Speaking today [Tuesday] at a seminar for journalists, Head of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Rev. Samuel Ollennu said the move will guarantee that the nine terms allocated to teaching and learning in second cycle schools are fully exhausted by students before the examination.

“We are here to sanitize you about the forthcoming examination, which this time around is not starting February but on April 3. Formerly, we were going to start in February but the government appealed to us not to”, he said.

In November last year, the Minister of Education announced the proposal, citing that students need adequate time for preparation, and after consultation with the West African Examination Council (WAEC), the date was reviewed.

The Ministry of Education was in talks with the West African Examination Council last year November (WAEC), to ensure that from 2018, the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) would be written in May.

Successive governments have considered various ways to aid the preparations of candidates for their final exams, including toying with the SHS duration.

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor’s government changed the three year SHS duration system in 2007 to four years, due to similar concerns being raised by Opoku Prempeh.

But the National Democratic Congress (NDC) reversed it back to three years, claiming the four-year duration brought undue hardships to parents.

It appears the Akufo-Addo government is seriously considering extending the length to four years again.

The Minister of Planning, Professor Gyan Baffour in September 2017 revealed that government is monitoring the three-year SHS system to inform a possible review back to four years.

“The time lost, we have to make it up. That is the first thing that we are trying to do now, and based on that, we can now use the analysis that they do after that time, to see what the public thinks and to decide on whether we move for three years or four years,” he added.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to Chairman of the Committee, Kwasi Ameyaw Cheremeh, although they had written official letters to the expatriates to appear before them today, “none have shown up so we are unable to continue with the work of the committee for the day.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”vKtemfFDsD8iUrX0bbzAkgPW5Tbpjl9r”]“…So we adjourn and probably contact them again to appear before us at a later date to be determined by the Committee. We will give them that opportunity to appear before us,” he told the media who were present to cover the sitting.

The Committee, which has been sitting since last Thursday, is supposed to present its report to Parliament on January 24, 2018.

So far, the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Mubarak-Muntaka, North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyeremateng as well as officials from the Millennium Excellence Foundation, organizers of the Ghana Expatriates Business Awards, have all appeared before the committee.

Prior to today’s hearing, Tuesday, there were indications that even the Committee Chairman did not know how many of the expatriates who made financial commitments at the event were to appear before them.

There are suggestions the expatriate business executives may not show up due to the political nature of the matter, and the effect it could have on their businesses going forward.

Background

The Ministry of Trade, supporters of the Awards, was alleged to have charged between $25,000 and $100,000, to enable expatriates to sit close to the President at the awards ceremony, which was organised by the Millennium Excellence Foundation.

The allegation was first made by the Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, in Parliament in December 2017.

Mr. Mubarak said the fees charged at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards were not approved by Parliament, adding that the monies were also not accounted for in the Internally Generated Funds [IGF] of the Ministry’s accounts.

The issue was further reinforced by Mr Ablakwa, who suffered verbal assaults from Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah over the matter.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry initially dissociated itself from these allegations.

The Trade Ministry, in a statement, said it played no role in determining prices for seats at the event and clarified that it only facilitated the implementation of a new initiative by the Millennium Excellence Foundation.

But the Ministry after an order from the President to probe the matter clarified that an amount of GHc 2,667,215 was realized from the event.

The organizers of the Awards had also explained that no one paid to sit close to the President and that the amount was raised from sponsorship through a fundraising at the event.

Parliament subsequently formed a five member bi-partisan committee to investigate the matter.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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The Appointments Committee had earlier set June 19 for the vetting, but announced on Tuesday, June 13, that it had to reschedule the vetting to this week to avoid keeping the position vacant for long.

[contextly_sidebar id=”V9DtIeQfnbVoKQpbjOBsIR4Rg0ccDGXR”]The first Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joseph Osei-Owusu, told pressmen that it was necessary to fast-track the vetting to ensure that Justice Akuffo, when approved, fills in the position ahead of the retirement of the acting Chief Justice, William Atuguba.

“The Chief Justice [Georgina Theodora Wood] has retired already… a vacuum, so to speak, has been created because the next available senior [Justice William Atuguba] is also due to retire in a few days from now. We considered all the circumstances and as a committee, we reviewed the fact that to date, no petition has been brought against the CJ nominee. It may be helpful to abridge the time and do it as quickly as possible.

“That will enable us to take the whole day [on Friday] and use the weekend to prepare a report and probably by Monday we’ll be ready for the report to be considered by the plenary,” Joe Osei Owusu said.

He added that, “This week, she [Sophia Akuffo] may not be able to start work, but beginning next week, she may be able to start work in full and administration of justice can then continue without any vacuum.”

President Akufo-Addo last month announced Justice Sophia Akuffo as his choice of successor of Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood who retired on June 8, 2017.

About the CJ nominee

Sophia Akuffo had her Masters in Law (LLM) from the Havard University in the United States.

She has been a member of the Governing Committee of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and the Chairperson of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Task Force.

In January 2006, she was elected one of the first judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights initially elected for two years, she was subsequently re-elected until 2014 and is at present serving as Vice-President of the Court.

She has written The Application of Information & Communication Technology in the Judicial Process – the Ghanaian Experience, a presentation to the African Judicial Network Ghana (2002). If confirmed by parliament Justice Sophia Akuffo will be the fifth Chief Justice under the fourth republic after; Isaac Kobina Abban who served between 1995 to 2001.

Edward Kwame Wiredu also served between 2001 and 2003 while George Kingsley Acquah served from 2003 to 2007 before Georgina Theodora Wood from 2007 to 2017.
Justice Akuffo will also be the 13th Chief Justice in the history of the Republic of Ghana.

Meanwhile, the vetting of Irene Naa Toshie Addo as District Assembly Common Fund Administrator is scheduled for 20th June.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Tema Port is a major backbone of the country’s revenue collection efforts, generating a significant percentage of annual domestic revenue.

The Tema Collection Point of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) however missed its 2016 target, mobilizing GHȼ7,334,174,613.10 against a target of GHȼ7,690.380.000.00. The shortfall was 4.63 percent.

Jacob Kwabla Adorkor, Director of Ports, and officials of the Customs Division including sector commander, Confidence Nyadzi conducted Dr. Bawumia round to observe the operations of the Nick TC Scan, Meridian Port Services (MPS), Golden Jubilee Car park, State Warehouse, and Atlas Copco, among others.

The Vice President also interacted with Clearing Agents, workers at the Port, security and other officers, and ordinary Ghanaians anxious to clear their goods on time.

He inspected seized goods stored in the State warehouse, including mattresses, fridges and other materials barred from importation.

In brief comments after the tour, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia indicated that, the Akufo-Addo government would take steps to consolidate some of the functions at the port that interface with the public in order to reduce the frustrations of agents and port users, while plugging any revenue leakages.

Bawumia pays unexpected visit to Registrar-General’s Department 

This is the second time Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has paid an unannounced visit to a key government facility since assuming office.

On January 18, 2017, Dr. Bawumia visited the Registrar General’s Department to identify the bottlenecks bedevilling the State outfit and also interacted with owners of businesses and Ghanaians who had gone to the Department to register their businesses.
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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