THE PARROTS

The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is optimistic Africa can overcome its obstacles and build a better democratic outcomes and engineer economic transformation. Speaking to members of both Houses of the British Parliament, the diplomatic community, faculty of universities and a select number of Ghanaians that included former Ghana President, John Agyekum Kufuor at Westminster, London, the Ashanti King also paid glowing tribute to the fledgling democracy on the continent. He was speaking on the topic,  Africa’s Democratic Path and the Search for Economic Transformation . He explained that the stability and planning for development predicated by 16 presidential and parliamentary elections in Africa alone this year is an encouraging step for consolidating peace . The Asantehene also touted outreach programmes and sensitization, safe-guarding of electoral processes as well as the emergence of reforms in telecommunication and associated multi-media, and how that h...

President John Mahama says the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is growing from strength to strength, disputing claims by the opposition that it has collapsed. According to him, in 2014 government spent GH¢1 billion for the treatment of NHIS patients which was significantly higher than GH¢183 million spent by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2008. “Our political opponents say NHIS has collapsed [but] we have spent more on facilities providing treatment to patients in the country than the NPP did,” he told supporters of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC). President made this comment on Monday when he addressed supporters of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Northern Regional town of Salaga during his 2016 campaign tour. The NPP has accused government of collapsing NHIS – a scheme that was introduced during the erstwhile NPP-led-Kufuor administration. NPP flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says when given the mandate in the upco...

There was confusion at the final funeral rites of a 48-year-old trader, Beatrice Ama Osah, when some members of her family refused to pour libation to stop the ghost from haunting her husband, Samson Kwabena Ohene. Ama Osah was allegedly beaten to death by the husband for switching off their ceiling fan in the night because she was feeling cold. The confusion started when family members of the deceased stormed the venue for the burial service near the Dansoman Market in Accra on Saturday, and prevented Ohene’s family head, Opayin Yaw Frimpong (who had travelled from Kwahu in the Eastern Region) from performing the marriage rites and the pouring of the libation. These generated into heated argument between the two families, which resulted in a brawl as members of both families pelted each other with stones and metals. The development halted the burial ceremony for hours as some sympathisers run for cover. It took some elders in the area to intervene before the casket...

The Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD) has called on political parties to streamline issues of disability into their 2016 election manifestoes. The GFD has also asked for inclusion of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in all processes leading to the 2016 election. The Coordinator of Star-Ghana’s 2016 Election Project, Mr Joshua Makubu, made the call at the launch of the guidelines for the inclusion and participation of PWDs in election 2016. The event was on the theme “Inclusion Matters: Access and Participation of PWDs in Election 2016.” It brought together participants from disability organisations, representatives of some political parties, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the Electoral Commission (EC) and a section of the public. The guidelines The guidelines contain key challenges PWDs face in terms of elections and social inclusion, some of which include inaccessibility of information and polling stations, policy exclusion on the part...

President John Mahama will Monday take his re-election bid to the Northern Region amid a street protest by a coalition of opposition parties in the region. The President is expected to campaign in Tamale, the regional capital, and other parts of the region. The Northern Region becomes the second stop for the President’s campaign after a tour of the Western Region. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) campaign will be visiting markets and institutions to tout the achievements of the Mahama government and make a case for why they should be retained. A coalition of opposition parties in the region have vowed to protest in the streets ahead of the President’s visit. The opposition parties led by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have threatened to disregard orders of the Police to postpone the demonstration. The coalition, including the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Progressive People’s Party (PPP), National Democratic Party (NDP) and the All People’s Congress (APC...