NDC MPs Desert Mills

The Minority Caucus in Parliament has accused the ruling National Democratic Congress� (NDC) Members of Parliament of abandoning the debate on President John Atta Mills� State of the Nation Address, and rather pushing the executive to send Ministers who are not legislators to challenge them in the House. Hannah Tetteh and Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Ministers for Trade and Industry; and Justice and Attorney-General yesterday stormed the House to apparently shore up what the Minority described as a depleted Majority to debate President Atta Mills� State of the Nation Address. �Are we saying the Majority side lacks human resource so much that cabinet ministers who are part of the executive would come to the Chamber to thank the President for his State of the Nation Address?�, Isaac Kwame Asiamah, MP for Atwima-Mponua quizzed. Although it was not legally wrong for non-MP ministers to take part in Parliamentary proceedings, Isaac Asiamah stressed that cabinet ministers coming to the House to thank and glorify the appointing authority does not give the legislature enough opportunity to critically examine the President and assert its independence. The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, DAILY GUIDE learnt, was rushed to the House to tackle legal issues, whilst the Trade and Industry Minister was designated to slug it out with Papa Owusu-Ankomah, MP for Sekondi and former Minister of State who had quoted copiously from the authoritative Wall Street Journal, critically damning the Atta Mills-led NDC administration for scaring investors, particularly with regard to government�s battle with Kosmos Energy in the oil and gas industry, and creating official thuggery in the country. �President Obama headlined his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa last July with a stop in Ghana. Speaking to the Parliament in Accra, Mr. Obama praised the country's growth and its example that development depends on good governance. Eight months later, Ghana's government is turning the nation into a cautionary tale for foreign investors�, Papa Owusu-Ankomah quoted the Wall Street Journal. Reacting, Hannah Tetteh indicated that the statement was an opinion of the newspaper and that it should not be used as judgement by private sector on Atta Mills� government. However, Papa Owusu-Ankomah retorted that the Wall Street Journal is a leading and reputable daily which informs opinions of investors worldwide. The former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Minister of Education Science and Sports, and Trade and Industry under the Kufuor administration admonished government to erase the perception created by the Wall Street Journal. According to him, the cost of doing business has gone up ever since the NDC administration took the reins, asking the government to exhibit strong leadership and act fast to change the negative investment climate in the country. �Ghanaians are looking for leadership that inspires hope and vision grounded on action. The world is moving at a fast rate and it is not waiting for Ghana�, the former minister of state pointed out. He also appealed to the executive not to patronize Parliament by determining the priorities of the House and its members, stressing the legislature can take decisions for itself as an independent arm of government. On his part, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, MP for Manhyia listed a litany of unfulfilled promises made by President Mills in his first State of the Nation Address in 2009. The list included the President�s promise to ensure that the circumstances leading to the death of Issah Mobilah and the Ya Naa in the 2002 Dagbon crisis were determined without delay. According to him, the President also failed to fulfill his promise to present the Freedom to Information and Broadcasting Bills, Political Parties Bill, Presidential Transition Bill to Parliament for enactment as well as the establishment of Members of Parliament Constituency Fund. �The President also promised a monthly radio broadcast to the nation, but this has not been done�, Dr. Prempeh added. He pointed out that all is not well with the nation as the President himself confirmed in his address to Parliament, disclosing that the third quarter of the District Assemblies Common Fund for 2009 had not been released. �Ghana is in crisis. Government owes the GETFund about GH�80million and another GH�80 million to the District Assemblies Common Fund for the third quarter�, he stated. The President�s failure to honour his promises, according to William Ofori Boafo, Akropong MP, constitute an erosion of public confidence. �There is now a system of elimination and substitution on the labour front, inequality in the justice system, coupled with the delayed implementation of the single spin salary as well as the excessive tax imposed on Ghanaians is contributing to insecurity in the country�. Commenting on the President�s statement about the emerging oil and gas industry, Frederic Fritz Baffour, MP for Ablekuma South observed that if resources from the industry are managed well, the country will be able to accelerate its development. To him, the most applicable slogan to describe the incumbent government should not be �slow but sure� rather �study but sure�.