Month: August 2010

The National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) has commended Parliament for passing the housing deal with the Korean Construction firm STX Engineering.

Mr Theophilus Aidoo-Mensah, President of NALAG, made the commendation when addressing national service personnel in Gomoa West in connection with the celebration of National Service Week at Apam.

Mr Aidoo-Mensah, who is also District Chief Executive for Gomoa West, also commended government for deciding to allocate the first batch of 30,000 housing units to be constructed by the firm to the security services.

He said residential accommodation for the security services, especially the Police Service, left much to be desired. Mr Aidoo-Mensah said the housing project would address some of the housing problems national service personnel faced when they are posted to the districts.

He appealed to government to ensure that the districts had their fair share of the houses and praised national service personnel for the good work they had been doing for the country. Mr Aidoo-Mensah deplored the attitude of parents who had been preventing the posting of their children, especially females, to the rural areas to do their service.

Mr Aidoo-Mensah advised the service personnel to take good care of themselves as they entered the job market and to place Ghana above whatever they did to ensure a better nation for all. “Maintain the discipline you exhibited when you were in school at your workplaces and be devoted to your work,” he said.

Source: GNA

Parliamentary Select committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism says calls for a new formula to regulate the interest rate regime are in the right direction and would be considered.

The call was made last week by the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) when its delegation with that of the Central Bank and other stakeholder groups, called on met the Select committee.
At the meeting, the Chamber made a case for a new formula regulated by law to be instituted to regulate the interest rate regime.

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism has told CITI BUSINES Commercial Banks have agreed to carry out consultations within the next three months to alleviate concerns over the high lending rates.

The Chairman of the committee, Hon Amadu Sorogho said the process towards finding a more-effective solution to the lending rates controversy is underway.

‘‘We told bankers and industry that we will discuss with them. We asked Bank of Ghana and the ministries to call them and then start the processes. So we think that yes, it should be necessary for a formula such that when the Bank Of Ghana drops their pay slip as it has happened, there should also be a significant drop on the interest rates. On the other hand, if they think that now that there are other ways in which this thing could be done, then you do it- but like I said, it needs more concentration and we have been given the assurance that they are going to do that. It is only when there is extreme need that we will be forced to come in to see what we can do’’ he said.

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The Parliament of the Republic of Ghana has approved the controversial deal in which STX Engineering and Construction Ghana Limited will build 30,000 houses at $1.5 bn.

The deal was approved without the Minority side who argued deliberations over the proposed contract must halt pending the outcome of a Supreme Court suit challenging its constitutionality.

The Minority also argued the Majority showed a betrayal of trust after the two sides had agreed in a caucus meeting to delay the debate for a week for more work to be done on the deal.

The Minority staged a walkout after the First Deputy Speaker, Doe Adjaho, who sat in for the Speaker Joyce Bamford Addo, suspended sitting for an hour and directed the Joint Committee to consider two more documents the Majority was compelled to furnish the House with – Off Taker and Joint Venture agreements.

It became apparent the Majority side was bent on giving accent to the deal which has been on the front burner for some weeks now.

The unanimous decision of the 117 Majority legislators, including the Speaker Doe Adjaho, means STX Engineering and Construction Ghana Limited will start construction work soon.

Works and Housing Minister Alban Bagbin says 20,000 housing units will be given to the police service whilst the remaining 10,000 will go to the military and other security agencies.

He accused the Minority of deliberately attempting to frustrate the process and the House went ahead to approve the bill, thanks to the rule of simple majority.

The House approved three documents, Off-taker, Joint Venture and Supplier’s Credit agreements.

Lone ranger

Member of Parliament for Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, PC Appiah Ofori, was the only Minority MP who sat through the long-drawn proceedings which ran into Wednesday after it started at 10:00am Tuesday.

The legislator argued the deal was not in the best interest of the nation, adding, the cost burden would be unbearable.

Mr Appiah Ofori exited the building after tabling his final points and bidding his colleague legislators ‘good night.’

Confusion

The STX deal has torched off one of the sharpest Majority-Minority disagreements in the history of Parliament.

Water Resources Works and Housing Minister, Alban Bagbin, bemoaned the situation where the contract had taken a political tinge.

“If you don’t like this, what else do you want,” he said at a recent press conference to explain the details of the deal.

Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

STX Engineering and Construction Ghana Limited says it is no troubled by comments by the minority side of Parliament suggesting that it would regret entering into that Housing deal with the Government of Ghana.

Mr. B.K. Asamoah, CEO and Managing Partner of STX Engineering and Construction Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of the STX Company in Korea, was reacting to the comment made on the floor of Parliament by the Minority Leader, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu.

Although the comment has been tagged as reckless by the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Hon. Alban Bagbin, Mr. B.K. Asamoah found it appropriate to reiterate that STX was not the least perturbed, explaining that they are fully aware that the deal is a good one that will benefit both parties.

Mr. Asamoah who witnessed the approval of the 1.5 billion dollar Supplier’s Credit Agreement, covering the 30, 000 STX Housing project for the nation’s security services, told Citi FM’s Parliamentary Correspondent Richard Sky, that they were ready to commence the project.

‘‘We are not troubled that the Minority did not participate in the approval. We
don’t feel anything about it because it’s nothing new and we are not the least threatened. The most important thing is that we went through the procedure. They (Minority) can’t stop the Korean government from financing the deal, it’s simple as that.

Mr. B.K. Asamoah told Citi News the project has delayed for close to three months, and that work will start immediately after a final meeting with government is held.

”We need to get ready and get on the road, because the project has already delayed for more than three months. And as you all know, the Korean President was supposed to come to Ghana so we need to get ready and start. As soon as possible we will start work, but for now we need to speak to the Housing and Finance Ministers” he said.

He said STX is not perturbed about political interference in the future once the deal would be fully insured against that.

Hardly any seat was vacant in Parliament Monday as the House readied to debate and maybe pass the controversial housing deal with Korea firm STX.

Joy FM’s Parliamentary correspondent, Sammy Darko reports that “battle lines” have been drawn between the majority and minority sides. Compromises, he says, are hardly on the cards.

The House is expected to rise on Tuesday and details of all financial agreements including the controversial STX are expected to be laid today for a thorough debate tomorrow.

Already there is controversy over whether the details of the STX agreement should be laid today.

The minority argue that the Parliamentary Committee on Finance is yet to conclude discussions on the agreement and are questioning the basis for the majority to lay the ‘half-baked’ agreement.

As a prelude to the main discussions on STX, the parliamentarians were divided along party lines on the Education Amendment Bill.

The minority insists the number of years to be spent in the senior high school must not be less than four years, a position the majority has objected to. The majority wants a reversal to the previous three year tenure.

“The house is packed, almost every seat has been filled,” Sammy Darko described, a marked departure from the past in which the seats were in most cases empty.

He said ministers who are also Parliamentarians have been called in by the majority to make up the numbers should there be a need for a vote.

It is not clear if the STX agreement will be laid today.

Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Parliament on Monday August 2 passed the Education (Amendment) Bill, 2010 to revert the duration of Senior High School (SHS) education from four to three years.

The passage followed a tense debate, which had also been preceded by two votes on proposed amendments of the bill, both going in favour of the majority.

However, in both votes, the Minority side expressed dissatisfaction with the results, with the Minority leader, Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, and the MP for Adansi Asokwa, Mr. K.T. Hammond, expressing some strong reservations.

The House voted 106-78 to amend a portion of the Bill that had sought to make the duration of the programme not less than three years. The Minority side opposed that, with the MP for Sekondi, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, arguing that maintaining that provision would ensure that in future there would be no need to go through another amendment to change the duration of the programme.

He stated further that in future if a government found it prudent to increase the duration of the programme, then it could simply do that through an administration procedure. His view was supported by the MP for New Juaben North, Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, who argued that ensuring that there was no rigid three–year duration would be more helpful, as it would not compel everybody to do the course in three years.

However, the Majority side disagreed with that position and argued strongly in support of the amendment. The Majority leader, Mr. Cletus Apul Avoka, stated that the purpose of the Bill was to reduce the duration of the SHS programme from four to three years. He added, however, that if the amendment proposed was not carried through, there would be a situation whereby in some schools the duration would be three years while in others it will be four years.

“The law must be precise and clear, else the law will be ambiguous and its implication will be at the whims and caprices of school heads,” he stated. His view was supported by the MP for Wa West, Mr. Joseph Yieleh Chireh, who argued that the House needed to be specific when making laws. He added that the House could not afford to make a law and leave a gap open in such a manner.

After a voice vote, the First Deputy Speaker, Mr. Edward Doe Adjaho, who was in the chair, called it for the Majority. But Papa Owusu—Ankomah invoked a standing order of the House and called for a division and head count.

The subsequent division resulted in a vote that witnessed the Majority getting the amendment passed with a vote of 106-79, but that drew a fierce protest from the Minority Leader, who said the process was flawed, as the Speaker had called the election using the results of the division.

In the second vote, the House voted 108-78 to reject an amendment proposed by Christopher Am

Parliament is scheduled to take a final decision on the controversial STX Housing deal later today August 3, but a law suit filed yesterday by the Youth Organizer of the Convention Peoples Party, could derail the planned passage of the 1.5 billion dollar loan agreement.

Mr. Bomfeh’s writ which has two defendants, the Attorney General and the Speaker of Parliament, is demanding the court to restrain Parliament to discontinue its action of laying the loan agreement and its onward approval until the determination of the case.

Mr. Kwabena Bomfeh, popularly known as Kabila, is in Court, seeking an order to prevent Parliament from giving the deal its stamp of approval.

As at the evening of Monday August 2, bailiffs from the Courts were reportedly making efforts to serve the writ on the Speaker of Parliament, but it is unclear if they were successful.

Speaking to Citi News, Mr. Bomfeh claimed a number of illegalities have been committed by parties to the agreement, adding it would be an affront to the nation’s Constitution for Parliament to approve the STX Housing deal in its current form.

He said the $1.5 billion was a huge amount that can give the country more than 30,000 housing units.

‘‘I want a better deal for Ghana and Ghanaians, and I believe also that we as a country deserve better than what we are being offered. It is in the interest of the country and the rule of law as well as the constitution.”

Standing Order 93(1) of the Standing Orders of Ghana’s Parliament provides that: ‘‘Reference shall not be made to any matter on which a judicial decision is pending in such a way as may in the opinion of the Speaker, prejudice the interest of both parties to the action.’’

Drawing inspiration from this provision, Mr. Kwabena Bomfeh is asking Parliament to freeze further debate on the STX deal until the Supreme Court rules on his application.

NDC Member of Parliament for the Tamale Central Constituency Hon. Inusah Fuseini has come under heavy criticism by the Coalition of NDC youth groups in Changli who have threatened to unseat him in 2012.

Members of the Coalition chastised the Tamale Central Constituency MP for denouncing his allegiance to the Andani Gate on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show after using the murder of the late Yaa-Naa Yakubu Andani as his major campaign message to retain his seat in Parliament.

Abdul Karim Seidu affectionately called Chesua, Spokesperson of the Coalition at a news conference said the people of Changli and its environs voted massively for Hon. Inusah Fuseini during the bye-election after the resignation of Dr. Wayo Seini in 2006 as NDC MP elections and retained him in 2008 because he proved to be an Andani who had their welfare at heart.

He complained that Hon. Inusah Fuseini also a Deputy Minister for Energy promised the youth of Changli jobs, credit facilities for women groups, better road network and school infrastructure for the area and that none of the promises have been fulfilled.

“The MP Lawyer Inusah Fuseini made several promises to the people of Changli during the last elections knowing very well that he will never in anyway attempt fulfilling them: one of the promises he made included providing jobs for we the youth of Changli,” he fumed.

He warned that the NDC will risk losing the Tamale Central Constituency Seat if the party fails to replace Hon. Inusah Fuseini with a credible and competent candidate in 2012 and that any attempt to impose him on them will be fiercely resisted.

“This is just a notice from majority of the youth of Tamale Central Constituency to the NDC government to sit up and fulfill its campaign promises and also replace Lawyer Inusah Fuseini with a more competent and credible candidate or lose the seat to another party or an independent candidate,” Chesua stressed.

The Tamale Central Constituency Coalition of NDC youth Spokesperson, Seidu Chesua by extension lambasted Alhaji Abudulai Harunah Friday, Mayor of Tamale for neglecting Changli which has been tagged as the “World Bank” of NDC in the Tamale Metropolis.

He described the Tamale Mayor as a lousy Chief Executive who is interested in acquiring auctioned cars despite the myriad of problems residents of Tamale have been confronted with.

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