Future Vetting Will Be Carried Out By Specific Committees

The Speaker of Parliament has said the ministerial nominees will in the near future be vetted not by the Appointments Committee of Parliament, but by specific committees of the House.

Addressing some selected journalists in Accra Professor Mike Ocquaye said the House is working on proposals to have different committees for each ministerial vetting.

“If this happens, Foreign Affairs minister nominees, for instance, will be vetted by the Foreign Affairs committee with specialized members,” he stated.

He explained that the House is considering proposals to restrict each member of parliament to only one committee, as is done in other jurisdictions.

Professor Ocquaye said, “having a member of parliament on different appointment committees does not help us in doing our job well.”

He stated the leadership of both sides of the House has agreed to have some of the standing orders revised so the proposal on having one member on one committee can be implemented.

However, Member of the Appointments Committee Muntaka Mubarak says the leaders in the special committee has a separate proposal on the matter.

“The special committee has agreed that the house needs to change the structure of the appointment committee but not dissolve it completely,” he told Joy News.

The Asawase MP said, “we want the appointment committee to be reviewed to have five permanent members aside from the specific committee the speaker is proposing.”

“The five permanent members will be joined by the specialized committee to vet nominees. For instance, the education committee will join the appointment committee to vet the education minister,” he explained.