Member of Parliament for Klottey Korle, Dr Zanetor Agyeman Rawlings has thrown a challenge to the Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta-Akyeah to show her were machines are desilting gutters in Odawna around Adabraka.

According to the Klottey Korle legislator who was speaking in an interview, her constituency is the west affected any time there is flooding in the capital and was not happy with the answers given by the Works and Housing Minister that there is desilting ongoing.

Her reaction follows responds by the Works and Housing Minister on the floor of Parliament when the MP for Adaklu Governs Agbodza sought to know plans to reduce the negative impact of flooding in Accra on the floor of the House.

She said, she was hoping that during the dry season desilting of the gutters would be done to prevent problems of flooding in the capital, “we are hoping to see the machines around” now that the rains are setting in.

“The Minister is talking about covered drains when you get to Odawna, some of the drains are covered whiles others are not, they are filed with filth downstream areas like Adabraka and Osu. You get huge amount of solid waste, the rains have not started, just some few weeks back the rains that set in you saw the havoc they cause around the Odawna”, she lamented.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Afram Plains North constituency in the Eastern Region, Madam Betty Krosbi Mensah, has appealed to the government to continue work on the proposed University of Environment and sustainable development started in the area by the erstwhile NDC administration.

She made the appeal when addressing a cross-section of students and security personnel at this year’s 61st independent day Celebration marked across the country.

Delivery her keynote addressing at the colourful event held at Donkorkrom, the MP, urged the NPP-government to redirect its attention this all-important university which was one of President Mahama’s promises in 2012 electioneering period.

The university, which was set to have two campuses, with the main campus at Somanya and the other at Donkorkrom seems to have hit the rock following a change in government after the 2016 general elections.

The MP also bemoaned the current state of development in the area, adding that, the district has nothing to show for in terms of projects, even as it joins other parts of the country to celebrate 61 years of independence.

“As Ghana attains her 61 years of independence and for that matter Afram Plains, I would want to liken Afram Plains North to an aging single parent near her retirement but still has the burden of feeding her children because she failed to empower them with education, good health, employable skills nor social amenities”.

“We depend on other districts for education, health care, jobs and even personnel etc. After 61 years of trying different governments, we have come a long way but there’s still so much to be done”.

“Our roads are still in deplorable state, modern market centers, schools, potable drinking water, electricity and internet connection, skills development and training institutions are just our dreams”.

She thus called on the government facilitate developmental projects in the area to improve standards of living.

By: Alice Abubakari/Ghanadistricts.com

The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu has hinted of his intention to restrict access to the use of Tramadol, a known painkiller, to check the rising cases of abuse of the drug unless it is prescribed.

According to the Minister the drug has flooded the Ghanaian market in alarming quantities and has serious addictive tendencies.

He further added that in collaboration with the Pharmacy Council, the drug is being restricted not to be display on shelves of community pharmacies by putting them under lock and key and in addition ensure strict enforcement on distribution as controlled drugs.

Some of the commonly reported side effects of tramadol include, agitation, anxiety, constipation, diarrhea, hallucination, nausea, tremor, vomiting, and diaphoresis and insomnia.

Responding to questions on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, the Minister said the government will also “organise swoops on illicit tramadol products on the market.”

He also said there will be “intensified public education on “Frequently Asked Questions” on social media platforms, ongoing public education on tramadol use at public areas such as transport terminals, schools, marketplaces, beaches among others.”

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Leader of Government Business and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs , Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, said it is wrong for the Minority Whip to think he was the only one who was treated, “unfairly” by the Speaker professor Mike Aaron Oquaye.

According to the Leader of Government Business, he was equally treated unfairly, that is why I stated for the record you were up there you saw me get up on three occasions. “The Speaker did not call me, he is not the only person who was not seen by the Speaker”.

He made this remarks in an interview with Journalists just after the House adopted the report of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee after a voice vote.

As to whether in the case of the adoption of the report of the subsidiary legislation committee if a voice vote was needed, Majority leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said, “yes voice vote was what was required”.

“Except anybody could challenge it, by this you saw that the total number of MPs in the House was not 275 in my own opinion just about half of the membership. He wanted a head count for what”?

Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu advice Journalists to abreast themselves of the constitution as LI approver requires 2/3rd of MPs.

“So if you have 1 half in the chamber and assuming all of us voted against the report, what is the purpose, you have not annul it this is basic people have to avert their minds to the constitution and the laws that we operate”.

That is the point that I got up  but did not catch the eye of the Speaker, “ I was going to say that even the countenance of the chief whip that should call for the head count and let us count we would never be able to get the 2/3rd to annul the report”.

Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu further said, “ no no, be truthful to yourself did we have 2/3rd in the chamber, so what was he going to do, it was going to be an exercise in futility”.

Two representatives of the Law School students who were around granting interview on top of their voice signaling their disapproval of the decision of the House, started responding to the interview that the Majority Leader was granting.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs who could not take the persistent interruption and noise from the two students said, “please please we are in Parliament we deal with mature argument not infantile gimmick thank you”, then the interview ended abruptly.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Jomoro, Mr Paul Essien has organized free eye surgery for 72 residents in his constituency.

This follows a free eye screening exercise for the residents somewhere in December last year during which some were identified to have serious eye problems.

The exercise was sponsored by Mr Essien at a cost of GH¢137,000 and undertaken by Friends Eye Center,a Tamale-based hospital in conjunction with Unite For Sight, a Non-Governmental Organization(NGO) based in Connecticut in the United States of America with ancillary staff from the Global Impact Fellow in the USA.

Mr Essien said the health care needs of the people were on top of his agenda and that he would continue to seek their interest to keep them physically fit.

As part of his commitment towards affordable health care delivery, work would be completed on three health centers at Tikobo No.1, Elubo and Samenye by the end of the year.

The MP assured the people that the exercise would not be a nine day wonder, adding that another eye screening and surgical exercises would be organized by the end of December 2018, to support persons who want to access eye care in the area.

The Medical Director of the Friends Eye Center and an Opthalmologist, Dr Seth Wanye identified cataract and pterygium as major conditions which usually affected the eye and degenerates into glaucoma.

He told the media that the eye lenses of some of the patients had to be removed and replaced with another layer of the eye and provided them with eye drops to avoid complications leading to blindness.

Dr Wanye said that severe visual impairment was a major cause of the high eye diseases in the country leading to  cataract blindness according to the World Health Organization (WHO) projected figure  of 75%.

He said a number of opthamologists were in the Southern sector of Ghana but most patients were not aware and appealed to the Secretariat at the Ghana Health Services to develop a database to direct patients where to access eye care services.

He lauded the MP for the sponsorship since a patient would have paid US$80 for an eye test and US$600 for an eye surgery at the hospital.

A Volunteer from the Global Impact Fellow in the USA, Margee Lenze assured eye patients that blindness was preventable if only they sought medical attention very early.

GNA

The Member of Parliament for Damongo Constituency, Adam Mutawakilu has led a campaign to support female education in his Constituency.

The MP during the occasion of the Independence Day Celebration in the West Gonja District of Northern Ghana, donated a cheque of GHC5,000 to aid the operations of CAMFED in the District.

In donating the cheque, the legislator launched a passionate appeal to all stakeholders to support CAMFED in a bid to help sustain its operations in the District.

This he said will go a long way to promote the education of the girl child in the District.

The MP made the donation in response to a request from the District Coordinator of CAMFED, Madam Hawa Kifantang.

He guaranteed that he was going to maintain this support throughout the year.

The District Coordinator of the programme received the cheque amidst loud cheers from the gathering. She expressed complete joy for the kind gesture by the MP.

Prior to this donation, the MP had sponsored Royals Club with GHC3,000 to organize a Spelling Bee and advanced GHC7,000 to the Ghana Education service to strengthen monitoring and evaluation. He made a payment of GHC20,000 for student support and donated nine sets of Jerseys to Damongo S.H.S and another six sets to Ndewura Jakpa S.H.T.S.

Background

Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED), Ghana was launched in the year 1998 in the three Regions of Northern Ghana. It operates in 31 Districts. CAMFED Ghana builds a network around the poor and needy but brilliant girl child with the aim of getting the best of education for them.

The West Gonja District has been part of the 31 beneficiaries of this girl child educational support. The package however is almost ended and it’s expected that stakeholders within the District will contribute to its sustenance.

Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh of the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) has said 275 Member Parliament is too hung a number for Ghana’s economy, considering expenses needed to make MPs effective and the state of the economy.

According to Professor Prempeh to boost performance of it should not be needlessly expensive, despite the saying that democracy is “expensive”.

He made this remarks when he represented Coalition of Civil Societies in Ghana, at panel a discussion on the topic “Parliament in Retrospective” at a symposium to mark the 25 years of parliamentary democracy.

Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh said he has had a lot of engagement with Parliamentary Committees and does not understand the “logic” of the committee moving out of Accra a lot of times for events .

“That is a cost that we can cut down, we have to rethink how to allocate resources”.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Dr. James Klutse Avedzi, has said the committee would end its public sittings hearings of the various Assemblies and senior high schools in the various regions by April ending.

According to the chairman, when the committee ends its public sittings in the various regions by April ending, it would come back to Accra to take on Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government.

The Committee has been to the three regions in the north, Brong Ahafo and Ashanti Regions, and is yet to start with the Western, Central, Eastern Volta and the Greater Accra Regions.

In an interview with the Chairman of the Committee, Dr. James Klutse Avedzi he noted that the Committee would embark on its next batch of tour to the various Assemblies in the Southern part of the country next week.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Minister of Defence Dominic Nitiwul has rubbished calls by the Minority Northern caucus for his resignation over the burning of tipper trucks and excavators used in wining sand close to the Dalun River in the Northern Region.

According to the Defence Minister, the exercise was undertaken by the Operation Vanguard buck up team to ensure that the water bodies across the country are clean by any means possible.

Mr Nitiwul who was speaking in an interview noted that those calling for his resignation are jumping into politicization of the issues.

Many communities depend on the Dalun River for water but activities of sand winners have always threatened the safety of the river.

Last month, the National Security issued an ultimatum to all sand winners to stop their illegal activity and evacuate the area but the threat appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

Over the weekend, the Operation Vanguard team set ablaze all the equipment used for sand winning in the area, sparking the anger of not just the owners but the Minority MPs.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com