PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Ghana: Exams scandal, parliamentary primaries of opposition party reported in Ghana
Accra, Ghana (PANA) – A widespread leak of several papers in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the shocking results of parliamentary primaries of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) were some of the stories reported in Ghana during the week.
The newspapers also reported the retirement of the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, and the fast depreciation of the currency, the Ghana cedi.
The state-owned Ghanaian Times reported on Thursday under the headline, “WAEC cancels 5 papers”, that WAEC had cancelled five papers in the week-long BECE which ended officially on Friday and commenced investigations into the matter.
It quoted a statement issued in Accra on Wednesday by WAEC as saying it was determined to follow the case to its logical conclusion and would not shield any person, including its own staff, who would be found culpable.
It said the Council discovered that five papers were compromised, adding, besides other sources, the papers had gone viral on social media, especially whatsapp Messenger.
“BNI probes WAEC,” was the headline of the state-owned Graphic newspaper, which reported that the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) had taken over investigations into the leak of five subject papers in the examination for students to enter secondary schools.
It said the head of the WAEC in Ghana, Rev. Samuel Ollennu, was questioned on Wednesday by the BNI on the orders of the National Security Council Secretariat.
It said WAEC could not be trusted to investigate itself as the magnitude of the leak could not have occurred without the connivance of some officials of the examinations body.
The papers that leaked would be rewritten on 29-30 June.
The Graphic said some parents had blamed WAEC and some of its staff for the leak, adding that candidates should not suffer for the inability of the council to police its papers.
One parent, Madam Yaa Boahemaa, said: “This is going to have a psychological effect on the children. My son has for the past one month cut short his sleep because of the examination, and I can’t imagine how he is going to write five papers in two days.”
Another parent, Mr Stephen Sah, said the porous security system of WAEC was responsible for the leak.
Meanwhile, at least 10 persons, including three junior high school students, have been arrested by the police in connection with the leak.
Seven of them were arrested in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city, while the three students were picked up in Accra. The students were found with some of the leaked papers.
“Shocks at NPP primaries: ‘Big shots’ tumble,” was the headline of the Ghanaian Times on the outcome of the parliamentary primaries.
It reported that more than a dozen MPs of the party who had served more than two four-year terms would be axed from parliament after 7 January, 2017 following their defeat at the 13 June primaries.
It said some of the losers, especially the experienced incumbent MPs, had a rude awakening as they went home gnashing their teeth.
The Graphic had the headline, “Shocker! Why big names fell in NPP primaries.”
The newspaper reported that delegates of the NPP shocked a number of incumbent Members of Parliament at the party’s parliamentary primaries held in 245 constituencies across the country.
Twenty-four of the MPs, many of them front benchers, were, in their bid to contest the 2016 parliamentary elections on the ticket of the NPP, rejected by the delegates for various reasons.
Some of the reasons ascribed by some of the delegates were that the MPs had neglected their constituents and were not playing the role expected of them as the people’s representatives.
Others also said their MPs had suddenly become inaccessible and unpopular with the constituents, for which reason they (delegates) had decided to punish them by voting them out.
The Graphic headline on the retirement of the Chairman of the Electoral Commission was “Afari-Gyan bids goodbye.”
It said the EC boss this week took a graceful bow from the Commission when he met the staff to bid them farewell at a brief durbar, which was organised without fanfare and behind closed doors.
It said the Ghanaian academic, political scientist and election administrator chalked 70 years on 18 June and at this age, he is statutorily required to retire from his position because that position is equivalent to a Court of Appeal judge who retires at age 70.
The Graphic said his sterling performance over the years had not been in doubt, as he had held the position of executive secretary of electoral bodies globally.
He also chaired the conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012.
The newspaper said in more recent times, his role at the commission had been called into question by some politicians and some governance experts, with the opposition NPP appealing against the results of the 2012 presidential poll won by President John Dramani Mahama. The NPP lost the court case.
“Cedi loses value against major currencies,” was the headline of the Graphic on the poor performance of the currency.
The story said the government’s fiscal and monetary policies had come under attack as stakeholders, businesses and currency analysts had questioned their potency to revive the ailing economy and stabilise the fast depreciating cedi.
It quoted various stakeholders as saying they had lost confidence in the monetary policies in particular because at the interbank market, the cedi was weakening by the day.
Checks at the interbank level indicated that US$1 is being exchanged for GH4.25 Ghana cedis while at the forex bureaux US$1 is being quoted for 4.30 Ghana cedis.
The Monetary Policy Committee had confirmed in its report that the developments in the foreign exchange market indicated a further weakening of the domestic currency in 2015, plunging by 17.2 per cent from January to 8 May.
It quoted a currency analyst as blaming the central bank for not monitoring the commercial banks enough do what would help its policies to become more effective.
He said the country lacked adequate data on exports and noted that “we see a lot of exports but the exports are mainly done by foreign companies working here and therefore, when they export, they keep the profits in their countries although they change a lot of cedis into dollars here”.
-0- PANA MA/VAO 20June2015
The newspapers also reported the retirement of the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, and the fast depreciation of the currency, the Ghana cedi.
The state-owned Ghanaian Times reported on Thursday under the headline, “WAEC cancels 5 papers”, that WAEC had cancelled five papers in the week-long BECE which ended officially on Friday and commenced investigations into the matter.
It quoted a statement issued in Accra on Wednesday by WAEC as saying it was determined to follow the case to its logical conclusion and would not shield any person, including its own staff, who would be found culpable.
It said the Council discovered that five papers were compromised, adding, besides other sources, the papers had gone viral on social media, especially whatsapp Messenger.
“BNI probes WAEC,” was the headline of the state-owned Graphic newspaper, which reported that the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) had taken over investigations into the leak of five subject papers in the examination for students to enter secondary schools.
It said the head of the WAEC in Ghana, Rev. Samuel Ollennu, was questioned on Wednesday by the BNI on the orders of the National Security Council Secretariat.
It said WAEC could not be trusted to investigate itself as the magnitude of the leak could not have occurred without the connivance of some officials of the examinations body.
The papers that leaked would be rewritten on 29-30 June.
The Graphic said some parents had blamed WAEC and some of its staff for the leak, adding that candidates should not suffer for the inability of the council to police its papers.
One parent, Madam Yaa Boahemaa, said: “This is going to have a psychological effect on the children. My son has for the past one month cut short his sleep because of the examination, and I can’t imagine how he is going to write five papers in two days.”
Another parent, Mr Stephen Sah, said the porous security system of WAEC was responsible for the leak.
Meanwhile, at least 10 persons, including three junior high school students, have been arrested by the police in connection with the leak.
Seven of them were arrested in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city, while the three students were picked up in Accra. The students were found with some of the leaked papers.
“Shocks at NPP primaries: ‘Big shots’ tumble,” was the headline of the Ghanaian Times on the outcome of the parliamentary primaries.
It reported that more than a dozen MPs of the party who had served more than two four-year terms would be axed from parliament after 7 January, 2017 following their defeat at the 13 June primaries.
It said some of the losers, especially the experienced incumbent MPs, had a rude awakening as they went home gnashing their teeth.
The Graphic had the headline, “Shocker! Why big names fell in NPP primaries.”
The newspaper reported that delegates of the NPP shocked a number of incumbent Members of Parliament at the party’s parliamentary primaries held in 245 constituencies across the country.
Twenty-four of the MPs, many of them front benchers, were, in their bid to contest the 2016 parliamentary elections on the ticket of the NPP, rejected by the delegates for various reasons.
Some of the reasons ascribed by some of the delegates were that the MPs had neglected their constituents and were not playing the role expected of them as the people’s representatives.
Others also said their MPs had suddenly become inaccessible and unpopular with the constituents, for which reason they (delegates) had decided to punish them by voting them out.
The Graphic headline on the retirement of the Chairman of the Electoral Commission was “Afari-Gyan bids goodbye.”
It said the EC boss this week took a graceful bow from the Commission when he met the staff to bid them farewell at a brief durbar, which was organised without fanfare and behind closed doors.
It said the Ghanaian academic, political scientist and election administrator chalked 70 years on 18 June and at this age, he is statutorily required to retire from his position because that position is equivalent to a Court of Appeal judge who retires at age 70.
The Graphic said his sterling performance over the years had not been in doubt, as he had held the position of executive secretary of electoral bodies globally.
He also chaired the conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012.
The newspaper said in more recent times, his role at the commission had been called into question by some politicians and some governance experts, with the opposition NPP appealing against the results of the 2012 presidential poll won by President John Dramani Mahama. The NPP lost the court case.
“Cedi loses value against major currencies,” was the headline of the Graphic on the poor performance of the currency.
The story said the government’s fiscal and monetary policies had come under attack as stakeholders, businesses and currency analysts had questioned their potency to revive the ailing economy and stabilise the fast depreciating cedi.
It quoted various stakeholders as saying they had lost confidence in the monetary policies in particular because at the interbank market, the cedi was weakening by the day.
Checks at the interbank level indicated that US$1 is being exchanged for GH4.25 Ghana cedis while at the forex bureaux US$1 is being quoted for 4.30 Ghana cedis.
The Monetary Policy Committee had confirmed in its report that the developments in the foreign exchange market indicated a further weakening of the domestic currency in 2015, plunging by 17.2 per cent from January to 8 May.
It quoted a currency analyst as blaming the central bank for not monitoring the commercial banks enough do what would help its policies to become more effective.
He said the country lacked adequate data on exports and noted that “we see a lot of exports but the exports are mainly done by foreign companies working here and therefore, when they export, they keep the profits in their countries although they change a lot of cedis into dollars here”.
-0- PANA MA/VAO 20June2015
