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Follow JM everywhere to sell paraphernalia- Vendor
Ms Rose Danquah
Ms Rose Dankwah is neither a personal bodyguard nor the driver of former President, John Dramani Mahama.
She does not also play any role as a protocol officer or function in any official office of Mr Mahama but when asked whether she occupies any position in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party which Mr Mahama leads currently, she responded in the affirmative.
Although Ms Dankwah officially holds no identifiable position in the party, she remains one of the popular faces in the party’s colours for her penchant to follow the party’s candidate on every campaign trail.
Ms Dankwah, a resident of Kwashiebu in the Greater Accra Region has become one of the familiar faces around party campaign grounds with the sale of all kinds of NDC paraphernalia.
She said besides making sales to take care of her needs and those of her family, she also gets fulfilment because she loves the NDC party so much.
Speaking in an interview with The Spectator last week when Mr. Mahama visited the Ashaiman Municipality to interact with artisans and informal workers, Ms Dankwah said she had been involved in this for over 20 years with former President Jerry John Rawlings.
She recalled in the past when the business was good and quite promising, especially on the travels countrywide, making good sales.
However, she said, “the times have changed; the job is not lucrative as it used to be.”
Ms Dankwah gets her wares from Accra or Kumasi from people who mostly import from China and displays on the ground and also hawks at rally grounds.
Her paraphernalia ranges from bracelets, necklaces, scarfs, T-shirts, vuvuzela, whistles and many more.
The trader said the business comes with some risk like all other businesses, one being the seasonal drop in sales especially in the off political seasons.
When that happens, she and her colleagues pack the items into store rooms and painfully wait for another four years or any political activity involving the party that they might chance on to sell.
Apart from the party paraphernalia, Ms Dankwah sells anything that would provide her daily bread until another election year beckons.
Fascinatingly, she sells strictly NDC paraphernalia and has no plans to sell other political party items.
This, she explained, is to show her loyalty to the NDC party.
Apart from the few challenges related to her business, Ms Dankwah also has a major headache, that is, her rent which is due for expiry in two months’ time.
“I am scared that I might not be in any good position to settle my rent because the political season is yet to kick off. I am one of the few people praying that the political season would kick off in earnest to start making some money for myself.”
In her view, a huge number of paraphernalia vendors were not party faithfuls like her, acknowledging that “all of them are not like me, some support other parties but there are a few that support no political groupings.”
She was of the view that it was time they formed an association to help make life better for paraphernalia vendors.
By Dzifa Tetteh Tay
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
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
