Adwoa's vetting was soft because of health considerations – Mahama Ayariga

The Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga, has defended the Appointments Committee’s soft vetting of Sarah Adwoa Safo, the Gender, Children and Social Protection minister-nominee.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, he said the committee did not stress her based on “health grounds”.

“Before she came, we discovered that she had just delivered and so naturally, we felt that somebody who has just delivered, maybe we should have postponed her vetting, and we didn't postpone it because we just got the information,” Mr. Ayariga explained.

He also said Adwoa Safo was a relatively “known commodity” to the committee.

“We tend to know her track record because she was a former member of the Appointments Committee. She was a leader of the House immediately preceding her most recent nomination.”

On why more questions on her previous portfolio as Minister of State for Procurement were asked, Mr. Ayariga suggested that she did not have much influence in that sector.

“We realised that there was no amendment to really bring the Procurement Authority under her mandate. It was still under the Finance Ministry, so it constrained us in terms of the areas of consideration.”

Also, on Eyewitness News, the Okaikwoi Central MP, Patrick Boamah, downplayed suggestions that the committee treated Madam Safo with kid gloves.

Despite her vetting running under an hour, Mr. Boamah said the quality of proceedings was more significant than quantity.

“It is not about the duration the persons spent with the committee. It is about the quality of questions we subject the nominee to,” he insisted.

He also reiterated the committee’s satisfaction with her track record.

“We were satisfied with her performance as a deputy leader and her ability to lead the House when the leader of the House was not around,” Mr. Boamah said.

—citinewsroom