This follows concerns expressed by the party’s rank and file on the matter during the nationwide ‘thank you’ tour of the National Executives of the party. The grassroots of the party have expressed their disaffection and revulsion at the conduct of some leading members of the party with presidential ambitions, who are said to be engaged in some covert manoeuvrings towards bringing their ambitions into fruition.

They are particularly averse to the actions of some overzealous supporters of these flagbearer hopefuls who are engaged in smear campaign and mudslinging especially on social media platforms against one another. Accordingly, the grassroots urged the leadership of the party to take immediate steps to arrest the situation before it gets out of hand.

Reacting to these legitimate concerns of the party’s rank and file, during the National Executives’ engagement sessions with party grassroots in the Savanna Regional Capital, Damango, on Friday, April 9, 2021, as part of their nationwide ‘thank you’ tour, the NPP Chief Scribe stated among other things that:

“the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is scheduled to meet very soon to deliberate on developments regarding the 2024 flagbearership contest, and would most definitely, take a strong position on the matter in order to ensure that every member of the party regardless of their status is called to order. The party is much bigger than the individual ambitions of its leading members.

We have not even reached the stage where the party is considering guidelines or rules and regulations for the 2024 flagbearership contest, which is three years away per the party constitution. It is therefore way too early for anybody having ambition to contest in the 2024 flagbearership race to make public such ambitions, because time is just not rife.”

John Boadu proceeded to remind members of the party that the party’s current interest and preoccupation, is to concern itself on how it can help the yet to be fully constituted Akufo-Addo government deliver on its second term mandate to the Ghanaian people, and not matters of who should succeed President Akufo-Addo.

“We just won the 2020 elections, and the President is still in the process of forming his government with the appointment of Ministers, Deputies, CEOs and governing Boards of the various State Institution, for us to start implementing our campaign promises. Our victory in 2024 will, by all means, be dependent on how this yet to be constituted second-term Akufo Addo led government performs.

So, why are we rushing to look for a successor for the President when he hasn’t even finished forming his government? We, as leaders of the party, won’t allow such backwardness and distractions”, John Boadu stressed, receiving thunderous applause from his audience.

Source: Peacefmonline.com

However, in his interaction with the Ashanti Regional Council comprising all regional executives, constituency chairmen and secretaries as well as sitting MPs and MMDCEs in the region on Friday, 24th January, 2020, John Boadu set the records straight, stating that nothing of the sort will happen. Accordingly, he gave out Nomination Forms to all the Constituency Chairmen and instructed them not to deny access to any member of the party who wishes to contest in the primaries.

John Boadu was in the Ashanti Region to organize orientation for the various constituency elections committee members and the Ashanti Regional party in furtherance of the Rules and Regulations for the conduct of the primaries. He chairs the National Parliamentary Vetting Committee for the Ashanti Region with Gary Nimako and Abdul Aziz Futah as the other reps from NEC on the vetting committee.

The meeting was to afford the NEC representatives an opportunity to explain in details the rules and regulations for the conduct of the primaries. The General Secretary never minced words in maintaining that nobody should be prevented from running and that any aspiring candidate who suffers obstruction in getting access to the Nomination Forms or in the filing process should apply to the regional party for a nomination form and if that fails, he/she should appeal to the National Secretariat.

The meeting again offered the national executives the opportunity to consult with regional and constituency executives on ways to ensure that seats that were won marginally are protected so that the party can retain those seats in 2020. The meeting also discussed strategies to win seats that are currently being held by the opposition party.

In attendance were the National Chairman of the party, Freddy Blay; the 2nd National Vice Chairman, F.F. Antoh; the National Nasara Coordinator, Abdul Aziz Futah; a Deputy National Communications Director, Yaw Preko, all regional executives and other party kingpins. This, among other things, was to send a clear signal that the national party is extremely concerned about the conduct of the primaries in its biggest stronghold because any mishap in the process will spell doom for the party. And indeed, the General Secretary, in his address, reaffirmed their commitment to a free and fair process particularly in the Ashanti Region.

The Agency which is preparing to roll out massive innovative programs that are aimed at curtailing the debilitating unemployment situation affecting the youth in the country has been engaging business owners, SMEs and the corporate world to help realize its initiatives.

These initiatives include; the YEA Job Centre: a platform with walk-in centres and training hubs to link job seekers to employers.
There is the Artisan Directory which will train artisans in various fields and offer them capital to start up their own businesses. Beneficiaries will be certified and placed on a common platform to sustain and ensure the growth of their businesses.
Another initiative is the Regional and District Flagship projects which will seek to create jobs for the Youth in various communities mostly through Agriculture.

The Guest of Honour, Second Lady Hajia Samira Bawumia, applauded the governing board and management of the Agency for their commitment to the cause of eradicating youth unemployment. She also expressed readiness to partner and support the Youth Employment Agency on these new initiatives and on their quest to promoting youth development.
She urged the other dignitaries who accepted to be ambassadors of the Agency, to push the agenda of job creation with their influence.
The Second Lady was emphatic on the need for all hands to come on board to mitigate the social menace of unemployment especially among the youth.

Board Chairman of the Youth Employment Agency, Mr. Sammy Awuku and CEO, Lawyer Justin Kodua Frimpong respectively thanked the Second Lady Hajia Samira Bawumia and the other ambassadors for accepting to be part of the vision of the Agency and prayed them for an effective partnership that will lead to development in the lives of the Youth in Ghana.

The dignitaries present included Minister of State Hon. Catherine Abelema Afeku, CEO of EIB Group Kwabena Anokye Adisi (Bola Ray), Veteran Actress Jackie Appiah, CEO of MakeUp Ghana Rebecca Donkor, Actress Bibi Bright, and Musicians Kwesi Arthur and Wendy Shay.

The meeting was also graced by the CEO of AGI Mr Seth Twum Akwaboah who also pledged his readiness to offer support regarding partnerships with the private sector.

Corporate Affairs Directorate, YEA_with Kofi Ofosu Nkansah

Board Chairman of YEA champions YEA JOB CENTRE – an innovative hub that train artisans, link them to employers or provide startup capital

Speaking at the launch, President Akufo-Addo stated that the e-Justice Project is a recognition of the fact that every aspect of life is today ruled by technology.

“The Project is attempting to help ensure that the law keeps pace with technology, ending the age-old “missing dockets” phenomenon and endless litigations, which have plagued the efficient delivery of justice in the country for several years,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that since his assumption of office, a number of policy measures have been introduced to help bridge the technology-gap, in the justice delivery system.

Thus, it was that, in May 2018, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia launched the e-case register. The register contains information such as titles of cases, types of offences, gender of accused persons, contact details of the police station, investigators and attorneys directly involved with a case, amongst others.

“When fully executed, information about the number of convicts, dates convicted, nature of offences, number of persons on remand or who are simply being processed for court, amongst others, will be shared with the relevant state institutions,” he said.

The President continued, “Through the e-Justice Project, an electronic platform is being provided for process filing, process service, fee assessments, and online payments. The platform, additionally, automatically assigns cases to courts and judges, a clear departure from the days of manual assignments, which had the tendency to pervert the course of justice.”

The paperless court system, President Akufo-Addo explained, “operates with minimal interference, and, if what we have seen so far with the paperless system in use at our ports is anything to go by, then we are guaranteed greater efficiency in our justice delivery system.”

He urged the Chief Justice not to relent in her quest to build a first-class Judiciary, whose hallmarks are competence, fairness, and independence.

“It is, indeed, encourage to note that, in addition to the implementation of this project, training programmes are being held for members of the Bench and their staff. This will augur well for the success of the Project,” he added

The President was hopeful that all actors connected with the e-Justice system will strive for excellence, and demonstrate integrity in the use of the platform, so that anyone, judge, lawyer, or client, who uses the platform, will be confident that justice will always be delivered.

“As we seek to move our country to a situation beyond aid, I urge all Ghanaians to be natural champions of a law-based state, whose establishments are solid enough to sanction effectively vigilantism, bank frauds, cyber frauds, sharp practice, illegal mining, identity thefts, stealing of public funds, bribery and corruption, criminal cartels, and criminal behaviour in general, including assault on and by law enforcement officers. The application of technology to the practice of law and the administration of justice will help facilitate the nation’s ability to reach these goals,” he said.

He was confident that the e-Justice system will be one of the surest ways of diligently executing your task, and appealed to the actors to “make our justice delivery system one we can always be proud of.”

The meeting aimed at bringing together female volunteer groups to discuss pertinent issues relevant to women build-up to the next elections in 2020 and beyond.

Notable among the things discussed include:

a) Unification of all-female volunteer groups under one ‘Elephant’ with a central point of coordination as women.

b) Creation of a national desk to monitor the creation and operations of all-female volunteer groups. This will act as a Complaint desk for the coalition of Feedback and issues from their encounters and ensure the party leadership is duly informed for the needed action to be taken.

c) The need for Leaders of minute groups operating within the same jurisdiction/domain to come into a consensus and merge in order to become bigger and stronger to maximize impact.

d) Respect among Volunteer groups and the need to avoid internal rivalry.

e) A partnership among volunteer groups, regional officers of the party and constituency officers of the party in the group’s execution of projects in a designated region and constituency.

f) Respect for party structures; National officers of the party through to polling station officers.

g) Multiplying their membership by working on their branding to make their groups attractive to outsiders, recruiting more converts and first-time voters.

h)Propagate the successful projects, polices and achievement of our government on a daily basis wherever they find themselves.

Notwithstanding some of the challenges facing these leaders and their respective groups, volunteer was charged and encouraged to embrace the spirit of volunteerism, impact lives and be an epitome of Hope for others.

Speaking at the end-of-year Wassa of the Ghana Armed Forces, at Burma Camp, on Thursday, 21st March, 2019, President Akufo-Addo stated that “we will continue to stay true to the pledges we made in the 2016 manifesto that brought my party, the New Patriotic Party, and I, into office.”

Outlining some of the measures put in place to improve the welfare and well-being of the Ghana Armed Forces, the President stated that his Government, upon assumption of office, increased the United Nations Peacekeeping Troops contribution allowances from $30 to $35 per soldier per day.

“We cleared the outstanding arrears of $13 million for all peacekeeping personnel, we are now paying your allowances at the place of operations, as you wished, we have also settled the 11.1% of arrears due to the civilian employees, and effected a 10% upward salary review for all personnel,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo indicated further that the completion of the 3rd Phase of the 37 Military Hospital is on course, and Government is also completing the 500-bed Military Hospital in the Ashanti Region, and will begin the third phase of this project soon.

“’Work is on-going on the barracks regeneration projects, with the four blocks of 16 flats each between 60 to 75% complete. Nearly a month ago, in fulfillment of an October 2018 pledge, I presented 50 ANKAI Buses, 40 Toyota Landcruiser Hardbody Vehicles, and 50 Toyota Hilux Pickups, which form part of the first tranche of 138 staff and operational vehicles of various categories, to the Armed Forces,” he added.

He continued, “During the year, we will provide the Army with 30 Otokar Armored Personnel Carriers (APC), and 6 fast patrol boats for the Navy. We are also making systematic efforts to protect our offshore hydrocarbon assets, now of great value, by establishing a Forward Operating Base at Enzulebu, in the Western Region, for their protection. Construction of the base will begin this year.”

With respect to the Air Force, The President stated that two of the M.I 17 helicopters were sent for overhauling and have returned to the jurisdiction, and funds have been released to extend the flying hours for the third helicopter.

“Similarly, when we took office, all three of the CASA C295 transport aircrafts had broken down. We have fixed one of them, and the remaining two have been sent out of the country for overhauling. One is due back in the country next month, and the other in October,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo reassured that Government will not relent in its efforts at transforming the Ghana Armed Forces into a formidable force, and will continue to help enhance the capacity and capabilities of the Armed Forces towards the development of our nation.

They discussed issues pertaining to the macroeconomic, fiscal and monetary policies which have created opportunities for investing in education especially the Free SHS programme and the booming digital economy.

Dr. Ghanem praised the government for the digital transformation of Ghana and pledged the World Bank’s support to help Ghana achieve financial inclusion.

After having obtained successful ratings from the International monetary Fund about the country’s economic performance, and given a clean bill of health, President Akufo-Addo noted that there is a lesson that must be drawn from the 16th IMF programme, entered into by the erstwhile Mahama administration.

“It is about a fundamental and basic matter all of us as Ghanaians have to bear in mind, and that is discipline in the management of our public finances. It’s not easy to say that you have to live within your means but if you want to be able to do big things, you don’t spend money that you don’t have, that is always the road to chaos,” he said.

The President continued, “We have to learn that discipline in the management of our public finances has now to be the basic element for the building of our economy, and that’s the lesson that the latest bailout program from the IMF should impress upon all of us.”

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Monday, 25th March, 2019, when he interacted with members of the Ghanaian community resident in Valletta, Malta, as part of his official visit to that country.

Since assuming office in January 2017, President Akufo-Addo noted that his Government has now finally been able to bring the fiscal deficit under control, which hovered around 7.3% at the end of 2016, to under 3.9%.

“It is my intention that we keep it there. We keep it there because it is the signal to investors, it is the signal to those who look at the fundamentals of your economy, that the basic elements of that economy are in a good state,” he added.

The efforts of his government at managing the economy, the President said, has meant that “we are attracting companies like Volkswagen and Nissan, Synotruck, Renault, Suzuki. All of these are taking a big interest in Ghana. The tech giant, Google, is taking steps to start establishing an artificial intelligence centre in Ghana. All of this is because they consent that there’s a discipline and systemic management in our national economy and its public finances.”

Fiscal discipline, according to President Akufo-Addo, has to be Ghana’s credo going forward, adding that “if we are able to project that discipline, the benefits to us are going to be very rapid and very dramatic, and that transformation of our national economic structure, which all of us are waiting for, will be very soon around the corner.”

With Ghana projected to be one of the fastest growing economies in Africa this year, President Akufo-Addo stated that “we have to stay that way and stay focused on the programme, and on the way that we have taken things. I am trying to project the reality which is there’s a lot of hope for our country.”

To the “professional Jeremiahs” whose only interest is to rundown the nation, the President stated that “I am not daunted. I don’t really pay too much attention to what they say. I know what I am doing, and I believe what I am doing has the support of our people.”

This signing ceremony took place on Tuesday, 26th March, 2019, when the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, paid a day’s official visit to Malta, where he held bilateral talks with his Maltese counterpart President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.

The agreements between the Governments of Ghana and Malta are: (1) MoU on Medicine; (2) MoU on Bilateral Air Services; (3) MoU on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Income Taxes on Income; (4) MoU on Tourism; and  (5) Joint Commission for Bilateral Co-operation.

Speaking at a luncheon held in his honour, President Akufo-Addo indicated that these agreements “will serve as a strong launchpad for more dynamic and vibrant engagements in key sectors of our respective economies.” 

Thanking President Coleiro-Preca for warm hospitality accorded him and his delegation, President Akufo-Addo noted that the visit to Ghana by his Maltese counterpart, in July 2017, was the first time a sitting President from the Republic of Malta had paid a State Visit to Ghana, and it was also the first time a President from Malta had visited a country south of the Sahara.

“Your visit strengthened the already good relations between our two countries, and we appreciate the decision to locate Malta’s first resident Mission, in sub-Saharan Africa, in Ghana,” he added.

As members of the Commonwealth and the United Nations, with governance structures that are respectful of human rights, the rule of law and principles of democratic accountability, President Akufo-Addo urged Malta and Ghana to continue to co-operate effectively, at the international level, to create a safer and more secure world. 

With the tenure of office President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca soon to end, President Akufo-Addo noted that “the people of Malta will remember you for your inspiring leadership, in particular, your strong commitment to social welfare, demonstrated by the numerous social interventions you initiated, and the several programmes you instituted to ensure the welfare of the vulnerable in Malta.”

He continued, “For us, in Ghana, we will remember your intervention that resulted in the Department of Education of the University of Malta establishing the Annual Frederick Ofosu Memorial Lectures, under your distinguished patronage, in memory of Frederick Ofosu, the Ghanaian immigrant who took his own life here in Malta. We will remember you with affection, and wish you well in your future endeavours”.

Regardless of where the investment is, President Akufo-Addo explained that government has instituted a number of incentives for the investor, depending on the nature of the activity, or the location of the investment, all intended to help investments succeed. 

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The President assured that “Ghana is a country governed by the rule of law, where the separation of powers is real. We have an independent judiciary, which ensures accountable governance, and you can be assured that your investments will be protected and secure.”

He was hopeful that the business forum has provided Maltese investprs with the necessary environment for business networking, which will help advance economic relations between Ghana and Malta.