• +233 20 230 9497

Month: May 2018

NCA to investigate communication interference from Burkina Faso

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

The National Communications Authority is to conduct an investigation into complain of communication interference from Burkina Faso, talk about by people of Lambussie by August ending this year.

Deputy Minister of Communications George Andah disclosed this on the floor of Parliament, when Member of Parliament for Lambussie Edward Kaale-Ewola Dery wanted to know steps taken to curb the network interference from Burkina Faso.

He further assured the House that it would be updated when the investigation into the communications interference from Burkina Faso is completed.

Mr. Andah pointed out that should there be confirmation of a breach, Ghana would hold a meeting between regulators and operators involved in September 2018 to ensure that relief is brought to the people of Lambussie District by November 2018.

Mr. Speaker Lambussie District is 16 kilometers from the Ghana-Burkina Faso border, if the interference is caused by signals from Burkina Faso at Lambussie, there may be a potential breach of the Border Coordination Agreement, he said.

He further revealed that in 2012 at Accra both countries had an agreement that signal from each country can extend to the other country within a penetration distance of 10 kilometers, whiles the strength of signal from an operator in a country should not exceed -85 decibel-milliwatts (dBm) penetration distance in the other Country.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Eight Ministers to take 17 questions next week

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

Eight (8) Ministers of State are expected to answer 17 questions from Members of Parliament next week.
This was disclosed after the business statement was presented on the floor of the House.

Members of Parliament from the Minority side of the House had expressed worry  over most of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s  Ministers either not being in the jurisdiction to answer their questions and sending their Deputies, or not a single soul from the Ministry being on the floor.

And expressed the hope that the ensuing week Ministers would make themselves available on the floor of the House to enable MPs play their oversight roles.

Ministers of Transport, Finance, Special Development Initiative, Gender, Children and Social Protection would take one question each going for their respective Ministries.

The Interior Minister would take two(2) questions, whiles the Health Minister is expected to take five(5) questions and the Roads and Highways Minister would also answer five(5) questions, whiles the Minister responsible for National Identification Authority(NIA) would take a question.

In accordance to order 70(2), Ministers of state may be permitted to make statements on the floor of the House, while Bills, papers and reports are supposed to be laid on the floor of the House.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

$89m Kelni GVG deal: Ursula summoned by Parliament

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs
Minister for Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful had been summoned by Parliament over the ranging controversial eighty-nine million dollars ($89m)Kelni GVG contract to block revue leakages in the telecommunication sector.   .

The second deputy speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin issued the directive upon requests from some MPs for details of the contract.

MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the Kelni GVG contract is an issue that has engaged the attention of the whole country and the minister needs to clarify the issue.

Mr. Ablakwa added that Parliament’s silence on the issue makes the House appears not to be proactive.

“Another agenda to this meeting which is the matter which has engaged the attention of the whole country, the  Kelni GVG matter. I’m wondering if the Minister for Communications cannot  be programmed  to appear before us in the ensuing week because out there the national debate is that it will appear as though Parliament is not being proactive. Civil society organizations are asking why Parliament  has been  silent on this matter and it’s raging on and on. And this morning apart from the Anas expose’ is the biggest matter which is being discussed and this is not a matter that can be resolved in the media, Parliament must carry out its oversight responsibility”, he said.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Three communities in Buem to be connected to communications

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

Three communities in the Buem Constituency in the Volta Region would be connected to communications network by the end of October 2018.

According to the Deputy Minister of Communications, George Andah people of Atakrom, Nsuta and Guaman would have access to network under the rural connectivity project to help in their communications.

Mr. Speaker the necessary equipment has been ordered and would be shipped by the end of June 2018, he said on the floor of the House.

He again pointed out that it is the desire of government to ensure that there is availability of telecommunications service to every part of the country, as efforts are being made to enable service providers expand their networks to cover all towns in the country.

Atakrom, Nsuta and Guaman in the Jasikan District of the Volta Region, Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN) has two sites in Kadjebi and Jasikan which serve the district capital.

And as part of the 2018 Rural Telephony project, MTN plans three new site to be built by the end of November this year to improve coverage in the three towns, whiles Vodafone has a limited 2Gh that allows some form of communications sometimes, he pointed out.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Akufo-Addo and his Ministers should lead crusade on punctuality–Adaklu MP

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

Member of Parliament for Adaklu, Governor Kwame Agbodza has called on President Nana Akufo-Addo and his Ministers to lead crusade on punctuality in the public sector.

According to the Adaklu legislator, if Ghana is to remain productive there is the need for the political leaders to lead this crusade to cause attitudinal change in Ghanaians.

Mr. Governor Kwame Agbodza who is known in Parliament for leading the crusade on punctuality, noted in an interview that Ghanaians and Africans adhere to time when they are in advance countries.

He lamented that same cannot be said of Ghanaians when they are in their own motherland and gave examples of Ministers absenting themselves from Parliament and civil servants, being late to work.

Again our political leaders are not helping the situation by showing the way, Ministers and political leaders get to functions late, what example would they be given to Ghanaians to change their attitude towards time?

And called for biometric clocking device to be install in the Ministries to help  change the attitude of reporting to work on time by civil servants and public sector workers.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

President Akufo-Addo has to deal with corruption tag—Former Sports Minister

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

Former Minister of Sports and Member of Parliament for Wa Central, Dr. Abdul Rashid-Hassan Pelpuo has said President Nana Akufo-Addo has do deal with corruption tag against his office if he is serious about fighting corruption.

According to the Wa Central legislator, there has been three allegations against the office of the President that you need to pay, “huge sums of dollars before seeing President Nana Akufo-Addo”.

He further added that a senior member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government alleged that if you want to see the President you have to pay money to his Deputy Chief of Staff, then that of Kwasi Nyatakyi.

“If this is a misconception we need to know, but the corruption allegation perception a third is consistent”, he said.

Dr. Rashid Pelpuo said in an interview that he was shocked when heard in the news that, the Ghana Football Association President Kwasi Nyatakyi had been caught in an alleged five million dollars scandal and the matter is under investigation.

As to whether the President’s crusade against corruption is making a head way, he noted that it looks like people are complaining, about procurement process being truncated and people using the name and office  of the President consistently for alleged corrupt activities.

“We all need to be on board on the fight against corruption, but the President would have to define corruption properly”, he said.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

RTI Bill 2018 to be laid on the floor of Parliament next week

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs
Ranking member on the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee and Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, had said the report on the Right to Information Bill 2018 would be laid on the floor of the House next week.

According to the Tamale Central legislator the joint committee on Communications, Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee would present its work on Wednesday 30th May, 2018.

He further revealed that finishing work is being put to the committee’s work after it had collated views from civil society organisations.

The joint committee handling the RTI Bill 2018 was at Koforidua to put fining touches to its work that had gone through the first reading and would be presented to the plenary on Wednesday 30th May, 2018.

In an interview with the ranking member on the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, he noted that the Committee would not be going for further consultations.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Speaker and I have a good working relations —Haruna

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

Minority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu has said he has good working relations with the Speaker of Parliament despite their differences.

According to the Tamale South legislator, he would jealously guard his “say” as the Minority leader and not compromise on that.

He further noted that he shared a joke with the Speaker that, if he were a goalkeeper he would had scored him a lot of goals, because most of the time when he is on his feet and not recognized, Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye misconstrued reasons for him being up.

Again most of the time when I am in agreement with the Majority Leader Osei Kyei, the Speaker does not have difficulties with me, he said.

Speakers are supposed to be impartial but I cannot say so for those who have served under the fourth Republican constitutions, I look at proceedings way back when former senior Minister J. H. Mensah were given ample time to debate, but today Haruna is given only ten to fifteen minutes to debate, he said.

He was however quick to point out that leadership of both the Minority and the Majority are supposed to help Mr. Speaker steer affairs on the floor of  the House.

Minority Leader made this remarks when leadership of the House had a media encounter with journalists who reports from parliament.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Rule of law should rule at all times but not rule of men—Minority

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs
Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu has called for the rule of law to prevail in Ghana as a democratic state, in the wake of the burning of trucks supposed to be engaged in illegal sand winning.

According to the Tamale South legislator, he would not want to go into details on the issue since its before court.

Member of Parliament to Kumbungu Ras Mubarak drew the Houses attention to the illegal burning of trucks and excavators in his constituency in the last meeting, most Minority MPs from the North were unhappy with the way and manner the security went about it.

Minister of Interior and Defense had to come to the House and defend the action of the security forces and pointed out how activities of sand winners with Kumbungu constituency was going to lead to the people in the Northern Region not having portable drinking water.

At a media encounter in Parliament House, when Journalists questioned as to the state of affairs on the issue, the Minority Leader said some legal action is on going, but at all times the rule of law should prevail but not the rule of men.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Late start of proceedings would change —Tamale South MP

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs

Late start of proceedings in the House would be checked in this second meeting of the second session, Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader revealed at a media encounter with members of the Parliamentary Press corps.

According to the Minority Leader, the Speaker and Leadership of the House are most of the time on time, but had to deal with some unforeseen issues hence the delay sometimes.

Again on the day the interior and defense Ministers appear to brief the House, they were there with the service commanders and they wanted audience with the Speaker, he had to grant them audience before sitting started, he said.

Mr. Haruna Iddrisu further pointed out that  most of the time MPs are in their office, watching through the monitors waiting to see the Speaker start proceedings before trooping in, leadership had cautioned against that.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com