My Ex-gratia Is Not Paid- Former Prez Kufuor Cried Out

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has revealed that he’s yet to be paid his ex-gratia which was approved by Parliament ten years after he exited office.

The 80-year-old former Leader whose tenure in office saw huge economic development in the country in an interview with Joy FM stated that he’s yet to push for the payment almost two years after his own New Patriotic Party (NPP) assumed power.

“…the so-called ex gratia? I haven’t been paid ex gratia. You’ll remember that Mrs Chinnery Hesse’s report suggested ex gratia and in fact, it was approved by Parliament even though it was the last days but the administration that took over from me pretended there had not been any such approval. Later, some members of the administration, I’ll cite Mr. Bagbin when he was being vetted in Parliament was put that question and he said it was approved. If it was approved by Parliament then automatically there shouldn’t have been any question that I should have been paid, but somehow [may he rest in peace] Prof. Mills appointed Yamson Committee and later changed to Prof. Ewurama Addy Committee so nothing was paid regularly as ex gratia but I don’t worry.”

In January 2010, late President John Evans Atta Mills officially announced that his administration had finally paid former President John Agyekum Kufuor and Members of Parliament in the previous legislature, their gratuity or ex-gratia.

Answering questions from journalists at the Castle Gardens, Osu, on the protracted and controversial issue, President Mills indicated that the payments were made based on the recommendations of the Ishmael Yamson Committee, which he set up to review the Chinery-Hesse Committee report on ex-gratia for public office holders under Article 71 of the Constitution during the previous administration.

However, spokesperson for former President Kufuor, Frank Agyekum, denied any payment of gratuity to his boss.

He explained that last December, an accountant from the Parliament House brought a cheque for an amount of GH¢97,000 issued in the name of President Kufuor to the former President’s residence.

According to him, when former President Kufuor asked what the amount was meant for, the accountant could not explain but just said it was his ex-gratia.

The former President, he added, inquired if it was payment based on the Chinery-Hesse, Greenstreet or Ishmael Yamson reports, as the gratuity was a package comprising not only cash but offices, staff payment and vehicles.

Mr. Agyekum said further checks from the Chief of Staff, John Martey Newman, to clarify the issue, were unsuccessful as he never got back to former President Kufuor to explain what the cheque was meant for.

“The former President, therefore, asked the accountant to return the cheque as it was not accompanied by any explanatory letter, indicating what the payment was meant for,” Mr. Agyekum disclosed, further confirming that former President Kufuor had actually not received any gratuity, 12 long months after leaving office.

President Mills set up the Yamson Committee following agitations by politically contrived groups like the Committee for Joint Action (CJA), led by agitator-general, Kwesi Pratt, against conventional wisdom to slash the ex-gratia of the MPs who served in the Fourth Parliament between 2005 and January 6, 2009, and former President Kufuor, as contained in the Chinery-Hesse Committee report and approved by the executive and legislature respectively.

President Mills’ action was described by some political analysts as populist and without legal foundation.

source;ghanaweb.com

One died,Houses set Ablaze In Bole Chieftaincy Clashes

At least one person has been reportedly killed and many injured in a renewed disturbances between chieftaincy factions in Bole.

Several houses have also been set ablaze.

Bole based radio station Nkilgi FM identify the victim as one Jacob, a supporter of Chief Issahaku Abdulai Kant faction. One other sympathizer was also injured.

The station said two sons of rival Chief Abutu Bukari named Castro and Sule were also shot and injured. Castro is said to be in critical condition at the Wa Regional Hospital.

Manager of the station and spokesman for the Gonjaland Youth Association, Mahama Haruna quoted eye witnesses as saying shootings started when Chief Kant decided to dance his Damba and subsequently enskined as Bolewura.

The family house of the disputed chiefs stand opposite.

Tensions have been simmering in Bole for months now after a symbolic ruling by a judicial council of the Regional House of chiefs on the prolonged chieftaincy misunderstanding in Mandari, an important nearby community within the Traditional Area, where chiefs automatically ascend to the Bole Skin upon vacancy.

Two royal individuals, who are all members of the Safope gate, laid claims to the Mandari skin and confusion broke in June last year over the rightful candidate of the Bole skin, after the chief, Bolewura Awuladese Pontomprong Mahama (II) died.

There were reports of violent lockdown and escalating squabbles among supporters of Abdalai Issahaku Kant and his rival brother, Abubakari Abutu, forcing a deployment of armed forces to the district capital.

The latter had been allegedly appointed by the late chief of Bole as the rightful candidate for the Mandari skin, but the Yagbonwura, overlord of the entire traditional area, allegedly refused to give his blessing and rather settled on the former, which sparked the dispute.

The tensions last month forced the Northern Regional Security Council to place an injunction on all traditional activities in the area including the funeral of the late Bolewura.

source;ghanaweb.com

Mahama For 2020 NDC Will Lose, Alban Bagbin Advised

Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has painted a bleak picture of the National Democratic Congress’ chances in the 2020 general elections if former President Mahama is chosen as presidential candidate.

Speaking to Ago FM, the Nadowli Kaleo lawmaker who is also a flagbearer hopeful of the NDC said the party cannot win the 2020 general elections with Mahama as its flagbearer.

“If I was convinced that the former president could win power for the NDC, I wouldn’t have come up contesting,” said Bagbin. “I am still convinced and sure that whatever they [National executives] do with him as leader NDC cannot win 2020.”

His comments come on the back of claims that the party executives are skewing the presidential primaries contest to favour Mr. Mahama by pegging the filing fee at GHC400,000.

Nine of the flagbearer hopefuls including Bagbin petitioned the NDC’s Council of elders to intervene, describing the fee as unreasonable.

They specifically accused the General Secretary of the NDC masterminding the figure.

Mr Nketia was on record to have declared his support for the candidature of former President Mahama in the race.

The flagbearer hopefuls’ petition to the Elders said the amount does not reflect the social democratic ideals of the party and must be reviewed.

The NDC is yet to receive its copy of the petition, according to Mr Nketia, and as such it will continue with the process.

“We have heard complaints from some of the candidates and some other concerned members of the party. We have also heard about a petition that I’m told is circulating,” he told Starr News’ Eric Egbeta.

“We want to indicate,” he continued “that at the level of the national executives we have not seen that petition yet. And so we are unable to act or restrain our action based on a petition that is circulating somewhere in the media.”

Already some members of the NDC from the Asawase constituency in Ashanti region have picked the GH¢20,000 non-refundable fee presidential nomination forms for former President John Mahama.

It comes as some supporters of the party converge at the Cantonment office of the former President to make donations to enable him to meet the GH¢400,000 filing fee after an open donation appeal by the Mahama campaign team

Bishop David Oyedepo Brags of His Wealth

One of the worlds celebrated man of God Bishop Dr David Oyedepo has states categorically that his wealth is beyond limits and he gets anything that he want. 
“I don’t share any booty from any government. I have a clear conscience; I am dangerously wealthy. I am rich, whatever I want, comes. That’s what they call wealth,” are the exact quotes of the founder and presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, aka Winners Chapel, Dr David Oyedepo.

The Man of God who has two private jets, a fleet of luxurious vehicles and a number of estate properties both in his home country Nigeria and abroad disclosed that he does not need any support from government considering his net worth.

Speaking at an opening session of Shiloh 2018, the annual gathering of the members of the Living Faith Church tagged “Dominion” at its International Headquarters, Canaan Land, Ota in Ogun State the renowned televangelist said, “If the church says you are going nowhere, there is nothing you can do.”

He called on members of his church to be a submissive warning “If the church comes against any arrogant, puffing fellows, they shall be messed up”

“Until one is rescued, he cannot rescue others. We must remove the beam in our eyes before we can remove the mote in other people’s eyes,” he urged.

GRA shutdown Metro Tv

The free-to-air private television station is said to have refused persistent warnings by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to pay the amount, said to be taxed from 2014 to 2018.

Officials from the GRA stormed the premises at Labone where all workers were ushered out from the building and the offices placed under lock and key, TV3’s Nuong Faalong reported a while ago from the premises.

According to records from the GRA, the station owes GHC55,000 in Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax and additional GHC1.6 million VAT as well as incidentals, interest and penalties for defaulting for the past four years beginning 2014.

Officials of Metro TV declined to speak on the matter immediately, our correspondent reported, but said in an argument with the GRA, some of the Metro TV officials insisted they have been making payments to the GRA though they are yet to cover the full arrears.

The GRA said it has over the period followed the necessary processes to ensure that Metro TV pays the amount but to no avail.

“We’ve given them enough time and they have refused to do what is expected of them,” Mr. Bobbie Ansah, Assistant Commissioner of GRA in charge of Communications and Public Affairs told journalists.

“We’ve gone through the whole process but unfortunately our demands have been met with silence so we had to come and do what the law expects us to do,” he added.

Asked whether it was an operational or management shutdown, he responded, “as you’ve seen, we have shutdown the whole place”.

The shutdown is expected to affect the transmission of the station all workers have been moved out of the building.

The GRA has meanwhile served notice to other organisations, companies and institutions owing the state in taxes to endeavour to pay.

Mr. Ansah said “if you’re own please make good” your tax obligations.
source;3news.com

Mahama Received $8m From Nyantakyi For NDC`s 2016 Campaign

It is emerging that the Arabian investor at the centre of the Anas Aremeyaw Anas investigative piece that has caught the Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kwasi Nyantakyi in the web allegedly gave then ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) $8 million to support the re-election of John Mahama.

The bombshell by the beleaguered GFA capo in his statement to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is beginning to form part of the allegations being investigated by the Ghana Police Service.

It turned out that the person (name withheld) who posed as the agent for Anas in the interview with Mr. Nyantakyi made sensational claim to the effect that the Sheikh supported the NDC’s campaign with the $8 million.

The Anas agent, according to Mr. Nyantakyi’s statement, claimed the Sheikh was ready to do same for the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration in exchange for contracts in the oil industry, indicating that he had held similar discussions with the Mahama administration.

The Arabian sheikh is said to be operating in the oil and construction industry, and that in 2016 he was ready to establish oil refinery after holding talks with the previous administration.

As a result, Mr. Nyantakyi reportedly told the said individual that if the party that lost the election had been given $8 million then the Sheikh should be prepared to give a similar amount or more to the party (NPP) that won the election and formed government.

It emerged that the Anas investigators started with football matters, particular sponsorship for the Ghana Premier League but ended up discussing oil matters with Mr. Nyantakyi.

Mischief

Kwesi Nyantakyi said that his conversation with Anas’ agent had been heavily edited, challenging Anas to play the unedited full conversation if he was not up to a mischief.

The GFA boss was arrested on Wednesday, May 23, after President Akufo-Addo had made a report to the police for using his name in a business transaction in an investigative piece by Anas.

The embattled GFA boss was arrested after disembarking an Ethiopian airline after undertaking assignment for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Morocco.

He is said to have expressed his desire to assist the police investigators after going through about five-hour grilling.

Before Mr. Nyantakyi’s arrest, Deputy Chief of Staff, Samuel Abu Jinapor, had said at a media briefing on Tuesday that the GFA boss was a subject of an investigation by the CID after the President had seen parts of an investigative piece by ace journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.

Mr. Jinapor said Mr. Nyantakyi was captured by Anas’ Tiger Eye PI allegedly trying to secure investments in the name of the President, Vice President and other key government officials and that formed the basis for President Akufo-Addo’s complaint to the police CID.

Anas and his Tiger Eye PI are set to premier the documentary titled: “Number 12: When Misconduct and Greed Become the Norm,” tomorrow, June 6.

An investigative piece by Anas and his Tiger Eye PI team allegedly captured the FA boss using the names of President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Bawumia and other top government officials to demand ‘bribe’ from some supposed foreign investors into the country.

Mr. Nyantakyi’s arrest has sparked heated debate, bringing Anas’ investigative skills into the spotlight once again, with an accusation of entrapment.

Currently, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, who clearly does not appear to be enthused about Anas’ modus operandi, has started questioning how the journalist – whose name apparently evokes fear in some people – conducts his investigations.