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Member of Parliament for Akim Oda Alexander Akwasi Acquah has commissioned a six-unit classroom block at Akim Oda and named it after the former three term lawmaker Yaw Osafo-Maafo.

The new block is the replacement of a similar one that collapsed two and half years ago after a heavy rain storm.

According to the MP the six-unit classroom block belonging to the Presby A and C school is called Hon Yaw Osafo-Maaf classroom block due to the role he had played for them.

He recounted when the rain storm came in two and half years ago several letters were written for assistance from government, but they were not forth coming, and because he was newly elected his MPs’ common fund had not yet been paid.

More so, over ten schools had their roofs ripped off but the A & C Presby Primary School was in a very bad state because of the collapse of the building.

According to him, some private corporate bodies who do not want to be mentioned came on board while others were also not willing to help because the MP is a politician. This compelled him (MP) to approach the senior Presidential advisor Hon Yaw Osafo-Maafo who is a statesman and their requests were granted.

The MP said he also decided to solve the critical problem of lack of place of convenient for the school, a situation that compelled students to come to school with chamber pots, hence he constructed a ten-seater water closet toilet facility for the school.

The last commissioning for the day was an ICT center at the St. Luck Catholic School that would serve the cluster of schools around the area.

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Former Member of Parliament for Akim Oda constituency, Yaw Osafo-Maafo has urged constituents to vote massively for the current lawmaker Alexander Akwasi Acquah with the development project he has introduce in the constituency ahead of the parties primaries next year.

He made this remarks on Monday, July 17, 2023 when a six-unit classroom block named after him was commissioned.

The building which collapsed two-and-half years ago after a heavy rain storm, was rebuilt through the instrumentality of the MP and the support of the Senior Presidential Advisor and the support of corporate bodies.

Yaw Osafo-Maafo on his part urged the Parent Teacher Association to take good care of the building by ensuring that the building is painted regularly.

He recounted that the day the building collapsed it was a Good Friday and they were lucky there was no school pupil in the building otherwise it will not have been good news, and believe Akim Oda have good pastors and the lord listens to their prayers.

Again he revealed that they had one point eight million Ghana cedis from the donors who were with them but would not want to be mentioned for the Presby A and C school to be reconstructed and when the attached letter came with the collapsed buildings the donors were shaken.

And further pointed out that he would be coming around for more support and urge everyone to help develop Akim Oda for their children and the unborn ones.

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As the sub-regional bloc of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has started strongly kicking against amending constitutions to allow Presidents to bid for third term with Senegal being a success story, Mr. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, a member of the Ghanaian delegation to the Community Parliament,  is strongly advocating for the sub-regional bloc to keep its turn its focus on Togo, Benin, Gambia and Ivory Coast.

According to him in the case of the Republic of Togo there are claims that H. E. President Faure Gnassingbe was not going to run again but from every indication since the constitution has been amended there are indications that he is going to start from the begging.

“This means the two terms he has done would not be counted so he is going to start from a clean sheet and only God knows how many years; so Togo should be watched. Again, another country is the Gambia, one, they do not have a term limit, we should be able to tell them to put a term limit as per the term limit plate developed by ECOWAS”.

This, he noted, would help ensure that H. E. President Adama Barrow steps down when he finishes his second term. “He should step aside for someone else; but from every indication from what we are hearing it is likely he will run again; we need to put our Satellites on that”.

On lawmakers in the sub-region of various Parliaments and National Assemblies, he noted that, “we  are our own enemies; we create the problems for ourselves, adding that as MPs you should stand by your own standard of democracy that no one should temper with the law on our constitutions on third terms” .

Emmanuel Bedzrah recounted his  experience at the first Ordinary Session in Abuja – Nigeria and lamented saying “blame MPs; for instance in the case of Senegal our colleague Vilane who we know spoke his mind. He was supporting a third term bid of H. E President Macky Sall until he changed his mind recently. I was surprised that a person of that stature was going that way, he should have called that their constitution should not be amended”.

“So, if you have people of that nature in the Community Parliament who would be singing the praise of their president and allow their constitution to be tempered with, then we have a challenge”.

Again, in the case of Burkina Faso they did not have issues about their constitution but had issue on state security when they had people from the Sahel coming down to take over their own government.

Guinea Bissau was a case where the president decided to close down parliament; “ECOWAS Parliament did very well by putting pressure on them and the meeting, we had in Bissau helped and now they have conducted their own elections; new members have been elected and so there is national assembly”.

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The Second Deputy Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Andrew Asiamah Amoako has pledged his commitment to support Ghana’s Parliamentary caucus in the fight against tuberculosis, when he re-launched as part of revitalizing the TB caucus in Ghana’s legislature as a way of strengthening advocacy and communication.

He thanked the ‘Stop TB partnership Ghana’ and all the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and individuals, working  in collaboration with the National TB Control program as the parliamentary TB caucus is expected to champion the affairs of TB on the floor of parliament and to advocate for increased resource allocation to support the fight against TB in Ghana.

According to him the Health Committee has the capacity to ensure this happens in the next budget for 2024.

 The strategic inclusion of the Health Committee in the TB caucus of parliament will surely assist put the fight against the TB at a higher political level and commit the country to achieving the various target we have to attain, he stated.

He charged the leadership of the committee to ensure H. E President Nana Akufo-Addo attends this year’s United Nations High Level Meeting on TB; and that civil society, TB caucus and the TB program are all represented in the Ghanaian delegation to the meeting in September.

After the meeting in New York, they will indeed need all hands on deck to ensure they become accountable to themselves, by ensuring we convert declarations to commitment at country level in order to overcome the disease.

The second deputy speaker noted that he is aware of the challenges of co-financing with the Global funds which could cut funding for the health sector if nothing is done and the impending possible shortages of health commodities  for the control  of TB and HV especially.

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Member of Parliament (MP) for Afram Plains North Nana Efua Krosbi Betty Mensah is calling for much advocacy to be carried out to create much awareness on issues relating to tuberculosis.

The MP made this call on Friday, July 14, 2023 in Parliament when as part of revitalizing the TB caucus in Ghana’s legislature as a way of strengthening advocacy and communication.

According to her not too long ago she had a visitor in her house who showed symptoms of the disease, and so with her little knowledge in TB, she suspected the visitor had TB, hence she managed to keep the children away from getting close to the visitor.

According to her, having listened to a TB survivor who recounted what he went through after contracting TB and had to isolate himself from his family, she realized then that she made the right choice.

“If more people are getting the knowledge of TB as a nation we would go a long way to cut down on the statistics. Again, five percent of infected cases are children who are the future generation hence a lot of efforts is required to stump the spread.

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Deputy Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin in the company of four lawmakers from both side of the House and four Municipal and District Chief Executives from the Gomoa and Effutu enclave addressed the media on Monday, July 10, 2023 pushing an agenda to resolve escalating land disputes between the two communities.

“As representatives of our constituents and advocates for peace and stability, we stand united in our unwavering commitment to resolving this issue and safeguarding the ancestral lands of all chiefs within our respective areas”.

The Effutu lawmaker pledged on behalf of his colleagues their commitment to engaging with all relevant Chiefs and opinion leaders and ensuring a transparent and inclusive process.

“We are here today to address this land dispute with a unified approach,” he said. “By fostering an environment of constructive dialogue and mutual understanding, we believe we can find a fair and comprehensive solution that respects the rights and interests of all parties involved.”

The Deputy Majority leader explained that to ease tensions and promote a peaceful environment, they acknowledge the necessity of engaging with Paramount Chiefs and relevant government bodies.

In addition, he pointed out that, they plan to involve stakeholders such as the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Local Government, and the Ministry of Interior. This coordinated effort aims to address administrative and traditional boundary issues comprehensively, laying the groundwork for a sustainable solution.

“We express our commitment to engaging with other pertinent stakeholders, including the Lands Commission, potential estate developers, and local business leaders in the affected areas. We caution adherence to legal and regulatory frameworks, ensuring the protection of all parties’ interests.”

As political leaders they plan to establish a dedicated committee to investigate the underlying concerns thoroughly. The committee will ensure an impartial and comprehensive approach to resolving the dispute, transcending partisan affiliations for the greater good.

The Committee will comprise the MPs, the MMDCEs, the traditional chiefs, and other stakeholders.

“As political leaders, we hold the responsibility of preserving the cultural heritage and security of our communities,” he emphasized.

“We assure the Chiefs within our respective areas that we will utilize our influence and authority to protect their ancestral lands from any unjust encroachment.”

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The NDC Minority in Parliament has boycotted today’s sitting to enable Members accompany and solidarize with two members of their Caucus, namely the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and MP for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson.

The two are due to appear in court this morning in their respective ongoing prosecutions by the Attorney-General and the NPP Government.

In a statement issued by the whip, Governs Kwame Agbodza noted that “the Minority stands united with our colleagues, and as such will not be able to honour the business of the house today”.

This is the beginning of a series of actions that the Caucus will be embarking on to end the ongoing persecution of the Minority Leader himself, James Gyakye Quayson and Collins Dauda, he stated.

They also served notice and reiterate the point that “amidst persecution, cooperation will suffer”.

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Ranking Member on the Health Committee in Ghana’s Parliament, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has called on government to release funds to the Foods and Drugs Authority (FDA) to perform their functions efficiently.

He explained that, there are several food products and drugs on the Ghanaian market which needs to be checked randomly by FDA in order to make sure they are safe for Ghanaians to consume; but those random checks are not going on anymore.

At a Press briefing on Thursday, July 6, 2023, Mr Akandah further said, upon his investigation from the FDA, it came out that there are no funds to carry such an important exercise in making sure that, safe products are sold to Ghanaian.

The ranking member has therefore called on government through the finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to release funds immediately to such an important agency to perform its functions.

He added that, it is only FDA that has the expertise in checking foods on the market to authenticate safe food or otherwise hence the need to release the funds immediately to the FDA.

Ghanamps.com

One of the sponsors of the Promotion of Proper Sexual Human Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021, Rev John Ntim Fordjour has stated that the bill currently before Parliament is a true reflection of what Ghanaians stand for.

According to him, the anti-LGBTQ bill reflects the desires of Ghanaians evident in the wide-ranging support the bill has garnered from various authorities, including Parliament and the clergy.

He further pointed out that the bill received unanimous approval and bipartisan consensus at the committee level.
He underlined that there were no dissenting views, indicating that both sides of the aisle agreed on the bill’s provisions.

“The bill received a bi-partisan unanimous approval at the committee level and there were no dissenting or whatsoever views. Both sides of the aisle at the committee level agreed and we sought the opinion of the Attorney General who even came to enrich the bill and eventually came back to the Floor of Parliament for a second reading so the entire Parliament is carried along and the position of the law that we are legislating is a true reflection of what the good people of Ghana stand for.”

Citing a survey conducted by the Center for Democratic Development (CDD), the Assin South MP noted that an overwhelming 86 per cent of Ghanaians support the bill. He framed this as a victory for the people of Ghana and their society.

“A CDD survey conducted on the bill indicated that a significant 86 per cent of people in this country support the bill that we are sponsoring and so it is a win situation for the people of Ghana and the Ghanaian society.”

The MP clarified that the bill is not religious in nature and is not aimed at regulating morality.

“It is not a religious law, it is not just a matter of morals but a product of intellectual consultation, and no portion of the bill violates any part of the constitution, or neither does it violate any international treaty or universal declaration on human rights and this is a collective victory.”

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Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram Samuel Nartey George has thanked all MPs, Speaker of the House Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin and his two deputies after the anti-LGBTQ bill was taken through second reading on Wednesday, July 5, 2023.

According to him this is a bill that enjoys the support of both the Majority and Minority members of the House.
“We stand united to say Ghanaian values are nonnegotiable, we will not compromise on the Ghanaian value system, we are going to stand united as a nation and we call on the Ghanaian people to support us as their members of parliament as we pass this bill”.

At a media briefing with members of the parliamentary press corps he noted that they are aware of the attacks and threats that has been made to sponsors of the bill; we are a sovereign nation and will stand for what is a Ghanaian and we serve notice that carrying out those threats will be a high enterprise in Ghana.

“We will call on Ghanaians to boycott every business in Ghana from those countries issuing threats, so if any government from any country thinks they will sanction any of the sponsors of the bill or the speaker after this bill is passed they should be prepared to pack up and leave our country”.

And further indicated that, we will also instigate public outcry against their business in our country if they work here they should respect our laws.

When we visit their countries we respect their laws and until we see them carry out those threats against Southern Arabia, Russia and China then they should stay off Ghana. Under the guidance of the Speaker, we will go into the consideration, we expect the consideration stage to be a very swift one despite there are amendment it’s a product of agreement between the sponsors and the committee, he added.

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