Category: General

The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, on Thursday, June 16, 2022 blocked the conduct of any business from the finance ministry on the floor of the House unless the finance Minister appears before the House to answer questions and present statement on the COVID-19 account and related expenses.

This was after the Finance Minister failed to honour a scheduled appearance in Parliament on Thursday to give accounts to the House for the utilization of the COVID-19 funds as well as provide answers to some 17 Parliamentary questions filed by Members of Parliament to his Ministry.

Minority MPs were disappointed when the scheduled appearance of the Finance Minister in the House as was captured on the provisional Order Paper for the previous day was left out in the order of business to be conducted for the day.

They did not take it kindly when they were later informed that the Finance Minister had asked Parliament to reschedule his appearance before the House to next week Wednesday, June 22, 2022.

A temporal embargo has been placed on all activities of the Ministry of Finance in Parliament until the Minister for Finance; Ken Ofori-Atta comes to account to Parliament on the 19 billion COVID-19 expenditure.

The Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, raised the matter on the Floor of the House, insinuating that the Minister was avoiding accountability since his appointment with Parliament has been missed twice already.

The Speaker noted that, “until he responds to the question and submit a statement giving explanation as to how that money has been applied, “we would not entertain any business from that ministry; mark my words. Let me say that the House can decide that we would not allow a minister to present or lay business in the house depending on the conduct of the minister”.

The Speaker has thus directed that the House allows the laying of papers to be referred to the various committees, but also directs the committees not to consider the business until the minister fulfills the request of the House.

 Meanwhile, the all questions are to be re-programmed for Wednesday for the Speaker to respond to alongside other related businesses.

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A member of the Nigerian delegation to the Community Parliament who  presented her country’s report on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 Chuba Ikeazu Lynda, on Thursday, June 16, 2022 before the country report of Gambia, Benin, Niger and Cote d’lvoire was presented came under point of order for two  very import issues to be addressed before commencement of the days business.

According to her when she approached her colleague from Benin, Youssoufou Abdouramani Bida Nouhoume  on Thursday, June 16,2022 he explained to her that he never said Nigerian politicians are corrupt, and that the misconception is coming from the interpreters.

Mr. Bida Nouhoume further added that he never said Chuba Ikeazu Lynda threatened him and all he said after his contribution is that he feels threatened.

The third Deputy Speaker Ibrahima Memounatou was the one presiding and appealed to her colleagues to allow the Country report to be presented and after presentation the issue that is generating tension and confusion would be addressed, because the House had a tall order of business.

This did not go down well with the Nigeria members present on the floor of the House who insisted; since a point of order has been raised it should be heard and acted upon by the Speaker. This caused some confusion for about two hours.

“He made allegation against me personally, that I threatened him; ten years down the line someone can always call for the record, and this should be struck out, thanks Speaker”.

 After a conclave meeting and contribution from members the matter was put to rest and peace prevailed for the county report to be presented starting with Gambia which had to be cut short, as speaker upon speaker from Nigeria insisted that the right thing should be done for work to commence on the floor of the House.

Business however continued after the thorny issues were addressed.

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A member of the ECOWAS Parliamentary delegation from the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire Gnagadjomon Kone has expressed serious reservation of a wrong tendency he believes is raising its ugly head in the community Parliament.
On Thursday, June 16, 2022, he noted that two individuals within the Community Parliament, Youssoufou Abdouramani Bida Nouhoume and Chuba Ikeazu Lynda had differences that should be seen as such, but rather Anglophone and Francophone lawmakers were beginning to take stands to make it feel as if, it is the whole two language speaking lawmakers that had issues.
He hopes a lot of lessons would be learnt from the the situation that presented itself on the floor on Thursday June 16, 2022. “I sworn an oath of office coming here, I do not consider myself as a Francophone ECOWAS MP and Anglophone MP, I am an ECOWAS MP full stop”.

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The third Deputy Speaker of the Community Parliament from Togo, Madam Ibrahima Memounatou did not take it kindly when a member of the Nigeria delegation, Egoh Oghene referred to her as a dictator and insisted along the line, whiles she was presiding that she deserve an apology. On Thursday, for more than two hours the plenary was thrown into confusion when representatives from Nigeria insisted that a point of order raised to clear, the misconception that Nigerian politicians are corrupt is addressed before the day’s proceedings can commence.

According to the third Deputy Speaker members should allow the House consider country reports from the Gambia, Benin, Niger and Cote d’Ivoire after that the issue would be addressed.

That, however did not go down well with the Nigerian delegation.

This brought about some confusion and the House became so rowdy hence the third Deputy Speaker who was chairing had to leave the chair for tension to come down.
Mr. Egoh Oghene, not happy with the stands taken by the third deputy Speaker pointed out that the Speaker was being a dictator. Madam, Ibrahima Memounatou, not happy with the development on the floor pointed out that she has been an MP since 2002 and been in government of her country for six years and headed bigger Assemblies.“ECOWAS is not the biggest I have handled, I insist on an apology from him; I am a very patient person, I want to point out I have not swept the issue under the carpet, I would not authorise you to use this kind of words against me”.

And added that when she takes the chair it is not her as an individual and she would not accept the kinds of words used against her, “I occupy the seat as a Speaker”, she insisted as she was being assisted by the Secretary General to bring the situation under control.

In the heat of the confusion, Abdullahi Silame Balarabe pleaded with the presiding speaker to allow her contribute to bring about a lasting solution to the confusion.“We should not subject ourselves to things that would harm us, Madam Speaker you are a leader you need to be patient”. He further added that they represent their countries as lawmakers in the House and the Speaker needs to listen to everyone since they were the ones who selected the Speaker, and when a point of order is raised whatever it is it should be heard by the Speaker before anything.

Again, “we met in conclave and this issue has been solved, all you needed to do to let those who were not in your office know that, when you came back we were there to solve the problem as we are back just tell them the issue has been solved and you went on without telling them anything”.
He added that the presiding speaker is not a military person so she should just allow his colleague Bida to withdraw whatever is generating the confusion. Madam, Memounatou explained that after the conclave meeting she was of the opinion that majority of members understood the point she was putting across, but if that is not the case and majority think the issue should be addressed before they move on it is accepted.

And at each point she kept reminding her colleague for an apology. “I want an apology and I want official apology and should be on record”. Mr. Egoh Oghene thanked the presiding third Deputy Speaker for the way and manner she has handle issues. “We were worried, I was the first to say you are a dictator but now I apologize, you are not a dictator you have done the right thing now”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja-Nigeria

A member of the Nigerian delegation to the Community Parliament, Egoh Oghene on Thursday, June 16, 2022 urged is colleague from Benin to come clear to explain to the House why he feels threatened.

According to him his colleague from Benin, Youssoufou Abdouramani Bida Nouhoume is a good Speaker he admire a lot, “so if he comes to Parliament and feels threatened, that is not fair. Nobody in Parliament should feel threatened, is he being threaten by someone from Togo, Ghana or Nigeria?”.

Again, “we would like to know and it is in our interest for him to be protected if he feels threatened, we can call police to follow him everywhere”. His submission got everyone in the chamber laughing but he insisted that it is important for all MPs to feel safe and at home to carry on their duties.

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Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and member of the Benin delegation to the Economic Community of West States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Youssoufou Abdouramani Bida Nouhoume, has responded to allegations that he referred to his colleague politicians from Nigeria as being corrupt.

He asserts that he has  never said Nigerian politicians are corrupt.

Confusion erupted at the plenary on Thursday, June 16, 2020 for almost two hours fifteen minutes when a member of the Nigerians delegation Lynda Chuba Ikeazu moved a motion that two quick issues be addressed before the day’s proceedings can be carried on.

“I demand that the records struck out that I threatened my colleague Youssoufou Abdouramani Bida Nouhoume and Nigerian politicians are corrupt”, this was an issue that came to play when Mr. Bida Nouhoume made his contribution when Nigeria presented its country report on Wednesday, June 15, 2022.

According to Bida he took an oath and he is in the Community Parliament to exercise freedom of speech and the confusion they are experiencing is out of interpretation that has not gone down well.

  “I was accused  of saying the political class in Nigeria was corrupt. They did not listen to my pleading; I only ask that they work for the good of the population and on issues of good governance and corruption is not resolved in our countries”.

Again, Nigeria is the largest economy; you have a high class and a low class, I do not know what the interpreters said, I did not accuse any of the MPs directly.

He further added that MPs are free to express themselves that is why he said he feels threatened as an MP and he is a Nigerian by origin. “I am not accusing anybody, read out my text”,  a pleaded that fear and panic should not be created  and they should be sure they do not misunderstand each other.

Again, “we should not accuse each other as dictators, every time when we present country report everyone is free to comment. Nigeria should live and work in peace the development of the country.  I did not give them instructions the interpretation given you was wrong impression”.

And his right as an MP under Article 20 he has an immunity and can express himself and no one can take him to court, and his wish is that they understand each other. “let us feel at home in Nigeria and feel democracy in Nigeria is real as we are not threatening Nigerians, may God bless Nigeria and ECOWAS”.

In addition he said this is his third term despite the fact that he is less than forty years in age in politics he is experience enough in parliamentary proceedings and can never make a mistake of saying that someone has threatened him.

And apologized to the third Deputy Speaker and noted that he believes the misunderstanding is settled.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja-Nigeria

The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban. S. K. Bagbin, has stated that many citizens have lost faith in democracy’s ability to improve their lives.

Addressing the future of Ghana’s Parliament, the Speaker stated that “the wave of disillusionment that has affected many countries, including Ghana, should be reversed to restore hope in the power and promise of democracy, adding that “the role of Parliament is critical in this reversal effort.”

He was speaking at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Accra, on the occasion of the Third Eminent Guest Lecture Series’ on the topic; “The Future of Parliament in Ghana’s Democratic Governance.”

The Speaker emphasised the importance of strengthening Parliament’s oversight drive, acknowledging that while Parliament is endowed with broad powers under several Articles of the 1992 Constitution (103, 69, 82, 181, and so on), the Legislature’s oversight mandate has been the weakest link during the Fourth Republic. He believes that the only way to effectively implement this oversight function in order to improve accountability and transparency is for both sides of the House to take a bipartisan and neutral approach in how Parliament monitors the management of the State and its resources.

“The economic incentives and carrots that can be gained for siding with the executive, facilitated by extreme loyalty and strict party discipline,” he said, “have all contributed to the weakening of Parliament’s position and oversight power.”

He noted that in the future, Parliament will need to achieve financial autonomy in order for the Legislature to be fully equipped with the power to oversee the Executive.

He emphasised that “despite the design of the Constitution, Parliament has the power of the purse, and approval from the Consolidated Fund can only be given by Parliament for government to undertake their projects.”

Ironically, the executive approves Parliament’s budget, giving the executive enormous and overbearing powers over the Legislature. The current arrangement, in which the Executive approves Parliament’s own budget, has the potential to undermine the legislature’s oversight capacity, he stated.

Under the shadow of a hung parliament, Rt. Hon. Bagbin called for strategic engagements, consensus building, and conflict resolution, which will provide a channel for both sides of the House to approach societal issues with a single goal in mind: the interests of the Ghanaian people.

He emphasised the importance of including traditional and religious leaders, as well as civil society organisations (CSO) in the work parliament, in order to improve parliament-citizen relations even further. “One such initiative will be the ‘Citizen Bureau,’ which will be Parliament’s partnership with CSOs,” he says.

 This will enable such civil society actors to legislate using residual powers in order to establish a governance organ. By doing so, Speaker Bagbin believes that Parliament will become more aware of its shortcomings and the gaps that need to be filled in order for the Legislature to improve.

Ghanamps.com

Mr. Frederick Opare Ansah, a former sixteen years New Patriotic Member of Parliament for the Suhum Constituency in the Eastern Region has announced his unwavering resolve to lead the governing party

The grassroot party man addressing the media after filing his nomination to contest the General Secretary Position of the New Patriotic Party on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 expressed confidence of the party members graving for a new direction and he is in position to steer the affairs of the party to achieve that

“Just to assure you that in the areas that I took my campaign, it is abundantly evident that the teaming base of our party is ready for massive change at the top of our party.

So I’m very confident that baring any mishap hopefully at the Accra Sports Stadium come 16th July I’m going to become your next General Secretary”, he asserted.

He has also expressed hope and confidence to successfully sail through the vetting process in order to get the green light to complete the campaign for the final task ahead in July, 2022.

“I have duly filed my nomination and the vetting venue and time I have been told that vetting for our particular category might be on Monday, and so what is left is to get vetted and hopefully sail through vetting, and hit the ground to complete what campaign is left to do”.

Profile of the man Frederick Opare Ansah

As a true party man, Hon. Opare Ansah has been instrumental in many fronts in the party.

His involvement in various by-elections including Offinso South, 24th October 2006; Fomena, 23rd January 2007; Jirapa, 7th April, 2009; Akwatia re-run, 18August 2009; Chereponi, 29 September, 2009 where key played key roles is not a secret to the rank and file of the party.

He is a sixteen-year veteran of the Parliament of Ghana representing the Suhum Constituency on the ticket of the NPP.  He served on several committees including the Finance and Business Committee of Parliament. He also served as the chairman of the select Committee on Communications in the 7th Parliament.

Also, he was a member of Ghana’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament from August 2011 to February 2020.

Indeed, his parliamentary record is of the highest service and this includes his services as the Minority Chief Whip. From August 2007 to January 2009, he served as the Deputy Minister of Communications. He has served as a consultant to the Inter Parliamentary Union on several occasions.

In parliament, he was a consensus builder and was respected by both sides of the divide. He is one of the few people to be commended by the then Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South and now His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a handwritten note on the sale of Ghana Telecom which read: “Hon Minister, that was an impressive performance. Well done.”

He has extensive experience in the telecom, political and corporate environment.

He studied his Ordinary Level at Nkawkaw Secondary, where he passed with distinction. He proceeded to pursue his Advanced Level at Presbyterian Boy’s Secondary School, Legon. He was admitted at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where he had his bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Hon. Frederick Opare-Ansah has undertaken extensive training programmes alongside high-level seminars. These include; Seminar for African Telecom Managers, in Edinburgh, Scotland; Communications Policy Conference; African Telecom Summit; Lucent Solutions in Copenhagen, Denmark; EMX 2500 Operations and Maintenance, Chicago, USA; World Summit for Information Society (WSIS), Tunisia; CTO Connecting Rural Africa, Abuja, Nigeria; Global Telecom Meeting, 2007, Washington DC, USA; Giobal Symposium of Regulators, in Thailand; Regional Seminar on the Contribution of The Parliament of Sierra Leone to the Nationa! Reconciliation, Institutional Reform and Development Agenda, April 2009 — attended as IPU Resource Person; Seminar on the Contribution of Parliament to Peace and Reconciliation in Uganda, October 2009 – attended as IPU Resource Person.

On the corporate front, he has served as the Managing Director and General Manager of DiscoveyTel Ghana Limited and Third Rail Ghana Limited respectively. He has served as Technical Manager for CellTell Limited (Kasapa) and Operations Manager for Transaction Management Services. He has served as Stations Engineer and Consultant to Multimedia Broadcasting and Crystal Communications respectively.

Hon. Frederick Opare Ansah served and continues to serve on a number of boards which includes but not limited to these: Ghana Internet Service Providers Association (GISPA); Ghana ID Company; DiscoveryTel Ghana; Ristel, Guinea; Ghana Airport Company and others. In 2020/21 he was a Member and Ag. Chairman of the Council of Ghana Communications Technology University.

Ghanamps.com

As the 2022 Frist Ordinary Session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament being held in Abuja-Nigeria, takes shape in its activities, Togo, Ghana and Nigeria would on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 present their countries’ report to the plenary for debate and discussion.
It has become an annual ritual established that at every Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament, there would be presentation of Country report for thorough discussion and debate at the plenary.

This presentation is made in accordance with Rule 14 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure which states: “At the beginning of each Session of Parliament, Representatives shall present a Country Report on the status of implementation of the community text and programs, particularly on the Human Rights situation and the State of Democracy and good governance in his Country”

Country reports shall be debated.

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The Frist Deputy Speaker of the Community Parliament, Ahmed Idris Wase on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 mounted a very strong defence of the action taken by Nigeria some time back to close its land borders due to the dumping of imported rice, smuggling of arms and old vehicle into the country. According to him as a presiding chair at the plenary he is a Nigerian citizen despite the fact that the President of the ECOWAS Commission did not categorically mention the name of Nigeria in his response to the question asked by his colleagues.

His assertion that some countries closed their land borders despite signing to the ECOWAS protocols of free movement of goods and services, “everything was pointing out to Nigeria in this discussion and I have to response as a citizen of Nigeria in my individual capacity”.
Again, he thanked President Buhari for the measures taken to end dumping of imported rice into Nigeria and even the ECOWAs protocols frowns on that. “We should tell our countries to do the right thing; Parliamentarians should not act as if one is trying to be stubborn no”. “Nigeria has not been stubborn, we have been humane and been there for our sister member states, we would be there but first as an MP I would always go with my country, in terms of obeying basic protocol rules when they are set. The basic thing is about security”.

He further pointed out in his remarks that he has had such a discussion with the Commission President on the subject matter, “do not use your front line country as a means of transporting arms into our country illegally and old used vehicles, you are aware every county has its rules and regulations. Do not bring a vehicle that is more than five years but you use your costal line to do that because you gain economic benefit to dump it on us. This is what I want the president of the Commission to know because, we want to do the right thing and ensure we respect our protocols”.

According to him as a big brother they are concerned about the stability of the sub-region and as Deputy Speaker of his country he has briefing and was privy to things, as the closure of the border hinged on security issues. “I can confirm to you we have video evidence; there were many arrest done. Within the ECWOAS protocol, yes, there is free movement of person but that does not permit you to send goods and services not produced by your country to another country but rather what is allowed is the goods and service that you produce yourself”, he emphasised.

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