Month: June 2011

Parliament on Wednesday passed the Petroleum Commission Bill, which is to establish a petroleum commission to oversee the regulation and management of petroleum products and provide for related matters.

In accordance with article 269 of the 1992 Constitution, the Commission is being establish to regulate and manage the utilisation of petroleum resources and the co-ordination of the policies in relation to the resources.

Mr Emmanuel Kofi-Armah Buah, Deputy Minister of Energy moved for the bill to be read the third time and seconded by Mr Moses Asaga, Member of Parliament for Nabdam after which it was passed by the unanimous decision of members.

The bill which has 23 clauses has clause 1 establishing the Petroleum Commission as a body corporate with perpetual succession whilst clause 2 deals with the object and functions of the Commission.

The Commission is purported to promote planned, well executed, sustainable and cost efficient petroleum activities to achieve optimal levels of resources exploitation for the overall benefit and welfare of citizens.

It will advise the sector minister on matters related to petroleum activities and recommend national policies related to petroleum activities.

Other functions include ensuring compliance with health, safety and environmental standards in petroleum activities in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and agreements and ensuring that persons involve in petroleum activities comply with applicable laws and regulations. It is also responsible for promoting participation in petroleum activities.

GNA

Members of Parliament who are unhappy about the abuse of state emblems and the Ghana Coat of Arms have called on the appropriate authority to ensure that people are made to adhere to the law that prevents the indiscriminate use of such national assets.

The MPs particularly pointed accusing fingers at Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives as the worse abusers of the Ghana Coat of Arms.

MP for Amenfi East, Joseph Boaheng Adu who raised the issue said even rickety vehicles make use of such emblems, hence denigrating its essence. He said this was against state protocol and that culprits must be brought to book for such actions.

He said the Ghana Coat of Arms are sold on the internet for various prices, a practice that he believes should be encouraged.

MP for Ahafo Ano North Stephen Balado Manu urged the national security to work towards apprehending people who are misusing these emblems to serve as a deterrent to others.

Papa Owusu Ankomah, MP for Sekondi however believes it is time for the state to think outside the box to see how the country can benefit from the sale and use of such state emblem.

MP for Tamale South Haruna Iddrisu believes such acts are committed by individuals who are oblivious of the law. He therefore advocated that such people need to be educated on the law so they.

But the Deputy Attorney General Ebo Barton-Oduro told Joy News the concerns raised by his colleague MPs are legitimate and stated that his ministry intends to ensure that the practice is brought to a halt.

Agreeing with the position of some of his colleagues, the deputy minister called for an intensive education on the law before it can be enforced to the letter.

He said only the President and a few state institutions as well as some personalities have the power to use these emblems and that there is a need to collaborate with the law enforcement agencies and other institutions such as the National Centre for Civic Education to ensure that people understand the law before it is enforced.

Source: myjoyonline.com

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Atiwa, Kwasi Amoako – Attah has bemoaned the increasing spate of vandalism of state properties by irate youth in recent times.

According to him, this indiscipline and criminal behavior by disgruntled persons if not curbed immediately may have dire consequences for the country in the near future.

His made the comments in the wake of a reported case in which angry youth of Bole in the Northern Region besieged and vandalized the police station in the area in apparent displeasure over the killing of a man in the area by the police.

The police night patrol team in the area is said to have received a distressed call from a man who reported that armed robbers on a motor bike had robbed him, the police in response to the call drove towards that area and chanced upon a man riding a motor bike, he was ordered to stop but failed to and was shot at by the police killing him.

It later turned out that it was a case of mistaken identity since the man who was shot at was a businessman who did legitimate business in the area.

Speaking on e.tv’s newspaper review programme “ Breakfast TV’’ the Member of Parliament for Atiwa, Kwasi Amoako – Attah who condemned the unruly behavior of the youth however called on the police service to find ways of reducing casualties as a result of ‘mistaken identity’.

He noted that the police has a history of inadvertently killing innocent people citing the Taifa and Dansoman shooting incidents among others which should serve as a wakeup call for the police to be more professional in its duties.

Hon. Amoako- Attah urged the police hierarchy to use its internal mechanisms to bring the liable police men to book to assuage the feelings of the aggrieved persons.

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

Mobile phone subscribers will have the opportunity to migrate from one network service provider to another, whilst maintaining their existing phone numbers, in the next 21 days.

Under the facility, porting services will be provided for subscribers who have requested for that facility. In addition, a recipient operator to whom a request for porting is made by a subscriber may charge the subscriber a porting fee, which shall not exceed per port charge and other charges approved by the National Communications Authority (NCA).

In connection with this mobile number portability, the Minister of Communications, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, on Tuesday, laid before Parliament the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Regulations 2011, Legislative Instrument (LI) 1994.

The Speaker of Parliament, Mrs. Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo, referred the LI to the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation for consideration.

The regulation provides a framework governing all the relevant aspects of the MNP and also lays down clear eligibility conditions for the porting of mobile phone numbers.

Among other things, the regulation specifies clear time limits for the completion of the porting process.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic at Parliament House; Mr. Iddrisu said number portability was a facility which enabled subscribers to change their service provider, while keeping their existing telephone numbers.

He explained that the purpose of the facility was to factor in consumer choice and effective competition by enabling subscribers to switch among service providers without the cost and inconvenience of changing their phone numbers.

The Minister commended the NCA, the regulator, for making the facility real and introducing the MNP to deepen competition and improve quality of service in the country.

He urged operators to co-operate with the NCA for a smooth implementation and advised subscribers to take advantage of the facility.

Expatiating on the regulation, Mr. Iddrisu said under it, a telecommunications service provider was required to provide mobile number portability facilities in its entire network to a requesting subscriber.

The regulation also enjoins an operator of an electronic communications network to provide mobile number portability facilities on reasonable terms and on non-discriminatory basis for a subscriber who meets the requirements of the law.

A request for a mobile number portability facility made by a subscriber under sub-regulation (1), (2) or (3) shall be granted to the subscriber within 24 hours after receipt of the request.

The MNP regulation also indicates that “mobile number portability is a facility which permits a subscriber to transfer from one mobile telecommunications service provider to another, while the subscriber retains the mobile number allocated to that subscriber by the telecommunications service provider that the subscriber is transferring from”.

Source: Daily Graphic