The appeal by the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament to the members of Parliament to eschew partisanship in the course of work in the House is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that the Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has urged Members of Parliament to eschew partisanship in the course of work in the House.
He said the tolerance of Ghanaians for unbridled and unashamed partisanship in Parliament has reached a breaking point.
Addressing the opening session of a three-day workshop for new MPs in Ada last Saturday, Mr. Bagbin said it was necessary for members to put the nation first before their political parties when it came to matters in the House.
“We are all aware that the tolerance of Ghanaians for unbridled and unashamed partisanship has reached a breaking point and the earlier we respond appropriately to that issue, the better for parliamentary democracy. What Ghanaians and all Africans are interested in is the democratic dividends and not partisanship,” he stated.
Mr. Bagbin also urged the members not to allow the uniqueness of the 8th Parliament to be lost on them.
“It is the expectation of Ghanaians that we do more than before. We need to build bridges and collaborate more on many national issues than before,” he noted.
The newspaper says that the Ministry of Health will begin the recruitment of medical doctors and dentists on Tuesday, February 9.
A statement signed and issued by the acting Chief Director of the ministry, Kwabena Boadu Oku-Afari, said the recruitment would cover only those who had permanently registered with the Medical and Dental Council and had “completed their house job”.
“Qualified applicants are requested to formally apply on the Ministry of Health online application portal and follow the instructions to select the preferred agency under the ministry. The deadline for the submission of applications is 6 p.m. on Friday, February 19, 2021,” it added.
That was after the Ghana Health Service (GHS) had announced that it would be giving some 20,084 nurses financial clearance to be employed in healthcare institutions across the country.
A similar process took place in May last year to recruit medical doctors and dentists who had completed their house job and were permanently registered with the Medical and Dental Council.
The government has, in the past three years, recruited 92,000 nurses, leaving no backlog of graduate nurses in the country.
The Graphic also reports that Ghana has recorded 765 new cases of the COVID-19 disease across the country.
This brings the cumulative number of cases to 71,533, with active cases standing at 6,411.
According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS), as at Thursday, February 4, the total number of deaths had risen to 464.
The number of clinical recoveries/discharges has also increased to 64,658.
According to the GHS, 112 persons who tested positive for the disease were in severe condition, while 32 were in a critical state.
The Greater Accra Region still leads with the highest number of active cases with 3,483 cases, while the Ashanti Region follows with 1,067 active cases.
The Times says that the Member of Parliament (MP) of Asawase, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka has retracted and apologised for making bribery allegations against a Justice of the Supreme Court.
In a statement issued yesterday in Accra, he said “Based upon good counsel, I have also decided to let sleeping dogs lie and will consequently refrain from any further public commentary on the matter which, as I have indicated was originally reported to me by a female colleague Parliamentarian.”
Alhaji Muntaka, who is Chief Whip of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus of Parliament, noted that his allegation was damaging to the reputation of the Justices of the Supreme Court and the Judiciary as he did not name the said Justice.
“Admittedly, because I did not specifically name any judge, this may have had the effect of scandalising the judiciary in its entirety” adding that “this unintended consequence is deeply regretted,” he stated.
He called on the general public and the media to respect his retraction and apology and expressed hope that the allegation would not disrupt the relationship between Parliament and the Judiciary.
“It is my fervent prayer that the existing historic cordial relations between the legislature and the judiciary will not be affected by this incident but will continue to grow in the interest of the country,” he said.
GIK/APA