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Be committed to change negative perceptions- Newly recruited Local Gov’t Service Staff told
The newly recruited Local Government Service Staff in group picture with management of the service
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Seth Kwame Acheampong has urged newly recruited local government service staff to work in the spirit of commitment to change the negative perceptions of society about the roles of assemblies in the country.
He said society has had such negative perceptions about the assembly mainly due to how some service staff performed their roles in the delivery of services to clients’ dissatisfaction.
“We are faced with the challenges of changing the negative perceptions of society about the roles of assemblies since we believe that most of us gathered here entered the public service out of a genuine desire to help make a difference,” he said.
Mr Acheampong whose speech was read on his behalf by the Eastern Regional Chief Director of the Local Government Service, Mr John Donkor, at an orientation programme held in Koforidua for recently recruited Local Government Service Staff, urged them to be committed to the job and work as a team to attain the goals and objectives of the service to change the face of the service and better serve their clients.
394 personnel were taken through the orientation to enable them adjust to their new work environment and better understand and appreciate the Local Government Service and working procedures.
The Minister stated that in contemporary times, Local authorities face pressure from clients to improve upon service delivery “by being focused, transparent, accountable, effective, efficient, professional and responsive to the needs of society,”
For that reason, he stated the need for the local government staff to live up to the expectations of key stakeholders and called on the new ones to contribute to maintaining a good reputation for the service as they represented the new face of the public service.
The Regional Minister also called on the staff of the Local Government Service to consider the service in its national essence, commit fully and remain abreast with the mechanisms associated with their work to affect the realization of the vision and mandate of the service.
“I will urge all new recruits to imbibe technical knowledge to take on their roles effectively as technocrats’ bureaucrats in the various Municipal and District Assemblies in the region,” he said.
The Regional Head of the Department of Human Resource of the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council, Mr Cyril Dzinyanu Xatse commended the Office of the Head of the Local Government Service for augmenting the staff strength of the region and also thanked the 33 Municipal Assemblies in the region for their continuous support.
He urged the new officers to be diligent in the discharge of their duties while they take into consideration the tenets of the Public Service professionalism.
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
