By: Kofi Yeboah
IN the forenoon of Christmas Day as many Christians, resplendently dressed, commute to church to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, a little baby girl lies on the floor in-front of a closed shop near Kaneshie First Light. Her 14-year-old mother, with her chin resting in her right palm, sits closely by as she gazes into the sky to exact a modicum of hope from the heavens for the future.
The teenage mother, Gifty Abena Baidoo, got pregnant at the age of 11. Gifty and Adwoa Victoria, her one-and-half-year old daughter, have no sense of Christmas. What matters to them most is how to get food to eat for the day. Elsewhere in the capital, many children are attending parties to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Little Adwoa has never seen her father since she was born. Gifty herself has seen Adwoa’s father once and that was the day they had sex on a school park around Kaneshie resulting in the pregnancy.
The home of the child-mother and her baby is the vast open space of the Kaneshie Market. At night, they sleep under sheds, in-front of stores or anywhere they could lay their heads.
As I took a stroll in the morning of Christmas Day, I got attracted to Gifty and Adwoa together with another woman and her two children taking shelter in-front of one of the stores at Kaneshie First Light. Initially, I thought the woman was the mother of all the four children and that aroused my curiosity because looking at her, she appeared too young to be a mother of four.
Curiously, I asked the woman whether she was the mother of the four children. “No”, she responded. “These are my only children”, she points to a baby she is breast-feeding and another standing by her side.
“But whose children are these two?”, I ask again in reference to the other two children. The woman points to the little baby girl asleep, saying she is the child of the other child who sits nearby.
“You mean this girl is the mother of the child sleeping?”, I ask, as disbelief, doubt, amazement and shock, all grip me. “Yes”, the woman responds.
That is the truth. Fourteen-year-old Gifty is the mother of Adwoa Victoria. She gave birth at the age of 12, meaning she got pregnant when she was 11 years old, a pregnancy that disrupted her education and life.
Gifty got pregnant when she was in primary class six. Although she wanted to go back to school after giving birth, help has not been forthcoming to enable the bright-looking girl to achieve her dream.
Gifty has no relative in Accra. Her father, an Ivorian, lives in Abidjan, and her mother, a Ghanaian from Saltpond in the Central Region, is dead. She used to live with a woman who was married to her late grandfather at Kaneshie near the Accra Academy School. But the woman threw her out of home after she gave birth to little Adwoa on the suspicion of promiscuity.
Beauty and fickle mindedness made Gifty an easy prey to boys, mostly head porters, ‘trotro’ mates and gangsters, who always lurk around the vicinity, both day and night, seeking innocent girls to satisfy themselves.
One night, as she went on an errand, a boy she met for the first time lured her to a corner of the Bishop School park near her house and had sex with her. She did not even know she had become pregnant a few months later until her guardian found out.
Gifty is very desperate. Everyday, she hops from one place to another looking for any kind of job that would enable her and Adwoa to survive. But the job search becomes an arduous task with each passing day.
She does not know anything about the Department of Social Welfare. She has resigned her fate to benefactors who toss coins into her palm as they pass by. When I pulled out GH¢10 for her as a Christmas gift, she received it with a trembling hand. According to her, the gift was the best thing that had ever happened to her. For me, the gesture is one that I will forever cherish to have made, more importantly, on Christmas Day.
A few metres away from where Gifty and her child laid, many children aged between 10 and 16 are battling for survival. They criss-cross the ever busy Kaneshie-Mallam Highway selling iced water, ice cream, chewing gum, boiled eggs and all sorts of items, regardless of the dangers they are exposed to on the street, just to make ends meet. There is nothing like Christmas in their world. Everyday presents a challenge for survival and they have no option but to oblige to the dictates of economic hardship.
Mariama is a 16-year old girl who hails from the north. She has to sell boiled eggs on the streets every blessed day because that guarantees her GH¢4 daily income.
Apart from the difficult life, Mariama lives on the street during the day, she also lives a night life that is rather exasperating. She and seven other age mates sleep in a wooden structure at Agbogbloshie, one of the shanty communities in Accra. They spend part of the nighttrading their bodies to top up their daily income.
Mariama gets between GH¢4 and GH¢8 daily through the sex trade depending on how good or bad the night turns out. She is willing to stop her night business but the economic pressure on her is too much to let go.
“I want to stop it, but I cannot survive with the little money I get from selling boiled eggs. If I stop it, life will be difficult for me”, she says.
Aisha, a 10-year-old class two pupil, walks on the pavements around the Central Mosque at Abossey Okai, and as soon as the red lights are on she jumps onto the street to sell her iced water. She looks so weary but keeps on moving because, according to her, the mother has sent her to do that business.
Interestingly, Aisha’s mother is at home doing what Aisha cannot immediately tell. When asked where her home is, little Aisha points to a direction that makes no sense of location. The only explanation she gives for selling on the streets on Christmas Day is that she is a Muslim.
Maame Efua is another girl who sells iced- water on the Graphic Road. She is a class four pupil at a school in the Central Region. Since school vacated, she treks with her mother everyday on a five-hour journey from the Central Region to Accra and back, just to sell iced water.
At 12, Maame Efua is a little older than Aisha, but like Aisha, she does not have a good sense of using a busy road like the Graphic Road. She takes a flight as soon as she hears shouts of “iced water!”, “iced water!!”, without taking a good look at vehicles.
For Abeeku, a 16-year-old school drop-out, there is nothing to celebrate at Christmas, especially, when the stomach pleads for food and life beckons for survival. For that reason, he has to be on the street on Christmas Day to sell ice cream.
Abeeku comes from Cape Coast, the Central Regional capital, and after dropping out of school in junior high school (JHS) Form One, he decides to come to Accra to make a living. He works with a relative whom he lives with. On a good day, he makes about GH¢5 profit from sales out of which he is paid GH¢2.
All around Accra, there are growing numbers of children who eke their living on the streets. They jostle each other, run across vehicles and shout themselves hoarse to sell their wares in the scorching sun. The look on their faces is full of determination to survive.
For those who operate on the ceremonial road between the Airport Residential area and the Christianborg Castle, one of the few moments that bring cheers on their faces is when the President’s convoy makes its daily passage to and from work. They wave at the convoy, hail the President and afterwards get back to business on the street.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
EXACTLY A YEAR HENCE - WHO'LL BE NEXT PREZ - KUFUOR'S RECORD COMMENDABLE (P1)
Story: Stephen Sah & Kofi Yeboah
EXACTLY a year from today, President John Agyekum Kufuor will hand-over the presidency to a successor yet to be determined after an eight-year tenure in office.
It will be the day on which the dream of one man, be he Professor J.E.A. Mills or Nana Akufo-Addo, Dr Paa Kwesi Ndoum or Dr Edward Mahama or, indeed any of the other presidential aspirants will become a reality of the time.
Ahead of that occasion, an appraisal of the stewardship of President Kufuor made by some Ghanaian think tanks, selected by the Daily Graphic, shows that President Kufuor’s performance in the various aspects of governance, has been quite commendable.
Overall, the President scored between 50 and 70 per cent in various sectors of assessment, earning high marks in the areas EXACTLY a year from today, President John Agyekum Kufuor will hand-over the presidency to a successor yet to be determined after an eight-year tenure in office.
It will be the day on which the dream of one man, be he Professor J.E.A. Mills or Nana Akufo-Addo, Dr Paa Kwesi Ndoum or Dr Edward Mahama or, indeed any of the other presidential aspirants will become a reality of the time.
Ahead of that occasion, an appraisal of the stewardship of President Kufuor made by some Ghanaian think tanks, selected by the Daily Graphic, shows that President Kufuor’s performance in the various aspects of governance, has been quite commendable.
Overall, the President scored between 50 and 70 per cent in various sectors of assessment, earning high marks in the areas of the economy, security and freedom of the economy, security and freedom of expression, recording average marks in upholding human rights and accessing justice while recording lower marks in respect of fighting corruption.
The appraisers of the President’s stewardship were the President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Mr Tony Oteng-Gyasi, the Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Africa, Nana Oye Lithur, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Mr Kwesi Jonah, the Dean of the Faculty of Social Studies of the University of Ghana, Prof Atsu Ayee and the Director of Research at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Centre, Dr Emmanuel Kwesi Enning and Mrs Jean Mensa, the Administrator of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
Mrs Mensa congratulated the President for the successes chalked by his administration over the past seven years but pointed out that some challenges in his final year in office and for the future government.
She said it was refreshing that the present administration has won power and kept if for the past seven years.
Mrs Mensa explained that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was the first non-military institution to win power through the ballot box and kept it for seven years adding that “all previous attempts were successful at winning power but failed to hold on to it. She said this was significant in our history bearing in mind that Flt Lt J.J Rawlings won power and was able to keep it for eight years but he came from a military background.
Mrs Mensa also commended the government for maintaining macro-economic stability for seven years during which inflation has declined from the high of 40s to the low 10s. “We have also seen interest rates drop from the high 40s to the low 10s on the seven year period noting that “while the IEA thinks the NPP government has done well, the challenge though is how to maintain the current macro stability and keep inflation and interest rates under leash”.
She said it was important for the government to disentangle ourselves from running a colonial economy which mainly benefits the major multi-nationals in Ghana to an economy whose primary focus would be the improvement of the life of the average Ghanaian and also to an economy where “we are no more exporters of raw materials and importers of finished products but to an economy where we are the producers of finished goods for exports”.
Mrs Mensa also stressed the need for the Kufour administration to use the final year to decentralise the Ghanaian economy and our political structure.
“As of now, district chief executives still do not feel they owe any responsibility to the people. They owe their responsibilities to the Presidency in Accra and the challenge is how to decentralise so that district chief executives would owe their responsibility to the residents of the various districts”.
Mr Jonah on his part described the national economy under President Kufuor as sustainable and the country as a preferred destination for foreign direct investment (FDI).
He said although Ghana was tackling indices of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), such as poverty and access to school for children of school-going age, it was still lagging behind in respect of health indices, such as infant and maternal mortality, and stressed the need to reconsider those areas to activate growth.
According to Mr Jonah, presently, the economy was reported to be growing at an average rate of five per cent and although there have been increases in external exports with attractive prices on the world market and economic growth must increase.
“The inflow of investment has been quite good. The exploration of oil and the emergence of major mining companies in the country is a clear indication of external confidence in the national economy”, he noted.
He added that the inflow of about $500 million from the Millennium Challange Account (MCA) and the floating of Ghana bonds on the London Stock Exchange, coupled with good governance, were all indicators that Ghana was a safe place for investment.
Mr Jonah, who is also a senior lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, said the re-denomination exercise embarked upon by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) was a major plus for the government because it boosted business in an economy where transactions were largely cash-based.
On the political front, Mr Jonah said Ghana had been an island of peace and tranquillity in the sub-region because it had upheld the tenets of the constitution, particularly with respect to fundamental civil liberties.
That, he noted, had allowed an atmosphere that allows all political parties the freedom to criticise the government and contribute to the development process without any interference from the Executive.
However, Mr Jonah expressed concern about the Representation of the People’s Amendment Law (ROPAL), saying that it was a privilege and not a right for Ghanaians living abroad to exercise their franchise.
Regarding the international political arena, he said the holding of the African Union (AU) Summit in Accra in 2006 and the appointment of President Kufuor as the AU chairman had been a good omen for Africa, especially the sub-region.
Assessing the President’s performance in industry, the Mr Oteng-Gyasi said the President's performance was above average.
He noted that President Kufuor and the government had had to contend with very difficult economic environment but they worked to stabilise the economy, adding that manufacturing was now growing between four and five per cent.
Mr Oteng-Gyasi also praised the government for showing a willingness to listen to players in industry and implementing some of their suggestions, but he pointed out that there was more room for improvement.
“We would have loved to see a clear industrial policy for the country but that has not been the case,” he indicated, adding that the nation needed to invest in the production of agro processing machinery and other items that could be manufactured locally.
The AGI President said it was wrong for people to think that the President’s term in office was over, pointing out that “one year of policy decision-making can change a lot of things”.
He said without any pressure of running for re-election, the President had an added advantage of implementing good policies, expressing the hope that he would end his tenure on a very high note.
In his assessment, Prof Ayee described the achievement of the Kufuor regime as marginal.
On the economic front, he said the positive thing that happened to the country was the stability of the cedi because prior to taking office, the depreciation of the cedi was phenomenal as a result of which the currency was marginalised.
Prof Ayee said the drop in inflation was superficial because people still felt prices had shot up, especially after the re-denomination of the cedi, but pointed out that the government could not be faulted much because of the increase in petroleum prices on the world market.
He said not much had been done to tackle unemployment in spite of the President’s special initiative on employment, indicating that the number of unemployed youth was high and had resulted in the upsurge in armed robbery.
Prof Ayee said although standards of living had not improved, the government should be commended for the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the capitation grant and the school feeding programme.
He said the President’s zero tolerance for corruption was a public relations gimmick, which he never tackled and that would be a large electoral issue this year.
“The approach to corruption has been selective, especially the trial of Mallam Yusif Isa and others, have been a cosmetic show”, he said and claimed that a lot of people had been cited for corruption but left off the hook.
Prof Ayee commended the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) for investigating former Minister of Transportation, Dr Richard Anane, although the judiciary interpreted it differently, adding that the perception of corruption now was much higher than it used to be in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime.
He said the human rights record of the NPP government was better than that of the NDC, especially with the repeal of the criminal libel law, describing it as “a feather in the cap of the government although we cannot have a total human right record because of a few abrasions here and there like what happened to Alhaji Mobilla”.
According to him, there had been an upsurge in ethnic violence because ethnic politics had reared its head and there was the need to do away with that through public education spearheaded by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and political parties.
In respect of human rights, the ardent human rights campaigner, Nana Oye Lithur, gave the President five out of 10 marks based on an assessment of his performance on the Directive Principles of State Policy and human rights provisions enshrined in the Constitution were concerned.
On the positive side, she admitted that there had been an improvement in freedom of expression and press freedom, pointing out that the improvement was because “he himself has displayed a certain level of tolerance that has facilitated a progressive development, promotion and fulfilling of press freedom and freedom of expression”.
Nana Oye Lithur said there had also been tremendous improvement in political, social and economic rights as depicted by the enhanced credibility of elections in the country and initiatives, such as the school feeding programme and the capitation grant for basic schools, all geared towards achieving the goals of the free compulsory universal basic education (F-CUBE) as required by the constitution.
On the flip side, Nana Oye Lithur said corruption was a major indictment on the President’s stewardship, particularly so when he had launched his administration on a “zero tolerance for corruption” campaign.
“All said and done, that is one big indictment on his tenure. People were full of hope because he vowed to fight corruption. But I haven’t seen that he has addressed corruption effectively. It seems like he has shielded his government from allegations of corruption”, she observed.
Nana Oye Lithur also expressed disappointment in the manner the President had handled the extra judicial killing of 44 Ghanaians in The Gambia, three year after the incident took place.
She said in the first instance, it was out of order for the President to have attended the African Union (AU) Summit in The Gambia three years ago after the incident; secondly, the government had taken too long a time to investigate and take a firm decision on the issue.
Nana Oye Lithur mentioned forced evictions and demolition exercises in various parts of the country without recourse to due procedures, as well as rampant police brutalities and the deplorable conditions of mining communities and prisoners, as some of the minuses on the President’s human rights record.
“From where I sit, I saw him more as protecting the investor’s interest over and above the interest of the communities where these mining activities were going on. From the top of my head, I cannot recall any concrete statement that he’s made directed at people in mining areas... but we all saw him opening or inaugurating a mine or receiving heads of mining companies at the Castle”, she pointed out.
Nana Oye Lithur mentioned inadequate housing, lack of access to toilets, water, electricity and other social amenities as some of the areas the President failed to deliver satisfactorily.
With regard to security, Dr Enning said the government had done creditably, giving it six-and-half out of 10 marks.
According to him, there had been general improvement in civil-military relations and the physical improvement in the security services.
Dr Enning said the security had also become more subservient to civilian rule unlike in the past but added that the process of improving security started during the NDC regime but “the Kufuor administration has reduced the rot in the system”.
On the international level, he said President had made immense contribution towards restoring peace and stability to countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Sierra Leone and Liberia
Dr Enning attributed the success story on the security front to the various roles played by the Ghana Armed Forces, Parliament, CHRAJ and other democratic institutions.
He said one of the lowest point on security track record of President Kufuor’s administration was the Dagbon conflict.
Dr Enning said there were still challenges concerning issues of recruitment into the security services, adding that the increasing activities of drug lords and youth unemployment had the tendency to undermine national security and stressed the need to address them.
It is against such pluses and minuses that Ghanaians will go to the polls again in December this year to choose a successor to President Kufuor.
December is still a long way yet but with the major political parties having held their congresses and elected their presidential candidates, the lines are clearly drawn for an exciting campaign.
The largest opposition group, the National Democratic Congress set the tone with the election of former Vice President, John Evans Atta-Mills as its flagbearer. That was followed by the People’s National Convention (PNC) with the election of Dr. Edward Mahama.
The Convention People’s Party (CPP) followed with the election of Dr. Paa Kwesi Ndoum and then the New Patriotic Party (NPP) held its congress to elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as its flagbearer.
With a few other minority parties yet to elect their flag bearers, attention on the next phase of the process will be on the choice of running-mates by the various presidential candidates.
EXACTLY a year from today, President John Agyekum Kufuor will hand-over the presidency to a successor yet to be determined after an eight-year tenure in office.
It will be the day on which the dream of one man, be he Professor J.E.A. Mills or Nana Akufo-Addo, Dr Paa Kwesi Ndoum or Dr Edward Mahama or, indeed any of the other presidential aspirants will become a reality of the time.
Ahead of that occasion, an appraisal of the stewardship of President Kufuor made by some Ghanaian think tanks, selected by the Daily Graphic, shows that President Kufuor’s performance in the various aspects of governance, has been quite commendable.
Overall, the President scored between 50 and 70 per cent in various sectors of assessment, earning high marks in the areas EXACTLY a year from today, President John Agyekum Kufuor will hand-over the presidency to a successor yet to be determined after an eight-year tenure in office.
It will be the day on which the dream of one man, be he Professor J.E.A. Mills or Nana Akufo-Addo, Dr Paa Kwesi Ndoum or Dr Edward Mahama or, indeed any of the other presidential aspirants will become a reality of the time.
Ahead of that occasion, an appraisal of the stewardship of President Kufuor made by some Ghanaian think tanks, selected by the Daily Graphic, shows that President Kufuor’s performance in the various aspects of governance, has been quite commendable.
Overall, the President scored between 50 and 70 per cent in various sectors of assessment, earning high marks in the areas of the economy, security and freedom of the economy, security and freedom of expression, recording average marks in upholding human rights and accessing justice while recording lower marks in respect of fighting corruption.
The appraisers of the President’s stewardship were the President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Mr Tony Oteng-Gyasi, the Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Africa, Nana Oye Lithur, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Mr Kwesi Jonah, the Dean of the Faculty of Social Studies of the University of Ghana, Prof Atsu Ayee and the Director of Research at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Centre, Dr Emmanuel Kwesi Enning and Mrs Jean Mensa, the Administrator of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
Mrs Mensa congratulated the President for the successes chalked by his administration over the past seven years but pointed out that some challenges in his final year in office and for the future government.
She said it was refreshing that the present administration has won power and kept if for the past seven years.
Mrs Mensa explained that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was the first non-military institution to win power through the ballot box and kept it for seven years adding that “all previous attempts were successful at winning power but failed to hold on to it. She said this was significant in our history bearing in mind that Flt Lt J.J Rawlings won power and was able to keep it for eight years but he came from a military background.
Mrs Mensa also commended the government for maintaining macro-economic stability for seven years during which inflation has declined from the high of 40s to the low 10s. “We have also seen interest rates drop from the high 40s to the low 10s on the seven year period noting that “while the IEA thinks the NPP government has done well, the challenge though is how to maintain the current macro stability and keep inflation and interest rates under leash”.
She said it was important for the government to disentangle ourselves from running a colonial economy which mainly benefits the major multi-nationals in Ghana to an economy whose primary focus would be the improvement of the life of the average Ghanaian and also to an economy where “we are no more exporters of raw materials and importers of finished products but to an economy where we are the producers of finished goods for exports”.
Mrs Mensa also stressed the need for the Kufour administration to use the final year to decentralise the Ghanaian economy and our political structure.
“As of now, district chief executives still do not feel they owe any responsibility to the people. They owe their responsibilities to the Presidency in Accra and the challenge is how to decentralise so that district chief executives would owe their responsibility to the residents of the various districts”.
Mr Jonah on his part described the national economy under President Kufuor as sustainable and the country as a preferred destination for foreign direct investment (FDI).
He said although Ghana was tackling indices of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), such as poverty and access to school for children of school-going age, it was still lagging behind in respect of health indices, such as infant and maternal mortality, and stressed the need to reconsider those areas to activate growth.
According to Mr Jonah, presently, the economy was reported to be growing at an average rate of five per cent and although there have been increases in external exports with attractive prices on the world market and economic growth must increase.
“The inflow of investment has been quite good. The exploration of oil and the emergence of major mining companies in the country is a clear indication of external confidence in the national economy”, he noted.
He added that the inflow of about $500 million from the Millennium Challange Account (MCA) and the floating of Ghana bonds on the London Stock Exchange, coupled with good governance, were all indicators that Ghana was a safe place for investment.
Mr Jonah, who is also a senior lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, said the re-denomination exercise embarked upon by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) was a major plus for the government because it boosted business in an economy where transactions were largely cash-based.
On the political front, Mr Jonah said Ghana had been an island of peace and tranquillity in the sub-region because it had upheld the tenets of the constitution, particularly with respect to fundamental civil liberties.
That, he noted, had allowed an atmosphere that allows all political parties the freedom to criticise the government and contribute to the development process without any interference from the Executive.
However, Mr Jonah expressed concern about the Representation of the People’s Amendment Law (ROPAL), saying that it was a privilege and not a right for Ghanaians living abroad to exercise their franchise.
Regarding the international political arena, he said the holding of the African Union (AU) Summit in Accra in 2006 and the appointment of President Kufuor as the AU chairman had been a good omen for Africa, especially the sub-region.
Assessing the President’s performance in industry, the Mr Oteng-Gyasi said the President's performance was above average.
He noted that President Kufuor and the government had had to contend with very difficult economic environment but they worked to stabilise the economy, adding that manufacturing was now growing between four and five per cent.
Mr Oteng-Gyasi also praised the government for showing a willingness to listen to players in industry and implementing some of their suggestions, but he pointed out that there was more room for improvement.
“We would have loved to see a clear industrial policy for the country but that has not been the case,” he indicated, adding that the nation needed to invest in the production of agro processing machinery and other items that could be manufactured locally.
The AGI President said it was wrong for people to think that the President’s term in office was over, pointing out that “one year of policy decision-making can change a lot of things”.
He said without any pressure of running for re-election, the President had an added advantage of implementing good policies, expressing the hope that he would end his tenure on a very high note.
In his assessment, Prof Ayee described the achievement of the Kufuor regime as marginal.
On the economic front, he said the positive thing that happened to the country was the stability of the cedi because prior to taking office, the depreciation of the cedi was phenomenal as a result of which the currency was marginalised.
Prof Ayee said the drop in inflation was superficial because people still felt prices had shot up, especially after the re-denomination of the cedi, but pointed out that the government could not be faulted much because of the increase in petroleum prices on the world market.
He said not much had been done to tackle unemployment in spite of the President’s special initiative on employment, indicating that the number of unemployed youth was high and had resulted in the upsurge in armed robbery.
Prof Ayee said although standards of living had not improved, the government should be commended for the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the capitation grant and the school feeding programme.
He said the President’s zero tolerance for corruption was a public relations gimmick, which he never tackled and that would be a large electoral issue this year.
“The approach to corruption has been selective, especially the trial of Mallam Yusif Isa and others, have been a cosmetic show”, he said and claimed that a lot of people had been cited for corruption but left off the hook.
Prof Ayee commended the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) for investigating former Minister of Transportation, Dr Richard Anane, although the judiciary interpreted it differently, adding that the perception of corruption now was much higher than it used to be in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime.
He said the human rights record of the NPP government was better than that of the NDC, especially with the repeal of the criminal libel law, describing it as “a feather in the cap of the government although we cannot have a total human right record because of a few abrasions here and there like what happened to Alhaji Mobilla”.
According to him, there had been an upsurge in ethnic violence because ethnic politics had reared its head and there was the need to do away with that through public education spearheaded by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and political parties.
In respect of human rights, the ardent human rights campaigner, Nana Oye Lithur, gave the President five out of 10 marks based on an assessment of his performance on the Directive Principles of State Policy and human rights provisions enshrined in the Constitution were concerned.
On the positive side, she admitted that there had been an improvement in freedom of expression and press freedom, pointing out that the improvement was because “he himself has displayed a certain level of tolerance that has facilitated a progressive development, promotion and fulfilling of press freedom and freedom of expression”.
Nana Oye Lithur said there had also been tremendous improvement in political, social and economic rights as depicted by the enhanced credibility of elections in the country and initiatives, such as the school feeding programme and the capitation grant for basic schools, all geared towards achieving the goals of the free compulsory universal basic education (F-CUBE) as required by the constitution.
On the flip side, Nana Oye Lithur said corruption was a major indictment on the President’s stewardship, particularly so when he had launched his administration on a “zero tolerance for corruption” campaign.
“All said and done, that is one big indictment on his tenure. People were full of hope because he vowed to fight corruption. But I haven’t seen that he has addressed corruption effectively. It seems like he has shielded his government from allegations of corruption”, she observed.
Nana Oye Lithur also expressed disappointment in the manner the President had handled the extra judicial killing of 44 Ghanaians in The Gambia, three year after the incident took place.
She said in the first instance, it was out of order for the President to have attended the African Union (AU) Summit in The Gambia three years ago after the incident; secondly, the government had taken too long a time to investigate and take a firm decision on the issue.
Nana Oye Lithur mentioned forced evictions and demolition exercises in various parts of the country without recourse to due procedures, as well as rampant police brutalities and the deplorable conditions of mining communities and prisoners, as some of the minuses on the President’s human rights record.
“From where I sit, I saw him more as protecting the investor’s interest over and above the interest of the communities where these mining activities were going on. From the top of my head, I cannot recall any concrete statement that he’s made directed at people in mining areas... but we all saw him opening or inaugurating a mine or receiving heads of mining companies at the Castle”, she pointed out.
Nana Oye Lithur mentioned inadequate housing, lack of access to toilets, water, electricity and other social amenities as some of the areas the President failed to deliver satisfactorily.
With regard to security, Dr Enning said the government had done creditably, giving it six-and-half out of 10 marks.
According to him, there had been general improvement in civil-military relations and the physical improvement in the security services.
Dr Enning said the security had also become more subservient to civilian rule unlike in the past but added that the process of improving security started during the NDC regime but “the Kufuor administration has reduced the rot in the system”.
On the international level, he said President had made immense contribution towards restoring peace and stability to countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Sierra Leone and Liberia
Dr Enning attributed the success story on the security front to the various roles played by the Ghana Armed Forces, Parliament, CHRAJ and other democratic institutions.
He said one of the lowest point on security track record of President Kufuor’s administration was the Dagbon conflict.
Dr Enning said there were still challenges concerning issues of recruitment into the security services, adding that the increasing activities of drug lords and youth unemployment had the tendency to undermine national security and stressed the need to address them.
It is against such pluses and minuses that Ghanaians will go to the polls again in December this year to choose a successor to President Kufuor.
December is still a long way yet but with the major political parties having held their congresses and elected their presidential candidates, the lines are clearly drawn for an exciting campaign.
The largest opposition group, the National Democratic Congress set the tone with the election of former Vice President, John Evans Atta-Mills as its flagbearer. That was followed by the People’s National Convention (PNC) with the election of Dr. Edward Mahama.
The Convention People’s Party (CPP) followed with the election of Dr. Paa Kwesi Ndoum and then the New Patriotic Party (NPP) held its congress to elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as its flagbearer.
With a few other minority parties yet to elect their flag bearers, attention on the next phase of the process will be on the choice of running-mates by the various presidential candidates.
HUNDREDS MOURN BEKOE (P.31)
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Sakaman Presbyterian Church in Accra was thrown into a state of grief and wailing last Saturday as hundreds of mourners paid their last respect to Enoch Sakyi Bampoe Bekoe, who was allegedly murdered by his cousin on November 15, 2007.
Enoch, a 28-year-old BSc (Agriculture) degree holder from the University of Cape Coast and an employee of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Accra, was allegedly butchered by his embittered cousin, George Awuku Dompreh, 41, in a brutal incident that bemused family relations, friends and the entire Sakaman community.
Many of the family members, friends, schoolmates, working colleagues and sympathisers who attended the burial service could not hold back their tears as the soul of their departed brother and friend was ushered into divine grace before interment later at his home town, Adukrom, in the Eastern Region.
The suspect, Dompreh, is currently on remand at the Nsawam Prisons awaiting trial. Dompreh is alleged to have carried out a five-year threat he issued to visit mayhem on his aunt, Juliana Osew Dukwaa, who he accused of preventing him from marry the woman of his choice on the grounds that the woman hailed from the north.
He, however, did not understand why his aunt did not object to her son, Enoch, planning to marry a woman outside their hometown, Adukrom, and so on that fateful Thursday evening, he proceeded to inflict many machete wounds on Enoch after which he fled into hiding.
At the time of his death, Enoch was a couple of weeks away from marrying the daughter of a Presbyterian reverend minister whom he had courted for about three years.
An eye-witness told the police that around 9.00 p.m. on Thursday, he was with Enoch at his (Enoch’s) uncle’s residence when Dompreh knocked at the door and asked to see Enoch.
He said Enoch went outside, apparently to discuss something with his cousin. But after about 25 minutes, he (eye-witness) heard Enoch screaming for help and he rushed out, only to find Dompreh slashing Enoch with a machete.
As soon as Dompreh saw him (eye-witness), he bolted.
Enoch, who was bleeding profusely, was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Barely 48 hours after the Daily Graphic published the story on the front page of its Tuesday, November 20, 2007 issue, Dompreh was arrested by the police in Koforidua upon a tip-off.
At the time of his arrest he was in the possession of a nylon rope, which the police suspected he would have used to commit suicide.
In an interview, Dompreh confessed to the Daily Graphic that he killed his cousin to avenge the disapproval of his (Dompreh’s) marriage by his aunt.
“As a revenge, I also decided to kick against the marriage of their son, Enoch, and, therefore, decided to kill him, to end it all,” he said.
Dompreh said after completing his apprenticeship as a plumber, he met a Baasare woman, one Deborah Agyeiwaa, a 38-year-old seamstress, who lived at Oworam near Asamankese and intended to marry her.
He said he had had two children with Agyeiwaa, a boy and a girl, aged seven and four respectively, but pointed out that when he discussed his intention to marry Agyeiwaa with his aunt, she and her husband strongly kicked against the decision, with the explanation that Agyeiwaa was not from Adukrom.
According to Dompreh, following his unbending intention to marry Agyeiwaa, he invited his next of kin and his aunt and husband to accompany him to the hometown of Agyeiwaa to perform the marriage rites, but they both ignored him after which his aunt and the husband vowed not to have anything to do with him again.
“Apart from excluding and avoiding me as a family member, my aunt and her husband persistently cursed me to know no peace and happiness in life again, because of my vow to marry Agyeiwaa. I think this spell has been the cause of my present predicament,” Dompreh added.
THE Sakaman Presbyterian Church in Accra was thrown into a state of grief and wailing last Saturday as hundreds of mourners paid their last respect to Enoch Sakyi Bampoe Bekoe, who was allegedly murdered by his cousin on November 15, 2007.
Enoch, a 28-year-old BSc (Agriculture) degree holder from the University of Cape Coast and an employee of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Accra, was allegedly butchered by his embittered cousin, George Awuku Dompreh, 41, in a brutal incident that bemused family relations, friends and the entire Sakaman community.
Many of the family members, friends, schoolmates, working colleagues and sympathisers who attended the burial service could not hold back their tears as the soul of their departed brother and friend was ushered into divine grace before interment later at his home town, Adukrom, in the Eastern Region.
The suspect, Dompreh, is currently on remand at the Nsawam Prisons awaiting trial. Dompreh is alleged to have carried out a five-year threat he issued to visit mayhem on his aunt, Juliana Osew Dukwaa, who he accused of preventing him from marry the woman of his choice on the grounds that the woman hailed from the north.
He, however, did not understand why his aunt did not object to her son, Enoch, planning to marry a woman outside their hometown, Adukrom, and so on that fateful Thursday evening, he proceeded to inflict many machete wounds on Enoch after which he fled into hiding.
At the time of his death, Enoch was a couple of weeks away from marrying the daughter of a Presbyterian reverend minister whom he had courted for about three years.
An eye-witness told the police that around 9.00 p.m. on Thursday, he was with Enoch at his (Enoch’s) uncle’s residence when Dompreh knocked at the door and asked to see Enoch.
He said Enoch went outside, apparently to discuss something with his cousin. But after about 25 minutes, he (eye-witness) heard Enoch screaming for help and he rushed out, only to find Dompreh slashing Enoch with a machete.
As soon as Dompreh saw him (eye-witness), he bolted.
Enoch, who was bleeding profusely, was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Barely 48 hours after the Daily Graphic published the story on the front page of its Tuesday, November 20, 2007 issue, Dompreh was arrested by the police in Koforidua upon a tip-off.
At the time of his arrest he was in the possession of a nylon rope, which the police suspected he would have used to commit suicide.
In an interview, Dompreh confessed to the Daily Graphic that he killed his cousin to avenge the disapproval of his (Dompreh’s) marriage by his aunt.
“As a revenge, I also decided to kick against the marriage of their son, Enoch, and, therefore, decided to kill him, to end it all,” he said.
Dompreh said after completing his apprenticeship as a plumber, he met a Baasare woman, one Deborah Agyeiwaa, a 38-year-old seamstress, who lived at Oworam near Asamankese and intended to marry her.
He said he had had two children with Agyeiwaa, a boy and a girl, aged seven and four respectively, but pointed out that when he discussed his intention to marry Agyeiwaa with his aunt, she and her husband strongly kicked against the decision, with the explanation that Agyeiwaa was not from Adukrom.
According to Dompreh, following his unbending intention to marry Agyeiwaa, he invited his next of kin and his aunt and husband to accompany him to the hometown of Agyeiwaa to perform the marriage rites, but they both ignored him after which his aunt and the husband vowed not to have anything to do with him again.
“Apart from excluding and avoiding me as a family member, my aunt and her husband persistently cursed me to know no peace and happiness in life again, because of my vow to marry Agyeiwaa. I think this spell has been the cause of my present predicament,” Dompreh added.
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