Today should have been Founders Day - Frimpomaa | AM Show

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Transcript
00:00:00 Hello and welcome to the Nkrumah Memorial Day edition of the AM show. I'm excited to be here with you today.
00:00:07 I hope you are too and what a way to start our program. It was a beautiful report or short video we brought to you
00:00:17 focusing on the refurbished Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. If you haven't visited it yet, today's a good opportunity for you to do so.
00:00:25 Kwame Nkrumah is one man loved the world over. There are arguments about what his legacy really is, but I'm sure we all agree that a great man he was.
00:00:37 Today on the AM show, we will be bringing you our news review and the NDC's parliamentary candidate-elect for South Tongue, Maxwell Lukato, will be joining us for that.
00:00:47 At 7.10am, we will be bringing you our AM sports. You want to stay for that? There's a lot happening.
00:00:55 And then we will bring you our big stories. As I said, it's the 21st of September. It's a day set aside to remember a man many describe as an icon and a hero globally.
00:01:08 Osajafor Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. As we mark today, we ask how has the nation harnessed the legacy of this Pan-Africanist to influence Ghana's development?
00:01:21 How has his political party, the Convention People's Party, remained relevant in Ghana's quest to develop and in advancing his ideals and philosophy?
00:01:34 We look at all these in the face of controversy about his legacy and he's a man of many quotes, isn't he?
00:01:42 One of them is that he said, "We must unite now or perish." And that was a statement he made at one of the AU meetings.
00:01:50 If you are a student of Kwame Nkrumah, you know that his ideals and his ideas transcend his generation. He was indeed a man of the future.
00:02:02 Helping us to talk about who he is and also his party and whether we are continuing in that legacy is Nana Fimpoma.
00:02:11 She's chairperson and leader of the CPP. You don't want to miss that conversation.
00:02:17 And plus, we'll be getting interactive with you as well to find out what you make of Dr. Nkrumah's legacy.
00:02:23 Also on the show today, we have an exclusive interview with Professor Johnson Nyakukwampo. He's vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Coast.
00:02:32 Take a look at that particular institution. I know you've heard a lot about it and the strides made and how far they've come.
00:02:39 Then, as usual, we will get interactive with you and speak to some wonderful people who will be passing through the program.
00:02:46 So, it's a packed show just for you when you want to stay. I'm Bernice Abubey-Dulansa. I'll be bringing you the news in a bit. Please stay with me.
00:02:56 [Music]
00:03:21 Thank you for staying on the AM show. It's now time for the news.
00:03:25 Organizers of Occupy Jubilee House are proceeding with their planned protest this morning undeterred by police efforts to secure a court injunction.
00:03:34 The Accra-based civil society group Democracy Hub had previously informed the Ghana Police Service of their intention to hold a protest on Nkrumah Memorial Day targeting the seat of government.
00:03:46 Now, the protest aims to call the president and members of the economic management team to action in response to economic challenges in the country.
00:03:54 While the police claim to have served organizers with a court application, the group dispeels this and remains committed to the protest.
00:04:03 Oliver Bakun, Vormer Wall, speaks for the group.
00:04:06 As far as I'm concerned, they are claiming that an application has been made. And by their own admission, there is no court order which is stopping the process from going ahead.
00:04:15 If you are served, would you call the protest off?
00:04:18 Unless we are served, let me be clear, unless we are served with a court injunction, that requires us not to go ahead.
00:04:24 Because one of the things we do not want to do is to follow those who have decided that we are not going to respect the authority of our democracy and join them in their misbehavior.
00:04:32 So as long as we do not have an injunction of the court, we will proceed.
00:04:35 If we are served with an injunction of the court, then absolutely we will call off the protest.
00:04:38 The only thing that can go wrong is that the police will not respect their legal obligations.
00:04:42 But I have ultimate faith in our democracy that the right thing will prevail.
00:04:46 Oliver Bakun, Vormer Wall, speaks for the group.
00:04:50 Convener Barker, Vormer Wall, says the group has plans to ensure protesters don't indulge in acts that will contravene the law.
00:05:00 So they may go ahead and decide to do whatever acts. In fact, I cannot control what they decide to do.
00:05:04 What I am telling you is that they are going to show up and we are going to be peaceful.
00:05:07 We are going to have our hands raised all the time to show that we have no intention of attacking the police or whatsoever.
00:05:12 And if they put any roadblocks, we are just going to stand in front of the roadblocks without breaching that.
00:05:16 But what we want to show is that we want to tear down abuse of power and show that it is ultimately resistance and the morality of justice that wins.
00:05:24 In the last couple of hours, the Ghana Police Service has been responding to the claim that it has not served organizers of the demonstration with that injunction application.
00:05:37 In a four-point statement, the police says it served the group through its lawyers.
00:05:42 And let me just bring you details of that.
00:05:45 Police refute claim of non-service of court process by the conveners of Democracy Hub.
00:05:49 The attention of the police service has been drawn to a press release by the conveners of Democracy Hub dated 20 September 2023,
00:05:56 claiming that the group has not been served with the court process to prohibit them from holding their intended demonstration at the Ghibli House
00:06:04 from Thursday 21st to Saturday 23rd September 2023.
00:06:09 We wish to state categorically that the organizers of Democracy Hub were duly served with the application on Tuesday 19 September 2023 through their lawyers,
00:06:20 Atuguba and associates, and for that matter, the organizers are duly aware of dependency of the application before the High Court slated for determination on Tuesday 26th September 2023,
00:06:32 the service of the process on the lawyers was elected and dictated by the organizers of the planned demonstration.
00:06:39 In their notification letter to the police dated 4th September 2023, a copy of that letter and the references attached to the statement.
00:06:47 In the said letter, the organizers indicated that the police may contact them through their lawyers, Atuguba and associates.
00:06:53 As such, the court process was served on them through their lawyers.
00:06:56 It ends by saying, we therefore urge the general public in the interest of public order and public safety to disregard any invitation by the organizers to take part in any unlawful demonstration.
00:07:09 Signed by Julianna Obing, Superintendent of Police Head, Public Affairs Unit of the police, Accra region.
00:07:16 Now we will be keeping our eyes on this particular one and let you know how it develops in the day.
00:07:23 Now, it appears Ghana may be wrongly computing the fishing season.
00:07:29 That's the concern of some fishermen at La Abissi in the Ladadekotupong municipality.
00:07:34 They say they are unable to make any meaningful catch at sea despite religiously observing the closed fishing season.
00:07:42 Now the closed season is observed as a way of reducing pressure on stocks when they are most productive.
00:07:48 And this is to allow the fish a chance to lay their eggs to replace the lost population.
00:07:54 But right after this season, fishermen are still unable to make a catch or good catch.
00:08:00 And they are complaining about this with the price of fish already soaring.
00:08:05 Rahmat Bashiru reports.
00:08:07 Prices of fish is soaring as the commodity is in short supply.
00:08:13 At Saide's Kinky joint, fish is costing an arm and a leg and consumers are worried.
00:08:19 It's from 8 CDs. You won't get fish for 7 CDs, 6 CDs, not even talking of 5 CDs.
00:08:26 So fish are very expensive now in Ghana.
00:08:29 I bought a little kinky with fish. I tell you the price of the fish and secondly they do count. They do count.
00:08:41 6 CDs, that is the red fish. And the Kpala is 15 CDs. And this one is 8 CDs, 6 CDs, 8 CDs and 7 CDs.
00:08:54 It is Saturday morning at Labese Fishing Center in the Labadi community here in the Greater Accra region.
00:09:01 Fishermen here are frustrated about the unusual state of their catch which is already threatening their livelihoods.
00:09:08 The chief fisherman Henry Oduyepeko says that despite the close fishing season, they are not making enough catch whenever they visit the sea.
00:09:17 The time of closing season is not going well with our fishing.
00:09:24 We don't argue with the government but what we are saying is the time of July is our bumper harvest.
00:09:38 Therefore the time should be reversed to maybe June.
00:09:44 The closing season may be reversed to June rather than July.
00:09:52 The pollution of the sea has also been cited as one of the causes of the gradually depleting fish stock in the sea with some species going extinct.
00:10:01 According to them, fish resources are threatened by human activities including pollution which has prevented them from fishing for the past one week.
00:10:10 Every plastic waste from interland drops to the shore any time it rains.
00:10:23 Therefore you will see the pollution of the plastic and it affects us most.
00:10:32 Could you believe I would go for fishing but return with plastic instead of fish?
00:10:41 This level of pollution is changing the marine ecosystem and affecting fish reproduction.
00:10:47 Adedik Nunu is repairing a fishing net that he says was damaged after getting entangled with plastic waste.
00:10:54 The sea is now filled with plastic waste.
00:10:57 We don't even get fishes. You spend so much money on premixed food when you go to the sea and make no significant catch.
00:11:04 Our premixed food is not even being supplied regularly.
00:11:08 Isaac Tete, the canoe repairer of the fishermen says the Chinese trolleys continue to commit acts of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and Ghana hence the loss of income for designer fishermen.
00:11:21 The Chinese are engaging in illegal fishing. They are using such high lights to catch all the fishes.
00:11:36 We are pleading with government to deal with this situation. Fishermen are struggling.
00:11:41 We are not getting any fish.
00:11:44 Odui Atiku was hoping to go fishing but is already having second thoughts as previous expeditions have simply not yielded any positive result.
00:11:54 We have been fishing for two weeks. We have been fishing for one day.
00:12:02 We have been fishing for a week and one day.
00:12:08 We have been fishing for a week and one day.
00:12:11 We have been fishing for a week and one day.
00:12:14 We have been fishing for a week and one day.
00:12:17 We have been fishing for a week and one day.
00:12:20 We have been fishing for a week and one day.
00:12:23 We have been fishing for a week and one day.
00:12:26 We have been fishing for a week and one day.
00:12:29 We have been fishing for a week and one day.
00:12:32 We have been fishing for a week and one day.
00:12:35 This is the news on the AM show.
00:12:38 Now management of the Tichiman Holy Family Hospital is appealing for infrastructure expansion.
00:12:43 This is to enable it meets the health care needs of the region.
00:12:47 With an annual OPD attendance of over 220,000, the facility which serves as a referral centre for the entire Bunu East region is doing more than its physical infrastructure can accommodate.
00:13:00 Hospital administrator Christopher Akanbobnab made this call during a visit by the parliamentary select committee on health.
00:13:08 Anasabit has more.
00:13:10 The delegation which was led by the ranking member and MP for Jorbuso constituency, Kwabena Minta Akando, visited the Tichiman Holy Family Hospital to assess first-hand information as well as identify and address challenges hindering the smooth running of the facility.
00:13:27 Today we started visiting the CHAG facilities and we are at the Tichiman Holy Family Hospital.
00:13:37 It's been a very interesting discussion, interactions.
00:13:44 They have taken us through what they do.
00:13:47 We have toured their facilities and I think that I am happy to be part of this history.
00:13:55 We are all very, very excited about what we have seen.
00:13:59 We only encourage them that we think that they can do more than they are doing.
00:14:05 But so far so good. They have done so well.
00:14:08 I think they have had great impact on the health sector of this country.
00:14:12 Hospital administrator at the facility, Mr. Christopher Akanbobnab revealed that the facility, due to its strategic location and serving as a referral centre for the entire Bono East region, is doing more than its physical infrastructure could accommodate and as such, needs government support to help it continue with its healthcare provision.
00:14:32 Government has done this over the years and we must acknowledge it.
00:14:37 We only see we could even do more when you look at the opportunities that are available to government.
00:14:46 I would like to stress this and to ask for some support in terms of infrastructure for this institution.
00:14:53 The hospital is doing a lot more than its physical infrastructure can accommodate.
00:14:59 The reality as you can see, everywhere is full.
00:15:03 Even that we came at 2pm when normally a lot of our patients should be going home.
00:15:09 He however bemoaned the huge electricity tariffs the facility is currently battling with and appealed for a waiver of some tax components to avoid the total collapse of the facility.
00:15:20 This hospital and all that we consume, on average every month we appealed 170,000 ounces.
00:15:29 If you look at the rate of increase in terms of electricity tariff, it is far far far below the rate of a review in terms of any tariff.
00:15:42 This is a parent challenge and we would like to urge and we know it is within your authority that you can do something about it.
00:15:55 In whichever form, whether to look at the tax regime, the impulse tariffs, the total waiver is impossible.
00:16:03 Member of Parliament for Richmond North and member of the committee Elizabeth of Osu Ejari have managed government to help in the expansion of the facility to help in its sustenance.
00:16:15 Because of the excellent care they give around this area, people from far and near come to get services from here.
00:16:23 It is incumbent on government to help them to expand the infrastructure they have here.
00:16:28 More importantly, they should also provide equipment because if you have qualified personnel, what you need to do is to give them all the equipment they need to deliver quality service.
00:16:39 So I think that government should come in handy to provide what they need, to provide excellent service for the people in this area and then far.
00:16:48 Alexander Akwesi Akwa is the MP for Akim Oda and also a member of the committee.
00:16:54 He reiterated government's efforts in spreading health care to other parts of the country, hence the introduction of the Agenda 111 policy.
00:17:02 Yes, we agree that this hospital needs to be developed. We agree that this hospital needs more infrastructure and facilities.
00:17:10 But the government program for Agenda 111 is to enable other constituencies and districts to also benefit so we can spread health care services.
00:17:20 It is very important we know that.
00:17:22 The Tichman Holy Family Hospital with a staff strength of 1,086 currently has an annual OPD attendance of over 200,000 with ANC attendance of over 30,000.
00:17:34 Reporting for Joy News, Anas Sabit, Tichman.
00:17:47 Now a youth group calling itself Concerned Youth of the Nadoli Kalio District has hit the streets to register its displeasure on what it calls gross mismanagement of the district hospital by some core staff.
00:18:01 They stated the hospital lacks basic logistics to take care of medical needs of the people and it's now under life support.
00:18:10 They've also accused management for continuing the fueling of vehicles that are faulty and packed at the expense of the meagre resources of the hospital.
00:18:20 They've therefore given a two-week ultimatum for this to be addressed. There's more.
00:18:25 The youth group drawn from all parts of the Nadoli Kalio District first converged at the forecourt of the Nadoli Area Council before they kick-started the peaceful demonstration.
00:18:37 They're unhappy with what they called gross mismanagement of the district hospital by some core staff.
00:18:43 Because anything you want, you cannot get it for now. When you go there for dispensary, they will tell you, they will write the medicine.
00:18:51 As a patient, I'll show you yesterday, I'll show it to you. And when they found different type of drugs, they tell me to go to pharmacies and buy.
00:19:01 Nothing was given to me. Even common treatment, they will refer you to any place that you can go and do your own thing. And they are there. What kind of life is that?
00:19:11 Mind you, this is the first time youth in the district have collectively come together to demonstrate against any government establishment since the creation of the district some 35 years ago.
00:19:24 They still the major highway, otherwise known as N12 highway, that passes through the Nadoli Township, singing and dancing to music from brass band.
00:19:35 There was heavy police presence to ensure that nothing untoward happened during the course of the demonstration.
00:19:42 All went well right from the start of the demonstration until they got closer to the main gate of the hospital and they demanded an entry into the facility, which the police fiercely resisted.
00:19:55 Entry to the facility was not part of the route for the demonstrators. An argument ensued for over half an hour between the protesters and the police until the latter softened his stance and allowed them to come closer to the gate of the hospital.
00:20:12 They later headed to the Makoy College of Education Park, passed through the forecourt of the Ndulukelio District Assembly and ended at the Ndulukelio District Directorate of Health Services.
00:20:23 It was here that their petition was read by the secretary of the Kinsen Youth Group, Prince Sabogo.
00:20:30 The Ndulukelio Hospital is in life support due to gross mismanagement which led to the lack of basic logistics including gloves, even common plasters and paracetamol among other essentials in the hospital.
00:20:43 Inflating the cost of the main wall that was renovated. The recent visit of the health insurance CEO, Dr. Okobo to the hospital, the district health administrator and management said the hospital spent an amount of 87,000 to renovate the main wall.
00:21:00 While in a different meeting with the staff, they said they spent 127,000 to renovate the main wall and we want proper accountability.
00:21:09 Management is still fueling parked vehicles that were exploited some years back using our mega resources for their selfish interests.
00:21:17 And how can a damaged vehicle still draw fuel from the public purse? We are demanding access from the core management of the hospital.
00:21:24 The Ndulukelio Hospital that aid in promoting quality health to its people have provided accommodation to some core management of the hospital.
00:21:34 But how do you see some of them sleeping there but rather commute from work every day resulting in low productivity?
00:21:41 And also using the limited hospital resources at the expense of basic essentials.
00:21:45 They spoke of deep-seated rifts among some critical staff of the hospital and also accused some management staff of the hospital of awarding contracts to themselves amounting to conflict of interest.
00:21:57 They called on the Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and other duty bearers to ask the matter of agency to shake up the hospital to restore the hospital to its past glory.
00:22:09 We are about this demonstrative to register our displeasure, thereby calling on the High Office of the Director General of Ghana Health Service, Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, Upper West Regional Minister, Regional Director of Health Services and the District Director of Health
00:22:23 and other key stakeholders in this matter to immediately shake up the seven core management staff at the hospital to prevent the total burial of our once Upper West Gulengum, which has now collapsed to a chained compound.
00:22:37 The petitioners are ever ready to use any other legal means to ensure that our legitimate demands are met after two weeks.
00:22:46 If there is no positive response from authorities concerned, we will first move into the hospital and lock the administrator and continue from there.
00:22:56 Head of Finance at the Ndundule District Director of Health, Francis Kodun received a petition on behalf of the District Director of Health Services for onward delivery to the Director General of the Ghana Health Services.
00:23:09 Reporting for GWA News, Rafid Salam, Ndundule.
00:23:16 We stay on health and the Ghana Gas Company Limited has cut short for the construction of a 200 bed capacity hospital at the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyane in the Bunu region.
00:23:28 The project, when completed, will complement government's efforts at providing effective health care and also achieve universal health coverage. Precious Simevo has more.
00:23:41 The first phase of the 200 bed capacity hospital at the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyane will see the construction of an 80 bed facility within 24 months.
00:23:52 Phase one, which is already underway, will comprise an OPD, an administrative block, a lab, a pharmacy block, a mini theatre, and wards, among others, with expanded emergency and specialty blocks in the next phase.
00:24:05 At the sword cutting, the Vice Chancellor of UNEP, Professor Elvis Asaribediakun, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Board of Ghana Gas and said the facility would reach out beyond the University in the provision of health care.
00:24:19 In the years to come, this hospital will serve as a hub for cutting-edge medical research, a training ground for future health care professionals, and a place where lives are saved and transformed.
00:24:30 It will offer quality health care to our students, faculty and staff, ensuring their physical and mental well-being.
00:24:38 Phase one, it will reach out beyond our campus walls to provide vital medical services to our local community, bridging the gap in health care accessibility and contributing to the overall betterment of society.
00:24:52 Bono Regional Health Director, Dr. Kofi Amokodye, also expressed the directorate's delight in the proponents of the facility, which he said will complement effort in attaining universal health coverage.
00:25:03 "Whenever there is an attempt to bring up a health facility, then you consider the people coming with the idea as bringing life to the people around.
00:25:17 We know that Ghana has registered to attain the universal health coverage based on two prompts. This edifice here has been provided to really create access for us and also to enable us, Ghana ourselves, to reach the universal health coverage that we seek so much to attain."
00:25:43 Ghana Gas Project Manager Edombole Nwiya Anyama, on his part, said the project forms part of their social responsibility and expects stakeholders to care for it.
00:25:53 "Ghana Gas is a national asset. Wherever our product reaches, CSR projects must also get to that.
00:26:02 When you look at the community, the institution, health facility is something that is dear to their heart. And if Ghana Gas comes to the aid of providing two-handed bed hospital facility, it's not just a joke.
00:26:22 I believe institutions as you know will never let this facility go by. I believe the Ghana Health Service will also not let this facility deteriorate."
00:26:36 Pressure Sector for Joy News, Sunyai.
00:26:39 Now in response to growing global concern surrounding non-communicable diseases, the Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Dr. Eric Kofi Ndedu, has urged the public to prioritize regular exercise as a means of prevention.
00:26:56 He emphasized the increase in cases of heart attacks and similar ailments and also spoke about the importance of preventive measures.
00:27:04 He made these remarks during a Keep Fit exercise organized by the hospital as part of its 25th anniversary. There's more in this report.
00:27:13 Dr. Ndedu's call comes as non-communicable diseases continue to pose a significant health threat worldwide.
00:27:19 "Well you know, non-communicable diseases are becoming a very big global health concern. We want to give an example to the public that exercise is a way to health.
00:27:32 When you exercise your body regularly, you have a very active circulatory system, your brain is active, your immune system is superb, and you're able to fight many diseases.
00:27:43 So I want to use this medium to set an example for all the general public, all our clients, all the people of Ghana, that we should take exercise as part of our activities so that we can always stay healthy.
00:27:54 It is not palatable to get sick and come to the hospital. It's our expectation that the people of Ghana will not get sick so that even as we come to the hospital, we can visit them in their homes to do health promotion instead of curative medicine that we are practicing."
00:28:07 He mentioned the significant strides the hospital has made in its 25 years of existence.
00:28:13 "As you may be aware, in 1996, a foundation stone was laid here, just adjacent to where you are standing, to pay for the construction of one of the greatest hospitals that Ghana will ever have.
00:28:25 That is the Central Regional Hospital and now Cape Cotity Hospital. In 1998, it was commissioned, and today it is 25 years old.
00:28:34 We have indeed reviewed all the progress this hospital has made and we are indeed very satisfied amidst the challenges that we have been able to keep this hospital together till this end."
00:28:46 Director of the Pharmacy Unit at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Dr. Robert M. Kum also shared insight into the hospital's commitment to patient care.
00:28:56 He highlighted the hospital's fully functional pharmacy unit, which conducts medication therapy reviews for every patient admitted to the medical ward.
00:29:06 "Over the years, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital now has a fully fledged clinical pharmacy unit that is used to ensure that every single patient that is admitted, for instance, in the medical ward,
00:29:18 goes through medication therapy review by the clinical pharmacist to ensure that all the drug-related issues are resolved here on the ward so that this will improve the quality of care and optimize the drug therapy that the patients receive in this hospital.
00:29:33 So as we are repositioning ourselves for excellence and quality healthcare delivery, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital is expected to expand, we are poised to expand,
00:29:43 pharmaceutical, clinical pharmacy services in the hospital such that every single person that passes through Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, we ensure that the drug safety,
00:29:54 all the issues relating to medicine safety is very well catered for and that you see the quality medicines that you deserve to ensure that you will obtain universal health coverage for the people of Central Region."
00:30:09 The event served as a platform for raising awareness about non-communicable diseases and promoting healthy lifestyles through regular exercise, reflecting Cape Coast Teaching Hospital's dedication to both treatment and prevention in the fight against these diseases.
00:30:25 And that's how we end the news here on the AM show. I'll be back with a review of what's on the news portals. You know as it is, on holidays we don't have the papers, but there's still news making rounds, so do join me for that in a moment.
00:30:40 [Music]
00:31:07 Hello there, it's a little under 20 minutes to the top of the hour. Thank you for staying here on the AM show. I'm Bernice Abubidu-London.
00:31:14 If you just joined us, we are virtually dedicating today to Dr Kwame Nkrumah who has been celebrated the world over the conversations about his legacy, the conversations about his party, the Conventions People's Party,
00:31:29 and where they stand from, whether they've been able to live up to the expectation of the founder. We'll have those conversations shortly, but it's time now for our news review, and joining me for that is NDC parliamentary candidate-elect for South Tong, Maxwell Lukuto.
00:31:46 Good morning to you, Maxwell. How are you doing, and how are you commemorating today?
00:31:54 Yeah, good morning Bernice, good morning to your viewers and your listeners. I'm pretty good, the weather is not too good for most of us. It's affecting my voice, but I think we can manage.
00:32:05 Talking about Kwame Nkrumah's memorial or commemoration day, I think I would want to sit down quietly and then go through myself, look at the ideals that Dr Osagie Ford, Dr Kwame Nkrumah stood for, his resilience, his fortitude, his vision for Ghana,
00:32:29 and how he stood in the whole of Africa, that the history of Africa cannot be told or written without the name of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. It's a mark that he struck for us as Ghanians, and it's something we should continually celebrate and want to be identified with.
00:32:46 I as an individual, as I said earlier, would want to go through myself and then look at what he stood for and what I can also do for our country, Ghana, and for Africa as a whole.
00:32:57 And so I think it's a day that has to be celebrated properly for the little ones who are coming up to know about the place Dr Kwame Nkrumah took for us as Ghana, and most of the little ones, he's fading away, they are not too sure.
00:33:12 I'm not sure we continually write books to commemorate him, and I think days like this are days that the story has to be completely told for those young ones that are coming up to also learn a thing or two, know who Kwame Nkrumah really was and is for Ghana.
00:33:28 Like you said, Kwame Nkrumah never died, and so we shouldn't let him die.
00:33:32 Yeah, and that's an interesting point you make about the younger generation learning about who he was and what he stood for.
00:33:39 I had an interaction with two of his children, Samia and Sekou, and it's something they agree on, but it was interesting that for the two of them there were some points of disagreement on his legacy entirely, but we'll reserve that for later on in the show.
00:33:56 But let's get on to myjoyonline.com and what's happening in the news.
00:34:03 This one says EC can go to court if it feels frustrated by Parliament regarding constitutional instruments, and that's according to Andy Apia Kube.
00:34:13 And also this one from Roxanne Nelson Daffy Amepoh, EC doesn't need a new law to decentralize limited voter registration.
00:34:23 And we also have the EC chairperson there, I'm just trying to put the stories that are related together.
00:34:28 Don't blame Parliament for your voter suppression efforts.
00:34:32 That comes along with the EC chairperson's photo. That's from Abuja.
00:34:37 Now let me just find out from you, I believe that you've been following the limited voters registration exercise and all the news that has come up.
00:34:45 The EC's press conference that aimed at addressing the concerns raised particularly by the minority in Parliament and the National Democratic Congress, which you were a member of.
00:34:59 How do you generally feel about all that's happening, the fallout so far?
00:35:04 I'm just not reading news but I'm practically on the ground. And I am at the peak of events, especially my constituency, to make sure that all those who have to register, we help somehow to get them to register.
00:35:20 Because apparently, the situation is that most of these constituencies or districts, some communities are very hard to reach.
00:35:28 And travelling from one end to the district capital to go through the process is daunting and challenging.
00:35:35 And so we as leaders, if we don't help, it's going to be avoided by the EC.
00:35:40 Maybe it was just interested in getting some people into the electoral roll.
00:35:45 And the reality on the ground is that there are a lot more people who want to get on the electoral roll, especially because for the past two years, people have not had the opportunity to get enrolled.
00:35:55 And so there are large numbers coming to these centres to want to register.
00:35:59 I go to the centre on a daily basis to ensure that those who have to be supported from the far-to-reach communities are brought to these centres to get them enrolled.
00:36:09 The numbers we have every day is so challenging.
00:36:12 I am proud to say that in the Bota region, my constituency has always been the first, second or third in the number of people we are able to register on a daily basis, because we have put a lot of mechanisms in place to help these ones to go through the registration process effortlessly.
00:36:30 And so the challenge is on the ground.
00:36:33 And I'm sure that the numbers you see, the videos you are seeing from the centres and the pictures you are seeing, will show to them that there are a lot more people on the ground who have to go through this process.
00:36:45 And so for me, the last time I heard her say that they would want to do some other things to help the process by getting to the far-to-reach areas to ensure that all those who have to register go through the process.
00:36:57 I'm not too sure what they have obviously. I'm not too sure whether they are intending to increase the number of these.
00:37:03 But sincerely, at my point, my expectation is to get about 12,000 people onto the road.
00:37:09 So far, I have less than 2,000. And two weeks is almost gone.
00:37:14 And I'm not too sure how I'm going to get the 10,000 onto the road.
00:37:18 We are making an average of now about 180. The last time we got over 300.
00:37:26 Yesterday, we were around 279.
00:37:29 And so based on the few three days, we could say that we have an average of about 250.
00:37:36 But I guess it is about 400 people a day or more.
00:37:40 So the numbers we are getting, it is an average of 250 or 300.
00:37:44 And the number of these gives me just about 6,000.
00:37:47 And that is just about half of the numbers I am expecting.
00:37:51 So the reality is that there is a lot of challenge on the ground.
00:37:54 And the earlier we find flexible and practical solutions to these issues, the better it will be for all of us.
00:38:01 Yes, I heard Dr. Nana Eskibi Asante yesterday talking about us not hooking our eyes into the eyes of the EC
00:38:11 and to allow their fairness to run through the system.
00:38:13 But they feel that practically on the ground, they feel that they are planning to do,
00:38:17 we are not happy with the numbers, every day that people come to the centers and go back without being registered.
00:38:23 So we still have fear that the people have to register.
00:38:28 And it is their civic responsibility and right not to impede any of the processes
00:38:33 and allow them freely to come to the room and also exercise their franchise during these district assembly elections
00:38:41 and also the next year's general election.
00:38:44 So for me, they should look at the system and make sure that we work it out for all of them.
00:38:49 And Mr. Lukoto, I have heard politicians both from the MPP and NDC talk about how they are facilitating the process
00:38:58 for some young people in their communities.
00:39:00 And I am just curious, you said you are hoping to help how many people? 12,000?
00:39:06 Yes.
00:39:07 And these 12,000, who are they? How are you doing this?
00:39:13 Are you looking for people who have your personal interest?
00:39:16 Just tell us how you go about finding these young people.
00:39:20 Are you just massing them up or you have a certain criteria you are looking at?
00:39:25 No, of course, this is the criteria we are using.
00:39:28 The people should never have registered before.
00:39:31 They should be 80 years above and of sound mind.
00:39:34 I am sure those are the basic requirements to be registered as a voter.
00:39:39 And so, you know, we have our police centers and branches all over the country.
00:39:43 In my constituency, I have 156 police centers or branches.
00:39:49 We have executives over all these places.
00:39:52 These executives are here from all communities.
00:39:55 And so, if I have an executive in one particular community, he knows to them who have attained the age of 80,
00:40:03 of sound mind, and who have never registered as voters.
00:40:07 And so, they compile this list of people and to encourage them to go to the district electoral commission to go and have their name registered.
00:40:15 If some of them do not have transport to come to the centers, we need to help by mobilizing them to come to the centers to get their name registered.
00:40:23 Because for us as a party, we are an interested party.
00:40:28 And so, whatever we have to do to get this report coming, we will do.
00:40:31 But sincerely, it's not about going to identify who an NDC person is to aid the person to come to the center.
00:40:38 You cannot be too sure who the person is.
00:40:40 But once the person has attained the age of 80 and is of sound mind and can register, you only help by bringing them together.
00:40:47 Don't forget, if I become an MP of my constituency, I will not only be open to those who are NDC people, but everybody which I constitute.
00:40:55 So, as it is now, I am helping everybody, anybody who wants to come and register on the road.
00:41:01 And that's what we are doing.
00:41:02 So, it is nothing I'm down, wherever you find yourself as a party leader, it is your responsibility to aid your people to come and register.
00:41:09 To aid your people?
00:41:11 That's not my people.
00:41:14 Okay, alright.
00:41:16 It's not my people, it's about anybody in this community who has attained the age of 80 who wants to register.
00:41:22 I cannot be too sure who is my party member, because up to this date, they have not been involved in any partisan activity.
00:41:29 Those in the GSS and secondary schools are not allowed by the law to do any party politics.
00:41:35 So, you cannot be too sure who belongs to one political party or the other.
00:41:40 It is when they become voters, and after 18 years, they decide which political party they want or wish to join.
00:41:48 So, we are only aiding the process, not taking criminal notice of who belongs to my party or not.
00:41:53 So, it's a process we are going through.
00:41:56 Alright, now let's look at this one, which is turning out to be something else.
00:42:01 Occupy Jolo B-House demonstration, organises duly served court process through lawyers.
00:42:08 Organises duly served court process through lawyers.
00:42:11 This is because, when you scroll down just after the President's speech to the UN Security Council,
00:42:19 you see that Occupy Jolo B-House, we have not been served, our process will proceed as planned.
00:42:24 That's according to Democracy Hub.
00:42:26 A few hours after that, the police service responded to say they had been served through their lawyers,
00:42:31 because Democracy Hub, in its own letter to the police, indicated that the court correspond via their lawyers.
00:42:39 And that's what the police has done.
00:42:41 But I've been listening to reactions from convener of Democracy Hub, Oliver Bakavoma,
00:42:47 who's been saying that they will not be stopped, they will not do anything untoward,
00:42:55 they're going to have their hands raised to suggest that they're not there to cause any mayhem.
00:43:00 But the police insist that any gathering today will be an unlawful one.
00:43:05 How do you see how this has panned out from the time that Democracy Hub expressed its intention
00:43:14 to embark on this three-day demonstration?
00:43:17 Madam Minister, it's becoming one too many for the Ghana Police Service to be acting as a convict or as a thief
00:43:27 for this government in any civilised demonstration, in any grouping, one-to-one I think.
00:43:34 It's becoming like they have made up their mind that they're not going to allow anybody to undertake any protest, demonstration or whatever.
00:43:43 So as soon as you notify them that you want to go and demonstrate,
00:43:46 they find every and any reason to stop you from wanting to go for this demonstration or the picketing.
00:43:53 Bakavoma, as we have known him, he picks the country fame,
00:43:58 has gone through a series of these demonstrations and picketing, and they are the allies of this demonstration.
00:44:04 And they have never been violent. We have known and we have seen their actions.
00:44:09 I don't think they are a violent group of people that government or police have to be so scared about
00:44:16 that they will not allow them to go picket for three days.
00:44:19 I don't see what is so critical about this is that the government of the day is so scared about,
00:44:24 and they have put in every machinery to ensure that people are prevented from exercising their democratic rights.
00:44:31 For me, it's not safe thing, and it's not in the best of shape and taste.
00:44:40 Look at our parliamentarians, those who hold the law, those who promulgate our laws,
00:44:45 also want to go and occupy BOT and look at the back and forth we are having with these people.
00:44:51 Every day they say, "You cannot pass here. You can only go through this place. You can't get to this extent.
00:44:56 It's a security zone. It's a national security. This is that. It is this. It is that."
00:45:01 And it's great.
00:45:04 The kind of democracy we want to practice.
00:45:07 The last I heard, the IGP saying that it is the world's best practice that the Ghana police service is taking and wish to get to.
00:45:16 So if it is the best practice we wish to get to, are we not seeing the worst?
00:45:21 Are we not seeing demonstrations being held every day?
00:45:23 Are we not seeing picketing being done every day at various strategic places?
00:45:27 What is so serious about the bank of Ghana?
00:45:29 What is so serious about the jubilee house?
00:45:31 And if people are not going to the forecourt, they are going to loiter around just to pick medicine and have their flag as their display, whatever they have,
00:45:39 and sit down there as long as they wish to be.
00:45:42 I don't see what is so serious about this.
00:45:46 But does it make any difference that in the past year and a half or maybe two years,
00:45:54 we have been put on high alert even way before we started seeing these coups happening in the sub-region,
00:46:00 that terrorism was closer to us now than we ever imagined.
00:46:05 And there are concerns that these are very key installations in the country, the bank of Ghana and the jubilee house.
00:46:14 Does it make any difference the situation we find ourselves in now?
00:46:19 And the fear that not necessarily organizers of these demonstrations,
00:46:25 but criminal elements could take advantage of these demonstrations
00:46:31 and where they are being held to promote crime or their own agenda.
00:46:38 We want to behave and act as if we don't have an intelligence unit in the police service or in the security service.
00:46:45 These things don't happen overnight.
00:46:47 People would have to plan, think about when they have to do that before they execute.
00:46:51 So if we are put in there every day, these things should not be too much of a worry to us.
00:46:59 And does it mean that because there is terrorism, there is coups all over the sub-region,
00:47:05 our democratic rights, our civic rights that we have as Ghanaians should not be excised?
00:47:10 No. The issues that bring these things are the things that I think we should critically be looking at.
00:47:15 So I actually was listening to our president in the UN summit talking to the West
00:47:22 about how they could let good governance and equality before the law and all those best practices happen in Africa.
00:47:32 And I asked, what are we doing to ourselves to ensure that the people we rule over are satisfied with the way we are ruling over them?
00:47:40 The EC, we are going through a registration process to go to vote.
00:47:44 We are not too sure who is coming to register and who is coming to vote.
00:47:48 And the state that we see of the EC is as if they want to prevent a lot more of the people from registering.
00:47:55 If it is easy that you are stifling them from their basic rights, they may want to take it to the streets.
00:48:00 So for me, if we are really serious and want to stop some of this,
00:48:05 in the last I heard that some Bagna guys in Western region decided to have a meeting and they were arrested.
00:48:12 This one, how long are we going to continue arresting people?
00:48:15 Is it that we don't pick intel or we don't work with intel?
00:48:18 That's why we are firefighting all these things.
00:48:21 I don't think this is the best way to fight this thing.
00:48:23 It is our picking good intel that will help us solve some of these challenges.
00:48:27 People are coming to pick intel.
00:48:29 How many people come there?
00:48:30 Fifty of them, hundred of them.
00:48:32 And we are seeing that the police force we have in Ghana cannot handle these people.
00:48:37 If people are coming to break their front and to do other things,
00:48:41 they should be picked by intel.
00:48:44 They should know what is happening every day in this country.
00:48:47 And so for me, we should let intel work more than this firefighting system that we want to put in place.
00:48:53 And it is becoming more safe for the police to be seen as people breaking the civil rights of people.
00:49:00 And if that continues, they may be looking for other ways to attack anybody and everybody.
00:49:05 I am not saying that those things are right.
00:49:08 I am only saying that let us be civilized and circumspect with the way we do our things as a people
00:49:14 so that people don't take the law into their own hands.
00:49:17 If they feel that they have been unnecessarily denied their right to do whatever they think they are entitled to,
00:49:23 they may want to go to other angles.
00:49:25 So for us, let us rather go back to the drawing board and allow people to do whatever they have to do.
00:49:30 We provide whatever security we have to provide, monitor them,
00:49:33 and make sure that we take intel to avert some of the worst things we have.
00:49:38 So, for me, that should be it.
00:49:41 Not unnecessarily stopping people from demonstrating.
00:49:44 So even parliamentarians are afraid to unleash influence.
00:49:48 So for me, let us look at the reality on the ground and play by the rules of engagement.
00:49:53 Right. So let's see what's happening on other news portals.
00:49:56 Let's check out Graphic Online and bring you what's happening there.
00:50:01 And then we will just quickly touch on some world news on BBC.
00:50:07 So, okay, this one. It's been trending on social media.
00:50:11 Shatawa-Lei stone boy clash over booking of a craft sports stadium.
00:50:15 And Russian embassy disavows alleged connection to Wagner mercenaries.
00:50:22 And you just made reference to that.
00:50:24 Consortium commits $10 million to lithium drilling.
00:50:28 NPP presidential prime minister Akutu commits to backing winner.
00:50:32 And GFA presidential race, if free, it turns to cast for justice.
00:50:37 Okay. And there's a big one on Nana Dr. S.K.B. Asante telling the EC,
00:50:45 or telling politicians rather, not to impede work of the EC and judiciary.
00:50:53 So we've touched a bit on that.
00:50:56 But let me just find out from you, Mr. Lukoto, do you follow entertainment news?
00:51:01 Yeah, sometimes I do. And my favorite is Stone Boy.
00:51:06 Okay. All right. But have you heard what's happening with regards to the --
00:51:11 Yes. Yes. Shatawa always be unnecessarily noisy and always want to make the news in a bad way.
00:51:20 I'm not too sure what it's fighting over.
00:51:23 But I think the issue here is that Shatawa actually released a flyer, right,
00:51:51 of a program he's intending to have on a particular day in December.
00:51:56 And he said the across ball stadium was the venue. Apparently he hadn't paid for it.
00:52:01 So this is what SM fans are saying. In the spirit of brotherliness, you knew --
00:52:07 or they are expecting that Stone Boy would have known because of Shatawa's flyer
00:52:13 that he had intended to use the place on that day and not go ahead to book it on the same day.
00:52:21 Right. So that's where the issue is. But there are those who also say if you haven't paid for the venue,
00:52:28 why advertise it?
00:52:31 Yeah. So he hasn't gone to the meal. So why is he advertising?
00:52:35 But in the spirit of brotherliness, I mean, or we are assuming then that probably Stone Boy didn't know.
00:52:46 Yeah. I'm not sure if Stone Boy has officially been informed.
00:52:53 And I'm not too sure we are using the same day. Stone Boy is not using the same day.
00:52:58 Shatawa is on the 28th, I guess. And Stone Boy, I think, is on the 23rd or so.
00:53:03 Is that it? Is that it? OK. I don't remember reading that, though.
00:53:09 But I mean, it's trending on social media. So we just decided to touch and go on it.
00:53:15 All right. So we just have a few more minutes. Let's see what's happening on international news portal, the BBC.
00:53:24 And we'll just wrap it all up. All right. So Poland to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine.
00:53:30 Interesting. OK, that one on sports. I'm interested in sports.
00:53:39 Let's come down. Champions League reaction. Manchester United lose at Bayern Arsenal thrash PSV.
00:53:49 Manchester United lost to Bayern because of me. That's according to Onana.
00:53:53 I have been following the English Premier League since it resumed. And I'm not sure what you make of Onana's performance.
00:54:03 That's if you watch football at all. The new keeper of the United Manchester United club.
00:54:09 There are those who are coming for him. And he admits here in this particular case that Manchester United lost the game because of him.
00:54:18 Do you see that his time with the club will be short lived?
00:54:24 There are those who predicted that, though.
00:54:28 You see that quite. You are. Yes. I do. So we are. We are.
00:54:46 I thought I was going to do. And it's unfortunate. And so yesterday I decided not to watch the match.
00:54:57 And for me, it is not the best of situations with ourselves. I think that he should back up.
00:55:03 Else you see the back of his ass. We we are a big club.
00:55:08 Our fan base is so large. And he shouldn't continue to make us not have a good supper.
00:55:15 And so for me, the earlier he reduces his tactics and his game, the better it will be for all of us.
00:55:23 So please leave it here. I don't want to talk about people.
00:55:28 I'm so sorry about that. But I mean, I thought Ten Hag had the magic, right?
00:55:32 I thought that he was going to be the difference to the Manchester United team.
00:55:39 How do you feel about your coach, though?
00:55:45 I don't know if he wants to lose the game if he's a coach that you can play against.
00:55:51 But Arsenal is still. Even though Manchester United play a little better in school.
00:56:00 Hello. I can hear you. Sorry, the line is breaking a bit.
00:56:06 Yeah. So like we say, at the end of the day, the coach will decide who does what.
00:56:10 And so I feel like you go back to the drawing board and ensure that what we expect from him, we get.
00:56:16 We're not expecting that loss yesterday and the happiness.
00:56:20 So between him and Nonana, I'm sure this will sit again.
00:56:24 Look at what you can do to help us revive our spirits and remain loyal supporters.
00:56:31 All right. Let's see how it goes for Manchester United.
00:56:34 Meanwhile, Arsenal is still on in top form because they beat PSV.
00:56:40 And well, let's see how it also pans out in the English Premier League.
00:56:44 But thank you so much for your time, Mr Lukaku.
00:56:46 He is the NDC's parliamentary candidate-elect for South Tonga.
00:56:51 We've been talking about the major news on the various portals, Graphic Online, My Joy Online.
00:56:57 And we just touched on that one from the BBC.
00:57:02 There's more coming up in sports.
00:57:04 Mubarak Harunah is standing by with the latest. Do stay with us.
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00:57:48 Kwame Nkrumah. Like I said at the beginning we'll be having a conversation on his legacy and we'll be
00:57:53 speaking to the chairperson of the CPP on what the party is doing to keep that legacy alive and
00:57:59 whether or not it's been able to live up to the expectation of its founder. You want to stay for
00:58:04 that. Meanwhile to work or stay in school Michael kept tossing this coin till he settled on working
00:58:12 so he can offer his family a good life. This was also a sacrifice he made because his dream of
00:58:17 becoming an IT expert hangs in the balance but a zealous Michael tells Hana Odame this is not a
00:58:25 factor for him in the pursuit of that dream. He explained why in today's edition of our Stories of Hope.
00:58:30 Michael rides a tricycle popularly known as Pragya in Ghana. The three-wheeled four-seater
00:58:43 yellow sprayed vehicle with black trampoline windows is what puts food on the table for
00:58:49 two children and a wife. He earns about 300 cedis weekly. He is comfortable for now.
00:58:56 What I've decided to do is to save between 250 to 300 cedis every week.
00:59:13 Michael however didn't set out to be a tricycle rider. He was a student of the National Institute
00:59:20 of Information Technology and IIT. A path he chose so he could become an IT expert.
00:59:28 I didn't forget about school and time. I only diverted so that I could earn some money.
00:59:39 When I can afford to pay my tuition and take care of myself and my family then I'll return to the
00:59:45 classroom. I don't know when but I'm certain that I'll continue my education.
00:59:50 Along the way however he could not afford to pay the tuition. With a rising level of
01:00:02 unemployment he questioned whether he should indeed invest in his education then.
01:00:07 Michael said he was forced to make a quick decision. Get money first then later pursue his
01:00:14 desired career. I realized at one point that I could not afford the tuition and I didn't have
01:00:25 substantial financial support so I decided to take one day job before returning to school.
01:00:37 A discussion with his elder brother resulted in the purchase of Pragya which he began operating
01:00:43 at Kaswa. With time however he got sidetracked and settled on the profit from his job.
01:00:51 He has tried to save money but family expenses have kept him from going back to the classroom.
01:00:58 The plan now is to work and save. Okay I'm forgetting mom but yesterday I diverted.
01:01:05 I didn't forget about school entirely. I only diverted so that I could earn some money.
01:01:13 When I can afford to pay my tuition and take care of myself and my family then I'll return to the
01:01:18 classroom. He says many of his friends sometimes get shocked when they see him riding the tricycle
01:01:25 but Michael maintains he's not bothered because he has a plan.
01:01:30 As for me I'm not shy at all because I know what I want to achieve. Now always give it my all.
01:01:46 I'm not sure if I can do it. I'm not sure if I can do it.
01:01:50 I'm not sure if I can do it. I'm not sure if I can do it.
01:01:54 At the end of the day I'm not disappointed. He is advising young people not to completely
01:02:00 shun menial jobs and other jobs deemed as low class but to have a plan and work towards it.
01:02:14 Everyone who is motivated can achieve anything and everything just as I'm doing. It is important
01:02:21 to work for yourself. Don't rely on others to help you. You may get disappointed.
01:02:25 Hana Odame for JOINIS.
01:02:31 [Music]
01:02:57 I see them on TV. I see them on social media. I never had the chance to see
01:03:01 them in person. I get to do that today. Hello. Good to see you. Hello Joy. It's such a pleasure
01:03:08 having you here. I have enjoyed every bit of the scenery trust me and I told them it's such a
01:03:15 beautiful experience for me because I didn't grow up knowing Nkrumah. So I get to learn about him
01:03:21 and I get to have at least the best first-hand interaction I can with who he was and what he
01:03:26 stood for. But for you as his children I can imagine what it feels like for you to be here
01:03:31 today. Do you mind sharing with us? Oh absolutely and we've been here many times but this is the
01:03:38 one of the first times let's say for me it's the second to be in this redeveloped and restructured
01:03:45 Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum and I'm encouraged. I'm happy with what I see because
01:03:54 precisely what you said is the reason why we need a good place for the young generation to come
01:04:00 and be reintroduced to Osagie for Kwame Nkrumah, what he stood for, what he tried to do for Ghana
01:04:08 and Africa and Africans all over the world. So this is a place of learning and I think that's
01:04:13 the whole purpose and the reason why I am happy and encouraged it's because I know that people
01:04:20 who come here would be inspired. I am inspired. Of course there's the personal side and the
01:04:28 political but I'm inspired just coming here paying homage to not just to the man but to what he stood
01:04:37 for because he was a mortal man obviously but he also stood for a vision to redeem Africa and
01:04:46 Africans and I think that's something we need to keep on remembering. What about you Sekou?
01:04:52 Well I mean going back to your introduction I mean you said it you're too young to know Nkrumah
01:04:57 and when Nkrumah was overthrown I was only two years old I think Samia was five, Kenan was six
01:05:02 so let me speak for myself I didn't know anything about Nkrumah so I got to know Nkrumah from
01:05:09 reading books not as a kid but when I grew up a bit especially when we returned to Ghana so I was
01:05:14 like 11, 12 so that's really was my getting to know Nkrumah reading the books but interesting
01:05:21 for me I started reading books that were critical of Nkrumah before I started reading books by Nkrumah
01:05:28 and books that promoted Nkrumah so I always think that I'm very objective in that but I think what
01:05:33 Samia was saying earlier it's important to have places like that that really not only promotes
01:05:38 Nkrumah but gives people the idea of where he's coming from what his vision was so the decolonization
01:05:43 the pan-african union and of course that shows socialist path it's something that I struggled
01:05:48 with for a long time because in today's world socialism is not so attractive but look we have
01:05:55 to look at the totality of Nkrumah and then we can decide what to do moving forward so he said he was
01:06:00 a Marxist intellectual we can't ignore these things about Nkrumah that's what he represented
01:06:04 but again also you know the Muslim was built in 1992 this yes Nkrumah was first buried I mean he
01:06:11 was buried in Guinea then buried in Nkrufo his hometown during Achampon's time and then during
01:06:16 the Rawlings time this uh the PNDC not NDC right so sometimes we also have to give credit to
01:06:23 PNDC then even if you don't like Rawlings or whatever but it was his time that he built this
01:06:30 place and then of course as I agree with Samia that if the present government NPP led by Nana
01:06:37 so if they've built on what someone else has done I think it's a good thing but for me personally
01:06:43 it was just one aspect that I kind of confused me a bit and that was I wouldn't know the reason the
01:06:52 NPP are thinking of or thought of building up renovating this place and making it better than
01:06:58 it was I hear it was a bit neglected right but the point here is that if you're talking about Nkrumah
01:07:05 you know professor Mills declared the 21st as the founders day singular so the idea was that and
01:07:13 that I think many people think I thought I'm very objective but in this one I think Nkrumah is the
01:07:18 father he led Ghana to independence he was Ghana's first president so that again comes to the first
01:07:23 July removed as a public holiday I mean we had a Ghanaian as head of state not the queen so you
01:07:29 see that was is very significant and then again when you create fourth August as founders then
01:07:34 plural then that also confuses people because of course Nkrumah is not the only one who contributed
01:07:40 to independence and in fact people were there before him in fact they called him from the UK
01:07:44 but they are fine with his capacity and his hard work and in fact he overtook them because simply
01:07:51 because of their hard work but the point is that so when you do these things for me it's like
01:07:56 you're confusing because the history is one so if I get you right and I'm sure you're not the only
01:08:01 one because quite a lot of people were like okay because we thought that the agenda was not to
01:08:07 focus so much on Nkrumah make it more generalistic as this government will make us believe and then
01:08:13 all of a sudden all this beautiful edifice for Nkrumah what exactly are you communicating is
01:08:17 that what it is yes I think it's more or less yeah but I think we are what we are what I would
01:08:23 like to see and what I'm happy about is that Ghanaians can reach consensus on what is good
01:08:29 for us because that's the way forward we might have different political orientations different
01:08:35 ideologies I'm sure you want to hear more on that and see more on that we just had to bring back
01:08:42 that conversation I had earlier with Samia and Sekou Nkrumah where they disagree at some point
01:08:48 on the legacy of their father but you just heard Sekou talking about his confusion especially when
01:08:55 it comes to the decision by this government to refurbish their Kwame Nkrumah memorial park and
01:09:01 taking Founders Day from today which is Dr Kwame Nkrumah's birthday to the 4th of August he thinks
01:09:08 that the the two don't work together and so he's a bit confused about that we'll be delving more
01:09:12 into that I've been joined by Manafreem Poma she's the chairperson of the Convention People's Party
01:09:19 I'm sure you know by now that that's the party Dr Kwame Nkrumah founded after leaving the UGCC
01:09:25 we will be she will be telling us what the CPP has been doing to keep his legacy alive
01:09:30 but before that I'm sure you're also aware that today there's a protest by the Democracy Hub
01:09:37 we understand that they carried out their plan but the police has arrested some of the protesters
01:09:43 you may be aware also that the police released a statement asking members of the public not to join
01:09:49 the protest because it will be an unlawful one let's head on to the phone lines now and speak to
01:09:55 Dr HSE Khanku who is there that protest for us for some updates good morning to you so
01:10:00 are you able to confirm this arrest and tell us more about what you've been observing
01:10:06 as the protesters masked up
01:10:08 hello
01:10:14 hello do we have doc on
01:10:21 hello well we seem to have a challenge with that line but we will be showing you some videos
01:10:29 shortly where the protesters indeed carried out their plan to mass up at the 37 military hospital
01:10:38 area their plan was to protest for three days from today and to picket around the flagstaff house
01:10:48 which is the seat of the presidency and so we will be bringing you more on that do we have him on the
01:10:54 line now please well we seem to have a challenge with this line we'll try and rectify that shortly
01:11:03 and get back to you but let me say a very good morning to you it's a pleasure to have you here
01:11:08 uh it's been a while also what have you been up to well um
01:11:17 we prepare we're getting ready and uh as you might be aware um cvp is getting ready to
01:11:24 join the race and some of us are have have our boots on you have your boots on there we'll get
01:11:34 back to that i'm told that we have um hse kanku on the line hello good morning if you can hear me
01:11:39 we understand there has been an arrest can you confirm that and share with us what you've also
01:11:45 been observing hello
01:11:54 well hello
01:12:06 i can hear a lot of background noise i can hear the sirens blaring but i can't hear
01:12:14 um our man on the ground dr hse kanku so we'll try and see if we will be able to raise him to
01:12:21 give get us an update but what you're seeing now is videos that we captured earlier of people who
01:12:26 had masked up to participate in that demonstration uh the ambulance service was there and um
01:12:33 you can see the police also on the other side of of that stretch around 37 is it and uh
01:12:43 we understand now that there has been some arrests so
01:12:46 we will be touching base with our man on the ground to get details of that
01:12:50 well we'll try one one last time and if you can hear me hello good morning doc
01:13:02 uh can you confirm these arrests and tell us what you've been observing
01:13:06 um
01:13:08 well unfortunately technology is not helping us i'll just leave it to the technical team to sort
01:13:20 this out once it is done and we are very sure of reaching dr hse kanku i will bring you the very
01:13:27 latest on that but let me come back into the studio and speak to the chairperson of the convention's
01:13:33 people's party who was just telling us how the party is gearing up uh looking forward to 2024
01:13:39 wonderful uh but isn't it a bit too late in the day we've seen the ndc put up their flag bearer
01:13:45 the mpp is of course doing that november is just around the corner where they hope to
01:13:51 settle on a final flag bearer so what are the cpp's timelines our timelines were a little earlier
01:14:00 um we're trying to do the flag first before the organization because you know organizing
01:14:06 political party at the base has become quite expensive however we've also come to the
01:14:12 conclusion that without really organizing the base we'll just have the best policies
01:14:19 we'll have the people with the most patriotic hearts however we will not be able to get the
01:14:26 the the ganian will not benefit from what we are going to have today the discussions that we'll be
01:14:31 having today the legacy that we are talking about so in the process what we have done is to ensure
01:14:38 that no matter what happens cpp gets its base ready so we are now building the base you see
01:14:46 one thing we want to do i want to remind people i mean pretty like you is that sometime in the
01:14:53 79 we our flag bearer came in four months before the elections and we won it was from no nothing
01:15:04 because we had the best structure on the ground that does that structure still exist though that's
01:15:09 exactly my point so you're now building this so you want to build the base first but the truth
01:15:13 of the matter is that when you make it like a uh an intellectual thing it becomes like building the
01:15:18 big but it is you and i is the youth it is the people it is the very people that today we have
01:15:25 as our our frustrated youth that we are asking to take positions in the party that is a huge
01:15:33 difference we are asking youth to take positions in the party because the youth of today are already
01:15:40 frustrated and that is why we believe that it is important to you see even what you just said
01:15:48 the mpp is over and that gives us the advantage you see all those young people registering
01:15:53 they are registering to vote for whom for the same situation that they find themselves in but we are
01:16:01 giving them now an opportunity to take the power into their own hands exactly as they did in the
01:16:09 in the early 60s or i would say early 50s late 50s for us to get the independence that is exactly
01:16:15 what the youth of this country did so in as much as it looks like oh it's been cpp because the
01:16:21 fourth republic has not witnessed anything cpp the only time they witnessed us was under the name of
01:16:28 nc i've forgotten the name that was in the us but the fourth republic our party cpp which was
01:16:37 criminalized which was banned which was not allowed to take part under the name of cpp
01:16:44 joined ndc so the history is clear it joined ndc and the ndc took our base because our father who
01:16:52 was then the flag bearer became the running mate to our late father uh rollins so ndc is base as
01:17:01 you see today all most of it was cpp space interesting i i just uh wait to see how the
01:17:08 ndc reacts to that but that's that trust me the truth yeah but but but the issue about identifying
01:17:14 with young people um how how are you doing this because i'm asking because i sit here to do the
01:17:21 news i sit here to interact with young people all the time and i haven't seen any clearest
01:17:27 indication yet at least on the four when it comes to how the cpp is identifying with young people
01:17:36 you just heard about democracy have been on a protest they actually called for political parties
01:17:41 and other people who believe that the country must be reorganized that we must make a statement to
01:17:47 join them it appears that the cpp is quite silent on issues that affect these very young people
01:17:53 you're talking about one of the very things see there's a huge i believe in demonstration
01:17:59 i believe that people should be able to voice whatever they feel i believe that the police
01:18:04 should also make sure that there's peace and sanity however i'm one of those people that
01:18:10 believe that we must do things that make the most impact we are as we talk today
01:18:17 when you want to join the military the police or any of the services you still have to pay your
01:18:23 hundred gana i'm sorry you still the youth who do not have the money still have to pay hundred gana
01:18:31 and they end up paying this for forms yes forms they end up paying 500 so today they still have
01:18:38 to pay so much money and still not get admitted into the into these institutions you understand
01:18:43 and nobody is doing anything but we spoke when it was necessary as we see today the fingerprints
01:18:50 that were taken what are the points so i have come to the conclusion that in as much as
01:18:54 demonstrations are important what is very important is to be able to get the power
01:19:00 and we can't get this power if you are just going around addressing these issues because
01:19:06 we don't have the base so we have put all our energy in trying to get the base if we have
01:19:13 executives in our polling stations if you have executives in our electoral areas they will be
01:19:21 able to carry our policies out there when we speak about important issues in ghana they don't get
01:19:27 anywhere because as you all know everything in ghana has been monetized you understand so before
01:19:33 you can do anything you need to even bring people on the streets you have to organize people organize
01:19:38 water organize food organize transportation so we cpp just as a surgical date have have come to the
01:19:45 conclusion that we need to work with the youth of the country in organization because this organization
01:19:52 that decides everything and it was the organization that made ndc become wind power because they joined
01:19:59 with cpp so for me um we our we have tried we have the samyas that have tried we have the abu sakaraj
01:20:08 that have tried we have the indonesia everybody but we have come to the conclusion that we need
01:20:14 to organize that is why we can confidently say that coming 2024 based on what we have put together
01:20:21 using technology and using innovation and using uh the very uh base and getting to the 40 000
01:20:31 polling stations and almost 7 000 electoral area with our 17 people each at that polling station
01:20:38 and expecting 800 000 executives which is what we intend to do we believe that with 800 000
01:20:46 executives out there every good statement that will come from us would then be able to resonate
01:20:52 and echo to the very people because truly speaking cpp you remember what he just said that before he
01:21:01 even read about his father he had read so many books negative books books that has spoken he
01:21:07 said critical of his father i mean and most of them are negative i'm sorry today you and i are
01:21:13 talking about legacy of an of a man of the millennium what what is that you see the joke there
01:21:21 this very same person that we we vilified today is the man of the millennium so what it simply
01:21:29 me of africa and who who did that is it not the same um evaders our colonial evaders who actually
01:21:38 used who with africa was able to make him the man of the millennium within a thousand years right so
01:21:44 when i when when you say critical critical of what today if i as i sit here you can you can only when
01:21:52 you talk about legacy you can only speak about legacy when you talk about legacy you're talking
01:21:58 about something that has impacted society you're talking about something that you expect young
01:22:02 people to follow the footstep of you understand we'll be delving more into that and and delving
01:22:09 into how the cpp is helping in keeping that legacy but you just spoke about demonstrations
01:22:16 but it's interesting that nkrumah was one that many will consider a deviant right he was even
01:22:21 arrested and positive action yeah so so i mean there's a there's a there's a part where
01:22:27 demonstrations play in the story and whether it was a form of a one-man protest or he carrying
01:22:33 the entire nation on his shoulders and getting the support of the people there was something about he
01:22:39 not conforming to the to the times if i may say but there's something happening today as well and i
01:22:46 have to go back to dr hs ikanku who is there monitoring that protest for us you democracy have
01:22:55 planned a protest a three-day one and was hoping to start today the police sent a notice to say
01:23:01 do not go ahead as plant this is unlawful and um he joins us uh with more we understand that
01:23:08 some arrests have been made and the police is making more arrests are you able to confirm that
01:23:12 and also give us a quick update on what's happening yeah hello yes yeah i'm sorry i didn't get that
01:23:22 what was the question again i was asking you to confirm the the arrests by the police and to tell
01:23:27 us what you've been observing so far yes um we we have been here this morning and uh at the time
01:23:34 that we got here was just the police were present but over time some of the protesters that started
01:23:39 coming of course um eventually the convener uh beckover was here with some of his other
01:23:44 uh members of the of the crew uh they have indeed been arrested immediately uh they got here just
01:23:50 took a few more minutes and then the police zoomed into action and when we spoke to them
01:23:55 their reason was that well they are not supposed to be yet in the first place because the protest
01:24:00 is illegal so they're not even going to allow them to do anything at all and so on that ground
01:24:05 they will be arrested so uh that is what happened each of them i mean some of them tried to resist
01:24:11 but the police overpowered them and eventually uh i mean every single person who is here once
01:24:17 they realize you're a protester um you you would be arrested and then put into the uh police van
01:24:23 uh and and eventually wick wicks away even as we are talking because there's some level of police
01:24:28 presence still here but a majority of the people uh have been taken away all right when you say
01:24:34 the police overpowered them just paint a mental picture for us how did this happen was it physical
01:24:39 did they have to resort to the use of uh any weapons or anything of the kind yeah sorry there's
01:24:46 a bit of noise here so you might have to say that again i was asking um you said that the some some
01:24:51 of the protesters resisted arrest and the police had to overpower them and i'm just asking you to
01:24:57 paint a mental picture of what you mean by that where did the police use physical force or did
01:25:02 the police resort to the use of weapons no i mean if i got that right uh no weapons were used by by
01:25:10 the police i mean they just um if you if you try not to get arrested they just push you um into
01:25:16 into the bath or into the vehicle so i mean it wasn't uh i don't think anybody got hurt or any
01:25:21 weapons were used on anybody anybody they were just insisting that they needed to do the protest
01:25:27 and then on the other hand the security was saying that no you cannot do this so that that is what i
01:25:32 mean ensued but i mean eventually uh they they were they were taken in i mean before uh big oliver
01:25:39 because gomar was arrested though i spoke to him and i i tried to find out uh why they were going
01:25:45 ahead despite those statements are filed yesterday and he said as far as he's concerned uh that that
01:25:51 that prevents them from doing the protest and so he's going to go ahead and and do it because he
01:25:58 feels it has to demonstrate uh that they have the citizens of the constitutional right to do a
01:26:04 demonstration they do not need the permission of the police to do this so he was very very very
01:26:11 clear-minded about it and he said that was why he had come uh to continue with the process
01:26:16 and finally do we know where they are being taken to these people who've been arrested
01:26:22 i'm sorry say that again do we know where they are being taken to
01:26:29 oh well the the the police officer i spoke to said they were taking them to the uh the headquarters
01:26:36 and we try to find out is this the police headquarters or the greater tri-regional
01:26:41 police headquarters but he just said uh headquarters and that from there uh he would
01:26:46 they would take it from there he didn't want to say much but he just said they're taking
01:26:49 them to headquarters and then they'll take it from there all right thank you that's our doctor
01:26:52 hs he can't quiz our man on the ground giving us the latest on the occupy jill ob house
01:26:57 demonstration and if you just joined us the update is that the convener oliva baka voma war
01:27:03 and some other protesters who masked up around the 37 station area have been arrested by the
01:27:11 ghana police service according to the police service this demonstration or the gathering was
01:27:18 illegal in the first place because of an injunction application on it and they had served
01:27:23 the group through its lawyers and so they were not expecting that they will mass up there we'll
01:27:29 follow up on this and update you as well we'll continue our conversation on the legacy of dr
01:27:34 kwame nkrumah the man who is hailed globally um but uh as you may be aware there are those who
01:27:40 are also quite critical of some of his ideologies and like they say what he ended up becoming
01:27:49 and and i'll say that because in my conversation with siku and samia who are children of dr kwame
01:27:57 kumar by the way if you're not aware sickle believes that yes his father started off with
01:28:05 something but ended up as he went along for him seeing what was with what fit best at the time
01:28:15 and so the the concerns about the one party state their concerns about um whether or not he was
01:28:22 democratic or autocratic uh their their concerns about whether he allowed other people to share
01:28:29 their views samia thinks that look he wasn't autocratic because everything went through
01:28:35 parliament but siku says yeah parliament that was majority of his party it ends up being the
01:28:40 same way and he didn't allow others to participate but for for you as the cpp it's been a struggle
01:28:46 for you since kwame krumah was overthrown um you just referenced how you had at a point had to
01:28:54 join the national democratic congress and you believe that that was where your war started
01:28:59 losing the base and the support that you had but there's also an interesting point about
01:29:05 whether or not the cpp is truly independent do you still hold ties to the ndc
01:29:14 you mean as in policy or as in as a party as a party do you still have ties with the ndc
01:29:25 as a party we have ties with government we have ties with um npp ndc and gagani
01:29:34 i mean that question is one of the very things that people use to ensure that members do not
01:29:40 join the party so that's why honestly speaking now as a woman and when you are a woman there's
01:29:46 something that you can connect with that the other people might not and what do i mean it is very easy
01:29:54 to just live on our past glory and forget the fact that young people might not necessarily
01:30:04 understand or even connect with us and that is why we are just at the grassroots working to get
01:30:10 our organizers at the base and let me tell you you see what siku was saying if you listen to
01:30:16 siku very well then now i understand where he's coming from because he read the trick the things
01:30:22 that were critical of his father before he even actually read his father's own version so for
01:30:29 that reason he might have grown up thinking that the things one of the very things that people have
01:30:36 said that he was thinking of a one-party state today what is wrong do you know that after nkoma
01:30:42 my father was part of a champon as well do you know after nkoma we had what we called um
01:30:49 the same concept was proposed by by by champon do you know that unigov unigov is a union government
01:30:58 a government where we all become one to fight one have an agenda for the nation and be able to
01:31:06 follow that agenda and make sure doesn't mean that you become a head of state for life what
01:31:10 it simply means is that we because of where we are standing and the fact that the colonial invaders
01:31:16 had a plan we need to come together and clearly the world has shown that all other countries
01:31:23 that actually followed that path that we today singapore and everywhere that we think that
01:31:29 they have done magic even china is because they've stayed there for that long because they had
01:31:34 policies that they followed it is not because we practice democracy that we don't understand
01:31:39 osage for years everything that he believed in people believed in it and people were in
01:31:48 parliament as a result of voting the vote set for him so if you realize that most of his ideals at
01:31:56 that time were being implemented and you think it's because you on the opposition did not have
01:32:03 any maturity and you have so much minority and you are criticizing it on the negative side that
01:32:08 the person had too much power where is power with the same thing that we cpp feel we think that
01:32:13 today should have been the um the day for the foundation but look at what we are experiencing
01:32:18 today today which is the day that there is no doubt that osage food was the is the founder of
01:32:26 ghana there is no doubt that the party that led osage food for you and i to have his legacy discussed
01:32:35 is cpp i mean these kind of jokes are the very reason why ghana can't move forward we have where
01:32:42 we are because we have here a nice osage food all we are doing is talking about sally for sally for
01:32:48 sally for forgetting that osage food is as a result of a government osage food is as a result
01:32:55 of a people that did what was right with his vision when our father the current president
01:33:04 came in and put his presidency on the line and said that if he does not fight galapse
01:33:11 he would give up his presidency today you and i know that galam say is even worse that we took it
01:33:17 over simply you know why because in a smash actually had a vision he didn't have the people
01:33:22 in his government that will support him to do what was right so galam say is worse however
01:33:28 osage food had a vision yet he had people like the producers like the the boatswales like the
01:33:34 vitamins like all these people that were able to support him like the support command comments that
01:33:40 worked so hard as young people that believed in his vision and made ghana work and when the the
01:33:46 colonial invaders realized where ghana was going and that we were able to have over seven over all
01:33:53 these factories that we did they realized that in that path the reason for which the korean master
01:34:00 came to ghana and the invaders came to this country must be clearly understood it is not
01:34:06 that they were bringing the money to make ghana work it is because ghana has something that they
01:34:11 needed so when they came in here after the coup after the uh the independence was hard for clearly
01:34:19 knew that after political independence the only thing that makes sense is economic independence
01:34:24 that was what was promised the youth of ghana so for that reason we accelerated the growth by
01:34:30 focusing on the very things that would make it happen that means the states must be rich the
01:34:37 states must have the resources so most factories we had ghana every factory that we had in this
01:34:42 country was a state-owned industry to ensure that the ghanian had jobs had accommodation
01:34:50 had had everything that was necessary but what happened in the process the ghanian ended up today
01:34:57 with the ghana we have today when the colonial invaders realized that if they did not send us out
01:35:03 if they did not vilify or sergeant for at that time put the fear in his followers and
01:35:11 criminalize the party and burn the party and make sure that nobody mentioned the name cpp and let
01:35:18 everybody go into hiding if they didn't do that the legacy would have continued and ghana today
01:35:24 would have been a different story but because they did that all the factories producing the food that
01:35:30 you and i consume the globe the the the uh tv radio everything matches toothpick everything
01:35:37 even the jute the thing that really gets to me today is that coco is still one of our main exports
01:35:44 of this country and however even the jute bag that we put the coco in is still imported now
01:35:52 my pretty the truth of the matter is that we can't talk about osagifo's legacy and not talk about cpp
01:36:02 the moment you talk about sally's legacy and leave cpp we would continue to have this country
01:36:08 and what we would end up doing is having a father that we all love and yet very soon even his very
01:36:15 name will be vilified even the textbooks are changing even the place that he's been laid
01:36:21 if there hadn't been some few fight was going to be changed even today the only reason why
01:36:27 that place has been renovated is because of tourism so you agree with seku that um that the
01:36:34 party's the government is sending confused signals about about who in krumah is when they take away
01:36:41 founders day from his birthday or from him but still want to honor him with the refurbishment
01:36:46 of the memorial park they don't have a choice they didn't have a choice i can tell you an
01:36:51 authority that even when they wanted the plan they had for the memorial park changed because
01:36:57 the world bank insisted on what is happening i can tell you because and what's the question is so to
01:37:02 you know why what day did they launch the um the park do you do you remember yeah it was uh sometime
01:37:09 in july fourth july do you know fourth july fourth july is america's independence day the day they
01:37:16 became a sovereign state for that matter we had our independent our sovereign state a republic day
01:37:22 on the fourth the first of july which was a weekend and it was within that weekend they
01:37:30 could have done it that weekend but they did it three four days after three days could it have
01:37:36 been just mere coincidence because we're told that we're told that they were hard pressed for time to
01:37:41 even meet the timeline and the the government had insisted that they try and meet the timeline
01:37:45 and you really believe coincidence in that matter when a whole nation when you are running a nation
01:37:51 you work with such coincidence when your own republic you are a sovereign state because
01:37:56 somebody somebody fought for you become a republic a state that gave you that sovereignty and on the
01:38:02 day that you you abolish the in there is no public holiday in ghana anymore first july has been
01:38:08 abolished it's not a commemorative day we don't celebrate first july you understand and then on
01:38:15 the first july you leave first july now you come and honor a man who brought the first july that
01:38:23 you are benefiting from that you call yourself a president and you tell me that is because two
01:38:28 days interval that you were pressed for time you know something here is the truth osage fu is an
01:38:35 ideology osage fu has become more than a human being that is dead that is why you see that he
01:38:42 never dies and that is why there's a statement that he says even after his death that the torch
01:38:47 that he has laid will never die and that he's asking us us all of us to continue today you and
01:38:53 i are discussing because when you talk about the african personality what he embodies he brought
01:39:00 us to act to remind us of our capabilities of who we are as human beings that you and i as a ganian
01:39:08 have been brought into this world endowed with a certain attribute that makes us capable of
01:39:15 governing ourselves you were given birth by your mother i have given birth to my children here in
01:39:20 ghana and we are supposed to give them the best thing it means access to education quality education
01:39:26 access to food and access to accommodation and access to quality life and access to be able to
01:39:33 live freely in this country move to us move anywhere and come back with confidence as you
01:39:40 an african personality and that is what is embodied in osage is a cpp waiting for that person who would
01:39:47 probably do the magic for you bring back the i know you said you've been working at the grassroots
01:39:54 level to try and mobilize the numbers but we all admit that this man was a man of charisma
01:40:01 look you read his books you read his speeches and you know that this man had foresight what we are
01:40:09 going through today he even spoke about it was as if he said prophets i mean i don't want to sound
01:40:16 religious but it was as if he had he had a sense of what was going to happen and to be honest
01:40:25 you don't get that in everybody is the cpp looking for that person are you on a search
01:40:32 for someone with his charisma and ideals this is what the cpp believes and this is what i believe
01:40:40 that you as you sit here right you have what was said before has every ganian youth especially
01:40:48 the youth of this country has what was said before has the difference though is that we need to
01:40:55 ignite that in us and continue to live and do what must be done osage for today is being remembered
01:41:02 i'm sure there are several such efforts out there in this country but the truth is that he got the
01:41:07 opportunity because the youth of the country at that time joined force to with him to make it
01:41:13 happen they joined force with him to fight him they joined force with him to fight with him
01:41:19 when he was at book when he was at the offshore fort it was the book on boys it was a market
01:41:24 women it was a young boys and girls who we call veranda boys who actually went and and and fought
01:41:32 for him and when they realized the colonial invaders realized that there was so much power
01:41:36 behind him they left him you today if you have opportunity i'm sure there's so many things you
01:41:42 can do let me tell the youth of ghana no magic is going to happen until you create the magic
01:41:49 there is magic but the magic must be created by we the people so i'm asking every ganian
01:41:56 as you hear in my voice today star 920 star 277 hash listen to me again star 920 star
01:42:07 277 hash whatever you're doing take time and take that number and dial it that's all you need to do
01:42:13 you know why until you get up until you write it it will never be written until you get up it's not
01:42:21 going to be done or surgical is in you or surgical is in me let's have or surgical by definition
01:42:30 means selfless dedication or cipher sheful by definition means putting the the welfare
01:42:39 of people at the center of every policy you make so that segment will not be sitting there
01:42:47 so that when you think of affordable housing you would think of the squatters and the majority of
01:42:55 the young people who have to pay almost all their salary a year's salary or two years salary before
01:43:02 they can get one month one year accommodation that is what a surgical is about so there's not
01:43:08 going to be any magic if you the youth of this country do not get up and join the cpp with the
01:43:14 spirits that is in you the osage for spirits and let's go get these people from that place
01:43:21 we can go and occupy that jubilee house you need to go and be in that jubilee house to be able to
01:43:28 make the difference because you must use the resources of the people to affect the lives of
01:43:34 the people right so so interesting so there are a few points to address here um when we talk about
01:43:44 dr kwame nkrumah and you talk about all the people who have tried yourself the party samia herself
01:43:53 she was representing you in parliament she lost her seat i found out from her she was hoping to
01:43:57 go back to parliament she said yes i asked on the ticket of the cpp now here's the answer she gave
01:44:02 me i know what's the answer i know i really want to repeat she she believes that your party is not
01:44:08 independent she believes that in fact that whole concept of smaller parties aligning to either the
01:44:17 npp or ndc is actually not not not a lie she she is samia this is samia okay she belongs to your
01:44:26 party and you actually won with that party she won on the ticket of your party and she's the
01:44:31 last person you would expect to leave the party her father started but she doesn't believe is
01:44:37 still what it is is is a lot of money joining your party for election 2024 before i answer that let
01:44:45 me say something you are here in ghana i've been in the us i'm back if you ask me united states
01:44:52 of america uk every place is much better looking than ghana so maybe we should close down ghana
01:44:58 maybe we should or we should have individuals who can also determine that god did not create me
01:45:07 and make a mistake and for that reason i am going to come back to my country and contribute and do
01:45:14 something and make sure that my children and my grandchildren have a better chance that is a
01:45:19 decision you make cpp yes over the years and i gave you a reason i told you that before samia came
01:45:25 cpp in the fourth republic joined ndc and ndc took our steps samia had a choice he had just come to
01:45:33 the country she's just a good heart like the father but she did not understand the dynamics
01:45:38 of the politics that we are sitting i understand the dynamics of the politics that is why i'm not
01:45:42 saying all everything i'm telling you that we are going to the grassroots to make sure we have the
01:45:47 legs because we have the best stretch table but there's nobody out there the human beings there
01:45:52 the moment you do anything they come out and the whole thing crumples so unless you get the seats
01:45:57 the legs nothing is going to happen samia won on our tickets and samia was one of the best people
01:46:03 in parliament within the area but she ran again no you know why because when she's told
01:46:08 ndc people did everything against her and make sure that they brought people in and put it against
01:46:15 samia you know um is an instrument team joining cpp i have no clue however if you ask me i let you
01:46:23 martin is a very fine gentleman cpp is organizing cpp by december i would want you to call me here
01:46:33 in december after we have finished with our base organization and at that point the story might be
01:46:39 a little different just a little martin have plans of joining the cpp are you aware of that
01:46:43 has he spoken to you absolutely not are you aware if he's speaking to evergreen street
01:46:51 ever has told me not so i have no clue where that information is coming by jesus the truth
01:46:57 and then as i keeps telling you it's a fine gentleman cpp does the cpp want to have alan
01:47:04 tremanting plus more we want to have alan shaman sing one and a half ken kenny japon if you also
01:47:10 feel like he's not being treated properly we want to have every anybody and all the other
01:47:16 ndc even and dr duffo we were expecting that you'll come to her because as long as cpp has
01:47:22 the best policies for this country there is no doubt about that next time i would like to go
01:47:27 through the policies with you it is not by chance that we had over 400 factories within a very short
01:47:33 time it is not by chance that we had a cosmo and we also had the atomic energy because of vision
01:47:41 atomic energy was going to be nuclear power so that today the industrialization would have been
01:47:47 able to establish it is not by chance that we had the agricultural process where we we we just didn't
01:47:55 focus on agriculture but also focused on the process of selling you know that currently when
01:48:01 the the minister wanted to make sure that to establish the fact that food was an abundance
01:48:06 he he brought food to the ministry to sell at the minister of agriculture i don't want to mention
01:48:12 his name because he i don't know is he still in the race or he's still in the race so let me leave
01:48:16 it like that because i don't want to be biased but remember that that's what happened we already
01:48:21 have a food distribution system in this country there was already a food and processing distribution
01:48:26 system we had all the giga factories that were processing food cnpp has the policy called um
01:48:36 what do you call it free to no not just a free trade uh private sector being the the engine of
01:48:42 growth it sounds brilliant on paper okay because when you work everywhere everybody's in some kind
01:48:49 of trading but private sector if you you need to do something your parents are poor and they can't
01:48:55 help you and they are living on borrowed money would you be able to get the money to even go
01:48:59 to the university would you be able to set up the business you want to set up so the country itself
01:49:05 must have some wealth like china and other places that we see so that our private sector can work
01:49:11 so when they did the 1d 1f i'm telling them today why it seemed to have failed and owned by the
01:49:17 chinese and other companies because ghana itself is on borrowed money ghana does not have money
01:49:24 to give its own citizens to be able to support them to own the factories so if you open your
01:49:29 talks to free trade liberal trading and you think you are being liberal and you are asking everybody
01:49:36 to come in because you are neoliberal policy we believe that the state itself must have some
01:49:41 wealth that means that our gold our all must be properly negotiated so that we have a higher
01:49:47 percentage of it we must own at least 60 more or percent more of our own gold we must own 60
01:49:54 percent more of our all otherwise we leave it there we must leave it there to rot because only
01:49:59 because better anyway so what we have today my dear is a country that has no direction it's a
01:50:05 country with vision less leadership finally we've got just about a minute to go but finally what is
01:50:12 the cpp doing to preserve the legacy of dr kwame kruma and and i'm saying this because you see
01:50:17 you're reaching to the grassroots the young people the youth but how practically are you keeping his
01:50:23 legacies we've just spoken about his ideas which transcend his generation how are you hoping to
01:50:28 keep that alive we are hoping two things we are hoping first of all to keep it alive by taking
01:50:33 over power and that is why for me because there's nothing else we don't we are not a fraternity
01:50:38 just to have a study for celebrated every year or study food will not be happy in his grave until
01:50:42 the day ghana becomes the vision the ghana of today is the ghana of the colonial invaders vision
01:50:48 where we focus and deal and buy everything foreign and do not produce anything local we cannot make
01:50:56 it our dollar will not work we'll be going to imf it's a simple thing today as i'm talking to you
01:51:02 we are going to when we get in corfu we are going we are hoping that at least a million people would
01:51:09 be going to corfu every every year for pilgrimage that is the legacy the things that cbp is looking
01:51:14 at so that if we are not celebrating him as a founder we will see the effects of his legacy
01:51:19 by going to corfu in corfu's hotel should be for every hotel around that vicinity should always
01:51:24 be for you and your children should desire that one place that you must go before you become an
01:51:29 adult is that you must go and see where sagefoo was born and where the sagefoo died he's the only
01:51:34 person who was born and buried in the same place that he was born the same place that he was giving
01:51:39 birth to that's the same place that he was buried until he was brought back to i mean yes but that's
01:51:45 where i'm sure i don't know whether they brought the face and left the body the way we know what
01:51:49 was brought but at least that's where he is today so the truth here is this the legacy of a sagefoo
01:51:56 is for ghana to work it's for you to believe in yourself it's for you to be able to have the
01:52:02 african personality it's for you to be a capable person and when you talk about capability it
01:52:08 means affordable housing not not the confusion it means that being able to have quality education
01:52:15 it means that oh my god it means that not our young people running down a street in the scorching
01:52:22 sun going having to walk to libya now they can't go there going to capsizing boats and dying that
01:52:28 is not the vision of of sagefoo and that was so for you the cpp gaining power is how to continue
01:52:35 his legacy there is nothing else for cpp today i have to gain power i appreciate your time and
01:52:40 i'll touch base with you again in december when you're ready to share with us how you've been
01:52:44 able to mobilize you will see it all right thank you that's nanafra and paul ma she's chairperson
01:52:50 of the conventions people's party the osage for dr quadran krumer's party and if you know the
01:52:56 history of ghana very well you know much about that party and how it was formed and all the
01:53:00 things they had to suffer after osage for was overthrown it's our way of you know having a
01:53:06 conversation about who the man was and how his legacy can be kept alive as we commemorate his
01:53:10 birthday today you're watching the am show coming up shortly is an exclusive interview
01:53:16 with professor johnson
01:53:20 so
01:53:47 when we became vice chancellor the first time became vice chancellor what did you come to read
01:53:52 what did you really come to okay so you know i was inducted into office first august 2020
01:54:01 and i succeeded professor joseph katam here prior to professor joseph katam here many virtuals have
01:54:11 led the university of campus so i stood i came to stand on the shoulders of the giants they have
01:54:20 worked so hard you can remember professor adorben professor uh professor nana these people have
01:54:30 prophesied japan who stabilized the university of campus at the time that we were facing challenges
01:54:36 so these people have worked so hard so coming to the seat i had people i was looking
01:54:43 onto their achievements and that motivated me to work harder so far the university of cape coast
01:54:50 as you all know the top-ranked university in ghana not only in ghana west africa the fourth
01:54:58 on the continent and we are among the top 400 universities in the world you see and and this
01:55:07 was declared by times education world university ranking and consistently we started 2021 2022
01:55:16 and then 2023 that is the one day i dream and it is going to 2024 so being the vice chancellor at
01:55:23 a time this pronouncement was made how did you feel at the time i was humble because
01:55:31 i could see the pressure coming to me to maintain i want uh the to maintain the university as a
01:55:42 leading university in ghana and beyond so it was i was humble and also uh more or less happy
01:55:51 that behind my mind i mean on my mind i knew it comes with great great great responsibility
01:56:00 what did you really set out to do when you became the vice chancellor or when you wanted to become
01:56:07 the vice chancellor i'm sure something was on your mind on your heart to leave a legacy for
01:56:16 the university what was it yes over the years i've been this university you know i'm a alumnus
01:56:22 of this university fortunately i also had opportunity to study in the rest of ghana
01:56:27 and then also coming to my university of science and technology so coming to ucc i had more
01:56:34 background information about all these universities and i've experienced the life in this all these
01:56:41 universities and i have i've also worked here at that time almost 20 years at that time so i had
01:56:49 a lot of experience i've worked with all these vice chancellors in fact i worked with nana
01:56:54 affectionately called nana yes and when i it was your head time that i became the head of department
01:57:06 and then also became the dean work and also became a dean i even had opportunity to travel
01:57:14 with professor cupola i was learning on the job and then professor uh gata and pia so i was also
01:57:21 learning so coming to this i have observed the university for a long time the entire nation
01:57:27 having come across a lot of unemployed graduates so the idea is repositioning the university of
01:57:35 capitals as global hub of creative thinkers offering demand driven programs integrated
01:57:43 with practical entrepreneurial courses and then translating the product of our
01:57:51 research products for sustainable development so that was the vision so the vision is actually to
01:58:00 make sure that we train the the students so that they can create their own jobs and therefore
01:58:08 provide opportunity for others to get jobs to do that's what we set out to do but by doing that
01:58:15 we must set the infrastructure in place and that that is what we started trying to
01:58:22 build upon what my predecessors did if you look at what you you were talking about entrepreneurship
01:58:30 and the fact that so many of the students graduate from the university and then they
01:58:35 move the streets and someday you have to inform associations unemployed association were you
01:58:42 informed by some of these yes these were the things that motivated me i know it's a collective
01:58:48 effort not only by the universities by the government the university can create that
01:58:55 mindset train the students in the framework the economic framework to say that students cannot
01:59:03 if they graduate they cannot put into practice we'll not have that anything so i was also happy
01:59:09 when the government just said that they also want to support or create environment for enterprise
01:59:16 development and so that's what and in fact we need it urgently looking at the number of our students
01:59:23 who are more the number of even ghanian the youth the youth who are doing this galan stage
01:59:29 strength within the very environment the nature the forest and everything that you have the water
01:59:36 you look at pra and so you also said what are you doing because at the moment look at the pra river
01:59:43 it's so and the product i think even cape coast we draw our water from pra river exactly yes
01:59:50 and then look at the river it's so dirty and then even the chemicals no wonder understand
01:59:57 diseases we have increasing kidney diseases you see so as a nation we are destroying ourselves
02:00:06 slowly i'm happy that you are a scientist and you know the implications of these chemicals that are
02:00:14 used in these in mining these you know the consequential effect on our lives on the lives
02:00:22 of the unborn generation yes i mean i mean it's too enormous if we i mean considering the the effects
02:00:31 of what is going to happen to us in the near future for which i know it has to be started
02:00:38 the country will suffer we don't have resources to be important trials and to be treating people
02:00:47 and even machines to be treating people because if we were to go to dallas it's a lot and then
02:00:55 looking at the huge population that we have so as a nation we need to work together because we have
02:01:02 only one ghana and unfortunately for us we need to show ghanaians we need to show the leadership
02:01:09 because our first president at the eve of independence helped other nations because he
02:01:18 said that the independence of ghana is meaningless unless it is made with total immigration of african
02:01:24 countries and so to i mean true to his word he supported many countries to get through the
02:01:31 pendants so even in economic development other countries are looking up to us although we have
02:01:38 not performed badly by looking at the looking at the fact that we started first we have
02:01:47 i think we should be showing more improvement than what we have now let's come back to
02:01:55 the partnership that you perform as a university we are a global institution and we have to work
02:02:03 with our strategic partners so what we are doing is to ensure that we do collaborative research
02:02:10 exchange of students exchange of faculty and making sure that we work together to help develop
02:02:19 the entire world because it's through our research if you remember 2021 2022 when we were first
02:02:26 declared by the times education was the best ranking as a top-ranking university that year
02:02:33 we were also we also declared as a first in terms of our research
02:02:40 so the very research we do here
02:02:44 when published it's also accepted and people use it to adapt formulate policy help come out with
02:02:56 new products so in fact when we work with all these strategic partners expect us to produce
02:03:04 very very good research publications
02:03:07 with research publications let's look at a great i've had the opportunity of going to the school
02:03:17 of a great and i stumbled on something that students who hated to they've not even have
02:03:24 money to pay their school fees pay their hostel fees the university haven't treated something
02:03:31 where they bring them some parcels of land to develop and then at the end of the month i
02:03:37 understand some women are paid up to like four thousand Ghana students but in terms of a great
02:03:43 in terms of student development what i need to say yes um we work mostly together that is the
02:03:51 management and especially with the dean of school of agriculture and then students are giving plots
02:03:59 we support them to grow vegetables and then they sell the university sells it and then give the
02:04:05 money to them this help people uh especially students who are more or less deprived to some
02:04:12 extent who do not have what it takes to continue the education here so we have students in agriculture
02:04:21 program that help the students and so when you go to the school farm and now we have also cleared
02:04:27 another area where students are also using at their plots and in fact it also helps them even to
02:04:34 do their own farming activities they need to cultivate the habit from here if you do it if
02:04:42 you practice it then it becomes easy for you to do it when you are not in school and that's why
02:04:47 we also help them to more or less be employed to some extent when they complete their university
02:04:54 education so that in that sense we are doing well but one thing is that our main predecessors i
02:05:00 mean the former varchans also uh they were forward-looking to the extent that we were
02:05:06 able to get about 430 acres of land at one mass so when we also assume office we've worked with
02:05:18 them and now we've gone through the process to get the documents from the lands commission
02:05:25 and we are working with the community what we are doing is that we want to work with top
02:05:32 plantation to clear about 100 acres that should be for palm trees and use that one for research
02:05:43 so that we build a research center within that locality and the university will also
02:05:50 i mean working with them play about 50 acres for medicinal plants and 50 acres for other crops
02:05:58 because that that area they do a lot of cocoa so that is also another so we are working on that
02:06:05 and it's also formed part of our intrapreneurial mindset the entrepreneur activities that we are
02:06:11 doing so that in doing the students they are using it for their research working on the farm
02:06:18 we also cultivate that mindset and they'll be able to work even when they have completed
02:06:23 their programs here in the university if you had the opportunity um would you recommend that
02:06:29 we should go back to the basics by including a great as an area of study so that we could prepare
02:06:37 the minds of people of the young ones when they enter into the university becomes part and parcel
02:06:43 of them the one we're growing up we need to study that agric is the backbone of Ghana's economy
02:06:50 do you think it's still the same it's still the same depending upon how you look at it
02:06:55 um we have many things that we can get from agriculture even the cocoa we are the leading
02:07:03 at a point where the leading uh producer of cocoa and in terms of the quality even though
02:07:10 based on we are not the leading the quality of cocoa product that comes from Ghana is the best
02:07:15 so even that one alone you can get a lot of money apart from that crops vegetables
02:07:22 from here to lend it not far to um the Dubai and other not far if we are engaging
02:07:30 through commercial farming that will also provide opportunity for people to get job today
02:07:36 and so if we are able to look at our land issues and then we are able to go into
02:07:45 large-scale farming especially when we travel to the north you see the topography of the land
02:07:50 one time i had opportunity to visit Israel and if you look at Israel the deserts and these people
02:07:59 are doing farming and you can go to export food to Europe and other places and you come back to
02:08:08 Ghana and then like everywhere you go the land is better so even if we concentrate on agriculture
02:08:16 alone that would also be better off and and and so we can we won't even destroy our rivers
02:08:25 to get a good maybe agriculture alone and that's why we don't destroy it although if we do it well
02:08:34 we may not um i mean within a very short small area we can get a lot of product from it from it
02:08:42 and that will not cover the entire length of the country to clear all the vegetation agriculture
02:08:48 can help us but you know because people want people going to agriculture and at the end of the day
02:08:58 they don't get their products onto the market we can't see it but the next time if they went
02:09:06 for a loan to do that project and at the end of the day they are not able to pay the loan
02:09:11 then the following year they will not go into agriculture again so if other things are put in
02:09:17 place so talking about agriculture also means that we should have good roads
02:09:24 good irrigation system and other communication systems should also work and in fact this
02:09:30 this time they even applied technology um where we visited in india at a point we have this drone
02:09:38 it moved to the site and bring information as to whether the crops are doing well and if they are
02:09:45 not doing they are able to tell what is going on and those in the in the center controlled activities
02:09:52 will be able to determine what is going on and they can do the corrections so it reduces the
02:09:59 the physical activity and it's able to increase agriculture so i think agriculture alone can
02:10:06 support us but it also it also means that we can feed ourselves we are buying a lot of rice
02:10:16 so quite recently when we had a collaboration with justphone and we are talking about yes yes
02:10:24 justphone is trying to do large-scale farming and that they wanted products that will be
02:10:33 high yielding and disease resistant and so they have partnered with the university of kirkus
02:10:39 and we are doing that professor atay has been seconded more or less to come back to them
02:10:46 to be helping raising between the university and then the just one group of companies to ensure
02:10:53 that we are able to undertake this project if we do that students will learn on the job and then
02:10:59 many people get job to do and that is by doing that we also produce if we get good year we'll
02:11:06 be able to reduce input of rice and so the little reserve that we have could be used for other
02:11:14 things so i think agriculture even that alone should be able to support the country it's part
02:11:24 of the vision and so we knew at the time that i was coming here i knew that the school of business
02:11:31 had a incubation center but to make it university wide we have added other things to it and we have
02:11:38 created a design thinking and innovation hub and we have a director in charge of that making sure
02:11:46 that we also have the university wide entrepreneurial courses we are undertaking
02:11:51 and then all students from all other areas come here you can get somebody from the sociology
02:11:58 then somebody doing maybe optometry somebody doing education not from group and then they come
02:12:07 up with plans then we have we help the students to actually come up viable business plan and
02:12:15 not have them to get a business on go that's what they're doing that's what they are
02:12:19 participating most of these
02:12:26 competitions going on and almost all the competition that we participate
02:12:30 we win so so so um some years to come if we see a lot of the graduates roaming the street of
02:12:40 ghana the likelihood of not seeing product from the university of cape coast will be known well
02:12:51 to be yes or no yes or no because they could be giving the the knowledge
02:12:59 the skill set and everything in the framework the the economic framework is said that they
02:13:07 cannot put it into practice which is very difficult for them and then let me cite this example at the
02:13:15 time that i was schooling during the secondary school time you know those days we have to work
02:13:20 and support ourselves i had a big tomato farm i harvested about five boxes i brought it home
02:13:30 nobody to buy and then the person who even went up to buy it at that time
02:13:39 we're going to take about three of them through and die too but the thing is that if you put it down
02:13:48 the body will destroy so then she took them away and the next time i'm not going to find
02:13:57 i especially with the priceable uh priceable uh
02:14:02 fruits
02:14:06 or fruits so that is the issue even when they complete and they even struggle to set up
02:14:15 and at the end of the day they are not able to make it to knock on and that is why i said
02:14:21 much of it depends on the economic structures put in place on the other hand um if they don't also
02:14:29 get the the space at all means that they cannot go into an entrepreneurship but on our part we do
02:14:39 our best to make sure that we teach them we do the practical training everything so government
02:14:44 and not only government for me i feel that everybody so we should all work together
02:14:52 to provide good economic framework for our students also to get themselves well established
02:14:58 when they get out of school let's look at accommodation facilities um posters and the
02:15:04 others the the more you meet the university attractive then the more numbers you get
02:15:09 what about accommodation um what i mean what structures have you put in place
02:15:16 to ensure that largely a large number of your students are committed
02:15:21 or maybe around the periphery yes you all know that education is shared responsibility
02:15:30 the university itself the government and then people the private people fortunately
02:15:36 the government that's set the university up gave us a big tract of land we're having difficulties
02:15:46 with the encroachment but we have huge tract of land that we are asking private people
02:15:54 to support us put up an accommodation for the students over the years people come they do
02:16:01 the presentations and use with them but they don't come back again why don't they come back
02:16:06 well i think it's about capital normally they don't have the money when they have we have signed
02:16:12 the mou with them when they use the mou to secure financial resources to put up the the
02:16:22 but they have i'm sure they have not been successful but the university through the
02:16:27 supremacy scheme is trying to put something you know we have done one before and this time we are
02:16:32 working how to put another um big uh hostel facility for our students that's another area
02:16:40 we are also trying to improve the existing ones and then other people are also putting up
02:16:48 hostels within the community but they should make sure that they do not encroach on our lands
02:16:56 because it's important because i was a student here in the 80s we were not as many as we are
02:17:03 now currently we have almost 35,000 students on campus regular students and we could not even
02:17:10 admit the students who apply to the university for admission because of especially because at that
02:17:15 time we late um admission to uh accommodation and so we were unable to admit more students
02:17:25 so there's that uh potential for the university to grow and uh as we are the population of Ghana
02:17:35 is growing and the university the student population is also growing so therefore we
02:17:40 must also prepare to see this with them the training they need so that they can contribute
02:17:46 meaningfully towards the development of our country let's look at the issue of security
02:17:53 on campus as well once the students are here we expect that they will be put in place to ensure
02:17:59 that i mean i know that it's it's very difficult because i was also a student here very difficult
02:18:04 people that stay outside the principle of the university but the communities surrounding the
02:18:13 university have become more or less like the university itself how do we protect these
02:18:19 students very often you say that this person has been robbed this person has done this and all
02:18:24 what what do we do about it okay so um i cannot tell you all the details because of the
02:18:31 security sensitive nature of the program so uh we work together with the community i remember the
02:18:40 some of the people from the community volunteered to support us um in the night as watchdog units
02:18:49 so that when the students study and they are going back to their hostess they protect them
02:18:54 so we are working closely with the community we also have security on campus and the um igp
02:19:01 through the regional uh commander we have also been supporting us and then in the university
02:19:09 is that the campus is that we have also increased the lighting system so everywhere that we pass
02:19:14 and we have been reading places that we hide out for for criminals and areas that we knew
02:19:22 at that time that people were hiding there we've cleared out all that area so now it's more or less
02:19:28 um reduce the criminal activities of some of the people more or less uh the activities are reduced
02:19:36 they do not know i know that some of them might come from the communities around but others also
02:19:42 come from outside and sometimes some of the students themselves yes so these are the challenges
02:19:50 that we have so technologically that's why i say i can't say everything we are monitoring
02:19:57 technologically and working with the security people we are able to um sometimes prevent
02:20:04 some of these activities when we get the intelligence let's come back to research
02:20:10 how do we sustain the things that
02:20:13 you have made as an investor and now times higher education 2021 2022
02:20:23 i'll be seeking because other investors are also looking at the investment of people we are looking
02:20:30 forward to beating the investment of people so the unseen number one in ghana number one in west
02:20:36 africa fought in africa and then globally how you were pleased what mechanisms have you put in place
02:20:44 to ensure that the university of cape comes number one still yes yes the universe of capers is not
02:20:52 also um not complacent about the achievement we working we are working so hard to maintain
02:21:01 our lead and therefore we have increased our financial contribution to west research
02:21:10 that central administration give to the directorate of research innovation and consultants
02:21:16 so then the call for projects they advertise then people write proposals go through and
02:21:26 and what people grant for research i know that is not enough we the drake university to
02:21:33 the directorate is training i'm building the capacity of the young lecturers and even those
02:21:39 who are in the system for a very long time to be able to write competitive uh projects
02:21:46 so that they can get money for for research besides the university is also trying to come
02:21:53 put the infrastructure uh research infrastructure in place we have but we are improving upon it so
02:22:00 when you go you are us then see agatha you saw that building the science and yes
02:22:06 most more than 15 years now we were unable to and now we've completed we are doing the landscaping
02:22:15 the last time i met all the faculty the faculty in the college of agriculture and natural sciences
02:22:24 now that is the college that has a the large number of professors so we told them that
02:22:31 the university would complete the projects but they are also expected to work hard to get grants
02:22:38 so that they can equip the the labs so now that we have completed the lab we want them to work
02:22:45 harder to get money to equip their lives and so that we can do more research we've done that one
02:22:52 the second thing is that lecture should also be comfortable to be able to stay there for in the
02:22:58 office for a very long time we work on their papers but now we go to the offices and we have
02:23:04 about three professors sharing one office and that was the issue utah was all the time uh complaining
02:23:12 about we by god's grace we've been able to get the projects um started and now uh i think it's
02:23:21 on the third floor we are constructing about 120 offices for academic style so that when it is
02:23:29 completed they will get their offices and they can stay longer and work not only that in the college
02:23:37 of health and allied sciences we are also putting a structure um in place having about 12 laboratories
02:23:45 with offices i hope to go to kakundo area and we have placed it far away from the school of medical
02:23:52 sciences so that that enclave will provide a place for future um teaching hospital so that the
02:24:02 university also the teaching hospital to support the what what we already have so these are some
02:24:09 of the things we are doing so providing a research infrastructure also improving upon the ict
02:24:16 infrastructure so that people can do more research we are providing providing them with money we are
02:24:22 building their capacity and i think by so doing we'll be able to maintain our lead as the top
02:24:29 rank university in ghana as we speak um the people from the university of ghana came yesterday
02:24:35 are watching you what you are saying so they are also picking a word or two from me then all that
02:24:43 they are seeking to do is to unseat you as ghana's number one yes and on the african continent as
02:24:50 well what are you telling them i think university of ghana is happy for us because they help us
02:24:57 nature has to become autonomous university so if your child is doing well you should be happy
02:25:05 not to take him out of the place no we are happy for us nonetheless they are working hard and we
02:25:13 are also working hard i mean it is also a heavy competition so that every university is working
02:25:20 hard to be able to become the leading institution in the country and i think by doing that with all
02:25:26 the support from the the government and from the people of ghana i think we'll be able to
02:25:32 help develop the country yes in all these areas of research one remains critical about the impact
02:25:41 it has on society communities and all of that i'm happy that you mentioned that in the first
02:25:48 edition that you won we're first for global impact yes um in terms of the communities that
02:25:56 i mean surrounding the university and other places as well how are the researchers that
02:26:01 we have done and continue to do how are they impacting so let me use one example
02:26:08 we have africa center of excellence for coastal resilience and they are building a structure i
02:26:15 have not even mentioned that one near the the beach as part of the university lab
02:26:22 we've been giving training to the people alternative graduate you know it was through
02:26:26 the rss that uh the we came out with a policy to leave certain period of time during the time the
02:26:34 fishes in the sea yes it is during the rss and we do uh engagement with the ministry of uh the
02:26:44 ministry of fishes and aquaculture development and and so we are doing a lot and they work
02:26:52 along the coast at the moment they are even working at kittah along that and then training
02:26:58 many people we even have scholarship for people to come and do further programs and now they are
02:27:05 in gambia and and um labaria trying to help them develop their fishing at their officials
02:27:14 department in the respective universities so that is one example if you talk about
02:27:21 the community-based experience service that's the college of health and allied sciences they do
02:27:28 especially school of medical sciences school of nursing school of pharmacy
02:27:32 you know one that they go to i think we share and other they do all that it's through their research
02:27:39 they do that research and also educate the people what is happening so that and if you talk about
02:27:45 education you cannot leave the university of cape coast out all these programs that we are free
02:27:52 high senior that's a free free high high school free senior high education
02:28:00 that that is also is the support of the university of cape coast training the the
02:28:10 teachers making sure that we equip them and now everywhere you go you get a product from the
02:28:17 university of cape coast especially in the ministry of education or may i say the education sector
02:28:25 so um finally um let's look at infrastructure in general and then the greenery space that you
02:28:34 have on campus i had the opportunity to go to the university of ghana i saw how clean it is
02:28:40 how do we i've also been here i've stayed here for a number of years how are we maintaining the
02:28:48 green environment we do have to make the university very attractive to the people that come
02:28:55 environmentally friendly so um i'm sure you can attest to the development that has
02:29:02 gone on over the short space of time that we do in the face of the university
02:29:09 and we are personally involved planting trees planting flowers doing the landscaping
02:29:18 and so all areas people do not cover by trees we are playing and planting more trees every year we
02:29:29 do it together with a national tree planting exercise like the forestry people so we do that
02:29:37 to enhance the green nature of our campus but in terms of um recover
02:29:44 i would say the investment of people is on top so should we rank
02:29:50 the university will rank higher than the other universities i'm not mentioning the university
02:29:56 yes yes yes in terms of green cover so what would you say has been your personal achievement
02:30:04 i would just say my achievement the achievement of the university
02:30:14 because the university that you superintend as a servant
02:30:24 and so if gains have been made yes you let yes so when we talk about free senior high school
02:30:31 say that yes it is all of us but i spearheaded the free senior high school okay so to that extent
02:30:42 that is why i'm asking okay so i led the university and to continue the work that my predecessors have
02:30:56 done to be able to become the top-ranking university in ghana and all that achievements
02:31:05 and when we come to campus we also see that we have also improved the infrastructure on campus
02:31:12 not only that we have also revised all our curricula if you see into the curricula the
02:31:20 21st century skills and now we are even among the
02:31:30 we have even been accepted as a research institution comprehensive
02:31:33 university as a member of the african research universities alliance we've been accepted
02:31:43 as a research university and apart from that there are many achieve many competitions that we have
02:31:53 to the extent that the busy school the students are even doing well over there
02:32:00 so there are a lot of things that have happened and above all the fact that we live in peace and
02:32:06 unity i would say that it is my achievement that with the support of god we are moving we are
02:32:14 marching on and that is that will be the the achievement of the university of campus but in
02:32:21 spite of the challenges that we are having we are we are together and we are working together
02:32:27 to ensure that we put the university up there i take this opportunity to congratulate you
02:32:34 your term ended but now you have been appointed again to run for a second term so congratulations
02:32:44 yes thank you thank you i mean what does this mean to you um the bible says in matthew i cannot
02:32:54 tell the exact i think it's 25 to whom much is given much is expected um we've had my first
02:33:04 term now sure i've been four years and that will end in july 31st july 2024 by the university
02:33:13 to even uh appoint a new vice chancellor you need a businessmen to do the search and other so
02:33:21 the university went through the process to renew my appointment for further two years
02:33:30 and it is within the mandate of the status that we can be appointed for four years first term
02:33:40 and then second term up to three years but i cannot do three years because of age and that
02:33:48 is why i was doing two years instead of three and i'm also humbled by this turn of events because
02:34:00 it means that i need to do more it means that the people have seen in me leadership
02:34:06 um leadership i mean strong leadership and growth so i'm compelled to continue to ensure that i
02:34:18 live the same at the time that the university has been up there so that others will come to continue
02:34:25 but all that i'm saying is that it is not the work of one person the management of the university
02:34:33 the provisional start the register the director of finance the human resource and all any mean
02:34:40 the students because the students are also supportive to the extent that they we undertake
02:34:48 projects if you look at the gates you know we are moving the gates from where it is this is
02:34:53 within the highway if they want to expand the road to affect our gate the students are helping
02:34:58 us to put up that structure a new gate bus terminals so the students are also supporting us
02:35:06 and that that's why i said that in unity there's nothing that we can do you know the bible when
02:35:14 the people were together they were building the tower chris saw that he did not disperse them
02:35:22 we can adapt and they could do things that
02:35:25 if you do things that would may not be in the in the in the
02:35:33 in the creation of things like this very pretty that way so god confused them so it means that
02:35:43 when people are together there are a lot of things that we can do and that is all that i'm asking for
02:35:49 that going ahead with us all of us when i talk about working together i mean the university itself
02:35:57 the workers the students the community other stakeholders the government and even our
02:36:06 strategic partners outside what do you plan to leave as your legacy apart from the first and then
02:36:17 what i am proud is for us to maintain the university of caicos as a leading university
02:36:24 and all that achievement that you have you want to follow the cliff as far as the rankings yes
02:36:31 yes the rankings so so that's and apart from that to improve the infrastructure to make sure that
02:36:38 we become more students centered if you look at what we are doing now we want to create an
02:36:43 environment that students will come to the university and at the time that they are leaving
02:36:48 they would have learned a lot apart from the academic way they would have learned a lot that
02:36:52 would be some part of their life and i'm so passionate about the environment the environment
02:37:00 it's so sad that we we are more or less being a gulf so for the next year our budget will concentrate
02:37:08 more on maintaining universal because as a cleanest university in in ghana cleanest and
02:37:15 greenest university and we have started to continue and so that and the more students
02:37:23 center create the environment so that students can stay they'll be happy learn a lot of things
02:37:30 and by the time they leave the university the university would have gone through them
02:37:35 so
02:38:02 thank you so much for your time on the am show hope you've been enjoying the show i have been
02:38:06 enjoying it and you know here at joe news we are all about making impact and making a difference
02:38:12 in the lives of all of you and especially those who are under privilege and this morning i've
02:38:18 been joined by the ring road central rotary club and they're doing something really special
02:38:25 and it's focused on children you know i'm the baby doctor right so everything about children
02:38:30 excites me and this morning i've been joined by uh juanita is she's the project director so you
02:38:37 stay with us you'll be learning more about that project and i've also been joined by kojo crumb
02:38:42 he is president rotary club over crow ring road central good morning to you thank you so much for
02:38:48 joining us good morning and good morning to all right so we hear a lot about rotary club
02:38:52 what exactly do you do we're a service organization and we reach out into our community and wherever
02:39:00 we see a need we try to step in to intervene and make things better for people how long have you
02:39:05 been doing this i don't know if you know this our club is 37 years old but okay so there are
02:39:10 different clubs of rotary yes rotary international okay rotary international was formed in chicago
02:39:16 in 1905 okay so that's how long rotary has been but rotary has been in ghana for a little over
02:39:22 50 years okay but this particular club the ring road central um rotary club akari central is about
02:39:29 37 years old all right so on the 23rd which is this saturday right juanita you're doing something
02:39:35 interesting you are walking but you call it walk for a child tell us about it okay um every year
02:39:42 we do work for a child we raise uh it's a fundraising work for various projects but this
02:39:49 particular year we are working for um to go and complete our brico so project it's a clinic we
02:39:57 are constructing for brico okay the community of brico up the mountain yeah why did you settle on
02:40:03 brico okay um two years ago our president then um vp chow sotri and his main project was to renovate
02:40:16 a chip compound into to renovate a chip compound and then and we selected a few chip compounds we
02:40:24 went to and this particular brico so chip compound and um if i can have the pictures sure sure sure
02:40:31 and we'll be showing you those pictures shortly the before and the after so that you get a fair
02:40:36 idea of what it was before and what the rotary club acro ring road central is trying to do so
02:40:42 that is what she saw yeah right so um this particular room is a ward same as the um records
02:40:54 room that's where they keep their files so this room has only two beds so this is the male ward
02:41:00 and this is where six people were being catered yeah this is the clinic wow and this small entrance
02:41:07 you see here is the only source of air into the clinic they don't have an air conditioner or any
02:41:13 fan so from morning till the time they close it has to be open throughout
02:41:18 it has to be open throughout and by nine or ten maximum by 11 o'clock you see the nurses with some
02:41:29 dirty dust because the road is very the windows even look really bad yeah the nets yeah yeah so
02:41:35 we realized that this wasn't something we could renovate we decided to build an entirely new
02:41:40 facility for them oh wow that is what we're doing okay and how far gone are you in that project oh
02:41:46 wow we've roofed it we've done plastering um first first what we call first fixes for
02:41:54 electrical and plumbing works so we're now pushing to get into the finishing and um equipping it
02:42:00 we hope to get this up and running by the end of our rotary year which ends on um 30th june 2024
02:42:08 okay so this is what for a child but this project is bigger than a child a child i mean because
02:42:14 you're looking at an entire community benefiting from this clinic this is amazing how long have you
02:42:21 i mean how many years have you been doing this for this this started in 2021 okay and this is
02:42:27 where we are now it's a project that we envisage is going to cost us about 1.8 million cities
02:42:33 we we've including furnishings no or just the building to complete the building okay and then
02:42:41 we are sourcing hospital equipment from different sources okay yes but to get a um to get a structure
02:42:49 done with at least basic um windows chairs desks and things we're looking at 1.8 million cities
02:42:56 we've already we we're now aiming to raise about a million from now and if we do that we'll be able
02:43:02 to complete this okay so much later we'll be telling you how you can be a part of this very
02:43:07 wonderful initiative in the community of barikusu and you you will be i'm sure pleased to join the
02:43:14 rotary club acro ringwood central branch um club rather um to help the people of that community
02:43:22 but you know here's what i say about supporting initiatives like this you never know where you
02:43:28 will be at any time you need health care it's interesting you know you may just be going up
02:43:32 the mountain and have an emergency and then you maybe need you know you may need a facility and
02:43:38 who knows you could benefit or even your child you know could be in a university exactly exactly
02:43:45 yeah so you don't have to you don't have to be close to support right you don't have to be close
02:43:52 to support so and these are the numbers you can send your donations to and that's the momo number
02:44:00 right do you just mind confirming what name will appear on that number the club name so please
02:44:07 it's not a personal name if you see a personal name means you've dialed the wrong exactly so
02:44:11 the number there for your uh uh donations or you can donate to ecobank ghana limited right
02:44:19 so the first account is the ghana city account and the second one is the u.s dollar account we
02:44:25 are putting that there because we know that there are those of you who watch us all over the world
02:44:29 all over the world and we are calling for support um you just want to make a difference in the life
02:44:36 of somebody and and rotary club has made it easier they've just you're almost done right and and and
02:44:42 so we just need all of you what about if i want to join the walk do i need to be a no no no you're
02:44:47 very welcome to join us we assemble at um laboma beach on saturday morning we start assembling at
02:44:54 6 a.m okay we intend to hit the road at 6 30 we'll walk along the labai pass towards um
02:45:01 so we walk along that road till we get to um the start point of the ring road east
02:45:07 okay and then we turn around and walk back how many kilometers a distance of 8.8 kilometers
02:45:14 it's a lot yeah and we're hoping to get it done in about two hours thank you but you can you look
02:45:19 fit you'll be able to walk no i mean i will be able to walk but i mean eight kilometers is quite
02:45:24 a quite a stretch yeah but it's a good one i mean for those of you who have not been doing anything
02:45:29 too active just join us on saturday and we're starting off at the laboma beaches right and we
02:45:34 end and end so yeah so we're just going to do a round trip this morning we brought you a story
02:45:40 about staying active right because of non-communicable diseases that are you know
02:45:45 affecting a lot of us so it's one of the ways to start it come and join a group you know there's a
02:45:49 there's the spirit of a group when you're walking with a group it's not it's not as it's not as
02:45:54 difficult as when you're walking all by yourself yeah yeah yeah a group will just carry you along
02:46:00 and before you realize you would have walked 8.8 kilometers without realizing but i'm also
02:46:04 interested in the long term how how do people become members of the rotary yeah well you need
02:46:10 to be introduced to us and you start visiting we're open okay so you are free to visit us visit
02:46:17 that we meet um we meet at alisa hotel on tuesdays at 6 30 pm between 6 30 and a quarter to eight
02:46:22 okay we're done guests are always welcome you visit us you can visit us for as long as you
02:46:28 choose to okay get to know the ins and outs of rotary and then if you think it's something you'd
02:46:33 want to be a part of you then tell us yes i've seen what you do i like what you do i want to be
02:46:40 a part of and we're happy to have you okay but you have to go through some processes right no
02:46:44 process no process well you just visit and see what we do okay you sit in our meetings okay
02:46:49 okay you'll be introduced to us as a guest guest of johnita guest of kuju with that and after you
02:46:56 have seen what we do and you're convinced that you want to be a part of us we then take you on
02:47:02 we don't go through any initiation we'll just have a thing going well there's a vetting you
02:47:08 need to be of good character to be a return okay so the person introducing you to us should be able
02:47:13 to vouch for you and say this guy is someone who i think is fit to be a return okay yes because um
02:47:21 we live by certain strict ethical standards okay yeah we have what we call our four-way test yeah
02:47:27 of the things we think yeah yeah and the first thing is that is it the truth is it fair to all
02:47:33 consent will it build goodwill and better friendships or will it be beneficial to all
02:47:39 consent that's how we try to live our lives so you come in you see what we're doing and if you are
02:47:46 attracted to it we're happy to have you we because i mean we need the numbers the more people we have
02:47:52 going out there trying to help their community the greater the impact we're able to make so we're very
02:47:58 open to getting new members on board i like the part about being beneficial to others and that's
02:48:03 exactly what you're doing in brincusu and back in on this project and we would just like to go
02:48:08 through the numbers again and show you the pictures as well um so these are the numbers you can send
02:48:13 your donations to the momo number 055913 3353 the name is rotary club over crow ring road central
02:48:23 or you can send to ecobank ghana limited the cd account is 144100 2137746 144100
02:48:34 2137746 the dollar account is 344100 2137752 344100 2137752 if you're not convinced let me
02:48:50 show you the pictures again what the rotary club saw at brincusu there you have it uh this is not
02:48:58 a place you want to receive health health care you may even end up leaving sick probably i mean
02:49:04 so much dust there's just so much dust there so that's the brincusu chips compound and the rotary
02:49:12 club said you know what we can't renovate this we're gonna start from the scratch which meant
02:49:17 getting land yeah the chief the chief donated fantastic thank you so much the chief of brincusu
02:49:24 for doing this and so there you have it that building is coming up nice and steady so the
02:49:31 rotary club needs 1.8 million well we need about a million now we just about yeah just about the
02:49:38 total project cost is 1.8 million cities but where we are now you need about a million to finish a
02:49:43 million cities it's possible we know it's possible uh the very little drops we contribute will make
02:49:50 that as we say mighty ocean that can satisfy the financial needs of this project and so please
02:49:57 please just help us do this for the people of brincusu put a smile on their faces
02:50:03 and it's that that community is becoming a very fast developing one yes um a lot of people are
02:50:09 building there a lot of people are so if you are someone who has learned that brincusu please
02:50:13 you're going to live you're going to live there in that part in that enclave just support you
02:50:19 never know you may say oh i i don't follow circuit but you never know so please just help the rotary
02:50:25 club do this wonderful work so your final words uh juanita okay um aside with the completion of
02:50:32 the building we also need um hospital equipment okay yeah when the building is done so individuals
02:50:39 private companies government entities any donation cash um in kind of hospital equipments office
02:50:48 furnitures yeah it would be great all right okay when i had i almost mentioned the company's name
02:50:53 but i want to please those of you those of you who are into uh providing furniture for hospitals and
02:51:00 and and and facilities like that please just contribute your your widow's might your last
02:51:06 word mr crumb well um we thank you for having us here and uh we'll take this opportunity to
02:51:12 reach out there's so much that needs to be done um in the communities around us and there's so
02:51:18 much we can do if we all put our resources together we all contribute the little that we can
02:51:23 so at this point i'll appeal to anybody listening to us now to dip into their pockets give what they
02:51:29 can no matter how small no matter how big we're happy to receive anything and i'd like to assure
02:51:34 our donors that in rotary we do not spend money spent for projects on administrative
02:51:42 expenses no okay all our administrative expenses are born out of the dues we pay to the club
02:51:48 a hundred percent of monies that we receive through such fundraising activities go directly
02:51:54 and exclusively into the projects they are earmarked for none of it goes into anything
02:51:59 administrative they are all dedicated strictly to the projects for which we raise those funds
02:52:05 this is not run like some government institutions so rotary is trusted yes yeah incredible absolutely
02:52:13 thank you so much uh for joining us johnny is the project director for this very beautiful
02:52:20 project and kujo karam is president rotary club of acria ring road central please do well to bring
02:52:27 in your support i'll be back with more do stay
02:52:54 the sum 20 minutes to the top of the hour thank you for staying on the am show with me bernice
02:53:00 abubi lancer today's kwame nkrumah memorial day it's his birthday initially it was known as founders
02:53:06 day but you know this government made some changes some have called that unfair some say that it's
02:53:11 not a true reflection of history i don't know what you make of it but as we commemorate the day we've
02:53:16 been looking back to his legacy and earlier i spoke to the chairperson of the conventions people's
02:53:21 party that's the party dr nkrumah founded on how they're hoping to keep his legacy alive and for
02:53:26 her winning power and taking this country to the point that nkrumah envisaged is the surest way to
02:53:34 keep his legacy alive but it's not only the day we are remembering dr nkrumah it's also the day
02:53:39 that democracy have decided to protest to begin a three-day protest of economic challenges in the
02:53:45 country they were hoping to picket the uh jubilee house but we know that the police asked them to
02:53:53 hold on uh with that particular one my colleague maxwell agbaba has been to where they masked up
02:54:00 this morning scores of them were arrested the police called that gathering an illegal one
02:54:06 and maxwell agbaba has been there and here's what he's been witnessing maxwell what can you report
02:54:13 the protesters who are converging um here i remember that yesterday the ghana police service
02:54:19 put out a notice saying that they filed a court process that stops or prevents the organizers
02:54:26 from going ahead with their demonstration the organizers had said that they had not been
02:54:32 officially served with those court processes but again a police service said it served them
02:54:36 through their lawyers so nothing really is happening here at the 37th trust station which
02:54:42 is supposed to be the starting point for the protest but i have two gentlemen here with me
02:54:46 who arrived here who wanted to take part um in the um protest let's speak to them let's find out
02:54:52 from them what it is like for them at this point uh hi sir what's your name my name is also kabuti
02:54:58 as well kabuti yes okay you were coming to take part in this protest yes you heard you heard what
02:55:02 happened to um your colleagues i heard they have been arrested but that would not stop me from
02:55:07 coming i was late i was standing a circle for like close to 30 minutes and there was no car
02:55:11 coming towards the side i can see i can see the person with which you're speaking uh tell me
02:55:20 why are you here to take part in this protest i'm here to take part in this protest because
02:55:25 our future is at stake look at the way the country is being run the borrowing is just anyhow and you
02:55:30 are not seeing what the effect of the borrowing the youth are suffering the youth are dying
02:55:34 when you go to what the airport the place is always full people are parking out why because
02:55:39 there is no future for them here and i want i want future for those in the country i want future for
02:55:44 my friends i want future for my family i want future for my children i want future for my
02:55:48 children's children ghana is for ours we don't have to go to europe and america to go and what
02:55:54 survive you can survive in ghana how are you going to survive in ghana by our leaders what
02:55:59 giving us a better what's ghana they promise us what ghana beyond age is that what you are seeing
02:56:03 is that what you are seeing these to you who is sitting at home what are you seeing
02:56:08 you are suffering i see another you're also you're also coming here to protest
02:56:14 okay i'll come back to you shortly but you've heard that your colleagues have been arrested
02:56:19 so why are you why are you here no no oh even if one person has been arrested even if one person
02:56:25 is even left that one person will go in as much as democracy is concerned what matters the most is
02:56:33 there is no definition for democracy because the white man who brought the democracy has never
02:56:38 defined it but in as much as i am a human being democracy leads me to freedom it leads me to peace
02:56:46 so in as much as we don't hold arms we are not armed and anybody arresting anybody that means
02:56:54 that that person who has sent anybody to arrest anybody is a dictator i'm a pan-africanist my
02:57:01 forefathers who formed the npp in 1954 if anybody told you that the npp was formed in 1992 tell that
02:57:07 person he's a liar there was a party called npp the northern people's party what's your name sir
02:57:13 my name is safani i'm a musician a social commentator a pan-africanist a crime and crime
02:57:18 advocate and also a member of the communication team of the acup united african continental unity
02:57:25 party okay we are not here to cry in solidarity of them in the ndc or for the npp we are here to
02:57:35 cry in solidarity of the ordinary ghanian today ganian children parents can no longer feed their
02:57:41 children well you see what is happening right now so police officers uh police officers now
02:57:50 they're maintaining the process arresting um some of the protesters who who who came here and said
02:57:58 they're going to protest despite police preventing them now you can see police officers here
02:58:04 you can see that some of them preventing us from even speaking to
02:58:10 the protesters who have been arrested um hi sir
02:58:16 fruits come let's have you join them hi sir can we talk to you
02:58:21 fruits
02:58:43 police officers are taking this gentleman away who said they were going to demonstrate and
02:58:48 protest you know despite despite what you know the ghanian police service had done earlier
02:58:55 arresting some of the protesters about 30 of them have already been taken to the um the
02:59:00 police station and the conveyor for fix the country oliver barker vorma was also um arrested
02:59:08 and just as we're speaking to two of the protesters who said they were going to protest despite
02:59:14 the opposition um from the ghana police service and the directive from the ghana police service
02:59:18 for them not to um protest the police whoop me on them and then arrested them taking them to um the
02:59:24 police station the police are still maintaining the presence here you can see um some of them
02:59:28 still here with your vehicles parked and that is the case
02:59:35 that is the case um all through the principal streets when you come into the text of military
02:59:41 truck station the text seven truck station as you see which was supposed to be the starting
02:59:47 point or the converging point for the process that was going to take place you can see
02:59:50 about 50 meters away also some police officers also still you know um stationed there
02:59:57 still keeping a presence
03:00:03 ensuring that the demonstration does not even start in the first place
03:00:08 but i have some media colleagues here who witnessed you know what um happened
03:00:12 what happened during the first arrest of the um over 30 people who had assembled
03:00:19 up here let me speak to one of my colleagues some more more some more um you were here you
03:00:24 saw what happened can you tell us what happened yeah so basically we were here very early in the
03:00:29 morning and about 15 or 220 um protesters were here i don't know maybe not 15 about along that
03:00:39 lines they weren't so much they were now trying to put themselves in order and see whether they
03:00:44 could start so they were sharing the Ghana flag red colors and all and suddenly we saw horses
03:00:51 coming in then police who were not in uniformed they started also coming in gradually before we
03:00:57 realized arrest them arrest them arrest this one arrest this arrest this and they just put all of
03:01:02 them up in a car and they took them away and some of us too were also around media people they tried
03:01:08 arresting us but later they saw our branding and stuff they left us some of us too we're trying to
03:01:14 get some shots and all but they impeded us from getting some of the shots that we wanted to get
03:01:18 yeah and as you saw right now yeah if you're coming here and you are in black and you are in
03:01:26 red and you start talking to them unfortunately i'm in all black you're very lucky i'm sure maybe
03:01:33 the microphone but you see you almost waste away yeah why because they felt you're also part of
03:01:38 them microphone is my saving grace perhaps i think so so that's how it's been okay yeah well so that
03:01:45 is the situation here at the 37 trotter station which was supposed to be the converging point for
03:01:50 today's protest all the way through the principal street in front of the jubilee house to this place
03:01:57 in front of christ the king scores of police officers in route control gear many of them
03:02:04 armed to the teeth are stationed there ensuring that the demonstration does not even begin in
03:02:10 the first place the protest does not even start in the first place we've seen crowd control vehicles
03:02:16 we've seen um some of them are stationed right in front of the jubilee house keeping the presence
03:02:22 there and ensuring that the protest um does not start reporting for joy news maxwell
03:02:40 so
03:02:48 and that was max a la baba coming to us from the 37 station here in accra and we just have a few
03:03:00 minutes to get interactive with you i know you have a lot to share about maintaining the legacy
03:03:04 of dr kwame and krumah what we've also witnessed with regards to this demonstration uh that the
03:03:10 organizers insisted on having despite the police requesting that they do not mass up or you know go
03:03:18 ahead as planned the numbers to call 0302 211691 0302 211691 we don't have a lot of time so when
03:03:27 you call just let us know what your thoughts are and i'm sure the rest of the world will be glad
03:03:32 to hear them but today we've been talking about the legacy of dr kwame and krumah what comes to
03:03:37 your mind when you think about him we've heard from two of his children siku and samia who have
03:03:42 points of disagreement when it comes to what exactly his legacy is but it also tells you about
03:03:48 who the man was and you know how perspectives differ on who he was uh his vision for the
03:03:58 country what he ended up doing and not only for the country but his his african vision to see
03:04:04 africa united we have a first caller from salaga is it waheed hello let's hear you please saeed
03:04:11 oh too bad we lost saeed i'm so sorry uh please call us back if you can if not we will take a few
03:04:19 more calls and we'll be wrapping up wrapping it up here on the am show 0302 211691 is the number
03:04:29 to call but like i was saying and much earlier i spoke to chairperson of the cpp and for her the
03:04:36 surest way to keeping uh the legacy of dr kwame krumah alive is to win power that's the cpp cpp
03:04:43 we have a caller from old barrier i didn't get your name clearly but let's know what your thoughts are
03:04:48 love it right yeah let's hear your thoughts please um
03:04:52 but the whole thing is ghana we have we have a little problem the problem that we have we are
03:04:59 not using we can't do anything by now ghana ghana must look like a to buy or we've been
03:05:06 we've been we citizens look at today we can't even buy any oh no no no no no i don't think
03:05:15 ghanai i think if god is creating the world again i think africa the wet africa will not be part of
03:05:20 the world let god increase again because we have negative mind everybody is trying to make money
03:05:27 without even caring about his brother or taking care of his brother if nobody cares
03:05:33 ghanai is something like nobody cares whether you die whatever you happen to you never nobody cares
03:05:37 so everything coming to my life today look two cities that we have coming to our needs is no more
03:05:42 because of knowledge or whatever i don't know maybe i don't know right thank you for sharing
03:05:48 your thoughts with us and uh appears to be quite a hopeless uh situation for him he feels about
03:05:56 africa i don't know what you feel about ghana and africa and uh looking looking ahead to what
03:06:02 you know the future holds for us but today we celebrate the man dr kwame krumah now i was
03:06:09 calling us from kumasi hello nanaia how is kumasi not bad we're we're just um
03:06:16 what are your thoughts please share them with us okay um today is the holiday for
03:06:25 we're just remembering we're just remembering our um um our past president doesn't come in kumar but
03:06:34 then i'm also concerned about what is happening today maybe there are rules and regulations um
03:06:40 from for the protest i remember there was a letter who came yesterday that um that police people said
03:06:46 um they are not allowed to protest today i mean it's very simple and if you're not allowed to
03:06:51 protest why do you have to waste your time it doesn't we're in a world where we we need to we
03:06:56 need to um understand certain terms and then move ahead you understand me going there that part of
03:07:03 that letter came out the probability of arresting the people was was 99 percent so why do you even
03:07:09 have to wait that because of the stress you're going through just imagine what happened i was
03:07:13 just i was just on the tv and then just imagine what happened i mean the your protest was even
03:07:19 he he was he was offended to pick up what is the same place because why do you have to waste that
03:07:23 time please they said you're not going to allow you to do that and just forget just forget about
03:07:26 that then just go away go and do whatever you want to do it's better for you to stay home
03:07:31 right i see the stress you're going to go through before you've been arrested before you've been
03:07:35 released from the police station thank you thank you for sharing your thoughts and i i'll have one
03:07:40 one more call i have just a little bit of time to squeeze in one last call and then we'll call it a
03:07:46 day here on the am show but you know this is your most credible news source we'll be bringing you
03:07:51 much more uh in in subsequent bulletins news desk begins right after the am show at 10 a.m so you
03:07:58 just want to stay for that we're bringing you more insights and more angles to this developing
03:08:05 story on the arrest of some people who masked up at the 37 lorry station our last caller is thomas
03:08:12 from wahalo thomas let's hear you please yes good morning my sister i have a problem with this
03:08:18 asgane we are not protected we show that everything is present in each other one that's what he does
03:08:25 you were told that you shouldn't demonstrate today is it that they just want to become popularity
03:08:30 to become popular in ghana if you will not take the law into our own hands the seat of government
03:08:35 people decided they want to go and occupy the seat of government and we are happy and the media is
03:08:41 happy and we're covering it let's let's let's try to understand certain things it is a security zone
03:08:47 yes ghana things are not easy we're all suffering we understand but we should be we should be able
03:08:54 to understand that it's not everything that's supposed to just wake up and say this is what i
03:08:58 want to do thank you thank you so much for your time and uh i'm going from upper east upper east
03:09:05 upper east rather thank you so much and that's how we wrap up this edition of the am show thanks for
03:09:12 your company there's more news when you log on to my joy online.com but stay on aisha ibrahim is
03:09:17 coming up shortly with the very latest in terms of news and news analysis i'm bernice abu-bidu
03:09:22 lance enjoy the rest of your holiday and take care
03:09:34 so
03:09:42 so

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