Month: February 2020
President wanted ordinary Ghanaians out of Galamsey in favor of his party — Mutawakilu
Ranking member on Mines and Energy, Mutawakilu Adam has taken a swipe at President Nana Akufo-Addo for his inability to fight the illegal mining activities in the country despite his earlier public pronouncement to do so.
According to him, the crusade against galamsey was a plan by the President to get ordinary Ghanaians off to pave way for the big weights with the current government to take over the illegal mining.
“Today we are talking of the vanishing of excavators. If you follow the Minerals and Mining Act as amended and introduced by the previous administration, section 99 (5) it is clear that confiscated equipment should be kept by the police”.
He expressed worry over the conduct of the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Frimpong Boateng by not acting according to the law but for his selfish interest, hence the problem the nation is faced with vanishing excavators.
Furthermore, in the same Act section 99 (7) indicates that the equipment should be allocated to public institutions within sixty days (60) and gazette it for the public to have a true knowledge of where each of the equipment is gone to.
“Majority side MPs have pickups, SUVs. General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party John Boadu and Wuntumi, their Ashanti Regional chairman is involve, if the sector Minister had kept it with the police but this case he did not and the constituency chairmen are taking part in sales and vanishing of excavators”.
Mr. Mutawakilu Adam therefore called for the arrest of Professor Frimpong Boateng for breaching the law with others following.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com
Sanitation Minister commends World Bank for its support
Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah has commended the country Director of the World Bank, Pierre Jean Laporte for the institutional support the sector has received over the years through GAMA Sanitation and Water Project.
According to the Minister, over twenty-seven thousand household toilets in the Grater Accra Region alone has been provided and Sustainable Rural Water resilient and Integrated Development would become effective this week.
The Minister informed the team that access to improved sanitation has increased from 15% to 21% across the country; similarly open defecation rates in the Upper West Region has dropped from 83% to 52% within the last three years.
She also mentioned that, over the past two years, the Non Revenue Water of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GCWL) has reduced from about 50% to 48% as a result of the support from the World Bank amongst other interventions by the Company itself.
Mrs. Dapaah informed the Country Director and his team that the Ministry has successfully secured 65.5 acres of land in the Ga West Municipality for the development of an engineered landfill site to receive solid waste from the GAMA as part of its readiness for the successful takeoff of the GARID Project. She further indicated that the Ministry is still pursuing the acquisition of other such sites in Adenta Municipality and Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) for waste Transfer Stations.
She further emphasized the point that as a government interested in the development of the private sector, the Ministry will work with private companies in developing and managing the various landfill sites and transfer stations to improve the solid waste management efforts of the country.
Madam Dapaah assured the team of her resolve as the sector Minister to ensure that all the investments made into the sector yield favorable results SRWSP and GAMA SWP has introduced innovative approaches to boost effectiveness and sustainability of WASH services.
The GARID Project, on the other hand, is a multi-sector and transformative urban resilience project which aims to support Greater Accra Region to become a cleaner, flood resilient and economically vibrant city.
In addition the project is the first phase of a series of projects and focuses specifically on reducing flood risk in the Odaw river basin in three selected low-income communities: Nima, Alogboshie and Akweteman.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com
World Bank Country Director calls on Sanitation Minister
Country Director of the World Bank Office in Ghana, Pierre Jean Laporte has called on the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources Cecelia Abena Dapaah as part of his supervisory mission on the implementation of the GAMA Sanitation and Water Project.
These include the Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Project (SRWSP) and the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project which has been signed pending effectiveness.
According to Mr Laporte, the World Bank is fully committed to providing all support that is needed to the sanitation sector including facilitating the transfer of experiences from other countries in the region to enable the country meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) especially goal 6.2 which focuses on sanitation.
Mr. Pierre Jean told the Sanitation and Water Resources Minister he expect the Ministry to speed up the institutionalization and operationalization of the proposed National Sanitation Authority which was announced by H. E Dr. Bawumia, the Vice President some months ago.
“The establishment of the Authority is a critical step towards the organization of a coordinated sector”, he said.
Also the Bank’s agreement to extend the project closing date by seven months and further provide an additional financing of One Hundred and Sixty Million dollars to upscale the project to the other regions of the country.
However, the Ministry must follow up with a formal request and immediately complete a project preparation plan. Again, the financing intent of the Bank includes upgrading of an existing fecal sludge treatment plant at Nungua-farms.
The Country Director also mentioned the need for the Ministry to seriously put in place measures to ensure the sustainability of the 406 institutional school sanitation facilities provided under the GAMA Project.
He said the facilities provided are disability friendly and menstrual hygiene considerate but their successful operation and maintenance involves mobilization of funds. And therefore entreated the Ministry to clarify the responsibility of the operation and maintenance arrangements in the context of the free education policy.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com
Assurance Committee to embark on verification tour and public hearing—Chairman
Chairman of the Government Assurance Committee, Collins Owusu Amankwah has said the Committee would embark on a verification and monitoring tour to some institutions to ascertain for themselves the state of those facilities.
According to the chairman, the Committee will visit the University of Ghana Medical Facility, how it’s being used and some industries in Tema.
He further pointed out in an interview that the Committee would inspect some completed E-Blocks as far as the Ministry of Education is concerned and Akumfi Juice Factory under the current government’s one district one factory.
“Government Assurance Committee is working and we are mandated to examine issues related to promises and assurance undertaking given by Ministers, some of the Ministries we would visit are Youth and Sports, Special Development and Railway Development”.
He furthermore added that the Committee after the verification would put a report together which would be submitted to the plenary for further deliberation and afterwards engage individual Ministers.
“That is what the media is interested in, we would have public hearing so that you know those working and those who are not working”, he said.
Mr. Amankwah noted that leadership decides everything and he is poised to work for the good of Ghanaians as democracy is all about accountability and responsiveness. “I can assure you we stand tall when it comes to issues of probity and accountability”, as it’s the only Committee that does not need a referral from the Speaker of the House, “So if a promise drops we go after it”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com
Atiwa East MP picks nomination forms ahead of primaries
Member of Parliament for Atiwa East Abena Osei Asare is seeking to contest in the primaries of the ruling New Patriotic Party ahead of the December 2020 Parliamentary elections.
Friends of the Deputy Minister and sitting MP picked her forms led by the party secretary Philip Anokye and was handed over to her at the constituency office at Anyinam.
Receiving the forms, chairman of the party in Atiwa East Albert Antwi Boasiako noted that the performance of the MP has been outstanding and should be given another chance to run and serve President Akufo-Addo who should also be given another four years.
He further added that her good deeds and works are outstanding and noted that whoever does well deserve a good push.
In the field of education in the constituency she put school buildings from the Kindergarten to the Senior High School and before the Free Senior High School (SHS) she spent two hundred thousand on scholarship.
And in the tertiary institutions, she spent sixty thousand on students each year and given employment to people from her constituency, thirty-eight with immigration, thirty-two with Ghana Police Service, ninety-three fire service, twenty-four Customs, sixteen at the Local Government but to mention a few.
The MP revealed that with assurance from his colleague the Roads and Highways Minister Amoako Atta most of the roads in the constituency are awaiting rehabilitation and tiring.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com
Government allocates Gc2.5m to deal with outbreak of coronavirus
Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu on Wednesday February 4 2020 told Members of Parliament (MPs) that government has allocated two point five million Ghanaian cedis in preparedness to deal with outbreak of coronavirus in the country.
According to the Health Minister, a process has been initiated to procure ten thousand pieces of personal protective equipment and insurance cover for the use of front line workers.
In a statement on the floor of the House he urged the private sector and development partners to support government’s effort being put in place in preparedness for the outbreak of the diseases in Ghana.
“Government is doing everything possible to prevent and protect against the outbreak and spread of the infection in Ghana”, Mr. Speaker.
In addition, the sector Ministry has sent alerts to all regions and districts to activate the respective Public Health Emergency Management Committee and pointed that that stakeholders like Tema Port, Ghana Airport Company Limited and authorities of Kotoka International Airport.
Furthermore, he told the House there has been a meeting between the Health Ministry and Chinese Ambassador to Ghana on regulating high risk travels to and from the affected areas in China.
Whiles the Chinese Ambassador indicated that all is being done to contain the outbreak and advice against mass evacuation of Ghanaian nationals in the affected areas, as it is the view of the World Health Organisation.
Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Mohammed Habib Tijani told the House there are thirty thousand Ghanaians in China with eight thousand students and the Ghanaian Mission in Beijing is in touch with their leadership.
“There are about three hundred Ghanaians studying in Wuhan, but one hundred and fifty-two had been caught up in the lock down of the city, the mission has contacted them and provided with basic items as nose marks, sanitizers and groceries”.
He assured the House that currently no Ghanaian has contracted the coronavirus and all is being done to ensure that the students are safe and do not lack basic necessities.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com
47 companies mining illegally and breaching our laws— Mutawakilu
A Ranking member on the Committee on Energy and Mines, and Member of Parliament for Damango, Mutawakilu Adam has expressed worry over the current practices where there are forty-seven mining companies that are working illegally without obtaining approval from Parliament.
According to the Ranking member, this is a breach of Ghana’s laws, and took a swipe at President Nana Akufo-Addo for playing a pivotal role in this scandal.
“We in the Minority would push for the Minister of Environment Sciences and Technology, Professor Frimpong Boateng, and Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh to come before the Committee, so that we know from them why they breach the law and why the President has not fired the two Ministers, and why they have not resigned”, he said.
He again told journalists in an interview that President Akufo-Addo is supervising a gargantuan illegal mining as forty-seven companies have signed a leasing agreement with government but have not been brought before the House for ratification.
And pointed out that it is a clear breach of Article 218 of the 1992 Constitution, adding that despite follow ups, there seems to be no sign of the agreement coming before the House for approval.
He again noted that the President is benefiting from activities of the illegal mining which would help his party ahead of the 2020 general elections. They would use the funds to support their campaign; Nana Addo has one hundred percent knowledge of what is going on, the drones are control from his office, he added.
“Can’t the drones indicate what is going on? President Akufo-Addo is now champion of corruption”, he lamented.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com
Fifth Legislature: “I would speak truth to power”—Snowe
The fifth Legislature of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is expected to be sworn-in in the first quarter of this year in, Niamey Niger.
And leader of the Liberian delegation to the fourth Community Parliament, Edwin Melvin Snowe Junior has assured that in the fifth legislature he would speak truth to power.
According to Melvin Snowe it would be wrong for anyone to think because the incoming Speaker Sidi Mohamed Tunis from Sierra Leone is his good friend, he would not be active like he was in the fourth Legislature.
“You can be my best friend if you do not live up to expectation believe me I would speaker truth to power, we expect the incoming Speaker to uphold the dignity and integrity of the Parliament”.
In an interview with journalists in the Gambia, he noted that what people do not know about he was that many years back when he served as President of Liberian Football Association (LFA), the current President of his country, His Excellency was his player and friend for over thirty-five years.
“When he wanted to be President of Liberia I told him you are my best friend you want to be president, I do not think I would want to support you, I went to the opposition and supported the opposition against him”.
Mr. Snowe Junior further pointed out that he anticipate the incoming Speaker of the fifth Community Legislature to do better and build on what the outgone Speaker Cisse Lo had done. “We would hold him to the books and remind him of his short comings. Again we would encourage him in private and public”.
“What Cisse Lo did good, bad or ugly, I can say to you that he left a glass half full and not empty that we must build on, for our people in the sub-region to feel ECOWAS Parliament and appreciate it, then they would feel that this is a Parliament for the region that they can walk and work with”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com/Banjul