Month: June 2022

The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation,Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has stated emphatically that the SIM card re-registration would not be extended after the 31st July, 2022 deadline.

According to her, there are no longer queues at the registration centres and people who are yet to do their SIM registration should endevour to do so before the deadline.

Even though it was brought to her attention that some people are genuinely facing challenges with the Ghana Card registration to enable them complete the sim registration, she responded, the challenges not withstanding there would be no extension of the deadline.

Importance of the SIM card Re-registration

The SIM registration exercise according to the Minister will among others
• Reduce or eliminate fraudulent and criminal activities facilitated by mobile phones or sim enabled devices,
• Help authorities ascertain the real number of valid and accurate SIMs on the mobile networks,
• Enable operators to build better demographics of their customer base and help them develop products and services to suit these various groupings.
• The National Communications Authority (NCA) will also have a more accurate and credible database to regulate the industry better.
• SIM Registration will enhance economic growth as more confidence is built in the telecommunications sector and people utilize secure devices to access mobile-based digital solutions, both private and public.
• It will minimize mobile money fraud, promote cybersecurity and support financial inclusion.

More so, the Minister said a credible and reliable SIM Register will serve as a database giving comprehensive statistics regarding the number of subscribers in Ghana and provide a resource for tracking fraudsters and criminals. The exercise which was expected to end on 31% March 2022 has been extended to 31% July 2022.

Ghanamps.com

The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecelia Dapaa assured the people of Yilo Krobo Municipality that there would see marked improvemrnt in water supply when all the interventions they are undertaking are completed.

The Minister announced that currently, the GWCL is undertaking water supply expansion works to connect Huhunya to Boti, Agogo, Opesika, Sutapon, Akpo, Akpamu and the surrounding communities.

Although, the project suffered a major setback, when some aggrieved residents burnt and destroyed the pipelines within the constituency, the GWCL has expedited action in replacing the damaged pipelines and has laid 3.7km of 110mm HDPE pipelines and 8km of 160mm HDPE pipelines as distribution lines to serve the above listed communities.

Furthermore, interconnections are also underway on the existing transmission mains serving Koforidua from the Booster station at Kwasidiaka. It is expected that the works will be completed by the second quarter of the year, 2023, the minister stated.

The supply of potable water in the Yilo Krobo Municipality is provided by both the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).

The communities are mainly served by a point source scheme which is managed on the basis of a community ownership.

Ghanamps.com

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has warned the Minister of transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah  to take the work of parliament seriously and honour all invitations extended to him as the House deem appropriate.

The Speaker’s warning follows a late notice served the House through the table office over the minister’s inability to be available in the House to answer questions that he was scheduled to respond to on the floor on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.

According to the Speaker, per the constitutional provisions, Article 122, the minister’s action constitutes contempt of the House. Article 122 states that “An act or omission which obstructs or impedes parliament in the performance of its functions or which obstructs or impedes a member or officer of parliament in the discharge of his duties, or affront the dignity of parliament or which tends either directly or indirectly to produce that result, is contempt of
Parliament”.

The Speaker who sides with the leadership that the transport minister is one of those who used to be very punctual in responding to questions asked by members said that, of late his conduct seems to be negating all the gains he made in the house. “I am tempted to refer his conduct to the privileges committee but because of the interventions from leadership I will resist that temptation and not refer him to the privileges committee for today. But the next conduct tantamount to this behaviour would be referred to the privileges committee.”

The Speaker this referred the questions back to the business Committee to reschedule at the appropriate date.

“But give him notice that this House would no longer entertain that kind of behaviour.”
He advised that If for any good reason, Ministers would not be available, chief directors and acting chief directors should state good reasons in clear language, warning that the House would no longer accept the language “unavoidably absent”.
Ghanamps.com

 At a joint Committee meeting of ECOWAS Parliament involving the Committee on Social Affair, Gender and Women Empowerment, it has become very urgent and import that the Committee partners Commissions, department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security in fighting terrorism in the West Africa sub-region.

Head of mediation and coordination of regional political affairs, Dr. Mrs Onyinye Onwuka at the ECOWAS Commission revealed that there are a lot of women who have been used by the terrorist.

According to her, she has always said the terrorist are smarter “than us”;  they know the utility of women can get information beyond sleeping on the bed, there is a natural intuition that women have and they have used them very well to get information.

“We keep thinking when you hear a woman talk, she says give us a space all for the good of everybody, so in the area of radicalization, women play fundamental role and the Committee that supervises gender should really dig deep into the local communities to see how we create counter narrative with ECOWAS”.

And that can be done when women and the Peace and Security work together and they are looking for ways to get the grassroot, where the local women can be engaged to reveal what transpires, on the issue of terrorism.

Dr. Mrs Onyinye made this remarks on Monday, June 20, 2022  when the joint  Committees on : Political Affairs, Peace, Security and APRM Committee, Legal Affairs and Human Rights,  Administration, Finance and Budget Committee  and Public Account, met to review the political and security situation in the ECOWAS region.

She pointed out a case as an example where a woman married to a member of the Boko haram fighters who was rescued, but after two months she requested to return to the man. “There is the urgent need to act now because the issue of terrorism is eating up the sub-region”.

“Otherwise we would have a West Africa spring; forty percent of Burkina Faso is in the hands of terrorist who are young people. At their camp 60 percent are from zero to 18 years, we were told about Mali and Northern Nigeria the field is rive for harvest”

Vice chair on the Committee of Social Affairs, Gender and Women Empowerment at the ECOWAS Parliament, Laadi Ayii Ayamba, endorsing the suggestion pointed out that the issue of Women and Security is part of their plans.

And the Speaker of the Parliament is very serious about it and would take up the issue with the chairperson of the Committee, as fortunately the third Deputy Speaker was part of the joint Committee meeting.

“So that, when we have a meeting any action that is going to be taken, we would get in touch with you and listen to whatever you have for us”, she added.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja-Nigeria

A member of the Nigerian delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Awaji-Inombek D. Abiante said the absence of majority of his colleagues from Nigeria at the ongoing 2022 Frist Ordinary Session is a matter of concern.

According to him, they would have to engage their colleagues to participate actively but was quick to point out that journalists who cover the Community parliament also have the opportunity to speak to their leaders on the subject matter.
In an interview Ghanamps.com sought to find out how come since the Session started out of the thirty five (35) slot Nigeria has, each day more than eight (8) lawmakers cannot be countered,  “yet you always present seat through to the end?”

“I have people who are chairmen and members of the Bureau, I am just an ordinary member, they carry more weight and should carry more responsibilities. The first Deputy Speaker is my leader and a member of my parliament probably as part of your contribution towards solving this problem you can also get him engaged”.

Again, tell him these are your observations and find out what can be done to help change the narrative. “It’s really embarrassing if issue of Nigeria comes up how many of us are here to even listen, we should listen and get something back home. I am not talking of interventions, it is a concern to me as a person and I am sure it is the same for any other person”.
He added that, like it was pointed out on Saturday, “what is your brand, what would you be known for, I am me, I do not want to be another person so any assignment I find myself I want to do it with all my heart”, he said.

He further pointed out that it’s not only about Nigeria but attendance issue is a huge challenge because other MPs form other member states also do not take attendance serious, and called for re-tooling for them to consider their procedure programme to be much more effective.

Also when the president of the commission made his presentation parliament was in a hurry to close the issues and move on and think they need to revisit their procedure so that when they have a presentation enough opportunities should be given for interrogation.
And it is in debate that you find the best out of the best in issue. One could be contentious and contradictory issues, there could be controversial issues, but when subjected to adequate debate the best options would be picked out; one can report them back to their home government and the commission.

Take for instance the Liberian health sector, subject it to debate and let us have divers opinions, contradictory opinion at the end of the day, MP’s from Liberia would see reason; they might find alternative means and get to understand best practices as applicable in other countries and would take such home.

As in their country report, their health sector 71 percent of the funds are donor driven and if it means haven to review laws you can compare other legislation in other member states. “I do not know whether we are gaining or losing grounds; it was one country, it became two, it became three, the ternate of democracy as define by their own laws I was being told this morning that Senegal that we were praising, when they presented their country report that there are some issues in the home front.

Protest, and this is how it starts if as parliament we cannot be very decisive as giving out options and alternatives to ensure that this democracy that we have is sustained across the member states”. He said he is happy that democracy has come to stay and there is the saying that, “ the worse of democracy is better than any other form of government. There is the need for MPs to retool to guarantee the confidence of the people who are here”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja-Nigeria

In the wake of human rights abuse and violation in the West African sub-region by multinational companies, Friends of the Earth Africa, (FoE), an Environmental Justice Organisation has appealed to the Community Court of Justice and Parliament to intervene to help address human rights violation against Indigenous people and local communities by industrial  plantation companies.

At a media engagement on Saturday, June 18, 2022 after the Community Parliament gave FoE an opportunity for an interactive session with lawmakers at the ongoing 2022 First Ordinary Session in Abuja-Nigeria, Ms Rita Uwaka, Coordinator for Forest and Biodiversity programme of the organisation pointed out that it is their wish that the numerous cases of violation of human rights by multinational companies in the sub-region would be given attention.
And as part of their advocacy work the Community Court and Parliament can play a role of influencing national governments within the sub-regional states of the various abuses they occur.
As to whether the organisation would take up their case to the Community court since she pointed out that the multinationals are able to influence the judicial systems within member states, she said: “we have done so with oil palm extraction, we have sent it to court at different levels, we were frustrated here in Nigeria, we eventually got victory when we went to the Hague which is the home country of some of these multinational companies”.
And they are trying to achieve a systematic process of moving from the local sub regional (ECOWAS). “Now on Monday, June 20, 2022, we would be going to the EU Parliament and talk to them for them to understand the funding that some of the multinational are receiving for agro commodities in the sub-region, they are causing harm, and human right abuses in Africa and the sub-region”.
On the question as to whether they would consider getting involve in crafting laws that would favor their members in the sub-region, she noted it would be a good step as with the concession agreement are not respected as in the memorandum of understanding.
And gave an example of industrial plantation company SIAT in Nigeria when they went to field visit two weeks ago they notice that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the Community people drafted for the companies to look at has not been considered.
Again out of 15 inputs on the MoU it was just one that was taken and those kind of agreements, they have been educating the Community people to be able to make informed choices on what is expected, in the way they have these agreements with the companies.
Also most of the MoU do not know how to go about it and it is part of their advocacy strategy to continue to build the capacity of the community people to understand and prioritize what they want, those are the things which would be the binding things.
These are the things that the Communities and multinational companies need to respect and if they deviate from that, then they know that they have breached the MoU and its important, “ we need to keep doing that and we would continue doing that and we need your support as the media in this direction”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja-Nigeria