The Appointments Committee of Parliament will today [Friday], January 20th 2017, begin vetting minister nominees appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Osafo Maafo, senior Minister nominee, will be the first to appear before the committee, which is also popularly referred to as Vetting Committee, followed by Kan Dapaah, who will head the Security Ministry.
Finance Minister-nominee, Ken Ofori-Atta, as well as nominee for Defense, Dominic Nitiwul, will all take their turns on the first day.
The committee will further sit on Saturday, January 21, 2017, to vet Attorney-General & Justice Minister-nominee, Gloria Akuffo, and Minister-nominee for the Interior Ministry, Ambrose Dery.
On Monday, 23rd January, 2017, the Committee will also vet Minister-nominee for Local Government & Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister-nominee of Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, Minister-nominee of Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and Minister-nominee of Energy, Boakye Agyarko.
Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Minister nominee for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, Education and Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Health, will appear before the Appointments committee on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.
In all, 36 nominees would be vetted.
Ahead of the vetting, security agency, Eagle Eye International, has called on Parliament to vet nominees for Defense, Interior and National Security in camera.
Eagle Eye argues that, information and security strategies that would be given out in response to questions asked them at the vetting committee might put the security of the country in jeopardy.
“We have watched carefully the vetting of Ministers and their Deputies in the past, and know how information is divulged during the process, in the quest of parliament to know the qualification, experience and strategies, the nominees intend to adopt to make their ministries stronger and more effective…It is a major security threat, in our view, to lay bare for instance, plans to make the strategies of our nation better. We may compromise the security of our country if we deliberately or involuntarily divulge some sort of information to those we are protecting the country from,” Eagle Eye International said in the petition.
Below is the full list of members on the Appointments committee:
Joseph Osei-Owusu (MP for Bekwai and First Deputy Speaker) – Chairman
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