Govt action on Gulf Stream Jet is "too
little, too late"
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 May 2003 - The Speaker of Parliament, Peter Ala Adjetey on Tuesday expressed his gratitude to the two Deputy Speakers for the able manner they handled the affairs of the house during his ten weeks absence.
He also thanked members of the House for the support they gave to the Deputies in their work as well as their prayers and well wishes for him during his medical treatment in the US.
The Speaker, who started work Tuesday after his long absence, took the opportunity to welcome the new Majority Leader and the three new members of Parliament, who were sworn in while he was away.
Ala Adjetey urged the new members to study the rules and be abreast with the work of Parliament, adding that they should make it a point to be punctual and regular in the House.
The Majority Leader, Alex Owusu-Adjapong on behalf of the House welcomed the Speaker back home and wished him good health to enable him to continue with the good work he has been doing in the House.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 28 May 2003 - Parliament on Tuesday passed the Institute of Local Government Studies Bill to empower the Institute to organise training programmes in the field of local government for members of the Regional Co-ordinating Councils, District Assemblies and other related sectors.
It is to equip the Ministry with the requisite knowledge and skills to develop and sustain a decentralised management system and enhance managerial, administrative and operational efficiency of the units of local government.
The Institute is to arrange courses, workshops, seminars and conferences for persons engaged in areas of local government, undertake and promote research in local government and develop training materials for its members.
The Institute would also be empowered to award certificates, diplomas and other qualifications agreed upon by it and approved by the National Accreditation Board.
The Bill is awaiting Presidential Assent to become law.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 28 May 2003 - The Minority in Parliament on Tuesday described as "too little, too late", last week's announcement by the Minister of Information that the government had taken a decision to sell the Gulf Stream Executive Jet purchased during the administration of the national Democratic Congress (NDC).
In a statement issued in Parliament House and signed by John Tia, Deputy Minority Whip, said it was unfortunate that the government had come to "this belated decision" only after the country had lost $7.5m in semi-annual lease payments on the aircraft.
It said the press statement by Nana Akomea, Minister of Information, on the aircraft, contained nothing new, as all the information had been in the public domain since 1999.
The Minority recalled that as a candidate in the past election, President John Agyekum Kufuor declared categorically that he would not use the plane if he were elected.
"As early as July 2001, a delegation of HSBC called on the Senior Minister, J.H. Mensah and presented him with relevant documents and information pertaining to the Jet, including the minute book of Gallen Limited, which was sent by courier. "HSBC officials also offered to dispose of the Jet and presented the Senior Minister with a Sales Agency Agreement but the government failed to take advantage of the offer."
The statement said it was regrettable that, notwithstanding, these developments; "government over the last two-and-a-half years has preferred to utilise the Jet more as a propaganda tool than to save the nation the loss of such a colossal amount of money".
The statement said during the period of the last government, a conscious decision was made to limit the size of presidential delegations to not more than 15 persons and, therefore, the Gulf Stream size was appropriate for such travels.
The Minority said it could understand, however, that the present administration, with the presidential entourage sometimes running into 40 persons, a plane the size of the Gulf Stream would be inadequate.
"The people of Ghana will at the appropriate time demand accountability from those, who have wilfully caused this financial loss of $7.5m just to satisfy their political egos."
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