Month: June 2012

Five Ministers are expected in Parliament this week to answer nineteen (19) questions posed in their names.

They include the ministers of Interior, Employment and Social Welfare, Local Government and Rural Development, Finance and Economic Planning and Defence respectively.

As part of questions to be asked on Tuesday, the Minister of Interior, W.K Aboah is expected to answer a question by Trobu-Amasaman MP, Ernest Attuquaye Armah on what kind of protection given to security agents who confront and fight armed robbers.

On Wednesday the Employment Minister Moses Asaga will answer a question posed by Kwabre East MP, Kofi Frimpong as to how many jobs the government has created since 2009 and what the breakdown is according to sectors.

On Thursday the MP for Agona East, John Agyabeng will have his question of finding out from the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo about the case of the transfer of over 33,000 personnel from the Civil Service to the Local Government Service to improve the capacity of the MMDA’s.

Friday’s questions will include one which will be asked by Ablekuma North MP, Justice Joe Appiah about the state of the Tema Oil Refinery’s debts from the period, January 2009 to April 2010, when the NDC administration took over the reigns of government.

These were contained in the Business Statement of the House for the week for the seventh week ending Friday 29th June 2012 read by the Deputy Majority Leader Rashid Pelpuo on the floor of the House.

He said Bills may be presented to the House for the First Reading and those of urgent nature may be taken through the various stages in one day in accordance with Order 119. Papers and committee reports may also be presented to the House.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh

Parliament on Thursday deferred the approval of 2 Deputy Minister designate after the appointment committee recommended them for approval.

The 2, Kwadwo Owusu Agyemang and Anthony Gyambiby who have being nominate to the ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and Attorney General and Minister of Justice has their approval postponed after Members of Parliament expressed reservation about certain issues that cropped up during their vetting.

While Mr. Anthony Gyambiby a retired chief state attorney was virtually given a clean bill of health by the MPS had to produce a letter as a proof of been contacted beyond his retiring age which few MPs including the MP for Manyhia, Matthew Opoku Prempeh were not satisfied with.

However the Kwaku Owusu Agyemang had his nomination objected by several MPS due to the several errors and inaccuracies in his curriculum vitae submitted to the committee and his unimpressive show of knowledge of the sector he had been nominated to when he was vetted.

Mr. Owusu admitted for instance that he did not complete his Masters Degree (MFc) course and therefore did not hold that certificate as a erroneously included in the curriculum vitae.
After presenting the committee report to the House, the minority leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu recommended the nominees for approval by consensus but the MPS disagreed.

Hon Papa Owusu Ankomah MP for Sekondi said the he was not impressed with the nominees performance and doubted if the nominee could bring any thing substantial to government as he takes office for the last six months of president Mills’s team.

“If the president id going to appoint some one to join his team in this injury time, then that person must bring substantial to the government like Rogger Miller of Cameroun in the game of football, he comes into the game and score and makes the difference, I doubt if this man will make the difference” Papa Owusu said.

MP for Techiman North Professor Christopher Ekumfi who wax not happy with the preparation of CVs which are sometimes put before the appointment committee said it must be the responsibility of the appointment authority to do due diligence on nominees and also look at their CVs to ensure that CVs that do not make sense is not presented to the appointment committee.

However the MPS Ellembelle Armah Kofi Buah stated that there may be one or two nominees who may not get it right with their CVs but are effective in the discharged of their duties if they are finally approved as ministers.

With this he called on the house to approve the nominees.
The first deputy speaker of Doe Adjaho presiding over presiding said the issue to a voice vote but that could not settle the matter as the pitch of the yes and no responds sounded the same. He then requested for papers to ballot but that process was deferred.

It is expected that the house will return to the issue on Friday’s sitting.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh

Three towns in the Ahanta West district namely Asemko, Ampatano and Kansokrom are to be hooked onto the National Grid as installation of electrification materials and equipment is to start in September 2012.

The three town forms part of the on-going rural electrification projects for the supply and installation of materials/ equipments to over 1200 communities under the 350 million dollars US Exim Bank Credit Facility been executed by Wealthy Lamone associates  INC (USA) in western, Central and Brong/Ahanfo regions.

The project became effective in July 2010 and is to be executed over a 5- year period.

A Deputy Minister of energy Inusah Fussaini made this known on the floor of parliament on Thursday whiles answering a question asked by MP for Ahanta West  Samuel Johnfiah as to when the above mentions communities which have already been provided with electricity poles will be connected to the National Electricity Grid.

He said a total of 32 towns in the Ahanta West district have been earmark under the wealthy Lamone electrification project.

Hon. Inusah Fussaini Noted that installation works have commenced under the first face package covering 21 towns, adding that the 3 communities are included in the face 2 left of towns recently surveyed and packaged.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanadistricts.com

The former commissioner of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) Justice Francis Emile Short says the Constitution Review Commission should have recommended an outright barring of the President from choosing any of his Ministers from Parliament.

Currently the Constitution requires the President to choose majority of his ministers from the legislature.

The Constitution Review Commission suggested in its report that the provision which makes that mandatory should be scrapped.

It however fell short of proposing an outright halt to the practice.

But Justice Emile Short in an interview with XYZ News said the Constitution Review Commission should have gone a step further to recommend a proscription of the practice.

“A Member of Parliament who is given a Ministerial appointment should either relinquish his position as an MP or vice versa. So if the recommendation is that the President can appoint Ministers from within or without parliament it means that theoretically he can still appoint majority of his MPs from within Parliament” Mr. Short said.

“He added that “I thought that there should have been a recommendation which would have made it impermissible for an MP to become a minister and vice versa”.

Justice Emile Short however welcomed a suggestion by the Review Commission that the death penalty be abolished.

“It is in the right direction that death penalty should be abolished and people sentenced to death should be committed to life imprisonment sentences.

“I think that is a welcome recommendation that the government has accepted”.

Source: RadioXYZonline.com

The State House power commonly known as Job 600 is expected to be ready for use by the next parliament by January, 2013 as rehabilitation works on the building is progressing steadily.