The Minority Hon. Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has finally spoken out about the events that led to tensions at the Appointments Committee, shedding light on procedural inconsistencies and the role of the parliamentary clerk in the controversy.
Afenyo-Markin began by emphasizing the crucial role played by the clerks in Parliament. According to him, clerks are expected to be neutral and facilitate fair procedures for both the Majority and Minority.
However, he claimed that in recent times, the conduct of the clerk to the Appointments Committee had deviated from these principles. Drawing from his past experience as a Majority Leader, he recalled;
“This same clerk to the Appointments Committee will insist that until the Minority sees a report, she would never ever sign. I ran through a lot of difficulties. There were times I would call her into my office, plead with her that look, the Minority was being unreasonable, and government business was delaying. She would say no. If you want to put pressure on her, she will go to the Clerk to Parliament.”
Hon. Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin Minority Leader
However, he noted a shift in her approach now that the NPP is in opposition, suggesting a double standard in how reports were handled.
Afenyo-Markin raised concerns about how reports from the vetting process had been handled, noting that he had not been granted the opportunity to review them before they were presented on the floor of Parliament. He added;
”I keep my calm. Look, I’m a very patient man. Sometimes people don’t get to know me. But with time, those who know me know who I am. I hardly get upset. I would keep my calm until I realize that the person is taking me for granted.”
Hon. Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin Minority Leader
He revealed that he had persistently raised the issue with the clerk, but his concerns were dismissed. He added;
“Even the chairman of the committee was complaining. The chairman would ask, ‘Clerk, I thought you’ve given it to the Minority Leader?’ And she would say, ‘oh, I sent one of my boys‘. And the people she claims she has been sending would say, oh, they have not seen me, and it’s not as if I am not in Parliament.”
Hon. Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin Minority Leader
Parliamentary Diplomacy
Afenyo-Markin recounted a specific incident involving Hon. Armah-Kofi Buah in which a party directive required a secret ballot due to his past actions against President Akufo-Addo. Through negotiations led by Mahama Ayariga, an agreed apology text was drafted and submitted to the clerk for inclusion in the final report. He only discovered the issue while watching proceedings from his office. He disclosed;
”I realized that Buah’s report was being taken. So, I rushed to the chamber and had to stop my respected colleague Boamah. I drew the Speaker’s attention and noticed that the report had already been signed.”
Hon. Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin Minority Leader
According to Afenyo-Markin, this incident nearly put his credibility at risk within his party. The Minority Leader argued that the parliamentary clerk had been taking unilateral decisions without consulting him or even the Chairman of the Appointments Committee.
He also alleged that the clerk had been sending out invitations to nominees for vetting without proper time notification to the Minority Leadership. This, he said, created unnecessary confusion and embarrassment for the Minority caucus. He explained;
“She would wait till midnight, then she would put on the platform that such number of persons are coming for vetting. Look, I have my side. People must prepare. And then MPs will think that oh, maybe the leader has had some negotiations with the other side without telling us.”
Hon. Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin Minority Leader
Afenyo-Markin described the final straw that led to his outburst during the committee proceedings.
“In the morning, my deputy was the one who sat in the preceding meeting. And he relayed to me that, leader, we’ve agreed to do three nominees today. By the time we finished at three, our colleagues reached out to us that they wanted one more to make it four. We said no problem.”
Hon. Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin Minority Leader
However, after the fourth nominee, the Majority requested the vetting of the Transport Minister-designate due to the presence of his chiefs. The Minority agreed, thinking that was the final session for the day. This situation, he said, led to the confusion that ensued.
Parliamentary Reforms
In his final remarks, Afenyo-Markin reiterated his commitment to due process and fairness in parliamentary proceedings. He urged for reforms to ensure clerks uphold neutrality and adhere to parliamentary practices. He reiterated;
“I don’t just get up and react. If you talk to MPs, go to Parliament, talk to MPs quietly, do a check on me, they will tell you that Afenyo is very accommodating. He’s a very patient man. But don’t take me for granted.”
Hon. Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin Minority Leader
He emphasized that his actions were not borne out of personal grievances but rather a desire to maintain the integrity of Parliament’s procedures.
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