Gov�t C�tte on Collision Course

After distancing itself from the now controversial inter-ministerial Vodafone Committee report, an obviously exasperated member of the committee, Dr Ben Adu has lashed out at government and top officials of the Ministry of Communication, claiming that their attitude towards the report was unfortunate and disturbing. Dr Adu, in an interview with the media in reaction to statements by the Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrisu, to the effect that the committee acted beyond its mandate, said those statements were not right. Whiles the committee avers in its report that the sale of Ghana Telecom to the UK firm was unconstitutional and illegal, the Communication Ministry on the other hand strongly believes that the committee overstepped its remit and should rather wait for the Supreme Court to rule on the matter. According to the Communications Minister, the court is expected to deliver a preliminary judgement on the case later this month to ascertain whether GT was rightly sold or not. Haruna Iddrisu emphasised that �government cannot be associated with comments or reports that seek to undermine our respect for independent state institutions and the rule of law.� He said government would continue to uphold the rule of law and respect the principles of the separation of powers, under the 1992 constitution, since such a declaration or pronouncement on the constitutionality of international agreements was the exclusive preserve of the Supreme Court of Ghana. Government, the minister stated, would state its official position on the review report within a fortnight and make relevant aspects of the report public after a careful examination and after it had received the advice of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. However, Dr Ben Adu, a communication expert, who played a major role in drafting the report, told the media that some people in the NDC government �are simply pursuing their personal interests hence the various noises on air in recent time regarding the report and recommendations.� He said he was amazed to listen to comments which he described as scandalous, made by government officials on the British Broadcasting (BBC) network. According to Dr Adu, the Ministry should rather be blamed for making access to information for the Committee�s work rather difficult. Citing his case, Dr Ben Adu said even in the matter of PC Appiah Ofori�s allegation against the sale of GT, the Committee did not write to him to appear before it, but the (PC) rather went to see some members of the present government who pushed him to the committee to make his case. �In the course of our duty, PC Appiah Ofori came over challenging the issue of the SPA and was given fair hearing,� he stated. In spite of these raging problems, he said, members of the committee were professionals, committed to working for the good of the country.