This article is closed for comments.
"Edwa bebe a efiri anopa ampa".Early bird catches the best worm.
"Edwa bebe a efiri anopa ampa".Early bird catches the best worm.
Will someone in all sincerity tell Samia that CPP is alive today becos NDC is in power?....Samia CPP is not going to win any election in Ghana again even if NDC and NPP are no more....Go find something better to do and stop C ...
read full comment
Will someone in all sincerity tell Samia that CPP is alive today becos NDC is in power?....Samia CPP is not going to win any election in Ghana again even if NDC and NPP are no more....Go find something better to do and stop CPP CPP CPP, ...yu dont have hope and yu say yu will restore hope....are yu crazy???
CPP IS THE FUTURE. GO CPP, GO
CPP IS THE FUTURE. GO CPP, GO
WOMAN CROOK HIDING BEHIND CPP AND CHOPING FROM NDC! THIS WOMAN IS CROOK OPOSITION TO NDC, JUST WATCH HER, SHE HAD NEVER SAID ANYTHING AGAINST THOSE BAD THINGS NDC IS DOING! NDC HAS DESTROY GHANA UNLIKE HER BROTHER SHE CANT SE ...
read full comment
WOMAN CROOK HIDING BEHIND CPP AND CHOPING FROM NDC! THIS WOMAN IS CROOK OPOSITION TO NDC, JUST WATCH HER, SHE HAD NEVER SAID ANYTHING AGAINST THOSE BAD THINGS NDC IS DOING! NDC HAS DESTROY GHANA UNLIKE HER BROTHER SHE CANT SEE BECAUSE SHE NEED MONEY
We have voted NPP and NDC for 20 years and yet majority of the people live in darkness, there is no water and whatever water there is is poisoned, no new hospitals, no schools, no teacher training colleges, no roads, no railw ...
read full comment
We have voted NPP and NDC for 20 years and yet majority of the people live in darkness, there is no water and whatever water there is is poisoned, no new hospitals, no schools, no teacher training colleges, no roads, no railway, dilapidated airport, judgment debts, pollution, bloated government, stealing of our resources by foreigners, foreign control of our government and economy, joblesness and lawlessness. In this situation, only a mad man or woman will continue voting for NPP and NDC. I will vote CPP.
When Kwaku Baako informed us about the atrocities of Kwesi Pratt during PNDC Regime, some of us did not believe until the truth was confirmed during the NRC. Kwesi Pratt is the most dangerous Journalist Ghana had ever have, h ...
read full comment
When Kwaku Baako informed us about the atrocities of Kwesi Pratt during PNDC Regime, some of us did not believe until the truth was confirmed during the NRC. Kwesi Pratt is the most dangerous Journalist Ghana had ever have, he had the gut to recommend his fellow journalists to be executed by PNDC. Pratt even recommended Baako to be killed by the regime, thank God Baako was instead touchered violently and severely but his life was spared. This is what Kwesi Pratt can do. Now Pratt is a secret agent to NDC and US Embassy in Ghana. May God forgive Pratt and spare him the untold evils that will come upon him and his generations. The souls of those journalist killed through Pratt's recommendations to PNDC will never forgive Pratt. Now Pratt has the guts to take Diplomatic Passport and smuggled his weak-headed children to work at the Ministries under Mills NDC, may God forgive Pratt and his dependance and spare them of the evils ahead of them...
NPP WILL NOT GET OUR VOTES AGAIN
NPP WILL NOT GET OUR VOTES AGAIN
Samia Nkrumah should stop deceiving herself and step out of the FOOLS’ PARADISE she seem to have built for herself and her God-forsaken party, the CPP. The CPP is DEAD. It will never and can never be resurrected. Not after ...
read full comment
Samia Nkrumah should stop deceiving herself and step out of the FOOLS’ PARADISE she seem to have built for herself and her God-forsaken party, the CPP. The CPP is DEAD. It will never and can never be resurrected. Not after it had sold out to the evil NDC. The NDC vultures have already fed fat on the carcass of the CPP.
Paa Kwasi Nduom thought very smart and abandoned the mortuary-bound party that CPP was.
Today the CPP, which once enjoyed a monopoly of power in Ghana and was unchallenged during Nkrumah’s ONE PARTY (CPP) North-Korean style rule can’t compete. It has never known competition so it has collapsed and DIED and its carcass has been fed upon by the NDC hyenas.
Hey samia, my assurance to you is that i am coming from united states to re-vamp cpp to succeed as a winner in 2016.....
Kojo Oti Darko
Hey samia, my assurance to you is that i am coming from united states to re-vamp cpp to succeed as a winner in 2016.....
Kojo Oti Darko
Massa be real
Massa be real
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY!
While ...
read full comment
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY!
While kwame nkruma was seriously Condemning , blasting and lashing out against the West and accusing them as imperialists, he was at the same time also building "imperial presidency" around himself.
Was kwame nkruma such a hypocrite?
kwame nkruma was a hypocrite when he recklessly also does exactly what he has been accusing others for.
According to his ideological followers, Others are always at fault, but nkruma never fault, this was the motto and the main theme of his doctrines.
"Ghana's economy on unsustainable path"
- Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The data coming in on Ghana's economic performance in 2012 indicates quite simply that public finances are out of control and the economy is in trouble. At the end of 2012, Ghana's budget deficit was a whopping Ghc 8.7 billion, amounting to 12.1% of GDP using the rebased GDP numbers (or some 20% of GDP in terms of the old GDP series).
This is the highest recorded budget deficit in Ghana’s history. From Nkrumah through Acheampong, Rawlings and Kufuor, no government has incurred this level of budget deficit. What is more worrying is that this provisional deficit figure excludes some Ghc 4.0 billion in commitments and arrears yet to be paid to contractors and other service providers.
If we include these arrears the deficit for 2012 would be some 23% of GDP using rebased numbers (or some 35% of GDP using the old GDP series). These are mindboggling numbers. The crux of the problem is that government spending increased astronomically to 34.5% of GDP even though government revenues amounted to 16.1% of GDP (a gap of over 100%) for the year
The provisional 2012 budget deficit of 12.1% of GDP is almost double the budget deficit of 6.5% in 2008 using the rebased GDP numbers (or 11.2% of GDP using the old GDP series) notwithstanding the fact that Ghana enjoyed more favorable economic circumstances in 2012. In 2008 Ghana was not an oil producer and the global economy was in crisis.
In 2012 on the other hand, Ghana was an oil producer facing a favorable external environment for its exports and yet managed to double the 2008 budget (which this government described at the time as “reckless”) and in the process achieve what is a truly unprecedented budget deficit in Ghana’s history.
The government promised last year that its management of the economy would be more prudent than that of other governments in previous election years. Despite all the favorable opportunities at its disposal, 2012 has turned out to be the worst election year outcome in Ghana’s history in terms of the management of public finances. This is also yet another failed NDC promise.
For any economy with this historic budget deficit combined with an increasing balance of payments deficit (some 13% of rebased GDP) and mounting public debt, this state of affairs will raise alarm bells, but not so in Ghana. The government has found a way to delay tackling critical economic problems through borrowing domestically and internationally and falsely claiming “unprecedented” achievements at home.
In the process, Ghana’s total public debt has increased from Ghc 9.6 billion in 2008 to Ghc 33.5 billion in 2012 (an increase of 248% in 4 years!). As has been demonstrated for Ghana and many countries in the past however, this path and manner of managing an economy is unsustainable.
Take the example of the management of oil revenues. It turns out that the NDC government forecast oil revenues from corporate taxes of Ghc 384.1 million for 2012 knowing full well that revenue would not materialize. This is because the Jubilee partners are entitled to capital cost recovery under the Petroleum Income Tax Law 1987 (PNDC Law 188) and the government knew this.
The government nonetheless forecast the receipt of these revenues because the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 are such that the proportion of then oil revenues that accrues to the budget (The Annual Budget Funding Amount) is based on projected benchmark oil revenue. Under the Act, 70% of projected oil revenue accrues to the budget and 30% is divided between the Stabilization (21%) and Heritage (9%) funds.
The government therefore over projected the oil revenue so as to get more of the oil revenue into the budget. In the meantime, the projected revenues were spent through government borrowing. Is it therefore a surprise that with such economic management the budget deficit would increase astronomically?
Poor economic management has consequences. Unfortunately, the burden of the inevitable consequences of the NDC’s management of the economy is bound to fall disproportionately on the segments of society which are least able to afford it, as prices for petroleum products (whatever happened to the oil hedging policy?), transportation, water, electricity (in the face of water and power shortages), school fees, tax increases, expenditure cuts, unemployment, wage pressures, inflation, interest rates etc. shoot up and non-oil GDP growth slows down. This reality is already being felt and will soon be patently obvious for all to see.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was the running mate to Ghana's main opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2012 election. He is an Oxford-trained economist, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and until recently, Country Director of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe.
~ Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Uder unitary Presidency, the "independence of the Central Bank" is the greatest abomination and evil in society.
"Separation of Powers" and certain kind of independence for some state institutions is a taboo.
Can a president be too strong?
"Of course not," most people would answer.
"It's always better to be strong than weak."
Perhaps. But can a president be so powerful that he or she threatens the nation's freedom?
Should a president be allowed to violate the rights of the people?
Or to ignore the rights of other nations?
In recent years, many people think that the president has become too strong. They say that the president has taken so much power from the other branches of government that this threatens the democratic system.
Are there rules to tell a president how far he or she can go?
The Constitution is supposed to prevent the president from using power in the wrong way. Article II states all the things that a president may do and some of the things that he or she may not do.
The Growing Power of the President
The Constitution was written over some years ago. The people who wrote it did not know about nuclear weapons or rockets to the moon or computers or modern television. They didn't know that the nation would some day be the richest among the poor and discover oil. They didn't know that the economy would become so complicated and so big that it would require constant attention to keep it running smoothly.
Therefore, the rules that they wrote in the Constitution say little about a modern president's real power. J.B Danquah, Dombo and Busia would be shocked to know the following facts.
The president today has the power to command the instant destruction of entire cities and villages with fire, so that he can have the opportunity to give new contracts to foreign companies and reap out the "Kick Backs" into his private and party`s accounts.
Ghana has numerous contracts to offer. Only the president can give the signal to offer them because of "Kick-backs" and other forms of corruption.
The numerous Regions are paralysed and are not strong enough to issue their own contracts since all the powers are vested under the "unitary Presidency".
The people are denied from the rght to choose their representatives.
Democracy is destroyed, and only the "unitary President" has the power to "impose" Regional Ministers, DCE`s and Members of the Council - of - State on the people.
The president's power is felt all over the country. The president travels by Presidential jet from one nation to another. Foreign leaders often come to the Castle or Jubilee House or the so-called colonial "Flag-Staff-House", which also equates slavery to colonialism.
If the first Asantehene or the subsequent ones like Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh II had tried to visit Europe or Asia, he would have been on a ship at sea for months at a time.
The people expect the president to deal with a huge number of problems, because he has elevated himself as the god for the people.
If there is economic trouble, they expect the president to cure it. Modern presidents don't just try to administer the laws passed by Parliament. Nor do they merely "recommend measures" to Parliament as required by the Constitution.
Through staff members, they often bring pressure on Parliament to pass favored bills, including some actually written in the Executive Department.
Does the Constitution Allow a "Strong" President?
20 February 2013
President appoints Council of State members
President John Mahama has appointed a number of persons, including the immediate past Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa-Doe to the Council of State.
The Chairman of the Council is John Henry Martey Newman, former Chief of Staff under the late President John Mills.
The other members of the Council include Cecilia Johnson, Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Osei Asibe, Ashanti Region and Patrick Enyonam Agbogba (Togbui Sri) Volta Region.
The others are Rashid Sulemana Mahama, of the Northern Region, Okogyeman Kweku Gyamerah of the Western Region, David Kanga of the Upper East Region, Ama Benyiwa Doe of the Central Region, Edward Gyader of the Upper East Region, Abraham Kweku Edusei representing the Eastern Region and Dr Rabiatu Deinyo Armah of the Greater Accra Region.
The Council of State members were sworn into office by the President on Wednesday.
How much power should the president have?
How much does the Constitution set limits to the president's actions?
These are very old questions.
Throughout history, there have been many kinds of presidents. But a number of them have tended to fall into two very different groups in their attitudes toward presidential power.
The first believed that the powers of the president were few and limited.
Presidents of this type thought they could, or should, do no more than follow the exact words of the Constitution and carry out the laws of Parliament. You might call them "weak executive" presidents.
That doesn't mean that they were weak people. It means only that they believed their actions were strictly limited by the Constitution.
Modern examples of such presidents were President Dr. Hilla Limann, and Prime Minister Prof.Dr.K.A.Busia.
Some others have been "strong executive" presidents. They believed the Constitution gave them enough power to be strong leaders. In their view, a president could act in ways not specifically mentioned by the Constitution.
Almost all the most Head Of States and presidents since kwame nkruma have believed in a strong Presidency.
kwame nkruma ,kutu Acheampong, FWK Akuffo, jerry john rawlings, Agyekum Kufuor and atta mills all acted in bold new ways.
Their critics were sometimes shocked by their actions and complained that the Constitution was ignored. But the "strong executive" defended himself through their spin doctors and the corrupt media who have allowed themselves to be bought with stolen state money.
The question of how strong a president should be may be more important now than ever before. After all, the president has gained enormous power in recent years. Some scholars who once favored a strong president now believe that the trend has gone too far.
They believe that we should go back to the days when the president and Parliament were more or less equal in power.
What do you think? Below are arguments on either side of the question. Decide which argument is strongest.
The Case Against a Strong President
We often treat presidents as if they were royalty. presidents live in a big mansion. They have servants and assistants whose only job is to make sure the president has everything he or she wants.
They don't get much personal contact with the people because Gbevlo Lartey and the BNI fears they may be attacked. As one critic says: "No one speaks to him unless spoken to first. No one ever tells him to go soak his head when his demands become unreasonable."
The president has taken more and more power at the expense of Parliament.
The people who wrote the Constitution believed in checking and balancing power between Parliament and the president. But today, the president is more powerful than Parliament.
One example of what has happened is in the power to appropriate state money. The Constitution clearly gives that power to Parliament only. Yet recent presidents have been able to appropropriate state resources without a formal approval by Parliament.
dramani mahama has even made it worse by appointing an extra minister of Finance solely for the Presidency in the name of Fiifi Kwetey. This implies that john mahama can unconstitutionally misapply state money to give bribery and buy more votes for his re-election,give personal donations to his kind ones from state money, and buy cars to his favorites at the cost of the state without Parliament`s approval.
So run the arguments of those who are against the idea of a strong president.
The Case for a Strong President
The growth of the president's power is necessary. presidents should be strong and powerful.
For example,Jerry Rawlings 1981-1992
Gained power in a military coup during 1979 but handed it over. Re-took power in another coup of 1981. Elected President in 1992 and again in 1996 before standing aside as per the constitution.
Keeping It Real
Ever wonder what Nigeria would have been like if the government never lost 500 billion dollars of oil money to corruption? In this episode of "Keeping It Real," Adeola shows you the amenities that Nigerians have been robbed of. She also talked about the various African dictators who have refused to leave power even after decades.
Enjoy!
They say that Ghana today needs a strong president. Who else can give the nation leadership?
Who else can make the quick decisions that are needed in a national emergency?
In the old days during the second Republic, an army could move only as fast as its horses and sailing ships. There was plenty of time for Parliament to debate issues of peace. But not today. Only the president can act fast enough in an emergency.
Furthermore, only the president can give real leadership on the many national problems. Parliament cannot lead as well as the president simply because there is only one president, but there are over 250 Representatives and several number of the Council of State. Members of Parliament seldom agree on what to do.
Unlike members of Parliament, the president is elected by all the voters. The president does not represent just one part but the whole of the country. And if the people think that the president has taken too much power, they can always elect someone else every four years.
So run the arguments of those who believe in the need for a strong president.
20 February 2013
President cannot dissolve BoG board
The Fast Track High Court has declared that it was unlawful for the President of the Republic to dissolve the board of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) before the board had served its full term.
Giving its judgement in a suit instituted against the Attorney-General and the Governor of the BoG by Mr Sam Okudzeto over the dissolution of the BoG board in January 2009 when its term had not expired, the court held that “the act of the President in purporting to remove the plaintiff from membership of the board when his term had not expired was unlawful”.
Africa like some parts of the world has had its fair share of dictators over the past decades. Some appear on the scene as liberators, revolutionists while others come in as freedom fighters, but eventually they metamorphose into tyrants having looted with their families and want to indemnify themselves from accountability.
Here are some of the worst dictators the ‘dark continent’ has come across ever since Africans weaned themselves off colonial rule. The criteria was based on poor human rights record, disregard for press freedom and the desire to remain in power for life at the expense of innocent lives.
kwame nkruma of Ghana still stand fresh in memory.
Charles Taylor – Liberia
His full name is Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor. The 22nd president of Liberia ruled for eight years [1997-2003]. He was democratically elected. Prior to becoming the no. 1 man of his west African country, he was a warlord as the leader of the rebel group – The National Patriotic Front of Liberia. He lorded over the execution of his predecessor Sergeant Doe.
Under his reign, he allegedly committed war crimes against humanity culminating in his current trial at the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague.
The 63-year-old was accused by Amnesty International to have looted state coffers and used his troops to rape women and children as terror instruments. He is also standing trial for fueling the conflict in Sierra Leone through the illegal sale of ‘blood diamonds’ to support the rebels.
Sekou Toure – Guinea
(kwame nkruma`s best friend)
"Birds of the same further flock together".
Toure was the first president of Guinea. He fell short of four years to have ruled for three decades non-stop [1958-1984]. At one point in time he declared a one-party state. Toure was initially seen as the ‘Guinean Messiah’, but later became the sting of his people. A lot of Guineans fled the country into exile to avoid his ferocious wrath. Death camps were instituted under his watch, where his political opponents were tortured and some executed. He died in America while undergoing cardiac treatment.
General Sani Abacha – Nigeria
Sani Abacha came to the scene in a bloodless coup d’etat in November 1993. He was in power for only five years, but his nefarious feats fit someone who remained in power for life. Political pundits have christened him as the most brutal dictator of the west African powerhouse. Abacha is reported to have stolen millions of dollars from the country’s purse into western banks including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
It is unconfirmed though, but rumours from official circles have it that the senior military officer died in sexual bouts with Indian prostitutes. The highlight of his brutal reign was the 1995 killing of the political and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.
Laurent Kabila – DR Congo
He was full of promises, but none came to nothing. He seized power in 1997 after toppling Joseph Mobutu. Having headed rebellion for decades before reaching the light to turn the misfortunes of his people, he rather aggravated their social condition in his four-year rule.
An estimated 3.3 million people died during his reign. He failed to unite the people and succeeded in dividing them on tribal lines.
He banned opposition parties and never held an election contrary to his promise.
''My long years of struggle were like spreading fertiliser on a field. But now it is time to harvest,'' he told Reuters when he overthrew Mobutu and indeed he reaped from what he sown.
Enough! was the clarion call. Kabila met his waterloo in 2001 when one of his bodyguards shot him in a dramatic style.
Kamuzu Banda – Malawi
Call him a friend or a foe. He fits into any of them. However, the Malawian’s demeanour since he assumed post clearly classified him a despot. Banda was highly intoxicated with power and was never ready to let go.
He fired ministers who had the sense to counsel him that ‘sir, you are biting more than you can chew.’ He was constantly on the hunt to haunt his opponents and many of them fled to exile.
The tyrant declared a one-party state in 1966. His regime was a classic case of ‘grace to grass’. The National Assembly stripped him of his powers in 1993 and died four years after in South Africa.
Robert Mugabe – Zimbabwe
Uncle Roo is a classic case of hero to tyrant. He played an integral role in bringing freedom to Zimbabweans, but got himself drunk with power and went overboard. The veteran has clung on to power from 1980 till date. Zimbabweans are fed up with his repressive regime.
He hates press freedom.
The economy is in a bad state. If you are an opposition member be prepared to make the prisons your second home and the courts will be frequent places of visits. He succumbed to power-sharing in 2009, but the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, now a key government figure touted to bring hopes to the former British colony of Rhodesia, is not having it easy with his opponent in the corridors of power.
Mobutu Sese Seko – [Zaire] Congo
He was born Joseph-Desire Mobutu, but popularly known as Mobuto Sese Seko [Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga] – a title he added to his name to wit, “the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake”.
He was Zaire’s long-serving dictator, who stayed in power for 31 solid years. He felt bigger than his country and thought the nation cannot do without him. It took one Laurent Kabila to force him into exile.
Mobutu was cunning, violent and always had his hands in state coffers. He lived in grandeur state while the country was stumbling in poverty. Mobutu died while in exile in Morocco after a protracted battle with cancer.
Jean-Bedel Bokassa - CAR
He was a former colonel who seized power in the Central African Republic in 1966 and declared himself president for life. Bokassa I was accused of cannibalism of imprisoned school children.
His stock in trade in most parts of his 14-year rule was torture and execution of his opponents. It is widely reported that his coronation alone cost US$30 million and he amassed about US$125 m in his personal accounts.
His regime ended in 1979 when French paratroopers overthrew his government while he was on an official trip to Libya. Bokassa had 17 wives with close to 50 children. He died at 75 from a heart attack in 1996.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - Libya
The beleaguered Libyan ruler is the longest-ruling Africa and the Arab world's “most erratic, most grimly fascinating leader - presiding for 42 years over this desert republic with vast oil reserves and just six million people,” Aljazeera described him.
The revolutionist came to power through a 1969 bloodless coup against King Idris at the age of 27. He has ruled with eagle eyes over his oil-rich country and has dealt with dissidents [“rats”] severely in the past decades through public hanging and long term imprisonments. His regime is near collapse as rebels close in on him to drag him out of power from the beginning of the year.
Idi Amin Dada – Uganda
He is the most notorious of all African dictators ever. He has been described as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutalities in the 70s. He was in the limelight in 1971 after a military coup and ruled for eight years.
He conferred on him the title, Field Marshal. He is known for the famous quote on the day of the coup: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."
He used his ‘killer squads’ to eliminate hundreds of his opponents. Amin was ousted in 1979 by Ugandan nationalists, after which he fled into exile.
Dishonourable mentions
Francisco Macías Nguema – Equatorial Guinea
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma – Togo
Paul Biya – Cameroon
Mengistu Haile Mariam – Ethiopia
Omar Al-bashir – Sudan
Omar Al-bashir – Eritrea
Siad Barre – Somalia
Hissene Habre - Chad
Laurent Gbagbo, Ivory Coast's former president, is set to appear before the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Judges on Tuesday will decide if there is enough evidence to try him for masterminding a bloody election standoff two years ago, when four months of fighting left some 3,000 dead following his refusal to concede defeat to current president Alassane Outtara.
Prosecutors say Gbagbo, who faces four counts including murder and rape, spearheaded a plan to "stay in power by all means... through carefully planned, sustained and deadly attacks" against supporters of the election winner.
"Hundreds of civilian opponents were attacked, killed, wounded or victims of rape as a result of this policy," the prosecution said.
Gbagbo is the first former head of state to appear before the Hague-based court, where hearings will last just over a week.
Large-scale killings
Between November 28, 2010 and May 8, 2011 Gbagbo's forces killed between 706 and 1,059 people and raped more than 35 women, prosecutors say.
In one instance, some 80 people were massacred when perceived Ouattara supporters were attacked in the northwestern Abidjan suburb of Yopougon a day after Gbagbo's arrest by rival forces.
"The perpetrators were armed with Kalashnikovs and machetes. They attacked people in the street, sometimes stopping them at illegal roadblocks," prosecutors said, adding "victims were summarily executed or burnt alive, under the eyes of police officers who did not intervene."
In a reminder of tensions still simmering, the same neighbourhood of Yopougon on Saturday saw riot police fire tear gas to disperse a group of around 50 pro-Gbagbo supporters.
Ouattara's Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko had banned the demonstration but youths nevertheless gathered, shouting "Free Gbagbo" and charging a police barrier.
Judges at the ICC said on Friday Gbagbo's mental health was fragile, but that he was fit enough to stand trial. Special measures including shorter sessions or letting the former president excuse himself and appear via video could be made possible, they said.
The hearings are expected to end on February 28, when Gbagbo is expected to make a statement.
Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns
Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has resigned after failing to reach agreement on forming a new government.
Mr Jebali had been trying to form a new coalition in response to the political crisis sparked by the killing of opposition leader Chokri Belaid.
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a ...
read full comment
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY!
While kwame nkruma was seriously Condemning , blasting and lashing out against the West and accusing them as imperialists, he was at the same time also building "imperial presidency" around himself.
Was kwame nkruma such a hypocrite?
kwame nkruma was a hypocrite when he recklessly also does exactly what he has been accusing others for.
According to his ideological followers, Others are always at fault, but nkruma never fault, this was the motto and the main theme of his doctrines.
"Ghana's economy on unsustainable path"
- Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The data coming in on Ghana's economic performance in 2012 indicates quite simply that public finances are out of control and the economy is in trouble. At the end of 2012, Ghana's budget deficit was a whopping Ghc 8.7 billion, amounting to 12.1% of GDP using the rebased GDP numbers (or some 20% of GDP in terms of the old GDP series).
This is the highest recorded budget deficit in Ghana’s history. From Nkrumah through Acheampong, Rawlings and Kufuor, no government has incurred this level of budget deficit. What is more worrying is that this provisional deficit figure excludes some Ghc 4.0 billion in commitments and arrears yet to be paid to contractors and other service providers.
If we include these arrears the deficit for 2012 would be some 23% of GDP using rebased numbers (or some 35% of GDP using the old GDP series). These are mindboggling numbers. The crux of the problem is that government spending increased astronomically to 34.5% of GDP even though government revenues amounted to 16.1% of GDP (a gap of over 100%) for the year
The provisional 2012 budget deficit of 12.1% of GDP is almost double the budget deficit of 6.5% in 2008 using the rebased GDP numbers (or 11.2% of GDP using the old GDP series) notwithstanding the fact that Ghana enjoyed more favorable economic circumstances in 2012. In 2008 Ghana was not an oil producer and the global economy was in crisis.
In 2012 on the other hand, Ghana was an oil producer facing a favorable external environment for its exports and yet managed to double the 2008 budget (which this government described at the time as “reckless”) and in the process achieve what is a truly unprecedented budget deficit in Ghana’s history.
The government promised last year that its management of the economy would be more prudent than that of other governments in previous election years. Despite all the favorable opportunities at its disposal, 2012 has turned out to be the worst election year outcome in Ghana’s history in terms of the management of public finances. This is also yet another failed NDC promise.
For any economy with this historic budget deficit combined with an increasing balance of payments deficit (some 13% of rebased GDP) and mounting public debt, this state of affairs will raise alarm bells, but not so in Ghana. The government has found a way to delay tackling critical economic problems through borrowing domestically and internationally and falsely claiming “unprecedented” achievements at home.
In the process, Ghana’s total public debt has increased from Ghc 9.6 billion in 2008 to Ghc 33.5 billion in 2012 (an increase of 248% in 4 years!). As has been demonstrated for Ghana and many countries in the past however, this path and manner of managing an economy is unsustainable.
Take the example of the management of oil revenues. It turns out that the NDC government forecast oil revenues from corporate taxes of Ghc 384.1 million for 2012 knowing full well that revenue would not materialize. This is because the Jubilee partners are entitled to capital cost recovery under the Petroleum Income Tax Law 1987 (PNDC Law 188) and the government knew this.
The government nonetheless forecast the receipt of these revenues because the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 are such that the proportion of then oil revenues that accrues to the budget (The Annual Budget Funding Amount) is based on projected benchmark oil revenue. Under the Act, 70% of projected oil revenue accrues to the budget and 30% is divided between the Stabilization (21%) and Heritage (9%) funds.
The government therefore over projected the oil revenue so as to get more of the oil revenue into the budget. In the meantime, the projected revenues were spent through government borrowing. Is it therefore a surprise that with such economic management the budget deficit would increase astronomically?
Poor economic management has consequences. Unfortunately, the burden of the inevitable consequences of the NDC’s management of the economy is bound to fall disproportionately on the segments of society which are least able to afford it, as prices for petroleum products (whatever happened to the oil hedging policy?), transportation, water, electricity (in the face of water and power shortages), school fees, tax increases, expenditure cuts, unemployment, wage pressures, inflation, interest rates etc. shoot up and non-oil GDP growth slows down. This reality is already being felt and will soon be patently obvious for all to see.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was the running mate to Ghana's main opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2012 election. He is an Oxford-trained economist, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and until recently, Country Director of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe.
~ Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Uder unitary Presidency, the "independence of the Central Bank" is the greatest abomination and evil in society.
"Separation of Powers" and certain kind of independence for some state institutions is a taboo.
Can a president be too strong?
"Of course not," most people would answer.
"It's always better to be strong than weak."
Perhaps. But can a president be so powerful that he or she threatens the nation's freedom?
Should a president be allowed to violate the rights of the people?
Or to ignore the rights of other nations?
In recent years, many people think that the president has become too strong. They say that the president has taken so much power from the other branches of government that this threatens the democratic system.
Are there rules to tell a president how far he or she can go?
The Constitution is supposed to prevent the president from using power in the wrong way. Article II states all the things that a president may do and some of the things that he or she may not do.
The Growing Power of the President
The Constitution was written over some years ago. The people who wrote it did not know about nuclear weapons or rockets to the moon or computers or modern television. They didn't know that the nation would some day be the richest among the poor and discover oil. They didn't know that the economy would become so complicated and so big that it would require constant attention to keep it running smoothly.
Therefore, the rules that they wrote in the Constitution say little about a modern president's real power. J.B Danquah, Dombo and Busia would be shocked to know the following facts.
The president today has the power to command the instant destruction of entire cities and villages with fire, so that he can have the opportunity to give new contracts to foreign companies and reap out the "Kick Backs" into his private and party`s accounts.
Ghana has numerous contracts to offer. Only the president can give the signal to offer them because of "Kick-backs" and other forms of corruption.
The numerous Regions are paralysed and are not strong enough to issue their own contracts since all the powers are vested under the "unitary Presidency".
The people are denied from the rght to choose their representatives.
Democracy is destroyed, and only the "unitary President" has the power to "impose" Regional Ministers, DCE`s and Members of the Council - of - State on the people.
The president's power is felt all over the country. The president travels by Presidential jet from one nation to another. Foreign leaders often come to the Castle or Jubilee House or the so-called colonial "Flag-Staff-House", which also equates slavery to colonialism.
If the first Asantehene or the subsequent ones like Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh II had tried to visit Europe or Asia, he would have been on a ship at sea for months at a time.
The people expect the president to deal with a huge number of problems, because he has elevated himself as the god for the people.
If there is economic trouble, they expect the president to cure it. Modern presidents don't just try to administer the laws passed by Parliament. Nor do they merely "recommend measures" to Parliament as required by the Constitution.
Through staff members, they often bring pressure on Parliament to pass favored bills, including some actually written in the Executive Department.
Does the Constitution Allow a "Strong" President?
20 February 2013
President appoints Council of State members
President John Mahama has appointed a number of persons, including the immediate past Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa-Doe to the Council of State.
The Chairman of the Council is John Henry Martey Newman, former Chief of Staff under the late President John Mills.
The other members of the Council include Cecilia Johnson, Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Osei Asibe, Ashanti Region and Patrick Enyonam Agbogba (Togbui Sri) Volta Region.
The others are Rashid Sulemana Mahama, of the Northern Region, Okogyeman Kweku Gyamerah of the Western Region, David Kanga of the Upper East Region, Ama Benyiwa Doe of the Central Region, Edward Gyader of the Upper East Region, Abraham Kweku Edusei representing the Eastern Region and Dr Rabiatu Deinyo Armah of the Greater Accra Region.
The Council of State members were sworn into office by the President on Wednesday.
How much power should the president have?
How much does the Constitution set limits to the president's actions?
These are very old questions.
Throughout history, there have been many kinds of presidents. But a number of them have tended to fall into two very different groups in their attitudes toward presidential power.
The first believed that the powers of the president were few and limited.
Presidents of this type thought they could, or should, do no more than follow the exact words of the Constitution and carry out the laws of Parliament. You might call them "weak executive" presidents.
That doesn't mean that they were weak people. It means only that they believed their actions were strictly limited by the Constitution.
Modern examples of such presidents were President Dr. Hilla Limann, and Prime Minister Prof.Dr.K.A.Busia.
Some others have been "strong executive" presidents. They believed the Constitution gave them enough power to be strong leaders. In their view, a president could act in ways not specifically mentioned by the Constitution.
Almost all the most Head Of States and presidents since kwame nkruma have believed in a strong Presidency.
kwame nkruma ,kutu Acheampong, FWK Akuffo, jerry john rawlings, Agyekum Kufuor and atta mills all acted in bold new ways.
Their critics were sometimes shocked by their actions and complained that the Constitution was ignored. But the "strong executive" defended himself through their spin doctors and the corrupt media who have allowed themselves to be bought with stolen state money.
The question of how strong a president should be may be more important now than ever before. After all, the president has gained enormous power in recent years. Some scholars who once favored a strong president now believe that the trend has gone too far.
They believe that we should go back to the days when the president and Parliament were more or less equal in power.
What do you think? Below are arguments on either side of the question. Decide which argument is strongest.
The Case Against a Strong President
We often treat presidents as if they were royalty. presidents live in a big mansion. They have servants and assistants whose only job is to make sure the president has everything he or she wants.
They don't get much personal contact with the people because Gbevlo Lartey and the BNI fears they may be attacked. As one critic says: "No one speaks to him unless spoken to first. No one ever tells him to go soak his head when his demands become unreasonable."
The president has taken more and more power at the expense of Parliament.
The people who wrote the Constitution believed in checking and balancing power between Parliament and the president. But today, the president is more powerful than Parliament.
One example of what has happened is in the power to appropriate state money. The Constitution clearly gives that power to Parliament only. Yet recent presidents have been able to appropropriate state resources without a formal approval by Parliament.
dramani mahama has even made it worse by appointing an extra minister of Finance solely for the Presidency in the name of Fiifi Kwetey. This implies that john mahama can unconstitutionally misapply state money to give bribery and buy more votes for his re-election,give personal donations to his kind ones from state money, and buy cars to his favorites at the cost of the state without Parliament`s approval.
So run the arguments of those who are against the idea of a strong president.
The Case for a Strong President
The growth of the president's power is necessary. presidents should be strong and powerful.
For example,Jerry Rawlings 1981-1992
Gained power in a military coup during 1979 but handed it over. Re-took power in another coup of 1981. Elected President in 1992 and again in 1996 before standing aside as per the constitution.
Keeping It Real
Ever wonder what Nigeria would have been like if the government never lost 500 billion dollars of oil money to corruption? In this episode of "Keeping It Real," Adeola shows you the amenities that Nigerians have been robbed of. She also talked about the various African dictators who have refused to leave power even after decades.
Enjoy!
They say that Ghana today needs a strong president. Who else can give the nation leadership?
Who else can make the quick decisions that are needed in a national emergency?
In the old days during the second Republic, an army could move only as fast as its horses and sailing ships. There was plenty of time for Parliament to debate issues of peace. But not today. Only the president can act fast enough in an emergency.
Furthermore, only the president can give real leadership on the many national problems. Parliament cannot lead as well as the president simply because there is only one president, but there are over 250 Representatives and several number of the Council of State. Members of Parliament seldom agree on what to do.
Unlike members of Parliament, the president is elected by all the voters. The president does not represent just one part but the whole of the country. And if the people think that the president has taken too much power, they can always elect someone else every four years.
So run the arguments of those who believe in the need for a strong president.
20 February 2013
President cannot dissolve BoG board
The Fast Track High Court has declared that it was unlawful for the President of the Republic to dissolve the board of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) before the board had served its full term.
Giving its judgement in a suit instituted against the Attorney-General and the Governor of the BoG by Mr Sam Okudzeto over the dissolution of the BoG board in January 2009 when its term had not expired, the court held that “the act of the President in purporting to remove the plaintiff from membership of the board when his term had not expired was unlawful”.
Africa like some parts of the world has had its fair share of dictators over the past decades. Some appear on the scene as liberators, revolutionists while others come in as freedom fighters, but eventually they metamorphose into tyrants having looted with their families and want to indemnify themselves from accountability.
Here are some of the worst dictators the ‘dark continent’ has come across ever since Africans weaned themselves off colonial rule. The criteria was based on poor human rights record, disregard for press freedom and the desire to remain in power for life at the expense of innocent lives.
kwame nkruma of Ghana still stand fresh in memory.
Charles Taylor – Liberia
His full name is Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor. The 22nd president of Liberia ruled for eight years [1997-2003]. He was democratically elected. Prior to becoming the no. 1 man of his west African country, he was a warlord as the leader of the rebel group – The National Patriotic Front of Liberia. He lorded over the execution of his predecessor Sergeant Doe.
Under his reign, he allegedly committed war crimes against humanity culminating in his current trial at the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague.
The 63-year-old was accused by Amnesty International to have looted state coffers and used his troops to rape women and children as terror instruments. He is also standing trial for fueling the conflict in Sierra Leone through the illegal sale of ‘blood diamonds’ to support the rebels.
Sekou Toure – Guinea
(kwame nkruma`s best friend)
"Birds of the same further flock together".
Toure was the first president of Guinea. He fell short of four years to have ruled for three decades non-stop [1958-1984]. At one point in time he declared a one-party state. Toure was initially seen as the ‘Guinean Messiah’, but later became the sting of his people. A lot of Guineans fled the country into exile to avoid his ferocious wrath. Death camps were instituted under his watch, where his political opponents were tortured and some executed. He died in America while undergoing cardiac treatment.
General Sani Abacha – Nigeria
Sani Abacha came to the scene in a bloodless coup d’etat in November 1993. He was in power for only five years, but his nefarious feats fit someone who remained in power for life. Political pundits have christened him as the most brutal dictator of the west African powerhouse. Abacha is reported to have stolen millions of dollars from the country’s purse into western banks including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
It is unconfirmed though, but rumours from official circles have it that the senior military officer died in sexual bouts with Indian prostitutes. The highlight of his brutal reign was the 1995 killing of the political and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.
Laurent Kabila – DR Congo
He was full of promises, but none came to nothing. He seized power in 1997 after toppling Joseph Mobutu. Having headed rebellion for decades before reaching the light to turn the misfortunes of his people, he rather aggravated their social condition in his four-year rule.
An estimated 3.3 million people died during his reign. He failed to unite the people and succeeded in dividing them on tribal lines.
He banned opposition parties and never held an election contrary to his promise.
''My long years of struggle were like spreading fertiliser on a field. But now it is time to harvest,'' he told Reuters when he overthrew Mobutu and indeed he reaped from what he sown.
Enough! was the clarion call. Kabila met his waterloo in 2001 when one of his bodyguards shot him in a dramatic style.
Kamuzu Banda – Malawi
Call him a friend or a foe. He fits into any of them. However, the Malawian’s demeanour since he assumed post clearly classified him a despot. Banda was highly intoxicated with power and was never ready to let go.
He fired ministers who had the sense to counsel him that ‘sir, you are biting more than you can chew.’ He was constantly on the hunt to haunt his opponents and many of them fled to exile.
The tyrant declared a one-party state in 1966. His regime was a classic case of ‘grace to grass’. The National Assembly stripped him of his powers in 1993 and died four years after in South Africa.
Robert Mugabe – Zimbabwe
Uncle Roo is a classic case of hero to tyrant. He played an integral role in bringing freedom to Zimbabweans, but got himself drunk with power and went overboard. The veteran has clung on to power from 1980 till date. Zimbabweans are fed up with his repressive regime.
He hates press freedom.
The economy is in a bad state. If you are an opposition member be prepared to make the prisons your second home and the courts will be frequent places of visits. He succumbed to power-sharing in 2009, but the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, now a key government figure touted to bring hopes to the former British colony of Rhodesia, is not having it easy with his opponent in the corridors of power.
Mobutu Sese Seko – [Zaire] Congo
He was born Joseph-Desire Mobutu, but popularly known as Mobuto Sese Seko [Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga] – a title he added to his name to wit, “the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake”.
He was Zaire’s long-serving dictator, who stayed in power for 31 solid years. He felt bigger than his country and thought the nation cannot do without him. It took one Laurent Kabila to force him into exile.
Mobutu was cunning, violent and always had his hands in state coffers. He lived in grandeur state while the country was stumbling in poverty. Mobutu died while in exile in Morocco after a protracted battle with cancer.
Jean-Bedel Bokassa - CAR
He was a former colonel who seized power in the Central African Republic in 1966 and declared himself president for life. Bokassa I was accused of cannibalism of imprisoned school children.
His stock in trade in most parts of his 14-year rule was torture and execution of his opponents. It is widely reported that his coronation alone cost US$30 million and he amassed about US$125 m in his personal accounts.
His regime ended in 1979 when French paratroopers overthrew his government while he was on an official trip to Libya. Bokassa had 17 wives with close to 50 children. He died at 75 from a heart attack in 1996.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - Libya
The beleaguered Libyan ruler is the longest-ruling Africa and the Arab world's “most erratic, most grimly fascinating leader - presiding for 42 years over this desert republic with vast oil reserves and just six million people,” Aljazeera described him.
The revolutionist came to power through a 1969 bloodless coup against King Idris at the age of 27. He has ruled with eagle eyes over his oil-rich country and has dealt with dissidents [“rats”] severely in the past decades through public hanging and long term imprisonments. His regime is near collapse as rebels close in on him to drag him out of power from the beginning of the year.
Idi Amin Dada – Uganda
He is the most notorious of all African dictators ever. He has been described as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutalities in the 70s. He was in the limelight in 1971 after a military coup and ruled for eight years.
He conferred on him the title, Field Marshal. He is known for the famous quote on the day of the coup: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."
He used his ‘killer squads’ to eliminate hundreds of his opponents. Amin was ousted in 1979 by Ugandan nationalists, after which he fled into exile.
Dishonourable mentions
Francisco Macías Nguema – Equatorial Guinea
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma – Togo
Paul Biya – Cameroon
Mengistu Haile Mariam – Ethiopia
Omar Al-bashir – Sudan
Omar Al-bashir – Eritrea
Siad Barre – Somalia
Hissene Habre - Chad
Laurent Gbagbo, Ivory Coast's former president, is set to appear before the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Judges on Tuesday will decide if there is enough evidence to try him for masterminding a bloody election standoff two years ago, when four months of fighting left some 3,000 dead following his refusal to concede defeat to current president Alassane Outtara.
Prosecutors say Gbagbo, who faces four counts including murder and rape, spearheaded a plan to "stay in power by all means... through carefully planned, sustained and deadly attacks" against supporters of the election winner.
"Hundreds of civilian opponents were attacked, killed, wounded or victims of rape as a result of this policy," the prosecution said.
Gbagbo is the first former head of state to appear before the Hague-based court, where hearings will last just over a week.
Large-scale killings
Between November 28, 2010 and May 8, 2011 Gbagbo's forces killed between 706 and 1,059 people and raped more than 35 women, prosecutors say.
In one instance, some 80 people were massacred when perceived Ouattara supporters were attacked in the northwestern Abidjan suburb of Yopougon a day after Gbagbo's arrest by rival forces.
"The perpetrators were armed with Kalashnikovs and machetes. They attacked people in the street, sometimes stopping them at illegal roadblocks," prosecutors said, adding "victims were summarily executed or burnt alive, under the eyes of police officers who did not intervene."
In a reminder of tensions still simmering, the same neighbourhood of Yopougon on Saturday saw riot police fire tear gas to disperse a group of around 50 pro-Gbagbo supporters.
Ouattara's Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko had banned the demonstration but youths nevertheless gathered, shouting "Free Gbagbo" and charging a police barrier.
Judges at the ICC said on Friday Gbagbo's mental health was fragile, but that he was fit enough to stand trial. Special measures including shorter sessions or letting the former president excuse himself and appear via video could be made possible, they said.
The hearings are expected to end on February 28, when Gbagbo is expected to make a statement.
Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns
Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has resigned after failing to reach agreement on forming a new government.
Mr Jebali had been trying to form a new coalition in response to the political crisis sparked by the killing of opposition leader Chokri Belaid.
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is ...
read full comment
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY!
While kwame nkruma was seriously Condemning , blasting and lashing out against the West and accusing them as imperialists, he was at the same time also building "imperial presidency" around himself.
Was kwame nkruma such a hypocrite?
kwame nkruma was a hypocrite when he recklessly also does exactly what he has been accusing others for.
According to his ideological followers, Others are always at fault, but nkruma never fault, this was the motto and the main theme of his doctrines.
"Ghana's economy on unsustainable path"
- Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The data coming in on Ghana's economic performance in 2012 indicates quite simply that public finances are out of control and the economy is in trouble. At the end of 2012, Ghana's budget deficit was a whopping Ghc 8.7 billion, amounting to 12.1% of GDP using the rebased GDP numbers (or some 20% of GDP in terms of the old GDP series).
This is the highest recorded budget deficit in Ghana’s history. From Nkrumah through Acheampong, Rawlings and Kufuor, no government has incurred this level of budget deficit. What is more worrying is that this provisional deficit figure excludes some Ghc 4.0 billion in commitments and arrears yet to be paid to contractors and other service providers.
If we include these arrears the deficit for 2012 would be some 23% of GDP using rebased numbers (or some 35% of GDP using the old GDP series). These are mindboggling numbers. The crux of the problem is that government spending increased astronomically to 34.5% of GDP even though government revenues amounted to 16.1% of GDP (a gap of over 100%) for the year
The provisional 2012 budget deficit of 12.1% of GDP is almost double the budget deficit of 6.5% in 2008 using the rebased GDP numbers (or 11.2% of GDP using the old GDP series) notwithstanding the fact that Ghana enjoyed more favorable economic circumstances in 2012. In 2008 Ghana was not an oil producer and the global economy was in crisis.
In 2012 on the other hand, Ghana was an oil producer facing a favorable external environment for its exports and yet managed to double the 2008 budget (which this government described at the time as “reckless”) and in the process achieve what is a truly unprecedented budget deficit in Ghana’s history.
The government promised last year that its management of the economy would be more prudent than that of other governments in previous election years. Despite all the favorable opportunities at its disposal, 2012 has turned out to be the worst election year outcome in Ghana’s history in terms of the management of public finances. This is also yet another failed NDC promise.
For any economy with this historic budget deficit combined with an increasing balance of payments deficit (some 13% of rebased GDP) and mounting public debt, this state of affairs will raise alarm bells, but not so in Ghana. The government has found a way to delay tackling critical economic problems through borrowing domestically and internationally and falsely claiming “unprecedented” achievements at home.
In the process, Ghana’s total public debt has increased from Ghc 9.6 billion in 2008 to Ghc 33.5 billion in 2012 (an increase of 248% in 4 years!). As has been demonstrated for Ghana and many countries in the past however, this path and manner of managing an economy is unsustainable.
Take the example of the management of oil revenues. It turns out that the NDC government forecast oil revenues from corporate taxes of Ghc 384.1 million for 2012 knowing full well that revenue would not materialize. This is because the Jubilee partners are entitled to capital cost recovery under the Petroleum Income Tax Law 1987 (PNDC Law 188) and the government knew this.
The government nonetheless forecast the receipt of these revenues because the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 are such that the proportion of then oil revenues that accrues to the budget (The Annual Budget Funding Amount) is based on projected benchmark oil revenue. Under the Act, 70% of projected oil revenue accrues to the budget and 30% is divided between the Stabilization (21%) and Heritage (9%) funds.
The government therefore over projected the oil revenue so as to get more of the oil revenue into the budget. In the meantime, the projected revenues were spent through government borrowing. Is it therefore a surprise that with such economic management the budget deficit would increase astronomically?
Poor economic management has consequences. Unfortunately, the burden of the inevitable consequences of the NDC’s management of the economy is bound to fall disproportionately on the segments of society which are least able to afford it, as prices for petroleum products (whatever happened to the oil hedging policy?), transportation, water, electricity (in the face of water and power shortages), school fees, tax increases, expenditure cuts, unemployment, wage pressures, inflation, interest rates etc. shoot up and non-oil GDP growth slows down. This reality is already being felt and will soon be patently obvious for all to see.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was the running mate to Ghana's main opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2012 election. He is an Oxford-trained economist, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and until recently, Country Director of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe.
~ Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Uder unitary Presidency, the "independence of the Central Bank" is the greatest abomination and evil in society.
"Separation of Powers" and certain kind of independence for some state institutions is a taboo.
Can a president be too strong?
"Of course not," most people would answer.
"It's always better to be strong than weak."
Perhaps. But can a president be so powerful that he or she threatens the nation's freedom?
Should a president be allowed to violate the rights of the people?
Or to ignore the rights of other nations?
In recent years, many people think that the president has become too strong. They say that the president has taken so much power from the other branches of government that this threatens the democratic system.
Are there rules to tell a president how far he or she can go?
The Constitution is supposed to prevent the president from using power in the wrong way. Article II states all the things that a president may do and some of the things that he or she may not do.
The Growing Power of the President
The Constitution was written over some years ago. The people who wrote it did not know about nuclear weapons or rockets to the moon or computers or modern television. They didn't know that the nation would some day be the richest among the poor and discover oil. They didn't know that the economy would become so complicated and so big that it would require constant attention to keep it running smoothly.
Therefore, the rules that they wrote in the Constitution say little about a modern president's real power. J.B Danquah, Dombo and Busia would be shocked to know the following facts.
The president today has the power to command the instant destruction of entire cities and villages with fire, so that he can have the opportunity to give new contracts to foreign companies and reap out the "Kick Backs" into his private and party`s accounts.
Ghana has numerous contracts to offer. Only the president can give the signal to offer them because of "Kick-backs" and other forms of corruption.
The numerous Regions are paralysed and are not strong enough to issue their own contracts since all the powers are vested under the "unitary Presidency".
The people are denied from the rght to choose their representatives.
Democracy is destroyed, and only the "unitary President" has the power to "impose" Regional Ministers, DCE`s and Members of the Council - of - State on the people.
The president's power is felt all over the country. The president travels by Presidential jet from one nation to another. Foreign leaders often come to the Castle or Jubilee House or the so-called colonial "Flag-Staff-House", which also equates slavery to colonialism.
If the first Asantehene or the subsequent ones like Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh II had tried to visit Europe or Asia, he would have been on a ship at sea for months at a time.
The people expect the president to deal with a huge number of problems, because he has elevated himself as the god for the people.
If there is economic trouble, they expect the president to cure it. Modern presidents don't just try to administer the laws passed by Parliament. Nor do they merely "recommend measures" to Parliament as required by the Constitution.
Through staff members, they often bring pressure on Parliament to pass favored bills, including some actually written in the Executive Department.
Does the Constitution Allow a "Strong" President?
20 February 2013
President appoints Council of State members
President John Mahama has appointed a number of persons, including the immediate past Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa-Doe to the Council of State.
The Chairman of the Council is John Henry Martey Newman, former Chief of Staff under the late President John Mills.
The other members of the Council include Cecilia Johnson, Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Osei Asibe, Ashanti Region and Patrick Enyonam Agbogba (Togbui Sri) Volta Region.
The others are Rashid Sulemana Mahama, of the Northern Region, Okogyeman Kweku Gyamerah of the Western Region, David Kanga of the Upper East Region, Ama Benyiwa Doe of the Central Region, Edward Gyader of the Upper East Region, Abraham Kweku Edusei representing the Eastern Region and Dr Rabiatu Deinyo Armah of the Greater Accra Region.
The Council of State members were sworn into office by the President on Wednesday.
How much power should the president have?
How much does the Constitution set limits to the president's actions?
These are very old questions.
Throughout history, there have been many kinds of presidents. But a number of them have tended to fall into two very different groups in their attitudes toward presidential power.
The first believed that the powers of the president were few and limited.
Presidents of this type thought they could, or should, do no more than follow the exact words of the Constitution and carry out the laws of Parliament. You might call them "weak executive" presidents.
That doesn't mean that they were weak people. It means only that they believed their actions were strictly limited by the Constitution.
Modern examples of such presidents were President Dr. Hilla Limann, and Prime Minister Prof.Dr.K.A.Busia.
Some others have been "strong executive" presidents. They believed the Constitution gave them enough power to be strong leaders. In their view, a president could act in ways not specifically mentioned by the Constitution.
Almost all the most Head Of States and presidents since kwame nkruma have believed in a strong Presidency.
kwame nkruma ,kutu Acheampong, FWK Akuffo, jerry john rawlings, Agyekum Kufuor and atta mills all acted in bold new ways.
Their critics were sometimes shocked by their actions and complained that the Constitution was ignored. But the "strong executive" defended himself through their spin doctors and the corrupt media who have allowed themselves to be bought with stolen state money.
The question of how strong a president should be may be more important now than ever before. After all, the president has gained enormous power in recent years. Some scholars who once favored a strong president now believe that the trend has gone too far.
They believe that we should go back to the days when the president and Parliament were more or less equal in power.
What do you think? Below are arguments on either side of the question. Decide which argument is strongest.
The Case Against a Strong President
We often treat presidents as if they were royalty. presidents live in a big mansion. They have servants and assistants whose only job is to make sure the president has everything he or she wants.
They don't get much personal contact with the people because Gbevlo Lartey and the BNI fears they may be attacked. As one critic says: "No one speaks to him unless spoken to first. No one ever tells him to go soak his head when his demands become unreasonable."
The president has taken more and more power at the expense of Parliament.
The people who wrote the Constitution believed in checking and balancing power between Parliament and the president. But today, the president is more powerful than Parliament.
One example of what has happened is in the power to appropriate state money. The Constitution clearly gives that power to Parliament only. Yet recent presidents have been able to appropropriate state resources without a formal approval by Parliament.
dramani mahama has even made it worse by appointing an extra minister of Finance solely for the Presidency in the name of Fiifi Kwetey. This implies that john mahama can unconstitutionally misapply state money to give bribery and buy more votes for his re-election,give personal donations to his kind ones from state money, and buy cars to his favorites at the cost of the state without Parliament`s approval.
So run the arguments of those who are against the idea of a strong president.
The Case for a Strong President
The growth of the president's power is necessary. presidents should be strong and powerful.
For example,Jerry Rawlings 1981-1992
Gained power in a military coup during 1979 but handed it over. Re-took power in another coup of 1981. Elected President in 1992 and again in 1996 before standing aside as per the constitution.
Keeping It Real
Ever wonder what Nigeria would have been like if the government never lost 500 billion dollars of oil money to corruption? In this episode of "Keeping It Real," Adeola shows you the amenities that Nigerians have been robbed of. She also talked about the various African dictators who have refused to leave power even after decades.
Enjoy!
They say that Ghana today needs a strong president. Who else can give the nation leadership?
Who else can make the quick decisions that are needed in a national emergency?
In the old days during the second Republic, an army could move only as fast as its horses and sailing ships. There was plenty of time for Parliament to debate issues of peace. But not today. Only the president can act fast enough in an emergency.
Furthermore, only the president can give real leadership on the many national problems. Parliament cannot lead as well as the president simply because there is only one president, but there are over 250 Representatives and several number of the Council of State. Members of Parliament seldom agree on what to do.
Unlike members of Parliament, the president is elected by all the voters. The president does not represent just one part but the whole of the country. And if the people think that the president has taken too much power, they can always elect someone else every four years.
So run the arguments of those who believe in the need for a strong president.
20 February 2013
President cannot dissolve BoG board
The Fast Track High Court has declared that it was unlawful for the President of the Republic to dissolve the board of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) before the board had served its full term.
Giving its judgement in a suit instituted against the Attorney-General and the Governor of the BoG by Mr Sam Okudzeto over the dissolution of the BoG board in January 2009 when its term had not expired, the court held that “the act of the President in purporting to remove the plaintiff from membership of the board when his term had not expired was unlawful”.
Africa like some parts of the world has had its fair share of dictators over the past decades. Some appear on the scene as liberators, revolutionists while others come in as freedom fighters, but eventually they metamorphose into tyrants having looted with their families and want to indemnify themselves from accountability.
Here are some of the worst dictators the ‘dark continent’ has come across ever since Africans weaned themselves off colonial rule. The criteria was based on poor human rights record, disregard for press freedom and the desire to remain in power for life at the expense of innocent lives.
kwame nkruma of Ghana still stand fresh in memory.
Charles Taylor – Liberia
His full name is Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor. The 22nd president of Liberia ruled for eight years [1997-2003]. He was democratically elected. Prior to becoming the no. 1 man of his west African country, he was a warlord as the leader of the rebel group – The National Patriotic Front of Liberia. He lorded over the execution of his predecessor Sergeant Doe.
Under his reign, he allegedly committed war crimes against humanity culminating in his current trial at the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague.
The 63-year-old was accused by Amnesty International to have looted state coffers and used his troops to rape women and children as terror instruments. He is also standing trial for fueling the conflict in Sierra Leone through the illegal sale of ‘blood diamonds’ to support the rebels.
Sekou Toure – Guinea
(kwame nkruma`s best friend)
"Birds of the same further flock together".
Toure was the first president of Guinea. He fell short of four years to have ruled for three decades non-stop [1958-1984]. At one point in time he declared a one-party state. Toure was initially seen as the ‘Guinean Messiah’, but later became the sting of his people. A lot of Guineans fled the country into exile to avoid his ferocious wrath. Death camps were instituted under his watch, where his political opponents were tortured and some executed. He died in America while undergoing cardiac treatment.
General Sani Abacha – Nigeria
Sani Abacha came to the scene in a bloodless coup d’etat in November 1993. He was in power for only five years, but his nefarious feats fit someone who remained in power for life. Political pundits have christened him as the most brutal dictator of the west African powerhouse. Abacha is reported to have stolen millions of dollars from the country’s purse into western banks including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
It is unconfirmed though, but rumours from official circles have it that the senior military officer died in sexual bouts with Indian prostitutes. The highlight of his brutal reign was the 1995 killing of the political and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.
Laurent Kabila – DR Congo
He was full of promises, but none came to nothing. He seized power in 1997 after toppling Joseph Mobutu. Having headed rebellion for decades before reaching the light to turn the misfortunes of his people, he rather aggravated their social condition in his four-year rule.
An estimated 3.3 million people died during his reign. He failed to unite the people and succeeded in dividing them on tribal lines.
He banned opposition parties and never held an election contrary to his promise.
''My long years of struggle were like spreading fertiliser on a field. But now it is time to harvest,'' he told Reuters when he overthrew Mobutu and indeed he reaped from what he sown.
Enough! was the clarion call. Kabila met his waterloo in 2001 when one of his bodyguards shot him in a dramatic style.
Kamuzu Banda – Malawi
Call him a friend or a foe. He fits into any of them. However, the Malawian’s demeanour since he assumed post clearly classified him a despot. Banda was highly intoxicated with power and was never ready to let go.
He fired ministers who had the sense to counsel him that ‘sir, you are biting more than you can chew.’ He was constantly on the hunt to haunt his opponents and many of them fled to exile.
The tyrant declared a one-party state in 1966. His regime was a classic case of ‘grace to grass’. The National Assembly stripped him of his powers in 1993 and died four years after in South Africa.
Robert Mugabe – Zimbabwe
Uncle Roo is a classic case of hero to tyrant. He played an integral role in bringing freedom to Zimbabweans, but got himself drunk with power and went overboard. The veteran has clung on to power from 1980 till date. Zimbabweans are fed up with his repressive regime.
He hates press freedom.
The economy is in a bad state. If you are an opposition member be prepared to make the prisons your second home and the courts will be frequent places of visits. He succumbed to power-sharing in 2009, but the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, now a key government figure touted to bring hopes to the former British colony of Rhodesia, is not having it easy with his opponent in the corridors of power.
Mobutu Sese Seko – [Zaire] Congo
He was born Joseph-Desire Mobutu, but popularly known as Mobuto Sese Seko [Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga] – a title he added to his name to wit, “the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake”.
He was Zaire’s long-serving dictator, who stayed in power for 31 solid years. He felt bigger than his country and thought the nation cannot do without him. It took one Laurent Kabila to force him into exile.
Mobutu was cunning, violent and always had his hands in state coffers. He lived in grandeur state while the country was stumbling in poverty. Mobutu died while in exile in Morocco after a protracted battle with cancer.
Jean-Bedel Bokassa - CAR
He was a former colonel who seized power in the Central African Republic in 1966 and declared himself president for life. Bokassa I was accused of cannibalism of imprisoned school children.
His stock in trade in most parts of his 14-year rule was torture and execution of his opponents. It is widely reported that his coronation alone cost US$30 million and he amassed about US$125 m in his personal accounts.
His regime ended in 1979 when French paratroopers overthrew his government while he was on an official trip to Libya. Bokassa had 17 wives with close to 50 children. He died at 75 from a heart attack in 1996.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - Libya
The beleaguered Libyan ruler is the longest-ruling Africa and the Arab world's “most erratic, most grimly fascinating leader - presiding for 42 years over this desert republic with vast oil reserves and just six million people,” Aljazeera described him.
The revolutionist came to power through a 1969 bloodless coup against King Idris at the age of 27. He has ruled with eagle eyes over his oil-rich country and has dealt with dissidents [“rats”] severely in the past decades through public hanging and long term imprisonments. His regime is near collapse as rebels close in on him to drag him out of power from the beginning of the year.
Idi Amin Dada – Uganda
He is the most notorious of all African dictators ever. He has been described as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutalities in the 70s. He was in the limelight in 1971 after a military coup and ruled for eight years.
He conferred on him the title, Field Marshal. He is known for the famous quote on the day of the coup: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."
He used his ‘killer squads’ to eliminate hundreds of his opponents. Amin was ousted in 1979 by Ugandan nationalists, after which he fled into exile.
Dishonourable mentions
Francisco Macías Nguema – Equatorial Guinea
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma – Togo
Paul Biya – Cameroon
Mengistu Haile Mariam – Ethiopia
Omar Al-bashir – Sudan
Omar Al-bashir – Eritrea
Siad Barre – Somalia
Hissene Habre - Chad
Laurent Gbagbo, Ivory Coast's former president, is set to appear before the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Judges on Tuesday will decide if there is enough evidence to try him for masterminding a bloody election standoff two years ago, when four months of fighting left some 3,000 dead following his refusal to concede defeat to current president Alassane Outtara.
Prosecutors say Gbagbo, who faces four counts including murder and rape, spearheaded a plan to "stay in power by all means... through carefully planned, sustained and deadly attacks" against supporters of the election winner.
"Hundreds of civilian opponents were attacked, killed, wounded or victims of rape as a result of this policy," the prosecution said.
Gbagbo is the first former head of state to appear before the Hague-based court, where hearings will last just over a week.
Large-scale killings
Between November 28, 2010 and May 8, 2011 Gbagbo's forces killed between 706 and 1,059 people and raped more than 35 women, prosecutors say.
In one instance, some 80 people were massacred when perceived Ouattara supporters were attacked in the northwestern Abidjan suburb of Yopougon a day after Gbagbo's arrest by rival forces.
"The perpetrators were armed with Kalashnikovs and machetes. They attacked people in the street, sometimes stopping them at illegal roadblocks," prosecutors said, adding "victims were summarily executed or burnt alive, under the eyes of police officers who did not intervene."
In a reminder of tensions still simmering, the same neighbourhood of Yopougon on Saturday saw riot police fire tear gas to disperse a group of around 50 pro-Gbagbo supporters.
Ouattara's Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko had banned the demonstration but youths nevertheless gathered, shouting "Free Gbagbo" and charging a police barrier.
Judges at the ICC said on Friday Gbagbo's mental health was fragile, but that he was fit enough to stand trial. Special measures including shorter sessions or letting the former president excuse himself and appear via video could be made possible, they said.
The hearings are expected to end on February 28, when Gbagbo is expected to make a statement.
Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns
Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has resigned after failing to reach agreement on forming a new government.
Mr Jebali had been trying to form a new coalition in response to the political crisis sparked by the killing of opposition leader Chokri Belaid.
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 i ...
read full comment
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY!
While kwame nkruma was seriously Condemning , blasting and lashing out against the West and accusing them as imperialists, he was at the same time also building "imperial presidency" around himself.
Was kwame nkruma such a hypocrite?
kwame nkruma was a hypocrite when he recklessly also does exactly what he has been accusing others for.
According to his ideological followers, Others are always at fault, but nkruma never fault, this was the motto and the main theme of his doctrines.
"Ghana's economy on unsustainable path"
- Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The data coming in on Ghana's economic performance in 2012 indicates quite simply that public finances are out of control and the economy is in trouble. At the end of 2012, Ghana's budget deficit was a whopping Ghc 8.7 billion, amounting to 12.1% of GDP using the rebased GDP numbers (or some 20% of GDP in terms of the old GDP series).
This is the highest recorded budget deficit in Ghana’s history. From Nkrumah through Acheampong, Rawlings and Kufuor, no government has incurred this level of budget deficit. What is more worrying is that this provisional deficit figure excludes some Ghc 4.0 billion in commitments and arrears yet to be paid to contractors and other service providers.
If we include these arrears the deficit for 2012 would be some 23% of GDP using rebased numbers (or some 35% of GDP using the old GDP series). These are mindboggling numbers. The crux of the problem is that government spending increased astronomically to 34.5% of GDP even though government revenues amounted to 16.1% of GDP (a gap of over 100%) for the year
The provisional 2012 budget deficit of 12.1% of GDP is almost double the budget deficit of 6.5% in 2008 using the rebased GDP numbers (or 11.2% of GDP using the old GDP series) notwithstanding the fact that Ghana enjoyed more favorable economic circumstances in 2012. In 2008 Ghana was not an oil producer and the global economy was in crisis.
In 2012 on the other hand, Ghana was an oil producer facing a favorable external environment for its exports and yet managed to double the 2008 budget (which this government described at the time as “reckless”) and in the process achieve what is a truly unprecedented budget deficit in Ghana’s history.
The government promised last year that its management of the economy would be more prudent than that of other governments in previous election years. Despite all the favorable opportunities at its disposal, 2012 has turned out to be the worst election year outcome in Ghana’s history in terms of the management of public finances. This is also yet another failed NDC promise.
For any economy with this historic budget deficit combined with an increasing balance of payments deficit (some 13% of rebased GDP) and mounting public debt, this state of affairs will raise alarm bells, but not so in Ghana. The government has found a way to delay tackling critical economic problems through borrowing domestically and internationally and falsely claiming “unprecedented” achievements at home.
In the process, Ghana’s total public debt has increased from Ghc 9.6 billion in 2008 to Ghc 33.5 billion in 2012 (an increase of 248% in 4 years!). As has been demonstrated for Ghana and many countries in the past however, this path and manner of managing an economy is unsustainable.
Take the example of the management of oil revenues. It turns out that the NDC government forecast oil revenues from corporate taxes of Ghc 384.1 million for 2012 knowing full well that revenue would not materialize. This is because the Jubilee partners are entitled to capital cost recovery under the Petroleum Income Tax Law 1987 (PNDC Law 188) and the government knew this.
The government nonetheless forecast the receipt of these revenues because the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 are such that the proportion of then oil revenues that accrues to the budget (The Annual Budget Funding Amount) is based on projected benchmark oil revenue. Under the Act, 70% of projected oil revenue accrues to the budget and 30% is divided between the Stabilization (21%) and Heritage (9%) funds.
The government therefore over projected the oil revenue so as to get more of the oil revenue into the budget. In the meantime, the projected revenues were spent through government borrowing. Is it therefore a surprise that with such economic management the budget deficit would increase astronomically?
Poor economic management has consequences. Unfortunately, the burden of the inevitable consequences of the NDC’s management of the economy is bound to fall disproportionately on the segments of society which are least able to afford it, as prices for petroleum products (whatever happened to the oil hedging policy?), transportation, water, electricity (in the face of water and power shortages), school fees, tax increases, expenditure cuts, unemployment, wage pressures, inflation, interest rates etc. shoot up and non-oil GDP growth slows down. This reality is already being felt and will soon be patently obvious for all to see.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was the running mate to Ghana's main opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2012 election. He is an Oxford-trained economist, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and until recently, Country Director of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe.
~ Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Uder unitary Presidency, the "independence of the Central Bank" is the greatest abomination and evil in society.
"Separation of Powers" and certain kind of independence for some state institutions is a taboo.
Can a president be too strong?
"Of course not," most people would answer.
"It's always better to be strong than weak."
Perhaps. But can a president be so powerful that he or she threatens the nation's freedom?
Should a president be allowed to violate the rights of the people?
Or to ignore the rights of other nations?
In recent years, many people think that the president has become too strong. They say that the president has taken so much power from the other branches of government that this threatens the democratic system.
Are there rules to tell a president how far he or she can go?
The Constitution is supposed to prevent the president from using power in the wrong way. Article II states all the things that a president may do and some of the things that he or she may not do.
The Growing Power of the President
The Constitution was written over some years ago. The people who wrote it did not know about nuclear weapons or rockets to the moon or computers or modern television. They didn't know that the nation would some day be the richest among the poor and discover oil. They didn't know that the economy would become so complicated and so big that it would require constant attention to keep it running smoothly.
Therefore, the rules that they wrote in the Constitution say little about a modern president's real power. J.B Danquah, Dombo and Busia would be shocked to know the following facts.
The president today has the power to command the instant destruction of entire cities and villages with fire, so that he can have the opportunity to give new contracts to foreign companies and reap out the "Kick Backs" into his private and party`s accounts.
Ghana has numerous contracts to offer. Only the president can give the signal to offer them because of "Kick-backs" and other forms of corruption.
The numerous Regions are paralysed and are not strong enough to issue their own contracts since all the powers are vested under the "unitary Presidency".
The people are denied from the rght to choose their representatives.
Democracy is destroyed, and only the "unitary President" has the power to "impose" Regional Ministers, DCE`s and Members of the Council - of - State on the people.
The president's power is felt all over the country. The president travels by Presidential jet from one nation to another. Foreign leaders often come to the Castle or Jubilee House or the so-called colonial "Flag-Staff-House", which also equates slavery to colonialism.
If the first Asantehene or the subsequent ones like Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh II had tried to visit Europe or Asia, he would have been on a ship at sea for months at a time.
The people expect the president to deal with a huge number of problems, because he has elevated himself as the god for the people.
If there is economic trouble, they expect the president to cure it. Modern presidents don't just try to administer the laws passed by Parliament. Nor do they merely "recommend measures" to Parliament as required by the Constitution.
Through staff members, they often bring pressure on Parliament to pass favored bills, including some actually written in the Executive Department.
Does the Constitution Allow a "Strong" President?
20 February 2013
President appoints Council of State members
President John Mahama has appointed a number of persons, including the immediate past Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa-Doe to the Council of State.
The Chairman of the Council is John Henry Martey Newman, former Chief of Staff under the late President John Mills.
The other members of the Council include Cecilia Johnson, Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Osei Asibe, Ashanti Region and Patrick Enyonam Agbogba (Togbui Sri) Volta Region.
The others are Rashid Sulemana Mahama, of the Northern Region, Okogyeman Kweku Gyamerah of the Western Region, David Kanga of the Upper East Region, Ama Benyiwa Doe of the Central Region, Edward Gyader of the Upper East Region, Abraham Kweku Edusei representing the Eastern Region and Dr Rabiatu Deinyo Armah of the Greater Accra Region.
The Council of State members were sworn into office by the President on Wednesday.
How much power should the president have?
How much does the Constitution set limits to the president's actions?
These are very old questions.
Throughout history, there have been many kinds of presidents. But a number of them have tended to fall into two very different groups in their attitudes toward presidential power.
The first believed that the powers of the president were few and limited.
Presidents of this type thought they could, or should, do no more than follow the exact words of the Constitution and carry out the laws of Parliament. You might call them "weak executive" presidents.
That doesn't mean that they were weak people. It means only that they believed their actions were strictly limited by the Constitution.
Modern examples of such presidents were President Dr. Hilla Limann, and Prime Minister Prof.Dr.K.A.Busia.
Some others have been "strong executive" presidents. They believed the Constitution gave them enough power to be strong leaders. In their view, a president could act in ways not specifically mentioned by the Constitution.
Almost all the most Head Of States and presidents since kwame nkruma have believed in a strong Presidency.
kwame nkruma ,kutu Acheampong, FWK Akuffo, jerry john rawlings, Agyekum Kufuor and atta mills all acted in bold new ways.
Their critics were sometimes shocked by their actions and complained that the Constitution was ignored. But the "strong executive" defended himself through their spin doctors and the corrupt media who have allowed themselves to be bought with stolen state money.
The question of how strong a president should be may be more important now than ever before. After all, the president has gained enormous power in recent years. Some scholars who once favored a strong president now believe that the trend has gone too far.
They believe that we should go back to the days when the president and Parliament were more or less equal in power.
What do you think? Below are arguments on either side of the question. Decide which argument is strongest.
The Case Against a Strong President
We often treat presidents as if they were royalty. presidents live in a big mansion. They have servants and assistants whose only job is to make sure the president has everything he or she wants.
They don't get much personal contact with the people because Gbevlo Lartey and the BNI fears they may be attacked. As one critic says: "No one speaks to him unless spoken to first. No one ever tells him to go soak his head when his demands become unreasonable."
The president has taken more and more power at the expense of Parliament.
The people who wrote the Constitution believed in checking and balancing power between Parliament and the president. But today, the president is more powerful than Parliament.
One example of what has happened is in the power to appropriate state money. The Constitution clearly gives that power to Parliament only. Yet recent presidents have been able to appropropriate state resources without a formal approval by Parliament.
dramani mahama has even made it worse by appointing an extra minister of Finance solely for the Presidency in the name of Fiifi Kwetey. This implies that john mahama can unconstitutionally misapply state money to give bribery and buy more votes for his re-election,give personal donations to his kind ones from state money, and buy cars to his favorites at the cost of the state without Parliament`s approval.
So run the arguments of those who are against the idea of a strong president.
The Case for a Strong President
The growth of the president's power is necessary. presidents should be strong and powerful.
For example,Jerry Rawlings 1981-1992
Gained power in a military coup during 1979 but handed it over. Re-took power in another coup of 1981. Elected President in 1992 and again in 1996 before standing aside as per the constitution.
Keeping It Real
Ever wonder what Nigeria would have been like if the government never lost 500 billion dollars of oil money to corruption? In this episode of "Keeping It Real," Adeola shows you the amenities that Nigerians have been robbed of. She also talked about the various African dictators who have refused to leave power even after decades.
Enjoy!
They say that Ghana today needs a strong president. Who else can give the nation leadership?
Who else can make the quick decisions that are needed in a national emergency?
In the old days during the second Republic, an army could move only as fast as its horses and sailing ships. There was plenty of time for Parliament to debate issues of peace. But not today. Only the president can act fast enough in an emergency.
Furthermore, only the president can give real leadership on the many national problems. Parliament cannot lead as well as the president simply because there is only one president, but there are over 250 Representatives and several number of the Council of State. Members of Parliament seldom agree on what to do.
Unlike members of Parliament, the president is elected by all the voters. The president does not represent just one part but the whole of the country. And if the people think that the president has taken too much power, they can always elect someone else every four years.
So run the arguments of those who believe in the need for a strong president.
20 February 2013
President cannot dissolve BoG board
The Fast Track High Court has declared that it was unlawful for the President of the Republic to dissolve the board of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) before the board had served its full term.
Giving its judgement in a suit instituted against the Attorney-General and the Governor of the BoG by Mr Sam Okudzeto over the dissolution of the BoG board in January 2009 when its term had not expired, the court held that “the act of the President in purporting to remove the plaintiff from membership of the board when his term had not expired was unlawful”.
Africa like some parts of the world has had its fair share of dictators over the past decades. Some appear on the scene as liberators, revolutionists while others come in as freedom fighters, but eventually they metamorphose into tyrants having looted with their families and want to indemnify themselves from accountability.
Here are some of the worst dictators the ‘dark continent’ has come across ever since Africans weaned themselves off colonial rule. The criteria was based on poor human rights record, disregard for press freedom and the desire to remain in power for life at the expense of innocent lives.
kwame nkruma of Ghana still stand fresh in memory.
Charles Taylor – Liberia
His full name is Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor. The 22nd president of Liberia ruled for eight years [1997-2003]. He was democratically elected. Prior to becoming the no. 1 man of his west African country, he was a warlord as the leader of the rebel group – The National Patriotic Front of Liberia. He lorded over the execution of his predecessor Sergeant Doe.
Under his reign, he allegedly committed war crimes against humanity culminating in his current trial at the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague.
The 63-year-old was accused by Amnesty International to have looted state coffers and used his troops to rape women and children as terror instruments. He is also standing trial for fueling the conflict in Sierra Leone through the illegal sale of ‘blood diamonds’ to support the rebels.
Sekou Toure – Guinea
(kwame nkruma`s best friend)
"Birds of the same further flock together".
Toure was the first president of Guinea. He fell short of four years to have ruled for three decades non-stop [1958-1984]. At one point in time he declared a one-party state. Toure was initially seen as the ‘Guinean Messiah’, but later became the sting of his people. A lot of Guineans fled the country into exile to avoid his ferocious wrath. Death camps were instituted under his watch, where his political opponents were tortured and some executed. He died in America while undergoing cardiac treatment.
General Sani Abacha – Nigeria
Sani Abacha came to the scene in a bloodless coup d’etat in November 1993. He was in power for only five years, but his nefarious feats fit someone who remained in power for life. Political pundits have christened him as the most brutal dictator of the west African powerhouse. Abacha is reported to have stolen millions of dollars from the country’s purse into western banks including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
It is unconfirmed though, but rumours from official circles have it that the senior military officer died in sexual bouts with Indian prostitutes. The highlight of his brutal reign was the 1995 killing of the political and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.
Laurent Kabila – DR Congo
He was full of promises, but none came to nothing. He seized power in 1997 after toppling Joseph Mobutu. Having headed rebellion for decades before reaching the light to turn the misfortunes of his people, he rather aggravated their social condition in his four-year rule.
An estimated 3.3 million people died during his reign. He failed to unite the people and succeeded in dividing them on tribal lines.
He banned opposition parties and never held an election contrary to his promise.
''My long years of struggle were like spreading fertiliser on a field. But now it is time to harvest,'' he told Reuters when he overthrew Mobutu and indeed he reaped from what he sown.
Enough! was the clarion call. Kabila met his waterloo in 2001 when one of his bodyguards shot him in a dramatic style.
Kamuzu Banda – Malawi
Call him a friend or a foe. He fits into any of them. However, the Malawian’s demeanour since he assumed post clearly classified him a despot. Banda was highly intoxicated with power and was never ready to let go.
He fired ministers who had the sense to counsel him that ‘sir, you are biting more than you can chew.’ He was constantly on the hunt to haunt his opponents and many of them fled to exile.
The tyrant declared a one-party state in 1966. His regime was a classic case of ‘grace to grass’. The National Assembly stripped him of his powers in 1993 and died four years after in South Africa.
Robert Mugabe – Zimbabwe
Uncle Roo is a classic case of hero to tyrant. He played an integral role in bringing freedom to Zimbabweans, but got himself drunk with power and went overboard. The veteran has clung on to power from 1980 till date. Zimbabweans are fed up with his repressive regime.
He hates press freedom.
The economy is in a bad state. If you are an opposition member be prepared to make the prisons your second home and the courts will be frequent places of visits. He succumbed to power-sharing in 2009, but the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, now a key government figure touted to bring hopes to the former British colony of Rhodesia, is not having it easy with his opponent in the corridors of power.
Mobutu Sese Seko – [Zaire] Congo
He was born Joseph-Desire Mobutu, but popularly known as Mobuto Sese Seko [Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga] – a title he added to his name to wit, “the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake”.
He was Zaire’s long-serving dictator, who stayed in power for 31 solid years. He felt bigger than his country and thought the nation cannot do without him. It took one Laurent Kabila to force him into exile.
Mobutu was cunning, violent and always had his hands in state coffers. He lived in grandeur state while the country was stumbling in poverty. Mobutu died while in exile in Morocco after a protracted battle with cancer.
Jean-Bedel Bokassa - CAR
He was a former colonel who seized power in the Central African Republic in 1966 and declared himself president for life. Bokassa I was accused of cannibalism of imprisoned school children.
His stock in trade in most parts of his 14-year rule was torture and execution of his opponents. It is widely reported that his coronation alone cost US$30 million and he amassed about US$125 m in his personal accounts.
His regime ended in 1979 when French paratroopers overthrew his government while he was on an official trip to Libya. Bokassa had 17 wives with close to 50 children. He died at 75 from a heart attack in 1996.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - Libya
The beleaguered Libyan ruler is the longest-ruling Africa and the Arab world's “most erratic, most grimly fascinating leader - presiding for 42 years over this desert republic with vast oil reserves and just six million people,” Aljazeera described him.
The revolutionist came to power through a 1969 bloodless coup against King Idris at the age of 27. He has ruled with eagle eyes over his oil-rich country and has dealt with dissidents [“rats”] severely in the past decades through public hanging and long term imprisonments. His regime is near collapse as rebels close in on him to drag him out of power from the beginning of the year.
Idi Amin Dada – Uganda
He is the most notorious of all African dictators ever. He has been described as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutalities in the 70s. He was in the limelight in 1971 after a military coup and ruled for eight years.
He conferred on him the title, Field Marshal. He is known for the famous quote on the day of the coup: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."
He used his ‘killer squads’ to eliminate hundreds of his opponents. Amin was ousted in 1979 by Ugandan nationalists, after which he fled into exile.
Dishonourable mentions
Francisco Macías Nguema – Equatorial Guinea
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma – Togo
Paul Biya – Cameroon
Mengistu Haile Mariam – Ethiopia
Omar Al-bashir – Sudan
Omar Al-bashir – Eritrea
Siad Barre – Somalia
Hissene Habre - Chad
Laurent Gbagbo, Ivory Coast's former president, is set to appear before the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Judges on Tuesday will decide if there is enough evidence to try him for masterminding a bloody election standoff two years ago, when four months of fighting left some 3,000 dead following his refusal to concede defeat to current president Alassane Outtara.
Prosecutors say Gbagbo, who faces four counts including murder and rape, spearheaded a plan to "stay in power by all means... through carefully planned, sustained and deadly attacks" against supporters of the election winner.
"Hundreds of civilian opponents were attacked, killed, wounded or victims of rape as a result of this policy," the prosecution said.
Gbagbo is the first former head of state to appear before the Hague-based court, where hearings will last just over a week.
Large-scale killings
Between November 28, 2010 and May 8, 2011 Gbagbo's forces killed between 706 and 1,059 people and raped more than 35 women, prosecutors say.
In one instance, some 80 people were massacred when perceived Ouattara supporters were attacked in the northwestern Abidjan suburb of Yopougon a day after Gbagbo's arrest by rival forces.
"The perpetrators were armed with Kalashnikovs and machetes. They attacked people in the street, sometimes stopping them at illegal roadblocks," prosecutors said, adding "victims were summarily executed or burnt alive, under the eyes of police officers who did not intervene."
In a reminder of tensions still simmering, the same neighbourhood of Yopougon on Saturday saw riot police fire tear gas to disperse a group of around 50 pro-Gbagbo supporters.
Ouattara's Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko had banned the demonstration but youths nevertheless gathered, shouting "Free Gbagbo" and charging a police barrier.
Judges at the ICC said on Friday Gbagbo's mental health was fragile, but that he was fit enough to stand trial. Special measures including shorter sessions or letting the former president excuse himself and appear via video could be made possible, they said.
The hearings are expected to end on February 28, when Gbagbo is expected to make a statement.
Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns
Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has resigned after failing to reach agreement on forming a new government.
Mr Jebali had been trying to form a new coalition in response to the political crisis sparked by the killing of opposition leader Chokri Belaid.
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!!!!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.196 ...
read full comment
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!!!!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY!
While kwame nkruma was seriously Condemning , blasting and lashing out against the West and accusing them as imperialists, he was at the same time also building "imperial presidency" around himself.
Was kwame nkruma such a hypocrite?
kwame nkruma was a hypocrite when he recklessly also does exactly what he has been accusing others for.
According to his ideological followers, Others are always at fault, but nkruma never fault, this was the motto and the main theme of his doctrines.
"Ghana's economy on unsustainable path"
- Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The data coming in on Ghana's economic performance in 2012 indicates quite simply that public finances are out of control and the economy is in trouble. At the end of 2012, Ghana's budget deficit was a whopping Ghc 8.7 billion, amounting to 12.1% of GDP using the rebased GDP numbers (or some 20% of GDP in terms of the old GDP series).
This is the highest recorded budget deficit in Ghana’s history. From Nkrumah through Acheampong, Rawlings and Kufuor, no government has incurred this level of budget deficit. What is more worrying is that this provisional deficit figure excludes some Ghc 4.0 billion in commitments and arrears yet to be paid to contractors and other service providers.
If we include these arrears the deficit for 2012 would be some 23% of GDP using rebased numbers (or some 35% of GDP using the old GDP series). These are mindboggling numbers. The crux of the problem is that government spending increased astronomically to 34.5% of GDP even though government revenues amounted to 16.1% of GDP (a gap of over 100%) for the year
The provisional 2012 budget deficit of 12.1% of GDP is almost double the budget deficit of 6.5% in 2008 using the rebased GDP numbers (or 11.2% of GDP using the old GDP series) notwithstanding the fact that Ghana enjoyed more favorable economic circumstances in 2012. In 2008 Ghana was not an oil producer and the global economy was in crisis.
In 2012 on the other hand, Ghana was an oil producer facing a favorable external environment for its exports and yet managed to double the 2008 budget (which this government described at the time as “reckless”) and in the process achieve what is a truly unprecedented budget deficit in Ghana’s history.
The government promised last year that its management of the economy would be more prudent than that of other governments in previous election years. Despite all the favorable opportunities at its disposal, 2012 has turned out to be the worst election year outcome in Ghana’s history in terms of the management of public finances. This is also yet another failed NDC promise.
For any economy with this historic budget deficit combined with an increasing balance of payments deficit (some 13% of rebased GDP) and mounting public debt, this state of affairs will raise alarm bells, but not so in Ghana. The government has found a way to delay tackling critical economic problems through borrowing domestically and internationally and falsely claiming “unprecedented” achievements at home.
In the process, Ghana’s total public debt has increased from Ghc 9.6 billion in 2008 to Ghc 33.5 billion in 2012 (an increase of 248% in 4 years!). As has been demonstrated for Ghana and many countries in the past however, this path and manner of managing an economy is unsustainable.
Take the example of the management of oil revenues. It turns out that the NDC government forecast oil revenues from corporate taxes of Ghc 384.1 million for 2012 knowing full well that revenue would not materialize. This is because the Jubilee partners are entitled to capital cost recovery under the Petroleum Income Tax Law 1987 (PNDC Law 188) and the government knew this.
The government nonetheless forecast the receipt of these revenues because the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 are such that the proportion of then oil revenues that accrues to the budget (The Annual Budget Funding Amount) is based on projected benchmark oil revenue. Under the Act, 70% of projected oil revenue accrues to the budget and 30% is divided between the Stabilization (21%) and Heritage (9%) funds.
The government therefore over projected the oil revenue so as to get more of the oil revenue into the budget. In the meantime, the projected revenues were spent through government borrowing. Is it therefore a surprise that with such economic management the budget deficit would increase astronomically?
Poor economic management has consequences. Unfortunately, the burden of the inevitable consequences of the NDC’s management of the economy is bound to fall disproportionately on the segments of society which are least able to afford it, as prices for petroleum products (whatever happened to the oil hedging policy?), transportation, water, electricity (in the face of water and power shortages), school fees, tax increases, expenditure cuts, unemployment, wage pressures, inflation, interest rates etc. shoot up and non-oil GDP growth slows down. This reality is already being felt and will soon be patently obvious for all to see.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was the running mate to Ghana's main opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2012 election. He is an Oxford-trained economist, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and until recently, Country Director of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe.
~ Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Uder unitary Presidency, the "independence of the Central Bank" is the greatest abomination and evil in society.
"Separation of Powers" and certain kind of independence for some state institutions is a taboo.
Can a president be too strong?
"Of course not," most people would answer.
"It's always better to be strong than weak."
Perhaps. But can a president be so powerful that he or she threatens the nation's freedom?
Should a president be allowed to violate the rights of the people?
Or to ignore the rights of other nations?
In recent years, many people think that the president has become too strong. They say that the president has taken so much power from the other branches of government that this threatens the democratic system.
Are there rules to tell a president how far he or she can go?
The Constitution is supposed to prevent the president from using power in the wrong way. Article II states all the things that a president may do and some of the things that he or she may not do.
The Growing Power of the President
The Constitution was written over some years ago. The people who wrote it did not know about nuclear weapons or rockets to the moon or computers or modern television. They didn't know that the nation would some day be the richest among the poor and discover oil. They didn't know that the economy would become so complicated and so big that it would require constant attention to keep it running smoothly.
Therefore, the rules that they wrote in the Constitution say little about a modern president's real power. J.B Danquah, Dombo and Busia would be shocked to know the following facts.
The president today has the power to command the instant destruction of entire cities and villages with fire, so that he can have the opportunity to give new contracts to foreign companies and reap out the "Kick Backs" into his private and party`s accounts.
Ghana has numerous contracts to offer. Only the president can give the signal to offer them because of "Kick-backs" and other forms of corruption.
The numerous Regions are paralysed and are not strong enough to issue their own contracts since all the powers are vested under the "unitary Presidency".
The people are denied from the rght to choose their representatives.
Democracy is destroyed, and only the "unitary President" has the power to "impose" Regional Ministers, DCE`s and Members of the Council - of - State on the people.
The president's power is felt all over the country. The president travels by Presidential jet from one nation to another. Foreign leaders often come to the Castle or Jubilee House or the so-called colonial "Flag-Staff-House", which also equates slavery to colonialism.
If the first Asantehene or the subsequent ones like Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh II had tried to visit Europe or Asia, he would have been on a ship at sea for months at a time.
The people expect the president to deal with a huge number of problems, because he has elevated himself as the god for the people.
If there is economic trouble, they expect the president to cure it. Modern presidents don't just try to administer the laws passed by Parliament. Nor do they merely "recommend measures" to Parliament as required by the Constitution.
Through staff members, they often bring pressure on Parliament to pass favored bills, including some actually written in the Executive Department.
Does the Constitution Allow a "Strong" President?
20 February 2013
President appoints Council of State members
President John Mahama has appointed a number of persons, including the immediate past Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa-Doe to the Council of State.
The Chairman of the Council is John Henry Martey Newman, former Chief of Staff under the late President John Mills.
The other members of the Council include Cecilia Johnson, Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Osei Asibe, Ashanti Region and Patrick Enyonam Agbogba (Togbui Sri) Volta Region.
The others are Rashid Sulemana Mahama, of the Northern Region, Okogyeman Kweku Gyamerah of the Western Region, David Kanga of the Upper East Region, Ama Benyiwa Doe of the Central Region, Edward Gyader of the Upper East Region, Abraham Kweku Edusei representing the Eastern Region and Dr Rabiatu Deinyo Armah of the Greater Accra Region.
The Council of State members were sworn into office by the President on Wednesday.
How much power should the president have?
How much does the Constitution set limits to the president's actions?
These are very old questions.
Throughout history, there have been many kinds of presidents. But a number of them have tended to fall into two very different groups in their attitudes toward presidential power.
The first believed that the powers of the president were few and limited.
Presidents of this type thought they could, or should, do no more than follow the exact words of the Constitution and carry out the laws of Parliament. You might call them "weak executive" presidents.
That doesn't mean that they were weak people. It means only that they believed their actions were strictly limited by the Constitution.
Modern examples of such presidents were President Dr. Hilla Limann, and Prime Minister Prof.Dr.K.A.Busia.
Some others have been "strong executive" presidents. They believed the Constitution gave them enough power to be strong leaders. In their view, a president could act in ways not specifically mentioned by the Constitution.
Almost all the most Head Of States and presidents since kwame nkruma have believed in a strong Presidency.
kwame nkruma ,kutu Acheampong, FWK Akuffo, jerry john rawlings, Agyekum Kufuor and atta mills all acted in bold new ways.
Their critics were sometimes shocked by their actions and complained that the Constitution was ignored. But the "strong executive" defended himself through their spin doctors and the corrupt media who have allowed themselves to be bought with stolen state money.
The question of how strong a president should be may be more important now than ever before. After all, the president has gained enormous power in recent years. Some scholars who once favored a strong president now believe that the trend has gone too far.
They believe that we should go back to the days when the president and Parliament were more or less equal in power.
What do you think? Below are arguments on either side of the question. Decide which argument is strongest.
The Case Against a Strong President
We often treat presidents as if they were royalty. presidents live in a big mansion. They have servants and assistants whose only job is to make sure the president has everything he or she wants.
They don't get much personal contact with the people because Gbevlo Lartey and the BNI fears they may be attacked. As one critic says: "No one speaks to him unless spoken to first. No one ever tells him to go soak his head when his demands become unreasonable."
The president has taken more and more power at the expense of Parliament.
The people who wrote the Constitution believed in checking and balancing power between Parliament and the president. But today, the president is more powerful than Parliament.
One example of what has happened is in the power to appropriate state money. The Constitution clearly gives that power to Parliament only. Yet recent presidents have been able to appropropriate state resources without a formal approval by Parliament.
dramani mahama has even made it worse by appointing an extra minister of Finance solely for the Presidency in the name of Fiifi Kwetey. This implies that john mahama can unconstitutionally misapply state money to give bribery and buy more votes for his re-election,give personal donations to his kind ones from state money, and buy cars to his favorites at the cost of the state without Parliament`s approval.
So run the arguments of those who are against the idea of a strong president.
The Case for a Strong President
The growth of the president's power is necessary. presidents should be strong and powerful.
For example,Jerry Rawlings 1981-1992
Gained power in a military coup during 1979 but handed it over. Re-took power in another coup of 1981. Elected President in 1992 and again in 1996 before standing aside as per the constitution.
Keeping It Real
Ever wonder what Nigeria would have been like if the government never lost 500 billion dollars of oil money to corruption? In this episode of "Keeping It Real," Adeola shows you the amenities that Nigerians have been robbed of. She also talked about the various African dictators who have refused to leave power even after decades.
Enjoy!
They say that Ghana today needs a strong president. Who else can give the nation leadership?
Who else can make the quick decisions that are needed in a national emergency?
In the old days during the second Republic, an army could move only as fast as its horses and sailing ships. There was plenty of time for Parliament to debate issues of peace. But not today. Only the president can act fast enough in an emergency.
Furthermore, only the president can give real leadership on the many national problems. Parliament cannot lead as well as the president simply because there is only one president, but there are over 250 Representatives and several number of the Council of State. Members of Parliament seldom agree on what to do.
Unlike members of Parliament, the president is elected by all the voters. The president does not represent just one part but the whole of the country. And if the people think that the president has taken too much power, they can always elect someone else every four years.
So run the arguments of those who believe in the need for a strong president.
20 February 2013
President cannot dissolve BoG board
The Fast Track High Court has declared that it was unlawful for the President of the Republic to dissolve the board of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) before the board had served its full term.
Giving its judgement in a suit instituted against the Attorney-General and the Governor of the BoG by Mr Sam Okudzeto over the dissolution of the BoG board in January 2009 when its term had not expired, the court held that “the act of the President in purporting to remove the plaintiff from membership of the board when his term had not expired was unlawful”.
Africa like some parts of the world has had its fair share of dictators over the past decades. Some appear on the scene as liberators, revolutionists while others come in as freedom fighters, but eventually they metamorphose into tyrants having looted with their families and want to indemnify themselves from accountability.
Here are some of the worst dictators the ‘dark continent’ has come across ever since Africans weaned themselves off colonial rule. The criteria was based on poor human rights record, disregard for press freedom and the desire to remain in power for life at the expense of innocent lives.
kwame nkruma of Ghana still stand fresh in memory.
Charles Taylor – Liberia
His full name is Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor. The 22nd president of Liberia ruled for eight years [1997-2003]. He was democratically elected. Prior to becoming the no. 1 man of his west African country, he was a warlord as the leader of the rebel group – The National Patriotic Front of Liberia. He lorded over the execution of his predecessor Sergeant Doe.
Under his reign, he allegedly committed war crimes against humanity culminating in his current trial at the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague.
The 63-year-old was accused by Amnesty International to have looted state coffers and used his troops to rape women and children as terror instruments. He is also standing trial for fueling the conflict in Sierra Leone through the illegal sale of ‘blood diamonds’ to support the rebels.
Sekou Toure – Guinea
(kwame nkruma`s best friend)
"Birds of the same further flock together".
Toure was the first president of Guinea. He fell short of four years to have ruled for three decades non-stop [1958-1984]. At one point in time he declared a one-party state. Toure was initially seen as the ‘Guinean Messiah’, but later became the sting of his people. A lot of Guineans fled the country into exile to avoid his ferocious wrath. Death camps were instituted under his watch, where his political opponents were tortured and some executed. He died in America while undergoing cardiac treatment.
General Sani Abacha – Nigeria
Sani Abacha came to the scene in a bloodless coup d’etat in November 1993. He was in power for only five years, but his nefarious feats fit someone who remained in power for life. Political pundits have christened him as the most brutal dictator of the west African powerhouse. Abacha is reported to have stolen millions of dollars from the country’s purse into western banks including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
It is unconfirmed though, but rumours from official circles have it that the senior military officer died in sexual bouts with Indian prostitutes. The highlight of his brutal reign was the 1995 killing of the political and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.
Laurent Kabila – DR Congo
He was full of promises, but none came to nothing. He seized power in 1997 after toppling Joseph Mobutu. Having headed rebellion for decades before reaching the light to turn the misfortunes of his people, he rather aggravated their social condition in his four-year rule.
An estimated 3.3 million people died during his reign. He failed to unite the people and succeeded in dividing them on tribal lines.
He banned opposition parties and never held an election contrary to his promise.
''My long years of struggle were like spreading fertiliser on a field. But now it is time to harvest,'' he told Reuters when he overthrew Mobutu and indeed he reaped from what he sown.
Enough! was the clarion call. Kabila met his waterloo in 2001 when one of his bodyguards shot him in a dramatic style.
Kamuzu Banda – Malawi
Call him a friend or a foe. He fits into any of them. However, the Malawian’s demeanour since he assumed post clearly classified him a despot. Banda was highly intoxicated with power and was never ready to let go.
He fired ministers who had the sense to counsel him that ‘sir, you are biting more than you can chew.’ He was constantly on the hunt to haunt his opponents and many of them fled to exile.
The tyrant declared a one-party state in 1966. His regime was a classic case of ‘grace to grass’. The National Assembly stripped him of his powers in 1993 and died four years after in South Africa.
Robert Mugabe – Zimbabwe
Uncle Roo is a classic case of hero to tyrant. He played an integral role in bringing freedom to Zimbabweans, but got himself drunk with power and went overboard. The veteran has clung on to power from 1980 till date. Zimbabweans are fed up with his repressive regime.
He hates press freedom.
The economy is in a bad state. If you are an opposition member be prepared to make the prisons your second home and the courts will be frequent places of visits. He succumbed to power-sharing in 2009, but the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, now a key government figure touted to bring hopes to the former British colony of Rhodesia, is not having it easy with his opponent in the corridors of power.
Mobutu Sese Seko – [Zaire] Congo
He was born Joseph-Desire Mobutu, but popularly known as Mobuto Sese Seko [Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga] – a title he added to his name to wit, “the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake”.
He was Zaire’s long-serving dictator, who stayed in power for 31 solid years. He felt bigger than his country and thought the nation cannot do without him. It took one Laurent Kabila to force him into exile.
Mobutu was cunning, violent and always had his hands in state coffers. He lived in grandeur state while the country was stumbling in poverty. Mobutu died while in exile in Morocco after a protracted battle with cancer.
Jean-Bedel Bokassa - CAR
He was a former colonel who seized power in the Central African Republic in 1966 and declared himself president for life. Bokassa I was accused of cannibalism of imprisoned school children.
His stock in trade in most parts of his 14-year rule was torture and execution of his opponents. It is widely reported that his coronation alone cost US$30 million and he amassed about US$125 m in his personal accounts.
His regime ended in 1979 when French paratroopers overthrew his government while he was on an official trip to Libya. Bokassa had 17 wives with close to 50 children. He died at 75 from a heart attack in 1996.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - Libya
The beleaguered Libyan ruler is the longest-ruling Africa and the Arab world's “most erratic, most grimly fascinating leader - presiding for 42 years over this desert republic with vast oil reserves and just six million people,” Aljazeera described him.
The revolutionist came to power through a 1969 bloodless coup against King Idris at the age of 27. He has ruled with eagle eyes over his oil-rich country and has dealt with dissidents [“rats”] severely in the past decades through public hanging and long term imprisonments. His regime is near collapse as rebels close in on him to drag him out of power from the beginning of the year.
Idi Amin Dada – Uganda
He is the most notorious of all African dictators ever. He has been described as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutalities in the 70s. He was in the limelight in 1971 after a military coup and ruled for eight years.
He conferred on him the title, Field Marshal. He is known for the famous quote on the day of the coup: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."
He used his ‘killer squads’ to eliminate hundreds of his opponents. Amin was ousted in 1979 by Ugandan nationalists, after which he fled into exile.
Dishonourable mentions
Francisco Macías Nguema – Equatorial Guinea
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma – Togo
Paul Biya – Cameroon
Mengistu Haile Mariam – Ethiopia
Omar Al-bashir – Sudan
Omar Al-bashir – Eritrea
Siad Barre – Somalia
Hissene Habre - Chad
Laurent Gbagbo, Ivory Coast's former president, is set to appear before the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Judges on Tuesday will decide if there is enough evidence to try him for masterminding a bloody election standoff two years ago, when four months of fighting left some 3,000 dead following his refusal to concede defeat to current president Alassane Outtara.
Prosecutors say Gbagbo, who faces four counts including murder and rape, spearheaded a plan to "stay in power by all means... through carefully planned, sustained and deadly attacks" against supporters of the election winner.
"Hundreds of civilian opponents were attacked, killed, wounded or victims of rape as a result of this policy," the prosecution said.
Gbagbo is the first former head of state to appear before the Hague-based court, where hearings will last just over a week.
Large-scale killings
Between November 28, 2010 and May 8, 2011 Gbagbo's forces killed between 706 and 1,059 people and raped more than 35 women, prosecutors say.
In one instance, some 80 people were massacred when perceived Ouattara supporters were attacked in the northwestern Abidjan suburb of Yopougon a day after Gbagbo's arrest by rival forces.
"The perpetrators were armed with Kalashnikovs and machetes. They attacked people in the street, sometimes stopping them at illegal roadblocks," prosecutors said, adding "victims were summarily executed or burnt alive, under the eyes of police officers who did not intervene."
In a reminder of tensions still simmering, the same neighbourhood of Yopougon on Saturday saw riot police fire tear gas to disperse a group of around 50 pro-Gbagbo supporters.
Ouattara's Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko had banned the demonstration but youths nevertheless gathered, shouting "Free Gbagbo" and charging a police barrier.
Judges at the ICC said on Friday Gbagbo's mental health was fragile, but that he was fit enough to stand trial. Special measures including shorter sessions or letting the former president excuse himself and appear via video could be made possible, they said.
The hearings are expected to end on February 28, when Gbagbo is expected to make a statement.
Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns
Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has resigned after failing to reach agreement on forming a new government.
Mr Jebali had been trying to form a new coalition in response to the political crisis sparked by the killing of opposition leader Chokri Belaid.
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb ...
read full comment
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY!
While kwame nkruma was seriously Condemning , blasting and lashing out against the West and accusing them as imperialists, he was at the same time also building "imperial presidency" around himself.
Was kwame nkruma such a hypocrite?
kwame nkruma was a hypocrite when he recklessly also does exactly what he has been accusing others for.
According to his ideological followers, Others are always at fault, but nkruma never fault, this was the motto and the main theme of his doctrines.
"Ghana's economy on unsustainable path"
- Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The data coming in on Ghana's economic performance in 2012 indicates quite simply that public finances are out of control and the economy is in trouble. At the end of 2012, Ghana's budget deficit was a whopping Ghc 8.7 billion, amounting to 12.1% of GDP using the rebased GDP numbers (or some 20% of GDP in terms of the old GDP series).
This is the highest recorded budget deficit in Ghana’s history. From Nkrumah through Acheampong, Rawlings and Kufuor, no government has incurred this level of budget deficit. What is more worrying is that this provisional deficit figure excludes some Ghc 4.0 billion in commitments and arrears yet to be paid to contractors and other service providers.
If we include these arrears the deficit for 2012 would be some 23% of GDP using rebased numbers (or some 35% of GDP using the old GDP series). These are mindboggling numbers. The crux of the problem is that government spending increased astronomically to 34.5% of GDP even though government revenues amounted to 16.1% of GDP (a gap of over 100%) for the year
The provisional 2012 budget deficit of 12.1% of GDP is almost double the budget deficit of 6.5% in 2008 using the rebased GDP numbers (or 11.2% of GDP using the old GDP series) notwithstanding the fact that Ghana enjoyed more favorable economic circumstances in 2012. In 2008 Ghana was not an oil producer and the global economy was in crisis.
In 2012 on the other hand, Ghana was an oil producer facing a favorable external environment for its exports and yet managed to double the 2008 budget (which this government described at the time as “reckless”) and in the process achieve what is a truly unprecedented budget deficit in Ghana’s history.
The government promised last year that its management of the economy would be more prudent than that of other governments in previous election years. Despite all the favorable opportunities at its disposal, 2012 has turned out to be the worst election year outcome in Ghana’s history in terms of the management of public finances. This is also yet another failed NDC promise.
For any economy with this historic budget deficit combined with an increasing balance of payments deficit (some 13% of rebased GDP) and mounting public debt, this state of affairs will raise alarm bells, but not so in Ghana. The government has found a way to delay tackling critical economic problems through borrowing domestically and internationally and falsely claiming “unprecedented” achievements at home.
In the process, Ghana’s total public debt has increased from Ghc 9.6 billion in 2008 to Ghc 33.5 billion in 2012 (an increase of 248% in 4 years!). As has been demonstrated for Ghana and many countries in the past however, this path and manner of managing an economy is unsustainable.
Take the example of the management of oil revenues. It turns out that the NDC government forecast oil revenues from corporate taxes of Ghc 384.1 million for 2012 knowing full well that revenue would not materialize. This is because the Jubilee partners are entitled to capital cost recovery under the Petroleum Income Tax Law 1987 (PNDC Law 188) and the government knew this.
The government nonetheless forecast the receipt of these revenues because the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 are such that the proportion of then oil revenues that accrues to the budget (The Annual Budget Funding Amount) is based on projected benchmark oil revenue. Under the Act, 70% of projected oil revenue accrues to the budget and 30% is divided between the Stabilization (21%) and Heritage (9%) funds.
The government therefore over projected the oil revenue so as to get more of the oil revenue into the budget. In the meantime, the projected revenues were spent through government borrowing. Is it therefore a surprise that with such economic management the budget deficit would increase astronomically?
Poor economic management has consequences. Unfortunately, the burden of the inevitable consequences of the NDC’s management of the economy is bound to fall disproportionately on the segments of society which are least able to afford it, as prices for petroleum products (whatever happened to the oil hedging policy?), transportation, water, electricity (in the face of water and power shortages), school fees, tax increases, expenditure cuts, unemployment, wage pressures, inflation, interest rates etc. shoot up and non-oil GDP growth slows down. This reality is already being felt and will soon be patently obvious for all to see.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was the running mate to Ghana's main opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2012 election. He is an Oxford-trained economist, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and until recently, Country Director of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe.
~ Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Uder unitary Presidency, the "independence of the Central Bank" is the greatest abomination and evil in society.
"Separation of Powers" and certain kind of independence for some state institutions is a taboo.
Can a president be too strong?
"Of course not," most people would answer.
"It's always better to be strong than weak."
Perhaps. But can a president be so powerful that he or she threatens the nation's freedom?
Should a president be allowed to violate the rights of the people?
Or to ignore the rights of other nations?
In recent years, many people think that the president has become too strong. They say that the president has taken so much power from the other branches of government that this threatens the democratic system.
Are there rules to tell a president how far he or she can go?
The Constitution is supposed to prevent the president from using power in the wrong way. Article II states all the things that a president may do and some of the things that he or she may not do.
The Growing Power of the President
The Constitution was written over some years ago. The people who wrote it did not know about nuclear weapons or rockets to the moon or computers or modern television. They didn't know that the nation would some day be the richest among the poor and discover oil. They didn't know that the economy would become so complicated and so big that it would require constant attention to keep it running smoothly.
Therefore, the rules that they wrote in the Constitution say little about a modern president's real power. J.B Danquah, Dombo and Busia would be shocked to know the following facts.
The president today has the power to command the instant destruction of entire cities and villages with fire, so that he can have the opportunity to give new contracts to foreign companies and reap out the "Kick Backs" into his private and party`s accounts.
Ghana has numerous contracts to offer. Only the president can give the signal to offer them because of "Kick-backs" and other forms of corruption.
The numerous Regions are paralysed and are not strong enough to issue their own contracts since all the powers are vested under the "unitary Presidency".
The people are denied from the rght to choose their representatives.
Democracy is destroyed, and only the "unitary President" has the power to "impose" Regional Ministers, DCE`s and Members of the Council - of - State on the people.
The president's power is felt all over the country. The president travels by Presidential jet from one nation to another. Foreign leaders often come to the Castle or Jubilee House or the so-called colonial "Flag-Staff-House", which also equates slavery to colonialism.
If the first Asantehene or the subsequent ones like Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh II had tried to visit Europe or Asia, he would have been on a ship at sea for months at a time.
The people expect the president to deal with a huge number of problems, because he has elevated himself as the god for the people.
If there is economic trouble, they expect the president to cure it. Modern presidents don't just try to administer the laws passed by Parliament. Nor do they merely "recommend measures" to Parliament as required by the Constitution.
Through staff members, they often bring pressure on Parliament to pass favored bills, including some actually written in the Executive Department.
Does the Constitution Allow a "Strong" President?
20 February 2013
President appoints Council of State members
President John Mahama has appointed a number of persons, including the immediate past Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa-Doe to the Council of State.
The Chairman of the Council is John Henry Martey Newman, former Chief of Staff under the late President John Mills.
The other members of the Council include Cecilia Johnson, Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Osei Asibe, Ashanti Region and Patrick Enyonam Agbogba (Togbui Sri) Volta Region.
The others are Rashid Sulemana Mahama, of the Northern Region, Okogyeman Kweku Gyamerah of the Western Region, David Kanga of the Upper East Region, Ama Benyiwa Doe of the Central Region, Edward Gyader of the Upper East Region, Abraham Kweku Edusei representing the Eastern Region and Dr Rabiatu Deinyo Armah of the Greater Accra Region.
The Council of State members were sworn into office by the President on Wednesday.
How much power should the president have?
How much does the Constitution set limits to the president's actions?
These are very old questions.
Throughout history, there have been many kinds of presidents. But a number of them have tended to fall into two very different groups in their attitudes toward presidential power.
The first believed that the powers of the president were few and limited.
Presidents of this type thought they could, or should, do no more than follow the exact words of the Constitution and carry out the laws of Parliament. You might call them "weak executive" presidents.
That doesn't mean that they were weak people. It means only that they believed their actions were strictly limited by the Constitution.
Modern examples of such presidents were President Dr. Hilla Limann, and Prime Minister Prof.Dr.K.A.Busia.
Some others have been "strong executive" presidents. They believed the Constitution gave them enough power to be strong leaders. In their view, a president could act in ways not specifically mentioned by the Constitution.
Almost all the most Head Of States and presidents since kwame nkruma have believed in a strong Presidency.
kwame nkruma ,kutu Acheampong, FWK Akuffo, jerry john rawlings, Agyekum Kufuor and atta mills all acted in bold new ways.
Their critics were sometimes shocked by their actions and complained that the Constitution was ignored. But the "strong executive" defended himself through their spin doctors and the corrupt media who have allowed themselves to be bought with stolen state money.
The question of how strong a president should be may be more important now than ever before. After all, the president has gained enormous power in recent years. Some scholars who once favored a strong president now believe that the trend has gone too far.
They believe that we should go back to the days when the president and Parliament were more or less equal in power.
What do you think? Below are arguments on either side of the question. Decide which argument is strongest.
The Case Against a Strong President
We often treat presidents as if they were royalty. presidents live in a big mansion. They have servants and assistants whose only job is to make sure the president has everything he or she wants.
They don't get much personal contact with the people because Gbevlo Lartey and the BNI fears they may be attacked. As one critic says: "No one speaks to him unless spoken to first. No one ever tells him to go soak his head when his demands become unreasonable."
The president has taken more and more power at the expense of Parliament.
The people who wrote the Constitution believed in checking and balancing power between Parliament and the president. But today, the president is more powerful than Parliament.
One example of what has happened is in the power to appropriate state money. The Constitution clearly gives that power to Parliament only. Yet recent presidents have been able to appropropriate state resources without a formal approval by Parliament.
dramani mahama has even made it worse by appointing an extra minister of Finance solely for the Presidency in the name of Fiifi Kwetey. This implies that john mahama can unconstitutionally misapply state money to give bribery and buy more votes for his re-election,give personal donations to his kind ones from state money, and buy cars to his favorites at the cost of the state without Parliament`s approval.
So run the arguments of those who are against the idea of a strong president.
The Case for a Strong President
The growth of the president's power is necessary. presidents should be strong and powerful.
For example,Jerry Rawlings 1981-1992
Gained power in a military coup during 1979 but handed it over. Re-took power in another coup of 1981. Elected President in 1992 and again in 1996 before standing aside as per the constitution.
Keeping It Real
Ever wonder what Nigeria would have been like if the government never lost 500 billion dollars of oil money to corruption? In this episode of "Keeping It Real," Adeola shows you the amenities that Nigerians have been robbed of. She also talked about the various African dictators who have refused to leave power even after decades.
Enjoy!
They say that Ghana today needs a strong president. Who else can give the nation leadership?
Who else can make the quick decisions that are needed in a national emergency?
In the old days during the second Republic, an army could move only as fast as its horses and sailing ships. There was plenty of time for Parliament to debate issues of peace. But not today. Only the president can act fast enough in an emergency.
Furthermore, only the president can give real leadership on the many national problems. Parliament cannot lead as well as the president simply because there is only one president, but there are over 250 Representatives and several number of the Council of State. Members of Parliament seldom agree on what to do.
Unlike members of Parliament, the president is elected by all the voters. The president does not represent just one part but the whole of the country. And if the people think that the president has taken too much power, they can always elect someone else every four years.
So run the arguments of those who believe in the need for a strong president.
20 February 2013
President cannot dissolve BoG board
The Fast Track High Court has declared that it was unlawful for the President of the Republic to dissolve the board of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) before the board had served its full term.
Giving its judgement in a suit instituted against the Attorney-General and the Governor of the BoG by Mr Sam Okudzeto over the dissolution of the BoG board in January 2009 when its term had not expired, the court held that “the act of the President in purporting to remove the plaintiff from membership of the board when his term had not expired was unlawful”.
Africa like some parts of the world has had its fair share of dictators over the past decades. Some appear on the scene as liberators, revolutionists while others come in as freedom fighters, but eventually they metamorphose into tyrants having looted with their families and want to indemnify themselves from accountability.
Here are some of the worst dictators the ‘dark continent’ has come across ever since Africans weaned themselves off colonial rule. The criteria was based on poor human rights record, disregard for press freedom and the desire to remain in power for life at the expense of innocent lives.
kwame nkruma of Ghana still stand fresh in memory.
Charles Taylor – Liberia
His full name is Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor. The 22nd president of Liberia ruled for eight years [1997-2003]. He was democratically elected. Prior to becoming the no. 1 man of his west African country, he was a warlord as the leader of the rebel group – The National Patriotic Front of Liberia. He lorded over the execution of his predecessor Sergeant Doe.
Under his reign, he allegedly committed war crimes against humanity culminating in his current trial at the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague.
The 63-year-old was accused by Amnesty International to have looted state coffers and used his troops to rape women and children as terror instruments. He is also standing trial for fueling the conflict in Sierra Leone through the illegal sale of ‘blood diamonds’ to support the rebels.
Sekou Toure – Guinea
(kwame nkruma`s best friend)
"Birds of the same further flock together".
Toure was the first president of Guinea. He fell short of four years to have ruled for three decades non-stop [1958-1984]. At one point in time he declared a one-party state. Toure was initially seen as the ‘Guinean Messiah’, but later became the sting of his people. A lot of Guineans fled the country into exile to avoid his ferocious wrath. Death camps were instituted under his watch, where his political opponents were tortured and some executed. He died in America while undergoing cardiac treatment.
General Sani Abacha – Nigeria
Sani Abacha came to the scene in a bloodless coup d’etat in November 1993. He was in power for only five years, but his nefarious feats fit someone who remained in power for life. Political pundits have christened him as the most brutal dictator of the west African powerhouse. Abacha is reported to have stolen millions of dollars from the country’s purse into western banks including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
It is unconfirmed though, but rumours from official circles have it that the senior military officer died in sexual bouts with Indian prostitutes. The highlight of his brutal reign was the 1995 killing of the political and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.
Laurent Kabila – DR Congo
He was full of promises, but none came to nothing. He seized power in 1997 after toppling Joseph Mobutu. Having headed rebellion for decades before reaching the light to turn the misfortunes of his people, he rather aggravated their social condition in his four-year rule.
An estimated 3.3 million people died during his reign. He failed to unite the people and succeeded in dividing them on tribal lines.
He banned opposition parties and never held an election contrary to his promise.
''My long years of struggle were like spreading fertiliser on a field. But now it is time to harvest,'' he told Reuters when he overthrew Mobutu and indeed he reaped from what he sown.
Enough! was the clarion call. Kabila met his waterloo in 2001 when one of his bodyguards shot him in a dramatic style.
Kamuzu Banda – Malawi
Call him a friend or a foe. He fits into any of them. However, the Malawian’s demeanour since he assumed post clearly classified him a despot. Banda was highly intoxicated with power and was never ready to let go.
He fired ministers who had the sense to counsel him that ‘sir, you are biting more than you can chew.’ He was constantly on the hunt to haunt his opponents and many of them fled to exile.
The tyrant declared a one-party state in 1966. His regime was a classic case of ‘grace to grass’. The National Assembly stripped him of his powers in 1993 and died four years after in South Africa.
Robert Mugabe – Zimbabwe
Uncle Roo is a classic case of hero to tyrant. He played an integral role in bringing freedom to Zimbabweans, but got himself drunk with power and went overboard. The veteran has clung on to power from 1980 till date. Zimbabweans are fed up with his repressive regime.
He hates press freedom.
The economy is in a bad state. If you are an opposition member be prepared to make the prisons your second home and the courts will be frequent places of visits. He succumbed to power-sharing in 2009, but the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, now a key government figure touted to bring hopes to the former British colony of Rhodesia, is not having it easy with his opponent in the corridors of power.
Mobutu Sese Seko – [Zaire] Congo
He was born Joseph-Desire Mobutu, but popularly known as Mobuto Sese Seko [Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga] – a title he added to his name to wit, “the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake”.
He was Zaire’s long-serving dictator, who stayed in power for 31 solid years. He felt bigger than his country and thought the nation cannot do without him. It took one Laurent Kabila to force him into exile.
Mobutu was cunning, violent and always had his hands in state coffers. He lived in grandeur state while the country was stumbling in poverty. Mobutu died while in exile in Morocco after a protracted battle with cancer.
Jean-Bedel Bokassa - CAR
He was a former colonel who seized power in the Central African Republic in 1966 and declared himself president for life. Bokassa I was accused of cannibalism of imprisoned school children.
His stock in trade in most parts of his 14-year rule was torture and execution of his opponents. It is widely reported that his coronation alone cost US$30 million and he amassed about US$125 m in his personal accounts.
His regime ended in 1979 when French paratroopers overthrew his government while he was on an official trip to Libya. Bokassa had 17 wives with close to 50 children. He died at 75 from a heart attack in 1996.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - Libya
The beleaguered Libyan ruler is the longest-ruling Africa and the Arab world's “most erratic, most grimly fascinating leader - presiding for 42 years over this desert republic with vast oil reserves and just six million people,” Aljazeera described him.
The revolutionist came to power through a 1969 bloodless coup against King Idris at the age of 27. He has ruled with eagle eyes over his oil-rich country and has dealt with dissidents [“rats”] severely in the past decades through public hanging and long term imprisonments. His regime is near collapse as rebels close in on him to drag him out of power from the beginning of the year.
Idi Amin Dada – Uganda
He is the most notorious of all African dictators ever. He has been described as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutalities in the 70s. He was in the limelight in 1971 after a military coup and ruled for eight years.
He conferred on him the title, Field Marshal. He is known for the famous quote on the day of the coup: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."
He used his ‘killer squads’ to eliminate hundreds of his opponents. Amin was ousted in 1979 by Ugandan nationalists, after which he fled into exile.
Dishonourable mentions
Francisco Macías Nguema – Equatorial Guinea
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma – Togo
Paul Biya – Cameroon
Mengistu Haile Mariam – Ethiopia
Omar Al-bashir – Sudan
Omar Al-bashir – Eritrea
Siad Barre – Somalia
Hissene Habre - Chad
Laurent Gbagbo, Ivory Coast's former president, is set to appear before the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Judges on Tuesday will decide if there is enough evidence to try him for masterminding a bloody election standoff two years ago, when four months of fighting left some 3,000 dead following his refusal to concede defeat to current president Alassane Outtara.
Prosecutors say Gbagbo, who faces four counts including murder and rape, spearheaded a plan to "stay in power by all means... through carefully planned, sustained and deadly attacks" against supporters of the election winner.
"Hundreds of civilian opponents were attacked, killed, wounded or victims of rape as a result of this policy," the prosecution said.
Gbagbo is the first former head of state to appear before the Hague-based court, where hearings will last just over a week.
Large-scale killings
Between November 28, 2010 and May 8, 2011 Gbagbo's forces killed between 706 and 1,059 people and raped more than 35 women, prosecutors say.
In one instance, some 80 people were massacred when perceived Ouattara supporters were attacked in the northwestern Abidjan suburb of Yopougon a day after Gbagbo's arrest by rival forces.
"The perpetrators were armed with Kalashnikovs and machetes. They attacked people in the street, sometimes stopping them at illegal roadblocks," prosecutors said, adding "victims were summarily executed or burnt alive, under the eyes of police officers who did not intervene."
In a reminder of tensions still simmering, the same neighbourhood of Yopougon on Saturday saw riot police fire tear gas to disperse a group of around 50 pro-Gbagbo supporters.
Ouattara's Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko had banned the demonstration but youths nevertheless gathered, shouting "Free Gbagbo" and charging a police barrier.
Judges at the ICC said on Friday Gbagbo's mental health was fragile, but that he was fit enough to stand trial. Special measures including shorter sessions or letting the former president excuse himself and appear via video could be made possible, they said.
The hearings are expected to end on February 28, when Gbagbo is expected to make a statement.
Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns
Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has resigned after failing to reach agreement on forming a new government.
Mr Jebali had been trying to form a new coalition in response to the political crisis sparked by the killing of opposition leader Chokri Belaid.
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
...
read full comment
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY!
While kwame nkruma was seriously Condemning , blasting and lashing out against the West and accusing them as imperialists, he was at the same time also building "imperial presidency" around himself.
Was kwame nkruma such a hypocrite?
kwame nkruma was a hypocrite when he recklessly also does exactly what he has been accusing others for.
According to his ideological followers, Others are always at fault, but nkruma never fault, this was the motto and the main theme of his doctrines.
"Ghana's economy on unsustainable path"
- Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The data coming in on Ghana's economic performance in 2012 indicates quite simply that public finances are out of control and the economy is in trouble. At the end of 2012, Ghana's budget deficit was a whopping Ghc 8.7 billion, amounting to 12.1% of GDP using the rebased GDP numbers (or some 20% of GDP in terms of the old GDP series).
This is the highest recorded budget deficit in Ghana’s history. From Nkrumah through Acheampong, Rawlings and Kufuor, no government has incurred this level of budget deficit. What is more worrying is that this provisional deficit figure excludes some Ghc 4.0 billion in commitments and arrears yet to be paid to contractors and other service providers.
If we include these arrears the deficit for 2012 would be some 23% of GDP using rebased numbers (or some 35% of GDP using the old GDP series). These are mindboggling numbers. The crux of the problem is that government spending increased astronomically to 34.5% of GDP even though government revenues amounted to 16.1% of GDP (a gap of over 100%) for the year
The provisional 2012 budget deficit of 12.1% of GDP is almost double the budget deficit of 6.5% in 2008 using the rebased GDP numbers (or 11.2% of GDP using the old GDP series) notwithstanding the fact that Ghana enjoyed more favorable economic circumstances in 2012. In 2008 Ghana was not an oil producer and the global economy was in crisis.
In 2012 on the other hand, Ghana was an oil producer facing a favorable external environment for its exports and yet managed to double the 2008 budget (which this government described at the time as “reckless”) and in the process achieve what is a truly unprecedented budget deficit in Ghana’s history.
The government promised last year that its management of the economy would be more prudent than that of other governments in previous election years. Despite all the favorable opportunities at its disposal, 2012 has turned out to be the worst election year outcome in Ghana’s history in terms of the management of public finances. This is also yet another failed NDC promise.
For any economy with this historic budget deficit combined with an increasing balance of payments deficit (some 13% of rebased GDP) and mounting public debt, this state of affairs will raise alarm bells, but not so in Ghana. The government has found a way to delay tackling critical economic problems through borrowing domestically and internationally and falsely claiming “unprecedented” achievements at home.
In the process, Ghana’s total public debt has increased from Ghc 9.6 billion in 2008 to Ghc 33.5 billion in 2012 (an increase of 248% in 4 years!). As has been demonstrated for Ghana and many countries in the past however, this path and manner of managing an economy is unsustainable.
Take the example of the management of oil revenues. It turns out that the NDC government forecast oil revenues from corporate taxes of Ghc 384.1 million for 2012 knowing full well that revenue would not materialize. This is because the Jubilee partners are entitled to capital cost recovery under the Petroleum Income Tax Law 1987 (PNDC Law 188) and the government knew this.
The government nonetheless forecast the receipt of these revenues because the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 are such that the proportion of then oil revenues that accrues to the budget (The Annual Budget Funding Amount) is based on projected benchmark oil revenue. Under the Act, 70% of projected oil revenue accrues to the budget and 30% is divided between the Stabilization (21%) and Heritage (9%) funds.
The government therefore over projected the oil revenue so as to get more of the oil revenue into the budget. In the meantime, the projected revenues were spent through government borrowing. Is it therefore a surprise that with such economic management the budget deficit would increase astronomically?
Poor economic management has consequences. Unfortunately, the burden of the inevitable consequences of the NDC’s management of the economy is bound to fall disproportionately on the segments of society which are least able to afford it, as prices for petroleum products (whatever happened to the oil hedging policy?), transportation, water, electricity (in the face of water and power shortages), school fees, tax increases, expenditure cuts, unemployment, wage pressures, inflation, interest rates etc. shoot up and non-oil GDP growth slows down. This reality is already being felt and will soon be patently obvious for all to see.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was the running mate to Ghana's main opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2012 election. He is an Oxford-trained economist, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and until recently, Country Director of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe.
~ Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Uder unitary Presidency, the "independence of the Central Bank" is the greatest abomination and evil in society.
"Separation of Powers" and certain kind of independence for some state institutions is a taboo.
Can a president be too strong?
"Of course not," most people would answer.
"It's always better to be strong than weak."
Perhaps. But can a president be so powerful that he or she threatens the nation's freedom?
Should a president be allowed to violate the rights of the people?
Or to ignore the rights of other nations?
In recent years, many people think that the president has become too strong. They say that the president has taken so much power from the other branches of government that this threatens the democratic system.
Are there rules to tell a president how far he or she can go?
The Constitution is supposed to prevent the president from using power in the wrong way. Article II states all the things that a president may do and some of the things that he or she may not do.
The Growing Power of the President
The Constitution was written over some years ago. The people who wrote it did not know about nuclear weapons or rockets to the moon or computers or modern television. They didn't know that the nation would some day be the richest among the poor and discover oil. They didn't know that the economy would become so complicated and so big that it would require constant attention to keep it running smoothly.
Therefore, the rules that they wrote in the Constitution say little about a modern president's real power. J.B Danquah, Dombo and Busia would be shocked to know the following facts.
The president today has the power to command the instant destruction of entire cities and villages with fire, so that he can have the opportunity to give new contracts to foreign companies and reap out the "Kick Backs" into his private and party`s accounts.
Ghana has numerous contracts to offer. Only the president can give the signal to offer them because of "Kick-backs" and other forms of corruption.
The numerous Regions are paralysed and are not strong enough to issue their own contracts since all the powers are vested under the "unitary Presidency".
The people are denied from the rght to choose their representatives.
Democracy is destroyed, and only the "unitary President" has the power to "impose" Regional Ministers, DCE`s and Members of the Council - of - State on the people.
The president's power is felt all over the country. The president travels by Presidential jet from one nation to another. Foreign leaders often come to the Castle or Jubilee House or the so-called colonial "Flag-Staff-House", which also equates slavery to colonialism.
If the first Asantehene or the subsequent ones like Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh II had tried to visit Europe or Asia, he would have been on a ship at sea for months at a time.
The people expect the president to deal with a huge number of problems, because he has elevated himself as the god for the people.
If there is economic trouble, they expect the president to cure it. Modern presidents don't just try to administer the laws passed by Parliament. Nor do they merely "recommend measures" to Parliament as required by the Constitution.
Through staff members, they often bring pressure on Parliament to pass favored bills, including some actually written in the Executive Department.
Does the Constitution Allow a "Strong" President?
20 February 2013
President appoints Council of State members
President John Mahama has appointed a number of persons, including the immediate past Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa-Doe to the Council of State.
The Chairman of the Council is John Henry Martey Newman, former Chief of Staff under the late President John Mills.
The other members of the Council include Cecilia Johnson, Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Osei Asibe, Ashanti Region and Patrick Enyonam Agbogba (Togbui Sri) Volta Region.
The others are Rashid Sulemana Mahama, of the Northern Region, Okogyeman Kweku Gyamerah of the Western Region, David Kanga of the Upper East Region, Ama Benyiwa Doe of the Central Region, Edward Gyader of the Upper East Region, Abraham Kweku Edusei representing the Eastern Region and Dr Rabiatu Deinyo Armah of the Greater Accra Region.
The Council of State members were sworn into office by the President on Wednesday.
How much power should the president have?
How much does the Constitution set limits to the president's actions?
These are very old questions.
Throughout history, there have been many kinds of presidents. But a number of them have tended to fall into two very different groups in their attitudes toward presidential power.
The first believed that the powers of the president were few and limited.
Presidents of this type thought they could, or should, do no more than follow the exact words of the Constitution and carry out the laws of Parliament. You might call them "weak executive" presidents.
That doesn't mean that they were weak people. It means only that they believed their actions were strictly limited by the Constitution.
Modern examples of such presidents were President Dr. Hilla Limann, and Prime Minister Prof.Dr.K.A.Busia.
Some others have been "strong executive" presidents. They believed the Constitution gave them enough power to be strong leaders. In their view, a president could act in ways not specifically mentioned by the Constitution.
Almost all the most Head Of States and presidents since kwame nkruma have believed in a strong Presidency.
kwame nkruma ,kutu Acheampong, FWK Akuffo, jerry john rawlings, Agyekum Kufuor and atta mills all acted in bold new ways.
Their critics were sometimes shocked by their actions and complained that the Constitution was ignored. But the "strong executive" defended himself through their spin doctors and the corrupt media who have allowed themselves to be bought with stolen state money.
The question of how strong a president should be may be more important now than ever before. After all, the president has gained enormous power in recent years. Some scholars who once favored a strong president now believe that the trend has gone too far.
They believe that we should go back to the days when the president and Parliament were more or less equal in power.
What do you think? Below are arguments on either side of the question. Decide which argument is strongest.
The Case Against a Strong President
We often treat presidents as if they were royalty. presidents live in a big mansion. They have servants and assistants whose only job is to make sure the president has everything he or she wants.
They don't get much personal contact with the people because Gbevlo Lartey and the BNI fears they may be attacked. As one critic says: "No one speaks to him unless spoken to first. No one ever tells him to go soak his head when his demands become unreasonable."
The president has taken more and more power at the expense of Parliament.
The people who wrote the Constitution believed in checking and balancing power between Parliament and the president. But today, the president is more powerful than Parliament.
One example of what has happened is in the power to appropriate state money. The Constitution clearly gives that power to Parliament only. Yet recent presidents have been able to appropropriate state resources without a formal approval by Parliament.
dramani mahama has even made it worse by appointing an extra minister of Finance solely for the Presidency in the name of Fiifi Kwetey. This implies that john mahama can unconstitutionally misapply state money to give bribery and buy more votes for his re-election,give personal donations to his kind ones from state money, and buy cars to his favorites at the cost of the state without Parliament`s approval.
So run the arguments of those who are against the idea of a strong president.
The Case for a Strong President
The growth of the president's power is necessary. presidents should be strong and powerful.
For example,Jerry Rawlings 1981-1992
Gained power in a military coup during 1979 but handed it over. Re-took power in another coup of 1981. Elected President in 1992 and again in 1996 before standing aside as per the constitution.
Keeping It Real
Ever wonder what Nigeria would have been like if the government never lost 500 billion dollars of oil money to corruption? In this episode of "Keeping It Real," Adeola shows you the amenities that Nigerians have been robbed of. She also talked about the various African dictators who have refused to leave power even after decades.
Enjoy!
They say that Ghana today needs a strong president. Who else can give the nation leadership?
Who else can make the quick decisions that are needed in a national emergency?
In the old days during the second Republic, an army could move only as fast as its horses and sailing ships. There was plenty of time for Parliament to debate issues of peace. But not today. Only the president can act fast enough in an emergency.
Furthermore, only the president can give real leadership on the many national problems. Parliament cannot lead as well as the president simply because there is only one president, but there are over 250 Representatives and several number of the Council of State. Members of Parliament seldom agree on what to do.
Unlike members of Parliament, the president is elected by all the voters. The president does not represent just one part but the whole of the country. And if the people think that the president has taken too much power, they can always elect someone else every four years.
So run the arguments of those who believe in the need for a strong president.
20 February 2013
President cannot dissolve BoG board
The Fast Track High Court has declared that it was unlawful for the President of the Republic to dissolve the board of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) before the board had served its full term.
Giving its judgement in a suit instituted against the Attorney-General and the Governor of the BoG by Mr Sam Okudzeto over the dissolution of the BoG board in January 2009 when its term had not expired, the court held that “the act of the President in purporting to remove the plaintiff from membership of the board when his term had not expired was unlawful”.
Africa like some parts of the world has had its fair share of dictators over the past decades. Some appear on the scene as liberators, revolutionists while others come in as freedom fighters, but eventually they metamorphose into tyrants having looted with their families and want to indemnify themselves from accountability.
Here are some of the worst dictators the ‘dark continent’ has come across ever since Africans weaned themselves off colonial rule. The criteria was based on poor human rights record, disregard for press freedom and the desire to remain in power for life at the expense of innocent lives.
kwame nkruma of Ghana still stand fresh in memory.
Charles Taylor – Liberia
His full name is Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor. The 22nd president of Liberia ruled for eight years [1997-2003]. He was democratically elected. Prior to becoming the no. 1 man of his west African country, he was a warlord as the leader of the rebel group – The National Patriotic Front of Liberia. He lorded over the execution of his predecessor Sergeant Doe.
Under his reign, he allegedly committed war crimes against humanity culminating in his current trial at the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague.
The 63-year-old was accused by Amnesty International to have looted state coffers and used his troops to rape women and children as terror instruments. He is also standing trial for fueling the conflict in Sierra Leone through the illegal sale of ‘blood diamonds’ to support the rebels.
Sekou Toure – Guinea
(kwame nkruma`s best friend)
"Birds of the same further flock together".
Toure was the first president of Guinea. He fell short of four years to have ruled for three decades non-stop [1958-1984]. At one point in time he declared a one-party state. Toure was initially seen as the ‘Guinean Messiah’, but later became the sting of his people. A lot of Guineans fled the country into exile to avoid his ferocious wrath. Death camps were instituted under his watch, where his political opponents were tortured and some executed. He died in America while undergoing cardiac treatment.
General Sani Abacha – Nigeria
Sani Abacha came to the scene in a bloodless coup d’etat in November 1993. He was in power for only five years, but his nefarious feats fit someone who remained in power for life. Political pundits have christened him as the most brutal dictator of the west African powerhouse. Abacha is reported to have stolen millions of dollars from the country’s purse into western banks including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
It is unconfirmed though, but rumours from official circles have it that the senior military officer died in sexual bouts with Indian prostitutes. The highlight of his brutal reign was the 1995 killing of the political and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.
Laurent Kabila – DR Congo
He was full of promises, but none came to nothing. He seized power in 1997 after toppling Joseph Mobutu. Having headed rebellion for decades before reaching the light to turn the misfortunes of his people, he rather aggravated their social condition in his four-year rule.
An estimated 3.3 million people died during his reign. He failed to unite the people and succeeded in dividing them on tribal lines.
He banned opposition parties and never held an election contrary to his promise.
''My long years of struggle were like spreading fertiliser on a field. But now it is time to harvest,'' he told Reuters when he overthrew Mobutu and indeed he reaped from what he sown.
Enough! was the clarion call. Kabila met his waterloo in 2001 when one of his bodyguards shot him in a dramatic style.
Kamuzu Banda – Malawi
Call him a friend or a foe. He fits into any of them. However, the Malawian’s demeanour since he assumed post clearly classified him a despot. Banda was highly intoxicated with power and was never ready to let go.
He fired ministers who had the sense to counsel him that ‘sir, you are biting more than you can chew.’ He was constantly on the hunt to haunt his opponents and many of them fled to exile.
The tyrant declared a one-party state in 1966. His regime was a classic case of ‘grace to grass’. The National Assembly stripped him of his powers in 1993 and died four years after in South Africa.
Robert Mugabe – Zimbabwe
Uncle Roo is a classic case of hero to tyrant. He played an integral role in bringing freedom to Zimbabweans, but got himself drunk with power and went overboard. The veteran has clung on to power from 1980 till date. Zimbabweans are fed up with his repressive regime.
He hates press freedom.
The economy is in a bad state. If you are an opposition member be prepared to make the prisons your second home and the courts will be frequent places of visits. He succumbed to power-sharing in 2009, but the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, now a key government figure touted to bring hopes to the former British colony of Rhodesia, is not having it easy with his opponent in the corridors of power.
Mobutu Sese Seko – [Zaire] Congo
He was born Joseph-Desire Mobutu, but popularly known as Mobuto Sese Seko [Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga] – a title he added to his name to wit, “the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake”.
He was Zaire’s long-serving dictator, who stayed in power for 31 solid years. He felt bigger than his country and thought the nation cannot do without him. It took one Laurent Kabila to force him into exile.
Mobutu was cunning, violent and always had his hands in state coffers. He lived in grandeur state while the country was stumbling in poverty. Mobutu died while in exile in Morocco after a protracted battle with cancer.
Jean-Bedel Bokassa - CAR
He was a former colonel who seized power in the Central African Republic in 1966 and declared himself president for life. Bokassa I was accused of cannibalism of imprisoned school children.
His stock in trade in most parts of his 14-year rule was torture and execution of his opponents. It is widely reported that his coronation alone cost US$30 million and he amassed about US$125 m in his personal accounts.
His regime ended in 1979 when French paratroopers overthrew his government while he was on an official trip to Libya. Bokassa had 17 wives with close to 50 children. He died at 75 from a heart attack in 1996.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - Libya
The beleaguered Libyan ruler is the longest-ruling Africa and the Arab world's “most erratic, most grimly fascinating leader - presiding for 42 years over this desert republic with vast oil reserves and just six million people,” Aljazeera described him.
The revolutionist came to power through a 1969 bloodless coup against King Idris at the age of 27. He has ruled with eagle eyes over his oil-rich country and has dealt with dissidents [“rats”] severely in the past decades through public hanging and long term imprisonments. His regime is near collapse as rebels close in on him to drag him out of power from the beginning of the year.
Idi Amin Dada – Uganda
He is the most notorious of all African dictators ever. He has been described as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutalities in the 70s. He was in the limelight in 1971 after a military coup and ruled for eight years.
He conferred on him the title, Field Marshal. He is known for the famous quote on the day of the coup: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."
He used his ‘killer squads’ to eliminate hundreds of his opponents. Amin was ousted in 1979 by Ugandan nationalists, after which he fled into exile.
Dishonourable mentions
Francisco Macías Nguema – Equatorial Guinea
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma – Togo
Paul Biya – Cameroon
Mengistu Haile Mariam – Ethiopia
Omar Al-bashir – Sudan
Omar Al-bashir – Eritrea
Siad Barre – Somalia
Hissene Habre - Chad
Laurent Gbagbo, Ivory Coast's former president, is set to appear before the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Judges on Tuesday will decide if there is enough evidence to try him for masterminding a bloody election standoff two years ago, when four months of fighting left some 3,000 dead following his refusal to concede defeat to current president Alassane Outtara.
Prosecutors say Gbagbo, who faces four counts including murder and rape, spearheaded a plan to "stay in power by all means... through carefully planned, sustained and deadly attacks" against supporters of the election winner.
"Hundreds of civilian opponents were attacked, killed, wounded or victims of rape as a result of this policy," the prosecution said.
Gbagbo is the first former head of state to appear before the Hague-based court, where hearings will last just over a week.
Large-scale killings
Between November 28, 2010 and May 8, 2011 Gbagbo's forces killed between 706 and 1,059 people and raped more than 35 women, prosecutors say.
In one instance, some 80 people were massacred when perceived Ouattara supporters were attacked in the northwestern Abidjan suburb of Yopougon a day after Gbagbo's arrest by rival forces.
"The perpetrators were armed with Kalashnikovs and machetes. They attacked people in the street, sometimes stopping them at illegal roadblocks," prosecutors said, adding "victims were summarily executed or burnt alive, under the eyes of police officers who did not intervene."
In a reminder of tensions still simmering, the same neighbourhood of Yopougon on Saturday saw riot police fire tear gas to disperse a group of around 50 pro-Gbagbo supporters.
Ouattara's Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko had banned the demonstration but youths nevertheless gathered, shouting "Free Gbagbo" and charging a police barrier.
Judges at the ICC said on Friday Gbagbo's mental health was fragile, but that he was fit enough to stand trial. Special measures including shorter sessions or letting the former president excuse himself and appear via video could be made possible, they said.
The hearings are expected to end on February 28, when Gbagbo is expected to make a statement.
Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns
Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has resigned after failing to reach agreement on forming a new government.
Mr Jebali had been trying to form a new coalition in response to the political crisis sparked by the killing of opposition leader Chokri Belaid.
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!
I HATE YOU FOR SOME OF YOUR RENDITIONS. THEY ARE GROSSLY DEBATABLE....I GUESS YOU ARE A MEMBER O0F THE YEN AKAN FUOOR .YOU ARE IN FOR HELL FOR DERAILING GHANA AND AFRICA. YOUR PARTY WILL NEVER SEE PEACE AND HOPE FOR 4 GENERAT ...
read full comment
I HATE YOU FOR SOME OF YOUR RENDITIONS. THEY ARE GROSSLY DEBATABLE....I GUESS YOU ARE A MEMBER O0F THE YEN AKAN FUOOR .YOU ARE IN FOR HELL FOR DERAILING GHANA AND AFRICA. YOUR PARTY WILL NEVER SEE PEACE AND HOPE FOR 4 GENERATIONS!!! GO AND PRAY BEFORE THE VOLTA WHERE IT EMPTYIS INTO THE SEA....AT ADDAA.
Think March 6, 1957!
Think March 6, 1957!
KWAME NKRUMAH NEVER LIVES! HE IS A GHOST, GONE 4EVER! BUT WE HAVE SOME IDIOTS WHO ARE DREAMING NKRUMAH WILL COME TO THINK FOR THEM! THAT DICTATOR WAS BRUTALLY OVERTHROWN AND DIED IN ANOTHER LAND EVEN WHEN HE WAS ALIVE! NOT AF ...
read full comment
KWAME NKRUMAH NEVER LIVES! HE IS A GHOST, GONE 4EVER! BUT WE HAVE SOME IDIOTS WHO ARE DREAMING NKRUMAH WILL COME TO THINK FOR THEM! THAT DICTATOR WAS BRUTALLY OVERTHROWN AND DIED IN ANOTHER LAND EVEN WHEN HE WAS ALIVE! NOT AFTER 40YRS OF HIS DEATH
THEY HAVE PLAY THEIR PART WITH NPP SCORING 3 AND NDC SCORING 3 AND HAIF, WE NEED CPP.
THEY HAVE PLAY THEIR PART WITH NPP SCORING 3 AND NDC SCORING 3 AND HAIF, WE NEED CPP.
Don't you know CPP died with Nkrumah? Any party that revolves around a person dies with the person, especially if that person was a dictator.
Don't you know CPP died with Nkrumah? Any party that revolves around a person dies with the person, especially if that person was a dictator.
Since the Cocaine barons, nation wreckers and primitive tribalists (AFrifa, Busia, Kotoka,JB Danquah, Kufour,Kyei Mensah Bonsu, Akufo Addict, etc) overthrew the FOUNDER OF GHANA, YOUR FATHER DR KWAME NKRUMAH, and killed him i ...
read full comment
Since the Cocaine barons, nation wreckers and primitive tribalists (AFrifa, Busia, Kotoka,JB Danquah, Kufour,Kyei Mensah Bonsu, Akufo Addict, etc) overthrew the FOUNDER OF GHANA, YOUR FATHER DR KWAME NKRUMAH, and killed him in exile, WE HAVE NEVER HAD A NATIONAL LEADER!!!.
The cocaine barons pontificate that your father detained 800 Ghanaians during the 9 years of PDA. But they hide what the father of the arrogant cocaine sniffer did under the PDL that they instituted. Akufo Addo's father jailed 1200 Ghanaians in two and a half years. Samia, keep the light burning. One day we shall come back.
YEAH CPP WILL TAKEOVER FROM NPP AS OPPOSITION 2016
YEAH CPP WILL TAKEOVER FROM NPP AS OPPOSITION 2016
NPP IS DEATH ALIVE; SO CPP WILL BE THE NEXT CHANLLENGER FOR OPPOSITION
NPP IS DEATH ALIVE; SO CPP WILL BE THE NEXT CHANLLENGER FOR OPPOSITION
NPP WILL PAY HIGHER PRICE FOR THEIR GREEDY BEHAVIOUR
NPP WILL PAY HIGHER PRICE FOR THEIR GREEDY BEHAVIOUR
YOU ARE DEPRESSIVELY SICK, MAN!
YOU ARE DEPRESSIVELY SICK, MAN!
NPP WILL NOT GET 0.5% NEXT ELECTION
NPP WILL NOT GET 0.5% NEXT ELECTION
many an oborni will fill her with sperm..Guess your jealous well go suck your brothers dick on beach National DickSuckers Committee(ndc)
many an oborni will fill her with sperm..Guess your jealous well go suck your brothers dick on beach National DickSuckers Committee(ndc)
DO YOU KNOW THOSE WHO LICK DICK? YOUR GAY VICE AMISA ARTHUR, ASK KOKU ANIDOHO
DO YOU KNOW THOSE WHO LICK DICK? YOUR GAY VICE AMISA ARTHUR, ASK KOKU ANIDOHO
NO MORE NPP-NOW IT IS THE TIME FOR CPP TO REACT FAST
NO MORE NPP-NOW IT IS THE TIME FOR CPP TO REACT FAST
THE YOUTH ARE WELCOMING THEIR IDEAS
THE YOUTH ARE WELCOMING THEIR IDEAS
idiot-grow up and think before you wright.
idiot-grow up and think before you wright.
You cant even write the word itself WHO IS FOOL?
You cant even write the word itself WHO IS FOOL?
With this on and of lights and water problems,any dice can play in Ama Ghana.
With this on and of lights and water problems,any dice can play in Ama Ghana.
NO ONE IN GHANA GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THE ASS
NO ONE IN GHANA GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THE ASS
Samia in well over 50 years and still looks nice. Some ghanaian women are in their 30s and look wretched and old enough to pass for 60.
Samia in well over 50 years and still looks nice. Some ghanaian women are in their 30s and look wretched and old enough to pass for 60.
SAMIA, YOU DONT NEED TO TELL GHANAIANS ABOUT THE IDEAS OF KWAME NKRUMAH, B'COS APART FROM NKRUMAH THERE'S NO WISE AND INTELEGENT POLITICIAN IN GHANA LIKE YOUR DEAR FATHER. MAY HE REST IN PEACE.
SAMIA, YOU DONT NEED TO TELL GHANAIANS ABOUT THE IDEAS OF KWAME NKRUMAH, B'COS APART FROM NKRUMAH THERE'S NO WISE AND INTELEGENT POLITICIAN IN GHANA LIKE YOUR DEAR FATHER. MAY HE REST IN PEACE.
Someone in all sincerities will tell you that you will wallop in poverty and deprivations with the NPP and NDC continue stay in power.Your despairs will be in quintiple digits,the only party in power to soothe your pains is t ...
read full comment
Someone in all sincerities will tell you that you will wallop in poverty and deprivations with the NPP and NDC continue stay in power.Your despairs will be in quintiple digits,the only party in power to soothe your pains is the CPP,and even your father and mother enjoyed and benefited from the Nkrumah CPP's Ghana.You can't deviate the CPP and its members from the Africa liberation agenda.
No no the saying goes, the early bird catches the early worm. It is not the best worm for early birds never distinguish in between. How could birds see whether the worm crawling on the ground is clean, handicapped or maine. T ...
read full comment
No no the saying goes, the early bird catches the early worm. It is not the best worm for early birds never distinguish in between. How could birds see whether the worm crawling on the ground is clean, handicapped or maine. The bird see the bird and just perk and then swallow it. Just that.
My opinion is PPP, NDC and CPP should join together to make the plus in ghana politics.
Benny,thanks for correction.What about PPP,CPP and NPP joining together?The way Ghana is going,anything can happen.Stay blessed.
Benny,thanks for correction.What about PPP,CPP and NPP joining together?The way Ghana is going,anything can happen.Stay blessed.
NKRUMAH NEVER DIES!
NKRUMAH NEVER DIES!
WORDS ARE JUST VERY EASY TO USE I WILL RESTORE HOPE ARE ALL JUST WORDS.. YOU ARE NOT IN POWER YOU WILL NOT AND CANNOT BE IN POWER...STOP USING POWERFUL WORDS...
WORDS ARE JUST VERY EASY TO USE I WILL RESTORE HOPE ARE ALL JUST WORDS.. YOU ARE NOT IN POWER YOU WILL NOT AND CANNOT BE IN POWER...STOP USING POWERFUL WORDS...
we are the future
we are the future
The NPP/NDC have destroyed Kwame Nkrumah's vision of a paradise in Africa. Now it is massive national debt, HIPIC, more debt, rampant inflation misrepresented as single digit, massive UNEMPLOYMENT, decimated manufacturing ind ...
read full comment
The NPP/NDC have destroyed Kwame Nkrumah's vision of a paradise in Africa. Now it is massive national debt, HIPIC, more debt, rampant inflation misrepresented as single digit, massive UNEMPLOYMENT, decimated manufacturing industry, botched oil contract. DUMSO, DUMSO, even the chinese have no respect for 'yen ara yen asase' and are galamesaying away, while the hopeless Mahama NDC government looks the other way, even when Ghanaians are being shot by the chinese. We don't and cannot do anything without foreigners. The IMF dictates to both NPP and NDC. This was not the vision our forefathers had when they moved from the ancient Ghana empire. NPP/NDC have failed Ghana. Please CPP, you are the only hope for Ghana and Africa. The spirit of Nkrumah moves in strange ways but it always triumphs.
Long Live CPP
Long LIve Yaba
Long LIve Ghana
Long Live Africa
Do u need powerful spiritual help? I know of a very very powerful young lady name Queen who has rescue me from hell, poverty nd shame. Nd has made me very very rich nd powerful. Wats ur problem? Name it nd Queen will solve al ...
read full comment
Do u need powerful spiritual help? I know of a very very powerful young lady name Queen who has rescue me from hell, poverty nd shame. Nd has made me very very rich nd powerful. Wats ur problem? Name it nd Queen will solve all ur problems. Contact Queen on 0574195158
Keep educating Gh. to remember Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkruma.
Keep educating Gh. to remember Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkruma.
What kind of hope and where is it coming from?When will you guys accept that the CPP of today has no chance to ever rule this ghanaman?The CPP died with Kwame Nkrumah.
What kind of hope and where is it coming from?When will you guys accept that the CPP of today has no chance to ever rule this ghanaman?The CPP died with Kwame Nkrumah.
Nkrumah is a charismatic leader, a man with the vision and always promoting ghana s interest both at home and abroad. Typical example are his Akosombo hydro electric power, University of science and technology Kumasi and Cape ...
read full comment
Nkrumah is a charismatic leader, a man with the vision and always promoting ghana s interest both at home and abroad. Typical example are his Akosombo hydro electric power, University of science and technology Kumasi and Cape coast university. Famously remembered on the nite when he said the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is link to the total liberation of Ghana.
You can't fool us again!
You can't fool us again!
In a country where no one writes books, I wonder what any of those "younger people" know about Nkrumah and his so-called ideas. And I wonder how many of those archaic ideas can withstand today's NDC-polluted political enviro ...
read full comment
In a country where no one writes books, I wonder what any of those "younger people" know about Nkrumah and his so-called ideas. And I wonder how many of those archaic ideas can withstand today's NDC-polluted political environment.
Have you finished reading the works of Nkrumah ? That is the asnwer to your remark.'For Kwame said but when i am gone you would all one day take a lamp and look for me.'
Have you finished reading the works of Nkrumah ? That is the asnwer to your remark.'For Kwame said but when i am gone you would all one day take a lamp and look for me.'
Yes, Nkrumah said that .. That one day Ghanaians will take touch light to look for me, but in most cases they willn´t find me, He said again that Ghanaians will suffer for far too long.. and this is exactly what is going on ...
read full comment
Yes, Nkrumah said that .. That one day Ghanaians will take touch light to look for me, but in most cases they willn´t find me, He said again that Ghanaians will suffer for far too long.. and this is exactly what is going on in Ghana today.
Kwame Nkrumah wrote books !!!
Kwame Nkrumah wrote books !!!
I know that, and I read ALL of them. How many of the "younger ones" have ever seen any one of Kwame Nkrumah's books. That's what makes the CPP jokers.
I know that, and I read ALL of them. How many of the "younger ones" have ever seen any one of Kwame Nkrumah's books. That's what makes the CPP jokers.
READING AND COMPREHENDING MAY OR MAY NOT GO TOGETHER
READING AND COMPREHENDING MAY OR MAY NOT GO TOGETHER
Quit the jokes CPP...... YOU ALWAYS JOIN NDC TO FIGHT NPP..... NII ARMAH AKONFRAH IS TOO WEAK TO SPEAK BOLDLY TO CONDEMN NDC JDEBTS THIEVING.
...CPP IS DEAD.
Quit the jokes CPP...... YOU ALWAYS JOIN NDC TO FIGHT NPP..... NII ARMAH AKONFRAH IS TOO WEAK TO SPEAK BOLDLY TO CONDEMN NDC JDEBTS THIEVING.
...CPP IS DEAD.
LongLive Nkrumah! Long Live Samia!
LongLive Nkrumah! Long Live Samia!
CPP FOREVER BE A FLOATING PARTY BUT WHOM THE FLOATING VOTES GOES, THE PRESIDENT IS OUR PRESIDENT.
CPP FOREVER BE A FLOATING PARTY BUT WHOM THE FLOATING VOTES GOES, THE PRESIDENT IS OUR PRESIDENT.
go back to Ghana where you beloved ndc is,..We don't need Niggers like you to clean toilets or clean white peoples ass as nurse!
go back to Ghana where you beloved ndc is,..We don't need Niggers like you to clean toilets or clean white peoples ass as nurse!
Kwame Nkrumah was bad for Ghana . He was a dangerous person who could'nt tolerate a single voice of dissent. He dabbled in human sacrifices and made many people 'vanished' from the surface of this earth because they did say' ...
read full comment
Kwame Nkrumah was bad for Ghana . He was a dangerous person who could'nt tolerate a single voice of dissent. He dabbled in human sacrifices and made many people 'vanished' from the surface of this earth because they did say' wrong' things about 'kwame-god'. We now know how he instructed doctors taking care of JB Danquah to inject him with ordinary salt . Unfortunately, the history books in Ghana are so dumb about his wickedness. He stole hundreds of thousands of Ghanaian pounds and gave it to Egypt just to influence them to back him up in his quest to become ' The President of United Africa'. So why do this group calling itself think they can win power to rule Ghana again while holding on to that Nkrumah's ideas? It' like NDC, EXCEPT TO CONNIVE WITH KWADWO AFARI GYAN TO STEAL THE PEOPLE'S VOICE, THEY WILL NEVER BE VOTED INTO POWER!
NKRUMAH DABBLED IN HUMAN SACRIFICES YOUR GRANDPERENTS WERE AMONG OF THEM.YOU WILL NEVER SEE YOUR PARTY RULE IN GHANA.
NKRUMAH DABBLED IN HUMAN SACRIFICES YOUR GRANDPERENTS WERE AMONG OF THEM.YOU WILL NEVER SEE YOUR PARTY RULE IN GHANA.
When The Allotteys among us in spite of the knowledge they seem to have acquired,do reason as though they just climbed down from the tree tops then Ghana like the rest of Africa has its work cut out. Allottey calls himself a ...
read full comment
When The Allotteys among us in spite of the knowledge they seem to have acquired,do reason as though they just climbed down from the tree tops then Ghana like the rest of Africa has its work cut out. Allottey calls himself a philosopher meaning he can think and if this is how his mind works then who wants to know how he lived before he could put sentences together? I once knew an alcoholic from Angola way back in the day. He was always well dressed and he spoke English, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian fluently. He was the gentlest, eloquent and the most polite drunk I ever met. Then one day I bumped into him and he was his usual self with a beautiful grin on his face except this time he was sober. He stopped to chat with me. Under normal circumstances he would greet you warmly and move on with his drunk self. It turned out he was the most educated guy I had ever exchanged ideas with at the time. As the conversation went on I was becoming more and more uncomfortable and afraid of the dude. His thoughts though profound, were so dark I wished we never talked so I could respect him the way I used to do when he was drunk and incoherent. A lot of people do scare the living hell out of me on SIL and Allottey just added the long list. Why then should anybody be surprised that Kwaku Gyata of all men has the most following in a country like Ghana. Ghana at one time produced some of the brightest minds Africa ever knew and we excelled in all spheres. Galamsey Woyame gold bars aloft (autopiloted) Car Wilson mentality builds no prosperous nations. When the most deranged minds have the audacity to drag Nkrumah`s name in the mud and elevate their scum bags to sit on a pedestal then somebody needs some serious “mpaebor” (deliverance). Going with the flow means you cannot think or function on your own. Ghana is backward for many reasons. Many minds need to be re-wired. Education just for the sake of it is far worse than illiteracy. Illiterates can be molded and steered to commit a collective suicide and the so called learned are stuck with their fixed notions about everything. They are dogmatic and extremely dangerous for they have a propensity to be stumbling bocks to impede progress
Is the CPP a family party for the children and family of Kwame Nkrumah?
Is the CPP a family party for the children and family of Kwame Nkrumah?
True true, Nkrumah never die!!!!
True true, Nkrumah never die!!!!
Dead, dead, party with a selfish, selfish Samia and bootlicking Akmonfra and traitor (for NDC) Greenstreet and Akosa
Dead, dead, party with a selfish, selfish Samia and bootlicking Akmonfra and traitor (for NDC) Greenstreet and Akosa
CPP is simply refusing to acknowledge the dynamics of Ghanaian politics that is why they are being pushed to the fringes of marginalization. UP has metamorphosed into NPP and CPP into NDC whether we like it or not. Members of ...
read full comment
CPP is simply refusing to acknowledge the dynamics of Ghanaian politics that is why they are being pushed to the fringes of marginalization. UP has metamorphosed into NPP and CPP into NDC whether we like it or not. Members of the CPP heeded the call of JDM not to waste their votes elsewhere but give him a one touch victory which they did. Samia and Co should spare us the day dreaming. We the CPP members are full blooded NDC under the current dispensation. Asking us to vote for CPP means a sure win for UP/NPP so we will not waste our votes, period.
Samia Nkrumah should stop deceiving herself and step out of the FOOLS’ PARADISE she seem to have built for herself and her God-forsaken party, the CPP. The CPP is DEAD. It will never and can never be resurrected. Not after ...
read full comment
Samia Nkrumah should stop deceiving herself and step out of the FOOLS’ PARADISE she seem to have built for herself and her God-forsaken party, the CPP. The CPP is DEAD. It will never and can never be resurrected. Not after it had sold out to the evil NDC. The NDC vultures have already fed fat on the carcass of the CPP.
Paa Kwasi Nduom thought very smart and abandoned the mortuary-bound party that CPP was.
Today the CPP, which once enjoyed a monopoly of power in Ghana and was unchallenged during Nkrumah’s ONE PARTY (CPP) North-Korean style rule can’t compete. It has never known competition so it has collapsed and DIED and its carcass has been fed upon by the NDC hyenas. IT IS DEAD AND GONE FOR EVER.
all the best as the two so called bigger parties cant even electricity to us.
all the best as the two so called bigger parties cant even electricity to us.
ITS A HARD TIME THAT WE BRING CPP BACK TO POWER BECAUSE ALL THE GOOD THINGS IN GHANA CAME THROUGH CPP. NPP AND NDC ARE FULL OF EMPTY PROMISES. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, FORWARD EVER BACKWARD NEVER GO CPP GOD BLESS
ITS A HARD TIME THAT WE BRING CPP BACK TO POWER BECAUSE ALL THE GOOD THINGS IN GHANA CAME THROUGH CPP. NPP AND NDC ARE FULL OF EMPTY PROMISES. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, FORWARD EVER BACKWARD NEVER GO CPP GOD BLESS
The philosophy that makes Nkrumah great is his vision to make blackman equal to any race.When you say that "the blackman is capable of managing his own affairs" in the 50s,then ofcourse taking steps to shape the minds of your ...
read full comment
The philosophy that makes Nkrumah great is his vision to make blackman equal to any race.When you say that "the blackman is capable of managing his own affairs" in the 50s,then ofcourse taking steps to shape the minds of your people to surmount the task,then definately you become a great philosopher.Our Universities today are just producing graduates for cash but nothing else.Thank you.
Mr. Duah, with all due respect CPP and NDC are light years apart. How bad should Ghana have to go before you guys realize we are in a serious mess? Oil has been flowing for two years now. Have you seen where the money went? A ...
read full comment
Mr. Duah, with all due respect CPP and NDC are light years apart. How bad should Ghana have to go before you guys realize we are in a serious mess? Oil has been flowing for two years now. Have you seen where the money went? AT least the oil refinery should be revamped and it should be up and running at this point. Talk first and think later, “buga-buga” as usual. Some parties have got nothing to do with politics let alone be allowed to run a whole country, for crying out loud. Ghana is sinking fast and furiously but my people will rather attack Samiah who has never offended any Ghanaian or created any scandals whatsoever. She is not her brother. You do not even know when you are suckered.
For years we coped with ABCD junta and now this. Leave Samiah the hell alone. Maybe she is what we need. She may not have a chance today because we have lost all decency as a people. Whoever honestly feels for the country would speak up and that is what the daughter of the great one is doing. What have we not tried since Nkrumah? No institution works in the country. Chaos all over the place. Damn it, Atta Mills gagged to death in his own blood and there was no ambulance or motorcade to speed him up for medical attention. Even at the hospital admission was delayed because he was so deformed beyond recognition or perhaps it was deliberate. If this is how your leader met his maker what would happen to you and me? If gold rusts what then would cast iron do? Sounds like a conspiracy theory but think things over. Lots of things don`t add up in the country if you asked me. If this is how things played out don`t you think something drastic or radical should be experimented with at least? We are stuck with our “same ol same ol” crap for Christ´s sake.
THANKS, CHARLES for your thoughtful comments
THANKS, CHARLES for your thoughtful comments
stop your self deception and propaganda; most NDC memebers are CPP members so stop your nonsense.
stop your self deception and propaganda; most NDC memebers are CPP members so stop your nonsense.
GO read your JSS notes!
GO read your JSS notes!
Great one there CPP. Definitely hope shall be restored and in no time. Ghanaians are sick and tired of these property grabbing parties(NPP & NDC). Lets keep up the spirit and fight to restore hope to our dear nation and the a ...
read full comment
Great one there CPP. Definitely hope shall be restored and in no time. Ghanaians are sick and tired of these property grabbing parties(NPP & NDC). Lets keep up the spirit and fight to restore hope to our dear nation and the african continent. Long Live the CPP...FORWARD EVER....!!!
NKRUMAH NEVER DIES!
FORWARD EVER!
NKRUMAH NEVER DIES!
FORWARD EVER!
this gril never quiet the train had already left the station
this gril never quiet the train had already left the station
my friend shut the fuck up. No one needs you on the political platfform. You have nothing to offer Ghanaians. Have you finish restoring hope to the Nkrumah family? Pls do your homework well before you make unrealistic pronoun ...
read full comment
my friend shut the fuck up. No one needs you on the political platfform. You have nothing to offer Ghanaians. Have you finish restoring hope to the Nkrumah family? Pls do your homework well before you make unrealistic pronouncement on the public scene.
You guys must talk sense instead of nonsense. It will be very wise of you to tell us that you will "We will restore the country's and its image". But don't tell us that "We will restore hope". Hope for what? We have been hope ...
read full comment
You guys must talk sense instead of nonsense. It will be very wise of you to tell us that you will "We will restore the country's and its image". But don't tell us that "We will restore hope". Hope for what? We have been hopeful and hoping for so many years and nothing has happened.
How many MP's did the CPP elect in election 2012? You guys have sold your conscience to the NDC because you all think alike and behave the same way. Just dissolve that so-called Party and don't bother people with annoying noi ...
read full comment
How many MP's did the CPP elect in election 2012? You guys have sold your conscience to the NDC because you all think alike and behave the same way. Just dissolve that so-called Party and don't bother people with annoying noise.
IGNORANCE IS A DESEASE
IGNORANCE IS A DESEASE
Ignorance is truly a disease, and you have that disease. Name one CPP MP that was elected in the last election. Most NDC members are CPP members who have sold their conscience for power and money. How many members of the NDC ...
read full comment
Ignorance is truly a disease, and you have that disease. Name one CPP MP that was elected in the last election. Most NDC members are CPP members who have sold their conscience for power and money. How many members of the NDC are not CPP? The number will be less than 50.
Go and find your JSS classmates. Did you pass JSS? Twerb!
Go and find your JSS classmates. Did you pass JSS? Twerb!
God Bless Gen. Ankrah,
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka,
God Bless Gen. Afrifa,
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY!
Wh ...
read full comment
God Bless Gen. Ankrah,
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka,
God Bless Gen. Afrifa,
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY!
While kwame nkruma was seriously Condemning , blasting and lashing out against the West and accusing them as imperialists, he was at the same time also building "imperial presidency" around himself.
Was kwame nkruma such a hypocrite?
kwame nkruma was a hypocrite when he recklessly also does exactly what he has been accusing others for.
According to his ideological followers, Others are always at fault, but nkruma never fault, this was the motto and the main theme of his doctrines.
"Ghana's economy on unsustainable path"
- Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The data coming in on Ghana's economic performance in 2012 indicates quite simply that public finances are out of control and the economy is in trouble. At the end of 2012, Ghana's budget deficit was a whopping Ghc 8.7 billion, amounting to 12.1% of GDP using the rebased GDP numbers (or some 20% of GDP in terms of the old GDP series).
This is the highest recorded budget deficit in Ghana’s history. From Nkrumah through Acheampong, Rawlings and Kufuor, no government has incurred this level of budget deficit. What is more worrying is that this provisional deficit figure excludes some Ghc 4.0 billion in commitments and arrears yet to be paid to contractors and other service providers.
If we include these arrears the deficit for 2012 would be some 23% of GDP using rebased numbers (or some 35% of GDP using the old GDP series). These are mindboggling numbers. The crux of the problem is that government spending increased astronomically to 34.5% of GDP even though government revenues amounted to 16.1% of GDP (a gap of over 100%) for the year
The provisional 2012 budget deficit of 12.1% of GDP is almost double the budget deficit of 6.5% in 2008 using the rebased GDP numbers (or 11.2% of GDP using the old GDP series) notwithstanding the fact that Ghana enjoyed more favorable economic circumstances in 2012. In 2008 Ghana was not an oil producer and the global economy was in crisis.
In 2012 on the other hand, Ghana was an oil producer facing a favorable external environment for its exports and yet managed to double the 2008 budget (which this government described at the time as “reckless”) and in the process achieve what is a truly unprecedented budget deficit in Ghana’s history.
The government promised last year that its management of the economy would be more prudent than that of other governments in previous election years. Despite all the favorable opportunities at its disposal, 2012 has turned out to be the worst election year outcome in Ghana’s history in terms of the management of public finances. This is also yet another failed NDC promise.
For any economy with this historic budget deficit combined with an increasing balance of payments deficit (some 13% of rebased GDP) and mounting public debt, this state of affairs will raise alarm bells, but not so in Ghana. The government has found a way to delay tackling critical economic problems through borrowing domestically and internationally and falsely claiming “unprecedented” achievements at home.
In the process, Ghana’s total public debt has increased from Ghc 9.6 billion in 2008 to Ghc 33.5 billion in 2012 (an increase of 248% in 4 years!). As has been demonstrated for Ghana and many countries in the past however, this path and manner of managing an economy is unsustainable.
Take the example of the management of oil revenues. It turns out that the NDC government forecast oil revenues from corporate taxes of Ghc 384.1 million for 2012 knowing full well that revenue would not materialize. This is because the Jubilee partners are entitled to capital cost recovery under the Petroleum Income Tax Law 1987 (PNDC Law 188) and the government knew this.
The government nonetheless forecast the receipt of these revenues because the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 are such that the proportion of then oil revenues that accrues to the budget (The Annual Budget Funding Amount) is based on projected benchmark oil revenue. Under the Act, 70% of projected oil revenue accrues to the budget and 30% is divided between the Stabilization (21%) and Heritage (9%) funds.
The government therefore over projected the oil revenue so as to get more of the oil revenue into the budget. In the meantime, the projected revenues were spent through government borrowing. Is it therefore a surprise that with such economic management the budget deficit would increase astronomically?
Poor economic management has consequences. Unfortunately, the burden of the inevitable consequences of the NDC’s management of the economy is bound to fall disproportionately on the segments of society which are least able to afford it, as prices for petroleum products (whatever happened to the oil hedging policy?), transportation, water, electricity (in the face of water and power shortages), school fees, tax increases, expenditure cuts, unemployment, wage pressures, inflation, interest rates etc. shoot up and non-oil GDP growth slows down. This reality is already being felt and will soon be patently obvious for all to see.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was the running mate to Ghana's main opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2012 election. He is an Oxford-trained economist, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and until recently, Country Director of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe.
~ Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Uder unitary Presidency, the "independence of the Central Bank" is the greatest abomination and evil in society.
"Separation of Powers" and certain kind of independence for some state institutions is a taboo.
Can a president be too strong?
"Of course not," most people would answer.
"It's always better to be strong than weak."
Perhaps. But can a president be so powerful that he or she threatens the nation's freedom?
Should a president be allowed to violate the rights of the people?
Or to ignore the rights of other nations?
In recent years, many people think that the president has become too strong. They say that the president has taken so much power from the other branches of government that this threatens the democratic system.
Are there rules to tell a president how far he or she can go?
The Constitution is supposed to prevent the president from using power in the wrong way. Article II states all the things that a president may do and some of the things that he or she may not do.
The Growing Power of the President
The Constitution was written over some years ago. The people who wrote it did not know about nuclear weapons or rockets to the moon or computers or modern television. They didn't know that the nation would some day be the richest among the poor and discover oil. They didn't know that the economy would become so complicated and so big that it would require constant attention to keep it running smoothly.
Therefore, the rules that they wrote in the Constitution say little about a modern president's real power. J.B Danquah, Dombo and Busia would be shocked to know the following facts.
The president today has the power to command the instant destruction of entire cities and villages with fire, so that he can have the opportunity to give new contracts to foreign companies and reap out the "Kick Backs" into his private and party`s accounts.
Ghana has numerous contracts to offer. Only the president can give the signal to offer them because of "Kick-backs" and other forms of corruption.
The numerous Regions are paralysed and are not strong enough to issue their own contracts since all the powers are vested under the "unitary Presidency".
The people are denied from the rght to choose their representatives.
Democracy is destroyed, and only the "unitary President" has the power to "impose" Regional Ministers, DCE`s and Members of the Council - of - State on the people.
The president's power is felt all over the country. The president travels by Presidential jet from one nation to another. Foreign leaders often come to the Castle or Jubilee House or the so-called colonial "Flag-Staff-House", which also equates slavery to colonialism.
If the first Asantehene or the subsequent ones like Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh II had tried to visit Europe or Asia, he would have been on a ship at sea for months at a time.
The people expect the president to deal with a huge number of problems, because he has elevated himself as the god for the people.
If there is economic trouble, they expect the president to cure it. Modern presidents don't just try to administer the laws passed by Parliament. Nor do they merely "recommend measures" to Parliament as required by the Constitution.
Through staff members, they often bring pressure on Parliament to pass favored bills, including some actually written in the Executive Department.
Does the Constitution Allow a "Strong" President?
20 February 2013
President appoints Council of State members
President John Mahama has appointed a number of persons, including the immediate past Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa-Doe to the Council of State.
The Chairman of the Council is John Henry Martey Newman, former Chief of Staff under the late President John Mills.
The other members of the Council include Cecilia Johnson, Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Osei Asibe, Ashanti Region and Patrick Enyonam Agbogba (Togbui Sri) Volta Region.
The others are Rashid Sulemana Mahama, of the Northern Region, Okogyeman Kweku Gyamerah of the Western Region, David Kanga of the Upper East Region, Ama Benyiwa Doe of the Central Region, Edward Gyader of the Upper East Region, Abraham Kweku Edusei representing the Eastern Region and Dr Rabiatu Deinyo Armah of the Greater Accra Region.
The Council of State members were sworn into office by the President on Wednesday.
How much power should the president have?
How much does the Constitution set limits to the president's actions?
These are very old questions.
Throughout history, there have been many kinds of presidents. But a number of them have tended to fall into two very different groups in their attitudes toward presidential power.
The first believed that the powers of the president were few and limited.
Presidents of this type thought they could, or should, do no more than follow the exact words of the Constitution and carry out the laws of Parliament. You might call them "weak executive" presidents.
That doesn't mean that they were weak people. It means only that they believed their actions were strictly limited by the Constitution.
Modern examples of such presidents were President Dr. Hilla Limann, and Prime Minister Prof.Dr.K.A.Busia.
Some others have been "strong executive" presidents. They believed the Constitution gave them enough power to be strong leaders. In their view, a president could act in ways not specifically mentioned by the Constitution.
Almost all the most Head Of States and presidents since kwame nkruma have believed in a strong Presidency.
kwame nkruma ,kutu Acheampong, FWK Akuffo, jerry john rawlings, Agyekum Kufuor and atta mills all acted in bold new ways.
Their critics were sometimes shocked by their actions and complained that the Constitution was ignored. But the "strong executive" defended himself through their spin doctors and the corrupt media who have allowed themselves to be bought with stolen state money.
The question of how strong a president should be may be more important now than ever before. After all, the president has gained enormous power in recent years. Some scholars who once favored a strong president now believe that the trend has gone too far.
They believe that we should go back to the days when the president and Parliament were more or less equal in power.
What do you think? Below are arguments on either side of the question. Decide which argument is strongest.
The Case Against a Strong President
We often treat presidents as if they were royalty. presidents live in a big mansion. They have servants and assistants whose only job is to make sure the president has everything he or she wants.
They don't get much personal contact with the people because Gbevlo Lartey and the BNI fears they may be attacked. As one critic says: "No one speaks to him unless spoken to first. No one ever tells him to go soak his head when his demands become unreasonable."
The president has taken more and more power at the expense of Parliament.
The people who wrote the Constitution believed in checking and balancing power between Parliament and the president. But today, the president is more powerful than Parliament.
One example of what has happened is in the power to appropriate state money. The Constitution clearly gives that power to Parliament only. Yet recent presidents have been able to appropropriate state resources without a formal approval by Parliament.
dramani mahama has even made it worse by appointing an extra minister of Finance solely for the Presidency in the name of Fiifi Kwetey. This implies that john mahama can unconstitutionally misapply state money to give bribery and buy more votes for his re-election,give personal donations to his kind ones from state money, and buy cars to his favorites at the cost of the state without Parliament`s approval.
So run the arguments of those who are against the idea of a strong president.
The Case for a Strong President
The growth of the president's power is necessary. presidents should be strong and powerful.
For example,Jerry Rawlings 1981-1992
Gained power in a military coup during 1979 but handed it over. Re-took power in another coup of 1981. Elected President in 1992 and again in 1996 before standing aside as per the constitution.
Keeping It Real
Ever wonder what Nigeria would have been like if the government never lost 500 billion dollars of oil money to corruption? In this episode of "Keeping It Real," Adeola shows you the amenities that Nigerians have been robbed of. She also talked about the various African dictators who have refused to leave power even after decades.
Enjoy!
They say that Ghana today needs a strong president. Who else can give the nation leadership?
Who else can make the quick decisions that are needed in a national emergency?
In the old days during the second Republic, an army could move only as fast as its horses and sailing ships. There was plenty of time for Parliament to debate issues of peace. But not today. Only the president can act fast enough in an emergency.
Furthermore, only the president can give real leadership on the many national problems. Parliament cannot lead as well as the president simply because there is only one president, but there are over 250 Representatives and several number of the Council of State. Members of Parliament seldom agree on what to do.
Unlike members of Parliament, the president is elected by all the voters. The president does not represent just one part but the whole of the country. And if the people think that the president has taken too much power, they can always elect someone else every four years.
So run the arguments of those who believe in the need for a strong president.
20 February 2013
President cannot dissolve BoG board
The Fast Track High Court has declared that it was unlawful for the President of the Republic to dissolve the board of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) before the board had served its full term.
Giving its judgement in a suit instituted against the Attorney-General and the Governor of the BoG by Mr Sam Okudzeto over the dissolution of the BoG board in January 2009 when its term had not expired, the court held that “the act of the President in purporting to remove the plaintiff from membership of the board when his term had not expired was unlawful”.
Africa like some parts of the world has had its fair share of dictators over the past decades. Some appear on the scene as liberators, revolutionists while others come in as freedom fighters, but eventually they metamorphose into tyrants having looted with their families and want to indemnify themselves from accountability.
Here are some of the worst dictators the ‘dark continent’ has come across ever since Africans weaned themselves off colonial rule. The criteria was based on poor human rights record, disregard for press freedom and the desire to remain in power for life at the expense of innocent lives.
kwame nkruma of Ghana still stand fresh in memory.
Charles Taylor – Liberia
His full name is Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor. The 22nd president of Liberia ruled for eight years [1997-2003]. He was democratically elected. Prior to becoming the no. 1 man of his west African country, he was a warlord as the leader of the rebel group – The National Patriotic Front of Liberia. He lorded over the execution of his predecessor Sergeant Doe.
Under his reign, he allegedly committed war crimes against humanity culminating in his current trial at the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague.
The 63-year-old was accused by Amnesty International to have looted state coffers and used his troops to rape women and children as terror instruments. He is also standing trial for fueling the conflict in Sierra Leone through the illegal sale of ‘blood diamonds’ to support the rebels.
Sekou Toure – Guinea
(kwame nkruma`s best friend)
"Birds of the same further flock together".
Toure was the first president of Guinea. He fell short of four years to have ruled for three decades non-stop [1958-1984]. At one point in time he declared a one-party state. Toure was initially seen as the ‘Guinean Messiah’, but later became the sting of his people. A lot of Guineans fled the country into exile to avoid his ferocious wrath. Death camps were instituted under his watch, where his political opponents were tortured and some executed. He died in America while undergoing cardiac treatment.
General Sani Abacha – Nigeria
Sani Abacha came to the scene in a bloodless coup d’etat in November 1993. He was in power for only five years, but his nefarious feats fit someone who remained in power for life. Political pundits have christened him as the most brutal dictator of the west African powerhouse. Abacha is reported to have stolen millions of dollars from the country’s purse into western banks including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
It is unconfirmed though, but rumours from official circles have it that the senior military officer died in sexual bouts with Indian prostitutes. The highlight of his brutal reign was the 1995 killing of the political and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.
Laurent Kabila – DR Congo
He was full of promises, but none came to nothing. He seized power in 1997 after toppling Joseph Mobutu. Having headed rebellion for decades before reaching the light to turn the misfortunes of his people, he rather aggravated their social condition in his four-year rule.
An estimated 3.3 million people died during his reign. He failed to unite the people and succeeded in dividing them on tribal lines.
He banned opposition parties and never held an election contrary to his promise.
''My long years of struggle were like spreading fertiliser on a field. But now it is time to harvest,'' he told Reuters when he overthrew Mobutu and indeed he reaped from what he sown.
Enough! was the clarion call. Kabila met his waterloo in 2001 when one of his bodyguards shot him in a dramatic style.
Kamuzu Banda – Malawi
Call him a friend or a foe. He fits into any of them. However, the Malawian’s demeanour since he assumed post clearly classified him a despot. Banda was highly intoxicated with power and was never ready to let go.
He fired ministers who had the sense to counsel him that ‘sir, you are biting more than you can chew.’ He was constantly on the hunt to haunt his opponents and many of them fled to exile.
The tyrant declared a one-party state in 1966. His regime was a classic case of ‘grace to grass’. The National Assembly stripped him of his powers in 1993 and died four years after in South Africa.
Robert Mugabe – Zimbabwe
Uncle Roo is a classic case of hero to tyrant. He played an integral role in bringing freedom to Zimbabweans, but got himself drunk with power and went overboard. The veteran has clung on to power from 1980 till date. Zimbabweans are fed up with his repressive regime.
He hates press freedom.
The economy is in a bad state. If you are an opposition member be prepared to make the prisons your second home and the courts will be frequent places of visits. He succumbed to power-sharing in 2009, but the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, now a key government figure touted to bring hopes to the former British colony of Rhodesia, is not having it easy with his opponent in the corridors of power.
Mobutu Sese Seko – [Zaire] Congo
He was born Joseph-Desire Mobutu, but popularly known as Mobuto Sese Seko [Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga] – a title he added to his name to wit, “the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake”.
He was Zaire’s long-serving dictator, who stayed in power for 31 solid years. He felt bigger than his country and thought the nation cannot do without him. It took one Laurent Kabila to force him into exile.
Mobutu was cunning, violent and always had his hands in state coffers. He lived in grandeur state while the country was stumbling in poverty. Mobutu died while in exile in Morocco after a protracted battle with cancer.
Jean-Bedel Bokassa - CAR
He was a former colonel who seized power in the Central African Republic in 1966 and declared himself president for life. Bokassa I was accused of cannibalism of imprisoned school children.
His stock in trade in most parts of his 14-year rule was torture and execution of his opponents. It is widely reported that his coronation alone cost US$30 million and he amassed about US$125 m in his personal accounts.
His regime ended in 1979 when French paratroopers overthrew his government while he was on an official trip to Libya. Bokassa had 17 wives with close to 50 children. He died at 75 from a heart attack in 1996.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - Libya
The beleaguered Libyan ruler is the longest-ruling Africa and the Arab world's “most erratic, most grimly fascinating leader - presiding for 42 years over this desert republic with vast oil reserves and just six million people,” Aljazeera described him.
The revolutionist came to power through a 1969 bloodless coup against King Idris at the age of 27. He has ruled with eagle eyes over his oil-rich country and has dealt with dissidents [“rats”] severely in the past decades through public hanging and long term imprisonments. His regime is near collapse as rebels close in on him to drag him out of power from the beginning of the year.
Idi Amin Dada – Uganda
He is the most notorious of all African dictators ever. He has been described as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutalities in the 70s. He was in the limelight in 1971 after a military coup and ruled for eight years.
He conferred on him the title, Field Marshal. He is known for the famous quote on the day of the coup: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."
He used his ‘killer squads’ to eliminate hundreds of his opponents. Amin was ousted in 1979 by Ugandan nationalists, after which he fled into exile.
Dishonourable mentions
Francisco Macías Nguema – Equatorial Guinea
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma – Togo
Paul Biya – Cameroon
Mengistu Haile Mariam – Ethiopia
Omar Al-bashir – Sudan
Omar Al-bashir – Eritrea
Siad Barre – Somalia
Hissene Habre - Chad
Laurent Gbagbo, Ivory Coast's former president, is set to appear before the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Judges on Tuesday will decide if there is enough evidence to try him for masterminding a bloody election standoff two years ago, when four months of fighting left some 3,000 dead following his refusal to concede defeat to current president Alassane Outtara.
Prosecutors say Gbagbo, who faces four counts including murder and rape, spearheaded a plan to "stay in power by all means... through carefully planned, sustained and deadly attacks" against supporters of the election winner.
"Hundreds of civilian opponents were attacked, killed, wounded or victims of rape as a result of this policy," the prosecution said.
Gbagbo is the first former head of state to appear before the Hague-based court, where hearings will last just over a week.
Large-scale killings
Between November 28, 2010 and May 8, 2011 Gbagbo's forces killed between 706 and 1,059 people and raped more than 35 women, prosecutors say.
In one instance, some 80 people were massacred when perceived Ouattara supporters were attacked in the northwestern Abidjan suburb of Yopougon a day after Gbagbo's arrest by rival forces.
"The perpetrators were armed with Kalashnikovs and machetes. They attacked people in the street, sometimes stopping them at illegal roadblocks," prosecutors said, adding "victims were summarily executed or burnt alive, under the eyes of police officers who did not intervene."
In a reminder of tensions still simmering, the same neighbourhood of Yopougon on Saturday saw riot police fire tear gas to disperse a group of around 50 pro-Gbagbo supporters.
Ouattara's Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko had banned the demonstration but youths nevertheless gathered, shouting "Free Gbagbo" and charging a police barrier.
Judges at the ICC said on Friday Gbagbo's mental health was fragile, but that he was fit enough to stand trial. Special measures including shorter sessions or letting the former president excuse himself and appear via video could be made possible, they said.
The hearings are expected to end on February 28, when Gbagbo is expected to make a statement.
Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns
Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has resigned after failing to reach agreement on forming a new government.
Mr Jebali had been trying to form a new coalition in response to the political crisis sparked by the killing of opposition leader Chokri Belaid.
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!
Long life NLC
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERAT ...
read full comment
Long life NLC
God Bless Gen. Ankrah
God Bless Gen. Kwasi Kotoka
God Bless Gen. Afrifa
May Their Souls Rest in Perfect Peace
Aboa a, Onni Dua no, Onyame na Opra ne Ho!
24.Feb.1966 is a unique NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY!
While kwame nkruma was seriously Condemning , blasting and lashing out against the West and accusing them as imperialists, he was at the same time also building "imperial presidency" around himself.
Was kwame nkruma such a hypocrite?
kwame nkruma was a hypocrite when he recklessly also does exactly what he has been accusing others for.
According to his ideological followers, Others are always at fault, but nkruma never fault, this was the motto and the main theme of his doctrines.
"Ghana's economy on unsustainable path"
- Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The data coming in on Ghana's economic performance in 2012 indicates quite simply that public finances are out of control and the economy is in trouble. At the end of 2012, Ghana's budget deficit was a whopping Ghc 8.7 billion, amounting to 12.1% of GDP using the rebased GDP numbers (or some 20% of GDP in terms of the old GDP series).
This is the highest recorded budget deficit in Ghana’s history. From Nkrumah through Acheampong, Rawlings and Kufuor, no government has incurred this level of budget deficit. What is more worrying is that this provisional deficit figure excludes some Ghc 4.0 billion in commitments and arrears yet to be paid to contractors and other service providers.
If we include these arrears the deficit for 2012 would be some 23% of GDP using rebased numbers (or some 35% of GDP using the old GDP series). These are mindboggling numbers. The crux of the problem is that government spending increased astronomically to 34.5% of GDP even though government revenues amounted to 16.1% of GDP (a gap of over 100%) for the year
The provisional 2012 budget deficit of 12.1% of GDP is almost double the budget deficit of 6.5% in 2008 using the rebased GDP numbers (or 11.2% of GDP using the old GDP series) notwithstanding the fact that Ghana enjoyed more favorable economic circumstances in 2012. In 2008 Ghana was not an oil producer and the global economy was in crisis.
In 2012 on the other hand, Ghana was an oil producer facing a favorable external environment for its exports and yet managed to double the 2008 budget (which this government described at the time as “reckless”) and in the process achieve what is a truly unprecedented budget deficit in Ghana’s history.
The government promised last year that its management of the economy would be more prudent than that of other governments in previous election years. Despite all the favorable opportunities at its disposal, 2012 has turned out to be the worst election year outcome in Ghana’s history in terms of the management of public finances. This is also yet another failed NDC promise.
For any economy with this historic budget deficit combined with an increasing balance of payments deficit (some 13% of rebased GDP) and mounting public debt, this state of affairs will raise alarm bells, but not so in Ghana. The government has found a way to delay tackling critical economic problems through borrowing domestically and internationally and falsely claiming “unprecedented” achievements at home.
In the process, Ghana’s total public debt has increased from Ghc 9.6 billion in 2008 to Ghc 33.5 billion in 2012 (an increase of 248% in 4 years!). As has been demonstrated for Ghana and many countries in the past however, this path and manner of managing an economy is unsustainable.
Take the example of the management of oil revenues. It turns out that the NDC government forecast oil revenues from corporate taxes of Ghc 384.1 million for 2012 knowing full well that revenue would not materialize. This is because the Jubilee partners are entitled to capital cost recovery under the Petroleum Income Tax Law 1987 (PNDC Law 188) and the government knew this.
The government nonetheless forecast the receipt of these revenues because the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011 are such that the proportion of then oil revenues that accrues to the budget (The Annual Budget Funding Amount) is based on projected benchmark oil revenue. Under the Act, 70% of projected oil revenue accrues to the budget and 30% is divided between the Stabilization (21%) and Heritage (9%) funds.
The government therefore over projected the oil revenue so as to get more of the oil revenue into the budget. In the meantime, the projected revenues were spent through government borrowing. Is it therefore a surprise that with such economic management the budget deficit would increase astronomically?
Poor economic management has consequences. Unfortunately, the burden of the inevitable consequences of the NDC’s management of the economy is bound to fall disproportionately on the segments of society which are least able to afford it, as prices for petroleum products (whatever happened to the oil hedging policy?), transportation, water, electricity (in the face of water and power shortages), school fees, tax increases, expenditure cuts, unemployment, wage pressures, inflation, interest rates etc. shoot up and non-oil GDP growth slows down. This reality is already being felt and will soon be patently obvious for all to see.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was the running mate to Ghana's main opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2012 election. He is an Oxford-trained economist, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and until recently, Country Director of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe.
~ Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Uder unitary Presidency, the "independence of the Central Bank" is the greatest abomination and evil in society.
"Separation of Powers" and certain kind of independence for some state institutions is a taboo.
Can a president be too strong?
"Of course not," most people would answer.
"It's always better to be strong than weak."
Perhaps. But can a president be so powerful that he or she threatens the nation's freedom?
Should a president be allowed to violate the rights of the people?
Or to ignore the rights of other nations?
In recent years, many people think that the president has become too strong. They say that the president has taken so much power from the other branches of government that this threatens the democratic system.
Are there rules to tell a president how far he or she can go?
The Constitution is supposed to prevent the president from using power in the wrong way. Article II states all the things that a president may do and some of the things that he or she may not do.
The Growing Power of the President
The Constitution was written over some years ago. The people who wrote it did not know about nuclear weapons or rockets to the moon or computers or modern television. They didn't know that the nation would some day be the richest among the poor and discover oil. They didn't know that the economy would become so complicated and so big that it would require constant attention to keep it running smoothly.
Therefore, the rules that they wrote in the Constitution say little about a modern president's real power. J.B Danquah, Dombo and Busia would be shocked to know the following facts.
The president today has the power to command the instant destruction of entire cities and villages with fire, so that he can have the opportunity to give new contracts to foreign companies and reap out the "Kick Backs" into his private and party`s accounts.
Ghana has numerous contracts to offer. Only the president can give the signal to offer them because of "Kick-backs" and other forms of corruption.
The numerous Regions are paralysed and are not strong enough to issue their own contracts since all the powers are vested under the "unitary Presidency".
The people are denied from the rght to choose their representatives.
Democracy is destroyed, and only the "unitary President" has the power to "impose" Regional Ministers, DCE`s and Members of the Council - of - State on the people.
The president's power is felt all over the country. The president travels by Presidential jet from one nation to another. Foreign leaders often come to the Castle or Jubilee House or the so-called colonial "Flag-Staff-House", which also equates slavery to colonialism.
If the first Asantehene or the subsequent ones like Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh II had tried to visit Europe or Asia, he would have been on a ship at sea for months at a time.
The people expect the president to deal with a huge number of problems, because he has elevated himself as the god for the people.
If there is economic trouble, they expect the president to cure it. Modern presidents don't just try to administer the laws passed by Parliament. Nor do they merely "recommend measures" to Parliament as required by the Constitution.
Through staff members, they often bring pressure on Parliament to pass favored bills, including some actually written in the Executive Department.
Does the Constitution Allow a "Strong" President?
20 February 2013
President appoints Council of State members
President John Mahama has appointed a number of persons, including the immediate past Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa-Doe to the Council of State.
The Chairman of the Council is John Henry Martey Newman, former Chief of Staff under the late President John Mills.
The other members of the Council include Cecilia Johnson, Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Osei Asibe, Ashanti Region and Patrick Enyonam Agbogba (Togbui Sri) Volta Region.
The others are Rashid Sulemana Mahama, of the Northern Region, Okogyeman Kweku Gyamerah of the Western Region, David Kanga of the Upper East Region, Ama Benyiwa Doe of the Central Region, Edward Gyader of the Upper East Region, Abraham Kweku Edusei representing the Eastern Region and Dr Rabiatu Deinyo Armah of the Greater Accra Region.
The Council of State members were sworn into office by the President on Wednesday.
How much power should the president have?
How much does the Constitution set limits to the president's actions?
These are very old questions.
Throughout history, there have been many kinds of presidents. But a number of them have tended to fall into two very different groups in their attitudes toward presidential power.
The first believed that the powers of the president were few and limited.
Presidents of this type thought they could, or should, do no more than follow the exact words of the Constitution and carry out the laws of Parliament. You might call them "weak executive" presidents.
That doesn't mean that they were weak people. It means only that they believed their actions were strictly limited by the Constitution.
Modern examples of such presidents were President Dr. Hilla Limann, and Prime Minister Prof.Dr.K.A.Busia.
Some others have been "strong executive" presidents. They believed the Constitution gave them enough power to be strong leaders. In their view, a president could act in ways not specifically mentioned by the Constitution.
Almost all the most Head Of States and presidents since kwame nkruma have believed in a strong Presidency.
kwame nkruma ,kutu Acheampong, FWK Akuffo, jerry john rawlings, Agyekum Kufuor and atta mills all acted in bold new ways.
Their critics were sometimes shocked by their actions and complained that the Constitution was ignored. But the "strong executive" defended himself through their spin doctors and the corrupt media who have allowed themselves to be bought with stolen state money.
The question of how strong a president should be may be more important now than ever before. After all, the president has gained enormous power in recent years. Some scholars who once favored a strong president now believe that the trend has gone too far.
They believe that we should go back to the days when the president and Parliament were more or less equal in power.
What do you think? Below are arguments on either side of the question. Decide which argument is strongest.
The Case Against a Strong President
We often treat presidents as if they were royalty. presidents live in a big mansion. They have servants and assistants whose only job is to make sure the president has everything he or she wants.
They don't get much personal contact with the people because Gbevlo Lartey and the BNI fears they may be attacked. As one critic says: "No one speaks to him unless spoken to first. No one ever tells him to go soak his head when his demands become unreasonable."
The president has taken more and more power at the expense of Parliament.
The people who wrote the Constitution believed in checking and balancing power between Parliament and the president. But today, the president is more powerful than Parliament.
One example of what has happened is in the power to appropriate state money. The Constitution clearly gives that power to Parliament only. Yet recent presidents have been able to appropropriate state resources without a formal approval by Parliament.
dramani mahama has even made it worse by appointing an extra minister of Finance solely for the Presidency in the name of Fiifi Kwetey. This implies that john mahama can unconstitutionally misapply state money to give bribery and buy more votes for his re-election,give personal donations to his kind ones from state money, and buy cars to his favorites at the cost of the state without Parliament`s approval.
So run the arguments of those who are against the idea of a strong president.
The Case for a Strong President
The growth of the president's power is necessary. presidents should be strong and powerful.
For example,Jerry Rawlings 1981-1992
Gained power in a military coup during 1979 but handed it over. Re-took power in another coup of 1981. Elected President in 1992 and again in 1996 before standing aside as per the constitution.
Keeping It Real
Ever wonder what Nigeria would have been like if the government never lost 500 billion dollars of oil money to corruption? In this episode of "Keeping It Real," Adeola shows you the amenities that Nigerians have been robbed of. She also talked about the various African dictators who have refused to leave power even after decades.
Enjoy!
They say that Ghana today needs a strong president. Who else can give the nation leadership?
Who else can make the quick decisions that are needed in a national emergency?
In the old days during the second Republic, an army could move only as fast as its horses and sailing ships. There was plenty of time for Parliament to debate issues of peace. But not today. Only the president can act fast enough in an emergency.
Furthermore, only the president can give real leadership on the many national problems. Parliament cannot lead as well as the president simply because there is only one president, but there are over 250 Representatives and several number of the Council of State. Members of Parliament seldom agree on what to do.
Unlike members of Parliament, the president is elected by all the voters. The president does not represent just one part but the whole of the country. And if the people think that the president has taken too much power, they can always elect someone else every four years.
So run the arguments of those who believe in the need for a strong president.
20 February 2013
President cannot dissolve BoG board
The Fast Track High Court has declared that it was unlawful for the President of the Republic to dissolve the board of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) before the board had served its full term.
Giving its judgement in a suit instituted against the Attorney-General and the Governor of the BoG by Mr Sam Okudzeto over the dissolution of the BoG board in January 2009 when its term had not expired, the court held that “the act of the President in purporting to remove the plaintiff from membership of the board when his term had not expired was unlawful”.
Africa like some parts of the world has had its fair share of dictators over the past decades. Some appear on the scene as liberators, revolutionists while others come in as freedom fighters, but eventually they metamorphose into tyrants having looted with their families and want to indemnify themselves from accountability.
Here are some of the worst dictators the ‘dark continent’ has come across ever since Africans weaned themselves off colonial rule. The criteria was based on poor human rights record, disregard for press freedom and the desire to remain in power for life at the expense of innocent lives.
kwame nkruma of Ghana still stand fresh in memory.
Charles Taylor – Liberia
His full name is Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor. The 22nd president of Liberia ruled for eight years [1997-2003]. He was democratically elected. Prior to becoming the no. 1 man of his west African country, he was a warlord as the leader of the rebel group – The National Patriotic Front of Liberia. He lorded over the execution of his predecessor Sergeant Doe.
Under his reign, he allegedly committed war crimes against humanity culminating in his current trial at the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague.
The 63-year-old was accused by Amnesty International to have looted state coffers and used his troops to rape women and children as terror instruments. He is also standing trial for fueling the conflict in Sierra Leone through the illegal sale of ‘blood diamonds’ to support the rebels.
Sekou Toure – Guinea
(kwame nkruma`s best friend)
"Birds of the same further flock together".
Toure was the first president of Guinea. He fell short of four years to have ruled for three decades non-stop [1958-1984]. At one point in time he declared a one-party state. Toure was initially seen as the ‘Guinean Messiah’, but later became the sting of his people. A lot of Guineans fled the country into exile to avoid his ferocious wrath. Death camps were instituted under his watch, where his political opponents were tortured and some executed. He died in America while undergoing cardiac treatment.
General Sani Abacha – Nigeria
Sani Abacha came to the scene in a bloodless coup d’etat in November 1993. He was in power for only five years, but his nefarious feats fit someone who remained in power for life. Political pundits have christened him as the most brutal dictator of the west African powerhouse. Abacha is reported to have stolen millions of dollars from the country’s purse into western banks including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.
It is unconfirmed though, but rumours from official circles have it that the senior military officer died in sexual bouts with Indian prostitutes. The highlight of his brutal reign was the 1995 killing of the political and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.
Laurent Kabila – DR Congo
He was full of promises, but none came to nothing. He seized power in 1997 after toppling Joseph Mobutu. Having headed rebellion for decades before reaching the light to turn the misfortunes of his people, he rather aggravated their social condition in his four-year rule.
An estimated 3.3 million people died during his reign. He failed to unite the people and succeeded in dividing them on tribal lines.
He banned opposition parties and never held an election contrary to his promise.
''My long years of struggle were like spreading fertiliser on a field. But now it is time to harvest,'' he told Reuters when he overthrew Mobutu and indeed he reaped from what he sown.
Enough! was the clarion call. Kabila met his waterloo in 2001 when one of his bodyguards shot him in a dramatic style.
Kamuzu Banda – Malawi
Call him a friend or a foe. He fits into any of them. However, the Malawian’s demeanour since he assumed post clearly classified him a despot. Banda was highly intoxicated with power and was never ready to let go.
He fired ministers who had the sense to counsel him that ‘sir, you are biting more than you can chew.’ He was constantly on the hunt to haunt his opponents and many of them fled to exile.
The tyrant declared a one-party state in 1966. His regime was a classic case of ‘grace to grass’. The National Assembly stripped him of his powers in 1993 and died four years after in South Africa.
Robert Mugabe – Zimbabwe
Uncle Roo is a classic case of hero to tyrant. He played an integral role in bringing freedom to Zimbabweans, but got himself drunk with power and went overboard. The veteran has clung on to power from 1980 till date. Zimbabweans are fed up with his repressive regime.
He hates press freedom.
The economy is in a bad state. If you are an opposition member be prepared to make the prisons your second home and the courts will be frequent places of visits. He succumbed to power-sharing in 2009, but the Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, now a key government figure touted to bring hopes to the former British colony of Rhodesia, is not having it easy with his opponent in the corridors of power.
Mobutu Sese Seko – [Zaire] Congo
He was born Joseph-Desire Mobutu, but popularly known as Mobuto Sese Seko [Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga] – a title he added to his name to wit, “the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake”.
He was Zaire’s long-serving dictator, who stayed in power for 31 solid years. He felt bigger than his country and thought the nation cannot do without him. It took one Laurent Kabila to force him into exile.
Mobutu was cunning, violent and always had his hands in state coffers. He lived in grandeur state while the country was stumbling in poverty. Mobutu died while in exile in Morocco after a protracted battle with cancer.
Jean-Bedel Bokassa - CAR
He was a former colonel who seized power in the Central African Republic in 1966 and declared himself president for life. Bokassa I was accused of cannibalism of imprisoned school children.
His stock in trade in most parts of his 14-year rule was torture and execution of his opponents. It is widely reported that his coronation alone cost US$30 million and he amassed about US$125 m in his personal accounts.
His regime ended in 1979 when French paratroopers overthrew his government while he was on an official trip to Libya. Bokassa had 17 wives with close to 50 children. He died at 75 from a heart attack in 1996.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - Libya
The beleaguered Libyan ruler is the longest-ruling Africa and the Arab world's “most erratic, most grimly fascinating leader - presiding for 42 years over this desert republic with vast oil reserves and just six million people,” Aljazeera described him.
The revolutionist came to power through a 1969 bloodless coup against King Idris at the age of 27. He has ruled with eagle eyes over his oil-rich country and has dealt with dissidents [“rats”] severely in the past decades through public hanging and long term imprisonments. His regime is near collapse as rebels close in on him to drag him out of power from the beginning of the year.
Idi Amin Dada – Uganda
He is the most notorious of all African dictators ever. He has been described as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutalities in the 70s. He was in the limelight in 1971 after a military coup and ruled for eight years.
He conferred on him the title, Field Marshal. He is known for the famous quote on the day of the coup: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."
He used his ‘killer squads’ to eliminate hundreds of his opponents. Amin was ousted in 1979 by Ugandan nationalists, after which he fled into exile.
Dishonourable mentions
Francisco Macías Nguema – Equatorial Guinea
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma – Togo
Paul Biya – Cameroon
Mengistu Haile Mariam – Ethiopia
Omar Al-bashir – Sudan
Omar Al-bashir – Eritrea
Siad Barre – Somalia
Hissene Habre - Chad
Laurent Gbagbo, Ivory Coast's former president, is set to appear before the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Judges on Tuesday will decide if there is enough evidence to try him for masterminding a bloody election standoff two years ago, when four months of fighting left some 3,000 dead following his refusal to concede defeat to current president Alassane Outtara.
Prosecutors say Gbagbo, who faces four counts including murder and rape, spearheaded a plan to "stay in power by all means... through carefully planned, sustained and deadly attacks" against supporters of the election winner.
"Hundreds of civilian opponents were attacked, killed, wounded or victims of rape as a result of this policy," the prosecution said.
Gbagbo is the first former head of state to appear before the Hague-based court, where hearings will last just over a week.
Large-scale killings
Between November 28, 2010 and May 8, 2011 Gbagbo's forces killed between 706 and 1,059 people and raped more than 35 women, prosecutors say.
In one instance, some 80 people were massacred when perceived Ouattara supporters were attacked in the northwestern Abidjan suburb of Yopougon a day after Gbagbo's arrest by rival forces.
"The perpetrators were armed with Kalashnikovs and machetes. They attacked people in the street, sometimes stopping them at illegal roadblocks," prosecutors said, adding "victims were summarily executed or burnt alive, under the eyes of police officers who did not intervene."
In a reminder of tensions still simmering, the same neighbourhood of Yopougon on Saturday saw riot police fire tear gas to disperse a group of around 50 pro-Gbagbo supporters.
Ouattara's Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko had banned the demonstration but youths nevertheless gathered, shouting "Free Gbagbo" and charging a police barrier.
Judges at the ICC said on Friday Gbagbo's mental health was fragile, but that he was fit enough to stand trial. Special measures including shorter sessions or letting the former president excuse himself and appear via video could be made possible, they said.
The hearings are expected to end on February 28, when Gbagbo is expected to make a statement.
Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns
Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has resigned after failing to reach agreement on forming a new government.
Mr Jebali had been trying to form a new coalition in response to the political crisis sparked by the killing of opposition leader Chokri Belaid.
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBERATION DAY TO ALL!!!!
SAMIA,ARE YOU SINCER?IF SO,THEN CONDEM THE 2012 ELECION OPENLY,STOP MEETINGS WITH NDC,BECOS THEY SOILT CPP,ALL THEY DO IS KILLING CPP.EVIL NDC WILLSTOP AT NOTHING TO DESTROY YOU.DONT YOU KNOW THAT RAWLINGS SAID,NKRUMAH DID NO ...
read full comment
SAMIA,ARE YOU SINCER?IF SO,THEN CONDEM THE 2012 ELECION OPENLY,STOP MEETINGS WITH NDC,BECOS THEY SOILT CPP,ALL THEY DO IS KILLING CPP.EVIL NDC WILLSTOP AT NOTHING TO DESTROY YOU.DONT YOU KNOW THAT RAWLINGS SAID,NKRUMAH DID NOTHING,BUT HE LEFT US ONLY FLAG AND NATIONAL ANTHEM?
CPP BECAREFUL OF NDC,THEY WILLBUY ALL THE YOURTH THAT YOU ARE BOOSTING ON.THEIR JUJU TOO CAN CHANGE THEIR MINDS SO BE VERY WARY.CAN YOU SEE HOW THEY HAVE CONFUSE OUR PASTORS.THEY HAVE SUPRESSEDTHE HEART AND MINDS OF MANY GHAN ...
read full comment
CPP BECAREFUL OF NDC,THEY WILLBUY ALL THE YOURTH THAT YOU ARE BOOSTING ON.THEIR JUJU TOO CAN CHANGE THEIR MINDS SO BE VERY WARY.CAN YOU SEE HOW THEY HAVE CONFUSE OUR PASTORS.THEY HAVE SUPRESSEDTHE HEART AND MINDS OF MANY GHANAIANS.NDC HAS PAID 400MILLION TO OFFICERS WIVIES AT THE MILLITARY CAMP,THEY HAVE SACRIFISED 10,000 BULLS,NOT TO TALK ABOUT .....NPP. CAN YOU COUNTER THIS?
The Spirit of March 6, 1957 lives on!
The Spirit of March 6, 1957 lives on!
Clean and organise your house before you attempt to solve gargantuan national problems. Give us a damn break!
Clean and organise your house before you attempt to solve gargantuan national problems. Give us a damn break!
CPP died when so-called Nkrumaists flocked to PNDC, the very party that overthrew the PNP. I suggest the CPP needs to restore hope in itself for now.
CPP died when so-called Nkrumaists flocked to PNDC, the very party that overthrew the PNP. I suggest the CPP needs to restore hope in itself for now.
SAMIA SOME OF US HAVE BEEN THE SILENT ADMIRERS OF YOUR FATHER AND HIS POLICES... IF IT WERE SO THEN ACCEPT US IN YOUR ABODE... BY THE WAY ARE YOU MARRIED...OLD SOLJA LOVES YOU LIKE NEVER BEFORE.....APART FROM RAWLINGS WHO AL ...
read full comment
SAMIA SOME OF US HAVE BEEN THE SILENT ADMIRERS OF YOUR FATHER AND HIS POLICES... IF IT WERE SO THEN ACCEPT US IN YOUR ABODE... BY THE WAY ARE YOU MARRIED...OLD SOLJA LOVES YOU LIKE NEVER BEFORE.....APART FROM RAWLINGS WHO ALSO LEFT PRETTY LADIES LIKE YOU, DR BUSIA AND KK4 LEFT SOME APES...I HAVE SAID IT!!!AS FOR THE DWARF GOD SAVED US BY WASHING OFF HIS DREAMS OF BECOMING A PRESIDENT LET ALONE HAVE A PRESIDENTIAL DAUGHTER. YIEHEEE LIKE A TRUE APE WHO CANT WIN ANY VOTE LIKE HIS FATHER..
Is Nkrumah overthrow on saturday?
Is Nkrumah overthrow on saturday?
Copyright © 1994 - 2025 GhanaWeb. All rights reserved.
