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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
Madam Sandra Seyram Kpedor, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Anloga in the Volta Region, has emphasised the importance of parental involvement in children’s education, stating that education is free, but parents need to do more to support their children.
She said parents, teachers, and students must be involved in addressing the challenges facing the district’s education sector, particularly the poor Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results.
Madam Kpedor outlined some key roles parents should play to promote their children’s education, including providing a conducive learning environment, monitoring their children’s progress, and supporting teachers.
The DCE highlighted some challenges the district faced such as inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of teachers, which have also contributed to the poor BECE results and called on well-to-do parent to help solve the situation through and other supports.
To address the issues, she also announced that plans have been taken to utilise the district’s common fund to implement educational projects, such as constructing school blocks and teachers’ bungalows at Sodzi community, and 2-unit classroom blocks each at Akplorwutorkor and Tegbi-Afedome respectively, among others.
Madam Kpedor also noted that her office had earlier notified the Ministry of Education to deploy more teachers to the area to improve teaching and learning, and encouraged students to work hard and strive for excellence, and work beyond their limit to succeed.
“To my wonderful and beautiful girls, you have to know it clear that women and girls have equal opportunities to compete with men for greater achievements,” she indicated.
The DCE cited her own achievement as a testament to the fact that women can excel in leadership positions, alongside Vice President Nana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and stressed that girls were no longer limited to domestic roles but can pursue their dreams and become leaders.
Additionally, she mentioned that a meeting was held earlier with assembly members, and other stakeholders to address the district’s educational challenges and improve academic performance.
She promised that the district’s education oversight committee and stakeholders would work together to address the challenges and improve the district’s BECE results and called for parental involvement and support to boost the district’s education sector for children to chase their dreams to become future leaders for the success of the district and the nation.
She urged parents not to leave everything to the government but rather help in the provision of some necessary materials such as textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, food, and guidance to children for the successes of young learners. –GNA
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The spokesperson for Dr. Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has criticised the implementation of the NDC government’s No Fee Stress policy, arguing that the programme has failed to deliver on its core promise.
According to him on Starr fm, the policy, which was introduced to ensure stress free payment of fees for level 100 tertiary students, has rather turned into what he described as post stress support.
He explained that students are required to pay their fees first before applying for reimbursement, a situation he believes defeats the purpose of the policy.
He questioned claims by government officials that the policy has been successful and that citizens are happy.
In his view, such claims do not reflect the lived realities of many Ghanaians. He stressed that while some people may appear satisfied, many others continue to struggle.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye pointed to the situation of trained teachers and nurses who have been picketing for nearly six months, demanding employment.
He noted that government responses suggesting it cannot accommodate all of them contradict claims of economic stability.
He further argued that economic indicators such as a stable currency mean little to people who are unable to secure jobs or access promised support.
He observed that telling an unemployed teacher or a struggling student that the cedi has strengthened does not address their immediate challenges.
On the issue of tertiary education, he maintained that no level 100 student benefited from stress free fees in 2025, despite the policy being announced.
He added that in 2026, students have already reported to school without receiving the promised support.
He insisted that asking students to pay fees first and seek reimbursement later amounts to support after hardship, not stress free education.
According to him, this approach goes against what was promised during the policy announcement.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye questioned why a government that presents the economy as strong is unable to fulfil what he described as simple and clear promises.
He added that there is a fundamental problem with the way the economy is being managed and indicated that he is prepared to explain his position further.
By: Jacob Aggrey
