GRi in Parliament 02 - 11 - 2001
Speaker calls for more parliamentary work
National Book Policy to be made operational
Policy on Early Childhood Development awaiting
gov’ approval
Parliament on menace of waterweeds
Speaker calls for more parliamentary work
Accra (Greater Accra) 02 November 2001 - The Speaker of Parliament, Peter Ala Adjetey on Thursday said the Executive and all organs of government could make the House work more efficiently if bills, loans agreements and matters for legislations were introduced to the House timely and systematically.
"We don't want a situation to be created when in two or three weeks to the end of the sitting, Parliament would be rushed with work while it has less to do now."
Mr Ala Adjetey made the remark when the Majority Leader, Papa Owusu-Ankomah moved for the adjournment of the House barely after an hour's sitting.
The House after questioning the Minister of Environment and Science, Professor Dominic Fobih and the Minister of Education, Professor Akwasi Ameyaw-Akumfi on the performance of some aspects of their ministries could not continue any other business because a report on a subsidiary legislation, which was laid on Wednesday and was to be moved and debated on Thursday could not come on.
Mr Amos Buertey, Chairman of the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation and the
Vice-Chairman, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor were not in the Chamber when the Speaker
called for the motion to be moved on the report on the Immigration Regulations
2001, LI 1691.
The instrument is to make the possession of visas and entry permits, resident permits as well as other relevant forms and documents a requirement for persons seeking to enter Ghana.
The Speaker who was apparently not happy with the situation said work in the House should not be delayed and enjoined all to help make Parliament work.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah, who reminded the Speaker that there was a seconded motion on the floor, said such situations would not arise again.
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National Book Policy to be made operational
Accra (Greater Accra) 02 November 2001 - Professor Akwasi Ameyaw Akumfi, Minister of Education, on Thursday gave the assurance that with the Textbook Policy now in place, the Ghana Book Development Council would be given the relevant support to enable it resume action on the National Book Policy.
He said the National Book Policy would be comprehensive to deal with all matters relating to book development and would be guided by the experiences gained from the development of the Textbook Policy to come out with a detailed and well-thought out document acceptable by all.
Prof. Akumfi said this in an answer to a question posed by Mr Joe Gidisu, NDC- North Tongu as to what measures the Ministry was taking to ensure an effective book development policy to support the on-going educational reforms.
He explained that the Textbook Policy now referred to as the Textbook Development and Distribution Policy (TDDP) was approved in 2000 and the final document was subsequently expanded to incorporate a section on the new Language Policy.
Prof. Akumfi said the Ministry was to divest itself of its role as book publisher and distributor while its involvement in any future textbook development programme would be in the area of evaluation and trial testing of the books to ensure their sustainability.
Publishers including foreign ones are expected to involve Ghanaian authors in the writing of the books (at least 50 per cent) and local printers 60 per cent in the printing of the selected textbooks, he added.
Prof. Akumfi said Copyright would now be vested in the author or publisher, the Ministry would no longer own copyright for textbooks developed for its schools and by September 2005, the target book per pupil ratio would be one to one.
Alhaji Amadu Ali, NDC- Atebubu South asked the minister whether the ministry and the Ghana Book Trust have a policy of integrating the distribution of text books.
The Minister said the expertise of the Book Trust has been sought to come out with relevant textbooks for distribution to schools.
Prof. Akumfi said the policy on language would now go to the Cabinet for action while the printing of textbooks for integrated subjects was being tackled.
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Accra (Geater Accra) 02 November 2001 - The Minister of Education, Professor Akwasi Ameyaw- Akumfi on Thursday said an inter-ministerial body has evolved a new policy on Early Childhood Development that was awaiting final approval by Government.
He said that under the Ghana Education Service Act 1995, (ACT 506) basic education begins at the age of six years and as such the integration of pre-school with basic education should necessarily be effected by a legislation.
Prof. Akumfi told Parliament while answering a question by Mr Joe Gidisu, NDC - North Tongu as to what steps the ministry was taking to integrate pre-school education into the mainstream of basic education in the country.
He said the policy was expected to spell out the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders in pre-school education including the Ministry of Education.
Prof. Akumfi said at present the Ministry of Education could not integrate pre-school education into the mainstream of Basic Education until it took a look at its manpower requirements and needed structures.
Mr Gidisu asked the Minister whether he was aware that pre-school education was now a requirement for admission to primary one, Prof. Akumfi said he was not aware but said that a draft bill on the revision of the 1995 Act would soon be made.
Mr Mumuni Abudu Seidu, NDC - Wa Central, asked the Minister whether he was aware that teachers, who have been posted to pre-schools, were being withdrawn of lat?
Prof. Akumfi said the regulation on secondment of teachers was being reviewed while the Ministry's action on withdrawing such teachers was inline with the regulation that those on secondment ought to go back after four years.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 02 November 2001 - The Ministry of Environment and Science has adopted an integrated approach to the management of waterweeds in the Lower Volta, Professor Dominic Kwaku Fobih, Sector Minister, told Parliament on Thursday.
The approach involves physical removal by mechanical means and biological and chemical controls using pests and herbicides, respectively.
In the interim, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Zoology Department of the University of Ghana are searching for biological control agents that could attack and destroy the dominant weeds.
Prof. Fobih was answering a question posed by Mr Joe Gidisu, NDC-North Tongu as to what programmes the Ministry was pursuing to clear the Lower Volta of river weeds that were seriously endangering the health, economic and social lives of communities in the Lower Volta Basin.
He said the institutional framework for managing water hyacinth in particular has been established by the formation of the National Water Hyacinth Control Committee, an inter-agency technical committee under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Prof. Fobih said under the auspices of the committee, biological control agents, which are special weevils imported and bred by the Zoology Department of University of Ghana, were released to control infestation of water lettuce.
He said the type of submerged and floating sedges (a family of water plants) in the Lower Volta are best cleared by the physical or mechanical method and efforts were being made to acquire an aquatic weed harvester with assistance from the Japanese Government.
Prof. Fobih said another measure being adopted was that the Volta River Authority with the approval of the EPA undertakes periodic breaching of the sand bar at Adafoah to allow salt water to intrude upriver to destroy the weeds.
Prof. Fobih said the Ministry with the assistance of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has initiated a series of activities with Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Mali and Togo.
A Global Environmental Facility grant of 347,500 US dollars has been obtained for activities aimed at developing a full programme for the integrated management of the entire Volta River Basin.
Prof. Fobih said the Ministry was convinced that the problem of waterweeds could be best handled with the co-operation of local communities that depend on the water for their livelihood.
He said the EPA, therefore, assisted the affected district assemblies to develop their District Environmental Management Plans but unfortunately some of them have not implemented the plans.
Mr Freddie Blay, CPP - Ellembelle asked that the weed problem of the Abbey Lagoon should be included in the Ministry's plans.
Other contributors to the discussions were Dr Daniel Kwame Ampofo, NDC South Dayi, Mrs Edith Hazel, NDC - Evalue-Gwira, Mr Kwakye Addo, NDC - AframPlains
South, Mr Edward Salia, NDC-Jirapa and Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, NDC Ningo/Prampram.
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