I hope some ministerial nominees will be rejected – Kofi Bentil

Without mentioning names, lawyer and Vice-President of Imani Ghana, Kofi Bentil, has said he hoped some ministerial appointees will be rejected by the Appointments Committee of parliament.

“I have a hope that some of the nominees will be rejected by the panel members because that is their job. I mean if you are there to just approve, there is no need for the job.

“I think it is your duty to signal that (nominee’s ineligibility) to the person who is appointing. So I do have a hope that some people will be returned and it has happened before in our history,” he said whiles contributing to a news analysis program on Joy FM today. The program was monitored by GhanaWeb.

According to him, having followed proceedings after two weeks: “There are people I have not been very impressed with and there are many people have been impressed and there are situations I feel the persons must be made to come back to answer certain questions before they are approved.”

One of the main issues from the vetting this week was with the appearance of Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister-designate, Mavis Hawa Koomson, before the committee.

Her lack of articulation – relative to language and depth of knowledge of the sector – had many people across social media mocking her, whiles others questioned her capability if approved.

In the case of another female nominee, Adwoa Safo who is nominee for the Gender, Children and Social Protection portfolio, people expressed concerns over the ‘soft’ and swift treatment that she got at the vetting lasting less than 40 minutes according to Accra-based Citi FM’s tracking.