Edward Mahama Endorses Free SHS

Dr. Edward Mahama, the immediate past leader of the People’s National Convention (PNC), has thrown his weight behind the free SHS policy, saying, “I have been consistent with the position that the Ghanaian child should have free education for the first 12 years of education.”

The flag-bearer of the PNC in the 2008 elections and the one before it, addressed a press conference yesterday on a number of issues confronting the party these past few weeks.

Still on the free SHS policy being flaunted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag-bearer, Nana Akufo Addo, he said having enjoyed free education as a Northerner, he thinks Ghanaians in other parts of the country should not be denied the opportunity.

According to him, had his party won election when he led it, he would have embarked on the programme of providing free education to the Ghanaian child up to the senior high school level.

“If what is good for the goose is good for the gander, there is no reason why Ghanaians in other parts of the country should not enjoy free SHS,” he said, adding that in his first interview with a radio station when he was elected flag-bearer of his party, he made his position on free SHS known.

Turning to the challenges in the PNC, he advised the flag-bearer, executives and supporters to concentrate on the core mandate of the party to win both the presidential and parliamentary elections for the party.

“The presidential candidate, the party executive and all parliamentary candidates should focus on a PNC message that will convince the electorate to vote for them,” he said.

The PNC, he noted, remained a tangible and palpable linkage of Ghana to the 3rd Republic in 1992 and “heritage of the People’s National Party (PNP), Alhaji Imoro Egala and Dr. Hilla Limann, President of the 3rd Republic.”

The party, he stated, suffered uncountable law suits “hence tethering itself in the courts of Ghana and failing to take its message to the people from 2005 to February 2012.”

He regretted what is happening in the PNC which he said “saddens me greatly, and saddens all members of the party who genuinely want to see PNC take its rightful place in Ghanaian politics”.

He charged PNC members “not to allow any person or institution to create disunity amongst them. I also call on them not to support any other party until the time is ripe to do so, and the National Executive Committee has decided on which party to support”.

The PNC appears to have suffered the worst turbulence in its history as the flag-bearer for the forthcoming polls, Hassan Ayariga, is on a collision course with some leading executives of the party over what they consider his flirtation with the ruling NDC. His performance during the two presidential debates did not endear him to the top guns of the party and those outside it.

source: Daily Guide

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Bring back 4-year SHS system - Catholic Bishops

The Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference has reiterated its call on the government to bring back the four-year system of Senior High School (SHS) for the country to know its full benefits and disadvantages before deciding to make any changes or switch to other systems.

It stated that there was no denying the fact that, it was possible for students to finish the academic syllabus within three years, given greater commitment on the part of the teachers and co-operation from students.

"But basing ourselves on the testimony of teachers and the formative needs of the students, we urge that the four years SHS programme be brought back," it stated.

It would be recalled that at the 2011 Catholic Bishops' Conference held in Takotadi, the church made the same appeal to the government to maintain the four-year SHS system to enable the nation determine its full benefits and disadvantages.

The President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, made the call when he read a communiqué issued at the close of a week-long 2012 Annual Plenary of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference in Koforidua last Thursday.

The event was attended by four archbishops and 14 bishops from the various Catholic Churches in Ghana.

The President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference also appealed to the government to reconsider the challenges involved in the computerised system of placing students in schools, saying that "these challenges are well known to the state, parents and guardians".

He also stated that the church had taken notice of recent call for freedom of worship in second cycle schools in the country by President John Dramani Mahama at the last Eid-ul-Adha celebration.

"We like to state that the Catholic Church respects and practises freedom of worship in our schools.

"We, however, like to raise this concern that what some are calling for in the name of freedom of worship could lead to very complex challenges of indiscipline, and other pitfalls for education delivery for our schools", stated.

He, therefore, called for a broader involvement of all stakeholders and a very careful study of what the right of freedom of worship should mean in practice, and its implications for schools and for education delivery in the country.

Most Rev. Osei-Bonsu called on Ghanaians to endeavour to rise above their ethnic and tribal boundaries and consider themselves as one people in spite of their differences, especially as the December elections drew nearer.
"It is against this backdrop that we appeal to all Ghanaians to see our country Ghana as one extended African family with the President as the head of this family", he said.

With regard to the Presidential Act, Most Rev Osei-Bonsu commended the executive, legislature and all Ghanaians for the various roles they played in the passage of the Presidential Transition Act.

"This Act, we hope, will, to a large extent, address unacceptable political practices and enhance transparency and accountability in the management of public assets".

"We urge all, especially politicians, to be open-minded about the Act as we recommend to the government to put the necessary institutions in place for the implementation," Most Rev. Osei Bonsu stated.

The president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference further commended the government for the Constitution review process aimed at introducing reforms to the 1992 Constitution after 20 years of democratic practice.

"We note that the government has issued a white paper on the Commission's Report and has inaugurated the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee. It is our expectation that the process will continue to be open, participatory and inclusive to deepen our democracy and governance for the well-being of citizens.

"In this vein we look forward to reforms that will expand economic, social and cultural rights, and strengthen national institutions and systems that reduce bribery and corruption, and ensure the elimination of the death penalty," added Most Rev. Osei-Bonsu.

With regard to the National Development Plan he expressed the church's happiness with the appointment of a body to develop a national plan that would be generally acceptable to all Ghanaians, saying that the short term nature of the present "Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda" did not adequately meet the development needs of Ghanaians.

"We therefore wish to endorse the proposal of the Constitutional Review Commission to have a medium to long-term development plan. Such a provision should be entrenched in the constitution to make successive governments abide by the plan.

"This, we believe, will stop the practice whereby the development of our country is subjected to the party manifesto of the government in power," Most Rev. Osei Bonsu said.

source: Daily Graphic

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NDC: We respect Otabil

The John Mahama 2012 Campaign has noted the issues raised in a statement to the media by Dr. Mensah Otabil, the General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church earlier today.

We would wish to respectfully draw the esteemed Religious Leader's attention to the fact that in the same way as it would be difficult to hold him responsible for the expressed opinion's or moral actions of even his Pastors and other officials of the ICGC (not to mention the extended membership of his church across the length and breadth of our country and other locations where the ICGC may have congregations), it is equally difficult and actually an over-simplification to try to hold the President directly responsible, or ask him to call to order, any individual or group of individual's who may or may not have sympathies with the NDC and who are making information that is easily accessible available in the public domain.

The John Mahama 2012 campaign, like some other members of the public, are aware that Dr. Mensa Otabil's past sermons are available in the public domain and further that some of these sermons are commercially available for sale. We do not see anything wrong with that because we believe that the teachings of Religious Leader's like Dr. Mensa Otabil are inspirational and provide listener's with a clear understanding of the principles and values of the Christian faith. We are also of the view that by taking the words of the Bible and making them relevant in the context of our present day experiences, Dr. Otabil brings the key tenets of the Christian faith to life within the circumstances of our times. We believe that the words of the Bible are timeless and eternal, and commentary based on these principles also are as timeless as the concepts they seek to explain. To the extent that any of Dr. Otabil's statements in the public domain are indeed statements that have been previously made by him, and are available in the public domain we fail to see how quoting statements that one would assume were statements of principle, have suddenly become the work of evil people who are surrogates and affiliates of the NDC.

The John Mahama 2012 campaign wishes to assure Dr. Mensa Otabil that we hold him in high esteem, and have the greatest of respect for his work in bringing the word of God to his flock and to the public as a whole and wish both him and his Ministry all of God's blessings both now and in the future. We also are equally respectful of the work of all of our religious leaders in the Christian community, especially as regards the light they shed on our path by teaching and explaining the word of God.

We call on the many supporters of the NDC in Ghana and across the world to ensure that in all discussions and contributions on matters of national debate their contributions are factual. We believe this to be of essential importance in ensuring that the people of Ghana are made aware of the choices and options confronting them in this election, so that together we advance the peace and progress of our nation.


Hanna S. Tetteh
Director of Communications
John Mahama 2012 Campaign

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Mahama tell your ''evil'' followers to leave me alone: Otabil

The General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church, Pastor Mensa Otabil has responded in clearest terms yet to what he calls evil attempts to expose him to public ridicule “and the running harassment against my integrity.”

He said the doctoring and manipulation of his sermons over the years to give them political twists was defamatory, unethical, criminal, malicious and evil.

In the past few weeks, a number of audio tapes have been released in which the preacher has been heard making comments that appear to criticize the political promises of the opposition New Patriotic Party.

The first tape had Dr. Otabil arguing that free education, (the NPP flag-beater Nana Akufo-Addo has promised free SHS), could never be possible.

The tape received wide publicity, prompting the church to release a statement denouncing the tape as a "collection of thoughts edited from a message shared by Pastor Otabil several years ago and pieced together to create the impression that he is taking a stand on the current political debate on the issue of education.”

But that did not deter those bent on using Dr. Otabil’s sermons for political purposes and they released many more tapes.

At this point, he said, “…I realized that I was dealing with a marauding and bullying force that was bent on impugning my name and integrity without shame.”

“But for the mischief and persistence, I would have remained quiet on this matter,” he added. But “let me state clearly,” he emphasized, “that the sound bites that have been played with my voice have been taken totally out of context; in some cases phrases from different messages I have preached over the years with no relationship to one another have been mischievously pieced together to create the impression that I was making a current contribution on the ongoing political debate.”

He said the development was not only a violation of his person and integrity but also a sign “of grave impunity for [some] individuals to cease a person’s thoughts without their consent and use it in a way that seeks to expose them to public hostility and disrespect.”

Most disturbing, he said, is the fact that even when the Church released a statement denouncing their conduct, the purveyors of the political chicanery, who had hailed him when the dubious sound bite seemed to favour their cause, turned round and condemned him.

“No one, and I repeat, no one, has the right to force their thoughts into my words; I own my thought; I own my words and I own my beliefs,” he stated.

There is a sinister force on the prowl in our nation; it is a force of impunity; it is a force of treachery; it is a force of evil, and good men in the Ghanaian society must speak out, he implored.

“When political operatives sample, splice and edit a pastor’s words to mean something other than what was intended and then go ahead to lift those words from their proper context and place them within a partisan context, that is immoral; when political operatives highjack a pastor’s words, manipulate them to build partisan jingles and play them on party information vans across the country, that is mischief; when political operatives with sinister motives deliberately position a pastor to become a target for ridicule, animosity and hostile attack, that is evil,” he lamented.

Pastor Otabil called on “all people of faith – Christians and Muslims, pastors and imams – to demand for righteousness, justice and fairness in our national discourse.”

He also called on President John Mahama to rise up and speak on this issue because “the perpetrators of these blatant acts of impunity are largely affiliates and surrogates of your party.”

source: Joyonline

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I am not a politician: Otabil

The General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church, Pastor Mensah Otabil, has categorically stated that he is not a politician and therefore stands by no political party.

This comes in the wake of events of a purported tape claiming that the said pastor has made a statement saying that free education wasn't plausible.

He said "There has been an attempt to belittle my sermon…I am a pastor; I am not a politician nor belong to any political party. Even when I am sitting my somewhere quietly, my name is dragged into the political arena…The sound bite has been taken totally out of contest…I own my thought, I own my words and I own my beliefs..."

He is to make his position on education today. iNewsGh would bring you his position on education. Stay tune

MORE SOON :)

source: iNewsGh

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NDC will still fail the country- Kufuor

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor alleges, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has resorted to vote buying in order to remain in power.

He has therefore asked Ghanaians not to allow themselves to be influenced with money ahead of the December 7 elections.

“They are just spending money anyhow. Don’t be influenced with money. Even if you give them 10 more years in addition to the 23 years they have spent in government, they will still fail the country,” he said.

Ex-President Kufuor said the ruling NDC has failed to make the lives of Ghanaians better and has resorted to buying votes to avoid defeat.

Worshiping at the Kumasi Central Mosque with the NPP’s vice presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, ex-President Kufuor said: “NDC is claiming credit for schools they didn’t build. Also, roads that they didn’t build, they said they were constructed during their tenure and same applies to hospitals among others.”

He said: “We want someone to serve the nation. When the NPP was in power, banks were chasing you with loans. The NDC is now managing the country’s finance without accounting for a penny. They are giving chiefs four-wheel drives and giving motorbikes to young men in return for their votes.”

source: Peacefmonline

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Our basic schools were never under trees - Presby church

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has said its basic schools on government’s published list of schools removed from under trees were never under trees.

The government recently published a list of 600 schools it claimed to have removed from under trees.

The list had the Osu Presby Boys Primary, Osu Presby Girls Primary/JHS and Osu Salem '5' Primary on it.

The church said the schools have had classrooms for a very long time. Speaking to Citi News, the District Minister of the Osu Ebenezer Presby church Reverend Dr. Nana Opare Kwakye said government only offered to renovate the schools.

“It was an existing building, not a school under a tree. Government only helped to refurbish the building by re-roofing and changing door locks,” he said.

Rev Kwakye also opined, “The Osu Presby Cluster of Schools are very old schools and most of the people in the church and community have come from that school so these are not schools under trees.”

source: citifmonline

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2 Celebrities Join NPP

Good old Katawere aka Agya Afari of hit television drama series ‘Efiewura’ fame, and award-winning musician Adane Best, on Monday officially joined the campaign wagon of Nana Akufo Addo, presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Katawere, known in private life as Ebenezer Donkor, mounted the NPP campaign platform and urged several thousands of listening electorate to cast their vote in favour of Nana Addo on December 7.

The old actor received huge applause and cheers when he started dancing ‘Azonto’ on the campaign stage as part of his theatrics to entertain the NPP party faithful. Adane Best, on his part, used his hit ‘Jata Bi’ song to entertain party faithful that had gathered for a mini rally at Chorkor, a popular Accra coastal town.

The musician thrilled the crown when he appeared on stage with a puppet leopard, dancing to his ‘Jata Bi ‘song as he called for votes for Nana Addo.

On same day, several members of the creative arts industry including hi-life musician Kwabena Kwabena; movie producer and Public Relations Officer of the Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG) Socrate Sarfo; music producer Mark Okraku Mantey, Fredyma, a sound engineer and music producer; actresses Vivian Jill Lawrence, Mercy Asiedu, and Auntie B. of ‘Efiewura’ fame; actor Bill Asamoah; musicians C-Zar and Naa Agyeman and many others visited the Nima residence of Nana Akufo-Addo to assure him of their support for the December 7 polls.

It is significant when members of the creative arts industry publicly declare their support for an opposition political party and the NPP candidate, Nana Addo, aware of this, expressed his appreciation to the celebrities.

Nana Addo repeated his pledge to make the creative arts industry one of his top priorities if given an opportunity to serve as president of Ghana.

He explained that the creative arts sector, if managed properly and with the requisite structures put in place, could rake huge revenues for the country and also be an enviable source of income for its stakeholders.

Reports said several more celebrities would be declaring support for Nana Addo and would be regular features on his campaign platforms.

Source;news one


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''Short man'' Nana Addo's platform was raised during the IEA meeting: NDC group

PROTEST AGAINST IEA’S PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT FOR NANA ADDO IN TAMALE

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media,

Ahead of the IEA Vice-Presidential debate, we of FOJODRAMA wish to hereby register our utmost disapproval of a blatant act of favouritism and preferential treatmengt given to the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) during its recent Presidential Debate held at the Radach Hotel in Tamale.

At the said event, the IEA provided the NPP candidate with a 1-foot raised platform hidden behind his podium on which he stood to tower over his much taller contestants for an obvious psychological advantage.
None of the other three candidates, namely President John Mahama of the NDC, Dr Abu Sakara of the CPP and Mr Hassan Ayariga of the PNC were given any such raised platforms to stand on.

It is a known fact that Nana Akufo-Addo is naturally the shortest of all the nine certified presidential candidates in the 2012 elections. We of FOJODRAMA believe height does not really matter in the race to the presidency. However, we find the attempt to hide the fact of Nana’s diminutive stature at such an important function where most Ghanaians were seeing their presidential candidates for the first time, is to say the least, reprehensible.

This is even more so, when one considers that this was done in secrecy to the extent that the raised platform behind Nana’s podium had been covered with the same blue woolen carpet that covered the entire conference room and it was hidden behind his podium in such a way that it was imperceptible to anyone inside the hall.

It was only the press corps on the second floor upstairs as well as the three other presidential candidates who could see the raised platform on which Nana Addo stood to deliver his contribution to the debate throughout the entire duration.

If Nana Addo had any genuine reason for requesting that he should be given such a preferential treatment, and if the IEA felt such a request was genuine, they should have informed the public about it, and made everybody aware that they were watching an NPP candidate who was talking down at them from a raised platform.

At such an event as the IEA forum, where Ghanaian voters get to see their candidates shoulder-to-shoulder for the very first time, they deserve to be given the right to choose their leader and president by taking into consideration all the factors that they deem to be important to them.

It is the right of voters, for instance, to choose a president who would represent the nation at the UN General Assembly for instance, and would be able to reach the level of the microphone used by all other speakers without requesting for special raised platforms anywhere.

This right, we believe, is what the IEA took away from the electorate by that reprehensible act of falsifying Nana Akufo-Addo’s height to the millions of Ghanaian voters, and the several hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.

It is on behalf of this multitude that we call for nothing but an unreserved apology from the IEA, in addition to the other three presidential candidates who mounted the podium that night to present themselves to the people of Ghana without any deception in whatever shape or form, believing in an equal platform and level playing field, which was literally denied them.

A further promise by IEA not to repeat this kind of deception and favouritism in future events, especially those coming up on November 6 and 20, would be most welcome..
Thank you.

Signed

GEORGE TETTEH-WAYOE ESQ
(Spokesperson, FOJODRAMAMA)
Barrister At Law and Solicitor of the Supreme Court, Ghana.

source: iNewsGh

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Education experts gave NPP the green light on free SHS - MP

Professor Ameyaw Ekumfi, Member of Parliament for Techiman North and former Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has stated that Nana Akufo- Addo’s free Senior High School (SHS) education campaign promise is feasible.

According to him a group of educational think tanks and policy consultants were contacted before the New Patriotic Party (NPP) adopted policy into its manifesto.

Prof Ameyaw Ekumfi, who was also former Minister of Ports and Harbours in the Kufuor regime, made this known at the Inauguration of the Senior Patriots Club of the University of Education Winneba (UEW) branch in Winneba.

He described as falsehood claims by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) campaign team that the policy would affect basic education.

Prof Ameyaw Ekumfi, currently a Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, therefore urged Ghanaians to ignore the NDC communicators and Ministers who cast doubts on the implementation of a free SHS by the NPP.

He said the NPP has facts and figures on how the policy would be implemented to help Ghanaian children who are less privileged to have access to SHS education.

The former Minister said funds for the policy would not be sourced from outside the country, but rather revenues from the oil, the GETFund and other sources.

He said the problems of supervision and teacher motivation would be addressed to encourage teachers and other non-teaching staffs to help move the policy forward.

Mr Samuel Kweku Boafo, former Ashanti Regional Minister, urged students who are mostly members of the Youth wing of NPP to intensify their campaign and educate parents about the importance of a free SHS policy.

He said the NDS’s claim that a free SHS is only attainable in 20 years time cannot be true, adding that Ghanaians cannot wait for that many years before all children can get free SHS education.

Dr Henry Augustine Puffa, Chairman of the Senior Patriots Club of UEW, said the NPP has a dream team to take Ghanaians to the Promised Land.

He added that the club would assist the Effutu NPP to wrest power from the NDC in the December 7, elections. 

source: GNA

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Thirty-four Dwamena Akenten SHS students punished for praying

A group of boarding students of the Dwamena Akenten Senior High School (SHS) in the Offinso Municipality have found themselves in trouble for persistently breaking school rules and regulations.

They would always sneak out of the school deep in the night to pray in a valley, a distance away from the compound.

The Headmaster, Mr K. O. Frimpong, said several warnings and counselling to persuade them to abandon the practice had been ignored with impunity, forcing the authorities to apply the appropriate sanctions.

He said all 34 students have been removed from the boarding house and made day-students.

Presenting his report at the inauguration of the school’s 13-member reconstituted board of governors, Mr Frimpong said they would continue to act decisively to check indiscipline.

That was the only way they could be assured of improved academic performance, he added.

Mr Joseph Kwabena Onyinah, the Ashanti Regional Education Director, underlined the need for the board to work together with the school authorities to ensure its efficient management.

The members would have to become conversant with the board’s constitution, the Ghana Education Service (GES) policies and code of conduct so as to take the right decisions.

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Nana Addo: Free education is not rocket science we can do it free in Ghana

The Flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo has again called for a free Senior High School education saying that Ghanaians have the resources in implementing it. He made this known during the recent IEA's Presidential Debate, which took place on the 30th of October, 2012, in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale.

He said ''If the payment of Judgement Debts are your priorities, then you will certainly not find money to fund free SHS education'' as a rebuttal to President John Dramani Mahama and Dr. Hassan Ayariga's assertion that free education is not possible because Ghanaians don't have the resources to implement it.

He( Nana Addo) again said that ''free education is not rocket Science'' and could be done if we put our minds to it.
 

source: Joseph Yaw Frimpong/iNewsGh

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Education can never be free - Mensa Otabil

The General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church, Dr. Mensa Otabil has waded into the controversial debate over the free education being promised by some of the political parties ahead of the December polls.

Dr. Otabil who was delivering a sermon over the weekend said "education can never be free".

His position is in direct contrast to promises made by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Progressive People's Party (PPP) and the Convention People's Party (CPP) about making education from the basic level to the Senior High School level free.

But Dr. Otabil, who is the Chancellor of the Central University College, believes "Education can never be free. Somebody is paying for it... You see when they come to you and say things like fee-free education. You are happy; take your children to school. Government is good."

"I don't believe in free education. I said pay me well my due and let me have the joy of paying my own child's school fees so that my child is not a property of the state. He's my own child and I have the dignity of a father to pay for my own child. When my child grows up I say I paid your fees."

He said those who believe such untruths that fees will be free do not understand what goes into fees paid by students.

"Nothing is free, you are paying for it. Only you are being told you didn't pay. How do you pay for it? Through taxation. Who pays the taxes? Me."

He said it is not right for politicians to say that education is free when the taxes paid by Ghanaians will be used to offset the fees. He added that the only reason why Ghanaians will believe such promises is because "ignorance makes it easy for people to accept anything".

Quality First

He said Ghanaians should demand quality before believing anything that is offered as free because a freebie will be of no value to the individual.

"If someone tells you anything is free, ask them what is the quality? Because if you don't know the quality don't take it free."

He said people should ask those offering the freebies if Ghanaians have any control over what is being offered before they buy into the ideas. He added that the when one is offered a free item, even when it is bad, one cannot complain.

source: radioxyzonline

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Okyehene asks: If Ministers have free cars, why can’t children have free education?

The Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin says the state is duty-bound to invest in education to enable children have access to free and quality education.

Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin noted that the country's children cannot be left out of education, maintaining that education in the country needs both access and affordability.

The Okyehene who was not shy of being tagged as promoting the political agenda of one political party, fears Ghana may not be able to compete with powerful nations without investing heavily in education.

He was speaking on Wendesday at the Eminent Chiefs lecture series organised by the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), towards peaceful elections 2012.

Education has taken centre-stage in the campaigns by the leading contending political parties ahead of the December 7 elections, particularly the opposition NPP and ruling NDC.

While the NPP’s flag-bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo has pledged to revise the policy of basic education and make it free to the Senior High School level, the NDC led by incumbent president John Mahama says its policy is to eradicate schools under trees, expand access to education and reduce education cost - something they say is more feasible than the NPP's promise.

“Poverty should never stand in the way of God’s child to receive proper education; we must learn to provide escape from poverty....It is about time school children go to school and have access free,” the Okyehene emphasised.

The King of Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area questioned the rationale behind the state providing free vehicles to ministers and political appointees while education for its future leaders cannot be provided free of charge.

He condemned successive governments for not doing much to improve the quality of education in the country as was started by first president Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

He said Dr. Nkrumah left Ghana a legacy of education that made people go to school, wondering why the current crop of leaders should “deny those coming after us that same opportunity”.

“Those who benefited from it and could not hold it have done a disservice to Dr. Nkrumah,” Okyehene regretted.

He proposed the decentralisation of the educational system for effective management, insisting the current system only creaated bureaucratic bottlenecks that bred inefficiencies that cripple the system.

“Decentralise the country right now! Education must be decentralised....the centrality of government is outdated, you can’t sit in Accra and control schools in Bolga,” the Okyehene stressed.

The Okyehene also stressed the need to make the law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies function in order to maintain law and order.

He warned of the imminent danger of the illegal mining known popularly as “Galamsey” which he said could pose serious threats to the nation if not stopped immediately.

He suggested that the miners should be properly trained and licensed to enable them operate within the ambit of the law.

source: joyonline

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