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Veteran journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has said that his understanding of the Parliament’s Appointments Committee’s work does not include approving or rejecting the people that President Nana Akufo-Addo has appointed to ministerial posts.
The editor-in-chief of the New Crusade Guide The newspaper said in a Facebook post that to the best of its knowledge, the Committee can only recommend ministerial candidates.
“The Appointments Committee does not have and cannot have the last word regarding the approval or disapproval process under Standing Orders! It can only recommend approval by consensus or majority decision of the plenary, ”he wrote.
His comments follow the decision of minority lawmakers on the Nominating Committee to reject three of Akufo-Addo’s ministerial nominees and suspend the nominations of five others.
Nominees for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto; Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah; and Fisheries, Hawa Koomson, were rejected.
The minority has also suspended the appointments of the designated Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu; The designated Minister of Communication, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful; Designated Minister of Attorney General and Justice, Godfred Dame, among others.
Attorney Stephen Kwaku Asare, aka Kweku Azar, commented on the development on Facebook, suggesting that the rejection of Kojo Oppong Nkrumah by the Nominating Committee was unfair and should be reversed by majority lawmakers.
In response to that Facebook post, Kwaku Baako said that his “research findings (so far) show that it is / was only once that he recommended ‘unanimously’ the total disapproval / rejection of a nominee to the plenary. Even then, some amendments had to be made to the Commission’s report in plenary. Not de jure. De facto yes, despite everything! Respectfully!!”
Below is a screenshot of their comments on the matter.
