Month: July 2023

Former Member of Parliament for Akim Oda constituency, Yaw Osafo-Maafo has urged constituents to vote massively for the current lawmaker Alexander Akwasi Acquah with the development project he has introduce in the constituency ahead of the parties primaries next year.

He made this remarks on Monday, July 17, 2023 when a six-unit classroom block named after him was commissioned.

The building which collapsed two-and-half years ago after a heavy rain storm, was rebuilt through the instrumentality of the MP and the support of the Senior Presidential Advisor and the support of corporate bodies.

Yaw Osafo-Maafo on his part urged the Parent Teacher Association to take good care of the building by ensuring that the building is painted regularly.

He recounted that the day the building collapsed it was a Good Friday and they were lucky there was no school pupil in the building otherwise it will not have been good news, and believe Akim Oda have good pastors and the lord listens to their prayers.

Again he revealed that they had one point eight million Ghana cedis from the donors who were with them but would not want to be mentioned for the Presby A and C school to be reconstructed and when the attached letter came with the collapsed buildings the donors were shaken.

And further pointed out that he would be coming around for more support and urge everyone to help develop Akim Oda for their children and the unborn ones.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

As the sub-regional bloc of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has started strongly kicking against amending constitutions to allow Presidents to bid for third term with Senegal being a success story, Mr. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, a member of the Ghanaian delegation to the Community Parliament,  is strongly advocating for the sub-regional bloc to keep its turn its focus on Togo, Benin, Gambia and Ivory Coast.

According to him in the case of the Republic of Togo there are claims that H. E. President Faure Gnassingbe was not going to run again but from every indication since the constitution has been amended there are indications that he is going to start from the begging.

“This means the two terms he has done would not be counted so he is going to start from a clean sheet and only God knows how many years; so Togo should be watched. Again, another country is the Gambia, one, they do not have a term limit, we should be able to tell them to put a term limit as per the term limit plate developed by ECOWAS”.

This, he noted, would help ensure that H. E. President Adama Barrow steps down when he finishes his second term. “He should step aside for someone else; but from every indication from what we are hearing it is likely he will run again; we need to put our Satellites on that”.

On lawmakers in the sub-region of various Parliaments and National Assemblies, he noted that, “we  are our own enemies; we create the problems for ourselves, adding that as MPs you should stand by your own standard of democracy that no one should temper with the law on our constitutions on third terms” .

Emmanuel Bedzrah recounted his  experience at the first Ordinary Session in Abuja – Nigeria and lamented saying “blame MPs; for instance in the case of Senegal our colleague Vilane who we know spoke his mind. He was supporting a third term bid of H. E President Macky Sall until he changed his mind recently. I was surprised that a person of that stature was going that way, he should have called that their constitution should not be amended”.

“So, if you have people of that nature in the Community Parliament who would be singing the praise of their president and allow their constitution to be tempered with, then we have a challenge”.

Again, in the case of Burkina Faso they did not have issues about their constitution but had issue on state security when they had people from the Sahel coming down to take over their own government.

Guinea Bissau was a case where the president decided to close down parliament; “ECOWAS Parliament did very well by putting pressure on them and the meeting, we had in Bissau helped and now they have conducted their own elections; new members have been elected and so there is national assembly”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Second Deputy Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Andrew Asiamah Amoako has pledged his commitment to support Ghana’s Parliamentary caucus in the fight against tuberculosis, when he re-launched as part of revitalizing the TB caucus in Ghana’s legislature as a way of strengthening advocacy and communication.

He thanked the ‘Stop TB partnership Ghana’ and all the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and individuals, working  in collaboration with the National TB Control program as the parliamentary TB caucus is expected to champion the affairs of TB on the floor of parliament and to advocate for increased resource allocation to support the fight against TB in Ghana.

According to him the Health Committee has the capacity to ensure this happens in the next budget for 2024.

 The strategic inclusion of the Health Committee in the TB caucus of parliament will surely assist put the fight against the TB at a higher political level and commit the country to achieving the various target we have to attain, he stated.

He charged the leadership of the committee to ensure H. E President Nana Akufo-Addo attends this year’s United Nations High Level Meeting on TB; and that civil society, TB caucus and the TB program are all represented in the Ghanaian delegation to the meeting in September.

After the meeting in New York, they will indeed need all hands on deck to ensure they become accountable to themselves, by ensuring we convert declarations to commitment at country level in order to overcome the disease.

The second deputy speaker noted that he is aware of the challenges of co-financing with the Global funds which could cut funding for the health sector if nothing is done and the impending possible shortages of health commodities  for the control  of TB and HV especially.

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Member of Parliament (MP) for Afram Plains North Nana Efua Krosbi Betty Mensah is calling for much advocacy to be carried out to create much awareness on issues relating to tuberculosis.

The MP made this call on Friday, July 14, 2023 in Parliament when as part of revitalizing the TB caucus in Ghana’s legislature as a way of strengthening advocacy and communication.

According to her not too long ago she had a visitor in her house who showed symptoms of the disease, and so with her little knowledge in TB, she suspected the visitor had TB, hence she managed to keep the children away from getting close to the visitor.

According to her, having listened to a TB survivor who recounted what he went through after contracting TB and had to isolate himself from his family, she realized then that she made the right choice.

“If more people are getting the knowledge of TB as a nation we would go a long way to cut down on the statistics. Again, five percent of infected cases are children who are the future generation hence a lot of efforts is required to stump the spread.

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Deputy Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin in the company of four lawmakers from both side of the House and four Municipal and District Chief Executives from the Gomoa and Effutu enclave addressed the media on Monday, July 10, 2023 pushing an agenda to resolve escalating land disputes between the two communities.

“As representatives of our constituents and advocates for peace and stability, we stand united in our unwavering commitment to resolving this issue and safeguarding the ancestral lands of all chiefs within our respective areas”.

The Effutu lawmaker pledged on behalf of his colleagues their commitment to engaging with all relevant Chiefs and opinion leaders and ensuring a transparent and inclusive process.

“We are here today to address this land dispute with a unified approach,” he said. “By fostering an environment of constructive dialogue and mutual understanding, we believe we can find a fair and comprehensive solution that respects the rights and interests of all parties involved.”

The Deputy Majority leader explained that to ease tensions and promote a peaceful environment, they acknowledge the necessity of engaging with Paramount Chiefs and relevant government bodies.

In addition, he pointed out that, they plan to involve stakeholders such as the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Local Government, and the Ministry of Interior. This coordinated effort aims to address administrative and traditional boundary issues comprehensively, laying the groundwork for a sustainable solution.

“We express our commitment to engaging with other pertinent stakeholders, including the Lands Commission, potential estate developers, and local business leaders in the affected areas. We caution adherence to legal and regulatory frameworks, ensuring the protection of all parties’ interests.”

As political leaders they plan to establish a dedicated committee to investigate the underlying concerns thoroughly. The committee will ensure an impartial and comprehensive approach to resolving the dispute, transcending partisan affiliations for the greater good.

The Committee will comprise the MPs, the MMDCEs, the traditional chiefs, and other stakeholders.

“As political leaders, we hold the responsibility of preserving the cultural heritage and security of our communities,” he emphasized.

“We assure the Chiefs within our respective areas that we will utilize our influence and authority to protect their ancestral lands from any unjust encroachment.”

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The NDC Minority in Parliament has boycotted today’s sitting to enable Members accompany and solidarize with two members of their Caucus, namely the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and MP for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson.

The two are due to appear in court this morning in their respective ongoing prosecutions by the Attorney-General and the NPP Government.

In a statement issued by the whip, Governs Kwame Agbodza noted that “the Minority stands united with our colleagues, and as such will not be able to honour the business of the house today”.

This is the beginning of a series of actions that the Caucus will be embarking on to end the ongoing persecution of the Minority Leader himself, James Gyakye Quayson and Collins Dauda, he stated.

They also served notice and reiterate the point that “amidst persecution, cooperation will suffer”.

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Ranking Member on the Health Committee in Ghana’s Parliament, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has called on government to release funds to the Foods and Drugs Authority (FDA) to perform their functions efficiently.

He explained that, there are several food products and drugs on the Ghanaian market which needs to be checked randomly by FDA in order to make sure they are safe for Ghanaians to consume; but those random checks are not going on anymore.

At a Press briefing on Thursday, July 6, 2023, Mr Akandah further said, upon his investigation from the FDA, it came out that there are no funds to carry such an important exercise in making sure that, safe products are sold to Ghanaian.

The ranking member has therefore called on government through the finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to release funds immediately to such an important agency to perform its functions.

He added that, it is only FDA that has the expertise in checking foods on the market to authenticate safe food or otherwise hence the need to release the funds immediately to the FDA.

Ghanamps.com