Month: June 2011

A senior member of Parliament has warned that the homosexual community in Ghana may soon be at the receiving end of mounting public anger in the form of physical attacks and outright death if they do not stop what he calls their evil deeds.

The NDC MP for Shai Osu Doku, Hon David Tetteh Assuming, said he is disgusted at the campaigns being led by respected senior citizens seeking respect and tolerance for gay and lesbian rights.

In an interview with Citi News’ Parliamentary Correspondent, Richard Sky, Hon. Assuming said homosexuals operating in the country may have to relocate outside Ghana before the growing public outrage against them degenerates into systematic moves to eliminate them one after the other.

“You cannot trace this act to any of the settings in Ghana. So this is foreign and I am I saying that Ghanaians cherish our culture a lot so for anybody to adulterate the cultural setting in Ghana as far as this act is concerned, I have the fear that people could take the law into their hands in future and deal with this people drastically.

“We have been seeing the situation where people take the law into their hands to lynch armed robbers. They call it mob action. And so since this has been happening and the law cannot take hold of this people, then I believe that the same thing could be directed to them”.

“So I am sending a sign to these people that they will not have it easy in this country. They can leave here and go to other places to practice that. But in this country, I believe that they are treading on dangerous grounds and they could face lynching in future” he noted.

The Legislator said issues of human rights cannot justify the practice of homosexuality in Ghana, which he according to him, could incur the wrath of God on a “God-fearing nation” like Ghana.

“Being a God-fearing nation and a God-fearing people, let us not joke with this issue and let us not talk about any issue of human rights. This is uncultured, anti-Ghanaian and if care is not taken, these people will face a very tough time in future” he noted.

He said the excuse that Ghana’s laws are not very clear on what constitutes homosexuality and the sanctions that should be meted out to such offenders was a non-starter, since no law is framed in a straightjacket.

“There is no law that is water-tight in this country. In every law, there could be some loopholes. But this is not the case where somebody will hide to commit this act. No matter what law we have in place, this one is an unwritten law. This act is abominable, it is not practised in Ghana and anybody who tries to introduce it in this country will not succeed. It has started in Kenya where people are being lynched”.

Hon. Assuming called on the Police to be more proactive in raiding suspected homosexual joints, believed to be dotted across the country.

However, some analysts have told Citifmonline.com that Hon Assuming’s comments could generate a severe backlash from local human rights groups and their international backers, who believe homosexuality is as normal as heterosexuality.

Meanwhile the Former Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Inusah Fuseini says he is surprised by the deafening silence of women groups in the face of intense public debate on whether or not Ghana should recognise gay and lesbian rights in the country.

“I believe that the male organ was created for two things: for passing urine and for releasing spermatozoa which is needed for creating. You can only engage in that activity with a woman. So I believe that a woman when married has a right to the use of the organ and must be concerned about how the organ is used because its usage has a direct bearing on her relationship and her health. So the women, who are interested in keeping their marriages and hoping to have good husbands in future, must help those who are against homosexuality because they really have an interest in the organs being in perfect order and being used for the purpose for which they were created”.

“So the women should not sit aloof. They should join the men who are fighting against homosexuality because they are using the organs for inappropriate activities and this should not be allowed. I will be opposed to any move in Parliament to have this practice legitimized” he promised.

Source: citifmonline.com

The Member of Parliament for Yendi Constituency, Mr Iddrisu Baba Sulemana says he will unite the Abudus and Andanis in the Dagbon Chieftaincy dispute to move forward the development of the area.

Believing that joblessness is further fueling the dispute, the MP said, he will create jobs and fast-track the development the constituency. That he says will automatically unite the two feuding gates of Dagbon, saying the only solution to peace in Dagbon is to develop the mindset and psyche of the youth and channel their energies into meaningful social and economic ventures.

According to him, is only when the youth of Dagbon are engaged meaningfully that they will eschew any violent tendencies and underscored the need to provide jobs for the youth in the area.

The Yendi MP said, though peace is a prerequisite for development, development can also be a necessity in achieving absolute peace and tranquility.

The MP, who made these assertions when he took journalists around to inspect his projects in the area, hinted that, within two years as the member parliament, he was able to provide the constituency with enormous infrastructural development such as school classroom blocks, offices at the Yendi Heath Assistant School, boreholes among others.

Mr Tanzania said, to prevent the concurrent violence in the area, the youth must see themselves as part development.

The outspoken Yendi Member of Parliament insisted that the youth of Dagbon deserve better and urged that opinion leaders of Dagbon and for that matter the north of Ghana to contribute immensely towards building a better future for the northern youth.

Source: myjoyonline

The Resident Minister for the Awukugua Methodist Church, Revered Emmanuel Osei-Bonsu, has commended Mr Dan Kwaku Botwe, Member of Parliament (MP) for Okere, for promoting education in the area.

The clergyman made the commendation when the MP presented a cheque of GHC 5000.00 to the Church towards completion of a six-unit classroom block for the Awukugua Methodist Primary School.

The project if complete would assist in abolishing the shift system currently being practices by the Dawu-Awukugua United Primary School.

However, work on the building has come to a halt because of lack of funds as the local congregation of the Church was the sole financier and the MP is supporting the project to ensure its early completion so that school children could occupy it next academic.

Making the presentation, Mr Botwe said it was unfortunate that Akuapem area, which was the beckon of education in Ghana, was now experiencing poor performance in Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and West African Senior High School Certificate Examination.

Mr Botwe appealed to parents to invest in the education of their children and teachers to work harder to enable school children to pass their examinations.

The MP said he had allocated a chunk of his MP’s Common Fund and other resources for the development of education in the constituency.

Mr Botwe said the high rate of youth unemployment in the country is partly because some children fail the BECE examination and end their education at the basic level adding that some schools scored zero per cent in the BECE.

Others are not able to enter Senior High School due to financial difficulties on the part of their parents.

The MP commended the Methodist Church for its contribution to the development of education and agriculture.

GNA

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Adenta, Kojo Adu Asare has blamed the inefficient waste management situation in the Adentan Municipality on the recent waste management re-zoning undertaken by the assembly.

He said the re-zoning exercise in the municipality is one major decision which he believes was not well thought through.

The introduction of a fee-based solid waste collection system last year by the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) and Adenta Municipal Assembly (AdMA) broke the monopoly of Zoomlion.

Residents of Adenta are complaining bitterly about the services of some waste management companies operating in the area. They don’t understand why a waste management company must be imposed on them when the companies are not doing an efficient job, as they fail to collect the waste for days.

The resident fear if the waste management companies leave the waste unattended to, the likelihood of a disease may breakout in the munipality.

They say Zoomlion Ghana Limited which used to operate in the area offered free bins and charged less but that has changed with the new companies.

Speaking on Oman FM’s Thursday morning, the Member of Parliament for Adenta, Kojo Adu Asare, stated that he was not surprised at the turn of events in the area since he envisaged that rezoning if not well carried out would result in a worsening waste management situation in the area.

“How can the municipal assembly contract companies which do not have the requisite capacity to manage waste in a vast municipality like Adenta’’ he asked?

He called on the Assembly to take immediate steps to deal with the situation as the onset of the rains could worsen the current waste management situation in the area.

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

Former Information Minister and Member of Parliament for Okere, Dan Kweku Botwe says the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) party has set a wrong precedence with the launch of its ‘Heroes Fund’.

According to him, this will serve as a catalyst for NDC youth to engage in various acts of violence in the upcoming 2012 general elections.

The leadership of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) recently launched a ‘Heroes Fund’ to assist supporters and loyalists who have encountered misfortunes, incapacitations or other forms of deprivations in the course of their service to the party.

It would also cater for the needs of dependants of victims who have lost their lives while working in the interest of the NDC as well as non-members of the party in similar situations.

The Heroes’ Fund, registered as a non-governmental organization, would be governed by a seven-member board of trustees. These individuals would formulate policies, raise funds from both local and international sources and see to its disbursement. The Board of Trustees is also expected to invest revenues accrued in profitable ventures.

But speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem show on Thursday, the Member of Parliament for Okere Dan Botwe states that the NDC leadership’s decision to launch such as fund will have far reaching consequences during the 2012 elections as it will embolden the party youth to engage in life threatening acts.

“Even when there was no money set up for them, see how the youth involved themselves in political violence in previous elections such as Atiwa and Chereponi, this will even be worse now that there is a fund set up for them” he said.

He said a ‘welfare fund’ would have been an appropriate name for the fund, since a hero is supposed to be a person who is admired by many for doing something brave or good.

“What sort of bravery is the NDC hierarchy expecting from their youth during upcoming election? they may end up maiming themselves or dying’’ he added.

Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Agona West, Mr. Samuel Obodai, on Tuesday appealed to government to solve the precarious flooding problem which impedes progress in the Swedru area in the Central Region.

He also called on the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing to immediately conduct investigations into the flooding situation in the municipality to avert any imminent disaster.

Mr. Obodai, who read a statement on the floor of Parliament, suggested the dredging of the two main rivers; Akora and Ayensu which perennial floods have caused unimaginable destruction and despair in the area lately.

He said Agona Nyakrom and Swedru were yet to recover from the 2010 shock and destruction as a result of the flood which washed away buildings, business establishments and historical sites, and disorganized all economic activities.

The MP said on June 5, this year, a similar situation occurred when the rivers burst their seams resulting in another disaster although on that faithful day there was no rainfall in the township.

“Madam Speaker, we are tempted to believe that there may be some developments upstream, either a fountain or an undiscovered waterfall or some artificial cause.

“I would, for the mean time suggest a dredging of the two main rivers in the district to allow an unimpeded flow of the volumes of water that they carry to avoid any similar occurrence,” he said.

Source: GNA