Category: National

The Presidential Committee on Emoluments has appealed to the public to be ‘non-partisan’ and ‘dispassionate’ in their discussions on the privileges of Article 71 Office Holders.

The Committee said the discussions must proffer workable solutions to the issues relating to the constitutional provision and arrive at a national consensus on arrangements that would serve the best interest of the country.

Speaking at the opening of a conference on the emoluments and privileges of Article 71 Office holders in Accra on Tuesday, Dr Janet Ampadu Fofie, Chairperson, Presidential Committee on Emoluments, said the debate must provide solutions to the implementation of previous recommendations.

She said the Committee was open to ideas on how to structure the emoluments of Article 71 Office Holders in the wake of the current economic challenges and other issues.

Dr Fofie said term ‘ex-gratia’ which had become prominent in public discourse on the benefits of Article 71 Office holders was not captured anywhere as a constit
utional provision.

‘The question really is not the recommendations. The challenge is what have we done about it? We are hoping that we will begin to not just talk about the problems but focus on the solutions.

‘If for instance we consider that the committee should do its work at the beginning of the term of the President, how do we do that, who does it, how do they do it and exactly what has to be changed?’ Dr Fofie asked.

Article 71 office holders include the President, Vice-President, Ministers of State, Deputy Ministers, Speaker of Parliament, his Deputies, Members of Parliament, Justices of the Superior Court of Judicature, Members of the Council of State, and Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons of the Electoral Commission (EC); Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Auditor-General and the Administrator of the District Assembly Common Fund.

Others are the chairmen, vice-chairmen and members of the National Council for Higher Education, the National Media Commission (NMC),
the Public Services Commission and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).

Article 71 (1) of the Constitution requires the President to set up a committee to determine the salaries and allowances payable, and the facilities and privileges available to his office, the Vice-President, the Speaker and Members of Parliament and a group of nine officeholders spelt out in that Article.

The recommendations of the five-member committee are subject to the approval of the President and Parliament.

At the inauguration of the current Emoluments Committee on August 30, 2023, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo tasked the committee to review the work of previous committees and take critical look at public concerns that have arisen from the implementation of Article 71 provision.

Tuesday’s conference, which was in response to the President’s directive, assembled stakeholders from the academia, public sector, professional groups, and civil society organisations to share their views on the subject matter.

D
uring an open forum that heralded a closed-door discussion, some stakeholders raised issue with the timing of the work of the committee, saying it would be prudent for the President to constitute the committee at the beginning of his tenure and not at the end.

Some former Members of Parliament and District Chief Executives decried some salary areas due them which they said had not been paid to them for up to three decades.

Some participants also expressed concern over the non-implementation of recommendations by previous presidential emoluments committees.

Dr Fofie said the Committee was hopeful to complete its work by June or July this year for consideration by the President.

Nana Agyekum Dwamena, Former Head of Service, Office of the Head of the Civil Service, said the implementation of past recommendations were essential to the work of the committee and appealed to all stakeholders to make substantial input.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Tuesday said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s letter to the Clerk of Parliament, directing him to refrain from submitting the Anti-LGBTQ Bill to the Presidency for assent, is in bad taste.

A letter signed by Nana Asante Bediatuo, the Secretary to the President, dated 18th March, 2024, addressed to the Clerk of Parliament, attributed the President’s decision to two pending court cases on the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values (anti-LGBTQ) Bill passed by the House.

However, Mr Iddrisu, in his address to the Parliamentary Press Corps, said the letter was a threat to Parliament and Ghana’s democracy.

‘I am unable to sleep. And I am unable to sleep because this is a monumental threat to Ghana’s democracy and to Parliament as an institution,’ he said.

‘By Article 93, we are clothed with legislative authority and legislative mandate,’ he said.

‘This letter only reflects the President’s quest for predominance over other organs
of state and that is unacceptable, and that must be fought by all persons who love democracy and who cherish the principles and values of the 1992 Constitution.’

The MP said the framers of the 1992 Constitution endowed Ghana with the separation of powers; the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary, and clothed Parliament with the responsibility to make laws.

‘First of all, what powers does the President’s Secretary have in writing to the Clerk of Parliament and not President Akufo-Addo himself writing directly to the Speaker of Parliament as is required by our Standing Orders, so that officially this can be read as communication from the President,’ he said.

‘So, ideally, this paper means nothing and must be ignored by the Clerk, because communication to Parliament must be communication signed by the President and addressed to the Speaker of Parliament as is required by our Standing Orders, whether old or new.’

‘Yes, there is a matter before court, but I am also a trained lawyer, an attempt to seek an
injunction is not the same thing as an injunction.’

He said seeking an injunction did not operate the same way as an injunction that had been so granted by a court, even if it was an interlocutory injunction.

The Tamale lawmaker said more importantly, Parliament could not be injuncted from performing its lawful function as the Legislature of Ghana, clothed under Article 93 (of the 1992 Constitution) responsible for legislation.

Mr Iddrisu, who is the immediate past Minority Leader, said the Judiciary, the Executive, as well as the Legislature were all subject to the Constitution of the country.

‘So, it is for a good reason that all of them, the Constitution says subject to the Constitution. The legislative authority is vested in the Parliament of Ghana as in Article 106,’ he said.

‘The President cannot by any shred or shadow of authority seek to injunct Parliament from exercising our lawful duty and responsibility as the House responsibility for law making. Neither can the court injunct Parliament not to
perform our duties as Parliament.’

Mr Iddrisu said the Court under Article 2 of the Constitution could declare a nullity or a void to the extent that Parliament had passed a law, which was inconsistent with the Constitution.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Former President John Dramani Mahama has reassured Ghanaians of his determination to resolve the challenges and problems they are facing when he assumes the reigns of government.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) 2024 Presidential Candidate gave the assurance in a massage delivered on his behalf by Mr Mustapha Gbande Foyo, the National Secretary, who represented him during a five-hour-walk organised by the Effutu Constituency Executives, in collaboration with the Central Regional Executives of the Party at Winneba.

The walk was to sensitise residents on the proposed 24-hour economic policy and the need to get out in their numbers on December 7 to vote for former President Mahama and Dr James Kofi Annan, the Effutu Parliamentary Candidate.

Prof Richard Kofi Asiedu, the Central Regional Chairman of the NDC, Mr Gbana Foyo and Dr Annan led thousands of supporters of the party, clad in party colours from the Winneba Senior High School junction, through the principal streets to the main lorry station, where
they were addressed by leadership of the Party.

Mr Foyo said: ‘This year’s election is not to test any body but it is for the electorates to assess themselves and vote wisely for a person with all the qualities and that person is Mr John Mahama.’

‘We are tired of harassment and intimidation and corruption, and I hope the people of Effutu will come out in their numbers to participate in this year’s election for the NDC to bring total development to Ghana.’

He called on the party supporters to campaign for the party to ensure victory on December 7 to make the 24-hour economy, among other policies, a reality to create jobs for the youth.

Prof Asiedu urged the people of Effutu to adopt the Assin North formula and vote massively for the NDC.

Dr Annan, on his part, expressed appreciation to the people for the full participation in the walk to honour former President John Mahama.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Isaac Kwamina Afful, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for Shama in the Western Region, has toured the constituency to introduce himself to the chiefs and people and seek their blessings as he officially begins his campaign towards Election 2024.

Addressing journalists after the tour, Mr Afful said it was necessary to introduce himself to the traditional authorities, being the custodians of the land, and court their support to undertake his campaign activities.

He thanked them for their warm reception and said the gesture signified the trust they had in him to bring the desired development to the constituency if elected.

Mr Afful said his vision was to prioritise interventions to improve upon education, health, youth employment, sports infrastructure and sanitation among other key sectors of the economy.

He promised to work closely with the traditional leaders to implement sustainable policies to spur development, adding that he had constructed modern toilet facilities and classroom
blocks for some of the communities.

‘All these are testaments to my competence and commitment to bring hope to the constituents of Shama when they vote for me to become the MP for the Constituency,’ he stated.

Nana Akosua Mfrasie II, the Chief of Lower Inchaban, congratulated Mr Afful for his election at the primary and prayed for God to grant him his desire of becoming the MP for the area.

She urged him to endeavour to serve the people with humility and honesty and deliver on all his promises when elected.

Nana Kwamina Ekutan II, the Chief of Dwomo, encouraged Mr Afful to base his campaign on ideas and solutions to the challenges facing the constituency, and not on issues that could disrupt the peace and unity in the area.

He asked him not to ignore the people when given the chance to go to Parliament, but to ensure that every community had its fair share of development.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Some women groups in the country have called on political parties to prioritise gender issues in their manifestos.

According to these women groups, the reason Ghana is not making giant strides in gender equality is because political parties do not champion gender issues in their manifestos.

Ms Patricia Acquah, Public Relations Officer, Young Urban Women Movement (YUWM), said that a look at some policies in political party manifestoes testify that the parties were not ready to make the change they promise the citizens, especially on gender issues.

Examining a policy like increasing women’s representation in parliament, Ms Quansah said if political parties really wanted to increase women’s representation, the easiest way was to remove the financial burden that deterred women from contesting.

She said it is trite knowledge that Ghana was a patriarchal society where economic resources were concentrated in the hands of men, a situation that put women at a disadvantage in activities that involved money.

It is
therefore proper that the parties do away with those financial obligations to enable more women to contest, she said.

‘The amount of money political parties levy to allow people to contest on their ticket is very high. How would a woman who is not financially stable be able to take part in such a race? So, they should reduce it so that more women can come up and take up those positions.’ Ms Acquah said.

Her comments are part of the views sampled by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) from various women groups to mark the International Women’s Day celebration commemorated all over the world on 8th March 2024, on the theme, ‘Inspire Inclusion’.

Madam Grace-Tera Korsinah, President, Kingdom Women Diplomat (KWD), and one who is passionate about gender and women empowerment issues, who also shared her views with the GNA, noted that Ghana one of the countries that had ratified various treaties aimed at increasing the role of women in national development.

She said ratifying those treaties were laudable, but the impleme
ntation had been left in the hands of gender activists, mostly women, to champion.

She said these women had indeed made major inroads but unfortunately, deep seated inequalities remained.

Ms Korsinah said she recently read a report which indicated that women’s representation in Ghana’s parliament was only 14.5 per cent and those in management positions in the private sector was about 27 per cent.

She said the situation was discouraging, considering what Ghana stood to achieve in gender equity.

According to her, many studies have proven how advantageous it is for organizations and nations when women are empowered and amplified to occupy certain key positions and wonders why issues of gender and real women empowerment is not mainstreamed in political agenda.

She also indicated that that the United Nations, the greatest engine, championing the gender equality globally, acknowledged the fact that gender equality was not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and
sustainable world.

She therefore called on political parties to make gender equality a real agenda on their table.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The government, as part of efforts to strengthen security and justice delivery in the Ashanti region, has provided a number of physical infrastructure to enhance the work of officers and personnel in that sector.

Mr Simon Osei-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister, who stated this, said more than 100 office and residential accommodation for the security agencies and the judicial service had been constructed in the region since 2017.

Speaking at a media encounter in Kumasi, he said 50 office buildings and residential accommodation had been built and commissioned for the Police, Immigration Service, Customs Service, NADMO, Prisons Service and the Ghana National Fire Service, in various parts of the region.

The judiciary had benefited from a total of 59 projects comprising 83 residential units, of which 48 had already been completed and commissioned.

The media encounter was to update heads of security agencies, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) as well as the media, on development in
itiatives currently going on within the judicial and security sectors in the Ashanti region since 2017.

Mr. Osei-Mensah elaborating on security issues said the situation in the region had improved significantly and there was relative calm in the region.

According to him, there used to be inherited security challenges such as the Agogo cattle herds menace, relocation of the Atwima-Kwanwoma district capital from Foase to Twedie, protracted clashes between Muslim youth and Ashanti youth at Ahwia community, frequent highway robberies, illegal mining and logging as well as kidnapping, among others.

With proactive interventions, he said, most of these issues had be resolved.

He indicated that a total of 5,108 new security personnel have been recruited and posted to the Ashanti Region.

This number does not include the military.

Again, the government has provided 181 vehicles to security agencies in Ashanti.

More than 50 building projects including bungalows, offices and other complexes have been provided for
the various security agencies in the region.

The Regional Minister reiterated the government’s resolve to continually resource the security and judicial services to effectively discharge their duties of protecting lives and properties in the region.

Source: Ghana News Agency