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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Minority boycott vetting; cites lack of planning

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The Minority members on Parliament’s Appointments Committee have boycotted the vetting of the final batch of deputy ministerial nominees.

They are staying away from the vetting because they say there is an attempt to stampede them into approving the nominees in rush and without due diligence.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News, Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu said it is no fault of theirs that the list of the ministers delayed, therefore the vetting should have been postponed until both sides were ready.

“The president was unable to act with urgency on the list…Now, we don’t get this early and we are not able to conduct any background and diligent check, it is not just for parliament to rubber stamp whatever referrals the president brings to Parliament.

“We are obliged to ensure that nominees satisfy the requirement of article 94 of the constitution, we assess their temperament and their suitability and understanding of policy.”

Mr Iddrisu said the House had agreed to postpone the vetting of the final batch to may and does not understand why, the Majority has suddenly changed its mind.

For him, this attitude of the Majority is a show of disrespect to the Minority and they are not impressed by the turn of events.

“We are being compelled and it is not done anywhere, so they do not have our cooperation going forward on this. No appointment committee since 1993 has done more numbers than we have.

“So we have worked very efficiently to support the president to constitute a government, but it should not be at the risk of a poor job. We are just protesting that their lack of planning should not be an emergency on our part,” he stressed.

Titus Glover 2017

Titus Glover

However, Member of Parliament for Tema East, Titus Glover has expressed surprise at the Minority’s decision.

Mr Glover, who is also a member of the Appointments Committee, said although the Minority had mentioned that it was uncomfortable with the arrangement, they could have compromised.

“When it was their turn, we did it for them so I don’t know why my colleagues on the other side are behaving the way they are. We are masters of our own rules and we can adjust as and when. I am surprised at their behaviour,” he said.

He urged the Minority members to return to the committee and assist in the vetting, otherwise, “we will do our best for the country.”

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