Month: July 2017

Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Ghana`s longest serving legislator, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin has hinted of his desire to document his memoirs for the benefit of the younger generation.

According to him it is important for the younger generation to appreciate the relevance of Ghana`s parliamentary democracy which has ensured stability for the country.

This revelation came in the wake of the sixtieth (60) birthday anniversary of Mr Bagbin and the 25th lawmaking anniversary of Ghana`s veteran legislature.

Mr Bagbin is Ghana`s oldest legislature having been a member of parliament since 1993 after the inception of the 1992 constitution which gave birth to the forth republic.

He survived seven major elections both at the primaries at the party level and seven major National elections.

The honorable Member of Parliament for the Mpraeso constituency, Seth Kwame Acheampong has been appointed Chairman of the eleven (11) member Board of the Ghana National Fire Service Council.

Mr Acheampong commended the government for the confidence reposed in the Board and pledged their support to assist the Service to bring fire prevention and management to bear.

He said it was high time to introduce hydraulic platforms to enable the officers and men to fight fires on high rise buildings and pledged the Board’s commitment to work towards enhancing their equipment to enable them meet any eventuality in future.

The Chairman also said the Board would pay attention to revenue mobilization, welfare of staff, and would sensitise hardworking men and women to boost morale within the Service.

Inaugurating the Board in Accra, Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery disclosed Government has given approval to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) to recruit officers to improve the current ratio of one officer to 4,000 persons.

The Service is to work towards the United Nations ratio of one officer to 1160 persons and it is expected to reserve not less than 40 per cent to women, Mr Ambrose Dery, Minister for the Interior said on Monday.

Government he said had increased the budget allocation to all agencies under the Ministry including the GNFS, which he said, would enhance their operations.

According to him with an ever increasing population and expanding cities and towns, there was the need for the GNFS to position itself to meet the changing demands as well as offer the critical services to the citizenry.

He said the GNFS needed more modern equipment and logistics to prepare for any eventuality, especially regarding the high rise building structures that were dotting the landscapes of the capital cities.

“Our schools, markets, malls and other mass assembly areas require the presence and deployment of equipment and officers of the Ghana National Fire Service. This, I term, strategic pre-deployment to reduce the reaction time upon any incident,” he said, and urged the Board to avert their thoughts to those and others from their diverse experiences and expertise.

Mr Dery said some 66 Political Districts were without the presence of the GNFS and the Ministry was inundated with requests from all sections of Ghanaians for the presence of GNFS.

The GNFS, he said, had developed some basic modalities as requirements from the District Assemblies for the establishment of Fire stations and if followed, the district not covered yet, would be supported with Fire Stations.

“I have also observed that these Fire Tenders are very expensive. Whilst Government is making efforts to procure some more, Council should assist GNFS authorities to opt for other less expensive but equally effective firefighting equipment to enable Government get value for money in our procurement,” he added.

Members of the GNFS Council includes Dr Albert Brown Gaisie, GNFS; Mr Samuel Amankwah, Ministry for the Interior; Adoi Sussannete Akuki Debrah, GNFS; Jerry Appiagyei, GNFS; Mr Donan Kobla Tay, Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing; Mrs Helen A. A. Ziwu, Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General’s Department.

The rest are Mr John Oben Asiedu, Ministry of Roads and Highways; Mr Rudolph Kuuzegh, Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations; Mrs Florence Pul and Mr Emmanuel Adugbire, both President’s nominees.

Leader of government business in Parliament, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu has justified the laying of Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill, 2017 and Zongo Development Fund Bill, 2017 saying nothing untoward happened. in an interview.

Former Deputy Attorney General and MP for Bolga East, Dominic Ayini argued that the Bills were not properly laid because due process had not been followed.

According to him, the requirement for a bill to be laid was for it to be gazetted in the Ghana Publishing Company, 14 days before it is brought to the floor of the House.

But the Majority leader quoted Article 106 (13) “Where it is determined by a committee of Parliament appointed for the purpose that a particular bill is of urgent nature, the provisions of the preceding clauses of this article, other than clauses (1) and paragraph (a) of clause (2) shall not apply, and accordingly, the President shall give his assent to the bill on its presentation for assent”.

Clearly the former Deputy Attorney General had not adverted his mind to this provision, in the Constitution are backed by our standing orders, order 119

He revealed that the former Deputy AG latter came to him and acknowledge that Article 106 (13) addresses the issues that he raised on the floor of the House.

The Suame legislator further revealed that, in his long stay in the House, this will not be the first time that such Bills will be introduced in the House under a certificate of urgency. “Parliament has been resorting to this vehicle since I came to the House, I am surprise that all of a sudden the Minority are resorting to this” he said.

He advice Journalist who had gathered around him to question why the rush in introducing the two Bills, not to behave like the Minority Members of Parliament but rather, go through the constitution critically and educate themselves.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

According to her it is the objective of the current government to support private initiatives that are geared towards complimenting efforts of central government especially in the healthcare delivery system.

She was full of praise to God for enabling her to deliver on her promise and appealed to residents to pay for the services of the ambulance to help maintain it.

The Abuakwa North lawmaker urged the Hospital staff to maintain the facility in order for it to last long.

Chief Executive Officer of the Community Hospital Limited, Mr. Kwesi Acquah reiterated his outfit’s determination to work with government in delivering a hospital in each district which is in line with the one district, one district initiative through what he described as; “One District, One Hospital” to provide timely health care to residents in every District in the country.

The CEO disclosed that the Community Hospital ltd has so far expanded its tentacles to eight locations within the past eight years including five hospitals and three mortuaries all aimed at supporting government in the health delivery process to all. He thanked the MP for delivering on her promise.

The Head of Medical Services, Kukurantumi, Dr Cyril Krah expressed gratitude to the MP for the gesture which he said was a lifesaving noble gesture.

‘You will all agree with that this is very giant, significant, noble, progressive, commendable, singular charitable effort by an individual” he said.

The ambulance he said would enable the hospital offer easy and prompt transfer of cases to save lives.
He promised to put the facility into good use.

The Kukurantumi Community Hospital which began operation on December 3, 2016 and has so far provided adequate healthcare to all residents.

By Christian Kpesese/ ghanamps.com

The honorable Member of Parliament (MP) for Abura- Asebu-Kwamankese constituency in the Central region, Elvis Morris Donkoh has counsel school pupils and students to take studies seriously to enable them become responsible citizens in future.

He noted that education is the only means by which they can truly serve their motherland, Ghana better and must thereforebe given much attention.

The MP gave the advice when he interacted with pupils and students of the Royals Preparatory School located at Moree within the constituency during an excursion by the school to parliament House.

Hon Elvis Morris Donkoh took the visiting pupils and students through the fundamentals of the workings of Parliament.

Some of the items the MP educated the pupils on include the votes and proceedings, the Order paper which outlines the daily programme of parliamentary works, the leadership of Parliament among others.

He urged the youth to live together in unity since MPs belonging to different political parties work together as a team.

The Headmaster of the Royals Preparatory School Mr Kenneth Mackysaid the visit to the legislature was aimed at practicalising teachings about parliament which is the third arm of government.

The excursion to parliament he said has exposed the pupils know about what happens in the legislative arms of government.

75 pupils from drawn from the primary and Junior High divisions of the Scholl and 12 staff were on the trip.

The Royals Preparatory school which was established in May, 2010 has chalked some significant achievements in football and athletics.

The school recorded 84% pass rate in BECE 2016,its first batch and has targeted 100% pass rate for 2017 BECE results.

By Christian Kpesese/ ghanamps.com

The honorable Member of Parliament for the Tarkwa Nsuaem constituency in the Western region has called for a more dedicated national investment into the development space satellite for greater benefits.

According to him, Ghana cannot develop without space satellite which has increasingly become an important denominator for development in the world hence requires an urgent focus.

The MPs call came in the successful launch of the nation`s first space satellite into orbit by the All Nations University College, Koforidua, a feat which has made Ghana proud among the comity of nations.

In a statement on the floor of parliament, MrMirekuDuker espoused the several advantages of satellite to buttress the urgent need for Ghana to embrace the technology for her development.

Ghana he said can make use of Communication satellite to provide easy access of education and health to dwellers in remote areas of the country and reach out to distressed migrant populations irrespective of their locations.

The exploitation of space satellite he noted can be used to curb crime, rescue accident victims, curb the menace of environmental pollution and land degradation such as galamsay among others.

Hon MirekuDuker also stated that the advantages of the use of satellite has far reaching effects on the larger population since it makes life more bearable to all in many aspects of life including banking, agriculture, weather, telecommunication among several others.

“Mr Speaker, in banking and finance, space satellites are used in the performance of inventory management and automated teller banking services from big cities to even smaller towns’’ he stated.
He commended All Nations University for reaching an unprecedented goal in the annals of the country

By Christian Kpesese/ ghanamps.com

Communication Minister, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, has  told telecom companies in the country that  government will not reduce the cost of  4G spectrum license.

The CEO of Vodafone Ghana, Yolande Cuba, in a media interview this year called for the reduction of the cost of the spectrum.

The first license of the spectrum was sold to MTN Ghana at a cost of $67.5million, a figure other industry players argue will ward off interests.

In her reaction however, Mr. Ekuful, noted that government cannot reduce the cost of the spectrum urging telcos to rather consolidate in order to acquire the spectrum.

She said, “I have indicated in the meetings I have had with the operators that consolidation is the way to go and we would actively promote any effort to consolidate their operations and build more synergies instead of going for loans and incurring the huge capital outlaw which the industry demands”.

“I believe that when the spectrum was offered for sale those who wanted to, acquired it. The broadband wireless operators have the 4G LTE license so does MTN which was the only one which took up the offer. Comparatively, people say that we auctioned it for a rather reasonable amount,” she added.

According to her, the cost of the spectrum is reasonable and that there is one bloc of spectrum which is still available for telcos to take advantage of.

BY Mohammed Awal/StarrFMonline.com

The Honourable Member of Parliament for Hohoe in the Volta Region and a member of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Committee of the house, Dr. Bernice Adiku  Heloo has urged the Rt Hon Speaker and leadership of parliament to ensure that the name of the committee is changed to Economic
Development Committee to reflect Ghana’s current status as a lower middle income country.

According to her, the name “Poverty Reduction Strategy has outlived its usefulness in Ghana’s status books hence the need for it to be changed to a more responsive and relevant name.

The former deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection and Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation explained that the committee was first set up in the early 2000s when Ghana was declared a Highly Indebted and Poor Country (HIPC) to help in drafting relevant poverty reduction strategies to enable the country come out of poverty.

Dr Adiku Heloo who was a member of the Committee in the 6th parliament argues that issues that are discussed during the committee sittings with relevant stakeholders including reports of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) are not poverty reduction strategies but economic empowerment issues and therefore the committee should be restructured as such.

Christian Kpesese/ ghanamps.com