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Parliament is now overcrowded with personnel – Banda MP

Member of Parliament (MP) for Banda, Ahmed Ibrahim has said government is not only packing government machinery with over blotted people but has extended such practice to the Legislative arm of government.

According to the first Deputy Whip, government is thinking of creating additional constituencies to the existing two-hundred and seventy-five (275).

“Do we all need to become politicians, let us have a national discourse to know what is the best way to go on this urgent national issue”, he lamented.

He made this remarks after a press conference where the Minority challenged the Minister of Information’s assertion that government is reducing the number of staffers under the Presidency.

“When we talked about the one hundred and ten (110) Ministers, government indicated that they had that number to achieve and execute a programme, now the number has increased to one hundred and eleven (11); is government taking Ghanaians serious?”

Again District Chief Executives, the current government inherited two hundred and sixteen (216) now it has appointed two hundred and fifty (250) and still counting more by creating five additional ones recently, he noted.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Minority raises red flag over cocoa syndicated loan

Ranking member of Finance, Ato Forson is raising red flags on what he said is the current governments misapplication of cocoa syndicated loans.

In an interview with the media in Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson said government has misapplied the first tranche of $1.3 billion amounting to six hundred and fifty million Ghana Cedis which was supposed to be used to purchase cocoa by the licensed produce buying company (PBC).

He further added that government has rather chosen to deposit the money into secured investment of some banks instead of using it for its purpose.

“I have written to the Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament, to invite the leadership of Ghana Cocoa board to come and explain to the committee, why are they keeping those money at the banks  and taking interest  on it, instead of giving it to farmers buy cocoa”.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

ECOWAS Parliament moves into full committee work

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament which second ordinary session is currently underway in Abuja has on Thursday the 22nd of November, 2018 started sitting in committee meetings.

Joint committee on Trade Customs and Free Movement and Economic Policies, Private Sector and NEPAD is meeting today to consider referrals from the ECOWAS commission on the adaptation of community Acts relating to economic and monitory   polices of the ECOWAS integration process.

The Parliamentary oversight mission would also meet  to consider  the report of the Parliamentary oversight mission to the ECOWAS  institutions and agencies responsible for the, implementation of the community programme, based in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin-Togo and Ghana corridors.

There would be consideration of the report on the Parliamentary fact-finding mission to Liberia and the Republic of Niger.

Committee on Political Affairs, Peace and Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), would consider the political and security issues arising from the presentation of country reports, whiles the ad hoc committee responsible for consideration of the draft of the 2019 budget of the community would also look at the draft budget of the community.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Ho West MP calls for scraping of Works and Housing Ministry

Member of Parliament (MP) for Ho West, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah has called on government to scrape the Ministry of Works and Housing for non-performance two years into the administration of the ruling government,

According to the Ho West lawmaker, if government wants the Nation to grow in terms of infrastructure, a chunk of the nation’s budget should be allocated to the Works and Housing Ministry.

He further lamented over the practice from 2017 to 2018 in which government is not giving the infrastructure Ministry enough funds and it repeated itself in the 2019 budget.

“Mr. Speaker about 19.7 billion cedis has been allocated to the  social Ministry,  how do you expect the infrastructure Ministry to do,  all the funds  goes into consumption,  so my friend goes into the office sit down he does not do any work that is why I am advocating that the Ministry should be close down”.

Mr. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah made this remarks on the floor of Parliament when he was contributing towards debate of the 2019 budget.

In addition, “I am happy the Ministry has decided to take on state housing to lead government effort, they are going to put up two hundred housing unit starting from this year; if within two years government had not started even one unit, how we can talk about putting up two thousand units, it is a failure”, he stated.

“I had a shock of my life, when I open pages 245 appendix 14 which talks about ten toilet being built, as part of governments project but I built those toilet out of my MP common fund”, he lamented.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Education Minister cautions MP over “no TIN no Free SHS mantra

Minister of Education Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has cautioned the ranking member on Education, Peter Nortsu against doing propaganda on the free Senior High School policy.

According to the Minister, it is wrong for the ranking member to contribute to the 2019 budget by saying “No TIN, No Free SHS”; “he should stop that propaganda”, he added.

“I cannot sit in this chamber for such palpable false to come out of his mouth, where in this budget if not for propaganda sake is it stated that if you do not have Tax Identification Number (TIN) you cannot enjoy free SHS”.

He noted that the ranking member should apologize to Ghanaians for announcing his own policy imposed on government.

First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu further pointed out that the matter before the House is the budget and should be followed and cautioned the ranking member against using comment made by people outside the chamber.

“A director at the Ministry of Education had made this comments, he has no power to make laws, those comments can be made outside but in this chamber let us focus on what we have before us”, he directed.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Ayawaso West Wuogon MP has passed on

The Member of Parliament for the Ayawaso West-Wuogon constituency in the Greater Accra region, Emmanuel Kyeremanteng Agyarko is reported dead at age 61 in a US hospital after a short illness.

The deceased was the Chairman of the Environment, Science and Technology Committee in Parliament. He was also a member of the Government Assurance and Health Committees.

He became MP for the area when he took over from the current Chief of Staff, Frema Osei-Opare since January 7, 2013 till his unfortunate demise.

The late Kyeremanteng Agyarko who was a former Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Board now Authority (FDA) from 2001- 2009 and a native of Odumase-Krobo in the Eastern Region was born on December 10, 1957.

He was a Fellow of the Ghana College of Pharmacists and was the brother of former Energy Minister, Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko.

He is reported to have left behind two wives and seven (7) children.

Christian Kpesese/ghanamps.com

Ablakwa raises red flag as Jubilee House employs more staff

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is raising red flags over the move by government to increase presidential staffers at the Jubilee House from the current 998 to 1,614 in 2019 financial year.

In compliance with Section 11 of the Presidential Office Act, 1993 (Act 463), President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo in April 2018, presented to Parliament a total number of 998 as workers at the Jubilee House.

But debating the 2019 budget statement on the floor of Parliament, the Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa expressed surprise at government’s intention to recruit additional 616 presidential staffers at the Office of Government Machinery despite the public outcry over the bloated size of the NPP government.

The young lawmaker was shocked at government’s directive to the Office of the Special Prosecutor to employ only 12 workers but intends to employ over 616 to the presidency.

The further engagement of 616 at the Presidency will bring the total number of Presidential staffers to 1,614.

Christian Kpesese/ghanamps.com

“NDC should show us who their economic management team members were” —Dr Assibey

Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah has taken a swipe at the previous National Democratic Congress government and challenged the Minority to show Ghanaians who were members of their economic management team.

According to the chairman of the Finance Committee, the economic management team of the previous government was existence only in name.

“This time around we have Dr Bawumia heading the team, Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo is there, he is a best form African Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta who is also a best Minister of Finance in Africa is there and Professor Gyan-Baffour, it has bearing on the budget”.

He added that in March this year “our bond was voted the best in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Who put together the restructuring of the competent economic management team, the President, Ghana is working again, he pointed out.

He made this remarks at the start of the 2019 budget debate on the floor of the House.

The current government since it took over, had to extend the programme with the International Monitoring Fund (IMF), the previous administration derailed under the programme all indicators were missed in 2016, he said on the floor of the House.

“Let me show you, after twenty-two months this is the verdict, page 23 paragraph 100 of the 2019 budget we have improved all the macroeconomic indicators. You left a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 3.7 for 2018 it is 5.4, inflation is going down interest rate has gone down I am not the one saying international organizations have seen it and are saying it”, he pointed out.

Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah noted that the Minority should be applauding the current government who would take Ghana out of the IMF programme by the end of the year.

“Never again should we go to the IMF, again we have competent economic management team at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) world class economist there, as the President said the Finance Minister is becoming an asset”.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Every Ghanaian owes GHS 5,798 in current public debt—Ranking Finance

Ranking member on Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson has said the ruling government’s reckless borrowing had led the Ghanaian economy in a bad shape, when he took his turn to debate the 2019 budget on the floor of the House.

According to him, this has culminated in the situation where currently every Ghanaian now owes over GHS 5,700.

“Within 12 calendar months, this government has added to our public debts by GHS32 billion. Ghana’s public debt is GHS 122.2 billion. If you’re to calculate per capital, then it means that an average Ghanaian, ordinary Ghanaian at the time owes GHS 4, 334.53 million in 2016.

Mr Speaker, as at 2018, according to Ghana Statistical Service, Ghana’s population will be by end of year 29.4 million. Mr Speaker again, Ghana’s public debt has risen from 122.2 billion to GHS 170.8 billion. Mr Speaker it means that in today’s Ghana, every Ghanaian including the new born baby owes GHS 5,798.00. Mr. Speaker, this is unprecedented”, he added.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

2018 Budget: Finance Minister would be given failed mark — Jinapor

Former deputy Minister of Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor has said marking the Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta by the 2018 budget he presented to the House, he would give him fail mark.

According to the former Deputy Energy Minister, the Finance Minister indicated that he wanted to grow the economy by 5.8 percent but did he achieve 4.6 “fail”; international reserves has dropped from 3.9 months to 3.6 months “fail”, and wanted to achieve a reserve target of 49, he achieved 46.

“Yet the Minister want us to praise him, when you get to paragraph 112 of 2019 budget, he recorded those who ride bicycle, does this solve our problem, stop monitoring those who ride bicycle”,  he lamented.

Zongo development fund, so far we have approved three hundred million for you, you claim you want to reduce poverty,  if you go to progress report, the only thing that has been done is to build five Astroturf , the former Deputy Minister said on the floor of the House.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com