Minister designate for Trade and Industry, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah has denied questioning the quality of persons appointed into Ministerial positions by the late President John Mills.
He is said to have described the late President Mills’ Ministers as ‘team B,’ adding that qualified and experienced persons in the party had been neglected during the appointment process.
Taking his turn at the Ministerial vetting committee of Parliament, the Trade Minister-designate explained that his article which was published in the Daily Graphic in 2006 has been misinterpreted.
He said a careful analysis of the article will reveal that “Ekwow Spio-Garbrah has not said or written that all members of any particular government are team A or team B.”
According to him, he wrote the article “as a communications person will do” so his article was based on public sentiments aimed at drawing the attention of the Mills government.
“I was reporting what had been debated on radio stations and drawing the attention of my party and the government to what people were saying,” he clarified.
He maintained that his article was not an opinion piece saying, “I am not saying that I myself felt that way” but “by virtue of propaganda” the content of the article was politically distorted to “create the impression that this was my view.”
Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah also denied writing the article because he was not appointed to serve in the Mills government.
“…If it was because I was seeking an appointment, I think with all due respect…at the time it was written, I was the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO).”
He also disclosed to the vetting committee that he issued an apology to the government after realizing his article has been misinterpreted.
Asked whether the Mahama government has qualified individuals manning the various Ministries and organizations, the Minister designate answered in the affirmative.
Dr. Spio-Garbrah is a former Minister of Communications, a one-time Ambassador of Ghana to the United States and Mexico, Minister of Education, and Minister responsible for Mines and Energy.
He also served in the cabinet during the democratic regime of Jerry John Rawlings between 1994 and 2000.
