Ministers plead for more resources
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 March 2002- The Minority Group in Parliament on Wednesday said they find the nomination of Mr Justice Kwame Afreh to the Supreme Court as not only objectionable but also without conscience and have decided to abstain from all parliamentary processes relating to his appointment.
It said, "this abstention is without prejudice to any further action that we may take to ensure that democratic governance is blended with very high moral values".
The Minority in a Press Release signed by Mr I.K. Adjei- Mensah, Deputy Minority Leader said it wishes to register its total disappointment over the decision by President J.A. Kufour to nominate a candidate for appointment onto the Supreme Court at this time in the nation's constitutional history.
It said the nomination comes against the background of the fact that Justice Afreh is currently presiding over one of the Fast Track Courts whose constitutional status has been given a fatal blow.
The release said, "we are surprised that Justice Afreh himself has accepted his nomination without reflecting on the timing and the peculiar circumstances of his nomination from the Fast Track Court to determine the fate of the same Fast Track Court at the Supreme Court".
The Minority said it was their conviction that apart from the nomination being ill-timed and immoral, it poses grave danger to the constitutional development of the nation as it carries with it great potentials for undermining the judicial authority of the Supreme Court.
The release quoted Article 133 (2) of the 1992 constitution, which states that "the Supreme Court, when reviewing its decision under this article, shall be constituted by not less than seven justices of the Supreme Court".
It said it is the opinion of the NDC Minority group that said in view of the sensitivities and circumstances of this particular case, it is not only imprudent but also unnecessary for the Executive to appoint new judges to sit on the review, especially when the minimum requirement of seven judges and above has been met.
"Moreover, we wish to emphasise that there is no legal or constitutional requirement to empanel eleven justices of the Supreme Court for the review as erroneously indicated by the Minister for Information and Presidential Affairs. Indeed, the nine judges are legally competent to review their own decision".
The release said following the decision of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to seek a review of the decision of the Supreme Court, it is clear that the President's decision is intended to boost the number of judges to be empanelled to determine the manner in favour of the government.
The NDC Minority Group said after a review of the present circumstances it is satisfied that the exercise of Executive authority at this time is a smart but misconceived attempt to reverse the Supreme Court decision.
It said it was conscious of the fact that Mr Justice Afreh would never vote to declare as unconstitutional a court over which he has presided for the past several months.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14 March 2002 - Parliament on Wednesday began approving budgetary estimates for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for this year with a cry that what was approved for them fell below their request. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had 200.5 billion cedis approved for it out of 526 billion cedis it was requesting for.
Alhaji Mustapha Idris, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs moving for the approval said the amount was inadequate to meet the economic diplomacy the country has to play to promote the golden age of business.
Supporting this view, Victor Gbeho, Independent-Anlo said the ministry had always been under-resourced, which made it difficult for it to meet international obligations such as the payment of OAU and UN dues.
He expressed regret that Ghana was in two years in arrears of OAU dues and that the nation would face an embarrassment in the forthcoming ministerial meeting of the organisation.
Mr Kofi Attor, NDC-Central echoed the same views and said because of insufficiency of the ministry's budget allocation, Ghana was one of the only country that was still maintaining her diplomatic mission in Bonn whereas all other countries have moved their mission to Berlin.
With the intension of Ghana to open five more missions, the allocation was insufficient to meet that demand and asked the Ministry of Finance to provide separate funds for that venture.
He said it was necessary to pay attention to improving the structural conditions at the Burkina Faso Embassy and to ensure that the building of Legon Institute of International Affairs (LECIA) was completed on scheduled. Mr. Attor said the government should also be fully prepared to host the forthcoming All Africans Student Union (AASU) meeting this year.
A chunk of 604.1 billion cedis was approved for the Ministry of Roads and Transport to meet the government's commitment to expand and upgrade infrastructural facilities for increased economic activity and wealth creation.
Dr Richard Anane, Minister of Roads and Transport said the country was expecting about 498 billion cedis in donor support whilst the country itself would support the budget with about 106 billion cedis.
The House also approved 23.3 billion cedis for the Ministry of Youth and Sports with the plea that actual releases to the ministry should be prompt. The Committee on Youth and Sports regretted that last year there was a shortfall of about 3.7 billion cedis, which negatively affected its expenditure on administrative and investment expenses.
Mr Edward Osei Kwaku, the sector Minister, moving for the approval of the estimates said sporting facilities needed a lot of resources to put Ghana on the sporting map of the world. He said the lesser known sporting activities needed to be improved and that would be done with sufficient resources.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14 March 2002- All Ministers who came to defend their 2002 budgetary allocation in Parliament on Wednesday relived the dilemma of the English fictional legend, Oliver Twist, they asked for more when nothing extra could be given them.
Members urged government to give the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA) the needed resources when they are available. Ministry of Works and Housing and the Judicial Service had 633.2 billion cedis and 49.7 billion cedis respectively.
Ministry of Trade and Industry, 87 billion cedis, Ministry of Health, 699.5 billion cedis, Ministry of Justice, 24.5 billion cedis and the Ministry of Energy, 652 billion cedis.
Others are the Ministry of Environment and Science, 123.3 billion cedis, and Ministry of Land and Forestry, 102.7 billion cedis, the rest are Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment, 27.7 billion cedis and Ministry of Communication and Technology, 54.8 billion cedis.
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