Rawlings Blasts President Mills Again

FORMER PRESIDENT and founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Jerry John Rawlings, has once more descended on President John Evans Atta Mills, his appointees, and some leading members of the ruling party, saying they have been ungrateful to those who laid down their lives to bring the party back to power.

He also revealed that some members of the Mills government and party officials had gone to the extent of sponsoring some serial callers to insult him (Rawlings) on radio.

According to him, he was compelled to come out publicly to speak his mind about the government because genuine advice he offered was disrespectfully ignored, adding that very soon he would have no option but to start mentioning names.

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Ex-President Kufuor Back Home From Two-week Tour

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor arrived back home Saturday morning from a two-week visit abroad that that saw him become the latest member of the prestigious Club of Madrid. His visits took him to Spain, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Italy. According to a statement signed by Mr. Frank Agyekum, Spokesperson of the former President, Mr. Kufuor was also honoured with another honorary doctorate degree.

“In Madrid, Spain, former President Kufuor together with former Presidents Festus Mogae of Botswana, Olusegun Obassanjo of Nigeria and Ferenc Madl of Hungary became the newest members of the world’s largest forum of democratically elected former heads of state who stepped down in accordance with their terms of office.”

The statement said the newest additions bring the membership of the club to 74 former democratic heads of state from 50 countries. “The meeting also saw Wim Kok, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands take over Presidency of the Club from Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile, for a three-year term with former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jennifer Mary Shipley, taking over as Vice-President from Mary Robinson, former Prime Minister of Ireland.”

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Ex-President Kufuor Leaves For Another Tour

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor left Accra Friday for Lagos at the start of a two-week overseas trip that will take him Spain, Italy, Kenya and Ethiopia.

At his first stop in Nigeria, former President Kufuor will be given an honorary doctorate degree by the Bells University of Technology in the state of Ota.

The award will be in recognition, for “good governance and dedicated service to Africa”, according to a statement issued by Mr Frank Agyekum, Press Secretary to the former President.

It said conferring of the award will be preceded by a speech by the eminent US statesman and former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Andrew Young.

Former President Kufuor would then move to Lagos to address the Nigeria-British Association on West Africa’s trade relations with Britain as the guest speaker.

From Nigeria, former President Kufuor will travel to Madrid, Spain, where he will be formally admitted as a member of the prestigious Club de Madrid at their annual delegates’ conference.

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President Leaves For UN General Assembly In New York

President John Atta Mills leaves Accra tonight for New York to attend the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The President is scheduled to arrive in New York on Tuesday, September 22, and is one of the few Leaders out of the 192 expected at the General Assembly who will have a high-level one-one bilateral meeting with the UN Secretary General upon arrival; join fellow Heads of States for the Summit on Wednesday, September 23, 2009, before addressing the General Assembly on Thursday, September 24, 2009.

Ghana Television is expected to telecast live His Excellency’s address to the General Assembly between 09.30 hrs and 10.00 hrs on September 24, 2009.

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Mills Admits Some Ministers Are Below Par

The President, John Evans Atta Mills, has conceded that some of his ministers in the nine-month old administration have not been up to the task.

In an interaction with the media in the Central Region on Saturday, the President said even though he is aware that some ministers are not performing as expected, he would not rush into reshuffling.

The issue of mediocre ministers and calls for reshuffle has been an albatross hanging around the neck of the president. Mr Jerry John Rawlings, a former President and founder of the ruling party – National Democratic Congress – was the first to attack President Mills on his choice of ministers; the Majority Leader in Parliament, Alban Bagbin, on Thursday also backed calls for a ministerial reshuffle.

Joy News’ correspondent Kojo Nyarko says President Mills also acknowledged that the below par performance of some ministers is not out of the blue since in every human institution such shortfalls are expected.

The president was on a two-day official visit to the Central Region where he addressed the chiefs and people of Mankessim Traditional area, at the Borbor Fante Akwambo festival. He also addressed separate durbars at Gomoa Assin in the Gomoa West District and Essuehyia in the Mfantseman Municipality. He urged the people to exercise patience since his administration is on track to meet their aspirations.

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Ex Pres. Kufuor Named Global Ambassador Against Hunger

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor was on Monday named a Global Ambassador against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to advocate on behalf of the world’s poorest and hungriest people.

A statement from the WFP said, with renewed attention focused on the issue of global food security, Mr Kufuor would help underline the importance of fighting hunger on several fronts by investing in long term agricultural development funded by the WFP. The statement said in partnership with an elite team of celebrities, sportsmen and statesmen, Mr Kufuor would emphasize the need to provide good nutrition for children in school.

“Former President John Kufuor not only talks the talk but walks the walk. Ghana is a leader in nourishing its children and Former President Kufuor can be a leader in getting others to follow his good work,” Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of WFP, said. She said with the number of hungry people in the world expected to top one billion this year, Mr Kufuor would tackle urgent hunger needs and help the hungry poor to access affordable and nutritious food. “Ensuring that every child has proper nutrition has to be the goal of every world leader,” Mr Kufuor said. “I hope to inspire them all to strive for this goal,” he added.
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President Obama: Ghana visit had no hidden agenda

American President Barack Obama has described his visit to Ghana as a meeting of two allies without any hidden agenda.

Responding to concerns that his visit could be in pursuit of American interests in Ghana’s oil find or for the establishment of military base in Africa, he told the Daily Graphic exclusively in response to a questionnaire during his two-day visit to the country, “There is no hidden agenda here.”

“The United States and Ghana enjoyed strong relations long before oil was discovered in Ghana and long before the creation of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM),” he added.

Additionally, he said the US was already developing a comprehensive assistance programme for Ghana’s oil and gas sector, including embedded technical advisors and support for the country’s new oil and gas regulatory institutions.

The government of Ghana had earlier requested specific technical assistance from the US in that direction.

He, however, maintained that “all assistance that we provide will be closely co-ordinated with the government of Ghana”.
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African Presidential Roundtable Conference in Berlin

Organised by the prestigious Boston University based African Presidential Archives and Research Centre (APARC) The conference, which was under the theme ‘The Leadership Challenges of Land Reform in Africa’, was held in Berlin to commemorate the 125th anniversary
of the Berlin Conference of 1884 which saw colonial powers partition Africa in
what is popularly referred to as the scramble for Africa.

Former African leaders who participated in the conference included Tanzania’s Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Aristides Maria Pereira of Cape Verde, Karl Auguste Offmann of Mauritius and Ghana’s John Agyekum Kufuor. The rest are Frederick Sumaye of Tanzania, Nicephore Soglo of Benin, Sir Ketumile Masire of Botswana, Cassam Uteem of Mauritius and Festus Mogae of Botswana.

President Appoints His Brother As Special Advisor

President John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills has lent further credence to the ‘blood is thicker than water’ adage when he appointed his blood brother as one of his special advisors.

A statement signed by the Presidential Spokesperson, Mahama Ayariga, named Dr. Cadman Atta Mills as a member of a 10-man Economic Advisory Council (EAC), constituted to advise the President on key economic issues affecting the country.

Other members of the special committee include Dr. Gorbin Nankani (Chairman), Togbe Afede, Emmanuel Ablor, Professor K.N. Afful, Fred Ohene Kena, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, Ishmael Yamson, K.Y. Amoah and Joe Hide.

“This is to help manage the impact of the international and domestic economic crisis affecting the country in the wake of the global economic crunch,” it said.

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79% Approval Ratings for President Atta Mills

A national poll indicates that over three out of four Ghanaians approve of the way President Atta Mills is performing his duties as president of the Republic of Ghana. President Atta Mills’ approval rating stands at 79 percent in the new poll.

The Policy & Strategy Associates, Inc. survey, released Saturday March 14, also suggests that nearly 9 in 10 support the President’s decision to review the ex-gratia package that was approved in the final hours of the previous NPP government for MPs, the Former President and other public officials.

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