The concerned youth of the Ho West Constituency has called on the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), for the area, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah to step down after being in the House of the legislature for 16 years.
According to the concerned youth, the inactions of the MP have led to the division of the party in the constituency by opening doors for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to gain grounds.
The concerned youth, therefore, want the MP to step down to enable the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to amass votes in the Constituency.
The leader of the concerned youth Emmanuel Dobi who spoke on behalf of the group said: “What the MP and his cohorts fail to understand is that the NDC is bigger than any individual or group of greedy or selfish people.”
The youth called on the “party leadership at both regional and national to conduct an investigation about their loyalty to the NDC before the primaries.”
The leader of the concerned youth of Ho West added: “The Honourable MP Emmanuel Kwesi Bedzrah should step aside for a new face in order to maximise both presidential and parliamentary votes in the Ho West Constituency even though he has filed his nomination to contest in the upcoming primaries.
An economist, Professor Lord Mensah, has argues that if government reduces spending and effectively restructures its debt, the country’s credit rating will improve.
Fitch has raised Ghana’s Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating from RD to CCC.
The issue ratings on domestically issued local-currency bonds that have not yet matured have also been upgraded to ‘CCC’ from ‘D’.
In response to this development, Professor Lord Mensah stated that the government must seek advice on how to improve the economy in order to have a positive outlook.
“If government will listen and try as much as possible to reduce expenditure, that will improve, probably, the rate we find ourselves in. We can even do better. So, there is always room for improvement. Let’s see what comes out in the coming weeks when we get our external debts restructured and then get the IMF programme which could improve the ratings further.”
Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to sovereigns with a rating of ‘CCC+’ or below.
According to Fitch, the upgrade of Ghana’s LC-denominated debt follows the completion, effective 21 February 2023, of the domestic debt exchange programme by the Republic of Ghana.
Fitch viewed the debt exchange programme as a distressed debt exchange in a context of heightened fiscal pressures, with interest costs amounting to 54% of revenues in 1H22, and a lack of access to international capital markets.
The issue ratings on local-currency notes issued domestically that had a maturity date of 6 February 2023 and for which the remaining due principal payments were made on 13 March 2023 have been withdrawn given the expiry of these notes.
Meaningless upgrade
ButMember of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central and member of Parliament’s Accounts Committee, Isaac Adongo has discredited Fitch’s upgrade.
The Bolgatanga Central lawmaker says there is nothing to celebrate about the upgrade because the reality on the ground is that of hardship and suffering visited on investors and pensioners through the government’s infamous domestic debt exchange programme.
Speaking in an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, Mr. Adongo said that though Fitch thinks Ghana has made some gains with the domestic debt exchange programme, what the government has actually done is postpone the problem of default.
“Fundamentally, there is nothing worthy to celebrate about the upgrade because what they have simply done is deny poor people and pensioners their monies and Fitch is celebrating that as a gain but to the people affected, they will not be happy and will not celebrate such a rating.”
Following the passing of one of its founding members, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will fly all of its flags at half-mast.
Dr. Akoto Osei, a leading member of the NPP and former Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, died on Monday, March 20, 2023.
The NPP extended its condolences to Akoto Osei’s family and friends.
The party described the late former Minister of State at the Finance Ministry as “a renowned statesman.”
It said he served the country “with distinction as a Minister of State at the Finance Ministry during the Kufour administration, and later as a Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation in the first term of the Akufo-Addo administration. The late distinguished banker, as he was known to all, embodied humility, dedication and selflessness in his service to Party and country.”
“The Party extends its heartfelt condolences to his immediate family and also commiserates with the rest of the nation for the painful loss of this illustrious citizen. In honour of his memory, the NPP directs that all Party flags at the national headquarters and in the respective regions and constituencies be flown at half-mast for the next seven days.”
Dr. Akoto Osei was the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo Constituency for 16 years and the Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation during President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s first term, from 2017 to 2021.
Osei worked as deputy minister for Finance and Economic Planning in May 2003 and was a major economic adviser to the government.
He was later elevated to substantive Minister for Finance and Economic Planning after the death of the then Minister Kwadwo Baah Wiredu.
He served in that role until January 6, 2009, when the government was handed over to the National Democratic Congress which had won the 2008 General Elections.
In February 2017, Osei was sworn in as Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation after being nominated by President Nana Akufo-Addo and going through the vetting process in the parliament of Ghana.
The ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation was a newly created Ministry to evaluate, monitor and plan review summits and forums in fulfilment of the government’s policies on evaluating the progress of its own ministries.
In May 2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo named Anthony Akoto Osei as part of the nineteen ministers who would form his cabinet.
The names of the 19 ministers were submitted to the Parliament of Ghana and announced by the then Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye.
As a Cabinet minister, Anthony Akoto Osei was part of the inner circle of the president and aided in key decision-making activities in the country.
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has described the death of former Member of Parliament for Old Tafo and deputy finance minister, Anthony Osei Akoto as shocking.
According to Dr. Bawumia, the former MP was a very good friend and brother whose “dedication to serving mother Ghana was unpaired and his fidelity to the country’s development was unquestionable.”
The death of Akoto Osei at age 64 was confirmed on March 20 by a post on the official Facebook page of Parliament.
“Former Old Tafo MP, Hon. Dr Anthony Osei Akoto passes away. May he rest in peace,” Parliament’s post accompanied by a photo of the deceased read.
“I paid him a visit just a few weeks ago and was happy that he was doing much better. The news of his passing has therefore come as a complete shock. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.
“I am happy to have had a brother in you and to have worked with you. Rest in peace, my brother,” Bawumia’s Facebook post read.
Who was Dr. Akoto Osei
Dr Akoto Osei was in the cabinet of former President John Agyekum Kufuor as the Minister of State for Finance and Economic Planning.
Before becoming the finance minister under ex-President Kufuor, he served as the deputy minister for the sector.
In May, 2017, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo named Dr Anthony Akoto Osei as part of his 19 ministers who would form his cabinet as the Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation.
He was a former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Old Tafo Constituency in the Ashanti Region. While in Parliament, he served as the Ranking Member for the Committee on Finance, and a member of the Interior and Defence committees of the House.
He obtained a PhD from Howard University in 1987, a Master of Arts degree in Applied Economics from the American University in 1980. He had earlier obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Economics from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1978.
On 27 March 2002, he became a member of the Management Board of Merchant Bank (Ghana) Ltd. Previously, he worked as Associate Professor at Dollard University (USA) and previously as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Policy Analysis (Ghana).
The presiding judge in a GHC25 million defamation case filed against theMember of Parliament for Assin Central ruled that the accusations made against the plaintiff, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, were appropriate.
The judge, Judge Eric Baah, concluded that the MP Kennedy Agyapong‘s accusations against the undercover investigative journalist accurately reflect the type of job the journalist undertakes.
In a report by asaaseradio.com, the judge, who dismissed the suit brought by Anas, explained that what the journalist practices as investigative journalism is rather ‘investigative terrorism.’
By this, he ruled that it was justified for Kennedy Agyapong to describe his tactics as corrupt.
Justice Eric Baah stress that the MP was justified to refer to Anas as “a blackmailer, corrupt, an extortionist, and evil.”
Dismissing the case, the judge said, “I find claims by the plaintiff (Anas Aremeyaw Anas) meritless and they are hereby dismissed,” the report added.
Background
Sometime in 2018, the ace international investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas dragged the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, to court for defaming him.
Anas was asking the High Court to award aggravated damages to the tune of GH¢25 million arising from defamatory materials published by the MP.
He said the MP had been publishing materials in his bid to discredit him after releasing an explosive piece on the rot in Ghana football.
Displeased with the MP’s actions, Anas, through his lawyer, Mr Kissi Agyebeng, sued Mr Agyapong for the award of general damages for defamation in the defendant’s publications.
A journalist, Mr Listowell Yesu Bukarson, has been granted the lawful attorney to stand in for Anas.
Publications
The publication complained of are May 29, 2018, live programme in Twi on Adom TV, where Mr Agyapong categorically stated that Anas was a blackmailer, corrupt, an extortionist and evil.
According to the statement of claim, the defendant, in a similar manner, published defamatory words on May 31, 2018, via Oman FM, a private radio station owned by the defendant.
The statement of claim also stated that the defendant published more defamatory materials against the plaintiff via other platforms to the extent of releasing pictures purported to be those of the investigative journalist in his bid to blow the latter’s cover.
An oversight investigation into the events leading up to the death of a young man at theWest Hills mallin Accra has been demanded by members of parliament (MPs).
Video footage showed some people abusing 32-year-old Shadrack Arloo while he was tied on the floor of the mall and was later confirmed dead at a hospital.
A police investigation into the matter revealed that the suspect died of asphyxiation and obstruction of his airway by a foreign body suspected to be marijuana.
In a statement on the floor of Parliament, the Member of Parliament for Jomoro, Dorcas Affo-Toffey together with some Members of Parliament urged the house to constitute an independent commission to investigate the matter.
“I call on this August House to invoke its legislative authority to set up an independent police commission and grant it the powers to investigate, for example, instances where the police stand accused of unlawful killing. Such a response will help curb actual or potential cover-ups in the future”.
“Mr. Speaker kindly permit me to state that I have petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate the horrifying human rights violation meted out to against Shadrack. Let me also use this opportunity to urge the Commission to quicken its investigation into the matter to give the grieving family closure. I humbly pray that the statement be referred to the Committee on Defence and Interior to conduct an independent parliamentary probe into the true circumstances leading to the death of Shadrack,” she said.
The police pathologist found eight zipped packets of dry leaves that were likely drug-related in the deceased’s throat, tied with a piece of black polythene.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has rejected claims made by the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong that the authority has sabotaged his businesses.
Allegations of an unauthorized audit of the MP’s companies’ financial records, according to the GRA, are untrue.
“The purpose of such audits is to measure and improve compliance while fine-tuning controls. The factory in question together with other companies were thus audited to check the value of goods imported and their intended use. We wish to disclose that in January and February 2023, about thirty (30) of such risk-based activities were carried out on a number of businesses”, it said in a release.
The MP who is also aNew Patriotic Party(NPP) flagbearer aspirant, recently alleged that his businesses are under attack as a result of his decision to run for president.
He claims that state institutions are frustrating and intimidating him in his quest to lead the NPP in the 2024 NPP elections.
But the Authority further explained in the statement that its officials have been carrying out their mandate in accordance with World Customs Organization guidelines, ensuring adherence to best practices.
“GRA wishes to categorically refute the specific allegation of harassment at a factory under construction owned by the MP. We wish to clarify that as part of GRA’s mandate and in line with World Customs Organization’s (WCO’s) guidelines in ensuring adherence to best practices; such exercises are regularly conducted.”
Here is the full statement
ALLEGED HARASSMENT OF HON. KENNEDY AGYAPONGBY GRA
Management of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has sighted a recording of a media interview by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central constituency, Honourable Kennedy Agyapong circulating on social media in which he accused GRA Officials of constant harassment through unwarranted audits of his companies.
GRA wishes to categorically refute the specific allegation of harassment at a factory under construction owned by the MP. We wish to clarify that as part of GRA’s mandate and in line with World Customs Organization’s (WCO’s) guidelines in ensuring adherence to best practices; such exercises are regularly conducted. The purpose of such audits, are to measure and improve compliance whiles fine tuning controls. The factory in question together with other companies were thus audited to check the value of goods imported and their intended use.
We wish to disclose that in January and February 2023, about thirty (30) of such risk-based activities were carried out on a number of businesses. Furthermore, in the area of enforcement and compliance, GRA carries out invoice invigilation exercises to ascertain Value Added Tax (VAT) paid by VAT registered businesses. These exercises entail stationing staff on the premises of VAT registered businesses such as shops, restaurants and manufacturing sites to check the issuance of VAT invoices.
In September 2022, invigilation exercises were intensified nationwide in order to enforce the issuance of VAT invoices and to encourage persons who buy goods and patronize services to demand for VAT invoices. This exercise was very successful and GRA intends to scale up the invoice invigilation exercise from April 2023 as part of its revenue mobilization efforts.
In carrying out all these enforcement and compliance activities, staff of GRA have been advised to remain professional and act at all times with integrity as required by the Authority’s Code of Ethics and Conduct. We therefore encourage any member of the public who has evidence of any alleged corrupt practice by an official of the Authority to report such criminal acts to the Management of GRA on 0800-900-110 for redress.
Management wishes to use this opportunity to assure Honourable Kennedy Agyapong and all taxpayers of our readiness to receive complaints and feedback on our work as we partner to mobilise revenue for national development. We also wish to state that GRA remains committed to carrying out its mandate of revenue mobilization with integrity, fairness and utmost professionalism. –End–
SIGNED FLORENCE ASANTE (MRS) COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, has criticizedPresident Akufo-Addofor not addressing the murder of a soldier in Ashaiman during his State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Tuesday saw a military raid on Ashaiman locals after a soldier was killed.
In a debate on President Akufo-Addo’s State of the Nation Address, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the President should have commiserated with the families of the deceased officer and the innocent people brutalized by the military.
“As Commander in Chief of the GAF, he should have first of all commiserated with the family and the GAF over the loss of the solider. But the President did not say a word. He didn’t think that he should condemn the brutality and assure that there will be a committee to probe the killing and the high-handedness meted out to the residents, and he is the Commander in Chief of the GAF?”
President Akufo-Addo is under increasing pressure to address the military abuses in Ashaiman.
Many anticipate that the President will make a public statement on the subject as Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces.
Amnesty International, a non-governmental and human rights advocacy group claims that during his state of the nation address, the President had a chance to address the issue but failed to do so.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has advised the military to refrain from meting out extra-judicial justice to them adding that there are many people who live and work in Ashaiman who are innocent of this heinous crime.
He further advised the military to exercise restraint and allow due process to work.
For him, the government must step in to address the situation between Ashaiman residents and GAF while pushing for compensation for all persons affected.
According to Dr. Clement Apaak, the Member of Parliament for Builsa South, most Ghanaians want Mahama as president because he is the only experienced one to save the economy.
The lawmaker said our debt to GDP is in a terrible state following the recklessness and incompetence of the Nana Addo-led administration.
He lamented our national debt has ballooned from 122 billion to about 500 billion with nothing to show for this reckless borrowing.
He said the current president, when in opposition, promised mouth-watering policies and programmes, promised Ghanaians heaven and earth but has delivered nothing but hellfire.
”When you take our debt at Ghc122 billion, and you ballooned it to about Ghc500 billion, and you have nothing significant to show for it; clearly you cannot expect people to think that it is okay.”
According to Dr. Apaak, the cost of living in Ghana has reached unsustainable levels, with the prices of goods and services rising all the time.
He claimed that we are all suffering and that when you go to the market to buy, you are not charged differently depending on which party you belong to.
For him, looking at what is going on and the kind of experience former president John DramaniMahamahas acquired and considering that he has been out of the office and had time to appreciate the issues and had not been an armchair observer but time without number, he proposed solutions including and admonishing this government to have gone to the IMF much earlier walking upright and not having to wait and go there in a wheelchair”.
He lamented that Ghana is literally begging China to cancel our loans, asking the Germans to intercede with the Chinese on our behalf so that they can put in a good word for us to get a bailout from the IMF that this government swore not to go to for bailout.
Ghana, he says, needs an experienced hand, someone who has had time to sit back, reflect, and analyse the issues, as well as the ability to turn things around.
Former Deputy Minister for Works and Housing,Eugene Boakye Antwihas questioned why Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has remained in that position despite prior calls for his resignation or removal.
Mr. Boakye Antwi, who is also theMember of Parliament for the Subin constituency in the Ashanti Region, cannot fathom why Mr. Ofori-Atta is still leading negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion bailout package, although there are competent persons within the party to handle such duties.
Speaking on Face to Face on Citi TV, the Subin MP who has in the past mounted a campaign to get Mr. Ofori-Atta kicked out asked: “what is so special about Ken Ofori-Atta that the ordinary NPP member doesn’t have?”
The Subin Member of Parliament said running a bank cannot be equated to successfully running an economy of a country such as Ghana.
“We cannot all run banks but some of us have common sense, that is why we are Members of Parliament.”
“When I go to subin, I see poverty, I see hardship, and I see people suffering and all these are due to the economy and the person running the economy,” he told Umaru Sanda Amadu on Face to Face.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, Alhassan Suhuyini, has stated that although he anticipated that President Akufo-Addo’s administration would fail, but he did not anticipate that things would turn out to be this awful.
In a Good Morning Ghana interview, on February 8, 2023, which was monitored by GhanaWeb, Suhuyini said that the Akufo-Addo government has mismanaged Ghana’s economy to a point where future generations of Ghanaians will have to pay for its mess.
“We are astonished by their outstanding recklessness. Yes, we expected them to be a disaster but we didn’t even anticipate that the disaster will be this looming and large.
“This government is going down in history as the most reckless, the most irresponsible government ever…. They have finished spending current money, they have finished spending future money by way of collateralising every revenue stream.
“And worst of all, they are shifting the responsibility of paying the debts onto future governments, simply irresponsible,” he said.
He added that the government seems to be unrepentant and has continued to take action that will worsen the current economic challenges in the country.
The MP made these remarks while reacting to a Bloomberg report that indicated that the Bank of Ghana printed GHC41.9 billion for the government in 2022. The central bank is yet to respond to the report by Bloomberg.
The Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North and a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee of Finance, Collins Adomako-Mensah, who was also on the programme, said that the House did not approve the printing of the GHC41.9 billion by the central bank.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who is a subject to an odd court order, and faces the threat of going to prison has bemoaned the fact that he is now the target of state-sponsored harassment for nothing more than performing his oversight duties as a member of parliament.
He noted that a country where Parliamentarians become victims for performing their oversight work is doomed to be in a dark abyss
Mr. Ablakwa, who has been key in exposing alleged corruption in the construction of the National Cathedral and serializing exposés of alleged corruption, fraud, double identity, self-dealing, and conflict of interest involving the Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral Secretariat, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, has said that there are currently “fascist machinations to use the judiciary and other state institutions to silence and intimidate me.”
He thanked his party for the support so far as he exposes alleged wrongdoing regarding the controversial construction of the National Cathedral.
“I am eternally indebted to the good people of Ghana, my dearest family, former President H.E. John Mahama, the NDC executive led by Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the NDC Council of Elders chaired by Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, my beloved North Tongu constituents, the rank and file of NDC comrades across the country, Civil Society Organisations, activists, genuine pastors, the credible media, my dedicated staff, gallant and dependable colleagues in the NDC Caucus in Parliament led by Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson.
“A country where parliamentarians carrying out their constitutional oversight mandate become victims of state-sponsored harassment, strange court injunctions, and judicial threats of imprisonment even as double-identity charlatans are protected and pampered is definitely a nation in the dark abyss,” he asserted.
He stressed that he is unafraid and will continue to execute his mandate as an MP.
“Let the cowardly forces of tyranny be told that I am not one to be frightened with imprisonment.
“I am ever ready to be a political prisoner of conscience than be coerced and compromised into a behind-the-scenes deal with the corrosive enemies of the Republic,” he stated.
Mr. Ablakwa has been injuncted by the court from revealing further information about Rev. Kusi Boateng. It is also alleged that national security operatives have been trailing him.
Some people on social media, particularly pro-government voices, are demanding the arrest of Member of Parliament for North Tongu for acts deemed disrespectful to the judicial arm of government.
According to them, the manner in which Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa treated court documents served on him by a bailiff in the morning of February 3, 2023 was an affront to the authority of the court.
Ablakwa was sighted in a viral video purportedly rejecting service of a restraining order document from the secretary to the board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, who is also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa gets down from his car and kicks the document after the bailiff tried to force it into his car on the premises of Metro TV after the Good Morning Ghana show – he was a guest on the programme.
Below are some of the demands for his arrest and the need for him to be cited for contempt:
Court issues restraining order on Ablakwa concerning the Prophet’s private matters. Apparently he had been dodging till they caught up with him at Metro tv. This is unfortunate ???? pic.twitter.com/u5SIdT7bTM— Besiaba AbaMansa (@BesiabaAM25) February 4, 2023
Okudzato ablakwa,Member of Parliament for North Tongu,kicking,and stamping an order of interim injunction secured by Kwabena Adu Gyamfi…. How can Ablakwa be so disrespectful to the court,very useless MP#ShamelessAblakwapic.twitter.com/AaIMyvF5jq— Nana Ansah Obofour (@NanaAnsahObofou) February 3, 2023
Court issues restraining order on Ablakwa concerning the Prophet’s private matters.Apparently he had been dodging till they caught up with him.
Man have been dodging All this while till he was caught up today,If you know everything you’ve been saying is the truth then why dodge? pic.twitter.com/oqX6aBhpoI
GHANA MATTERS: This is SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA, a Member of Ghana’s Parliament kicking the court papers served on him like a football. He has no respect for the court. Seems maturity is distantly many oceans away from his mindset. Unruly and indisciplined. Just Boyish. pic.twitter.com/S7tKck6Fjf— Augustine Agbenaza (@august4551) February 3, 2023
Ablakwa wants the rule of law to work yet he is trying to destroy the injunction. What’s a parliamentarian? Kai.— Sarfo Collins (@Sarfoc19) February 3, 2023
Brief of what transpired
A man initially approached the lawmaker as he was just about to sit in his car after the show, the two were captured having a conversation after which a document was presented to him.
The lawmaker did not take the document but went ahead to seat on his car, just as he opened his car, the bailiff tried to force the document into the lawmaker’s car but he immediately threw it out, kicked the document away from his car and drove off.
Rev Kusi Boateng secures restraining order against Ablakwa
The secretary to the board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, who is also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, has secured an order of interim injunction against the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
The order restrains Okudzeto Ablakwa from publicly sharing any document belonging to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi for the next 10 days.
The MP who disclosed this in a tweet shared on Friday, February 3, 2023, said that he was served the order after his appearance on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme on the same day.
“One Kwabena Adu Gyamfi also claiming to have an alias as Victor Kusi Boateng has secured a 10-day restraining order seeking to stop me from further publications on the Conflict of Interest & Double Identity Scandal,” parts of the MP’s tweet read.
The MP shared a picture of the order he was served which read: “IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the 1″ Respondent, SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA is restrained from making further public disclosures of private documents, correspondence, communication and property belonging to the Applicant (Adu Gyamfi).”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this interim order will lapse after Ten (10) days,” it added.
Background
The latest corruption exposé on the National Cathedral by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, suggested impropriety on the part of the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng.
On January 16, 2023, the MP made some allegations against Rev. Kusi Boateng, who is the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana.
In an earlier revelation about the National Cathedral, Okudzeto Ablakwa said a whopping GH¢2.6 million was dished out to a company named JNS Talent Centre Limited.
Further investigations into the alleged payment led to the discovery of one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi as a director of JNS Talent Centre.
Having confirmed the identities of two out of three directors of the centre, Ablakwa dug deeper in a bid to discover the identity of the third director, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
According to his findings, citing a number of statutory documents, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi was the same as Reverend Kusi Boateng, who has allegedly been operating under the pseudonym Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has all but endorsed former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu to sail through upcoming party primaries for the Tamale South seat.
Asiedu Nketiah said the four-time Member of Parliament (MP) had become so powerful in his constituency that it would even be surprising if he is contested at all when the primaries are held later this year.
“The outgone Minority Leader, Honourable Haruna Iddrisu, he is so powerful in his constituency, he is almost always not contested at all. I have my doubts whether anybody will contest him,” Asiedu Nketiah told party faithful during a meeting in London last week.
The one-time General Secretary was addressing concerns that the January 23 changes to the party’s leadership in Parliament was going to affect some of the replaced leaders at the upcoming primaries.
“They will not be impacted by the changes, one of the ousted persons, Dr. Avedzi (former deputy Minority Leader) is not going to Parliament again,” he explained.
On the case of Mohammed Muntaka-Mubarak, Asiedu Nketiah said despite recent challenge he was facing, “we didn’t think that this change will affect his fortune one way or the other and so we felt this is the best time to undertake these changes.”
He stressed that the advantages of expedition outweighed the concerns that were being raised about the timing.
NDC rings changes in parliamentary leadership
The NDC, through its General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to announce the replacement of three members: the Minority Leader, the deputy Minority Leader, and the Minority Chief Whip.
The NDC picked Ato Forson to replace Haruna Iddrisu as leader of the Minority Caucus.
Other changes included Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembele, who is the new deputy Minority Chief Whip.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is also retained as second deputy Minority Chief Whip.
The newly appointed leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, at his home at Oyarifa, a suburb of Accra, on Thursday, January 26, 2023.
According to the new executive, their visit to the Speaker forms part of engagements they have been having since their appointment.
Addressing the press after their visit, the new deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Kofi Armah Buah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembele, said that they were resoundingly advised by Alban Bagbin.
“We have been having engagements the whole day and as part of these engagements, we visited the Speaker’s residence. I have to say that we were warmly received. We benefited from his wise counsel. And so, we are very encouraged by it,” he said.
The deputy Majority Leader also said that the main focus of the leadership of the minority caucus is to unite the caucus.
“Our priority right now is to make sure that we unite our caucus, that is our number one priority and that is so important to us.
“You cannot lead when you people are not united and that is our singular focus and we are confident we will do that,” he said.
Meanwhile, some MPs of the party have petitioned the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to suspend the appointment of the new leadership of the party in Parliament.
The NDC MPs calling for the suspension, including Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka (MP for Asawase), Dominic Ayine (MP for Bolgatanga East) and Cletus Avoka (MP for Zebilla), argue that the appointment was not made by any of the party’s decision-making structures but was imposed by just a few people.
The change in the leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has led to some confusion in the NDC with some members of the party, including some Members of Parliament saying that the party’s parliamentarians should have been consulted before the move.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic who replaced the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress dated January 23, 2023.
Heavy security had to be deployed at the Ashanti regional NDC office to forestall the destruction of properties.
Angry Asawase constituents marched to the office to express their disappointment over the replacement of their Member of Parliament, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, with MP for Adaklu Kwame Agbodza as the minority chief whip in parliament.
The aggrieved NDC supporters burnt car tyres at the regional party office.
In one voice, they called the bluff of the national party executives over the parliamentary leadership changes.
Their demand is just one. The party should reverse the changes made else they risk losing their votes.
“”They want to destroy our party. Without Muntaka in the parliamentary leadership, no vote”, Usman Ismail fumed.
The regional chairman of NDC, Augustus Andrews Nana Akwasi had to intervene to calm down nerves.
He assured them of forwarding their grievances to the appropriate quarters.
“The party has structures. Let’s not do anything that will put the name of the party into disrepute. Let’s rather remain united and reclaim power in 2024”.
The police were also swift with their intervention in preventing the destruction of properties.
Meanwhile, at an earlier press conference by some Asawase constituency executives of NDC, they tasked leadership of the party to reverse its decision.
“We are yet to come to terms with the news as to whether or not such decision was taken by the functional executive committee of which both Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mubarak are members. Whether or not the council of elders of the party were consulted. Whether or not the minority MPs were consulted. We are compelled to come to the conclusion that, the action is undemocratic as it lacks proper and broader consultation.
We are by this statement requesting the party to withdraw these changes with immediate effect and to the needful”, Asawase constituency NDC secretary, Mugis Mahdi stated.
The Member of Parliament (MP) of North Tongu has called out some state institutions for their silence over the issue of Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, the founder and leader of Power Chapel International, illegally having multiple statutory documents under different names.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said that the state agencies that Rev Kusi Boateng scammed to illegally acquire multiple documents including the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Registrar Generals Department, Passport Office and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), must explain to Ghanaians how the blunders happened.
In a Citi TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb, the MP posited that these agencies should be conducting internal investigations to find out how they issued the same person with multiple documents under different names.
“All these institutions should be issuing statements by now (and) carrying out investigations. How is it that they are (so quiet)? Is it that they are complicit?
“How did they take advantage of them so easily. GRA, Registrar General Department, Passport Office, DVLA. How did this happen?” he queried.
The MP in his latest corruption exposé on the National Cathedral made some allegations against Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, who is the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana.
In an earlier revelation about the National Cathedral, Okudzeto Ablakwa said that a whopping GH¢2.6 million was dished out to a company named JNS Talent Centre Limited.
In his latest exposé, Ablakwa said that further investigations into the alleged payment led to the discovery of one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi as a director of JNS Talent Centre.
Having confirmed the identities of two out of three directors of the centre, Ablakwa dug deeper in a bid to discover the identity of the third director, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
According to his findings, citing a number of statutory documents including passports, Tax Identification Numbers and driver’s licenses, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi was the same as Reverend Kusi Boateng, who has allegedly been operating under the pseudonym Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Bortianor-Ngleshie- Amanfro, Sylvester Tetteh, has stated the continuous stay of Ken Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister will undermine the financial sector.
The lawmaker demanded that the president terminate the appointment of the finance minister to restore some confidence in the financial sector.
He further argued that Ghanaians have already lost faith in the minister and therefore his involvement in the negotiations of the Domestic Debt Exchange and the IMF bailout raises serious doubts.
In an interview with Okay FM, Sylvester Tetteh added that the 80 members of the majority caucus who have called for the resignation of the minister still stand by their statements and are waiting for the president to revoke the minister’s appointment.
“We members of parliament, our call is that Ken Ofori-Atta must give way, and we’ve given our reasons why he must give way and the reasons are still tenable.
“There are two things involved, is either the president will terminate his appointment because he gave him that position or he himself will resign because of how bad the economy is.
“We’ve realized that the overall confidence in the financial architecture of this country is all about Ken Ofori-Atta. we’ve tried several times but still, he is at the post.
“So, for us, the worse thing is that we will boycott his business in government… But our position hasn’t changed and Ken must go, we believe that it will inspire some confidence in the economy and the new leadership will bring new ideas.
In November, some NPP parliamentarians demanded that Mr Ofori-Atta be sacked as Finance Minister.
The MPs, numbering about 80, held a press conference to impress on the President to relieve his cousin of the responsibility of managing the national purse or risk losing their support for government business going forward.
The minister was then referred to a committee of the parliament for a vote of censure. Contrarily, the vote of censure failed to remove the sector minister because the majority left the chamber during the voting and according to the constitution, the destiny of the minister must be decided by two-thirds of the house.
The effort to provide free tablets to all Senior High School (SHS) pupils has been challenged by Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
The vice president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been asked to explain how government plans to finance it.
In a tweet, which was retweeted by Former President John Dramani Mahama, Dr Ato Forson said “Dr Bawumia, your frivolous promises are largely responsible for Ghana;’s bankruptcy! Basic schools in the North East Region don’t have tables and chairs yet you are promising 1 student 1 tablet! How will you fund this? Borrow more? Where lies your priorities Mr. Veep?”
Dr Bawumia promised that all SHS students are going to be given free laptops this year.
These tables, he said are loaded with textbooks on them for their studies.
This is a game-changing development, he said.
“This year, we are on course to provide all Senior High School students in Ghana with tablets that are loaded with textbooks on them for their studies.
“That’s a very game-changing development. We will have past questions preloaded on these tablets that will be distributed,” he said while speaking at this year’s New Year School at the University of Ghana, Legon on Tuesday, January 17.
A Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Paul Afriyie has been declared bankrupt by a court after it emerged that he indebted to the tune of £1.7 million.
Afriyie, despite being a Brit was born to a Ghanaian father and British mother but grew up in Britain largely under the guidance of his mother.
His indebtedness according to the BBC is in two parts, an amount of around £1 million is owed to state-run HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) whiles £700,000 is owed to Barclays bank.
A bankruptcy order was made against the MP at a hearing in the Insolvency and Companies Court on Tuesday, a B0BC report added.
Afriyie is Windsor MP on the ticket of the governing Conservative Party, he had already announced he would be standing down at the next election, saying with Brexit “concluded” it was the “right time.”
Afriyie reacts to bankruptcy
Afriyie said of the court order that it was “a stressful time”.
“This has been ongoing for many years following business failures some time ago.
“I am ultimately responsible for some of the bank borrowing through personal guarantee. I’ve been trying to sell our home and downsize for some time, but it’s a tough market.
“It’ll be tough for a while, but I’m far from the only person in a difficult position, and I will continue to do my best to support my constituents until the next general election when I’ll be standing down.”
The BBC report added that the embattled MP had asked for the court proceedings to be adjourned until March arguing he would be able to pay off his debts by selling off a property.
About Adam Afriyie
He was born 4 August 1965 in Wimbledon, London to an English mother and a Ghanaian father, growing up in a council estate in Peckham.
He has been an MP since 2005 and has along the way held a number of cabinet portfolios.
He attended the local Oliver Goldsmith Primary School as well as Addey and Stanhope School in New Cross, before earning a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Wye College in 1987.
Afriyie has seven half-siblings and one brother. He said of his upbringing: “I never knew my father until I was much older and my mother, Gwen, brought us up alone. She was my rock, the gel at the centre of my life, although her tumultuous relationships with different men made for a constant state of flux at the boundaries of our family.”
Akim Abuakwa South Member of Parliament Samuel Atta Akyea has called for a change in Ghana’s Agricultural policies.
He wants policies that go beyond just farming to feed the people to rather focus on the ability to supply raw materials for industrial purposes.
In his view, Ghana will realize the full benefits of agriculture when the sector is able to supply to industry in large quantities.
He was speaking in Parliament on Wednesday November 30 after the Minister of Food and Agriculture Dr Owusu Akoto Afriyie briefed the House on the the 2022 Farmers’ Day celebration.
The event is on the theme “Accelerating Agricultural development through value addition.”
The Agric Minister told Parliament that it will take place at the Koforidua Jubilee Park on Friday December 2.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be the special guest, the Minister said.
Contributing to a discussion on the floor of the House regarding the theme for the celebration, Mr Atta Akyea said “I am also of the humble view that the theme should translate into realities.
“If we continue in that kind of agriculture which is so agonistic and ancient, you will not have the benefit of agriculture
“I believe that the pillar and prop of the economy can be agriculture, there is no dispute about it at all. We should move from the kind of agricultural policies and undertakings which are stomach directed, that we want to feed our people, I think that is too basic for our forward movement.
“We should direct our efforts that agriculture should supply in substantial terms the raw materials for industry. That is where we begin to enhance the benefits of agriculture.”
Ghana should be boasting of 1,500 factories by now if past presidents had done what President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is doing with the One District One Factory (ID1F) project, Former Member of Parliament for Tema West , Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, has said.
He said the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) can boat of only one factory, the Komenda Sugar Factory, while the Akufo-Addo has so far built 126 factories that are fully operating with 143 at various stages of completion.
He said this while contributing to a debate on the 2023 budget in Parliament on Wednesday November 30.
The former Deputy Minister of Trade said “Today, as I speak to you we have close to 300 factories under the Akufo-Addo government. Mr Speaker, out of this 296 or so factories, about 126 of them are operational, 143 are at various stages of construction and 43 pipeline projects.
“Let us assume Mr Speaker, if since 1992, all the presidents that have come to stay on for 8 years, now Akufo-Addo is the 5th President, if every president was bringing or churning out 300 factories in Ghana we will be having 1,500 companies as at today.
“Unfortunately, from 2009 to 2026 the Komenda Sugar factory is the only one that we heard off from the other side (NDC) and yet they have the effrontery to speak to us as if we have not done anything in this country.
“But fortunately for them those who have 1D1F in their constituencies or municipality their own siblings, their own children are working in these factories. I want to point out to them that if they provoke us we will mention names.
“When some president had the opportunity in this fourth republic to ensure that they provide workforce for the youth they rather sold the factories or companies that we had in Ghana.”
Kennedy Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, has taken his campaign for flagbearership of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to the Ashanti Region.
He delivered an address to a cross-section of traders at the Race Course market in the region, calling for their support and outlining plans that he had to support their business and welfare.
“There is hope, let’s keep hope alive. I will consult with all relevant stakeholders to see how best we can help you. When I come to a place like this, I try to avoid politics.
“But I am being told to share my aim for this visit. All I am saying is that, come 2024, I will lead the NPP,” he said to loud applause.
The KenCity Media boss also underlined his credentials as someone with a background in trading: “Leaders have come and gone, none of them had a mother who was a trader. My mother sold things at Okaishie.
“I know your struggles and how you suffer to cater for your children, so I am a product of trading and of the street. So, I will do all it takes to protect the interest of women,” he stressed.
He also promised to support the market with 200 pieces of streetlights and poles to beef up security in the area as well as lobby the Roads Minister to look into the plight of traders relative to the nature of roads.
He also promised to look into the issue of MASLOC loans that had not reached a section of the traders. Agyapong was well received at the premises by hundreds of traders who cheered him.
Former New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Obuasi East, Edward Ennin has bemoaned the level of wealth accumulation by some members of the current administration.
Speaking in an interview with Kwame Nkrumah Tikese of Okay FM on Monday, November 29, 2022, the former MP expressed worry about the quest for personal wealth characterising the current political sphere.
Do you know the reason why I don’t find politics attractive anymore? There are so many of them who are ministers today that I know very well. A lot of them used to come around when we were in parliament those days. They will follow you all around for even GHC100 but today they are millionaires. I look at that and ask myself if it is the same politics we used to do. Levels don change now,” he said.
Despite his concern about members of the government of his own political party, Mr Ennin said the issue cuts across the political divide as the situation will be no different if the opposition National Democratic Congress are to come to power.
“But even with NDC the noise they are making now is hunger induced. If they get the advantage, they will do worse,” he said.
The former MP however noted that politicians who amass wealth dishonestly tend to lose it all when they live power.
But God has a way of doing his things, you will lose all the money just after 8 years of being out of office… if you don’t make money the right way you lose it easily,” he said.
Former New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Obuasi East, Edward Ennin, has bemoaned the level of wealth accumulation by some members of the current administration.
Speaking in an interview with Kwame Nkrumah Tikese of Okay FM on Monday, November 28, 2022, the former MP expressed worry about the quest for personal wealth that characterizes the current political class.
“Do you know the reason why I don’t find politics attractive anymore? There are so many of them who are ministers today that I know them very well. A lot of them used to come around when we were in parliament in those days. They will follow you around for GHC100, but they are now millionaires.I look at that and ask myself if it is the same kind of politics we used to do. Levels don change now,” he said.
Despite his concerns about members of the government of his own political party, Mr. Ennin said the issue cuts across the political divide as the situation will be no different if the opposition National Democratic Congress comes to power.
“But even with NDC, the noise they are making now is hunger-induced. If they get the advantage, they will do worse,” he said.
The former MP, however, noted that politicians who amass wealth dishonestly tend to lose it all when they live power.
“But God has a way of doing his things; you will lose all the money just after 8 years of being out of office… if you don’t make money the right way, you lose it easily,” he said.
North Tongu Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said that the government has finally done what is right regarding the National Cathedral project by capturing a specific allocation of GHS80million in the 2023 Budget for approval.
Prior to the budget presentation, the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta had denied allegation that he withdrew funds from the Contingency Fund for the National Cathedral project.
He told the 8-member ad hoc committee that was investigating the allegations made against him by the Minority, that it was rather funds from the Contingency Vote that were used for the project.
The Contingency Fund and the Contingency Vote, he said, were two different things altogether which should not be confused.
“I did not withdraw funds from the Contingency Fund for National Cathedral,” he told the committee on Friday November 18.
He added “The withdrawals were lawfully done from the Contingency Vote and not from the Contingency Fund as alleged by the proponents.”
In a tweet, after the 2023 budget presentation on Thursday November 24, Mr Ablakwa said “After all the lawlessness, deception and dishonesty about the National Cathedral being a Contingency Project; the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/Ofori-Atta govt has finally been forced to do what is right by capturing a specific allocation of GHS80million in the 2023 Budget for approval.”
A US court has reportedly adjourned the case of fraud and money laundering against the son of the former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini.
According to a report by AsaaseRadio.com, the case has been adjourned until December this year.
Meanwhile, Abdul Inusah, who faces a possible prison term of up to 50 years, says he is yet to receive information about the actual date of adjournment from his attorney.
“The case has been adjourned to a later date in December and the actually day is yet to be confirmed. I’m yet to meet my attorney for clarification on that,” Inusah said.
In August this year, when news about the case against Inusah was reported by the media, the son of the MP said he was very expectant of being discharged.
“My utmost worry right now is not fighting my case or proving my innocence to the Ghanaian public,” Inusah said. “My very utmost problem right now will be my family and friends who have been affected by these half truth publications, with utmost respect because I don’t want to discredit anybody’s work.
“But these are half-truths, and people’s lives in Ghana are being affected, especially my family and love ones, and I would like to apologise to them that they should take heart and keep having faith that their brother and son is innocent and will soon be a free man and we will rejoice and jubilate with the people of Ghana,” an optimistic Inusah said in an interview on Thursday, August 25, 2022.
His father, speaking about the case in another interview, said it was a case of conspiracy as his son’s documents were used by some individuals to perpetrate crime, leading to the charges against him.
“As a father, my son told me that one of his colleague students wanted a car and he has documents that allows him to auction vehicles, and it turns out the colleague student was involved in a romance fraud,” the former MP said.
A leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has described as refreshing a decision by a High Court to dismiss a suit challenging the election of Jomoro Member of Parliament, Dorcas Affo-Toffey.
According to him, the decision by the court among other things is a clear indication of the fairness of the judiciary system of Ghana.
“Congrats! It is refreshing to be amply reminded that the legal system works! That, Lady Justice remains blind,” Mr Otchere-Darko wrote in a tweet in reaction to NDC member, Joyce Bawa Mogtari’s celebration of the court’s decision.
The opposition National Democratic Congress has over the period accused the bench of being bias against the party.
Some NDC members have cited the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the party’s petition against the 2020 presidential election result to back their claim.
However, the Sekondi High Court on Monday, November 21, 2022, dismissed a petition against the NDC Member of Parliament for Jomoro.
The case which had been ongoing for close to two years was decided when the court, presided over by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere dismissed the case on grounds that the MP was eligible to contest.
The court held that she lost her Ivorian citizenship at the very time she acquired her Ghanaian citizenship, thus, there was no merit in the petition seeking to annul her election on the basis of her having dual citizenship.
The petition was filed by one Joshua Emuah Kofie, who was challenging the eligibility of the MP to contest as a representative of the people in the constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He submitted that she had multiple nationalities, including American and Ivorian citizenships, which is against the 1992 Constitution.
While the court determined that she did not have Ivorian citizenship at the time of filing and contesting in 2020, the MP denied having American citizenship.
Congrats! It is refreshing to be amply reminded that the legal system works! That, Lady Justice remains blind. https://t.co/xmsC29EbfY
Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin South has celebrated his wife’s latest academic achievement.
Mrs. Ntim Fordjour was among the recent graduates of the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom.
The MP who doubles as deputy Education Minister also disclosed that his wife, Tracy, had graduated with an MSc in International Energy Finance, passing with distinction.
He posted photos of his ‘Queen’ on his social media handles with the caption: “Congratulations My Queen! Distinction looks good on you. MSc International Energy Finance bagged.”
The couple got married in 2019 at a plush ceremony.
“The first day I set eyes on my wife, I knew that was Aunty Misses Fordjour,” the MP said at his wedding reception.
Ntim Fordjour who is a Reverend is in his second term as MP having been first elected in 2016 before securing re-election in 2020.
Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery says government is committed to justice for the victims and families of those who died during the 2020 elections.
At least five people died in separate violent incidents across the country during the election that saw president Akufo-Addo win a second term.
Two years after the incidents, there have been no arrests or prosecutions.
At a press conference, the Interior Minister promised government’s willingness to get to the bottom of the murders.
“We want to investigate the murders and the investigations are ongoing. The police service did not have a department that handles cold cases, but now it has. As soon as we find the people, we will deal with them, but I can assure you that we are investigating those people who were killed.”
For instance, in the last polls, two persons lost their lives in the Techiman South constituency after being hit by warning shots from security personnel, while six others sustained gunshot wounds.
The incident started after a misunderstanding ensued over the declaration of the election results.
Members of the NPP in the constituency, in March 2021, petitioned the Interior Ministry to investigate the shooting incident.
Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, the Member of Parliament for the area, has said some measures are being taken to secure justice for persons who suffered the brutalities.
He said the violence is regrettable and must not recur.
The MP has stated that he is aware that police investigations into the matter have been concluded and that there would be further action on the outcome soon.
Speaker Alban Bagbin has said he welcomes dissenting views being expressed on his rulings in the House.
This comes after he was heavily criticized by the Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu on his ruling to refer Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament Sarah Adwoa Safo to the plenary for debate.
Addressing a press conference in Accra, Speaker Bagbin said “The Supreme Court sometimes disagrees, sometimes the decision can be unanimous but after a few months they themselves realize they erred. I always welcome disagreement. It is a language that sometimes I feel uncomfortable about but as for the disagreement, it is welcomed.”
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu had told him that his understanding of law on how to handle a lawmaker who has been absent without permission, was wrong.
Addressing the press after the Speaker’s ruling Adwoa Safo, on Wednesday October 26, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who is lawmaker for Suame said “The Speaker is totally wrong in his understanding of the law, that is why I repeated that he has sent us on a very obsequious path, it doesn’t help Parliament.”
Mr Bagbin ruled that Parliament will debate on the removal or otherwise of Adwo Safo.
Delivering his ruling in Parliament on Wednesday October 26, Speaker Bagbin said “The house is well within its right to receive and consider the report from the committee and make a determination.
“It is my ruling that motion be was rightfully admitted.”
Sarah Adwoa Safo absented herself for more than the stipulated 15 days.
The Majority caucus wanted her seat to be declared vacant but this was opposed by the Minority, who felt she should be heard first.
The Speaker also questioned the authority of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs to declare her seat vacant.
In March, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu disclosed that Sarah Adwoa Safo had requested a month-long leave from the House.
Subsequently, the Speaker referred her case and that of two other MPs, namely Henry Quartey, MP for Ayawaso Central and Kennedy Agyapong, MP for Assin Central, to the Privileges Committee for hearing.
Speaker Bagbin, who deferred ruling on the matter before parliament went on recess, promised to do so when sitting resumes.
In a formal communication to the House on Tuesday, the Speaker noted that because there were few things to transact just after the assumption, he deferred the ruling to Wednesday.
The Member of Parliament for the Talensi constituency, Benson Tongo Baba, plans to push for answers on the delayed Pwalugu Multipurpose dam project sometime next year.
Commenting on concerns that the $993 million project has been abandoned, the MP said there were plans in place to formally visit the project site.
Following this, he said they will try to seek answers from the relevant ministers in Parliament.
“We will definitely go there after the budget presentation by the Minister of Finance, this year,” Mr. Baba said on Eyewitness News.
“Early next year, we will take appropriate action to drag either the Minister of Agriculture or the Ministry of Finance to respond to questions in Parliament as to why the project has come to a standstill.”
The MP was speaking after some farmers in the Upper East and North East Regions protested at Nalerigu to demand the acceleration of the project.
The protesting farmers were led by the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana.
Dr. Charles Nyaaba, the Executive Director of the association, called for the Vice President to intervene in the matter.
“We are calling on Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, who is a son of the land, to lead this campaign. We are actually supporting him to ensure that as part of the IMF negotiations, money is allocated and provision is made for the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose dam.”
Barely a month after the massive dam spillage from the Weija Dam that caused flooding in many homes in the area, some gates of the dam have been reopened.
A statement from the office of the Member of Parliament for Weija-Gbawe, Tina Gifty Mensah, indicated that, as of Thursday morning, some 5 gates with levels totaling 47.9ft have been opened to spill water out of the dam.
The notice further cautioned residents in the area and its environs to be on the look-out and to vacate all their residences, shops, and the like to avoid any casualties.
“The levels will soar higher in the course of the day,” it further added.
Below is the full statement:
COMMUNIQUE FROM THE OFFICE OF THE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR WEIJA-GBAWE CONSTITUENCY ON THE DAM SPILLAGE
The Member of Parliament for Weija-Gbawe Constituency, Hon. Tina Gifty Naa Ayeley Mensah and the Municipal Chief Executive for Weija-Gbawe Municipality, Hon. P.K.B. Kumor inform all residents that 5 gates with levels totaling 47.9ft of the Weija dam has been opened to spill water out of the dam.
Residents are, however, advised to be on the watch-out and also vacate from all residential apartments, shops, and offices situated in the spillage ways to avoid casualties.
Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has contested Speaker’s decision to allow the plenary to debate the fate of Dome Kwabenya Member of Parliament (MP), Sarah Adwoa Safo and two other legislators over absenteeism.
According to him, the majority is set to challenge the substantive motion if it is brought before the house.
“I totally disagree with the ruling. It doesn’t sit with the constitution and I must express my discomfort with this unfortunate ruling that has been made because it is very inconsistent. We will come back with a substantive motion to challenge the ruling”, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said on the floor of the House right after the ruling.
Alban Bagbin on October 26, 2022, gave a ruling that the report of the committee set up to look into the case of the MP and two others who absented themselves for a number of sittings should be presented before the whole house to be debated.
He, therefore, dismissed the objection of the Majority Leader to the admissibility of the committee report for the consideration of the house.
“As I have noted in this ruling, the decision (sic) on not to admit a motion is the exclusive preserve of the Speaker. In view of the foregoing, the House is well within its right to receive and consider reports of the committee and make a determine arising out of the consideration.
“In the circumstances, it is my ruling that the motion was rightfully admitted and the report of the committee is subject to the consideration of the house. It goes without saying that the (sic) objection of the Majority Leader today (sic) is hereby dismissed…” he concluded his verdict.
It will be recalled that on July 29, 2022, a day after parliament adjourned its first decision to determine the fate of the Dome Kwabenya MP, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo sacked her as the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection.
In a statement, the president said the revocation of the MP’s appointment as minister was to take immediate effect.
“In accordance with article 81(a) of the Constitution, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has revoked the appointment of Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo, Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, as Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, with immediate effect.
“The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, will continue to act as caretaker Minister for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, until such a time that President Akufo-Addo appoints a substantive Minister,” the statement from the Presidency concluded.
Sarah Adwoa Safo has been in the United States of America since 2021.
The Member of Parliament for the Tarkwa Nsuem constituency, George Mireku Duker, has sued the Dompim-Pepesa chief, Nana Nyowah Panyin IV, for defamation after claims the MP was involved in illegal mining.
Also cited in the October 14 lawsuit are the Multimedia Group and the Class Media Group.
The comments the MP deems defamatory were made on Joy FM and Accra FM.
Mr. Mireku Duker, who is also the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, wants the persons he has sued to retract and apologise for their role in spreading the claims.
In addition, he wants GH¢10 million as well as aggravated damages from the publication of the allegations by the two media companies.
Nana Nyowah Panyin IV also cited the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, when making his claims about illegal mining activity in the Western Region.
“The words complained off are absolutely false, products of the defendants’ imagination and were mischievously designed by the defendant to disparage him, stain his reputation, court public disaffection for him and to bring him into abhorrence in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public and the global community,” Mr. Mireku Duker’s lawsuit said.
The MP maintains that his reputation has been “violently damaged” and his chances of winning the next election have suffered.
He also said the two stations did not give him a chance to respond to the allegations.
Since the lawsuit was filed, Joy News has published an apology to Mr. Mireku Duker and Mr. Darko-Mensah.
Member of Parliament for Daboya-Mankarigu Constituency Alhaji Asei Mahama Seini, who is also a Deputy Minister of Health, has expressed worry over the extent of devastation of flood waters in his constituency.
The situation, according to the lawmaker, is affecting livelihoods and appealed to the Roads Minister to come to their aid.
All entry and exit points to the capital of the North Gonja District have been cut off as a result of torrential rains and the spillage of the Bagre Dam.
This year has seen unprecedented flooding across the northern belt following the spillage of the Dam some weeks ago.
Major roads have been washed away in these areas.
The Daboya-Mankarigu roads from Busunu in the eastern part and Tolon in the northern part of Daboya have been cut off, bringing business and other related activities to a standstill.
During a tour of the constituency to assess the impact of devastation caused by the flood, the unhappy MP told journalists that the situation has heightened poverty among farmers.
“It is a worrying situation that all economic activities have come to a halt such that people cannot even cart their goods from their farms to the markets. In fact, it has heightened poverty among farmers,” he bemoaned.
MP for Daboya-Mankarigu Constituency Alhaji Asei Mahama Seini
According to him, a team of engineers has been dispatched to fix portions of the roads in the Constituency affected by the floods.
He also commiserated with his constituents who have been affected greatly by the unfortunate situation.
Road construction
Since 2015, the Daboya-Mankarigu road has been on contract to one Mr. Peter Mahama.
The contractor is a brother of the former president John Dramani Mahama.
It will be recalled that in 2020 and 2021 respectively, a similar incident occurred cutting off the Daboya-Mankarigu enclave from other parts of the Savannah Region.
Daboya bridge
The Roads Minister, Kwesi Amoako Atta, in 2017, when the Yapei and Buipe bridges were closed down for rehabilitation works, gave the assurance that an alternative bridge will be constructed on the White Volta in Daboya to ease the pressure on the Yapei and Buipe bridges.
In April 2021 and at the 45th congress of the Gonjaland Youth Association in Bole, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia announced that construction of the Daboya bridge will begin in June.
“One project that is very dear to my heart and the government is the construction of the Daboya bridge, I have been informed that design works are ongoing and barring any unforeseen challenges, work will begin this year,” he announced to loud applause.
Flood waters from River Densu and other tributaries in the Eastern Region have displaced over 2,000 residents of Nsawam with the Zongo community being the worst affected.
Other affected areas include Gyankrom, Lanteh, Adoagyiri, Okobeyeyie, Owireku, and the lorry station among others.
The rains which started on Saturday through to Sunday caused the River Densu to overflow its banks, forcing residents in the area to abandon their houses, livestock, and other properties.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Hon. Frank Annoh-Dompreh who was in Accra at the time of the incident quickly rushed to the scene to solidarize with the victims and see how best he can help them.
Member of Parliament(MP) for Tamale North Alhassan Suhuyini believes that the fight against galamsey in Ghana must be beyond the usual rhetorics.
He argues that several measures need to be put in place to fight the canker which is destroying water bodies and forest reserves in the country.
Suhuyini who made this known in a post shared via social media called on the Lands Minister to decisively deal with his party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman whose company has been in the news for engaging in illegal mining in recent times.
He believes that dealing decisively with Wontumi will better place the Ministry and other stakeholders in the fight against the menace.
Read His Statement Below
I agree with the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
The (no) fight against Galamsay must not be partisan. As in the words of Prof Kwesi Anning, it must be beyond flowery political rhetoric, such as the ones we have been regularly dished from the Presidency and Ministry. The fight must be waged and seen in deed, not words.
Yes, Aisha Huang is temporarily caged, what about some of her enablers, some of whom include but definitely not limited to a notorious political kingpin, Wontumi?
His company is referenced lately in news reports to be responsible for brazen illegal mining of Water bodies and forest reserves.
Hon Minister please,
1. Deal with Wontumi, his Companies, and others; that’s how your flowery political rhetoric will reflect indeed.
2. Like all destructive substances and machines, lead a policy position on the importation, deployment, and use of Excavators and Chamfine Machines in Ghana. Like guns etc, their unbridled use has become a threat to life.
3. Adequately resource and restructure the Minerals Commission, the Inspectorate Division especially, to professionally recruit and train guards in every mining District, like the Forestry Commission’s Forestry Guards.
4. Convince your Cabinet to institute a non-political interference, house cleaning of all Security Agencies. Disarm and strip the uniforms of the crooks and thugs in the Services.
5. Like Cocoa, pre-finance gold purchases and restructure licensing to ensure purchases are made only from licensed small-scale miners, operating legally.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has accused the Minerals Commission of Ghana of breaking the country’s laws by extending the mining license of NPP’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, by 13 years.
According to him, the alleged extension given to Bernard Antwi Boasiako, a.k.a. Wontumi, is illegal because the country’s laws only allow for a three years maximum extension for mining licenses.
The MP, who made these remarks in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, questioned the rationale behind Wontumi’s 13 years license extension.
“The issue about Wontumi is not about him engaging in mining for a very long time or not. It is about the criminal extension of his license renewal, 13 years. When the laws are very clear (that the) maximum (renewal should be) 3 years. Why did they make it 13 years? That is the issue,” he said
Murtala also bemoaned the failure of the state to arrest and investigate Wontumi for his alleged involvement in illegal mining (‘galamsey’).
“You have the same Wontumi, who sat on national television and showcased gold bars worth millions of dollars. Did anybody invite him? Did the National Security or the BNI (Bureau of National Investigation) invite him?” he said.
He added that if the government was serious about the fight against ‘galamsey’, it would have arrested Wontumi by now.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has directed the Forestry Commission to cease the operations of Akonta Mining Company in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve of the Amenfi West Municipal Assembly.
According to a statement issued by the Public Affairs office of the Ministry on Friday, September 30, 2022, the company owned by the ruling NPP Chairman for Ashanti Region, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, alias Wontumi, has been engaging in mining activities in the forest without a permit.
“The attention of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has been drawn to publications about certain operations by Akonta Mining Limited in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in the Amenfi West Municipality in the Western Region.
“Records available to the Ministry show that while Akonta Mining Ltd has a mining lease to undertake mining operations in some parts of Samreboi, outside the Forest Reserve, the company has no mineral right to undertake any mining operations in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve,” the statement said.
According to the Ministry, while Akonta Mining Company had applied for a permit to mine in the said forest reserve, the Minister had yet to give approval to any such application hence rendering the activities of the firm in the said forest reserve illegal.
The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee, John Jinapor, has refuted claims by the government that the Russia-Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic are the cause of the challenges in Ghana.
According to him, data from the Ministry of Finance shows that these two events have been a blessing to the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.
John Jinapor, who made these remarks in an XYY interview monitored by GhanaWeb, explained that because of the Russia-Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had exceeded most of its revenue projections.
“If you look at the summary of the financial data of the country from January to June this year, which was published by the Ministry of Finance, you will notice that the government has benefited from these two things, particularly because of the rise in the prices of petroleum prices.
“The Summary of Central Government Operation, which was published by the ministry, shows that the country at the end of the 2nd quarter collected 127 percent of its projected tax revenue from oil products. When it comes to royalties from oil production, we have gotten 133 percent of projected revenue. For the financial sector levy, we have gotten 133 percent of projected revenue.
“For the COVID-19 levy, we have gotten 170 percent of what we budgeted for. We have gotten 150 percent of the oil revenue we budgeted for. So, one can observe that Ghana is rather benefiting from the Russia-Ukraine war in terms of revenue when it comes to the government side,” he said in Twi.
Jinapor, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Yapei-Kusawgu, further stated that Ghanaians are going through a lot of hardship because the government has refused to use the windfall in revenues to bring some reprieve to the citizenry.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, during his speech at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, said that the Russia-Ukraine War was having a devastating impact on Ghana and other African countries.
“As we grappled with these economic challenges, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine burst upon us, aggravating an already difficult situation. It is not just the dismay that we feel at seeing such deliberate devastation of cities and towns in Europe in the year 2022; we are feeling this war directly in our lives in Africa.
“Every bullet, every bomb, every shell that hits a target in Ukraine, hits our pockets and our economies in Africa. The economic turmoil is global with inflation as the number one enemy this year,” the president said.
Joyce Bawah Mogtari, an aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, has urged Adansi Asokwa Member of Parliament, Kobina Tahir Hammond, to wake up to the dawn of a new dispensation for the youth.
Her comments come on the back of the MP’s viral video in which he is seen interacting with journalists and making critical comments about the youth for booing President Akufo-Addo at the Global Citizen Festival over the weekend.
In a Twitter post on September 28, the aide said the youth were now more at the center stage of affairs and had a huge voice – a deviation from the past status quo of silence.
She mentioned that as a result, they have become influential and cannot be overlooked the world all over.
“Hon K.T Hammond should please wake up and smell the roses! All over the World, young people have taken center stage! They have a huge voice, are a huge constituency and should not be overlooked or described in such disparaging terms,” Bawah Mogtari tweeted.
What K. T Hammond said
In an interview with journalists earlier this week, the legislator expressed his disgust at the booing of President Akufo-Addo while arguing that it was not right for the youth to disrespect the president and by extension elders in the society, especially for political reasons.
He urged the youth to at all times remain humble and accord the necessary respect to people who are advanced in age.
K. T Hammond added that the platform on which the president spoke was not a political one to warrant the reaction he had from some patrons of the event.
“We don’t live in a country and do that. Let’s be humble. Whatever we do, the president is the executive head of this country. When he came, he didn’t say anything. It wasn’t even a political platform,” he stated.
A bodyguard of President Akufo-Addo by name Jibril, is reported to have built an ultra-modern hospital for the Muslim community in Ghana’s capital, Accra.
According to Kessben TV, the name of the hospital, which is situated at Accra Newtown, is the Islamic Hospital and it was built by the bodyguard’s foundation, the Jibril Foundation.
The purpose of the hospital is to provide quality health care to Muslims in Zongo communities who cannot afford some health care services at other health facilities in the country.
The report indicated that though the initiative was a good one many are questioning the source of Jibril’s wealth.
“The allegation is that the president’s bodyguard built this ultra-modern hospital. People are asking how a bodyguard of the president is able to build such an edifice when the Regional Minister, who is the Member of Parliament for the area, Henry Quartey, has failed.
“Where did the bodyguard get the money to put out such an edifice? This is the question most people are asking,” a Kessben TV journalist said in Twi.
A British Member of Parliament (MP) from the Labour Party, Rupa Huq, has been suspended by her party for alleged racist comments she made against British-born Ghanaian MP, Kwasi Kwarteng, who was recently appointed UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister).
According to news.sky.com, the party suspended Rupa Huq for describing Kwasi Kwarteng as a “superficially” black man, pending investigations.
The report indicated that the suspended MP made the racist comments against the chancellor in an audio recording posted online by the Guido Fawkes website.
“Superficially he is a black man. He went to Eton, I think, he went to a very expensive prep school, all the way through, the top schools in the country.
“If you hear him on the Today programme, you wouldn’t know he is black,” Rupa Huq was quoted to have said by news.sky.com.
The Labour Party condemned the remarks by the MP and urged her to apologise.
Rupa Huq in a post on social media indicated that she had contacted the UK finance minister to apologies to him in person for the comments she made.
“I have today contacted Kwasi Kwarteng to offer my sincere and heartfelt apologies for the comments I made at yesterday’s Labour conference fringe meeting.
“My comments were ill-judged and I wholeheartedly apologise to anyone affected,” the post she shared read.
Background on Kwesi Kwarteng:
Kwasi Kwarteng became the first black person to become UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister) following his appointment by UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss, on September 6, 2022.
Kwarteng was born Akwasi Addo Alfred Kwarteng in Waltham Forest, East London, in May 1975 to Ghanaian parents, Alfred and Charlotte, who had both immigrated to the United Kingdom a decade earlier as students.
His parents, who went on to become an international economist and a barrister respectively, sent him to an expensive private prep school that produced numerous Cabinet-level politicians. He then attended the famous Eton college — a production line for British leaders including Boris Johnson and David Cameron.
He asserted that one of his plans to do this included establishing a strong economic basis for industrial growth.
“My leadership will focus on business development because I want to run Ghana like a business for unprecedented transformation to take place.
“I have the experience to create jobs for the youth with my record of business life. My steel company, when completed, will employ over 1,000 workers. It is named after Ashanti – Ashanti Steel.” he added.
In the Kwabre East Municipality of the Ashanti Region, Mr. Agyapong made this statement while paying a courtesy visit to Nana Barima Saasi Ayeboafo II, the Chief of Mamponteng.
While speaking about his execution of strong policies to support large-scale mechanized agriculture, he said that the Afram Plains region and other regions of the country with tremendous agricultural potential will be at the center of focused agriculture mechanization programs.
“I have plans to create globally competitive industries, make commercial farming attractive like what pertains in Cote d’Ivoire, Tanzania and other industrialised countries.
Ghana is well endowed with minerals, and would be used to turn the economic fortunes of the country around,” he added.
He pledged to instil discipline, integrity, hard work and accountability in the citizens, especially the youth to contribute effectively to national development.
“The menace of corruption, greed, and nepotism in Ghana is due to lack of discipline. The absence of discipline in the national life of Ghanaians is why corruption, nepotism and greed have gained deep roots in public life,” he stressed.
On educational prospects, he said he would use his salary to establish a scholarship scheme in every constituency, noting that “I will not take and enjoy my salary. It will be channelled into a scholarship scheme to pay the fees of the poor, and I believe it will promote Ghana’s development in more ways than one.”
In the area of chieftaincy, Mr Agyapong pledged to promote the active participation of chiefs in national governance and also rely on the wise counsel and wisdom of the traditional rulers in his administration.
The Assin Central MP donated 200 street lights to people of the Mamponteng area.
He said street lighting had been observed to be a major problem in Ghana, with a number of the lights not working while those working were using high-pressure sodium bulbs which consumed a lot of electricity.
“Street lighting is an essential road furniture. It ensures security at night for road users, contributes to improved road safety and enhances our quality of life and standard of living,” Mr Agyapong said.
He gave the assurance to complete works on the ongoing market in Kwabre and appealed to the assembly members for their maximum support in that direction.
On his part, Nana Barima Saasi Ayeboafo II, expressed his appreciation to the MP for his visit and assured him of warm reception at all times.
However, he appealed for the completion of the Kwabre market and road infrastructure in his area.
“Our roads are in deplorable state. Many road constructions have been abandoned. TVET education needs key attention in the area. Speak for us so that life can be made more dignifying and comfortable for the inhabitants,” he indicated.
The Chief admonished Mr Agyapong not to abandon his boldness after victory to lead the party to iron out all differences that could rise in the primaries, and unite the rank and file of the party to break the eight-year jinx of governance in the Fourth Republic.
“I hope the delegates give you the nod. Work extremely hard by improving the party’s grassroots’ structure.
“Work with traditional leaders and, most importantly, ensure that the government focuses on eradication of poverty, creation of jobs and construction of roads,” the chief added.
Exclusive images made available to GhanaWeb show the 50-year-old political candidate for the All People’s Congress (APC) attending to his visitors while donning a gold and white kaftan.
He was accompanied by his wife, Anita Ayariga, and kids, who were all dressed in similar white and gold attire.
The lavish birthday celebration for the APC leader was jam-packed with live acts, music, food, and joyful smiles.
He was stopped at nothing when he was spotted sharing a dance with the famed catering service, Mencook, who joined him to thrill guests.
This was after a black and gold cake almost the height of a 12-year-old was cut and a birthday song sang for the celebrant.
The likes of Inspector of Ghana Police, Dampare, Despite, Ofori Sarpong, Edem, A Plus, Member of Parliament, Xavier Francis Sosu, and media personality, Kafui Dey, among other public figures, were present to celebrate the politician.
The donations, according to the 2021 Auditor General’s (A-G) report, were made to aid the effort to combat the COVID-19 epidemic.
The A-G has, however, noted that the Nkroful District Health Administration’s accountant failed to account for the funds that came from contributors, including the area’s Member of Parliament, Armah Kofi Buah.
According to the A-G, this contravenes Regulation 78 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378).
“We noted that cash donations totalling GH¢65,000.00 from Hon. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah and four others could not be accounted for by the Accountant,” the report stated.
The report recommended that the head of the District Health Administration and the accountant be made to pay for the missing money in the absence of documents to support its disbursement.
“In the absence of relevant supporting COVID-19 documents to acquit disbursement, we recommended that the Heads of the Institution and Accounts should pay.”
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has introduced a new policy that effectively abolishes the charges levied on victims of sexual offences when they submit police medical forms for a doctor’s report in his constituency.
Under current laws, victims of sexual offences such as defilement, rape and other forms of sexual assault are charged between GHS150 and GHS400 to have their police medical forms filled by doctors.
However, in a Facebook post, Samuel Ablakwa said his office, together with various stakeholders in North Tongu, is implementing a policy where victims will have their police medical forms endorsed by doctors for free.
“We have with immediate effect abolished all charges victims of sexual offences are required to pay when they submit police medical forms for a doctor’s report.
“The North Tongu District Health Director and the Medical Superintendents of the Battor Catholic Hospital and the Tagadzi Polyclinic are fully on board to implement this latest MP’s initiative.
“All victims of defilement, rape and other forms of sexual assault will now be attended to free of charge,” he wrote.
According to the MP, there is a need to ensure that victims of sexual offences are given public support in receiving justice.
He noted that the medical facilities in his constituency under the new policy would submit quarterly reports to the District Health Directorate for his office to effect payment for police medical forms endorsed by doctors over the period.
“These vulnerable and traumatized victims need our collective support and the removal of all barriers towards securing justice by successfully prosecuting those demonic perpetrators.
“Hitherto, victims of sexual offences are asked to pay between GHS150 and GHS400 to have their police medical forms filled by doctors. Under this new dispensation, the medical facilities in my constituency will submit a quarterly report to the District Health Directorate for prompt payment by the North Tongu MP’s office,” he explained.
Injuncted Assin North Member of Parliament, James Gyakye Quaysonis back in court nearly two weeks after the Supreme Court barred him from performing parliamentary duties pending the determination of a substantive suit.
The MP is seeking a review of the 5-2 majority ruling that he believes resulted in what he termed as, “a grave miscarriage of justice against the people of Assin North as well as myself.â€
Mr. Quayson contends that the apex court lacked jurisdiction to determine the validity of a parliamentary election as it is the High Court that has such exclusive jurisdiction.
He again emphasized that the Supreme Court in its ruling failed to observe that the writ upon which it based its ruling sought to invite the court to enforce a High Court ruling.
“The majority decision was in patent and fundamental error and violated article 129(3) of the Constitution in assuming jurisdiction over the determination of the validity of a Parliamentary election and proceeding to grant the application for interim injunction.
“The majority decision was in patent and fundamental error in failing to appreciate that the suit was I reality an attempt to enforce the decisions of the High Court disguised as an invocation of the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court,†part of the review application read.
Mr. Quayson further maintained that the Supreme Court granting an order of interlocutory injunction pending the determination of the [substantive] suit when what the applicant was seeking by [the] this application was for the execution of decisions in the courts below… constituted an error and a gross miscarriage of justice.
Meanwhile, the review application is expected to be heard on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
Background
In July 2021, a High Court in Cape Coast nullified the election of the Assin North MP, after it found that he owed allegiance to Canada at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the polls.
Michael Ankomah Nimfah, a resident of the constituency, filed the petition in court and later initiated another action at the Supreme Court to enforce the High Court’s decision.
He urged the Court to prevent a further breach of the constitution by restraining the MP.
On Wednesday, April 13, the Supreme Court in a 5-2 decision ruled on the issue by barring the Assin North MP from performing any Parliamentary duty.
This is until the determination of the substantive case filed against him at the Supreme Court.
Some Members of Parliament whose names were not captured as part of attendees during Tuesday’s proceedings in Parliament, have raised concerns.
According to the MPs, the absence of their names has courted attacks from constituents who have criticized them for being absent on a critical day E-Levy was being considered.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka said the action has cost them a lot.
According to him, some members of the House have, following this, even called for the removal of the Minority leadership, citing their failure to ensure their names were captured.
Muntaka further accused the Clerk of being partisan.
Member of Parliament of Zebilla East, Cletus Avoka, whose names were part of those captured as absent, on his part said he has been traumatized. According to him, his constituents have, following reports, called to slam him for being absent on an important day when the E-Levy was being considered.
He said even though he approached the table to write his name, he was told by the table of Office to sit and that they were going to bring the list to him but they never did.
MP of Ablekuma Central who also claims to be a victim described the action as a diabolic and deliberate attempt to mark him absent.
MP for New Edubiase, Abdul-Salem Adams also said his name must be cleared as he has been accused of taking bribe to be absent for the E-Levy to be passed.
They called on the Speaker to make the amendment to reflect the true report of the Votes and Proceedings of the House on March 29,2022.
The Member of Parliament for Anyaa Sowutuom, Dr. Dickson Adomako Kissi is urging the government to reconsider the collection of road tolls which was cancelled a few months ago.
Speaking on Joy News, he stressed that before the restoration of road tolls, measures should be put in place measure to ensure that funds collected are directly wired to the national coffers to cushion Ghanaians.
The lawmaker further indicated that the constant fuel hikes are imperative government introduces drastic measures to salvage the situation before it gets out of hand.
“On a personal note, I think that maybe we need to revisit our toll system again. The revenue collection at the toll booth has to be taken straight to the main fund of the country and that process has to be perfected before we reintroduce it,†he told the host.
According to him, Zimbabwe in the midst of dire economic challenges turned its eye to road tolls, increased the fee, and generated more revenues to restore the economy.
He admitted that the cancellation of the tolls was just an exaggerated excitement with the notion that the Electronic Taxation Levy (E-Levy) would be passed swiftly.
“Let me be just honest about it. I think it was just a lot of excitement and thinking that maybe the E-levy would have just gone through and I think that we counted our eggs before they were hatched in literal terms,†he confessed on the show.
The Member of Parliament for Anyaa Sowutuom, Dr. Dickson Adomako Kissi, is urging the government to reconsider the collection of road tolls cancelled a few months ago.
Speaking on Joy News, he stressed that before restoring road tolls, measures should be put in place to ensure that funds collected are directly wired to the national coffers to cushion Ghanaians.
The lawmaker further indicated that the constant fuel hikes make it imperative that government introduces drastic measures to salvage the situation before it gets out of hand.
“On a personal note, I think that maybe we need to revisit our toll system again. The revenue collection at the toll booth has to be taken straight to the main fund of the country, and that process has to be perfected before we reintroduce it,†he told the host.
According to him, Zimbabwe turned its eye to road tolls, increased the fee, and generated more revenues to restore the economy amid dire economic challenges.
He admitted that the cancellation of the tolls was just an exaggerated excitement with the notion that the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) would be passed swiftly.
“Let me be just honest about it. I think it was just a lot of excitement and thinking that maybe the E-levy would have just gone through, and I think that we counted our eggs before they were hatched in literal terms,†he confessed on the show.
