Author: Croffie Adjei

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Politics

A ‘Can-Do Veep’ – Transformational policies championed by Bawumia

Dr. Bawumia, best Vice President in Ghana
Dr. Bawumia, best Vice President in Ghana

Ghana’s Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has completely transformed the role of the Vice President, establishing himself as the most transformational holder of his position in the history of Ghana’s democratic dispensation.

Whilst many Veeps have come and gone without affecting any change from the position, Dr Bawumia has completely ushered in a new era of the can-do Veep – spearheading multiple transformational government projects that clearly have his stamp.

The result is a track record of achievement for the current Vice President that no Vice President – and even many Presidents – in the history of Ghana would struggle to match.

This stunning impact from the Veep has not gone unnoticed, with many political pundits and strategists remarking on how uncommon it is for a Vice President to wield such power and influence.

In a recent op-ed, a United States-based Ghanaian political consultant, Dr Ekow Acquah, noted how Bawumia is a rare political unicorn in being an impactful Vice President, not just in Ghana but in the entire world.

“Even in the United States, which is widely considered the world’s most advanced democracy, the role of a Vice President, as defined by the American Constitution, is extremely limited.,” Dr Acquah wrote.

Meanwhile, he added, Vice Presidents in the 4th Republic have played “limited roles…largely as a result of their limited and undefined roles by the 1992 Constitution,”

Dr Acquah continued: “Unlike his predecessors, who limited themselves to their constitutional roles, and merely acted as representatives of the President at meetings and festivals, Dr. Bawumia has made the position more relevant through his foresight and spearheaded many transformational policies, which have not only endeared the NPP Government to the public, but are also making meaningful impacts and transformation on the Ghanaian people,”

Whilst Bawumia has a calling card – digitisation is his bread and butter – the Vice President’s achievements are broad-based, spanning multiple sectors and impacting all.

Transformational Policies, Services and Projects Championed By Dr. Bawumia

In his brilliant op-ed titled, ‘Dr Mahamudu Bawumia: The most effective Vice President in Ghana’s History’, the aforementioned Dr Acquah provides a list of Dr Bawumia’s most impressive achievements as a Vice President.

They include….

*Zipline Drones for delivery of medical supplies (Omenako, Mpanya, Vobsi, Sefwi Wiawso, Anum, and Kete Krachi), which has made Ghana the country with the the largest medical drone delivery service in the world!

*Mobile Money Interoperability between bank accounts and mobile wallets – first in Africa. This has made Ghana rank first in Africa in terms of access to financial inclusion.

• Zongo Development Fund – a development vehicle for inclusive Zongo development.

• Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) – a stop-gap measure to respond to increasing graduate unemployment, and also to offer young graduates work experience.

• One Constituency One Ambulance, the policy which provided all 275 constituencies with brand new ambulances.

• Agenda 111 – the construction of district hospitals in districts without district hospitals.

• Digitization of National Identity Card (Ghanacard), which is building a strong national identity system

– Universal QR Code payment system- Ghana is the first and only country in Africa to implement this

– GhanaPay mobile wallet by banks- Ghana is the first country in the world to implement this.

o National Digital Property – Address System -First in Africa

o Paperless Ports, which has increased efficiency and revenue mobilisation.

o The Ghanacard as a travel document to travel to Ghana

*No Guarantor student loans

*Online Passport Application

*National E-Pharmacy Platform. Ghana is the first country in Africa to implement a national scale digital e-pharmacy platform.

o E-Ticketing at Football Stadia

o Ghana.Gov Platform for the delivery of Government services

  • Bank of Ghana Gold Purchase Program
  • exchange of Gold for oil imports program – a transformational policy which will impact on prices of oil products, foreign exchange reserves and the depreciation of the exchange rate.

*Also proposed Sinohydro barter agreement for infrastructure development. This has resulted in the following;
o Kumasi Innercity Roads (100km)
o Sunyani Innercity Roads
o Prestea Innercity Roads
o Nyinahin Roads
o Jasikan-Dodopepesu
o Tamale Interchange
o Takoradi Point 7 interchange
o Cape Coast Innercity roads

This a resume a President should be proud of. For a Vice President, it is an unprecedented sign of competence and efficiency.

As the world and consequently Ghana reels from massive shocks caused by the unprecedented conditions of the past couple of years, bold and visionary leaders find new ways to create an impact and Bawumia is doing just that in Ghana.

Little wonder then that he was recently adjudged one of the 100 most influential leaders in Africa. As a Vice President, he achieved that honour, rubbing shoulders with celebrated African Presidents such as William Ruto of Kenya and Macky Sall of Senegal.

That, on its own, demonstrates the rarity of Bawumia’s exceptional leadership.

Source: theGhanaianVoice.Com

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NEWS

Ablakwa’s lies exposed

Ablakwa lies
Ablakwa lies
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

The assertions of National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa that he was not aware of GETFund scholarship transactions while serving as Deputy Minister of Education have been disputed.

DAILY GUIDE has learned that as a minister in the NDC government, Mr. Ablakwa was extensively involved in GETFund scholarship agreements.
A memorandum of agreement (MoU) has been signed by Mr. Ablakwa on behalf of GETFund and Lovely Professional University (LPU) of India.

The contentious Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed on March 16, 2016, was primarily created to benefit Ghanaian institutions and help acquire scholarship agreements for Ghanaian students to study in India.

It went on to explain that GETFund was Ghana’s top educational authority and that it oversaw the development of all institutions that were part of the country’s higher education system.
It stated that the GETFund and the LPU had both realised they shared a wide range of interests and that working together would be advantageous to both parties.
“GETFund, Ghana has tied up with LPU to provide access to quality education to the students of Ghana,” the MoU, which had Dr. Monica Gulati, the Registrar of LPU, also as a signatory, indicated.
“GETFund intends to further work with LPU, which has already made a significant contribution in the area of higher education in India to guide and mentor universities/colleges and such other organisations,” the MoU added.
The publication of the paper coincides with Mr. Ablakwa’s public denial that he was aware of GETFund scholarship activities while serving as deputy minister of education.

Since it became known that some MPs and government representatives from the NDC and the NPP had benefited from GETFund scholarships, there have been ferocious discussions in the media.

Even in the GETFund paperwork, there is a name Mercy Ablakwa, thought to be a relative of Mr. Ablakwa, showing that she received a scholarship from GETFund in 2010.
According to a letter of award allegedly signed by Sam Garba, the GETFund administrator, the aforementioned Mercy Ablakwa received a total of $33,400 on August 12, 2010, to pursue a BSc in Nursing at the University of Charleston in the United States.

$16,032 went toward academic scholarships, and $17,366 went toward living expenses and travel.

Categories
Sports

Bawumia celebrates Blackstars victory

Bawumia hails blackstars
Bawumia hails blackstars
Blackstars jubilating over their win

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia hailed the Black Stars on their victory over the South Korean Taegeuk Warriors.
Dr. Bawumia thanked the national team for their valiant efforts and hard work in a Facebook post.
Congratulations to our gallant Black Stars! The country appreciates your efforts and hard work in today’s game. You chased and caught your dreams,” parts of his post read.
Additionally, he inspired them to play their best game against Uruguay in the upcoming match.

He said, “You can do it.

In their second Group H match, Black Stars defeated South Korea on Monday, November 28, resuming their winning streak.

Otto Addo’s team earned their first points of the FIFA World Cup 2022 thanks to a brace from Mohammed Kudus and another from Mohammed Salisu.

See more…

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NEWS

Ghanaians are fed up with the lies of Okudzeto Ablakwa

Martin Amidu calls Ablakwa a liar
Martin Amidu calls Ablakwa a liar
Martin Amidu

Martin A.B.K. Amidu, a former minister for justice and attorney general, claims that Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the deputy minister of information, has been spreading “lies” to the public for too long.
In addition, the former AG criticised Ablakwa harshly for what he claimed were the deputy information minister’s efforts to weaken the authority of substantive information ministers he had served under, particularly the outgoing minister, John Tia Akologo.


Speaking on the Accra-based radio station Oman FM, Mr. Amidu claimed that the NDC and the ruling party’s electoral prospects were both being negatively impacted by Mr. Ablakwa’s actions.
Mr. Amidu claims that the Deputy Information Minister called him to plead for the payment of the $1.3 million that Isofoton SA claimed was owed to them.
The request was denied, according to the former AG, because a court case was ongoing at the time.
Even though the deputy information minister, who also spoke to Oman FM, acknowledged calling Mr. Amidu, he refuted some of the former attorney general’s claims that he begged him to approve payment to Isofoton.

Read more…


However, the anti-corruption activist argued that it was improper for the Deputy Information Minister to have called him regarding the situation without first consulting his (Ablakwa’s) superior, John Tia Akologo, the Minister of Information at the time.
“Mr. Okudzeto is a young man, and he should take upon himself responsibilities befitting a deputy Minister and not to be usurping positions of substantive Ministers…when John Tia was there, he rendered him virtually useless,” Mr Amidu said.
It was wrong for Mr. Ablakwa to keep this information from me while he was working at the Information Ministry, but it would be inaccurate to say that he reduced my standing. I had very good relationships with Okudzeto and Agyenim Boateng, the former minister of information told Citi Fm.
“They respected me, they came to my office each time I called them and even on their own they’d come and say that Minister, we think A, B C and so on.

Okudzeto Ablakwa


“We had very good relationship so I wouldn’t have known that there were acts that were taking place.” “I never saw any issue of any judgment debt on my table. They are obliged after I have delegated powers to them to brief or apprise me. If they act or do something on my behalf or should any deputy act on behalf of their ministers, they should be able to apprise the Minister because he as the Minister takes the ultimate responsibility for anything.”
Ablakwa asserted that he only got involved after the Isofoton people presented a petition to the Minister John Tia, who wasn’t there.
Instead of telling his boss, he kept it a secret and called Mr. Amidu to persuade him to approve the payment of money to the Spanish company.

Source

Categories
NEWS

Stop lying to Ghanaians; Mahama urged

John Mahama lies
John Mahama lies

The former president John Dramani Mahama has been urged by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to stop lying to Ghanaians about his record while in office because “the facts show otherwise.”
The General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu, responded to Mahama’s recent claim that President Nana Akufo-Addo is hiding behind Covid-19 to overspend by saying that the 2020 candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is out of touch with post-Covid-19 governance.

John Dramani Mahama


“Much as John Mahama seeks re-election on a campaign platform of ‘going back’ to the IMF, he attempts to confuse history by painting a rosy picture of his disastrous management of the Ghanaian economy between 2012 and 2016. Indeed, he put the economy in free fall after extremely reckless expenditure in excess of some GHS12 billion in pursuit of election victory in 2012.
“His economy, under Seth Terkper, never recovered, leading to unheard of taxation measures on condoms and cutlasses,” Boadu said.
He further stated that, “This period of economic mismanagement was characterised by rising inflation and declining growth, with growth sharply declining from 14% in 2011 to 3.9% in 2016. John Mahama claimed that this rapid decline occurred during typical “bust and boom” periods. Falling commodity prices, which, in accordance with former President Mahama’s boom and bust analysis, are typical for every administration, were the worst economic crisis he ever experienced. However, he was unable to maintain the economy’s stability.

See more here…


“He just does not get it,” Boadu said on Covid-19. President Akufo-Addo succinctly stated for the world to take note of and follow that the foundation of all economic modelling worldwide is Covid-19 and the ability to preserve lives and then livelihoods.
“Moreover, the Akufo-Addo administration has faced the worst ever international crisis in Covid-19, a scourge that has depreciated the worldwide economy and driven debt up generally. John Mahama’s lack of understanding of the Covid-19 economy is positively dangerous for Ghana because it badly skews his feeble attempts at analysis of our current economic situation. The IMF, to which he trumpets we should go to, has certified our economy as one of the fastest growing in terms of Covid-19 economic rebound.


“Mahama put together a Covid-19 advisory team. Covid-19 is not over yet. Where is the advisory team announced to applause and pageantry? Nowhere to be found. For the information of former President Mahama, Covid-19 is not only a matter of health. It has fundamentally become an economic imperative.”
Boadu added that Mahama would have made a mistake if he had been in office when Covid occurred.


What would Mahama have done differently in that situation? What are his options, and where are they? Alternative financial and management strategies for Covid-19? He lacks a strategy because he is unaware of and unwilling to acknowledge that Covid-19 has a significant impact on the economy. What strategy did the former president Mahama employ to obtain vaccines? What is his replacement for maintaining school opening hours, which he and his party fiercely criticised just over a year ago? What are the Mahama alternatives to the policies in the cocoa industry that have led to a record-breaking output of cocoa beans?
“Indeed, what is John Mahama’s alternative to anything, apart from the IMF? If you are the alternative, then spell out your alternatives to the Ghanaian people now. He is asking for a dialogue on the economy. There are many fora available for such a dialogue but he needs to put forward his plan.


Anybody can and has the right to criticise. But we expect a man who has been Vice President, head of the NDC’s economic management team and subsequently President and insistently bidding to become President again, to offer tangible alternatives, capable of feasibility testing, instead of just criticising. What is your plan? What is your vision for growing Ghana?”
Furthermore, he said Mahama “actively oversaw the worst crisis ever to hit our financial sector, negligence that has cost over GHS21 billions of public resources to correct. Meanwhile, he turned judgement debt payments into a cottage industry.”

Categories
NEWS

TB: Okudzeto Ablakwa exposed again over his consistent lies

Ablakwa the lying oracle
Ablakwa the lying oracle
Okudzeto Ablakwa

DNTN, Ukraine – Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a North Tongu member of parliament, is assuming a demeaning reputation for fabricating information in order to grant himself some influence over Ghanaian students studying abroad.
However, he was exposed on two crucial instances for flat-out lying to damage the reputation of the NPP administration, which is in power, or to make the flight of Ghanaian students abroad appear uncaring or careless.
The newest falsehood from Ablakwa is his “discovery” that Russian military attacked a Ukrainian train carrying Ghanaian students.
First, a quick Google search found up no evidence of a Russian force strike on a train in Ukraine, which would have been a significant change from Russia’s claim that it had done so.
Also, a follow-up investigation by DNT from our Ukrainian correspondents similarly turned up nothing.
You might remember that Ablakwa pretended to hold a news conference at the start of the coronavirus outbreak to declare that Ghanaian students were passing away from the virus in China and that the NPP government was being insensitive by leaving them there.
At the time, Ghana’s Embassy in Beijing did an exceptional job of taking care of the students, according to a thorough report that DNT Correspondent Michael Amponsah put in. The account was supported by video footage that showed Ghanaian students relaxingly displaying their well-being.
These two events highlight the desperation of people like Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who are always looking for an excuse to criticize the administration.
On a related issue, a post has been circulating on social media encouraging Ghanaian students studying in Ukraine to seek assistance from a supposed Dr. Albert Kitcher at a bogus location.
Dr. Albert Kitcher has publicly refuted the assertion and requested that no one get in touch with him since he has no connection to any assistance for Ghanaian students.

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NEWS

Our opponents don’t read- Bawumia

Dr. Bawumia
Dr. Bawumia

Talking at the ceremony in Cape Coast, he also mentioned significant road initiatives the NPP government had carried out in the Central Region, indicating that these initiatives were a part of the Akufo-Addo administration’s overall commitment to enhancing the nation’s road infrastructure.

Dr. Bawumia


The Master Project Support Agreement (MPSA) between the Government of Ghana and the People’s Republic of China through SinoHydro Corporation includes development of the Cape Coast Inner City Roads as a component.
Phase 1 of the agreement consists of 441km of highways and two interchanges, including the already-commissioned Jasikan-Dodi-Pepeso route, the Tamale Interchange, the ongoing Takoradi interchange, and the 100km Kumasi Inner City Road. Takoradi is the first junction to be built in the north.


The completion of yet another inner-city route as a result of the SinoHydro deal, Dr. Bawumia stated in his speech, has silenced critics who had expressed concerns about the pact’s viability after his visit to China a few years before to its signing.
“I am particularly happy today because when we first mooted the idea of the SinoHydro road project after my visit to China in 2018, many of our political opponents said that what we were proposing to do under the Sinohydro road projects was not possible. They said we were lying,” Dr. Bawumia said.


He added: “But today marks yet another day of the commissioning of yet another SinoHydro project.
Unfortunately for some of our opponents, when we say something and they don’t understand, instead of asking for an explanation and also reading about it, they don’t like to read, they don’t want to ask for an explanation; they just say you’re lying. But today, as we commission the road, they are silent. They are no longer saying it is not possible.”

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Politics

Dr. Bawumia’s Digitization Journey, so far so good

Hardworking Bawumia
Hardworking Bawumia

The Vice President of Ghana Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia a renounced economist and Digitization advocate has over the years trumpeted the need for African countries to embrace Digitization as a key to leapfrogging the advanced countries.

H.E Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia

The Vice President position on digitization has been mocked by the opposition NDC as they say the Vice President is running from the economy to hide behind digitization. The opposition has downplayed the connection between Digitization and the economy. According to the Vice President there is no way we can get a strong economy without digitization, How could the government increase revenue at the port without digitization (Paperless Port) , how could could ghost names be expunged from the government payroll without digitization, how could the economy grow without a proper addressing system, how could healthcare reach our remote areas without digitization (Drone delivery system), how could we get a strong banking sector without digitization , how could Ghana Revenue Authority increase revenue without digitization etc.

In all these Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia has been recognized by the international communities as the game changer his campaign and work on digitization has won him titles like , DIGITAL MAN , DIGITAL REVOLUTIONIST The GAME CHANGER just to mention a few .

In a recent interview with the STANDARD in Kenya the Vice President has outlined the gains made in Ghana as far as Digitization Champaign is concerned.

As the Vice President of Ghana , you have been at the forefront of spearheading digitization, what has been the effect on the economy?

“In Ghana, we have really focused on pursuing digitization as an economic strategy. When you look at the world, we are now in the fourth industrial revolution globally which is a digital revolution. It is a revolution that is based on data, and systems. If you are an economy in this world and you don’t digitize you are you are going to be left behind. Africa has been left behind for too many of these periods, and I believe that digitization is a key to leapfrogging. We digitalize not for its own sake but to solve problems, formalize and build a more inclusive economy, deal with corruption and to provide services to our people more efficiently from the government side. A lot of people were excluded from the economy so we did digital IDs for our people, so we have unique identities for everybody. Once you have unique identities for everyone you will not have ghost workers on the payroll and also sort the voter registry.

We had an issue with the address system in Ghana, and through digitization, we solved the problem. Every part of the country, land or water, mansion or shark you have a unique digital address that we have rolled out in the country. This has solved a big problem as now deliveries can easily be made through e-commerce, and in the instance you are applying for a job you can easily state your address.

On financial inclusion, we have implemented mobile money interoperability. It is not just operability between the mobile companies, but interoperability between the mobile wallet and a bank account which means that every mobile money account practicably has a bank account. We were the first country in Africa to do so. Today it is very easy for someone to open a bank account in Ghana, you have your national ID card, you get onto your mobile phone and then dial a USSD Code and you chose one of the banks and there you go, you have a bank account. We have integrated all our databases which enables us to get value out of our digitization process. Digitization is the way to go for other African countries and with it, we can leapfrog other advanced countries. Today in Ghana, we are the largest medical drone delivery service in the world. We have drones flying all over the country, today we have 100 flight a delivering medicine.”

In conclusion, I will say it is very clear from the above that, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia is indeed an asset to the country and must be embraced for the future.

Best Regards

Mr. Owusu

Source

Categories
Politics

Ursula Owusu praises Bawumia as a digital champion

Dr. Bawumia is digitalizing Ghana
Dr. Bawumia is digitalizing Ghana

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been referred to as Ghana’s top digital champion by Minister for Communications and Digitalization Ursula Owusu Erkuful due to his crucial contribution to Ghana’s digital transformation.


The Vice President has been widely praised for his zeal and leadership in pursuing this goal. He has led various digital interventions in the nation, which he says are necessary to establish a modern economy.
The Communications Minister appreciated Dr. Bawumia’s prominent position in a Facebook post, as well as the unbreakable connection between digitalization and the transformation of a contemporary economy.


For leading the nation’s digital initiatives in areas including the biometric identity system, digital address system, mobile money interoperability, digital medical drone service, digitization of government services, and ePharmacy, among others, Dr. Bawumia has received accolades.


“Ghana is building a digital Ghana and a digital economy. Digitalisation and economic development go hand in hand. As the chairman of the Economic Management Team, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has embraced the in-depth understanding of Digitalisation and is executing his mandate effortlessly. He is the foremost DIGITAL CHAMPION in Ghana” she posted on Facebook.

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NEWS Politics

Bawumia attends Ruto’s oath-taking ceremony

Competent Bawumia
Competent Bawumia

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the vice president, is in Nairobi, Kenya to represent Ghana at the oath-taking ceremony for William Samoei Arap Ruto, the incoming president of Kenya.

Kenya’s Deputy President, William Ruto, delivers a speech during the memorial service for former Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on April 29, 2022. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP) (Photo by TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)


William Ruto will be sworn in on September 13, 2022, at Moi International Sports Complex, Kasarani in Nairobi
William Ruto won the election for president after polling 50.5% against Raila Odinga’s 48.8%.
He will be the country’s fifth president when sworn in on Tuesday.
Vice President Bawumia will be accompanied by the 2nd Lady, Samira Bawumia, Thomas Mbomba, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and other Senior government officials.

Competent Bawumia



He is anticipated to return to Accra on September 14th.
Over 20 heads of state and 2,500 VIPs have confirmed their attendance at William Ruto, president-electswearing-in ,’s ceremony, according to Kenyan officials.