Acting Speaker Joe Wise throws Bagbin verdict on 2022 budget to the dust
Member of the Majority Caucus in Parliament has called on the acting Speaker of parliament to overturn the rejection of the 2022 budget by members of the Minority. The majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has pointed, that there was a constitutional inaccuracy when the budget was rejected by the members of the minority. According to the majority leader, the records captured 137 at the time of the voting against the approval of the 2020 budget. Surprisingly, the Minority also boycotted the proceedings as none of them were seen in the chamber. However, following the plea by the majority, the Speaker Joseph Osei-Owusu (Joe Wise) says before he will decide on the appeal by the Majority leader, he must ensure the house has one-half of the total number. Therefore counting is currently underway as clerks of the House go round to count the number of MPs present. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
2022 Budget: Majority side approves 2022 budget, declares Speaker rejection null and void
Parliament of Ghana has today, Tuesday, 30 November 2021 passed the 2022 budget. Meanwhile, members of the Minority side were extremely vacant during the exercise. The house, made up of members of the Majority Caucus, passed the budget without Minority Caucus. Today’s passing of the 2022 budget makes it the second time the 2022 budget is passed by both Majority and Minority Caucus. However, the First Deputy Speaker pointed that the earlier rejection of the budget by the minority on Friday, 26 November 2021 was null and void because parliament did not have more than half of its members during the vote on the budget. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
John Mahama to lead electoral observer mission in Banjul
John Dramani Mahama, former President of Ghana is in Banjul Gambia currently ahead of the country’s election. The Ghana former President arrived in Banjul on the night of Monday, 29 November 2021. He will be leading the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa-EISA observer mission during the country’s polls. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, 30 November 2021, Mr. Mr. Mahama wrote: “I arrived in Banjul on Monday night to lead the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa – EISA Election Observation Mission to the December 4 Gambian Presidential Election”. He added: “A while ago, I flagged off our team of observers who are leaving to various parts of The Gambia.” Six candidates will be contesting the 4 December polls including President Adama Barrow. The election will be the first in 27years to exclude the former Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Ebenezer Asante’s stake in MTN Ghana now worth US$1.56 million – Report
The shareholding of Ghanaian multimillionaire executive Ebenezer Twum Asante in the leading telecom company, Scancom PLC (MTN Ghana), is now worth ₵9.6 million ($1.56 million). MTN Ghana, a subsidiary of the multinational telecom service provider MTN Group, is Ghana’s largest telecom operator, with a total subscriber base of 25.2 million and 11.9 million active data subscribers as of Sept. 2021. Its revenue lines, including airtime and subscription, interconnect and roaming, SMS, data, handsets and accessories, mobile money, and value-added services generated ₵5.56 billion ($906 million) in revenue in the first nine months of its current financial year. Asante, the first Ghanaian to head MTN’s operations in Ghana, holds a beneficial 0.65-percent stake in the country’s telecom service provider, making him the single largest individual shareholder, with an ownership stake of 8,000,100 ordinary shares. As of press time, Nov. 26, shares in the company were trading at ₵1.2 ($0.1955) on the Ghana Stock Exchange, unchanged from their opening price on Thurs., Nov. 25, as bearish and bullish sentiments were evenly cleared out. At the current price, the market value of Asante’s stake is ₵9.6 million ($1.56 million), making him one of the wealthiest investors on the local exchange. Research conducted by Billionaires.Africa revealed that Asante, who is MTN group vice president for West and Central Africa, has seen the market value of his stake in the leading telecom service provider increase by more than $720,000 since the start of the year. The year-to-date gain in the market value of his stake can be linked to the 87.5-percent surge in the share price of MTN Ghana on the Ghana Stock Exchange, as investors sustained buying interest in the company. In the first nine months of 2021, the company’s revenue surged by 24.9 percent from ₵4.46 billion ($726.3 million) in 2020 to ₵5.56 billion ($906 million), while its profit surged by 34 percent from ₵875.86 million ($142.61 million) to ₵1.06 billion ($172.6 million). —billionaires.africa Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
MTN Ghana Injects GH¢5 million Into COVID-19 Fight
MTN Ghana has taken another giant step by donating five million Ghana Cedis (GH¢5,000,000) to the National COVID Trust Fund to help complement the government’s fight against the pandemic. This donation is in addition to an earlier donation of five million Ghana Cedis (GH¢5,000,000) worth of PPE and Testing Accessories presented to the Trust Fund last year. Speaking at the handing over ceremony in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana Mr. Selorm Adadevoh, said as a company they are committed to the socio-economic development of Ghana. “We are honored to have been able to complement the Government’s efforts in managing the pandemic through the donation of 5 million Cedis worth of PPEs and testing equipment to the country,” he stated. This he said, since the outbreak of the virus, the company has supported Ghanaians with many interventions to lessen the impact of the pandemic on the nation’s socio-economic infrastructure. One of the key things which we needed to address was to boost our Network to support work from home, online school, entertainment, and other digital activities. Our aim then and now is to help ensure continuity of life, business, and wellbeing. We are proud to have also contributed to three educational campaigns aimed at getting people to live responsibly. Our “Be Wise”, Wear it for me” and “One More Push” campaigns were to encourage people across the continent to not give up in the fight against COVID-19, and to continue to wear their masks, wash their hands and practice social distancing. According to him, on the vaccination front, MTN Group donated $25million to support AU’s vaccination rollout across 55 member states to cover 7 million vaccine doses for health workers. “Having acknowledged that we have all collectively played our roles in this fight against COVID-19, MTN Ghana and its Foundation have approved an additional GHc5m to be presented to National COVID Trust Fund. It is to ensure the Government’s strategy in combating the pandemic is fully achieved. This presentation brings MTN’s total contribution to the National COVID Trust Fund to GhS10m. We believe this will help immensely to provide the needed PPEs for the people of Ghana and most importantly brighten lives as we celebrate our 25th anniversary,” he added. He also used the occasion to congratulate the President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the Government for taking the needed measures in managing the spread of the disease in the Country. The Chairperson of the COVID -19 National Trust Funds, Her Ladyship Justice (RTD) Sophia A.B. Akuffo who received the cheque on behalf of the COVID -19 National Trust Funds commended MTN Ghana for embarking on such benevolence exercise; adding that the contribution has come at the right time. “Since the contribution to the Trust Fund have dwindled and almost halted. This was a result of the general perception that, the COVID-19 pandemic is either no more with us or is a pandemic for others to combat,” she disclosed. Stressing that, there is the need for collaborative efforts on the parts of all stakeholders to effectively help fight the pandemic. “We also need to support the promotion of research on the Coronavirus, its different variants the behaviour patterns, as well as the potency and efficacy of the various approved vaccines, especially the research on post-vaccination. For example the COVID-19 Specific Antibody Response in Vaccinated Persons in the Country, which has already been started by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), of the University of Ghana, Legon. This she said, the Trust Fund has also established a collaborative partnership with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) to jointly implement a Road Safety and Coronavirus education campaign. According to her, the campaign seeks to educate drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and other road users on the need to be careful on the roads especially during the Christmas period. “Since Christmas is also a spike period of the Coronavirus pandemic, due to the increase in trade and commerce, as well as the increase in the movement of people, goods, and services. It is therefore imperative to include COVID-19 education and information sensitization with that of the road safety education campaign. All these require substantial financial and other logistical resources,” she disclosed. She, therefore, urged the general public to continue to adhere to the prevention and safety protocols in order to avoid the spread of the virus. —newsghana Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Arrogance and impunity of power exhibited by government caused rejection of…..–Amidu
Martin Amidu former Ghana Special Prosecutor has said, the level of the arrogance and impunity of power exhibited by this government led to the rejection of the 2022 Budget. “The level of the arrogance and impunity of power exhibited by this government leading up to the rejection of the 2022 Budget Statement and Policy by Parliament is demonstrated by the stubbornness of even refusing to listen to its security and intelligence non-governmental organization, the Danquah Institute, when its director called on the Government to withdraw the E-levy and rethink the whole concept”. He said “The corruption of power made the government to continue insisting on consulting stakeholders, including the minority in Parliament, only after Parliament had been seized with the budget for approval or rejection. The corruption of, and intoxication with, the arrogance and impunity of power became more manifest when Parliament was in session to decide whether to approve that budget. One cannot fantom the extent of the internalization of arrogance and impunity of power that emboldened the Minister of Finance to ask the Speaker to stand down the already over delayed on-going proceedings of Parliament for the Minister to consult the leadership of Parliament before taking the vote”. Below are details of Mr Amidu’s statement: THE ARROGANCE AND IMPUNITY OF POWER – THE PARLIAMENTARY REJECTION OF THE 2022 BUDGET STATEMENT AND POLICY: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU The Parliamentary vote on 26th November 2021 against the approval of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s 2022 Budget Statement and Policy presented to the Parliament of Ghana on 17th November 2021 on his behalf by his Co-President and Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, was self-inflicted. The Parliamentary vote of rejection of the 2022 budget demonstrates what the arrogance of power and impunity can do to any Government that takes the electorate for granted as rabbles. Nana Akufo-Addo’s government became infested with the arrogance and impunity of power right from the day it assumed the reins of Government on 7th January 2017. This is the government of a make-believe democrat who consults stakeholders affected by his major policies only after getting Parliament to enact his wishes as policy. The government then seeks cosmetic post-facto consultation with affected stakeholders only when there is a serious objection to the policy by the electorate and other stakeholders. The constitutional principles of probity, accountability, and transparency in governance are shamelessly contravened by a government that came to power only after representing to We the People that it would be the most accountable and transparent government ever to run the affairs of this country. The Ameri scandal that led to the resignation of a Minister who was sacrificed for the arrogance and impunity of the decisions of the Family and Friends; the unresolved Sputnik-V Covid-19 vaccine scandal that is still uninvestigated; the Aker Energy Scandal; and the Agyapa Royalties Agreements hurriedly approved by the one-sided 7th Parliament on 14th August 2020 after the minority had staged a walkout, to mention but a few, demonstrate the arrogance and impunity of the Akufo-Addo style of democratic-autocratic governance. The Agyapa Transaction Agreements, for instance, is an exemplified display of the arrogance and impunity of power by this government when it stuck to its position to complete the listing of Agyapa Royalties Limited on the London Stock Exchange by 30th December 2020 even after the most affected stakeholders, including the Chiefs as custodiam of the nation’s lands, raised reasoned objections to the unaccountable and opaque manner the Government obtained the parliamentary approval without prior consultations with the Chiefs and people. It was only over these damning objections that the Government pretended to start consultations with stakeholders while insisting that the listing of the Agyapa Royalties Limited on the London Stock Exchange on or before due date in December 2020 was not for negotiation. It had to take the Agyapa Royalties Anti-Corruption Risk Assessment Report and the audaciousness of a Special Prosecutor not to shelve the report for the government to shallow humble pie and save face by pretending to refer the Agreements for reconsideration by the Parliament that approved it. The Aker Energy scandal was also so unaccountable and opaque that stakeholders had to raise reasoned objections to the policy formulation and its approval by Parliament without any prior consultations or discussions with interested stakeholders. As usual the government pretended to engage in post facto consultations with stakeholder only after patriotic Ghanaians showed an overwhelming determination to hold the Government to account. The level of the arrogance and impunity of power exhibited by this government leading up to the rejection of the 2022 Budget Statement and Policy by Parliament is demonstrated by the stubbornness of even refusing to listen to its security and intelligence non-governmental organization, the Danquah Institute, when its director called on the Government to withdraw the E-levy and rethink the whole concept. The corruption of power made the government to continue insisting on consulting stakeholders, including the minority in Parliament, only after Parliament had been seized with the budget for approval or rejection. The corruption of, and intoxication with, the arrogance and impunity of power became more manifest when Parliament was in session to decide whether to approve that budget. One cannot fantom the extent of the internalization of arrogance and impunity of power that emboldened the Minister of Finance to ask the Speaker to stand down the already over delayed on-going proceedings of Parliament for the Minister to consult the leadership of Parliament before taking the vote. And this was after the Minister had told the entire world in an interview with Joy FM at the Volta Fair that the government will find a way of winning over the minority by the time the vote on the budget came to be taken. The Government could not in its drunken stupor of arrogance and impunity of power see that it was by these statements leading the minority into the position of irrevocable commitment from engaging with the Minister lest the minority be suspected of another sell
Alban Bagbin and Haruna Iddrisu likely to be considered as running mates–Dr.Duffuor
The former governor of the Bank of Ghana Dr. Kwabena Duffuor has hinted, that if things go well for him on his ambition of becoming Ghana’s President, his preferred choice for a running mate will be between the current Ghana Speaker Alban Bagbin and the current Minority leader in Parliament Haruna Iddrisu. He said, “I was the Finance Minister so I was in politics but we have not started talking about the NDC presidential race yet, if we get there and I am given the nod why not?” he told TV3 in an interview with Roland Walker monitored by Apexnewsgh.com “There are two people who are doing very well in politics, they are lawyers. Look at Bagbin [Speaker of Parliament] with over 30 years in politics, look at this young man Haruna [Minority Leader], any of them. If I have Haruna Iddrisu or Bagbin, any could be my running mate, they are working hard, they are in politics and they will compliment me,” he pointed. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093