MAHAMA SNUBS NDC ORGANIZERS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, March 13, 2017

Former President John Dramani Mahama has distanced himself from a programme purportedly being organized by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to celebrate him.

He says he is not aware of any such programme, neither was the intention to have such a programme even communicated to him.

There are NDC posters making the rounds that the former president is going to be celebrated on Saturday, March 18, in Accra.

The programme, which is going to be in a form of a rally, is expected to take place at the Kawukudi Park at Nima from 10am to 2pm, and prospective participants have been asked to wear ‘NDC/JM colours’ as the dress code.

Titled, “Celebrating former President John Dramani Mahama,” the poster displays the picture of the former NDC presidential candidate in black and white wearing smock and also includes photographs of some of his flagship infrastructural projects like the Community Day Senior High School, the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange aka Dubai and what looks like the University of Ghana Medical School Hospital as side attractions.

However, the office of the ex-president issued a statement yesterday through his spokesperson, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, denying Mr. Mahama’s involvement in the said programme.

“The Office of the Former President, John Dramani Mahama has become aware of an advert announcing an event for the 18^th of March, 2017 and intended to celebrate him,” the statement said.

“While the former President appreciates the kind of thoughts of the initiators of the said event, he has directed me to indicate that he is unaware of the said programme; he has not been informed or invited to any such programme, and he has not provided any form of endorsement for the programme,” it stated.

Mrs. Bawa-Mogtari, a former Deputy Minister for Transport, has herself appeared to have stoked fire in the NDC with her recent purported comment that she would not care if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government rules for two terms (8 years).

The former deputy minister, who was the spokesperson for Mahama’s re-election campaign last year, reportedly said on Starr FM last Wednesday during the commemoration of the International Women’s Day that it is normal for the NPP to rule in from 2016 to 2024 and that “shows the beauty of Ghana’s democracy.”

“Well, I don’t really mind if NPP rules for eight years; it’s democracy and really not an issue. When they lost, you can imagine how they felt when we moved into Flagstaff House and I know the feeling… We’ve all been there and that is the beauty of our democracy,” she is reported as saying.

MAHAMA BOUNCES BACK

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, March 10, 2017

Posters indicating a possible return of ex-President John Mahama for the 2020 elections are surfacing.

The poster displays a beautiful picture of the ex-president wearing a black and white smock with the inscription, “John Mahama for President 2020”and an additional message underneath the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) umbrella logo which reads, “Still Changing Lives…Still Transforming Ghana.”

Dubai Trip

President Mahama reportedly jetted out to Dubai immediately after attending the 60^th independence anniversary national parade at the Independence Square, Accra, on Monday where he celebrated his wife, Lordina’s 54^th birthday with their children using a red colour.

It is however, unclear who might be behind the posters, as the former president has not also made any official statement announcing a comeback or otherwise.

But his spokesperson, Joyce Bawa-Mogtari, says talks over whether or not John Mahama would make a comeback to lead the NDC in the 2020 general election after sending it to opposition were not over.

 According to Ms. Bawa-Mogtari who was the campaign spokesperson for the John Mahama 2016 campaign team, the former president still receives numerous calls from high-ranking party members persuading him to soften his earlier stance which suggested that family members had advised him against leading the NDC in 2020.

She told pro-NDC Radio Gold on Wednesday that the former president constantly ignores discussions of his possible return to active politics and that he is yet to make up his mind.

Bawa-Mogtari, a former deputy transport minister under the Mahama regime, indicated that she is for ‘Mahama 2020.’

‘Thank You’ Tour

There are unconfirmed reports that the former president is going to embark on a ‘Thank You’ tour nationwide when he returns from Dubai.

Some party sources have said he is going to use the tour to ‘test’ his popularity and make a final determination on whether he would contest for the NDC in 2020.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that the tour could be undertaken with party people and some opinion leaders coerced to openly canvass for his return to form the basis for his declaration to contest the 2020 polls.

He had wanted to embark on the ‘Thank You’ tour last December after he had failed to secure a re-election but changed his mind following criticism that it was imprudent to do so, especially coming at a time the NDC had been defeated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the government was on its way out.

New Candidate

DAILY GUIDE has learnt that there is going to be a keen competition in the NDC over who should be the party’s candidate for the 2020 presidential election.

Majority within the party’s leadership are said to be looking for a new face to lead the party, but others have moved forcefully to get President Mahama to contest again.

Names like former Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor,  former University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) Rector Prof Joshua Alabi and former National Health Insurance Authority (NHIS) boss Sylvester Mensah are coming up strongly within the NDC circles.

Dr Duffuor and Sly Mensah have denied any interest in the NDC flagbearership race for now.

However, probable candidates like former Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur and former Trade and Industry Minister Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah are said to have ‘cooled’ down their interests in the race and it is getting clearer that the two stalwarts may not contest at all. Goosie Tannor, a cadre, has also come out strongly for the NDC presidential candidature slot.

Family Pressure

Already, family members of ex-President Mahama have reportedly been persuading him not to contest the presidential election in 2020.

Some analysts have said the huge gap of over one million votes garnered by President Akufo-Addo against Mahama showed that the ex-President will have a daunting task if he considers contesting again for 2020.

During the period of the investiture of President Akufo-Addo, the junior brother of the ex-president, Ibrahim Mahama said, “John has given his all in politics to the NDC and Ghana and we think it is just fair that we allow him to rest. We were very supportive and instrumental in convincing him to partner Prof. Mills, and when the time came for him to contest for president, we supported and advised him to go for it…now we have advised him not to make a comeback in 2020.”

Comeback Dream

However, ex-President Mahama appears to want to give it another shot and there are ongoing behind-the-scene moves to ensure that the comeback agenda is on course.

An NDC source alleged that before Mahama emplaned for Dubai, “he met some people and urged them to stage-manage as if NDC people were calling on him to contest.

“He wants to start it by a ‘Thank You’ tour across the country but for now, we are still searching for who is going to lead us in 2020.”

Cadres Front

According to the source, the NDC is looking for what he called ‘a grass root party person’ whom the cadres have deep trust in since they were of the view that they were neglected by both the Mills/Mahama administrations.

EOCO CHASES SSNIT

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, March 08, 2017

The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) is reportedly investigating the alleged financial rot at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

The EOCO is said to have written to the acting Director-General of the Trust to furnish it with information on some private companies believed to be prominent during the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

A source at EOCO mentioned some of the companies as Pro-Vision Consulting Limited and Perfect Business Systems - both IT companies that provided wide-ranging consultancy and other services even to state-owned institutions, including SSNIT.

Perfect Business Solution is the company handling the SSNIT biometric project dubbed ‘Operation Business Suite,’ popularly called (OBS) which has run into troubles after several millions of cedis had been paid to the vendor.

The OBS has become an albatross on the Trust with some people using it to milk the distressed pension fund managers.

All these dodgy deals were under the supervision of the immediate past SSNIT Director-General, Ernest Thopmson.

The EOCO was said to be acting pursuant to Section 19 of the Economic and Organized Crime Office Act 2010 (Act 804).

EOCO Letter

The letter to SSNIT, signed by Acting Executive Director ACP K.K. Amoah(rtd), requested for information on all contract documents between SSNIT and Pro-Vision Consulting Limited, including all charges requests and service level agreements for the provision of all Oracle-based software.

The Office also asked for all contract documents between SSNIT and Perfect Systems, including all charges requests and service level agreements for the provision of Operation Business Suit (OBS) software.

The EOCO further requested for payments made by SSNIT to Pro-Vision Consulting and Perfect Business Systems on legacy and currently used systems.

SSNIT Boss

SSNIT immediate past Director-General, Ernest Thompson, was relieved of his appointment in January by President Akufo-Addo.

The sacking of Mr. Thompson was reportedly received with excitement by the staff who were of the view that SSNIT was allegedly run down under him, with most of its priced assets including banks like Merchant Bank, being offloaded.

The outgoing SSNIT board under Joshua Alabi also gave approval for the trust to put a number of its expensive management residential facilities in Accra on sale at the eleventh hour when the NDC was on its way out of government.

The buildings include six residential properties and two guest houses located in plush areas like North Ridge, Cantonments and Airport Residential Area - all in Accra - but there are concerns that the facilities will be sold at very cheap rates as most state properties are being sold allegedly to cronies.

Unpopular Decision

The decision raised public concerns because some observers believed that SSNIT needed to protect the properties and not dispose of them, while others claimed that the powerful management and the board might turn around to buy the affected properties for peanuts.

EOCO FREEZES NDC CAPO ACCOUNTS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, March 07 , 2017

The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has reportedly frozen the bank accounts of Daniel Ohene Agyekum, former Board Chairman of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) during the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.

A source at EOCO told DAILY GUIDE yesterday that the action had been taken as part of efforts towards the investigation of alleged financial irregularities during the tenure of Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD.

Mr. Ohene Agyekum, who was Ghana's former Ambassador to the United States and former Ashanti Regional Minister, was appointed board chairman of COCOBOD in January 2014.

Recently, the assets and bank accounts of Dr. Opuni were also frozen by EOCO as part of a similar investigation into some contracts the ex-COCOBOD boss reportedly signed during his tenure and financial irregularities uncovered by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.

Specifically, government intends to probe some supposed fraudulent multi-million dollar contracts he’s believed to have signed before leaving office.

EOCO, under its new Executive Director, ACP KK Amoah, recently sent invitations to some businessmen who won some contracts from COCOBOD. 

One of them is Seidu Agongo, who was invited in connection with an ongoing investigation into shady COCOBOD contracts about which so much has been published in the media in recent times.

Ali Seidu and Kofi Job were the first to be invited by EOCO regarding the contracts awarded them during the NDC regime because of their supposed links with former President John Dramani Mahama and his brother Ibrahim.

The COCOBOD contracts to construct roads and supply fertilizers were sole-sourced and in a manner thought to have breached value for money principles, with a chunk of the contracts going to the three individuals.

Dr. Stephen Opuni is at the centre of the alleged instances of financial impropriety at the national cocoa management institution and under whose aegis many contracts were awarded in breach of best procurement practices.

In the next few days important details of the investigations, it is believed, would be made public, considering the grounds covered by the investigators so far, a source has hinted.

Many calls had been made on the government of President Nana Akufo-Addo to without delay take action on the many instances of shady contracts at COCOBOD.

It is alleged that some of the fertilizers supplied under one of the contracts turned out to be ironically killer inputs which caused enormous anguish to farmers.

Dr. Opuni was on January 12, 2017 asked to vacate office barely a week after the NPP government was inaugurated.

The former CEO of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) was appointed by former President John Mahama on November 30, 2013 to head COCOBOD.

Since then the sector has never been the same again, with cocoa production alarmingly dropping under his tenure as well as allegations of malfeasance leveled against him.

Currently, issues of alleged corruption in the cocoa sector are being investigated and he can be brought before the court of law if EOCO finds any concrete evidence of financial malfeasance against him.

There have been calls for probe into the administration of the former COCOBOD boss since the New Patriotic Party, led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, took office about six weeks ago.

Some staff of COCOBOD alleged that Dr. Opuni awarded contracts without following laid-down regulations and that fertilizers meant for cocoa farmers were also alleged to have been smuggled into neigbouring countries.

The workers claimed Ghana lost more than $10 million because of the alleged dealings of Dr. Opuni.

Managers Sacked

About 11 top managers of COCOBOD were also directed by the government to proceed on leave after the dismissal of Dr Opuni.

The directive, which was contained in a letter signed by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, asked the affected managers to proceed on leave effective January 30, 2017.

The managers included Deputy Chief Executive (Finance & Administration), Deputy Chief Executive (Agronomy & Quality Control), Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) and the Director of Finance.

The rest were Deputy Director of Finance, Deputy Director of Audit, Director of Civil Works and the Procurement Manager.

At the Cocoa Marketing Company Ltd, the Managing Director (MD), Deputy MD, Director, Legal Services, Deputy Director and the Finance Director have reportedly been asked to go home.

FEAR GRIPS NDC COMMITTEE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, March 02 , 2017

It has emerged that some disgruntled foot soldiers of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) are putting fear in members of the 13-member committee the then ruling party tasked to investigate the circumstances leading to its overwhelming defeat in the December 2016 general elections.

The committee, chaired by Dr Kwesi Botchwey, is said to be having a tough time in some of the constituencies they have visited to investigate the party’s defeat, due to the continuous threats and other verbal abuse members have been receiving from some party activists.

There is credible information that some NDC members are planning to beat them up, particularly in the Northern Region, when the committee goes there for its assignment.

Clandestine Notices

The committee has reportedly been sending clandestine notices to the party’s executives at the local level, informing them about its intended visits for meetings due to fear that angry foot soldiers might ambush the members at such meetings.

As a result, some former Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) who are supposed to be part of the meetings, are reportedly wondering why such important confabs should be announced almost at midnight and expect participants to attend the next day.

“We are wondering why such an important meeting was announced close to midnight for people to attend today. The committee can do far better than it’s currently doing!” an aggrieved former DCE in the Volta Region said, adding, “They are afraid party members will beat them.”

There are claims that NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia aka General Mosquito, who was instrumental in the formation of the committee, could be using that process to prepare the grounds to contest as the party’s national chairman.

Surprise Inclusion

According to one of the committee members, who did not want to be named, General Mosquito did not ‘consult’ some of the members before their names were mentioned as being part of the committee and said he even heard his name on radio.

The said member was not happy to learn that the committee’s formation was engineered by Mr Asiedu Nketia and a few other national officers just to ‘calm’ the angry party supporters for fear that the foot soldiers, particularly the youth, might storm the NDC headquarters to close the office down.

The member cited a nasty scene at the Ledzokuku Constituency in Accra where he said they were lucky to leave the meeting venue, saying, "The young men wanted to cause trouble there, so quickly we left when we heard they were organising themselves to come."

Committee’s Ability

He cast doubts on the committee’s ability to do a thorough work if the attacks persisted, asserting that it would be difficult for the NDC Election Review Committee to do comprehensive job because there were no broad consultations to solicit views from party members, especially former appointees and MPs who lost their seats.

He said “for instance, the founder didn't meet us because we didn't plan to meet all council of elders, and the founder asked that we meet some other time.

“The youth are not happy with us; MPs don't know our programmes; candidates who lost are not even aware of our visit to their constituencies; no funds to go round and other challenges which are difficult to handle," the member lamented.

Criticism

Already, some NDC members have criticized the setting up of the committee, saying everybody knows the reasons why the party shamefully lost the December elections.

Notable among them, he stressed, was their Central Regional Chairman, Bernard Allotey Jacobs, who described the formation of the committee as unnecessary because he said the reasons for the party’s defeat are know by all.

Committee’s Mandate

On February 7, the party announced that the 13-member committee had begun its work and called on the rank and file “to take note and must be ready to submit their evidence that would help the committee to come out with the right report.”

Addressing the media, Dr Botchwey, a former Minister of Finance and Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) under the NDC regime, said the committee was ready to engage party members in all the 10 regions.

He charged, "Members of the party are to note that each region has been zoned and each zone is made up of one or more constituencies, depending on size and distance."

Inauguration Day

During the inauguration of the committee in January, the NDC General Secretary had said, "The committee is expected to review and validate the results of the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections and find out the causes of the poor performance of the NDC in both the presidential and the parliamentary elections, as well as to deal with other matters reasonably related to the above objectives and to make recommendations to the National Executive Committee about the way forward."

Apart from Dr Botchwey, other members of the committee are Edward Doe Adjaho, immediate-past speaker of parliament; Alhaji Hudu Yahaya; Naval Capt. Asase Gyimah; Dr. William Ahadzi, director of research at the NDC headquarters; Ibrahim Zuberu, lecturer at Accra Technical University; Razak Abu, researcher; Juliana Azumah Mensah, former MP for Agotime-Ziope; Barbara Serwah Asamoah, former Deputy Minister for Lands and Forestry;  Alban Bagbin, former majority leader as well as three members from the current parliament.

Rude Shock

The NDC and its candidate John Dramani Mahama who was seeking a second term as president, had a rude shock when they were flatly rejected by Ghanaians at the polls on December 7, last year, and rather gave the mandate to the opposition candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his New Patriotic Party (NPP) to govern Ghana.

Nana Akufo-Addo polled 5,716,609 votes, representing 53.84 per cent, to snatch the presidency from incumbent Mr. Mahama, who secured 4,713,277 votes, representing 44.40 per cent.

Apart from President Akufo-Addo’s historic achievement, the NPP also secured majority in parliament, clinching 169 seats as against the NDC’s 106 seats.

HOW NDC GURUS GRAB ‘FREE’ CARS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, March 01 , 2017

More names of people who acquired state vehicles in the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration are popping up.

About 250 people, mostly ministers of state, appointees, chiefs, journalists and secretaries, were said to have grabbed some of these state vehicles after the assets were ‘privately’ auctioned for pea-nuts, without any public participation.

Heated Debate

The incident is generating heated political debate with some suggesting cynically that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government should take steps to push for the repeal of the law that allows politicians to acquire state properties including vehicles.

Ex-president John Mahama had outlawed the process, but was the first to violate it, opening the floodgate for his appointees to follow suit.

The list detailed how the NDC government under President Mahama had virtually dashed about 250 vehicles belonging to the state to its appointees and other staffers within three weeks.

The mass sale of the vehicles, majority of which were offered at ridiculous prices, was done between December 23, 2016 and January 7, 2017 in the period of the transition when the NDC had been heavily defeated by the New Patriotic Party and was on its way out of government.

It has turned out that some of the vehicles did not qualify to be auctioned under the law and some of the appointees that benefited from the auction did not qualify either, under the rules.

Clear Breach

DAILY GUIDE currently has a list of all NDC bigwigs who benefited from the auction and the document explains how some of the vehicles which were barely two years old, were sold in clear breach of the law.

The document titled, “Auctioned vehicles for the period December 2016 to January 2017,” indicates date of approval, vehicle registration number, vehicle type, chassis number, present owner/address, new owner/address as well as issuing office.

Most of the vehicles were in the name of the Office of the President while a couple of them were in the names of some ministries and agencies.

Strangely, some of the beneficiaries had long left the Mahama administration but managed to grab some of the vehicles.

Big Names

Former sports minister and immediate-past MP for Ayawaso North, Dr. Mustapha Ahmed and Emelia Arthur, a leading NDC member, both grabbed 2013 Toyota Camry while Samuel Yaw Adusei, a former Deputy Minister of Water Resources Works and Housing, got 2014 Toyota Camry.

Babanlamine Sadat, Special Assistant to Mahama on Zongo affairs  and Mohammed Adamu Ramadan, a  presidential staffer, had 2014 Toyota Camry as well as Mawusi Lorlornyo Dzirasa, a secretary at the Office of the President, grabbing 2014 Nissan Teana. 

Kofi Abbew Nkrumah grabbed 2014 VW Passat and the present owner has been recorded as Students Loan Trust Fund, while Christopher Tulasi went home with a 2014 Nissan NP 300/UP from the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.

Raymond Hiame took away a 2014 Nissan Sentra while Antoinette Kailey Ankrah also grabbed a 2014 Toyota Avensis with Baba Jamal, a former deputy minister, taking home a 2012 Toyota Avensis.

Dr. Bernice Adiku Heloo, a former Deputy Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovations, grabbed a 2010 Toyota Avensis with Henry Seidu Danaa, a former Minister for Chieftaincy, getting a 2013 Toyota Camry and Joseph Boateng taking home a 2014 Nissan Sentra.

Anthony Obeng Afrane grabbed a 2015 Toyota Corolla from the Office of the President while Kale Cezario grabbed a 2013 Toyota Camry, with Benjamin Fiakuna taking home a 2014 Nissan Sentra.

More Names

Benjamin Affisah took home a 2014 Toyota Camry while former National Security Advisor, William K. Aboah, annexed a 2013 Toyota Camry; Benedicta Micah also took home a 2014 Toyota Avensis.

Lydia Abi and Issah Ibrahim both grabbed a 2014 Toyota Camry and a 2014 Toyota Corolla respectively while both former Central Regional Ministers George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan and Aquinas Tawiah Quansah got a 2013 Toyota Camry each, with Rosetta Olympio, a special assistant to Lordina Mahama, grabbed a 2014 Toyota Avensis.

Sandow Seidu Kpebu, another aide to Lordina Mahama, also grabbed a 2014 Toyota Camry; Francis Nkrumah had a 2015 Toyota Avensis and Kyei John grabbed a 2014 Toyota Land Cruiser  from the Ghana Shipper’s Authority while Samuel Ofori Boateng sent home with a 2014 BMW 740i.

Magnus Jacob Yama Tampuri got a 2014 Toyota Fortuner from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

Chairperson of the Council of State whose tenure ended recently, Cecilia Johnson, annexed a 2014 Toyota Camry while R. Kofi Nyantakyi took a 2015 Hyundai Elantra home; Frank Annan took home a 2015 Toyota Avensis.

Alfred Amuzu grabbed a 2015 Hyundai Elantra from the Office of the President with a former Chief Director at the Ministry of Petroleum, Prof. T.M. Akabzaa, having a 2013 Toyota Camry; former Local Government Minister, Collins Dauda, also took home a 2013 Toyota Camry.

Doreen Annan took a 2014 Honda Civic from the Ministry of Transport; Cosmos Dikro also took a 2014 Toyota Camry home while Alhaji Alhassan Iddi grabbed a 2014 Toyota Land Cruiser - all from the same ministry - with Isaac Kwaku Mintah taking home a 2014 Toyota Camry from the Energy Commission.

Reverend Abraham Botchwey, former CEO of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, grabbed a 2013 Toyota Camry while Mbui Roland Kofi went away with a 2014 Toyota Camry from the Ghana Revenue Authority; Philip Senyo Tsagli had a 2015 Toyota Camry.

FLAGSTAFF HOUSE TO BE RENAMED

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

 Tuesday, February 28, 2017

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has revealed that the Flagstaff House, Ghana’s seat of Government, may be renamed Jubilee House during the 60^th independence anniversary celebration on March 6.

Delivering his maiden State of the Nation address last week, the president also hinted at moves to rename the Founder’s Day holiday.

He said the position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to rename the Flagstaff House and Founder’s Day is outstanding.

"Mr. Speaker, there is one subject on my mind that I wish to put before the House for consideration. I believe, in this 60^th year of our nation, that the time is ripe for us to establish consensus on some national issues. It is important for us to have a conversation on how we name things that are of national importance to us all. I speak of the seat of the Presidency and Founder’s’ Day.

"In my view, it is not right that, 60 years after independence, these matters are still at large. It does not inure to the dignity of the Ghanaian Republic that such matters have become subject to political football.

"I believe we have to settle these matters once and for all, and in due course, I propose we have a national conversation and dialogue to this effect which, hopefully, will end in legislation that will reflect the national consensus," he said.

Even before that name change is officially done, the Flagstaff House appears to have been changed to Jubilee House by the Akufo-Addo-led NPP government.

Recent correspondences personally signed by President Akufo-Addo indicated Jubilee House instead of Flagstaff House.

However, it has been reverted to Flagstaff House to allow the debate and national consensus before the official name change.

Elder statesman, KB Asante, has already endorsed the name Jubilee House since the edifice was built during the golden jubilee celebration of Ghana’s statehood.

There has always been a tussle between the current NPP government and the outgone National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration over what name should be used for the seat of government.

Initially called Flagstaff House when Ghana’s first President Kwame Nkrumah re-developed the facility in the 1960s to serve as his official residence and office, the NPP government under President John Agyekum Kufuor, rebuilt the whole place into a top class edifice and changed the name to Golden Jubilee House as a monument for Ghana’s 50^th independence anniversary.

Before being used by Ghana’s first president, the facility had been used as the residence of the Inspector General of the Gold Coast Constabulary in the colonial days.

However, immediately after the NDC won power in 2009, it reverted to Flagstaff House, sparking a heated political debate at the time, especially when John Mahama moved his office there from the Castle where his predecessors, Kufuor and Professor John Atta Mills had operated from before the latter died.

Names for some important facilities were equally changed. Immediate past Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) chief executive, Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije - now MP for Ablekuma South - led an operation to change the name Ohene Djan Sports Stadium to Accra Sports Stadium as well as other state facilities in Accra.

The NDC activists, then in opposition, condemned President Kufuor and his NPP government over what they claimed to be profligate construction (of the Jubilee House) which was funded by the Indian government with a very low interest on the loan.

Some NDC officials were even on record as saying that they were going to use the facility for a poultry farm - a comment that attracted condemnation from sections of the public.

President Mills did not use the Jubilee House and remained at the Osu Castle but when President John Mahama took over after the unfortunate passing of the law Professor, he (Mahama) moved into the edifice immediately following his controversial victory in the 2012 election.

The Mahama government started with correspondences on ‘Jubilee Flagstaff House’ letterheads, indicating they were merging the names.

However, when NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia was asked about the development, he said cabinet never took any decision to merge the two names.

Mahama Ayariga, then Minister of Information, had to take responsibility for the gaffe and the name was soon reverted to Flagstaff House.

Throughout the campaign, then NPP candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, never referred to the seat of government as Flagstaff House.

In fact, he always said during the 2016 electioneering campaitn, “Everybody should come and ride on the back of the ‘elephant.’ The ‘elephant’ has entered the White House; let us get the ‘elephant’ in the Jubilee House – Ghana’s seat of government.”

TWO MUTUAL FUNDS LAUNCHED

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, February 28,  2017

Crystal Capital & Investments Limited (CCI), a fast growing markets investment firm, has officially launch two new mutual funds that will offer opportunities to investors to earn higher returns in order to plan appropriately towards their entrepreneurial goals.

The launch of the Mutual Funds - Crystal Entrepreneur Fund (E-Fund) and Crystal Wealth Fund (W-Fund)-was supervised by Alexander Williams, Acting Director-General of Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and other financial gurus in Accra on Tuesday evening.

The E-Fund, according to Crystal Capital, has been designed primarily for entrepreneurs, young people with entrepreneurial ambitions, as well as organizations that support entrepreneurial initiatives.

 The fund protects the capital of investors by investing in a balanced portfolio that provides very good yield.

Through the E-Fund, Crystal Capital hopes to help entrepreneurs to achieve their business dreams without loans and also quicker than they would with just savings.

The W-Fund, on the other hand, has been designed for individuals and corporations who would like to make regular income on their investments at rates of return that are higher than those of savings.

The Wealth Fund provides security and opportunities to create wealth at one’s own pace. It is ideal for investors looking to invest towards particular short to medium term goals or looking for regular income.

Launching the funds, Mr. Williams said the rate at which mutual funds were growing is an indication of innovative product development and growth in the market.

He said developing the culture of long-term investments was the right way to go and also said that trust between the fund managers and investors was critical.

According to Mr. Williams, there is going to be what he called ‘exciting challenges’ in the capital market and the standard is going to be high and demanding.”

He advised the fund managers to commit themselves to always making the fund successful.

Prof. Robert Hinson of the University of Ghana Business School, who chaired the launch, said there is keen competition in the capital market and fund managers must be proactive in order to survive.

He said, “I have been following mutual funds for some time. The competition is keen in that area, but I believe there is still room for more.”

Martin Ofori, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Crystal Capital said “the E-Fund and the Wealth Fund have been designed to serve a current need in the market for innovative and flexible investment products that will give every Ghanaian real value.”

He said “with markets in a near state of tumult and the fear that volatility might destroy returns in many parts of the market, running one Fund with a mandate to find value in one particular market is not quite strategic.”

Mr. Ofori said that Crystal Capital has “the dexterity to diversify investment funds to deliver optimum yield.”

He explained that “at CCI, we identify value or the potential for value where others do not. We do not merely sell products and financial services - we form the right partnership with each and every client.”

“This is important to us – to create value for our clients through ingenious value-add services like complimentary advisory sessions for asset owners and users.”

NDC SELLS CARS CHEAP…NAMES POPS UP

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, February 27,  2017

The controversy surrounding the acquisition of state properties, particularly vehicles, by members of the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration does not appear to end any time soon.

This is because a new list has emerged, detailing how the NDC government under John Mahama, auctioned about 250 vehicles belonging to the state to its appointees and other staffers within a period of three weeks.

 According to a former appointee of the Mahama administration, Sam George, about 271 allegedly missing vehicles from the president’s office were sold to some officials of the NDC government.

The mass sale of the vehicles - majority of which were offered at ridiculous prices - was done between December 23, 2016 and January 7, 2017 in the period of the transition when the NDC had been heavily defeated by the New Patriotic Party and the former party was on its way out of government.

It is turning out that some of the vehicles did not qualify to be auctioned under the law and some of the appointees that benefited from the auction did not qualify either, according to the rules.

DAILY GUIDE has taken hold of the list of all NDC bigwigs who benefited from the auction; and it explains how some of the vehicles which were barely two years old, were sold in clear breach of the law.

The document titled, “Auctioned vehicles for the period December 2016 to January 2017,” indicates date of approval, vehicle registration number, vehicle type, chassis number, present owner/address, new owner/address as well as issuing office.

From the list, former ministers of state, presidential staffers, CEOs of corporations and even journalists and chiefs, among others, all grabbed the state vehicles at give-away prices - at the time President Mahama had outlawed the sale of government properties to appointees.

Most of the vehicles that were auctioned were in the name of the Office of the President while a couple of them were in the names of some ministries or agencies.

For instance, Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuije, former Minister for Youth and Sports, got 2015 Toyota Avensis from the Office of the President, while President John Mahama’s trusted lieutenant, Stan Dogbe, had 2014 Toyota Avalon - the same car driven by the president when he was in power- with former Defence Minister, Benjamin Kumbuor, grabbing 2014 Toyota Camry, also from the Office of the President.

Dzifa Aku Attivor, who supervised the infamous GH¢3.6 million bus branding and resigned from government as Transport Minister, had 2014 Toyota Camry; Alfred Ekow Gyan of the Western Region Coordinating Council grabbed 2015 Toyota Avensis, while Dr. Michael Kpessa Whyte, the immediate-past National Service Scheme (NSS) boss, got 2013 Toyota Camry from the Office of the President.

Vincent Senam Kuagbenu, the man who was responsible for coordinating the re-registration of government vehicles under the Mahama administration and the former deputy Chief of Staff, Dr. Valerie Sawyerr, both grabbed 2014 and 2013 Toyota Camry respectively, while another staffer, James Agyenim Boateng, formerly of Radio Gold, as well as the former Minister for Tourism and Creative Arts, Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, took away 2014 Toyota Camry and Toyota Avensis respectively.

Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru, former Minister of Agriculture, had 2015 Nissan Teana, while Alex Kyereme, former Minister of Education and Philip Senyo Tsagli got 2015 Toyota Avensis and Toyota Camry respectively. The CEO of Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), George Smith Graham, grabbed 2014 Toyota Camry with former Deputy Power Minister, John Abdulai Jinapor, annexing a 2014 Honda Accord and former Interior Minister, Mark Owen Woyongo, getting 2014 Toyota Camry.

Former Minister for Fisheries, Hani Sherry Ayitey, grabbed 2014 VW Passat with former deputy Health Minister, Dr. Victor Bampoe, getting 2014 Toyota Camry, while Helga Boadi, the immediate-past Chief Executive Officer of Youth Enterprise Support, took home 2014 Toyota Camry.

Former Eastern Regional Minister, Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, who had left his position long before the NDC lost power, grabbed 2016 Toyota Camry from the Office of the President, while the minority leader in parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, had 2013 BMW 750.

Cassiel Ato Forson, former Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, grabbed 2013 Toyota Camry, while former Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Nii Osah Mills, had 2014 Toyota Camry with Dr Alfred Sugri Tia, former Deputy Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, going home with 2014 VW Passat.

For former Ashanti Regional Minister, Peter Anarfi Mensah, grabbed 2016 Toyota Avensis as his counterpart in the Eastern Region, Mavis Frimpong, annexed a 2014 Toyota Camry.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, also annexed a 2013 BMW 5231, while former Deputy Chief of Staff, Johnny Osei Kofi, went with a 2014 Toyota Camry as former Western Regional Minister, Paul Evans Aidoo, also got a 2014 Toyota Camry.

In all, there were about 86 Toyota Camry vehicles, 15 Toyota Avalons, 54 Toyota Corollas, 52 Toyota Avensis vehicles and 17 Nissan Sentras auctioned to NDC members.

The rest include 55 Hyudai i10s, 9 BMWs, 8 VW Passats, 5 Nissan Teanas, 9 Hyndai Elantras and 6 Hyudai Accents, among others.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that the valuation of the vehicles was all done at the Flagstaff House and not at the State Transport Corporation as being claimed by some former appointees.

A source said "some STC staff were invited to the Flagstaff House to give the exercise a semblance of proper valuation while they put their own values on the cars,” the source claimed. 

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