General News of Friday, 27 January 2017
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2017-01-27
Majority leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu
Governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) have implored the Speaker, Professor Mike Ocquaye to initiate an investigation into alleged attempt to bribe members of the Appointments Committee.
Majority leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said such an allegation is serious and could mar the reputation of the seventh Parliament if the truth is not established.
“I think that it is important for that person [who made the allegation] to be fished out and find out the truth,” he told legislators Friday on the floor.
MP for Bawku Central Constituency, Mahama Ayariga has alleged on an Accra-based Radio Gold that Energy Minister-designate, Boakye Agyarko gifted the Committee the sum of GHC100,000.
He claimed National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs on the Committee were offered GHC3,000 each, but they rejected it after they were told of the giver. Mr Agyarko’s approval together with Senior Minister-designate, Yaw Osafo Maafo has been scuttled by the NDC after some “inaccurate” information they provided the Committee.
Minority members of the Committee have requested the former Vice President of the Bank of New York to produce evidence to back some corruption allegations he made about former President John Mahama.
Mr Agyarko has also claimed World Bank had ‘breathed fire’ down the neck of the former Ghanaian leader to take a particular course of action.
When quizzed to substantiate the claim his explanation NDC members on the Committee found it unsatisfactory, triggering attempts to torpedo his approval.
The alleged money donated to the Committee was construed by NDC legislators as an attempt to buy their cooperation and bribe them to support his approval.
Myjoyonline.com cannot independently confirm nor authenticate the claims made by the Bawku MP.
But Mr Mensah-Bonsu said the veracity of the allegation has to be established because it the issue has the potency of “inflicting mortal wound” on the reputation of the House.
“It is no child’s play for anybody to go about labelling people without any shred of evidence,” he said in an urgent tone.
He urged the House to treat as urgent the claim that was put out by “somebody…within.”
