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Inside Jan <strong>12</strong>, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1 1/11/18 8:35 PM Page 8<br />
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH<br />
DAILY HERITAGE FRIDAY, JANUARY <strong>12</strong>, 2018 11<br />
Politics<br />
“There are greater things to be achieved in<br />
every new year, and each and everyone must<br />
prepare themselves to be great, not by words of<br />
the mouth, but by a lot of sacrifices.”<br />
— Michael Bassey Johnson<br />
Prez Akufo-Addo swears in High<br />
Commissioner to Malaysia<br />
THE PRESIDENT of<br />
the Republic, Nana<br />
Addo Dankwa<br />
Akufo-Addo, has<br />
presented letters of<br />
credence to Ghana’s<br />
High Commissioner to Malaysia,<br />
Akua Sakyiwa Ahenkorah, at a<br />
brief ceremony at the Flagstaff<br />
House, on Wednesday, <strong>January</strong> 10,<br />
2018.<br />
In his remarks, after the swearing-in<br />
ceremony, President Akufo-<br />
Addo noted that Miss Ahenkorah,<br />
a career diplomat, who becomes<br />
Ghana’s first female High Commissioner<br />
to Malaysia, is deserving<br />
of the appointment and eminently<br />
qualified to represent Ghana.<br />
The President, thus, reminded<br />
the High Commissioner of the<br />
fact that “the image of our country<br />
is high in the comity of nations,<br />
and Ghana is a considered a<br />
beacon of stability and democracy<br />
on the continent of Africa and beyond.<br />
It is an image that you have<br />
to do everything possible to guard<br />
and uphold.”<br />
It would be recalled that Ghana<br />
attained independence at the same<br />
time as Malaysia, however,<br />
Malaysia has chalked remarkable<br />
economic successes over the period.<br />
The President recalled the historical<br />
account of Malaysia<br />
•President Nana Akufo-Addo presenting the letter of credence to the High Commissioner<br />
“procuring her first palm kennel<br />
seedlings from Ghana. But, today,<br />
this crop has become the main-stay<br />
of that country’s economy, producing<br />
millions of tons of palm oil<br />
annually”, whereas Ghana has not<br />
gained much from the cash crop.<br />
It is in line with the President’s<br />
vision of a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’<br />
that he urged Miss Ahenkorah to<br />
be focused on her mandate, maintain<br />
a cordial working relationship<br />
with her staff and the Ghanaian<br />
community, as well as secure investment<br />
into Ghana.<br />
In her acceptance remarks,<br />
Madam Ahenkora thanked the<br />
President for the great honour<br />
done her, and assured him of her<br />
“determination to justify the decision<br />
by Government to enhance<br />
the involvement of women in the<br />
development of this country”.<br />
She promised to deliver on her<br />
“mandate in achieving the overall<br />
government objective of improving<br />
the well-being of the good<br />
people of Ghana”.<br />
The High Commissioner assured<br />
the President of her “responsibility<br />
to drive private sector<br />
investments into Ghana to help in<br />
achieving the government’s flagship<br />
programmes of One-District-<br />
One-Factory,<br />
One-Village-One-Dam, Planting<br />
for Food and Jobs; and the overall<br />
objective of developing Ghana Beyond<br />
Aid.”<br />
She further promised to “safeguard,<br />
protect and promote the<br />
image and interest of Ghana at all<br />
times”, adding that she will<br />
strengthen the already cordial relations<br />
not only between Ghana and<br />
Malaysia, but also with the countries<br />
of concurrent accreditations<br />
such as Brunei Darussalam, Thailand,<br />
Indonesia and the Philippines;<br />
and also explore areas of<br />
effective cooperation.”<br />
Miss Ahenkorah thanked the<br />
President for “the great honour”<br />
done her by “this appointment as<br />
High Commissioner of Ghana to<br />
Malaysia”, and expressed her gratitude<br />
for the confidence reposed in<br />
her, and assured the President of<br />
her “loyalty to the government and<br />
people of Ghana,” in the discharge<br />
of her duties.<br />
Present at the ceremony were<br />
the Chief of Staff, Hon. Akosua<br />
Frema Osei Opare; Minister for<br />
Foreign Minister, Shirley Ayorkor<br />
Botchwey; Deputy Minister for<br />
Foreign Affairs, Charles Owiredu;<br />
officials of the Presidency and<br />
Foreign Ministry, and family of the<br />
High Commissioner.<br />
Akufo-Addo surrounded by sycophants – Sammy Crabbe<br />
THE SUSPENDED Second National<br />
Vice-Chairman of the governing New<br />
Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Sammy<br />
Crabbe, has launched a scathing attack<br />
on members of the Akufo-Addo government.<br />
According to him, about eighty<br />
percent of them are sycophants.<br />
“There are lots of sycophants<br />
around the President and the danger<br />
about it is that, it moves resources in<br />
the wrong direction. There are about<br />
80% of sycophants around the President<br />
and with time, they will burnout<br />
like charcoal… Because it will come to<br />
a time when they will need people who<br />
can deliver,” he told Bola Ray Wednesday,<br />
<strong>January</strong> 10, 2018 on Starr Chat.<br />
Mr Crabbe who declared he is not<br />
scared of courting controversies also<br />
dismissed John Boadu as the acting<br />
General Secretary of the NPP.<br />
According to him, that description<br />
is alien to the party’s Constitution.<br />
“There’s nothing like that…in our<br />
Constitution,” he said. “It is better for<br />
people to shine their eyes, open them<br />
up and look at things…”<br />
The National Executive Committee<br />
(NEC) of the NPP in December 2015<br />
affirmed the decision of the party’s<br />
Disciplinary Committee to suspend its<br />
Second National Vice-Chairman, Mr<br />
Crabbe and the General Secretary<br />
Kwabena Agyei Agyepong.<br />
The decision to suspend the two<br />
was taken after members of the NEC<br />
held a crucial meeting on the matter at<br />
the party’s headquarters in Accra.<br />
Long before the NEC meeting<br />
came to a close, some supporters of<br />
the party converged outside the party’s<br />
headquarters popping champagne in a<br />
jubilant mood, apparently in anticipation<br />
of the announcement.<br />
Mr Crabbe, who dismissed his suspension<br />
as illegal, headed for court to<br />
get him reinstated but an Accra High<br />
Court dismissed his suit in 2016.<br />
According to the judge, Justice Sir<br />
Dennis Adjei, the national disciplinary<br />
committee of the NPP had jurisdiction<br />
to hear and punish anyone who had<br />
•President Nana Akufo-Addo<br />
been found to have breached some<br />
rules of the party.<br />
Mr Crabbe said despite respecting<br />
the court’s decision, he still held the<br />
view that his suspension is ridiculously<br />
illegal.<br />
“I really do not believe that it<br />
should be allowed [their suspension],”<br />
he declared, saying, “First all, it is a<br />
very difficult thing to get elected as a<br />
national officer…going into the constituencies<br />
you meet people you look<br />
them in the eye, sometimes you ride<br />
rough, you go into people’s bedrooms,<br />
sleep rough, they look into your eyes,<br />
make promises to them and then you<br />
get elected. The delegates are not stupid.<br />
They look at you and elect and<br />
then you sit there. So, I just do not<br />
want to accept that people who have<br />
never been elected can just sit down<br />
and decide they would just negate the<br />
will of the people on the ground.”<br />
When Bola Ray pointed out to him<br />
that he contested the decision in court<br />
and lost, Mr Crabbe snapped, “It doesn’t<br />
really mean that it was right. It was<br />
wrong and we needed to put it out<br />
there.”