Author: Kwaku GhanaMPs

The Minister for Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has revealed that a total of 1,125 houses are currently under construction for settlement of people who were displaced by the Akosombo dam spillage.

He explained that 115 houses are currently being constructed as another budget has also been approved for another 1,010 houses to get all affected people a permanent place to live.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Government Assurance Committee and MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzato Ablakwa was not pleased with the responses from the minister since he believes, the victims of the spillage have not been treated fairly even though their issue was a national disaster.

All these comments came up when the Minister appeared before the committee to respond to questions about the spillage and what the government has done about it so far.

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The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Hydrological Authority, Dr John Kissi has disclosed that the country needs five billion dollars ( $5 Billion Dollars) to address the flooding challenges in the country.

He explained that, an estimate conducted on the current flooding incidents in the country and the level of its impact, such an amount would be required to mitigate the challenge but only GHC 92 million cedis was allocated to the agency in addressing flooding for the entire country.

Also, the Minister for Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said, Ghana is far behind about 15 to 20 years with respect to the kind of resilience infrastructure to contain flooding or climate change.

These comments came up when the ministry appeared before government assurance Committee to answer questions of flood in general as well as measures put in place to dredge Kpeshie Lagoon, Keta Lagoon and others.

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The Member of Parliament for North Tongu and Chairman of the Assurances Committee of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has expressed concern over lack of engagement and interface with the affected people of the Akosombo water spillage in his Constituency.

He made this statement when he appeared before the Ad- Hoc Committee set up by Parliament to Investigate the Akosombo Dam Water Spillage at its first public hearing at Justice DF Annan Auditorium in Parliament.

In furtherance, the North Tongu Legislator posits that, the Inter-Ministerial Committee set up by Government to help deal with issues emanating from the spillage has not worked to his expectations, adding that, he is very disappointed in the thirteen Member Inter-Ministerial Committee; saying ‘’ we don’t know when the Committee is going to meet us, whether is still in force, they are still working, we don’t know when they are going to have their first meeting with us” he stressed.

He indicated that over twelve thousand people who lost their livelihoods due to the spillage without any compensation from government in his constituency will seek legal redress soon.

However, the Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Suleman Adamu Sanid, MP for Ahafo Ano North Constituency in the Ashanti Region pointed out that, he is impressed with the honest submissions from the various stakeholders who appeared before the Committee.

He said ” the witnesses have been very honest, very fair with the facts on the ground and I think we are in a position to submit a very good report to Parliament.

Mr. Suleman emphasized that the Committee is in a position to present a good report that will be acceptable to all.
The Chairman has directed that, all the water and electricity bills of the affected people living in the safe havens be paid by the District Assemblies.

The District Chief Executives have been charged to pay the bills. “These are initial recommendations that we have made, and we think that this shouldn’t wait for our report but should be acted upon as quickly as possible”
The Volta River Authority (VRA) and two more District Assemblies are also scheduled to appear before the Committee soon.

Ghanamps.com

The supervisor at the vehicle valuation unit of Customs headquarters in Accra, Mr Justice N. Magah has sounded caution to people who import vehicles into the country and refuse to use the legal means to register such vehicle to desist from such activities or else get 300 percent fine of the actual duty on the vehicle by Customs when caught up.

He explained that, anybody can bring vehicles from any county to Ghana but must take the vehicle through proper and legal means to register them at any of the customs offices within the country so as to have a peaceful mind in using vehicle.

Mr Magah refuted accusations by some vehicle importers that Custom officers usually over tax them when paying for vehicle duties. He said, most often people provide inaccurate information on their vehicles to customs especially when providing the actual date of manufacturing, people usually provide the date of first registration of the vehicle in the country of origin instead.

The supervisor, vehicle valuation unit of Customs, Mr Magah made these comments when the Ghana Revenue Authority ( GRA ) organized a workshop for the Parliamentary Press corps on the various activities of GRA and Customs and its importance to the state.

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Members of the Ghanaian Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) have been taken through a day’s workshop on Ghana’s tax system.

Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority Julie Essiam noted that the media plays a critical role in shaping public opinion and setting the agenda for public discourse, stating that organizations and individuals alike use the media as a tool in the dissemination of information.

According to her it’s on this premise that GRA is organizing this workshop for members of the parliamentary press corps to educate them on their mandate, processes and procedures to add to their body of knowledge and to help reporting devoid of distortions and misconceptions.

The challenging but engaging call to duty of reporting on the work of Parliament requires in-depth knowledge and understanding of Government and stakeholder business. Therefore, stakeholders such as the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) are happy to leverage on your expertise to work effectively, he added.

Taxation, he noted, is a creature of statute, hence taxation is not based on common law or judicial decisions, rather on explicit legislative enactments. The mandate of GRA is therefore to administer various tax laws for effective revenue mobilization in order to support Government’s socio-economic development agenda.

“I want to use this opportunity to also encourage you to gain additional knowledge on how the Tax Laws operate so that you can report on tax cases from a standpoint of knowledge, clarity and confidence. Informed media reportage will put the GRA on its toes and live to its responsibilities, while the taxpayers and potential taxpayers are informed of their obligations and thereby comply with the Tax Laws”.

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The Importers & Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has described calls from some players in the commercial shipping industry for President Nana Akufo-Addo to halt his assent of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority Law 2024 as unfounded.

According to the Association’s President, Sampson Asaki Awingobit, the law in its current form ensures that every stakeholder in the commercial shipping value chain acts responsibly and is held accountable in their operations.

For the IEAG, the law creates a more structured and regulated environment for trade, ensuring that the interests of both importers and exporters are safeguarded.

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) and the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) have expressed reservations about certain sections of the law and have asked the President to delay assenting to it until further dialogue has taken place.

However, the IEAG asserts that the new GSA law is a significant step towards enhancing transparency and efficiency within the shipping and logistics industry, and while further dialogue is needed, the assent should not be halted.
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The Association also emphasized the need for continuous engagement between the GSA and key stakeholders to ensure that the implementation of the law addresses the practical challenges faced by importers and exporters.

Furthermore, the IEAG has called for clear guidelines and support from the GSA to help businesses adapt to the new regulations, ensuring that the law does not become a barrier to trade but rather a facilitator of smoother and more efficient operations within Ghana’s trade sector.

Ghanamps.com

The Minority members on the Educational Committee in Ghana’s Parliament have urgently urged government to release funds to the West African Examination Council (WAEC) for the marking of the 2024 Basic Education Certificate Examination to commence.

According to the Ranking member of the Committee Peter Kwasi Nortsu-Kotoe the Minority spoke about the payment of registration to enable the West Africa Examination Council to conduct the examination for this year at the time government had to release fifty-five point nine million Ghana cedis as part of over two hundred million that they owe WAEC.

“So, we do not understand why they would say at the launch of their Manifesto that they have paid; if they said they had absorbed that would have been better but they said they have paid”.

Speaking at a press conference, he said “as we speak WAEC has to postpone the marking of the script from this month to September because they do not have the funds to do the coordination and marking which is called post examination activities, they still own WAEC for the BECE”.

“We are demanding that government pays these monies, so that the marking can be organized in time, as a result the school calendar is going to be disrupted. Again those who are supposed to go to Senior High School (SHS) this September 2024 will not be able to go and might go somewhere in December of 2024”.

The Ranking member emphasized that these things should be avoided and drew the attention of the effect double track is having on the school calendar. “We ask that government release money to WAEC as a matter of urgency for the candidates to enter SHS in good time”.

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Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin will this morning inspect and ascertain for himself progress of ongoing work at the parliamentary chamber block.
Retrofitting works are underway on the chamber for the next meeting and the ninth Parliament which would commence in January of 2025.

A visit to the chamber by Ghanamps.com on Thursday, August 22, 2024, before the close of working day, witnessed wiring of the chamber block.

On the corridors of the back entrance to the main chamber, total changes of the lighting system is also been done to give the corridors a brighter look.

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