An aspiring parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Essikado-Ketan Constituency, Charles Onuawonto Bissue has debunked claims that the party is troubled about who gets elected as the parliamentary candidate to face off Dr Grace Ayensu Danquah of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). He argues that it is ironic that a candidate of the opposition party would consider herself that powerful in a rather stronghold of the NPP.
In an interview on Taadi FM, Mr Bissue urged delegates and party faithful of the NPP to allay any fears that the Essikado-Ketan seat could be lost to the NDC in the 2024 general elections should they fail to elect a candidate who can “match up” against Dr Grace Ayensu Danquah. According to him, it is politically incorrect for anyone (in the NPP) to believe the NDC stands a chance and that the party has to be troubled about her contest.
He noted that the NDC’s candidate is rather anxious about matching up against him in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
“It is as though the seat is theirs, and we are to find a candidate that can match up to her. Perhaps it is her thinking that she needs to match up with me. It is a psychological thing they are doing. When I get on the radio, some people assert that I am the only person to match up to her. No, she is the one anxious about matching up with me. The seat belongs to us,” he explained.
Mr Bissue added that the dynamics that come into play in every election are exceptional and that “it is wrong for the NDC to think that because they closed up the gap in the 2020 election, they stand a chance to win the seat in 2024.”
He justified that the NDC’s appreciated votes in the 2020 parliamentary elections were largely a natural behavioural response on the part of the voters to the incumbent Member of Parliament, Joe Ghartey.
“It is expected to witness some decline in voter margin for a long-serving MP like Joe Ghartey. That isn’t an indication of underperformance but a natural phenomenon in our politics where voters tend to lose confidence in the person. Its akin to the concept of diminishing returns.”
2024: NDC’s Ayensu Danquah Anxious About Matching Up Against Me- Bissue.
DR Congo floods: Chaos in Kinshasa as river rises to near-record level
Floods have wreaked chaos in Kinshasa – the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo – with water pouring into homes and residents navigating submerged roads via canoe.
The overflowing River Congo, passing through much of the country, has also swamped places outside the capital.
The vast, vital waterway has reached its highest level in six decades.
More than 300 people have died in floods over the past months, officials say.
On Thursday, residents in the impoverished megacity of Kinshasa told the BBC how “schools, hospitals and churches” have been washed away.
“I had lived here with my relatives… I have lost everything,” Jonas Mungindami said.
Similarly, Denise Tuzola said her house is now “full of water”.
“There is no church here anymore and there is no way for the children to go to school,” she added.
Kinshasa is home to several small rivers and streams, which often double as open sewers. Many have now overflown.
On one flooded street, a man waded through through thigh-level water, hauling a canoe full of passengers behind him. Trucks drove cautiously through the same waters, while dozens of discarded bottles bob on the surface.
The RVF, the agency overseeing DR Congo’s waterways, sounded the alarm in late December.
It warned that heavy rains would cause “exceptional flooding” around the Kinshasa area.
By this point, provinces such as Mongala and Ituri had already faced serious flooding.
In Kinshasa, flooding is common but this year the Congo River has risen just shy of 6.26 metres, the level reached during record flooding in 1961.
Further upstream, in the city of Kisangani, the mayor said that over 200 houses have been submerged.
The Congo River has also caused turmoil in Congo-Brazzaville, a nation that borders DR Congo.
Flooding there has impacted more than 336,000 people and 34 health facilities, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.
Many factors contribute to flooding, but a warming atmosphere caused by climate change makes extreme rainfall more likely.
Just over a year ago, floods in Kinshasa left more than 120 people dead.
BBC
We now feel the Police in our lives – Otumfuo hails Dampare
The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu has commended the Inspector-General of Police Dr. George Akuffo Dampare for enhancing the outlook and public perception of the police service.
According to Otumfuo, measures put in place by the IGP since he assumed office have endeared the Police to the public much more than it existed in the past.
“ I want to commend you for the good work you’re doing with your team. Since you came to the seen. Now we feel the Police in our lives, our homes and everywhere and we are grateful”.
Commenting on security in the Ashanti region during the Christmas festivities, the Ashanti Monarch said he was marveled by the number of motorbikes that patrolled the region and Kumasi in particular to ensure the safety of residents.
“I was here when they came to show me videos of the number of officers patrolling the city on motorbikes and it was beautiful. Because of your work, we didn’t see robberies and the number of carnage we used to see on our roads during Christmas, please continue the work because we are praying for you”.
The Otumfuo also advised the IGP not to allow the office and its challenges to change his personality.
On his part, Dr. Akuffo Dampare who is currently on a working tour in the Ashanti expressed his gratitude to the Otumfuo and assured him the police will continue to work to ensure the safety of the citizenry.
Danfa Lands: Francis Kotei Afutu not our spokesperson- Nii Afutu Brempong Family cautions public
The Principal Elders of Nii Afutu Brempong family has cautioned members of the general public who may have any interest in land ownership at Otinibi, Pantang, Adoteiman and Danfa (Afutukrom), including parcels of land that have been leased out to clients by Afutu Brempong Family, to be circumspect.
In a press statement, the family said, “Ample reports have also been received by the Principal Elders and Advisers of Nii Afutu Brempong Family that a personality bearing the name FRANCIS KOTEI AFUTU has been going round with the pretext that he has been appointed spokesperson of the family.”
“We are relying on the foregoing reports and, therefore advising members of the general public NOT to undertake any land ownership transaction with this personality in the name of NII AFUTU BREMPONG FAMILY in Danfa,Adoteiman, Otinibi and Pantang. Anyone who does not adhere to this advice does so at his/her own peril,” the statement further warned.
Read full statement below :
PRESS RELEASE
GJA petitions IGP, NPP over assault of Journalist
The leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over the assault of David Kobbena a morning show host of Cape FM, in Cape Coast.
The petition signed by the General Secretary for the GJA, Kofi Yeboah, mentioned that the Journalist was allegedly assaulted by supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at the Central Regional vetting of parliamentary aspirants of the NPP, held at the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in Cape Coast.
Some men numbering 15 and wearing a branded T-shirt of Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Awutu-Senya East, accosted David and beat him mercilessly without provocation.
They had mistaken him for another person they alleged had insulted the MP, who is also the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.
The GJA has sent petitions to the IGP and the NPP to intensify investigations into the issue and bring the culprits to book.
“David had gone to the RCC to cover the vetting, and while sitting under a shed, a man believed to be a police officer (in mufti), on the basis of that mistaken identity, beckoned him for verification. David denied the allegation and produced his media house ID Card as evidence to support his denial. But in the process of doing so, someone slapped him from behind and others joined in the assault, beating him mercilessly. But for the timely intervention of other media colleagues, innocent David could have been lynched by the mob.
“We believe the assault against David was unprovoked and barbaric. We, therefore, petition the IGP as follows:
1. The IGP must ensure the speedy investigation of the incident and arrest the culprits.
2. The IGP must ensure the speedy prosecution of the culprits.
3. The IGP must investigate the conduct of the purported police officer who beckoned David to verify his identity but did not protect him from being assaulted,” the petition to the IGP read.
The petition that was addressed to the NPP acknowledged that the GJA is informed that the attention of Mr Peter Mac Manu, a former national chairman of the NPP, who chaired the regional Vetting Committee B, was drawn to the incident, and he sent Ghc1500 to be given to David to cater for his medical bills.
“We believe the assault against David was unprovoked and barbaric. We, therefore, petition the national leadership of the NPP as follows:
1. The NPP national leadership must investigate the incident immediately and identify the culprits.
2. The NPP national leadership must sanction the perpetrators of the assault against David.
Respectfully, we wish to serve notice that if by close of Friday, January 12, 2024, our petition has not been addressed, we shall advise ourselves accordingly”, the petition to the NPP added.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu
SSNIT increases monthly pension payment by 15%
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), in consultation with the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has indexed monthly pensions upwards by 15% for the year 2024.
By this, the monthly payment for pensioners has been increased by 15%.
This is in line with Section 80 of the National Pensions Act, 2008, (Act 766).
According to SSNIT, all Pensioners on its pension payroll will have their monthly pension increased by a Fixed Rate of 10% in addition to a redistributed flat amount of ¢79.10.
Speaking at the launch of the 2024 Pension Indexation Report, the Director-General of SSNIT, Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang said the Trust is focused on expanding and deepening coverage of the basic national social security scheme to benefit workers who will go on retirement in the future.
According to him, the indexation is a legal requirement that aims at reviewing the benefits to help pensioners live decent lives.
He pointed out that the effective increase in pensions would therefore range from 10.05% for the highest-earning pensioner to 36.37% for the lowest-earning pensioner.
“Accordingly, the highest-earning pensioner as of December 31, 2023, will receive ¢186,777.58 per month in 2024. The lowest-earning pensioner as of December 31, 2023, will have the monthly pension increased from ¢300 to ¢409.10 in 2024”, an additional statement from Mr. Tenkorang said.
“The 15% indexation rate will result in an additional pension expenditure of ¢697.64 million. The total expenditure in 2024 for pensioners on the Pension Payroll as of 31st December 2023 will be ¢5,387.72 million”.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com |Vincent Kwofie
The woes of youth in agriculture: the story of a young graduate in Tamale
Agriculture is a major sector in Ghana that the Ghanaian authorities must consider using to address inequality, poverty, and unemployment among the youth in the Northern region. This could also be an opportunity and avenue for the teeming youth to become self-sufficient considering the vast and rich land available in the region.
Due to the obstacles surrounding farming activities in the country, the youth in the Northern region are unwilling to venture into agriculture for fear of not reaping what has been invested.
In recent days, some youths who tried going into Agriculture have joined the already existing unemployed graduates in the country to chase non-existing jobs and limited opportunities.
A University graduate, Fuseini Hassan Nantogma age 32, and a one-time local farmer from the Yendi Municipality who currently resides in Tamale mentioned that agriculture is the only area that can turn the economy of the country around when made a national priority by every government.
Hassan Fuseini who’s now in the courier business in Tamale, whilst searching for a job registered his readiness to return to the farm, but the capital and workforce involved are discouraging him and many other interested youth.
He explained that he quit farming before coming to Tamale due to the high price of farm inputs and the labour involved, and that, the Ghanaian youth would only prioritize farming if the government truly had the youth at heart and restructured the sector to make it more appealing.
He suggested that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture consider putting the youth into groups in communities and assist them with the needed support devoid of involving local politicians when giving out support.
He explained, “Government should target the youth and the youth should be between the ages of 18-25, they should be given supervisors to start the farming. If you’re to plow let’s say one hectare of land for any crop, you need not less than Gh¢3,000. This is because you need to acquire land, you need to buy ‘condemn’ to spray the place, a tractor must plough the land, you’ll need labor, you’ll need seedlings, and then the feeding of laborers. All these are setbacks”.
He urged the government to restructure the agriculture sector to make it more appealing to the youth, adding that, money should not be given to the youth but equipment, cereals, and other incentives should be made available.
The Northern Regional Director of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Mr. Mumuni Suleimana said the agriculture sector in Ghana is stressful and not attractive to the youth hence over 70% of the old folks still form the majority in the agriculture sector.
“The youth are not involved in farming and the reason is that the sector is not attractive, it looks tedious and risky. The risk level is very high when you move into that sector and young people who want to make it in life wouldn’t want to venture into anything that can be described as a risky area. Why do I say so? We have climate change issues and one cannot boldly describe the raining pattern in Ghana, there were times people thought the rains could start around March, and at a point, it became April and May, it keeps changing, and even the timing for farming is an issue because we depend on the natural rain. Now the youth’s interest in animal rearing, the feed alone is very very expensive, to feed poultry is expensive so even if the government should give you some number of birds, but as to how to take care of these birds will be challenging because you don’t have money and maintaining such an enterprise will not be easy”.
According to him, the youth of today must be made to picture agriculture as a modern business. “That is modernizing Agric and to modernize Agric, here, it means that we should make Agric a mechanized form of agriculture where we use more sophisticated equipment and tools that wouldn’t require just a cutlass and hoe which is quite tedious to deal with, again we should find another means of avoiding certain factors like the importation of certain products into the country because ones the local market is competing with the foreign market, they have other technology they employ so prices of their goods will always be lower”.
He called on the government and NGOs to offer incentive packages to the young ones to attract them into the agriculture enterprise.
He further advised the youth to give a second thought about Agriculture, stressing that, “It is time we did away with this mentality of Agric being for villagers and the poor, agric being for the underprivileged, Agriculture has turned around economies elsewhere, we also need very intelligent and enthusiastic youth to move into the sector, they will need the guidance and coaching of those elders who have ventured into the sector and had succeeded to encourage them to know that they can also do it. I’m advising Ghanaian youth never to give up in the sector”.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com |Ibrahim Nurudeen
Leaked Report Content consistent with our findings – Agalga
James Agalga, a member of the ad-hoc Parliamentary Committee which probed the leaked tape regarding some senior police officers plotting to remove the Inspector General of Police says the content of their yet-to-be finalized report does not substantially differ from what is in the public domain.
According to him, even though the committee is yet to finalize and present their report to the Speaker of Parliament, their initial findings and recommendations do not differ too much from what is contained in the document circulating in the public.
“ I have seen the report which is making the rounds, the committee hasn’t concluded its work yet, but I take note of the fact that certain things said in there may not be substantially different from what we said in the original draft,” he told Joy News.
He however noted it will be unfair for him to publicly comment on the content of the report when they have not concluded their work formally.
The development comes in the wake of a leaked report purported to be a draft copy of the committee in which sanctions were recommended for the three senior police officers who were heard on the tape among others.
Prez. withdraws Bonsu Dickson’s appointment as Dep. National Security Coordinator
The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has withdrawn the appointment of Dr Osei Bonsu Dickson (ESQ) to act as a Deputy National Security Co-ordinator.
This was contained in a letter dated 9th January 2024, signed by the Chief of Staff, Honourable Akosua Frema Osei-Opare.
According to the President, the withdrawal of the appointment follows further consultation and in view of impending reforms within the National Security Establishment.
Dr Osei Bonsu Dickson was appointed to act as a Deputy National Security Co-ordinator on January 2,2024.
However, just a week later, his appointment was terminated.
“Reference is made to our letter dated 2nd January, 2024, with reference number OPS101/1/24/04, appointing you to act as the Deputy National Security Co-ordinator, pending receipt of the constitutionally required advice of the National Security Council, given in consultation with the Public Services Commission,” the letter stated.
It continued that,”Upon further consultation and in view of impending reforms within the National Security Establishment, the President has decided to withdraw your said appointment. Please accept the President’s best wishes.”
Read Also: NEIP CEO released by OSP
Prior to his appointment, Dr Osei Bonsu Dickson held numerous leadership positions within the Ministry of National Security and is a highly respected specialist in national security law, cyber, and maritime policy.
He also served as Chief Legal Advisor, Director for Security Governance, Director for Legal, Director for Intelligence Analysis, and Director responsible for Policy, Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the Ministry of National Security.
Aside from the above positions, he served on the Board of the Financial Intelligence Center (FIC), Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Expresso Telecom Group, the Ghana Boundary Commission (GhBC), among others.
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Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori
NPP Primaries: MP denies reporting contender to OSP
Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem Central constituency has denied reports that he instigated the arrest of his contender in the impending New Patriotic Party (NPP) primaries.
This comes after the office of the Special Prosecutor arrested a parliamentary aspirant for the Asante Akyem Central constituency Kofi Ofosu Nkansah following.
After the arrest, the Asante Akyem Constituency Secretary of the NPP, Felix Amakye constituency, alleged that a complaint by his competitor and current Member of Parliament for the area Kwame Ayimadu, caused the arrest of Kofi Ofosu Nkansah.
He alleged that the MP became envious of his competitor after Mr Ofosu Nkansah offered a Christmas package of GHC500 Cedis to delegates while he, the MP, offered GHC300 to the delegates.
OSP picked up the Chief Executive officer of the NEIP Wednesday afternoon on the basis of an allegation allegedly leveled against him by his contender in the upcoming New Patriotic Party parliamentary primaries.
Chief Executive of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Kofi Ofosu Nkansah has however been released.
Reacting in an exclusive interview with host of Atinka FM’s Morning show, Nana Yaw Fianko, the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem Central constituency Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi said the reports are falsehoods meant to tarnish his reputation.
The lawmaker says the allegations are mere speculations that cannot be substantiated.
“It’s mere speculation that cannot be proved. Asante Akyem Constituency Secretary of the NPP, Felix Amakye constituency is just peeved because I did not support him in his bid to be an MCE,” Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi added.
The NPP party has cleared 326 parliamentary aspirants for the January 27 primaries to elect its parliamentary candidates in constituencies where the party has sitting MPs.
Out of the total number of 373 aspirants, who filed to contest the primaries, after vetting, 29 are going unopposed, 11 were disqualified, two were referred to the National Executive Committee (NEC), two stepped down, one incomplete form and two did not show up for vetting leaving the qualified aspirants for the primaries at 326.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu