President Nana Akufo-Addo has said his government is pursuing an infrastructure-for-all agenda throughout the whole country, rather than concentrate them in the big cities.
“We have been busy in the delivery of physical infrastructure as well, and I am happy to report that, after just three-and-a-half years in office, I can say, without any fear of contradiction, that every constituency in this country has seen the provision of some basic infrastructure to their communities”, the President said at his acclamation as the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Saturday, 27 May 2020.
“In other words, we have not limited the construction and building of infrastructure to the cities, but our towns and villages are seeing development as well, because we do not believe in leaving any community out of the development programme of Ghana”, he said.
He added: “The provision of water, toilets, warehouses to store agricultural produce are all helping to improve the look of the rural areas of our country”.
President Akufo-Addo said his government has “not stopped” its ‘water-for-all’ and ‘toilet-for-all’ agenda, adding: “We are pursuing an ‘infrastructure-for-all’ [agenda]”.
“Our approach is different”, Mr Akufo-Addo said, adding: “We owe it to Ghana to be different”.
“The huge investments we are making in agriculture mean Ghana will soon be a self-sufficient nation in food production”, the President asserted.
The Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, says if strict measures are not put in place Ghana’s COVID-19 case count can exceed 20,000.
Per updates by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) on Saturday, June 27, 2020, Ghana’s case count has reached 16,431 with 12,257 recoveries.
Kwesi Pratt speaking on Peace FM morning show ‘Kokrokoo’, Friday said: “the cases keep going up and we all know that the face mask and others don’t prevent infection…following the protocol does not prevent infection otherwise the health minister and others would not have been infected; they all followed the protocols. Currently, we have exceeded 15,000 and we can reach 20,000 and more”.
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Saturday expressed his profound gratitude to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for choosing him for the fourth time as his running mate for the 2020 general elections.
He also thanked the members of the National Executive Committee and National Council for overwhelmingly endorsing his nomination.
Dr Bawumia, speaking at the acclamation of President Akufo-Addo as the NPP’s Presidential Candidate for this year’s election, at Alisa Hotel, Accra, pledged his readiness to serve and work to the best of his abilities to retain the President and NPP in power in the December 7 Election.
“I’m most honoured and privileged that I have been chosen by the President to serve once again as his running mate.
“It is important to note that my job as running mate is to support the President in implementing his vision.
“The best running mate in the world will not make a difference if the President is indecisive or incompetent.
“I’m thankful that in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, I have strong, decisive, incorruptible and competent President to work for,” Dr Bawumia stated.
“I wholeheartedly and with humility accept the nomination and am ready and prepared to serve.
“Sir, it has been a privilege and honour working for you, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity, God bless you,” Dr Bawumia added.
Vice President Bawumia took the opportunity to thank the members of the NPP from the polling station through constituency, regional and national level for the love they had shown towards him.
Dr Bawumia was first selected in 2008 and re-nominated in 2012, 2016 and once again 2020, making him the only person to have partnered a presidential candidate the most number of times in the history of the nation.
The acclamation ceremony was attended by former President J.A. Kufuor, National Chairman of the NPP Freddy Blay, and members of the Council of State, Ministers of State, as well as some national, regional and constituency executives of the Party.
Investigative Journalist, Kevin Taylor has revealed that President Akufo-Addo has promised himself and the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to reduce Volta Region into a slave region hence once again warning the people of the region to sit up.
According to him, President Akufo-Addo believes the people of the Volta Region do not deserve to be treated like Ghanaians.
Mr. Taylor’s latest release of his With All Deu Respect show, “the plan of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and this NPP government lead by the Akyem Mafia for the people of Volta Region especially Ketu South is not a good one.”
If readers can recall, about two weeks ago, on With All Due Respect, Mr. Taylor indicated that the thugs who were allegedly recruited by the National Security will be sent to the Volta Region to cause mayhem including burning down houses under the disguise as members of the Western Togoland secessionist groups.
He stated that the plot is to put fear and panic among people of the Volta Regions whiles government takes steps to close down the Togo-Ghana boarders citing intrusion of possible mercenaries from Togo.
The grand agenda according to Mr Taylor is to scare voters in the region in December 2020.
His last two weeks revelation was followed a huge public outcry in the Volta Region of Ghana over reports of deployment of heavy security including armed soldiers, police, immigration officials at the various borders ahead of the upcoming new voters’ registration exercise which many have seen as unusual and intimidating.
A member of Parliament for Adansi in the Ashanti Region in an interview on JoyNews said the deployment is to help police the borders to present people who are not Ghanaians but speak the same Ewe language with the people of the Region from entering the country during the voters’ registration and voting day.
In another interview with the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery on the same network, JoyNews, he attributed the heavy security presence in the region to policing the borders to ensure the adherence of the COVID-19 preventive protocols and directives.
Listen to Mr. Taylor’s message for the people of the Volta Region
A release of some National Security operatives to the Volta Region ahead of the New Voter Registration Exercise has come to confirm an allegation by a US-Ghana Journalist, and Host of Social Media programme “With All Respect”, Mr Kevin Taylor that some thugs shall be sent into the Volta Region in November to cause mayhem ahead of the December 2020 election.
Mr. Kevin Taylor indicated that the thugs who were allegedly recruited by the National Security will be sent to the Volta Region to cause mayhem including burning down houses under the disguise as members of the Western Togoland secessionist groups.
Currently. some National Security operatives have been deployed to the Volta Region to supposedly prevent Voltarians and Togolese from registering for the New Ghana Card, according to The Member of Parliament Adansi Asokwa Constituency, Hon Kobina Tahir Hammond.
Addressing the Media on the heavy military deplored to the borders captured by Ghanapoliticsonline.com specifically Volta Region, he said that there is history to back his assertions.
According to him, both Voltarians and Togolese are the same tribe so they both work in and out of the two territories but history shows that they are not Ghanaians.
Africa Centre for Peace Building call for probe
The Africa Centre for Peace Building (Peace Centre) is calling on the security agencies in Ghana to step up the game and investigate allegations of an intended deployment of some thugs into the Volta Region in November to cause mayhem ahead of the December 2020 election.
“The allegation which was made in one of the videos of the US-based journalist and Host of Social Media programme “With All Respect”, Mr. Kevin Taylor indicated that the thugs who were allegedly recruited by the National Security will be sent to the Volta Region to cause mayhem including burning down houses under the disguise as members of the Western Togoland secessionist groups.
The allegation which was made in one of the videos of the US-based journalist and Host of Social Media programme “With All Respect”, Mr. Kevin Taylor indicated that the thugs who were allegedly recruited by the National Security will be sent to the Volta Region to cause mayhem including burning down houses under the disguise as members of the Western Togoland secessionist groups.” – Peace Centre’s Director of Security and Research, Mr. David Jawara Banye said in a press statement.
According to Mr. Banye, though the Africa Centre for Peace Building is “not giving any credence to these allegations call on the State Security agencies and especially the Volta Regional Security Council to as a matter of urgency institute thorough investigations into this issue to assure the good people of the Region and Ghana as a whole that their peace and security is in no way threatened before, during and after the December 2020 elections”
“As we strongly call of the state to act swiftly on this, some (agent provocateurs and war entrepreneurs) could take advantage of these allegations cause confusion in that part of the country for their parochial interest.” – He added
Weeds have now taken over the compounds of some basic schools in the Western Region following the long closure due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Some of the school blocks have developed serious cracks on them.
With barely 48 hours to the reopening, the situation in some schools visited by the Ghana News Agency showed no sign of readiness for school activities to resume as classrooms were still locked with rodents and debris and the compounds left unkempt.
Many of the schools that had some ongoing projects had stalled with the structures and some of the building materials left at the mercy of the weather.
Some of the schools visited include the Methodist Cluster at Agona in the Ahanta West Municipality which was a Polling Center for the recent NPP Parliamentary Primaries, Anaji MA Basic School and Effiakuma Methodist Primary and JHS in the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipality.
Others are Bedu-Addo Methodist Primary and JHS, Woode Methodist Primary, Wiawso Road Key Primary and the Cluster of Schools near the Bompeh Senior High School all in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis.
School parks which hitherto were used by members in the communities for training and other activities like funerals and durbars were no more whereas churches which had their services in the classrooms can no longer do so due to the ban on mass gathering, leaving the fields bushy and the classrooms untidy respectively.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to infections and deaths around the world, and in Ghana with numbers continuing to rise daily. Schools have switched from holding in-person classes to virtual learning. Even daily shopping trips and simple strolls down the street aren’t the same.
The President announced the indefinite closure of all schools, effective Monday, March 16, and with a ban on mass gathering as part the COVID-19 containment measures.
The Junior High Schools (JHS) will reopen for final year students to prepare towards their exit examinations as directed by the President that all JHS schools, both private and public should reopen on June 29, as part of the gradual easing of the COVID-19 restrictions.
Mr Benjamin Arko, Assemblyman for the Essikafo-Ambantem No. 2 Electoral Area, pointed out that arrangements have been made with stakeholders to clear all the weeds and make the campuses ready for teaching and learning to resume smoothly in the Area.
He suggested that Capitation Grant which was in arrears of one term could be released to the schools so that headteachers can use them to put the schools in order for proper and safe teaching and learning.
Mr Philip Evans Nyarko, Assemblyman for the Effia Electoral Area on his part, bemoaned that gates to the schools were locked, denying them access to the schools for any work to be made in them and said the pupils would be made to weed as usual when they returned.
The Member of Parliament Adansi Asokwa Constituency, Hon Kobina Tahir Hammond has said that Voltarians, especially Ketu South indigenes are not Ghanaians.
Addressing the Media on the heavy military deplored to the borders captured by Ghanapoliticsonline.com specifically Volta Region, he said that there is history to back his assertions.
According to him, both Voltarians and Togolese are the same tribe so they both work in and out of the two territories but history shows that they are not Ghanaians.
He again said that in 2008, those who are not Ghanaians from both Togo and Volta Region voted massively for the National Democratic Congress to lead in the second round.
When a Journalist interfered to tell him that there is no evidence to what he is saying, Hon K.T Hammond, insisted that what he is saying is a fact.
He emphasized that the military were deployed to the Volta Region to prevent all those who are not Ghanaians, specifically Voltarians and some Togolese from registering to vote.
The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has made special arrangements for certain groups of people to register for the new voter ID cards at their district offices.
Persons Living With Disabilities (PLWDs), pregnant and lactating mothers, as well as persons who are 60 years and above, can have their registrations at the EC offices.
The registration for eligible people within these categories of people will take place nationwide from July 2 to August 6 from 7 am to 6 pm each day.
“Applicants who wish to go to the district offices for their registration can download and print the Registration Form 1A and Guarantees Form in colour (where necessary) from the Electoral Commission’s website at www.ec.gov.gh, have their details filled and present them to the registration team to facilitate the registration process,” Acting Director of Public Affairs at the EC, Mrs Sylvia Annoh said in a statement issued on Friday.
Following a green light by the Supreme Court on Thursday for the EC to proceed with the registration, the old voter’s ID and birth certificates cannot be used as proof of citizenship.
Applicants for the new cards are to present a valid passport or a Ghana Card to prove their eligibility to register.
In the absence of those documents, the registrant must provide two guarantors.
Mass registration will commence on Tuesday, June 30, across all the 16 regions in five phases.
The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr John Boadu, has asked an aspirant who lost the Assin North constituency poll in the governing party’s just-ended parliamentary primaries, Mr Eric Amankwa Blay, to return the bicycle gifts he took back from the delegates following his defeat or risk being ousted from the party.
Mr Boadu described the aspirant’s action as “uncouth” and said the party does not condone such acts.
Speaking on Accra-based Atinka FM on Monday, 22 June 2020, Mr Boadu said: “Next time, he can’t even apply and even attempt to contest in any internal election. Nobody forced him to gift bicycles. Was he expecting everybody to vote for him because of the bicycles? Doesn’t it mean if next time someone shares cars, he must be voted for? That is not a democracy”.
Mr Boadu added: “He should return the bicycles; else he has sacked himself from the party. I am speaking on authority. The party will not recognise him anymore. He is done with the party. We can’t encourage such uncouth behaviour in our party”.
President Akufo-Addo has retained Dr Bawumia as his running mate for election 2020
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has retained his vice, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, as his running mate for the Presidential elections in December.
The announcement which was greeted with unanimous cheers was also approved by the National Council and the National Executive Committee (NEC), making him the official running mate for Akufo-Addo.
“Today I have the honour to put into consideration with you my choice of running mate for the fourth time, the excellent hardworking vice president Alhaji Mahamadu Bawumia. With your endorsement, the party will complete its presidential ticket.
A feat that appears to elude some of our opponents. We have no such difficulty we have a most fitting person to feature on our ticket and I give you Mr digital, Mr you and I were not there, the economic prophet, the Adam Smith of Walewale, my good and loyal friend, Alhaji Mahamadu Bawumia,” he proclaimed amidst cheers.
This means that Mr Bawumia has been selected by the NPP flagbearer for the fourth straight time.
In his acceptance speech, Dr Bawumia expressed gratitude to Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP for choosing him again and promised not to disappoint the President and the party.
Meanwhile, former President John Dramani Mahama and by extension, the National Democratic Congress are yet to make public the running mate of the NDC flagbearer.
Although a number of individuals have been speculated, Mr Mahama has noted that he is not under pressure to make the announcement and would do so in due time.
