Simon Osei-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, has stressed that soliciting for funds from international financial organisations will not be enough to execute the development agenda of the country.
Speaking at the inauguration of the first Ashanti Regional Youth Parliament in Kumasi on Monday, Mr Osei-Mensah explained that the country has the capacity to mobilise resources internally to propel the level of development the citizens desire.
The theme for the Ashanti Regional Youth Parliament’s inaugural seating was “The Ghanaian Taxation Systems and the Sustainability of Her Development”.
Returning to IMF
The Regional Minister disagreed with people suggesting that the country resort to International Monetary Fund (IMF) to fund its development programme.
According to him, building of a Ghana Beyond Aid goes beyond running from country to country and the International Monetary Fund for support to develop the country. He therefore stressed the need for the general public to be willing and ready to pay taxes than always depending on foreign donors.
“Do we want to say that our graduates should not be employed as we witnessed some ten years ago? Are we saying that we shouldn’t implement policies and programmes that will be beneficial to Ghanaians, but run to IMF?” he quizzed.
Mr Osei-Mensah said it is time to rethink the national conversation on engineering the kind of transformation the citizens desire.
“If we want this country to actually develop, why should we always run for loans whilst we have the capacity to generate revenues for development. Loans that we secure outside come with some unfavorable conditionalities that affect us in the long run,” he pointed out.
Advice
He encouraged the first Ashanti Regional Youth Parliament to enact laws that will enhance the development of Ghana, and also be active in the House, urging them to bear in mind that they are working for the people they represent.
“What you approve for us will determine the various projects and programmes that will be undertaken in the country. We don’t want to witness what is happening in the 8th Parliament. Why did they pass the Appropriations Bill? The mere approval of it means that government can go ahead and spend, and surprisingly a component of the Appropriations Bill now is an issue of dissent…,” he said.
He therefore advised members of the House to religiously apply the Standing Orders and the Constitution to settling disagreements. They should also ensure mutual respect in order to promote and protect the image of Parliament.
“We must not put the name of Parliament into disrepute. Let’s hear positive things that will uplift the name of the region. It is my hope that business in this House will be conducted in the most decent and parliamentary manner. The Speaker must steer the affairs of the House in a fair, neutral and unbiased manner. He must represent the sentiments of the House and not his views and ego,” the Regional Minister advised.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority(NYA), Pius Enam Hadzide, was confident that the House, under the unbiased and non-partisan leadership of the Speaker, would live up to expectation, conscientiously debate matters of youth and national development and take decisions that, hopefully, mirror the expectations of the youth of the region.
He explained that the NYA, in the performance of its function of developing the capacity of the youth of Ghana to participate in decision making at all levels, had designed and is rolling out these Youth Parliaments across the districts and regions.
Rufai Adams was elected as the first Speaker of the Ashanti Regional Youth Parliament
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