Parliament approves Anane's appointment

Page 16, March 6, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

PARLIAMENT yesterday approved the nomination of Dr Richard Winfred Anane as the Minister of Transportation.
The House approved the report of the Appointments Committee of Parliament, which recommended after vetting the nominee that he should be approved by consensus.
Dr Anane, who is the MP for Nhyiaeso, resigned as minister of transportation in 2006 to seek redress in the court over a ruling against him by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
The commission made adverse findings of conflict of interest, abuse of office and perjury against Dr Anane and recommended, among others, his removal from office.
He, therefore resigned his post and contested the matter at the High Court, where the CHRAJ’s decisions were quashed.
However, CHRAJ’s application filed at the Supreme Court for certiorari, which sought to quash the High Court’s decision was dismissed by a 4-1 majority decision after which some of the admirers of the former minister called for his re-instatement.
When the President nominated him to re-occupy the seat he resigned from, the decision met a lot of criticism within the media and political circles with some calling on Parliament not to approve the nomination.
However, when the nominee appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament he stated that as far as he was concerned, all the records concerning his purported investigation by the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) did not exist.
Hundreds of people crammed into the small Speaker’s Conference Room to be part of that historic second appearance of Dr Anane before the committee.
The Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Mr Freddie Blay, who presented the report said the committee dutifully performed its function under the Standing Orders of the House and in accordance with the Constitution in respect of Dr Anane.
“Having met the requirements of the law in full, the committee hereby recommends the nominee, by consensus to this honourable House for approval”, he said.
In a debate that ensued after the presentation of the report, the Minority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin told the House that the committee discharged its function and at the end of it, it found out that nothing could disqualify the nominee.
“We are prepared to defend the decision of the committee anywhere and any day”, he said amid shouting of “hear, hear” by the House.
The MP for Tamale South, Mr Haruna Iddrisu called for the review of the law that established CHRAJ into being in the face of the ruling by the Supreme Court on Dr Anane’s issue.
Mr Blay, on the other hand thanked the MPs for their comments during the debate on the committee’s report.