A teacher in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Constituency has been honoured with a vehicle for her sterling role in educating students in the area.
As part of the agenda to encourage teachers, the Member of Parliament for Tarkwa-Nsuaem constituency and a Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker, organised a Teachers’ Awards in the constituency.
According to the Member of Parliament, the aim of the program was to encourage teachers to do their best and be at the forefront in grooming leaders for the next generation.
On Saturday, June 3, 2023, the Deputy Minister, held the second edition of the Duker Teachers’ Awards, meant to celebrate, honor and motivate extraordinary teachers in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality at the UMaT Auditorium amidst a durbar of Chiefs, teachers, students and very significant dignitaries.
This year’s ceremony themed “Education, Our Future, Our Pride” was to draw attention to how education has helped propel the world with teachers at the forefront.
According to the Member of Parliament, teachers are minimally motivated irrespective of the strenuous task they go through, hence, the need to consciously recognize their efforts towards enriching education in the municipality.
Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Stephen Saforo Yirenkyi, in his speech applauded the MP and called on other ministers of state to do same.
In all, 19 teachers were recognized and awarded from six categories including non-teaching staff.
The overall best teacher went home with a 2022 model of Suzuki Swift worth $14,500.00.
The overall best teacher, Madam Edna Amihere, who teaches at Tarkwa Senior High School expressed her profound gratitude to George Mireku Duker for recognizing the efforts of teachers in the municipality.
She called on other teachers to give out their best as the next award will be theirs.
The Minister also promised to institute a similar award scheme to honor outstanding health professionals in the constituency.
The apex court ordered Parliament to expunge James Gyakye Quayson’s name from its records after it concluded that he failed to renounce his Canadian citizenship at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the polls.
Presiding Judge Justice Jones Dotse on Wednesday, May 17, ruled that the Electoral Commission (EC) acted unconstitutionally in allowing him to contest the 2020 parliamentary elections without proof of him renouncing his Canadian citizenship.
This is in the case filed by a resident of the constituency, Michael Ankomah Nimfah.
Mr Nimfah had asked the court to rule that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, at the time Mr Quayson filed his nomination form in October 2020 to contest the 2020 Parliamentary elections for the Assin North constituency, he was not qualified to contest a member of Parliament.
This provision of the constitution provides that a person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana.
The court in a unanimous decision ruled that Mr. Quayson was not qualified at the time of filing his nomination forms.
It further held that the EC allowing him to contest when he had not shown evidence of renunciation of his citizenship of Canada was unconstitutional.
His name was to be expunged from records of the house, and his seat to be declared vacant to allow for a by-election.
The North Tongu constituency lawmaker, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has appealed to President Akufo-Addo to sympathize with the struggles faced by Ghanaians.
This was in reaction to the president’s address to the nation on Sunday, May 28, 2023, where he lifted all COVID-19 restrictions and proclaimed an end to the disease as a health emergency.
But the lawmaker has expressed worry that throughout the 37-minutes-long address of Akufo-Addo, there was no hint of scrapping the burdening COVID-19 levy and the E-levy, due to the IMF bailout.
In a Facebook post, the MP stated that “Ghanaians expected President Akufo-Addo to have announced the scrapping of the unjustifiable COVID-19 levy as he lifts all covid restrictions.
“Ghanaians also expected the awful E-Levy to be abolished since his government has opted for an IMF bailout.”
Ablakwa also pleaded with President Akufo-Addo to be sincere and sensitive to the sufferings of Ghanaians in these hard times.
“President Akufo-Addo must be sincere and sensitive to the plight of suffering Ghanaians,” he stated.
The MP for North Tongu also emphasized the need for lawmakers to unite to remove the COVID-19 and E-levies to address the plights of Ghanaians.
“I hope all parliamentarians will come together in the national interest, and take advantage of the mid-year budget review to expunge those two obsolete taxes.
“As President Akufo-Addo continues to let Ghanaians down, Parliament cannot afford to fail. May we be the people’s saving grace,” he added.
Mr. Steve Barclay, Boris Johnson’s health secretary, tells Trevor Phillips that he had a “very constructive meeting this week” with RCN union president Pat Cullen.
Asked if the doors are open to meeting the RCN’s demand for a 10% pay rise or more, Mr Barclay says the existing pay offer from the government should be enough: “What Pat [Cullen] said at the time the deal went to members was exactly the same as what I said and what the rest of the NHS staff council said, which was it was a fair and final settlement.”
He says the pay offer recognises the “huge, valuable contribution” of NHS staff.
He also says it is not “legally possible” to give a bespoke deal to NHS staff on different pay bands, which he says is what the RCN is asking.
But pushed on whether the government would go back to the negotiating table, Mr Barclay says: “Not on the amount of pay.”
He says there is “further work” to be done with NHS unions around pensions, pay progression, and tackling violence against staff, but he says that the pay offer was accepted by other unions, and therefore will be implemented.
He said a long-promised long-term NHS workforce plan will be brought forward soon – but did not commit to a date.
“It is a complex piece of work. It’s right we take our time to get it as it should be, but we will bring that out very soon.”
In a groundbreaking move, Gertrude Torkornoo, the nominee for Chief Justice, has put forth a compelling argument for a comprehensive examination of capital punishment within the constitutional framework of the country.
Speaking in Parliament during her vetting on Friday, she said that for her as an individual, the death penalty sentence handed to convicts seems too definitive.
Justice Torkornoo thus called on parliament to take a review of the death penalty.
“As a justice of the Supreme Court, I am mindful of the fact if cases come to court. It will be my duty to preside over it. But on a personal level, I do think the death penalty is too final and I would be grateful if the legislative body would begin to look at it,” Justice Torkornoo said.
When asked if as a judge she should not be firm in handing down death sentences, especially to convicted murderers, she noted “sentencing is always guided by law, so long as the law says it I can’t dispute it.
For years, some civil society organisations have called for the abolition of the death penalty. In Ghana, capital punishment is a mandatory sentence for certain offenses including murder, treason and genocide.
However, Ghana last executed convicts on death row in 1993, the year of Ghana’s return to civilian rule. Twelve people convicted of armed robbery or murder were executed by firing squad.
According to a report by Amnesty International, as of the end of 2020, 160 people – 155 men and five women – were under sentence of death. These included six foreign nationals, one from Benin, two from Burkina Faso and three from Nigeria.
Amnesty International cited a lack of effective legal representation among others for the plight of some convicts on death row.
“The death penalty in Ghana has been frequently used in violation of international law and standard, affecting predominantly those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, as shown by research carried out by Amnesty International. It is high time the authorities of Ghana acted to fully abolish it.”
“Conditions for men and women on death row do not meet international standards. Both men and women reported overcrowding, poor sanitary facilities, isolation, and lack of adequate access to medical care and to recreational or educational opportunities available to other people in detention. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception,” parts of the research read.
Among other things, they are calling for an express abolishment of death penalty for all crimes, commuting the death sentences of all death row prisoners to terms of imprisonment; reviewing the cases of all death row prisoners to identify any potential miscarriages of justice and providing all death row prisoners, regardless of means, with adequate and effective legal aid to pursue any appeals against their convictions and death sentences.
Meanwhile, In June 2021, Francis Xavier Sosu, a member of Parliament for Madina Constituency in Ghana, initiated a proposal for the introduction of a bill to remove the death penalty from the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). The proposal seeks to abolish the death penalty for most capital offences under national legislation.
The move is seen as a unique opportunity for Ghana to make significant steps towards the abolition of the death penalty for all crimes. You can support abolition in Ghana in three simple steps.
The nominee for Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, has stated that individuals who work and study law at the same time have a difficult time learning.
She said they are having a struggle with the ability to engage the law and pass the examinations due to interference with work.
Speaking during her vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Friday, May 26, she said “now, many people in law school are working and I think that affects their ability to really engage with the law and pass the exams.
“If you recall, in the last six months at least a thousand people have been called to the bar, the last major call had 860 or so people being called to the bar.
“We had a mini call a few weeks ago, almost 200 people. A mini call having 200 people, that is unpreceded so they are coming out and they are going in but I think the journey is a struggle for working people.”
The nomination for Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, will be vetted by Parliament’s Appointments Committee today, May 26.
She was nominated by President Akufo-Addo in April 2023.
According to the President, her nomination was to avoid any vacuum that would occur following the retirement of the current Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, on May 24.
Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, who hails from Winneba in the Central Region, if approved, will become the third female Chief Justice in the history of Ghana, after Justices Georgina Theodora Wood and Sophia Akuffo.
Fast-track Torkornoo’s approval as CJ – Akufo-Addo to Bagbin
President Akufo-Addo had earlier urged the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to quickly facilitate the approval of Justice Gertrude Torkornoo for the position of Chief Justice.
In a letter to the Speaker, the President reiterated that this is to avoid a vacuum in the office of the Chief Justice following the retirement of Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah as the outgoing head of the judiciary.
“It is my respectful hope that the approval by Parliament of Justice Torkornoo can proceed expeditiously to enable her assume office as soon as practicable following the retirement of Chief Justice Anin-Yeboah,” parts of the letter read.
Parliamenthas been urged to investigate “damning evidence” that it may have been misled by the Bank of England over interest rate rigging.
Senior Conservative backbencher David Davis said new evidence cast doubt on statements to Parliament by its former deputy governor.
In a House of Commons debate he called for a renewed parliamentary inquiry into the scandal.
He was supported by former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell.
Mr Davis cited evidence given by the Bank of England’s former deputy governor, Paul Tucker, who told the Treasury in July 2012 he’d only come to learn about interest rate manipulation “in the last few weeks”.
“Yet there appears to be damning evidence this was untrue, including meetings, phone calls, and sworn testimony to US authorities,” Mr Davis said.
“It was also claimed that there were no Bank of England instructions to change Libor submissions,” he added. “But evidence uncovered by Mr Verity suggests this is also untrue.”
The evidence cited by Mr Davis suggests that Mr Tucker was aware of the most serious form of manipulation, called “lowballing”, as early as August 2007.
Banks have been fined billions of dollars by US and UK regulators for this practice.
During the financial crisis of 2007-09 banks routinely understated the interest rates they were paying to borrow cash – “lowballing”.
They did so when publishing daily estimates of their borrowing costs for the purpose of setting Libor, the benchmark interest rate that tracks the cost of borrowing cash between the banks.
What does ‘rigging’ Libor or Euribor mean?
What the FTSE 100 is to share prices, Libor is to interest rates – an index that tracks the cost of borrowing cash. For most of the past 35 years, 16 banks have answered a question every morning at 11am: At what interest rate could you borrow money?
They submit their answers (e.g. RBS estimates 3.14%, Lloyds 3.13% etc) and an average is taken to get Libor, short for “London Interbank Offered Rate”. To set Euribor, the process is similar but with more banks involved.
The evidence against the traders jailed for rate “rigging” consisted entirely of requests they had made to colleagues to tweak those estimated interest rates up or down, typically by one hundredth of a percentage point (known on the money markets as a “basis point”).
The hope was that it might shift the Libor average marginally in the right direction to benefit the bank’s trades which went up or down linked to Libor.
In the other form of rate rigging, known as lowballing, banks pretend to be able to borrow cash much more cheaply than they really can. It is on a much larger scale.
The evidence, which emerged in the course of research for a book I have written, casts doubt on the prosecutions of 37 traders and brokers for “manipulating” Libor and Euribor, the equivalent of Libor for euros.
It includes an email chain reporting a meeting on 14 August 2007, where Mr Tucker is said to have sworn senior bank executives to silence as they discuss how banks’ Libor estimates of the cost of borrowing are too low.
In sworn testimony, given in February 2011 to the US Department of Justice, senior Barclays executive Jerry del Missier says Paul Tucker told him on 1 September 2007 that Barclays’ should get its Libor rates down.
When former deputy governor of the Bank of England Paul Tucker was interviewed by the Treasury committee of MPs on 9 July 2012, he was asked when lowballing was first raised.
‘I mean, I wasn’t aware of allegations of, of, lowballing until … the last few weeks,’ he said.
Mr Tucker has been asked by the BBC to comment on this but has repeatedly declined.
Speaking in parliament, David Davis also said there had been “serial miscarriages of justice where 37 traders were prosecuted, 19 convicted and nine jailed simply for doing their jobs”.
He called for the Treasury Select Committee to investigate whether they had been misled.
Former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: “It’s very clear that the House has been misled from the evidence we’ve seen.”
He added: “These were egregious miscarriages of justice” and called for the Treasury Select Committee to examine it.
Speaking for the government, junior Treasury minister Andrew Griffith said the issues were whether state authorities were involved in lowballing, and whether the Treasury Select Committee had been misled. He said: “I like [Mr Davis] look forward to hearing the response of the Treasury Select Committee chair”.
Mr Davis also cited former Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay of Clashfern, who has said there are “serious questions” that are “worthy of the Supreme Court” about the law used to convict traders, nine of whom went to jail for a much smaller form of interest rate “rigging”, now not regarded as a crime in any jurisdiction but the UK.
Convictions of traders in US courts have been overturned after a US appeal court ruled last year that prosecutors had failed to prove the former traders had made or procured any false or misleading statements.
The Bank of England has been asked repeatedly by the BBC about this evidence, declining to comment except to say any claims about its role were “unsubstantiated”.
The case of James Gyakye Quayson, the former Member of Parliament for Assin North, who is facing charges of perjury and other criminal offenses, has been adjourned by an Accra High Court to June 16, 2023.
During the court session, Quayson’s legal team informed the court that they had not yet received certain prosecution documents which they had requested from the Office of the Attorney General pertaining to the trial.
Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah-Yeboah explained to the court that the accused person’s failure to receive those documents was solely due to an administrative error.
On May 17, the Supreme Court directed Parliament to remove James Gyakye Quayson’s name as a Member of Parliament. The apex court ruled that Quayson was ineligible to assume the role of an MP as he did not qualify at the time he contested the 2020 election. The court’s detailed reasoning behind the decision will be made available on June 7, 2023.
Currently, Mr. Quayson is facing multiple criminal charges, including deceit of a public officer (contrary to section 251 (b) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29), forgery of a passport or travel certificate (contrary to section 15 (1)(b) of the Passports and Travel Certificates Act, 1967, NLCD 155), knowingly making a false statutory declaration (in contravention of the Statutory Declarations Act, 1971, Act 389), perjury (as per section 210 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29), and false declaration for office (against section 248 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29).
The Supreme Court issued this order in response to a writ filed by Michael Ankomah-Nimfa seeking the court’s interpretation of Article 94 Clause 2a of the 1992 Constitution, which addresses the eligibility of a person to contest as a Member of Parliament in Ghana.
The Member of Parliament-elect for Kumawu has said that his massive victory in the by-elections shows that his party, the New Patriotic Party, is in a pole position to win power for an unprecedented third successive term.
Speaking to the media after the declaration of the by-election results, Ernest Yaw Anim said that his win shows that the NPP can achieve anything with unity.
He added that his victory was also a testament to the good works of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.
“My victory is proof that unity can change anything. The unity I brought has translated into the results we saw today. The number of votes that I got is so significant. This was a landslide victory – over 71 per cent of the votes cast.
“I also said earlier that the success of the NPP government and the good works it continues to do for the people of Ghana will make us win this election. I knew that the NPP was heading for a big victory.
“Every Ghanaian has accepted that NPP is the only party that can lead the country to the promised land; NPP is the only party that fulfils its promises. We said we would fix the roads in Kumawu, and today it is evident to everybody,” he told reporters in Twi.
“… this victory is also a sign that the ‘breaking the eight’ agenda is possible. This is a total statement that the NPP is ready to break the eight,” he added.
Ernest Yaw Anim polled 71 per cent (15,264 votes) of the total votes cast to retain the seat for the ruling party.
In a distant second was the National Democratic Congress candidate, Akwasi Amakwaa, who garnered only 17 per cent (3,783) of the votes.
The by-election was held after the Kumawu seat was declared vacant following the demise of the Member of Parliament for the constituency, Philip Basoah.
Parliament will reconvene on June 6, 2023, following a recess that began on March 31, 2023.
The Speaker of Parliament,Alban Sumana Bagbin in a statement recalling the MPs for the Second Meeting of the Third Session of the Eighth Parliament said the House will commence proceedings at 10:00am.
Parliament adjourned sine die for the Easter festivities in March 2023 after passing the controversial three revenue bills presented to the house by the government seeking to boost domestic revenue mobilisation.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, presenting his closing remarks to the house urged the MPs to do away with inexplicable decisions that could mar activities of the house in the next meeting.
Mr. Bagbin said, “We have really endeared ourselves, particularly the leaders, my deputies to try and build more consensus. But we have had some rather sometimes inexplicable U-turns. And that sometimes saddens me. I hope we will not go through this experience in the next meeting. You have shown that Friday you all came prepared towork hard. So are some of the ministers”.
Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Suame has lauded the generous spirit of fellow lawmaker Kennedy Ohene Agyapong citing his assistance to the Suame Constituency when they were in dire straits.
The Majority Leader narrated how two first schools built in the Suame area came to fruition because of Ken’s support by way of an interest-free loan that he advanced to the constituency.
Speaking at a flagbearership campaign stop of Ken at Suame over the weekend, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said: “Many testify to the goodness that Ken Agyapong has done and continues to do. We the people of Suame have been a beneficiary of Agyapong’s generosity.”
He narrated how Suame had been given school projects from the central government but monies had yet to be disbursed at a time times were hard financially. The two schools were Nuru Islamic Basic School and a six-classroom Suame Methodist block.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu recalled selling his car to raise some money for the first project when funds dried up, he discussed the challenge with Ken, he told the gathering.
“He asked how much money was needed and I said two hundred million at the time but about 20,000 cedis today, the following morning Ken called me and advanced us the 200 million to put into the project.
“I gave 100 million to my chairman to start work, we were lucky to receive the funds for Nuru Islamic project so I asked my chairman to use that to continue the Methodist school project.
“I returned the first 100 million to Ken and later when other payments came in, I reimbursed him the other part. Without his intervention, we would have failed to complete the 6-classroom block,” he stressed.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is currently outgoing MP for Suame, being the longest serving lawmaker in the House, he is, however, supporting the presidential bid of Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia in the New Patriotic Party race.
According to the Treasury, it reportedly cost the government £161.7 million.
When Her Majesty was laid-in-state in Westminster Hall last year, more than 250,000 people stood in queue for five days to pay their respects.
When mourners lined up to meet the former king who passed away on September 8, “the queue” was at times longer than 24 hours.
The number was fewer than the total to see her father King George VI lie in state over five days, which is thought to have been 305,806.
The biggest costs were covered by the Home Office (£74m) and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (£57m).
John Glen, chief secretary to the Treasury, said the government’s priority at the time had been to make sure ‘these events ran smoothly and with the appropriate level of dignity, while at all times ensuring the safety and security of the public’.
In a written ministerial statement made to Parliament, Mr Glen said the Treasury had provided additional funding where necessary and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments were ‘fully’ refunded for their respective costs.
Queen’s funeral – estimated costs
• Department for Culture, Media & Sport – £57.42m
• Department for Transport – £2.565m
• Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – £2.096m
• Home Office – £73.68m
• Ministry of Defence – £2.890m
• Northern Ireland Office – £2.134m
• Scottish Government – £18.756m
• Welsh Government – £2.202m
• Total – £161.743m
The procession from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey took 17 minutes (Picture: REUTERS)A steady flow of people made their way through Westminster Hall to see the Queen lying in state (Picture: Getty)People line up along the Thames for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II on September 18 (Picture: Rex)
However, it did not include the number to pay their respects in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, where the Queen also lay in state after dying at Balmoral estate in Scotland.
The queue in London was constantly busy since the lying in state began, with the government repeatedly warning people to stay away to avoid disappointment towards the end.
After Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022 aged 96, the UK started 10 days of national mourning.
The late Queen’s coffin was laid to rest in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh for 24 hours, before the monarch was transported to Westminster Abbey in London where thousands of mourners queued for hours to pay their respects.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon…Check back shortly for further updates.
Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu (Esq), has campaigned for the adoption of an electronic voting method in parliament.
Sosu believes that incorporating e-voting systems in parliament will facilitate prompt decision-making on the floor and improve the accessibility of voting records for various MPs on specific Bills, legislations, and subjects, similar to practices in other jurisdictions.
According to Sosu, this technological advancement will significantly contribute to the well-being of the House members.
He emphasized the need for parliament as an institution to review its internal mechanisms and procedures to ensure the swift passage and resolution of critical Bills and businesses.
“The time has come for Parliament as an institution to review its internal mechanisms and procedures to ensure speedy passage and resolution of critical Bills and businesses on the floor of the House, and ensure readily available data on records of votes of each MP”.
“This will also guarantee improved health and wellbeing of members, especially aged members, and ensure members are decorous during decision-making at all times.”
Parliament has historically devoted excessive hours to the consideration of Bills and legislations on the floor, with recent debates on the contentious e-levy bill serving as a vivid example.
Sosu further explained that an e-voting system would shed light on the functioning of Members of Parliament, enabling constituents to better understand and appreciate the positions and perspectives of their elected representatives on various subjects.
These remarks were made by the Madina MP during a stakeholders dialogue session, aimed at promoting participatory democracy and reviewing his performance over the past two years.
Government must come clear on the current on-going load shedding for Ghanaians, according to minority in parliament.
According to the Minority, they have observed with serious concern, the recent persistent power outages also known as ‘dumsor’ being witnessed across the country, particularly during peak hours.
“This appears to be worsening with many parts of the country experiencing long hours of darkness without prior notice to consumers.
“While most Ghanaians have been witnessing intermittent power outages, others have been experiencing low currents and occasional high voltage leading to damages of their electrical gadgets and equipment in some cases,” the Ranking Member on Mines and Energy Committee, John Abdulai Jinaporstated in press release .
He continued: “It is a well known fact especially, amongst energy sector players that the current outages the country is experiencing is due to gas shortages coupled with serious challenges with the procurement of alternative fuels due the precarious financial state of the Energy sector SOEs.
“Most of the Energy sector SOEs have continued to witness worsening financial positions since the assumption of office of President Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia, despite their administration receiving over 20 billion cedis in ESLA revenues and about 40 billion cedis in petroleum revenues.
He stated that more disturbing is the deliberate decision by Government communicators and Energy Sector SOEs to keep mute whilst the ordinary Ghanaian is made to experience this avoidable state of load shedding.
“We therefore call on Government and responsible government agencies to come clean on the current state of power outages as a matter of urgency and provide a schedule if need be to enable the ordinary consumer and industry to plan and avoid damages of their electrical equipment.”
Mr James Gyakye Quayson ceases to be a representative for the people of Assin North Constituency in Parliament.
The Supreme Court which heard the dual citizenship case against Mr Quayson has instructed Parliament to expunge his name from its records.
Following the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections, one Michael Ankomah Nimfah dragged Mr Quayson to a High Court for contesting the Assin North seat while in possession of dual citizenship.
He argued that per the laws of the land, Mr Quayson was unqualified to file his processes to the Electoral Commission (EC) and contest.
The Cape Coast High Court after hearing both the petitioner and respondent in July 2021, nullified Mr Quayson’s’ election on the basis that the MP held Canadian citizenship at the time he filed to contest the seat.
However, Mr Quayson continued to parade himself as a legislator. This prompted the petitioner to take his case to the Supreme Court for interpretation of Article 94 (2) (a).
He also prayed the court to declare that the EC breached Article 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution when it allowed Mr Quayson to contest the parliamentary election in Assin North when he owed allegiance to another country.
He again urged the apex court to declare entire process that led to Mr Quayson’s election as MP for Assin North as unconstitutional and, therefore, null and void.
In April 2022, the apex court instructed the now former NDC MP, Gyakye Quayson to stop holding himself as an elected MP until the determination of the suit challenging his election.
In a 5-2 majority decision, the apex court ordered Mr Quayson to abstain from any Parliamentary business and also refrain from engaging in activities pertaining to an MP.
Mr Quayson’s lawyers filed an appeal but the Supreme Court dismissed it.
On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the panel of seven presided over by Justice Jones Dotse which also includes Justice Nene Amegatcher, Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, (CJ nominee), Justice Yonny Kulendi and Justice Barbara Ackah-Yensu sat to finally address the matter.
In court, the Supreme Court observed that the High Court in Cape Coast had declared the election of Mr Quayson as null and void, hence allowing him to remain in the capacity as MP “will be an indictment of the administration of justice.”
“There can be no justification for ignoring the submissions on the continued disregard of the orders of the High Court which have not been suspended or overturned,” the court held.
The apex court further expressed that “it will be failing in its exclusive mandate and duty to the Ghanaian people to uphold and defend the Constitution if it does not suspend, mitigate or abate an alleged constitutionality illegality if the applicant were to succeed in the end of this suit.”
Justice Dordzie and Amegatcher, in their opinion noted that there was no need for the apex court’s intervention as the petitioner just needed to enforce the High Court’s decision.
In view of this, a unanimous decision taken by the seven-member panel read that Mr Quayson’s name be expunged from Parliament’s records.
Mahama to review dual citizenship law in next government
Former President John Dramani Mahama has promised to review the constitutional provision that prevents Ghanaians with dual citizenship from holding political positions in the country.
According to him, such a law cannot be allowed to remain in the current scheme of things.
Mr Mahama insisted that the law hurts the country’s human resource and must not be allowed to fester any longer.
“But I want to assure the people of Ghana and James Gyakye Quayson, who is our MP for Assin North, that when NDC comes to power, we will clarify that constitutional provision that compels them to give up their foreign citizenship before they contest elections,” he said on May 7, 2023, in Tamale.
The failed presidential hopeful for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kojo Bonsu, has called for unity and cooperation among party members post the party’s presidential and parliamentary primaries.
He has called on the party to rally support for the elected flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama for a victory in the 2024 general election.
This was contained in a letter signed by Kojo Bonsu.
In the statement, he said that despite the circumstances that came up before the primaries and the outcome, it is time for the party to focus on winning the 2024 general election.
“Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the electioneering process and the outcome of the election itself, we must not all join the rescue mission of liberating our mother Ghana from the modern-day imperialism and colonialism practiced in a benevolent democracy under this NPP government,” the statement said.
It added that winning the 2024 election is the ultimate prize of the party, and that calls for a relentless effort from party members.
“What is ahead of us is bigger than any split milk. We cannot afford to lose any single effort going into the 2024 general election and we must be relentless in our united pursuit of victory,” it added.
Kojo Bonsu, after the primaries, pulled 1.1% of the total vote cast which translates into 3,181 votes whereas the former president, pulled 98.9%, translating into 297,603 of the total vote cast.
Professor Kwaku Asare, a Fellow of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), has highlighted the potential economic benefits for Ghana through the removal of restrictions on dual citizens holding public offices.
He argues that such a move would attract Ghanaians in the diaspora to return to their home country and actively contribute to its development.
By repealing these laws, it is believed that remittances and return migration would be encouraged, ultimately leading to greater stability and economic growth.
“Ghana is a net exporter of skilled labour and we have to be aware of that, and we have to have return-friendly policies that attract this skilled labour and their wealth back to the country.
“A repeal of the law, that is, allowing people who are dual-citizens to hold public offices would encourage and stabilize both remittances and return migration,” he said.
Currently, dual citizens are prohibited from occupying certain public offices including the office of Special Prosecutor, Inspector General of Police, an MP, Cabinet Minister, and President.
This, the Accounting professor based in the United States is opposing.
Prof. Asare added that the removal of the prohibition would also facilitate the use of financial vehicles like a Diaspora Bond to encourage diaspora investment in Ghana’s economy.
“Furthermore, it will facilitate the use of vehicles like Diaspora bonds which countries like Nigeria and Israel have put to good effect.
“But the reason they’ve put to good effect is they’ve not categorised their dual-citizens as disloyal, they have embraced them and by embracing them, it is much easier to then go to them and say ‘Well come and invest in the country, buy Diaspora bonds and so on and so forth.”
Currently, a private member’s bill is before Parliament to remove the prohibition of dual citizens from holding certain public offices.
On Friday, May 12, 2023, government will borrow $3.33 billion from the Treasury Market to partially refinance maturities totaling $2.31 billion.
The media understands that part of the ¢3.33 billion will be used to settle coupon payments of the pension bondholders.
The amount which will be the biggest so far this year will be issued via the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day Treasury bills.
Analysts perceive investors bidding higher yields on liquidity squeeze, as inflation data for April 2023 is expected to be release on May 10, 2023.
But the $750 million loans approved by the Parliament of Ghana last week may help slow down the rise in money market yields.
However, the cost of borrowing remains a concern to many analysts and market watchers.
The T-bill auction on Friday, May 5, 2023, was oversubscribed, as the treasury raised ¢2.57 billion, exceeding the gross target by 40.01%.
According to the auction by the Bank of Ghana, the government accepted a significant ¢2.56 billion from the bids submitted by the investors, largely the banks.
Yet again, majority of the bids came from the 91-day T-bills as ¢1.62 billion were tendered. All the bids were consequently accepted.
Also, almost all the ¢380.75 million of bids submitted for the 182-days T-bills were accepted.
The Council of the University of Ghana has approved a one-time discount of 2% on the 15% fee increment for some of its students for the 2022/2023 academic year.
This comes on the back of an approval by Parliament for the academic year.
The discounts apply to full fee-paying programmes, programmes at the Accra City Campus and distance education programmes.
There was an impasse between UG Management, student leaders, National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) over the 15% increase in fees.
GTEC had directed all public tertiary institutions to review fees for the next academic year by a maximum 15 percent increment.
The directive followed numerous complaints that some universities were charging more than the 15% Rate Approved by Parliament, hence the intervention by GTEC.
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Education appealed to the University of Ghana to consider offering a discount on fees for the current academic year to lessen the burden on students.
A statement signed by Dr. Elizier T. Ameyaw-Buronyak, Director of Public Affairs Directorate of the University of Ghana said, “In response to the appeal by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, the University Council approved a one-time discount of 2% on the 15% fee increase approved by Parliament for the 2022/2023 academic year, for the following programmes: Full fee-paying programmes, Programmes at the Accra City Campus and Distance Education Programmes. This discount has been applied to the accounts of affected students. Affected students may contact the Students Accounts Office for any enquiries through students’ accounts”.
Minority Chief Whip, Governs Kwame Agbodza disagreed with the Majority’s claim that the latest loan approval by Parliament was unanimously authorized by the House.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Dormaa East, Paul Twum Barimah had maintained that the Minority supported the approval of the loan agreements by the House on Tuesday.
“So far as we know, we all support the loans. It was by voice vote, did you see anyone on his feet to question the loans? Nobody did that, not even their leadership nor any member and if you read the report it was a unanimous report,” Mr Twum Barimah said.
But the Minority Chief Whip and MP for Adaklu in a Facebook post described the comments by his colleague on the Majority side as dishonest and inaccurate.
“Let it be placed on record that the Minority was implacably opposed to these loans coming at a time our nation has defaulted on both domestic and external debt servicing and is struggling to secure an IMF program due to our debt overhang.
“Indeed, we took turns to express our opposition, and still stand firmly in our conviction that only an irresponsible and unpatriotic Majority Group will support any additional borrowing of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government that has defaulted on our debt repayments. Such recklessness will truly find expression in the Guinness Book of Records.”
Parliament on Tuesday approved an amount of $150 million dollars for the financing of the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme phase 2 under the Multi-phase programmatic approach.
Parliament also approved an on-lending agreement between the government and the Development Bank Ghana for an amount of £170 million Euros to support the establishment of a financially sustainable development Bank.
The House also approved a loan agreement between the government of Ghana and the World Bank for an amount of $200 million to finance the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project.
Below is the full post by Kwame Agbodza
RE: NDC MPs Supported Approval of Recent Loans – Dormaa East MP
Our attention has been drawn to a mischievous publication by various news portals bearing the above caption and attributed to the NPP MP for Dormaa East Constituency, Hon. Paul Apreku Twum-Barimah.
The Minority Caucus strongly debunks his claims and takes a serious view of such dishonest and desperate statements coming from an NPP MP who was part of the unpatriotic Majority group that took the decision to railroad these loans despite strong opposition from us.
Let it be placed on record that the Minority was implacably opposed to these loans coming at a time our nation has defaulted on both domestic and external debt servicing and is struggling to secure an IMF program due to our debt overhang.
Indeed, we took turns to express our opposition, and still stand firmly in our conviction that only an irresponsible and unpatriotic Majority Group will support any additional borrowing of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government that has defaulted on our debt repayments. Such recklessness will truly find expression in the Guinness Book of Records.
We hereby urge the Ghanaian people to disregard any such suggestions that the Minority supported the approval of the recent loans, and treat all such assertions with the contempt they deserve.
Member of Parliament for the Yendi constituency, Umar Farouk Aliu Mahama, has said that majority of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament want Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to be the party’s next flagbearer.
Mr. Mahama said Dr. Bawumia stands tall among the persons that have so far put themselves up for the NPP’s flagbearership slot.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, the Chairman of Parliament’s Muslim Caucus said though the other aspirants are equally qualified, the Vice President is the right person to take the country to the promised land considering his time working with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“As for me and the majority of the Majority MPs, we are rooting for the Vice President, and it is a fact, and we are bold enough to say that we want Mahamudu Bawumia to take us to the promised land and also unite the party after the elections.
“Although we are yet to meet the other presidential hopefuls, it was clear during our meeting with the Vice President that everybody in the room wants Dr. Bawumia, and we are not saying that everyone wants him, but at least, over 100 MPs want him.”
Mr. Mahama further indicated that he is optimistic “that Bawumia will win [the presidential primaries] with over 80 percent of the votes.”
The Vice President in a meeting with members of the Majority Caucusin Parliament on Tuesday, May 2 disclosed his intention to contest the NPP Presidential Primaries on November 4, 2023.
He comes up against nine others including three-time runner Alan Kyerematen who resigned in January 2023 to focus on his Presidential ambition.
Paul Twum Barimah, the representative for Dormaa East, has refuted assertions made by the minority in parliament that the House’s Tuesday vote to approve loan agreements was not unanimous.
According to John Jinapor, the member of parliament for Yapei/Kusawgu, not all MPs approved the loans totaling roughly 750 million dollars.
He claimed that while the Minority Caucus fiercely opposed the loan agreements, the numbers did not support them, therefore it would be unfair to place the responsibility on them.
But in an interview with Citi News, the Dormaa East MP said such claims are unfounded.
“So far as we know we all support the loans. It was by voice vote, did you see anyone on his feet to question the loans? Nobody did that, not even their leadership nor any member and if you read the report it was a unanimous report.”
Parliament on Tuesday approved an amount of $150 million dollars for the financing of the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme phase 2 under the Multi-phase programmatic approach.
Parliament also approved an on-lending agreement between the government and the Development Bank Ghana for an amount of £170 million Euros to support the establishment of a financially sustainable development Bank.
The House also approved a loan agreement between the government of Ghana and the World Bank for an amount of $200 million to finance the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project.
A member of the New Patriotic Party‘s (NPP) publicity team, George Ayisi, has said that the $170 million granted loan will aid government focus on addressing national challenges.
Even though majority of Ghanaians are not happy with the borrowing habit of the government, Mr. Ayisi believes the government is on the right path.
“There are times you find yourself in a precarious situation that you may need some little push to stabilize your position and then have proper focus to deal with the situation properly.”
Bernard Oduro, a member of the NDC opposed Mr. Ayisi’s statement.
“From the financial economy point of view, it is not wrong to go into debts.”
Responding to Mr. Oduro, Mr. Ayisi said; “I disagree with him(Bernard Oduro) for claiming I’m defending the government for no good cause even though I’m not surprised at that.”
“There are certain areas that government will invest in that will generate phenomenal returns,” he added.
On May 2, 2023, parliament approved an amount of $910.6 million loan at an emergency sitting in the absence of about fifteen minority members.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Bosiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has accused an independent candidate in the Kumawu constituency, Kwaku Duah of being a “greedy individual” who lied to the electorates and has stabbed the NPP in the back.
According to Wontumi, Kwaku Duah had initially claimed that he was contesting the 2020 parliamentary elections as an independent candidate because of the lack of development in the constituency, which he blamed on the then-sitting Member of Parliament, Philip Basoah. However, after Basoah’s death, Duah’s decision to still run as an independent candidate, could at best be described as an act of betrayal.
He added that after Basoah’s death, Kwaku Duah had no reason to continue contesting as an independent candidate.
“After the death of Basoah, there is so much development in the community …these are the things that the 2020 independent candidate, Kwaku Duah…he claimed that he was an NPP member who was alleging that because of Basoah, there is no development so that is why he was contesting as an independent candidate to convince people.
“But now that Basoah is dead. Initially, he said it is because of Basoah that he contested, but after his death, he shouldn’t have contested as an independent candidate, but after his death and you still insist that you want to contest as an independent candidate, then it means that what you told Kumawu is all lies. You are a greedy person, who lied because NPP opened nominations, you couldn’t come forward to beg for forgiveness, but still, he is moving around that he is an NPP member,” he said.
Chairman Wontumi, added that he has declared that Kwaku Duah is no longer a member of the NPP.
“As the regional chairman, I am declaring that he is not an NPP member, all NPP members report to me, and I am the servant to all the NPP members. Kwaku Duah is no more an NPP member, he is like Judas Iscariot,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kwaku Duah has vowed not to step down no matter the juicy offer from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to him, his decision to contest the seat is to save the future of the youth in the constituency who supported him from day one when they challenged him to contest in 2020.
Asked on Kumasi-based Angel FM if the leadership of the NPP had approached him to step down, Kwaku Duah sharply replied, “It won’t work, they have been calling but that is not going to work”.
Affirming his stance, Kwaku Duah stressed that the NPP is going to get a shock of their lives as there is going to be a replica of what happened in the Fomena constituency where the independent candidate was declared the winner.
“I want to make it clear that, what is happening in Kumawu is a replica of what happened in Fomena in 2020”, he said.
Parliament has approved seven loan agreements worth $710 million during an emergency business meeting on Tuesday, May 2, 2023.
Currently, information on where the majority of the funding is coming from is yet to be made public.
The breakdown of the loan agreements indicate that $60.6 million will be allocated to the Ghana Covid-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project and $150 million for the West Africa Food Systems Resilience Programme.
An amount of €170 million has been allocated for establishment of the Development Bank of Ghana (DBG).
In addition, $30 million was allocated to support the Covid-19-related Medical Equipment Provision Project, $150 million went toward the Primary Healthcare Investment Project, and $150 million was allocated to the Public Financial Management for Service Delivery Programme.
The House also approved a $200 million loan agreement with the World Bank geared towards financing the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project.
The project is to help government increase access to broadband, enhance the efficiency and quality of selected digital public services, and strengthen the digital innovation ecosystem in Ghana to help create better jobs and economic opportunities.
The approved Ghana Digital Acceleration Project will support a regulatory shift to create an enabling environment for digital inclusion and innovation; streamline governance and delivery of public services; and facilitate smallholder engagement in data-driven digital agriculture.
It is unknown the intricacies of the loan agreements, however, it is expected that these loans will add up to Ghana’s already worrying debt stock.
Meanwhile, Ghana is still at the door of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) making frantic efforts to secure a $3 billion bailout as the country’s economy faces an unprecedented crisis.
Earlier this week, President Akufo-Addo asked Japan to help Ghana secure a deal with the IMF.
He said this at a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida
The Asian country is the latest of the tall list of countries Ghana is calling on for needed assistance.
President Akufo-Addo said the bailout will boost the recovery of Ghana’s economy.
“Ghana is also counting on the support of Japan in reaching a favourable agreement with the International Monetary Fund which will pave the way for the robust recovery of Ghana’s economy,” President Akufo-Addo told Fumio Kishida.
Today, May 2, 2023, members of parliament (MPs) will be in parliament following an order by Alban Bagbin, Speaker of the House, for “urgent parliamentary business.”
Some MPs have claimed that the recall is to compel them to give government clearance to go for another loan.
The House went on break on March 31, 2023, after passing three controversial tax bills into law with the Nanton Member of Parliament involved in an accident on his way to Parliament to partake in the vote to approve the bills.
On the night, the MPs also approved two additionalSupreme Court Justices who had been vetted by the Appointments Committee earlier in the year.
Alban Bagbin in a statement recalling the legislators said: “In exercise of the power conferred on the Speaker by order 42(3) of the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana, I, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, do hereby direct that Parliament shall notwithstanding anything to the contrary, be recalled from recess to sit on Tuesday, the 2nd day of May 2023, at ten o’clock in the forenoon, at Parliament House, Accra, to consider urgent parliamentary business.”
Minority unhappy with MPs recall from recess
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament is unhappy with the recall.
In a tweet, the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, alleged that the recall is to compel MPs to approve the government’s decision to go on another borrowing spree.
He took a swipe at the government for recklessly borrowing despite the current economic challenges confronting the country.
“I have been inundated with calls asking why Parliament has been recalled for urgent business on May 2, 2023. It is difficult to comprehend why the NPP government has the courage to continue borrowing after its reckless borrowing has completely destroyed the Ghanaian economy beyond recognition for generations to come,” he slammed the government in a tweet.
Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin published a recall notice to MPs on April 22, thus, members of Parliament recovene for urgent business today after .
Bagbin’s notice sighted by the media stated, “I…direct that Parliament shall notwithstanding anything to the contrary, be recalled from recess to sit on Tuesday, the 2nd day of May 2023, at ten o’clock in the forenoon, at Parliament House, Accra, to consider urgent parliamentary business.”
The question that has been on the minds of many has been what business specifically has occassioned the recall.
Ato Forson hints of loan agreement
Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson hours after the recall notice revealed a reason for the recall.
He said the Minority had no prior knowledge of the recall order issued by Speaker Alban Bagbin, “I wish to state that the minority leadership and members learned about the recall from the media, just like anyone else.”
He also confirmed that the sitting of the House will be for a day and that it is connected with a “loan agreement currently before it.”
“It is difficult to comprehend why the NPP government has the courage to continue borrowing, especially after its reckless borrowing, has completely destroyed the Ghanaian economy beyond recognition for generations to come.”
New CJ expected to be vetted:
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, last week, nominated Justice Gertrude Torkonoo as the next Chief Justice of Ghana.
The nomination was announced via an April 26, 2023 letter from the presidency to the Council of State.
It was made in lieu of the imminent retirement of current occupant of the office, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah and is also subject to vetting and approval by Parliament.
Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has reacted the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining report authored by Prof Frimpong-Boateng.
Adding his voice to commentaries about the galamsey report and the National Democratic Congress’s call for a parliamentary hearing, the Suame MP indicated that if the allegations are true, it will require a probe.
According to him, the issue of galamsey and the allegations contained in the report will require a second look before a conclusion can be drawn.
“I will want to have the report and go through it well to inform myself before I make a conclusion on the issues raised by Prof. As I stated earlier, which I agree, galamsey is costing us as a nation. For us to destroy the country for the individuals to benefit for some selected few is not in order for development,” he said.
He added that if the allegations raised turn out to be true, there will be an investigation.
“So, if the issues raised are true, then it requires investigation,” he said.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was speaking on Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV.
Background:
The NDC, in an address called ‘Moments of Truth,’ called on the Office of the Special Prosecutor and parliament to investigate the claims made by Professor Frimpong-Boateng, the former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining.
The opposition is demanding a televised inter-partisan probe into the galamsey report, which indicted some NPP top officials for engaging in galamsey or obstructing the operations of the IMCIM.
A constitutional lawyer and former MP forKumawu, Yaw Baah, has criticized the approach utilized by Parliament to guarantee that the guarantor system becomes one of the ways in which a Ghanaian can register to vote.
He said the legislative body could not compel the Electoral Commission (EC) to include the guarantor system in the Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) for continuous voter registration, which the electoral body sought to lay before the House.
He said Parliament’s suggestion that the EC should include the guarantor system in the C.I. was, at best, a recommendation, which the electoral management body was not bound by any law to follow.
“If Parliament insists that its decision for the EC to include the guarantor system is binding, then the exercise it undertook on March 31 by voting to recommend to the EC to include the guarantor system is unconstitutional.
The recommendation is an opinion by Parliament,” he said.
Mr Baah premised his argument on Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution, the constitutional provision on subsidiary legislation, and the Supreme Court decision in Nii Tetteh Opremreh v EC and A-G, which interprets and enforces the said provision.
In that particular case, he said, the Supreme Court — speaking through Justice Sulemana Gbadegbe — distinguished between Article 11(7), which restricts Parliament’s powers with regard to subsidiary legislation, and Article 106(6) of the Constitution which gave Parliament the power to amend any substantive legislation.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Baah — a former Chairman of the Legal, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament — said Parliament, per Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution, had the power to only annul subsidiary legislation, including C.I.s.
Recommendation by Parliament in respect of subsidiary legislation, he said, were only persuasive but not binding on the entity sponsoring the legislation.
In line with Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution, the EC is seeking to lay a C.I. before Parliament to regulate the continuous voter registration exercise.
Per Article 11(7), the C.I., which seeks, among other things, to make the Ghana Card the sole identification document for the exercise and the only means for registration when laid in Parliament, will come into force after 21 sitting days, except the House annuls it by a vote of not less than two-thirds of all Members of Parliament (MPs).
Mr Baah said in the case of Nii Tetteh Opremreh v EC and A-G, the Supreme Court — in interpreting and enforcing Article 11(7) of the Constitution — held that apart from annulment, other acts by Parliament such as amendment, variation or change in a subsidiary legislation was unconstitutional.
According to him, the insistence by Parliament for the EC to include the guarantor system before the C.I. would be considered not an annulment and, therefore, technically the House had no power to force it down the throat of the EC as that would sin against Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution as enforced by the Supreme Court in the case of Nii Tetteh Opremreh v EC and A-G.
“The Supreme Court has ruled that if Parliament does not take advantage of the annulment power under Article 11(7) of the 1992 Constitution, it cannot do any other thing that is binding on the body that presented the subsidiary legislation.
“The Supreme Court was emphatic that when it comes to subsidiary legislation, Parliament is only a conduit through which constitutional bodies vested with power can bring a subsidiary legislation into force,” he said. Pre-laying
As part of the pre-laying process of the C.I., the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulation, 2023, Parliament rejected the EC’s decision to make the Ghana Card the sole means for the registration.
The House unanimously recommended to the EC to include the guarantor system in the C.I. before it could present it for consideration.
Legislators were of the view that unless and until the challenges confronting the issuance of the Ghana Card were dealt with, using the card as the only medium of voter registration would negatively impact the electoral roll and thereby deny some otherwise qualified persons from registering to vote.
The House took the decision after legislators adopted the report of the Committee of the Whole on the draft C.I.
The report was signed by the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, who is also the Speaker of Parliament,
Soon after the House had adopted the Committee of the Whole’s report, the Speaker said the House would now not depend on the assurances from the EC or the NIA, but “we are now making inputs into the preparation of the C.I.”. No legal effect
However, Mr Baah, who is also a former Chairman of the Judicial Committee and former Vice-Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament, was of the view that although Parliament had a right to go through a pre-laying process for the C.I., the decision made during the pre-laying process had no legal effect.
In view of that, he said, the report of the Committee of the Whole of the House and its subsequent acceptance by the House for the EC to include the guarantor system was not binding.
“Article 11(7), as interpreted and enforced by the Supreme Court in Nii Tetteh Opremreh v EC and A-G, is the current case law governing subsidiary legislation.
Therefore, whatever exercise undertaken by Parliament in respect of unanimously agreeing for the EC to include the guarantor system was not necessary because it would not have any legal impact.
He also wondered why Parliament unanimously voted to recommend to the EC to include the guarantor system when the C.I. had not been properly laid before the House.
Mr Baah said if Parliament was not happy about the exclusion of the guarantor system from the C.I., the lawful procedure was for the House to allow the EC to lay the C.I. and then annul it by two-thirds majority as stipulated by Article 11(7) of the Constitution and interpreted in Nii Tetteh Opremreh v EC and A-G.
The Old Girls’ Association of Wesley Girls High School have celebrated the nomination of one of its own, Gertrude Torkonoo as the next Chief Justice of Ghana.
The nomination was announced via an April 26, 2023 letter from the presidency to the Council of State.
It was made in lieu of the imminent retirement of current occupant of the office, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah and is also subject to vetting and approval by Parliament.
The release signed by National President Effie Simpson and titled “Wesley Girls’ High School Old Girls’ Association Applauds President’s Nominee for Chief Justice,” said the nomination adds up to long list of accomplishment chalked by old girls.
Adding that it was “a firm testament to the high educational standards associated with Wesley Girls’ since its establishment 186 years ago.”
Read the full statement below:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
26th April 2023
Wesley Girls’ High School Old Girls’ Association Applauds President’s Nominee for Chief Justice
Wesley Girls’ High School, the oldest all girls secondary school in Ghana has recorded another feat with the President’s nomination of yet another past student of the school as Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana.
Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkonoo, will follow in the footsteps of two past students of WGHS, who occupied the eminent position before her: Her Ladyship Justice (Rtd.) Georgina Wood (Ghana’s first female CJ) and Her Ladyship Justice (Rtd.) Sophia Akuffo.
The WGHS Old Girls’ Association and the entire staff and students of the school, take this opportunity to congratulate Her Ladyship for this great achievement. Having been enrolled in the school as Gertrude Sackey in 1973 and graduating in 1978, the nominated CJ will bring to the position, the rich tradition of academic excellence that WGHS is famous for.
Her nomination is an addition to the long list of accomplishments registered by products of the school in several fields (locally and internationally) a firm testament to the high educational standards associated with Wesley Girls’ since its establishment 186 years ago.
No doubt, Her Ladyship’s eventual confirmation will inspire current and past students of the school to strive for greater heights in their studies and in their chosen fields of endeavour.
Whilst we look forward to her appointment, the Old Girls’ Association, staff and students of WGHS are confident that with the help of God Almighty, the nominee, together with other products of this great institution of learning, will continue in humility to serve humanity in diverse positions.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, held a press conference on recent disclosures about illegal mining, smuggled gold as well money laundering in the country.
During the address, National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, on behalf of the party registered his dissapointment over the claims in the documentary.
He, thus, called on the Office of the Special Prosecutor, as well as Parliament to launch investigations into the matter.
Below is the full text:
THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR AND PARLIAMENT MUST PROBE FRIMPONG BOATENG’S “GALAMSEY” REPORT AND ALLEGATIONS OF MONEY LAUNDERING INVOLVING PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO IN THE LATEST “GOLD MAFIA” UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION BY AL JAZEERA.
AL JAZEERA’S GOLD MAFIA INVESTIGATION
Good morning to you, our media partners here present, in the sixteen regions of Ghana and across the world.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has sighted an undercover investigative work that was recently broadcast by international news network, Al Jazeera. The said documentary forms part of a four-part investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit), which uncovered an international Gold Smuggling mafia and Money Laundering racket operating in various parts of Africa.
Friends from the media, of particular concern to us and indeed, the people of Ghana, is the reference to a relationship between the deadly racket and the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and other high-ranking officials of the ruling NPP government.
In the One-hour, thirteen-minute video documentary, one Alistair Mathias who has gained notoriety for designing money laundering schemes for corrupt African Leaders, could be seen boasting about his close relationship with President Akufo-Addo and other high-profile African leaders.
In the particular portion of this new investigative documentary that has got many tongues wagging, the said Alistair Mathias who is described as a Canadian citizen and a financial architect operating a gold smuggling syndicate in Ghana called Guldrest, confided in Al Jazeera undercover reporters who posed as Chinese Businessmen, about his constant dealings with President Akufo-Addo.
Some of the underhand dealings this shady character revealed include how the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government for instance can award his company, Mathias Holdings an inflated contract worth $100 million, which he in turn subcontracts to another company for a value of about $80 million, thereby making a staggering profit of $20 million on the contract.
Friends from the media, the mastermind of these crimes further revealed how the padded amount on such deals is then shared among the parties – corrupt officials in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government on the one hand, and Mathias Holdings on the other hand.
Under this criminal scheme, Mathias further undertakes to bank the share of his corrupt collaborators in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government in offshore accounts until such a time that the money is needed by them.
This is how grand corruption is created by elements in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, who inflate contracts and then deposit the stolen funds in the form of “commissions” with this devious individual whose operations span across other African countries. And by the way, commissions in this gold smuggling, money laundering and illicit business context simply means bribes.
As if the above dealings were not scandalous enough, we further gleaned from the documentary how supply and procurement contracts are awarded to this knavish partner of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia Presidency, who constantly returns kickbacks from these inflated contracts through their elaborate corrupt network at the expense of value for money and the good people of Ghana.
Ladies and gentlemen, the nefarious Alistair Mathias further confessed to how he manages to smuggle one ton of gold with a face value of $40 million from Ghana, every month, with the active collusion of high-ups in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government and in collaboration with one Kamlesh Pattni, an Indian man domiciled in Kenya, who is described as the grandmaster of the Gold Mafia.
This development, my fellow countrymen and women, adds to a litany of similar acts of grand corruption and collusion involving President Akufo-Addo, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and other high-ranking NPP government officials.
Ghanaians have not forgotten about the Number #12 documentary by ace Investigative Journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, in which former President of the Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi was nabbed in similar fashion negotiating kickbacks from supposed investors for President Akufo-Addo and other government officials.
Again, and of very recent memory is the “Galamsey Economy” undercover investigation by the same Anas Aremeyaw Anas, in which a serving Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen was captured on video negotiating bribes and “Appearance Fees” to the tune of $250,000 from supposed investors for and on behalf of the Vice President, Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia.
The question every objective Ghanaian should be asking, is how come the names of the President and his Vice, keep popping up in such shady deals and corruption scandals? Why always them? It could neither be mere speculation nor influence peddling any longer. This trend that has now received such unenviable global publicity, must worry every well-meaning Ghanaian.
We in the National Democratic Congress are deeply concerned about the damning revelations about our President in this latest documentary by Al Jazeera. The continuous naming of the President and his Vice in all manner of bribe-taking syndicates, must be a cause for concern for every patriotic Ghanaian who cares about the image of the Presidency.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, Al Jazeera’s earth-shaking findings also give currency to the justifiable concerns raised about government’s opaque Gold-for-Oil deal which many experts, civil society organizations and the NDC have had legitimate grounds to criticize and demand transparency and accountability.
Never in the history of our country has the Presidency been reduced to a criminal Mafia as we are witnessing today.
As has become standard practice under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government, the Presidency has kept a deafening silence on this matter in the wake of the damning revelations contained in the Al Jazeera documentary. Given the record and penchant of this government to coverup graft, Ghanaians cannot and must not accept silence or the usual flippant denials emanating from the Presidency or government corridors on this matter.
It is against this backdrop that the NDC hereby calls on the Special Prosecutor to take keen interest in this matter and launch a full-scale investigation into this matter with the aim of prosecuting anyone found culpable.
Given the considerable public interest in this matter and what it portends for Ghana’s image among the global comity of nations, we wish to call on Parliament to set up a publicly-televised and bi-partisan probe into this matter in order to ascertain the truth.
We hold the view that a Parliamentary probe is imperative to establish:
1. The number of companies owned by Alistair Mathias in Ghana.
2. Which government contracts have been awarded to companies owned by Alistair Mathias since their inception in the country?
3. The propriety or otherwise of the activities of companies owned by Alistair Mathias, among others.
We invite President Akufo-Addo, his handlers and the people at the corridors of power to whole-heartedly embrace our call for a bi-partisan probe into this serious matter, if indeed they so believe nothing untoward has been occasioned the State and that, they have nothing to hide.
FRIMPONG BOATENG’S GALAMSEY REPORT
Ladies and gentlemen, it is our well-considered view that the explosive revelations contained in Al Jazeera’s Gold Mafia investigative piece explain why the President’s supposed fight against galamsey has been a spectacular failure. It explains why Ghana has become the epicenter of gold smuggling in Africa.
Galamsey was obviously bound to flourish under the corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia regime because it was a central source of the illegal gold purchases used in this complex money laundering scheme orchestrated by powerful political dark forces in high places.
As we in the NDC have always maintained, President Akufo-Addo’s proclaimed fight against galamsey was the biggest scam ever to be perpetrated on Ghanaians. Today, the NDC stands vindicated as a report authored and presented by the former Minister of Environment and Science and former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining, Prof. Frimpong Boateng has all but confirmed our long-held position that there has never been any genuine commitment or any attempt to fight galamsey by this government.
The said report by the German-trained Cardiothoracic Surgeon shows clearly that the so-called fight against galamsey was a charade calculated to enable top government and NPP functionaries to appropriate and take over the illicit galamsey trade.
Ladies and gentlemen, for the sake of brevity, we shall only highlight eight (8) of the several damning revelations contained in the Frimpong Boateng report today and deal with the rest in subsequent media engagements:
1. Friends from the media, you would recall that President Akufo-Addo placed a moratorium on April 1, 2017, suspending artisanal and small-scale mining in the country for a combined period of one year, three months. Strangely however, Frimpong Boateng’s galamsey report tells us that in 2018, this same Akufo-Addo government acting through the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, somehow contrived to give out all forest reserves in Ghana for mining activities.
During the period that the ban on small-scale mining was in force, more illegal miners, including Chinese gangs invaded our forest reserves with the help of government officials and caused unprecedented destruction to our forests, water bodies and environment.
As the former Environment Minister puts it in his report, never in the history of Ghana have the nation’s forest reserves been subjected to such obscene rape and wanton destruction in the name of Galamsey as we have witnessed under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.
2. Fellow countrymen and women, the former Environment Minister and Chairman of the defunct IMCIM, has provided further and better particulars of persons, both high and low, who are neck-deep in this nation-wrecking business of ‘galamsey’.
The report specifically names appointees at the Jubilee House, such as Laud Commey, Director of Operations at the Presidency, a Presidential Staffer, Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe and Frank Asiedu Bekoe aka “Protozoa”, Special Aide to the Chief of Staff who have been actively supporting and promoting illegal mining.
We in the NDC have always known, that the political economy of galamsey in this Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government, is made up of the high and mighty in places of power and influence, who will stop at nothing to sabotage any effort at fighting the canker, because of what they benefit from it.
Time without number, Anas Aremeyaw has exposed this cabal, you in the media have done the same. Civil society and the political divide have all provided one form of evidence or the other, but President Akufo-Addo has simply refused to act. You know why? The President has refused to act because he is the chief mastermind and ultimate beneficiary of the nefarious galamsey activities of his government and party functionaries.
3. Ladies and gentlemen, the Prof. Frimpong Boateng report is also categorical about the very well-known illegal mining activities of former Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, the late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John and his erstwhile Aide, Charles Owusu who doubled as Director of Operations at the Forestry Commission.
The report avers that, these two men while at the helm of affairs at the Forestry Commission, did everything to sabotage the fight against illegal mining, and instead granted forest entry permits to small and large-scale mining companies, including Chinese gangs who were brought in to mine on their behalf, at a time there was an active ban on such activities.
4. Ladies and gentlemen, the report further cites the “unwholesome behaviour” of some Members of Parliament and Government Appointees, who are all neck-deep in promoting the galamsey menace for selfish gain.
Of specific mention was the activities of Former Member of Parliament for Manso Nkwanta, Hon. Joseph Albert Quarm, who is reported to have used his position as then member of the Minerals Commission Board to acquire several dozens of large-scale mining concessions in his district under the guise of community mining. He is reported to have sold these concessions to private individuals, including his party members for about Two Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis per concession (GHS200,000).
5. Perhaps the biggest obstructionist to the fight against illegal mining cited by the report is nephew of President Akufo-Addo, Gabby Asare Otchere Darko.
The report recounts how Mr. Otchere Darko placed a call to the then Minister and Chairman of the IMCIM to intervene on behalf of a company known as Heritage Imperial Limited, which was destroying the environment and causing havoc to the River Offin in the Kobro and Apaprama forest reserve in the Amansie area of the Ashanti Region.
The owner of the company in question, one Donald Entsuah, was co-owner of another company by name C&J Aleska, which had previously caused extensive damage to the Diaso forest reserve in the Central Region, under protection from men of the Ghana Armed forces.
The report reveals how the late Major Maxwell Mahama lost his life while offering protection to mining concessions owned by this C&J Aleska company in the Denkyiraboase area in 2017. Our sympathies go to the late Major Mahama’s widow, children and family.
Having been successfully dislodged from the Diaso forest reserve by the task force of the IMCIM, the Frimpong Boateng report notes that this same Donald Entsuah quickly formed his latest company, Heritage Imperial Limited, which has equally been at the heart of extensive destruction of the Kobro and Apaprama forest reserve in the Amansie area, operating with a prospecting license and under heavy military protection.
We are talking here about a company and its owner with a history of engaging in illegal mining under the pretext of prospecting. On 29th November 2016, Mr. Toni Aubyn, then Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission during the NDC administration, wrote to C&J Aleska that the Company was “seriously engaged in illegal mining on its prospecting licence”. On 30th January 2017, Mr. Aubyn wrote again to C&G Aleska for “undertaking mining activities illegally without obtaining all the requisite permits and approvals”.
Again, on 2nd October 2017, Hon. John Peter Amewu, the first NPP Minister for Lands and Natural Resources wrote to G&G Aleska regarding the Dwuabo concession and directed that “in view of the fact that C&G Aleska does not have a valid Mining Operating Permit, and that the Ministry has not yet ratified your mining lease, you are directed NOT TO CARRY OUT ANY MINING OPERATIONS in the concession until your mining lease has been ratified.”
Ladies and gentlemen, the mining activities of this company have resulted in the destruction of these two forest reserves, and the diversion of the course of the Offin River. Yet, this is the company the President’s nephew, Gabby Otchere Darko sought to shield and defend.
What Gabby Otchere Darko sought to do was to essentially use his influence in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, to defend a company which has been responsible for the destruction of the Diaso, Kobro and Apaprama forest reserves.
Mr. Otchere Darko’s impunity must be called out and condemned by every well-meaning Ghanaian. Here is a company destroying our environment, yet enjoys protection from the military and no less a person than President Akufo-Addo’s nephew.
What is even more condemnable but unsurprising, is the fact that Otchere Darko’s behaviour was said to have been reported to President Akufo-Addo, yet he failed to rein in his errant and obstructionist nephew. How could the President have reined Gabby in, when his actions and inactions clearly show that he is himself an enabler, promoter and beneficiary of galamsey?
6. Ladies and gentlemen, the Frimpong Boateng report also fingered very senior and leading figures within the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government, for allegedly acting in ways that essentially compromised the fight and rather promoted the activities of people who were engaged in illegal mining.
Former Senior Minister and now Presidential Advisor, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo, for instance is cited by the report to have allegedly used his influence to rather defend and whitewash an alleged money laundering activity by one Seth Mantey, a journalist who was arrested for laundering money from the sale of seized excavators. This he did on behalf of one John Ofori-Atta, then Regional Security Coordinator for the Central Region and Horace Ekow Ewusi, former Vice Chairman of the NPP in the Central Region, who was indicted by Frimpong Boateng for the 500 missing excavators.
In similar vein, Mr. S.K Boafo, a leading member of the New Patriotic and then Board Chairman of the Minerals Commission, was also cited for allegedly sabotaging the work of the IMCIM relative to the implementation of a successful community mining programme.
7. Friends from the media, it is sad to note that the Frimpong Boateng galamsey report identifies the Eastern Region, President Akufo-Addo’s own backyard, as the headquarters of almost intractable and uncontrollable illegal mining activities. At the center of these activities are several New Patriotic Party bigwigs and government functionaries, notable among whom is alleged to be Capt. Kodah of the Presidential Security detail. He is reported to have demanded the release of excavators being used by illegal miners at Anyinam, who discharged mining residue directly into the Birim River. The said illegal mining site allegedly belonged to the MP for Asene Akroso Manso, Hon. George Kwame Aboagye, according to the report.
8. Perhaps, the height of impunity was when an NPP Youth Organizer for Kyebi was said to have been excavating for gold in the backyard garden of President Akufo-Addo’s house in Kyebi. Yet, President Akufo-Addo got no wind of this from National Security or his elaborate security detail. As I have already indicated, the only thing that can explain this scandalous revelation is that, President Akufo-Addo is himself complicit in the illegal mining menace.
CONCLUSION
Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, if there was any doubt that the so-called fight against illegal mining by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government has been a sham, then this is the clearest evidence, yet again.
The report confirms one truth – that illegal mining activities have been a free-for-all enterprise for many in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP administration. From Ministers, Presidential Staffers and other associates in government, to National, Regional, Constituency and even Unit Committee Executives of the New Patriotic Party, their agents, Personal Assistants, relatives and financiers, many have been cited to have either engaged in or promoted illegal mining with reckless abandon.
The details of this report are simply scandalous, scary, sordid, pervasive and rotten to the core. We now know how the 500 seized excavators were sold by people entrusted to take care of those seized equipment.
There is now ample evidence about how military and police officers and other men in uniform who were funded by the state and tasked to help fight galamsey, were rather used to protect illegal mining sites belonging to government and NPP officials and their foreign collaborators. It is sad to note that, Ghana today has a Commander-in-chief who sends soldiers into harm’s way for parochial gain. Major Mahama’s death and misuse of Ghanaian soldiers by this “Galamsey” Government is another reason for the public enquiry.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Frimpong Boateng galamsey report has indeed shocked the conscience of the nation, and no amount of half-witted and half-hearted explanations from the Presidency or government can whitewash this great infamy.
President Akufo-Addo’s complicity in this whole scandal is further magnified by the fact that this stinking report has been on his desk since 2021, yet he has woefully failed to act on same.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are of the view, that the only way to establish the truth and get to the bottom of the issues contained in the Frimpong Boateng report, is for Parliament to institute a publicly-televised and bi-partisan enquiry into this report, which essentially is an obituary of President Akufo-Addo’s monumentally failed fight against illegal mining.
The Special Prosecutor on his part, must act with alacrity by probing the Frimpong Boateng Galamsey report and prosecute all government officials, NPP functionaries and persons who have perpetrated serious crimes against the State as contained in the report.
The Ghanaian people deserve this probe, because millions of tax payers’ money has gone down the drain in the name of fighting illegal mining. Now that it has been confirmed that all the so-called fight was a charade, our nation stands united in crying for justice. Anything short of a bi-partisan enquiry into this matter, will be fiercely resisted.
Any country that has no firm grip over the protection of its forests, nature reserves, wet lands and biodiversity, is one that is doomed to extinction. It is sad to say, that Ghana is fast approaching this scary reality under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP administration, who are busy destroying all our vegetative buffers to satisfy their greed and selfishness.
As a further step to back our demands, the NDC shall formally submit a request to both the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana and the office of the Special Prosecutor to initiate the necessary investigations into the Gold Mafia documentary as it relates to Ghana and the Galamsey report of Prof. Frimpong Boateng.
It is our fervent hope and firm belief that, these very serious issues will not be swept under the carpet, and that the Special Prosecutor and Parliament will rise to the occasion in order to stop the continuous desecration of our Presidency and environment by President Akufo-Addo, his Vice, Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia and the ruling New Patriotic Party.
The minority leader in parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has stated that the government’s efforts to combat illegal mining (galamsey), are mocked by the former chairman of the disbanded Inter-ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining, Prof. Frimpong Boateng’s, report.
In a Facebook post, Dr. Forson said the revelation by Prof. Frimpong is strongly indicative that the galamsey fight was nothing but a charade. He plainly describes it as fraudulent.
“Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s report to the President on failed work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, which was set up by President Akufo-Addo to fight the illegal mining menace, confirms that the whole fight was a fraudulent one”, he wrote.
The report authored by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng also a former Minister of Environment in March 2021 and handed over to the Chief of Staff cited a number of top officials in the Akufo-Addo government accused of either being engaged in galamsey or interfered in the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining.
The Presidency in a rejoinder argued that despite the serious allegations Prof. Frimpong-Boateng made against some government appointees, not a single piece of evidence was adduced or presented to enable the claims to be properly investigated.
It insists that the report was based on hearsay. But Dr. Ato Forson says, government’s action so far is a tacit endorsement of its corrupt appointees.
“It was shrouded in a well-calculated ruse to enable key government officials and functionaries at the Presidency to dabble in the very illicit business ofgalamsey.”
Meanwhile, the Minority leader is pushing for a full-scale investigation into the revelations.
“The revealing issues and several others in the damning report call for a national probe”, he added.
The anti-gay bill that was approved by parliament a month ago will now be sent back to the house for further review, according to Uganda’s ruling party.
At a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni, who is the party chairman, the MPs resolved on “proposals for improvement” to the bill, according to a statement from the caucus chairperson of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
The bill prescribes life imprisonment for people identifying LGBT and the death penalty for what is referred to as aggravated homosexuality, among other clauses.
It is not yet clear what amendments the president would like to be made to the proposed law.
When legislation is passed by parliament, the president has about a month to sign it, veto it or return it to the MPs for amendment and re-tabling.
On several occasions, President Museveni has said the topic of homosexuality needs more discussion and understanding.
The bill was passed with majority support from across the ruling party and the opposition.
The ruling party dominates parliament – and their position on any legislation always prevails.
Critics have argued that the law promotes homophobia, is against the country’s constitution and that anyone suspected to be LGBT will be affected.
Speaker Alban Bagbinhas directed all Members of Parliament (MPs) to end their recess and return to the House for an “urgent parliamentary business.”
The urgent parliamentary business is scheduled for Tuesday, May 2, 2023, per the statement from the Office of the Speaker dated April 20, 2023.
“I, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, do hereby direct that Parliament shall notwithstanding anything to the contrary, be recalled from recess to sit on Tuesday, the 2nd day of May 2023, at ten o’clock in the forenoon, at Parliament House, Accra, to consider urgent parliamentary business,” the statement read.
Rt Honourable Alban Bagbin gave the instruction in exercise of the power conferred on the Speaker by order 42(3) of the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana.
The said order states that “Mr. Speaker may, if he thinks fit, call a Sitting of the House before the date or time to which it has been adjourned or at any time after the house has been adjourned sine die.”
Meanwhile, the agenda for the urgent parliamentary business is yet to be made public. Parliament went on recess on March 31, 2023, after passing government tax bills which have been assented to by President Akufo-Addo per reports from Information Minister, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah.
Prior to that, the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament recommended that the House pass the controversial Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 popularly referred to as the “anti-LGBTQ bill”.
“Pass into law, the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021, subject to the amendments proffered by the Committee,” a part of the 18-page document signed by the Committee’s Chairperson, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, read.
Source: The Independent Ghana| Andy Ogbarmey-Tettey
According to reports, President Akufo-Addo intends to nominate Justice Gertrude Araba Esabaa Torkornoo, a member of the Supreme Court, for confirmation by Parliament as the next Chief Justice.
According to the sources, the Council of State has already given the green light for Justice Torkornoo’s appointment and the President would soon forward her name to Parliament for approval, in accordance with Article 144(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
When approved by Parliament, Justice Torkornoo will replace Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, who retires as Chief Justice on May 24, 2023 when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 for justices of theCourt of Appealand the Supreme Court.
When she gets the nod from Parliament, the 60-year-old Justice Torkornoo will become the third female Chief Justice in the history of Ghana, following the footsteps of Justices Georgina Theodora Wood and Sophia Akuffo.
Justice Torkornoo will be President Akufo-Addo’s third appointment to the office of Chief Justice since he assumed office in January 2017.
The Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak, shared a video alleged to be a shot of a toilet facility of Ghana Senior High School (GHANASCO) in Tamale turned into a sleeping place for students.
The said video, which has been sighted by GhanaWeb, showed student mattresses, chop boxes, bags and other student materials in the toilet compartment of a washroom.
Some of the materials and the students could also be seen in the hallway of the washroom.
A form one student by name Godlove, in another video shared by the MP, confirmed that he is one of the students sleeping in the toilet-turned-dormitory because of the shortage of accommodation facilities for students.
He said that the students have now resorted to open defecation which has led to a health crisis in the school with students always falling sick.
“Since we come as year one’s, we have never been to a toilet to ease ourselves. Every time open defecation and people passing by see us.
“… we just sit at the back here to eat and the flies (from where we ease ourselves) will be disturbing us. Sometimes when the run is too much it blows the breeze here and the scent is unbearable.
“As am standing here, I was sick just last Friday … I was diagnosed with typhoid and malaria,” he narrated.
Godlove pleaded with authorities to come to their aid by helping put up structures they can at least use as toilets.
Host of Good Morning Ghana, Randy Abbey, was forced to invoke the name of Jesus Christ in reaction to how a Member of Parliament (MP) for Nanton was sutured in Parliament’s toilet room.
The Nanton MP, Mohammed Hardi Tufeiru was involved in an accident while rushing to Parliament but he opted to go to the House first before seeking medical attention.
The Majority Chief Whip and MP for Tolon, who was the first to see him in his bloodied state when he arrived in Parliament narrated how he got him first aid before an ambulance took him to the hospital.
“He was rushing and I was waiting so when he came, I had to just rush him into the washroom and I had to call the doctors and the nurses to come and attend to him.
“Because our colleagues were opposed to that revenue bill, and we need it is part of our budget and we need it for our IMF so I had to do something,” Habib stated.
He said at the washroom, he went to the clinic to fetch doctors, some of who were colleague MPs. “Adomako Kissi, Ayew Afriyie they came and the nurses and we had to do the stitches in the washroom.”
Randy responded: “Wow, you stitched the MP I the bathroom of Parliament?”
That is what happened, then I brought an ambulance, informed the Speaker and then he now has to say that we can now take him but we had to call the Minority Whip to come into the ambulance to identify that he was actually the one. So that they will know that he is there, before we can be able to move.
A former National Women’s Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anita De Soso, has slammed the party’s Members of Parliament (MPs) over their complaints following the “NPP will never hand over power to NDC” statement made by the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong.
Speaking in an XYZ TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, De Soso said over 30 NDC MPs took bribes to approve Bryan’s appointment as agriculture minister against the wishes of Ghanaians and the party’s orders but are now crying over his comments.
She added that the NDC MPs should be ashamed for approving Acheampong because their voting for him, in their numbers, is what has emboldened him to speak the way he did.
“We spoke to these MPs, but they did not listen. We suffered and got them to Parliament, but they refused to listen to us when we told them not to approve this man (Bryan Acheampong).
“About 31 NDC MPs voted to approve this man. This is the consequence of your taking bribes to approve him. And I’m praying that at least 10 of you will lose the upcoming primaries so you can come and confess.
“…you think being in Parliament is an opportunity to make money, and you took money to approve him. Today, he is the one paying you back as you deserve. I told you that God would punish you,” she said in Twi.
The former NDC women’s organiser added that if the NDC MPs intended to embarrass former President John Dramani Mahama and the party’s national executives by their decision to approve the government appointees, today they are reaping the seeds they sowed.
She also urged members of the NDC not to worry about Bryan Acheampong’s comments because the NPP can never use violence to win the 2024 elections.
What Bryan Acheampong said:
Bryan Acheampong, after a walk dubbed “Walk to Build A Better Ghana” with a multitude of New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters at Mpreaso-Kwahu in the Eastern Region on Saturday, April 8, 2023, stated that the ruling NPP will never hand over power to the opposition NDC in 2025.
He cautioned that the NPP would show the NDC that they have the “men” should they try to use threats and violence in the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
“The NDC party will collapse. If the NDC dares to use threats, violence, and foolishness in the 2024 election, we will let them know we have the men. We will show them that we have the men.
“We have the men. It will never happen that we, the NPP, will stand on a platform to hand over power to the NDC. It will never happen! We will make sure NPP remain in government at all cost,” Acheampong, who is also the MP for Abetifi, said.
NDC MP’s voting to approve Bryan Acheampong, others:
Parliament on Friday, March 24, approved all six ministerial nominees as well as the nominees of the Supreme Court of President Akufo-Addo after a heated debate, 24 hours earlier and a tense voting process.
Final results declared by Speaker Alban Bagbin showed that all nominees got more votes than the minimum of 138 votes required because out of the 275 eligible voters, there were three absent.
Some Members of Parliament (MPs) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) did not adhere to the decision of the party to vote against the approval of the nominees.
Kobina Tahir Hammond (MP for Adansi Asokwa) was approved as the Minister of Trade and Industry and Bryan Acheampong (MP for Abetifi) as the Minister of Food and Agriculture.
Other nominees who were approved include Stephen Asamoah Boateng, as Ministry of Chieftaincy; Mohammed Amin Adam, Minister of State (Ministry of Finance), and Osei Bonsu Amoah, Ministry of Local Government.
Stephen Amoah, the Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso, was also approved as the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry.
The Supreme Court nominees who were approved include George Kingsley Koomson, Justice of the Court of Appeal, and Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, Justice of the High Court.
Leading figures in the NDC, including former President John Dramani Mahama, slammed the MPs who broke ranks and have accused them of betraying NDC supporters and Ghanaians for their selfish interest.
The MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has challenged the said MPs, who were allegedly bribed, according to Cape Coast South MP, Kweku George Ricketts-Hagan, to come out and tell Ghanaians why they voted to approve Akufo-Addo’s nominees.
Tamale North Member of Parliament Alhassan Suhuyini has blasted national leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for shirking their core responsibilities and rather focusing on policing the Minority Caucus.
The MP is worried about the manner in which the national leadership continue to meddle in affairs of the caucus in parliament describing their actions as that of coaches.
He warned during a discussion on Pan African TV that the 2024 elections will be lost if the executives fail to recognize that their responsibility is to deal with core party issues and to run the NDC along with parliament.
He said instead of coaching MPs, the leaders should be working on piling pressure on government from outside the House by among others organizing street protests to back their opposition to bad laws and policies.
“So, when they have debate in parliament and the parliamentarians win that debate, you expect the national organisers and the women’s organisers and the chairmen and the secretary to be massing people up on the street.
“To complement what parliament is doing, but when what we have is executives sitting on the bench coaching parliament and that will not take us to victory.
“Our party leaders must begin to wake up and understand that the 2024 elections will not be won in parliament. It will not be won by the work of any parliamentarians,” he stressed.
Suhuyini is one of the open opponents of a change in the leadership of the Minority Caucus dictated via a statement from the party headquarters early this year, barely a month after Johnson Asiedu Nketiah took over as National Chairman.
The changes saw the removal of Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader and Cassiel Ato Forson, coming in as his replacement.
Tamale North Member of Parliament, Alhassan Suhuyini has blasted national leadership of his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing them of sleeping on their real responsibilities.
A visibly angry Suhuyini, whiles speaking on Accra-based Pan African TV said the current situation where the leadership are seeking to coach parliament was totally wrong and inimical.
He holds that the leadership should be managing core party business along with its leadership in parliament.
“This is something I have said at the risk of being ostracized from the party, party leaders are not chosen to manage parliament. They are not chosen to be coaches of parliament. They are chosen to run the party along side parliament.
“So when they have debate in parliament and the parliamentarians win that debate, you expect the national organizers and the women’s organizers and the chairmen and the secretary to be massing people up on the street.
“To complement what parliament is doing, but when what we have is executives sitting on the bench coaching parliament and that wil not take us to victory. Our party leaders must begin to wake up and understand that the 2024 elections will not be won in parliament. It wil not be won by the work of any parliamentarian,” he stressed.
Suhuyini is one of the open opponents of a change in the leadership of the Minority Caucus dictated via a statement from the party headquarters early this year.
The changes were rung barely a month after Johnson Asiedu Nketiah took over as National Chairman.
The changes saw the removal of Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader and Cassiel Ato Forson, coming in as his replacement.
Renowned economist, Kwame Pianim has described Ghana’s current Parliament as the worst in its history.
He criticised the 8th Parliament over the passing of three new taxes.
Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, he noted that the current Parliament will go down into history as one of the worst for its lack of due diligence.
Mr Pianim explained further that the legislators fail to ask the relevant questions in the House. However, pass all borrowing bills before the House that have led to the country’s economic disaster.
“This Parliament is going to go down in history as one of the worst Parliament we’ve [Ghana] has ever had,” he stated.
According to Mr Pianim, the government is interested in procurement because the more projects the country has, the more opportunities for people to make money.
“COCOBOD project and they are not even wondering about how bankrupt they put the organisation in – they are thinking about building a new headquarters. It doesn’t make sense,” he cited an instance.
He further entreated President Akufo-Addo not to assent to the three new revenue measures.
On April 1, Parliament passed three revenue measures in the government’s attempt to generate approximately $4 billion in internal revenue.
The measures, according to government, will enable it complete processes to secure a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
However, the business, traders associations and some Ghanaians have been agitated about the passing of these new measures saying it will lead to the collapse and relocation of businesses in the country.
Adding his voice to this call, Kwame Pianim stated that it is because the bill was not well thought out by Parliament.
“After the Ministry of Finance has done its work, obviously, they have to have an economic model which says after the domestic debt exchange what is the economy looking like? What is it going to be?
“Are we going to have depression and low economic growth for the next three or five years and if so what is going to happen to government’s revenue? Nobody seems to be looking at that and then it goes to Parliament.
“We expect parliamentarians to consult their people, think about it and ask questions. They obviously don’t they just pass them so our last hope is for the President to say thank you Parliament I will not sign this bill because it is not good,” he said.
The Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong, Kwahuhene will grace the 4th edition of the Kwahu Mountain Marathon slated for Saturday April 8th.
Other dignitaries expected include Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, District Chief Executives, and other high profile personalities from the sporting fraternity.
The event is expected to take off at Nkawkaw GOIL Fuel Station to Kwahu Traditional Council (KTC) Mpraeso with an estimated participant athlete of 500 as part of the Easter celebrations in Kwahu.
Mr. Edward Boahen, the Project Manager of the Kwahu Mountain Marathon, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Tema that the 2023 Kwahu Mountain Marathon activities will commence at 06:00 hour to 10:00 hour within a distance of 23 kilometers.
The theme for the 2023 Kwahu Mountain Marathon is “Embracing the new normal, incorporating exercise and physical fitness into our daily life”.
The Kwahu Mountain Marathon, which is being sponsored by GOIL Ghana Limited would begin from Obomeng to Mpraeso through to Nkwatia and then finally end at Mpraeso Kwahu Traditional Council.
He said the organizers have arranged pre-marathon events which include a marathon float; a keep fit festival; pasta night; and health screening.
Mr. Boahen said there would be a pre-marathon float from Nkawkaw through some principal streets of Kwahu which would end at the Forecourt of the Kwahu Traditional Council, Mpraeso, while the public would be educated on COVID-19 protocols, AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases on Friday, April 07.
He said all Keep Fit Clubs would converge at the Forecourt of the Kwahu Traditional Council for a special aerobics session to serve as a rehearsal for the float. About 20 Clubs are expected to participate in the festival.
Mr. Boahen said there would be a special athletes’ pasta night before the event, which is a form of social interaction with pasta served alongside music and dance.
“There shall be a health screening after the event as a form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) for the community, after the Marathon on April 08,” he said.
Mr. Boahen noted that the objective of the 2023 Kwahu Mountain Marathon seeks to promote a unique long-distance race on the mountain, use sports as a tool for promoting health, physical fitness, and tourism, and create a unique platform for the youth to exhibit their talents and grab an opportunity to participate in international competitions.
He said it is also a unique platform to harness talent in Ghana and the region, create an avenue to champion awareness of COVID-19, drug abuse, and HIV AIDS, and bridge the “Unity Gap” through sports.
He said the Kwahu Easter Mountain Marathon activities will create a platform to market products and brands to the vibrant population during the Easter Festival and will create an opportunity to associate with an event that has the youth as a major participant.
The statement further explained that organizers will ensure there will be mass participation within expected professional athletes. All keep fit clubs will be mobilized to join the race to boost the numbers and promote the event among the people in the communities.
Nhyiaeso MP and Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Stephen Amoah has refuted claims that he was arrested in 2021.
In 2021, the MP was among seven drivers of V8 vehicles who were allegedly involved in reckless driving, violating road traffic regulations.
The minister was allegedly apprehended during a special operation by the police around Accra’s Airport Bypass.
However, subsequent reports stated that Dr Amoah had failed to appear in court after an arrest warrant was issued.
According to a police statement, five of the seven drivers who were summoned before the La Magistrate Court were present, with the exception of the MP.
However, speaking on Joy Prime’s’Prime Morning’, he refuted the claims saying it was false.
“When I started driving out of Parliament, I saw one land cruiser with a caged motor, so I followed it. If that is a crime, that one is 100%. Apart from that, everything was a lie. That they asked me to come to court, and I never…Everything was fake,” Dr Amoah told Roselyn Felli on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, he does not blame the institution’s senior officials, stating that some are honest and dedicated to their work. He said lying is just a habit for some of them.
Thus, he challenged the police to substantiate their claims, stressing that it has always been a problem within the police force.
“They do that to a lot of people. They had also arrested the MP for Madina, Xavier Sosu, by then.”
The minister also said some of these claims are made primarily for the sake of publicity and institutional equality.
He revealed that the police eventually apologised to the judge in the case for a miscommunication.
“If what I’m saying is a lie, the police should come and prove that they never went back to court,” the MP dared.
Although he is guilty of the offence, the Nhyiaeso MP thinks the issue could have been addressed appropriately.
Based on his experience, Dr. Amoah believes the majority of prisoners are innocent of their crimes.
Three incumbent MPs on the Minority side will be going unopposed in the upcoming parliamentary primaries.
They are Mr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Minority Leader in Parliament, Madam Gizella Akushika Tetteh-Agbotui, Awutu Senya West MP and Mr. Daniel Ohene Darko, Upper Denkyira West MP.
Also, Madam Emelia Ankomah, Upper Denkyira East and Mr Nurien Shaibu Migyimah, Assin Central constituencies went unopposed in the Region
However, Madam Sawyer Queenstar Pokuah, incumbent MP for Agona East stands a chance of contesting unopposed if her contender Mr. Eric Turkson’s disqualification hold.
Out of the 56 aspirants who filed to contest the parliamentary primaries for 20 constituencies in the region, three were disqualified by the committee.
The disqualified aspirants are Mr. Paul Ofori Amoah, Agona West, Mr. Ebenezer Quayson, Upper Denkyira West and Mr. Eric Turkson, Agona East constituencies.
20 out of the 23 constituencies in the region took part in the vetting process, three were withheld based on reasons yet to be disclosed by the party.
The withheld constituencies include Assin North, Efutu and Gomoa Central.
Mr Joseph Yammin, the National Organizer of the NDC and the Chairman of the interim vetting committee in an interview with GhanaWeb cautioned the aspirants to conduct campaigns devoid of insults to avoid division and separation among the delegates which could affect the general elections come 2024.
The chairman advised the aspirants to focus on winning both presidential and parliamentary seats for the party and not to fight themselves that the primaries were an internal contest.
Mr Yammin told the aspirants to ensure the vision of the regional executives to win 20 seats in the region was accomplished.
He wished all the aspirants well and success in their contest adding that the party should win at the end of all contests for victory in 2024.
The United Fetish Priests Association (UFPA) is solidly behind the passage of Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ+ bill which pending approval in Parliament.
They have vowed to invade Parliament with eggs and schnapps to curse lawmakers should they vote against the controversial Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (anti-LGBTQI+) Bill.
According to the group’s president Nana Mosi Bansere, it would be a betrayal of Ghana’s tradition and culture if the MPs chose to put their own interests ahead of the nation and reject the bill.
He continued by saying that if Ghana allows the practice of homosexuality, the effort and sacrifice of the forefathers would be in vain and the nation will be cursed spiritually.
“Our tradition, culture, gods, rivers, dwarfs, ghosts, and other spirits surrounding our country frown on LGBTQI+, so, we (United Fetish Priest Association) will go after them with eggs and Schnapps if they vote against the Bill. We don’t trust them, we will resist LGBTQI+ with our last breath.
“The toil and the blood of our forefathers will be in vain and they will regret sacrificing their blood for Ghana and will therefore demand answers from traditional priests if they don’t support the fight against same-sex marriage and called on traditional rulers to wake up,” onuaonline.com quoted him to have said in an interview with Onua FM on March 04, 2023.
Ghana is in the process of passing a law that criminalises LGBTQ+ practices.
Under the bill, persons found guilty of breaching the law could be sentenced to jail among other forms of punishment.
The bill has received wide public acceptance but has also attracted criticisms from human rights activists and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris during her recent visit to Ghana raised concerns about the bill while describing LGBTQ+ practice as a human right.
Alfred Kojo Thompson, a senior communications member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has raised concern over the rising number of candidates filing nominations to serve in Parliament.
Inferring from the mad rush of some aspirants to grab a spot at the various constituencies in the Greater Accra Region on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress(NDC), Mr. Thompson said that it has become evident that individual interest is prioritized ahead of the national interest and has become a problem challenging the current Parliament.
“It’s becoming a problem with Parliament these days where we all…everybody is complaining and so we need to get people there who will really look at the national interest and not the individual or party interest.”
In a no holds barred conversation with Kwasi Afriyie on Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV on Tuesday, 4th April 2023, the NPP Senior Communicationist questioned the processes involved in conducting such vettings.
“Greater Accra, they have 111 people chasing 31 seats, then central region 56 chasing 23 seats. So you see that they are poised for the fact that let’s go there. I’m wondering whether really speaking when we do the vetting we really do it well to make sure that we get the right people or get a square pegs in a square holes”
He alluded also that nominations are seeing an increase of this kind because competent and worthy people of these positions are rejected for known faces and suggested that this has become the norm where these popular people drive the party to victory.
“Yeah, or we just bring people in to just go and fill the seats for us because we are popular, we can win.”
He tasked Members of Parliament to be mindful of the reason they are instituted in Parliament and work accordingly to put forward the country’s interest.
“We have to start working on a nationalistic level rather than party level…you go there on behalf of a party but the first and most important thing is to make sure that you are working for the nation because whatever you go and do there will affect the growth of the nation.”
He, however, urged that parties have to collectively work to see national interest propagated rather than its party.
TheMember of Parliament(MP) for Nanton, Mohammed Hardi Tufeiru, has revealed how he got engaged in an accident before appearing in Parliament.
According to the MP, he left Parliament to see his daughter, who was admitted to the International Maritime Hospital, because he could no longer get in touch with his wife, who was at the hospital.
At the hospital, he received calls from the leadership of the Majority Caucus, where he was told that he was needed in the House because the Minority Caucus was asking for a headcount for the approval of the taxes the government was introducing.
Hardi Tufeiru, who made these remarks in an interview on Citi FM on Monday, monitored by GhanaWeb, added that the accident happened because he was driving at top speed to get to the House in time.
“I was calling, trying to reach (my wife), but I couldn’t get her on phone. But by then, we were also on suspension in Parliament, so I did some calculations to take 45 minutes to go (and see my daughter) and come back to continue with parliamentary work.
“So, upon reaching the hospital, I started receiving calls that the minority had challenged the voice vote and that we needed to take the second option, which was headcount, and that I was needed in the chamber,” he narrated.
The MP, who is also the deputy minister for food and agriculture, said that he was almost at Parliament when the accident occurred because he was driving at top speed and lost control of his vehicle.
Sam Nartey George, the representative for Ningo-Prampram, has claimed that the adoption of the three new tax legislation on Friday in parliament was not approved by the minority.
He claims that it is necessary to examine the clerk of parliament about how they were able to obtain 137 despite Ahmed Tuferu’s absence due to an injury.
On the basis of the information the clerk gave the speaker, he continued, the majority won the vote with 137 votes, hence he was not to be held responsible.
According to him, the minority would not have had to participate in the vote process if the revenue bill had been approved by consensus.
“If we had acquiesced, we wouldn’t have gone through with the vote, we wouldn’t have accounted for our 136, we wouldn’t have challenged what appeared to be an error in counting. We are aware now that at the time we did the first count, Ahmed Tuferu was not in Parliament.
“There are two [majority] MPs who also walked in after the clerks had finished taking the vote from the majority side, so clearly, that vote shouldn’t have read 136, 137, but be that as it may, the Speaker only announces what it is presented to him.
“The clerks have a question to answer as to how they managed to get 137,” he is quoted to have said by CitiTV.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament has explained why the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nanton Constituency, Northern Region, Mohammed Hardi Tufeiru, was counted despite being absent in the chamber during voting.
According to him, the leaders reported that the MP was incapacitated by some physical infirmity, and based on this, the MPs, including doctor Dickson Adamako Kissi who accompanied the MP, were counted and accordingly recorded.
Mohammed Hardi Tufeiru is reported to have been involved in an accident, preventing him from participating in the head count vote in the chamber.
Following this development, the Minority Chief Whip, Govern Agbogza, quizzed the speaker about why he counted 137 from the majority side of the house despite the absence of two.
Govern Agbodza said, “When we took the last vote, you counted 137 for our colleagues. Some members of the public are aware that two of our colleagues were not physically present here, I think it will be appropriate for you to make a pronouncement so that the public knows why you still counted 137.”
In response, the speaker said, “…that is why I referred you to Order 114 rule 4, and asked you to read that order, but for the education of the public, I will read that order.
“Order 114 rule 4 says for members who are incapacitated by some physical infirmity from passing through the lobbies shall upon reporting their incapacitate to the speaker though the clerk, be counted and recorded accordingly in the house.
“We have some of our members that are incapacitated and what I did was to ask the clerk to go and physically see them, the state of incapacitating, whether they are of sound mind because we are dealing with the decision taken, voting before they can come to testify; which has been done and so they recorded and counted accordingly.”
