News:
July 9, 2024
The Minority on the Appointment Committee has taken a swipe at their colleagues on the Majority side for breaching time-tested practices of the Committee, as they went ahead to vet Minister of State designate at the Ministry of Energy.
According to a statement issued by the Deputy Minority leader, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah there is a long-standing parliamentary practice that requires national circulation of information on memoranda from the public.
That is, the public ought to be given adequate time to submit memoranda to make representation; and the Minority is at a loss as to the rationale for the indecent haste on the part of the Majority, more especially as there is a substantive Minister of Energy, and the nominee is already a Deputy Minister at the sector.
Last week, it took a strong push back from the Minority to call off the vetting of the same nominee just a day after the referral by the Speaker to the Appointment Committee to ensure that the appointment was advertised.
The Minority wishes to serve notice that it will not be part of any hasty process deliberately designed by the Majority to deny the people of Ghana participation in the work of the Appointment Committee and Ghana’s democracy.
Consistent with the Minority’s earlier position, the Caucus will not participate in the vetting of any ministerial nominee that adds to the already bloated size of this Akufo-Addo/ Bawumia government.
Again, the Minority cannot support the President’s nomination for the Minister of State at the Ministry of Energy at a time when Ghana is going through very difficult periods, including crippling economic crisis, food insecurity, debt default, corruption, state capture and wasteful expenditures.
The Minority once again calls on President Akufo-Addo to downsize his government to signal to the people of Ghana that, at the very least, he is in tune with feedback and appreciates the challenges resulting from the bad economic policies of his government. It cannot be the case that whiles the government asks the people to tighten their belt; those in government would have no belt at all.
Under the circumstances, the NDC Minority Caucus cannot in good conscience participate in the vetting of yet another injury time ministerial nominee, he affirmed.
Ghanamps.com