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| Opponents of Congolese President Joseph Kabila (C) accuse him of delaying the presidential vote in the hope of tweaking the constitution to extend the Kabila family's hold over the nation. By Junior D.Kannah (AFP/File)
Kinshasa (AFP) - Congolese crisis talks to ensure a peaceful political transition were suspended Saturday, Catholic church mediators said, announcing they would resume Wednesday, the day after President Joseph Kabila's last legal term in office ends.
"Direct negotiations are suspended", Monsignor Marcel Utembi, the head of the Congolese bishops conference (CENCO).
The announcement ended 11th-hour talks between Kabila's ruling party and opposition groups to find a path forward for the Democratic Republic of Congo after December 20, when Kabila's second term ends.
The political transition talks won't resume until December 21, Utembi said.
"There is no deal," said Jean-Marc Kabund, the secretary general for the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party of the main opposition leader, Etienne Tshisekedi.
"The ruling majority is sitting on its positions and refuses to offer any concessions on matters that require a political response," he said.
Joseph Kabila
The Congolese constitution bans presidents from serving a third term, but Kabila has shown no signs of stepping down and no elections have yet been planned, prompting fears the situation could descend into violence.
The 45-year-old president has signalled his desire to remain in power until a successor is chosen in an election, but some opposition figures want him to hand over to a transitional leadership while awaiting the vote.
Fears of violence
The CENCO-sponsored talks had brought together the ruling party and fringe opposition groups, allied against a mainstream opposition coalition led by the 84-year-old Tshisekedi.
The latter accuse Kabila of delaying the vote in the hope of tweaking the constitution to extend his family's hold over a nation hugely rich in minerals that is almost the size of western Europe.
Kabund, speaking to the media after the talks broke up, said: "We call on the people to carry out their responsibilities with respect to the... date marking the end of Kabila's mandate", referring to a midnight Tuesday deadline.
The church mediators have warned that failure to find a political settlement would lead to "an uncontrollable situation".
The international community has also warned the current tension could descend into violence, and Western diplomats in Kinshasa this week urged all non-essential nationals to leave the country.
Some two decades ago, Congo sunk into the deadliest conflict in modern African history, its two wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s dragging in at least six African armies and leaving more than three million dead.
A democratic handover would break ground for Congo's 70 million people who since independence from Belgium in 1960 have never witnessed political change at the ballot box.
In the last few years hundreds of people have died in political violence in the capital, Kinshasa, and elsewhere.
Tshisekedi and his allies had threatened nationwide protests from Monday to press Kabila to step down, but opted to hold off pending the negotiations.
The government has ordered that social networks including Facebook and WhatsApp be blocked from 11:59 pm (2259 GMT) on Sunday.
Police set up road checkpoints in Kinshasa, while the Republican Guard patrolled the capital's administrative district Saturday near the presidential palace, AFP journalists reported.
Source: www.modernghana.com
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Saturday, December 17, 2016
Congo crisis talks suspended till Wednesday
I’LL CONSIDER OFFER TO SERVE UNDER NPP GOV’T – OKOE VANDERPUIJE
Outgoing Mayor for Accra, Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije says he will mull over his options should an offer be placed before him to serve in the government of President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo.
Vanderpuije has been the Chief Executive of the capital city for the past 8 years under the New Democratic Congress (NDC) government but is to bow out midnight January 6, 2017 due to the outcome of the 2016 election which has brought about a change of regime to the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Speaking in an interview on GHOne TV’s morning show #GHToday Thursday, Mr. Vanderpuije suggested that his services is not on auto-pilot for a particular political party but to the betterment of Ghana.
“We are all Ghanaians; we are ready to serve our nation. Depending on who is leader of this country, when the leader calls we would consider and then we would say YES or NO based on what would be put before us,” he told Kafui Dey.
“I am always and ever ready to serve Ghana. Whoever is the leader, if I get a call which says that we want you to consider this offer, at that point we will look at it,” Okoe Vanderpuije added.
Although his party is leaving power, Mr. Okoe Vanderpuije remains in public service after coming tops in the contest for the Ablekuma South parliamentary seat.
He said: “At this point, the people of Ablekuma South say Okoe we want you to go and serve at Parliament so that’s what I’m going to do now. The most important thing is that I will go to Parliament and will serve effectively from there.”
Candidate Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP polled 53.85% of votes casts in the 2016 election to unseat incumbent President John Mahama.
Source: Dan Kwasi Prince // www.dailyviewgh.com / Ghana
I HAVE REGRETTED CAMPAIGNING FOR MAHAMA AND NDC GOVERNMENT – MUGABE
Broadcast Journalist and host of ‘Pampaso’ on Accra-based Montie FM Salifu Maase affectionately called Mugabe, on his show on Monday together with his panelists turned their fury at functionaries of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the electoral defeat.
Mugabe, Kojo Yeboah a member of the NDC Communications team and another panelist threw deafening salvos at government appointees under the Mahama-led administration as well as national and regional executives of the party.
They blamed them squarely for the party’s woes at the polls saying” Omane Boamah and his lots built barricades around the president meanwhile your vote is 1. You and Haruna Iddrisu had your interests so didn’t make him win”
According to Kojo Yeboah, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) National Youth Organizer Sammie Awuku worked tirelessly to secure the party’s victory but that could not be said about his colleague in the NDC.
“See how Sammie Awuku worked, that Sidi or Coins, whatever his name is, that guy of a youth organizer in NDC was not heard for a day. In 2008 when NPP was about to lose they had all the actorsand musicians on their part. The monies given to them can take care of 10 constituencies. They were useless in the campaign”, he added.
The trio also took a swipe at the Finance Minister Seth Tekper for the introduction of various taxes stating “Seth Tekper wanted to collect tax from pensioners. Till now pensioners think they pay tax.
He’s part of the reasons why we lost, “Ewe” people can’t afford plane fares and you’re campaigning with planes and you think they will vote for you. Ask NPP to bring presidential materials and they will bring 1000 men, ask NDC to bring one and they will bite their fingers. NDC, John Mahama is all you have and you’ve made him lose”
Source: Dan Kwasi Prince // www.dailyviewgh.com / Ghana
Russia challenges US to prove campaign hacking claims or shut up
The United States must either stop accusing Russia of meddling in its elections or prove it, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.
Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "indecent" of the United States to "groundlessly" accuse Russia of intervention in the US election campaign, Russian state news agency Tass reported.
"They should either stop talking about that or produce some proof at last. Otherwise it all begins to look unseemly," Peskov reportedly said about the latest accusations that Russia was responsible for hacker attacks.
President Barack Obama on Thursday vowed retaliatory action against Russia in the light of allegations that it meddled in the US presidential election campaign.
"I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action and we will at a time and place of our own choosing," he told NPR.
What is known about the hacking
• Data and thousands of emails were stolen from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, among other targets.
• US intelligence agencies in October pinned blame on Russia for campaign-related hacking.
• WikiLeaks, which published much of the information obtained by hacking, has refused to reveal its sources.
• The United States has not alleged that Russia interfered with the voting process on Election Day.
'Sophisticated tools'
A US official familiar with the election-related hacking told CNN Thursday that the operation was carried out with sophisticated hacking tools, suggesting that Putin was involved.
The source said while Putin's "fingerprints" were not on the hacking, "the nature of the operation was such that this had to be approved by top levels of the Russian government."
Russian cyberhacking activity has continued largely unabated since the election, including against US political organizations, US officials briefed on the investigation told CNN.
US President-elect Donald Trump dismissed the US intelligence community's assessment, in comments Sunday.
He suggested that there was no proof Russia had hacked the election, saying the snooping in Democratic Party servers and emails of Clinton campaign staffers could have been done by China or even someone sitting in New Jersey.
Clinton: Putin grudge was behind hack
Clinton said Thursday night that Putin's alleged involvement in the hacking of Democratic organizations during the 2016 election stemmed from a longtime grudge the Russian President has held against her.
Meanwhile, her campaign chairman, Podesta, issued a scathing rebuke of the FBI.
He wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that the bureau's "seemingly lackadaisical response to the very real Russian plot to subvert a national election" by comparison with its overzealous investigation of Clinton's emails "shows that something is deeply broken" there.
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told CNN Friday that he was not surprised by the US claims against Russia.
"Well I almost was, like, vindicated when the same administration in Washington suddenly started to speak about Russian involvement in the election," he said, speaking in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
"Because we, for me, it's déjà vu. They were the same people telling us, "no, no, it cannot possibly be true." And now it came to their doorsteps. And of course he [Putin] does all those things. Of course he is a great master."
Source: edition.cnn.com
Putin turned Russia election hacks in Trump's favor: U.S. officials
Russian President Vladimir Putin supervised his intelligence agencies' hacking of the U.S. presidential election and turned it from a general attempt to discredit American democracy to an effort to help Donald Trump, three U.S. officials said on Thursday.
U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia tried to influence the election by hacking people and institutions, including Democratic Party bodies, has angered President-elect Trump, who says he won the Nov. 8 vote fairly. Russian officials have denied accusations of interference in the U.S. election.
Separately, a senior White House official said on Thursday that Putin was likely to have been aware of the cyber attacks but he fell short of accusing the Russian president.
"I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it," Ben Rhodes, the White House's deputy national security adviser, told MSNBC. "When you're talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, we're talking about the highest levels of government."
The U.S. officials - who have knowledge of intelligence information on the matter - said on the condition of anonymity that the hacking of U.S. political groups and figures had a more general focus at first.
"This began merely as an effort to show that American democracy is no more credible than Putin's version is," one of the officials said.
"It gradually evolved from that to publicizing (Hillary) Clinton's shortcomings and ignoring the products of hacking Republican institutions, which the Russians also did," the official said.
By the fall, the official said, it became an effort to help Trump's campaign because "Putin believed he would be much friendlier to Russia, especially on the matter of economic sanctions" than Democratic rival Clinton.
Democratic President Barack Obama said in an interview with National Public Radio that the United States will take action against Russia.
"I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action and we will," he said according to excerpts of the Thursday interview released by NPR.
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You Need To See These Photos Of Rev. Owusu Bempah’s Post-Election Church Service
This is Rev. Owusu Bempah.
The general overseer of the Glorious Word and Power Ministry International is known for his new year prophecies. In 2016, he prophesied a big win for the opposition leader, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP. He further claimed that even if the incumbent should bring down angels from heaven to vote for him, he will still lose.
His prophecy has come to pass as the opposition leader of the NPP Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo-Addo has been declared the new president of Ghana.
During his victory speech, the president-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, gave him props and this saw many supporters cheering at the mention of his name.
Today, being the first church service after the election saw many supporters of the NPP trooping to his church to cheer and jubilate with him.
Supporters of the NPP clad in their party colours at the premises of the church.
The old and the young all joined in the fun.
Yes!! There was a brass band celebration too. The police were not left out.
Friday, December 16, 2016
20 Reasons Why Mahama Lost Woefully In The 2016 Election
As Bob Marley once said, “you can fool the people sometimes, but you can never fool all the people all the time”. This is a serious statement but most politician hardly pays attention to this good advice.
The NPP government lost in 2008 because of some things they did that Ghanaians didn’t like, only for the NDC government to step in and repeat the same things and then some. Whenever Ghanaians complained, they were good enough to refer us to what the NPP did.
Ghanaians are a peaceful loving country and really glorify disrespect, that’s why we embrace democracy and as a politician if you don’t take a cue from this and decide to disrespect the elderly, it can easily cause your downfall.
Here are 20 reasons why the sitting president lost woefully.
1. The green book
The NDC campaign team relied so much on the green book instead of telling us what they have actually done. They were quick to insult the flagbearer of the NPP but when asked to tell us their achievements, they tell us it’s in the book. Ironically, most of the things in the book were artist impressions.
2. Character assassination
Instead of promoting their candidate, the NDC campaign team were too concerned about destroying the image of the opposition candidate forgetting they were in power. This attracted sympathy towards the man, especially when he decided to ignore them.
3. Propaganda
The propaganda was too much and the team probably thought Ghanaians wouldn’t see through it, but we did. Especially when they claim they’ve built this school or that road only for it to turn up as a lie. This really angered the populace especially those close to the area who had first hand knowledge.
4. Opulence
The opulence was too much, most the MP’s and government appointees showed off their V8’s and luxurious living at the mercy of the people, something they couldn’t do in opposition.
5. Electricity bills
The government lost total control of utility bills in the country, making it worse for people to pay amidst it not being stable too.
6. Dumsor
Erratic power cuts collapsed many businesses, and made life a living hell for most of us.
7. Inexperienced appointees
The government appointed too many young men in big positions with absolutely no technical experience. They wake one day and decide we should do things this way or that way and most of this young men showed too much opulence too.
8. Woyome’s deal.
If the government had been able to retrieve Woyome’s debt, things would have been a bit better for him. Failure to recoup Woyome’s money further the impression of the create, loot and share mantra by the NPP. If there’s one person who really caused the downfall of the party, then it’s Woyome.
9. The Brazil saga
How Ghanaians behaved towards the Black Stars after the 2014 World Cup should have sent a clear message to the NDC government. Many Ghanaians felt embarrassed when the government had to fly money all the way to Brazil, a country claiming to be poor, yet you could fly money to Brazil. This act really brought a disaffection towards the NDC government and it spilled over to the national team. We never also saw the report of the investigations that was carried out and the misappropriation of funds.
10. Nurses Allowance
The government scrapping the nursing training allowance was a very big mistake.
11. Teacher’s allowance.
12. Unpleasant utterances
Most of the utterances from the NDC government and its party members were absolutely horrible;
i) the yentia obiaa statement
ii) the dead goat statement
iii) Ghanaians should board a trotro or buy a bicycle if they think fuel prices are high
iv) Ghanaians have short memories
v) Ghanaians should move out of the country if we think the nation is too hard to live in
vi) Short men can’t be president in this country, forgetting most Ghanaians are of average height etc.
ii) the dead goat statement
iii) Ghanaians should board a trotro or buy a bicycle if they think fuel prices are high
iv) Ghanaians have short memories
v) Ghanaians should move out of the country if we think the nation is too hard to live in
vi) Short men can’t be president in this country, forgetting most Ghanaians are of average height etc.
These and more portrayed the NDC government as disrespectful in the eyes of Ghanaians.
13. Outrageous taxes
Due to misappropriation of state funds, the government had to burden the people of Ghana with taxes, taxes they’ve never seen before. Many Ghanaians were very rightly angry with the government over this.
14. Misplaced priorities
How do you build an airport in Ho when the distance from Accra to Ho is just 192.4 km, a 2 hours drive when the people had more pressing issues that needed to be solved.
15. Nonpayment of salaries
Besides all the burden, the government refused to pay the meager salaries for teachers and nurses. Salaries could delay for 2 years only for the government to pay 3 months arrears and cancel the rest. This action really infuriated a lot of Ghanaians on governments’ payroll.
16. Montie 3
The government pardoning the trio even infuriated some NDC members because many saw it as an abuse of power and a disrespect to the judiciary.
17. Gitmo 2
Accepting known terrorist into the country really brought fear and panic among Ghanaians and many felt it was a threat to our national security. The worse case was when Ghanaians realised the government actually took money to bring them in. Many were those who felt the government could sell us for anything.
18. Bus branding
This was a heartbreaker, to think that the government could brand buses at that outrageous amount really broke the hearts of many Ghanaians, especially when most of us were hungry and couldn’t pay our bills.
19. GYEEDA and SADA
Money meant for a social intervention programme was abused and the responsible parties kept given cock and bull stories and the monies were never refunded.
20. Disrespect of clergymen
If there’s one powerful force in this country besides politics, then it is religion. Many Ghanaians simply listen more to their pastors and prophet, so for the members of the NDC to insult some of these clergymen really got to their members who decided to pay back in any way they can.
Source: omgvoice.com
Now check out these 15 Ghanaians Who Are Tired Of President Mahama.
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