The group in a statement signed by the Deputy Minority Leader,  James Klutse Avedzi, asked the NPP to withdraw the “plagiarized address” and resubmit another speech which will reflect all “attributable sources.”

“Considering that this inaugural address was made before us in Parliament in compliance with the Constitution and same having been captured by the Hansard Department as part of the official records of Parliament, the Minority demands that the now infamous plagiarized inaugural address be withdrawn and expunged from Parliamentary records with liberty to resubmit another speech not tainted with fraud and reflecting all attributable sources.

“The sanctity of Parliament must be respected and preserved, and it is our expectation that the new Speaker of Parliament The Rt. Hon. Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye who thankfully is an academic of some repute, will better appreciate the full ramifications of what is before us.”

The governing NPP has come under intense criticism after it was discovered that portions of President Nana Addo’s inaugural speech were lifted from speeches by some former presidents of the United States.

Though the Director of Communications at the presidency, Eugene Arhin, has issued an apology  for the development, some Ghanaians are calling for stiffer sanctions, arguing that an apology is not enough.

The Minority said: “This monumental plagiarism scandal which has now assumed international dimensions with major global news networks including CNN, BBC, AlJazeera, Reuters, Washington Post, Metro News, Nairobi News, Vanguard of Nigeria and Yahoo News all casting Ghana in bad light has clearly tarnished the image of Ghana abroad and brought upon this great nation untold embarrassment never witnessed in the aftermath of a Presidential inauguration.”

Below is the minority’s statement 

On the 7th of January 2017, the newly elected President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, delivered his Inaugural Speech as the fifth President of the Fourth Republic in consonance with the tenets of established protocols of the State.

However, it has emerged that upon a careful reading of the written text of the said speech, His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo failed to publicly acknowledge certain key sources of material information as contained in the speech in question. Further scrutiny so far reveals that several paragraphs in President Nana Addo’s inaugural address contained word for word liftings from speeches ever presented by President John F. Kennedy, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush Jnr. and President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Minority in Parliament like most well-meaning Ghanaians is deeply saddened and outraged by this development which has brought Ghana shame and subjected us to intense ridicule.

This monumental plagiarism scandal which has now assumed international dimensions with major global news networks including CNN, BBC, AlJazeera, Reuters, Washington Post, Metro News, Nairobi News, Vanguard of Nigeria and Yahoo News all casting Ghana in bad light has clearly tarnished the image of Ghana abroad and brought upon this great nation untold embarrassment never witnessed in the aftermath of a Presidential inauguration.

It is depressing to observe that the goodwill that Ghana had been enjoying within the international community since our successful December 7 election and transition all appear to have been squandered by this singular act of sloppy intellectual theft.

It is indeed shocking that for a presidential campaign that anchored its core message on competence and incorruptibility will on its first day in office fall short of its pledge in such a spectacularly disgraceful manner.

If the NPP Government cannot exhibit competence in writing its own speeches, how can we trust them to have the competence to fulfill their numerous promises to the electorate? If the NPP Government engages in intellectual property theft on its first day in office, how safe are the resources of this country that have been freshly placed in their care?

Even more worrying is further evidence of plagiarism now coming to the fore pointing to a consistent pattern on the part of President Nana Akufo-Addo dating back to his days as opposition leader. Another video also  in circulation exposes how then Flagbearer Akufo-Addo lifts statements during his 2013 post Supreme Court verdict address  from Former US Vice President Al Gore’s speech after the US Supreme Court verdict on that country’s election dispute.  We urge President Nana Akufo-Addo and his speech writers to be original and realize that they have now formed a Government and it is expected of them to put a stop to this unfortunate practice as it will be very difficult to get away as they may have gotten away in time past. We also expect the new President to exercise diligence and circumspection before reading or signing anything put before him to avoid even more severe consequences to our dear nation.

Considering that this inaugural address was made before us in Parliament in compliance with the Constitution and same having been captured by the Hansard Department as part of the official records of Parliament, the Minority demands that the now infamous plagiarized inaugural address be withdrawn and expunged from Parliamentary records with liberty to resubmit another speech not tainted with fraud and reflecting all attributable sources. The sanctity of Parliament must be respected and preserved and it is our expectation that the new Speaker of Parliament The Rt. Hon. Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye who thankfully is an academic of some repute will better appreciate the full ramifications of what is before us.

We also wish to remind President Nana Akufo-Addo that Ghana operates an Executive Presidency as clearly stipulated in Articles 57 and 58 of the Constitution and therefore the apology of his Communications Director notwithstanding, we expect him to take personal responsibility and assure the good people of Ghana that he will take concrete steps to ensure that this nation is spared any similar embarrassment in future.

Ghanaians expect of their leaders to, at all times, defend the good image of Ghana, therefore, it is our hope that we will all take steps to mitigate and rescue Ghana – the black star of Africa from the web of ridicule that our nation is being subjected to all over the world and we must not fail them.

Issued in Parliament House on Monday 9th January, 2017 in the year of our Lord on behalf of the Minority Caucus and signed by:

Hon. James Klutse Avedzi

Deputy Minority Leader.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Withdraw Nana Addo’s ‘plagiarized’ speech – Minority appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Some party activists have since the development, sought to offer explanations that I find very shallow and problematic. First of all, the fact that the speech was repeated by several presidents does not give Nana’s speech writers any excuse or reason to lift words from the speech by President Woodrow Wilson (28th President of USA).

A mere apology for that embarrassment that was visited upon us is not enough. There should be sanctions. This gaffe should not be treated with kid gloves especially when our newly sworn-in President is already in the headlines in other countries for the wrong reasons. His reputation has already been dented.

And to those who are complaining that the criticisms are unfair and coming in too early, I wish to remind you that this is what patriotism is all about. We [Ghanaians] cannot go on holidays after Saturday’s elaborate inauguration of the NPP administration. We must support this administration, not only by religiously paying taxes and supporting policies and plans, but also criticizing it when it goes wrong.

A piece of advice to NPP gov’t

Nana Addo came to power with the promise of transforming leadership, zero tolerance for corruption, and open governance. These can only be achieved if the President immediately dismantles the cartels around him who would want to use their proximity to the presidency as a way of enriching their pockets.

The next step is to strike a balance between the huge expectations of Ghanaians (those who voted for him plus those who didn’t) and the realities of the day. This will go a long way in helping the NPP administration prioritize the people’ s needs.

What the NDC should do

On the political front, NDC must also take their new role (minority party) seriously by conducting themselves in a manner that manifests them as a “government in waiting.”

They must play their watchdog role and only accept to go to bed with the majority party in matters or areas that are in the interest of the people of Ghana. They (elements within its rank) must not be seen to be joint-conspirators with elements within the government in matters that only serve to defraud the public.

In conclusion, I wish the new administration all the very best, but the same time, remind them that the honey moon period is over!

It is now time to deliver on their litany of campaign promises besides sorting out the challenges inherited from the NDC administration!

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

The post Marian Ansah writes: Apology for speech gaffe not enough; sanction writers appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In one of the extracts, Mrs Clinton told bankers that they were best-placed to help reform the US financial sector.

She also said she favoured “open trade and open borders”. Mrs Clinton’s main opponent, Donald Trump, has said he wants to renegotiate key trade deals.

Mrs Clinton had refused to publish the transcripts, from 2013 and 2014.

Her rival in the Democratic primaries, Bernie Sanders, had repeatedly called on her to release the text of her speeches, which are thought to have earned her about $26m (£21m).

‘Dream of a common market’

The excerpts include comments made at an event sponsored by Goldman Sachs in October 2013 in which Mrs Clinton spoke of the need to consult Wall Street over financial reform.

“The people that know the industry better than anybody are the people who work in the industry,” Mrs Clinton said.

At another speech presented to a Brazilian bank in 2013, she spoke of her “dream” for a common trade market.

“My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, some time in the future with energy that is as green and sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the hemisphere,” Mrs Clinton said.

The leak comes after the US accused Russia of a cyber attack against political organisations intended to influence the presidential election.

Supporters of Donald Trump had been hopeful that Wikileaks would release an “October Surprise” this week to put an end to Mrs Clinton’s presidential hopes.

Campaign staff are believed to have been sent Mrs Clinton’s speeches to identify passages that could be potentially problematic if they became public, AP news agency reports.

Wikileaks posted thousands of emails, including exchanges with her campaign aide John Podesta. The release covers messages dating back years but also features some from as recently as last month.

Mr Podesta referred to the disclosures as a Russian hack, suggesting some of the documents may have been altered.

“I’m not happy about being hacked by the Russians in their quest to throw the election to Donald Trump,” Mr Podesta wrote. “Don’t have time to figure out which docs are real and which are faked.”

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Source: BBC

The post Hillary Clinton’s Wall St speeches published by Wikileaks appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.