At a brief event held at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel, Dr. Nduom made a $64,000 donation to some Catholic schools and churches including; The Brothers of Holy Cross who received a sum of GHs 100,000, and St. Vincent College of Education from Yendi, which received a sum of GHs 50,000 to complete their dining hall project.

Assin Darmang’s St. Louis Catholic Church also received GHs 20,000 to complete a dormitory project for St. Theresa Vocational Institute; whiles the Konongo Mampong Diocese received GHs 50,000 to complete their cathedral project.

St. Edward’s Catholic Church –Jukwa, also received an undisclosed amount to tile the centenary Parish Hall

The President and Chairman of Groupe Nduom who lost millions of cedis in a fire that recently gutted some of his companies, recounted his schooling days at St. Augustine College in the Central Region and how the catholic faith had greatly inspired his progress and success till this day.

In making this donation, Dr. Nduom emphasized his staunch belief in education as a critical tool for development which is worth the investment.
–
By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Dr. Nduom donates $64,000 to Catholic institutions to mark 64th birthday appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The ruling ZANU-PF party is hosting the event for Mugabe, who has held power since 1980 during a reign marked by repression of dissent, vote-rigging and the country’s economic collapse.

Now the world’s oldest national leader, his actual birthday on Tuesday has been celebrated in a week-long extravaganza with state media filled with tributes and praise.

The annual party — reported to cost up to $1 million (0.9 million euros) — includes a multi-course feast and vast birthday cakes, angering many Zimbabweans as the country endures severe food shortages.

Holding the event at a school in Matobo has also riled locals as it is close to where many victims of Mugabe’s deadly crackdown on dissidents in the early 1980s are thought to be buried.

At least 20,000 people are believed to have been killed in the massacres by North Korean-trained Zimbabwean troops, according to rights groups.

“This should not be a place for celebration,” Mbuso Fuzwayo, spokesman for the Bulawayo-based campaign group Ibhetshu Likazulu, told AFP.

“The whole area is a crime scene where the bones of victims of the massacres are buried.”

Mugabe gave a faltering television interview this week, vowing to remain in power despite growing signs of frailty.

During the pre-recorded birthday broadcast, Mugabe paused at length between sentences and spoke with his eyes barely open.

“The call to step down must come from my party,” he said.

“If I feel that I can’t do it any more, I will say so to my party so that they relieve me. But for now, I think I can’t say so.”

The state-owned Herald newspaper on Tuesday published a 24-page supplement of congratulatory messages from government departments and regime loyalists.

Local ZANU-PF party activist Sibongile Ndiweni described hosting of the party as “a blessing”.

“It’s an honour and privilege to have such a luminary icon celebrating with us,” he said.

“President Mugabe is a national president who has the right to have an event wherever he feels like.”

ZANU-PF has endorsed Mugabe as its candidate for general elections next year, and he remains widely respected as a liberation hero by other African leaders.

He has avoided naming a successor, but his wife, Grace, 51, is seen as a possible candidate along with vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Born on February 21, 1924, Mugabe trained as a teacher and taught in what was then Rhodesia and Ghana before returning home to join the guerrilla war against white-minority rule.

He became prime minister on Zimbabwe’s independence from Britain in 1980 and then president in 1987.

All schools around Bulawayo were closed on Thursday and Friday.

“Our children were told their classrooms have been turned into boarding facilities, and they are being frogmarched to join the birthday party,” local poet and opposition activist Desire Moyo told AFP.

–
Source: AFP

The post Supporters gather for Mugabe’s ‘lavish’ birthday party appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.