KWADWO OWUSU AFRIYIE a.k.a sir John PROFILE

THE MAN KWADWO OWUSU AFRIYIE A.K.A SIR JOHN “My inspiration to serve the New Patriotic Party is taken from 1coranthians 9:19 onwards, as Paul reduced himself to the ordinary person, so he could gain them for Christ, so am doing to gain them for the NPP”-Sir John The party also belongs to the over five million voters in the streets, markets, seamstresses, illiterates, our mothers, fathers and the downtrodden, who voted for us in the 2012 Elections, they are the reason I am the General Secretary and not the few elites who are not prepared to go down to the grassroots. QUALITIES • Brave • Team player • A leader you can trust • Outspoken • Approachable • Loyal • Committed • Pragmatic • Listener TRACK RECORD Before we assumed office in 2010, we had lost a crucial election in 2008 that had greatly demoralized the rank and file members of our Party. The NDC led by its “mosquito” had torn our party apart by incessantly attacking us and taken our Flag bearer Nana Akuffo Addo to the cleaners. You may recall the infamous “seventeen thieves going to elect its chief thief” At that time, none of the persons who now want to be voted for, could defend the party. As Shakespeare puts it in Julius ceaser “our fathers’ minds are dead and we are governed with our mothers’ spirits. Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish”. And so had we become. On becoming the General Secretary, I have become the sasso spray and have put to sleep those “mosquitoes” that will not let us sleep and had become a nuisance. • Always sacrificed my life for the NPP to the point where i was nearly imprisoned-see 1corrinthians 9:19 onwards. • Brought the party closer to the ordinary Ghanaian • Unifier, brought all factions together i.e. John Boadu, Sammy Awuku, Buabeng Asamoah as Deputy Communication Directors. • Team player: Made Mac Manu, a former national Chairman, O.B. Amoah and Matthew Opoku Prempeh responsible for Elections and trainings in the 2012 elections. • Had a cordial relationship with my chairman and all colleagues. • Won the 2012 elections both on the ground and in court but were shortchanged. • Built headquarters extension to accommodate Nana Akuffo Addo and the research and elections outfit of the party. • In opposition, we bought a house at east legon from the Ghc10, 000 development fees that were charged on all parliamentary aspirants during the 2011 parliamentary primaries to serve as a residence of any national officer who comes from outside Accra. • Also sponsored all ten Regional Chairmen to Germany to learn best practices with sister political parties in order to broaden their scope and motivate them. • I have inaugurated 8 more external branches from the 8 we already had. We now have 16 External Branches. GOING FORWARD • Continue to bring all together to prosecute “PROJECT 2016” • Empower the grassroots to also unleash their talents to ensure a resounding victory in 2016 • Target the constituencies we won and lost marginally to ensure we capture those seats • Together with the constituencies we protect and up our votes in our strongholds • Join hands with the constituencies to elect popular candidates to contest as MP’s on our tickets • A special “SUBMARINE CAMPAIGN STRATEGY” would be employed in all settler communities to increase our votes by 20%. All talents within and without the party would be harnessed in prosecuting this strategy • Instill the spirits of dedication, selflessness, hard work and sacrifice into the grassroots. • I shall lead in providing the necessary tools and trusted leadership, so the the grassroots and the constituencies can finish the “war” • I hope to inaugurate more External Branches to strategically place the party in pole position for the implementation of ROPAL. CONCLUSION I conclude with the hymnodist, “pass me not oh gentle savior, hear my humble cry and while others are calling do not pass me by”. Released on behalf of Sir John by; Frank Asiedu Bekoe Coordinator Team2014-Making it Happen with Sir John!

KWABENA AGYEI AGYEPONG'S PRFILE

Think Victory, Vote Kwabena Agyepong

1.      1992- Key Member, Young Executive Forum;

2.      1992- co-opted member of the publicity committee

3.      1992- Face of the Party on State Television

4.      1992- Shadow cabinet committee of Mines, Lands and Natural Resources under the chairmanship of Dr Kwame Donkor Fordjour.

5.      1996- member of the national campaign team under the chairmanship of Alhaji Issaka Inusah

6.      1996- Responsible for Training and Education on Electoral Issues

7.      1996- coordinator,  Advertising and publicity campaigns in both print and electronic media

8.      1996- Serve as one of the two party representatives at the strong room of the Electoral Commission to monitor and ratify election results before official announcement.

9.      1998- Communications Director of the Akufo-Addo campaign during NPP presidential primaries in Sunyani

10.  1999 to 2000- played a key role in the National Campaign effort for the successful 2000 elections

11.  2000- Nominated as one of the two party’s representatives at the EC to monitor election results.

12.  2001- He served as Press Secretary to the President from 2001 until May 2006. As Press Secretary, he was responsible among other things for:

                                  I.            Coordinating the day-to-day coverage of the President’s activities both in the local and international media. Fielding questions from the media on major policy issues, explaining the rationale behind decisions and initiatives taken by the President

                                II.            He participated in the G8 Summit, Sea Island Savannah Georgia, USA hosted by President George Bush in July 2004.

                              III.            G8 Summit, Gleneagles, Scotland UK hosted by Prime Minister, Tony Blair in 2005.

                             IV.            Commonwealth Heads of State and Governments meeting (CHOGM) Summits, Abuja, Nigeria 2003 and Malta 2005.

                               V.            Extraordinary and Ordinary sessions of the AU assembly, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002, 2001.

                             VI.            Extraordinary and ordinary sessions of Heads of State of ECOWAS 2001-2006* 50TH anniversary of Asian African Summit and Birth of the Non Aligned Movement, April 2005 Bundung Jakarta-Indonesia.

13.   2007- The youngest Presidential Aspirant

14.  2008- Nominated as one of the two party’s representatives at the EC to monitor election results

15.  2010- Campaign Manager for Alan Kyerematen

16.  2012- Nominated as one of  the representatives at the EC to monitor election results

IS THE NPP NOW FISHING FOR EVIDENCE AGAINST PAUL AFOKO.A must read article

IS THE NPP NOW FISHING FOR EVIDENCE AGAINST AFOKO?

It has been three weeks since Paul Afoko , a leading contender in the NPP Chairmanship race met with the vetting committee where he was confronted with a anonymous petition that accused him of a criminal conviction in the United Kingdom.

The committee will neither show him the petition nor tell him the author, but went on to ask questions in relation to the claims of the unknown petitioner.

In the process, the committee ‘forced’ Afoko to supply them with his London address so they will begin their investigations.

Three weeks down the line we are now hearing that the NPP is waiting for a report from Interpol over Paul Afoko. Is the Interpol going to supply information about the alleged criminal conviction in the UK, or are they simply pair-trawling for any kind of dirt to hit Afoko with?

The institution with the records of all criminal convictions in the UK is the Crowns Prosecutions Service and they can even be contacted via the internet to supply the answers. It is curious that the NPP is taking this long to settle a simple matter or is it a gimmick to slow Afoko down while the other contenders are in the field?

One would have thought that the petitioner should have been made to accompany his or her petition with some basic evidence of the year of imprisonment, the court that convicted Afoko and the name of the presiding Judge in that matter but none of these was supplied.

A leading member of the NPP, Mr. Gabby Octhere Darko had this to say about the petition and the conduct of the vetting committee on his facebook wall: “So the NPP accepts petitions of allegations without supporting evidence from faceless strangers about their own leading members? Only for an innocent person sitting his somewhere to be publicly and falsely accused of being behind such rubbish? Sickening! Just sickening…” NPP YOUTH FOR PAUL AFOKO

THIS IS A MUST READ STORY,GHANAIAN WOMEN BEING FORCED INTO PROSTITUTION OUTSIDE,ESPECIALLY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Ghanaian women being forced into prostitution in Middle Eastern countries The United States government says Ghanaian women are being forced into prostitution and forced labour in foreign countries, particularly in the Middle East. According to the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report 2013, Ghanaian women migrating to the Middle East to work are forced into prostitution upon their arrival. The report attributed the phenomenon to the, emergence of fraudulent recruitment agencies that advertised locally for jobs abroad, generally in the domestic service and retail sectors. Ghanaian women and children are recruited and transported to Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, South Africa, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States for forced labour and prostitution,” it said. The report also revealed that women and girls voluntarily migrating from China, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Benin are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation after arriving in Ghana. It noted that citizens from other West African countries are subjected to forced labour in Ghana in agriculture or domestic service. “Ghana is a country of origin, transit, and destination for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking,” it stated. The report said the trafficking of Ghanaians, particularly children, within the country is more prevalent than the transnational trafficking of foreign migrants. “Ghanaian boys and girls are subjected to conditions’ of forced labour within the country in fishing, domestic service, street hawking, begging, portering, artisanal gold mining, and agriculture. Ghanaian girls, and to a lesser extent boys, are subjected to prostitution within Ghana,” it added. According to the report, child prostitution, and possibly child sex tourism, is prevalent in the Volta Region and is growing in the oil-producing Western Region. The report said during the reporting period, the government initiated 75 trafficking investigations and secured three convictions and this demonstrates a significant decrease from the previous reporting period, when the government initiated 91 investigations and convicted 29 traffickers. It noted that all three offenders were convicted for sex trafficking offenses; two received five-year prison sentences and one received a seven-year sentence. The report indicted the Government of Ghana of not fully complying with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government also drafted a new five-year national action plan and continued to conduct information and education campaigns throughout the country. At the close of the reporting period, two prosecutions and 42 investigations remained pending. In October 2012, the Government of Ghana collaborated with the Government of Burkina Faso in an INTERPOL-led operation, which resulted in the rescue of 387 child trafficking victims from various West African nations subjected to forced labour in gold mines and cotton fields in Burkina Faso; the Ghanaian Police sent 16 officers to participate in the operation and assisted in 30 arrests. During November and December 2012, the government began an operation against sex trafficking in close co-operation with the Government of Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP); as a result of this operation, authorities rescued 82 Nigerian and 41 Ghanaian victims and apprehended 10 Nigerian and six Ghanaian suspected trafficking of-fenders. As a result of these investigative efforts, five prosecutions were completed during the reporting period; one additional case is pending. The report recommended to government to increase efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, convict and punish trafficking offenders to ensure that the police’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) discharges its duties effectively. Source: The Finder

KNUST lecturer turns plastic waste to fuel

Plastic waste has been a global menace and an issue for discussion at various conferences, seminars and platforms both locally and international. In a bid to contribute their knowledge to solve the plastic waste menace whilst generating revenue alongside, Mr. Michael Commeh, of the Technology Consultancy Centre (TCC) of the College of Engineering (CoE) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has developed a new technology that can convert waste plastic into fuel.
Mr. Commeh together with Isaiah Nimako and Nene Amoatey, Researchers at Applied Industrial Ceramics and Rural Energy and Enterprise Development Unit (AIC-REED) of the TCC of KNUST used “Reverse Function theory” and “Thermal Decomposition approach” to develop the technology.
Over the past year, they have developed a setup that can under stated conditions convert waste plastics both (Low Density Polyethylene LDPE and High Density Polyethylene HDPE) to fuel. The fuel can either be petrol, aviation fuel or diesel which they say is their focus for now.
The proposed “MIN fuel” currently runs on a petrol engine. The American standard test also proved that it can be used to run any diesel or petrol engine as well as form an excellent blend (admix) with petrol of low octane number, as proved by their test.
The team believes the technology can be applied to e-waste to turn its plastic to fuel as well as retrieve gold, platinum, copper etc. from electronic waste.
 The fuel is the best for exhaust, better than the normal fuel on the Ghanaian market, environmentally friendly, a good mix for all fuels and has higher performance.  It is also safe and meets all the standards of the Ghana Standards Authority when it was tested by them.
In an exclusive interview with the University Relations Office (URO) Mr. Commeh revealed that the fundamental aim of the project is to make use of limited resources to advance technology. He said irrespective of limited resources it did not take place in a developed country but Ghana, which is a great achievement as a developing country.
He indicated that as global sister universities are doing, it would be good if the University would adopt the project to improve the image and the global ranking of the University.
He said in Ghana alone, about 200,000 tons of waste are generated every day with close to 60 per cent made up of plastics and therefore “the research team sees waste as ‘money in transition’ and took the challenge in converting it to fuel, and plastic is one of them among others.”
Mr. Michael Commeh solely financed this project with his research allowance, but
looks forward to setting up various plants throughout the country and called on donors, collaborators and investors to partner them to contribute their knowledge to solve the plastic waste menace whilst generating revenue alongside.
The Student Representative Council (SRC) of KNUST has shown interest and promised a thirty thousand Ghana Cedi (GH¢30, 000.00) support for scaling up to two barrel a day production.


source: knust.edu.gh