We’ll not be part of approval process for last 10 ministerial nominees - Minority Leader declares

The Minority Caucus in Parliament has said it will not take part in the approval process for the last 10 ministerial nominees who were vetted by the Appointments Committee last Friday.

The caucus said they walked out and were not part of the confirmation hearings for the last nominees following the Speaker’s directive for the process to be stopped.

The caucus claimed they walked away ahead of the vetting for the eight and, therefore, described their vetting process as a “nullity, illegality and otiose”.

Nominees

The nominees included the Minister of State in charge of Government Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu; the Ahafo Regional Minister designate, Charity Gardiner; the Savannah Regional

Minister designate, Be-Awuribe Issifu; the Western North Regional Minister designate, Wilbert Petty Brentum, and the Western Regional Minister designate, Joseph Nelson.

The rest were the Bono Regional Minister designate, Joseph Addae Akwaboa; the Bono East Regional Minister designate, Francis Owusu Antwi, and the Upper West Regional Minister designate, Puozuing Charles Lwanga. 

Nullity

Speaking to the media in Parliament yesterday, the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, said the Minority Caucus did not join the last vetting, a reason they would not be part of their approval at the plenary.

He said the decision of the Minority to proceed to vet the last nominees was in defiance of the directive of the Speaker for the committee to stop the vetting proceeding and for the Select Committee to reconstitute the committee.

“So, it is illegal, nullity and otiose and we cannot be part of it; we will make our position known on the House floor,” he said.

Speaker’s directive

Following the chaos that characterised the Appointments Committee process soon after the vetting of the Minister designate for Foreign Affairs, some MPs engaged in violent misconduct.

The Speaker then issued a directive to suspend four MPs and constituted a seven-member special committee to conduct a full-scale investigation into violent confrontations among MPs during confirmation hearings.

Arrogation of powers

But addressing the press yesterday, Mr Afenyo-Markin said the Minority Caucus had listened to every word and phrase the Speaker used and had come to the conclusion that he “grossly exceeded his jurisdiction and his mandate”.

The Minority Leader said Mr Bagbin “arrogated onto himself powers that he did not have”.

He emphasised that Orders 129 to 130 stipulated that, even where there were contempt proceedings which would trigger a breach of privilege and by extension the need for certain actions to be taken, a committee must be set up to look into the matter.

“On this occasion, Mr Speaker was dealing with disorderly conduct which took place at the committee level where the chairman of the committee had a mandate to deal with”.

“The Speaker now says that, on his own, he has suspended these members without hearing them,” he said.

The Minority Leader stated that the chairman of the committee did not communicate anything to the Speaker, neither did the Speaker invite “any of us in leadership for any discussions”.

In any event, he said, even where there was punishment, the rules of the House were clear.