Majority chief whip, Frank Anno-Dompreh has taken a swipe at the Minority and pointed out to them that the president cannot be everywhere, hence the reason the framers of the constitution gave him executive powers to appoint officials who would represent him.
“This is unlike us, after the statement on the floor of the House there are few things, we need to straightened; we are not showing any partisanship or approaching it aggressively”.
Mr Annoh Dompreh did not take kindly with the partisan nature the discussion on the tidal wave devastation was assuming when certain comments from the some minority MPs including the MP for Keta, Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey suggests the government was not sensitive to the plight of the people in the coastal belt of the Volta Region.
Mr. Gakpey in one of his statements asked a rhetorical question “if the affected people were not Ghanaians”, and in another wondered why the President was in Cape Verde for a ceremony in the midst of this level of disaster.
But addressing the media before adjournment of the House on Tuesday, November 10, 2021, the Majority Chief Whip expressed his unhappiness with comments made by his colleagues in the Minority that, the president does not care that is why he has left the country to attend to an anniversary.
He recounted that the Blekusu project along the Keta stretch, statistics has it that the project started in 2015, and when the current government came to power, they continued it and completed the phase one in 2019.
“The hydrological department of the Ministry of Works and Housing has done some work and was supposed to continue with phase two which is a stretch of eight kilometers estimated completed, we would not be having this conversation today if phase two had been completed”.
The Majority would support any attempt devoid of undue partisan tendency to call on the president and finance Ministry to ensure that the necessary finance is released and was the same line of argument taken on the floor when the issues came up.”
And recounted that even even during the Rawlings era, it was an MP from the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) who raised the need of an action to be taken on the Keta Sea defence project, and the current government has been consistent in addressing the tidal wave problem.
“I am confident we are going to follow through to the conclusion of this matter to ensure the necessary funding is released. Our brothers in the Minority should be a bit considerate, I have checked from NADMO, they have sent their deputy director of operation who has gone there to do assessment”.
He further pointed out that relief items cannot just be given our when disaster like the one which had occurred in the three coastal Contituencies, Ketu South, Keta and Anlo; “experts would tell you it is important short and medium methods are adopted, you do not go to a place where disaster has occurred and just start distributing items”.
Again, we sympathize with the victims but we should take away partisanship from it as we are doing, I find it strange when the question is asked “are they not Ghanaians?’ You have been in power for more than 20 years were there no tidal waves, NDC does not have that moral right to be pointing accusing fingers at us, let us get patriotic, he stated
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com
On the role of civil society and non-state actors in elections, they cautioned civil societies, political parties and electoral candidates against disclosure of results before the body mandated to do so.
On the role of the judiciary, they recommended the consolidation of the independence and impartiality of the justice system by national parliaments through adequate legislations.
ECOWAS institutions. “It is only now that ECOWAS is getting more closer to its citizens through the ECOWAS Parliament, and if we are getting out this closer, I think it is our obligation to continue urging the ECOWAS institutions to be sincere with themselves and look at the issues that are going on within the sub-region that are not really good for the ECOWAS citizens and the region at large,” Fatoma said.
Meanwhile, on her visit to the Central Regional Coordinating Council and Minister to the Central Region, Justina Marigold Assan, Minister Tunis reemphasized the importance of ensuring coordination with all stakeholders including the district heads, tribal and village authorities, elected officials, civil society, and the people to ensure ownership for development strides. She also noted that development is for the people and the only way they could take ownership is to get involved themselves.