The Ga Mantse, King Tackie Tawiah III, has urged politicians to ascertain the real needs of the people and include such findings in their manifestos.
This, he explained, would afford them the opportunity to have the proper insight into the real concerns of the voters and be in a proper position to address them.
Nii Tawiah made the call when the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, led leading members of the party to pay a courtesy call on the Ga Traditional Council in Accra yesterday.
The NPP entourage included the Chairman, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Prof. Mike Oquaye, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Anthony Abayifaa Karbo, the National Youth Organiser, Mr Yae Osafo Maafo, a former Minister of State, Nii Armah Ashittey, Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the party, Dr Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe, a former Ambassador, and some Members of Parliament.
They were welcomed to the Ga Mantse Palace in North Kaneshie amidst firing of musketry, singing and dancing by both people from the palace and NPP supporters. This is the second visit by Nana Akufo Addo to the palace in three weeks.
The NPP team presented 10 maxi bags of maize, five bags of palm fruits, 10 25-litre containers of oil, 10 cartons of minerals, five crates of beer and five cartons of Schnapps to the Ga State for the celebration of the Homowo.
According to the Ga Mantse, it is always better for the politician to get people they want to lead, because in most cases politicians think that they know what the ordinary people want by standing afar.
He commended the NPP for organising an excellent grass-roots election involving over 100,000 party supporters throughout the country, which was hailed as historic, peaceful and transparent.
He said the NPP had set a good example which must be emulated by other political parties and added that the Ga State would consider using a similar system in the selection of some of its leaders. The Ga Mantse noted that politicians as leaders had always had great influence on a great number of their supporters and said it would be in the interest of society if they resorted to the use of decorous language.
He said when the politician did that, they set good examples for their following and thereby sanitise political discourse in the country.
The Ga Mantse reminded politicians that Ghana was practising multiparty democracy, which meant that people would have choices and decide which political party they would want to associate with.
He said this did not that mean people should perceive their political opponents as their sworn enemies, but they should perceive them as Ghanaians with different views and persuasions, hence the need to accommodate their views.
Nana Akufo Addo said his second visit was to inform the Ga State that he had been elected as the flag bearer of the NPP and also to thank the state and Ga Mantse and his elders for their prayers and advice when he called on them some three weeks ago.
He said as someone who grew up in Accra, he had always known Homowo to be a peaceful and enjoyable festival and expressed the hope that this year’s would be same.
He said he was of the view that King Tawiah’s reign would be one of the most successful periods in the Ga Kingdom.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Alan wishes aspirants well ahead of NPP congress
Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, one of the front runners aspiring to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2012 general election has expressed appreciation about the way his four other aspirants have conducted themselves and gone about their campaign to lead NPP in the 2012 general election.
“I wish them God’s speed and guidance,” he told a gathering of media practitioners during an encounter in Accra on Monday, as part of his final leg of campaign prior to the August 7, 2010, congress.
Answering questions from the media practitioners, Mr Kyerematen who was a Minister of Trade, Industry and Presidential Special Initiatives in the Kufuor Administration described his colleague aspirants as “great friends.”
Mr Kyerematen, who was the runner up in the NPP 2007 presidential primaries, is contesting the flagbeareship position of the party with Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, the 2008 NPP Presidential Candidate, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a world-class Heart Surgeon, Mr Isaac Osei, Member of Parliament (MP) for Subin and former CEO of COCOBOB and a diplomat, as well as Rev. John Kwame Koduah, a lawyer.
He called on the aspirants to make a personal commitment to abide by the outcome of the congress which he was expecting to be free, fair and transparent.
He said that once the delegates made their choice on August 7, all the aspirants should abide by it and rally behind the chosen candidate for victory in the 2012 general election.
On the endorsement by President J. E. A. Mills, he described it as an honour for the sitting president to describe him as a “political giant.”
He said that he believed President Mills’ comment was made in a good spirit and thought that was very kind of him.
On whether he or Nana Akufo Addo could unite the party after one of them was declared the candidate elect, Mr Kyerematen said the NPP believed in competition and that unity was not an event but a process and the candidate elect must have the requisite skills to unite the party for victory.
“When you talk of a unifier, you are talking about a characteristic of a person,” he told the gathering, saying he has the disposition to unite the party.
He described the Presidential Special Initiatives as an innovative move by the Kufuor Administration to diversify Ghana’s export sector which was predominately cocoa driven to other equally beneficial semi or final products.
He said the PSIs were a public-private sector initiative that was meant to increase export and also create employment for numerous Ghanaians to earn decent living.
According to Mr Kyerematen, the cassava starch project under the PSIs was technically certified as fit industrial raw material for export to Nestle.
Regarding claims that about 80 per cent of NPP Members of Parliament (MPs) had endorsed Nana Akufo Addo, he said although he was not able to validate such claims, he preferred the endorsement of polling station executives who were about 100,000 in number to 230 MPs.
Regarding the issue of resignation, Mr Kyerematen explained that it was true that he wrote a letter of resignation but the party hierarchy refused to accept his resignation and took steps to address the issues that made him write the letter.
“I wish them God’s speed and guidance,” he told a gathering of media practitioners during an encounter in Accra on Monday, as part of his final leg of campaign prior to the August 7, 2010, congress.
Answering questions from the media practitioners, Mr Kyerematen who was a Minister of Trade, Industry and Presidential Special Initiatives in the Kufuor Administration described his colleague aspirants as “great friends.”
Mr Kyerematen, who was the runner up in the NPP 2007 presidential primaries, is contesting the flagbeareship position of the party with Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, the 2008 NPP Presidential Candidate, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a world-class Heart Surgeon, Mr Isaac Osei, Member of Parliament (MP) for Subin and former CEO of COCOBOB and a diplomat, as well as Rev. John Kwame Koduah, a lawyer.
He called on the aspirants to make a personal commitment to abide by the outcome of the congress which he was expecting to be free, fair and transparent.
He said that once the delegates made their choice on August 7, all the aspirants should abide by it and rally behind the chosen candidate for victory in the 2012 general election.
On the endorsement by President J. E. A. Mills, he described it as an honour for the sitting president to describe him as a “political giant.”
He said that he believed President Mills’ comment was made in a good spirit and thought that was very kind of him.
On whether he or Nana Akufo Addo could unite the party after one of them was declared the candidate elect, Mr Kyerematen said the NPP believed in competition and that unity was not an event but a process and the candidate elect must have the requisite skills to unite the party for victory.
“When you talk of a unifier, you are talking about a characteristic of a person,” he told the gathering, saying he has the disposition to unite the party.
He described the Presidential Special Initiatives as an innovative move by the Kufuor Administration to diversify Ghana’s export sector which was predominately cocoa driven to other equally beneficial semi or final products.
He said the PSIs were a public-private sector initiative that was meant to increase export and also create employment for numerous Ghanaians to earn decent living.
According to Mr Kyerematen, the cassava starch project under the PSIs was technically certified as fit industrial raw material for export to Nestle.
Regarding claims that about 80 per cent of NPP Members of Parliament (MPs) had endorsed Nana Akufo Addo, he said although he was not able to validate such claims, he preferred the endorsement of polling station executives who were about 100,000 in number to 230 MPs.
Regarding the issue of resignation, Mr Kyerematen explained that it was true that he wrote a letter of resignation but the party hierarchy refused to accept his resignation and took steps to address the issues that made him write the letter.
Let’s sustain unity momentum •Nana tells losing aspirants
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the newly elected flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has paid a reciprocal courtesy call on the three losing aspirants, with a call on party members to sustain the unity and campaign towards winning the 2012 elections.
He said the interest, excitement and confidence that the aspirants’ visit to his residence last Tuesday generated required that the leaders of the party sustain the co-operation to give hope to the people.
Nana Akufo-Addo, in the company of his campaign team, visited Mr Alan Kyerematen at Dome, Mr Isaac Osie at Labone and Prof Kwadwo Frimpong Boateng on the Liberation Road.
At Mr Kyerematen’s residence, the host described the reciprocal visit as a good gesture and reiterated his call that competition was an integral part of the NPP tradition and that after the highest decision-making body of the party had decided, it was incumbent on all to obey and respect that decision.
He said it was incumbent on all members of the party to lend their full support to the flag bearer to ensure a landslide victory for the party in 2012.
He described the flag bearer as his great friend and added that any of their supporters who attempted to fight because of them would be the loser.
Mr Kyerematen said the greatest objective of all members of the party was to win power and that was what they should direct their strengths and minds at.
Mr Osei, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Subin, said after the courtesy call on flag bearer, he (Mr Osei) had met with his constituents and made it clear to the members of the NPP that the election of the flag bearer was over.
He said he had told them that the emphatic win by Nana Akufo-Addo was an indication that the party wanted him as the leader, for which reason all must join the campaign to achieve the ultimate aim of winning the 2012 general election.
He said he had agreed with his constituents on how to work assiduously to ensure that the party increased its votes in the Subin Constituency.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng, for his part, presented the flag bearer with an ostrich egg as a show of appreciation for the visit and also took Nana Akufo-Addo round his backyard garden where he has a jetropha oil refinery and showed his guest how he converted human excreta to cooking gas.
He said Dr Mensa Otabil, the President of the Central University College, had replicated the conversion of human excreta to gas on the Oyibi campus of the university.
Pro Frimpong-Boateng said because of his backyard plantain farm, he had not bought plantain for the past 10 years. Nana Akufo-Addo expressed surprise at what the heart surgeon was doing and commended him.
He said the interest, excitement and confidence that the aspirants’ visit to his residence last Tuesday generated required that the leaders of the party sustain the co-operation to give hope to the people.
Nana Akufo-Addo, in the company of his campaign team, visited Mr Alan Kyerematen at Dome, Mr Isaac Osie at Labone and Prof Kwadwo Frimpong Boateng on the Liberation Road.
At Mr Kyerematen’s residence, the host described the reciprocal visit as a good gesture and reiterated his call that competition was an integral part of the NPP tradition and that after the highest decision-making body of the party had decided, it was incumbent on all to obey and respect that decision.
He said it was incumbent on all members of the party to lend their full support to the flag bearer to ensure a landslide victory for the party in 2012.
He described the flag bearer as his great friend and added that any of their supporters who attempted to fight because of them would be the loser.
Mr Kyerematen said the greatest objective of all members of the party was to win power and that was what they should direct their strengths and minds at.
Mr Osei, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Subin, said after the courtesy call on flag bearer, he (Mr Osei) had met with his constituents and made it clear to the members of the NPP that the election of the flag bearer was over.
He said he had told them that the emphatic win by Nana Akufo-Addo was an indication that the party wanted him as the leader, for which reason all must join the campaign to achieve the ultimate aim of winning the 2012 general election.
He said he had agreed with his constituents on how to work assiduously to ensure that the party increased its votes in the Subin Constituency.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng, for his part, presented the flag bearer with an ostrich egg as a show of appreciation for the visit and also took Nana Akufo-Addo round his backyard garden where he has a jetropha oil refinery and showed his guest how he converted human excreta to cooking gas.
He said Dr Mensa Otabil, the President of the Central University College, had replicated the conversion of human excreta to gas on the Oyibi campus of the university.
Pro Frimpong-Boateng said because of his backyard plantain farm, he had not bought plantain for the past 10 years. Nana Akufo-Addo expressed surprise at what the heart surgeon was doing and commended him.
Govt refutes claims over inflation rate
GOVERNMENT has refuted claims by the external branches of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that it is massaging inflationary figures and urged them to be abreast of inflationary figures.
It explained that the figures were released by the Ghana Statistical Services (GSS) after it had scientifically collected and collated information from the field and other sectors.
A Deputy Minister of Information, Mr James Agyenim-Boateng, who reacted to the allegations by the external branches, said it was not true that the figures were massaged by the government.
He explained that the government had no hand in the computation and announcement of such figures, adding that even other credible institutions such as the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) and Institute of Statistical and Social Research (SEPA) had acknowledge the prudent measures by the government which had culminated in the unprecedented 9.46 per cent inflation rate.
Mr Agyenim-Boateng said the Mills administration inherited an inflation rate of 18.1 from the NPP administration and through prudent, reasonable and measured government spending, it had been able to chalk such an unprecedented economic success.
He further explained that when government managed the economy to the extent that inflation figures tend to nosedive, it meant that the commercial banks would continuously reduce their interest rates and allow domestic investors to borrow at lower rates, expand their businesses, create more jobs and pay more taxes into the national kitty for national development.
He said despite the overwhelming debt burden, unplanned and unbudgeted for projects bequeathed by the NPP to the NDC, the government had through prudent economic policies been able to pay GH¢445 million out of the GH¢800 million Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) debt.
Mr Agyenim-Boateng added that in 2009, the government serviced some of the debt left behind by the NPP amounting to GH¢2.98 billion, and said those criticising the government should imagine the effect on the economy, if all those amounts had been invested in other critical areas such as water, health and education.
He expressed surprise that in one breath, the opposition was doubting the figures and in another, alleging that the figures had come down because government was not spending.
Mr Agyenim-Boateng said in 2009, government’s expenditures was GH¢ 9.1 billion while in the first half of this year,it spent GH¢ 5.4 billion.
He stated that beside huge debts left behind, another area that government was battling with was the numerous unbudgeted for projects initiated by the NPP administration “ in order to gain cheap political points”.
Mr Agyenim-Boateng said because the then government did not have any dedicated fund for such projects, which include the Ofankor-Achimota road, they had stalled and that the Mills administration would have to fund them in addition to all other competing areas.
He said the Mills Administration had been able to increase the national reserve from 1.8 months during the NPP period to three months within just of 18 months in power.
It explained that the figures were released by the Ghana Statistical Services (GSS) after it had scientifically collected and collated information from the field and other sectors.
A Deputy Minister of Information, Mr James Agyenim-Boateng, who reacted to the allegations by the external branches, said it was not true that the figures were massaged by the government.
He explained that the government had no hand in the computation and announcement of such figures, adding that even other credible institutions such as the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) and Institute of Statistical and Social Research (SEPA) had acknowledge the prudent measures by the government which had culminated in the unprecedented 9.46 per cent inflation rate.
Mr Agyenim-Boateng said the Mills administration inherited an inflation rate of 18.1 from the NPP administration and through prudent, reasonable and measured government spending, it had been able to chalk such an unprecedented economic success.
He further explained that when government managed the economy to the extent that inflation figures tend to nosedive, it meant that the commercial banks would continuously reduce their interest rates and allow domestic investors to borrow at lower rates, expand their businesses, create more jobs and pay more taxes into the national kitty for national development.
He said despite the overwhelming debt burden, unplanned and unbudgeted for projects bequeathed by the NPP to the NDC, the government had through prudent economic policies been able to pay GH¢445 million out of the GH¢800 million Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) debt.
Mr Agyenim-Boateng added that in 2009, the government serviced some of the debt left behind by the NPP amounting to GH¢2.98 billion, and said those criticising the government should imagine the effect on the economy, if all those amounts had been invested in other critical areas such as water, health and education.
He expressed surprise that in one breath, the opposition was doubting the figures and in another, alleging that the figures had come down because government was not spending.
Mr Agyenim-Boateng said in 2009, government’s expenditures was GH¢ 9.1 billion while in the first half of this year,it spent GH¢ 5.4 billion.
He stated that beside huge debts left behind, another area that government was battling with was the numerous unbudgeted for projects initiated by the NPP administration “ in order to gain cheap political points”.
Mr Agyenim-Boateng said because the then government did not have any dedicated fund for such projects, which include the Ofankor-Achimota road, they had stalled and that the Mills administration would have to fund them in addition to all other competing areas.
He said the Mills Administration had been able to increase the national reserve from 1.8 months during the NPP period to three months within just of 18 months in power.
GBA threatens strike
THE Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has resolved to withdraw its services in reaction to a call by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on the Chief Justice to purge the bench of corrupt and politically biased judges.
In a press statement signed and issued in Kumasi by Mr J. Osei Kofi, the acting Ashanti Regional President of the GBA, the members said the tenor of the statement by the NDC amounted to “intimidation and threat to the Chief Justice and members of the Judiciary”.
As a result, it stated, the members of the branch had resolved at an emergency meeting yesterday held on the High Court premises in Kumasi to withdraw their services.
It did not state for how long but said members had taken that action “in solidarity with the Judiciary and in protest against the blatant attempt to intimidate the Chief Justice and other Judges”.
The members said they were withdrawing their services pending a definite decision on the matter by the National Bar Council as to the line of action to be taken to address “this veiled threat to the Judiciary and the Rule of Law in the Nation”.
In a related development, two other lawyers and a politician have criticised the leadership of the NDC for the call on the Chief Justice to purge the judiciary.
They were unanimous in their view that the call by the party was an affront to the independence of the Judiciary, a threat to the rule of law and the democratic process.
In separate reactions, the three, a lawyer and member of the Convention People’s Party, Mr Bright Akwetey, a former President of the GBA, Mr Sam Okudzeto and a leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, called on the NDC Chairman, Dr Kwabena Adjei, to withdraw the statements in order to give assurance to the business community and the rest of Ghanaians of the commitment of the government to the principles of justice and the independence of the Judiciary.
Mr Akwetey said “Calling on the CJ to purge the judiciary or the party would purge it itself amounted to ominous threat to democracy and the good of the country,” he said.
He expressed disappointment at the posture and pronouncement of the NDC Chairman targeted at the Judiciary, which was a creation of the 1992 Constitution.
He said the framers of the constitution had provided enough grounds in Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution for the removal of judges of the superior courts and that any other means apart from the constitutionally prescribed procedure should not be allowed.
Mr Akwetey said such a threat, coming after the country had witnessed the gruesome killing of some judges by some individuals simply because they had problems with them, should be of grave concern to all.
Article 146 of the Constitution states that: “A Justice of the Superior Court or a Chairman of the Regional Tribunal shall not be removed from office except for stated misbehaviour or incompetence or on the ground of inability to perform the functions of his office arising from infirmity of body or mind”.
For his part, Mr Okudzeto described the NDC’s statement as a serious insult to the bench that was most respected in Africa.
He said it was frightening for a chairman of the political party to make statements of that nature about the constitutional framework that Ghanaians had in this country.
Dr Tamakloe said if President J.E.A. Mills was indeed committed to the rule of law as a learned lawyer, he must call his party comrades who “are currently prosecuting an agenda of persecution, hate and vendetta against the Judiciary to order”.
Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, who served as Ghana’s Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro during the Kufuor administration, said an intervention was quickly needed from the President if he truly believed in the tenets of democracy, adding that the ongoing politically-motivated trials would only do little in healing the sharp wounds of the people.
He alleged that so far the NDC had engaged in politically-motivated, Soviet-style show trial, hence its losses in the court.
“These cases are not driven by rational legal analysis but rather a determination to please party faithful and also justify wild and scurrilous allegations that the NDC made during the 2008 electioneering,” he said.
In a press statement signed and issued in Kumasi by Mr J. Osei Kofi, the acting Ashanti Regional President of the GBA, the members said the tenor of the statement by the NDC amounted to “intimidation and threat to the Chief Justice and members of the Judiciary”.
As a result, it stated, the members of the branch had resolved at an emergency meeting yesterday held on the High Court premises in Kumasi to withdraw their services.
It did not state for how long but said members had taken that action “in solidarity with the Judiciary and in protest against the blatant attempt to intimidate the Chief Justice and other Judges”.
The members said they were withdrawing their services pending a definite decision on the matter by the National Bar Council as to the line of action to be taken to address “this veiled threat to the Judiciary and the Rule of Law in the Nation”.
In a related development, two other lawyers and a politician have criticised the leadership of the NDC for the call on the Chief Justice to purge the judiciary.
They were unanimous in their view that the call by the party was an affront to the independence of the Judiciary, a threat to the rule of law and the democratic process.
In separate reactions, the three, a lawyer and member of the Convention People’s Party, Mr Bright Akwetey, a former President of the GBA, Mr Sam Okudzeto and a leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, called on the NDC Chairman, Dr Kwabena Adjei, to withdraw the statements in order to give assurance to the business community and the rest of Ghanaians of the commitment of the government to the principles of justice and the independence of the Judiciary.
Mr Akwetey said “Calling on the CJ to purge the judiciary or the party would purge it itself amounted to ominous threat to democracy and the good of the country,” he said.
He expressed disappointment at the posture and pronouncement of the NDC Chairman targeted at the Judiciary, which was a creation of the 1992 Constitution.
He said the framers of the constitution had provided enough grounds in Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution for the removal of judges of the superior courts and that any other means apart from the constitutionally prescribed procedure should not be allowed.
Mr Akwetey said such a threat, coming after the country had witnessed the gruesome killing of some judges by some individuals simply because they had problems with them, should be of grave concern to all.
Article 146 of the Constitution states that: “A Justice of the Superior Court or a Chairman of the Regional Tribunal shall not be removed from office except for stated misbehaviour or incompetence or on the ground of inability to perform the functions of his office arising from infirmity of body or mind”.
For his part, Mr Okudzeto described the NDC’s statement as a serious insult to the bench that was most respected in Africa.
He said it was frightening for a chairman of the political party to make statements of that nature about the constitutional framework that Ghanaians had in this country.
Dr Tamakloe said if President J.E.A. Mills was indeed committed to the rule of law as a learned lawyer, he must call his party comrades who “are currently prosecuting an agenda of persecution, hate and vendetta against the Judiciary to order”.
Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, who served as Ghana’s Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro during the Kufuor administration, said an intervention was quickly needed from the President if he truly believed in the tenets of democracy, adding that the ongoing politically-motivated trials would only do little in healing the sharp wounds of the people.
He alleged that so far the NDC had engaged in politically-motivated, Soviet-style show trial, hence its losses in the court.
“These cases are not driven by rational legal analysis but rather a determination to please party faithful and also justify wild and scurrilous allegations that the NDC made during the 2008 electioneering,” he said.
Govt is determined to better the lot of women MADAM Anita Jemima De-Sosoo, the National Women Organiser of the National Democrati•Says Anita De-Sosoo
MADAM Anita Jemima De-Sosoo, the National Women Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has told an international conference in Angola that the Mills administration is determined to better the lot of the Ghanaian woman.
She said the government was of the firm belief that the sound economic, health and political condition of women, who were the guardians of the family, could accelerate the development of the entire country.
Presenting a paper on “Public Policy and its Impact on Families and the Promotion of Women," at the conference, Madam De-Sosoo said key among issues that had engaged the attention of the government were agricultural development, provision of portable water, job creation and health delivery.
The national organiser attended the conference which attracted women leaders from 10 other African countries, at the invitation of the Angolan Women Organisation during the observation of its yearly celebration.
As an expression of the commitment of the government to women empowerment, Madam De-Sosoo said: “Government of Ghana under Prof. John Evans Atta Mills has appointed more women to occupy district, regional, ministerial and top positions. Currently Ghana has 21.06 per cent of women in ministerial and top positions and ranked 35th in the world.”
She said concrete steps were also far advanced to involve at least 40 per cent of the nation’s women in decision making and 30 per cent in Parliament, to influence decision and contribute effectively in the decision making process at all levels of society.
Madam De-Sosoo said the government had taken the decision to involve women in top decisions because at all historical junctures Ghanaian women had contributed to national economic and political advancement of the country.
She said over the last 16 months, the government had rolled out a number of measures to improve existing basic, secondary and tertiary education.
These include, free school uniforms for deprived basic school children, the distribution of over 42 million pieces of free exercise books, a 50 per cent increase in Capitation Grant, free school feeding programme and free transportation of school children.
Madam De-Sosoo said currently the government was constructing 3,947 basic schools which were under trees in rural communities, 7.3 million Euros earmarked for upgrading technical and vocational facilities as well as one million dollars from the GETFund for the procurement of tools and equipment for technical and vocational institutes in the country.
She said the government was providing low interest loans to all tertiary students in both pubic and private universities, polytechnics, teacher and nursing training colleges.
Currently, she said there were five public universities in Ghana and that the government was building three new public ones to focus on the study of allied and health sciences, waste and renewable energy among others.
“Although the entire impact of these policies are yet to be realised, it had made basic education more accessible and free to young people and have reduced the economic and financial burden on families and increased enrolment in the basic school," she said.
She said the sound financial policies of government had led to a decrease in inflation and interest rates, a situation which had allowed Ghanaians, especially business women to access credit at less cost to expand their businesses.
She said the government was of the firm belief that the sound economic, health and political condition of women, who were the guardians of the family, could accelerate the development of the entire country.
Presenting a paper on “Public Policy and its Impact on Families and the Promotion of Women," at the conference, Madam De-Sosoo said key among issues that had engaged the attention of the government were agricultural development, provision of portable water, job creation and health delivery.
The national organiser attended the conference which attracted women leaders from 10 other African countries, at the invitation of the Angolan Women Organisation during the observation of its yearly celebration.
As an expression of the commitment of the government to women empowerment, Madam De-Sosoo said: “Government of Ghana under Prof. John Evans Atta Mills has appointed more women to occupy district, regional, ministerial and top positions. Currently Ghana has 21.06 per cent of women in ministerial and top positions and ranked 35th in the world.”
She said concrete steps were also far advanced to involve at least 40 per cent of the nation’s women in decision making and 30 per cent in Parliament, to influence decision and contribute effectively in the decision making process at all levels of society.
Madam De-Sosoo said the government had taken the decision to involve women in top decisions because at all historical junctures Ghanaian women had contributed to national economic and political advancement of the country.
She said over the last 16 months, the government had rolled out a number of measures to improve existing basic, secondary and tertiary education.
These include, free school uniforms for deprived basic school children, the distribution of over 42 million pieces of free exercise books, a 50 per cent increase in Capitation Grant, free school feeding programme and free transportation of school children.
Madam De-Sosoo said currently the government was constructing 3,947 basic schools which were under trees in rural communities, 7.3 million Euros earmarked for upgrading technical and vocational facilities as well as one million dollars from the GETFund for the procurement of tools and equipment for technical and vocational institutes in the country.
She said the government was providing low interest loans to all tertiary students in both pubic and private universities, polytechnics, teacher and nursing training colleges.
Currently, she said there were five public universities in Ghana and that the government was building three new public ones to focus on the study of allied and health sciences, waste and renewable energy among others.
“Although the entire impact of these policies are yet to be realised, it had made basic education more accessible and free to young people and have reduced the economic and financial burden on families and increased enrolment in the basic school," she said.
She said the sound financial policies of government had led to a decrease in inflation and interest rates, a situation which had allowed Ghanaians, especially business women to access credit at less cost to expand their businesses.
Increase number of women to assembly — Mrs Akumanyi
Mrs Augustina Akumanyi, a Deputy Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has challenged stakeholders in the appointment of government appointees to district assemblies to increase the number of women to the assembly.
She said there was the need for deliberate measures to ensure that more women, at least 30 per cent, formed the membership of district assemblies in the country.
Mrs Akumanyi said this in an interview after a breakfast meeting for District Chief Executives and chiefs for the promotion of women’s participation in district assemblies elections in the Greater Accra Region, in Accra.
It was on the theme “Increasing appointment of women to District Assemblies; The time is now”. It was organised by ActionAid Ghana in collaboration with the NCCE.
Mrs Akumanyi said although statistics indicated that the number of women in the district assemblies had been appreciating since the inception of the decentralisation process, the rate was unacceptable.
She said the country abounded in talented, qualified and experienced female, who were ready to put their services at the disposal of the assemblies and should be encouraged.
According to Mrs Akumanyi, in most parts in the country, there were women, including teachers, nurses, retired female professionals who were desirous of assisting the assemblies but could not withstand the rigorous nature of elections.
She also called on the appointing authorities to always look beyond political considerations and select capable women to assist in the work of assemblies and also prepare them for future political considerations.
Madam Jeleelah Quaye, the only elected female assembly member in the Ga West District Assembly, who shared her experience with the gathering, said through the assistance of the District Chief Executive, she had been able to help many women in the 18 communities in her electoral area.
These, assistance, she explained included construction of boreholes, capacity building for other women, assisting women with employable skills and paid glowing tribute to ActionAid for helping her to realise her potential.
On some of her unpleasant experiences, she said there were times some of her colleagues and people in her electoral area would rain insults on her, call her all sort of names and even doubt her capability, all because she is a woman.
Madam Quaye, who is also the Assemblymember for Sarpeiman Electoral Area, also called on the appointing authorities to use the 30 per cent seat available to the government to increase the number of women in the assembly.
In a speech read on her behalf, the Minister of Women and Children Affairs, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, said in spite of the pivotal role Ghanaian women played in economic, political and social life of the country, the ratio of female to male membership in Parliament, district assemblies and other public and private sectors organisations did not reflect their population composition of 52 per cent.
She said one of the pillars that would ensure the successful implementation of government’s development agenda depended on good governance.
“Two of the areas that underpin good governance are women’s empowerment, gender equality and equity as well as the promotion and protection of children’s rights and development,” she added.
She said there was the need for deliberate measures to ensure that more women, at least 30 per cent, formed the membership of district assemblies in the country.
Mrs Akumanyi said this in an interview after a breakfast meeting for District Chief Executives and chiefs for the promotion of women’s participation in district assemblies elections in the Greater Accra Region, in Accra.
It was on the theme “Increasing appointment of women to District Assemblies; The time is now”. It was organised by ActionAid Ghana in collaboration with the NCCE.
Mrs Akumanyi said although statistics indicated that the number of women in the district assemblies had been appreciating since the inception of the decentralisation process, the rate was unacceptable.
She said the country abounded in talented, qualified and experienced female, who were ready to put their services at the disposal of the assemblies and should be encouraged.
According to Mrs Akumanyi, in most parts in the country, there were women, including teachers, nurses, retired female professionals who were desirous of assisting the assemblies but could not withstand the rigorous nature of elections.
She also called on the appointing authorities to always look beyond political considerations and select capable women to assist in the work of assemblies and also prepare them for future political considerations.
Madam Jeleelah Quaye, the only elected female assembly member in the Ga West District Assembly, who shared her experience with the gathering, said through the assistance of the District Chief Executive, she had been able to help many women in the 18 communities in her electoral area.
These, assistance, she explained included construction of boreholes, capacity building for other women, assisting women with employable skills and paid glowing tribute to ActionAid for helping her to realise her potential.
On some of her unpleasant experiences, she said there were times some of her colleagues and people in her electoral area would rain insults on her, call her all sort of names and even doubt her capability, all because she is a woman.
Madam Quaye, who is also the Assemblymember for Sarpeiman Electoral Area, also called on the appointing authorities to use the 30 per cent seat available to the government to increase the number of women in the assembly.
In a speech read on her behalf, the Minister of Women and Children Affairs, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, said in spite of the pivotal role Ghanaian women played in economic, political and social life of the country, the ratio of female to male membership in Parliament, district assemblies and other public and private sectors organisations did not reflect their population composition of 52 per cent.
She said one of the pillars that would ensure the successful implementation of government’s development agenda depended on good governance.
“Two of the areas that underpin good governance are women’s empowerment, gender equality and equity as well as the promotion and protection of children’s rights and development,” she added.
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