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Sight of poverty makes me cry – The New Force leader
Nana Kwame Bediako
Everyone has that one thing that could move them to tears- it could be the loss of a loved one, being jilted by a lover, failing to meet a target, losing an election, being robbed and the list could go on and on.
For Nana Kwame Bediako, the leader of the New Force, he just cannot stand the sight of poverty.
Poverty, he said makes him emotional and could let tears run down his face uncontrollably.
Speaking in an interview with The Spectator on Monday, Mr. Bediako said it was heartbreaking that poverty is everywhere in the country.
“People are struggling but you cannot help everybody. The pain isn’t because people are poor, but the pain is you cannot help everyone” he lamented.
He said as an individual, he had tried to help as many people as possible by giving them jobs or one form of assistance or the other to improve their lives.
However, he was sad that it was not possible for any individual to help everyone eventhough they all needed help and that is what makes him cry.
Mr. Bediako said some people were going through so much difficulties that they could not even afford basic needs of life such as food, water, clothing and shelter.
The man behind the mask on several billboards all over the country which got many speculating what that was about, said the fact that people were not being given enough opportunities to explore their full potentials was something every well-meaning citizen should be concerned about.
Ambitious of becoming the next President with a vision to change the lives of the citizenry, especially the youth through job creation and industrialisation, Mr Bediakosaid he was convinced that, the young people were not being given the chance to give what they have to their country.
Mr Bediako, also known as Cheddar, said the potential of children should even be built right from the scratch when they are very young so that they could become a force to reckon with in whatever field they find themselves in future.
According to Cheddar, countries that had done these over the years had made commendable progress.
He advised that the youth should be groomed to have entrepreneurial skills so that the country could make a lot of money for development.
He said, it was important for people to know that there would beimpediments on their ways but instead of being bitter about them,they should see that as a motivation to strive harder to be successful.
He recalled that as a young person, tension between him and his stepmother, had motivated him to be determined to work for his own properties and not just sit back to inherit what his father had acquired.
He said crisis could bring a lot of good things out of people to make them and achieve things they never thought they could.
Mr. Bediako encouraged the youth to do what is right at all times and work hard for things to get better.
“Pray before you start whatever you want to do and if you are convinced that what you are doing is good, don’t allow anyone to discourage you. Go all out and do it. I tried it and it worked for me” he assured.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Tema
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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
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Ghana to locally refine its gold starting October 2025 – Sammy Gyamfi
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, has announced that plans are far advanced for the establishment of a state-owned gold refinery in the country.
Speaking at the 2025 Minerals and Mining Convention, Mr Gyamfi said the refinery will process locally mined gold into bullion instead of exporting it in its raw state.
According to him, it is unacceptable that Ghana, despite being a leading gold producer in Africa, continues to export raw gold known as dore.
He explained that the Gold Board, working with the Bank of Ghana and local refineries, will from October 2025 begin refining gold locally.
He also disclosed that an ultramodern assay laboratory will be built to ensure international standards in testing gold quality.
Mr Gyamfi noted that the refinery will be wholly state-owned and will help Ghana move away from raw mineral exports to value addition.
This, he said, will boost foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, and position Ghana as a hub for gold refining and jewellery production in Africa.
The CEO stressed that the project forms part of government’s strategy to ensure the country benefits fully from its natural resources and to transform the mining sector into a driver of economic growth.
By: Jacob Aggrey
