Parliament has approved the second batch of the President’s nominations for Deputy Ministerial appointments without three nominees.
The House on Friday, June 18, 2021 approved twelve Deputy Ministerial nominees, leaving out three outstanding to be considered in a separate report at a later date.
The three nominees including Gifty Twum Ampofo, Deputy Minister Designate for Education; Amidu Issahaku Chinnia; and Diana Asonaba Dapaah were deleted from the Appointment Committee’s report before approval because the Minority members on the Committee pulled a protest on them to be excluded until further consultations.
The approved list of Deputy Ministerial nominees include: Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, Deputy Minister-Designate for Energy; John Ntim Fordjour, Deputy Minister-Designate for Education; George Mireku Duker, Deputy Minister Designate for Lands and Natural Resources; Kofi Amankwah-Manu, Deputy Minister Designate for Defence; Naana Eyiah Quansah, Deputy Minister Designate for Interior; Hassan Sulemana Tampuli, Deputy Minister Designate for Transport; and John Ampontuah Kumah, Deputy Minister Designate for Finance.
The rest are: Frederick Obeng Adom, Deputy Minister Designate for Transport; Mavis Nkansah-Boadu, Deputy Minister Designate for Roads and Highways; Evans Opoku Bobie, Deputy Minister Designate for Youth and Sports; Mohammed Hardi Tufeiru, Deputy Minister for Designate for Food and Agriculture; Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah, Deputy Minister Designate for Health.
Before the Presentation of the Sixth Report of the Appointment Committee on the President’s nominations for Deputy Ministerial Appointments, the Chairman of the Committee, Joseph Osei-Owusu informed the House that, “after a meeting this morning, we have agreed that the nominees on whom there is no agreement would be removed from the report. We would take the rest of the report and the issue relating to her, we would further consult.”
This was with respect to the approval of the nomination of the Deputy Minister Designate for Education, Gifty Twum-Ampofo, whose approval was opposed by a Member of the Committee, Alhassan Suhuyini and subsequently the Minority Caucus on the Committee. The reasons for the opposition have not been made available officially. However, unofficial sources have it that the nominee was not candid with the Committee regarding some things that happened in the internal elections of her party.
The Minority further raised another protest against the other two nominees, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia and Diana Asonaba Dapaah whose approval have been put on hold.
According to the Minority, they could not participate in the vetting of these two and therefore can not take part in their approval. It would be recalled that the Speaker granted leave to Members of Parliament to participate in the Greening Ghana Project in their constituencies and yet these two nominees were vetted in their absence.
Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com
