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MP for Prestea Huni-Valley donates items to widows and disabled

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Prestea Huni-Valley of the Western Region, Lawyer Barbara Oteng-Gyasi has donated valuable items to widows and disabled in her constituency.

In a colourful event at her hometown in Huni-Valley, over 320 widows from her constituency were picked for such donation.

The MP had dinner with them and gave each of the widows half piece of cloth from GTP, as well as free health screening, with assistance from nurses from Aboso Clinic.

The widows were mostly from five electoral areas in the Huni-Valley, Aboso, Wassa Nkran, Pieso, Huni-Shaft, Nzemafokrom and its environs.

The MP, who is also Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, later met the Disabled Association in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipal and donated 10 wheel chairs as part of her support to seeing to the welfare of all her constituents.

Earlier on, the MP visited Easter Conventions by churches in her constituencies and delivered her Easter messages to the congregations and her people. The Church of Pentecost and other churches all welcomed the MP warmly.

Two women who received the donation thanked Lawyer Barbara Oteng-Gyasi profusely and prayed for her to succeed in her endeavours as a legislator.

The top personalities who accompanied the MP include Hon. Mozart K. Owuh, the MCE for the area, Chairman Abiam Kutu Danso of the rulling New Patriotic Party, Chairman Anokye, Chairman Kwesi Arthur, Maa Azumi, Big Ofoe, Alhaji Amuda, Samuel Blay, Yaw Owusu who are all Constituency Executives of the NPP in Prestea Huni-Valley Constituency.

GhanaWeb

DCE urged to complete ongoing projects—Upper West Akim MP

Member of Parliament for Upper West Akim, Derek Ohene Bekoe Asifo has urged the District Chief Executive of his constituency, Eugene Sackey to ensure that ongoing projects initiated by the Assembly are completed.

According to the Upper West Akim legislator, projects initiated by the previous Assembly under the previous National Democratic Congress is to ease the pressure of infrastructure deficit in the constituency hence the urgent need to complete all started projects.

He further pointed out that DCEs would come and go but projects in the Assembly will remain and should be completed.

The MP who is a former DCE of the area lamented over some projects he initiated with the District Assembly Common Fund that remains untouched over a year and three months by the current administration.

Mr. Derek Ohene Bekoe Asifo revealed this when he launched a community centre he donated to his constituent at Dante Winnang in his constituency and urged them to take good care of the facility.

And further disclosed that he started a three class room block in Katayensuah in the name of the Assembly before becoming an MP but the project has been abandoned.

He pointed out to the current DCE that using his share of the MP common fund to complete an Assembly project will not be appropriate hence his appeal to him.

The Upper West Akim lawmaker revealed that he had paid GH240,000.00 as school fees for some students in the constituency  and 34 young ladies have also been sponsored into hair dressing and fashion designing with sewing machines and hair dryers acquired and fees paid for young people to learn trade.

He further replaced a dilapidated bridge which was constructed during late Dr. Nkrumah’s era which used to aid personnel and logistical movement whenever it rains.

Queen mother of Fante Winnang, Nana Foriwa Amanfo, called on the MP to consider renovating their roads to ease movement and build a school block for the community to enhance teaching and learning.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Free SHS is to eradicate poverty in Ghana—Minister

Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisa Djaba, has said governments’ flagship programme free Senior High School is the main tool to eradicate poverty in Ghana.

According to the Minister, poverty is not for Ghanaians but rather a disease to Ghanaians which needs to be treated.

“We can do it we need to do one thing at a time, we are going to move away from the hand outs to the add up”.

The Minister noted that as Ghanaians we should dream of owning our own homes, if you wear used cloths, dream of wearing new cloths that is a Ghana we must dream of building.

Free SHS will help us educate our children so that they take their destiny into their own hands to save ourselves from extreme poverty.

She was addressing the three Regional Ministers from the north in Tamale.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Districts to have warehouse within four years —- Deputy Agric Minister

Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Osei Kennedy Nyarko, has assured Members of Parliament that districts that need warehouse will be provided with warehouse before the term of the current President Nana Akuffo-Addo’s four year mandate ends.

According to the Deputy Minister, the Ministry is aware that there are warehouses across the country that needs re-habilitation including the 45 that the Ministry is considering constructing in the wake of the “Planting for foods and Job”.

He further revealed to MPs that rehabilitating work on some warehouses have even started to store food product as the nation expect bumper harvest with the introduction of “planting for food and Job”.

Chairman on the committee on Food Agriculture and cocoa affairs and MP for Nsuta/Kwamang/Beposo, Kwame Asafu-Adjei wanted to know if his district will benefit from the construction of the warehouse. This the Minister noted is the duty of the district where there is food basket and the need arise for storage of food, they should be provided enough warehouse facilities.

“If the need be that we put a warehouse as a Ministry we will do it”.

When the ranking member on the committee on Food, Agriculture and cocoa affairs, Eric Opoku, wanted to know what will happen to the President’s promise of getting each district a warehouse as part of the “Planting for food and Job”, Mr. Osei Kennedy Nyarko noted that at the end of the four year, districts that need warehouse will get it, adding the process of getting each district that producers food in large quantities is ongoing.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

7th Parliament will approve MPs’ code of conduct—Deputy Majority Leader

Deputy Majority Leader and Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of procurement, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has given assurance to MPs that the seventh Parliament will produce a code of conduct for members before the life span of the current Parliament expires.

She further noted that the dignity and integrity of the House and members will be reinforced when work of the code of conduct is completed and submitted to the plenary for approval.

She was responding to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumbungu Ras Mubarak who wanted to know what is delaying the approval and implementation of code of conduct for MPs which was started in 2014 in the sixth Parliament.

The Dome/Kwabenya lawmaker further assured Parliament confidence will be restored in Parliament as an Institution and further added that the document which has been finalized is before the privileges committee and will come back to the plenary for approval.

“This will be a comprehensive document that will stand the test of time, our constituent voted us here to represent them on the floor of the House”.

MP for Adaklu Kwame Agbodza wanted timelines given when the document will become a working document; and the Deputy Majority Leader who answered this question on behalf of the Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu assured the House that within the shortest possible time the code of conduct will be before the House for approval.

She further gave assurance that the MPs will have input into the final document to ensure that they own it, when the MP for North Tongu Samuel Okudzato Ablakwa wanted to know if there will be a window of opportunity for MPs who are not members of the committee looking at the code of conduct make their input.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

“We don’t have enough personnel to fight galamsey”—- Darfour

The Eastern Regional Minister, Erick Kwakye Darfour is lamenting over the country not having enough security personnel to deal with illegal mining in the Region as “Operation Vanguard” had produced only 120 personnel.

According to the Minister, security personnel of 120 is inadequate for the region, as the security personnel are working during the day, the illegal miners (Galamseyers) operates in the night.

He further noted that by the time the security personnel move from one end of the river to where the miners are mining, they abscond.

“That is why I am calling for a concerted effort of everybody, our chiefs in these areas where these minerals are being mine should help the security personnel to help the government curb the menace”.

Mr. Eric Kwakye Darfour emphasised that the President has said illegal mining activities should be halted for the time being, then we will all produce a chart, a cause that we will all use to engage in the mining.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Okoe Vanderpuije presents desks to schools

As a major stakeholder in the delivery of quality education to the people, Member of Parliament for the Ablekuma South constituency in the Greater Accra region, Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije has presented 175 pieces of dual desks to some selected Basic schools within the constituency.

The furniture pieces were presented to four Education Circuit areas including Circuit 07 (OJOO), Circuit 08 (Mamprobi), Circuit 08(Gbegbese), Circuit 11 (Korle Gonno) and for distribution to schools and a private school EP Basic at Mamprobi all within the Ablekuman Metropolis.

Addressing participants at the event which was held at the Nii Kojo Ababio Basic Schools, one of the Millennium City Schools’ Projects built under the watch of the MP during his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), the MP his gesture is aimed at enhancing teaching and learning.

The MP encouraged the teachers to continue to be steadfast and give off their best in impacting positively for the upbringing of the school children.

“Please do your best because the best will always reward you” he encouraged.

Dr Okoe Vanderpuije who said education is his passion assured of his commitment to continually support sound education in the country.

The MP said it is his vision that more millennium city school projects will be built in future charged the students and teachers of the Nii Kojo Ababio Basic Schools to continue to keep the school environment clean to serve as an example to others.

Mrs Kusi of the Ablekuma Education metro noted that the non-availability of seats for school pupils has been one critical challenge affecting education delivery hence the gesture by the MP will go a long way to help improve education in the Ablekuma South area.

The Deputy Director Finance and Administration of the Ablekuma Metro Directorate of Education, Stephen Abanfo who received the desks on behalf of the Metro Director of Education described the MP as a friend of education and has contributed significantly to end the shift system within the Accra Metropolis thanked the MP for his unrelenting support to education.

He appealed to the MP to encourage his fellow MPs and other stakeholders in education to contribute in building the future leaders of the country through education.

GIBA support national sanitation camping

The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) has pledged its support to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to promote its public education agenda and sensitization on the national sanitation campaign.

Ministry of Information, GIBA and the Sanitation and Water Resources Ministry are to meet to develop an integrated communications plans and strategy as well as explore other areas of cooperation for the programme.

This meeting was held at the conference room of the Ministry of Information led by the sector Minister Mustapha Abdul Hamid, President of GIBA, Andrew Danso Aninkora and the Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda.

The meeting agreed to convene again next week Wednesday 4th of April 2018 to discuss further on the modalities for implementation.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Government Assurance to verify “fee SHS and PFJ”—Frimpong

Government Assurance Committee as part of its oversight responsibility will verify to what extent the problem of overcrowding had been solved with the introduction of the free senior high school, Chairman of the committee Yaw Frimpong Addo indicted.

According to the chairman, it is a bit too early to get tangibles just three months into the second year of the President Nana Akuffo-Addo’s administration.

“You need to be very sure of the Ministries you are going to within three months they have started implementing projects within the budget and they have had their budgets for those projects”.

Again planting for food and jobs, he noted that the committee will want to find out the difficulties they have encountered.

They said they are going to employ over 500,000 people last year, this is the beginning of the farming season if we want to embark on our trips now it will be difficult to follow the numbers, he said.

When ghanamps.com “pushed” the chairman to know if the incident of 2017 where the committee did not embark of any verification will not be repeated this year, he noted that the committee has a lot to do this year, “when it start rolling its activities for the year Ghanaians will appreciate us, if we go out now they will tell us we have not received our budgetary allocation, what do you do?”

Also everything we are doing this year will be based on the budget, “one district one warehouse” none has been built yet, budgetary allocation could not go but we have been given assurance that by September this year we will have this done.

In addition Vice President, Dr. Bawumia has said one village one dam will take off it is something we are going to pursue vigorously this year.  We have a lot to look at this year so you “cool down” we  are  not going to fall into that temptation of 2017,  no, you take that assurance from me that  this is a year you are going to see a lot of action , he remarked.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

“We can win the fight against galamsey if we are all involved”—Minister

The Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour, has said the crusade against illegal  mining “galamsey”  to get our water bodies clean in the country can be won only if every Ghanaian gets involve in the crusade.

According to the Minister, the crusade needs the collaborative effort of every Ghanaian and should not be left for the security agencies and government alone.

He further noted that “we can succeed”, but people are burnt on engaging in “galamsey”. It is true people say those engaging in those activities are making it, that is why it is difficult to let them stop, if we all join hands media, civil society, town folks and the chiefs especially, he said in an interview with ghanamps.com.

Our chiefs sometimes fall to some of these, “small small”, influence when you brandish a few thousand of cedis in their faces, the security personnel also need to stand firm because money can be tempting because you have been sent on a mission, he lamented.

They need to be strong and support the President’s crusade against “galamsey”, it is not only the precious minerals, those mining rocks and sand and recently there was a commotion in the Northern Part of Ghana, they were not mining gold they were digging sand.

And they were digging into the “Black Volta” and sand too is a mineral, all these must be regulated.

Mr.  Eric Kwakye Darfour noted that the regulatory agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) should do what is right, as in most of these cases they are found culpable as they aid and facilitate all these illegal miners, “you see my brother it is sad” he emphasized.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com