Joseph Cudjoe
The vetting of the Minister-designate for Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe, was temporarily halted yesterday after opposition MPs raised objection to the creation of the ministry.
The Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joseph Osei-Wusu (NPP MP for Bekwai) paused proceedings in the fifth minute when the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, called for the vetting to be suspended in demand for clarity of the status of the newly created Ministry of Public Enterprise.
According to him, the Ministry of Public Enterprises does not find space in the Executive Instrument (E.I.) 12 and the Civil Service Ministries Instrument 2021, and therefore objected to the committee going ahead to vet the nominee, who is also the NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Effia Constituency in the Western Region.
Haruna Iddrisu, a Ranking Member of the Appointments Committee, argued that “within the meaning of E.I. 12, there is no Ministry for Public Enterprises” and prevailed on the committee chairman to take some minutes to reach out to the President of the Republic to clarify the status of the ministry to them.
“Even if it takes until midnight for the correspondence from the President, we will wait but as we proceed, there is no Ministry for Public Enterprise and our hands are tied because we should be assessing him based on the role he is going to play,” the NDC MP for Tamale South stated.
Afenyo Counter
However, the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin (NPP MP for Effutu), who is also the vice chairman of the committee, retorted that the vetting of the nominee could proceed, arguing that the situation was not unique and unprecedented when compared to the appointment of Ministers-of-State working under the Presidency.
“I would want us to consider his nomination, not as one for the purposes of running a ministry,” the Effutu MP suggested.
But this did not go down well with Haruna Iddrisu, who threatened to abstain from the vetting process, saying “our side will just sit and observe whilst we wait for clarity and better particulars from the Presidency.”
“We do not intend to take part in further proceedings until we receive a satisfactory explanation from the Office of the Presidency,” he indicated.
The Committee Chairman, Mr. Osei-Wusu, in a response, said he could not go behind the Speaker of Parliament to request for clarity from the presidency on the matter and asked the committee to proceed with the vetting by way of ruling.
However, two other members of the committee, Patrick Boamah (NPP MP for Okaikoi Central) and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (NDC MP for North Tongu), suggested to the chairman for the committee to go in camera to do consultation in order not to strain the cordiality exhibited by both sides on the committee.
After back and forth, the cameras were taken off to enable the committee members to decide on the issues, and proceedings were resumed some 10 minutes later.
Earlier, the NDC MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga had asked the nominee to clarify his mandate of which Mr. Cudjoe indicated that he is to ensure that Public Enterprises and Corporations run efficiently and effectively so they would not become a drain on government finances.
According to him, the government has noted for some time now that those entities are run at a loss and that his ministry is to take steps to prevent future occurrences.
By Ernest Kofi Adu