GRi in Parliament - Ghana
14-07-2000
MPs urge foreign forces to withdraw from Congo
MPs urge Ministry to award contracts on merit
Come brief us on foreign policy-MPs
MPs urge foreign forces to withdraw from
Congo
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 July 2000
Parliament on Thursday called on all foreign forces stationed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to withdraw to allow the war-ravaged country start its own internal process of ending the conflict.
Members also expressed their support for the Lusaka Peace Accord, which called for a non-military option for ending the war and the establishment of a platform for an all-inclusive national dialogue of the people of DRC.
The lawmakers tabled their concerns when Mr. Ken Dzirrasah, First Deputy Speaker, sponsored the motion to ask the house to appeal to the governments of Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Namibia to withdraw their forces from DRC.
"The presence of foreign forces in addition to compounding the conflict continues to endanger the territorial security of DRC as a country. The forces which seem to be entrenching themselves in various parts of the DRC has heightened Congolese fears over the loss in the long term."
He said that though the Accord, which was signed by all major players in the war in July 1999, is beset with problems like inadequate funding and the unwillingness of the UN to deploy peacekeepers, it still holds hope for the cessation of hostilities.
The Deputy Speaker told the house that Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) of which he holds membership alongside other members, has expressed concern over the deteriorating security in that country.
"By passing the motion before us, members will be sending clear signals to the combatants that there is no clear winner in war and that a non-military solution is the best course to chart in this complex conflict."
Mr. Dzirrasah's speech stirred emotions in the house as members delved into the ideals of Pan-Africanism calling for the quick realisation of the unity and integration of Africa.
"We are politically and morally bound to see to the realisation of the vision of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah." Nii Adjei Boye Sekan, NDC - Ledzokuku said.
"I just pray that all of us will be Nkrumaists and see through the vision of Dr. Nkrumah because after forty years we are still grappling with the problems that he foresaw many years ago."
Nana Akuffo Addo, the Minority Spokesman on Constitutional and Legal Matters, opined that President Laurent Kabila is concentrating on building his personal political occult than thinking about the building of total a nation in which everyone in DRC has a legitimate stake.
He urged the DRC Leader to jaw-jaw with the warlords or face the consequences of the failure of the fragile peace process.
"North Korea is talking to South Korea, is it not possible for him to talk to his opponents?"
Mr. Doe Adjaho, the Majority Chief Whip, preferred a timetable to be drawn to return that country to democratic rule.
"I know a credible election cannot be organised in that state of conflict and confusion but that attempt can help prepare the minds of the people for the eventual return to normalcy."
Mr. Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe South, opposed the idea of a wholesale withdrawal of foreign forces from that country because according to him, "it presupposes that President Kabila has no authority to invite friends to help him in time of need."
Namibia and Zimbabwe are in the DRC at the instance of President Kabila, while Rwanda and Uganda see their occupation as a way of warding off destabilising elements from their countries.
The member called on Belgium to offer reparations to DRC after "starting the brutish unending exploitation of that country, whose only crime and curse are its riches and vastness."
Mr. Kedem said the UN as it stands now can not keep the peace in DRC," it will only worsen it. The UN has a very bad record in Congo, its action or inaction led to the death of Patrice Lumumba (First Prime Minister of the then Congo Kinshasha) and I remember very well"
GRi…/
MPs urge Ministry to award contracts on
merit
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 July 2000
Members of Parliament on Thursday urged the Ministry of Roads and Transport to award the contract on the Bawdie-Asankragwa road in the Western Region to a competent contractor to achieve value for money.
The members also directed the Ministry to use a surplus of 12 million Euros to be realised after the contract to construct the Sefwi-Wiaso-Buakwa road.
Government has pre-financed 20 kilometres of the road.
The lawmakers gave the advice when the Chairman of Finance Committee, Cdr.
Steven G. Obimpeh moved for the adoption of the House a report on a loan agreement between the government and Societe Generale of France.
The loan, which is made up of a buyer's credit facility of Euro 22,910,038.32 (equiv. 22.9 million dollars) and a commercial loan of Euro 3,768,539.71 (3.8 million dollars) is to be used to finance the remaining 38 kilometre Bawdie-Asankragwa road.
On the buyer's credit facility, it has a repayment period of ten years, 42 months moratorium and interest rate of 6.06 per cent per annum, while the commercial loan has 12 months repayment period, 24 months moratorium and at 6.06 per cent per annum.
Cdr. Obimpeh (rtd), however, disclosed that the Minister of Roads and Transport would soon place before the House for parliamentary approval of a request for tax and duty exemptions on materials and equipment meant for the execution of the project.
He said the committee observed that the mix of the credit totalling Euro 26,678,578.03 was originally meant to finance the whole length of the Bawdie-Asankragwa-Enchi road.
He stressed that in view of the fact that the government is currently financing 20 km of the stretch of the road, the remaining 38 kilometres is estimated to cost Euro 14.12 million.
This would rake in a balance of approximately Euro 12.55 million that would be used for the construction of about 20-km of the Sefwi Wiaso-Buako road.
He said the committee also noted that Societe Generale Buyer's Credit arrangement of Euro 22,910,038.32 is to finance 85 per cent of the foreign cost component, contingencies and insurance premium, as well as 85 per cent of the local cost of the project.
The commercial component of the loan would, however, be used to finance the remaining 15 per cent of the foreign and local cost component, he added.
Contributing to the motion Dr Konadu Apraku, the Minority Spokesman on Finance, expressed his gratitude to the government for giving the Western Region its fair share of the national cake and a worthwhile investment.
He appealed to the Ministry of Roads and Transport that in awarding the contract adequate monitoring mechanisms should be put in place to see to the efficient execution of the project.
GRi…/
Come brief us on foreign policy-MPs
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 July 2000
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Victor Ghebo attracted the wrath of members of Parliament for not briefing the house regularly on the state of the country's foreign policies.
"He comes here occasionally for money to run his Ministry and answer questions posed by members and that is all," Nana Akufo Addo, the Minority Spokesman on Constitutional Matters said on Thursday.
The member was among the top of a pile of legislators, who bashed the Minister during a debate on the state of affairs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, sponsored by Mr. Ken Dzirrasah, First Deputy Speaker.
"Is it not a pity that the Deputy Speaker should bring to the floor such a motion rather than the Minister for Foreign Affairs?"
He commended Mr Dzirasah for his vision and said the "Minister should be briefing the house on foreign policy from time to time".
Nana Akufo Addo wondered why the British Parliament took pains to discuss the security problem in Sierra Leone while the Parliament of Ghana with a whole battalion stationed in that country is left to imagine what is going on there.
He said the House was left in the dark about the just ended OAU conference in Lome, Togo and does not know if it would ever be briefed about the decisions that came out of it.
Mr. Doe Adjaho, the Majority Chief Whip, backed the member's call for regular briefing by the Minister.
He said Parliament should always have an idea about the direction of the nation's foreign policy so that it can contribute significantly to it.
GRi…/