The parliamentarians rejected the budget estimated at six million cedis arguing that the office was not a legal creation and therefore could not be allocated any funds from the national budget.

[contextly_sidebar id=”sILHDdRXuLL1JBViluqnoEaHJqzCmZIA”]The Senior Minister office headed by Yaw Osafo Maafo was created by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo when he assumed office.

Leading the charge for the rejection was Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu who argued that the Senior Minister’s office is expected to coordinate the activities of other Ministries, Departments and Agencies and thus cannot be treated as a separate Ministry without legal backing.

“It is either the President has not done that which is legally appropriate because I am holding with me the Executive Instrument (EI 28) Civil Service Ministry Statement 2017, signed by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President of the Republic of Ghana which creates the various Ministries and conspicuously lost in this list, is office of the Senior Minister so it means that the portfolio of Senior Minister  is only being held morally , but legally he [President Nana Addo] has no locus and if the President must do what is legally appropriate to create the office by the Executive Instrument unless a different instrument is issued to that effect,” Mr. Iddrisu argued on the floor of Parliament.

Supporting this assertion, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu said the office ought to be placed under the office of government machinery to ensure effective accountability.

The office of the Senior Minister has therefore been urged to depend on the office of government machinery for its expenditure in the ensuing year.

Senior Minister role unconstitutional 

The creation of the office been met with condemnation from some critics who believe the office is a superfluous portfolio with no proper designation.

Apart from Mr. Iddrisu , Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga had also argued that the creation of the office was unconstitutional.

According to Mr. Ayariga, the “nomination of any person to be vetted for the post of a ‘Senior Minister’ constitutes a constitutional aberration”, adding that “nowhere in the Constitution does the office of ‘Senior Minister’ exist.”

Osafo-Maafo justifies Senior Minister porfolio

Mr. Osafo Maafo however justified his appointment, explaining that his core duty will be to “coordinate the roles of the various economic ministries in the new government.”

The Senior Minister made the comment while responding to Mr. Ayariga’s question on whether Nana Addo’s creation of the Senior Minister office was constitutional, during his vetting.

Supporting his argument with Article 78 (2) of the constitution, Mr. Osafo Maafo posited that, the President has the prerogative to appoint anyone to any portfolio he deems fit.

Article 78 (2) of the 1992 constitution states that “the President shall appoint such number of Ministers of State as may be necessary for the efficient running of the state.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, contractors take advantage of that to bloat contract sums when such processes are used for awarding contracts because it does not create competition.

Mr. Hewton made the remark in a Citi News interview in response to some comments by Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo against road contractors in the country.

[contextly_sidebar id=”NVu1k3qmYJlGmIV23mznCCZiqNLy8a3x”]The Senior Minister on Monday accused some road contractors of inflating prices of road projects, saying such practices have adverse effects on the country, and does not conform to international standards.

But speaking to Citi News, Joseph Hewton also argued that, the basic material used in road projects is also to blame for the high cost in Ghana.

“What Osafo Maafo is saying could be true in situations of selected tender, where a few contractors are selected to bid for a particular project [hence] there could be inflation of figures. When there is open tender, I can tell you, most contractors go 20 percent below the engineer’s estimate.”

“But you see, when it comes to the issue of road contracts in Ghana being too expensive, I can tell you it is because the raw material that we use in Ghana are far more expensive than what you will even find at the international level – take chippings, bitumen, iron rods, and cement,” he added.

90% of road projects awarded through restricted tendering 

The  New Patriotic Party (NPP) government had earlier accused the former administration of awarding about 90% of road contracts through restricted tendering.

A Deputy Minister for Roads, and Chairman of a committee set up to rationalize the number of roads under construction, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, who made claim, said over 540 road projects were opened to just a selected number of contractors for bidding.

“What we realized was that, more than 90% of road projects were restricted tendering. Restricted tendering is more of sole sourcing or few contractors being selected to bid for a project,” he said in a Citi News interview.

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According to him, some road contractors intentionally inflate the cost of roads, adding that, such practices have had adverse effect on the country’s funding sources.

Speaking at an event to officially commence the upgrade of the Accra-Tema Motorway on Monday, Osafo- Maafo said the cost of road construction in Ghana must conform to international standards.

“If you go to the score card of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, they describe the sources of our poor performance in the road sector. They talk about lack of adequate funds, technical know-how, but they also talk about corruption. It’s something we should also pay attention to. We must have value for money in the road sector.”

He argued that “the cost of construction is basically international depending on the material you use and therefore we cannot have a situation where the cost of construction in Ghana is on a different planet.”

“The cost of construction of roads should conform to international standards. We have a situation where the cost per kilometre of our road network is higher than international standards even when you work out the material aspect. This calls for a very close look at the matter. It cannot be and it should not be and therefore I’m appealing to our financial partners who will join us in the PPP that we are interested in having value for money,” he added.

‘90% of Mahama road contracts awarded by restricted tender

This comes on the back of government’s revelation that over ninety percent of road projects awarded by the Mahama administration went through the process of restricted tendering.

The Deputy Minister for Roads, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, told Citi News that over 540 road projects were opened to just a selected number of contractors for bidding.

“What we realized was that, more than 90% of road projects were restricted tendering. Restricted tendering is more of sole sourcing or few contractors being selected to bid for a project,” he added.

Mahama gov’t left GHc11.6bn debt at Roads Ministry

Another Deputy Roads Minister, Anthony Karbo, had also complained that the previous administration left close to GH¢ 11.6 billion debt at the Ministry.

“The debt overhang in the Ministry is huge; close to GH¢ 11.6 billion in commitments, all contracts put together and that is big,” Anthony Karbo said.

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According to him, the President was mandated to do so only by an Executive Instrument.

[contextly_sidebar id=”9EPsPTEOGRIwGvVm5aqB4adKy7YVx4rL”]Raising the issue on the floor of Parliament, the Keta legislator said,

“It appears to me that because the President was in so much of a hurry he breached the rules, the laws of our countries in appointing ministers of state and especially the creation of ministries and realignment of ministries.”

He argued that based on the Civil Service Amendment Act 2001, which states that subject to the constitution, the President should by Executive Instrument publish in a gazette the establishment or re-designation of a ministry.

But the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensa-Bonsu, disagreed with Mr. Quashigah’s stance, and insisted that there was an official publication on the creation and realignment of the said ministries.

‘Senior minister position unconstitutional’

President Akufo-Addo’s creation of the “senior minister” position, currently occupied by Yaw Osafo Maafo, was  also recently described as unconstitutional by another minority member, Mahama Ayariga, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central constituency.

Ayariga in an open letter to the President on the matter said, “The Senior Minister post which you have created is demonstrably analogous to the office of Prime Minister. I will show, from a review of the history of the enactment of the 1992 Constitution, that there was a very conscious decision to avoid creating any office similar to that of a Prime Minister. The idea of having a Prime Minister was explicitly turned down.”

But in a rebuttal, the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South constituency, described Ayariga’s argument as unfortunate and hollow, arguing that the constitution had not spelt out guidelines for the appointment of Ministers under a particular government.

“It is very unfortunate because it has no substance and it is hollow. There is nowhere in the constitution that any ministerial portfolio has been created… So far as they have ministerial roles and functions, the only Minister who has been given constitutional recognition is the office of the Attorney General so with due respect to him, I do not see how he will have any serious argument to press home either in the court or within Parliament because it is pathetic…I am afraid his argument is jejune. They don’t see the light of state. And when you say a senior minister is it not a Minister of state? Is it a Minister from heaven? It doesn’t make sense,” Mr Atta Akyea said.

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The Bawku Central MP had argued that, Nana Addo breached the constitution by making that appointment because the “nomination of any person to be vetted for the post of a ‘Senior Minister’ constitutes a constitutional aberration”, adding that “nowhere in the Constitution does the office of ‘Senior Minister’ exist.”

But the Abuakwa South lawmaker in a sharp rebuttal described Ayariga’s argument as unfortunate and hollow, arguing that the constitution has not spelt out guidelines for the appointment of Ministers under a particular government.

“It is very unfortunate because it has no substance and it is hollow. There is nowhere in the constitution that any ministerial portfolio has been created… So far as they have ministerial roles and functions, the only Minister who has been given constitutional recognition is the office of the Attorney General so with due respect to him, I do not see how he will have any serious argument to press home either in the court or within Parliament because it is pathetic…I am afraid his argument is jejune. They don’t see the light of state. And when you say a senior minister is it not a Minister of state? Is it a Minister from heaven? It doesn’t make sense.”

Atta Kyea indicated that, Mahama Ayariga’s argument also “falls flat” because he sought to equate the work of a Senior Minister to that of a Prime Minister, although they perform different roles and have nothing in common.

“A senior Minister is a Minister of State, is that not so? Whether you describe it senior, super senior or upper senior, he is still a Minister of state. If you have a poor sense of who a prime minister is; and you want to equate a Senior Minister to a prime minister, then your argument falls flat because when you have a prime minister you do not have a President.”

President Akufo- Addo nominated the former Finance Minister under the erstwhile Kufuor administration as Senior Minister last week, pending parliamentary approval.

The Senior Minister concept was first introduced during the erstwhile NPP administration under John Kufuor.

If approved by Parliament, Osafo Maafo’s position will require him to supervise the activities of all other appointees and ensure discipline at all levels.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, the situation can  be rescued by Nana Akufo-Addo’s government which will block all leakages of the country’s sources.

He made the remark after he was nominated by the President at the Flagstaff House on Tuesday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”B6hZUxzxbDDl1Bha8HWYoHeiwx4WFzla”]He was among 12 others named for ministerial nominees pending parliamentary vetting and approval.

Osafo-Maafo also expressed confidence in Akufo-Addo’s government which he said will reduce nuisance taxes introduced by previous governments.

“Today, Ghana’s per capita is thousand two hundred [or] thousand three hundred so we are a lower middle income country.  So we cannot be described as HIPC, we can be described as a country heavily in debt, but not poor and that is a big difference.”

He added that, “my first step is to look at the revenue sources and make sure that we block all the loopholes in the revenue side.

“That does not involve any expenditure. It involves looking at the system and blocking all leakages at the customs, airports, harbours, everywhere that we have revenue we must block the leakages. Some taxes are what we call nuisance taxes; you put 17.5% on financial services, how much do you realize from it? Very little, but the efforts of putting up that tax is not worth how much you get. If the tax itself will even impede development, then there is no point keeping it there. You want to free the system to develop. We don’t free systems with taxes, we don’t make money always with taxes. Sometimes you take away taxes to make more money so that people are free to operate to make profit for you to tax,” he explained.

About Osafo-Maafo

Mr. Osafo-Maafo served as the Minister of Finance, later Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, during the Kufuor Administration.

He held this position from February 2001 and January 2005. Between 2005 and 2006, he became the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports. He is credited with leading the implementation of the free basic education referred to as then as the Capitation Grant.

Mr. Osafo-Maafo is an engineer and a project analyst by training and he established his credentials as a banking and finance leader by heading and successfully restructuring two major Ghanaian banks, the Bank for Housing and Construction and the National Investment Bank between 1979 and 1992.

He has been a Consultant to the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. Mr. Osafo-Maafo is the past Vice-President of the Executive Committee of the West African Bankers Association, and a founding Deputy Chairman of the Ghana Stock Exchange.

He has served as Chairman and a board member on a number of corporations including Nestle Ghana Limited, National Trust Holding Company, Merchant Bank Ghana Limited, National Development Planning Commission, Divestiture Implementation Committee and Donewell Insurance.

He is a fellow of the Ghana Institution of Engineers and an Honorary Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Architects. He is also a fellow of the Ghana Institution of Engineers and an Honorary Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Architects.

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