Speaker Bagbin interacting with Stephanie Sullivan (R)
The Ambassador of the United States of America (USA) to Ghana, Stephanie Sullivan, has praised members of the Parliamentary Appointments Committee for the work they did in the just-ended vetting of 45 ministerial nominees of President Akufo-Addo.
According to the Ambassador, the manner in which the 26-member Appointments Committee subjected the nominees to a rigorous vetting process had “sent a strong signal that, the work of Parliament would no longer be business as usual, and that Parliament would now take its scrutiny duties very seriously.”
The ministerial nominees of President Akufo-Addo’s second tenure were thoroughly screened, after numerous checks had been built into the process, to meet all requirements. This had resulted in a rigorous (mostly hours-long) process for some of the nominees who are currently Members of Parliament (MPs).
The vetting ensured that if, at any stage, there was any lingering doubt about the educational background, history, affiliations with a business entity, identity, or about the credibility of the nominee, that individual did not get approved.
Ambassador Sullivan made the observations when she called on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to congratulate him on his ascension to the Speakership position; during the courtesy call, the two spoke about a number of issues, centered on development, health, agriculture and the environment.
The Parliamentary Service, in a press release, revealed that the US Ambassador had also spoken about the need for strong bilateral trade relations, and had referred to an earlier statement made by the Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, which pointed to the need for strengthening the private sector, seen as the engine of growth.
The statement added that Speaker Bagbin had also expressed gratitude for the good relations existing between Ghana and the United States, and had also made reference to the fragility of Ghana’s democracy.
The release further indicated that Mr. Bagbin also had said that a critical look at the country’s political make-up pointed to a direction that Ghanaians were no longer interested in partisan politics, and that they expected the two main political parties; the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), to put the interest of the country first, and to collaborate more for the ultimate good of the country.
It revealed further that the Speaker had also emphasised the need for accountability to be made a key ingredient in Ghana’s forward march, and exhorted the political class to be mindful of this.
Speaker Bagbin had again spoken about the need to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Legislative branch of Government, the statement said, intimating that Mr. Bagbin had reiterated the need for offices to be allocated to MPs in their constituencies so as to facilitate their work.
The statement further said that the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu had also spoken about the benefits that could inure from the numerous programmes of knowledge exchange between Ghana and the USA. He had also called for improved trade relations between the two countries, as well as the strengthening of the private sector.
The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, had also talked about the need for the USA to take a second look at indicators used in measuring child labour and child trafficking, in order to put the phenomenon within its proper context.
Iddrisu was of the view that assistance rendered by Ghanaian children to their parents and relatives in their economic endeavours, was always misconstrued as ‘child labour’.
The Speaker was assisted by the Second Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Wusu. The two Leaders of the House and the two Deputy Whips, the Clerk to Parliament, as well as some members of staff of the Parliamentary Service, also graced the occasion, the release concluded.
By Ernest Kofi Adu