Drama unfolded in a meeting between members of the Minority and their colleagues from the Majority in Parliament who serve on the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
This was after the Minority Members of Parliament (National Democratic Congress MPs) openly chastised the Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, over what has emerged as his secret move at inviting the new Supreme Court nominees for vetting at a time that was not agreed on by the Committee.
In audio recordings acquired by GhanaWeb’s Parliamentary Correspondent, Nimatu Yakubu Atouyese, during the meeting of the MPs on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, members of the Minority took turns to express their disappointments in the Majority Leader.
Mahama Ayariga, one of the MPs who first expressed his disappointment at this move, wondered why there was such a rush by the majority to have the nominees vetted.
“Leader, we were here yesterday, we had a meeting at which we discussed this matter and said we do not want to embarrass these judges. It’s a new Appointments Committee. Notice was served to the nominees to come without us having had a meeting – no meeting. Notice was served to the public to produce memos with no meeting.
“Then yesterday, we met and said what is the rush? We have a lot of time so let’s take our time and not embarrass these judges. Let’s do a decent job… only to see in a midnight WhatsApp message exchanges that we are being summoned as a committee to come and vet these people…,” he said.
On his part, the Minority Chief Whip, Kwame Governs Agbodza, described the move by Afenyo-Markin as an illegal one intended to smear the hard-won integrities of the Supreme Court nominees.
“I can confirm that when I came in here this morning, only GTV was here, so we asked, what about the other parliamentary press corps. We didn’t get any proper answer so, the Minority Leader directed that let the parliamentary press corps be here, so that is the fact…
“Just to add, chairman, you have called an illegal meeting; a meeting to vet members of the apex court of our land – the Supreme Court, called at midnight, can only be an illegal meeting, or ill-motivated meeting. What will be the reason why a party in government will like to vet very respected people in this country where if all of us disagree, they are the ones who will step in for us; their vetting will be such a controversy.
“I put on the platform, ‘Don’t actually smear the Supreme Court Justices by getting them involved in this shabby arrangement because there’s no rush. In fact, there’s no vacancy at the Supreme Court which is detrimental to the delivery of justice as we speak… and then we are told that the Majority Leader came back and rubbished all that we have done including his members on the committee… so, I consider this meeting as an illegal meeting to put together members of a legal committee. How can this be? Nobody on this team is against any judge. In fact, we actually want more of them to be vetted in a decorous and respectful way. So, nobody should blame the judges, the problem being created is created by President Akufo-Addo-Dr-Bawumia-led Majority in parliament,” he also said.
Ato Forson, the Minority, also unhappy about the turn of things, put together a list of things his compatriot on the Majority side had done, calling them ‘sins.’
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Read some of his words below:
“I’m honestly appalled. You have broken the trust of the NDC Minority Caucus and you have committed a number of sins, and I’ll tell you the sins you have committed. Your first sin, you unilaterally wrote a letter to the nominees inviting them for vetting without the input of the Appointments Committee.
“Sin number two, you wrote to the nominees, setting Wednesday 31st without our input. Then number three, after we met as a committee, and agreed that we will do this vetting before we are recalled, so that during the recall, we will take them, you unilaterally informed them that you have not shifted the 31st you agreed to Tuesday, and going forward, you will hold it and submit the report to the House. Madam, this is not a Bana Republic. This is the Republic of Ghana. This is the Black Star of Africa; this is Kwame Nkrumah’s republic of Ghana. Please, don’t destroy our democracy.
“At the minimum, you had to give us the opportunity to study the nominees and the people of Ghana must see us that we are doing our work. We cannot joke with this democracy,” he said.
The vetting was eventually suspended indefinitely.
AE
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