Member of Parliament for Nsuta-Kwaman Beposo Kwame Asafo-Adjei had called the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye to come to the aid of MPs.

According to the Nsuta-Kwaman Beposo legislator, strangers are taking over the elevators of Members of Parliament, competing with them over the elevator that has bold inscription “MPs Only” which leads to their offices.

He further noted that if there is an elevator which has inscription on it Judges only, he as a lawmaker would not make the attempt of taking and called on the speaker to protect MPs from “these strangers who compete with us”.

And gave a sad example of a Deputy Majority leader of the House who had to struggle with a stranger to the House over an elevator that leads to the MPs offices, and at the end the stranger took the elevator and left the Deputy leader behind.

Majority Leader who was presenting the business statement for next week when the issue was raised on the floor of the House, advice chairman of the committee on Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, to avert his mind to the appropriate quarters to direct his question to, since the issue he was drawing the Houses attention to does not fall within the business statement.

“As much as I share with your plea, respectfully your issue has got nothing to do with the business statement”, he said.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for Hohoe, Dr. Bernice Adiku Heloo is advocating for a system in Parliament where MPs would be able to trace and truck the various questions they ask Ministers.

According to the Hohoe legislator with current technological advancement MPs should be able to trace and truck, questions they had pose that needs answers from Ministers.

She further noted that very often MPs complain and get worried over questions they had pose but takes too much time to be answered; on other occasions their questions get missing.

“We want to have a system where, when a questions are sent and the date it was received and when an action was taken documented”, she lamented.

Majority leader who presented the Business Statement when the issue was raised  referred the MP to order 66(2) “when a question is admitted by Mr. Speaker the Clerk shall at once communicate the text to the Minister or Member to who the question is addressed”.

He further advised that MPs should avail themselves to the standing orders when it comes to the issue of questions they have filled and have not had answers.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Leader of Government Business and Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, had told Members of Parliament per the standing order of the House, the Speaker is clothed with sole authority to admit questions.

He pointed to order 66 (1) to back his point, “Mr. Speaker shall be the sole Judge of the admissibility of a Questions”, he noted.

According to the Majority Leader, MPs should advert their minds to provisions in the standing orders and stop asking same questions each time the business statement is presented as if the business committee is doing something wrong.

He made this remarks when Member of Parliament from Adaklu, Governor Kwame Agbodza wanted to know, if MPs can trace questions they ask and trace the stages they have gotten to and can tell if the Ministers have complied with them.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

As Members of Parliament continue with their crusade to demand for the approval of research assistants to start work, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu had given the clear indications that the bar would not be lowered for any MPs research assistant, “we would go strictly by what the Parliamentary service board had approved”.

According to the Majority Leader, MPs research assistant should posses either a first or second degree and those with first degree should either have second upper or a first class.

Three weeks in running anytime the business statement is presented, MPs have had the course to complain of when they would have their research assistants.

Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu further lamented over a practice in the House where some MPs troop to leadership of the House and plead for person holding Higher National Diploma (HND) to be considered.

“If the person qualifies to be engaged the person would be engaged, MPs who had presented research assistant who qualify would be engaged in July”, he said.

Mr. Speaker I believe this would put to an end the numerous plead that are coming to leadership of the House, he lamented.

Member of Parliament for Adaklu Mr. Kwame Agbodza raised the issue on the floor of the House and pleaded with the Speaker that this issue would be resolved, to help enhance MPs in their duties.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu had jump to the defense of officials of the National Health Insurance Authority  (NHIA) and that of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).

When Member of Parliament for Wa West, Joseph Yieleh Chireh complained on the floor of the House, that officials of NHIA and GETFund who were bill to brief the House did not turn up on Wednesday the 13th of June 2018.

According to the Majority Leader, the officials  of the above state institutions were in the House, to brief the House as it had requested on Wednesday, but looking at the number of MPs on the floor of  the House less than twenty they were directed to come back next week for the briefing.

The Common fund administrator Naa Torshie would in addition appear on the floor of the House with her sector Minister Hajia Alima Mahama to address the House on some issues the Minority are not comfortable with including the issue of government redirecting funds back to the central government,  instead of going to the local level for development.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum had indicated to Parliament plans by the Ghana Library Authority to establish libraries through out the 254 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the Country.

According to the Deputy Minister who had to step in for the sector Minister Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh because proceedings started late, noted that when funds are available Garu-Tempane District would benefit.

This came to light when Member of Parliament for Garu-Tempane, Albert Akuka Alalzuuga wanted to know when his District would have a public library.

According to Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum public libraries are social intervention service which promote the quality of life of the most vulnerable and since the inception of the Ghana Library Authority  in 1950, it has been able to establish only 60 libraries across the country.

He further pointed out that George Padmore Research Library on Africa Affairs performs same functions of the National Library Authority.

Again, the authority is to promote lifelong learning among the populace with the objective of ensuring the development of individual’s social and intellectual capabilities and the creation of a well-informed society for nation development.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for Builsa South Dr. Clement Abas Apaak is worried that two questions he filed that are of urgent nature had not find space in the business statement of the House.

According to the Builsa lawmaker he has an urgent question on sixty four thousand Ghanaian stranded in Libya and Ghana’s Ambassador to the US under pressure to sign for Ghanaians to be deported.

Dr Clement Abas Apaak told Parliament the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has to answer questions on the pressure being brought on the Ambassador to deport Ghanaians.

“We need  to ensure that the pressure on the Ambassador of Ghana to the US is taken off, when the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration comes to the floor to answer my question”, he said.

Majority leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu noted that it is the duty of MPs to track the questions they ask and should track their questions at the table office.

He directed MPs to read order 66 (3) “There shall be a Questions Record Book to be kept by the Clerk which shall be open to inspection by Members and which will record. (a) the Questions asked by Members (b) the Questions admitted by Mr. Speaker and the time of their transmission to the Minister or Members concern,(c) the answers given to the Questions and (d) Questions which have received no answers”, he said.

Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu advised MPs to avert their minds to the standing order  and stop asking frequent questions as to where their questions are and also talking about their missing questions.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Minister of Special Development Initiative Hawa Koomson has told Parliament cabinet had approved provisional arrangement and guidelines to enable the Ministry kick-start implementation of the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP).

According to the Minister, the Ministry in 2017 carried out key preparatory activities including identifying IPEP projects throughout all the 275 constituencies.

She further noted that with the need assessment report, the Ministry embarked on procurement processes to facilitate the implementation of the project.

Government priority projects like one village one dam, water and sanitation for all and agriculture infrastructure have been identified and are currently being implemented, she said.

“Mr. Speaker, the 2017 budget noted to ensure implementation of IPEP, government would set up Development Authorities namely, Northern Development, Costal and Middle Belt Development Authority which would be the main agencies to drive the implementation of IPEP and unilisation of resources allocated to the constituencies.”

This came to light when MP for Mion Mohammed Abdul-Aziz wanted to know when government would release the one million dollars as captured in the 2017 budget statement.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Deputy Minister of Finance, Kwaku Kwarteng has told Parliament that between January to November of 2017, one hundred and seventy –four restricted sole sourcing tendering had been approved.

According to the Deputy Finance Minister, there were three hundred and seventy-two (372) applications and the approved figure represented 46.77 percent of the application received.

He further pointed out that compare to the five hundred and ninety-two (592) application received in 2016 of which five hundred and eighty-seven (587) representing 99.15 percent were approved.

In respect of sole sourcing, a total of four hundred and twenty (420) applications were received in 2017 of which two hundred and thirty-six (236) were approved representing 56.19 percent, he said.

Again this is significant, improvement on 2016 sole sourcing applications of six hundred and twenty-two (622) of which five hundred and ninety-seven (597) representing 95.80 percent were approved.

Mr. Speaker, given that the desired default procurement method is competitive tendering, “the improvement in the choice of procurement method away from sole sourcing under this government is good for the public purse”, he pointed out.

Deputy Finance Minister Kwaku Kwarteng made these remarks on the floor of the House when, Member of Parliament for Bole/Bamboi wanted to know how many restrictive sole sourcing government contracted last year.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com