Month: September 2013

The Member of Parliament for Ekumfi, Hon. Abeiku Crentsil has called for calm after a police intervention in a peaceful demonstration by some commercial drivers in the area ended in a severe brutality.

Hon. Crentsil who described the incident as an unfortunate one, called on residents in the area to avoid any further act of violence.

The MP who made the call after an attempt by the Central Regional Police command to prevent a group of commercial drivers from demonstrating yesterday, led to a severe brutality between the personnel from the police service and some commercial drivers.

Some commercial drivers from Essuehyia and Ekumfi Otuam yesterday mounted road block in protest against their deteriorating condition of the Ekumfi roads which has been under construction for the past three years.

The drivers accused contractor for undue delays on the said road for no apparent reason.
However, the police upon hearing of the road block visited the scene to avoid any confusion which later turned into a misunderstanding between the police and the drivers.

However, speaking on Accra based Peace FM after the incident; Mr Hammond contractor for the project said the construction is still ongoing, adding that even though funds from government were not forth coming, works is still ongoing.

He also accused George Kuntu Blankson, former Member of Parliament (MP) for the area of hindering the progress of the construction and inciting the drivers to protest him since he is a best friend of new MP for the area, Hon. Abeiku Crentsil.

Emmanuel Frimpong Mensah/GhanaMPs.gov.gh

Member of Parliament for Upper West Akim, Joseph Sam Amakwanor  has set out to build water closet toilet facilities for three communities within his constituency.

They are Breman, Nyaoah and Okrase.

Speaking to Ghanamps.gov.gh, Mr. Joseph Amakwanor stated that the present condition of the KVIP toilets patronized by the inhabitants is not the best and that he has decided to spearhead the construction of new toilet facilities to replace the dilapidated ones.

He also noted that not only will the new ones serve as a hygienic place but encourage others to patronize it instead of defecating in bushes around.  He said the project which is starting in earnest with his share of the common fund is estimated to cost a whopping GHC 20,000.

The MP noted that his initiative was hailed by the people of the communities who expressed their gratitude to him for his foresight.

He was confident that the project would be completed possibly within a year to serve the good people in the constituency.

Rosemary O. Yeboah/Ghanamps.gov.gh

The former Health Minister under the Kufuor administration, Dr. Richard Anane has told Radio XYZ that he is inundated with calls from supporters within the main opposition NPP to run for President.

Even though Dr. Anane did not state emphatically if he was interested in running for the Presidency, he told XYZ Breakfast Show host Moro Awudu on Monday that there is pressure on him to do so.

He however said he wouldn’t rule out the possibility to contest for the flagbearership slot when the time comes.

“You can even see a call on my phone now and they are all people talking to me on this matter” Dr. Anane said

He added that “I have been in this party as a student way back in 1979, I have worked with groups in this party till now, and I think I know my party and I believe that at the appropriate time whatever area I have to serve I will do”.

Several executives of the NPP have already declared their support for the twice defeated Presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who is on a political break.

The party executives are calling on the leadership of the party to allow Nana Addo to lead the party for a third time ahead of the 2016 elections.

radioxyzonline.com

Former Deputy Energy Minister, K.T. Hammond, is to be summoned before the Judgment Debt Commission for giving conflicting accounts in various radio interviews as to how an oil shipping drill of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) was sold in 2001.

The ship was sold for $24 million, but the whereabouts of $3.5 million balance taken from an escrow account to be deposited in government of Ghana’s coffers still remains a mystery.

Mr K.T. Hammond had said apart from paying $19.5 million dollars of the $24m to Societe Generale in judgment debt, $3.5 million was paid to the Finance Ministry, and $1 million was used in settling other debts including fees for government’s counsel.

But officials of the Energy Ministry and GNPC previously told the Judgment Debt Commission they cannot confirm the claim that $3.5m was paid to the Finance Ministry because there was no official documentation covering the transaction.

The Commissioner Justice Yaw Appau on Monday noted that K. T. Hammond’s role in the sale of the oil shipping drill was confusing.

Justice Yaw Appau commented: “September 24, 2001 was when new (GNPC) board was appointed, so when it was sold there was no board. So we cannot tell specifically who took the decision to sell, if there were no board in place then it could not have been the board.

“….the former deputy minister [K.T. Hammond] said on radio that he was directed by president [Kufuor] to go and sell the ship and defray the cost…in another vein he said he was given the power of attorney to sell by the GNPC. If there was no board then who granted the power of attorney to sell?”

Lawyer for the Commission, Dometi Sokpor told Joy News that K. T. Hammond would soon be summoned to answer questions over the transaction.

“Everybody whose presence is needed here to clarify issues that are bothering our mind, we will invite that person…but for now it is KT Hammond who is talking so he would be invited first.”

Though it is not clear when the former deputy minister would appear before the commission, Mr Sokpor affirmed Mr Hammond would “definitely” come before them.

But K.T Hammond has again told Joy News he doesn’t recollect saying that President Kufuor gave him the power of attorney. The power was rather given to him by the then Acting Managing Director of GNPC, Dr A. Ofori Acquah, he said.

President Kufuor only directed the Energy Ministry to reshape the highly indebted GNPC, he clarified.

He said he has been informed that in such transactions, monies paid to the Finance Ministry would be forwarded to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, and was sure the whereabouts of the $3.5 million was traceable.

He also declared his readiness to assist the Commission to demystify the mystery.

His boss and former Energy Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah earlier submitted a letter to the Judgment Debt Commissioner, Justice Yaw Appau, expressing his willingness to appear before him to explain the issues.

He told Joy News’ Joseph Oppong Gakpo that “two issues have come up; how was the ship sold and how do you account for the money we got out of the sale? What actually happened to the $24 million? In the letter that I have given to him, I have tried to provide answers to some of these things.”

He is, however, yet to submit the documentation covering the actual transaction, Joy News gathered; but is ready to appear when needed.

Communication Consultant at the Energy Ministry, Edward Bawa, told Joy News they have finally chanced on a letter from one Kweku Owusu who was the advisor to the then minister asking the ministry to pay Aquatic Investments for its involvement in the transaction gave them a clue to the whole deal.

He said after searching for documents on the transaction, they turned to the handing over notes of Mr Kan-Dapaah to his successor, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, but the transaction was “never mentioned”.

Though document on the sale and purchase agreement was not available, he suspected that the minister managed the transaction without necessarily following the bureaucracy in the civil service.

Meanwhile, officials of the GNPC have retracted their earlier claim when they appeared before the commission that they were unaware of the transactions.

Chief Executive of GNPC, Nana Asafu-Adjaye, conceded that a letter about the transaction sent to the GNPC by then Minister Kan-Dapaah informed them about the amount and how it was used.

myjoyonline

Recent declaration of support for 2012 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo by some party bigwigs has been met with criticisms by some party leaders and members.

Though Nana Addo has chided critics who have accused National Executives of imposing leaders on the party during his first of ten regional “Thank You Tours” by party executives across the country in Accra, he indicated that the NPP has a culture that makes it impossible for leaders to be imposed on them.

“Those who are going around saying that people are trying to force myself on the NPP they don’t know the NPP well. Our party has never been about the cult of personality, that is not our party …the NPP we believe in internal democracy and we will continue to believe in internal democracy,” he said.

Adding, “Since the NPP was formed in 1992, we have had three presidential candidates each one of us has been elected by democratic means and whoever is elected to lead the party to 2016 will be elected by democratic means”.

But Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tema East constituency is certain that, Nana Addo will be elected again to lead the party to contest in the 2016 presidential election.

“Some of us will speak and go the length and cranny of this country and make sure he (Nana Addo) comes back to lead our party and we will do it,” he affirmed his support.

Nonetheless, Hon. Titus Glover agrees with Nana Addo that leaders are not to be imposed on the NPP.

Member of Parliament for Efutu, Hon. Alex Afenyo-Markin has abandoned the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) Parliament, two days after showing up to sign for his allowance   in Abuja.

The Efutu law maker was spotted in his office in Ghana’s Parliament two weeks ago, whiles sitting in the ECOWAS Parliament was on going.   ECOWAS Parliament, started its three weeks session on the 10th of May and will end on the 26th of May 2017.

Checks carried out by this paper within the corridors of ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, can reveal that there is some level of uneasiness among the Ghanaian delegation and officials, as the Efutu MP  has sign for allowance to cover the three weeks period but showed up for only two days.

Members of Ghana’s delegation to ECOWAS Parliament were lip tight when this paper contacted them for their comment on the issue via phone and WhatsApp.

Hon Samson Ahi when reached on phone by this paper directed that, the leader of the delegation should be contacted, since he will   be the best positon to address the issues raised.

Leader of the delegation and   Majority Chief whip Hon. Ameyaw Cheremeh when contacted by this paper to find out if, he had granted permission to the Efutu legislator?

For  three days in running,  leader of the delegation had not responded, the only comment he made on  the second day was, “I am in Parliament, please” as at the time of filling this story the leader has not responded to the enquiries made on the Efutu MP

The Majority side of the delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament is made up of, Hon    Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, Hon.  Alexander Afenyo-Markin, Hon. Ama Pomaah Boateng Hon.  Kwabena Appiah-Pinkrah and Hon Fredrick Opare Ansah.

Whiles the Minority side is made up of, Hon Clement Kofi Humado, Hon Mahama Ayariga and Hon Sampson Ahi.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

The Majority Leader in Parliament, Dr. Benjamin Kumbour has stated that the biggest problem facing Ghana is the lack of ‘thinking people’ in political leadership. According to him, Ghana’s economy is affected by the lack of initiative from people appointed into political leadership positions.

‘’In this country we spend so much time paying people to talk; we don’t pay people to think, this is what is the problem of this country.’’

‘’All the matured democracies and industrialised countries you’ve seen, they have always found time to pay people to think and not just to talk,’’ said Dr. Kumbuor in an interview with Citi FM’s Richard Dela Sky.

According to the Member of Parliament for Nandom, a neighbouring country like Burkina Faso is getting it right with investment in agriculture than Ghana is, ‘’because people are thinking about the future of Burkina; people are thinking and interpreting their environment and finding answers to the challenges of their environment.’’

But the contrary he said, is happening in Ghana because “we just do not want to perfect our institutions and structures to reflect changing demands”

Dr. Kumbour said the people of Burkina Faso do not spend time shouting about their achievements but rather are engaged in finding solutions to their problems and that the evidence is there for all to see.

He warned that if Ghana’s political leadership do not have a change in attitude towards problem solving, then “every problem that is known and has been solved in some country will always come to us as a new problem.”

The Majority leader also expressed worry over the situation in Ghana where people who insult are the most glorified. ‘’… Who do we glorify; those who can each other on the radio in the morning, those who can publish a lot of things that destroys people’s lives forever; those are the ones who are the champions in Ghana.’’

Dr. Kumbour said the media could not be blamed for the kind of stories in circulation.

‘’It is not the media; we [politicians] send the stories to them and so if they decide to embellish it according to their editorial policy, you can’t blame them…,’’ he stated.

He urged politicians to devote time to dealing with issues that impact the lives of Ghanaians positively.‘’Let us get our priorities right; let us [Politicians and Leaders] put and devote our time to the core issues,’’ he added.

Citifmonline.com

Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, has announced that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) side in Parliament has resumed full cooperation with the Mahama government for the remainder of its four year tenure.

Over the last eight months, the Minority boycotted some key Parliamentary business originating from the executive arm of Government, arguing that John Dramani Mahama was not validly elected as President.

But with the legal challenge to the President’s election having been settled by the Supreme Court in favour of the incumbent, the leader of the Minority, Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu said his side has decided to resume full working relations with President Mahama and his appointees.

“… sour as the [Supreme Court judgement] is we accept it and if we accept, certainly we have to live with the consequences and the consequences are that from now on you should accord full recognition to John Mahama as duly elected, affirmed by the Supreme Court and with that all consequences emanating from his leadership of this country [Ghana], which includes; dealing with him and doing business with him and his assigns and agents, including ministers,” said the minority leader.

Hon. Mensah-Bonsu however disagreed with assertions that the minority was just out to undermine the executive.

“Let’s not go into those things, the government has been functional, government has been going on with or without opposition; nobody should turn round and blame the minority or opposition; we have not done anything to undermine this administration [Mahama administration]…,” he explained.

Citifmonline.com

Concerns by residents in the Lawra district to get standard healthcare services that could meet their health needs will shortly be achieved, as two serious projects ongoing at the district hospital are likely to be completed by the end of the year.

A mortuary project which has been ongoing for sometime now is at the verge of completion at the Hospital, whiles construction of a new surgical ward is also at the roofing level, Member of Parliament for Lawra constituency, Abu Samson has disclosed.

He said contractors discharging works on both projects are working assiduously to meet the deadline scheduled for the project.

On the mortuary project, he said work is almost completed, adding that what is left now is the installation of the freezers to put the facility into shape for use.

He reiterated that measures and strategies targeted at improving quality healthcare services are largely being adopted to respond to the basic needs of residents in the area.

Jonathan Jeffrey Adjei/Ghanamps.gov.gh