Author: Akumaa GhanaMPs

President John Mahama has reiterated his government’s commitment not to overspend its budget this year.

According to him, he is dedicated to ensuring that his administration exercises strict fiscal discipline even as Ghana goes to the polls in November.

Over the years governments have overspent their budget leaving huge deficits after election years, as they go out of the budget to undertake projects mainly to sway the electorates into voting for them.

But President Mahama says this election year (2016) will be a clear departure from what has unfortunately became the norm for various governments until now.

“The bane of our economic management has been the cyclical huge election year budget deficit. It is an unfavorable narrative for which Ghana has unfortunately become famous. I have assured the nation and our partners that my administration will exercise strict fiscal discipline in this election year, in order that we can also transform this negative narrative of our country”.

He added: “This year Ghana is expected to achieve a budget deficit as low as 5.3 % of GDP under the IMF extended credit facility which provides a tighter fiscal space than originally anticipated. It is within this context that we must practice an even greater degree of fiscal prudence in 2016”.

Finance Minister Seth Terkper has revealed that DKM Microfinance Company Limited invested GH₵77 million of investors’ deposits into personal businesses and subsidiaries belonging to managers of the firm.

Terkper made this known when he appeared before Parliament on Tuesday to answer questions on the operations of some rogue microfinance companies.

The money is suspected to have been diverted into companies such as DKM Mining Ltd, DKM Transport Ltd and DKM Cement Depot Ltd.

According to Terkper, DKM microfinance was registered as a savings and loans company in 2013 but violated regulations of the Bank of Ghana which eventually led to the closure of the popular firm in the Brong Ahafo region.

A report by the Financial Intelligence Centre revealed that the company collected ₵115.2 million from customers but had only ₵10.8 million in its accounts at the time of investigations.

After customers complained of the firm’s inability to pay their claims, the Bank of Ghana gave DKM a month to raise GHc50 million in addition to the GHS10.7 million the firm had in its vault, so it could be cleared to resume operations and pay its investors their due principals and accrued interests.

But DKM was unable to do so, despite an extension of the grace period accorded it by the Central Bank.

The CEO of DKM was arrested by the BNI last year after he was sued by a client but he was later granted bail.

Hundreds of clients affected by the saga recently ransacked the company’s premises to seize properties in order to offset their debts.

Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh a.k.a Napo has said the Foreign Affairs Minister, Hannah Tetteh only spoke English to Parliament and was not prepared to open up when she appeared before the House to answer questions over the housing of two ex Guatanamo Bay detainees in Ghana.

According to him, the Minister failed to answer several probing questions and give details of the agreement on the two terrorist much to the disappointment of Members of Parliament.

Hon. Hannah Tetteh who was in Parliament to brief the House in a closed door meeting sitting on Friday stated that Ghana had an ‘agreement’ with the United States to allow the former to accommodate two former detainees of the Guantanamo Bay Maximum Security establishment.

Her invitation to the August House was spurred by concerns from Members from both sides of the legislature over the Gitmo detainees’ acceptance into the country without their knowledge.

The Minister came to the House with a prepared document and restricted herself as she was not prepared to open up.

According to her, she was and is still not privy to the discussions that have gone on between President Mahama and the US Government.

On Wednesday, January 6, 2016, the Foreign Affairs Minister announced that Ghana has accepted a plea from the International Criminal Tribunal to provide shelter for two cleared terrorist suspects of Yemeni origin who were detained in Guantanamo Bay prison by US authorities.

The two were Khalid Mohammed Salih al-Dhuby and Mahmmoud Omar Mohammed Bin Atef.

The announcement sparked uproar among the citizenry as the two ex detainees were feared to be a security threat to the country. The brouhaha caused the Minister to be hauled before the House to give the Legislators a briefing.

However speaking to Joy News, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh stated that he was scandalized by the non disclosure strategy adopted by Hon. Tetteh.

“She never spoke about the Rwandese, never spoke Syrians who are also in town, neither did she speak about the Yemenese who are in Ghana with fake passports and Visas neither did she speak about the missing person who was bound for Abidjan who got lost at Kotoka International Airport. These are all security threats to our nation. Obviously there was never a National Security Council meeting concerning these Rwandese”.

He added: “I’m scandalized about what she didn’t say. She said nothing to Parliament except English. She said nothing, nothing, never in her statement did she answer the question of the number of refugees who are here as deportees, she never told us that Ghana had been turned into a refugee transit cell.

She never told us how the President alone could have negotiated such an agreement, she never told us who is going to look after these people and how much it was going to cost the nation, she dint tell us by what travel document they entered the country and what type of visas they are on. It was only English she spoke to Parliament.

By: Ghanamps.gov.gh

Ghana had an ‘agreement’ with the United States to allow the former to accommodate two former detainees of the Guantanamo Bay Maximum Security establishment.

A member of Parliament who witnessed a session in Ghana’s Parliament Friday, which saw Foreign Affairs Minister Hanna Tetteh briefing the House on the matter, told Ghanamps.gov.gh.

Tetteh was on the floor of Parliament to brief Members in a closed door meeting over the circumstances that led to Ghana accepting the two ex detainees into its fold.

Her invitation to the August House was spurred by concerns from Members from both sides of the legislature over the Gitmo detainees’ acceptance into the country without their knowledge.

Snippets of information picked from the meeting indicates that Madam Tetteh was not prepared to open up.

Madam Tetteh came to the House with a prepared document and restricted herself to that the entire period.

Hannah Tetteh, has admitted that there is an agreement between Ghana and the US Government over the ex GTMO detainees but declined to give details of the said agreement.

According to her, she was and is still not privy to the discussions that have gone on between President Mahama and the US Government.

She said the matter was even not discussed at the national security level and therefore information regarding the circumstances that led to the two ex GTMO detainees are scanty.

On Wednesday, January 6, 2016, the Foreign Affairs Minister announced that Ghana has accepted a plea from the International Criminal Tribunal to provide shelter for two cleared terrorist suspects of Yemeni origin who were detained in Guantanamo Bay prison by US authorities.

The two were Khalid Mohammed Salih al-Dhuby and Mahmmoud Omar Mohammed Bin Atef.

According to Madam Hannah Tetteh, the two Gitmo detainees were unable to “return to Yemen at the moment and we have indicated our readiness to accept them for a period of two years after which they may leave the country”.

That aside, the Ministry said it had also agreed to provide humanitarian assistance and refuge to some persons from Rwanda, Yemen and Syria.

Ever since the announcement, a cross section of the Ghanaian public has criticized the government for putting the country’s security at risk.

Concerns have also been raised as to the actual number of detainees the country has admitted into its fold.

“I have received a paper indicating that fifteen (15) more of the detainees will be following. That means Ghana is going to host 17 of these detainees. So, it is important that we get to know whether their arrival will benefit Ghana. In the context of good governance, information is very vital. We call it answerability – people need to be accountable”, argued Dr. Nana Ato Arthur, MP for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo.

Late Joseph Boakye Danquah’s alleged killer has been charged with murder at a court hearing in Accra.

The suspect, Daniel Asiedu, 19 single-handedly broke through the bedroom of the MP using a ladder and committed the horrendous crime, according to the Police charge sheet.

“…The suspect picked a ladder in the house and climbed to the porch of the top floor and entered the bedroom through the window while the deceased was sleeping. The suspect began to search the room but the deceased woke up and held him.

“He stabbed the deceased on the right above the breast. Deceased held the knife and shouted for help but no one came. The suspect pulled the knife through the deceased hand creating a deep cut in his palm. The deceased who was bleeding profusely fell on the floor by his bed helpless and the suspect stabbed him again in his right chest below the breast,” portions of the charge sheet read.

An Accra Magistrate court presided over by his Lordship Steven Owusu remanded him into police custody and he’s billed to reappear in court March 1.

The deceased MP was stabbed to death at his Shiashie residence Tuesday dawn, February 9, 2016.

The Minority Caucus in Parliament has indicated that President John Mahama’s decision to ignore the Legislature prior to accepting the two ex gitmo detainees in Ghana could lead to his impeachment.

The group maintains that government’s failure to inform Parliament and also seek its approval for the country’s agreement with the US Government over the two, is an affront to the Constitution.

They contend that the President could therefore be removed from office for flouting Article 75(2) of the Constitution which demands for Parliamentary ratification in all treaties, agreements or conventions the country enters into with another country or a recognized institution.

Article 75(2) states that “A treaty, agreement or convention executed by or under the Authority of the President shall be subject to ratification by (a) Act of Parliament; or (b) a resolution of Parliament supported by the votes of more than one-half of all the Members of Parliament.

Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Samuel Ata Akyea who dropped the hint, Tuesday, said the President’s action over the Gitmo detainees is a serious matter and should not be taken kindly.

“When we say bring the agreement to Parliament, the inference of the framers of the Constitution is that every issue concerning the agreement should be stated and see whether it is rejected or not”.

“As we speak today, the President can be impeached because of this issue. It is not a joke. If you look at Article 75(2) and if the President wouldn’t want to do what is right this can be a subject matter of impeachment”, he noted.

The Minority Leader Hon. Kyei Mensah-Bonsu has lauded the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander over the manner in which he has managed investigations into the murder of Hon. JB Danquah.

Speaking on Oman FM radio station yesterday he said the manner in which the Regional Police Commander has handled the case so convinces him that the Police would do a good job.

He traced how the Police responded to the distress call when the crime was committed and as he put it, “within twenty minutes they were there.”

Those who do not know how crime scene procedures are undertaken had the opportunity of doing so when homicide detectives set to work when they descended on the home of the assassinated legislator at his Accra residence, last Tuesday. “They set about to construct how the criminals set foot into the house and eventually committed the crime and left,” he described what the detectives did as soon as they set foot in the house.

The Greater Accra Regional Police Commander COP Dr. George Akuffu Dampare was at the crime scene as early as 3am to join his officers undertook a consolation mission.

Although he has refused to talk about what he has done so far, we have learnt about how he quickly moved the family of the deceased from the crime scene to a safe location decided upon by the family as a way of calming their nerves.

He is said to have used his own vehicle to transport the traumatized family quickly away from the scene of crime after which he moved quickly to engage two clinical psychologists to assist with managing the trauma suffered by them.

In view of the importance of communications in such matters, the regional commander has demanded from Parliament to give him a liaison officer through who developments from investigations would be relayed to the august house.

The family too would be given periodic briefing from the regional police command through a representative, DAILY GUIDE has learnt from a source close to the regional commander.

Having won the confidence of the family, it has become worrying however that the regional command has been subtly relieved of the assignment; the case having been subtly moved to the CID headquarters’ Homicide Unit to continue.

Sources close to the Police yesterday confided in the DAILY GUIDE about what in their view was the absence of finesse in the manner in which the case was taken off the regional command and handed over to a new set of personnel.

Whoever takes over would have to maintain the standards set by the regional commander who has won the confidence of the bereaved family in a manner which makes them relate to him easily; his blend of policing and counseling being a major factor.

Source: Daily Guide

Central Regional Minister-designate, Kweku Ricketts-Hagan says it is a travesty that many indigenes of the region do not gain admission into the best senior high schools there.

He says even though the Central Region has some of the country’s best senior high schools, people from the region do not often get admitted into the schools – something he says must change.

Mr. Ricketts-Hagan says if confirmed by Parliament as the Regional Minister, he will promote a policy to admit students from the region into some of the best schools even if their grades are slightly below the mark.

He was explaining to the Appointment Committee of Parliament what he will do to improve education in the region when he is made the minister.

Most of the nation’s best senior secondary schools including, Wesley Girls’ High School, Holy Child School, Mfantsipem School, Adisadel College are located in the Central Region.

But according to the Cape Coast South MP, statistics show that a small number of students from the region pass and gain admissions into these schools.

This he added is an alarming situation that needs to be addressed. He promised to help secure quotas in the schools for students who come from the region.

“I will create an affirmative action that will help the students from the Cape Coast gain admission into the Senior High Schools there,” he indicated.

This caused the Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West, Ursula Owusu Ekufful to ask him if he was going to create an avenue for students to be admitted in the schools even if they do not qualify.

Mr Ricketts-Hagan said he would introduce policies that will help the students in the region to pass their examinations at the Basic level but in the meantime, the affirmative action is necessary.

“Many factors have contributed to the failure of students in the region and I have started addressing the problems in my constituency. I think that poverty adds to the poor performance of children in the region. I distributed some mathematical sets to students in my constituency last year…something they cannot ask from their parents due to poverty. When the results came, there was a vast improvement in their performances,” the Minister-designate said.

He said he would also focus on creating jobs and improving tourism in the region when he becomes minister.