The inauguration of the nine-member board of directors for the newly established Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC) and the advice of the New Patriotic Party to former President John Dramani Mahama to reveal true record of his achievements while in power are some of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Time reports that the Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, yesterday inaugurated the nine-member board of directors for the newly established Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC), with a call on members to help actualise the President’s vision of developing a petro-chemical industry for the country.
The board is chaired by the President of the Western Nzema Traditional Area, Awulae Annor Adjaye III , with Charles Owusu, the Chief Executive Officer of the hub, Kwame Asante Nsiah and Humphrey Darke, as members.
The others are Senyo Kwasi Hosi, Yaw Agyemang-Duah, David Ampofo, Maame Ofewah Sarpong and Samuel Erickson Abaka
Dr Prempeh said the PHDC was set up to play a crucial role in the country’s industrialisation agenda.
He said the appointment of the members was an expression of the President’s confidence in their individual and collective capabilities, to drive the course of the agenda as the country embarks on a journey of industrialisation.
Dr Prempeh explained that the hub constituted one of the strategic interest and initiative to serve as a major pillar of growth for the Ghanaian Economy.
He said every president since the inception of the fourth republic had done his bit to ensure value addition of the country’s raw materials.
Dr Prempeh said the petroleum hub, which was an initiative of President Akufo-Addo, was going to be a game changer.
The newspaper says that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has advised former President John Dramani Mahama to tell Ghanaians about his true record while in power.
According to the party, the records of the former President’s administration were full of corruption and deceit, as he put the economy in “freefall” after reckless expenditure in excess of some GH¢12 billion in pursuit of election victory in 2012.
The General Secretary of the NPP, Mr John Boadu, who said this yesterday at a press conference in Accra, said, the 2020 flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was out of touch with post-COVID-19 governance.
He was reacting to the former President’s recent assertion that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, was hiding behind COVID-19 to overspend.
“Much as John Mahama seeks re-election on a campaign platform of ‘going back’ to the IMF, he attempts to confuse history by painting a rosy picture of his disastrous management of the Ghanaian economy between 2012 and 2016.
His economy, under Seth Terkper, never recovered, leading to unheard of taxation measures on condoms and cutlasses,” Mr Boadu said.
The Times also reports that the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has stated that the completion of the Integrated Recycling and Composting Plants (IRECOPs) across the country will help to eliminate pockets of refuse that are often sighted in the towns and cities.
She described the IRECOPs as “novel recycling plants” which would not only be connecting and treating waste but adding value to the waste as well.
Madam Dapaah made the assertion yesterday, when she paid a working visit to the construction site of the IRECOP project in Ho in the Volta Region.
The minister’s visit formed part of a three-day tour in the Volta and Oti regions to inspect ongoing government projects in water and sanitation in the two regions in the Volta Region.
In all, she inspected three projects, two in water and one in sanitation.
She said the IRECOP project was a collaboration between the government and the private sector, noting that waste in the regions would be hauled to IRECOP locations where they will be treated.
The Daily Guide says that President Akufo-Addo has made a firm commitment to ensure a peaceful resolution of the Eni Ghana and Springfield dispute.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the “Ellembelle Business Expo” organised under the theme “Harnessing Our Investment Opportunities for a Sustainable Job Creation in Ellembelle” as the Special Guest of Honour, His Excellency, Nana Akufo Addo noted, “I have had two separate meetings with the key figures involved from our side and on the side of Eni to try and find a common ground that will enable us to deal with this matter without litigation.
“It hasn’t happened so far, but I want to assure you that we will continue to discuss it to find an amicable solution.”
He further noted that this request that has been made by the Nzema-Manle Council sits well with him and he is willing to do his best to make sure that it happens.
The President’s comments and commitment came as a result of an appeal made earlier by Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli lIl, Paramount Chief and President of the East Nzema Traditional Council, in an address at the Business Expo.
The Awulae appealed to the President to intervene to help resolve the dispute between ENI Ghana and Springfield amicably.
GIK/APA