Samuel Abu Jinapor
The Minister-Designate for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, who is also the NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Damango, has stated that he is not perturbed by threats from some members of the Minority in Parliament to disapprove some nominees of President Akufo-Addo.
He said he had no doubt that members of the Appointments Committee of Parliament were responsible people who would not allow any other consideration apart from doing “proper scrutiny and vetting to be able to determine that a nominee meets the standard set out by the constitution” of the country.
Responding to questions from journalists in Parliament last Friday, Mr. Jinapor intimated he was also not worried because he did not believe the issues would be about threats, adding that “they are there to do a job for the Ghanaian people.”
“They are in representative capacity. So it cannot be threats. No, I believe they will do a good job for the people of Ghana. Members of Parliament (MPs) are responsible people, and the Ghanaian people will be watching. It will be on the full glare of the cameras,” he said.
According to him, “what is expected of them, which I believe they will discharge, is to do proper scrutiny and vetting to be able to determine that a nominee meets the standard set out by the constitution itself.
“Don’t forget that the constitution has set the standard that one has to meet to become a minister, and that is what the Appointments Committee will be seeking to authenticate, and therefore I don’t have a problem at all.”
The immediate-past Deputy Chief of Staff argued that the framers of the 1992 Constitution were deliberate in formulating the appointment of ministers in the manner as contained in the supreme law of the country, and said “it vests the mandate for the eventual appointment of ministers in the executive and the legislature.”
“The President nominates and Parliament gives prior approval. The framers of our constitution could well have said that the President nominates and that is it. It could have said the Parliament would be responsible for nomination and that would be it.
“I think that that constitutional architecture is one that I welcome. It is very much in accord with separation of powers, checks and balances, and it is very perfect and I am more than happy with it,” the Damango MP noted.
He continued that “ministers have to be vetted and so will it be. I believe that MPs are responsible people. To get elected as an MP means you are a responsible person.”
On the various nominees, the MP lauded President Akufo-Addo for “putting together such an excellent team and beginning this second term of his administration on a very strong note.”
“In my view, it signals a lot ahead of us as a country. As you can tell from the list, it is a combination of young and old, combination of experience, and some women are involved, and very national in character,” he posited.
For him, the team the Presiding is putting together can assist him and deliver on his mandate and agenda in the second term of his administration.
He said President Akufo-Addo had nominated him to be the Minister responsible for Lands and Natural Resources, asserting, “As all of you are very much aware, that it is a very important ministry in our country with a lot of complex issues and it has always been since independence.
“The issue of land administration, the issue of forestry management and the very controversial issue of mining; I believe by the grace of God when I am approved by Parliament I should be able to offer leadership at that ministry to bring all the resources and all actors there for us to be able to chart a path to deploy land as a tool for national development and not an obstacle to national development.”
“Investors can come into our country and acquire lands in a transparent and smooth manner, and we can have good records of land administration in our country devoid of litigation so that land becomes a contributor to national development.
“Number two is for us to find intelligent ways of boosting the mining industry of our country in a manner that does not jeopardize our environment and the ecosystem.
“Mining is as old in Ghana as Ghana itself. We cannot do away with mining. The President’s vision for the mining sector is very clear that we have a workable programme to strike that balance of sustainable, prudent and lawful small-scale mining,” he concluded.
Correction
In Saturday’s issue, we inadvertently used the picture of Samuel Jinapor’s brother, John, in place of the minister-designate. The error is regretted.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House