The Chairman of the Appointments Committee of Parliament and First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has said the approval of some of the President’s ministerial nominees, may be done through secret balloting.

He said the Minority’s refusal to support the approval process at the Committee level, will force a secret ballot when the report is presented to the House this week.

“Our recommendation will be that, the Majority says yes, the Minority says no. If we recommend approval by consensus, then, the decision is taken by voice vote. But when it’s recommended by a majority decision, then the report is adopted by a secret ballot.”
Joseph Osei-Owusu

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on February 7, 2023, nominated six members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to replace some outgoing ministers. They have subsequently been vetted by the Appointments Committee, awaiting approval by Parliament.

But the National Democratic Congress (NDC), had earlier directed the Minority Caucus in Parliament, not to approve the new ministerial nominees. The NDC, described the nominations as insensitive and that it would affect government spending in the midst of an economic mess, created by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

The NDC, in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey said: “the NDC has long expressed concern over the very large size of the current government and shares the views of most Ghanaians, including civil society, that it must be reduced bearing in mind the current massive economic mess the country has been plunged into by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.”

The NDC party, said it has appealed to the government and President Akufo-Addo, on numerous occasions to cut down on the number of appointees, but the President has remained adamant. It said the option available to the party to attempt to compel the President to cut down the size of his government, is to direct members of the party in Parliament to reject the nominees.

In The Next 2 Or 3 Parliaments; We’ll Not Have A Parliament, But A Boxing Ring

First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Joseph Osei Owusu, popularly known as Joe Wise, has raised concerns about how some members of Parliament conduct themselves in recent times.

According to him, there is a vast difference in the level of decorum between when he joined Parliament and now. He said that if this is not controlled, members of Parliament, will turn Parliament into a place that could be likened to a boxing ring in the near future.

“The level of decorum I observed when I joined [Parliament] and what observed today, there is a vast difference. If you ask me, it is a bad reflection on young people coming into the chamber. I am afraid that if we don’t curb it now, in the next two or three parliaments, we will not have a parliament; we will have a boxing ring.”
Joseph Osei-Owusu

He stated that the party has the responsibility to groom people to become their representatives in the NDC parliament, referring to the number of youth who have picked up forms to contest parliamentary seats within the NDC.

“Sometimes the parties even go out to recruit people who have not demonstrated that they have the intellectual and social capacity to be public officers: because they are popular, they can win the seat. That appears to be the only consideration that parties give to people who are going to contest the seats.
“The parties which have the responsibility to groom people before they become representatives – they are not doing anything. Unfortunately, it appears to me that those who are vile in their choice of language, those who are rude in their attitude towards their opponents and sometimes internal opponents, and those who can make the most catching comments about others are gaining more popularity, and they are being put in front.”
Joseph Osei-Owusu