Three ministers to
oversee economic policy
Dr.
Nduom gets the nod at last
Three ministers
to oversee economic policy
Accra (Greater Accra) 15 February
2001
Mr J.H. Mensah, Majority Leader
and Minister of Government Business, said on Wednesday that the National Economic
Policy under the NPP government would be crafted by the collaborative effort of
three ministers.
He named them as Dr Kwesi Nduom,
Minister of the Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation; Mr C.O. Nyanor,
Minister of State (Private Sector Development) Office of the President; and
himself as the chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).
Mr Mensah was reacting to
questions from Mr Cletus Avoka (NDC-Bawku West) who wanted to know if the
Economic Planning Ministry to be led by Dr Nduom would not conflict with the
functions of the NDPC.
Mr Avoka also said it was an
infringement of the constitution to charge another organ, other than the NDPC,
to oversee national economic planning.
Mr Mensah explained that the
Ministry of Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation would not usurp the
functions of the NDPC but would rather complement its efforts by working in
concert with them to ensure that a realistic national economic policy is
crafted to salvage the economy.
He said he has begun consultations
with Mr Nyanor and Dr Nduom towards the 2001 annual budget to eliminate any
lapses and spillovers regarding the three ministries.
The Majority Leader said his
chairmanship of the NDPC would have to be confirmed by a Council of State,
which has not yet been constituted.
He said, however, that he and his
colleague ministers in the economic planning sector are working round the clock
to eliminate any duplications and conflicts from the national economic planning
policy.
Mr Mensah said what should interest
Ghanaians is the quality of people President Kufuor is putting up for
ministerial positions.
"The shape of the government
as a whole is based on quality and it is a reflection of the kind of work we
want to do," he added.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 15 Feb. 2001
Dr. Kwesi
Nduom, the President's nominee for the portfolio of Economic Planning and
Regional Co-operation, on Wednesday attracted doses of criticism and sympathy
in Parliament before getting the nod of the house.
The
management consultant had the misfortune of attending upon the Parliamentary
Appointment Committee twice and on each occasion he was grilled for well over
an hour.
The
26-member committee said it had to clear doubts about his personal integrity,
tax filing and execution of consultancy contracts, which have been largely
interpreted by some members of Parliament and a section of the media as a
"pure case of intimidation".
Mr Freddie
Blay, First Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Committee, who moved for the
approval of the last set of nominees, including Dr Nduom, told the house
"we had to understand the situation very well and we worked as a
committee".
Mr Kosi
Kedem (NDC-Hohoe South) opined that Dr. Nduom was unnecessarily subjected to
harsh scrutiny by the committee and blamed the NPP for the nominee's
frustrations "because some of them do not want him there".
He asked
that if the minister ever had problems reconciling the CPP's ideology with that
of the NPP, he should not hesitate to quit.
Mr Doe
Adjaho, Minority Chief Whip, said the committee should have invited the authors
of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) report on Dr Nduom, which was the main source
of speculations and doubts about the nominee's integrity.
"I
think the Committee was unfair to the nominee. The committee had every right to
summon all relevant persons and bodies because it has the power of a High
Court."
Mr Sallas
Mensah (NDC-Upper West Akyem), who chose to be a critic, had to struggle
through interventions and heckling before finally, with the Speaker's
protection, making his point.
He said Dr
Nduom's claim that he took a job in his own name and transferred the fee into
his company's account was not accurate.
"Mr
Speaker, this has never been the practice in Deloitte and Touche. I have worked
in that company before. Now, people are asking questions on the Internet about
what Dr Nduom said."
Dr Nduom
had told the committee that he bid for a consultancy work at the State
Enterprises Commission in his name and paid the fees into his company's
account.
The
assemblyman for Elmina was not in the house on Wednesday but he will surely
heave a sigh of relief after seeing the end of perhaps the most trying and
anxious moments of his life.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 15 Feb. 2001
Parliament
on Wednesday unanimously gave the nod to 10 regional ministers and two other
ministers of state, bringing to 27 ministers in the NPP government.
The
Appointments Committee, in its fourth report, gave the names of the additional
ministers as Mallam Ali Yusif Isah, Minister of Youth and Sports, and Dr Kwesi
Nduom, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation.
The
Committee suspended Dr Nduom's screening at the first sitting to check
investigations conducted on him by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) but vetted
him during the second sitting during which he acquitted himself to the
admiration of members of the Committee.
The
Regional Ministers are Sheikh I.C. Quaye, Greater Accra; Dr Francis
Osafo-Mensah, Eastern; Nana
Owusu-Yeboa, Volta; Mr S.K. Boafo, Ashanti; and Mr Isaac E. Edumadze, Central
Region.
The rest
are Mr Joseph B. Aidoo, Western; Mr Ernest Kwaku Debrah, Brong-Ahafo; Mr Ben
Bukari Salifu, Northern; Mr Salifu Mahami, Upper East; and Mr Mogtari Sahanun,
Upper West.
Mr Freddie
Blay, Chairman of the committee, in a motion, recommended the nominees for
approval and was seconded by Mr Eugene Atta Adjepong (NPP Abetifi).
Supporting
the motion, Mr Cletus Avoka (NDC Bawku West) said he would like to differ from
earlier speakers who were congratulating the nominees.
He asked
President John Agyekum Kufuor to indicate who should be cabinet ministers in
his administration.
Mr Avoka
said this is a constitutional requirement and it is necessary for the President
to give those indications because cabinet ministers should not be less than 10
and not more than 19.
He quoted
Article 76 (1), which states: "There shall be a cabinet, which shall
constitute of the President and the Vice President and not less than 10 and not
more than 19 ministers of state".
Mr Avoka
said he feared there would be duplication of Dr Nduom's office of Economic
Planning and Regional Co-operation and that of the National Development
Planning Commission (NDPC), which is constitutionally charged with economic
planning.
He said the
NDPC reports directly to the President, adding: "this could conflict with
the duties of that of Dr Nduom".
The
Speaker, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, cut in to say that the member was raising a
collateral constitutional issue, which was not the motion on the floor.
Mr J.H.
Mensah, Majority Leader, said the issue would not pose any problem after the
government settles down and the Council of State is put in place for the
appointment of Chairman of the NDPC.
Mr Kosi
Kedem (NDC Hohoe South) in congratulating the minister-designates said he
believed that most of the new ministers were finding it uncomfortable in their
portfolios because they were critics of the previous government and were now
afraid of being criticised.
Mrs Ama
Benyiwa-Doe (NDC Gomoa West) and Mrs Grace Coleman (NPP Effiduase Asokore) were
not happy that there was not even a woman among the regional ministers and
prayed the President to consider that since there is now a Ministry of Women's
Affairs.
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