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History made in Parliament as Dr Daannaa goes through vetting

History was made Friday in Parliament when visually-impaired minister-designate for Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, Dr Henry Daannaa appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament to be vetted for the position he has been nominated for.

He was accompanied by his wife, Mrs Amina Daannaa and a retinue of chiefs from the various parts of the country, led by the President of the National House of Chiefs, Professor John Nabila.

The nomination of Dr Daannaa, a lawyer who has specialised  in Chieftaincy matters and done  a lot of research into the institution over the past 19 years sparked reactions from some chiefs in the country who said that it was a taboo for a visually-impaired person to lead chiefs in the country.

Undaunted by such comments, Dr Daannaa stormed the Committee's Appointments sitting Friday and proved his critics wrong with his deep sense of knowledge in the Chieftaincy institution and earned the admiration of the entire members of the committee and the large number of chief who witnessed the historic occasion.

In the history of the Appointments Committee's sittings under the Fourth Republican Parliament, this is the first time that a visually-impaired nominee has been vetted.

And in appreciation of the recognition of the disabled community by the President, a large number of people with all sorts of disabilities thronged the Speaker's Conference Hall to be part of the historic occasion.

Spotting an all-white apparel, the nominee left no doubt in the minds of members of the committee that he was the  right man for the job as he took them through the Chieftaincy institution and what was being done to modernise the institution.

He told the committee about the chilling story of his childhood when he got blind at age seven after suffering from measles.

Dr Daannaa said even though his father harboured some fear of "sending his blind boy to school",  he was prevailed upon by some family members to discard that idea before he was enrolled in school from where he pursued higher academic laurels and called to the bar in 1997.

As of now, he is the Director of Research at the Chieftaincy Secretariat when he has worked for 19 years.

He expressed concern about the lack of capacity building for staff of the Chieftaincy Secretariat and pledged to lead the crusade to build the staff to enable them to be up to their responsibilities.

On problems associated with legal counsels assigned to the various regional house of chiefs, the nominee said it had become difficult for the institution to attract young lawyers due to low remuneration and slow progression explaining that until that was solved the attrition rate would continue to be high.

Explaining the meaning of customs and tradition and some terminologies associated to the Chieftaincy institution, Dr Daannaa said should he receive the nod, he would  work hard to ensure some grey areas were defined to minimise disputes associated with the institution.

He said there was the need for dialogue and seminars to ensure the eradication of customs and practices that had outlived their usefulness.

On the inclusion of queen mothers into the National House of Chiefs, Dr Daannaa said already some moves had been made with the payment of allowance to some queen mothers adding that "we have got to a point that queen mothers should be part of the system".

He said the vision for the inclusion of queen other in the National House of Chiefs was achievable.

Dilating on chiefs who participated in active partisan politics, Dr Daannaa explained that the law was clear and asked chiefs who wanted to engage in politicking to relinquish their stools since they would incur the displeasure of subjects.

He said some African countries taking a cue from the provision in the 1992 had also debarred their chiefs from taking part in active politics explains that that was the right channel to protect the sanctity of the Chieftaincy institution.

Minister-designate for Health

When she took her turn, the Minister-designate for Health, Madam Hanny-Sherry Ayittey, said a lot had been done for health delivery in the rural area under the Community Health Improvement Programme (CHIP).

He said if that programme was well managed, it would assist in the improvement of the country's health delivery system and promised to insure that the existing CHIP compounds were replicated in other areas.

According to her, if that was done it would not only helped to reduce maternal mortality but also create more employment avenues for the youth.

Touching of the National Health Insurance Scheme, the nominee said the election 2008 manifesto promise of the NDC ensure the payment of one-off premium was achievable.

She said what the country needed to do was to spread its tax net to enable it get enough funds to finance the onetime premium payment system.

However, when she was reminded by the Minister of Information, Mr Mahama Ayariga that that provision had been removed from to current NDC manifesto while a recent stakeholders' meeting had also advised against its implementation, Madam Ayittey said her view was personal.

She stated that in spite of some challenges bedevilling the implementation of the NHIS, it would enable the country to achieve its target of providing health delivery for all if it was well managed.

Madam Ayittey said the Capitation Grant system which was piloted in the Ashanti Region had been successful even though there were challenges.

The nominee said stated that a lot of advocacy would be done under her tenure to ensure the implementation of the ban on smoking in public places to protect passive smokers.

Madam Ayittey added that she would ensure the construction of regional hospitals in regional capital with the facility while district hospitals would be constructed in some newly-created districts to provide health delivery to people at all levels.

Minister-designate for Youth and Sports.

Mr Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, Minister-designate for Youth and Sports told the committee that he had already sought counsel with some of his predecessors who encountered problems during their tenure of office.

He said he would take their pieces of advice in his strides to enable him to be successful should his nomination received approval from Parliament.

Answering a question on whether Ghana would be able to qualify for the 2014 World Cup tournament in Brazil, Mr Afriyie-Ankrah said "with God all, things are possible".

He said together with the Ghana Football Association, he was going to make sure that Ghana qualified for the tournament by all means.

He expressed regret for the failure of the Black Stars to qualify for the finals of the on-going African Cup of Nations and explained that in spite of that he would have to get the technical report before the he and the GFA would decide whether to maintain Coach James Kwasi Appiah or not".

He informed the committee that Cabinet was contemplating to put the youth sector of the ministry under the Employment and Labour Relations sector and pledged to improve the lots of the youth during the transitional period.

Mr Afriyie-Ankrah said what the youth needed was motivation and direction to enable them realise their potentials to propel them to greater heights.

He said young people need to have mentors and coaches who would give them direction and explained that already a $65 million grant had been received that would be used to provide jobs to about one million people.

Answering another question on whether the country could not tap the expertise of fishermen in swimming to win gold at the Olympic level, Mr Afriyie-Ankrah brought laughter to the conference hall when he told the committee that that could not be possible.

"Mr Chairman, swimming at the La Beach is different from that of sports. Our swimmers are good in the Atlantic Ocean but when you put them in the swimming pool; it will be a different matter".

The nominee said there was the need for the establishment or sports fund to finance the construction of sports infrastructure and promised to call for a stakeholders' meeting to see whether the idea could be feasible.

He gave assurance that in spite of the fact that he had been involved in the organisation of the NDC all these while, he would go about his duties diligently by being fair to all manner of people irrespective of their political inclinations.

Story by Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah

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