The Administrator of the Minerals Development Fund, Dr. Hanna Bisiw-Kotei, has dismissed calls by the Minority in Parliament for her removal from office over comments she made regarding the violence that marred the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun.
Responding to the Minority’s statement, which also called for the dismissal of Malik Basintale, Acting CEO of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), she said their demands were laughable.
“Trust me, I think it is the biggest joke of the day. I laughed over the headline when I saw it. Nobody can force me to sympathise with Hawa Koomson. I am not a hypocrite who, by force, I have to sympathise with her,” Dr Bisiw-Kotei, said in an interview on Citi Eyewitness News on Wednesday, July 16.
She insisted that her comments were being misinterpreted and that she remains committed to her work in the party.
“I have not heard them at all. We are focused and working. There is a lot to put in place. I am sure Malik is also focused. I condemn violence, and nobody can ask me to sympathise with a woman who has put so many people to suffer. I am her direct victim,” Dr Bisiw-Kotei, added.
The Minority’s criticism followed reports of an alleged assault on former Fisheries Minister Hawa Koomson at the St. Peter’s Methodist Church polling station on Friday, July 11, during the Ablekuma North rerun.
Their statement also referenced a Facebook post by Malik Basintale, in which he humorously referred to a man who intervened in the altercation as “Flying Python” and jokingly suggested appointing him to a fictional “5K Airforce.”
According to the Minority, such comments from individuals charged with championing youth and women’s development are unacceptable and pose a threat to the country’s democratic values. They called for the immediate dismissal of both Dr. Bisiw-Kotei and Mr. Basintale.