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Month: March 2025

We’ll reject any attempt to introduce new taxes – Minority

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

As President John Dramani Mahama’s government prepares to present its first budget statement to Parliament, the Minority has served notice that they will reject any attempt to smuggle in new taxes or increase existing taxes.

“We the Mighty Minority will join the people of Ghana to resist any attempt to smuggle in new taxes or increase existing taxes. We owe it a duty to hold the government accountable for their promises to the people of Ghana”, the said when they presented the ‘true State of the Nation Address’ at a press conference in parliament on Monday.

The Minority contends that the ongoing National Economic Dialogue, is intended to whitewash the unfounded and baseless claims of the mismanagement of our economy under the erstwhile NPP administration; and further asserted that the government was scaring the people of Ghana by putting out unaudited outstanding claims on government.

“We believe these unholy moves by the NDC are intended to buy time to cover for its incompetence in managing the economy and to establish the basis for increasing taxes and introducing new taxes in the 2025 Budget Statement, even as they are promising to scrap E-Levy, COVID-Levy and others.

Ladies and gentlemen, does it make sense to scrap E-levy and betting tax, and replace them with new taxes on the mining, telecommunication, the financial sector and real estate industries, which will all be passed on to customers?

The people of Ghana should wait for the deception of the NDC government when they present the 2025 budget – taxes galore!”

“This is how they intend to tax Ghanaians to collect their target of GHS200billion in tax revenues this year. This government accused us of overtaxing the people of Ghana because by the end of 2024, the NPP administration collected GHS152.9 billion which is 17% tax to GDP ratio taking it from President Mahama’s 13% in 2016. How do you then turn around to expect to collect GHS200 billion in a broken economy?” They queried.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com

NPP insists 3 Agenda 111 hospitals were completed

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

The New Patriotic Party Minority in parliament has insisted the Akufo-Addo government had done considerably well with the Ghana Priority Health Infrastructure Project (Agenda 111) completing three (3) District Hospitals.

The three, they said achieved practical completion, equipped and commissioned on the 5th December, 2024.

These include Atwima Kwanwoma Municipal Hospital at Trede, Oforikrom Municipal Hospital at Kokoben, and Ahanta West Municipal Hospital at Bokro.
This is contrary to President John Mahama’s verdict when he delivered the State of the Nation Address of only one being completed.

The Minority presenting what they termed ‘The True State of the Nation Address’ at a press conference in Parliament on Monday, March 3, 2025 disclosed that as at 31st December 2024, progress on the completion of civil works were – 37 sites achieved 70% completion and above, 28 sites achieved between 50% and 70% completion, and 36 sites have achieved below 50%completion.

They also refuted the fact that there was no dedicated fund for the Agenda 111 project.

“We also had dedicated sources of funding these projects from direct Government of Ghana (GOG) budgetary allocation and the Annual Budget Funding Amount Capex from oil revenues.

Dr. Amin Adams  who addressed the media on behalf of the Minority also stated that the Amount needed for the completion of all the District Hospitals and the Zonal Psychiatric Hospitals as at 31st December 2024 was US$1.3billion.

They accused the President of misinforming the public stating, “In his haste to misinform the Ghanaian people, the President told a group of clergy men
who visited him in his office that he needed $1.7 billion to complete the Agenda 111projects. In his address to the nation, he put the amount at GHS22 billion ($1.4 billion atGHS15.5 to US$). So which is the correct amount?”

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com

Quorum Brouhaha: “I would balance my Ministerial and Parliamentary works” — Minister

Posted on by Enestina GhanaMPs

Minister of State in charge of Special Initiatives, Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum said he would balance his work as a Minister and also attend to parliamentary duties regularly to avoid the Minority raising issues of quorum on the floor of the House.

Mr Agyekum who was speaking in an interview at the end of the three days orientation in Ho in the Volta Regional admonished his colleagues in the Minority to do their best to come together and be punctual in the chamber to ensure government business goes on.

“I do not think we would have problems; with this orientation it has been good for us and I think our colleagues who came to this orientation know that it is for us to come to the chamber and work for mother Ghana”.

On the issue of cost cutting being the reason why the Minority did not come to Ho for the orientation, he allayed the fears of his colleagues in the Minority stating that President John Mahama has shown the way including cutting down on the number of Minister to sixty (60) and directing the Finance Minister to do same.

He added that the new National Democratic Congress (NDC) government would do a lot in the interest of Ghanaians to ensure they get the needed economic relieve; and in terms of food security there would be interventions to ensure availability of enough food at affordable prices, stating that the government is committed to reducing dependence on imported food items by increasing local production.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Majority Leader praises performance of first-time MPs

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has commended first time Members of Parliament (MPs) in the ninth Parliament for their performance so have noting that the first orientation given them in Parliament has yielded good results.

According to him, the MPs, in the next four years would have to work together to defend and uphold Ghana’s democracy; and commended them for being regular at the constituencies.

The leader who gave the commendation at the opening of the second orientation for all Members of Parliament in the ninth parliament in Ho however noted that the MPs regular presence at their constituencies is also affecting their presence in the chamber.

“There is a lot of work ahead of us and we need to prepare ourselves for it; that is the essence of this exercise. For the returning members, I see we have suffered some casualties, many have gotten into Ministerial portfolios and that is going to take them away from us”.

Again, it is important to note that Ghana has become the envy of a lot of African countries and respected in the world at large because of our democracy, we have the capacity to engage in elections and in between elections our institution of parliament works hard to hold the executive accountable, he added.

The Majority Leader further noted in his address that, to ensure the country is properly run, after the elections, we ensured smooth transition, adding that parliament is the heart beat of democracy, thus “we have held our own in the last three decades”.

“We are liked in the continent, we should remain to hold the high standard; we have to build out skills to remain as a very credible parliament, we have to learn how to hold the executive accountable as MPs”.

Again, we should represent our constituencies and help to run our various institutions efficiently and the democracy we have; it has to deliver economic and social benefits to our people, that is what they expect and we have to get the tools and how to use them.

Thus the orientation exercise helps us gain the skills of how to debate, move motions, how to bring issues into the agenda of parliament, how to get Minister on the floor and how to engage with Minister.

He admonished MPs to build a cordial relationship with the media, stating that there are MPs who spend so much time in their constituencies and yet lost their elections at the end because the campaign against them was always about their inability to make contributions on the floor of the House. “You can do all the development works in your constituencies but if you do not spend time in the chamber, it would count against you in the next election”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Don’t depend on the Executive to develop your constituencies — Speaker advices MPs

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament Rt. Hon Alban Bagbin has admonished lawmakers not to depend on the Executive arm of government to develop their constituencies.

In his address at the ongoing orientation for Members of Parliament in Ho, the Volta Region capital, he advised the MPs to rather go beyond the executives to solicit and mobilize resources to support their constituencies and themselves as there are many opportunities out there.

“I got all my outside travels in the first and second parliament of the fourth Republic from institutions outside Parliament. Because of the role I was playing, I was invited; they sponsor me to many international conferences”.

“And I learnt from them. It started as far back as 1994, I am a patron of a number of them and I assist them to mobilize resources any time they run out of budget, they send people to come and interview me as to the benefit and the need of it to such organizations.

“I do it for them to get funding, so do not struggle to catch the eye of the president; do all you can to catch the eye of the Speaker and that is not just a skill, it goes beyond that, you can always catch the eye of the Speaker”.

He assured the MPs that he would be cracking the whip this time around. “I would disapprove of your travels if I see you misbehaving; this is a notice, do not beg me, parliament is not just the corner stone of democracy, it is democracy; that is the only institution that is democratic”, he emphasized.

He said the Executive arm of government belongs to one party, and it is very difficult for them to reach out to all the citizens of the country, but parliament can easily do it; that is why I love this initiative from the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources about how to fight illegal mining because you are the people who can lead that crusade.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Minority sent WhatsApp opting out of orientation because of cost — Speaker revealed

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

The Rt. Hon. Speaker Alban Sumana Bagbin has revealed that he received a WhatsApp message from the Minority that they would not be part of the ongoing orientation for Members of Parliament of the ninth Parliament in Ho because of issue of cost.

According to him the reason given by the Minority is unacceptable stating that choosing a venue for orientation has never been partisan. “There is always a search party that goes round to search for the appropriate venue at the right cost”.

Again, previously parliaments go to visit various hospitality facilities looking for good cost components suitable for MPs.

The Rt. Hon speaker further added that there is a lot of pressure on MPs that is also taken into consideration and before a decision is reached the search party moves round and brings a report to the Speaker for a decision to be taken.

He further explained and underscored the need to have Parliamentary staffs at the orientation, noting that since they assist MPs, there is the need to build their capacity too; otherwise they would not be in the position to assist MPs.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Minority boycotts orientation of MPs at Ho

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

The Minority in Ghana’s Parliament has boycotted the orientation of New Members of Parliament (MPs) currently being held in Ho, the Volta Regional capital.

As at the time of filling this story not a single soul of the Minority had appeared at the conference room.

In an interview with the Majority Chief Whip, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, he confirmed to Ghanamps.com that their colleagues in the Minority have indicated that they would not be part of the programme.

Minority Chief Whip Frank Annor Dompreh on Friday, February 28, 2025, indicated on the floor of the House that their side was not going to be part of the orientation, stating that as part of the cost saving strategy, the orientation should be done in Parliament House.

And added that when they were in the Majority in the 8th Parliament, there was public out cry over having such activities outside parliament; and questioned what has changed.

“We were not aware of the orientation until we heard of it on the floor of the House in the chamber”, he said.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Minority rejects proportional SONA debate — Habib

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

The Minority in parliament has rejected the call for proportional debate on the Message of the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The Minority through its Deputy Whip, Habib Iddrisu has given indication that the Minority would not agree to the Majority’s proportional SONA debate scheduled for Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

According to him it is alien to the House, that kind of proposition being out forward by the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga when he presented the Business Statement on the floor of the House on Friday, February 28, 2025.

Again, the Majority Leader should know that even in the seventh Parliament when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was in the Majority, they never resorted to proportion in terms of debate of SONA.

“We should have five from the Majority and five from the Minority. What is the Majority afraid of? You believe the message the president presented is the state of the Nation; this part of the business statement should be taken away. It is strange to the rule.”

A member who wants to speak would stand in his or her seat when he or she catches the eyes of the Speaker to speak and it did not say proportion should be used, he added.

“Mr. Speaker, the Minority side will not be part of it and will not tolerate it, and we will not allow them to set a bad precedent for us. We will not agree to that, we will all speak and debate SONA”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

23 questions to be answered by four sector Ministers

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

Four Ministers have been programmed to attend to the House to answer twenty-three questions next week.

They are the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulahi Jinapor, 6 questions ; Minister for Gender and Children Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, 3 questions; Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, 5 questions; Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, 5 questions; and Roads and Highways Minister, Kwame Governs Agbodza, 4 questions.

There are two urgent questions and twenty-one oral questions while Order 91 clause 2 makes provision for statement by the Ministers and Members of Parliament.

In a related development, the Second Deputy Speaker Andrew Asiamah has directed that the Minister of Energy and Green Transition should appear before the House on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 to outline measures the country is taking to have clean energy.

Debate on the Message of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) would start on Tuesday March 4, 2025.

Majority leader and Minority leaders would have forty minutes, other leaders would have twenty minutes and leadership of Committees would have fifteen minutes and MPs would have ten minutes.

The Business Committee could not reach consensus on the number of MPs to debate as the Minority insisted that the numbers should be equal from both sides while the Majority thinks otherwise, suggesting that it should be based on the numerical strength of each sides.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com