Brochuregate...."Hypocrite NPP" Lacks Moral Right To Call For Probe - ADU ASARE

Hon Kojo Adu Asare, Former NDC MP Adenta Presidential Staffer Kojo Adu Asare has taken a swipe at the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for making political meal out of Ghana’s 59th Independence Day brochure gaffe. Mr Adu Asare agrees it was embarrassing to the country, but says NPP’s track record as far as national gaffes are concerned, comes nowhere near the brochure scandal. He argues the largest opposition party lacks the moral authority to keep fanning the issue to damage government’s reputation in order to score cheap political points. His comments come in the wake of NPP’s call for an independent investigation into the printing of the over 3000 error-ridden brochures for Ghana’s 59th Independence celebration. The NPP believes the findings can inform future actions to prevent a recurrence. Ghana has been ridiculed for capturing Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta, who was the Guest of Honour at the parade, as the President of Ghana in the brochure among a litany of unpardonable errors. The gaffe has been generally condemned and some critical politicians say it is a manifestation of government’s incompetence. Acting Head of the Information Services Department has been sacked and the Communications Bureau at the Flagstaff House is now under direct control of the Communications Ministry. But a livid Adu Asare who spoke on Accra based OkayFM's "Adea Akye Abia" morning show said the NPP lacks the moral authority to attempt to feed on the current incident since they are worse culprits. “Listen to who’s talking? Does the NPP think Ghanaians have forgotten about the litany of embarrassment they took this country through? They should give us a break!” he told show host Kwame Nkrumah "Tikese". “Wasn’t it under this same NPP that Ghana suffered the biggest embarrassment ever in its life when a simple voter ID card had its colours turned upside down? Instead of the colours of the national flag, horizontal stripes of Red, Yellow and Green, didn’t the NPP government print the Voters’ ID cards with horizontal stripes of Green, Yellow Red? So our cards were in the colours of Senegal? What was the NPP’s response to such a serious embarrassment? Did they call for a probe into that scandal? "Isn’t it under the same NPP regime that its first Finance Minister signed a loan agreement in the German language, which he could neither read nor write? Isn’t it under this same NPP that the same Finance Minister brought a CNTCI loan to Parliament for consideration where it was later found out that the address of the company was actually a hair dressing saloon in London? "Wasn’t it under the same NPP regime that saw an Attorney General filing a case in court and titled it the President versus Tsatsu Tsikata, instead of the Republic versus Tsatsu Tsikata? "They should tell Ghanaians which of these issues compare with the unfortunate mistakes in the brochure. NPP should please leave Ghanaians alone," he fumed. The former NDC MP for Adenta advised the largest opposition party to focus on selling a message to Ghanaian electorate if they are really interested to win power and not resort to picking on issues they lack the morale authority to talk about.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana

Firing ISD Boss For His "Idiocy” Is "Good News" – Kofi Adams

NDC National Organiser Kofi Adams is beside himself with joy. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) stalwart had his wish came to pass when government released a statement to officially fire Mr Francis Kwarteng Arthur from his post. He has lauded government for the swift action taken in sanctioning the ISD Acting Director for his role in the unpardonable blunder which made the country and Mahama-led government a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. “...It’s a good news. People must begin to pay for their idiocy. One person cannot let the whole system suffer. If you can’t work as a government appointee, leave, there’re more people ready to do the job,” he said, hours after the news went viral. The embattled acting ISD Director was fired on Wednesday night in a statement signed by Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, for his role in what has now become known as the 59th Independence Day Anniversary Brochuregate. The statement partly read – “Mr Francis Kwarteng Arthur has been relieved of his duties as acting Director of the Information Services Department.” Mr Kwarteng has been in the spotlight for taking responsibility for errors in this year’s Independence Day anniversary brochure that was riddled with many grammatical errors and factual inaccuracies. The errors in the 30-page document have caused many critics – both home and abroad – to criticise the government on many media platforms, especially on social media. Among the many mistakes in the brochure was the representation of Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, as the President of Ghana. Expressions such as, "The innovated partnership is being concretised in many areas of economic trajectory, particularly trade...", "...rainbow at the end of the tunnel...", "...as if by divine-designed..." and "Ghana has attained a low-income status in the world...", have also been described as ambiguous or false by some observers. The statement also directed that the Ministry of Communications, headed by Dr Omane Boamah, take over responsibility of the Flagstaff House Communications Bureau. It comes after presidential staffer, Stan Dogbe, was fingered as having a hand in the embarrassing faux pas. Speaking on NEAT FM’s morning show dubbed Ghana Montie, Mr Adams maintained that “high level government appointees must all pay for their mistakes including civil service and public service personnel. Their laziness affects productivity.” “I am not ready to defend the indefensible things like the independence day blunder,” he added.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007