Majority leader unable to mobilize all his 137 plus 1 MPs– Prof. Gyampo fires in an Open letter
Prof. Ransford Gyampo, in an open letter, has told the majority leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu that his side is facing challenges in parliament because he has failed to mobilize all his 137 plus 1 MPs to give a simple majority support for the e-levy proposal. According to Prof. Gyampo, “If all 137 plus 1 MPs vote while Speaker Bagbin sits, the e-levy, regardless of the public outcry against it, will pass by a simple majority decision. If you cannot mobilize all your members to support the e-levy, the next strategy will be to court the support of a few members of the NDC, like the NDC successfully did in getting Bagbin elected as Speaker. But this one too, you haven’t been able to do”. Read full letter below: An Open Letter to Hon Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu Dear Sir, I listened to your interview on Joy News where you alleged that I am a die-hard NDC man, simply bcos I asked that you be replaced with a new leader who knows the tact and skill of building consensus to aid government business in Ghana’s Hung Parliament regime. I am responding, not because being tagged NDC or NPP is criminal. I am doing so because you peddled a falsehood. Sir, you claimed I haven’t criticized the NDC before. But I want to assume you have either forgotten or you were not in Ghana when the NDC was in power, and cannot also do a simple search of my comments against the Mills/Mahama regime. I therefore forgive you. I asked that you be replaced as majority leader, not out of malice but just to help your government maneuver and meander its way in governing even in the wake of the difficulties likely to be imposed by the kind of parliament we currently have. Sir, in an attempt to pass the e-levy, you have been unable to mobilize all your 137 plus 1 MPs to give a simple majority support for the proposal. If all 137 plus 1 MPs vote while Speaker Bagbin sits, the e-levy, regardless of the public outcry against it, will pass by a simple majority decision. If you cannot mobilize all your members to support the e-levy, the next strategy will be to court the support of a few members of the NDC, like the NDC successfully did in getting Bagbin elected as Speaker. But this one too, you haven’t been able to do. I sincerely believe that the current parliament has no room for political hawks in its leadership and that, there are some moderate NPP MPs who can lead in parliament to build bridges and whose utterances wont be repulsive to genuine efforts at building consensus. That’s why I asked and I am still asking for your reshuffle. If this makes me an NDC man, well, the good people of Ghana are better judges. But respectfully, you cannot continue to lead with the same hawkish tendencies when clearly the current composition of parliament makes the need to change leadership a categorical imperative. Without changes, government business will suffer and the effect will be more felt by we the ordinary people. Finally, Sir, please note that the job of a Political Scientist is to scrutinize existing regimes that wield the fiduciary trust of the people with a view to subjecting them to strict proofs and keeping them on their toes. That’s why we offer constructive criticisms against only those in power. These criticisms are without malice and never aimed at making regimes unpopular. The practice of associating yourself with criticisms of regimes from Political Scientists when you are in opposition, and tagging same people as being in bed with the opposition after you’ve won power, is disingenuous, Sir. Let me end by saying that I am not NDC and I am not NPP too. I enjoy being in the middle and I have good friends like yourself, in both parties. I thank you for your attention and God bless Yaw Gyampo A31, Prabiw PAV Ansah Street Saltpond & Suro Nipa House Kubease Larteh-Akuapim Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
‘Akufo-Addo thinks we all suffer from dementia—Dr. Adongo
Development Economist Dr. Michael Ayamga Adongo has said, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has run to African leaders to guard against credit ratings. Dr. Adongo said, “Sometimes one wonders whether they don’t read or they don’t understand. So, let me give Mr. President a free piece of advice. Mr. President, please desist from embarrassing yourself by stating that Moody’s has upgraded Ghana.” Below is his Facebook post: AKUFO ADDO THINKS WE ALL SUFFER FROM DEMENTIA Today, President Akufo Addo is telling African leaders to guard against credit ratings. How interesting. Let me quote your the Vice President, then candidate Bawumia, “Stop embarrassing yourself Mr. President”. President John Mahama had moved Ghana from B-/negative to B-/stable. The Vice President took the former President to the cleaners. “speaking at the launch of the NPP’s 2016 manifesto at the Trade Fair Center in Accra, the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, said “Economic mismanagement and corruption has resulted in Ghana turning to the IMF for a bailout. Ghana’s sovereign credit rating has been downgraded from B+ positive. Without oil, Ghana was being rated at B+ Positive under the NPP. We’ve now come down with oil under the NDC and John Mahama to B – (negative) with a stable outlook in 2016 with oil. In fact, International Credit Ratings Agencies like Moody’s, Fitch, Standard and Poor’s, now have basically the same credit rating for Ghana.” “The recent revision of Ghana’s Outlook from B/Negative to B- Stable, which is the equivalent of the B-3, has resulted in a misinterpretation by the NDC government and President Mahama that Ghana’s credit ratings has been upgraded. This is in fact not the case. Moody’s did not upgrade Ghana’s rating. Ghana’s rating under Moody’s is still B/Negative. It is only the outlook that has been revised, and that is not equivalent to a ratings upgrade. Sometimes one wonders whether they don’t read or they don’t understand. So, let me give Mr. President a free piece of advice. Mr. President, please desist from embarrassing yourself by stating that Moody’s has upgraded Ghana.” Today Ghana is in the Cs and negative outlook and all of a sudden you think there is something wrong with the ratings! Moodys downgraded Ghana from B3 to Caa1 with negative outlook. Fitch downgraded Ghana from B to B- with negative outlook. Our President now goes to tell African leaders who are doing relatively better, who have better ratings and do not owe as much as we do that the ratings are problematic? Since I don’t suffer from Dementia let me refer the President to that infamous manifesto launch in 2016 and ask the President to take the advice from his Vice who told a sitting President, John Mahama, who had actually succeeded to achieve Upgrades to “stop embarrassment yourself ”. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
‘Akufo-Addo’s government has refused to accounts for its stewardship’—Dr. Apaak
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak, has said, the government of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has refused to account for its stewardship to Ghanaians. Apexnewsgh.com report Responding to a question on why members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) still maintained they won’t support the e-levy agenda, Dr. Apaak told Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen of Apexnewsgh.com in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, that, “Government has refused to account for its stewardship, and we have given examples; refusing to account for the feeding of Ghanaians during the lockdown, no one knows how much was spent, COVID accountability, they gave us free water, free electricity and they never told us the full cost, only to say that Ghanaians should pay for water and electricity after the election”. He added: “We have pointed to the luxurious lifestyle of the President and his Ministers, including the use of a private jet luxurious jet, they have refused to tell us how it cost”. “We have asked them to cut down on expenditure, they say this is the time to be buying private jets” “We have also raised the issue of heavy leakages at the port where a colossal amount of monies are lost. And if the government were to tighten the loopholes even Ghc10 billion a year from the port is a small change”. He stressed He said a citizen has filed a case to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) against a sitting member of the council of state because of tax exemption. “And also the issue of tax exemptions were tax exemption were given to companies, friends, families and cronies who don’t deserve tax exemption and actually we loosed not less than Ghc 5billion through tax exemption”. According to Dr. Apaak, when the government refused to account, they are allowing tax weavers, they are not taking action with regards to the Auditor’s General report which says that the country lost Ghc 12 billion to not be accounted for in 2020. “And you are still flying high, living luxuriously” he stated Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093