Month: March 2014

Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has sworn to cause Parliament to re-probe a commercial agreement of $306 million between the Government and Bouygues Bartiment International to expand the Ridge Hospital in Accra.

The project is being funded by the Exim Bank and HSBC Bank of the United States of America.

As part of the renovation, Ridge Hospital will be expanded from a 200-bed facility to a 420-bed capacity hospital, while departments such as Imaging, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Accident and Emergency, Neonatal, Intensive Care, Burns, Pharmacy and Laboratory, will all be expanded.

The House last month approved the deal paving way for the purchase of equipment and rehabilitation works to begin.

The agreement was cleared by the Parliamentary Sub-committee on Health leading to subsequent approval by the house.

But, the Minority Leader, Mr Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, Thursday claimed on the Floor of Parliament that while he was out of the country with the Majority Leader Dr Benjamin Kunbour the agreement which he believes lacks adequate due diligence was approved by the Minority.

Accordingly he told the Speaker, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho that the agreement will have to be brought back to the House for re-examination as it is not in the best interest of Ghana.

Mr Mensah-Bonsu emphasised that a deal that will cause the country to lose $85 million was fraudulent and “untenable”.

Ghanamps.gov.gh

Member of Parliament for Juaboso, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has launched a scathing attack on the former Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Addo DanKwa Akufo Addo describing him as an unpatriotic politician.

According to him, Nana Addo who aspires to be this country’s refusal to attend this year’s Independence Day anniversary ceremony in any part of the country when he was present in Ghana and in good health was a clear testimony that he is not the least patriotic.

The two time flag bearer of the opposition NPP returned to Ghana from the United Kingdom (UK) on the eve of Independence Day (5th March 2014) after nearly six months of taking some rest post the 2012 election petition case which was decided in August 2013.

Though he was in the country, the astute politician was conspicuously absent at the ceremony in Accra where he should have ordinarily have been which usually recorded attendance by Ghanaians from all walks of life, high ranking persons in society and the diplomatic corps alike.

Contributing to a discussion on Asempa FM’s Eko sii sen show on Wednesday, Hon. Mintah Akandoh stated that Nana Akufo Addo will have to do more to convince Ghanaians that he is indeed a statesman.

Touching on the NPP’s former flag bearer’s current tour of the Ashanti Region, the MP wondered in what capacity Nana Addo was undertaking that tour.

“Who is Nana Akufo Addo to be patrolling the streets of Kumasi in a convoy causing a lot of inconvenience to other motorist due to the traffic build up, he is no more the flag bearer or the President of Ghana, but he does his thing like one, this clearly attest to the fact that he is arrogant” he said.

He noted that with the elections over it was about time Nana Akufo was told in the face that he currently does not hold any political position and must stop carrying himself like the president.

Meanwhile, Nana Akufo Addo has indicated in Kumasi that he would on 20th March 2014 publicly state his intention on whether or not to contest for the third time the flag bear position of the party at the NPP congress which comes off later this year.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh

Member of Parliament for Mion, Dr Yakubu Ahmed Alhassan has supported some students in his area pursuing tertiary education with their school fees.

An amount of GHC 18,000 secured from the MPs share of his Common Fund is to ensure these students who are academically good but do not have the money to pay for their education, have a  clear mind to study and realize their dreams in life.

In an interview with Ghanamps.gov.gh, Hon. Dr Yakubu Ahmed Alhassan stated that this support for the students is done annually and beneficiaries are selected fairly and not based on one’s political party affiliation.

He emphasized his commitment to do everything possible within his capacity to see an improvement in the level of education in the area as education is a prerequisite for development.

Hon.Dr Yakubu Ahmed Alhassan noted that for a holistic improvement in education, the needs of both teachers and students must have to be satisfied and as such he has donated several packets of roofing sheets and bags of cement to some communities such as Sanzie and Sang to help in the construction of accommodation for teachers, school blocks and a mosque where the people who are predominantly Moslems will have a place of worship.

He has also donated sets of jerseys and footballs to several communities to develop the sports talents of the children while others talents are unearthed.

Ghanamps.gov.gh

Member of Parliament (MP) for Atwima Mponua, Isaac Asiamah, has asserted that Parliament is “broke” and it is facilitating the work of the various committees of the House.

According to him, committees of parliament have under the circumstance no option than to beg for money from individuals and donors to enable them efficiently function.

Hon. Isaac Asiamah who was making a contribution to the debate on the President’s state of the nation address on Wednesday accused government of intentionally denying the House of Legislature with adequate funds to enable them carry out effective oversight on the executive.

The Ranking Member for the Committee on Youth and Sports stated that the status quo has forced the various committees in Parliament to accept money and other resources from donors to conduct its activities.

“Parliament is broke. Committees cannot function. If the president talks about parliament being viable and strong, he doesn’t know what he is talking about, because under his watch, Parliament is collapsing and not functioning well” Mr. Asiamah said.

He noted that the situation is dire such that equipment and tools like computers are broken down while A4 papers are in short supply.

The MP for Atwima Mponua, who is also a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), stated that the committee has not received any funds this term to conduct its activities, adding that activities conducted so far has been made possible through support by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), a situation he noted was compromising the work of Parliament.

Ghanamps.gov.gh

Former Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Bagbin, has stated that he is ready to appear before the Privileges Committee of Parliament or the Leadership of the House to defend his statement that some members of the house take bribes.

He said he would be ready to provide evidence to the committee or the leadership for their perusal.

Reacting to calls by some members of Parliament (MPs) for him to be summoned before the House to prove the allegation, Mr Bagbin told Radio Gold, an Accra radio station, “I will definitely be providing evidence for the leadership or the committee to look at.”

At a two-day seminar in Koforidua for representatives of 40 non¬governmental organisations NGOs), Mr Bagbin had alleged that some MPs took bribes in the performance of their duties.

The workshop was organised by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund, a donor-funded organisation which seeks to promote an enabling environment for the development and growth of the private sector through advocacy, and STAR Ghana, another organisation promoting governance advocacy.

Prior to their arrival at the conference, some participants who had dealt with some of the country’s legislators had alleged that they had paid bribes to MPs to carry out their law-making functions.

The participants added that they had been compelled to pay the bribes when it became clear that the MPs were not filling to move in the direction they (the participants) expected them to unless some “brown envelopes” changed hands.

Following the allegations by Mr Bagbin, some MPs made calls for him to be dragged before the House to substantiate his claims.

I won’t play the ostrich

In a telephone interview from France where he is attending a conference, Mr Bagbin said he would not play the ostrich nor deny the obvious.

“Unless they want to say that I should have denied the obvious or speak untruths. I am not that kind of person. There’s no way I’m going to lie through my teeth to the civil society participants as to what is happening in Parliament. I won’t do that,” he said.

“The questioner from civil society, together with his colleagues, was producing evidence of how some MPs compelled them to offer them bribes before they did work for them in Parliament,” Mr Bagbin said.

He explained that he conceded that some MPs took bribes but said: “I never stated all MPs. I said yes, some MPs, from the evidence that they produced and from what we all know, would be prone to taking bribes before doing work, and then I gave explanation of the conditions under which we work in Parliament.

Evidence

When “asked whether he would stand by his claim that some MP bribes, Mr Bagbin said, “My nature is not to lie. That’s not part of my nature and so I will not only appear, I’ll go with what I believe is the evidence. I am not just going to appear and t run away from it.”

When asked if he had heard a MPs taking bribes for the first time at the seminar, he answered in the negative.

“No, that was not the first time. This thing has been on for some time have been in leadership for a long time and we have had to deal with it a number of times. It came on air a number of times. There were even some letters that were read by your media colleagues on some of the: allegations,” he said.

Angels of Parliament

He said that as a country, Ghana would have to confront the issue find lasting solutions to it by put place policies.

“We don’t have to run away from problems or challenges. We need find lasting solutions to them. That is what policy is about and as you get feedback you review it to improve. If we keep running away from challenge then they will keep haunting us,” Bagbin said.

On the claim by some MPs the allegation was an indictment, he said “Well, let the angels of Parliament speak that they are above reproach. And let us all behave like ostriches. It is not good for us as a country. We have all been bemoaning the problems that have been confronting Parliament. What is wrong with coming out coming out openly to raise the issue for us to deal with it?”

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The Member of Parliament for Salaga North, Alhassan Mumuni has donated 4 motorbikes worth twelve thousand Ghana cedis (GHs12, 000) to teachers in the area to help alleviate transportation difficulties teachers go through in coming to school.

He has also pledged to provide a monthly fee of GHs200.00 each to the teachers monthly for fuelling the bikes.

The MP at a stakeholders meeting with players in the education sector to deliberate and find ways of enhancing academic performance of students noted that teacher absenteeism remains a major challenge that has to be tackled, adding that one important intervention will be to provide regular means of transport to convey them to school and back every day.

According to him, because the teachers leave far away from the school and with transportation difficulties in the area, they have to walk very long distances which usually contribute to absenteeism. He expressed worry at the poor performance of students in the district at the last Basic Education Certificate examination (BECE) and called for hard work from the teachers to improve performance.

Mr. Mumuni also urged parents to ensure their children attend school regular and not force them into child labour since the quest for money at tender age is what usually forces them to travel to the cities in the south in search of non-existing jobs.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.gov.gh

A member of the minority in Ghana’s parliament, Titus Glover, has described the country’s minister designate for Trade as a “confused” individual who cannot bring any change to the “mess” in the Mahama – led government.

The former Communications Minister of the West African country, Dr Spio- Gabrah, is billed to appear before the appointment committee today to be vetted for a ministerial position.

He has been appointed by President John Mahama as Minister-designate of Trade and Industry.

Ghana’s laws require that Parliament vets and approves the President’s appointees before they occupy office.

But even before he appears before the house, Glover- a member of the appointment committee – believes he will add very little to the fortunes of the National Democratic Congress government.

“He is a nice man, very strong. I have read through his cv, at a point it looked so confusing and all that. He is quite confusing. The thing is already gone, he doesn’t have the magic one to change anything in government. The mess has already been created and he can’t change anything” the Tema East Member of Parliament told Accra based Adom FM.

Source : Ghana/ StarrFMonline.com

The Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has accused the Mahama led administration of sabotaging Ghanaian-owned businesses while pretending to be advocating for them.

“Government is using various strategies to sabotage businesses in Ghana including Tobinco. If government is advocating for promotion of businesses in Ghana, why is it determined to destroy some businesses in the country?,”he asked.

Kyei Mensah Bonsu also accused President Mahama of promoting locally made goods manufactured by persons who appear to be affiliated to the NDC.

According to the minority leader, an example of the government’s sabotage of local companies is evident in what government functionaries did to companies such as Tobinco recently.

“If you go behind the scenes, you realize that those sabotaging businesses in the country are all NDC supporters,” he added.

The minority leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu made the comments while welcoming Nana Addo to Kumasi.