday, the very venue which was used to officially outdoor the DFP in October 28, 2006. The talks was mediated by Rev Dan Markin, an Advisor to President Mills, who was also around to put the final nail to the coffin that was used to bury the DFP.
It all started with an invitation to lunch extended by President Mills to Dr Asamoah during the final funeral rites of the late Northern Regional Chairman of the NDC. This was followed up with a meeting at the Castle, Osu between the President and Dr Asamoah.
After evoking the party’s Article 49 which mandated the NEC to undertake activities including merging with other political parties, the General Secretary of the DFP, lowered the DFP flag to symbolise its demise, while his NDC counterpart, Mr Johnson Aseidu Nketia, hoisted the NDC flag.
Just after these symbolic gestures, all the DFP party members, especially the leading members who were wearing DFP T-shirts and other paraphernalia changed into NDC T-shirts and paraphernalia.
Ealier, the Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the DFP, Barimah Yaw Osafo Kantanka had moved the motion for the adoption of the President Mills as the candidate for the 2012 elections. Another leading member of the party also moved the motion for the adoption for the merger of the DFP with the NDC which was seconded and supported by the entire NEC of the DFP.
Addresing the NEC, Dr Asamoah said those who question "our right to initiate a merger of the DFP with the NDC, I will like to remind them that the formation of the DFP was done in the first place by few promoters. If they trusted our wisdom then they can trust our decision now".
He reminded other members who wanted to remain with the decision to support the 2008 NPP presidential candidate that the decision was taken under the same constitutional arrangement, Article 49 of the DFP constituton but added that it was only to support the NPP in 2008 and did not imply a marriage.
"It is true that the presidential candidate of the NPP for 2012 elections is the same person now as in 2008, but significantly, however, the raison d'etre of our departure [violence] from the NDC has evaporated. While it is evident that the NDC is still undergoing growing pains of the democratization process we must conceded that considerable progress has been made as to justify a change of attitude," he said.
According to Dr Asamoah, their departure from the NDC was more because of brutilisation some of them suffered at the NDC Congress at Koforidua than anything else, "In fact the congress had nothing to do with the election of a presidential candidate at all".
In an emotional charged acceptance speech, Mr Aseidu Nketia recounted how the NDC had suffered, particularly by losing very hardworking founding members due to lack of internal democracy but thanked God that through very painful process the party had become internally democratic which was attracting all those who departed.
"I am filled with emotions, I have always believed that change is a must", he said and added that it was not the most intelligent or the strongest animal that survived but those that were able to adopt to changes, in reference to the fact that the NDC had become stronger and resisted all the turbulent times because it was able to adopt to changes.
Mr Aseidu Nketia who confirmed that he was the one who masterminded the "smuggling" of Dr Asamoah from the infamous Koforidua congress whose aftermath brought about the formation of the DFP explained that stated that the NDC was formed with "heavy input from Dr Asamoah".
"I was behind Obed's evacuation to safety at the Koforidua congress because of my abhorrence to violence. I have no apologies for moving him to safety.", he added.
He called Dr Asamoah and his followers as principled people, who left the NDC because of their hatred for violence and said they were the best judges, because they had come back to the NDC because the reasons they left no longer exited in the party.
He narrated how the NDC leadership used to hand picked parliamentary candidates who were endorsed at congresses and even when the people were demanding internal countability and democracy the party leadership failed to realise the need for these democratic ingredients which culminated in the party losing the 2000 general elections.
He said it was unfortunate that those who at any point in time of the party's history called for internal democracy in the NDC never had the opportunity to implement them but rather "suffer martyrdom".
Mr Aseidu Nketia also paid glowing tribute to Dr Obed Asamoah, who challenged the status quo by contesting for the NDC flag bearer position adding that "the NDC cannot go back to the days when its leadership was not elected. The Internal Democracy of the NDC has come to stay".
The merger was as a result of unity talks initiated by President JEA Mills with Dr Obed Asamoah, which was concluded with an elaborate extra ordinary and expanded national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the Art Centre in Accra on Saturday, the very venue which was used to officially outdoor the DFP in October 28, 2006. The talks was mediated by Rev Dan Markin, an Advisor to President Mills, who was also around to put the final nail to the coffin that was used to bury the DFP.
It all started with an invitation to lunch extended by President Mills to Dr Asamoah during the final funeral rites of the late Northern Regional Chairman of the NDC. This was followed up with a meeting at the Castle, Osu between the President and Dr Asamoah.
After evoking the party’s Article 49 which mandated the NEC to undertake activities including merging with other political parties, the General Secretary of the DFP, lowered the DFP flag to symbolise its demise, while his NDC counterpart, Mr Johnson Aseidu Nketia, hoisted the NDC flag.
Just after these symbolic gestures, all the DFP party members, especially the leading members who were wearing DFP T-shirts and other paraphernalia changed into NDC T-shirts and paraphernalia.
Ealier, the Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the DFP, Barimah Yaw Osafo Kantanka had moved the motion for the adoption of the President Mills as the candidate for the 2012 elections. Another leading member of the party also moved the motion for the adoption for the merger of the DFP with the NDC which was seconded and supported by the entire NEC of the DFP.
Addresing the NEC, Dr Asamoah said those who question "our right to initiate a merger of the DFP with the NDC, I will like to remind them that the formation of the DFP was done in the first place by few promoters. If they trusted our wisdom then they can trust our decision now".
He reminded other members who wanted to remain with the decision to support the 2008 NPP presidential candidate that the decision was taken under the same constitutional arrangement, Article 49 of the DFP constituton but added that it was only to support the NPP in 2008 and did not imply a marriage.
"It is true that the presidential candidate of the NPP for 2012 elections is the same person now as in 2008, but significantly, however, the raison d'etre of our departure [violence] from the NDC has evaporated. While it is evident that the NDC is still undergoing growing pains of the democratization process we must conceded that considerable progress has been made as to justify a change of attitude," he said.
According to Dr Asamoah, their departure from the NDC was more because of brutilisation some of them suffered at the NDC Congress at Koforidua than anything else, "In fact the congress had nothing to do with the election of a presidential candidate at all".
In an emotional charged acceptance speech, Mr Aseidu Nketia recounted how the NDC had suffered, particularly by losing very hardworking founding members due to lack of internal democracy but thanked God that through very painful process the party had become internally democratic which was attracting all those who departed.
"I am filled with emotions, I have always believed that change is a must", he said and added that it was not the most intelligent or the strongest animal that survived but those that were able to adopt to changes, in reference to the fact that the NDC had become stronger and resisted all the turbulent times because it was able to adopt to changes.
Mr Aseidu Nketia who confirmed that he was the one who masterminded the "smuggling" of Dr Asamoah from the infamous Koforidua congress whose aftermath brought about the formation of the DFP explained that stated that the NDC was formed with "heavy input from Dr Asamoah".
"I was behind Obed's evacuation to safety at the Koforidua congress because of my abhorrence to violence. I have no apologies for moving him to safety.", he added.
He called Dr Asamoah and his followers as principled people, who left the NDC because of their hatred for violence and said they were the best judges, because they had come back to the NDC because the reasons they left no longer exited in the party.
He narrated how the NDC leadership used to hand picked parliamentary candidates who were endorsed at congresses and even when the people were demanding internal countability and democracy the party leadership failed to realise the need for these democratic ingredients which culminated in the party losing the 2000 general elections.
He said it was unfortunate that those who at any point in time of the party's history called for internal democracy in the NDC never had the opportunity to implement them but rather "suffer martyrdom".
Mr Aseidu Nketia also paid glowing tribute to Dr Obed Asamoah, who challenged the status quo by contesting for the NDC flag bearer position adding that "the NDC cannot go back to the days when its leadership was not elected. The Internal Democracy of the NDC has come to stay".
NDC vetting in Accra going well - Ade Coker
THE Greater Accra Regional branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has started vetting 37 aspirants to determine their eligibility and qualification as parliamentary candidates.
The panel, which is chaired by the Regional Chairman of the party, Mr Kobina Ade Coker, will ensure that the aspirants qualify by the 1992 constitutional requirements for Members of Parliament (MPs) as well as the party’s constitution.
For the first day, the panel dealt with aspirants from Ayawaso Central and Okaikoi South.
Currently, out of the 27 parliamentary seats in the Greater Accra Region, the NDC has 18 and the NPP has nine.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, Mr Ade Coker noted that “the first day of vetting went well and was very successful” and added that the aspirants gave a very good account of themselves.”
Asked what challenges the panel or the aspirants faced, he replied that there were no challenges but added that “I will not want to preempt the work of the committee because at the end of the process, we will have to present our report to the national executive.”
He said the regional panel was satisfied with the performance of most of the aspirants who came prepared, performed well, sounded capable and were credible materials who would be able to snatch the seats from the NPP and increase the NDC’s standing in parliament, adding that “most of them fit into the region’s strategy of increasing the seats by at least five and increasing the presidential votes as well.”
Mr Ade Coker expressed confidence that the region would be able to increase the seats because the NDC government, led by President J.E.A. Mills, had done marvelously well, especially with the execution of unprecedented development projects within the first two and half years, the stabilisation of the cedi against major foreign currencies and the sustenance of peace and stability in the country.
He also indicated that the party had instituted a committee to thoroughly investigate the disturbances in Ashaiman involving some members of the party who were putting up unruly behaviour.
He said the outcome of the investigation would enable the party to put a lasting endto such disturbances.
The panel, which is chaired by the Regional Chairman of the party, Mr Kobina Ade Coker, will ensure that the aspirants qualify by the 1992 constitutional requirements for Members of Parliament (MPs) as well as the party’s constitution.
For the first day, the panel dealt with aspirants from Ayawaso Central and Okaikoi South.
Currently, out of the 27 parliamentary seats in the Greater Accra Region, the NDC has 18 and the NPP has nine.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, Mr Ade Coker noted that “the first day of vetting went well and was very successful” and added that the aspirants gave a very good account of themselves.”
Asked what challenges the panel or the aspirants faced, he replied that there were no challenges but added that “I will not want to preempt the work of the committee because at the end of the process, we will have to present our report to the national executive.”
He said the regional panel was satisfied with the performance of most of the aspirants who came prepared, performed well, sounded capable and were credible materials who would be able to snatch the seats from the NPP and increase the NDC’s standing in parliament, adding that “most of them fit into the region’s strategy of increasing the seats by at least five and increasing the presidential votes as well.”
Mr Ade Coker expressed confidence that the region would be able to increase the seats because the NDC government, led by President J.E.A. Mills, had done marvelously well, especially with the execution of unprecedented development projects within the first two and half years, the stabilisation of the cedi against major foreign currencies and the sustenance of peace and stability in the country.
He also indicated that the party had instituted a committee to thoroughly investigate the disturbances in Ashaiman involving some members of the party who were putting up unruly behaviour.
He said the outcome of the investigation would enable the party to put a lasting endto such disturbances.
CPP plots strategies for next four years
CPP Meeting Read by E. agyeI
CPP strategises
for next four years
Story: Donald Ato Dapatem
IN its bid to promote harmony among all its past and present executive, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) has held a meeting for both old and new executive members to chart the way forward for the party in the next four years.
The meeting, which was part of the transitional process, was also to plot strategic moves to embark on the launch of a sustainable membership drive that would propel the CPP as the party of choice for the electorate.
It was attended by almost all the current executive and a former Vice-Chairperson, Madam Araba Bentsi-Enchil; a former Women’s Organiser, Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim, and a former Youth Organiser, Kwabena Bomfeh.
Public perception about the CPP is that it has always had a divided front. This is born out of the fact that prior to every congress, some leading members of the party with interest in both the chairmanship and the flagbearership select persons for various positions on their slate. Unfortunately, if those members on such slates are unable to make it in the elections, they tend to sit on the fence or stridently criticise the elected group.
This has affected the fortunes of the party during elections.
It was to cure this canker that the meeting was held at the party’s headquarters in Accra. It also afforded the members the opportunity to share experiences on the past performance of party organisation.
A leading member of the party, Mr Michael Nunoo, also made a presentation on an organisational Blueprint he had prepared for the party in 2007, after which there were suggestions for modification from the participants.
The meeting also considered suggestions for efficient revenue generation.
Soft Tribe, a computer software company, also made a presentation on how the party could, through the use of information technology, embark on a membership drive and resource mobilisation.
The CPP’s Election 2008 running mate, Dr Abu Sakara, chaired the section of the meeting that collated suggestions on the formulation of strategic initiatives for the launch of a membership drive and the achievement of party goals.
In a chat with the media half-way through the meeting, the Chairperson of the CPP, Ms Samia Nkrumah, said the meeting was part of a carefully thought-out transition process to ensure that no single member was left out from the work ahead.
She said the party was exploring all legitimate and possible ways, particularly through the use of technology, for its mass membership drive.
She added that it would also create a conducive atmosphere that would awaken the hardworking spirit in every single member to lend his or her support, as well as put his or her shoulders to the wheel.
Ms Nkrumah said the party was also putting measures in place to ensure that it came out with credible and marketable aspirants who would be able to secure parliamentary seats for it, adding that while doing that, the CPP would not diminish its search for a presidential candidate.
The General Secretary of the CPP, Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, said the party was being guided by the 2008 membership drive that was able to generate over 500,000 card-bearing members but which did not reflect in the elections.
He said the party later found out that most of the people decided to vote for either the NPP or the NDC because they felt the CPP was not strong enough to make any impact and that a vote for the CPP would be a waste.
He noted, however, that most of those people had regretted voting for the NDC, two years into its administration, and were in a rush to rejoin the CPP.
He said it was incumbent on the current executive to provide such members and other Ghanaians who had goodwill towards the CPP with the necessary avenue to be part of the party and help build a stronger machinery that would make a strong showing in the 2012 elections.
CPP strategises
for next four years
Story: Donald Ato Dapatem
IN its bid to promote harmony among all its past and present executive, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) has held a meeting for both old and new executive members to chart the way forward for the party in the next four years.
The meeting, which was part of the transitional process, was also to plot strategic moves to embark on the launch of a sustainable membership drive that would propel the CPP as the party of choice for the electorate.
It was attended by almost all the current executive and a former Vice-Chairperson, Madam Araba Bentsi-Enchil; a former Women’s Organiser, Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim, and a former Youth Organiser, Kwabena Bomfeh.
Public perception about the CPP is that it has always had a divided front. This is born out of the fact that prior to every congress, some leading members of the party with interest in both the chairmanship and the flagbearership select persons for various positions on their slate. Unfortunately, if those members on such slates are unable to make it in the elections, they tend to sit on the fence or stridently criticise the elected group.
This has affected the fortunes of the party during elections.
It was to cure this canker that the meeting was held at the party’s headquarters in Accra. It also afforded the members the opportunity to share experiences on the past performance of party organisation.
A leading member of the party, Mr Michael Nunoo, also made a presentation on an organisational Blueprint he had prepared for the party in 2007, after which there were suggestions for modification from the participants.
The meeting also considered suggestions for efficient revenue generation.
Soft Tribe, a computer software company, also made a presentation on how the party could, through the use of information technology, embark on a membership drive and resource mobilisation.
The CPP’s Election 2008 running mate, Dr Abu Sakara, chaired the section of the meeting that collated suggestions on the formulation of strategic initiatives for the launch of a membership drive and the achievement of party goals.
In a chat with the media half-way through the meeting, the Chairperson of the CPP, Ms Samia Nkrumah, said the meeting was part of a carefully thought-out transition process to ensure that no single member was left out from the work ahead.
She said the party was exploring all legitimate and possible ways, particularly through the use of technology, for its mass membership drive.
She added that it would also create a conducive atmosphere that would awaken the hardworking spirit in every single member to lend his or her support, as well as put his or her shoulders to the wheel.
Ms Nkrumah said the party was also putting measures in place to ensure that it came out with credible and marketable aspirants who would be able to secure parliamentary seats for it, adding that while doing that, the CPP would not diminish its search for a presidential candidate.
The General Secretary of the CPP, Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, said the party was being guided by the 2008 membership drive that was able to generate over 500,000 card-bearing members but which did not reflect in the elections.
He said the party later found out that most of the people decided to vote for either the NPP or the NDC because they felt the CPP was not strong enough to make any impact and that a vote for the CPP would be a waste.
He noted, however, that most of those people had regretted voting for the NDC, two years into its administration, and were in a rush to rejoin the CPP.
He said it was incumbent on the current executive to provide such members and other Ghanaians who had goodwill towards the CPP with the necessary avenue to be part of the party and help build a stronger machinery that would make a strong showing in the 2012 elections.
EC, parties reach consensus
THE major political parties in the country have arrived at a consensus on the way forward for the processes leading to the use of a biometric register for the 2012 elections.
Consequently, they have agreed to constitute two committees made up of members of the political parties with representation in Parliament to work in collaboration with the Electoral Commission (EC) to iron out other technical and legal challenges of the biometric system.
The Technical Committee will work on outstanding issues relating to the biometric system, particularly the verification of the process, data, software, among other things, while the Legal Committee will collaborate with the EC in drafting a new Constitutional Instrument (CI) to replace the current one, CI12, which is the Public Elections (Regulations of Voters Registration 1995).
These were arrived at during an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting convened by the EC in Accra yesterday.
On the issue of the creation of new constituencies, the EC informed the forum, which the Daily Graphic learnt had been conducted in a cordial atmosphere, that it had hit a snag because, first, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) had not produced the details of the 2010 Population Census which would form the basis for the demarcation of the constituencies.
Second, the government had also not made its intentions clear on creating additional districts, it noted, pointing out that the EC could not create any new constituency while new districts had not been created.
The EC also noted that it had been hauled before the court of law regarding the creation of new constituencies.
The only dissenting voice was that of the General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Mr Bernard Mornah, who walked out of the forum, indicating that from the explanation given by the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the EC had already taken the decision to create 20 constituencies without waiting for the GSS to release the needed figures.
“The EC has already made up its mind to create 20 new constituencies without the census figures from the GSS and also without the blessing of Parliament,” he told the media after walking out.
The IPAC forum was attended by representatives of political parties, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the PNC, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP).
The General Secretaries of the NDC, the NPP and the CPP, Messrs Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah, Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie and Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, respectively, told the Daily Graphic that they were satisfied with developments so far but noted that if the EC had organised the forum earlier, as had been requested by almost all the political parties, the tension and misunderstanding would not have arisen.
The three parties also made it clear that they did not have any intention of interfering with the EC’s procurement process, nor were they interested in who was selected to supply the equipment for the biometric system.
They, however, said as major stakeholders, theirs was to ensure that their concerns were addressed for the country to have a register that had credibility and integrity and would be able to prevent double registration.
Reacting to the EC’s hesitation in creating new constituencies, Mr Asiedu-Nketiah gave the assurance that the NDC would impress upon the government to expedite action on its decision to create new districts to pave the way for the EC to create new constituencies.
Mr Owusu-Afriyie noted that the NPP had earlier raised concerns over the biometric process because it wanted to ensure that in the final analysis the people of Ghana would have a credible register that would assist in ensuring that every eligible voter’s ballot would be counted and that those who wanted to either vote more than once or impersonate would not have a field day.
Consequently, they have agreed to constitute two committees made up of members of the political parties with representation in Parliament to work in collaboration with the Electoral Commission (EC) to iron out other technical and legal challenges of the biometric system.
The Technical Committee will work on outstanding issues relating to the biometric system, particularly the verification of the process, data, software, among other things, while the Legal Committee will collaborate with the EC in drafting a new Constitutional Instrument (CI) to replace the current one, CI12, which is the Public Elections (Regulations of Voters Registration 1995).
These were arrived at during an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting convened by the EC in Accra yesterday.
On the issue of the creation of new constituencies, the EC informed the forum, which the Daily Graphic learnt had been conducted in a cordial atmosphere, that it had hit a snag because, first, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) had not produced the details of the 2010 Population Census which would form the basis for the demarcation of the constituencies.
Second, the government had also not made its intentions clear on creating additional districts, it noted, pointing out that the EC could not create any new constituency while new districts had not been created.
The EC also noted that it had been hauled before the court of law regarding the creation of new constituencies.
The only dissenting voice was that of the General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Mr Bernard Mornah, who walked out of the forum, indicating that from the explanation given by the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the EC had already taken the decision to create 20 constituencies without waiting for the GSS to release the needed figures.
“The EC has already made up its mind to create 20 new constituencies without the census figures from the GSS and also without the blessing of Parliament,” he told the media after walking out.
The IPAC forum was attended by representatives of political parties, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the PNC, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP).
The General Secretaries of the NDC, the NPP and the CPP, Messrs Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah, Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie and Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, respectively, told the Daily Graphic that they were satisfied with developments so far but noted that if the EC had organised the forum earlier, as had been requested by almost all the political parties, the tension and misunderstanding would not have arisen.
The three parties also made it clear that they did not have any intention of interfering with the EC’s procurement process, nor were they interested in who was selected to supply the equipment for the biometric system.
They, however, said as major stakeholders, theirs was to ensure that their concerns were addressed for the country to have a register that had credibility and integrity and would be able to prevent double registration.
Reacting to the EC’s hesitation in creating new constituencies, Mr Asiedu-Nketiah gave the assurance that the NDC would impress upon the government to expedite action on its decision to create new districts to pave the way for the EC to create new constituencies.
Mr Owusu-Afriyie noted that the NPP had earlier raised concerns over the biometric process because it wanted to ensure that in the final analysis the people of Ghana would have a credible register that would assist in ensuring that every eligible voter’s ballot would be counted and that those who wanted to either vote more than once or impersonate would not have a field day.
Ayariga picks forms, to contest PNC flag bearership
A 40-year old businessman, Mr Hassan Ayariga today picked his nomination forms to contest the flag bearership position of the People's National Convention (PNC) for the 2012 general election with a promise to make the party the best choice for the Ghanaian voter.
He stated that he would not only pick the forms and win the flagbearer ship only to go and sleep but would campaign vigirously in every nook cranny of the country to ensure that the party wins the 2012 elections.
Mr Ayariga, who together with some of his supporters wearing T shirts bearing his picture, walked from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to the party's national headquarters at the Abavana Junction in Accra before submitting his forms. He occasionally stood on his Hammer vehicle to respond to cheers from passengers and others.
Briefing the media just after picking the forms, he indicated jsut as the world over political parties were selecting young and enterprising persons who have led their political parties and won elections the PNC would do same at its congress by selecting him as the presidentials candidate.
He gave the example of President Barrack Obama of the USA, Prime Minister David Cameron of UK and the Russian Pime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia as some of the young people who have changed the cause of history as young leaders.
Mr Ayariga who holds a BSc degree in Business Administration from the Atlantic University, Hawaii in the USA promised to inject dynamism, massive membership drive and the introduction of a programme of action that would propel the party to win the 2012 elections as welll as possess majority seats in Parliament.
He paid glowing tribute to other young persons like the party's General Secretary, Mr Bernard Mornah who had performed extraordinarily well as compared with other older persons in other parties
Mr Ayariga who served as the party's Chairman in Germany for six years said under his leadership as the flag bearer and leader of the party, the youth in the country would be inspired and informed about why they should support the PNC.
Mr Ayariga expressed worry at the hardship most Ghanaians were going through which he attributed to the inability of the current and successive governments to roll out effective policies and programmes that would ameliorate the problems and assured that with a PNC government, both and human resources would be judiciously used for the benefit of all Ghanaians.
Earlier, Mr Mornah briefed the press about the guidelines developed by the party for the Sunyani congress which included the fact that all aspiring candidates to any position must meet the requisite qualification of the 1992 constitution.
"No candidate or his or her followers will, acting in the name of the candidate obstruct, disrupt or in any way whatsoever, interfere with a meeting or any campaign activity of another candidate. All candidates must at all times cooperate fully with the congress and vetting committees of the party," he said.
He also urged all candidates to caution their followers not to remove or destroy or disfigure the posters and other campaign material of other candidates and also no branch, regional and constituency officers would declare open support for any aspirant.
He added that although campaign teamns were encouraged to be set for the purorses of executing campaigns prior to the delegates congress, candidates and their supporters should desist from forming factional groups.
He stated that he would not only pick the forms and win the flagbearer ship only to go and sleep but would campaign vigirously in every nook cranny of the country to ensure that the party wins the 2012 elections.
Mr Ayariga, who together with some of his supporters wearing T shirts bearing his picture, walked from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to the party's national headquarters at the Abavana Junction in Accra before submitting his forms. He occasionally stood on his Hammer vehicle to respond to cheers from passengers and others.
Briefing the media just after picking the forms, he indicated jsut as the world over political parties were selecting young and enterprising persons who have led their political parties and won elections the PNC would do same at its congress by selecting him as the presidentials candidate.
He gave the example of President Barrack Obama of the USA, Prime Minister David Cameron of UK and the Russian Pime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia as some of the young people who have changed the cause of history as young leaders.
Mr Ayariga who holds a BSc degree in Business Administration from the Atlantic University, Hawaii in the USA promised to inject dynamism, massive membership drive and the introduction of a programme of action that would propel the party to win the 2012 elections as welll as possess majority seats in Parliament.
He paid glowing tribute to other young persons like the party's General Secretary, Mr Bernard Mornah who had performed extraordinarily well as compared with other older persons in other parties
Mr Ayariga who served as the party's Chairman in Germany for six years said under his leadership as the flag bearer and leader of the party, the youth in the country would be inspired and informed about why they should support the PNC.
Mr Ayariga expressed worry at the hardship most Ghanaians were going through which he attributed to the inability of the current and successive governments to roll out effective policies and programmes that would ameliorate the problems and assured that with a PNC government, both and human resources would be judiciously used for the benefit of all Ghanaians.
Earlier, Mr Mornah briefed the press about the guidelines developed by the party for the Sunyani congress which included the fact that all aspiring candidates to any position must meet the requisite qualification of the 1992 constitution.
"No candidate or his or her followers will, acting in the name of the candidate obstruct, disrupt or in any way whatsoever, interfere with a meeting or any campaign activity of another candidate. All candidates must at all times cooperate fully with the congress and vetting committees of the party," he said.
He also urged all candidates to caution their followers not to remove or destroy or disfigure the posters and other campaign material of other candidates and also no branch, regional and constituency officers would declare open support for any aspirant.
He added that although campaign teamns were encouraged to be set for the purorses of executing campaigns prior to the delegates congress, candidates and their supporters should desist from forming factional groups.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
HelpAge complains about delay in release of LEAP funds
HELP Age Ghana, an organisation that seeks the welfare and interest of the aged in the country, says it is concerned with the non-payment of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) for the last 10 months.
It noted that this was causing great pain and suffering to its members, most of whom have sacrificed their lives in the service of the nation.
The Vice President of the association, Mr Edward Amaeyibor, told the Daily Graphic in Accra on Friday after a seminar on the “Plight of Older Persons and Political Party Manifesto for 2012 Election,” that the absence of the LEAP was having serious repercussions on the already sick and poor members.
The seminar was organised as part of the United Nations Day for Older Persons which falls on every October 1.
HelpAge Ghana is a non-governmental, non-religious and non-profit making organisation, established in 1988 to promote the prospects of older persons in the Ghanaian society. It is a full member of HelpAge International (HAI) which is based in London, UK, and is a global network of age care organisations.
Mr Amaeyibor also expressed concern about the refusal of the four main political parties to attend the programme, which was intended to offer the parties the opportunity to listen to the concerns of the old people and incoporate them in their manifestos for the 2012 general elections.
The Democratic Freedom Party (DPP), the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and the United Renaissance Party (URP) attended the seminar they although according to Helpage. The other parties did not attend, were given letters and this was followed with telephone calls to some of their leaders.
Mr Amaeyibor said their refusal to attend was indicative of how they looked down on the aged, and reminded those political parties that they should bear in mind that old people form at least seven per cent of the total population and also serve as leaders of their various families an as such they could have a great deal of influence over the people they head.
He said the political parties must not lose sight of the fact that their leaders, President Mills and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party respectively, were by all standards old people because they were above 60 years.
The DPP was represented by its leader, Mr T. N. Ward-Brew, GCPP by its General Secretary, Rev Harry Mettle, and URP by its Greater Accra Regional Organiser, Mr Francis Sowah.
It noted that this was causing great pain and suffering to its members, most of whom have sacrificed their lives in the service of the nation.
The Vice President of the association, Mr Edward Amaeyibor, told the Daily Graphic in Accra on Friday after a seminar on the “Plight of Older Persons and Political Party Manifesto for 2012 Election,” that the absence of the LEAP was having serious repercussions on the already sick and poor members.
The seminar was organised as part of the United Nations Day for Older Persons which falls on every October 1.
HelpAge Ghana is a non-governmental, non-religious and non-profit making organisation, established in 1988 to promote the prospects of older persons in the Ghanaian society. It is a full member of HelpAge International (HAI) which is based in London, UK, and is a global network of age care organisations.
Mr Amaeyibor also expressed concern about the refusal of the four main political parties to attend the programme, which was intended to offer the parties the opportunity to listen to the concerns of the old people and incoporate them in their manifestos for the 2012 general elections.
The Democratic Freedom Party (DPP), the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and the United Renaissance Party (URP) attended the seminar they although according to Helpage. The other parties did not attend, were given letters and this was followed with telephone calls to some of their leaders.
Mr Amaeyibor said their refusal to attend was indicative of how they looked down on the aged, and reminded those political parties that they should bear in mind that old people form at least seven per cent of the total population and also serve as leaders of their various families an as such they could have a great deal of influence over the people they head.
He said the political parties must not lose sight of the fact that their leaders, President Mills and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party respectively, were by all standards old people because they were above 60 years.
The DPP was represented by its leader, Mr T. N. Ward-Brew, GCPP by its General Secretary, Rev Harry Mettle, and URP by its Greater Accra Regional Organiser, Mr Francis Sowah.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Biometric register for 2012. It's coming on--EC
THE Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, has stated that the commission is vigorously going on with its processes of ensuring that it secures a biometric registration system for the 2012 general election.
According to him, with the court clearance for the commission to undertake its legitimate business, there was no let or hindrance on its part and that it was “continuing with the processes”.
However, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the People”s National Convention (PNC) have raised red flags cautioning the EC that the path it was taking would compound the existing problems of double registration and voting and that as major stakeholders they believed the commission must tread cautiously and heed the caution.
The two parties argued that although it was not their intention to interfere with the EC’s procurement process, they were duty bound to ensure that the cameras, scanners and the process to be used met standards that would not jeopardise the electoral process after the huge investment had been made in it.
But the Technical Advisor on Biometric Registration for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Ahmed Gedel, is of the view that “to a large extent the EC is on the right path in obtaining an accurate, reliable and authentic biometric registration”.
He also urged the EC to sit with the political parties to agree on issues regarding standards and the nature of achieving a reliable, authentic and accurate register and explained that the verification of the process that others were calling for was another level that had never been used by any African country.
He added, however, that if Ghana could afford it, it would be welcome news.
Dr Afari-Gyan stated the EC’s position when he spoke to the Daily Graphic on recent developments, especially an injunction against the EC which was thrown out by the High Court.
On September 27, this year, an application for an interim injunction filed against the EC was thrown out of court. It was filed by Intelligent Card Productions Systems (ICPS) and sought to prevent the EC from allowing other companies to engage in the biometric registration of voters (BVR) for the 2012 elections.
That was the second time ICPS had filed such a writ against the EC, after the first one had been dismissed by the Accra Fast Track Court (Commercial Division) earlier last month. The EC was dragged to court by ICPS because the latter had been disqualified from a list of companies that bid for the contract to produce the cards as part of the processes of the BVR.
Explaining his party’s position further to the Daily Graphic, the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie, noted that although the NPP was not interested in the company which would finally be selected to undertake the process, it was incumbent on the party, as a responsible political entity, to ensure that, for instance, the mega pixels of the cameras and the capacities of the scanners were high enough to achieve better quality.
He said when these had been properly secured, coupled with other internationally accepted benchmarks such as the capability to verify registration and block double registration, the EC would be on the path of securing a system that would be better than the current system.
The NPP General Secretary noted that Ghana must be guided by the painful experiences of countries that had used half-baked biometric registration, such as Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Congo, and avoid the process that would dent the country’s enviable democratic record.
For his part, the General Secretary of the PNC, Mr Bernard Mornah, noted that his party was totally committed to the use of biometric registration but was against the selection of a vendor that would produce a registration system that would compound the problems inherent in the photo register.
He added that all that the PNC, which was a major stakeholder in the use of the biometric register, was seeking was to have a forum with the EC to be able to offer suggestions that would help enrich the system and avoid the situation where the very canker of double registration and voting which the new system was seeking to eliminate would be maintained.
Since the EC started the process of procuring a vendor through the tender process for the biometric registration, it had been rocked with allegations of lack of transparency, procuring a system without verification, refusal to involve the political parties through the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) forum, among others.
According to him, with the court clearance for the commission to undertake its legitimate business, there was no let or hindrance on its part and that it was “continuing with the processes”.
However, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the People”s National Convention (PNC) have raised red flags cautioning the EC that the path it was taking would compound the existing problems of double registration and voting and that as major stakeholders they believed the commission must tread cautiously and heed the caution.
The two parties argued that although it was not their intention to interfere with the EC’s procurement process, they were duty bound to ensure that the cameras, scanners and the process to be used met standards that would not jeopardise the electoral process after the huge investment had been made in it.
But the Technical Advisor on Biometric Registration for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Ahmed Gedel, is of the view that “to a large extent the EC is on the right path in obtaining an accurate, reliable and authentic biometric registration”.
He also urged the EC to sit with the political parties to agree on issues regarding standards and the nature of achieving a reliable, authentic and accurate register and explained that the verification of the process that others were calling for was another level that had never been used by any African country.
He added, however, that if Ghana could afford it, it would be welcome news.
Dr Afari-Gyan stated the EC’s position when he spoke to the Daily Graphic on recent developments, especially an injunction against the EC which was thrown out by the High Court.
On September 27, this year, an application for an interim injunction filed against the EC was thrown out of court. It was filed by Intelligent Card Productions Systems (ICPS) and sought to prevent the EC from allowing other companies to engage in the biometric registration of voters (BVR) for the 2012 elections.
That was the second time ICPS had filed such a writ against the EC, after the first one had been dismissed by the Accra Fast Track Court (Commercial Division) earlier last month. The EC was dragged to court by ICPS because the latter had been disqualified from a list of companies that bid for the contract to produce the cards as part of the processes of the BVR.
Explaining his party’s position further to the Daily Graphic, the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie, noted that although the NPP was not interested in the company which would finally be selected to undertake the process, it was incumbent on the party, as a responsible political entity, to ensure that, for instance, the mega pixels of the cameras and the capacities of the scanners were high enough to achieve better quality.
He said when these had been properly secured, coupled with other internationally accepted benchmarks such as the capability to verify registration and block double registration, the EC would be on the path of securing a system that would be better than the current system.
The NPP General Secretary noted that Ghana must be guided by the painful experiences of countries that had used half-baked biometric registration, such as Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Congo, and avoid the process that would dent the country’s enviable democratic record.
For his part, the General Secretary of the PNC, Mr Bernard Mornah, noted that his party was totally committed to the use of biometric registration but was against the selection of a vendor that would produce a registration system that would compound the problems inherent in the photo register.
He added that all that the PNC, which was a major stakeholder in the use of the biometric register, was seeking was to have a forum with the EC to be able to offer suggestions that would help enrich the system and avoid the situation where the very canker of double registration and voting which the new system was seeking to eliminate would be maintained.
Since the EC started the process of procuring a vendor through the tender process for the biometric registration, it had been rocked with allegations of lack of transparency, procuring a system without verification, refusal to involve the political parties through the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) forum, among others.
Friday, September 30, 2011
27 women to contest NDC orphan primaries
Out of the 297 people vying for the 144 slots of non-National Democratic Congress parliamentary seats, only 27 are women.
Ghana has just19 females in the 230 House of Legislature and out of this, the NDC also has five female MPs.
The party opened nominations on August 15 and announced that female aspirants would pay only 50 per cent of the total filing fee as part of its measures to get more women into parliament. The filing of nominations closed on September 15, 2011.
Ashanti Region topped with regard to the number of women who filed their nomination to contest on the slot of the party to be parliamentary candidates.
The region produced eight female applicants out of a total of 80 applicants. Eastern had six females; Central, 4; Greater Accra, 3; Brong Ahafo, 2, Upper West, 1; Northern, 1. No woman filed to contest a parliamentary seats in Brong Ahafo and Volta regions.
Currently, the NDC has 116 seats in the 230-member Parliament. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has 107; People’s National Convention (PNC) has 2, Convention People’s Party (CPP) has only one and four members are independent.
On the regional basis, Ashanti Region recorded 80 applicants which represents the highest number of applicants, followed by Eastern, 48; Brong Ahafo, 37; Greater Accra, 37; Western, 27; Northern, 16; Upper East, 15; Upper West,13 and Volta, 2.
Weija and Nanton constituencies attracted eight hopefuls each, making them the only ones to have attracted the highest number of hopefuls.
Some of the lucky applicants who would be vying for their seats unopposed, provided they qualify after the vetting include E. K. Agyekum for Nkoranza South; Philip Awuah, Sunyani East; Eric Opoku, Asunafo South; Eric Addae, Asutifi North; Dr Oteng Adjei, Bosomtwe; Nuhu Alhassan Dicko, Atwima Nwabiagya; Alidu Baba Dabasea, Suame; De-Graft Forkuo, Asante Akim South; Kwame Adarkwa, Bosome Freho; Samuel Yaw Adusei, Bantama; Samuel Appiah Kusi, Offinso North and Alexender Ackon.
In the Eastern Region, those who would be vying for their positions unopposed are: Alhaji Sanusen, Abuakwa South; Dr Kwasi Apea-Kubi, Akim Swedru; George Opare Addo, Okere; Samuel Asamoah, Abetifi; Victor Smith, Abuakwa North.
In the Central Region, the only aspirant who might be elected unopposed is Mr Foster Joseph Andoh for the Heman Lower Denkyira, while in the Upper East, Mr Roger Abolumbisa would be elected unopposed to contest the Builsa Seat.
Ghana has just19 females in the 230 House of Legislature and out of this, the NDC also has five female MPs.
The party opened nominations on August 15 and announced that female aspirants would pay only 50 per cent of the total filing fee as part of its measures to get more women into parliament. The filing of nominations closed on September 15, 2011.
Ashanti Region topped with regard to the number of women who filed their nomination to contest on the slot of the party to be parliamentary candidates.
The region produced eight female applicants out of a total of 80 applicants. Eastern had six females; Central, 4; Greater Accra, 3; Brong Ahafo, 2, Upper West, 1; Northern, 1. No woman filed to contest a parliamentary seats in Brong Ahafo and Volta regions.
Currently, the NDC has 116 seats in the 230-member Parliament. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has 107; People’s National Convention (PNC) has 2, Convention People’s Party (CPP) has only one and four members are independent.
On the regional basis, Ashanti Region recorded 80 applicants which represents the highest number of applicants, followed by Eastern, 48; Brong Ahafo, 37; Greater Accra, 37; Western, 27; Northern, 16; Upper East, 15; Upper West,13 and Volta, 2.
Weija and Nanton constituencies attracted eight hopefuls each, making them the only ones to have attracted the highest number of hopefuls.
Some of the lucky applicants who would be vying for their seats unopposed, provided they qualify after the vetting include E. K. Agyekum for Nkoranza South; Philip Awuah, Sunyani East; Eric Opoku, Asunafo South; Eric Addae, Asutifi North; Dr Oteng Adjei, Bosomtwe; Nuhu Alhassan Dicko, Atwima Nwabiagya; Alidu Baba Dabasea, Suame; De-Graft Forkuo, Asante Akim South; Kwame Adarkwa, Bosome Freho; Samuel Yaw Adusei, Bantama; Samuel Appiah Kusi, Offinso North and Alexender Ackon.
In the Eastern Region, those who would be vying for their positions unopposed are: Alhaji Sanusen, Abuakwa South; Dr Kwasi Apea-Kubi, Akim Swedru; George Opare Addo, Okere; Samuel Asamoah, Abetifi; Victor Smith, Abuakwa North.
In the Central Region, the only aspirant who might be elected unopposed is Mr Foster Joseph Andoh for the Heman Lower Denkyira, while in the Upper East, Mr Roger Abolumbisa would be elected unopposed to contest the Builsa Seat.
297 NDC aspirants vie for 114 parliamentary slots
TWO hundred and ninety-seven members of the National Democratic Congress have applied to vie for 114 parliamentary slots in country.
These are the seats that the party did not win in 2008. It will on yet-to-be-announced date open nominations for constituencies with sitting NDC Members of Parliament (MPs).
Currently, the NDC has 116 seats in the 230-member Parliament. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has 107, People’s National Convention (PNC) has two, Convention People’s Party (CPP) has only one and four members are independent.
On the regional basis, Ashanti Region recorded 80 applicants, which represents the highest number of applicants, followed by Eastern, 48; Brong Ahafo, 37; Greater Accra, 37; Western, 27; Northern, 16; Upper East, 15; Upper West,13 and Volta, 2.
Notable names on the lists of applicants include the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, who would be contesting for the Tema West slot with Ms Gladys Boateng, George Medie, James Enu and Richard Fiadomor. A former Minister of Tourism, Mrs Zita Sarbah Okaikoi, would be competing for the Dome-Kwabenya slot of the party with three other female aspirants.
The Energy Minister, Dr Joe Oteng Agyei, would be going unopposed at the Bosomtwe slot. A leading member of the erswhile Armed Forces Revolutionary council (AFRC) Osahen Boakye Djan, would battle it out with Mr Matthew Gyasi for the position as the NDC parliamentary aspirant for the Jaman South constituency.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, K. Nyamekye-Marfo, would be contesting for the Sunyani West slot with two others, while a Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Hannah Louisa Bisiw, will have to compete with Mrs Bernice Azumah and Enoch Amoako-Nsiah for the Tano South position.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, will battle it out with two other persons for selection as the one who would represent the party in the Navrongo Central constituency. A Deputy Minister of Education, Mahama Ayariga, and the National Coordinator for the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), Abuga Pele, would vie for the BawkuCentral and Chiana-Paga constituency slots of the party, respectively.
In the Central Region, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, is also vying for the Agona East slot with four others. A Deputy Minister of Information, Mohamed Baba Ahmed Jamal, who represented the party in the Akwatia constituency in 2008, would contest the primaries again with Nana Kwaku Effisah.
The Head of News of eTV, Mr Gideon Ayeequaye, will also be vying for the Weija slot. The Minister for the Interior, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, and Madam Alice Teni Boon, both former Members of Parliament for Lawra-Nanadom and Lambussie, respectively, would make a second attempt to represent the party at both constituencies.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, a Deputy General Secretary of the NDC in-charge of the primaries, Mr George Lawson, commended the various constituencies for the smooth and incident free manner in which they organised the opening and closing of the nominations.
He urged the various constituency and regional executives to ensure that they complete the vetting for the national to undertake its vetting to pave the way for the primaries to elect aspirants for the respective constituencies.
These are the seats that the party did not win in 2008. It will on yet-to-be-announced date open nominations for constituencies with sitting NDC Members of Parliament (MPs).
Currently, the NDC has 116 seats in the 230-member Parliament. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has 107, People’s National Convention (PNC) has two, Convention People’s Party (CPP) has only one and four members are independent.
On the regional basis, Ashanti Region recorded 80 applicants, which represents the highest number of applicants, followed by Eastern, 48; Brong Ahafo, 37; Greater Accra, 37; Western, 27; Northern, 16; Upper East, 15; Upper West,13 and Volta, 2.
Notable names on the lists of applicants include the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, who would be contesting for the Tema West slot with Ms Gladys Boateng, George Medie, James Enu and Richard Fiadomor. A former Minister of Tourism, Mrs Zita Sarbah Okaikoi, would be competing for the Dome-Kwabenya slot of the party with three other female aspirants.
The Energy Minister, Dr Joe Oteng Agyei, would be going unopposed at the Bosomtwe slot. A leading member of the erswhile Armed Forces Revolutionary council (AFRC) Osahen Boakye Djan, would battle it out with Mr Matthew Gyasi for the position as the NDC parliamentary aspirant for the Jaman South constituency.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, K. Nyamekye-Marfo, would be contesting for the Sunyani West slot with two others, while a Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Hannah Louisa Bisiw, will have to compete with Mrs Bernice Azumah and Enoch Amoako-Nsiah for the Tano South position.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, will battle it out with two other persons for selection as the one who would represent the party in the Navrongo Central constituency. A Deputy Minister of Education, Mahama Ayariga, and the National Coordinator for the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), Abuga Pele, would vie for the BawkuCentral and Chiana-Paga constituency slots of the party, respectively.
In the Central Region, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, is also vying for the Agona East slot with four others. A Deputy Minister of Information, Mohamed Baba Ahmed Jamal, who represented the party in the Akwatia constituency in 2008, would contest the primaries again with Nana Kwaku Effisah.
The Head of News of eTV, Mr Gideon Ayeequaye, will also be vying for the Weija slot. The Minister for the Interior, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, and Madam Alice Teni Boon, both former Members of Parliament for Lawra-Nanadom and Lambussie, respectively, would make a second attempt to represent the party at both constituencies.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, a Deputy General Secretary of the NDC in-charge of the primaries, Mr George Lawson, commended the various constituencies for the smooth and incident free manner in which they organised the opening and closing of the nominations.
He urged the various constituency and regional executives to ensure that they complete the vetting for the national to undertake its vetting to pave the way for the primaries to elect aspirants for the respective constituencies.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Samia makes history as she leads CPP
MS Samia Yaba Christina Nkrumah, the only daughter of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, cut a slice of history when she became the first-ever female leader and chairman of a political party in Ghana, after winning the chairmanship position of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) at its delegates congress in Accra on Saturday.
At the stroke of midnight on Saturday, the Electoral Commission (EC) declared Ms Nkrumah, who is also the only Member of Parliament for the party winner of the chairmanship race of the party. She won 1,191 of the votes cast to secure a resounding victory.
She beat both the incumbent Chairman, Mr Ladi Nylander, and his predecessor, Prof Edmund Delle, who had 353 and 332 votes respectively. The other female candidate for the chairmanship position, Madam Araba Bentsi-Enchill‚ had 10.
Mrs Susan Adu-Amankwah, Mrs Rosaline Ayarna and Mr Oteng Anane, were elected as the first, second and third vice chairmen respectively. Incumbent General Secretary, Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, had 716 votes to retain his position. He beat his other opponents, Nii Armah Akomfrah, who had 672 votes, and Mr Ekow Duncan, who pulled 470 votes.
In the contest for the position of the National Organiser, Mr Abu Forgor, was declared the winner after he had polled 1,093 votes. The other two contestants for the position, Mr Appiah Amankwah, had 408 and the incumbent, Ms Evelyn Alamisi Anabilla, secured 347 votes. Mr Kosi Dede, who polled 853 votes, was beaten by Mr Seth Gomnah, who had 1,005 to become the new National Treasurer.
The contest for the postition of National Women Organiser was safely won by Mrs Mary Ankomah Boakye-Boateng. She had 917 against the incumbent Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim-Haruna, who polled 637 and Madam Aisha Suley Futah who secured 313 votes. Mr Murtala Mohamed was pronounced the National Youth Organiser of the CPP when he had 802 votes. He beat Mr Francis Opai Tetteh and Mr Issifu Kadiri Abdul Rauf, who had 486 and 570 votes respectively.
Born at Aburi in the Eastern Region on June, 23 1960, Samia, who is also a freelance journalist, won the Jomoro seat for the CPP at her first attempt.
She was forced to leave Ghana with her mother and brothers Sekou and Gamal‚ after the 1966 coup which saw the overthrow of their father.They were resettled in Egypt by the Egyptian government.
She returned with her family in 1975 at the invitation of General Acheampong’s National Redemption Council government and attended the Achimota School.
She, however, left the country again when her mother decided to return to Egypt in the early 1980s. She proceeded to London, later completing her studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London in the United Kingdom, where she obtained a degree of Bachelor in Arabic Studies in 1991. She also completed a Master’s degree at the same institution in 1993.
Throughout delivering her acceptance speech, Samia held the hands of both Mr Nylander and Prof Delle in an apparent imitation of his father’s famous Independence Day-eve speech at the Accra Polo Grounds about 53 years ago.
She said the party’s single seat won in 2008 parliamentary elections at Jomoro was meaningless unless it was linked up to the total victory of the entire CPP.
Ms Nkrumah paid glowing tribute to the elders of the party, particularly the executive who had held the fort of the party to its current state and gave the assurance that they would be included in all decisions and activities of the her administration.
She described the congress as a purely internal family affair and noted that in such circumstances, irrespective of what had gone on and because there were no winners or losers, all should close their ranks, forget about the past and forge ahead as a united political party ready to win political power.
She indicated that the new administration would execute its mandate with an all-inclusive approach and that the newly born CPP would not need the endorsement of any political party, particularly the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to be successful.
Samia, who devoted her historical triumph to all Ghanaian women, said “today we have given birth to a new independent-minded Convention People’s Party”.
She reminded members of the party that the struggle for victory, which will start with the reorganisation and re-energising of every structure of the party, would not be in vain and urged the members of the party to gird their loins in readiness for the task ahead but expressed optimism that success would be theirs with a crop of new generation of leaders at the helm of affairs.
She said the youth of the party and in Ghana in general would be the focus of the programmes of the CPP under her leadership.
Samia, whose campaign message centred on a strong independence of the CPP, which will be administered strictly by the principles of accountability and transparency at all levels of the party, said if the party wanted to win the hearts and votes of Ghanaians, it must start implementing such precept to convince the electorate.
She gave the assurance that the organisation of the party would revolve mainly around people and structures at the polling station and constituency levels initially before focussing on regional and the national levels.
She commended the delegates for honouring and recognising Dr Nkrumah, her father, and pledged that the party’s next congresses would be organised in such a manner that would bring a lot of comfort to the delegates.
In what could be described as one of the most peaceful and incident-free congresses of the party, all the contestants, irrespective of their differences, never exhibited an inkling of animosity from the outset till the Electoral Commission declared the results.
That was contrary to media hype about the intense nature of the contest and threats of court injunctions to stop the congress which had been postponed about seven times. Even the original Takoradi Polytechnic venue had to be changed to the Accra Trade Fair Centre.
Amid hugs and pecks on each other’s cheeks, Mr Nylander conceded defeat and pledged his support, adding that the voice of the people was the voice of God and that once the delegates, who are the highest decision making body of the party, had spoken, he would respect their verdict.
To ensure that voting went smoothly and avoidance of time wasting , the 50-member EC team led by Mr Safo Kanatanka, Deputy Chairman, and Mr Kofi Arhin, Director of Election, paired the regions for voting purposes, which went on smoothly without any hitch.
However, in their quest to ensure strict adherence to electoral rules and regulations and maintain free, fair and transparent elections, the EC had to properly collect, collate, tabulate and ensure that the agents of all the aspirants signed the results forms, a process which delayed the announcement of the results.
The short delay did not go down well with some of the delegates, who intermittently blew their vuvuzela to register their protest.
At the stroke of midnight on Saturday, the Electoral Commission (EC) declared Ms Nkrumah, who is also the only Member of Parliament for the party winner of the chairmanship race of the party. She won 1,191 of the votes cast to secure a resounding victory.
She beat both the incumbent Chairman, Mr Ladi Nylander, and his predecessor, Prof Edmund Delle, who had 353 and 332 votes respectively. The other female candidate for the chairmanship position, Madam Araba Bentsi-Enchill‚ had 10.
Mrs Susan Adu-Amankwah, Mrs Rosaline Ayarna and Mr Oteng Anane, were elected as the first, second and third vice chairmen respectively. Incumbent General Secretary, Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, had 716 votes to retain his position. He beat his other opponents, Nii Armah Akomfrah, who had 672 votes, and Mr Ekow Duncan, who pulled 470 votes.
In the contest for the position of the National Organiser, Mr Abu Forgor, was declared the winner after he had polled 1,093 votes. The other two contestants for the position, Mr Appiah Amankwah, had 408 and the incumbent, Ms Evelyn Alamisi Anabilla, secured 347 votes. Mr Kosi Dede, who polled 853 votes, was beaten by Mr Seth Gomnah, who had 1,005 to become the new National Treasurer.
The contest for the postition of National Women Organiser was safely won by Mrs Mary Ankomah Boakye-Boateng. She had 917 against the incumbent Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim-Haruna, who polled 637 and Madam Aisha Suley Futah who secured 313 votes. Mr Murtala Mohamed was pronounced the National Youth Organiser of the CPP when he had 802 votes. He beat Mr Francis Opai Tetteh and Mr Issifu Kadiri Abdul Rauf, who had 486 and 570 votes respectively.
Born at Aburi in the Eastern Region on June, 23 1960, Samia, who is also a freelance journalist, won the Jomoro seat for the CPP at her first attempt.
She was forced to leave Ghana with her mother and brothers Sekou and Gamal‚ after the 1966 coup which saw the overthrow of their father.They were resettled in Egypt by the Egyptian government.
She returned with her family in 1975 at the invitation of General Acheampong’s National Redemption Council government and attended the Achimota School.
She, however, left the country again when her mother decided to return to Egypt in the early 1980s. She proceeded to London, later completing her studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London in the United Kingdom, where she obtained a degree of Bachelor in Arabic Studies in 1991. She also completed a Master’s degree at the same institution in 1993.
Throughout delivering her acceptance speech, Samia held the hands of both Mr Nylander and Prof Delle in an apparent imitation of his father’s famous Independence Day-eve speech at the Accra Polo Grounds about 53 years ago.
She said the party’s single seat won in 2008 parliamentary elections at Jomoro was meaningless unless it was linked up to the total victory of the entire CPP.
Ms Nkrumah paid glowing tribute to the elders of the party, particularly the executive who had held the fort of the party to its current state and gave the assurance that they would be included in all decisions and activities of the her administration.
She described the congress as a purely internal family affair and noted that in such circumstances, irrespective of what had gone on and because there were no winners or losers, all should close their ranks, forget about the past and forge ahead as a united political party ready to win political power.
She indicated that the new administration would execute its mandate with an all-inclusive approach and that the newly born CPP would not need the endorsement of any political party, particularly the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to be successful.
Samia, who devoted her historical triumph to all Ghanaian women, said “today we have given birth to a new independent-minded Convention People’s Party”.
She reminded members of the party that the struggle for victory, which will start with the reorganisation and re-energising of every structure of the party, would not be in vain and urged the members of the party to gird their loins in readiness for the task ahead but expressed optimism that success would be theirs with a crop of new generation of leaders at the helm of affairs.
She said the youth of the party and in Ghana in general would be the focus of the programmes of the CPP under her leadership.
Samia, whose campaign message centred on a strong independence of the CPP, which will be administered strictly by the principles of accountability and transparency at all levels of the party, said if the party wanted to win the hearts and votes of Ghanaians, it must start implementing such precept to convince the electorate.
She gave the assurance that the organisation of the party would revolve mainly around people and structures at the polling station and constituency levels initially before focussing on regional and the national levels.
She commended the delegates for honouring and recognising Dr Nkrumah, her father, and pledged that the party’s next congresses would be organised in such a manner that would bring a lot of comfort to the delegates.
In what could be described as one of the most peaceful and incident-free congresses of the party, all the contestants, irrespective of their differences, never exhibited an inkling of animosity from the outset till the Electoral Commission declared the results.
That was contrary to media hype about the intense nature of the contest and threats of court injunctions to stop the congress which had been postponed about seven times. Even the original Takoradi Polytechnic venue had to be changed to the Accra Trade Fair Centre.
Amid hugs and pecks on each other’s cheeks, Mr Nylander conceded defeat and pledged his support, adding that the voice of the people was the voice of God and that once the delegates, who are the highest decision making body of the party, had spoken, he would respect their verdict.
To ensure that voting went smoothly and avoidance of time wasting , the 50-member EC team led by Mr Safo Kanatanka, Deputy Chairman, and Mr Kofi Arhin, Director of Election, paired the regions for voting purposes, which went on smoothly without any hitch.
However, in their quest to ensure strict adherence to electoral rules and regulations and maintain free, fair and transparent elections, the EC had to properly collect, collate, tabulate and ensure that the agents of all the aspirants signed the results forms, a process which delayed the announcement of the results.
The short delay did not go down well with some of the delegates, who intermittently blew their vuvuzela to register their protest.
Speak against electoral abuses ---Palmer-Buckle
THE church, in its prophetic mission, has to speak out against electoral abuses and all forms of malpractices in the conduct of elections, the Treasurer of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Most Rev Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle, has advised.
He said the Church had over the years been the voice for the voiceless and “therefore, cannot afford to shirk this grave responsibility. We have to speak out and defend what is right and just, even at the risk of our very lives as church leaders in Africa.”
Rev Pamler-Buckle, who made the call at the opening of the SECAM and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) workshop on the promotion of peaceful elections in Africa in Accra yesterday, noted that democratic elections represented the mark of legitimacy for the exercise of power in Africa.
He added that there was an urgent need for the churches to increase their engagement in the promotion of civic education among the faithful so that they could live out their civic responsibilities in a more informed manner.
He added that the Catholic Church in Africa had committed themselves to encourage “competent and honest citizens to participate in party politics” and called on “all Christians to take part in political life”.
In his welcome address, Most Rev Paul Bemile, the Episcopal Chairman for Governance, Justice and Peace of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference noted that the workshop had come at an opportune time because between this year and next year, 22 countries in Africa would be holding either parliamentary and or presidential elections.
He said from these statistics, it was heartwarming that even though Africa was not entirely a haven of peace, it was gradually moving away from the coups d’etat and the instability that marked its governments, adding that this was not without violence and acrimony.
He added that Bishops in Africa had therefore called on African leaders to conscientiously exercise stewardship and uphold the common good over the interest of family, clan, ethnic group or political party and to protect and promote the social, economic, political and religious rights of every citizens.
He said the Church had over the years been the voice for the voiceless and “therefore, cannot afford to shirk this grave responsibility. We have to speak out and defend what is right and just, even at the risk of our very lives as church leaders in Africa.”
Rev Pamler-Buckle, who made the call at the opening of the SECAM and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) workshop on the promotion of peaceful elections in Africa in Accra yesterday, noted that democratic elections represented the mark of legitimacy for the exercise of power in Africa.
He added that there was an urgent need for the churches to increase their engagement in the promotion of civic education among the faithful so that they could live out their civic responsibilities in a more informed manner.
He added that the Catholic Church in Africa had committed themselves to encourage “competent and honest citizens to participate in party politics” and called on “all Christians to take part in political life”.
In his welcome address, Most Rev Paul Bemile, the Episcopal Chairman for Governance, Justice and Peace of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference noted that the workshop had come at an opportune time because between this year and next year, 22 countries in Africa would be holding either parliamentary and or presidential elections.
He said from these statistics, it was heartwarming that even though Africa was not entirely a haven of peace, it was gradually moving away from the coups d’etat and the instability that marked its governments, adding that this was not without violence and acrimony.
He added that Bishops in Africa had therefore called on African leaders to conscientiously exercise stewardship and uphold the common good over the interest of family, clan, ethnic group or political party and to protect and promote the social, economic, political and religious rights of every citizens.
Political Parties Flout Electoral Laws
Thirteen out of the 14 registered political parties in the country have flouted with impunity the political parties law that requires them to periodically submit their audited accounts to the Electoral Commission (EC).
Only the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) has religiously been submitting its audited accounts since 1992, a feat which the main political parties, especially the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), have not been able to match.
Under Article 14 of the Political Parties Law, which deals with the declaration of assets, liabilities and expenditure in relation to elections, punishment for the violation of the law is the cancellation of the registration of the defaulting political party.
A recent report requested from the EC by the Daily Graphic indicated that the NDC and the People’s National Convention (PNC) had not submitted their audited accounts for 2010, while the NPP and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) had defaulted since 2007.
The Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) submitted accounts only for 2002, 2003 and 2004.
For the remaining eight political parties, two — the Reformed Patriotic Democrats (RPD) and the New Vision Party (NVP) — submitted their accounts for only 2008.
The Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), the National Reform Party (NRP), the Ghana National Party (GNP), the United Renaissance Party (URP), the Eagle Party and the United Love Party (ULP) have never submitted a single audited accounts to the EC as required by law since they were established.
Article 14 (2) of the Political Parties Law, Act 574 (2000), (part one of which talks about the funding and registration of political parties) says that, “A political party shall, within six months after a general or bye-election in which it has participated, submit to the commission a detailed statement in such form as the commission may direct of all expenditure incurred for that election
“(3) A statement required to be submitted under this section shall be supported by a statutory declaration made by the general or national secretary of the political party and the national treasurer of that party.
(4) Without prejudice to any other penalty provided in this act or any other enactment, where a political party (a) refuses or neglects to comply with this section; or (b) submits a statement which is false in any material particular, the commission may cancel the registration of the political party.”
When reached for their comments, representatives of the NDC, the CPP and the PNC confirmed the story and said their auditors were working on them and that they would be submitted very soon.
Explaining further, the Communications Director of the NDC, Mr James Asante, told the Daily Graphic that the party’s auditors had completed their work and it would be submitted to the EC soon, while the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie, who was in the Northern Region, said he was aware that the party had been submitting its accounts over the years but added that if there was any such anomaly, the party would not hesitate in correcting it.
The General secretaries of the PNC and the CPP, Messrs Bernard Mornah and Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, respectively, gave the assurance that their auditors were putting finishing touches to the accounts and that they would be submitted to the EC in the shortest possible time.
Only the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) has religiously been submitting its audited accounts since 1992, a feat which the main political parties, especially the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), have not been able to match.
Under Article 14 of the Political Parties Law, which deals with the declaration of assets, liabilities and expenditure in relation to elections, punishment for the violation of the law is the cancellation of the registration of the defaulting political party.
A recent report requested from the EC by the Daily Graphic indicated that the NDC and the People’s National Convention (PNC) had not submitted their audited accounts for 2010, while the NPP and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) had defaulted since 2007.
The Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) submitted accounts only for 2002, 2003 and 2004.
For the remaining eight political parties, two — the Reformed Patriotic Democrats (RPD) and the New Vision Party (NVP) — submitted their accounts for only 2008.
The Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), the National Reform Party (NRP), the Ghana National Party (GNP), the United Renaissance Party (URP), the Eagle Party and the United Love Party (ULP) have never submitted a single audited accounts to the EC as required by law since they were established.
Article 14 (2) of the Political Parties Law, Act 574 (2000), (part one of which talks about the funding and registration of political parties) says that, “A political party shall, within six months after a general or bye-election in which it has participated, submit to the commission a detailed statement in such form as the commission may direct of all expenditure incurred for that election
“(3) A statement required to be submitted under this section shall be supported by a statutory declaration made by the general or national secretary of the political party and the national treasurer of that party.
(4) Without prejudice to any other penalty provided in this act or any other enactment, where a political party (a) refuses or neglects to comply with this section; or (b) submits a statement which is false in any material particular, the commission may cancel the registration of the political party.”
When reached for their comments, representatives of the NDC, the CPP and the PNC confirmed the story and said their auditors were working on them and that they would be submitted very soon.
Explaining further, the Communications Director of the NDC, Mr James Asante, told the Daily Graphic that the party’s auditors had completed their work and it would be submitted to the EC soon, while the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie, who was in the Northern Region, said he was aware that the party had been submitting its accounts over the years but added that if there was any such anomaly, the party would not hesitate in correcting it.
The General secretaries of the PNC and the CPP, Messrs Bernard Mornah and Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, respectively, gave the assurance that their auditors were putting finishing touches to the accounts and that they would be submitted to the EC in the shortest possible time.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Christians urged to be vigilant
THE Head of the Odorkor Area branch of the Church of Pentecost, Prophet James Osei-Amaniampong, has urged Christians to constantly read the Bible and seek knowledge on the right doctrines so that they will not be taken for granted by people who want to enrich themselves in the name of God.
According to him, when lay persons in the church critically availed themselves of the word of God, they would be able to serve God better and truthfully and would also not be swayed by people using the name of God for other purposes.
Prophet Osei-Amaniampong was speaking to the Daily Graphic after a one-week training workshop for lay persons in the church in Accra.
The workshop was to refresh the non-pastoral leaders of the church on the word of God and also empower them to be able to win more souls for Christ.
Some of the topics treated were discipleship, church finances and homiletics.
There was a plenary session which captured the church’s practices targeted at equipping the leaders of the ministry.
He explained that the leadership training was aimed at supporting the church’s vision to produce more dedicated and pragmatic lay leaders who would be diligent workmen of God and would not be ashamed of telling the truth about Christ.
He said those claiming to be men of God were undertaking activities for their personal benefit and using their canal knowledge to sway people from the actual word of God to purely miracles, signs and wonders.
He noted that with the current knowledge-based world and the advent of the Internet, Christians could also take advantage of the varied information on Christianity and other beneficial materials to enrich their stock of knowledge and also assist others in appreciating the goodness of the Almighty.
He also said that not all members could read and acquire knowledge for academic purposes such as Master’s and doctorate degrees, so they must constantly upgrade their knowledge to expand their knowledge about the word of God because the Bible states that some people would perish because they lacked knowledge.
He appealed to Christians to constantly pray for the peace and stability of the country and abide by the tenets of the Holy Bible and added that God would answer them if they prayed to him.
According to him, when lay persons in the church critically availed themselves of the word of God, they would be able to serve God better and truthfully and would also not be swayed by people using the name of God for other purposes.
Prophet Osei-Amaniampong was speaking to the Daily Graphic after a one-week training workshop for lay persons in the church in Accra.
The workshop was to refresh the non-pastoral leaders of the church on the word of God and also empower them to be able to win more souls for Christ.
Some of the topics treated were discipleship, church finances and homiletics.
There was a plenary session which captured the church’s practices targeted at equipping the leaders of the ministry.
He explained that the leadership training was aimed at supporting the church’s vision to produce more dedicated and pragmatic lay leaders who would be diligent workmen of God and would not be ashamed of telling the truth about Christ.
He said those claiming to be men of God were undertaking activities for their personal benefit and using their canal knowledge to sway people from the actual word of God to purely miracles, signs and wonders.
He noted that with the current knowledge-based world and the advent of the Internet, Christians could also take advantage of the varied information on Christianity and other beneficial materials to enrich their stock of knowledge and also assist others in appreciating the goodness of the Almighty.
He also said that not all members could read and acquire knowledge for academic purposes such as Master’s and doctorate degrees, so they must constantly upgrade their knowledge to expand their knowledge about the word of God because the Bible states that some people would perish because they lacked knowledge.
He appealed to Christians to constantly pray for the peace and stability of the country and abide by the tenets of the Holy Bible and added that God would answer them if they prayed to him.
Technical, Vocational training to take centre statge -To address challenges facing education
The Mills administration has instituted measures to ensure that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) takes centre stage in ameliorating the current difficulties facing the education sector.
As part of the measures to address the challenges, the government is reviewing the TVET policy to ensure that interest in technical and vocational training is whipped up in pupils at the primary school level to the highest level, provide opportunities for students pursuing TVET to rise to the highest educational level and also change the prejudice people have about technical and vocational training.
A Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Mahama Ayariga disclosed these when he addressed stakeholders of TVET at the presentation of a research report on vocational and technical training in Ghana.
Mr Ayariga noted that out of the about 3.8 million pupils who start primary school in the country every year, only 200,000 gain admission to the various public and private tertiary institutions.
The research was commissioned by the City and Guilds Centre for Skills Development, United Kingdom (UK), in collaboration with the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET-Ghana). It was conducted bythe Centre for Policy Studies of the University of Ghana, Legon.
He said the shortfall in the provision of training for the remaining youth was a major socio-economic crisis in the making which could explode in the future.
Mr Ayariga noted that Ghana had 18,599 primary schools, while 10,768 junior high schools provided enrolment for 1.3 million students, and there were 129 public technical and vocational training schools while the private technical and vocational institutions were 151, with both public and private ones providing enrolment for only 64,155 students.
The deputy minister said the private and public institutions, which put together, provided technical and vocational training, had only 1,695 classrooms, which were woefully inadequate, not to talk of the not-up-to-date laboratories and workshops.
Mr Ayariga observed that the government had started to overhaul the TVET, particularly looking at the policy option that would expand the base of the TVET to erase the wrong impression that the TVET was for the ‘not too brilliant’ students and drop outs.
With the new system, particularly with academic progression, a mechanic from the Agblogloshie market could walk into any of the assessment centers to be established and be guided to progress in his field of endeavour to the level of masters degree and above because as the country took steps to attain a high middle income status, the TVET held the key in realising such vision.
He expressed worry that currently, Chinese and Togolese artisans were in the country doing jobs that Ghanaians could have undertaken, and added that the government was determined to reverse this trend and ensure that more Ghanaians were given training in this field and also possibly export Ghanaian technicians and artisans to other countries.
Mr Ayariga noted that if Ghanaian experts were in high demand in other countries to the extent that those at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) were leaving in droves, the same could be done for artisans as part of the measures to reduce the unemployment rate and earn more foreign exchange.
In his presentation on the status of the TVET in Ghana, the Director of COTVET, Mr D. Baffuor-Awuah, called for career guidance and counselling to ensure that students selected TVET and realised that there was potential in rising to the highest level.
As part of the measures to address the challenges, the government is reviewing the TVET policy to ensure that interest in technical and vocational training is whipped up in pupils at the primary school level to the highest level, provide opportunities for students pursuing TVET to rise to the highest educational level and also change the prejudice people have about technical and vocational training.
A Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Mahama Ayariga disclosed these when he addressed stakeholders of TVET at the presentation of a research report on vocational and technical training in Ghana.
Mr Ayariga noted that out of the about 3.8 million pupils who start primary school in the country every year, only 200,000 gain admission to the various public and private tertiary institutions.
The research was commissioned by the City and Guilds Centre for Skills Development, United Kingdom (UK), in collaboration with the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET-Ghana). It was conducted bythe Centre for Policy Studies of the University of Ghana, Legon.
He said the shortfall in the provision of training for the remaining youth was a major socio-economic crisis in the making which could explode in the future.
Mr Ayariga noted that Ghana had 18,599 primary schools, while 10,768 junior high schools provided enrolment for 1.3 million students, and there were 129 public technical and vocational training schools while the private technical and vocational institutions were 151, with both public and private ones providing enrolment for only 64,155 students.
The deputy minister said the private and public institutions, which put together, provided technical and vocational training, had only 1,695 classrooms, which were woefully inadequate, not to talk of the not-up-to-date laboratories and workshops.
Mr Ayariga observed that the government had started to overhaul the TVET, particularly looking at the policy option that would expand the base of the TVET to erase the wrong impression that the TVET was for the ‘not too brilliant’ students and drop outs.
With the new system, particularly with academic progression, a mechanic from the Agblogloshie market could walk into any of the assessment centers to be established and be guided to progress in his field of endeavour to the level of masters degree and above because as the country took steps to attain a high middle income status, the TVET held the key in realising such vision.
He expressed worry that currently, Chinese and Togolese artisans were in the country doing jobs that Ghanaians could have undertaken, and added that the government was determined to reverse this trend and ensure that more Ghanaians were given training in this field and also possibly export Ghanaian technicians and artisans to other countries.
Mr Ayariga noted that if Ghanaian experts were in high demand in other countries to the extent that those at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) were leaving in droves, the same could be done for artisans as part of the measures to reduce the unemployment rate and earn more foreign exchange.
In his presentation on the status of the TVET in Ghana, the Director of COTVET, Mr D. Baffuor-Awuah, called for career guidance and counselling to ensure that students selected TVET and realised that there was potential in rising to the highest level.
Consider supreme interest of CPP - Dr Osafo
Delegates to Saturday’s congress of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) must consider the supreme interest of the party and elect leaders who will not pursue their parochial interest but lead the way in reorganizing the party into a formidable force that can win political power, Dr Kweku Osafo, one of the aspiring presidential hopefuls of the party prior to the 2008 elections, has advised.
He said the CPP still enjoyed enormous goodwill among Ghanaians and that with selfless, dedicated and hardworking leaders at the forefront of its affairs, it would be able to turn that goodwill into votes and assume the reins of power to execute the unfinished agenda of Dr Nkrumah.
Dr Osafo, who gave the advice in an interview, noted that the party could bounce back to its former glory as the strongest political force not only in Ghana but also in Africa provided both the leadership and the members, especially the delegates to the congress at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra, considered the paramount interest of the party in all their decisions.
He noted that it was critical for the members of the party to bear in mind that the organisation of the party to become more attractive was the responsibility of every stakeholder and not the preserve of those who would be elected as leaders.
He described as dangerous the situation where some few individuals were given the opportunity to bankroll the party, which gave them the opportunity to behave as owners of the party, and urged the members of the CPP to contribute their quota towards nursing the CPP dream.
Dr Osafo, who is an international economist, said another weakness of the party was the tendency to always remain dormant, only to bounce back towards major elections, adding that that did not augur well for the party.
He said the leadership of the party must ensure that the structures of the partyremained vibrant and active at all times, embark on constant membership drive so that during elections both the presidential and the parliamentary candidates of the party would emerge victorious.
He noted that with committed leaders at the helm of affairs of the party, the CPP would be able to bring to fruition the vision of the Founder of the nation, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, which included self-determination, social justice and pan-Africanism.
These, he said, held the key to the advancement and the accelerated development of the country and Africa through industrialization, as well as putting Ghanaians at the commanding heights of the economy.
Dr Osafo said one of the reasons the party fared badly in recent elections was the way, before congresses, various leaders, particularly presidential hopefuls and chairmen, formed support groups made up of others vying for positions such as chairman, general secretary, youth organiser, women’s organiser, among others.
He said the danger had always been that when such leaders won their positions and their supporters could not, then it became difficult for the leader who had won his position to work closely with those who had won other positions but were not in the camp of the chairman or the presidential candidate.
He appealed the to the delegates and the aspirants to make such an unhealthy political strategy a thing of the past and ensure that the CPP moved forward.
He said the CPP still enjoyed enormous goodwill among Ghanaians and that with selfless, dedicated and hardworking leaders at the forefront of its affairs, it would be able to turn that goodwill into votes and assume the reins of power to execute the unfinished agenda of Dr Nkrumah.
Dr Osafo, who gave the advice in an interview, noted that the party could bounce back to its former glory as the strongest political force not only in Ghana but also in Africa provided both the leadership and the members, especially the delegates to the congress at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra, considered the paramount interest of the party in all their decisions.
He noted that it was critical for the members of the party to bear in mind that the organisation of the party to become more attractive was the responsibility of every stakeholder and not the preserve of those who would be elected as leaders.
He described as dangerous the situation where some few individuals were given the opportunity to bankroll the party, which gave them the opportunity to behave as owners of the party, and urged the members of the CPP to contribute their quota towards nursing the CPP dream.
Dr Osafo, who is an international economist, said another weakness of the party was the tendency to always remain dormant, only to bounce back towards major elections, adding that that did not augur well for the party.
He said the leadership of the party must ensure that the structures of the partyremained vibrant and active at all times, embark on constant membership drive so that during elections both the presidential and the parliamentary candidates of the party would emerge victorious.
He noted that with committed leaders at the helm of affairs of the party, the CPP would be able to bring to fruition the vision of the Founder of the nation, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, which included self-determination, social justice and pan-Africanism.
These, he said, held the key to the advancement and the accelerated development of the country and Africa through industrialization, as well as putting Ghanaians at the commanding heights of the economy.
Dr Osafo said one of the reasons the party fared badly in recent elections was the way, before congresses, various leaders, particularly presidential hopefuls and chairmen, formed support groups made up of others vying for positions such as chairman, general secretary, youth organiser, women’s organiser, among others.
He said the danger had always been that when such leaders won their positions and their supporters could not, then it became difficult for the leader who had won his position to work closely with those who had won other positions but were not in the camp of the chairman or the presidential candidate.
He appealed the to the delegates and the aspirants to make such an unhealthy political strategy a thing of the past and ensure that the CPP moved forward.
Consider supreme interest of CPP - Dr Osafo
Delegates to Saturday’s congress of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) must consider the supreme interest of the party and elect leaders who will not pursue their parochial interest but lead the way in reorganizing the party into a formidable force that can win political power, Dr Kweku Osafo, one of the aspiring presidential hopefuls of the party prior to the 2008 elections, has advised.
He said the CPP still enjoyed enormous goodwill among Ghanaians and that with selfless, dedicated and hardworking leaders at the forefront of its affairs, it would be able to turn that goodwill into votes and assume the reins of power to execute the unfinished agenda of Dr Nkrumah.
Dr Osafo, who gave the advice in an interview, noted that the party could bounce back to its former glory as the strongest political force not only in Ghana but also in Africa provided both the leadership and the members, especially the delegates to the congress at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra, considered the paramount interest of the party in all their decisions.
He noted that it was critical for the members of the party to bear in mind that the organisation of the party to become more attractive was the responsibility of every stakeholder and not the preserve of those who would be elected as leaders.
He described as dangerous the situation where some few individuals were given the opportunity to bankroll the party, which gave them the opportunity to behave as owners of the party, and urged the members of the CPP to contribute their quota towards nursing the CPP dream.
Dr Osafo, who is an international economist, said another weakness of the party was the tendency to always remain dormant, only to bounce back towards major elections, adding that that did not augur well for the party.
He said the leadership of the party must ensure that the structures of the partyremained vibrant and active at all times, embark on constant membership drive so that during elections both the presidential and the parliamentary candidates of the party would emerge victorious.
He noted that with committed leaders at the helm of affairs of the party, the CPP would be able to bring to fruition the vision of the Founder of the nation, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, which included self-determination, social justice and pan-Africanism.
These, he said, held the key to the advancement and the accelerated development of the country and Africa through industrialization, as well as putting Ghanaians at the commanding heights of the economy.
Dr Osafo said one of the reasons the party fared badly in recent elections was the way, before congresses, various leaders, particularly presidential hopefuls and chairmen, formed support groups made up of others vying for positions such as chairman, general secretary, youth organiser, women’s organiser, among others.
He said the danger had always been that when such leaders won their positions and their supporters could not, then it became difficult for the leader who had won his position to work closely with those who had won other positions but were not in the camp of the chairman or the presidential candidate.
He appealed the to the delegates and the aspirants to make such an unhealthy political strategy a thing of the past and ensure that the CPP moved forward.
He said the CPP still enjoyed enormous goodwill among Ghanaians and that with selfless, dedicated and hardworking leaders at the forefront of its affairs, it would be able to turn that goodwill into votes and assume the reins of power to execute the unfinished agenda of Dr Nkrumah.
Dr Osafo, who gave the advice in an interview, noted that the party could bounce back to its former glory as the strongest political force not only in Ghana but also in Africa provided both the leadership and the members, especially the delegates to the congress at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra, considered the paramount interest of the party in all their decisions.
He noted that it was critical for the members of the party to bear in mind that the organisation of the party to become more attractive was the responsibility of every stakeholder and not the preserve of those who would be elected as leaders.
He described as dangerous the situation where some few individuals were given the opportunity to bankroll the party, which gave them the opportunity to behave as owners of the party, and urged the members of the CPP to contribute their quota towards nursing the CPP dream.
Dr Osafo, who is an international economist, said another weakness of the party was the tendency to always remain dormant, only to bounce back towards major elections, adding that that did not augur well for the party.
He said the leadership of the party must ensure that the structures of the partyremained vibrant and active at all times, embark on constant membership drive so that during elections both the presidential and the parliamentary candidates of the party would emerge victorious.
He noted that with committed leaders at the helm of affairs of the party, the CPP would be able to bring to fruition the vision of the Founder of the nation, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, which included self-determination, social justice and pan-Africanism.
These, he said, held the key to the advancement and the accelerated development of the country and Africa through industrialization, as well as putting Ghanaians at the commanding heights of the economy.
Dr Osafo said one of the reasons the party fared badly in recent elections was the way, before congresses, various leaders, particularly presidential hopefuls and chairmen, formed support groups made up of others vying for positions such as chairman, general secretary, youth organiser, women’s organiser, among others.
He said the danger had always been that when such leaders won their positions and their supporters could not, then it became difficult for the leader who had won his position to work closely with those who had won other positions but were not in the camp of the chairman or the presidential candidate.
He appealed the to the delegates and the aspirants to make such an unhealthy political strategy a thing of the past and ensure that the CPP moved forward.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Procurement process for biometric register: Parties Divided
THE Electoral Commission (EC) and two political parties were yesterday sharply divided over the procurement process and selection of a vendor for the supply of equipment for the intended biometric voters registration.
While the representatives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and People’s National Convention (PNC) took issue with legality of the procurement process, the EC maintained that the process for selection of a supplier was within the ambit of the law.
However, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was of the view that its representative was invited to observe a demonstration exercise by companies shorted-listed for the biometric voters registration and not to make comments, contributions and arguments.
It all began when the EC extended invitation to the political parties to observe demonstration by companies short listed for the biometric voters registration, note down points of concern and make observation for discussion at the next Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) forum.
Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh and Mr Bernard Mornah, representatives of the NPP and PNC respectively, who arrived at the demonstration grounds at the EC offices in Accra when the process had already begun, were requested to sign a code that they would not talk, question or make comment but only observe and make notes, a situation they described as an affront to their constitutional rights to seek information.
Before the demonstration could end, the two representatives challenged the legality of the entire process because, according to them, the EC had informed them that one of the companies which was disqualified had taken the issue to the Public Procurement Authority which had also ordered EC to stop the procurement process until the apparent irregularities were resolved.
However, Mr David Adenze Kangah, Deputy EC Chairman, said the EC was going on with the process despite the intervention of the Public Procurement Authority because under the Procurement Law, organisations like the EC could proceed with such process if the process was of major national importance and time bound.
Apparently not satisfied with the arguments of the EC, the representatives of the NPP and PNC staged a walkout but Mr Hamid Girdo, the Electoral Advisor on Electoral Issues for the NDC and representatives from the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) and the EGLE stayed throughout the observation period because that was what the letter inviting them stated.
Mr Girdo said he and his colleagues from the DFP and the EGLE stayed because they were made aware that only two companies which were shortlisted were making the demonstration after which the one that met the requirement would be selected.
Therefore, he said, there was no need to make comment at such a gathering and that they were aware that they would have the opportunity at an IPAC forum to express their views, concerns and make comments.
Explaining to the Daily Graphic, Mr David Adenze Kangah noted that the political parties were never invited to any meeting but to only observe the demonstration by companies shortlisted and note down points of concern, contributions and other observations for discussion in the next Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) forum.
Expatiating further, Mr Mornah said after turning a deaf ear to the persistent calls for an urgent IPAC forum on the intended biometric registration from both the PNC and the NPP, the EC on Monday wrote to the parties to participate in the observations of the process the following day.
He said to their surprise, when they got to the EC premises they were asked to sign a code that they would not talk, question or make any comment but only observe and make notes, a situation he described as an affront to his constitutional right to seek information.
He said although the political parties were not part of and would not be interested in participating in the procurement process, as major stakeholders in the electoral process they had to ensure that there was proper improvement in the biometric process.
Dr Opoku-Prempeh explained on an Accra radio station that while the political parties would not want to be part of the procurement processes by the EC, their views must be heard in the selection and undertaking of the biometric registration process.
“I would rather walk out and go and tell my party that the EC is taking this country down a path that may not be well for us,” he said.
While the representatives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and People’s National Convention (PNC) took issue with legality of the procurement process, the EC maintained that the process for selection of a supplier was within the ambit of the law.
However, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was of the view that its representative was invited to observe a demonstration exercise by companies shorted-listed for the biometric voters registration and not to make comments, contributions and arguments.
It all began when the EC extended invitation to the political parties to observe demonstration by companies short listed for the biometric voters registration, note down points of concern and make observation for discussion at the next Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) forum.
Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh and Mr Bernard Mornah, representatives of the NPP and PNC respectively, who arrived at the demonstration grounds at the EC offices in Accra when the process had already begun, were requested to sign a code that they would not talk, question or make comment but only observe and make notes, a situation they described as an affront to their constitutional rights to seek information.
Before the demonstration could end, the two representatives challenged the legality of the entire process because, according to them, the EC had informed them that one of the companies which was disqualified had taken the issue to the Public Procurement Authority which had also ordered EC to stop the procurement process until the apparent irregularities were resolved.
However, Mr David Adenze Kangah, Deputy EC Chairman, said the EC was going on with the process despite the intervention of the Public Procurement Authority because under the Procurement Law, organisations like the EC could proceed with such process if the process was of major national importance and time bound.
Apparently not satisfied with the arguments of the EC, the representatives of the NPP and PNC staged a walkout but Mr Hamid Girdo, the Electoral Advisor on Electoral Issues for the NDC and representatives from the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) and the EGLE stayed throughout the observation period because that was what the letter inviting them stated.
Mr Girdo said he and his colleagues from the DFP and the EGLE stayed because they were made aware that only two companies which were shortlisted were making the demonstration after which the one that met the requirement would be selected.
Therefore, he said, there was no need to make comment at such a gathering and that they were aware that they would have the opportunity at an IPAC forum to express their views, concerns and make comments.
Explaining to the Daily Graphic, Mr David Adenze Kangah noted that the political parties were never invited to any meeting but to only observe the demonstration by companies shortlisted and note down points of concern, contributions and other observations for discussion in the next Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) forum.
Expatiating further, Mr Mornah said after turning a deaf ear to the persistent calls for an urgent IPAC forum on the intended biometric registration from both the PNC and the NPP, the EC on Monday wrote to the parties to participate in the observations of the process the following day.
He said to their surprise, when they got to the EC premises they were asked to sign a code that they would not talk, question or make any comment but only observe and make notes, a situation he described as an affront to his constitutional right to seek information.
He said although the political parties were not part of and would not be interested in participating in the procurement process, as major stakeholders in the electoral process they had to ensure that there was proper improvement in the biometric process.
Dr Opoku-Prempeh explained on an Accra radio station that while the political parties would not want to be part of the procurement processes by the EC, their views must be heard in the selection and undertaking of the biometric registration process.
“I would rather walk out and go and tell my party that the EC is taking this country down a path that may not be well for us,” he said.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Ghana Statistical Service and, NPP wrangle over inflation figures
THE Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are on a collision course over the collection and computation of prices from the market to arrive at monthly inflation figures.
While the NPP is suspecting irregularities and errors in the collection and computation of the figures,which could have resulted in inacurrate inflation figures, the GSS has discounted the claim, explaining that it has been using the same questionnaire, methodology, tools and Consumer Price Index software since 2001 and, therefore, the inflation figures for 2011 are correct.
In a letter to the GSS, the NPP stated that after studying the market retail prices it collected from the GSS, which formed the basis for the calculation of the inflation figures, it had identified some irregularities and errors in the data.
The party, therefore, called on the GSS to institute full investigations into those irregularities and undertake a thorough review of data capturing and data processing systems for generating inflation figures in the country.
“These irregularities could explain the differences between the inflation figures put out by the GSS and the experiences of people who visit Ghana’s markets. Put in another way, the irregularities justify doubts about the accurateness of the figures the GSS publishes,” the statement said.
Explaining further, Mr Kweku Kwarteng, NPP’s Spokesperson on Economy, said studying the data, the party realised that some prices for certain items and services, including property tax in Kumasi, PTA dues throughout the country, prices of pineapple in Bolgatanga, coconut oil in Bolgatanga, were recorded as zero and said such zero prices could not be possible.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Director, Economics and Industrial Statistics Division of the GSS, Mr Magnus Ebo Duncan, said the NPP got it all wrong because in the first place, because indicating zero price for a particular product or service did not mean that the price of such item was zero.
He added that the service used the same questionnaire for collecting information on 242 items throughout the country from specific outlets for prices to avoid bias and uphold one of the cardinal principles of statistics, which is ensuring consistency.
Mr Duncan said it had been doing the same work with the same tools, methodology and software since 2001 and that the GSS field workers collected prices and other information, including weights of items from markets in both urban and rural areas.
He explained that in each urban market, information was collected from six different but constant outlets, while that of the rural area was restricted to three outlets in each market.
He further explained that field officers, in collecting the information, had been instructed to collect information from specific outlets, so, for instance, when a field officer collected information on television shops, he should be consistent and collect information on 21-inch Samsung alone or 21-inch Akai television sets throughout the year without mixing such collection with information on Samsung and Akai prices.
Mr Duncan said in case the field officer got information from only four out of the six shops, the officer would put zero in the spaces provided for the two outlets and that the computer had been programmed to strike the average of four outlets and not six outlets.
The zero that would be written in the price space for the two shops would not mean the prices of the television sets were indeed zero or free.
He said it was nearly impossible to get pineapple in Bolgatanga in Januaryor fresh herrings in Kumasi during the same period and that in such cases, the field officer would put zero there instead of dash, because mathematically zero was appropriate and that the software was such that it would recognise all those differences.
Regarding the property tax in Kumasi, Mr Duncan said, “the field officers wrote zero not because it was free but it meant that either the officer had collected it earlier or had not collected it at all. If the officer had not collected the information, then in computing the final figures the software would use would be the previous year’s prices. It could also mean that because such rates were collected yearly, it had been captured in previous month’s data.”
“The questionnaires requested for prices on items such as pork and said it was a known fact that there was no way one could get either the pork and palm wine or their prices in a predominantly Muslim community, therefore, in such instance the field officer would write zero, and this did not mean that such items were free,” he added.
While the NPP is suspecting irregularities and errors in the collection and computation of the figures,which could have resulted in inacurrate inflation figures, the GSS has discounted the claim, explaining that it has been using the same questionnaire, methodology, tools and Consumer Price Index software since 2001 and, therefore, the inflation figures for 2011 are correct.
In a letter to the GSS, the NPP stated that after studying the market retail prices it collected from the GSS, which formed the basis for the calculation of the inflation figures, it had identified some irregularities and errors in the data.
The party, therefore, called on the GSS to institute full investigations into those irregularities and undertake a thorough review of data capturing and data processing systems for generating inflation figures in the country.
“These irregularities could explain the differences between the inflation figures put out by the GSS and the experiences of people who visit Ghana’s markets. Put in another way, the irregularities justify doubts about the accurateness of the figures the GSS publishes,” the statement said.
Explaining further, Mr Kweku Kwarteng, NPP’s Spokesperson on Economy, said studying the data, the party realised that some prices for certain items and services, including property tax in Kumasi, PTA dues throughout the country, prices of pineapple in Bolgatanga, coconut oil in Bolgatanga, were recorded as zero and said such zero prices could not be possible.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Director, Economics and Industrial Statistics Division of the GSS, Mr Magnus Ebo Duncan, said the NPP got it all wrong because in the first place, because indicating zero price for a particular product or service did not mean that the price of such item was zero.
He added that the service used the same questionnaire for collecting information on 242 items throughout the country from specific outlets for prices to avoid bias and uphold one of the cardinal principles of statistics, which is ensuring consistency.
Mr Duncan said it had been doing the same work with the same tools, methodology and software since 2001 and that the GSS field workers collected prices and other information, including weights of items from markets in both urban and rural areas.
He explained that in each urban market, information was collected from six different but constant outlets, while that of the rural area was restricted to three outlets in each market.
He further explained that field officers, in collecting the information, had been instructed to collect information from specific outlets, so, for instance, when a field officer collected information on television shops, he should be consistent and collect information on 21-inch Samsung alone or 21-inch Akai television sets throughout the year without mixing such collection with information on Samsung and Akai prices.
Mr Duncan said in case the field officer got information from only four out of the six shops, the officer would put zero in the spaces provided for the two outlets and that the computer had been programmed to strike the average of four outlets and not six outlets.
The zero that would be written in the price space for the two shops would not mean the prices of the television sets were indeed zero or free.
He said it was nearly impossible to get pineapple in Bolgatanga in Januaryor fresh herrings in Kumasi during the same period and that in such cases, the field officer would put zero there instead of dash, because mathematically zero was appropriate and that the software was such that it would recognise all those differences.
Regarding the property tax in Kumasi, Mr Duncan said, “the field officers wrote zero not because it was free but it meant that either the officer had collected it earlier or had not collected it at all. If the officer had not collected the information, then in computing the final figures the software would use would be the previous year’s prices. It could also mean that because such rates were collected yearly, it had been captured in previous month’s data.”
“The questionnaires requested for prices on items such as pork and said it was a known fact that there was no way one could get either the pork and palm wine or their prices in a predominantly Muslim community, therefore, in such instance the field officer would write zero, and this did not mean that such items were free,” he added.
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