Parliament forms Appointments, Business committees

Parliament on Wednesday adopted the report of the Committee of Selection and approved membership of the Business and Appointments Committees.

Mr Benjamin Kumbour, Majority Leader, Member of Parliament (MP) for Nandom chairs the 20-member Business Committee while Mr Alfred Kwame Agbesi, Deputy Minority Leader and MP for Ashiaman will serve as Vice Chairman.

Minority Leader Mr Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu and Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Dominic Nitiwul are the Ranking and Deputy Ranking members respectively to the Business Committee.

The 26-member Appointments Committee is to be chaired by First Deputy Speaker of Parliament who is also the Cape Coast North MP, Mr Ebo Barton-Odro. Mr Alfred Kwame Agbesi, Deputy Minority Leader will serve as Vice Chairman.

Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu and Deputy Minority Leader, Dominic Nitiwul are the Ranking and Deputy Ranking members respectively to the Appointment Committee.

Both Committees are expected to plunge into serious business as soon as they begin sittings.

Information available to the Ghana News Agency indicates that the Committee of Selection was guided by the formula adopted by the House for the composition of Committees, Groups and Delegations.

It was also guided by article 103 of the Constitution and Standing Order 154 of the legislature that required that such arrangement reflected as much as possible, different shades of opinion in Parliament.

Meanwhile, the House has urged the Majority Leader to inquire from the Presidency and furnish it with the names of the care-taker ministers who have been directed by the President to remain in office until substantive ministers are appointed.

The Speaker Mr Edward Doe Adjaho noted that it was important for Parliament to know which of those Ministers whose tenure had expired had been asked to stay on in caretaker positions, for the house to know who to deal with.

This was after MP for Akropong, Mr William Ofori Boafo had raised the issue, stating that the directive from the Presidency for the ministers to hold unto office temporarily should have been by appointment put into writing and not through a directive.

The Presidency also asked Regional Ministers, non-career Ambassadors and High Commissioners appointed by the President to continue in office in a caretaker position.

Source: GNA