Dr. Nduom gets the nod at last

Dr. Kwesi Nduom, the President's nominee for the portfolio of Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation, on Wednesday attracted doses of criticism and sympathy in Parliament before getting the nod of the house.

The management consultant had the misfortune of attending upon the Parliamentary Appointment Committee twice and on each occasion he was grilled for well over an hour.

The 26-member committee said it had to clear doubts about his personal integrity, tax filing and execution of consultancy contracts, which have been largely interpreted by some members of Parliament and a section of the media as a "pure case of intimidation".

Mr Freddie Blay, First Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Committee, who moved for the approval of the last set of nominees, including Dr Nduom, told the house "we had to understand the situation very well and we worked as a committee".

Mr Kosi Kedem (NDC-Hohoe South) opined that Dr. Nduom was unnecessarily subjected to harsh scrutiny by the committee and blamed the NPP for the nominee's frustrations "because some of them do not want him there".

He asked that if the minister ever had problems reconciling the CPP's ideology with that of the NPP, he should not hesitate to quit.

Mr Doe Adjaho, Minority Chief Whip, said the committee should have invited the authors of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) report on Dr Nduom, which was the main source of speculations and doubts about the nominee's integrity.

"I think the Committee was unfair to the nominee. The committee had every right to summon all relevant persons and bodies because it has the power of a High Court."

Mr Sallas Mensah (NDC-Upper West Akyem), who chose to be a critic, had to struggle through interventions and heckling before finally, with the Speaker's protection, making his point.

He said Dr Nduom's claim that he took a job in his own name and transferred the fee into his company's account was not accurate.

"Mr Speaker, this has never been the practice in Deloitte and Touche. I have worked in that company before. Now, people are asking questions on the Internet about what Dr Nduom said."

Dr Nduom had told the committee that he bid for a consultancy work at the State Enterprises Commission in his name and paid the fees into his company's account.

The assemblyman for Elmina was not in the house on Wednesday but he will surely heave a sigh of relief after seeing the end of perhaps the most trying and anxious moments of his life.