News
Govt using military to intimidate voters under grain export ban – Minority
The Minority has accused the government of deploying military personnel to intimidate voters under the guise of enforcing a recently imposed ban on grain exports.
This accusation comes in the wake of a severe drought affecting the northern regions of the country.
On Monday, August 26, the government announced an immediate ban on grain exports. Defense Minister Dominic Nitiwul stated that military personnel had been deployed to enforce the ban at the country’s borders.
However, the Minority has expressed concerns about the government’s true intentions, alleging that the deployment is an attempt to suppress votes.
Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Committee, James Agalga, at a presser in Accra on Friday noted that: “If they have no ulterior motives, then they ought to have given us timelines. The fact that there are no timelines gives us reason to suspect that they only used the crisis, related to the drought up north and the potential for us to have some food security challenges, to deploy the military to intimidate voters.”
He said, “Otherwise, there should be timelines. We further backed our assertions with what happened in the roundup of the 2020 elections…So our suspicions are justifiable.”
Source: Citinewsroom.com
The Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Abena Osei Asare has expressed concerns about the failure of the Administrator of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Mr. Paul Adjei to honour invitation of the Committee to assist in dealing with abandoned projects cited in the 2024 Auditor-General’s report.
She emphasised that some of the projects have been abandoned for more than 20 years and it kept reoccurring in the Auditor-General’s report yearly, stressing that the GETFund Administrator could assist by prioritising these projects.
However, he has failed to personally appear before the Committee since the commencement of the Committee’s public hearing in the 9th Parliament.
According to the 2024 Auditor-General’s report on Pre-University Educational Institutions, nine (9) Institutions with 16 projects awarded by the GET Fund Secretariat had been abandoned/delayed for a period ranging between three (3) and 28 years.
Some of the affected schools include Adanwomoase Senior High School (Boys and Girls dormitory abandoned for 12 years), Atoa Senior High School (Home Economics Block abandoned for 27 years), Beposo Senior High School (Dinning Hall and Kitchen Complex abandoned for 10 years and lastly KNUST Senior High School (Three storey classroom block abandoned for 20 years).
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy continued its oversight responsibilities with a working visit to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) yesterday.
Chairman of the Committee, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, said the visit formed part of efforts to familiarize members with the Authority’s operations and to explore ways Parliament could provide the necessary support.
He explained that the NPA’s work is focused on regulating Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector, a critical area for national energy security.
Mr. Bedzrah noted that the Committee is particularly interested in assessing whether the country has adequate petroleum stock to meet demand.
He noted that rising geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing US–Iran conflict, could have adverse effect on Ghana’s energy supply and pricing.
He further disclosed that the Committee intends to engage closely with the Authority on a proposed new petroleum bill.
According to him, a draft of the legislation will be reviewed and possibly presented to Parliament under a certificate of urgency.
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