* Thursday, 7 January 2010

Accra, Jan. 7, GNA -- President John Atta Mills said on Thursday he welcomed criticisms against him by former President Jerry John Rawlings and that he did not consider his former boss as a pain in the neck.

"President Rawlings is not a pain in the neck -- Let's all recognize that for 19 years he was the Head of State; he toiled very hard to bring peace, security and stability to our nation," President Mills told a press conference to mark the first anniversary of his swearing-in.

He said there was no living Ghanaian Head of State who had much more experience than ex-President Rawlings.

"So he has every right to criticize and to make suggestions and I welcome them and I'll continue to welcome them," he said, adding that he had worked with him and I knew what he was capable of.

Rather, President Mills bemoaned the content of some newspapers which also criticize him saying, the language they used was not the best.

Source: GNA

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Over 50 Ex-State Officials To Be Prosecuted

The Executive Director of the Serious Fraud Office has promised a sweeping prosecution of corrupt public office appointees this year.

Biadela Mortey Akpadzi told Citi News in an interview that consistent with the Attorney-General’s assertion a fortnight ago that 2010 will see a drastic prosecution of ex public officers alleged to be corrupt, the SFO together with other relevant state institutions is working to begin the year on a serious note.

He revealed that more than 50 ex state officials will be dragged to the courts for charges of plundering state resources and corruption. Mr. Mortey Akpadzi disclosed that serious fine-tuning is being done behind the scenes before prosecutions take off.

Though Mr. Mortey Akpadzi will not give a specific time line for the commencement of the wave of prosecutions, he stated that the year will see a lot of action.

“We hope that within this year there will be a lot of action; meaning we will complete dockets on which decisions can be taken.That I can assure Ghanaians because we are going to work all day all night so that we can clear some of the issues so Ghanaians will have their minds cleared as to whether people have committed crime or not,” He said.

Mr. Akpadzi stated further that although the SFO has in the past suffered a lot of setbacks, his administration has received a lot of support from the government since August 2009, and he hopes to take advantage of the support to deliver efficiently to the satisfaction of all.

“We have a lot of cases that we are investigating right now…it cuts across the spectrum of public citizens and employees who have come under our scope and we are investigating. Of course it includes a few Ministers and as we go along we know there will be a lot more that will come,” He said.

The government on Tuesday, January, 5 presented some vehicles to the SFO to enhance its efficiency.

The SFO Boss promised that his outfit will make maximum use of the vehicles, especially in the Regions to revamp the offices there.

He assured Ghanaians of the SFO’s commitment to maintain and use the vehicles to the benefit of Ghanaians.

Source: CitiFmOnline.com

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Top Ten NDC Highlights After Year One

(NPP -USA)

PRESS RELEASE FROM NPP-USA ON THE OCCASION OF THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE NDC ADMINISTRATION

Top Ten NDC Highlights After Year One

So alarmingly shaky was the beginning of the out-of-control NDC government of John Evans Atta Mills that we members of NPP could not wait to register our concerns over the direction our nation was headed. Although those concerns formed the basis of our earlier criticism of the new government, critics had a point in arguing that we give the new administration enough time to settle in and begin the work of managing the affairs of our nation. After concluding one-quarter of its tenure, however, the out-of-control NDC government must be subjected to a fair evaluation of how it has managed the affairs of our dear nation. If the use of ‘highlights’ suggests sarcasm, please forgive us because many of the following events have come to be synonymous to the ideals of the NDC party:

Number Ten – Toilet Seizures. After promising and failing to deliver jobs for their boys, the deceiving NDC government looked the other way as its foot soldiers violently and systematically seized public toilet facilities all over the country so that they can control the revenues accruing from charging users. So determined were these NDC Hoodlums that in the Western region, they actually killed a toilet facility operator who resisted their attempt to take over his facilities. So far these are the ‘jobs’ that the deceiving NDC government has been able to make possible for its followers.

Number Nine – Landmark Corruption Cases. For a people who do not miss an opportunity to label their opponents ‘corrupt,’ members of the deceiving NDC have had a busy year explaining away their corrupt practices some of which have been proven in a court of law. Although the Mabey & Johnson Bribery case involving officials in both NDC administrations of Rawlings and Mills hit the NDC hard, other cases such as ‘tractorgate’ in which government officials shared amongst themselves tractors meant for farmers, Muntakagate in which minister Mubarak turned the Youth and Sports ministry’s account into his own for personal spending spree, and many more shameful cases of corruption rocked the NDC to the extent that made the yet unproven accusations on the previous administration look like child’s play. What is more ridiculous is that after sitting ministers were proven to have accepted bribes in their earlier stint in another deceiving NDC administration, President Mills expressed “confidence” in them.

Number Eight – “Team B” Officials. From ministerial level officials who cannot put a decent sentence together to loose canons serving as, get this, Communication Directors at the presidency, the NPP could not agree more with Rawlings for once when he calls officials of the Mills administration “Team B.” Topping the list of Team B officials is a president who tolerates ministers, whom he has the power to hire and fire, hiding murder suspects under their bed, and publicly encouraging their party supporters to visit violence on supporters of the opposing party. As badly as they have performed, however, we cannot condone Rawlings calling them “greedy bastards.” It is alright to encourage the youth to be politically active and to reward them when they are, but when a deputy minister is jostling his duties at the ministry and attending classes to obtain his Bachelor’s degree, clearly this NDC administration does not deem matters of the nation important enough to appoint qualified people to run the affairs of the nation. By the way, do not take our word for it; ask former president Rawlings and his new ally Ekow Spio-Garbrah whose own words we are happy to use.

Number Seven – Fuel Shortages and Price Hikes. During eight years of the NPP administration, not once did Ghanaians have to experience fuel shortages to the extent of queuing for it. Conversely, in one year of the deceiving NDC administration, Ghanaians have been subjected to the ordeal on three occasions. As if that was not bad enough, after bitterly criticizing the previous administration for a few instances when global market-dictated price hikes were necessitated, the deceiving NDC administration has increased fuel prices three times in one year during the most stable periods in the history of crude oil prices. From 2001 to 2008, annualized average price per barrel for crude oil rose from $28.03 to $91.35 (www.inflationdata.com). In response, the NPP administration increased fuel prices less than 12 times. In contrast, with the same annualized price per barrel dropping from its 2008 peak of $91.35 to $43.56 (less than half), the NDC administration has increased fuel prices on three occasions in one year. How does this performance compare to the promises made by Mills during the campaign?

Number Six – The Re-emergence of ‘Rawlings Chain.’ During the previous PNDC/NDC administrations headed by Jerry John Rawlings, we were blessed with some natural ornaments. People wore neck chains or a semblance of it created by extreme poverty-induced hunger that caused a protrusion of their neck bones. Dieting businesses did not stand a chance because, through no choice of their own, a large portion of the population was placed on a forced diet. Acute weight loss was prevalent. That level of starvation is re-emerging. Times are so hard that many Ghanaians acknowledge being denied the traditional chicken meal for Christmas due to their inability to afford it. Incidentally, Ghanaians do not recall feeling so hungry during the preceding eight years that the NPP was in power.

Number Five – Fires Burning. May be they are all coincidences, but what a busy year it has been for the Ghana Fire Services Department. In one year, we have seen the entire Foreign Ministry building gutted down by fire with valuable archives destroyed forever. The office building shared by the National Commission for Civic Education and the Electoral Commission was partly destroyed by fire. On two occasions, the Kumasi Central Market suffered fire outbreaks curiously after traders protested its reconstruction. Fires at these and other government structures that have stood the test of time call into question whether these are accidental fires or arson sponsored by the out-of-control NDC government.

Number Four – BNI Goes Berserk. It would not be an out-of-control NDC government if the Bureau of National Investigations did not abuse the powers accorded it. Whether they were forcibly snatching cars and throwing their occupants out on the streets on suspicion that they were government vehicles, or parading the Kotoka International Airport and harassing traveling former officials, the BNI was so out of control that even the Attorney General failed on several occasions to defend their actions and cases brought against it in court. Not even their brutal beating death of Alhaji Maikanka and the death of former minister Stephen Asamoah Boateng’s mother, upon learning of news of her son’s airport harassment, was enough to stop the wayward agency from unleashing its brutality on Ghanaians whom it was established to protect.

Number Three – World Champions Black Satellites. During the celebrations that immediately followed the Under 20 World Cup victory by our national junior team, for once, and rightly so, the political colors were blurred. We were all proud Ghanaians celebrating a well-deserved victory. While the building and preparation obviously began under the previous NPP administration, there should be no taking away the reality that the actual victory occurred during the NDC administration. However, vintage out-of-control NDC; they would quickly follow that enthusiasm with a failure to account for the $10 million preparation money given to each World Cup qualifying nation by FIFA towards the South African rendezvous later this year. It is our hope that the out-of-control NDC would not destroy yet another success story that the NPP government developed by decimating Ghanaian soccer.

Number Two – The Obama Visit. Although they blew an insane amount of money on the visit, let’s face it, the NDC government did an overall good job of hosting the First African American president of the United States on his very first visit to a sub-Saharan country. But alas, former president Jerry John Rawlings would embarrass the whole nation. It was embarrassing that a former president would whip out his mobile phone in public during the welcoming festivities to snap a picture of a visiting dignitary even if he is the president of the United States. Later at the Castle, Rawlings would childishly scramble for a position next to Obama during a Photo shoot. “Kufuor, let’s change positions; do not upstage me,” he said.

Number One – The NDC Body Count. After its first full year in office, the out-of-control NDC government has recorded a body count of 32 at last count. It would not be an NDC government if politically motivated murders either by security officials or by party thugs did not dominate the news. After the rash of politically motivated murders that characterized the previous PNDC/NDC administration of Jerry John Rawlings, Ghanaians took for granted the relative peace and tranquility of the eight-year NPP rule, and thought we had graduated as a nation from the dark days of political violence. If the first year is anything to go by, this NDC administration under the leadership of President John Evans Atta Mills would be even more violent than the Rawlings administrations.

This is 2010, the second decade of a new millennium. Even the Sierra Leones, the Rwandas, the Liberias, The Zaires have all graduated from senseless political violence. Are we as a nation going to be followers, or are we going to remain leaders on the African continent? The NPP handed over a peaceful country after it inherited a political murder-laden country from the out-of-control NDC. Ghanaians would not forgive the NDC if it returned our dear country to the dark days of political murders and intimidations. We are better than that as a people. Long Live Ghana!

Source: NPP-USA

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Mamfe Akuapem, Jan. 07, GNA- The management of MTN on Wednesday presented GHC 3,000 cash, GHC 300 worth of MTN airtime and MTN-branded souvenirs valued at GHC 1, 000 to the chiefs and people of Mamfe Akuapem towards the celebration of their Ohum festival.

Mr Francis Afulani, Events and Sponsorship Manager of the MTN, made the donation at a ceremony at Mamfe and said the company was also supporting social activities valued at GHC 17,000 to ensure a memorable celebration. These include the MTN Mamfe Ohum community football gala, the MTN Chill Zone to be held from January 08 to 10 and support for Mamfe Ohum State Dance on January 09.

Mr Afulani said the theme for the festival focuses on the value of educating the youth and that the company recognized the important role of education and as a result contributed significantly through the MTN Ghana Foundation.

"The MTN Ghana Foundation has committed over 70, 000 dollars to improve numeracy and literacy in primary schools in Tamale". He said in addition the foundation is establishing 10 centres in 10 regions in Ghana and also building classrooms for Sehwi Abono Primary School in the Western Region.

"We have also invested heavily in the area of health and some examples are the Korle Bu Maternity Ward refurbishment and support to the Children's Hospital". Nana Ansah Sasraku, the chief of Mamfe, thanked the company for the donation and said the company had shown that it cared about the communities in which they operate.

Source: GNA

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Accra, Jan. 7, GNA - The management of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), in liaison with National Security and Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), on Tuesday ordered and supervised the re-loading of 15,000 bags unwholesome rice.

The UNPL EMATA MYANMAR RICE, which had been clandestinely off loaded and stored in Shed Eight at Tema Harbour, was re-loaded onto the ship MV Stefanis and ordered to leave the territorial waters of Ghana.

A statement issued in Accra on Wednesday signed by Dr. Stephen K. Opuni Chief Executive of FDB, said it received information about a ship (MV Stefanis), which was carrying the rice (11466 Metric Tonnes - 229, 938 x 50Kg bags) was heading towards Ghana .

The rice had earlier been rejected by Sierra Leone and Guinea for being unwholesome for human consumption heading towards Ghana.

It said this information was immediately passed on to the National Security and upon arrival of the ship in Ghana on December 7, 2009, it was noticed that there was no consignee in Ghana.

The rice was weevil infested and had also not been registered by the FDB as required by the Food and Drugs Act 1992, (PNDCL 305B) thereby making its quality and safety questionable.

The statement said further investigation by the FDB revealed that an official of the Port Health Authority (PHA) had fumigated the heavily weevil infested rice on board the ship.

Subsequently the said official also allegedly picked a bag out of the 229,938 bags for testing at the Ghana Standards Board laboratories. It said considering the food safety implications, the FDB met with officials of National Security, CEPS and PHA and made them aware of the reasons why the consignment could not be offloaded for sale in Ghana or transited through Ghana.

This was because the rice was heavily infested with weevils, had an offensive odour, discoloured and caked indicating excessive deterioration while it had not been registered by the FDB and not bearing any consignee. The statement said CEPS further agreed to delete the said ship from its manifest in order to make it impossible for it to berth and offload its cargo.

It said notwithstanding all these measures taken by FDB, National Security and CEPS to prevent the berthing of the ship, and the discharge of the unwholesome rice, the FDB received an information that some officials at the Tema Port (Port Health and Scanship) took advantage of the Christmas Holidays and allowed the ship to come into berth and discharged 15,000 bags of the weevil infested rice into Shed Eight at the Tema Port.

The statement said FDB in liaison with National Security, CEPS and other relevant agencies took immediate steps to prevent the release of the implicated rice onto the Ghanaian market, by quarantining the 15,000 bags in Shed Eight at the Tema Port.

It said an agent who all of a sudden surfaced and claimed that the rice was consigned to him and was in transit to Burkina Faso was told that if the rice was bad for Ghanaians it was equally bad for Burkinabes.

Meanwhile investigations have also revealed that the said unwholesome rice has no consignee in Burkina Faso.

The statement said to assure the public that the unwholesome rice would not be allowed onto the Ghanaian market, the FDB issued a press release on December 30, 2009 to the effect that all steps had been taken in liaison with the National Security, CEPS and other relevant agencies to prevent the rice getting onto the Ghanaian market and to ensure the eventual re-export of the implicated consignment as soon as possible.

"The level of weevil infestation, the presence of foul odour, caking and discolouration are indications of serious deterioration of the rice, thus rendering the whole consignment unfit for human consignment, "the statement said.

It said in order to ensure that the rice was not placed in any West African country and potential re-bagging and re-exported to Ghana efforts were being made to alert neighbouring West African countries of this particular ship and its controversial and unwholesome cargo.

"The FDB wishes to use this opportunity to assure the public that public health and safety remains our paramount concern," the statement added.

Source: GNA

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