Day: March 26, 2023

Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, says government is committed to meeting the requirements and standards of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services. That, she said, could be achieved with the support of all stakeholders and development partners. Madam Dapaah said this in a debate organised by the United Nations at its annual Water Conference in New York, USA, from March 20-25, 2023, a statement issued by the Ministry and copied to the Ghana News Agency said on Monday. The conference was the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of International Decade for Action; Water for Sustainable Development – 2018-2028. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in a message to the conference, said; ‘The UN 2023 Water Conference in March must result in a bold water action agenda that gives our world’s lifeblood the commitment it deserves.’ The general debate of the conference was that; ‘Water is a dealmaker for the Sustainable Development Goals, and for the health and prosperity of people and the planet.’ ‘But our progress on water related goals and targets remains alarmingly off track, jeopardising the entire sustainable development agenda.’ Madam Dapaah said water was a fundamental part of all aspects of life and it was inextricably linked to the three pillars of sustainable development (economic viability, environmental protection, and social equity), which were integrated into sociocultural, economic and political values. ‘Water is crosscutting and supports the achievement of many SDGs through close linkages with climate, energy, cities, the environment, food security, poverty, gender equality and health, amongst others,’ she said. ‘With climate change profoundly affecting our economies, societies and environment, water is indeed the biggest deal breaker to achieve the internationally agreed water-related goals and targets, including those contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.’ The conference, co-hosted by the governments of Tajikistan and the Netherlands, featured six plenary meetings and five multi-stakeholder interactive dialogues, as well as high-level special and side events. Participating governments and stakeholders made new commitments and pledged to work towards achieving SDG-Six and other water-related goals and targets.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Government secured GH¢2.44 billion from the sale of treasury bills in its latest auction held on March 24, 2023.

The auction saw an under subscription of GH¢764.6 million. This will be the first time this year that treasury bills have been undersubscribed.

The government set the target at GH¢3.21 to finance the payment of maturities for the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the rates have remained quite stable in the past two weeks after dropping to an average of between 18.87% to 25.66%.

According to the auction results from the Central Bank, the government secured GH¢1.41 billion from the 91-day bill, GH¢553.42 million from the 182-day bill, and GH¢468.9 million from the 364-day bill.

Interest rates however increased slightly to 18.87% for the 91-day bill, 21.43% for the 182-day bill, and 25.66% for the 364-day bill.

The fall in the rates has been attributed to the successful debt restructuring program.

Source: Ghana Web

The Coalition of Muslim Organisations, Ghana (COMOG) on behalf of Muslim Stakeholder Organisations and Institutions (MSOIs) has extended warm wishes to all Muslims in Ghana and beyond for a peaceful and blessed month of Ramadan. This was in a statement signed by Mohammed Shamsudeen Shaibu, Chairman, Media and PRO Committee on behalf of Hajj Abdel-Manan Abdel-Rahman, COMOG President and copied the Ghana News Agency. It stated that Ramadan was the fasting month during which Muslims around the globe reflected on and renewed their commitment to Allah. It said Muslims honoured each day of Ramadan as a day of patience, endurance through fasting and each night as a night of gratitude through prayers, adding that Ramadan was also a month of giving as Muslims, reaching out to assist those afflicted by hunger, poverty and diseases. The COMOG said; ‘As an umbrella body in Ghana, we wish on behalf of all Muslim organisations to call for special prayers for the success of recently adopted Supreme Ummah Constitution for Muslim leadership in Ghana by Muslim Chiefs, Imams and MSOIs.’ The statement urged all Muslims to remember the legislators (MPs) in their prayers to succeed in passing of the Proper Human Sexual Right and Family Values private member bill, which is scheduled to be tabled for second reading and debate in Parliament in this Ramadan. ‘The successful passage of this bill will bring about security and promotion of moral and cultural values in Ghana. The Gayism and Lesbianism which is foreign to our culture must therefore not be encouraged, hence the anticipation that, the bill is going to be passed in this Ramadan,’ it stated. The statement called on all Muslims across the country to pray to Allah to grant the MPs wisdom for love of Allah and the country, so as to take that decision in the interest of Ghana and a better future for the children. ‘May this Holy Month bring about blessings and rewards of all our good deeds and accept all our prayers.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Parliament of Ghana is tasked by the constitution of the country with the responsibility of holding the government of the day, the executive, in check as it governs the people.

With the partisan nature of Ghana politics, the minority caucus of Parliament has assumed this responsibility since the majority caucus always sides with the government since its party is in power.

Many Ghanaians have, therefore, come to rely on the minority caucus when it comes to checking the excesses and draconian policies of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.

However, the minority caucus has, one too many times, failed Ghanaians after rallying them against the government’s policies and promising to stop them at all costs. This article looks at the number of times NDC MPs have failed to stop Akufo-Addo’s policies after promising to do so.

1. Parliament approves all six nominees, two Supreme Court Justices:

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 prior, and a tense voting process.

The nominees would have been disapproved if all the NDC MPs who were present in the House stuck with the party’s position not to approve the appointees because of the bloated size of the Akufo-Addo government which many Ghanaians appear to be in line with.

But after several weeks of promises, some NDC parliamentarians broke ranks and voted with the majority caucus of the House to approve the nominees.

Kobina Tahiru 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.

2. Ofori-Atta Vote of censure motion:

Again, after promising to remove the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, the vote of censure motion filed by the NDC MPs, failed, in December 2022.

The minority caucus after giving strong indications that they will get the support of New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs in their quest to remove Ofori-Atta through the censure motion failed as the votes in favour of it was less than two-thirds of the House (183 votes) needed for it to be passed.

Only the 136 current members of the minority caucus present in the House voted in favour of the motion as their colleague MPs from the majority caucus staged a walkout before voting started.

Before walking out, the leader of the majority side, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said that his group was washing its hands off the process to remove the finance minister because it did not follow due procedures.

He stated that the procedure should not be allowed to continue because the National Democratic Congress MPs have not been able to prove the crimes, they are accusing the Ofori-Atta of.

“The minority leader said that some of the issues that they have raised are right. What it means is that some of them are not right, some of them are untrue, some of them are falsehoods and you what us to vote with you.

“Mr Speaker, he didn’t point out which ones are true and which ones are false and you what us to follow you on this misadventure. Mr Speaker, like Pontius Pilate we wash our hands,” he said.

3. Approval of E-Levy

After months of back and forth and even fist fights in Parliament, the controversial bill on the Electronic Transactions Levy (E-Levy) was passed in March 2022.

This was after the minority in parliament staged a strategic walkout right before the question for the passage of the levy was put before the House.

The decision to walk out was criticised by many Ghanaians, who said that should the NDC MPs have stayed to vote in the secret ballot for the passage of the E-Levy bill, they could have gotten the support of some NPP MPs because of the unpopularity of the levy.

The NDC MPs argued that they could have lost the votes because of their numbers and that their walk was to allow them to fight the passage of the E-Levy in court.

Till date, the levy is being paid by Ghanaians but the government was forced to reduce its rate to 1 per cent due to the low patronage by Ghanaians. The suit filed by the MPs against the passage of the level is still pending.

4. Approval of VAT, 2023 budget:

Parliament on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, approved the Budget and Economic Statement for Ghana for the 2023 financial year, after stiff opposition by the NDC MPs because of the increase in some tax measures including the Value Added Tax (VAT) and the huge expenditure of the government.

The minority caucus then argued that the budget has just been passed in principle but they will reject some of the things in it including the 2.5 percentage points increase in the VAT when it goes before the committees.

However, parliament on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, approved the 2.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) increase after the majority caucus of the House had its way with a headcount victory of 136 as against 135.

As we speak, the increase in the VAT has been implemented and Ghanaians are paying it.

5. Approval of Oppong Nkrumah, others in 2020

Again, in 2020, NDC MPs on the Appointments Committee of the House kicked against the approval of Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, minister-designate for Information; Hawa Koomson, minister-designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture and Owusu Afriyie Akoto, minister-designate for Food and Agriculture due to issues raised against the nominees during their vetting, including the claim that they lied under oath.

The legislators spent several hours from Wednesday, March 3, 2021, into the dawn of Thursday debating the report, but Oppong Nkrumah, Afriyie Akoto and Hawa Koomsoon ended up being approved because some NDC MPs decided to vote with the government.

At the end of the polls, 265 total votes were cast. Mavis Hawa Kooomson got approved by 161 YES votes to 104 NO votes; Kojo Oppong Nkrumah got approved by 155 YES votes to 110 NO votes and Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto got approved by 143 YES votes to 121 NO votes.

Source: Ghana Web

Bulldog has indicated that he will be one of the people to actively campaign against Mark Okraku-Mantey’s bid to become a member of parliament in 2024.

The revelation of Bulldog on UTV’s United Showbiz show follows the current Deputy Minister for Tourism and Creative Arts, Mark Okraku-Mantey‘s recent confirmation on Neat FM that he was going to contest for the Ayensuano parliamentary seat in the Eastern Region on the ticket of governing the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Even though the CEO of Bullhaus Entertainment revealed that he admires Mark so much in his private life, he sees him as a terrible politician who does not deserve to be an MP.

According to Bulldog, ever since Mark was appointed as a deputy minister he has been very arrogant whenever he is interviewed to speak on issues that bother the entertainment industry.

He added that the numerous promises Mark made when he was being vetted for the ministerial position have all been thrown to the dogs as well since he became the deputy minister for which reason he strongly believes the CEO of Slp Music must not be entertained in his quest to become an MP.

Bulldog vowed that he will storm the Ayensuano Constituency to campaign against Mark as soon as he launches his bid to become an MP.

Source: Ghana Web

Hadji Mustapher a member of the NDC communication team has expressed the opinion on the action of the Minority Caucus in Parliament as non patriotic and shameful for turning against the decision of the majority of Ghanaians to reduce the bloated size of government thereby reducing the country’s expenditure .

In a write up, he expressed his opinion.

“What a shameful and non patriotism is this current minority caucus in parliament, however let me admit to say that a few of them has the party at heart, and sadly the rest are just full of greed and selfishness.

I have not mentioned any body’s name but who the cap fit let him or her wear it !

Only greed and advance bribery can produce this mess. The Minority caucus except for some few venerable MPs have proven they are not only corrupt and insensitive but also in Parliament to satisfy their selfish ego and self aggrandizement. They are never in that August house to represent the interest of any suffering Ghanaian.

What recently occurred in Parliament has further deepen the cracks that seeks to suggest the NDC is not hungry and ready for power. The NPP did all they could politically to get Hon Gyekye Quaison out of their way to aid the manipulation but the Minority in Parliament has continuously shown otherwise.

Upon all indications and further assessment it could be concluded that the worst voting pattern in Parliament via the disappointing wings of a session of the Minority is a clear and an undeniable conspiracy against the Ato Forson led leadership.

An action that spells doom for the future of the Umbrella family. They should not take Ghanaians for fools and must equally desist from pointing to Hon Brian Acheampong as the brain behind the alleged lawlessness during the Ayawaso brouhaha, as their massive endorsement for Hon Brian Acheampong defeat all their hollow arguments and pontifications.

This same people will find their way to strong rooms and collation centers to sell our toils for cheap cash. Is very shocking that Hon Bryan Acheampong had 167 Yes Votes in the so called secret ballot.

I can believe anything in politics but I can never forget that Bryan Acheampong is culpable in the Ayawaso melee in 2019. And for the NDC to have approved him is unthinkable and a big. No! In fact how did that happened. Still wondering anyway.

By this results, no meaningful Ghanaian is going to see the NDC as a serious alternative in the political struggle for Power – shame to the greedy ones ! some of the old members of parliament have compromised minority the leadership period ! They think they’re working against JM but it instead affect they themselves .

Some of us do understand the power play in parliament on the side of NDC and the deliberate attempt by some members of the caucus to make sure that Dr. Ato Forson and his group fail but we must know that if this current leadership of the caucus in fail it is the whole NDC that has sunk and not the likes of Dr. Ato Forson, Chairman Asiedu Nketiah , Fiifi Fiavi Kwetty or John Mahama.

The question is, Did our NDC MPs for once think about the victims of Ayawaso West Wuogon and Techiman South ? indeed If we need power then we must work assiduously to bring us power in a more purposefully way else Ghanaians will never forgive us” he wrote .

Source: Ghana Web

Communications Director of the Ghana Football Association, Henry Asante Twum, has explained why the association allowed Arsenal Arsenal to let their physiotherapist follow Thomas Partey to the Black Stars camp.

Thomas Partey arrived in Black Star’s camp with Arsenal’s physiotherapist, Simon Murphy on Tuesday, March 21, ahead of Ghana’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Angola.

The Arsenal physio was part of the team that travelled with the Black Stars to Kumasi in preparation for Ghana’s match against the Palancas Negras of Angola on Thursday, March 23, 2023.

Reacting to this, Henry Asante Twum has said that Thomas Partey came to Black Stars camp with his personal physio because he is on his way to full recovery, and Arsenal needed to monitor his progress.

He added that it has been a win-win situation for both Ghana and Arsenal because Simon Murphy has been helping other players in camp and not only Thomas Partey.

Source: Ghana Web

For starters, it will be recalled that on 19th February 2023, the NDC General secretary issued a stern press release directing the party Members of Parliament to vote against the president’s ministerial nominees.

This letter to many was not only populist but in a glaring attempt to threaten and micromanage NDC Members of Parliament from Adabraka. Nonetheless, the NDC minority as expected left the NDC leadership directive and the party’s partisan interest in the lurch.

The breaking of ranking by the minority appears to some political observers as revenge for the coup-like removal of Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mubarak as minority leaders. Other political pundits see the outcome as an utter and outrageous revolt against radicalism, propagandism, and micromanaging of adults who know their left from right. The latter from a closer assay appears more plausible to me.

It will be recalled that right after the national elections of the NDC, social media was inundated with a supposed comparison of the political credentials of the NDC and the NPP national executives elected and the likely cascading effect on the outcome of the 2024 general elections.

From the myriad of comparisons, everything condescended to the fact that the NDC has elected radicals and propagandists and the NPP elected moderates and strategists as national executives respectively. Will radicalism help the NDC as a party? Your guess is as good as mine.

In every electioneering campaign, a political party either needs to reinforce, persuade and convert electorates. Reinforcement is the task of making sure partisan voters stick with the party; persuasion brings toss-up voters on board; and conversion is the act of cajoling opposition voters to switch sides. In general terms, a radicalism campaign reinforces its partisans, but cannot persuade the toss-ups, and converts the partisan voters.

If the history of elections in the fourth Republic especially from 2000 to 2020 is anything to go by, the NDC needs more strategists and moderates than radicals and propagandists. Holding all factors determining elections outcome constant from 2000 to 2020, NPP always has a default of 47% and NDC 44%.

This means in every election NDC has more work to do as compared to the NPP. NPP only needs to make sure it’s based on turned out in their numbers and votes.

NDC needs to convince the floating voters as well as convert some disgruntled NPP members to vote in its favor. The current radical national executives of the NDC can only motivate its minute partisan voters but cannot appeal to the floating voters and the converts to vote in its favor. Hence, no-holds-barred radicalism and propagandism leave the NDC at a disadvantage end.

Radicalism and propagandism work best when you have a strong base but if the history of elections in the fourth Republic is anything to go by, strict radicalism will have dire consequences for the NDC come to the 2024 general elections.

In a word, the fascination of the NDC national executives with radicalism, dictatorship, propaganda, and revolutionary solutions to issues that call for dialogue, consensus, and compromise bespeaks that disunity in the party, especially the minority caucus in Parliament, will continue to be an existential threat around the neck of the party. The NDC’s topsy-turvy situation will only become worse due to Adabraka’s never-ending scathing letters.

The NDC leadership must understand that they cannot remotely control mature adults and seasoned politicians like programmed robots. The end result of all this is the uncomfortable reality that NPP breaking the 8 mantras will be a walk in the park.

Source: Ghana Web