The debate series was designed to provide a platform to assess which of the parties in this year’s election best responds to issues affecting the youth and women.

In the packed audience were University of Ghana residents, university students, university authorities and representatives of the four major political parties- the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Peoples national Convention (PNC) and the Convention Peoples Party (CPP).

The NDC’s Lawrence Lamptey in his submission, insisted the Government has created lots of jobs particularly in the construction sector.

He pointed to the on-going infrastructural development projects, promising the NDC administration if retained will create thousands of jobs. But, all the opposition parties disagreed with the NDC’s assertions.

The NPP’s representative at the debate, Abu Jinapor, touted the party’s industrial agenda including the one district, one factory promise as the blue print for job creation.

On corruption, the general secretary of the PNC, Atik Mohammed, said the ruling party has shown that it lacked the credibility to fight corruption. He said a PNC administration will set up the office of an independent public prosecutor to prosecute corruption officials.

The CPP was represented by its parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso Wougon constituency in Greater Accra Kweku Quansah.

He debunked the notion that the private sector is the engine of growth, saying a CPP government will ensure that the government leads and provides majority of what the people need rather than leave it in the hands of the private sector.

The debate, which was held in four major public universities, commenced in March 2016, and has already taken place at the University for Development Studies Tamale campus, University of Cape Coast, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi.

The Tamale Debate, which was the first, took place on the 12th of March at the University of Development Studies (UDS) campus in Tamale.

The debate train later stopped at the University of Cape Coast in the Central Region on Friday 8th of April 2016, where youth leaders of the five political parties debated on the thematic areas of poverty reduction and economic development, the right to education and skills training (Youth employment), energy and natural resources, the justice system and the rule of law and women’s empowerment.

The next debate took place at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology- KNUST in August, which was an all-female contest.

About African Heights Foundation

The African Heights Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, based in Accra, Ghana, dedicated to using the tools of education, advocacy and civic participation to raise leaders and active citizens excelling in various sectors of society in Ghana and Africa.

The Foundation aims at strengthening democratic values and increasing citizens’ participation in decision making processes and thereby contributing to improved policies and practices that affects people’s lives.

The Foundation also focuses on developing leaders and citizens with a sound understanding and a deep commitment to quality education, democracy, economic development and human rights as underlying values for building a peaceful, prosperous and ambitious country.
–

By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Political parties youth debate ends with focus on joblessness, corruption appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The futuristic epic based on Michael Crichton’s 1973 movie debuted in the US on Sunday evening.

The figures, reported by Variety, take into account those watching live TV as well as people viewing on HBO’s streaming platforms.

It makes Westworld HBO’s most successful drama series premiere since True Detective nearly three years ago.

The crime drama attracted 2.3 million viewers across all platforms when it was first broadcast in January 2014.

Westworld also beat the 2011 series premiere of the hugely popular Game of Thrones, which attracted 2.2 million TV viewers on the evening it debuted.

However, the most recent season of Game of Thrones attracted an average of 23.3 million viewers across all platforms, according to data HBO supplied to USA Todayin June.

The number of viewers who watched Westworld makes the show a success for the pay TV channel, although the figure would be considered low for the same timeslot on a major rival channel.

Westworld’s ensemble cast includes Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton, Luke Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins and Borgen’s Sidse Babett Knudsen.

The first episode of the series received mixed reviews from critics.

Empire’s James White gave the programme four stars, adding: “It’s a good start for the show, even if it feels at times as though you’re being thrown in at the deep end. Still, the cast is several feet deep with impressive performers already and the world itself is a thing of designed beauty.”

But, he added: “There are worrying elements – it’s quick on the trigger finger when it comes to narrative tropes such as violence against women and casual nudity, but it remains to be seen how the show tackles those themes going forward.”

Writing in The Guardian, Julia Raeside also questioned the role of women and amount of nudity in the show, but praised the episode overall.

“Yes, there are a lot of breasts and, so far, the women are either robots at the mercy of punters or professionals not listened to by their colleagues,” she wrote.

“But otherwise, this is an impressive opening that ponders the qualities that make us human without bludgeoning us over the head with the differences between man and machine. And the cast is terrific.”

Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson said: “It’s beautifully acted and intricately written, frightening and probing and provocative.”

But he described the show’s “literal objectifying of most of its female characters” as an “ingrained, pervasive problem”.

Writing about the first episode in The Telegraph, Catherine Gee said: “We’re thrust into a complex, visionary world that is pleasingly in no rush to rapidly churn out its storyline.

“Like the on-screen robots, its pieces are meticulously put together, its capacity to unleash hell brimming beneath the surface. And it’s beautiful to watch.”

The first episode of the Westworld will be broadcast on Sky Atlantic in the UK on Tuesday evening.

–

Source: BBC

The post Westworld premiere draws 3.3m to HBO appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.