GRi in Parliament Ghana 27 - 04 - 2001
Appointments Committee vets deputy ministers
Effah-Dartey
justifies why he defended Foday Sankoh
Police Fund is a
desperate measure but justifiable - Barima
Appointments Committee vets deputy
ministers
Accra (Greater Accra) 27 April 2001
The Appointments Committee of Parliament on Thursday began
the vetting of designated deputy ministers of state.
The first two to appear were Papa Owusu-Ankomah and Mr. John
Setuni Achuliwor, Deputy Ministers of Government Business and Transport and
Communications.
Asked how he would handle his dual responsibilities to
Parliament and the Ministry, Mr. Owusu-Ankomah said his ministerial appointment
will be a link and a bridge between the executive and the legislature.
He said the ministry is an evolving one, which has to focus
on the direction of government and strengthen the linkages.
Mr Owusu-Ankomah said the ministry, in consultation with
other leaders of the political divide, would embark on regional and district
tours to interact with the people to explain the functions of Parliament to
them.
He said Frequency Modulation (FM) stations will also be
required to give in-depth and live coverage of the sittings of Parliament to
bring its activities closer to the public.
Mr. Owusu-Ankomah said he believes in the district
assemblies performing similar functions as Parliament but added that it was
unfortunate that a sizeable number of assembly members do not understand
parliamentary work.
To this end, he said his ministry has plans to ensure that
district assemblies have closer working understanding of the concept of
parliamentary proceedings, adding that, his ministry, in consultation with the
Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, will organise a series of
workshops for District Chief Executives.
On his temperament, he said one needs to be level headed to
be a leader and that he is ready to submerge his personal views and respect
others since he is now a peacemaker and a bridge builder.
"The strength of the individual lies in accepting his
fault and if it is the view of some people that I am arrogant, then I will work
to change that perception."
Papa Owusu-Ankomah, 43, who is a Barrister-at-Law, has three
children.
Mr. Achuliwor said he would use his computer literacy and
experience in rural development to support the activities of the ministry since
information technology is now a requisite factor for development.
On the question of his achievement as former Member of
Parliament, he said he and others played a major role in ensuring that the
silent majority view was championed.
Mr. Achuliwor said the extension of the railway lines to the
Northern sector is long overdue since the area has resources such as gold
deposits, sheabutter and the emerging cashew cultivation which can be easily
carted.
He said capacity building, assistance and appropriate
technology are necessary to relieve the poverty of the Northern Savannah belt.
Mr. Achuliwor said the Northern Savannah belt has the
potential of being the food basket of the country if pragmatic measures are
undertaken under a micro economic climate to assist the people.
He said his priority and concern will be when tomato
producers in his constituency are assisted with simple technology to process
their produce, and are able to attract private investment to empower them to be
self-sustaining.
Mr. Achuliwor, 48, an agronomist, has four children.
GRi…/
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Effah-Dartey
justifies why he defended Foday Sankoh
Accra (Greater Accra) 27 April
2001
Capt. Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (rtd),
Deputy Minister Designate for the Ministry of Local Government and Rural
Development, on Thursday said he was performing a duty to his client when he
defended Corporal Foday Sankoh, the Sierra Leonean Rebel Leader.
He said as a lawyer he swore an
oath to discharge his duty to his clients, which he carried out when Corp.
Sankoh's wife approached him from the United States to defend her husband but
said now as a Member of Parliament he could not continue to perform that duty.
Capt. Effah-Dartey said this when
he appeared before the parliamentary appointments committee. He was earlier
nominated as the Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
He said little is known about
Sankoh but regrettably the international media had misrepresented him in a bad
light since he had not asked anybody to be molested or mishandled as is been
peddled around.
On allegations of molestation at
the National Investigations Committee of which he said he was a member
secretary during Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) era, Capt.
Effah-Dartey said he was the most senior army officer among the military men
there but said he never saw any witness being manhandled.
He said he, however, heard that
occasionally some bodyguards manhandled witnesses and any time such information
got to him the men were disciplined.
Capt. Effah-Dartey said if there
were rumours of torture of witnesses, especially by him, then such rumours were
misleading since he has never been a chairman of the committee and personally
never saw any witness being slapped or tortured.
He was reminded that the Ghana Bar
Association protested against his nomination as Deputy Attorney General because
of his non-belief in human rights activities.
He said that since he was detained
in prison for 93 days at the age of 26 without any just cause, he has realised
the need to champion human rights issues especially as a lawyer and a
politician.
Capt. Effah-Dartey said all
proceedings of the NIC were secretly recorded to ensure fairness and for
posterity and denied that a gun was ever pointed at witnesses before the
committee's sittings.
He said the concept of district
assemblies generating their own local revenue was necessary adding that there
was the need to encourage local initiative instead of over depending on the
Common Fund for development.
On the menace posed by Fulani
herdsmen, he said it is not advisable to allow cattle to move across farmlands,
saying measures need to be taken to look at how animals are reared and to zone
areas for their grazing to protect food crops and the environment for
posterity.
GRi…/
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Police Fund is a
desperate measure but justifiable - Barima
Accra (Greater Accra) 27 April
2001
Mr Yaw Barima, Deputy Minister of
Interior designate, on Thursday said the proposed "Police Fund" is a
desperate and justifiable measure but "not the best".
He said the fund, which is meant
to attract donations from all and sundry to improve on the resource base of the
police service, had to be resorted to as a result of the long period of neglect
and government's indebtedness.
The member for Koforidua was being
quizzed by the Parliamentary Appointment
Committee chaired by Mr Freddie Blay, First Deputy Speaker.
Members had expressed concern on
the possibility that an unscrupulous wealthy donor could manipulate the Police
to his or her advantage.
Mr Barima said the complexities of
the commission of crime in the country these days call for the upgrading and
expansion of the intelligence network and resource base of the police.
Mr Barima said "what is
happening now means that we can no longer take our security for granted but the
police would have to reconcile the role of solving crimes and the protection of
human rights."
On the vandalising of Police
stations he said there is a wide gap in police-public relationship and called
for efforts to bridge the gap.
"A police service like ours
needs to build trust and efficiency in order to win the confidence of the
people."
The Deputy Minister designate,
asked foreigners in the country to have the
will at all times to respect the
laws of the nation.
He appealed to Ghanaians to have a
sense of self-respect and confidence and not to allow themselves to be
dehumanised by foreigners in any way.
Mr Barima said he hopes to assist
the substantive minister to improve on the lot of all services and agencies
under the ministry to make the players in internal security cherish their
individual roles.
GRi…/
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