Category: National

Two Members of Parliament (MPs) have called for concerted efforts to fight political corruption. Murtala Mohammed, MP for Tamale Central and Yves Hanson-Nortey, MP for Tema Central, made the call in reaction to the 2023 half year report of the Office of the Special Prosecutor. Contributing to discussions monitored by the Ghana News Agency on a local television station in Accra on Saturday, the MPs stated that corruption was manifested in every facet of the Ghanaian society. However, they said the situation was more profound among political elites, which when not addressed head-on, would continue to draw back efforts at improvement the lives of citizens. 'For a journalist, clergy, civil servant or public servant to be corrupt, taking from the State, the only means is through a channel, which is created by a political appointee,' Mr Mohammed said. 'As politicians, we must admit that corruption is a worry, but the biggest of all is the corruption within the political elite, and if we do not fight it we'll sit here and cry every day,' he added. Referring to the accumulation of wealth, he said: 'You have politicians in this country who within four years, whether under whichever government, build the most expensive houses and hotels and nobody says anything.' He urged religious leaders to do more in the fight against corruption to augment the efforts of civil society and governments, saying: 'It should be part of their sermons. Civic responsibilities must also be encapsulated in our educational curriculum.' For his part, Mr Hanson-Nortey said that all the corruption schemes seen in the country in the last 20 or 30 years were directly linked to the cost of doing politics in Ghana. He said it cost so much to be a parliamentary candidate during primaries, and was more during the general election. 'So, in a period of about four years, you're spending about US$500 million and you'd have to recoup that money. Often times, there are business people who back politicians with the hope that when you come to power, you'll give them contracts to recoup that money. 'Let's put in measures that would ensure political funding and hold politicians to account for where their monies come from,' the Tema Central MP said. Professor Enoch Opoku Antwi, a Public Policy Analyst, said there was a lot of 'waste in our system' crippling the economy. 'All the waste we're seeing is going into individual pockets, and unless we address corruption, we'll never solve our problems,' he said, and added that 'we must make our laws work'. The 2023 half year report of the OSP said four cases had been completed and were in Court, with conclusion into investigations of four other cases done. The OSP also reported that it was conducting investigations into nine suspected corruption and corruption-related offences, with 150 other cases at various levels of consideration. Meanwhile, the Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Agyebeng, called for adequate budget line for the Office, saying: 'We continue to emphasise the need for the State to pay particular attention to the funding needs of the Office.'

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Bureau of the Assembly of People's Representatives Assembly (ARP), which met on Thursday, condemned the "dangerous" military escalation of the Zionist occupation forces in parts of the West Bank, especially in Jenin, Palestine.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Bureau "strongly" condemned the crimes committed by the Zionist forces against the Palestinian people.

This is a flagrant violation of international charters and rights," it said.

It expressed its solidarity with the Palestinian people against these aggressions.

To this end, the ARP called on all regional and international parliamentary institutions to condemn these acts of aggression, which threaten peace and security in the entire region.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The Adaklu District Assembly has commemorated Child Labour Day with a call on government to intensify education on the rights of children and the responsibilities of parents.

Also, all governmental and non-governmental child related agencies must mobilize and harness resources to enable them to play their roles effectively and efficiently.

Mad. Juliana Kpedekpo, Adaklu District Chief Executive, who made the call, said the capacities of all relevant stakeholders should be built for the effective implementation of the laws on children.

The day was on the theme: 'Intensify action against child labour, do it fast, do it now.'

Madam Kpedekpo noted that child labour had a serious debilitating effect on children since it destroyed them physically, mentally, socially and morally.

She mentioned some forms of hazardous and exploitative labour as fishing, mining, quarrying, porterage, shepherding and night work.

The DCE said though the government had put in place policies and programmes to combat child labour, most people seemed not to be aware and still engage children in all forms of child labour.

She said some of the interventions were the implementation of the child and family welfare policy, which educates families on the rights of the child and the responsibilities of parents towards their children.

Others, she said, were economic empowerment of households such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty, Labour-Intensive Public Work, School Feeding Programme and standard operating procedures to protect child domestic workers.

Madam Kpedekpo called on all stakeholders to come on board to eradicate child labour in the country and help children to develop their latent talents for them to become useful citizens.

He added: 'By doing so we can eradicate poverty from society.'

Mrs Susan Akortia, Adaklu District Director of Department of Social Welfare, urged all, especially parents, to be a hedge around their children so as not to expose them to dangerous people and hazardous conditions.

The DCE advised parents against large family sizes, pushing their girl child into prostitution.

Rather, they should undertake profitable ventures to look after their children.

She also urged them not to expose them to premature financial independence as it would disrupt their education and breed indiscipline.

During an open forum, the people attributed child labour to poverty, economic hardships and broken homes.

Pictures of some forms of child labour were shown to the gathering and one which depicted a man escorting a small boy struggling under a big load and visibly tired got the people screaming in unison.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The leadership of the All People's Party (APP) announced the suspension of its Secretary General, Vincent Kanyetu, here on Thursday.

The party's national chairperson, Linus Muchila, who made the announcement in a media release issued on Thursday, said Kanyetu's suspension is effective as of Monday and will last for a period of 30 working days.

'The reason for Kanyetu's suspension along with all due processes that need to be followed hereafter, are explained in his letter of suspension. Thus, the party will not elaborate further on the charges until the disciplinary hearing is concluded,' Muchila stated.

During the suspension, Kanyetu is restricted from all functions, activities and events of the APP and is not allowed to access the party's members, resources or perform work for the party.

On his part, Kanyetu said he was going to respond to the suspension through a letter which he will share with this news agency in due course.

Muchila further clarified that, contrary to recent media reports, the party did not fail to repay a loan advanced to it from the acting president's family trust and that the party made all payments, for which proof was provided.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency