Dutch parliamentary delegation calls on the Speaker
Suspension of projects is due to lack of funding -Minister
Introduce Computer Studies in schools-Kedem
Accra (Greater Accra) 19 May ’99
The ministers of the Interior and Lands and Forestry are expected to answer parliamentary questions on Tuesday while a 9.65 billion-cedi loan agreement between Ghana and the Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund of Japan to co-finance the rehabilitation of the Achimota-Anyinam road will be laid.
Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Leader of the House, announced this in a business statement for the first week ending May 21.
Papers to be laid before the House include the Ratification of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and Radioactive Waste Management, the Copenhagen Amendment to the Montreal Protocol by the Government of Ghana and the Environmental Assessment Regulation 1999 LI 1652.
On Wednesday, May 19, a loan agreement of 20.4 million dollars between Ghana and the African Development Bank for the development of Small-scale Irrigation Project will be laid before the House.
Another loan agreement of 4.10 million dollars between Ghana and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) for the rehabilitation of the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital Project will also be put before House.
The minister of Roads and Transport will answer parliamentary questions while members will make statements.
The House is expected to adopt a report of its finance committee on a Development Credit Agreement for 9.3 million dollars between Ghana and International Development Association of the World Bank on Thursday, May 20.
Parliament is also expected to approve an 8.7 million-dollar Global Environment Facility Fund grant agreement between Ghana and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for implementation of the National Resource Management Project phase one.
A consequential resolution on the agreement will then be moved.
The minister of Finance will answer questions. There will be statements on the same day.
On Friday, May 21, the Minister of Mines and Energy will answer questions while the Speaker may allow statements from members.
During the week, there will be committee sittings.
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Dutch parliamentary delegation calls on the Speaker
Accra (Greater Accra) 19 May ’99
A seven-member Dutch parliamentary delegation in the country led by Mrs. Margaretha de Boer, chairperson of the Dutch Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee, today called on the Speaker, Mr Daniel Francis Annan at his office.
The delegation comprises four members of the Dutch Coalition Government and three opposition counterparts.
The visit is to give them an insight into Ghana's parliamentary system of government.
Briefing the team, Mr Justice Annan said Ghana has adopted a system of government, which is partly presidential and partly parliamentary, adding that the two arms of government work in close collaboration.
He told the delegation that it is the constitutional prerogative of the president to nominate persons for ministerial positions but their appointments must have prior approval of parliament.
He said under the constitution, a majority of the ministers must be members of parliament.
The Speaker told the delegation that parliament has the right to censure any minister but said this provision has not been invoked yet.
The House has however had occasions to request ministers to answer questions pertaining to their ministries and make statements on issues of national importance, he said.
Asked whether parliament has information on what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are doing in Ghana and the relationship between the legislature and the two international financial institutions, Mr Justice
Annan said generally, negotiations are made between the government and the two institutions.
He explained, however, that all financial agreements entered into between the parties must be approved by parliament.
The Speaker said parliament has a non-executive relationship with the IMF and the World Bank and that a Ghanaian parliamentary delegation has had discussions with the IMF on its policies and programmes of assistance to the country.
On the relationship with other parliaments, Mr Justice Annan told the delegation that in spite of linguistic barriers, Ghana's parliament has endeavoured to establish cordial relations with other legislatures, especially those in the West African sub-region.
Ghana is also a member of a number of parliamentary associations, including the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, he said, adding: "we appreciate working together with other parliaments".
Parliament, he said, has hosted an inter-parliamentary seminar for the sub-region aimed at promoting the establishment of an ECOWAS Parliament.
The Speaker said such a legislature would be a useful forum to discuss issues affecting the sub-region.
He proposed the establishment of a Ghana-Dutch Parliamentary Friendship Association and an exchange programme for staff of both legislatures.
He said parliament lacks a number of basic facilities, the most pressing one being a library and an information centre.
Mr M.A. Seidu, Deputy Majority Leader, was impressed with the level of co-operation between Ghana and the Netherlands.
Mr J.H. Mensah, Minority Leader, called for closer relationship between the two countries.
He commended the Dutch government for its assistance to a number of micro-projects in the country, saying such projects have an enormous social impact, especially on rural communities.
He noted that the Dutch have expertise in agriculture and industry and hoped that the Netherlands would continue to lend support to Ghana's efforts in these sectors.
Mrs. de Boer was happy that Ghana has adopted the parliamentary system of government, which she said is an important aspect in democracy.
She expressed the hope that the country's democratic process would flourish.
Accompanying the delegation was Mr Alexander Heldring, the Netherlands ambassador in Ghana.
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Suspension of projects is due to lack of funding -Minister
Accra (Greater Accra) 19 May ’99
Nii Okaija Adamafio, minister of the Interior, on Tuesday stated that inadequate budgetary allocation is the basic constraint facing most projects under his ministry.
Nii Okaija, who was in Parliament to answer questions about his ministry, however, assured Ghanaians that, under the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), some suspended projects would be re-activated.
As to when the abandoned Agona Swedru Police Barracks project would be completed, the minister said the project, which began in 1976, was suspended in 1978 but was partially re-activated four years later.
He said, between 1980 and 1994, the progress of the project was chequered due to lack of sufficient funding, resulting in its final suspension in 1995.
Nii Okaija assured Mr Samuel Oppong, NDC-Agona West in whose name the question stood, that the project would be re-activated under the MTEF next year.
On fire tenders, Nii Okaija repeated his ministry's determination to ensure that all fire stations are provided with tenders to enable personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service to work efficiently.
Answering a question by Mr Samuel K. Kwofie, NPP-Ahanta West, as to what plans the ministry had to upgrade the Agona Nkwanta Police Station to district headquarters status, the minister stated that the station had been included in budget proposals for next year.
In answer to another question by the MP, Nii Okaija said there are no immediate plans to open a station at Apowa even though he agrees that with the fast expansion of Takoradi in the direction of Apowa and beyond, and the volume of industrial activities, it is necessary.
Explaining, he stated that there is a government policy to complete all on-going projects before tackling new ones, adding that, for that matter, provision will be made in 2001 for the construction of a Police Station at Apowa.
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Introduce Computer Studies in schools-Kedem
Accra (Greater Accra) 19 May ’99
Mr Kosi Kedem, Member of Parliament for Hohoe South, on Tuesday stressed the need for the introduction of computer studies in first and second cycle schools.
In a statement in Parliament on this year's World Telecommunications Day celebrations, Mr Kedem noted that due to the convergence of Information Technology and Communications, the world had shrunk into a global village.
The MP, who is also a member of the Select Committee on Communications, pointed out that nations can survive the next century if only they move abreast with the fast and vast developments taking place in Telecommunications.
Mr Kedem said, as Ghana aims at becoming an Information Society, Telecommunications becomes not only significant but also more and more crucial for its development and survival.
He said Information and Communication cut across the entire spectrum of every facet of human endeavour and development.
He was of the conviction that any nation that will capture the commanding heights of telecommunications in the next millennium will be the undisputed leader of the world.
The MP said since the future belongs to Telecommunications, the success of Ghana's Vision 2020 will depend largely on the level of Telecommunication development in the country.
"We dare not stand and stare while other nations are on the move. That will be a sure recipe for international isolation," Mr Kedem cautioned.
The day, which fell on Monday under the theme "Electronic Commerce", was declared by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
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