Vetting storm that never was...MPs TREAT OWN WITH KID GLOVES• But push Amidu to the wall

Frontpage lead, Feb 11, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah & Daniel Nkrumah
THE much anticipated heat that was expected to characterise the vetting of the Majority Leader in Parliament and nominee for the position of Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alban Bagbin, was not to be as he had a virtual walkover in an exercise that lasted barely five minutes.
Two of Mr Bagbin’s colleague MPs — Mr John Akologu Tia and Mr E.T. Mensah — also had it smooth sailing.
But the heat was on Mr Martin Amidu, the ministerial nominee for the Interior, who had to endure a difficult session, during which he was quizzed over his tax obligations by Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the NPP MP for Manhyia, and needed a timely intervention from the Chairman of the Parliamentary Appointments Committee, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, with respect to his tax clearance certificate.
Mr Bagbin, who wore a white smock and a white hat, cut a modest look with his characteristic smile when he appeared before the committee. With an uncommon tale about a lizard and a frog, a song and some Biblical references, he disarmed the committee members and sought forgiveness for his hard-line questioning in the past as a member of the committee.
And his plea appeared to have fallen on good grounds, as his session was surprisingly short.
Mr Bagbin, who had criticised the government in the past, had been put on the spot by Mr Atta Akyea, who wanted to know whether his appointment was not intended to silence him.
In response, Mr Bagbin gave a somewhat assuring declaration: “If I get the opportunity, you will judge me by what I do and what I say. The priority is mother Ghana.”
But the posture of the committee in respect of Mr Bagbin appeared to have drawn the ire of the NPP MP for Abuakwa South, Mr Akyea, who later said in an interview that it was wrong for the committee to have given the Majority Leader an easy ride.
He said he would raise the issue on the floor of the House, stressing that the fact that someone had been a good Majority Leader did not mean he would be a good minister.
He added that it was important to recognise that the Majority Leader would be handling a big purse if given the nod as Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing and, therefore, he needed to be thoroughly quizzed for him to prove his mettle.
Mr Mensah, who has been nominated for the position of Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, was the first of the big shots from the leadership of the House to appear before the committee and his composure was calm.
His appearance started on a quite edgy note after a reference to Team A and Team B ministers appeared to have set the room alight. Yet, the MP for Ningo Prampram was cautious in his response.
“I am coming on board as one of the team players,” he innocently responded to a query posed by the chairman of the committee, but that generated other interests from other members of the committee, instantly bringing into focus the issue of Team A and Team B ministers.
The Minority Leader probed further and quizzed Mr Mensah on whether the person he was replacing had under-performed, but the nominee declined to be led on and responded in the negative, stressing that although he could strengthen the team, that in no way meant that the person he was replacing had under-performed.
Drawing an analogy from what pertained in football, the nominee stated that sometimes a coach might pull out a striker and bring in a defender but that did not imply that the striker had been ineffective.
Mr Mensah dismissed an assertion that he was being put at the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare in order to secure jobs for members of the NDC, pledging to seek the national interest and not the interest of any political party.
Commenting on other national policies and programmes, the nominee stated that if given the nod, he would make a case for the National Youth Employment Programme to be brought back under the ministry.
When quizzed on factors that could help improve productivity, he noted that it was an issue that needed to be addressed through the strengthening of institutions, explaining that in situations where institutions were not well resourced, there could not be any meaningful productivity.
When he took his turn, the Deputy Majority Leader and nominee for the position of Minister of Information, Mr John Tia, was quizzed on issues related to journalistic ethics and standards.
He noted that one challenge was that the National Media Commission did not have adequate powers to sanction offending media organisations and said the upcoming constitutional review must seek to address that.
Mr Tia said another challenge was how to regulate the entry of people into journalism and said it was important to check the system whereby everybody could decide to practise as a journalist.
When quizzed on whether his appointment would not affect Parliament, he stated that as a citizen of Ghana, he was prepared to serve in any capacity the President deemed fit, explaining that although he regretted leaving the House, his nomination provided him the opportunity to acquire experience in another area.
An initially calm Mr Amidu had his composure ruffled by a torrid time of questioning. The former Deputy Attorney- General was involved in a tussle with Dr Prempeh over his tax liabilities from January 2007 to June 2009.
Mr Amidu explained that in 2008 he had de-registered his firm because it was not profitable and had, accordingly, notified the VAT Service and the Internal Revenue Service.
The tax certificate from the IRS read by Mr Adjaho noted that Mr Amidu was not liable to pay tax in 2008, while for 2009 he had discharged his tax obligations.
But that also drew some concerns from Dr Prempeh, who stated that the nominee had done some work for ISODEC in 2008 and since he had been paid some allowance, he was liable to have paid some tax in 2008.
However, the nominee explained that he had worked as a member of a team and that the tax had been deducted by ISODEC at source.
As the argument raged on, Dr Prempeh urged that the issue be dealt with in camera.
Mr Amidu pledged to ensure that the police were well resourced and acted as a very professional body, with no favouritism towards any political party.