Author: Kwaku GhanaMPs

Parliament has approved the first batch of Ministers designate by President John Dramani Mahama following their successful vetting by the Appointments Committee.

The approval follows the Committee’s unanimous recommendation of Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam and Majority Leader; John Jinapor, MP for Yapei-Kusawgu; and Dr Dominic Ayine, MP for Bolgatanga East, for ministerial positions.

Parliament debated the motion for the approval of the nominees on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.

The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, presided over the session as the House debated the approval of the nominees.

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The New Patriotic Party Minority Members of Parliament on Tuesday, January 21, 2025 in the afternoon took to the chamber during proceedings to demand government action against what they described as increasing violence in the country.

The MPs were seen singing in the chamber as a form of protest, expressing their concerns over post-election violence and other disturbances in various regions.

MPs were singing one of the country’s patriotic songs, “Yen Ara Asaase Ni” [This is our land] on the floor, urging the government to address what they referred to as widespread violence across the nation.

The protest comes after a recent incident in Obuasi, Ashanti Region, where clashes between military personnel and local youth resulted in the death of nine civilians.

The violence erupted when the military attempted to prevent the youth from entering one of the mining concessions of AngloGold Ashanti, one of the country’s largest gold mining companies.

In addition to the Obuasi incident, there have been reports of state institutions being targeted following the December 2024 elections.

The NPP MPs have condemned these acts as undemocratic and are calling on the President to take immediate action to put an end to the violence and ensure peace across the country.

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The Greater Accra office of the Electoral Commission was besieged by some individuals disrupting the seventh attempt to re-collate the Ablekuma North constituency Parliamentary election result of 2024.

Some supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) damaged several louver blades at the EC’s office following the eruption of chaos at the office.

The EC is contemplating whether to continue with the re-collation of Ablekuma North parliamentary results following the invasion of the thugs at the centre.

The individuals claim the EC’s work is over, hence, the commission cannot carry on with any “dubious” exercise to declare the NPP candidate winner.

Currently, there is a legal tussle about the Ablekuma North election while the EC is also yet to re-collate results for some pink sheets.

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The Minority in parliament has registered their displeasure over happenings at the vetting of the first batch of three nominees of the President, John Dramani Mahama.

Dr. Gideon Boako, the Member of Parliament for Tano North who addressed the media on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 noted that the Majority side of the House exhibited behaviours at the vetting that were calculated to obstruct constructive and effective scrutiny of the nominees including the refusal to invite questions on the CVs as preliminary matters.

“The Chairman of the Appointments Committee was the first real obstacle to a diligent vetting of the ministerial nominees. He denied the Ghanaian people and the minority members of the committee the opportunity to conduct a thorough vetting of the nominees. He was protective of the nominees and extremely partisan.”

He thus noted that the altercation between the Minority side of the committee and the Chairman was a direct protest against his conduct. “Under the façade of a lack of capacity, he disregarded the fact that those he bullied were members of Parliament, and that the committee is a sub-body of the House. It cannot be right that members who are tasked by the Ghanaian people with oversight are denied the opportunity to scrutinize the nominees”, he added.

Dr. Gideon Boako asserts that the Chairman and the majority members of the Appointments Committee owe it to Ghana to assist them (Minority) in fulfilling the work entrusted to them by the Constitution; adding that, if the situation is not changed moving forward, they fear that an irreparable harm will be done to our democracy, with round pegs occupying square holes.”

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Member of Parliament for Tano North, Dr. Gideon Boako has set the record straight that the Minority side is only outlining the difficulties in the process leading to the vetting of the first batch of President John Dramani Mahama’s Ministers designate but not calling for their rejection.

According to him after the work of the Appointment Committee, the plenary has the mandate to take the final decision on the nominees.

Responding to a question during the Minority’s first-time MPs press conference on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 he noted that they are only putting their observation with some difficulties encountered during the vetting, and hoping that those mistakes will be corrected and the chairman of the Committee to also refrain from shouting on MPs at the vetting.

“It’s Parliament that can decide on whether it will reject a nominee when the report comes to the floor of the House for us to have a perfect vetting”, he noted.

Again, they believe the leadership of the Appointment Committee will take on board issues they have raised.

On the issues of why they did not boycott the vetting process considering the number of issues they raised, he said there are so many things that can occasion some actions; “we are there in the interest of the people of Ghana, we have to weigh the options; the problem we are talking about is not fatal to the process, as such there is no need to boycott. “We will make mistakes but it’s up to us to point it out to the leadership, the short falls do not necessitate boycott”, he added.

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The Minority in parliament has challenged the legality of the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) Committee sets up by the president in his quest to recover looted state resources, enforce accountability, and ensure good governance.

The Minority accused the Minister designate for Attorney General and Minister of Justice for justifying unconstitutional establishment, and putting together people who go about harassing former government officials.

Addressing the media in parliament, the Member of Parliament for Suame, John Darko said the Minority believes the establishment of the ORAL Committee violates or flies in the face of the constitution. “So one would have expected that a law professor in the person of Dr. Ayine would have condemned it; but rather he justified it”.

He asserts that the nominee’s justification of ORAL has put the work of the Police CID, EOCO, the Special Prosecutor and all constitutionally established bodies out of business.

According to him, no serious country will entertain anything such as this; adding that the development is concerning and they (Minority) want the people of Ghana to know.

He advised all ex-government officials to boycott any invitation by the ORAL team, saying, “We are not going to be part of it, because we believe that there are constitutionally established bodies that can investigate any so-called and misdeed of a government. What they are doing is to go about disturbing people, entering homes, taking vehicles, seizing vehicles, and more or less taking over lands from people who have genuinely purchased lands”.

He defended the actions of former appointees who have acquired properties saying “what the former government appointees have done is to acquire properties that legally they could acquire; no illegality has taken place”.

He also accused members of the new government of also buying state properties in the prime areas many years ago.

ORAL
The Operation-Recover-All-Loot (ORAL) is an initiative by President John Dramani Mahama in his quest to recover looted funds and public assets, punish perpetrators as well as make corruption unattractive to people especially government appointee.

On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, the president announced a five-member ORAL team to perform the following:

•Investigating Corruption Cases: Establishing a specialized task force to scrutinize suspected corruption cases under previous administration.

•Recovering Misappropriated State Resources: Prioritizing the retrieval of stolen state funds, property, and other assets for national development projects.

•Prosecuting Offenders: Committing to prosecuting individuals or entities found guilty of embezzling public resources, including members of the outgoing NPP government and serving as a deterrent to future offenders.

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