President John Mahama has nominated 12 persons for the position of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the Brong Ahafo and Upper East Regions.
The President made the nominations in accordance with Section 243, clause (1) of the 1992 Constitution and Section 20, clause (1) of the Local Government Act 1993, Act 462.
The list of nominees was contained in a statement signed by the Minister for Local Government & Rural Development, Akwasi Opong-Fosu. The nominees include: Alhaji Mohammed Kwaku Doku (Asunafo North Municipal), I. K. Kyeremeh (Dormaa East), Datiakwa Kojo Nyame (Kintampo South), Bukari Anaba Zakaria (Tano South), Jones Samuel Tawiah (Tain), Paul Donkor (Dormaa West), Anthony Kwaku Marnuh (Techiman North), Nobert Awulley (Builsa South), Adangabey Bonaventure (Builsa North), Thomas Dalu (Kassena- Nankana West), Vivian Anafo (Nabdam) , Akologo Daniel Adoliba (Bunduri).
Meanwhile, Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru has now been confirmed as the substantive Upper East Regional Minister. This was contained in a press release signed and copied to A1 News by the Acting Public Relations Officer of the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council, Peter Atogewe Wedam.
It follows a letter from the Office of the President dated 17th June, 2013 and signed by the Executive Secretary to the President, Dr. Raymond Atuguba. According to the letter, Alhaji Limuna’s confirmation took effect from 12th March, 2013.
The Concerned Citizens Association of Tamale (CCAT) has expressed concern about increasing rate of theft in the Neurosurgical Unit of the Tamale Teaching Hospital and has called for immediate investigations.
Basharu Daballi, President of the Association said in a statement issued in Tamale that the group is committed to assisting the Ministry of Health (MoH) in salvaging the hospital from diabolic activities of individuals who parade and disguise themselves as staff.
He said many citizens in the region had been alarmed at the increasing rate of missing equipment at the neurosurgical unit of the hospital. He claimed that some staff of the hospital offloaded oxygen cylinders meant for use in the hospital from a hospital pickup to a vulganizer.
He said issues of institutional misconduct and savagery against the collective interests of the group as citizens of the region had to stop.
Mr. Daballi commended the authorities of the hospital for putting in efforts to get to the bottom of the matter, adding that his group is, however, not satisfied with the endeavour.
He appealed to the MoH to consider dissolving the hospital’s governing board and compel the Chief Executive Officer to resign so as to pave way for proper investigation into the matter.
The first private television station in northern Ghana, Discovery TV, has commenced test transmission on the multi-TV channel 18 and other free-to-air digit-boxes.
The station, with its headquarters in Tamale in the Northern Region, is one of the many investments of the Discovery International Group of Companies (DIGC), Ghana, which sought to among other things market the investment opportunities of the three northern regions to prospective investors.
Philip Akpeena, Group Chairman of Discovery says the three northern regions had been starved with vital information, hence the need to setup the Discovery TV to discover the potentials of the people and the area.
He said a lot of businesses, especially in the Tamale Metropolis were booming but the bureaucracies and time involved to advertise on the television stations outside the region was de-motivating while there were limited opportunities for traditional and other opinion leaders to speak on issues of national importance.
Mr. Akpeena also stated that what spurred him on to setup the television station was to sustain the fast development of the region, advance the skill development, create employment and reduce poverty.
THERE IS “crazy” rush for Ghana visa in Turkey in Eastern Europe, Daily Guide has been reliably informed.
Turkish nationals have made the Ghana Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, their preferred destination for visa, lately. The encouraging situation was not the case about a year ago; the paper has been made aware.
The recent deepening of relationship between the governments of Turkey and Ghana had resulted in the positive move. Ghana’s Ambassador to Turkey, Alhaji Abass Ibrahim, said Ghana visa is currently in high demand in Turkey.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Guide, he said, he was even overwhelmed about crave for Ghana visa in Turkey now.“The rate at which Turkish nationals apply for Ghana visa at the embassy in Ankara is very encouraging,” he stated.
Ghana officially opened its embassy in Ankara, Turkey in September 2012 to deepen ties with the host country. Prior to the opening of the embassy in Ankara, Ghana had an Honorary Consulate in Istanbul.
Hon Abass said Turkish businessmen are now yearning to get Ghana visa so they could visit the West African country. He said these Turkish businessmen want to expand their businesses, hence heading towards Ghana.
Alhaji Abass said before the opening of the Ghana Embassy in Ankara, there was no rush for Ghana visa among Turkish nationals, but the current opening of the Ghana Embassy has helped to market Ghana to Turkish nationals in recent times.
The envoy cited positive relationship between Ghana and Turkey as a factor in the rush for Ghana visa by Turks. Alhaji Abass praised Turkish businessmen for deciding to make Ghana their preferred destination for business.
He admonished Ghanaian businessmen to also take advantage of the positive development and expand their businesses in the process. The Ambassador urged Ghanaians to avail themselves so that they could partner their counterparts from Turkey.
This, he pointed out, would go a long way for the mutual benefit of Ghanaian and Turkish businessmen.
After weeks of auditioning and screening by Judges of A1 Radio to select the final five (5) finalists, competition amongst these five (5): Akamorige Thomas (Tommy), Martin Soore Mbabil (Skairy Soorebia), Fatima, Hot.k and Solomon Angme (Natty Vybzs) became tired. The general public had to vote so as to get who represents the Upper East Region at the ‘’MTN HITS MAKER SEASON II’’. Martin Soore Mbabil (Skairy Soorebia) emerged the winner and Upper East’s regional representative in this year’s ‘’MTN HITS MAKER SEASON II’’.
The final results were collated by A1 Radio’s entertainment crew on Sunday 23rd June, 2013 and announced at around 14:00 GMT by the host of the programme Deejay Lexis after all the five (5) finalists were introduced and asked to perform their own songs to instrumentals produced by the DJ. Fans were also given the opportunity to call in and wish their favorite artiste the best of luck.
In an exclusive interview with the Programmes Head of A1 Radio and a member of the entertainment crew Mr. Emmanuel Aboagye as to how the collation was done, he said they put together the votes from both the phone-ins and text via the short code 1406 for each of the artistes which was crossed check by the MTN team before it was released.
According to the results collated, Fatima came 5th with 118 votes, Solomon Angme came 4th with 136 votes, Hot.k 3rd with 421 votes, Akamorige Thomas (Tommy) 2nd with 499 votes and Martin Soore Mbabil (Skairy Soorebia) 1st with 559 votes. The artistes all accepted the outcome and gave their final messages and also promised to support the winner when the whole competition begins in the MTN house which will be live on television.
A1 Radio entertainment crew will be following on every step bringing updates on the competition as and when it happens.
By: A1 Radio Entertainment Desk | A1radioonline.com
Looking few months back at the just ended Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA), one artiste that most entertainment fans across the country were looking forward to picking up an award was the ‘’TOFFEE PON TONGUE’’ hit maker KAAKI.
Though below expected, she managed to beat Blakk Rasta, Shatta Wale and others to pick up the Reggae/Dancehall song of the year category award and the Discovery of the year category award this year. Some entertainment critics have criticized it, others also think otherwise and that she deserved the award. Kaaki herself saw absolutely nothing wrong with the award though according to her, she has not been in the music scene for long. Shatta Wale however thinks otherwise and lashed out at Charter House. For him, he thought he deserved the award and that; he was ‘cheated for whatever reason’.
Before the awards night, Kaaki was embarking on a tour dubbed ‘’KAAKI IT UP TOUR’’. The tour begun in the North at Tamale on the 25th of May 2013 at the Tamale Sports Stadium where according to funs, ‘the show was massive’.
However, her funs in the two Upper Regions referred to her as a ‘Disappointment.’ On the streets of the Upper East and Upper West regions, most entertainment lovers were not happy about her and expressed their displeasure. They said she disappointment them for not bringing the tour to their door steps. For them, Kaaki insulted their love for her for not recognizing her funs in these two regions.
When the A1 Radio entertainment crew spoke to a member of Kaaki’s management team by the name Elorm Beenie early this month, he explained why they could not make it to the three northern regions, saying it was due to lack of resources. He added that as a result of this, they were not going to all the ten regions of the country but will be selecting some regions to cover up the other regions. He used the opportunity to render an apology to all who were not happy about the turn of events and promised to make up to all their fans. He said, Kaaki will be making her last stop of her tour soon at the nation’s capital Accra. A1 Radio entertainment crew will be bringing you exclusives on the tour as and when they happen.
By: A1 Radio Entertainment Desk | A1radioonline.com
One of Upper East’s prominent and most listened-to presenter and A1 Radio’s Programmes Head Dj Angel known in real life as Mr. Aboagye Emmanuel celebrates his birthday today 24th June, 2013. To mark the celebration of his birthday, all programmes of the station today is dedicated to him.
In an interview with Mr. Aboagye Emmanuel A.k.a Dj Angel by Worshipper the host of the mid-morning show on A1 radio 101.1fm this morning, he said it’s a surprise he himself had forgotten it’s his birthday today but all the same he was grateful first of all to the almighty God for giving him an additional year to his years. He furthermore gave thanks to his mom, wife and daughter for their support all these years. When asked a couple of times how old he was, he never replied with a specific number but all he said was he has had another year to his years.
There is gonna be a special birthday party tonight at his residence on invitation, but for now members of A1 Radio and the general public are still coming in with their personal birthday gifts to the celebrant. Listeners also stand a chance of winning fantastic prizes on the Drive Time today at 5:30pm this evening for whoever is able to get or guess the celebrant’s right age.
For now on behave of the A1 Radio entertainment crew, we wish Mr. Aboagye Emmanuel A.k.a Dj Angel HAPPY BITHDAYDAY.
International audit firm, KPMG, has completed auditing the pink sheets at the heart of the election petition challenging the declaration of President John Dramani Mahama as the winner of the 2012 Presidential election.
The company is expected to present 15 copies of the final report to the registrar of the Supreme Court before 9 a.m. today.
Each of the nine justices of the court will be given copies, and so will all the parties in the case.
The extra copy will go to the Judicial Secretary.
This was disclosed to the Daily Graphic by a Senior Partner of KPMG, Mr Joe Winful, in Accra yesterday.
The Statement of Poll and Declaration of Results forms, also known as pink sheets, have been at the heart of the election petition because the petitioners — the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; his running mate, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, and the Chairman of the NPP, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey — have alleged that gross and widespread irregularities took place on the face of the pink sheets from 11,842 polling stations.
Although they insist they supplied 11,842 pink sheets to prove claims of over-voting, persons voting without undergoing biometric verification, some presiding officers not signing the pink sheets and some polling stations having the same serial numbers, the respondents allege that they were not supplied with 11,842 pink sheets.
The petitioners are currently relying on 11,115 pink sheets to make their case for the annulment of more than four million votes.
Realising the controversy surrounding the actual number of pink sheets supplied to the Supreme Court Registry would not die down, the court, on May 9, 2013, appointed KPMG to audit the pink sheets.
The Audit
KPMG completed auditing the first set of pink sheets submitted to the Supreme Court Registry, issued a draft report on it and requested parties in the petition to respond to the draft report, but the court, on June 5, 2013, directed that the pink sheets of the President of the panel, Mr Justice William Atuguba, be used as control in the audit.
As a result of that, the Supreme Court, on June 13, 2013, adjourned proceedings to today to enable the audit firm to complete its work to allow parties to rely on the report to make their case for and against the annulment of more than four million votes.
“We will defend our work”
Mr Winful declined to disclose the content of the report on the grounds that the firm was appointed by the Supreme Court and it was only fair that the court be allowed to see the content first.
“We have done our professional work diligently and are prepared to defend our work when called to testify in the case,” he emphasised.
“We worked thoroughly and tirelessly, including weekends and sometimes up to 2 a.m., in order to finish the work on time,” he intimated.
Emergency Meeting
Reacting to the widely circulated report that lawyers for the petitioners had called for a meeting with the KPMG, Mr Winful explained that the meeting actually took place on Friday, June 21, 2013.
He indicated that the meeting was to iron out a few issues before the issuance of the final report on the audit.
The Petition
The hearing of the substantive petition began on April 17, 2013.
So far, Dr Bawumia and the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, have testified for the petitioners and President Mahama, as well as the NDC, respectively.
The Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, began giving his evidence-in-chief on Thursday, May 30, 2013 and is currently being cross-examined by Mr Philip Addison, the lead counsel for the petitioners.
The petitioners have alleged that the December 7 and 8, 2012 presidential election was fraught with malpractices of over-voting, non-signing of pink sheets by some presiding officers or their assistants, voting without biometric verification and duplicated serial numbers of pink sheets.
However, President Mahama, the EC and the NDC have denied that any such irregularities occurred during the election.
President John Dramani Mahama has declared that it is God who ordained him as the President of Ghana.
The President said this is evident in the late start of his campaign and how within that short period God intervened and crowned him President of Ghana.
Speaking at the 20th anniversary of the Mount Horeb Prayer Camp at Mamfe in the Eastern Region, President Mahama said the wonders God continues do in his life is something his opponents find it hard to come to terms with.
“And what they didn’t understand is that it is God who bestows leadership. During the campaign I declared that it was not by my might that I was going to be president of Ghana but that he who is above…that is why they [opposition parties] still cannot understand why a person will use 40 days to win an election in a country. But He who is above does wonderful things and He does what pleases Him.”
President Mahama also stated that God has blessed the country to the extent that foreigners even recognize that and keep applauding the progress being made in the country.
The President therefore said it is time Ghanaians realized these miracles and counted their blessings.
“Our nation has been successful, I feel proud when I go outside and they say oh this is the president of the Republic of Ghana and everybody wants to come up to say: oh Mr. President your country is doing very well; Mr. President your nation is blessed; Mr. President your nation is leading in Africa.
“And I say why is it that everybody else outside the world sees that our nation is doing well, but we alone here in this country say that our country is the worse hell hole in the world?” he asked.
Head and Founder of the Prayer Camp Prophet Nii Okai, wants the Health Ministry to collaborate with churches in dealing with mental health challenges.
The Mount Horeb Prayer camp aside its spiritual duties, also caters for mentally challenged patients.
President Mahama was accompanied by a team of government ministers and other government officials.
An aerosol spray to help referees mark where defensive walls should line up at free-kicks is being used in a FIFA tournament for the first time at the Under-20 World Cup which kicked off in Turkey on Friday.
Referees at the event can use the spray to mark the spot where a free-kick should be taken as well as where the wall should stand 9.15 metres away to prevent encroaching.
