Month: February 2021

Former Minister for Regional Reorgnisation Dan Kwaku Botwe has dismissed suggestions that he is to be blamed for the discontent of residents in Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) in the Oti Region.

Mr. Botwe, the Minister-designate for Local Government and Rural Development on Monday, February 15, 2021 during his vetting by the Appointment Committee noted that, “such allegations are coming from a deep misunderstanding or have no basis at all”.

The people of SALL were said to be unhappy with their addition to the new Oti Region in 2018, as pointed out by Member of Parliament for North Tongu.

Some chiefs were not in favor of joining the new region if it meant being separated from the Hohoe Municipality.

Some residents of Akpafu, then in the Hohoe Municipality, even boycotted the referendum that endorsed the creation of the Oti Region.

But Dan Botwe who was in-charge of the reorganization of the regions said there was no evidence of the lack of support for the new regions from the SALL area.

“It is never true that people from the Akpafu and Lolobi areas were not interested in being part of the Oti Region and were forced. It is totally untrue. Nothing supports that assertion,” he argued.

Mr. Botwe further said some of their SALL area complaints ought to be directed towards that Commission of Inquiry that oversaw the new regions’ referendum.

“As soon as a Commission of Inquiry was established, the Ministry didn’t determine those who will be part of the new regions or will not be part. The Ministry doesn’t determine where the referendum will take place. It is the Commission.”

The SALL area faced further controversy because voters in its district, Guan, were not given the opportunity to vote in Parliamentary elections.

But again, Mr. Botwe said his outfit was not to blame, “linking it to the voting; the Ministry had nothing to do with who should vote in the presidential election. That is purely the work of the Electoral Commission,” he retorted when queried.

He, however, stressed that before the creation of districts and the elections, “it was clear they, SALL were in the Oti Region.

“Nobody should entertain that the allegations SALL was 100 percent in the Oti Region,” he noted.

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Minister-designate for Communication and Digitilisation, Ursula Owusu Ekuful has explained to the Appointment Committee that,  radio XYZ and Gold were among the fifty one (51) defaulted commercial radio stations but not a target for closure.

Mrs Ursula made this revelation when she appeared before the Appointment Committee on Monday, February 15, 2021 for her vetting.

She further explained to the committee that, an audit was conducted in March 2017 to assess all FM radio broadcast authorization excluding public FM stations operated by the Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation (GBC) to identify stations with expired authorizations and those that have not commence operation within the stipulated period.

The former Communication Minister further breakdown the report as, One Hundred and Forty Four (144 FMs ) which were either operating with an expired authorizations or had failed to commence operation within the stipulated two year period after the grant of the license.

Again, fifty-one (51) companies had submitted uncompleted documents for renewal after the expiration of their five year mandate, Twenty-Six (26) companies applied for renewal even before the audit but no authorization was issued and they were requested to resubmit a complete applications since what they submitted were incomplete whilst eighteen had been issued provisional authorization before the audit but hadn’t paid the fees in full.

In addition, she noted that, following the recommendation of the Audit report and the decision of the Electronic Communication Tribunal in the case of the Ghana Independent Broadcasting Association verses the NCA, the Authority shut down Fifty One (51) commercial FM stations for failure to submit its complete set of renewal documents prior to expiry of their authorization which includes both Radio XYZ AND Radio Gold.

The Communication Minister-designate,  Ursula Ekuful did indicated that, Radio XYZ and Radio Gold were not targeted as a special stations to close them as being mentioned, and that Fifty One (51) radio stations were shut down including Five community FM stations that failed to submit their complete set of documents during the exercise.

All these clarifications came up when the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa who is also a member of the Appointment Committee asked that per the last quarter report of 2018 by the Media Foundation for West Africa, Radio XYZ and Radio Gold were purposely targeted for a shutdown.

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Member of Parliament for North Tongu Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said the Appointment Committee of Ghana’s Parliament should have more time to scrutinize nominees that come before them.

According to him they need to be less concerned about how quickly they want to finish with nominees and get all the numbers approved within a short period of time all because the number of the President’s appointees is quite large.

He further pointed out in an interview that in other advanced democratic jurisdictions, two to three days are spent on nominees that appear before the Appointment Committee. “We have requested some information from the nominees that they didn’t have, and they have assured us that they would let us have it latter”.

Again, he noted that they are done with them and have moved to the next nominee. Adding that those information are not brought to the Committee for them to look at the documents for them to take them through its content after study, “it is because of the rush or the documents might not be submitted at all, before you realize a report of the Committee is being put together for the plenary to consider”.

Mr. Okudzeto was quick to point out that over the years there has been improvement as they were doing five to six nominees a day and the process appeared quite rushed, and now they do on the average three, but the first day only two nominees were taken.

“As the Minority, when we met at the Committee we pointed out that we should not go beyond two nominees a day looking at the constraints of the pandemic, sitting for a long time our health and that of the nominee. Journalists and those who accompany the nominees, it is not the best to be in an enclosure for a long time”, and added that they are still pushing for the numbers to be reduced, “I think we should just take one nominee for a day”.

He also said they would re-visit the matter of taking two nominees a day, as the second and third day had witnessed three nominees which runs deep into the night. “When we get deep into the night sometimes fatigue sets in, we are all human beings even machines do get tired, this are the concerns we have and we believe we will sit with the chairman to consider this”.

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A Member of the Appointment Committee in the 8th Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has commended the Chairman of the Committee, Joseph Osei-Owusu for the improvement in the way and manner he has handle the Committee compared to the previous seventh Parliament.

According to him he can do better when it comes to allowing questioning of nominees that come before the Committee.

“The issue of neutrality, independent and unbiased arbiter in the scheme of things is a matter that when we go into conclave we would draw his attention to and he has listened to our demand that on number of questions to be asked nominees”.

He noted in an interview that the number of questions to be asked nominees per a person on the Committee has gone up three to five including follow up questions and that has been very helpful so far.

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Minister-designate for Energy Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh has apologized to former President John Dramani Mahama over allegations made against him, regarding the 2019 Senior High school (SHS) placement when he appeared before the Appointment Committee on Friday, February 12, 2021.

There was confusion at the Black Star Square on September 16, 2019, following a process to secure placements for Junior High School graduates. At least two teenagers were reported to have collapsed at the venue as frustrated prospective candidates and parents seek admission.

Responding to the development at the time following huge outcry from the public, the former Education Minister, Dr Opoku-Prempeh noted that many of those who stormed the Independence Square were bused there to cause confusion and accused the former president for being behind the act.

The nominee for the Energy sector told the Committee he cannot prove the allegation against the former President John Mahama because the information he relied on he cannot bring it to the Committee or make it available.

“That is why I have withdrawn and apologized”, the nominee when pushed further by the Tamale North lawmaker Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu that when questioned earlier he said he could have said it in another way means he was still holding on to his allegation. But with the intervention of the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh apologized.

The Tamale North MP pointed out at the Committee saying, “let us get something straight Mr. Chairman, it is not that I am hurt, it is about the respect we should attach to each other and especially people who have served in high office should be respected”.

In a related development, the former Education Minister was queried on why at such a privileged position he still took a scholarship to study at Harvard University Senior Executive in National and International Security at eleven thousand two hundred dollars, and twelve thousand as living allowance, when he knew very well, there are poor people in his constituency who are brilliant and needed scholarship.

. Dr. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh told the Committee the administrator then held a press conference on the issue revealing that the scholarship was given to members of both the NPP and the NDC MPs.

“He did not want to mention names and the particular course I went for I have a colleague in the NDC who went for that same course, I don’t regret it was done for me if I have same opportunity I would do it again”.

And told the Committee that the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETfund) has also established that the allowance was not twelve thousand dollars as was put out in the public domain, there was a press conference to clarify that and can be accessed.

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A member of Ghana’s delegation to the fifth Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Mahama Ayariga has said with Ghana occupying the chairmanship of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, Ghana could leverage its position to push for direct elections of lawmakers to the Legislature among other Heads of States..

According to him because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, a Committee he belongs to could not move around the sub-region to canvas for support among the Heads of States and Governments for the implementation of the universal adult suffrage in terms of MPs election.    

Mr. Ayariga in an interview on Friday, February 12, 2021 further noted that with Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration designate, Shirley Ayorkor Botwe being a former member of the Community Parliament and the current position she occupies can also be a very good leverage to push for the project of elections of ECOWAS lawmakers.

He further revealed that, if this agenda is pushed for the next two years, the issue of electing MPs to the ECOWAS Parliament should be significantly advanced in terms of implementation. “I am a member of the Committee working with the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament to develop a road map for this, but unfortunately COVID-19 has hampered our work”.

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Minister-designate for Parliamentary Affairs Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has said Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) are responsible for development at the local level.

According to him the conduct of Members of Parliament (MPs) has given grounds to the perception out there in the public domain that MPs are development agents at the constituencies.

“I have told colleagues anyone who travels from Kumasi to Tamale you see bill boards erected for the parliamentary elections, ‘for development vote for John Kumah’, so is the general public wrong to have that perception?”

Again, MMDCES who are responsible for development at the local level are not voted for by universal adult suffrage, people rather come to see the MPs who are the faces of the constituencies.

“When you go to them to ask for their votes in the communities, they ask have you seen the road on which you have traveled to get here? Then you say yes vote for me when I get there I would come and work on your roads for you”.

Mr Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was responding to a question when he appeared before the Appointment Committee from John Kumah, MP for Ejisu who sought to know if MPs are development agents, since they do not have access to development funds.

Additionally, he noted, candidates who wanted to unseat incumbent MPs during their campaigns capitalize on issues of development to urge their constituents to vote for them so that they can come and solve those developmental problems for them

The Minister-designate further pointed out that the MPs common fund given out is not that much, “it is for patch work, like a roof of a classroom has ripped off after a rain storm, and some classrooms need desk.”

He was however quick to point out that he is not in the position to say if or not the MPs Common Fund should be scraped or not. “We need to get in touch with the NCCE to help us educate the population out there on the duties of the MP as they are not development agents”.

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Minister-designate for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei- Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has justified the importance of creating and maintaining the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs when he came before the Appointment Committee of Parliament on Friday, February 12, 2021.

According to him almost ninety (90) percent of businesses conducted on the floor of Parliament are Government Business, and there is the need to have a Leader of Government Business who understands government business in other to be able to persuade his or her colleagues that it is a good policy and should be supported by Parliament.

“That is why you need a Minister to be in cabinet where policy evolves, to be able to understand himself to appreciate the under pining of any policy work, so that when he or she comes to Parliament would be able to defend it well”.

He further pointed out that the West Minister system is where you have Ministers come from Parliament, and the Ghanaian hybrid is a blend of both the West Minister and presidential system.

Also in the first and second Republic of Ghana, there was a Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, under the fourth Republic, J. H. Owusu Acheampong continued as the first Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, and then Dr. Kwabena Adjei under President Kufuor.

 Then President Mills and Mahama discontinued the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. But with the coming of President Nana Akufo-Addo it was brought back. He recounted this when Mahama Ayariga wanted to know if it’s necessary to have such a Ministry when the issue of independence of Parliament comes into play.

Mr. Osei-Kyei-Mensah again noted that there would be a situation where the Majority Leader might not have his party controlling the presidency, and gave an example of 2013 when the President Akufo-Addo then opposition leader took the outcome of the election to court, if he was declared the President, “the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with one hundred and twenty-two seats (122) and did not have Majority of seats, Leader of Government Business was going to be Minister of Parliamentary Affairs”.

Hence it was not always true that Majority Leader would be the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.

“The Ministry is supposed to provide an interface between Parliament and the Executive and the other constitutional creatures, so that if a policy programme is coming on board it is the Ministry that is supposed to be the one to receive it from the constitutional created bodies. And provide a platform to sensitize the public about government programmes and policies”.

He again told the Committee vetting him that most often when policy issues come to the House, it is being seen as being rushed through Parliament, but if an agenda of government is known by the public their opinion would feed into it before it comes to the House and that makes it richer.

And further told the Committee that Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs’ role is not a duplication of role, there is no conflict of role as Mahama Ayariga wants to put across.

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