Minority boycotts vetting of Herbert Krapah
The Minority in Parliament has boycotted the vetting of Herbert Krapah as the Minister of State at the Energy Ministry.
According to the Minority, 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 Appointments Committee and Ghana’s democracy.
Consistent with the Minority’s earlier position, the Caucus said it will not participate in the vetting of any ministerial nominee that adds to the already bloated size of this Akufo-Addo/
Bawumia government.
The NDC MPs slammed the Majority side for what it described as the latter’s attempt to short circuit and circumvent the due process required in the vetting of the President’s nominee for the position of Minister of State at the Ministry of Energy.
“Long-standing parliamentary practice requires that persons nominated for appointment by
the President shall be published in a newspaper of national circulation to inform, request
memoranda or representation from the public.
“This ordinarily means that the public ought to be given reasonable notice and adequate time to submit memoranda or make representations to the Appointments Committee.
These requirements have totally been breached. The Minority is at a loss as to the rationale
for the indecent haste on the part of the Majority, particularly as there is a subsisting
Minister of Energy and the nominee is already a Deputy Minister of Energy,” a statement signed by Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah said.
It added: “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 Appointments Committee to ensure that the appointment was advertised.”
Below is the full statement
MAJORITY BREACHING TIME-TESTED APPOINTMENTS COMMITTEE PRACTICE FOR
MINISTER OF STATE DESIGNATE AT THE MINISTRY OF ENERGY
The Minority Caucus has taken note of indecent attempts by the Majority side to short
circuit and circumvent the due process required in the vetting of the President’s nominee for the position of Minister of State at the Ministry of Energy.
Long-standing parliamentary practice requires that persons nominated for appointment by
the President shall be published in a newspaper of national circulation to inform, request
memoranda or representation from the public.
This ordinarily means that the public ought to be given reasonable notice and adequate time to submit memoranda or make representations to the Appointments Committee.
These requirements have totally been breached. The Minority is at a loss as to the rationale
for the indecent haste on the part of the Majority, particularly as there is a subsisting
Minister of Energy and the nominee is already a Deputy Minister of Energy.
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 Appointments 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
Appointments 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 while 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.
***END***
EMMANUEL ARMAH-KOFI BUAH, MP
DEPUTY MINORITY LEADER
Source: Adinkraradio.com
