Bawumia consoles Kweku Baako on his mum’s passing
Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia has paid a visit to veteran journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako to express his condolences to his family following the passing of his mother. The mother of the Editor-In-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Madam Gloria Aba Addison, died at the Tema Maritime Hospital on Saturday, 6 March 2021. She passed away after a short illness. Madam Gloria was the wife of the late Kofi Baako, who served as Information Minister under Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Speak up against re-introduction of controversial Agyapa deal – CSOs to Ghanaians
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) leading the fight against corruption say the current state of the controversial Agyapa Gold Royalties deal lacks transparency. The CSOs are asking Ghanaians to speak up to immediately stop its approval. The deal was passed by Parliament in 2020. It was opposed by a section of Ghanaians as well as civil society groups. It was subsequently suspended by government after an assessment report released by the office of the Special Prosecutor. However, in his recent state of the nation address, President Akufo-Addo announced that his outfit will reintroduce the agreement in Parliament. This has sparked another wave of conversation among anti-corruption crusaders. Addressing the media after a sensitization workshop organized by the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition on the Agyapa agreement in Tamale, Executive Director of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), Dr. Steve Manteaw urged Ghanaians to rise up and ensure that Ghana’s royalties are not misused. “Agyapa has no transparency provisions such as we have with the Petroleum Management Act where we have a citizenship-led body in the name of public interest and accountability committee ensuring that citizens are able to have information on the management and the use of their revenues.” “Again, Agyapa does not have mandatory requirements in terms of how to use the benefits of our mineral royalties such as we have in our Petroleum Management Act. The benefits of mining largely accrue to the national government. But it is these poor communities that have to live with the negative effects of mining for decades to come. We have to be heard if they want our mineral royalties to be gambled with, in the way this government is trying to do”, he added. Agyapa deal During his first term in office, President Nana Akufo-Addo, through the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), set up Agyapa Royalties Limited to securitize Ghana’s gold royalties. This was after Parliament on August 14 approved the Agyapa Mineral Royalty Limited agreement. In exchange, the company had wanted to raise between $500 million and $750 million for the Government on the Ghana and London Stock exchanges to invest in developmental projects. The move was heavily criticized. Following a damning assessment done by the Office of the Special Prosecutor , the government subsequently suspended the transaction and asked the then Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to retable the deal before Parliament. The Special Prosecutor’s office insisted that several processes were flouted prior to the parliamentary approval. But the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and other government officials rejected the claims by the office. Citinewsroom Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
JB Danquah murder: Real killer is out there enjoying – Sexy Dondon to court
Defense lawyer in the case in which Daniel Asiedu is standing trial for the murder of the late Abuakwa North Member of Parliament (MP) Joseph Boakye Dankwa Adu, has said: “the real person who committed the act (murder) is out there enjoying.” To this end, Lawyer Yaw Dankwah said, justice must be served to ensure that innocent persons are not punished for other people’s mistakes. Addressing the court ahead of the commencement of the trial he said, “We will tell you the real person who committed the act and that person is out there enjoying.” He said, Asiedu, being underprivileged is not a license for the state to have him submitted for murder. According to him, the prosecution can not prove anything further to the jury apart from what they say is a confession from the accused person. Kumawood movie Asiedu, he said has been subjected to torture although the laws of the country do not allow the same and if there is a proper police investigation, that will not be the case. The prosecution, according to the lawyer is now resorting to a “Kumawood” movie as evidence in Court and if it does not fit, it is not a crime for the jury to convict the accused persons. Tragic investigation It was the case of counsel that, everything the prosecution has said came from the police, and “we will prove to you that the police did not do any investigations. It is a tragic death and tragic investigations. Lawyer Dankwah said the police did not do proper investigation to arrest the real culprit, but they decided to pin the act on innocent citizens to protect their own jobs. “We will also prove to you that, in their own investigations, they engage the services of Land Guards to find the so-called suspects. Your job is not to be convinced by who is influential, do not mix culture and tradition with law,” he said in court. State to call 10 witnesses The State has said it will rely on 10 witnesses in the case in which Daniel Asiedu, alias Sexy Don Don is standing trial for the murder of Joseph Boakye Danquah. Safakor Batse Principal State Attorney for the state noted that the state has compelling evidence to support their charges. She told the court that, the prosecution has filed all necessary documents it intends to rely on during the trial. The Principal State Attorney disclosed that the prosecution will also be calling a pathologist expert among the witnesses to lead oral evidence for the sake of the jury since it is a jury trial. She also told the court that, for now, the prosecution will be relying on all disclosures filed, however, should the need arise in the cause of a trial, prosecutions will seek the leave of court to file further documents. She said, Asiedu and Vincent Bossu, Alias Agogo are standing trial for conspiracy to rob. While the first accused is charged with substantive robbery and murder. By Court The Criminal Division of the Accra High Court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei-Marfo reiterated the duty and the role of the jurors in helping the court arrive at the determination of the matter. The court emphasized that, they have been summoned to perform a constitutional duty that is grounded under Article 125(2) of the 1992 Constitution “Your duty is to listen carefully to the evidence in this court and decide carefully on the fact as produced by the prosecution and the defence.” The court said, the case has attracted a lot of public outcry and the comments of the Court of public opinion shall continue till the trial ends, so they should be mindful. “Anything that will happen outside the confines of the trial should not inform your opinion. No biases, pre-opinions, compose yourself both in private and in public. Justice Osei-Marfo ended the court sitting with the scripture, Proverbs 17:15, and urge the jury to return a verdict that is reflective of the truth of the case. The Criminal Division of the Accra High Court has subsequently fixed April 26 to commence the murder trial of Daniel Asiedu. Starrfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Your premature flagbearer campaign could send us into opposition – NPP group to Bawumia
A group identifying itself as the NPP Grassroots has expressed worry over the preponderance of posters, videos and other communication materials of Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, championing his presidential ambition. In a release to the press, the group said it is puzzled as to why the Vice-President and his team were deliberately flouting the party’s rules and regulations when they were very much aware that it was against the governing party’s constitution for any member to begin circulating posters across the nation against an election which is meant to be held in 2023. The statement further noted that: “If party members who would want to contest the position of polling station executive, constituency executive, member of parliament and national executive in 2022 haven’t begun pasting posters, then, the vice-president must know better”. They stressed: “It is obvious that the new patriotic party cannot afford to lose the 2024 general elections. Especially when our party under Nana Akufo-Addo’s leadership has laid down a strong foundation to consolidate development”. The group also argued that it saw this “desperate” action of the vice-president and his team as one which is meant to “send the New Patriotic Party into opposition”. “This is because Ghanaians cannot understand why a vice-president, who must focus to support the president to be successful in his second term, would rather channel his energy into beginning his flagbearer campaign less than three months into President Akufo-Addo’s second term. Simply put, the vice-president wants to discredit the NPP in the eyes of Ghanaians”. The NPP Grassroots alarmed that the move could create chaos in the party said they take a strong exception to the action of the vice president and are calling on him to publicly disassociate himself from the said action if he is not the one sponsoring it and subsequently instruct his people to pull down all the posters in question. “Failure to do so will leave us grassroots members with only one option and that is to remove all posters of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia geared towards 2023 NPP congress,” the statement said. classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Thank you for your earnest prayers – Ofori-Atta breaks silence following post-Covid complications
Minister-designate for Finance Ken Ofori-Atta has attributed his recovery to divine intervention as he acknowledges even the doctors felt “someone upstairs” was watching over him. Mr Ofori-Atta had to fly to the United States of America (USA) to seek medical care after suffering post-Covid complications. Virtually joining a post-budget forum organized by KPMG on Tuesday, March 16, Mr Ofori-Atta said: “For me personally, I guess I would want to reiterate how merciful the Lord has been to me and also grateful for the prayer support from my family. “The challenge is my post-COVID-19 symptoms. It is in the Bible that says Peter, therefore, was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing for the church and for him and I have felt how God miraculously delivered Peter from prison because the saints prayed for him.” He added: “The doctors here have been fantastic and very dedicated, but even they acknowledge that there must be someone upstairs who is watching over me because the numbers were so critical. So thank you indeed for your earnest prayers which have saved me.” Despite missing out on his vetting, thereby making the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, authorize the Minister of State in charge of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, to read the 2021 budget statement and government’s financial policy, Mr Ofori-Atta, who has been the Finance Minister since 2017, shared his thoughts, particularly on the Covid recovery efforts by various governments across the globe. “…Globally, countries are looking at preserving lives and livelihoods and stimulating the economy for growth amidst this pandemic and I think we [Ghana] are not doing any less.” 3news Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Approving Akufo-Addo’s ministers ‘regrettable and unfortunate’ – NDC caucus to Council of Elders
The leadership of the Minority in Parliament has expressed regret over the mass approval of all the ministers nominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and vetted last month. At a meeting with the Council of Elders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday, March 16, the two parties agreed that the incident of Wednesday, March 3 “was regrettable and unfortunate and runs contrary to the principles and values of the party”. The meeting comes exactly after the Council met the leadership of the party over the approval of some of the ministerial nominees, who were rejected by the NDC members on the Appointments Committee. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Mavis Hawa Koomson and Dr Osei Afriyie Akoto were the three ministers rejected in the report by the Minority members on the Appointments Committee. But at plenary, the three received overwhelming votes to be approved as substantive ministers. This came as a surprise to some staunch members of the largest opposition party, among them the National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi. Mr Gyamfi took to his official Facebook page the following day to express disappointment in the leadership of the party in Parliament, casting insinuations at the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, and even the Right Honorable Speaker, Alban Bagbin, who until 2021 was an NDC MP. “Comrades, the betrayal we have suffered in the hands of the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, the leadership of our Parliamentary group, particularly Hon. Haruna Iddrissu and Hon. Muntaka Mubarak, and dozens of our own MPs, is what strengthens me to work hard for the great NDC to regain power,” he wrote on Thursday, March 4. “They brazenly defied the leadership of the party and betrayed the collective good for their selfish interest. And we, must not let them succeed in their parochial quest to destroy the NDC, the party that has done so much for them and all of us. The shame they have brought on the party will forever hang like an albatross around their necks.” But the meeting between the Council and leadership of the Minority in Parliament sought to resolve the fracas. “The Caucus Leadership have since pledged to uphold the principles and values of the party in our collective bid to develop our country,” Chairman of the Council Alhai Mahama Iddrisu said in a press release issued after the meeting. “The Council urged National leadership of the party to resolve issues relating to the Caucus leadership in Parliament and called on the rank and file of the party to remain calm, and provide the needed support to our Caucus in order to hold the Akufo Addo government strictly to the principles of probity and accountability.” It promised that the party will emerge from the setback “more united and focused” and will take on the government squarely. 3news Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Bagbin threatens to reject Akufo-Addo’s 2021 budget
The Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Bagbin has issued a stern warning to Committees which will consider the 2021 budget estimates against approving such estimates with the figures offered by the president. The speaker further disclosed that he will not forward the appropriation bill to the president for his assent when passed if negotiations are not done to find a common ground over the decision by the Presidency to reduce the budget by Parliament and the Judiciary. “The budget is not for the executive, we have the final power to approve or disapprove and so what the constitution has done is for them to make recommendations and negotiate during the deliberations of the budget before the House. “It is not for the executive to impose a ceiling on the judiciary or parliament, they have to do the proper thing. And so during the considerations of the [budget] estimate, particularly the committees concerned, take that on board and at the end of the day come and explain to us the negotiated figure and not the ceiling that has been given by the president, that is not the internment of the 1992 constitution.” The Speaker of Parliament added, “If you do otherwise, I as your Speaker will not affirm any letter for submission to the President for his assent, I mean what I am saying.” The Speaker’s threat comes after President Akufo-Addo decided to slash budget estimates for the Judiciary and the Legislature. The speaker during the presentation of the 2021 budget last Friday directed the caretaker Finance Minister Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and the Vice President to convey to the President that any slash in the budget estimates for the two institutions will not be entertained. Akufo-Addo’s 2nd term will focus on transformational agenda – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu In response, President Akufo-Addo through his executive secretary Nana Asante Bediatuo announced to the speaker a 77 million cedis slash in the estimate presented by the Judiciary and Judicial Service and over 119 million from the estimate of the Legislature. The presidency cites current economic challenges for the decision. In a sharp rebuttal, the speaker in a letter dispatched to the Jubilee House indicated that the constitution bars the executive from revising estimates presented by the judiciary and the Legislature since they are equal arms of government. The Speaker cited Articles 179 (3) and (5) and Article 127 of the 1992 constitution. When the matter returned to the floor, minority leader Haruna Iddrisu hailed the speaker for the move while arguing the law is on the side of the Speaker. Majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, however, cautioned against any antagonistic posture from parliament. According to him, the mid-year budget review could cater for the demand by the speaker. But Hon. Bagbin returned to reiterate that the constitution must be respected and will ensure that happens. Starrfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
See if the name of your friend and family member is on the Deputy Ministerial list
So far, these are the names available for the Deputy Ministerial position in President Akufo-Addo’s second administration. See the names below: Deputy Minister of Energy – Dr Mohammed Amin Adam Deputy Minister of Trade & Industries – Michael Okyere Baafi Deputy Minister of Lands – John Kobina Abbam Aboa Sannie Deputy Minister of Communication & Digitalization- Richard Ahigbah Deputy Minister of Info – Eric Amoako Twum Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture- Mark Okraku Mantey Deputy Minister of Health – Dr Nsiah Asare Deputy Minister of Agriculture- Hon Alex Tetteh Djournebuo Deputy Minister of Works & Housing- Joseph Frimpong Deputy Minister of Transport- Alhassan Tampuli Deputy Minister of Chieftancy & Religious Affairs- JABAAH JOHN BENNAM Deputy Minister of Gender – Esther Nyinaa Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Deputy Ministerial list: Okraku-Mantey for Tourism, Arts & Culture, Nsiah-Asare for Health – Report
The campaign by some persons in the creative arts industry to have Mark Okraku Mantey appointed as Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture appears to have paid off if a report by pro-government newspaper, The Chronicle, is to be taken on face value. The newspaper reported on Monday, March 15, 2021, that the celebrated music producer is part of over 40 deputy ministers appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. According to the report, Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr Nsiah-Asare, will leave the Jubilee House to the Health Ministry as deputy to Kwaku Agyeman-Manu. Richard Ahiagbah, the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute will join Ursula Owusu-Ekuful as her deputy at the Communications Ministry. Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen will be deputized by the former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Free Zones Authority who is also the Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi. Dr Amin Adam is set to retain his position as deputy Energy Minister while John Kobina Abbam, the MP for Mpohor, will be the deputy minister of Lands and Natural Resources. Pius Hadzide has, as per the report, been booted out of the Information Ministry with Eric Amoako Twum being his replacement. The Member of Parliament for Sefwi Akontombra Alex Tetteh Djournebuo will be the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture with Joseph Frimpong going to the Works and Housing Ministry. Hassan Tampuli, former CEO of the National Petroleum Authority who is the MP for Gushiegu has been appointed deputy Transport Minister. MP for Zabzugu, John Bennam Jabaah is heading to the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Ministry. John Kumah will be a deputy at the Ministry of Employment while Esther Nyinaa is the deputy minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection. The newspaper reports that this is the first batch of deputy minister-nominees which will be submitted to parliament within the week. Ghanaweb Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
We don’t represent NDC, we represent our constituents – Muntaka fires back at Sammy Gyamfi
Muntaka Mubarak, the Chief Whip for the Minority in Parliament has reminded Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress that national interest must always take precedence over that of the party’s. “I don’t want to go into the merit or demerit of the party interest. If we don’t take care party politics will overrun our own values and constitution and our national interest,” Muntaka told Adom FM. This is after Sammy Gyamfi accused him and the leadership of the minority of advancing their parochial interest at the expense of the party’s. “Some have sold their conscience but ours is intact. And we can work together to rebuild the party from the ashes of 3 March 2021, which I call ‘Black Wednesday’ – our day of self-inflicted shame,” Mr Gyamfi said in the post, adding: “This is the time for us to insist on the right changes in the leadership of the NDC group in parliament or forget about them completely.” “The current leadership have lost their moral authority to lead and are not fit to sit on the front bench of the NDC side of the house. More importantly,” he noted, “it’s about time we understood that we don’t have any NDC Speaker of Parliament”. “No, we don’t!” he stressed, in reference to Mr Bagbin, complaining: “We have a Speaker who rode on the back of the NDC into office to pursue his own parochial agenda and nothing more. You trust them at your own peril,” he warned members and supporters of the NDC. But Muntaka says the priority of parliamentarians is to do the bidding of their constituents which encompasses members of all the political parties and not just the NDC. He says that in the institution of parliament, the demands of a particular party are treated as a piece of advice and when it clashes with the national interest, it is imperative that MPs place the country over their party. He reminds Sammy Gyamfi again that when he took the oath of office, it was a pledge to uphold the constitution of the country and not the constitution of the NDC. “Every member of parliament swore an oath to uphold the constitution. The mandate of every member of parliament overruns his party. The mandate of every member of parliament is above the interest of the party because after the election you don’t only represent the party but everyone in your constituency. Your party is just one leg so anything from your party is just an advice. You should remember that the buck stops with you the MP.” “You swore an oath to your own conscience and values. As a Whip, one of my duties is to get everyone to appreciate the position of the party and to be able to factor it but the final decision lies with every member,” he said. Muntaka becomes the second NDC member in parliament to respond to Sammy Gyamfi after Speaker Alban Bagbin. Babgin in an Accra FM interview told the NDC Communications Officer that he represents the entire Ghanaian populace and not just the NDC in his current role. “Now, I don’t belong to any party. I’m Speaker of Ghana. I’m not a Speaker of NPP. I’m not a Speaker of NDC. I’m Speaker of Ghana. And I must hold the balance. So, decision-taking; no. My duty is to ensure that there’s an even playing field and the decision is taken and I announce it. That is all,” he explained his role. “And, so, if you sit down and look at me and think that maybe you were my girlfriend before [and, therefore] I should give you an advantage over another whom I’ve never met, please, then don’t come to me; you won’t get it. Let’s finish; after work, we can do that business together. Not when I’m working. That’s my nature; that’s how I’ve been up to this time and, so, it’s unfortunate that these things are happening,” he said. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093