Monday, February 9

Tag: Parliament

Parliament approves $10.46m tax waiver for Tata Consultancy Services 
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Business

Parliament approves $10.46m tax waiver for Tata Consultancy Services 

Parliament on Tuesday adopted a report granting a waiver of US$10.46 million, representing 20 per cent withholding tax, for Tata Consultancy Services Limited in respect of a software application agreement.    The tax exemption, signed between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Tata Consultancy Services, was re-negotiated by the government to secure savings of US$9 million for the country, according to the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.    The report was laid before the plenary by Mr Isaac Adongo, a member of the Finance Committee of Parliament.    Debate on the adoption of the tax exemption saw sharp divisions, with the Minority Caucus, led by Mr Frank Annor-Dompreh, Minority Chief Whip, opposing the waiver. &n...
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Parliament adopts report for review of Petroleum Revenue Management Act 
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Business

Parliament adopts report for review of Petroleum Revenue Management Act 

Parliament on Tuesday, adopted a report for the review of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, Act 815 to allow government to invest Ghana's petroleum revenues in areas that deliver maximum earnings.  This follows a report laid at the plenary by Mr Eric Afful, Chairman of Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, calling on Parliament to adopt the Committee's report to review the Petroleum Act to maximize earnings and returns on petroleum revenues for investment purposes.    The proposal for review of the Act was made by Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, on November 13, immediately after presenting the 2026 Budget Statement to Parliament.    Mr. Afful explained that the review is expected to enhan...
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Minority Leader Demands Accountability After Tragic El-Wak Stadium Stampede
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Politics

Minority Leader Demands Accountability After Tragic El-Wak Stadium Stampede

The Minority in Parliament has expressed deep sorrow and outrage following the tragic incident at the El-Wak Sports Stadium on Wednesday, where six young Ghanaians lost their lives and several others sustained injuries during a Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recruitment exercise. In an official statement, Minority Leader Osafo Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin described the event as a “catastrophic failure of crowd control and safety planning,” stressing that the young applicants arrived with “hope and patriotic zeal” but were met with preventable danger instead of protection. According to the Minority, the deadly stampede marks an unprecedented disaster in the history of military and security recruitment exercises in Ghana. They insist the incident raises serious questions about the prepare...
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Lands Minister tables Legislative Instrument in Parliament to revoke controversial mining law
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News

Lands Minister tables Legislative Instrument in Parliament to revoke controversial mining law

Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Friday, October 31, formally laid the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Revocation Instrument, 2025 before Parliament. This action set the stage for effective repealing  of Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2501, which had previously amended the controversial L.I. 2462 enacted in 2022. Addressing the Parliamentary Press Corps at Parliament House in Accra, Mr Armah-Kofi Buah said L.I. 2462 was introduced in 2022 to enforce environmental management principles in mining operations within forest reserves. However, he said, the legislation drew widespread criticism for granting excessive discretionary powers to the President, particularly through Regulation 3(2), which allowed presidential approva...
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Parliament to Resume Sitting on October 14, 2025
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Politics

Parliament to Resume Sitting on October 14, 2025

The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has officially announced that the Third Meeting of the First Session of the Ninth Parliament of the Fourth Republic will commence on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. In a notice issued from the Speaker’s office in Accra on September 29, 2025, it was stated that proceedings will begin at 2:00 p.m. at Parliament House. The upcoming meeting, held in accordance with Order 58 of the Standing Orders of Parliament, is expected to consider critical national issues, ranging from legislative business and government policies to reports from committees and urgent matters of public interest. Parliamentarians are therefore expected to reconvene in Accra to continue the legislative work of the House, following the end of the second mee...
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Parliament approves GHS 2.8 billion for road maintenance
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News

Parliament approves GHS 2.8 billion for road maintenance

Parliament has approved GHS 2.8 billion for road maintenance this year to enhance transport of goods and services. In 2024, 43 per cent of the country's total roads were maintained through re-shaping, gravelling and patching of potholes. Mr Isaac Adjei Mensah, the Chairman of Parliament's Roads and Transport Committee, told the media in Parliament House, in Accra, that road maintenance formed part of the government's resetting agenda. He said the government inherited a total debt stock of GHS 105 billion under the road sector and GHS 109 billion commitment to road contractors. The arrears commitment under the road sector referred to ongoing road projects as well as those stalled and road contracts signed. Mr Adjei Mensah said efforts were underway to re-introduce the road to...
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Parliament stalls passage of L.I. 2462 amid heated debate
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Politics

Parliament stalls passage of L.I. 2462 amid heated debate

The passage of the proposed Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which seeks to revoke the President's authority to approve mining in forest reserves was stalled on Tuesday after a heated debate. Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Murtala, the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, was ready to present the L.I. on the Floor of the House, could not do so because of the disagreement from the two Sides of the House. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus insisted on the instrument to be pre-laid before its formal introduction. Mr. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, Minority Leader, emphasised the importance of adhering to Parliamentary procedures to ensure proper scrutiny. "Mr. Speaker I shall pray you to place the application on ice for now and rather direct that the Minister go...
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Bagbin lifts suspension on four MPs, investigations to Continue 
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Politics

Bagbin lifts suspension on four MPs, investigations to Continue 

Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin, has lifted the suspension on four Members of Parliament (MPs) effective Tuesday, February 4, 2025.   The MPs were initially suspended for two weeks, starting from Friday, January 31, 2025, for their involvement in the chaotic scenes that erupted during the vetting of ministerial nominees.   Although the suspension has been lifted, Mr Bagbin emphasised that investigations into the matter will continue, with a report to be compiled and presented to the House for further decision-making.  "... A report will be compiled and presented to the House for further decision-making. This development marks a significant update in the Parliamentary proceedings, which have been closely watched following the recent disruptions," Mr Bagbin sai...
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Ghana’s parliament passes provisional budget, averts government shutdown
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World

Ghana’s parliament passes provisional budget, averts government shutdown

Reuters- Ghana's parliament has passed a provisional budget that allows the government to spend 68.1 billion Ghanaian cedis ($4.65 billion) through March, the chamber's speaker said, narrowly averting an unprecedented government shutdown. Parliamentary Speaker Alban Bagbin said the parliament had approved the provisional budget in a sitting that stretched deep into Thursday night. John Dramani Mahama is set to take office as the West African country's president next week after winning a Dec. 7 election, staging a political comeback after serving as Ghana's president from 2012 to 2016. Outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo was due to present his last state of the nation address later on Friday after eight years leading the gold- and oil-exporting nation. A provisional budget i...
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