Oil find: Ghanaians deserve to know what gov't is doing - Bright Simons

Bright Simons is unhappy with the haphazard and insidious manner in which Ghana's oil find is being managed. A Research Fellow at IMANI Ghana, Mr Bright Simons has expressed disappointment at the insidious way and manner in which the country's oil resource is being managed. He said the opaque clouds that have enveloped the processes relating to the management of the resource and the role government is playing should be of a major concern to all Ghanaians. “The lack of transparency is unbelievable,” he told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show host Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah. Mr Simons averred that if the government stops obfuscating its management of the process, “I will mark government very high.” But what transparency does he want to see, to which he responds; “Go to the GNPC website, go to the Ministry of Energy website and see for yourself whether as an independent observer you have any understanding whatsoever what the government’s policy on oil and gas is. My point (is) that government has to publish at least a paper (explaining) its decision to interfere with the process of Kosmos energy offloading its stake in the Jubilee fields to Exxonmobil.” He said the government was not running a private business and that if it is intending to invest huge public money in the oil industry, the people of Ghana deserved to know why and also contribute to that decision. “We have been told consistently that there are about 30 proposals that are being considered, put all of them on the internet,” he charged. “If you take the four billion dollars that is being bandied around and if government is raising four billion dollars to invest in an enterprise, that will probably be the biggest single Ghanaian state sponsored venture we’ve seen, since the days of Valco and Akosombo Dam, don’t you think we have to contribute to (making the decision)? Analyzing complex figures, the IMANI associate said there was the possibility that the stake the government was contemplating buying was over-valued and wondered why the government wanted to participate in a venture with a high risk. He stated that it was dangerous to assume that the people at the helm of affairs would manage natural resources in the best interest of the people because “we have seen mismanagement of natural resources before.” Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

NDC youth accuse chairman of embezzlement

Some National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters from the Ledzokuku constituency in Accra are accusing the regional chairman of embezzling funds for party activities. They say Danny Annang has failed to account for over 31,000 euros sent from an NDC member in Austria during the 2008 elections. The group, which came to Joy FM with receipts covering the said money, said several attempts to get some explanations from the chairman have proved futile. Spokesperson Ernest Frimpong disclosed to Joy News that Mr. Annang is not fit to seek re-election unless he accounts for the monies received last year. “I have in my hand documents that tell me that during the elections [2008], he was sent money from Austria to support the party’s election,” Mr Frimpong said. The supporters allege Mr Annang is using the money to put up a storey building in the constituency, a situation they say gives cause for suspicion. But Mr Annang has denied receiving any monies for party activities. Speaking to Joy News, he said such malicious stories fabricated by his opponents will not affect his chances in a pending elections. “I have not received anything from any quarters, whatsoever,” he told Joy News’ Elvis Adjetey. He shot down suggestions that the accusations could affect his chances in the elections slated for Tuesday 29 December. Source: Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Political scientist applauds Mills' rule of law

President John Mills A Political Science lecturer at the University of Cape Coast Kingsley Adjei has observed that the greatest achievement of the Mills Administration in its first year is the adoption of the rule of law. According to him rule of law is the basic tenets of democracy and its adoption shows the president commitment to moving the country forward. He was speaking to Nhyira FM’s 'Gwaso Nsem's host Kofi Asante in Kumasi He said the policies and programs of the Mills administration if continued can help strengthen the country’s democracy. Mr. Adjei in analyzing the recent comment by the Attorney General to dramatically prosecute officials under the NPP administration said it should be considered as a statement made out of pressure. He described as immature the reaction by former President Kufour and believes it could create unnecessary tension in the country. Mr. Adjei advised the AG to always be guided by the rule of law and not succumb to any pressure to act. Story by Kofi Asante/Nhyira FM-Ghana

Court rulings good for democracy

An Accra-based legal practitioner, Ace Ankomah says one of the greatest highlights of the year 2009 was the robustness of the judicial system. He said some of the rulings of particularly the Human Rights and Appeals Courts have been phenomenal. “In many of the high profile cases where concepts like the right to counsel are now so firmly hit in our books that no government agency can deny a person the right to counsel, the freedom of movement, the fact that the mere statement in your passport…that the passport belongs to the state doesn’t mean the state can by that ownership of the passport deprive you of your freedom of movement. That has been established,” he told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show host Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah. He said the rulings were “major landmarks in our human rights jurisprudence and general legal jurisprudence that cannot go without mention.” Mr Ankomah expressed the hope that judges will continue to dispense justice without fear or favour. That, he emphasised was necessary for the development of the country. For, “if we don’t continue in our stride to be a nation that is governed by law, then we are not getting anywhere.” According to the legal practitioner, 2009 was a foundation year which has to be built on, but he cautions that if in 2010 we are still building the foundation, them we are lost. Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Dan Lartey is dead

Daniel Augustus Lartey Mr. Daniel Augustus Lartey, presidential candidate, leader, founder and chairman of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) is dead. Dan Lartey, also called Uncle Dan or Domestication, passed away on Monday, December 28, at his residence in Accra after a short illness, according to family sources. He was 83. Henry Lartey, son of Mr Dan Lartey, confirmed the death to Adom FM. He said the family was meeting Tuesday morning over the bad news but said the family would celebrate the life and death of their father because he had achieved a lot for himself and for Ghana. Dan Lartey, a staunch vestige of Kwame Nkrumah’s Convention People’s Party and an Nkrumahist adherent, has run for national president on the ticket of the GCPP on two occasions since breaking away to form the GCPP as a splinter of the CPP. After the 2000 and 2004 elections, he was only stopped from having a third bite at the 2008 presidential race when the Electoral Commission disqualified him for submitting his nomination papers late. He had just managed to beat an October 17, 2008 deadline for the exercise and paid the stipulated GH¢5,000 nomination fee only to be told of errors in his documents. The documents and money were returned to him but it was too late already to beat the deadline. A former publisher and labour unionist, Dan Lartey's name became a household one following his 2004 mantra of domestication, a political thought of growing Ghana from Ghana rather than depending on foreign aid and investments. Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Immorality is sinking The World says True Faith Pastor

The head pastor of True Faith Church in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana, Pastor Samuel Amoako has said the whole world is sinking under the weight of immorality and that the judgement of God is at hand for those who engage in immoral activities. He said the spate of infidelity among married couples, homosexualism, pornography, alcohol and drug abuse seen throughout the world is a sign of the decadence of our society and warned people to change their behaviour and accept Christ before they face the wrath of God. He said throughout history God has punished disobedient people who follow sexual and other pleasures against doing the will of God.

He emphasized that if the people of the world continue with the direction they have taken there is no doubt that God's wrath will be poured against them. He advised Christians and all true worshipers of God to eschew all behaviours and manners that put the name of Christianity and the ministry of Jesus into disrepute.

He says God will reward all those who adhere to the teachings of Christ including those who abstain from fornication, lies, adultery, idolatry, alcoholism, fits of anger, enmities, divisions, sects, envies, jealousy, practice of spiritism and other loose conducts.

Quoting from the book of Galatians 5:19-23 he encouraged Christians and true worshipers of Jehovah to embrace love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness and exercise self control and put on the armour of God (prayer, fasting, faith, study of the gospel,) in order to withstand the snares of Satan which he says is sinking the world and inviting the wrath of God upon mankind.

By Lord Aikins Adusei

KNUST, Deputy Registrar Convicted Of Contempt

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and its Deputy Registrar in charge of Legal and Welfare, Mr Richard Appiah-Kubi, have been convicted for contempt in a case in which two second-year Law students challenged their dismissal from the university for alleged examination malpractice.

The Kumasi High Court, presided over by Mr Justice G.H.K. Debrah, which convicted them, made a number of orders against the university and the deputy registrar which should be carried out within one week.

Among the orders were the payment of GH¢1,000 into government chest and the withdrawal of an advertisement on the dismissal of the students, Messrs Alfred Obeng Boateng and Ato Kwamena Sam Ghartey.

The court said the withdrawal of the advertisement would correct the impression that the students had been dismissed from the university.

Again, the court asked the KNUST and the deputy registrar to apologise to the bench and undertake not to repeat their behaviour again.

In 2007, the KNUST dismissed the two students for allegedly engaging in examination malpractice. The students did not take kindly to their dismissal and sought redress at the court.

The court upheld their application and consequently declared their dismissal illegal. However, the university refused to re-admit them to continue with their programmes of study and went ahead to place newspaper advertisements to the effect that the students remained dismissed, in spite of the court ruling.

Consequently, the aggrieved students filed an application for contempt against the KNUST and the deputy registrar, which was upheld by the court.

Source:Daily Graphic

'Disruptive' passenger prompts 2nd alert on Detroit-bound jet

Police met a Northwest Airlines jet in Detroit, Michigan, after reports of a disruptive passenger. The passenger spent about an hour in the bathroom and got upset when he was questioned by the crew of the flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, according to government sources. Law enforcement agents were questioning the man Sunday. The jet had the same designation -- Flight 253 -- as the one on which a Nigerian man is accused of attempting to set off an explosive device Friday, said Scott Wintner, a spokesman for the Wayne County Airport Authority. Winter told CNN the flight "requested emergency assistance and was pulled aside upon arrival in Detroit." The jet was taken a long distance from the terminal and "completely engulfed" by emergency vehicles and heavily armed police once it landed, said Don Graham, who was waiting for relatives to arrive at the airport. The flight arrived about 12:34 p.m., said Susan Elliott, a spokeswoman for Delta Air Lines, which owns Northwest. The 257 passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft about an hour after the jet landed, she said. Source: CNN

Kufuor concerned about A-G's threats of "dramatic" prosecutions

Former president Kufuor bemoans threats to prosecute appointees under his administration Former President Kufuor has expressed concern at suggestions that appointees under his administration will be aggressively pursued next year, describing the comments of some government officials in relation to prosecuting members of his government as unfortunate. His comments follow recommendations by the Ghana@50 probe commission that the two main architects of the golden jubilee celebrations be prosecuted and statements by Attorney-General Betty Mould-Iddrisu at a recent news conference that the Mills’ administration would embark on a “dramatic” prosecution of officials under the NPP administration. The commission which was appointed by the President to investigate the erstwhile Ghana@50 Secretariat recommended the prosecution of the Chief Executive of the Secretariat, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby and the chairman of the National Planning Committee Kwadwo Mpiani who was also Chief of Staff at the Presidency. Madam Betty Mould-Iddrisu at a recent press conference said the Mills administration inherited a “difficult situation,” citing the turnouts at the courts in cases between her office and certain individuals and warned of more “dramatic” prosecutions of former officials “who actually, allegedly, committed criminal offenses.” But speaking in an interview with Accra-based TV3, Mr Kufuor said any such prosecution announced by the A-G would be unacceptable without ample evidence. “If we say we are living under the rule of law, then when a person alleges, that person has a duty to prove. Not until the proof is established, nobody has the right to begin to threaten; 'we’ll put Kufuor’s men in prison' and that sort of thing – that will not be acceptable,” the former president said. “If Kufuor had done that then, perhaps, most of the people threatening would be in jail already.” Mr Kufuor said “we didn’t go into politics to be hated, to make enemies; we went into politics to try to serve our nation. Let it be so.” He said the ruling party must “accept that they are there to serve all of Ghana” and that they must be guided by the fact that “partiality is not the way forward for us.” Former president Kufuor wished Ghanaians “a very good and prosperous new year.” Source: Myjoyonline.com

Mills warned of uprising precursor

Mr Herbert Mensah advises leaders against being self-centred Mr. Herbert Mensah, a businessman and football administrator, has cautioned the Mills administration to be mindful of the way ordinary Ghanaians are treated, since the success and survival of the government depended on them. “If the average man on the street cannot make it, cannot pay his fees, take care of his medical bills, look after his welfare; one day he will rise up against the people who think they have power and this is what some of us want to prevent.” In an interview with Luv News, Mr Mensah, however, appealed to Ghanaians to exercise restraint to enable the new administration find its feet, and hoped things would be better in the coming years. “We should not be disturbed, maybe it is the first year; next year we will see a change in gearing, in a different philosophy.” He urged President John Evans Atta Mills to involve the youth in decision making so that they can contribute effectively to national development. The former CEO of Kumasi Asante Kotoko Football Club noted that for the government to be successful in its development programmes, the youth must be given the needed attention. Mr Mensah blamed the high unemployment rate on the African continent on selfish ideas pursued by most African leaders, adding, most past African leaders have used their influence to benefit themselves causing hardship among the citizenry. “The youth represent the most important part of Ghana, 70% of the population is under 30; the average age of our rulers is mid 60s going upwards. They are disconnected from the people. I think the people should keep hope; people should not react because the politicians have disappointed them. People should not react because people about 50 and 60 are not thinking about their future. "People should understand that their reactions should be based on something objective and creative to take us forward.” He told Luv FM’s Elton John Brobbey. Herbert Mensah also cautioned President Mills to do away with ethnicity, if he wants to be a successful leader. “The reaction against the system should be as Ghanaians, not based on ethnic lines. I have lived and worked since 1983 in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Angola, and I have seen them all disintegrate because politicians do not look after, do not care for the man on the street and the working classes, which is why I advocate for the philosophy of social democracy. Where it is the capitalist, our harnesses are checked and the capital flows can be dispersed and distributed to the have nots.” Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana