According to him, the outspoken member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) possesses the qualities needed for the position which was created by the government to lead the prosecution of corrupt state officials.

[contextly_sidebar id=”oGKcc5XZG9pLivrBz1RC12J9mbW94Snk”]Ransford Gyampo, who had also suggested the appointment of Martin Amidu to head the Special Prosecutor’s Office prior to Thursday’s announcement, added that Martin Amidu “has the stature, character, competence and objectivity”,  to pursue corrupt officials within the current government as well as previous ones.

“I proposed the appointment of a person in the character and stature of Martin Amidu (or Anas) as someone who could do well to surmount the fundamental problem and make some strides in the fight against corruption in spite of the challenges of independence,” Ransford Gyampo wrote.

“This is the most objective political appointment that has ever been made in the history of our Fourth Republic. “If you cant find them in your party, go beyond your party to find them all in the name of serving Ghana.” Not all positions can or must be filled from within.”

Several persons had expressed fears that President Akufo-Addo would appoint someone from within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to head the Special Prosecutor’s Office, thereby compromising their objectivity.

However, the appointment of Martin Amidu, a known member of the opposition NDC, will erase many doubts about the neutrality of the Office.

And according to Dr. Gyampo, the appointment of Martin Amidu was one that could be celebrated by all political parties given his tendency to speak out against different governments, including his own.

He also commended the President for his “bold” choice, acknowledging that the appointment was an indication of his commitment towards fighting corruption.

“President Akufo Addo has demonstrated his desire to protect the national interest. I am sure he was opposed about his choice by the hawks and the overly partisan apparatchiks. I congratulate him for this bold step,” he wrote.

“Mr. President, more of these appointments. Appointments that even your political opponents can’t really oppose.”

See the full statement from Ransford Gyampo below:

1. The Special Prosecutor suffers from a fundamental challenge regarding autonomy and independence.

2. In my earlier critique of the move to create a Special Prosecutor rather than an Independent Public Prosecutor, I proposed the appointment of a person in the character and stature of Martin Amidu (or Anas) as someone who could do well to surmount the fundamental problem and make some strides in the fight against corruption in spite of the challenges of independence.

3. Martin Amidu has the stature, character, competence, objectivity and all it takes to wield the needed DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD in fighting corruption within the ruling party and outside the party.

4. He has the NAME, MORAL AUTHORITY AND CREDIBILITY as CITIZEN VIGILANTE and I believe he would work to protect not only our money, but also his own name.

5. This is the MOST OBJECTIVE POLITICAL APPOINTMENT that has ever been made in the history of our Fourth Republic. “If you cant find them in your party, go beyond your party to find them all in the name of serving Ghana”. Not all positions can or must be filled from within.

6. President Akufo Addo has demonstrated his desire to protect the NATIONAL INTEREST. I am sure he was opposed about his choice by the hawks and the overly partisan apparatchiks. I congratulate him for this bold step.

7. There would be serious autonomy challenges but CITIZEN VIGILANTE, do your best for mother Ghana under the circumstance.

8. I am a very proud Ghanaian today and I thank the President for following one of the key pathways to dealing with Winner-Takes-All politics.

9. Mr. President, more of these appointments. Appointments that even your political opponents can’t really oppose.

10. Mr. Amidu, I wish you well. Remember how you took people in your own party on. Take appointees of this administration on when necessary to give you the audacity to prosecute those who aren’t in government when you have the evidence.

God bless our homeland Ghana.

Yaw Gyampo.
A31, Prabiw
P.AV. Ansah Street
Saltpond

The appointment of Martin Amidu as Special Prosecutor, pending Parliamentary approval, has been hailed by experts and ordinary Ghanaians as a ‘masterstroke’ by the President.

Ghana’s first President in the Fourth Republic, Jerry John Rawlings also commended the appointment, describing Martin Amidu as “fearless.”

Mr. Rawlings said President Nana Akufo-Addo had “risen above partisanship and recognized a highly principled citizen.”

More About Martin Amidu

Martin A. B. K. Amidu was the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice from January 2011 till January 2012 under the late President John Evans Atta-Mills.

Amidu, a member of the NDC, served as the Deputy Attorney-General for about the last four years of the Provisional National Defence Council military government.

After civilian rule was established in the Fourth Republic in January 1993, he continued to serve in the government of Jerry Rawlings as Deputy Attorney-General. This he did for both terms lasting eight years until January 2001.

In the December 2000 presidential elections, he stood as the running mate of John Atta Mills. They both however lost to President John Kufuor that year.

In January 2010, following a cabinet reshuffle, President Mills replaced Cletus Avoka with Martin Amidu as the Minister for Interior. As Amidu is a Builsa, some people raised questions as to his neutrality in dealing with the Bawku conflict. He however went successfully through vetting by the Parliament of Ghana and has since assumed his post.

Following the second major cabinet reshuffle by President Mills, Amidu became the Attorney general and Minister for Justice of Ghana.

Removal from Office

Martin Amidu was relieved of his post on Thursday January 19, 2012, by President John Evans Atta Mills under circumstances described by aids as ‘his misconduct’ at a meeting chaired by the president at the Osu Castle on January 18, 2012.

He made allegations relating to alleged financial impropriety on the part of another cabinet minister, allegations he was asked by the president to substantiate.

Martin Amidu, the former Attorney General, single-handedly challenged the legality of the payments after being relieved off his post at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court in 2014 ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the money as Supreme Court judges unanimously granted the Attorney-General clearance to execute the court’s judgment, ordering Mr. Woyome to refund the cash to the state.

Following the delays in retrieving the money, Mr. Amidu in 2016, filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to examine Alfred Woyome, on how he would pay back the money, after the Attorney General’s office under the Mahama Administration, led by the former Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, discontinued a similar application.

In February 2017 however, Mr. Amidu withdrew his suit seeking an oral examination, explaining that the change of government under the New Patriotic Party under His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo Addo and his Attorney General, Miss Gloria Akuffo’s assurance to retrieve all judgment debts wrongfully paid to individuals Mr. Woyome in response prayed the Supreme Court to stay proceedings on the oral examination since he had filed for a review on the case.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Amidu’s appointment ‘most objective’ in 4th Republic – Gyampo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, politicians over the years have failed to live exemplary lives to motivate Ghanaians to cling to the tenets of patriotism.

[contextly_sidebar id=”92ZBE68dEsHCkeqxcGL8Ldky3ktLxaxj”]“In the fight for independence, Kwame Nkrumah succeeded in whipping up patriotic feeling among the nationalist fighters. How did he do it? He associated himself with ordinary people and demonstrated to them that he was championing their course. But so far, I think the political leaders that have in Ghana demonstrate more to us that they are selfish, self-seeking, self-perpetuating and they are self-aggrandizing cabals. If you have leaders with these features then obviously it become difficult for the people to be inculcated in them the spirit of patriotism,” he said on Eyewitness News on Friday.

Dr. Gyampo made the remark on the back of former President John Mahama’s lamentation that patriotism, which in the past was a dominant trait among Ghanaians has become deficient in recent times.

“…Nationalism and patriotism have become very deficient in Ghana today. Absolutely nobody thinks about the country first; we all think about ourselves first, our families second, our parties third, maybe, our communities fourth and Ghana comes a distant fifth or sixth or even tenth,” he said at a lecture to open the National Democratic Congress’ Institute of Social Democracy at the party’s headquarters in Accra on Friday.

While agreeing with the former President, Dr. Gyampo said another way of boosting nationalism and patriotism in Ghanaians is to equip the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with the necessary logistics and funds to discharge its role effectively.

“…We know that there is deficient civic education in Ghana. Go to NCCE, they will tell you that they don’t have money. And that has been the refrain since they were formed in 1992. NCCE always does not have money to inculcate into people patriotism and political leaders are also not doing much to help deal with this particular situation because the more they inculcate this spirit of patriotism in people, the more they also enlighten them on civic rights.”

“And the more they become enlightened, the more they become empowered and politicians do not also want an empowered citizenry so they will continue to suffocate the NCCE,” he added.

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

The post Ghanaian politicians ‘killed’ patriotism with greed – Lecturer appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

President Nana Addo on Monday indicated at a durbar of chiefs and the people of the Bibiani-Anwhiaso-Bekwai District, on the first day of his three-day tour of the Western Region, that the proposal to carve a new region out of the Western Region is currently at the consideration stage.

The revelation has left the nation divided over the intended move.

[contextly_sidebar id=”3qC6Z1S6Kun1Cb2k52mhfiVn5bVOAxYT”]While some have argued the said creation is laudable, others are kicking against the move, saying it is only going to add a new layer to the bureaucracy.

Despite concerns for government to channel resources that would be used to undertake this project into other ventures, research has shown that majority of Ghanaians, especially residents in the four areas  where the said regional re-organisation is expected to take place support the idea, except the Volta Region where there has been a bit of resistance.

A Lecturer at the University of Ghana,  Ransford Gyampo who made this revelation on the Citi Breakfast Show indicated that though regional re-organisation is feasible, it would require rigorous processes.

“The President would have to set up a commission and the commission would do a lot of consultation to find out from the people whether the idea is feasible. If it is clear at the Commission’s level then there should be a referendum which will require conducting a plebiscite among the people who will be affected by the regional reorganisation there and 40 or 50 percent would have to turn out to vote and also get 80 percent votes for it. The opposition is also allowed to go and campaign against it…,” he explained..

Cost

Prof. Gyampo also wondered whether government had taken into consideration the cost implications of carving new regions.

“Have we considered the cost implication? This is a government that inherited an ailing economy. There is a lot of cost implication. You need to procure vehicles.”

He further questioned the motive for creating new regions, saying “what is the rational for re -organisation. Is it for development? If it is for development, I am not sure because the various institutions and local assemblies that are supposed to be putting in place government strategies will not immediately get up and work once a new region is created from another region so let us find out why they are not able to work to bring about development.”

Prof. Gyampo therefore asked government to thoroughly reconsider the creation of new regions especially as it claims the country does not have a strong economic footing.

Meanwhile a Lecturer at the Institute of Local Studies, Dr. Oduro Osae has lauded moves to create new regions arguing that it would lead to “some level of development.”

“Once the region is created, you need an administrative capital and you have most of the businesses relocating to the region. Once it is created , you will have us realigning the various district assemblies so that Common Fund can also be allocated to those districts,” he argued.

He however  indicated that one major challenge that besets this move is administrative bureaucracies.

“The other challenge is administrative bureaucracy in the creation because once we create, it means we will have more than ten regions. Administering  a country with more than ten regions, having more than ten regional Ministers is one of the administrative bureaucracies that will be created.”

The carving of new regions was one of President Nana Addo’s several campaign promises in the run up to the election.

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

The post New regions possible but costly – Ransford Gyampo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.