The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Minority Caucus will participate in the vetting of the President’s Ministerial nominees but will not subscribe to a consensus vote at the level of the Appointments Committee.
Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minority Leader, addressing a press conference in Accra on Monday, said this would ensure that the matter was brought before the full House for a vote to be taken in secret.
“We, in the Minority wish to make it clear that we remain committed to ensuring greater scrutiny and will spare no effort to protect the public purse,” he said.
“In line with this, we are taking part in the vetting process so that at the very minimum, we can scrutinize the President’s decision in bringing up those nominees.”
The press conference was held on the back of a directive from the NDC leadership that the party’s parliamentary caucus should not approve the President’s ministerial nominees.
The party attributed its decision to the economic hardship Ghanaians were facing and the large size government.
Dr Forson said Ghana was currently going through the worst “economic times; stating that six years of economic mismanagement by the Akufo-Addo regime had rendered life unbearable.
“Many people struggle to afford even one meal a day. The situation in respect of feeding in Senior High Schools across the country is even more disturbing,” he said.
He added: “We are burdened with unsustainable debt. Currently, standing at over GH¢600 billion representing about 103 per cent of our gross domestic product (GDP), this is the highest level of indebtedness in the 4th Republic”.
He noted that pensioners who depended on the little they got from bond proceeds have been compelled in an unprecedented move to stage publicly protest against the callous attempt to shortchange them after decades of devoted service to our country.
Dr Forson said 17 banks and over 80 per cent of insurance companies might be on the verge of collapse because of this ill-conceived Debt Restructuring Programme.
He said all these suffering and pain were because of the gross economic mismanagement by the Government in whose hands Ghanaians entrusted the public purse.
He said in the midst of an economic crisis of such magnitude, there was the need for a reduction in the size of the Government.
“In Unison, Ghanaians have called for a reduction in the size of government, which is a major guzzler of public funds,” the Minority Leader said.
