The Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, has emphasised that the approval of Deputy Ministerial nominees vetted on Wednesday, February 26, does not require the votes of Minority members on the Committee.
His comments follow a boycott by the Minority side, which withdrew from the proceedings, citing concerns over what they described as unruly behaviour by the Chairman.
The vetting session, which was expected to be a routine process, took an unexpected turn when the Minority members staged a walkout.
Their decision to abstain from the proceedings raised questions about the legitimacy of the approval process, particularly regarding the constitutional requirements for decision-making within the Committee.
However, addressing journalists in Parliament, Ahiafor reassured the public and stakeholders that the absence of the Minority members did not undermine the Committee’s ability to approve the Deputy Ministerial nominees.
According to Ahiafor, the Appointments Committee operates under specific constitutional provisions that guide its decision-making processes. He pointed out that with 11 members constituting the Committee, a simple majority is needed to approve nominees.
Appointments Committee to begin vetting of Mahama’s deputy minister nominees today
His statement suggests that with at least seven members present, the Committee retains the necessary quorum to proceed with approvals, making the Minority’s absence effectively inconsequential in the decision-making process.
“And since the committee is made up of 11 members, 50 percent of 11, by my calculation and your calculation, is 5.5. But because we don’t have half human being, it is 6. And now that we are 7 in number, we satisfy the constitutional requirement under Article 104 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana to take a decision.”
Source: Citinews
