According to the NDC, the region cannot be left without a substantive minister to steer its affairs.

[contextly_sidebar id=”iMYYuZzeiTatZWuZFDIrCb2RZX5ffmU7″]President Akudo-Addo suspended Sulemana Alhassan on February 1 , 2018, for allegedly protecting a group of New Patriotic Party youth who had attacked the regional coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO).

He was suspended pending an investigation into his conduct.

In Sulemana Alhassan’s place, the government said the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Amidu Ishaq, was to act as Regional Minister.

But addressing the media, the Upper West Regional Communications Officer of the NDC, Isaah Kantagyere, said the President needs to be decisive on the matter.

According to him, “as the youngest and least developed region in Ghana, we cannot afford to be a suspended region in Ghana.”

He said the Presidency ought to attach some urgency to the investigation, just as it has done in the case of some government officials accused of wrongdoing.

“We urge the President to take a decision on the status of our Regional Minister as soon as possible… we are convinced that the speed with which you have cleared your appointees of wrongdoing, the case of our Regional Minister will not be different,” Mr. Kantagyere said.

Calls for the sack

Some critics have said the President should have simply sacked Sulemana Alhassan.

NDC MP for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, held that the minister’s appointment should have been revoked.

Inusah Fuseini claimed that despite the other tougher sanctions that could have been handed to the Minister including dismissal and possible arrest for obstructing justice, the President chose the “milder course of action” because intentions to reinstate the Minister.

Other minority MPs argued that it was also a constitutional breach for a Deputy Minister to act as substantive Minister, a claim the government did not respond to.

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By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post U/West NDC demands action on suspended regional minister appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Thursday, Mahama Ayariga argued that, the Constitution has laid out the procedures for sanctioning a Minister.

[contextly_sidebar id=”iABYBmRf6S0bTjUCNF9OsBf6YvmbgssN”]According to him, the President could have either reshuffled the Minister or dismissed him, while Parliament could also tender a motion for censure against him.

“The President didn’t appoint the Minister alone and the President didn’t create the office of the Minister…The kind of public service positions where you can exercise disciplinary control such as suspension from office are different from Ministerial appointments. In the case of Ministers, there are mechanisms for dealing with them such as a vote of censurship by Parliamentarians or the President reshuffling a Minister or dismissing a Minister outright. The President cannot suspend a Minister. He has to show us specifically under which provision of the Constitution he’s exercising the power to suspend the Minister,” he said.

Mahama Ayariga hinted that, he might head to court to ensure that finality is brought to the matter, if the President does not reverse his decision.

“We can raise it on the floor of Parliament and debate it, but that doesn’t also give finality to the matter. It’s the courts that will give finality. The only way to obtain some finality is to go to the courts and test then Constitution in relation to the conduct of the President. Perhaps by [Friday] morning the President would have thought through it, realized he has done the wrong thing and reverse his decision. If he doesn’t then of course, there might be a need to challenge his actions and either myself or somebody else who has the space may decide to do that.”

The Minister was suspended after he was reported to have protected a group of angry youth believed to be members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who besieged the Upper West Regional office of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) on Wednesday evening.

The statement announcing his suspension noted that, his deputy will act, pending the conclusion of an investigation into the incident.

‘Commendable but deputy can’t act’ – Haruna Iddrisu

The leader of the Minority in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, appeared to disagree with this school of thought from his colleague, stating that the President deserved to be commended for taking the decision and allowing the Regional Minister to be heard before making a final decision.

He added that, it was necessary for the processes initiated by the President to be allowed to proceed.

“You have to look at it within the larger context of the public service and I welcome the swiftness of the President’s action. He wants to deal with the crippling lawlessness in the country led by NPP youth and we should commend him for that. The President is allowing the Minister to be heard on the merits of the issue and is allowing, in the meantime, an investigation in the action. Probably that is why he chose the word suspension. The President can exercise the power of revocation, but has asked for an investigation into the matter, let’s allow the process to roll out,” he noted.

Mr. Iddrisu, however, described the directive by President Akufo-Addo for the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Amidu Ishaq to act in the stead of the suspended Regional Minister as unconstitutional.

He stated that, it was imperative that the President does not breach the Constitution in his effort to address the matter.

According to him, the constitution does not allow for a Deputy Regional Minister to act in the absence of a substantive Minister.

“We welcome the swiftness of the President’s action against the Regional Minister for attempting to [frustrate efforts] at getting an end to the lawlessness in the country by the masquerading NPP youth in that region and other parts of the country. But the President himself is a respected legal practitioner and must do what is appropriate legally and constitutionally within the meaning of the Supreme Court ruling on the status of deputy Ministers. It is wrong in law and constitutionally for the deputy Minister to be asked to acting in the absence of the regional Minister,” Haruna Iddrisu said on Eyewitness News.

He believes that the President could direct another Regional Minister to assume the role of acting Upper West Regional Minister until he makes a final determination on the fate of Sulemana Alhassan.

“What the President should be doing is to get any other Regional Minister to step in while the investigation continues until he decides whether he is revoking the suspension or enhancing it with a revocation of his appointment. There is a Supreme Court judgement on the status of deputy Ministers and they cannot act in the absence of Ministers. The President must get a Minister, probably a Regional Minister within the decentralization regime to act in that role. I expect the President to act within the law and within the Constitution and within the ruling of the Supreme Court. What he has done is legally untenable and inappropriate.”

Chaos at U/W NADMO

At about 5:00 pm on Wednesday, the youth from the Wa East district, numbering about 30, arrived in two pickups and a minibus, and stormed the NADMO offices at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council.

After the police got to the scene of the disturbances and effected the arrest of three persons, Alhassan Suleiman ordered the release of the suspects.

He reportedly told the Police that “This is a party matter, I will have a meeting with them and get back to you”.  After that, the attackers walked home freely.

Following the incident, workers of NADMO declared a strike today [Thursday], and demanded that until the suspects are arrested, they will not return to work.

They  slammed the Regional Minister, whose duty is to protect citizens as the Regional Chairman of the Security Council, for choosing to shield the attackers.

They said the Minister demonstrated no value of their lives, as the attack on the offices of NADMO led to an aide to the NADMO Regional Director being beaten to pulp.

The Regional NADMO Director, Isaac Seidu, who appeared to be the main target of the attack, however escaped unhurt.

Isaac Seidu told Citi News that “the police came and met the boys around my office but when they wanted to make the arrest, the Minister [Sulemana Alhassan] came down and prevented them.”

The angry NADMO staff have welcomed the Minister’s suspension, and have called off their strike accordingly.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Nana Addo’s suspension of Regional Minister ‘unconstitutional’- Ayariga appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Alhassan, who did not emphatically condemn the action of the youth, described it as a “small hitch between some party youth and the District Chief Executive for Sisala West that led to the youth locking up the office.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”p86pc0jSHkvYANKb1Zka1Vq8jYj11wRR”]Defending his stance on the matter, the Minister said that “even though [the youth’s storming the office] was not legal, they didn’t cause any damage to any property. They didn’t cause any harm to anybody” he insisted.

According to him, “the only problem was that they locked the [DCE’s] office illegally. This is something I can say was a mob action.”

The Police have said that an arrest on the spur of the moment could have escalated the situation.

The Minister recounted that, when he got to the scene, he had “to ask the district police to intensify their investigations and see if some of them could be identified and if possible arrested.”

He, however, said talk of prosecuting the culprits was too early because no arrests had been made yet, despite a spokesperson of the group speaking on Eyewitness News.

The agitating youth complained that they are being neglected in favour of people aligned to the DCE, Mohammed Bako.

NPP youth storm police station in Karaga; set suspects free

A similar incident at Karaga in the Northern Region, the NPP Chairman for the Karaga Constituency and four others have been arrested to assist police in their investigations.

The irate youth in Karaga, believed to be sympathizers of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), early on, invaded a police station, and freed some NPP members who were in police custody.

A Citi News source who was close to the scene, said the youth acted in that manner because the District Chief Executive of Karaga, Alhassan Yabdoo, allegedly caused the arrest of some NPP communicators.

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

The post Attack on Sissala West DCE ‘nothing serious’ – Minister appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Regional Minister had, on Friday, announced that the traders would not be allowed back into the market until the work was done to  calling them a nuisance.

According to him, government has already developed plans to reconstruct the market.

However, the traders have told Citi News that they expect to start brisk business in the next few days.

The traders expressed their doubts about whether they would be able to afford to pay for the new structures once they are built.

Major portions of the Kumasi Central Market was gutted on Thursday in a blaze which destroyed property worth thousands of cedis.

Though the national fire service is yet to ascertain the cause of the fire, illegal electrical connections have been suggested as a probable cause.

Meanwhile, the Agona Swedru District Police Command says it has put effective measures in place to ensure that their community does not experience any market fires.

The Agona Swedru District Police Commander, DSP Paul Wilson Baah, told Citi News that he believes the “secret to their success” so far was the willingness of the residents to work with the police and the fire service personnel in ensuring that fires are prevented.

By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post K’si central market traders defy Minister over new structures appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Portions of the Kumasi Central Market have been destroyed in a fire suspected to have started  around 8:30pm on  Thursday evening.

The blaze has destroyed shops and property worth thousands of Cedis.

Eyewitnesses say the part of the market known as the 18-yard area  through to the second-hand clothes section were the worst hit 

Reports indicate that personnel from the Regional Fire Service were at the scene working to put the fire out. 

Bridget, a trader who spoke to Citi News, said only a handful of policemen and two fire trucks were on site.

“We heard about the fire around 9pm and rushed to the scene. The whole 18-yard area is gone. There are two fire service trucks and I saw only one policeman and a lot of people around.

“the 18-yard and other areas were on fire. It started right at the entrance of the market.”

According to Bridget, traders at the scene attempting to save their wares.

Market fires are common in Ghana. A number of big markets across the country, including the Kumasi Central Market have been gutted by fire multiple times.

In 2013, government brought in experts from America to assess the cause of these fires but the report is yet to be made public.

However, local fire service personnel say the fires can be blamed on illegal electrical connections, cooking in the markets and burning of rubbish.

By: Kojo Akoto Boateng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Fire guts Kumasi Central Market again appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.