The National Executives of the NPP on Sunday 16th July 2023, held its first anniversary and thanksgiving at the Atomic Pentecost International Worship Centre.

In attendance was Mr. Stephen Ayensu Ntim the National Chairman of the party, The Third Vice Chairman of the NPP, Massawudu Osman, General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, Dr Antoinette Tsiboe-Darko Deputy General Secretary, Prof Haruna Mohammed, Deputy General Secretary, Henry Nana Boakye, National Organiser, Richard Ahiagbah, the Director of Communications, Chris Lloyd, Deputy National Organiser and Salam Mustapha, the National Youth Organiser.

Other dignitaries of the NPP that attended the thanksgiving included William Yamoah Director of Finance and Administration of the Party, Rev. Ernest Kwabena Boafo, Hajia Sadia a former deputy women’s organizer, the Madina Constituency Chairman Mr. Foster Arthur, the Dome-Kwabena Chairman Robert Osei Bonsu, Mr. Kwabena Frimpong the Deputy Protocol director of the NPP, constituency executives of Madina, Dome-Kwabenya, and Ayawaso West Wuogon as well as some Greater Accra regional executives of the party.

For a program of such magnitude, taking place in any MP’s constituency, they will take advantage of it and make their presence felt. However, conspicuously missing in action was Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo, the sitting MP for Dome-Kwabenya. At the end of the Thanksgiving, the constituency chairman of Dome-Kwabenya, Mr. Robert Osei Bonsu made some cash donations to the church on behalf of Mr. Michael Oquaye Junior, the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Free Zones Authority.

The absence of Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo brings to mind a plethora of rhetorical questions not to be answered but thought-provoking. Has the road come to an end for Hon. Adwoa Safo? Are her constituents fed up with her political shenanigans? Has she lost base with the grassroots of Dome Kwabenya or it is a sign that she might not contest for the Dome-Kwabenya seat again? Is Michael Oquaye preferred in her stead?

In parliamentary elections, when you don’t have the support and machinations of your constituency chairman, the tendency that you will lose the primaries is very high. If the constituency chairman of Dome-Kwabenya, made a donation on behalf of Mike Oquaye Junior, who it is trite knowledge to have been eyeing the Dome Kwabenya seat, then Hon. Adwoa Safo has an uphill battle in the primaries.

It can be surmised that Mr. Michael Oquaye Junior, given the opportunity would have joined the NPP executives, but for a smart move by the executives not to be perceived as throwing their support behind a particular candidate in the coming primaries of the NPP.

The promising lawyer who shot into the limelight has gradually become unpopular at the very beginning of the 8^th Parliament. It is alleged that she is the chief suspect who voted on the side of the NPP for Alban Sumana Kingsford to become the current Speaker of Parliament in an acrimonious revenge against Prof. Michael Oquaye the representative of the NPP for the position of the Speaker of Parliament.

It must be noted that Prof Michael Oquaye’s son Michael Ocquaye Junior contested Hon. Adwoa Safo in the 2020 primaries against the party directive that leaders of the Majority in Parliament should contest unopposed.

Due to the Hung nature of the 8^th Parliament, the presence of Members of Parliament was very key to getting the enactment of bills and other votes on the floor of the chamber. In the peak of the heat, when the numbers were needed by the NPP to get the passage of the Electronic Transfer levy bill into law, Hon, Adwoa Safo was nowhere to be found. She was also absent during the voting of some six ministerial nominees and the supreme court of Ghana.

Per article 97(1) of the 1992 constitution, a legislator shall vacate their seat if he or she is absent for 15 sittings of a meeting of parliament. This shall be done if the said MP is absent without permission in writing to the speaker and is also not able to give a reasonable explanation to the privileges committee of Parliament. Her absence in Parliament in 2022 amounted to 40 sittings and her matter was referred to the privileges committee of parliament. It was the Minority in parliament that jumped to the defense of Hon. Sarah Adwoa.

The likes of Joseph Osei Owusu aka Joe Wise MP for Bekwai, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu MP for Suame, Hon. Michael Okeyere Baafi MP for New Juabeng South, and Hon. Kennedy Agyepong MP for Assin Central, criticized her for blackmailing her party and copiously called for her seat to be declared vacant and be sacked as the then Gender Children and Social Protection Minister.

It is obvious that the once admired Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo, is no longer loved by her party because of the events of the 8^th parliament. There are doubts as to whether she will be part of the 9^th Parliament.  As a political analyst, I anticipate an uphill task for the legislator in the upcoming primaries. The grievances are one too many. She seems to have lost touch with the people of Dome-Kwabenya. Research conducted by the global info analytics however has revealed that the NPP will have a herculean task to retain the Dome-Kwabenya Seat if Hon.Sarah Adwoa Safo does not contest the 2024 elections. Recent polls put Elikplim Akurugu ahead of Sarah Adwoa Safo.  Are these events going to dash the Dome-Kwabenya seat to the NDC? Only time will tell!

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Member of Parliament (MP) for Ada, Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe, says she will not support calls for colleague Dome-Kwabenya MP, Adwoa Safo to be dismissed.

The lawmaker has come under fire for neglecting her parliamentary duties amid speculations that she has vowed not to return until she is given a leadership role in the August House.

This has infuriated some colleague MPs and members of the NPP who are calling for her removal.

But to her, the ‘attacks’ on her is a deliberate attempt because she is a woman, adding it can never be done to any of the men on the Majority side.

“Especially as a woman, I will not support that call because if a woman puts to birth and she is having issues and needs to settle and through that, they will take her from parliament, then they should rather bring a gadget that will monitor them [women] so that when you menstruate then they take them off because after menstruation we give birth.

“And if you give birth and you are not protected, then there is no need you stay in the chamber so they should please stop it,” she said in an interview with Accra-based TV3.

Madam Doyoe believes women regardless of their age need a lot of pampering, hence, she [Adwoa Safo] needs not to be treated unfairly.

“All women are the same and if you are to get them and don’t pamper them, you will, by all means, crash with them,” she stated.

In view of this, she has urged the rank and file of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to hold further consultations, particularly with Miss Safo to know what the actual problem is before making any noise.

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“They are rather adding more to her wounds and it is not the best at all. I will not support any calls from the House,” she added.

Listen to Madam Doyoe in the audio above:

This comes at the back of the Dome- Kwabenya MP’s recent continuous absence from Parliament.

While speaking on Accra-based TV3, Mr Dafeamakpor opined that there is nothing that can be done to her since there is no basis for her removal.

“There is nothing that can be done to Adwao Safo, everybody is blowing hot air. Has Adwoa spoken? she as MP has not spoken to this matter,” he said.

“I thought the NPP says that you can come to Parliament without being in Parliament. Why is Adwoa’s absence in the Chamber now a bother to them?” he bemoaned.

He argued that seeking her removal from the Chamber is null and void.

“Look if we check our order 15 and 16 if anybody is aggrieved that a member has absented himself or herself for 15, 16 days from Parliament it is only a matter of the privileges committee. it doesn’t warrant a dismissal from Parliament. In fact, there is no basis.

“Then the constitution says in article 97 that there are modalities for declaring a seat of member vacant. The 15 days sitting absence is only a matter of privileges. It is not a basis at all.

“And if you breach a privilege, you can either be reprimanded or something else. You cannot be dismissed because you don’t come to Parliament,” he added.

He noted that the law contemplates that a member can resign from his or her party and not be sacked from her seat in the House.

He claimed that the agenda of the Majority group will not be achieved.

Madam Safo has recently been absent from the Chamber which has triggered the Majority group to seek her removal.

According to reports, many of her colleagues had attributed the delay of the passage of the controversial e-levy to her.

This comes barely 48 hours after Mrs Quashigah was dismissed by the sector Minister, Sarah Adwoa Safo.

The dismissal letter, dated May 18, 2021, expressed gratitude for her “support towards the execution of the mandate of the Ghana School Feeding Programme during the period.”

Though the reason for the dismissal was not stated, it is also not yet clear what has brought about the reverse.

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A new statement, signed Madam Safo, indicated that the earlier dismissal was due to an “administrative error.”

Read the statement below:

The photo is believed to have been taken after the birth of her first son.

Clad in a pink nightgown, she had the bouncing baby boy on her lap while they pose for the camera.

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She took to her Instagram page to post the photo, quoting parts of the Bible in her caption as an expression of the joy in motherhood.

She wrote: And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants. Gen 17:16 NLT.

Watch the photo below:

Outspoken Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central has explained his motive for campaigning for incumbent MP for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo.

Kennedy Agyapong said her challenger, Mike Ocquaye Jnr., who is also Ghana’s Ambassador to India, has massive support in the high echelon of power.

Justifying his claim, the maverick politician narrated how the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye impressed upon him to campaign for his son to win the upcoming primary.

“When Speaker told me this I was shocked because the MP is the mother of my children so I decided to campaign for her to win again,” he said on Accra-based Oman FM, Thursday.

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The Assin Central MP could not fathom why Prof. Ocquaye, who is supposed to be neutral in the contest, is rooting for his son to win.

He said Mr Ocquaye Jnr. has so far been a hard working Ambassador, thus, must focus and leave the legislature for his ‘baby mama’.

“If your son, who is an Ambassador is fighting for the Dome-Kwabenya seat, then my children deserve better. From what I have seen on the ground, Adwoa will win hands down,” he stressed.

Mr Agyapong said among all his ‘baby mamas’, he spends very little on the children he has with Adwoa Safo who are schooling abroad because “she takes care of the feeding and I pay the school fees.”

These and many others, the Assin Central MP said are enough to keep her in Parliament to support in nation building.

The projects were the construction of an ultramodern District Office for the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and a Fire Service Station both within the Dome-Kwabenya Constituency in the Greater Accra region.

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony for both the NHIA office and the Fire Service Station, which was held at the project site near the Atomic Roundabout, Hon Sarah Adwoa Safo noted that, owing to the lack of a District Office for the NHIA, her constituents are compelled to make do with a small office store at Dome.

The office, she described as very inconveniencing to healthcare delivery, justifies the decision to construct a new District Office befitting the fast-growing metropolitan nature of the constituency.

The new edifice, according to her, has a reception area, general offices, documents control room, MIS office, accounts office, manager’s office, conference room and other amenities including vehicle parking area for patrons.

She also gave further details of the project, which she said, is expected to be completed within six calendar months, at an estimated cost of GH¢ 1,500,000.00, which is fully funded by the Government of Ghana. She also gave the contractor’s name as Messrs Elpizo Enterprise Limited.

The MP, who doubles as the Minister of State in-charge of Public Procurement and also the Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament, observed that, “the spirit of this gesture is to reinforce the broader objective of government’s effort to provide infrastructure for the delivery of effective healthcare nationwide pursuant to Goal 3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”

She also, in line with her social contract with the people, spoke about her health-related achievements in the constituency including the construction of the Haatso Maternity Clinic; the commissioning of the Ga East Municipal Hospital which she spearheaded.

The ongoing construction of Clinical Service and Out Patients Department Block at the Abokobi Health Centre; provision of Free Health Screening as well as enrolling thousands of her constituents onto the NHIS and renewing their registration status as required among several health undertakings.

On the Fire Service Station, she justified the decision to construct same on the ground that the Constituency/District has no Fire Service Station, which she said, was unacceptable by every stretch of imagination.

On her part, the Municipal Chief Executive for the Ga East Municipal Assembly, Janet Tulasi Mensah, who spoke on behalf of the Local Authority, thanked the Dome-Kwabenya legislator, for this huge initiative.

Equally, the Director of Logistics for the Ghana Fire Service, Samuel Brenya, expressed the Service’s appreciation to the MP and her team.

Finally, Hon Safo used the occasion to thank the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission for providing land for both projects. She also appealed to her constituents and the Ghanaian people at large to continue to repose their confidence in the NPP and the Akufo-Addo government as well as in her good self, as the MP for the area, to continue the good works in delivering prosperity to the good people of Dome-Kwabenya and to the rest of the country.

According to her, the recent investigative piece by the BBC Africa Eye presents an opportunity for a national conversation that will drive legislation and policy change to tackle sexual harassment.

The Deputy Majority Leader spoke to journalists after a mentorship session with young women on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child.

As women leaders, we think that for what happened and the lecturers involved, it is very very disappointing and as a caucus chair, I strongly believe as a country, we should look at sexual harassment again.”

“And let’s not restrict ourselves to what has happened in this country on the exposé that has come out in our tertiary institutions. It doesn’t only happen there. I think that regulating it and legislation will be the way forward for us as a country.”

Two Ghanaian lecturers, Professor Ransford Gyampo and Dr Paul Kwame Butakor, were caught in compromising positions when they allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct in the BBC exposé.

The Anti-Sexual Harassment and Misconduct Committee at the University of Ghana condemned the conduct of the two lecturers seen in the footage.

Both Prof Gyampo and Dr Butakor denied any wrongdoing but have since been suspended pending an investigation.

They are expected to be hauled before the Anti Sexual Harassment Committee to assist with the internal investigations.

The suspensions followed similar action against two lecturers in Nigeria who were also filmed by the BBC.

Source; Citifm

On Wednesday, July 18, 2018, a cross-section of the mainstream media reported on a leaked document purporting that Hon. Adwoa Safo has made a request to the “debt-ridden” NHIA for a sponsorship package of US$8,500.00 to enable her to undertake a training session in the Women and Power Executive Program at the prestigious US-based university.

The reported story has since gone viral on various social media platforms.

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But in a statement released by the Director of Public Affairs, Office of the Ministry of Public Procurement, Mr. Solomon Sasu-Mensah, on behalf of Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo, Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Accra, he stated that although the Public Procurement Minister made the request to the NHIA for sponsorship, not a single penny was advanced to her.

“Yes, Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo made the said request for sponsorship to the NHIA in a letter dated March 16, 2018. The request was however withdrawn with a letter dated May 21, 2018, due to Parliament’s decision to foot the entire cost of the training which includes the cost of her tickets and accommodation. That there is a letter which emanates from the office of the NHIA dated 5th July, 2018 to confirm that they did not any payment to the Hon. Adwoa Safo or on her behalf”, the statement in part read.

It added “That, the Parliament of Ghana, sponsored her to pursue the said leadership program and Parliament resolve to sponsor the training session was borne out of the fact that the office she occupies in the legislature as Chairperson of the Women’s Caucus is a critical one.

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That, there are records to show that she did not receive any money from the NHIA after Parliament agreed to sponsor the educational program. It must be put on record that any individual can apply to any state institution for scholarship or any assistance. It, however, behooves on the management of that institution to take a decision on whether to approve or disapprove”.

According to the statement, what Hon. Adwoa Safo did “does not infringe on any law and that Hon. Adwoa Safo should rather be applauded by the public for her honesty and the display of quality leadership in the office she is occupying”.

Find below her statement

With particular reference to sole sourcing, she said under the leadership of President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, the era where state looting through the abuse of such method is “now a thing of the past as all efforts are being made to investigate and bring closure to some of these issues.”

“I must sternly warn that whoever will be found culpable will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” Hon. Safo emphasized.

She made this observation when addressing colleague ministers, Head of Civil Service, Chief Executive of the Public Procurement Authority, and professionals of the procurement and supply chain at a summit in Accra last Tuesday.

This year’s event which was organized by the Procurement and Supply Chain Department of the Civil Service was under the theme ‘Effective procurement as a tool for job creation’.

Commenting further, Hon. Safo who is also the deputy Majority Leader of the Parliament of Ghana said the government mindful of the abuse of the procurement methods, especially, sole sourcing, will leave no stone unturned to ensuring that the right structures are in place to allow for the proper functioning of public procurement in the country.

“My ministry will keep collaborating with all state actors in the procurement and supply chain environment including the Public Procurement Authority, The Civil Service, the Local Government Service, the Government and all stakeholders to ensure that training and skills development are an integral part of policy,” she posited.

She used the occasion to remind the gathering about some amendments made to the Public Procurement Act, Act 663 of 2003, noting that the changes are meant to provide for decentralized procurement which includes new provisions from the revised United Nations Commission on International Trade Model Law (UNCITRAL) on procurement.

It also includes provisions for the fair, equal and equitable treatment of suppliers and contractors and for the promotion of integrity and public confidence in the procurement process.

Such amendments, she added, take account of current international best practices to remove the delays caused by the hierarchical structures of the procurement system and improve public procurement efficiency.

“The Public Procurement Amendment Act of 2016 addresses weaknesses in the current Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) and introduces sustainable public procurement framework contracting and electronic procurement,” she explained.

She assured the gathering of her ministry’s commitment to doing everything within its capacity to promote the creation of employment in the local economy.

She is quoted as challenging President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on her the said page to buy cars made by her father, Apostle Kwadwo Sarfo Kantanka. But in a disclaimer released on Saturday, April 15, the Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament said “I have never authored those words on the said Facebook page which the writer claims to be my official page”.

She explained that several pages have been created in her name and all those “are fake and don’t represent me”. “I do not bear the name Kantanka. Besides, name Safo is not spelt with an ‘r’ (Sarfo) as depicted by the impersonator.”

She announced having already taken steps to report those pages to the appropriate authorities but immediately wants those behind to shut the pages down.

“I would also like to urge all those who have been impersonating me and using my name for all kinds of things on social media to immediately put a stop to it.

“I would not hesitate to institute a court action against anyone caught impersonating me.”

A publication on ghanaweb captioned ‘Adwoa Sarfo challenges President to buy her father’s vehicles’ and attributing the source to Hon. Safo’s official Facebook page, went viral on social media platforms with same also reproduced on both international and local web portals.

But Hon. Safo, who is also the Deputy Majority Leader, Parliament of Ghana, in a statement dated April 15, 2017, and copied Kasapafmonline.com discredited the story as having emanated from her office.

“I would like to state that I have never authored those words on the said Facebook page which the writer claims to be my official page. The said official Facebook page bearing the name Adwoa Sarfo Kantanka and several others created in my name are fake and don’t represent me. I do not bear the name Kantanka. Besides, my name Safo is spelt with an ‘r’ (Sarfo) as depicted by the impersonator,” she stressed.

Not happy about the development, she has warned all those who have been impersonating her using her name for “all kinds of things on social media to immediately put a stop to it” or risk facing a court action when caught.

Below is the full statement:

Re: Adwoa Sarfo challenges President to buy her father’s vehicles

My attention has been drawn to a publication on the Ghanaweb.com news portal with the headline ‘Adwoa Sarfo challenges President to buy her father’s vehicles’ and attributing the source of the story to my official Facebook account.

Same publication has been reproduced on other news portals and gone viral on various social media platforms.

I would like to state that I have never authored those words on the said Facebook page which the writer claims to be my official page.

The said official Facebook page bearing the name Adwoa Sarfo Kantanka and several others created in my name are fake and don’t represent me. I do not bear the name Kantanka. Besides, my name Safo is not spelt with an ‘r’ (Sarfo) as depicted by the impersonator.

I have taken steps to report those pages to the appropriate authorities.

I would however entreat all media practitioners to double check their facts from my office which is opened 24/7 whenever they want to do any publication about me.

I would also like to urge all those who have been impersonating me and using my name for all kinds of things on social media to immediately put a stop to it.

I would not hesitate to institute a court action against anyone caught impersonating me.

Thank you.

Signed:

Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo

(MP, Dome/Kwabenya, Deputy Majority Leader of the Parliament of Ghana and Minister of State in charge of Procurement).