Month: February 2019

Ranking member on Communications and Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu, Alhassan Bashir Fuseini, have served notice that their side would not recognize MP elect for Ayawaso West Wuogon, Lydia Seyram Alhassan.

According to the ranking member they cannot confirm legitimacy on an illegal process, “it is a stolen goods exhibited in the market”.

And added that there is no basis for any legitimacy to be accorded it. We the Minority we do not recognise the process let alone the one elected how do we recognise the result, he said in an interview.

“As far as we are concerned, no election took place what happened there was a rape of the democratic process in Ghana”, he lamented.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye has commended the European Union for its role in Ghana’s democratic elections conducted over the years.

According to the Speaker Ghana would continue to appreciate the help EU gives with its foreign observers during elections and helping to maintain credible elections.

“We have systematically come to this level and we look up to working together helping deepen our democracy and not only for the economic help, we really like our association with you”.

Again we should be able as Africans to tell countries that do not follow democratic principles that, they cannot join the African Union (AU) as we have with the European Union (EU) in its formative stages.

This was done to maintain high standard for the organization, otherwise it would have become a club of, “you scratch my back and I scratch your back”

Speaker of Parliament made this remarks when the new Ambassador of EU to Ghana Diana Acconcia, head of political section Paolo Salvia, Protocol and Communication Officer Widad Quaye called on him
Also the practice where some African countries have a fix term of office yet leaders change the constitution to favour them to run for more terms is being changed as the practice was giving Africa a bad image.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

The Chinese Ambassador Shi Ting Wang on Saturday 2nd of February, 2019 officially handed over to the government of Ghana one thousand and twenty-nine boreholes drilled within a period of three years.

Sector Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah received the boreholes on behalf of government, when one, out of the one thousand and twenty-nine was commissioned at Densuso two towns away from Suhum Municipality in the Eastern Region.

The initial one thousand boreholes planed was exceeded by twenty-nine with all ten regions of Ghana benefiting from the kind gesture of the Chinese government.

Break down of the borehole construction across the Regions are, Upper East one hundred and eighty-two (182) Brong Ahafu one hundred and forty-six (146), Volta Region one hundred and forty-eight (148), Eastern Region one hundred sixty-two (162), Western Region one hundred and forty-eight (148), Northern Region one hundred and fifty-five (155) Central Region ten (10) Ashanti Region twenty-eight (28) Upper West eight (8) and Greater Accra thirteen (13).

According to the Chinese Ambassador more than twenty million US dollars ($20m) was provided to construct boreholes in remote areas which hitherto could not get access to hygienic or clean portable water.

Mr. Shi Ting Wang remarked that many people in the country fall sick because of unclean and untreated water, and further pointed out that in the morning students had to travel many kilometers before they get access to safe drinking water.

He further used the occasion to thank Ghanaians, who gave helping hand to the Chinese works who had difficulties when they arrived in the country at the project sites, with some contracting malaria and were treated by the local people.

“In the field of sanitation and water resources, both countries have achieved fruitful results under the leadership of the Minister; the Kpong Water Supply Expansion Project has become a benchmark project, for the cooperation of the two countries”.

We are both exploring cooperation in the areas of sanitation, infrastructure and hope the local communities would take care of facilities and fully use them, as it cements a milestone of our friendship; we have better future ahead with consented efforts from both countries, he remarked.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Minister of Communications and Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West, Ursula Owusu Akuffu, has taken a swipe at the Minority and pointed out they do not have the right to determine who recognizes an MP.

According to the Ablekuma West lawmaker the law of the land imposes the right on any of “us as an MP” not because person A or B does that.

On Friday, just after adjournment in an interview with journalists Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu indicated that their side would not recognize an illegality, MP elect for Ayawaso West Wuogon due to the process leading to her election where the opposition National Democratic Congress had to withdraw due to the violence and shooting.

“Election was organize by the Electoral Commission and we have a duly elected MP, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, EC would give that information to the Speaker of Parliament and she would be sworn in as an MP, they cannot do fokoo”, she lamented in an interview.

She queried why the Minority is now calling for a by-partisan committee to look into what happened at Ayawaso West Wuogon; “how come did not make those calls years back at Atiwa and others when violence was unleashed on sitting Member of Parliament?”

The Communications Minister further noted that, the security people seen at the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election, were not party vigilantes as being said, but she is informed that they are national security operatives.

“They have every right to do their work overtly and covertly, that is their work if you challenge them, they would show you your smoothness level”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Head of the European Union (EU) in Ghana, Diana Acconcia has said EU would want to change the way it cooperates with Africa when she called on the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye.

According to head of the European Union to Ghana the focus would change as attention would be given to jobs, while the private sector would be strengthened and there would be more discussions on economic matters.

She further pointed out that whiles talking about the above issues they would not do away with discussion on political issues, as they have been supporting institutions like the electoral commission and looking at different ways of supporting Ghana.

Touching on the Economic Partisanship Agreement (EPA), she revealed that was her job before taking up her appointment to Ghana and the issue of Nigeria not wanting to sign EPA, “we are on a different page now, we are discussing with Ghana what we can do bilaterally with the EPA”.

Again, it would be a great achievement this year if Ghana implements the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) by the close of the year and their agreement with the forestry commission.

She thanked the Speaker Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye for the warm reception, and was accompanied by head of political section of the EU Paolo Salvia, Protocol and Communications Officer, Widad Quaye.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Acting Director of Public Affairs of Parliament has called on Ghanaians to show interest in the legislative process more especially when memoranda are invited.

According to her there is the need to get variety of different opinions on issues especially on legislation.
She however expressed worry that response from the citizenry is very limited when memoranda are invited during the legislative process.

“This year Parliament is expecting that we would have Ghanaians be part of the legislative process by bringing memoranda’s when it is asked for”.

She made this remarks in her opening comments for the first media encounter of leadership of the House with members of the Parliamentary Press corps of the first meeting of the third session of the seventh Parliament of the fourth Republic.

The Director of budget in Parliament in response to causes of delay in the implementation of some activities attributed such development to their financial implications.

The media had course to complaining of slow pace at which some activities in the House had been moving.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Director of budget in Parliament, Mohamed Nganzi has given assurance to leadership of the House that this year’s outreach activities of the House would not be delayed and interrupted as well as taking care of the media.

According to the Director of budget, the Parliamentary Service is prepared in terms of adequate resources it had secured to discharge it core functions.

He further pointed out that over the years most of its resources went into legislations, but not down playing, playing the importance of legislative work.

Mr. Mohamed Nganzi further revealed that the service had to redirect its resources to other core functions like oversight and representation and the new strategic plan of Parliament is actually looking at devoting more resources to the representation function to support leadership to undertake effective outrage.

And thanked the Executive arm of government for supporting the legislature with adequate resources over the years.

In a media encounter by leadership of the House and members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC), he pointed out that the House had been able to secure its budgetary allocation to run its activities for the year and hope that the trend would continue in the coming years.

He further talked about the complexity of release of budget since it is being done online, and there is delay in the process of implementation of polices, which is not the cause of the Parliamentary Service or MPs.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Deputy Minister of Railway Development Andy Appiah Kubi has said government of Ghana is seeking a more sustainable and qualitative funds to construct a one thousand three hundred kilometers (1,300km) railway interconnectivity between Ghana and Burkina Faso.

According to the Deputy Minister, it would start from Tema, travel through Akosombo, Ho, Hohoe through Yendi Paga to Ouagadougou on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) policy.

At a stakeholders meeting at Ho in the Volta Region, he added that government will be more circumspect and careful in selecting partners for the largest railway interconnectivity project to be undertaken in the West African sub-region.

He further noted that, some companies had hoodwinked and shortchanged the country in deals like this in the past, “selected companies must exhibit technological competence and must have the financial muscle to shore up the project”.

Mr. Andy Appiah Kubi revealed that the technical team to study the proposal of interested partners would consider any source of funding that would stand the test of time.

“This day’s you can have a source of funding that will dry up in the next day and so we must be careful this time round that the financing that will be sourced will be more quality and sustainable”.

To this end, the Deputy Railways Minister said the technical team for the project will visit the interested financial institutions to ascertain the veracity of their claims in having the financial prowess to support the project.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com