Abongo replaces Asaga

Frontpage, Friday Feb 13, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah & Daniel Nkrumah
Whatever remote hope Mr Moses Asaga may be nurturing about his nomination as minister designate for the Water Resources, Works and Housing portfolio has been effectively dealt a devastating blow with the nomination of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bongo in the Upper East Region, Mr Albert Abongo, by President J. E. A. Mills to be vetted for that ministry.
Mr Abongo replaces the Nabdam MP whose nomination was withdrawn by the President last week.
Mr Abongo, 50, has been the MP for the Bongo Constituency since January 2001 and holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
He also holds post-graduate qualifications in Ports and Coastal Engineering from the University of Trondheim in Norway and Ports and Harbours Engineering from the Ports and Harbours Research Institute in Japan.
The Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo, announced Mr Abongo’s nomination when she read a communication from the President, dated February 11, 2009, to the House yesterday.
The announcement was greeted with shouts of “hear, hear” from MPs from both sides of the House, with some MPs moving to the nominee to congratulate him.
Mr Abongo’s nomination has ended efforts by Mr Asaga, his admirers and people from his constituency to impress upon the President to rescind his decision to withdraw the nomination of the former Deputy Minister of Finance.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Mr Abongo expressed appreciation to the President for nominating him and pledged to pursue the policies that the party had drawn up to improve upon the lives of the people.
He said the issue of water supply to both rural and urban areas had been quite difficult over the years, for which reason the NDC administration was determined to address that problem.
The minister designate said he would work towards bringing all hands on board to address the problem if his nomination was approved and indicated that there would be the need to build more mechanised borehole systems.
He said another issue that would attract his attention when given the nod was the provision of accommodation for the police, military and other security services, as well as public servants.
Touching on his relationship with Mr Asaga, the minister designate stated that he had a cordial relationship with him, adding that Mr Asaga had even congratulated him.
He said Mr Asaga had told him a few days earlier about his (Mr Abongo’s) possible nomination and urged him “not to feel bad about it”.
He said it was gratifying to note that the President, in making a new appointment, chose someone from the same region.