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Tension in Parliament; Speaker suspends sitting

The Speaker of Parliament Joyce Banford Addo suspended sitting on Tuesday following near chaotic scenes on the floor of the House

The Majority is demanding an unconditional apology from the Minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who they accuse of desecrating the Legislative body.

The Minority Leader refused to escort President John Mills out of the chamber after the president’s delivered his third State of the Nation Address.

He was protesting what he said was a sad and partisan address ever by a president, citing the president’s failure to acknowledge the Chief Justice and ex-president John Kufuor both of who were present during the address.

The Minority Leader has since called the president and apologised promising the ugly scene will not repeat itself.

But the Majority is unimpressed. They want an official apology rendered to the president on the floor by the Minority Leader and are not ready to compromise.

On Tuesday, MP for Asawasi, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak began the chorus for an apology and his colleagues in the Majority booed, cheered and shouted along; but the Minority Leader said he is not ready to apologise anymore than he has done already; and had the unflinching support from the Minority who equally booed and snapped.

The Speaker who had wanted a gentleman’s resolution to the problem could bare no longer the shouts and tantrums from the MPs and decided to suspend sitting.

Tension in Parliament; Speaker suspends sitting

The Speaker of Parliament Joyce Banford Addo suspended sitting on Tuesday following near chaotic scenes on the floor of the House

The Majority is demanding an unconditional apology from the Minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who they accuse of desecrating the Legislative body.

The Minority Leader refused to escort President John Mills out of the chamber after the president’s delivered his third State of the Nation Address.

He was protesting what he said was a sad and partisan address ever by a president, citing the president’s failure to acknowledge the Chief Justice and ex-president John Kufuor both of who were present during the address.

The Minority Leader has since called the president and apologised promising the ugly scene will not repeat itself.

But the Majority is unimpressed. They want an official apology rendered to the president on the floor by the Minority Leader and are not ready to compromise.

On Tuesday, MP for Asawasi, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak began the chorus for an apology and his colleagues in the Majority booed, cheered and shouted along; but the Minority Leader said he is not ready to apologise anymore than he has done already; and had the unflinching support from the Minority who equally booed and snapped.

The Speaker who had wanted a gentleman’s resolution to the problem could bare no longer the shouts and tantrums from the MPs and decided to suspend sitting.

Tension in Parliament; Speaker suspends sitting

The Speaker of Parliament Joyce Banford Addo suspended sitting on Tuesday following near chaotic scenes on the floor of the House

The Majority is demanding an unconditional apology from the Minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who they accuse of desecrating the Legislative body.

The Minority Leader refused to escort President John Mills out of the chamber after the president’s delivered his third State of the Nation Address.

He was protesting what he said was a sad and partisan address ever by a president, citing the president’s failure to acknowledge the Chief Justice and ex-president John Kufuor both of who were present during the address.

The Minority Leader has since called the president and apologised promising the ugly scene will not repeat itself.

But the Majority is unimpressed. They want an official apology rendered to the president on the floor by the Minority Leader and are not ready to compromise.

On Tuesday, MP for Asawasi, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak began the chorus for an apology and his colleagues in the Majority booed, cheered and shouted along; but the Minority Leader said he is not ready to apologise anymore than he has done already; and had the unflinching support from the Minority who equally booed and snapped.

The Speaker who had wanted a gentleman’s resolution to the problem could bare no longer the shouts and tantrums from the MPs and decided to suspend sitting.

Tension in Parliament; Speaker suspends sitting

The Speaker of Parliament Joyce Banford Addo suspended sitting on Tuesday following near chaotic scenes on the floor of the House

The Majority is demanding an unconditional apology from the Minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who they accuse of desecrating the Legislative body.

The Minority Leader refused to escort President John Mills out of the chamber after the president’s delivered his third State of the Nation Address.

He was protesting what he said was a sad and partisan address ever by a president, citing the president’s failure to acknowledge the Chief Justice and ex-president John Kufuor both of who were present during the address.

The Minority Leader has since called the president and apologised promising the ugly scene will not repeat itself.

But the Majority is unimpressed. They want an official apology rendered to the president on the floor by the Minority Leader and are not ready to compromise.

On Tuesday, MP for Asawasi, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak began the chorus for an apology and his colleagues in the Majority booed, cheered and shouted along; but the Minority Leader said he is not ready to apologise anymore than he has done already; and had the unflinching support from the Minority who equally booed and snapped.

The Speaker who had wanted a gentleman’s resolution to the problem could bare no longer the shouts and tantrums from the MPs and decided to suspend sitting.

Sports Minister vows revolution

Minister of Youth and Sports, Clement Kofi Humado has revealed his plans to revolutionize sports in the country.

Humado made a special appearance on Asempa FM’s Sports Morning Show Tuesday and told host, Moses Antwi Benefo, he plans an enduring legacy in the sector with a specific focus on developing the lesser known sports.

Asked how he plans on carrying out his goal, the minister said “I think that all District Assemblies should come up with three sporting events for which they have comparative advantage. For example, in my area Anlo, we have a lot of water so why don’t we adopt, say, swimming? We have very sandy beaches, why don’t we play volley? So that is the kind of thinking I am working on.”

He explained that he has a proposal for each district to select activities beneficial to the community. He said the communities’ assets could be harnessed and used to develop many of such lesser known sports, adding “we will sustain football, we will sustain other important sporting activities like boxing and all that, but we think that we should also start developing the lesser known sports and that is the legacy I think I should leave.”

Mr. Humado who spoke on a wide range of issues said he intends to work harmoniously with agencies and departments under the ministry to ensure that sports receive the needed support and growth.

Touching on the tussle between two groups of the Ghana Olympic Committee which has led to Ghana being suspended by the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Humado indicated that he will ensure that the impasse is brought to an end.

The IOC suspended Ghana last December citing as reasons the country’s sports laws contravened internationally accepted ones and that the government had needlessly mingled in sports administration.

But Mr Humado said the delay in amending the Sports Law was as a result of certain problems that the ministry encountered.

“There were certain genuine problems, that was why we could not get it passed at the end of December, so I have looked at those genuine problems and I have met with the committee and we intend to quickly work on that,” he stated.

He explained further that the Sports law, SMCD 54, promulgated in 1976 is being amended as a result of the various changes that have occurred in the sporting arena. He said the law became out of tune with international norms and therefore it was necessary to bring it up-to-date with international norms and practices and to also help to solve specific problems in the sector within the country.

Mr. Humado however assured that he was certain the bill would be passed by the end of the year. He said cabinet referred the bill back to the ministry and they were taking a second look at it to ensure that the necessary questions raised were answered.

He said since he assumed office he had examined the roadmap in solving the rancour between the B.T. Baba faction and Professor Dodoo’s. According to him, the roadmap resulted in the decision to amend the law together with the Legislative Instrument (LI).

“We are looking at the two. We are looking at both the LI and we are also looking at the law, so I think we are on course. We have not deviated as far as I am concerned,” he assured.

He added that the two parties would meet after his outfit deals with the underlying cause of the problem, but pointed out that they were at liberty to come to the ministry to meet him at their own time to discuss the issue further.

“The way I have looked at the problem, it is a technical problem and so we need to carefully look at the technicalities of the situation and then decide how to proceed. Just by merely bringing the two people together, I don’t believe would really solve the problem… We need to work the technicalities out, because if you read the correspondence you will realize that it’s a question of the procedures that are being used. We have the law, we have the LI and then we have the elections –democratic elections- which are supposed to take place, so I think that we should fix that one first and then we can bring the two parties together.”

On whether he will last in the office dogged with all kinds of scandals and rumours, Mr, Humado had a simple answer: ‘I believe I am going to be there for the rest of the term of Prof. Evans Atta Mills.”

Source: myjoyonline.com

Manftseman West NDC hail MP’s nomination as Deputy Minister

The Mfantseman West Constituency of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has hailed the nomination of their Member of Parliament, Mr Aquinas Tawiah Quansah who has been appointed as the Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development.

Municipal Chief Executive Henry Kweku Hyaron and the Constituency Chairman Stephen Moore, in an encounter with the Ghana News Agency at Saltpond, expressed gratitude to President John Evans Atta Mills for nominating the MP to that position.

Mr Moore assured the President that the Constituency would leave no stone unturned to ensure they returned the Deputy Minister to parliament in the 2012 general elections.

He stated that “We will not let you down, Mr President.”

The Chairman advised the Deputy Minister-elect to work hard to justify the confidence reposed in him by the President when the Appointments Committee of Parliament passes his nomination.

He urged supporters of the party to work hard in championing the course of the President’s Better Ghana Agenda.

Mr Hayfron said the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly, as home Assembly of the President, had a greater responsibility to discharge.

They must not only ensure that the two seats – East and West – were retained but must also ensure that government policies and programmes were implemented to the letter and explained to the people.

The MCE commended the two MPs for lobbying projects for the municipality and appealed to the citizens to rally behind the government and to return the two MPs, Mr George Kuntu Blankson and Mr Aquinas Tawiah Quansah to power in 2012.

Mr Hayfron advised Mr Quansah to note that now he had a larger “constituency” which voted him to Parliament and try to keep regularly in touch with them.

Source: GNA

Dominic Nitiwul condemns dumping of toxic waste at Essipon

The Member of Parliament for Bimbila Dominic Nitiwul, has strongly condemned the dumping of toxic oil base mud (OBM) by a Nigerian Vessel at Essipon, a community near a landfill site in the Secondi/Takoradi metropolis.

He said the unfortunate act which was carried out without any supervision from appropriate authorities may have adverse effect on the lives of the inhabitants.

The ship which has been impounded by the Western Naval Command has apart from dumping the waste, also discharged a large volume of highly toxic slops in tote tanks into the drain that runs down the hill to the Essipon community.

The vessel from the Benniboye Oil Fields in the Benin State of Nigeria was said to be in transit to Trinidad and Tobago and that it passed through Ghana to discharge the waste.

It is alleged that the shipping agent, Panalpina, and the owners of the vessel did not want to pay the cost of disposing of the waste and, therefore, employed crude means to pass on the waste to Ghana in such a dangerous manner which could have a serious effect on the lives of the people.

Commenting on the issue on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show Tuesday, the Member of Parliament for Bimbila, Dominic Nitiwul, stated that inasmuch as the Ghana Navy lacks adequate logistics to patrol the waters of Ghana that should not be an excuse for such criminality to be carried out.

He called on the security agencies and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fish out the local collaborators who he described as unpatriotic Ghanaians, who aided the Nigerian Vessel to commit the crime and deal severely with them.

“How can a ship travel all the way from Nigeria to Ghana to dump toxic waste when the two countries have no such agreement’’ he wondered.

It is a serious offence under the Marpol Convention to dump such toxic waste from one country into another without permission.

Marpol 73/78 is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978. (“Marpol” is short for marine pollution and 73/78 short for the years 1973 and 1978.)

Marpol 73/78 is one of the most important international marine environmental conventions. It was designed to minimize pollution of the seas, including dumping, oil and exhaust pollution.

Its stated object is: to preserve the marine environment through the complete elimination of pollution by oil and other harmful substances and the minimization of accidental discharge of such substances.

Story by :Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

Alban Bagbin tours Adenta

There was controversy in Adenta, a suburb of Accra on Monday when government entourage led by Water Resources Works and Housing Minister, Alban Bagbin toured the vicinity with journalists to check the water situation.

The tour followed recent proclamation by President John Mills at his third State of the Nation’s Address to Parliament that the war on empty taps in Adenta had been won and that water was now flowing in a vicinity in which access to water was a luxury.

The president’s remarks were met with some vehement denials from some residents in the area who insisted the water situation had not improved. In a bid to ascertain the veracity of the President’s comments the minister toured the vicinity with journalists but the response was neither a confirmation of the president’s remarks, nor an outright denial.

Joy News reporter Kweku Botwe who was part of the team observed that the residents who the entourage had selected for verification confirmed the water situation had improved drastically, but the residents in the same vicinity who the journalist themselves spoke to denied the president’s claim, with some insisting the situation has become worse.

The situation turned a little chaotic at the SSNIT flat lorry park where the residents shouted denials or confirmation of the president’s comments. Asked why the mixed responses from people supposed to be in the same vicinity and whether some of the residents had been pre-informed about the visit of the entourage, the sector minister and leader of the entourage explained the reasons for the varying responses.

He suspected that those who complained of not having water had no pipe connections whilst others also had local problems.

He hinted some of the residents may have been cut off for non-payment of bills. The MCE of the area, Kakra Vanlare dismissed suggestions some of the residents have been coached. She said many of the residents who claimed they did not have water were mainly squatters.

She cautioned journalists to be careful who they interview in their bid to find out whether there is water in Adenta or not. The Sector Minister, Alban Bagbin later told Joy News the general water situation in Adenta “has improved.”

Source: myjoyonline.com

NPP wants ”NDC attackers” of Zabzugu MP arrested

Executives of the opposition New Patriotic Party in the Zabzugu constituency of the Northern Region have identified and submitted to the police names of seven suspected NDC youth activists, who allegedly attacked the Member of Parliament for Zabzugu, Hon. Jabaah John Bennam during his recent visit to the constituency.

The Zabzugu MP, who won the seat on the ticket of the NPP, was assaulted, allegedly, by NDC youth activists on the night of Thursday February 24, as he escorted two buses meant for the Zabzugu and Tatale senior high schools.

His private Nissan double cabin pickup with registration number GW 9650Z was vandalized and his wife who was with him in the vehicle injured, but no arrest has been made so far.

Addressing a news conference in Tamale, Ahamed .A. Iddi Adakwa, NPP communications officer for the Zabzugu constituency mentioned Shirazu Yakubu (the prime suspect), Abukari Abdulai, Aliu Abdulai, Saaka Alhassan alias Saaka Bela, Gafaru Mashoud, Shaibu Dauda alias Grant and Abass Salifu, all NDC youth activists as the perpetrators.

He expressed the constituency executives’ anger over the undue delay in arresting the perpetrators and warned that any attempt to shield them could destabilize the peace of the area.

The Zabzugu constituency NPP communications officer reminded the police of President John Mills’ instruction to the security apparatus to be on “red alert” on war-mongers and asked them to apply it on the identified Zabzugu NDC youth activists who he described as terrorists causing mayhem in Zabzugu.

Ahamed Adakwa further asserted that the suspects were ring leaders of an irate NDC youth group that fired a gun in broad daylight and locked up the Zabzugu National Health Insurance Scheme Offices in March 23, 2010.

“A trek down memory lane reveals that the perpetrators were the same NDC youth sighted during the broad day light attack on officers of the district NHIS in Zabzugu leading to a gun shot on March 23, 2010” he alleged.

Ahmed Adakwa also accused both the District Chief Executive, Hon Moro Wahab and the NDC constituency Chairman, Alhaji Amadu Sonnaa of being the brains behind the continuous victimization of NPP members in Zabzugu.

“We wish to remind both the DCE and his party Chairman under whose aegis these deviants operate that Zabzugu is bigger than any individual’s political expediency” Ahamed Adakwa emphasized.

Ahmed Adakwa mentioned the extension of pipe borne water to Zabzugu Senior High School, registration of 4,800 needy people under the National Health Insurance Scheme, construction of a CHIPS compound at Yachadow and the construction of a 3 unit classroom block at Bitido as some of the achievements of the MP which made the NDC nervous.

Source: citifmonline.com

Majority Leader advocates for re-introduction of boarding school system

The Majority Leader in parliament Mr Cletus Avoka, has advocated the re-introduction of the boarding school system in second cycle schools in the country to help address the falling standards of education.

He observed that the abolishing of the boarding school system had among others brought about indiscipline and the lack of supervision in schools. He suggested that a boarding school facility could be established to serve a number of schools within a certain radius in the rural areas. “Although the boarding school system is expensive it is better than churning out social deviants”, Mr Avoka said.

Mr Avoka was speaking at an Education policy dialogue” forum organized by the Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) a British international NGO in Tamale during the weekend.

It was aimed at giving the opportunity to District representatives of education and other stakeholders in education to present their concerns to policy makers.

Participants who attended the forum included, Mr. Mathias Pouza, Chairman of parliamentary select committee on education, Mr. John Akologu Tia, Minister of Information, Mr. Alhassan Andani, Board Chairman of the Savannah Accelerated development Authority (SADA), Mr. Issahaku Salia, Upper West Regional Minister and Mr. Sam Nasamu Asabigi, Deputy Northern Regional Minister.

Mr Eric Dourinaah, the Tackling Education Needs Inclusively (TENI)/ VSO Coordinator said TENI was a five- year education programme which sought to achieve a systematic change in education by improving transition, completion and quality basic education for disadvantaged children, particularly girls in the three northern regions of Ghana.

He said the programme covered all aspects of education in 80 per cent of all schools and communities in Talensi-Nabdam, Jirapa and West Mamprusi Districts, benefiting about 48,000 children, 2,000 teachers and 25,000 parents from the communities.

Source: GNA