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Minority demands withdrawal of military deployment to Ghana-Togo border towns
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The Minority in Parliament is demanding the immediate withdrawal of military personnel deployed to some Ghana-Togo border towns.
The deployment comes just days ahead of the commencement of the voter registration exercise tomorrow.
Ghana’s land, sea air borders have remained shut since March 22 as a measure to stop the importation of coronavirus cases into the country.
According to the caucus, the deployment of the troops to border towns in the Volta, Oti, Northern, North East and Upper East regions is a ploy by government to instill fear into the people ahead of the exercise.
By this, the Minority is of the conviction that people in the affected areas would not be able turn out in their numbers to partake in the exercise.
Minority spokesperson on Defence and Interior, James Agalga, addressing journalists in Parliament on Friday said the deployment was intended to intimidate citizens in the affected regions which are considered strongholds of the opposition National Democratic Congress.
“There is a certain scheme which is designed by the government to intimidate our teeming supporters from coming out in their numbers to register and have their names on the new voter register,” Mr Agalga, MP, Builsa North said.
In James Agalga’s view, the deployment was uncalled for because “after all, we are all aware that our borders were shut down in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“What is this second wave of deployment meant to achieve? Is there a threat of aggression from our neighbouring countries?” he asked.
Impressing on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, to immediately “Cause to be withdrawn the massive deployment we are witnessing along our borders,” James Agalga, a former Deputy Defence Minister said “COVID-19 did not start today.”
“The hotspots are not in the Volta Region. It is here in Accra,” he added.
Disclosing that the caucus had received a myriad of complaints from the people in the affected areas, especially in the Volta Region, that they were living in fear, James Agalga said “we know of no major security threat along that particular frontier” to warrant the deployment.
Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, has however dismissed the suspicions of the opposition lawmakers.
Even though Dr Letsa, Chairman of the Regional Security Council, admitted to the deployment, he said it was to enforce the closure of the country’s eastern borders in line with steps taken by government to stop the importation of coronavirus cases into the country from neighbouring countries.
Speaking on Joynews on Friday night, Dr Letsa who said the deployment was at the behest of the Regional Security Council was not a novelty.
“We are only enforcing the closure of the borders which remain closed till otherwise directed,” he stated.
Source: Ghanaian Times
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy has appealed to the Ministry of Finance to release GH¢5.6 million to the Petroleum Commission to enable it to establish and operate a world-class data centre.
According to the Committee, access to the funds will strengthen the Commission’s capacity to manage critical upstream petroleum data and improve its operations.
Speaking during the appeal, Chairman of the Committee, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, said the move was crucial to efforts to revitalise Ghana’s upstream petroleum industry and increase oil production.
He noted that although investment and hydrocarbon production had declined in recent years, Parliament’s approval of an extension of the petroleum agreement to 2030 had attracted additional funding and contributed to an increase in production from about 80,000 to 120,000 barrels per day.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised over repeated budget allocations for oil exploration in the Voltaian Basin.
Mr. Bedzrah stressed that funds approved for exploration must produce tangible results, adding that the Committee would require clear evidence of progress before supporting future budget allocations for the programme.
The appeal was made during a working visit to the Petroleum Commission as part of the Committee’s oversight activities to assess its operations and management procedures.
During the engagement, the Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Emeafa Hardcastle, took the Committee through the Commission’s working procedures and mandate, which includes regulating, managing and coordinating upstream petroleum activities.
She disclosed that since assuming office in 2025, government had pursued measures to reverse the decline in crude oil production, sustain output and reposition Ghana as an attractive destination for investment in Africa’s increasingly competitive petroleum sector.
In addition, she said government had secured fresh commitments of about US$35 billion to help revitalise the sector.
As part of the oversight exercise, the Committee is expected to conclude its monitoring visit with engagements at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL).
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
“No civilisation deserves to be annihilated” – Mahama calls for dialogue on global conflicts at UNGA 81
President John Dramani Mahama has called for solidarity and dialogue in resolving global conflicts, insisting that no civilisation deserves to be wiped out.
“No human civilisation deserves to be annihilated, certainly not a member state of the United Nations,” President Mahama stated in his address at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He called for solidarity with nations facing terrorism, especially the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), and for a uniform approach to conflicts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
On the Middle East, the President called for a return to negotiations, saying “The current Middle East crisis is having a deleterious effect on the world economy.”
“I believe that dialogue can resolve even the most intractable of problems,” he added.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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