Aliu vetting fiasco---Explained

Mr. Samuel Odoi Sykes, a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Vetting Committee has apologised to the Vice President Aliu Mahama, saying failure to vet him was as a result of a mix up.This afternoon, Tuesday November 6, 2007, the Vice President Aliu Mahama and his supporters went to the Party headquarters in Accra for his vetting, only to be disappointed, because the Vetting Committee members were not available at the premises to receive him.Speaking to Joy News’ Dzifa Bampoe, Mr. Odoi Sykes claimed that the Committees meeting time for this week was rescheduled from the mornings to the afternoons.

He said the change in the time was communicated to all members by the secretary to the Committee by text messages.He said all members were duly informed to meet this afternoon, Tuesday November 6, 2007 at 3.00pm to vet the Vice President and then vet Prof. Frimpong-Boateng at 4.00pm.

However, he said the Chairman of the Committee, Prof. Adzei Bekoe, told the committee that he would not be available for the afternoon because he already has a programme scheduled for the evening to meet some visitors from outside the country and so the meeting should be rescheduled for the morning at 10.00am, but the secretary according to Mr. Odoi Sykes did not get the Chairman’s message.

He argues that the confusion resulting in the failure of the Vetting Committee to meet with the Vice President Aliu Mahama was due to the mix up between the chairman and secretary Hon. Adjabeng.Mr. Odoi Sykes answered questions on issues regarding the Vice President’s membership card, claiming the committee only asked for photocopies of documents and not originals.He has subsequently apologised to the Vice President.He said however that the meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday November 8, 2007.

Speaker and deputy 'abandon' parliament?

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Deputy Majority Leader, on Tuesday raised issues over the whereabouts of the Speaker, Mr Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes, who was not available to preside over Tuesday's sitting.

He said members of parliament had a right to know where the Speaker was if he cannot attend to business in the House at any given sitting. The Deputy Majority Leader brought the issue to the fore when the Second Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Alhaji Malik Yakubu, sat in for the Speaker.

Quoting Standing Orders 13 (1) and 13 (2), Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the House needed to know where the Speaker was at every given time because the President always informed Parliament of his absence from the country and when the Vice President had to take charge in line with constitutional provisions.

According to Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, it was the duty of the Clerk to inform the House of the absence of the Speaker and who was deputizing for him."I call on the Clerk at Table to do the right thing in accordance with Standing Orders 13 (3)," the Second Deputy Speaker then had to rule. This forced Mr Emmanuel Anyimadu, Clerk to Parliament, to rise to his feet and inform the House that the Speaker was not available to preside and therefore the Second Deputy Speaker was taking charge.

Later, Alhaji Yakubu told the House that the Speaker had traveled to Kuwait at short notice, while Mr Freddie Blay, First Deputy Speaker, had also gone to Burkina Faso.
The Standing Orders of the House states that whenever the House is informed by the Clerk at the Table of the unavoidable absence of the Speaker, the First Deputy Speaker shall perform the duties of the of the Speaker in relation to all proceedings of the House. The Second Deputy takes charge in the absence of the Speaker and First Deputy Speaker.
Source:GNA

Vetting Cmttee Stays Away From Aliu Mahama

The scheduled, highly anticipated vetting of Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama on Tuesday afternoon turned out to be a no show.The vetting committee had appointed 3:00pm to meet and subject Aliu Mahama through the NPP?s vetting process mandatory for all who aspire to be presidential candidate and lead the party to the 2008 presidential elections.He made it to the venue about five minutes ahead of time but to his surprise, no member of the committee was present. Not even the chairman of the Council of State, Prof. Adzei Bekoe was around, and there was also no communication from the party.

The Vice President who looked disappointed told journalists that the incident was one of a few challenges within the party which he hoped would be addressed.But he repeated expressed his love for the party and Ghanaians and said it would not break his resolve to go for the topmost post.A publication in the PUNCH newspaper on Tuesday suggested the Vice President may not have a valid party ID card, one of the key requirements for flagbearer aspirants.Coming after newspaper publications which suggest the Vice President?s nomination papers may have been leaked, his campaign team is suspicions.

Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, a special aide to the Vice President was of the view that whatever ill-intentions anyone harboured against Aliu Mahama, may not be established. He however, maintained that the party has to explain what caused the obvious embarassment before the next scheduled meeting.So far attempts to get explanation from the party leadership have proved futile.A member of the vetting committee told Joy News he had earlier been informed about the postponement but without further explanation.
Source:JOY ONLINE

Use of arms banned in Anloga and environs

The Ministry of Interior has placed a ban on the carrying of arms in and around Anloga in the Volta Region and an Executive Instrument issued to this effect.

Mr. Kwamena Bartels, Interior Minister, announced the measure when he addressed police personnel dispatched to maintain peace at Anloga, following chieftaincy clashes there on Thursday, in which four people including a police constable were killed.

The Minister of Interior was at Anloga together with Mr. Albert Kan Dapaah, Minister of Defence and Mr. Joe Ghartey, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to assess the situation on the ground. They were taken round the scenes of the clashes including where the body of the police constable was damped near a lagoon and also visited the injured at the Keta District Hospital.Mr. Bartels on Thursday announced an imposition of a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Anloga as part of measures to put the situation under control.

He commended the police for exercising maximum restraint and acting professionally even though they lost a colleague in the fray. Mr. Bartels reminded the police that the crisis was not over and that they would be required to do their very best to enforce law and order, peace and stability in the area while upholding the rights of peace loving people in the area.Addressing a contingent of soldiers, Mr. Dapaah expressed confidence that they would put their peacekeeping experiences both locally and internationally to good effect at Anloga. He asserted that about 99 percent or more of the people at Anloga and its environs were peaceful and that only a few people were responsible for the trouble there.

Mr. Dapaah assured the soldiers that all the logistics and materials required for their operations would be put at their disposal. Except for Anloga where an atmosphere of apprehension could be felt with most of the people keeping to their homes, life in the surrounding communities appeared undisturbed as people were seen on their vegetable farms along the lagoon on Saturday while others went about their businesses.
Source:GNA