Five Bills to be presented to Parliament
Five bills which are to give legal backing to government policies towards fighting corruption and facilitating socio-economic development are to be presented to Parliament this week.
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They are the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill, 2017; the Zongo and Inner City Development Fund Bill, 2017; the Northern Development Authority Bill, 2017; the Middle Belt Development Authority Bill, 2017, and the Coastal Belt Development Authority Bill, 2017.
The Majority Leader and Chairman of the Business Committee of Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, told Parliament last Friday that all the bills had been scheduled to be read the first time this week, starting from today.
Office of the Special Prosecutor
The creation of the special prosecutor position is one of the campaign promises of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
The special prosecutor is to prosecute corruption cases in the public service.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Attorney-General and Justice Minister, Ms Gloria Akuffo, had, on many occasions, indicated that the creation of the special prosecutor was to ensure transparency and fairness in dealing with corruption cases in the public sector and also take away the perception of hounding political opponents by the government.
At her vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament early this year, Ms Akuffo said the functions of the special prosecutor would not, in any way, affect the work of the Minister of Justice.
She said the creation of the special prosecutor position would amount to a delegation of the powers of the Minister of Justice.
She said the special prosecutor would have a secure tenure, which would allow the occupant of the position to work even after a change in government.
Development authorities
In its manifesto for the 2016 elections, the NPP promised to set up the Northern, Middle Belt and Coastal Development authorities to spearhead development in the various parts of the country.
The Development Authority bills are, therefore, to allow for the setting up of the authorities for the northern, middle belt and coastal areas of the country.
The government has already inaugurated 10-member regional teams on the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IFEP).
Speaking at the inauguration last Friday, the Vice-President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, indicated that per the directive of the President, it was crucial for the 10-member regional teams to be constituted, so that they would start doing analyses of the needs of the various constituencies after consulting the various stakeholders.
Zongo and Inner City Development
The President had indicated that the government would give special attention to the development of Zongos and inner cities.
Consequently, he had appointed a Minister for Zongo and Inner City Development in the person of Alhaji Boniface Abubakar Saddique, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina.
The Zongo and Inner City Development Fund Bill, 2017 seeks to ensure the allocation of money for the development of Zongos and inner cities.