Category: General

At the opening of the first Ordinary Session of the 6th ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, Nigeria on Monday, July 1, 2024, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray cautioned Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali against their decision to leave bloc following ECOWAS’ insistence that those countries return to democratic rules.

The three countries had in January 2024, decided in complete sovereignty on the immediate withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Announcing their withdrawal from the regional economic bloc, in a joint statement, the three countries accused the regional body of failing to support their fight against terrorism and insecurity, while imposing illegal, illegitimate, inhumane and irresponsible sanctions”.

Efforts to broker peace between the aggrieved countries seem to be hitting a brick wall as the three countries are unwilling to shift position.

Dr. Touray, said it is clear that disintegration will not only disrupt the freedom of movement and establishment of people, but it will also aggravate insecurity in the region.

More specifically, he said that the withdrawal of the three aforementioned countries will deal a severe blow to security cooperation, particularly in terms of intelligence sharing and participation in the fight against regional terrorism and other joint security initiatives, such as the operationalization of the ECOWAS standby force that the member states’ defense ministers have just agreed to activate, as well as the Accra Initiative and the Multinational Joint Taskforce.

The withdrawal of the three countries, he said could also lead to diplomatic and political isolation on the international stage, as these countries will no longer be able to benefit from bloc support when their citizens or candidates seek international positions within the African Union, the United Nations, and similar bodies.

He added that this withdrawal will also affect travel and immigration conditions for citizens of these three countries, as they will now have to apply for visas before traveling within the sub-region, stressing that citizens of these countries may no longer be able to reside or freely create businesses within the facilities established by ECOWAS and may be subject to various national laws.

“Additionally, these three countries will have to cease using ECOWAS passports, the ECOWAS biometric national identity card, and the ECOWAS “Brown Card” automobile insurance on a regional scale. Economically and financially, the withdrawal of the three member states could lead to the cessation or suspension of all projects and programs implemented by ECOWAS in these countries, valued at over 500 million US dollars.

“It is also worth noting that the two regional financial institutions, namely the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), have significant investments in these three countries. EBID has 27 projects currently in these three countries, with a total value estimated at around 321.634 million US dollars, of which 38.1 percent are public sector projects and 61.9 percent are private sector projects. The banking portfolio in these three countries represents approximately 22.5 percent of the total bank portfolio in the 15 member states. The three countries have contributed a total of 33.135 million US dollars to the bank’s capital.

“Institutionally, it is worth noting that the withdrawal of the three countries will result in the closure of four ECOWAS regional entities in Burkina Faso, two ECOWAS regional bodies in Mali, and one ECOWAS regional office in Niger. This will also affect the job security of approximately 130 ECOWAS staff citizens of the three countries, distributed as follows: 77 from Burkina Faso; 23 from Mali; and 32 from Niger”, Touray said.

He noted that these are the disastrous consequences of disintegration on the citizens that motivated the decision of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, under the leadership of President Ahmed Tinubu, to open dialogue with the three countries in order to maintain the unity of ECOWAS, stressing, that is why the Conference of Heads of State also ordered at its last session that the representatives of the people continue to play their role within the ECOWAS Parliament.
He laments that this lack of cooperation from the three countries, the President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr Touray, said the four transitional countries were invited to send representatives to this legislature, unfortunately, only the Republic of Guinea responded positively to this invitation.

“Inviting the transitional countries to send their representatives to the ECOWAS Parliament was one of the many measures we have taken to involve the transitional countries since the extraordinary summit on February 24, 2024.

Other measures include requests for hearings and invitations to participate in sectoral and consultative meetings. Although none of these openings have received a response, my colleagues and I at the commission remain determined to continue reaching out to preserve the unity of the sub-region. As representatives of the people, your role in this process is crucial, and that is why I commend the resolution you took in Kano to involve the various stakeholders from the three countries. I assure you of the full support of the ECOWAS commission for the various steps you are taking. We must be effective and strategic in our engagement,” he said.

Ghanamps.com

Minister for Information Fatimatu Abubakar has presented to Parliament a report outlining the significant progress made in facilitating access to public information, while also addressing the challenges encountered and future plans for enhancing transparency and accountability in Ghana.

Presenting the report to the House on Friday, June 28, the Minister underscored the collaborative efforts of the Access to Information Division (ATI) of the Information Services Department (ISD) and the Right to Information Commission (RTIC).

Architecture for the implementation of the Right to Information Act, 2019, she said, provides for three operational pillars upon which Article 21 (1) (f) right is accessed:

 the Supply Side Pillar,
 the Demand Side Pillar, and
 the Regulatory Side Pillar.

She emphasized that these pillars, facilitated by the Ministry of Information, are crucial for the effective functioning of the RTI Act.

The ATI Division executed several key initiatives in 2023, including capacity-building programs for RTI officers, research on the implementation of the RTI law, and the establishment of the National RTI Forum.

The RTI Commission also achieved significant milestones, including launching a five-year strategic plan and establishing regional offices in the Bono and Ashanti regions.

The Commission’s efforts were bolstered by the support of traditional leaders and partnerships with various stakeholders.

According to her, the Commission conducted a compliance survey, monitored 250 public institutions, and imposed administrative penalties on non-compliant entities.

“The Commission’s strategic plan outlines a clear vision for our activities over the next five years. It includes adopting digital platforms to facilitate access to information, improving gender equity and social inclusion, and strengthening the independence of the Commission,” she indicated.

She urged the RTI Commission to impose administrative penalties against non-compliant institutions and called for increased budgetary allocations to ensure the effective functioning of the RTI architecture.

She stressed the need for increased financial resources and cooperation from public institutions to ensure the effective functioning of the RTI architecture.

CHALLENGES

Fatimatu Abubakar identified five primary challenges;
 inadequate financial resources,
 logistical constraints,
 attrition among RTI officers,
 limited cooperation from public institutions, and
 bureaucratic practices impeding the timely response to information requests.

According to her, the lack of adequate financial resources to undertake activities that ensure the effective functioning of the supply side of the RTI architecture, including quality assurance has been a major obstacle.

“Logistical constraints, particularly unreliable internet infrastructure, have also hindered the work of Information officers, especially in the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs),” she added.

The Information Minister disclosed that the presentation of a Legislative Instrument for the RTI Act, 2019, to Parliament is also on the agenda for this year.

According to her, final consultations are being arranged with key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Justice and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Legislature.

Ms. Abubakar has outlined several significant challenges faced in 2023 during the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2019.

The Minister also underscored attrition among RTI officers and stressing a notable number of resignations during the year.

“The reasons cited by the exited officers included traveling for further studies and job opportunities. This has reduced the number of RTI officers across various public institutions, making it difficult for the Division to provide back-end support to institutions,” she explained.

The Ministry, she said, also experienced challenges in getting some public institutions to comply with certain aspects of the law.

According to her, some heads of public institutions still sign-off responses to RTI requests contrary to Section 19 of the RTI Act, 2019.

The information minister emphasized the need for financial clearance to complete staffing and compliance measures.

“Financial clearance needs to be provided as a matter of urgency to enable the RTI Commission to complete the recruitment of its full complement of staff to resource its regional offices in Kumasi, Sunyani, and Bolgatanga.

“Similarly, the ATI Division must replace exited officers and populate the outstanding 333 public institutions with information officers to ensure stated.

Ms Abubakar affirmed that the successful implementation of the RTI Act is crucial for promoting transparency and accountability in Ghana and stressed the need to overcome these challenges to ensure every citizen can exercise their right to information.

Ghanamps.com

The Committee on Roads and Transport on Thursday, June 27, 2024, visited the Kasoa Winneba road to see for themselve progress of work done so far which is at thirty percent (30).

The project is being executed in two phases as phase one is from Kasoa to Akoti which is eighteen (18) kilometers and phase two twelve kilometer (12) from Akoti to Winneba and being executed by two local contractors which is government of Ghana funded.

Chairman of the Committee Kennedy Osei-Nyarko led the Committee to undertake this oversight. Other members of the Committee were Hon Samuel Atta Mill, and Hon Ayii Laadi Ayamba.

The project which started on March 29, 2024, is expected to last for thirty-six calendar months and so far thirty percent of work has been done on the project.

Engineer Paul Dua who is the director of Survey and Design at the Ghana Highways Authority took the Committee members through the aim of the project being executed as an implementing agency.

He briefed the Committee that, the trunk of road being worked on helps connect the national capital to Winneba, Cape Coast and Takoradi for the purpose of commence, education, tourism and production centers like factories among others.

And over the last twenty years it has not seen proper intervention as there are unacceptable travel times on the stretch of the road, uncontrolled pedestrian crossing, unsafe turns, likely head on collusion as a two lane road. Therefore, there is the urgent need for the dualisation of the road.

He further pointed out that moving into the future around the Winneba round about there is likely to be an interchange.

On compensations, he disclosed that they have paid fair compensations during the Japanese time but if someone was not paid, they would look at it, stating that in most instances these are some of the challenges that delay the road project and gave example of the Pokuase road construction which issues are in court.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Highways Authority Collins Donkor in a question asked by the chairman of the Roads and Highways Committee noted that compensation has been paid on the stretch of the road when in 2006 there was a Japanese funding for work on the road, hence any person who comes forward for claims would be looked at.

Hon Osei-Nyarko noted that the Ofankor road construction is having delays due to issues of compensation and wanted to know if they have factored that into the work they are doing.

He further pointed out that he was impressed with work done so far and if work is done at same pace, the project would be completed ahead of the expected thirty-six months completion.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

As part of their oversight role, members of the Roads and Transport Committee on Thursday, June 27, 2024, visited Okyereko where there is ongoing construction of two new bridges as a result of flooding that displaced over one hundred and fifty (150) people in the Central Region.

The Okyereko Bridge is located on the Ayensu River which connects Kasoa to Winneba.

Chairman of the Committee Kennedy Osei-Nyarko in the company of other members of the Committee, Samuel Atta Mill, Ayii Laadi Ayamba were at the site.

The project Manager Stephen Tawai briefing the Committee noted that they are constructing two separate bridges with work is progressing steadily, adding that after the construction of the new one which would be higher than the exiting bridge the old bridge would be destroyed.

He added that the old bridge is low and cannot contain a lot of water coming from the area hence the new two bridges would be done in such a way to contain a lot of water from the river.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Contrarily to the Majority Leader’s assertion that the Minority is not ready and committed to the Free SHS Bill, the Minority Leader Atto Forson said the National Democratic Congress and for that matter the Minority will support the Bill.

Clarifying their position on the bill, he said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority caucus would support the Free Senior High School (SHS) Bill that seeks to improve the quality of education and fix the lapses identified in its implementation.

According to him, it should be on record that the Minority has not said anywhere that the NDC is opposed to the Free SHS policy as the Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has said; rather, “we have the government of the day and the Majority side not presented to the House the said Bill”, he clarifies on the floor of the House on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.

Again, the matter has found itself repeated on a number of NPP related media houses that have run for some time now. “All we see is desperation on the part of the ruling government to create disaffection for the Minority MPs.”

“How long will the Bill take from Flagstaff House to the House; weeks, months, seven years, if it’s coming from the Ministry of Education, it is even closer”

The Minority Leader challenged the Majority side to come with the Bill to the floor within one week or tomorrow so that they can see the content of the Bill.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

All six members of the Ghanaian Parliamentary delegation from the Local Government Committee undertaking parliamentary duties in Kenya are safe.

The ranking member on the committee, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye disclosed this to Albert Ocansey, host of TV3’s Ghana Tonight show on Tuesday.

They are

• Emmanuel Gyamfi, MP for Odotobri the chairman of the local government committee,
• Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, MP for Odododiodoo
• Thomas Ampem, MP for Asuogyaman
• Sylvester Tetteh, MP for Bortiano-Ngleshie Amanfro
• Mohammed Tufeiru, MP for Nanton as well as the Clark to the committee, Rita Feo
Violent anti-tax protest against the parliament of Kenya erupted on Tuesday following the passage of tax amendments bill that imposes 17 additional tax burdens on the citizens.

The protesters, mainly youth-led groups in their thousands staged their opposition to the tax amendment bill with a peaceful protest some days ago across the capital, Nairobi and other parts of the country; but things escalated on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 following the passage of the bill.

The violent-protest resulted in part of the parliament house being set ablaze and the vandalization of facilities at the parliament house. At least five people are also reported to have been shot dead with dozens wounded.

The Speaker and Members of parliament including foreign delegations from different countries including Ghana had to be whisked away away to safety.

Mr. Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, recounting the ordeal on the Ghana Tonight Show, said “what we saw in Kenya was frightening; was a determined force of civilians overpowering and overcoming security forces that have been detailed to prevent them from achieving their objectives of entering the parliament house.

According to him, the protestors over-powered the security, destroyed all barricades and even took over some of the security vehicles; and it took the intervention of military reinforcement to bring some level of calm.

Members of the Local Government Committee have been in Kenya since Saturday for bench marking of the Kenyan National Assembly and the Senate.

Ghanamps.com

Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif has outlined measures by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to ensure that the ultra modern sports facilities used for the African Games Accra 2024 are maintained.

Government invested large sums of money to boost Ghana’s sports infrastructure by building multi purpose sports facilities at the University of Ghana campus, as well as the Borteyman Sports Complex in Borteyman for the Games.

The facilities include the completion of the University of Ghana stadium, standard athletics and warm tracks, a rugby stadium – all at the University of Ghana, while a number of standard facilities, including swimming pool and it’s warm up pool, and multi-purpose domes were also constructed in Borteyman.

Addressing Parliament on Tuesday to give a report on the Games, Mustapha Ussif outlined measures to maintain the facilities to avoid them becoming white elephants.

For the facilities at the University of Ghana campus, he revealed that they will he handed over to the University of Ghana to manage it, as part of its facilities.

“The University of Ghana Sports Stadium and other auxiliary facilities at Legon will be transferred to the management of the University of Ghana,” he said.

For the Borteyman Sports Complex, the Sports Minister announced that the National Sports Authority, an agency of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, is currently managing it in the interim, adding that the Ministry is also considering proposals from the private sectors for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to manage the facilities.

Once certainty, however, is that the Borteyman Sports Complex is being turned into a University for Sports Development, which the Minister revealed, plans are underway.

“As was announced before the construction of the Borteyman facilities and the commencement of the Games, Government intends to convert the Borteyman Sports Complex into a University Sports for Development, for the long-term sustainability of these ultra modern facilities, ” he said.

” In this regard, a cabinet memo has been prepared and it is on its way to Cabinet for approval. Once it is approved, Mr. Speaker, I will return to the House for approval for the new University for Sports Development.’
Ghanamps.com

The Abbey Global Institute for Leadership Studies (Jagils) has named the Rt Hon. Speaker as an honoree at its 6th Annual Banquet and Awards Gala at Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Virginia.

According to the Institute, the Speaker’s “distinguished career as a Ghanaian politician, serving as the Minister for Health, a seven-term Member of Parliament for the Nadowli West constituency, and your current role as the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana exemplify the leadership and dedication that Jagils holds in high esteem” makes him a perfect candidate for the said prestigious award.

On Parliament’s facebook page, it was pointed out that, the award is presented to leaders who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to civil and human rights, recognizing their dedication to advancing justice, peace, and freedom for workers and community members through their daily work.

Previous recipients of this esteemed award included H.E. Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor, Vice President of the Republic of Liberia, Isabelle Vladoiu, Founder of the US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights, The Hon. Cashenna A Cross, Mayor of the City of Glenarden, Dr. Nina L Meyerhof, President of Children of the Earth Inc., and Timothy Bowles, International Director of Youth for Human Rights International.

The NDC Member of Parliament for Madina Constituency, Hon. Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu, (Esq) has also been approved to be awarded a life-time achievement recognition by a conferment of the Presidential Service Award in the USA.

This follows his voluntary service in Ghana and across a number of States in the USA. Hon. Sosu has been known to be a lawyer, author, and human rights activist.

His nomination was made by the Jacobs-Abbey Global Institute Leadership in Virginia and was approved by the Whitehouse in June 2024.

According to Jacobs-Abbey Global Institute of Leadership, “Hon Sosu rose from being a destitute street child into becoming a lawyer and human rights activist and eventually a legislator in Ghana championing major legislative changes including abolishing the death penalty and criminalizing witchcraft accusations”.

The event is scheduled to take place on November 9, 2024, at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Virginia where Rt. Hon. Speaker and Hon. Sosu would both pick these prestigious awards.

Ghanamps.com

In support of their boycott on Thursday, June 20, 2024, three members of the Minority who were on the floor of the House Walked out after the Second Deputy Speaker Andrew Amoako Asiamah came to the floor to chair proceedings and prayer was said.

Former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, Etsey Kame Rockson-Dafeamekpor and Abed-Nego Bandim were on the floor of the House when the Second Deputy Speaker walked in. but just after prayers, Bernard Ahiafor called them to walk out and they did.

As at 2:30pm when business was ongoing on the floor of the House some Minority MPs and the Minority chief whip Governs Kwame Agbodza were at the coffee shop area waiting to hear information from the court before taking any action.

However, attendance by the Majority MPs was also not encouraging; as a count of the Majority Members of Parliament on the floor of the House doing business as at the time of filling this story was only sixteen, (16)

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Minister of Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has noted that government is in the process of selecting an entity or individual to complete the much-talked-about abandoned housing project and operationalize it.

According to him the government took a loan of two hundred million dollars initially to build five thousand housing unit, thousand five hundred and six were partially completed, and that is what you see at Saglemi.

In a media briefing on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, he said three components were missing – water, electricity, and sewage work when the Ghana Institute of surveyors did their assessment.

”We needed hundred million dollars to complete this thousand five hundred and six. Then government took a decision that within the financial difficult constraints it is very difficult to find that money after two hundred million have been spent. Cabinet took a decision that we should start a process of selecting a private developer, consortium or private developers let them make investment in it and operationalize it.”

According to him, a month ago a proposal was issued and ten companies, private and international had expressed interest having pick up forms and were taken to the project site. They had the opportunity to inspect work. These companies, he said are putting together their work proposal according to the plan put together by 8th July, 2024.

We are hoping to receive the final proposal, we would hand the bide to a private entity and it would be opened which will give us evaluation report and based on that government would go ahead to select one of the bidders – single or consortium of entities when done, and the necessary cabinet approval will be gotten and sign a deal and hand over Saglemi to this entity to complete and operationalize that project.

Currently ten entities have expressed interest and going through the process. We are going through the process of selecting this independent organization; we would be going before PPA to get one selected. We are committed in completing this project, the Minister said.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com