General News of Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Source: GNA

President yet to spell out parameters for operation of Presidential Priority Projects

Mr Cletus Apul Avoka, the former Majority Leader in Parliament, said on Monday that President John Dramani Mahama has not yet spelled out the parameters to enable him and his two colleagues to operate as coordinators for the Presidential Priority Projects.

Mr Avoka, the Member of Parliament for Zebilla, told the GNA in Accra that the President has a vision and had appointed him, Mr Alban Sumani Bagbin, the Member for Parliament for Nadowli West, and Mr E.T Mensah, the Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram to be part of the team to implement the vision.

He said the three of them were probably called “the three wise men” because of their level of experience in governance since all of them held ministerial positions in many sectors and should be able to handle the work that the President Mahama would spell out for them.

Mr Avoka said all things being equal and with the resources available President Mahama should be able to have his vision realized with the projects in order to advance the course of the Better Ghana Agenda.

The nomination of the three has been met with some criticism with some thinking they had been demoted while others feel their positions are a duplication of the roles and functions of some ministers.

The President appointed the three to coordinate the construction of 200 senior high schools, 10 teacher training colleges and one public university in the Eastern Region, the development of regional and specialist hospitals and the development of new international and regional airports.

Mr. Mensah is the immediate past Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing and Mr Bagbin, immediate past Minister of Health.