2013 Year Review

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JusticeGhana Looks at the Ups and Downs of 2013 - 2013 Year Review

Details: Category: Special Reports; Created on Wednesday, 01 January 2014 00:00; Hits: 11733

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JULY

POLITICAL CONFLICT (03/07): Mohamed Morsi ousted in Egypt's second revolution in two years- Patrick Kingsley and Martin Chulov in Cairo reported the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood's political leader and president of Egypt- Mohamed Morsi. The chief of the armed forces, General Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi, was quoted to have announced that he had suspended the constitution and would nominate the head of the constitutional court, Adli Mansour, as interim president on Thursday. Both presidential and parliamentary elections would follow shortly afterwards and a transitional cabinet would be named. Islamists saw Morsi's removal as a betrayal of democracy. According to the Guardian UK report, on Wednesday evening Barack Obama urged Egypt's military to hand back control to a democratic, civilian government without delay, but stopped short of calling Morsi's ouster a coup. “In a carefully worded statement, Obama said he was "deeply concerned" by the military's move to topple Morsi's government and suspend Egypt's constitution. He said he was ordering the US government to assess what the military's actions meant for US foreign aid to Egypt $1.5bn a year in military and economic assistance.”

AUGUST

THE VERDICT (Tuesday 29 August 2013) The 9-member panel of Supreme Court judges who sat on the presidential election petition brought by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, handed down its ruling, stating that the “overall effect” of their decisions on the various grounds of irregularities implied that President John Dramani Mahama, was validly elected, and accordingly, dismissed the claims being sought. In reading out the verdict, Presiding Judge- William Atuguba (JSC), stated at paragrah 5 of the judgement as follows: “Atuguba, Adinyira, Dotse, Baffoe-Bonnie, Gbadebge and Akoto Bamfo dismiss the claim relating to voting without biometric verification.” At paragraph 9 of the judgement Justice Atuguba also reads: “Baffoe-Bonnie JSC grants the claim of voting without biometric verification cancels the votes involved and orders a rerun of the areas affected.” The question that arose was: how can Justice Baffoe-Bonnie uphold and dismissed, at the same time, the violation of “No Biometric Verification”? Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie was said to have upheld that 705,305 votes in 1,739 polling stations have to be cancelled because those votes were cast without biometric verification. It was also discovered that Ms Justice Rose Constance Owusu’s name was omitted from the front page with the title “CORAM, although she was one of the nine-panel justices. Though with murmurs, both stakeholders accepted their trials and triumphs in a measured faith.

SEPTEMBER

GOVERNANCE (11/09): J.A. Kufuor Advocates for a Second Chamber of Parliament- Former President John Agyekum Kufuor rekindled the position of his forbearers in the formation of Oman Ghana as a replica of the United Kingdom. “I believe in a second Chamber which is made up of equal representation of regions and also perhaps major identifiable groups – say religious groups, traditional authorities... 'Then off course the Constitution should be arranged in such a way that the house of the people, that’s the lower house, will not be given a free reign, too easily, to impose the majority rule…” This was against the backdrop of a post-election petition verdict lecture on “fostering peace, national cohesion and reconciliation” delivered by Ex-Prez de Klerk on devolution of power to the local government level through regional governments in African countries. “…I don’t like the hybrid idea of ministers sitting in Parliament, no. If you are a Minister, you are [part of the] Executive. Stay on one side. Professionalize the House of the People, that’s Parliament”, XYZ quoted Kufuor as saying.

The Hague: Judges at The Hague have upheld the 50-year jail sentence of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for aiding murderous rebels in Sierra Leone's civil war, Aljazeera news reported. “Taylor, 65, had earlier been found guilty by the Special Court for Sierra Leone on April 26, 2012, of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including terrorism, murder, rape and using child soldiers. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Judges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) on Thursday rejected Taylor's appeal against his earlier conviction.” (aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/09 The ex-aide to General Samuel Doe of Liberia was a pillar in his overthrow and brutal execution in 1989

OCTOBER

HEALTH & YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT: Jobless youth are 'public health time bomb', says WHO (BBC 30/10)- Youth unemployment in the UK is a "public health time bomb waiting to explode", according to a review by the World Health Organisation has warned of the health consequences of high numbers of Neets - people not in employment, education or training (aged 16 to 24) classed as Neet, are more than one million in the UK. The report also said the UK was behind other European countries on female life expectancy, deaths of children under five and child poverty. In the words of James Gallagher- BBC Health and science reporter, the WHO and the University College London Institute of Health Equity analysed the reasons for differences in life expectancy across Europe, stating that being unemployed has immediate health consequences, including an increased risk of depression and suicide and in the longer term increases the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke…(link to youthnews)

NOVEMBER

JusticeGhana receives its certificate of recognition as a duly registered Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and as a Company Limited by Guarantee (Feb)- and is being regulated by the Department of Social Welfare in Ghana. It has started its operations in the country- focusing on: Health Promotion; Education & Training; Research, Information, Advisory & Advocacy Services.

DECEMBER

Photo Reporting OBITUARY/TRIBUTES (05/12/2013): The World Mourns The Final Passing of Nelson Mandela- The anti-apartheid campaigner and the first Black South African President- Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, born on 18 July 1918, was reported dead after battling a prolonged illness on Thursday 05 December 2013, at the age of 95. His body was taken by military escort to Pretoria, where it was laid in state at government buildings for three days and finally laid to rest in his ancestral home in Qunu on 15 December 2013. KABC news report quotes President Zuma as saying: "What I liked most about Mandela was his forgiveness, his passion, his diversity, and the impact of what he did." President Obama of the United States of America describes him as “the last great liberator of the 20th century.”