Hot Race For Speaker

The early bird, they say, catches the worm and this may be an explanation to why political heavyweights within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are reported to be eyeing the position of Speaker of Parliament, even before dust settles on the debate on which party would form the Majority side in the next Parliament.

Among the leading names making rounds as the possible next Speaker include the current Speaker, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye; Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Paapa Owusu Ankomah; NPP National Chairman Freddie Blay and the highly respected Justice Jones Mawulom Dotse, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana.

Oquaye

Mike Ouaye, the current Speaker has been reported to have expressed an interest in maintaining his position as Speaker. Persons who support his ambition argue that there is no need changing a winning strategy and that ‘when it isn’t broken, no need to fix it’. They explain Mike Oquaye has demonstrated excellent leadership and fair balance in his dealings as Speaker.

Moreover, he is very well versed in parliamentary practice and has served his party well enough.

His proponents claim the position of Speaker is not the preserve of a single individual and that he has served his term diligently but should bow out in grace and make space for someone else to serve rather than hang on as though it was a birthright position 

Owusu Amkomah

His Excellency Papa Owusu-Ankomah Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom has his name also making the rounds.

He was MP for Sekondi Constituency and former Majority Leader. Indeed Owusu-Ankomah was an excellent Majority Leader who did very well. He was made Majority Leader at the age of 43 at a time his party had political heavyweights in parliament. Yet he did an excellent job. His trait was that he listened to divergent views and consulted broadly rather than behave as a stiff-necked ‘all knowing bossy dictator’.

Owusu-Ankomah is a founding member of the NPP and under President Kuffour, he served in several Ministerial positions including Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Minister for Interior, Minister for Trade and Industry as well as Minister for Education, Science And Sports.

He is a brilliant legal brain and founding partner of Owusu-Ankomah, Arvo-Mensah, Digba and Associates.

Blay

Frederick Worsemao Blay is former Member of Parliament for Ellembelle and the Current National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Blay has served as Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and also as First Deputy Speaker of Parliament. He was tipped to be appointed as Speaker but that never materialized. He is a revered legal brain and founder and lead partner of Blay and Associates.

During his tenure as Second Deputy and later as First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, he was largely seen as a ‘Daniel at Judgment’. Blay was seen as have a unique way of listening to all sides of the debate and steering affairs to reach a compromised position that appealed to all sides.

The politician in him made his operate an open-door policy and he became a very approachable Deputy.

Dotse

His Lordship, Justice Jones Mawulom Dotse until recently was a Justice of Ghana’s Supreme Court since he assumed that position in June 2008. In February of that same year, he had been sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court in Gambia.

Very Recently, Justice Jones Mawulom Dotse was widely tipped as the next Chief Justice and eyebrows were raised when another colleague of his was given the position.

His name has been mentioned in very high and key political circles of influence and said to be a favorite of the powers that matter at the Jubilee House.

Dotse has suffered a lot of attacks from persons who say he is a member of the NPP and add, without evidence that he was once upon a time a Regional Chairman of the party in the Volta Region.

Interestingly, since his name started popping up as one of the persons being considered for Speaker, there has been a turn around and now his critics say he is ‘not NPP enough’.

None has however dare say he is not fit for the position.

COMING UP WEDNESDAY

Why Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is a wrong choice for Majority Leader under the current permutation in Parliament. At best he should go seek a cabinet Ministerial Slot and make way for a breath of fresh air rather than his style that has resulted in avoidable walkouts boycotts and tension that could have been prevented through behind the scene negotiations and broad involvement Key MPs on his own side of the divide.