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Kwesi Pratt And Nana Akomea In Near Verbal Spat On TV
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- Category: Politics
- Created on Saturday, 29 September 2012 00:00
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24 September 2012
Kwesi Pratt And Nana Akomea In Near Verbal Spat On TV
There was a near-row in the studios of Metro TV between Messrs Kwesi Pratt Jnr and Nana Akomea during the airing of one of the station’s flagship programmes, Good Morning Ghana after both personalities took strong exception to each other’s choice of words.
The two, Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper and the Director of Communications of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), were panelists on the show and were discussing the recent impasse between Ghana and La Côte d'Ivoire.
{sidebar id=10 align=right}The Ivorian side of the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border, it would be recalled, was closed to the public on Tuesday after it was opened to business and passengers on Monday afternoon. The continued closure of the Ivorian side of the border affected revenue generation at the Ghanaian side of the border.
The Ivorian side of the border was first closed to the public on Friday, September 21, 2012, following heavy gunfire on the Ivorian side, which reportedly led to the death of five taxi drivers. The Ivoirian authorities suspected that the attacks in their country were carried out by militias exiled in Ghana.
However, following intense high level negotiations between the two countries, Ivoirian authorities opened their side of the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border to allow free flow of people and goods.
Speaking to the issue, the newspaper editor cum social commentator bemoaned the current sorry state of Ghana’s neighbouring country, once easily French West Africa's most prosperous state, contributing over 40% of the region's total exports. He repeatedly made reference to invisible foreign hands from the West unremittingly poking their noses into the affairs of democratically elected African governments, which he observed was responsible for the toppling of the Laurent Gbagbo administration.
“…the problem in La Côte d'Ivoire was not just an electoral issue…it was a case of the Western countries having a vested interest…and wanting to remove Gbagbo at any cost and looking for excuses to remove an African government in order to restore their own puppet,” he stated.
But Nana Akomea found Kwesi Pratt’s argument untenable cautioning against subscribing every African problem to foreigners. He pointed out that in some situations; it was unavoidable that the West intervened.
The NPP Director of Communications also expressed surprise that Mr Pratt who was labeled a “protected agent” by some foreign emissaries in leaked diplomatic cables by whistle-blower website, wikilieaks, was raking the West over the coals in such manner.
“We must be careful about defining every African problem in terms of the West… I heard Kwesi mention that the CIA and all that were involved in the overthrow of governments…But you see the internal conditions…that make it possible for foreigners to come in. When you listen to Kwesi, he talks about the CIA coming to overthrow Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. It was an unfortunate event, but what were the internal conditions? At that time, we had a one party state so if anybody wanted a change of government, you find out that they can’t achieve it through democratic means…Even though it was unfortunate, it was the condition. Kwesi himself, when you read some of these Western papers, they say that he is an agent…In the Wiki Leaks cables; they had indentified you (Mr. Pratt) as a protected agent of the West…it could be true, it could not be true,” Nana Akomea said.
But not enthused by being tagged “protected agent”, Mr. Pratt hit the roof.
Admittedly, he said, he did hold a meeting with some US embassy officials, but that does not mean he is an “agent”, much more a “protected” one, pointing out that there are several reasons why people’s names are protected in foreign dispatches.
Clearly filled with rage, the senior journalist flared and retorted that “lack of knowledge” and “complete illiteracy about diplomacy” could be the only reasons why Nana Akomea is drawing the conclusion that he is an ally of the West.
“…It is most unfortunate that a person of his standing, communication director of a political party seeking power, can display this level of ignorance on nationwide television. Most unfortunate! And it is irresponsible to make such statements on a television network...i’m shocked at the level of your irresponsibility,” Kwesi Pratt roared.
Source: Chris Joe Quaicoe/Peacefmonline.com
No commentsGov't officials behind attempt to bring Prez Mahama's brother down - Baako
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- Created on Saturday, 29 September 2012 00:00
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29 September 2012
Gov't officials behind attempt to bring Prez Mahama's brother down - Baako
{sidebar id=10 align=right}Editor-in-Chief for the New Crusading Guide newspaper Abdul Mlik Kweku Baako has claimed that some “powerful” persons in government, are behind the linkage of President John Mahama’s younger brother to the supposed sale of Merchant Bank to First-Rand South Africa.
Kweku Baako will not mention names but insists some officials at SSNIT, Merchant Bank as well as some government functionaries are part of the problems being faced by Engineers and Planners.
SSNIT announced sale of its majority interest in Merchant Bank to First-Rand of South Africa as part of strategies to boost returns on its investments.
The bank also announced accepting a little over 176 million Ghana cedis from the second biggest finance group in South Africa to acquire 75 percent of its stake.
The controversial transaction has taken political turn with the opposition New Patriotic Party linking the sale of Merchant Bank to First-Rand of South Africa to failure by the former, to recover a Ghc57 million loan facility to Engineers and Planners, a mining company owned by President Mahama’s younger brother, Ibrahim.
The NPP held a news conference claiming Merchant Bank had been brought to its knees because it had written off the loan it granted to Engineers and Planners. Merchant Bank on Friday issued a statement to reject this claim.
“I am reliably informed that Bank of Ghana has not given approval to transaction because Fidelity Bank has put in a petition over lack of transparency in the transaction. Indeed the bird has whispered into my ears that the deal will not be approved.
There are people driving this transaction, and who almost consummated it and that is part of the problem… Ibrahim’s company, the E and P, its difficulties begun under the Kufuor administration, but the problem worsened under the NDC 3 administration, it is a fact,” Mr. Baako revealed on News File on Joy News and Joy FM on Saturday.
According to him, the purported sale of Merchant Bank to First-Rand of South Africa will come to naught. He said reliable information available to him has it that the Bank of Ghana will not give approval for the transaction.
“The people who are at Merchant Bank and SSNIT, the big guys who have been driving this transaction; they should listen carefully, it’s not gonna happen,” he assured.
From: Myjoyonline.com
Vote NDC To Continue With Developments: Veep
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- Created on Friday, 28 September 2012 00:00
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28 September 2012
Vote NDC To Continue With Developments: Veep
{sidebar id=10 align=right}Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissa Arthur on Friday reminded Ghanaians that government can continue with its numerous development projects only if the people renewed their mandate and asked the electorate to retain the ruling National Democratic Congress in power in the December polls.
“We can’t implement our policies if we don’t get your vote,” the vice president said at Sekondi when he met the chiefs and elders of Sekondi at the Chief's palace.
His meeting forms part of a three-day visit to the western region where he has been interacting with the electorate and introducing himself as the running mate of President John Dramani Mahama on the ticket of the ruling NDC.
Vice president Emisa Arthur stressed peace, unity and stability as prerequisites to rapid social and economic development and added “it is our hope that chiefs will support us to have peaceful elections.”
He appealed for help, prayers and advice, and asked the chiefs to continue to pray for him. The vice president said the NDC government would hold consultations with the chiefs of the central and western regions on business development with the view to attracting more investors to the area.
Nana Tsetse Appou II, acting president of Sekondi Traditional Council and chief of Kansaworado, appealed to the government for the rehabilitation of their railway line in Sekondi, improvement of structures at the Albert Bosumtswi Sam fishing harbour, as well as the road network in the area.
Earlier the vice president had interacted with workers at the harbour and assured them that government would not neglect the development of the fishing industry. He said he hailed from the fishing community of Moree in the central region and personally fishing was dear to his heart.
Government was therefore in talks with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to look for ways to develop more cold stores across the country’s ports and beaches so that the hard work of Ghana’s fishermen for bumper catches would not be in vain.
At the port, the people requested the government to provide more cold stores to reduce fish spoilage, and sheds for shelter. The vice president would soon hold a meeting and interact with the Western Regional House of Chiefs.
Source: GNA/Ghana
Ghana To Hit ½ Million Barrels
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- Category: Business & Finance
- Created on Friday, 28 September 2012 00:00
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28 September 2012
Ghana To Hit ½ Million Barrels
Ghana is poised to produce about 500,00 barrels of oil per day, as the nation makes more and more new discoveries in the oil sector, the President, John Mahama, has said.
{sidebar id=11 align=right}He said the discoveries would, no doubt, make the country a major player in the hydrocarbon industry.
Speaking at a luncheon in New York organised by the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), an organisation made up of the power production capacity from 3,000MW to 5,000MW if all the oil wells come on board and added that solar and renewable energy investment was also welcomed.
President Mahama urged the investor communities to take advantage of the numerous opportunities dotted across the country to do business.
He said Ghana has solid investment credentials, pointing out that aside a peaceful and a stable environment, the margin of investment returns were higher.
He dispelled the notion held in certain quarters that Ghana is only looking up to China for investments, saying that the country is open to investment from every quarter on a win-win partnership.
The president stated for instance that while China provided three billion dollars to fund critical infrastructural projects in Ghana under favourable terms, the American government also made available 547 million dollars under the Millennium Challenge account.
President Mahama indicated that Ghana posted a GDP growth of 14 per cent this year, the highest in the world and was poised to becoming one of the emerging African economic tigers.
He stated that, the growth was driven mainly by government and stressed the necessity for the bulk of growth to come from private sector investments, as the country moves to the threshold of middle income status.
“We have a high need for infrastructure,” President Mahama intimated and urged interested investors to partner the government under a public-private-partnership, singling out energy and electricity supply as areas of priority.
He said the good news was that the services sector had overtaken the agricultural sector as the main drive of GDP.
In order not to over-depend on oil revenues to the detriment of other sector of the economy, he said government was emphasizing investment in agriculture and agro-processing.
Under a program with the USAID, he said 150 million dollars had been made available to boost agriculture production in Ghana.
Source: The Ghanaian Times
ELECTION 2012 POLLS: Ben Ephson Releases 15 More
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- Category: Elections & Governance
- Created on Friday, 28 September 2012 00:00
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28 September 2012
ELECTION 2012 POLLS: Ben Ephson Releases 15 More
Below is a new list of 15 opinion polls concluded over the weekend, bringing the total polls so far published by RadioXYZonline.com and the Daily Dispatch to 101.
The highlights of these new polls in 15 seats is the possibility of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) losing two seats to the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
{sidebar id=10 align=right}These are the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem in the Central Region and the Shama Constituency in the Western Region.
WESTERN REGION
Evalue Gwira.............................NPP
Shama........................................NPP
Ellembele...................................NDC
Sefwi Akontombra.....................NDC
CENTRAL
Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem........NPP
EASTERN
Okere...........................................NPP
Kade............................................NPP
Afram Plains South...................NDC
Afram Plains North...................NPP
NORTHERN
Karaga.........................................NDC
Walewale....................................NDC
UPPER EAST
Builsa South...............................NDC
Zebilla..........................................NDC
Pusiga..........................................NDC
Source: Ephson's File