The Appointments Committee of Parliament, according to Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, has no authority to disqualify any ministerial candidate.
On Tuesday, March 2, he told TV3’s Dela Mishel on the Mid Day news that the plenary has the authority to disqualify a candidate.
His remarks come after three of President Akufo-ministerial Addo’s nominations were rejected by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmakers on Parliament’s Appointments Committee.
They are Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister-designate for Information, Mavis Hawa Koomson, Minister-designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister-designate for Food and Agriculture.
The NDC MPs shared their disappointment with the responses these nominees got during their vetting.
They charged Mr. Oppong Nkrumah, the Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi, with lying in his responses.
“The Committee does not have the power to disqualify anyone,” said Mr Kyei Mensah Bonsu, who is also the candidate for Parliamentary Affairs. The authority is vested in the plenary, so it is vested in the plenary. Some questions have been raised about some of the candidates, according to what I’ve read. They’re asking five of them, I’m told, to send more and better information on some of the responses they gave, so it won’t be a rejection. In the case of three others, they say it might be difficult for them to approve of them. It should not be reduced to a personal concern if you find it difficult to approve of them. It should be focused on the rule. What does the law say about this? The law on ministers of state is based on Article 78 of the Constitution, which specifies that “the President shall nominate ministers of state.”
“The qualification requirements which say that a minister shall otherwise qualify to be a member of parliament is set out in Article 94,” the MP for Suame added. As a consequence, that is what you can try to affirm or deny. Unfortunately, in Ghana, the focus of vetting is not so much on a person’s professional competence for a specific ministry. Provided that the president has the authority to reshuffle candidates without forcing those who have been vetted to return to parliament to resubmit themselves.
“I’ve told my colleagues that if an individual is nominated for the Ministry of Finance and the president moves him to the Ministry of Environment or the Ministry of Health the next day, will he send it to parliament again? Sadly, this does not occur in our part of the world. As a consequence, we generally identify with the general qualification.”
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SOURCE: ATLFMNEWSONLINE
