Ministerial Reshuffling: Full list will blow your mind
Politics

Ministerial Reshuffling: Full list will blow your mind

Even though it has not been made official, scanty Information making rounds has it that President Akufo-Addo has finally settled on reshuffling a few of his ministers after six years in office. Meanwhile, a list incepted by Apexnewsgh.com shows that Ursula Owusu is moving in as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and Bryan Acheampong has been named as the interior minister-designate, and attorney Atta-Akyea, a member from Abuakwa South, is returning to the food and agriculture ministry to succeed Dr. Afriyie Akoto. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah is heading back as Minister for Communications Below is the full list: 1. Minister for Roads & Highways – Maintained 2. Minister for Defense – Maintained 3. Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration – Ursula Owusu 4. Minister for Interior – Bryan Acheampong 5. Minister for Works and Housing – Maintained 6. Minister for Food & Agriculture – Samuel Atta Akyea 7. Office of the Attorney General and Minister for Justice – Maintained 8. Minister for Lands and Natural Resources – Dan Botwe 9. Minister for Local Government and Rural Integration – Ignatius Baffour-Awuah 10 Minister for Trade and Industry – Abu Jinapor 11. Minister for Finance – Maintained 12. Minister for Health – Matthew Opoku Prempeh 13. Minister for Railways Development – Maintained 14. Minister for Employment and Labour Relations – O. B. Amoah 15. Minister for National Security – Maintained. 16. Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of National Security – Ambrose Dery 17. Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development – Maintained. 18. Minister for Communications – Kojo Oppong Nkrumah 19. Minister for Education – Maintained 20. Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources – Maintained 21. Minister for Transport – Maintained 22. Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts – Maintained 23. Minister for Environment, Science and Technology – Maintained 24. National Security Minister – Maintained 25. Minister for Information – Herbert Krapah 26. Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection – Maintained 27. Minister for Youth and Sports – Maintained 28. Minister for Energy – Kwabena Tahiru Hammond For publication please kindly contact us on +233256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com

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NPP founding member tackles Ursula Owusu over E-levy Ursula Owusu Ekuful
Opinion

NPP founding member tackles Ursula Owusu over E-levy

Renowned economist and founding member of the governing New Patriotic Party, Kwame Pianim, has dismissed assertions by Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful that anyone who makes a mobile money transaction that exceeds GH¢100 is not poor. Kwame Pianim says the statement by the minister is blank as it does stipulate whether the amount is the person’s income. “You sit down and say that someone sending GH¢100 is rich and must pay e-levy, what if the person’s turnover is the GH¢100. What is the profit on that amount? For instance, if someone earns GH¢5 per day. Multiply that by 30 and you will get GH¢1500, divide that by six and you will get $20. That is the person’s earning for a month and she claims you are not poor?” he quizzed. Kwame Pianim criticized Parliament not showing concern about the plight of Ghanaians. He said that the 2021 Appropriations Bill for the 2022 fiscal year was approved by the house because they will benefit from it. “When they get to Parliament, do they know what poverty is? We pay them well. Parliamentarians benefit from expenditures so is that why they approved the appropriation.” Ursula Owusu-Ekuful on November 18 said government was right to impose charges on mobile money transaction as the sector has become a ripe one for movement of money. “So if you really are poor and you are in a position to send a GH¢100 a day, then we need to re-classify our definition of who really the beneficiaries of these are. And it is only the sender who pays, not the recipient. Unlike the telcos where both the sender and receiver pay. “So if you are looking at bulk payments, cashouts, person to person transfers, wallet to bank transfers, as of October we are looking at about GH¢11 million, if you are looking at the merchants, debit payments, sending, transfers, transfers to vouchers and the cashouts we are looking at GH¢440 million. “If you are looking at GHIPSS, and merchant payments and direct debit payments and organisations paying to customers and paying bills and sending money we are looking at GH¢45 million so in total it is possible for the government to get about GH¢500 million from this in a month,” she explained on GhOne. Meanwhile Parliament has suspended deliberations on the levy that will see Ghanaians pay a 1.75% charge on any electronic transaction that exceeds GH¢100. The house has deferred voting on the matter to January 18, 2022 when it resumes sitting. Ghanaweb Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093

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Here are the ministerial hopefuls who should expect a tough vetting
Politics

Here are the ministerial hopefuls who should expect a tough vetting

In the coming days, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to release his list of ministerial nominees who will then go through vetting before getting approval to start their mandate. Typical of a political party that is heading into its second term, a few former appointees may have had various brushes with either the law, opposition party members, the media, or the general public. And with a near hung parliament, it is easy to guess that the opposition National Democratic Congress will have a strong say on the vetting committee and who gets the nod to be a minister in Akufo-Addo’s second term. Here, we have listed a few personalities who should brace themselves for a showdown if they are nominated for appointments. Ursula Owusu CLOSURE OF RADIO STATIONS – Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful during her tenure as the Communications Minister refused to back down on the decision to withdraw the authorization of Accra-based Radio Gold and Radio XYZ. Due to her refusal to rescind her decision, the two ‘NDC-affiliated’ radio stations have remained closed for a long time as she has failed to restore their licenses. The two stations were among some 54 radio stations that had been shut down on the instructions of the National Communications Authority (NCA) on May 9, 2019, under circumstances that have been widely condemned for allegedly not renewing their licenses. KELNI-GVG SCANDAL– Earlier in 2020, Ursula was in hot waters following the contract which some Ghanaians waged relentless crusades against. The then Communications Ministry, headed by Ursula Owusu-Ekuful was accused of engaging in a fraudulent act solely to ‘rape’ the country with the award of a 10-year contract worth $178 million to Kelni-GVG. Ursula Owusu was invited to Parliament several times to provide answers concerning the work the company that was awarded a contract to independently monitor the revenue of telecommunication companies in the country. She failed to show up on countless occasions. Conduct during Parliament’s 8th inauguration Instances where she wrestled with some NDC MP’s in Parliament including its inauguration was publicized on TV and widely criticized by many. Ursula among other things pushed her colleagues, Mr. Collins Dauda to the floor and deliberately sat on the lap of Mr. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh over a seat and that could be used against her during vetting. Peter Amewu PDS SCANDAL– During his tenure as the Energy Minister, there were calls for him to resign following his involvement in the circumstances that led to the cancellation of takeover by the Power Distribution Services (PDS) from Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). He was accused of attempting to reappropriate shares to some NPP cronies through the proposed restrictive tendering. HOHOE CONSTITUENCY BROUHAHA– The election of Mr. Amewu as the MP-elect for Hohoe was fraught with many arguments suggesting that he was not duly elected to represent the people of that constituency. Following the ‘protest’, a Ho High Court presided over by Justice George Buadi granted an interim injunction restraining the EC from gazetting Mr. Amewu as the MP-elect for Hohoe. This was due to the contention of the applicants that voters in Santrofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi, (SALL) were only given the opportunity to vote in the Presidential election and not the parliamentary election. Hawa Koomson Nicknamed the ‘Rambo Minister’, she has been indicted in many scandals during her tenure in the past four years, In July 2020, Hawa Koomson breached security laws and fired gunshots into a crowd of citizens who were in the process of registering for the controversial voters’ ID card in Kasoa. This incident resulted in some casualties and loss of properties. The Awutu Senay East MP was believed to be behind the shooting of some two persons who sustained gunshot wounds near the polling station in Kasoa after some men in a black SUV fired at them during the 2020 December general elections. Ken-Ofori Atta The Finance Minister during his first term was accused of engaging in a conflict of interest, bid-rigging and violation of procurement rules in his attempt to transfer Ghana’s mineral royalties into private hands under the guise of creating value for natural resources. Many have called for the Minister’s resignation for his negotiation of the ‘very unpopular’ Agyapa Royalties deal adding that not act in good faith. PDS SCANDAL -In this instance, his job was again on the line following a concession agreement with PDS in March 2019, signed by the government thereby handing over more than GH¢22 billion in assets of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). Puis Enam Hadzide The former Deputy Sports Minister was suspended in April 2018 after a probe into the circumstances that led to the arrest of some 60 Ghanaians who had allegedly attempted to enter Australia by pretense in the 21st Commonwealth Games. In April 2018, it emerged that 50 Ghanaians had been deported from Australia after they were deemed to be “non-genuine travellers” posing as journalists for the Commonwealth Games. Mr Hadzide at that time insisted that he knew nothing about the scandal or how the 60 people who faked their identities got visas to Australia for the games. Although he been exonerated from the scandal, it could be brought up against him during the vetting. Mathew Opokuu Prempeh Apart from being in the bad books of teachers due to the non-payment of allowances, delay in salaries and so on, the former Education Minister was reported to have been a beneficiary of GET-FUND scholarship meant for brilliant but needy students. Cecilia Dapaa Apart from the former Sanitation Minister’s claim that Accra is almost the cleanest city in Africa which many have criticized, she was also accused of wasteful expenditure in 2018 after being summoned by Parliament. The accusation follows the allocation of some GHC151,000.00 in the 2019 budget estimate for the Ministry as security, clothing, and entertainment allowance. Kyei Mensah-Bonsu What is alleged to be his ‘dark past’ of Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu could be a topical issue when he appears before the vetting committee. Some media reports have suggested that Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is said to be coy when it comes

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Ursula Owusu campaigning across Ghana for her Vice Presidential ambition – A Plus
Politics

Ursula Owusu campaigning across Ghana for her Vice Presidential ambition – A Plus

Social Commentator, Kwame A Plus has said that Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful does not deserve any praise for her campaign activities across the country. An influential member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Otchere-Darko a few days ago in a post on Facebook was grateful to Ursula Owusu for involving herself in the party’s campaign regardless of her busy schedule as a Minister. He expressed disgust at other government appointees who have failed to join the campaign in the name of being busy and quizzed them on who they want to campaign for them to be reappointed. But reacting to this, Kwame A Plus insists that Ursula Owusu is campaigning for herself and not because she has the interest of the party at heart. According to him, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has a Vice Presidential ambition and therefore is using this opportunity to market herself to members of the NPP. He wrote: “New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko is questioning why most appointees in the Akufo-Addo-led administration are yet to sell the party’s successes to canvass for votes ahead of the December 7 polls.” He has, however, commended Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, for her nationwide campaign tour describing her tenacity and zeal in campaigning for the ruling party as “exceptional.” “Why is Gabby pretending that he does not know why Ursula Owusu who is the NPP Ablekuma West parliamentary candidate would leave her constituency and be campaigning in the Upper East, Northern region and other parts of Ghana instead of concentrating on her constituency? I have been reliably informed that she has vice presidential ambitions. Let her take a lie detector test to prove that she does not.” “She is campaigning for herself, not any NPP biaa. As an MP who must concentrate on winning your constituency, when the president pass here you too you pass there – campaigning in other people’s constituency why? Are you contesting for nationwide MP? She is just trying to build an image to be selected as Bawumia’s vice very soon. Because nobody knows here outside Accra. If I walk with her on the streets people will identify me and ask if that’s my Maame no she’s fine though. Alakit But you see, money and power has deleted the 2007 experience from their heads. Just as Kuffour was not able to force Alan Kyeremanten on NPP then, Akufo Addo can’t force anyone on NPP now!!!” “Even if he is able to win this election, from 2022 nobody would pick his calls and those who contest for even polling station chairman in his name will lose. “Bawumia would be flag bearer and Ursula would be his running mate We are waiting for you the “perfect couple” Mo trim y3 mo d3 paa mo saa squad wei Politicians nankasa I don’t know how their brains work. The kind of humiliation that awaits these people errrrh…. what happened to president Kufuor between 2007 and 2010 is small koraa. That sakawa ambition that you people are nursing. All your money will finish. Dey there and misbehave,” he concluded. MyNewsGh Please kindly contact Apexnewsgh.com on Email: apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications

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