Month: January 2025

Member of Parliament for Asawase and Interior Minister designate, Muntaka Mubarak is before the Appointments Committee to be vetted following his nomination by President Mahama.

Muntaka Ghanammps.com learnt will be the only nominee to appear before the Committee on Friday, January 24, 2025.

The nominee is expected to answer questions pertaining to the security of the country and how he plans to ensure internal peace and deal with conflicts in the country.

President Mahama has already sworn-in 12 ministers after they were approved by Parliament. Four Regional ministers-designate have been vetted by the Committee awaiting approval by Parliament.

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Leader of the Minority in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has called on the President John Dramani Mahama to increase the size of his government due to the magnitude of work that is expected to be done.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, he said the combination of ministerial portfolios will only go to burden the ministers.

He therefore called for an upward review of the 60-ministers pledge by President Mahama for the better running of government.

“When we make mistakes, let’s admit them and apologize. Sixty ministers will not help your political cause. If I were to advise Mr. President, I would say, Mr. President, you can apologize to Ghanaians and say, ‘Look, I underestimated the thing. I think I need to engage more ministers.”

He argued that not much cost savings is achieved when ministries are merged while the same numbers of civil servants are maintained except to say that it rather creates operational inefficiencies.

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Mahama Ayariga, the newly appointed Majority Leader, has called on Members of Parliament to ensure their actions and decisions reflect the aspirations and unwavering commitment of the Ghanaian people.

Mr Ayariga made this statement during his acceptance speech on Thursday, 23 January, 2025 following his appointment as Majority Leader.

In his address, Mr Ayariga emphasized the importance of constructive dialogue and mutual respect in overcoming challenges.

“The road ahead will not be without challenges, but I am confident that together, through constructive dialogue and mutual respect, we can overcome any obstacles and deliver on our collective vision,” he stated.

The Majority Leader also highlighted the trust Ghanaians have placed in their leaders and urged his colleagues to remain steadfast in their commitment to serve.
He noted, “Let us remain steadfast in our commitment to the people of Ghana. Their trust must inspire our actions and guide our decisions.”

Mr Ayariga further stressed the significance of building a nation that aligns with the aspirations of its citizens.

“It is for them that we will build a prosperous, united, and democratic Ghana,” he added, reiterating the responsibility of Parliament to uphold the interests of the people.

The new Majority Leader’s remarks come as a call to action for his caucus and the entire Parliament, emphasizing the need for leadership that is guided by the hopes and dedication of Ghanaians in fostering national progress and unity

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In the wake of the National Democratic Congress Majority side in parliament losing most of the members of their leadership to ministerial positions, the caucus has seen some shake up to strengthen the front bench.

Ghanamps.com has picked up signal that the Rt. Hon. Speaker Alban Bagbin is expected to announce the new Leadership of the Majority.

They include;
• Mahama Ayariga – Majority Leader
• Kwaku Rickitt Hagan – Deputy Majority leader
• Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor – Majority Chief Whip
• Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah – First Deputy Majority Whip
• Richard Achampong – 2nd Deputy Majority Whip

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The immediate past Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul has raised concerns about President John Dramani Mahama’s decision not to use the presidential flights for official international duties.

According to him, the jet is in good condition and should be utilised, rather than opting for alternatives such as commercial or private flights.

His remarks on the floor of the House on Wednesday, January 22, when a communication was read informing the house that President Mahama was traveling to the United Arab Emirates and Members on the Minority side questioned the mode of transport the President was using for the trip.

The Minister-designate for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, clarified that the President had used a commercial flight for his journey.

However, Dominic Nitiwul criticized the situation, calling it offensive that the presidential jet, which is reportedly in good condition, is being ignored.

“Anytime the President jet was not available, the communication squadron jet was not available for whatever reasons the [former] President always rented it [private jet] and used it. The difference today is that the current jet is serviceable. It can move. It is working. It is wrong for the President of the Republic to be going on commercial jets when the jet that Ghana used our money to pay for and buy is available and it’s working,” he said.

This comes in the wake of reactions about the use of the presidential jet, with some questioning why President Mahama sometimes opts to use his brother Ibrahim Mahama’s private jet for official international assignments.

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Minister designate for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Ahmed Ibrahim has said the procurement of the District Road Improvement Programme equipment was not done with the Local Government Ministry then, but was rather done from the presidency.

According to him it is a laudable initiative conceived through the Local Government Committee, the sector Ministry and the District Assemblies Common Fund.

During his vetting on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, he noted that workers in the Ministry will bear with him that they do not have records of any agreement of the DRIP project and they do not have programme inventory of all the DRIP machines.

Again, there is no management contract, there are no spare parts, there are no committee established to take care of DRIP machines.

When the Immediate past sector Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Martin Korsah asked a question about the DRIP equipment, the Minister designate noted that as a House they need to work together to get the best of the DRIP machines and put them to good use so that the money pumped into it will not go to waste.

“We should have proper structure, proper agreement, proper monitoring, and proper system to ensure that we make good use of the machines that were procured. I hope I can count on the former Local Government Ministers here; we have the men from both sides if we can come together we can solve Ghana’s problems”, he stated.

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The Minority in Parliament is demanding policy clarification from the first gentleman of the land, H. E. President John Dramani Mahama on the appointment of Colonel Larry Gbevlo-Lartey, Special envoy to the Alliance of Sahelian states which is against Ghana’s foreign policy of non-alliance.

According to the Minority, Ghana is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a very important member as such which Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have opted out of.

Hon Patrick Yaw Boamah addressing a press conference on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, the question, “are we changing some aspects of our foreign policy programme which has been in existence since late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, our first President’s time?

We want to find out from the president what this envoy will be doing in case of the ECOWAS protocol and other treaties we have established”.

Again, Ghana is non-aligned; we want to understand our new foreign policy from the president. We do not want backlash from some of our multilateral partners who are against military rule.

“We know ECOWAS is in discussion with the three Sahel countries before the previous administration of the NPP exited, Ghana was in some talks with our Sahel brothers; has this shifted as a first major policy?” He queried.

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On the issue of effectively dealing with waste management at the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), Minister designate for Local Government, Religious Affairs and Chieftaincy Ahmed Ibrahim believes the problem has to do with dis-alignment of Ministry.

According to him all over the World waste management is a Municipal function, and it should be the core duty of the MMDAs as waste management workers are available in every MMDA.

He further added that he has no idea on the contract signed by waste contractors and the question of their decentralization to make it effective. He believes it should fall under the Local Government Ministry and not the previous Sanitation Ministry set up by the immediate NPP administration.

The presence of the Sanitation Ministry, he noted should be properly placed at the Ministry of the Local Government; “sanitation workers are present in every district; once this is done the problem will not be about contract, it will be about supervision and monitoring.

H also affirmed that the Sanitation department of the ministry needs to be strengthened to do proper monitoring, adding that with effective work on sanitation issues the problem can be solve, as it is not an issue of contract.

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Majority Leader Dr Ato Forson has taken a swipe at the Minority in Ghana’s Parliament for their desperate attempt to politicize the issue of confrontation between small scale miners and military personnel in Obuasi which led to the death of nine miners and several others in critical conditions.

According to him President John Dramani Mahama has already ordered a full scale investigation into the incident and wondered why the Minority is acting as though nothing is being done about the situation.

At a press conference in Parliament, he pointed out that instead of the Minority sympathizing with the bereaved families and applauding government’s proactive move, the NPP is rather dabbling in cheap politics.

“It’s obvious that the NPP is yet to recover from the shock of its monumental defeat in last year’s elections; we urge them to come to terms with their resounding defeat and allow the two weeks old government to steer the affairs of the state in line with the mandate of the good people of Ghana”, he stated.

He assured the people of Ghana that pursuant to the directives of the President, impartial and timely investigation would be carried out into the Obuasi incident”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com