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Mahama descends on EC again

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Jean Adukwei Mensa, EC boss and John Dramani Mahama

The 2020 presidential candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, is no more singing the praises of his once darling electoral management body, the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana.

The former President, who ahead of the 2016 election defended the electoral body to the hilt, now holds a different view, following his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

Speaking on TV XYZ on Tuesday November 9, he claimed that the Afari Gyan and Charlotte Osei led commission did a better job.

Prior to the 2016 election, Mr John Mahama defended the Charlotte Osei led EC and urged Ghanaians to allow the electoral body to do its work.

When the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party in the 2012 elections took the electoral commission to court to challenge the presidential results, Dr Afari Gyan made an emphatic statement that ‘elections are won at the polling station’.

The above statement made by Dr Afari Gyan was used by the NDC in the 2012 elections against critics of Charlotte Osei.

Mr. Mahama has been on the neck of the Electoral Commission after losing the 2020 presidential election, which result he refused to accept and contested at the Supreme Court.

Yesterday, speaking on TV XYZ, he said “When Afari Gyan and Charlotte Osei were there, we have been the leading electoral commission. When I went to Liberia for election monitoring, after first round there was confusion, ECOWAS sent a technical team led by Charlotte Osei to come and sort out the Liberian EC problems and she came and sorted it out.

“Everything that I say is to make them sit up, they must redeem themselves in 2024, so when I am pointing out their mistakes it is not that I hate them.”

Independent Investigation

Mr. Mahama accepted the challenge thrown by the EC to the police to investigate the vote fraud claim he made.

“That is what I want, they said we should have an investigation, let’s have an investigation. But I don’t know if the police are the best to do that. I don’t know what the police are going to investigate. We want an independent inquiry or let’s go to ECOWAS.

“ECOWAS has an electoral body, let them come and investigate Ghana’s election of 2020. I will welcome it, I will testify. Under oath, I will swear an oath and testify. I won’t run away from the witness box,” Mr. Mahama said.

EC Challenge

The EC in a response to Mr Mahama over his allegation that one million votes were padded in favour of the NPP, asked the Ghana Police Service to investigate claims of criminality Mr. Mahama levelled against the EC.

“The transparency of our processes makes ballot-stuffing impossible. It cannot be done. We call on the former President in the interest of our democracy to provide evidence of the stuffing of the ballot boxes by the EC officials. The police should investigate this as a matter of urgency because its potential can erode our democracy.

“The former President has alleged that the military influenced the declaration and announcement of the election results. This is also false. It never happened. Nowhere did the military influence the declaration and announcement of the results. It is not true, because the 2020 elections were widely participatory,” he added.

Treason trial: Court subpoena doctor over accused’s health 

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Dr Mac Palm and one other suspect

The Financial Division of the Accra High Court trying Dr Mac Palm and others for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government, has subpoenaed Dr Joel Paddy, a medical practitioner, to appear before it today, to explain why he is requesting a two day absence from court for Bright Alan Debrah, one of accused persons.

The order followed an application by counsel for Deborah, Kojogah Adawudu praying the court to give his client permission to absent himself from court proceedings for two days, on health grounds.

The court, presided over by justices – Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, Hafisata Amaleboba and Stephen Oppong – explained that in criminal trials, the moment one person absents him or herself from court, the case cannot continue.

According to the court, this is the reason why it earlier rejected a request by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Dr. Benjamin Kwasi Agordzo to travel to Kenya.

Dr Fredrick Yao Mac Palm (A1), ACP Dr. Agordzo, Colonel Samuel Kodzo Gameli, WOII Esther Saan, Corporal Seidu Abukakar and Corporal Ali Solomon, Donyo Kafui, Bright Alan Debrah, Johannes Zikpi and Sylvester Akankpewu are being tried for allegedly plotting to topple the Akufo-Addo government.

So far, three prosecution witnesses had appeared before the court to give account of how the accused persons planned to oust the government.

The court has also received audios and videos allegedly recorded by the third prosecution witness, Staff Sergeant Awarf Sule.

Defence counsel for A1, E.A. Vordoagu has finished cross-examining the witness over his evidence in chief, the video, audio proof and background.

Loss of trust in leadership is a threat to national security; Catholic priest 

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Catholic Church

Rev Father Peter Adu, the assistant parish priest at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church at New Tafo, a suburb of Kumasi, has expressed worry over, what he describes as loss of trust in leadership by the people in the society.

This development, according to him, could be a threat to national or international security and must be of concern to everybody in the country.

According to Rev. Father Adu, absolute trust and humbleness devoid of arrogance and pride on the part of those in leadership positions, is the only way they could gain the trust of the people they lead and entreated leaders at all levels of society not to be carried away by their positions.

He urged them to be humble because humbleness is the mother of trust, stressing that where there is humbleness, there is love.

Speaking to the congregation on the theme: “Ultimate Giving”, Fr. Adu reminded leaders in society to demonstrate the attitude of humbleness, which he says goes with love to the people under their jurisdiction, irrespective of where one finds him or herself to be a leader.

He was of the view that leadership is failing the society, resulting in loss of trust in them, hence the waywardness of children who cannot be controlled by parents.

The Catholic priest emphasised that it is the responsibility of everyone to contribute his/her quota to bring comfort to someone, because God has given everybody something to be given out to the needy.

The Rev. Father urged leadership to always assess their conscience and do the right thing for the people devoid of arrogance to help them regain the absolute trust of the people.

He underscored that in a society where the youth have absolute trust in leadership, the society is conducive and without crime and other social vices.

Rev. Fr. Adu, therefore, urged leaders and parents to do what it takes to gain the trust of the people, while the church plays its role and together build the society.

Tidal Waves: Work begins on Blekusu Coastal Protection Project Phase II

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Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, Minister of Works and Housing

Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, Minister of Works and Housing says work has commenced on the construction of the second phase of the Blekusu Coastal Protection Project. He said the scope of work would entail the construction of 37 armour rock groynes, with land reclamation covering a minimum coastal stretch of 8,000 metres (8 kilometres) to protect beaches and communities against encroachment by the sea.

This comes at the back of a tidal wave that hit some communities in the Keta and Ketu South Municipalities over the weekend, leaving hundreds of residents displaced.
A similar incident occurred in June this year when five communities-Agavadzi, Salakope, Adina, Blekusu and Amutinu-were hit by tidal waves, causing destruction to hundreds of property and displacing more than 1000 residents.

In a press briefing in Accra, the Minister, said the project would ensure the total protection of the people of Agavedzi, Salakope, and Amutsinu and other communities within the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region who were occasionally affected by tidal waves.

He said in addition to protecting lives and property, the project would protect the beaches and its environs against encroachment by the sea, arrest the current environmental deterioration, mitigate the social and economic consequences of beach erosion, and strengthen the economic and production base of the area through enhanced fishing activities.

Mr Asenso-Boakye said the Ministry had finalised evaluation of relevant proposals to hit the ground running.
He said the Ministry of Finance was currently engaged to raise the funding for the project, adding that, he was hopeful the project would feature in the 2022 Budget.

The Minister said in April 2021, a technical team from the Hydrological Services Department of the Ministry, upon his directive, travelled to the affected communities to engage the Ketu South Municipal Assembly and some community leaders on the matter of the implementation of the second phase of the project.

Mr Asenso-Boakye said he also visited the communities with the technical team from the Ministry and the Hydrological Services Department in June this year to have a first-hand understanding of the situation.
He appealed to the coastal residents to avoid any practices that exposed them to unexpected changes of the rising sea levels.

“There have been reported cases of sand winning, uprooting of mangrove along the coastal stretch.
The investments by government cannot yield the needed protection if people continue to engage in such practices,” he said.

Meanwhile, National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO)inKeta and Ketu Municipalities told the Ghana News Agency they had assessed the situation and liaising with the national office for support.
Source: GNA

NCCE condemns violent extremism

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Stakeholders who participated in the workshop in a group photograph

Mr. Sylvester Yaw Asamoah, Obuasi Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has cautioned Ghanaians against complacency and to team up to nip violent extremism in the bud, to ensure peaceful co-existence among the citizenry. He made the remarks at a day’s workshop organised by the Commission in Obuasi.

The workshop was part of the implementation of a European Union (EU) sponsored project, dubbed “Preventing Electoral Violence and Providing Security to the Border Regions of Ghana (NORPREVSEC) aimed at fighting violent extremism and radicalism.

Mr. Asamoah noted that, though Ghana has been widely acclaimed as a peaceful country, she cannot rest unless it works hard to maintain the prevailing peace.

According to him, news of violence, killings, armed robbery and various forms of crimes or social vices greet us on daily basis, which he said, are enough warning signs that the country is not immune to violent extremism.

He stated that the NCCE has identified the youth as the perpetuators of violence, with many of them being recruited to cause havoc, as experienced in neighbouring countries that have been attacked by terrorists and, therefore, stressed the need to equip young people with relevant information on violent extremism.

He stressed that Heads of institutions, the Security and leaders of religious groups who participated in the programme lends credence to the fact that the Commission is committed to work with relevant bodies to end violence extremism in the country.

DSP Martin Assenso, the Obuasi Municipal Police Commander admonished Political parties to desist from imposing their beliefs and ideologies on others and entreated them to be tolerant and accommodate divergent views and opinions.

Speaking on the theme: “National Strategy and the National Framework for Countering Violent Extremism”, DSP Assenso bemoaned the level of recklessness among the youth and observed that the youth are being used as a conduit by extremist groups to perpetuate all forms of crimes.

He assured of the commitment of the police to fight violent extremism in the country.

According to him, the Police Service is well prepared to deal with all forms of crime in the country and warned all those involved and those who are lacing their boots to refrain from criminal activities because the Police is ready to match them boot for boot.

Madam Margaret Konama, the Ashanti Regional Director of NCCE mentioned that terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and IRISH have been operating in the West African sub-region for some time now and have attacked countries such as Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and it is mostly the youth that they recruit to cause these attacks. He advised that Ghanaians should learn lessons from the mayhem these groups have caused the affected countries and guard against violent extremism.

She also advocated for respect and tolerance of divergent views, saying we live in a country of different ethnic, political and religious groups, and for that matter the only way we can develop is to respect each other’s views and opinions to end violent extremism and ensure development.

The leader of Political parties present at the program made commitments to uphold the existing peace and end violent extremism, by issuing a joint communiqué.

The participants include representatives of Political parties, Heads of Security agencies, Nananom and the media, shared their opinions and views as to measures to put in place in the fight against extremism and promote unity to enhance sustainable development.

Your Thoughts in this Season

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Opinion

An idea that occurs suddenly in your mind sums up to make up your thoughts as an individual. A season such as this has caused our scope of thinking to widen up since we are almost always to ourselves. Thoughts form part of human life as we are all prone to thinking about our decisions made in life. A self evaluation test done on yourself would reveal the specific things you think about personally, the ideas that sum up in our minds and how best we put our positive thoughts into something significant to benefit ourselves and those around us. In speaking about thoughts there can be both positive and negative thoughts that can sum up in an individuals mind. Can you take a minute and ask yourself these, “What am I mostly thinking about? Are my thoughts healthy for my growth? Are my thoughts going to affect my progress in life? Are my thoughts going to grow me?

A Valuable idea that comes to mind during your days of thinking must be written down in order not to loose the concept of that idea, let’s pay particular attention to our positive thoughts, most of them are great ideas that can take ones life to the next level once they’re worked on. Pay attention to your thoughts, once you think deeper into greater ideas that will be relevant for your future your zeal towards getting productive work done is revived. With our negative thoughts also we must flush them out of our brains, those thoughts that get you thinking, you’re not worth it, you can do nothing and that your current situation is  the end of your life on earth, Flush them out and speak positivity for your own life, our thoughts rule us and direct us towards what to do individually ,once we focus on the negatives and don’t flush them out through prayer and reassuring ourselves of Gods perfect word concerning our lives, these negative thoughts will weaken us and render us unproductive and giving up on life totally. Your thoughts have the power that cause you to behold and be ready for your great future or remain on the battle field.

Those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:5-6, which one of us doesn’t want peace to reign in our hearts and minds? We all certainly want to live long on this earth, what most of us are ignoring is how to think and impact our generation. To be a generational thinker, you must at all times plan for the future. You should be able to see and think beyond your present state. In the next ten years where do you want to be? Have you taken time to structure your life or you are only interested in dreaming about it? It is good to dream but is not enough! Put the dreams into actions. A generational thinker is always a step ahead. Be that change in your family, community and the world at large. Nothing is impossible.

Cast your mind back to those days where you used to see yourself above the moon, those exciting moments that got you to thinking success was just a stone throw, whether you were day dreaming or deep asleep dreaming, those were not just mere dreams, they were not impossibilities, we actually wanted everything good we dreamt about, it’s s not a matter of waking up to reality and actually noticing it was just a dream so you’ll get over it overnight, Whatever thought you have once had towards being an emblem to the world, being a public figure whom others can take inspiration from can manifest if you’d put your dreams to work. God may have spoken to you in that dream, he may have prophesied over your life through a dream and to see its manifestation you must work towards it.

You can be anything you want, you can achieve all your dreams through hard work and faith, You can be where you want to be depending on you and choices you make and how you choose to live your choices, wherever you came from, it is still possible to achieve your dreams, If it is Gods will he will manifest his glory in your life through the hardwork you put towards achieving your dreams, thinking  about your dreams do not bring answers, foretelling your dreams may bring appraisal from men but not relevant end results, However  putting what you have dreamt to work, and asking God for a discerning spirit to decipher between his will and that which is not brings success to your doorstep in the God once God is involved.

In this season our thoughts and decisions are made clear before us, what are we spending most of our time thinking about? Don’t over burden your mind with thoughts that devalue you, feed your thoughts with positivity, enough of our flesh-related thoughts that won’t grow us ,there’s a lot on our goal setting list to fulfill ,you can get  productive things done in this season, put to death sinful thoughts which has become the greatest struggle of many. This season is testing our thoughts thus lets remain guided and direct our thoughts towards that which will groom us into better people ready enough to prepare for the future. Make positive thoughts your priority in this season and work towards making them fruitful.

Jaclyn Essien

Jackieessien6@gmail.com

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s stance.

Sofoline Interchange turned into vehicle showrooms

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A Fleet of cars assembled along the uncompleted Sofoline Interchange
Vehicles parked along the main stretch of the Sofoline Interchange which links Abrepo junction to Patasi

The yet-to-be completed Sofoline Interchange in the Kwadaso Municipality of the Ashanti Region has been turned into vehicle show rooms, where second hand automobiles are on sale.

Unlike the Asokwa Interchange area, which has beautiful green scenery, same cannot be said about the interchange in question, which has taken political leaders more than a to complete.

On a working visit to the Sofoline Interchange recently, The Chronicle observed that car dealers had pitched camp, and had adornd their respective areas with white chippings.

Metallic poles and wire mesh have been used to cordon off these showrooms, which are some metres away from the pavements, as hundreds of second hand cars are parked on the interchange, looking for buyers.

Vehicles parked under the Sofoline Interchange Bridge

The activities of the automobile dealers have created security concern, in that drivers and pedestrians could barely see ahead of them clearly, especially when they are negotiating a curve on the interchange.

Reached on phone about this development, Richmond Agyenim Boateng, Municipal Chief Executive, confirmed to The Chronicle that there had been such developments on the interchange.

According to Agyenim Boateng, the Kwadaso Assembly had not sanction car dealers to sell their vehicles on the Sofoline Interchange, adding that these car dealers had invaded the said space, and that they have been served with a letter ordering them to vacate the place.

Arial view of the Sofoline Interchange which have been turned into sales of vehicles outlets

While on the visit, The Chronicle visited three car dealers, who were tight-lipped about their businesses on the authority of the Kwadaso Municipal Assembly.

Nigeria administers 5.7 million COVID-19 vaccines

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COVID-19 vaccination

The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), has vaccinated 5,770,899 eligible persons with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination while 3,146,885 have taken the second dose (fully vaccinated).

The Director, Planning Research and Statistics, NPHCDA, Abdullahi Garba, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja, at the Ministerial Press Briefing update on COVID-19 Response and Development in the Health Sector.

Mr Garuba added that these figures were achieved as at November 7, 2021, in the 36 states and the FCT.

He noted that there were over eight million doses of vaccines in the country at the moment, but the country was still expecting more doses.

He noted that to achieve herd immunity against the infection, Nigeria had set an ambitious goal of vaccinating 40 per cent of its over 200 million population before the end of 2021, and 70 per cent by the end of 2022.

“To achieve this, the vaccine roll-out was scheduled to be in four phases, starting with health workers, frontline workers, COVID-19 rapid response team, amongst others.

“The second phase has commenced and it’s capturing older adults, aged 50 years and above, and those aged between 18 and 49 years of age,” he explained.

Elsie Ilori, Director of Disease Surveillance Department, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), while giving an update on the Nigeria’s COVID-19 situation, said that while progress had been made in response to the ongoing pandemic with the fact-paced development of diagnostic, therapeutic, and vaccines globally, variants of concern with increased transmissibility pose a threat.

Mrs Ilori said that the pandemic continues to play out differently across countries worldwide.

Credit: premiumtimesng.com

Maltreatment of Nigerians Abroad: Reps summon Minister of Foreign Affairs

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Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama

The House of Representatives has asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, to appear before it for questioning, on issues bothering on the continued maltreatment of Nigerians in the Diaspora, especially the United Arab Emirates.

This is as disclosed by the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Rep. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe while speaking with newsmen over the weekend.

While expressing concern over the incessant maltreatment of Nigerians outside the country, Tolulope Akande-Sadipe said the Minister owes the nation an explanation of what is happening to citizens of the country in the diaspora.

She expressed concerns that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not doing enough yet to get Nigerians respected in their various places of abode abroad.

According to her, “The key issue right now is the UAE. We have invited the Minister of Foreign affairs to come and tell us what is happening to Nigerians in the Diaspora, especially in the UAE. When we get this update, we will know the way forward from there.”

The Oluyole Federal Constituency representative promised Nigerians that the House will not sweep the matter under the carpet.

“In spite of what is happening, I assure you that this matter will not end on the table of hearings alone. We will ensure something is done. You recall the matter of Temitope Ariwolo and other Nigerian girls, returned to the country. We played a huge part in that, success”, Akande-Sadipe said.

Credit: dailypost.ng

National Food Buffer Stock to develop 5yr strategic plan to enhance productivity

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The meeting of the Board ongoing

The National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO) has put in place a 5-year Strategic Plan to scale up operational efficiency and also enhance its businesses to ensure all-round growth.

At a 3-day Board and Management retreat held last month at the behest of Henry Nana Boakye ESQ (Board Chairman) and Mr. Hanan Abdul-Wahab (CEO), the board had extensive engagement with experts and stakeholders to draft the much responsive and relevant five year Strategic Plan. It is expected that the 5 Year Strategic Plan will enable NAFCO to function well and more importantly perform its mandate in excellence.

NAFCO was incorporated under the Companies Code of Ghana, 1963, Act 179 on 11th March 2010. It is a limited liability company, wholly owned by the Government of Ghana with the mandate to guarantee an assured income to farmers by providing a minimum guaranteed price and ready market: to mop up excess produce from all farmers in order to reduce post-harvest losses resulting from spoilage due to poor storage, thereby protecting farm incomes.

NAFCO has since remained a delicate state establishment in promoting food security in Ghana. It will be recalled that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant lockdown, NAFCO played a critical role in government’s provision of cooked and dry foods to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Ghanaians.

Also, NAFCO has significantly contributed to the successful implementation of government’s flagship program, Free SHS, specifically, in the area of feeding of 1.2 million pupils daily. NAFCO also purchase, sell, preserve and distribute food stuffs produced in the country ostensibly to ensure stability in demand and supply.

Stakeholders present at the meeting were the Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs led by Hon. John Osei-Frimpong (MP for Abirem), Hon Emmanuel Anhwere and Hon Dr Seidu Jasaw; Hon. Joseph Cudjoe (Minister of Public Enterprise); Hon. Gifty Twum Ampofo (Deputy Minister of Education); Hon. Asamoah Boateng (CEO of State Interests and Governance Authority) and Mr Asante Krobea from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

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