8, January 2017
Ghost town and school closures to go ahead on Monday as talks end without agreement 0
The ghost town operation and the industrial action by the Consortium of Southern Cameroons teachers and lawyers will go ahead after last ditch talks with the Professor Ghogomu Paul Minglo so-called Ad hoc Committee end without agreement.
Consortium leaders have called on Southern Cameroonians to massively observe a ghost town for tomorrow Monday the 9th of January 2017. The leaders have also promised to extend the strike action indefinitely if their demands are not met by the Francophone government. Schools around the Southern Cameroons nation will be closed tomorrow.
Cameroon Concord News gathered that both sides have agreed that talks will continue and further contacts will take place with a view to arranging more talks next week. Speaking after yesterday’s discussions, the Anglophone leaders said that large differences remain and progress has been slow, “almost static I would say” hinted Barrister Agbor Balla.
He added that the shutting of schools is the Consortium’s decision. The Gogomu Paul Committee earlier issued a circular to school principals dealing with the implications of the ghost town operation scheduled by the Consortium calling on schools to reopen on Monday the 9th.
The Anglophone leaders described the move as very provocative and reiterated that the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime no longer has legitimate authority in Southern Cameroons. Roman Catholic Education Secretaries including those of the Baptist and Presbyterian churches have all described it as a normal approach if teachers withdraw from core duties until the Anglophone issues are resolve. Wilfred Tassang noted that the action is going ahead because there is no offer on the table from the Yaounde regime.
By Rita Akana in Bamenda
8, January 2017
Ghana: President Nana Akufo-Addo takes the oath of office 0
Ghana’s new president, Nana Akufo-Addo, has been sworn in after defeating incumbent John Dramani Mahama in last month’s peaceful elections. On January 7, thousands of officials and guests from across Africa watched Akufo-Addo taking the oath of office at the Independence Square in central Accra, Ghana’s capital. He won the December 7 election on his third run for office.
International dignitaries, including Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Chadian President Idris Deby, and former UN chief Kofi Annan attended the swearing-in ceremony. During the ceremony, Akufo-Addo, 72, a former human rights lawyer vowed to revive Ghana’s economy by reducing taxes and opening new businesses and factories.
He has also promised to “protect and defend” the Constitution of Ghana and to never disappoint his people. “I will not let you, the people of Ghana, down,” Akufo-Addo, 72, wrote on his Twitter feed just after taking office. The latest transition of power took place in the wake of Ghanaians’ deep frustration with the country’s economic management.
In the run-up to the election, Akufo-Addo had blamed Mahama for the economic slump which led to an International Monetary Fund bailout. Mahama, however, denied the charges and declared that the government was facing “strong headwinds” at the time which entailed slow growth, rise of public sector debt and the sinking currency.
In a farewell address, however, Mahama encouraged Ghanaians to support Akufo-Addo as his successor. Akufo-Addo is forced to stick to the International Monetary Fund’s two-year austerity plan introduced in 2015 for a bailout as the country faced inflation and high debt. Akufo-Addo is a major exporter of cocoa and gold. Ghana is the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa and Africa’s second biggest gold producer after South Africa. Ghana’s economic growth is expected to return to above eight percent in 2017.
Presstv