News
Valley University founder, Prof. Nortey goes home tomorrow
The final funeral rites of Pastor Professor Jacob Jonas Nii Klu Nortey, the founder of Valley View University will be held tomorrow at the campus of the University.
The late Nii Klu, 84 died in Accra after a short illness.
He was a Christian Church finance educationist who rose through the ranks to be a Vice President of the Seventh Day Adventist Church worldwide.
Pastor Nortey was born at Abokobi to a father from Osu and a mother from the Abokobi royal family. He started his highly illustrious education at the Abokobi Presbyterian school and finally became a Reverend Professor of the SDA Church at the end of his life.
Professor Nortey was a pioneer, door opener extraordinaire; his life was characterized by a burning desire to inspire others with his highly spirited energy of achieving their goals in life.
In that, he was a forerunner who allowed others the opportunities to rise to laurel positions by improving their innate abilities and natural talents. In a word, Pastor Nortey aspired to inspire others to follow Jesus Christ as he came to know him in 1959, which was the seminal turning point in hi life.
That was when he became a Seventh Day Adventist at the Elder E.E. Cleveland Crusade in Accra. And that was the beginning of his journey with Christ, which include his immense contribution to spiritual development and academic excellence in Christian education in universities in Africa and the United Sates.
Pastor Nortey was the dreamer and foster parent of the Valley View University at Oyibi, Accra. That was during his term as the first black President of the SDA Church for Africa/India Ocean.
Indeed, it was through his resolute resilience and solicitous insistence of achieving academic greatness for the youth of Ghana that the Valley View University was cited between Oyibi, mainly because of its close proximity to the University of Ghana, Legon.
Afterwards, he became an adjunct lecturer at Valley View University and many universities across the world. Lately, Pastor Nortey was the ex-President of Datalink University in Tema.
Pastor was married to Ghana’s first female Hematologist, Thelma Naa Kreshie Temley Nartey, my aunt, who was also the first woman to head the National Blood Bank System in Ghana. She hailed from the Gbese Kreshie Abodiamo We and the Obono Wem Prampram Royal Stool. She died in July 2021.
Uncle Jack, as he was popularly called by many, was the god-parent to Honorable Dr Alfred Nii Oko Vanderpuije, MP (former Accra Mayor, MP Ablekuma Central) Pastor Professor Seth Nii Aban Laryea, (Ex Vice Chancellor Valley View University), Dr Moses Tawiah Adoko, (Chief Knowledge Officer of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA, and a Professor of Aerospace Complex Systems) nephew, and many others, such as I, Venerable Dr Nii Naate Atswele Agbo Nartey (Community Support Specialist/Bíblical Psychologist).
Many benefitted from the J.J Nortey Education Trust Funds for tertiary/Christian Education at home in Ghana and abroad.
Caption: The late Prof. Nortey
News
NPP condems arrest of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has condemned the arrest and detention of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah by operatives of the National Security.
In a statement signed by the General Secretary, Justin Kodua noted that “This unlawful action by the marauding operatives of the National Security is the latest installment of the ongoing series of state-sponsored attacks on the media by the NDC government, in their desperate attempt to silence the media and curtail press freedom.”
According to the him, “The Party condemns in no uncertain terms this state-sponsored lawlessness and commends the many well-meaning Ghanaians who spoke loudly against this shameful conduct by the National Security. We also commend the young people and the team of lawyers who stormed the National Security Secretariat this evening to see to the release of the abducted journalist.”
“The NPP wishes to remind President Mahama and his government that the Ghana that was bequeathed to them on January 7, 2025, was a free country. It was the bastion of democracy, underpinned not only by the existence of functioning democratic institutions but also by our unflinching commitment to upholding press freedom as enshrined in Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution,” they added.
Read the full statement below
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 19, 2025
*NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY CONDEMNS THE UNLAWFUL ARREST OF VETERAN JOURNALIST, OKATAKYIE AFRIFA MENSAH BY NATIONAL SECURITY OPERATIVES*
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) condemns the unlawful arrest and detention by operatives of the National Security, of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah, a veteran journalist, who has been critical of the John Mahama administration.
This unlawful action by the marauding operatives of the National Security is the latest installment of the ongoing series of state-sponsored attacks on the media by the NDC government, in their desperate attempt to silence the media and curtail press freedom.
The Party condemns in no uncertain terms this state-sponsored lawlessness and commends the many well-meaning Ghanaians who spoke loudly against this shameful conduct by the National Security. We also commend the young people and the team of lawyers who stormed the National Security Secretariat this evening to see to the release of the abducted journalist.
The NPP wishes to remind President Mahama and his government that the Ghana that was bequeathed to them on January 7, 2025, was a free country. It was the bastion of democracy, underpinned not only by the existence of functioning democratic institutions but also by our unflinching commitment to upholding press freedom as enshrined in Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution.
In line with this commitment, the country also went through the painstaking process of repealing the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law in 2001, a process that was spearheaded by the immediate past President, H.E Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, who was then the Attorney General of the Republic.
It is therefore completely repugnant and unacceptable for the John Mahama administration to be using State Security to intimidate political opponents as well as media personnel in a bid to silence all critical voices This, in fact, is an egregious affront to our democratic and constitutional tenets.
We call on the Ghana Journalist Association, the Media Foundation of West Africa, Civil Society Organizations, and all stakeholders to join us in demanding an immediate cessation of this tyranny and growing culture of state-sponsored attacks on the media.
Enough is enough.
…Signed…
JUSTIN KODUA FRIMPONG
GENERAL SECRETARY
News
We have built enough buffers to pay all DDEP obligations – Finance Minister Ato Forson
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has assured banks that the government has built sufficient financial buffers to meet all Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) obligations this year.
Speaking at a high-level meeting with over 22 Managing Directors of banks, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and restoring confidence in the financial sector.
“We do not intend to default,” Dr. Forson declared.
“All outstanding holdouts have been paid, and we have put in place the necessary buffers to ensure that every single DDEP obligation for this year will be met.”
The Minister explained that these buffers were created through fiscal discipline, strategic investment cuts, and prudent resource allocation.
As part of this approach, the government has reset goods and services expenditure to 2023 levels and is working to achieve a primary surplus of 1.5% to sustain economic stability.
He also announced plans to submit a fiscal responsibility rule to Parliament, which will set a debt ceiling that the Ministry of Finance cannot exceed.
This measure aims to prevent excessive borrowing and reinforce financial discipline.
Beyond ensuring timely DDEP payments, Dr Forson revealed that the government is taking deliberate steps to reduce reliance on the Treasury bill market.
By improving coordination between fiscal and monetary policies, the government aims to stabilize interest rates and ease liquidity pressures on the banking sector.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
