Month: August 2018

He stated that there are records of arrests and convictions of persons related to government as compared to past experiences.

“…We have shown, we have shown, we have had convictions of persons that people think are related to the government, and you can show me any convictions in the past, we have convictions and we making it clearly that no one can do anything against the law and go away with it and we continue to do that’’ he stated.

His comments follow a growing spate of impunity by party foot soldiers evident in the recent ransacking of the office of the Chief Executive Officer of the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

The Minister assured that government through the security agencies especially the police will remain consistent in the prosecution of people who take the law into their own hands and that no one will be allowed to interfere in the justice delivery process.

By Christian Kpesese/ ghanamps.com

According to the 2016 Auditor General’s report year ending December 31st 2016, thirty-seven (37) out of the sixty-four (64) farmers whose poultry farm products were destroyed between May and October 2015 had not been paid.

Twenty-seven (27) farmers whose poultry products were destroy were compensated, he further told the committee.

Mr. George Oduro made this known at the on-going public hearing of the Public Account Committee of Parliament, adding that the amount involved for the compensation was, one million four hundred and forty-eight thousand, one hundred and fifty-seven, two pesewa Ghana cedis  (GHc 1, 448,157.02)

He further told the committee that out of the eleven million Ghana cedis compensation approved by Parliament to deal with the outbreak, when his Ministry wrote to the Finance Ministry, it only released seven million Ghana cedis (GHc7 million) cedis to be paid to the farmers, leaving four million Ghana cedis (GHc 4 million).

Dr. Clement Apaak a member of the PAC questioned the Deputy Minister whether compensating the remaining thirty-seven farmers would not affect the industry? This, he responded that compensation is one of the measures to contain the situation and there are other measures that had to be put in place.

The Deputy Minister further added that there is the need to have outbreak detection surveillance, sensitization of the public, laboratory capacity building, border harmonization meetings with neighboring countries, for total containment of outbreaks.

“We could not have active surveillance which is very important in containing outbreak of poultry diseases because of inadequate funds”, he said.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

According to the Deputy Minister the incident is unfortunate but has nothing to do with “we are Ghanaian traders and you are foreigners or whether a foreigner is not suppose to trade here or there”.

“Rather landlords witnessing a clash between Ghanaian and foreign traders had gone to close shops they have rented to foreigners, wanting to see as to how the clash would be resolved before giving their rented shops out again”.

He urged the Ghanaian traders who were affected in the clash to remain calm as government had taken up the matter and giving it a serious attention for sanity to prevail.

In an interview, he also advised the Nigerian traders and other foreign traders in Ghana to follow rules and laws that bind their business in the country.

Mr. Ahenkorah hinted that the committee is made up of high power personalities which include the President of Ghana, Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Senior Minister and the Minister for National Security.

And added that the committee would come out with a decision that would help address the misunderstanding between Ghanaian traders and their foreign counterparts.

“As people in the  Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) we do not have intentions of driving out Foreign Nationals, all we are saying is they should abide by our laws to maintain peace in the Country”, he lamented.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

According to the Ningo-Prampram legislator whiles in opposition then candidate Akufo-Addo was shouting on roof top that former President John Mahama was corrupt and could not retrieve, fifty-one million Ghana cedis from Alfred Woyome.

He further said in an interview that it led to the defeat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), in the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, “now Woyome is walking around freely, they thought the process of retrieving money was easy”, he lamented.

“Choir master” then candidate Akufo-Addo was singing, Woyome Woyome!!” almost two years  into his administration as President, has he been able to retrieve a pesewa from Alfred Woyome?, he questioned.

“You see when we politics everything in this country, this country would not move forward, I hope the President would learn from this. So that when they are speaking to issues they would do their research well and not take issue just on the surface”.

He further questioned, why wouldn’t President Nana Akufo-Addo arrest Alfred Woyome, “Ghanaians were hoping that when he becomes President they would get their money back, so far four million Ghana cedis (GH4m) has been paid to the state, it was under former President John Mahama.

“Now his own friend a pastor  has gone for six hundred and ten million Ghana cedis(GHc 610m), at the Capital Bank, so now the President is also corrupt?”

When questioned as to who he was referring to as Pastor who had gone for GHC610 million, he did not provide any name, but was quick to point out that, “the person who said he sees milk and honey flowing in this country, it was by then flowing in his pocket”, he said.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

According to the Minority Leader a Committee of Parliament is not cloth with a prosecutorial power.

He made this remark at a media encounter with leadership of Parliament to assess what the House had been able to achieve at the end of the second meeting of the session of the seventh Parliament of the fourth Republic.

Members of the Parliamentary Press Corps wanted to know how the PAC is dealing with recommendations it makes to the plenary of its public which keeps occurring, year after year when the Auditor General’s report is being worked on.

Mr. Haruna Iddrisu noted that Parliament is a partner when it comes to fighting corruption which state institutions can depend on.

We have the obligation to work with the OSP and work with the Auditor General to correct the wrongs; very soon we would look at the report of 2017 and we should be good to go.

On the issue of Ghana’s former ambassador to the United Kingdom Victor Smith calling for prosecution of corrupt MPs, “if he has any evidence let him submit same to the Special Prosecutor to look into any matter affecting any legislator, I am not sure the Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu would go on a speculative mission”, he said.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

According to the Second Deputy Speaker, he had come to this decision after wider consultation with the Party elders, executives and rank and file of the party.

He added that his campaign would be devoid of insults, personality attacks and his team would conduct a decorous, civil and mature campaign.

“We would share information with members of the party to enable them take the right decision to restore the lost glory of the party and be assured that the supreme interest of the Party would be uppermost in all we do”, he said.

Mr. Alban Kingsford Bagbin further added in his letter to the Party that, as it strive to build a strong party to win election 2020 and beyond, good conscience and fare play would prevail in the contest.

And pleaded that the social democratic credentials of the party should shine in the upcoming contest, in other to persuade people and bring hope to Ghanaians of a better future thus pave way for victory in the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary election in 2020, he said.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

The Minister has therefore urged Ghanaian traders affected by the clashes to remain calm whiles government takes a serious look into the matter to ensure sanity.

Mr Ahenkorah who is Member of Parliament for Tema West also advised Nigerian and other foreign nationals involved in petty trade to follow all rules governing their business and the laws of Ghana as a whole.

According to him, the committee includes the President of the Republic himself, Nana Akufo Addo; Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayokor Botwe; Senior Minister, Osafo Marfo; Minister for National Security, Albert Kan Dapaah and many others.

The committee, he said, will come out with the best decision that will help save the situation for both Ghanaian citizens and other nationals.

The Deputy Minister assured that Ghana has never made and will not do anything to drive out foreigners and for that matter Nigerias but all that the country is asking is that foreign citizens, are to follow the laws of Ghana to help maintain peace in the country.

By Christian Kpesese/ ghanamps.com