Category: General

Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kojo Kyeremantey has told Parliament a decision would be taken on the Komenda Sugar Factory by the end of this month.

According to the Minister, the factory after its commissioning by the previous government 31st of May, 2016, had been idle due to serious deficiencies in the planning of the project and other financial technical and legal challenges.

Again, on the commissioning of the factory it was not in position to produce required white refined sugar due to the absence of the following processing components units, which were not fully installed during the test-run – melt clarification unites, vertical crystallizers and dosing system.

This came to light when Member of Parliament for Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abrem Samuel Atta-Mills ask why the Komenda Sugar factory has been shut down and what are the reasons for shutting down the factory.

“Overall, about thirty-five items had not been installed on commissioning although they are critical for the production of sulphurless white sugar, the land size available for cultivation is far less than the 6,000 acres required to supply sugar cane to run the factory at full capacity.

There has been no out-grower scheme developed for small scale farm holders to support a nucleus plantation for the factory”, he minister stated.

In addition, the soil condition in the factory catchment area is not favorable and requires significant application for both organic and inorganic fertilizers to improve yields.

“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the bid evaluation process has been completed by the transaction advisor and a recommendation has been made for consideration by the Ministry and cabinet”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Parliament is expected to adjourn sine die on Friday the 12th of April 2019 after weeks of back and forth on the day the House would be adjourned.

Deputy Majority Leader, Sarah Adowa Safo disclosed on the floor of the House on Friday when she presented the Business statement for the ensuing week.

She further pointed out that for the House to be able to have enough time to dispose off the back log of work before the House it would sit on Monday the 8th of April and there would be extended sittings.

“The committee takes this opportunity to sincerely commend all MPs and the Speaker for the self-sacrifice and devotion to business of the House, it is worthy of note of the willingness to sit long hours.”

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Members of Parliament especially from the Minority side have expressed worry over the undecided date of adjournment which Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu made known when he presented the Business statement.

Leader of Government Business, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, noted that the House would adjourn on the 5th of April if it is able to address businesses before the House but if not it would revert back to its date of 12th April 2019.

But Members of Parliament from the Minority side of the House have lamented over the pronouncement from the Majority Leader since he was not specific with any date. Most MPs complained that they need to know so that they can put in place their plans for recess.

Leader of Government Business and Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu in addressing the concern did indicate that it is not the Business Committee which would determine the date for breaking for recess but would be done by the Speaker.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye has cautioned nine Ghanaian students who are first beneficiaries of the Republic of Serbian Scholarship not to go and engage in internal politics of that country.

Professor Oquaye admonished the students to be worthy ambassadors of Ghana but studying hard to distinguish themselves in their field of study.

The nine students who are mostly females, with two males were going to study medicine, pharmacy and international business.

The Speaker gave an undisclosed amount of money to the students to help support the students as they embarked on their trip Thursday night to Serbia.

The scholarship was obtained by Speaker as part of his official visit to the Republic of Serbia in helping normalize relation with both countries.

Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye gave assurance to the departing students that he would visit them and there was someone to receive them in Serbia when they arrive.

“Be interested in your academic work, do not go and get yourselves involve in their internal politics, this is a country that had trained many doctors, during my time when we were leaving six form, I know personally some of the beneficiaries of their scholarships”.

Again do not go and rock the boat, the scholarships were awarded as a result of diplomacy, you are the receivers of Ghana’s relation with Serbia, next year around this time we would have thirteen students leaving the shores of our country, he said.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Five Ministers would be before the House next week to take question in their names on the floor of the House.

Minister of Energy John Peter Amewu has three questions in his name to answer for his sector with the Attorney General and Justice Minister, Gloria Akufo taking two questions.

Ministers for Local Government and Rural Development, Trade and Industry and Regional Reorganization and Development would take a question each in their name.

There would be two urgent questions with six oral question to be addressed on the floor of the House.

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Cecilia Dapaah, Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, has told Parliament as a result of inadequate daily production of water to meet current demand there are measures in place to address the water needs of the people of Asalaja and its environs.

According to the Minister, interventions have been initiated to provide portable water to the people as extension of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) distribution network to the communities is under consideration.

She noted on the floor of Parliament when answering question that it would bring some relief to the communities as supply would be rationed to the areas.

In the long term GWCL is in discussions with interested investors to rehabilitate and expand the Weija Headworks as part of the expansion distribution pipeline that would be extended to the communities.

“Mr. Speaker, the communities along the Kasoa-Obom-Amasaman road depends on water supply from the Candy and Bamag Water treatment plants at Weija Headworks.

In addition, the existing installed plant capacities of the Candy and Bamag water treatment plants are 8MGD and 6MGD respectively.

However, each plant is currently producing at 5.6MGD due to frequent power outages and decrease in efficiencies of the plant facilities over the period”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has assured Members of Parliament (MPs) that the revised Standing Orders yet to be adopted would address the issue of Ministers coming to the floor to answer questions within seven days.

According to the Minister, for urgent questions to serve their purpose there should be time limit for Ministers to respond within seven days, “when we come to agree and adopt the new standing orders it would define it for us”.

He made this remarks in the wake of MP for North Tongu lamenting over filling an urgent question in the name of the Finance Minister which has to do with Ghana’s relation with the European Union (EU).

Mr. Samuel Okudzeto said, “I have waited for the past fifteen days, I have filled an urgent question to the Finance Minister and should not take this long”.

Majority Leader noted that urgent questions are not supposed to be answered within fifteen days he does not know where North Tongu lawmaker is getting his information from, it does not have grounding in the standing orders.

“I do not think you want to conjure any figures from your head, I have insisted that because we have time and time again touched on this issues we should define a time range which urgent questions should be responded to, you cannot go beyond a week”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Minority in Parliament is demanding that President Akufo-Addo government breaks its silence over the abduction and disappearance of Mahran Mustapha Baajour, a thirty-nine (39) year old Lebanese businessman of Palestinian origin.

According to a Minority statement Mahran Mustapha Baajour arrived in Ghana on a business visit on 13th December, 2018 and has since not been seen in public.

Ranking Member on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa noted that the Minority is reliably informed that the businessman was arrested together with two of his Ghanaian host at the airport, by persons claiming to be operatives of the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI).

“All three were kept in detention for six days in violation of Ghanaian law; our understanding is that his two hosts, one Razak Abdul and another were then released”.

He further noted that Ghana’s image as a democratic state which upholds human rights and respects the rule of law clearly is on the line.

This development had led to major protest in Beirut, Lebanon where petitions have been presented to that nations President and Speaker of Parliament, Al-Jazeera has already broadcast two stories on the matter.

Again there is another petition demanding the release of Mahran address to the Ghanaian Government presented at our consular office in Lebanon where another protest was staged.

“We must be conscious of the implication of this development, on our peacekeeping troops in Lebanon if the matter in issue continues to be handled so abysmally, despite Minority’s countless behind the scenes interventions for government to publicly state its claimed innocence”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com