Dr Kwabena Donkor

Former Power Minister, Dr Kwabena Donkor says he is battling with blood pressure and diabetes as a result of the pressure that came with his work.

He told Lexis Bill on Joy FM’s Personality Profile Thursday, the nature of the work altered completely his lifestyle, including the time he slept.

“It was a huge burden…you don’t have a private life. There was no day I went to bed before 1am because His Excellency the President could call you at 2am [because] someone might have woken him up with a power challenge elsewhere,” Dr Donkor narrated.

The former Minister was tasked by then President John Mahama in 2014, to solve the erratic power supply in which the country was plunged into in late 2012 to early 2016.

Related Article: Kwabena Donkor heads newly created Ministry of Power

He was to restructure the power sector to ensure a more stable and secure energy supply.

The crisis localized as Dumsor, slowed economic growth, led to the loss of jobs and the collapse of some local industries, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) said.

The Power Minister had promised to resign if he was not able to end the power crisis in 2015.

True to his word, Dr. Donkor resigned his post on December 31, 2015, less than a year after heading the Ministry because the crisis persisted.

Related Article: Mahama accepts Donkor’s resignation

He explained, “I resigned because some people didn’t believe that load shedding had ended as at December 16, 2015, even within government.”

The Pru East MP said some officials of the then National Democratic Congress government claimed load shedding would return in January 2016 when banks had returned from their break.

“I enjoyed being a Minister but you come to the crossroad [and] the first people I spoke to were my immediate family and we agreed that [my resignation] was the honourable thing to do,” Dr Donkor said.

He said his decision saved him from insults that were hurled at him continuously on radio and national dailies.

“If you open any of the radio stations somebody is either insulting you or casting you…radio is the worse,” he recounted.

The opposition lawmaker said: “I never had BP and diabetes until I took the job but these things cropped up it became an occupational hazard.”

Three years after his resignation, Dr Donkor said he solved the crisis although many Ghanaians did not believe that. “Yes my team fixed it,” he told Lexis Bill.

-Myjoyonline

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Kwaku Ofori Asiamah

The Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, says the Ghanaian public is increasingly becoming intolerant of perceived corruption and poor service delivery at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

According to him, many of the authority’s clients consider it to be the worst in terms of service delivery, thereby creating avenues for middle men, popularly known as ‘goro boys,’ to take advantage of the stifling bureaucratic system at the place.

He has therefore asked management of the DVLA to quickly deal with the ‘goro boys’ syndrome at their various offices.

“This is the complaint from the public. The people have been accusing you (staff of DVLA) of corruption and deliberate delay in delivering service to them. We don’t want you to create a problem and benefit from it,” the minister said.

He observed that the consequences of the ‘goro boys’ syndrome are road accidents resulting from the issuance of driver’s licence to undeserved persons and road worthiness stickers to rickety and defective vehicles.

Speaking in an interaction with staff and management at the Kumasi office of the DVLA during a day’s working visit, the transport minister called on DVLA management to help ward off the negative tag as the authority is critical to the transportation sector.

“The lives of people are in your hands. Stop cutting corners and let’s work hard to engender the confidence of the public whom we all serve,” he urged.

Mr. Asiamah, who was accompanied by his deputy, Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, the chief director and other officials of the transport ministry, also visited the Metro Mass Transit (MMT) where he was greeted with a barrage of challenges.

The minister said transportation remains one of the key sectors of the economy, but unfortunately for Ghana, 90 percent is controlled by the private sector whilst the remaining 10 percent owned by the state, has been rendered ineffective as a result of poor management and revenue leakages.

“President Kufuor’s government left behind over 1,200 buses for MMT, but currently, it has less than 500 buses. It also owes government GHȼ150 million. Its performance has been impeded by bad management,” he bemoaned.

The minister asked for the support of the workers, disclosing that the government had decided to revamp the MMT for it to take its rightful place in the industry.

Albert Adu Boahen, Deputy Managing Director of MMT in-charge of operations, pledged the commitment of the new management to turn the situation round.

He revealed that management was coming up with a number of measures and policies to stem the tide of revenue leakages, and mentioned electronic ticketing and route targeting as some of them.

The minister’s visit also took him to the Boankra inland port where structures have been left deteriorating, and later to the State Transport Company (STC).

From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi

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President Akufo-Addo

President Akufo-Addo left Accra Thursday evening for neigbouring Cote d’ Ivoire enroute to France for a four-day private visit.

He was in Cote d’ Ivoire on the invitation of the Ivorian President, Allasane Quatarra, as a special guest of honour for the 8^th Francophone Games – held every four years among French-speaking countries.

Briefing the media at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) before his departure, Director of Communications at the presidency, Eugene Fiifi Arhin said the president would leave the Ivory Coast on 21^st July, 2016 for France.

The President is expected back home on Tuesday, July 25, ahead of a proposed visit by the President of Malta, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.

He   would be paying a state visit to Ghana between Tuesday, 25^th and Friday, 28^th July, 2017 as part of efforts to harness the relations between the two countries.

Previously, as a member of the Labour Party, Coleiro Preca was a Member of Parliament (MP) in Malta from 1998 to 2014, and served as the Minister of the Family and Social Solidarity from 11 March, 2013 to 29 March, 2014.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent

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IGP David Asante-Apeatu

Some superior police officers have been re-assigned as part of an ongoing transfer of top law enforcement officers by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) David Asante-Apeatu.

COP /Dr. George Akuffo Dampare now takes over from COP Christian Yohunu as Director General, Operations, at the Police Headquarters, as the latter moves to head Special Duties.

Dr. George Akuffo Dampare was the Paymaster of the Ghana Police Service during the tenure of Mohammed Alhassan, and was moved to the Greater Accra Regional Command as Commander from where he was transferred to the Police Command and Staff College, Winneba, by John Kudalor (immediate past IGP).

When Mr. Asante-Apeatu took over as IGP, the changes, which took place, saw him move to the Police Headquarters as Director General, ICT.

COP Christian Yohunu, until his transfer to the Police Headquarters as Director General, Operation, was the Greater Accra Regional Commander.

COP Prosper Agblor, Director General, Special Duties, is now the Director General, Welfare.

ACP Anthony Tennyson Aidoo, Second in-Command at the ICT Department, now heads the place as Ag Director-General.

DAILY GUIDE has learnt about more changes in the offing in the coming weeks, including retirements, the latter development paving the way for likely promotions and reassignments.

A new Police Council, with Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as its Chairman (as the Constitution dictates), has been sworn into office; and one of its functions has to do with the promotion of top cops.

By A.R. Gomda

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The convicted criminals

FIVE ARMED robbers have been jailed a total of 150 years with hard labour by the Ashaiman circuit court in the Greater Accra Region.

They were slapped with 30 years’ imprisonment each by the court, presided over by Gabriel Mate-Teye, in connection with a robbery case which took place at Zenu in the Kpone-Katamansu District.

They were charged on two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and robbery. They pleaded not guilty to the charges but after almost a                 year-long trial, they were found guilty of the offences and sentenced to 30 years on each count, but all to run concurrently.

The convicts are Rashid Nurudin alias Torgbor, 20, a sprayer; Prince Tetteh Agormeda, 18, a commercial motorbike rider; Saviour Feda, 21, a conductor; Kelvin Baah,19, a commercial motorbike rider and Francis Kwasi,19, a bus conductor.

Briefing the media, the Ashaiman Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Fleance Senam Adikah, stated that on June 11, 2016, at about 1:30 am, the armed robbers attacked one Stella Afedo who resides at Zenu, together with her daughter at gunpoint.

According to him, the robbers budged   into the victim’s 3-bedroom apartment through the backdoor of the kitchen and robbed the complainant of her 42-inch Samsung television set, one Tablet mobile phone and one laptop, all amounting to GH¢72,00, cash of GH¢600.00 and bolted.

Chief Superintendent Adikah further added that the convicts went into hiding after committing the crime, until they were apprehended on August 5, 2016 upon a tip-off.

He stated that Nurudin was the first to be arrested at his residence at Zenu, and subsequently aided the police to arrest his other accomplices.

According to him, upon the apprehension of Prince, a further check conducted in one of the system unit machines believed to have been stolen, revealed a locally manufactured pistol.

In another development, two robbers were also jailed by the afore-mentioned court.

The convicts, Gideon Oboubi, 20 and Ebenezer Addo, 26, were sentenced to serve two years and seven years in jail respectively.

From Bernard Aryee, Ashaiman

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Aisha Huang

It has emerged that the supposed Ghanaian husband of En Huang aka Aisha Huang – the 31-year-old Chinese woman suspected to be one of Ghana’s most notorious illegal miners (galamseyers), cannot be found.

According to Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa, Director of Public Prosecutions, efforts to reach the husband of Aisha since her arrest in May this year, was yet to yield fruits.

The State revealed that the accused has indefinite residence permit as a result of her supposed marriage to the Ghanaian.

Ms. Obuobisa told the court, presided over by Justice Charles Edward Ekow Baiden, that the husband of Aisha, who was in the dock with Gao Jin Cheng, 45; Lu Qi Jun, 39; Haibin Gao, 26; Zhang and Zhang Pen, 23 – possessed passports of three different countries.

Dogs Unleashed

Ms. Obuobisa, reading the facts sheet, said Aisha unleashed her dogs on the Immigration officers to ostensibly avert her arrest.

According to her, the four accused persons named Aisha as the one who engaged them to work on a broken-down machine she had leased to one Auntie Maggie.

According to the charge sheet dated May 23, 2017, all the five had been charged with the offence of “undertaking small-scale mining without authority contrary to Section 99 (1) of the Mining and Minerals Act.”

Aisha has been slapped with a second charge which reads, “Providing Mine Support Services without valid registration with the Minerals Commission.”

She is facing an additional charge of Illegal employment of foreign nationals contrary to Section 24 of the Immigration Act, while the four others face the charge of disobedience of directive given by or under the Immigration Act, 2000.

All of them, speaking through a Ghanaian-Chinese interpreter, have denied the charges preferred against them by the state.

Evidence

Meanwhile, the State has hinted of calling six witnesses to tighten its case against the accused persons.

Ruben Ransford Aboraborah, Assistant Superintendent of Immigration and the first prosecution witness, led in evidence by Ms. Obuobisa, narrated a series of events leading to the arrest of Gao, Lu, Haibin and Zhang Pen.

The witness, who is at the Enforcement Unit of the Service, stated that he and six colleagues of his set off to the mining site at Bepotenten in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region, on May 5, this year, based on intelligence his officers in-charge had given him on May 4, 2017.

Mr. Aboraborah said he and his team were able to locate the site, because they heard the sound of excavators and generators at the site.

The immigration officer said he spotted the accused – four men – working at the site and ordered his men to close in on them from different directions and succeed in arresting three, after an initial attempt by the suspected ‘galamseyers’ to escape into a nearby cocoa farm.

He said upon a tip-off by a commercial motor rider, Zhang Pen, who had escaped through the cocoa farm, was also arrested when he was crossing the Offin River.

Aisha Video

The Assistant Superintendent of Immigration told the court that he recorded the activities of the persons on the site standing on a heap of dug-out sand at the site.

The said video, which was at the Obuasi office of the Immigration Service, was transferred onto a Compact Disc (CD).

The State has tendered the said recording in evidence in the court.

Earlier, Bernard Owusu Donkor, had complained about the charges preferred against his clients.

He had argued that in as much as the prosecution was mandated by the Constitution to prefer charges against the accused persons, the AG ought to be candid.

Sitting continues on October 9.

jeffdegraft44@yahoo.com

By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson

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Charlotte Osei

Embattled Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Charlotte Osei, has fought back her accusers, saying they have evil agenda.

A litany of allegations have been leveled against Mrs Osei, including spending GH¢3.9 million to partition an office and receiving a Toyota Land Cruiser from the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, as well as attending Cabinet meetings under President John Mahama.

“With the chairperson’s insatiable demand for affluence and flamboyance, she unilaterally awarded a contract to the tune of GH¢3.9 million for demarcation and partitioning of the said office complex without recourse to the Commission,” a faceless group of EC staff, who have petitioned President Akufo-Addo about alleged malfeasance by the commission’s boss, had indicated.

But the EC boss insists that she has done nothing wrong for her to be impeached.

“These allegations are in my view, the product of an overactive evil imagination, and do not deserve any serious attention,” she fired back in a statement.

She said she is ever prepared to face her accusers who are calling for her impeachment over allegations of abuse of office and corruption.

Phony Allegations

A news release titled, ‘Allegations against me are bogus’ signed by the chairperson herself, said she had become aware of what she called ‘phony’ allegations being leveled against her and seemed to have imputed political motive to the whole action.

“My attention has been drawn to a litany of phony allegations made against me by a certain Maxwell Opoku Agyemang in a supposed ‘petition’ on behalf of unidentified person(s), asking for my removal from office,” she said, adding, “The contents of the said ‘petition’ which has been widely circulated on social media and published by the mainstream media, are frivolous, baseless and are actuated by malice and ill will.

Categorical Denial

She posited, “I wish to state categorically that all the defamatory allegations are outright lies and without any merit whatsoever. I understand from the media that the Presidency has received the alleged petition. I have my full responses ready for each and every allegation made in the so-called petition.”

Mrs Charlotte Osei said that she was not going to make her response public until an official response from the presidency saying, “In deference to His Excellency the President of the Republic, for whom I have the highest levels of respect, I would respectfully wait to be formally informed by the Presidency before I make my responses public.

“I take the opportunity to express my heartfelt appreciation to the staff of the Electoral Commission, political leaders from the various political parties and members of the general public for the overwhelming support shown to my family and me so far. I am absolutely certain that once again, history and the truth will vindicate the just.”

Political Motive

She appeared to impute ‘political motive’ when she said in the statement that “the political motive hunting would not serve the greater purpose.

“The ‘motiveless malignity’ behind this petition are self-seeking and faceless individuals with the sole motive of satisfying their purely personal vendetta against my person and protecting illegal financial interests.”

According to Madam Osei, the EC is “an independent governance institution, non-partisan and with full protection for its officials under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. The political actors would respect the constitutional framework provided for the Commission and support in upholding the supreme interest of the Commission for the wider interest of our democracy.”

External Solicitors

Before personally issuing the news release, Ms Charlotte Osei had caused her lawyers – Sory @ Law – who are the external solicitors for the EC, to fight the case.

Her lawyers wrote to the petitioners’ counsel, Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, to disclose the identities of the concerned staff or face her in court.

“Be that as it may, we have observed from your letter by virtue of which the petition to the president is conveyed that your clients are an amorphous group of people described as ‘concerned staff of the Electoral Commission,’” the chairperson’s lawyer said.

“Our client has instructed us to demand from you and we hereby so demand the full list of these ‘concerned staff of the Electoral Commission’ to enable us commence legal action against them for the defamatory statements contained in their petition, failing which our client will be constrained to proceed against you alone as defendant in the suit; our client intends to commence action against them since you are to all intents and purposes, their agent.”

Lawyer Adamant

Mr Opoku-Agyemang shot back at the EC boss, insisting that he was not prepared to reveal the identities of his clients until a properly constituted body had been set up to investigate the issues, claiming that he was ready to face her in court.

He had told Citi FM on Wednesday that he had enough evidence to support the allegation his clients made against the EC boss.

“I’ll be very glad to meet them in court. If anybody suggests that there has been defamation, it will make my day. I’m not the type of person who will be intimidated by the use of these words which would not even intimidate a fly. A petition has been sent and we will follow through the petition. We will make sure that that petition is proceeded with as required by law.

“The clients are available and at the appropriate phase, we will disclose them. They have offices and they will be known….I will disclose it to the office to which I submitted the petition,” he averred.

Main Case

The petitioners, among other things, are accusing Madam Osei of abusing her office and engaging in corruption, including the alleged award of contracts running into millions of dollars and moving into a new office building – all without recourse to the commission.

They said the EC chairperson had been awarding contracts, some to her cronies, without consultation with the other commissioners and also receiving a vehicle from the presidency in a clear breach of neutrality.

By William Yaw Owusu

The post My Accusers Are Evil; EC Boss Fires Back appeared first on Daily Guide Africa.

The Attorney General (AG) on Wednesday filed a motion in court to drop the charge of treason felony and conspiracy to commit same against leaders of a separatist group in the Volta Region – Homeland Study Group Foundation.

Addressing a circuit court in Ho, a senior state attorney, Simon Adatsi, told the court that the Attorney General had advised that the first degree (treason) felony charges be dropped and substituted with a lesser charge since their activities did not warrant the charges levelled against them.

Consequently, the presiding judge, Justice Charles Agbevor, discharged the accused persons namely, Charles Kormi Kudjordji, 78; Martin Asiamah Agbenu, 57; Divine Odonkor, 65 and four others who are still at large.

The AG also prayed the court to bond the accused persons to be of good behaviour, which was granted by Mr. Justice Charles Agbevor. The judge subsequently discharged the accused persons and bonded them for six months and cautioned them not to engage in any act that would violate the bond.

The senior state attorney, addressing the media after the court proceedings, explained that the discharge of the persons did not debar the security agencies from re-arresting and prosecuting them.

It will be recalled that three members of the Volta secessionist group, were arrested on March 7, 2017 after they had held an event in Ho to mark Ghana’s 60th independence anniversary.

At that event, the group made known its intention to declare the Volta Region and parts of Northern and Upper East Regions an independent state with the name, Western Togoland – a territory which existed prior to Ghana’s independence.

Some of the group members were also spotted wearing T-shirts with the inscription, ‘9^th MAY IS OUR DAY’ at the top and ‘A CITIZEN OF WESTERN TOGOLAND’ at the base of the shirt.

Subsequently, the group’s founder, Charles Kormi Kudjordji, with two others – Martin Asiamah Agbenu, and Divine Odonkor – were arraigned before the Ho high court and charged together with four others (in absentia) for treason felony and conspiracy to commit same.

The three were later granted a GH¢50,000 bail each with two sureties to be justified.

From Gibril Abdul Razak, Ho (gbabdulrazak@gmail.com)

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Awudu Tofiq

The Adenta Police have apprehended a 20-year-old man for attempting to snatch a taxi from its owner at knifepoint.

The suspect Awudu Tofiq and another person identified only as Lilwil, now at large, inflicted knife wounds on the neck of the victim in an attempt to seize the ignition keys, but the victim managed to escape with the keys, leaving behind the car.

A police patrol team were called to the scene to arrest of Tofiq.

The Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), ASP Efia Tenge, confirmed to DAILY GUIDE that at about 1am on July 21, 2017, Awudu Tofiq and Lilwil hired the services of one Jacob Amenyaga in charge of a Almera taxi with registration number GM 5871-13 to drive them from Madina to Adenta.

On reaching a portion of the Aviation Road, one of the suspects asked him to stop for him to urinate but the taxi driver declined since the area was quite bushy and quiet.

Awudu Tufiq, who was seated in the front passenger seat, switched off the engine and attacked the victim with a knife together with Lilwil, who was also seated behind the driver.

They inflicted a deep knife wound on the neck of the victim in an attempt to overpower him, but the victim however managed to escape with the ignition keys of the cab.

The victim met a police patrol team midway and reported the incident to them.

The patrol team quickly moved to the scene, pursued the suspects and arrest Tofiq, but his accomplice Lilwil managed to escape.

Efforts are being made to apprehend Lilwil, as the victim was sent to the nearest health facility for medical attention.

Tofiq has since confessed to the crime and would be arraigned before court for prosecution.

(lindatenyah@gmail.com)

By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey

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Members of the Board in a group photograph with the Deputy Minister (middle) after the inauguration

DEPUTY MINISTER of Finance, Kwaku Kwarteng has inaugurated a new governing board for the National Lottery Authority (NLA).

The inauguration which took place on Friday in Accra came with a charge on the seven-member governing board by the deputy minister to put measures in place to maximize the revenue generation of the Authority.

Members of the Board which happens to be the third of its kind in the history of the NLA since it metamorphosed from the Department of National Lotteries on 29^th December 2006 to Authority, include Director General of the NLA, Kofi Osei Ameyaw,  Togbe Francis Albert Seth Nyonyo, Board Chairman, Joana Francise Adda, a government appointee and Marketing and Public Affairs Manager at Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority, Adelaide Anno-Kumi, Chief Director  of the Ministry of Interior, Philip Kofi Aning, President Akufo-Addo’s nominee, and a representative from the Attorney General’s Department, among others.

According to him, over the years, the NLA has contributed immensely to national development beside positively changing the lives of many within and outside Ghana.

“With the coming into force of the National Lotto Act, 2006, Act 722 which established the NLA with the objective of raising revenue for the nation, past boards have implemented measures based on their policy direction to augment the revenue generated by NLA,” Mr. Kwarteng said.

He added that “I must say that there is a huge room for improvement if one critically evaluates our national development agenda and promises made to the citizens of our dear nation.”

In his acceptance remarks, Chairman of the Board who doubles as the representative of the Volta Region on the Council of State, Togbui Nyonyo, assured that his administration shall ensure that transparency was brought to bear in the operations and management of the NLA.

“By the adherence of the transparency policy, we shall increase the revenue generation and contribute our quota to the needed developmental goals of the country according to the Act,” he promised, adding that “we will ensure that the NLA realizes its full potential.”

He pointed out the need for members of the Board to learn the best practices from developed countries that have used the lottery industry to develop their countries.

BY Melvin Tarlue

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Dr Archibald Letsa

Parents of children of school going age in the Volta Region are increasingly choosing private schools over public ones due to a fall in the standard of teaching in public schools in the region, statistics have shown.

While the general enrolment rate (GER) decreased sharply in public schools in the region in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 academic years, there was a marginal increase in the enrolment rate in private schools in the region within the same period.

Total enrolment at the kindergarten level increased by 4.17% between 2014/15 and 2015/16 academic years, while the GER registered a decrease of 14.70% between the same periods.

At the primary level, enrolment in schools recorded a 5.78% decrease between 2014/15 and 2015/16 academic years and GER also decreased by 3.90%.

The case is not any different at the junior high school level as enrolment at the JHS level registered 4.85% decrease between 2014/15 and 2015/16 academic years.

The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, revealed this at the maiden Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) meeting with municipal district chief executives (MDCEs), coordinating directors, presiding members and heads of department from decentralised and non-decentralised organisations.

The minister expressed his worry about the phenomenon, saying the figures are an indication that parents are interested in giving quality education to their wards as it is believed that teaching and learning in the private schools is of better quality than that of the public sector.

He also attributed the fall in enrolment in public schools to “parents realising the need to give their children a good foundation during their early childhood development stage since comparatively, better teaching and learning environment exist in the private sector than the public ones, for example, better infrastructure and care from the teachers.”

The senior high school level, however, registered a 2.63% increase in enrolment between 2014/15 and 2015/16 academic years though the percentage of girls’ enrolment decreased by 0.5% within the same periods.

The region could also not meet its regional pass rate of 50%, as the 2015/16 academic year rather saw a decrease in the regional pass rate which dropped from 42% in the 2014/2015 academic year to 32.5%.

In view of these, Dr Letsa proposed that all municipal and district assemblies liaise with stakeholders in their respective assemblies to improve upon the current state of education in the public schools in the region.

 From Gibril Abdul Razak, Ho gbabdulrazak@gmail.com

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Hassan Ayariga

The Founder and leader of the All People’s Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga has labeled Charlotte Osei as someone who is ‘not matured enough’ to be an Electoral Commissioner.

Hassan Ayariga who was disqualified from contesting the 2016 Presidential Elections said the embattled EC Boss lacks the wherewithal to manage such an honourable institution.

“Personally, I think she was not that matured for the position of the EC Boss…,” he said on Adom FM’s Morning Show, ‘Dwaso Nsem’ while commenting on the unfolding allegations of corruption and show of power at the commission.

Mrs. Charlotte Osei, in a 27-paged response rubbished claims levelled against her to suggest she was involved in misappropriation and abuse of office.

The petition signed by Counsel for the staff, Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang cited among other things the breaching of the Procurement Law in procuring goods and services for the Commission.

They claimed that she, unilaterally and without recourse to procurement procedures, engaged the services of lawyers, Sory@Law who represented the Commission in the pre-election legal banter with aggrieved parties and disqualified flagbearers.

She was also alleged to have abrogated an existing contract with Super Tech Ltd. (STL), unilaterally renegotiating and re-awarding the contract at new sum of $21,999,592 without serious regard to the tender processes.

Charlotte Osei, following the allegations responded, giving various reasons why the allegations were untrue and non-factual.

The details of the response, Hassan Ayariga said reveals deep seated problems at the EC which need enough time to be solved.

The 2016 APC Flagbearer said he could not comprehend why an ‘immature’ Charlotte Osei was appointed to man such an important institution like the EC by former President John Mahama.

To him, Charlotte Osei’s performance at the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) was nothing to write home about and hence did not deserve promotion to the Electoral Commission (EC).

“We ought to have looked at her personal record and achievements and that did not make her qualify for the position. She couldn’t manage the NCCE well, so why take her from that position and hand over a bigger position to her?,” he queried.

Her attitude towards Flagbearers of various political parties, according to Hassan Ayariga has been part of her undoing at the EC.

“In this country, who doesn’t respect than the EC Boss? The EC person does not respect even the laws of the country…the EC Boss even disrespected flagbearers of political parties…,” he said.

Hassan Ayariga further called on the embattled Charlotte Osei to do self-introspection asking herself why ‘no commissioner petitioned or complained about Afari Gyan’ but her deputy commissioners and staff are unwilling to work with her.

-Adomonline

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Dr Kwabena Donkor

Four personnel of the Ghana Police CID stormed the Accra residence of the former Minister of Power Dr. Kwabena Donkor to search his house over investigations into the Ameri deal.

The team led by an Assistant Superintendent of Police went with a search warrant and searched the “whole house” and took away the former Minister’s laptop and pen drives.

Speaking to Starrfmonline.com, Dr. Donkor, who is also the MP for Pru East, said the CID team “searched my Study, the children’s room” in an operation which lasted for about three hours.

According to him, the search warrant read that he was being investigated as a “suspect” for “causing financial loss to the state” over the Ameri deal.

“I have nothing to hide on Ameri,” he told Starrfmonline.com. “I’m a citizen of this country… I’m prepared to meet them in court.”

Meanwhile, government officials have described the $510 million contract between Ghana and Africa and Middle East Resources Investment (AMERI) Group as a “stinker.”

“It is a stinking deal,” a high profile personality at the Jubilee House whispered to Starrfmonline.com after studying the Transition Report in February this year.

The Ameri Group was contracted by the John Mahama-led administration to supply gas turbines to Ghana. It has emerged that the young oil-producing country paid $290 million more than it should for the $220 million power generators.

An in-depth investigation into the deal by Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG) in December 2015 alleged the NDC government paid more than the actual price for the turbines on the international market.

Starrfmonline.com can confirm the economic management team of the new administration has deliberated over the deal and has the blessing of President Akufo-Addo to review the “stinking contract.”

“We can save Ghana a lot if we are able to get the right things done with this particular contract. It’s quite sad and after reviewing it, if we find out that some officials are culpable of any criminality we’ll allow the law to take its course,” the source at the presidency remarked.

“There are aspects of the deal which are not public and that also contribute to the high cost of electricity in this country. Once we are able to fix some of these things, the ordinary Ghanaian will begin to feel some reprieve.”

The former Minister of Power Dr. Kwabena Donkor is on record to have defended his government, saying there was nothing shady in the deal.

According to a December 15, 2015 edition of the Daily Guide, Dr Donkor claimed that as a build-own-operate-transfer, the NDC government “has not made any payments to Ameri and will not be making any payments for the cost of the equipment,” and that “per the agreement with Ameri, the Government of Ghana through the Volta River Authority (VRA) will only make payments to Ameri for power produced and supplied to the VRA just like any other Independent Power Producer (IPP).”

He said Ghana is required to provide “a standby Letter of Credit (LC) for an amount of $51 million, which LC has been raised.

“It must also be explained that the quoted price of $220 million in the Norwegian story for outright purchase of similar turbines is exclusive of all other costs such as auxiliaries, balance of plant, civil works, sub-station, installation of equipment, cost of financing, operation and maintenance, etc.”

-Starrfmonline

The post Ameri Deal Saga: Police Raids Kwabena Donkor’s House appeared first on Daily Guide Africa.

Amadu Sulley

The Deputy Commissioner in charge of operations at the Electoral Commission Amadu Sulley has said he is seeking legal advice over the corruption allegations made against him by the chair of the commission.

The EC chair, Charlotte Osei, in reaction to a petition by some anonymous staff of the commission seeking her removal from office, alleged that Mr. Sulley has been engaging in some financial misappropriation at the commission.

“The Deputy Chairperson Operations collected funds above GHS6m (Six million Ghana cedis) in cash from some political parties for the organization of party primaries without recourse to the structures of the Commission, and without the involvement of the finance department of the Commission. Political party primaries were treated as a private commercial project by the Deputy Chairperson Ops, with funds paid directly into the personal accounts of key staff for functions to be performed for party primaries.

“The Deputy Chairperson Operations has persistently instructed officials to carry out illegal vote transfers on the Voter management System in clear breach of the law and operational policies of the Commission. Such actions have major implications for the integrity of the work of the Commission and constitute abuse of office,” EC boss noted.

In response, however, Mr. Sulley texted Starr News’ Ibrahim Alhassan that he is consulting his lawyers over the allegation.

“I want to assure you that it’s not true. I have all the documents and I am going for legal advice”.

-Starrfmonline

The post EC Brouhaha: Charlotte Lying Against Me – Amadu Sulley appeared first on Daily Guide Africa.

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Scene at the site

Four bodies have been retrieved from a galamsey pit at Pentransa in the Asante Akyem Central Municipality in the Ashanti Region.

The illegal mining pit collapsed on Sunday night killing small-scale miners who were within its belly at the time.

It is not clear how many more people have been trapped in the pit but local journalist Akua Adepa Agyemang told ClassFMonline.com that residents claim they saw between 11 and 15 men entering the pit.

On Monday morning, personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Police Service, National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the military, were at the site to restore order.

The latest accident comes a few weeks after 22 miners were declared dead after having been trapped for days in a collapsed pit at Prestea.

-Classfmonline

The post 4 People Feared Dead In Galamsey Pit Collapse At Pentransa, A/R appeared first on Daily Guide Africa.

A 21-year-old girl died on Saturday after the Ashongman Community Hospital in Accra refused to give her blood, even though she is a blood donor.

According to Adolf Lawson, father of the level 300 student of the Catholic University, doctors at the Ghana Atomic Energy Hospital, where his daughter was on admission, directed him to the Ashongman Community Hospital to purchase blood for his sick daughter, since they did not have the essential fluid at their facility.

He said he went to the Ashongman community hospital with his daughter’s blood donation card, in the hope that the body fluid will be given to him at a reduced cost, but that was not the case.

“The Atomic hospital officials told me to go to the Ashongman community hospital for the blood since they did not have it. I then decided to go with my daughter’s blood donation card and my own card as well, since some privileges are extended to donors who are in need of blood. I got to the hospital and the lab technician told me that he could not reduce the blood cost of GHC340 even though I was a donor. But I did not have that much on me,” the distressed father told StarrFMonline.com Monday.

He continued: “I begged the young man and even showed him proof that I have donated blood at their facility before, but he still insisted that until I am able to afford the cost, he cannot give me the blood. He subsequently directed me to the Amasaman hospital. I got there and there was no blood. I decided to go to the Achimota hospital where by the grace of God, I was able to procure the blood at a reduced rate of GHC120 because I showed them the blood donation cards. Unfortunately, when I returned to the Atomic Energy hospital my daughter had died”.

Reacting to the incident, the general manager for the Ashongman Community Hospital, Storms Wells, admitted that the hospital could not give the deceased’s father the needed blood because he could not afford it.

“It is true; he was here with the blood donation cards and requested that we gave him the blood for free, on the account that he was a donor. But the truth is, we do not give blood on that account. We purchase the blood from the blood bank and so we do not give it out for free,” he recounted.

Meanwhile, the director of the national blood bank, Stephen Addai, who expressed regret over the incident, told StarrFmonline.com that all efforts should have been made by the Ashongman Community Hospital to assist the father of the girl, regardless of his financial status, since he is a donor.

“ As a rule, priority is given to blood donors. Even though the product cannot be given for free, donors are given a special privilege. And in this case, the hospital should have provided the needed assistance to the father; it’s unfortunate that this had to happen”.

-Starrfmonline

The post Blood Donor Dies After Hospital Denies Her Blood appeared first on Daily Guide Africa.

Sam Atta Mills

Five years after the demise of former President John Atta Mills, his only surviving son, Sam Atta Mills, has said he has still not seen the autopsy report of his father.

“The hospital never gave any autopsy report to show that this or that was the reason why he passed away so I don’t think any member of my family would be able to give evidence on what happened or what caused his death…I have not seen anything of that sort. I do not think anyone has. If anybody has it, he or she should be free to let me know but I do not think anyone has,” Sam Mills said.

This is in sharp contrast to earlier statements by the late President’s brother, Cardman Mills, who said the family had seen the report.

Speaking at the 5 year commemoration of the President’s death today [Monday] July 24, Mr. Atta Mills said he would support a probe into the cause of his father’s death.

“I have heard a lot of stories but I also believe that in order for you take an action or to know something, there must be some level of evidence and some level of facts. There have been several rumors and stories; but until I see some concrete evidence I don’t really have much to say. If someone wants to approach me to do investigations I will champion the course because he is my father and I want to know.”

Sam Atta Mills is son of late Ghana President, John Evans Atta Mills, who died exactly 5 years ago today [Monday], July 24.

There was a wreath laying ceremony at the Asomdwe Park in Accra Monday morning ahead of a gathering at Kuku Hill in Osu.

There would also be a Memorial Lecture at the Atta-Mills Law Faculty at GIMPA on Thursday, to be delivered by former UK House of Lords member, Paul Boateng.

Atta Mills had been involved in Ghanaian politics from the time he served as Vice President to President Jerry John Rawlings for one term from 1997 to 2001.

He assumed the mantle of Flagbearer of the NDC and contested unsuccessfully for the presidency on two occasions before emerging victorious in 2008 after defeating the New Patriotic Party’s candidate and current President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in a run-off.

Tragedy struck on July 24, 2012, when Atta Mills died at the 37 Military Hospital aged 68.

He had reportedly been battling with throat cancer, and in the days leading up to his death, had been in the US for some medical attention.

-Citifmonline

The post I’ve Not Seen My Father’s Autopsy Report – Mills’ son appeared first on Daily Guide Africa.

 Alfred Woyome

Businessman, Alfred Woyome, was given a break in court on Monday, July 24, so he could take some medication during his oral examination on how he intends to repay the GHc 51 million wrongfully paid to him as judgment debt.

During the oral examination conducted by a Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Dame, Mr. Woyome’s lawyer, Ken Anku, asked for permission for his client to take his medication saying his client was not in good health.

To add to the health concerns, during the oral examination, it also emerged that Mr. Woyome has not been able to engage in any business since 2012.

According to him, he lost all his businesses after his arrest in 2011 and the subsequent legal ordeals. He told the court he spent all his time in court to the detriment of his businesses.

When asked about the AAW Management Consulting Services, which was incorporated in 2016, Mr. Woyome told the court that the company, despite being established in 2016, is still not in business.

Mr. Woyome during the examination, however described as erroneous the decision of the Attorney General to drag him before the Supreme Court to orally examine him on the GHc 51 million paid to him as a judgment debt.

Responding to questions during the oral examination, he further told the court he felt persecuted by the state through these actions given that he had a payment plan agreed with the AG.

Ahead of the oral examination, a document sighted by Citi News indicated that a charge had been placed on the property of Mr. Woyome, as sought by the Attorney General’s office.

The companies affected by the charge included Anator Holding Company Limited, AAW Management Consulting Services, Anator Construction Company Limited, Green Township Security Services Company Limited, Woyome Brothers International Limited, Stewise Anator Company limited and Stewise Shipping Compan Limited.

The oral examination covers the possible debts Mr. Woyome owes, whether he has property to satisfy the debts, and the manner in which he used the judgment debt money paid him, among others.

This judgment debt saga traces back to 2008 where Mr. Woyome was paid GHc 51 million after claiming he helped Ghana raise funds to construct stadia for the hosting of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

However, an Auditor General’s report released in 2010, held that the amount was paid illegally to him.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court in 2014 ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the money, after a former Attorney General, Martin Amidu, challenged the legality of the payments.

-Citifmonline

The post ‘Sick’ Woyome Takes Medicine In Court appeared first on Daily Guide Africa.

Dr. Kwabena Donkor

Four detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service yesterday went to the private residence of Dr Kwabena Donkor, former Minister for Power under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, headed by John Dramani Mahama.

The officers, led by an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), according to reports, stormed the Spintex Road house with a warrant demanding to search the premises in connection with an ongoing investigation into the controversial AMERI power deal.

Dr Donkor, DAILY GUIDE learnt, is being investigated with regards to the AMERI contract, and is likely to be charged with willfully causing financial loss to the state.

The officers, according to police sources, got to the former power minister’s private residence at dawn while he was still asleep, but his security man later alerted him about a police presence at the premises.

When the Pru East MP came out to meet the detectives, he reportedly examined the search warrant and thereafter cooperated with the law enforcers after they had disclosed that they were there for AMERI documents.

Four flash drives and a laptop were said to have been seized by the officers in the course of the search.

Dr Donkor told Joy Fm in a subsequent interview that he was sleeping when one of his staff in his house told him that some plain-clothed policemen wanted to enter the house.

He said he quickly dressed up and met them at the gate where they produced a warrant signed by an Accra Circuit Court judge.

“It said that application has been made to the court to permit the search on grounds that I have caused financial loss to the state and this was the first time I was hearing about it,” he said.

Dr Kwabena Donkor said when he allowed the men into his property, they took two hours searching the house, adding that they took along his flash drives and personal laptop. One of them, he said, hinted that the investigation was about the AMERI deal.

The former minister said all documents on AMERI are   public materials and that they were submitted to parliament, and so there was absolutely no private document in his custody.

“In any case, if they were investigating AMERI, I probably didn’t expect that as a sitting MP, they should come to me with a search warrant,” he protested.

The previous Mahama administration, in the heat of the dumsor (erratic power supply) in February 2015, entered into a $510 million deal with AMERI for the supply of power plants to mitigate the power crisis.

But media reports indicated that the cost of the project was outrageously high, thus compelling the Nana Akufo-Addo government to set up a committee to look into the contract.

The committee, led by a private legal practitioner, Phillip Addison, disclosed in its report that it found technical and financial lapses in the contract.

On the financial side, the committee found out that although AMERI secured the deal, the developer that built and financed the plant charged $360 million yet AMERI forwarded a bill of $510 million in the agreement.

The story was first published by popular Norwegian news outlet Verdens Gang (VG), giving graphic details about the generators’ deal and how the NDC government officials, including Dr Kwabena Donkor, were involved in what the paper said was fraud perpetrated on Ghanaians. 

Bizarre Deal

According to the award-winning Norwegian newspaper, the turbines were estimated to cost $220 million on the international market but the NDC government contracted them for $510 million.

VG investigated what happened after the Pakistani-born Norwegian, Umar Farooq Zahoor, a top director of the AMERI Group, acquired 10 gas turbines for Ghana for $510 million.

VG’s investigation showed that the turbines usually go for $220 million and so the paper wondered why the West African country (referring to Ghana) paid $290 million more than the standard price.

Apart from the equipment price of $510 million, Ghana would pay $16 million annually in addition for gas supply to the turbines.

There are strong suspicions that AMERI Group might be a single-purpose company, as it has no track-record in the power generation industry.

By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey

(lindatenyah@gmail.com)

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