Month: March 2025

Bawku Central Member of Parliament , Mahama Ayariga has condemned in no uncertain terms the brutality meted out to women, children, old men and innocent youth in the night of Tuesday, 18th March 2025, in some sections of Bawku Municipality and vows to demand total accountability on the part of the military.

According to him the conduct of the military is unacceptable, stating that whilst he regrets the accidental killing of military personnel by an unknown gunman and condemns that dastardly act, he states that ransacking and beating innocent civilians and holding the whole town to ransom is equally detestable.

In a statement, he noted that the rule of law must prevail; soldiers who are responsible for ensuring law and order should never do that.

The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central has urged the leadership of Bawku and the military to collaborate to investigate the killing of the military personnel instead of the approach adopted by the military command.

He extended his condolences to the bereaved family of the military personnel who accidentally and unfortunately lost his life and urged caution by all sides.

He also expressed his sympathy for the victims of the military brutality of Tuesday night. He regrets that the military command did not head his appeal not to react violently to the killing of their colleague and went ahead to do what they did. “We need to work together” he said.

“I have confidence that all sides will repose confidence in His Majesty the Asantehene Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II to bring finality to the situation in Bawku and end the violence we are experiencing.”

Kwaku Skayi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson said he is confident in government’s ability to fill the $156 million financing gap created because of closure of the operations of the United States for International Development (USAID) globally.

He said, as part of the resources that will be made available as a result of the uncapping of the National Health Insurance Levy, part of it would be used to close the gap created following the suspension of the USAID funding.

According to him an amount of GHC100 million cedis has been allocated in the goods and services component of this year’s budget to be used for procurement of vaccines since most of USAID funding went towards health sector interventions.

Dr. Forson, the Member of Parliament for Ajumaku-Enyan-Essiam made this known on the floor of the House on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, when he took his turn to answer questions.

“By uncapping the National Health Insurance Levy, Ghana will raise enough revenue to meet the funding gap. An amount of GH¢9.9 billion has been allocated to the National Health Insurance Authority for the 2025 financial year with GH¢4.2 billion projected to be added to the Levy due to uncapping”.

The finance minister on Thursday, March 13 presented for first reading the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in his commitment to uncap the health insurance and GETFund levies announced in the 2025 Budget and Economic Policy Statement.

Meanwhile, Dr. Forson has defended the slow rate of depreciation of the Ghanaian Cedi which has witnessed stability since February 19 this year. The Cedi saw a reduction in depreciation by 0.4% between March this year and the same period last year. He noted, the Ghana Cedi experienced a depreciation of 5.3% against the US Dollar at an exchange rate of GH¢15.53 to the dollar as of March 14 this year. This compared to 5.7%

depreciation over the same period in 2024 at a cedi-dollar exchange rate of 12.6 to the dollar.

Therefore, “to maintain this exchange rate stability that we have seen relatively from February 19th, the Ministry of Finance working with the Central Bank has outlined a number of policies” including the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board to “enhance the generation of foreign currency to help the central bank accumulate enough forex and to intervene as and when they are supposed to intervene.”

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Effutu Member of Parliament and Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo Markin has questioned the age of the New Inspector General of Police (IGP), COP Christian Tetteh Yuhono, indicating that steps would be taken to dig his age further.

He referenced the statement issued by the Minister of Government Communications announcing the IGP’s appointment when the Minister of the Interior, Muntaka Mubarak was on the floor of the House to answer an urgent question and was accompanied by the new IGP to the chamber to brief the house on some urgent matters.

The Minority Leader indicated in his statement that the new IGP had served in the Ghana Police Service for forty years.
The Effutu legislator was interested to know at what age the IGP entered the Ghana Police Service based on that information.

The new IGP, who is said to be sixty years old, took over from COP George Akuffo Dampare who’s 55 years old and had a few more years to retire.

The Minister in his answer took the opportunity to introduce the new IGP.

“I want to congratulate him on his appointment” Afenyo-Markin said.

“Suffice it to say that in the statement from the Minister responsible for Government Communications, he told the country that the new IGP has spent forty years in the service. 40 years as a police officer, so at the right time we will calculate, whether he entered at age 20, 19 or 18, his age and all.

“That is just, by the way, I wish him well; I am only doing the mathematics as to whether the IGP is going to retire very soon. But Mr Speaker, that’s beside the point”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin had reason to question why the President of the Republic has still not released the list of the remaining deputy ministers, despite his (President) promise to announce the names this week during the swearing-in of the newly approved deputy ministers.

“The President should keep his promise he made; we do not have message from the president but the remaining lists to make sixty ministers has kept long”, he stated.

This was after the first deputy Speaker, Bernard Ahiafor presiding over proceedings on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, disclosed that there were no message from the President and the Rt. Hon Speaker.

Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga on his part noted that the Minority Leader has been long in the House and should understand the process; stating that if the Minority Leader desires a message from the president, he should say it.

“If he wants appointment from the President, he should tell me privately, I know he has never been a minister when his government was in power, they never considered him for a minister, he laboured for them for years but they never considered him for a minister”.

Again, his inability to become a minister has become a problem, since this house started every day, he is worried who becomes a minister. “We are very accommodating, if you want to become one of the 60 ministers”.

“We would welcome you this is a government that want to unite the country; we do not mind appointing the Minority Leader as a deputy minister. The President would send his list when he is ready; you are not the one who asks him to send the earlier ones”, Mr Ayariga stated.

According to him, the Minority Leader was bringing commitment made outside the House, stating that it has nothing to do with this House. “I do not recall the President making a statement like that, that the list of the deputy ministers would be in this week”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon Alban Sumana Bagbin has added his voice to the need to improve security measures around the Parliamentary enclave when the Minority Leader Alexander Kwamen Afenyo Markin raised issues of security at the inauguration of the Parliamentary Service Board of the ninth Parliament on Monday, March 17, 2025.

According to him there is a growing threat posed by intruders that undermine the safety of lawmakers which has resulted in the loss of life of some MPs and the loss of life of staff because of health care, unfortunately the staff could have been saved.

And pointed out that the issue raises by the Minority Leader on the need for Parliament to have its own hospital would be discussed into details and a decision would be taken which would inure to the benefit of every Ghanaian.

Speaker Bagbin further indicated that Parliament is a large community larger than some districts and that he has taken into account as their numbers grow to upgrade their facilities.

“We should provide sufficient facility to deliver to the growing numbers; this should be a responsive parliament as we lead the African continent. Africans are now close to their televisions and watching what MPs do. I was surprised that the President of Liberia was quoting statements that MPs in Ghana made on the floor and they told him how they see him conducting the affairs of the House”.

Again, we are not only working for Ghana, we are working for Africa and the whole world, we should do what is right, what is just, fair and democratic.

“We need to focus issue of governance in this ninth Parliament, if we get our governance correct, we would get all the other sectors right; whether it is the economy, health, or education, they all depend on leadership which is in political governance”, he added.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin is advocating for re-introduction of a conversation for a new chamber befitting the legislative arm of government, though the current structure is still fit for purpose.

Speaking at the inauguration of the ninth Parliamentary Service Board on Monday, March 17, 2025, he stated that the Speaker Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, spoke about security in Parliament, and recounted his visit to the British Parliament House of Commons where even within the chamber there was enhanced security.

“Here in the public gallery anybody at all can throw anything at a Member of Parliament and there is no security; I am therefore looking forward to enhance security in the chamber.”

The Effutu Member of Parliament further added that MPs in the ninth Parliament have some concerns which have to do with their welfare, and he believes that they would put in place the necessary support systems for MPs to function effectively; same with the staff who provide them support should be well equipped, adding that when this comes before the board, the board would be able to deal with it.

“Two things I’m looking forward to happen in the ninth Parliament; hospital for parliament. If it does happen in accordance with the Speaker’s vision it would be a great milestone.

In addition, he noted that they are a political class, and their health issues are to be known within certain confines because of confidentiality and all that, noting that people travel abroad at great costs for medical support. As such it would help if they are able to deal with it.

He also asserts that Parliament has seen great transformation since the Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin assumed the chair as Speaker in the eighth Parliament and now Parliament is closer to the people than it was before.
It’s therefore our turn to support Speaker to do more and he should be rest assured that we are committed in this direction, he concluded.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has vehemently rejected suggestions by his counterpart the Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin for Parliament to have its own hospital.

Mr. Ayariga who was commenting on the Minority Leader’s suggestion at the inauguration of the 9th Parliamentary Service Board said “I do not believe a hospital should be the priority of this parliament; we are very close to the Ridge Hospital which I personally believe is adequate to provide the services that staffs here would need. And I do not believe at this stage with the finance of this country a political class building a hospital specially for itself and not wanting to mingle with ordinary Ghanaians”.

“We have a clinic which we have been keeping with what most establishments have, and I believe that if anything at all we should just improve the services at the clinic like basic services. If you need serious care, you can use the facility at Ridge hospital which is not far from here to Korle Bu”.

On the issue of security, he states, “I do agree we need to re-think the way the compound is arranged that affects the security of our offices and the chamber. I don’t think the security issue warrant discussion of building new chamber, that I totally reject as well that we should be discussing the construction of a new chamber as well at this age when this country is confronted with multiple financial issues. What we have has served us well over the years; we can continue to do well in the facility”.

In addition, I believe that our effectiveness, efficiency and success depend on the service that facilitates our work. I want to assure the Speaker that we would work with the board to make sure that right decisions are made to make us more effective and efficient and better parliament that remains the envy of many parliaments across the world.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Ninety percent of challenges facing the road sector are financially related; Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Agbodza stated on the floor of Parliament and lamented over the inability to judiciously apply the scares resources we have as a nation.

According to him, one point nine million dollars ($1.9 billion) had been earmarked for the dualization of the Accra-Kumasi Road, with a variation of one point seven billion dollars ($1.7 billion), stating that he has not seen such a worse situation before.

Governs Agbodza further added that to address issues of road construction, enough preparations on drawing and design should be done and funds secured for its execution.

“Ghanaians are not getting the needed value with a lot of roads being built and the Accra to Kumasi is design and build, one point nine billion and has one point seven billion variations to it”, stating that it is the more reason that under the Big Push program, President John Mahama wants redesign done and built.

Additionally, the sector Minister noted that a drone shot was captured of the site for the dualization of the Accra-Kumasi road; and it was later noticed that galamsey activities were on some portions hence the cost of construction went overboard.

The Minister received a lot of heckling from his colleagues from the Minority side of the House, who pointed out that, the Accra-Kumasi dualization project was signed by civil servants and not by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

“Sometimes, as politicians we take blame for things we are not supposed to take blame for; it is civil servants who carried the work out and put the contract document together. Why are politicians taking blame for things we are not responsible for? I am happy you are feeling uncomfortable about this revelation and it would help the Majority side not to repeat the mistakes you did”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com