Month: November 2015

The Minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Parliament is considering dragging the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins Dauda, to court for breaching the Model Standing Orders of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

Such a move, they noted, would be initiated if Collins Dauda does not change his mind for amending the Standing Orders of the MMDA after they hauled him before Parliament over his actions.

Alhaji Collins Dauda by a circular purports to amend Order 10 (7) of the Model Standing Orders of the MMDAs to enable an Assembly to elect one of its members to preside over the Assembly if the members are unable to elect a Presiding Member.

However, the Minority at a press conference on Monday which was addressed by the deputy Ranking of the Committee on Local Government, Kwasi Amoako-Attah, described the move as illegal and unconstitutional.

According to him, Article 244 of the 1992 Constitution prescribes the process for an Assembly to follow in electing one of its members to preside over the Assemble if the members are unable to elect a Presiding Member.

Article 244 states that (1) “The District Assembly shall have a Presiding Member who shall be elected by the Assembly from among its members. (2) “The Presiding Member shall be elected by at least two-thirds majority of all the members of the Assembly. (3) The Presiding Member shall (a) preside over the meetings of the Assembly (b) Perform such other functions as may be prescribed by law.

The above mentioned provision, the Minority said, is reaffirmed by Section 17 of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462) sub-section (5) which states that “the Presiding Member shall convene and preside over all meetings of the Assembly and perform such other functions as may be prescribe by law.

“In our view, the Minister is engaging himself in an unconstitutional and illegal venture by circumventing the constitutional requirement of two-thirds of all the members of an Assembly to elect a Presiding Member. Indeed, the so-called amendment by the Minister to the Standing Orders of the assemblies to have a member elected to preside before the election of a substantive presiding member to approve of the budget of the assemblies seeks to undermine and subvert the letter and spirit of Article 244 (2) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.”

“Clearly, the purported amendment by the Minister is inconsistent with Article 244 (2) of the Constitution which is the supreme law of the country, and to the extent of the inconsistency, it must be deemed to be of no effect, pursuant to Article 1 (2) of the Constitution,” noted Mr. Amoako-Atta who doubles as the MP for Attiwa West.

Minority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, says the Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament, Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, is non comparable looking at the way he has distinguished himself and discharged his duties to enhance parliamentary democracy over the last twenty-three years.

He is therefore urging delegates of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to retain Hon. Bagbin and as well vote for the best within the rank and file of the party in their upcoming primaries.
In his view, the Nadowli/Kaleo legislator is the best among equals and it would be suicidal if he is changed, stressing that the NDC will be the biggest loser as far as representation in Parliament is concerned.

“Bagbin is like Ronaldo and you will need a Messi to replace him. That means the person who will replace him should have the same ‘weight’ as Bagbin. So, if you are in the NDC and looking for a candidate, vote for the best,” he noted.

Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who is the MP for Suame made this observation when interacting with some constituents at the Queen of Peace Hall in Nadowli Saturday.

He together with his deputy, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul and the Majority Chief Whip, Hon. Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka had stormed the Nadowli/Kaleo constituency under Parliament’s outreach program dubbed ‘Parliamentary Constituency Forum’ to educate the people about the legislature and role of MPs.

Other members who participated in the event are the Majority Leader, Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin (Host MP), 2nd deputy Majority Whip, Hon. Ibrahim Ahmed, 2nd Minority Whip, Hon. Ignatious Baffour Awuah and  the MP for Walewale, Hon. Dr. Sagre Bambangi.

The outreach event which was the fourth in a series of such events was facilitated by the Public Affairs Directorate of Parliament of Ghana was under the theme ‘Enhancing Parliamentary Democracy: Parliament Partnering with Citizenry.’

Members of Parliament (MPs) are today expected to move into their new office complex – the State Tower Block, popular known as Job 600.

The 252 office complex would officially be inaugurated by President John Dramani Mahama this morning before paving the way for occupation by the law makers.

This will signify the end of an era where the legislators have been using their car boots to transact business on behalf of the country.

The facility would also provide office accommodation for research assistants of the MPs.

It also boost of a three hundred seater auditorium, a gym, restaurant, a fire station, VIP common room, video conferencing room and banks. It would also house the Parliamentary Training Institute.
The project was undertaken by the China State Hualong Construction of Ghana Limited.

It was expected to have been completed in August 2012 after taking off in April 2010.

Delays in the release of funds largely accounted for the postponement of the completion of the project which was initially pegged to cost the tax payer US$63million.

The embattled parliamentary aspirant for North Tongu, Christopher Kofi Eblu, has sued the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for disqualifying him from contesting the party’s Parliamentary primaries scheduled for November 21, 2015.

Others who are enjoined to the suit are the NDC National Chairman, Kofi Portuphy, National Chairman, Volta Regional NDC Chairman, Mr. Joseph Kwabena Gyapong, and North Tongu Constituency Chairman, Mr. Moses Amenudor.

Mr. Eblu is praying the court seeking among other reliefs a declaration that he (Plaintiff) is a proven leading member of the ‘akatamansonians’.

He is also praying to the court to grant an interlocutory injunction on the North Tongu Constituency NDC in the Volta Region, restraining the party from holding its parliamentary primaries.

The suit, with No. GJ/33/2015, was filed at the High Court, Accra, on November 3, 2015.

Mr. Eblu contends that he is a an adult citizen of Ghana, a native of North Tongu in the Volta Region and a proven leading member of the NDC.

That aside, he is also an aspiring candidate for North Tongu NDC Parliamentary Primaries ahead of the forthcoming 2016 general elections.

The Plaintiff further identifies himself as one who contested the previous NDC Parliamentary Primaries in 2012 in North Tongu Constituency on the ticket of the NDC which primaries he narrowly lost to Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the incumbent MP.

Additionally, the Plaintiff argues that by the 1992 4th Republic Constitution, he is adequately qualified to vote and be voted for in any election organized for political purposes in Ghana by the Electoral Commission.

The disgruntled Eleblu was disquafied by the NDC National Petition Review Committee on October 14, 2015 on grounds that he had been arraigned before an Accra High Court (Financial Division) for defrauding the State to the tune of GH₵646,000.00

The former Director of Internal Audit Unit at the Ministry of Health (MOH), was said to have received payment in 2008 for a maintenance contract which was never executed.

His Counsel, Hansen Kofi Adde, has since contested against the decision insisting that the charges brought against by his client lacked merit and therefore, was qualified to contest the primaries.

But his plea was not convincing enough to merit his inclusion in the contest.

The High Court, according to inside sources, has set aside Friday, November 13, 2015 to hear the case.

A draft of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Bill, is expected to get to parliament by the end of year.

The Bill will among other things seek to bring to book fiscal indiscipline arising from public sector managers.

The passage of the PFM law is a key requirement under the country’s ongoing economic reforms programme under the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Finance Minister Seth Terkper told journalists that the passage of the PFM Bill will bring about an enhanced mode of accountability in institutions that receive funds from government.

Speaking to the media after a stakeholders’ forum on the draft Bill, he said  one of the main functions of the PFM law will be to prescribe defined roles for individuals such as chief directors of ministries, budget officers, Treasury officers and others who play key roles in budget preparation and implementation.

With the aid of the Attorney General, Terkper said it is hoping to introduce a system that penalizes public sector managers who fail to discharge their duties as far as implementation of the Public Financial Management law is concerned.

The draft Bill is currently being prepared by the Finance Ministry with assistance from the Attorney General’s Department and two experts provided by the Department for International Development (DFID).

President John Dramani Mahama has called on the leadership of Parliaments in Africa to educate their respective publics on the duties of Members of Parliament to remove the negative view they have about the MPs.

According to him although Parliamentarians play huge roles in the formulation of laws to deepen democracy, the public usually see them as a group of persons who only seek their own interest as against the general good of the citizenry.

President Mahama made this call while addressing the opening session of the 15th Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers Conference Africa Region in Accra on the theme: Raising the confidence of the citizenry in the legislature: The role of the Speaker.”

The conference, the first in Ghana attracted Speakers and Presiding Officers from Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Lesotho, Cameroun, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia Nigeria and South Africa among other African Commonwealth members.

President Mahama further lamented the practice in which electorates depend on MPs for their livelihood.”One of the increasingly worrying developments in Africa is the misconception of the role of the MP. This has led to worsening public pressure on the Parliamentarians to directly provide public goods and services for their constituents as well as meet the personal needs of individuals.

“This puts MPs under severe strain and has the potential of putting their integrity to the test,” the president said.

Stating the core functions of the MP, the president said the parliamentarians must first represent their constituents in Parliament, contribute to debates on the floor and act as agents of change.

“Unfortunately demands for monies for school fees, fuels for weddings, place the MP in a precarious situation,” he said.

He conceded that though the MPs are partly to blame for the situation because they have not well articulated their role to the public.

“During election campaigns promises must not be aimed at delivering heaven on earth. Promises must be realistic and realizable,” he pointed out.

The week-long conference would among other things enable member countries to discuss parliamentary development and give them the opportunity to learn to serve the people by achieving their lofty goals.

Ghanamps.gov.gh

The incumbent party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries which was slated for this weekend, Saturday November 7, has now been postponed to November 21.

As campaign activities heat up, the various parliamentary candidates have also empoyed all sorts of means to market themselves, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo aka Lion, who is also MP for Kpone Katamaso is no exceptiion.

See his branded campaign vehicle.

Ghanamps.gov.gh

Aggrieved workers of the Volta Star Textiles Limited at Juapong in the North Tongu district of the Volta Region have accused the Deputy Minister of Education and Member of Parliament (MP) for the area Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa of reneging on his promise.

The group claimed the minister promised three months ago to secure a loan from the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF) to help offset their salary arrears and prevailed on them to back down on a planned demonstration.
But the Deputy Minister they indicate has since failed to fulfill his part of the bargain leaving the over 1200 workers to their fate.

The angry workers who embark on a demonstration today burning lorry tyres at the entrance of the company to prevent anyone from entering the premises and chanting war songs, resolved to have the company sealed off until their grievances are fully addressed.

Esianyo Lord Spokesperson of the aggrieved workers told ultimate1069.com that they have had enough of the sweet talk and the patience of workers has finally reached its apex.

“We are no longer interested in sugarcoated promises. Give us what duly is ours”, he said.

According to him, some of his colleagues out of frustration have committed suicide while others voluntarily abandoned the job because their wives had threatened to divorce them alleging they were unproductive.

“We were more than 1200 but due to the financial constraints, many left the job while others committed suicides out of frustration”, he disclosed.

The rest of them he stated agreed to stay back but are unable to fend for their families and will only resume work if monies owed them are settled in full.

All attempts to talk to management of the company proved futile as no one is willing to comment on the matter