The Chairman of the Appointments Committee of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has said the approval of some of the President’s ministerial nominees may be done through secret balloting.
He said the Minority’s refusal to support the approval process at the Committee level will force a secret ballot when the report is presented to the House this week.
“Our recommendation will be that the Majority says yes, the Minority says no. If we recommend approval by consensus, then, the decision is taken by voice vote. But when it’s recommended by a majority decision, then the report is adopted by a secret ballot.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on February 7, 2023, nominated six members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to replace some outgoing ministers.
They have subsequently been vetted by the Appointments Committee awaiting approval by Parliament.
But the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had earlier directed the Minority Caucus in Parliament not to approve the new ministerial nominees.
The NDC described the nominations as insensitive and will affect government spending in the midst of an economic mess created by president Akufo-Addo and his Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
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The NDC in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, said: “the NDC has long expressed concern over the very large size of the current government and shares the views of most Ghanaians, including civil society, that it must be reduced bearing in mind the current massive economic mess the country has been plunged into by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.”
The party said it has appealed to the government and president Akufo-Addo on numerous occasions to cut down on the number of appointees, but the president has remained adamant.
It said the option available to the party to attempt to compel the president to cut down the size of his government is to direct members of the party in Parliament to reject the nominees.