PRESIDENT MAHAMA IS PAYING LIP-SERVICE TO FIGHTING CORRUPTION!

A PRESS RELEASE BY UNITED FOR CHANGE MOVEMENT.
                   While many Ghanaians were enamored with the decision by the then Mills/Mahama administration to bring absolute sunshine to the Woyome saga, it was widely presumed that not only would Alfred Agbesi Woyome be the focus but all the other actors who played major roles in ensuring Ghana losing millions of cedis in a scam whose magnitude was so monumental it sent trepidations down the wobble spines of thousands of Ghanaians. However, Ghanaians are now filled with speechless anxiety at the new turn of events.
To say Ghanaians are saddened by the verdict resulting out of months of prosecution of Alfred Agbesi Woyome's criminal case is an understatement. In fact, we feel scandalized by the manner in which the case was handled since its inception! It would be a solace to the good people of Ghana if the matter had been brought to its logical conclusion, but the rather strange events which surrounded the whole trial leave us with no other option but to conclude that the whole attempted prosecution was cunningly orchestrated to create the impression that President Mahama was committed to rooting out corruption from his government, when the evidence on the ground goes contrary to that perception.
Ghanaians were startled to the bone when it surfaced that Mrs.Betty Mould Iddrisu, the Attorney General, in close cahoots with her deputy, Ebo Barton-Oduro, despite their expertise and long service in the legal field, saw it quite expedient to pay Alfred Woyome with questionable documents, for services he claimed he had rendered to the nation during the erstwhile John Agyekum Kufuor led-NPP administration. It is instructive to note that Mr.Woyome didn't see the need to present the same documents to the previous administration to make those claims, and one only wonders what informed the decision by Mr. Woyome to spring up from his slumber to make those claims when the NDC came to office. This singular reason makes the whole deal a bizarre one.
What beats our imaginations is the fact that Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu and her allies went ahead to pay more than the stipulated amount to Mr. Woyome after he had secured a default judgment from the court. We were spellbound a few weeks later when the same Attorney General claimed that Woyome had been paid on false pretenses, so he had to refund the whole amount with interest, a directive Woyome failed to comply with. The following people also were very instrumental in the fraudulent judgment debt paid to Mr. Woyome; Dr. Kwabena Dufuor, Nii Quaye-Tetteh, a lawyer at the ministry of finance and Paul Asemani, a state attorney. What roles did these people play in the just ended Woyome trial? Their involvements in the saga were glaringly clear, but their contributions towards bringing a finality to this shady Woyome deal were very negligible.
United for Change Movement is of the sound opinion that this case could have been dealt with if
1. Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu and Ebo Barton-Oduro had been joined in the suit against Alfred Woyome by the state.
2. The Attorney General, Maritha Brew was not directly involved in the prosecution of the case since her law firm was a beneficiary in
the judgment debt.
3. Government hadn't forced the AG to skip the involvement of Betty and Barton-Oduro.
We are more than certain that there was a great conspiracy by the current government and Alfred Woyome to clothe Mrs. Betty-Mould Iddrisu and Mr. Ebo Barton-Oduro from facing the full rigors of the law. These two gurus of the ruling NDC are being shielded from the gallows by the Mahama administration. This, we firmly believe, would be politically disastrous for the government should the two be made to answer for their roles in the whole Woyome debacle.
It only stands to reason that the president's mantra of fighting corruption is in sharp conflict with what pans out on the ground, rTas the prosecution of Alfred Agbesi Woyome's fraudulent judgment debt debacle clearly exemplifies.
Maritha Brew, the Attorney General, hitherto, worked for Waterville in this same Woyome/Waterville judgment debt saga, so how do we expect her to honesty prosecute a matter whose final result might adversely impact on her services rendered to Waterville?
United for Change Movement is disturbed by the growing levels of complaints from judges apropos the various cases the AGo's department is prosecuting involving public officials accused of indulging in corrupt acts against the state. According to the judges, prosecutors at the AG's department have been doing shoddy jobs in their works. We are convinced, the SADA and GYEEDA ongoing cases, with sad inevitability, will not yield the results Ghanaians hope to see due to the feet-dragging antics the AG's department is engaging in. Spasms of anguish gallop through our systems when we think about the likely outcomes from cases pending at the law courts.
We make these demands;
1. Mrs. Betty-Mould Iddrisu and Ebo Barton-Oduro should be immediately arraigned before the court togbe answer for the charges of wilfully causing financial loss to the state.
2. Maritha Brew's competence as Attorney General leaves much to be desired. She should be changed.
3. Lawyers at the Attorney General's department should be adequately resourced to carry out the works assigned to them.
4. The decision by the AG to file for appeal with regards to the expectant verdict from Woyome's criminal case is nothing but a complete waste of valuable time and resources. It should therefore be shelved.
5. President Mahama and his administration should stop shielding corrupt appointees in cases of this nature.
United for Change Movement contends that for President Mahama's much touted war against corruption to yield any result worth clapping for, the administration should have snatched at the opportunity presented by the Woyome case to send the message across to the world that it is truly committed to fighting the menace posed by corruption.
Government's attempted corruption war finds itself in some sombre shadowy world impossible for Ghanaians to comprehend, simply because, nothing productive has been realized from this all important pledge from President Mahama.
Until the afore-mentioned demands are met by the Mahama/Amissah-Arthur administration, United for Change Movement would take any statement from the presidency aimed at reminding Ghanaians of its resolve to battling with corruption in the public sector with a pinch of salt. The president must stop paying lip-services to fighting corruption.
Signed by:
1. ROBBIE SARKODIE KLINSMANN
+447950318943/+447534455242
2. MR. KWADWO ANIM
024765115
3. P.K.SARPONG
0248889263/0205667121
4. JAMALUDEEN A. ABDULLAH
0246198919/0503274763
5. KATE PRATT
+447912365690.

GOVERNMENT ABANDONS GHANAIANS UNDER ECONOMIC SERVITUDE.

A PRESS RELEASE BY UNITED FOR CHANGE MOVEMENT: TO ALL MEDIA  HOUSE.

Ghana, over the past two decades, has done fairly well in its democratization agenda. The country has evolved into a stable and mature force, democratically, making it the envy of its West African neighbours and beyond. The same, however, cannot be said of the strides it has made economically.

The country has performed abyssmally since the National Democratic Congress was mandated to steer the country's affairs since 2009. The country has faced significant macroeconomic hurdles spanning from 2009 to 2014, with 2015 promising to be far worse than the preceding ones. Ghana is faced with large-twin deficits, worsening government public debt and inflation, a steeper than valley depreciation of the cedi against major trading currencies, and a much weaker pace of the country's overall economic growth.

United for Change Movement would like to use this medium to highlight what the current government hasn't done well and their negative impacts to the general public.

The cedi has depreciated against the dollar for a whopping 35%, and close to 40% to the Pound Sterling. This impacted adversely on imports and exports, with prices of goods going up astronomically.

The uphill movement of Ghana's internal and external debts leave a great deal to be desired. With a total debt of 70% to the country's GDP, any administration worth its salt would take steps necessary to stem the worrying trend. Apart from its own failure to ensure the so-called home grown policies to materialize to address these economic bottlenecks, the Mahama administration and its predecessor treated the otherwise 'worth considering' diagnosis and prognosis proffered by known, yet, tried and tested economists with open contempt. Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia would not be spared by government communicators for predicting Ghana was heading towards disastrous consequences as a result of the reckless borrowing and some vodoo economic theories being practised by the Mahama/Amissah-Arthur led-administration. He predicted Ghana would run to the IMF for a possible policy credibility and a bailout. This was vehemently denied by government. He also predicted the cedi could fall as high as 40% if the fundamentals of the economy were not addressed. Needless for us to remind Ghanaians these predictions have truly but sadly come to fruition.
Sight must not be lost of the fact that per the standards of the IMF, low income economies whose debt ratio to GDP exceeds 60% face serious risks of falling into a deeper economic gulley. In the light of this, Ghana has been there since last year because ours far more outweighs the 60% prescribed by the IMF. Ghana, under the NDC, has contracted loans to the tune of $27 billion, close to ¢80 billion. This recklessness, coupled with the fact  that government has been competing with the private sector for cash from local financial institutions has sapped the energy needed to project the country to greater heights. The economy, in effect, has contracted, no wonder our growth rates year in, year out, have been taking downhill directions. Without oil, Ghana's GDP rate in 2008 grew at 8.4%, but with oil, we recorded paltry figures of 7.9% and 7.4% in 2012 and 2013 respectively. If this isn't a gory sight, we wonder what else it is. The country missed the growth rate target in 2014, and the IMF has reversed downwards the targeted growth rate for 2015 to below-average 3.5%!

Looking at these figures, United for Change Movement can say without any fear of contradiction that Ghana is doomed economically, and its independence is at best, theoretical, since the government of the day could not generate ideas from its household but had to force a smile at the IMF for policy credibility and bailout!

In accordance with Article 179 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the finance minister, on behalf of the president, read the budget statement to Ghanaians. Listening attentively to it, and delving deeper into the targets, figures and projections into the future, United for Change Movement can sadly but successfully conclude that the medium to long-term prospects of the country are only wishful thinkings! The theme for the budget, "Transformational Agenda; Securing the bright medium term prospects of the economy", one gets the unbiased and unfettered impression that there is a wider hole between the theme and the steps the budget highlights would be used to arrest the wailing economy. The projections, it doesn't require the exceptional qualities of a genius to ascertain,are not in tandem with the realities on the ground. This informed the IMF to peg our growth rate at 3.5% instead of what government projected.

Ladies and gentlemen, United for Change Movement is of the view that, the depreciating Ghana cedi, and mounting public debt as a direct culmination of government's excessive and reckless borrowing, and extremely disappointing growth in all sectors of the economy, largely give testament to the fact that the ship is sinking deeply into the bottomless pit of the sea, and must be rescued. To this end, United for Change Movement is calling on Ghanaians to be in red and black attires to signify our displeasure at how abyssmal the economy is being handled,  and that we are sick and tired of government appointees always drumming into our ears that the Mahama administrstion recognizes the challenges we are facing since it isn't soothing enough to our tired brows, for we believe in action more than words. Thank you.

SIGNED:
MR. ROBBIE SARKODIE KLINSMAN : +447950318943
MR. KWADJO ANIM : +233247651154
P.K SARPONG : 024 888 9263
JAMALUDEEN A. ABDULLAH : 0246198919
KATTE  PRATT: +44 7912 365690

United For Change Movement Endorses The Planned Demonstration By Movement For Change

 
United for Change Movement, a week ago, released a strong statement, backing the NPP's planned demonstration which eventually and successfully came off last week.

We would first of all congratulate the New Patriotic Party for its ability to bring such and unprecedented number of Ghanaians together to express their displeasure, in the strongest of terms, at government's failure to arrest our worsening power crisis. To the leadership of the NPP, we say "Thank You" for showing the way.

Despite the successful organization of the NPP's demonstration, there are still a lot to be done. Instead of acknowledging the concerns raised by the NPP in their demonstration, the ruling party chose to ridicule the whole programme with a press conference which sought to repeat the litany of responses government has been drumming into our ears over the past three years, action plans which have woefully failed to yield any result worth celebrating.

In effect, the Mahama administration seems to be telling Ghanaians it cannot do more to ensure stable power supply.

It is against this backdrop that Ghanaians should not relent in their efforts to demand the best from the party in government. Any organization or group of people staging a demonstration to demand immediate yet very pragmatic solutions from the Mahama administration must be patted at the back.

Movement for Change, having secured permission from the Ashanti regional police command to host Ghanaians with the sole objective of protesting vehemently against the injustice being meted out to them  by the VRA/ECG/GRIDco on the 24th day of February, for some strange reasons, have had to postpone its demonstration to the next day, 25th February, 2015.

While we find this unconventional looking at the fact that the group secured the permit to stage that demonstration on the said date before any other group did, United for Change Movement is urging Movement for Change not to allow this grand scheme to scuttle its planned programme. We are solidly behind them in this worthy exercise.

This should rather oxygenate the group to work tirelessly to achieve their set objective of ensuring that the Ashanti region isn't treated as a foreign land as far as the distribution of power to Ghanaians is concerned.

We are also using this medium to urge all well meaning Ghanaians to massively troop to the Ashanti regional capital on 25th February, to support Movement for Change in this exercise. This Animal Farm kind of rule must not be allowed to gain root in our country  as it doesn't bode well for democracy to thrive. This is a black cloud that portends a dangerous storm.

An injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere, therefore, we ask Ghanaians to help defeat this looming danger by participating in this demonstration by Movement for Change on 25th February, 2015.
Thank you.

SIGNED:
MR. ROBBIE SARKODIE KLINSMAN : +447950318943
MR. KWADJO ANIM : +233247651154/+4915210555432
P.K SARPONG : 024 888 9263
JAMALUDEEN A. ABDULLAH : 0246198919
KATTE  PRATT: +44 7912 365690

United For Change Movement Endorses NPP's 'Wongbo Demo'

Ghanaians have been waiting with baited breath to reap the fruits of all the innumerable pledges the NDC administration made and continues to make to Ghanaians since 2009. One of such pledges was the vow to end the erratic power supply from the VRA and its siblings.

President Mahama was very categorical with his promise of making Ghana's
power crisis a relic of the past. However, the results of these promises and the interventions the government claims to have brought on board to dwarf this power crisis to the background have been nothing more than a pipe dream! The crisis keeps on worsening with each minute that passes, and the government seems not to either care or incompetent in handling the situation.

United for Change Movement believes that government's failure to find a lasting solution to this crisis is a clear breach of the social contract the NDC administration signed with Ghanaians, and this, in our candid opinion, is untenable. This unprecedented power crisis has had a very telling effect one Ghanaians as a whole; industries and businesses are paying more than they should to keep their businesses afloat, the ones with little financial muscle to bear these exorbitant costs are folding up, workers are being laid off, the hardest hit are the barbers, hairdressers, iced kenkey and water sellers, and a host of other entities. The gravity of the crisis has permeated every facet of the Ghanaian society to the extent that parents with wards in senior high schools are being coerced to cough out unearned monies to help buy generator sets and to fuel them to enable students attend preps during the night.


 

University of Ghana students have been asked to pay extra Ghc100.00 amid intense protestations. This is a direct result of gross levels of incompetence in handling a situation which could have been dealt with within a year or two. Less than three weeks ago, a baby who was being incubated in a hospital lost it's life as a result of this erratic power supply. Who knows what the future held in stock for that innocent baby? There are various accounts of a similar incident in other parts of the country. Ghanaians find themselves in up shit creek without a paddle.

It is against this backdrop that United for Change Movement is throwing its weighty weight behind the New Patriotic Party and all the other parties lacing up their boots to hit the streets on the 18th day of February, 2015.

United for Change Movement is urging the NPP and ghanaians as a whole not to make this planned demonstration a nine day wonder, but must strive to replicate this in all the other regions. The Mahama/Amissah-Arthur led-administration rode to power based upon a set of promises, policies and action plans captured in their manifesto, and solving this power canker featured prominently in that document, so President Mahama must, as a matter of urgency, rise to the occasion!

SIGNED:
MR. ROBBIE SARKODIE KLINSMAN : +447950318943
MR. KWADJO ANIM : +233247651154/+4915210555432
P.K SARPONG : 024 888 9263
JAMALUDEEN A. ABDULLAH : 0246198919
KATTE  PPRATT: +44 7912 365690