He said the emergency recall of the house to discuss the matter was unnecessary.

[contextly_sidebar id=”obS2DHLXHK9xQuxerHP5jojnDbZeM1Tt”]“It may be possible that the associated cost for recalling this may be a case of causing financial loss.”

The Minister’s comment comes after a committee set up to investigate the infamous cash-for-seat saga exonerated him in its report.

The Committee, chaired by the Member of Parliament for Sunyani East constituency, Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, presented its report to the house on Tuesday after taking evidence from all witnesses in the matter.

Alan Kyerematen in a statement after the House considered the report, despite a minority walk-out, said the minority could be cited for causing financial loss to the state since all their evidence turned out to be false.

He chided MPs such as Muntaka Mubarak, Dominic Ayine, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for peddling falsehood.

He further called on parliament to investigate the case of the Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, who he said presented a fake document as an exhibit before the ad-hoc committee.

“If an Honourable Member submitted a document which has been proven to be fraudulent and this was submitted under oath, it may be a case that needs to be properly investigated. Mr. Speaker, it is also on record that during the session of Honorable Muntaka, he submitted evidence of a document that has been proven to be fraudulent because an invitation that was supposed to have been authored by the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry now had photocopies on that back of that letter, a sponsorship package.”

“The recipients of this document have given evidence on oath that they received the sponsorship package separately from the letter of invitation.”

While commending the Committee for the “excellent” and “comprehensive” work, Alan Kyerematen expressed regret about what the brouhaha over the matter had done to Ghana’s image to sink.

Minority stage walkout 

The Minority has staged a walkout from Parliament over the “cash for seat” committee report on the probe into claims that the Trade Ministry extorted $100,000 from expatriates to allow them to sit close to the President during the Ghana Expatriates Business Awards in December 2017.

They said the 148-page document was not made available to MPs for prior reading before it was put before the House for debate.

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, held that under the circumstances, his side could not take part in the deliberations.

Background of “cash for seat” saga

The Ministry of Trade, which partnered the event organizers, Millennium Excellence Foundation, is alleged to have charged between $25,000 and $100,000, to enable expatriates to sit close to the President at the awards ceremony.

The allegation was first made by the Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak in Parliament in December 2017.

Mr. Mubarak said the fees charged at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards were not approved by Parliament, adding that the monies were also not accounted for in the Internally Generated Funds [IGF] of the Ministry’s accounts.

The allegation was further reinforced by Mr. Ablakwa, who suffered verbal assaults from Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah over the matter.

The Ministry of Trade said it played no role in determining prices for seats at the event, and clarified that it only facilitated the implementation of a new initiative by the Millennium Excellence Foundation.

But the Ministry after an order from the President to probe the matter clarified that an amount of GHc2, 667,215 was realized from the event. This was made known only after the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had asked the Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen, to investigate the matter and report to him.

The organizers of the Awards had also explained that no one paid to sit close to the President and that the amount was raised from sponsorship through a fundraising at the event.

Parliament subsequently formed a five-member bi-partisan committee to investigate the matter.

The Committee held several public hearings and a few in-camera sessions that featured all parties named in the allegation, and those who made the allegation.

The Trades Ministry and the Foundation maintained their innocence in the matter and insisted that due process was followed in soliciting funds for the awards scheme.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Cash-for-seat: Minority caused financial loss – Alan appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This comes after the Committee hosted the organizers of the event, Millennium Excellence Foundation on Monday, to provide details about how the event was organized and circumstances under which monies were collected from some of the expatriates.

The Chairman of the Committee, Kwasi Ameyaw Cheremeh, told Citi News that the Committee is not certain about the number of expatriates appearing before it.

He however said they are ready to listen to the submissions of as many of them that present themselves.

It is alleged that the expatriates paid between $25,000 and $100,000 to sit close to President Akufo-Addo at the event which was also used to award some of the expatriate businesses.

The Trades Ministry, under whose auspices the event was organized has denied allegations of wrongdoing, while the organizers, Millennium Excellence Foundation have also debunked claims that expatriates were forced to pay monies to sit at the high table and to receive awards.

Key witnesses in the matter including Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, and his colleague Minority MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen, and officials of the Millennium Excellence Foundation  have already made appearances before the Committee.

Background

The Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, first made the extortion allegation in Parliament in December 2017.

Mr. Mubarak said the fees charged at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards (GEBA) were not approved by Parliament, adding that the monies were also not accounted for in the Internally Generated Funds [IGF] of the Ministry’s accounts.

The issue was further reinforced by Mr. Ablakwa, who suffered verbal assaults from Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah over the matter.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry initially dissociated itself from these allegations.

The Trade Ministry, in a statement said it played no role in determining prices for seats at the event, and clarified that it only facilitated the implementation of a new initiative by the Millennium Excellence Foundation.

But the Ministry after an order from the President to probe the matter, clarified that an amount of GHc 2,667,215 was realized from the event.

The organizers of the Awards had also explained that no one paid to sit close to the President, and that the amount raised was gotten from sponsorship through a fundraising at the event.]

The Minority moved a motion in Parliament for a further probe into the matter, and this forced the Speaker to recall MPs from their recess, leading to the formation of the Committee.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Expatriates take turn before ‘cash-for-seat’ C’ttee today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Akufo-Addo made the confirmation in a tweet on Wednesday.

I came here with @Alankyerematen, because he is the person who is going to be the Min. for Trade and Industry in the Akufo-Addo government.

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) December 21, 2016

This comes ahead of his official naming of all ministers to serve in his government from 7th January 2017.

The President-elect had earlier hinted the appointment of Mr. Kyeremanteng to that office when he met with the Private Enterprise Federation at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

He took the opportunity to present his strategy and policies for private sector development to the business leaders.

Mr. Alan John Kyeremanteng is a businessman, and a politician who served as a Trade and Industry minister in the erstwhile John Kufour administration.

He failed in his attempt to represent the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as its flagbearer for the 2008 elections, having lost to Nana Akufo-Addo.

Currently, at age 61, he played an integral role in the success of the New Patriotic Party in the 2016 general elections that saw the party defeat the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians his government will work to ensure businesses thrive and experience significant growth.

While on the campaign trail ahead of the general elections, he said he had competent men to serve in his government and was confident that if he is given the opportunity, they will together ensure economic progress for the country.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post Confirmed: Alan Kyeremanteng is Trade minister appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He said infrastructural development can therefore not be the trump card for any government defending its record in office or basis for Ghanaians to renew its mandate.

[contextly_sidebar id=”h3tiDmFaGUw92Q0prOHQEklwP1TEoMs2″]The former minister of state said this when he addressed residents of Akim Swedru as part of the campaign tour of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presidential candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo in the Eastern Region, on Saturday November 19.

President Mahama and his appointees have been trumpeting their achievements in infrastructural projects ahead of the December 7 polls, especially the recently inaugurated Kwame Nkrumah interchange.

They are using the projects as campaign tools and asking the electorate to give them another four-year term in office.

But Mr. Kyerematen pointed out that, the most important duty required of any government is to create a vibrant economy that will create jobs for the people and not just simply borrowing money to execute projects.

Governments, he added, should also be able to improve the living standards of Ghanaians and not blowing their horns about execution of projects.

“Their message is that, in the last 8 years, they have been able to construct roads, school buildings and hospitals. It is a good thing. But, let me ask you one question. Have you seen any government, in Ghana’s history, which has never constructed roads, schools or hospitals?” he quizzed.

Mr. Kyerematen said inspite of the NDC’s singular message of infrastructural development, Ghanaians are saying the Mahama administration has made life unbearable for them.

“Ghanaians are saying that their living conditions are worse off. Ghanaians are saying they cannot make ends meet; they cannot afford to live in these hard times. This is clearly a sign that the NDC has failed. Ghanaians are saying they want Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP,” he said.

Mr. Kyerematen has therefore urged the electorate to vote massively for the NPP in the December 7 polls, to ensure massive job creation in the country.

“Nana Akufo-Addo’s message everywhere he goes is that, he is coming to create jobs for all Ghanaians. The creation of jobs is what Ghanaians must look at before voting.”

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By: Awudu Mahama/ghelections.com/Ghana

The post Create jobs; any gov’t can construct flyover – Alan appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.