Change the national anthem of Ghana - Akomea

The communications director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Akomea wants the national anthem of Ghana changed.

According to the main opposition party’s stalwart, Dr Ephraim Amu’s patriotic song - “Yen ara asaase ni” - which means “This land is our own” must replace the age-old God Bless Our Homeland Ghana.

Akomea said the patriotic song which is seen in some quarters as the de facto national anthem of the oil-producing country, “has grown on its own” and easily identifies with Ghana.

The former MP for Okaikwei South told Accra-based Joy FM the popular Twi song must be translated into “other languages just like the South African anthem” so that everyone can sing in their own dialect.

Ghana’s current anthem “God Bless Our Homeland Ghana” was originally written and composed by Philip Gbeho and adopted in 1957.

 

NPP: Reduce fuel prices again; We can’t pay for gov’t failure

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has stressed the need for the Mahama-led administration to further reduce the prices of petroleum products.

The National Petroleum Authority a few days ago announced a 10% reduction in fuel prices after coming under intense public backlash following a slump in crude oil prices on the world market.

The main opposition party has argued that it is not enough and the prices could come down further because “Ghanaians cannot pay for government’s failure.”

“It is also instructive to note that, this over GHC400million owed the BDCs that poor innocent Ghanaians are being made to pay for, can be easily settled by the US$100million fraudulent payments at GYEEDA,” a statement from NPP communications director Nana Akomea said.

“It is very worrying that while the NDC government is quick to tax poor, innocent Ghanaians, they are not so quick in retrieving tax-payers money fraudulently paid out by the same government. How long will innocent Ghanaians continue to suffer for the government’s gross inefficiency and failure?”

It said: “Since September 2014, the price of the dollar in Ghana has fallen from about GHC3.80p to GHC3.19p, whilst the price of crude oil has fallen by almost 50% (from $103 to $56 today). Industry experts have confirmed that Ghanaians should not be buying a gallon of petrol by more than GH10 today. However, the NDC government maintained price of a gallon at GHC17 until this first week of January 2015.

“Regrettably the recent revision has pegged the price at over GHC13 per gallon, which in effect means Ghanaians are paying about 30% more for every gallon of petrol they buy. The government’s explanation is that Ghanaians should pay this extra money so that it can repay debt of over GHC400million it owes the BDC’s. By this explanation, the government is in effect throwing over board the formula for fuel price adjustments which has been in place over the years.

“It is important to note that, the formula stopped the turbulence that was associated with fuel price adjustments. It had become a social pact between the government and the people until now. We must not disregard the dangers that come along with throwing away the formula.”

“The debt government owes the BDC’s has arisen out of the so called forex losses. These forex losses have occurred as a result of the government’s very poor fiscal and economic management, which has seen the price of the dollar rise to over 150% in just six (6) years.

“In 2014 alone, the cedi had lost over 40% of its value by September, before regaining about 12% in the last three months of the year. So the forex losses, which have caused government’s debt to the BDCs are largely the result of the government’s failure in fiscal and economic management. Poor innocent Ghanaians are now bearing the brunt of this government’s failure by paying higher than necessary price for petrol,” the statement added

Hit the streets to protest fuel prices - Minority

The Minority in Ghana’s Parliament is spurring Ghanaians on to hit the streets to protest prices of petroleum products.

According to the Deputy Minority leader Dominic Nitiwul, the government is cheating Ghanaians and is about time the citizens took “their destiny into their hands.”

The Minority, mainly made up of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), believes the 10% reduction in fuel prices following a slump in crude oil prices on the world market is an insult to the populace.

They are calling for a further reduction to reflect the prices on the world market.

“The people of Ghana should know that this government will not respect any law… If the people of Ghana do not take their destiny into their hands and fold their hands and say we cannot do anything, government will continue to sit on your head and sit on your right,” the MP for Bimbila told Accra-based Joy FM.

“The power of the people is stronger than anything and I am very clear in my mind that the people of Ghana should take their destiny into their own hands… They should be politically active, get involved in stopping government that wants to cheat them… the minority will be willing to support the people whether they will go onto the street, demonstration or court the minority to in fact lead them.”

He added: “The worse the Minority can do is going on demonstrations and filing motions. But our law …protects the strong. When the Speaker decides not to read the motion, there is nothing you can do about it.

 

Cocaine saga: Nayele must reveal names of ‘powerful’ accomplices - NPP stalwart

The first Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay, has said incarcerated Nayele Ametefe must be forced to disclose the names of the “powerful people” who aided her in the drug business.

The 32-year-old Ghanaian lady was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison Tuesday, January 6, 2015 after pleading guilty for carrying 12kg of cocaine from Ghana before being arrested at the Heathrow Airport on November 10 last year.

The defense team told the Isleworth Crown Court prior to the verdict that the mother of three admitted she has been aided in the drug business by powerful companions since 2004, but fell short in disclosing names.

She said she cannot mention names because she wants to protect her children.

The NPP national executive said it will be in the government’s interest and politicians in general if investigation is instituted into the case to unearth all the powerful hands that have played a role in Nayele’s drug business.

Rubi Appiah, as Nayele is popularly called, is believed to have used the VVIP Lounge of the Kotoka International Airport to transport the prohibited substance without any stringent security checks before boarding a British Airways flight to London.

“Let’s know those who are dealing in cocaine, for this country to have its purity so that people can respect us so that VVIP platforms are not used for trading in drugs,” Blay told Accra-based Joy FM.

“I am pooh-poohing it,” he stated concerning her decision to protect her children. “It is a convenient way of hiding it.”

Blay argued that her failure not to disclose names is “not fair” because “it puts politicians in a very bad light.”

Nine people including three officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are already standing trial in Ghana for their alleged involvement in transporting the drug. The court has granted them bail and are expected to reappear in court early January.

 

Burglar apologizes to victim, returns stolen cash

A Florida woman was shocked to find a burglar in her apartment last week. Even more shocking was the fact that the burglar apologized and returned the money he stole.

"I walk into my room, and I find all my boyfriend's shoes and clothes thrown on the floor," the woman is heard saying in a recorded 911 call. "I said, 'So you re trying to rob us?' And he's like, he nodded his head."

The repentant thief, identified as 20-year-old Johnathan Johnson, reportedly told his victim that he'd planned to use the money to buy his his Christmas present. He also fixed the window screen he'd broken in through.

"I made him leave, and when I came back, he put the screen back on," the woman told the 911 dispatcher. "I asked him, 'Where's my money?' And he's like, 'I forgot to give it to you.' "

Still, the woman was unimpressed by the burglar's remorse. She reported Johnson to police, who said the young man would still be prosecuted for burglary and theft.

NPP youth begin 2016 campaign in Northern Region

The youth within the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Northern Region have started the 2016 election campaigns in the Northern Region by launching the Dombo Youth Association.

The Dombo Youth Association is an amalgamation of NPP youth groups in the Northern Region, charged with the responsibility to help the party win more parliamentary seats in the general elections in 2016.

The association is headquartered in the Tamale North constituency which is among the targeted Parliamentary seats.

At the official launch in Gumani, the association's President, Fuseini Abdul Majeed urged Ghanaians to ignore what he described as the NDC's propaganda that the NPP was an Akan party.

He unveiled the Association's agenda to embark on a door-to-door campaign to wrestle power from the governing NDC especially in the Northern Region which is noted to be one of its electoral 'World Banks'.

According to Fuseini Abdul Majeed, the Northern Region will turn into the NDC's rural bank in 2016.

Majeed thus called for deeper volunteerism and commitment to party activities towards achieving the Association's objective.

"Clearly visible is the need to increase our efforts in mobilizing grassroot support and stronger commitment to party activities and all other initiatives that will help us win power for the NPP and we believe can resolve our pressing needs and that of the unborn generation", he said in an interview with Citi News.

He served notice that the Association's members will match the NDC boot for boot at the polling stations to avoid any form of rigging in 2016.

He asked the electorates to vote massively for Nana Akufo Addo and all the NPP Parliamentary candidates to "rescue them from oppression."

Minority throws in the towel in fight over fuel price reduction

The Minority in Parliament believes the only way to force a drastic reduction in fuel prices is mass public resistance because as far as they are concerned, it cannot do much except file motions in Parliament.

Speaking to Joy News, Deputy Minority leader Dominic Nitiwul has asked Ghanaians to “take their destiny into their own hands” because it feels powerless in provoking a further reduction in fuel prices.

Although oil prices have dropped by about 50 percent in the last year, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has announced a 10% cut in fuel prices at the pump after weeks of reluctance.

With dissatisfaction clouding the mood in the country, a pressure group, Occupy Ghana has called for a 50% reduction in fuel prices.

Hailing the call, the Minority in Parliament has asked for more of such public pressure on Government.

Led by the New Patriotic Party, the Minority has thrown in the towel in getting government to listen to what they believe is the call by a majority of Ghanaians for further reduction.

The NPP leader observed the use of parliamentary opposition has failed because “government will not respect any law.”

“The worse the Minority can do is going on demonstrations and filing motions. But our law …protects the strong. When the Speaker decides not to read the motion, there is nothing you can do about it”, he despaired.

Taking a back seat, the opposition leader wants Ghanaians to do more to “stop [a] government that wants to cheat them.”

Dominic Nitiwul said the Minority is willing to support massive demonstrations or backing any court action initiated by any citizen.

He warned of grave consequences if people continue to wait for the Minority to do something.

 

Nana Akomea laughs off allegations NPP flagbearer has been poisoned

Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akomea as laughed off allegations that the party’s 2016 flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had been poisoned.

He said the allegations are laughable and that it was totally unbelievable that a newspaper will report such untruth.

Speaking Tuesday on Adom FM’s ‘Dwaso Nsem’, the communications director said the flagbearer had travelled to the United Kingdom over the festive period to celebrate the birth of his granddaughter and is due to return to Ghana within the week.

The Al-Hajj newspaper in its Tuesday January 6, 2015 publication, reported that information reaching the paper indicated that “associates of Nana Akufo-Addo are suspecting he has been poisoned".

"Sources in the UK where Nana Akufo-Addo underwent medical review, have disclosed to this paper that though his doctors are attributing his health condition to advancing age, the NPP 2016 flagbearer’s handlers are said to be speculating among themselves that Nana Akufo-Addo’s opponents within the party have succeeded in doing him in, so as to pave way for them to succeed him as the flagbearer of the main opposition party”, it continued.

The paper also alleged that Nana Akufo-Addo had collapsed shortly after delivering the second Aliu Mahama lectures and that even though he wanted to return to Ghana to celebrate the new year, his doctors prevented him from doing so in order to receive medical attention.

But Nana Akomea said the story was untrue and that the paper is not one that should be taken serious.

He insisted that the flagbearer was is not sick and will soon return to Ghana and will let the people of Ghana know if there is anything wrong with him.

NDC calls on Ghanaians to support Mahama

The governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) is calling on Ghanaians to rally behind President John Mahama for a successful new year.

A statement signed by the party's General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia underscored the need for Ghanaians to support the president as "he strives to pursue the Better Ghana Agenda towards a secured future for the nation".

General Mosquito as he is popularly called also urged Ghanaians to be selflessness, discipline and commitment towards the attainment of the nation’s socio-economic and political aspirations.

Below is the full statement

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) extends its warmest greetings and best wishes to the people of Ghana and abroad as we enter the New Year, 2015.

The year 2014 offered us God’s blessings and unmerited favour although the nation encountered some socio-economic challenges. The year 2015 promises hope, encouragement and desire to lift the nation unto a new era of prosperity and success.

We urge the nation to embrace the 2015 with selflessness, discipline and commitment towards the attainment of the nation’s socio-economic and political aspirations. Let us remind ourselves of our resolve to work hard to collectively make out nation great and strong. We should be motivated by sacrifices and toil that motivated founders of the nation in their attempt to lay the foundation for building a better future for the nation.

The NDC encourages the nation to rally behind the President, John Dramani Mahama as he strives to pursue the Better Ghana Agenda towards a secured future for the nation.

The NDC wishes Ghana and the world a Happy New Year and a Prosperous future.

Signed: 31/12/204

Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, General Secretary

Let’s use 2015 to implement all electoral reforms – CCG

The Christian Council of Ghana has urged the Electoral Commission and the entire country to use 2015 to implement all the necessary electoral reforms ahead of the 2016 elections.

The Supreme Court of Ghana proposed a lot of reforms after the election petition filed by the 2012 Flagbearer of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo together with his running mate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the party’s Chairman at the time, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey.

Several civil society organisations such as the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), IMANI-Ghana, and various political parties have also made a tall list of proposals, which they believe, when implemented, will sanitise Ghana’s electoral system and remove suspicions as well as promote transparency.

The IEA, for example, last year, in collaboration with political parties with representation in Parliament presented an 18-point proposal for electoral reforms to the Electoral Commission (EC).

The proposals include provisions that the EC work with defined programmes and published timelines to ensure certainty in the implementation of the programmes.

They also recommended that there must be a fixed number of constituencies to be reviewed periodically in accordance with the law and in line with population movement.

According to the IEA and the political parties, there should be no review of constituency boundaries in an election year.

A researcher at the IEA, Dr Ransford Gyampo, who briefed the press on the proposals in Accra at the time said as part of the IEA’s commitment to deepening democracy in Ghana, the IEA/Ghana Political Parties Programme (GPPP) had held two workshops to discuss the electoral system with a view to proposing reforms in the wake of the problems that emerged after the 2012 general election.

He said the proposals were, therefore, drawn based on the discussions with the political parties, civil society organisations and the media.

The proposals also mentioned that there should be transparency in the recruitment process of temporary electoral officials with minimum educational qualification.

Again, there should be a joint training programme for electoral officials, party agents and security personnel to ensure cooperation and collaboration on voting day.

The proposals also recommended that the EC should go to court to delete the names of unqualified persons on the voters register, as well as sanction election officials whose negligence, acts of omission or commission undermined the electoral process and the integrity of the commission.

The proposals also captured the fact that presidential elections should be held in November every year, so that if there was the need for a run-off or a challenge, it might be disposed of before the President was sworn in.

On e-voting, Dr Gyampo said the proposals concluded that although e-voting had some merits, it required some extensive study and preparatory work before its implementation and urged the EC to undertake a detailed study of e-voting for future implementation.

General Secretary of the Christian Council, Rev Dr Opuni Frempong told Osei Owusu Amankwaah in an interview Sunday December 28, 2014 that implementing the reforms will ensure that the yearly recycled electoral tension will be done away with ahead of the 2016 elections.

“We are hoping and praying and want to work towards a situation where we as a nation will use 2015 to do all the electoral reforms…to make 2016 elections very peaceful, very relaxed, devoid of tension and all that.”

 

Life is difficult in Ghana – Kufuor

Former President John Kufuor has said the current difficulties in Ghana require that President John Mahama puts in place policies that will reverse the trend and ease things up for Ghanaians.

“When you go to the market, everybody says life is difficult; it is common knowledge that life is difficult,” Kufuor told Vision 1 FM Wednesday.

According to him, the difficulties are so much that he cannot list all of them, but he mentioned high utility tariffs, cost of living and the fall of the Cedi in the first three quarters of 2014 as examples.

He said the President must make sure that intervening policies toward easing the difficulties inure to the benefit of all Ghanaians and not just members of the governing party.

Mr Kufuor nonetheless acknowledged that being a leader of a country is not easy.

Ghana is currently in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a three-year programme to rescue the ailing economy.

There were also demonstrations and protest marches by various labour unions in the course of the year over welfare and salary issues.

 

Ras Mubarak taunts Akufo-Addo over “bloated” voter register claim

The CEO of the National Youth Authority has wondered why the 2016 Flag-bearer of the main opposition New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo would claim the voter register is “bloated” and yet not have any problem from the fact that Legislators of his party won their seats based on the same allegedly bloated register.

“You lost elections three times at the polling stations and ones in the Supreme Court. You still go about crying the voter register is over bloated. And you can't point out who in your supposedly bloated register is not supposed to be there.

“Meanwhile your party has sitting MPs who won from this same register and that you don't have a problem with? Nana Abr3. ?#?JM? till January 2021,” Mubarak wrote on his Facebook wall.

Mubarak’s comment was in response to Akufo-Addo’s address to party supporters in the UK, where he said: “The present voters register that we have in Ghana is bloated and anomalous and there is an urgent need to make sure we get a new voters register before the next election.”

The Electoral Commission has come out to refute the former Attorney General’s claim. Its Public Affairs Director Christian Owusu Parry told Paa Kwesi Asare on Starr Today, that the voters register is not in any way bloated and very healthy for the 2016 elections.

“No, we disagree with any assertion that the register as we have at the moment is bloated. The register is not in any way bloated,” Owusu Parry said Monday.

He added that: “If anybody suggests that the register as we have it is bloated, then I am surprised because it is not supported by the statistical figures that we have”.

 

Stop stealing from the state – Agyin Asare tells Politicians

Head Pastor of Perez Chapel International, Bishop Charles Agyin Asare has told Politicians to stop embezzling state funds for their personal use.

“No politician should take the money supposed to be used for development of deprived areas for their pockets and personal use.

“Our politicians should not give us politics of insults, but they should give us politics of issues,” Bishop Agyin Asare said in his December 31, 2014 sermon to thousands of worshippers, including President John Mahama, first Lady Lordina and some Government officials, who joined him at the Perez Dome to cross over into the New Year.

Agyin Asare also told Politicians to ensure the 2016 elections will be tension-free.

“As we approach elections, they should not make it look like it is a do-and-die affair,” he said, adding: “Vying for power should not make anybody run out of this nation.”

“As we prepare for election, Politicians let us be able to sleep and sleep well,” he reiterated.

He also urged the Electoral Commission and its officers to ensure that the final results of the general elections are devoid of controversy. “Electoral Officers please give us clean results for the peace and stability of the nation,” he pleaded.

You’ve messed up Ghana’s economy – Akufo-Addo tells NDC

The 2016 Flag-bearer of the main opposition New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo has accused the governing National Democratic Congress of messing up the economy left by former President John Kufuor.

Addressing party members in the United Kingdom (UK) on Sunday, Akufo-Addo said Communicators of the NDC are twisting the facts on the ground as far as the economy is concerned, for their own purposes.

“The vaunted NDC propaganda machine is going around telling the communities in Ghana that they have been so skillful in managing the affairs of our country: so much more skillful than the mean NPP [that] when you send your pounds back home, now they get many more Cedis than they got before.

“And that’s all due to the excellent way in which the NDC is managing the economy,” the former Attorney General told his UK audience.

According to him, “in 2008 when we were in office, a pound fetched you 1 Cedi 75 pesewas, today a pound fetches you 5 Cedis, so it shows you that ‘edey bee k3k3’,” he mocked.

“That is the way forward,” he said, adding: “But of course the information doesn’t go along with the fact that kerosene, which was a gallon at 3 Cedis 25 when Kufuor was in office is now nearly 12 Cedis a gallon.”

“That one they’ve forgotten about how the Cedi has depreciated. But this is what is going on at home.”

 

Voters register not bloated; fit for 2016 - EC tells Nana Addo

The Electoral Commission has dismissed claims by the flagberaer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that the voters register is bloated and must be changed before the 2016 general elections.

The 2016 Presidential candidate of the NPP said the register is bloated and must be replaced for a smooth conduct of the next elections.

Addressing party supporters in the UK, Nana Addo said the party has set up an electoral reform committee to work with the EC to avert anomalies that marred the 2012 elections.

“The present voters register that we have in Ghana is bloated and anomalous and there is an urgent need to make sure we get a new voters register before the next election,” Akufo-Addo said.

But speaking in an interview with Paa Kwesi Asare on Starr Today, Christian Owusu Parry, Director of Public Affairs of the Electoral Commission said the voters register is not in any way bloated and very healthy for the 2016 elections.

“No, we disagree with any assertion that the register as we have at the moment is bloated. The register is not in any way bloated,” Owusu Parry said Monday.

He added that: “If anybody suggests that the register as we have it is bloated, then I am surprised because it is not supported by the statistical figures that we have”.

 

Victory for NDC is a shared responsibility - Youth Organizer

Mr. Emmanuel Reagan Fynn, Oforikrom Constituency Youth Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has advised activists and supporters of the party to work assiduously in their various capacities, to ensure victory for the party in the 2016 General Elections.

Ensuring victory, he said, was a shared responsibility, calling on the members to close their ranks and advance the ideals and vision of the party, to achieve their objectives.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi, Mr. Fynn said the coming year presents the party with the opportunity to take stock of its activities, and stay on course to retain power.

“It is the responsibility of all NDC activists to remain committed to the party’s manifesto and mission, devoid of personal aggrandizement, factionalism, division and greed,” he observed.

The Youth Organizer advocated intra-party unity, reminding members of the need to focus on the Elections,  as victory would enable the Mahama-led administration to continue with its pro-poor and comprehensive socio-economic programmes,  to enhance the well-being of the masses.

While congratulating the newly-elected national executives, he entreated the supporters to rally solidly behind them, in order to succeed in the discharge of their duties.

Mr. Fynn called on Ghanaians in general, to shun lukewarm attitude to work, for increased productivity in all sectors of the economy.

They should also embrace good hygienic practices, to stem the tide of the recurrence of communicable diseases borne out of indiscipline, poor, and insanitary conditions in the country.

Don’t be oblivious of challenges, concerns of Ghanaians, Rawlings reminds gov't

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has admonished government to attend to the challenges and concerns of Ghanaians and avoid being oblivious of the people's problems.

In his statement to mark the 33rd anniversary of the 31st December Revolution on Wednesday dawn, Mr. Rawlings also referred to how Ghana has been saddled with “very negative images” about corruption.

“We have to concede that there is a breakdown of discipline and a stifling of the spirit of selflessness in our society. This is a huge challenge we must confront as we enter the New Year,” he stressed.

Former President Rawlings further bemoaned what he termed the suffocation of the spirit of self-sacrifice and patriotism which existed in the '90s by “political narrow-mindedness” in the past decade and a half.

“If we are to make headway in our political, economic and social development, then we must shirk the narrow-minded approach to all matters concerning the well-being of our community and country. There must be a heightened sense of nationalism and a genuine desire to fight for the good of Ghana,” he advised.

The culture of criticising for the sake of political expediency should be replaced by a culture of constructive criticism that offers options in terms of workable solutions, he added.

Below is the full statement

MESSAGE BY H.E. JERRY JOHN RAWLINGS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 33rd ANNIVERSARY OF THE 31st DECEMBER REVOLUTION

& THE DAWN OF A NEW YEAR

On 31 December 1981, Ghana was ushered into a period that significantly changed the political direction of this country.

The December 31st Revolution nurtured a heightened sense of patriotism and embraced the noble ideals of honesty, truth, transparency and integrity.

That energy or fervour transformed itself into a huge resource for the repair of rail lines and the carting away of cocoa locked up in rural areas, and was matched by a refreshing sense of order and discipline unsurpassed in the nation’s history.

We cannot forget the sense of unity and purpose that buoyed the revolution during the crisis created by the deportation of over one million Ghanaians from Nigeria.

Let us also not forget the debilitating famine that ravaged Ghana in 1983 due to poor rainfall and how Ghanaians marshalled forces to combat the challenges of the time.

Ghanaians worked hard to survive the pressures of the deportation order from Nigeria, confronted the difficult famine and bore the brunt of the Structural Adjustment Programme in our desire to turn around the country’s dwindling economic fortunes.

We must concede that the spirit of self-sacrifice and patriotism that lifted the country during the PNDC and NDC 1 era, has in the past decade and a half been suffocating in a new era of political narrow-mindedness.

If we are to make headway in our political, economic and social development then we must shirk the narrow-minded approach to allmatters concerning the well-being of our community and country. There must be a heightened sense of nationalism and a genuine desire to fight for the good of Ghana.

We have to concede that there is a breakdown of discipline and a stifling of the spirit of selflessness in our society. This is a huge challenge we must confront as we enter the New Year.

The culture of criticising for the sake of political expediency should be replaced by a culture of constructive criticism that offers options in terms of workable solutions.

Our leadership must also be seen to be listening and should never be seen to be oblivious to the challenges and concerns of the people.

Ghana is saddled with some very negative images about corruption, some wrongly perceived, but some convincingly accurate.

It is also imperative that we confront and tackle the destructive pattern of ethnicism and nepotism that has crept back into our national political life before it does incurable damage and strangles social cohesion.

2015 must be a year when the government and people work hand in hand to steer the affairs of the state in a direction that will confront corruption, tackle the economic challenges and instil a sense of dignity and sanity in everything we do.

We cannot afford to be pessimistic.

We all have a responsibility. Pointing fingers, but choosing to sit on the fence is cowardly, defeatist and unpatriotic!

And in all things let's seek the guidance of the omnipotent.

On behalf of my wife, Nana Konadu, and family, I wish you a Fulfilling New Year.