Muntaka absence delays debate

Page 15, June 17, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

THE problems in the Ministry of Youth and Sports came up for debate on the floor of Parliament yesterday when the embattled sector Minister, Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, failed to appear before the House to answer an urgent question about the ministry.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Atwima-Mponua, Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah, who is also the Minority Ranking Member for Youth, Sports and Culture had asked the minister about the level of preparation for the forthcoming African Hockey Championship slated for July 2009 in Accra.
The Majority Leader, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, informed the House that the question could not be answered because the sector minister, the chief director and the chief accountant of the ministry were on leave pending investigation into alleged malfeasance at the ministry.
He, therefore, requested that the Speaker should stand the question down till the appropriate time.
Mr Bagbin explained that the deputy sector minister was also not in the position to answer the question because with the absence of these key personalities in the ministry, it had become difficult to get the necessary information for him to answer the questions.
Replying, the Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, wondered in what capacity the Majority Leader gave the information.
According to him, since Mr Bagbin is the Leader of the House and not the Leader of Government Business, he could not hold brief for the government.
He argued that the deputy sector minister of Youth and Sports had no constitutional mandate in the absence of the substantive minister and quoted Article 81 of the 1992 Constitution to buttress his point.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu explained that since the sector minister’s appointment had not been revoked by the President,and neither had he resigned nor died, a colleague minister could be asked to act while he was on leave.
When he caught the eye of the Speaker, Mr Asiamah expressed his disappointment about what he termed “the turn of event at the ministry”.
He said it was unfortunate that at this critical moment when the African Hockey Tournament was just around the corner, Ghanaians were being denied the necessary information about the preparedness of the country to host the tournament.
Mr Asiamah stated that the inactivity of the ministry due to the absence of the key officials, resulting in the inability of the ministry to answer the question, was a recipe for the poor organisation of the tournament.
For his part, the Member of Parliament for New Juaben North, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, suggested that the House should inform the President to take the appropriate action in connection with the ministry.
In her ruling, the Speaker, Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo, asked the Business Committee of the House to find an appropriate time to re-schedule the question for it to be answered.