Month: January 2025

Members of Parliament (MPs) on Thursday, January 2, 2025 approved a total of GH₵68,134,674,527 for the first quarter of 2025.

Funds are to be allocated across various sectors of the economy between January and March this year.

According to the mini-budget for 2025, the new John Mahama administration plans to spend GH₵16,462,828,490 on compensation for employees.

Expenditure on goods and services is set at GH₵3,123,221,785, while interest payments will cost the nation GH₵20,691,523,500.

Other expenditures include GH₵45,507,080 for subsidies, GH₵9,193,773,211 for grants to other government units, and GH₵234,703,983 for social benefits.

Additionally, other government expenditures are expected to amount to GH₵5,293,248,499.

This brings the total expenditure for the first three months of the year to GH₵64,508,623,999.

Furthermore, the new government will allocate GH₵2,345,505,925 for arrears clearance and GH₵1,280,544,603 for amortization.

In total, the state’s expenditure in advance of appropriation stands at GH₵68,134,674,527.

Ghanamps.com

Members of Parliament on the Minority side with offices at the third floor, East of Job 600 are unhappy with a faulty and non-functioning air-condition in their offices thus making working in the offices very difficult.

Member of Parliament for Keta, Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey in an interview with Ghanamps.com on Thursday, January 2, 2025 noted that they are unable to seat in their office since the air-condition has not been working for some time now.

According to him, several complains for the situation to be remedied has since not yielded any positive result.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Environmental Protection Bill, 2024 has been read the third time and passed on, Thursday, January 2, 2025.

The Bill seeks to establish the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to regulate, protect, and exercise general oversight and coordination over all matters relating to the environment and climate change.

It also seeks to re-enact the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1994 (Act 490) and introduce a Pesticide Management Fund as well as re-enacts the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act, 2016 (Act 917) for consolidation.

Additionally, it makes provision for the implementation of actions that position Ghana to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Ghanamps.com

The planning committee for the inauguration of the 9^th Parliament and the swearing in of President-elect John Dramani Mahama chaired by Gifty Twum Ampofo has given assurance that media accreditation for journalists will be ready for collection by close of day, Thursday, January 2, 2025 at a media briefing.

According to the Committee names of journalists within and outside Parliament are being compiled where a link would be sent out for them to upload their pictures for printing.

In addition to question on preparation so far done, it was pointed out that names of journalists will be entered into a data system and printing of ID cards done within the shortest possible time.

It was further stated that media Houses that intend to do live broadcast should set up in Parliament by close of day on Thursday, January 2, 2025 as opportunity will not be given on Friday, December 3, 2025 when the President Nana Akufo-Addo deliver his final State of the Nation message.

On the issue of heavy military and police presence in Parliament it was pointed out that they are in to help parliament security beef up security till January 7, 2025.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Parliament is reconvening today, January 2, 2025 amidst tight security all over the place.

A joint Police and Military Police personnel are currently busy with their sniffing dogs moving from office to office to ensure no threat is left undetected.

This development is expected as the parliament will in few days also host the President of the land, HE President Akufo-Addo as he delivers his last States of the Nation address.

The 8^th parliament is winding up its activities to make way for the inauguration of the 9^th parliament on January 6, 2025.

Though details are sketchy on the actual businesses to be transacted within this period, one issue that is lingering and of almost importance to the running of government machinery in the year has to do with the Mini-Budget to be presented by the Finance Minister on behalf of the president for the first quarter of 2025.

Though the Finance Minister failed to fulfilled this duty prior to the adjournment, the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin blamed the conduct of the Minority for the shortfall and assured that government was willing to ensure this is done, and added that anytime parliament was recalled the finance Minister would be ready to fulfill.

  There are also some outstanding businesses for consideration by the House including Tax waiver for One District One Factory Companies.

Ghanamps.com

The Majority women caucus of the 8th Parliament of the fourth Republic is appealing to the National Executive Council of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to maintain the current leaders in the new 9th Parliament yet to be sworn in.

At a press conference addressed by Shella Battels and flanked by the Sanitation and Water Resources Minister Lydia Alhssan Syram and Gifty Twum they appealed to NEC of NPP who will be meeting on Thursday, January 2, 2025 to maintain the current leadership of the Majority in the 9th Parliament as follows:

Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin; Deputy Minority Leader, Patricia Appiagye; Minority whip, Frank Annoh Dompreh.

They further pointed out that with the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into law with the president Nana Akufo-Addo assenting to it, it has been a long and difficult journey, more especially ensuring female representation.

Previously, the caucus noted that when one looks at the front bench of the NPP, it was made up of only men hence the need to have a female at the front bench.

“We will not accept anything less than a woman in the leadership of the 9th Parliament from the National Executive Council of the NPP as they meet on Thursday, January 2, 2025 to take a decision”, the group asserts.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Rt. Hon. Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament has dismissed the assertion that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is made up of elite than any other party in Ghana under the fourth Republic.

According to him the Convention People’s Party (CPP) is made up of more elite than any other party but it’s all because the NPP has loud mouths and they are very good at branding.

Hence they branded former President John Agyekum Kufour as a gentle giant to win election and did same for someone else (Akufo-Addo) and he became president for eight years, “and the results are there for all of us to see”.

He made this remarks when the opposition NDC members of the Professional Forum conferred on him a citation in Parliament House and endorsed him to be re-elected as Speaker for the 9th Parliament.

He further thanked God for a peaceful December 7, 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections that witnessed former President John Dramani Mahama elected as President again.

By way of some historic insight into the name of the NDC, he said, “It took a lot of pains and time to take the name National Democratic Congress, so we are a congress; we did not take the name party, it’s a good reason why we took the name congress.

“We represent everybody unlike the others. The award is not recognition of my personal service but rather the collective effort, commitment of each member of the great congress.

Our opponents who claim to be new, none of them is new anyway, to be patriotic, none of them is patriotic; they say they belong to a party you can see whether it is really a party, he criticized.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Dome Kwabenya in the 2024 election, Faustina Akurugu Elikplim has been officially confirmed the Member of Parliament (MP) elected for Dome Kwabenya.

The EC made the declaration on Tuesday, December 31, 2024 during an emergency meeting of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).

The declaration is a major shift by the Electoral Commission that has initially announced a rerun at one of the polling stations at Abokobi in which the EC cited some inconsistencies in the results.

Dome-Kwabenya had been one of nine constituencies facing challenges with the declaration of results as the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) candidate Mike Oquaye Jr. was not happy with the outcome also citing some irregularities.

Per the final results declared by the EC, NDC’s Faustina Akurugu won with 50,967 votes as against the NPP’s Mike Oquaye Jr. with 50,669 votes, thus a margin of 298 votes.

The Dome-Kwabenya has been one of the traditional seats for the New Patriotic Party in this fourth republic and considered one of the safe seats for the party. However, the current wave of defeat that swept through most of such traditional seats across the country in the 2024 election did not spare Dome-Kwabenya, and now in the hands of the National Democratic Congress.

Ghanamps.com