TMA swears in government appointees amid drama

Fifteen newly selected government appointees to the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) have been sworn into office.The appointees, made up of 11 men and four women, were sworn in by Mr Joseph McAli Junior, a Tema District Magistrate.

The swearing-in of the new government appointees into the assembly followed the revocation of the appointments of government representatives in the wake of the election of President Nana Akufo-Addo.

The assembly, made up of 32 elected members and the 15 newly sworn in government appointees, also elected Messrs Joseph Korto and Charles Yaw Amoah as its representatives to the Greater Accra Regional Electoral College to elect the region's representative to the Council of State.

Citizenship

Prior to the swearing-in ceremony, an argument broke out between the assembly members about the eligibility of one of the government appointees, Mr Antonio Jose D. Matos Fernandes.

An Assembly Member for the Adjei-Kojo Electoral Area in the Tema West Constituency, Mr Romeo Akahoho questioned whether Mr Fernandes was eligible to become a government nominee because he was born in Portugal.

The arguments, which lasted for about 10 minutes, ended when Mr Fernandes, on the orders of the Presiding Member, Mr Richard Fiadomo, produced his Ghanaian passport, Voters ID card and gazette dated June 2, 2006 in which Ghanaian citizenship was conferred on him.

Advice

The presiding member of the assembly urged the newly sworn in assembly members to study the standing orders and other rules of procedure of the assembly to guide them in the deliberations of the house.

He asked members to serve their respective sub-committees diligently and offer selfless and dedicated services for the accelerated development of the Tema Metropolis.

Present at the swearing-in ceremony were the former Mayor of the Tema Metropolis, Mr Samuel Evans Ashong Narh, and Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, MP for Tema West.

In a related development, eight out of the nine newly nominated government appointees to the Kpone Katamanso District Assembly were also sworn into office.

The assembly also selected Mr Anthony Nukpenu, Presiding Member of the KKDA, and Nana Simpim to the Electoral College to elect the Greater Accra Region's representative to the Council of State.