Category: General

The crusade to get more female lawmakers into the yet to be inaugurated fifth Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was high on the agenda during the latter part of the life span of the fourth Parliament.

In an interview with the Administrative Head of the sub-regional Community Legislature, John Azumah on the female representation on the reconstituted list presented by fourteen out of the fifteen countries, he said: “the list is not encouraging”.

He indicated that the names of females in a current list of eighty (80) presented out of one hundred and fifteen (115), it was obvious they have a long way to go.

The Secretary-General also noted that the Supplementary Act says Parliaments are encouraged to give one-third (1/3) of their delegation to the female parliamentarians invariably this is not respected. There are so many issues involved in this in allocating positions especially involving our female folks”.

According to him, though men always talk about supporting women, “hardly do we practice it”.

Mr. John Azumah further confirmed to Ghanamps.com that in the reconstituted list of Ghana, there is only one female in the name of Mrs. Ama Pomaa Boateng.

Ghana, for example, has eight membership but there is only one female, “even if they were not given three slots, two should have been the case but a blind eye has been turned to that, and the same applies to other countries”.

He further revealed that for the allocation of the female MPs it is not being respected as in the regulations.

In an early interview with Leader of the Gambian delegation in the fourth Legislature Mr. Kebba K. Barrow he pointed out their reconstituted list to the fifth Parliament has only one female madam Fatoumatta Njai out of the five.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Government Assurance Committee has taken its verification tour to the Central Region where it members visited a pineapple plantation that feeds Ekumfi Fruit and Juice Limited.

Director of Operations at Ekumfi Fruit and Juice, Frederick Kobbyna Acquaah before the Committee visited the plantation walked the committee through the operations of the company from the growing of the pineapple, its harvest and processing.

And there was a question time where members of the committee sought further explanation. One of the key things that Mr. Acquaah told the committee members was that the factory under 1D1F was hundred percent Ghanaian owned.

He further revealed to the Committee members that the lands on which the pineapples are grown are leased to the company for thirty years, and the farmers and all those working are properly documented.

It was also revealed that the pineapple farms are not only located in Ekumfi but other places like Gomoa, Winneba among other places.

The Committee’s first place of visit after the briefing was a pineapple plantation at Ekumfi, whiles the last stop of the field trip on the third day of visit was the factory where the pineapple was being processed into juice.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

The Minority has called on the Government to immediately evacuate Ghanaian students currently locked up in China to a less Coronavirus infected area in Asia or be lifted back to Ghana.

According to the Minority, if government does not hid their call they would reconvene and tell the World their next line of action.

Ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa noted that Ghana has the capacity to evacuate Ghanaian students from China especially those trapped in Wuhan where the coronavirus originally started from.

Addressing the media, he noted that France, Switzerland, Philippines, Russia, Libya among other countries have all evacuated their nationals from China as a result of the outbreak of the virus, whiles the United States of America is even doing a second round evacuation of their nationals.

“We urge the Ghanaian Government to swiftly move in to save Ghanaian students before anything bad befalls them”.

Mr. Okudzeto further backed his point by pointing out that Libya during their war nine years ago, Ghana was able to evacuate her nationals who were more than a thousand back to the country.

As records released by the World Health Organisation indicates that one thousand and sixteen people have been confirmed dead with forty-three thousand infected with the coronavirus, “Government cannot be insensitive to the plight of Ghanaians, this is a humanitarian issue and the earlier Government Acts the better”.

Meanwhile in a related development, the Ranking member on the Committee of Health Kwabena Mintah Akandoh is calling for the screening of all Chinese nationals in the country.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

In the wake of the fight against the coronavirus globally as Health Authorities in the different parts of the World are putting in measures to combat the diseases and prevent it from spreading, leader of the Liberian delegation to the expired fourth Community Parliament, Edwin Melvin Snowe Junior has said the Director of the West African Health Organisation has revealed that measures had been put in place to contain the spread in the sub-region.

“All airports in the sub-region are being monitored especially flights from Asia and not only flights from China”.

He further pointed out in an interview that he hopes the measures put in place would be respected. “When you get to the airport, avoid shaking hands, be careful with people around you that are not feeling well, encourage them to be rushed to the nearest medical centre “.

In addition, he recounted that the because of the Ebola virus that came from his country and claimed thousands of lives in Liberia and other affected countries, the World would be minded to seriously deal with the virus to the best of its ability.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com/Banjul

Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye has told the World Bank Country Director, Pierre Jean Laporte that institution should disassociate itself from championing gay and lesbian rights which is usually linked to aid in Ghana and Africa.

According to the Speaker the World Bank should disassociate itself from some modern issues of human rights being pushed on African countries in exchange for aid.

“The West would have to respect our views, do not link such things to aid for economic development because they have nothing to do with us, Ghana is not castrating people because they are gay’s. No we are not engage in any anti-human rights; the issue is offence is offence, it is time for us to look at this new interpretation”.

He told the visiting Country Director of the World Bank to Ghana that human rights issues are gaining economic under pining in global relationship and are issues that concern “us deeply”.

Professor Oquaye emphasised that Ghanaian die of ‘kwashiorkor’ and there are many problems that needs to be tackled.

“When AIDS is spreading in Africa we are unable to manage it as the developed world has managed it, we seriously want to make known to the appropriate institutions that if they want to assist us economically they should do that”.

In addition, they should realize that economic stability has effects and social implication and those issues should be brought to the front burner as they would be beneficial way to deepen “our relationship”, he emphasised.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com