Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader and Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, clashed over the government’s inability to constitute boards of the various statutory bodies of state-owned enterprises.
Boards for eight statutory funds namely, District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), Road Fund, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), Petroleum-Related Funds, Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust, have not been constituted by the government.
This, the Minority stated on the floor of the House, has grounded activities of the various state-owned enterprises because there is no board in place.
The Tamale Central MP said the situation is affecting contractors to meet their obligations to suppliers and asked the president to urgently constitute such boards if the NPP has the men as they claimed.
“Chief Executives have not been appointed; boards have not been appointed. I do not share the view that this function or role be reviewed to ministerial roles…the President must wake up and urgently secure and protect the interest of our road contractors by getting the Roads Fund Board properly constituted.
“One cannot understand why it is getting this long to get the Roads Fund Board constituted. How long does it take for a president to appoint a Chief Executive? Why, if you don’t have the men let us know,” Haruna Iddrisu said.
But in a quick rebuttal, the Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs agreed on the delay in constituting boards of the statutory bodies.
He, however, indicated that the approach of the Minority Leader in communicating a matter which is as urgent as that needed to come to the floor through a statement from the Minority Leadership.
“Mr Speaker, the matter raised is a matter of public importance and we must over it. I think that we need to engage on it but the usual vicissitudes of the Minority Leader…, [that] notwithstanding, I’m not too sure you have the men; Mr Speaker, we have the men and the women…,” Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said.
