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Meet The First Female Deputy Majority Leader Of Ghana’s Parliament

The news may come to you as a surprise but that is the reality. For the time in the history of Ghana, a female has been appointed as the Deputy Majority Leader of the Parliament of Ghana.

A young vibrant woman representing the people of Dome-Kwabenya in the Greater Accra Region, Sarah Adwoa Safo, got the nod to deputize her boss, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, to lead the Majority​ Caucus of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) made up of 171 lawmakers for the seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic which will be constituted on Saturday, January 7, 2017.

This follows the massive endorsement of the list of five leaders for the Majority front which was submitted to the Council of Elders of the elephant family for consideration and approval on Thursday​, January 5, 2017.

Sarah Adwoa Safo alongside Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu will be working hand-in-hand with Kwasi Ameyaw-kyeremeh, MP for Sunyani East (Majority Chief Whip), Moses Anim, MP for Trobu (1st Deputy Majority Whip) and Matthew Nyindam​, MP for Kpandai to stir the affair of the Majority Caucus.

The vibrant young lawmaker who is a lawyer by profession has been very active in deliberations ever since she entered into Parliament of Ghana on January 7, 2013 to be part  of the history making process of parliamentary democracy.​

Her appointment may come to many with a question mark, considering the fact that she has been a lawmaker for only one term, thus just four years, and therefore, has not gained enough experience in parliamentary work to occupy such a sensitive position.​

But the young lawyer deserves the position having contributed immensely to the success story of the NPP, especially, in the last two elections the party has competed in.

Besides winning more votes for the party, her contribution in the legislature has been very remarkable. Her dynamism in debating issues with her colleagues on the floor has always been admired by her peers. She has distinguished herself very well in Parliament and at the constituency level.

Her in-depth knowledge in procurement has made her an expert in that field. No wonder procurement related issues are always reserved for her to probe Public Accounts Committee sittings.

Profile

Lawyer Sarah Adwoa Safo is a legal practitioner and a daughter of Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo, one of Ghana's reowned technologist, philanthropist and industrialist.

She started her basic education under the tutelage of her father. At age 17 she entered the University of Ghana after passing her Ordinary and Advanced Levels' General Certificate of Examination Certificates non-formally.

At the University of Ghana, Adwoa studied law and graduated with a Bachelor of Law (L.L.B.) degree in 2002. She then continued to the Ghana School of Law and was called to the Bar in October 2004 at the age of 22, making her the youngest lawyer ever to be called to the Ghana Bar. This record she held and still holds in the annals of the Ghana School of Law.

At the University of Ghana , Adwoa was the Vice President of the LawBallot pix​ Student's Union (LSU) for the year 2001-2002 academic tear, a position she held to the admiration of the then Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Akua Kwenyehia. She was also a member of the Volta Hall Judicial Committee from 2001-2002.

Lawyer Adwoa Safo did not stop there. She continued to the George Washington University​ Law School in United States where she obtain a Masters of Law  Degree (LLM) in Government Procurement in 2005. She worked briefly with the office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Washington DC in the United States and thereafter returned to Ghana to serve her nation.

She was the first legal advisor  to the ​Legal Department of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA). She further acted as the secretary  to the board and advised  the Board and the secretariat on legal issues.

She was instrumental in the formulation of the proposal that formed the basis for the creation of the Appeal and Compliant Panel of the PPA and the change in the name Public Procurement Board to Public Procurement Authority.​

She contested the Dome-Kwabenya constituency on the ticket of the NPP during the December 2012 parliamentary election and won with a sterling 63.75%.

Her victory revealed the concorted electoral burglary and a revelation of electoral irregularities, pink sheet swap and voter number manipulation which has resulted​ in the historical Election Petition Hearing by the Supreme Court of Ghana.

Source: kasapafmonline​

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36th Kristo Asafo Technology Exhibition Held In Accra

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo exchanging pleasantries with Apostle Kwadwo Safo

The fair, on the theme: "Promoting religion, science and technology for socio-economic transformation", attracted many dignitaries, including the President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, vice-chancellors of universities and some Members of Parliament (MPs).​

Exhibition

Items manufactured by the Founder and Leader of the mission, Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, and his team of engineers from the Kantanka Technological Centre of Excellence (KTCE) at Gomoa Mpota in the Central Region were displayed at the exhibition centre at Awoshie.​

They included a locally made V8 car engine block, a three-wheel motorbike, a robotic welding machine, a special smoke detector and a tower​ weapons for warfare.

The engineers also demonstrated how the machines worked to those in attendance. Some of the dignitaries were conducted round the exhibition centre by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Kantanka Automobile Limited, Mr Kwadwo Safo Jnr.

Industralization

Speaking at the exhibition, Nana  Akufo-Addo​ expressed the desire of his yet-to-be-sworn-in government to partner the private sector to speed up the country's industrialization.

 He said the private sector would play a pivotal role in the country's quest to ensure the realization of the one-district-one-factory policy.​

Accordingly, he said his government would encourage and collaborate with Ghanaian scientists, enterpreneurs, innovators and inventors, such as Apostle Safo, towards accelerating the industrialisation process.

Ghanaian scientists and inventors such as Apostle Safo are the kind of people my government will work with closely to speed​ up the industrialisation process. My government will protect, encourage and collaborate with Apostle Safo to take the nation higher in the area of science and technology", Nana Akufo-Addo said.

Right Team

The President-elect added that the country's desire for greater heights could only be achieved if the right team was put in place​, noting that science and technology were key components for the development of the nation, for which reason his administration would ensure that committed Ghanaians with insight into science and technology would manage the sector.

 He announced that the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng​ , would be assigned responsibility for the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MEST) when the former CEO was approved by parliament.

Nana Akufo-Addo expressed high hopes in the Ghanaian physician and cardiothoracic surgeon  who established the National Cardiothocic Centre  that would bring the needed change to the sector. He was of the belief that science and technology were key areas which needed to be strenghtened to attain development, adding that persons who were making giant strides in the sector needed to br motivated to attain higher heights.

Priortise Technology

For his part, Apostle Safo urged Nana Akufo-Addo's incoming government to priortise science and technology for the rapid development of the nation. He said the world was moving at a fast pace in the area of science and technology and that Ghana  could not be naive about that development.​

Apostle Safo also reiterated his call for a change in the educational curricular​  of the country to make it more practically focused than theoretical.

He said he did not understand why Ghana was giving much attention to the other disiplines, to the neglect of science and technology, stressing that the same attention given to the Humanities ought to be accorded science programmes.

 "I would like to reiterate the point I have made several times that there is the need for the country to take a second look at our education curricular to make it more practical oriented, so that we can train students with the requisite skills, competencies and know-how to help in the development agenda of Ghana and Africa as a whole", he said

​Assistance

The Director of Academic Affairs of Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, called on the incoming government to assist Apostle safo to manufacture more vehicles and technological implements for the benefit of the nation.​

For his part, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ebenezer Oduro- Owusu, who co-chaired the event with Prof. Ayum Teye, the Vice-Chancellor of the University for Development Studies (UDS), added his voice to the call on the incoming administration to make reforms that would focus the country's development policy more on science and technological development..

Pro​f. Teye announced that the UDS would sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) eith the KTCE to enable students of the UDS to undergo practical training at the KTCE.

The Family Behind Ghana’s Made To Survive Anything Car

A pastor is perhaps an unlikely candidate to become Ghana's first car manufacturer. But that's what Apostle Kwadwo Safo, founder of the Christ Reformed Church, and who is known locally as the "Star of Africa", has done.

And the inventor has become something of a legend in Ghana, virtually no history of manufacturing​. As a child he'd had a knack for building things, and before becoming a pastor he'd trained as a welder. :(My father) had ambiyion and foresight. He thought of everything in preparation of Kantanka", says Safo's son, Kwadwo safo Jr.. Today, Kantanka Group is split into an electronics division and a car manufacturing company--Ghana's first car maker.

Made in Ghana

The "made in Ghana" cars were modeled for tough local conditions--and, to prove it, the Ghana Police​ test drove them. Safo Jr, 31, says he has learned a lot from his father.

"We are expanding our current production line to include a lower-end model which we will launch before the end of the year", he says.​ We have made quite significant sales, including a very important one to the office of the President". Safo Jr

31-year old Kwadwo safo Jr. is the CEO of the family's car Business

Safo Jr. didn't always plan to be in the car business. After studying in London, in 2006 he went to earn his pilot's license in the United States. In 2009, he returned to Ghana and earned a bachelor's degree in public administration before joining the family business.​

As for being a pilot?

"The dream changed, it's been put on hold", he said. Safo Jr says operating in Ghana isn't without difficulties: at times there are power cuts and getting fuel needed for back-up generators can be hard.​

Apprentices work at Apostle Safo Technology Research Center in Gomoa Mpota, Ghana.

Believe in yourself

One of the biggest challenges is getting customers to believe in "made in Ghana".​ "People think the doors will come off or the tires will blow off or something", he said.

Though the company has had positive reviews, Kantanka is still a relatively small operator competing with well established foreign rivals.​ The manufacturer can produce 150 cars a month, and with high production costs at home, the cheapest of its three models costs about $20,000.00.

"We need to be able to produce at a more affordable rate. There are high import charges in Ghana", he says. "Once you are determined and you want to do it, it's not hard"​ he says.

Source: CNN.com​

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Gov’t Acquires Kantanka Vehicles For Presidency

The office of the Vice President has taken delivery of two Kantanka Onantefuo 4x4 vehicles to add to the fleet of vehicles at the Presidency. A third vehicle is expected to be delivered in due course. This action is in fulfilment of the government's pledge to support the Kantanka Automobile Company to thrive and give meaning to the campaign for Ghanaians to patronise locally manufactured products.

Kantanka vehicles:

Receiving the vehicles at the Kantanka Automobile Assembly Plant at Gomoa Mpota in the Central Region on Tuesday, the Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, expressed optimism about the prospects of the Kantanka Automobile Company founded by Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo.

The assembly plant is where the various types of Kantanka vehicles are made, including the electric saloon and electric four-wheel drives, an electric SUV called Nkunimdie, the Kantanka Onantefuo 4x4 pick-up and the Kantanka Opasuo Range.​

Facility visit

The Vice-President, who was conducted round the assembly plant by the Chief Operating Officer of the company, Mr Kwadwo Safo Jnr, said the vehicles could compete with other imported vehicles, particularly as their spare parts were readily available on the local market.​

He stated that procuring the vehicle​s was in the line with government's call to the citizenry to patronise made in Ghana goods and added that "this is only the beginning; with time we will get there". Mr Amissah-Arthur visited the welding line, the spraying room, the general assembly line(rain tests) and test line of the plant.

Exhibition

Apostle Safo, on an annual basis, displays his products at an event dubbed: "Technology exhibition of the Kristo Asafo Mission" in Accra which provides a platform for him to showcase his innovations.​

 At the last exhibition in January this year, he displayed a Kantanka 4x4 cross country vehicle, a Kantanka saloon car which is started by the wave of a handkerchief, a six-cylinder car engine with a radiator, military warfare apparel and some electric devices.​

Mr Amissah-Arthur, who was the guest of honour at the event, noted that innovation and technology were a prerequisite for national development and expressed the government's readiness to support Apostle Safo to propel his mission to higher heights.

Source: Graphic.com.gh​

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