Month: January 2025

The Minister-designate for Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs, and Member of Parliament for Banda, Ahmed Ibrahim, has pledged his readiness to convert the Institute of Local Government Studies into a full-fledged university.

He was confident that the institute when converted into a university will not only add to the existing public universities in the country but also create additional enrollment space for the numerous senior high school graduates who may want to further their education to the tertiary level.

Ahmed Ibrahim, who made this known when he met appointments committee today also lauded his predecessors for taking initial steps to convert the institute and called for collaboration to expedite action on the bill in parliament to ensure that the institute eventually becomes a university.

“If given the nod we are all going to team up together and looking at the number of SHS students knocking on the doors of the few universities that we have in the country, we need more universities and therefore it is one area that we are going to pursue”, he stated.

Ahmed Ibrahim was nominated by President John Dramani Mahama to serve as Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.

His name was included in a list of 12 newly appointed minister-designates submitted to parliament, through the Speaker, to serve as regional and sector Ministers.

Ghanadistricts.com

Minister designates 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.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu in the Volta Region, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is heading to the Foreign Affairs Ministry in President Mahama’s latest ministerial appointments.

Ablakwa currently chairs the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) set up by the president in his quest to get back state assets in individual hands or illegally acquired.

Like previous nominees, Ablakwa has been the Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the 8th Parliament and his competence in that field is not in doubt.

Others on the list are Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah for Defence, Samuel Nartey George for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation, and Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak for the Interior Ministry.

Below is the full list as contained in the release:
Ghanamps.com

The Minister designate for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim has served notice of working together with relevant stakeholders to improve the economy of the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies.

Responding to question at his vetting, the Minister designate stated that the property rate collection would be one of the fastest and easiest ways to help drive the finances of MMDAs to champion development.

He noted that since 2009 when he entered parliament successive ministers of the sector have had reason to complain about property rate, and tour of about 154 MMDAs by the Committee of Local Government in Parliament identified property rate as one critical area, “ the low hanging fruits” to look at to improve the funding of the MMDAs.

He expressed delight that the centralized system adopted of the previous administration which then give back just a portion to the MMDAs has been reversed since the practice was seen to be ineffective.

As such when given the node, “it is an area to focus on with the involvement of chiefs, Members of Parliament, and practitioners to help achieve a better revenue for the assemblies to carry out their developments.

The Minister designate who admits that one of the core functions of the MMDAS is the development of the local economy also stated that he would work with previous ministers of the sector to come up with strategies and policies to support vision of the President to improve upon the local economy of in every district using comparative natural advantages of the various districts.

“We will work together to improve the local economic development of the MMDAs, and I said based on their economic comparative resource endowed advantages.”

Ghanamps.com

The Minority in Parliament has given indications that they will not cooperate with the Majority to transact government business on the floor of the House until President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) take immediate and decisive action to curb the violence allegedly instigated by their supporters across the country.

According to the second deputy whip Jerry Ahmed Shaid recent vandalism of the Electoral Commission’s Greater Accra Regional office during attempts to re-collate results for the Ablekuma North Constituency is a glaring example of the rising lawlessness in the nation.
He accused the party of deliberately inciting violence, with supporters engaging in thuggish behaviour in a bid to overturn the democratic process in the Ablekuma North constituency—an election he insists the NDC lost. “The Minority Caucus stands united in sending a clear and urgent message to His Excellency the President, and to the Ghana Police Service, about the escalating lawlessness in the country,” Mr Shaid declared.
“We are deeply concerned by the growing chaos following the declaration of John Dramani Mahama as President.”
Mr. Shaid announced the NDC’s actions allegedly involved obstructing the Electoral Commission from carrying out its constitutional duties.
“The latest incident, in which NDC supporters, led by the regional organiser, physically attacked the Electoral Commission’s officials and damaged property, is a shocking display of lawlessness,” Mr Shaid said.

“This is not just an isolated event, but part of a deliberate, coordinated effort by senior NDC members to disrupt the electoral process and prevent the NPP’s legitimate victory in Ablekuma North from being recognised.”

The NPP graciously accepted our losses, even when the margins were as narrow as fewer than a thousand votes, he noted.

“We chose the path of respect for the democratic process, while the NDC, despite their clear defeat in Ablekuma North, has resorted to violence and disruption, claiming they are defending the Electoral Commission. This is nothing more than a smokescreen for their refusal to accept the will of the people”, he added.
Kwaku Sakyi-Dnanso/Ghanamps.com

SCHEDULE FOR VETTING OF NOMINEES

However the Minority in an earlier press conference this week has criticized the manner in the Chairman of the Appointment Committee shouts at members and does not allow friends of the Committee to ask follow up question, and asked for a change in the approach especially distribution of CVs of nominees to ensure proper scrutiny.

Kwaku Sayi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for the Akan constituency Yao Gomado says he is thankful to his constituents that they did not allow money to influence them in the 2024 Parliamentary elections judging from the kind of resources that was released into the constituency by his opponents.

According to him his constituents voted based on the hardship they were going through as his place is mostly dominated by farming as an occupation.

In an interview he noted that, “farming inputs we enjoyed free during the John Mahama era, the liars made them believe they will be better off than what they were enjoying during the Mahama and this played out mainly in the 2016 and 2020 general elections”.

Despite the voter turnout was low, I rather appreciated in percentage almost four percent. I had fifty-eight percent in 2020, this time I was over sixty percent, the voter turnout was scary when you go to my strong holds, you find out that only fifty percent has cast their votes as at four pm and there were no people in the line at the various polling stations, he stated.

He affirmed that the number of seats the NDC has to form the majority in parliament shows that Ghanaians cannot be taken for granted. “And I am happy that now Ghanaians are looking at politicians on the account of what they can do, but not what comes from their month”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com