Appointments C'ttee to conclude business in a week

Accra, Jan. 17, GNA - The Appointments Committee of Parliament would be meeting on Tuesday to draw up a timetable and map out "approaches" to be used in vetting the President's Nominees for Ministerial Positions.

Mr Abraham Ossei-Aidoo, The Deputy Majority Leader, who is also a member of the Committee, told Journalists in Accra on Monday that because there were two sets of groups to be vetted, made up of Ministers from the previous government and new ones, different approaches would be adopted to scrutinise the 35 nominees.


He said although the majority of the nominees had already served in government it was a constitutional requirement to vet both old and new hands in the new administration.


Mr Ossei-Aidooh was answering questions from the press after an eight-member delegation from the Lower House of the Irish Parliament, headed by the Speaker, Dr Rory O' Honlon, called on Mr Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes, the Speaker and the Leadership of the Ghanaian Parliament in Accra.


He said the Appointments Committee would use less than a week to go through the vetting exercise after which a report would be presented to Parliament.


Earlier, in a press briefing, Mr Jones Kugblenu, Director of Public Affairs of the Parliamentary Service Board, said the Leadership of the House would be meeting the Irish Delegation on Tuesday to draw up areas of technical cooperation between the two Parliaments.

He said this would involve exchange of visits especially between the Foreign Relations Committees of the two Parliaments.


Mr Kugblenu said the delegation was also interested in the ECOWAS Parliament and the establishment of democratic structures within the Sub-Regional Body.


Mr Sekyi-Hughes commended Ireland for assisting Ghana in the areas of education and religion and the training of lawyers.


He called for the strengthening of bilateral cooperation and the promotion of businesses between the two countries.


Dr O' Honlon congratulated Speaker Sekyi-Hughes on his election and wished him well during his tenure.

He also commended Ghana for holding a successful election and expressed the hope that the two countries would further strengthen their ties.


The Irish Speaker, who is a medical doctor, is scheduled to visit the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and call on President John Agyekum Kufuor.


The Delegation's visit is reciprocal to a Ghanaian Parliamentary Delegation led by the Former Speaker, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey to Ireland.