Omane Boamah Ordered To Pay Light Bills

The Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho on Monday ordered the Minister of Communications, Edward Omane Boamah to immediately ensure that his ministry pays the electricity bills of the Assembly Press which is under his ministry to enable it print important documents to enhance the work of parliament. The speaker gave the order after some Members of Parliament (MPs) had complained bitterly about the inability of the Table Office to give copies of the Legislative Instrument (LI) on the Electronic Communications (Interconnect Clearing House Service) Regulations, 2016, which was laid in the House on June 22 to them on time for their perusal. By the Standing Orders of the House, immediately an LI is laid copies of it must be made available to the members for their perusal. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, consistently reminded the speaker of that legitimate obligation of the House. Copies were eventually given to members about a week ago before the debate on the report by the Subsidiary Legislative Committee on the Electronic Communications Regulations, 2016. The delay in providing copies of the LI, which should have been printed in time by the Assembly Press, also delayed the debate which coincided with the last day of the expiration of the LI, forcing the speaker to direct the Minister of Communications to settle the electricity bills of the Assembly Press that had been disconnected and was running on a plant. The approval of the LI was deferred yesterday because the required number of members was not present in Parliament on Monday evening. The House needed half of its members but less than half were present forcing the speaker to defer its approval. The Electronic Communications (Interconnect Clearinghouse Service) Regulations, 2016 L.I. 2234 provides that a connecting entity that has established interconnection before the coming into force of the regulations shall not pay a service charge until January, 2018 The LI 2234 also states that a connecting entity shall not increase its call charges for purposes of routing a call through an Interconnect Clearinghouse until January, 2018. The National Communication Authority (NCA), according to the LI, shall pay an interconnect clearinghouse with monies that the Authority collects on behalf of government for the use of the authority under subsection (9) of section 25 (A) of the Act. It is further observed that the Authority, in proposing to freeze interconnect and services charge until January, 2018, will protect the service providers and consumers from any increase until January, 2018 which begins on the first day.

Source: Daily Guide

Supreme Court Orders Gov't To Release Gitmo 2 Agreement

Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby The Supreme Court has ordered the release of the agreement between the Ghanaian government and the United States government which allowed two ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees to be relocated into the country. The Court, on Thursday, directed that the documents be made available to only the lawyers of the two Ghanaian citizens, Margaret Bamful and Henry Nana Boakye who sued the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, together with the Minister of Interior, accusing President John Mahama of illegally bringing in the two former detainees, without recourse to the laws of the land. The Court after scrutinising the documents decided that the release of the documents to the lawyers will not pose a security threat to the nation. The Attorney General unsuccessfully argued that the agreement was confidential and any disclosure to the public would violate section 1 of the State Secrets ACT, 1962 (Act 101). Background The two former detainees, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby were in detention for 14 years for having links with terrorist group Al-Qaeda before their relocation to Ghana. In January 2016, the US Embassy in Ghana assured said the presence of the duo posed no security threat to national security. But Margaret Bamful and Henry Nana Boakye, believed the two former Gitmo detainees were illegally brought into the country wthout recourse to the laws of the land. The plaintiffs therefore sought among other reliefs a “declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of Article 75 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President of the Republic of Ghana acted unconstitutionally by agreeing to the transfer of Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby.”

Source: Graphic.com.gh

Montie 3 Sentence...RAP Opens PETITION BOOK; To Protect Free Speech

The Research and Advocacy Platform has noted the imprisonment of a journalist and two Ghanaian citizens by the Supreme Court yesterday for comments they made about the court in a broadcast on Montie Fm. RAP notes the need to uphold the integrity of vital state institutions like the Supreme Court. We nonetheless believe that the four months custodial sentence imposed on the three is excessive and has the potential to severely curtail the right to free speech which is a fundamental right enshrined in the 1992 Constitution. We are consequently taking a number of steps aimed at mobilising Ghanaians of all shades of opinion to Petition the President to invoke Article 72 of the Constitution to offer the imprisoned three a reprieve from this harsh sentence. A Petition Book has been opened at the premises of Radio Gold at Laterbiokoshie and the Freedom Centre atKokomlemle requesting abatement of the sentence and/or a Presidential Pardon. All are encouraged to go and sign the books at any of the two places. Abu Razak Convener

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana

US Election: We'll Carry Clinton To Victory - Obama

US President Barack Obama has implored voters to help continue his legacy by carrying Hillary Clinton to victory at the polls in November. Mr Obama praised Mrs Clinton at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, as the most qualified person ever to run for the White House. He said voters faced a choice between hope and fear, attacking "home-grown demagogue" Republican Donald Trump. Mr Trump responded by rejecting the president's optimistic portrayal. "Our country does not feel 'great already' to the millions of wonderful people living in poverty, violence and despair," he said on Twitter. Mr Obama recounted his key victories over his past eight years in office and painted an optimistic future. He extolled Mrs Clinton's character, calling her a "leader with real plans to break down barriers, blast through glass ceilings and widen the circle of opportunity to every single American". Mr Obama described his nation as "full of courage", "decent and generous", but also concerned about racial divisions and "frustrated with political gridlock". President Obama is good at this. He's really, really good at this. For all his flaws - and conservatives will be quick to point them out - he's always been able to deliver a pitch-perfect speech on the biggest stages, and this was no exception. It was the kind of speech that had some conservatives shaking their heads, wondering how their party ceded the optimistic high ground to their opponents. Mr Obama even quoted Ronald Reagan's "shining city on a hill" line, if only to make the political shift all the more clear.

Source: BBC

NPP Will Win The Election.

The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says he is confident of an NPP victory in the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections, citing the enthusiastic response of the Ghanaian electorate to his message of change, progress and prosperity for the nation.
Having undertaken electioneering campaigns in 2008 and 2012, Nana Akufo-Addo explained that the passionate response to his message by Ghanaians, who are yearning for a change from the hardships and suffering imposed on them by the Mahama government, is one he has never witnessed before in previous years.
“I’ve been to the Volta region with (the late) Adu Boahen in 1992. Then, Akatsi was a difficult place for us. But, now, I’m being mobbed in Akatsi. I’ve also been to Greater Accra, Eastern, Brong Ahafo and Ashanti. And, everywhere we’ve been, I’m being mobbed by these amazing crowds of enthusiastic people, who are responding to our message – a message of change and a message of progress and prosperity,” the NPP flagbearer said.
Much to the delight of hundreds of NPP sympathisers gathered, the NPP flagbearer added: “This is my third campaign as presidential candidate, and I have never seen what I am seeing now. The momentum is with us, and if we continue to work hard and secure the ballot, we will win the December election.”
Nana Akufo-Addo was addressing a fundraising event in Hartford, organized by the NPP Connecticut Chapter, on Saturday, July 23, 2016, when he made this known.
With the end of the first phase of his nationwide tour set to end in August, the NPP flagbearer was quick to state that winning the 2016 election will be largely based on the policies and programmes the party will outline to the people of Ghana, which will return the country onto the path of progress and prosperity.
“I don’t want to dwell on the current situation at home. It is bad, and there’s no honest Ghanaian or observer who can deny this fact. I suspect that the even the President of the Republic, in the quiet of his room, will acknowledge that things are not well. ‘Enko yie’,” he added.
To this end, the NPP flagbearer noted that an NPP government, God-willing from January 2017, will put in place measures aimed at stimulating the industrial development of the country, diversifying the nation’s agriculture, and reforming the nation’s financial sector to support industry and agriculture.
“This is a time tested programme, there’s nothing original about it, and it has been at the heart of the success of East Asia, and I am very confident that if we go about it systematically, it is going to be the heart of the success for us as well”, he indicated.peacefmonline.com