Day: February 8, 2024

Accra: Dr Donald Agumenu, a leadership and governance expert , and a former Special Assistant to Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings, has chastised Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for describing himself as 'just a driver's mate' in the governance of the country. He said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo had engaged him as his Co-Pilot to stear the affairs of the country and that he ought to take responsibility for the stewardship. Dr Agumenu wss commenting on the Vice President's address to the nation following his election as the Preaidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, in Accra. Dr Bawumia's address served as a precursor to his official campaign launch, following his election as Falgbearer of the New Patriotic Party in November 2023. In the address, said he was only a driver's mate in the government and that he would become the driver if elected President. Dr Agumenu said Ghana was a serious business, which called for true accountability for stewardship and true service to the nation. 'Mr Mate , do you want to shift blame to the Driver? I don't think that is just. Who is responsible for fuel, maintenance and other strategic roles in making sure the vehicle is safe as well as its passengers and the environment. 'For a number 2 citizen with serious leadership expectations and acclaimed expert power in the maintenance of the health of the vehicle (the economy of Ghana) to speak in that manner is not only unfortunate, but very disappointing. Ghana deserves better leadership to champion the affairs of the State,' he said. The Vice President highlighted the major achievements of the Akufo-Addo-led Government over the past seven years and outlined his vision for Ghana should he be elected as the President on December 7. Since becoming Flagbearer, Dr Bawumia has repeatedly articulated his intention to digitise Ghana's economy, create sustainable jobs, and build an inclusive system that aligns with global demands. 'My vision is to build an inclusive, food self-sufficiency, data-driven and systems-based nation that will fully participate in the global digital revolution,' he told supporters of the Party in his victory address on November 4, 2023. Dr Bawumia pledged to unleash the ingenuity of the youth in various sectors such as information technology, robotics, entrepreneurship, creative arts, and sports, among others, to build a mighty nation. On digitalisation, Dr Agumenu said 'the evolution started with a solid telecommunications infrastructure over time, including the latest investments in the Accra Digital Centre, Rural Fibre Network, Metro Fibre Network and many others championed by President John Dramani Mahama.' Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra: Mrs. Beauty Emefa Nartey, Executive Secretary of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), says that Ghana's political party laws do not satisfy modern standards for political party financing. She argued that Ghana's political party law, specifically the Political Party Act 2005, fails to provide a transparent method for identifying political party financiers. Mrs Nartey was speaking at a media capacity-building workshop organised by the coalition for journalists in Accra. She stated that existing literature from the Centre for Democratic Governance indicates a correlation between political party financing and serious organised crime. Thus, the capacity-building workshop was critical for journalists to understand the links between political party finance and organised crime. 'We believe it is important for journalists to understand the relationships between political party financiers and serious organised crime, including illegal mining (galamsey). 'We see how illegal mining is polluting our wa ters, and we have to question ourselves: who are the financiers of the illegal mining, what are they doing with the proceeds, and how are they connected to political parties? So, we want our journalists to understand all these things given the upcoming elections,' she said. Mrs Nartey noted that the current political party laws required some changes to reflect modern patterns in political party financing. She claimed that the law's requirement for political parties to present audited accounts to the Electoral Commission was insufficient because financiers were unwilling to provide funding to political parties. They did, however, provide the funds directly to the candidates with the expectation of future financial gain or criminal intent. As a result, she said, the law must be amended to require political candidates, including presidents and parliamentary candidates, present audited record of donations made to them, as well as a list of their financiers. Journalists from both the public and private media attended the capacity-building programme. State institutions in charge of investigating and prosecuting corruption and organised crime took turns educating journalists on organised crime and its various forms, as well as corruption-related offences during elections. The institutions included the Economic and Organised Crime, the Office of the Special Prosecutor, and the Media Foundation for West Africa. Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra: Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minority Leader, has criticized the campaign policy of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), saying he cannot disassociate himself from the policies and programmes the Government is implementing. He said Dr Bawumia, as Head of the Economic Management Team, played a critical role leading to the passage of the E-Levy and, therefore, he could not turn around to tell Ghanaians he was not part of it. The Vice President, at his national campaign launch in Accra on Wednesday, February 7, promised Ghanaians that when given the mandate in the December 7 general election to lead the country, he would revive the economy, fight corruption and give a boost to the private sector. He promised to abolish the E-Levy, Emissions and Betting taxes. However, Dr Forson, in his address to the Parliamentary Press Corps in Accra on Thursday, in reaction to the Vice President's campaign policy, reiterated that Dr Bawumia, as Ghana's sitting Vice Pres ident, had the power to remove any taxes if he so wished. 'This is obviously for the simple reason that our Vice President is the Chairman of the Economic Management Team, he chairs the deliberation of all economic policies at his office,' Dr Forson said. The Minority Leader said all the economic policies President Akufo-Addo had implemented since 2017 were supervised by the Vice President; adding that Dr Bawumia's position had further been strengthened because he was now the Flagbearer of the governing NPP. Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra: The Ghana Union Movement (GUM) has described Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's envisioned development plan for the country as a 'cover-up to win votes.' The Union questioned the decision by the Vice President not to 'own the failures of the Government' and expressed doubt over his promise to abolish some of the taxes introduced by the current government. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Reverend Christian Kwabena Andrews, the Founder and flag bearer of the GUM, took issue with the Vice President for not objecting to some taxes introduced by the Government prior to his election as flag bearer. 'He (Bawumia) is part of the regime that introduced the e-levy and other tax measures; so, if he makes a U-turn and says he will abolish it, I do not think it is true because he was the leader of the economic giants that were managing the country,' he said. The Vice President, who is also the flag bearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party, addressed Ghanaians on Wednesday night, outlining a slew of policies he plans to implement if elected President. Dr. Bawumia, who has prioritised digitisation, stated that he intends to use technology and the private sector to create long-term jobs, generate revenue, and build systems that would propel Ghana into the modern global economy. The Vice President promised to among others abolish the e-levy, which imposed a 1.5 per cent charge on all electronic and mobile money transactions over GHS100 per day. He also promised to align Ghana's port charges with that of Togo to check smuggling of goods. Reverend Andrews said the GUM was in favour of the free port system and explained that the 'heavy' taxes on machinery imported into the country undermined investments in the industrial sector. On the issue of employment, he said economic policies should target jobs that would add value to the country's resources instead of focusing on the service sector. 'Jobs in the service institutions do not add any economic value to the country. If you want to create jobs, we sh ould focus on the production sector and create value,' he said. Touching on preparations towards the 2024 General Election, Rev. Andrews said the Party will, in March this year, open nominations for interested persons to pick parliamentary forms at the various constituencies. He said the Party had also extended a public invitation to Mr Alan Kyerematen, the Leader and Founder of the Movement for Change, to be its running mate in the 2024 presidential election. Rev. Andrews stated that Mr Kyerematen's ideals and developmental objectives were consistent with those of GUM, hence the invitation. Source: Ghana News Agency