Parliament to vet Amissah-Arthur August 6

Mr Kwesi B. Amissah-Arthur, Governor of the Bank of Ghana and President John Dramani Mahama’s Vice Presidential nominee would be vetted in public by the Appointments Committee on Monday, August 6.

Mr Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, Minority Leader said the decision was taken at the Committee’s meeting on Wednesday, after President Mahama had notified Parliament of the nomination.

He told the GNA in an interview that the Committee would begin considering the nominee at 0900 hours on Monday, expecting the process to end by 1400 hours, after which a report would be forwarded to the plenary session of Parliament for approval on the same day.

Mr Mensah-Bonsu said because of the expedient nature of a Vice President for the country, the Committee had decided to truncate the normal processes for vetting, beginning with advertising for the public to immediately start submitting their inputs and memoranda on the nominee to the Committee within five days, ending at 0800 hours on Monday,  August 6 instead of the mandated two-week period.

He said Office of the Vice President was an elevated position that should not be exposed to the public. However, the Committee would exercise circumspection when vetting the nominee.

“We know the mood of the country, so we would certainly do what is fitting and proper,” he added.

Mr Rashid Pelpuo, Deputy Majority Leader agreed that given the exigencies of the time, the country needed a Vice President urgently ‘to step in the shoes of the President if duty takes him elsewhere’.

“We want to cooperate with President Mahama to ensure he gets a Vice President to work with as soon as possible”, he said, adding that Parliament would accelerate the process in order not to violate the dictates of the Constitution and the Standing Order 172 (3) which mandates the House to vet the Vice Presidential nominee in public.

Source: GNA