Category: General

The Public Account Committee has served notice it would contact the Director of Interpol to help tract down one Afia Nyarkowaa who was a teacher at the Nursing and Midwifery Training College at Pantan to help retrieve monies she owed the state.

“We are getting the Director of Interpol to tract and get her so that the government could retrieve it money” Chairman of PAC has said.” Meanwhile, the Committee has also directed the Principal and Head of Account to report the case to the police to have the other person also arrested to help retrieve the money.

Madam Afia Nyarkowaa and one other person are said to have received salaries to the tune of GHC82, 542.9, monies they were not entitled to because they were not at post. Responding to questions at the Public Account Committee on the 2018 Auditor General’s Report covering events in 2017, on infractions on “Unearned Salary” on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, the Principal of the college, Mercy Adzo Kporku revealed that Afia Nyarkowaa who owed a chunk of the money of GHC 69.069.92 is out of the country and has paid only GHC10, 000.00 while the other person who owed 13,473.9 is yet to pay anything.

“If any relative of her is listening to us then they should make the effort and contact the school for the appropriate arrangement and pay the money.” According to the Chairman of PAC, the action of the Administrator, Betrand Yabani who validated the pay voucher for all these periods to enable Afia Nyarkowaa to receive that much is suspiciously complicit and needed to be questioned.

Mr Avedzi, therefore, directed the Ga South Health Directorate to fish-out Mr. Yabani who is said to have been transferred to the Ga South Municipality to let him report at the PAC meeting tomorrow. He believed that if the administrator were able to do his work well, we wouldn’t be where we are now.

The Ranking Member, and Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa South, Kofi Okyere Agyekum advised heads of departments to take immediate steps to block the salaries of their staff who vacate post for more than ten days, stating that if they fail to do so they would be surcharged because it is negligence on their part.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanadistricts.com

Ahead of Gambia’s Parliamentary polls on April 9, 2022 in the Gambia, the youth wing of UDP Kombo South West Coast Region is rooting for the Majority Leader Kebb K. Barrow to be re-elected to represent them in the next National Assembly for the next five years.

According to them their Member of Parliament deserves a second term as he has served his people well, he is very vocal, loyal and exuded maximum commitment.

His notable achievements include: staunch representation of the interest and concerns of the people of Kombo South in Parliament, providing assistance to many villages to rehabilitate their dilapidated roads, donated footballs and football jerseys to many communities, and equally sponsored many football tournaments in the constituency.

 He also donated school materials to needy students in different communities in Kombo South, and as well donated several valuable materials such as food, and many other items to people in desperate situations. “I can confidently confirm his relentless assistant to the family of Buba Jammeh when he was murdered in cold blood by the Brending lunatic”.

In a statement signed by Secretary of the youth wing Musa M. Jaiteh, he noted that in their last five years, their MP has made it his ardent duty to pay courtesy-call to communities and families within Kombo South on every Islamic festival, and fiercely advocates for a fair and equal distribution of national resources during parliamentary sittings. These and many other tangible reasons make him the right candidate.

“On that regard l call on the entire people of Kombo South, especially the youth to parade behind Hon Kebba K. Barrow as he is the right choice for Kombo South. I implore you all to go out in your large number on election-day and vote massively for him to enable him continue his mission in representing Kombo South and the nation at ECOWAS Parliament as required”.

He added that, Kombo South needs someone who is people-centered and development-oriented, and Hon K.K.B has undoubtedly been that person. He is unquestionably a very open and highly respectful, well cultured, highly religious, competent and well determined individual who possesses rich networking skills, dated back in his days as community worker at TARUD and subsequently with TANGO.

His mission has always been to serve the interest of Kombo South and the entire nation and her people, which he has performed with utmost diligence, integrity, and composure and reassuring manner.

Ghanamps.com

The Electronic Transfer Levy Bill, 2021 is likely to be withdrawn and relayed by next week. Deputy Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo Markin presenting the business statement for next week on Friday, February 4, 2022 hinted that the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta following his nationwide engagement with the citizenry on the Bill, has given indication “of the likelihood of the withdrawal of the
Bill and reintroduce of same on Friday, 11th, February 2022 barring any unforeseen circumstances.”

He however added that in the event that “he is unlikely to withdraw and reintroduce the bill on Friday, 11th February, 2022, hemaydo soon Tuesday, 15th February, 2022”.
He also assured that after the withdrawal and reintroduction of the bill, the Business Committee would, program the Bill for consideration during the course of the fourth week of this Meeting; and urged his colleagues to fully participate in the consideration of the Bill for its passage.

Meanwhile, the Minority side of the house was not enthused about the uncertainty and lack of clarity in when exactly the E-Levy bill would be considered or what exactly the government wants to do with it.
They believe government’s handling of the E-levy smack of efforts to pull a surprise on the House. And therefore urged the Majority side to be clear in their handling of the Bill.

The Minority Whip, Muntaka Mubarak said “Mr. Speaker, if u look at Article 106(4), when it comes to finding when a bill is in the house, and try to enquire about what to do and what not to do, it is for parliament to do through its relevant Committees, now we have moved from giving the Finance Minister one week to two weeks, and now we are even adding more; and yet we are claiming that we cannot give the finance committee time to do that.

Mr. Speaker if our colleagues from the majority wants us to have certainty, if you are withdrawing, come and withdraw now and tell us that you would come back with the business, so we know that the business is not before the House. But so long as they leave it lingering, Mr Speaker with using words like likelihood, unforseen circumstances, for those of us in the Minority, the only conclusion is that you are trying to lay ambush on us”.

Dominic Shirimori/ Ghanamps.com

Leader of the Liberian delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament,  Edwin Melvin Snowe Junior has said the issue of coup d’état  leading to immediate dissolution of democratically elected National Assemblies would be up for discussion in the upcoming  Session of the Parliament in Liberia next month.

According to him at their last virtual session last week Friday, January 28, 2022, the Rt. Hon Sidie Mohammed Tunis mentioned it and is up for debate by the Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), that he chairs.

Mr. Snowe Junior said this in a telephone interview when Ghanamps.com wanted know how the issue of dissolution should be handled in the wake of military coups in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso which is denying them of representation in the Community Parliament.

“We are now going to debate and formulate a policy on the matter like Burkina Faso, our colleagues there were democratically elected and someone comes and shot few guns in the air, suspends the entire constitution and parliament by the sound of the gun?”

He advocated on the need to putting mechanisms in place to protect democracy. “Where our colleagues were democratically elected, you cannot come and shoot guns in the air and dissolve the entire parliament against the entire aspiration of the people”.

“Democracy should not start with the presidency, once it is affected, it affects all other institutions; there would be a debate on that and how we proceed on that matter”, he emphasised.

And recounted the issue of Mali with the military coup there, stating that the transitional government brought representatives and MPs within the Parliament argued that people not elected should not be part of a democratic process, and they went to the Community Court of Justice.

And the court gave a ruling for the transitional representatives to be recognised; then just about accepting them into the Parliament there was another coup in Mali.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Mickingtorch Africa has commission the first plastic waste bus shelter at Ayawaso West Wuogon in the Greater Accra Region.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organisation, Makafui Awuku noted that this is the first one and would be replicated in the other regions.

According to him, he is bent on pushing the recycling agenda and keeping the plastic waste out of the environment, and is already engaging more Assemblies within the capital to get more space to do further installation.

Responding to how he was going to sustain the project which is capital intensive as the initial one cost around thirty thousand Ghana cedis, he noted that the project can run on its own with the installation of advertising space on it to allow companies interested to advertise and pay for us to do the installation.

“This is the first one we have built, we would introduce other features along the way,  as we improve upon the design and do a few changes. We are hopping it can cost less so that we can build more”, he noted.

Commenting on whether Ghana as a nation is winning the war against plastic wastes, Mr. Awuku noted that a couple of things have been done;  “policy legislations have been  passed by Parliament which is very important without law backing anything we cannot achieve anything. We have development partners like government to provide the capacity support and funding for innovators like myself which is good for capacity building indicating that there is a lot of advocacy through government initiative and local government initiatives trying to change people’s behavior”.

And added that there is a lot happening if we can sustain it as a nation,  we can win the war and added that  Ghana is not the most polluted around the world, there is a lot happening in the country when it comes to waste management.

On her part, the Municipal Chief Executive of the Ayawaso West Assembly Sandra Owusu Ahinkorah commended Mickingtorch Africa, for their initiative pointing out that plastic waste is a resource used in the daily activities of every Ghanaian.

But most of the time it is disposed alongside with other waste materials but studies have shown that it takes a long time for plastics to decompose as long as five hundred years, hence failure to manage it well can lead to plastic pollution resulting in unclean and unsafe environment, hence recycling is very important.

He further thanked Geodrill Ghana Limited for their financial support to Mickingtorch and Academic City University for assisting with their research.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Chairman of the Community Parliament’s, Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Edwin Melvin Snowe Junior is advocating for the re-introduction of protocol on good governance and democracy which emphasised on two term limit for democratically elected presidents.

According to him any country that opposes and tries to fight the two term limit should be exposed, and want the media within the West African sub-region to play a leading role in this crusade.

In an interview on whether the sub-region should introduce a peer review mechanisms to curb the quest for changing constitution to run for a third term by presidents, he said “West African, we are not animals, we are reasonable beings, we go to school like those in the other regions and the West, we are part of a civilized society but sometimes I think it is a matter of greed”.

Mr. Snowe further added that, citizens within the member states would know those seeking two term limit and those fighting and such matters should not be swept under the carpet, that as a sub- region “we would start to make progress”.

In the first in-person Session which would be held in Liberia next month, he mentioned that the ECOWAS Parliament would address more issues on happenings within the sub-region, and they are going to be tough on issues to make sure the proper things are done to discourage manipulations of the constitution to benefit some individuals.

“During the last Session last year in Abuja- Nigeria when the issue on protocol and democracy came up from the Commission and we started deliberation on it, it was fought by Togo and Cote d’lvoire, because it discouraged third term and limited our Heads of States to two term mandate through election”.

And the last virtual summit of the Authority of Heads of States and Government was not calling for that protocol to be re-introduced; “I am happy that now they are now calling for the protocol, no president in our sub-region should short change its people through referendum or whatever”.

In addition, he pointed out that they are sending lieutenant to the Gambia for example which has no constitutional term limit, there was a referendum on two term limit, but could not go through parliament, it died and the president run for a second term with the same constitution that has no term limit.

“So where the President now in the Gambia is to introduce a referendum to have a two term limit then after he does that and claim that his term is just starting now,  is he going to the first term there by seeking additional two term? It is a whole new debate.

And noted that those are some of the things they would be looking at as they need to now put the ball down in Togo to ensure that the president since 2005 and since the death of his father they have been going in circles as to how to handle this situation in Togo. Any time there is crack down, they are on the opposition and there is demonstration.

President Akufo-Addo has been instrumental in resolving conflicts in Togo “but how long can he do that or any other person come from anywhere and try’s to intervene?”

He further gave an example of Senegal changing their constitution to cut down on the mandate of their tem, “whether president Macky Sall, would say there is a new Republic so there should be a third term with referendum, we do not know. There has been a parliamentary election which the ruling party lost a lot of seats, and that has sent a signal to the ruling establishment, I hope they would take a cue”.

Again, with Guinea which has witnessed military coup, he noted that the citizens rejected ECOWAS when President Nana Akufo-Addo went there with the Ivorian President Alassane Dramane Ouattara who is a beneficiary of constitutional change for a third term, and that did not go down well with the population in Guinea.

“It is hard time that ECOWAS takes the bull by the horn, we should take some drastic action and condemn those who are trying to circumvent the constitution; this is not good to our democracy on the basis of sovereignty protocol of non-interference is not helping us”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Ghana has since the 4th Republic witnessed increase in women participation in parliament with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) leading the chart followed closely by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The Info-graph above explains it into details.

In the wake of military coups becoming the order of the day within the West African sub region and as to whether with an establishment of an ECOWAS standing army in place, they can move in to overturn the coup?

Chairman of the Community Parliament’s Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Edwin Melvin Snowe Junior said it would be difficult to have an ECOWAS standing army to help overturn coups de’ tats in the sub-region.

Responding to suggestions that if the ECOWAS bloc has had a standing army, it would have helped to avert or overturn the recent coups in the sub-region, he said such an arrangement has its own challenges.

According to him should there be a standing army and the commander is coming from Burkina Faso and there is a coup in that country, what happens? Besides, every country has its own sovereign military and security mechanism that has been put in place.

In an interview he pointed out that, gone are the days where you can talk about little  Gambia,  Liberia,  Sierra Leone and  Guinea Bissau,  where when there was conflict ECOWAS was able to dispatch an external army, put together ECOMOG,  that they were able to go there and restore constitutional rule.

Mr. Edwin Snowe further noted that in a similar situation in Ghana, Nigeria and Guinea at, “what stage are we going in there and commit the life of our soldiers to go and put their boots on the ground, go and restore peace?”

And added that it is different, as one of the strongest army we have in the region conventional army comes from Guinea, so if you are to go in there and say you want to fight in Guinea, “we already have troops in Mali trying to fight insurgencies, you know how it has been difficult for us in Mali even with foreign troops?”

He said the foreign troops even with far more sophistication there are challenges, and if one is going to have external army, with what the sub-region is going through there would be difficulties.

In the case of the Burkina Faso coup, ECOWAS dispatch a team of army chief of staffs to fly in there and ascertain what is happening in there and engage the military.

 “I believe it is about hard time we have a symposium or talks with the military and let us discuss the issues, when they begin to taste power, we remember the days of Jerry John Rawlings, Sani Abacha, Samuel Gbaydee Doe and Yahya Jammeh. Gone are those days in our region, those are the days that we are beginning to revisit collectively”.

Leader of the Liberian delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament noted that everything should be done to ensure that the West African sub-region does return to full democratic rule, “that is what we envisage not only for our generation but the unborn generations”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Chairman  of the Community Parliament’s Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Edwin Melvin Snowe Junior has said the numerous military coups and attempted coups do not speak well of the democratic credentials of the West African sub-region.

According to him the democratic bloc that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) wants to build is now being seen as fragile.

“As strong as we may be, there is still a protocol on non-interference; what we can do is to discourage states from going outside the  books from working in violation of the law.  Again we have to respect their sovereignty and right which has hurt us a lot”.

In a telephone interview with him in his base at Liberia, he noted that the coups in Mali and Guinea have  “hurt us”, and added that the coup in Burkina Faso is a different issue without fear or favor, the Mali situation played up on itself by an action caused by the late former President, same as Guinea who hijacked the constitutional and democratic process, hence the outcome.

Mr. Edwin Melvin Snowe Junior, however, noted that while condemning the  military takeover, a serious attention should be given to democratically elected Presidents who change their constitution to elongate their stay in power.

And added that in the case of Burkina Faso he is happy that there has been some engagement as a team was dispatched by ECOWAS, the Africa Union (AU). “We await the outcome, we would begin to hold discussions”, he emphasized.

“The situation right now is disturbing because we have three coups and three different reasons for them; that in Mali where we had the president trying to undo the outcome of the parliamentary elections,  the Community Parliament dispatched a parliamentary mission  to Mali led by Mahama Ayariga. Whiles  in Mali, a  coup took place. Then   we have to arrange  evacuation; then followed by  Guinea. There were envoys from the African Union, ECOWAS former president of Liberia visited there, and even his peers try to discourage him from seeking a third term”.

Again, Tuesday, February 1, 2022 there was an attempted coup in Guinea, which was shocking. “As we speak, there is a ‘red light’ pointing to Niger; there is tension there and the political and security situation in Ivory Coast, same with Togo and Senegal”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu has clarified and set the record straight that salaries of staff of the Ministry and Ghana Health Service who worked on the Global Fund programme have not been delayed.

According to him the Programme staff normally submit salary request and when it is approved, it is then sent to the bank and staff accounts are credited.

For October salaries, the memo for salary request was submitted and payment approved on the 20^th and 27 for National HIV/AIDS Control Programme and National Malaria and TB Control Programmes respectively.

And contracts of some staff were in local currency; however, payments are made in dollars using a dollar to cedi conversion rate of 3.5. When the cedi depreciated and a dollar to cedi conversion rate went to 1 dollar to 4.3 cedis, staff paid themselves using the new exchange rate which must be deducted.

From January to April, 2021 as shown the contracts had expired and staff had to be re-issued with new contracts. However, because they had received unearned salaries, they refused to be paid with the dollar to cedi conversion rate of 3.5 and agreed to wait until new agreement was made with Global Fund.

Member of Parliament for Keta Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey wanted to know the circumstances surrounding the delay in the payment of the salaries of Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health staffs who worked with the Global Fund programme.

Ghanamps.com