Speaker rejects request

for withdrawal of instrument on Adenta-Ashaiman municipality

Accra, Nov. 16, GNA - The Speaker, Mr Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes, on Friday rejected a request for the withdrawal of a Local Government Instrument for the newly created Adenta-Ashaiman Assembly, laid before Parliament by Mr Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, Local Government Minister. The rejection followed a request by Mr Alfred Agbesi, NDC Member for Ashaiman, who appealed to the Speaker to grant permission for the withdrawal of the instrument.

His request came immediately after the Local Government Minister had laid 28 instruments before the House, each for the newly created districts, to give legal backing to their establishment. According to Mr Agbesi, there were ongoing negotiations between himself and the NPP Member for Adenta, Mr.Kojo Opare-Hammond, to resolve the conflict over the location of the district capital of the Adenta-Ashaiman Assembly, which has gone to Adenta. He said the laying of the instrument should be deferred in other not to prejudice the outcome of negotiations, but the Speaker, went ahead to reject the member's request.

Earlier, Nana Akomea, Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, told the House that outstanding arrears owed to the youth in all modules of the National Youth Employment Programme nationwide would be paid before the end of the year.

He was responding to a question on why persons employed by the programme in the Biakoye constituency in the Jasikan district, Volta Region, have since 2006 not been paid.

The Minister said the Jasikan district declared 471 teacher vacancies but the Ministry approved the appointment of 366 teaching assistance out of the 471 positions declared vacant. He said the district wet ahead to fill in the rest of the 105 without approval and it was only in August this year that it was given approval to regularize the appointments with retrospective effect from January this year.

He said payment for the extra 105 has been made for the first half of the year.