Category: General

The Minority in Parliament are demanding that recommendations made in the Justice Brobbey commission be made public to Ghanaians.

According to the Minority Leader Haruna who address the media, they are not against creation of new regions since their party manifesto in 2016 supported the creation.

He pointed out that it has been five months since the commission submitted its report to government, on creation of new regions, it has been “shrouded in so much secrecy that Parliament has been denied access”, he lamented.

Mr. Haruna Iddrisu noted that the constitutional instrument for the conduct of the referendum leading to the creation of the new regions has been laid to mature in twenty-one sitting days.

Again President Nana Akufo-Addo under Article 5(4) of the constitution provides that where there the commission inquiry finds that there is a need and demand for merger or alteration, it shall recommend to the President. A referendum would be held specifying issues to be determine where the referendum would be held.

The Minority Leader demanded and urged President Akufo-Addo to keep faith with his promise of transparent and accountable governance.

“We demand full disclosure in the interest of the public and the report should not be the exclusive of few, It should be open to Ghanaians for us to gain insight into the thinking of the commission and the constitutionality of the recommendations”, he said in his media address.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Minister for Trade and Industry, Kojo Alan Kyeremanten has told Parliament that his Ministry has incorporated mechanism to address environmental impact under the one district one factory as stipulated by law.

According to the Minister there is a technical support group, made up of experience consultant working with business promoters to conduct environmental impact assessment (EIA) to identify the potential impact of 1D1F projects.

He further pointed out that participating financial institutions that support 1D1F companies also requires as a matter of procedure, for the companies to prepare EIA reports.

“We have set up district implementation support team (DIST) in the entire district to support business promoters in meeting all statutory requirements when setting up factories”, he said.

Mr. Kyeremanten indicated to the House that there are robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism developed to assess the implementation of the 1D1F programme, the relevant regulatory institutions will conduct periodic checks and review the operations of the factories to ensure that they abide by all the required regulatory requirements.

This came to light when MP for Buem Daniel Kwesi Ashiamah wanted to know if the Ministry would consider the environmental impact of 1D1F initiative and how the Ministry would want to deal with such impact.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Former President John Dramani Mahama has charged the Dome/Kwabenya branch executives to deliver the constituency seat to the opposition National Democratic Congress in the upcoming 2020 Parliamentary election.

According to the former President when the Party works hard and is united it can deliver the seat and promise not to let the branch executives alone; he would join them work.

“ I would be here to help you deliver it,  when you elect me this December it means we have two years before  2020,  any weekend we are free when  the chairman get some of your branch executives  I would get my T shirt and join you for us to move from house to house”, he said.

He made this remarks when he took his campaign to the Greater Accra Region and appealed to delegates in Dome/Kwabenya constituency to elect him as the party’s flagbearer in December.

And told party supporters who had gathered at Haatso in the Dome/Kwabenya constituency that the party needs to work hard and appeal to Ghanaians and non supporters of the party to vote them back to power in 2020.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Leader of a five member delegation from the Appointment Committee of Kenya’s Parliament, Khatib A. Nwashefai has said Ghana’s Parliament can also learn from their Parliament.

According to Khatib A. Nwashefai the issue of gender and disability representation in their National Assembly has been addressed.

“We have selected specific seats where we nominate people with disability and women to undergo rigorous campaigning”, he said in an interview.

He added that it has brought about huge changes in women representation, “we have created safe seats for forty-seven (47) women”, and to give the indication that in Africa women are subjected to rigorous competition to have representation.

Again one other thing we observed despite passing a law for ten years is that provisions had not been made to accommodate persons with disability, “your Parliament building is no disability friendly”, he lamented.

On the kind of governance being practiced in Kenya, he pointed that they have the National Assembly and the county, where the National Assembly (Senate) oversee the county.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Flagbearer hopeful of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has commended his party executives for reverting to registration of party members at the branch level.

According to the former President he is of the believe that the party is on the right track with that decision as power has returned into the hands of branch executives.

He recounted that when the party adopted the biometric registration people use to register at the regions and the constituency and names are sent to the national party head office, where members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) infiltrated.

“Now branch executives you know your people, if you are in charge of the registration can NPP people put their names in our register, it would not happen”?

That is why I say some of the steps we are taking, we are in the right direction and gives me confidence that we are coming back, he told party supporters at Dome/Kwabenya constituency.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Former Deputy Minister of Energy under, former President Kufuor’s administration, Kobina Tahir Hammond has kicked against the proposed committee of selections work, forcing the House to step down the recomposing of the committees in Parliament.

According to the former Deputy Minister of Energy, he took a legal objection to the whole process and pointed out that under the standing orders of Parliament if you want to recompose, you need to involve the said chairman or chairperson you want to change for the person to give his or her consent.

“Everybody is complaining they are ignoring the provision of order 193 (a) during the session of Parliament by the committee of selection with the consent of the member concern or failing that, at the request of two thirds of all the members of the Parliamentary party to which the member belong or in the case of an independent member by simple majority of members of the House”.

He further pointed out that committee changes is not like a Presidential reshuffle, whoever they want to change is in the hands of the President as he has constitutional backings, he lamented.

Again it was envisaged that when we have a committee in place it would run its normal four year term, “I do not think they contemplated on the removal of a chairman, we have rules let us follow the rules”.

“Why do we want to bulldoze our way through, I do not have a clue, if they are not performing you can move them around, but there are rules”, he lamented.

Mr. K. T Hammond in an interview with journalists in Parliament pointed out that chairman of the Mines and Energy committee hinted him that, “haven’t you heard I was not consulted? They say they are moving me”.

The step down new composition of the committee William Agyepong Quattoo is being made the new chairman, whiles Emmanuel Akwasi Gyamfi the current chairman of Mines and Energy is being moved to Local Government and Rural Development.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

A five member delegation from Kenya’s Parliament had visited Ghana’s Parliament to observe workings of Ghana’s Appointment Committee, which vetted the first reshuffled Ministers and Deputy Ministers of President Nana Akufo-Addo.

They are Khatib A. Nwashefai leader of the delegation, David Ote Sankok nominated, Joshua Kimile elected, Lilian Chepto Tomi Tom elected and Lidiya Haika elected.

In an interview with the leader of the delegation Khatib A. Nwashefai, he noted that the delegation was in Ghana to observe the workings of Ghana’s Appointment Committee in the recent reshuffle made by the President.

He further pointed out that, Ghana runs a system different from what his country does and they had to learn from a different jurisdiction and added that in their case Ministers are from outside Parliament whiles Ghana had hybrid system.

The delegation had the opportunity to attend the vetting of the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who at the time was a Deputy Minister of Information.  And also observed the vetting of the Upper East Regional Minister, Paulina Tangoba Abayage   then Ghana’s Ambassador Italy.

Mr. Khatib A. Nwashefai noted that they wanted to know how, “hot the seat is as a Member of Parliament and coming outside the House, again being vetted by your colleagues I believe is quite different”, he pointed out.

It is a great opportunity for us from Kenya to know how Ghana goes about its vetting,  we manage to get some session that have been very educative to us; this is a committee to bench mark how  Parliaments works in other jurisdictions, he said.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Five Ministers would be on the floor of Parliament to take fourteen questions in their name next week when the House sits from Tuesday to Friday.

On Friday morning when Leader of Government Business, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu presented business statement on the floor of the House, he indicated that there would be one urgent question whiles thirteen oral question would be taken.

Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwesi Amoako Atta is billed to take five question; Interior, Ambrose Dery has four questions in his name whiles Trade and Industry, Alan Kojo Kyeremanten would answer three questions.

Minister for Business Development and the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development would take a question each in their names.

Per the Standing orders of the House, Speaker Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye would admit statements, Bill, Papers and Reports that would be laid on the floor of the House, whiles the budget statement and economic policy of government for the year ending 31st December 2019 is expected to be presented third week of this month.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com

Parliament for three days in a role this week kept to its promise and started sitting ten o’clock in the morning from Wednesday the 31st of October, 2018 to the 2nd of November, 2018.
This was initiated by the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, when he pledged to the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye that his side of the House would be early in the chamber for proceedings to kick start.

Mr. Haruna Iddrisu lamented and told the Speaker Ghanaians are not happy with parliament over the way and manner proceedings on the floor are started late, more especially when school pupils had to come and sit in the public gallery for hours.

From Wednesday to Friday this week any time the Speaker enters to start proceedings on the floor of the House, thirty (30) out of the two hundred and seventy five (275) would be present while other MPs join later in the day.

Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu further added that the House would have extended sitting in other to deal with the Right to Information Bill.

By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com