Fifth Parliament must be bi-partisan - Urges Francis Poku

Page 12: Daily Graphic, January 5, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE immediate past National Security Minister, Mr Francis Poku, has called on the fifth Parliament to allow bi-partisanship and consensus building to guide its discourse in the legislature.
He said in the last Parliament, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) agreed on consensus building and that sustained the national development agenda.
“I, therefore, expect that the fifth Parliament will be influenced by what happened in the last Parliament, particularly when I was the Minister for National Security to move the country forward,” he told the Daily Graphic from his London base.
Mr Poku said the need for the consensus should start with the choice of the Speaker of the House because whoever was chosen as the Speaker was crucial in generating consensus building in the House.
He said Ghanaians, particularly Parliament, should remember that the world was embroiled in financial crisis and the only way to attract and sustain investment in the country would depend on how “we promote consensus building, putting the national interest first and focusing on good governance”.
He stressed the need for the Professor Atta Mills administration not to pursue the path of vengeance since vengeance was counter-productive.
According to him, it was usual for new administrations to pursue the path of vengeance either directly or indirectly but “it is time that Ghanaians proved to the rest of the world that Ghana was in a class of its own”.
Mr Poku said he was convinced that Prof Atta Mills would identify the key socio-economic and political issues that needed to be addressed.
As to whether he still harboured political or public service ambitions, Mr Poku said “I have performed my part of serving the public and I have now dedicated my life to playing other roles in the church and the community I live in, both in Ghana and London, and will remain so”.
He said he had known both Prof Mills and Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo at the University of Ghana, Legon where they were colleagues and said he was convinced either of them would leave a positive legacy for this country and not do anything untoward.
Mr Poku advised Prof Mills against nervousness in his reign, particularly the early days of government which could see him make unnecessary changes in the public service, especially in the security sector.
“As a new administration, Prof Mills must keep his nerves and not embark on immediate changes which will not serve his interest and that of the state. I know he has his own team and even the rush for positions within the NDC could make him make changes which will not serve him,” he advised.