Prez. Mahama’s answers to terror suspects, IMF, other national issues

• Posted on January 12, 2016
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

A Ghanaian Palaver reporter wants the president to speak about armed robbery and heroic act of the taxi driver who rammed his vehicle into a motorbike of suspected armed robbers who shot a Koala Shopping Mall employee.

Mahama: Government has re-tooled the armed forces and security institutions and began a recruitment drive. A result of that is a reduction in crime rate by 5,000 incidence between 2013 and 2014. Police Service managed to begin investigations and arrested a British suspect .

Per UN standards the ratio of police to citizenry is 1:500 people. Today we have I police man to 700 people. There is more visibility and community policing.

Mahama says all over the world, where somebody has shown a mark of courage, often the person is awarded. It is rare these days for people to go out of their way. I am happy the Vice-President met him yesterday and I directed that he gets a three-bedroom at the Affordable Housing project. He commends Koala Shopping Mall.

On the Gitmo detainees into Ghana, there is no monetary consideration. The US would have disclosed it. What critics are saying on social media, is absolutely untrue that I collected 300 million.

Ghana did a risk assessment after the US made the request for Ghana to take them. These were low-risk people who were picked when they were 20 years old. There was no evidence that they could be charged. Ghana is not the only country that is an ally of the US.

In 2003, US approached us as an ally to sign a non-surrender treaty not to send US suspects to International Criminal Court for prosecution. He says he will not jeopardize the country’s security. “What you should fear is what you don’t know”. He says Ghanaians should fear road accidents than the detainees.

The US is part of countries that have the largest database of persons perceived to be terrorist. Ghana is benefiting from the partnership with the US because we can get advanced information on terror suspects being tracked by international intelligence.

He said a lot of combatants from the Ivory Coast civil war came to Ghana because of the free access within the sub-region and we lived here with them peacefully.

Several countries have taken them like Estonia. I do not think that we should feel ashamed for taking them.

Where is our Christian passion for prisoners?

Unique FM: What effort are you putting in to help with facilities for the aged?

There is a policy being put in place at the Gender Miniroty for the aged. There are also monies paid monthly to destitute aged under the LEAP program

Starr FM: Exactly how many young people are unemployed?

We don’t have the capacity to know the exact number of unemployed youth but we are building capacity to know the level of unemployment.

By the time teacher trainees are posted and information processed often time have passed. They would have started working but their salaries would delay.

There is a system to provisionally put them on the payroll while their data is processed.

Nurses in public schools sign a bond and are considered first in employment in the government sector. But nurses trained in private schools are pushing to be employed in the public sector because it gives better pay.

Some error in the health ministry has given privately trained nurses preference over public nurses and that is why people are picketing.

Unique FM: What effort are you putting in to help with facilities for the aged?

There is a policy being put in place at the Gender Ministry for the aged. There are also monies paid monthly to destitute aged under the LEAP program

We don’t have the capacity to know the exact number of unemployed youth but we are building capacity to know the level of unemployment.

By the time teacher trainees are posted and information processed often time have passed. They would have started working but their salaries would delay.

There is a system to provisionally put them on the payroll while their data is processed.

Nurses in public schools sign a bond and are considered first in employment in the government sector. But nurses trained in private schools are pushing to be employed in the public sector because it gives better pay.

Some error in the health ministry has given privately trained nurses preference over public nurses and theat is why people are picketing.

General Telegraph: What is the benefit of building those schools when your government has implemented anti-teacher policies?

Mahama say the quota system and allowance restricted government ability to admit more students. But government has removed these policies and enrollment has increased by 63%.

He says the opposition NPP’s promise that “when I come back I will restore it [ trainee allowance] is just politics.

“I mean for what purpose?”. He says there is the student loan trust for students who need funding to go to school.

“I don’t think it is necessary for us to inject politics into the planning of policy. It is just political propaganda to say we are anti-teacher”.

Mahama says Government has increased feeding grants in teacher trainee colleges. They eat three times a day. Government went for a 156million dollar loan under a program to build capacity of 50,000 science and maths teachers.

He says he appreciates political contest but adds politics should not cloud the understanding on issues.

Peace FM: Microfinace crisis in Bono Ahafo, who will help us get our money

There has been an absolute explosion in the operations of microfinance. There are two categories of such institutions. Although they are not supposed to take deposits per their license, some of them are. They then make promise to give abnormal profits.

Another group are fan clubs that collect monies but claim it is not a financial institution.

He reminds Ghanaians of ponzy schemes like Pyram in the past.

He denies claims the owner of the DKM microfinance is linked to the presidency. This is the first time I saw in the newspapers the DKM man, a lanky tall chap has links with my wife. She does not know him. He wants political leaders to stop taking advantage of the situation in Bono Ahafo and join in educating Ghanaians to be ware of ponzy schemes.

There will be a forum with people in Bono Ahafo to explain the issues to the people. He says government will try to compensate the affected people but it will not be a total refund of their monies. Government will also go after the properties of the owners of these microfinance institutions.

He expressed shock at the category of people who have been swindled ; pastors, intellectuals, professors.

Government will prosecute the likes of DKM Microfinance. “Those who have cheated the people will pay for what they have done”, he vows.

Daily Guide: Dumsor still persists despite promising to end the power crisis in 2015

He says the power sector takes the most of his time as president.

We are close as we are to ending dumsor. Christmas festivities showed there was remarkable improvement. Let me not predict, in a short while the problems will be over. I have learnt not to make predictions, Mahama laughs.

The technical managers will soon engage Ghanaians to explain the maintenance works that they will be doing. During the times the power will be off.

Mahama says government is inviting IPP to generate power which means government must collect enough monies to service the agreement with IPPs. In the past if we did not have money to pay back VRA, it did not come with sanctions. But now with IPPs it does.

He also lamented about the stealing of power by some consumers. He stresses that ECG will not be privatized. The machines and equipment will be the property of ECG but a private sector player will help in collecting revenue and responding to customer complaints. This private sector player will help create more jobs.

He berates the government agencies and ministeries for not paying their utility bills. He says even though the budget of those of agencies include the payment of utilities, they have failed in paying their bills but are rather more concerned with putting their monies in conferences.

Daily Democrat: What are the policies behind the transformational agenda?

-joy