Author: Kwaku GhanaMPs

Ahead of Ghana’s general elections, Speaker of the House Rt. Hon Alban K. Sumana Bagbin has given indications that the House will have an engagement with constitutionally created bodies like the electoral Commission, Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to discuss how the legislature can collaborate and work with them.

This, he added is important to inspire confidence and faith in the electoral process as well as create free, fair and credible elections on December 7, 2024.

The Rt. Hon Speaker further identified other bodies to be engaged to include the National Security, Council of State, flagbearers of the various political parties and National officers as well as the presidency.

Again, the police service, he noted should be the security agency to be seen on election day and not the military. The military should be called in only when they are needed; and added further that the military should not be at the polling stations.

He noted that the happenings in the country leading to the 2024 general elections are not good, hence the need to give assurance to Ghanaians. “It is not good that the EC organized an exercise of writing names where people carry gun and knife. What about when we are going to vote and the results are announced and someone else has carried the day and not the other, I am picturing what will happen”, he added.

Furthermore, the joblessness and homelessness, hopelessness of the youth cannot be taken lightly, we must act together and now to prevent a journey to calamity or a journey of no return, he advised.

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The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Samuel A. Jinapor has commended the Ghana Boundary Commission for its work over the years in ensuring that the nation’s international boundaries and territorial sovereignty is always protected.

In a statement on the floor of the House to commemorate this year’s fourteenth Africa Border Day which is marked June 7 every year, following the adoption of the Africa Union Convention on Cross Border Cooperation known as the ‘Niamey Convention’, he affirmed that the Commission has helped the nation to uphold international law to resolve boundary disputes through peaceful cooperation and has been recognized on the continent leading to other countries engaging the Commission to learn from them.

This year’s celebration is on the theme “Educate an African fit for the twenty-first century, building resilient education system for increase access to inclusive, lifelong, quality and relevant learning in Africa”.

The Minister, however, noted that to scale up the work of the commission to achieve greater impact, it is important to engage and empower border communities including traditional authorities, border security communities, municipal and district assemblies in border areas together with other stakeholders to create significant awareness.

Border communities, he noted, often bear the brunt of border-related challenges, including cross-border conflicts illegal migration and transnational organized crime, hence “we can safeguard our boundaries by involving the relevant stakeholders in the decision making process and providing them with the necessary knowledge and resources to foster a sense of ownership and responsibility.”

In addition, education also serves as a powerful tool in promoting inter-cultural dialogue, tolerance and mutual understanding that counter the narrative of hate and division that fuel extremist ideologies.

To create a formidable defense against the forces of violence and extremism, the youth can be empowered to  become active agents of change within their communities, so that the forces of violence and extremism which often target vulnerable populations including the youth in border communities will not be achieved.

Furthermore, by promoting cross-border exchanges, economic cooperation, and joint development projects, we can overcome the barriers that divide us and create stronger, more resilient border communities, he added.

The Minister asserts that the profound words of our first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, that “Africa is one continent, one people and one nation,” must continue to inspire us, and lead us to recommit ourselves to the ideals of unity, solidarity, and cooperation that underpin the African Union, while recognizing that our borders are not barriers to be feared but bridges to be crossed in pursuit of a shared future of peace, prosperity, and progress for all Africans.

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Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has cautioned the media against raising unnecessary political temperature ahead of Ghana’s December 7, 2024, presidential and Parliamentary elections.

He thus admonished the media to ensure that unnecessary issues that would generate tension are not brought to the front burner.

According to him the media should be a restraining tool on politicians as sometimes politicians forget themselves, and get carried away.

“We want votes and we think everything is permissible; it is for you especially the media when you see us as your friends to put the bitter pill on our lips and tell us this will not help the country. If you also do your ‘sayoo and sayoo’ and the country is burning it will burn all of us”, he emphasized.

He made these remarks at a media engagement with members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) when a media engagement was held with leadership of the House, as a way of briefing the press on what to expect during the third meeting of the fourth session.

He reminded the media that in the even there is crises and they run to Togo, “you cannot speak French, same with Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. Even if you run to Nigeria your Ghana man accent will give you out, all we have is Ghana, let us value it.”

In addition, he urged civil society to be vibrant and proactive and to be interested in issues of governance, due diligence particularly with issues that affect the public purse when properly done by government will go a long way to better the lives of Ghanaians.

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At  media engagement with members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) at  the beginning of the third meeting, Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin pointed out that the third meeting of parliament would be short; and as the new standing orders come into force, a lot of Committees would be re-aligned.

According to him the former Committee on Defense and Interior will now be Intelligence Committee which would be separate from the old one as well as Committee on Finance and Economy. This is to help MPs focus on key subjects in some areas and prepare them for the task.

For legislation, he said there are some critical laws for consideration like the Parliament Bill and Presidential Transition Bill before the House. Others which are also high on the agenda include Consumer Protection Bill, Housing Authority Bill, the Architect Registration Bill, Economic and Crime Office Amendment Bill, Environmental Protection Agency Bill as well as Vacation Manufacture and Development Bill.

The Majority Leader further noted that, with the way and manner the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) carries their mandate, there are human right issues there, and that the amendment would help tidy up things.

He further disclosed that the Affirmative Action bill which was attended to by the Committee had issue and was withdrawn; thus the committee would zoom into serious action and look at it.

On education, he stated that the Education Minister would present the Free SHS Bill to the House; adding that Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution provides some aspirational indication policy of government; “when put into action to make it an enactment, there are provisions in the constitution that you cannot enforce; you cannot claim right to those provisions; the fact that they are there does not mean you can apply to the court to enforce those rights, they are only aspirational and should be given life.”

And if the House considers it, it becomes mandatory for government to implement it. You have to repel it and no government would say I will not implement it; free SHS now there is a law if you fail a citizen would apply to the court for the court to judge in his or her favour”, he added.

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Former ranking member on Roads and Highways Committee of Parliament, Governs Kwame Agbodza has taken a jab at the Roads and Highways Minister, Francis Asenso- Boakye describing him as not being serious following the Minister’s call for new roads to be tolled.

According to him the current sector Minister was part of cabinet when a decision was taken to stop collection of tolls that brought in the E-Levy policy.

He affirmed that the Speaker and the Minority drew the attention of government it was wrong for them to suspend the collection of road tolls, “they told the Speaker to go to the toll booth and collect the tolls himself if he likes. It is a testament of a government that is wayward, lost touch and do not know what they want. Cabinet took a decision to stop collecting tolls as propaganda to force E-levy down the neck of Ghanaians”, he lamented.

“Again, we are paying E-Levy; today they want to take more money from you. They are coming back to condemn each other, we should condemn the entire government; they cannot choose who is upright in it. We have been consistent saying there was no need to suspend the taking of road tolls; Ghanaians can see which of the political divide can be trusted and consistent with policy in this country and obviously not the NPP.”

He noted that the record of the NPP is nothing good, “we in the NDC have been straight with Ghanaians, the NPP has disrespected Ghanaians all the time. I wish them well in an attempt to show which of them is not serious, the current or past road minister; it’s the whole team that is not serious with government business”, he added

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The Ranking member on the Committee of Health, Kwabena Minta Akandoh is advocating for government to either go for total or partial absorption of cost of dialysis of Ghanaians instead of the populist six-month approach.

He has taken a swipe at the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for not having knowledge about the whole dialysis debate but is out there in the public space that government has absorbed cost of dialysis of people from age eighteen (18) and below and sixty (60) and above.

Rather the age bracket mentioned by government form only twenty (20) percent of patients with dialysis in Ghana, while the huge population are from age nineteen (19) to fifty-nine (59).

Again, “when the National Health Insurance brought its formula for approval in 2024, we insisted that a provision be made for the treatment of dialysis; so this proposal never came from the Executive, vice president has no knowledge of this proposal.

It was suggested at the committee level, and we pushed it at the floor of the House and it was a condition before we approved the formula. So, MPs insisted that some allocation should be made so the provision of about two million Ghana cedis was made for dialysis.”

The is therefore a deception out there as the Vice president said government has absorbed the dialysis cost for people below the ages of 18 and above 60, Akandoh added.

“If you read the statement put up by the National Health Insurance Authority, it is clear that the plan is for six months; what happens after the six month? We need a sustainable and well-thought through plan to be able to absorb the cost of dialysis not this populist approach. I do not know where suddenly the vice president has found his voice on the issue of the cost of dialysis in this country.”

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com