Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
2 November 2009
editorial
Accra — The government has described the recent outburst in parliament by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) members that the Atta Mills government was wasting state funds in setting up committees as an act of hypocrisy of the highest order.
Stating government's official position on the story carried by The Chronicle last week Thursday, a deputy Minister of Information, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the Kufuor government set up not less than twenty committees, yet the same people have turned round to accuse the present government of wasting state funds by setting up committees.
He enumerated some of the the committee set up by the Kufuor government as the National Reconciliation Committee (NRC), the Wuako Commission, Okudzeto Committee, Committee of eminent chiefs who are still working, the Chinery Hesse Committee which worked for more than two years and took allowances in dollars, the Georgina Wood Committee, Kojo Armah Committee, Transitional committee, Ghana@50 Planning Committee, Anamuah Committee, Akamba Committee, Volta Lake Disaster Committee, Kofi Amoah Committee, National Awards Committee, the Committee set up by the then Interior Minister to investigate missing cocaine and a host of others.
Apart from the above mentioned committees, the deputy Minister also noted that some of the MPs who were attacking the government are serving on committees set up by the institution they are working for. "Both the Minority leader, Osei-Kyei Mensah Bonsu, and Hon. Isaac Asiamah, who were very critical on the committee issue, are both serving on various committees in parliament, so what are they talking about here", he asked.
According to him, the government has a strong suspicion that the NPP former Ministers and their MPs might not be happy with the outcome of the report that would be prepared by some of the committees that has been set up by the present government, hence their attempt to frustrate the government to stop setting up more committees to probe their bad deeds, but that would not work because the government was focused on what it has started.
Hon. Okudzeto yesterday told The Chronicle that President Mills believes that no government on this earth can have all experts serving in it, and as stated in page 23 of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manifesto, he would not hesitate to tap the experiences of those who are outside government in the interest of the state.
The deputy Minister further told this reporter that President Mills believes in the rule of law and that the setting of the Committees formed part of due process to ensure that all those who are being accused in one form or the other get a fair hearing.
He also noted that but for the Committee that was set up to review the sale of 70% shares of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone, Ghanaians would not have known the truth surrounding the sale.
The same applies to the Ishmael Yamson Committee which managed to beat down the astronomical ex gratia awards that was going to be given to former government appointees as established by the Chinnery-Hesse committee.
Mr. Okudzeto further argued that unlike the Committees set up by the Kufuor government, not all members of the present committees are taking sitting allowances. According to him, the Kwame Nkrumah Centenary Committee members had indicated to the government that they would not take any allowance.
The Satellites Donation Committee has similarly indicated to the government that they would not take any allowance. This, he argued, was a clear departure from the Kufuor era where committee members took fat allowances.
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