Parliament yet to approve appointments
The approval of the three deputy ministers designate could not be carried out by Parliament last Friday because it did not have the required number to do the voice vote.
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The voting for the approval of the former Executive Director of the West Africa Peace Building Network (WANEP), Mr Emmanuel Bombande, as Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, a former District Chief Executive of Upper Manya, Mr Joseph Agmor Tetteh, and the Member of Parliament for Nkwanta North, Mr John Oti Bless, as deputy ministers for the Eastern Region and Local Government and Rural Development Ministry respectively, was consequently deferred to this week.
During the debate which ensued after the presentation of the report of the Appointments Committee of Parliament, which had recommended the approval of the three nominees, some MPs raised issues about the varied arrangements of the name of Mr John Oti Bless.
They indicated that it was not clear as to which of the names was his surname.
There was also the contentious issue as to whether Mr Bombande was asked to submit a new curriculum vitae (CV) to the committee.
Mr Ebo Barton-Odro explained that the CV presented by Mr Bombande was not withdrawn.
He said the nominee was asked to effect some changes on his CV.
Mr Bombande
Presenting the report, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Ebo Barton-Odro, said Mr Bombande had explained that economic diplomacy related to enhancing Ghana's comparative advantage in international and regional trade would generate more revenue for the people.
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He said the nominee pledged his commitment to support the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to enhance the country's participation in the ECOWAS market if his nomination was approved.
On his view about the impact of Britain exiting the European Union (EU) on Ghana, Mr Bombande said it was premature to examine the impact that the Brexit would have on the country.
He stated that Ghana needed to closely observe developments regarding the exiting process for some time before reaching a conclusion on the impact.
He added that Ghana would still maintain its close ties with Britain even after the exit by virtue of being a Member of the Commonwealth.
On how to curb extremism, Mr Bombande said the effective strategy to address the violence and extremism should focus on tackling the root causes.
He said military solutions had not helped to address the violence and therefore it was important that collective efforts were expended at addressing the root causes.
Mr Bless
Mr Barton-Odro said in responding to a question on his official name, Mr Bless stated that he was formerly called Kopi John Kwabena but later changed his name to John Oti Kwabena Bless.
He submitted a statutory declaration as evidence of the change of name.
As to whether he had discharged his national service obligation, Mr Bless said he had not yet fulfilled that obligation.
He told the committee that he became liable to perform his national service after completion of his Diploma at the University of Ghana, Legon in 2012, but got elected to become an MP during the same year.
Mr Barton-Odro said Mr Bless later submitted an exemption certificate from the National Service Scheme to relieve him from the obligation.
Mr Angmor
Answering a question on new ideas to fight illegal mining popularly known as 'galamsey' in the Eastern Region, Mr Angmor said he would support the regional minister to pursue ongoing projects to combat galamsey activities in the region.
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The nominee suggested that if a fruit processing factory was established in the Upper Manya Krobo District, it would be of immense benefit to the people in the district.