Friday, March 22, 2024

The Parliamentary Press Corps: The Broken Piece in Ghana’s Celebration of 30 Years of Parliamentary Democracy

This article is meant to highlight the unfortunate omission of the media, and for that matter, the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) from the activities mapped out for the celebration and the failure of the organizers to acknowledge the PPC as an important stakeholder that has contributed immensely to the stability of the country’s democracy. We cannot belabor the point that journalists played an integral role in shaping the destiny of the country’s Parliamentary Democracy which milestone is being celebrated today.
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Array ( [limit] => 9 [cat] => 51 [loop_posts] => Array ( [1422] => Array ( [post_id] => 1422 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 1423 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/postpone-mid-year-review-for-our-engagement-with-ifm-deputy-finance-minister/ [post_title] => Postpone Mid-Year Review for our Engagement with IMF – Deputy Finance Minister [post_title_attribute] => Postpone Mid-Year Review for our Engagement with IMF – Deputy Finance Minister [post_excerpt] => The Government of Ghana has asked Parliament to reschedule the Mid-year review from Wednesday, July 13 to July 25, 2022 to give them more room to fully attend to the demands of the visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials who are in the country to assess government books for a possible bailout programme. [post_content] =>

The Government of Ghana has asked Parliament to reschedule the Mid-year review from Wednesday, July 13 to July 25, 2022 to give them more room to fully attend to the demands of the visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials who are in the country to assess government books for a possible bailout programme.

The Ministry of Finance was scheduled to address Parliament on the performance of the economy for the first half of the year in a mid-year review, however, addressing the press in Parliament on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 on the subject, a Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei-Asare has justified the need for the Parliamentary exercise to be postponed.

According to her, the Government needs more time and space to properly engage the IMF officials. She said, “This very mission is for data collection and we need all the space and time to enable us give them all the data they are requesting for. That is how come we are asking Parliament to postpone the mid-year budget review.”

The Deputy Finance Minister further justified the fact that the Government was still within the statutory provisions of the country since it has up till the end of the month of July to present the mid-year review to Parliament according to the PFM Act.

“So, clearly as human as we are, we should all understand that in this data finding mission of the IMF we need that space and time to address that and give them.

“Once we are done, on the 25th we would come to Parliament and do the mid-year budget review. And you should all know that per the PFM law, we have up until 31st of July do that and so it is within the law” she emphasized.
Ghana has started some engagements with the IMF for an economic bailout programme. The IMF officials have been in town since last week and they are supposed to leave on Wednesday.

They have so far concluded a meeting with the Office of the Vice President, Dr. Mahamud Bawumia, who doubles as the head of the Economic Management Team and the Finance Committee of parliament. Watch video here.

Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com

[post_date_unix] => 1657658102 [post_date] => July 12, 2022 [post_modified] => July 13, 2022 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/postpone-mid-year-review-for-our-engagement-with-ifm-deputy-finance-minister/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [1415] => Array ( [post_id] => 1415 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 1416 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/haruna-iddrisu-predicts-tough-times-for-govt-labour-relations-over-imf-conditionalities/ [post_title] => Haruna Iddrisu Predicts Tough Times for Govt – Labour Relations over IMF Conditionalities [post_title_attribute] => Haruna Iddrisu Predicts Tough Times for Govt – Labour Relations over IMF Conditionalities [post_excerpt] => Ahead of the determination of the conditionalities for Ghana’s return to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an economic bailout in less than two years after exiting the programme with pomp and pageantry, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrissu, has predicted tough times for Government labour relations. [post_content] =>

Ahead of the determination of the conditionalities for Ghana’s return to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an economic bailout in less than two years after exiting the programme with pomp and pageantry, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrissu, has predicted tough times for Government labour relations.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team, led by Carlo Sdralevich, mission chief for Ghana, has already been scheduled to visit Accra from July 6 – 13 to begin initial discussions with the Ghanaian authorities about a possible IMF-supported program.

Even as he wished the Government well in its negotiations, the Minority Leader added, “I foresee a conflict-ridden Government labour relations in the foreseeable future with this IMF agreement.”

He expressed concerns about the possible hardship the conditionalities are likely to bring to bear on the ordinary people as he bemoaned the mismanagement of the economy by the President Akufo Addo led administration.http://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/dont-blame-us-for-your-economic-mess-and-imf-bailout-minority-fires-president-and-vice/

“President Nana Addo Dankwa and Dr. Mahamud Bawumia, should take full responsibility for incompetently managing the economy to suffocating debt levels which has necessitated the retreat for us to request an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for the restructuring of our debts.

“They should also take full responsibility for their reckless and irresponsible borrowing and the unjustified profligate expenditure which has led us to the journey of retreat,” he said.

According to the Leader of the largest opposition party in Parliament, the conditionalities which are likely to emanate from the programme this time, would be dire because of the high levels of the country’s debt which must also be restructured.

The Minority Leader made the comment at a briefing with the Parliamentary Press on Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at the Lobby of Parliamentary Chamber. Watch video here.

Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com

[post_date_unix] => 1657160130 [post_date] => July 7, 2022 [post_modified] => July 7, 2022 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/haruna-iddrisu-predicts-tough-times-for-govt-labour-relations-over-imf-conditionalities/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [1410] => Array ( [post_id] => 1410 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 1411 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/expect-worse-economic-conditions-under-imf-bailout-programme-ato-forson-cautions/ [post_title] => Expect Worse Economic Conditions under IMF Bailout Programme – Ato Forson Cautions [post_title_attribute] => Expect Worse Economic Conditions under IMF Bailout Programme – Ato Forson Cautions [post_excerpt] => The Ranking Member on the Finance Committee in the Parliament of Ghana, Cassiel Ato Forson, has cautioned the people in the country to expect worse economic conditions under the new International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme which the President Akufo Addo led Government is committing the country to [post_content] =>

The Ranking Member on the Finance Committee in the Parliament of Ghana, Cassiel Ato Forson, has cautioned the people in the country to expect worse economic conditions under the new International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme which the President Akufo Addo led Government is committing the country to.

“The people of Ghana should expect a very strong IMF programme. Unfortunately, the Government is not articulating that fact. They are trying to hide from what is happening by trying to blame the Ukraine- Russia war. I do not accept it and we cannot accept that as the reason why Ghana is in this mess.

“We are in this mess because it is Government’s deliberate policy. The Government has mess us up big time and should take full responsibility for it. This is indeed, self-inflicted and the people that took us I to this mess must immediately take responsibility,” Hon. Ato Forson observed at a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday, July 6, 2022.

Government authorities on July 1, 2022, announced a decision by the President and supported by his cabinet to pursue an IMF bailout programme even though many of the officials are on record to have shown no confidence in the programme in the past.

However, according to the Ranking Member, this IMF programme will be tough on Ghanaians because it will be the first time the country’s economy would have to undergo a bailout combined with debt restructuring.

“This IMF programme will differ from all the IMF programmes we’ve seen in the past. In fact, this will be the first time we will do an IMF programme with debt restructuring. This means a lot. That will mean that Ghana is going to go through another phase of HIPC,” he emphasized.

He also called on the President and his Government to accept responsibility for the economic challenges rather than blaming it on COVID and Russian -Ukranian war. Watch video here

Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com

[post_date_unix] => 1657154537 [post_date] => July 7, 2022 [post_modified] => July 7, 2022 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/expect-worse-economic-conditions-under-imf-bailout-programme-ato-forson-cautions/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [1404] => Array ( [post_id] => 1404 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 1405 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/appn-congratulates-pap-on-successful-bureau-election/ [post_title] => APPN CONGRATULATES PAP ON SUCCESSFUL BUREAU ELECTION [post_title_attribute] => APPN CONGRATULATES PAP ON SUCCESSFUL BUREAU ELECTION [post_excerpt] => The African Parliamentary Press Network (APPN) has extended its congratulatory message to the Pan-African Parliament for a successful election for the Sixth Parliament recently held in Midrand, South Africa. [post_content] =>

The African Parliamentary Press Network (APPN) has extended its congratulatory message to the Pan-African Parliament for a successful election for the Sixth Parliament recently held in Midrand, South Africa.

"The APPN congratulates His Excellency Senator Chief Fortune Charumbira, on his election as the fifth PAP President, and his Vice-Presidents, Hon. Prof. Massouda Mohamed Laghdaf from Mauritania, Hon. Dr. Gayo Ashebir from Ethiopia, Hon. Lucia Martia Memndes Goncalves dos Passos from Cape Verde, and Hon. Ango Ndoutoune from Gabon," a press release co-signed by the Chairman of the Steering Committee, Olu Ibekwe and the Coordinator of the Network, Gilbert Borketey Boyefio, read.

The Network further associated itself with the call by Chief Fortune Charumbira for the PAP to “Put our African people forward and do away with unnecessary conflicts. Together we can achieve more, we will only develop our continent when united and this is an essential thing for our people to see and experience in our lifetime”.

The peaceful atmosphere and well-coordinated manner the just ended Ordinary Session was organized reflects the efforts and progress made by numerous stakeholders spearheaded by the African Union Commission.

The elections follow a stalemate that saw the legislative arm of the African Union failing to choose its leaders owing to differences on modalities of handling the election last year.

The deadlock was resolved by an Executive Council decision in October 2021, which reiterated the adoption of the principle of rotation when electing the leadership of the institution. The decision also charged the Office of the Legal Counsel of the Union to prepare modalities and conduct the elections of the new Bureau of the Pan-African Parliament.

The much-awaited election was presided over by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Chairperson, the Chief Executive Officer and Legal Representative of the African Union, H.E Moussa Faki Mahamat, who represented H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal and incumbent Chairperson of the African Union, who was meant to supervise the Session on an exceptional measure guided by Article 14 (1) of the PAP Protocol.

The said Article stipulates that the Plenary Session of the Parliament shall be presided by the Chairperson of the Union on the absence of the Bureau of PAP until the election of the President of the Parliament who shall thereafter preside over entire processes of the institution.

The release also reinforced the commitment of the continental parliamentary media body to support the cause of the Pan African Parliament.

"The APPN reiterates its commitment to work closely with the PAP to increase its visibility and spread the good work they are doing for all African citizens."

Source: parliamentnews360.com

[post_date_unix] => 1657133868 [post_date] => July 6, 2022 [post_modified] => July 6, 2022 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/appn-congratulates-pap-on-successful-bureau-election/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [1399] => Array ( [post_id] => 1399 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 1400 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/dont-blame-us-for-your-economic-mess-and-imf-bailout-minority-fires-president-and-vice/ [post_title] => Don’t Blame us for your Economic Mess and IMF Bailout – Minority Fires President and Vice [post_title_attribute] => Don’t Blame us for your Economic Mess and IMF Bailout – Minority Fires President and Vice [post_excerpt] => The Minority Group in Ghana’s Parliament has charged President Nana Adddo Dankwah Akuffo Addo and his Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia to take full responsibility for the current state of the economy which has led to a forced programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). [post_content] =>

The Minority Group in Ghana’s Parliament has charged President Nana Adddo Dankwah Akuffo Addo and his Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia to take full responsibility for the current state of the economy which has led to a forced programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to the group, it is the incompetence of the Vice President as the Head of the Economic Management Team in particular and the failure of the Government led by President Akufo Addo in general, which has led to the IMF bailout to fix the country’s economic challenges and difficulties.

“President Nana Addo Dankwa and Dr. Mahamud Bawumia, should take full responsibility for incompetently managing the economy to suffocating debt levels which has necessitated the retreat for us to request an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for the restructuring of our debts.

“They should also take full responsibility for their reckless and irresponsible borrowing and the unjustified profligate expenditure which has led us to the journey of retreat,” the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrissu, said in an address with the Press in Parliament on Wednesday, July 6, 2022. Watch video here

Though some officials in President Akuffo Addo’s Government including the Finance Minister are on record for demonizing IMF programmes in the past, Government authorities made an official announcement on July 1, 2022 to the effect that it has opted for an IMF programme. Based on this request, an IMF staff team has already been dispatched to the country to kick-start discussions on a possible program to support Ghana’s homegrown economic policies.

Taking his turn to address the press after the Minority Leader, the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee in Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson, warned Ghanaians to expect a very tough programme from the fund and therefore called on the Government to come clean by informing the people about the reality of the issues on the ground.

Cassiel Ato Forson, Ranking on Finance Committee

“The people of Ghana should expect a very strong IMF programme. Unfortunately, the Government is not articulating that fact. They are trying to hide from what is happening by trying to blame the Ukraine- Russia war. I do not accept it and we cannot accept that as the reason why Ghana is in this mess.

“We are in this mess because it is Government’s deliberate policy. The Government has mess us up big time and should take full responsibility for it. This is indeed, self-inflicted and the people that took us I to this mess must immediately take responsibility,” he observed.

Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com

[post_date_unix] => 1657122623 [post_date] => July 6, 2022 [post_modified] => July 6, 2022 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/dont-blame-us-for-your-economic-mess-and-imf-bailout-minority-fires-president-and-vice/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [1443] => Array ( [post_id] => 1443 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 1444 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/new-leadership-of-pan-african-parliament-elected/ [post_title] => New Leadership of Pan-African Parliament Elected [post_title_attribute] => New Leadership of Pan-African Parliament Elected [post_excerpt] => Hon. Senator. Chief Fortune Charumbira from Zimbabwe has been overwhelmingly elected as the new leader of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) at the currently underway Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Ordinary Session of the Fifth Parliament held in Midrand, South Africa. [post_content] =>

lHon. Senator. Chief Fortune Charumbira from Zimbabwe has been overwhelmingly elected as the new leader of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) at the currently underway Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Ordinary Session of the Fifth Parliament held in Midrand, South Africa.

“I want us to come together; we need to immediately fight and destroy the divisions caused by these foreign languages in Africa imposed on us by outside continents and resulted in us identifying one another as Anglophones, Francophones and Lusophones,” said Hon. Charumbira soon after his election victory, pledging to unite and develop the PAP.

Hon. Charumbira who was nominated to contest for Presidency of the PAP Bureau by his Southern Africa Caucus received 161 votes out of 203 votes cast with 31 members abstaining from voting while 11 spoilt papers were recorded.

“I am a President for everyone regardless of how you voted, it is high time we put our African people forward and do away with unnecessary conflicts. Together we can achieve more, we will only develop our continent when united and this is an essential thing for our people to see and experience in our lifetime,” added Hon. Charumbira.

Hon. Chief Charumbirais a traditional leader in Zimbabwe and the current President of the Chief's Council. He was inaugurated as the substantive Chief on 24 May 2000. In 2013, he was retained as President of the Chief’s Council in elections conducted by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission in Harare. He served as Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works in 2000.
He holds Masters in Business Administration (MBA) as well as Bachelor in Administration Law and Labor Law. He is a specialist in Institutional Change and Performance Improvement. 

Also elected to serve in the PAP Bureau, is the 1st Vice President, Hon.Prof. Massouda Mohamed Laghdaf (Mrs.) Laghdaf from Mauritania who got 137 votes with 43 abstaining and 4 spoilt papers recorded. Hon. Dr Ashebiri Gayo from Ethiopia was elected as the 2nd Vice President with 150 votes, 36 people abstained from voting while 11 spoilt papers were recorded. Hon. Lúcia Maria Mendes Gonçalves dos Passos (Mrs) from Cape Verde was voted as the 3rd Vice President after polling 102 votes with 2 spoilt papers. Hon. Francois Ango Ndoutoume from Gabon also made it to the Bureau as the 4th Vice President after garnering 138 votes with 51 abstaining while 8 spoilt papers were recorded.

The elections come following a stalemate that saw the legislative arm of the African Union failing to choose its leaders owing to differences on modalities of handling the election last year.

The deadlock was resolved by an Executive Council decision in October 2021, which reiterated the adoption of the principle of rotation when electing the leadership of the institution. The decision also charged the Office of the Legal Counsel of the Union to prepare modalities and conduct the elections of the new Bureau of the Pan-African Parliament.

The much-awaited elections were presided over by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Chairperson, the Chief Executive Officer and Legal Representative of the African Union, H.E Moussa Faki Mahamat. H.E Mahamat was representing H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal and incumbent Chairperson of the African Union, who was meant to supervise the Session on an exceptional measure guided by Article 14 (1) of the PAP Protocol, which stipulates that the Plenary Session of the Parliament shall be presided by the Chairperson of the Union on the absence of the Bureau of PAP until the election of the President of the Parliament who shall thereafter preside over entire processes of the institution.

Source: PAP

[post_date_unix] => 1656617340 [post_date] => June 30, 2022 [post_modified] => July 17, 2022 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/new-leadership-of-pan-african-parliament-elected/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [1393] => Array ( [post_id] => 1393 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 1394 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/speaker-bagbin-attends-cyber-security-conference-in-israel/ [post_title] => SPEAKER BAGBIN ATTENDS CYBER SECURITY CONFERENCE IN ISRAEL [post_title_attribute] => SPEAKER BAGBIN ATTENDS CYBER SECURITY CONFERENCE IN ISRAEL [post_excerpt] => THE Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, is attending the International Cyber Security Week in the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv. [post_content] =>

The International Cyber Security Week is being held in Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel, and is being attended by the Speaker of the House, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin. in Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel.

The Speaker is accompanied by the Clerk to Parliament, Cyril Nsiah, the MP for Ho West and a member of the ICT Steering Committee of Parliament, Emmanuel Bedzrah, the Director of ICT, Mrs. Shirley-Ann Fiagome, her deputy, Leslie Addico, and staff members from the reforms team of the office of the clerk.

Participants from academics and business representing more than 40 nations are attending the four-day conference, which began on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is also attending.

It is aimed at readying Parliament and other government institutions to respond to cyber security attacks which are said to be on the increase.

The Future Landscape of the Cyber Security World - 2030 and Beyond, Cyber Crisis Management and Readiness, Security in the Quantum Age, Maritime Cyber Security, Data Protection, Digital Sovereignty and Cyber Security, among others, are some of the subjects that will be covered during the conference.

Brigadier General (Rtd) Rami Efrati, one of the conference planners, discussed the theme "Cyber Security World - 2030 and Beyond" on Monday. He said cyber security poses a serious threat to the survival of small enterprises, multinational corporations, and even entire states.

"Cyber is a big business, it is going to be big business forever because as long as new technologies are coming and as as far as hackers are concerned, there is business to do" Brigadier-General Efrati said.

According to him, cyber security criminals are adopting new trends to enhance their nefarious activities which require that institutions of state and businesses upped their games to combat such attacks which are expected to increase in the near future.

Some of these attacks, Brigadier General (Rtd)  Efrati said are not to make money but to generate fake news and misinformation to change minds negatively to undertake a course.

Using a health facility in Israel which he said has been attacked recently as an example, the retired soldier said the world must come together to nib cyber security in the bud as areas such as oil and gas, maritime, governance, telecommunication, banking amongst others remain susceptible to cyber criminals.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghanaian Times on the relevance of the conference to the operations of Parliament, Mrs Fiagome said it would help enhance Parliament's preparedness to the increasing cases of attacks on the legislature's systems..

"We do have cyber security attacks mostly on our emails. Very often, our subscribers receive email from [attackers] pretending to be coming from parliament and ask them to sign in.

"Once they do that, the attackers have access to our system, change the password and attack the system and results in denial of service because our servers are blocked from sending emails until the issue is resolved," she revealed.

Stating that these incidents have impact on the operations of Parliament, Mrs Fiagome said, measures, including preventing an email from sending a certain number of mails per day, have been taken to end the attacks.

With the attackers getting sophisticated by the day, Mrs Fiagome urged other institutions to adopt continual user-awareness trainings to their staff  to be current on the trends of cyber attacks and how to detect them.

[post_date_unix] => 1656437882 [post_date] => June 28, 2022 [post_modified] => June 28, 2022 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/speaker-bagbin-attends-cyber-security-conference-in-israel/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [1388] => Array ( [post_id] => 1388 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 1389 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/joint-committee-of-parliament-to-probe-ghanas-covid-19-expenditure/ [post_title] => Joint Committee of Parliament to Probe Ghana’s COVID-19 Expenditure [post_title_attribute] => Joint Committee of Parliament to Probe Ghana’s COVID-19 Expenditure [post_excerpt] => The joint Committee of Finance and Health have been charged to investigate and report back to Parliament within the next four months, its findings concerning the mobilization and utilization of the COVID-19 funds for the years 2020 to 2021, including the COVID-19 Trust Fund. [post_content] =>

The joint Committee of Finance and Health have been charged to investigate and report back to Parliament within the next four months, its findings concerning the mobilization and utilization of the COVID-19 funds for the years 2020 to 2021, including the COVID-19 Trust Fund.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Bagbin, gave the directive in Parliament on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 after the presentation of a statement by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta concerning the COVID-19 expenditures.

“I direct that the Committee of Finance, ably supported by the Committee of Health, should investigate and enquire into the total receipts referred to as COVID-19 funds and how those funds were applied for the betterment of the people of this country,” the Speaker said.

The referral of the matter to the joint Committee for investigation was at the instance of the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) members who called on the Speaker to set up an ad hoc Committee of Parliament to probe the issue because.

According to them, there were inconsistencies in the figures presented to the House by the Finance Minister about the amount mobilized in the name of COVID-19 and how much was spent.

The Finance Minister told Parliament that, the Government mobilized GHc19.3 billion from various funding sources to support the budget both directly and indirectly. Out that amount, an amount of GHc11.16 billion was spent on COVID-19 related expenses. The difference of GHc8.14 billion was programmed to provide for shortfalls in revenue.

However, the Minority Group led by its Leader, Haruna Iddrissu and Ranking Member on the Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson, contended that the information provided by the Finance Minister was inadequate and therefore the need to probe into the issue.

Though the Speaker acknowledged that the Government did some good work to save the lives of many Ghanaians during the pandemic, he was also convinced by the argument of the Minority. He did not only give the directive for a probe into the matter, but also justified the need for Parliament to forcefully play its oversight role to serve the public interest.

“Some work has been done but that doesn’t justify that we should not perform our functions of ensuring that the money was utilized efficiently, effectively, and economically. It is very important for us to do that to allay the fears of Ghanaians, and this matter is of serious public concern. With this, I want to add that the Committee should expedite action on this matter,” the Speaker said.

Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com

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A temporal embargo has been placed on all activities of the Ministry of Finance in Parliament until the Minister for Finance; Ken Ofori-Atta comes to account to Parliament on the 19 billion COVID-19 expenditure.

The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, gave the directives on the Floor of Parliament on Thursday, June 16, 2022 after the Finance Minister failed to honor a scheduled appearance in Parliament to give accounts to the House for the utilization of the COVID-19 funds as well as provide answers to some 17 Parliamentary questions filed by Members of Parliament concerning his Ministry.

The Members of Parliament in the Minority group were disappointed when the scheduled appearance of the Finance Minister in the House as was captured on the provisional Order Paper for the previous day, was left out in the order of business to be conducted for the day.

They did not take it kindly when they were later informed that the Finance Minister had asked Parliament to reschedule his appearance before the House to next week Wednesday, June 22, 2022.

The Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, raised the matter on the Floor of the House, insinuating that the Minister was avoiding accountability since his appointment with Parliament has been missed twice already.

The Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, defended the Finance Minister when he indicating that Mr. Ofori-Atta had sought permission from him to be given some more time to come and give the accounts to Parliament and that there was no way the Minister was going to run away from any accountability.

Though the Speaker admitted that the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, had sought permission from him to be rescheduled to appear before the House next week, he reiterated his directive to withhold every transaction from the Finance Ministry until he has come to account for the resources already approved for the COVID-19 expenses in the past.

“Until he comes to respond to the questions and to submit a statement including explanations as to how that money has been applied, we will not entertain any business from that Ministry. Mark my words,” the Rt. Hon. Speaker, Alban Bagbin emphasized.

Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com

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