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| Ghana's Electoral Commissioner, Charlotte Osei |
By Ekow Mensah
The so-called international community is awash with
praises of Ghana as an example for the rest of Africa in how not to derail the
democratic experiment.
President John Dramani Mahama has been singled out for
praise for unreservedly accepting the results of the elections and pledging to
ensure a smooth transfer of power to Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo, the
President –Elect.
On his part, Nana Akufo Addo is also enjoying the local
and international spot light for his statesmanlike posture and statements.
He says that he will not be a President for NPP members
but for all Ghanaians and that he has a responsibility to ensure that the
principle of the equality of citizens is rigorously applied.
The praises of President John Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo
appear to be well deserved but beyond that lie some very ugly events which
could very easily plunge Ghana into chaos.
Since the election results were announced, bands of
hooligans have stormed the streets and rained violence on some state
institutions and opponents of the NPP.
In one such incident, an outgoing Member of Parliament
of the NDC had the windscreen of her car smashed by rampaging youth.
A popular female musician wept bitterly on radio as
hooligans surrounded her residence, banged on her gates and taunted her.
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| President Elect of Ghana, Nana Akufo Addo |
In Dunkwa in the Central Region, a supporter of the NDC
was allegedly beaten to death and there have been reports of harassment of
journalists known to be critical of the New Patriotic Party.
The good news is that Mr John Boadu, Acting General
Secretary of the NPP has issued a strongly worded statement condemning the
needless violence and insisting that his party respects the rule of law.
In the run up to the elections, the NPP spent
considerable resources poisoning the minds of the electorate and seriously
suggesting that the Electoral Commission would rig the elections for President
John Mahama.
What was the basis of this orchestration?
There was really no basis and the NPP and its supporters
now say that the elections were free and fair.
Another sad aspect of the 2016 election was the vicious
use of scare-mongering as a weapon of choice.
What was the basis of the claim that if President John
Mahama was re-elected the phenomenon of “Dum-sor” will reoccur in 2017?
And then there was the claim that the Mahama
administration would embark upon a massive retrenchment exercise in 2017.
Ghana has organised free and fair elections again and
the top most leaders of the NPP and the NDC have behaved in a most commendable
manner but a lot more remains to be done to move the democratic experiment
forward.
Editorial
A NEW UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA?
Who could have believed that Rex Tillerson, the Chief Executive
Officer of ExxonMobil would become the Secretary of State of the United States
of America?
The fact is that Tillerson is a very close friend of
Russian President Vladimir Putin who has been decorated with Russia’s Highest
Honour for foreigners, the Order Of Friendship, but that did not seem to
matter.
As is to be expected the hawks in the US establishment
are raising red flags all over the place and warning that the national interest
may be sacrificed.
However, many people in the US say publicly that Russia
is not an enemy of the American people and that it is time to cooperate with
the Russians to promote an agenda of peace and development.
The appointment of Rex Tillerson shows that the world
has come a very long way.
LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT: WHY THE RUSH TO SELL ECG?
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| President John Dramani Mahama |
By Fiifi Koomson
Dear Mr President,
I have been reading stories about how you allegedly gave
cash to a poor hawker during one of your campaign tours of Accra. Your critics
heavily lay into you over this gesture.
In an election year when every move of a politician is
seen through different shades of the political lens, every action takes on a
political tinge.
Many say you were buying votes. But your spokespersons
including your chief of staff have risen to your defense, strongly.
You’re a man enthused about gift-giving in the same
excitable way Einstein did about atoms and molecules.
Much as this expression of love – at least, that’s how
some see it – may have been carried out with a clean motive, its public nature
piqued interest and may continue to draw some condemnation for some time.
Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with it and I will tell you why later in
this letter.
My worry today however has to with the Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG. Government’s attempt to privatize this power distribution company has spawned a great deal of controversy and worker agitation at ECG. The reasons the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) gives for selling ECG are great. The company is distressed and its debts are bursting at the seams. There’s the need to give it a jolt of cash to revitalize it. This way ECG will become more efficient and serve Ghanaians better.
From unannounced power cuts to prolonged low currents,
there are many problems all of us want fixed! In fact, every Ghanaian will be
happy to see ECG become efficient.
Mr President, the challenge many of us have, however, is
the apparent rush with which you, through MiDA, are pushing this deal through.
The reality is that ECG is a viable company. It’s a company which provides a service every Ghanaian, from the “boflot” seller to the doctor, needs. That’s why it’s viable. The big problem has largely been unpaid debts and government is the most guilty. Currently government alone owes ECG a whopping $512m. This money is enough to get the company back on its feet, invest in its equipment and serve Ghanaians better.
Again, circumstances surrounding this whole privatization – or what your people call private-sector participation – are interesting. How can you hand such a critical national asset to a private company for a quarter of a century? And the length of time is curious!
Electricity is not just a commodity, it’s a national
security issue. A week-long nationwide blackout elsewhere could warrant a state
of emergency.
Ghana is a sovereign state that needs to be able to handle its own affairs. We must show the world that we are capable of handling our own destiny. At the recent UN General Assembly Meeting you spoke copiously about how Africa does not need “aid but a fair chance to trade with the world”. That was bold, awesome. It means that foreign aid must only be considered an adjunct to our own development efforts. In this light, electricity, an important and critical national asset, is not something you want to trade off so easily.
Handing ECG out to a foreign company for a pittance is a perfect and pathetic illustration of a never-ending neo-colonial attachment.
Mr President, I think you’re batting on the wrong
wicket.
And think of it! Why 25 good years?
If a company has to manage such an asset, why don’t you
try them for a few years – at most five – to evaluate their performance and
then you consider whether or not to extend their contract?
The worse of it all is that the private company is going
to fix my tariffs in conjunction with another foreign entity, the IFC.
Section….of the Millennium Development Compact II states: “the Government will
proceed in a timely manner to complete all of its domestic requirements for
this Compact to enter into force. The Parties understand that this Compact and
the PIA, upon entry into force, will prevail over the domestic laws of Ghana.”
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) which
has the constitutional mandate to fix tariffs has been sidelined!
How can this be in a country whose president is telling
the world how capable it is to handle its own destiny?
The whole deal is so murky that the PURC, the Energy
Commission, and the ECG and many civil society organizations including WACAM,
have had no choice but to be strongly opposed.
Do you remember Aqua Vitens Rand? The government at the
time thought this company was the long-desired miracle to fix our problems. But
it didn’t go as expect! It failed! The management contract of Aqua Vitens was
abrogated after a few years.
Whatever the management style of this unknown foreign
company billed to manage ECG is, a 25-year-old man today will have to wait till
he’s 50, just 10 years away from his pension age, to see any change; a change
only on the occasion of the celebration of the silver jubilee of the deal!
Mr President, with these you’re not only painting the
impression of poor judgment, you’re force-feeding us an ice-cold dish of
anxiety about our energy security.
I will consider suggestions that there could be
something in it for your party as needless claptrap. But remember that whatever
decision is taken today on such a crucial national asset will come with
consequences, either good or bad.
Before I go let’s catch up on where we left off on the
issue of your public show of benevolence at Abbosey Okai. Frankly I don’t think
you meant to buy votes. If you did, you’d give a lot more people.
I’m only aware of some 100,000 gas cylinders your
government is distributing in the villages ahead of the elections under a
special programme by the Energy Ministry. The outboard motors distribution to
the fisher folk is also going on ahead of the elections. These could never have
been done anytime earlier. This is the time, time to go to the polls!
Worried citizen,
Worried citizen,
Kofi
CUBA & EUROPEAN UNION SIGN DEAL
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| Cuba President Raul Castro |
By Redacción Internacional
On December 12, Cuban and the
European Union (EU) representatives signed a Political Dialogue and Cooperation
Agreement, providing a framework for the development of a relationship based
equality, reciprocity, and mutual respect, Prensa Latina reported.
The document was signed by Cuban
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, and EU Foreign Policy High Representative
Federica Mogherini, representing the regional bloc's member countries.
In statements made during the signing
ceremony, Rodríguez and Mogherini noted the significance of the agreement which
should contribute to the positive development of bilateral relations in the
future.
The two diplomats held a meeting at
the European Council's headquarters in Brussels prior to the signing.
The Cuban Foreign Minister commented
that economic ties with Europe will continue to be a priority for the island
country focused on the construction of a sustainable and efficient economy.
Mogherini also highlighted Fidel
Castro as an historic figure and conveyed condolences to the government and
people of Cuba, on the occasion of the revolutionary leader's death.
Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister
Abelardo Moreno explained recently that the signing of this new agreement comes
in the wake of the revocation of the so-called Common Position adopted by the
EU in 1996, which was rejected by Cuba given its unilateral, interventionist,
discriminatory nature.
New US Secretary Of State Decorated With Putin's Order
Of Friendship
 |
| Rex Tillerson |
Candidate for the position of the head of the US
Department of State, the chief of ExxonMobil Rex Tillerson has visited the
White House before several times to make sure that restrictive measures against
Russia were not going to harm his company. The goal of his visits to the White
House has never been exposed.
Tillerson supposedly believed that the EU would not
follow the restrictive measures strictly. In this case, the entrepreneur
feared, his European rivals could take advantage of the US-based corporation.
Two years ago, Tillerson questioned the effectiveness of
the restrictive measures against Russia.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump announced he would nominate oil tycoon
Tillerson for the post of the US Secretary of State.
Rex Tillerson heads the US largest oil company
ExxonMobil. Last year, Tillerson was ranked among 25 most influential people in
the world. He had sought the cancellation of the decades-long ban on exports of
crude oil from the United States. He had also advocated the lifting of
restrictions for the development of liquefied natural gas export projects.
Noteworthy, even after the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions two years ago, Tillerson's
corporation did not stop cooperating with Russia's oil giant Rosneft.
In 2012, President Putin ordered to decorate Rex
Tillerson with the Order of Friendship. According to Donald Trump, Tillerson's
experience of working in Russia was one of his advantages.
Pravda.Ru
GRACIAS, FIDEL CASTRO! YOUR LEGACY REMAINS!
 |
| Commandante Fidel Castro |
By Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
Fidel Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, former
President of Cuba for nearly five decades, formerly third-longest standing Head
of State, has passed away this Friday night but remains as a colossal monument
to human endeavor and social
achievement, a tremendous history is the story book of humankind.
Having survived countless assassination attempts by the
CIA, having stood up to decades of an inhuman and inhumane blockade, having
seen his economic and social model survive and having built a valid example of
an alternative socio-economic model for the future, while providing substantial
humanitarian aid programmes abroad, Fidel has left humankind sadder but
enriched.
Fidel Castro Ruz will enter the annals of history as a
Hero of Humanity. He entered Havana triumphantly in January 1959, after a
two-year guerrilla campaign against the unconstitutional government of the
dictator Fulgencio Batista.
A monument to human
social development
He inherited a poor, backward country with a largely illiterate population, the
backyard of the USA whose high and mighty used Havana as a private whore house
and the island as a playground. He closed the casinos, he cleaned up Havana, he
organized the island and started to implement a progressive socialist
government which began to provide high quality public services and to open
opportunities to all.
The United States of America, however, had other ideas
and staged the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961, destroyed by Castro's
forces, a feat which Washington was never to forgive. The economic blockade
imposed and maintained against Cuba for decades (since 1962) was an attempt to
grasp the country in a stranglehold, hoping to choke it to death.
Resisting the United
States' murder attempts
As Fidel Castro resisted and survived numerous acts of
attempted murder (over six hundred) by the CIA, Cuba and Cuban society resisted
and survived, despite every attempt to sabotage the model. Cuba was given back
to the Cubans. Excellent education and healthcare systems were installed,
accommodation, work, leisure time activities, transportation, energy and
pensions were all provided as a birthright.
In 1963, Fidel Castro launched the internationalization
of the Cuban model, exporting cooperation programmes in the areas of education,
healthcare and development without any interest in economic returns.
Today, Cuba supports
nearly thirty thousand healthcare workers in hundreds of programmes in nearly
70 countries, while a medical training programme involving 19 faculties of
medicine in African and the Escuela Latino Americana de Medicina, in Cuba, attended
by 9.000 students from around the world, trains the doctors and nurses of
tomorrow. All of these schemes are supported financially by Cuba. None of these
schemes are reported in the biased western media.
Fidel Castro left us last night,
knowing that his Revolution and successful implementation of a viable model
will survive him, knowing that he has provided Humanity with a shining example
of what can be done to help millions of people by providing public services and
not by being obsessed with making profits.
A shining model
In a world in which monetarist capitalism is more and
more squeezing Humankind to a pulp, where giant corporations are steadily
making inroads to monopolize wealth and the means of production, Cuba stands
out like an oasis, showing that there is another way, proving that it is
possible, with few resources, to construct a socially progresive model and
demonstrating how contagious the vision and willpower of a single man can be,
in providing gratuitous development programmes which have helped the lives of
millions of people over the years. Despite the United States' blockade and how
fitting that the most shining example of debauchery, depravity and despotism is
the US torture and concentration at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Finally Fidel Castro spent his last years writing
columns which showed a tremendous insight into complex geopolitical issues,
teaching analysts and journalists how to read events as they unfolded,
something which I learned with him and for which I will be eternally grateful.
I consider Fidel as my mentor.
None of this will ever be forgotten. And for this,
Comrade Fidel, thank you!
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
Pravda.Ru
350 Palestinian Minors Held in Israeli Jails. Some
Palestinian Children Slapped with Life Sentences
By Middle East Monitor
At least 350 Palestinian children are languishing in
Israeli jails, a local Palestinian NGO said Saturday.
“Israeli authorities are holding 350 Palestinian
children aged between 12 and 18,” the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a
statement on the occasion of the UN Universal Children’s Day.
It said twelve females were among jailed children in
Israeli prisons.
According to the NGO, more than 2,000 Palestinian minors
have been detained by Israeli forces since 2015.
“Israel has committed several violations against
Palestinian children, including firing live ammunition against them, detaining
them and [keeping them] without food and water in addition to beating and
intimidation,” it said.
The NGO cited that Israeli investigators used threats to
extract confessions from Palestinian children.
It said some Palestinian children were slapped with life
sentences by Israeli courts, while others were sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The NGO went on to call on international organisations,
particularly the UNICEF, to intervene to protect Palestinian children in
Israeli prisons.
According to Palestinian official figures, more than
7,000 Palestinians are currently held in detention facilities throughout
Israel.
The original source of this article is Middle East Monitor
