Given the precarious state of Ghana’s natural resources like vegetation and water bodies, Mr. Mensah-Bonsu believes that taking lives to protect the environment is justified by the constitution.

The Majority Leader made these remarks in Parliament on Tuesday after the Minority Leader, Haruna Idrissu, had described the recent burning of trucks and equipment used for sand winning in the Dalun River by soldiers of Operation Vanguard as “extrajudicial” and “excessive”.

The Minority in Parliament continued its condemnation of the incident in Parliament when the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, appeared to answer for the actions of Operation Vanguard, the government’s anti-illegal mining task-force.

The Minority legislators from the Northern Region have even said they will back any legal action against the state following the incident.

But Mr. Mensah-Bonsu argued that the actions of Operation Vanguard were well within the remit of the law.

“I do not think that the constitution, in so far as a matter is criminal, frowns upon the use of force to the extent that it may even deprive some other people of their lives. The constitution does not talk about that at all… Mr. Speaker, if we agree that what was going on was criminal, the constitution doesn’t forbid any person trying to prevent the commission of that crime from pursuing that person and asserting force which may even result in death.”

He also quoted Article 13 of the Constitution which says “no person shall be deprived of his life intentionally except in the exercise of the execution of a sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence under the laws of Ghana of which he has been convicted.”

The article adds that: “A person shall not be held to have deprived another person of his life in contravention of clause (1) of this article if that other person dies as the result of a lawful act of war or if that other person dies as the result of the use of force to such an extent as is reasonably justifiable in the particular circumstances: for the defence of any person from violence or for the defence of property; or in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; or for the purposes of suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny; or in order to prevent the commission of a crime by that person.”

Destruction of environment ‘indefensible’

Mr. Mensah-Bonsu thus argued further that “if a robber comes to you, and you have the competence, he enters your room, you will shoot the person to save your own life. Is that criminality on your part? You should be careful where you are taking this argument.”

He reminded that illegal chainsaw operators were treated with leniency in the ’80s, but at the expense of Ghana’s forest cover.

“We said to ourselves that we should stop them but the argument at the time was that, no, let’s create an alternative livelihood for them. Today, less than 30 years after that, half of our forest cover is gone… Increasingly, we are destroying our environment and we have people who will stand up to defend what is in indefensible. Is that the way we want to grow our country?”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ‘Killing to protect the environment justified’ – Majority Leader appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The coalition said the government has failed to show commitment towards actually passing the bill into law.

The Bill has been in and out of Parliament over the last decade, but has not received the needed legislative attention over the period.

[contextly_sidebar id=”niSL3nbeKA4nI3MKnNB1dWeZPSPHubAK”]President Akufo-Addo in his 61^st Independence Day Speech on Tuesday renewed his promise to see to the passage of the bill before the dissolution of the current Parliament.

But the Coalition says it expects more action from the President. The Regional Coordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Mina Mensah, who is also Convener of the Right to Information Coalition, in an interview with Citi News said they expect the President to provide precise timelines for the passage of the bill, which seeks to empower the public to demand information from the government.

“I lost confidence in it a long time again. Unless I see action, the talk doesn’t do anything for me. Since January, the Vice President has talked about it. As for the Minister of Information, I don’t even want to comment on that, and then the AG tells us that it is in cabinet. It has been in cabinet since May 2017. There is no information on the RTI bill. Anything that the President wants passed, gets passed. When he wanted the office of the special prosecutor bill passed, it got passed and they did it with a lot of speed. For me, it’s just the same as it is in their manifesto, that we’ll pass the bill if the current legislator does not pass it. What are the timelines?,” she quizzed.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, has proposed a new timeline for the passage of the much talked about Right to Information Bill.

According to him, Parliament would finish work on the bill by the second meeting of the next session of the house which translates to about July 2018.

Speaking at a training programme for journalists in Parliament in November 2017, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic will work hard to pass the Bill.

About RTI

The right to information is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the country’s 1992 Constitution and recognized as a right under International Conventions on Human rights.

The bill as it has been drafted, is to give substance to Article 21 (1) (f) of the Constitution which states that “All persons shall have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society”.

The back and forth

The Right to Information Bill was first drafted in 1999 under the former president, Jerry John Rawlings. Various advocacy groups emerged to press for the immediate passing of the bill into law in 2002. The draft bill was reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in its 2008 and 2012 election manifestos promised to ensure the bill is passed. In 2010, the bill was presented to Parliament for consideration.

In 2011, the government signed unto the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Initiative with a commitment to pass by the bill. In November 2013, the bill was formally laid before parliament.

Former Attorney General, Deputy Dominic Ayine in 2015, moved the bill for second reading in Parliament. In October 2016, the bill was withdrawn and a replaced with a new one which was immediately laid.

Following the dissolution of the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic and the swearing-in of new Parliament in January 2017, the bill is no longer in parliament.

It must be reintroduced to the House by the new government before work commences on it again.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Stop the talks and pass RTI bill – Coalition to gov’t appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The latest challenge follows reports that, one of the Committee members on the Minority side, Dr. Dominic Ayine, had insisted that he wants to present the minority’s side of the report.

According to the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, the report is being held back by Dr Ayine’s uncooperative stance.

[contextly_sidebar id=”XTCxYPMcvl9cMkqYsUF5CgNYL8zUFTXD”]He told Citi News’ Duke Opoku Mensah that members of the Committee had all agreed to conclude the report on Wednesday, and present it today [Thursday], but Dr. Ayine did not show up at the hotel where the meeting was supposed to take place, despite several assurances from him.

“Yesterday [Wednesday], they had programmed to meet at 3 o’clock in the afternoon to conclude everything in order to be able to submit the report today [Thursday]. One of them was absent, Dr. Dominic Ayine unfortunately, for whatever reason couldn’t go. They called him and he said he will be there at 5:00pm but he couldn’t go. They called him and he said they should give him two hours more which was 7:00pm. 7:00pm they called him, his phones were off. It was not until 12 midnight that he sent words to them to respond to their earlier calls.”

Mensah-Bonsu said he was however taken aback when the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, informed him today that Dr. Ayine decided to present a supposed minority report on the investigations by the Committee.

“…This morning at the business meeting, my colleague the Minority Leader came to inform me that Dr. Ayine wants to write a minority report. That cannot delay. If you want to write a minority report why don’t you tell your colleagues? Clearly there is something amiss,” he said.

The Majority Leader, who also is the Member of Parliament for Suame and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, said he subsequently urged the Committee members to resolve their differences before close of day, so that the report could be presented on Friday.

He however maintained that, the report, which is over 50 pages, will certainly be laid before the House on Friday, whiles the debate  will be deferred to Tuesday, February 6, 2018.

“They [the committee] were going to lay the report, [but] I prevailed upon them to wait, so they could have a meeting. So eventually they agreed to have a meeting at 4:00pm. They should go and have that meeting, then tomorrow they will lay the document. The meeting is because of Dominic Ayine. So whatever he has, he should come and share with the committee, they will know how to handle it,” he added.

Background of “cash for seat” saga

The Ministry of Trade, which partnered the event organizers, Millennium Excellence Foundation, is alleged to have charged between $25,000 and $100,000, to enable expatriates to sit close to the President at the awards ceremony.

The allegation was first made by the Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak in Parliament in December 2017.

Mr. Mubarak said the fees charged at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards were not approved by Parliament, adding that the monies were also not accounted for in the Internally Generated Funds [IGF] of the Ministry’s accounts.

The allegation was further reinforced by Mr. Ablakwa, who suffered verbal assaults from Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah over the matter.

The Ministry of Trade said it played no role in determining prices for seats at the event, and clarified that it only facilitated the implementation of a new initiative by the Millennium Excellence Foundation.

But the Ministry after an order from the President to probe the matter clarified that an amount of GHc2, 667,215 was realized from the event. This was made known only after the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had asked the Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen, to investigate the matter and report to him.

The organizers of the Awards had also explained that no one paid to sit close to the President, and that the amount was raised from sponsorship through a fundraising at the event.

Parliament subsequently formed a five-member bi-partisan committee to investigate the matter.

The Committee held several public hearings and a few in-camera sessions that featured all parties named in the allegation, and those who made the allegation.

The committee was supposed to present its report on January 24, 2018 but was subsequently given a one week extension which was supposed to have elapsed on Wednesday January 31, 2018, but failed to do so.

It was however expected to present the report today [Wednesday], but that did not also materialize.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Confusion rocks cash-for-seat committee appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

At the moment, Speakers of Parliament who serve as acting President in the absence of both the President and the Vice, are to take only the Oath of Office.

[contextly_sidebar id=”7KJGafYwpxEaTxKcoFmM7NuKnBBMIyoc”]But speaking on the floor of Parliament on Sunday after Professor Michael Oquaye was sworn in as acting President, Mr. Mensah-Bonsu said the country could take a second look at the arrangement.

He argued further that the Speaker of Parliament is already administered the Oath of Allegiance when sworn in as Speaker of Parliament.

“The Speaker did not take Oath of Secrecy. For the Oath of Allegiance, the Speaker has already taken it, so I would want to plead that going forward, whenever he has to be sworn in, he does not need to take the Oath of Allegiance because he has already done so as a Speaker. What he didn’t do was the Oath of Secrecy that is done by the President.”

“So I would think that, going forward, when the Speaker has to be sworn in as a President, the Oath of Secrecy would have to be admitted. It has never been done, but I guess we can improve our own procedures,” the Majority Leader stated.

The Oath of Secrecy

The Oath of Secrecy is taken to ensure that one does not reveal State secrets.

The Oath of Secrecy says: “I,………………………………………………………………………………………………holding the office of…………………………………………..do (in the name of the Almighty God swear) (solemnly affirm) that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall come to my knowledge in the discharge of my official duties except as may be required for the discharge of my official duties or as may be specially permitted by law. (So help me God)”

It is to be sworn before the President, the Chief Justice or such other person as the President may designate.

Controversy over swearing-in

The law concerning the swearing-in was breached by a former Speaker of Parliament, Doe Adjaho in 2014, when he refused to take the oath of office as acting President at a point.

Both President Mahama and his Vice Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, had traveled outside the country at the time.

This compelled the Managing Director of Citi FM, Samuel Atta-Mensah, and a United States-based Ghanaian lawyer, Prof. Kwaku Asare, to file a suit at the Supreme Court, to among other things, seek an interpretation of Article 60 (12) of the 1992 Constitution, which requires that the Speaker takes the oath of office each time he is to act as President.

The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, declared that the Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Edward Doe Adjaho, violated Article 60 (11)-(12) of the 1992 Constitution when he declined to be sworn in to act as President.

The nine-member panel, presided over by Justice Sophia Akuffo, also averred that the “Speaker of Parliament shall always, before assuming the functions of the Office of President when the President and the Vice-President are unable to perform their functions, take and subscribe to the oath set out in relation to the Office of President”.

Some have however insisted that the law is obsolete, considering that a President on an international assignment remains a President, and so he or she doesn’t need anyone to act in his absence.

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku & Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Speaker needs only Oath of Secrecy to act as President – Majority Leader appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The ceremony, which was under the auspices of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, chiefs, executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the entire Suame Constituency, was to honour the  Suame MP for his enormous contribution in the area.

The colorful ceremony brought together dignitaries including the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Ocquaye, Members of Parliament from both the majority and the minority side, traditional and religious leaders, as well as his constituents and other inhabitants of the Ashanti Region.

President Akufo-Addo, who addressed the teeming crowd as the special guest for the occasion, commended Nana Bonsu for his hard work and dedication in serving the nation.

He said he has not regretted appointing him as the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs to provide the interface between the Executive and Legislative arms of Government.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumani Kingsford Bagbin, also described the ‘Sompahene’ as a well-deserved person for such honour.

The ‘Sompahene’ expressed delight for the honour, and pledged to do more in the development of his constituency, and also use his influence to contribute positively to the development of the country.

Nana Kyei Mensah, who has been the MP for Suame, since 1996, said the Suame Constituency will experience rapid development when it attains a Municipal status.

He cited poor road network as one of the challenges in the constituency, and said efforts are underway to upgrade all roads within the area.

He said he has engaged the sector Minister on the issue, and appealed to the people to be patient as the challenge will soon be fixed.

Nana Mensah called on Chiefs and opinion leaders of Suame to provide land for the establishment of facilities for the Municipal Assembly.

He called on residents to support stakeholders to bring more development to the area.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Kyei Mensah Bonsu installed as ‘Sompahene’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The demolition of the structure that housed the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly from 1951 when Dr. Kwame Nkrumah became the leader of government Business under British rule, has revived concerns about how the country protects its heritage sites.

[contextly_sidebar id=”FlCTOtsJnCwDptKs15aLMs8R4VXBE5Kv”]Speaking at a press soiree in Accra, the Majority Leader argued that it was better to pull down the structure than leave it in its previous state.

“That structure was gutted by fire sometime back, but sometimes when you want to do a rehabilitation of a structure that has been gutted by fire, the integrity of which structure might have suffered tremendously, you do not go about reinforcing the existing structure. It is better you pull it down. I guess that might have informed the decision to pull it down and rebuild a new structure to replace it,” Mr. Kyei Mensah Bonsu explained.

“Remember when we came to dealing with our own Job 600 complex. Some of us argued at the time that what commitment was going to go into it, we could better save to perhaps demolish the structure and begin a new one. At the beginning, when that structure was valued, it was said that it was going to cost us about $25 million to refurbish. You know the total cost of the rehabilitation of Job 600 when we finished? It is close to 100 million dollars. If we had demolished it and reconstructed that edifice, how much was it going to cost us?” he added.

Although some key stakeholders have criticized the demolition, CHRAJ has since defended its decision, saying the move was aimed at protecting the health and safety of its workers.

CHRAJ was accused of usurping the authority of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly by proceeding to demolish the Chamber and adjoining offices of the Old Parliament House in Accra, without getting the required permit from the AMA.

The Commissioner of CHRAJ, Joseph Whittal in explaining the circumstances under which the building was pulled down however explained that: “Since the burning in 2013, that section has posed a health hazard, indeed every person who works around those places knows that indeed this is unhealthy because we are breathing in the fumes and all those things.”

“The part that is burnt is beyond recovery and so since 2013, we have made efforts to have this taken out. We have informed the AMA, unfortunately, we’ve not had funds, it is only this year that we had funds from the central government to demolish and reconstruct the old Chamber and the adjoining offices.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post Kyei Mensah backs demolition of Old Parliament House appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He said the two senior members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) are employing various tactics including subterfuge to prevent President Akufo-Addo from going ahead with his campaign promise of bringing corrupt public officials to book.

[contextly_sidebar id=”HsIyOji6lkMotxYcwW50j2WxdfyVuagr”]Martin Amidu’s accusations were contained in his latest article on what he termed as the deliberate internal ploys by persons both at the Presidency and in Parliament who are attempting to thwart Akufo-Addo’s efforts.

“The Speaker and the Parliamentary Minister have created the impression that there is a mismatch between their perception of who must be investigated and prosecuted for suspected looting of the public purse, and the President’s vision and determination to prevent future looting by fighting corruption within his first four-year term. The President was elected with a national mandate to fight corruption. The Speaker and the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs have no national mandate to undermine the President’s executive authority to enforce the law through the instrumentality of his policing and prosecutorial powers. Only the courts of law can contest his authority,” he added.

Amidu’s accusation follows similar claims leveled against the Speaker by the Minority in Parliament.

The Minority last week expressed disappointment over what they described as unfair treatment meted out to them by Prof. Oquaye.

According to the Minority, the speaker has consistently attempted to stifle them in the House and has been biased against them; a claim the Speaker has refuted.

Below is the full article by Martin Amidu:

THE SPEAKER AND MINISTER FOR PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS HAVE NO MANDATE TO EXECUTE AND ENFORCE THE LAWS OF GHANA: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU

The saying goes that when an ant bites you, it is in your cloth or dress. I repeat that President Nana Akufo-Addo’s anti-corruption fight is being thwarted big time either wittingly or unwittingly by powerful people who have clung to his apron strings to ascend to high political public office in the Executive and Legislature that they never would have ascended to in life.

These are people who at every turn, either wittingly or unwittingly, undermine and frustrate the anti-corruption agenda, what the President stood and stands for, and for which Ghanaians voted massively for him in an unprecedented manner for change on 7th December 2016 against the most corrupt and looting Government in Ghana’s history. The President has been consistent since assuming office to fulfill robustly his promise not only to fight future corruption by his own appointees, but also to fulfill the mandate given him by the massive voter turnout in his favour demanding accountability from the corrupt government they had just changed. But he is meeting avoidable challenges at every turn. When the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s Bill, 2017 came to Parliament, I pointed out only one out of several inconsistencies that negated his vision.

I am reliably informed that the President instructed that the Bill be withdrawn for reconsideration on account of the smuggled Clause 3(4) but the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (an appointee of the President) wittingly or unwittingly denied the President the credit and fostered conjectures and claims of victory for the withdrawal of the Bill. Before the laying of the Bill the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament, had like Pontius Pilate distanced himself from the Bill and any consequences a rush in enacting the Bill would have in the future. The Speaker was reported on the internet to have quoted Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution on the powers and functions of the Attorney General and “cautioned that the President must tread cautiously in the creation of the office” when he was speaking to an entourage of the British Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN.

“Nevertheless, when you establish a law which clearly provides for another person to prosecute, a circumstance where the Constitution says it is only the Attorney General who can prosecute then we must tread a bit carefully,” he was reported by Citi FM to have said. I wondered what credit or discredit a former Minister, Diplomat and now a Rt. Hon. Speaker and third in line to the Presidency sought to achieve by not coordinating such important observations with the President as part of the principles underpinning the separation of powers doctrine, but to articulate them to his chosen audience. When the core leadership of the political establishment elite, particularly the Ministers of State appointed by the President are incorruptible or minimally incorruptible, then those below are restrained from being corrupt for fear of being mercilessly prosecuted.

That was the advantage and lesson of the PNDC and NDC1 Government until the last two years of NDC 2 when political expediency made it impossible to prosecute corruption and allowed the voters to hold Prof. Mills and myself answerable for the inequities of those criminals by casting their votes elsewhere. President Akufo-Addo knows that he cannot stop his Ministers and other executive appointees from emulating the corruption of the past Government on whose inequities he won the elections without holding the former Ministers and appointees suspected of looting the public purse accountable for their loot.

That is why he is making the effort to prosecute those against whom evidence abounds of suspected looting and also warning those of his appointees who have the intention to loot the national purse to get out into the private sector because he does not intend to spare them. The experience from the last two years of the NDC 2 Government through NPP 2 to NDC4 is that most Ministers who are looters of the national purse know themselves and often seek insurance by spending part of their loot to enter Parliament to obtain group protection as Members of Parliament. Ghanaians know the obstructions Governments through their law enforcement agencies encountered before they could secure convictions of a few past looter Ministers.

It is of course against the letter and the spirit of the Constitution to unconstitutionally use Parliament to escape prosecution for suspected crime under the guise of Parliamentary immunity when the situation does not fall under Article 117 of 1992 Constitution. The last few days exposed the conflict between the Executive Authority, which is bent on holding suspected looting Ministers of the past corrupt Government to account and a Legislative Authority using subterfuges to frustrate the President contrary to Article 3 of the Constitution.

The argument that the Executive must seek the permission of the Speaker before searching the residence of a Member of Parliament suspected of looting as a former Minister is neither covered by the letter nor the spirit of Article 117 of the Constitution. Members of Parliament are shameless when they seek to avoid justice by invoking a non-existing immunity and it is more shameful when the Speaker and the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs seek to appease the rioters and contemnors of the previous day in and out of Parliament by conceding to an otherwise spurious demand. President Akufo-Addo is reported on 28th July 2017 to have said at a book launch that: “Government has started comprehensive audits of various institutions and the findings to date reveal the depth of the rot that has almost become the character of the way we treat public resources and the way we perform our public duties and deliver public services.”

The President is also reported to have underscored “how corruption undermines the ability of government to create jobs, insisting that ‘a major opportunity for job creation is by dealing with corruption…’” Excellent anti-corruption rhetoric by any standards! The Speaker on the other hand is reported to have said in reply to a plea from the suspected looting Members of Parliament and former Ministers that: “We would want to ascertain whether the legal process was followed.

I will, soon after sitting, call the appropriate authority to my office and demand that honourable members are handled appropriately, coterminous with their office as honorable members.” The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs was reported to have concurred. Both the Speaker and the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs forget that the Constitution entrusted the power to execute and enforce the Constitution and the laws of Ghana to a President elected in a national constituency and not to Mr. Speaker or the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs. Any Member of Parliament who thinks his rights under the law or constitution have been violated should go to Court to vindicate those rights.

The letter and spirit of the Constitution is that Honourable Members of Parliament like Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion. One cannot claim the rights of an Honourable Member of Parliament when as a Minister one created suspicion of looting the national purse and deliberately running to Parliament (in anticipation of one’s Government being voted out of office) to escape justice through the subterfuge of immunity. And when the Speaker lends his weight to such attempts to obstruct justice by undertaking to find out whether the law has been followed the perception created is that the Speaker seeks to undermine the President’s fight against looting the public purse by present and future Members of Parliament caught up by the law.

The Speaker and the Parliamentary Minister have created the impression that there is a mismatch between their perception of who must be investigated and prosecuted for suspected looting of the public purse, and the President’s vision and determination to prevent future looting by fighting corruption within his first four-year term. The President was elected with a national mandate to fight corruption. The Speaker and the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs have no national mandate to undermine the President’s executive authority to enforce the law through the instrumentality of his policing and prosecutorial powers.

Only the courts of law can contest his authority. I campaigned vigorously to the knowledge of every Ghanaian for change of Government because the NDC in whose Government I had served under the 4th Republican Constitution for ten years had become the most irredeemably corrupt Government in Ghana since independence. I will support every President actualizing the fight against corruption and oppose any organ of Government perpetrating the status quo of corruption that I campaigned against with all my heart and with all my soul. There must be no insurance against investigation for suspected crime under the guise of non-existing immunity just to obstruct the course of justice. I am not sure what the future holds for the war against corruption in Ghana but my views happen to coincide with a view expressed by Linda Ofori-Kwafo, the Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), which was reported on the Internet of 18th July 2017:

“We are looking forward to a president that can deal with this canker. Some have said if Nana Akufo-Addo fails us in dealing with corruption then Ghana we are dead.” I do not think Ghana will die as such when his own appointees collude in the failure; but the resolution of the war may have to await another avoidable revolution. May God save Ghana from such an experience again!

Martin A. B. K. Amidu (Citizens Vigilance for Justice)

1 st August 2017

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By: Umaru Sanda Amadu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Speaker, Mensah Bonsu blocking Akufo-Addo’s corruption fight – Amidu appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the former speaker among his instructions to the Minority was to kick against the presence of the press during yesterday’s engagement with the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei.

[contextly_sidebar id=”g9XNOIlhJVhyigKJ2Hj0EXxFIl0dVsZS”]Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu made the comments in reaction to claims by the Minority that the new Speaker, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye was being unfair and stifling them in the House.

Parliament was thrown into near chaos when Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu express his displeasure over how the speaker had deliberately ensured that they do not thoroughly probe the government’s ‘Planting for food and jobs’ programme.

The Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak who spoke to Citi News after the session said Prof. Oquaye has through various actions since his appointment acted against the Minority in the House.

“It is out of frustration…. the minority, we have lost all the opportunity to vent our frustration so we have to, unfortunately, burst in anger which may not be called for but our patient is running out,” he said.

“We in the minority are really disappointed in the manner in which the speaker has been handling affairs in the how since his appointment…. Since this speaker came, we’ve been treated with a lot of disrespect,” he added.

But the Majority Leader says the claims are false.

According to him, the former Speaker of Parliament, who is a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was more bias when the NDC MPs were in the majority in Parliament.

Doe Adjaho while speaker on several occasions deliberately refused to grant audience to the minority in the House when it came to making a submission on the floor.

He also added that Doe Adjaho, despite being out of the seat as speaker, “thinks he is still in control.”

“The man [Doe Adjaho] is behind the scenes, he still wants to control Parliament. Yesterday, he even called them and was telling them that, they should not agree for us in committee to allow you the press to be present. The man thinks he is still in control.”

On his reaction to the Minority in Parliament’s complaint about the Speaker’s behaviour, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu explained, “If on an occasion you don’t find the ruling or direction of Mr. Speaker favourable, there are avenues open to you. You don’t get raucous in the chamber, you don’t get riotous.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Doe Adjaho controlling Minority caucus – Majority leader appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Third term MP for Atwima Kwanwoma in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Kojo Appiah Kubi had expressed his desire to be Chairman of the Health Committee during the reconstitution of the Parliamentary Committees, but his desired spot was given to a second term colleague, Dr. Twum Nuamah; a development he was not happy about.

The other MP supported his claims insisting he was the right person for the chair.

The Committee of Selection has reconstituted the Committees of the House following the drafting of many Majority MPs into President Akufo Addo’s government.

Speaking on the Floor of the House,  Dr. Appiah lamented that all efforts to have him lead the committee proved futile.

“I expressed my desire to continue to serve on the health select committee and as chair of this committee because I have acquired sufficient experience and expertise which I believe I could bring to bear on the fortunes of this committee. It should be put on record that as it is done in most other jurisdictions, seniority counts very much as well as competence and expertise when it comes to considering leadership positions in Parliament. “

“I’ve therefore read in dismay how unfair I’ve been treated in the placement by the composition of the committees. Indeed, I have been treated unfairly and I am not happy at all about this treatment. I’ve recognized the treat from the majority leader and I do believe that there cannot be any other thing done which couldn’t have been done during the period prior to this composition and I don’t think there is any new thing going to be done subsequently. Mr. Speaker, I would like to plead your indulgence and that of the leadership to suspend this motion for further consideration,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, responded to his colleague and assured that his complaint will be factored into subsequent restructuring of the committees.

“Mr. Speaker, he came to me and I assured him that indeed these matters usually are left with the whips. I personally have not made any intervention and I assured him that we will take his own consideration and perspectives into consideration in the next time when we come to dealing with it. What did shock me was that after I explained to him, he said notwithstanding what I told to him, he was still going to rise up to object to what I told you. I decided not to abreast myself to it.”

“I’m really worried to say on the floor that nothing is going to happen. It’s unfortunate because he doesn’t know what is contained in the new orders that we’ve crafted and yet he insists that nothing is going to happen in the new orders. Let him take heart and I recognize that he is a senior member of the house and certainly when we come to dealing with the new orders, we will factor his concerns,” the Majority Leader added.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post NPP MP ‘fights’ Kyei-Mensah over committee position snub appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, there is a damning Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) report that incriminates the nominee, who is also MP for New Edubiase in the Ashanti Region.

He was however  prevented from revealing details of the offence because he was ruled out of order on matter of relevance on the floor of the house

Making his case on the floor of Parliament, Mr. Iddrisu said: “ The President should for instance consider withdrawing the nomination of one his appointees by name George Oduro because there is a damning BNI report on him, and Mr. Speaker, when we say we want to conduct due diligence, it is probably because of this. We here have a responsibility not to impugn the integrity of any calling, particularly when the  person is a Member of Parliament, but when the information comes to us, we have a duty to cross check the veracity or otherwise of that particular information  …”

But the Majority Leader did not wait for Mr. Iddrisu to conclude when he interrupted, saying he was being unfair since the accused was absent.

He further wondered why the Minority was raising this issue when the House was assessing a report on Ministerial Nominees who had already been vetted.

“The person whose issue the Minority Leader is raising is not part of this report, so Mr. Speaker, I am surprised that he is talking about this. On the issue of relevance, the person is not being considered,” the Minority Leader argued.

Responding to these allegations, the Deputy Minister Nominee also dismissed these claims, saying “I am not aware of any report so in case they make it available, I will love to see.”

Meanwhile the House has approved the nomination of some 17 Deputy Ministerial Nominees.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post Withdraw Deputy Agric Minister’s nomination – Minority demands appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.