Category: General

A member of the Nigerian delegation to the 6th Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Senator Mohammed Ali-Ndume said efforts to ensure that the three Sahel Countries (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) who have threatened to leave the sub-regional bloc to rescind their decision is highly possible.

According to him, he is confident the return of the three Sahel countries to the West African bloc would happen, as their threat per the ECOWAS protocol has a year within which this threat can be carried out.

“I am not happy with what happened with the three countries because of the military takeovers, and the reaction of ECOWAS initially that led to the suspension of the three countries and their threat of leaving”.

In an interview on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 when the second Extraordinary meeting of the Community Parliament opened in Kano North West part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he pointed out that in the case of Niger the 5th Legislature set up an Ad hoc Committee which was already working to resolve the problem.

“We had achieved a lot and the first deputy speaker of the 5th Legislature Ahmed Idris Wase was the chairman of the Ad hoc Committee and I was part of that Committee and I hope this meeting would come out with a better result after this session in Kano”.

Again, we are in dialogue with the representatives of the various countries; we are achieving a lot, we hope to come out better, meanwhile this is the first time outside Abuja in the Northern part of Nigeria particularly we are hosting this important session we hope to achieve much.

“In fact the ordinary Nigerian in the North is full of expectations and I assure them that we are not going to disappoint them, you know Niger is surrounded by seven neighboring states in Northern Nigeria. So, that is very much important that we deal with this matter. The major problem we had in the case of Niger has to do with the sanctions; now ECOWAS has lifted it, we are only to put finishing touches to those agreements.

As to whether the Russian influence with the Sahel Countries in itself is not going to make their return a problem, he noted that it is not new as all African nations except few have been colonized by Western countries.

“We are making progress and I am very confident of the return of the three Sahel countries back to the fold of the sub-regional bloc, we would get there”, he added.

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Majority Chief Whip Frank Annoh Dompreh has challenged the Minority Leader Dr. Atto Forson to put out his evidence of 30 slot for Majority MPs for recruitment into the security services by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government.

According to him the NDC when they were under the IMF programme there was a freeze on public sector employment and since the NPP came to office within the eight years it was only on three occasions that there has been an advert of recruitment into the security services.

And further pointed out that it is wrong for one to say why for some time now there has not been advertisement for recruitment into the security services. “You cannot advertise when you are not ready to recruit. Before you do that you have to put your house in order and secure the financial clearance to do that and as we have been told that is in the domain of the interior Ministry.”

“We’re amazed with all these allegations; and perhaps that was what they were doing when they were in office and they are thinking we are doing same that is not the case. We challenge Ato if he has better particulars he should put them out or forever be silent on this matter”.

Again, this year’s election would be on facts and figures, we know psychologically they know they are down and knowing that they would be throwing tantrums they would just be causing confusion and putting wiled allegations out there.

Their colleague James Agalga is a Ranking member on the defense and Interior Committee, we would challenge them on this, and we are not happy about this; there is not truth in it, disrespect their claim, he said after the press conference and was answering questions.

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The Majority in Parliament has described as baseless allegations levelled by the Minority that Majority MPs have been given 30 recruitment quota into the security services.

According to the Deputy Majority Leader Patricia Appiagyie no Parliamentary candidate or Member of Parliament has been allotted slot to recruit anyone into the security services, stating that not only is the allegation false but a desperate attempt by the Minority to incite the public against the government as we approach the 2024 general elections.

She further pointed out at a press conference on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 that the Minority’s assertion that 276 NPP parliamentary candidates, including 138 sitting MPs, have each been given 30 recruitment slots is mathematically and administratively ludicrous.

“To suggest that 8,250 new recruits could be absorbed into our security forces, in a system that traditionally accommodates between 1,000 to 1,200 recruits annually, shows a profound misunderstanding of the operational and financial frameworks of our security institutions.”

She noted that the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s assertion is deliberate distortion of reality and a malicious fabrication aimed at undermining the integrity of the government.

Such allegations serve only to provoke unwarranted tension and foster an environment of mistrust and political rivalry that our country does not need.

The Interior Minister Henry Quartey, has already outlined the government’s recruitment strategy, which focuses on giving a second chance to qualified Ghanaians who previously applied but were not selected.

This approach is not only fair but also thoughtful, avoiding unnecessary financial burdens on applicants by not reopening the recruitment process widely.

We urge the Minority to refrain from spreading misinformation and to respect the intelligence of the Ghanaian public. Such tactics are beneath the dignity of our democratic processes and could potentially endanger the peace and security of our nation.

As the governing party, we remain committed to fairness, transparency, and the rule of law. We will not be swayed by these groundless accusations but will continue to work diligently to ensure the safety and security of all Ghanaians.
We call on all parties and media houses to demand factual accuracy and to contribute responsibly to the political discourse of our nation. Let us move forward, not with falsehoods and fear, but with facts and faith in our democratic institutions, she emphasised.

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The Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon Alban S. Bagbin on Friday, May 17, 2024 at the opening of the emergency recall presented the writ of election results to the House and the Member of Parliament elect for Ejisu Kwabena Boateng took his oath of office.

The Speaker pointed out that from the results given by the Electoral Commission Kwabena Boateng is duly elected to represent the good people of Ejisu.

The Speaker presented the member with a copy of the 1992 constitution and admonished him that it is not for him to chew but to study since it would be his guide in the House and need to learn the rules of procedure and in addition learn from his colleagues. In addition he was given the new standing orders of the House.

Meanwhile, majority of the Members on the Majority side were dressed in black to reflect the loss of their colleague John Kumah ahead of his burial.

Minority Leader, Dr. Atto Forson in welcoming his colleague wish him well, but was quick to remind his colleagues for four years the people of SALL have been denied representation in the legislature.

On his part the Majority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin welcomed his colleague adding that the people of Ejisu have spoken and if he would make an impact it has to do with the two documents given to him by the Speaker.

On SALL, he pointed out that the creation for representation is the work of the Electoral Commission and not the work of Parliament and since 2020 elections no constituency has been denied the opportunity of representation.
“The Minority Leader should not mislead the people of Ghana; rather he should be well grounded in the constitution”, he stated.

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Ghana’s Parliament is set to reconvene from recess on Friday, May 17, 2024.

This comes after the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, issued a summons for Members of Parliament (MPs) to resume their duties on Friday after a petition by the Majority caucus.

In the petition, the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, cited Article 112(3) and Order 53 of the Standing Orders of Parliament, which allow 15 per cent of the members of the House to request an early recall of parliament.

The agenda for the May 17 sitting is expected to focus on key government business, including the approval of ministers of state-designates and the consideration of some loan agreements.

The Speaker’s summons adheres to Article 112(3) of the Ghanaian constitution and Orders 53(1) & (2) of the parliamentary standing orders.

A formal statement from the Speaker’s office, dated May 10, reads: “Purs uant to Article 112(3) of the Constitution of the Republic and Order 53(1) & (2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, I, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, do hereby summon Parliament to sit on Friday, 17th May 2024 at ten o’clock in the forenoon, at Parliament House, Accra.”

“Dated in the Office of the Speaker of Parliament, Accra, Ghana, this 10th Day of May 2024.”

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The Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Sam George Nartey has suggested to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to recommend that the Ghana Education Service (GES) serves Heads of Schools with details of projects being undertaken by contractors in the various schools.

Sam George made these suggestions during the Third Zone Public Hearing in Ho, Volta Region to consider the 2022 Auditor-General’s Report on the Pre-University Educational Institutions for the year ended 31st December, 2022.

According to him if the Heads of School were given the information of the projects they would be able to contact the contractor when the need arises and know what to say when they appear before the Committee.

Meanwhile, the Ranking Member of the Committee Kofi Okyere Agyekum has cautioned the management of the Ayensuano District Assembly to avoid incurring a lot of infractions cited against them by the Auditor-General.

About 24 Municipal and District Assemblies from the Eastern Region appeared before the Committee. Out of that 103 infractions were cited against them with an average of 5 infractions per Assembly. However, Ayensuano Assembly alone was cited for 19 infractions.

Some of the Assemblies that appeared before the Committee included Birim Central, Fanteakwa South, Upper Manya Krobo, Yilo Krobo, Akuapem North and South.

Abetifi Presby SHS, Apedwa SHS, Benkum SHS, Holy Family NTC, Koforidua SHTS, New Juaben SHS, Pope John SHS and St. Francis SHTS were some of the schools cited in the 2022 Auditor-General’s Report in the Eastern Region that appeared before the Committee.

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Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin has admonished his colleagues in the Minority not to encourage the “killing” of Ghanaian businesses, in the wake of KPMG auditing the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML) in which the NDC Minority is calling for prosecution despite no wrongdoing has been found.

According to him SLM opened its doors to Parliament’s Committee on Mines and Energy to inspect and see the nature of their operations.

“Again, often times under the guise of due diligence and transparency, we often get out of control and destroy Ghanaian business whiles foreign firms who operate in certain sectors get the kind of protection that makes them develop their business,” he said.

At a press conference he pointed out that, often times Ghanaian businesses surfer; they are looked at with all kinds of suspicions and, “as someone coming from the private sector into this public space, I would not encourage that to be done. We have seen the case of the company producing our Ghana card recently when the parliamentary oversight committee visited them we hear the recommendation that came from the Minority Members.”

“Meanwhile, we know how this company was lambasted in the early days when the government engaged it. Today we know how Mr. Agyapong of Zoomlion fame is expanding in various aspect of our economy.”

Hon. Afenyo-Markin also pointed out that, ten to fifteen years ago his company became a subject matter of political rally and if we encourage Ghanaian business persons they do better; we should encourage our state institution to do business with Ghanaian business people with good initiatives.

“Where there are challenges we should comment and act within the remit of those challenges and should not be over speculative”, he cautioned.

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The Majority caucus of Ghana’s Parliament has commended media house The Fourth Estate owned by Manase Azure for holding government in ensuring that the democracy we are practicing as a country is sustained through interventions such as what he undertook to bring up issues of SLM monitoring of petroleum in the downstream sector.

Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin addressing the media further went on to commend the President H. E. Nana Akufo-Addo for not sweeping such report under the carpet by being bold and courageous to do further interrogation which led to a referral to a reputable firm KPMG to look at the contract critically.

The Majority leader further noted that the report came up with some recommendations which the Majority side has become aware of that after the president received the report of KPMG, he went into action by issuing certain directives to GRA which in their view would help address some procedural challenges that the contract itself presents.

It is clear from the KPMG report that, what the company is doing especially in the downstream of the petroleum sector it critical and had helped government to generate revenue. Prior to their engagement, we had a lot of leakages with the manual system which made it difficult for government to determine in real time such revenues, he added.

“It’s clear from the report of KPMG which the president gave highlight to GRA that this company does not only have experience, what they are doing is a novelty”.

“Meanwhile, we are aware our friends in the NDC are calling for certain prosecution; “I think they have not paid attention to the whole issue and they just want to do politics as usual their call is unfounded, there is no establishment of proof of any officer of state causing financial lose.

Again, what they think are payments to SML are not those that of government revenue; if you look at the agreement they are paid out of what they generate. NDC has to pay attention to the details they have been paid zero point zero five percent of a litter of revenue they generate as a result of the system they have put in place to monitor the downstream activity of our petroleum sector.”

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The Parliament of Ghana has clarified that the Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin is currently out of the jurisdiction for official assignment.

A statement put out by the Media Relations outfit of Parliament point out that the social media enquiry asking of the whereabout of the speaker sought to impugn the absence of speaker from the jurisdiction portraying the speaker in a negative light.

Parliament is currently on recess in line with its Calendar and Standing Order 57 which provides for the suspension and adjournment of the House. During such times, Members and officials of Parliament are able to interact with their constituents and attend to other assignments, in line with their Parliamentary duties, including international assignment.

In consequence, the Rt. Hon Speaker is currently leading a parliamentary delegation at the International Renewal Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

It must be noted that, Parliament as an arm of government, is a rule-based institution and Members of Parliament are aware of the established procedures to communicate with the Rt Hon Speaker if need be. If there is a need for Members to request for a recall of Parliament during a recess, Order 53 of the Standing Orders provides that: “15% of Members of Parliament may request a meeting of Parliament and the Speaker shall within 7 days after receipt of the request, summon Parliament.”

It is instructive to note that no such request has been made by any Member of Parliament and so, the calls for a recall of Parliament by persons outside of Parliament is frivolous and vexatious, and amounts to meddling in the work of Parliament.

In any case, per the provisions of Order 12(4) of the Standing Order, the presence of the Rt. Hon. Speaker and/or his Deputies is not required for Parliament to sit. Moreover, Order 52 provides for virtual Sitting so one’s physical presence is not necessarily required in today’s virtual world.

Parliament is aware of the need for collaboration and consensus building because of its hung nature and the Speaker, has sought throughout his tenure, to remain neutral and fair in his dealings. Therefore, to insinuate that the Speaker is not heeding calls for a recall because of his political allegiance to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is unfounded and unfortunate.

Parliament wishes to state that baring any emergency or unforeseen circumstance, it is likely to reconvene in the latter part of May 2024. Parliament reiterates its commitment to upholding the rule-based nature of the institution and fostering effective governance for the benefit of our nation.

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