Ghana’s economy retrogressing under Akufo-Addo – Minority
Minority MPs have returned a negative verdict of the state of the Nation delivered by President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, March 9. Delivering the State of the Nation Address, President Akufo-Addo among other things said “the government will come back to engage the House on the steps it intends to take on the future of the Agyapa transaction.” The botched deal was flagged as corruption laced by former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu. Mr Amidu resigned from the post citing interference in his corruption risk assessment of the deal by the President. The President also stated that there had been no food shortages in Ghana despite the Covid-19 pandemic. He, however, failed to touch on the country’s debt stock. But NDC MP for Asunafo South Eric Opoku accused the Nana Addo administration of borrowing over 165 billion cedis in four years with very little to show for it. The minority spokesperson on Agriculture further disclosed that the IMF has cautioned the government it’s likely to default in the Sinohydro bauxite barter agreement with the Chinese government. According to Eric Opoku, any such development will lead to the Chinese taking ownership of the said bauxite deposit at Atewa without the country realizing the benefits. Bolgatanga Central MP Isaac Adongo also stated that the President’s attempt to blame the Covid-19 Pandemic for the poor showing of the country’s economy cannot stand. According to him, the pandemic only exposed the underlying conditions of an already ailing economy due to mismanagement. Adongo argued that the country’s economy is retrogressing. However, the majority argued otherwise hailing the President’s achievements over the past four years. MP for Okaikoi Central Patrick Yaw Boamah who moved the motion to set the ball rolling scored the president high marks in the management of the Covid-19 pandemic Energy Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh argued that moves to negotiate with the IPPs to bring down the cost of power should be lauded. The former Education Minister further argued that the free SHS program which has brought relief to many is here to stay. He cited numerous requests for placements he’s been bombarded with from MPs of both sides of the house to buttress his point. Starrfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
“He knew that he was dealing with an opposition that had no teeth”-Kwesi Pratt reaction President SONA address
Kwesi Pratt Jnr Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper has described the Minority in Parliament as opposition with no teeth after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo State of the Nation Address (SONA). According to him, the president displayed huge confidence when he delivered his first State of The Nation Address (SONA), to Parliament on March 9, 2021. “Confidence which could only have been borne out of the realization that there is an opposition which has no teeth. Look at how he spoke to parliament yesterday, so confident, in fact, more than confident, exuberant,” he said. Mr. Pratt Jnr made the submissions on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show monitored by Apexnewsgh.com. “The president was very comfortable, very confident. In fact, one of the things he (president) exhibited yesterday was remarkable confidence, remarkable confidence. According to him, the president knew he could tame the minority at will hence his confidence when he appeared before the house. “He knew that he was dealing with an opposition that had no teeth. He knew that he was dealing with an opposition that he could tame anytime he wanted to tame,” he stated. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
LIVESTREAMING: Akufo-Addo delivers SONA in Parliament
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo per Article 67 of the Constitution is delivering the State of the Nation Address to Parliament. The President, having won a second term mandate will outline to the house an overview of plans for his final tenure in office. The address is expected to cover all sectors of national development including security, economy, agriculture, environment, education and more importantly health, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the roll-out of the country’s vaccination exercise as well as the government’s economic recovery programme. Watch the President’s Address in Parliament below:
I am passionate about seeing that the living condition of the people of Binduri improves–Abanga Abdulai
The Member of Parliament for Binduri Constituency of the Upper East Region Abanga Abdulai said he is passionate about seeing that the living condition of the people of Binduri improves. Mr. Abanga revealed this in an exclusive interview with Apexnewsgh.com. According to the elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Binduri, the source of good drinking water in Binduri Constituency is a big worry to the people, adding that is one of the most difficult situations the people of Binduri are facing. However, He was confident that been given the opportunity by the people of Binduri, he would make sure they take advantage of his networks. “I am hoping that am going to put in my best for them to take advantage of the network that I have, the people that I know, I am passionate about seeing that the living condition of the people of Binduri improves. Because we have a lot of problems there, people don’t have good drinking water to take. That is one of the most difficult situations our people find in Binduri, they can’t get portable drinking water. So, people are so frustrated, life is so unbearable for them. If you see the kind of water people drink over there, you will cry. So, we are trying to get everyone good drinking water in the next 4 years”. “Of course, there are issues about health, accessibility to health centres, supporting people who are in schools, employment issue is a challenge, a lot of people have finish school and they don’t have jobs, those who couldn’t go to school are in skillful work and they need support to expand their businesses like tailors, head dressers, mesons, carpenters they need support so that they can go through their training and programme and have something to do”. “We have a lot of infrastructure problem we can solve, the road network is very bad in Binduri, you know a rural constituency sometimes was part of Bakwu, so now, we have to work out to make sure we open up the place support people with their Agriculture because everybody in Binduri is a farmer. So, we have to support them to make sure everyone enjoys a happy life”. He told Apexnewsgh.com in an exclusive interview. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
You justified your inclusion, my confidence in you at Appointments C’ttee – Akufo-Addo to new ministers
President Nana Akufo-Addo has told his new ministers that they justified the confidence he has reposed in them as well as their capacity to serve, when they appeared before Parliament’s Appointments Committee for vetting. “The entire nation followed keenly your individual interactions with the Appointments Committee. In those sessions, you exhibited your capacity to act as ministers of state for all to see and justified to the county the confidence I have reposed in you to serve in government”, the President said to them on Friday, 5 March 2021 at the Jubilee House when he swore 28 of the 30 ministers-designate in. Finance Minister-designate Ken Ofori-Atta is yet to be vetted by Parliament’s Appointments Committee due to ill health. Also, the Minister-designate of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr Ebenezer Kojo Kum, could not make it to Friday’s ceremony at the Jubilee House due to ill health. The President administered to the 28 vetted nominees, the Oath of Allegiance, Oath of a Minister and Oath of Secrecy. Each minister was given an instrument of appointment and signed the oath book. “I am confident that together, we will work to realise the vision of the mandate given to me by the Ghanaian people in the victory of 7 December 2020, a victory which yesterday [Thursday], 4th March, was unanimously upheld in the lucid, well-considered judgment by a 7-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by the Chief Justice,” he said. The President continued: “I urge you to provide leadership that will ensure that the work which we are embarking on benefits the progress of our nation and help raise the living standards of our people. That is why we are here and that is why the Ghanaian people voted for us,” Nana Akufo-Addo added. “I am assured that the various backgrounds of each one of you will bring value to the governance of our country and enable us to deliver the commitments of our manifesto, the secret compact that ties us, the New Patriotic Party, to the Ghanaian people”, he added. Classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
“NDC used propaganda during the campaign and peddled several falsehoods–Wontumi
Bernard Antwi Boasiako the Ashanti Regional Chairman for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has confessed that John Dramani Mahama’s loss at the 2020 election petition must be a lesson to all political parties in the country. According the outspoken NPP chairman, the National Democratic Congress did not tell Ghanaians the truth that they failed to win the elections at the polling stations. Adding that lies do not win any sphere of life. He spoke on Accra based Original FM monitored by Apexnewsgh.com “The dismissal of John Dramani Mahama’s case in court is a lesson to all political parties in Ghana. This is to tell us that lies don’t win in anything you do. NDC used propaganda during the campaign and peddled several falsehoods but the Supreme Court has exposed them.” According to him, it is an indication that lies do not win in any sphere of life. Chairman Wontumi who was speaking on Accra-based Original FM said the NDC peddled falsehood during the election and did not focus on working to win at the polling stations. However, he encourages political parties to put in more effort in making sure they won elections at the Polling station than believing to win in court. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
“No difference between you and Makola market women Appiah Stadium fires137 NDC MPs
A known National Democratic Congress (NDC) serial caller, popularly known as Appiah Stadium has warned supporters of the opposition (NDC) and former President John Dramani Mahama not to expect something good from the 137 NDC MPs especially as they have chosen to engage in barter trade like Makola market women. According to Appiah Stadium, “There is no difference between a hawker doing a business at Makola market and NDC 137 MPs in parliament. They (137 NDC Parliamentarians) are doing business to make money from parliament”. He said, NDC loyalists must be dreaming if they are confidently expecting something meaningful from the Minority MPs. “If you are a member of NDC and you think the minority MPs are going to put President Akufo-Addo on his toes then you are daydreaming”. “All the 137 NDC MPs are in parliament for their selfish interest not the interest of the NDC party. They always think about their wellbeing not the wellbeing of the party and the grassroots” He said “Even in opposition look at how 137 NDC parliamentarians are enjoying good living than even NPP parliamentarians who are in power. It should tell the NDC grassroots why they shouldn’t trust and kill themselves for these 137 NDC selfish parliamentarians”. Apexnewsgh.com captured the statement in a Viral video making rounds on social media. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
‘The NDC had deliberately stabbed itself in the eye”– Kwesi Pratt Jnr
Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper Kwesi Pratt Jnr has poured his unstoppable anger at the leadership of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament for voting for MPs he described as not competent, despite calls from party followers across the country not approve the nominees. “The leadership of the National Democratic Congress not just in parliament, but all levels takes their members and their support for granted.” “I have always said that in approving ministers, the most important thing should be the national interest: are the ministers competent enough to handle their portfolios or not, and clearly it is obvious that some of the people who were approved are not competent enough to handle the portfolios that they have been given,” “You take the minister who has no idea about the structure of her sector and yet NDC people have made it possible for her to become a minister. This is disgraceful and in fact, they refused to listen to all the warnings which were sounded.” According to Mr. Pratt Jnr, the actions exhibited by the National Democratic Congress Members of Parliament(MPs) will have repercussions in the 2024 elections. “I told them in plain language that it will have repercussions in the 2024 elections. Who is going to risk his life and vote for you when you are going to betray them in this manner?” “the NDC had deliberately stabbed itself in the eye” He spoke on Good Morning Africa on Pan African TV monitored Apexnewsgh.com Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
“It is gratifying that the court’s proceedings were broadcast live–John Mahama
Former President of Ghana and the NDC Presidential candidate for the 2020 election John Dramani Mahama said it was the right thing to do. It is gratifying that the court’s proceedings were broadcast live, adding that Ghanaians followed the hearing diligently. According to Mr. Mahama appeared as the petitioner in the 2020 election petition, he represented the desire of an overwhelming number of Ghanaians, anxious for answers from the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission as the Returning Officer of the December 2020 Presidential Election. “I still believe that no matter the circumstances, it was the right thing to do. It is gratifying that the court’s proceedings were broadcast live. Ghanaians followed the hearings diligently. They understood what was happening even if the legal terminologies were not always easy to grasp”. “Even though the petition to the Supreme Court stood in my name, it nonetheless represented the desire of an overwhelming number of Ghanaians, anxious for answers from the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission as the Returning Officer of the December 2020 Presidential Election”. However, below is the full speech: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, Earlier today, the Supreme Court of Ghana delivered its verdict on a petition we filed against the declaration made on the evening of 9th December 2020 by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Mrs. Jean Mensa, on the Presidential Elections of December 7, 2020. My brothers and sisters, I did not take the decision to go to court lightly. In fact, many were those who expressed misgivings about my decision, not because we did not have a strong case, but because of the times we live in. I still believe that no matter the circumstances, it was the right thing to do. It is gratifying that the court’s proceedings were broadcast live. Ghanaians followed the hearings diligently. They understood what was happening even if the legal terminologies were not always easy to grasp. Even though the petition to the Supreme Court stood in my name, it nonetheless represented the desire of an overwhelming number of Ghanaians, anxious for answers from the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission as the Returning Officer of the December 2020 Presidential Election. Ghanaians were hoping to hear her testify and many are still baffled by the refusal of Mrs. Jean Mensa to be held to account by testifying in this case – unfortunately, with the unanimous agreement of the justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana. This vital part of the process to establish the truth and hold Mrs. Jean Mensa accountable was blocked time and again by a protective cordon and firewall that I am sure have confounded many Ghanaians. The refusal of the Chairperson is in sharp contrast to the readiness with which Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan, then Chairman of the Electoral Commission willingly testified in the 2013 Election petition filed by then candidate Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP. Speaking as a Ghanaian, with no legal training, I believe that the refusal of the Electoral Commission Chairperson to testify in this election petition, leaves a bad precedent for the future. I disagree with the suggestion of our Justices that an election petition is akin to any other civil litigation and therefore an EC Chairperson, whose functions go to the heart of our democracy, can by a legal sleight of hand avoid accounting for her stewardship in an appropriate forum such as the highest court of the land. Our legal team, led by Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, put together our case in a clear manner, which left no one in doubt about what the issues were. Apart from seeking to ensure compliance with the constitution and for the true choice of the people of Ghana to be respected, the Petition sought to provide opportunity for transparency and accountability in the management of our electoral processes. But no one who followed the proceedings in the Supreme Court will be surprised with the judgement pronounced some hours ago. Much as I am aware that we are legally bound by the decision of the Supreme Court, I disagree with the process of trial and ruling of the court. Ladies and Gentlemen, our 1992 Constitution says very directly in Article 125 Section 1 that: “Justice emanates from the people and shall be administered in the name of the Republic by the Judiciary, which shall be independent and subject only to this constitution.” I believe that the law should not be an instrument for partisan purposes. I also believe that the rule of law should mean one rule for all. What anchors the rule of law is equality and fairness to all, irrespective of creed, background, or political coloration. Justice, we must remember, is rooted in moral foundations. Ghanaians will always remember that moment when my lead counsel, Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, quoted from the Holy Bible urging the Justices of the Supreme Court to be faithful to their Judicial Oath and their conscience, only for the lawyer representing Nana Akufo-Addo, the 2nd Respondent, to argue for the exclusion of God in the matter. Yet, in the courts of Ghana, we swear on the Bible or the Cross, as we also do with the Holy Koran, to speak the truth and nothing but the truth. Ghanaians will also remember this 2021 Election Petition for that profound moment when the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission opted to evade public scrutiny. Everything was done in this trial to prevent the Commission from accounting to the people in whose name they hold office. Requests for Interrogatories were dismissed. A request to inspect documents in the possession of the Commission was turned down. The request for admission of facts was ignored. Worse still, she was aided by her counsel and the court to avoid explaining to the good people of Ghana from her own testimony, under oath in a properly constituted court of law, the errors she herself admits to have committed in the declaration of the 2020 Presidential election results. This is a clear stab in the heart
Election results didn’t reflect Akufo-Addo’s good work, Govt needs more PR– NPP Chairman
Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Frederick Blay has pointed to the need for the Akufo-Addo administration to invest more in Public Relations (PR) to sell the work of the government. He called on the media to be fair in reporting government achievement to citizens. According to Mr. Blay, if you compare the work the president did, that is not a reflection, we think we should do more PR and the media should do their work. He believes the party will continue with its good development across the country throughout the next NPP administration. However, according to Mr. Blay, even though the NPP won convincingly, they are not extremely excited about the results that they had 51%. Believing that the party could have done better a little better. “The court has spoken, it is now good work, let Nana continue his work for these 4 years, let’s prepare for 2024, let’s fight covid, let’s make sure development come to this country.” He further extended his call to the members of the NDC to join them build the country together, adding that Ghana is the only country they have Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093