Mills' cabinet says 'no court', Martin Amidu challenges constitutionality

If you have ever heard anybody misquoting former Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia about the infamous “No court”, “No court” in the “Apollo 568” Supreme Court Judgement, you will hold back your breathe. Twenty years in the 4th Republican constitution, the rule of law in Ghana has suffered a very serious setback at the hands of no other person than the President who has sworn an oat to protect the organs of state including the judiciary. 

Few days after two junior ministers who were clearly used as proxy lost a case against the national chairman of the opposition NPP at the Supreme Court, the President and his cabinet today issued a fiat to overturn the Supreme verdict. In as such as I am not a lawyer, I will not attempt to go legal. However, can someone cite and explain the criminal code or constitutional clause concerning immoral acquisition? Whatever this phrase or terminology connotes, I bet Ghana is facing a constitutional crisis to the best of my knowledge. The constitution frowns upon retrospective application of laws. 

The Atta Mills' unprecedented cabinet fiat enclosed in this post calls into question the commitment of the government to the rule of law. The least he could have done was to go for legal review. However I foresee the president and his cabinet and the entire NDC fraternity falling on their own dagger if they should seek a legal review of the supreme court ruling. From information gathered so far, one of the supreme court Justices, Brobbey is going on retirement and any legal review on this specific case will require the appointment of additional Justice. This is where their past will come back to haunt t  them. Can Mills too pack the Court?

CABINET STATEMENT

The Government of Ghana has reversed its decision to sell a State bungalow that became the centre of a Supreme Court controversy since 2008.

The Supreme Court by a majority decision on Tuesday 22nd May 2012 dismissed a case in which two deputy Ministers of State challenged the right of the NPP National Chairman, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, to acquire a State bungalow he lived in as minister of tourism and chief of staff.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah and Edward Omane-Boamah, alleged that Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey abused his office during the acquisition of bungalow No. 2 Mango Street at the Ridge Residential area. The Supreme court however unanimously dismissed all the charges levelled agaianst him.

In a press statement signed by Information Minister, Fritz Baffour, Cabinet resolved at its meeting today “NOT to sell the said property,” currently being occupied by Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, a presidential aide.

It added that “no political appointee should be allowed to engage in such unacceptable transaction.”

The statement titled Government will not sell property to Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, described the acquisition as “immoral”, adding “the property in question thus continues to remain the property of the State.”.
Looming Constitutional Crisis
Article 2 of the 4th Republic Constitution of 1992 is devoted to the enforcement of supreme court verdicts and outlines the following actions and implications.
2 (1) A person who alleges that - 
        (a) an enactment or anything contained in or done, under the authority of that or any other enactment;  or 
       (b) any act or omission of any person; 
is inconsistent with, or is in contravention of a provision of this Constitution, may bring an action in the Supreme Court for a declaration to that effect.
(2) The Supreme Court shall, for the purposes of a declaration under clause (1) of this article, make such orders and give such directions as it may consider appropriate for giving effect, or enabling effect to be given, to the declaration so made.
(3) Any person or group of persons to whom an order or direction is addressed under clause (2) of this article by the Supreme Court, shall duly obey and carry out the terms of the order or direction.
(3) Any person or group of persons to whom an order or direction is addressed under clause (2) of this article by the Supreme Court, shall duly obey and carry out the terms of the order or direction.
(4) Failure to obey or carry out the terms of an order or direction made or given under clause (2) of this article constitutes a high crime under this Constitution and shall, in the case of the President or the Vice President, constitute a ground for removal from office under this Constitution.
(5) A person convicted of a high crime under clause (4) of this article shall-

      (a) be liable to imprisonment not exceeding ten years without the option of a fine; and
     (b) not be eligible for election, or for appointment, to any public office for ten years beginning with the      date of the expiration of the term of imprisonment.

MARTIN AMIDU'S STAKE
Dismissed Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Martin A.B.K. Amidu has issued a statement on the government's decision that it would no longer sell the controversial Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey bungalow. 
Below is the full statement:

PRESIDENT MILLS’ EXECUTIVE JUDGMENT OVERRULING THE JUDGMENT OF THE SUPREME COURT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND AGAINST THE FOUNDING PRINCIPLES OF THE NDC: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU
On the night of Thursday 24 May 2012 I read on Ghanaweb.com/GhanaHome Page a story with the title ‘Government no longer selling ‘Jake Bungalow.”’ The story in its concluding paragraph ‘“described the acquisition as “immoral”’. I also read a statement attributed to the Forum for Governance and Justice (FGJ) in which my nephew and kinsman Dr. Appaak was alleged to have said: “the forum will study the docket and possibly seek redress… The plaintiff – Okudzeto Ablakwa and Omane-Boamah have also indicated that they will push for review of the case.” Another newspaper on the same web on 24th May 2012 referred to the judgment as “Stinking Supreme Court Ruling ..” and concluded that: “We wish Justice Brobbey a happy retirement and may he live long to experience ….his actions.” I also read another newspaper with the title “Two “Jake Bungalow” Judges are NNP – Akume.” I heard other comments about the morality of the case on radio as well and I see nothing immoral or unconstitutional when ordinary citizens temperately criticize rulings or judgments of the Courts.
I accordingly agree entirely with all those who expressed temperate concerns about the moral issues at stake. I took the view that the moral issues could cut both ways and be very damaging as well to Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey and the NPP during the coming elections should the voters perceive his conduct to be very reprehensible. I also took the view that whatever anybody’s perceptions about the outcome of the Supreme Court’s judgment a review application or redress under the due process of the law as indicated by Dr Apaak was the only available cause of action open within any civilized democratic Government under the Supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law. I nonetheless determined not to make any comments on the matter and sent an e-mail on the night of 24 May 2012 to a South African friend in the USA who wanted to know the latest exciting happenings in Ghana. In the last paragraph of the e-mail I stated that:
“The Supreme Court gave a judgment in favour of Jake, the Chairman of the NPP over a government bungalow which he occupied as a Minister but which was allegedly sold to him after he left office. Hell broke loose from the Government side. The Cabinet decided it is no longer going to sell the bungalow to him even though he had already paid for it. Morally the Government may be right to oppose Ministers or former Ministers buying the bungalows in which they live as such Ministers. But legally and constitutionally the Government directive overruling the Supreme Court’s 6-3 majority decision constitutes executive judgment over judicial judgment. My professional view is that the Government decision is unconstitutional as the Constitution even forbids legislative judgment over decisions of the Supreme Court. But I dare not speak openly otherwise I will be accused of just opposing everything the Government does. I am happy and thank God I left as their Attorney-General before this because I would not have agreed to it. I would have urged an application for judicial review of the decision first. Take my word; the Government is for ever going to be accused of unconstitutional conduct in spite of any moral arguments. Courts do not decide morals they decide law, period.”
But on the morning of 25 May 2012 professional curiosity urged me to read what the Government really said on the Government of Ghana Official Portal least there had been some misrepresentation of the Government’s position. The GNA statement recited the fact that Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey bought the property when he was a Minister under the Kufuor administration. It then quoted the following and attributed it to the statement issued by the Minister for Information:
“In the supreme interest of the people of Ghana, and taking cognizance of the Supreme Court ruling in the matter of Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey’s immoral acquisition of State Property he occupied as a Minister of State, Cabinet at its sitting ..Thursday…has decided not to sell the said property.” (Peacefm has the fuller quotation with the date and year)
I realized how serious and unconstitutional the above quoted statement constituted an “executive judgment” by the President over the ruling of the Supreme Court. The statement incites the people of Ghana against the Supreme Court’s ruling with the innuendo that the Supreme Court acts contrary to “the supreme interest of the people of Ghana” in the exercise of the Judicial Power entrusted to it under Article 125(3) and its independence under Article 127(2) and (3) of the Constitution. Coming from a President vested with the Executive Power to be exercised in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution the statement further violated Articles 3(3), 12, 58(1) and (2), of the Constitution. I have no doubt whatsoever that the President’s executive judgment over the decision of the Supreme Court (declaratory or whatever) has the tendency to affect the credibility and fortunes of the NDC as a democratic and Constitutional party for electoral purposes now and in future.
The Plaintiffs who had sued the Attorney-General, as the Defendant had expressed an intention to exercise their right to apply for a review of the decision of the Supreme Court. The Attorney-General as the main Defendant under Article 88 of the Constitution must know the exclusivity of his right to apply for review of the decision of the Supreme Court. The working constitutional system of the nation did not have to be interfered with by any unconstitutional Executive judgment by the President. The Constitution and the laws of Ghana provide several available legal alternatives for dealing with the decision of the Supreme Court without unconstitutionally calling its integrity into disrepute.
Firstly, Court packing has become part of the indecent baggage of constitutional and democratic governance all over the world where most Presidents who have the opportunity during their tenure to make appointments or replacement appointments to the Courts choose lawyers or judges whom they perceive to be ideologically ad idem with their politics. Many a President has, however, been disappointed with the decisions of his chosen judges after the appointment. Indeed in 2001 all the justices on the Supreme Court had been appointed to the Court by either the PNDC or the NDC but they did not slavishly make decisions based upon that fact.
Secondly, President Mills knows that there have been two vacancies on the Supreme Court for him to fill since early or mid last year which he has not insisted on filling. It does not, therefore, lie in anybody’s mouth to make an argument of previous Court packing when the President has characteristically chosen not to expedite the nominations by demanding the names from the Judicial Council. How many days did it take for the late Mr. Justice D. K Afreh to be appointment to the Supreme Court? I repeat that there is no guarantee that the judges will decide for Government simply because the President appointed them.
Thirdly, unless there is cogent and credible evidence of judicial misconduct on the part of the Supreme Court or a majority thereof in the exercise of the judicial power it is unconstitutional for any President in whom the Executive Power is vested to make insinuations against the Supreme Court. I imagine the dissenting Justices even detesting the President’s executive judgment more, because of the impression it creates over their dissent.
Fourthly, three judges have now to join the panel of the Supreme Court should any of the parties, including Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, decide to exercise a right to review based on exceptional circumstances (which includes errors of law ) because Mr. Justice Brobbey would not be available to sit on the review. Fifthly, there is abundant evidence in the Ghana Law Reports that Supreme Court Justices can be convinced by strong persuasive and credible argumentation to change their minds in some review applications. I will give only one example very similar to this case for lack of space.
In Ghico Refrigeration & Household Products Ltd v Hanna Assi [2005-2006] SCGLR 458, Sophia Akufo, Dr. Date Bah, Prof Ocran, Ansah, and Aninakwah JJSC unanimously dismissed the Plaintiff-company’s appeal and by a three to two majority decision (Sophia Akuffo and Prof Ocran JJC dissenting) also dismissed the defendant’s cross appeal. In a first review application by the plaintiff-company to the Supreme Court in Gihoc Refrigeration & Household Products (No 1) v Hanna Assi [2007-2008] SCGLR 1 the Supreme Court constituted by the same review panel as the (No. 2) case below unanimously dismissed the Plaintiff-company Applicant’s application again.
But in Ghico Refrigeration & Household Products (No. 2) v Hanna Assi [2007 – 2008] SCGLR 16 the Supreme Court constituted by Atuguba, Sophia Akuffo, Georgina Wood (as she then was), Dr. Date-Bah, Prof Ocran, Ansah, and Aninakwah JJSC allowed an application for review by the Defendant/Applicant, Hanna Assi, of the majority decision of the ordinary bench of the Supreme Court in Gihoc Refrigeration & Household Product Ltd v Hanna Assai [2005-2006] SCGLR 458 on the grounds, inter alia, that a decision touching on jurisdiction, if wrong, was a fundamental error which could lead to injustice and was clearly a ground for review. In the instant case, the majority of the ordinary bench erred in affirming the decision of the Court of Appeal which had held that in the absence of a counterclaim, the trial court had no jurisdiction to grant the reliefs of declaration of title and recovery of possession of the disputed property to the Defendant/Applicant.
I have cited the above cases, particularly the Hanna Assi (No. 2) to demonstrate the value of review and the possibility of even a majority going over to join the dissenting judges or judge to overrule their previous decision with the support of the two additional judges for the review. In Hanna Assi (No. 2) Sophia Akuffo, and Prof Ocran (the dissenters) where joined by Dr. Date-Bah, Ansah, and Aninakwah (the majority) and the additional justices Atuguba and Georgina Wood to unanimously allow the application for review for the Defendant/Applicant, Hanna Assi. There are several other cases in the Ghana Law Reports showing Supreme Court judges acceding to cogent, credible and persuasive argumentation on review.
The National Democratic Congress was founded upon the realization of the importance of Constitutionalism under an independent judiciary as an inclusive and civilized mode of attaining the rule of law ideal. Even Parliament has been deprived under Article 107of the Constitution of any “…power to pass any law – (a) to alter the decision or judgment of any court as between the parties subject to that decision or judgment;…”
I know as a fact that the property in dispute is only one of others under the Accra Redevelopment Scheme.
The contest has been whether or not the Accra Redevelopment Policy was followed in the sale of the bundle of properties in dispute. I also know as a fact that under the authority of the President a Committee of eminent land lawyers and administrators was appointed to Investigate the Sale of Government Lands in Accra (including the in-fillings) and the Committee submitted its report in September 2009. The President has not had both the moral and legal courage as President to make a decision one way or the other on the report after several meetings on it.
It therefore beats my imagination what the special immoral circumstances surrounding this lone property, which can be subject to review by the Court, are in contradistinction to the other properties contained in the findings and recommendations of the Committee to warrant the President to resort to executive judgment, defame the Supreme Court and also drag the NDC’s Constitutional credentials into disrepute. Equality they say is equity. Has the political morality contained in this maxim changed under our multiparty Constitutional dispensation?
As a foundation member of the NDC I am afraid that the working people, the middle class and particularly the floating voters of Ghana are more discerning of spins to know that an unconstitutional executive judgment by the President purporting to overrule a judgment of the Supreme Court and accompanied by insinuations on the integrity of the Supreme Court and legal profession can never be in “the supreme interest of the people of Ghana.” It is in this connection that I feel compelled to repeat an advice I gave to the Attorney-General (when he was the Minister of the Interior) in the concluding paragraph of my letter No. D. 19/SF.9 dated 8th March 2011 entitled “RECALL FROM INTERDICTION”. I concluded thus: “I have a parting thought: It is our constitutional duty as Ministers of this Republic to uphold the truth and defend justice to the end that we save our party and Government from embarrassment even to the peril of our being dismissed from office than keep quiet for our party and Government to be damned by our timidity.” I lived my words. George W. Bush’s, “Decision Points” at pages 172 to 174 is good guidance for the Attorney-General’s Office and the Presidency on the professional ethics mandated by Article 88 of our Constitution.
I feel compelled to speak for myself as a foundation member of the NDC, in exercise of my right to freedom of speech and in defence of the Constitution. Spinning can never win the NDC the elections. Only integrity can. Respect the Constitution.
Martin A. B. K. Amidu
 

The gargantuan questions

• Is the president of Ghana, John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, an honest man?
• Does he deserve to be in office for another term?
• Do you think President Mills is competent enough to lead Ghana?
• Does he have the competent team to work with?
• Have those who returned the NDC onto the political scene done Ghanaians any good?
• Do you think there was an error of judgment on the part of the electorate in 2008?
• Do you think the Ghanaian electorate should also give Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo a chance in the December polls?   

“If you want to test a man’s character, give him power” – Abraham Lincoln. In their quest to test the character of the then the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Ghanaian electorate gave their mandate to Prof. John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills in the 2008 presidential election. Prof. Mills, since the year 2000, has made 822 promises and below are some of them. Kindly read and make your own judgment about our president.

Top Promises of President Mills

      0. There will be no familial appointments in my government. Who are Dr. Cadman Atta Mills and   Samuel Atta Mills? Ato Ahwoi and Kwesi Ahwoi? Alfred Agbesi Woyome and Stan Dogbe? Mahama Iddrissu, Betty Mould-Iddrissu and Alex Mould?, Zita Okai-Koi and Andrews Okai-Koi? Kofi Totobi-Quakyi and Felix Ofosu Kwakye? etc???

1. I will consult Rawlings 24 hours a day – Today, Mills says he is looking for an opportunity to sit down with Rawlings to sort out their differences. Former President Rawlings, the founder of the NDC, now says he has perceived enemies from the opposition and traitors within the NDC hence NDC must return to opposition.
2. I will hit the ground running – Mills hit the ground and broke his legs. He seems to be crawling as all sectors of the economy are growing slowly.
3. I will reduce fuel prices drastically – a gallon of petrol has increased from GH¢3.60 to GH¢8.0, showing a drastic increase in price in the last 3 years.
4. I will put money in your pockets – our pockets are now empty because of increases in utility tariffs (electricity, water, gas) and school fees. Poverty is on the increase and the number of strike actions and demonstrations tell it all.
5. I will heal wounds and unite the nation – the nation is polarized as the NDC continues to play the tribal card. Ewes occupy 90% of political appointments.
6. I will make sure there is no NPP Ghana or NDC Ghana – Ghana is seriously divided between NDC and NPP. Politics of ideas has given way to politics of insults.
7. I will build a factory in each district – Where can we find the factories? Instead, John Mahama is buying bulldozers to kill flies. Over 300 factories were sold by the P/NDC government.
8. I will make sure all my appointees declare their assets within 6 months into my administration – None of the appointees has declared any asset after 3 years.
9. I will set up a truly non-partisan and competent commission on the murders of Ya Na and Issah Mobila, and prosecute the killers – There is no evidence for prosecution according to Kofi Adam.
10. I will avoid the appointment of MPs and Ministers to positions of Chairman of Public Sector Companies to avoid intrusion of the party – Board Chairman of GETFund is Kwabena Adjei (NDC Chairman), Board Chairman of Road Fund – Joe Gidisu (MP), Board Chairman of NHIS, Doe Adjaho (MP). Board Chairman of Ghana Civil Aviation, Alban S.K. Bagbin (Minister and MP).
11. I will clear all filth in the cities within 100 days – Cholera outbreak is the order of the day. Ghana is ranked the 2nd dirtiest country in West Africa.
12. I will make Ghanaians pay one-time premium – The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has collapsed as the one-time premium has given way to ‘Capitation’.
13. I will give 40% of ministerial appointments to women – Only 11% appointments have been made so far and the maltreatment of Nana Konadu Agyemang and other female journalists are clear examples. NDC has only 4 female MPs as against NPP’s 14. Mills tells Ghanaian women that they are not interested in politics.
14. I will build 200,000 houses within 5yrs through the STX Korea deal and 30,000 of the houses would be given to the security officers – STX Korea deal is dead.
15. I will improve the country’s education at all levels – the BECE recorded the worst results for over a decade. Only tea cups embossed with the president’s portrait have been given to these pupils.
16. I will build 2 universities in the Volta and Brong-Ahafo Regions in this ‘Action Year’ – The construction sites have now turned into zoological gardens.
17. I will eliminate all schools under trees – In spite of the oil revenue, several schools are still under trees.
18. I will provide all basic school pupils with school uniforms – for the past 3 yrs only 20% of the pupils have received the free school uniforms.
19. I will expand the School Feeding Programme to cover all basic schools – that did not happen as some schools in NPP strongholds were removed from the programme for the benefit of those in NDC strongholds.
20. I will make armed robbery a thing of the past – Social vices are on the increase. Police officers are being killed by armed robbers.
21. I will provide meaningful jobs for the youth – For the first time in the history of Ghana, there is an Association of Unemployed Graduates, and Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, a Dep. Minister of Local Government, calls them lazy people and sees them as an evil group.
22. I will generate funds internally and not rely on IMF, World Bank or foreign loans – Surprisingly, the Mills-Mahama NDC government has secured over GH¢18bn loans abroad. Another $3bn from China is in the pipeline. According to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ghana’s debt stood at GH¢25.3m as at 2011.
23. I will bridge the poverty gap between the north and the south – Poverty between the north and the south is widening.
24. I will put GH¢600m into the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) – In the 2011 Budget Statement, only GH¢8m was voted into it. SADA has come to a standstill.
25. I will build the Eastern and Western corridor infrastructure – That was a camouflage. The promise of 10% of oil revenue to the people of Western Region was not fulfilled.
26. I will cut down waste and profligate spending – Mills purchased 5 military aircrafts at a cost of $250m. He spent GH¢48,000 on Nkrumah’s birthday, and GH¢622m on judgment debts, including Woyome’s GH¢51m. The NDC is building a $20m party headquarters in Accra.
27. I will prosecute my corrupt ministers and appointees without asking for evidence – What happened to ‘Kyinkyinka’ Muntaka (pampers), Mahama Ayarega (tractors), Carl Wilson (imported vehicles), and Asiedu Nketia (block making)? Why are Mills’ appointees committing gargantuan crimes against the state? Why did Mills sack his former Attorney-General, Hon. Martin Amidu?
28. I will be a father of all Ghanaians – Selective justice has replaced the “father for all mantra”. Why did Mills direct his DCEs/MDCEs to open their doors for only NDC members and sympathizers? Why arrest Hon. Ken Agyepong and leave Nii Lamptey Vanderpuije?
29. I will not pursue politics of vendetta – Why did the president order his appointees, especially Victor Smith, to seize vehicles and offices belonging to his political opponents? What has happened to ex-president Kufuor’s end of service benefits? Why did the Mills-Mahama government file 13 high profile court cases against its political opponents and lose them all?
30. I will turn the Golden Jubilee House into a poultry farm – Why is the place being occupied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
31. I will abrogate the Ghana Telecom sale to Vodafone – What are you waiting for, Mr. President? Vodafone is the leading mobile network in Ghana today.
32. I will probe the Ghana @ 50 celebrations and prosecute all those who misappropriated and misapplied public funds – What came out of the reports by the 23 Commissions of Enquiry set up by the president?
33. I will modernize agriculture – Agriculture has seen a consistent decline in growth since 2009.
34. I will cut down rice importation by 50% - Rice importation has increased from $400m to $700m annually.
35. I will build airports in Cape Coast and Tamale and also build the Kotokoraba market – We are still waiting.
36. I will improve infrastructure in the country – the President bows down his head in shame when he passes on some of the roads. Is the Sofoline interchange in Kumasi part of the infrastructure?
37. I will expand all social interventions introduced by my predecessor – most of the interventions, e.g. NHIS and free maternal care have collapsed and now maternal mortality is on the increase.
38. I will not be a globe-trotter like Kufuor – By the help of the Presidential Jet, Mills, together with Mahama, has travelled around the globe more than any Ghanaian leader. He went to Japan, made a u-turn for the Population Census and disappeared the following day. Similarly, he left for the US for 6 weeks, returned to Ghana for 3 days and went back to the US under the pretence of meeting investors during the Christmas period.
39. I will make full investigations into the serial killings of women that occurred between 1999 and 2000 – We are still waiting.
40. I will not introduce any new tax – Several new taxes, including Akpetshie, airport, and environmental taxes have been introduced.
41. I will wage war against narcotics trade – Cocaine turns into soda under Mills’ watch.
42. I will ensure free, fair, and peaceful elections – Biometric Voters’ Registration exercise has turned into violence. What happened at Akwatia, Chereponi, and Atiwa during the by-elections?
43. I will burn Ghana like Kenya if the elections go the other way – Fire outbreaks, mining disasters; floods have characterized the Mills-Mahama administration.
44. I will ensure a level playing field for the 2012 elections – Today some police officers are registering foreigners in Togo.
45. I will strengthen all state institutions – CHRAJ, EOCO, EC, PURC, GSS etc. – After 2 years of Population and Housing Census, figures are yet to be released. Ghana Statistical Service has been cooking inflation figures for the NDC government. Kwabena Adjei, NDC Chairman, threatened to ‘kill the cat’.
46. I will promote freedom of speech – This has been substituted with “causing fear and panic”. Nana Darkwah and Amina can tell you more about that.
47. I will pay professional allowance to all professional teachers – In the end, teachers who embarked on demonstration were sprayed with hot water. Others were stripped naked in Bawku.
48. I will form a government on expertise and competence, not party or family interests - Who are the ‘bootlickers’, ‘greedy bastards’, and the ‘Team B’ ministers? Why did the president sack Dr. Bawumia and Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng?
49. I swear, try me and see. I will not disappoint you because I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth – Mansions are being built by President Mills through Regimanuel Estate and his Director of Communications describes them as “tokens”.
50. I am a better man for a better Ghana – If so, why the ‘ecomini’ and ‘omama’ pronunciations? Why did the party’s founder, J.J. Rawlings, refer to Mills as “Konogo Kaya”? The ‘Better Ghana’ agenda has turned into a ‘Better Volta’ agenda and Ghanaians are witnesses to this fact. 

A new opinion poll by research outfit Synovate Ghana, formerly Steadman,  offers some insight into how Ghanaian electorates feel about the president. The new opinion survey conducted between April 24 and May 10,2012 puts opposition New Patriotic Party flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ahead of President John Mills by eight percent if elections were held in May, 2012. Nana Akufo-Addo will leap in front with 44 percent lead ahead of President Mills garnered 36 percent of nation-wide votes. The survey said Nana Akufo-Addo won in six out of the 10 regions, whilst president Mills will won the other four. Both candidates got very high votes in their traditional strongholds of Volta and Ashanti. President Mills got 76 percent of the votes in the Volta Region as against Nana Akufo-Addo’s 17. In the Ashanti Region, the NPP flagbearer had 73 percent as against President Mills’ 22. In the swing regions of Greater Accra, Central, Western and Brong Ahafo regions, the survey finds that the NPP’s Akufo-Addo will win in all but one – the Central Region, where president Mills comes from.

Ghana's Autos market expanding

New market research report "Ghana Autos Report Q3 2012" worked out by Business Monitor International (BMI) has been recently published by Market Publishers Ltd. The market research report offers a comprehensive guide to the autos industry's performance in Ghana during Q3 2012. It provides granular SWOT analysis of the country's autos sector as well as its political, economic and business environment. Furthermore, detailed market segmentation, latest trends and developments, top companies' profiles, and the overall industry forecast scenario can also be found in the study. The report states that Ghana's autos market has grown rapidly in recent years owing to the economic growth and a developing middle class, and this momentum is expected to be sustained in 2012, with a projected 28% growth in vehicle sales.

Latest latest BMW Convertible

 Notwithstanding the country's small size, Ghana's autos market has grown rapidly in recent years owing to the economic growth and a developing middle class. And this momentum is expected to be sustained in 2012, with a projected 28% growth in vehicle sales, to 11,774 units. In addition to increasing personal spending power, government-led schemes, like re-equipping the police force with new vehicles, are also believed to bolster sales. However, there are risks of macroeconomic instability stemming from burgeoning oil revenues and the December 2012 election. With annual growth in GDP per capita unlikely to fall below double-digits over the next five years, taking the figure from USD 1,565 in 2011 to USD 2,876 by 2016-end, vehicle sales are expected to be a beneficiary.

Unprecedented youth unemployment detaching young people from society

During announcement time last Sunday at church service, the steward jokingly explained that young people say marriage is complex and they want to make it simple. The congregation laughed it off. This was in connection with the tenth year anniversary celebration of the youth fellowship. One of the programmes planned is on the topic 'let us make marriage simple'. The implied import here is that marriage is gradually becoming a very scarce commodity. Many young people in the church desire to stay chaste until marriage but the there for true marriage is not there. The question is why? The answer is not far fetched. Unemployment among young people is rendering powerless from assuming the full place in society including marriage that forms the basis of the family which is the basic unit of the society. What will become of society in the near future if they aren't able to settle down to family? 

Açucena is a 26-year old graduate trained as a professional veterinarian from a Western European country currently receiving bail out from the Brent Wood institutions and the European Central Bank. The conditionalities for their assistance include slashing salaries of government workers, freezing public employment and increasing taxes. Since graduation, Açucena  has never secured a job for which she was trained in. She had to settle for lesser skill and pay temporary contract jobs as a shop assistant. Duration for each of them was seven months. Currently, she is at home unemployed. Like many young people in her country, she is considering emigration as her final option.

Latest International Labour Organisation (ILO) Global Employment Trends for Youth report reveals that the true picture of youth unemployment is even more pessimistic. Almost 13% of young people worldwide are out of work, and their situation is unlikely to improve for four years. Almost 13% of people aged between 15 and 24 - or almost 75 million - have no work, although this is slightly down on its peak in 2009. As a result, it says many young people are extending their time in higher education because they cannot find jobs. Many skilled young people are being forced into part-time and unskilled work because they cannot find work in the fields they trained for.The ILO says that more than six million young people worldwide have given up looking for work and are becomingly increasingly detached from society. By not using their skills they are losing them, the report says, and if there is no improvement in the jobs market soon, they may be not only unemployed, but unemployable.

We are losing valuable resources through waste. For use in Ghana, our problem is compounded by lack of political will to tackle the problem of youth unemployment head on. Indeed the OIL report warns of a "crisis" with more than six million people so disillusioned they have given up looking for work.The trumpeted programmes are nothing more than comic relief. The danger for us in Ghana however is very gloomy than many perceive it. The April 24 to May 10 2012 latest opinion survey in Ghana by research outfit Synovate ranked health, employment, education and economy in that order as the top issues on which Ghanaians will cast their votes on December 2012. Politics scored a paltry 1 percent and firmly rooted in the bottom of the list of issues that are of important to those polled in the survey. Thus the issue of unemployment ranks second to health for all Ghanaians of voting age. I am sure if this research was limited solely to the youth, the ranking would have been different as young people usually have the best immune system hence health will not top their priorities. The youth are very volatile group but also vulnerable to political manipulation and considering the prevalence of violence in the neighbourhood, of West of Africa, one cannot help but get anxious about the effects of high youth unemployment in Ghana. It is for these and other salient reasons that government and all stakeholders must view the high rate of youth unemployment as present danger.

The youth unemployment crisis can be beaten but only if job creation for young people becomes a key priority in policymaking and private sector investment picks up significantly.The ILO wants governments to make job creation a priority. It wants more training schemes, and also tax breaks for employers.The ILO suggests offering tax breaks and other incentives to businesses hiring young people and offering more entrepreneurship programmes to help kick-start careers. This apparently should be a good suggestion for young people in Ghana after all the sitting president of Ghana, John Atta Mills has a PhD in taxation hence can appraise himself of the suggestion. Hopefully, he will for once bring his professional training to bear for the benefit of the future leaders to halt the youth from detaching themselves from mainstream society.

Illusions

There are no secrets in life, just hidden truths that lie beneath the surface. Life is full of hidden truths and mysteries covered in pretentious postures as each of us try to put our best foot forward publicly though we know ourselves best in our individual closets. It is intensely real and practical, and there are no illusions about it. To use the word secret is to be easily understood, whereas “mystery” suggests to the ordinary mind something remote from comprehension. By “secret” the simple meaning is that something was not made known, but hidden, or kept in reserve. Dear reader, sadly that posture is nothing more than living in a fool's paradise. Evidence and experience attest to the notion that the secret of life is no secret but illusions. Life is like a mirror reflecting the image of the object placed in its view and hence life begins when you do and it slows down when you do.  

Nothing can be hidden forever. It has to come out from hiding eventually. A stronger force that we call conscience brings about a great push or haunt to bring the facts (blot on the mind) out into the open, and have perpetrators exposed. The conscience like any other sensory organ reaches a certain point, when it becomes so powerful that nothing can prevent it from bringing about a response (confession). That point has been reached, and the facts which have been collected of various incidents are on the verge of becoming public. No crime against humanity can be hidden forever, and the revelations will be part of the cleansing. I am now in a house where crimes have been committed and hidden. I am here to investigate. I do so by observing the suspects in their living room as the deeds not made known previously began to unravel. Take lessons as the drama unfolds.

 

Judas is a house boy who drinks the exotic and expensive wine of his boss Mr. Smart with impunity and then adds water to cover his tracks.

Mr Smart was suspicious and decided to buy pasties (this is a type of special French wine that automatically changes colour if you add water just like dettol antiseptic does).

Unknowing, Judas, drank from the wine and topped it up with water as usual and put it back in place, kaput.
Sadly for him, everyday for the thief man, one day for the owner and so immediately he added the water the pasties became milky and when Mr Smart returned, he noticed it, and he knew he had nailed Judas. Judas also observed the difference this time after his act hence knew he was in trouble and decided to stay put in the kitchen when Mr. Smart returned home.

Mr Smart told Mrs Smart about what he observed.

“Judas!”, he called from the sitting room.

He answered: “Yes, Boss”.

“Who drank my pasties?”.

Judas: No answer.

Mr Smart asked again: still no answer.

Then Mr Smart personally went to the kitchen to meet Judas there:
“Are you insane or what? Why when I called you, you answered “yes boss” but when I asked you a question you didn’t answer me? ”

Judas retorted, “eeeiiiirrre boss when you are in the kitchen you don’t understand anything at all, except your name”

“Is that so?” asked Mr Smart, “Alright, go to the bar stand beside Mrs Smart while I’ll go into the kitchen and then ask me a question”

Judas accepted the challenge and smartly outwitted Mr Smart unexpectedly. When his boss got went to the  kitchen he shouted: “Mr Smart”.
“Yes, Judas” Mr Smart answered. Judas then asked, “Who goes into the maid’s bedroom when Mrs Smart is not at home?”

No answer.
Judas shouted again: “Mr Smart, I say who sneaks into the maid's room when madam is not in the house?”

No answer.

Mr Smart runs back from the kitchen shouting “Wonders will never cease! Judas, It is true, when one is in the kitchen, one does not hear anything, except one’s name.”

Mrs Smart interrupted, “that’s not true. It’s a lie without argument.” Judas asked if she’ll enter the magic kitchen to be tested. She agreed.

Judas asks Mrs Smart, “Who is junior’s biological father? Me or Mr Smart?”

Mrs Smart rushed out of the kitchen. “This kitchen needs to be fumigated, I can’t understand anything. 

Judas, Mr and Mrs Smart are no other characters than you who is a purported conspiratorial person who is pretending to mastermind events and control your public perception. All of us at one point in time or the other normally organise and interpret our sensory stimulation by distorting reality. Ecclesiastes emphatically proclaims all the actions of man to be inherently "vain", "futile", "empty", "meaningless", "temporary", "transitory", "fleeting," or "mere breath" as the lives of both wise and foolish men end in death. Life is too short to live a lie, end the illusions as life is meaningless and vanity of vanities, all is vanity. 

Is the NDC fleecing the Petroleum Stabilisation Fund?

Is Ghana's ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) party cheating Ghanaians of the Petroleum Stabilisation Fund by their clever-sounding scheme? How did the 'fair weather chaps' chisel money out of the Fund they are not allowed  to touch? I will attempt to expose the ploy these guys put in charge of managing the revenue accruing from the Oil sector are using to fleece Ghanaians just a year into commercial oil production in Ghana. 

You must have heard the news of Ghana losing some GH¢583 million Oil revenue in 2011. So that is late, it is no longer news. What perhaps you might not know is the scheme designed by the ruling NDC party to rip Ghanaians off of monies intended for other purposes. Already, it is an established fact the unprecedented borrowing-happy and non-accountability nature of the government is making the country debt ratio unsustainable. 

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee or PIAC, an independent monitoring body of the Ghanaian oil sector, in its maiden annual report for 2011 on the management of petroleum revenue disclosed that Ghana failed to achieve the targeted oil revenue of GH¢1.250 billion for 2011 as the nation has only raked in GH¢666 million from the commodity. The PIAC has the responsibility to monitor and evaluate compliance with the Act by government and other relevant institutions in the management and use of petroleum revenues and investments. The report indicated this amount represented a shortfall of GH¢583 million, which the Jubilee partners have attributed to the inability of the Jubilee field to produce the estimated 120 barrels of oil daily. It further explained that out of the total receipt, an amount of  GH¢315.390 million, representing 47 percent was transferred to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation while GH¢250.432 million went into budget spending. The devil, the saying goes is in  the details so the shock came when it was revealed that 'the amount allocated to the annual budget, stabilization fund and heritage fund was less than the targets of GH¢395,980,000.7, GH¢111,915,435 and GH¢613,195,95. 

According to the legislation covering the spending of the oil revenue, the share accruing to Ghana is to be divided into three according to a specified formula. These are the Budget Support, stabilization Fund and the Heritage Fund. The budget support portion as the name suggests is an allocation made directly to the budget for government programmes and spending during the year in question. The Ghana Stabilization Fund is to cushion the impact on or sustain public expenditure capacity during periods of unanticipated petroleum revenue shortfalls. In other words, it is meant to insulate the domestic economy from shocks due to shortfalls in revenue accruing. The Ghana Heritage Fund is to provide an endowment to support development for future generations when petroleum reserves have been depleted. 

The first worry is of course very evident as it can be seen directly from the law and the table below. The government allocated 21% of the excess revenues to the Ghana Heritage Fund instead of not less than 30% and rather strangely allocated 79% to the Ghana Stabilization Fund. Therefore the Ghana Heritage Fund was under-declared by GH¢9 million whilst the Ghana Stabilization Fund was over-declared by the same amount.

 The ruling NDC government contravened the law on the Ghana Petroleum Funds when it allocated an amount less than that required. This is a deviation from the requirement of Act 815, Section 23(1)b which states that “a minimum of thirty percent of the excess revenue determined in subsection (1) (a) shall be transferred into the Ghana Heritage Fund and the balance shall be transferred into the Ghana Stabilisation Fund each quarter”. This inconsistency with Act 815 is no anomaly as the PIAC sought to portray. I will explain subsequently.

What the PIAC did not tell Ghanaians is that the law provides tax holidays for the companies in the sector to allow them to recoup the investment. Consequently, Ghana is not expected to tax them for at least the first five years of production. Ghana’s law permits the oil companies to recover 20 percent of what was invested, and according to the Jubilee partners they had invested a total amount of $4 billion which could be recouped over the next four to five years before they start paying corporate taxes. This fact is fully known to the Ministry of Finance and yet it deliberately included expected taxes in its estimates of revenues for the period in review. Why was this done? It is very simple to see through the trick at play here. The inclusion of taxes artificially creates an over expectation scenario which then gives the government the opportunity to use the money in the Stabilization Fund. This makes perfect sense as the law allows that when there is shortfall in expectation of government revenue from the oil production, the Ghana Stabilization Fund is to be used ”to cushion the impact on or sustain public expenditure capacity during periods of unanticipated petroleum revenue shortfalls”. Therefore, one sensible way of arriving at "periods of unanticipated petroleum revenue shortfalls" without the role of market forces is to artificially cause it. And to make matters worse, the NDC deliberately put more than the expected monies in the stabilization fund to achieve even maximum effect. History is on our side. Please remember that when the NDC legislated the GETFUND act, it collected huge amounts in VAT revenue prior to the 2000 elections, yet set up no GETFUND hence left no money. Instead the NDC led by the same crop of men namely John Evans Atta Mills (head of Economic Management Team), Kwabena Duffour (Central Bank Governor) and Amissah-Arthur (Junior Finance Minister) left Ghana highly indebted poor country (HIPC). 

All indices point to the fact that the health of the economy is not as rosy as the government communication team is attempting to paint the picture. The arrears to all sectors of the economy including the non-payment of statutory payments like the Common Fund from the last quarter of 2011 to date should vividly and forcifully convene the real state of the economy of Ghana. The inconsistency registered between inflation figures on one hand, and exchange rate, interest rates and cost of living on the other hand must tell all of us that rough times lie ahead and the NDC will cook any imaginable scheme to fleece us to keep the sinking government afloat at least till the general elections on December 7, 2012. All Ghanaians, we must shine our eyes else present danger to clear in 2013. My skepticism is borne out of reality and please brace yourselves up for a bump ride ahead, the Dutch Disease is almost here. May be Obama and his folks within the G-8 have not scrutinised the Ghanaian economy sector by sector yet hence erroneously talking about food security rather than potential famine this year.

Mama Logo insists on living up to political ethics

In today's fast moving political world; where all kinds of mafia tactics, rough play, day light robbery, greed and scandals reign supreme; a political party's image and reputation are perhaps two of the most important assets any serious political group may possess. Creating ‘just the right image’ in the public's eye is essential for the survival of any venture and explains why many political institutions jealously guard against the abuse and misuse of their emblem and other symbols. The bottomline has to do with ethics.

Ethics is a branch of philosophical activity which studies fundamental or foundational principles of society, morality, truth and law. In other words, it is the science of morals that studies morality through the critical examination of right and wrong in human action. This encompasses various concepts and traditions which provide individual lenses through which value-laden questions can be posed and considered. And this involves systematizing, recommending, and defending concepts of right and wrong behaviour

The object of controversy, NDC emblem

As you may be aware, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, the former first lady of Ghana and challenger for nomination of the ruling National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) standard-bearer position holds the copyright to the political party logo being used by the ruling party as its registered political party symbol and known as the ‘akatamanso’ (umbrella). Her intellectual property rights in the said symbol were duly registered on the 12th of April 2010 under the Copyright Act (2005), Act 690. In July 2011 at the Sunyani congress of the party, she highlighted her exclusive intellectual property interests and particularly warned the party against the infringement of her exclusive moral rights in the logo stipulated under sections 6(a) and (b) of the Act. Regrettably, those rights are still being infringed upon by both party leadership both in their public utterances and deeds and thereby denigrating the symbolic value of the logo. Nana believes that those values were embodied in the vision of the founder of the party and subsequently enshrined in the constitution of the party. The said denigration of the logo has manifested in disrespect for the founder, the disunity of the party, the neglect of its egalitarian values, lack of accountability by key party leaders to the membership of the party and consequently in the disaffection of the rank and file. Nana Konadu Rawlings therefore demands the immediate end to the continuous infringement and denigration of her exclusive intellectual property rights in the logo. That unless steps are taken by the party to that effect, she will feel compelled to withdraw her permission for the use of the logo by the party.
There have been some counter claims by a couple of party members concerning who really designed the emblem but it might seem that the question of the legal owner is currently not in doubt. All such claims made have been limited to designing and that does not automatically translate into intellectual right because the claimants from their own narration were apparently commissioned or contracted in one way or the other by the Rawlingses to design if it ever happened at all. What is not so clear is what a court of competent jurisdiction would say accounting into account the question of balance of convenience regarding withdrawal of Nana Knoadu Agyemang Rawlings and its consequences on the business and elections fortunes of the NDC considering the fact that the party has barely six months to go to the polls.

Many of the above assertions are direct quotations from a letter the former first lady caused to be sent to the NDC. From an observer’s point of view, the assigned reasons are all considered just immediate causes (i.e. convenient way to hit back at the party leadership over perceived grievances) arising from the real remote causes bottled up for sometime now. The suspicion of many is that she is yet to recover from shock of the attempts by the current party leadership to relegate her and her founder husband to nothingness as contained in the recent wikileaks expose and manifested at the July 2011 Sunyani congress. It is also strongly believed that Nana Konadu intends to contest the 2012 elections in whatever capacity in an attempt to cause the defeat of the sitting president John Evans Atta Mills to pave the way for her family and loyal supporters to reclaim the soul of the party. The point some political connoisseurs in Ghana highlight is that the struggle over the NDC emblem buttresses this view. Some have even hinted already that the former first couple intend to form a new party to be called National Democratic Party (NDP) and may be outdoored on June 4, 2012 when they mark the 33^rd anniversary of the coup d’état that eventually gave birth to NDC in 1992. In fact a few have even whispered that her antics may be a trump card she is using to get her family’s spokesperson, Mr. Kofi Adamu Adams reinstated to his position as the Deputy General Secretary in charge of Administration and Finance. Mr. Adam, whom party leadership consider as a mole, has been suspended for 90-days over an alleged telephone conversation he is purported to have had with the Executive Director of think tank, Danquah Institute, Mr. Gabby Okyere-Darko. He has denied the content of the conversation.

And yet others feel that Nana Konadu intends to use the NDC logo to campaign as an independent candidate while still retaining her membership of the party. According to those of this school of thought, the evidence is all too clear. They cite two recent incidents to support their argument. Nana Konadu was physically prevented from addressing party supporters at the Town Hall in Cape Coast where she had gone to thank delegates who supported and voted for her. The thugs at the centre of this particular scene were allegedly hired by the Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwaa-Doe and Director of Communication, Bernard Allotey-Jacobs. A poster of Nana Konadu seen all over the country portraying her as presidential candidate for 2012 Presidential Election angered the party leadership who caused it to be destroyed claiming it was an abuse and illegal use of the party logo. With this in mind, it appears pretty logical that she has to flex her muscle to avert party leadership’s attention to the fact that the logo is just being rented out to the party on her permission for which permission she will not hesitate to withdraw as indicated in her letter to the party leadership.

Irrespective of where one stands or feels, the battle lines are clearly drawn. Something unprecedented will surely occur before the presidential poll this year. Regrettably, it is the grass that suffers when two gargantuan power players clash, in this case governance and the welfare of the innocent voter. Regarding the real intentions and underlying causes of the impending conflict, it is very difficult to uncover presently except to wait patiently and witness it play out to its logical conclusion. What any of us is free to do though is to keep on exercising out mental faculties by conjecturing the probable outcome. For now, all we can say is that Mama Logo is insisting that the NDC keep to the narrow path. The practice of political party game can present unique and challenging ethical issues. At the same time, protecting integrity and public trust are fundamental to a party’s role and reputation. Successful party politicking hinges on ethics of politicians’ ability to engage in ethical reasoning as political values is growing in demand, in responsibility, and in importance. Therefore, attention to astute and rigorous ethical use of political power is essential not only for individual politicians but also for a political party’s effectiveness in achieving long-term success and fulfilling the desires and needs of the people. For this reason, the NDC must keep the narrow path according to Mama Logo else its name and meaning will soon become 'Akataebusuafoɔso' instead of 'akatamanso'.

League of Greediest Nations

Scientists have calculated the world's hogs when it comes to resources (called the ecological footprint) by determining each nation's productive land capacity and comparing it to the actual population and consumption per person. In 2011, Earth Overshoot Day fell on Sept. 27, the day humans used up Earth's annual resources.
As of 2008, the most recent year for which data is available, humans were outstripping Earth's biocapacity by 50 percent. Biocapacity is the amount of renewable resources, land, and waste absorption (such as sinks for carbon dioxide) the Earth can provide. In other words, it takes the planet 1.5 years to restore what humanity burns through in a year.
Here are the top 25 most greedy resource consumers per capita and in order from most to least, the top 25 greediest resource users per capita as of 2008 are:

Ranking	Country
1	Qatar
2	Kuwait
3	United Arab Emirates
4	Denmark
5	USA
6	Belgium
7	Australia
8	Canada
9	The Netherlands
10	Ireland
11	Finland
12	Singapore
13	Sweden
14	Oman
15	Mongolia
16	Macedonia TFYR
17	Austria
18	Czech Republic
19	Slovenia
20	Uruguay
21	Switzerland
22	Greece
23	France
24	Norway
25	Spain

The most minimal resource users tend to be the poorest countries. Here are the bottom resource users, from most to least:

Ranking	Country
25	Guinea-Bissau
24	Cameroon
23	Congo
22	Lesotho
21	Togo
20	Philippines
19	Kenya
18	Tajikistan
17	Angola
16	Yemen
15	India
14	Burundi
13	Zambia
12	Mozambique
11	Malawi
10	Nepal
9	Democratic Republic of the Congo
8	Pakistan
7	Rwanda
6	Bangladesh
5	Eritrea
4	Haiti
3	Afghanistan
2	Timor-Leste
1	Occupied Palestinian Territory*

Offensive odour in Ghana’s parliament disrupts proceedings

After a two-month-long break, Parliament reconvened on Tuesday May 15, 2012 in an atmosphere strongly fouled by horrendous and offensive stench from the washrooms that serve lawmakers, staff and visitors.

A combination of broken washroom facilities and lack of potable water in the Parliamentary Chamber Block meant that lawmakers, workers and visitors had to put up with the stench that originated from nearby washrooms.

The stomach-churning stench from the washrooms was so strong that it travelled into offices in the house, aided largely by the central air conditioner that serves the 230-member legislature.
Eyewitnesses who visited some of the male washrooms showed shocking evidence of choked water closets, with others simmering just below the brims.

A number of angry lawmakers boycotted proceedings in protest against the mess created partly by broken washroom facilities and water shortage.

Others expressed outrage over the state of washroom facilities in the House and the recurrent problem of water shortage in the lawmaking House.

The leadership of the House is yet to officially comment on the matter. It would be recalled that a couple of days ago, the Job 600 under renovation and expected to serve as offices for the Lawmakers also caught fire.

We cannot fight the perceived enemy and the traitor at the same time and therefore one has to go.

ADDRESS BY H.E. JERRY JOHN RAWLINGS AT THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY OF THE 31ST DECEMBER WOMEN’S MOVEMENT – GOLDEN TULIP HOTEL, ACCRA - MAY 15, 2012

The President of the 31st December Women’s Movement, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, Nananom, Niimei, Naamei, Dr. Mrs. Mary Grant, Rev. Christie Doe Tetteh, Dr Uma Sen, Madam Selena Taylor, members of the Diplomatic Corp, members of the 31st December Women’s Movement, members of the media, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

Thirty years ago, as Ghana pursued the agenda of stopping the decay that had engulfed the country and brought it on its knees, we lived in a man’s world and many believed the journey of transformation was a job too challenging for our women.

However one young woman with the able support of like-minded friends and colleagues, decided the time had come for women to take active and significant part in the socio-economic development of Ghana – especially in the rural areas where women played an important role in the family unit but had little rights as far as decision-making was concerned.

The history of the achievements of the 31st December Women’s Movement, led by this tireless woman and political soul mate, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings has been told a thousand-fold. Today the transformation of women is felt across the country in so many spheres of endeavour.

Women’s rights have been boosted through the adoption of several laws protecting their rights and women have found themselves pursuing various roles that transcend managing the small family unit, to applying modern technology in farming, roles in industry and top management as well as varied positions in national politics. The list is endless.

The DWM stood up for the disadvantaged women of society and together they worked hard in creating modest economic opportunities for women, created awareness of women’s rights and inculcated a sense of self-confidence and self-worth that has today made the Ghanaian woman strong, assertive and equal to men in every sector of society.

Ladies and gentlemen: As we congratulate the DWM we have to appreciate the fact that without women we could not have achieved as much as we did in our political and electoral successes, as they served as the backbone of the campaign structure during the PNDC era, when they were largely instrumental in giving true meaning to the implementation of the economic policies that turned Ghana’s economy around. When the NDC was established, the huge network created by the Movement served as a powerful avenue for propagating the government’s philosophy and ideals and an influential machinery that hoisted the party’s image from 1992 through to 2008.

The current leadership knows it very well but rather than build on the capacity that the Movement brought to the party, they have chosen to exclude them and do worse than our so-called ‘enemies’ were doing between 2000 and 2008.

How can the government in its desire to hold onto political power demean itself in such a crass manner? Can we sustain hope and strength in this depraved political atmosphere?

We have always had to fight against one ‘enemy’ or opposition. If they can behave in a civil way it will be fair to call them opposition but seeing how they rounded up and jailed innocent people and killed others can we be wrong to sometimes describe them as enemies?

This time, however, we are fighting against two enemies – one the perceived enemy and the other one the traitor. We cannot fight both at the same time and therefore one has to go.

How could an NDC government lose its enviable sense of political morality and moral high-ground? This is why some are justified in saying that those in office are not genuinely minded, NDC spirited, NDC-hearted people and want to destroy the party in favour of something else. And so long as they hold onto power and with some of our supporters persistently refusing to see the truth and what should have been done, then it becomes difficult to take back our party.

Ladies and gentlemen: We hear promises of great developmental policies and achievements that will come our way if we vote in certain directions, but the question is which party can restore our values?

We have always won our elections on the power of integrity. Now that they have chosen to monetize everything, how much of a chance do they have, having departed from the weapon and values that sustained our political success?

May 15 is a watershed in more ways than one. 30 years ago the 31st December Women’s Movement was born to create an avenue for women’s emancipation.

Three years earlier on the same date, the pre-cursor to the June 4 took place. My arrest and court martial and the truthful statements I made at the trial made me the focal point of conscience and gave me the leverage to contain the rage and violence that had reached boiling point within the military, the security services and the public at large.

Ghana has come far since 1979 and 1982 and today as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the hard work of our women, let us ponder over the direction we are taking our country. Let us remember the huge sacrifices that many endured for our country.

The culture of political selfishness, greed, thievery and ingratitude has to be exorcised. I said before in 2011 that this year’s elections will create a lot of stress in the country and you are living witnesses to that reality.

Today men are parading and strutting the corridors of power, taking credit for your achievements, including the political and social security of the state when it was most needed. I hope one day when the truth is told this triumph of evil will be reversed.

As we ponder over these matters, allow me to express my heartfelt congratulations to the 31st December Women’s Movement and Ghanaian women for chalking three decades of development in Ghana.
Ayekoo!!!

Texting while walking not just dangerous in N.J. town but costly

Texting while walking will now land you an $85 ticket in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
As with most other states, texting while driving is already banned in New Jersey. Now Fort Lee police chief Thomas Ripoli are holding pedestrians accountable by asking them to be more aware.
There have been 23 pedestrian accidents since January 2012. While most accidents were minor, three fatalities were reported.
They're not alert and they're not watching what they're doing.  As of now, [officers are] to give summonses to pedestrians who do not adhere to crosswalks and the lights.
There have been some outrageous viral videos of people distracted while texting. Recently, a Los Angeles man almost ran into a bear while texting. Another video shows a woman in a mall who fell into a water fountain because she was distracted from texting.

Texting in whatever form mobile is now prohibited!

The woman who fell in the fountain regretted her carelessness in retrospect, emphasizing the dangers of texting while walking.
The texting ban went into effect in the northern New Jersey in March.

Yahoo CEO out amid furor over fake degree claim

Yahoo!’s CEO Scott Thompson has stepped down amid controversy over a fake computer science degree that he had on his biography. Thompson is the third CEO in three years to leave the Internet company struggling to define its future.
The departure is a victory for hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb of Third Point LLC, which is one of Yahoo's largest outside shareholders and brought the discrepancy in Thompson's educational background to light.
Yahoo said in a statement that its global media head, Ross Levinsohn, will be interim CEO, replacing Thompson who has left the company. It did not give a reason for his exit but said the board had settled a proxy battle with Third Point and will nominate three of its slate of four candidates to Yahoo's board.
Thompson's departure after just four months on the job throws into question the future of Yahoo as it struggles to revive growth amid fierce competition from the likes of Google Inc and Facebook Inc, and produce a long-term strategy to convince investors to reverse its share slide.
Yahoo had recently resumed negotiations to sell all or part of its more than 40 percent stake in Chinese Internet and e-commerce company Alibaba back to the Chinese company, after torpedoing a previous plan to do a complex tax-free transaction.
"Truly unreal. This company was struggling to find its path before any of this happened, and the situation will make them lost in the woods for that much longer," Macquarie Securities analyst Ben Schacter said. "It is not an overstatement to say that Yahoo has profound structural problems."
"The key question for shareholders remains how will they monetize the Asia assets. The board and shareholders, not an interim CEO, will need to figure it out," Schacter said.

Facebook co-founder renounces US citizenship to trim tax liabilities

Eduardo Saverin, the billionaire co- founder of Facebook Inc. (FB), renounced his U.S. citizenship before an initial public offering that values the social network at as much as $96 billion, a move that may reduce his tax bill.
Facebook plans to raise as much as $11.8 billion through the IPO, the biggest in history for an Internet company. Saverin’s stake is about 4 percent, according to the website Who Owns Facebook. At the high end of the IPO valuation, that would be worth about $3.84 billion. His holdings aren’t listed in Facebook’s regulatory filings.
Saverin, 30, joins a growing number of people giving up U.S. citizenship, a move that can trim their tax liabilities in that country. The Brazilian-born resident of Singapore is one of several people who helped Mark Zuckerberg start Facebook in a Harvard University dorm and stand to reap billions of dollars after the world’s largest social network holds its IPO. “Eduardo recently found it more practical to become a resident of Singapore since he plans to live there for an indefinite period of time,” said Tom Goodman, a spokesman for Saverin, in an e-mailed statement.
Saverin’s name is on a list of people who chose to renounce citizenship as of April 30, published by the Internal Revenue Service. Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship “around September” of last year, according to his spokesman.
Singapore doesn’t have a capital gains tax. It does tax income earned in that nation, as well as “certain foreign- sourced income,” according to a government website on tax policies there.

Exit Tax
Saverin won’t escape all U.S. taxes. Americans who give up their citizenship owe what is effectively an exit tax on the capital gains from their stock holdings, even if they don’t sell the shares, said Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, director of the international tax program at the University of Michigan’s law school. For tax purposes, the IRS treats the stock as if it has been sold.
Renouncing your citizenship well in advance of an IPO is “a very smart idea,” from a tax standpoint, said Avi-Yonah. “Once it’s public you can’t fool around with the value.”
Saverin previously scuffled with Zuckerberg, his Harvard University classmate, over his ownership in Facebook. Saverin sued him and settled for an undisclosed amount.
The 2010 movie “The Social Network” added to Saverin’s fame after it portrayed him as a scorned friend who provided the company’s early financing and then was squeezed out. In the film, written by Aaron Sorkin, Saverin was portrayed by Andrew Garfield, who will play Spider-Man in “The Amazing Spider- Man.”

Saverin’s Investments
Saverin moved to the U.S. in 1992, and became a citizen in 1998, his spokesman said. He has invested in Asian, U.S. and European companies, according to his spokesman.
He plans to invest in Brazilian and in other global companies that have strong interests in entering the Asian markets. “Accordingly, it made the most sense for him to use Singapore as a home base,” Goodman said in the statement.
His U.S. holdings include Jumio Inc., an online payments company, and ShopSavvy Inc., a price-comparison service.
Renouncing citizenship is an option chosen by increasing numbers of Americans. A record 1,780 gave up their U.S. passports last year compared with 235 in 2008, according to government records.
Income-tax rates for top U.S. earners will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent next year, and rates on capital gains and dividends also are scheduled to rise unless Congress blocks the increases.
‘Tax Cost’
“It’s a loss for the U.S. to have many well-educated people who actually have a great deal of affection for America make that choice,” said Richard Weisman, an attorney at Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong. “The tax cost, complexity and the traps for the unwary are among the considerations.”
Some of the world’s largest wealth-management firms have ramped up efforts to fight tax evasion ahead of Washington’s implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as Fatca, which seeks to prevent tax evasion by Americans with offshore accounts. HSBC Holdings Plc, Deutsche Bank AG, Bank of Singapore Ltd. and DBS Group Holdings Ltd. all say they have turned away business.
The 2010 law, to be phased in starting Jan. 1, 2013, requires financial institutions based outside the U.S. to obtain and report information about income and interest payments accrued to the accounts of American clients. That means additional compliance costs for banks and fewer investment options and advisers for all U.S. citizens living abroad, which may depress banks’ returns.
Facebook plans to price its IPO on May 17, offering 337.4 million shares at $28 to $35 each. The shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol FB. Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are leading the sale.

Six Tanzanian Ministers fired over Woyome-style scandal

Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete has sacked six ministers amid allegations of government corruption.

He has been under pressure to deal with the scandal following a report by a body overseeing public finances.

The inspector of the government's accounts noted the rampant misuse of funds in at least seven ministries.

The ministers who have been dropped from cabinet all hold high-profile portfolios: Finance, energy, tourism, trade, transport and health.

In November, the ruling CCM party promised to implement anti-corruption measures, but there have been heated calls from the opposition for heads to roll.

Announcing the cabinet reshuffle, President Kikwete said that accountability would be taken seriously and ministers' subordinates and even executives working for state-owned companies would also be held responsible over any embezzlement.

Sacked ministers

• Mustapha Mkulo, minister of finance
• William Ngeleja, minister of energy and minerals
• Ezekiel Maige, minister of tourism
• Omari Nundu, minister of transport
• Haji Mponda, minister of health
• Cyril Chami, minister of industry and trade

"It is not enough for a minister to take responsibility alone but the new approach is that even those who caused the mishap will be taken to task as well," Mr Kikwete told journalists at State House in Dar es Salaam.

The ministry of energy, which oversees the lucrative mining sector, and ministry of tourism - two of the major revenue generators for the government, were criticised most in the Controller and Auditor General's annual report.

There have been mixed reactions to the sackings.

Many are pleased that the government has acted at last but some feel there should be prosecutions too.

Mr Kikwete was re-elected in 2010 for a final five-year term.

His government has struggled to tackle corruption which has adversely hampered economic growth in Tanzania where the rate of inflation rate stands at 19%.

Last year, donor countries cut funding pledges to Tanzania after expressing concern about corruption and the slow pace of reforms.

CEPA boss urges GSS to clear itself of political bias

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has been challenged to reconcile its figures with the realities on the ground.
The Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), Dr. Joe Abbey said the seeming doubt about the services’ independence from political influence will be cleared if it explains to Ghanaians how its figures reflect the real situation. 
Dr. Abbey was commenting on the lecture by the NPP running mate Dr. Bawumia, which cast doubts over the figures on the economy put out by the statistical service.
He said: “It is now up to the Statistical Service to accept that there are registration challenges and they cannot be silent over the questions that have been raised.” 
He added that the interpretation of data should be left to the Statistical Service and not politicians who are likely to skew it.

The Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) is as an independent, non-governmental think- tank, which provides rigorous analysis and perspectives on economic policy issues of Ghana and the developing world. CEPA's mandate to promote a non-partisan informed debate on key policy issues on the economy of Ghana with emphasis on macroeconomics growth and poverty alleviation issues. Specifically its research deals with fiscal and monetary policy; debt management, trade policy; industrial policy; the social sectors, agricultural policy and to propose feasible policy alternatives in these areas. The Centre holds seminars and workshops to share its findings with Ghanaian, African and international institutions and organisations.

Trove from Osama bin Laden’s compound declassified

A selection from more than 6,000 pages of documents seized during the May 1, 2011, raid that killed Osama bin Laden was released on Thursday by West Point's Combating Terrorism Center (CTC), giving the public a rare glimpse of the al-Qaida leader's terror plans and his largely solitary life.

The center released a group of 17 documents totalling 175 pages, which had been uncovered by U.S. forces in bin Laden's Abbottabad compound. Shortly before 9 a.m. ET, the center posted on its website both the Arabic originals and versions translated and summarized in English.

As was previously reported, some of the documents show that bin Laden ordered the assassinations of President Barack Obama and U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, but did not have the resources to carry out the killings.

"Obama is the head of infidelity and killing him automatically will make [Vice President Joe] Biden take over the presidency for the remainder of the term, as it is the norm over there," bin Laden wrote in a letter to one of his top lieutenants. "Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis. As for Petraeus, he is the man of the hour in this last year of the war, and killing him would alter the war's path."

The earliest letter is dated September 2006 and the latest April 2011, the center said. Several al-Qaida leaders, including bin Laden, Atiyya Abd al-Rahman, Abu Yahya al-Libi and Adam Gadahn, the terror group's American spokesman, authored the internal communications.

Given that the electronic documents were "saved on thumb drives, memory cards or the hard drive of bin Laden's computer," the center noted, it's unclear whether any of these letters reached their intended destinations.

In another letter, bin Laden vows to avenge the war in Afghanistan, while assuring one of his deputies that America does not have the financial resources to continue it.

"They struck us and we will strike them back," he wrote, according to the center's translation. "This year has been the worst year for them in Afghanistan since they invaded it. The number of their dead has never been this high according to their own reports. Their financial crisis continues. Britain has lowered its defense budget and America is reducing the budget of the Pentagon. Anyone who knows the world and knows politics, knows that it is impossible for them to continue with the war."

In another, bin Laden compares two of al-Qaida's enemies: Arab leaders and America, concluding that the U.S. should remain its most important target:

The Ummah is fighting an internal enemy, which are the leaders of the Arab World. The Ummah is also fighting an external enemy, which is America. Although the former is far more blasphemous, the latter is clearly the unbeliever. At this stage of our war with our enemies, America poses a greater threat to the Ummah than any other enemy. America is the head of the infidels. If God wills it, America's head can be cut off. Once the head has been removed, then it would be easier to cut off America's wings.

A January 2011 letter from Gadahn to an unknown recipient discusses al-Qaida's media strategy ahead of the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and explains where the group might focus its press efforts.

"From the professional point of view, they are all on one level—except [Fox News] channel which falls into the abyss as you know, and lacks neutrality too," Gadahn wrote. "I used to think that MSNBC channel may be good and neutral a bit, but is has lately fired two of the most famous journalists—Keith Olberman and Octavia Nasser the Lebanese—because they released some statements that were open for argument."

Gadahn continued: "In conclusion, we can say that there is no single channel that we could rely on for our messages. [They] may ignore them, and even the channel that broadcast them, probably it would distort them somehow. Or they may ignore the message and conduct a smearing of the individuals, to the end of the list of what you know about their cunning methods."

He added: "As for Fox News, let her die in her anger."

WACC calls for code of ethics for citizen journalism

We are writing to you on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day – commemorated each year on May 3. It is a time to celebrate the importance of press freedom, think about the state of press freedom around the world and commemorate media practitioners whose lives are threatened in the course of carrying out their profession. The theme for this year’s World Press Freedom day is “New Voices: Media Freedom Helping to Transform Societies” – a reflection of the growing recognition of new media platforms to give voice to many whose freedom of expression and communication rights have been stifled.
As a social justice organization that promotes communication rights, WACC believes that freedom of expression and freedom of the press are a basic human right. Media independence and pluralism are fundamental to the processes of democracy and serve to facilitate accountability in governance, democratic participation and human rights.
While new media technologies and social media highlight the transformative power of the right to seek and share information, the opportunities offered by these new platforms equally challenge media practitioners to explore ways of strengthening professional codes of ethics to reflect the changing media landscape.
In order to carry out its task, the press operates according to journalistic codes of ethics which emphasise impartiality, truthfulness, and accountability in gathering and disseminating news. Many professional journalists adhere to these codes. However existing media codes of ethics do not cover the proliferation of news and opinion found on the Internet and in social media – often reflected in what has become known as citizen or activist journalism.
The Arab uprisings highlighted the potential of citizen journalism to counter attacks on freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Indeed, citizen journalism and the rise of alternative media voices are an exciting and potentially liberating development of the right to communicate. Bloggers and online activists now have a variety of tools to challenge deceit and deception, censorship and repression.
However, authoritarian governments have intensified efforts to control and censor digital media and the Internet. They are also resorting to licensing and regulatory frameworks to narrow the spaces for independent broadcasting.
Even in established democracies, attempts to exert government influence over public broadcasting have impinged on press freedom. As a consequence, whistle-blowing and investigative journalism of political corruption, corporate wrongdoing, and crime have suffered.

Dentist exacts brutal revenge on her ex

If you're planning a trip to the dentist, it might not be the wisest decision to make your appointment with the person with whom you just broke up. A jilted woman's recent boyfriend shows up about his tooth pain and gets a shocking treatment.

A Polish woman is facing three years in prison after she removed all of her ex-boyfriend's teeth during dental surgery just days after their breakup.

"I tried to be professional and detach myself from my emotions," Anna Mackowiak, 34, told the Austrian Times. "But when I saw him lying there I just thought, 'What a bastard' and decided to take all his teeth out."

Marek Olszewski, 45, reportedly showed up at Mackowiak's dental office complaining of toothache just days after he broke up with her. She then allegedly gave him a "heavy dose" of anesthetic, locked the door and began removing all of his teeth one at a time.

"I knew something was wrong because when I woke up I couldn't feel any teeth and my jaw was strapped up with bandages," Olszewski said.

"She told me my mouth was numb and I wouldn't be able to feel anything for a while and that the bandage was there to protect the gums, but that I would need to see a specialist," he said.

"I didn't have any reason to doubt her, I mean I thought she was a professional."

Adding to his trauma, Olszewski said his new girlfriend has already left him over his now toothless appearance.

"And I'm going to have to pay a fortune on getting indents or something," he said.

Mackowiak is currently being investigated for medical malpractice.