Category: General

Speaker of Ghanas Parliament, Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin on Thursday, November 10, 2022 apologized to Ghanaians for the late start of business for the day as proceedings started few minutes to midday.

I would on your behalf and on my part apologies sincerely for the delay it was due to the usual communications, because of the impending business for today it is historic day.

And gave MPs assurance he would explain why today is a historical day and further assured members of the general public that parliament takes business of the House serious.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanapms.com

Parliament is expected to witness some drama today as the Minority is expected to move its vote of censure motion against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

The Minority cited seven reasons why the finance minister must go including
1. Despicable conflict of Interest ensuring that he directly benefits from Ghana’s economic woes as his companies receive commissions and other unethical contractual advantage, particularly from Ghana’s debt overhang.
2. Unconstitutional withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund in blatant contravention of Article 178 of the 1992 Constitution supposedly for the construction of the President’s Cathedral:
3. Illegal payment of oil revenues into offshore accounts in flagrant violation of Article 176 of the 1992 Constitution;
4. Deliberate and dishonest misreporting of economic data to Parliament
5. Fiscal recklessness leading to the crash of the Ghana Cedi which is currently the worst performing currency in the world;
6. Alarming incompetence and frightening ineptitude resulting in the collapse of the Ghanaian economy and an excruciating cost of living Crisis;
7. Gross Mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy which has occasioned untold and unprecedented hardship to the people of Ghana.
Though the Majority Caucus has also made its stance clear for the Finance Minister to be sacked, it is unclear if they will support the Minority in the secrete vote to get the finance minister out of office.
Already there are indications, the Majority will stage a walkout and this will deprive the Minority of any attempt to secure the two-third votes to give meanings to their quest for the finance minister to go.

Ghanamps.com

The chair of the Communications sub-committee of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) Eric Keyman Defor said their engagement with Parliament should not end after their submission of report to Parliament.

According to him beyond submission of their report, there should be an open door policy where the engagement should be continuously done.

“So that if Parliament has an issue that they are not clear about there should be that level of engagement to enable PIAC inform them on, why we made the recommendations that we made. The law mandates us to collate data from all relevant stakeholders and duty bearers and put them into a report”, he stated.

He further added that, the report is submitted to Parliament and the Executive for the necessary action to be taken once that is done, they expect Parliament to invite them regularly. “They do once a while for clarification but beyond that, the responsibility is on parliament entirely as to what they do with our report and recommendations”.

Mr. Defor made this known in an interview with Ghanamps.com when PIAC and GIZ organize a workshop over the week for journalists to interrogate their semi-annual report at Koforidua.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Minority in parliament has raised concerns about the current economic challenges the country is faced with. At a press briefing on the “current state of insecurity in Ghana in the wake of economic meltdown under Nana Akufo Addo’s presidency” the Minority said it is alarmed by the unprecedented economic meltdown the country is currently faced with and its implication for our national security.

In an address delivered by the Ranking Member on Defence and Interior Committee, James Agalga, they indicated that official data sources indicates that Ghana’s annual inflation rate accelerated for the 17th straight month to 37.2% in October 2022. However, the reality on the ground is that in some specific cases inflation is well above 50%. These figures represent the highest inflation rate the country has seen in several decades.

“Even more alarming is the country’s Debt-to-GDP ratio. The World Bank in its Africa Pulse report released in October, 2022 projected that Ghana will end 2022 with a Debt-to GDP ratio of 104%. The Ghana Cedi on the other hand has now been adjudged by Bloomberg as the worst performing currency in the World, overtaking bankrupt Sri Lanka’s rupee having slumped by more than 45%. Currently one needs almost GH₵14.00 to purchase 1USD”.

The Minority noted that the increase job losses spike in transport fares and general hardship suffered by Ghanaians without doubt portends grave danger for our country’s security. They warned that “if care is not taken, Ghana, our beloved country will soon be heading in the direction of Sri Lanka, a South East Asian country which went bankrupt in recent memory due to economic mismanagement which eventually resulted in mass protests and demonstrations and the eventual collapse of that country’s government”.

The Minority thus, reiterated the call for the sacking of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta without further delay to allow for new thinking to be brought to bear on the ongoing negotiations with the IMF. “Such a step will make it unnecessary for the minority to proceed with its much anticipated motion to censure, Mr. Ken Ofori Atta, the Minister for Finance”.

Ghanamps.com

The legislatures of Ghana and Panama have committed to deepening cooperation for the growth of both countries.

In pursuit of this, the President of the Panamanian senate, Dr. Christians Aldames Navarro has paid a courtesy call on the First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei  Owusu  who stood in for the Speaker  Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, on Friday, November 4, 2022.

According to him the geographical positions of the two countries make an alliance a win-win in terms of tourism, agriculture and trade.

First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei Owusu  said beyond the official engagement, the Accra- Panama City alliance must be brought to the door step of the citizens.

He embraced a suggestion from the Panamanian Senate president for the establishment of a Friendship association in both legislative assemblies.

 Minority Leader Haruna Idrissu touched on the harnessing of export of horticultural products to the two countries; and called for more transparency in multilateral dealings in Panama.

 Majority leader Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu expressed his admiration for the fast economic growth of Panama.

He commended the transcontinental country for great work it does with the Panama Canal, a major Shipping route.

Ghanamps.com

Vice chairman of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) Nasir Alfa Mohamed said the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has now become a “cash cow for each government”.

According to him Parliament should do more scrutiny when it comes to GNPC otherwise, “if you allow it, they would run us all down. It’s more or less a cash cow for each government, if any government comes to power”.

“If you allow GNPC freedom, it will become like the cash cow of the government so parliament will have to put in more stringent measures to ensure that GNPC is on the right course”.

He made this remark on Saturday, November 11, 2022 when PIAC had an engagement with the media to present its semi-annual report in Koforidua.

PIAC is an independent statutory body mandated to promote transparency and accountability in the management and use of petroleum revenue in Ghana.

Chair of the Communications sub-Committee Eric Keyman Defor expressed shock when a member of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) pointed out that the books do not look good. He said it’s news to him because at the time of writing their report, the data provided by GNPC to them which they verify did not give them that indication.

“So I do not know what more parliament has seen but it is parliament  that approved the work plan of GNPC,  so when GNPC provide us with data on what they have received and how they are spending, we critic and when we make findings we advice parliament”, he said.

 And one of the things that they (PIAC) have observed is that GNPC in its revenue projection,  it project to recover loans it has given to other government agencies that is impeding their cash flow; they use that to support the projected revenue from the petroleum revenue holding  fund. Now,  when they get approval, it is turning in that, year in year out they are never able to make those loan  recoveries but because the budget is approved or let me say is balanced between projected revenue and expenditure.

Ones it is approved, it means the expenditure side has also been approved. They did not get the revenue, they take the discretion to spend on line items that they prefer, so they are advising parliament to look at that; the projections they make should be critically assessed, it should not be just accepted on the face value because GNPC has submitted before a three year recovery plan saying that, year one they would recover this, year two same and year three same.

They submit this to parliament but when they fail to recover, and then they change the recovery plan and come up with new structure meanwhile expenditures keep going on within the cash they receive.

Mr. Eric Keyman Defor further noted that to be more practical, if GNPC want to build a research center and the cost of the building is stated in it, they expect that if revenue falls, they must adjust their expenditure to meet the revenue on a pro rated bases, but they may chose to do the research centre or something else which they may find not to be a core activity of GNPC.

Again, you may find that because of this short falls they may go for loans to meet the core activities stead of relying on what they were allotted. If we do not embark on these our core activities which are urgent, it will affect us; meanwhile the resources have been applied to a non-urgent matter and now creating room to go and borrow.

He said these things happen because they see how they are practically getting free money on a regular basis; and then they end owing. “Now they are doing prospecting in the Volta basin, and should concentrate on that and stop giving loans to other state institutions”, he pointed out.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Despite hikes in the cost of building materials in recent times, Coordinator of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project, (GAMA SWP) and Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project, (GKMA SWP), Engineer George Asiedu said beneficiaries can access toilet built for low income communities at initial subsidized price.

According to him the cost of poor sanitation cannot be over estimate, for this reason they do not play games with the need to access toilet.

So, despite the fact that prices of material are going high, they do not see the need to increase the contribution from the beneficiaries as this would deter them.

“And if we happen to fall sick or get into pandemic regime just as we had with COVID -19 you know the cost that government had to incur, so as a result of this what we are doing is to bear the additional cost and government is taking up the additional cost of materials so the subsidy contribution is  absorbing the extra cost  and the cost to the beneficiary remains the same”, he said in an interview with Ghanamps.com

No  additional cost has been added to the beneficiaries,  so if you need the stand alone it is still the thousand two hundred, (GHc 1,200)  if you need the digester with seat is still seven hundred Ghana (GHc 700),  if you have to get a large digester still eight hundred Ghana cedi (GHc 800).

“We would urge everybody to take steps to access these facilities; government is making it affordable and easy to access because we are dealing with low income populations”.

According to the GAMA Coordinator, when it comes to sanitation, the Ministry and the Minister have resolved “we should not increase the burden to the beneficiaries, they are paying that to the toilet builders and they are not having problem at all”.

Either than that, they would have been out of business, adding that they are still negotiating as the prices go up and “I am sure government is doing its best the cost of doing business and material and we would not want this to affect the project; and the project is going on as planned, and the cost of accessing the toilet remains the same. The project has strategist to some of the cost as subsidy and paying to the contractors”, he added.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Coordinator of the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) Sanitation and Water Project (SWP), said his outfit is considering roping in more districts in the Ashanti region.

“We are exploring the possibility of bringing on board all the District Assemblies that share border with Greater Kumasi Municipal and Metropolitan Areas. We are indirectly bringing most of them on board to ensure that we cover them”, he stated.

Speaking in an interview with Ghanamps.com, the Coordinator said the project is well on course in the Greater Kumasi Area, adding that its success has been the reason more assemblies are lobbying to be included

The call, he noted, is significant because open defecation is measured taking into account the entire region and not only the Greater Kumasi area; and revealed that open defecation level in Ashanti Region has dropped to 6.1 following the interventions of the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) Sanitation and Water Project (SWP).

As such the call by those assemblies that are not benefitting to be included is a good call since it would help widen the success rate in eradicating open defecation from the region, he stated.

According to him another interesting dimension is the show of interest and buying into the project by lawmakers in twelve constituencies which has also beef up a lot of demand outside project areas.

A minimum of 30,000 households within the project area are to be assisted to construct affordable toilet facilities by December 2024.

He recounted that following the success of that project in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Areas (GAMA) Sanitation and Water Project,  the focus was to increase access to toilet facilities in the low income areas, and this would separate fecal matter and also to promote health consequences.

The project was suppose to provide twelve thousand one hundred toilet facilities but they ended up reaching out to over twenty-eight thousand five hundred households that give us over two hundred and fifty thousand beneficiaries. This we use the same funding to achieve. The project reached its target and even exceeded its target over 16 percent and to us it was a great achievement.

“The interesting thing was that we were able to get the people to change their behavior and attitude towards sanitation, we embarked on intense sensitization and various approaches were used with assistant of his behavior   and communication expects a lot of strategy was used. What it means is that they engage the people themselves they use the Municipal Assemblies that have the mandate and they ensure that the people who are supposed to enforce the law are the ones on the ground who are known by the people. They are the people they use to promote the project and provided them with the adequate logistics to be able to do exactly what they were supposed to do”.

 And this paid off very well. They realize that the people were at home and made the Municipal Assemblies one stop shop for accessing household toilets. It made it easy and sustainable.

And the success of GAMA gave birth to the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) Sanitation and Water Project (SWP).

Ing. Aseidu said though GKMA-SWP started in November, 2021 which is barely a year, “we have been able to achieve four thousand three hundred out of the target we set for ourselves. And this represents about 12 percent achievement. We are making significant progress and the way things are going, we should be able to reach our target; our progress is good but we think that we can do better”.

Ing. George Aseidu further noted that they are making efforts to be able to reach out to majority of the people and to make sure they get access to these toilet facilities. “We are doing well in Kumasi and getting the support of the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu 11. And anything he steps in, it becomes a success because the people of Kumasi have realized the need to ensure that people get toilet in their homes; and whenever you get the buy-in of the people the people are ready to change their attitude and behavior”.

 So once a neighbour gets access to a toilet, they want to ensure all their neighbours do same and also stop open deification and when you do the open deification, you may be put to shame or the people would ensure that you stop that behavior, he indicated.

Again, Kumasi is the garden city, the people know it well and they know what to do and so they love good life and that is what is prevailing now, he said.

“We are getting enough support and the way it is going is good; it is moving faster than we did in Accra, the only thing is that the target we set for ourselves in Greater Kumasi is  way above what was done in Accra. We are doing well but the target set is about thirty thousand households which we need to achieve and then we hope to achieve it within the project life which ends December 2024”, the Coordinator emphasised.

The Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) Sanitation and Water Project (SWP) received US $125m from the World Bank as the Government of Ghana acting through the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to increase access to improved sanitation, water supply in low income communities.

The Project beneficiary Assemblies include eight Metropolitan/Municipal Assemblies (MMAs) of the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area, comprising Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Asokwa, Oforikrom, Old Tafo, Suame, Kwadaso, Ejisu and Asokore Mampong Municipal Assemblies.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com

Rwanda Kigali has the reputation of being one of the cleanest counties in Africa and has become a reference point in the discussions of cleanliness in Africa.

But Ing. George Aseidu, the Coordinator for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Sanitation and Water Project and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) Sanitation and Water Project believes Ghana can make progress and be like Rwanda Kigali and even do better if we all come on board and change our mind and attitude.

According to him working together with all sector players, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and with everybody playing their part to change their mind set, “we can get there; Ghana is possible, Ghana, we can be like any cleaner city you know in the world not even Africa”.

Again, Rwanda Kigali has done it and it’s an example to Africa; an indication that we can do it.

According to him, Ghana is making significant progress in access to toilet facilities and stated that the country was hovering around 11 to 15 percent but is currently 25 percent just by the little intervention that has happened over the last ten years. I am sure if we are able to make progress in the next ten years to change our open deification and reduce it to this significant point, things can get better for us, he stated.

The Coordinator for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Sanitation and Water Project and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) Sanitation and Water Project said GAMA’s  initiative has changed the attitude of people to stop the behavior of open defecation at the beaches in most cases; to the extent that people have seen the need to own toilet and made is accessible with a huge demand for it in low income areas,  and added that there is trouble from beneficiaries when they pay money and it is not delivered to them on time.

“All because education and sensitization has gone well and we can do exactly what Rwanda has done. I can say we have studied their situation because the leadership has gotten everybody on board, everybody understood that this is for us and it is about us and for our benefit. So ones the factors are understood clearly that we are doing this for no other person but for ourselves and that it is for our benefit and our country, everybody would be on board”.

He recounted an experience of a friend in Rwanda who was alerted by a citizen and directed to a dustbin to properly dispose of a waste that dropped from his bag while walking on the street.  This, he said shows that the people themselves are conscious of a clean environment, they do not want to litter around, this is the understanding of the people themselves. “Ghana, we can get there, we need the right policy, we need the right regulatory framework that we would be able to enforce our laws. And before we get to enforcement, we need to get the people to rally behind you to appreciate the need to ensure clean environment”.

 He further pointed out that, one thing that hinders our progress mostly in Ghana is the seeming political game that exist between the two leading parties – NPP and NDC. He expressed hope that when we are able to get over this hurdle and for everybody to know that it is about the country Ghana, it is about the leadership leading us to a better place no matter the government in place. If the people get this understanding and the need for them to move out of their political jacket and see every effort towards improving our environment is for our well-being and not about political interest group, then we would get the cooperation.

 “I am confidence in the sense that, when you look at the 2020 elections both major parties manifesto was virtually the same, they were all talking about improving the environment and having sanitation Ministry, National Sanitation Authority. If   you look at the approach and strategy they did not differ when it comes to sanitation”.

Also there is the cooperation of all the political leadership all across and  if  it happened that , we have a policy that no one is fighting against, we would be able to make progress and the citizens would see the need to they would be able to change their attitude and do the needful and ensure the country becomes clean.

“I have been advising that the call by the president was a good one, he is the leader, if we follow this call with action by making sanitation one of his priorities on his agenda. I am told the sanitation Ministry is part of his cabinet for that matter it has become one of the priorities to government and providing the necessary logistics”

He said GAMA in considering all factors that will bring the change in ensuring cleanliness developed its sanitation slogan which says, “you play your part, change your mind and your attitude. Stop indiscriminate littering and stop open defecating and make sure you keep your environment clean. Make sure you do not do things that would cause harm and sickness to your neighbor; ones you do that you ensure your health”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Dominic Shirimori /Ghanamps.com

Friends of the Earth – Africa (FoE-Africa) has presented an eight point resolution to the 73rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) in the Gambia.

The resolutions are geared towards finding solutions to the increasing rate of social, environmental and gender violations connected to land grabs and deforestation for industrial plantation expansion by agro-commodities companies in Africa with grave impacts on local communities, forest dependent peoples, small holder farmers with aggravated consequences on women and their families.

FoE-Africa asserts that those defending the rights of these impacted communities have also not be left out of the brutalities as they become targets for attack for resisting injustice and speaking truth to power.

Recalling the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights mandate to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights in Africa under the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (African Charter), recognizes the rights of forest dependent peoples and local communities impacted by large scale agro-commodities expansion.

Considering the report of the working group on the rights of indigenous communities in Africa, adopted by the Commission in 2003 at its 28th Ordinary Session, and which among others recognizes that protection of communal rights to land is fundamental for the survival of indigenous communities in Africa, Friends of the Earth-Africa (FoEA) through the NGO Forum, hereby calls on the African Commission to:

• Have its institutions, such as the working group on extractive industries, environment and human rights, conduct a research to address the adverse impacts of largescale monoculture plantations in Africa, including country visits to heavily impacted countries and communities;
• Ensure that the perpetrators of deforestation and related human rights violations, including transnational companies and their financiers, are held accountable for their inputs and do not continue their practices in/with impunity;
• In addtion provide assistance to authorities to implement a moratorium on the expansion of landbased concessions for monoculture plantations that lead to deforestation, biodiversity loss and related human rights violations, and support  authorities to install programmes that promote agroecology and family farming a community based agriculture devoid of chemical use and community forest management methods, including providing access to finance for smallholders;
• Halt the criminalization and harassment of Environmental Human Rights defenders including Women Environmental rights defenders and provide access to justice for defenders and affected indigenous people and local communities;
• Also respect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities to land including women’s access and ownership rights to land in Africa and protect and restore the environment;
• Furthermore, ensue that the ACHPRs considers the annual conduct of human rights and environmental audits within member states;
• Encourage African government and the African Union to engage proactively in the process towards a strong and effective UN Binding Treaty on transnational corporations and human rights, in order to stop corporate impunity and hold corporations accountable including agro-commodities companies for their environmental and human rights violations in Africa.
• Acknowledging that industrial plantation expansion by agro-commodities companies is the single biggest contributor to deforestation and biodiversity loss in Africa, with deforestation the second biggest contributor to climate catastrophe after oil and gas exploration activities in the continent.

It noted that in 2020, 331 defenders were killed across 25 countries around the world with at least 227 of them (EHRDs) were either murdered, brutalized or silenced; making the agro-commodities sector one of the most dangerous sectors for Environmental Human Rights Defenders (EHRDs), in Africa.

FoEA further observed that millions of Africans experience adverse impacts by industrial monoculture plantations, consisting of crops such as oil palm, timber among others.

 Pollution of soil and water with chemicals and waste, the destruction of water sources, deforestation, and erosion are just some of the environmental impacts; whereas plantations are also structurally connected to human rights violations including harassment and violence – specifically against women and environmental human rights defenders, land rights violations and labour rights violations.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com