Month: March 2014

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso West Wuogon, Emmanuel Kwabena Agyarko, has called on President John Mahama to be candid with Ghanaians on the current energy crisis in the country.

According to him, Ghanaians are getting impatient with what he described as the litany of unfulfilled promises by government .

Kwabena Agyarko was discussing the impending 12 hours load shedding exercise on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme, Tuesday.

The load management exercise by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is as a result of shortage in the supply of gas from Nigeria. The Minister of Energy, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, is currently in Nigeria to negotiate for the supply of gas.

But Kwabena Agyarko blamed government for the current predicament because it failed to tell the truth.

“This is something they should have told us four months ago; the challenges were staring us in the face and yet they told us lies”, he stated.

The Ayawaso West Wuogon MP cited how government continuously assured Ghanaians of constant supply of electricity, when in fact it knew the situation was worst.

“They [ECG] have disrupted our lives for the last four months because President Mahama was not bold enough to tell Ghanaians to real situation on the ground. The good people of this country deserve some explanations; it is not right”, he bemoaned.

Kwabena Agyarko said “truth hurts but it will set you [Mahama] free; I prefer the situation, where you [Mahama] will be honest and bold with us”.

Meanwhile, ECG is set to roll out a time table for load shedding on Wednesday March 19, 2014.

Head of Public Relations of the ECG, William Boateng has indicated that power will be rationed until the Volta River Authority (VRA) and GRIDCO have enough gas to power the plants.

Myjoyonline.com

Member of Parliament for Sefwi-Wiawso, Paul Evans Aidoo has presented assorted items to the Sefwi Wiawso Government Hospital.

The varied items include blankets and bed sheets worth GHC 2,800 which is aimed at making patients on admission comfortable while they receive treatment.

Speaking to Ghanamps.gov.gh, Hon. Paul Evans Aidoo who is also the Western Regional Minister stated that he was motivated to present the items to the Hospital which is the premier health facility in the area to enable it have the necessary materials that will facilitate the healing process of patients who patronise the hospital.

He emphasized his commitment to ensure an improvement in the quality of health service delivered to the people of the area, adding that a community with unhealthy people is bound to have a difficulty in developing.

Hon. Evans Aidoo in pursuance to his objective of ensuring quality healthcare is also constructing a Community based Health Planning Service (CHPS) compound for the good people of Sewfi Ahwia.

The project which is in an advanced stage of completion is being funded with the MP’s share of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

He was confident that the completion of the health centre will go a long way in providing the people with the healthcare that they so badly need.

Ghanamps.gov.gh

Deputy Minister of Fisheries, Hon. Aquinas Tawiah Quansah has taken a swipe at former Director of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Prof. Stephen Adei for stating that President John Mahama and other ministers of state of lying to Ghanaians.

According to him, President Mahama as the leader of the country has made statements to Ghanaians based on the information available to him and will not deliberately lie to the people.

Professor Adei at a two-day marriage seminar in Tema said “the president, minister and everyone are lying. This country seems to be getting a culture of lying to each other and the media unfortunately are spearheading it.

“It is not only the president. There is too much lack of candour in our system and it is hurting us,” he said.
Citing President John Mahama’s comment on the economy, Prof Adei said it was clearly wrong for the president to claim that Ghana’s economy is doing well.

“Everyone on the street knows that the economy is not in a good shape…We cannot be told that things are easy when things are hard,” he stated.

He said the country’s leaders must stop the lying to the people if they have any intention of developing the country.

Prof. Addai also expressed his displeasure about the huge resources in the form of vehicles and motorcade used by the President in his convoy and the amount of fuel the cars consume at a time when the economic situation in the country worsens by the day.

However speaking on e.tv Ghana’s Breakfast TV show on Wednesday, Hon. Aquinas Quansah who is also the Member of Parliament for Mfantseman, disagreed with the professor’s critic of the President.

“What vehicle the professor was expecting the President to drive in, what vehicle the professor himself drives to his hometown, I’m sure his village will be in need of a borehole or something but that does not determine the car he drives” he stated.

Hon. Aquinas Quansah wondered why Prof. Adei used a marriage seminar platform to make such statements as there was no correlation.

“ The man was supposed to talk about marriage to the gathering but he ends up saying this about the President, this is uncalled for” he stressed.

Ghanamps.gov.gh

All is set to kick-start the construction of an ultra modern National Health Insurance (NHIS) office in the Gomoa West Constituency in the Central Region, Member of Parliament for the Area, Hon. Francis K. Arthur has disclosed.

He said barring any last minute changes, a short sod cutting ceremony will held within the course of the week for commencement of the project.

Speaking in an interview with Ghanamps.gov.gh, the soft-spoken MP further disclosed that the funds have already been secured from his own share of the NHIS fund to finance the modern edifice.

Hon. Francis Arthur was much optimistic the project could go a long way to positively affect the role of the NHIA by registering more people on the programme. He assured a proper supervision when the project commences to ensure its completion.

Meanwhile, the modern edifice is expected to cost a total of about GHs 190,000.00

Emmanuel Frimpong Mensah/Ghanamps.gov.gh

Residents within the Sefwi Akontombra have every cause to be elated since the Member of Parliament for the Constituency; Hon. Herod Cobbina has initiated a number of developmental projects in various sectors within the area particularly in health and education to enable them rock shoulders with other developed towns.

In health for instance, the MP has executed more than five projects including Community-based health planning services (CHIPS), clinics and other health facilities in towns such as Manukrom, Aprutu, Bawakrom and Nsawora.

According to Hon. Cobbina, whereas the CHPs compound at Manukrom is at the lintel level, those at Bawakrom and Aprutu are 99% completed and foundation level respectively. He added that the Nsawora health centre which benefited from a new clinic block are yet to use the new facility since it is about 90 percent completed.

The MP who hinted about the projects in an interaction with GhanaMps.gov.gh said he funded most of the projects from his share of the Common Fund as well as from his own coffers.

In education, the MP said he has rehabilitated the old school block at Yawkrom with roofing sheets, plastering, painting and wiring to enable the school to have a serene atmosphere for teaching and learning.

Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/GhanaMps.gov.gh

Minister of Information and Media Relations, Mahama Ayariga has emphatically stated that government will not fund any of the various supporters’ unions who will seek for government support to back the Black Stars in Brazil.

He further discredited reports that government will airlift about one thousand (1,000) supporters to the World Cup host country in June when the tournament kicks off.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem programme on Monday, Hon. Mahama Ayariga, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bawku stated that cabinet’s approval of GH¢24.6M budget for Black Stars does not include any funding for supporters’ unions.

“There is not even 1pesewa in the approved budget for any supporters’ union…pesewa was not budgeted for any supporters. Organisations and supporters union must look elsewhere for other sources of funding for their activities. There is no budget to send people to Brazil,” he noted.

Cabinet approved GH¢10,500,000 to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) as budget for the national football team’s participation in the preliminary stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

An amount of GH¢14,177,025 has also been provided to cover the team’s expenses when they qualify for later stages of the competition. This sums up to GH¢24,677,025 after the FA presented a provisional budget of $20 million to Government for the tournament.

Hon. Mahama Ayariga said as it stands now government is not in the position to spend money on any group of persons adding that “..Cooperate Ghana can support supporters to go. If you use public money, how do you even select the people to go…which supporters should be selected because everybody is a supporter of the Black Stars. These are serious issues we should think through”.

Ghanamps.gov.gh

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo has served notice that he will not tolerate any further demolition exercises in the capital without his approval.

“Where demolition is justified, I will approve of it. Where it is not justified and it is not a priority, I will not let it happen,” he said.

The Minister begins work as Greater Accra Minister this week after he was moved from the Volta Region.

His comment comes in the wake of recent demolition exercises in the region which has rendered many homeless.

The Minister indicated that he is determined to make a difference adding that he is a “responsible person” who takes critical look at issues.

Afotey-Agbo continued saying, “I have so much love for people but that doesn’t also mean that I should allow people to misbehave.”

He told Citi News he will send communication to all Municipal, Metropolitan and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to desist from demolishing any structure within the Region “without convincing me or without my knowledge.”

The timing of a number of demolitions undertaken across the city has caused outrage among citizens.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bunkrugu, Solomon Namlit Boar, is blaming his colleague politicians for the continuous violence in the three Northern regions.

He said most politicians take advantage of the poverty in the North to exploit the youth in prosecuting their agenda.

Solomon Boar’s comments came after some irate youth stormed Radio Justice in Tamale and set ablaze several properties including cars and motor bikes last week.

The attack is believed to be a reprisal against Monday’s lynching of a man believed to be a member of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The NDC youth group stormed the radio station demanding that a New Patriotic Party (NPP) representative on the morning show linked to the Kandahar Group, accused of masterminding the lynching, be produced.

The police has arrest three people for their alleged involvement in the torching of properties at Radio Justice.

But in an interview with JoyNews, Mr. Boar insists some politicians are deliberately fuelling the conflicts for political gains.

“We [politicians] have to stop deceiving the people and work hard to ensure their lives are improved”, he noted

Solomon Boar, who is also member of the Northern Caucus in Parliament, called on the elites from the Northern region to contribute their quota in developing their homeland.

“I’m a politician and I’m not enthused about what is happening. If we are serving the people, we have to serve them with the seriousness it deserves”, he exclaimed.