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Speaker urges MPs to brace themselves for a busy session

The Speaker of Parliament, Rt.Hon. Alban Sumana Bagbin has asked Members of Parliaments to brace themselves for a busy session as the house commences the second meeting of the first session of the eight parliament of the fourth republic.

Welcoming the House back from recess on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, the Speaker noted that “like medical practitioners, there is no rest for an MP. I repeat, it is true, like medical practitioners, there is no rest for an MP. This meeting promises to be very busy”.

He indicated that, apart from seeing to an early passage of the new Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana, the House is expected to consider and pass into law a number of important Bills. Among which include:
• The Petroleum Revenue Management Amendment Bill, 2021;
• The Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2021;
• The Exemptions Bill 2021;
• And a number of Private Members Bill; “as the House anxiously awaits the presentation of the all-important Affirmative Action Bill”. Adding that latest information has it that the Affirmative Action Bill is currently before Cabinet.

The House, he noted, would also consider a number of Private Members Motions, and international agreements, treaties and conventions during this meeting. “I can only urge members to psych up and prepare for hard work and long sitting hours” the Speaker said.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com

New Edubiase MP bemoans poor state of Ambulance Services

The Member of Parliament for New Edubiase, Adams Abdul-Salam has bemoaned the poor state of Ambulance Services in the New Edubiase Constituency.

Making a statement on the floor of parliament on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, he said the situation has led to a number of needless deaths.
He said the response time of the ambulances in the country leaves much to be desired.

“Mr. Speaker, in the United States, the average response time for emergency service to arrive is estimated to be 7 minutes. In the United Kingdom, it is estimated to be 8minutes.In Ghana, the average response time in the Greater Accra Region is around 16.9 minutes. However, rural communities have an average response time of almost 60 minutes or more”.

Added that for people in critical conditions, 60 minutes could be too long a time for a medical response. “Yet, sadly, this is the state of emergency medical services in the New Edubiase Constituency, and I presume in many other rural constituencies”.

Mr. Abdul-Salam also called the attention of government to the deficit in the human capacity of the service that hinders service delivery to the citizenry.

According to him, check indicates that the National Ambulance Service has a total of 2147 Emergency Medical Technicians, and 900 Emergency Medical Technician trainees, which is inadequate.

There is also no efficient system for the ambulance service to ascertain availability of beds at the various referral facilities to enable them move patients who require help to these facilities.

The MP has therefore called
• Training and recruiting more Emergency Medical Technicians to augment the existing ones
• Strengthening ties with local health facilities to ensure timely emergency medical care and appropriate ness of transfers, as well as
• Enhancing public awareness about National Ambulance Service.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com

Road component of the Synohydro project is a failure – Minority

Ranking Member on the Road and Highways Committee, Kwame Governs Agbodza said the road components of the Sinohydro programme of government is a failure, and advised government to look for something else to help improve the road infrastructure in the country.

Reacting to the Minister of Roads and Highways’ press briefing, Mr. Agbodza indicated that the Sinohydro project, the road component which is about 441 kilometers were all supposed to be completed by the end of 2020, but not a single one of them have been completed in the four years that they have been in government, and yet the Road Minster has repackaged them, and saying that those are going to be part of the 6000 kilometers of roads that they are going to do.

“We still insist that the Sinohydro, the road component is a failure and the government must look for something else to do about it”.

He said the about 11000 kilometers of roads programme, and 6000 that the minister said would be done between now and 2024, is woefully inadequate, adding that the government could do more based on the quantum of resources that have been given to this government.

“We would have been happier if the minister told you, or told the country which of the projects they completed within four years of President Akufo-Addo’s regime, but that information is very scanty, so basically what he has done is to repackage the same projects which should have been completed by the end of 2020 and pretending that those are the projects they are going to complete in 2024.

He said for majority of the sinohydro roads, the contractors have not even move to site, adding that the only project that has advanced a bit is the Tamale interchange, the rest are nowhere near completion.

And wondered how the Minister was going to finance all the projects he talked about during the press briefing considering the fact that the entire budgetary allocation for the Ministry is 2.4 billion, and just about 1billion is allocated for capital investment, “so how is the minister going to pay for the billions of projects he is talking about out of one billion”.

“The NDC believes in accelerated infrastructure development, that is why they build a lot when in government and support initiatives towards infrastructure development when not in government.

“In this house you will notice that perhaps 95 percent of bills brought to this house to procure projects to improve the living standards of this country by the New Patriotic Party, we have always supported it. It is only when we find problems with them that we query them, and we are not happy to say that on many occasions when we query them and they fail to listen, we all get into trouble, Sinohydro is one good example”, he said.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com

Minority to reject any attempt to increase road tolls – Kwame Agbodza

The Minority in Parliament has vowed not to support government to increase road tolls if the Finance Ministry fails to decap the Road Fund and give all to the Road Ministry.

Addressing journalist in Parliament in response to the Minister of Roads and Highways.’ press briefing, the Ranking Member on Roads and Highways Committee, Kwame Governs Agbodza said unless government is able to decap the road fund, give all the money to the Road Ministry before they can discuss the gap that would be left. “Until that time they cannot get the support of our side of the house to increase road tolls

According to him, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Attah is unable to tell the Finance Minister to decap the road fund, adding that in the 2021 budget, though the Minister of Finance agreed that the road fund would get about GHc1.8 billion, only one billion would be available to the Road Ministry.

“The Minister of Finance takes all that money and use it for consumption, and later pay interest on that money”, he stated.

He said the Minority would support government to get more resources to the Road Ministry to improve on our roads until the money meant for the sector is released to them by the Finance Ministry.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com

ODA MP to organize employment fair and workshop

The Member of Parliament for the Akyem Oda constituency, Mr. Alexander Akwasi Acquah has hinted that plans are far advanced to organize an employment fair and workshop for prospective job seekers in his constituency.

He said these job hunters who are mostly the youth have a lot of confidence in him to facilitate their employment but may not be too prepared for the jobs in terms of qualifications.

He said this in an interview on Net 2 TV’s the “dialogue programme.”

The MP said as much as he feels obliged to lobby for job openings for the teaming youth in his constituency, it is his responsibility to prepare his people to make them qualified and ready for any of such opportunities.

Mr. Akwasi Acquah has therefore contacted Labour experts and other private sector operators as facilitators to the fair and workshop. He said he was happy with the number of applications that his committee on employment and social welfare has received so far.

This to him shows the eagerness of the youth to occupy themselves with some productive ventures instead of being miscreants to the society.

Mr. Acquah said he will be happy if most of these youth will also prefer skills training so they can be employers themselves instead of depending on the few or non-existent public sector job openings.

He said it is his belief that most of these youth will emulate him and other private sector players who have contributed to the socio economic status of the country by way of employment.

Ghanamps.com

Akim Oda MP presents 14 Mag handheld reapers to rice farmers

As part of the vision to establish a rice factory for Akim Oda Constituency under the 1D1F initiative, the Member of Parliament Alexander Akwasi Acquah together with the Municipal Chief Executive, Mrs. Victoria Adu, and the Municipal Agric Officer presented 14 MAG handheld reapers to 3 farmer groups in the municipality.

These handheld reapers will help ease the difficulty rice farmers go through in harvesting their produce and bring efficiency in their farming activities in the municipality.

Five of the 14 MAG handheld reaper machines were presented to Oda Nkwanta Rice Farmers Group, another five to Essam Rice Farmers Group and also four to Gyadam Rice Farmers Group respectively to enhance the production of rice in the municipality.

The MP also assured the rice farmers of a Combine Harvester to eliminate grain loss during manual cutting of the crops, tying the crop for carrying it around, transporting the harvest, and from incomplete threshing when the 1D1F starts to operate.

The MP was represented by the Institutional and Public Relations Committee Members.

Alex Oheneba Frimpong

“Support children’s education for their lives to be better than ours” – Abla Dzifa Gomashie

The Member of Parliament for Ketu South, Abla Dzifa Gomashie has asked teachers to among other things support children in any way necessary and give every child the same opportunity to learn, study and explore.

Addressing the 6th GNAT Quadrennial District Delegates Conference at Aflao in the Ketu South Municipality, the MP remarked that encouragement from her parents, teachers, and her regular patronage of the library as a child played a significant role in who she has become.

As such she extended a passionate call to teachers in the Municipality to inculcate the habit of reading in their pupils, adding that “making good use of the books in libraries does change people”.

Library, she said, fills the gap between the teacher, parents and the world at large in the life of a pupil.

“If Kofi in Aflao is privileged to read the same story book Sam is reading in another country, or continent of the world, thanks to the Library sited in the Municipality of which he visited, then to say that Kofi can comfortably compete with Sam, would not be far-fetched”, she stated

She observed that menaces such as teenage pregnancy and drug abuse are on the rise, but pleaded with the teachers not to be discouraged.

“Parents should not forget their duties, roles, and responsibilities in the lives of their children; and should assist teachers to bring our children back to the classrooms and encourage them to further their education.

The Quadrennial Conference was on the theme “GNAT at 90: Surviving as a Reliable and Vibrant Teacher Union in the Twenty-First (21st) Century:………Empowering the Young Teacher for Brighter Future”.

Francis Vorsah/Ghanamps.com

Ghanaian-Nigeria traders’ brouhaha has become an albatross on the NPP government

 Deputy Ranking member on Trade Industry and Culture, Yusif Sulemana has said the current Nana Akufo-Addo government then in opposition politics the brouhaha that existed between Ghanaian and Nigerian traders.

According to him it has become an albatross around their neck, and he want to see commitment coming from the current government in resolving the matter.

“If it is about the law that is creating the problem, the former deputy trade Minister Carlos Ahinkorah has said the problem is the law, and if there is a problem with the law then we have parliament, and it is the right place where laws are amended”.

In an interview, he noted that it would be normal for the Executive arm of government to bring the issue to parliament for solution, but they have not, because there is no commitment
“I do not blame our local retailers because they are only ensuring that a law that is enshrined in our books is implemented and respected, so how do you blame them?”

Mr. Sulemana admitted that sometimes there are excess with the action of the Ghanaian traders, and that is where the problem is, and added that the Ghana Investment Promotion Act 865 section 27 clause 1 and 2 through to section 28, “that is where the whole problem is”, he said .

Act 865 section 28 clearly states that if you want to do retail business there is away to go about it, if you are not a Ghanaian, the conditions are difficult to meet, he noted.

“What is government doing to create the opportunity for them to tap into that great avenue of business in a manner that it would be a win-win situation for our local retailers to continue to benefit from it?”

Whiles our brothers and sisters from other countries would benefit from it, “government should not fold its arms as if things would be resolved on their own”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

“I don’t mind if MPs Common fund is scraped” —Bole MP

Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi, Yusif Sulemana has said he does not mind if their common fund is scraped, adding that by that singular act, Ghanaians would know nothing comes to them, and then nobody comes to ask for anything.

According to him there is the need for some kind of education as to what the responsibility of the Member of Parliament is, but other school of thought thinks when the MPs Common fund is scraped people would even come to their MPs.

“The little we get is not enough and we have to add our personal monies to solve the small, small problems, which is the debate”.

Responding to the debate on whether MPs are development agents, he pointed out that Ghanaians should be educated to know that they would be the end beneficiaries if they concentrate their demand for development from the Central government and the various Assemblies.

Again, there are some MPs who are well to do, and admitted that, once a while, they exhibit their wealth and it draws out comparison and gave an example with the MP for North Tongu and that of Sawla-Tuna-Kalba.

“Ablakwa is doing A, B and C, why is Sawla-Tuna-Kalba not doing same? That is also another problem. Again, the constituency do have different characteristics and people do not appreciate all these things. My constituency is very vast, and the people may not need ambulance. Their focus may be basic needs like water, if I focus on providing water and someone else goes to provide ambulance then you want to compare us?”

These are the problems, adding that he thinks MPs too must be focused to listen to their people, and provide what they can provide to meet what their people are asking; but damping anything on them is not the best. “If you have ten cedis you spend it in a manner that would benefit the people”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghananps.com

Ghanaian-Nigerian traders’ ruckus: “Ghana cannot live in isolation”—Bole MP 

The Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi, Yusif Sulemana is urging government to find lasting solutions to the constant Ghanaian-Nigerian traders’ ruckus in Ghana, adding that Ghana cannot continue to pretend as if it wants to be in isolation, “the world has become a small community and we cannot do without each other in the African continent”, especially when we are praised for coming out with the African Continental Free Trade.

“When a basic thing like traders’ ruckus cannot be resolved, we are only pretending. Let’s all presidents in Africa be committed to ensuring that we have a single market among ourselves, that market we have been talking about”.

He pointed out in an interview that about one point three million people creating a market, with this kind of attitude, we would not get anywhere, and the ruckus among Nigerian and Ghanaian traders should not warrant a whole speaker of the House of Representative coming to Ghana, goes back months later then another delegation is coming, “what are we doing to ourselves? That is one question I keep asking myself”

As to whether he would raise the issue on the floor of the House when the House resumes on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 he said no, because in the 7th Parliament a petition came to the committee he belongs to, and there was a report on this but it was never tabled.

And pointed out that his side is not in the majority, it was the duty of the majority side to present the report because they were petitioned, but that report never saw the light of the day.

Again, there is lack of commitment on the side of the Government of Ghana last year because it was an election year. Government did not want to incur the rough of retail businessmen and women and we should not forget Nigeria forms a large market which we would want to tap into, he said.

He was quick to point out that he knows Nigeria has trade restrictions so as they have come to us, they should also be willing to relax some of their restrictions when it comes to trading with Ghanaians, then “we are able to trade among ourselves. Together we are able to better the lives of our people”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghananmps.com