Presby Pro Lied, Then Apologises

Togbe Afede XIV , Chief Executive officer of Strategic African Securities (SAS) together with Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the Hainan Airlines of China, operators of a newly launched airline, Africa World Airlines, have been commended for taking a bold step and living up to expectation.

The Director-General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Air Commodore Mamphey made the commendation at launch of Africa World Airlines in Accra.

He said the new airline had met all the rigorous processes and procedures needed to operate commercial flights in the country but cautioned that, his outfit will keep on scrutinizing its activities to ensure that it met all safety requirements.

Africa World Airlines (AWA), a new domestic airline which will also operate in the West African sub-region has taken delivery of its second jet, a 50-seater Embraer ERJ – 145LR aircraft on Saturday, September 8.

The delivery of this second aircraft follows the successful delivery and launching of the airline’s first aircraft, also, an Embraer ERJ-145 LR on August 30.

Togbe Afede XIV in a statement preceding the jets’ arrival said “The arrival of this second aircraft sets the stage for Africa World Airlines to operate optimally in the domestic market to the delight of its patrons.”

According to the airline, its scheduled flight services will start on September 21 and that the receipt of the second aircraft completes the equipment requirements of the first phase of the planned hub and spoke model of Africa World Airlines.

With the launch of Africa World Airlines (AWA), Ghana now has five domestic airlines operating in the country. The others are Starbow, Fly 540, Citylink and Antrak.

According to the Founder of the Airline, Togbe Afede XIV, with this second acquisition of an aircraft, the airline is expected to fly to West African cities including Ouagadougou, Abidjan, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcout, Dakar and Banjul.

“We will now focus our energies on the second phase, which should facilitate a smooth expansion of the airlines’ operations into the West African sub-region and beyond,” Togbe Afede said.

He said the airline’s operation in the country would open the West African sub-region by linking the region to other parts of the world.

With additional files from GNA

Korle-Bu CEO Breaks Into Pharmacy To Save Lives

Following the almost a week long strike by government pharmacist, the Chief Executive Officer of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Prof. Nii Otu Nartey, is reported to have broken into the hospital’s pharmacy store to dispense drugs to dying patients.

Members of the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association have been on strike since last Tuesday over their migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure.

An eyewitness told Citi News the CEO might have acted in desperation. However, the chairman of the Pharmacists Association, Stephen Corquaye, said the CEO’s action was illegal.

Confirming the incident in an interview with The Al-Hajj, the CEO of the nation’s Premier Teaching Hospital, Prof. Nii Otu Nartey said, that was the only resort for him to save further lives after all appeals to the striking pharmacists to surrender keys to their shop fell on death ears.

“I am the CEO of Korle Bu and I have an obligation to our patient, we have emergency cases like accidents, burns, theatre etc… which will require some selected drugs in the stores, so when I asked them to bring me they keys and they refused, my only alternative to save further lives was to call the security people and a carpenter to break in…”

Prof. Nartey told The Al-Hajj that, even though, they operate two types of distribution chains, that is, the medical store and the pharmacy stores which is directly under the pharmacist, all attempts at getting keys for either stores proved futile, hence his action.

But, the chairman of the Pharmacists Association, Mr. Stephen Corquaye in an interview with citifmonline doesn’t seemed to be enthused, insisting, the CEO’s action is illegal and contravenes the pharmacy law.

“The pharmacy store by law is supposed to be managed by a pharmacist because of the nature of the drugs which are grouped into class A and class B. The Pharmacy Act has specified that anyone who releases those drugs must be a pharmacist,” Corquaye argued.

Mr. Corquaye described the incident of “a non pharmacist dispensing drugs as unfortunate.”

He said: “This shouldn’t have been the case. If there was the need for you to attend to emergencies, you could have amicably discussed with the pharmacists in that institution because we also supply emergencies to facilities.”

Reinstate Kofi Adams to his position...

JJ BEGS NDC

When the NDC founder and Former President, Jerry John Rawlings challenged President John Dramani Mahama to “restore integrity to the presidency, the government and the party” many are those who are still grappling to understand him.

At a special delegates conference of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) held in Kumasi the Ashanti regional capital last Thursday, former President Jerry John Rawlings told President John Mahama; “today is your first hurdle towards being an elected President. Electoral victory will depend on a number of things - how quickly you can restore integrity to the Presidency, your government and to the party”.

Unknown to many Ghanaians the NDC founder according to this paper’s usual reliable information, was only re-echoing his earlier request to the leadership of the party to unconditionally re-instate the disgraced former deputy secretary and aide to the Rawlingses, Mr. Kofi Adams.

Former President, Jerry John Rawlings is reported to have prior to the Kumasi Special Delegates Conference of the NDC late last month told emissaries dispatched to formally invite him to the event to endorse the candidature of President John Mahama as the party’s flag bearer for the December polls that, the NDC leader should do all it can to re-instate Mr. Kofi Adams to his former position as deputy general secretary of the party.

Our source disclosed that this sentiment of the former air force pilot found expression in his prepared speech delivered at the Kumasi conference when he stated:

“Fellow countrymen and women, the uncivilized tendency of poking thoughtlessly people who have sacrificed for both party and country, and later attempting to embrace them for political expediency, must stop. Let us begin to show civility towards each other, in the hope that it is not too late. How much credibility can be restored between now and the elections”?

According to the source, the NDC founder is not only battling with his conscience, but also finding it difficult to reconcile with the party whiles his trusted lieutenant, Kofi Adams, who stood by, and stridently defended him (Rawlings) in the ‘trying’ moments, is still left in the ‘cooler’, hence his plea and insistence.

But a source close to the party told The Al-Hajj that, much as the NDC may want to consider the party founders’ request, it was made abundantly clear to him that so long as it is his aide, Mr. Kofi Adams who took the party to court, the party is constrained into taking any such decision until either the case is determined or withdrawn.

Mr. Kofi Adams was early this year suspended by the NDC after a leaked tape with a voice purported to be his in conversation with Nana Akufo Addo’s nephew and NPP’s Strategist, Gabby Asare Otchere Darko of the Danquah Institute saying; he will do everything humanly possible to prevent the then President Mills and the NDC from securing the mandate of Ghanaians for a second term.

He has since denied the allegation but the party, following a crunch meeting by the National Executive Committee (NEC), decided to suspend him.

According to the General Secretary of the party, Mr. Asiedu Nketia “if the investigations exonerate him (Mr. Adams), the suspension will be withdrawn, but if it goes against him, we will apply the recommended sanction,” he said.

Presby Pro Lied, Then Apologises

-Over Drunken Charge against Gen. Mosquito

The work of a Public Relations Officer (PRO) is geared towards enhancing the image of the organization that he/she represents and therefore must always reflect the positive attributes of employers.

However, if the conduct of the PR Manager of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Mr. Emmanuel Osei Acheampong is anything to go by, then except he is prosecuting the partisan agenda of the church in support of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its allies, the church must waste no time in booting him out.

Within 48 hours after saying to a shocked host and audience of Asempa FM on Saturday morning that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia must have been drunk when he criticized the Presbyterian Church over its stance on the creation of additional 45 constituencies, the Presby PRO has denied ever suggesting that.

Called upon to clarify a statement he had signed for the Presbyterian church demanding an apology from the ruling NDC for comments by its General Secretary and Allotey Jacobs, on Asempa FM’s Kukurantumi programme, Acheampong described the spokespersons as indiscipline and called on the president to bring them to order.

The Presbyterian PRO, who shocked his host, Kaba, to exclaim “e-e-i!, speaking to Kwame Sefa-Kayi on Peace FM’s morning programme, Kokrokoo, Monday, denied ever suggesting that the NDC General Secretary was drunk, accusing the press of fabricating the story.

But in a dramatic fashion, the Presby spokesman, on Monday afternoon on Asempa fm; apologized to the NDC scribe and the party for any unfortunate comment passed.

“We have a great deal of respect for a great party as the NDC and we have had a very cordial relationship over a long period of time-Let me use this opportunity to say I am sorry, the Presbyterian church of Ghana is apologizing to the NDC, and General Asiedu Nketia and anyone hurt by our comment. This is what I have to say”. Mr. Acheampong stated.

In a telephone interview on Asempa FM on Saturday morning, Mr. Acheampong said: “We don’t know whether Mr. Asiedu Nketia was drunk before he went on air, but we think that what he said was highly irresponsible,” he had told a shocked host and listeners.

He said it was “high time we had responsible people in positions, especially at the top hierarchy of parties which play a key role in the governance process of the country.”

“We are a responsible institution; what the Moderator said is the position of the General assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Asiedu Nketia is highly irresponsible,” he insisted, maintaining church’s call on the Electoral Commission not to proceed with the creation of 45 additional constituencies.

He denied that the church had been partial as Asiedu-Nketia had claimed in reacting to the church’s call on the EC to halt the process: “We criticized about ROPAB; we criticize about removal of religious and moral studies from the syllabi when NPP was in power; Is that not evidence that it is not only when NDC is in power that we criticize,” he argued.

Mr. Asiedu-Nketia had insisted that even in the case of the ROPAB, which was a Kufuor-government sponsored bill; the church never took a public stand on it except to respond to petitions for intervention that they could not get an appointment to discuss the issue with ‘God-fearing President John Kufuor.’

A playback of a recording of what the NDC General Secretary and Allotey Jacobs had said on the same radio station, exposed the Presby PRO as having lied when he said the Moderator and the church were insulted.