32,621 names on the voter register do not represent unique individuals- EC Chair
Madam Jean Mensa has clarified that the 32,621 names on the voter register do not represent unique individuals who have found their names onto the register but rather the number of times multiple registrations or a breach occurred. The EC Chair made the revelation when she appeared in Parliament on Saturday, November 7, 2020, to brief members of the house on their preparations ahead of December 7. Meanwhile, the Commission was invited to appear before the House on Thursday, November 5 but failed to show up. It was also revealed by Madam EC Chair, that Fifty-one (51) persons, who initially challenged the Electoral Commission’s decision to erase their names from the 2020 voters register in court due to various alleged irregularities, have had their names reinstated on the register. According to her, the 51 were part of a multiples and exceptions’ list with over 32,000 applicants. Clarifying further, Madam Jean Mensah explained that the 32,621 do not represent unique individuals whose names were found on the register but rather the number of times multiple registrations or a breach transpired. However, appearing before the House, Madam Mensa gave an account of the total cost on the new voting system already acquired for the conduct of its activities, stressing that only a part payment has been made to the vendors for the main time. She was confident that the infrastructure deployed mainly the biometric registration kits, verification kits, the software, and the data centers are working effectively. On the issues regarding voter register, Madam Mensa said a total of 17,029,971 unique individuals were registered after the process, which started on Tuesday, June 30, and 32,621 were put on a list of multiples (18,619) and exceptions (14,002) for a variety of illegal practices including under-aged registration. Apexnewsgh.com/ Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please kindly contact Apexnewsgh.com on email:apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications.
NPP man’s name appears on NDC sack list
Another one of the eighteen persons who the National Democratic Congress claims to have axed from the party for contesting the 2020 elections as independent candidate has come out to deny ever being member of the party. Dr Bonja Ishmael Anchomese of Krachi Nchumuru has challenged the NDC to provide any evidence of his association with the party. He disclosed that he has been a card-bearing member of the NPP since 2011 and has no affiliations with the opposition party. “If they don’t know their members, they should go and do their homework well. As we speak, I don’t even have a pencil belonging to the NDC,” he told Asempa FM. “I was never part of the NDC and I will never be part of the NDC. I decided to go independent but changed my mind. Even the colours of my posters show shades of red, blue and white, which are NPP colours.” Dr Anchomese also said that following talks with the leadership of the NPP he has decided to withdraw his candidature for the 2020 elections. Predicting doom for NDC in the coming elections, Dr Anchomese said he is joining forces with the NPP to win both the parliamentary and presidential seats in the area. “But the elders of the party advised me against the move. They said if my decision is about the development of the area, I should join forces with the NPP candidate so we can progressively work to develop the constituency. It is not about my personal interest so I agreed and rejoined the party,” he explained. On Thursday, David Tiki Dange an independent candidate for the Damongo Constituency threatened to take the NDC to court if they do not remove his name from the list. He, like Dr Anchomese said he has never been a member of the party and tasked them to do due diligence. “One would have expected a meticulous inquiry to ascertain the authenticity of this fact before the compilation of such list. “I want to state categorically that I have never been a member of the National Democratic Congress, in fact, I have never borne any political party card in my life,” a statement said to have been signed by Dange reads. Ghanaweb Please kindly contact Apexnewsgh.com on email:apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications.
Haruna Iddrisu hails Martin Amidu for doing a good work on Agyapa deal
Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu has extolled the Special Prosecutor Mr Martin Amidu over his report on the Agyapa Royalties Agreement. According to him, the report of Mr. Amidu touched on the very issues that the Minority had raised against the deal. The Minority had raised issues relating to corruption and cronyism against the deal. Mr. Amidu asked the Finance Ministry to pause on the scheduled Initial Public Offer (IPO) on the deal until after his investigations. He said on Monday, November 2 that he has finished with his assessment of the transaction and has accordingly submitted his report to the president. “The analysis of the risk of corruption and anti-corruption assessment was completed and signed by the Special Prosecutor on 15th October 2020. “The Special Prosecutor in a letter with reference number OSP/SCR/20/12/20 dated 16th October 2020 conveyed the conclusions and observations of the anti-corruption assessment to H. E. the President and the Hon. Minister of Finance as a matter of courtesy before informing the public.” “Two weeks is more than too long for this Office to continue withholding the announcement of the completion of its sixty-four (64) page report to the public. It is important that this Office has the freedom to discharge its anti-corruption mandate and keep the public informed. I have, therefore, decided to bring the facts of the conclusion of the anti-corruption assessment of the Agyapa Royalties Transactions by this Office to the attention of the public and to avoid the continued speculations on this matter,” he said. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, November 3 after the Special Prosecutor had released his report, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu who is also Member of Parliament for Tamale South said “I should commend the Special prosecutor for doing a diligent work on the corruption risk analysis of this particular transaction.” He further noted that the Minority will not support modification of the deal agreement. He said the deal should be cancelled entirely. “How is parliament going to remedy breaches to the Public Financial Management Act? “How is Parliament going to remedy breaches to the Public Procurement Act and its accompanying amendment? How is Parliament going to remedy payments made to Imara which has a decoy company of Data Bank? So I do not see the NDC minority ever supporting anything Agyapa.” Meanwhile, the Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has said there is a need for lawmakers to improve on the conduct of doing business in the House. This, he said, will cure some of the challenges that come along with the passage and approvals of some laws and agreements. He noted that Members of Parliament are not experts in all fields, hence are susceptible to making errors especially when there are not consultants readily available to give them advice on technical issues. His comments come after the flak the legislature is receiving for the Agyapa Mineral Royalties agreement, which the president has ordered to be resent to the House for a second look at it following the Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu’s conclusions in his investigations into the deal. Parliament has been criticized by a cross-section of the Ghanaian public for what they believe was a poor job done on the agreement. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has asked the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to return the agreement to Parliament. Civil society organisations (CSOs) led by Dr. Steve Manteaw claimed that the deal was rushed and is also not in the interest of Ghana. Similarly, the Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, said he will not recognize the agreement should he win the elections this year to become the next president because, in his view, the deal is bad. Speaking in an interview with journalists on this matter on Tuesday, November 3, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who is also the Member of Parliament for Suame Constituency, said: “I don’t know the content of the bag that is coming to us. If we access it and we believe that we can work with it then we apply ourselves to it. “Already, we have a tall order for us to process to transact. If adding to it and we believe it is possible, so be it. I don’t know what it entails so I cannot make a definite statement on it.” Defending Parliament against the criticism, he said: “There is nowhere in the world that Parliament is beyond reproach especially given our own circumstances when we don’t have experts to independently consult to give us opinions about that. “And we must be ready to improve on that in order to improve on the quality of our own positions on matters. All of us are not experts. It is important that we engage consultants and we don’t take whatever comes from the government as a given. So we must work to improve the conduct of business in the House. “That one, yeah, I agree but for anybody to say that we didn’t do a good work because we had four hours that is not true.” 3news Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
Mahama exposes Sammy Gyamfi over Menzgold payments
The flagbearer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama has exposed the lies of Communications Director of his party Sammy Gyamfi on as regards payment of MenzGold customers. Sammy Gyamfi is on record to have said that if John Mahama wins power, his administration will pay all monies owed by financial institutions which have been made defunct by the Akufo-Addo led administration. “MenzGold customers, this is your time, Gold Coast… We said all financial institutions… Do you think the NDC discriminates? All of them, all those institutions… I am telling you they are all part. Wherever they are listening to me now, I’m speaking in my capacity as the Communication Director of the party. All of them are covered under this promise,” he said in an interview on Accra-based Asempa FM weeks ago. But former President John Dramani Mahama in an interview on Starr FM which was monitored by MyNewsGh.com said he will not pay MenzGold clients. The NDC leader said he has never said anywhere that he will pay clients of the defunct gold dealership when he’s given a second term. “I’ve never said I’ll pay Menzgold customers. I said we’ll investigate and find out the level of indebtedness,” he told Francis Abban on Starr FM. He added: “Menzgold is a different kettle of fish because we don’t know the extent of what the indebtedness is. I’ve not seen any document that shows that this is how much it is. So unless you investigate and find out. “It looks like this government has been reluctant to investigate it or even go after those who fraudulently took people’s money. And so I said when we come, we’ll pursue and find out what the true facts are and we’ll take remedial actions to alleviate the suffering of the customers.” MyNewsGh Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
Ghana can’t have peaceful elections when citizens are not committed to peace – EC
The Greater Accra Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), says Ghana cannot have peaceful elections when citizens’ actions and inactions do not show their commitment to ensuring peace. According to Mr George Kwame Amoah, it is essential that Ghanaians are tolerant of each other and respect the choice of others in elections. “This will help us prevent attacks, insults, and intimidation among others, which are creeping into the country’s politics,” he said during the launch of Agents of Peace Campaign. His comments come after some NPP and NDC members attacked each other after a peace walk at Odododiodio in Accra. Mr Amoah speaking during the launch by the Church of Pentecost Kaneshie Area, on the theme: “Seek Peace and Pursue It” described the violence as “horrible”. He stated it was proper to allow political parties to have the freedom to a campaign since Ghana chose the path of democracy. People should have the opportunity to freely choose candidates or parties they were comfortable with, he added. Mr Amoah said, “peace is invaluable, don’t take it for granted. Countries who lost peace took many years to get it back. We need to pursue peace even after elections.” Ghana cannot afford to lose the peace her citizens are enjoying, he noted. The members of the church present also took the opportunity to pray for the upcoming elections, political parties and security agencies among others. The launch was characterised by patriotic songs, poetry recitals, and a documentary on some incidences of electoral violence and their effects. The campaign is expected to be replicated in 87 local assemblies within the Church’s 22 districts. Mr Amoah commended the Church for the campaign and appealed to the conscience of the people on the need to sustain the peace. The Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mrs Elizabeth Sackey, urged all to “walk the talk of peace” and desist from paying lip service to it. The Greater Accra Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education, Mrs. Lucille Hewlett Annan, noted that it would be difficult for people to enjoy their rights if there was no peace. She appealed to citizens to resort to arbitration, litigation, mediation and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms instead of war to address their grievances. The Kaneshie Area Head of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Mike Etrue, appealed to the youth to avoid being used as instruments of violence. “The youth should not build their muscles in violence but must build faith muscle for peace,” he said. He appealed to political leaders to seek peace because that remained paramount in Ghana’s democracy and development. GNA Please, kindly contact Apexnewsgh on email: apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible publications.
We appreciate your contribution but, the public needs to know you only contributed 12% of the total expenditure- Adongo family to Isaac Adongo
Clarity from the Adongo family Regarding Our Child’s Treatment by the MP for Bolga Central, 30th October 2020 In line with recent News about the treatment of our child in India by Hon. Isaac Adongo, it has become important that the Adongo family bring some clarity on the issue. It is worth noting that, it was never our wish to discuss our daughter’s health in the public domain, but once it has become a topical issue, we would kindly like to clarify the issue for two main reasons: 1. To clarify our expenses to other contributors who have raised concerns about what their contributions were used for, since the child’s treatment was catered for by the honorable MP. 2. To thank the MP once again and also explain that his contribution constituted 12% of the entire expenses on our child’s treatment abroad. We are however not seeking to belittle the support we had from the honorable MP. Respectfully, we would like to add that, preparations were almost complete for the trip before Hon. Isaac Adongo was contacted by a close friend to the child’s mother. We considered it as unexpected but very helpful contribution, and we’re forever grateful. Considerably, below is a brief breakdown of the total cost of our child’s treatment and the sponsors involved. The entire expenses on the child’s treatment at the Bolga Regional Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and the eventual trip to India was approximately $22,000 dollars (i.e Ghc 121, 000 cedis approximately as at 2017). We still have receipts on almost all the hospital expenses.The honorable Bolga Central MP’s contribution was Ghc15,000 cedis constituting approximately 12% of the total expenditure; which we appreciate very much. We are told the MP said he contributed 17,000 cedis, but the family can only confirm receipt of 15,000 cedis from his office. The remaining 88% contributions came from: 1.Family 2.Mr. Evans Abolga (Owner of Total 2 & 3 Filling Stations in Bolga town) 3.GNAT 4.Afrikids 5.Assemblies of God Church, Bolgatanga. 6. Other anonymous contributors. Therefore, if one contributor says he/she sponsored the child to India for treatment, it will be unfair to other contributors who also contributed significantly. It also will mean that our family did not use contributions from other sources for the intended purpose, since the bill was sponsored by the honourable MP. That is why the family finds it necessary to clarify the issue in public for people to understand the level of support we received from various sources with much appreciation. We respectfully call on the general public and all relevant parties to put a stop to discussing our child’s health in the public domain. Accordingly, we remain very thankful to each and every contributor; including Hon. Isaac Adongo our MP. May God bless all who supported us 🙏 Apexnewsgh.com Please kindly contact apexnewsgh.com on apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
President Akufo Addo asked Agyenim Boateng Adjei to go home and continue his conflict of interest
Apexnewsgh has it that His Excellency President Akufo-Addo in letter dated 30th October has terminated the appointment of Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement Authority, (PPA) Agyenim Boateng Adjei following thorough findings by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). A statement signed by the Communications Director at the presidency, Eugene Arhin, explained that the president’s decision follows CHRAJ report which concluded that the PPA boss was guilty of conflict of interest in a procurement deal , which was first investigated by journalist, Manasseh Azuri Awuni. Below is the full statement: Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana Please kindly contact apexnewsgh.com on apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
Don’t lie like the others, do as you’ve promised – Kpone Chief advises Mahama
The Paramount Chief of the Kpone Traditional Council, Nii Tetteh Otu II has charged former President John Dramani Mahama to fulfill all campaign promises he has made to the people of Ghana. Nii Tetteh Otu II further asked him to refrain from making extravagant promises, “and go by his promises”. He made this known when the presidential candidate of the New Democratic Congress (NDC), paid a courtesy call on the chiefs and people in the Kpone Katamanso area on Wednesday, October 28, 2020. The chief indicated that some political leaders talked the electorates into voting for them, prior to the 2016 elections but after they were given the mandate, they have failed in delivering their promises. Citing policies like the one district, one factory (1D1F), Planting For Food and Jobs, one million, one constituency, among others, Nii Tetteh Otu II expressed displeasure at how they are being executed, without intentions to spite the authors of the policies. Class fm Please kindly contact apexnewsgh.com on apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
Breaking News: Sammy Gyamfi thrown out of UTV; his show NOKW3R3 MMR3 suspended
Information reaching mynewsghana.net has revealed that United Television (UTV) has suspended a political program dubbed ‘NOKW3R3 MMR3’which was been hosted by the National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi. Management of the media house in a letter sighted by Mynewsghana.net states due to the program which is airing on their station, a lot of people have decided to sue their station which has led to the station suspending the program. “The Management of United Television (UTV), regrettably seek to inform you of our decision to suspend the programs mentioned above, which currently airs on our network on Saturdays at 7 pm and Mondays at 9pm respectively. This unfortunate decision has been taken due to the numerous allegations and legal actions the station has been faced with and subsequent settlements it has entered into which emanated from the airing of the programs. UTV’s willingness to allow your political party to purchase airtime and host your own programs on our channel was as a mutt of the restrictions imposed by the President due to COVID-19 pandemic, which does not allow mass gatherings and rallies. Knowing very well that as we are at the peak of an election year, the programs would offer both party’s the opportunity to reach a larger audience. Thus the aim of the programs as agreed was to allow your outfit to disseminate your campaign message and details of your manifesto to the general public in order for Ghanaians to make informed decisions during the 2020 Elections. The program took a different turn when same was aired. To protect our brand, avoid legal suits, retraction and apologies management has decided to suspend the program until further notice. We welcome any opportunity to discuss further, how our network can be made available to your outfit to educate the people of Ghana on your party’s policies and manifesto ahead of the December 7 elections which will not seek to place the station at a, legal risk and maintain our station’s ( UTV) unbiasedness in Ghanaian politics and reportage in general. Mynewsgh Please kindly contact apexnewsgh.com on apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications
‘Stop dragging OSP into partisan politics’ – Amidu warns Mahama
Martin Amidu has warned former President John Dramani Mahama that he should not drag the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) into partisan politics. He observed that John Mahama and the NDC in mentioning the OSP seek “to demonstrate their determination to prevent and fight corruption as a reason why the electorate must consider them as the candidate of choice for the upcoming elections”. According to Amidu, he finds such statements as needless within the objects, mandate and functions granted to his office under the OSP Act 2017 (Act 959). In a statement copied to GhanaWeb, Martin Amidu noted, “These pronouncements constitute interferences with, and attempts to influence the independent mandate of this Office to investigate, and prosecute certain electoral offences apportioned to this Office under the law which constitutes corruption and corruption-related offences as clearly stated in Section 79 of Act 959,” He added, “Any Ghanaian worthy of putting himself forward as presidential candidate for the upcoming elections should know the content of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) by now.” Amidu further added, “He [John Mahama] must know by now that under section 4 of Act 959, except as otherwise provided for in the 1992 Constitution, the Office is not subject to the direction or control of a person or an authority in the performance of the functions of the Office even when the Office acts upon the authority of the Attorney-General to initiate and conduct the prosecution of corruption and corruption-related offences.” Amidu’s statement is in reaction to John Mahama’s campaign promise that if elected President of Ghana, he will not interfere with the work of the Special Prosecutor. “If we come [into office], we’ll leave the Office of the Special Prosecutor to work freely, we will maintain it because it was established by Parliament. And the point is I will warn my appointees against messing with him [Amidu] because, if he gets hold of any of them for corruption, I cannot intervene. And that should be the attitude of a President towards corruption,” Mahama said on Adom FM this week. Political interference is rampant in Ghana, hence some pundits have observed that Amidu’s reaction is unnecessary. Read Martin Amidu’s statement below. Ghanaweb Please kindly contact apexnewsgh.com on apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications