Month: June 2017

Member of Parliament for the Bantama constituency, Daniel Okyem Aboagye recommended to parents and teachers the need to help create opportunities for children in order to enable them gain useful experiences in life for the future.

He noted that opportunities such as excursions exposes and enable children to learn other things which do not exist in their immediate environments.

The Bantama lawmaker gave the advice during an interaction with students and teachers of the St Anthony Roman Catholic Schools, Bantama when they visited Parliament on an excursion.

He challenged Parents, Teachers and guardians to use the International Day of Children which is marked on June, 16 annually as a reminder to give off their best attention to the care of children to reduce cases of street children and to become responsible and useful to themselves and society as a whole in future.

Mr Daniel Aboagyealso encouraged the students to be obedient to their parents and teachers even as they learn hard for a successful future.

By Christian Kpesese

The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has extolled the contribution of Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu in deepening parliamentary democracy.

Speaking on Starr Chat Wednesday, Mr. Bagbin who is also the Member of Parliament for Nadowli-Kaleo in the Upper West region could not hide his awe for the Suame legislator, describing him as a gem and that he is his favorite lawmaker in the country’s lawmaking chamber.

Ahead of the NDC’s parliamentary primaries in 2015 going into the 2016 polls, Mr. Mensah-Bonsu mounted a strong campaign for Mr. Bagbin then Majority leader to be retained as the parliamentary candidate of the NDC in the Nadowli -Kaleo constituency.

According to him, attempts to get the veteran MP out of parliament will be an indictment on Ghana’s democracy.

Mr. Bagbin is in his seventh term in the Chamber and the longest-serving parliamentarian in Ghana.
source: starr fm

Member of Parliament for Kwabre East constituency, Francisca Oteng Menash is advocating for the need for government to as a matter of policy adopt a full cost recovery of drugs approach to tackle sickle cell disease in the country.

She has also appealed to government to make funds available for the conduct of research into the disease to inform policy decision and help healthcare providers to offer better treatment and cure where possible to persons living with the condition. “Research will also inform policy direction and information dissemination to Ghanaians to fight against the disease” she stated.

The Kwabre East Legislature called for an up-to-date national data register on affected persons to help manage the condition and a concerted educational campaign at all levels to increase awareness on the disease to prevent its occurrence.

Ms Francisca Oteng Mensah made the call in a statement on the floor of Parliament on the prevention and management of sickle cell disease in Ghana.

She urged all citizens to know their sickle cell status whiles calling for a national programme on screening of all newborn babies for early detection for prompt action. The youngest lawmaker encouraged all Ghanaians to join hands together to provide a sickle cell free society.

The Salaga North constituency in the Northern region has held its maiden stakeholders forum to strategise for the rapid development of the area.

The maiden gathering brought together representatives of political parties, traditional rulers, religious leaders, Youth associations, opinion leaders, NGOs among others.

Resolutions reached at the end of the forum hinges on how to improve local governance, education, women and youth empowerment, water and sanitation, road network and telecommunication, language identity, security and healthcare delivery in the constituency.

The forum discussed the need for the creation of a new District from the Gonja East District to promote effective governance and ensure evenly distribution and proper use of resources.

A five member committee with representation from all stakeholder groups was constituted to ensure that the Senior High School (SHS) project started by the previous government is completed and help improve general education delivery in the constituency.

It was observed that the constituency is the only constituency without an SHS and a resident medical doctor in the country hence the need to ensure a remedy is provided.

The Salaga North maiden forum agreed for the need for all schools in the area to adopt Gonja as thepreferred Ghanaian language as a means of protecting the identity of the traditional area.
Addressing the forum, honorable Member of Parliament for the Salaga North constituency, Alhaji Alhassan Mumuni called for unity of purpose among stakeholders for the realization of set objectives in order to advance the development of the area.

Alhaji Alhassan Mumuni laments that the area lacks behind in education, energy, water and sanitation, access roads and health Facilities hence the urgent need for all to joins hands for the way forward.
He noted that successive governments have played their part but it is incumbent on citizens to show direction as owners of projects that may be introduced by other stakeholders for the progress of the area.

The Salaga North legislature also called for peaceful coexistence among communities in the area to enhance development of the area and noted that there cannot be any meaningful development without peace and security.

The MP charged the Ghana Police Service to expedite action to ensure that the Kpalbe Police station built several years ago becomes operational.
He hinted of the establishment of an Educational Endowment Fund to help brilliant but needy students within the constituency.

By Christian Kpesese

A deputy Minister of Health and Members of Parliament (MP) for Weija-Gbawe, Mrs. Tina Gifty Naa Ayeley Mensah on Saturday exhibited leadership by example when she joined hundreds of people in her constituency to donate blood to add up to the countrys blood bank.

The blood donation exercise which took place at the St. Jude Catholic Church in New-Weija and organized by Knight of Marshall, an appendage society of the Catholic Church of Ghana was highly patronized by inhabitants of New-Weija and its environs.

In her keynote address as guest speaker for the very important event, Mrs Tina Mensah appealed to residents to develop the habit of donating blood frequently to help save more precious lives, adding that that was the most sacrificial and worthy service to mankind.

She noted that bloods that are donated to the blood bank always become life saver to patients who frequently suffer from anemia or undergo an operation or are accident victims. To confirm her point Hon. Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah, took the centre stage of the blood donation process to donate blood in the full glare of all who participated.

The MP, who has proven beyond reasonable doubts as mother for all manner of persons in the area also called on them to eschew partisan politics and rather work together to achieve a common goal. Other functionaries of the New Patriotic Party in the constituency also joined the long queue to donate their quota to the nation’s blood bank.

Patrict Kumor / Alice Abubakari/ Ghanadistricts.com

The Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu has charged the newly-sworn-in Chief Justice (CJ) Her Ladyship Sophia Akuffo to institute the necessary judicial reforms to ensure speedy adjudication of cases for the timely delivery of justice in the country.

He expressed reservations about what he described as “the slow tortuous and cumbersome nature of the country’s justice delivery system” that should not be allowed to continue under the leadership of the new Chief Justice.

Haruna Iddrisu wondered how cases such as land litigation cases would continue to remain in the courts for well over 20 years saying “Justice delayed is justice denied,” and urged the CJ to remedy the situation.

The Minority leader expressed these comments on the floor of Parliament in support of a motion by the Chairman of the Appointments Committee of Parliament Joseph Osei-Owusu for the approval of the new Chief Justice.

He lauded the credentials of the Chief Justice which he said qualified her enough to be appointed to the Supreme Court in 1995 by former president Jerry John Rawlings

Presenting the Committees report to the house, Chairman of the Committee Joseph Osei-Owusu stated that the nominee”s high standards, competence and integrity were on display during the vetting, leaving members of the committee with no choice but to approve her unanimously.

“The nominee qualifies to serve as Chief Justice of the country. It is the consideration of the committee that the nominee be approved by the House,” he said.

The nominee was last Friday subjected to over five hours of probing by members of the Appointments Committee of Parliament.

By Christian Kpesese

The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has described as narrow-minded, arguments against the mandatory towing fee for all vehicle owners.
This is in spite of calls by the public for the law to be scrapped.

Mr. Osei-Owusu argues that the policy is in the supreme interest of road users after research showed that a huge number of road accidents are caused by broken down vehicles.

The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) is expected to begin a nationwide towing programme in July 2017, to ensure that all vehicles that breakdown on highways are cleared off the roads.
For this reason, drivers are required to pay a road safety fee ranging between GHC 10 and GHC 200 in addition to their road worthy certification fees.

Commercial vehicles and taxes will pay GH¢40, mini buses will pay GH¢80, while heavy duty trucks will pay between GH¢80 and GH¢200 annually, depending on their tonnage. Non-commercial vehicles are expected to pay GH¢20. The Road Safety Management Services Limited (RSMSL) has already acquired some 118 trucks ahead of the implementation, for the exercise.

But several persons have kicked against the policy calling on government to scrap it immediately. A former President of the Ghana Institution of Engineers “(GhIE), Ing. Magnus Lincoln Quarshie, says the approach is a total rip-off.
But Osei-Owusu, who once headed the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), insisted in an interview with Citi News’ Duke Mensah Opoku that the counter arguments are not tenable.

“Your car may never have to be towed but you can run into a vehicle that is disabled. Sometimes we are just parochial; we discuss the issue only on one side. What you are discussing is not your vehicle; it is the risk to road users. The risk that a broken down vehicle possesses is not to only the driver but to everyone who plies the road,” he stated.

He urged that the arguments should revolve around the dangers that such broken down vehicles could cause to human lives.
“Anytime there is a disabled vehicle on the road, there is a risk to the life of every road user. So if we don’t focus on removing the risk to the road and we focus on how much will it cost, who is doing the work, we’ll be missing the problem. It’s my vehicle that has broken down, and during the time, I don’t have money and it will genuinely happen to many people.”

The 1st Deputy Speaker who was a lead discussant during the formulation of the policy in 2011, said initially the policy was to charge only heavy duty truck owners, but it was later extended to other categories of vehicles in order to create a pool of funds for undertaking such programme.

“When it comes to the heavy duty truck owners that were the main reason we changed the rule to making a contribution to a pool; because they explained legitimately that they carry the load, but they are not paid. The charges are paid to their owners so anytime they are on the road they have small amount of money for their personal expenses. When you observe, anytime those vehicles break down, you find that their owners come with mechanics because the drivers are not holding the money there. So if you leave it to them, the disabled vehicles will not be towed and other road users’ lives will be in danger,” he added.

“In 2011, every stakeholder was involved. All the driver unions in Koforiduawhere we finalized the document were involved. Myself and Osei Prempeh were the lead discussants. All the driver unions were represented. At the time, the controversy was whether to pay the entire amount to the operator or hold it and pay when they discharge services. Your car may never have to be towed but you can run into a vehicle that is disabled,” he reiterated,
Meanwhile, the Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament is currently locked up in a meeting with the Road Safety Commission, the DVLA and other stakeholders over the matter.

According to the Ranking Member on the Committee, Governs Kwame Agbodza, the committee wants to probe the issues surrounding the implementation and possibly recommend the recall of the Legislative Instrument supporting the fee.
Some MPs including the Deputy Minority Leader, James Avedzi Klutse, had earlier called for the policy to be scrapped following the reactions.

But Osei-Owusu said the critics lack understanding of the issue.
“That is what politicians do; jumping on bandwagon…sometimes I think that some politicians are too hasty. If you ask them to go deep into the matter they have not even considered all the issues. As far as I’m concerned it is a risk to everybody,” he said.

Citifmonline.com