The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has issued a strong call for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Pius Hadzide, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for the Asuogyaman constituency.

They are also demanding his removal as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA).

The demand comes after Mr Hadzide allegedly admitted, for the first time publicly, that he played a role in facilitating the travel of some Ghanaians to Australia during the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Mr Hadzide’s supposed admission has sparked controversy, especially as it coincides with his current campaign for parliamentary office.

• Read also: People went to Australia [for Commonwealth Games] through me – Pius Hadzide admits

The NDC argues that his actions were improper and warrant legal action. They believe that such an admission undermines his credibility and poses a risk if he is elected to office.

In a bold move during his campaign, Mr Hadzide promised to create similar opportunities for his constituents should they elect him as their Member of Parliament.

He assured voters that he would facilitate trips to the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, highlighting his ability to open doors for international travel.

A video of Mr Hadzide making these pledges has gone viral, sparking a mixed response from the public.

The NPP candidate, who previously held a role in the sports ministry, drew on his past experience to back his promises. He emphasized that his background puts him in a position to help the youth secure international opportunities.

However, the NDC is not impressed by these claims and sees them as evidence of wrongdoing.

Malik Basintale, a Deputy National Communications Officer of the NDC, held a press conference to address the issue.

He expressed the party’s view that Mr Hadzide must be held accountable for his actions.

According to Basintale, the government cannot ignore such an admission, especially when it relates to the misuse of state resources for personal gain.

He argued that the authorities must act swiftly to investigate the matter and prosecute Hadzide to prevent further abuses.

“We know that this declaration may be a mission impossible because Pius Enam Hadzide is not just learning from himself. We are calling for the immediate dismissal of Pius Enam Hadzide as the CEO for the National Youth Authority.”

“He has openly admitted that he was guilty in the Australian Visa Scandal and must be arrested and prosecuted without delay,” he said at a press conference on Thursday, September 12.

Background

It would be recalled that in 2018, a visa racketeering scandal hit Ghana when it emerged that some Ghanaians who were attending the Commonwealth Games in Australia and had presented themselves as journalists were not journalists, leading to their arrest and deportation.

In all, about 50 people were deported. Mr Hadzide, who was a Deputy Minister of Sports at the time was accused of facilitating these questionable travels.

Although he denied any wrongdoing, the government set up an investigation into the matter. However, he was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing, much to the surprise of many.

The National Youth Authority CEO, Pius Enam Hadzide has pledged to make Asuogyaman a tourism hub in the Eastern Region and Ghana as a whole when if elected as member of parliament for the area.  

Speaking at an interdenominational thanksgiving ceremony at Atimpoku, he said the tourism potentials of the area, when fully harnessed, would create jobs for the youth.

 He said “Asuogyaman had the fauna and flora to paint a distinct picture of tourist attraction to the world,” adding: “I will make Asuogyaman Ghana’s tourism hub when I become your MP”. 

Among the numerous tourist attractions, he highlighted the iconic Adomi Bridge and its Gardens Canopy walkway, Akosombo Dam, the Akwamu Forest Reserve with its unique bird species, the Volta Lake, Kpong Dam, and the peninsula canopy walkway.

Mr Hadzide, the NPP parliamentary candidate for Asuogyaman, said those sites would be upgraded and rebranded to attract more tourists to create job opportunities.

He said he would ensure mechanised irrigation systems were provided to boost Agriculture, which is the main economic activity of the people, and hoped they would support him to get the nod. 

Mr Hadzide said he was in touch with some investors to establish a nursing training school in the district in addition to the Agenda 111 Hospital project under construction at Apeguso.

Nana Abrokwa Asare, the National Premix Fuel Administrator, who contested in the primary, declared his support for Mr Hadzide and called on the electorate to vote massively for the New Patriotic Party come 2024.

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Pius Enam Hadzide, has berated the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for protesting the recently imposed 10% betting tax.

He said the NDC’s conduct means they support activities that will affect the value systems of the country. 

The former Deputy Information Minister speaking in an interview with Citi FM on Wednesday, August 16, urged Ghanaians to call out the NDC. 

According to him, the NDC is just being populist for election purposes. 

“I’m pretty much scandalised listening to NDC, with the impression they are creating. If there is a problem with employment, in NDC’s view, young people should resort to betting, as a means of resolving whatever challenges young people are confronted with. I’m scandalised.”

“Let me just place it on record that, it is not just the Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who has issues with betting and what betting can do to the value system of any country, even the Minority Leader, Ato Forson has called on the state to ban all forms of betting,” he said. 

Mr Hadzide also lambasted the largest opposition party for instigating the youth against the government.

“The young people are being prepared for the future and if you want to lead the country, you should be discussing policies and not that there are hardships, young people should resort to betting, a game of luck, a game of chance.

“And that we are not going to encourage the Ghanaian youth who is hardworking, entrepreneur, by the way, to continue to work hard.”

The Youth Wing of the NDC has asked the government to immediately abolish the recently imposed 10% withholding tax on all gross gaming winnings. 

According to them, the “insensitive policy” will worsen the plight of the already impoverished youths. 

In a press statement issued by the National Youth Organiser of the party, George Opare Addo, the NDC Youth Wing threatened series of protests should the government fail to abolish the tax.

These actions include picketing at the Ministry of Finance and other government offices across the country. 

“In the face of the unjust ten (10%) taxation on bet wins, we, the young people of Ghana and the NDC Youth, declare a resolute series of actions to resist the burdensome and insensitive policy.”

“Our unity is unwavering and our determination to protect the funds of the young people secured through betting is unyielding.”

“Through agitations, protects, agitations and advocacy and civic engagements, we will ensure our voices are heard and demand that this corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government rescind its decision,” excerpts of the release said. 

But Mr Hadzide says the NDC is just playing on the emotions of the Ghanaian youth. 

Background 

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Tuesday, August 15, commenced the implementation of a 10% withholding tax on all gross gaming winnings.

According to the GRA, the withholding tax will be charged on profits accrued after each win and that the existing 15% Value Added Tax (VAT) rate on each stake will no longer be charged.

The GRA said that the new policy is in line with an amendment to the Income Tax Act 2023 (No.2), Act 1094.

Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority, Pius Enam Hadzide, has assured that the construction of Youth Resource Centres across the country has not been abandoned.

His assurance follows a JoySports Investigation into abandoned Youth Resource Centres across the country in various stages of construction.

The Youth Resource Centres have been overtaken by weeds and reptiles following their seeming abandonment while works done on these centres are coming undone due to the delay.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Enam Hadzide explained that the delay was largely caused by the previous National Youth Authority leadership trying to complete ten projects at a go.

This he said had spread very thin the very limited resources available to the Authority to timeously complete the projects.

Upon assuming office, he said, he managed to convince the Authority’s board to pause works on five of the 10 projects to allow there be more resources available for the quick completion of five of the projects, and the later completion of the remaining projects.

“When I assumed office in the August of 2021, I persuaded the governing board of the authority to allow us to prioritise and focus our attention on five out of the ten projects so that we can finish those ones timeously and put them to use and then go back to focus on the other five.

“In my view and in the view of management, if we did that we will be able to complete the projects on time and it will prevent us from spreading ourselves too thin, which has been the reason why the projects may have delayed when I assumed office in 2021 in August,” he said.

He noted that his conviction has been justified following the recent completion of six of the 10 project sites.

“And I think that that position has been justified because as we speak, six of the project sites are virtually ready for use. In fact, the celebration of the 66^th Independence anniversary which was just held in Ho a fortnight ago was held I our facility, the Youth Resource Centre in Adaklu in the Volta Region,” he said.

The CEO of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Pius Enam Hadzide, says government will allocate an amount of ¢1 billion each year to finance the YouStart programme.

He explained that the funding will come from revenue generated annually from the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy), saying it is part of the reasons the Levy has been passed.

In an interview on JoyNews’ Upfront, Thursday, the former Deputy Information Minister stated that the initiative targeted at young entrepreneurs is all set to take off, following President Akufo-Addo’s assent to the Bill.

“Finally, the E-Levy which is the enabler of the YouStart has been passed. I do know that the YouStart seeks to leverage about ¢10 billion, the government would put ¢1 billion per annum…from the E-levy; that is why the E-levy has been passed, it has been stated,” he said.

The YouStart initiative captured in the 2022 Annual Budget would support youth-led enterprises with soft loans of up to ¢50,000 to help start-ups and small businesses expand.

It also has starter packs of up to ¢50,000 for individuals and ¢100,000 for associations and groups and a standardised loan package of between ¢100,000 to ¢400,000 at concessional rates for SMEs from financial institutions.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has highlighted that the youth entrepreneurship programme when rolled out will be a vehicle for supporting young entrepreneurs to gain access to capital, training, technical skills, and mentoring to enable them to launch and operate their own businesses.

Addressing attendees at a business pitch event as part of the pilot phase of the programme on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, he said the programme is expected to remove the primary impediment to the growth of enterprise in Ghana, improve access to credit and incorporate the broader vision of the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda under Ghana CARES “Obaatan Pa” programme.

He noted that “As a country, we will take our destiny into our own hands and determine our economic fortunes without leaving anyone behind when this vision manifest.”

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Youth Authority (NYA), has said that Ghana’s destiny is tied to the health and welfare of the Youth.

Mr Pius Enam Hadzide said Ghana needs to ensure equal access to Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Education (SRHE) among the youth, especially the out-of-school segment, to realise her industrialisation vision and attendant improvement in the economic, social and cultural development of the youth.

Mr Hadzide made the comments at a Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on Reproductive Health Education for Out-of-School Young People in Ghana.

The event was organised by the NYA in Partnership with the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG). It brought together stakeholders to develop strategies on how to make SRHE available to out-of-school young people in Ghana.

The CEO said figures from the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) suggest that 109, 888 teenage pregnancies were recorded in 2020 alone. Out of this number, 2,865 pregnancies were from girls aged between 10 and 14 years, below the age of statutory consent.

He said the DHIMS again reported that 555,575 teenage pregnancies had been recorded between 2016 and 2020 with the corresponding figure amongst girls aged 10 and 14, being 13, 444. Thus, on the average, 112,800 teenage girls got pregnant every year.

Mr Hadzide said the Ghana AIDS Commission revealed last month that, 18, 928 new HIV infections were recorded in 2020 and this figure formed part of an existing 342, 307 number of people living with HIV.

“These figures justify the need for the provision of Comprehensive SRHE to the youth. Whereas there remain gaps in the provision of Comprehensive SRHE in Ghanaian Schools, research has shown a positive relationship between schooling and safer sexual behaviours.”

“This is because school provides a stable and credible environment where the same group of young people are taught and have their questions and concerns about Sexual and Reproductive Health addressed over a period of time. In contrast, out-of-school youth are prone to misinformation from unreliable sources or may not learn about these issues at all,” he said.

He said the 2014 Ghana Health and Demographic Survey reported that people with no education are likelier to have early age of first sexual encounters compared to those with some level of education.

He said underaged pregnant teenage girls faced the heightened risks of premature labour, spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and the development of fistulas and are more likely to suffer maternal mortality.

The CEO said beyond the immediate health risks, there are social and economic implications for teenagers who successfully carried the pregnancy to term, since the teenage parents, especially the girl, may be withdrawn from school, thus losing out on the training needed to be financially secure in the future.

“Further, the consequences of unemployment for out-of-school youth may result in them taking to the streets where they are exposed to experimenting risky behaviours such as alcohol and drug abuse.”

“Other street kids may partake in sex work. All these behaviours increase the likelihood of sexual abuse and unsafe sexual behaviours which make them vulnerable to STIs and HIV/AIDS infections as well as unwanted pregnancies,” he added.

He said a 2017 study conducted jointly by researchers from the University of Cape Coast and the US-based Guttmacher Institute suggested that SRHE must cover a range of topics which fit into five major categories namely; Sexual and reproductive physiology, HIV/STI prevention, Contraception and unintended pregnancy, Values and interpersonal skills and Gender and sexual reproductive rights.

Mr Hadzide urged stakeholders to fuse those categories into Ghana’s context and into a language which is accessible to out-of-school youth and can reach them at whichever level they found themselves.

“Additionally, we must find the means to provide this knowledge to them. In doing so, we may leverage on new technologies, particularly, the internet to disseminate this information in addition to the traditional means used. In that regard, we will be transforming social media from a source of misinformation to one of education,” he said.

Madam Victoria Obenewah, Principal Nursing Officer, GHS, advised adolescents to avoid peer influence, desist from substance abuse and alcoholism and beware of bad friends.

Madam Obenewah also cautioned them to be mindful of people closer to them because most rape incidents are carried out by close relatives and friends.

She called for stiffer punishment for rape and incest crimes and urged the media to intensify education on adolescent reproductive health.

The Nursing Officer urged Government, Chiefs and Queen mothers, Opinion leaders, religious bodies, Non- Governmental Organizations to get involved in adolescent related activities.

She said to promote reproductive health rights of adolescents, quality information on Family Planning and contraceptives should be available and easily accessible.

Madam Obenewah said this would help adolescents to make well-informed decisions on their reproductive health.

She urged stakeholders to maintain the utmost privacy and confidentiality of adolescents who open up to them about their issues.

Dr Leticia Adelaide Appiah, Executive Director, National Population Council, emphasised that the youth is the most important asset of the nation and urged Government and stakeholders to prioritise young people not just with words but with action.

She said in developing the Comprehensive SRHE, stakeholders should consider the importance of nurturing positive attitudes and values in the youth, including open-mindedness, respect for self and others.

According to the Ghana living Standards Survey, Ghana currently faces a youth unemployment rate of 12.6% with a 49.2% rate of youth underemployment.

Although the onset of COVID-19 has proven to be a major contributory factor to the increasing rate, it is believed that the lack of job experience is also a reason.

In an interview with JoyNews, Executive Director of the Organization, Anthony Mveyange, said “we need to engage the youth, get to understand their challenges and what can be done to support them.”

“We also need to engage the relevant institutions; government, private sector and civil societies, who will be able to come together and think about what the challenges are,” he added.

At a stakeholders meeting organized by the group on Thursday, Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority Pius Hadzide, explained that the public sector must be equipped in order to service the private sector, as the private sector handles 92% of the employable population.

“The states capacity to employ doesn’t resolve the challenge of unemployment. In our view as the national Youth Authority, we believe that it is to make the public Sector effective, to be able to service an efficient private sector.”

The organization, through this research, is hoping to propose appropriate solutions to eradicate the challenge.

The Deputy Information Minister has appealed to the media to exercise great discretion in the reportage of the activities of the Homeland Study Group Foundation or any groups or individuals that may be affiliated to the Western Togo land secessionist group.

Pius Hadzide who admits that recent activities of these groups and individuals are quite serious could have national security implications, however, advised the media to find a fine balance between a total media blackout and regular reportage to ensure that only relevant news is reported and in a security-conscious manner.

“If care is not taken, the publicity that we may be giving to them may be counter-productive and become the oxygen that fuels them,” he said.

The Deputy Minister appealed for the assistance and cooperation of the media as the State confronts this menace head-on.

“Just like the Ministry of Information led the crisis communication during Covid-19, rallying the people behind the common enemy, offering regular updates on all relevant developments and also facilitating updates from technical and specific state institutions, the Ministry will continue to adopt similar crisis communication strategies to keep all informed relative to this issue too,” he added.

On the substantive issue, the Deputy Minister assured that several leads are being followed and several arrests are being made.

He also indicated that the two vehicles and some weapons that were taken by the separatist groups had been retrieved by security forces.

The Deputy Minister declined any further comments insisting that too much public information may compromise the ongoing investigation but assured that security agencies have the total support of the government in their efforts to deal with the issue.

Deputy Minister of Information Pius Hadzide has called on the general public to treat with contempt a news item by the Daily Post titled, “Akufo- Addo Unleashes Pius Hadzide on J.A Kufuor to denigrate the ex-President’s legacy.”

According to the Minister, the publication is false, “and is only a further attempt by a discredited newspaper to soil the good image of the President, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo and I and to cause enmity between the two venerable statesmen; John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.”

In a press statement to address the publication, the Minister denied any attempt to bring disrepute to the legacy of the former president, and further denied the notion that the President had set him on that tangent.

Rather, he said, “it is the desire of the current administration to improve upon and safeguard the legacy of the high performing J.A. Kufour administration in which Nana Akufo Addo served with distinction.

“It cannot and will never be that I or anyone within the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition will seek to belittle the legacy of the former President.”

According to Pius Hadzide, the publication is “clearly motivated by hatred and ill-will” and thus wants the general public to ignore it.

He added that, “It is only a deranged person who will seek to belittle the contribution of former President J.A. Kuffuor to the development of this country.

“Indeed, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has proven through Ex-president Kufour and President Akufo-Addo that it is the only party truly committed to and capable of delivering development to Ghana through the many policies it has implemented.”

He advised “the writer, the newspaper, and their paymasters and sponsors from within the National Democratic Congress to rather apply themselves and expend their resources on discussing and resolving the obvious cracks, bickering and divisions within their ranks as evidenced by the publication of a book by one of the advisors-in-chief to their Flagbearer John Mahama denigrating their Founder.”

According to the Minister the publication is false and described it as “everything journalism is not.”

Deputy Information Minister Pius Hadzide has urged former President, John Mahama to take advantage of the ongoing Airbus scandal probe, to respond to allegations suggesting that he is ‘Government official 1’ as mentioned in the scandal.

According to Mr. Hadzide, the ongoing probe offers the NDC’s presidential candidate the best opportunity to speak to the specifics of the allegations.

“I have listened to a lot of narratives that seek to suggest that he [Mahama] is ‘Government official 1’. If he’s not, why is he silent?” he said Friday on Prime Morning.

His comments come after the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) Thursday issued an arrest warrant for former President John Dramani Mahama’s brother and four others over their alleged involvement in the Airbus bribery scandal.

Samuel Adam Foster is being sought for allegedly accepting bribe to influence a public officer and acting in collaboration with a public officer for the public officer’s private gain.

Although the allegations have been dismissed by the NDC who have accused the current government of using this to discredit former President John Mahama, Mr. Hadzide believes that this latest development presents Mr Mahama with an opportunity to speak up if indeed he is not ‘Government Official 1’ as mentioned in the scandal.

“Why are they running away from the investigation? This story broke long ago and I find Mr. John Dramani Mahama’s prolonged silence on this matter rather insulting to the integrity and intelligence of Ghanaians who entrusted in him the machinery of state,” he said.

Deputy Information Minister Pius Enam Hadzide says John Mahama and the NDC cannot take credit for some of the infrastructure captured in the Green Book.

According to him, some of those projects were done under the Kufuor government prior to the NDC’s takeover in 2009.

Kpong Water Works, the Kwahu Ridge Water Project, Kumawu Water project, Konongo Water project, Wa Water project, Terminal 3 at KIA and the Cape Coast stadium are some of the projects he named could not be credited to the NDC.

“If you read the 2007 budget you would notice that some of these projects were listed in the budget, they could not have been an NDC project and so that is misleading,” Mr Hadzide said on Newsfile, Saturday.

He stated that Green Book was “chiefly designed” to mislead Ghanaians with the publications in the book adding that some of the projects heightened were only artistic impressions.

Mr Hadzide stated that people across the country are still complaining of infrastructure deficit even after the Green Book has been published.

“Infrastructure development is not about one or two trophy project in the capital or regional capitals, it has to permeate the whole spectrum from the very base. What we have seen on the ground, going round, driving and even here in Accra the infrastructure deficit is so huge,” he added.

Also on the show was former Deputy Communications Minister Felix Ofosu Kwakye who disagreed with Mr Hadzide’s claims.

He stated that the Book highlighted not only completed projects but also ongoing projects.

Mr Kwakye added that artiste impressions were only used for projects that were in the early stages of construction.

“There is not a single project stated in the Green Book that does not exist,” he added.

Institutions have been urged to be mindful of how their clients and workers use the clock-in devices and Automated Teller Machines (ATM) since these devices could promote the spread of coronavirus.

The Deputy Minister of Information, Pius Hadzide who gave the caution said it is because of an incident at a fish-processing factory in Tema were these machines attributed to the infection of some 533 workers.

The Minister said this at a media briefing in Accra to provide situational update on the country’s case management of Covid-19.

He noted that it is important for institutions especially banks to regularly disinfect these machines after every use.

“It is important that the banks themselves put some of these measures in place to deal with some of these things because at a personal level one also has to learn to either sanitise or wash the hands under running water after using the ATM,” he said.

Mr. Hadzide urged Ghanaians to continue adhering to the safety protocols to contain the spread of the disease.

Ghana has at May 19 recorded a total of 5,918 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 1,754 and 31 deaths.

Government has denied reports that it has withdrawn police officers and other security personnel from the CAP 30 pension scheme.

The CAP 30 pension scheme is a non-contributory pension scheme instituted in 1950 under the Pensions Ordinance, No. 42 of Chapter 30 for civil servants in the service before 1972.

The denial comes after some media outlets reported that the pension scheme has been withdrawn.

In a statement copied to Joy News’ Deputy Information Minister, Pius Hadzide said “the false story is aimed at courting disaffection for government among the country’s gallant men and women in uniform.

“Government by this release reiterates its position that it has not and does not intend to withdraw CAP 30 Pension Scheme or any pension scheme of any of the country’s security services. Government will not make any changes that will make the police or any security personnel worse off while serving or on retirement,” the statement added.

Below is a copy of the full statement:

Government has said it has no agenda to hound the Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo out of office.

Deputy Information Minister, Pius Enam Hadzide said the claims being propagated by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) are untrue and should not be paid any attention.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story, Mr Hadzide said the allegations are “a figment of the NDC’s own diabolic imagination.”

“It is totally untrue and maliciously fabricated. There is no such thing as a plot by this government or by any agency or persons working in government to do any such thing as removing anybody from office,” he added.

Last week, 21 civil society organisations backed the outspoken Auditor-General amid a controversial investigation by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).

The Ghana Integrity Initiative, the local chapter of Transparency International, the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) among others in a statement said, there is some form of a plot to “teach the Auditor-General a lesson.”

Related: Osafo-Maafo explanations rejected, surcharged $1m over Kroll contract

The statement came amid an ongoing feud between the EOCO and the Auditor-General over alleged procurement breaches by the latter.

Domelevo has since dragged EOCO to court, questioning its mandate to investigate his office, insisting that the probe has ulterior motives.

The NDC agrees and is on the side of the position taken by the civil society organisations in support of Mr Domelevo.

At a press conference in Accra Monday, the party alleged that there is a grand plot by government-backed forces to remove the Auditor-General because of his uncompromising stance in exposing alleged corruption perpetrated by the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo.

Pius Enam Hadzide

But the Deputy Information Minister says neither government nor its related organisations have any such plans.

“The NDC offers no proof whatsoever in the allegations that they make. They claim that EOCO is acting at the behest of the Senior Minister without offering any proof, no evidence just malicious fabrications.

“These are not statements that any group of persons or media houses should pay any credence to. It should be disregarded,” he said.

Related: Exclusive details of Auditor-General’s suit against EOCO

Mr Hadzide believes the NDC only wants to politicise this matter and wants any such attempts to be condemned outrightly.

In his view, Mr Domelevo did the right thing by proceeding to court when he suspected that EOCO has no authority to investigate him.

“This unwholesome unwarranted politicisation of an otherwise straightforward legal matter is very worrisome that all well-meaning people should rise up against any attempt from any group to want to determine and direct how state agencies such as the courts, EOCO and Auditor-General’s office should be run.

“This is unacceptable,” he added.

Government has justified its allocation of ¢6million for “government communication” despite the Information Ministry having a different budgetary allocation.

Deputy Information Minister, Pius Hadzide, says the money is specifically meant for serialising achievements and challenges in implementing government’s flagship programmes.

“You will notice that in the coming weeks, for instance, there is Ghana at Work series that serializes achievements and challenges that have been identified with some of these flagship programs.

“So the amount that has been allocated under the government’s flagship communication is directed specifically to the dissemination of information relative to the government’s flagship programs,” Hadzide told CitiNews.

National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP, Sam George was, however, not convinced with the Deputy Minister’s justification.

He insisted the Information Ministry’s budget should cater for such communication. He said the government is using the taxpayers’ cash for its “partisan affairs.”

“Government is taking our money to sponsor its spokespersons on radio and TV and also to pay party attaches,” the Ningo Prampram MP said.

MP for Asunafo South, Eric Opoku who is the Ranking Member on the House’s Agric Committee raised the issue during the debate on the sector’s budget.

He said government is simply using the money for its political interests.

Speaker Mike Ocquaye, however, blocked his question since it was not related to the topic being debated on Wednesday.

Agric Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto told journalists after proceedings to direct their queries about the GH¢6million to the appropriate quarters.

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah, has assured that efforts were being made to resolve the issue of unpaid referees allowances to enable them officiate the ongoing GFA Normalisation Committee (NC) Special Competition.

Reacting to a boycott of the competition by refereees over unpaid allowances, Mr Asiamah told the Daily Graphic yesterday that his attention had been drawn to the issue and that steps were being taken to address it as soon as possible.

“The issue has come to my attention and we are making efforts to resolve it,” the Minister assured.

Further investigations by the Daily Graphic revealed that the NC, led by Dr Kofi Amoah, were locked up in an emergency meeting over the issue at the time of filing this report. 

On Monday, the Referees Association of Ghana (RAG) decided to officially suspend the services of its members from the NC Special Competition to press for unpaid allowances.

A letter dated May 6, 2019 and signed by the Deputy General Secretary of RAG, Mr Kwao Sampson, addressed to the General Secretary of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), said “after carefully deliberating on your failure to redeem your promise of paying all outstanding officiating fees owed our members before close of April 2019, we decided to call on all our members to suspend handling all football match officiating at all levels and at all league centres from tomorrow, May 7, 2019.”

“RAG is compelled to take this tough decision because several letters were written drawing your attention to the unpaid officiating allowances and other things which were consistently not attended to.

All RAG members owed are finding it difficult to travel to match venues due to the unpaid allowances.

“Apart from this, RAG National Executives also placed several calls to various executive members of the Normalisation Committee without any favourable feedback,” it added.

The letter said as a result, members of RAG had been instructed to suspend all activities relating to match officiating from today until all issues relating to outstanding unpaid officiating fees and other referee challenges had been resolved.
 

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