Month: January 2013

The Member of Parliament(MP) for Gomoa West, Mr Francis Kojo Arthur has urged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to withdraw their petition they have filed at the Supreme Court challenging the results of the December 7 Presidential election.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Dawurampong in the Central Region, the MP expressed disappointment that the petition has become topic for discussion in the media, which he said constitutes contempt of court.

The MP advised the NPP to help protect the peace the nation is enjoying and also contribute to the development of the nation.

GNA

Out-going Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Owen Woyongo was at the weekend congratulated by key development stakeholders for the tremendous developmental inroads he spearheaded during his tenure as Regional Minister.

Mr Woyongo, who is currently the Member of Parliament for Navrongo Central, is now Minister Designate for Defence.

Mr Paul Kant, Regional Coordinating Director described Mr Woyongo as a committed and extraordinary development-oriented personality and nationalist who within a relatively short period of four years made remarkable inroads in all sphere of human influence in the region.

He expressed satisfaction at the out-going Minister’s humility in the discharge of his official duties, saying “any talented player of any game who wants to develop and rise to the top must work himself assiduously into the mainstream and not play the game at the peripheral level”.

He congratulated him on his new designation and expressed optimism that with his rich experiences in the area of security he would excel.

Mr Musah Abdulai, Municipal Chief Executive for Bawku in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said Mr Woyongo treated the Bawku conflict with alacrity as he tried as much as he could to bring the feuding parties together.

He said his establishment of an Inter-ethnic Peace Committee to deal with the conflict resulted in the relative peace and stability in the Municipality.

To further enhance the peace process, he expressed hope of working closely with him as Defence Minister to ensure the sustained peace in the area.

Mr Woyongo said without continuous peace, there was no way the region could develop.

He said government is committed to bridge the development gab between the north and the south, citing the resourcing of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority for investments in the Agricultural sector with the construction of major dams in the northern savannah belt as one such initiative.

The Minister Designate for Defence re-affirmed his renewed commitment in ensuring peace in the Region.

GNA

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Obuasi East, Edward Anim has commended President John Dramani Mahama for openly endorsing Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanteng’s bid to become the next Director- General of the World Trade Organization.

Addressing the 20th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, President John Dramani Mahama appealed to his colleagues to endorse Mr. Alan Kyeremanteng’s candidature.

Speaking to Citi News, Hon. Edward Anim who is a close ally to Mr. Kyeremanteng described the President Mahama’s move as a sign of patriotism.

“I believe what the President has done is in the right direction, the reason being that Mr. Alan Kyeremanteng is a Ghanaian, he is a citizen of this country and so if there is a position like that and he is contesting, he needs the support of all Ghanaians including the President.”

He said Ghana stood the chance of benefiting if Mr. Kyeremanteng succeeded in his bid to occupy the highest office of Director-General for the WTO.

Hon. Anim however cautioned the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) against any move to gain political capital with it saying, “This thing is not new because it happened during President Kufour’s time when Hon. Ibn Chambers was also contesting an ECOWAS position, so this is not history, it has happened before and nobody should try to gain political capital with it.”

The Minister designate for Food and Agriculture, Clement Kofi Humado, has expressed his desire to work tirelessly to arrest the smuggling of fertilizer across the borders of Ghana when he if finally given the nod.

He said one of his first moves in this regard will be to convene a stakeholder meeting with the Fertilizer Subsidy Commission, to review fertilizer pricing to determine the element that can be put on the price of the product such that it will be advantageous to the farmers while also discouraging cross-border smuggling.

The issue of smuggling the farm product from Ghana to neighboring countries over the years has been a common due to the lost cost of fertilizer as compared to the high prices of the product in neighboring countries, a development which has become a course for concern among farmers and other stakeholders with several calls on the authorities concerned act swiftly to nib the criminal act in the bud.

Appearing before the Appointment Committee of Parliament for vetting on Friday, Hon. Clement Humado stated that his ministry will intensify collaborative efforts with the security agencies to clamp down on miscreants who will still want to smuggle fertilizer outside Ghana.

“I’m confident that if we tackle the issue of smuggling fertilizer from the point of pricing and also engaging the security agencies to man our approved entry and exit routes will go a long way in stopping the illegal trade’’ he said.

He emphasized the need to have the fertilizer which the country needs for each season on time as sometime the delay in having the product impacts negatively on the yield of the product.

Hon. Humado pledged to ensure that under his watch the fertilizer import market will be opened up to importers to enable them bring in enough fertilizers for the country’s use.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh

The Minister of Foreign Affairs designate, Hannah Sewaah Tetteh has pledged her commitment to ensure that Ghanaian visa applicants who visit the various High commissions and Embassies are accorded the needed respect and adequately catered for when approved as substantive minister.

According to her, one of her concerns will be to make sure that the applicants are given a place of rest at the embassies they attend while they wait patiently for the documents they have presented for processing.

Ghanaian visa applicants over the years have been subjected to harsh treatment at the various embassies and left to the vagary of the weather, and are most of the time seen standing in the scorching sun as they await their fate.

However appearing before the Appointment Committee during her vetting on Thursday, the minister designates for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who is also the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya Works, Hannah Serwaah Tetteh stated that she intends to make the current hardship of the many applicants a thing of the past.

The articulate minister noted that the discomforting situation the applicants go through must be improved and expressed her willingness to engage the embassies operating in Ghana to erect decent rest rooms for the applicants to wait patiently for their documents.

“I’m sure this will not be a difficult task to undertake with the Heads of the Foreign Missions in Ghana and I’m confident if the embassies are able to satisfy the Ghanaian applicant that will go a long way in projecting the image of the concerned countries in the eyes and minds of Ghanaians.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh