The sitting of the five-member ad hoc committee constituted by parliament to investigate alleged extortion of $100,000 from some expatriate businessmen to sit with the President at an awards dinner is to be in the open.
This was disclosed by spokesperson for the committee, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, Member of Parliament (MP) for Adentan, and member of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament.
According to him, the committee’s sitting would be made public, giving Ghanaians the opportunity to have up-date details of its work.
The decision by the committee to go public with its sittings will allow for transparency in the proceedings.
However, it is not clear whether the sittings will be televised.
Mr Buaben Asamoa said the 5-member committee would start sitting on Thursday, January 11, 2018, to enable it complete its assignment on time.
He asked anybody who can furnish the committee with information to do so.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) last month claimed the expatriate business community paid between $15,000 and $100,000 to have dinner with the president.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, was subsequently summoned by President Akufo-Addo to explain the allegation.
The minister later cleared the air about the brouhaha, dismissing any wrongdoing.
In a statement on the issue in response to a query from President Akufo-Addo, Mr Alan Kyerematen said that the president was only invited to the function as a special guest of honour – an invitation which he said the president graciously honoured.
The minority members, led by their chief whip, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, on December 27, 2017 filed an urgent motion asking parliament to investigate the allegation.
A five-member committee was subsequently constituted by the speaker, Prof Mike Oquaye, to probe the matter and is expected to submit its report to parliament a day after its resumption on January 24, 2018.
The Committee is made up of Majority Chief Whip and NPP Member of Parliament for Sunyani East, Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh; Chairman of the Finance Committee and MP for New Juaben South, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah; Mr Yaw Buaben Asamoah; deputy minority leader and MP for Ketu North, James Klutse Avedzi and MP for Bolgatanga East and deputy ranking member of the Committee of Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Dr Dominic Ayine.
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. |
This is totally unnecessary. Hmmm!
Master just let the investigation to go on that alone will establish the facts. How will we know something wrong have taken place without investigations. You called this fund raising? selling the president to the higher bidder?
NDC IN OPPOSITION IS BECOMING TRIVIAL AND NUISANCEEE. TO DRAG THE FUND RAISING EVENT OF TRADE MINISTRY TO THE LEVEL IT HAS BECOME SHOWS THAT NDC HAS NOTHING CONCRETE TO OFFER IN OPPOSITION FOR MEANINGFUL DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATION. IF NDC CANNOT CLAIM THAT THE TRADE MINISTRY WAS CORRUPT IN ORGANIZING THE FUND RAISING, THEN ANY DRAG OF THE MATTER IS SIMPLY TRIVIAL, MISCHIEVIOUS AND IRRELEVANT. NDC MPS SHOULD NOT EXPECT THE MINISTRIES TO BE RUN FROM PARLIAMENT SO THAT EVERY FUNCTION IS DICTATED BY MPS. SO FAR NDC HAS NOT SUCCEEDED TO ESTABLISH ANY CORRUPTION OR CRIMINAL ACTION OF THE TRADE MINISTRY.THEY CANNOT CLAIM OF ANY EXTORTION WHATSOEVER. THEY SEEM ONLY TO BE JEALOUS OF THEIR INITIATIVES AND INNOVATIONS. THE NOISESSS OF NDC OVER THE MATTER SUGGEST THAT THEY HAVE TARGETED AND LAID AMBUSH TO TRAP THE TRADE MINISTRY AND CERTAIN KEY MINISTRIES IN AN ATTEMPT TO TARNISH THE IMAGE OF NPP GOVERNMENT AND PERSONALITIES OF THE PARTY. THEY HAVE SIMPLY ADOPTED A STRATEGY TO FRUSTRATE THE THE PROGRAMS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THE MINISTRIES IN ORDER TO DIVERT THE THE ATTENTION OF THE GOVERNMENT FROM ITS FOCUS. THEY WERE VERY CRITICAL OF THE INTRODUCTION OF FREE SHS. THEY TRIED FROM ALL ANGLES TO FIND FAULT WITH ITS IMPLEMENTATION. BUT THEY FAILED. NOW THEY HAVE TARGETED THE TRADE MINISTRY TO THWART THE INDUSTRIALIZATION AGENDA OF THE GOVERNMENT HALT THE DRIVE FOR ECONOMY GROWTH. I WISH THE TRADE MINISTRY COULD KEEP FOCUS TO AVOID THIS DISTRACTION OF NDC MPS WHO SEEM TO HAVE NOTHING SUBSTANTIAL TO OFFER IMPROVE IN THE CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE.
We the people of Adentan have not heard from Yaw Buaben Asamoa ever since he won the seat. We hope he will not come in 2020 for re-election