Day: December 18, 2023

The Electoral Commission (EC) says it will not conduct the upcoming District Level Elections (DLEs) in 23 Electoral Areas and 83 polling stations in the Upper West Region because aspirants in those areas are going unopposed.

The EC said there were a total of 293 electoral areas and 1,222 polling stations in all 11 constituencies of the region.

Three electoral areas each in the Wa, Jirapa, and Sissala East Municipalities will not participate in the elections.

Seven electoral areas in the Nadowli-Kaleo District, two each in the Nandom and Sissala West Districts, and one each in the Wa East, Lawra, and Lambussie districts would not also take part in the election.

Mr Osman Ali, the Upper West Regional Director of the EC, revealed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Wa on Monday on the readiness of the Commission on the election scheduled for December 19, 2023.

He explained that plans were advanced for the conduct of the DLEs in all participating electoral areas in the region.

Mr Ali said
the electoral materials and logistics, security, and human resources were all ready for the exercise.

Speaking about the Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) for the election, the Regional EC Boss indicated that all polling stations had spare BVDs and a fully charged power bank to cater for any unforeseen emergencies that might arise with the BVDs during the exercise.

He said security personnel had been deployed to all the areas where there would be elections.

‘We need the cooperation of all to make the election successful devoid,’ he indicated and entreated all eligible voters to participate in the election.

A total of 730 people had filed to contest for the District Assembly elections with 24 of them being females, while 1,897 candidates including 64 females had filed nominations to contest in the Unit Committee elections in the Upper West region.

Mr Ali said the EC had recruited and trained a total of 3,417 officials to ensure smooth, professional, and efficient conduct of the elections.
Source: Ghan
a News Agency

Water crisis in Adjen-Kotoku in the Ga West Municipal Assembly will be resolved when I am given the nod as the Assemblymember, Mr Jonas Malm Newlove Mohammed Odartei, alias Agoogo, Assembly member aspirant for the Area has said.

Mr Odartei was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview ahead of the polls.

He said he would liaise with the Landlords’ Association in the area and with Ghana Water Company’s support connect pipe borne water to their homes, which had already started by Rush Company, manufacturer of drinks and other products, from Medie to Cafeè Junction.

The aspirant said government had also put in place water reservoirs out of which few people had access, adding that he would use his office to help connect many to the project to solve their water challenges.

Mr Odartei is contesting the seat with two others -Mr Francis Botwe and Madam Breatrice Kafui Badasu.

The incumbent, Mr Henry Chantei, is not contesting again.

Aside solving the water supply challenge, Mr Odartei has education, se
curity, sanitation, health, poverty reduction, among others as his priorities.

In his manifesto, Mr Odartei promised extending LEAP to many more aged.

He promised to provide free vacation classes every three months for final year students of Junior High School, Senior High School as well as those learning vocational skills.

For healthy citizens, the aspirant promised keeping the environment tidy by providing dustbins at vantage points, and cleaning exercises that would also create employment.

He said he would also organise free health screening as well as organise football matches to promote unity.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr. Joseph Korto, the National Dean of Presiding Members, is seeking to represent the people of the low-cost electoral area in Tema Community for the sixth time at the Tema Metropolitan Assembly.

Mr. Korto, who is the longest assembly member in the country, is currently serving his fifth term and doubles as the TMA presiding member.

After 20 years of being an assemblyman for the same electoral area, Mr. Korto told the Ghana News Agency that he was contesting for the sixth time because the youth and many residents appealed to him to contest as he was their only hope.

He said, ‘The majority of the area members and the youth came to me to go again; it is not true that one of the candidates is poised to unseat me.’

On what extra vision he has for the area after serving for so long, he said he would continue his good works that have attracted people by making sure the area was well lit.

According to him, over the years he has used his position to lobby and assist the youth to get employment, adding that he h
as also lobbied contractors working outside Tema to construct drains and streets for the area.

Through his leadership over the years, the only public school in the area, the Redemption Basic School, now has a Junior High School adding that every year he also provided the final pupils with exam logistics to aid them in their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

He said he used his position to mobilise money to pay for two heart surgeries for his residents, adding that a 12-year-old girl was also waiting for hers to be done.

Mr. Korto said his position as the Presiding Member of TMA saw to it that Assembly processes, rules, and regulations for the General Assembly Meeting and Sub-Committee Meeting, among others, were duly followed.

He said he ensured that the Metropolitan Chief Executive and the Metropolitan Coordinating Director followed the timetable and moved in the directions that would keep the TMA at the top of the league table, as well as mobilise revenue for the development of the metropo
lis.

He said his achievements as the national dean of presiding members included the presentation of citations to all 261 presiding members across the country for their work done during the current assemblies.

He added that he was also able to lobby the people to vote for a council of state members who would help the president achieve his intended vision and aims for the country.

He said that, as part of his achievements, he was integral to solving several misunderstandings between assembly members and their district assemblies across the country.

According to him, with his position, he was able to put the name of Tema, which is the centre of the world, onto the world map, as any time his name was mentioned, TMA also came up.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has informed Parliament that he disagrees with the decision of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo not to assent to the abolition of death penalty/witchcraft bills.

The Speaker said he would within this week deliver a statement to the House on the issue, after which the House could debate on the matter.

The Speaker made the remarks in his statement on the floor of Parliament after reading out to the House, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s letter.

Speaker Bagbin admitted that the President invited him to discuss the matter concerning the Bills; saying ‘And when he raised this, I told him (the President) that I completely disagree with him, and I gave my reasons’.

The President in the said letter to Parliament explained his decision not to assent to the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill 2023, the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill Number 2, 2023 and the Ghana Armed Forces Amendment Bill 2023, citing financial implications for not assenting to the Bills.

Presiden
t Akufo-Addo said upon a thorough review of the relevant constitutional and legislative frameworks, specifically Article 108 of the Constitution and Section 100 of the Public Financial Management Act 2016 (Act 921) it was evident that the Bills introduced as Private Member’s Bills by the Honourable Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu, do not conform with the provisions of the Constitution.

The Armed Forces (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to amend relevant Sections of Act 29 and the Armed Forces Act, 1962 (Act 105) to replace the Death Penalty with life imprisonment whereas the Criminal Offences (Amendment), Bill Number Two, 2023, seeks to abolish the Death Penalty.

On the other hand, the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to proscribe witchcraft accusations.

The President said these Bills, which abolished the Statutory Death Penalty and Criminalizes the activities of witch doctors or witch-finders entail substantial financial obligations on the Consolidated Fund and other p
ublic funds of Ghana, due to the projected costs related to imprisonment, sustenance, and healthcare for those who would be convicted under the Bills when they became laws.

The Bills were passed by the House in July 2023 and presented to the President in August and November this year for his assent.

But the President after holding a discussion with the Speaker on the Bills at the former’s office on 28th November, issued a letter to Parliament dated 28th November, informing the House of his inability to assent to the Bills.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr. Sam Ankrah, an Independent Presidential Aspirant and leader of the Alternative Force for Action (AFA), has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of appropriating his apprenticeship training programme without credit.

He alleged that key components of his proposed economic strategies had been integrated by the NDC without his acknowledgment.

This is contained in a press release from the Group copied to the Ghana News Agency.

According to the statement, the NDC during a town hall meeting at Ellembelle, Western Region, announcd the establishment of a National Apprenticeship Training Programme to provide free skills training for Junior High School graduates, who could not progress to the Senior High School level.

The statement claimed that it was appropriated from a ten-point agenda outlined by the Group’s leader in his media engagements.

‘This ten-point agenda focuses on crucial areas such as Affordable Housing, Healthcare, Education, Food, Fuel, Transportation, and a robust anti-corruption sta
nce to establish an Affordable Business Environment,’ the statement added.

According to the statement, AFA’s apprenticeship policy entailed the integration of hands-on training in a specific occupation with academic instruction.

The statement said the duration of the training would range from two to five years depending on the individual’s level and would be implemented nationwide.

The statement added that the trainees would undergo self-mutation upon graduating in order to establish themselves as trainer managers.

‘The government would provide financial compensation for apprentices’ salary, thus granting enterprises the benefit of unpaid employment to facilitate corporate growth and the pursuit of further prospects.

‘This concept will generate economic prosperity, foster the expansion of local enterprises, and contribute to alleviating the significant unemployment gap,’ the statement said.
Source: Ghana News Agency