Mrs Evelyn Ama Kumi-Richardson
Mrs Evelyn Ama Kumi-Richardson

Parliament vets more ministers designate

The credibility of the CV of Mrs Evelyn Ama Kumi-Richardson, the Regional Minister designate for the newly created Bono Region, was questioned when she appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament.

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, sought more clarification of her educational qualifications by questioning her about the reason for the ommission of her doctorate title from the brief CV she presented to the committee.

“The records you’ve provided suggest that you are Mrs Evelyn Ama Kumi-Richardson, but prior to this all media reports about you have Dr Kumi-Richardson, so where’s your PhD and why has it vanished today?” he asked.

Doctorate title

The third minister designate to appear before the committee last Friday to respond to questions about herself and the new portfolio she had been nominated for failed to mention her doctorate title as captured in the media.

However in her response, Mrs Kumi-Richardson explained that she attained the certificate from an international university; the Mossbrige University.

After using the tittle for sometime, she realised that the Ghana Accreditation Board had to approve her new status before she could use it in Ghana, hence the decision to temporarily drop it.

“Chairman, it is true I completed a PhD programme but I submitted my certificate for evaluation at the National Accreditation Board.

Before then I was being addressed as such but later on I realised that I needed to get the accreditation before I could hold the title so I’ve not received a response yet, for which I’m still waiting,” she said.

She added, “The school I attended is not in Ghana and so when I brought my certificate, I had to submit it to the accreditation board in Ghana here for it to be certified….it is going through validation.”

Not captured

Mr Ablakwa further probed why the course she had indicated on her CV- Master of Business Administration (Hospitality and Hotel Management) - had not been captured on the university’s website.

“The courses provided by the school’s website do not include the Masters of Business Administration (Hospitality and Hotel Management) which had been indicated in your CV,” he said.

To make clarifications, however, she produced a copy of the school’s certificate she had earned to the committee.

Luck was, however, on the part of the Minister designate for the Upper West Region, Dr Hafiz Bin Sali, who was the last person scheduled to appear before the committee.

The minister designate appeared to have had a goodwill from both the majority and the minority sides of the committee who did not find anything wrong with his CV.

Frequent conflicts

Dr Sali told the committee that due to the frequent conflicts in the Upper West Region, he had come up with a concept where all leaders would be mobilised in order to bring a lasting solution to the conflict.

He said under the concept, he would tap into the expertise and knowledge of all stakeholders, especially the traditional rulers and opinion leaders, irrespective of their political affiliation, in order to accelerate the development of the new region.

The Member of Parliament for Wa West, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, said he was happy that he was going to involve all political actors to curb the conflict for the quick development of the new region and advised him not to just talk but pay homage to all.

Background

At the vetting, the nominees were expected to answer questions bordering on their educational background and work experience.

The committee members would also solicit answers from the nominees in relation to the policy direction they would be proffering for their respective ministries.

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