Ofori-Atta is Ghana’s biggest pandemic since 2017 before Covid-19 – Isaac Adongo
Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central and Deputy Ranking Member on the Finance Committee in Parliament Isaac Adongo has fired back at Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta over the controversial E-levy proposal by the government. The Minister indicated that the government is still engaging stakeholders on the said tax to arrive at their final decision on the levy has been deemed as a mere political tactic which has no intention to adhere to the call by Ghanaians for the tax to be reduced. He accused the Minister of engaging in hiding and seeking on the issue and does not need the Minority caucus in Parliament before he heeds to the call of Ghanaians for a reduction. “Beyond the Minority, what does he have for the good people of Ghana? The country is not split into Minority and Majority. You don’t need the Minority before determining what is appropriate for the people of Ghana,” he said, noting that the government must listen to the concerns of Ghanaians and address them without deferring them to consultations with the Minority. The Finance Minister during a media briefing said the government will continue its engagements with the Minority caucus in the legislature and other stakeholders to get the proposed e-levy approved. “Having regard to its serious fiscal implications, we will continue our consultation with the Minority caucus in Parliament and other relevant stakeholders with the view to achieving consensus and reverting to the house in the shortest possible time,” the Minister stressed. He reiterated that the government will ensure that it will curb the issue of evading the payment of the tax. Despite assurances from the Minister, Mr Adongo appears not to be convinced that the government would change its position on the planned introduction of the 1.75% E-levy. He also accused Ofori-Atta of being disingenuous on the matter and causing a decline in the quality of democracy in Ghana. “Clearly they don’t’ want to move an inch from the E-levy. The Minister for Finance should be telling the people of Ghana what they have on the table. This hide-and-seek is an affront to democracy and an insult to Ghanaians. Don’t’ hide behind so-called negotiation. If it would have yielded any fruit, after two weeks you should have had results,” he said. “Clearly this is a man that is not being honest with us. And it is eroding everything that we have stood for as a democracy and I always say that Ken Ofori-Atta was the biggest pandemic from 2017 before we even got to know that there will be anything like Covid-19,” Isaac Adongo stressed. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Amend constitution to allow dual-citizens to be MPs– PPP
The opposition Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has demanded an amendment of the 1992 Constitution to allow Ghanaians who hold dual citizenship to take part in the governance of the country. Read the full statement below: PRESS STATEMENT DELIVERED BY THE PROGRESSIVE PEOPLE’S PARTY TO MARK DECEMBER 7TH AS THE FIX THE CONSTITUTION DAY 7th December 2021 Felix William Ograh – 1st Vice Chairman We thank you for responding to our invitation to this important press conference to mark the observance of 7th December 2021 as the fix the constitution day of the PPP. In September 2021, we declared December 7th as the fix the constitution day. It was and still is our aim, to remind Ghanaians of the need to conduct a surgical operation on the 1992 Constitution in order to make it a development and people-oriented Constitution for the Republic of Ghana. It is evident that after three solid decades of operating this document, a number of the aspirations in its preamble have eluded the good people of Ghana. Ladies and gentlemen, our consistent advocacy for changes to be made to the 1992 Constitution, is fueled by our undying passion to see the people of Ghana prosper in peace. With this current dictatorial, winner-takes-all constitution which allows for ‘create, loot and share’ by all parties that have been in power since 1992, the future does not look exciting. It will only become better if we make some fundamental changes to our constitution which will affect our politics and also affect the way we develop. Despite the numerous changes we have proposed in the past, we would like to stress and reiterate the following for consideration and to be implemented before the 2024 General Elections. The five areas are as follows: Return power to the people for all Ghanaians to directly elect their district, municipal and metropolitan chief executives without any interference from the President and cancel government appointees into the District Assemblies; Prohibit Members of Parliament from being appointed as Ministers of State or MPs must resign from parliament after their ministerial appointment; Strengthen the office of Attorney-General by separating it from the Ministry of Justice; Introduce a Public Declaration of Assets Regime; and Clarify the eligibility of Ghanaians in the Diaspora to hold Public Office MMDCEs [Amend Articles 242(d) and Articles 243(1) & 243(3)] It will be superfluous to recount the benefits of electing directly and by Universal Adult Suffrage all our Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) as well as all the Members of the District Assemblies. We would like to emphasize that the concept of government appointees should also be completely abolished. This matter has been flogged over the years with elected governments demonstrating a lack of political will to empower the districts to elect their Chief Executive Officers who are the true agents of development. The Members of Parliament (MPs) whose job is to pass legislation have arrogated to themselves the role of development agents with no constitutionally allocated resources. The result is that MPs have resorted to all kinds of unorthodox ways and policy violations to attempt to bring some piecemeal development to the people. For example, the office of the Chief Executive has become a trophy to be won and hijacked by elected political parties to reward party members who could neither become MPs nor Ministers of State. It is therefore not surprising, as their tradition, to see the current General Secretary of the ruling party travelling around the country to conduct the so-called vetting of applicants mostly, party foot soldiers, who have applied to become MMDCEs. When did a political party become a substitute for the established Public Services Commission for the vetting and appointments of candidates to occupy public office? The election of District Chief Executives is long overdue because it remains a democratic deficit and a major impediment in the development of the various smaller units that constitute Ghana. It will ensure that all the resources allocated by the Constitution through the District Assembly Common Fund are demanded by the elected officers and same sent to the districts promptly for local development. It will ensure local accountability, elimination of corruption and rapid development. If citizens are capable of electing the president and members of parliament, they should be credited with the wisdom to decide who governs them at the local government level. The political chicanery orchestrated by the ruling party to deny the good people of Ghana their power; following the aborted referendum on whether or not MMDCEs should be elected on a partisan basis must be viewed as a coup d’état against the people of Ghana by the political class. The question of a partisan election of MMDCEs or otherwise can only be answered by Ghanaians at a referendum so no one can sit in Accra and deny Ghanaians that opportunity under the pretext of a certain lack of consensus. How else can you know the position of Ghanaians on this matter other than through a referendum? The president and the other members of the political class cannot and should not use the partisan debate to conveniently deflect the urgent need for all DCEs plus all Assembly Members to be elected freely and by Universal Adult Suffrage. For the avoidance of doubt, we can actually elect our Chief Executives without going for a referendum. All that we need to do now is for parliament to amend articles 242(d) which deals with the appointment of one-third of Assembly Members and Articles 243(1) and 243(3) which deals with the appointment (and disappointment) of the Chief Executive. Making the referendum on Article 55(3), which prohibits political parties from local government elections, a pre-condition for electing MMDCEs is mischievous and a calculated attempt to postpone once again a very important constitutional amendment. We call on the government to choose patriotism over partisanship in this respect and allow the people of Ghana to elect their own District Chief Executives. If we want Ghanaians to allow political parties to participate in the local
Akuapem Poloo files Notice of Appeal against 90-day jail term
Lawyers of convicted actress Rosemond Alade Brown popularly known as Akuapem Poloo have filed a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal challenging the dismissal of her appeal by the High Court. On Monday, December 1, 2021, the High Court presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey dismissed her Appeal seeking a non-custodial sentence instead of a custodial sentence. The High Court ruled that, the 90 days custodial sentence imposed on her by the Circuit Court was not “manifestly excessive” and “harsh” and therefore cannot interfere with that decision. Five days after, her lawyers led by Andrew Kudzo Vortia have filed a notice of appeal to challenge that decision and notice for bail. A copy of the notice of appeal sighted by Starrfm.com.gh filed on Monday, December 6, 2021, stated as follows; “Please take note that the convict/appellant/appellant hearin, being aggrieved by the judgement of the High Court Criminal Division (1)Accra, Her Ladyship Ruby Aryeetey dated 1st December 2021 dismissing the appellant appeal against the conviction and sentenced to 90 days imprisonment imposed on the appellant on each count to run concurrently by Her Honour Mrs Christiana Cann dated April 16, 2021 hereby appeals to the court of appeal on the grounds set out below and for the release stated here under. “That the learned judge erred in failing to appreciate that as a young first offender and a single parent, a noncustodial sentenced of a fine instead of a custodial sentence of 90days imposed on the appellant by the trial court is appropriate in this case,” the notice of appeal stated. “That the custodial sentence of 90 days imposed on the appellant be set aside and in lieu, be substituted with a non-custodial sentence or a fine,” it stated. Aside, the notice to appeal, the lawyers have also filed for bail pending the determination of the appeal. EIB Network’s Court Correspondent Murtala Inusah reports that the notice for bail application would be moved on December 15, 2021. The convict is currently serving the remainder of her jail terms. On April 16, Actress and social media personality Rosemond Brown popularly known as Akuapem Poloo was jailed for 90 days or three months by an Accra Circuit Court. This was after Akuapem Poloo pleaded guilty to three charges. She was charged with the publication of nude pictures with her seven-year-old son. She changed her not guilty plea to guilty before being convicted. She was sentenced to 90 days on each count but the court said, the sentence must run concurrently. This means she will only serve a 90-day jail term which is three months. The Court presided over by Her Honour Mrs. Christiana Cann, said such cases are becoming prevalent in society, and Institutions including the court must act. The court said it took into consideration all the plea for mitigation before arriving at the decision. —Starrfm.com Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Your being here, is a sign of concrete progress– Guyana president to Dr. Bawumia
Mr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, has assured his country’s commitment to a “strategic engagement and partnership with Ghana” especially as the two countries to better the lives of their citizens. President Ali, made the point when speaking at a state dinner in honor of Ghana’s Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia visit, on Sunday, 5 December 2021, in Georgetown, Guyana, as he further stated that the Guyana-Ghana partnership was “not one of the usual engagements or talks”, but one to which both countries had laid out clearly defined expected outcomes. “We are very excited about this strategic partnership; it is receiving attention from the highest levels of Government. On the sidelines of the recent UN General Assembly meeting, we held bilateral meetings with Ghana President H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo and within weeks, a timetable to design and achieve a framework for strategic cooperation was in place”. “Within weeks our Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo was in Ghana. And just weeks after, Ghana’s Vice President is here to further work on the framework”. He noted He believes such move“…is a sign of concrete progress, and we will continue to engage and agree on practical steps and develop policies for the mutual benefit of our two countries”, President Ali said, to applause from the audience, which included the Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Heads of the security agencies, Ministers of State, captains of industry and some Ghana government officials. Remembering the resemblance in histories of the two countries, Vice-President Bawumia, who is on a working visit to Guyana, less than two months after his Guyanese colleague, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo visited Ghana with his delegation, said“…rigorous, open and mutually beneficial” discussions between Ghana Government officials and private sector leaders with their Guyanese counterparts, with the ultimate aim of knowledge- sharing and improved livelihoods for their citizens. He added, “Ghana and Guyana have long, historic ties. We are both robust democracies, have similar natural resources, and science tells us that we were all part of one continent until the continental shelves broke apart and drifted away. Our histories are very similar as well, and our bonds are very strong. This, I believe, forms the basis for a lasting partnership as we work together to design and put in place measures that position us as masters of our own destinies.” Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
NABCO: Interesting information about your E-Zwich
Hello…. Good morning… Please note‼️ Trainees with e-zwich issues (damaged, lost, expired etc; and or have acquired new E-ZWICH numbers…) are being advised by this notice, to visits their portal before 02:00 pm today, Tuesday 07/12/2021 to effect the necessary changes. Please, affected trainees must heed to the dictates of this notice accordingly. Thank you NABCO Secretariat Kumasi Metro. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/ Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
I enjoy peace of mind outside parliament–Former NDC MP
Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central constituency and the former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Mr. Inusah Fuseini has revealed, he is enjoying peace of mind outside Parliament house. Apexnewsgh.com report The former legislature in an exclusive interview with Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen said, whatever good he is doing currently, he is doing it for himself with any influence. Unlike the time he was representing his constituency and party in parliament without having anytime for himself as a person. Asking whether Mr. Fuseini enjoys farming than being in parliament, he said “…life is in chapters, what am doing now has its challenges and its experiences. It gives me peace of mind and happiness, it makes me conjure of myself, whatever i do, i do for myself, if i do good i do for myself and if i do bad i do for myself, if i put on hard work, am putting it for myself”. He stressed “So, I don’t need any motivation for anyone to tell me to work hard. I have to work hard because am working for myself. Unlike when one is in parliament, your party is on you, your constituents are on you. “So, this time when i get up and say am going to the farm, am going to the farm, when am at the farm working and feeling tired and I say am going home, am going home, when i say i will get to the farm at 6 o’clock in the morning, I will go to the farm at 6 o’clock in the morning. So, in this chapter of my life, i am in control of myself”. He told Apexnewsgh.com Mr. Fuseini, as very unusual with politicians in African, voluntarily declined from contesting the 2020 parliamentary election in his constituency. He is currently one of the moving trains in Ghana as far as commercial farming is concerned. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.