Kyei Mensah-Bonsu calls for reshuffled Ministers to be vetted

The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu says in ways to impprove every governance work, a chance should be given for Ministers, deputies who are reshuffled to head other Ministries to be vetted by Parliament.

To him, the practice when adhered to would see to the appointment of only competent persons and further gives room for questions to be answered on works done at the previous Ministry before heading elsewhere.

“If you are going to vet for competence, then if you are a Minister of Finance and the President wants to take you to trade, your competence in trade would have to be tested and then you would have to come back to Parliament to be vetted again. If we do that it will assist us in a very tremendous manner.

“Parliament should come together and fashion our own way of vetting, and if we send strong signals to the Executive that you cannot just be engaging in reshuffles, the President will have a thorough think through of the persons he nominates and I think that will improve our governance” he made this known in an interview with Citi News.

His suggestion comes ahead of the vetting of President Akufo-Addo’s Deputy Ministerial nominees.

The exercise, which will end on Tuesday, June 15, will begin at 10:00 am each day from today, June 2, 2021.

In all, 39 deputy Ministerial nominees were appointed under 24 portfolios.

Ten of the nominees are women.

The list also featured first-time Members of Parliament like Hassan Tampuli and John Ampontuah Kumah.

A number of Ministers also maintained their portfolios from President Akufo-Addo’s first term, including Abena Osei-Asare at the Finance Ministry, Mohammed Amin Adam, William Owuraku Aidoo at the Energy Ministry, Osei Bonsu Amoah at the Local Government, Decentralisation & Rural Development and Tina Mensah at the Health Ministry, among others.

In addition, a former deputy Minister of Finance, Charles Adu-Boahen, was also nominated as the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance.

The other nominees are Ama Pomaa Boateng, Communications and Digitalisation; Abdulai Abanga, Works and Housing; Moses Anim, Fisheries and Aquaculture Development; Kwaku Asante Boateng, Railway Development; and Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, Sanitation and Water Resources.

The rest are Mark Okraku Mantey, Tourism, Arts and Culture; Lariba Zuweira Abudu, Gender, Children and Social Protection; Bright Wireku-Brobbey, Employment and Labour Relations; Fatimatu Abubakar, Information; and Evans Opoku Bobie, Youth and Sport.

A statement from the presidency indicated that President Akufo-Addo is hopeful that, “just as was done for his Ministers, Parliament will, on a bi-partisan basis, expedite the approval of his Deputy Ministerial nominees, so they can join the government forthwith, and assist in the delivery of his mandate for his second term in office.”

Their approval will bring to 86, the total number of Ministers, Regional Ministers and Deputy Ministers serving in the second term of the President’s administration.