NPP

Claim: Dennis Miracle Aboagye, the Spokesperson of Ghana’s governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) 2024 Campaign, says Akonta Mining Ltd, a company owned by the party’s Ashanti regional chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, was licensed to mine in 2013 under the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s investigations showed that Akonta Mining Limited was not licensed to mine in 2013, as Mr Aboagye alleged. The Minerals Commission’s data revealed that the small-scale mining company was issued the Reconnaissance License and Prospecting License on June 15, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2012, respectively. However, under the ruling NPP, the company’s two mining leases, Samreboi and Abokoase, were issued on July 23, 2021.

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The destruction of water bodies and forest reserves in Ghana has become a significant topic in the media. Professional groups, including the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), have called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to conduct a nationwide moratorium on mining activities.

See media reports on the calls for a ban on small-scale mining here, here, and here.

Akonta Mining Ltd, a small-scale operation owned by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP)’ Ashanti regional chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, was recently accused of illegal mining in a forest reserve.

Reacting to the claim on Accra-based Joy News, Dennis Miracle Aboagye, the Spokesperson of NPP’s 2024 Campaign, said there is no evidence that the small-scale mining company is carrying out an illegal operation as alleged.

“Akonta Mining [Ltd] is a licensed small-scale mining. Since when did small-scale mining become illegal? So, the fact that somebody owns a mining concession does not make it illegal…what the license does is that once you are regulated to mine a safe and appropriate way that does not affect our environment,” Mr Aboagye said.

The former Akuapem North District Chief Executive (DCE) said Akonta Mining Limited was licensed to mine in 2013 under the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and not the NPP.

“Unless you have contrary evidence to prove that Akonta mining [is engaging in illegal mining] …Because Akonta Mining didn’t get their license [under] the NPP. They got their license in 2013 under the NDC government and are doing their small-scale mining,” he said.

See minutes 4:49 to 5:56 of the video for Mr Aboagye’s comment on the operation of Akonta Mining Limited.

Also, see here a post on the video on X (formerly Twitter).

The social media platform revealed that as of Sept. 24, 2024, the video shared by Accra-based Joy News had received over 1,277 views within five days.

The post on X also received over 12,223 views, 79 reposts, 269 likes, 78 bookmarks, and 17 comments.

DUBAWA decided to probe the claim as part of its campaign against misinformation and disinformation in Ghana.

Verification

DUBAWA’s investigations showed that Akonta Mining Ltd was not licensed to mine in 2013 under the opposition National Democratic Congress, as Mr Aboagye alleged.

The Minerals Commission’s data revealed that the small-scale mining company was issued the Reconnaissance License and Prospecting License on June 15, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2012, respectively.

There are various mineral rights and license regimes in Ghana, including Reconnaissance Licence (RL), Prospective License (PL), Mining Lease (ML), Restricted Mining Lease (RML), and Small-scale Mining License (for only Ghanaians).

Of the mineral rights and license types, the Reconnaissance License and Prospective License do not involve the extraction of minerals in the country.

Ghana’s mining law has disclosed that the reconnaissance license permits the holder to explore for a maximum of 12 months, renewable. However, this license does not involve drilling and excavation activities.

Also, the Prospective License permits the holder to search for minerals and undertake evaluation activities that do not exceed 750 contiguous blocs within three years. It is renewable with a reduction of the area to not more than half.

The mining lease and other mineral rights permit the holder to extract minerals from the designated land.

Touching on Akonta Mining Ltd’s activities, the Minerals Commission noted that the company’s two mining leases, Samreboi and Abokoase, were issued on July 23, 2021, not 2013.

According to the license type granted to Akonta Mining Ltd. in 2011 and 2012 under the erstwhile NDC government, the company had no right to carry out extractive activities in the country.

DUBAWA’s visit to the Ghana Mining Repository managed by the Minerals Commission disclosed that Akonta Mining Ltd applied for a mining lease to mine in Samreboe on April 13, 2021, approved within three months on July 23, 2021.

The Minerals Commission has shown that the mining lease on Samreboe will expire on July 22, 2051, and that of Abokoase will expire on July 22, 2031.

Conclusion

Akonta Mining Ltd, a company owned by NPP’s Ashanti regional chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, was not licensed to mine in 2013, as Mr. Aboagye alleged.

Claim: Social media users have alleged that the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Director of Elections manipulated the party’s ballot position during the presidential election balloting process.

Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s analysis revealed that at the time the NPP knew its ballot position, other candidates sitting close to the NPP had not yet opened their ball-like items containing their positions. Additionally, the paper in front of Peter Mac Manu, Head of Electoral Services for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign team, was not the official ballot position paper but rather a paper from an earlier balloting that determined the order in which political parties would select their positions. Furthermore, key political parties, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have denied any claims of a ballot position swap.

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In the lead-up to the general elections, the Electoral Commission (EC) has faced intense scrutiny, with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) raising multiple accusations of alleged irregularities in the voter registration process. Despite this, on Sep. 20, 2024, political parties participated in the balloting process to determine their positions on the ballot paper for the upcoming elections. By the end of the process, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) secured the first spot, while the NDC took the eighth.

However, following the balloting, a claim went viral suggesting that the NPP had swapped its ballot position with another candidate. The claim was supported by a video showing Evans Nimako, the NPP’s Director of Research and Elections, handing a piece of paper to someone seated next to him. This action led Facebook user Alfred Ogbamey to claim that a ballot swap had occurred, questioning the integrity of the EC by stating, “Why can’t one blindly trust anything organized by the EC without monitoring?”

The claim was further amplified when NDC Online and Gyabeng Samuel posted about it on Facebook, which has received over 100,000 views. This has sparked widespread condemnation in the comments section, with users labeling the EC and the NPP as corrupt. 

In response to these allegations, DUBAWA launched an investigation to verify the authenticity of the claim.

Verification

First, DUBAWA sought to understand the procedures involved in the ballot-picking process to assess whether any swapping could have occurred. Before the balloting by the various political parties, the Director of Electoral Services at the Electoral Commission (EC), Benjamin Bano-Bioh, outlined a two-stage process. DUBAWA referenced the live feed by Weozor TV, which captured the entire event as published on YouTube.

According to Benjamin Bano-Bioh, the first stage determined the order in which political parties would select their ballot positions, while the second stage was where they officially picked their positions for the election. Mr. Bano-Bioh explained, “This is the first stage. You are picking for the order. The second stage is when you will pick your position on the ballot. If you pick ‘Number One’ in the first stage, it means you will be the first to choose in the second stage. The number you pick in this stage will be your position on the ballot.” This statement can be verified between 45 minutes 13 seconds and 45 minutes 30 seconds of the video.

The process was carried out smoothly, with each party receiving a number that determined the order for the final ballot position selection. In the second stage, the ballot papers were placed in a green polythene bag, and parties chose their positions according to the order established in the first stage. This can be seen from 1 hour 46 minutes onward in the video.

Did the NPP swap its ballot position? 

DUBAWA first analyzed the viral video that allegedly showed the NPP swapping its ballot position. To gain a clearer perspective, DUBAWA referred to the full live stream of the event, which was captured by Woezor TV. According to the footage, the NPP’s Director of Elections, Dr. Evans Nimako, opened the round ball-like item containing the paper with the party’s ballot position at 1 hour 49 minutes 20 seconds into the live stream.

After revealing the position, Dr. Nimako immediately passed the paper to the Head of Electoral Services for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign team Peter Mac Manu, who was seated right beside him. Upon receiving it, Mac Manu smiled, and Dr. Nimako stood up, jubilantly holding a book celebrating that the NPP had secured the Number 1 spot on the ballot. This moment matched the exact scenario depicted in the viral video published by Facebook user Alfred Ogbamey, though the angle from behind made it hard to discern the details.

There were additional claims that the NPP swapped positions with Kofi Akpaloo, the flagbearer of the LPG, who was seated next to Peter Mac Manu. However, DUBAWA’s analysis of the video showed that when Dr. Nimako opened the NPP’s ballot item, Kofi Akpaloo had just taken his seat and had not yet opened his ballot item. This evidence confirmed that no swap occurred between the NPP and any other candidate.

Reaction from NDC

It is also important to note that if any such swap had occurred, the NDC would have opposed it and demanded an investigation. However, in response, the NDC’s Director of Elections, Dr. Omane Boamah, refuted the allegations in a Facebook post on Saturday, September 21. He acknowledged the party’s issues with the Electoral Commission but emphasized that they would not engage in baseless accusations for political gain. 

“There was no swap of ballots between Kofi Akpaloo and the NPP,” he confirmed.

Conclusion 

The claim that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) swapped its ballot position during the presidential election balloting process is false. DUBAWA’s investigation revealed that at the time the NPP discovered its position, other candidates, including Kofi Akpaloo of the LPG, had not yet opened their ballot items. Furthermore, the paper seen in front of Peter Mac Manu, a member of the NPP team, was from an earlier round determining the order of selection, not the final ballot position. Key political parties, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have also denied the allegations of any ballot position swapping.

Four prominent figures within the NPP, including Yaw Buaben Asamoa, former Director of Communication; Nana Ohene Ntow, former NPP General Secretary; Hopeson Adorye, former member of the pro-NPP group Young Patriots; and Boniface Abubakar Saddique, former Minister of State at the office of the Vice President, and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, are no longer members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). 

However, the circumstances surrounding their departure remain contentious, with conflicting news headlines suggesting either dismissal or forfeiture of their membership from portals such as myjoyonline and Pulse Ghana, among others. 

While some reports assert that the quartet was expelled from the party, the NPP contends that their actions automatically led to the forfeiture of their membership, as indicated in the constitution. In light of this, DUBAWA sought to bring clarity to the matter.

Drawing on the definitions provided by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ‘sacking’ is described as an act of dismissal from an entity, whereas ‘forfeit’ denotes losing the right to something, especially as a consequence of an error, offence, or crime.

Why did the NPP release a statement on the quartet?

On Nov. 20, 2023, the NPP issued a statement officially declaring that Yaw Buaben Asamoa, Nana Ohene Ntow, Hopeson Adorye, and Boniface Abubakar Saddique are no longer affiliated with the party. 

The party attributes this decision to the quartet’s public endorsement of independent presidential aspirant Alan Kyeremanteng when the party duly elected a flagbearer in the person of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. The statement, endorsed by General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong, cites the violation of the party’s constitution, specifically referring to breaches of Articles 3(5) (A)(4) and 3(8)(1). These endorsements by some of these quartet were reported in news sources such as Metro TV and 3news.com.

What does the NPP constitution say about expulsion and forfeiture of a member?

The party’s constitution outlines two provisions regarding the termination of party membership. Article 3(7)1 and 3(8)1 specify the conditions under which an individual automatically forfeits membership or may face expulsion from the party.

Article 3(7)1, titled “Expulsion of Membership,” defines the process for expulsion and states that:

1. A Member may be expelled from the Party on grounds of misconduct by the provisions of this Constitution and, upon such expulsion, shall cease to be a Member.

2. Any person who, accordingly, ceases to be a member shall return to the Party any party property in his or her custody and shall forfeit any monies, dues, or donations made to the Party.

3. No Member shall be expelled unless such expulsion is effected in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of this Constitution.

With this provision, it is specified that “No member shall be expelled unless such expulsion is carried out by the provisions of Article 4 of this Constitution.” Article 4 of the constitution outlines the disciplinary and grievance procedures. Therefore, it implies that no member can be expelled from the party unless they undergo the disciplinary procedures outlined in its constitution.

Article 3(8)1 of the constitution is captioned “Forfeiture of Membership” and indicates that:

“A member of the Party who stands as an independent candidate against the officially elected member of the Party or who joins or declares his or her support for another Political Party or for an independent candidate when the Party has sponsored a candidate in general or by-election automatically forfeits his or her membership of the Party.”

Now, considering these two articles in the constitution, this explanation aims to determine whether the quartet underwent disciplinary procedures resulting in their expulsion or if their open endorsement of the independent candidate Alan Kyeremanteng, instead of the party’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, automatically led to the forfeiture of their party membership.

DUBAWA contacted the Deputy Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, Haruna Mohammed, to seek clarity on the issue. In an interview (here), Mr Mohammed clarified that the quartet were not expelled from the party; rather, their open endorsement of the Independent presidential aspirant, Alan Kyeremanteng, led to their automatic forfeiture of membership, as stipulated in Article 3(8)1.

This is underscored by Yaw Buaben Asamoa’s statement, where he described the announcement of their forfeiture of NPP membership as unnecessary, indicating his awareness of the automatic forfeiture of his membership after he openly endorsed independent candidate Alan Kyeremanteng. This strongly suggests that he wasn’t expelled but, rather, was cognizant that his actions automatically resulted in the forfeiture of his membership.

Mr Mohammed reiterated that there was no requirement for them to be referred to the party’s disciplinary committee because violating Article 3(8)1 automatically led to the forfeiture of their membership.

Conclusion

This clarification shows that the NPP did not expel Yaw Buaben Asamoa, Nana Ohene Ntow, Hopeson Adorye, and Boniface Abubakar Saddique from the party. Instead, their public endorsement of Independent Presidential aspirant Alan Kyeremanteng automatically led to the forfeiture of their membership in the party.

Claim: The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has claimed that the performance in agriculture during Fmr. President John Mahama’s tenure in government was better than that of the NPP government. 

Verdict: False.DUBAWA used data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) to calculate the average growth rate between the tenure of the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress. The average growth rate of the NPP was 6.32%, whilst the NDC was 2.54%. This showed that the NPP administration recorded far higher agricultural growth rates than the administration of  former president John Mahama.

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On March 13, 2023, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), appeared on TV3’s Hot Issues with broadcast journalist Keminni Amanor.

During the show, Mr Nketia claimed, “In the past, our performance in agriculture was far stronger than what we are seeing now.” This statement can be found within the timeframe from 13:40 to 13:46 of the show. He made this comment in response to a question posed by the host regarding the achievements of the NDC government under John Mahama.

Despite the host characterising his claim as false, Mr Nketiah maintained his stance, asserting that the agricultural performance during the NDC era surpassed that of the NPP. Consequently, DUBAWA took the initiative to provide clarity on the matter.

Verification

The upcoming 2024 general elections are poised to be significantly influenced by the state of the economy. Consequently, highlighting the economic performances of political parties and voicing their impact on voters is crucial. Agriculture, as a key contributor to economic growth, will hold particular importance in these discussions. Therefore, the growth rate in the agricultural sector will be one of the focal points during the debates.

To provide a comprehensive understanding of the claim, DUBAWA undertook a comparative analysis of the agricultural growth rates between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) under the supervision of former President John Mahama. This analysis focuses on the first five years of both parties, considering that John Mahama served as president from 2012 to 2016, while Nana Akufo-Addo’s first five years in office spanned from 2017 to 2021.

DUBAWA sourced its data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). In the NDC government, the growth rate for agriculture from 2012-2016 was 1.3%, 5.7%, 0.9, 2.1 and 2.7%, respectively. In contrast, the growth rate for agriculture during the first five years of the NPP was 6.2%, 4.9%, 4.7%, 7.3% and 8.5%, respectively.

The growth rates for agriculture under the NDC government exhibited fluctuations, with some years experiencing moderate growth and others showing lower rates. In contrast, the NPP government, on the other hand, demonstrates a relatively consistent and increasing trend in agricultural growth rates over the first five years.

DUBAWA decided to use the average growth rate during the five years to conclude which government performed better. In our calculation, by adding all the growth rates for a particular government and dividing it by five, we found that the average growth rate for the NDC within the five years was 2.54%, while the average growth rate for the NPP during the five years was 6.32%.

Conclusion

Analysing both figures, DUBAWA concluded that the NPP government performed far better under President Akufo-Addo than the NDC in the first five years of the presidency of  John Mahama..

Claim: NPP youth who disrupted a live program on UTV will pay a fine of ¢200, as suggested by social media and mainstream online platforms.

Verdict: This is false. The 200 penalty units fine translates to ¢2,400 and not  ¢200.

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At least 16 members affiliated with the New Patriotic Party have been arrested, convicted, and fined 200 penalty units each by the Achimota Magistrate Court.

This was after they were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and rioting, following their invasion of UTV studios during a live broadcast. They pleaded guilty to the charges.

Following a public statement by the police on the judgement, some social media users interpreted the 200 penalty units to mean ¢200.

A news card from one of the country’s leading online news portals, Myjoyonline.com, which expresses the ¢200 fine has gone viral.

Myjoyonline.com was found to have published a story to that effect but have since corrected it.

Other users found to have interpreted the 200 penalty units to mean ¢200 can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

Verification

According to the Fines (Penalty Units) Act 200 (Act 572), fines are to be expressed in terms of a number of penalty units.

Currently, the monetary value of a penalty unit stands at ¢12.00.

So, the convicted youth will pay GHS 2,400 each (with 200 penalty units amounting to only ¢12.00).

Conclusion

The monetary value of the 200 penalty units fine slapped on the 16 convicted youths amounts to ¢2,400 and not ¢200 as expressed online.