I was not given fair hearing – Prof. Alabi responds to Auditor-General’s report
Former Vice Chancellor of the University for Professional Studies (UPSA), Professor Joshua Alabi, has disclosed that he was not contacted to respond to the Auditor-General’s report which made adverse findings against him and demanded that he refunds over GHȻ264,000 to the university. The Acting Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, in the audited report of public boards, corporations and other statutory institutions ending December 2019, directed that Prof. Alabi be made to refund the money which was expended in the procurement of legal services between 2014 and 2017 without evidence of work. “We noted during our review that, Management of UPSA, Accra, signed a retainer agreement dated 16th March 2014 and paid an amount of GH¢263,670.00 to Lithur Brew and Company a law firm as a retainer fees without evidence of the provision of any legal services to the University. We advised that, the former Vice Chancellor; Prof. Joshua Alabi and Lithur Brew and company be made to refund the amount with an interest at the prevailing Bank of Ghana interest rate”, the report said. But Prof. Alabi says the Auditor-General’s work was a done in a shoddy manner without regard to fair hearing. “In the first place when you do an audit and someone has questions to answer, you need to let the person know so that the person can respond, when you’re not satisfied, then you can come out with your report, I believe that’s what’s supposed to be done”, he told 3FM’s Dzifa Bampoe in an interview aired on Hot Edition. Asked if he was not given an opportunity at all to respond to the audit, he said “I was not consulted, so I also called Mr. Tony Lither to find out because he has also been asked to pay part of the money, it was also news to him”. He said Tony Lither was duly contracted as solicitor for the university and he worked as such. According to him, all the documents are available to show that he worked including representing the university in court on a number of cases. 3news Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Agyapa report: I visited Martin Amidu because he was ill not to influence him – Ofori-Atta
Finance Minister-designate Ken Ofori-Atta has said his visit to Mr Martin Amidu at the former Special Prosecutor’s home late last year, was because he had heard the anti-corruption crusader was not well. Explaining his visit to the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Friday, 26 March 2021, which was the second day of his vetting, Mr Ofori-Atta, who served as Finance Minister in President Nana Akufo-Addo’s first administration, said he also needed to have gone there to provide some information requested by Mr Amidu from the Finance Ministry. “As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve known the Special Prosecutor for a while; it wasn’t the first time that I was going to his home”, he told committee in response to a question from Minority Whip Muntaka Mubarak, saying: “Yes, I did visit him”. “I had gone to the office on a Friday and they indicated to me that he was not feeling well and he was not that well and I believe on the Saturday, the following morning, I did visit him. I saw him”, he said. Pressed by Mr Mubarak about why he had to go there when Mr Amidu, as Special Prosecutor, was compiling his corruption and anti-corruption risk assessment report on the controversial Agyapa deal, Mr Ofori-Atta said: “I didn’t feel that the issues at play stopped me from visiting him, he was not well and that was important for that to be”. “I also had supplied, as Ministry of Finance, quite a bit of information to him and, at times, he had written that he was not getting information as quickly as he wants and, so, there was a need, in my mind, to also bridge that gap”, he explained further. Mr Ofori-Atta dispelled any notion that he had intended influencing Mr Amidu’s report. “I think we all know that Mr Amidu is a very independent person and, so, to ascribe being able to influence him by what you say or not; we, as a nation, know that and, so, I wouldn’t say that that was an attempt to change his views or anything of that matter”, he noted. Mr Amidu, after resigning from office as the Special Prosecutor, revealed that Mr Ofori-Atta was in his house on 21 October 2020 while he (Amidu) compiled his risk assessment report on the Agyapa Royalties deal. Mr Amidu, in an interview, also wondered why there was so much vitriol against him from people in government following his release of the report. “The fact that you are in government doesn’t mean that when you are dissatisfied about a report, you go after the person or the fellow”, he said, revealing: “The Minister of Finance has been my friend for years; why will I go for him? When I was writing the report, didn’t he come to this house? Was he not here on 21 October? What did I tell him? Why is he now churning our information about me and targets and all that? Should I come out? Let’s stop it and I say let’s stop it before we wash dirty linen in public”. Also, Mr Amidu warned that if he were harmed in any way or killed, President Nana Akufo-Addo must be blamed for it. According to him, he had been the target of threats of harm ever since he left office in connection with his corruption and anti-corruption risk assessment report on the deal. Mr Amidu, who resigned from office as the Special Prosecutor on Monday, 16 November 2020, served notice to the Akufo-Addo government that if the attacks on him did not cease, he would be forced to come out to defend his integrity “without fear or favour” and damn the consequences. “Please, I have said since I left office that I was not going to do any fresh interviews about my resignation, I was not going to talk to the press. I am being pushed by so-called responses to me, which contain blatant falsehoods, to speak but I do not want anybody to blame me when I speak out and it becomes unpalatable”, Mr Amidu warned. “So, either the attacks stop or I’ll defend my integrity, even if that means my death. It is something I won by dint of hard work from the PNDC to date and I’m not going to allow anybody, not even the president, to pull that integrity into the mud”, the former Attorney General said. “I am a poor man who tries to lead a straight and narrow life and crusaded against corruption without asking for payment, so, they will try to destroy me”, the Citizen Vigilante noted, adding: “Anybody who tries to fight corruption must be aware from the beginning that corruption will fight back and all that is going on is corruption fighting back”. To him, “it is demonstrating that the whole rhetoric about fighting corruption was mere rhetoric”. “The time for reckoning has come and nobody should push me. I repeat: nobody should push me”, Mr Amidu warned again. He said: “They should tell their people, who they wrongly briefed to be telling lies about me, to stop before I decide to respond and when I decide to respond, I’ll do so without fear or favour, even to the extent that if my life will be taken for speaking the truth and defending the Constitution of Ghana, as by law established, I’ll do so”. Mr Amidu stressed that as a private citizen, “nobody can control me and I have a constitutional right too, to defend myself and the Constitution of Ghana, as by law established”, indicating: “Corruption and corruption-related offences are forbidden by the Constitution and assessment of anti-corruption is something allowed under the Constitution and must not be subdued under personal attacks”. “It must stop”, he emphasised. Mr Amidu said his critics and detractors must know that he is a “Citizen Vigilante”. “That is what they must remember”, adding: “All these threats about bugging me, armed robbery, burning my house, I’m aware”. According to him, several attempts by
ECOWAS Commission accelerates efforts to implement ‘Silencing the Guns’ agenda
The ECOWAS Commission has held a one-day workshop on the modalities for implementing the Silencing the Guns agenda in West Africa, a flagship programme of the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063. The workshop was organised through the ECOWAS Directorate of Political Affairs in collaboration with the African Union Commission’s Silencing the Guns Unit. Its objective was to further discussions on an ECOWAS strategy and approach to the regionalisation of the Silencing the Guns Agenda in West Africa and in coordination and alignment with the African Union. In his welcome address, the Director, ECOWAS Directorate of Political Affairs, Dr Remi Ajibewa underscored the importance of a common institutional approach including the establishment of an internal working mechanism to support coordination, steering and implementation efforts. The Head of Division, Mediation and Coordination of Regional Political Affairs, Dr Onyinye Onwuka, emphasised the important role accorded to the Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) in the operationalisation of this agenda by the African Union. The collaboration with the AU Commission thus serves an opportunity for streamlining of approaches around the Master Roadmap. The meeting was also addressed by Ambassador Osman Keh Kamara, Special Advisor on Silencing the Guns to the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security. Ambassador Kamara congratulated the ECOWAS Commission for the initiative taken to further work on this agenda, the mandate of which was extended by the AU Heads of State and Government until 2030. He informed that in this context, the AU Commission would prioritise cooperation with the RECs/RMs to ensure further cascading of efforts to support member states in the development of their action plans for the Silencing the Guns Roadmap. Opening remarks of the GIZ ECOWAS Peace and Security Architecture and Operations (EPSAO) Project were delivered on behalf of the Head of Programme by Ms Yvonne Akpasom, Head of Conflict Prevention and Electoral Affairs. Ms Akpasom emphasised the meeting as highly relevant to the determination of ECOWAS to increase cooperation and enhance synergy in addressing conflict at its roots and to develop robust response approaches and mechanisms in this regard. She further conveyed the commitment of the EPSAO Project in support this process. The Silencing the Guns workshop was supported by the GIZ EPSAO Project which is co-funded by the European Union, in collaboration with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
First AU COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Arrive In Ghana As Part Of Mtn’s Us$25m Donation
MTN’s US$25 million donation to support the African Union’s (AU’s) COVID-19 vaccination programme is on track to administer 165,000 AstraZeneca doses to health workers. The vaccines arrived in the country two days ago and were received at the Kotoka International Airport by Dr. Mathew Kyeremeh, Chairman of the Health Commodities Group for COVID-19 of the Ministry of Health. Dr Mathew Kyeremeh expressed his gratitude to MTN and said the vaccines were going to be administered to people with underlying conditions and frontline workers. In a major commitment to the health of the continent, MTN made the commitment in January 2021 to accelerate the AU’s critical programme. This was aimed at securing up to seven million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine overall, to be spread across all 55 AU member states, for healthcare workers specifically. “While the facilitation of the vaccination programme is in the hands of the Africa CDC and the African Union Vaccination Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), MTN is encouraged to see a clear plan and strong, accelerated move towards keeping Africa and its people safe and healthy. This is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that Ghana and Africa as a whole, is not left behind,” says Selorm Adadevoh, CEO of MTN Ghana. “As a company that is committed to the prosperity and progress of Ghana and indeed the continent, for MTN’s part, we are proud to be able to make a humble contribution to the millions of vaccine doses needed to reach herd immunity,” says Selorm. “We are excited and grateful to be receiving this share of the first one million doses as part of the AU’s accelerated vaccine programme, supported by MTN. While we are still in the early stages of the vaccine race, this initial contribution offers some very welcome relief as we start seeing the programme coming to fruition to the benefit of our dedicated healthcare workers,” says Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Minister of Health. MTN continues to call on all large corporates across industry sectors, to play their part by contributing to this and similar initiatives that can fast-track the rollout of much-needed vaccines to help get the virus under control. Following the outbreak of Coronavirus in Ghana, the MTN Ghana Foundation has supported Ghanaians with some major interventions to lessen the impact of the pandemic. MTN donated GHc5 million worth of PPEs to the National Covid Trust Fund. Again, the Foundation donated essential equipment to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research to enable rapid testing and data processing. The Foundation also donated over 80,00 face masks to 30 hospitals across the country. With the surge in COVID-19 cases in 2021, the Foundation recently donated PPEs to 15 Senior High Schools and 29 Hospitals. MTN Ghana also zero-rated several public websites providing health and other COVID-19 related information as well as over 200 websites for academic use by public and private educational institutions. Other educational campaigns such as the ‘BE WISE’ campaign and MTN’s global ‘#WearItForMe’ marketing initiative were undertaken to build awareness around the importance of correctly wearing a face mask to combat the spread of the virus. As at the end of December 2020, the cumulative value of MTN Ghana’s efforts to fighting COVID-19 was GH¢139 million. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
MTN Ghana Foundation donates PPEs to Zuarungu Health Centre
MTN Ghana Foundation has donated assorted types of Personal Protective Equipment’s (PPEs) to the Zuarungu Health Centre in the Bolgatanga East District of the Upper East Region. As part of the MTN Ghana Foundation’s contribution towards health care across the country, Zaurungu Health Centre in Bolgatanga East District of the Upper East Region has received its share of the COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) from the Ghana leading telecommunication network MTN. Addressing staff of Zuarungu Health Centre and some other guests during the donation ceremony, Mr. Obed Adu-Amankwaah representative of MTN Ghana Foundation and the MTN Area Sales Manager, North Regions who presented the items to the management of Zuarungu Health Centre used the opportunity to commend health workers across the country especially those working at the Health Center for their dedication in the fight against COVID-19 in Ghana. “As tough as the circumstances have been, our health workers have been up to the task in the fight against this deadly virus. We say Ayekoo !!!. According to Mr. Adu-Amankwaah, “…during this pandemic, we have acknowledged that protecting health workers is paramount, yet there is a lack of PPE in some of our hospitals and health facilities. Today, I am very pleased to be here on behalf of the MTN Ghana Foundation to make an intervention that is needed to protect health workers during this period. However, assorted items such as Face masks, coveralls, gloves, contactless thermometers, face shield, and mentholated spirit were handed over to the management of Zuarungu Health Centre on behalf of the health workers at the facility for onward protection against COVID-19. Mr. Adu-Amankwaah stressed, that the donation made at the Zuarungu Health Centre wasn’t an isolated one because MTN Ghana Foundation was making similar donations to 29 hospitals across the country. He said, MTN Group recently made a major move in the fight against this deadly virus COVID-19 by donating $25 million to the African Union to procure COVID-19 vaccines. “This partnership will provide 7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for health workers across the continent, which will contribute to the vaccination initiative of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). 165,000 AstraZeneca vaccines have been received in Ghana and handed over to the Ministry of health”. “Additionally, MTN Foundation donated PPEs worth GHc 5 million to the National COVID Trust Fund and another donation of essential equipment to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research to enable rapid testing and data processing. “MTN launched the “Wear it for Me” campaign to raise awareness about the importance of wearing face masks and also donated about over 85k KN 95 face mask to over 30 hospitals in all 16 regions”. He expressed However, he continued to encourage all Ghanaians to adhere strictly to all the safety protocols issued by local and global authorities in fighting this pandemic. Madam Aawulenaa Dorothy who received the Personal Protective Equipment’s (PPEs) on behalf of the Bolgatanga District Health Director described the donation as ‘timely’. Even though she acknowledges the interventions of some other well-meaning personalities and cooperate entities who have come to donate some PPEs to the facility in the fight against COVID, she believes the donation by MTN Foundation will go along way in sustaining the facility and its staff. She thanked MTN for their wonderful support so far since 2011 till date. “Before the year 2013, this facility you are looking at was in a very deplorable state and through the able leadership of the then facility in charge, one Madam Agatha and the then Regional Director of Health Service, they were able to put up a request through MTN and they came for an inspection to also assess the facility and see what they could do to help improve health care delivery to the population here and so after the assessment, they were able to take off the whole roofing and did a general renovation and even currently, the water we are using and enjoying was provided by MTN and that is something we are forever grateful. As I said earlier, we are always indebted to MTN. Madam Dorothy narrated to Apexnewsgh.com during an interview after the donation. Meanwhile, the in-charge at the Zuarungu Health Centre Mr. Abudu Malik who expressed massive satisfaction after receiving the donation from MTN Foundation representatives also assured putting the donations to good use. As Oliver twist, he appealed to MTN to assist them with an HP Analyzer. Richard Asamane, the Upper East Regional Territory Sales Manager of MTN thanked the management of the Zaurungu Health Centre for their wonderful reception as he reassured them that their doors at MTN are always open. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093