SIMCEL ONLINE

Parliament on Friday June 18th, 2021 adopted the Sixth Report of the Appointments Committee on Deputy Ministers-designate and approved twelve additional Deputy Ministers.

The report, which was laid in the House on Thursday June 17, 2021 was however amended, with the approval of Diana Asonaba Dapaah for the Office of Attorney-General and Justice, Gifty Twum Ampofo for Education and Amidu Issahaku Chinnia for Sanitation and Water Resources outstanding

This brings to a total of twenty four deputy ministerial nominees by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo who have been approved by Parliament for his second term in office.

The approval of the twelve appointees came after the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Joseph Osei-Owusu presented the Sixth Report of the Appointment’s Committee on the President’s nominees and moved a motion for the House to adopt and approve the Committee’s report.

The approved nominees include Andrew Kofi Agyapa Mercer for Energy, John Ntim Fordjour for Education, George Mireku Duker for Lands and Natural Resources, Kofi Amankwah Manu for Defence and Naana Eyiah Quansah for the Interior.

Others are Hassan Sulemana Tampuli who is a Deputy Minister-designate for Transport, John Ampontua Kumah for Finance, Frederick Obeng Adom for Transport and Mavis Nkansah-Boadu pencilled for Roads and Highways.

The rest are Evans Opoku Bobie for Youth and Sports, Mohammed Hardi Tufeiru for Food and Agriculture, and Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah for Health.

The list is the second batch to be approved out of forty nominees comprising a Minister of State and thirty nine Deputy Ministers-designate presented to the House.

The House has earlier on Wednesday June 16, approved the first batch comprising twelve of the forty Minister of State and Deputy Minsters-designate submitted to the House for vetting.

It failed to build consensus when question on the procedural motion for adoption of the Report, put on Thursday, resulted in equality and a subsequent head count called by the Speaker could not be undertaken by Clerks-at-the-Table due to Members’ disruption of the counting exercise.

The Minority MPs on the Appointments Committee drew the Speaker’s attention to the failure of the Report to capture the decision of the MP for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini to vote against the nomination of Gifty Twum-Ampofo as Deputy Minister-designate for Education.

According to the outspoken legislator, his decision to vote against the nominee was duly communicated to the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joseph Osei Owusu.

Detailing reasons for his decision not to support the approval of President Akufo-Addo’s appointee, Hon. Suhuyini expressed dissatisfaction with her handling of questions regarding a CDD’s Corruption Watch assessment of the last NPP parliamentary primaries.

According to the Tamale North MP, while Madam Twum-Ampofo had admitted to offering NPP delegates in the Abuakwa North Constituency with GH₵1500 and a flat-screen television each during the party’s primaries, she lacked candour and conscience when questioned at her vetting on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

Presenting the Committee’s Report to the House on Friday , the First Deputy Speaker and MP for Bekwai, Hon. Joseph Osei Owusu stated that, President Akufo-Addo submitted to Parliament, one (1) Minister of State and thirty nine (39) Deputy Ministers-Designate for consideration and approval in accordance with Article 78 Clause 1 to 79 Clause 1.

He said the Committee duly considered the President’s nominations for the Deputy Ministerial appointments and recommended their nomination for approval by consensus after ensuring that they met all constitutional provisions among other considerations.

The Committee, according to him, duly considered the President’s nominations for the Deputy Ministerial appointments and recommended them for approval by consensus

Minority Chief Whip Mohammed Murtala Muntanka who supported the motion for the approval of the nominees charged members of the public to respond to notice of memoranda published by the Committee on nominees ahead of their vetting to aid their work in ensuring that only persons fit for their nominated role are approved.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin accordingly put the question for a voice vote on the Committee’s report where he ruled that the nominees have been duly approved by the House and announced to communicate the House’s decision to the Presidency.

Credit: Parliament of Ghana