The allegations were made by a former Deputy Chief of Staff, Dr. Valerie Sawyerr, who also accused Mr. Amoah of failing to go through procurement processes before he purchased the vehicles.

[contextly_sidebar id=”S3gY67ADB82Gc7oCPROFYgB4rMgjz46N”]“Your MASLOC CEO, Stephen Amoah purchased 1,800 second-hand cars with no MASLOC board in place and no PPA (Public Procurement Authority) approval,” she said in an article widely published in the media.

Provoked by the remark, Mr. Amoah in a statement denied the allegations, and also gave Dr. Valerie Sawyer a one-week ultimatum to retract the publication and apologize or incur his wrath.

“In that passage, Dr. Valarie Sawyer stated emphatically that, I Stephen Amoah, CEO of MASLOC has purchased one thousand eight hundred (1,800) second-hand cars with no board in place and no PPA approval. I, Stephen Amoah, CEO of MASLOC have not purchased 1,800 second-hand cars as has been insistently stated by Dr. Valarie Sawyerr. I found this statement defamatory. It is believed that Dr. Valarie Sawyerr’s arbitrary decision to issue this false statement has been sadly induced by her ego trips just to smear my hard earned reputation.”

Mr. Amoah, who said Dr. Sawyerr’s piece has tarnished his image badly, stated that, “My illiterate and cherished mother has been traumatized.”

“I am accordingly giving you, Dr. Valarie Sawyerr one-week from today, 9:00am, Friday, 3^rd of November, 2017, to reflect on your disparaging statement against me and the President, retract and render an unequivocal apology to me, the president of the Republic of Ghana and the entire Ghanaian community. Failure to do this honourable, admirable, respectable and praiseworthy thing, will inform my next line of action,” Mr. Amoah added in the statement issued on Friday.

350 abandoned vehicles at MASLOC

MASLOC dominated the news during the early part of October 2017 following the procurement of some 350 vehicles by the previous administration, meant for drivers belonging to the GPRTU.

But the cars were rejected by the union who say they were “too expensive.”

The centre in the past few years, has been involved in the sale of cars on credit to individuals and groups including Members of Parliament, musicians and celebrities; however, it struggles to retrieve the monies owed it.

Valerie Sawyerr blasts Bawumia over digital address system

Dr. Valerie Sawyerr,in that article also took Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to the cleaners, following some utterances the second gentleman made prior to the launch of the country’s digital address system also known as Ghana Post GPS.

Dr. Sawyerr believes the Vice President deceived Ghanaians when he said the $2.5 million worth system will be more advanced than those used in the UK and United States of America.

“It is more advanced than the United States or the United Kingdom or Germany because they are stuck to old technology, and we are leapfrogging. We are going to a new technology; we are going to GPS-based technology,” Dr. Bawumia said when he delivered a lecture at the University of Cape Coast, on October 5, 2017.

–

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

The post Apologize for defaming me; else… MASLOC Boss to Valerie Sawyerr appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Madam Valarie in her recent epistle opined that, Akufo-Addo’s ten-month reign has been fraught with the “Bond saga, the MacDan saga, the BOST saga, the AMERI saga, the missing cocaine saga, the GH¢ 5million Ghana@60 saga, the illegal deportation saga” among others.

“Your Excellency, do you need more than ten months in Government to realize that you cannot get away with what you used to get away with in Opposition? You cannot hoodwink the people with half-truths and untruths all the time,” she said.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8Swv1eMSHqBcZwxooVA0O23JiYTDSuGr”]The former presidential  staffer told Akufo-Addo that the era of twisting facts and peddling “untruths” is over, and advised the president to wake up to reality.

“You cannot get them to accept hook, line and sinker unrealistic dreams and expectations. You cannot twist and turn untruths into truths. You cannot dig a big hole at a spot and get your information gurus to say you actually built a mountain at that spot when the spot is accessible to all for verification. Your Minister for Information is somersaulting all over the place, struggling to present coverups for your mess-ups. With all due respect Sir, you are over-pressurising the young man. Your Excellency, if you think we have forgotten the Bond saga, the MacDan saga, the BOST saga, the AMERI saga, the missing cocaine saga, the GH¢ 5million Ghana@60 saga, the illegal deportation saga, then you have another thought coming,” she added.

She also in the article took on Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia following some utterances the second gentleman made prior to the launch of the country’s digital address system also known as Ghana Post GPS.

Madam Valarie believes the Vice President deceived Ghanaians when he said the $2.5 million worth system will be more advanced than those used in the UK and United States of America.

Valarie Sawyer said the Vice President tried to deceive Ghanaians with such comments.

“In ten months, they have devised and implemented a digital addressing system that is more advanced than that of the U.S., the U.K., Sweden and Germany? Wow! Not surprisingly, I soon found out it was simply an app that uses Google’s free geographical coordinates. …So, Mr. President, what is the Vice-President’s excuse please?”

Below is Valarie Sawyerr’s full article:

Dr. Valerie Sawyerr writes:

Mr. President!
Mr. President!!
Mr. President!!!

How many times did I call you? Why will you not let me enjoy a peaceful Opposition? Stretching my legs in an easy chair on my patio, I heard your Vice-President say: “We are introducing… Ghana’s digital address system with unique post-codes within every location within Ghana… The digital addressing system is going to provide… us the most advanced addressing system in the world. Period! This is what we are about to roll out. And it is more advanced, off course, than the United States or the United Kingdom or Sweden or Germany because they are stuck with old technology. We are leap-frogging and we are going to new technology. We are going to GPS-based technology, so even if you are standing in the middle of the River Oti and you want your address when we roll it out you will know your address in the middle of the River Oti.” I said to myself – “Who is deceiving these people? In ten months, they have devised and implemented a digital addressing system that is more advanced than that of the U.S., the U.K., Sweden and Germany? Wow!”

Not surprisingly, I soon found out it was simply an app that uses Google’s free geographical coordinates. Don’t ask me what that means. I cannot claim to be an expert of any sort in the world of digitalization but I have access to young knowledgeable professionals who I call when I do not understand such matters. So, Mr. President, what is the Vice-President’s excuse please?

But Sir, why should I begrudge your Vice-President his exaggerated manipulative style. Barely a month ago, I was stretching my legs in that same easy chair when I heard you say: “This project was began in the time of the great Ghanaian leader John Agyekum Kufour. It was in his time that the financing for this project was secured as far back as 2008. Unfortunately, after he left, it took five years under the NDC successor government before the construction of the project. God has his own way of doing these things – a project that was begun by Kufour is going to be commissioned by Akufo-Addo. That is the way the Almighty works.”

I asked myself – what project is he talking about and is this not a gross display of mathematical deficiency? We all know that the NDC was in power for eight years – so even if it is true that for five years construction of the project was not begun, what happened to the extra three years?

After sleeping for five years, did the NDC government use three years to get out of bed in stretching mode? Did the NPP government then use nine months to execute the project? I wondered whether you were cutting sod for the project or commissioning the completed project.

So, I cross-checked! Lo and behold, it was the Wa Water Project. Eeeeishh! I am sure there is a word or phrase that describes a consistent and deeply ingrained tendency for manipulating the truth before audiences that the manipulator persistently deems ignorant and/or gullible, when indeed this is not the case. Especially when they attach phrases like ‘God has his own way of doing these things’ and ‘that is the way the Almighty works’. Blasphemy of the highest order!

With all due respect Mr. President, do you see how you were fumbling when you got to that part and feverishly wiping your mouth? Ahaaa! As we say in our local parlance ‘if you will not allow your mother to sleep you will also not sleep!’ Your Excellency, let me go back to your Vice-President. Let’s try this quiz Sir:

• Is Google Maps Navigation a mobile application developed by Google, which normally uses a GPS satellite connection to determine its location?

• Did the Ghanaian Government pay US$2.5m to Vokacom, aka Afrifa, to develop a digital addressing system for the country? • Did Vokacom develop a digital addressing system based on the GPS technology?

• Is the GPS technology new or was it invented in the 1960s in the U.S.?

• Does the new app developed by Vokacom use Google’s free geographical coordinates to function?

• Will Ghana pay a US$400,000.00 annual fee to Google for embedding their online map into Ghana’s new digital addressing system?

• Does the Ghanaian government have physical access to the server?

• Does another country have access to our personal information fed into the server?

• Did a similar Facebook App integration with Google maps cost US$500,000? • Why are there so many complaints that the Ghana Post GPS App is not working efficiently?

• Did the Government really spend GH¢3.5million on publicizing the system as declared by the MD of Ghana Post, James Kwofie?

#Jack Where Are You – that is the slogan for the digital addressing system! Mr. President, in case you are wondering, we are talking about ‘value for money’.

This ‘Jack Where Are You’ goof will not varnish into thin air. An urgent question has been filed in Parliament for the Minister of State in charge of Public Procurement to provide details of the procurement process for the system. We are waiting patiently please. Your Excellency, do you need more than ten months in Government to realize that you cannot get away with what you used to get away with in Opposition? You cannot hoodwink the people with half-truths and untruths all the time.

You cannot get them to accept hook, line and sinker unrealistic dreams and expectations. You cannot twist and turn untruths into truths. You cannot dig a big hole at a spot and get your information gurus to say you actually built a mountain at that spot when the spot is accessible to all for verification. Your Minister for Information is somersaulting all over the place, struggling to present coverups for your mess-ups.

With all due respect Sir, you are over-pressurising the young man. Your Excellency, if you think we have forgotten the Bond saga, the MacDan saga, the BOST saga, the AMERI saga, the missing cocaine saga, the GH¢ 5million Ghana@60 saga, the illegal deportation saga, then you have another thought coming.

• Your incompetent Minister for Agriculture now says the army worms have come to stay, after he said he had eradicated them;

• Your implementation of the First Year Free SHS programme has been woefully inadequate;

• You moved a whole community of Ghanaians to the United States for the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly when public officers had not been paid;

• Your MASLOC CEO, Stephen Amoah purchases 1,800 second-hand cars with no MASLOC board in place and no PPA (Public Procurement Authority) approval;

• Your Invisible Forces, Delta Forces, Kandahar boys, Bolgatanga Bulldogs … just heard about the Elmina Sharks and Paga Crocodiles … and other rebel groups are still terrorizing the nation … Sissala West DCE flees irate youth … NPP Youth lock up School Feeding Office in Tamale … NPP youth storm police station in Karaga … NPP youth group beats Assembly members at Adeiso. Mr. President, what happened to your democratic credentials please?

• Your operatives ‘imprison’ Appiah Stadium in a room and force him to produce an audio recording for public consumption. They handcuff him from Kumasi to the Police Headquarters in Accra where it takes almost four hours to get the police to agree to grant him bail around 9.30pm, and thereafter you issue a statement saying you are no longer interested in pursuing the case. Of course, I cannot defend the words he used on you although, Sir, I cannot remember you defending yourself when the WikiLeaks reports were released.

I also remember the horrible words you and your team used on Ex President Mahama while he was in office. It is not too late to apologise to him Sir. • You impose penalties amounting to over GH¢1billion on radio stations and shut some down in the name of administrative streamlining.

Mr. President, it is important that our institutions obey and adhere to laid down rules and procedures, but I am sure you realize that by imposing unrealistic sanctions on them the message that rings clear is that you have a sinister agenda. To cut down some of the fines to 50% is still unconscionable, especially when the Schedule used for the calculation of fines had not yet been approved by Parliament. May I humbly suggest that the first review of the draconian decision should have seen a reduction of fines to the level of the applicable law, while insisting that the Radio Stations present the requisite paperwork.

As things are, it may be advisable to simply declare an amnesty, give them a time frame to present the relevant paperwork and pay the fees of the years unpaid at the current rate. This would spare the nation a further loss of democratic credentials as well as imminent court cases. As for my sister Ursula, I have confidence in her that she will do the right thing and I hope my confidence is not misplaced. As I pondered over your actions this morning, I found myself singing a popular tune – ‘kro kro kro kro, hi hi hi hi krohi krohi kro kro kro, hi hi kro kro kro …’ Your Excellency, do you remember that tune?

The rhythm of the reverberating shuttle of the loom as our kente weavers produce our resplendent kente cloths. Sir, I can see you slowly weaving your way into the hole that you yourself are digging. It is so deep that if you fall in it, Mr. President you know we will not be able to find you even if all fire service and military operatives and equipment are dispatched to the scene

Mr. President, what stops you from graciously acknowledging what the NDC has accomplished? Is it a narcissistic tendency that prevents you from acknowledging the good in others? Or is it your speech-writers who have decided as a policy that nothing good of the NDC should be acknowledged? Please listen to the humble advise of an Opposition Chiller – you are the one who will be held responsible for the fumbling of your Government. Your writers can write for you but you are the one who must determine in the end what you actually say.

Apart from the Wa Water Project, that you attempted to take credit for (naughty naughty), may I remind you of some other water projects executed under President Mahama – Essakyir Water Supply Project; Kpong Water Expansion Project; Nsawam Water Expansion Projects; Teshie Water Desalination Plant; Kumasi (Barekese) Water Supply Project; Five Towns Water Supply Project (Kyebi, Osenase, Anyinam, Apedwa & Kwabeng); Kpong Intake Rehabilitation Project; Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area Supply Project; Asante Mampong Water Project; Akim-Oda-Akwatia-Winneba Water Project; Konongo-Kumawu-Kwahu Water Project; Navrongo Water Project & Small Town Water Systems across all regions.

I understand the Akim Oda-Akwatia-Winneba Water Supply Project is being prepared for commissioning. Please put the devil to shame and give JM the credit when you commission it. Don’t believe your Minister for Water Resources & Sanitation if he tells you that the funding was sourced in H.E. Busia’s time, and H.E. Kufour planted a tree at the spot to signify sodcutting, and you built the whole system in ten months. If in doubt, just conduct a search on Google. Your Excellency, I don’t mean the ‘Jack Where Are You’ system please … ha ha ha! While we are at it, may I take the opportunity to point out that the following projects commissioned or inaugurated in the ten months you have been in office were all commenced and/or executed under President Mahama:

• On April 27, 2017, you cut the sod for the world’s largest LPG-fired Power Plant;

• On April 26, 2017, you commissioned an ICT Centre at Soabe in Denkyembour District of the Eastern Region; • On May 10, 2017, you commissioned the Kumasi City Mall;

• On May 17, 2017, your Minister for Health commissioned the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (former Ridge Hospital

• On May 24, 2017, your Minister for Fisheries commissioned the Elmina Fish Processing Plant; • On July 6, 2017, you commissioned the FPSO John Agyekum Kufour;

• On September 15, 2017, you launched the New National ID Card. Kro kro kro kro, hi hi hi hi Krohi krohi kro kro kro, hi hi, kro kro kro … … and Mr. President what is this new thing that anytime you goof and attention is drawn to it, you throw a fake Kwesi Botchwey report at the NDC, as though that will solve the problems of the nation? Please concentrate on easing the burden of the average Ghanaian Sir, and leave the Kwesi Botchway report alone, especially the fake ones. Who are those NPP birds twittering about the Kwesi Botchwey report?

The good professor says the version being bandied around is fake and is not the final version of his Committee’s report. Our General Secretary Asiedu Nketia and our National Organiser Kofi Adams have said on air that it is a fake report. When the denkyems (crocodiles) have come out of the river to declare that the report on the water-bed is fake, the bird perched on a tree in the hinterland says the report is true. Aaba! Did the bird use the Vice-President’s leap-frogging Ghana Post GPS to locate the address of the Kwesi Botchwey Report in the Oti River? … and who are those NDC birds chirping all over the place about the NPP KB Report – chirp, chirp, chirp?

Kindly varnish from my sight as I daydream in peace, recalling the story of Taka, Tika and Gangali on that beautiful day in July 2011 in Sunyani. Yes, the story JM shared with us at the Sunyani Congress. I guess a number of you have forgotten. Let me jog your memory … the Congress that gave Nana Konadu (NDP) 3.1% of the votes.

Ahaaa … I knew you would remember that. We are indeed the great NDC and we fear no foe!!! Stop chirping and get with the programme … organize don’t agonise!!! Kro kro kro kro, hi hi hi hi … Mr. President, you are weaving your way towards the big black hole.

Your Vice President will not be able to help you Sir because he is already going over the brink. You positioned him during the campaign to sell empty stories, you positioned him to insult the sitting President and to label government corrupt and incompetent, you positioned him as an economic guru when you knew he had no ‘guruism’ in him … now he does not know what to do in Government

He is lost, sidelined by the monsters you have created … and when he has a chance, he squeals out of context still using your opposition campaign tactics that you taught him and coming across as incongruous and totally out of his depth.

Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President!!!

I called you three times please!!!

I am for peace … Shalom!!!

–

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

The post Mustapha Hamid tried cleaning Nana Addo’s mess – Valarie Sawyerr appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Dr. Sawyerr believes the Vice President deceived Ghanaians when he said the $2.5 million worth system will be more advanced than those used in the UK and United States of America.

“It is more advanced than the United States or the United Kingdom or Germany because they are stuck to old technology, and we are leapfrogging. We are going to a new technology; we are going to GPS-based technology,” Dr. Bawumia said when he delivered a lecture at the University of Cape Coast, on October 5, 2017.

[contextly_sidebar id=”5GcvrWNhanVG9m00d0jDfNreaTQAuFYs”]But Valerie Sawyer in her recent epistle mocked the Vice President saying “Who is deceiving these people?”

“In ten months, they have devised and implemented a digital addressing system that is more advanced than that of the U.S., the U.K., Sweden and Germany? Wow! Not surprisingly, I soon found out it was simply an app that uses Google’s free geographical coordinates. …So, Mr. President, what is the Vice-President’s excuse please?”

The former presidential staffer in the article also posited that, Dr. Bawumia goofed when he made such comments.

She also presumed that the $2.5 million sum spent on the digital address system was not value-for-money, and that the Minority in Parliament will soon be demanding answers from the Procurement Minister in that regard.

“#Jack Where Are You – that is the slogan for the digital addressing system! Mr. President, in case you are wondering, we are talking about ‘value for money’. This ‘Jack Where Are You’ goof will not vanish into thin air. An urgent question has been filed in Parliament for the Minister of State in charge of Public Procurement to provide details of the procurement process for the system. We are waiting patiently please,” she said in the article.

Madam Sawyerr also took on President Akufo-Addo for crediting the Wa Water project to the NPP government, lawless acts by vigilante groups and armyworm invasion among others.

Below is Valerie Sawyerr’s full article:

Dr. Valerie Sawyerr writes:

Mr. President!
Mr. President!!
Mr. President!!!

How many times did I call you? Why will you not let me enjoy a peaceful Opposition? Stretching my legs in an easy chair on my patio, I heard your Vice-President say: “We are introducing… Ghana’s digital address system with unique post-codes within every location within Ghana… The digital addressing system is going to provide… us the most advanced addressing system in the world. Period! This is what we are about to roll out. And it is more advanced, off course, than the United States or the United Kingdom or Sweden or Germany because they are stuck with old technology. We are leap-frogging and we are going to new technology. We are going to GPS-based technology, so even if you are standing in the middle of the River Oti and you want your address when we roll it out you will know your address in the middle of the River Oti.” I said to myself – “Who is deceiving these people? In ten months, they have devised and implemented a digital addressing system that is more advanced than that of the U.S., the U.K., Sweden and Germany? Wow!”

Not surprisingly, I soon found out it was simply an app that uses Google’s free geographical coordinates. Don’t ask me what that means. I cannot claim to be an expert of any sort in the world of digitalization but I have access to young knowledgeable professionals who I call when I do not understand such matters. So, Mr. President, what is the Vice-President’s excuse please?

But Sir, why should I begrudge your Vice-President his exaggerated manipulative style. Barely a month ago, I was stretching my legs in that same easy chair when I heard you say: “This project was began in the time of the great Ghanaian leader John Agyekum Kufour. It was in his time that the financing for this project was secured as far back as 2008. Unfortunately, after he left, it took five years under the NDC successor government before the construction of the project. God has his own way of doing these things – a project that was begun by Kufour is going to be commissioned by Akufo-Addo. That is the way the Almighty works.”

I asked myself – what project is he talking about and is this not a gross display of mathematical deficiency? We all know that the NDC was in power for eight years – so even if it is true that for five years construction of the project was not begun, what happened to the extra three years?

After sleeping for five years, did the NDC government use three years to get out of bed in stretching mode? Did the NPP government then use nine months to execute the project? I wondered whether you were cutting sod for the project or commissioning the completed project.

So, I cross-checked! Lo and behold, it was the Wa Water Project. Eeeeishh! I am sure there is a word or phrase that describes a consistent and deeply ingrained tendency for manipulating the truth before audiences that the manipulator persistently deems ignorant and/or gullible, when indeed this is not the case. Especially when they attach phrases like ‘God has his own way of doing these things’ and ‘that is the way the Almighty works’. Blasphemy of the highest order!

With all due respect Mr. President, do you see how you were fumbling when you got to that part and feverishly wiping your mouth? Ahaaa! As we say in our local parlance ‘if you will not allow your mother to sleep you will also not sleep!’ Your Excellency, let me go back to your Vice-President. Let’s try this quiz Sir:

• Is Google Maps Navigation a mobile application developed by Google, which normally uses a GPS satellite connection to determine its location?

• Did the Ghanaian Government pay US$2.5m to Vokacom, aka Afrifa, to develop a digital addressing system for the country? • Did Vokacom develop a digital addressing system based on the GPS technology?

• Is the GPS technology new or was it invented in the 1960s in the U.S.?

• Does the new app developed by Vokacom use Google’s free geographical coordinates to function?

• Will Ghana pay a US$400,000.00 annual fee to Google for embedding their online map into Ghana’s new digital addressing system?

• Does the Ghanaian government have physical access to the server?

• Does another country have access to our personal information fed into the server?

• Did a similar Facebook App integration with Google maps cost US$500,000? • Why are there so many complaints that the Ghana Post GPS App is not working efficiently?

• Did the Government really spend GH¢3.5million on publicizing the system as declared by the MD of Ghana Post, James Kwofie?

#Jack Where Are You – that is the slogan for the digital addressing system! Mr. President, in case you are wondering, we are talking about ‘value for money’.

This ‘Jack Where Are You’ goof will not varnish into thin air. An urgent question has been filed in Parliament for the Minister of State in charge of Public Procurement to provide details of the procurement process for the system. We are waiting patiently please. Your Excellency, do you need more than ten months in Government to realize that you cannot get away with what you used to get away with in Opposition? You cannot hoodwink the people with half-truths and untruths all the time.

You cannot get them to accept hook, line and sinker unrealistic dreams and expectations. You cannot twist and turn untruths into truths. You cannot dig a big hole at a spot and get your information gurus to say you actually built a mountain at that spot when the spot is accessible to all for verification. Your Minister for Information is somersaulting all over the place, struggling to present coverups for your mess-ups.

With all due respect Sir, you are over-pressurising the young man. Your Excellency, if you think we have forgotten the Bond saga, the MacDan saga, the BOST saga, the AMERI saga, the missing cocaine saga, the GH¢ 5million Ghana@60 saga, the illegal deportation saga, then you have another thought coming.

• Your incompetent Minister for Agriculture now says the army worms have come to stay, after he said he had eradicated them;

• Your implementation of the First Year Free SHS programme has been woefully inadequate;

• You moved a whole community of Ghanaians to the United States for the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly when public officers had not been paid;

• Your MASLOC CEO, Stephen Amoah purchases 1,800 second-hand cars with no MASLOC board in place and no PPA (Public Procurement Authority) approval;

• Your Invisible Forces, Delta Forces, Kandahar boys, Bolgatanga Bulldogs … just heard about the Elmina Sharks and Paga Crocodiles … and other rebel groups are still terrorizing the nation … Sissala West DCE flees irate youth … NPP Youth lock up School Feeding Office in Tamale … NPP youth storm police station in Karaga … NPP youth group beats Assembly members at Adeiso. Mr. President, what happened to your democratic credentials please?

• Your operatives ‘imprison’ Appiah Stadium in a room and force him to produce an audio recording for public consumption. They handcuff him from Kumasi to the Police Headquarters in Accra where it takes almost four hours to get the police to agree to grant him bail around 9.30pm, and thereafter you issue a statement saying you are no longer interested in pursuing the case. Of course, I cannot defend the words he used on you although, Sir, I cannot remember you defending yourself when the WikiLeaks reports were released.

I also remember the horrible words you and your team used on Ex President Mahama while he was in office. It is not too late to apologise to him Sir. • You impose penalties amounting to over GH¢1billion on radio stations and shut some down in the name of administrative streamlining.

Mr. President, it is important that our institutions obey and adhere to laid down rules and procedures, but I am sure you realize that by imposing unrealistic sanctions on them the message that rings clear is that you have a sinister agenda. To cut down some of the fines to 50% is still unconscionable, especially when the Schedule used for the calculation of fines had not yet been approved by Parliament. May I humbly suggest that the first review of the draconian decision should have seen a reduction of fines to the level of the applicable law, while insisting that the Radio Stations present the requisite paperwork.

As things are, it may be advisable to simply declare an amnesty, give them a time frame to present the relevant paperwork and pay the fees of the years unpaid at the current rate. This would spare the nation a further loss of democratic credentials as well as imminent court cases. As for my sister Ursula, I have confidence in her that she will do the right thing and I hope my confidence is not misplaced. As I pondered over your actions this morning, I found myself singing a popular tune – ‘kro kro kro kro, hi hi hi hi krohi krohi kro kro kro, hi hi kro kro kro …’ Your Excellency, do you remember that tune?

The rhythm of the reverberating shuttle of the loom as our kente weavers produce our resplendent kente cloths. Sir, I can see you slowly weaving your way into the hole that you yourself are digging. It is so deep that if you fall in it, Mr. President you know we will not be able to find you even if all fire service and military operatives and equipment are dispatched to the scene

Mr. President, what stops you from graciously acknowledging what the NDC has accomplished? Is it a narcissistic tendency that prevents you from acknowledging the good in others? Or is it your speech-writers who have decided as a policy that nothing good of the NDC should be acknowledged? Please listen to the humble advise of an Opposition Chiller – you are the one who will be held responsible for the fumbling of your Government. Your writers can write for you but you are the one who must determine in the end what you actually say.

Apart from the Wa Water Project, that you attempted to take credit for (naughty naughty), may I remind you of some other water projects executed under President Mahama – Essakyir Water Supply Project; Kpong Water Expansion Project; Nsawam Water Expansion Projects; Teshie Water Desalination Plant; Kumasi (Barekese) Water Supply Project; Five Towns Water Supply Project (Kyebi, Osenase, Anyinam, Apedwa & Kwabeng); Kpong Intake Rehabilitation Project; Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area Supply Project; Asante Mampong Water Project; Akim-Oda-Akwatia-Winneba Water Project; Konongo-Kumawu-Kwahu Water Project; Navrongo Water Project & Small Town Water Systems across all regions.

I understand the Akim Oda-Akwatia-Winneba Water Supply Project is being prepared for commissioning. Please put the devil to shame and give JM the credit when you commission it. Don’t believe your Minister for Water Resources & Sanitation if he tells you that the funding was sourced in H.E. Busia’s time, and H.E. Kufour planted a tree at the spot to signify sodcutting, and you built the whole system in ten months. If in doubt, just conduct a search on Google. Your Excellency, I don’t mean the ‘Jack Where Are You’ system please … ha ha ha! While we are at it, may I take the opportunity to point out that the following projects commissioned or inaugurated in the ten months you have been in office were all commenced and/or executed under President Mahama:

• On April 27, 2017, you cut the sod for the world’s largest LPG-fired Power Plant;

• On April 26, 2017, you commissioned an ICT Centre at Soabe in Denkyembour District of the Eastern Region; • On May 10, 2017, you commissioned the Kumasi City Mall;

• On May 17, 2017, your Minister for Health commissioned the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (former Ridge Hospital

• On May 24, 2017, your Minister for Fisheries commissioned the Elmina Fish Processing Plant; • On July 6, 2017, you commissioned the FPSO John Agyekum Kufour;

• On September 15, 2017, you launched the New National ID Card. Kro kro kro kro, hi hi hi hi Krohi krohi kro kro kro, hi hi, kro kro kro … … and Mr. President what is this new thing that anytime you goof and attention is drawn to it, you throw a fake Kwesi Botchwey report at the NDC, as though that will solve the problems of the nation? Please concentrate on easing the burden of the average Ghanaian Sir, and leave the Kwesi Botchway report alone, especially the fake ones. Who are those NPP birds twittering about the Kwesi Botchwey report?

The good professor says the version being bandied around is fake and is not the final version of his Committee’s report. Our General Secretary Asiedu Nketia and our National Organiser Kofi Adams have said on air that it is a fake report. When the denkyems (crocodiles) have come out of the river to declare that the report on the water-bed is fake, the bird perched on a tree in the hinterland says the report is true. Aaba! Did the bird use the Vice-President’s leap-frogging Ghana Post GPS to locate the address of the Kwesi Botchwey Report in the Oti River? … and who are those NDC birds chirping all over the place about the NPP KB Report – chirp, chirp, chirp?

Kindly varnish from my sight as I daydream in peace, recalling the story of Taka, Tika and Gangali on that beautiful day in July 2011 in Sunyani. Yes, the story JM shared with us at the Sunyani Congress. I guess a number of you have forgotten. Let me jog your memory … the Congress that gave Nana Konadu (NDP) 3.1% of the votes.

Ahaaa … I knew you would remember that. We are indeed the great NDC and we fear no foe!!! Stop chirping and get with the programme … organize don’t agonise!!! Kro kro kro kro, hi hi hi hi … Mr. President, you are weaving your way towards the big black hole.

Your Vice President will not be able to help you Sir because he is already going over the brink. You positioned him during the campaign to sell empty stories, you positioned him to insult the sitting President and to label government corrupt and incompetent, you positioned him as an economic guru when you knew he had no ‘guruism’ in him … now he does not know what to do in Government

He is lost, sidelined by the monsters you have created … and when he has a chance, he squeals out of context still using your opposition campaign tactics that you taught him and coming across as incongruous and totally out of his depth.

Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President!!!

I called you three times please!!!

I am for peace … Shalom!!!

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

The post Valerie Sawyerr blasts Bawumia over digital address system appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The former President at the recent Ada Asafotsufiame was said to have criticized the perceived corruption that has engulfed the party accusing some leaders of failing to instill the probity and accountability ideals of the party.

[contextly_sidebar id=”631GoNPyiE5c7HndwHnvqxCVc6fXc3DB”]However his comments met with reactions from some party members who argued, Rawlings has no moral right to judge any member.

The group said backlash is being coordinated by some persons who are bent or destroying the hard won reputation of the founder.

Addressing the media at a press conference in Agbozume, the group said, the attacks on  J.J. Rawlings is a calculated attempt to shield corrupt elements in the party.

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, will recall how NDC has trumpeted over the years for a country devoid of corruption. You will also easily recall the passion with which our founder has fought corruption all his life. Unfortunately however, the word “corruption” seems to have become a taboo word within certain circles of the NDC, especially if it comes from the lips of His Excellency, former President Rawlings. His mention of the word corruption, recently, in Ada Annual Asafotsufiame, attracted and provoked the corrupt element of our great party led by Valerie Sawyer and supported by his grand corrupt uncle , Dr. Obed Asamoah and their cohorts . Ladies and gentlemen, insulting J. J Rawlings is nothing but a tactical move to overshadow the truth.”

The convener, Daniel Selorm Hamenu who questioned the credibility of those attacking Rawlings called on party members to support the founder in weeding out corrupt members of the party.

“What is Valerie and Sherry Ashietey running away from in connection with the fishing Licence and other corrupt deals? If the former minister has a just issue to defend, let her put it across. The Corrupt stinky grand strategy to prevent the people of Integrity to emerge come 2020 and beyond will surely collapse. Can Alhaji Baturi, a self-acclaimed saint of the media, sincerely declares his source of income?”

“Why can’t they bring their so called evidence against Former President Rawlings now and be free? Where from Dr. Obed Asamoah ,when the party was passionately searching for legal luminaries to defend us in difficult moments? Should we liken him to a vulture or a Latter Day Saint ? Is he now discovering from his law textbook about who a founder is and what makes him a founder ? I thought our former chairman wanted to enjoy a private life ? Please let’s perpetually retire these corrupt characters from our party .We want to put it in a simple language, ‘No Rawlings, No NDC!!! He’s the moving spirit and energy for the party . Check it up,” he stated.

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By: King Norbert Akpablie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Leave Rawlings alone – NDC youth group warns appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Yet another day dawns in which we are supposed to share love, peace and laughter … yet again the buzzing sound is on … distracting all from the joy that the day brings.

They say he booms … I say he buzzes … like an agitated mosquito … looking for his next victim. Again, he heads for other Heads of State … describing their governance as riddled with corruption. Is he trying to say that his reign was unblemished or that his twin brother’s (President Akufo-Addo) reign is unsullied? Really?

Who born dog … in fact … who born monkey?

1. BOST sells 5 million litres of contaminated fuel to a non-registered non-licensed company, Movinpinaa Energy, under questionable circumstances and he has not seen or heard? Indeed, the matter is before the High Court … Suit No. GJ 1010/17.
2. Minister for Finance issues US$2.25 billion worth of bonds, 95% of which is purchased by Franklyn Templeton Investment Limited under opaque circumstances giving rise to conflict of interest issues, and he has not seen or heard? There is a suit before the High Court requesting for certain details of the transaction; a Petition before CHRAJ on conflict of interest issues; a suit before the Supreme Court requesting clarification on whether the Attorney-General can defend the Minister for Finance in a conflict of interest matter; a Petition before the United States Security & Exchange Commission; and a Whistleblower Complaint lodged with the Regulator in Luxemburg (Commission de Surveillance de Secteur Financier).
3. Minister for Interior deports someone under questionable circumstances and the High Court quashes the deportation order, and he has not seen or heard? Suit No. GJ/1034/2017 (Justice Ackaah Boafo).
4. Members of the Philip Addison Committee investigating AMERI are financed by the same AMERI on an overseas trip under unethical circumstances, and he has not seen or heard?
5. Cocaine goes missing at the port under fishy circumstances, and he has not seen or heard?
6. GHC5 million from state coffers is spent on Ghana@60 celebrations under hazy circumstances, after we have been told that corporate Ghana will sponsor the celebrations, and he has not seen or heard? Has Government been able to tell the nation how much they received from corporate Ghana?

I could go on and on …

JJ oooo JJ … the great Papa JJ … the one and only Junior Jesus … the great saint who never does wrong … you are still flogging a dead horse … the NDC is in Opposition in case you have not noticed, while a living raging bull is moving around with reckless abandon destroying everything it finds in its path including the assets and citizens of this nation.

… but I guess you really can’t see it … or you are waiting for it to raise its tusks in avenging rage to gore your eyes out. I hope when the tusks are raised, the bond or pact you have made with the ‘brass band conducting’ President will be strong enough to cause the tusks to be lowered before they pierce your eyes that see only what you want to see in line with whatever agenda you deem fit. By the way, did you see the President conducting the brass band? Was that the police band or army band? Was it in Ghana or overseas? Ei, Mr. President, what was that?

Papa Stone, I hear you said:
‘When I talk they say I don’t like NDC, no! I don’t like stealing, I don’t like disgrace so if NDC does good I will praise them if they are bad I will say it as well’.

Who has said you don’t like the NDC? Are you setting your own questions and answering them please? Nobody has said you do not like the NDC. Stop putting words in our mouths.

Indeed, some think you crave for the NDC so much that you are prepared to destroy anyone and anything in the NDC if that will suit your agenda to always be in control of the NDC.

… but I don’t blame you Papa J … I blame the NDC … after you taught us probity, accountability and transparency, why can’t we rise to demand same of you? After you taught us to be fearless in upholding the truth, why don’t we rise to demand same of you? When you twist and manipulate us, why don’t our leaders ask you why you are breaching your own so-called rules?

With all due respect, have you named those you KNOW to be involved in corruption?

• Maybe they will explain to you that the Head of State put the money in a bag and placed it on the plane and that it was used for the ‘good of the country’ … the same way the US$5m (oops US$2m) was placed in a briefcase and put on the plane and was used ‘for the good of the country’.
• Maybe they will explain to you that the luxury car you see in their yard was given to them as a gift by unnamed friends … the same way the black convertible Chevy Coupe sports car was given by unnamed friends as a birthday gift.

You never know what their explanations would be. It is therefore important that
you name them and allow them to have a hearing in line with the rules of natural
justice.

• NDC, where are our men and women?
• NDC where are our leaders?
• I challenge you to rise and speak the truth unblemished and fearlessly!!!
• The truth can be told by all – no man or woman is the sole repository of truth!

… and what is Comrade Martin Amidu also babbling about? Martin, did I not tell you that your pomposity, over-bloated ego and sense of self-importance constitute your Achilles heel? Remember, when I told you (years ago) after a presidential press conference, that a directive had been issued that no appointee should grant a press interview in order to avoid any contradictory statements on air … and you screeched … ‘who are you … small girl like you … where were you when I was Attorney General’ etc etc? Remember I told you that it is your Achilles heel that would destroy you?

Barely a week or so after that, you were relieved of your post as Attorney-General after attempting to assault a sitting Head of State? Since then you have become a so-called crusader, sinking lower and lower in the NDC as you seem to rise higher and higher in the NPP. I am not a soothsayer, neither am I a harbinger of gloom and doom … but once again I say to you … this time with a nation full of witnesses … that your Achilles heel will destroy you!

Respectfully Martin, cut the crap! You have achieved your aim … the NDC is in opposition. I challenge you to resign from the NDC since you no longer promote the cause of the NDC. Or do you also subscribe to the agenda to destroy to take over? The agenda that is based on the premise that it is easier to take over the NDC when it is in Opposition!

Hahahahaha!!!

• I am waiting for the surrogate groups that will spring up suddenly like jacks in the box (I understand the plural is either ‘jack in the boxes’ or ‘jacks in the box’) to lambast me and everyone or everything that is connected with me … the modus operandus is always the same …
• I am waiting for the NDC men and women who will suddenly find their voices and go on air and call me unprintable names … the modus operandus is always the same …
• I am waiting for the NDC leadership who will summon me because all of a sudden they have found their disciplinary tongues having been whipped in line by bullies who seek to terrorise those around them … the modus operandus is always the same …

Buzz buzzzzz buzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!

Papa J, what happened to the anti-malaria crusade you were supposed to have embarked on after you left office? We have not heard much about it. Did you not find enough minions to work on it for you to ensure that you could take the glory?

Is it true that you fell out with a majority of those who worked diligently for you at different stages of your journey … the Ahwois, the Tsikatas, the Peprahs, the Abodakpis, the PV Obengs (blessed memory), the Sherry Ayiteys, the Kwesi Botchweys, the Martha Tamakloes, the Sipa Yankeys, the Ibrahim Adams, the Mould Iddrisus, the Herbert Mensahs and a whole host of others?

I guess the anti-malaria crusade was too calm a crusade for you. Then with all due respect, please look for something more exciting …

• The galamsey problem is still in existence despite the fact that the Government is trying to pretend that it has gone away. I am sure you are needed in places like Denkyira Obuasi to help clamp down on the menace. This will help your twin brother President Akufo-Addo fulfill his anti-galamsey promise. Even though he did promise the galamseyers before the 2016 elections that he would leave them to ply their trade. Hmmm …confusion here, there and everywhere!
• The army worms have destroyed a lot of our crops, signaling some level of food shortage in the country in the not too distant future. Under better regimes, the Ministry of Defence and the army were brought in quickly to deal with the problem anytime the worms reared their heads. This Government was busy doing paperwork to request millions of Cedis to enable them bring the situation under control. Then, finally, the amazingly incompetent Minister for Agriculture lied to the people of Ghana, telling us that the worms had been eradicated when it was not true. He should keep on lying till he wakes up one day to find the worms crawling in his hair … but I guess the dye is strong enough to kill them … oops! I promised Kwesi Botchway that I would behave myself … hehehe … after 50 years, most of us women are dying our hair anyway, so why not the men?

President Akufo-Addo … where are your men and women? Do not be deceived by JJ’s recent rantings that seem to favour your cause. Your Government in seven months is reeking of corruption. Rise up and do something about it instead of waving that baton with that uninspiring look on your face … to the left, up and down… to the right, up and down! A man is only as good as his word!

… and for your information, the primary responsibilities of a conductor is to ‘unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble, and to control the interpretation and pacing of the music’ (Wikipedia). With all due respect, is that what you were doing in the ‘conducting video’ I saw? Is that what you are doing in governance today?

Years ago, we used to have some kind of insect spraying equipment that looked like a pump … it had a can which contained the insecticide and a long arm for pumping the insecticide towards the target. Nowadays, we have a simple tall can with a spray nozzle at the top. Maybe it is time to stop the gentle puffs with the modern cans and find one of the old bazookas!

The buzzing sound still continues … I am going back into hibernation … what I choose to call ‘Peaceful Opposition’!

… but before I leave … Mr. President, is it true that Peter Mac Manu (former NPP Chairman) was deported from Kenya where he was going to consult for the National Super Alliance (Nasa), Kenya’s Opposition Coalition, on ‘control’ of electoral data? … hmmm!

I am for peace … Shalom!!!
August 7, 2017

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By: Dr. Valerie Sawyerr

The writer is a former Deputy Chief of Staff

The post Valerie Sawyerr takes on Rawlings, Amidu and writes: Ntomtom or Nwansena? appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the hospital, the number of recorded cases has contributed to the depletion of  basic supplies such as disposable gloves, disinfectants and bleach.

According to the administrator of the hospital, Philip Afeti Korto, the hospital has recorded over 200 cases with about 46 cases recorded on Thursday evening alone.

The Out Patients’ Department of the hospital has also been cordoned off to deal with the outbreak of the disease.

Mr. Korto added that the hospital does not have enough space to accommodate the large numbers of patients.

He told Citi News that they “had arranged with a sister hospital to move their cholera beds [to their hospital] because they do no have cholera [patients],” but were unable to find places in their hospital for the beds.

He revealed the hospital is unable to afford to replenish the depleted supplies on its own and has appealed to donors to assist them.

“We are calling on the general public and organizations that can donate the items to us,” he said.

“We will be very grateful.”

The appeals from the hospital come just a day after the Public Health Directorate of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) said the outbreak of cholera in the metropolis is gradually reaching an epidemic status.

Over 500 cases of cholera have so far been recorded in Accra alone between June and July which has caused the death of five people.

Ghana’s health authorities are currently implementing measures to prevent and contain the Ebola disease which has hit four neigbouring countries.

Many say the government’s failure to prevent annual outbreak of the cholera across the country is an indication it will struggle to deal with the Ebola disease should there be an outbreak.

The appeals from the government run La General hospital will add to the worry of Ghanaians over the government’s readiness to fight Ebola.

By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Got bleach? La General Hospital needs it for cholera appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.