Ghana Politics | Today's political news in Ghana

THE Council of Elders of the  National Democratic Congress (NDC) has approved the Vice-President, Mr Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur,    as   the   running  mate to President John Dramani Mahama for the 2012 presidential election.

The approval followed his nomination by President Mahama, an unimpeachable source close to the Presidency told the Daily Graphic yesterday.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NDC is expected to meet today (Tuesday) to confirm him.

Vice-President Amissah-Arthur, will then be officially outdoored by the NDC at the National Theatre at 4pm by President Mahama during which he (President Mahama) will also make some campaign pronouncements..

The source, however, declined to say when the official outdooring would take place but indicated that it would be pretty soon.

Mr Amissah-Arthur, an economist and then Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), was nominated on July 31, this year, by President Mahama to be considered by Parliament as the Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana.

Mr Amissah-Arthur’s nomination and approval by Parliament as the Vice-President was in line with Article 60 (10) of the 1992 Constitution.
His nomination followed the swearing in of Mr Mahama as the President following the death of President John Evans Atta Mills on July 24, 2012.

Mr Mahama was sworn into office in fulfilment of Article 60 (6) of the 1992 Constitution, which states: “Whenever the President dies, resigns or is removed from office, the Vice-President shall assume office as President for the unexpired term of office of the President with effect from the date of the death, resignation or removal of the President.”

Prior to Mr Amissah-Arthur’s nomination as Vice-President, many names had made t

PRESIDENT John Dramani Mahama has appealed to cocoa farmers to take advantage of the Cocoa Rehabilitation Project and replace all their old cocoa plants with hybrid ones.

He said whereas the old cocoa trees did not produce beans early, the new hybrid seedlings being distributed under the Cocoa Rehabilitation Project could mature within two years after they had been planted.

He has, therefore, asked cocoa farmers to register with the Cocoa Rehabilitation Project to enable them to benefit from the project.
President Mahama made the appeal at a durbar marking the Akwanbo festival of the chiefs and people of the Agona Traditional Area at Nyakrom in the Central Region.

It was a delight to watch the chiefs, immaculately dressed in their rich clothes and ornaments, sitting in state with their subjects at the durbar ground.
President Mahama announced that the government would distribute test stones to cocoa farmers by the end of October, this year,.
Test stones are meant to regulate the weighing of cocoa and protect cocoa farmers against cheating by unscrupulous cocoa buyers.

He, therefore, urged cocoa farmers to make good use of the test stones when they receive them, and compare them to the weighing scales provided by cocoa buyers and ensure that their measurement was correct before they sell their cocoa.
On the forthcoming election, President Mahama reiterated his commitment to ensure peaceful, free and fair elections in fulfillment of the promise made by President John Evans Atta Mills.

He expressed the hope that God would bless Ghana with another peaceful election, making it the sixth successive election since the country’s return to the democratic governance in 1992.

He urged Ghanai

PRESIDENT John Dramani Mahama says he is convinced God will grant the National Democratic Congress (NDC) victory in the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections to continue to implement the unfinished policies under the Better Ghana Agenda.

Therefore, he said, the NDC would not do anything to disrupt the election, since the party was sure of winning the election.
“I have hope in God that it is the NDC that will emerge victorious in the election. With the help of God, the election will be held once,” he said to cheering NDC supporters and sympathisers at the Swedru Town Hall in the Central Region.

The NDC members, most of who were in NDC T-shirts with President Mahama’s pictures inscribed on them, trooped the venue to catch a glimpse of the President and flag bearer of the NDC for the 2012 and listen to his message.

The hall was so packed with supporters that they had to be asked to come out of the hall to be addressed by President Mahama at the forecourt of the town hall.

President Mahama said political contest was like a football match where it was only the losing side that employed rough tactics to disrupt the match.
He said the winning team always wanted the match to proceed peacefully to the end, because it had the conviction that it would get the goals and win the match.
Likewise, the President said the NDC was sure of victory and so the party wanted the election to travel the full time without any hitches.
He stressed that this year’s election would not be an “all die be die” affair, and that it would be one of the most peaceful and successful elections to be held in the country.

The President, therefore, urged Ghanaians, especi

The 2012 presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party, Dr Abu Sakara, has urged the people of the Volta Region to invest in their future now by voting the CPP into power in the December 7 elections.

He stated that a vote for the CPP was an investment Ghanaians would be making since he was determined to lead an incorruptible government to ensure that all citizens were given equal share of the national cake.

This was contained in a press release from the office of Dr Sakara.

“We will ensure that the people of Ghana are given what is due them in order for us all to develop the Nation in unity,” Dr Sakara said
According to him, this year’s election is only about one thing — whether we will continue in the Ghana of prosperity for the few at the expense of all of us or will vote the Convention People’s Party for prosperity for all of us.

We are going to work to honour our fathers and mothers, so that the things which they have not seen, they should be in the position to see it now, Dr Sakara lamented.

Dr Sakara stated that the CPP was determined to ensure that the People of Ghana, irrespective of where they find themselves, were given equal access in every aspect of life. He expressed worry, saying it was rather unfortunate that current and previous governments after the CPP had failed to address the fundamental problem of investing in the people and the economy.

He advised the people in the Volta Region to choose the Convention People’s Party by voting massively for him and all the party’s parliamentary candidates in the region for a new way forward, which would bring real opportunities for their personal growth and the nation at large.

Dr Sakar

THE presidential aspirant of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, has toured the Upper East Region with a call on each and every polling station executive  to reach out to at least 10 people in order to help the PPP get the votes that it needs to win the elections come December 2007.

“We do not want anyone of you to spend money travelling to other places. Stay within your polling station and work for the PPP. We have 21 polling station executives in each constituency and if each of you should bring at least 10 people on board, we will be on the way to victory. We live with people. Everybody knows somebody, so don’t look at what others are doing. Talk to your friends, family members, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends so we can get the votes,” Dr Nduom said.

He was addressing polling station executives at two locations in Bolgatanga as part of his two-day tour of the Upper East Region. He met party supporters at Tindonmolgo and Zuarungu, where he told them that every election was won at the polling station level.
“Quite often people want to enjoy themselves, sing, dance and make noise but they end up forgetting why we are campaigning. We’ve learnt our lessons from previous elections and we are deciding to spend a bit of time on our own people so that they understand what each and every one of them must do so that we win the votes that we need come December 2007”, he told the Daily Graphic in an interview.

“The purpose of this trip is to talk to PPP people who have accepted to become our pollin

“GHANAIANS cannot wait for the next 20 years before benefiting from free senior high school education”, the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, has stated.

He has, therefore, asked Ghanaians to vote out the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which insists that it would take two decades before the implementation of the free senior high school, and usher in the NPP to execute the policy which it will start in its first year of governance.

Nana Akufo-Addo, who was addressing a rally at the Karikari Brobbey Park at Dansoman in the Ablekuma West Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, as part of his “Restoration of Hope” campaign, noted that the NPP had really planned a budget and identified the funding sources. It was, therefore, confident that it would be possible to make education free from kindergarten to senior high school level.

The Ablekuma South campaign marked the end of the second phase of the Greater Accra tour, which lasted over a month.

The occasion was also used to launch the constituency’s campaign and introduce the parliamentary aspirant, Ms Ursula Owusu, and other party executives. It attracted leading members of the party, including  the wife of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate to the flag bearer, Mrs Samira Bawumia; former Finance Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo; and a leading member of the party, Mr Attoh Quashie.

Adani Best, a Ghanaian musician, treated the crowd to his famous “Gyata Bi”. He and his dancers, including a man dressed as a lion, danced to the music dubbed “Cub”.

Nana Akufo-Addo, who exhibited his multi-lingual skills by speaking English, Ga, Twi and French to the admiration of the crowd, noted that when it assumed power, the NDC made the

THE Annual conference of the Democratic Union of Africa (DUA), which comprises of all centre-right political parties on the continent has been held in Accra.
It was hosted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which is a member and attended by notable personalities like Ugandan opposition leader, Dr Kizza Besigye who chairs the union.

This year’s conference was held on theme: “Sustaining Democracy and Economic Development in Africa - the Centre-Right Way”.
Delivering the keynote address, the flag bearer of the NPP for the 2012 Presidential Elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said his quest to lead the country was not for his selfish gains.

According to him, the NPP is determined to succeed creating a free and fair society of opportunities and prosperity for all Ghanaians.

Nana Akufo-Addo observed that  the NPP, having endured the slimmest electoral loss in the country’s election history in 2008 and their role in expanding the frontiers of democracy, deserved to win the 2012 polls.

“At least those who observed our elections in 2008, know that I have personally tasted the painful experience of losing an election by the slimmest of margins in Africa’s history, 0.46 per cent (some 40,000 votes), after leading the first round of the ballot by over 100,000 votes. I am sure that you will all agree with me that it is about time that I taste some success, as well. But, the success that we seek is not o

GHANA will witness significant transformation in the first year when a People’s National Convention (PNC) takes over the government administration of the country, the PNC’s flag bearer, Hassan Ayariga, has hinted.
Consequently, he has charged Ghanaians not to make the mistake of voting for any other party except the PNC on December 7, 2012.

“Leadership is about taking responsibility of the ordinary Ghanaian and transforming it for the better,” Mr Ayariga said on the third leg of his Accra tour.
The PNC, he noted, was the only party that cared so much for the people as a result of the programmes it had developed to improve the lives of the citizenry.
The tour took him through to Kaneshie, Kokompe, Darkuman, Fadama, Abeka Lapaz, Nii Boi Town and Achimota.

Accompanying him was the First Vice Chairman of the party, Mr David Nibi, and other supporters of the party.
A large army of people lined the streets to welcome the PNC flag bearer who was riding in an open-top vehicle. Occasionally he stopped in the areas he passed through to address by-standers, residents, traders, artisans, students and the youth.
Shouts of “Two Direct Two Sure”, the slogan of the party, was echoed throughout the tour.

Mr Ayariga said past governments had failed the people in spite of the abundance of resources such as gold, diamond, oil, manganese and timber, adding that when voted into power the PNC would make judicious use of those resources for the benefit of the people.
According to him, the mismanagement of the country’s resources was responsible for its problems.

Today, he said, a section of the youth had engaged in practices such as “sakawa” (internet fraud) because there was no jobs for them to do, and that under Hassan Ayariga the story would be good for the youth as they wou

elections”-President Mahama

The Greater Accra Region has been a fierce battle ground this week for three frontline flag bearers as they undertake important campaign activities across the region ahead of the December election.

President John Mahama of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) have all taken their messages to the constituents in the region.

The crowds that have followed the campaign trail of these flag bearers indicate that the battle to capture one of the swing regions in the country is just beginning.

In the 2000 election, the NPP won 16 parliamentary seat in the Greater Accra Region, while the NDC managed only six seats.
But whereas the NPP maintained the number of its parliamentary seats in the region in 2004, the NDC made significant progress, grabbing 11 seats.

The electoral fortunes of the NPP in the region plummeted in 2008 as it won only nine parliamentary seats, while the NDC had good fortunes winning 16 seats.

President Mahama had been touring parts of the region on Tuesday and Wednesday on the last leg of his ‘Thank You Tour’ meant to express gratitude to the people for commiserating with the government after the death and funeral of the late President J. E. A. Mills.

While performing that national duty, he had not failed to seize the opportunity to draw the people’s attention to the good works of the government, particularly under the superintendent of the late president and called on them to return the party to power.

For his part, Nana Addo has been touring various constituencies in Accra to rally support for the party in the December polls.
The main thrust of the campaign has been a reinforcement of his promise to provide free senior high school (SHS) education when elected as president.

He has also used t

A number of  gender activists and women rights advocates have described the selection of Ms Eva Lokko as the running mate of the flag bearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) as a positive step towards changing the face of politics in Ghana.

Speaking in separate interviews with the Daily Graphic on their reactions to the selection of Ms Lokko to partner the party’s flag bearer, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, in the upcoming general election, they commended the party for its initiative and said the action was a positive step towards the attainment of increased women’s representation in politics and at other levels of decision-making.

They said the selection of Ms Lokko who has a lot of experience and professional competence, “adds a lot of value to our campaign and advocacy for increased women’s representation in politics, and it also demonstrates that there are a lot of competent women in the country to hold key positions”

The President of the Women Assistance and Business Association (WABA), Madam Gloria Ofori Boadu, said Miss Lokko was not just a women but a competent and qualified person who could work to fulfil the confidence reposed in her.

She said the whole world was moving towards gender equality, and that social change was such that no country could  hold it back because of the realisation of the economic importance of giving equal opportunities to both men and women to be part of the development process.

Madam Ofori Buadu, a lawyer, said women constituted more than half of the population of most countries in the world, adding that “we in Ghana cannot remain primitive, but be part of the dynamic process by involving them in national development ”.
Madam Boadu who contested the parliamentary primaries in the Abuakwa South

President John Dramani Mahama has called for a “clean and competitive” political campaign devoid of insults and lies in the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

He said political parties needed to conduct their campaigns “in a modest and decent” manner to disprove the notion that politics was a dirty game.

President Mahama made the call yesterday at a durbar of chiefs and people of the Greater Accra Region at the forecourt of the Trade Fair Centre at La in Accra.

He had earlier visited the family home of the former First Lady, Mrs Naadu Mills, at Prampram, where he thanked the family for collaborating with the government to give President John Evans Atta Mills a fitting burial.

On his way to the durbar ground, President Mahama made whistle stops at Ashaiman and Nungua, where he was met by a large number of National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters and sympathisers.

The President said politics per se was not dirty, but indicated that “it is us politicians who make politics dirty”.

For instance, he said, the late President Mills had changed the face of politics by his modesty, humility and patience.

President Mahama said even those who led the onslaught of insults and vilification on the late President Mills praised him as a patient, humble and tolerant person in death.

The flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stated that the party’s commitment to peace and stability of the nation, before, during and after the elections “is non-negotiable”.

Two hundred and seventy-five pupils from the Weija Cluster of Schools have dropped out of school as a result of the lack of a footbridge over the Weija Lake to give them access to school.

In addition, 1,200 pupils who live at Ayigbe Town, SCC, Old Barrier, Bortianor and Broadcasting, all communities on one side of the Weija Dam, put their lives in danger by scaling the walls of the dam daily to get to school.

Those who cannot climb the walls of the dam go through the wire fence gate to cross over the bridge to their respective schools.

The only existing footbridge which passes through the Weija Water Treatment Plant is not accessible to the schoolchildren as a result of a directive from the Ministry of Water Resources,

Works and Housing to close the gate leading to the dam.

Since the directive was issued last year, the Weija Methodist Basic School has recorded the highest dropout with a total number of 120 pupils. The rest are Weija Presbyterian Primary and Junior High School, 90 pupils; Weija Municipal Assembly JHS, 35; the St Joseph the Worker Primary, 15, with St Jude recording 15.

In addition, the schools are affected by persistent absenteeism and truancy because the pupils cannot afford the transportation fare to and from  school.

This information was disclosed to the Daily Graphic by the various heads of the schools.

They are, therefore, calling on the government to build two bridges across the Densu outlet to help alleviate the plight of the children.

They also pleaded that as a short-term measure, the gate of the Weija Dam should be opened for only the schoolchildren guarded by security personnel to ensure their safety during school hours.

The Headmistress of Weija Methodist Basic School, Madam Faustina Forson, lamented that since the closure of the Weija bridge