TO THE DOOR STEP OF PRESIDENT

Forecourt of the Ghana Institute of journalism

Growing up, some of us were made to understand that democracy is the building block of a country. Therefore a country without democracy may be in chaos. As a communication student, sometimes I am tempted to ask if the adoption of democracy has done us any good as a country?. Since the adoption of democracy in 1992, what can we boast of as a country in that regard?

With all honesty I laugh anytime I hear the word “Kabi ma menka bi amamuo”. A country where the laws of the country do not apply to those who make them, a country where the laws of the land only affects the ordinary citizens can never in any way practice democracy. The law was very clear with regards to the snatching of ballots by the ordinary citizens, kill him or her. And yet this same laws protects the lawmaker when he or she goes against them. Is quite absurd isn’t it? This is what my country calls democracy.

A country where the greedy leaders boast of having the interests of the ordinary people at heart. As far as I’m concerned, Ghana is having one of the most weakest educational structure in Africa. An institution where decision making prowess is at the lowest level. Decision making are made to satisfy the whims and caprices of those who are at the helms of affairs. The Management of the Ghana Institute of journalism has over the years made life a living hell for students. Those at the helms of affairs make decisions without putting into consideration the welfare of the students. The system do not help the students because it has been structured in a way that it benefits only the management. Students are finding it difficult to access the Learning Management System(LMS), students are not provided with bundle for their online studies. Rectification of problems caused by management with regards to students results is also an issue. A lot of Students could not complete school because management failed in their duty to rectify mistakes they created in the first place.

No structures have been put in place to address the problems of students. I believe is about time past students of the institute and other stakeholders put their heads together and help students in fighting against this tyranny. There is an Akan adage that says “Nsuo taa aponkyereni a w)gye w)”. Students have been suffering in silence and we believe this time around we need to speak up. Notice by the management of the institute instructing student to defer their course for a year due to late payment of fees clearly shows the kind of leadership the institute has. This in my humble opinion is an act of wickedness on the part of the management. An institute that tends to put the welfare of its students above everything else will not any way come up with these directives. We are speaking and we will keep talking until something is done about this unjust and unfair treatment from the management.

We will speak until our voice is heard. I believe is about time the President starts paying critical attention to decisions of heads of educational institutions on how they manage these institutions and if possible put measures in place in getting qualified and competent people to manage the affairs of these institutions.

Let’s push this to the door steps of the President. His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo Addo Ayekoo!!

The writer is a level 300 student of the Ghana Institute Journalism

BAN ON BEACHES AND OTHER PROTOCOLS BREACHED

The ban on beaches and the social distancing protocols was breached on Sunday as a lot of people gathered at the beach to have fun in the middle of the pandemic.

The President in one of his address to the nation indicated that beaches should remain closed after the number of cases recorded shot up. Ghana entered the second phase of the corona virus pandemic and the general public was urged to adhere to the safety protocols which includes regular washing of hands, using hand sanitizer, wearing of nose mask and most importantly social distancing.

On Sunday afternoon about three hundred people gathered at the beach to have fun and in so going went against the President’s directives and had completely abandon the social distancing protocols.

Speaking to some individuals at the beach, they made mention of the fact that they have been coming to the beach every Sunday to have fun since the pandemic started. “We come here every Sunday to have fun. The police use to chase us every time but I believe now they are tired so they don’t bother us anymore”. Dominic Laryeh said.

Doris Okailey indicated that they come to the beach with friends and sometimes invite friends from other areas to have fun that’s why they have named it “Sunday Friends”.

“We have named it Sunday friends because on Sunday everybody is free, there is no work and so we invite our friends from different areas to come and have fun”.

Other individuals at the beach were of the view that, there is nothing like Covid-19, the government is rather using it as a means to scared them but they are not afraid.

NKRUMAH WAS AN ENIGMA- INUSAH FUSEINI

Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central Constituency, Alhaji Inusah Fuseine says Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is an enigma.

This week marks exactly fifty-five years when Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown as President of Ghana in 1966. This week was marked as the Ghana day of shame.

According to Mr. Fuseini, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was a conundrum because he was labeled as someone who is despotic and undemocratic in nature and yet the key foundation of this country was put in place by him.

Speaking on Pan African TV Program Alhaji and Alhaji he said “Nkrumah is an enigma. Because you hear people talk about a person who was autocratic in nature, and had dictatorial tendencies. But you also understand and appreciate the Ghana as we have today owe the key infrastructure that we are riding on today, were put in place by Kwame Nkrumah within the short period of his stay in power”.

He indicated that, the skewed intervals between the north and the south in 1957 with regards to those in the south having many elite people, whiles the north was lacking in terms of development and education was nurtured by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah through the various policies he put in place.

“In 1957, when we attained independence, there was a partial development gap between the north and the south. The south have ellicated it’s citizens and there were many of them who have attained high education. The north was very undeveloped and it’s still undeveloped and it is still trying to catch up with southern counterparts. Nkrumah came in with a policy that was intended to bridge a development gap between the south and the north and unite us through development”. He noted.

DR. ADUSA-POKU URGES GOVERNMENT TO MONITOR AND DOCUMENT ANY ADVERSE EFFECTS OF VACCINES

The Chief Executive of Garrison Pharmacy, Richmond Adusa-Poku is urging government to monitor and document any adverse effects the vaccines may have on those inoculated.

According to him, these are vaccines and not just any liquid substance and as such the government should put measures in place to document any adverse effects on those injected.

Speaking on JoyNews Newsfile he noted “We have to document any adverse effects of these vaccines that would be taken. These vaccines as much as we don’t want to alarm the citizenry is not just injecting water”.

He indicated that documenting the adverse effects of the vaccines will help in educating the public with regards to the fact that some people who have already tested positive to the virus may experience some changes, fatigue, and some discomfort after taken the vaccines.

“Now there are some people who may have had covid before and they have a bit of antibodies in the system, if they took in these vaccines, their immune system may prim up into gear. They may have a few Malays, fatigues, and changes. These kinds of education are needed because we know Ghanaians”.

Dr. Adusei-Poku further noted that “Ghanaians will always be looking up to any effects to blow it up”.

NEXT BATCH OF VACCINES TO BE RECEIVED WITHIN TWO WEEKS- DR. NSIAH-ASARE

Presidential adviser on Health, Dr. Nsiah-Asare says Ghana will receive the next batch of vaccines within two weeks.

Government received six hundred thousand doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines on Wednesday, and according to Dr. Asare the next batch will be available within two weeks. He noted that measures have put in place to update the general public on the arrivals of new vaccines from all sectors.

Speaking in an interview on Newsfile on Joy Tv he said “We will be unveiling and telling Ghanaians how, when and which vaccine is coming periodically. I’m very sure that within the next week or two we will get another batch of vaccines coming into the country”.

Dr. Nsiah-Asare also indicated that the covid 19 vaccines will be administered to the Ghanaian populace free of charge. This initiative according to him is to help vaccinate majority of the citizenry without financially burdened them.

“The health sector is participating in financing of the vaccines into the country. We are not going to use the health sector as profit or selling the vaccines to people and then taking profit”.

WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK IN ACHIEVING IMPORT SUBSTITUTION- ALAN KYEREMATEN

The Minister-designate for trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen says the country is on the right track towards achieving import substitution.

According to Mr. Kyerematen, the country is on course regarding it goals in restoring imports with local production.

The Minister-designate noted at the Parliament vetting committee that government’s Industrial Transformation Agenda has record remarkable acquirements in the growth of the economy.

“ The President launches a comprehensive programme for industrial Transformation which my ministry have been leading. Basically, this transformation programme is anchored on two parallel tracks. First to ensure that we produce to export, and secondly that we produce for the purposes of import substitution”.

He indicated that Transformative measures have been put in place which has help in building the size of local businesses to be able to import and produce some products for export.

“And so we have very comprehensive interventions that we have put in place very transformative interventions that are building the capacity of local businesses to be able to import substitutes and even produce some products for the exports”.

Mr. Kyerematen also noted that “So we are already on the right track and that is the basis for our Industrial Transformation Agenda”.

ELECTION PETITION: DISMANTLING THE PERCEPTION OF VOTE RIGGING IN NATIONAL ELECTIONS

Vote Rigging is a general term which includes voting by underage individuals, multiple voting, interference with boxes, exclusion of valid ballots by counting officers, and deliberate fraud in tabulating results. Of course to those in the political fraternity vote rigging is a common word. Those who truly know the game of politics understands that the game is all about winning and losing.

Generally, every election generates the perception of vote rigging most especially by the opposition party. Most of the time the argument is that the incumbent government has power over the Electoral Commission (EC) and as such they work hand in hand to rig the election in favor of the incumbent government.

A typical example of such a situation is the just ended election. Before the election was held on 7th of December 2020, the largest opposition party in the country, the National Democratic Congress (NDC ) made several statements which indicates that the Electoral Commission is in bed with Incumbent government (the Akuffo Addo led government) to rig the election in their favor. The likes of Sammy Gyamfi and Asiedu Nketia were on record for making such statements.

Another scenario is the 2016 elections where the NPP felt due to one or two irregularities during the election, it was rig in favor of the incumbent government the NDC and as such they proceeded to court to over turn the declared results. The idea that the then Vice President John Dramani could win the election after succeeding the late President John Evans Atta Mills just a year before the general elections created the perception that the election was rig in favor of the incumbent.

The truth of the matter is that, it is fair to acknowledge the fact that every party in opposition will automatically have the perception that an election could be rig in favor of the incumbent government. But for an independent body like the EC which is known for conducting free and fair elections to have their credibility and integrity in doubt even before the election says a lot. And to think of the number of irregularities that took place during the election, like the deployment of soldiers to Volta region which happens to be the strong hold of the opposition, the shooting at Techiman South, the changing of figures by the EC and the rest goes a long way to support the perception that the election was rig in favor of the incumbent government. Citizens and Politicians are likely to trust the Electoral Commission based on how transparent it works. I honestly think the work of the EC during the 2020 election strongly supports the perception of vote rigging before and after the election which has now landed us in court.

I sincerely believe that before the perception of vote rigging in national elections can be completely erased, the Electoral Commission, the media and politicians have a lot to do. One of the best way to tackle this perception is for the EC to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they still hold their objectives (Conducting Free and Fair Elections) in high esteem. The EC has to put mechanisms in place to win the trust and belief placed on them by the citizens and politicians alike.

I believe the EC has to take it upon themselves to put measures in place to gain the trust of Ghanaians by training good staff and it’s really essential to exclude candidates families. Election Tabulation should be done separately by two clerks, neither of them knowing each other. Also political parties should be allowed to have at least two agents at each station during election. The EC should enhance transparency which may require legal deployment of non-partisan observers. The EC can help in erasing the perception of Vote Rigging by having election management bodies that introduce mechanisms, which can be used as tools to undertake continuous monitoring of each electoral process. New methods have to be deployed by the EC to prevent it irregularities.

On the part of Politicians, Political good Will is a great factor in ensuring that this perception is been eradicated entirely. Adequate voter registers, level playing field, appropriate legal frameworks and adequate funding and other mechanisms can be put in place if there is a political will on the part of the opposition and the incumbent. But also an effective Electoral Commission and an appropriate legal framework are equally important.

Lastly the media as the fourth realm of the estate has a role to play in eradicating the perception of vote rigging in national elections. The media through agenda setting can educate the public on what constitutes vote rigging, how to legally tackle vote rigging without using violence, investigating allegations of vote rigging by Candidates and bringing the truth to light. I believe these mechanisms when put in place will go a long way in eradicating the perception of vote rigging in our national elections.

I SEE HIS WORDS AS A FUSION OF A FRUSTRATED SOUL – DR. MARZUQ

Political and Governance expert Dr. Mohammed Marzuq Abubakar says he sees the utterance of Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe as a fusion of a frustrated soul.

According to him, Dr. Nyaho has every cause to stifle. He stated that, those who know Dr. Nyaho will understand him because he is known for using sonorous words and as such he doesn’t blame him even though he doesn’t concur with his utterances.

Speaking in an interview on Pan African TV he said “ Respectfully I entirely disagree with Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe. I see his words as a fusion of a frustrated soul. Of course he has every reason to be frustrated. Those of us who know him very well can understand why he is talking this way. He is a character known for strong language. So I don’t fault him for that”.

He indicated that per Dr. Nyaho’s viewpoint, he has endure some magnitude of inequality in the party and as such you can’t fault him for thinking that way. But as an original member of a political party and a senior politician, it is required of him to use clarified words in tackling national issues.

“In his opinion he has suffered a level of injustice in that party. That is how he looks at it. And if he thinks that way and behaves in line with that thinking, definitely you cannot blame him. However as an elderly person, as a statesman, as a founding member of a functioning political party, Dr. Uncle Nyaho-Tamakloe is expected to use refined language in addressing national issues”.

Dr. Marzuq again noted he can solicit for indemnity from the party or yet still go to court if feels he has been look on unrightfully by the party.

“if he feels the party has been unfair to him, one, he can seek redress from the party structures. Two, he can go to court”.

Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe is a founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who has been in the news recently for labeling leaders of the party as rascals and bootlickers.

IF NPP HAVE TO REVOKE HIM FROM THE PARTY THEY SHOULD DO THAT – DR. KWEKU MAWUTOR

Lecturer at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Dr. John Kweku Mensah Mawutor says the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should revoke the membership of Dr. Nyaho- Tamakloe if they have to.

Speaking in an interview on Pan African TV Good Morning Africa he said “ If NPP would have to revoke his membership in their party, they should do that”.

According to the Lecturer, Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe has to come to light to account for the words he used in describing his own party, He indicated that as an individual you may have issues with a group you belong to, but you should learn to handle those issues in a proficient way. He believes there are several ways in handling issue in any group.

“This man must come out and then justify his statement that a party that is leading a whole state is full of bootlickers and rascals. When you belong to a fraternity, you may have all your differences but the way and manner you address it should be done in a very professional manner”.

Dr. Kweku Mawutor noted that, in every party there are mischief-makers and sycophants who are supposed to be treat of by the law. But for a founder member of a party to make such insulting comments against the party should not be tolerated.

“In every party there are rascals, in every party there are bootlickers. And the law is supposed to deal with such people. But when you make such ugly statement, a founding member of a party making such statements indicting your own party. Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe must come to terms with the fact that you need to follow the system or just walk out of the system and say whatever you have to say”.

Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe who is a founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in a recent interview condemned the manner in which the party is been handled. He indicated that the NPP which was formed by disciplined and morally outright people is now in the hands of rascals and bootlickers.

MILITARY POWER MUST BE USED IN SUPPORTING THE GROWTH OF DEMOCRACY- RASHID PELPUO

Member of Parliament for Wa Central, Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo says military power must be used in supporting democracy and peace.

According to him, the use of military strength should not be for personal interest but rather it should be use to hold up democracy, direct citizens and to ensure peace and stability.

In an interview on Pan African TV show Good Morning Africa, he said “ The use of Military power, police power, must be to support the growth of democracy, protecting the people and to ensure peace and security in the country. And not for personal grandeur’s, self certifying purposes”.

He indicated that, it becomes a problem when the military which is a consecrated organization and have been given the authority to protect our borders, and supremacy of Ghana are lessen to carry out tasks that do not express or demonstrate their main responsibilities.

“ We think that the military is a sacred institution that is given a specific mandate to defend the borders and the sovereignty of Ghana and so when they are reduce to performing functions that don’t reflect their core duty is a worry”. “ You have the military everywhere now following civilians, sometimes holding the bags of women and following them in ways that you don’t know the military to be”.

He further explained that, there are established organizations with their core mandates and as such the military and the police should not be used in performing the duties of these organizations.

“We have define institutions and their define functions. You cannot use the police to go and stop a media house from functioning, you cannot use the military to go into parliament to stop parliament from performing their function”.

Honorable Rashid Pelpuo made these comments with regards to the Minority Leader, Honorable Haruna Iddrisu urging the President to demilitarized the state.