Commonwealth Finance Ministers' Meeting postponed
Accra (Greater Accra) 18 September 2001 - The Kufuor Administration is creating yet another problem at the ECOWAS secretariat with the withdrawal of a candidate earlier nominated for position of Secretary-General of the ECOWAS Parliament.
A letter from the Office of the President, signed by Jake Obetsbi-Lamptey, Minister for Presidential Affairs, notifying the withdrawal of Rex Owusu-Ansah, Clerk of Ghana's Parliament, for the position has created a stir at the secretariat, causing the delay in the functioning of the ECOWAS Parliament.
Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, in his letter dated August 16, 2001, only about a mouth ago, claimed he was acting under instructions of the President.
In a sharp reaction to the letter, the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Prof. Ali Nouhoum Diallo, expressed his dismay at the last-minute withdrawal of the nomination and wondered whether Ghana in no longer interested "in occupying the position of the Secretary-General of the Parliament".
Prof. Diallo also questioned whether Ghana's Parliament is also part of the decision for the withdrawal. According to the Speaker, the withdrawal letter came in when all was set for the appointment to be made to enable the Parliament inaugurate almost a year ago, to function.
"It's been almost a year now since the ECOWAS Parliament was inaugurated and it needs to have a fully functional secretariat for it to effectively carry out its responsibilities", the letter lamented.
Earlier the Speaker had drawn the attention of the Government to the fact that the post of the Secretary-General to the ECOWAS Parliament had been allocated to Ghana by the first session of the ECOWAS Parliament held in Abuja, Nigeria, from January 21 to January 26, 2001.
"It is, therefore, incumbent upon me to carry out this directive and appoint the Secretary-General, who should be a citizen of Ghana", the letter said.
This is the second time that Ghana is causing last-minute "commotion" with appointment allocated to her under the functional wings of ECOWAS.
The first was the last-minute withdrawal of support for Dr. George Yankey as president of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), a move, which is being challenged in court.
Although no reason has been given to the last-minute withdrawal of Owusu-Ansah, some political observers attribute it to ill motives.
Others have questioned why Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was by-passed in the whole affair and if it was the duty of Obetsebi-Lamptey to sign that letter. – Ghana Palaver.
Meanwhile, Obetsebi-Lamptey told Joy FM this afternoon that Owusu-Ansah’s nomination was withdrawn because Ghana was interested in the post of executive secretary of ECOWAS for which the government is backing Dr Ibn Chambas’ nomination.
He also said the Ghanaian Parliament had been informed about the withdrawal of support for Owusu Ansah. However, Mr Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader in Parliament has disputed this assertion.
He said in Accra on Tuesday that the Minister for Presidential Affairs does not seem to have been properly briefed on the issue and that he seems to be ignorant about the conditions under which the position of Secretary-General of the ECOWAS Parliament was offered to Ghana.
The Minority Leader said the position was reserved for Ghana and does not affact the country’s chances in contesting the position of executive secretary, citing other countries, which already hold positions in the sub-regional grouping but were still offered slots.
He said the Ghanaian Parliament was asked to submit names of three persons for the position, which it did, and Owusu-Ansah was selected.
He said the House was not informed before the government wrote to withdraw support for Owusu-Ansah, adding that the executive arm of government has no business in writing that later.
Mr Gagbin however said he is aware that the Speaker of Parliament, Peter Ala Adjetey, had been written to by the ECOWAS Parliament on the matter and that he had accordingly replied that the Ghanaian Parliament did its job by presenting the names of the three nominees.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 September 2001- The Ministry of Finance on Monday authorised the payment of all emoluments due 33 workers who were stranded on two rigs of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) in Gabon and Angola.
The workers who were contracted by the corporation had been on the rigs for14 months because of the inability of GNPC to arrange for their evacuation to Ghana as a result of its indebtedness, Mr Kobina Hammond, Deputy Minister of Energy, told newsmen in Accra.
The rigs were Asterie, based in Gabon with 15 seamen on board and North Sea Pioneer in Angola with 18 seamen.
Mr Hammond told a meeting with the seamen in Accra that the ministry has secured over 827 million cedis as allowances due them. Some of the seamen were wearing red bands to demonstrate their frustration.
"The Ministry of Finance has authorised that a good percentage of their entitlement be paid to them today (Monday)," the deputy minister said.
Narrating their ordeal one of the seamen, Daniel Koomson said they left Ghana on May 18 last year for a three-month contract.
However, on reaching the rigs, they were abandoned to their fate for 14 months until the government's intervention, which led to their evacuation in July this year.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 September 2001 - The offices of the President and the Vice President were on Monday relocated at the Castle, Osu, following the completion of the first phase of refurbishment there.
The Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama worked at his castle office on Monday, while President John Agyekum Kufuor is expected to move into both his residence and office when he returns from his trip to the United Kingdom on Friday.
Mrs Oboshie Sai-Cofie, Coordinator of the refurbishment project, said the second phase would be completed in due course.
She said the Reverend Father Stephen Adu Kwaning, Parish Priest of Christ the King Church, performed a blessing ceremony on Sunday at the Castle, while the National Chief Imam performed a similar ceremony on Friday.
The offices of the President and his vice were located temporarily at the State House when President Kufuor and Vice President Mahama were sworn in on January 7.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 September 2001 - This year's Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting (FMM) scheduled for September 25 to 26 in St Lucia has been postponed indefinitely.
This follows the postponement of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC after recent tragic events in the United States.
A statement by the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, said Commonwealth
Secretary-General Don McKinnon and Prime Minister Kenny Anthony of St Lucia have reluctantly agreed to postpone the meeting after informal consultations with a number of governments.
The statement said the deliberations of the Finance Ministers would have been closely linked to proceedings in Washington DC commencing that weekend.
Mr McKinnon said "Although this year's FMM is on hold, I would like to point out that the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Brisbane, on October 6 to 9, will provide an opportunity for Commonwealth leaders to discuss important economic and financial issues.
"I am confident that they wish to make a strong statement urging co-ordinated action to ensure that the world economy does not experience a sharp downturn. It will be particularly important that the major industrial countries adopt appropriate monetary and fiscal policies and that all countries resist protectionist pressures".
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 September 2001 - The Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), Lt. Gen. Daniel Ishmael Opande, has lauded Ghanbatt 3 for laying a sound foundation for peace in Sierra Leone.
A statement on Monday signed by Lt Col E. Nibo, Acting Director of Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces, said the force commander praised the Ghanaian troops for their high professionalism, dedication and hard work.
Lt. Gen. Opande was addressing a cross-section of Ghanbatt 3, specifically commended Lt Col. Sammy Odei, Commanding Officer of the Ghanbatt for his exemplary and effective leadership qualities, saying all tasks given him were successfully accomplished.
The statement said though peace had not finally returned to Sierra Leone, Ghanbatt 3 had no doubt played a key role to lay a sound foundation for sustainable peace.
"I know you have criss-crossed Kailahun District many times; you have travelled on the difficult road to as far as Koidu and Sefadu, one of the difficult encounters ever embarked upon by UNAMSIL to the northern part of Sierra Leone," it said.
The statement said Ghanbatt 3 successfully undertook its tasks despite its insufficient logistics.
Lt. Col Odei also commended the Force Commander on behalf of the officers and men for his outstanding leadership and direction, which, he said, enabled Ghanbatt 3 to perform its duties.
Ghanbatt 3 is returning home after completing a seven-month duty tour. Nearly half of the Ghanbatt has since returned to Ghana with the reminder due to depart Sierra Leone on September 23.
Ghanbatt 3 is being relieved by Ghanbatt 4, which would be deployed in the Kenema area.
GRi…/
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