President Mahama has been heavily criticized for what the New Patriotic Party described as a corruption-endemic administration.

But speaking on the tenure of President Mahama in a Citi News interview, Dr. Lartey said no President of Ghana could have done than what the President did.

“…He has done his bit. Few were corrupt in his government, and he didn’t hide them, and I hope Nana Addo also continues…He allowed the law to take its on course. He did well.”

Mr. Lartey also believes the canker should be fought by everyone and not just a President.

“It is the legal system that will stop corruption. It is the long arm of the laws that will stop it and it is going to be the same with Nana Addo. He cannot be in every corner to arrest those who are corrupt.That is not his job, it is for us to also ensure corruption doesn’t continue…”

Ghana is 63rd most corrupt country

Mahama’s government has been accused of condoning corrupt acts which critics say had overburdened the public purse.

In 2013, Ghana was ranked 63rd out of 177 countries surveyed in that year’s global corruption perception index (CPI).

The index released by Transparency International, said the country scored 46 out of 100 on the scale from zero to 100.

Ghana was ranked 64th out of 174 countries surveyed in 2012 and 69th in 2011 in the CPI.

‘Ghana must take corruption ranking seriously

The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International, had counseled government to take seriously the nation’s ranking on the global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

Ghana moved two places from 63rd in 2013 to 61st in 2014 out of the 175 countries which were surveyed worldwide.

Despite this marginal improvement in the 2014 ranking, the GII said that the nation must not rest until corruption is drastically reduced or eradicated if possible.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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Mr. Lartey petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to investigate the former president over some $2 million he received from the late Nigerian leader, General Sani Abacha.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Lt8ti8BtWohuGVayxxAMCH34NfSicee4″]Rawlings, who have said that the money was not a bribe but was used in organization of an upcoming election.

Rawlings recently called the bluff of Mr Henry Lartey saying he was ready to subject himself to various tests to prove his innocence.

“Why are people worried about the level of integrity we’ve tried to maintain? We say we are Christians; we swear on the bible, Muslims on the Koran; I’d like to invite people like him (Lartey) that we go traditional as well… [Let us] invite the white man’s technology (lie detector) to also come and verify the truthfulness, the integrity of my word. And for him [Henry Herbert Lartey] to be simply asked who paid him to do what he did?,” he said when some queen mothers paid a courtesy call on him earlier this week.

He further alleged that Henry Lartey was being sponsored by some political elements to tarnish his image but at a counter media briefing today [Tuesday], Mr Lartey said his actions were based on his desire for the truth.

He said he had submitted more evidence against Rawlings to CHRAJ and was ready to reveal more damning information about the former President Rawlings and his wife Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings on the matter.

“There is a lot to say about him and his wife, the corruption that has gone on in this country… If he’s got those facts he should come out and tell us who has paid me, my father left me a lot of assets and nobody can pay me to do what he’s claiming,” he said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post I’m not being sponsored, I’ll expose Rawlings – Henry Lartey appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Dr. Henry Lartey was disqualified by the Commission, alongside 12 other aspirants, for not providing the personal records of his running mate among other things.

EC unfairly disqualified us – Lawyer

At a press conference held on Thursday, Lawyer Maurice Ampaw, who was speaking on behalf of Dr. Lartey had accused the Commission of unfairly disqualifying the GCPP flagbearer as it failed to alert him to the errors on his forms.

Mr. Ampaw said the EC Chair was “behaving like a teacher who has set exams and you have 17 students and 13 are failing and then you are happy.”

“So when they brought the form, you saw it [the errors], you kept quiet, you allowed time to run and you knew that you could bring this thing to their attention within the subsequent period.”

“What will the nation benefit from disqualifying those who have proven beyond reasonable doubt that they are capable of running the affairs of this nation… We are telling you that your posture cannot help this country,”  the lawyer concluded.

He therefore gave the EC till Monday to allow his client to contest or face a lawsuit.

Konadu also blames EC

Former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, has also demanded that the EC allow her to contest the 2016 polls as the Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Party (NDP) following what she described as her “illegal” disqualification from the race.

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By: Sixtus Dong Ullo/Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post GCPP sues EC over disqualification appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the party, the EC and its Chairperson were happy to disqualify most of the aspirants.

Dr. Henry Lartey was disqualified by the Commission, alongside 12 other aspirants, for not providing the personal records of his running mate among other things.

At a press conference today [Thursday], Lawyer Maurice Ampaw, speaking on behalf of Dr. Lartey, accused the Commission of unfairly disqualifying the GCPP flagbearer as it failed to alert him to the errors on his forms.

Mr. Ampaw said the EC Chair was “behaving like a teacher who has set exams and you have 17 students and 13 are failing and then you are happy.”

“So when they brought the form, you saw it [the errors], you kept quiet, you allowed time to run and you knew that you could bring this thing to their attention within the subsequent period.”

“What will the nation benefit from disqualifying those who have proven beyond reasonable doubt that they are capable of running the affairs of this nation… We are telling you that your posture cannot help this country,”  the lawyer concluded.

Konadu also blames EC

Former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, has also demanded that the EC allow her to contest the 2016 polls as the Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Party (NDP) following what she described as her “illegal” disqualification from the race.

Nana Konadu also blamed the EC and its Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, for the shortcomings in her nomination forms that led to her disqualification from the race.

Speaking in an interview with the BBC she firmly stated, “I want my name back on the list, that I am standing as a presidential candidate for the National Democratic Party and she has illegally removed my name from it. She should do what is right and legal in this country.”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Describing the country as agrarian, he said it would take a “green revolution to transform Ghana by the implementation of domestication-growing what we eat and eating what we grow,” a policy which he said, is still the best for Ghana and Africa.

In an interview, he said, farmers must be provided with the necessary support in terms of capital and equipment to improve productivity in agriculture.

“Farmers can also become exporters of their produce when given the facilities – with global gap or organic certification to gain access to the global market to sell their products,” he said.

Dr Lartey said instead of relying on only dams to irrigate farms, Ghanaian farmers can also direct their attention to spring irrigation, as being done in some parts of the Volta Region, where some farmers have connected motors to boreholes to irrigate their farms.

He stated that their manifesto contains two major focus areas: agriculture and energy; sectors such as the creative arts and tourism are also highlighted.

He said when given the mandate, he would focus more on solar energy and related development, including the establishment of a solar university to train and equip people with skills and knowledge requisite for exploring solar inventions such as solar panels, cars, lights among others.

He cited examples of developed western countries such as Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom who are utilizing the solar system massively in major industrial setups.

Regarding education, the GCPP head said there is a need to create a system where the teacher-student ratio is reduced to enable students to better “assimilate what they are taught and to become very creative thinkers and innovators”.

He said the party is currently focused on door-to-door campaign to drum home their ideas and strategies for improving the livelihoods of the people.

Dr Lartey urged Ghanaians to consider a candidate who has already achieved what he is promising and not those who do not have a clue on how to execute their plans.

He said as one of the largest agricultural producers in Ghana, producing and exporting the best organic pawpaw to several countries in Europe, he is already helping some farmers in the Eastern Region with capital and equipment.

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Source: GNA

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Ex-president Rawlings admitted in an interview with Nigeria’s Guardian Newspaper that, he had received the money from Nigeria’s leader in 1998, although he denied the amount was five million dollars as alleged initially.

But just when the matter appeared to have died down, GCPP’s flagbearer, Henry Herbert Lartey, has resurrected it.

In his petition, he is asking EOCO to among others, ascertain “the full context and/or reason(s) in which the funds were issued” to Mr. Rawlings.

Below is the full petition:

Economic and Organised Crime Office

Head Office

Accra, Ghana

Public Petition Of Inquiry/Complaint

Petitioner: Great Consolidated Popular Party (and the Ghanaian Public at Large)

Respondant(s): Mr. Jerry Rawlings, and Nana Konadu Ageyaman Rawlings

Dear Commissioner,

The Great Consolidated Popular Party is requesting a formal petition of inquiry into key dealings of former President Jerry Rawlings. The thematic areas of inquiry/complaint are the following:

1. The historic public record notes that in 1998 Former President Rawlings denied having received financial support from the then President of Nigeria, Sani Abacha. Today, he has publicly declared that he did in fact receive $2 million from the Nigerian President. This petition of inquiry seeks to ascertain:
2. The full context and/or reason(s) in which the funds were issued: In particular, were these funds issued in support of killing the prominent Nigerian environmental journalist Ken Sara-Wiwa?
3. The actual amount of funds issued (as there are discrepancies regarding the amount): Did he receive $2 million, $5 million, or $100 million?
4. What happened to the remaining £30 million loan from the initial £31.5 million that was issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland to International Generics (for which Mrs. Rawlings was the primary benefactor through a ‘frontman’ named Leon Tamman) under the British Export Guarantee Facility for the construction of La Palm Hotel and Coco Palm Hotel? It has been reported by the former Deputy British High Commissioner in Ghana, Greg Murray, in his book entitled ‘The Catholic Orangemen of Togo and Other Conflicts I have Known’ that only £1.5 million of the funds actually went towards the development of these enterprises, while the remaining £30 million was privately looted by Mrs. Rawlings via Leon Tamman. Is this true?
5. How did the Former First Lady Mrs. Rawlings acquire the Nsawam Cannery in light of her financial capacities at time?
6. Is it true that the Rawlings hold substantive shares within the Ghana Rubber Estate Ltd.?
7. Is it true that the Rawlings were using transporting gold to Switzerland on a regular basis?
8. The Black Star Shipping Line was sold during the Rawlings administration: What was the reason for selling the Black Star Shipping Line and its assets?
9. In 1979 the AFRC opened Account 48 for the deposit of seized funds which were deemed corrupt. What happened to the funds of Account 48?

We trust that Former President Rawlings will answer these questions honestly since he is the Champion of probity, transparency and accountability.

The full support of EoCo is herewith called upon in this petition.

Yours faithfully,

Dr. Henry Herbert Lartey

Presidential Candidate

GCPP

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

The post GCPP officially petitions EOCO over Abacha’s $2M to JJ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The PPP filed a suit at the High Court on September 19 seeking an interlocutory injunction to prevent the Commission from receiving the nominations in protest of the EC’s much criticized increase in the filing fees for presidential and parliamentary aspirants.

Citi News’ Sixtus Dong Ullo reported that the Flagbearer of the GCPP, Dr. Henry Herbert Lartey after submitting his nomination forms at the Electoral Commission (EC) said it is inappropriate for the party to submit banker’s filing fees since it had placed an interlocutory injunction on  the process.

Yesterday [Thursday] the EC said it would not be accepting filing fees from the presidential and parliamentary aspirants because of an interlocutory injunction the PPP had secured on the process.

But the EC however accepted the filing fee of the PPP flagberer, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, who was represented by the party’s Chairman, Nii Allotey Brew Hammond.

Mr. Hammond subsequently requested that the filing fee be returned but the EC Chair, Charlotte Osei, said it was too late to return the fee as the PPP was aware of the legal implications yet still presented the fee in bank draft form, according to Citi FM’s Godwin Allotey.

Filing fee brouhaha 

The EC opened nominations earlier in September and pegged the filing fees for presidential hopefuls at GHc 50,000 and that of parliamentary nominees at GHc 10,000. Some aggrieved parties subsequently asked the EC to review the amount describing it as “exorbitant.”

The Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom-led PPP followed its concerns with the suit seeking the injunction to prevent the EC from receiving the nominations.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post We’re disappointed in PPP for paying filing fees – GCPP  appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.