Month: June 2011

The Member of Parliament for Gomoa West, Mr Francis Kojo Arthur, has expressed concern about the show of impunity in the name of democracy and said democracy did not mean going on radio to insult people including the President.

He appealed to radio stations to help check the negative practice.

Mr Arthur said this at the outdooring of Nana Kwakwa Afful Paintsil VI, Nana Abena Okomah Kwakowah II, Chief and Queen respectively of Gomoa Kokofu.

Also out-doored at the ceremony was Nana Esi Nyarkoaa II, Queen of Asona clan of Kokofu.

He said Ankamu/Afranse road had been awarded on contract and President John Atta Mills would cut a sod for work to begin when he visits the Central Region.

Mr Arthur said electricity supply in Gomoa West Constituency is being upgraded to enable the people to establish cottage industries.

He said the contract to construct a bridge on River Narkwa Ochie at Olefleku had been terminated due to the delay of work by the contractor and rewarded to another contractor.

Mr Theophilus Aidoo-Mensah, Gomoa West District Chief Executive, appealed to the people of Kokofu to support the chief and the queens “to deliver.”

He said the Assembly had provided the community with a Kindergarten and 50 bags of cement for construction of a shed.

Mr Aidoo-Mensah said construction of a six-unit school block from the GETFund had been approved for the community.

Nana Kwakwah Afful Paintsil said education and health would be his priority areas and appealed to the people to ensure that their children were enrolled in school.

He urged those who had not registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme to do so without delay.

AAF/GNA.

Available data has revealed an uncomfortable high percentage of women and children being subjected to unimaginable forms of violence which has destroyed their confidence and self esteem.

Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, who made the observation, did not give statistics but noted that it was time to completely shed those unacceptable acts.

She was addressing participants at a Validation Workshop on Revised Police Medical Referral Forms for Victims of Domestic/Gender based Violence in Accra on Thursday.

It is a follow-up to one organised for stakeholders in August 2010 to collate inputs to review Police Medical Forms, which was fraught with many loopholes.

Mrs Azumah-Mensah said recommendations were forwarded to the Ghana Police Service, Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service, since they were mandated to review those forms and work with them.

She said the workshop was for stakeholders to critically examine and come out with a standard form acceptable and beneficial to clients and doctors.

Government has therefore evolved a strategy for implementation through the National Policy Plan of Action (NPPA) to guide effective coordination and efficient responses in combating domestic violence in Ghana.

Mrs Azumah-Mensah noted that this enjoined the government, partners and stakeholders to take initiatives towards the elimination of violence and injustices in the home and society at large.

Mr Joseph Yieleh-Chireh, Health Minister, said in a speech read on his behalf, that violence against women was a violation of their human rights and prevented them from enjoying their lives to the fullest.

He said it was for this reason that the role of medical practitioners could not be over emphasised because for a victim of violence to receive adequate treatment, detailed and vital information about the victim was required to enable the victim to receive the appropriate medical care.

Mr Yieleh-Chireh indicated that an accurate description of previous and present state of the victim was also crucial to determine measures that would have to be taken to assess the short and medium term effects of the alleged abuse.

Professor Efua Hesse, Director of Medical Affairs of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, in a presentation made on her behalf, said although questions asked on the form were quite cumbersome and sometimes very difficult for the victim, they were necessary.

She advised victims of violence not to clean up before reporting to the police and the hospital because it would tamper with evidence.

The issue of who would pay for the cost of medical examination and treatment of victims of abuse came up and participants suggested that government should take it up because it would not be fair to ask a traumatised person to pay for the cost of treatment.

The participants also proposed that questions and testing of pregnancy should be for medical reasons and not a leeway for defence and called for education on how to fill the forms which was time consuming.

AAF/GNA.

The Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa, Kwabena Amankwah Asiamah has accused the ruling NDC government of deceiving Ghanaians into power.

According to the MP, various accusations of wrong doing leveled against the then incumbent NPP government which the NDC used as major campaign issues have proven to be baseless and should be treated with the contempt that it deserve.

The NDC in the run-up to the 2008 general elections leveled series of allegations against the then ruling NPP government including; officials stealing gold bars from the Bank of Ghana, supposedly huge bank accounts of NPP officials kept at Prudential bank, and the claim that that the NDC party had in its possession a video tape which showed graphic pictures of killers of the Yan-Na and how the criminal act was carried out, but all the allegations have been found out to be papably false.

Hon. Amankwah Asiamah’s comment comes in the wake of the Attorney General Martin Amidu debunking assertions that he has video evidence which would lead to a successful prosecution of persons accused to have murdered the late over lord of Dagbon Ya-Na Yakubu Andani.

He said the so–called video evidence is inconclusive and cannot be admissible in a competent court of law.

Aide to the Rawlingses, Kofi Adams is accusing government of doing very little to bring the alleged killers of the Ya-Na to book when government had been provided with leads to bring the perpetrators to book.

Contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo show’ the Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa, Kwabena Amankwah Asiamah accused the NDC of playing on the emotions of the people of Dagbon over the said Ya- Na tape to win power as the people of Tamale convinced by the assertion by govern voted massively for the NDC.

He said Ghanaians cannot afford to reel under a government which has deception as its hallmark and urged the masses to vote out the NDC come 2012 general elections.

“ The NDC party lied through its teeth in swaying Ghanaians to their side, now that we know of their wicked lies and deception, we need to teach them a lesson by voted them out’’ he said.

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Atwima/Mponua, Isaac Asiamah, has called on the leadership of the House to invite the Canadian Parliamentary Centre to school Parliamentarians on the criteria for the evaluation.

Ghana came last in a survey recently conducted by the Canadian Parliamentary Centre when pitched against six other Parliaments in Africa on the key issue of financial oversight by the executive.

Mr Asamoah said it is worrying for Ghana that took pride among African democracies to have performed poorly in a survey conducted by the Canadian Parliamentary Centre.

He said parliament approved funds for all government institutions and must ensure value for money.

Mr Asiamah explained that discussions at the meeting would serve as basis for performing well in the future.

In an interview, Mr Asiamah explained that the cause of the problem came from the legal framework of Ghana’s Parliament.

He said Parliament could not add cost to any financial bill that comes before it adding that under the current arrangement, parliamentary budget was normally approved by the government.

He said the Public Account Committee for example has no prosecutorial powers but could only make recommendations in their reports.

The Majority Leader, Cletus Avoka, who the Speaker directed the matter to, said leadership would notify the Parliamentary Centre and arrange for such a meeting next week.

The Canadian Parliamentary Centre is a non-governmental organisation that devotes its energy to strengthening democracies especially for parliaments in Africa.

KDA/GNA

The Member of Parliament for Effutu, Mr Mike Hammah, has declared his intension to seek re-election.

Mr Hammah, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, made the declaration at a meeting he held with the people of Effutu Gyanganadzie.

He called the meeting to explain why the contractor who is working on the water expansion project to the area has delayed.

Mr Hammah said the second phase of the re-grading and shaping of the road from Effutu Sankro Junction through Osobonpayir to the area would start before the end of the year.

Mr Hammah said plans were far advanced to connect every village to the national electricity grid as well as beautifying the Municipality to attract investors and tourists.

He appealed to people in the constituency to support him and to contribute to the development of the area. He advised parents to invest in their children’s education rather than using their resources on litigation and buying expensive cloths for funerals.

Mr Hammah appealed to the youth to avoid negative tendencies like drugs, indulging in internet fraud as well as indecent dressing.

AAF/GNA.

The National coordinator of Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings’ campaign team for the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s upcoming presidential primaries says he fears for his life.

Hon Michael Teye Nyaunu said since he became visible in the former First Lady’s campaign, some invisible persons had been sending death threats to him via text messages.

The NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Lower Manya Krobo in the Eastern region disclosed that the faceless people used unknown numbers to send the messages. “When they send the messages, they tell me that they do not understand why I have declared support for Nana Konadu and that they will kill me to teach me a lesson,” Hon Nyaunu told Angel Fm, a Kumasi-based radio station in an interview.

The outspoken NDC MP, who always causes a stir with his outbursts, noted that the death threats have intensified as the July 8-10 congress to be held at Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo regional capital draws near.

He stated that because the nameless people used unknown numbers in committing the act, he had not been successful in tracing the identities of the people.

Hon Nyaunu disclosed that he had not bothered to report the development to the police for investigation because he did not want to dignify the defeatist approach in anyway.

When asked whether he suspected anyone, the Lower Manya Krobo legislator was quick to say that his opponents in the NDC were charting that agenda.

He enjoined the people perpetrating that act and others behind it to put a stop to it because such acts would not distract him from pursuing the agenda of Nana Konadu.

Source: Daily Guide

Member of Parliament for Okaikoi South and Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akomea says he is confident that the beleaguered winner of the Okakoi South parliamentary primary Ahmed Arthur, will be cleared by the National Executive Council of the party.

The Council is yet to come out with its verdict, after the defeated aspirant Vicky Bright who was generally expected to win the seat, lost by 12 votes and requested the Appeals Committee chaired by Ambassador Odoi Sykes, on what she said was wrongdoings in the elections after Armed Arthur was adjudged winner on April 30, 2011.

She had earlier petitioned about the credibility of the electoral register used for the primaries but that was dismissed after investigations by the Appeals Committee revealed that the election was free and fair.

She later lodged another complaint that her opponent Ahmed Arthur did not attend the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) as he stated in the documents he submitted to the party before the elections is being deliberated upon by the party before a final decision on the Okaikoi South Constituency can be made.

But speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show on Friday 10th June, the Member of Parliament for Okaikoi South, Nana Akomea who is the outgoing MP for the area stated the petition filed is a calculated attempt to discredit Ahmed Arthur who has been generally accepted by the constituents as their new parliamentary candidate.

He said he has personality examined the documents presented by Mr Ahmed Arthur and he is certain that there is absolutely nothing wrong with those documents.

Hon. Nana Akomea urged concerned parties awaiting the outcome of the petition to be calm and wait for the final decision from the party, which he expects will finally settle the issue.

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni/Valley, Mr. Francis Adu-Blay Koffie, has appealed to assembly members to link up with chiefs, religious leaders, non governmental organizations, Parent/Teacher Associations and other stakeholders to curb HIV and AIDS prevalence in the district.

He told the GNA that the spread of the virus in the district was worrying.

Mr Koffie said the influx of both Ghanaians and expatriates into mining areas especially Tarkwa and its neighbouring communities had led to increase in promiscuity and the rise in HIV infection.

The MP said research had shown that majority of Ghanaians living with HIV and AIDS continued to lead irresponsible sexual lives and this had resulted in the spread of the virus.

DS/GNA