Vetting of Ministerial nominees begins this week
Parliament forms standing committees
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 Jan 2001
The tussle for the loyalty of the
three members of Peoples National Convention (PNC) by the NPP and NDC heightened
on Friday in Parliament as both seek more loyalists to back their respective
causes.
So far the only CPP member, Mr
Freddy Blay, the first Deputy Speaker, and two Independents, Mr. Saddique
Boniface (Salaga) and Mr. Rashid Bawa (Akan) have declared that they would
associate with the NPP.
Members were debating the motion
for the acceptance of the report on the formation of the various committees of
the house.
The minority had stated that the
PNC members were their natural allies in the house since they were not part of
the majority party.
NPP, the majority party led by
their Leader Mr J.H. Mensah, opined that since the definition of 'majority" and "minority' as
contained in the standing orders of the house was ambiguous, the PNC members should
be left alone to decide where they want to belong.
"As far us we are concerned
the house should allow self identification in their case for the smooth and
proper organisation of the house."
Reacting to the Majority leader's
assertion, Mr Alban Bagbin, Minority leader said" the issue has not been
finalised."
The lack of an over-whleming
majority in Parliament makes it prudent for the majority to lure non-NDC
members into their fold. The NPP has 100 members while the NDC accounts for 92
members.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 Jan. 2001
The Appointments Committee of
Parliament will on Friday, January 26 begin vetting 12 people nominated for
ministerial appointments by President John Agyekum Kofuor.
A statement released from the
Office of Parliament entreats media houses to publicise the issue to enable the
public to send memos on the appointees to the committee.
There was "a give and
take" from the majority and minority sides when Mr J H Mensah, Majority
Leader announced that public hearing on the ministers designate would start on
Thursday, January 25.
Mr Asiedu Nketia (NDC Wenchi West)
said the time was too short for the public to contribute to the appointments
process and called for an extension.
Mr Kwamena Bartels ( NPP Ablekuma
East) countered that the last parliament sometimes had only 48 hours notice on
appointments before proceeding with vetting.
He said it was possible to vet
three nominees in a day as they had done in the past and that one week's notice
was too long.
Another minority member who
advocated for an extension was Mr Victor Gbeho, (IND Anlo) who said, "the
input of the general public is an essential part of the appointments
process" and therefore called on the majority side to allocate at least
one week for public reaction.
He said there could be flexibility
in the schedule in due course if the need arose.
Mr J.H Mensah said that the
timetable is in response to the Speaker's urge that "the clock should
begin ticking."
"We need a government as
quickly as possible to move things forward," he said. Those lined up for vetting
include Mr Joseph Henry Mensah, Minister of State designate and Leader of
Government Business, Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, younger brother of the President,
the Minister for Defence and Mr Yaw Osafo-Marfo, Minister of Finance.
Others are Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang,
for Foreign Affairs, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo Addo as Attorney General and
Minister of Justice, Mrs Gladys Asmah for Women Affairs and Mr Kwadwo Baah
Wiredu for Local Government and Rural Development.
The rest are Dr Kofi Konadu
Apraku, Minister designate for Trade and Industry, Major Courage Quarshigah
(Rtd) for the Ministry of Agriculture. Alhaji Yakubu Malik, Minister designate
for the Interior, Dr Kwaku Afriyie for the Ministry of Lands and Forestry and
Dr Dominic Fobih, Minister designate for Science and Technology.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 Jan. 2001
Parliament on Friday adopted the
report of the Committee of Selection, which formed 11 standing committees of
the House to enable it to begin its work.
Mr Joseph Henry Mensah, Majority
Leader laid the report and was seconded by Mr Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader.
The Committee of Selection ensured
that every Member of Parliament serves on at least one of the standing
committees in compliance with its standing orders.
Government Assurances Committee
was the only one, which attracted a prolonged debate as to whether each
chairman should come from the Minority or Majority.
In the second parliament the
chairman of that committee was from the Majority side and the retained members
of the House were not happy about its effectiveness.
The general view was that the
chairman of that committee should have been from the Minority who should act as
a watchdog on the performance of ministers and the government and how they
relate with parliament.
Mr Bagbin said the current
chairman should come from the Minority because it was an innovation adopted
from the Indian Parliament.
He said though members would
complain that the previous committee did not perform to their tastes yet there
was the need for the whole House to discuss the issue dispassionately and set a
precedent.
Nana Akufo Addo, MP for Abuakwa
and Attorney General designate said that the democratic precedent of the
chairman coming from the Minority would be an ideal situation.
It is a principle of democratic
practice, which must be given a new lease in the current parliament and not to
stick to something, which does not work.
He said he would not attribute the
non-performance of the previous committee to inefficiency, incompetence and
failure but what should be done to ensure the effectiveness of parliament,
which must be seen by all.
However, he said, the current situation should be maintained
to determine
whether the committee will
perform.
The Majority Leader summing up
said the leadership of the House will meet to revisit the issue.
GRi../
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