Effah DartehS' Past Catches Up With Him

One of the flagbearer aspirants of the ruling New Patriotic Party, retired Captain Nkrabeah Effah Darteh has been disqualified from the race. The party’s vetting committee took the decision on Friday afternoon. It was his dream to bring change to the people of Ghana through his message of better governance, law and order and human development. But Retired Captain Nkrabeah Effah Darteh is not going to live the dream. The party’s vetting committee disqualified the retired captain based on his previous record of an attempted coup maker as an officer of the Ghana Armed Forces. The report of the committee says he was convicted of treason by a military court in 1981. Article 62 clause 94 of the National Constitution bars any person with record of treason from contesting for president. Although the retired captain was granted pardon for the offence, the committee decided he couldn’t be allowed to contest because the 1992 Constitution of Ghana bars any person once charged with a treasonable offence from seeking the highest office of the land. Party Chairman Peter Mac Manu confirmed the decision at a news conference. Captain Effah Darteh has spent a substantial amount of money to reach the vetting stage before his disqualification. But perhaps his biggest expenditure in his quest to be president so far is the ¢250 million he paid to the party as filing fees. That amount, according to a member of the vetting committee, Samuel Odoi Sykes, is not refundable.

NPP Aspirants' Fate Decided Today

..... All 18 paid their $25,000 non-refundable fee
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) will today Friday announce a list of qualified presidential aspirants one of whom would lead the party in next year’s general elections to succeed President John Kufuor. The 18 presidential candidates went through a vetting process after they submitted nominations forms and paid a non-refundable fee of 250 million cedis ($25,000)

The non-refundable fee generated a lot of controversy with the media leading the charge and describing it as excessive. The media wondered how the presidential aspirants could afford such a high fee while the average Ghanaian is living in poverty.

Nana Ohene-Ntow is the general secretary of Ghana’s ruling party. From the capital Accra, he tells Voice of America (VOA) reporter Peter Clottey that all is set for the party’s announcement of possible presidential candidates.

“The applicants have all been vetted by the Vetting Committee. And we expect that any moment from now, the Vetting Committee would be presenting its report to the national executive committee. Once the vetting committee comes up with the list of people who have been cleared by the committee, those people would be presented at the congress, and they would contest,” Ohene-Ntow noted.

He said the party’s Vetting Committee has done its job and that Ghanaians would see their work after today’s announcement.

“As you know, 18 people have been vetted by the committee, the committee has the power to pass or to disqualify an applicant. I’m sure that if the committee has to disqualify any applicant, they would provide reasons. If they do disqualify anyone, that applicant within 48hours can appeal to the National Executive Committee against the decision of the committee, and in that instance the decision of the national executive committee shall be final. So, barring any disqualifications, we expect that the Vetting Committee will present to us a list of 18 who would be contesting on congress day on December 22^nd,” he said.

Ohene-Ntow said after the list of presidential aspirants is named, the party would then introduce them to partisans and the whole country amidst fanfare.

“On Sunday, the party would organize a platform in the central region, precisely at Kasoa during which all of those who have been cleared by the Vetting Committee to go to congress would be presented to the general public. They would be given the opportunity to showcase their ideas, and their visions and of course on congress day they would still have a chance to make a statement on what they intend to do should they be elected as presidential candidate of the party,” Ohene-Ntow pointed out.

He said although the party has been criticized for what some have called exorbitant non-refundable nomination fee, none of the presidential aspirants have complained about it.

“These are conditions that we stated very clearly in the application forms. And I’m sure you would know that the whole process was voluntary, no one was coerced to come and pick up the forms. And no one was coerced to return them and subsequently to file the nomination. And we take it that all those who picked up the forms and went ahead to file their nominations, read and understood the conditions, and ready to abide by them,” he noted. Clottey Interview With Nana Ohene-Ntow Listen to Clottey Interview With Nana Ohene

Source:

VOA

Ghana Ranks 136 in Human Dev't

Inches Closer Towards 2000 High Mark
... 78% get less than $2 per day income

Ghana ranks as the 135^th best country to live in the world according to a United Nation report released today. It moves one place up in regard to the 2006 report, but still seven places down from her high of 128^th in 2003 and 1995. (read)

Ghana’s Human Development Index(HDI) value improved from 0.532 to 0.553 - which shows the country inching closer to her highest rate of 0.556 in 2000

The HDI launched by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on annual basis measures country’s performance in terms of improvement in life such as life expectancy, education attainment, health indicators and increase in real incomes.

Despite remaining a beacon of democracy, peace and stability in the sub region, the quality of life for most Ghanaians has not seen much improvement and has actaully dipped from the highs of 2000.

The report states that "In Ghana, half of children in the droughtprone northern region are malnourished, compared with 13 percent in Accra" .

The Human Poverty Index shows that there are 44.8% having less than $1 per day income and 78.5% of population lives below $2 per day income in Ghana.

The national poverty line stood at 39.5% in accordance with 2004 data

Ghana is ranked among "medium human development" countries and territories, scoring less than Botwana(124), Namabia(125), Gabon(119) and South Africa(121).

Ghana scores better than Nigeria(158), Senegal(156) and all of it's other west African neigbours.

Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada and Ireland rank as the best five countries to live.

The 20 worst countries to live in are all from sub-saharan Africa. The worst five are: Mali, Niger, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso with Sierra Leone at the bottom of the pack.

Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia were not included in the 177 countries ranked

Selected Data for Ghana

(last year's data in brackets))

• Life expectancy at birth = 59.1(57)
• Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) = 57.1(57.9)
• Combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio (%) = 50.7 (47.2)
• GDP per capita (PPP US$) =2480 (2,240)
• Adult illiteracy rate (%ages 15 and older) 42.1 (42.2)
• % of People without access to an improved water source = 25 (25)
• URL Ghana Fact Sheet

Source Ghanaweb.com

Tagor, Abass jailed 15 years each

Tears flowed at an Accra Fast Track High Court on Wednesday when two self-confessed drug barons, Kwabena Amaning aka Tagor, and Alhaji Isaah Abass were sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment each in hard labour.

Relations of the two convicts wept uncontrollably as they were whisked away under heavy police escort from the courtroom to begin their sentences.

The judgement caught the accused, prosecution, defence, journalists and relatives by surprise, as the judgement date was to have been agreed on Wednesday.

Tagor was in POP and on clutches following an injury he sustained while playing football in custody.

The court found Tagor guilty for conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs because he confessed to about his drug transactions.

He was, however, acquitted and discharged for buying and supplying narcotic drugs.

The court presided over by Mr Justice Jones Victor Dotse, a court of Appeal Judge, also found Abass, 54, guilty for conspiracy and engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs. The court, however, acquitted and discharged him on charges of supplying narcotic drugs.

The court ordered that the sentences should take effect from the day of their arrest. Meanwhile the Serious Fraud Office last year, confiscated assets of the convicts.

The two were said to have made confessions about their previous dealing in the drug business at the residence of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kofi Boakye in May last year. The said conversation was recorded and anonymously dropped at the Georgina Wood Committee set up by the government to investigate the missing 76 parcels of cocaine on board MV Benjamin, which docked at Tema last year. They pleaded not guilty.

Handing down the sentences, the court said it took into consideration the drug menace in the country and the fact that the nation was being used as a distribution point and the harmful effects of drugs among men and women.

"With the upsurge of the drugs in the country it behoves all of us to come together to fight the drug menace in the country," the court said. The court said sentences should be deterrent to others and corrective adding that it took into consideration the prime age of the accused persons.

The court noted that sentences were not prescribed by law and for that matter the court only used its discretion. The court was quick to say that some portions of the law had prescribed a minimum of 10 years.

Before handing over the sentences, Mr Ellis Owusu Fordjour, who represented Tagor, prayed the court to take into consideration the fact that his client was a first offender and pleaded that he should be dealt with leniently.

Mr Mohammed Attah who represented Abass drew the attention of the court of the days his client had spent in custody and prayed for the minimum sentence.

Ms Gertrude Aikins, Acting Director Public Prosecution (DPP), drew the court attention to the various stages in the drug business. According to her, while the users were fed by pushers, the pushers were also fed by the barons and prayed the court to met out punishment befitting the status of drug barons.

Source:

GNA