APA – Accra (Ghana)
The clarification of President Akufo-Addo that he is till Ghana’s president until January 7, 2025 is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has refuted assertions by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin that he has become a lame-duck President after the election of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Election 2024.
President Akufo-Addo speaking at a programme at Nima in Accra said he would continue to serve as President of Ghana until January 7, 2025, as stipulated by the 1992 Constitution.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, on November 21, urged the government to collaborate with the Minority side to avoid potential stalemates.
He suggested that the President whom he referred to as a ‘lame duck’ was losing loyalty from key personalities in the NPP, including MPs, after the vice president became the flagbearer of the party.
“I expect the majority who have a limping majority leader, limping because when you look at his back, you’re less than those in front of you.
You have a lame duck president, a lame duck because you have elected a flagbearer and loyalty, and commitment are shifting. So, your president is now lame duck president.”
“You need this side [Minority] of the house to support you to finish your eight years. And so, if you don’t behave well, we have a difficulty in proceeding as a nation,” he said.
The newspaper says that the ECOWAS Ministers in charge of Roads Infrastructure in the sub-region have expressed the unwavering commitment of their respective governments to the successful execution of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project.
They underscored its significance as a flagship and top-priority regional initiative poised to make substantial contributions to the economic and social development of the region.
The ministers also acknowledged the decision made by the Heads of State and Governments during the 63rd Summit in Bissau, Guinea Bissau on July 9, 2023, to designate Côte d’Ivoire as the headquarters for the corridor management authority (ALCOMA) and pledged their unreserved dedication to its establishment.
These were contained in a communique issued at the end of the meeting of the Steering Committee of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project on December 15, 2023, in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
The Steering Committee is made up of Ministers in charge of road infrastructure set up by the heads of state and government of the Corridor through the Corridor Treaty signed on March 3, 2014, to oversee the implementation of the project.
The Ghanaian Times reports that he Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has tasked solution developers and innovators to take advantage of the country’s Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure to come out with digital solutions to address the development challenges of the country.
He said the government had invested massively in national ICT infrastructure and initiatives which had laid a solid foundation for digi¬tal transformation of the Ghanaian economy for inclusive economic development.
Speaking at the maiden Bank of Ghana (bog) ecedi Hackathon Awards Dinner in Accra on Thursday, Bawumia mentioned some of the initiatives as the National Identification and the Digital Address system, e-government services, national payment and digital financial services platforms.
“These interventions have brought tremendous improvement to the various sectors of the Ghanaian society. We have seen tremendous benefits from these initiatives including improved processes and easy access to government services, improve compliance, efficiency and transparency,” Dr Bawumia stated.
The programme organised by bog in partnership with EMTECH was on the theme “Taking the Cedi Digital.”
The ecedi Hackathon was introduced by the bog to elicit innovative payment solutions to drive financial inclusion as part of the government’s broad digitalisa¬tion agenda.
Forward Titans emerged the winner among top 10 finalists and took a cash prize of GH¢500, 000, Nokofio came second with a cash prize of GH¢300, 000 and Paycode came third and received a cash prize of GH¢200, 000 and were each presented with a plaque and a certificate. The other top 10 contestants were presented with a certificate for participating in the exercise.
The newspaper says that the Parliament on Friday approved a US$338,897,543 concessionary agreement between the Roads Ministry and Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) for the Tema Motorway redevelopment and expansion project.
The 27-kilometre project is expected to transform the 1965 constructed 4-lane motorway into a 10-lane facility to facilitate transportation from Ghana’s industrial hub, Tema to Accra and the rest of the country.
With a concession period of 30 years, the redevelopment of the motorway is expected to be completed in 36 months.
The project comprises three sections – the Accra-Tema Motorway which is 19.5 kilometres, redevelopment of sections up to 5.7km on the George Walker Bush Highway, and rehabilitation of about 2.5 5km from the Achimota overhead to link the Neoplan interchange on the Accra-Nsawam highway.
GIK/APA
Ghanaian press spotlight’s President Akufo-Addo’s clarification on his tenure, others
