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Curbing piracy: Report suspicious persons to security agencies
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The treat of pirates on the Coast of West Africa is of concern to the traditional rulers and people living along the Coasts of Ghana.
To this end, the Paramount Chief of Essikado Traditional Area in the Western Region, Nana Kobina Nketsia V, has asked fishermen along the nation’s coasts to promptly report suspicious characters to the navy or the security agencies for action in the fight against piracy
He said, the passage of such information twould help check the activities of pirates which were a threat to the security and safety of the West African sub-regional maritime domain.
“Let’s all be alert and collaborate with our security personnel to check piracy at sea,” he said.
Nana Nketsia made the appeal last Saturday during the official opening of the 2021 closed season at the Albert Bosumtwi Sam (ABS) fishing harbour, at Sekondi.
He said, the collective effort of all stakeholders was key to the protection and conservation of the marine resources.
He, however, told the gathering that selfishness and greed were critical issues that had undermined Ghana’s fisheries sector and believed that the enforcement of the fisheries laws would instil discipline in the sector, devoid of partisan politics.
“If you flout the rules, the law must take its course. The laws must be allowed to work in the interest of all stakeholders. Let’s embrace the closed season because we are one people”.
Historically, Essikado Omanhen noted that Ghana’s shores hauled abundant herrings especially during July and August , bringing joy to the fishing community, but, today, due to poverty, these potentials had eluded fishers.
“If we say on Tuesdays, there should be no fishing, it’s no fishing. But, because of greed and selfishness, we don’t comply. You are destroying your own future. We are destroying what our forefathers bequeathed to this generation.T hey knew why they declared that the sea must rest on that day,” he said.
Nana Nketsia called on stakeholders be resolute and check the activities of foreigners who engaged in illegal fishing to ensure discipline in the fisheries sector.
“Ghanaians are legally mandated to use the sea not Koreans or Chinese. It’s our future. Some of them come here fishing and depleting our fish stock. We need to be resolute on this issue.” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Mr Jojo Solomon a National Executive of the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council, applauded the success of the 2021 closed season and believed that with the cooperation of all stakeholders, Ghana was on the path of restoring sanity in the marine environment.
From Clement Adzei Boye, Sekondi
The Director of Legal Affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako Marfo, has questioned who will bear the cost of conducting presidential and parliamentary primaries following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the party’s delegate system.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Nimako Marfo said he would not immediately comment on the ruling, adding that he wanted to wait for the full details before sharing his views.
“I don’t want to comment on it now. Let’s wait,” he said.
When asked about the Supreme Court’s decision that all members in good standing should vote in party elections, he shifted attention to the financial implications of implementing the ruling.
According to him, allowing all members in good standing to vote would increase the cost of organising internal party elections.
He questioned who would pay for the expanded electoral process.
“Who is going to pay for the cost of the elections?” he asked.
When a journalist suggested that political parties would bear the cost, Mr. Nimako Marfo replied, “Let’s wait and see.”
The comments come after the Supreme Court ruled that political parties should allow all members in good standing to vote in their internal elections, a decision that is expected to expand participation but also increase the financial and logistical demands of organising presidential and parliamentary primaries.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Supreme Court of Ghana has declared the delegate system used by political parties to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates unconstitutional.
In a 5-2 majority decision delivered, the Court ruled that the long-standing system violates democratic principles and ordered all political parties to ensure every registered, card-bearing member participates in presidential and parliamentary primaries.
The ruling brings to an end decades of internal party elections conducted by a limited number of delegates.
The suit was filed by former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng; veteran politician Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe; and former Minister for Lands and Forestry, Dr. Christine Amoako-Nuamah.
The plaintiffs argued that the delegate system created inequality among party members by granting voting rights to a privileged minority while excluding ordinary members in good standing.
They told the Court that restricting voting rights to delegates was inconsistent with the democratic principles enshrined in the 1992 Constitution.
The Attorney-General’s Department supported the suit and urged the Court to adopt a “one member, one vote” approach.
In its submission, the State argued that political parties perform an important public function in Ghana’s democratic framework and that their internal electoral processes must reflect constitutional values of equality, participation and universal suffrage.
The Attorney-General further submitted that expanding voting rights to all registered members would strengthen accountability and deepen internal democracy within political parties.
The judgment means that going forward, presidential and parliamentary candidates will be selected by all registered members of a political party, instead of by delegates alone.
Political parties are expected to review their constitutions and structures to comply with the Court’s directive ahead of the 2028 general elections.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
