Month: July 2014

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Agona West Constituency in the Central Region, Mr Charles Obeng-Inkoom, has presented 1,000 dual desks and 1,000 mono desks to the Municipal Education Directorate for onward distribution to beneficiary schools.

The schools included 47 public and 37 private basic schools and the gesture was intended to improve the conditions of schools in the municipality in order to better the performance of students at the basic school level.

At a short handover ceremony at the forecourt of the municipal assembly, Mr Obeng-Inkoom said the presentation formed part of the better Ghana Agenda ,which could only be achieved if the citizenry were provided with good and quality education.

He noted that aside the provision of desks and other educational materials, the government was also focused on the construction of classroom blocks to help improve the performance of students.

According to him, studies had shown that the performance of students was linked to the availability of infrastructure in schools, adding that the government would continue to allocate resources to support the educational sector.

He noted that the assembly included private schools in the distribution of the desks, since the private sector was contributing a lot to the provision of education to Ghanaians.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Haruna Iddrisu, has given the assurance that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between West Africa and the European Union (EU) will be well-managed if consummated to ensure economic growth and development in Ghana.

According to the minister, per the new arrangement, the West Africa-EU EPA will offer Ghana a market access of 75 per cent with a transitional period of 20 years, something he said “is better than Ghana’s Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) with the EU, which offers 80 per cent market access with a transitional period of 15 years.”

“In the interest of regional integration and to continue to help its exports to the EU enjoy market access, Ghana will be guided by the collective position of ECOWAS in conformity with the region’s common goal,” he said.

The occasion was an Inter-Institutional Committee (ICC) meeting which forms part of the Trade Negotiating Capacity Building (TNCB) programme funded by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Swedish International Agency for Development Cooperation (SIDA) in Accra.

Currently, Ghana, as well as ECOWAS member countries, are deadlocked over whether or not to sign the EPA, which seeks to create a free trade area between the EU and the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.

Mr Iddrisu maintained that Ghana was of the view that other clauses in the West Africa EPA, including rules of origin, most favoured nations (MFNs), non-execution clause and agricultural subsidies, were more favourable than what was in Ghana’s Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA).

The primary focus of Trade Negotiating Capacity Building (TNCB) meeting was to review the functions of the ICC in Ghana and assess its future needs, as well as brainstorm to find solutions to help overcome some challenges thwarting the efforts of ECOWAS member states at intervening effectively in international negotiations and multilateral trade agreements.

It was also to build the capacity of the ECOWAS Commission to empower it to negotiate on behalf of its member states.

The Project Coordinator of TNCB of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr Kolawole Sofola, reiterated Ghana’s regional power in West Africa and on the African continent, and said to ensure sustained economic growth and the attainment of international targets such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it was essential that Ghana worked to maximise advantages inherent in the international trading system.

This, he said, could be achieved through active participation in the multilateral negotiations of the Doha Development Agenda, as well as the implementation of obligations, commitments and decisions taken at the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Bali in December last year.

Graphic Online

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Offinso South, Mr Ben Abdallah Banda, has advocated for powers of prosecution for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

Making a contribution to a debate on the motion to adopt the report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the annual report of CHRAJ for 2010, the MP realised that the Attorney-General’s Department, the lone body mandated to carry out prosecution on behalf of the state, was always overwhelmed with cases.

He said not only is this a difficulty but also it was constrained in the aspect of finance and human resources.

Therefore he claimed with CHRAJ given the power to prosecute,  would reduce pressure on the Attorney-General’s Department.

Mr Banda also said with this, CHRAJ  would also be enabled to discharge its anti-corruption mandate.

The report deals with issues bordering on the mandate of the commission and the discharge of its duties in 2010.

Ghanamps.gov.gh

New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annor-Dompreh, is calling on Ghanaians to demand accountability from government to ease the hardship in the country, saying Mahama’s government has failed.

According to him, the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) which signed a social contract with the citizenry to deliver a Better Ghana has failed woefully.

Annor-Dompreh who was speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme on Tuesday, stated emphatically that “we take our destiny into our own hands”.

He intimated that the much touted “Better Ghana Agenda” mantra by the NDC is now “Bitter Ghana Agenda” since according to him, majority of Ghanaians are wallowing in abject poverty.

Citing the worsening socio-economic conditions to buttress his point, Annor-Dompreh concluded that President John Mahama has “no business being in power”.

He bemoaned what he says is government’s penchant to cover up its inefficiencies with lies and propaganda, “but the NDC must know that even though it came to power with lies; you cannot sustain it with lies”.

Unhappy with the current state of the economy, Frank Annor-Dompreh called on Ghanaians to “rise-up” in revolt to wake government from its slumber.

Source: adomonline

Member of Parliament for New Juabeng South, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah is accusing the Governor of the Bank of Ghana of sleeping on the job and demanding he resigns.

According to him, Dr Kofi Wampah has shown gross incompetence in the handling of Ghana’s currency and “must take a bow.”

He was speaking to Joy FM’s Parliamentary correspondent Elton John Brobbey in Parliament on Thursday.

Ghana’s currency has been on a decline for months now with dire consequences on the economy.

In January 2014 alone, the currency depreciated by seven per cent. At the end of the first quarter, it had depreciated by 26 per cent.

The Governor, Kofi Wampah, in a desperate attempt to keep the cedi from further decline introduced a wide range of interventions in February. The directives included “Cash withdrawals over the counter from Foreign Exchange Accounts (FEA) and Foreign Currency Accounts (FCA) shall only be permitted for travel purposes outside Ghana and shall not exceed 10,000.00 dollars or its equivalent in convertible foreign currency, per person per travel.”

“Foreign exchange purchased for the settlement of import bills shall be credited to a margin account which shall be operated and managed by the bank on behalf of the importer for a period not exceeding 30 days.”

The interventions were widely condemned as being too restrictive, forcing the governor to review the directives.

The cedi has since been depreciating.

Dr. Assibey-Yeboah said the country has had enough of a “sleeping” Governor on duty.

“He has done his bit, but he is not up to the task,” he chided, adding the country’s currency will deteriorate further if the Governor stays in office.

He said all the interventions by the Governor are not working because there is no “better research underpinning” the interventions.

Dr. Assibey Yeboah said the Governor appears to be giving false hopes about solving the depreciation issues and must resign.

But Economist Casley Hayford said Dr. Wampah cannot be wholly blamed for the tattered economy.

He said the decision by the government to continue borrowing is affecting the cedi and the economy and the governor cannot be held responsible for that.

He said the Governor does not appear to have the right tools to do his job.

Source: myjoyonline.com

The Ministry of Interior says it will consider lifting the ban on motor riding in Bawku in the Upper East Region only if the District and Regional Security Council petition the Ministry.

There have been several appeals by residents for the ban to be lifted. The Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area has also made an appeal for the ban to be partially lifted due to the approaching farming season.

The ban on motorbike riding was imposed five years ago, to among other things, forestall the escalating ride-by shootings by unidentified persons.

Deputy Minister for Interior, James Agalga, in an interview with Citi stated that the ministry appreciates the concerns of the residents but added that the ban was imposed based on the advice of “the DISEC and REGSEC.”

He, therefore, noted that if normalcy has returned to the area and authorities can vouch for the peace and security in the Municipality, “I am sure the minister of course will weigh the options available to him in the interest of the people and the security in this country.”

myjoyonline.com