The much-awaited special ad hoc parliamentary committee’s report on the ‘Cash for Seat’ probe was laid in parliament yesterday after several ‘fine tunings’ in a secluded environment to keep the content away from the public before debate commences on it.
Debate on the report will begin on Tuesday and the content will be made public.
However, the laying of the report was not without controversy, as the minority members on the committee said their views were not captured in the report.
A member of the committee, Dr Dominic Ayine, indicated that the report did not include the final input from the minority members.
The five-member committee, headed by the majority chief whip, Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, had consistently asked for more time to compile an elaborate report after its public hearing had ended on January 24, 2018.
It is expected that debate on the report will definitely be hot on political lines after the minority chief whip, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, had filed an urgent motion asking the house to probe the ‘Cash for Seat’ allegation against some officials of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as the Millennium Excellence Foundation.
The officials were accused of collecting between $15,000 and $100,000 from expatriate business people to sit on the presidential table during the Ghana Expatriate Awards night on December 4, 2017.
Meanwhile, the minority in parliament has sought to question what constitutional authority President Akufo-Addo has to suspend the Upper West Regional Minister and ask his deputy to act as regional minister.
The suspension followed the minister’s reported order for the release of party faithful after they had been arrested by the police for ransacking the regional office of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) office in Wa.
Led by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, the minority argued that Article 81 of the Constitution does not allow the president to suspend any minister.
He said the Article emphasizes that a minister or deputy minister’s office will only become vacant if the appointment is revoked by the president or the minister is elected as speaker or the minister resigns or the minister dies, adding that the president does not have the constitutional power to suspend a minister.
According to the Bawku Central MP, the constitution only allows the president to suspend a public or civil servant.
The first deputy speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, who presided over proceedings yesterday, said the president had not erred in suspending the minister and that if the minority members had any problem with that, they could go to court to challenge the decision.
Source: Daily Guide
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
And this Dr. Anyone was a Deputy Attorney Minister? No wonder Woyome et all got away with their loot.
In the NDC their Presidents, Flag bearers, Professors, Doctors, Teachers, MPs, Chairmen, serial callers, Polling agents and foot soldiers behave the same with no one calling the other to order! It is unfortunate that Ayine does not know that at a meeting or report writing it is the consensus of the whole group that is recorded but not individual views. When are these people going to shed their PDC and CDR reasoning and judgment and replace them with civil mentality? God, kindly save mother Ghana by not returning them to power again. Amen!
Name: DISHONOURABLEEEES NDC MPS I VERY MUCH AGREED THAT MPs DO NOT DESERVE TO BE ADDRESSED HONOURABLE OUTSIDE THEIR OWN HOUSE.MANY OF THE MPS ARE LAWYERS WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO KNOW BETTER.THE ACTION OF THE MINORITY MPS IN THE COMMITTEE WORK IS VERY SHAMEFULLLLL. THE STATEMENT OF THE MINORITY IN THE COMMITTEE IS DEPLORABLEEEE AND DECEPTIVEEEE. OKUDZETO WHO INSISTED ON EXTORTIONNN HAD NOTHING TO SUBSTANTIATE IT AND NOBODY COLLABORATED HIS CLAIMS. MUNTAKA, CW2, COULD NOT BE SPECIFIC WITH ANY CLAIM. FOR HIM, THE INVESTIGATION WAS NECESSARY FOR CLARITY OF MATTERS OF THE EVENT. NOBODY THEN WOULD EXPECT ANY RIGHT-MINDEDDD PERSON TO BASE HIS JUDGEMENT ON AN UNSUBSTANTIATEDDD AND UNRELIABLEEE ALLEGATION. IN FACT, WHEN I SAW THE MINORITY CLAIM OF EXTORTIONNN IN THE HEADINGS I HAD THOUGHT THAT DOMINIC AYINI AND HIS NDC MINORITY HAD SUPPORTED THEIR CLAIMS FROM EVIDENCE PRESENTED BY THE BUSINESS EXPATRIATES WHO HAD GIVEN THEIR TESTIMONIES IN CAMERA. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER, IF AUTHENTIC, SINCE THE PUBLIC DO NOT HAVE IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION. UNFORTUNATELY IT WAS NOT LIKE THAT WHICH MEANS NONE OF THE BUSINESS EXPATRIATES SUBSCRIBED TO THAT CLAIM OF EXTORTIONNN. IT IS THEREFORE SHAMEFUL FOR THE "LEARNED BROTHER" DOMINIC AYINI AND HIS NDC MPS TO ALLUDE TO EXTORTIONNNN TO JUSTIFY THE CALL TO THIS INVESTIGATION. ONE CAN ONLY UNDERSTAND THE REASON FOR THIS DISHONOURABLEEEE ACTION ONLY IN TERMS OF AN ATTEMPT TO JUSTIFY THE CALL FOR THE INVESTIGATION AND SEEK TO EVADE ANY PUNISHMENTTT FOR MUNTAKA AND OKUDZETO ABLAKWA WHO EVEN LIEDDD BY PRODUCING FAKEEE DOCUMENT TO SUPPORT A LIEES.
THIS IS JUST TAKASHI TO COVER THEIR LYING TONGUES. THIS MINORITY SIDE HAVE LOST THEIR CREDIBILITY, RESPECT AND DIGNITY. WHAT A SHAME ON OUR PARLIAMENT ISN'T IT. CAN WE GET BETTER AND MEAN WITH DECOR TO BE IN OUR PARLIAMENT SO THAT THERE WILL BE PROGRESS. INDEED WITH THIS KIND OF RESTLESS MINORITY SIDE THE GOVERMENT WILL BE RETURNED WITH ABOUT 220 SEATS.