“CARE”GHANA Petitions Parliament To Reject Nomination Of Hawa Koomson

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Care for Free and Fair Elections Ghana (“CARE”GHANA) has petitioned the Speaker of Parliament to reject the nomination of Hon Mavis Hawa Koomson as the Minister designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

The petition which was copied the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joe Osei Owusu, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu and Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu cited the credibility, experience and past records of Madam Koomson as the basis for Parliament to reject her nomination by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

This is the full text of the petition.

The Right Hon. Speaker of Parliament, Parliament House Accra Ghana 28th January, 2021

PETITION TO REJECT THE NOMINATION OF HONORABLE MAVIS HAWA KOOMSON (MP) AS MINISTER FOR FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE – “CARE”GHANA

Care for Free and Fair Elections Ghana “CARE”GHANA hereby petition the Right Hon. Speaker of Parliament to reject the nomination of Hon Mavis Hawa Koomson (MP) as the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture designate. Our petition to reject Hon Koomson’s nomination/appointment is based on her, credibility deficit, violent tendencies and incompetence.

Credibility Deficit

Hon Mavis Hawa Koomson as a minister for Special Development Initiative presented to Parliament a budget of Ghc800,000.00 for the development of a website that cost Ghc80,000. This act of deception indicates her lack of credibility and smacks of corruption which is detrimental to the development of our nation. This act of corruption has impose untold hardship on Ghanaians especially those living in depressed communities denying them of basic social amenities and developmental project required to improve their living conditions. Her actions are in clear violation of the law and contrary to the behavior expected of a minister of state. Owing to this, she has lost credibility and public respect thereby preventing her from holding any future ministerial position.

Violent Tendencies

Hon Koomson’s frequent engagement in violent activities is in clear violation of the code of conduct strictly observed by ministers of state and does not reflect the supposed demeanour of a minister. For example, she admitted leading thugs on a shooting spree in public in one of the registration centers in the Awutu Senya East Constituency during the voter registration exercise, an act that won for Ghana an international embarrassment and sunk the respect the public had for her as a minister and the Ministry of Special Development Initiative. She also allegedly encouraged her vigilantes to attack anyone that crossed her path during the 7th December, 2020 general elections. This comes to question her ability to live in harmony and build a good working relationship with the fisher folks to develop the fishing industry when approved. Her violent disposition will ostensibly deny her the opportunity to excel, therefore, she will become a ponderous load on the ministry. Her penchant for violence to mask her incompetence obviously exposes her inability to focus on her core mandate to deliver. This including many similar actions in our opinion opens her up for criticism and public ridicule, bringing the name of her ministry and government into disrepute.

Lack of Competence

Hon Mavis Hawa Koomson’s poor performance in her previous appointment as the minister for Special Development Initiative immediately disqualifies her from becoming the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture. As a minister for development she did very little in terms of development to alleviate the suffering of the masses. The poor implementation of the ‘One Village One Damn’ under the Special Development Initiative and her supervision of the construction of dug outs instead of damns needed for irrigation and other agricultural activities in the dry season worsened the plight of the communities deprived of water. This amounted to a waste of the tax payer’s money since it couldn’t serve any purpose in those communities. We are therefore of the view that, her approval to become the minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture will aggregate to a square peg in a round hole because the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture is a dynamic and a more challenging ministry that requires individuals with the right attitude and competence to advance progress in terms of development, hence our call to reject her nomination. To serve in the high office of a minister of state requires competence, credibility and sobriety in the least which in our respected view Hon Koomson has demonstrated to lack when she was given the opportunity to serve as Minister for the Special Development Initiative. We therefore pray that in the interest of good governance and country her nomination should be totally rejected by this honorable committee. We humbly submit for your consideration. Thank You Signed

DAVID KUMI ADDO Executive Secretary “CARE”GHANA 0273009907/0559026124

Cc. HON JOE OSEI WUSU (Chairman Appointment Committee)

HON OSEI KYEI MENSA BONSU (First Leader of Parliament)

HON HARUNA IDDIRISU (Second Leader of Parliament)