APA – Accra (Ghana)
The warning by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, that the House would not bow to the pressures of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the passage of legislations to satisfy its conditions for the US$3 billion extended credit facility to Ghana is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has served notice that the House would not bow to the pressures of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the passage of legislations to satisfy its conditions for the agreement with government for the US$3 billion extended credit facility to Ghana.
The long arm of the IMF, the Speaker said, was all over the budget, including the request for the Affirmative Action Bill to be passed under a certificate of urgency.
In his view, Ghana mostly runs a government dictated from outside because it was not financially independent to take its decisions.
“We are refusing to generate resources and depend on others to feed us so he who pays the piper calls the tune. As I have indicated, even in this budget, you can see the arm of the IMF in a lot of the provisions.
“A critical bill like the Affirmative Action Gender Equality Bill has come to parliament under a certificate of urgency. It won’t happen. We won’t pass it under a certificate of urgency,” the Speaker stressed.
He gave this notice in Accra yesterday at the Speaker’s Breakfast Forum on the theme “Thirty Years of Parliamentary Democracy under the Fourth Republic: Reflections on Citizens Engagement and the Way Forward”.
The newspaper says that key stakeholders in Africa’s tax sector are set to meet in Ghana to discuss domestic resource mobilisation and illicit financial flows issues in Africa.
The 11th Pan-African Conference on Illicit Financial Flows and Taxation (PAC) conference, scheduled for November 22, 2023, will provide a platform for tax stakeholders to explore ways in which African countries can take the lead on international conversations that are beginning to have direct implications on issues relating to domestic resource mobilisation and illicit financial flows.
The conference is organised by Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) and The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF).
A statement issued by the Tax Justice Network Africa and African Tax Administration Forum and copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday, said the conference would bring s together officials working on tax issues from Pan-African Organisations, tax administrations, ministries of Finance, civil society organisations, parliamentarians, and academia/researchers from Africa and beyond, under the theme “Making Global Tax Governance Work for Africa.
“The conference is a platform that will enable the attendees to contribute to the development of a common African position on key international conversations that affect African countries’ efforts to raise domestic resources. It is also a platform to identify actions and solutions for actors such as African governments, parliamentarians, civil society organisations, the private sector and other policy players that are key in mobilising domestic resources within the context and will present the opportunity to grow partnerships and collaborations between the different actors,” it said.
The Ghanaian Times also reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the country is actively readying itself to deal with emerging security threats.
He said the security situation in West Africa, especially in the Sahel required, that the entire security architecture of the country was improved.
“Government is resolute on the need to institute all the necessary measures to safeguard the territorial integrity and security of our nation so as to guarantee the peace Ghana continuously enjoys in the region,” he emphasised.
President Akufo-Addo said this at the review of the 2023 graduation parade of the Ghana Military Academy, and the commissioning of Regular Career Course 62 and Short Service Commission/Special Duties Course 60 in Accra, yesterday.
He said the Ghana Armed Forces, which was responsible for the safeguarding of the territorial integrity of the country, was proportionately spread across the country to maintain continuous surveillance and capability in readiness to respond effectively to any threat from anywhere to the security of the country.
The President said in support of this mandate, government had approved a number of measures for the expansion of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and this included the establishment of the National College of Defence Studies, 12 localised battalion units and the Sergeant Majors Units.
In addition, the Directorates of Public Records and Public Relations Unit had been upgraded to departments while the Air Force, Headquarters Support Services Brigade Group at Burma Camp and the Armed Forces Medical Corps had also been expanded.
President Akufo-Addo said the promulgation of the GAF Central Band, Armed Forces Musical School, Armed Forces Fire Service, the School of Ordinance and the Artillery Training School after they were reviewed had been approved.
He said all these were expected to enhance the capabilities of the Armed Forces to deal decisively with contemporary threats within and outside the country, adding that “the eminent threat in the northern part of Ghana has necessitated the establishment of forward operating and logistics bases along our entire northern border.”
The Graphic says that the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has made it clear that it will not shield any deviant journalist whose unruly conduct disrupts the peace during the 2024 general election.
“If you choose to go wayward, you do so at your own peril, without any protection from the GJA,” the General Secretary of the association, Kofi Yeboah, said.
He was speaking at the opening of a day’s seminar in Ho on “Promoting Peaceful Journalistic Media Platforms Ahead of Elections 2024,” for 15 journalists selected from various media houses in the Volta Region.
The programme, which took place last Thursday was part of the “GJA/US Embassy Ghana Elections 2024 Project: Journalists for Peaceful Discourse.”
Mr Yeboah said the 2024 election was critical in Ghana’s political history and the media had an important role to play in contributing to its smooth and peaceful course.
For that reason, he pointed out that journalists must always uphold the ethics of their profession, abide by the truth and cross-check their facts in the discharge of their duties, without compromise.
“Our profession thrives on credibility and speed must not override accuracy,” Mr Yeboah added.
Further, he said, journalism was not about insults but rather about engaging ideas.
Mr Yeboah maintained that what Ghana needed now was ‘peace journalism’ and not ‘war journalism.’
GIK/APA