NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 21-President William Ruto has pledged a vigorous and uncompromising fight against corruption, urging independent institutions responsible for combating graft to intensify their efforts. Speaking on Thursday during the State of the Nation Address, President Ruto emphasized plans to foster collaboration across various arms of government, particularly the Judiciary and Parliament, to improve integrity and efficiency through digitization and automation. “This fight against corruption is one of the most difficult tasks I undertake, and I am determined to see it through. Let this serve as a warning to all: the institutions charged with this responsibility must step up their efforts,” the President declared. He warned lawmakers that corruption continues to undermine social justice, sustainable development, national security, and the success of his Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, which will
Category Archives: POLITICS
Nov
Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has reaffirmed his commitment to building a modern, inclusive Ghana underpinned by transparency, good governance, and digital systems. Addressing Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Accra on Wednesday, Dr. Bawumia outlined his vision to use technology as a tool to transform governance and tackle corruption. He emphasised the critical role of CSOs and research institutions in shaping policy and ensuring accountability. Building systems for transparency and inclusion Dr. Bawumia highlighted the government’s achievements in digital transformation during his tenure as Vice President, citing the Ghana Card, digital address system, and mobile money interoperability as foundational systems. “When we came into office, I focused on building systems that ensure transparency. These include digital identity, property addressing, and
Nov
Elon Musk outlined plans Wednesday for his new role as “efficiency” tsar – signalling an assault on US federal spending and staffing that would be backed by President-elect Donald Trump’s executive powers and a conservative Supreme Court. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, the world’s richest man said he was taking aim at hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending – including funding for public broadcasting and international aid – as well as at bureaucracy that represents, according to him, an “existential threat” to US democracy. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who also owns the X social media platform, said that he and Vivek Ramaswamy, a fellow businessman and Trump loyalist, would work to slash federal regulations and make major administrative changes. “We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will
Nov
In a post on X, Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton decried the ICC as a “kangaroo court” and called Karim Khan a deranged fanatic.” By HANNAH SARISOHN NOVEMBER 21, 2024 17:09 Congressman Mike Waltz speaks on Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, July 15, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR) Florida Congressman and incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz slammed the ICC’s issuing of arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday, saying the international court has “no credibility.” “These allegations have been refuted by the US government,” Waltz wrote in a post on X. “Israel has lawfully defended its people & borders from genocidal terrorists. You can expect a strong response to the
Nov
As a fellow born and bred on the Copperbelt in the mining town of Luanshya, I am grossly perturbed and disturbed by the astronomical levels of illegal mining in the country. Copper cartels established by high profile criminals who are veritable Mafias with the wicked schemes akin to the Sicilian criminal barons are now taking hostage of many Copperbelt towns. In the evening we see truckloads of rowdy, insolent and brutal youths loaded on trucks in hundreds of numbers packed like sardines in tins heading for the mines. In the colonial days just as the Kaunda days, there was no illegal mining which is now rampant and almost uncontrollable in the whole Zambia. The founding fathers of Zambia among them Kenneth Kaunda, Simon Kapwepwe, Justin Chimba, Munukayumbwa Sipalo, Nalumino Mundia
Nov
Donald Trump picked Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead a new government-efficiency commission. Their aim is to cut government spending, and one idea they’ve floated is to ax federal agencies. Millions of Americans are employed by the US government. Here’s how the agencies break down and what workers make. Elon Musk’s government-efficiency commission could end up costing some federal workers their jobs. As he and the former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy begin to outline their priorities as leaders of the Department of Government Efficiency, created by Donald Trump, one of those priorities seems to be eliminating government agencies. Most recently, Ramaswamy told Fox News, “We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright.” More than 2 million Americans collect their paychecks from the federal government, so Business Insider looked
Nov
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the director of national intelligence, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, has little experience working with the nation’s spy agencies and a long track record of echoing the Russian disinformation they work to expose and to counter — a combination her critics claim should be disqualifying. Gabbard, 43, who represented Hawaii as a Democrat from 2013-2021 and ran for the party’s presidential nomination in 2020 before becoming a Republican earlier this year, has been accused of harboring sympathies for the Kremlin and parroting propaganda generated by Russia to justify its invasion of Ukraine. At the outset of the conflict, Gabbard blamed the Biden administration and NATO, claiming they had provoked Russia’s aggression by ignoring what she called its “legitimate security concerns” about Ukraine potentially becoming a member
Nov
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang has pledged to ensure that all building infrastructure in the state undergoes rigorous integrity to avoid building collapse, even as he vowed to recover all illegally acquired government properties. Recall that 22 students of Saint Academy College Jos died in July this year when a two-story classroom building collapsed on them while writing their NECO examinations. A score of others also sustained fatal injuries in the tragedy. Receiving the report of the committee set up to investigate the incident, Governor Muftwang commended the chairman of the committee, Prof. Danladi Slim Matawal, and the other members for their thorough and insightful work, describing the report as a critical guide for government actions. The Governor further directed the committee to extend its scope to include assessments of
Nov
Only a few reported holding company shares worth under R100 000. Members of Parliament (MPs) have declared their financial interests following a decision by the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests on Thursday. Parliament has declared the public section of the register, in line with Parliament’s code of conduct, which mandates that after a general election, members must disclose their registrable interests within 60 working days of Parliament’s opening. Based on MPs’ disclosures, it appears most rely primarily on their parliamentary salaries, with limited external business interests. Only a few reported holding company shares worth under R100 000, with the exception of Mzwanele Manyi. Most declared ownership of just one or two residential properties. ALSO READ: Shares, family trusts and acres of land: MPs’ assets and gifts declared to
Nov
Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, vice presidential candidate of the NDC Featured Zadok Kwame Gyesi Politics Nov – 19 – 2024 , 16:39 The vice presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has assured Ghanaians that the next NDC government will fairly and equitably share the national cake. Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said this on Tuesday when she paid a courtesy call on the Overlord of Waala Traditional Council, Naa Seidu Pelpuo IV, at his palace in Wa at the start of her two-day campaign tour of the Upper West Region. She said the NDC stands for development, adding that the party which provided massive infrastructural development across the country, will do more when elected in the December 7, 2024, general elections. Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said unlike the NDC
Nov
The House Ethics Committee obtained records, including a check and records of Venmo payments, that appear show that then-Rep. Matt Gaetz paid more than $10,000 to two women who were later witnesses in sexual misconduct probes conducted by both the House and the Justice Department, according to documents obtained by ABC News. The Venmo records show that between July 2017 and late January 2019, Gaetz — who was first elected in 2016 — allegedly made 27 Venmo payments totaling $10,224.02 to the two witnesses, who were over the age of 18 at the time. The payments, which sources said were displayed during closed-door testimony, ranged from $100 to more than $700 each. Documents show payment records obtained by the House Ethics Committee during its probe of Rep. Matt Gaetz. House
Nov
The bill arrives as the first transgender congresswoman prepares to take office. November 18, 2024, 8:19 PM Rep. Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina, said on Monday that she will be introducing a measure to ban transgender women from using biological women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol. Her announcement comes as Rep.-elect Sarah McBride prepares to take office as the first transgender person elected to Congress. The resolution, which is expected to be filed Monday night, would amend the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives in order to prohibit members, officers and employees from using facilities that are currently designated for the opposite biological sex. “The sanctity of protecting women and standing up against the Left’s systematic erasure of biological women starts here in the nation’s Capitol,” Mace wrote
Nov
President-elect Donald Trump proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China and 10% to 20% on other imports. Trade experts said the proposals would probably increase costs in areas such as apparel and technology. It’s still unclear how Trump would enact the tariffs, and he could end up going smaller than proposed. President-elect Donald Trump has big plans for tariffs. If implemented, Americans could see prices rise across several product categories. Some companies that produce apparel and auto parts have already started preparing to raise prices if Trump enacts his plans, and some trade experts predicted that a range of industries, including electronics and appliances, would see higher prices. Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics, told Business Insider that Trump could implement his
US President Joe Biden’s administration has issued a new round of sanctions against groups and individuals involved in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as the United States continues to provide unwavering support for Israel’s Gaza war. The US sanctions announced on Monday targeted the settlement development organisation Amana, as well as its subsidiary Binyanei Bar Amana Ltd. Amana is a “key part of the Israeli extremist settlement movement” and supports settlements and farms in the occupied West Bank “from which in turn settlers commit violence”, the US Treasury Department said. At the same time, the US State Department also sanctioned three individuals and a third organisation for their “roles in violence targeting civilians or in the destruction or dispossession of property” in the West Bank. They included
Nov
Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya. Nairobi Archbishop Philip Anyolo has declined President William Ruto’s and other politicians’ donations to the Soweto Catholic Church. In a statement on Monday, November 18, Anyolo cited the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) directives that discourage political donations to churches and the use of church events for political self-promotion. “The catholic church strongly discourages the use of church events such as fundraisers and gatherings as platforms for political self-promotion. Politicians are urged to refrain from turning the pulpit into a stage for political rhetoric, as such actions undermine the sanctity of worship places,” Anyolo said. According to Anyolo, the church is required to decline contributions from politicians, which might compromise