Nzema Youth Fight MPs

Kwaku Kwarteng   Related Stories   The youth of Nzema in the Western Region are up-in-arms against the five New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) who are allegedly pursuing an agenda to kick against the establishment of the Atuabo Freeport in the region. The five include Kwaku Kwarteng, Obuasi West MP; Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Takoradi; Joseph Cudjoe, Effia; Hawa Koomson, Ewutu Senya East and Kofi Brako, Tema Central. The MPs initially filed an application at the Sekondi High Court to have Clause 7 of the agreement establishing the port removed, claiming that the clause imposed an illegal restriction on the Takoradi port to expand its services. The high court, presided over by Justice Peter Kwabena Ababio, dismissed the case, explaining that the court could not interfere and overturn a decision taken by parliament as an independent body, in accordance with the Standing Orders of the House. The MPs, therefore, filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Cape Coast, but the application was again dismissed by the court, presided over by Justice Clement Hoenyenugah, stating that the application was defective, and subsequently struck it out. According to the Nzema youth, the persistence by the five MPs in pursuing the case from court to court to “delay or stop the establishment of the freeport is out of order.” Addressing a press conference at Anokyie in the district, Abizi Morkeh, president of Nzema Youth for Peace and Development (NYPD), added that it was worrying when projects such as the Atuabo Freeport, with the prospects of creating jobs and give meaning to the local content policy in the oil and gas sector, is being kicked against. “The Atuabo Freeport project will enhance our economic development therefore the agitations by the MPs tell us that their venture is just towards a destructive and bias partisan attack on the project,” he posited. “We want to know whether the five MPs were not in parliament when the commercial agreement about the Atuabo port was approved and passed. Don’t they have the right to challenge the decision reached by the majority members?” he queried. He stated, “The behaviour of the MPs if allowed can set a bad precedent where parliamentarians after a law is passed by the House, can turn around and go to court to challenge it.” He challenged the assertion that the construction of the Atuabo Freeport has the potential to thwart the operations of the Takoradi port, quoting the Director General of Ghana Ports and Habours Authority, Richard Anamoo, who had once stated that the Atuabo project did not pose any threat to the viability and survival of the Takoradi habour.       Source: Daily Guide