He noted that since Bongo is a closely-knit community where everyone is familiar with each other, this political bias is more noticeable.

Speaking on JoyNews AM show, Mr Bawa said, “Even issues of Planting for Food and Jobs, where fertilizers and other inputs are brought to help them survive, are purely done on political bases.

“Bongo is not Accra. In Bongo, everybody knows everybody. As I sit, if I enter into Bongo and meet the first ten people, I can tell everybody and the political party the person belongs to because we are that connected. It is not like in the city where you do not even know somebody that you share a wall with; you do not even know the person’s name. In such a setting, you know everybody, and unfortunately, you have situations like this.”

He stated that Bongo has discovered large gold deposits, raising concerns that illegal mining activities from the South may shift to Bongo.

Mr Bawa noted that on a recent trip from Bongo to Tamale, he noticed that the White Volta, which was previously clean due to water flowing directly from Burkina Faso, had now become polluted.

“Gradually, [illegal mining] is creeping into the north, and if we are not careful, that is going to mess us up as a people.”

Source: Myjoyonline.com

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His comment follows a three-day ultimatum issued by the ECG to the Parliamentary Service and other state institutions to settle their indebtedness or risk being disconnected from the national grid.

Speaking on JoyNews Prime, on Friday, in reaction to the ECG’s notice, Mr Bawa said “government agencies and Ministries are the worst culprits when it comes to defaulting in payment for electricity services.”

“In fact, I will be very happy if tomorrow ECG disconnects Parliament,” he stated.

The Bongo MP reiterated that government agencies in the country must be put on the pre-paid meter to avoid such indebtedness.

“Why would UPSA not pay for using power? Why would the Ministry of Communications not pay?

“I understand for example maybe if you are to go to a hospital, I expect that maybe the theatres and other things should not be on pre-paid but they should be on credit meters. However, what explanation will you give for a Doctors flat being on a credit meter?” he quizzed  

He said as a result of this refusal to pay for services rendered by the ECG, the Ministry of Energy set an example of subscribing to the pre-paid meter “so when they go and buy power and the power is exhausted, they go off.”

The ECG on Friday served disconnection notices to some institutions which have refused to pay for power consumed.

According to the power distribution company, the affected institutions owe it an amount close to GH¢70million and have failed to settle their debt despite several reminders.

The ECG stated that it will not spare any institution which fails to meet the deadline.

The following are the debts owed by some of the defaulting institutions:

Ministry of Communication owes – GH¢5,080,752.37

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – GH¢558,014.13

Internal Audit Agency – GH¢545,740.68

Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence – GH¢208,318.50

Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) – GH¢277,300.32

National Information Technology Agency (NITA) – GH¢1,543,113.68

University of Professional Studies (UPSA) – GH¢1,611,403.21

Mr Bawa, therefore, commended ECG for its work in disconnecting power at some public institutions over their indebtedness. He, however, stated that the exercise is long overdue.

This comes following a statement made by the 1st Deputy Speaker to engage himself in any voting proceedings on the E-levy while presiding as the Speaker.

However, while speaking on JoyNews’ AM show, Mr. Bawa responded to the 1st Deputy Speaker’s statement, saying he will be matched squarely and resisted if he attempts to vote on the e-levy as the presiding Speaker.

“You can take my words to the bank; he will be matched squarely on that; he will be resisted. That you can take to the bank, it is an assurance I am giving you,” he stated.

According to him, there are many other means governments can manage the economy without introducing more taxes to generate revenue, like using resources judiciously.

“The issue of making resources available for the government for development must not necessarily be as a result of trying to look for more money. You can also look at cutting down expenditure,” he said.

He said the Minority group has proposed various ways the economic crises in the country can be managed by the government.

“We have given government areas that we can look out to cut the expenditure and still be able to make that 6.9 billion cedi. Unless the government is not telling us the truth then we have a challenge,” he revealed.

The government has proposed an electronic levy of 1.75% when it presented its fiscal policy to the people’s representatives.

But, the proposal has suffered a public backlash from the Minority group in Parliament and various opinion groups.

Member of Parliament (MP) for Bongo constituency, Edward Bawa, has defended the Minority’s rush to the Speaker’s podium during proceedings on Monday.

According to him, it was to stop illegality from being perpetuated in the House as First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu presided.

Mr Bawa noted the action though regrettable was a step in the right direction.

“We are no longer in the 7th parliament. Now we have 137 vs 137 + 1 independent candidate so we must let the rules and regulations work and every Ghanaian must resist any illegality anywhere,” he noted.

His comment comes on the back of a brawl that broke out on Monday night during a head count to consider the controversial E-levy Bill under a certificate of urgency.

The Minority MPs attempted to stop Mr Osei Owusu, who was presiding over the House, from vacating his seat to participate in the voting process.

Infuriated by this action, the Majority side clashed with the Minority at the Speaker’s table during which Yagaba-Kubori  MP, Mustapha Ussif got injured.

“Parliament was charged emotionally because Joe Wise is in charge of discipline so what happens if he is not disciplined? So the motivation was to go and make him aware what he did was not right then we heard loud voices and that was when our colleagues rushed to the podium,” he said on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen.

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Meanwhile, Mr Bawa had earlier indicated the Minority will have issues with the Bekwai MP presiding over sittings in the absence of Speaker Bagbin.

This follows a controversial declaration by Mr Osei-Owusu that assuming the Speaker’s chair does not take away the fact that he’s an MP, and that he is not the Speaker.

That remark and the subsequent ruling against a motion by the Minority to have the approval of the 2022 budget rescinded, degenerated proceedings of the House into chaos and near fisticuffs on December 2.

Play the audio above:

This follows a controversial declaration by Mr Osei-Owusu that assuming the Speaker’s chair does not take away the fact that he’s a Member of Parliament (MP) and that he is not the Speaker.

That remark and the subsequent ruling against a motion by the Minority to have the approval of the 2022 budget rescinded, degenerated proceedings of the House into chaos and near fisticuffs which led to the abrupt end of Thursday’s sitting.

Touching on the issue, the MP for Bongo, Edward Bawa, said Mr Osei-Owusu is not fit to occupy the Speaker’s chair due to his posturing.

In an interview with JoyNews’ parliamentary correspondent, Kwesi Parker-Wilson, the Bongo MP said he will be sad to see Mr Osei-Owusu presiding over sittings going forward.

“If the person who is supposed to hold the forum says I am not the person, it tells us that whoever comes there in the form and shape of Joseph Osei- Owusu is an imposter and so we will not be comfortable with that. We are only holding him to his own words that he is not the Speaker…Since that particular unfortunate incident, he himself has not had the courage to come and preside over any plenary.

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“I think Ghanaians should not be comfortable with a person they have entrusted with power and he says no I’m not the one who is supposed to have that power. There must be a willingness on your side to act in a particular position before the State can entrust that room for you. If he comes to preside over sittings, it will be a betrayal of his own position,” he told Kwesi Parker Wilson.

The Bongo MP also urged the House not to relent in its quest to probe the alleged impersonation of the Dome- Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo.

“I think that it is only proper that Parliament takes this important because assuming that these suspicions are true and anything to go by, it tells us that the integrity of Parliament has been compromised. I think that Parliament should be interested in conducting an investigation into the matter,” he said.