By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The First Deputy Speaker and Member of Parliament (MP) for Akatsi South constituency in the Volta Region, Mr. Bernard Ahiafor has been selected as the chairman of Parliament’s Appointments Committee.
Mr. Ahiafor, being the First Deputy Speaker, became the automatic chairperson of the committee per the Standing Orders of Ghana’s Parliament. This came to the fore when the House approved the composition of the Appointments Committee, which will oversee the vetting of presidential nominees for key government positions.
The Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, will serve as the Vice Chairperson, while the Minority Leader, Mr. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, will act as the Ranking Member, with Madam Patricia Appiagyei serving as the Deputy Ranking Member.
The task assigned to the Appointments Committee is to vet and recommend to the Committee of the Whole the approval or otherwise of persons nominated by the President for appointment as Ministers of State, Deputy Ministers, and other positions outlined in the Constitution or relevant laws.
Speaking on the report of the committee on the composition of the Appointments Committee in parliament on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, the Majority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, noted that “The committee respectfully recommends to the house to adopt this report and approve the membership of the appointment and business committee as composed and recomposition of the committees of selection based on the ratio of 183 to 88. Mr. Speaker, I shall submit.”
