Page 17, March 29, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THREE non-governmental (NGO) organisations leading advocacy actions to highlight the food security and environmental implications of large-scale biofuel production last week met the Parliamentary Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs.
The NGOs are the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), Actionaid Ghana and Food Security Advocacy Network (FoodSPAN).
The meeting, which was also attended by chairmen and ranking members of the Parliamentary Committees Lands and Forestry, Local Government and Rural Development, Environment, Science and Technology, and Employment enabled the NGOs to brief the committees on a policy paper they had prepared.
The policy paper was prepared after a comprehensive nation-wide study as well as consultations with affected communities and various stakeholders.
Briefing the MPs, the Secretary-General of GAWU, Mr Kingsley Ofei-Nkansah, noted that the policy shift of developed countries towards the use of biofuels as an alternative source of energy for heating and transportation had resulted in the rush to grab land for biofuel production in developing countries.
He said because it was seen as an alternative, relatively cleaner and cheaper source of energy, biofuel could help meet energy needs of rural populations if managed and in a desirable manner.
Mr Ofei-Nkansah said, however, biofuel production could have serious negative implications for food production and livelihood security, land and water use, environmental and human rights.
He stated that crops that had become ready candidates for the development of biofuels include corn, soya beans, sugar cane, sorghum, cassava, ?????rapeseed, palm oil, coconut oil, sunflower and jatropha.
Mr Ofei-Nkansah said significant proportions of these crops, which otherwise would have been used for food, were being diverted into ethanol and bio-diesel production, thereby raising food prices and affecting food availability and accessibility among poor small-scale farm families and households.
He noted that if not checked, the competition for fertile land for biofuel production by rich and powerful companies would inexorably lead to low food production and food insecurity among Ghanaians.
On the impact on livelihoods and rural development, Mr Ofei-Nkansah there was real concern that large-scale foreign-dominated companies establishing biofuel plantations were destroying the environment on which rural people depended for their livelihood and threatened rural development.
He added that already some communities in the country had evidence of how the operations of biofuel companies were adversely affecting the food security and threatening their livelihoods.
“Biofuel production could help in improving livelihoods and rural development, only if it is produced in sustainable manner by the rural people themselves to address local/community energy needs”, he said.
He said the NGOs, therefore want the government to put in place a comprehensive policy framework that was an embodiment of a nationally-driven biofuel agenda, which was complementary to food and livelihood needs of the people.
Mr Ofei-Nkansah said policymakers should also carry out further in-depth investigations into the industrial plantation system of monocultures that entailed drastic land use changes and adaptation by local communities.
In addition, companies investing in biofuel production in the country should be compelled by a legislation to make full disclosure of their plans for land use and other resources, in order to improve the knowledge of the local communties and help them make informed decisions.
He called for a mandatory Environnmental and Social Impact Assessment before permission was granted for large-scale biofuel plantation development.
Mr Ofei-Nkansah said there was also the need for a five-year moratorium to be placed on further development of large-scale biofuel production to enable the country to right what was wrong and prevent further social and environmental abuses.
After the briefing, MPs who contributed to the ensuing discussion thanked the NGOs for their early wake-up call.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Asikuma/Odoben/Brakwa, Mr P.C Appia-Ofori, said all efforts should be made by the government to halt the destruction of the country’s virgin food land which were being used for the cultivation of jatropha.
He said if efforts to halt further developments of large-scale biofuel plantations failed, he would send the matter to court to seek redress.
For his part, the Chairman of the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Dr Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, said every effort would be made to ensure that the concerns of the NGOs received the necessary attention.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Beverages Association complain about high tarrifs
Centre spread,March 27, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
MEMBERS of the Beverages Association of Ghana have painted a gloomy picture of the cost of doing business in the country as against neighbouring countries, and called on Parliament to intervene to promote the country’s quest to be the gateway to West Africa.
They noted that the present high tariff regime on imports was gradually forcing them to reduce their imports, explaining that the situation would eventually prevent the government from meeting its revenue targets while high tariffs would be passed on to consumers.
At a meeting with members of the Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee of Parliament they expressed concern about the re-introduction 20 per cent import duty on rice, saying the argument that reintroduction would increase government’s revenue was not automatic.
A member of FABAG, Mr John Awuni, stated that the increasing revenue from imports or taxes depended on demand and supply, which eventually dictated whether more or less products would be imported.
Comparing rice imports to Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, Mr Awuni disclosed that while Ghana imported 305 metric tonnes of rice in 2009, Cote d’Ivoire imported 950 metric tonnes during the same period.
He said that was so because importers found it cheaper to import rice into Cote d’Ivoire rather than Ghana as a result of Ghana’s high tariff regime.
Mr Awuni explained that while the total tariff on imported rice in Cote d’Ivoire was 12.5 per cent, that of Ghana was 37 per cent of the CIF.
He added that what made the situation even more serious was that large quantities of the imported rice into Cote d’Ivoire found their way through smuggling to Ghana to the detriment of importers of rice.
Mr Awuni said that the situation was not peculiar to rice imports alone, adding that by reducing tariffs, the importers could boost government’s revenue and job creation efforts while consumers welfare would be guaranteed, as low import cost would ultimately reflect in the final price of the commodities.
He also expressed worry about handling of goods at the Tema Port and wondered why only one company had been made to take charge of the handling.
Mr Awuni said what also made doing business in Ghana difficult as compared to Cote d’Ivoire was the lack of rail transport, which made haulage of bulk imports via trucks laborious and expensive for importers.
“It is not just the global financial melt down but largely because of handling and many other issues at the port which tend to increase transaction cost and, consequently discourage business persons from patronising Ghana’s ports”.
He said while in 2008 the Tema Port authorities recorded eight million metric tonnes transit cargo, the figure reduced to five million metric tonnes in 2009.
Mr Awuni said it was a fact that revenue from transit cargo constituted about 20 per cent of Ghana’s revenue and hence a decrease in transit cargo constituted a significant loss of revenue to the government.
Another member of the association, Mr Sam Zocca of the Forewin Ghana Limited, importers of wine, expressed concern about the smuggling of alcoholic beverages into the country and attributed that to high import duties.
He explained that while in 2008, his company imported 67,912 cartons of wine into the country, only 20,976 cartons were imported in 2009 due to an increase in the import duty in 2009.
Mr Zocca, therefore pleaded with Parliament to impress on the government to reduce tariffs on imports since the situation was doing the country more harm than good.
The chairman of the committee, Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abokobi/Medina, assured the association that their appeal would be studied for the necessary recommendations to be made.
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
MEMBERS of the Beverages Association of Ghana have painted a gloomy picture of the cost of doing business in the country as against neighbouring countries, and called on Parliament to intervene to promote the country’s quest to be the gateway to West Africa.
They noted that the present high tariff regime on imports was gradually forcing them to reduce their imports, explaining that the situation would eventually prevent the government from meeting its revenue targets while high tariffs would be passed on to consumers.
At a meeting with members of the Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee of Parliament they expressed concern about the re-introduction 20 per cent import duty on rice, saying the argument that reintroduction would increase government’s revenue was not automatic.
A member of FABAG, Mr John Awuni, stated that the increasing revenue from imports or taxes depended on demand and supply, which eventually dictated whether more or less products would be imported.
Comparing rice imports to Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, Mr Awuni disclosed that while Ghana imported 305 metric tonnes of rice in 2009, Cote d’Ivoire imported 950 metric tonnes during the same period.
He said that was so because importers found it cheaper to import rice into Cote d’Ivoire rather than Ghana as a result of Ghana’s high tariff regime.
Mr Awuni explained that while the total tariff on imported rice in Cote d’Ivoire was 12.5 per cent, that of Ghana was 37 per cent of the CIF.
He added that what made the situation even more serious was that large quantities of the imported rice into Cote d’Ivoire found their way through smuggling to Ghana to the detriment of importers of rice.
Mr Awuni said that the situation was not peculiar to rice imports alone, adding that by reducing tariffs, the importers could boost government’s revenue and job creation efforts while consumers welfare would be guaranteed, as low import cost would ultimately reflect in the final price of the commodities.
He also expressed worry about handling of goods at the Tema Port and wondered why only one company had been made to take charge of the handling.
Mr Awuni said what also made doing business in Ghana difficult as compared to Cote d’Ivoire was the lack of rail transport, which made haulage of bulk imports via trucks laborious and expensive for importers.
“It is not just the global financial melt down but largely because of handling and many other issues at the port which tend to increase transaction cost and, consequently discourage business persons from patronising Ghana’s ports”.
He said while in 2008 the Tema Port authorities recorded eight million metric tonnes transit cargo, the figure reduced to five million metric tonnes in 2009.
Mr Awuni said it was a fact that revenue from transit cargo constituted about 20 per cent of Ghana’s revenue and hence a decrease in transit cargo constituted a significant loss of revenue to the government.
Another member of the association, Mr Sam Zocca of the Forewin Ghana Limited, importers of wine, expressed concern about the smuggling of alcoholic beverages into the country and attributed that to high import duties.
He explained that while in 2008, his company imported 67,912 cartons of wine into the country, only 20,976 cartons were imported in 2009 due to an increase in the import duty in 2009.
Mr Zocca, therefore pleaded with Parliament to impress on the government to reduce tariffs on imports since the situation was doing the country more harm than good.
The chairman of the committee, Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abokobi/Medina, assured the association that their appeal would be studied for the necessary recommendations to be made.
Couple assists prayer centre
Page 22, March 27, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
A GHANAIAN philanthropist based in Abuja, Nigeria, Dr Johnson Boanu and his wife, Warrant Officer Class One Comfort Boanu of the Ghana Armed Forces has presented a four-bedroom guest house and a new sprinter bus to the Jenjemireja Gethsemane Presbyterian Prayer Centre in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The guest house and the bus valued at GH¢50,000 were provided to solve the transportation and accommodation problems hampering the operations of the centre.
WO1 Boanu, who presented the facilities on behalf of her husband, Dr Boanu, who is the Director of Environment of the ECOWAS said they took the decision to contribute their quota to enhance the work of the centre.
She gave the assurance that as long as they lived, they would continue to use their resources to support moves to win more souls for Christ.
The Chairman of the West Brong Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr Kofi Effa-Ababio, who received the keys of the house and the bus, thanked the couple for the gesture.
“Your wonderful gesture will go a long way to assist the centre to strengthen its evangelism drive,” he said and assured the donors that the church would continue to remember them in prayers.
He urged officials of the centre to take good care of the facilities and use them for the purposes for which they were provided.
The Drobo District Minister of the Presbyterian Church, Rev. Philip Ntow Agyeman advised members of the centre to dedicate themselves to the work of God and let their lives attract more people to the centre.
The Director of the Prayer Camp, Prophet Daniel Ansu expressed profound gratitude to people who contributed in diverse ways towards the success of the re-opening of the centre.
He also thanked Dr Boanu and his wife for their donation and assured them that the centre would take good care of the bus and the guest house and use them to propagate the gospel.
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
A GHANAIAN philanthropist based in Abuja, Nigeria, Dr Johnson Boanu and his wife, Warrant Officer Class One Comfort Boanu of the Ghana Armed Forces has presented a four-bedroom guest house and a new sprinter bus to the Jenjemireja Gethsemane Presbyterian Prayer Centre in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The guest house and the bus valued at GH¢50,000 were provided to solve the transportation and accommodation problems hampering the operations of the centre.
WO1 Boanu, who presented the facilities on behalf of her husband, Dr Boanu, who is the Director of Environment of the ECOWAS said they took the decision to contribute their quota to enhance the work of the centre.
She gave the assurance that as long as they lived, they would continue to use their resources to support moves to win more souls for Christ.
The Chairman of the West Brong Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr Kofi Effa-Ababio, who received the keys of the house and the bus, thanked the couple for the gesture.
“Your wonderful gesture will go a long way to assist the centre to strengthen its evangelism drive,” he said and assured the donors that the church would continue to remember them in prayers.
He urged officials of the centre to take good care of the facilities and use them for the purposes for which they were provided.
The Drobo District Minister of the Presbyterian Church, Rev. Philip Ntow Agyeman advised members of the centre to dedicate themselves to the work of God and let their lives attract more people to the centre.
The Director of the Prayer Camp, Prophet Daniel Ansu expressed profound gratitude to people who contributed in diverse ways towards the success of the re-opening of the centre.
He also thanked Dr Boanu and his wife for their donation and assured them that the centre would take good care of the bus and the guest house and use them to propagate the gospel.
Use recess to educate constituents — Speaker
Page 17, March 27, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo, has challenged Members of Parliament to use their time during the recess to educate their constituents on activities of Parliament, especially the processes of legislation and oversight responsibility over the executive.
She noted that by so doing “we would be consolidating our infant democracy”.
Mrs Bamford-Addo was giving her closing remarks at the end of the first meeting of the second session of the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic on Wednesday. The House is expected to resume sitting on May 18, 2010.
The Speaker stated that “I cannot gloss over the fact that collectively we have come thus far without challenges...but amid the challenges, you have all worked hard to enable the House to finish its business promptly”.
She, therefore, commended the MPs and expressed her wish that they would show a far greater commitment to work during the next meeting.
Mrs Bamford-Addo called on the MPs to at least present themselves in the Chamber on time and apply themselves more to the business of the House during subsequent meetings.
In his closing remarks, the Majority Leader, Mr Cletus Avoka, enumerated the achievements of the House during the meeting, remarking that the presentation of the State of the Nation Address by the President marked the main highlight of the meeting.
He said the meeting also witnessed the approval of 10 nominations by the President as ministers and deputy ministers and commended the Appointments Committee of the House for working around the clock to vet the nominees.
Mr Avoka, on behalf of the new leaders of the Majority side, thanked his colleagues for the confidence reposed in them, assuring them that "we shall not abuse that confidence".
While commending the Minority Leader for his co-operation, he also thanked the Speaker and her two deputies for their dedication to duty to ensure a successful meeting.
"Let me at this juncture commend you, Madam Speaker, for the impartial manner in which you steered the affairs of the House. I have no doubt that every member will attest to the fact that you handled issues in the House like a true mother always striving to meet the needs of all sons and daughters within the family," he said
For his part, the Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, welcomed the new leadership on the Majority side and expressed the hope that they would work together to entrench parliamentary democracy.
He noted that irrespective of party affiliations, MPs had joined hands together during the meeting to contribute their quota towards the betterment of the country.
Before the adjournment, the House passed the Alternative Disputes Resolution Bill (ADR) and approved the petroleum agreement between the government and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) on one hand and the Challenger Minerals (Ghana) Limited), Afex Oil (Ghana) Limited and Tap Oil (Ghana) on the other hand for the conduct of exploration and production operations in the offshore Accra Area.
It is expected that when the Alternative Disputes Resolution Bill is passed into law, it will help ease congestion in the law courts.
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo, has challenged Members of Parliament to use their time during the recess to educate their constituents on activities of Parliament, especially the processes of legislation and oversight responsibility over the executive.
She noted that by so doing “we would be consolidating our infant democracy”.
Mrs Bamford-Addo was giving her closing remarks at the end of the first meeting of the second session of the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic on Wednesday. The House is expected to resume sitting on May 18, 2010.
The Speaker stated that “I cannot gloss over the fact that collectively we have come thus far without challenges...but amid the challenges, you have all worked hard to enable the House to finish its business promptly”.
She, therefore, commended the MPs and expressed her wish that they would show a far greater commitment to work during the next meeting.
Mrs Bamford-Addo called on the MPs to at least present themselves in the Chamber on time and apply themselves more to the business of the House during subsequent meetings.
In his closing remarks, the Majority Leader, Mr Cletus Avoka, enumerated the achievements of the House during the meeting, remarking that the presentation of the State of the Nation Address by the President marked the main highlight of the meeting.
He said the meeting also witnessed the approval of 10 nominations by the President as ministers and deputy ministers and commended the Appointments Committee of the House for working around the clock to vet the nominees.
Mr Avoka, on behalf of the new leaders of the Majority side, thanked his colleagues for the confidence reposed in them, assuring them that "we shall not abuse that confidence".
While commending the Minority Leader for his co-operation, he also thanked the Speaker and her two deputies for their dedication to duty to ensure a successful meeting.
"Let me at this juncture commend you, Madam Speaker, for the impartial manner in which you steered the affairs of the House. I have no doubt that every member will attest to the fact that you handled issues in the House like a true mother always striving to meet the needs of all sons and daughters within the family," he said
For his part, the Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, welcomed the new leadership on the Majority side and expressed the hope that they would work together to entrench parliamentary democracy.
He noted that irrespective of party affiliations, MPs had joined hands together during the meeting to contribute their quota towards the betterment of the country.
Before the adjournment, the House passed the Alternative Disputes Resolution Bill (ADR) and approved the petroleum agreement between the government and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) on one hand and the Challenger Minerals (Ghana) Limited), Afex Oil (Ghana) Limited and Tap Oil (Ghana) on the other hand for the conduct of exploration and production operations in the offshore Accra Area.
It is expected that when the Alternative Disputes Resolution Bill is passed into law, it will help ease congestion in the law courts.
Fast track bill to ban smoking in public places
Page 15 March 25, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Krachi East, Mr Wisdom Gidisu, has called for the fast tracking of a bill to ban smoking in public places to protect Ghanaians from contracting diseases such as tuberculosis (TB).
In a statement to commemorate this year’s World Tuberculosis Day, which fell yesterday, the MP noted that Africa accounted for a quarter of the world’s TB cases with about 2.4 million cases and 540,000 deaths annually.
He indicated that Ghana recorded 15,298 cases in 2009, which was an increase from the 14,479 cases recorded in 2008.
Mr Gidisu, who is also the Chairman of the Health Committee of Parliament, explained that the day has, therefore been set aside to create the necessary awareness of the various stakeholders on the symptom, diagnosis and treatment of the diseases and the importance of its control.
He stated that the Ministry of Health, through the Ghana Health Service, had put in a lot of interventions in its quest to fight the disease, adding that at the moment, about 1,057 TB treatment centres and 274 diagnostic centre have been established.
Mr Gidisu said while the treatment of the disease had been reduced from eight to six months, adherence to TB treatment had also improved considerably with defaulter rate at its lowest level ever at 2.3 per cent and the treatment success rising to 85.3, which is above the WHO treatment success target for Africa.
He noted that the key challenge for the fight against the disease was low case of detection, explaining that the WHO estimated that Ghana should be detecting 203 per 100,000, but the country was detecting only 63 per 100,000.
Mr Gidisu said it meant that there might be a lot of Ghanaians undiagnosed, who were transmitting the disease to others.
He, therefore, called on all stakeholders to fight the disease head-on since any failure would ensure an uncontrolled epidemic of the disease, adding that if patients do not get the needed support to complete their treatment, Ghana might end up with more drug resistant form of TB.
The MP said in 2005, 46 African Health Ministers unanimously adopted a resolution and declared TB as an African emergency and therefore, called on Ghanaian authorities to consider the disease as a national security threat that deserve more attention from all stakeholders.
He said the year 2010 had been set aside as a year of the lung, adding that it had been discovered that millions of people around the world suffer each year from treatable and preventable chronic diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia, which had long been neglected in public discourse.
Mr Gidisu, therefore, called for the need to increase awareness on the health of the lung and thus, used the occasion to advocate the fast tracking of a bill that would ban public smoking in the country.
In another development, the MP for Tarkwa Nsuaem Mrs Gifty Kusi has suggested to the Ghana Chamber of Mines, the Minerals Commission of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology to put together a bill on the “Polluter Pays Principle”, instead of the voluntary codes of conduct mining companies sign presently.
The MP made the call in a statement on cyanide spillage by mining companies and its effects on human beings.
She said there was the need for all mining communities to train community members as emergency response units to patrol the areas and report any occurrence as soon as possible in order to avoid situations where mining companies would either report to the Environmental Protection Council (EPA) on time or misreport the issue.*
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Krachi East, Mr Wisdom Gidisu, has called for the fast tracking of a bill to ban smoking in public places to protect Ghanaians from contracting diseases such as tuberculosis (TB).
In a statement to commemorate this year’s World Tuberculosis Day, which fell yesterday, the MP noted that Africa accounted for a quarter of the world’s TB cases with about 2.4 million cases and 540,000 deaths annually.
He indicated that Ghana recorded 15,298 cases in 2009, which was an increase from the 14,479 cases recorded in 2008.
Mr Gidisu, who is also the Chairman of the Health Committee of Parliament, explained that the day has, therefore been set aside to create the necessary awareness of the various stakeholders on the symptom, diagnosis and treatment of the diseases and the importance of its control.
He stated that the Ministry of Health, through the Ghana Health Service, had put in a lot of interventions in its quest to fight the disease, adding that at the moment, about 1,057 TB treatment centres and 274 diagnostic centre have been established.
Mr Gidisu said while the treatment of the disease had been reduced from eight to six months, adherence to TB treatment had also improved considerably with defaulter rate at its lowest level ever at 2.3 per cent and the treatment success rising to 85.3, which is above the WHO treatment success target for Africa.
He noted that the key challenge for the fight against the disease was low case of detection, explaining that the WHO estimated that Ghana should be detecting 203 per 100,000, but the country was detecting only 63 per 100,000.
Mr Gidisu said it meant that there might be a lot of Ghanaians undiagnosed, who were transmitting the disease to others.
He, therefore, called on all stakeholders to fight the disease head-on since any failure would ensure an uncontrolled epidemic of the disease, adding that if patients do not get the needed support to complete their treatment, Ghana might end up with more drug resistant form of TB.
The MP said in 2005, 46 African Health Ministers unanimously adopted a resolution and declared TB as an African emergency and therefore, called on Ghanaian authorities to consider the disease as a national security threat that deserve more attention from all stakeholders.
He said the year 2010 had been set aside as a year of the lung, adding that it had been discovered that millions of people around the world suffer each year from treatable and preventable chronic diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia, which had long been neglected in public discourse.
Mr Gidisu, therefore, called for the need to increase awareness on the health of the lung and thus, used the occasion to advocate the fast tracking of a bill that would ban public smoking in the country.
In another development, the MP for Tarkwa Nsuaem Mrs Gifty Kusi has suggested to the Ghana Chamber of Mines, the Minerals Commission of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology to put together a bill on the “Polluter Pays Principle”, instead of the voluntary codes of conduct mining companies sign presently.
The MP made the call in a statement on cyanide spillage by mining companies and its effects on human beings.
She said there was the need for all mining communities to train community members as emergency response units to patrol the areas and report any occurrence as soon as possible in order to avoid situations where mining companies would either report to the Environmental Protection Council (EPA) on time or misreport the issue.*
Minority urged to help identify perpetrators
Page 17, March 23, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Police administration has requested the Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to assist the unit to identify the perpetrators , the Minority alleged have butchered some people in Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin Amidu told Parliament yesterday.
In the heat of the incident, the Minority held a press conference and mentioned the names of seven people as those behind the heinous crime and later gave the names to the police.
But when Mr Amidu answered a question on the incident in the House yesterday, he stated that one of the difficulties encountered by the police in the investigation processes of that case had been the failure or reluctance of persons who had alleged that they possessed names of or know the identities of some or all of the perpetrators of the offence to co-operate with the police to facilitate investigations.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma North, Mr Justice Joe Appiah had asked the minister what stringent measures the ministry had initiated to bring to book the perpetrators of the crime against innocent Ghanaians who were butchered in broad daylight at Agblogbloshie.
Answering the question, Mr Amidu, said the Police administration had appealed to the general public, including MPs who had names, identities and or evidence or any other relevant information to make them available to the police to facilitate the investigations into the Agblogbloshie disturbances, which resulted in the death of the victims.
“It is only when this is done that we can establish the veracity of the descriptive adjectives used in the question I am answering in relation to the unfortunate victims of the disturbances”, he said.
Answering supplementary questions, Mr Amidu said the police specifically told him that although, the Minority Leader had submitted the names of the alleged killers, they would want him to assist them to identify the people alleged to have committed the crime and that he was being diplomatic when he generalised the request to include all MPs.
In his main answer, the minister said the police had since the incident been pursuing investigations to enable them arrest the culprits explaining that the police had been involved in undercover operations aimed at fishing out information and gathering intelligence on the incident.
The question generated heat in the House, resulting in a near clash between the Minority Leader and the Majority Leader, Mr Cletus Avoka.
As if that was not enough, the Minority also expressed their displeasure about the decision of the Speaker not to allow anybody apart from the person who asked the question to ask follow-up questions.
Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo explained that as a result of time constraint, the House had decided that other MPs should not be allowed to ask follow-up questions if the main question was on a specific constituency.
But when the speaker insisted the Minority insisted that the Agblobloshie incident was national in nature.
She, however allowed Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to ask his follow-up question thereby calming the nerves of the MPs from the Minority.
Answering another question posed by the MP for Kwabre East, Mr Kofi Frimpong, Mr Amidu told the House that in the first four months of 2009, the Kwabre East Constituency experienced a series of robberies in residential areas.
He said the police administration had since deployed an adequate number of men to step up night patrols periodically explaining that road blocks had been mounted at vantage points supported by snap checks and periodic swoops, as well as cordon and search operations to frustrate the criminals.
Mr Amidu said one Kwabena Takyi, who is suspected to have killed a Police Detective in the area is currently in custody and had confessed his crime.
He gave the assurance that the presence of the police in the area would be sustained to curb the occurrence of robberies in the Kwabre East area.
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Police administration has requested the Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to assist the unit to identify the perpetrators , the Minority alleged have butchered some people in Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin Amidu told Parliament yesterday.
In the heat of the incident, the Minority held a press conference and mentioned the names of seven people as those behind the heinous crime and later gave the names to the police.
But when Mr Amidu answered a question on the incident in the House yesterday, he stated that one of the difficulties encountered by the police in the investigation processes of that case had been the failure or reluctance of persons who had alleged that they possessed names of or know the identities of some or all of the perpetrators of the offence to co-operate with the police to facilitate investigations.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma North, Mr Justice Joe Appiah had asked the minister what stringent measures the ministry had initiated to bring to book the perpetrators of the crime against innocent Ghanaians who were butchered in broad daylight at Agblogbloshie.
Answering the question, Mr Amidu, said the Police administration had appealed to the general public, including MPs who had names, identities and or evidence or any other relevant information to make them available to the police to facilitate the investigations into the Agblogbloshie disturbances, which resulted in the death of the victims.
“It is only when this is done that we can establish the veracity of the descriptive adjectives used in the question I am answering in relation to the unfortunate victims of the disturbances”, he said.
Answering supplementary questions, Mr Amidu said the police specifically told him that although, the Minority Leader had submitted the names of the alleged killers, they would want him to assist them to identify the people alleged to have committed the crime and that he was being diplomatic when he generalised the request to include all MPs.
In his main answer, the minister said the police had since the incident been pursuing investigations to enable them arrest the culprits explaining that the police had been involved in undercover operations aimed at fishing out information and gathering intelligence on the incident.
The question generated heat in the House, resulting in a near clash between the Minority Leader and the Majority Leader, Mr Cletus Avoka.
As if that was not enough, the Minority also expressed their displeasure about the decision of the Speaker not to allow anybody apart from the person who asked the question to ask follow-up questions.
Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo explained that as a result of time constraint, the House had decided that other MPs should not be allowed to ask follow-up questions if the main question was on a specific constituency.
But when the speaker insisted the Minority insisted that the Agblobloshie incident was national in nature.
She, however allowed Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to ask his follow-up question thereby calming the nerves of the MPs from the Minority.
Answering another question posed by the MP for Kwabre East, Mr Kofi Frimpong, Mr Amidu told the House that in the first four months of 2009, the Kwabre East Constituency experienced a series of robberies in residential areas.
He said the police administration had since deployed an adequate number of men to step up night patrols periodically explaining that road blocks had been mounted at vantage points supported by snap checks and periodic swoops, as well as cordon and search operations to frustrate the criminals.
Mr Amidu said one Kwabena Takyi, who is suspected to have killed a Police Detective in the area is currently in custody and had confessed his crime.
He gave the assurance that the presence of the police in the area would be sustained to curb the occurrence of robberies in the Kwabre East area.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Ghana reconstitutes members for Pan-African Parliament
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
PARLIAMENT has reconstituted its membership in the South Africa-based Pan-African Parliament to enable the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Rashid Pelpuo, to replace the NDC MP for Ningo Prampram, Mr E.T. Mensah.
The replacement of Mr Mensah has become necessary because he has been appointed as Minister of Employment and Social Welfare.
Ghana’s five members in the Pan-African Parliament is comprised of three from the Majority side and two from the Minority side.
The other Majority MPs in the Pan-African Parliament are the First Deputy Speaker and NDC MP for Avenor-Ave, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, and NDC MP for Nabdam, Mr Moses Asaga.
The two Minority MPs in the Pan-African Parliament are the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Ambrose Dery, and the NPP MP for Oforikrom, Ms Elizabeth Agyeman.
Rule 8 (4) of the Rules of Procedures of the Pan-African Parliament requires that a member of the Parliament appointed to carry out executive or judicial function “shall before assuming that office resign.
It was in that regard that Mr Mensah resigned, thus paving the way for the leadership of the Parliament to recommend Mr Pelpuo to replace him.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Pelpuo thanked the House for the confidence reposed in him and promised to work hard to build on Ghana’s enviable image and immense contribution to the Pan-African Parliament.
In another development, the NDC MP for Garu-Tempane, Mr Dominic Azumah, and NDC MP for Ashaiman, Mr Alfred Agbesi, had been selected to replace Mr John Akolugu Tia and Alhaji Dr Major Mustapha Ahmed (retd) as members of Ghana’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament.
While Mr Tia was appointed the Minister of Information, Alhaji Ahmed is now a Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, thus necessitating their replacements.
PARLIAMENT has reconstituted its membership in the South Africa-based Pan-African Parliament to enable the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Rashid Pelpuo, to replace the NDC MP for Ningo Prampram, Mr E.T. Mensah.
The replacement of Mr Mensah has become necessary because he has been appointed as Minister of Employment and Social Welfare.
Ghana’s five members in the Pan-African Parliament is comprised of three from the Majority side and two from the Minority side.
The other Majority MPs in the Pan-African Parliament are the First Deputy Speaker and NDC MP for Avenor-Ave, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, and NDC MP for Nabdam, Mr Moses Asaga.
The two Minority MPs in the Pan-African Parliament are the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Ambrose Dery, and the NPP MP for Oforikrom, Ms Elizabeth Agyeman.
Rule 8 (4) of the Rules of Procedures of the Pan-African Parliament requires that a member of the Parliament appointed to carry out executive or judicial function “shall before assuming that office resign.
It was in that regard that Mr Mensah resigned, thus paving the way for the leadership of the Parliament to recommend Mr Pelpuo to replace him.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Pelpuo thanked the House for the confidence reposed in him and promised to work hard to build on Ghana’s enviable image and immense contribution to the Pan-African Parliament.
In another development, the NDC MP for Garu-Tempane, Mr Dominic Azumah, and NDC MP for Ashaiman, Mr Alfred Agbesi, had been selected to replace Mr John Akolugu Tia and Alhaji Dr Major Mustapha Ahmed (retd) as members of Ghana’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament.
While Mr Tia was appointed the Minister of Information, Alhaji Ahmed is now a Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, thus necessitating their replacements.
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