The call for an end to monetization in the country’s politics by the Speaker and the engagements with political parties in the country by the GCGL as part of its effort to provide the parties an equal platform for Election 2020 are some of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, has called for an end to monetization, which is rearing its ugly head in the country’s democratic practice, especially in the run-up to general elections.
He said allowing the practice to be a feature of the competitive democratic process only compromised good governance in a fledgling democracy.
Addressing the end of the Second Meeting of the Fourth Session of Parliament last Friday, Prof. Oquaye said: “Monetisation of our democracy compromises the democratic process of good governance. As a country, we have not really captured the political will to arrest the situation.”
“We do not want funding to become the yardstick for the proliferation of political parties. We need a new law on political party income and expenditure generally, particularly with regard to putting a ceiling on election expenses,” he stated.
The Speaker said many democratic nations across the world had enacted laws on political party income and expenditure and established support funds for parties to curb expenses during elections.
The newspaper says that the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) has begun engagements with political parties in the country as part of its effort to provide the parties an equal platform for Election 2020.
According to the report, it is part of a comprehensive plan to offer the parties the opportunity to inform the citizenry of the parties’ preparedness towards Election 2020, using the various platforms of the GCGL, and the company’s packages for the parties.
The brands of the GCGL are the Daily Graphic, The Mirror, Graphic Business, Graphic Sports, Junior Graphic, Graphic Showbiz and online portals including Graphic online and Graphic NewsPlus.
It added that at yesterdays’ engagement, the GCGL met with the leadership of five political parties, namely, the National Democratic Party (NDP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the People’s National Convention (PNC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the All People’s Congress (APC).
The Times reports that the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, has urged African countries to develop a national programme of action to harness the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which kick-starts on January 1, 2021.
According to him, even though the AfCFTA promises a lot of benefits, it would require the efforts of the individual member states to harness these benefits, stressing that “Whilst acknowledging the benefits to be gained from the AfCFTA, it is worth noting that these benefits will not accrue automatically.”
Mr. Kyerematen made the call at the official inauguration and handing over of the AfCTA secretariat in Accra, yesterday.
The secretariat is expected to commence operations ahead of the official implementation of the AfCFTA agreement in January, 2021.
The minister explained that the successful implementation of the initiative would bring many benefits to the continent, which included increase in the level of intra African trade through better harmonisation and coordination of trade within the continent.
The newspaper also says that the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) has embarked on a validation exercise to confirm the ‘free water bills’ submitted to the agency for payment to be effected to all deserving beneficiaries who have supplied free water to various communities.
This follows President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s directive for the free supply of water to the general public, as part of government’s arrangement to ease the suffering of citizens, amidst the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the CWSA, Mr. Worlanyo Kwadjo Siabi, the validation was to ensure the success of the directive by the President.
He said the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and CWSA had communicated to all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to request communities to submit their water consumption data during the Free Water period for validation.
Mr. Siabi explained that the CWSA Head Office was required to submit data on all free water service providers to the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources for processing and payment.
GIK/APA