The protest against injustice by hundreds of supporters of the National Democratic Congress in Accra and the working tour of Swiss Minister for Environment, Traffic, Energy and Communications and the team of Ghana and Senegal are some of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that that hundreds of supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have hit the street of Accra to protest over what they say is injustice in the country under the watch of President Akufo-Addo.
The NDC Youth wing-led demo started from Accra Mall, with some protestors arriving at the grounds as early as 5:00 am.
Protesters will march through the Liberation Road to Opeibea House through Aviation road through to the Lands Commission.
They will then proceed to the Flagstaff House through the Switchback road, use the Ako Adjei interchange through to Parliament House.
The supporters, who are clad in red and black are seen holding placards with various inscriptions including, “Akufo-Addo, you are a dictator”, “Kum Yem Preko”, “We feel your silence Akufo-Addo and Bawumia”, “Ghanaian lives matter”, “Ahmed Suale deserved to live”, “No justice for the dead”, “no peace, #WeAreAllKaaka”, among others.
A press statement signed by the General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia on Monday, July 5, 2021, said “The march will also signal the beginning of public sensitization activities to compel the government to rid the security agencies of NPP hoodlums and misfits who have been recruited and are being used to terrorize innocent and peace-loving Ghanaians.”
He said the march will also be in solidarity with the silent majority of security personnel who are concerned about the undue politicization of recruitment and appointments to the detriment of professionalism and discipline.
The newspaper says that President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, does not approve salaries and benefits for the Executive and, by extension, for the First Lady and wife of the Vice-President, the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has said.
He has, therefore, described as misleading, information making the rounds that President Akufo-Addo had given approval for Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Mrs Samira Bawumia to receive same salaries as Cabinet ministers.
While confirming that there had been an increment in allowances for the spouses of the President and the Vice-President, Mr Oppong Nkrumah emphasised that that was an approval given by the Seventh Parliament.
“The President does approve salaries and benefits for the Executive. Under Article 71, the First Lady and Second Lady are not office holders so no one can determine their benefits under that article.
“However, a committee only recommended that an arrangement for the spouses be made formal and that received approval from Parliament,” he indicated.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah explained that an arrangement that was introduced by former President John Agyekum Kufuor during the start of his Presidency in 2000 had seen spouses of Presidents and Vice Presidents, since then, enjoy allowances, though there was no formal documentation to support that.
The allowances given the two ladies of the executive were considered as part of the privileges of the President and Vice President.
The Graphic also reports that the former President of the Swiss Confederation and current Swiss Minister for Environment, Traffic, Energy and Communications, Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga, yesterday started a working tour of Ghana and Senegal.
She arrived in Senegal yesterday and will stay until today, before visiting Ghana from tomorrow to Friday.
Top on her agenda, in both countries, will be climate protection. In Senegal, Sommaruga will sign a bilateral agreement on climate protection similar to the one already signed with Ghana in 2020.
The Switzerland Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Philipp Stalder, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said she would also take part in several bilateral meetings and a ministerial roundtable discussion in Ghana to examine joint initiatives to protect the climate and the environment. Both in Senegal and Ghana, she would visit several energy and environmental project sites.
He said Switzerland was a global pioneer when it came to climate protection, setting a standard for international climate projects that respected both human rights and nature.
“In recent months, Switzerland has signed bilateral agreements with Ghana and Peru for carbon offsetting projects in these two countries and similar agreements are being prepared for other countries”, he said.
During her visit to Dakar, Federal Councillor Sommaruga and the Senegalese Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Mr Abdou Karim Sall, will sign the bilateral agreement on climate protection approved by the Federal Council on June 23.
Daily Guide says that Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Shani Cooper-Zubida, has pledged her government’s full support for young women professionals in Ghana’s International Relations ecosystem to enable them to achieve their full potential.
She affirmed her country’s commitment to helping developing countries such as Ghana achieve their potential through investments in human resources to enable them to function fully within the comity of nations.
She made the remarks during a Fireside Chat series organised by the Institute of International Affairs Ghana.
“Each epoch of humanity brings its own challenges. In a world getting increasingly interconnected by globalisation, it’s important for each nation to develop a critical human resource that would enable her to function within this emerging global framework of addressing world problems,” she said.
She bemoaned the gender gap in international relations human resources, stressing the necessity for harnessing this critical segment of national resources for development.
“International relation is a vast field of endeavour, which needs a vast pool of resources. Every nation needs to invest its best resources in this endeavour. Leaving out women, who constitute the vast majority of human resources, is not an option,” she added.
She, therefore, pledged her mentorship and other forms of support, for the development of the international relations potentials of young Ghanaian women.
Ms Cooper-Zubida said, “Ghana is already making strides in empowering women in the field of international relations. This should inspire the younger generation to yearn for more.”
The Ambassador said setting realistic goals and utilising role models were crucial in developing the talents of Ghanaian women in international relations.
“My institution will explore ways to support this quest,” she assured.
GIK/APA