Friday, 17th June, 2022

Page 6
DAILY ANALYST Friday, 17th June, 2022
Charles Bissue poised to beat John Boadu
Story: Freeman
Koryekpor Awlesu
An aspiring General
Secretary of the
New Patriotic Party
(NPP), Mr. Charles
Onuawonto Bissue,
defied a heavy downpour on
Thursday, June, 15, 2022, to officially
file his nomination which
gives him the legal backing to
contest the position of the NPP
general Secretaryship.
Mr. Bissue, who is a staunch
member of the NPP, filed his
nomination documents around
1:17 p.m., on Wednesday l, June
tary elections in the 2024 poll.
Addressing journalists at the
NPP headquarters in Accra after
filing his papers, Mr. Bissue reiterated
that the current national
executives of the NPP have to be
changed and a new crop of leaders
elected to steer affairs of the
party going into the 2024 general
election.
According to him, he believes
that he was the man for the job
and called on delegates and members
of the NPP to vote massively
for him to win the race to unseat
the incumbent General Secretary
of the NPP, Mr. John Boadu.
The former Western Regional
General Secretary of the NPP said
his experiences garnered over the
years have prepared him for the
position at the national level.
He assured that when elected
the General Secretary, he would
certainly perform well to transform
the structures and foundations
of the NPP at national,
regional and constituency levels.
“If I can deliver at the regional
level then it means at the
national level I should be able to
tell you which seats we will win
and name them. Politics is now
scientific, it is about strategy
and not mere talk anymore,” he
noted.
He indicated that his agenda
when given the opportunity to
vative strategies with the new
crop of leaders to win the 2024
general election and l know lam
the best to be elected by the delegates
and members of the NPP to
bring the eight-year jinx.
"I am not saying that those
who are in the current leadership
positions have not performed to
manage the party well but what l
mean is that l have vast experiences
to feel the general Secretary
position to lead the party to
win the 2024 general election,"
Mr. Bissue stressed.
He said "every one has contributed
his or her quota to the
development of the NPP but he
always said that each time or
everytime has its own leader and
he thinks "our NPP is very efficient
political party and l think it
needs to be managed effectively
with new leaders this time round
to break 8 years jinx.'
He asserted that the NPP
needs to be modernised and that
our forefathers left them with a
great party and "going forward
we need to modernise the party
to keep up with the times.
He indicated that it was time
for all the members to compete
so that the party can benefit from
the contest.
Writer's email koryekporfreeman@yahoo.com
Green Ghana Project: We’re Planting
Trees On Litigation-Free Lands
Story: Freeman
Koryekpor Awlesu
The Ministry of Lands
and Natural Resources
and Forestry Commission
of Ghana have
stated categorically that
the various lands on which the
government was platting trees
under the Green Ghana Project
were litigation-free and gave the
assurance that the trees planted
on these lands were safe for future
generations.
According to the two state
institutions, the government has
taken due diligence before acquiring
such lands, adding that the
central government has genuinely
and legally secured such lands
from the various chiefs and custodian
owners.
They pointed out that since
the commencement of the
ambitious project in the sixteen
(16) regions of the country, the
government has not encountered
any challenge in connection with
any land litigation.
"The chiefs in the various
communities we are planning the
trees have showed us the places
we should plant the trees to save
the environment," they stressed.
The Deputy Minister for Lands
and Natural Resources, Mr. Benito
Owusu Bio, and the Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of Forestry Commission,
Mr. John Allotey, jointly
disclosed this at a crowded press
conference in Accra on Monday,
June 13, 2022.
The press conference, which
was held at the conference hall
of the Commission in Accra, was
aimed at updating the general
15, 2022, after the leadership of
the National Election Committee
of the party had scrutinised
the forms and satisfied with his
documents.
He did not go through any
problems while filing his nomination
forms to contest the NPP
secretaryship race because he is
in good standing as a member
of the NPP who usually pays his
dues regularly.
This development has clarified
that Mr. Bissue is the best
candidate for NPP secretaryship
position and that voting for him
to win the slot would give the
chance to the party to win both
the presidential and parliamenpublic
on the achievements so far
chalked in the implementation of
the tree planting exercise across
the 16 regions.
Addressing journalists, Mr.
Owusu Bio, who doubles as the
Member of Parliament for Atwima
Nwabiagya North Constituency
in the Ashanti Region, noted that
they were carefully protecting
the various tress that they have
planted so far across the country,
and urged Ghanaians to support
the government's Green Ghana
Project agenda to fight forest
reserves depletion.
Mr. Owusu Bio expressed his
appreciation to the Forestry Commission,
the National Alternative
and Livelihood Employment Project
(NALEP), the Ghana Forest Investment
Programme (GFIP), the
Forest Plantation Development
Fund Board; Parks and Gardens,
Richie Plantations, and other Private
Plantation Growers, for the
great job done in organising and
making over 20 million seedlings
readily available for planting on
the Green Ghana Day across all
the 16 regions.
He also congratulated his
Ministry of Lands and Natural
Resources, led by Mr. Samuel Abu
Jinapor, to the millions of Ghanaians
and non-Ghanaians resident
in Ghana, who participated in the
2022 edition of the Green Ghana
Day on Friday, June 10, 2022.
According to the Deputy
Minister who also doubles as the
Chairman of the Green Ghana
Planting Committee, the participation
in this year’s Green Ghana
Day was so overwhelming that
the heavy rains that were recorded
across the country could not
even stop people from picking up
seedlings and planting them in
spite of the rains.
This, he stressed, clearly
demonstrated that under the right
leadership and proper arrangements
the people of Ghana were
committed to supporting government’s
efforts to restore "our
degraded landscapes, beautify
"our environment and also fight
climate change and its adverse
impacts on national development
and livelihoods."
"I am particularly thankful to
H.E the President of the Republic,
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,
for leading the nation through a
colourful commemorative tree
planting ceremony on Friday, June
10, 2022, the Green Ghana Day
at the Efua Sutherland Children
Park, where he planted his tree.
"I am equally thankful to H.E
the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu
Bawumia, and the entire team at
the Presidency for their support
and participation in the tree
planting exercise.
"Let me also take this opportunity
to thank Ex-President J.A.
Kufuor; Speaker of Parliament,
Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin; the Chief
Justice, Kwasi Anim Yeboah; the
Chief of Staff, Mrs. Akosua Frema
Opare; the Ga Mantse, King Teiko
Tsuru II; the Asantehene, Otumfuo
Osei Tutu II; the Okyehene,
Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin; the
Overlord of the Dagbon Traditional
Area, Yaa Naa Abubakari Mahama
II; the National Chief Imam,
Sheikh Sharubutu Osmanu; the
Chairman and Members of the
Council of State; the President and
Members of the National House
of Chiefs, Colleague Ministers
lead the party as the General Secretary
is to solidify the structures
within the party, as well as the
credibility and fortunes of the
party in general.
He emphasised that the
dynamics going into the 2024
election and future events were
exclusively different from what
the party and its leadership had
experienced, adding that “the
new season calls for new but
great leadership.”
He noted that the NPP has
accomplished great feats yet
there was more to be undertaken
to modernising it and make it
more effective in dealing with
its internal affairs as much as it
aims at winning the votes of the
Ghanaian electorate.
The general secretary hopeful
indicated that the change he
wishes to effect in the party was
anchored on inclusiveness and
sustainable collaborations within
the party and with the government.
"I am a member of the National
Council of the NPP and the
reasons why l decided to contest
the General Secretary position
stems from the fact that in 2024
we are going for election, and
that l believe that we have to
break the eight years agenda of
the NPP.
"We have to come with innoof
State and Members of Parliament;
Members of the Diplomatic
Corps, the Clergy and faith based
organizations, CSOs, the Security
Services, Staff of various Ministries,
Staff and Students of Ghana
Education Service, Technical and
Vocational Institutions, Corporate
Ghana and the General Public for
the tremendous support and corporation
we received on Friday,"
he added.
He further congratulated the
former President John Dramani
Mahama for showing his statesmanship
to join the exercise.
Mr Owusu Bio stressed that
having observed the Green
Ghana Day on June 10, what was
paramount now was to ensure
that “we maintain what has been
planted.
He stated that Ghanaians
needed to make a conscious effort
to nurture the tress by watering
them, protecting them from
destruction, preventing fires,
weeding under them until they
grow to maturity.
"We are fortunate that we have
good rains at the moment and we
expect high survival rate this year
more than the 85 per cent survival
rate last year," he said.
According to him, his outfit
has put in place a Monitoring
and Assessment Team under
the Chairmanship of Mr. Francis
Manu-Adabor, who is the Chairman
of the Parliamentary Select
Committee to undertake comprehensive
field assessment of trees
planted this year.
Against this backdrop, Mr.
Owusu Bio stressed the need for
media practitioners in the country
to continue with the extensive
awareness and sensitisation of the
general public on the importance
of trees and the need to plant even
more beyond the Green Ghana
Day
Ḣe thanked the Minister for
Lands and Natural Resources, Hon.
Samuel A. Jinapor, who doubles as
the MP for Damongo, for showing
strong leadership in implementing
the vision of H.E. the President
on saving the environment
and creating a greener future for
our generations yet unborn.
Writer's email: koryekporfreeman@yahoo.com