News
Involve all card bearing members in parliamentary, presidential primaries.
National Youth for Peace is calling on all political parties, Electoral Commission (EC), Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) and other stakeholders to prevail upon the various political parties to involve all card bearing members of their political parties in electing their parliamentary and presidential candidates.
National Youth for Peace is making this call due to the following:
1. We believe it will stop the corruption in our politics and elections.
2. It will help political parties know the total number of card bearing members
3. It will also help the parties to know and accept any outcome of internal election since they know the actual members of the party
Our parliamentary and presidential elections is such that if you do not have money, you cannot be a parliamentarian or president since only few people have money to bribe the delegates they continue to stay in Parliament, which cannot help us as a nation.
We have many people who can help shape the nation in a better way if they got the opportunity to serve as MPs but since they have no money to bribe the delegates, they never show up.
We have noticed that no man in this country can bribe the entire card bearing members of a party and this will bring sanity, decency and discipline into the nation’s politics which can also put an end to the numerous curses we witness as a nation during elections.
We are also urging the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), National Security Minister, BNI and Chief Justice not to hesitate to prosecute anyone who will makes any unpleasant statement that will bring chaos, civil war or turmoil in the nation.
Such people could be put behind bars and released after the 2020 elections without trial.
Irrespective of who the person is, whether a pastor, a chief, a politician, etc, doing this will stop war drums from sounding during election.
Timothy Antwi-Otoo [Braa Timoo]
Editor/Producer, Media General Group
[Onua 95.1FM & TV3 New Day]
Accra, Ghana
+233504992977
News
Craze for x’mas shopping: Crowded markets, low patronage
Vendors of food and other wares associated with the Christmas celebration have expressed surprise at the low patronage despite the increased number of visitors to some of the major markets across the capital.
Four days to the celebration(Christmas), the markets are filled with various products ranging from food, clothing, livestock and many other stuff, but according to the vendors, patrons are doing more ‘window’ shopping.
The Spectator on visits to some of the markets in the capital, notably the Odawna, Makola, Accra Central Business District, New Town and others made similar observations as shoppers crowd them but did little in terms of purchases.
The paper also observed that majority of vendors, originally selling other wares have switched to product related to the festive season.
What it means is that there are a lot more clothes, food and vegetables, livestock and poultry, toys, firecrackers, drinks of different types and many others on display.
The markets have also stretched to the pedestrian pavement, leaving very narrow spaces for commuters to move about freely.
That, in addition to a few of the female vendors dressed in coloured attires to reflect the occasion, has heightened the euphoria, leaving the low sales as the only headache for the vendors.
Speaking with this paper, they sounded very optimistic, believing that sales would improve in the last few days to the yuletide.
According to them, there was the opportunity to sell beyond Christmas as the New Year celebration offers similar opportunity to trade the same wares.
They urged patrons to throng the markets to shop since prices were quite moderate and products affordable for all.
News
Retirement service for Elder John Ackom-Asante,3 others
Retired Deputy Editor of The Spectator, Elder John Ackom-Asante, was last Sunday honoured by the Church of Pentecost Windy Hills District in Kasoa in the Central Region, with a retirement thanksgiving service, after serving for 26 year as an Elder of the church.
He was honoured with a citation and certificate of service along with three other elders who served in the capacity for various years.
Elder Ackom-Asante was baptised at the Darkuman Central Assembly in 1979 and ordained as an Elder in 1997.
The citation read “Your selfless service, zeal, willingness to relate wholeheartedly and your desire to effect change has gone a long way to shape the lives of many people in the church and the nation over the 26 years of your dedication to the service of the Lord.”
Elder Ackom- Asante held many positions at the Darkuman Central Assembly, Obuasi in the Ashanti Region and Tema, serving in various capacities as youth and evangelism ministry leader and marriage counsellor.
He was the founding member of the Darkuman Christian Fellowship, a member of the Greater Accra Christian Fellowship; member of Bible Society of Ghana; founding member Obuasi Chapter Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International and founding member of New Times Corporation Christian Fellowship and Chaplain, Methodist University Tema Campus 2009- 2010.
As a professional journalist, Elder Ackom-Asante combined effectively and efficiently his duty as a member and elder of the church and the demands of his profession, with admiration from the church, kith and kin, till his retirement on December
From Alhaji Salifu Abdul-Rahaman, Kasoa
