Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Member of Parliament for Suame, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, strongly believes government needs to check the operations of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, Hon Kyei Mensah Bonsu, stressed that the Foreign Affairs Ministry is engaged in so many activities in missions abroad and it is incumbent on government to ensure that their operations result in value for money for the state.
"Some where last year, a property in Nigeria which belonged to the Foreign Affairs Ministry and valued seven million (7 million gh) was valued less by some officials and sold for less than one million (1 million).
"You see when these things happen then government will need to check the operations of the Foreign Affairs ministry and ensure that some of these things are prevented for us to get value for money," he added.
Condemning what happened at the foyer of Parliament House on Monday, Hon Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, who is also the Majority Leader, pointed out that the minority had no right to invade the minister’s privacy.
Hot Verbal Exchanges
A nasty drama was witnessed in Parliament on Monday when the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, engaged the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa in a heated verbal exchange.
The wild confrontation ended with trading of insults at each other over a purported property which the ministry was seeking to buy to serve as a chancellery for Ghana's mission in Norway.
According to the Minister, Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa had claimed her outfit was inflating the cost of the 100-year-old building by asserting the Ministry quoted $12.1million for the building instead of $3.5million.
Mr Ablakwa, who is the Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, revealed the Minority’s investigation uncovered that $16.5million presented to the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament as the budget for the new mission in Oslo, the Chancery and the Ambassador’s residence is “outrageously high.”
“It is outlandishly inflated,” Mr Ablakwa said during approval of the budget estimate for the ministry on Monday.
The building, he said was bought in 2014 for NOK 25.2million which is equivalent to $2.9million and per a Norwegian newspaper, in 2017, the property was sold to an unknown buyer for NOK31million which is equivalent to $3.5million.
“Then our Foreign Ministry is buying this at NOK105million which is equivalent to $12.1million. A property that was sold for only $3.5million last year, August last year. What’s going on? Where is the due diligence? Who did the evaluation report?” he said stating the Norwegian press are describing the entire transaction as ‘unethical’.
Not enthused by the claims of the Minority, Ms. Botchwey and the North Tongu lawmaker engaged in verbal exchanges in the lobby of Parliament.
She was also not happy that Mr Samuel Nartey George, the NDC Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram had brought out his phone and was filming the verbal exchanges.
CHRAJ Must Probe This
Meanwhile, the NDC Minority in Parliament has indicated its resolve to go to the Special Prosecutor or the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to open a probe into the controversy surrounding the planned purchase of building in Oslo for the use as Ghana’s embassy.
According to ranking member on the foreign affairs committee of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the desire to approach the Special prosecutor stems from the fact that parliamentary probes in recent times have been watered down by the majority in the house with their numbers.
“We may give our evidence to CHRAJ, or the special prosecutor to investigate. We haven’t accused anyone, we are not interested in personalities it’s just the principle.
“Cash for seat probe and other issues have not given us confidence in parliamentary probe, the majority often take advantage of their numbers.”
The comment comes as the Minority insists Ghana has gone beyond the expression of interest matters relation to Oslo building which they claim has been overpriced.
“As we have pointed out…the seller of the property has an agreement which have tended in evidence before and Ghana made some demands on the seller and the seller proceeded to carry out those demands and contractors are on site,” Mr. Ablakwa told the media on Thursday.
Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]
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I like NDC when they are in opposition and . want them to remain there so that they can use their opposition eyes to help keep the NPP in check. this is the only way Ghana will move forward. Unlike the NPP, NDC will blow the whistle be4 the fraudulent transaction goes through. NPP on the other hand will keep quiet for u to go ahead be4 coming out with it and tag u a th1ef. ***barred word*** they are scared to arrest and jail. if u ask me i will say lets keep NPP in power forever and NDC in opposition forever for this country to move forward. We shd find a way to take care of the opposition party so that they will not be hungry for power as they are doing now after just 2 yrs in opposition.
The majority leader is right to suggest government must look into the activities of the ministry very well. It smells really bad. This is in not the only ministry, very soon Anas2will expose the rot with the railways ministry. Sweden connection in a hotel, Nyantekyi style. And Prof Frimpong Boateng should testify if really he is the man-of-God he used to be.
Have you noticed Ablakwa and Cudjoe only pick on women to fight with pls take your fight to Awuku,Oppong Nkrumah and etc.Younwill meet your meter there tsiaaa curropt Okudzeto Abrukwaa has the mandibles and is talking how
Master everybody come from somewhere. Corruption must be fought no matter who you are. This minister will fight because her English is very poor, she cannot win in any debate, she has to fight to make her case.Her grammar is weak.
Some NDC elements who came from nowhere but from University students mock political scene, seem to regard politics as the last resort to their existence and so irrationally and inexpediently do they react in real politics. These guys have been described by the Founder of their Party as babies with sharp teeth, but not without cause. No wonder they have no respect for a Lady. Indeed, it is really annoying and minds boggling when the opposition party, solely picks on issues and seeks to stoke falsehood to make political gains. It seems the babies with sharp teeth feel more comfortable to be doing exactly what they were spotted best doing whilst engaged in Legon- students politics, speaking Queens Language without content and recourse to policy guidelines. Just much ado about nothing except being blatant mischievous.