Month: February 2012

Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Member of Parliament for New Juaben North, has called for an immediate inquiry into the latest promotions in the Ghana Police Service which has been fraught with controversy to ensure peace and stability in the security agency.

He emphasized the need to look into why some Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCOPs) were side stepped and not promoted to Commissioners when the promotions of such senior police officers were tardy

The Hon. MP made the call in parliament yesterday while seconding the motion for the approval of nine ministerial and deputy ministerial nominees.

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang enquired why DCOPs such as Patrick Timbilla, Ashanti regional Commander, Frank Adu-Poku and David Asante-Apeatu were over looked even though they had served efficiently over the years.

He claimed that the some of these officers were being ‘punished’ because they are perceived to be sympathetic to the biggest opposition party (NPP).

Hon. Hackman Owusu Agyemang noted that such acts have the potential of generating tensions and politicizing the police service which could negatively affect the efficiency of the service.

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang who had earlier raised concerns over the issue during the vetting of the ministerial nominees called on the incoming Minister for the Interior, William Kwesi Aboah, to investigate the issue in order to ensure justice in the Police Service.

Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.govgh

The Supreme Court has, by a unanimous decision, dismissed an application which prayed it to order the Electoral Commission (EC) to review the 230 constituencies in the country.

Two residents of Nungua in Accra, Messrs Richard Odum Bortier and Daniel Quaye, had filed an application praying the court to direct the EC to review the 230 constituencies as they stood now by altering them, following the publication of the enumeration figures of the 2010 Population and Housing Census, in accordance with the egalitarian principle of fair representation solidly embodied in the 1992 Constitution.

Also joined in the suit was the Attorney-General.

According to the court, the Supreme Court was not the proper forum to address that matter.

The court held that the proper forum for the plaintiffs was either the Regional Tribunal or the Court of Appeal.

It, accordingly, advised the plaintiffs, who were represented by Mr Ayikoi Otoo, to seek their reliefs at the courts designated by the Chief Justice.

No costs were awarded.

Later in an interview with journalists, Mr Otoo, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, said he had sent the matter to the Supreme Court because he had filed the application in July 2011, four clear months before the Chief Justice constituted the Regional Tribunal.

He said his clients would move to the Regional Tribunal for their reliefs to be looked into.

In the substantive application, the plaintiffs sought, among other things, a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 47 clauses 3, 4, 5 and 7 of the 1992 Constitution, the boundaries as demarcated by the EC of Ghana shall be made so as to ensure that it was in accordance with the egalitarian principle of fair representation solidly embodied in the Constitution.

They also prayed the court to direct the EC to review the boundaries of all constituencies as they existed now by altering them in order to conform with Article 47 (3) and (4) of the Constitution, with emphasis on the population distribution in accordance with the egalitarian principle of fair representation in the Constitution.

Source: Daily Graphic

The Electoral Commission (E.C) is expected to brief Parliament on the upcoming Biometric registration exercise.

The meeting on Tuesday will afford MPs the opportunity of asking questions on the exercise for issues to be clarified by the Electoral Commision.

The E.C is to conduct two pilot biometric registration exercises in Eastern Region (Province) between Feb 25 and 29 to test the various arrangements made for the main exercise.

The main national registration exercise, will take off from March 24 to May 5th and it’s the first time the E.C is going to use the electronic registration for a general election.

Parliament is expected to rise before the commencement of the exercise to enable the MPs visit their constituencies to help their constituents to register.

Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Subin, Hon. Isaac Osei has criticized the government for not doing much to ensure the growth of the industrial sector.

According to him the government has failed to put in place pragmatic measures and incentives such as low cost of borrowing and low lending rates that would ensure the growth of the sector.

The MP, who was contributing to the debate on the Presidents State of the Nations Address, stated that the instability in power supply impacts negatively on industries especially the manufacturing sector as most of their equipment end up getting damaged.

He noted that one thing that strengthens industries is a stable business environment which at the moment is absent.

Touching on health, Hon. Isaac Osei lashed out at the government and the President for deliberately not saying anything about the one time payment under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as the government has promised.

“The actuary study on the policy is over and we were expecting the president to tell us something substantial about the scheme,” he said.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanadistricts.com

Parliament on Thursday approved the nomination of new Ministers and Deputy Ministers after the appointment committee presented its report today.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Doe Adjaho, in moving the motion stated that the committee per the constitution vetted the nominees on issues of national concern and ensures that all the nominees met all the requirement of the constitution.

The nominees include Lee Ocran, Minister designate for Education, Moses Asaga, Minister for Employment and Social Welfare, Fritz Baffour, Information Minister, Stephen Ackah, Deputy Local Government Minister, Dominic Asuman, Minister of State at the Presidency, Isaac Vanderpuye, Deputy Greater Accra Minister, Mr. Henry Ametefee, Deputy Volta Regional Minister, W.K. Aboah, Interior Minster, Amin Suleman, Upper West Regional Minister.

In supporting the motion, the MP for Atwima Mponua, Hon. Isaac Kwame Asiamah urged the Education Minister designate to ensure that he engages stakeholders to find ways of making the fees of the various universities affordable to ensure more enrolment.

He also urged the Interior Minster designate to ensure that only trained security personnel are made to handle security issues during the impending December general election which promises to be keenly contested.

The Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu on his part urged the Information Minister designate Fritz Baffour to ensure that accurate information are disseminated to Ghanaians.

He asked that deliberated misrepresentation of facts will give the country a great disservice.
He was however confident that Hon. Fritz Baffour will do a professional job when he’s finally sworn in by the President.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh

Parliament by a majority decision has approved the US$850,000,000 loan agreement contracted from the China Development Bank to facilitate work on the multi-million National Gas Project in the Western Region.

The amount is a first tranche of a total of US$ 3billion which the government is securing from the Chinese bank to finance the project.

The majority in moving for the approval of the deal, emphasized the good that the deal will do to the people of western region as it is expected to generate lots of jobs in the western region and also improve the living conditions of the people.

However the minority had issues with certain details of the agreement.

They contended that per the terms of the agreement, Ghana’s oil is to be collateralized beyond ten years which violate the Revenue Management Act (2011) which does not allow for collateralization of oil beyond ten years.

They added that even before the agreement received the nod from parliament contractors had already moved to the site and started working.

Upon a lengthy debate the issue was put to a vote, the Majority MPs shouted in support of the motion. Minority NPP MPs abstained, with none shouting either in support or against the motion.

Shortly after the motion was passed, Minority Leader, Hon Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, explained that his side’s decision to abstain was because of problems they had with the processes used in passing the agreement.

He added that their decision should not be interpreted to mean they were opposed to the project.

Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh