Still All-die-be-die - Nana Addo defends
* Source: JoyOnline


Flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo has strongly defended his controversial ‘all-die-be-die’ mantra which has been heavily criticized.

Nana Addo says the mantra is only a call for self defence and not to war.

Speaking at the Upper West Regional capital, Wa from where Rafiq Salam reported, the NPP presidential candidate said after violent incidents in Akwatia, Chireponi and Atiwa there was the need for Ghanaians to defend themselves during the December general elections.

“All the major political actors have agreed that we want to go down the path of democracy that has brought stability to our nation.

But at the same time if you are playing a game and you are respecting the rules and the other persons are not respecting the rules, you have a difficulty, what do you do? Do you sit down and fold your arms behind your backs and say you just allow yourself to be cheated? Or do you try to act as a man in defence of your own right.

“That is all that the statement i made was about. That NPP people have every right in the face of aggression defend themselves,” he said.


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Man kills step Children
* Source: Daily Guide


A 36-year-old mason, Samuel Kwadwo Dankwah, has allegedly killed two of his step-children, following a misunderstanding between him and his wife over housekeeping money.

The suspect allegedly dumped the bodies of Evans Kwame Abban, seven, and Dorothy Maame Ama Abban, four, in the bush and absconded with his own child, Michael Owusu, two.

Although the incident occurred on June 22, 2012, it was not until June 26 and June 29, 2012 that the bodies of Evans and Dorothy were retrieved from the bush at New Bortianor.

Briefing the Daily Graphic on the incident, the Accra Regional Police Public Affairs Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Freeman Tettey, said the mother of the deceased children, Obaa Yaa, 30, who was co-habitating with Dankwah, allegedly left the children to visit her father after a misunderstanding over housekeeping money on June 20, 2012.

Giving a background to the misunderstanding, Obaa Yaa told the Daily Graphic that Dankwah gave her GH¢7 as housekeeping money for the day.

She said she told him it was inadequate and demanded more, but Dankwah ignored her and left for work.

She said upon his return that evening, Dankwah demanded dinner but she told him she could not prepare dinner because she and the children spent GH¢4 on breakfast and lunch and, therefore, what was left was inadequate to prepare dinner.

According to her, the next morning, she demanded housekeeping money when Dankwah was leaving for work but he assaulted her and asked her to use the remaining GH¢3 to buy food items to prepare meals for the day.

She said Dankwah then entered the room, brought out a machete and threatened to butcher her.

She then ran out of the house and only returned after Dankwah had left for work. 1 According to Obaa Yaa, her father, Mr Kweku Abeku, coincidentally called her on her cell phone and demanded to see her urgently at Kaneshie for a discussion.

She said when she met him, the father complained about Dankwah's failure to perform the marriage rites, after staying with her for four years.

She claimed she then told her father about the misunderstanding over housekeeping money and the resultant fisticuffs between her and her partner.

Apparently worried about the development, the father asked her to follow him to Bawjiase, where he lived, and promised to invite Dankwah over for the issue to be discussed.

According to her, after staying for some few days, she decided to go back to check on the children, only to be told that their bodies had been sent to the mortuary.

Throwing more light on the incident, DSP Tettey said Obaa Yaa brought her three children, identified as Akwasi Eric, nine, Evans and Dorothy, all from a previous relationship, to live with Dankwah.

Obaa Yaa and Dankwah later had a fourth child, Michael Owusu.

According to him, Obaa Yaa allegedly left the house with the reason that her father had invited her to come over for an urgent discussion.

Mr Tettey said about 4 a.m. on June 22, 2012, when Eric woke up to attend the call of nature, he discovered that his sister, Dorothy, was not in bed and suspected that she might have gone to sleep with their step father (Dankwah).

He said when he (Eric) woke up to sweep the compound about 6:30 a.m., he detected that Evans too was not on the bed, although Michael was still lying in bed.

Mr Tettey said when Eric asked his stepfather about the whereabouts of Evans and Dorothy, the father claimed that the two children had gone to visit their grandmother who lived at another suburb of New Bortianor.

He said Eric, however, decided to visit the grandmother after sweeping to confirm if his siblings were there.

Unfortunately, he said, the grandmother denied that the children had been there.

Based upon that, Eric and the grandmother decided to go and question Dankwah about the whereabouts of the two children.

Mr Tettey said when Eric and the grandmother got to the house, Dankwah and Michael were nowhere to be found.

According to him, a farmer saw Evan's body strangulated with a shirt in the bush on June 26 and immediately raised an alarm.

He said the police were duly notified and the body was taken to the Police Hospital mortuary.

Mr Tettey said Dorothy's decomposed body was also discovered in the bush on June 29, 2012 and was also taken to the morgue.


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Man Blows Head Off
* Source: Daily Gude


A MAN believed to be about 50-years-old ended his life Sunday morning after shooting himself in the head at Bohyen in Kumasi.

The deceased, who was alone at the time, pointed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger, blowing out his brains.

Conflicting reports emerged with regard to where exactly the deceased committed the heinous crime.

Whilst some alleged the deceased, who was identified as Yaw Ofori Atta, took that weird action in the middle of an adjoining road at Bohyen around 6 am, others claimed that he shot himself right in front of a provision store close to his house.

What triggered the suicide action was not immediately known, but sources alleged perhaps he was indebted to someone in huge sums of money.

Neighbours were also speculating that maybe he was suffering from a chronic disease so he decided to end his life in that weird manner.

Ofori Atta’s body had since been deposited at the KATH morgue in Kumasi awaiting autopsy.

A police source hinted DAILY GUIDE that the noise of the gunshot drew a large number of people to the scene.

He said the police were called to the scene and they found the body of the deceased lying on the ground on arrival.

He disclosed that the bullet of the gun had opened a huge cavity in the man’s skull, with his brains mixed with blood, gushing out.

According to him, the police had started investigations into the matter.

The source said the foreign made pistol which the man used to end his life was in the possession of the police.

Meanwhile, other DAILY GUIDE sources indicated that the man had, lately, been threatening to end his life.

They however said they never expected the deceased to carry through his threat by blowing out his brains.


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We’ve delivered on promises; second term due – Veep
* Source: Citifmonline


The Vice President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, has stated that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has delivered on its promises it made to the people of Ghana, hence has a strong campaign message than its opponents in the 2012 elections.

According to him, in all aspects of the Ghanaian economy such as health, education, agriculture among others, Atta Mills-led administration is delivering on its promises hence the NDC is emboldened to embark on a national campaign towards retaining power with confidence.

Vice President Mahama made the remarks when he cut the sod for the construction of the Sawla-Damongo –Fufulso road which had virtually been a budget promise for various governments of the country since independence.

According to the Vice President, who had been on a two-day working visit to some communities in the Northern Region commissioning electricity projects, the NDC upon assumption of power made it a priority to improve the lives of the people of Ghana and they have not departed from it.

“I have been to places where chiefs and people ask me are your DCEs etc receiving the same amount that previous DCEs in the NPP administration were receiving, because the development that they have witnessed in the past three years is amazing?” Mahama claimed.

According to him, his reply is “the vision and its bearer make the difference and the NDC is committed to the people of Ghana.”

In an address at Larebanga where he cut the sod for the road project which is going to be in two lots, the Vice President recalled how he had made a pledge to the Overlord of the Gonjas, Tutumba Borisa I, if the road does not see any construction the NDC will not come and campaign in the area.

He continued by appreciating the personal attachment the President, Professor John Mills, gave to the project and at a point in time sending him on assignment to a meeting with the board of directors of the African Development Fund which culminated in the board committing the funding to the project.

He explained that the NDC is minded by the fact that the re-construction of the road will have enormous economic benefits hence its connection with the vision of SADA.

The $170 million Sawla-Fulfulso road is being sponsored by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and executed by the China International Water and Electric Corporation, and expected to be completed within three years.

As part of the road project, the contractors would also build and rehabilitate schools, health centers, lorry parks and markets in communities along the road, whilst also providing facilities for potable water for them.


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Woyome In London
* Source; Daily Guide


Ghana’s most controversial and abrasive state payment to an individual, the Woyome judgment saga, made a mammoth appearance in London last Friday when petition-armed Ghanaians marched to the High Commission.

A large number of Ghanaians resident in the United Kingdom joined by members of the local branch of the Young Patriots, a pressure group calling for the return of the GH¢51.2million paid to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, ignored a mild downpour and made their way to the Ghana High Commission, chanting their dismay at the manner in which the issue had been handled so far by the Mills/Mahama administration.

For effect, the demonstrators blocked all entrances to the facility as they waited for the High Commissioner, Prof Kwaku Danso-Boafo, who was not present when they reached the place.

Prof Danso-Boafo, who had earlier asked the majority of the mission staff not to turn up for work on that day, was compelled to come and give audience to the picketers and receive their petition which they copied a number of organisations including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

“We have been dumbfounded ever since it became public that over GH¢600 million has been paid in the name of judgment debts to people and organisations who have done no work whatsoever for the country,” they pointed out in their petition.

The area around the premises of the Consulate on Highgate Hill where passport and visa applications are processed was a beehive of activities as the angry Ghanaians among who were journalists from various Ghanaian local radio stations, chanted their frustration.

The few mission officials at post refused to allow the journalists to tap electricity from the building for their live broadcasts, a situation which necessitated their resorting to nearby buildings for power at a cost though.

Titled, ‘Retrieval Of Unlawful Judgment Debt’, the petition expressed, as they put it, their “frustration, disappointment and disgust concerning the recent happenings in Ghana under the present government”.

Turning specifically to Alfred Agbesi Woyome, they pointed out that he defrauded the nation to the tune of GH¢51.2million, adding that “the construction company, CP, has also been given over €94,000,000 as confirmed by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee.”

Such levels of corruption, they noted, was robbing Ghana of her respectability in the international community, a situation they described as “state sponsored unprecedented corruption under the purview of a Law Professor, President J.E.A. Mills.”

They expressed misgivings about the commitment of the Mills/Mahama government to retrieve what they called the gargantuan money.

For them, the money was intentionally paid by the Mills/Mahama administration to some unscrupulous people in the country without justification.

“We Ghanaian residents in the UK are hereby today petitioning your good offices to impress upon the government to retrieve these sums doled out illegally through the conscienceless officials to these people and organisations without any regard for morality,” they stated in the petition.

They made a number of demands, among them an invitation of former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Martin Amidu as a prosecution witness, in the Alfred Agbesi Woyome case, due to his knowledge and facts he had on the case.

The petitioners also asked for the immediate dismissal of Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice Ebo Barton-Odro, Valerie Sawyerr and Alex Segbefia both deputy Chiefs of Staff, among other government officials.

“We are urging President Mills as a matter of urgency to compel the Attorney General to prosecute Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, for her negligence and lack of due diligence,” they added.

The retrieval of the money already paid and which remained a sore political issue in the country, they noted, would address Ghana’s infrastructural challenges.


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Publish the names of the Owners of Africa Automobile
* Source: Dr Richard Acolatse - Forum for Transparency and Good Governance, Roman Ridge Accra

The Forum for Transparency and Good Governance is calling on the
Government to publish the names of all the directors of Africa Automobile so that major questions that need answers can be answered by these directors. We believe the government cannot be paying judgement debts of 1.5 billion Ghana cedis to faceless individuals who are hiding behind curtains.
We find it extremely disappointing that Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa a government minister will use state resources to go round defending a private company that has not shown any evidence of a signed contract to supply any vehicles to the government of Ghana.
We at the Forum for Transparency and Good Governance will like to ask a few questions
1.Why does this company use only a post office Box as identification?
2.Why are there no existing offices for Africa Automobile?
3.Why is Mr Kwamena Ahwoi desperate to hold a press conference ? who is he going to cover up for?
4.Why is President Mills again just sitting down doing nothing allowing all these monies to be paid?
5.The Auditors General report shows that 8.3 million Ghana cedis has already being paid. Which Attorney General negotiated this settlement and who authorised these payments?

Some years ago a group of Ghanaians calling themselves revolutionaries set up Citizens Vetting Committees and public tribunals to convict corrupt public officials. People including pregnant women and a blind man were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment with hard labour. Some died in prison, at the hands of Mr Kwamena Ahwoi ,Cecelia Johnson, Geroge Agyekum, Tsatsu Tsikata and others.

Today, Mr PV Obeng, a man obsessed by sheer greed, is trying to grab a house belonging to an Italian businessman at Ogbojo in Accra at the expense of his children and grandchildren. This same P.V. Obeng who transferred a pallet of Bank Notes from the Bank of Ghana to the castle and owns 18 houses in Tema.

Today the apostles of probity ad accountability can spend 20 million dollars to build their party office yet they burnt to ashes the hotels owned by innocent businessmen.
Today the guardians of social justice like Alex Segbefia and Okudzeto Ablakwa can buy 5 million dollar houses in Roman Ridge and a house in the United States of America, They can even afford to lose their girlfriends doing politics. Some politicians lost their lives defending truth, freedom and justice in Ghana Mr Ablakwa!
Today the protectors of the Better Ghana Agenda like Betty Mould Idrissu can get percentages from judgement debt payments and buy £250, 000 houses in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to live and comfortable life.

We call on all Ghanaians to come together to say No to the payment of these monies to Africa Automobile .

We call for a full refund of the monies already paid and a prosecution of the Attorney General whose actions led to the payment of the 8.3 million Ghana cedis

Dr Richard Acolatse
Chairman
Forum for Transparency and Good Governance
Roman Ridge Accra.

Source-Forum for Transparency and Good Governance, Roman Ridge Accra


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ECOWAS warns Ghana against foreign retailers clamp down
* Source: JoyOnline


The ECOWAS Parliament has indicated it will still go ahead with its intervention to halt the removal of foreigners in retail markets, despite the trade ministry’s plan to go ahead with the exercise.

The ministry is expected to begin an exercise from tomorrow to remove non-Ghanaians engaged in retail business at market centres which are reserved for indigenes.

The Trade Minister, Hannah Tetteh at a press conference last week indicated that a request from the ECOWAS Parliament for the suspension of the exercise could not be granted.

She stated that Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) Act, which allowed the removal of the foreign retail traders from markets, was in conformity with the ECOWAS Protocol adding that the ECOWAS Parliament did not have executive authority in any member state.

But Deputy Speaker at the ECOWAS Parliament, Michael Teye Nyaunu told Joy FM the ministry should be mindful of the implications of their action.

He added that, inasmuch as the regional legislative body could not dictate to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, he was advising that more sensitization and education be carried out on the exercise so as to prevent a looming trade war between Ghana and her ECOWAS neighbours.


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Pigs feed on aborted baby in Bolga
Source: JoyOnline


Residents of Bolgatanga were shocked on Sunday afternoon when news broke about pigs feeding on an aborted foetus dumped in a nearby bush near the residency of the Upper East regional Minister.

Witnesses say it was neatly wrapped in a polythene bag.

Many people in the area suspect the act took place at the Municipal Hospital.

Upper East regional correspondent, Albert Sore was at the scene and reported the pigs were busy feeding on the foetus.

He suspected the aborted baby was about seven months old with the head clearly formed.

According to him, the abortion may have been done at the Bolgatanga Hospital before being dumped at the bush.

The foetus was wrapped into a Bolga Municipal Hospital polythene bag before being put into a black polythene bag.

It is not clear who is behind the abortion but residents are shocked.