Author: Akumaa GhanaMPs

Mr. Ebo Barton Oduro, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, has expressed concern about the activities of “Boko Haram” in Nigeria, which has claimed thousands of innocent lives in that country.

He has, therefore, charged parliamentarians to come out with implementable mechanisms by which they would resolve grievances before they escalated.

Mr. Barton Oduro said this during the opening of a two-day dialogue session for ECOWAS Parliamentarians in Accra on Thursday.

He condemned all instances of violence, adding that, under no circumstance should there be justification for the use of violence, especially when innocent lives were involved.

Senator Ike Ekweramadu, Speaker of ECOWAS parliament, called for effective border patrols to deter rebels from extending their activities to other countries.

“It is very sad to note that members of Boko Haram sneak in and out of the mountainous areas of Cameroun and Nigeria,” he added.

The ECOWAS parliamentary dialogue session was organized by the National Institute for legislative Studies (NILS), a capacity building institute based in Nigeria, in collaboration with the Africa Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), Zimbabwe and the ECOWAS parliament.

The dialogue is to deliberate on challenges of border crossing among member countries and opportunities for trade and finance for ECOWAS countries.

Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sinful,” is an Islamist jihadist, militant and terrorist organization based in north-eastern Nigeria, northern Cameroun and Niger.

Established in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf, the organisation seeks to establish a “pure” Islamic state ruled by Sharia law and putting a stop to what it deems “Westernization”.

The group is known for attacking Christians and government targets, bombing churches, attacking schools and police stations, kidnapping western tourists, but has also assassinated some members of the Islamic establishment.

Violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency has resulted in an estimated 10,000 deaths between 2002 and 2013.

GNA

Two more names have emerged in the upcoming contest for the flagbearer position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

They are the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Attorney General in the Kufuor era, Mr Joe Ghartey, and Mr Francis Addai Nimoh, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mampong.

Both have confirmed in interviews with this paper their intent to pick nomination forms to contest the presidential primary of the NPP when nominations are formally opened.

The two make it nine the number of people waiting for the greenlight to contest the flagbearer race.

Some leading members of the party have already stated their interest in the forth¬coming contest.

The would-be presidential aspirants of the NPP include two-time presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, twice flag bearer hopeful Alan Kwadwo Kyeramaten and former flag-bearer hopefuls, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku and Prof. Kwabena, Frimpong-Boateng.

Others are Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng a former minister of state, Mr Kofi Osei Ameyaw, MP for Asuogyaman, and Mr Isaac Osei, MP for Subin.

More candidates “I will be picking nomination forms to contest the presidential primary of the NPP for the 2016 elections,” Mr Ghartey confirmed to the Daily Graphic last Tuesday.

He is currently in Tamale in the Northern Region as part of a series of broad consultations within and outside the party.

According to Mr Ghartey, who is also the MP for Essikado-Ketan, he was ready to serve his party and the nation in the high office of president.

In his view, one unique thing that had made him stand out was the fact that he was not into factionalism and could rally and work with all groups within the party.

As a compromise candidate from Winneba and Sekondi/Takoradi, Mr Ghartey declared: “I have paid my dues within the NPP and I think I am ready to serve my party and the nation in the high office of president.”

According to him, he could work with all factions within the party as a compromise candidate.

“The NPP at this stage needs a compromise candidate and I believe the party in broad terms is also looking for such a candidate,” he stated.

Mr Ghartey, considered the dark horse in the presidential primaries, pointed out that it was time for the NPP to place premium on unity else it would not make any headway in the 2016 elections.

Mr Addai Nimoh, who over the years has been working in the background for the NPP described himself as a “silent pusher of actions in the Ashanti Region, the ‘World Bank’ of the NPP”.

He supported the national campaign of then candidate J. A. Kufuor in the 2000 elections, promoted policies of his administration and has since paid his dues to the party, especially at the constituency and regional levels.

Mr Addai Nimoh touts himself as a unifier who can bring good fortunes as well as ensure the party’s victory in 2016.

Member of Parliament (MP) for Mampong, Francis Addai Nimoh, has expressed his intention to contest the flag bearer position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) when nominations are formally opened.

According to him, he has not put himself up just to add up to the number of aspirants but is in the race after careful introspection to win the contest and lead the largest opposition party to victory in 2016 polls.

The NPP is expected to elect its presidential candidate later this year at a date and venue yet to be decided by the party. Even before the party okays opening of nominations, the number of aspirants currently stands at nine with persons such as Nana Akufo-Addo, Alan Kyeremanten, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku and Prof. Kwabena, Frimpong, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Second Deputy Speaker, Joe Ghartey, Kofi Osei Ameyaw,MP for Asuogyaman, and Mr Isaac Osei, MP for Subin.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem Programme on Thursday, Hon. Addai Nimoh stated that after serving the party at the constituency and regional levels over the years, he deems it fit for him now to lead the party in the highest capacity and advance further to secure electoral victory that has eluded the party in the two previous elections.

Pitching himself against some of the candidates who are considered stalwarts, he discredited claims that he was the underdog in the race and will end up wasting his monies in a fruitless venture.

Describing himself as the “political David” of our time Hon. Addai Nimoh said “we all remember the biblical David who was despised and sidestepped by the Prophet Samuel for his older brothers who were huge in stature at a time that God wanted a ruler for his people but he (David) ended up being anointed as the King of Israel, that is what will happen in the flag bearer race, you may not consider me a frontrunner but I’ll end up winning.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah has underscored the need for government to computerize the tax system effectively and efficiently so it would clearly capture the economy and also help it address the perceived shortfalls in the tax administration.

However he echoed that the informal sector is where government needs to redirect its attention as a resolve to widen its tax base.

He said Ghanaians are already overburdened with taxes and therefore cautioned government to be wary of what kind of tax to introduce into the system so it doesn’t generate despair and misery amongst Ghanaians.

Speaking on Multi TV’s AM Morning show today concerning the issue of the controversial 17.5% new VAT rate on Banking servics, the Law maker indicated that there was consistent lingering of doubts on the minds of the public with this levy, adding that there were seemed to be some miscommunication on right services which are to be affected by this particular tax.

“There has to be adequate public education on this. The Bank of Ghana (BOG) is the regulator in the sector and they work closely with the banks therefore they should have the due diligence to come out and clear the air on this issue”, he stressed.

Highlighting on the issue further, the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso North, Hon Mustapha Ahmed conceded that indeed there have been lapses on the part of the banks in the aspect of communication of this tax to their customers, as the specification of the tax will not really affect all services speculated by the banks. He thus asked the banks to consider coming out again and giving the right information on the banking services to be affected by this tax.

The MP who is also a Minister of State at the Presidency in Charge of Development Authorities however said it was imperative for government to broaden its tax net, as there have been increasing calls for government to do so to enable it shape the economy well.

Jonathan Jeffrey Adjei/Ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for the South Tongu Constituency, Woyome Kobla Mensah has called for transparent management of resources allocated to the assembly to remove doubt from the minds of all stakeholders.

He said prudent and transparent use of the resources will motivate all stakeholders to contribute their quota towards accelerated development of the district.

Mr. Woyome who was addressing assembly meeting at the South Tongu District said procurement processes should be adhered to the later, adding that it is only by this means that the efforts of the assembly can translate into improved socioeconomic growth in the district.

He entreated the Assembly members to also take interest in the development projects in their localities and abreast themselves of progress made by the assembly in trying to solve developmental challenges confronting the people. He said while it is very important to ensure the right things are done, it should be done with open minds, and cautioned against impugning wrong doing to people without any shred of evidence which can easily destroy the unity needed for development.

The MP also asked the assembly members to be careful about negative publications about the district because it may hunt the district in its quest to seek assistance from donor partners for development. “I’m worried recent bad publications in the media may hinder our chances of getting donor supports for development. The publications will come up during profiling”, he added.

He said all of them are in position to seek explanations about issues in the district from those who matter before going to the press.

Mr. Woyome Pledged to continue with the various interventions aimed at giving the citizens hope for better living conditions.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Lawra, Hon. Abu Samson, has disclosed the completion of some 10 additional mechanized boreholes for the people in his constituency.

The shortfalls in water situation at the North compel most local dwellers to depend heavily on surface water but keen on lending support to avert their woes, the MP in conjunction with other relevant stakeholders has implemented this move to relieve the people of difficult access to potable water.

Although there have been increasing interventions in the water sector by various stakeholders and development partners in the North, there are still backlog of areas yet to be served with potable water provision.

Interacting with Ghanamps.gov.gh, the MP noted that this will significantly help complement efforts to improve access to potable water for the people.

The difficulty in accessing potable water remains a major social challenge with locals up-north, especially those in the deprived communities and remote areas however government and its development partners is making a steady progress to ameliorate the condition.

Jonathan Jeffrey Adjei/ghanamps.gov.g

Trade and Industry Minister, Haruna Iddrisu says the election of Paul Afoko as the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will not negatively impact on the performance of governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the three Northern Regions.

Mr. Paul Afoko, a business man from the Upper East Region, was last week elected as the new chairman of the NPP in a National delegate’s conference attended by over 5,000 delegates in Tamale.

His election is widely seen by many political analysts as a giant step by the opposition party to improve on its performance in the three Northern Regions- Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

But Haruna Iddrisu, who is also the Member of parliament for Tamale South said, the NDC and President John Mahama are poised to redeeming more parliamentary seats it lost to the NPP in the regions mentioned.

“For us our immediate priority and concern is to fix the economy…and to execute our better Ghana Agenda. And for Northern Region, we are seeking to redeem even more seats; at least I can smell some eight additional seats that we must recapture in 2016” general elections.

“And even in his [Afoko’s] own Upper East Region, the two seats that we lost [Nabdam and Talensi] would also be recovered,” he assured supporters.

He was commissioning an electricity project for over 2,000 residents at Dunyili and Sangzirigu, farming communities in his constituency.

The project is expected to save women and children in the two farming communities from travelling long distances to access electricity for domestic needs.

myjoyonline.com