President-elect John Mahama has reiterated his commitment to maintaining the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy.
He stressed that the social intervention pprogramme is here to stay.
In an interview with Voice of America (VOA), Mahama dismissed claims that his administration intended to scrap the program as baseless political propaganda.
“Free SHS has come to stay, and it is not going anywhere,” Mahama said.
“Nobody is going to scrap Free SHS. What was said was political talk and gimmickry. We are going to maintain it. What we are going to do is get dedicated funding for it.”
The statement comes on the back of accusations from New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the election campaign, alleging that Mr Mahama’s government would abolish the flagship policy.
Mr Mahama refuted these claims, attributing them to political propaganda aimed at misleading the public.
Mahama further explained that his administration would work to improve the program’s implementation by securing a sustainable funding mechanism.
This, he said, would ensure the program’s long-term success and its ability to deliver quality education to Ghanaian students.
Andy Appiah-Kubi, the Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North, has blamed the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) defeat in the December 7, 2024, general elections on greed, selfishness, and the arrogance of power displayed by party leaders and ministers.
Andy Appiah-Kubi
In an interview on The Key Points show with Alfred Ocansey on December 14, 2024, Appiah-Kubi strongly criticized his fellow party members for their role in the loss to the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“Greed, selfishness, and arrogance of power caused our defeat,” Appiah-Kubi asserted, highlighting the disconnect between the party leadership and its grassroots supporters. He argued that these traits alienated voters and damaged the NPP’s credibility.
His comments reflect growing discontent within the NPP ranks, with many supporters demanding accountability and reform in leadership. Analysts have pointed out that the public’s perception of arrogance and self-interest among certain party figures contributed to the erosion of trust, which ultimately helped the NDC secure victory.
Appiah-Kubi’s remarks add to the ongoing self-reflection within the NPP, as the party faces the challenge of rebuilding and repositioning itself for future elections. Calls for unity and reforms within the party are becoming louder, and his blunt critique highlights the widespread dissatisfaction with the current leadership.. Source:dailymailgh.com
The government has addressed concerns regarding ongoing recruitment and payments, emphasizing that its mandate remains valid until midnight on January 6, 2025.
According to a statement, these recruitment and payment processes have received the necessary statutory approvals and have not been proven to be unlawful.
The government reaffirmed its position that any specific allegations of illegality concerning particular payments or recruitment should be presented to the transition committee for review and decision-making.
The statement further urged the public to disregard claims suggesting that the transition committee has resolved to suspend or redirect all ongoing payments and recruitment to the transition team, clarifying that such assertions do not reflect the records of the committee’s deliberations.
They reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition as it prepares to hand over power to the incoming administration on January 7, 2025.
The transition team further stated that the transition committee approved the creation of six additional sub-committees to focus on critical areas, including finance and economy, energy and natural resources, legal and governance, infrastructure, interior and public safety, and the social sector.
It said each sub-committee will include three representatives from both the outgoing and incoming governments. Senior officials such as the Head of the Civil Service, the Head of the Local Government Service, and the Cabinet Secretary will provide support as needed.
Nana Akomea, the Vice Chairman of the Dr Bawumia 2024 Campaign team, has revealed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had anticipated the outcome of the election months before the polls took place.
In an interview on Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV, Akomea disclosed that internal research conducted by the NPP in February 2024 indicated that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, John Dramani Mahama, was ahead by ten percentage points.Tourism packages
Nana Akomea
Akomea acknowledged the fluctuations in the polls, commenting, “In February and March, the NDC was leading by about 10 percentage points, which was quite concerning.”
Akomea added “But by September, October, it had come down to about 2. And so we were very confident. It was a new momentum so we knew that there was going to be a lot of apathy, a lot of disgruntlement among our supporters.”
Despite the closing gap, which had instilled some hope, the final tally was a stark reminder of earlier predictions.
Mr. Akomea expressed the need for an investigation into the voter turnout, stating, “Anything else would just be a projection and so on. So we knew that the monthly poll showed us clearly [Mahama’s victory], and for a massive 2 million people to stay away, it’s really massive and we have to find out why.”
The Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Jean Mensa, officially declared the results on December 9, 2024, confirming John Dramani Mahama as the winner with 6,328,397 votes, or 56.55% of the total vote. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia followed in second place with 4,657,304 votes, representing 41.61% of the votes cast.
The substantial voter turnout difference and the wide margin of victory have prompted the NPP to seek answers in order to better understand the electorate’s sentiments and identify the factors that contributed to their defeat.
When things go terribly wrong in a group and you happen to be a leader there are three truths to hold on to:
Dr Okoe Boye
The leader bears ultimate responsibility; accept all blame , do not explain matters, people shouting at you do so to get out poison and pain, once out, same people will help build again.
Let go of all grudges; many are those you might have helped but will also play victim, forgive , be the bad person as the leader and they too will join the rebuilding process.
Hold on to hope and give it to all; hope is so critical. We must believe that the same people who rejected us will come for us soon. It is the humility we show, the listening we do and the adaptations we make that will make our journey from defeat to victory shorter.
In conclusion only one person can be right in the democratic process, the voter , only he or she has the power and only he or she deserves commendation.
The Ashanti Regional Organizer for the governing New Patriotic Party(NPP),who doubles the dean of all Regional Organisers,Dr.Francis Adomako, has admitted that his party indeed lost the just ended general election,but Ghanaians will remember Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo & Dr.Mahamudu Bawumia’s Government for the unprecedented achievements in all sectors of the economy.
Akufo-Addo & Dr Bawumia
According to him,Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has done its part.”Let’s see what the former President, who is now Ghana’s President-elect,Mr.John Mahama brings on the table”,he added.
Dr.Francis Adomako aka Francois
Speaking to “The New Trust” Newspaper on Friday,13th December,2024,Dr.Adomako,who is popularly known in the political space as Francois said “I will remember Nana Addo for:
●Free SHS
●STEM Education.
●1st ICT Kindergarten
●Historic 80 educational projects commissioned in one day.
●150 Astroturfs from only 3 in 2016.
●307 ambulances nationwide (unprecedented)
●Free TVET.
●Agenda 111.
●Upgrading our police and security services.
●Restoration of trainee allowances.
●Free Dialysis under NHIS.
●1 district 1 factory. The largest industrialisation drive since independence.
●Ghana now has 6 automobiles operating in Ghana (Nissan, VW, Toyota, Sinotruk, Peugeot, Suzuki)
●Ghana now has the largest medical drone delivery service in the world.
●Ghana now has the largest bitumen manufacturing plant in Africa.
●Ghana now has the largest pharmaceutical plant in West Africa (Atlantic life sciences)
●West Africa’s largest floating solar plant.
●Digitalisation.
●Biometric multipurpose Ghana card.
●No Cholera outbreak since 2017.
●12,000 km of roads.
●14 Fishing landing sites and ports.
●Prempeh I International Airport.
●Tamale International Airport.
●Sunyani Airport reopened (closed in 2015).
●1st Private Jet Terminal at KIA
●University of Health and Allied Sciences Phase 2
●Biggest midwifery school in West Africa UHAS.
●The first 4 tier interchange in Ghana at Pokuase.
●Eastern Corridor roads
●Kayayes being developed with lucrative skills in Free TVET hostels.
●Digital Address System.
●Reconstruction of Appiatse.
●Cocoa farmers pension scheme.
●Free WiFi in 700 plus senior high schools and tertiary institutions.
●Zongo Development Fund.
●Introduction of Paperless Port.
●Over 100 buses for secondary schools
●Over 10,000 CCTV cameras installed nationwide.
●African of the year award.
●No Guarantor student loan policy.
●Ghana now has the seat of the African Free Continental Trade
●Tema Mpakadan railway.
●10 Multipurpose Youth Sports Centers (5,000 stadium capacity).
●Borteyman Sports complex.
●University of Ghana Sports Complex.
●Greatest tourism drive: Year of Return, Beyond the Return and Destination Ghana.
●Ghana now has the highest number of returnees (diaspora folks who have naturalised as Ghanaians)
●Completion of Euroget hospitals and many
●Over 100 hospital and health projects completed aside Agenda 111
●Expansion and Dualisation of Accra Kumasi Road and Tema Motorway.
●Local streaming app for musicians.
●1st Creative Arts school
●Ghana is now the largest exporter of Yam in the world.
●NPP took agric from negative under Mahama to 8.4%.
●Kwame Nkrumah Museum and Asomdwe Park.
●Bonwire Kente Museum
●District Road Improvement Program.
●1 Student 1 Laptop
●Nana Addo kept the lights on for 8 years.
●Ghana’s highest ever Cocoa production 1 million metric tons (2020/2021)
●Cocoa Mass Spraying and Hand pollination.
●Increase in Cocoa bag prices.
●Ghana has not imported Maize since 2017
●Ghana now the largest producer of Coconut (412,459 tonnes/annum)
●UGMC Phase 2
●Komfo Anokye Hospital Maternity ward
●Kumasi Kejetia Central Market Phase 2
●Many housing project all across Ghana.
●National rent assistance scheme.
●Lawra Solar plant farm
●Pokuase Bulk Power supply
●Installation of K1TTP to improve power supply in the middle belt.
●1st and 2nd ladies refunding the state back their allowances.
●1st Islamic Nursing school
●Local production of PPE’s and drugs
●Green Ghana Project
●Slashing down government appointees salaries by 30%.
●2.3 million direct and indirect jobs created.
●Took unemployment from 8.4% in 2016 to 4% in 2024.
Joyce Bawah Mogtari, the Special Aide to President-Elect John Dramani Mahama, says she expects the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, to resign.
Madam Mogtari says the current Commission, which is heavily partisan, needs a complete reset to restore integrity and credibility.Speaking on Channel One Television, Joyce Bawah Mogtari said the violence recorded in the just-ended 2024 election which was won decisively by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is to be blamed squarely on the Commission’s delay in releasing official results.
Joyce Bawah Mogtari Jean Mensah,EC boss
“I was thinking that the EC chairperson was going to resign yesterday. Look, my brother, they’ve been incompetent, to say the least. There’s been too many partisans there, the arm twisting. When the will of the people is up against you, there is nothing you can do. One of the reasons we have these pockets of violence is because it took too long for the EC to declare the results, they counted the presidential, and by the time we all went to bed, we knew, the main vanquish had actually thrown in the towel, what were they [EC] waiting for?”
“…Look at the cost of the ballot sheets that have been destroyed, burnt because of mistakes, elementary mistakes. Thank God for our technical team, they did a yeoman’s job to put the EC in check.
Asked if the EC chair should resign, Joyce said: “I think that she should have, in her place, I would have [resigned]. Like she said, it is finished. It should be finished for her [Jean] as well.”
She said the John Mahama administration will prioritize comprehensive reforms at the Electoral Commission.
“I was thinking that the EC Chairperson was going to resign yesterday. Yes, absolutely… They have been incompetent, to say the least. There are too many partisans there. The arm twisting. When the will of the people is up against you, there is nothing you can do,” Joyce Bawah Mogtari stated.
“If there were elementary breaches then she has no business being there, if you ask me and I personally think, from a very professional perspective, that everything to do with the EC, needs a complete reform and hopefully it will form part of the constitutional amendment process” John Mahama will undertake, she added.
Speaking on Tuesday, December 10, she said “We ought to reset the EC and delete all the partisans who are in there. And she [Jean] herself has displayed enormous prejudice and bias towards the NDC, she should go and I think she ought to respect herself and leave.Source:peacefmonline.com
The Office of the President has reiterated the directive for outgoing Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Regional Ministers, and other political appointees to return all government vehicles by January 3, 2025.
This directive, initially issued at the end of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s first term in 2020, remains in full effect as his second and final term concludes.
In a statement issued on Wednesday December 11, the president’s office emphasised that no official vehicle shall be acquired by any appointee of the current administration.
The directive applies to all Ministers of State, Deputy Ministers, Regional Ministers, Special Assistants, Special Aides to the President and Vice President, and other political appointees, including those serving as Chairpersons or Members of Statutory Boards and Corporations.
All government vehicles must be returned to the Chief Director of the relevant Ministries by the specified date.
President-elect John Dramani Mahama has pledged to review and adjust Ghana’s existing agreements with development partners to align with the country’s current needs and aspirations.
Speaking during a courtesy call by the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Charles Abani, Mr Mahama emphasised the importance of creating partnerships that reflected the realities of today and the vision of his incoming government.
John Dramani Mahama
“This adjustment is crucial and will help put the new government that would be inaugurated next year on the same springboard with our development partners to begin the rebuilding of the economy and the country,” Mr Mahama stated.
Transition process guided by law
Underpinning this transition is Section 1 of the Presidential (Transition) Act, 2012 (Act 845), which mandates the formation of a Transition Team within 24 hours after the declaration of presidential election results.
Graphic Election 2024 Results Portal
This legal framework ensures continuity and smooth handover between administrations, setting the stage for collaboration with development partners and other stakeholders.
Mr Mahama noted the need for swift engagements with international institutions, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, to realign ongoing programmes with his government’s priorities.
“Looking at the existing programmes, we need to tweak them to meet the realities of today… One of our main concerns is the issue of debt repayments. We need to see how we can smooth them so that we don’t default again, which will be more catastrophic than the current defaulting,” he remarked.
IMF and World Bank programmes
Ghana is currently under a 36-month, $3 billion Extended Credit Facility with the IMF and has also signed several agreements with the World Bank, including a $250 million Ghana Financial Stability Project and another $250 million for the Ghana Energy Sector Recovery Programme. Mr Mahama stressed the urgency of managing debt repayments while working to stabilise the economy.
“I don’t kid myself that it is going to be an easy task; it is going to be quite tough. I anticipated that we were going to win, but I didn’t anticipate the margin by which we were going to win. That is an indication that Ghanaians have very high expectations,” he said, committing to working tirelessly to meet these demands.
Global collaboration and domestic concerns
The President-elect highlighted the critical role of global partnerships in Ghana’s recovery. He lauded the United Nations and its agencies for their longstanding support, particularly in addressing challenges such as food security.
“We are anticipating that there is going to be some problems with the availability of food, and so how we are able to quicken support to ameliorate the situation is something that we would like to work on,” Mr Mahama said.
He expressed readiness to collaborate with agencies such as UNICEF and UNHCR to uplift Ghanaians from the current economic challenges.
UN’s support for Ghana
Mr Abani commended Ghana’s seamless 2024 elections, describing the polls as a hallmark of democratic excellence in Africa. “This visit is to assure you that the UN stands fully with you and fully with Ghana. We know your presidency is just about to unfold, and I can assure you of our collaboration,” Mr Abani said.The elections saw Mr Mahama secure 6,328,397 valid votes, representing 56.55%, underscoring his strong mandate.
Assin North, Central Region – The Headmaster of Assin North Senior High Technical School,Mr.Emmanuel Frimpong Adjorlolo used this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence to challenge educational institutions to create more safe and supportive learning environments for students, demonstrating a strong commitment to student safety.
Adjorlolo emphasized the significance of addressing gender-based violence in educational institutions while speaking at a school gathering during the global campaign, which runs from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10 (Human Rights Day).
“Every student must feel safe, respected, and protected in our schools, which must be havens of learning”, Adjorlolo remarked. He urged other educators to take proactive steps and emphasized the need for comprehensive solutions to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
Awareness campaigns, student seminars, and conversations centered on advancing gender equality, respect for one another, and fostering a culture of zero tolerance for violence were all part of the school’s celebration of the 16 Days of Activism.
Assin North Senior High Technical School is leading the way in addressing gender-based violence and establishing safer learning environments for all students in the region by drawing attention to this pressing issue.
The occasion serves as a reminder of the continuous international fight to combat gender-based violence and defend students’ rights and dignity.
