Friday, January 22, 2010

Larry Bimi sets record straight

Page 17, Jan 20, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Laary Bimi, has called for more time before the amendment of the 1992 Constitution.
“The 1992 Constitution is still very young. We should tarry a little and allow time and many more governments and persons to operate with it before we begin to undertake major amendments to it,” he explained.
In a letter to the Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Bimi stated that since the Constitution had not even undergone one “generational cycle”, it might be too early to be thinking of structural amendment to the document.
The letter was apparently to set the record straight and make his position clear on the Constitutional Review Commission which has been established to seek views on the amendment of certain portions of the Constitution.
He explained that he had been compelled to come out to set the record straight because of the furore that had been generated after he had been interviewed on the issue on the Joy FM’s Newsnight on January 14, 2010.
Mr Bimi added that if there were any fissures and operational difficulties, they could be traceable to the human factor and not the Constitution.
He explained that these difficulties could be left to the Supreme Court to, by way of their rulings and judgements, develop a body of constitutions, laws and conventions for the country.
Mr Bimi argued that what was needed in the country’s political and constitutional development, especially from its leaders, was restraint.
“Our political leaders have to internalise the culture of tolerance with natural morality underpinning what they do under the Constitution,” he said.
He explained that during the interview with Joy FM, he referred to the absence of an upper limit to the composition of the Supreme Court and cited the case of Mr Tsatsu Tsikata and said if the executive had restrained itself and not taken steps to reverse the ruling, a huge step would have been taken in concretising a constitutional convention.
Mr Bimi stated that his position notwithstanding, if there was overwhelming evidence that Ghanaians wanted the 1992 Constitution to undergo some amendment “who am I to stand the way of the people”.
In that regard, the NCCE boss explained that the amendment could be done by the Executive and Parliament in the case of ordinary articles.
In the case of entrenched articles, Mr Bimi stated, there was the need for the people to be sufficiently informed, consulted and involved through the district assemblies and other identifiable bodies for the ultimately reviewed Constitution to have legitimacy.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

NDC rewards dedication and loyalty

Page 16, Jan 21, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Juaboso in the Western Region, Mr Sampson Ahi, has stated that the results of the elections of national executives at the 8th national congress held in Tamale had shown that members of the party would always reward dedication and loyalty.
He said the overwhelming support that both Dr Kwabena Adjei and Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah received to continue with their mandate as national chairman and national general secretary respectively was an indication of acceptance of effective and hard work.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic about the outcome of the party’s delegates congress in Tamale last week, Mr Ahi noted that it was also based on the same yardstick that the delegates voted for former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, and Mr Kofi Adams to be part of the national executive.
The party had shown that unity of purpose, coupled with understanding and accommodation of one another’s views, was an important ingredient for a successful organisation of an entity.
Mr Ahi, who is also the Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Gender and Children, said the successful congress had deepened internal democracy in the party and put to rest views held by the party’s detractors that the NDC was a violent party.
He, however, urged the new executive to work as a team that was heading towards one goal.
“Our larger interest as a party in power is to work towards retaining power in the 2012 general election,” adding that any activity that would be in contravention with the objective of the party should not be entertained.
On utterances made by some candidates during the campaign for positions in the party, Mr Ahi advised the executives to “let bygones be bygones” and bury their differences.
“We cannot be enemies to our own selves,” he said, advising that the new executive needed to be focused, instead of dwelling on trivialities, which could give its opponents a field day in 2012.
Mr Ahi indicated that members of the party were now poised to retain power and would, therefore, not forgive anyone, through whose actions or inaction the party would miss the chances of retaining power.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Opare-Hammond withdraws from contest

Page 16, Jan 19, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
A FORMER Member of Parliament (MP) for Adenta, Mr Kwadjo Opare-Hammond, has withdrawn his bid to contest the National Treasurer position of the New Patriotic Party.
Days after filing his nomination to contest the slot, the former MP told the Daily Graphic that he had withdrawn because of his belief that there was the need to promote regional and gender balance at all levels of the party.
He said it was his conviction that the other contestant for the position, who is a female from the Volta Region, should be given the chance to ensure that the region and females were given the chance to be on the national executive of the party.
Mr Opare-Hammond said it was important for the leadership of the party to take steps to ensure regional and gender balance on the national executive.
He thanked party members who encouraged him to contest the position and assured them that he would continue to use his experience in the service of the party, no matter where he found himself.
On the current political terrain, Mr Opare-Hammond told NPP supporters to intensify their campaign, since Ghanaians were looking forward to the party to salvage the country from the hands of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“We should not do anything for other people or regions to feel that they have been sidelined. Our actions should portray that we are a true national party,” he added.
He said just after one year in office, it had become clear that Ghanaians had regretted voting the NDC into power and were looking up to the NPP to win the 2012 elections.
“Let us, therefore, not be complacent but start making serious preparations towards the 2012 elections to ensure a resounding victory,” Mr Opare-Hammond said.

NPP congratulates NDC for successful congress

Page 17, Jan 19, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE New Patriotic Party (NPP) has congratulated the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on successfully holding its national delegates congress in Tamale at the weekend.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Peter Mac-Manu, said the peaceful congress indicated how internal democracy was gradually taking root in the NDC.
He said the NPP was also happy to know that portions of the NDC constitutions were amended during the congress to ensure more grass-root participation in the affairs of the NDC.
Mr Mac-Manu noted that such a positive measure was an indication of the steady growth of the country’s fledgling democracy.
Nevertheless, the NPP chairman stated that the NDC should translate the peaceful organisation of its congress into its dealings with other political parties.
He mentioned the utterances of the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Kofi Poku-Manu, who had encouraged NDC supporters to assault their political opponents.
Mr Mac-Manu asked the leadership of the NDC to call people who thought like Mr Poku-Manu to order to enhance efforts to curb political violence in the country.
He reminded the NDC to be mindful that it would render account of its stewardship to the people after four years in office.
He, therefore, asked the government to work hard “to fix the economy” in order to alleviate the plight of the people.
He said it was unfortunate that after one year in office, the NDC was still blaming the NPP for its slow pace of delivery.
“Ghanaians have given you the mandate to rule the country and they expect you to deliver on your campaign promises. The blame game will not help,” he said.
Mr Mac-Manu indicated that as a responsible opposition, the NPP would always offer constructive criticism to enable Ghanaians to make up their minds on what party they would vote for in 2012.
“We have the responsibility to put the government on its toes. We cannot fail in this assignment,” he said.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

'Provide fishing infrastructure for Ketu'

Page 15, Jan 12, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Anlo, Mr Clement Kofi Humado, has called on the government to extend construction of cold stores, fishing harbours and fish hatcheries to the eastern coastline of the Keta and Ketu South districts.
According to him, provision of these facilities would improve the livelihoods of the fishermen along the coastline of the southern Volta.
The MP was commenting on the 2010 Budget for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Mr Humado noted that the present programme concentrated only on the central and western coastline, and this was a carry-over from the programme of the previous government.
He contends that now that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is in power, there should be a balancing act to ensure that the livelihoods of fishermen along the coastline of the southern Volta are also improved with these facilities.
The MP lamented that the large water body of the Keta-Avu Lagoon, its tributaries and the lower Volta estuaries had not been given the necessary attention that it deserved for marine fishing.
Mr Humado also called on the government to ensure that marine fishermen along the coast of Ghana were protected from the poaching activities of industrial fishing vessels, which illegally fished in the Inshore Exclusive Zone (IEZ) of the Ghana’s territorial waters.
This problem, he said, must be high on the agenda of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the 2010 Budget and its implementation.
Mr Humado was, however, full of praise for the government for its ability to effectively deal with the premix fuel problem which had almost become a thing of the past.

I am proud to revive my father’s vision-Samia Nkrumah

Page 11, Jan 12, 2010
Article: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
ONE year after she was voted into office as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jomoro, the daughter of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, Samia Nkrumah, says she has not regretted the decision to offer herself to lead the people in her constituency.
“I am proud to revive the vision of my father, who devoted his entire life not only to Ghana but the liberation of the entire black race”, she said in an interview with the Daily Graphic, in a review of her one-year stay in office and the benefits that her initiatives had brought to her people.
The popularity that Samia Nkrumah is currently enjoying in her constituency may be a tonic for the revival of the fortunes of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), which her father formed to seek independence for the country.
According to her, the confidence of the people in her was as a result of the fulfilment of some of the promises she made during her campaign towards the 2008 general elections.
Being predominantly a rural constituency, the needs of the people were abundant but the MP said she had made good her promise to provide some of them in her first year in office.
The Jomoro Constituency, which also doubles as the Jomoro District, is located on the extreme south-western part of Ghana. It is a very challenged district with over ninety-five (95) deprived communities which are predominantly rural in nature. The constituency is coterminous with the district and has an estimated population of about 130,000, according to the year 2000 population census.
The district is poor, in the midst of many potentials ranging from gold, limestone, perennial water bodies, sandy beaches, forest reserves, wetlands, oil and gas reserves. The constituency has about 226 first-cycle schools and three (3) senior high schools. From the kindergarten to junior high schools, the overall pupil population is about 35,000, while the senior high school student population stands at approximately 2,000.
During her campaign tour before the 2008 election, the MP said she pledged to assist the constituency in development areas such as education, health, water and sanitation, and empowerment of people, among other key areas.
According to her, she had since winning power not relented in her efforts to fulfil her campaign promises, either by using her own resources or her share of the various funds available to MPs for such purposes.
One of the towns that have benefited from the MPs numerous projects in the constituency is New Town Wharf.
The community, with 700 inhabitants, is very challenged and has a severe problem of access to potable water, which often results in varying water-borne diseases.
As a border town, the community has a cross-section of security personnel, being mainly personnel of the Customs, Exercise and Preventive Service, the Immigration Service, and the Navy.
At a cost of Gh¢8,500.00, the MP has provided the community with potable water while similar projects are being carried out in communities such as Takinta and Ahumasuazo as part of her grand plan to provide potable water to as many communities as possible.
On education, Ms Samia Nkrumah stated that she had instituted a scholarship scheme to assist the brilliant, needy students in the area.
So far, a total of GH¢ 16,500.00 has been distributed to 50 tertiary students to assist them to pursue their courses in the various tertiary institutions in the country. She has also donated 50 bags of cement to the Ezinlibo Community leaders to renovate the local basic school.
The MP explained that her gesture was in fulfilment of her promise to use part of her Common Fund to finance the education of students to improve on the human resource base in the area.
On women empowerment in the Jomoro Constituency, Ms Nkrumah told the Daily Graphic that she had put together a strategy to ensure income-generating activities for women and would soon roll out a micro-credit scheme and provide seed money of GH¢30,000 for that purpose.
She said women in the area were being mobilised into groups to be provided with income-generating support and added that currently some women groups at Mpaesem, Enzemetianu and Tikobo No. 2 had been provided with some canopies, 50 plastic chairs and tables each, at a total cost GH¢8,100.00 from her personal resources.
Ms Nkrumah explained that the canopies and chairs are rented out and the proceeds go to the groups, and added that more communities were slated to benefit from other income-generating activities.

Myers-Newman joins NDC vice-chairmanship race

Page 13, Jan 11, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
AN Accra-based Private Legal Practitioner and Business Consultant, Mr Samuel Myers-Newman has joined the race for the contest of the national vice-chairmanship slot of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The party is to hold its National Delegates Congress in Tamale from Saturday, January 16 to Sunday January 17 to elect its national officers.
Declaring his intention for the slot, Mr Myers-Newman, who is an opinion leader at the Okaikoi South Constituency of the party called for a healthy campaign in the run-up to the congress.
He also called on party members who were speaking against the style of governance of President Mills to consider the supreme interest of the party.
Mr Myers-Newman also cautioned delegates to the congress not to allow themselves to be influenced with monetary considerations to vote for a particular candidate since it would not augur well the for party.
He reminded members of the party that the NDC came to power based on the humility and sincerity of Professor Mills with his clear message for a better Ghana.
“:Let us follow the footsteps of the Professor and those who do not believe in his philosophy have no business wanting to be in his team”, he said.
Mr Myers-Newman gave the assurance that he would take good care of the foot soldiers of the party in addition to contributing to the building of stronger structures at the constituency levels to ensure that the party went into the 2012 elections with a strong and united force.
He said he had over the years gathered considerable experience in grassroot mobilisation in the constituency explaining that “the time is now ripe for me to venture into the realm of the national level to help widen the support base of the party”.

NPP bigger than Nana Addo, Alan factions-Mac-Manu

Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
IN the heat of reported internal factionalism, the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Mr Peter Mac-Manu, has issued a rallying call to the rank and file of the party urging them not to be divided by perceived allegiance to Nana Akufo-Addo and Allan Kyerematen.
Mr Mac-Manu, who will not be seeking re-election at the forthcoming National Delegates Congress, urged the party faithful “to be united and committed to the party, since the party is supreme”, cautioning them against allowing themselves to be swayed by these factions.
The two leading members of the party contested the presidential primary for the last election and are believed to be massing up support to upstage each for the party’s presidential ticket for the next election.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic about the upcoming National Delegates Congress of the party, Mr Mac-Manu said members of the party would only be prepared to support whoever would emerge as the presidential candidate when they see the party as united.
“None of us should be seen as bigger than the party,” he declared, and called for more work to be done to cement party unity to make victory for 2012 more certain.
He said unity was essential and it would send strong signals to the electorate, majority of whom are disappointed in the NDC administration, to vote for the NPP to come back to power to implement its people-centred policies.
Mr Mac-Manu said although the party had always been accused of being “elitist” in outlook and interested in property democracy, it was the only political party in the history of the country that introduced socially responsive policies directed at the vulnerable in society.
He mentioned policies such as the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding Programme, the National Health Insurance Scheme, Metro Mass Transit and the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, among others.
He indicated that the party was also using a report of the committee it constituted to ascertain the reasons behind the 2008 defeat to restructure the party.
Mr Mac-Manu said the current restructuring of the party was a result of the recommendations contained in the committee’s report.
While refusing to disclose contents of the report “because it is not for public consumption”, the national chairman said the party would keep its strength to its chest while working hard to correct its mistake.
Mr Mac-Manu accepted blame for the defeat of the party in the 2008 election, explaining that “when I accepted the mantle of leadership in 2005 I pledged to ensure that the NPP retained power in 2008 but that could not be achieved”.
He said he had, therefore, accepted not to seek for re-election to enable the party to get fresh ideas while he used his experience to assist whoever would be elected as his successor to recapture power in 2012.
Mr Mac-Manu said he enjoyed the support of the late Peter Ala Adjetey and Mr Haruna Esseku, both past national chairmen of the party, and would, therefore, not sit on the fence when he finally bowed out of office.
He thanked members of the party for giving him the chance to serve them, adding that he served as and executive member from the polling station level through the constituency and regional levels before becoming the national chairman.
Mr Mac-Manu explained that as a team leader, he would have enjoyed praises that would have been poured on the party should it have won the 2008 election and would, therefore, not run away from blame.
He commended the various constituencies across the country for holding peaceful elections to elect their executives and asked both winners and losers to co-operate for the good of the party.
Mr Mac-Manu also tasked those who would be elected as national officers to put in measures to deepen forgiveness and ensure membership drive at the grass roots.

Kaaseman Rural Bank improves profit base

Page 33, Jan 7, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

THE Kaaseman Rural Bank in the Western Region recorded profit of GH¢152,363 in 2008 as against GH¢76,361 it had in 2007.
The amount represents 99.5 per cent increase in pre-tax profits during the year under review over the previous year.
The bank also increased its deposits from GH¢4,455,311 to GH¢4,725,990, while its total assets increased from GH¢5,553,362 to GH¢5,819,527.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, Mr Kwame Twumasi Ankrah, disclosed these at the 21st annual general meeting of the bank at Kaase.
He, however, bemoaned a lack of will by the authorities to enforce the use of the Akuafo Cheque system in the purchase of cocoa, and stated that the situation had negatively affected major players in the cocoa purchase business.
He explained that the Akuafo Cheque purchase, which used to be one of the bank’s major income sources, continued to fall from GH¢ 17,611,500 in 2006 to GH¢12,618,000 in 2007 and to GH¢10,938,035 in 2008.
Mr Ankrah added that because of that the existing rural banks were required to grow and no dividend was declared, explaining that part of the bank’s profit had been transferred to beef up the bank’s stated capital.
He said that the stiff competition in the banking industry, especially from the commercial banks and non-bank financial institutions, was the a challenge to the survival of rural banks.
The Manager of the Sunyani branch of the ARB Apex bank, Mr Claver Dadzie, cautioned the staff, the board and the management of the bank not to be complacent about their achievement.
He expressed hope that these gains would be consolidated to serve as an impetus to spur the bank on to achieve more laurels in future.
Mr Dadzie noted that performance of most community and rural banks in the country had been encouraging as they had consistently registered impressive deposit mobilisation and increases in share capital.
He said that was an indication of the growing public confidence in the rural banking system.
Mr Dadzie said that the achievements notwithstanding, rural banks still had a lot to do by way of organisational and operational restructuring.
He explained that there was a need for rural banks to quicken the pace of migration from manual operation to embrace information and communication technology, effective deposit mobilisation, credit administration and cost control and reduction.
Mr Dadzie said it was only these measures that could enable them to meet the challenges of competitive and turbulent business environment.

Ignore Adofo Dwamena’s exoneration story--Obodai

Page 17, Jan 7, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

THE Member of Parliament for Agona West, Mr Samuel Obodai, has called on the public to ignore the report in the December 4, 2009 issue of the Daily Graphic that indicated that the embattled Agona West Constituency Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Mr Adofo Dwamena, had been exonerated from acts calculated to weaken the party in the area.
He said it was unfortunate that the report of the exoneration of the chairman was done even though the committee which was tasked to investigate his misconduct had not released its findings.
Reacting to the report, Mr Obodai noted that the best thing that members of the party in the constituency could do was to brush the chairman aside for now and continue in their quest to maintain peace.
“I, however find it as my duty as the sitting MP to set the record straight to clear the air”, he said.
Mr Obodai stated that Mr Adofo had to ensure the earlier publication in order to be seen as the good man of the constituency, despite the countless number of negative acts he had visited on the NPP in the area.
The MP alleged that findings of the party after its poor showing in the 2008 elections indicated that the chairman and some 18 polling station chairmen preached “skirt and blouse” during the campaign towards the elections.
He said it would be better for all to wait for report of the committee to be released before such a publication is made to cause confusion among party members in the constituency.
Mr Obodai alleged that even some key members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) confirmed that Mr Adofo contacted them to ensure that he (Mr Obodai) was defeated during the elections.
He, therefore, called on members of the party in the constituency to remain calm, committed and dedicated in the face of such confusion in the party since the real truth could never be hidden.

MP for Evalue-Dwira cautions drivers

Page 14, Jan 5, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Evalue-Dwira, Mrs Cathrine Ablema Afeku, has cautioned drivers against offences that can result in accidents in the New Year.
She said offences such as overloading, speeding, wrongful overtaking and drink driving had become well known factors that led to accidents and, therefore, urged the drivers to refrain from them.
Mrs Afeku said measures should be taken to punish drivers who flouted road regulations and resorted to actions that caused accidents on the roads that brought pain and hardship to families of victims.
In her Christmas message, the MP also asked passengers not to be afraid to caution drivers against such offences.
“We should not leave our destinies in the hands of drivers who flout road traffic regulations in order to achieve their parochial interests,” she said.
The MP also appealed to the police to intensify their patrols to check drivers on the road during the Christmas period.
Mrs Afeku wished her constituents a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year and promised that the bond between her and the people would grow from strength to strength in the ensuing year.
She said she used the Christmas period to renew her commitment to the people by visiting a number of towns to interact with the people, noting that one such visit took her to Axim where a party was organised for children in the area, while another party was also organised at Dwira Banso for senior citizens in that area.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Govt not serious with agric development — Dr Akoto

Page 15, Dece 22, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has described the government‘s commitment to develop the agricultural sector as not being backed by any serious efforts.
According to him, the government had not demonstrated any commitment to embark on new projects, arguing that an examination of the estimates and policies presented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture clearly showed continuity and not change.
“Projects presented in the estimates were all initiated during the period of the NPP administration. There are no bold initiatives in the budget estimate,” the MP stated in a statement in a contribution on the floor of the House.
He said Ghanaian farmers were going to be terribly disappointed if they were expecting any relief in 2010.
Dr Akoto noted that although a total of GH¢923 million was requested by the ministry for agricultural development in 2010, the ministry was allocated only GH¢256.3 million, representing 28 per cent of the requested amount.
“That is how committed this government is to agriculture,” he stated, adding that “of the GH¢256.3 million, government contributed only one-third (GH¢92.1 million), with the rest coming from external donors”.
He said it was even more significant if one compared the allocation of GH¢256.3 million to the ministry for the year 2010 to last year’s allocation of GH¢200.6 million.
Dr Akoto said if account was taken of the annual average rate of inflation of some 20 per cent in 2009, then there was hardly any change in the budget allocation for the ministry in 2010.
The MP noted that rice, which had been touted as a food item for sustainable development, had not been given adequate attention by the government.
“Indeed, the Minister of Agriculture has been quoted as saying that production of rice will be doubled in two years from the current 200,000 metric tonnes per annum. I have gone through the budgetary estimates for all the rice projects and I challenge the minister to show us where the resources are coming from to double output in two year,” Dr Akoto stated.
He stated that rather the government had imposed a draconian tax on rice imports which was going to increase the retail price for rice consumers.
“This is penalising consumers, especially the teeming numbers of workers and their families in the urban areas.
“This unpopular tax will take money out of the pockets of the suffering poor urban workers instead of putting money into their pockets as promised under the Better Ghana slogan of the NDC government,” he stated.
The MP stated that the tax would not increase government revenue but rather intensify smuggling of rice from Cote d’Ivoire into the country.
Touching on cocoa, the MP stated that there were reports of intensified smuggling of cocoa across the country’s borders into Cote d’Ivoire and Togo.
He said reports from some MPs and from elsewhere “indicate that articulator-loads of cocoa are crossing the border everyday as a result of high prices of cocoa in neighbouring countries”.
He attributed that to a defect in the government’s policy for the fixing of the price paid to farmers.
He said farmers in those countries were receiving more than GH¢3000 per metric tonnes compared to local farmers who were being given GH¢2280 per metric tonnes.

Resolve to live in peace — Bawku MP

Page 22, Dec 30,2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

THE Member of Parliament for Bawku, Mr Adamu Daramani Sakande, has called on the people in the area to reflect on events that happened in the constituency in 2009 and resolve to live in peace with one another.
“Let us use the period to patch up our differences and show the rest of the country that we are one people,” he said in his New Year message to his constituents.
He said the peace that the area had enjoyed for some time now was an indication of how the people were prepared to live in peace to ensure the development of the area.
Mr Sakande called on them to let bygones be bygones and look forward to a new year that would ensure the bouncing back of vibrant economic activities in Bawku and its environs.
“Let us resolve to heal the wounds of the past,” the MP added, and appealed to his people to forget about the negative activities of the past.

MPs urged to preach unity at Christmas

Page 15, Dec 23, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

PARLIAMENT has adjourned for the Christmas festivities with a call on Members of Parliament (MPs) to use the period to preach peace and unity needed to create the right conducive environment for the country’s development.
The adjournment last Monday, which marked the end of the Third Meeting of the First Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic also marked the end of the First Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic.
The House is expected to resume on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 to begin the First Meeting of the Second Session of Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic.
The First Session began on January 7, 2009 after the new Speaker, Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo, and Members of Parliament (MPs) of the new Parliament were sworn in.
During the third meeting, which began on October 27, 2009, the House held a total of 34 plenary sittings within eight weeks, while a total of 100 papers, including 14 bills, two Legislative Instruments (LIs), two Constitutional Instruments (CIs), nine international agreement, 55 reports and nine other reports were laid before the House.
The Budget Statement and the Economic Policy of the Government for 2010 was also presented to the House by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Dufuor.
Out of the 14 bills which were presented to the House, seven were passed into law.
They include the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous) Provisions) Bill, 2009, Appropriation (Bill No 2), 2009, Interpretation Bill, Customs and Excise (Duties and other Taxes) (Amendment) Bill 2009 and the Ghana Revenue Authority Bill.
There were also a total of 118 committee sittings, 13 statements, while 95 questions were asked by the MPs for both oral and written by the answers from the various ministers.
Other notable events during the session were the deaths of the MPs for Jirapa and Chireponi, Mr Edward Salia and Mrs Doris Asibi Seidu respectively.
In his closing remarks, the Majority Leader and Leader of the House, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, said the First Session of the Fifth Parliament was eventful, since it witnessed the swearing in of the new Parliament, a third of whose members were tasting parliamentary life for the first time.
He noted that despite that sizeable proportion of new MPs, the House did extremely well since the new MPs braced the challenge firmly, learnt and adapted to their new profession within a short space of time.
Touching on the performance of the Speaker, Mr Babgin stated thus: “I can say confidently and proudly without any fear of contradiction that you have faithfully, conscientiously and diligently upheld your oath”.
He noted that the immense experience of the Speaker from the bench reflected on her leadership of Parliament, adding that “your performance has been sterling. No wonder members always miss your absence”.
Mr Bagbin commended the Minority Leader and the entire Minority side for their co-operation and support in seeing through the business of the government.
He noted that Ghana must commend itself for being a member of the league of true democracies; although there were disagreements, the House never got to a boiling point where tables were thrown and blows exchanged.
Mr Bagbin, however, called on members to strive to raise the bar on discipline by showing respect and decorum to the Speaker and to one another, in addition to being temperate in heckling during debates.
For his part, the Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, noted that the high point of the meeting was the presentation of the 2010 Budget.
He said although the Minority disagreed and still disagree with some of the policy directions of the government, he believed that it was the hope of all Ghanaians that the implementation of the budget would go a long way to positively impact their lives.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu expressed hope that if bottlenecks arose along the way and there was a need to change course, the Finance Minister would do so.
He registered the displeasure of the Minority with the late submission of budget estimates of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) which constricted space for diligent scrutiny of the budget and debates of the various committee reports.
The Minority Leader reiterated the commitment of his side to facilitate the implementation of government business, adding that “we expect this to be reciprocated”. And in that enterprise, there should not be any blackmail”.
The Speaker, Mrs Bamford-Addo, said the House deserved to be commended for what it achieved during the period under review.
She wished the MPs Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year and urged them to use the recess to preach peace and unity in order create the needed atmosphere for the development of the country.

NPP must unite for victory-Ayeh-Paye

Page 13, Dec 19, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

THE New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayensuano in the Eastern Region, Mr Samuel Ayeh-Paye, has expressed optimism that the various factions in the party will patch up their differences to pave the way for a resounding victory in the 2012 elections.
"The party has no choice but to work towards total unity, since without that it will be difficult for us to oust the National Democratic Congress from power during the next elections,” he said.
Mr Ayeh-Payeh told the Daily Graphic after supervising an election for the executive in his constituency that gradually, the party would be useful for the successful conduct of elections in most of the constituencies in order to have a positive impact at both regional and national elections.
He stated that everybody has a role to play in the party's agenda for 2012, and urged losing contestants at constituency, regional and national level elections not to sit on the fence, but assist with their ideas to enable the party to realise its dreams.
Mr Ayeh-Paye also impressed on the winning candidates to give room to those who contested with them to also be part of the party's scheme of work so that they would not feel isolated after losing the elections.
"The total unity that I witnessed during the election in my constituency has given me hope that we are on course", the MP said, adding that Ghanaians had already seen the difference in the good policies of the NPP and the bad performance of the NDC.
He, however, warned the party against complacency in spite of the poor performance of the NDC, explaining that the NPP should rather capitalise on the "no show" and intensify its campaign at the grass roots so as to win back the hearts of even the ruling party.
Mr Ayeh-Payeh commended supporters of the party in the Ayesuano Constituency for their sense of maturity, which ensured the successful conduct of the elections, and expressed hope that the elected executive would work towards improving on the performance of the party in the 2008 elections during the 2012 elections.
In the elections itself, Mr George Adjei won the chairmanship position, while Mr Christopher Agbemazi was elected as the First Vice-Chairman, with Mr Alexander Fianko winning the second vice-chairmanship slot.
Mr Martin Ofori Owura was elected as secretary, with Mr Joseph Appiah Dartey as his assistant, while Mr Joseph Gyan and Madam Comfort Danso were elected as organiser and treasurer respectively.
Mr Enerst Akuffo was elected as the youth organiser, while Ms Sandra Amoakie won the women's organiser position.