The Minority in parliament will soon put out a statement explaining that some ministerial nominees who have been vetted by the Appointments Committee of Parliament seemed to conceal the truth when they appeared before the committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, has said.
According to Mr Ablakwa, who is also a member of the committee, some of the nominees who were asked about how they were going to fulfil promises the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its presidential candidate made ahead of the 2016 elections claimed they were unaware of those promises or that they were not captured in the manifesto. These, he said, were surprising because statements made on campaign platforms are serious statements that must be given all the attention they deserve.
Speaking in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5FM on Monday January 23, Mr Ablakwa said: “Very soon we (Minority) will put out our report suggesting that some of the nominees were not truthful witnesses to the Committee. I was quite surprised that some of the nominees appeared to suggest that they knew nothing about the promises that were made to us by the NPP as a political party before the elections, and so they are not things they are planning to implement.
“For example, Nana Akufo-Addo went to the Brong Ahafo region and promised that those who fell victim to the DKM microfinance saga would be paid back their monies if he won the elections, but when we asked the Finance Minister-designate (Ken Ofori-Atta), he said he never heard about such a promise and that it had not been captured in the manifesto.
“That is serious. This is a minister preparing the budget which will come to us (parliament) as soon as this quarter is over. By March, parliament will start working on the budget for the new government in 2017 and so it is surprising that the person who will come and deliver the budget said he knew nothing about the DKM promises Nana Aufo-Addo made.”
Mr Ablakwa added: “I also asked him about the promise to pay all contractors in the first 100 days in office, a promise President Akufo-Addo made when he met Ghanaian contractors sometime in October last year, it is quite shocking that the Finance Minister-designate said he never heard this promise and that it had also not been captured in the NPP manifesto.
“These are some of the issues that do not show principle in our body politic and these are matters we intend to pursue further because it doesn’t send the right signal. At the end of the day, manifesto pledges and statements on campaign platforms must be taken seriously. To create the impression that we can say anything just for votes but when we come into power then we start pretending that we didn’t say those things is not fair to the Ghanaian.”
Source: Classfmonline
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what is wrong with okudjeto's claim by the way? so the fact that you disagree with him makes him a commoner and you and your likes royals.. can you identify a royal when you see one? ***barred word*** when our ancestors were sweating to build this nation your predecessors were busily throwing bombs to kill and maim innocent women and kids because they disagreed with the government of the day. royal my foot... cloned human like you
NO WONDER JJ REFER TO SOME OF U AS BABIES WITH SHARP TEETH. IN FACT U SHOULD HAVE BEEN THROWN AWAY WITH TTHE BATHED WATER. WHERE ARE YOUR 1,000,000 JOBS. U THINK EVERY BODY SHOULD SPEW LIES LIKE U? DAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ROYALS AND COMMONERS. THEY DON'T SPEAK TO THINGS THEY ARE NOT SURE OF.
Relax, Ablakwa. Saying he didn't hear it and that it's not in their manifesto does not mean they won't fulfill it. They said they will fulfill all their promises. So why the hurry?
Only Haruna Iddrisu was actually involved in the vetting,the rest of the minority were just in their usual propaganda business.Of course you don't expect babies with little brains to ask and do any serious vetting business,they rather exposed themselves. Adjoa Sarfo is outsmart and silenced them.
O.F.L.I. J.A.T.O. NO WONDER OSAFO MARFO TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE TOO YOUNG TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WENT ON IN 2000. YOU ARE STILL TOO YOUNG TO UNDERSTAND A LOT OF THINGS
Ablakwa, this is not the way to go. You had every chance as a member of the appointment C'ttee to tell him that what you are saying is not true and challenge him but you didn't do that. You cannot turn around and mad at him. These NDC people have not learnt any lesson from their defeat. Maybe, they are doing this for their own selfish interests.
See who is talking about dishonesty! If you asked Ken a question about something which he himself said for a fact and he denied it, you could say he was being dishonest. You asked him about what someone else said as if he said it himself, he says 'I don't remember that statement'. And he actually went ahead to say nonetheless, if we did say that then we'll see what best to do about it. What's dishonest about that? The man went beyond honesty; he was sincere! You perhaps need to learn to be honest with yourself. In the same vein you sought to trap him about declaring part of his assets/shareholdings in his CV only for you to be exposed that there was no such thing at all (I stand for correction). Vetting is not just about finding fault; it is more about establishing the suitability of a candidate for a particular office; because if it is about finding fault, perhaps nobody will ever quality even by our own human standards. Let him that has committed no sin cast the first stone!
If Ablakwa and others are asking questions base on a political campaign platforms instead of what the political party promised on paper/manifesto then they are not serious. I will expect Ablakwa and others to be thankful for the president nominating someone like Ken to guide the public purse. The man is sincere and truthful. Ask him questions they promised and documented on paper not concocted campaign geeks.
Sorry Hon Ablakwa. The government will not just pay all contractors without first scrutinizing them for their worth and quality delivery. Exercise patience because the so called 'huhudious' contracts including the road contracts you awarded just before and during the 2016 election campaigns should be forensically scrutinized. Ghanaians will not buy into your suspicious pressure on the new government. We beg you.