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14th MTN Pulse Africa Role Model Awards ceremony… 2 MPs, 8 others honoured in Ashanti Region
Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh displaying his citation.
In a quest to develop human potential through networking as well as acknowledging and awarding personalities who have contributed to national development, the Young Professionals and Youth Coalition (YPYC) under the able leadership of Mr. Andy Okrah (Founder) is leaving no stone unturned to raise this organisation to an enviable level in the coming years.
Two Members of Parliament (MPs), Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Manhyia South, and Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, Asawase, were among 10 other personalities honoured at the 14th MTN Pulse Africa Role Model Awards ceremony.
They were described as Africa’s most distinguished role models in politics and governance.
The event was organised by the YPYC, and held at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) under the theme, “Next Generation Leadership: Unlocking the Leader in You”.
It coincided with a summit dubbed, “Mentors Mentees Leadership Transform Summit 2023.”
And, it was graced by personalities including Nana Baffour Agyei Fosu Twitwikwa III, Otumfour Anantahene, as chairman, Professor Christian Agyare, Provost College of Health Sciences as a guest with Professor Ellis Owusu – Dabo, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, KNUST, as Guest Speaker.
According to the President of YPYC, Andy Osei Okrah, the award recipients constituted the finest selection of the most outstanding personalities who have truly excelled as transformational leaders and role models impacting society.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
