MILLS' DEATH AND BUSINESS

MILLS’ DEATH BRINGS BUSINESSES TO A STANSTILL

  
By: Mohammed Awal

The death of the president of Ghana, Mr. John Evans Atta Mills, has brought a great negative effect on small scale businesses.

The sad event which occurred yesterday brought a huge reduction in sales of products. Some traders at the Lapaz transport station upon hearing the news about the death of the president raised alarm and caused panic resulting in closure of various shops.

His Excellency President, John Evans Fiifi Attah Mills died yesterday at the 37 Military Hospital whilst receiving medical attention after he was taken ill, a statement released from the presidency confirmed.

He died from cardiac failure. The president is reported to have been battling with throat cancer for some time now.

As at yesterday brisk trading has stalled and many shops owners were seen still discussing the tragic incident of the president.

“The death of the president was a great shock to me” said a trader. According to her, she had her shop opened earlier yesterday morning but patronage was very poor. “I guess I need to close and go home” she asserted.

“Clearly, the passing away of the president has plunged the nation into a state of mourning” observed another trader at Lapaz.

Another trader who could not hold his breath about the sudden demise of the president, complained bitterly about how the incident was impacting negatively on her business.

“The atmosphere was that of mourning, sadness and grief” she pointed out.

She told The Chronicle how wrong she was by opening her shop. She therefore prayed to God to have mercy and receive Mr. Mills in his bosom, adding “May his soul rest in peace.”

One recharge card retailer who pleaded anonymity also narrated to The Chronicle, how he was forced to close his shop due to low patronage by customers following the announcement of the president’s death.

According to the traders, immediately the announcement of the president’s death became public,, businesses partially came to a stand still and therefore considered to open their shops the following day. But to their dismay, things never got better as they thought.

One trader who refused to be named, told The Chronicle that, as of  13:20 GMT, less than five people had visited her shop.

The story was not different when The Chronicle visited Kwame Nkrumah Circle to assess how businesses were going on there.

A frozen foods seller, who only gave her name as Mrs. Gifty, said “since the death of the president, I have received very few customers unlike previous days.”

A section of the traders were seen dressed in black attire to mourn the death of the late president Mr. John Evans Atta mills.

Another trader who was in a sad mood expressed the hope that things will change in the coming days.

In an interview with one cosmetic dealer, Madam Mercy, she said “business has been same even as the president is dead; the demise has not changed the face of sales as such. It used to be same even before his death.”

THE NEW BABY

 

The Move by the Rawlings’to Form a New Political Party, Unheard Off and Unthinkable………….Alhaji Bature.

The Managing Editor of the Alhajj Newspaper, Alhajji Bature said that he sad with the formation of the new party by the former head of state, Mr. Rawlings and his wife, nana Konadu.

According to him, much as he would have loved to feel vindicated, he was really saddened and hurt by the news. Bature said that the primary reason behind his paper’s publication of the alleged formation of a new party by the Rawlings’ on the front page of the Alhajj newspaper was to dissuade or persuade the Rawlings’ not to destroy their hard worn legacy.

Legacy that they have built over the years, according to Mr Bature, after nineteen years of political leadership, former president Rawlings should have resigned to the role of a statesmanship in the whole scheme of things.

Alhajji Bature further said that it was unthinkable and unheard off in the whole world where a founder of a political party, not any political party, and a ruling party at that would be behind the floatation of a new party. After helping to galvanize the party from opposition to win power.

According to Bature the behavior of Mr. Rawlings and his wife saddened him. Therefore sees it as a waterloo of the Rawlings’. They knew very well that they cannot win the 2012 election. Why because according to him the Rawlings’ are not noted organizers.

He also argued that, right from 1992 until 2008, the Rawlings’ have never been good organizers. “They (Rawlings’) do not know how to organize a political party. In 1992, when the national democratic congress was being formed, Rawlings was no where to be found” said Ahajj Bature.

“Rawlings was not part of the formation of the NDC, he further stated. According to Bature, it was the Obed Asamoah’s, Kodjo Tsikata’s and the Totoby Kwatsi’s who behind the organization of the NDC all this while.

Bature further said that, the only thing the Rawlings’ knew to be mounting of campaign platforms.

Also Bature said that, the new party, the National Democratic Party would have any impact in the outcome of the 2012 election.

He believes that, the new party would rather enhance the chances of the NDC. According Alhajji  Batture , this will evoke the can do spirit in the rank and file of the NDC, Thus re-energizing them and reviving in them the need for togetherness.  

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 

Human smuggling must cease!

-Gov tells perpetrators

The government has warned perpetrators of human trafficking and smuggling to put an end to the nefarious activities or face the full rigors of the law when caught.

According to the government, in its plan to provide a conduceive environment devoid of any criminality, it was going to resource the Ghana Immigration Service to beef-up their operations to enable them carry out their operations effectively.

The government made this observation through its representative, Kobby Acheampong, Deputy Minister for Interior at a two-day stakeholders’ conference on Human Trafficking and Human smuggling in Accra yesterday.

Human trafficking is an international problem affecting millions of people and many countries around the world. In Ghana, the internal trafficking of children is one of the biggest challenges facing the government.

An Extract from U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2009 suggests that Ghana is a source, transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficking within the country is more prevalent than transnational trafficking and the majority of victims are children.

Over 30,000 children are believed to be working as porters, or Kayaye, in Accra alone. Annually, the IOM reports numerous deaths of boys trafficked for hazardous forced labor in the Lake Volta fishing industry. Girls are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. To a lesser extent, boys are also trafficked internally for sexual exploitation, primarily for sex tourism.

According to Kobby Acheampong in order to effectively tackle the menace, multi-dimensional response would be needed. Also, government added that socio-economic root causes of these irregular acts of human smuggling and trafficking should be frowned upon all.

The government, through Kobby Acheapong who stepped in for the sector minister, believes that strategies should be put in place to efficiently eradicate the monstrous phenomenon by dismantling the syndicated organization that carry out this heinous crimes.

Also, Kobby Acheapong believed that owing to the sophisticated nature with which these twin crimes are being perpetrated with perfection and impunity, a multi-faceted partnership and approaches was needed in order to gain any remarkable success in the fight against smuggling of humans and other forms of irregular migration in Ghana.

Citing the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said that perpetrators of such despicable crimes would be prosecuted if caught.

Government through the Hon. Interior Minister, promised to continue to resource the Ghana Immigration  Service (GIS)  through capacity building of officers’ of GIS in its quest to effectively protect the socio-economic development and nation’s security.

According to the Hon. William Kwasi  Aboah, the immigration act, 2000 (act 573) has been amended in order to include human or migrant smuggling as a criminal offence. This was to ensure that offences of migrant smuggling were captured in the laws of Ghana he noted.

The Hon. William Kwasi  Aboah further stated that, His Excellency the President of Ghana has assented to the parliamentary bill to bring into effect an amendment in section 52(2) of immigration act, 2000 (act 573). The new law, the Immigration amendment act, 2012 (act 848) was established to criminalize migrant smuggling.

According to Him, it was necessary to criminalize migrant smuggling because it is a predicate offence for money laundering under the anti-money laundering act, 2008(act 749). 

 The Hon. Interior Minister, at the two-day conference on countering Human Trafficking and Smuggling, used the opportunity to express government’s deepest appreciation and gratitude to Members of Parliament for their tireless effort in the passing of the bill.

 

  

DISAPPOINTMENT AMIDST INCOMPETENCE BY THE A-G....

Disappointment amidst Incompetence by the A-G Department?

After riding on the back of propaganda to win sympathy from the Ghananaian electorate, amidst unsubstantiated allegations of corruption and mass murder by the erstwhile Kuffour administration, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) since being sworn in office and given the mandate of governance, to unravel the wrong doings committed against the state and the people of Ghana by government official of the erstwhile NPP administration.

Three and half years after assuming political power, the good professor of law, who also doubles as the president of the republic of Ghana and his team of cabinet ministers who were described and stereotyped by the founder of their party, former President Jerry John Rawlings as conferred him by the NDC’s own constitution, as ‘team b and, greedy bastards’ have since not able to convict even a messenger who served in erstwhile NPP administration.

Surprisingly the trend has since changed and reports of grave corruption, and incompetence is facing and starring the good professor and his team B cabinet glaringly, to the extent that the their own founder has cause to complain and lament the fact that his former foe, now ally former president Kuffour could stand on political platform and call him, Rawlings a liar.

The most talked about and discussed corrupt practice of this so called “I care for you” administration was the way and manner with which it paid a whooping sum of GH51.2million to Alfred Agbesi  Woyome fraudulently without any basis or contract.

After this whooping sum was paid without proper and due diligence by orders from the former attorney Betty Mould Iddrisu and the minister of finance and economic planning, Mr Duffour, the embattled former attorney of the state, who was the immediate successor to Betty Mould, Mr Martin Amidu had cause to believe that the so called judgment dept was fraudulently paid and could have been avoided if diligence was proper done.

Unfortunately these revelations by martin had caused him his job as the attorney. Some tried to obfuscate matters and wanted us to believe that he; Martin had misconduct himself whilst in meeting with the president. Fortunately to us the public, Martin is still alive, not dead and told us the real truth.

Earlier this week the state in her effort to retrieve this gargantuan money paid to Alfred Agbesi  Woyome through the attorney general’s department displayed an abysmal performance in the process infuriating the trial judge and invoking the judge’s anger. The trial judge Justice John Ajet-Nasam who could no longer hide his anger  yesterday expressed disappointment with the slow pace at which the prosecution was handling the case. According to the trial judge, Woyome was not a suspect but an accused person, since he had been properly charged with the offence of fraud and he in turn had pleaded not guilty, so the case must continue to its logical conclusion.

Also the judge who also doubles as a citizen of this nation whose coffers’ was fraudulently and in connivance with government officials run sacked and desecrated by one individual, which has gained so much interest that it has been described by some as unprecedented in the history of this nation.

According to the Justice John Ajet-Nasam Woyome was not a suspect but an accused person, since he had been properly charged with the offence of fraud and he in turn had pleaded not guilty, so the case must continue to its logical conclusion. When the case was called on Tuesday the 3^rd of August, Cynthia Lamptey, the principal state attorney handling the fraud case against National Democratic Congress (NDC) bankroller Alfred Woyome, and three others, told the court that the state was yet to conclude its investigations, adding that they needed more time to investigate the case.

If the state was not ready and yet to conclude its investigations, why then take the case to court?  This view was being held by many Ghanaians and they believe that it’s an orchestrated attempt by government and its bunch of incompetent state attorney to portray (NDC) bankroller Alfred Woyome, innocent.