‘DUMSOR’: It Wouldn’t Have Returned Under NDC – John Jinapor

John Jinapor

By Jonas Nyabor

A former Deputy Minister for Power, John Jinapor, has said the current incessant power cuts in most parts of the country would have never happened under a National Democratic Congress (NDC) government if they had won the 2016 election.

According to him, the NDC would have been more assertive and effective in managing the situation in a way that would not result in the present situation.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, he said although the NDC faced a more challenging situation, it managed it better to prevent Ghanaians from experiencing the full impact.

“Never [this wouldn’t have happened under NDC], given the investment we made, the general capacity that we put in place, the fact that we put in place a deliberate, concrete, but difficult decisions to restructure the energy sector financial system and began paying the banks. In August, we paid the banks 250 million, we paid almost all the various stakeholders with the energy sector levy which the NPP government says it will scrap. We faced a worse situation,” he said.

“It is planning. Clearly when you know that you are going for a shutdown of the FPSO, you do what we call staggering. You phase the maintenance schedule, you don’t box all of them into a particular period and run the risk of knocking off all the plants,” he said.

He lamented that the NDC government in anticipation of the scheduled maintenance, drew a schedule with the management of the Volta River Authority (VRA) to ensure a smooth operation despite the maintenance works, but the NPP government unfortunately fired the CEO of the Authority immediately it came to office.

Speaking on the floor of parliament on Tuesday, February 28, 2017, on the same subject in reaction to a statement from the Ministry of Energy that stated that ‘dumsor’ wasn’t over with the election of a new government, Mr Jinapor said “We [NDC] worked tirelessly, the whole of last year [and] we had reliable and sustainable energy. The FPSO went off for two months and we never had dumsor. Mr. Speaker; it dazzles my imagination that the FPSO goes off for just one week and almost the whole nation is plunged into darkness.”

He said the NDC took over power in 2009 when access to electricity was about 50%, but “today as I speak to you, access to electricity is 83.5% second to only South Africa.”

“We wish to entreat our colleagues on the other side that on Thursday when the budget is presented by the Minister of Finance, we shall keenly monitor to ensure that the energy sector levies and the VAT which they promised are scrapped or not. And the people of Ghana will make a decision on whether they sold their colour television and they have been offered black and white TV or not,” he added.

New deadline to end of dumsor

Following recent erratic power cuts in Accra and other parts of the country, the Minister of Energy, Boakye Agyarko assured that the situation will normalize by end of Saturday, February 25, 2017, but it turned out to be false.

The Energy Ministry subsequently issued a statement extending the deadline to Monday, February 27, 2017.

“We wish to state that with the tie-in operation successfully completed, and coupled with the measures we put in place including procurement of fuel and increased power supply from La Cote d’Ivoire, the [power] situation will normalize from 27th February 2017,” a statement signed by the Communications Officer at the Energy Ministry, King A. Wellington, added.

We inherited a “heavily indebted energy sector” – Akufo-Addo 

Ghana’s energy sector is currently in a “heavily indebted” state, President Akufo-Addo told Parliament in his first state of the nation address. According to him, the sector has enormous problems that must be addressed urgently.

“We have inherited a heavily indebted energy sector with a net debt reaching $2.4bn as of December 2016. I have to point out the alarming facts that $800 million of this debt is owed to local banks which threaten their stability and that of the whole financial sector. Indeed, the huge indebtedness of the energy sector constitutes the single major hurdle to Ghanaians enjoying reliable and affordable electricity supply,” Akufo-Addo said.

Frimpong Boateng Cries Over Mosquito Coils

Prof Frimpong Boateng

By Lydia Asamoah

Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, has expressed worry about the safety of most mosquito coils used in homes in the country.

He said most of the mosquito coils which have been banned in other parts of the world have found their way into the country and were being used in homes with disregard to safety instructions.

“Pesticides are a big problem, and I have personally seen some mosquito coils and sprays that are banned everywhere else in the world on the Ghanaian market.   

“We know that some of the pesticides contain substances that are dangerous and toxic to marine cognisance ... and we are burning these things and inhaling them,” Prof Frimpong-Boateng said during a meeting with officials of the Environmental Protection Agency in Accra.

The meeting was part of a working visit to the EPA to fraternise with staff and management.

He said the instructions that went with the mosquito coils required that when it was lighted in a room, the doors and windows should be closed for some time after which they were opened to allow air into the room before one could sleep in it.

However, the adverts say different things; sometimes urging people to sleep with the coils because they smell nice and one could inhale the smoke.

He said: “Our fight against the mosquito should start from the environment - we should get rid of the breeding sites so the mosquito will not get a chance even to multiply. Clean environment is very important”.

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng said it was only a clean environment that would help clear mosquitoes and not pesticides which also had their negative effects on people’s health.

“We have the obligation to change this country and if we are not able to do it I don’t think we can expect any other generation to do it… EPA has a strong hand in this exercise in helping keep a clean environment,” the Minister said. 

“If we have the discipline to clean the environment we will have the discipline to improve our industry, improve agriculture and everything else,” he said, and called on the public to also separate waste in the homes.

Duffuor Foundation Launched To Help Underprivileged

HODA Holdings Ltd. has launched the Duffuor Foundation as part of efforts to continue prioritizing its commitment to social development.

The event took place during the HODA Holdings Ltd. 8^th Annual Thanksgiving Service held to usher in the new business year.

The Duffuor Foundation’s primary aim will be to connect directly with the less privileged and offer sustainable support in the areas of Education, Health, Socio-Economic Development, Sports and Environment.

These thematic areas were adapted in alliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Mrs. Boatemaa D. Barfour-Awuah, a Director of the Foundation gave the launch address and shared the elation of the Group’s Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor for this bold initiative.

She intimated that, “the Duffuor Foundation will serve as the arm to consolidate CSR efforts of HODA Holdings Ltd. and further the lifelong cause of Dr. Duffuor.

Dr. Duffuor has over the past 20 years personally provided diverse support to underprivileged individuals and institutions in education, health, vocational training and income generating activities and anticipates contributing so much more to society with this launch”.

Mrs. Barfour-Awuah further observed that a major focus that runs through all the companies that comprisethe HODA Holdings conglomerate has been providing social assistance.

Few testimonies, she said, includes facilitation of reconstructive surgeries for 150 people and the refurbishment of a maternity ward at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital among others.

As such,HODA Holdings Ltd. would monumentally increase its impact in social development by putting resources, efforts and funds together with other partners.

To herald its launch, the Duffuor Foundation has supported a social initiative request from Ms. Stephanie Karikari (Ms. Ghana 2010) and donated GHC20,000.00 (Twenty Thousand Ghana Cedis) to Ms. Emily Darko, a 12 year old “Scoliosis of the Spine” patient who needs to undergo immediate reconstructive surgery.

Credit: Duffuor Foundation

Iran Starts Sending Own Oil Tankers To Europe

Reports say Iran has sent at least two supertankers to Europe in what appears to be the country’s first direct shipment of crude oil to EU clients after the removal of sanctions last year.

A report by the Financial Times said two giant vessels called ‘Snow’ and ‘Huge’ were already on their way towards the storage and trading port of Rotterdam. 

Both belong to the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) and had taken their loads at Iran’s Kharg Island earlier this month. 

The supertankers are the first vessels operated by the NITC rather than independent shippers.  Both can carry more than two million barrels of oil, the Financial Times wrote, adding that they are expected to reach Rotterdam early next month. 

Earlier, Bloomberg had quoted market figures as showing that Europe was already preparing to import the highest amount of crude oil from Iran in five years.

Bloomberg had highlighted estimates as showing that tanker arrivals from Iran would reach 622,581 barrels a day in January. This, it said, would be the biggest flows for a single month since at least November 2011. 

The Financial Times further in its report highlighted remarks by NITC Managing Director Sirus Kianersi that the resumption of his company’s oil shipments to Europe was a result of a “resolution” of the insurance and international certification issues.

The same issues, the report added, had delayed the Iranian oil shipper from sending its own vessels to European ports. 

On a related front, Reuters said earlier this week that global ship insurers planned to resume near full coverage for Iranian oil exports from next month without involving US-domiciled reinsurers.

It said the insurers had reached a deal to the same effect, adding the mechanism would be effective as of next month.

19 million Yemenis in need of relief aid: UN

Photo: A Yemeni infant suffering from malnutrition lies on a scale to be weighed while receiving treatment at a medical center on the outskirts of Sana’a, January 9, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The UN relief aid chief says 19 million out of Yemen’s 26-million population are in pressing need of humanitarian assistance, warning that the impoverished country faces a “serious risk of famine.”

Speaking during a visit to the Yemeni port city of Aden, Stephen O’Brien, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, called on the international community to increase its funding for life-saving operations in Yemen.

“Today, almost 19 million people in Yemen need humanitarian assistance. Seven million people don’t know where their next meal is coming from and we now face a serious risk of famine,” O’Brien said.

Citing tallies by health facilities, the UN official said more than 7,500 people have been killed and more than 40,000 more wounded since March 2015, when the Saudi military launched a deadly military campaign against Yemen in support of its former government and imposed an all-out naval blockade on its neighbor.

 “We [however] know this is an underreporting, given the dilapidated state of the health system and health facilities across the country and their inability to accurately report the real numbers,” he added.

On Thursday, Yemen’s Legal Center for Rights and Development, an independent monitoring group, said the civilian death toll from the warfare had climbed to 12,041. The fatalities, it said, comprise 2,568 children and 1,870 women.

O’Brien further said, “Even before the conflict escalated in March 2015, people in Yemen faced enormous levels of humanitarian needs stemming from years of poverty, under-development, environmental decline, intermittent conflict, unpunished corruption, weak rule of law, and rampant human rights violations.”

The official said he was in Aden to discuss the humanitarian situation with members of the government of former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who resigned in 2014 and fled the capital, Sana’a, to Riyadh before coming back to Aden last year.

O’Brien is also scheduled to travel to Sana'a where he will meet with officials of the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which is running Yemen’s affairs and defending the nation against the Saudi military offensive with the help of army soldiers and popular forces.

O’Brien further called on Yemeni warring sides “to facilitate commercial imports of food, fuel and medicine from all ports and a resumption of commercial flights” to the Arabian Peninsula state.

US FIRMS SHUT OUT OF IRAN OIL TENDERS

Iran's NIOC and Royal Dutch Shell executives sign MOU

US companies stand no chance of participating in bidding for Iran’s oil fields which the country plans to develop with international help, a senior official says. 

Iran's Deputy Petroleum Minister for Commerce and International Affairs Amir Hossein Zamaninia said Monday that US firms do not face any restrictions for work in the resource-rich country but American sanctions make such activities impossible.

“Iran has not set any limits for these companies. It is rather American laws which have made their participation in Iran’s oil tenders impossible,” IRNA quoted him as saying.

Iran has named 29 major companies from Asia and Europe that have prequalified to bid for oil and gas development contracts in the country where about 70 projects have been defined for implementation.  

Those companies are eager to cash in on last year’s lifting of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, but US firms are still prohibited from trade with Iran under “primary” penalties which are separate from nuclear sanctions.  

“According to primary sanctions of the US Congress, American oil companies cannot work in Iran; hence, they will not participate in the biddings,” Zamaninia said.

The remarks come after Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said last week that US companies faced no ban for entering the Iranian oil industry. Nevertheless, no American companies have directly applied to work in Iran's oil industry, he added.

President Donald Trump’s anti-Iran rhetoric and new US sanctions on the Islamic Republic have put a further damper on American oil majors’ hopes to scout for opportunities in the Middle Eastern country.

The US government imposed the sanctions in breach of the nuclear accord after Iran successfully tested a ballistic missile.

Zamaninia's remarks are a dramatic climbdown from his earlier vision of “a great potential for engagement and partnership in Iran for American companies” under Trump.

Negotiations not affected

Zamaninia, however, said the new sanctions did not affect Iran’s negotiations with European and Asian companies which are “still after cooperation." 

“International companies are willing to cooperate but the problem is the slow process of the work being done inside the country,” he added.

Officials have been trying to finalize a new oil contract amid bickering over whether the formula was giving foreigners too much of a free hand to control the country’s national riches.    

US oil companies have always eyed Iran with great interest. ExxonMobil reportedly stationed lobbyists to push the envelope on Iran sanctions as Western companies jostled for opportunities.

Last week, directors from France’s Total were in Tehran with a trade delegation headed by Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to assure Iran of Europe’s commitment to the nuclear deal after Trump unveiled his travel ban.

Iran's Ministry of Petroleum said last month Total had officially started the development of South Pars Phase 11 in the Persian Gulf, effectively resuming operations in an Iranian energy project after a seven-year hiatus.

Total sealed a preliminary agreement in November, worth $4.8 billion, to develop Phase 11 of the South Pars at the head of a consortium that includes China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Iran’s Petropars.

Marzieh Shahdaei, managing director of the National Petrochemical Company, said NPC and Total's senior executives also discussed a petrochemical project for production of ethylene and polyethylene.   

The Resurrection of Armageddon

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin

By Paul Craig Roberts

The U.S. intelligence community's extraordinary campaign of leaks claiming improper ties between President Trump's team and Russia seeks to ensure a lucrative New Cold War by blocking detente. - Gareth Porter

It only required 24 days for the Deep State to castrate President Donald Trump and terminate the promise that the high tensions with Russia created during the Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama regimes would be terminated by Trump's presidency. As Gareth Porter shows conclusively, the case against General Flynn, Trump's 24-day National Security Adviser, and by implication against Trump himself, is a fake news creation. 

Obama's CIA director, John Brennan, planted fake reports, none of which contained any evidence whatsoever, on the CIA-compliant media whores known as "presstitutes."  The CIA's media whores knew that the reports were a CIA response to the threat to the $1,000 billion annual budget of the military/security complex that desperately needs "the Russian threat" for its justification. But the media whores-principally the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC-and all the rest as well are more dedicated to serving their CIA master than they are to serving peace between nuclear powers. Interesting, isn't it, that the US and Western media are more committed to conflict with Russia than they are to peace, despite the brutal fact that 10 percent of the nuclear arsenal of either the US or Russia is sufficient to terminate all life on earth.

As Patrick Lawrence says: "The lights upon us are dimming. We have been more or less abandoned by a press that proves incapable of informing us in anything approaching a disinterested fashion. As suggested, either the media are Clintonian liberals before they are newspapers and broadcasters, or they are servants of power before they serve us."   

All we have left, says Lawrence, is the alternative media. "To put this simply and briefly, they and we must learn that they are not 'alternative' to anything. In the end there is no such thing as 'alternative media,' as I often argue. There are only media, and most of ours have turned irretrievably bad."

The alternative media is the Internet media, websites such as this one, RT, the Intercept, USAWatchdog, Alex Jones, Information Clearing House, Global Research, Unz Review, etc.  These independent news sites are under attack.  Remember the list of 200 "Russian agents/dupes"?  Every source of information that does not subscribe to the Deep States' Matrix creation of  "the Russian Threat," which is the Deep State's replacement for the orchestrated "Soviet Threat," has been selected for shutdown. Apparently, Alex Jones is already having problems with Google.  Several websites managed to get off the 200 List, and those that have seem to have collapsed as members of the opposition.

As the Nazis said, all it takes is fear, and the people collapse.

Trump's presidency is effectively over.  Even if he is permitted to remain in office, he will be a figurehead for the Deep State's presidency.  President Trump has already fallen into line with the military/security complex. He has said Russia has to return Crimea to Ukraine, whereas in fact Crimea returned itself to Russia.  He has rejected a new strategic arms limitations treaty (START) with Russia, stating that he wants supremacy in nuclear armaments, not equality.   Obama's one trillion dollar upgrade of the US nuclear arsenal is likely to get a boost from Trump. 

After one month in office the goal has changed from reduced tensions with Russia to greater tensions. Greater tensions might soon be upon us. There are plans to occupy part of Syria with US troops in order to prevent Syria with Russia's help from reuniting the country.  

Part of Syria is to go to Turkey, part to the Kurds, and Washington will keep a chunk.  This way Washington can keep the turmoil going forever.  The Russians brought this problem on themselves.  Ever hopeful for Washington's cooperation against ISIS, Russia dallied in cleaning out ISIS.  The prospect that Trump would work with Russia as part of better relations assumed that Trump would actually be in charge, which has turned out to be delusional. 

It is difficult to know if the new Trump regime is more Iranophobic than Russophobic.  The Trump regime's inclination to jettison the Iran agreement and reopen the conflict means more conflict with Russia.  Washington's continued provocations of both Russia and China will dispel any lingering Russian expectations of better relations with Washington.  

It is bizarre to see the liberal-progressive-left allied with the warmongers against Trump.  As the neoconservatives pull nuclear Armageddon out of the grave that Reagan and Gorbachev put it in, the American left demands the impeachment of the president whose goal was better relations with Russia.  Once the champion of the working class, the left now champions Identity Politics.  Trump's goal of jobs for the working class leaves the leftwing cold. The left wants to destroy the "Trump deplorables," which the left describes as "racist, misogynist, homophobic, gun nuts."  In Identity Politics, every identity is a victim except the oppressor identity-white heterosexual males.

Where then is the opposition to the neoconservative ideology that is driving US foreign policy toward world hegemony?  There are a few of us, but we are being cast as "Putin agents."  In other words, those who have sufficient intelligence to understand that Washington is not going to achieve hegemony over Russia and China or even Iran, but is likely to provoke nuclear war by trying, are relegated to the traitor class.  

The reason that there is still life on earth after more than a half century of nuclear weapons is that American presidents and Soviet leaders worked together to reduce tensions. During these decades, there were numerous false alarms of incoming ICBMs.  However, because the leadership of both countries were working together to avoid nuclear conflict, the warnings were disbelieved both by the Soviets and Americans.

Today the situation is vastly different.  The last three US presidents, and now apparently Trump also, worked overtime to increase tensions between the two nuclear powers.  Moreover, it was done in ways that convinced the Russian government that Washington is completely untrustworthy.   The ongoing vicious lies about the Russian connections of Trump and his associates are so obviously false as to be laughable, but the Russians are seeing that the falsity of the charges notwithstanding, Trump's National Security Adviser has fallen and Trump himself might be next.

In other words, the Russians are observing that in America facts are not relevant to outcomes.  The Russians have already experienced this with regard to themselves with the lies about Putin, the Ukraine, Georgia, and Russian intentions toward Europe. 

Putin is routinely called a "thug," "murderer," "the new Hitler" by US politicians, presstitutes, and the Democratic Party's candidate in the recent presidential election. Ranking US generals describe Russia as the "principal threat to the US."  NATO commanders assert that the Russian Army could occupy the Baltics and/or Poland at any moment.  These nonsensical accusations and predictions suggest to the Russians that the West is preparing its populations for an attack on Russia.

In such a tense state of affairs, how will false alarms be interpreted?  Will Americans convinced that Putin and Russia are evil incarnate believe the false alarms this time?  Will Russians convinced that they have been set up for attack believe them this time?

This is the extreme risk to which the insane neoconservatives, the idiot liberal-progressive-left, the greedy military/security complex, and the aggressive generals have exposed life on earth.

And the few voices warning of the risk are dismissed as "Russian agents."

ICU WARNS: Of Massive Layoffs Over Gas Insecurity In 2017

By Pius Amihere Eduku

The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) has cautioned of another bout of redundancy in the economy due to uncertainties of a stable power sector early this year.

They argue that industry cannot support any increases in operational costs should the situation recur.

“Obviously we are even going to see some redundancies again, obviously we will not be able to negotiate again, obviously production levels are also going to drop and this should be giving way for the external competitors to be bringing in cheap and used products and that will overshadow the internal factories’ production,” the General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union, Solomon Kotei told Citi Business News.

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) and other civil societies in the energy sector have threatened of imminent power crisis citing gas insecurity for the first quarter of this year.

The Power Ministry however insists adequate measures have been made to avert any significant distortion to power supply.

In the meantime, the Volta River Authority (VRA) has indicated of a 15- day interruption in gas supply from February and the month of March 2017.

In a letter to the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCO), the VRA further indicated that “power from Ameri Energy will also not be available during that period.”

The VRA has therefore called on managers of the power system to meet to limit supply challenges.

“We shall be grateful if the system control manager will meet with our plant managers to manage the power system during the above stated period to limit any supply challenges,” the letter added.

But commenting on the development, Solomon Kotei told Citi Business News industries would have no option than to cut labour size if the power challenge resurfaces as predicted.

“No country develops without its own industry moving up and taking strategic position and the more this power issue weakens the internal and the Ghanaian owned industry then it means that we cannot grow this economy and it’s a very big concern,” he opined.

Editorial

FORGIVE THE PRESIDENT

There can be no doubt that the speech writers of President Nana Akufo Addo have caused considerable embarrassment to Ghana and its people by copying portions of other Presidents speeches for him to read at his swearing in.

The Insight believes that the President himself is innocent as he could be expected to personally check for plagiarism.

It is significant that the Flagstaff House has openly apologised for the painful incident.

We urge the people of Ghana to accept the apology and move on.

There are more important things ahead and that is where our focus ought to be.

The President has promised to keep all his promises and the people of Ghana expect nothing less.

Please forgive President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo!

I’m Tough And Result Oriented – Frema Opare

Frema Opare, Chief of Staff

By Godwin A. Allotey

Chief of Staff designate, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, has given the assurance she will work assiduously at the Flagstaff House as the first female in that position, in the interest of the country and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

According to her, she is tough and result oriented, hence has the capacity to handle the position professionally.

Osei-Opare was named as the Chief of Staff in Nana Akufo-Addo’s government which will officially commence on January 7, 2017.

Speaking to Citi News after the President-Elect announced her role, Frema Osei-Opare said she is prepared for the job.

“I think most people who have worked with me know I am quite tough, they also know that I work hard, that I like people to respect systems and processes because you need an office that is professionally managed. I’m trained for that, I’ve worked both locally and internationally and I know that I can deliver that. When it comes to toughness, I’m a very nice person by the way I bring people on board; when it comes to delivery you have to deliver,” she said.

Handling gov’t, party issues.

Answering questions on how ready she was in handling government and party pressures, Frema Osei-Opare said with her experience in conflict resolution, she is well placed to manage such issues.

“I was the conflict resolution director for 2012 and you saw the result…I will be able to talk to both the grassroots, party officials and be able to bring people together to see a common agenda, an agenda that puts NPP and the country at the centre rather than individuals.”

Frema Osei-Opare will be assisted by two deputies; Francis Asenso-Boakye and Samuel Abu Jinapor.

Akufo-Addo also named all his administrative staff.

Below is the full list:

Brigadier General Emmanuel Okyere- National Security Advisor

Joshua Kyeremeh – National Security Coordinator

Akosua Frema Osei-Opare – Chief of Staff

Nana Bediatuo Asante – Secretary to the President

Victor Newman -Director of Research

Francis Asenso-Boakye – Political Assistant to the president and Deputy Chief of Staff

Samuel Abu Jinapor – Deputy Chief of Staff

Clara Napaga Sulemana Tia -Presidential Staffer

Saratu Atta – Personal Assistant to the President

Lord Oblitey Commey – Director of Operations

Eugene Arhin – Director of Communications

Ambassador Hassan Ahmed – Director of State Protocol

He also named Albert Kan-Dapaah as the Minister for National Security.

Opinion: John Kufuor Is Behind NPP’s Return

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor

By Mohammed Awal

To the global community Ghana has chalked another success in its democratic journey by effecting a change of government through the ballot box rather than through its previous regular resort to the barrel of the gun.

In the country however many pundits ascribe the victory of the opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo to the appeal of his message to the people which inspired them to shift their preference towards him.

Of course, there are curious occurrences during the ballot collation process which over time will become apparent to the observing public. Issues such as hacking and software manipulation, ballot box stuffing, deliberate transposition errors during ballot accounting by agents of the opposition along the Electoral value chain remain live on the tongues of many in these period following the elections.

An evidence of software manipulation has been circulating on social media in which the results from the Afadjato South Constituency in the Volta Region, for example, where the ruling party wins overwhelmingly show a swap of the figures in favour of the opposition candidate.

But the greatest ‘invisible hand’ in the decision of Ghanaians to vote for the opposition’s Akufo-Addo is not only that his message appealed as much as to earn him the Presidency, but that of former President John Agyekum Kufuor. For, if the observers and followers of the New Patriotic Party wish to understand the source of this electoral victory they must look back at a single decision President Kufuor took as President of the Republic of Ghana in 2008.

Akufo Addo expresses gratitude to Kufuor

In this year’s campaign Ghanaians have repeated one issue persistently which they wanted the government to pay attention to. Even the deaf would have heard it loudly. It was the issue of economic hardship.

Everywhere I went to in the country teachers, mechanics, bankers, fishermen and even government appointees pointed to this singular thing they reel under. Often they would acknowledge the unmatched performance of President Mahama in the delivery of critical infrastructure in all sectors. Yet they return to this one burning issue of how money in their pockets could not go far.

But of course this situation is not without cause. On 6th of January 2009, the evening of the departure of former President John Agyekum Kufuor from office as President of the country he announced salary increases ranging from 16.5% to 34% with effect from 1st January of that year. This part of his signing into law the Single Spine Salary Implementation which tied the hand of the Mills government and pitched it against organised labour.

The new government had no option but to pay, though is much later. This singular decision threw the whole economy out of gear. As a result, at a point 70% of government revenues was spent on salaries and emoluments. This meant that other expenditures could not be met except through borrowing. But more borrowing meant that more interest payments were building up. Interest rates were also building up while inflation was eating up purchasing power. The government under John Mahama needed to take drastic steps to resolve the menacing decline the high expenditure triggered.

This is why in early 2015 the Mahama government went into a three year IMF programme which bailed out the economy with US$918 million. It was to rein in government spending, reverse the spiraling rate of budget deficit and to restore debt sustainability. This would also ensure macroeconomic stability in the country and eventually foster a return to high growth, job creation and protect social spending.

A group of high powered economic management experts met in Akosombo to build a national consensus around solving the severe threat faced by the future of the country at this invisible hand of President Kufuor. They agreed a road map called ‘the home grown policy’ which was then approved by the IMF leading to the bail out.

Through all these President Mahama had not missed any opportunity to inform Ghanaians about the severity of the problem. On 21st February, 2013 he vividly portrayed to the country the severity of the levels of salaries and emoluments as expenditure items on the national budget. He was emphatic that “the meat is now down to the bones.”

But he was also clear that this programme with the IMF was not going to be a walk in the park. Sacrifices would have to be made by everybody. However as the harsh adjustments resulting from the programme kicked in Ghanaians wailed and whinged in protest as Dr Bawumia, like an Orchestra Conductor, made deafening presentations blaming incompetence of the government for the hardships.

The natural consequence of this build up was a disillusioned voting public against the ruling government.

Mothers complained about school fees they could not afford. Students protested against allowance cuts. Taxi drivers condemned the cost of plying their trade. The attention of none was drawn to how the country arrived at this point. Worse, the New Patriotic Party blamed it on cases of corruption even though no link exists. Not only that, government’s communications machinery took no concerted steps to delink corruption on one hand and properly establish Kufuor’s decision as the genesis and source.

Should the NPP be grateful to President Kufuor for creating the condition which led to their party’s return to power? They sure must.

“Regime Change”? South Africa Targeted by Western Destabilization Efforts?

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Issues surrounding a minimum wage bill, education and services are being utilized in attempts to overthrow the African National Congress.

South African President Jacob Zuma has come out publically to state that there are efforts underway by the West to undermine the African National Congress (ANC) government which has held power for over 22 years.

A myriad of challenges are facing the South African ruling party including an economic recession, the bringing of several allegations about corruption within the office of the presidency, a declining stock market and national currency along with increasingly worsening relations with the United States.

In Africa there are numerous examples from the post-colonial period of the last five decades where the intelligence and military apparatuses of the imperialist states have sought to reverse the forward progress of the masses of workers, farmers, youth and their leadership. In the recent period in the South American state of Brazil, the first woman President Dilma Rousseff of the Worker’s Party, was forcefully removed from office in a political coup.

In addition to the decline in the South African economy largely due to the overall world crisis which has driven down commodity prices and systematically disinvested from the emerging states, there has been a fracturing of the national democratic movement and the workers organizations over contentious debates surrounding a way forward. In an October report delivered at the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) 17th Congress in Durban, South Africa, Dr. Blade Nzimande, the Secretary General of the South African Communist Party (SACP), placed these contradictions inside the national democratic revolution and the largest trade union federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), within a broader context of the desire by the imperialist states to reverse the advances of the liberation struggles.

In a recent article published by the Agence France Press (AFP), President Zuma emphasized that: “Western powers want to remove the ANC because they do not want the ANC to develop relations with those countries which helped the party in the anti-apartheid struggle.” This statement was made by President Zuma on Nov. 19 laid the blame directly on certain Western countries which do not wish the ruling African National Congress success.

Zuma spoke to ANC supporters at a rally in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga Province that the imperialist states were utilizing some ANC members to further their agenda, adding that some party members had been won over to the views of Western countries. The president said that those ANC members calling for his resignation were in fact serving the interests of the Western states.

The Political Economy of Destabilization

Since 1994 there have been substantial reforms initiated under the ANC government. There has been the construction of housing for the poor and working class, the expansion of healthcare, the breaking down of racial barriers in public facilities, along with access to household utilities and clean drinking water.

However, the fundamental relations and ownership of production remains under the control of the capitalist class. As a manifestation of modern-day capitalism, high unemployment, rising costs of living including education fees as well as problems associated with service delivery, have continued.

“In all other countries, the majority controls everything from politics, economy and defense . . . It’s only in this country (South Africa) where we don’t have economic freedom. It’s controlled by the minority and those who oppressed us,” Zuma stressed. (AFP, Nov. 21)

The president went on to say: “That is why they are scared that we will take away this economy. They want to take away the strength of the ANC because they know the ANC is the only organization trying to balance the scales.”

Zuma said that his government would not break ties with longtime friends internationally in order to win the approval of the imperialist governments. The president had also spoke at the WFTU 17th Congress noting that the capitalist system would not relinquish concessions to the working class without demands based upon mass struggle.

Recounting the history of the national liberation movement in South Africa, Zuma said: “Socialist countries like Russia and China helped the ANC, giving it military training and aid during the anti-apartheid struggle. The socialist countries came to our aid. It was Russia who trained us and helped us with the tools to fight. China and other socialist countries helped us.”

In addition Zuma said the Western states are retaliating against the ANC government due its affiliation with the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Summit. The advent of such blocs among the emerging states was a threat to Western hegemony of the world economy.

“They are fighting us because we joined BRICS. Some are in ANC gear but are in the company of the West. We are at war. We are going to protect the ANC,” Zuma emphasized.

China, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, India (BRICS Countries)

In an article published by the South African Mail & Guardian in reference to the stock values of holdings traded on the local market, it noted: “Should South Africa avoid having its credit rating cut to junk in the next two weeks, it could just be staving off the inevitable. More than half of 12 economists surveyed by Bloomberg said S&P Global Ratings will strip the nation of its investment-level rating. The median probability of South Africa retaining its current assessment in December is 45%, falling to only 20% in 2017, the survey shows. The economy faces a cut to junk on its foreign-currency credit rating as output is forecast to expand at the slowest pace this year since a 2009 recession, delaying the government’s plans to narrow the shortfall on the budget and rein in debt.” (Nov. 18)

Debate Surrounds a National Minimum Wage Amid Allegation of Regime Change Agenda

The ANC government has proposed the adoption of a national monthly minimum wage of 3,500 rand which is approximately $242 U.S. dollars. 47 percent of the working population earns less than this proposed amount. (BBC, Nov. 21)

Despite the possible introduction of such legislation, it falls far short of what is actually needed to maintain a basic household. Prof. Chris Malikane of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg suggested that 12,000 rand per month was essential in maintaining a decent home. (BBC, Nov. 21)

This issue is controversial among the business interests which claim that any significant government-mandated increase in the minimum wage would create further unemployment which stands officially at around 25 percent. Over the last few years there have been large-scale job losses in the mining sector which is impacting economic recovery.

Two years ago COSATU proposed a minimum wage of 4500 rand per month. With inflation since 2014 the amount would be at least 5000 today.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said the 3,500 rand per month figure was decided by a panel of experts. Ramaphosa said: “We are now a step closer to finalizing discussions on the national minimum wage. All social partners will now decide what their take is.” (BBC, Nov. 21)

The ANC must address the issues of joblessness, poverty and service delivery in order to win back its two-thirds majority electoral base inside the country. Local governmental elections which were held in August saw a decline in support for the ruling party by approximately ten points although it remains by far the most popular party in South Africa winning 54 percent of the votes in the August poll.

A commission report issued several weeks ago alleged that the government of President Zuma has been involved in corruption. Zuma has denied the charges and attempts to pass motions of no-confidence in parliament failed on numerous occasions. The current ANC leadership seems solidly committed to keeping Zuma in office until his term expires in 2019.

The party maintains that Washington through its embassy in Pretoria is pursuing a regime-change agenda. Party spokesperson Zize Kodwa stated in March: “They have taken about 45 young people to America to train them as part of their leadership program. What we got from those young people is not what they expected; they were trained on how to destabilize the country and regime change.” (Xinhua News Agency, March 16)

The original source of this article is Global Research

2017: TIME FOR A NEW ECONOMIC MODEL OR BACK TO 1917?

By Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

There can be no doubt that the economic model currently in practice in most countries, namely the market-oriented monetarist capitalist model is far from perfect and is close to social terrorism. Alternatives are derided as unworkable, followed by campaigns of demonology and lies. But what is the alternative?

The underlying purpose of the market-oriented monetarist capitalist model is not to provide public services but rather, to control and sell resources, even the most basic life-giving substance, water - and provide a profit for the few who gained control of the said resources.

Governance and public services

This is the situation today. Over the years, as the State apparatus developed, so did the accountability of governments to provide governance, as social predominance was wrested from the hands of the Church/Established Classes/Aristocracy and won by the merchants, the genesis of the model under discussion. With the latter group empowered in Parliaments, with the Word of the Church questioned by the ability of the common (wo)man to read the Bible (the word of God) in the vernacular and with the diktat of the Aristocracy to rule absolutely diminished, governance became synonymous with public services.

As these were provided, they developed and at the same time the fiscal network widened and tightened around all economically active citizens, who were encouraged and free to set up businesses, engage in trade, employ other people, pay their duties, tariffs and taxes to the governing bodies. At that time charity and community spirit were very much present in society as people wished to buy their place in Paradise by erecting a church with the highest steeple, to get closer to God or by building a hospice or hospital. This incipient capitalism, as a model, was promising.

Sinister sharks

However, there were some sinister sharks lurking beneath the surface of the system's waters. One of these was the idea that governments could contract sovereign debt, which would have a direct impact on the people due to the weight of this vector and its servicing in the provision of public services; also the ability of large public and private corporations to gamble away assets in speculative games, turning the economy into a roulette wheel in a casino.

Along comes a time when the bubble bursts - when the markets crash in the inevitable set of waves of a boom-and-bust economy and with them, billions are erased, these billions being pension funds, municipal savings accounts, hospital management funds, bank deposits and the like, and then who foots the bill?

The citizen is increasingly isolated

This model allows a market to dictate the whims of economies based upon supply and demand but because of the forces outlined above, the economies are less and less able to intervene with a social umbrella and therefore leave the citizen increasingly isolated, unless (s)he pays for the services.

The result is what we see today. Investment in education has decreased to the level at which finding a good state school is a lottery, in which to guarantee a quality education you have to pay for it; University education saw the tuition fees introduced and in many cases tripled within three years, now there is a trend to sky-rocket. Further education is a business. Getting a master degree or a doctorate costs tens of thousands of dollars.

There is an inadequate link between the education system and the work market, meaning that insufficient numbers of skilled workers are produced, alongside too many graduates and because of a liberalization in wage policies, these imbalances can be culminated with mass immigration which challenge the structure of a society. Tensions are created, violence ensues.

Globalization and outsourcing

Among its many caprices and quirks, this system acts with increasing irresponsibility as corporations warp from providers for communities to platforms to sustain the few (its shareholders), the visible example of this being globalization and outsourcing. Globalization has destroyed whole communities at the expense of cutting costs, but increasing the social burden, depriving people of jobs, increasing the payment of benefit from the state budget, as production facilities are moved into areas where wages are lower and working conditions worsen. Outsourcing frees the corporation from responsibilities, and the result of this is in too many cases shoddy workmanship provided by an invisible entity which renders services but which is not accountable.

The longer this rusting economic and social contraption is kept alive on its iron lung, the worse conditions become as it rachets upwards to full social terrorism mode. Right from the very beginning there were clear indications that the model was mortally flawed.

The education system, such as it is, has been outlined above. Rather than catering for excellence, policies are drawn up based on the bottom line approach, the box where profits are registered for Excel sheet management policymakers. University courses have become shortened, masters' courses have amalgamated with bachelor courses in a tidy five-year package to satisfy bureaucrats that all is well on the western front. Research contracts keep a few out of the unemployment statistics if they can tailor together a cosmetic resumé which pleases those who decide who gets what. Full-time researchers find themselves in the middle of a nightmare, waiting for an extension to their project every 12, 24 or 36 months, not knowing whether they will have a job 4 years hence.

After education, real life

And after education, real life. Getting a foot on the first rung of the housing ladder is increasingly difficult in a system controlled by banks which are supposed to lend but these days complain they are losing money with negative interest rates, passing the buck on to what today they call their customers, not clients. In clear English, this means the entire banking system has failed and so they cannot afford to provide loans covering over 60 per cent of a property. So who, at 25 years of age, has 60.000 USD in the bank to put up as collateral?

Rentals are supposed to provide an alternative, but nowadays act in a converse and perverse way, unregulated, following market trends and forcing the price of a rented house way beyond the reach of a first salary.

So how are young couples supposed to settle down, build a home and have families when prices are beyond their reach, when they have little or no job security, when the education system has not prepared them for the workplace, when payment of public utilities is costing more and more? Who can afford dental care, who has access to immediate and quality healthcare, who has an indexed pension which keeps up with inflation?

Do governments provide affordable public services? Do governments provide security of the state or safety on the street? Are people free to walk around anywhere at any time of day or night?

Or is policy controlled by a super-elite political class of Parliamentarians or unelected bureaucrats, a dictatorship of a clique of a few hundred people, who make the decisions to conduct dangerous foreign policies which are bound to have collateral effects?

In short, today people pay more, receive less and are brainwashed by a lying media which tells them everything is perfect and manipulates them by fear, using an "us and them" approach. At the same time it covers up the crimes of its paymasters.

There is an alternative model, which works, which creates full employment, which provides free public services, which provides free housing, education, healthcare, safety and security, indexed pensions, staple foodstuffs, social mobility, which provides leisure time activities, sports facilities, musical training. It cannot coexist well with the proponents of social terrorism who spend trillions trying to sabotage this model because it will take the control of wealth and resources from the hands of the greedy corporate elitists who feed on their system like parasites.

It tries to defend itself through increased internal security as the social terrorists commit murder, acts of sabotage and vandalism, then when saboteurs and agents provocateurs are caught, complain that the social model is a police state. One hundred years after 1917, we have seen the whole picture and the broader story.

This time around, we shall not be duped.

Pravda.Ru 

USA'S ANTI-RUSSIAN AGONY: RIP OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

Is Obama crying?

On Thursday, December 30, the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions against Russia in connection with alleged interference in the US presidential election. Outgoing US President Barack Obama signed a decree to impose sanctions on six natural persons and five departments and organizations of the Russian Federation.

The list in particular, includes a number of executives of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation - the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), Igor Korobov, as well as Igor Kostyukov, Vladimir Alekseev and Sergey Gizunov. GRU and FSB (Federal Security Bureau) are also listed as sanctioned departments in the "companies and agencies" section.  Russian programmers Alexey Belan and Evgeny Bogachev also appear on the list of newly sanctioned Russian individuals, reports TASS.

The sanctions stipulate for the blockage of property and a ban to enter the United States.

Later, it became known that the United States was also expelling 35 Russian diplomats from Washington and San Francisco as part of the restrictive measures introduced in connection with alleged Russian cyber-attacks, the Associated Press said

.

The diplomats were given 72 hours to leave the USA. They will not be allowed to access diplomatic missions by noon Friday, US time.

Moscow will respond adequately to the new sanctions against Russian diplomats, companies and individuals, Putin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 29.

The Kremlin spokesman said that responsive measures would be based on the principle of reciprocity. Mr. Peskov expressed regrets about the decisions of the White House. According to him, the new sanctions came as another manifestation of aggressive and unpredictable foreign policy of the outgoing Obama administration.

Representatives for the Russian Embassy in the United States said that the new complex of sanctions from the White House against Russia was approved to further undermine bilateral relations.

The great Russian leader Vladimir Putin

John McCain, the chief of the US armed forces committee, believes that the administration of Barack Obama has made a belated decision about the new sanctions against Russia. According to McCain, these sanctions are not serious.

US President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to meet with the chiefs of US intelligence services to receive new information about the current situation in the US-Russian relations. The meeting is said to take place next week.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated that the new sanctions against Russia were an act of "anti-Russian agony of the United States.

"It's sad that the Obama administration that started its life with the recovery of cooperation is finishing it with an act of anti-Russian agony. RIP," Medvedev tweeted on December 30.

Pravda.Ru requested an opinion from retired FSB Major General, Yevgeny Lobachev.

"What do you think of the new sanctions?"

"Isn't it clear that hackers do not need any assistance from either the FSB or the GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate) to break into servers in the United States. If there had been such a need, we would have found a way to do it without attracting any attention at all. It's just utter nonsense."

"How can Russia respond?"

"It's hard to say, but Russia will definitely retaliate. Russia will make them cough for a very long time, until they lift those sanctions. It appears to me that the newly elected US president will deal with these new sanctions in the nearest future, as soon as he takes office. I hope that your readers understand that the administrations of the listed departments is, to put it mildly, ten times smarter than the sitting US president. This is just unbelievable stupidity," the retired FSB general told Pravda.Ru. \

STIGLITZ: Cuba Is Ready

Cuban President, Raul Castro

By Alejandra García | internet@granma.cu

Cuba is prepared to assimilate the accelerated changes in the global economy, Joseph Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel Economic Sciences Laureate, stated during a conference organized by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment held in the capital.

Speaking at the event in Havana’s Hotel Nacional attended by renowned Cuban and foreign researchers, in addition to the Vice President of the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba (ANEC) and Hero of the Republic of Cuba, Ramón Labañino Salazar, he noted that global economic development will center on the service sector and the employment of skilled workers, and that Cuba is advanced in this area.

“Since my last visit to Cuba, in 2002, drastic changes have occurred across the world, especially from the technological point of view. The development that has taken place in this sphere has resulted in the accelerated decline in manufacturing opportunities. Workforces are being displaced by advanced robotics,” Stiglitz explained.

He stressed that the great challenge facing the contemporary world is to generate employment and to strengthen those services sectors that expand the knowledge and skills of workers. Cuba, according to Stiglitz, is prepared for this challenge and only needs to identify its main potentialities.

In this regard, he commented on two aspects that Cuba could take advantage of and for which it stands out on the global level: agriculture and solar energy.

“Cuba, because of its geographical position, has a very rich supply of sunshine. In the United States, the coal and oil industries prevent this valuable form of energy from being promoted. This is not the case in Cuba,” the Nobel Laureate noted.

The changes in recent years have been far-reaching and “we have to rethink the economy,” he added, “but Cuba is well positioned. Its economic development will depend on this.”

This Wednesday, December 7, the author of economics classics such as The Price of Inequalityand Globalization and Its Discontents, offered a lecture in the Aula Magna of the University of Havana.