Mrs. Benyiwa-Doe issued the caution when she inaugurated an office for the Member of Parliament for Cape Coast constituency.  The office located at the premises of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, is equipped with modern gadgets like computers, fax machines, printers and telephones to facilitate smooth communication.  She abhorred the practice where the electorates find it difficult to locate and interact with their MPs because they had abandoned their constituencies and settled in Accra.

 The Minister urged the Cape Coast MP, Mr Ebo Barton-Odro, to keep in constant touch with the people and to ensure that the office remained neutral devoid of unnecessary partisan politics in all its activities because it belonged not only to one political party but to all the people of Cape Coast Metropolis.  She appealed to all to join hands to help develop the Region, by working harder with the limited resources available and to refrain from the over-dependence on government for development.

Mr Barton-Odro who is also the Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, pledged to work to improve the pace of development of the Metropolis and urged all Cape Coasters to be united to enable them to collectively accelerate the socio-economic growth of the area.  In another development Mr Ebo Barton-Odro visited the Cape Coast District Hospital where he donated items worth GH¢10,000 to the hospital.  They include Kidney Dishes and Covers, Weighing scale, Theatre and Mobile beds and assorted drinks.

Dr. Joseph Nuertey, Metro Health Director who received the items, thanked the MP for the gesture and appealed to him to source more funds to help alleviate the numerous challenges at the hospital.

GNA

  They are expected to also tour the Regional Commands of the Ghana Police Service, Ghana National Fire Service, Immigration Service, Custom, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Takoradi Air force Station and the Second Battalion of Infantry in region.  Addressing the press, Alhaji Osumanu said the visit was to enable Committee members to determine the needs and requirements of institutions under the two ministries and make recommendations for Parliament to improve their conditions of service.

He said the Ghana Navy has a big role to play in protecting the country’s territorial waters and considering the oil find; it must be adequately equipped and resourced to carry out such a duty.  Alhaji Osumanu said the navy lacked equipment and needs bigger and efficient boats to carry out its responsibilities.  He said the slipway at the command should be expanded and sufficient accommodation provided for the officers. He noted that some ratings have left the navy and have been employed by some oil companies.

Alhaji Osumanu said Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are brothers and have clear boundaries and the oil find should not mar the good and cordial relationship between the two countries.  He said Professor Atta-Mills is a President to all Ghanaians irrespective of ones political affiliation and who had been urging all and sundry to give off their best to develop the country.

GNA

Mr Gershon Gbediame, Chairman of the Committee and Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkwanta-South, said there was no way they would turn blind eye to the destruction of the environment.  He said this after he had led members of the Committee to tour the Chirano Goldmines at Sefwi-Wiawso in the Western Region to observe at firsthand their operations on Tuesday.  The Mines produces an average of 123,000 ounces gold every year and mining is done right inside a forest reserve.

Mr Gbediame expressed the Committee’s satisfaction with the way Chirano was carrying out its mining activities.  He also praised them for living up to their social responsibilities to the communities and encouraged the management of the company to work hard to help improve the living conditions of the people.
Earlier, Mr John Seaward, the General Manager, told the MPs that they were working closely with the Forestry Commission to replant the lost vegetation with indigenous timber species.
    He said, additionally, they were in constant touch with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that their operations do not either pollute or damage the ecology.
    Mr Seaward said they had targeted to produce 264,445 ounces of gold this year, up from the last year’s figure of 183,425 ounces.
Chirano paid a total of 64.25 million dollars in mineral and forest royalties during year 2009.
    It has within its 15 years of operation in Ghana, spent a total of 278,000 dollars on various projects in the areas of health, education and sanitation

GNA

 ”Collectively, we have come thus far not without challenges”, she said, adding both the majority and the Minority had worked hard to enable the House to finish its business on schedule.  She said: “I commend you and expect far greater commitment to the work of the House would be shown come next meeting.”  Justice Bamford-Addo told members to “stretch the extra mile” to at least present themselves in the chamber on time and apply themselves to the business of the House.

She thanked the Parliamentary Service staff, the press corps, auxiliary staff, the security and other services whose efforts “sometimes not seen but crucial for the successful conduct” of parliamentary work. Mr. Cletus Avoka Majority Leader commended the members for their decorum, comportment and their respect for the presidency. “Let’s continue to observe such decorum and respect for one another’s view at all times in our proceedings,” he said.

He said the period under review witnessed the approval of the nominations of 10 Ministers and Deputy Ministers of State which according to him demonstrated that the House and its committees would at all times execute their mandate within the confines of the Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House.

He thanked the members of the Majority Caucus for the confidence reposed in him and his Deputy, Mr. Rashid Pelpuo, as they were offered to opportunity to  lead the Majority and transact Government Business. He commended the Speaker and her Deputies for their impartial handling of affairs in the House adding, “members will attest to the fact that you handled issues in the House like a true mother always striving to meet the needs of all her sons and daughters within the family.”  He thanked the Minority for their cooperation and efforts for advancing the cause of democracy.

Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Minority Leader, said the President’s call for them to work together to fashion out a legislature that would help this country overcome its challenges in the time of domestic and global uncertainties as a welcome news adding: “I associate myself to this declaration.” He thanked the members for their efforts and wished them good rest and happy Ester Holiday.   Parliament resumes May 18, 2010.
GNA
SOF
24 Mar. 10

Mr Prempeh was commenting on a statement made on the floor of the House on cyanide spillage and its effects on the environment and on humans.
   Mrs Gifty Eugenia Kusi, Member for Tarkwa Nsuaem, made the statement to draw attention to the havoc of mining activities in her constituency.
   Dr Prempeh said noxious cyanide could affect a lot of communities through the flow of water.
   He said the local people must be trained on how to identify the contamination of the environment and raise the alarm.
   Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, MP for Techiman North, said the mercury levels of the mining companies must be checked to ensure that they did not go beyond the acceptable levels.
    He said government should give environmental issues serious consideration by giving adequate budgetary allocations to agencies responsible for the sector.
    Making the statement, Mrs Kusi said the cyanide spillage in Yaakye, a tributary of the Subri river in the Asutifi District was as a result of the negligence of the Newmont Gold Ghana Limited.
   Making reference to a Ghana News Agency report, she said Newmont failed to effectively monitor the rate of cyanide overflow into their environmental control dam.
   She said the spillage affected villages such as Adofoasa, Kontolrom, Yateabere, Kyeikrom, Bamfokwaakrom Akosua, Gyakakrom Bronikrom and Afua Sewaakrom.
   She said cyanide could affect the heart and the brain than other organs.
   Mrs Kusi noted that cyanide could be absorbed through the skin, contaminated food and manifest through symptoms such as rapid breathing, restlessness, dizziness, headache, weakness, nausea and vomiting.
   She said the Chamber of Mines, Mineral Commission, Ministry of Environment and Science and Technology, should put before Parliament, a bill that she called “Polluter Pay Principles”, instead of the existing codes of conduct, which she claimed were not making mining companies accountable for their activities.
   Mrs Kusi said although Newmont had paid some compensation to the affected communities, which could offer some comfort to the affected communities, the company must be made to allocate funds to restore the environment as well.
GNA

 The Minority Leader was contributing to a motion on the approval of two Deputy Ministers designates Dr Mustapha Ahmed, Deputy Minister Designate for Water Resources, Works and Housing and Mr San Nasamu Asabigi, Deputy Minister Designate for Northern Region.  He said article 78 Section “1″ of the 1992 Constitution prescribed that anyone, who is qualified to be elected as a member of parliament is eligible to be a Minister.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah, member for Sekondi in a rebuttal, disagreed with the Minority Leader and said Parliament had the mandate to cause the removal of non-performing ministers.  In his explanation, he asked whether parliament would approve a person found not to be fit for a ministerial position.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah further argued that what the constitution prescribed was legitimacy but not mandatory in the appointment of ministers adding that parliament could be constrained in a way but there was a way out.  He said if that was the case why parliament vetted them and added that there were clauses in the constitution that took care of this anomaly.

Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, Second Deputy Speaker, said the concern was a legitimate one and would be considered. 

Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo, Speaker of Parliament, said it was only the Supreme Court that could interpret the issues satisfactorily. She asked whether if a person who could not read and write English, would qualify as a minister.

 The Minority Leader in an answer said the constitution did not frown on such persons becoming ministers adding they could become ministers without hindrance.

On housing, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu expressed worry over how government would acquire enough land to execute the 600 thousand housing units promised Ghanaians.  He said the first phase of 400 thousand units alone was a whole community that could stand on its own.

Ms Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Member of Parliament for Bantama said government must do all in its power to complete the affordable housing project started by the previous government.  She said Ghanaians must not trivialize water shortage adding that good water supply was life.

 Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development said, the Deputy Northern Regional Minister designate, Mr San Asabigi must assist his Minister to put the necessary mechanism in place to avoid conflicts in the region.  He said the humility, hard work and diligence of Mr Asabigi would propel him to success in his new appointment.
GNA

He was interacting with selected journalists in Accra from Washington, DC, USA, in a video conference in which several countries participated. The event was to launch the Africa Development Indicators (ADI) 2010 report which focuses on how quiet corruption leads to an increasingly negative expectation of service delivery system such as absentee teachers in public schools, absentee doctors in primary clinics, drugs being stolen from public clinics and sold on the open market as well as subsidised fertilizer being diluted before it reaches farmers.

Mr. Devarajan observed that quiet corruption, though pervasive and widespread in Africa, did not make the headlines the way bribery scandals did adding the act had long term negative repercussions that undermined development in Africa.  “Tackling quiet corruption would require a combination of strong and committed leadership, policies and institutions at the sectoral level, and most importantly, increased accountability and participation by citizens”, he said.

He conceded that though the 2010 report did not take into account the cultural nuances of the countries studied such as Ghana where teachers and doctors in public institutions could absent themselves from duty for social reasons such as funerals, he stressed that their counterparts in the private sector were operating in the same cultural dispensation but comparatively productive because of proper incentives and better conditions of service.

Mr. Devarajan said the report showed economic indicators and explanations into why quiet corruption was a hindrance to achieving long and short term development goals and offered solutions to the challenge as well.  “Although there is no ‘one size fits all’ recommendation that applies to every sector, this essay advocates the need for strong and highly motivated leadership in the fight against corruption, commitment and capacity of the national anti-corruption units to pursue operationally effective responses at the sector level, and adequate policies and institutions”, he said.

He said successful implementation of anti-corruption reforms required that the preferences and interests of all those involved be aligned with achieving the objectives of the reform adding, the act involved better working conditions.  Mr. Sebastien Dessus, a Lead Economist at the World Bank, Ghana Office, said it was difficult accessing information and gathering data on government’s public expenditure at the basic level.  He lauded the initiative of the World Bank Group in spearheading the submission of the Right to Information Bill to the floor of Parliament and expressed the hope it would be adequately debated and effectively implemented.

Mr. Dessus called for the empowerment of poor people to build pressure on public institutions and government to improve the quality of service delivery they offered and to disseminate information or published reports or surveys to promote transparency to stem the tide on corruption. The ADI 2010 report provides detailed collection of data on Africa available in a volume. It contains over 450 macroeconomic, sectoral and social indicators covering 53 African countries.

It is designed to provide all those interested in Africa with a focused and convenient set of data to monitor development programmes and aid flows in the region with an invaluable reference tool for analysts and policymakers who want a better understanding of economic and social developments in Africa.

The ADI report states that the debate on quiet corruption will bring about the recognition that government spending on social services alone is not sufficient and that the quantity and quality of public services require the development of a third generation of indicators that measure quality of services and the performance of service providers.

GNA

Mr Wiredu explained it had through its witnesses made known that Daramani held a Ghanaian, Burkinabe, British and Service passports.
The Prosecutor said the passports bore the same date of birth – 6th August 1962 – but had different places of birth.  The Burkinabe passport had Daramani’s place of birth as Ouaga, while the Ghanaian, Service and British passports had Bawku as his place of birth. 

Mr Wiredu alleged that Daramani was not a Ghanaian yet forged documents to procure the various passports.  He further argued that Daramani also made false statutory declaration that he did not owe any allegiance to any other country apart from Ghana and as result he was voted for to become a Member of Parliament.  Mr Wiredu said Daramani like all Members of Parliament needed to obtain voters identity card before he could stand for election, adding that he committed perjury when he swore to a Magistrate that he was a citizen of Ghana when in reality he owed allegiance to another country.  He said Daramani after reading the Electoral Commission Forms, understood the contents and signed the declaration on it.

 The Prosecution contended further that his action also led to the offence of deceit of a public officer when he swore to the Magistrate in the statutory declarative form before a Magistrate.  According to him the Magistrate was a Public Officer who acted in that capacity.  Daramani’s Lawyers are expected to respond to the Prosecutions arguments on March 19.  The Court on February 10 2010, asked Daramani to open his defence. On the said date, Daramani contended that he needed the Court’s record of proceedings.  The Court, therefore, ordered that proceedings of the Court be provided him.  Prosecution after calling four Prosecution Witnesses closed its case.

Adamu Daramani, aka Adamu Daramani-Sakande, aka Adamou Sakande, a Security Management Specialist, is facing nine counts including being a prohibited immigrant and forgery of travelling certificates. Other charges are false declaration for office; perjury; deceiving public officer; unauthorised voting and other registration offences. Daramani has pleaded not guilty and has been admitted to GH¢10,000 bail with surety.

 The Prosecution’s case is that in 2008, after the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, information reached the Complainant, Mr Biebil that the accused, who won the Bawku Central Seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), had multiple nationalities. As part of Mr Biebil’s civic responsibility, he noticed that Daramani had violated the law. He reported it to the authorities and investigations revealed that Daramani had multiple nationalities.  The Prosecution said investigations had revealed that Daramani had a Burkinabe passport number C10098625, which was issued in November 1999 and expired in September 2009.  He said Daramani as a Burkinabe, travelled on the said passport to Ghana on March 19, 2004 and departed on March 30, 2004.

The Prosecution said Daramani also possessed and owned a United Kingdom passport number 094442650 on which he travelled to Ghana and arrived in the country in December 2005, sought and obtained a Ghanaian Entry Visa with the Ghana High Commission in London.  In addition, when Daramani returned to Ghana in 2007, he managed to secure a Ghanaian passport, thereby evading and abusing the county’s electoral system and laws.

 The Prosecution said Daramani used the same representation to get his constituents to nominate him as parliamentary candidate, and was accepted, thereby making them to believe that he was a Ghanaian and filed all the requisite forms.  The Prosecution pointed out that Article 94 (2) of the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution of Ghana, forbids aliens from contesting elections in the country.

GNA

Dr Ahmed who was the first to appear before the committee expressed the need for research institutions to be well resourced to identify the measures the country could take to prevent the losing of water bodies.  Asked how his dental background could have an impact on his ministry, he said one of the causes of dental problems was the intake of water with high level of fluoride.  He gave the assurance that communities affected with the cases of fluorosis will be provided with water with the requisite amount of fluoride. He said polluted water could result in bacteria infection that could affect the gum and the ligaments that hold them.

Dr Ahmed said when given the nod he would take a second look at Roof Loans and Wall Protection, which were facilities aimed at solving the accommodation problems in the North.  He said the support would target northern communities whose houses were normally destroyed by rain storms yearly. Mr Asabigi said the most trusted intervention in solving poverty and the Kayaye problem was to educate the girl child. He said the problems of the Northern Region were hydra-headed, adding that the 1994 ethnic conflict in the area had contributed to it.  He said fostering children of distant relations, family problems, competition among girls were some of the challenges facing the people.

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Minority Leader noted that the Northern region have been hit by many conflicts with political colorations and admonished Mr Asabigi not to muddy the waters when he gets the approval as Deputy Minister.

Mr Doe Adjaho, Chairman of the Vetting Committee said his experience as Deputy Regional Minister in the previous National Democratic Congress government should guide him to success.

GNA

He stated that Ghana under President John Evans Atta Mills was gradually un-tagging herself of being notorious for drug trade.  He said under the National Democratic Congress (NDC), armed robbery had been brought to the minimum.  Mr. Avoka said when he was the Interior Minister he attended a conference in Cape Verde in 2008 where Ghana was tagged as a country engaged in drugs such as cocaine.   This brought Mr. Ambrose Dery, Deputy Minority Leader, to his feet challenging the Majority Leader to produce evidence to his claim. 

Mr. Avoka pulled out a document to which he read to the House but the Minority still dissatisfied pursued the matter that the document be laid before the house.  The Speaker Mrs. Joyce Bamford – Addo, said there was no specific rule in the Standing Orders to be used to deal with the issue especially in the laying of the paper.

She said however that the rule governing the debate was that no one should make statements without substantiating it and wondered why the Minority still persisted in the pursuance of the matter.  Prof. Mike Oquaye, Second Deputy Speaker said Mr. Avoka must lay the paper before the House adding, “this is a serious matter, he who alleges must establish.”  Mr. Dery pursued the matter when he argued that the document was someone’s perception and must not be recognized as factual in dealing with the matter.

Mr Avoka said when Papa Owusu Ankoma quoted the World Street Journal to establish that doing business in Ghana was expensive under the NDC government and the Majority established same argument against it, the Minority contended that the paper was a respected one all over the world and that its comments were factual.

He said since the House mostly thrived on precedents therefore there must be uniformity in precedents, adding that if in their (Minority) case, it was applicable, it must be must also be applicable in this case too.  The Minority devised another strategy forcing Mr. Avoka to withdraw both the document and the statement he made.  They had made sure that unless that was done, the House could not adjourn.