One of the MPs, Ras Mubarak, who raised the concern on the floor of Parliament, said they are yet to be paid their February salaries, two days into the month.

The Kumbungu MP, in asking the Speaker the exact day Members of Parliament are expected to their salaries said: “We are currently in the new month and Members of Parliament have still not received their salaries.I want to find out from the leader if this will be the norm and whether or not Members of Parliament will be receiving their salaries for this year.”

The Member of Parliament for Asuogyaman,Thomas Ampem Darko, also indicated on the floor of Parliament that their salaries had been delaying for sometime now.

He said that the situation is very worrying, especially in a season when most MPs are gearing up for 6th March celebrations in their respective constituencies.

“There is a particular trend that has started over the last couple of months that is getting most of us worried and the trend is that when the month ends we do not receive our salaries. The last month, we received our salaries after the 10th. This month, today is the second and there is no sign of us getting our salaries and we are worried.”

“Every MP is complaining. This is not about those of us on the left. Everyone is complaining. We are going into our constituency for 6th March. There is a lot of expenditure ahead of us but there is nothing showing in our bank accounts.”

MPs averagely earn about GHC 13,000 every month. They also get other benefits and allowances.

Financial constraints

Parliament has for sometime now been battling with financial challenges.

In October 2014, there were similar delays in payment of financial benefits for Members of Parliament, which sparked renewed anger in the House.

In that same year, the House was forced to postpone its resumption date from May to June due to financial constraints.

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By: Marian Ansah & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This was the outcome of round 7 of the Centre for Democratic Development’s (CDD) Afrobarometer survey.

Presenting the findings, CDD Research Fellow, Newton Yaw Norviewu said the survey, which was conducted among 2400 respondents in 171 districts across all ten regions of the country, also revealed that most Ghanaians believe that local assembly authorities do not listen to their residents.

This was also confirmed by 65 percent of the respondents.

Election of MMDCEs

The survey also revealed that over half of the people in the Upper West Region do not agree with the election of Metropolitan Municipal District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).

About 52% of the population in the survey said the President should continue to appoint local Chief Executives.

President Nana Addo has given indications that grassroots people will be involved in the election of their MMDCEs.

Even though the afro barometer report shows that people in all other regions welcome the policy, the people of the Upper West Region disagree.

Sabotage?

The debate of election of MMDCEs has lingered for some time, with some Ghanaians looking forward to its implementation.

The proposal has received varied views from analysts in the field of local governance.

Whereas some have complained that the country’s local governance system risk sabotage if MMDCEs are elected, others think otherwise.

The fear of sabotage stems from the fact that, an MCE could be elected from an opposition party, whereas the Central government will be controlled by another party.

The suggestion is that, such an MCE may be sabotaged by the central government, by being refused their allocation of the necessary resources to achieve the Assembly’s set objectives.

NPP promises to make it possible 

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in its 2016 manifesto, promised to “oversee the direct election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) within 24 months of election into office, to coincide with the next District Assembly elections in 2019.”

This was reaffirmed by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who promised that “In 2018, we are going to move to fully elected District Assembly representations including the choice of the District Chief Executive (DCE). It is going to be done by the people of the districts and no longer by the nomination of the President.”

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By: Sixtus Dong Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Ministers, including deputies, absented themselves from at least 15 sittings without the permission of the Speaker of Parliament.

[contextly_sidebar id=”7Y9xZR2pP2J5Ty6pK6vr5h9jtTkzLabK”]This was contained in a report by Odekro, a civil society organization focused on activities of the legislature.

According to the report, the guilty MPs consisted of 18 Ministers and 21 Deputy Ministers.

Some of these MP-Ministers included Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Dan Botwe, Samuel Ata Akyea, Catherine Afeku and Ignatius Baffour Awuah.

On party affiliations, Odekro found that, 28 NDC MPs, representing 28% of the absentees, did not report to the house for at least 15 sittings without a written permission to the Speaker, beyond the limit that Article 97(1)(c) of Constitution allows.

NPP MPs who were guilty of the same offence, were 57 in number, representing 72%.

Click here to read the full report

Odekro, which had issued a caution over the appointment of several ministers from parliament over fears of a weakened legislature, said in the report that, there is the need for stiff punishment against MPs who absent themselves from the House without permission.

It noted that, the failure of the legislative body to punish MPs in the past for the offense, seems to have set a bad precedent which “encouraged impunity among some MPs.”

“There has never been an occasion where MPs in breach of Article 97(1)(c) have been summoned before the Privileges Committee of Parliament to explain their chronic absenteeism without written permission of the Speaker, and asked to vacate their seats upon failure to provide plausible reasons. Perhaps this lack of precedence has encouraged impunity among some MPs.”

It said “the high rate of absenteeism particularly among MPs who double as substantive Ministers of State is a major concern”

Odekro recommended that, “MPs found to have no reasonable excuse to be absent without written permission from
15 sittings and beyond, should be asked to vacate their seats in line with Article 97(1)(c) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, has thus urged parliamentarians to gear up for a dispassionate debate of the budget.

According to the Speaker, a high level debate on the budget would send a strong signal to the Executive that Parliament would keenly monitor the implementation of the budget for the well-being of Ghanaians.

Prof Mike Oquaye made these remarks at the Post Budget Workshop for MPs in Koforidua.

“In the budget matter, some people get the impression that the economists and the statisticians are going to talk, it is not so.  So I will ask every member to roll his or her sleeves during the budget time. I feel uncomfortable when honourable members begin to stop other members to stop all those theories [and go straight to making their arguments].”

“A budget must have a conceptual and philosophical underpinning so that we will not allow a Minister for Finance to get away with not reconciling the good aims announced with actual provisions that will ensure their realization. This is very important, and moments you begin to think in this conceptual manner, there is no aspect of the budget that you cannot seriously analyze and make contributions  to,” he added.

Stop post budget workshop for selected MPs, leaders

Meanwhile, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrissu, had earlier called on Parliament to stop the practice of organizing a post budget workshop for only selected Members and leaders of Parliament.

According to him, this practice, which has existed over the years in the House, does not allow for quality and in-depth debate on issues raised in the budget.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MASLOC, Stephen Amoah, letters he wrote to the MPS involved asking them to honour their obligations have not received any reply.

Mr. Amoah, who made the revelation on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, however refused to name the legislators involved.

[contextly_sidebar id=”1MLMU77XYpP8jyHmCATzD3BqPbsMBxB8″]He only said the defaulters are from the two main parties in Ghana – the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NPP).

“Some of the MPS came for the cars or whatever loans or assets for their personal use, some of them actually did that for other people as guarantors. If you guarantee for a beneficiary, there is a declaration that anytime that there is default; you would have to perform that obligation…Some of them were leaders of the previous government. So I wrote to each of the MPs and put it into their pigeon holes—I never had any response from any of them. I also wrote to the clerk of Parliament, I did that but there was no response.”

When asked to disclose the identity of the MPs involved, Mr. Amaoh said “It’s not every bit of information I can bring up because it’s a high house and I have to respect them…For the MPs, I won’t bring it to the public domain now.”

The CEO made the claims on the back of reports that some 350 vehicles procured by MASLOC had been “left at the mercy of the weather” after the GPRTU refused to buy them because their prices were “too excessive.”

MASLOC has subsequently asked the Attorney General’s Department to examine the contracts following suspicion of inflated prices.

Actors, musicians, others owe us close to GHc100 million

“I went through my documents…I realized that our debt portfolio was over GHc100 million, and I found some of them to be actors, actresses, parliamentarians from both sides [of the political divide].”

Mr. Amoah said there were some who came for the vehicles and instead of using them, parked the cars at their garages for close to two years.

He also confirmed that his outfit has so far confiscated 350 of such vehicles and is currently in the process of retrieving the monies.

He threatened to take legal action against the recalcitrant debtors.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The new system was started on September 4, 2017, following a directive by Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, for port agencies to migrate to a paperless system.

“MPS started with a Terminal Operating System (TOS) provided by Navis SPARCS, a world class port solution provider, and currently running on Navis N4 database with XPS (Operational tool) that is the latest generation TOS,” MPS revealed in a statement.

[contextly_sidebar id=”mdrzOQqmrB5TEt3DAeZrsebLZ8mYw94Y”]The paperless clearance system was piloted in August, with its official commencement on September 4. When it started, hundreds of angry freight forwarders thronged the Longroom of the Tema Port over delays in the clearance of their consignments.

They complained that they were not educated on the processes involved, and have thus called on the government to suspend it.

Following these agitations, an IT analyst, Sam Sackey, cautioned that the threat of saboteurs shouldn’t be discounted.

Navis N4 is a platform that powers intelligent movement of goods through container terminals worldwide. It allows customers the flexibility and scalability to run their operations from a single terminal to multiple terminals across multiple geographic locations, all at the same time.

“Shipping lines can track their containers during the delivery process from the MPS Terminals while customers are no longer obliged to submit hard copies of Shipping Line delivery orders and Customs Release to MPS for confirmation. MPS TOS is automatically updated when delivery orders are issued and Customs Releases are approved via GICCS.”

The process summary for various types of transactions is as follows:

CONSIGNEE IMPORT DELIVERY

• Agent processes release with Shipping Lines, Customs and other statutory bodies;
• MPS will automatically receive the electronic releases via GICCS;
• Registered Clearing Agents may log on to MPS Web Portal;
• Request/Create the container(s) invoice online;
• Make payment online;
• Book a truck Entry Permit online & send Truck(s) to MPS;
• MPS will load container(s) on truck(s) and issue Waybill/EIR at Gating-out;
• MPS TOS will transmit EDI to the GICCS & Lines’ servers.

ICD IMPORT DELIVERY

• ICD Terminal processes their container allocation with the Shipping Line and Customs.
• Once the Cargo Movement Report (CMR) is created, GICCS automatically updates MPS TOS;
• ICD Terminal sends trucks to MPS;
• On Gating-out containers, MPS TOS will transmit EDI to the GICCS & Lines’ servers;
• MPS periodically sends invoice to ICD Terminal;
• ICD Terminal makes online payment.

FULL EXPORT RECEPTION

• Shipping line sends EDI message to MPS the containers’ bookings;
• Clearing Agent processes release with Shipping Lines, Customs and other statutory bodies;
• MPS will automatically receive the releases of BoE from GICCS;
• Registered Clearing Agents may log on to MPS Web Portal;
• Request/Create the container(s) invoice online;
• Make payment online;
• Book a truck Entry Permit online & send Truck(s) to MPS;
• MPS will off load container(s) and issue Waybill/EIR at Gating-out;
• MPS TOS will transmit EDI to the GICCS & Lines servers.

EMPTY EXPORT RECEPTION

• Shipping Agent/Line transmits standard EDI file which is automatically uploaded in MPS TOS;
• ICD or Transport Company sends trucks with empty container(s) to MPS;
• After Gate-in and off-load, MPS TOS will transmit EDI to the GICCS & Lines servers;
• MPS sends electronic invoice to the Shipping Agent/Line;
• Shipping Agent/Line makes electronic payment to MPS.

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By: Jeffrey Owuraku Sarpong/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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He said the proposals do not reflect the party’s stance on effective democracy.

[contextly_sidebar id=”1fsvX8h2t7GQySRbaouoxapzl3dSXXeC”]The governing NPP at its 25th annual delegates’ conference held in Cape Coast over the weekend received proposals for making some amendments to its constitution.

Some of the proposals include an expansion of its electoral college to include more delegates who will elect the party’s national executives.

Only 5,000 delegates are allowed to vote for national officers at the party’s congresses but the current proposal seeks to have the number increased to 150,000 to be at par with the number of delegates who vote for to choose a flagbearer at the party’s presidential primaries.

Among the proposals was also for Members of Parliament to be allowed to elect their constituency executives.

This comes after reports of resistance and fracas between some Members of Parliament and the party’s constituency executives.

It is believed that if the MPs are given the power to appoint their preferred options for the constituency positions, they will be able to work effectively together.

But according to Mr. Kyei Baffour the proposals are not worth consideration.

“I look at it as a desperate attempt of Members of Parliament to address the challenging issues of very high attrition rate of MPs in parliament that is a major concern….I am very hopeful that these proposals cannot find root in the party. For MPs to appoint constituency executives, it is a non-starter, it can’t happen. For MPs to appoint polling station executives, it can’t happen,” he said.

Meanwhile, some constituency chairmen are already kicking against the proposals.

The Chairman of NPP in Shama, Richard DeGraft Tawiah at Shama, Chairman for Essikadu-Ketan James Obeng Junior and Chairman for Ahanta West constituency, Jonathan Ayepah have said the proposal will rather hurt the party’s future if it is adopted.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The group stands by its earlier position that such a move undermines the authority Parliament possesses.

The statement below contains details of Odekro’s concerns on President  Nana Addo’s appointment

Press Release: The fallout from Nana Addo’s appointment of 110 ministers continues to undermine Parliament

16 JULY 2017 on Ghana, Parliament, Politics

Accra | 17 July 2017

Odekro would like to commend the Selection Committee of Parliament for recommending to the House, the re-composition of leadership of parliamentary committees. We identify with the Selection Committee’s reasoning that “the re-composition became necessary due, among other considerations, to the fact that some chairmen and vice chairmen of committees have been appointed ministers and deputy ministers to various ministries and this will affect the oversight responsibilities of such members on the various committees that oversee the various ministries (emphasis ours).”

On March 20 2017, Odekro issued a statement to the effect that President Akufo-Addo’s appointment of 61% (67) Ministers and Deputy Ministers from Parliament would weaken parliament’s oversight responsibility, as MP-Ministers may be compromised by the Executive and national assignments that require Ministers and Deputy Ministers to work outside the confines of parliament. We also indicated that such action was at odds with the accolade the President enjoyed as a champion of democracy and his own assertion that parliament must not be the “junior partner” of the executive, but rather be allowed to grow as an “effective machinery for accountability and oversight of the executive”.

We further indicated that the President’s appointment of so many Ministers from Parliament drew away some of Ghana’s seasoned legislators from Parliament. Odekro is bewildered by the continued impact of the President’s action, even in the recommended re-composition. For instance, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong (MP, Assin Central) who ranked 258th out of 275 MPs, and was often absent as observed in Odekro’s assessment report of the Sixth Parliament, (also find evidence attached) has been retained as the chairperson of the Communications Committee. Though Mr Ohene Agyapong’s parliamentary seat is not in serious contention, his performance in the Sixth Parliament and public conduct, past and recent, somehow cast doubt on his ability to execute his duties competently, as a Committee Chair. We do not think this would have been the case had the President not appointed so many Ministers from Parliament.

We also find insufficient the reason adduced by the Selection Committee for the proposed re-composition. According to the Committee, “the situation where sector ministers superintend their oversight committees of the House is at Variance with best practice and indeed the conventions of the House.” Unfortunately, the Committee did not avert their minds to another problem at variance with best practice and the conventions of the house – chronic absenteeism. One third of MPs (92 of the 275) would have to be present for parliamentary business to commence. The lack of quorum suspends government business and affects the quality of representation and scrutinization of important bills. Our research based on the attendance records of parliament shows that MP-Ministers, irrespective of whether they chair committees or not, are twice as likely to be absent, often without permission, from Parliamentary meetings compared to MPs who are not ministers.

We reiterate, thus, our earlier recommendation for a strict separation of the Executive and Legislative arms of government in practice, including a reexamination of Article 78, the constitutional provision which compels the President to appoint the Majority of Ministers from Parliament.

Odekro will continue to monitor events in Parliament especially MPs’ attendance and activities. A report shall be made available to Ghanaians after analysis and assessment.

Signed:
Odekro | 17 July 2017

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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“A lot of the tension that arises in the districts and frustrates the work of government comes from the at times fractious relationship between Members of Parliament and Chief Executives. Please avoid such conflicts and let the MPs get their share of the Common Fund timeously,” the president said.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ZmXCNqBrJKPbuvVtpaCjEmZGZ2JbtqH1″]President Akufo-Addo indicated that “the new paradigm of effective governance demands maximum co-operation between Chief Executive, MPs and the new kids on the block, the officials of the Development Authorities. The closer and more sincere will be the co-operation, the greater and more extensive will be the development.”

The president made the statement on Wednesday, 5th July, 2017, when he addressed an orientation programme organized for the 199 approved MMDCEs by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Government, at the Institute of Local Government Services, at Ogbojo in Accra.

Akufo-Addo reminded the MMDCEs that whereas the Minister for Local Government, Hajia Alima Mahama, has oversight responsibility for decentralization implementation and local government, Regional Ministers are also required to monitor and evaluate their performance and submit periodic reports to him.

“I expect you to accord Regional Ministers all their due respect, as they are the President’s representatives in the Regions,” he added.

The President also reminded the MMDCEs of their responsibility for accountability to the government through the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation.

Use Common Fund Judiciously

With a lot of funds soon to flow into the districts, President Akufo-Addo assured that every attempt will be made to get the Common Fund allocations to the Chief Executives regularly and on time.

He, however, urged the Chief Executives to work on their internally generated funds, as they will not make the progress they should if the development programmes of their localities are solely dependent on the relatively meagre sums they get from the Common Fund allocation.

“Please apply your DACF judiciously towards the execution of planned and approved projects. It is not for recurrent expenditure. It is not for recurrent expenditure and should not be misused or abused. It is a good idea quickly to get your Assemblies to restructure your financial operational system and targets, to take advantage of the new initiatives introduced by government to promote accelerated economic growth,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo also urged the MMDCEs to help build the capacity of unit and zonal councils of the MMDAs, and also allocate resources to allow them play their proper roles in the local governance system.

“I do not intend to start any new controversy, but I will say this: we need to take a closer look at the unit committees and zonal councils especially, and see how effective they can be. If we need to do some radical realignment of the structures, we should not be afraid to do so. This would be a good time to take a close look at the things that work and those that do not, and not carry a lot of baggage simply because they are on the books,” he added.

The President also urged the Chief Executives, as chairs of their respective Security Committees, “to ensure peace and law and order in your districts. All our plans will only work if there is peace. I advise you to be careful and tactful in managing issues of intelligence and security.”

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Unlike several others who have condemned the action of the US, the Tamale Central MP believes there’s nothing wrong with the decision.

[contextly_sidebar id=”6iMPW0ZuxdUewKHwe1oPh4aPkl09SaYG”]“If a former president is going on his own matter, he has to appear before the Embassy staff. There is nothing wrong with this and it is not a slap in our face. If a former president is going on a personal matter and thinks that he will not want to use diplomatic channel to process his application, he would have to appear before them [US Embassy staff] and if it is strictly personal he would have to appear before them,” he said in an interview with Citi News’ Duke Mensah Opoku on Friday.

The US Ambassador, Robert P. Jackson, on Thursday told Ghanaian Parliamentarians that the US had withdrawn protocol visa allocation to top Ghanaian government officials, including Members of Parliament and former Presidents on non-official visits.

But Inusah Fuseini, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Tamale Central Constituency, said the move will make MPs more accountable.

“I basically think that, it’s not a cause of concern for Parliament because I think that what they [US] are trying to do is to make us more accountable and responsible, and also ensure that only people who have businesses transactions in their country obtain their visas. What used to happen was that, the fact that you are an MP and the fact that you were going on a personal business outside the country entitled you to apply through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and you will not appear before the Embassy staff to be assessed. Your visa was given on protocol, and that led to a lot of abuse,” he added.

Why the visa ban

Explaining his outfit’s position to members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament after an earlier letter informing Parliament about the decision,

The US Ambassador, Jackson had explained that during protocol procedures, officials of the Embassy do not get to see the government officials applying for the visa since “no personal appearance is required so there is no reason for your parliamentary protocol officer to come to the Embassy whatever.”

“The normal channel will be for him to pass the visas and passport to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and their protocol people will be permitted to come to the Embassy, and we will do everything we can to process those visas within 48 hours of receipt. If you are travelling for tourism or business that is not related to government business, you will be required to make a personal appearance even with former Presidents. There are no exceptions,” he added.

The United States’ directive follows a similar position taken by the UK High Commission on the issuance of visas for personal visits after some four Members of Parliament were alleged to have engaged in visa fraud.

Already, the UK High Commission in Ghana has taken similar actions particularly against Members of Parliament and other public officials who use diplomatic passports.

The decision was taken after some current and former MPs’ were found to have abused their diplomatic passports by securing visas fraudulently for family and friends who overstayed their time in the UK.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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