The final results of the local elections will be announced on February 27, President of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) Farouk Bouaskar announced on Friday, during an information day dedicated to the process of setting up the National Council of Regions and Districts in the governorate of Gafsa. Once the results are announced, the members of the local councils will be summoned by the governors within 8 days to set up the local councils, Bouaskar added. The first inaugural meeting will be chaired by the member with the highest number of votes in each local council, who will in turn assume the provisional chairmanship of the council to which he or she belongs for a period of 3 months. The ceremony to swear in the president of the said council will be recorded in minutes drawn up for this purpose, following which the draw for the representation of local councils on the regional council will take place within the next 24 hours. Bouaskar also indicated that the meeting with the members of t he local councils of the Gafsa governorate had been an opportunity to dispel the doubts surrounding the delimitation of the respective competences of the delegate, the governor and the local councils, calling for "legislative intervention" to settle the issue. Pending the adoption of a text "apportioning" powers, Bouaskar pointed out that the rules governing the operation and organisation of local councils would be governed by Organic Law No. 29 of May 9, 2018 promulgating the Local Authorities Code. As for the remit of the local councils, the ISIE President specified that these structures will mainly be in charge of supervising blocked development projects planned at the level of delegations and governorates. As part of their mission, they will also have the right to demand accountability and to propose new projects to be included in the 2025 budget and the national development plan to be validated by the second parliamentary chamber, the National Council of Regions and Districts. Source: Agence Tunis A frique Presse Mr Richard Ahiagbah, Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has described the National Democratic Congress (NDC's) promise to investigate and prosecute person(s) found guilty of corruption in the botched Agyapa Royalties deal as a mere 'parochial politics'. He insisted there was nothing criminal about the Agyapa Royalties deal to warrant any criminal actions against persons involved. The NDC, on Monday, February 19, 2024, at a press conference, reignited debate on the Agyapa deal following a disclosure by the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Income Investment Fund, Mr Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, at a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sitting that the government had spent $12m on the botched deal. At the said press conference, the Party pledged to investigate, retrieve all illegal payments made under the deal, and ensure that all perpetrators found guilty of any corruption and corruption-related act were prosecuted. 'The day of accountability is fast approaching, and no one found culpable will be left off the hook by the next NDC/Mahama government,' the Party said. Speaking on Accra-based Joy FM's Saturday morning show, the Newsfile, Mr Ahiagbah described the position as a mere attempt to score political points. He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to ignore the 'NDC's propaganda'. 'Everything Sammy (Gyamfi, National Communications Officer of NDC) and his Party are doing cannot be in the interest of the country. It is for once, about their parochial politics, and in fact, Ghanaians saw through this in 2020 and voted against them,' Mr Ahiagbah said. The NPP Government introduced the Agyapa Royalties deal in 2020 to raise funds through mineral royalties for infrastructure development. Government, in 2021, however, suspended the deal after public outcry, to allow for more consultation. Making justification for the deal, Mr Ahiagbah explained that the Agyapa instrument was designed to generate revenue for the State to undertake development for all Ghanaians. He, therefore, refuted clams of the deal being an attempt to mortgage the future of the country. 'It is not even mortgaging. It is not mortgaging because it is an attempt to seek value for this country. Now, there are multiple income streams that will generate out of Agyapa if you go and list on the Stock Market,' he said. 'The incidental appreciation in share value over time, that becomes value for us and also the investment that we will be making in mining companies who will be creating value and therefore appreciation in that value becomes returns for the State,' Mr Ahiagbah indicated. Meanwhile, Mr Gyamfi, NDC National Communications Officer of NDC, said the payment of the $12million constituted woefully causing financial loss to the State, and urged every Ghanaian to be 'interested in the recovery of this money'. Source: Ghana News Agency