Author: Akumaa GhanaMPs

West African countries would have to settle for Public- Private-Partnership (PPP) programmes to harness their natural resources in the absence of capital and technology, Mr Clement Kofi Humado, Member of Parliament for Anlo has suggested.

According to the Anlo lawmaker, all the West African countries are not at the same level of development and do not have the same technology and added that we need to learn from each other.

He made this known in an interview when three joint committees of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, held a delocalized meeting in Accra and visited Tema Meridian Port Services.

He noted that field trips of these nature by ECOWAS lawmakers help them to learn not only to equip them to debate on the floor of the community Parliament in Abuja, but also to go back to their own countries to influence the thinking and implementation of policies.

Mr. Clement Kofi Humado who participated in a delocalized meeting in Guinea Conakry revealed that, that country’s citizens believe their colonial masters the French and the capitalist from the Western are out there to ‘rob them’; hence they do not want any PPP, “but we need to take some risk, we need to engage in PPP with some of these capitalist countries to begin with”.

When we find out feet and begin to become stronger, then we can try to depend on our own resources. Adding that most of the resources of the West African Countries are in the earth; bauxite, diamond, gold,  you have to go and dig it out, the minerals  and oils the deposits they are all way under the sea.

He added further that, we need technology to go and dig it out, and the people who have the technology you need to partner with them, and establish a fair ration of profit sharing, when you start that way and you are able to put your savings aside and accumulate it into your own capital.

As to whether the fears of the people of Guinea Conakry is not founded, he responded by saying it is founded, but what else can one do sometimes you have to, “shake hands with devil when you do it quickly you remove your hands”

“We need to undertake some of these partnerships, try in the process to build our own strength, when we do that we can then reduce our over reliance on the capital market from the West, but right now we do not have an option”

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

On the issue of consistence absenteeism of Ministers to the floor to answer questions and sending their Deputies instead, Sagnarigu lawmaker, Alhassan Bashir. A Fuseini said in an interview that when the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) captures power come 2020, the situation would be curtailed.

He noted, the eight Parliament of the Fourth Republic with the NDC forming Majority, will not witness Ministers pervasively absenting and sending deputy Ministers to do business on  the floor of the House.

And lamented over how very often the blame is shifted on MPs for having a culture of lateness, and lamented that it is not fair.

“You are privy to the position of the Minority on the floor of the House, mostly the  Minority leader and our leadership do raise this issues of the Ministers not being ready on the floor of the House Ministers do not take the House serious”.

He further added that they either refuse to come to the House or they just send their deputies and the Minority had threatened that, “we will not take any business of the House if Ministers do not appear on the floor”.

Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu had to step in to make a plea and point out that he will ensure Ministers appear and appreciate the seriousness of business of the House.

“Why are you not interested in the business of the House on the floor of Parliament, this should have been one of the most important concerns that Ministers should have”.

Under the NDC we did not have this pervasive culture of evasion of duties on the floor of the House as we are having now, it wasn’t wide spread under the NDC, there might have been some few instances, he noted.

Again, under the previous NDC the Speaker Edward Doe Adjaho and the Leadership prevailed on Ministers to attend to business of House.

“We have taken some cue both in opposition and government we will bring it to bear when we capture power in 2020”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for Banda and first deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, has said the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) should not be happy with the problems the current government New Patriotic Party (NPP) is facing.

According to the first deputy whip of the Minority, the current government is not interested and thinking of winning the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary election.

“They have failed, so they are thinking about rigging the elections that is why they started with the agenda of sacking Charlotte Osei and the deputies”.

Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim noted that it was for the fear of them not performing and them knowing they are going to lose next year’s elections.

“Why is it that they are not campaigning in Ghana, Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and Majority Leader Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, they are educating people in America and the United Kingdom about, Representation of People Act (ROPA).

He further questioned President Nana Akufo-Addo how many constituencies has he visited in Ghana?

Again, as a government who wants to retain power in 2020 any bad policies when Ghanaians complain they do it more, they are not ready for democracy, he stated.

“We had flooding in Ghana and Ghanaians were crying, meanwhile NADMO is crying out for relief items, but you pack two million  Euros and you take it to France, towards rebuilding of a cathedra Notre-Dame.Convert the money into cedis do you know the amount of money it is almost thirteen million Ghana cedis”.

As to whether the action of government is not base on the fact that, it will get donor support from France, he responded in the interview that, it should not be at the expense of the very people who elected, “you”.

Kumasi your strong hold the market just got burnt you have not even gone there to visit them let alone to give them some relief items.

“If you can give France  this amount of money,  then Kumasi disaster people are there and nothing has happened to them”, he lamented.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

A visit by ghanamps.com on Friday to Parliament saw some Members of Parliament from both the Majority and Minority side coming to the House to get ready for Monday’s recall business.

Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu, Alhassan Bashir A. Fuseini noted that MPs before going on recess had been sensitized that there was the possibility of they being recalled.

According to the Sagnarigu lawmaker the recall is to deal with some business of the House on the Vigilantism Bill the Executive had referred to the House.

In an interview he noted that remotely there was a talk about the Companies code Bill, “we understand that there is some pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to us to deal with this”.

He further noted that as a Minority when the Speaker feels MPs should respond to some business on the floor of the House they are ready.

Again, if we are being recalled, we are ready to work except that others who are partners who should get their work done, should also do their part, on the Minority side we are ready to do business, he stated.

“Most at times the rush to lay the blame on MPs is not fair in the sense that the Executive arm of government is even not ready, Ministers who are supposed to appear before “us” are not ready  and reports that are supposed to be available before us are not readily available”.

There are many things not ready, so sometimes shifting the blame on MPs  as if there is a culture of lateness is not fair, “I do admit that sometimes there are some issues you can take up for some degree of delay, but sometime there are other accounting factors for those delays”

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for Banda and first Deputy Minority whip, Ahmed Ibrahim has hinted that the Electoral Commission is going to create twenty-five more constituencies ahead of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2020.

According to Ahmed Ibrahim there is no space in the current chamber containing the two hundred and seventy-five (275) MPs.

He further added that very soon there will be a declaration of the creation of new twenty-five additional constituencies and is an assignment given by the current government to the EC.

“EC chair will come and say, she is going to create additional twenty-five seats, this is a New Patriotic Party (NPP) agenda, it will be out soon you will hear Bimbila North and South, Christians who are Ghanaians need to pray”.

Again you have hundred and ten Ministers, Ghanaians say it is too huge you then increase it to hundred and twenty-five.

“If you bring a policy and your subjects are suffering, you have to reduce it for them, this is a President who does not care, all he does is just a media President, go to the media let them speak about you”.

He lamented and noted that this is the kind of governance we have been subjected to, we need to put our house in order, God will make a statement and John Mahama will come back to power.

“Ashanti Region alone is going to get seventeen out of the twenty-five, and added that the Asawase constituency will be split into new constituencies”.

The constitution mandates the EC in Article 47 (5) of the 1992 constitution to review the division of Ghana into constituencies at intervals of not less than seven years, or within 12 months after the publication of the enumeration figures after holding of a census of the population of Ghana, which is earlier as May as a result alter constituencies”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

As to whether some Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament are not taking delocalized meetings serious, Member of Parliament for Anlo, Clement Kofi Humado, one of Ghana’s representative to the community legislature in an interview noted that, to some extent, the assertion is true.

But was quick to point out that, timing of the delocalized meeting close to the Easter period is an issue as some community lawmakers feel they owe it a duty to their constituencies.

Ghana hosted a delocalized meeting in Accra from the 16th to 20th April 2019 on the theme, “Public-Private Partnership: An alternative source of funding for community programmes and projects”.

It brought together joint committees on, Administration, Finance, Budget Control and Audit; Economic Policies, Private Sector and NEPAD; and Trade, Customs and Free Movement that met in Accra.

“It is unfortunate that some of them are not around, by and large we are all expected to be there, I think the organizers have taken a cue, last week Thursday I  was discussing this with Secretary General John Azumah and few others”.

Mr. Clement Kofi Humado further pointed out that, delocalized meetings should be done in such a manner that they do not coincide with, Christian and Muslim holidays, “we need to work harder and make our contributions in terms of presence”.

The Anlo lawmaker attended a delocalized meeting in Guinea Conakry just after that, he was able to make time to participate in Ghana’s delocalized meeting before it ended on the 20th of April 2019.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for Anlo and one of Ghana’s representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Clement Kofi Humado, is advocating for the revisiting of the original idea of electing lawmakers for the community legislature.

According to the Anlo lawmaker, “you are likely to lose your seat if you concentrate too much on the community Parliamentary work”.

“Doing effective work, it will take your own time off the constituency and in your own Parliament back home, this has become more serious because previously ECOWAS Parliament was more of deliberative work where you meet twice a year and discuss some activities protocols and treaties signed by ECOWAS commission”.

Mr. Clement Kofi Humado in an interview noted that since December 2016, the Authorities of Heads of States, met and felt that the community legislature should do more than they are doing, so they added more oversight responsibilities.

He said now, annual budget work programme of the Commission is brought to Parliament for scrutiny and it takes a lot of time, after that you need to go to various countries to see how institutions are operating.

For example, West African Health Organization have allocated some funds for activities in Burkina Faso, a team needs to fly there and go to the areas to ensure work is being carried out, and to verify whether, funds taken is being spent wisely and efficiently.

Also, “we have so many institutions under the ECOWAS Commission, the community Parliament appoints committees to visit. This can take a minimum of a week and maximum two weeks. Subtract that from your home country national Parliamentary work is a lot of work”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com