The US Ambassador to Ghana’s commendation for the conduct of business during the vetting of ministerial nominees by the Appointments Committee of Parliament is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that the US Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs. Stephanie Sullivan has congratulated the Appointments Committee of Parliament for the conduct of its business during the vetting of ministerial nominees.
She says the process sent a strong signal that Parliament’s work will not be business as usual and that Parliament now takes its scrutiny duties very seriously.
Mrs. Sullivan was speaking on Wednesday when she called on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin to congratulate him on his ascension to the high office of Speakership.
The two spoke about a number of key issues pertaining to the development of their respective countries. Conversations were also centered on health, agriculture and environmental issues.
Mrs. Stephanie Sullivan also spoke about the need for strong trade relations, referring to an earlier statement made by the Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu which stressed the need to strengthen the private sector since it is the engine of growth.
Speaker Bagbin expressed gratitude for the good relations between Ghana and the United States and made reference to the fragility of Ghana’s democracy, saying that a look at the country’s political make-up points to the fact that Ghanaians are no longer interested in partisan politics and that they expect the two main political parties to put the interest of the country first and to collaborate more for the ultimate good of the country.
He also emphasized the fact that accountability is a key ingredient for Ghana’s progress and urged the political class to be mindful of this.
The newspaper says that the acting General-Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU-Ghana), Mr. Morgan Ayawine, has appealed to the government to put measures in place to cushion the people against the effects of the new taxes and levies contained in the 2021 Budget.
He said new taxes such as COVID-19 Health levy, increase in road toll, gaming, sanitation and pollution levy, including a one per cent increase in the VAT rate, were a sad commentary on the economy.
According to him, the development would aggravate the already precarious economic status of workers and the ordinary people and could also affect the government’s effort at job creation.
Mr. Ayawine was speaking at the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regional ICU-Ghana delegates conference at Abesim, near Sunyani in the Bono Region, last Tuesday.
The delegates discussed activities of the union in the region and also conducted elections for the youth, women and regional council of the union, as well as adopted resolutions for its upcoming 11th quadrennial delegates conference, which is expected to come off in Accra in August 2021 to elect national executives to steer the affairs of the union in the next four years, as required by the ICU constitution.
He said the financial sector clean-up exercise carried out by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) in 2018-2019 had already taken a toll on businesses and labour through the loss of jobs and livelihoods.
According to him, the union had to open its arms to some affected workers who were not their members to help them get their exit packages and other entitlements from the BoG.
Mr. Ayawine said it was also a wake-up call for workers to register with a trade union organisation to protect their interests.
The Graphic also reports that some distinguished past and present Ghanaian public office holders are set to be awarded by the Initiators of Change Foundation through its annual Lifetime in a Portraits Award.
The “Lifetime in a Portrait Award” aims at discovering and celebrating distinguished individuals from various backgrounds with the prime goal of engendering social cohesion, unity, patriotism, role modelling, and national development.
This year’s edition coincides with the foundation’s tenth anniversary, hence “Lifetime In a Portrait Award Of the Decade.”
The event, which is set to come off in April is set to award distinguished public office holders, including Mr Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur (Late former Vice President of Ghana); Mrs Akosua Fremaa Osei-Opare (Chief of Staff); Mrs Mary Chinery-Hesse (former Chief Advisor to President Kufuor); Ambassador James Victor Gbeho (former President of the ECOWAS Commission); Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu(Majority Leader of Parliament); Mr E.T. Mensah (Member of the Council of State); Rev. Father Andrew Campbell (Parish Priest, Christ the King); Nana Dr. Dankawoso Appiagyei I (Former Chairman, Pan-African Chamber of Commerce), Sheikh Dr. Nuhu Osman Sharubutu (Chief Imam).
The Executive Director of the foundation, Mr. Kofi Gyan, in a statement, noted that the foundation agrees with the maxim that “a nation which does not celebrate her heroes is not worth dying for”
That, he said, public servants and those who through their outstanding service to humanity have made Ghana proud in the international community, would be awarded in this year’s edition.
GIK/APA