Category: Politics

Kenyan President William Ruto is expected in Accra on Tuesday for a three-day state visit to Ghana.

The visit would see the signing of bilateral agreements by the two nations, covering areas of mutual interest including agriculture, trade and investment, education and research.

Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, made this known on Tuesday in her address at the opening of the Ghana-Kenya Ministerial Session of the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation and Business Forum in Accra.

The Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation seeks to boost economic growth and technical cooperation between the two countries.

The Kenyan Delegation is led by Dr Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Flagbearer, has made a compelling case for his election as President of the Republic, saying he has bold solutions for the country’s future.

The Vice President made these remarks when addressing a mammoth crowd in Kwahu Mpraeso after a health walk at the weekend.

Dr Bawumia said he had never been a President of Ghana before and considering his impact as Vice President, a vote for him would translate into ‘bold solutions’, while a vote for his main opponent, former President John Mahama meant ‘a vote for old solutions’

‘Somebody has been President before and the question is: What did he do as President to address the problems of the country?… He had no solutions and we all saw how he performed, leading to his exit from office. And now he says Ghanaians should bring him back?,’ Dr. Bawumia asked, amid cheers from the crowd.

‘I have not been President before. I have only been a Vice President and as Vice President, I can point to a number of g
enerational issues I have helped to resolve. By the grace of God, if you give me the opportunity, I will do more as President and resolve many issues.’

The Vice President said he was coming up with new ideas and bold solutions to move Ghana forward.

As I said, I am coming up with a new tax system which will bring a flat tax rate and grant tax amnesty to businesses and individuals.

‘The future is technology, and the youth of this country are important to drive what we want to do in technological advancement.

‘That is why I have said we will train about one million young Ghanaians in coding and software applications under my Presidency.

‘I am also revising the National Service Scheme. It will no longer be compulsory. Once you are out of school and you can get a job straightway, you don’t have to undertake national service. I want to make it very simple for all,’ he reiterated.

Dr Bawumia also re-affirmed his Ghana Card for passport policy, explaining that with biometric details captured in the NIA Databas
e, there should be no need for a Ghanaian passport applicant to go through another process to obtain information.

‘Once you have a Ghana Card, all you need to do is to pay for the passport application fees online and your passport will be processed and delivered to you without going through another biometric verification process,’ Dr Bawumia added.

On comparative records between the NPP and NDC, Dr Bawumia said the data showed that the NDC was nowhere near the NPP in many sectors.

He listed the NPP’s superior record in education, economic indicators, construction of hospitals, tourism, sports infrastructure, digitalisation and many more.

The NPP Flagbearer urged the rank and file of the party to work hard to win the 2024 presidential election and parliamentary majority.

Thousands of the youth participated in the early-morning walk, which also had many NPP stalwarts, including National Chairman, Stephen Ayesu Ntim, General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong, and some Ministers and Deputy Ministers of State.

A
lso present were some aspirants who took part in the recent NPP presidential primaries.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Akpinifia Okpekpewuokpe Dagadu IX, Paramount Chief of Akpini Traditional Area, Kpando, has called on Ghanaians to change from the ways of the past ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Akpinifia Dagadu speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) disclosed that some people resorted to violence because they had grievances.

He said others also snatched ballot boxes because things did not favour them, adding that these ways were ‘archaic and not progressive’.

Akpinifia Dagadu urged citizens to assess their lives and assess the contributions of various governments and vote peacefully.

He called on the youth to put themselves out for political leadership, to prepare them for leadership roles.

Akpinifia Dagadu asked the youth to be innovative in their thinking and take up the helm of management of the country.

The Paramount Chief also revealed plans for development projects in the area, especially health, and said the Easter festivity was marked in aid of a dilapidated health centre, which was providing care for re
sidents and served as a place of delivery.

‘We do not want our mothers to continue dying at the point of childbirth. We do not want our citizens to go to crowded, busy, and big Hospitals when they can be treated in smaller facilities for certain minor ailments.’

Akpinifia Dagadu said they had decided to renovate, equip, staff, and upgrade the Kpando Hospital to a Polyclinic to augment the health needs of the people.

He called on the people to explore tourist destinations in the Area including, Marian Grotto, lakes, islands, and other destinations in the Volta region and called on investors, who were interested in tourism development to come and partner with the Area to help develop its tourism potential.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) says the country’s democratic progress and long-term stability could be undermined if the increasing phenomenon of organised crime is not checked.

It said although the country had taken commendable legal steps to stamp-out crimes, such as money laundering, drug peddling and illegal mining, more needed to be done to achieve the desired impact.

Consequently, it is pushing for changes in the Political Parties’ Act, 2000 (Act 574) to make actors more accountable to maintain the democratic credentials.

Mrs Beauty Emefa Narteh, the Executive Secretary of GACC, disclosed this at a sensitisation workshop on organised crimes at Assin Fosu.

The workshop was to educate the public to appreciate the need to join in the fight against organised crimes, most importantly in the lead-up to the 2024 elections.

It was arranged by the GACC in collaboration with the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) and supported by the Foreign commonwealth and
Development Office (FCDO).

Mrs Narteh said safeguarding Ghana’s stability in the face of serious and organised crime ahead of the election was non-negotiable.

That was in tandem with GACC’s vision of fighting corruption and promoting good governance by forging strong, trustworthy and effective partnership with government, businesses and civil society.

She said often, the massive sums of monies politicians disbursed to contest political offices did not match with the audited accounts of political parties lodged at the Electoral Commission’s offices.

If the law could not be changed to reflect the times, politicians must be made accountable by stating publicly how much they received for their political bid and how it was spent, she noted.

‘This way, the public will be convinced when politicians pledge to champion the fight against corruption when elected into office.’

Mrs Narteh condemned the apparent unethical practice of vote buying that had taken centre stage in recent times, which refers to the act of
offering gifts, money, or other incentives in return for votes during elections.

‘The promises made are attractive, but they come at a high cost to the integrity of Ghana’s democracy. Vote buying is inimical to Ghana’s democracy, as it undermines the sanctity of the election and electoral process.’

‘It discourages a free, fair and transparent election process as voters become influenced by the gift or benefits received instead of voting based on policy, ideology and competence of those seeking elected positions.’

‘The practice leads to an unequal distribution of public resources to benefit the areas where politicians have bought votes,’ she said, and called for a collective responsibility to stop it.

Mr Samuel Harrison-Cudjoe, Programmes Officer, GACC, commended the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for declaring individuals seen on video flaunting money allegedly acquired from parliamentary candidates, wanted.

‘We hope this isn’t a wild goose chase or much ado about nothing. However, we applaud the
OSP for taking this action to create the ‘fear of God’ in people who will join in future to exhibit this terrible behaviour,’ he said.

‘Even if only one person is convicted for these reasons, it will serve as a deterrent. People may be encouraged to engage in it in public if there are no convictions and will not face the consequences.’

As Ghana prepares for the upcoming 2024 General Election, it must be a collective responsibility to prevent vote buying from marring the country’s election process and maintaining Ghana’s enviable democratic credentials in the comity of nations, he added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The National Peace Council (NPC) says it is greatly concerned about the ongoing impasse between the Executive and the Legislature.

The Council said such tension did not auger well for the peace and stability of the country, especially when the nation was heading into a general election.

The two organs of government – the Executive and the Legislature, have been in a stand-off over the President’s refusal to assent to the recently passed anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (anti-LGBTQI+) bill, citing court issues.

The decision angered the legislature, particularly the Minority and the Speaker of Parliament, who also halted the approval of ministerial nominees by the President, citing a court injunction.

Speaking at a dialogue with the Council of Elders and flagbearers of some political parties, in Accra, on Tuesday, Reverend Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, Chairman of the NPC, described the seeming tension between the two arms as concerning.

Reverend Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, Chairman, National
Peace Council

He said, over the past few years, the Council had undertaken a number of actions, including engaging the political parties, the security agencies, the Electoral Commission and the Chief Justice, all geared towards reducing the tension and maintaining the peace of the country.

Despite that, he said the current impasse between the two organs had become a concern for the Council.

‘The perceived tension between the legislature and the executive, the entrenched positions of parties in Parliament and the banter on radio and television are matters of great concern to the NPC,’ he said.

He added that: ‘We are not oblivious of the threats from violent extremists along our boarders and the need to maintain the peace and security of the country is of uttermost concern to us.’

The dialogue, on the topic: ‘Political Party Trust Building and Intra and Inter-Party Mechanism for Addressing Conflicts,’ was to make the parties aware of the the activities of the NPC in the political space to guide them.

Also
, it was to remind the stakeholders, particularly the political parties of the potential dangers on reneging on their duties to manage differences well ahead of the General Election.

It was funded by the British High Commission through the STAR Ghana foundation.

In attendance were the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the People’s National Convention (PNC), Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP).

Others were Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), National Democratic Party (NDP), Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and All People’s Congress (APC), and Ghana Union Movement (GUM).

Also present at the event was Mr Mike Aaron Oquaye, former Speaker of Parliament.

Some members of leadership of the political parties present at the meeting

Rev Adu-Gyamfi urged the political parties to, therefore, be mindful of their utterances, adding that they should resort to consensus building to address any misunderstanding.

Ahead of t
he elections, he indicated that the NPC was putting a number of measures in place to ensure an incident-free elections, particularly ensuring that all parties signed the Peace Pact and urged them to support it to ensure that it was attained.

‘We want to finish the election and still have Ghana intact, that is our goal. That, we can compete, we can do all kinds of things, but there should not be a single blood that is dropped ad nobody is maimed,’ he stressed.

Rev Adu-Gyamfi also advised the media to be circumspect and guard against sensationalism to help maintain the peace of the country before, during and after the polls.

Mr George Amoh, Executive Secretary of the NPC, disclosed that the Council was putting together an election monitoring group to help monitor the political landscape to ensure peaceful polls in December.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The governments of Ghana and Malawi have reached a visa waiver agreement to allow their citizens to travel visa-free.

The two countries, desirous of strengthening their bilateral relations and existing cooperation, had entered into an agreement on a visa waiver regime for holders of ordinary, diplomatic and service passports, which took effect from February 7, 2024.

‘Accordingly, travellers may transit through, depart from and stay in the territory of both countries for a cumulative period of up to 90 days, without recourse to work within a calendar year,’ a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration said on Wednesday.

It urged the travelling public to take note of the new visa waiver agreement and enjoy seamless travel.

Source: Ghana News Agency