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The Minority Chief Whip Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka has urged the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin to ensure the House works towards breaking on Friday, December 17, 2021 instead of the proposed Tuesday, December 21, 2021.

According to him despite being a member of the Business Committee that prepared the proposed date, he believes the Committees should be supported to work over the weekend so that, Monday, December 13, 2021 budget estimates of 2022 before the various Committees are presented on the floor of the House.

He made this remark on Friday, December 10, 2021 when the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo Markin presented the Business Statement for the ensuing week on the floor of the House.

Mr. Mubarak Muntaka said, “it has been a very long working meeting, it would be very disappointing if we are unable to rise on the 17th of this month; let us work towards the 17th and if it becomes evidently clear that we need to extend the time, we can do that”.

The Business Committee proposed Tuesday, December 12, 2021 in view of the back log of activities the House is supposed to undertake.

Deputy Majority Leader responded by saying they had discussed it and Ministers had been whipped to make time for Committee meetings in the morning on Friday, December 10, 2021. According to him, major meetings had been shifted to 4:00pm and cabinet meetings have been shifted to enable Ministers to be with the House and not send directors.

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Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Amidu Chinnia Issahaku has set the record straight on the allegations made by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sawla-Tuna-Kalba, Dari Andrew Chiwitey, that five years on in the Akufo-Addo administration, only sixteen (16) boreholes had been drilled in Northern Region and zero had been drilled in the Savannah Region.

At a media briefing to respond to his colleague, the Sissala East lawmaker pointed out that between 2017 to 2020 the sector Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah answering question on the floor of the House pointed out that, some five hundred and thirty-three boreholes had been drilled and fitted with hand pumps out of the planned six hundred and fifty four boreholes.

He said the Sawla-Tuna Kalba MP decided to restrict himself to one part of the two part answers provided by the sector Minister.

The Minister on the floor said, “ Mr. Speaker,  through the Community Water Agency under the Ministry has implemented the sustainable rural water and sustainable project additional financing from 2017 to 2020 in ninety four districts in 11 beneficiary Regions Central , Western,  Western North,  Bong East, Bong, Ahafo,  Upper West,  Upper East,   Northern , North East and Savannah to serve a total population of three hundred and seventy-three thousand seven hundred and three people,  the project was finance through a world bank project facility of forty five point seven million dollars”.

According to him, when one goes beyond the communities listed, it would be realized that nine of the pipe systems connected in the Central Region have been connected to several communities, likewise in other communities in Bono. “The answer had three aspects and he restricted himself to that of the Ministry but community water agency under the ministry had done a lot.”

There is also a water improvement project of the Ghana Spain Debt Swap Development programme funded by the Spanish government at a cost of three point seven million dollars. It was to expand access and ensure sustainable water supply and sanitation in thirty six rural and small town communities in the Ho West,  Agotime  and South Dayi,  “so this was also contained in the statement, and he decided not to bring this out”

“Boreholes and water system are not done by only our Ministry, Local Government and Rural Development had drilled a lot of boreholes, National Security, GNPC and Assemblies are using the Assembly common fund. But, the questioner asked, what the Ministry itself and its agencies have done? So the Minister responded to what they have done but there are other agencies of government who have constructed boreholes and small town water system which the Minister could not have brought in because the question was specific”.

Mr. Chinnia Issahaku Amidu emphasised that, “if his colleague had asked about the boreholes and water systems the NPP government has done, then the Minister would have stretched it beyond the Ministry?”

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Member of Parliament (MP) for Damango, Samuel Abu Jinapor has commended President Nana Akufo-Addo’s recognition by Forbes magazine as African personality of the year 2021 and should be seen as an honor for the nation Ghana.

According to him every Ghanaian should take pride in the recognition as it puts Ghana on the global state map and further added that the recognition is to the people and government of the Republic of Ghana.

Again the hard work done which has attracted Forbes should be seen as work done collectively for the past five years which the president has led the country. “There has been men and women who had supported him to build this enviable record, a legacy past president of the Republic who have receive such an award”.

Contributing to a statement on the floor of the House, made by MP for Kwadaso, he noted that late former president Jerry John Rawlings got the hanger award and like President Kuffour when he got an award for his contribution to the development of Ghana, all of those need to be seen as national recognition.

President  Akufo-Addo’s vision for Ghana and the African continent and his attempt to change the structure of the Ghanaian economy from the Guggisberg economy to an economy which is self-sufficient, producing economy which is  industrialized economy; that has been his  position from his days as an opposition leader through his stewardship as president for the past five years.

“Mr. Speaker, President Nana Addo  has been on the front championing the reforms in the world economic order,  the world economic order which put Africa at the disadvantage and president Akufo-Addo has been the advocating  for the change so that,  “Africa can take its true place in the world economic arrangement”

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Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso Dr. Kingsley Nyarko has congratulated President Nana Akufo-Addo on his recognition as the African of the year 2021 by African Business New Group owners of CNBC Africa and Forbes instituted four years ago.

According to him the award recognizes Africans who made the most impact and contribution to the continent and the global stage.

“Mr. Speaker, previous honourees of this prestigious award are H. E Paul Kagame-the President of Rwanda, who won it the first time it was instituted in 2018; Dr. Akinwumi Adesina-the President of the African Development Bank and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala-Director General of the World Trade Organization.”

For winning this award, President Nana Akufo-Addo will feature in and be on the front cover of the Forbes Magazine Africa for the December-January (2021-2022) edition.

“This is an excellent and very well-deserved honour and recognition. As a leader, you continue to push the boundaries of what is possible for Ghana and the people of Africa. You are an embodiment of a remarkable ‘can do’ African spirit—a spirit of focused determination that seeks to make a difference in the lives of your people and unleash Africa’s true potential.”

Mr. Speaker, the award recognizes and underscores the impressive work and achievements by the President at home, on the continent and the world. It also gives credence to the socio-economic transformation happening in the country under the able leadership of the President and his government since they took over the reins of power in 2017, he stated.

The Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh  who presented the statement on behalf of the Kwadaso lawmaker noted that the massive infrastructural projects going on in the country, the boost in agriculture, the economic transformation, job creation opportunities, especially for the youth, human capital development, entrepreneurial skills development, digitization of the economy, industrialization through the one district one factory initiative, the free senior high school policy, increase in foreign direct investment, Ghana beyond aid among others, clearly show that H. E President Akufo-Addo has repositioned the country at a very enviable position.

He said according to the Forbes Magazine, “the Ghanaian President has repositioned the country in the global marketplace as one reliant on its own resources and strengths.”

The decision to raise more revenue from our domestic environment, pursue a targeted benchmark values regime to protect our local factories, the reconsideration of Agyapa aimed at using our minerals to benefit the country and the people among others underscore the President’s vision to cash in on our own resources and areas we have competitive advantage.

“Mr. Speaker, since 2017, several automobile companies such as Toyota, Volkswagen, and Nissan have established manufacturing plants in the country. The location of the African Continental Free Trade Area in the country is a worthy testament to the extraordinary and sterling leadership of our President.

I hope that the essence of this unique honour will not be lost on us and posterity since this is the first time a Ghanaian has won it, and the second President on the continent to receive it. I must also say that this honour would further cement our relevance on the continent and continue to enhance the image of the country on the global stage”.

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Minister for Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum has said Ghanaian teachers are one of the best resourceful teachers across the world considering their performance and attitude towards their students.

According to him he would defend that statement every single day and added that once teachers are provided with the opportunity of learning and teaching materials, they would do fantastic job.

Dr. Adutwum used this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results to justify his assertion for identifying the resourcefulness of the Ghanaian teachers’, “especially with tremendous high passing graded which is over fifty percent (50%) of the total students who sat for the examination.

At a press briefing on Thursday, December 9, 2021 after answering a question on the floor of the House, he told members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) the Ministry would do everything to ensure that education becomes the most important agent for socio economic transformation.

He further noted that to push up the economic transformation was going to start with science, technology and engineering; “whatever we embark on, if done well the end result would ensure transformation”, he added.

Again, he emphasised that the educational system would become the important vehicle for socio- economic transformation, and “we want to say quality education should be accessible to every Ghanaian in this country”.

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Member of Parliament (MP) for Sawla-Tuna Kalba Dari Andrew Chiwitey has taken a swipe at President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr. Mahmud Bawumi led administration for not providing the whole of the Savannah Region with a single borehole within the five years in power.

According to him he filed a question in July of this year and when finally the Sector Minister for Sanitation and Water Resource Cecilia Abena Dapaah appeared before the House on the number of boreholes constructed under the current administration, “she excluded the areas which they had worked in her answer. I had to push further and she tabled a document, it contains a number of boreholes constructed in constituencies; Northern Region only 16, with Bono East two, Ahafo four, Volta Region only three North East Dr. Bawumi’s Region zero”.

At a media briefing after the Minister’s answer, he said their complaints are not politically motivated, but bothers on things worrying their people.  “With everything the fact is that some NGOs have done some boreholes in this regions and constituencies so if you see them being done in some of these constituencies you are likely to think that it is the government doing that. For me I would always praise the NGOs within my constituency; as an MP within the five years period, I have done forty boreholes, thanks be to God I had global communities coming to my area”.

Again, Dr.  Bawumia and Akufo-Addo have not done a single borehole in my constituency; the whole of Savannah Region they have Salaga North and South Central Gonja and West, Bole Bamboi, that is why in my budget debate I said, “vice president should be woken up to tell us where and when he did the boreholes. Get to the table office to get the document, the cost and criteria use to citing the borehole”.

He further said as MPs they visit their constituency and they know their challenges, and still have people who walk five to four kilometers to fetch water from the Black Volta and compete with animals,  “so it cannot be said that those communities have water; that is why they have not been given water”.

Additionally,  he said he serves on the Works and Housing Committee as Deputy ranking at the committee level and ask the number of boreholes the government has done since they came into power, as then vice presidential candidate of the NPP said two years when they come to power there would not be a community that has water challenge and toilet problem.

“We visited some committees in the North as a Committee, many communities in 2018, we were there as a committee, we listened to the people, and noted that there was the need to appeal to the ministry to do a lot on those areas of sanitation and water”.

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The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Joseph Osei Owusu has stated that, the Rt. Hon Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin does not interfere in his job whenever he is presiding over Parliamentary proceedings as a Speaker.

He said, the Rt. Hon Speaker has absolute confidence in him in discharge of his mandate as a Speaker and does not instruct neither does he direct him in any way as to how to handle issues on floor.

Mr. Osei- Owusu did accept that, the Rt. Hon Speaker of Parliament, Bagbin has a special way of correcting him, should he go wrong during proceedings, same as the first Deputy Speaker can correct the Rt. Hon Speaker,  whenever he  also get it wrong during proceedings.

He made this known in an interview and justified his comments that he is not “the Speaker”, which had generated some controversies on the floor of the House when, the minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu questioned his legitimacy for allowing himself to be counted among MPs when the issues of quorum arose during the approval of the 2022 annual budget estimate.

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The Western and Central regions are yet to benefit from government intervention under the fishing input support scheme.

According to the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Hawa Koomson when she  came to the floor of the House on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 to answer question in the name of her Ministry.

Mr. Isaac Ashai Odamtten lawmaker from Tema East wanted to know what economic impact mitigation measures are available for peasant or artisanal fisher folks for the 2021  closed fishing season which is imminent.

Mr. Speaker, the Ministry during the implementation of the 2021 Closed Season supported fishers across the four (4) Coastal Regions namely; Greater Accra, Volta, Central and Western Regions respectively with some relief items including 15,000 bags of rice and 6,250 cartons of cooking oil. The Ministry has also initiated the distribution of approved fishing nets to artisanal fisher folks in the Volta and Central Regions respectively.

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Sector Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Hawa Koomson has said the sector has over the years been dominated by the marine sub-sector.

The over dependency on the subsector has greatly contributed to the overexploitation of marine fisheries resources and to  address the situation, the Ministry is promoting aquaculture development with the objective of growing the aquaculture subsector to increase its contribution to domestic fish production and reduce the over dependency on marine  fisheries resources.

Member of Parliament (MP) for Upper Denkyira East wanted to know the measures the Ministry is taking to secure Ghana’s marine fish stock which has seen rapid decline in the past decade.

The Ministry has also reviewed the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy developed in 2008 as part of the steps towards the revision of the existing Fisheries Act, 2002.

 The revised policy has extensively outlined measures for management of marine fisheries such as regular assessment of status of fish stocks, establishment of marine protected areas and climate smart fisheries.

 As a result, Plans are advanced to procure four (4) patrol boats and a research vessel for the sector to enhance surveillance operations at sea and provide evidence for policy directives.

Mr. Speaker, the marine subsector accounts for the bulk of domestic fish production and fisher population in Ghana, sustaining  the subsector in therefore, key to the fisheries sector and the livelihoods of the over 186 fishing communities along the coast.

Accordingly, the Ministry has put in place measures to protect and sustain marine fisheries resources including:

– The implementation of the all Fleets Closed Season aimed at recovery of overexploited fish stocks and rebuilding of depleted fish stocks;

– Intensified fisheries law enforcement through at sea and land patrols as well as inspections;

– Deployment of observer on board all industrial vessels,

– Installation of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and Automatic Identification System (AIS) electronically monitor the activities of the vessels at sea.

The artisanal fishers, who constitute the majority of the marine fisher population, are also being provided with authorized fishing inputs such as approved fishing nets to address the proliferation of illegal fishing nets which has been observed to be a major cause of illegal fishing in the artisanal subsector.

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Member of Parliament for Ho West, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah as part of Ghana joining the rest of the world to commemorate world anti-corruption day noted that data available from the African Union (AU) indicates that, Ghana and other African countries lose an estimated corruption cost of about US$140 billion annually.

An  amount that is enough, according to Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) to provide power 24 hours a day to every citizen in the continent for the next three years.

“Mr. Speaker, according to another report presented by Transparency International in January this year, sub-Saharan Africa is the lowest performing region on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) with an average score of 32 showing little improvement from previous years and underscoring a need for urgent action.

 Referring to the same report by the global movement, Ghana’s current score is at 43 out of a 100 indicating a perception of failure in our anticorruption fight. Transparency International further noted that 43% of Africans are living in poverty while over $50 billion worth of stolen assets flows out of Africa every year.”

He added that the impact of corruption cannot be underestimated, as it is a major root of poverty, deprivation and underdevelopment. In the particular case of Ghana, the high prevalence of corruption has blighted the hopes of many, given rise to poor service delivery and lack of access to basic necessities of life and continues to threaten Ghana’s developmental aspirations.

In a statement on the floor of the House on Thursday, December 9, 2021 he noted that 2021 Anti-Corruption and Transparency Week is an effort at tackling one of the foundational issues of corruption and integrity. And call for concerted effort and commitment of all colleague Members of Parliament in the  August House, to win the fight against corruption, to increase “our fortunes and that of Africa and to create prosperity for all”.

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