• +233 20 230 9497

Month: May 2016

State behind Wontumi’s arrest – Bosomtwi MP

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

Fourth Deputy Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Simon Osei–Mensah, has accused the State of masterminding the arrest and subsequent detention of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, aka, Wontumi.

He is certain that Ashanti Regional Police Command is acting under the instructions of Flagstaff House in the assault case brought against Wontumi by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia North.

“The matter has taken a political dimension and the State has moved in. If the State has no hand in this, why would it have brought in the military to come and guard the premises of the Regional Police Station in an assault case like this?” he argued.

He added “if anybody tells you that this case is NPP internal matter, it is a lie. It is a combination of inter and intra party politics. And fortunately for them (State), they have succeeded in getting a Judas Iscariot and using him to betray Jesus Christ. That is what they are doing”.

Hon. Osei-Mensah made this observation an interaction with Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.3 FM, Wednesday.

He was responding to issues surrounding the arrest and subsequent dentension of Wontumi, his former constituency chairman by the Ashanti Regional Police Command.

The NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman was declared wanted by the Police and subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest after he refused to honour an invitation extended to him by the men and women in black uniform to assist in investigations.

This follows a complaint that was lodged against him by Collins Amankwaa and the party’s constituency secretary, Felix Ibrahim, for assaulting them while observing the Limited Voter Registration exercise at a registration center named Nana Fodjour House in Krofrom in Kumasi last Sunday, May 1, 2016.

A statement issued, Monday, and signed by Asst/Superintendent of Police, Yusif Tanko, of Ashanti Regional Police Command said “Instructions have therefore been issued to the Regional CID to have Chairman Wontumi arrested to assist in investigations”.

The statement in part further read “However, it will be in his own interest to report to answer the offence of assault that was allegedly committed at Krofrom”.

Wontumi, this website is told, reported to the Police in the company of his lawyers and the Fourth Deputy Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament.

Commenting further, Hon. Osei Mensah said Wontumi after his encounter with Collins Amankwaa also lodged a complaint against the MP at the Tafo District Police Station for assaulting him.

“When we heard that the Police had declared him wanted, Wontumi in the company of some party members and his lawyers all went to the Tafo District Police Station where he submitted himself to the Police. While there, the District Police Commander told us that the matter has been referred to the Regional Police Headquarters and the docket sent there”.

“So we went there and they took his statement and we thought that they would also invite the complainant following which, we will know the next line of action to take”.

“Wontumi was later taken to the different place and whilst there, they told us that a signal has come from above that he should be put behind bars and sent to court the following day”, he explained.

He added “If he had assaulted an MP – the MP made a case and Wontumi also lodged a complaint at the Tafo District Police Station. So, while the MP has lodged a complaint to the Police, it means he has given himself up for interrogation. So, why didn’t the Police invite the MP to also take his statement? Why should they be selective?”

Make district assemblies partisan – Sunyani East MP

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani East, Kwasi Ameyaw Kyeremeh has urged government to consider changing the non-partisan status of district assemblies in the country.

He argued the current status of assemblies is behind some of the skirmishes which have bedevilled elections of Presiding Members (PM) across the country.
The election of a Presiding Member of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) on May 18 degenerated into confusion as assembly members engaged in a brawl with one another.
The assembly members abandoned the voting process after five rounds of voting failed to produce a clear winner.
The two contestants, Nana Kofi Senya and Nana Adumhene failed to secure the two-thirds majority votes required by the law.
Reacting to the issue on Joy News, Mr Kyeremeh described the fight as unfortunate and something which should not be encouraged in the country.
He asserted, “The bottom-line of all these problems with the assemblies has to do with partisanship”, because “Some people see one candidate as belonging to one political party and vice versa.”
He also argued, “Behind the scene political parties sponsor candidates” to contest assembly positions, therefore, it is important for the country to review the laws.
Commenting on the percentage of votes required for a candidate to be declared a winner, Mr. Kyeremeh called for the current two-thirds majority to be replaced by a simple majority.
He asserted, “If the requirement had been by a simple majority, all the assemblies would have had their Presiding Member by now.”

MPs to decide on urgency of assess to public information

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

The Right to Information Bill (RTI), Wednesday, took center stage of deliberations in the chamber of Parliament when Members met to consider the government business for the day.

The Members having deliberated over the Bill for sometime came to a deadlock when Clause 1 sub-clause 4 was put on the table for discussions.

The said clause as it stands requires anyone who seeks urgent information to give reason (s) as to why he or she is urgently seeking for that public information.

Proponents of the Bill who were in favour of the said clause told the House that the condition provided for in the said clause was apt since it would assist the government agency from where the information is being sought from to provide it on time and with a little cost.

But this response received stiff opposition from some Minority Members who argued that if the said clause is maintained, it would defeat the purpose or object of the RTI Bill.

Deputy Attorney-General, Dominic Ayine, who supports the said clause told the House that assigning a reason for seeking an urgent information will prevent putting pressure on public officials.

“It is important to note that when you are seeking for public information and you are putting pressure on the public official under circumstances that cost will be incurred, the public authority is entitled to know the reason why such information is urgent. The brain behind it is to not to turn the public officials into administrative body”, he noted.

His argument was supported by the Majority Leader, Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin. He insists that for someone to urgently assess public information there should be cost implication.

MP for Ablekuma West, Ursula Owusu Ekuful contributing to the discussions objected to suggestions that there should be a reason assigned to assessing urgent information.

That aside, she said if one would also be required to pay extra cost for assessing urgent information from a public institution then there shouldn’t be a request to assign a reason for assessing the information urgently “in the first place”.

Parliament reconvenes Today

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

The Parliament of Ghana is expected to reconvene on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 to begin the 2nd Meeting of the 4th Session after breaking for almost two months.

The House, according to a statement signed and released in Accra, Monday, by its Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Kate Addo, would during the meeting consider a number of Bills some of which are already at the Committee level and are still being worked on.

Twenty nine Bills would be at the table for presentation; some of which include;

Ghana School of Law Bill, 2016; Legal Service

Bill, 2016; Road Safety Bill, 2016; and the Electronic Communication (Amendment) Bill.

The rest are Presidential Transition (Amendment) Bill, 2016; Prison Service Bill, 2016; Tertiary Education Research Fund Bill, 2016; and Public Financial Management Bill, 2016 among others.

According to the statement, there are nineteen Bills which are still being worked on. They include; Companies Bill, 2013; Property Rights of Spouses, 2013; Whistelblower (Amendment) Bill, 2015; Registration of Births and Deaths Bill, 2015; Witness Protection Bill, 2015; Sports Bill, 2015; Revenue Administration Bill, 2016; Local Governance Bill, 2016; and Land use and Spatial Planning Bill, 2016 among others.

The House would also continue to consider ten Bill that are also at the Consideration stage some which include; Conduct of Public Officers Bill, 2013; Intestate Succession Bill, 2013; Right to Information Bill; 2013; Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Bill, 2015; Chieftaincy (Amendment) Bill, 2013, Plant Breeders Bill, 2013; and Ghana Deposit Protection Bill, 2015.

The rest are National Disaster Management Organisation Bill, 2015; the Chartered Institute of Taxation Bill, 2014; and Maritime Pollution Bill, 2015.

That aside, there are two Bills that are expected to go through Second Reading. These include; Petroleum (Expoloration and Production) Bill, 2014 and Ghana Aids Commission, 2015.

The House is also expectected to receive fourteen instruments in addition to the seven that are already at the Committee level.

Thirty-one Papers are also expected to be preented to the legislature with ten Motions that have already been tabled receiving some attention.

The House, according to the Statement, would also look into the one hundred and one (101) referrals of Bills at the Committee level.

I won’t fault Wontumi for slapping me – Manhyia North MP

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs
Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia North says New Patriotic Party (NPP) Regional Chairman, Antwi Boasiako popularly called Chairman Wontumi was not to blame for slapping him and assaulting his constituency secretary.
According to Collins Owusu Amankwaah, Chairman Wontumi was acting on rumours by the MP’s challenger for the Manhyia North parliamentary seat, Nana Osei Bamfo, that the lawmaker was instructing people to go round polling stations with cutlasses to terrorise registrants.
In his first public comment about wahat happened, he told Joy News’ Erastus Asare Donkor that he loves his Regional Chairman and won’t want to hold any grudge against him when there is an election to win.
“We have been best friends and I cannot blame him for what happened as investigations have revealed he is not to blame for the incident,” Mr. Amanwaah said.
“I love my Regional Chairman and I love the Party. I have stood through thick and thin to rally behind the Party and I have been so committed and dedicated to the cause of the Party, having served in various capacities,” he added.
Mr. Collins Owusu Amankwah was slapped and his constituency secretary, Felix Ibrahim was beaten by the Regional Chairman during the Limited Biometric Voters Registration Exercise on May 1, in Krofrom.
The incident was reported to the Kumasi Police Headquarters and Chairman Wontumi arrested.
The MP told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show after the arrest amidst ensuing vigil at the Kumasi Police Headquarters by teeming party supporters that his mother begged him to drop the charges after receiving threatening calls.
He said anything could happen to his mother if he refuses to drop the case and Wontumi was granted bail by the Asokwa District Magistrate Court after the MP instructed his lawyers to drop the case.
“I have made up my mind not to comment on the issue again because the matter has been referred to the elders of the Party and we have gone far as far as out of court settlement is concerned,” Mr. Amanwaah said.
Although he confirmed that indeed he was slapped by Wontumi, he said he does not want to delve into the nitty-gritty of what happened on that day.
“I don’t wish that my party will be int he media for the bad reason. All along it has been my desire to work with the parties structures so as to achieve our target,” the MP said.
The lawmaker is unhappy with people ‘manufacturing their own story’ to create the impression that at all is not well with the Party in the constituency.
He refuted claims by some supporters that he is a mole for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for which reasons he has lost popularity.
Though a Kumasi Magistrate Court has scheduled June 1, to conclude on an out of court settlement, Collins Owusu Amankwaah says his concentration is now on winning 80 percent votes for his party in the upcoming elections.

Transfer of $250m to UBA in same category as kickback – K. Kwarteng

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Obuasi West Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Kwaku Kwarteng has taken a swipe at the government for transferring some Eurobond money to a private bank.

According to him, this decision by the government can be put in the same category as the kickbacks received by public officials in the country.

The transfer of some 250 million dollars from the 2014 Eurobond proceeds by the government came to public notice after the Vice-Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia disclosed this when he addressed some students of the Accra Polytechnic on May 5.

Dr. Bawumia argued the transfer of the money from the Bank of Ghana account to the private bank amounts to a mismanagement of government funds.

He said the decision does not make economic sense because the government will pay more on interest than expected.

But the government disagreed with Dr. Bawumia’s arguments saying the decision it took has helped the country to earn some 23 million dollars.

Finance Minister, Seth Terkper said the money would not have attracted the interest earned if it had been left in the Bank of Ghana account.

Speaking on the Joy FM and MultiTV’s news analysis programme, NEWSFILE, Mr. Kwarteng said nonetheless, the transfer was not a clever way of earning money for the government.

Illegalities:

Commenting on some of the illegalities with the transaction, the NPP MP said: “If the government wants to engage in a foreign exchange transaction, it ought to be done by the Bank of Ghana”.

He argued the Bank of Ghana Act 2002 (Act 612) section 53 mandates the Central bank to hold all foreign exchange of the State but this role was mortgaged by the government.

This is a clear violation of the law, he added.

He cautioned the country stands to incur some judgment debts if care is not taken in arriving at such decision.

However, parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Bolga Central Constituency, Isaac Adongo saw no wrong in the transaction.

According to him, this is “legal and legitimate” because the interest of the nation was taken into consideration.

Story by Ghanamps.com

Second suspect charged over late Abuakwa North MP’s murder

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

One more person has been charged in relation to the murder of the Abuakwa North MP Joseph Boakye Danquah.

Vincent Bosso a phone repairer, was arrested last Thursday and has been arraigned before an Accra district court Tuesday for his role in the crime.

The suspect has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

Bosso was named as an accomplice by the prime suspect Daniel Asiedu who is also facing charges over the murder.
He told the court that he only aided Asiedu to enter JB Danquah’s house but stood outside to spy for him.
The case has been adjourned to May 18.

The late Member of Parliament was stabbed multiple times to death at his East Legon residence in February. The police following its investigations arrested a prime suspect Daniel Asiedu.Preliminary investigations suggested that the assailants got access to the late MP’s room with the aid of a ladder to carryout his heinous crime.

Titus Glover shocked over Bishop’s decision to stop his campaign

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

The Member of Parliament for Tema East constituency, Titus Glover has expressed shock at the Methodist Diocesan Bishop of Tema, the Right Reverend Thomas Brown Forson for stopping him and one other leading politician in the NDC from using the diocesan conference to campaign.

He said it was weird for the Bishop to prohibit them from campaigning when, according to him, the clergy themselves are to a large extent involved in the politics of the day.

He said inasmuch it was a gathering of the saint, all they sought to do on such platform was to campaign on what they have done for the masses and not to have waded into dirty politics.

“The men of God also do politics; when they have the opportunity on their pulpits they talk about politics. And if the real politicians are in your midst to connect to their supporters and talk about what they have done, you prevent them from doing so. We don’t have much to say on this, since there are so many ways we can look at to reach out to the people to vote for me and my party,” Titus Glover told host Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa FM.

The Methodist Diocesan Bishop of Tema, the Right Reverend Thomas Brown Forson, at the weekend, stopped two leading politicians in the metropolis from using the diocesan conference to campaign.

The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr. Isaac Ashai Odamtten, and the NPP Member of Parliament for Tema East, Mr. Titus Glover, had sought opportunity to address the 19th annual synod of the church.

Although Bishop Forson granted them the permission, he barred them from speaking on party lines, saying that should not be encouraged, especially in this election season when many politicians are likely to visit churches.

He advised the clergy not to allow politicians to use the pulpit to promote themselves.

Dan Botwe robbed at gunpoint

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

The Member of Parliament for Okere in the Eastern region Dan Botwe survived an armed robbery attack on Friday dawn after he was robbed at gunpoint in his Tema residence.

The Chief Whip of the Minority in Parliament is said to have been held hostage for about 45 minutes by the attackers during which they made away with properties including laptops, mobile phones and an undisclosed amount of money.

The Police were said to have arrived at the MP’s residence when the robbers had left with their booty.

Emmanuel Ataffah, Special Aide to the former General Secretary of the NPP in an interview with Fiifi Banson onAnopa Kasapa on Kasapa FM stated that Hon. Botwe’s security man whose account of the incident sounds contradictory is currently being held by the Police as investigations commence into the robbery.

The attack has left many Parliamentarians worried over their security as the gruesome murder of their late colleague MP for Abuakwa North, Joseph Boakye Danquah in his house early this year is still fresh in the minds of Legislators and the rest of the public.

Ghanamps.gov.gh

‘Agyapong’s endorsement of attack on Manhyia MP unfortunate’ – Min. Leader

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs
The Minority leader in Parliament Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has condemned the MP for Assin North, Kennedy Agyapong, for defending the attack on a Member of Parliament by the Ashanti regional chairman of the New Patriotic Party.
Manhyia North MP Collins Owusu Amankwah was assaulted by Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as chairman Wontumi, following a disagreement over the ongoing Limited Voters registration exercise in the Ashanti region.
Chairman Wontumi has since been granted bail after he was charged with assault of a public officer. Lawyers for the victim have also written to the police to discontinue prosecution of the case.
However, Agyapong believes the occurrence would serve as precedence for other MPs who work against the chances of the party’s flagbearer.
Commenting on the matter, the Suame MP told Starr News even though the matter has not been officially reported to the leadership of the minority caucus, the comment by the Assin North MP is unfortunate.
“If indeed a colleague member has been assaulted and another member is endorsing it, I think it will be unfortunate. Regardless of the provocation, members should be seeking the protection and security of colleague members,” he said.
He added: “I am not aware that the said member is working against the interest of the Presidential candidate to warrant that incident”.