Author: Kwaku GhanaMPs

Member of Parliament (MP) for Afram Plains North Nana Efua Krosbi Betty Mensah is calling for much advocacy to be carried out to create much awareness on issues relating to tuberculosis.

The MP made this call on Friday, July 14, 2023 in Parliament when as part of revitalizing the TB caucus in Ghana’s legislature as a way of strengthening advocacy and communication.

According to her not too long ago she had a visitor in her house who showed symptoms of the disease, and so with her little knowledge in TB, she suspected the visitor had TB, hence she managed to keep the children away from getting close to the visitor.

According to her, having listened to a TB survivor who recounted what he went through after contracting TB and had to isolate himself from his family, she realized then that she made the right choice.

“If more people are getting the knowledge of TB as a nation we would go a long way to cut down on the statistics. Again, five percent of infected cases are children who are the future generation hence a lot of efforts is required to stump the spread.

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Deputy Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin in the company of four lawmakers from both side of the House and four Municipal and District Chief Executives from the Gomoa and Effutu enclave addressed the media on Monday, July 10, 2023 pushing an agenda to resolve escalating land disputes between the two communities.

“As representatives of our constituents and advocates for peace and stability, we stand united in our unwavering commitment to resolving this issue and safeguarding the ancestral lands of all chiefs within our respective areas”.

The Effutu lawmaker pledged on behalf of his colleagues their commitment to engaging with all relevant Chiefs and opinion leaders and ensuring a transparent and inclusive process.

“We are here today to address this land dispute with a unified approach,” he said. “By fostering an environment of constructive dialogue and mutual understanding, we believe we can find a fair and comprehensive solution that respects the rights and interests of all parties involved.”

The Deputy Majority leader explained that to ease tensions and promote a peaceful environment, they acknowledge the necessity of engaging with Paramount Chiefs and relevant government bodies.

In addition, he pointed out that, they plan to involve stakeholders such as the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Local Government, and the Ministry of Interior. This coordinated effort aims to address administrative and traditional boundary issues comprehensively, laying the groundwork for a sustainable solution.

“We express our commitment to engaging with other pertinent stakeholders, including the Lands Commission, potential estate developers, and local business leaders in the affected areas. We caution adherence to legal and regulatory frameworks, ensuring the protection of all parties’ interests.”

As political leaders they plan to establish a dedicated committee to investigate the underlying concerns thoroughly. The committee will ensure an impartial and comprehensive approach to resolving the dispute, transcending partisan affiliations for the greater good.

The Committee will comprise the MPs, the MMDCEs, the traditional chiefs, and other stakeholders.

“As political leaders, we hold the responsibility of preserving the cultural heritage and security of our communities,” he emphasized.

“We assure the Chiefs within our respective areas that we will utilize our influence and authority to protect their ancestral lands from any unjust encroachment.”

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The NDC Minority in Parliament has boycotted today’s sitting to enable Members accompany and solidarize with two members of their Caucus, namely the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and MP for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson.

The two are due to appear in court this morning in their respective ongoing prosecutions by the Attorney-General and the NPP Government.

In a statement issued by the whip, Governs Kwame Agbodza noted that “the Minority stands united with our colleagues, and as such will not be able to honour the business of the house today”.

This is the beginning of a series of actions that the Caucus will be embarking on to end the ongoing persecution of the Minority Leader himself, James Gyakye Quayson and Collins Dauda, he stated.

They also served notice and reiterate the point that “amidst persecution, cooperation will suffer”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ Ghanamps.com

Ranking Member on the Health Committee in Ghana’s Parliament, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has called on government to release funds to the Foods and Drugs Authority (FDA) to perform their functions efficiently.

He explained that, there are several food products and drugs on the Ghanaian market which needs to be checked randomly by FDA in order to make sure they are safe for Ghanaians to consume; but those random checks are not going on anymore.

At a Press briefing on Thursday, July 6, 2023, Mr Akandah further said, upon his investigation from the FDA, it came out that there are no funds to carry such an important exercise in making sure that, safe products are sold to Ghanaian.

The ranking member has therefore called on government through the finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to release funds immediately to such an important agency to perform its functions.

He added that, it is only FDA that has the expertise in checking foods on the market to authenticate safe food or otherwise hence the need to release the funds immediately to the FDA.

Ghanamps.com

One of the sponsors of the Promotion of Proper Sexual Human Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021, Rev John Ntim Fordjour has stated that the bill currently before Parliament is a true reflection of what Ghanaians stand for.

According to him, the anti-LGBTQ bill reflects the desires of Ghanaians evident in the wide-ranging support the bill has garnered from various authorities, including Parliament and the clergy.

He further pointed out that the bill received unanimous approval and bipartisan consensus at the committee level.
He underlined that there were no dissenting views, indicating that both sides of the aisle agreed on the bill’s provisions.

“The bill received a bi-partisan unanimous approval at the committee level and there were no dissenting or whatsoever views. Both sides of the aisle at the committee level agreed and we sought the opinion of the Attorney General who even came to enrich the bill and eventually came back to the Floor of Parliament for a second reading so the entire Parliament is carried along and the position of the law that we are legislating is a true reflection of what the good people of Ghana stand for.”

Citing a survey conducted by the Center for Democratic Development (CDD), the Assin South MP noted that an overwhelming 86 per cent of Ghanaians support the bill. He framed this as a victory for the people of Ghana and their society.

“A CDD survey conducted on the bill indicated that a significant 86 per cent of people in this country support the bill that we are sponsoring and so it is a win situation for the people of Ghana and the Ghanaian society.”

The MP clarified that the bill is not religious in nature and is not aimed at regulating morality.

“It is not a religious law, it is not just a matter of morals but a product of intellectual consultation, and no portion of the bill violates any part of the constitution, or neither does it violate any international treaty or universal declaration on human rights and this is a collective victory.”

Ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram Samuel Nartey George has thanked all MPs, Speaker of the House Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin and his two deputies after the anti-LGBTQ bill was taken through second reading on Wednesday, July 5, 2023.

According to him this is a bill that enjoys the support of both the Majority and Minority members of the House.
“We stand united to say Ghanaian values are nonnegotiable, we will not compromise on the Ghanaian value system, we are going to stand united as a nation and we call on the Ghanaian people to support us as their members of parliament as we pass this bill”.

At a media briefing with members of the parliamentary press corps he noted that they are aware of the attacks and threats that has been made to sponsors of the bill; we are a sovereign nation and will stand for what is a Ghanaian and we serve notice that carrying out those threats will be a high enterprise in Ghana.

“We will call on Ghanaians to boycott every business in Ghana from those countries issuing threats, so if any government from any country thinks they will sanction any of the sponsors of the bill or the speaker after this bill is passed they should be prepared to pack up and leave our country”.

And further indicated that, we will also instigate public outcry against their business in our country if they work here they should respect our laws.

When we visit their countries we respect their laws and until we see them carry out those threats against Southern Arabia, Russia and China then they should stay off Ghana. Under the guidance of the Speaker, we will go into the consideration, we expect the consideration stage to be a very swift one despite there are amendment it’s a product of agreement between the sponsors and the committee, he added.

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Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture in charge of crops, Yaw Frimpong Addo has commended Agrihouse Foundation for pushing to have July 1, of every year marked as Ghana Poultry Day and Chicken Festival.

As a participant in this year’s Ghana Poultry Day and Chicken Festival at the State House in Accra last Saturday, July 1, 2023, he indicated that the nation has a deficit in local chicken production hence the need to increase production to meet local demand and further encourage the production of chicken in high volumes to meet local demand and the excess for export to neighbouring countries.

The Manso Adubia lawmaker further pointed out in an interview that the private initiative undertaken by Agrihouse foundation should be supported by government, hence the need to institutionalize it and pledged his resolve to make that dream come true since it fits into the scheme of things with government policy of improving agriculture production in the country.

“Again it is something that will benefit Ghanaians, and I hope the day will be rotational so that it will not be organised only in the capital – Accra, but in the poultry hub, the Brong Ahafo Region and all regions would benefit from it.

“This Ministry will support it and take it to a different level”, he noted in an interview.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com