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You don’t develop a nation with free free things, create jobs – Mahama to Akufo-Addo

Ellis Ferdinand
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You don’t develop a nation with free free things, create jobs – Mahama to Akufo-Addo

Mr. John Mahama challenged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to build jobs for Ghanaians to have the purchasing power to buy goods and services, rather than to keep tossing freebies at people, recognizing that countries do not grow that way.

After the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana, the Akufo-Addo administration has given a number of free services to people as part of measures to alleviate the potential financial strain of the epidemic.

They include free water and electricity, tax cuts for frontline health workers among others.

“We have to invest money in productive sectors, and productive sectors will generate opportunities, and employment will create wealth for people,” he said.

“So if you say you can sit at home and we’re going to give you all safe, free, free, free.

“All the countries that developed didn’t develop like that,” he said.

The former President said.

Coronavirus: South Africa crime rate plummets during lockdown

Ellis Ferdinand
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Coronavirus: South Africa crime rate plummets during lockdown

Crime in South Africa dropped by up to 40% during the first three months of its lockdown, official figures show.

The police minister said most types of crimes went down between April and June – including sexual assault and arson.

He added that a controversial alcohol ban during the coronavirus lockdown had helped, but that attacks on liquor stores had increased in the pandemic.

Check This Out:  Bright Akwetey injects dynamism into CPP Flagbearer contest

South Africa has among the world’s highest crime rates. It has recorded over half the Covid-19 cases in Africa.

More than 500,000 infections and 11,000 deaths have been reported in the country – although BBC Africa Editor Mary Harper says this may be because of its reliable testing rates.

Police Minister Bheki Cele told reporters on Friday that the figures “paint a never-seen-before ‘rosy’ picture of a peaceful South Africa experiencing a “crime holiday”.

“These statistics show major decreases in all crime categories compared to the same comparative period last year,” he said. “A 40.4% decrease in the number of rape cases were reported during the three months.”

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Contact and property-related crimes – including arson and malicious damage – went down by 29%.

The ban on alcohol and cigarettes in lockdown South Africa has been controversial.

The country implemented a ban on alcohol sales between 27 March and 1 June. The ban was reimposed on 12 July, and remains in place.

In April, at the start of the lockdown, Mr Cele warned that his officers would “destroy the infrastructure where the liquor is sold”.

 

The police minister has been accused of encouraging a heavy-handed approach towards people caught drinking – including the alleged beating to death of a man in his own garden.

Bar and restaurant owners have also protested against the ban, saying it will destroy their businesses.

Protesters in Cape Town on Thursday
People in Cape Town protested against the alcohol ban this week. IMAGE: REUTERS

Last month, the South African Police Service released the country’s overall crime stats for the year 2019/2020.

Overall in the last year, carjacking, robberies of non-residential properties and murders all increased from the previous year.

Sexual offences, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and possession of illegal firearms was also up.

SourceBBC NEWS

NPP risks losing 2020 polls with newly-compiled voters’ register – Franklin Cudjoe

Ellis Ferdinand
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NPP risks losing 2020 polls with newly-compiled voters’ register – Franklin Cudjoe

President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe fears the freshly-compiled voters’ register could lead to the governing New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) loss in the December 7, 2020, general elections.

He says the NPP’s arguments against the old register, which it claimed was bloated, have been proven to be flawed, given the figures provided by the Electoral Commission (EC) after the registration exercise.

On The Big Issue on Saturday, Mr. Cudjoe reiterated his critique of the party and the electoral management body for deceiving Ghanaians as well as wasting national resources for a venture he feels was of no relevance to the country’s electoral reforms.

Check This Out:  Bright Akwetey injects dynamism into CPP Flagbearer contest

Franklin Cudjoe thus ridiculed the NPP for rather losing some numbers in a few of its strongholds and failing in its bid to intimidate registrants in the areas which are key to the opposition’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) chances in the polls, because the reasons given for the compilation of the new electoral roll were fundamentally illogical and baseless.

“I want to now believe that the NPP must move away from this long-held belief that the register was bloated. It was not based on science, logic or statistics. In fact with the border towns that they claim, apart from the voter suppression and intimidation, we saw by the military, even Ketu South turned margins that are consistent with times.”

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“What has actually happened is that some of their strongholds have either marginally or drastically reduced. Look at Ahafo-Ano and some parts of the Ashanti Region. Anytime the NPP has been in power and actually promoted the conduct of the new register, they lose the election. If anybody has benefitted from this register, it is certainly not the NPP. So if you think it is just numbers that will let you win an election, the data has not borne us out”, he noted.

Statistics must shape policies

The voter registration exercise ended with 16,963,306 persons registered to vote.

These provisional figures, as announced by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, are pending processes of deduplication and adjudication.

It includes the 30,814 persons registered during the two-day mop-up registration exercise over the weekend.

But arguing that the numbers recorded during the mass voter registration exercise would not have been so different if the old register was used, Franklin Cudjoe said the current turn of events means the time has come for Ghana to begin taking policy decisions that are well-grounded in “sound statistics”

“I think this country must allow sound statistics and policy to drive conversations. Look at the data, it does not serve anybody in terms of suggesting that the register was bloated. What we have done is that the EC managed to pull the wool off our eyes and in the end wasted US$ 120 million more than they would have really had. We have conferred on ourselves that we are statistically inept.”

I Will Be Shocked If Nana Addo Wins 2020 Elections – Blakk Rasta

Ellis Ferdinand
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I Will Be Shocked If Nana Addo Wins 2020 Elections – Blakk Rasta

Ghanaian Reggae Musician and Radio Presenter Blakk Rasta has asserted that the Coronavirus pandemic and its effects might serve as a disadvantage to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the 2020 December polls.


According to him, the pandemic has ‘stalled’ a lot of developmental projects introduced by the President and as such it has prompted people to look out for ‘newer faces’ in the upcoming elections

He made these assertions in an interview with Happy FM’s DJ Adviser on the ‘Ayekoo After Drive’ show.

Check This Out:  Bright Akwetey injects dynamism into CPP Flagbearer contest

“In this pandemic period, this is the worst time to be a president. Nana Addo has done everything he can in his own power to contain this virus. But whatever he does people will still complain. People are complaining. It is not easy. Free hot food and people are asking how much millions?

A lot of the plans he had from the time he came into power have all stalled. One Village One Dam, factories, etc. How can you do that in this Corona era. It has all smashed up. So people are looking out for brighter and newer faces to be able to do this. If Nana Addo wins this election, I will be shocked. “

The Barack Obama hitmaker noted though that the President of Ghana is not alone in this dilemma. He adds, “And he is not alone, all the other presidents in this Coronavirus,this didn’t help them. It is sad”.

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The coronavirus, which surfaced in a Chinese seafood and poultry market late last year, has spread to at least 177 countries, killing more people and infecting many others in a matter of months. The World Health Organization earlier this year declared the situation a pandemic.

Bright Akwetey injects dynamism into CPP Flagbearer contest

Ellis Ferdinand
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Bright Akwetey injects dynamism into CPP Flagbearer contest

An Accra-based legal practitioner and a leading member of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), Mr Bright Oblitei Akwetey, said he would match the flagbearers of the New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress in the race towards Election 2020.

“I have over the period critically examined the CPP and deduced that the Party’s inability to identify its core objectives, values and ideologies serves as the bane of its unappealing performance since the 1992 Election,” he told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra on Saturday.

He said the campaign theme: “Honesty and Integrity,” seeks to marshal a formidable force with the ability to wrest power from the NPP and bring the CPP back to the forefront of Ghana’s politics.

Mr Akwetey, who once investigated and prosecuted economic crimes in Ghana and The Gambia, said Ghana needed a president who had demonstrably shown the courage to fight corruption because the time for lip service to fighting the canker was over.

He explained that the motivation to contest for the CPP flag bearer slot emanates from deep-seated desire to see Ghanaians as a proud, confident, disciplined and law-abiding citizens, whose standards of living were measured not only in terms of Gross Domestic Product but in a general state of satisfaction.

Check This Out:  Akufo-Addo delivered ‘One-Village, One-Pothole’ instead of 1V1D – A Plus

“I want to see a Ghana where the average citizen can afford good quality health care, education, shelter, clothing, food and employment and has the opportunity to travel in decent transport and also on secure and safe roads,” he said.

Mr Akwetey said the CPP would dwell on Kwame Nkrumah’s ideologies as well as grass-roots membership mobilisation and craft a message that would appeal to the electorate.

He, therefore, called on the delegates to vote for him adding: “loyalty must pay, I must be lucky this third time. I contested for the 2012 and 2016 flag bearer slot and lost but am not perturbed, for the interest of the CPP and Ghana I’m here again seeking your votes. Vote for Bright O. Akwetey for honesty and integrity”.

Pension scheme and insurance package for MPs in the offing

Ellis Ferdinand
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Pension scheme and insurance package for MPs in the offing

A pension scheme and insurance package for Members of Parliament (MPs) is in the offing.

This has become necessary with increasing reports of bad living conditions after MP’s service to the Nation.

Check This Out:  Akufo-Addo delivered ‘One-Village, One-Pothole’ instead of 1V1D – A Plus

Speaker, Prof. Mike Oquaye, stated this, at the end of the Second Meeting, of the Fourth Session, of the Seventh Parliament.

The House has since adjourned sine die.

Sourcegbcghanaonline

Mistrust among political actors contributing to electoral violence – NPC

Ellis Ferdinand
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Mistrust among political actors contributing to electoral violence – NPC

Chairman of the National Peace Council (NPC), Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante says mistrust among political actors is contributing immensely to electoral violence in the country.

According to him, there is a trust deficit in Ghana’s electoral system, especially on the part of political parties, thereby giving room for political vigilantes to protect their interests.

Prof. Asante who was addressing an advocacy workshop on Vigilantism and Related Offences Act at Asante Mampong in Ashanti, also underlined the need for ruling parties to ensure the independence of state institutions to avert needless suspicions when in opposition.

The workshop which was organized by the Ashanti Regional Peace Council with funding from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) was to sensitize participants on the Vigilantism Act which has outlawed the existence of vigilante groups.

Check This Out:  Akufo-Addo delivered ‘One-Village, One-Pothole’ instead of 1V1D – A Plus

The Executive Secretary of the Ashanti Regional Peace Council Rev. Emmanuel Amoah in a presentation said, the quest for peace should be paramount for all and urged the participants to influence their organizations in the fight against political vigilantism and violence.

He said as key stakeholders competing to lead the country, politicians must prioritize national interest ahead of their Parties.

Otumfuo’s Sumankwahene and a member of the Ashanti Regional Peace Council, Baffour Asare Ababio entreated residents of Ashanti to eschew acts that will disturb the country’s peace.

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Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante said it is time political parties worked together for sustainable peace in the country.

He condemned the violence that nearly marred the nationwide registration exercise.

Rev. Prof. Asante advised the security agencies, particularly the Police to desist from unwarranted harassment of citizens.

 

Akufo-Addo delivered ‘One-Village, One-Pothole’ instead of 1V1D – A Plus

Ellis Ferdinand
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Akufo-Addo delivered ‘One-Village, One-Pothole’ instead of 1V1D – A Plus

Ghanaian musician, politician and leader of The People’s Project (TPP) movement, Kwame Asare Obeng (A Plus), says President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has failed on his one-village one-dam promise to Ghanaians.


President Akufo-Addo in the run-up to the 2016 general elections promised to construct a dam in every village in the northern part of the country to enable farming all-year-round.

Though some of the dams have been completed, A Plus described the dams as substandard.

“Nana Addo is not making us believe politicians again. He promised one village, one dam and he has given us One-Village One-Porthole”, he told Berla Mundi on TV3’s New Day Friday, August 14.

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He, however, lauded the president for implementing some good initiatives which include the Free Senior High School (FSHS) programme.

“He has done some, this free SHS,” he said.

Touching on the size of Akufo-Addo’s government, he said a Ghanaian president does not need more than forty ministers to be able to govern the country.

The disappointed member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), said with less than 40 ministers a president should be able to govern effectively.

A-Plus observed that both the NPP and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have all failed Ghanaians.

Parliament approves GHc 174 million personal emoluments waiver for health workers

Ellis Ferdinand
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Parliament approves GHc 174 million personal emoluments waiver for health workers
Parliament has approved 174 million cedis as a waiver on income taxes for frontline health workers. The waiver covers personal emoluments for the months of July, August and September.
The approval is in line with President Akufo-Addo’s promise to give frontline health workers additional allowances of 50% and exempted income per month.
The tax incentive was designed by the government as a token compensation for frontline healthcare workers, to encourage them to continue to make sacrifices in caring for those infected with COVID-19.

Check This Out: University of Mines and Technology gets new Vice Chancellor

According to a report by the Finance Committee, the number of health workers who fell within the frontline category for the months of April, May and June 2020 was 6091, 7418 and 7196 with corresponding expenditure on the additional allowances being 6.5  million, 7.5 million, and 7.6 million for the month of April, May and June 2020.

Presenting the Finance Committee’s Report, the Chairman, Dr Mark Assibey Yeboah, said personal emoluments are estimated at 168 million and additional allowances at 5 million cedis.

Meanwhile, the Minority is demanding answers from the government on those captured on the beneficiary list as they allege, BNI officers are included in the list.

In a reaction, the Vice Chairman of Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr Ayew Afriyie, said there was a difficulty identifying frontline personnel but that has been addressed.

 

Sourcegbcghanaonline

University of Mines and Technology gets new Vice Chancellor

Ellis Ferdinand
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University of Mines and Technology gets new Vice Chancellor

The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) Tarkwa, has appointed Professor Richard Kwesi Amankwah, as its new Vice-Chancellor for a four-year term from October 16, 2020, to July 2024.

The University Council announced this after its meeting yesterday.

Until his appointment, Professor Amankwah was the Dean, Faculty of Integrated Management Science of UMaT.

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He takes over from Professor Jerry Yao Kumah, who is due for retirement.

The Council also announced the appointment of Jonathan Sakoe, as the Finance Officer for a four-year term from September 1, 2020, to July 31, 2024.

Mr. Sakoe was in an acting capacity at the University, until his appointment

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