Category: General

After a lengthy debate as to when the House would go on recess on Friday, July 26, 2024, after Leader of Government Business Alexander Kwamena Afenyo Markin presented the Business Statement around 10:00pm, the Rt. Hon. Speaker in adopting the Business Statement indicated that the House would go on recess Tuesday, July 30, 2024.

Leader of Government Business Alexander Kwamena Afenyo Markin indicated to the Rt. Hon Speaker that he has been a Majority Leader before and knows how hot the seat is and it has been given to his son at this critical moment.
“I am going to engage the Minority; sometimes the Minority Leader will quit as if he does not know issues playing out and send his attackers on me; the door should not be closed Mr. Speaker”.

Chairman of the Constitutional Committee indicated to the House that in view of the House wanting to rise on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, the constitutional Amendment Bill has been on the Order paper since 2021 and has not been dealt with. This, the Speaker, assured that it would be taken on Monday, July 29, 2024.

Deputy Minority Leader Emmauel Kofi Armah Buah drew the attention of Leader of Government Business that, the Tuesday, July 30, 2024, for the House rising is not negotiable; the more reason why the House had to seat late into the day and adjourn on Friday, July 26, 2024, around 11:04pm.

Because the House was supposed to sit on Saturday, July 27, 2024, but the Minority NDC had a campaign launch activity in Tamale on Saturday the following day, hence the House could not seat.

Minority Leader Ato Forson further pointed out that there should not be time wasting on the matter; a decision has been made and they would not engage the Majority Leader on the issue of when the House should rise; there is no room for any engagement and discussion on the matter.

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The New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Garu, Lardi Azumah Georgina has inaugurated a loyal ladies group to rally support for her candidature and that of the presidential candidate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

In her speech, she highlighted two key initiatives aimed at driving development and creating opportunities. These are creating vocational school for the youth and recognizing the need for practical skills education.

She recognized that some youth are currently not in school and pledge to provide a vocational school, which would provide them with valuable skills and training for a better future.

She further pledged to ensure a shea butter processing center which would speed up economic development, provide jobs, and boost the local economy for women in the constituency as a way of harnessing the regions natural resources.

“I want to be remembered for the marks of progress and development when I become your MP,” she stated with conviction.

Her dedication to the constituency is not just about promises; but building a foundation for sustained growth and opportunity.

And her commitment to the empowerment of women and youth, coupled with her clear vision for economic development, positions her as a candidate with the potential to bring significant positive change to Garu.

As the 2024 elections approach, the energy and optimism surrounding the NPP PC of Garu and the Loyal Ladies are set to inspire many within the constituency.

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Recruitment for 2021/2022 applicants into the security services would be free ; this is according to a joint statement by leadership of both the Majority and Minority to throw light on earlier allegations of secret recruitment by government.

Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson explained that, a consensus has been reached that, such recruitment must be published for every Ghanaian who went through recruitment exercise for 2021 and 2022 but was denied access to reapply without paying any fee.

Adding her voice, the deputy majority leader, Patricia Appiagyei said, it would be proper for both sides of the House to engage each other for better understanding on anything before putting it out in order not to send wrong signal to the citizenry and that, she is happy to see both sides coming together to address the media.

Finally, the Interior Minister, Henry Quartey added that, even though the recruitment exercise would be free, people should understand that, government do not control the aspect of medicals, so qualified persons must be prepared to pay for their medicals when they sail through to that point of the recruitment.

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The Minority in Ghana’s Parliament has challenged the flag bearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia to a debate on the floor of the House.

According to them instead of calling on the flag bearer of the opposition John Dramani Mahama for a debate he should rather come to the floor of the House for that debate.

On Wednesday, July 24, 2024, at a press conference addressed by the first Deputy Whip Ahmed Ibrahim expressed worry that for quite some time unusual of the Vice President he no longer comes to the floor of the House during presentations of supplementary and mid-year budget review.

Rather surprising, instead of the Vice President, the Attorney General was rather on the floor of the House when the mid-year budget review was being presented and was sitting in the chair usually occupied by the vice president.

And they the Minority are throwing a challenge to him for a debate on the floor of the House where people with all shape of opinions and expertise on the various sectors of the Ghanaian economy would be present, unlike his usual lecture series he organizes.

“When was the last time you heard Dr. Bawumia on his usual lectures? On the floor we have mixture of people with expertise and people representing Ghanaians where you cannot go and lie, you would be found out. He should come to the floor for debate and stop calling for debate”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Parliament would today, Thursday, July 25, 2024, start debating this year’s budget review which was presented on the floor of the House on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.

Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam presented the Budget review on behalf of the President of the Republic Nana Akufo-Addo on the floor of the House.

And as the standing orders require debate on it shall start after twenty-four hours when it is presented on the floor of the House.

Meanwhile parliamentarians have been urged to prepare and participate fully in the debate.

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Hon. Taa Wongbe, a representative of Liberia at the ECOWAS Parliament has advised ECOWAS to remain neutral in their efforts at bringing justice to people who suffered under the former regime the Gambia in order not to lose the confidence and trust of member states.

This follows intensified call for the setting up of a special tribunal in the Gambia by the ECOWAS heads of state for the trial of perpetrators of heinous crimes in the country during the tenure of former President Yahya Jammeh.

He gave the charge at the sidelines of the ECOWAS Parliamentary session on Thursday, 4th July 2024, while speaking to newsmen on his perspective on the issue.

He said that the regional body must not be seen or perceived to be taking sides or aligning with any of the parties, as such action will not only erode the confidence of member states but will also bring to question the credibility of the body as an independent organization responsible for maintaining regional peace and the advancement of economic development in the West African sub-region, as well as setting a bad precedent.

Mr. Wongbe maintained that while it is legally justified and acceptable to punish those who have committed crimes against humanity in The Gambia, to serve as a deterrent to others in future, the institution of the ECOWAS should not be the vehicle to achieving that, in order not to set a bad precedence.

He, however, advised that The Gambia may explore the option of setting up the Tribunal as an independent state or approach the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has jurisdiction to try suspects that took part in the atrocities.

The representative criticized the role some member states played in the civil war in his home state, Liberia, by deploying troops in support of one party, saying that if ECOWAS had taken sides  directly, Liberia would not have been comfortable to continue to be a member of the sub-regional body.

He explained that from the experience of civil war in Liberia, which led him to seek refuge in Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire as an internally displaced person, with the attendant human rights violations and the economic as well as social dislocation of the country, no perpetrator of such crime should be allowed to go unpunished.

It will be recalled that the ECOWAS heads of state had proposed to the Parliament for the setting up of a special tribunal for the trial of suspects who took part in the criminalities in The Gambia.

However, in a unanimous resolution, the ECOWAS Parliament rejected the proposal on the ground that it will present the West African sub-regional body as being biased. It therefore advised The Gambia government to take whatever decision it deemed as an independent state.

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Government has spent about 10 billion Ghana Cedis in the road sector this year in the quest to improving movement of goods, services and persons.

Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam disclosed this at the presentation of the mid-year budget and fiscal policy review in parliament on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.

“Mr. Speaker, we have invested almost 10 billion Ghana Cedis in the Road Sector since January, 2024 to enhance transportation and spur growth. I can also confirm that Government has secured equipment to complement the efforts of our local authorities in improving community roads nationwide”.

He made special mention of the dualization of Ofankor-Nsawam Road, Obetsebi Lamptey and Flower Pot Interchanges, the three (3) by-passes on the Kumasi-Accra Highway, works on the Agona Nkwanta – Tarkwa Road; works on the Dome-Kitase Road, Phase 2 works under the Suame Interchange.

Others include Winneba-Kasoa, Juaboso-Boinzan road, Karaga Town, Gushegu Town, Tolon Daboya Road, Nanton-Karaga-Gushegu Highway, Sefwi Wiawso town roads and Accra-Kumasi Road.

Meanwhile, these roads are said to have been completed namely; Dadiesoba-Esiankyim-Manhyia roads, Antwi Agyeikrom – Debra Camp, Sunyani & Berekum inner city roads, Atebubu Town roads, Assin Fosu – Dunkwa – Cocoa Station and Kwahu Tafo – Miaso road.

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Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has assured parliament that the country is living within its means in accordance to the 2024 budget appropriation, and would not seek for additional funding.

Presenting the 2024 Mid-Year Budget Review on the floor of the House on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, he said “we have reined in expenditures to ensure we are within 2024 Budget Appropriation and exceeded the mid-year revenue target by 0.2 percent by end-June, 2024. In effect, Mr. Speaker, we are living within our means. Indeed, consistent with our programme with the IMF, we are on course to achieving a primary surplus of 0.5 percent of GDP by end of the year”.

Additionally, he said, the completion of the Debt Restructuring programme with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC), covering US$5.1 billion dollars has resulted in approximately 2.8 billion US Dollars of debt relief. “This means that we will not service our debt to our official creditors from 2023 to 2026;

“We have concluded negotiations with our Eurobond holders, covering 13.1 billion US Dollars, which will lead to a cancellation of 4.7 billion US Dollars of our debt and provide debt service relief of 4.4 billion US Dollars between 2023 and 2026”.

The Minister also disclosed that all outstanding Bank Transfer Advice (BTAs) up to 2022 have been cleared and working hard to pay BTAs from 2023.

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The Minister for Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam told parliament during the mid-year fiscal policy review presentation that the country’s economy is rebounding stronger than anticipated.

He noted that over the last two years, Government has embarked on a number of decisive measures to get us back on the path of fiscal consolidation, economic stability and growth and was happy to note that these policies that have been implemented are yielding the expected results.

• Growth continues to exceed our expectations. The 4.7 percent growth rate reported by the Ghana Statistical Service for first quarter 2024 exceeds the revised target of 3.1 percent;

• Inflation is declining. End-June inflation rate of 22.8 percent, a reduction of 31 percentage points since December, 2022, confirms the target threshold of +/-2 of 15 percent by end 2024 is possible;

•Exchange rate has largely stabilised, compared to December, 2022, despite the recent pressures. The 18.6 percent depreciation rate to the US Dollar as of June 2024, represents an improvement over the 22.0 percent recorded for the same period last year; and

• Gross International Reserves reached 3.1 months of import as at end June 2024 against 2.5 months of imports in the same period last year.

These he said attest to the fact that the economy is on the right trajectory, saying, “the choices we have made and the policies we are implementing are yielding results. We have reversed the negative trends, all the indicators are looking better. I want to assure you that we will stay on this path and continue to make the right choices. Our economic recovery is fast and strong”, he affirmed.

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The Minister of Finance Dr. Amin Adams is expected to present this year’s mid-year budget review on the floor of House on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.

Deputy Majority Leader Patricial Appiagyie disclosed this when he presented the business statement for the ensuing week on the floor of the House.

She further urged Members of Parliament from both the Majority and Minority sides of the House to make it a point to be on time as proceedings would start at ten in the morning.

And further pointed out that Monday, July 22, 2024, in view of the work load the House would seat.

On the debate that would ensue after the presentation of the mid-year budget review, Majority and Minority leaders are supposed to speak for thirty minutes whiles committee chairs and rankings would have fifteen minutes and other members ten minutes.

There are seventy-seven questions of which eleven are of urgent nature.

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