Political Scientist and leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Richard Amoako Baah has claimed that censure motion proceedings are supposed to be absolutely Parliamentary.
He said that the crux of a censure motion is to find out the opinion of majority MPs and not to give the public officer who has been censured the opportunity to defend himself.
Even though he accepted that the Finance Minister who is at the heart of the ongoing censure motion, could be given an opportunity to respond to charges levelled against him, Dr. Amoako Baah opined that, the process is purely political and not judicial and hence, the opinions of MPs must always win at the end of the day.
It [censure motion] is a political process [so] they don’t have to give updates if they don’t want to. What you do is, if they make a charge, [there is no need for] evidence. So the whole process is not to judge the Finance Minister [as to him being] guilty or innocent. We want to find the opinion of majority MPs regarding this.”
Dr. Amoako Baah, Political Scientist
The Political Scientist disclosed that in censure motion proceedings, legal charges against the leading public servant Parliament seeks to remove is unnecessary.
He claimed that the ongoing censure motion, “didn’t have to go through all these charges; even one charge is enough,” he said.
He added that even though the Minister of Finance could be given the opportunity to respond to the allegations levelled against him, “no matter the responses the Minister gives,” Parliament’s opinion must always be absolute in censure motion proceedings.
Furthermore, the NPP stalwart who has been an ardent critic of Akufo-Addo’s government advised Members of Parliament not to allow the counsel [the Lawyer of the Finance Minister] turn it [censure motion hearing] into a court of law because, the process is not a judicial process, this is not the court of law. “
Meanwhile, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, Former Senior Governance Advisor at the United Nations, claimed that the challenges regarding the censure motion processes is due to Ghana’s hybrid political system.
“Some of the challenges we are facing is as a result of the hybrid political system we have created. Bringing together elements of the Parliamentary and that of the Presidential of the Americans to create our own system. So you can see these things are new to us, but I’m sure that by the end of this journey things will become clearer to us.”
Prof. Agyeman-Duah, Former UN Advisor
In his opinion, the processes for removing leading public servants is “an interesting aspect of the constitution that we [Ghana] ought to give a close attention,” if ever our constitution will be reformed.
Censure Motion Hearing Resumes Today
The Parliamentary ad hoc committee formed to investigate the charges laid against Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, resumes its sitting today at exactly 11am.
The committee is expecting to receive officials of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) during today’s sitting.
“The Ken Ofori-Atta Vote of Censure Parliamentary Committee resumes public hearings tomorrow at 11am. We expect PIAC and GNPC to appear before us.”
Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of committee
The major event from Day 1 of the committee’s sitting which held on Tuesday, 15th November, was the laying of evidence by the proponents of the motion.
The minority group, represented by Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, and Ranking Member on the Committee of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, explained the Minority’s seven (7) charges against the Minister of Finance.
Counsel for the Minister, Gabby Otchere-Darko and the MP for North Tongu, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, were also in the limelight as they engaged in series of exchanges upon the latter asking about the National Cathedral.
READ ALSO: Censure Hearing: Finance Minister Must Take himself Out Of This Dilema – Prof. Agyeman Duah
