The fourth Rotary Club in Kumasi has been inaugurated under its charter name, Rotary Club of Kumasi-Premier International on Friday, June 28, 2024
Chatter members comprise of Ghanaians, Asians, and diverse nationalities, depicting the diversity of Rotary.
The event was equally used to raise funds for the screening and acute care for children of Head porters popularly known as Kayayes at the Central Business District (CBD) of Adum in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi.
Rotary International is a renowned humanitarian service organization that brings together a global network of volunteer professional leaders and businesses dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.
Rotary connects 1.4 million members of more than 46, 000 Rotary Clubs in over 200 communities and geographical areas.
Rotary has 67 clubs in Ghana, three of them are in Kumasi: The Rotary Club of Kumasi, the Rotary Club of Nhyiaso and the Rotary Club of Kumasi East.
The charter night event was chaired Feyiase, Nana Addae Gyamera I as a Special Guest of Honour of the charter night supported by the District Governor of District 9104.
A scene from the inaugural ceremony
During the recent Rotary International District 9104 annual District Conference (DISCON 24) in Kumasi, the District Governor announced plans to facilitate the establishment of multiple rotary clubs in Kumasi to increase the number of clubs in the District.
The leadership of Rotary Club leadership in Kumasi say their rooms are open for interested persons to join the club to champion the course supporting the less privilege group of people leaving in the country.
The 2024 Flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP),who is also the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana,H.E.Mahamudu Bawumia,has met with the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the party,Mr.Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi, and introduced the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South,who doubles as the Energy Minister,Dr.Mathew Opoku Prempeh aka Napo as his running mate ahead of the Party’s National Council meeting.
According to source,Dr.Bawumia engaged Chairman Wontumi,who is perceived to be one of the leading Members of NPP,who opposes Napo as the running mate to the Flagbearer.
The meeting was attended by Nana Nkansah Boadu Ayeboafo,the Agric Nzemahene,who doubles as the Ashanti Regional disciplinary Committee chairman of NPP,and a close friend of Chairman Wontumi.
The source explained that Chairman Wontumi,and Nana Nkansah Boadu Ayeboafo, wholeheartedly for the supreme interest of the party’s victory in the forthcoming general election, accepted the nomination of Napo as running mate to Dr Bawumia.
Attached is the exclusive Pictures from the meeting, which is said to had been held during the weekend;
Awutu Papaase District Pastor of the Church of Pentecost in the Central Region, Samuel Koblah Narh, has been shot in his home in the district.
Robbers made away with his Toyota RAV4 car with the registration GW 545-22 and his mobile phones.
Police investigations suggest that armed robbers hid in front of his home waiting for an opportunity to enter his home.
A few hours later when the pastor was entering his home from an evening service, the robbers entered his house when his son opened the main gates.
Immediately, the robbers began to open fire to scare and frighten the family while demanding the keys to his vehicle.
The thieves made away with the car which had the pastor’s mobile phones.
In an interview with Adom News, a church elder, Godfred Viglo, revealed that one of the stray bullets hit the pastor in the shoulder.
He said Pastor Koblah was initially rushed to Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital for first aid and subsequently transferred to Church of Pentecost Hospital Madina for treatment.
Mr Viglo appealed to Ghanaians and the Ghana Police Service to help arrest the suspects and retrieve the pastor’s Toyota RAV4.
Many residents of the Ashanti Region, especially those in the Kumasi Metropolis, are jubilating over the nomination of the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Manhyia South Constituency, who is also the Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, as the running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The residents of the region, which is known as the political stronghold of the NPP, have welcomed Dr. Bawumia’s decision to nominate the Manhyia South MP, popularly known as Napo, as his running mate.
According to them, the former Education Minister is a dedicated public servant, who worked tirelessly for the betterment of the country, particularly during the implementation of the Free Senior High School programme, which has transformed the educational sector with a lasting impact on the nation.
Speaking to Kumasi-based OTEC102.9FM , the residents noted that Dr. Opoku Prempeh is a strong leader who prioritises the needs of people.
They described him as a unifying figure who would help Dr. Bawumia to govern the country with vision and wisdom, thereby creating more business opportunities to improve economic growth and development.
The residents believe that Dr. Opoku Prempeh’s nomination will boost the chances of the NPP in the 2024 polls, and they are confident that the party will retain power, come December 2024.Source: Otecfmghana.com/Jacob Agyenim Boateng with additional information from tntnewspapergh.com
Vice President of the Confederacy for the Development of poultry in Africa (CADA), Mr. John Bewuah Edusei has reiterated the need for Ghana to commit to local productions and export instead of always begging for debt cancellation.
In a statement issued by Mr. Bewuah Edusei on Friday, June 28, 2024, he expressed dissatisfaction at the ‘restructuring the economy’ rhetorics chorused by successive governments.
According to him, the approach of the successive governments in restructuring the economy lacks pragmatism in their bid to strengthen the Ghanaian cedi.
In his view, increasing local production and drastically reducing imports is the surest way of strengthening the cedi
“So long as importation of basic things like Chicken, Tomatoes, Rice, etc continues, there will be changing of Cedis to Dallars, to import, and the CEDI will never be strong.”
Mr. Bewua Edusei who is noted for consistently drawing successive governments attention to the need for its support for intensive local production lamented that Ghana is again discussing Debt Conciliation and Restructuring with its official creditors.
Vice President of CADA, Mr. John Bewuah Edusei.
“Is it the case that the WHITE MAN should always give us some money before we improve our Economy? Should we continue to rely on foreign funds leading to more borrowing ? And our leaders are not ashamed to make Politics and propaganda from this.” He queried sadly.
He insisted that, ‘if we do not learn to produce for ourselves, no amount of money will be sufficient for us to live on. Not only production, but enough of the production to Export, to bring in hard currency, to grow our Economy’.
He mentioned some gains being made by Nigeria and Morocco by producing huge parts of their poultry needs locally, saying ‘Ghana has no excuse.’
“We can do much better as a nation, we are NOT building our nation and its getting much more expensive to construct Ghana. There should be prudent spending on the part of Government”, he maintained.
The Central Regional Secretariat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced the withdrawal of Nurein Shiabu Migyimah as the party’s Assin Central Parliamentary Candidate for the 2024 general elections on moral grounds.
Complaints were filed against Nurein Shiabu Migyimah, and the NDC’s Central Regional Functional Executive Committee decided to withdraw his candidature with immediate effect after exhaustive investigations and deliberations.
Nurein Shiabu Migyimah,
The Regional Functional Executive Committee has written to the Assin Central Chairman of the NDC, informing him of the suspension of Nurein Shiabu Migyimah for six months.
This suspension is pending the review and adjudication of the matter by the Regional Disciplinary Committee.
The letter serves as formal notice of the suspension, which will remain in effect until the committee reaches a final decision on the matter.
The party did not explain in detail the offense of the Parliamentary Candidate, except to say that it deliberated on his “immoral acts and anti-party conduct.”
The Assin Central seat is currently occupied by the New Patriotic Party’s Kennedy Agyapong.
In the last election, Nurudeen polled 14,747 votes representing 42.74 against Kennedy Agyapong’s 19,754 representing 57.26% of the votes cast.
It is unclear how this decision will impact the dynamics of the constituency in the December elections.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante Akim North, Andy Appiah-Kubi, has incurred the wrath of Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin and some NPP members in the Ashanti Region for rubbishing the reported choice of Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh as running mate of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in the December 7 elections.
On Accra-based Joy FM on Thursday, June 27, 2024, Mr Appiah-Kubi launched into a furious tirade against Dr Opoku Prempeh a.k.a. Napo, and also virtually criticized Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for selecting the Manhyia South MP as his running mate. “I wouldn’t speak to a majority because we have not been consulted as a caucus for us to state our position. But for me Appiah-Kubi, you can solicit my view on that. If it were up to me to choose, I wouldn’t choose him ( Napo). He is not my preference,” the Asante Akim North MP said angrily.
Andy Appiah-Kubi
Majority Leader disappointed in Appiah-Kubi
Expressing his disappointment with the outburst of the Asante Akim North MP, Mr Afenyo-Markin told reporters in Parliament House on Thursday June 27 that, as Majority MPs, they all know how running mates are chosen in the party. “We should all respect party rules.You cannot go out of your way to describe your colleague unacceptably,” he charged.
He, therefore urged his colleague Asante Akim North MP to be measured in his language especially, in public.
“We are in this together. There is no perfect person in this world. Let us be measured in the language we use. The flagbearer has the confidence of the party and I believe he will use the structures of the party in making his decisions,” he stated.
Call Appiah-Kubi to order
The MP’s vituperative comments had also irked a group calling itself Concerned NPP Members in the Ashanti Region, who have called for immediate action against him.
The group called on the leadership of the NPP parliamentary Majority and the national leadership of the party to call him to order. They said typical of the Asante Akim North MP, he showed gross disrespect not only to Napo, but worst of all, to the President, the Vice President, and the party at large.
They accused Mr Appiah-Kubi of allegedly working for Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, who obviously is not happy about Napo’s selection and has allegedly set out a plot to discredit the Energy Minister after it emerged that Dr Bawumia has presented his (Napo’s) name to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as his choice of running mate.
Excellent choice
The Concerned Ashanti NPP members described Napo as an excellent choice who has the capability not only to support the flagbearer and the party to win resounding victories in the presidential and parliamentary elections but also become an excellent Vice President.
Taking a look into history, the Concerned NPP members said when then candidate Akufo-Addo chose Dr Bawumia as his running mate, some party people rose against it but at the end of the day, he proved the critics wrong by being a major architect in the victories of 2016 and 2020, and also becoming an exceptionally excellent Vice President.
The group therefore, urged the party to take a serious view on the Asante Akim North MP’s outburst to stop him from derailing the agenda to break the 8.
The Majority Leader in Parliament Alexander Afenyo-Markin has warned his NPP colleagues and party sympathisers against infighting ahead of the the party’s running mate announcement.
As the 2024 elections approach and the decision of a running mate to NPP’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, remains under review, the party will benefit more from maintaining unity than infighting about the choice yet to be made, he said at a press conference on Thursday.
Mr Afenyo-Markin encouraged the NPP MPs to be mindful of their comments and how they express themselves in public while addressing the running mate selection.
“Yes, we’ve all heard matters regarding running mate to complement our ticket but no decision has been made yet and the party structures are there.
Alexander Afenyo-Markin
“So I would want to encourage colleague MPs that we are in this together. There is no perfect person in this world.”
“None of us can tick every box, so let’s be careful how we describe each other, how we say things about our colleagues, how we approach things and the language we use. It may not be helpful. So that is all my advice. Be measured in the language we use,” the Effutu MP said.
He assured his colleagues that Dr Bawumia in consultation with party elders would make a decision beneficial to the party and all involved.
On June 26, it was reported that the flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, consulted President Akufo-Addo on his choice of a running mate for the December 7 presidential election.
According to JoyNews’ Presidential Affairs correspondent Elton Brobbey, a meeting took place on Tuesday night at the Jubilee House.
He presented the Energy Minister Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also known as NAPO, to President Akufo-Addo, who offered some advice and shared his thoughts but eventually accepted Dr Bawumia’s choice.
However, this news did not sit well with some.
A member of the National Council of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Andy Appiah-Kubi, expressed his disapproval of the running mate candidate.
According to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante Akim North, the Energy Minister, Mr Opoku Prempeh is not acceptable to the entirety of the NPP base, particularly MPs, adding that the Energy Minister cannot campaign effectively in many constituencies.
Read More: Opoku Prempeh not the right choice to partner with Bawumia – Appiah-Kubi
“I would want somebody who would be open with the people on the ground, who would be able to deliver the votes, who would submit to the presidency, and who would be important in bringing Parliament closer to the executive,” he said.
With barely six months to Ghana’s presidential and parliamentary elections, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has organised a two-day workshop for journalists in the middle sector of the country, after a similar one was recently held in Greater Accra for the southern sector.
The workshop, which was attended by news editors, senior journalists and broadcast journalists from the Ashanti, Bono and Ahafo regions, was held from 24th to 25th June 2024 at Miklin Hotel in Kumasi.
The workshop aimed at training over 60 journalists across the country ahead of the forthcoming general election. It was on the theme: “Elections in Digital Age: Countering Hate Speech and Misinformation on Social Media Platforms for Peaceful Elections”.
A group picture of facilitators and participants
The main purpose of the training workshop was to equip media practitioners with the needed information to counter or combat disinformation and misinformation, especially before, during and after the upcoming general election.
Dr.Wilberforce S. Dzisah,Dr. Edward Ampratwum and Ismail Nii Akwei
The organisers said the purpose was also to build the capacity of the participants, promote peace devoid of hate speech and to disseminate factual information to the public at all times.
The workshop was part of UNESCO’s multi-donor programme on freedom of expression and safety of journalists.
A section of the participants
The main facilitators of the workshop were: Dr. Wilberforce S. Dzisah, the former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ); Ismail Nii Akwei, an international journalist/founder of Media Literacy Advocate; Dr. Daniel Nkrumah, Dr. Edward Ampratwum, as well as Mr. Abdul Hamid Yakub, UNESCO Programme Officer.
In an interview with the media after the workshop, Mr. Abdul Hamid Yakub, Communication and Information Officer, UNESCO, who had earlier highlighted the overview of the project objectives and expected outcomes, was confident that if participants and all journalists in the country combined the knowledge acquired from the training and what they already know, they would be able to counter disinformation and misinformation.
Mr. Yakub, Dr. Wilberforce S. Dzisah, Dr. Daniel Nkrumah, a communication expert, and Ismail Nii Akwei stressed the need for journalists to abide by the GJA code of ethics, stand firm for the truth, double check their facts and desist from allowing their platforms to be used for the promotion of hate speech, racial or religious hatred which is tantamount to incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence in the country.
They also called for the safety of journalists, especially female journalists, because research has shown that they are easily targeted.
Participants were taken through topics such as: Definition of Disinformation, Misinformation and Malinformation, Social Media and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data and Machine Learning & Impact Electoral Processes.
Other key topics were: Hate Speech and its Impact on Electoral Processes, The Rabat Action Plan on the Prohibition of Incitement to National, Racial or Religious Hatred that Constitutes Incitement to Discrimination, Hostility or Violence, Electoral Violence and Gender-Based Violence during Election Period.
Again, the facilitators walked participants through topics such as: Technological Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) during Elections, Violence against Journalists.
Dr. Edward Ampratwum of UNDP made a presentation on “The Election Cycle: the Main Targets of Disinformation, Electoral Contexts and Electoral-Related Conflict Prevention”.
Ismail Nii Akwei, who also cautioned the media against allowing themselves to be promoters of fake news or misinformation, especially ahead of the 2024 polls, made a presentation on the topics: Facts-Checking – How to Deal with Misinformation, Disinformation and Malicious Information, Facts-Checking and Elections, Case Study, Practical Exercises, etc.
There has been wild jubilation on the WhatsApp group platform of chiefs and queens in the Ashanti Region following the selection of Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh as the running mate of the Flagbearer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, for the 2024 general election.
Chiefs on the Kumasi Traditional Council WhatsApp platform have joyously welcomed the choice of their beloved son, the Royal Dr. Opoku Prempeh, to partner Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
Messages and voice notes recorded and posted on the platform yesterday by various chiefs were overwhelmingly positive, welcoming the naming of the Energy Minister and Manhyia Royal as running mate.
Chiefs from various traditional areas showered congratulatory messages on Napo as they looked forward to receiving him when he comes over to be introduced to them formally in their respective palaces.
Reports indicate that the queens were also in a joyous mood like the chiefs.
Based on a source from this portal, Dr. Opoku Prempeh, prior to his selection, had personally visited nearly all the chiefs and queens at home to seek their blessings and support for the “heavy duty that will be placed on him”.
A confidential internal memo surrounding the choice of Napo as running mate indicates that the 2024 elections will be the first elections in Ghana where chiefs and traditional influencers in the Ashanti Region will take a keen interest in because of Napo.
Independent analysts have said with the selection of Napo, it is possible for the NPP to win the 2024 elections easily by performing a little above average in the presidential election results, but securing 77% to 85% of votes in the Ashanti Region.
Dr. Opoku Prempeh is expected to be formally announced by the party to Ghanaians and his party members in the coming source:Broadcastergh.com
