<<Print>>

The Appointments Committee of Parliament yesterday vetted four persons nominated by President John Dramani Mahama as ministers-designate for Lands and Natural Resources, Upper East, Central and Eastern regions. They are Mr Nii Osah Mills, Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources; Mr James Zuuga Tiigah, Minister-designate for the Upper East Region; Mr Acquinas Tawiah Quansah, Minister-designate for Central Region and Mr Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, Minister-designate for the Eastern Region. Mr James Zuuga Tiigah Mr Tiigah is currently with Ghana�s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. The members of the committee asked him what innovative steps he would take to ensure the successful implementation of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) projects in the Upper East Region. Answering, Mr Tiigah described SADA as a laudable initiative by the President which had been confronted with some �teething�challenges just like any project at its initial stages. The members of the committee enquired from him what he could do to alleviate poverty in the region, if he was given the nod. He said since the area was endowed with vast fertile land, he would collaborate with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and other stakeholders to build facilities to harvest rain water that could be used for farming activities. Mr Acquinas Quansah Mr Quansah, who was accompanied by his wife, was mostly asked to share his experiences about the fishing industry as the current Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Member of Parliament for Mfantseman. He expressed worry over harmful practices such as the use of 4,000 watts of lights by fishermen to attract the fish, including fingerlings, saying that �when the fishes come close to the light they are fried.� �Our fishermen use small nets that sweep all sizes of fish�, he said and told the committee that he would help to conscientise the fishermen about how such unhealthy fishing methods was endangering human lives and fish stock. Addressing concerns that the Central Region was the fourth impoverished region in the country, Mr Quansah mentioned the lack of industries in the area as a major obstacle to tackling poverty. �When approved, I will work with stakeholders to ensure integrated development that will see the setting up of factories in farming communities and create markets for the produce,� he said. Mr Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere Mr Sekyere, who is the current Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, was mostly interrogated on his experience in the labour sector by the members of the committee. He told the committee that with the advent of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS), many professional associations in the country had turned themselves into unions, agitating for increased salaries for their members. �Since the implementation of the SSSS, there have been high expectations on the part of public sector workers for increased salaries and managing such expectations has remained a challenge. �The government had been engaged in intensive negotiations with various unions, increasing public sector wage by 30 per cent every year and this has been unsustainable,� he said. Asked to identify his first five priorities towards the development of the Eastern Region, he mentioned unity, peace, improving agriculture and promoting tourism development in the area as the focus of his administration, if given the nod.