Gifty Floors Bagbin

THE MEMBER of Parliament (MP) for Tarkwa-Nsuaem and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy and Mines, Gifty Eugenia Kusi yesterday floored the Minority Leader and MP for Nadowli West, Alban Sumana Kinsford Bagbin, when the latter asked that the former withdraw an earlier statement she made and apologise for it.

The occasion was the third day of the budget debate during which Hon. Kusi condemned the MP for Nabdam and Ranking Member on Energy, Moses Asaga, for suggesting on Tuesday that government was not telling the nation the truth about the oil exploration at Saltpond.

According to her, the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP) had done so much work in solving the numerous problems in the energy sector, some of which were the result of the irresponsibility of the former government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Quoting from a previous Hansard (Parliament’s daily proceedings publication), she said the country currently had to pay a British Company US$20 million even though no work had been done.

The debt, according to Mrs. Kusi, was the result of the NDC’s bad energy policies when it was in government.

It was that allegation that brought Bagbin to his feet challenging the Energy Committee Chairman for imputing crimes to the NDC.

Consequently, he appealed to the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes, to ask Mrs. Kusi to withdraw the statement and apologise, arguing that what she was saying had far-reaching legal implications.

At that moment, a Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Anthony Akoto-Osei quickly came to his NPP colleague’s rescue by confirming that Ghana had been sued by the British company, SIF, for that particular indebtedness.

According to him, the country had made an initial payment of US$2 million and that the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Joe Ghartey had been to London for negotiations on the matter.

Notwithstanding Dr. Akoto-Osei’s intervention, the Speaker still asked Hon. Kusi if she intended imputing any criminal motives to the NDC as Hon. Bagbin had claimed.

Hon. Kusi, who insisted she was only stating the facts without imputing any criminal motives, said if Hon. Asaga had checked his facts very well, he probably would not have known that government had so far accumulated about US$55 million from the oil extraction project at Saltpond since it started this year.

She referred the House to an advertiser’s announcement in the DAILY GUIDE of December 21, 2006 on the same matter which Asaga had raised last year. As if by design, all the minority members shouted in unison: “DAILY GUIDE is not a national newspaper! DAILY GUIDE is not a national newspaper!!”

Earlier, the MP for Jomoro, Lee Ocran had stated that “the politics of the government was so repressive” and he did not view the budget as having a bright future since it was not going to solve the country’s problems.

He alleged that even the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu was already complaining in newspapers and further stating that “we are dying”.

He argued that as of 2007, not a single road had been awarded on contract by the Ghana Highway Authority.

“All the banks are ringing Ghana Highway Authority since they are being owed huge sums of money while contractors are also calling them,” he claimed.

At that point, Hon. Baah-Wiredu, who had heard enough, jumped to his feet and answered that government had paid over ¢600 billion this year to contractors.

“You can’t say government hasn’t been paying. We have paid. Government has settled its bills,” the minister disclosed.

However, the Minority Leader, Hon. Bagbin, who called for a point of order, rebuked the minister and said “government is far behind and it is the truth that government over-awarded the contracts.

“Government awarded ¢600 billion and you go and spend over ¢600 billion by awarding one trillion cedis,” Bagbin stressed.

Further misunderstanding occurred when Hajia Alima Mahama, MP for Nalerigu/Gambaga, stated during her contribution that no previous government had ever boldly mentioned, in any budget, the poverty gap between the Northern and Southern Ghana.

Her statement prompted the Minority Chief Whip and MP for Talensi, John Tiah, to respond that “when everyone was packing and leaving the northern part of Ghana in darkness, was it not the NDC who brought electricity there?”

By Sylvanus Nana Kumi & Ethel Kangberee