Backpage, July 7, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
Members of Parliament (MP) unanimously showered praises on the senior national team, the Black Stars for their historic feat in the World Cup in South Africa.
They were however not comfortable with the invitation extended by President John Evans Atta Mills to only the leadership of the House to join him at a ceremony to honour the players and technical bench of the team at the Castle, Osu.
They, therefore, impressed on the leadership of the Parliament to arrange for the players to visit the House and interact with them
Responding to the demand and sentiments of the House, the Majority Leader, Mr Cletus Avoka promised to liaise with the management of the Black Stars to make arrangement for players to visit to the august House.
The MPs were contributing to a statement made on the floor of the House by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Youth, Sports and Culture, Mr Stephen M.E.K Ackah to congratulate the team.
In his statement, he stated that notwithstanding what happened in the last match of the Black Stars in South Africa, the team had placed Ghana on a higher pedestal, which was unprecedented in Ghana and Africa’s football history.
“Ghana was the only African representative in two consecutive world cups, which moved beyond the group stages and has equalled the records of pacesetters, Cameroon and Senegal,” he stated.
He said that the team needed special commendation because the connoisseurs, pundits and analysts of football were skeptical about the capacity of the team to make any meaningful progress in the tournament.
Mr Ackah explained that initially, the team was plagued with numerous injuries while the absence of Michael Essien was seen as a blow.
“Indeed after the 4-1 defeat by the Netherlands in one of the trial matches close to the commencement of the tournament, many felt the Black Stars were going to be the whipping boys of the competition”, he said.
“Let us continue to encourage the players to train hard and keep the faith. The time to start strategizing for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil is now”.
Mr Ackah said that if the defending champions, Italy could be shown the exit by Slovakia and other football giants such as England, France, Denmark, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal USA, Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon had to exit before the semi-final stage of the competition, then it was an indication of how far and fast football was advancing and how difficult it was for any country to claim supremacy in the game.
Mr Ackah said “this is an achievement that can never be forgotten. As a nation we have to give our team, our gallant warriors a resounding and heroic welcome”, adding that what happened at the Kotoka International Airport was a manifestation of the appreciation of Ghanaians for the good job done by the Black Stars.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Police can’t provide security for MPs now — Martin Amidu
Page 13, July 5, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Ghana Police Service will need not less than 490 personnel to effectively provide security to the homes of Members of Parliament (MPs), the Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin Amidu has stated.
He told Parliament on Friday that currently, the police did not have enough personnel to provide security for the homes of the 230 MPs as a result of human resource constraints.
Mr Amidu was answering a question by the MP for Binduri, Mr Stephen Yakubu, who wanted to know whether the ministry had plans to provide MPs with security in their homes.
He explained that the police protection unit, under the command of the Ministries Police District, provided security for the leadership of Parliament, which included the Speaker, the First and Second Deputy Speakers, among others.
Mr Amidu said the police administration might be able to discharge the duty of providing personal security to the residence of MPs when there had been appreciable increase in the number of police personnel.
He said currently, the country’s police strength was 23,228 adding that the administration hoped to recruit a further 8,640 by 2012.
“The police administration will keep the desire of MPs to be provided with security, especially in their homes, until it is able to commit personnel to such duties’’.
He suggested that MPs who experienced any special threat to their personal safety and security or those whose situation needed special attention should contact the district police commanders under whose jurisdiction they resided for the necessary attention.
Answering another question, Mr Amidu told the House that the Ghana National Fire Service had earmarked three strategic areas in the Central Region for the establishment of fire stations in the immediate future.
He said the government had recognised the need to equip and strengthen the capacity of the GNFS throughout the country explaining that efforts were being made to secure new fire tenders for distributions to needy fire stations.
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Ghana Police Service will need not less than 490 personnel to effectively provide security to the homes of Members of Parliament (MPs), the Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin Amidu has stated.
He told Parliament on Friday that currently, the police did not have enough personnel to provide security for the homes of the 230 MPs as a result of human resource constraints.
Mr Amidu was answering a question by the MP for Binduri, Mr Stephen Yakubu, who wanted to know whether the ministry had plans to provide MPs with security in their homes.
He explained that the police protection unit, under the command of the Ministries Police District, provided security for the leadership of Parliament, which included the Speaker, the First and Second Deputy Speakers, among others.
Mr Amidu said the police administration might be able to discharge the duty of providing personal security to the residence of MPs when there had been appreciable increase in the number of police personnel.
He said currently, the country’s police strength was 23,228 adding that the administration hoped to recruit a further 8,640 by 2012.
“The police administration will keep the desire of MPs to be provided with security, especially in their homes, until it is able to commit personnel to such duties’’.
He suggested that MPs who experienced any special threat to their personal safety and security or those whose situation needed special attention should contact the district police commanders under whose jurisdiction they resided for the necessary attention.
Answering another question, Mr Amidu told the House that the Ghana National Fire Service had earmarked three strategic areas in the Central Region for the establishment of fire stations in the immediate future.
He said the government had recognised the need to equip and strengthen the capacity of the GNFS throughout the country explaining that efforts were being made to secure new fire tenders for distributions to needy fire stations.
Book on oil and gas for Parliament
Page 14, July 3, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
KUMASI Institute for Technology and Environment (KITE,) a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has presented copies of two books on the emerging oil and gas industry to Parliament.
The books, Oil and Gas Terminologies and Ghana’s Emerging Petroleum Industry: What Stakeholders Need to Know, are meant to educate Members of Parliament (MPs) to enable them to be abreast of issues about the industry.
The Director of KITE, Mr Ishmael Edjekumhene, said as architects of the country’s laws, MPs need to come to terms with issues in the emerging industry so that the country have the requisite laws to make the oil and gas beneficial rather than a curse.
The Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Rashid Pelpuo, who received 300 copies each of the two books, thanked the NGO for its gesture and expressed the hope that the MPs and staff of Parliament would read them to have more knowledge about the industry.
For his part, the Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said there was the need for Ghanaians to gain more knowledge about the industry so that Ghana would not commit some of the mistakes that other oil-rich countries had committed.
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
KUMASI Institute for Technology and Environment (KITE,) a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has presented copies of two books on the emerging oil and gas industry to Parliament.
The books, Oil and Gas Terminologies and Ghana’s Emerging Petroleum Industry: What Stakeholders Need to Know, are meant to educate Members of Parliament (MPs) to enable them to be abreast of issues about the industry.
The Director of KITE, Mr Ishmael Edjekumhene, said as architects of the country’s laws, MPs need to come to terms with issues in the emerging industry so that the country have the requisite laws to make the oil and gas beneficial rather than a curse.
The Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Rashid Pelpuo, who received 300 copies each of the two books, thanked the NGO for its gesture and expressed the hope that the MPs and staff of Parliament would read them to have more knowledge about the industry.
For his part, the Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said there was the need for Ghanaians to gain more knowledge about the industry so that Ghana would not commit some of the mistakes that other oil-rich countries had committed.
This week in Paeliament
Page 26 (Mirror), July 3, 2010
By Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
WITH about four weeks left for the end of the Second meeting of the Second Session of the Fourth Parliament, the House intensified its activities during the week to ensure the completion of the agenda for the meeting.
The House continued the numerous amendments that had been proposed by a number of Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Mutual Legal Assistance Bill, 2009, which is at the consideration stage.
The District Assembly Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was also deliberated on during the week but as at the time of filing this report, the two sides of the House were consulting each other on how best to amend the already existing District Assembly Elections Act, 1994 (Act 473).
The Minister of Energy, Dr Joseph Oteng-Adjei also appeared before the House during the week to answer questions that had been filed by six MPs.
They were Mr Anthony Evans Amoah (NPP, Mpohor-Wassa-East, Mr Emmanuel Kwame Duut?? (NDC, Bunkprugu Yunyoo), Mr Ofosu Asamoah (NPP, Kade), Mr Simons Addai (NDC, Techiman South), Nana Yaw Ofori-Kuragu, (Independent, Bosome-Freho) and Mr Joseph Nikpe Bukari (NDC, Saboba).
Mr Amoah wanted to know when action would be taken on the construction of small hydro-electric dams in the Central and Western regions, initiated in 2008.
Answering the question, Dr Oteng-Adjei said that previous studies undertaken by the Volta River Authority (VRA) on rivers in the Central and Western regions identified seven potential sites for small or mini hydro-electric dams explaining that the rivers involved the Tano and the Ankobra.
He said an update of the preliminary studies undertaken in 2008 for the two sites on the Pra River showed that the site at Hemang could generate 90MW while that of Awisam could generate 50MW adding that proposals of the two mini hydro-power stations had been received and were being evaluated.
Dr Oteng-Adjei said that further studies would have to be initiated to determine the extent of work and especially, the impact of the dams on the environment, including any resettlement issues.
Answering other questions, the minister told the House that in line with the National Electrification Schemes, the mandate of the ministry was to extend electricity to communities without electricity supply at all.
He said when an electricity project was completed, it was handed over to the respective utility company in the community’s location to operate and maintain the network.
Answering another question on causes of the delay in the completion of the electrification project in Chagbani, Kuntuli and the State Farms in the Saboba District, Dr Oteng-Adjei said the ministry had never initiated any electrification project in those areas.
He explained that those projects were initiated by the then Deputy Minister for Lands and Forestry and Professor Okyere of the Animal Research Centre around 2000 with funding from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
He said the supply lines were extended for connection to residents of the community adding that the transformer failed during the inauguration of the project and the supply could not be connected at the time.
He said on the request of the district assembly, the VRA and the Northern Electricity Department replaced the damaged transformer and supplied power to the NRC at Chagbani, where the state farms were located in 2009.
Dr Oteng-Adjei added that the Kuntuli community could, however not be connected because the poles that were used to extend the lines were found to be rotten.
The minister said the district assembly had recently provided the 28 poles required to replace the rotten ones to ensure that the community was connected to electricity.
By Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
WITH about four weeks left for the end of the Second meeting of the Second Session of the Fourth Parliament, the House intensified its activities during the week to ensure the completion of the agenda for the meeting.
The House continued the numerous amendments that had been proposed by a number of Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Mutual Legal Assistance Bill, 2009, which is at the consideration stage.
The District Assembly Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was also deliberated on during the week but as at the time of filing this report, the two sides of the House were consulting each other on how best to amend the already existing District Assembly Elections Act, 1994 (Act 473).
The Minister of Energy, Dr Joseph Oteng-Adjei also appeared before the House during the week to answer questions that had been filed by six MPs.
They were Mr Anthony Evans Amoah (NPP, Mpohor-Wassa-East, Mr Emmanuel Kwame Duut?? (NDC, Bunkprugu Yunyoo), Mr Ofosu Asamoah (NPP, Kade), Mr Simons Addai (NDC, Techiman South), Nana Yaw Ofori-Kuragu, (Independent, Bosome-Freho) and Mr Joseph Nikpe Bukari (NDC, Saboba).
Mr Amoah wanted to know when action would be taken on the construction of small hydro-electric dams in the Central and Western regions, initiated in 2008.
Answering the question, Dr Oteng-Adjei said that previous studies undertaken by the Volta River Authority (VRA) on rivers in the Central and Western regions identified seven potential sites for small or mini hydro-electric dams explaining that the rivers involved the Tano and the Ankobra.
He said an update of the preliminary studies undertaken in 2008 for the two sites on the Pra River showed that the site at Hemang could generate 90MW while that of Awisam could generate 50MW adding that proposals of the two mini hydro-power stations had been received and were being evaluated.
Dr Oteng-Adjei said that further studies would have to be initiated to determine the extent of work and especially, the impact of the dams on the environment, including any resettlement issues.
Answering other questions, the minister told the House that in line with the National Electrification Schemes, the mandate of the ministry was to extend electricity to communities without electricity supply at all.
He said when an electricity project was completed, it was handed over to the respective utility company in the community’s location to operate and maintain the network.
Answering another question on causes of the delay in the completion of the electrification project in Chagbani, Kuntuli and the State Farms in the Saboba District, Dr Oteng-Adjei said the ministry had never initiated any electrification project in those areas.
He explained that those projects were initiated by the then Deputy Minister for Lands and Forestry and Professor Okyere of the Animal Research Centre around 2000 with funding from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
He said the supply lines were extended for connection to residents of the community adding that the transformer failed during the inauguration of the project and the supply could not be connected at the time.
He said on the request of the district assembly, the VRA and the Northern Electricity Department replaced the damaged transformer and supplied power to the NRC at Chagbani, where the state farms were located in 2009.
Dr Oteng-Adjei added that the Kuntuli community could, however not be connected because the poles that were used to extend the lines were found to be rotten.
The minister said the district assembly had recently provided the 28 poles required to replace the rotten ones to ensure that the community was connected to electricity.
Ministry to support women in Assembly election
Page 13, July 2, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs will continue to support women who will stand for the district assembly elections scheduled for September this year, the sector minister, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, has said.
In line with that the ministry has developed a strategy paper which is aimed at securing support for women’s participation in decision-making as well increasing their participation at the local level, and ultimately to the parliamentary level.
Mrs Azumah-Mensah made these known when she appeared before the House to answer a question posed to her by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lower West Akim, Ms Gifty Klenam, on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday.
Ms Klenam had asked the minister what special provision the ministry was making to encourage more women to contest in the forthcoming district level elections.
The minister told the House that to achieve that objective a committee comprising members from both governmental and non-governmental organisations had been constituted to plan activities outlined in the strategy paper in the preparation towards the District Level Elections.
She noted that the 2006 District Level Elections demonstrated that when women were organised, they were better placed to become confident with their delivery, explaining that review meetings and interactions after the elections revealed that there was the need to sustain the momentum and build on what had been done to enable more women to occupy decision-making positions as administrators, assembly members, counsellors, among others.
Mrs Azumah-Mensah said the ministry was targeting 20 women in each district for special training to enable them to effectively campaign for the upcoming elections to double the number of women in the district assemblies.
She said as a first step the ministry was teaming up with other ministries, departments and agencies in addition to civil society organisations to advocate and sensitise the general public to the importance of women’s inclusion in the district level elections.
Mrs Azumah-Mensah said that the ministry would produce jingles in English, Twi, Nzema, Ewe,and Dagbani to be played on local FM stations in all the ten regions to educate the people, explaining that the ministry would lobby the FM stations for free air time and slots for the sensitisation programme.
She said the regional directors of the ministry were expected to work with gender desk officers and district assemblies in their respective regions to identify women for the exercise, adding that the regional level training would target 50 selected women while at the district level 20 women would be targeted.
Mr Azumah-Mensah said it was expected that the district assemblies would sponsor the trainings, and that the ministry would also source sponsorship from the private sector, corporate bodies, development partners and the general public.
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs will continue to support women who will stand for the district assembly elections scheduled for September this year, the sector minister, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, has said.
In line with that the ministry has developed a strategy paper which is aimed at securing support for women’s participation in decision-making as well increasing their participation at the local level, and ultimately to the parliamentary level.
Mrs Azumah-Mensah made these known when she appeared before the House to answer a question posed to her by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lower West Akim, Ms Gifty Klenam, on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday.
Ms Klenam had asked the minister what special provision the ministry was making to encourage more women to contest in the forthcoming district level elections.
The minister told the House that to achieve that objective a committee comprising members from both governmental and non-governmental organisations had been constituted to plan activities outlined in the strategy paper in the preparation towards the District Level Elections.
She noted that the 2006 District Level Elections demonstrated that when women were organised, they were better placed to become confident with their delivery, explaining that review meetings and interactions after the elections revealed that there was the need to sustain the momentum and build on what had been done to enable more women to occupy decision-making positions as administrators, assembly members, counsellors, among others.
Mrs Azumah-Mensah said the ministry was targeting 20 women in each district for special training to enable them to effectively campaign for the upcoming elections to double the number of women in the district assemblies.
She said as a first step the ministry was teaming up with other ministries, departments and agencies in addition to civil society organisations to advocate and sensitise the general public to the importance of women’s inclusion in the district level elections.
Mrs Azumah-Mensah said that the ministry would produce jingles in English, Twi, Nzema, Ewe,and Dagbani to be played on local FM stations in all the ten regions to educate the people, explaining that the ministry would lobby the FM stations for free air time and slots for the sensitisation programme.
She said the regional directors of the ministry were expected to work with gender desk officers and district assemblies in their respective regions to identify women for the exercise, adding that the regional level training would target 50 selected women while at the district level 20 women would be targeted.
Mr Azumah-Mensah said it was expected that the district assemblies would sponsor the trainings, and that the ministry would also source sponsorship from the private sector, corporate bodies, development partners and the general public.
COCOBID secures $10m loan for sheabutter factory
Centre spread, July 1, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has secured a $10 million loan on behalf of the Produce Buying Company (PBC) to establish a factory in Ghana to process shea-nuts into butter, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, has disclosed in Parliament.
Answering a number of questions on the floor of the House yesterday, the minister stated that the move, to be effected from the first quarter of 2011, was to find a permanent solution to the glut problem associated with the shea-butter industry.
The Member of Parliament for Bole/Bamboi, Mr Joseph Akati Saaka, who posed the question, wanted to know what steps the ministry was taking to clear the glut of shea-nut in the three northern regions since 2008.
He said to facilitate the industry’s rapid development, a stakeholders forum was held in Accra in 2009 to finalise a shea-nut development strategy, explaining that the strategy sought to make the industry vibrant by creating internal and external marketing opportunities for buyers to export their shea-nuts and make the industry commercially viable.
Mr Ahwoi said records from the Ghana Export Promotion Council indicated that annual exports of shea-nuts ranged from 32,000 to 45,000 metric tonnes, adding that USAID in 2004 estimated that Ghana had a potential to produce 200,000 metric tonnes and an actual collection of 130,000 metric tonnes.
He noted that since shea-nut had become the source of livelihood of most people in the savannah part of Ghana, an increase in the collection to a 100,000 metric tonnes per annum would considerably alleviate poverty in that part of the country.
He gave an assurance that legislation, guidelines and regulations on the shea-nut industry would be reactivated and enforced to ensure the growth of the industry.
Mr Ahwoi added that extension education would be intensified to disseminate information on good agronomic practices on shea harvesting, processing, pricing and market information.
In an answer to another question, the minister indicated that approval had been given by the Office of the President for the existing Export Development Investment Fund (EDIF) Fund to be amended and called the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF).
He said the board of EDAIF would have two additional members nominated on the board by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture while an additional five per cent levy would be charged on non-oil imports for the purpose of supporting investment in agricultural activities.
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has secured a $10 million loan on behalf of the Produce Buying Company (PBC) to establish a factory in Ghana to process shea-nuts into butter, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, has disclosed in Parliament.
Answering a number of questions on the floor of the House yesterday, the minister stated that the move, to be effected from the first quarter of 2011, was to find a permanent solution to the glut problem associated with the shea-butter industry.
The Member of Parliament for Bole/Bamboi, Mr Joseph Akati Saaka, who posed the question, wanted to know what steps the ministry was taking to clear the glut of shea-nut in the three northern regions since 2008.
He said to facilitate the industry’s rapid development, a stakeholders forum was held in Accra in 2009 to finalise a shea-nut development strategy, explaining that the strategy sought to make the industry vibrant by creating internal and external marketing opportunities for buyers to export their shea-nuts and make the industry commercially viable.
Mr Ahwoi said records from the Ghana Export Promotion Council indicated that annual exports of shea-nuts ranged from 32,000 to 45,000 metric tonnes, adding that USAID in 2004 estimated that Ghana had a potential to produce 200,000 metric tonnes and an actual collection of 130,000 metric tonnes.
He noted that since shea-nut had become the source of livelihood of most people in the savannah part of Ghana, an increase in the collection to a 100,000 metric tonnes per annum would considerably alleviate poverty in that part of the country.
He gave an assurance that legislation, guidelines and regulations on the shea-nut industry would be reactivated and enforced to ensure the growth of the industry.
Mr Ahwoi added that extension education would be intensified to disseminate information on good agronomic practices on shea harvesting, processing, pricing and market information.
In an answer to another question, the minister indicated that approval had been given by the Office of the President for the existing Export Development Investment Fund (EDIF) Fund to be amended and called the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF).
He said the board of EDAIF would have two additional members nominated on the board by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture while an additional five per cent levy would be charged on non-oil imports for the purpose of supporting investment in agricultural activities.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)