[ 2017-01-27 ]

Shirley Botchwey, Minister-designate for Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, Ken Ofori-Atta

Eight Ministerial nominees approved; 5 others cleared by Appointments Committee
Parliament yesterday approved the nomination of
eight out of the 13 ministers designate vetted by
the Appointments Committee of Parliament (ACP).

Members of Parliament (MPs) from both sides shared
the view that the nominees were generally
knowledgeable and experienced to occupy their
respective ministerial positions and unanimously
approved their nomination.

The approval followed the presentation of the
report of the ACP, which recommended, by
consensus, that the nominees be approved by the
House because they had sufficiently satisfied the
committee that they had the knowledge and
experience to man the respective ministries.

Ministers designate

The ministers designate are Hajia Alima Mahama,
Local Government and Rural Development; Mr Alan
John Kwadwo Kyerematen, Trade and Industry; Mr Ken
Ofori- Atta, Finance; Mr Ambrose Dery, the
Interior; Ms Gloria Akuffo, Justice and
Attorney-General; Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, National
Security; Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Foreign
Affairs, and Mr Dominic Nitiwul, Defence.

However, the reports on Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Senior
Minister designate; Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto,
Minister designate for Agriculture; Dr Mathew
Opoku Prempeh, Minister designate for Education;
Mr Boakye Agyarko, Minister designate for Energy,
and Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu, Minister designate for
Health, were not presented.

Nominees cleared

The Chairman of the ACP and First Deputy Speaker,
Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, later told the Daily Graphic
that there were some issues that needed
documentary clarification from Mr Osafo-Maafo and
Mr Agyarko.

He said the two nominees had submitted the
documents and clarified the issues and had
subsequently been cleared by the committee.

He said so far all the 13 nominees vetted by the
ACP had been cleared and indicated that the
committee would present the reports on the
remaining five nominees to Parliament today for
consideration, debate and possible approval.

In all, 36 people were nominated by President Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as Ministers of State for
consideration by Parliament.

Committee's report

President Akufo-Addo communicated to Parliament
the nomination of 13 people for consideration, in
accordance with Article 78(1) of the 1992
Constitution, and the nominations were
subsequently referred to the ACP by the Speaker
for consideration and report.

Presenting the report of the ACP, Mr Osei-Owusu
said the committee referred to the 1992
Constitution, the Standing Orders of Parliament
and the curriculum vitae of the nominees during
its deliberations.

He said it published in the national newspapers
the names of the nominees and notice of the
committee's public hearing and also requested
memoranda from the public in respect of the
nominees.

The committee further obtained confidential
reports on the nominees from the Ghana Police
Service and the Bureau of National Investigations
(BNI), as well as their tax status reports from
the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Drama unfolded

The debate was full of drama as the Majority and
the Minority disagreed on some issues raised in
connection with the past and the current
governments.

The heated debate compelled the Speaker of
Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, to
shout 'Order! Order!’ to restore silence in the
House.

The issue that generated the most heat was the
reference by the MP for Asunafo South, Mr Eric
Opoku, to the promise made by the then flag bearer
of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo,
in Nkoranza in the Brong Ahafo Region to the
people of the region that an NPP government would
pay customers of DKM and God is Love their money
that was locked up at the financial institutions.

The Majority side demanded documentary proof and
Mr Opoku referred to a Ghanaweb online report of
November 26, 2016.

That generated repeated shouts of ‘DKM’ from
the Minority and repeated responses of 'Who caused
am?' from the Majority.

Issues of concern

The Minority raised some issues, including the
number of ministers nominated and the duplicity of
roles.

Wrapping up the statements from the Minority, its
Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, gave an assurance that
the Minority was ready to facilitate the vetting
and approval process to allow the government to
fully set up and work towards the delivery of
public good.

However, he said the Minority was worried about
the number of ministers and the implications on
the public purse.

Besides, he said, there were some conflicts and
duplications in the roles of some of the
ministers.

Mr Iddrisu described Mr Kan-Dapaah as an affable
gentleman and indicated that his (Mr Iddrisu’s)
primary concern was about the protection of the
rights of people.

He said Mr Ofori-Atta had a calm personality and
was sober in terms of his demeanour, but indicated
that the nominee’s decision to renegotiate the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme was
worrying.

Mr Iddrisu said Mr Dery had an affable personality
and added that Hajia Alima and Ms Akuffo showed
content and depth in their responses, while Mr
Nitiwul's performance would be a source of
inspiration to the youth.

Majority supports

The Majority described the ministers designate as
people with rich experience in government and
Parliament who could play their respective roles
effectively and efficiently.

The Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu,
said the ministers designate had what it took to
support the President to implement his
transformational agenda.

He debunked the suggestion on the high number of
ministers, saying the 1992 Constitution did not
place any limitation on the number.

He said at the end of the day, the ministers
should be able to raise the standard of living of
the people.

Minister designate for National Security

Mr Kan-Dapaah was a Minister of the Interior in
the Kufuor administration. He served as the MP for
Afigya Sekyere West from 1997 to 2013 and was the
Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of
Parliament from 2009 to 2013.

He told the ACP that he would work with his
colleague ministers as a team towards promoting
national security, while ensuring that his outfit
became subservient to the authority of
Parliament.

Justice Minister designate and Attorney-General

Ms Akuffo was a Deputy Attorney General and
Minister of Justice from 2001 to 2005; Deputy
Greater Accra Regional Minister from 2005 to 2006,
and Minister of Aviation from 2006 to 2008, all in
the Kufuor administration.

Her main message at the vetting was that she would
push for the creation of the position of special
prosecutor to handle corruption cases in the
public service.

Minister designate for Trade and Industry

Mr Kyerematen was a Minister of Trade, Industry
and Presidential Special Initiatives from 2003 to
2007; Ambassador of Ghana to the United States
from 2001 to 2003 and Regional Director of
Enterprise Africa from 1998 to 2001.

He indicated that the government was committed to
the 'one district, one factory' policy and hinted
that the first set of factories under the policy
would come on board within the next six months.

Minister designate for Local Government and Rural
Development

Hajia Alima was a Minister for Women and
Children's Affairs, Deputy Minister of Trade and
Industry and Deputy Minister of Local Government
and Rural Development in the Kufuor
administration.

Her main point at the vetting was her commitment
to initiate the legislative process to allow for
the election of metropolitan, municipal and
district chief executives (MMDCEs).

Minister designate for Finance

Mr Ofori-Atta co-founded Databank Financial
Services Limited where he worked as the Executive
Chairman from 1990 to 2012.

He is currently the Chairman of Family Ventures
and Offices Limited, a West African investment
platform; Chairman of the Trust Bank (The Gambia)
Limited, Chairman of Databank AgriFund Manager
Limited and Director of the Bank of Kigali.

Mr Ofori-Atta defended the proposed tax reviews by
the government, indicating that the intended tax
reviews and abolition of taxes such as the five
per cent VAT on real estate and 17.5 per cent VAT
on financial services would not necessarily result
in a reduction in revenues.

He said his ministry would not tolerate
unwarranted sole sourcing of government contracts
by ministries, departments and agencies (MMDAs).

Minister designate for the Interior

Mr Dery was the Upper West Regional Minister from
2005-2007; Minister of State, Ministry of Justice,
from 2007-2008, and Deputy Minority Leader in
Parliament from 2009 to 2012.

He gave an indication that the government would
streamline the recruitment procedure into the
security agencies to ensure thorough
investigations into the backgrounds of
applicants.

He said he intended to decongest the country's
prisons and indicated that his office would push
for legislation to support the decongestion
exercise.

Minister designate for Defence

Mr Nitiwul has been the MP for Bimbilla from 2002
till date. He was the Deputy Minority Leader in
the Sixth Parliament.

He indicated that the government was committed to
increasing the allowances of Ghanaian soldiers on
peacekeeping operations.

Minister designate for Foreign Affairs

Ms Ayorkor Botchway has been the MP for
Anyaa-Sowutuom in the Greater Accra Region since
2013. She was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs from 2006 to 2007 and Deputy Minister of
Trade and Industry from 2007 to 2008.

She promised to promote the welfare of Ghanaians
abroad.

Source - Graphic Online.com

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