According to Citi News‘ Parliamentary correspondent, Duke Mensah Opoku, the Minority resumed their sit-down strike after the Speaker refused to acknowledge their leader Haruna Iddrisu who had wanted to make a submission.

This is not the first time the Minority has expressed their displeasure of alleged bias against them by the Speaker, but it is the first time they have refused to contribute in Parliament over the treatment.

They had taken a similar action in the past, refusing to comment on any business in the House after a report was presented to the House by the ‘cash-for-seat’ Committee which they felt did not include the input of its members on the said Committee.

That was a day after they staged a walkout in Parliament when an investigative report was being debated.

‘Mike Ocquaye the worst Speaker’

Deputy Minority Leader, Jame Klutse Avedzi, described Mike Oquaye as the worst Speaker of the Fourth Republic, insisting that his actions were unfortunate, despite him being ‘a Reverend’.

He said that it was important that Ghanaians see how the Minority was being treated in Parliament even though they were only acting in the interest of the country.

“We have always been responsible as a Minority. In fact, Ghanaians should know that the NDC Minority is responsible. We want the Ghanaian people to be the judges, they should see what is happening,” he told journalists.

“We have had a number of Speakers in this country. We’ve had DF Annan, Peter Ala Adjetey, Sekyi Huges, Bamford Addo, Doe Adjaho and now we have a Reverend Speaker and this is the way he’s behaving. If you want to rank him among the six so far, he’s the worst.”

‘Threat to democracy’

The Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak. earlier in March, accused the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye of being a threat to Ghana’s democracy saying “Mobutu [Sese Seko] or even Idi Amin will not behave the way he is doing.”

According to Muntaka, the Speaker has on several occasions refused to give the Minority the opportunity to make their views on some issues that come up for discussion on the floor, although they have such rights.

Muntaka felt that he had been ignored by the Speaker despite wanted to suggest that every Member of Parliament (MP) is given the opportunity to vote the way they wanted on the controversial Law School Regulations.

Minority members who were also not happy with the issue hooted at the Speaker and chanted loudly in Parliament.

‘I will disrespect you if you dare me’

Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, had expressed similar sentiments against the Speaker whom he said ignored him when he wanted to make a comment on the Floor of the House.

Haruna Iddrisu threatened to disregard the authority of the Speaker of Parliament if such actions persist.

This followed what he describes as the Speaker’s failure to recognize him when he wanted to make an intervention during the debate on the Special Petroleum Tax last month, February 2018.

“I am sad at the way you have treated me as Minority Leader. I stood up before the Majority Leader. You owe me that courtesy and that respect. Mr. Speaker, even after hearing him [Majority Leader], you have still not decided whether to hear me or not,” he said.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, the human rights arguments often advanced for such rights are not tenable.

[contextly_sidebar id=”O7Bu7GWdx6wHYgL6aF0CRN5vicBrH0aF”]Addressing a group of religious leaders who paid a courtesy call on him, Prof Oquaye insisted that the current crop of parliamentary leadership would not endorse an act that majority of Ghanaians abhor.

“If you tell me that a man must sleep with a man so as to show his human rights for Ghana, I can assure you that our Parliament is a real micropause of the rule of Ghana. Ghanaians do not support gay rights and nobody is going to make any law that will support this kind of thing.”

‘We’re fed up with demands for gay rights’

This is not the first time the Speaker has expressed his reservations about promoting gay rights in Ghana.

In July 2017, Prof. Oquaye warned that leaders in countries like Ghana would not countenance the aggressive push by external forces to accept acts such as homosexuality, bestiality among others.

His caution followed a courtesy call by Amnesty International, where among other things, they made demands including the scrapping of the death penalty from the statute books.

At that encounter, the Speaker stated that African leaders were getting tired of some of the demands with regards to homosexuality on the basis of human rights.

“Following what Tony Blair said which I personally wrote him a letter that if we do not go the homosexual way, it was going to affect their aid to us. Honestly in view of these developments, we Africans are also concerned about certain things that may appear really intellectual …It is becoming a human right in some countries. The right to do homosexuality. The right for a human being to sleep with an animal. We are tired of some of these things and we must be frank about it. ..I think all these matters need to be seriously interrogated …,” the Speaker had said.

‘Legalizing homosexuality not a pressing issue’

In November 2016, President Nana Akufo-Addo had said a change in the law to decriminalize homosexuality is not of concern to Ghanaians at present.

The President, once a human rights activist and a lawyer, had however stated that if activism in favour of the legalization of homosexuality heightens, that could trigger a change in Ghana’s laws.

He made this assertion in an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera.

Without making any definite pronouncement on the issue during the interview, President Akufo-Addo had stated that any possible change will only come after a strong concerted push for LGBT rights from some sections of the public.

“For these socio-cultural issues, I don’t believe that in Ghana so far, a sufficiently strong coalition has emerged which is having that much impact on public opinion that will say; change it,” he stated.

Scottish MPs hit hard at Mahama over gay rights

In 2016, some Members of the Scottish Parliament called on their government to confront John Dramani Mahama, who was President at the time, on Ghana’s alleged abuses of its lesbian and gay citizens.

Naomi McAuliffe, Amnesty International’s programme Director in Scotland had said her organisation received regular reports that LGBT people faced police harassment.

Ghana is one of 75 countries which consider homosexuality as illegal.

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

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According to Ablakwa, who was adamant on the allegations that the Ministry of Trade and organizers of the awards collected monies ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 from the expatriates to enable them to sit close to President Akufo-Addo at the awards, he cannot be intimidated by the directive.

“I am not one to be intimidated in the discharge of my constitutional duties, therefore, I can’t wait to appear before the Privileges Committee or any other Committee as the Speaker may so direct considering that I am of the fullest conviction and the clearest of conscience that the facts and the truth are and have always been on our side,” he added in a Facebook post.

[contextly_sidebar id=”MRDc5W4UTTCW6c5pz3mdj4WVZb6u6ktq”]The Speaker of Parliament on Tuesday referred the findings of the 5-member ad-hoc committee to the privileges committee tasking the committee to investigate the source of the allegations and other related matters.

This follows the adoption of the 146-page report of the committee chaired by Majority Chief Whip, Kwasi Ameyaw Cheremeh, which exonerated the Trades and Industry Ministry and organizers of the awards of any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, the Minority has said the adopted report is far from the truth and thus, did not participate in the debate on Tuesday.

And Ablakwa, who was one of the main witnesses in the case believes the Majority is trying to suppress the Minority’s views. adding that such an action “can only amount to a travesty in Parliament [and] is a pathetic addition to the countless comedy of contradictions and conflicting accounts that Government has been engaged in since this scandal erupted.”

Ashim Morton to sue Ablakwa, Muntaka?
In a related development, the Millennium Excellence Foundation, the organization that hosted the awards, has said it is considering a court action against two minority Members of Parliament over the cash-for-seat allegations.

According to the lawyer for the foundation, Peter Zwennes, the two MPs – Okudzeto Ablakwa and the Minority Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak, should be stripped of any parliamentary immunity in order for them to be dragged to court, because their actions were “irresponsible.”

“The propagation of such irresponsible and destructive falsehood made against my client should not be availed the cloak of parliamentary immunity which, if had been said in anywhere else in the open, will certainly be giving rise to a meritorious court action in defamation. The foundation is still considering its options and they are still available to us,” the lawyer stated at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday.

Below is Ablakwa’s full post:

Rather a farcical fatal tragedy that the Majority in Parliament could not suppress partisan interest in favour of their conscience and the national interest in the Cash for Seat Scandal.

Thankful to God, the proceedings of the Special Committee were conducted in the full glare of the public making today’s attempted cover-up in Parliament laughable and an exercise in futility.

Ghanaians have always been discerning and know Founder Chairman Ambassador President Ashim Morton cannot take President Akufo-Addo’s place. More fundamentally; Ghanaians know it cannot be right, ethical, moral, legal nor conscionable to sell access to the President of Ghana to the highest bidder.

Today’s charade which can only amount to a travesty in Parliament is a pathetic addition to the countless comedy of contradictions and conflicting accounts that Government has been engaged in since this scandal erupted.

I am not one to be intimidated in the discharge of my constitutional duties, therefore, I can’t wait to appear before the Privileges Committee or any other Committee as the Speaker may so direct considering that I am of the fullest conviction and the clearest of conscience that the facts and the truth are and have always been on our side.

Truth stands.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

MP, North Tongu

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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According to him, the Constitution is not clear on the circumstances which require the Speaker to be sworn in as the elected President may still be able to perform his duties even though he is in the country.

[contextly_sidebar id=”G5uqn6BDhpZJuK8xwv0JmsnYmRGywleI”]“This exercise [of swearing in the Speaker] actually makes our democracy a lot more exciting but as exciting as it is, it is important to also test the Constitution. I am of the view, that if the President of the Republic and the Vice President are out of the jurisdiction, does that incapacitate them and make them unable to perform the functions of President and Vice? The President can send e-mails from wherever he is in the world directing his Chief of Staff and his Ministers to carry out certain instructions. If he’s not trusting of e-mails, he can send telegraphs from wherever he is around the world and he can make phone calls,” Ras Mubarak said.

“So this thing about whenever the President is out of the jurisdiction then it means he’s unable to perform his functions is clearly an anomaly. He does not necessarily have to be in the country physically [to perform his duties. When he travels outside the country he does so in his capacity as elected President of the Republic of Ghana. The President’s physical absence from the jurisdiction does not incapacitate him from performing his functions.”

‘Anomaly in the Constitution’

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, 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”.

The issue has been brought under the spotlight yet again following the swearing in of Speaker Prof. Mike Oquaye as acting President for the second time in a week today due to the absence of President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who are in Ethiopia and the United Kingdom on medical leave respectively.

Mike Oquaye was first sworn in last Sunday after President Akufo-Addo travelled to Liberia for the inauguration of new Liberian President George Weah.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Ras Mubarak stated that his lawyers were preparing to file a case before the country’s Apex court seeking an interpretation of the law, taking previous cases into consideration as well.

“The interpretation we have given the law is not what the framers of the Constitution envisaged. Today technology is aiding us to do things that we never envisaged 20 or 30 years ago. We’ve been to the Supreme Court twice on this; Asare and Atta-Mensah, but I think we’ll have to go back to the Supreme Court,” he said.

“I have actually been in touch with my lawyer, who happens to be my senior colleague in Parliament, Dr. Ayine. I’ve given him indications to file the necessary processes for us to have the Supreme Court take a third look at the position they took a year or two ago. It should also look at the inconveniences that it poses to all of us that each time the President and Vice are out of town we would have to come back to Parliament and swear in the Speaker. We have an anomaly in the Constitution and the best place to have that fixed is to go to the Supreme Court and have them take a third look at this.”

A number of critics of the law have argued that even when he is out of the jurisdiction, the President still represents the country as its leader.

Ras Mubarak, who shares this view, argued that President Akufo-Addo swore in Shirley Ayorkor Botchway as the Foreign Minister at the Ghanaian Embassy in Ethiopia.

“We’ve even seen examples of the President being outside the country and swearing in the Foreign Affairs Minister. In what capacity did he swear in Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey? Do you see the absurdity of the situation?” he queried.

Cost

Ras Mubarak stated that it was important to consider the financial implication of having to summon MPs back to the House every time the First Gentleman and his deputy are out of the jurisdiction, to swear in the Speaker to act in their stead.

“Each time the President and Vice are out of the jurisdiction, it means Parliament would have to be recalled. [Today’s] Swearing in was the second in the space of just one week. Members of Parliament came last Sunday to swear in the Speaker, gone back to their constituencies and have been recalled to swear in the Speaker as President again. Calculate the cost of having 275 Members of Parliament and recalling them to undertake this exercise,” he said.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Persons who wish to register names such as Nana, Naa, Junior among others, have been turned away in recent times by the Births and Deaths Registry with a reason that such names are considered as titles.

[contextly_sidebar id=”bxuZxNht51C1ZRv7uu1J2Mg3HNTD9OiR”]The Ministry was summoned after the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, put forward a request, while questioning the Births and Deaths Registry’s power to issue and apply such directives.

Making his case before the House, Mr. Iddrisu said: “I have with me here, the Daily Heritage newspaper with a caption headline, Ghanaians angry over ban on names such as Nana, Nii, Maame, Junior…I am raising this so that this house will summon the Minister for Local Government and the management of the Births and Deaths Registry to explain to this House where the source of their power is.”

‘Blacklisting names illegal’

The Births and Deaths Registry’s decision has been widely criticized by Ghanaians, including Legal Practitioner, Ace Ankomah who has described the move as illegal.

The Registrar at the Births and Deaths Registry, John Yao Agbeko, however justified the action, saying the law governing the Registry’s operations – Act 301 (1965), gives them the power to do so.

“There is a law that regulates the activities of the Births and Deaths registry, that law is the Births and Deaths Registration Act 301 of 1965. In this Act, we have a function for the Minister to do a regulation. In the regulation, there is a function for the Registrar to come out with a mode of operation.”

“…So even though you will not read it in the Act, the regulation allows the registrar to come out with the mode of operation to manage the place, and that is what we have done. That is why if you go to Tamale, the one over there will tell you that you cannot register that name. If you pick that same name and you run to Accra, in order to do same, you will be told you can’t do it,” he explained on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday.

But Ace Ankomah pointed out that what the Registry was doing “is not in the law, and it is also not in the regulation that was supposed to have been made under the 1965 Act.”

Occupy Ghana petitions AG over blacklisted names by Births and Deaths

Pressure Group, Occupy Ghana, has written to the Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, to complain about the Births & Deaths Registry’s action.

Occupy Ghana in the letter argued that, the Registry’s action has no basis in law, and charged the Attorney General to take steps to address the issue since it is a gross violation of the rights of Ghanaians.

“We have however checked that Act and all relevant laws including the Regulations passed under the Act. We have not seen any provision that either supports this policy or gives the Registrars of Births and Deaths any power to refuse to register any name. We believe that this stance is a gross violation of the rights of Ghanaians to choose names (particularly Ghanaian names) as they deem fit for their children, subject to the right to change one’s name at any time later in life,” the letter said.

Occupy Ghana in the letter, which was also copied to the Local Government Minister, called on the Attorney General to order the Registry to stop such acts, else they will proceed to court within the next 30 days.

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By: Marian Ansah & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The Speaker, who is a professor of political science, in an opinion piece published in the Daily Graphic had argued that the date should be moved from July 1 to January 7.

[contextly_sidebar id=”LDFKIZoWi1OLMtew3d50O7ojUgOegBuF”]According to him, 1st July 1960, which marks one of the republics of the past, is ‘dead and abandoned’, hence the need for the change.

“In fact, the First Republic was totally different from the other republics in terms of historicity and ideology. The 1960 Constitution was never restored. Indeed, it was repudiated in 1969. The former did not provide fundamental human rights, while the latter was a charter of liberty. If we simply celebrate Republic Day without knowing what we are celebrating, we will be groping in darkness.

“If we take 1st July as “Ghana’s Republic Day”, what Republic Day are we talking about? Are we celebrating that which was destroyed, abandoned, repudiated on February 24, 1966 or January 7, 1993, the day on which the 1992 Constitution was brought to being? How do you celebrate that which is otiose, dead and gone and replaced with another?,” the Speaker indicated.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Bukari indicated that, Prof. Oquaye’s argument is flawed, given that Ghana attained republican status by July 1,1960, the significance of which must not be downplayed.

“This is an argument I will say we should call balderdash…Mr. Oquaye is entitled to his views but all that we need to know is that the Republic Day is equally important for all Ghanaians and all people who cherish constitutionalism. We [Ghanaians] should not forget in collectivism that Ghana, under the instrumentality of the Great Osagyefo Dr. Nkrumah won her independence and then attained a republican status by 1st July 1960. We cannot forget and we should not forget 1st July.”

He believes an attempt to shift Republic Day to January 7 will be tantamount to “neglecting someone’s efforts” in the struggle for independence.

According to Mr. Bukari, though 7th January can be celebrated to “mark the democratization of Ghana’s constitutionalism”, the celebration of 1st July 1960 as Ghana’s Republic Day cannot be ignored.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, had expressed concerns about the plight of many Ghanaians at a number of embassies, noting the “dehumanizing treatment sometimes meted out to many applicants virtually on a daily basis.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”DuxcIArHIiDOBOA4UilEVahY5qQi7k8E”]Mr. Ablakwa also stated on the floor of Parliament that, most embassies have made “no provision for a decent and safe waiting area where visa applicants may be hosted as they wait their turn during visa interview appointments.”

Prof. Mike Oquaye, has as a result, directed the Foreign Affairs Committee to meet and deliberate on the issue, and visit some of the embassies

“Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs shall meet and deliberate on this matter through investigation and interrogation; and armed with a letter from the Speaker’s Office, they shall visit relevant embassies and places, analyse the problem, where necessary with the cooperation of Embassy staff, and our own foreign office, but independent of it, and report back to the House,” the Speaker said.

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Frank Annor Dompreh, had earlier said that his Committee was aware of the situation, and would team up with the Foreign Affairs Ministry on how best to deal with this worrying trend.

“It has become so important and poignant that we take some important decisions and make some attempts to resolve this concern once and for all,” he said.

Mr. Annor Dompreh  indicated the need for a thorough investigation, saying “there are some of these embassies that are doing a very good job and they need to be supported and encouraged.”

The Speaker admitted that,  there was a need for cooperation between Parliament and the responsible Ministry, but insisted that, the House would not hesitate to take up issues that concern the interests of Ghanaians.

“I want to emphasize that, we shall always have to cooperate with the appropriate Ministries and agencies, but Parliament will not abandon its inquisitorial role of inquiring into matters that touch, concern and affect Ghanaians,” he said.

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku & Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Presentation of the bill by the Attorney General begins the process of legislative approval for the framework with which government intends to fight public sector corruption.

[contextly_sidebar id=”HXWArEG0ewr2UGl7o4s4xcl9h4EkdLNN”]The Speaker of Parliament, Michael Oquaye ahead of the laying of the bill explained circumstances under which the office of the special prosecutor should be set up.

“With regards to public prosecutor, it is something that our constitution basically provides. That the Attorney General has a monopoly of prosecution. The only person who has the right to prosecute in their courts is the Attorney General by a constitutional provision and he may delegate. 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 said.

Confusion over Special Prosecutor’s office

The setting up of the office of the Special Prosecutor was one of the key campaign promises made by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo which he explained was necessary in tackling corruption related issues in the country.

There have however been varied opinions about the creation of the office.

Whereas some believe it is in the right direction, the Minority Members of Parliament had threatened to go to court over the matter.

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, in an earlier Citi News interview insisted that, the Special Prosecutor’s office could not be established without tinkering with Article 88 of the constitution, which deals with the role of the Attorney-General.

“…That is my understanding of the law. It belongs to the executive chapter of the constitution which is entrenched; therefore you cannot be seeking to review that through an Act of Parliament… I am certain that article 88 is entrenched, and not that which can be reviewed simply through a process of an Act of Parliament,” he explained.

Funding for special prosecutor in limbo – MP

Though the President has indicated that the office will be operational within the stipulated time, he failed to mention how government intends funding its operations.

The Chairman of Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee, Ben Abdallah had earlier stated that he did not know where the funding for the office will come from although he maintained that the office “is one of the priorities of government.”

“…Government has given a deadline around next year 2018, so let’s wait and see if the promise is not realized taking into consideration the deadline, then we will be right in taking government to task. Because as I’m talking, we don’t even know where the money will be coming from, whether it will be provided outside this budget estimates, but by the government or it’s going to come from somewhere else, we can’t tell,” he said.

“But let’s not be judgmental at this time of the day by saying that there would be a conflict of interest with respect to where government is to get funding from be it from a particular entity or individual. Probably the money will be provided for by the government itself,” he added.

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

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Like devices by Amazon and Google, Apple’s HomePod speaker can respond to questions and control smart home gadgets such as lights.

Analysts say Apple has been slow to improve its Siri virtual assistant and launch a smart speaker, after Amazon launched its Echo in 2014.

The company has pitched HomePod first and foremost as a music player.

“Apple being very clever by launching its Siri speaker as a music speaker that’s smart, because Siri isn’t great,” said Tom Warren from the technology news site The Verge.

“Interesting that home assistant was the last feature they talked about. Focusing on music is smart, main use case for smart speakers,” said Ben Bajarin, of the Creative Strategies consultancy.

The announcement was made at the tech giant’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California.

“It’s a logical step for Apple, to ensure that they don’t miss the opportunity to get a smart device right in the centre of people’s homes,” said Ben Wood, an industry analyst at CCS Insight.

“There has been a huge amount of hype around Amazon Echo and Google Home, but we are really at the start of this technology.

“This does a great job of extending the tentacles of Apple services.”

Analysis – Dave Lee, BBC North America technology reporter, at WWDC

At more than double the cost of Amazon’s Echo, the HomePod is a typical Apple move.

The company is once again banking on its reputation as a creator of intuitive, luxury products that justify a hefty price tag.

What’s interesting about Apple’s approach here is that the company has positioned HomePod as a music device first and foremost, a big contrast to the approach of Google which touted its Home speaker as a day-to-day assistant for many aspects of your life.

So – a cynic might say Apple has just launched the world’s most-hyped bluetooth speaker – not much imagination there.

But let’s face it, before AI and machine learning really matures, most home assistant devices are essentially voice-controlled speakers, and so Apple dedicating its effort into making it sound great is probably a smart move.

Then again, you might wonder if its “smart” capabilities are being downplayed due to Siri just not being as advanced as its competitors.

Mixed reality

Tools that let app designers add virtual objects to a real-world view from the phone’s camera, in real time, were also revealed.

The mobile game Pokemon Go is a well-known example of mixed-reality technology in action.

Image copyrightAPPLE

Apple said the new ARkit would make use of the dual-lens camera on the iPhone 7 Plus, making the integration of virtual objects and the real world more realistic.

“By truly enabling all modern iPhones to become augmented reality platforms, Apple will have the largest potential reach for AR development day one,” said Mr Bajarin.

However, he questioned the practicality of augmented reality on a smartphone.

“The benefit to a headset or glasses in these demos is not having to hold the device up thus arms getting tired,” he said.

Safety in the car

Apple also announced the next version of its mobile operating system – iOS 11 – which will include a new setting for people who use their iPhone in the car.

In January, the company was sued by a US couple whose daughter was killed by a driver allegedly using FaceTime on his iPhone.

The new driving mode silences notifications, turns the phone’s display off, and can automatically reply to messages to warn friends that you are driving.

Samsung is testing a similar feature for its Android-powered phones.

Apple also announced:

• a deal bringing the Amazon Prime Video streaming service to the Apple TV set-top box
• an update to its Safari web browser, which will now stop websites from tracking visitors and stop videos playing automatically
• speed upgrades to its iMac and Macbook range of computers, plus a new iMac Pro which the company says is the most powerful Mac ever made

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Source: BBC

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On behalf of Ghanaians, I want to render an unqualified apology to you.

It seems you are the headmaster of a primary school instead of being the Speaker of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana.

We are sorry that you have to deal with such unruly children masquerading as adults with willingness to serve our nation.

They tricked us into believing that they were indeed honourable adults and so we put them in the House and now we (you and the rest of us), have the misfortune of being ensnared by their antics.

In fact Sir, it is my opinion that, in light of recent events; members of the House desist from using the not only illusory, but the mendacious title ‘honourable.’

To make my point, I borrow and paraphrase the words of Oliver Cromwell and ask how do members of the House as a collective entity call themselves honourable when they have dishonoured by contempt of all virtue, and defiled by practice of iniquitous vices, the sanctity of the august House.

Sir, as Cromwell said, a factious crew, enemies to all good government; people who like Esau would sell their country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray their God for a few pieces of money, do not deserve to be called members of Parliament. I then ask; how do we then per our seemingly sane minds call such ‘honourable’?

Sir, no disrespect intended here, but there’s no honour in the House now.

Don’t get me wrong, I do know that there are some, probably a collective majority that who indeed men and women of honour.

However their honour has been clouded by the unscrupulous few within their ranks.

To us, the citizens, the engagements and collective conduct of this House are as honourable as Judas in the presence of thirty pieces of sliver.

With the ‘Ayarigate’ Report and the aftermath nearly free for all brawl that night, Sir, you are presiding over a degenerated House.

A House perceived to barter it’s conscience for bribes can surely not itself or its members demand from nation the title ‘honourable.’

To me; the only way the House can redeem itself, is to purge itself of the cancerous dishonourable members.

Sir; from the Report, the House has been hit in two ways. Although the multiplicity of a rumour does not metamorphose the rumour into fact, the committee could not debunk the veracity of the said rumour.

A rumour is not fact until proven to be the truth, and it is not a lie until proven to be false.

That is why hearsays are not used in the adjudication of criminal or civil matters in the court of law.However, none of us have physically seen God; yet a majority of us believe in Him based on rumours.

A person’s perception of any issue sometimes is solely moulded on rumours. So to some of us now, the House of our Legislature, is a den of bribe taking disingenuous liars with no iota of interest in the affairs of the nation.

Worse still; is the perception that there are members who will unintelligently act on rumours. How safe are we with such impetuous members as our representatives?

Sir, get rid of the identified Rumour Monger, no apology rendered would be enough to wipe the disgrace this debacle has regurgitated all over the House and the country.

Let his expulsion if for nothing at all; serve as a warning to other members not to act on rumours.

I wish you luck, there’s nothing more tedious than dealing with children with self-entitlement issues copulating with self-aggrandizing tendencies.

Thank You

Concerned Citizen
Pearl Asiamah/ Email: [email protected]

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