Parliament has approved all the 16 regional ministers-designate to complete the 45-member appointees of President Akufo-Addo vetted by the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
The newly approved regional ministers are Kwabena Okyere Darko- Mensah, Western Region Minister; Henry Quartey, Greater-Accra Regional Minister; Seth Acheampong, Eastern Regional Minister; George Boakye, Ahafo Regional Minister; Simon Osei-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister; Justina Owusu-Banahene, Bono Regional Minister; Kwasi Adu-Gyan, Bono East Regional Minister; and Justina Marigold Assan, Central Regional Minister.
The rest are Shani Alhassan Saibu as Northern Regional Minister; Joshua Makubu as Oti Regional Minister; Saeed Muhazu Jibril as Savannah Regional Minister; Stephen Yakubu as Upper East Regional Minister; Yidana Zakiria as North East Regional Minister; Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih as Upper West Regional Minister; Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa as Volta Regional Minister; and Richard Obeng as Western North Regional Minister.
The Appointments Committee by consensus recommended to the House for approval all the 16 appointees after being vetted by the committee
The nominees of President Akufo-Addo for ministerial and regional ministerial appointments were communicated to Parliament on January 22, 2021 in pursuant to Articles 78 (1) and 256 (1) of the Constitution of Ghana.
A total number of 46 names comprising 30 ministers of state and 16 regional ministers designates were submitted to the committee for consideration and recommendation to the House.
Presenting the committee’s report on the 16 regional ministers-designate for approval by the plenary, the chairman of the committee, Joseph Osei-Owusu, said that the committee principally relied on the1992 Constitution, the Standing Orders of the Parliament and the Curriculum Vitae (CV) of the nominees as documents during its deliberations.
According to Mr. Osei-Owusu, who is also the First Deputy Speaker, in furtherance of Order 172 (3) of the Standing Orders of the Parliament, the names of the nominees were published in newspapers with national circulation for the attention of the general public.
“The committee also through the publication, requested memoranda in respect of the nominees from the general public,” he said, adding that the committee subsequently sought and obtained confidential reports in respect of the nominees from the Ghana Police Service and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB).
“The committee also requested and obtained Tax Status Reports on the nominees from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA),” he noted.
He narrated that the committee thereafter held public hearings to consider the nominations, with each nominee subscribed to the Oath of Witness before proceeding to answer questions posed by members.
The questions, the chairman submitted, were related to their CVs, eligibility, competence and issues about the offices for which they had been nominated for.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House