Nana Addo snubbed at Koforidua  
* Source: Citifmonline



The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said its investigations reveal that its flagbearer for the 2012 elections, Nana Akufo Addo was prevented from entering the Koforidua Midwifery College per the express instructions of the Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service.

The flagbearer of the NPP was prevented from entering the Midwifery colleague in the Eastern Region to deliver a talk to the students as part of his ‘Restore Hope Tour’.

The First Vice Chairman of the NPP in the region, Alhaji Umar Bobinga told Citi News the party was not allowed to use the premises even though they had served notice several days back.

He said “we know by the Constitution of Ghana, we practice politics in tertiary institutions, we sent our application to the principal of the school and he accepted seven clear days before Nana’s arrival.

“Yesterday, around 9 o’clock we had information from the midwifery school that there is a directive from above that they shouldn’t usher Nana Addo into the campus."

He added: "We went on further to ask the principal, she said we know she is under somebody. This instruction was carried and communicated to her through the regional director of health service.





Another Veep Deal Crumbles, As Embrear 190 Joins STX In The Grave
* Source: The Statesman




Another deal led by the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, has once again failed to materialise.

Just like the STX Housing deal which was brokered by the Vice President, the July 2011 decision by the Mills-Mahama government to purchase an Embraer 190 executive jet to serve as a “Strategic Airlift Aircraft” for the Ghana Airforce has also failed.

Information reaching the New Statesman cites two reasons for the failure of this deal brokered by the Vice President. Sources in Brazil attribute the failure of this deal to “corporate issues” and the controversies over the pricing of the jet.

At the time of completing the transaction, Ghana was quoted to have agreed to pay a basic price of $55 million for the jet, as opposed to Embraer’s price quote of $28.5 million-$40 million, irrespective of enhanced accessories.

Whilst John Mahama’s deal had indicated that government was buying the Embraer 190 aircraft at $55,264,000, the deal had also requested the option of configurations to convert the luxury jet into a military aircraft, bringing the total amount to $88million.

Configurations to the Embraer 190, as proposed by the Mills-Mahama administration, to convert the luxury jet into a military jet included an extra fuel tank costing $8 million; air staircase costing $1 million and in-flight entertainment of $1.4 million.

The New Statesman in July 2011 revealed that contrary to claims by Government that the Embraer 190 aircraft was being acquired as a “Strategic Airlift Aircraft” to “significantly enhance the operations of the Ghana Armed Forces, the Embraer 190 was not built to airlift military personnel.

Indeed, the acquisition of the E190 would have made lower middle income Ghana the only country to acquire a commercial jet, and spend an extra $1 million to enhance it to first class, executive status and classify it as a troops’ carrier!

New Statesman investigations also revealed that out of the over 1,000 firm orders from 60 companies in 40 countries and the more than 750 Embraer jets delivered, Ghana was the only client which had ordered an E190 to be used as a military transport jet.

Our checks also suggested that there was no model described as E190 SAA, as indicated by the Mills-Mahama administration in the purchase agreement presented to Parliament.

It is recalled that on Thursday, 23rd April 2009, barely two months after President Mills had stated in his first state of the nation address that “we will review the decision to purchase two executive presidential aircrafts because Ghana simply cannot afford the expenditure at this time”, representatives from Embraer, led by Antonio Neubarth flew to Accra to make a presentation to Vice President John Mahama, Lt Gen JH Smith and the Military High Command for the purchase of the Embraer 190.

At that time, Embraer was not a manufacturer of any military transport aircraft. A week prior to the presentation made by Embraer to Ghanaian officials, however, Embraer had signed a contract with the Brazilian Air Force to begin the production of the KC-390 military transport programme, an aircraft specifically designed to serve as a military transport aircraft, serving as a troop carrier and effective cargo and tanker aircraft and estimated at a fully-kitted, total flat cost of $50 million per unit.

Thus, if the Ghanaian officials wanted a military transport aircraft, as Government had sought to project the purchase, they ought to have known that the E190 was not it and if it had to be an Embraer then it had to be the then yet to be manufactured KC-390, which made its first flight in 2011.



700 thousand people living with glaucoma in Ghana- GAG
* Source: GBC



Statistics from the Glaucoma Association of Ghana, GAG, indicate that about seven hundred thousand people are living with glaucoma in Ghana.

Out of this, about 60 thousand people have already gone blind due to glaucoma.

This has been attributed to the failure of people to visit the hospital regularly for eye check-up.

Speaking at the Ghana Institute of Journalism launch of the Tertiary Students Against Glaucoma in Accra, the President of the Glaucoma Association of Ghana, Harrison Abutiate, who said this added that Glaucoma is the number one cause of blindness in the world.

He said this illness when detected early can be treated but not cured.






Muntaka sues Daily Guide for ¢600,000
* JoyOnline




Member of Parliament for Asawase in the Ashanti Region has filed a suit against the Daily Guide following a publication he had married a minor.

Muntaka Mubarak is seeking a 600,000 cedis in damages over the report and an apology from the paper.

The newspaper in its Monday May 14,2012 edition alleged the MP got married to a 17 year old girl over the weekend.

But the MP in an interview with Joy News confirmed getting married but not to a minor.

He said he is a law maker and would not violate the law.

He has subsequently filed a suit at a High Court for damages.

A writ of summons, a copy of which is available to Joy News named the defendants as Morgan Owusu, a reporter at Daily Guide, Fortune Alimi, the editor of Daily Guide, Halifax Ansah Addo, Editor in charge at NewsOne and Western Publications, Publishers of Daily Guide.

Muntaka Mubarak is also seeking cost and to restrain Daily Guide from any further publications of the defamatory matter.

Counsel for the plaintiff Samson Lardi Ayenini confirmed the suit in an interview with Joy News but was not ready to prosecute the case on radio.

Editor of the Daily Guide Newspaper Fortune Alimi told Joy News he is yet to receive a copy of the writ and will respond accordingly.






900MW power plant to be sited in Domunli in Jomoro district
* Source: GNA



The Energy Minister, Dr. Joseph Oteng Agyei, has said the Volta River Authority would soon build a 900 mega watt power plant at Domunli in the Jomoro District.

Dr. Agyei said this at Half Assini on Tuesday during a visit to the Jomoro District to assess the extent of work on ongoing energy projects in the district.

He said the government was committed towards improving the lives of the people and would provide the necessary social infrastructure to that effect.

Commenting on the agitation of some people of Jomoro over the relocation of the gas processing plant from Domunli to the Atuabo, Dr. Agyei said only the gas processing plant had been relocated but the petrochemical industry would be sited at the original site at Domunli.

The Minister said the gas project involved all the six coastal districts in the region and that a fertilizer factory would be sited in the Shama District as part of the package.

Dr. Agyei said 292 communities in the region are benefiting from the Worthy Lamont Electrification project being funded by the Government of Ghana. In the Jomoro District alone, 30 communities would benefit from the electrification project.

The Chief Executive for VRA, Mr. Kwaku Andoh Awortwi, said 18.9 square kilometres of land had been acquired for the power plant and had already been cleared for work to start.

He said the project would be completed in the next six years and as part of the project staff bungalow would be built for the workers.





Former Sekondi Constituency NDC Vice Chairman, 350 others defect to NPP
* Source: GNA




A former Sekondi Constituency NDC Vice Chairman, Alhaji Osumanu Mohammed, and 350 other party members on Tuesday announced their defection to the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Addressing a press conference in Sekondi to declare their defection to the NPP, Alhaji Mohammed said he and the rest quitted the NDC due to "disrespect to authority in the party".

He said the President Mills Government had shown gross disrespect towards the founder of the party, ex-President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu .

"The way and manner President Mills is handling the NDC and its government, is an apparent deviation from the principles and ethics that molded the NDC from the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC)" he said.

Alhaji Mohammed noted that, a cursory assessment and perusal of the unfolding events within the NDC as well as the government was an obvious indication of the fact that there was a lopsided agenda which smacked of a clandestine efforts to oust the Rawlings’ from the party.

He added that the current economic hardships presided over by the NDC government was a clear manifestation that the ruling government had nothing good to offer the majority of Ghanaians.

“I can confidently confirm that the NDC government has done nothing to better the lots of Muslims in the Sekondi Zongo Community even though the NDC party touts itself as the only pro-Muslim political party in the country,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said the NDC had lost focus and vision to drive this nation forward and therefore, he had no choice than to quit the party and join the NPP.

He said over the years, the NPP had demonstrated quality leadership and good governance during its eight years in office and had proven to be pro-Muslim than the much touted NDC, hence his decision to join it.

He commended the NPP MP for Sekondi, Papa Owusu Ankomah for helping the development efforts of the people of Sekondi by offering scholarships to students, building classroom blocks, computer laboratory, among other social infrastructure.





Volta Region registers over one million voters
* Source: GNA



A total of 1,147,128 people registered in the Volta Region during the recent four-phase 40-day Biometric Voter Registration Exercise across the country.

Ms Laurencia Kpatakpa and Mr Dogbe Selormey, Volta Regional Director and Deputy Director of the Electoral Commission respectively, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Wednesday that the figures were provisional.

Ho Municipal Area recorded the highest registration figure of 134,400, while South Dayi District had the lowest of 26,646.

Ketu South, which encompasses the sprawling border community of Aflao recorded, 125,386, the second highest figure, followed by Hohoe Municipal, 102,206, Keta Municipal, 100,894, North Tongu, 87,084 and Ketu North,60,800.

The rest following in the same order are Kpando-56,323, Akatsi, 53,808, Krachi West, 52,752, South Tongu 52,278, Nkwanta South, 51,128, Nkwanta North, 44,533 and Adaklu Anyigbe, 44,432.

Others are Biakoye 40,144, Kadjebi 38,863, Krachi East, 37,947 and Jasikan, 37,504.

There are 18 administrative districts in the Volta Region which has 22 constituencies, Keta, Ho and Hohoe municipalities and North Tongu have two constituencies while the rest are coterminous with constituencies.

Mr Selormey told the GNA that the EC was yet to arrive at the substantive figures as adjudications to challenges filed against certain registrations among other issues could vary the current figures.

The general trend was that higher numbers were registered during the first phase of the exercise, ranging between a total of 355,849 to 222,060 in the fourth and final phase.


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