Category: General

Speaker of the Gambian National Assembly Rt. Hon. Mariam Jack Denton on Monday evening 27th January 2020 hosted the outgoing Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament Rt. Hon Mustapha Cisse Lo and Community lawmakers to a dinner.

This was at the commencement of the last extraordinary meeting of the fourth legislature in Banjul, Gambia, which would hold from the 27th to 31st of January 2020.

Majority Leader, K. K Barrow who represented the Speaker who is bereaved welcomed his colleagues to the dinner and revealed that, due to the country’s hospitality most people would love to come again.

“Already two people have decided to become citizens of the Gambia and the President has agreed to sign their papers to become citizens of the Gambia. Government is willing to host Parliamentarians and they should feel at home”, he added.

Again, he noted that the meeting is to prepare MPs for the fifth legislature and thanked the ECOWAS Parliament for choosing  Gambia.

Gifts from the Speaker of  the National Assembly of the Gambia were presented to the outgoing Speaker Cisse Lo and each country of the fifteen member states.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com/Banjul

Twenty Bills are expected to be presented at the first meeting of the fourth session of the seven Parliament which commences today.

They are the Affirmative Action Bill, 2019, Rent   (Amendment) Bill 2019, Community Water and Sanitation Agency Reform (Amendment) Bill 2019, and Ghana Petroleum Hub Development Corporation Bill, 2019.

At the committee level, there are seventeen Bills and  include Legal Profession (Amendment Bill), 2018, Intestate Succession Bill, 2018, Office of the Special  Prosecutor (Amendment) Bill 2019 with the Committee on Constitutional Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. The Ghana Communication Technology University Bill, 2019 is with the Committee on Education.

In a Press statement by the Director of Public Affairs Kate Addo, she noted that the meeting is expected to last nine weeks approximately where there would be a number of motions and debate on referrals at the committee.

President Nana Akufo-Addo is expected to deliver his last state of the Nation address for his first four years term mandate.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com/Banjul

Controversy on the road map on a single currency for the West African States rages on between Francophone and Anglophone Finance States, as Anglophone Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors have already expressed their displeasure with the unilateral renaming of the CFA Franc as ECO this year.

Secretary General of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, John Azumah has said the implementation of the ECG is an issue of no return, and must be done.

According to the SG, implementation of the Eco requires civil society, and all segments of the Community States. “It is either you go into the ditch or  you come out of it;   the only way to die is death”

Addressing journalists at the ongoing extraordinary meeting at the Gambia, he gave an overview of the achievements of the fourth legislature and admonished that Africa should stop blaming its woes on Europe and former colonial masters.

He was quick to point out that Africa’s colonial masters can work against Africa, with the view that, if Africa is successful they would go down. “They should leave us for us to go and die no problem”.

Mr. Azumah confirmed that the controversial single currency, ECO had been looked at by the Community Parliament, “politics of money, colonial ties and tradition die very hard if you are not careful and look at things critically can destroy the whole process”.

He further added that ECOWAS Parliament encouraged Heads of States and they took their views with the controversies, and believes the Heads of States are up to their task and would resolve the issue, as single currency is part of the integration process.

“Otherwise forget about it, we need to improve our trade relationship, and single currency issues should be resolved. We do not need a deadline of implementation, we would insist that the issue be resolved for Parliament to be able to play its role”.

And added that when the  issues are resolved there is a bigger chunk of work to be done as the ECOWAS Parliament, civil society, Journalists would have to explain and sensitize the Community citizens, the real people who are going to benefit.

“We have a big issue of first getting them to understand and accept the currency as to what we can gain out of the single currency”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com/Banjul

A member of the Nigerian delegation to the fourth legislature of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),  Moa A.  Ohuabunwa has said their criticism of the maiden edition of the mid-term evaluation should not be misconstrued as fear.

According to Mao, ECOWAS MPs do not fear evaluation and if there is any arm of government that appreciates evaluation it is the legislature as by their constitutional function they evaluate people with their oversight responsibility.

“We oversight government agencies, and in the sub-region evaluation should be the key critical ingredient to assess ourselves. You cannot shave me in my absence, you need my presence to shave me”.

He noted in an interview that mid-term evaluation presented in the Gambia was not properly done in the sense that you cannot evaluate the fourth legislature without talking to any MP.

“The consultant indicated at the initial stage he had challenges, time and financial constraints, we do not throw away the baby with the bath water, rather we should add value and ensure a comprehensive evaluation”.

Senator Mao noted that the evaluation and contributions shared would help strengthen the fifth legislature and would be reference material and would help the next Parliament to hit the ground running.

As to his assessment of the fourth legislature, he noted that there were good programmes but maybe the implementers were not well equipped to finish it.

“You can have a good programme on paper but for it to materialized, it depends on who is running the programme. Also  the fourth legislature has given the Parliament more visibility than it used to be, but there is more if those implementing were more prepared”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

As the fifth Parliament of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) kicks start first quarter of 2020, leader of the  Gambia delegation to the community Parliament and Majority Leader Kebba K.  Barrow has pointed out that with the debate around election of MPs,  the 6th legislature should start with election of Community Parliament in 2025.

“We need to have this done, as we are representing the entire electorate of our countries that would give us legitimacy to be able to do our work and cut down on interference to be able to fulfill our mandate”.

Mr. Barrow further pointed out in an interview that the initial plan was election of Community lawmakers and there is the need to take a second look at the process. Again, he called for resources to be made available for the election process in the fifteen member countries.

“For now, it is going to be difficult as re-composition of the fifth legislature has already been put in place and again the Parliamentary calendars are not the same in the sub-region, we need to come out with a frame work to enable it work”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com/Banjul

The West African sub-regional Community lawmakers meeting in the Gambia for the last extraordinary meeting and seminar for the life span of the fourth legislature on Friday 24th January 2020 criticize the maiden mid-term evaluation report of the fourth legislature.

Most prominent among the criticism was that MPs felt not a single member was contacted with the whole process that produce the report, whiles others were unhappy the Speaker Mustapha Cisse Lo was not evaluated.

Other MPs who happens to be consultants and have been involved in various research and evaluation works  for other organisations, expressed  dissatisfaction with the methodology technique used.

Mr. John Azumah, administrative head of the sub-regional Community Parliament clam down  the nerves of the MPs on the evaluation of the mid-term report, when he accepted that the administration is not oblivious of the inadequacy and weaknesses.

“It is a work in progress, we are thinking as your humble servants we should start from somewhere, as some of them will be sweet and bitter at end of the day, this should be able to inform the fifth legislature”.

He further pointed out to the lawmakers the views taken on the maiden mid-term report of the fourth legislature is to aid review and the strategic management of the Parliament.

Again, he added that going forward the whole Parliament would be involved and taken along for the benefit of the Community citizens. “We would improve upon what we have done”, he assured.

Mr. Azumah further revealed  that after the inauguration of the fifth legislature, there would be a section to build the capacity of lawmakers where stakeholders like the ECOWAS Commission and the AFC would be involved.

And emphasised the importance of knowing each other, MPs and those in the administration as just knowing directors make a lot of difference, he pointed out.

“Members with contributions and issues should make them available to the administration, the exercise is to reform the institution, your contributions are welcomed to plan for the fifth legislature”.

Mr. Urok Unah representing M&E Consultant who made the presentation in his response thanked the lawmakers for their feedback, and explained that the process of evaluation was not perfect as has been pointed out initially in his presentation that there were constraints.

“We have conducted this exercise within fifteen days, we have budgetary constrain, we know how to use methodology, we were not happy we could not speak to any MP, it would have been good to do that”.

He also pointed  out that the budgetary constrain does not pertain to only ECOWAS Parliament but all the Community institutions, and noted that “the report did not showcase the Parliament in a bad light, rather show case the achievements and more of the things that can be achieved going forward”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com