Category: General

First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu has charged the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service to arrest Members of Parliament (MPs) who violate road regulations.

The former Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) boss noted that carnage on the Ghanaian road is growing because law enforcement is nil, and called for the strengthening of MTTU.

“MPs who breach the rules should be arrested just as they would do to other public officials, no MP who is not a member of the security agency should be allow to put those security lights and siren in their vehicles”

He further emphasised that members who have done that should be prosecuted. However, MPs who were not happy with this directives on the floor sought for clarification and he affirmed his statement that, “yes arrest”.

“It is suggested that members should be ambassadors if you want to be an ambassador of road safety it is a responsibility to respect the rules and all members who want to see road safety improve accept this and behave on the road”.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament noted that article 32 of the Community Parliament Act provides that the President of the commission at ordinary session present a repot which had been followed and done annually.

Article 32 “At each ordinary session of Parliament, the President shall present a general report on the implementation of the community work programme, 1. Parliament shall hold an annual debate on the reports submitted to it by the president. Their opinions and recommendations shall be transmitted to the Authority for its consideration”.

Mr. Speaker noted that this has become a tradition and the President of the ECOWAS commission has never failed in observing this tradition.

An hour documentary was shown by the ECOWAS Parliament, capturing difficulties that community citizens go through crossing various borders. Speaker of the community Parliament visited Liberia, Niger Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone borders.

Presenting his report, the President of the ECOWAS commission indicated that according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), global economic performance is expected to remain steady in 2018 and 2019 just as it was in 2017.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

The Minority in Parliament has taken a swipe at the Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and cautioned him to stop propagating half truths on Sundays, since it is a holy day for Ghanaians and many people in all parts of the work.

According to the Minority, the press briefing organised by the Information Minister that the size of government machinery is undergoing a programmed reduction on Sunday is untruth.

“How can 1,614 staffers be in comparison 998 be a programme reduction, if Ghanaians did not accept the news of 998 when the news of staffers broke out what makes the Minister think they would accept 1,614 in 2019”

Ranking member on Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa  addressing the media on Monday 26th of November 2018 said President Nana Akufo-Addo in compliance with the Presidential Office Act provided the following list of staffers to Parliament; Minister of state nine (9), Presidential staffers twenty-seven (27), junior political appointees two hundred and fifty-six (256) and some employees of the Public Sector Organisation numbering seven hundred and six (706) this is what gives the total number to nine hundred and ninety-eight (998), he said.

He further pointed out that the numbers of the staffers of 2018 is yet to be presented to Parliament and 998 is the figure of 2017.

“Information Minister either goofed badly or he set out to deliberately mislead Ghanaians in his Sunday press briefing, as I raise concern about the size of government during my debate of the 2019 budget last week”.

The Minority insists that this government is too large, wasteful and humongous; we cannot continue on this reckless and insensitive trajectory more especially a government that has appointed hundred and eleven (111) Ministers, the Minority stated.

In addition, we owe it to the people who elected us and sent us here to raise issues and more importantly mobilize resistant to stop this unwarranted plunder of the taxpayer’s money.

“President Nana Akufo-Addo did not obviously mean it when he pledged to protect the public purse during his Presidential inaugural address”.

“We in the Minority are resolved to do everything in our power to prevent the continuous rape of the public purse”, he lamented.

The Minority further demanded the cutting down of the size of staffers at the Office of Government Machinery. “It is an insult to Ghanaians who were opposed to the 998 staffers few months ago only to be confronted with a much bigger ceiling of 1,614 in 2019 by a government that refuse to listen”.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

According to the Deputy whip nowadays people hold gotta phones parading to be personnel’s of national security.

“It is now problematic you cannot, recognize who is a true national security personnel, you give people gotta phones and be calling them Presidential staffers, employ people to other sectors for them to work and stop this things”, he said in an interview with journalists.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

In an interview with the media in Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson said government has misapplied the first tranche of $1.3 billion amounting to six hundred and fifty million Ghana Cedis which was supposed to be used to purchase cocoa by the licensed produce buying company (PBC).

He further added that government has rather chosen to deposit the money into secured investment of some banks instead of using it for its purpose.

“I have written to the Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament, to invite the leadership of Ghana Cocoa board to come and explain to the committee, why are they keeping those money at the banks  and taking interest  on it, instead of giving it to farmers buy cocoa”.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament which second ordinary session is currently underway in Abuja has on Thursday the 22nd of November, 2018 started sitting in committee meetings.

Joint committee on Trade Customs and Free Movement and Economic Policies, Private Sector and NEPAD is meeting today to consider referrals from the ECOWAS commission on the adaptation of community Acts relating to economic and monitory   polices of the ECOWAS integration process.

The Parliamentary oversight mission would also meet  to consider  the report of the Parliamentary oversight mission to the ECOWAS  institutions and agencies responsible for the, implementation of the community programme, based in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin-Togo and Ghana corridors.

There would be consideration of the report on the Parliamentary fact-finding mission to Liberia and the Republic of Niger.

Committee on Political Affairs, Peace and Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), would consider the political and security issues arising from the presentation of country reports, whiles the ad hoc committee responsible for consideration of the draft of the 2019 budget of the community would also look at the draft budget of the community.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

According to the Ho West lawmaker, if government wants the Nation to grow in terms of infrastructure, a chunk of the nation’s budget should be allocated to the Works and Housing Ministry.

He further lamented over the practice from 2017 to 2018 in which government is not giving the infrastructure Ministry enough funds and it repeated itself in the 2019 budget.

“Mr. Speaker about 19.7 billion cedis has been allocated to the  social Ministry,  how do you expect the infrastructure Ministry to do,  all the funds  goes into consumption,  so my friend goes into the office sit down he does not do any work that is why I am advocating that the Ministry should be close down”.

Mr. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah made this remarks on the floor of Parliament when he was contributing towards debate of the 2019 budget.

In addition, “I am happy the Ministry has decided to take on state housing to lead government effort, they are going to put up two hundred housing unit starting from this year; if within two years government had not started even one unit, how we can talk about putting up two thousand units, it is a failure”, he stated.

“I had a shock of my life, when I open pages 245 appendix 14 which talks about ten toilet being built, as part of governments project but I built those toilet out of my MP common fund”, he lamented.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

According to the Minister, it is wrong for the ranking member to contribute to the 2019 budget by saying “No TIN, No Free SHS”; “he should stop that propaganda”, he added.

“I cannot sit in this chamber for such palpable false to come out of his mouth, where in this budget if not for propaganda sake is it stated that if you do not have Tax Identification Number (TIN) you cannot enjoy free SHS”.

He noted that the ranking member should apologize to Ghanaians for announcing his own policy imposed on government.

First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu further pointed out that the matter before the House is the budget and should be followed and cautioned the ranking member against using comment made by people outside the chamber.

“A director at the Ministry of Education had made this comments, he has no power to make laws, those comments can be made outside but in this chamber let us focus on what we have before us”, he directed.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

The deceased was the Chairman of the Environment, Science and Technology Committee in Parliament. He was also a member of the Government Assurance and Health Committees.

He became MP for the area when he took over from the current Chief of Staff, Frema Osei-Opare since January 7, 2013 till his unfortunate demise.

The late Kyeremanteng Agyarko who was a former Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Board now Authority (FDA) from 2001- 2009 and a native of Odumase-Krobo in the Eastern Region was born on December 10, 1957.

He was a Fellow of the Ghana College of Pharmacists and was the brother of former Energy Minister, Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko.

He is reported to have left behind two wives and seven (7) children.

Christian Kpesese/ghanamps.com