Nana Konadu campaign team denies receiving cold reception in W/R

Nana Konadu         Campaigners for former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings’ presidential ambition have denied allegations in the media that they had a cold reception in the Western Region. The campaign team was in the region to campaign for the former first lady ahead of the July flagbearership elections of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). The Enquirer newspaper reported that the team had a cold reception in the region but outspoken NDC MP for Lower Manya Krobo, Michael Tei Nyaunu says that it is untrue, stating that majority of the party’s executives in the region have broken ranks with what he described as an earlier unified declaration of support for President Mills. According to him, contrary to the paper’s report that he, Tei Nyaunu and Kofi Adams, Former President Rawlings’ Spokes person and the leader of the campaign, sneaked into the region for their campaign, party faithful in the region trooped in their numbers to welcome them. Tei Nyaunu speaking to Citi News Wednesday emphasized that they, the campaign team received massive support and endorsement during their 4-day campaign in the region. “We had a nice time with them, some of them even told us that the regional executives on hearing that we were in town instructed them not to meet us but they defied it and decided to meet us because they were anxious about the information that we will be bringing and whether Nana Konadu will really be contesting or it’s just a ploy. We confirmed it for them that she is contesting,” he said. He further revealed that the declaration did not involve all the constituency executives, adding, it was a stage managed declaration which has incurred the displeasure of many in the constituency adding, “People are not telling His Excellency the President the truth on the ground.” Meanwhile, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Western Regional Youth Organiser of the NDC has denied Tei Nyaunu claims insisting Nana Konadu’s campaign was indeed shunned by majority of the constituency executives. Source: Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

AFAG exposes ‘chop-chop’ at forestry commission running into GH¢3 million

Pressure group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), has accused some top board members of the Forestry Commission of awarding a contract at the cost of GH¢3 million to a company, it said, had not yet fulfilled its part of the contract. AFAG expressed utter dismay as to why the Forestry Commission and its board, totally disregarded the laid down rules of procurement under sole sourcing and “in a bizarre twist, handed a juicy contract worth GH¢3,000,000 (¢30 billion old Ghana cedis) to ECOTECH Services Limited,” a company, it said, was two months old with no previous industry experience. It noted that even though the company had been paid already, ECOTECH Services Limited had not delivered on its obligation, calling for the immediate resignation of the Board Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission “to save Ghanaian tax payers' money from further abuse from such greedy and heartless public officials.” A leading member of AFAG, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, at a news conference in Accra on Tuesday, said “as we speak, not a single seedling has been supplied and the deadline for the execution of the project is a few days away.” According to the group, the move was an attempt by the “Forestry Commission and three other companies to deprive the state of eight million dollars invested in mass afforestation exercise commissioned by His Excellency John Evans Atta Mills on 24th July, 2009 at Yefri in the Kintampo South District of the Brong Ahafo Region.” This, it added, was a major setback to the fight against corruption in the country and petitioned the government not to spare anyone involved in the deal. However, AFAG is yet to name the board members and the other two companies involved in the alleged “misuse, abuse and overuse of the public purse,” totalling about GH¢9 million, promising to name the persons involved at its next news conference to be held soon. Documents show that ECOTECH Services Limited was registered at the Registrar General’s office on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 with an authorised business of afforestation, farming, environmental sanitation and disease control services as well as waste management. The supply of seedlings for the National Forest Plantation Development Programme (NFPDP) formed part of the ‘Greening Ghana’ initiative adopted by the government of Ghana after the global warming conference held in Copenhagen. “Subsequently, the then Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Collins Dauda announced government’s plans to expand the National Forest Plantation Development Programme to include areas located outside the forest reserves commencing 10th September, 2009,” the group indicated. With its constitutional mandate as spelt out in Act 269, the Forestry Commission, which was tasked to take oversight responsibility for the successful implementation of the project, sought approval from the minister to initiate action on seedling production contracts, which seemed to have been delayed in a letter dated January 27, 2010. The Forestry Commission Board in a letter dated February 2, 2010, according to AFAG, “requested the then Hon. Minister to waive the procurement procedures to enable large scale producers to be contracted in raising the seedlings.” Therefore, the Executive Director of the Forestry Services Division (FSD), AFAG stated, was directed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission to include in the seedling production guidelines, individuals or groups to the nursery operator supplying seedlings for the programme to be recommended by the respective District Assemblies. This directive, AFAG continued, was communicated further to all the regional managers on February 5, 2010. But the pressure group, on the other hand, smelled some fishy deals within the corridors of the Forestry Commission, especially, when the Chief Executive Officer, it claimed, went contrary to the previous arrangements and went ahead to apply to “the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to seek approval to engage ECOTECH Services Limited, a company formed barely three months earlier to supply seedlings for the plantations.” AFAG expressed the willingness to make available to any committee of enquiry, which would be set up to carry out investigations into the matter. Credit: Nathaniel Y. Yankson

AFAG exposes ‘chop-chop’ at forestry commission running into GH¢3 million

Pressure group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), has accused some top board members of the Forestry Commission of awarding a contract at the cost of GH¢3 million to a company, it said, had not yet fulfilled its part of the contract. AFAG expressed utter dismay as to why the Forestry Commission and its board, totally disregarded the laid down rules of procurement under sole sourcing and “in a bizarre twist, handed a juicy contract worth GH¢3,000,000 (¢30 billion old Ghana cedis) to ECOTECH Services Limited,” a company, it said, was two months old with no previous industry experience. It noted that even though the company had been paid already, ECOTECH Services Limited had not delivered on its obligation, calling for the immediate resignation of the Board Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission “to save Ghanaian tax payers' money from further abuse from such greedy and heartless public officials.” A leading member of AFAG, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, at a news conference in Accra on Tuesday, said “as we speak, not a single seedling has been supplied and the deadline for the execution of the project is a few days away.” According to the group, the move was an attempt by the “Forestry Commission and three other companies to deprive the state of eight million dollars invested in mass afforestation exercise commissioned by His Excellency John Evans Atta Mills on 24th July, 2009 at Yefri in the Kintampo South District of the Brong Ahafo Region.” This, it added, was a major setback to the fight against corruption in the country and petitioned the government not to spare anyone involved in the deal. However, AFAG is yet to name the board members and the other two companies involved in the alleged “misuse, abuse and overuse of the public purse,” totalling about GH¢9 million, promising to name the persons involved at its next news conference to be held soon. Documents show that ECOTECH Services Limited was registered at the Registrar General’s office on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 with an authorised business of afforestation, farming, environmental sanitation and disease control services as well as waste management. The supply of seedlings for the National Forest Plantation Development Programme (NFPDP) formed part of the ‘Greening Ghana’ initiative adopted by the government of Ghana after the global warming conference held in Copenhagen. “Subsequently, the then Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Collins Dauda announced government’s plans to expand the National Forest Plantation Development Programme to include areas located outside the forest reserves commencing 10th September, 2009,” the group indicated. With its constitutional mandate as spelt out in Act 269, the Forestry Commission, which was tasked to take oversight responsibility for the successful implementation of the project, sought approval from the minister to initiate action on seedling production contracts, which seemed to have been delayed in a letter dated January 27, 2010. The Forestry Commission Board in a letter dated February 2, 2010, according to AFAG, “requested the then Hon. Minister to waive the procurement procedures to enable large scale producers to be contracted in raising the seedlings.” Therefore, the Executive Director of the Forestry Services Division (FSD), AFAG stated, was directed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission to include in the seedling production guidelines, individuals or groups to the nursery operator supplying seedlings for the programme to be recommended by the respective District Assemblies. This directive, AFAG continued, was communicated further to all the regional managers on February 5, 2010. But the pressure group, on the other hand, smelled some fishy deals within the corridors of the Forestry Commission, especially, when the Chief Executive Officer, it claimed, went contrary to the previous arrangements and went ahead to apply to “the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to seek approval to engage ECOTECH Services Limited, a company formed barely three months earlier to supply seedlings for the plantations.” AFAG expressed the willingness to make available to any committee of enquiry, which would be set up to carry out investigations into the matter. Credit: Nathaniel Y. Yankson

NPP smells corruption in road, school contracts; demands probe

NPP smells corruption in road, school contracts; demands probe

Last Updated: Wednesday, 27 April 2011, 8:52 GMT Previous Page

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Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie         The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is demanding a probe into some road and school building contracts awarded since coming into office of the Mills-administration. It alleged that 90 per cent of the contracts were awarded without tender. General Secretary of the party, Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie, said the president must institute the probe if he is serious about fighting corruption. He said while a six-class-room block cost an average of GH¢80,000 under president John Kufuor, the Mills government was spending such outrageous amounts as GH¢261,000 on similar projects. The huge disparities and inexplicable jump in contract sums, Mr Afriyie said, raises not only questions but also concerns about the seriousness of the government in cutting profligate spending and ensuring that the nation gets value for money. “We demand to know why in spite of the alleged inflationary downward trend, the cost of building a six-unit classroom block has shot up from GH¢80,000 to GH¢261,000,” he said. Source: Joy News/Ghana

Konadu is not a Kwesi Botchwey; Kofi Adams tells critics

Deputy NDC General Secretary, Kofi Adams         A Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and an aide to the Rawlingses, Mr Kofi Adams has dismissed suggestions that former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings will be thrashed by President Mills at the party's July Delegates Congress as was the case with Dr Kwesi Botchwey and Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah in previous ones. Mr. Kofi Adams is of the view that the former First Lady is not like other party members who jumped ship and later returned to fight for the leadership of the party, stressing that “Mrs Rawlings is not a Kwesi Botchwey.” Mr. Adams who made these comments in a special interview with Super Morning Show sit-in host, Bernard Saibu on Joy FM Friday said Mrs. Rawlings is a much stronger candidate who has remained loyal to the ideals of the NDC. He said Mrs. Rawlings has tremendous support at the grassroots level and does not need to receive such “Cholera endorsements” from regional executives and ministers who form a fraction of eligible voters at the congress. He backed Mrs Rawlings’ accusation that people are being coerced into endorsing president Mills. He argued that meetings called to endorse the president are conducted in such hostile environment that people who have dissenting views are intimidated into declaring their support for the president. For him, if the voting at these meetings were by secret ballot, the kinds of mass endorsements received by president Mills would not have been witnessed. He believes a silent majority is pressured - by the public voting process - to back resolutions to endorse the president. According to Mr Adams, Mrs Rawlings' intention to contest President Mills for the flagbearership position is borne out of a desire to ensure that the party builds a stronger outlook towards the 2012 elections. Apathy, he said, is now a huge problem in the party that threatens to derail the NDC’s chances at the polls. He said apathy among party executives has reach a crescendo, a situation he fears could harm the fortunes of the party in the future. Asked whether Mrs Rawlings will not be doing the bidding of her beloved husband when she eventually becomes president, Mr Adams was quick to reject the notion stressing that his boss' wife has always been her own person and therefore can govern the nation without reverting to Jerry Rawlings for direction. He was however quick to add that Mrs Rawlings is at liberty to consult her husband who has seen it all. He blamed the media for stage-managing the declarations and endorsements for the President accusing a section of the media of not allowing people with divergent views to have their say on the subject. He called on his party to learn from the New Patriotic Party by expanding its electoral college to the grassroots in order to allow the real party supporters to have a say on whatever happens in the party. He asked other members of the party to be tolerant of other people’s intentions to contest the president as it is a democratic dispensation, adding even though the idea is a novelty - for a sitting president to be contested for his party's leadership - in Africa, there is always a first time to everything and therefore the NDC should lead the path for other parties to emulate. Story by Derick Romeo Adogla/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

We are not zombies - E/R NDC Chair tells the Rawlingses

Eastern regional Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress, Mr. Julius Debrah says former President Rawlings and his wife Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings must be told in the face that the party is nobody’s property. The leadership of the party in some regions have thrown their weight behind President Mills after the party's first Vice Chairperson and wife of former President Rawlings, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings resigned her position to contest sitting President Prof. John Evans Atta Mills for the flagbearership position as the party goes to congress in July this year. But a furious Mr. Debrah who was speaking on Asempa FM’s late afternoon current affairs programme Ekosii Sen said members of the NDC are not zombies who will follow whatever ex-president Rawlings and his wife say only because he is the founder of the party. He contends that a party is a society where members join voluntarily and that even though there could be a founder, he or she must accord the membership some level of respect and not be treated with contempt and indignation. “The Eastern Region is not going to declare support for anybody; we all already know that it is Prof. Mills we support and we will vote for him to the shock of everyone. We have entertained Rawlings and his foolhardiness for far too long. He should have told all of us that when he was criticizing the President for not performing, he was only preparing the grounds for the wife to contest President Mills he queried.”

Konadu: I am not worried about coerced declarations for Mills

Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings     Former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings has played down the wave of declarations and public support for President John Mills ahead of the party’s delegates conference in July to elect a flag bearer. Mrs. Rawlings Wednesday resigned her position as a National Vice Chairman of the ruling party to enable her contest the president when nominations open next month. Ahead of the nominations however, nationwide declarations and showers of praises have poured in from regional and constituency executives of the party for President John Mills. The Ashanti Region executives opened the floodgates of public declarations and since then their colleagues from the Western, Brong Ahafo, Greater Accra and Volta Regions have followed suit, albeit with some amount of rebellion from some executives who owe allegiance to the ex-first family. Speaking to Joy News’ Dzifa Bampoh, the former First Lady insisted she was unfazed by the declarations, more so when some of the executives had been coerced to declare support. She said her decision to declare her intent to contest was timely given the wave of coerced acclamations by the executives. “The issue of people in the regions saying that they throw their support behind another candidate or the other and then the same people call me to tell me how they have been coerced into taking certain decisions… I said let me resign from my executive position now so that I get the opportunity to talk to all my supporters who are calling me everyday asking me whether I am going to do, whether I am not going to do it,” she explained. She was not worried about the seeming headstart the declarations of support would give President Mills in the race. “I am not worried because I know what is happening. I have been in this game long enough to know whether we are playing chess or draft,” she touted. She dismissed assertions that she had always nurtured the ambition to become the president of Ghana, saying that “assertion is totally out of line and not true.” Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Gbagbo militia leader 'arrested'

The Young Patriots leader was put under UN sanctions accused of inciting attacks against UN personnel   Ivory Coast youth leader Charles Ble Goude, a key ally of deposed strongman Laurent Gbagbo, is under house arrest, a presidential spokesman says. The BBC's John James says the spokesman confirmed the detention after rumours about Mr Goude's whereabouts. Mr Ble Goude, known for his vitriolic speeches, mobilised thousands of young men to join the army in the final days of the four-month election dispute. Many other members of his Young Patriots group were given weapons. He refused to accept Mr Gbagbo had lost November's elections and organised street protests in his support. Mr Gbagbo was captured on Monday by President Alassane Ouattara's forces after he refused to hand over power. The BBC quotes its reporter as saying Mr Ble Goude was not one of those Gbagbo supporters at the presidential residence who were taken into custody. He was put under UN sanctions in 2006 accused of inciting attacks against UN personnel. Presidential spokesman Patrick Achi said he was being held in a secure place. Mr Ble Goude's aide, Semi Bi, told the BBC afterwards that he did not know about the arrest or where he was. Most moderate and undeclared members of the Gbagbo government have now pledged allegiance to President Ouattara, according to the BBC correspondent. Others have fled the country, often to neighbouring Ghana, or sought diplomatic protection, he says. Source: BBC