Month: November 2019

Former Minister of Employment and Labour Relations and Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu has said he expects a healthy debate of  free follow without interjection today Monday 18th November 2019.

He made this remarks on Sunday the 17th of November 2019 at the end of a two days workshop for MPs at the Justice D. F. Annan auditorium.

And praised the resource person who made presentation on the agric sector and wages and salary at the public sector.

“I trust that MPs would be guided in their debate by variables, evidence base on research and importantly they should be able to authenticate data”.

On the issues of the debate should be devoid of propaganda, the Minority Leader noted that if government brings propaganda they would respond by propaganda, but are willing to be factual to the core in their debate.

“We are invited to respond in the manner of the language of the budget, you think growth of the economy just happened, in agriculture you sow seeds before they grow it goes through a process”.

Also when you have a budget which seed the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) not doing anything good, “you said you have grown the economy, can  you just grow the economy from 2017 without a foundation being laid?”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu-Akuffu has said Government has a policy to expand access of telecommunication services to all unserved and underserved parts of the country.

According to the Minister a number of measures have been put in place to extend coverage to improve telecommunications connectivity in unserved communities including those in the Afadzato South constituency.

This was when MP for the area, Angela Oforiwa Alorwu-Tay wanted to know when nine communities in her constituency would be provided with mobile telephone network connectivity.

“Mr. Speaker, the Ghana Investment fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) is implementing the rural telephony project to extend coverage into areas where access to such services is not available due to the unwillingness or inability for mobile network operators (MNO’s) to extend their networks there for commercial or other considerations.

GIFEC has conducted a drive test in the communities without network connectivity including the nine communities; they would be covered under the rural telephony project.”

The Minister further noted that Airtel/Tigo has coverage in Golokwati, Tafi Atome Sroe Soboko, Have and Kpeve in the Afadjato South Constituency.

And work with GIFEC to extend services to communities without coverage in the constituency under the rural telephony project.

MTN Ghana intends to extend coverage to three of the affected communities in the Afadjato South Constituency namely Liati Soba, Tafi Agoma and Goviefe Todzi in 2020.

When completed would connect all underserved and unserved communities in Ghana as we work assiduously to narrow the digital divide and ensure all citizens benefit from the digital economy, she added.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for Dadekotopon, Vincent Sowah-Odote has said it is his agenda to ensure that he works out for the elimination of public toilets in his constituency.

According to the him, his attention has been drawn by the Municipal Chief Executive to the fact that there has been a drop in the revenue in public toilets.

He further added that toilet facilities had been built for families and individual households, and added that it costs Ghc1,120.00 to put up the toilet facility for individuals, but more when providing for families.

Mr. Sowah-Odote made this remarks when the Deputy Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Yaw Patrick Boamah on Tuesday marked the world toilet day in La Dadekotopon constituency as he went round to inspect some work done.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

A member of the Ghanaian delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Mahama Ayariga has lamented over the closure of the Nigeria border meant to prevent band goods from entering its country.

According to the Bawku Central lawmaker, the posture adopted by Nigeria would not help its country in a long term.

He pointed out in an interview with journalists in Abuja Nigeria at the opening of the Second Ordinary Session to keep with the spirit of Regional integration in the West African sub-region, and the protocols of ECOWAS free movement of goods and persons, Nigeria should open its borders.

In addition, he called for Nigeria to strengthen the capacity of its local industries to compete with the rest of the sub-region.

The Ghanaian lawmaker madear this remarks when the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament condemned the closure of the Nigerian border despite being part of the protocol that allows free movement of persons, goods and services.

“Nigeria is sending negative signals in terms of the work that had been accomplished so far in promoting sub-regional unity and integration, I would urge the government of Nigeria to re-consider its position on the closure. Nigeria has a strong economy and human capital and all the resources without closing its border”.

Mr. Mahama Ayariga was also appealed that at least  goods coming from the West African sub-region should be allowed into the country

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja

Member of Parliament for Adaklu is lamenting over the limited time given lawmakers to engage in debate of all budgets on the floor of the House.

According to the Adaklu lawmaker, facilitators do not have enough time to take lawmakers through details of the budget to be able to debate the budget into details despite workshops that are organized for members.

He further pointed out in an interview that apart from Chairs and Ranking members of committees and individual MPs who have experience and knowledge in some fields, majority of members do not have that opportunity to make quality and well informed debate.

“Facilitators’ presentation at workshops for MPs does not help that much, they have limited time, for quality debate there should be a way of getting us researchers, our research assistants are not experts in everything”.

Mr. Agbodza emphasised the need to get consultants who can properly analyze the budget and point out what the real issues are. In well established democracies, lawmakers have a whole secretariat well equipped.

Furthermore well established democracies have money to engage professionals to give better services, they have practice democracy for one hundred years and we need to keep an eye on the ball, we need to do better than we are doing now.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Majority Leader Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is advocating for the Auditor General to be thorough in auditing the accounts of various Assemblies in the country.

According to the Osei-Kyei when done the story would be horror and added that the (AG) is unable to do a lot because every year it stretches itself to cover every area.

He further added that perhaps as a nation we need to compel the Auditor General to focus on some areas they would then see the “rot”.

“We would be able to save a lot of money as a nation, very often there are insufficient and unreliable budget implementation, this is not about a particular regime, as a nation how do we overcome these challenges”.

Mr. Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was speaking on Sunday 17th November 2019 at the end of a two day workshop organized for lawmakers from both sides of the House.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanadistricts.com

Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu has said the Bank of Ghana must come clear on the clean-up exercise it had embarked upon in the banking sector with the support of the Finance Ministry.

According to the Tamale South lawmaker, the Bank of Ghana has its report before the Finance Committee but had not touched on the clean-up exercise.

“Conspicuously lost in the Bank of Ghana report is the report on the clean up at the banking sector, we need to know and we the Minority would demand that”.

Again, families have experienced death, pensioners same, and what is government doing  to support them in that respect?

The Finance Minister said he want to do justice to persons who have lost money in the process of the cleanup of the banking sector, it cost the state not less than twenty billion Ghana cedis, “the only justice you can do to the Ghanaian people especially depositors is to give them their money”.

He made this remarks on Saturday 16th of November at the beginning of a  post-budget workshop for Members of Parliament at Job 600 of Parliament House at Justice D. F. Annan auditorium.

“It is not as if we should praise you for a banking sector clean-up when we have lost twenty billion cedis for undertaking this exercise out of lack of capacity to raise minimum capital. as we speak the banks are still vulnerable, many of their assert regime remains at the same level.

Now microfinance and saving institutions have all collapsed, the contribution on the financial sector hinges only on the banking sector.”

He pointed out that the Minority would demand answers on what the Finance Ministry came to ask the two billion for in pursuit of the Ghana amalgamated trust and more importantly the Bank of Ghana as reported to Parliament in their half year report.

“Nothing said about the Banking sector clean-up, their report is before the Finance Committee, the Ministry in the exercise pursuant to amendment on Act 931 requires that the Bank of Ghana report to Parliament”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Former Deputy Minister of Finance in the John Dramani Mahama led administration and Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South, Kweku Ricketts Hagan has said he hopes the current Government keeps to fiscal discipline in 2020 despite it being an election year.

According to the Cape Coast South lawmaker, he hopes and pray that as a country we stay along all the limits and do not do anything as a result of kneejerk reaction from public outcry, when things are not going well and people are suffering.

In reaction to the 2020 budget, he told journalists in Parliament that the Minister indicated that all programmes they have started would be completed next year that is a “danger” if it is not planned well and executed it would collapse same way like the banks.

“This is going to erode all the fiscal gains we have made in the past five years, it has taken us five good years to achieve this it was started when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was in power under John Mahama”.

When he took the country to IMF some people were thinking the idea was not good, but it was highly a necessary decision, the NDC started it and the current government came in to complete it.

As a result we had some discipline in terms of our fiscal deficit, we kept to fiscal responsibility and public financial management Act.

He said he hopes  the government keeps to its promises of fiscal discipline.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu has welcomed the moves taken by the Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta to correct the omission of the Volta Region in critical roads to be considered in next year’s budget.

According to the Minority, it took the intervention of the Minority Volta caucus for the Finance Minister to do the needful.

He noted that it is appropriate and legitimate for the Finance Minister to do the right thing, because the Volta Region notwithstanding, the constitution of Ghana the standing orders of the House deserved to be respected.

“Is it not an afterthought, how do we add the amendment to the appendix you presented, we would look at the substance, and we of this House would monitor religiously?”

“Mr. Speaker I was in the Volta Region with the President at Hohoe, I met him on the way, and if you look at how he was dancing on the road because of the nature of the road, we look forward for the debate on the budget”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com