Golden Jubilee Inaugural lecture at national theatre

The Ghana @ 50 Secretariat on Sunday announced that venue for the Golden Jubilee Inaugural Lecture scheduled for Thursday, January 25 has been changed to the National Theatre in Accra. A statement issued and signed by Mr HenryWellington Okyne, Public Affairs Officer said the time for the lecture remained the same.

A programme drawn by the Secretariat said it would be delivered by Busumuru Kofi Annan, Former Secretary General of the United Nations under the theme " Championing Africa's Renaissance: In Pursuit of Self-reliance and Sustainable Economic Liberation in Africa".

It said President John Agyekum Kufuor would be the Special Guest of Honour with Professor Adzei Bekoe, Chairman of the Council of State chairing the function. Attendance is strictly by invitation. GNA

Press Release: Dan Botwe For President 08'

My attention has been drawn to a leaflet that was distributed at the NPP congress with the caption “Declare, Dan Declare!” by a group called Patriotic Force. My office has received several calls and emails to ascertain weather this ‘Force’ causing the “under current” at the NPP delegates congress is in fact affiliated with us.

I wish to state that Patriotic Force is the local and grassroot working team of www. Move4Dan08.org an international campaign aimed at soliciting massive support for Daniel Botwe at the impending NPP delegates Congress to elect a flag bearer.Daniel Kweku Botwe is the immediate past General Secretary of NPP and immediate past information Minister.

He is the current Chairman of the Research and Strategy for NPP.Coordinator!Move4Dan08.org Info@move4dan08.org
Source:GHP

I Was Not Responsible For IFC, CNTCI Scam Loans - Osafo-Maafo

Just as Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver in the Bible, so Yaw Osafo-Maafo, NPP Presidential candidate aspirant, has betrayed his colleague competitor aspirant Alan Kyeremateng for the NPP Presidential candidacy slot by washing his hands clean off the scandalous IFC and CNTCI scam loans which nearly brought down the Kufuor administration on two separate occasions.

Speaking in a Radio Gold interview, Mr. Osafo-Maafo stated categorically that he was not responsible for arranging those two scandalous loans but that he had to present and defend them in Parliament as Minister of Finance in accordance with the principle of collective responsibility.Answering a question by Radio Gold’s James Agyenim-Boateng, that: “Your detractors are likely to say that—CNTCI is a baggage for you, IFC is a baggage for you”, Mr. Osafo-Maafo, who was Minister of Finance at the time the two scandalous loans were contracted by the NPP Government and aborted by the NDC opposition, stated as follows:“People do not understand how Government functions and the role of the Finance Minister and therefore let me explain them further to you. The Minister of Finance is responsible for mobilizing financial resources to run the country.

We have three types of resources.We have bilateral resources, i.e., between Ghana and Germany, Ghana and France, country to country and we have multilateral resources, between a country and groups of countries, like Ghana and the World Bank of Ghana and the IMF. When you are borrowing bilateral or multilateral, it is the responsibility of the Minister of Finance to go and do the borrowing and nobody else can.

Now there are a number of projects which require financing outside bilateral and multilateral resources. Indeed there are much more resources outside the bilateral and multilateral resources than we have there. For example in Ghana, there are about 18 banks and only 4 of those banks are state banks. The rest are all private banks and they are much bigger than the state banks and that’s how the world of financing is.There is a lot of money in the private sector apart from bilateral and multilateral. Now when you need money from the private sector for instance you need money to do the Bui dam.

The Minister of Energy can go and look for money from the private source and bring to cabinet for consideration and approval and therefore any borrowing outside bilateral and multilateral can be initiated by Ministers other than the Minister of Finance and indeed the IFC loan was never initiated by me. Indeed the IFC loan when it was taken to cabinet, I was outside the country.The records are there, I was at the World Bank but cabinet approved it. Once Cabinet approved it, it is the collective responsibility of all of us because Cabinet, about 35 people have said yes. Now according to the rules, it is only the Minister of Finance who can send a loan application to Parliament.

This is very important and you don’t understand it. And therefore when I come and Cabinet has approved a loan, I cannot say I cannot take it to Parliament because I am the Minister of Finance; otherwise I should resign. If I am the Minister of Finance and I should remain as that then I should send it to parliament.So I sent both the IFC and the CNTCI to parliament purely as the Minister of Finance but none of the two was initiated by me.

Ghana Palaver is however aware that both the IFC and CNTCI loans were initiated by Mr. Alan Kyeremateng, Minister of Trade, Industries and PSI when he was Ghana’s Ambassador in Washington, and involved persons like Professor Eddie Ayensu, a garrulous Ghanaian academic on the international circuit who is known to be an adviser to President Kufuor.At the time of the IFC and CNTCI loans however, Mr. Osafo-Maafo and Senior Minister J.H. Mensah not only look responsibility for them but stoutly defended them as the best things that ever happened to Ghana.

Observers of the political scene are certain that Mr. Osafo-Maafo has opened a can of worms and that as the campaign rolls by, IFC and CNTCI will be baggage for him until he has truthfully answered the question—--”Who initiated the IFC and CNTCI loans”?If he should confirm it to be Alan Kyeremateng, that will be the end of the latter’s Presidential ambitions.
Source:Ghana Palaver

Kofi Annan Returns Home On Tuesday

Former United Nations(UN) Secretary General, Kofi Annan, is due to return to home on Tuesday, January 23 night where he is being urged to contest the country’s presidential election in 2008.

An official statement asked the public to come to the airport to give Annan a hero’s welcome. Annan completed his two five- year terms on December 31.
According to the statement, President Kufuor and Vice President Aliu Mahama, ministers of state, members of the diplomatic corps, leaders of political parties and traditional leaders would be at the airport to welcome the former UN boss.

Annan, 68, who retired from the top position of the world body at the end of last year, is reported to have turned down the advances of the New Life Ghana Movement urging his candidacy.

The movement set up the website draftkofiannan2008.com to campaign for his candidacy.
Kofi Annan, the website, which is not endorsed by Annan, said “is the best qualified person to lead the country “at this crucial time.”
Annan, who was the second African to head the UN after Egyptian Boutros Boutros Ghali, won several honours including the Nobel Peace Prize and he was also the first UN Secretary General to rise to the top through the UN system.

The draftkofiannan2008.com website said its team was calling on Annan “to come and lead us as a nation” and contest the election as an independent candidate.
“We find it necessary that Mr. Annan take up this challenge as an independent presidential candidate so that he can concentrate on building the administrative and managerial competences of our ministries and departments while oversight is provided by political activity, parliament, the judiciary, media, and society at large, without the dangers of a one-party state,” the website said.

Mr Annan became only the second African, after Boutrous Boutrous Ghali to be appointed head of the UN in 1996.
He was also the only Secretary-General who rose through the UN system to become its head
Source:Times

Government protests alleged intimidation of contributor at Assembly

The Government on Tuesday said it strongly protests the allegation of violence against a contributor during the Jubilee People’s Assembly held in Sunyani earlier in the day.




A statement signed by Mrs Oboshie Sai-Kofie, deputy Minister of Information and National Orientation, said if found to be true, government will spare no effort in identifying the perpetrator or perpetrators and bringing them to book.

The alleged harassment reportedly occurred outside the venue of the Assembly, soon after the alleged victim made his contribution. “Government finds the allegation most unfortunate, and if found to be true, would like to re-emphasize that the very idea of the innovative People’s Assembly, is to ensure a consistent deepening and strengthening of our democracy,” the statement said, adding that one of the core values to be defended and sustained is that of freedom of speech.

It said President John Agyekum Kufuor and the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Kwamena Bartels spoke at length during the event, about the need for tolerance, even when views and opinions differed.GNA

Ghana-Nigeria: 6th February

The CEO of D-Vision Network Dennis Tawiah has confirmed that the Black Stars of Ghana will now play their Nigerian counterparts on Tuesday February 6 in London.The new venue for the match will be the 19,000 capacity Brentford Stadium in West London.

It might be recalled that the same venue hosted the international friendly between the Black Stars and Togo last August.According to Justin Addo, CEO of Jv2i Consult, organisers of the game, a change of date and venue is the only alternative to ensure the game takes place next month.The English FA ruled that since England play Spain on 7 February in Manchester we need to look for an alternative date," Addo told BBC Sport on Friday.

"We made strong efforts to still have the game played at Loftus Road, home of Queens Park Rangers but the ground is not free for our new date, hence we have to settle for Brentford."The Nigerian FA and the GFA have endorsed this new date we are happy that the match will still take place."Mr Tawiah who is the GFA's match agent in Europe told Metro Sports that both Nigeria and Ghana will feature all their stars. The Tuesday February 6 Match will kick off at 7:45.

115 billion cedis for Accra High Street Project

The Government of Ghana (GOG) has allocated 115 billion cedis towards the construction of selected roads within the Accra Central Business District.The projects include the reconstruction of the Korle Lagoon Bridge, a four-kilometre road stretching from the Lavender Hill near Korlegonno to the Independence Square and one-way pedestrian schemes within the Okaishie Sub District.

The Department of Urban Roads (DUR) is supervising the project, which is being undertaken by China Railway Wuju Group, a Chinese construction firm. Tahal Consulting Engineers (TCE) from Israel through their local subsidiary, Alpha Consulting is the consultant for the project.

Diversions on the road project on Monday worsened the traffic situation in Central part to Accra and the Korle-Bu areas and when the Ghana News Agency visited the project site, roadblocks were mounted at various points within the area, and personnel from the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) were directing traffic.Hundreds of commuters opted to walk to work instead of going on commercial vehicles that were stuck in heavy traffic.

Mr Kwesi Nuama, Road Development Engineer from DUR, who is in charge of the Project told the Ghana News Agency that so far the Government had released a 22 billion cedis as Advance Mobilization Loan (AML) to the consultants to re-start the Project.

He said the project, which took off several years ago but was halted due to lack of funding would now be completed in the next 18 months, adding that the bridge bit of it would be completed in eight months.

Mr Adrian Frantescu, Chief Executive Officer TCE, also told the GNA that as part of the Project, the bridge at Lavender Hill would be expanded and raised up to accommodate the back tides from the sea waves and also be lengthened from the current 30 metres to 66 metres.

He said the bridge would be converted into double dual carriageway to ease traffic to and from Accra.Mr Frantescu noted that the current state of the bridge at Lavender Hill was a death trap, saying that it was on the verge of collapse and that structurally it had failed.

"The bridge is too short and narrow - we are lucky that articulator vehicles do not use this bridge, otherwise it would have collapsed long ago," he said."We will construct a three span bridge, taller enough, with several outlets to ensure easy flow of the back tide from the sea waves." He said in the course of the road construction only the City Engineers office building and the walls of the Customs, Exercise of Preventive Service offices in James Town would be affected. "We need to preserve the historic buildings along that corridor and so we would not touch any of them," he said.

Mr Frantescu said the Project promises to create jobs for both skilled and unskilled personnel in the country, saying that at the moment all the 200 persons employed for the Project were Ghanaians and there was a prospect of an additional 150 jobs for the people in the James Town, Ga Mashie, Chockor, Korlegonno.He said while the Project was underway, the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) would assist to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.

Mr Frantesacu said efforts were being made to prevent the reoccurrence of heavy traffic jams but noted that during the project period traffic would be considerably slow within that area.
Source:GNA