“When they cook figures, you would do your analysis based on the figures available—Murtala Mohammed
Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed opposition MP for Tamale Central has accused the Akufo-Addo led government of regularly cooking economic data to deceive intellectuals so that their analysis of the economy would be confusing. Speaking on the analysis by a Senior Lecturer on Economics at the University of Ghana, Dr. Agyapoma Gyeke-Dako that the economic data does not support claims that the economy was mismanaged prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Murtala said on Class91.3FM’s breakfast show on Thursday, 24 March 2022: “I agree that the Debt-to-GDP in 2019 was not as it is but you would agree with me that it was growing in an accelerated fashion, so, clearly the signals were very clear”. “If you read the World Bank Country Director’s verdict on this, he said the rate at which it was growing, even without COVID, we would have had this [economic crisis] because of the way the economy was abysmally managed”, Murtala Muhammed argued. “So, clearly it was going to be a factor and I can understand that some of the figures you Dr. Gyeke-Dako deal with, as an intellectual, are based on figures available”, he observed but added: “I can tell you for a fact that a lot of the figures churned out by this government are cooked figures and they were exposed big time in the budget statement which was presented in parliament”. “So, when they cook figures, you would do your analysis based on the figures available”, he insisted. “I’ll give you a classical example: even currently, this government is telling us that the Debt-to-GDP is about 80.1 percent when we know it’s not true”. “We know it’s not true because they haven’t added the GHS9.5 billion debt on ESLA. They haven’t also added the GHS2.4 billion GETfund bond. They haven’t added the GHS750 million Sinohydro debt and many others”, he claimed. “So, what they have strategically done”, in his view, is to use the “cooked figures” to “deceive intellectuals” to do “misleading” analyses of the economy. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Navio: Bridge collapse triggered questions on role of MP, MCE and Assembly members
An interesting argument seeking for answer for the role of an MCE, MP and Assembly member has emerged on social media after a collapse of 23 years old steel Bridge in Navio which has affected some Communities like Manyoro, Natugnia Nakolo and Sirigu on Wednesday 23, 2022. Apexnewsgh.com report Below are the argument on Meta (Facebook) The duties of a member of the District Assembly, or the duties of the Assembly member, are defined in Section 16 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 — Act 936. Performance of these duties by members are essential for the Assembly’s discharge of their deliberative, legislative and executive functions. A member of the District Assembly who has a firm knowledge of the duties as prescribed by the law is empowered to provide quality representation to his electorate or community. On the other hand, communities that have a good understanding of the duties that the law imposes on an Assembly member may be better equipped to demand accountability of their local representative in the Assembly. Now, the duties that the law charges a member of a District Assembly perform are enumerated as follows: A member of a District Assembly shall as appropriate— Maintain close contact with the electoral area of the District Assembly, consult the people of the electoral area on issues to be discussed in the District Assembly, collate their views, opinions, and proposals; Present the views, opinions and proposals of the electorate to the District Assembly; Attend meetings of the District Assembly and meetings of sub-committees of which that member of the District Assembly is a member; Meet the electorate before each meeting of the District Assembly; Report to the electorate the, (i) General decision of the District Assembly: and (ii) Actions the member has taken to solve problems raised by residents in the electoral area; Draw attention in general debate to national policies that are relevant to the subject under discussion; Actively participate in the work of the sub-committees of the Executive Committee; Bring to bear on any discussion in the District Assembly the benefit of the skill, profession, experience or specialized knowledge of the member; Maintain frequent liaison with organized productive economic groupings and other persons in the district; and Take part in communal and development activities in the district. Act 936 also directs that a member of a District Assembly shall, in the discharge of the duty, have due regard to the national interest and the interest of the people in the district. These are the duties that an Assembly member must perform and that’s what you must demand of your representative in the Assembly. WHAT THE ROLE OF AN MP The misunderstanding following the fact that some citizens confuse the role of the Member of Parliament which is primarily to make laws with those of the Executive which include the provision of amenities. Indeed media reports on the elections have indicated that some voters decide to vote their MPs out because they failed to provide certain developments in their various constituencies. Unfortunately, this shouldn’t have been the case. Although Members of Parliament, to some extent, drive the developmental agenda, citizens should not expect them to bear the cost of these development projects as it is financially impossible for them to do so. On the other side of this conversation is the notion that some aspiring MPs, in their bid to win votes, promise heaven and earth to the people in the area of providing them with some amenities and based on such mouthwatering promises, they are voted into power. However, even though MP’s have a duty to lobby for developmental projects for the district, the fact still remains that, MPs job is to make laws. THE ROLE OF A DCE OR MCE Local Government Act -2016 ,Act 936 section 20 stipulates clearly the functions of the District Chief Executive (DCE) which when performed and Executed effectively will ensure massive improvement in development of our various districts. Some of these functions performed by a District Chief Executive are as follows : # District Chief Executive shall (a) preside at meetings of the Executive Committee of the District Assembly and in the absence of the District Chief Executive a member of the Executive Committee elected by the members present from among themselves shall preside; (b) be responsible for the day-to-day performance of the executive and administrative functions of the District Assembly . (c) be responsible for the supervision of the departments of the District Assembly departments of (d) be the chief representative of the Central Government in the district Other functions performed by the District Chief Executive (DCE) include: They are responsible for the overall development within the district either social, economic, physical and human capital development. Allocation of projects to specific community especially SHPs ( SELF HELP-COMMUNITY PROJECTS). Reshaping of roads, rural electrification, schools, clinics among others. He is also responsible for lobbying for developmental programmes for the district. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Yagzore: The school still needs furniture, assembly only reduced the school burden
Yes, Talensi District Assembly has responded to the Yagzore Primary school furniture predicament by donating 115 pieces of furniture out of 209 dual desks needed. Apexnewsgh.com report However, the fact still remains that the school still needs 94 dual desks to settle the furniture deficit. Below are the authentic details regarding the school furniture issues, causing them to write whiles lying on the belle. Class 1 needed 28 furniture Class 2 needed 34 furniture Class 3 needed 38 furniture Class 4 needed 32 and out of the 32, only 6 are useful in the class remaining 26 Class 5 needed 42 and out of the 42, only 6 are useful in the class remaining 36 Class 6 needed 51 and out of the 51, only 4 are useful in the class remaining 47 So ideally, out of 209 dual desks needed to improve the learning standard of the pupils of Yagzore Primary of Talensi District in the Upper East Region, the assembly was able to only reduce the burden of the school by donating 115 dual desks. This simply means that the school furniture has only been reduced but not solved as some media platforms reported. Meanwhile, the predicament of these innocent pupils received some level of attention after the pictures were shared on various social media platforms seeking help from well-meaning Ghanaians and the people of Talensi. Please kindly contact this platform for any form of assistance on behalf of Yagzore Primary school and many more other schools in the Talensi district facing a similar challenge. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093