Category: General

Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Bagbin has directed that starting next week, the House would meet twice in a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

This, according to the Speaker is in view of Fifteen (15) Members of Parliament testing positive to the novel coronavirus, out of the two hundred and twenty-seven members who submitted themselves to the testing conducted by the Noguchi Memorial Medical Institute which ended on Wednesday, January 3, 2021.

Additionally, fifty-six (56) staff of the Legislature also tested positive from one hundred and ninety-three (193) members tested.

Mr. Bagbin made this revelation on the floor of the House on Thursday, January 4, 2021, and noted that despite the end of the exercise, a mop up would be done on Friday, January 2021 for those who have not done the test to subject themselves to the test.

He further directed that Members of Parliament who visited private facilities for their COVID-19 test should submit their tested report to Parliament’s medical doctor.

“Those who have tested positive to avert further spread had been contacted and advice so self isolate and given prescription to facilitate their recovery, Parliament is taking steps to test the household of those who have tested positive for treatment”.

Again, only MPs and members of staffs who are needed for the business of the House on Tuesday and Thursday would be allowed in the presence of Parliament next week, and noted that the marshal has been directed to enforce the directive not to allow those who are not needed in the presence of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker further directed that the Business Committee should take note of his directives and added the induction session for the new Members of Parliament on Friday, February 5, 2021 those who have tested positive are excluded and as well as those who are yet to submit themselves to the test.

He said MPs would be informed accordingly when resource persons would be having virtual presentations, and warned that, he would not hesitate to name and shame members who flout this directives.

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The President’s nominee for the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah today received the Danish Ambassador to Ghana, HE Tom Norring and the UNICEF Country Representative to Ghana, Madam Anne Claudia Dufray at the Ministry.

The courtesy call was to officially inform government about the launch of a one year strategic program in Ghana by the Republic of Denmark in partnership with UNICEF.

According to the Ambassador, the program is aimed at supporting the national response strategic action plan by government towards the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.

One of the key components of the program by Denmark is the provision of Sanitation and Water facilities in very poor and vulnerable communit in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions.

The Minister designate Cecilia Abena Dapaah on behalf of the government thanked the Republic of Denmark for the program in Ghana.

She enumerated the long standing relationship between Ghana and Denmark since 1957, and the various intervention programs undertaken in Ghana since 1993.

And indicated the government’s resolve to implement programs that would ensure the protection of all Ghanaians against COVID-19 pandemic.

She further called for a global partnership and cooperation among nations in the fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Present at the meeting were the Chief Director of the Ministry Noah Tumfo, the Director Finance and Administration Joseph Amoah, and officials from both the Danish Embassy and UNICEF.

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Rt Hon Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has sent a strong warning to Members of Parliament who have tested positive to COVID-19 to stay home and self-isolate otherwise he would be forced to publish their names in the media.

 Parliament since last week began a COVID-19 screening exercise and medical screening for all MPs and staff for possible cases in the wake of the increasing cases of the disease in the country.

According to a communication relayed on the Floor of Parliament on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 on behalf of the Speaker by the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu, some MPs who have tested positive for the virus are still attending to business in Parliament even though they have received test results that confirmed they are positive.

Mr.  Joseph Osei Owusu said, “I will be forced to publish the names of Members who have tested positive in order to warn the rest of us. Please, let’s take these protocols seriously and let all Members who have been informed of their test results that they have tested positive, withdraw from the precincts of Parliament. Not just the Chamber; Stay home and self-isolate; go through the protocols; and recover before they return to the House.”

The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, informed the House that some of the MPs are not being cooperative and have still decided not to subject themselves to the COVID-19 screening exercise.

As at the time he was relaying the information on the Floor with just about 45 minutes for the screening exercise to end, he said about 52 Members of Parliament had still not submitted themselves for the test.

“Mr. Speaker, as at yesterday only three people submitted themselves to the testing, today only five people have submitted themselves. It means that, out of the 60 that had not submitted themselves, 52 have still not submitted. That is dangerous,” the Majority Leader said.

Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu further added that, from next week onwards all Members of Parliament who have not submitted themselves to the screening exercise would not be allowed into the chamber.

The Minority Chief Whip, Mohamed Mubarak Muntaka, expressed the concern that the Leadership of the House is handicapped in determining exactly which of the MPs have tested positive or not because of the mode of transmission of the test results directly to individual MPs.

However, the Minority Chief Whip was of the view that the current situation demands that the policy is reviewed for the names of these persons who have tested positive to be released to at least the Chief Whips of both sides for them to ensure that those infected people do not come anywhere near the precinct of Parliament to spread the virus among the MPs.

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Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has said the office of the President Nana Akufo-Addo got Article 89 clause (2A) wrong when parliament was not consulted in the appointment of members of the Council of State.

And directed that this message should be carried to the office of the president as Parliament needs to convey its views to the president in the appointment but he is not bound to accept whatever the House says.

“I am told the consultation could be by telephone and after that I would have to act as a channel to get in touch with parliament and we could do same and the president would be authorised to go ahead and make appointment to the Council of State”.

He further pointed out that the purported list out there in the public domain is not appointment, it is the president just conveying his intentions and that should be taken along as the transaction of business in the future.

This incident occurred on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 on the floor of the House when Member of Parliament for Tamale South drew the attention of the House of some names purported to be on social media as list of members of council of state without respecting Article 89 (2A) of the 1992 constitution.

Article 89 (2A) of the 1992 Constitution, states “the Council of State shall consist of, “the following person appointed by the president in consultation with Parliament”.  And served notice that he would not follow wrong practices, as the consultation is to be with Parliament which is chaired by the Speaker and this are issues that parliament has to iron out’. “I have not received any formal communications from the Presidency with regards to the list on members of the Council of State”.

“Things should be done properly now, because now that the names are out there, if there is consultation and we disagree with some of the nominees, you all know the implication so it is proper we do some of this consultations before it goes public”.

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Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has directed the Appointment Committee of Parliament to correct the names of the Ministers designate for Youth and Sports and the Oti Region.

He gave the directive when he presented a communications from the presidency addressed to the clerk of Parliament, a letter dated February 1, 2021 of an earlier transmitted letter to the House on the 21^st of last month.

Secretary to the President Nana Asante Bediatuo noted that their attention has been drawn to the fact that names of the Minister designate for Youth and Sports was wrongly spelt, instead of  Mustapha Ussif, it read Mustapha Yusif.

The Oti Regional Minister designate is Joshua Makubu and not Joseph Makubu as earlier presented to the House in a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 Speaker Bagbin had the opportunity to re-emphasis the need for Members of Parliament to respect the protocols in the chamber by ensuring that they ahead to the physical social distancing.

“Whether you are in leadership or not, it is very important that you observe this protocols”, he noted.

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Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo is to serve a second one-year term as Chair of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.

A Communiqué at the end of an ECOWAS Extra-ordinary Summit held virtually on Tuesday February 2, 2021 also endorsed Nigeria’s candidate for the position of African Union Commission’s Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security.

President Akufo-Addo was elected ECOWAS rotational Chair last year of September for an initial one-year term.

The Communiqué said the tenure extension is to enable him oversee implementation of ongoing institutional reforms.

The four-year one-off tenure of current ECOWAS statutory appointees, including the President, vice President and nine Commissioners, ends in February 2022.

The Communiqué said ECOWAS’ next regular Summit in June would consider a report on the institutional reforms.

But it is unclear if the agenda would take on board the demand by Nigeria and civil society organizations for a slimmer management structure.

This would cut operating costs and eliminate wastage in the regional economic bloc, especially given its dwindling financial resources and the effects of the deadly health pandemic.

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The Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has reiterated that, members of Parliament, staff and the media must do well to comply with all protocols on the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him some lawmakers in the 8^th Parliament of the fourth Republic have tested positive to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

He gave this advice when Members of Parliament for North Tongu Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Pusiga Laadi Ayamba and Ayawaso West Wuogon Lydia Seyram Alhassan made statements on the pandemic, how it can be managed as the second wave of cases are going up.

Mr.  Speaker further indicated that, some members of Parliament have already been tested positive for COVID-19 and that all Members and Parliamentary staff should be serious with the ongoing COVID-19 mandatory testing by Noguchi health center in Parliament, in order to curb the spread of the pandemic.

“Issues of confidentiality you may not know who has contracted the virus and we are not supposed to disclosed those who have it. When I was entering I had to signal some members to respect the physical distancing protocols”.

He further admonished that MPs who have not gone to take the test for the coronavirus should do so because it is for the good of themselves and their family, and cautioned that MPs who have not gone for the test he might be compelled to mention names as Friday, January 29, 2021 was the last time he was talking about the subject.

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A member of Ghana’s delegation to the fifth Legislature of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Clement Kofi Humado has lamented over the high attrition rate being experienced.

According to him direct election of the Community lawmakers would help address the high attrition rate being experience by the lawmaking wing of the ECOWAS.

In an interview, he noted that the current practice where National Parliaments nominate representatives, only for those same individuals to be appointed as ministers have to be replaced.

And further pointed out a phenomenon where within the fifteen member states that form the ECOWAS Parliament, within the life span of the fourth Legislature, Togo would have to go for an election the first year, only to be followed by Mali the following year, and then Ghana.

“If we go for the direct adult universal suffrage, there would be uniformity; that is every four years it is more manageable and predictable where lawmakers would be elected to represent citizens of the Community”.

Mr. Humado is Ghana’s representative on the Ad Hoc Committee set up under the current fifth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament to draw a road map towards direct elections.

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Speaker of the 8th Parliament Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 urged lawmakers who had not been to the Parliaments clinic to undertake health screening to do so.

According to him it has come to his attention that some lawmakers have not visited the health facility in the House despite his appeal last week where five days was devoted for that exercise.

He further noted that COVID-19 is real, and that it has come to his attention that there are still some MPs who have not availed themselves to undergo the test.

“Hon. Members, I humbly urge that we all take this opportunity to undergo this health exercise by end of today. The team is still at the Parliament health centre waiting for members to do so thank you so much”.

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Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 apologized to members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) for the inability of the Special Representative of the UN Sectary General for West Africa and Sahel, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas to show up at his conference room as planned.

Head of UN office in the West African sub-region was programmed to pay a courtesy call on the Rt. Hon Speaker mid-morning on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 only for the speaker to come and apologize due to cancelation of his flight.

Rt. Hon Alban Bagbin and Leadership of the House who had showed up for the assignment had to return to the tent, under which proceedings of the House was being conducted for now in the quest to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

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