KEN GOES HOME

Ken Koku Klevor

Ken Koku Klevor, Circulation Manager of “The Insight” will be buried at his home town, Anyako in the Volta Region on Friday, January 27, 2017.

According to family sources, he will be laid in state at the Christ the Kings Catholic Church in Accra on the same day from 7:30am to 9:00am.

Burial service will be conducted in the same church at 9:00am from where the body will be taken to Anyako.

The funeral will be held on the grounds of the church till 6:00pm on the same day.

The head of the Klevor and allied families has announced that the thanksgiving service will be held at the same church on Sunday, January 29, 2017 between 10:30am and 12:30pm.

All well-wishers are respectfully invited.

Editorial

REALLY SMOOTH?

Ghana has once more witnessed a smooth transition of power from one administration to another amidst praises from all over the world.

The general disposition of President John Dramani Mahama which enabled him hand over without question is highly commendable.

It is striking that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is also doing all he can to assure the people of Ghana including his political opponents that he will be fair and just to all.

However beyond the niceties lie the real truth about the Ghanaian condition of inequality, crippling poverty and domination from the colonial metropolis.

It is our hope that the new administration will take steps to address the concrete problems facing the people of Ghana.

Increases in access to such social services as education, health and decent housing ought to be an imperative.

NABDAM: Outcry for Dams As Neglected Oldies Get Rare Party

By Kent Mensah

An outcry for irrigation dams from extremely frail old people, said to be wallowing in chronic hunger and protracted neglect in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region, has climaxed a rare party held in their honour by some natives of the area.

Among the vulnerable beneficiaries are widows, persons with disabilities and cured lepers.

The district is among the extremely deprived areas of the region with about 33, 826 people per the 2010 Population and Housing Census. Elderly people, as statistics also shows, constitute 6.8% of that figure. A number of the aged, particularly those with physical disabilities, suffer a great deal of neglect and hunger almost throughout the year.

An old man being led to the party ground

Although they engage in subsistence farming, the outcomes mostly are nothing but thankless harvests as they often are too little to carry them through the regular 8 months of dry season to the next 4 months of farming. This has been linked to extreme shortfall of irrigation dams- said to be as rare in the area as fertilisers are difficult to come by for several households or local farmworkers.

Community development organisations as well as public officers have said that many old people in the district hardly “see” a one-cedi note or a red coin throughout an entire month. The chronic hunger often reaches a level where families will have no choice but to turn to the forests to survive on wild fruits, risking unscheduled encounters with wild animals.

“Our situation here is very bad, especially for the vulnerable people in society. We are a farming community. We have only one raining season. After the raining season, our people find it difficult to feed, especially the vulnerable. What they resort to as feed would be to go to the forests to look for wild fruits,” the Assemblyman for Kongo East, Patrick Dinaa, told Starr News.

He added: “It is difficult for many of them to even see one cedi within a month. Some go gathering stones to crack for those doing construction. But you ask, for someone who cannot walk well, how many months is he going to use to gather stones for one trip?”

Hunger peaks when our ground dries- old folks

The hunger endured throughout 2016 amongst the helpless group ended somewhat on a happy note when a young man from the area, Paul Wooma, sourced support from some benevolent individuals and organisations to throw a party for about 700 vulnerable elderly people in the district.

More guests than what was expected thronged Yakote, venue for the all-day-long party towards which two bulls, bags of rice and drinks were donated.  For the feeble-looking beneficiaries, who were bussed on free vehicles provided by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) from their various communities and widely led by either old walking sticks or needy great grandchildren to the party ground, it was an occasion capped with a mixture of excitement for the temporary relief and a painful reminder of what Nabdams probably need more than anything else- dams!

“Dams for us and for our young men to do dry-season farming, we don’t have. Even our animals compete over small streams that normally get dry for water. I’m from Daborin at Kongo. Hunger is so unbearable when the rainy period is over,” Paul Nangodnab, a native in his early 80s wearing a Barcelona FC winter cap, told Starr News.

Mabil Zuri, in her 60s and full of praise for Mr. Wooma for the relief, pointed at another dilemma tied to food insecurity in the district. “Our challenge is not just the lack of dams. Generally, we also do not have good roads for the transportation of our produce to the markets to sell. But I must add that those of advanced years like me cannot do thorough farming. We rely on random handouts in this area to survive,” she lamented in Nabt, the district’s dialect.

A dream for sustainable food aid

The deprived rural old folks certainly will continue to stagger in starvation until rare occasions like the Yakote party come their way another time.

And this could take a very long time to happen, prompting questions as to how sustainable support can reach that defenceless old bracket. Interacting with Starr News, Mr. Wooma, a popular Climate Change advocate who calls his relief initiative “Operation Blessing”, disclosed plans to put in place a more reliable measure of support for as many as were too weak to fend for themselves in the district.

 “I appeal to all that I will be writing letters again to them next year. They should readily support me to extend help to these people. This may be temporal. But I am ringing bells- humanitarian bells- that there is a need to help the vulnerable in society.

“I told the vulnerable people that my aim is to finally have farms dedicated to just farming food for them, storing it in these FASCOM (Farmers Services Company) buildings that were there in Acheampong’s days and distributing it at critical periods. They would just line up. I would distribute the food. And go away. That is the ultimate goal,” he stated amid adoring words for those who supported the feeding of the old men and women.

ANALYSIS OF NPP TAX PROPOSALS

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana

By Evans Crentsil-Taylor

The New Patriotic Party, in its Manifesto for the 2016 Elections, highlighted as one of its main Economic Policy Direction for the country, is to “shift the focus of economic management from taxation to production”.

To achieve this objective, the party outlined numerous tax cuts measures as follows;

1. reduce the corporate tax rate from 25% to 20%
2. remove import duties on raw materials and machinery for production within the context of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) Protocol
3. abolish the Special Import Levy
4. abolish the 17.5% VAT on imported medicines not produced in the country
5. abolish the 17.5% VAT on Financial Services
6. abolish the 5% VAT on Real Estate sales
7. abolish the 17.5% VAT on domestic airline tickets
8. reduce VAT for micro and small enterprises from the current 17.5% to the 3% Flat Rate VAT introduced by the Kufuor-led NPP government
9. introduce tax credits and other incentives for businesses that hire young graduates from tertiary institutions, and

review withholding taxes imposed on various sectors (including the mining sector) that have constrained the liquidity of many businesses.

The New Patriotic Party clearly has an agenda to create a business friendly environment by reducing taxes. The Party believes that reducing these taxes will lead to increase in production and economic activity which will in the short run compensate for any temporary revenue shortfall.

The proposed tax cuts have been welcome news for many business owners, labour unions and the civil society. However, the question being asked by policy analyst and political opponent is how much the tax cuts will affect revenue generation, and how the NPP intends to finance it numerous campaign promises in lights of the tax cuts.

According to information from the GRA and Ministry of Finance, six of the proposed tax cuts will result in an estimated revenue loss of roughly GHȻ2.6 billion in 2017 alone as highlighted in the table below.

Snr	Tax Measure	Revenue losses
1	Reduction in corporate tax rate from 25% to 20%	1,403,852,000.0
2	Abolishing VAT on financial services	240,646,680.5
3	Abolishing VAT on local airfare	19,110,729.2
4	Abolishing special levy	688,134,980.4
5	Abolishing import VAT	56,951,685.6
6	Abolishing VAT on raw material	175,419,036.3
	Total	2,584,115,111.9

The question now is, how will the proposed tax cuts translate into viable economic growth as being purported by the New Patriotic Party.

Research has shown that there is a negative and elastic relationship between corporate tax rate and economic growth with elasticity of about 3.17, suggesting that a 1% reduction in corporate tax rate will increase economic growth by 3.17% at the margin.

Proponents of tax cuts point to the effects that lower taxes have on incentives to work, to save, and to invest, and argue that reducing tax rates boosts economic growth.

According to Ergete Ferede and Bev Dahlby, in a publication titled “The impact of tax cuts on economic growth: evidence from the Canadian Provinces”, they concluded as follows; “We find that a higher provincial statutory corporate income tax rate is associated with lower private investment and slower economic growth. Our empirical estimates suggest that a 1 percentage point cut in the corporate tax rate is related to a 0.1– 0.2 percentage point increase in the annual growth rate”.

Eric Engen and Jonathan Skinner, in a related publication titled, “Taxation and Economic Growth” used three approaches to consider the impact a major tax reform - a 5 percentage point cut in marginal tax rates in United States on long-term growth rates. They concluded as follow; “Our results suggest modest effects, on the order of 0.2 to 0.3 percentage point differences in growth rates in response to a major tax reform. Nevertheless, even such small effects can have a large cumulative impact on living standards”.

Research data shows that lower taxes can spur greater productive investment and thereby help generate economic growth, which in turn can expand government revenues.

Critiques of the NPP tax cuts have questioned lack of industry specific details in the proposal.  Currently, there are sectors that enjoy lower tax rates than the 25%. Hotels, financial institutions and companies listed on the stock exchange, for instance.

Does the proposed cut intend to remove the incentive differential and tax these companies at the flat rate of 20%? The same is true for non-traditional exporters who are taxed at only 8%.

Income derived by Financial Institutions from loans granted to farming enterprises and loans granted to leasing companies are currently taxed at 20%. Will these rates be reduced to 15% or the whole incentive will be removed.

President Akufo Addo

Will the NPP proposed tax cuts affects companies in the Mining and Petroleum sectors who are currently taxed at 35%? In 2010, the government revised the mining tax rate back to 35% after the NPP had brought it down to 25% in 2006.

What no one can dispute is that the current tax burden on business is interfering with private sector growth. The question is how the new administration will deal with the drop in revenue which is being estimated at GHȻ2.6 billion in 2017 alone.

Deputy Minister for Finance, Mr. Ato Forson, in a publication titled; “Would tax cuts induce growth in Ghana: An assessment of NPP’s manifesto promises”, made the following conclusions;

“The NPP [party] may not be able to pursue the proposed tax cut and expenditure programmes simultaneously. It may have to choose one of the two policies at a time. The possible options therefore, are as follows:

(1) borrow heavily on commercial terms to be able to implement both policies simultaneously,

(2) suspend the tax cuts in order to be able to admit expenditure programmes,

(3) suspend development projects in order implement the tax cuts”.

If the tax cuts are not financed by immediate spending cuts they will likely also result in an increased budget deficit, which in the long-term will reduce national saving and raise interest rates. Base-broadening measures can eliminate the effect of tax rate cuts on budget deficits, but at the same time they also reduce the impact on labour supply, saving, and investment and thus reduce the direct impact on growth.

In conclusion, empirical research has shown that tax cuts can induce growth, however, appropriate measures will have to be put in place to deal with potential budget deficits in the short run.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Evans Crentsil-Taylor is a Chartered Accountant and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation Ghana. Evans is the Founder of Tax Solutions Ghana, an online portal that provides tax information.  www.taxsolutionsgh.com

Ofosu-Kwakye Questions Nana Addo’s Appointment Of Young People  

Felix Ofosu Kwakye

By Godwin A. Allotey

The former Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Ofosu-Kwakye, has questioned the rationale for the appointment of young persons in Nana Akufo-Addo’s government, considering that he and his young colleagues were heavily criticized  by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) then in opposition.

According to him, when President John Mahama and late President John Mills took the same decision, they were condemned by the NPP.

Ofosu Kwakye said although he is not against the appointment of young people in government, he found it hypocritical and unfair for the NPP to now turnaround and do same.

The Deputy Minister made the comment on the back of Nana Akufo-Addo’s announcement of some of his administrative staff, which has about four young people namely Francis Asenso-Boakye and Samuel Abu Jinapor, both Deputy Chiefs of Staff,  Eugene Arhin, Director of Communications at the Presidency and Clara Napaga Sulemana Tia, a Presidential Staffer.

President John Mahama and late President Mills were accused for bringing on board some young people to take leadership roles in their government who were referred to as “babies with sharp teeth” following their utterances which critics found disrespectful and arrogant.

Kwakye Ofosu, while speaking on Eyewitness News, said “it is unfortunate that when President Mills and President Mahama gave opportunities to young persons to contribute to national development persons in the opposition and some surrogates of theirs sought to bastardize them and did not allow them the opportunity to make that contribution.”

“Here we are the President-elect has appointed at least three people within their circles to serve in his government and the same people who derided others appointed by President Mills and President Mahama are now falling over themselves to uphold the image and integrity of these young men. Like I have said, I would on any day root for any young person who is able to land a position in government because I believe that the youth have a role to play; but let us be fair to all persons irrespective of their political creed,” he added.

Felix Kwakye Ofosu however in the interview wished the President-elect and his new appointees the best of luck.

President John Mahama is expected to hand over power to Nana Akufo-Addo on Saturday January 7, 2017.

STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA

Former President John Dramani Mahama

Your Excellency the Vice President, Right Honourable Speaker, Your Ladyship the Chief Justice Honourable Members of Parliament Mr. Speaker, Allow me to begin by wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Afihyiapa. This hall that exists within these walls is a place where I have always felt at home. It was in this august house, as an MP for Bole-Bamboi, that I began my political career. Or, better said, it was when I first held public office. The residents of that community entrusted me with the privilege of representing their best interests in the national dialogue of policymaking and legislation. It seems fitting that I should find myself here in this same house delivering my final public address which will, in effect, bring to a close my tenure as President. I deliver this message on the State of the Nation in fulfillment of Article 67 of the 1992 constitution. It has been a rare honour and privilege for me to serve my country in the highest office as President. It has been a worthwhile journey. And let me seize the opportunity to thank God for his grace and to the good people of Ghana for the opportunity to serve. May I also respectfully thank My Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Her Ladyship the Chief Justice and Honourable Members of this House for the cooperation and solidarity I have enjoyed during my tenure as President.

Mr. Speaker, The purpose of this specific State of the Nation Address is to let the people of Ghana know where we stand as a country as the baton of leadership passed from one leader to another. Where are we in this race, so to speak? In so far as nation-building, how is Ghana faring when compared to other nations in Africa and of course, in the world? Our world has become increasingly complex and unpredictable. Majority of economies around the world are sailing against strong headwinds. The world economic crisis and the slow-down in the growth of the Chinese economy has affected the growth of emerging markets and has resulted in a fall in world demand for commodities. As the United States of America (USA) makes a slow but steady recovery, the recent increase in the USA interest rates means more money is leaving emerging markets and being reinvested in America. Coupled with the fall in commodity prices on the international markets, this is causing an adverse economic outlook for lower middle income economies like ours. Changing climate has made the world weather more unpredictable. In our part of the world deforestation, sea erosion and tidal waves, erratic rainfall, more severe harmattan is becoming the new normal. These are wreaking havoc on non-irrigated agriculture and power production from hydro sources. The rise of insurgency and failed states in North Africa and the middle-east and religious fundamentalism have resulted in a rise of many terrorist cells that have created a deadly cocktail across the whole world and increasingly in Africa, stretching from the Sahel, through West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa all the way to the Horn of Africa. Our sub-region has not been spared and attacks as close as Burkina Faso and Cote D’Ivoire have brought the reality of possible terrorist attacks closer to our doorstep. This is the global context in which our country has had to survive and make progress.

EDUCATION

Mr. Speaker, At the start of our term in office and for many years prior, there have been national dissatisfaction at the declining standards of education at the basic and secondary levels. Lack of access to both basic and secondary education meant that many children were being left behind. A shortage of professionally trained teachers, teacher absenteeism, shortage of core textbooks- resulting in a situation in which four (4) children shared one textbook-, dilapidated schools, lack of science laboratories and workshops, among others, manifested in declining results at the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) and West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE). Our vision under my administration has been to turn this situation around and not only improve access to education but also the quality of education. Mr. Speaker, We are witnessing a significant improvement in our educational outcomes. More children than ever before in our history are having access to education at the basic and secondary levels. With the distribution of free text books, children have access to all the four textbooks and no longer have to share. In excess of two thousand (2,000) dilapidated schools popularly referred to as “schools under trees” have been replaced. Teachers are more available and are more evenly distributed than in the past. Teacher absenteeism is down from 27% to below 9%. This has led to more engagement hours between teachers and students. The construction and population of forty-seven (47) newly built Community Day Senior High Schools means more students are able to continue their education beyond the basic level instead of dropping out. These investments we have made are yielding results and reflecting in the performance of our children. Performance at both the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) and the West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) have seen remarkable improvement. The very last batch of BECE students recorded the highest number of students obtaining a raw score of above 500 marks in the history of the examination. We are recording improved performance in many public schools in the WASSCE across the country. During the Best Schools Awards Ceremonies, many rural and public schools are outperforming some of the better known urban and private schools. Ghana has consistently, over the last three years, taken the three top spots in the WASCCE. The progressively free secondary education programme, under which we have absorbed the major fees paid by day students, has this year been extended to cover one hundred and forty thousand (140,000) boarding students. Mr. Speaker, At the tertiary education level, the construction of additional public universities in the Brong Ahafo and Volta Regions have improved access to university education. The sod cutting for start of work on the University of Environment and Sustainable Development in the Eastern Region, the conversion of the polytechnics into technical universities, the creation of three autonomous universities out of the University for Development Studies (UDS) are all creating additional opportunities for students to pursue courses at the tertiary level.

HEALTH

Mr. Speaker, In the area of healthcare, the situation was no different. Many Ghanaians were denied access to quality healthcare. Although in 2005, the Kufuor administration had commenced one of the most famous social intervention programmes in the health sector on a broader scale, after years of experimentation, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), utilization was low due to lack of access to health facilities. The sector was characterized by a severe shortage of trained health professionals. Our vision over the period of my administration has been to provide improved health facilities and trained health workers in all nooks and crannies of the country. Construction of new regional hospitals in Bolgatanga, Wa and Accra is dramatically improving the health outcomes for tens of thousands of people. New district hospitals in districts across the country, including the recent ones for which I cut sod in Wheta, Somanya, Buipe, Tolon and Sawla have and will advance even further our policy of providing every district with a first class health facility. Mr. Speaker, New Polyclinics, health centers and CHPS compounds have also helped to bring quality healthcare to the doorsteps of our people. This development has resulted in a phenomenal expansion of utilization of the NHIS. Out-patient utilization for 2015 stood at twenty-nine million up from nine million in 2008. Increased numbers of trained professional being churned out of our training institutions has solved the problem of lack of personnel to man our health facilities. Indeed, at the rate at which this category of personnel are being produced, Ghana may need to sign agreements with less endowed countries to officially deploy some of our health professionals to assist improve their health systems.

SOCIAL PROTECTION

Mr. Speaker, As a lower middle income country, income disparities widen the gap between the rich and poor. To cushion the poor and vulnerable, many social protection programmes have been introduced in Ghana. At the start of this administration, the number of people benefitting from these schemes were very few. Under the school feeding programme, less than five hundred thousand (500,000) children were being fed. Under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, less than sixty thousand (60,000) households were benefitting. Few children had access to books, school uniforms and school sandals. Mr. Speaker, Our effort under this administration has been to expand the coverage of these programmes to cover the majority of the poor and vulnerable population in Ghana. The school feeding programme is better managed today under the auspices of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social protection and covers more than 1.5 million children. The LEAP programme is benefitting almost one hundred and fifty (150,000) households. The percentage of the District Assembly Common Fund meant for persons with disability has been increased by 50%. School children in public schools are receiving all their core textbooks and exercise books. Tens of thousands of children have benefitted from the free school sandals and uniforms programme. The introduction of the Eban card also means that vulnerable ones among the elderly receive some privileges and protection.

WATER & SANITATION

Mr. Speaker, One of the essentials of life for which social exclusion was evident was in access to clean drinking water. Many rural and urban communities were water starved. Statistics indicate that by the year 2008, 56% of rural people and 58% of urban dwellers had access to potable water. This meant that water borne diseases were a major affliction and created a heavy incidence of disease on our healthcare system. The universal target is to achieve “water for all by the year 2025”. Our vision has been to achieve this target well in advance of the target date. We have under my administration continued to increase investment in the provision of clean drinking water for our people. Provision of bore holes, small town water systems, and major urban water treatment projects have significantly increased access to clean drinking water. Statistics at the end of 2015 show that in excess of 76% of both rural and urban residents have access to potable water. The Teshie desalination plant, the Kpong water expansion project and the ATMA project have expanded access to urban water supply in the capital, Accra. The Wa water supply project, the 3Ks project covering Kumawu, Konongo and Kwahu are all projects guaranteeing sustainable water supply to our people. We estimate that under this administration, we have lifted more than seven million people out of water deprivation.

POWER

Mr. Speaker, The early years of this government was characterized by a crippling power crisis. The shortage of power led to a very unpopular load management programme. This shortage of power hobbled the growth of the economy, and affected both business and residential customers. Many businesses had to resort to the use of generators to survive. Mr. Speaker, I stood on the floor of this very house and took full responsibility for the crisis and promised that I would do my utmost to fix the problem. It has taken a lot of hard work and effort. Fast tracking the deployment of emergency plants, and speeding up the completion of ongoing plants ensured that we added more than 800MW of power over an 18-month period. This increased generation, in addition to the Energy Sector Levy and ongoing works to restructure the legacy debt of the power utilities, has helped to stabilize the power situation. With the expectation of more domestic gas from the Ten and Sankofa Fields, Ghana is entering into an era of energy self-sufficiency. Indeed, the warning signals have started sounding about the danger of over- capacity and excess redundancy in the power sector. We have agreed to work with the World Bank to rationalize the addition of new plants and ensure that we achieve optimum utilization of existing capacity. Mr. Speaker, Access to power under my administration has continued to increase. Ghana has one of the highest access to electricity estimated to be above 80% currently. Additional pending electrification programmes like the China Water Company and the Hunan Energy projects will bring even more communities onto the national grid.

ECONOMY

Mr. Speaker We inherited an economy that was running a high deficit, with increasing inflation and interest rates. It was also characterized by a rapidly depreciating currency. This unstable macro environment created an unfavourable investment environment for both indigenous and foreign capital. Our forum at Senchi was an attempt to forge a consensus for a homegrown fiscal consolidation programme. The Senchi outcome eventually became the basis for the IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme we are implementing. The ECF programme has resulted in an improved macro environment which is seeing a steady decline in inflation and interest rates. A new public debt management strategy is also seeing a steady decline in Public sector debt, estimated to have dropped from nearly 72% to below 65%. The currency has also enjoyed relative stability, depreciating at just above 4% this year. Mr. Speaker, While the deficit target will be missed this year on account of inability to meet revenue targets, it is important for us to continue to pursue fiscal consolidation in the 3rd and final year of the programme. Multiple causes are responsible for our inability to meet the target. Reduced lifting from the Jubilee field on account of the turret bearing problems, non-realization of some expected non-tax revenue such as the sale of electro-magnetic spectrum, reduced cocoa export revenue and higher than expected election-related expenditures. In spite of the breach of the fiscal deficit target, expenditure was lower than programmed and thus the approved appropriation for 2016 was not exceeded. Ghana’s economy is still the second largest in West Africa with a GDP of almost $39 billion. Ghana has also moved up thirteen (13) places in the ease of doing business index and is currently considered number one on the World Bank index.

ROAD AND TRANSPORT

Mr. Speaker, There was widespread dissatisfaction with the road network in the country. Complaints covered poor state of urban roads, feeder roads and highways. Many hours sitting in traffic caused frustration and discomfort for urban commuters. Poor feeder roads and pothole-riddled highways increased maintenance cost for drivers and in-turn led to increased fares and transport charges for goods. My tenure of office has seen some of the most massive investments in the road sector in the history of Ghana. My vision was to finish off road projects I inherited such as Achimota-Ofankor, Awoshie-Pokuase, Sofo line, Tetteh Quarshie- Adenta etc. We also commenced and completed the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, fast tracked the construction and opening of the Kasoa overhead bridge, completed the Airport hills/Burma Camp network of roads and completed the 37- El Wak-Trade fair road. We have also invested more resources in continuing the Eastern corridor road project, asphalt overlay of roads in Regional and District capitals and massive investments in cocoa roads across the country have opened up our country significantly. Many other projects are ongoing such as the Tema motorway roundabout decongestion project, and a new bridge from flower pot roundabout on the Spintex Road over the Accra- Tema motorway into East Legon. There are others ready to commence with financing arranged such as the Obetsebi Lamptey interchange, the Pokuase interchange, and Motorway expansion project among others. Mr. Speaker, The transport sector has also experienced marked improvement under this administration. Incentives such as reduction in cost of aviation fuel, improved airport infrastructure has seen a massive increase in both domestic and international travel. The Terminal 3 project at the Kotoka international Airport is progressing fast and would make Accra the most favoured aviation destination in West Africa. Already, the completed rehabilitation of the arrival hall in terminal 2 has created better comfort for passengers using Accra’s airport. Kumasi and Tamale Airport expansion will also see increased passenger movements. Wa and Ho are advancing steadily and would be open to commercial travel soon. Commencement of the Bus Rapid Transit with dedicated bus lanes, christened “Aayalolo” will create better comfort for urban commuters. Urban rail systems like the sekondi-Kojokrom-Takoradi line will ease the inconvenience of commuters in the twin city. The Tema-Akosombo line will soon start to maximixe the use of the Volta Lake Transport Company for moving cargo for land-locked Sahel countries, upriver to Buipe in the Northern Region. Work on the expansion of our two maritime ports at Takoradi and Tema are ongoing and would lead to faster turn-around times for ships and larger throughput cargo volumes. Bulk cargo handling will also be more efficient.

GOVERNANCE

Mr. Speaker, Our security forces were severely challenged when it came to logistics and equipment to fulfil their constitutional mandate. Today, I can report with pride that vehicles, APCs, riot control equipment, aircrafts, helicopters, fire tenders make up a few of the components of the investments we have made in our security services. Vehicles for judges and completion of the court complex has created a better atmosphere for the dispensation of justice. Implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) unanimously adopted by this house remains on track. I wish to commend the house for the passage of numerous legislation including the recent Public Financial Management Act, which strengthens our hands in the fight against corruption. I must however say that the public and Civil Society Organisations are disappointed in our inability to pass the Right to Information bill and are still hopeful that before this Parliament is dissolved a consensus can be found to pass this bill into law. Mr. Speaker, The achievements outlined in this statement are accomplishments that my government and I proudly claim. But the state of our nation, at any given time–where we are in the race- is the result of more than the visible gains made by one individual during his tenure. Every President inherits the unfinished work of his predecessor. Every president benefits from the seeds planted by his predecessor, seeds that could not be sown during his predecessor’s tenure. Indeed, I believe if politics could be described as a sport, the one it would most closely resemble is a relay. It is a sport that relies as much on individual achievement as it does on teamwork and cooperative effort. The true test of that competition is in the passing of the baton. So, too, with politics. Mr. Speaker, President Jerry John Rawlings started the structural transformation of this economy under the Economic Recovery Programme. This programme restored Ghana to a path of growth which he handed over to President John Agyekum Kufuor. President Kufuor continued the economic adjustment programme and under the HIPC initiative achieved significant debt reduction. Implementing new social intervention programmes such as NHIS and LEAP, he passed it on to President John Evans Atta Mills. President Mills commenced the Eastern Corridor road project, University of Ghana Medical Centre, which I inaugurated yesterday, the Kotokoraba market, Cape Coast stadium and host of others which I inherited and completed. My administration commenced the construction of new community day senior high schools, a policy of progressively free secondary education, construction of the eastern university, investments in many infrastructure projects that are ongoing and many others that will actually commence under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. I am assured by his firm statements that he will continue these projects as enjoined by our constitution. I wish him all success in this regard. As I have said many times already, regardless of whose tenure in which these visions come to fruition, its success belongs to Ghana. They belong to all of us. Mr. Speaker, Political opposition and differences of opinion are vital to the health and growth of a democracy. Political parties are formed when people of similar ideology come together to move their agenda forward in a way that best serves their country. But the wellbeing of the nation and the will of the people must always come first. Partisanship for its own sake, in the end, is no better than dictatorship. If we look around the world, we can so clearly see the deep divide that blind partisanship is creating in nations with democracies far older than ours. We can see, too, the divide that it is threatening to create in ours if we are not careful. Already, it has taken a toll on our morale and our sense of optimism. It has given way to a cynicism that is as dangerous to the incoming political party as it was to ours. We cannot afford as a nation to wish or hope for the failure of any president and his or her government. Ensuring accountability is not the same as leveling insults or encouraging apathy. We have history as proof that we have been better and we have done better. And we will, we must, do better once again.

Mr. Speaker, I first entered this house as MP for Bole Bamboi in January 1997. It was, perhaps not coincidentally, the same year that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo entered as MP for Akyem Abuakwa. Taking breaks from the business of the house to grab something to eat at the snack bar, Nana Addo always stood at the end of the counter, his signature white handkerchief tucked into his sleeve. “Johnny” he would shout in greeting as he preferred to call me. Incidentally we both served three terms in this house, departing together in January 2009. This is how long I have known the president-elect and worked with him. I have the utmost respect for him. Given our history, especially that we have each had our turn on each side of a presidential election, it would seem only natural for us to be considered opponents- worthy opponents is the description generally used in the world of sports. In fact, Mr. Speaker, we are all on the same team. We worked together when I served as Ranking member on the Committee of Foreign Affairs at a time Nana Addo was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. One of the issues on which we crossed swords was the murder of some Ghanaian youth in the Gambia. It is instructive that as I leave office and he takes my place, Gambia once again is a nation that is engaging international attention. Mr. Speaker, It is my assertion that the information I’ve provided is a snapshot of the current state of our nation. As I have said before, I will allow history to be the judge of how I have served our nation, how well I have done my part in running my lap of the relay. What that verdict will ultimately be, I cannot say. I can only say that I have done my best, given my all and done so with the best intentions for my country, our country. This is why I stand here today, Mr. Speaker, holding the baton of leadership prepared to pass it on with pride, goodwill and determination, to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and ask all Ghanaians to cheer him on as he runs his portion of this relay for Ghana. Mr. Speaker, I thank you. I thank the members of this house. And I thank the citizens of Ghana. May God bless you and may God continue to bless our beloved homeland, Ghana.

RUSSIA PRAISES GHANA

Russian President Vladimir Putin

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has praised Ghanaian authorities for efforts at conducting another successful presidential and parliamentary elections, and hailed the electorate for showing maturity at the polls held on 7 December 2016.

In an official statement posted Tuesday, the Ministry noted that “observers from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States have recognised the election results as credible, as no serious violations that could have affected the expression of the people’s will were reported.”

It concluded that “Moscow considers the national election in Ghana an important step by Ghana’s society on the path toward stable social and political development.”

The Electoral Commission has declared Nana Akufo-Addo as elected President whose New Patriotic Party (NPP) earned about 54 per cent of votes, while the National Democratic Congress (NDC) got 44 per cent. The NPP is a liberal democratic party and is one of the dominant parties in the national politics of the Republic of Ghana.

In the 7 December 2008 presidential election, Akufo-Addo received more votes than John Atta-Mills amassing 4,159,439 votes representing 49.13% of the total votes cast, placing him first, but not enough for the 50 per cent plus one needed for an outright victory.

It was the best-ever performance for a first-time presidential candidate since the beginning of Ghana's 4th republic in 1992. In the run-off elections however, Mills ultimately received 4,521,032 votes, representing 50.23%, thus beating Nana Akufo-Addo.

Russian authorities have known the NPP for about a decade and have interacted with leading party officials previously. John Kufuor, a leading NPP member and then President of the Republic of Ghana met with President Vladimir Putin at the 33rd Group of Eight (G8) summit held 6-8 June, 2007 at Kempinski Grand Hotel in Moscow.

That was followed by an official working visit to Moscow by the then Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, on 12 July 2007 on the invitation by Russian Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergey Lavrov.

During their diplomatic discussion, both Ministers reached an understanding to raise trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. They further agreed on developing direct business contacts between Russia and Ghana.

Towards realising this goal, Nana Akufo-Addo and Lavrov agreed to facilitate direct contacts between the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of both countries. Akufo-Addo said that the Ghanaian side was preparing proposals concerning new projects which may become the object of joint development by companies in Ghana.

Currently, the United Russia Party, Federation Council (Upper House) and State Duma (Lower Chamber) told GNA in separate interviews in Moscow that they were ready to establish political and parliamentary relations with the new government and the New Patriotic Party.

Russia and Ghana have accumulated a valuable experience of mutual respect and trust from nearly 60 years of cooperation in their diplomatic relations that have been described as very friendly and close.

The relations here refer to the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Russia has an embassy in Accra and Ghana has an embassy in Moscow. Russia and Ghana will celebrate 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2017.

GNA

ISRAELI SOLDIERS ‘SHOOT TO KILL’

Israeli Soldier, Elor Azaria

An Israeli soldier who shot and killed an immobilized Palestinian assailant was convicted of manslaughter, but chances are he won’t end up in jail, as many Israeli politicians support the soldier, experts say.

A guilty verdict was handed down on Wednesday to an Israeli soldier who shot and killed an injured Palestinian attacker. Elor Azaria, 20, a soldier of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF,) shot the injured man, Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, 21, in the West Bank city of Hebron in March 2016. 

The court stated that the Palestinian man posed no threat and there was no justification for the killing. 

Clashes broke out between police and supporters of the soldier while the hearing was taking place. The convicted soldier has a lot of support among Israelis; many say he is a hero. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged President Reuven Rivlin to pardon the soldier.

RT asked lawyer Rami Saleh, a director at the Legal Aid and Human Rights Center, what message this sends out to other Israeli soldiers.

“The problem is that the Israeli leadership is encouraging the policy of shoot to kill even in case an attacked [person] does not pose a threat,” he said, adding that this is a “violation of international law.” 

“The Prime Minister himself is encouraging the Israeli soldiers to conduct the same action,” Saleh said. 

He argues that Azaria committed a “coldblooded” murder and there are dozens of similar cases in which Israeli soldiers kill Palestinians even when they “don’t pose much threat.” 

“The case of al-Sharif had very good echo in the media only because it was recorded on a video and it was on YouTube,” Rami Saleh told RT. In his opinion, it would have been difficult to bring Azaria to “this stage at the court” if the incident had “not recorded and documented properly.” 

Sgt. Azaria is now facing 20 years in jail for manslaughter. Sentencing is expected to be announced in the next several weeks. Meanwhile, the defense team said they would appeal the verdict. 

“We are not talking about a final decision,” Saleh said, commenting on Wednesday’s verdict. “There is a very good opportunity to appeal against the decision... by the military court. Why? Because most of the Israeli politicians are supporting the soldier and are saying that it is inappropriate that he will be sent to jail.” 

According to Saleh, there have been “many cases” when “really harmless” Palestinian “children” were killed at checkpoints. He recalled an incident with Israeli forces allegedly killing a young Palestinian woman and her teenage brother at a military checkpoint between the cities of Ramallah and Jerusalem. 

“One of the cases that our organization has followed – was Maram and her brother [Ibrahim.]  He was a youngster – less than 18 years, and they were both shot [at] the Qalandiya checkpoint, because the soldiers considered them threatening to the soldiers,” the lawyer said.

In his view, the “Israeli legal system is not conducting justice” and “many Israeli soldiers” involved in similar cases in the past were only sentenced to “less than a year” of public service. 

Sahar Francis, director of Addameer human rights organization, also thinks that it’s unlikely that Sgt. Azaria could end up spending many years behind bars. 

“Even if the court sentences him, the maximum sentence in this case could be 20 years. Even if gets the maximum sentence, I don’t believe that he would spend all the sentence [in jail],” she said. 

RT spoke to people outside the court on Wednesday. One woman said that there were incidents in which wounded Palestinians went on to attack people, despite their injuries. 

According to Sahar, this does not serve as justification for the Israeli soldier’s actions. 

“The court decided that there was no justification: the guy, the Palestinian, Abdel-Fattah al-Sharif, was paralyzed and was shot. Actually opening the... standards – first they have to shoot in the air to warn, and then in the legs. In all of the cases that we documented in the last year it was shooting in the upper side of the body. It means there is an intention to kill,” she said.