Month: August 2018

Second Deputy Speaker, Alban Sumana Bagbin has replied critics that he is on a mission to destroy the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in his recent comments.

National Organizer of the NDC Kofi Adams has earlier on said with Bagbin, it is becoming clear that he has agenda to destroy the party and not lead it.

At his press conference to respond to backlash that emerged after his tour of the Volta Region in his bid to lead his party in 2020, he said, “I would never lie myself into office as a President of Ghana”.

He further added that he would be committed to the cause of Ghana and do what he is doing even if he is not elected as flagbearer he would give hundred percent of his support to whoever is elected as the flagbearer.

“Those who are saying I am on a mission to destroy the NDC party  would very soon start revising their note by the time I end my tour of this country, whole game would change I am more than confident that I am winning the battle”, he said.

Mr. Alban Bagbin in addition said the more his opponents want to misconstrue things he say, the more they would continue to market me every day and the more they get in touch with me, they would know the vision I have for this country.

I made a lot of impact in the Volta tour and explains this backlash, I told the people of the Volta Region, we can change the fortune of this country from other areas other than Cocoa and Gold we should not look far, we have the solutions within, he said.

“I shared so many things with them, it is only unfortunate that only this was picked up out of the numerous proposals I made”, he lamented.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Second Deputy Speaker and longest serving Member of Parliament from Nadowli/Kaleo, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, had said he does not have any personal scores to settle with former President John Dramani Mahama.

According to the Second Deputy Speaker, he learnt a lot from the exhortation people gave him when he was on his tour to the Volta Region and pointed out that hatred, bad motives and ill will are not healthy, also dangerous to individual health.

I also remember repeating this message at the various places I visited in the Volta Region, “we should not harbor hatred for any person, myself I would not do that”, he lamented.

He made this remarks when Journalist who attended his press conference on Tuesday, ask him if he has personal scores to settle with the former President John Dramani Mahama.

“Ask my colleagues in Parliament, they critics me some are reluctant to come to me I walk to them and say look I do not have any problem with you”, he said.

“I have made a decision to contest the flagbearership of our party, I do not expect to have one hundred percent support, the constitution is very clear on this, I just need fifty plus one”, he pointed out.

“It is only when you are in power as an incumbent President that, you need to clear minds off all the doubting Thomas, I have been in this game since 1992. When I was the Minority Leader we went through though times but we moved on and worn power, what is happening now is chicken feet”

The Second Deputy Speaker revealed that he had listened to wise counsel from the party elders and he had had many people applaud his effort, “I am not a new face in politics people know what I stand for”, he said in his response.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Samuel George Nartey has said the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the Assembly in his constituency is the best person to answer questions on how five percent of the common fund is spent on Persons with Disability (PWD).

According to the Ningo-Prampram legislator he receives only four point five percent of the total amount of common fund meant for the Assembly, the remaining funds are managed by the Assembly with five percent going to PWDs.

“I have no say in how the PWD funds are managed, I am an ex-officio member of the Assembly, but when people need school fees, they have to pay for health or street light they come to the MP”, he pointed out.

He made this remarks when journalist who toured his constituency wanted to know how come he is supporting a PWD with one thousand Ghana cedis (GHc 1,000) to buy recharged air time so that he can stop begging.

Mr. Samuel George Nartey revealed that most of his MPs common fund is geared towards supporting his constituents with their education, but his budget officer in the District had indicated to him that politically it is dangerous, because after four years people would want to see monumental structures and development that has his name on it.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Ningo-Prampram Member of Parliament, Samuel George Nartey has refurbished the maternity ward of the Prampram Polyclinic which would provide maternity and pediatric care.

According to the Ningo-Prampram legislator, the project was started by his predecessor E. T. Mensah which was at twenty percent complete, he came to finish it up at its current stage ninety-eight percent complete.

He further added that he had to use his MPs National Health Insurance funds 2017 to complete the project which has provided a space for regular delivery and a theater that has been equipped for cesarean section should the need arise, “women can be operated upon”, he said.

In an interview, he indicated how happy he was with the provision of the maternity ward, which would save expecting mothers in labour from travelling all the way to Bator Catholic Hospital and the Tema General Hospital.

He indicated that whiles traveling to the two places in the process some women lose their lives on the way and promised that next year Old Ningo would also benefit from a maternity ward, whiles the cheap compound would also be provided with maternity wards.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for Assin South John Ntim Fordjour has taken a swipe at critics of government’s intention of building a National Cathedral describing their arguments as misguided and infantile.

According to the Assin South lawmaker, it is extremely infantile and misguided for any individual or group to think that an improved and cohesive relation between Government and religious leaders are deemed interference in religious matters.

The MP, who is also a Reverend Minister of the Victory Bible Church International at East Legon in Accra, said this in an article in response to the massive outcry over the controversial National Cathedral project.

He further added that even if resources of the State were to be committed into the building of the National Cathedral for Ghana that would be the most vital Government spending in the history of the Nation of Ghana.

“Why are people not rather concerned about the retrieval and retention of the estimated three billion dollars ($3 billion) lost through corruption every year?”

And questioned why when government focus attention on the development of Islam-dominated communities that was not deemed “religious interference” and “misplace priority”.

Mr. John Ntim Fordjour, pointed out in his statement that the most disheartening and disappointing observation is Christians who had joined in the ill-informed criticisms, being heaped on the long-overdue monumental vision.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for Wa West, Joseph Yieleh Chireh has lamented over successive government’s inability to commit resources towards fighting of corruption in Ghana.

According to the Wa West legislator it has always been a problem of governments committing resources to and question how one can be motivated to fight corruption.

He made this remarks in an interview, when ghanamps.com wanted his view on the creation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor and if its creation and subsequent appointment and Parliamentary approval of Martin Amidu has brought any benefit to the nation.

When you are elected as President within hundred days Ghanaians want to see what you have done, but in this one it is an Institution that have to follow law, it was established by law and therefore if you want quick results it could be disastrous, he lamented.

He urged government to show more commitment by giving the needed resources to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The former Local Government and Rural Development Minister, was however not happy that with the current economic situation the country finds itself, government does not rather find the need to empower institutions that had already been created to fight corruption.

“Those of you in the media when the Bill for OSP was being pass in law we raise very critical issue, that we have Institutions that had already been established to fight corruption, at to the institution we should create we advice that it should be Public Service. So many activities are to take place that requires time and money, so if up to this point nothing is going on it what we identify early”, he lamented.
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By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Second Deputy Speaker and 2020 flagbearer hopeful of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin has apologised for lack of caution, in his comments against persons with disability who served in the former government that had not gone down well with some people.

At a press conference in Accra, Mr Bagbin apologized to Ghanaians, Ghana Federation of the Disabled and Civil Society Organization and the NDC who by one way or the other felt offended by the alleged comments.

“I render my heartfelt apology to you all I want  to take full responsibility for the indiscretion in going public with issues that should otherwise be private to the NDC”, he said.

He however felt short of accepting his comments was an attack on persons with disabilities as portrayed on social and mainstream media.

During his tour of the Volta Region, Mr. Bagbin was alleged to have made the following comments: “Traditionally, if you are not a whole person can you be a chief? Can you be a queen mother? So if you are going to appoint the minister of chieftaincy and you appoint a very bright lawyer who unfortunately is blind what are you telling the chiefs? The chiefs rejected it, and they spoke, we refused to change him. Do you expect them to vote for you?

“When Prof [Atta Mills] was in power, Haruna Iddrisu was our linguist in charge of communication, when my brother John Mahama came to power, he substituted him for Dr Omane Boamah who is a natural stammerer,”

“He is a very intelligent boy, he is smart but when he is speaking, he wastes time in coming out and Ghanaians do not have that much patience, so, they are always looking for those that are rattling.”

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, James Klutse Avedzi has blamed the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta of what he called ‘’deceiving’’ Parliament on the actual debt status of the country as at December 2016.

The Minister in the 2017 budget statement told Parliament that the country’s debt as at December 2016 stood at GH¢122 billion, but the Controller and Accountant General (CAG) in its 2016 report on the consolidated fund reported that the debt stood at GH¢120 billion.

Mr Avedzi who pointed this out when the Deputy Minister, Abena Osei Asare representing the Ministry appeared before the Public Accounts Committee said Mr Ofori Atta deliberately deceiving Parliament whiles pointing out the discrepancies in the figures.

“Our domestic debt was GH¢52.179 billion and external was GH¢68.149 billion. The two put together will give you GH¢120.3 billion,” he stated.

“The accounts of the Controller and Accountant General confirmed GH¢120 billion and the auditor also verified and confirmed that figure. My question is, why did your minister say GH¢122billion when the actual debt was GH¢120 billion?” he questioned.

By Christian Kpesese/ ghanamps.com

A Deputy Minister for Finance, Abena Osei Asare has blamed the discrepancy in the exchange rate of the Ghanaian currency the cedi against the US dollar as the reason the sector Minister Ken Ofori Atta reported to Parliament that Ghana’s total debt as at December, 2016 stood at GH¢122 billion instead of GH¢120 billion as captured by the 2016 Auditor General’s report.

Responding to the concern raised by Chairman of the Committee to the effect that the Minister deceived parliament with the figures, the Deputy Minister explained that the ministry used the exchange rate as that time to arrive at the figure given by the Minister when he presented the 2017 budget statement to Parliament.

Ms Abena Osei Asare who is also the Member of Parliament for Atiwa East said these when she appeared before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament to respond to queries raised against agencies under the Finance Ministry by the2016 Auditor General’s report.

“Yes, our minister confirmed GH¢122 billion, but you know that a lot of these debts are foreign-based or denominated and so these exchange rates differ. My minister reported this in March 2017 based on the current exchange rate at that time,” she stated.

“Anytime you are quoting your current liabilities, you need to quote it at the current rate. Certainly, Ghana took some loans way back in 1999. We cannot use the exchange rate of 1999 when we are talking about that loan and making some repayment. So, certainly, he will use the current exchange rate, “she added.

By Christian Kpesese/ ghanamps.com