LEGON POLLSTER THREATENED WITH DEATH

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The leader of the team of researchers from the University of Ghana that predicted that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag bearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will win the December 7 presidential election, says he is living in fear.

According to Dr. Isaac Owusu-Mensah who is a senior lecturer at the Political Science Department, he is being threatened with death by some supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) since he released the report.

“I am being inundated with information that some NDC supporters are threatening my life since I got involved in the opinion polls that said Nana Akufo-Addo will win the election on December 7; and I am not taking the issue of death lightly,” he told DAILY GUIDE via telephone yesterday.

Prior Warning

He said some of his family members, friends and colleagues have been advising him to take precautionary measures saying, “They tell me not to take the threats for a joke and I have assured them that matters of life and death cannot be overlooked.”

He said he got to know that the threats could be real when one of his family members informed him about what some NDC supporters were planning on a social media platform they have created for their campaign.

NDC Platform

“There is a social media platform being run by some of the NDC members and one of my family members happen to be on that platform. It was through him I got to know for the first time what they were planning to do to me,” according to Dr. Owusu-Mensah.

Asked whether he had informed the police about the alleged threats, Dr. Owusu-Mensah said, “The threats are not coming directly to my phone or to me personally so I don’t have any physical evidence to give to the police as I speak to you.”

German Chancellor

He said that the threats heightened when after releasing the report, NDC communicators started circulating a picture he took with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and some opposition NPP leaders, including Nana Akufo-Addo, on a trip to Germany.

He said the NDC communicators together with some of the party’s regional and national executives as well as the pro-government newspapers incited their supporters against him and that might have incensed those people to issue the alleged threats.

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

Explaining the Germany issue, Dr. Owusu-Mensah said he has been working with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) which is associated with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and which promotes conservatism and liberalism.

He said as part of the mandate, KAS cooperates with governmental institutions, political parties, civil society organizations and handpicked elites, building strong partnerships and since the NPP shares its ideals, they have that cooperation with the opposition party.

“It was during one of such partnerships that I went to Germany and met the NPP leaders and we had that photograph taken with the German Chancellor, but the NDC people are circulating the picture to make me look like I am working for their opponent,” the senior lecturer posited.

“I still stand by the research findings. We went to the field to collect data before coming out with what we saw. I believe next week is not too far away. Let’s have patience and wait to see if we are right or wrong,” he said.

Research Results

The academic and his team of researchers predicted that the opposition party would record 49.9%, while the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) had an approval rating of 39.9%.

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP), the research continued, would record 5% while the Convention People’s Party (CPP) would likely receive 1.7%; the National Democratic Party (NDP) 1.7% and 0.2% for the People’s National Convention (PNC).

Three per cent of respondents of the quantitative and qualitative survey, the researchers said, were not ready to vote for an independent candidate while 0.9% of the respondents failed to give an answer.

NDC FEARS BAWUMIA - LAW DON

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

A Constitutional Law Professor, H. Kwasi Prempeh says Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s continuous rise in the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is posing what he termed  ‘mortal threat’ to the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

This, he said, had compelled NDC members to attack Dr. Bawumia’s personality instead of questioning his capabilities.

Prof Prempeh, in an article, said he had made a curious observation, saying “the rival attacks on the NPP’s Bawumia have not focused on his suitability or qualification for the high office he seeks.”

“Bawumia’s political ascendancy in the NPP, however, threatens this strategy and propaganda of the NDC in both the short and long term.”

Distasteful Attacks

“In fact, the attacks have not even focused mainly on his claims and message in the areas of the economy and economic management, many of which have gone unanswered.  Rather unusually, the aspect of Bawumia’s candidacy that has earned him the ire and disproportionate attention of the NDC is his ethno-regional identity as a ‘Northerner,’ he pointed out.

“Mahama and his surrogates in the ruling NDC have suggested to voters, especially in the Northern half of the country that as a Northerner, Bawumia is in the wrong party; that he has no future in the NPP except as second fiddle to the flagbearer; that there is even something inauthentic about his Northerner identity. The CPP flagbearer has added that Bawumia is an ‘Accra Northerner,” he said.

He quizzed: “Why are the NPP’s rivals fixated on Bawumia’s identity as a Northerner and in a clearly disapproving way? What is it about Bawumia’s ethno-regional identity that unsettles especially the NDC?”

Total Control

He said Dr. Bawumia’s “unprecedented visibility” in the NPP’s current campaign, his strong command of issues, as well as his cross-party appeal and likeability have cemented his status as a star politician both in the NPP and on the national political scene more broadly.”

“Added to his relative youth, this makes Bawumia the politician to watch, not only within the NPP, but also more importantly from the perspective of the NDC.”

He said that “the NDC had self-consciously positioned itself within the Ghanaian political terrain as the “non-Akan” party by tapping into a strain of historical and emotive suspicions, prejudices, antagonisms and grievances, both real and imagined, held against ‘Akans’ by a number of ethnic minorities but Dr. Bawumia’s persistent rise is giving the NDC cause for concern.

NDC Strategy

Prof Prempeh said, “In this year’s election campaign, the NDC’s identity-based ‘us versus them’ electoral strategy and politicking have been strongly and overtly on display, especially when Mahama and his surrogates and party leaders campaign before non-Akan audiences in the three northern regions and the Volta Region. That this strategy has been perversely effective and politically beneficial to the NDC cannot be disputed.”

“The NDC’s elites and strategists must know that given Bawumia’s centrality in the current 2016 campaign and his national likeability and appeal, victory for the NPP in the December 7 polls will instantly propel Bawumia to front-runner status within a post-Akufo-Addo NPP.”

Bawumia As Veep

He said the NDC anticipating the prospect of Dr. Bawumia in office, has made much of the fact that as vice president to President Kufuor, Vice President Aliu Mahama, also a Northerner, failed to secure the NPP’s nomination for a flagbearer-successor to Kufuor.”

“This fact, however, is not a precedent of much relevance or applicability to Bawumia.”

“As a politician and despite his relative youth in Ghanaian politics, Bawumia has earned, in his own right, a standing and following both in the NPP and nationally that goes far beyond any that the late Aliu Mahama could garner. Therefore, unlike Aliu Mahama, Bawumia’s emergence as front-runner, in the event of a 2016 NPP victory, will make him the man to beat and thus the most likely choice of the NPP as flagbearer in the immediate post-Akufo-Addo era.”

Likely Leader

He said “in the absence of Nana Akufo-Addo, Dr. Bawumia is likely to lead the NPP in the future since he is accepted by all in the party but if, however, the Akufo Addo/Bawumia ticket were to suffer defeat in the December polls, that outcome would dim, though not extinguish entirely the prospects of Bawumia as likely flagbearer of the NPP in the immediate post-Akufo Addo era.”

“In short, the logical effect of an NPP victory in the December 7, 2016 polls will be to put Dr. Bawumia on course to claiming the party’s flagbearership after Nana Akufo Addo’s term ends. Such a development would instantly undercut a central pillar on which the NDC’s identity-based electoral strategy and coalition has been constructed, namely, the notion that the NPP is an Akan-exclusive party, and thus, not a political home for Northerners or other non-Akans.”

Prof. Prempeh said the NDC’s concern extends beyond the immediate impact of losing the 2016 election, saying “the greater worry is that the success of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia ticket will set in motion a political dynamic that will almost certainly produce a Bawumia at the top of the NPP presidential ticket and thereby weaken significantly the efficacy and viability of the “us versus them” identity politics that has become a central tenet of the NDC way of politics.”

AMIDU STEPS UP CAMPAIGN AGAINST NDC

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Martin A.B.K. Amidu, has repeated his description of the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government as ‘kleptomaniac looter.’ He has therefore, rallied the electorate not to hesitate in kicking President Mahama and his team out of office on December 7.

Mr. Amidu, who is a leading member of the ruling party but appears to have fallen out with it over widespread corruption matters, said that that would be the surest way of getting the NDC’s embattled financier, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, to refund the GH¢51.2 million he unlawfully collected from the state without any work done.

 “Citizens, you have a choice to make. How much longer will we hear stories of inadvertence, mischief and connivance by an incumbent government that strips the Republic’s coffers bare so that ordinary Ghanaians must suffer financial hardship? Put Ghana first; and let us get our looted money back by voting the incumbent looter government out on 7th December, 2016,” Mr. Amidu aka Citizen Vigilante, charged in a statement released on Sunday.

Spurious Allegation

Reacting to what he called “spurious allegation” leveled against him by Mr. Woyome, the former AG said it was clear that the Mahama-led government is solidly behind Woyome to keep the money and also making him (Woyome) to unleash attacks on him.

He said President Mahama has personally been accusing him (Amidu) of falsehood when he (president) should have known that he (Amidu) was never part of the decision to order the payment to Woyome, saying if the government had not been complicit in the whole matter, it would have come to his defence when the embattled NDC financier attacked him in the media.

Mr. Amidu said there was no way he would have authorized the payment and that subsequent investigations, including the Sole-Commissioner’s report (for which the government issued a White Paper) as well as the Supreme Court, confirmed the fact that he had nothing to do with the transaction.

“I heard him allege that I ordered or authorized a September 2011 payment of the loot which the Ministry of Finance paid to Woyome by transfer into his accounts. These spurious allegations are untrue and symptoms of mental exhaustion and stress coming from the lootee of the public purse.”

Gov’t Surrogate

Mr. Amidu said, “One would have expected that if the lootee Woyome was not the surrogate of the incumbent looter government, then the incumbent government would have come to my defence because it accepted the Commission of Enquiry report in a White Paper.

Instead, in his interviews on television and radio, the president continues to accuse me of falsehood and goads Woyome and his ministers on to insult me via the electronic media for defending the Constitution.

“It is clear where the incumbent government’s support lies in the Woyome matter. The lootee, Woyome, and the incumbent looter government succeeded in their aim to do whatever it took for the Supreme Court to reverse its decision and order dated 16th November, 2016 in preventing me from examining Woyome orally on oath on 24th November, 2016. Woyome did not only file an application to discharge or reverse the order for his examination at 9.52 am on 23^rd November, 2016.”

He said Mr. Woyome followed this up by filing at 1.30 pm an application for the stay of proceedings “to disable me from examining him the next morning,” 

adding, “It was not accidental that the government which argued against my application to examine Woyome orally on oath, on 10th November, 2016 was this time round made the 2nd Respondent in surrogate Woyome’s applications. Common sense makes such tricks quite obvious to the ordinary person.”

Woyome’s State

Citizen Vigilante said that Woyome’s outbursts on radio appeared to be “contributions of someone who is mentally exhausted, extremely tired and frustrated, and his comments ought to be ignored.” 

“However, the files on this loot of the public purse by the incumbent government for its lootee and surrogate, Woyome, are in government custody and one expects a dignified government to have told the public by now that its surrogate is pathologically adverse to the truth, especially when he associates me with any payments of the looted public purse or any proposed interest. The incumbent government knows this is untrue, as its own Commission of Enquiry has found.”

Mr. Amidu said although he had severally responded to some of the allegations, “The media and the public are being hoodwinked by Woyome’s outburst and the incumbent government’s overwhelming silence to set the records straight.”

Economic Hardships

“The fact remains that the people of Ghana are enduring economic hardships now because of this incumbent looter government of the public purse. I entreat fellow citizens once more to read between the lines and come to their own justified conclusion that the only way the Republic and the people of Ghana can get their looted Woyome money back is to vote out this kleptomaniac looter government and president on 7th December, 2016.”

WOYOME IN GH¢35M FRESH CONTRACT

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Saturday, November 26, 2016

OccupyGhana, a pressure group, has accused the Mahama-led NDC Administration of awarding $8 million contract to a company supposedly owned by  the embattled National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier, Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

The news is coming at a time the government is struggling to recoup GH¢51.2 million unlawfully paid to the NDC financier in 2010 by the government on the instructions of former  Attorney General, Betty Mould Iddrisu and her deputy Ebo Barton-Odro.

Pressure group OccupyGhana released documents yesterday detailing how Anator Holding Company Limited, which is believed to be owned by Mr. Woyome, had been given a contract by former Minister of Transport, Dzifa Aku Attivor to “develop deep seaports, including industrial parks and green townships in Ghana. It said the deal was signed last December.

Ms. Attivor, who recently told the people of the Volta Region to vote against the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, fears that they (NDC officials from the region) may go to jail when the NPP wins the elections.

Secret Deal 

“OccupyGhana is shocked, outraged and appalled to discover this: that while the nation is still reeling from the effect of the Alfred Woyome judgment debt scandal, and the stalled and hesitant attempts by the Attorney-General to execute the judgement of the Supreme Court, the Government of Ghana has, on the blind side of Ghanaians, entered into a ‘confidential’ and potentially lucrative agreement with Woyome, acting through one of his companies, Anator Holding Company Limited,” the group said in statement.

According to OccupyGhana, “This same Anator Holding Company, in the current proceedings in court, is one of the companies that has filed an interpleader, claiming to be the owner of two of Woyome’s properties that the Government has finally managed to attach in execution of the judgment. That matter is still pending and unresolved.”

The group said, “We have seen a Framework Agreement dated as recently as 21st December 2015, for Anator Holding to “develop deep seaports (including) industrial parks and green townships” in Ghana,” adding “The Agreement is signed by Woyome as Executive Chairman of Anator Holding Company Limited, and the then Minister for Transport, Dzifa Aku Attivor.”

Scanty Draft

They said that the agreement was entered into on the basis of “a non-binding scantily drafted Memorandum of Understanding entered into between the same Woyome company and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority on the same subject on 28th August 2015.”

“The Framework Agreement with Ghana is expressed to have been entered into so that Woyome’s company can raise an initial financing of $8.5m (GH¢35million) just for feasibility studies. In other words, Woyome is relying on the country’s goodwill to raise financing for a sweetheart deal that he has entered into with the GPHA, and is possibly shopping around banks all over the world for money, on the back of this agreement.”

Bogus Agreement

OccupyGhana, which described the agreement as ‘bogus,’ said it was signed “with the express approval of Cabinet, as conveyed by a letter signed by the Chief of Staff, from the Office of the President, dated 16th December 2015. It is instructive to point out that the Agreement was signed on the same day that the Cabinet approval was received by the Ministry of Transport.”

“We have seen how Woyome operates. He hit us for GH¢51.2 million that he did not deserve, on the basis of a non-existent contract. Our Government and its lawyers, either unconcerned or guilty of complicity, sat back when Woyome went to court and obtained a default judgment against us. Even though Martin Amidu has obtained judgement for the people of Ghana, we are struggling to recover that money from him, and this same Anator Holding is battling to stop us from selling at least two of Woyome’s properties to pay the debt.”

The group said “the irony of the date that agreement was signed cannot be lost on us. 21st December 2015 was the date that the former Minister of Transport, Dzifa Attivor, appeared in Parliament to lament that her Ministry was broke and that its budget was woefully inadequate to meet developmental needs of the sector.’ Incidentally, that was also the date that the impugned Smarttys deal, involving the same Dzifa Attivor, broke in Parliament.”

OccupyGhana called for “full disclosure and full explanation” of the circumstances surrounding this contract.

Questions To Mahama

“Did the President know that Dzifa Attivor was entering into this contract on our behalf, and if so, did he do anything to stop it? Did the President know about the Cabinet approval? We demand from the Government and GPHA evidence that all proper statutory and procurement approvals were duly obtained in entering into these agreements and memoranda with Woyome.”

It said the NDC government should cancel the agreement without delay, saying, “Woyome has our money. He obtained that money under dubious circumstances. Thanks to Mr. Martin Amidu, we have judgement against him. He has failed to pay. We should not be doing business either with him or with any corporate entity that he owns, controls or is associated with, under any circumstances.”

Woyome Reacts

The embattled Woyome, in the face of hardcore evidence being produced by OccupyGhana, reacted almost immediately when he said on Pastor’s Programme on Asempa FM, Accra yesterday that the group was peddling falsehoods about him and that he will deal with them at the right time.

“It is not true that I have signed a new contract with the government. It is absolutely not true. They have taken contents of documents which have been there over 10 years.”

He said “that document was a Public Private Partnership arrangement (PPP) between me and government since 2008. Government has not paid me any money. It is something to divert attention. It’s a lie. Government has not given me a pesewa and I don’t even like government money. Those behind OccupyGhana have personal problems with me since 2003 and very soon I will expose all of them.”

PETITIONER ADVISES EC BOSS AGAINST ELECTRONIC RESULTS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, November 24, 2016

The man who dragged the Electoral Commission (EC) to the Supreme Court to compel the commission to give Constituency Collation Sheets to the various parties has written to the Chairperson of the commission, Charlotte Osei, advising her to avoid using the Electronic Transmission of Results (ETR) methodology in this year’s elections.

According to Kwesi Nyame-Tease Eshun, a lawyer and for Director of Research at Parliament House, it will be in everybody’s interest to ensure that all the 275 Constituency Collation Centres (CCC) are brought to the headquarters of the EC before the chairperson, who is the returning officer for the presidential ballot, declares the final results.

He said in an open letter dated November 20 that “it is this mode of reporting and not the Electronic Transmission of Results (ETR) methodology that will resolve all any controversies that would arise on December 7.

He said the EC boss, in an interview with the BBC recently, got some issues wrong when she said manual results (those sent by fax) rather than the ones sent through e-transmission is the legal one, adding that both forms of transmission were still done electronically and those presented by the Returning Officers physically should be the legal documents.

“Should the EC go ahead to use the methodology of ETR to announce and declare results before going to look at the signed original hardcopies in the custody of the 275 returning officers, the EC will be caught and clothed with the unpleasant label of ‘putting the cart before the horse’,” saying that the physical documents of the 275 returning officers will resolve controversies.

He said the transparent reporting format was a major contributing factor to the success of Nigeria’s May 2015 election, as explained by Prof. Attahiru Jega who was the head of that country’s electoral body.

“Imagine the ensuing confusion were the chairperson to announce and declare even one result from the ETR which is at variance with the ones in the possession of the contesting presidential candidates. It is for this reason that that we strongly urge the EC to wait and receive the original of the Presidential Elections – Result Collation Form (Form One E.L. 23B), before announcing the results.”

Mr. Eshun admitted that the EC in the past had used faxed collated results to announce final results but the practice has been overturned by the Supreme Court order that Constituency Collation result sheets should be signed and given to the candidates to ensure transparency, accountability and legality.

He said the proper legal documents are the physical, manual completed signed original hardcopies to be issued by the EC to the candidates and those are what the commissioner is required to use in the declaration and not any faxed or electronically collated results.

“Dear seven eminent members constituting the EC, I earnestly appeal to each of you, to your sound judgment and conscience to ensure that the right and proper thing is done,” he said.

14 DAYS TO GO: EC BOSS PRAYS FOR RIGHT WINNER

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Charlotte Osei, has prayed fervently asking for God’s intervention against any form of violence in the December 7 general election.

Clad in white apparel, Ms Osei and other female members of the commission, supported by other women groups, grabbed the microphone and took the elections before God to elect a president for Ghanaians.

She prayed to God to shame the enemies and allow His (God’s) choice to win the elections that she is presiding over. “We shall have divine outcome in the election. You are the God who enthrones Kings. Let your will be done,” she pleaded.

The EC boss asked God to also take control of the airwaves and social media and other media outlets to prevent abuses. The media have been urged not to declare the election results, and the prayer may be directed towards preventing them from declaring results.

The country’s political temperature is currently high and some political and security analysts have maintained that the tension has been heightened due to doubts over the EC’s neutrality in the whole electoral processes.

The selective law enforcement being exhibited by the security agencies, particularly the police, is also escalating the tension, according to the NPP.

In spite of the anxiety that has gripped some Ghanaians over possible violence, the EC boss is optimistic that God will come to rescue the people of Ghana.

Ms Osei made the intercessory prayer at one of the monthly sessions of Women’s Aglow Ministry in Accra at the weekend where she prayed for safety of the commission’s officials, the electoral materials and what was termed as the ‘destructive abuse of social media,’ which the authorities have not hidden their desire to ban if it became critical.

“Father we declare there shall be no war in Ghana. We shall have a divine outcome in the elections. … You are the God who enthrones kings… let your will be done,” she prayed.

Asking God for divine protection for all politicians, the security agencies and all stakeholders in the December 7 elections, she prayed, “When the enemies rise to destroy the beauty of the electoral process, frustrate their efforts and let us have a nation where the righteous will rule.”

Aglow’s National Prayer Director, Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, led hundreds of women to offer the intercessory prayers for the country and they also prayed for God’s protection for the EC boss to supervise a free, fair and transparent exercise.

Mrs Affenyi-Dadzie drawing inspiration from the Bible, urged the EC not to be intimidated by individuals and groups who might want to mar the electoral process and asked her to remain steadfast in the discharge of her duties.

She, however, asked Mrs. Osei and her commission to put their house in order to ensure that all temporary staff recruited to assist it at various levels would not corrupt and compromise the electoral process.

Later, a symbolic pot was broken to signify the divine intervention of God in all matters relating to violence, bloodshed and deaths before, during and after the crucial elections.

Mrs Afenyi-Dadzie said, “By breaking this pot and engaging in other spiritual exercises, we disorganise all forms of organised plans to perpetrate mayhem during the elections; we break every yoke of misunderstanding and abort all evil plans against the EC and the sanctity of the electoral process.”

In the course of the symbolic exercise, the EC boss submitted her prayer request to God, calling for renewed strength and co-operation from political parties.

She said the EC is up to the task and ready for the crucial elections, adding that the commission needs the collaboration of all the security agencies and political parties to ensure a credible outcome.

The EC chairperson and other officials of the women’s group asked the media to play their gate-keeping role in an objective and balanced manner in order not to inflame passions.

The congregants tasked the media to always cross-check their facts with the commission before proceeding to feed the public with any information.

NPP BASHES IGP

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) complaining bitterly about the ‘selective law enforcement’ it believes is being perpetrated by the Ghana Police Service in the run-up to the December 7 general elections.

The party catalogued brutalities visited on NPP members by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters across the country and asked the Police Administration to take swift action to restore the party’s confidence in the Service.

A strongly-worded letter signed by NPP Acting National Chairman, Freddie W. Blay to the IGP on Monday, said all that the party is asking for is “prompt and objective enforcement of peace and security.”

It said the letter was a follow-up to a meeting the party’s leaders had with the IGP, John Kudalor last month.

Several Complaints

The NPP told the IGP, “Sir, you would recall that we referred to and emphasized several complaints of incidents of violence and intimidation unlawfully perpetuated against officials and members of the NPP all over the country by NDC activists.

“Our members in the various regions have made several complaints and appeals over the intimidation and the violence but regrettably, we are yet to see concrete measures put in place to deal with, address or forestall further occurrences of such incidents of intimidation or violence.”

He called on the IGP to renew his efforts to enforce peace so that “all Ghanaians feel free of harassment and intimidation in these final weeks before Election Day on December 7, 2016.”

Series of Attacks 

Buttressing its point, the NPP said on July 6, 2015, during the Talensi by-election, NDC thugs called Azorka Boys to attack party officials, including then National Vice Chairman Freddie Blay, National Treasurer Kwabena Abankwa-Yeboah, former Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports Rashid Bawa and other NPP people without provocation; and on May 8, 2016 during the limited registration exercise in the Volta Region, the NPP Regional Chairman, John Peter Amewu, was assaulted by men in police uniform at Metsrikasa.

The NPP said on October 11, 2016, about 35 of its women supporters, known as Loyal Ladies, were brutally assaulted by identified NDC thugs while conducting a house-to-house campaign at Suhum, Eastern Region, and on October 12, 2016, two Deputy NPP National Youth Organizers - Salam Mustapha and Dominic Eduah - were assaulted by uniformed police personnel at the CID Headquarters in Accra when they tried to secure bail for the president-elect of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), Luqman Abubakar.

Brong-Ahafo Terror 

The NPP said a driver of Dr Hannah Bissiw, a Deputy Minister and MP allegedly supervised the abduction of a team of NPP medical personnel in the Brong-Ahafo Region who were on a medical outreach programme and took them to Dr Bissiw’s house where they were manhandled before being released. But in spite of a complaint the police did nothing about it.

“In the Asunafo North and South Constituencies of the Brong-Ahafo Region, Abdullai Mohammed, popularly known as Naaba - a brother of the Local Government Minister, Alhaji Collins Dauda - led ‘macho men’ to beat up NPP agents who were protesting the registration of minors and foreigners in the full glare of the police; however, no police action has been taken,” adding, “on the 19^th of September 2016, an NPP activist had his finger chopped off at Asunafo South by NDC thugs on the rampage; police personnel fled the scene and have not conducted any police investigations over the matter since that time.”

Central Region 

The NPP also said on October 2, 2016, NDC ‘macho men’ again attacked NPP supporters who were campaigning peacefully at Enyan Main in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam Constituency of the Central Region where three people received severe knife wounds but the matter was not investigated and on 16^th September, 2016, machete-wielding NDC members inflicted wounds on an NPP activist at Kukuom in the Asunafo South District of the Brong-Ahafo Region; and nothing has been done by the police.

Nana’s House Attack 

The opposition party said on Sunday, November 13, 2016, NDC activists, numbering over 3,000 who claimed they were going on a health walk at the Nima Police Station junction, attempted, without any provocation, to force their way into the residence of the NPP’s flag bearer and ended up throwing bottles and stones into his compound.

Police Recruits 

The party frowned on plans by the police administration to include recruits who are currently undergoing training for security duties on election day, saying, “The use of unqualified recruits, and the rapid scaling up of the recruitment process, raises concerns for us about transparency in how these individuals were recruited, and their capacity to provide full and equal protection to all Ghanaians on Election Day.”

Social Media 

The NPP also expressed concern about the IGP’s plans to ban the use of social media on election day, saying, “The NPP believes that the free use of social media and other forms of communication are critical to providing transparency and credibility to the election process, by allowing for independent reporting of incidences of violence and intimidation, as well as independent verification of results as tabulated and certified at individual polling stations.”

SOLDIERS REJECT PROXY VOTE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

It is turning out that many soldiers serving on peacekeeping missions abroad are reluctant to exercise their franchise in the impending general election.

A few of them are said to have reluctantly given their voter ID particulars to the military hierarchy for onward transmission to the Electoral Commission (EC) to prepare the special voting register.

According to information, they have been reluctant because during the 2012 general election, the military hierarchy reportedly changed their proxies and made other people to vote for them instead.

DAILY GUIDE understands that about 80% of the soldiers did not respond to signals sent to the various units on peacekeeping to submit details of their voter identity cards because of the way they were denied the right to select their preferred candidates in 2012.

“The authorities selected the proxies and rejected the people they asked to represent them on voting day. What is the guarantee that those picked will vote for the preferred candidates of the soldiers?” a source queried, adding, “All these are happening because of one person’s unbridled quest for power.”

Election Ambulances

There are also reports that about 60 ambulances have been assembled at the Air Force Base, Burma Camp, Accra, and they are reportedly going to be used for special operation on election day.

Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyepong, made the revelation recently when he alleged that the ambulances were going to be used to smuggle stuffed ballot boxes and other election-related materials by the NDC in collaboration with the military on voting day, adding that it forms part of the ruling party’s agenda to re-elect President Mahama by any means.

Strange Request  

At a time when some soldiers are said to have refused to submit their voter particulars for the special voting exercise on December 1, the police administration is reportedly in a behind-the-scenes move with the EC to introduce more names into the already-compiled special voter list, raising questions about the commission’s neutrality.

The move has already raised eyebrows and further put in doubt the EC’s neutrality ahead of the December 7 crucial elections since the political parties are said not to have been consulted about the intended action.

With only 10 days to the special voting and with the EC already releasing 65,000 people as eligible special voters to all the parties, the police administration has written to the commission to key in more names of recruits in training to enable them to exercise their franchise in the special exercise.

The recruits are said to be close to 2,000 and are coming from police training institutions in Pwalugu (Upper East), Ho (Volta), Koforidua (Eastern), Kumasi (Ashanti) and Accra (Greater Accra).

The IGP, in a wire message sent to police formations - a copy of which is available to DAILY GUIDE - asked commanders to liaise with EC district officers to virtually compile a new list of special voters – when the exercise had long been closed - and the request when granted, would be a clear breach of C.I. 94, the instrument being used to regulate the December 7 general election.

Parties Stranded

Clearly, it is being done at the blind side of the political parties because the EC released a list of 65,000 possible voters for the special voting.

Head of Communication at the EC, Eric Kofi Dzakpasu, recently gave the breakdown as 871 for media personnel, 23,567 for security services and 40,563 election officials, and as far as C.I. 94 is concerned, the application to be entered on the list of special voters has been determined and concluded as far back as October 28, 2016 - 42 days to polls day.

NANA RECEIVES MOTHER TERESA AWARD IN INDIA

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has received the prestigious Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice. He used the occasion to stress the need for all governments to step up efforts towards defeating terrorism through education and peace.

He said the threat of terror is perhaps the greatest danger the world faces at the moment.

Coveted Award

Nana Akufo-Addo was not in Mumbai, India, for the awards ceremony due to his hectic campaign engagements and was represented by former minister Hackman Owusu-Agyeman and his team.

He was the main speaker and delivered a keynote address through Mr. Owusu-Agyeman on the theme, “Combating Terror Through Education and Peace.”

The award is given to people all over the world who distinguish themselves in the areas of democracy, human rights and social justice; and it is coming at a time the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its leadership have made it their agenda to paint Nana Addo black with spurious allegation of violence.

Combating Terrorism

Nana Akufo-Addo said that misinformation and indoctrination had led to religious conflicts and terrorism and called for special attention to what he called “particular curriculum that identifies indoctrination.”

Nana said the time has come for all governments to take “an abiding interest” in educating the young people, adding, “This way people with terrorist inclinations will not infiltrate the education system to unleash unto the world an army of youth who are happy to die for the selfish interests of the so-called warlords.”

He said, “We have to pay attention to what the youth imbibe in their various educational institutions, both religious and secular, otherwise we will continue to become pawns for terrorist organizations.”

Emphasis On Education

Nana Akufo-Addo said he has always maintained that  “education is the ultimate leveler,” asserting, “I’ve constantly argued that for any society to make progress, it must educate its entire population without exception.

“I propose and still maintain that an Akufo-Addo government in Ghana will make education accessible and free up to the senior high school level for everybody. I want them to be educated so that they would not be used to cause mayhem.”

Democratic Institutions

He said governments, particularly those in Africa, should ensure that democratic institutions can deliver opportunities and prosperity to Africa’s longsuffering peoples, noting that Africa’s opportunities and challenge are virtually the same.

“We have societies that present limited opportunities for the masses. What Africa needs above all is value addition, especially in the educational system that will provide the necessary skills for every child. 

I’ve made education the foundation for my vision, to build a knowledge-based industrialized economy in Ghana,” he pointed out.

Nana Akufo-Addo said, “Our human potential and capital has not been developed fully on our continent’s rich resources. Until we bridge the gap, we are squandering opportunities that could move us forever from a culture of handouts towards the creation of dignified and confident society.”

He posited, “Participants in dignified societies would hardly be available to be used in senseless wars for people who do not have their countries and the world at heart,” and urged leaderships to always prioritize issues concerning injustice to guarantee peace.

African Elites

Nana Addo said in Africa, a few elite in the ruling class control all the resources saying, “Rising economic inequality is threatening not only economic stability, but our democratic political systems. In far too many countries, the benefit of wealth is not being equitably distributed. This is not recipe for stability and sustainability; and until the inequalities are reserved, it may be difficult to eliminate terrorism.”

Glowing Tribute

He paid a glowing posthumous tribute to the iconic Mother Theresa, “The story of Mother Theresa’s influence on the world will continue to be told perhaps till the end of time.”

He also commended highly the organizers, particularly Dr. Abraham Mathai, President of the Foundation, noting, “For the world to recognize the effort of a small man from a small West African country towards attainment of peace and security in our world is most heartwarming.”

He said India, although a nuclear country, “inspires most of us in Africa because it is always at the forefront of efforts to promote peace, understanding and multiculturalism.”

Nana’s Role

Dr. Mathai, explaining the decision to choose Nana Akufo-Addo for the award said, “The manner in which you (Nana Akufo-Addo) sacrificed your presidential ambition by accepting to preserve peace in the West African nation of Ghana, at a time of high tension, thereby preventing civil war, is truly remarkable.”

He further said that Nana Akufo-Addo’s “statesman-like qualities have truly distinguished you as the defender of democracy which should be emulated far and beyond.”

NEW YEAR SCHOOL TO FOCUS ON E-AGRICULTURE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

The 68th Annual New Year School and Conference will open next year with a focus on e-agriculture.

The School of Continuing and Distance Education (SCDE) of the College of Education, University of Ghana, which organizes the annual event, announced in Accra on Thursday that the theme for the conference will be “Promoting National Development through Agricultural Modernization: The Role of ICT.”

At the launch of the 68th Annual New Year School and Conference in Accra, a Deputy Minister of Agriculture Dr. Ahmed Yahubu Alhassan, said Ghana cannot be left out of the agriculture revolution where the application of ICT to boost production and supply has become a major motivation.

“We can’t use 19th Century tools in the 21st Century to deliver 21st Century lifestyles. We have to invest heavily in agriculture which is the future of sustainable development,” he said.

He said the government is working hard on ICT in agriculture where there is going to be what he called ‘massive technology transfer’ and added that as at the end of 2015, agriculture accounted for 20 percent of Ghana’s GDP.

Prof. Michael Tagoe, Dean, SCDE at the University of Ghana, said it was regrettable that all recent data available showed clearly that the agriculture sector was not performing.

He said “everybody is talking about a steady decline in the sector although the need to revolutionalize agriculture through the application of ICT was indentified in 2004.”

He said 12 years after the adoption of the strategy to deploy ICT in agriculture “very few of the strategies have been realized,” adding “there is global attention on the modernization of agriculture and Ghana has to be part of the movement.”

According to Prof Tagoe, the School in 2014 decided to focus on Ghana’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy and how ICT could be deployed and utilized to transform Ghana into an information-rich knowledge-based society.

“Although the policy has been in existence since 2004, the organizers of the Annual New Year School and Conference believe that the ICT4AD policy, has been relegated to the background and its mission and objectives appear have been neglected in national development approaches.”

He said “in order to raise awareness about this policy, the Annual New Year School’s themes have in the last three years focused on ICT and Education (2014), ICT and Governance (2015) and ICT and Health (2016). 

As we launch the 68th Annual New Year School and Conference, the organizers have identified agriculture as one of the critical sectors that can spur Ghana’s accelerated development because of its links with industry.”

“The agricultural sector is one of the important sectors in which ICTs could be deployed and utilized to support activities, including production, processing, marketing and distribution of agricultural products and services,” he added.

 “There is no doubt that the challenges facing agriculture could be addressed significantly by using ICTs, as ICT has been recognized as a key development enabler,” he added.

“Recently, much attention has been paid to the ICT in agriculture under the rubric, e-agriculture by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and other international organizations. ICT in agriculture is about design, development and deployment of innovative ways of using ICT tools with the primary focus on agriculture in the rural development domain.

POLICE, EC IN SECRET DEAL OVER SPECIAL VOTING

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, November 21, 2016

There appears to be some behind-the-scene moves between the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Ghana Police Service to introduce more names into the already compiled special voters’ list, raising questions about the commission’s sincerity.

The move is likely to cause outrage and further raise doubts about the EC’s neutrality ahead of the December 7 crucial general election since the political parties are said not to be aware of the situation.

In addition, the EC’s final register, as posted on its website, is said to be different from the list submitted to the political parties.

The disparities are obviously causing anxiety among the political parties.

DAILY GUIDE sources say with 11 days to the special voting and with the EC already releasing 65,000 people as eligible special voters to all the parties, the police administration has reportedly written to the commission to key in more names of recruits in training to enable them exercise their franchise in the special political exercise.

The IGP, in a wire message sent to police formations - a copy of which is available to DAILY GUIDE - has charged commanders to liaise with the EC district officers to virtually compile new list of special voters - when the exercise had long been closed.

Breach Of C.I. 94

Sources say the move, when executed, would be a clear breach of C.I. 94 - the instrument being used to regulate the December 7 polls.

“As at November 18, there was a directive from the IGP to all police regional, divisional, district, and unit commanders to liaise with their respective EC officials to key in supposed missing names of all security personnel within their jurisdiction,” the source indicated.

He added that “it is an illegality that must not be allowed to stand.

“It is also inconsistent with the law, the directive from the IGP to officers commanding police training schools to liaise with police regional commanders to key in names of recruits in training on to the special voters list to enable them participate in the early voting.”

65,000 Voters

Clearly, it is being done at the blind side of the political parties because the EC released a list of some 65,000 it said were expected to cast their ballot under special voting on December 1, 2016.

Head of Communication at the EC, Eric Kofi Dzakpasu, recently gave the breakdown as 871 for media personnel, 23,567 for security services and 40,563 election officials and as far as C.I. 94 is concerned.

The application to be entered on the list of special voters has been determined and concluded as far back as October 28, 2016 - which was 42 days to polls day.

“The C.I. 94 spells out first of all, who qualifies to apply to be entered into the list of special voters and how that application process ought to be done. It also spells out where and when that process ought to be completed. And the directive from the IGP contravenes the provisions,” the source said among other things.

“As clearly stated in the C.I. 94, only an already registered voter can apply to be entered into the special voters’ list if the applicant meets the conditions set out by the law. Under Regulation 23 (1), a voter may apply to the returning officer of the constituency in which the voter is registered to be entered as a special voter if as a result of election duties, the voter will not be able to be present at the polling station where the voter is registered on the day of election,” it added.

“It is legally impossible to be having an exercise of adding more names to the special voters’ list which the law clearly states the application ought to be over and done with not later than forty-two (42) days before the polling day of December 7, 2016.”

Conflicting Final Register

DAILY GUIDE has also noticed an unusual occurrence on the website of the EC where the commission appears to be entering different figures for the total number of registered voters.

The EC's official list sent to parties has total voter population of 15,683,910.  But the figure on its website is different, where it posts 15,703,890 as the total number of people on the register, showing a clear difference of 20,980.

A similar incident happened in 2012 when the then EC boss, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, declared the presidential results with figures different from what was given to the parties before the exercise.

He had declared President John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as president-elect with a register containing 14,158,890 voters; but before the election he had given the parties a register with 14,031,793 voters which accounted for a difference of a whopping 127,097.