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Inside March 22, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1 3/21/18 9:12 PM Page 7 21TH MARCH 2018 WEDNESDAY CURRENCY PARIS CODE BUYING SELLING US Dollar USDGHS 4.4144 4.4188 RATES Pound Sterling GBPGHS 6.1343 6.1408 Euro GBPGHS 5.4151 5.4180 10 DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH UCC student wins Guinness ‘Piece of Ghana’ promo ASTUDENT of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) studying Business Management, Mr Collins Nkrumah Gyabeng, has emerged the second Ghanaian to be rewarded with a plot of land in the ongoing Guinness ‘Win a Piece of Ghana’ promotion. This means following the second weekly draw, Mr Gyabeng is now a proud owner of a plot of land at the prestigious Appolonia City at Oyibi, near Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region, because of his patronage of Guinness. The ‘Win a Piece of Ghana’ promo, which was launched on March 1, 2018 seeks to reward 16 loyal Guinness drinkers over a period of 16 weeks with plots of land at Appolonia City. During the presentation ceremony at the office of Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited in Accra, the Marketing Manager for •Mr Collins Nkrumah Gyabeng (L) second winner in 'Win a Piece of Ghana' promo with and official of Guinness Guinness, Mrs Lesego Lebogang Babe, said, “I am very elated that once again we have given another Ghanaian starting his adult life with a real taste of independence. This means a lot to us because we are giving them a head start to a great future with opportunity to own land. “Two weeks after the launch of this promo, I am very happy to announce that we have had over 800,000 entries, which is a clear sign that this is a promotion that really resonates with Ghanaians.” She indicated that the promotion was the Guinness brand’s way of celebrating independence with Ghanaians and showing appreciation to its consumers for their loyalty to Guinness over the last 57 years. Receiving his prize, Mr Gyabeng expressed appreciation to Guinness for coming up with such an innovative campaign to empower Ghanaians. “I still cannot believe it. I am very excited and encouraged to complete my studies, graduate in 2019 and take my time to plan what I want to do with my land. Thank you Guinness for this reward; indeed, I have been given the nod to be independent,” he said. There are still 14 plots of land left to be won during the promotion as well as the opportunity to win millions of instant prizes, including airtime and data. Guinness drinkers should look out for limited edition of the Ghanaian bottle in bars and in store and SMS the code under the crown to 2125 to stand a chance to win a prize in the promotion. “Guinness is a bold, distinctive beer that has been proudly brewed here in Ghana for over 57 years. It is an iconic beer that isn’t afraid to express itself, a beer that has the darkest liquid, but the brightest flavours,” a Guinness source said. Minister warns revenue collectors MRS ELIZABETH Sackey, Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, has warned revenue collectors to be transparent in the discharge of their duties, saying “staff caught in corrupt practices would be dealt with according to the law”. Mrs Sackey, therefore, implored the staff of revenue collecting agencies to serve as state financial watchdogs and report any wrongdoing or financial leakages to the respective authorities to ensure accountability as far as revenue mobilization was concerned. Warning The Deputy Minister gave the warning when she paid a working visit to the Ada East District Assembly to acquaint herself with their operations and chart the way forward in the development of the community. She noted that some of the financial leakages within the Assemblies could have been saved and used for important projects or pay contract staff but due to individuals’ parochial interest, the Assembly was denied those financial inflows. Mrs Sackey, therefore, tasked the Assemblies to adopt holistic anti-leakage mechanisms to ward off corruption and save the public purse from embezzlement, and urged the staff to unite and work as a team to uplift the image of the Ada East assembly. Focusing on the state of the Ada East District Assembly, the Deputy Regional Minister expressed concern about its deplorable state, and reminded them that it was their duty to initiate development before seeking government support. She said the government alone cannot spearhead development issues, especially at the local level and tasked the Assemblies to be pro-active and lead in basic projects which do not require heavy capital to transform the communities. She urged the staff to work diligently and think of the nation’s interest devoid of political affiliations to pave the way for development within the district. Recourse to time Mrs Sackey cautioned indisciplined staff who come to work at their own will without due recourse to time, stating that the Assembly would soon introduce a clock-in system to curtail that challenge to enhance productivity. According to the Deputy Minister,” encouraged the staff to think outside the box, be innovative and support plans or programmes of management. If you are productive, there is always work beyond your normal schedule, exploit these ventures. “Laziness does not build a nation, it retards personal growth and by extension that of a country. It is your responsibility to be proactive in the discharge of your work to ensure efficiency”. Impressed with level of sanitation She was, however, impressed about the level of sanitation in the communities and urged the authority to continue with the good works in improving sanitation. Mrs Sackey assured the Assembly of the commitment of the Government to ensure the completion of the ultra-modern Assembly office, which started nine years ago, and called for support from all to actualise the project. She said the government was in a hurry for development and that it was imperative for the Assembly to put in their best to ensure the success of all projects in the community. The Minister expressed worry about the high rate of HIV/AIDS in the area, urging the authority to intensify education on the disease and expect a decrease of the disease in the coming months. She inspected projects in the community such as CHPS Compound at Agorkpo and Teikpitikope, Police Station at Big Ada and the construction of a district assembly complex at Atortorkope. Ms Sarah Dugbakie Pobee, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Ada East District Assembly, said the Assembly in 2017 recorded 59 per cent of its revenue target, and that she was optimistic of improving the target to 99 per cent in 2018. She called for support from the government and corporate bodies to procure additional waste containers to improve sanitation in the jurisdiction of the Assembly. GNA
Inside March 22, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1 3/21/18 9:12 PM Page 8 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 11 Politics Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom - and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech. Benjamin Franklin Minority fumes over establishment of US military base in Ghana THE MINORITY caucus in Parliament has learned with alarm, a decision by President Akufo-Addo to permit the establishment of a Military Base for the United States Armed Forces in Ghana and the subsequent invitation to Parliament to approve the agreement covering same. After a careful reading of the details of the agreement and the cabinet approval dated March 12, 2018, we wish to make the following initial comments: 1. We deplore the total secrecy that has shrouded the negotiations leading up to the drafting of this agreement. The Akufo-Addo government’s concealment of the agreement from the people of Ghana betrays a certain disregard for the sensibility of our people and their fierce defence of our sovereignty. 2. The agreement has been drafted in a manner that does not state a termination point. In other words, it would exist in perpetuity. This therefore binds all successive governments and yet little or no input was sought from political stakeholders especially those with capacity to form government. 3. Article 10 of the agreement confers exceptionally generous terms on the American side including sweeping tax exemptions on imports and exports of various categories of goods and services. We find it unacceptable that at a time when the Akufo Addo government continues to lament significant shortfalls in revenue and in the face of astronomical duty payments by Ghanaian importers, personnel of the Armed Forces of the wealthiest nation on earth • Haruna Idrisu, Minority Leader would be exempted from tax and levy payments and in such generous proportions. 4. The agreement has been presented in a manner that conceals vital information which should be available to ensure informed debate on the subject. Whilst Article 1(3) of the agreement mentions ‘Annex A” as the part where information relating to “Agreed facilities and arrears” to be used for the purpose of establishing where the base can be found, no information is provided in the agreement about the said “Annex A” or the “Agreed Areas”. This omission greatly hampers a thorough study and review of the document. 5. We find the non-availability of restraints on movements of United States Army personnel in Ghana as spelt out in Article 12 of the agreement, troubling, as it opens up the country in a manner that undermines both our sovereignty and security. 6. The waiver of the requirement for the use of valid drivers’ licenses issued by appropriate Ghanaian authorities in Article 13 of the agreement, smacks off wanton disregard for Ghanaian law and seeks to impose American law on the We deplore the total secrecy that has shrouded the negotiations leading up to the drafting of this agreement. The Akufo Addo government’s concealment of the agreement from the people of Ghana betrays a certain disregard for the sensibility of our people and their fierce defence of our sovereignty. country. We are at a loss as to why US citizens in Ghana cannot comply with such a basic requirement? 7. We are deeply concerned that provision is made in Article 15 of the agreement for American Law once again to be imposed on Ghana in the settlement of claims arising out of the operations of the base including death, destruction of property or injury. This provision needlessly subjugates Ghana to the United States of America in an unacceptable way. 8. There is a manifest lack of clarity on the nature of the dedicated runway which Article 5(1) commits the Government of Ghana to provide. We wish be apprised of the exact runway in question. 9. Given our precarious economic circumstances, we find it unconscionable that Ghana would be made to assume responsibility including cost, for the provision of security for American Military personnel in Ghana as captured in Article 8 of the agreement. 10. More fundamentally, we find it difficult to appreciate how • Samuel Okudzeto, Ranking Member, Foreign Affairs Committee the Akufo Addo government could enter into an agreement from which the country derives virtually nothing. We take note of claims by Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, that an amount of US$ 20 million would be given to the Ghana Armed Forces as part of regular support. We fail to see how this amount can qualify as the direct benefit that we are deriving as a nation from this agreement which is so disproportionally skewed in favour of the United States of America. In any event, the quoted amount would be woefully inadequate to compensate for the huge sacrifices that Ghana is making under this agreement and the total surrender of our sovereignty. It further makes complete mockery of the much-vaunted “Ghana beyond Aid” slogan of President Akufo Addo. 11. We condemn the offer of the use of a dedicated radio spectrum by the United States Forces free of charge, as captured in Article 14 of the agreement. This is happening at a time when Ghanaian companies have either had their licenses revoked or been slapped with astronomical fines for alleged non-payment of spectrum fees. We wish to stress that the primary interest of any truly free State as Ghana, is the preservation of its sovereignty and the autonomy of its people. The proposed agreement denigrates both, as well as the authority of our government and laws. In light of the above, we demand an immediate withdrawal of the agreement from Parliament pending the holding of broad consultations and a thorough national discussion involving all relevant stakeholders. More importantly, the Akufo Addo government cannot disregard genuine concerns by Ghanaians that the siting of this base in Ghana and the presence of United States Armed Forces personnel, could make the nation a prime target for terrorists who have intensified their activities in the West African Sub-Region. In its current form, this agreement completely betrays the interest of Ghana. The statement was issued and signed by Mr Haruna Iddrisu MP and Minority Leader and Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (MP) and Ranking Member, Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.
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MARCH 22

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