World Bank forces Govt to close livestock breeding stations
Minority wants substantive Ministers to answer questions
Changing attitude of Ghanaians towards the environment
Parliament commends Queen Elizabeth
World Bank forces Govt to close livestock
breeding stations
Accra (Greater Accra) 06 June 2002 - The government was made to close down 17 out of the 23 livestock breeding stations across the country as one of the conditions set by the World Bank before funding could be provided to implement a National Livestock Services Project.
It was among the many conditions set by the World Bank for Ghana Government to fulfil before funding could be provided for the project to be implemented from 1993 to 1999.
The action let to the closure of all the government livestock breeding stations leaving only six in five regions, Dr Mathew K. Antwi, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, told Parliament on Wednesday when answering a question posed by Ms Akua Sena Dansua, NDC- North Dayi, as to what steps the ministry was taking to reactivate the animal Husbandry Project at Vakpo-Adomi or divest it.
The Deputy Minister, who stood in for the substantive minister, Major Courage Quashigah (rtd), said just before the start of the project, there was at least one livestock breeding station in each region. Seventeen out of the 23 stations were closed down in accordance with the condition set for the credit by the World Bank and the Vakpo Sheep Station was among those that were closed down.
Dr Antwi said the Government did not pay any compensation for acquiring the land for the breeding station, which meant that it was not the owner and as such could not divest it. He said the ministry had no plans to revamp the station and suggested that the Vakpo community should, therefore, be encouraged to find private investors to utilise the station.
When Ms Dansua asked to know the underlying reasons for the closure of the station the minister said he presumed it might have been due to non-performance. Mr Modestus Ahiable, NDC-Ketu North, asked why the decision of not revamping the station was not communicated to the people.
The Minister said he came to meet the situation and was not in a position to have acted on it but added that the Ministry was taking inventory of all projects to determine their viability.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 06 June 2002 - The Minority in Parliament on Wednesday launched another attack on the Majority front bench for encouraging Deputy Ministers to answer questions on behalf of their superiors in Parliament.
Mr Alban Bagbin, the Minority Leader, said it was becoming the rule rather than the exception for Deputy Ministers to take the despatch box rather than full ministers. The member complained after Dr Matthew Antwi, a Deputy Minister of Agriculture, had on the leave of the House completed a question time slated for Major Courage Quashiega (rtd), Minister of Food and Agriculture.
Mr Bagbin said government should recognise the fact that Deputy Ministers were not in charge of the various ministries and should not appear before the house as such. Papa Owusu Ankomah, the Majority Leader, described the complaint as "a hit below the belt".
He said he sought leave of the House for the Deputy Minister to stand in for his superior. "Government is fully aware of its responsibilities towards Parliament and would not encourage that attitude. Full Ministers are sometimes out of the country or out of town so we have to allow their deputies to stand in for them." The Leader said the Minority had been not treated the Majority front bench fairly.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 06 June 2002 - Mr Prince Oduro-Mensah, NPP-Techiman North, on Wednesday said the attitude of the Ghanaian would shape the environment and not laws on its conservation and protection per se.
"We have shown great indiscipline and recklessness. We have shown that we do not value the very environment on which we depend for life." Mr Oduro-Mensah was contributing to a statement made in the house by Mr Godfred Otchere, NPP-Ayensuano, to commemorate World Environmental Day, which falls on 5 June.
The member said: "In most places, as soon as the clouds gather, people deposit their refuse in drains hoping that the rain would wash it away and when that happens the very rivers we depend on get polluted." It has become customary to litter streets, urinate anywhere and defecate anywhere, he stated.
Dr Kwabena Adjei, NDC-Biakoye, advocates for the inclusion in pre-tertiary education curricula, practical learning on environmental preservation. "Where there is the need to invoke the law, we must allow it to take its course. There is always the temptation for the public to sympathise with people who have flouted environmental laws." Dr Kwabena Adjei said: "Where laws are not adequate, let's make a comprehensive one to cure the malady."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 06 June 2002 - Parliament on Wednesday paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on the 50th anniversary of her ascension to the British Monarch saying it was during her reign that all British colonies including Ghana attained independence, which was not a fashionable venture under colonialism.
Members who associated themselves with a statement Mr Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe South, made on the Queen's Golden Jubilee of her coronation said Ghana's relationship with Britain since her independence has been one of warmth, friendliness and partnership.
Mr Kedem said, "during the fifty long years of her reign, Queen Elisabeth had endeared herself to all and sundry. She is loved, respected and held in high esteem by her British subjects and the people of the Commonwealth.
No wonder, therefore, that she has been a factor of inspiration, stability and continuity in Britain. "Her Majesty the Queen has had a glorious and peaceful reign and she deserves to celebrate every bit of the Golden Jubilee of her coronation with pride and a sense of fulfilment.
"We the people of the former Gold Coast and British Togoland, now Ghana, are proud to be associated with her reign. Especially, we shall not easily forget her concern for us when she visited Ghana on two occasions, 1965 and 1999."
He said her reign "also witnessed the rise and fall of the Black Star of Africa - Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and, of course, the creation of the European Union, which has brought together the old traditional foes of France, Germany and Britain".
Mr Kedem expressed regret about the land problem in Zimbabwe, the balkanisation of the former German colonies of Togo and Cameroon and the economic deprivation of Africa, which were some of the problems created by the Empire under the Queen still persisted and lingered on.
Dr Kwabena Adjei, NDC-Biakoye congratulating the Queen said she was an unassuming personality and her place in history should be preserved especially within the context of the development of parliamentary democracy all over the world.
Mr Kwabena Okerchiri, NPP-Nkawkaw, said during the reign of the Queen, Britain shifted her attention to ameliorate the sufferings of the poor to live a better life.
Mr Victor Gbeho, NDC-Anlo, said Britain had become one of the economic partners of Ghana and that the country had benefited immensely from it. Many top Ghanaian diplomats studied in Britain during the reign of Queen Elisabeth, he said.
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