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Showing posts from August, 2019

VR NDC Primaries II : Bowing out after 2 terms

One of the huge things the NDC would have to do in its stronghold is to replace three two term MPs who are taking a bow. The development is particularly worrying because of the high turnover in parliament and the fact that it takes time to mould legislators from the back bench to the front bench. Leadership in parliament takes time and the three are quite high profile. Heavy on the list of the three MPs is Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey who represents Ketu South. There is also Richard Quarshigah who represents Keta and Bernice Heloo who represents Hohoe. Prominent among the MPs bowing out of parliament is a four term veteran. Ketu South Undoubtedly the strongest hold in the strong hold of the NDC, Ketu South on a good day should give the NDC close to one hundred thousand votes in an election. The NDC however managed half of that in 2016, a clear indication that the opposition party who has been talking up its chances of winning the 2020 election, has work to do to...

UMB abandons business ethics; Freddie Blay abandon 275 buses promises?

The number one measure of a successful political leadership is the implementation of the promises that put that the leader in the position. That is why when a political leader is accused of failure, the evidence adduced by his accusers is typically the failure to fulfill promises. It would therefore be baffling for a political leader to stand in the way of the fulfillment of his own promises. That is exactly what Mr. Freddie Blay is being accused of in the wake of the UMB's continued detention of what is supposed to be the first 100 of his 275 promised buses. The situation has raised questions as to whether the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) meant the promise of delivering 275 buses to all constituency branches at the Congress that elected him in October 2018. Mr. Freddie Blay according to my sources is alleged to be behind UMB's unethical "detention" of the buses imported into the country in fulfillment of his promise to...

Three months off air, unemployed

On August 9, 2019, when I awoke to the realization that I have not "worked" for three months, one image tormented me.  That image is the forceful manner in which Radio Gold was asked to go off the 90.5FM dial on May 9, 2019; leaving me with only one question, "why such show of force?" As I pondered over the question, one thought kept recurring; a thought I could not shake off. That thought was the narration of how the decision to order Radio Gold to go off air was taken.  The narration in question is that of Dr. Valerie Sawyerr. For me, it is the narration that settles the question of "why the show of force?" and explains the treatment of two radio stations like crime dens under the administration of a "Human Rights" lawyer who once argued against the imposition of any form of licensing regime.  Any believer in rule of law will cringe at the thought  of the invasion of a radio station, with armed security officers, ...

NDC Primaries: The Volta Contest, Part 1

On August 24, 2019 when delegates of the biggest opposition party, National Democratic Congress (NDC) go to the polls to elect a parliamentary candidate, the Volta region will to a high likelihood be electing the persons who will be representing their respective constituencies from 2021 to 2024. Whiles the pre-Nana Akufo-Addo Volta region had one New Patriotic Party seat, the Nana Akufo-Addo Volta region has no NPP seat. The Volta region has been referred to as the stronghold of the NDC meaning the chances of any other party winning a seat in the region are, to put it charitably, small. The fact is that an NDC candidate will be the next MP for his constituency. That is why I will spend the next few days talking about the race for the NDC candidacy in some notable constituencies in the region. Before I embark on the first of these exercises, let me first state that one of the constituency which interests me most is the one held by the man who is perhaps the poster bo...