Author: Akumaa GhanaMPs

The Member of Parliament for Tolon in the Northern region, Hon Wahab Suhiyini Wumbei has said that he would marshal efforts and attention to improve accessibility to potable water for his constituents in the shortest possible time.

He claimed a considerable number of the population were struggling to get access to safe drinking water in some of the deprived communities and therefore contended to push for an intervention to ostensibly improve the water situation for inhabitants of such communities.

The MP made the promise in an interview with Ghanamps.gov.gh after embarking on a Thank you tour across-board in some of the communities in the district.

He also assured to give attention to promote the standard of education by enhancing certain policies and programmes in the educational front, as well as engaging the Energy Ministry to assist extend electricity to communities without light.

This was also in line with the promises made to the people during his campaign trail in the
constituency.

Therefore following this, the MP has intimated to engage strongly with some key agencies like the Ghana Water

Company Limited(GWCL), Volta River Authority(VRA), UNICEF and World Vision International to assist facilitate the implementation of these development initiatives in the area.

However, as part of his Thank you tour, Mr. Wahab Wumbei held meetings with various Heads of Department (HOD’s) including the District Directors of Education, Health, Agric and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to discuss possible ways to improve a working relation to accelerate growth and development in the district.

Jonathan Adjei/Ghanamps.gov.gh

A former Majority Leader under the Kufuor administration, Felix Owusu Agyapong has called for intense orientation for persons who want to engage in politics or hold political office to help prepare them for life outside or after politics.

Some Ministers and Members of Parliament (MPs) are reported to be living as paupers due to their inability have exit plans while in office and properly re-integrate themselves into society.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, the former Majority leader advised that Ministers, MPs and other government appointees should see themselves as contract employees because
Recalling his life as a Minister, Mr. Agyapong stated that “when I was a Minister, I used to tell myself that I’m a Minister for a day; 24hours” because the President in any 24 hours can make a change in his government.

According to him, politicians should consciously and continuously tell themselves that “if you are a Minister, you are a Minister for 24 hours; if you are an MP; you are an MP for four years by our constitution…we need to find a way of getting people who want to go into these two public lives would have to accept…so that when things come to an end, there will be no problem.”

In a related development, the former Majority leader under the Mills administration, Cletus Avoka advised his colleague MPs and Ministers to learn to be humble and modest while in office “otherwise…when you leave Parliament, you will run into serious challenges.”

“There are MPs who have left Parliament and after two three years, you look at them and you know that they have challenges written on their faces,” he said.

citifmonline.com

The Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East constituency, Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson has donated a brand new Ambulance for the Kasoa Polyclinic as part of effort to assist health delivery in the area.

The MP who disclosed this in an interview with GhanaMPs.gov.gh further noted the vehicle was procured with the aim of assisting emergency situations at the clinic, and expressed optimism that move will go a long way to eradicate instances where patients or accident victims are carried in taxis and other private vehicles especially in situations where a patient needs to transferred from the clinic to another hospital.

According to the MP, health has been a major priority on her development ladder, adding that she was set to provide the necessary equipment needed by health officials in discharging their duty.

Hon. Koomson however urged her constituents to expect more development projects in their various communities in the second quarter of 2013 after describing the first quarter as very fruitful and full of development related issues.

She said, as part of efforts to improve fair water distribution in the area discussions were still ongoing with some water companies to assist the provision and free flow of pipe-borne water to various individual households.

The legislator noted that she had also presented a power generating plant to the Awutu prisons camp, adding that communities including Kpoametey and Asempa-Down have benefited from streetlights with the project still on course to get other deprived communities provided.

The MP however described her first hundred days in Parliament as productive with regards to development in her constituency and therefore urged her constituents to expect continues development in their various communities.

Emmanuel Frimpong/ GhanaMPs.gov.gh

The Dorma West Member of Parliament (MP), Hon. Vicent Oppong Asamoah, has scored President Mahama high marks for his first 100 days in office.

He said President Mahama has through resilience helped the country to record significant progress in all of its sectors despite agitations from the labour front, power and water outages, gas shortages coupled with court issues.

According to the MP, those improvements had been due to the president’s bold steps in setting high targets for himself and seeing to it that those targets were met in areas such as energy, water, among others.

“President Mahama has remained resolute to achieving his set targets amidst fierce hindrances,” he added.

Although he believes 100 days was too short a time to access the performance of any government, Mr. Asamoah scored the president 80 per cent for sailing through successfully.

In an interaction with Ghanamps.gov.gh, Hon. Asamoah intimated his hope that President Mahama would make Ghana proud through persistence and hard work.

On policies to move the country forward, he said Ghana has had considerably good policy document over the years, but maintains that the implementation of such policies had been our major problem hence calling on government to hold sector ministers and stakeholders accountable.

“The government must hold its ministers to their task in order to implement such policy documents for the benefit of the country as a whole,” he added.

Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/Ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (KEEA) constituency, Dr. Stephen Nana Ato Arthur has called for the establishment of a college to enroll and train prison inmates while serving their jail terms.

According to him, the establishment of a college would enable students held in various prisons proceed with their education and also develop skill training which would subsequently shape their lives in the outside world after either serving their long or short serving terms.

The MP disclosed this when commissioning a newly constructed 200 sitting capacity mosque at the Ankaful Main Camp Prison at Ankaful to serve as a meeting place for Muslim inmates.

Hon. Ato Arthur also assured that he will personally raise the issue on the floor of Parliament and campaign for its establishment in every part of the country if was accepted by his other colleague MPs.

Meanwhile, the MP have also distributed fifty (50) streetlight bulbs worth GHs 15,000 to some second cycle and health institution in the in the area.

Some beneficiary institutions according to the MP includes the Elmina and Abirem Health Centers, Equafo Abirem Secondary School among others, adding that the initiative was aimed at improving lighting in the said institutions.

Emmanuel Frimpong Mensah/ GhanaMPs.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Ahafo Ano South West, Johnson Kwaku Adu has organized health screening exercise for 150 widows in his constituency.

The event which was held at Mankraso catchment area saw the women go through health checks such as Hepatitis B, checking Sugar Level and Pressure, to ascertain their health status and seek advice on healthy living styles. Additionally the beneficiaries were each given bags of rice and cooking oil.

Speaking to GhanaMPs.gov.gh, Hon. Johnson Kwaku Adu stated that he intends to extend the health exercise to every part of the constituency as a way of ensuring that his people remain healthy so they could work to develop the area.

He disclosed that he has donated 200 bags of cement to be used in constructing kindergarten blocks for some basic schools that lack early childhood educational centres to ensure that children in the area receive the best of early education, while the rest of the building material is used building latrines for areas that lack the basic amenity

Hon. Johnson Kwaku Adu added further that he also donated 30 packets of roofing sheets to be used in roofing the yet to be constructed facilities.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Effutu constituency, Mr. Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, has asked Ghanaians and critics to exercise restraint in condemning the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority’s (SADA) guinea fowl and afforestation projects.

According to him, officials of SADA have given their implementation plan of how the two projects would be done over time and therefore it would be prudent for Ghanaians to ensure that such projects are implemented successfully.

He stressed that since the authority has fulfilled some of its projects, it must be given the benefit of the doubt to implement the rest of the projects by allowing it to follow through its plans.

Giving a breakdown in the 2013 budget estimates of the office of government machinery, the Financial Committee of Parliament noted that 15 million went into the guinea fowl project, while GH¢32.298 million was spent on afforestation in 2012.

Subsequent to this, some Members of Parliament had demanded that SADA provide evidence of the projects and also justify why such a colossal amount was spent on guinea fowl and afforestation.

But, the MP for Effutu and Member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Mr. Afenyo-Markin, who led the charge, told GO yesterday that since SADA had been able to demonstrate some of the projects it had undertaken sine the issue was raised, it would be prudent for critics to allow the authority to follow its implementation plan.

He cited the establishment of Metro Mass Transit (MMT), which received huge criticisms before its implementation, saying that such benefits would not have been realized if the authorities had not been given the chance to implement the policy.

Mr. Afenyo-Markin, however, charged the authority to be proactive in ensuring that benefits of the projects are seen on the ground for the betterment of the people otherwise Ghanaians would continue to criticize their good intentions.

Members of Parliament were deeply divided over whooping GH¢47 million spent by the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) on guinea fowl and afforestation.

Mr. Afenyo-Markin had charged government to be “transparent and consistent” with what the money was used for in terms of equipment, human resources among others.

The MP reiterated that he believed in the need to bridge the development gap between the north and south, however, “we don’t want the government to come and tell us we have done this, we have done that without any evidence”.

But Chief Executive of SADA, Gilbert Iddi, told Accra-based radio station that he was surprised about the questions raised by the MP, saying the MP failed to ask those questions to attract the “appropriate answers” when he appeared before the Finance Committee of Parliament.

Touching on afforestation, Mr. Idi said the project has in partnership with ACI Construction Company given employment to about 50,000 people, and was confident the project would yield dividend.

“I would love to take (Parliamentarians) round to show whether the trees have been planted or not,” he said.

He said 5 million seedlings were grown for the project. On the guinea fowl project, he said, SADA has established a joint venture with Ashongtaba SADA blows GH¢47 million on guinea fowl, afforestation project Cottage Industry, which he said the 15 million was used to acquire 40 percent shares in that venture.

The company contributed GH¢25 million to get a majority share of 60 percent. He said they have so far acquired hatchery, lands and other necessary facilities to implement the project.

“It is to establish farm centres in the five regional capitals in the SADA zone, establish farms in all the regions, establish farms in the district. And the report I have received is that they have so far acquired the lands for all the five regions, they have designed the bill of quantities for the establishment of the houses in order to house the equipment that would do the processing and cold storage of the guinea fowl,” he added.

The Ghanaian Observer