The Chairman of the Appointment Committee of Parliament, Mr Joseph Osei- Owusu  has given a vivid account on why members of the Minority on the committee were absent on the day of the vetting  of  the deputy ministerial nominees for Local Government and Rural Development, Children and Special Protection, Sanitation and Water Resources as well as Justice.

Speaking on PM Express, he said members of the committee took a collective decision to sit on the day and denied claims that the NDC members had no knowledge of the sitting.

According to him, he was told by the Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu in the presence of the Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu that the committee was exempted from the holiday announced by the Speaker on June 10, to enable the MPs take part in the tree planting exercise under the President’s Green Ghana initiative and that prompted a decision by the committee later in the day to sit.

Joe Wise as affectionately called noted although, leadership of the NDC caucus  were not present at the time they took the decision to sit, the caucus was ably represented by five of its members with the Member of Parliament for the Odododiodoo Constituency, Mr Nii Lantey Vandepuje appointed as acting leader.

He also indicated the Deputy Minority Whip and Ranking Member of the Committee, Mubarak-Muntaka was also aware of the information adding he called him late in the evening over the issue and made known to him that they would not be present and true to his words they were absent.

 Joe Wise’s Account

He narrated the event this way on PM Express aired on JoyNews on Wednesday June 23, monitored by GhanaPlus.com.

 “You will recall that the committee advertised entire programme, the date and the nominees to be vetted on each of the days were fully advertised prior to the starting whole process of consideration.

However, on the Thursday, the day before Friday which we did the consideration which is in contention, the morning whiles at the appointment committee the minority leader informed me that Mr Speaker had decided that parliament should not sit the following day so we may have to reschedule those re have programme to appear before us on Friday. Within 15mins after he told me that the Majority leader also came to the committee meeting and I asked him about what I have heard from the Minority leader because nobody had informed the committee of that then the Majority leader said oh the appointment committee is exempted from this holiday and this was to the hearing of the Minority Leader.

But at the close of proceedings on Thursday I asked members we hold a meeting and take a decision as to what I have been informed in private and what we will do about that …….. I must confirm that at that meeting the Minority leader with the ranking member and the deputy, which is the chief whip had left the appointment committee meeting apparently traveling with Mr Speaker to see the Chief Iman but other members of the minority were at the meeting. When the two of them left, honourable Nii Lante Vandepuje was appointed as the acting leader and he sat through that meeting with us.

There were, I think four more from the minority side and five from my side and we all individually agreed in view of the fact that the nominees had people had invite that they are coming…. We agree to come. All of us, both sides of the house agreed to come.  Now subsequent to that around 7:30, the honourable minority chief whip, who is the deputy ranking member of the committee, called me that he had heard that we are going to sit on Friday and I said yes we met after the meeting and we all agreed to sit and he said the Minority Leader that is the ranking member had told him that he had told me not to sit and I said yes he suggested that Mr Speaker has granted a holiday so we should not sit but in his presence the Majority  leader said we are exempted and the committee itself decided that we will sit and he said well then yes they will not join that was around 7:30, the committee had closed and every member ad left and truly the Friday none of them came.

Minority walks out of debate on four deputy ministerial nominees

The Minority in Parliament on Wednesday, June 23 was reported to have walked out of a debate on four ministerial nominees for Local Government and Rural Development, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, Gender, Children and Special Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu, for Sanitation and Water Resources, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, and Justice and Attorney General, Diana Asonaba Dapaah.

According to them, they were not present during their vetting on June 11, the day set aside for tree planting under the President Green Ghana Initiative hence can’t be part of the debate for their approval.

They however, requested for a re-vetting of the four to enable take part in the process.