'Attach seriousness to what we do' - Osei-Asare slams AG Ayine, Eric Opoku

The Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, Abena Osei-Asare, could not hold back her disappointment over the failure of the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku; and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine; or their deputies, to appear before the committee.

During the committee’s public hearing on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, Osei-Asare asserted that the two ministers should know that either they or their deputies must be present when Parliament calls them to answer questions about infractions in the books of their ministries that had been captured in the Auditor-General's Report.

“Ministry of Agriculture, is this the first time you are attending upon the Public Accounts Committee?... So, then, why do you not know what is expected of you and then you do something else? Because you always come with the political head and then the principal spending officer, which is your chief director. And so if the minister or deputy is not in...

“Respectfully, we are all serving our nation in different capacities. Let's attach seriousness to what we do. We called your minister. Your minister is not here. It's the same with the AG and Minister for Justice… They also failed to attend upon the Public Accounts Committee,” she fumed.

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Osei-Asare, who is the Member of Parliament for Atiwa East, went on to say that the failure of the ministers to appear before the committee when they are scheduled affects its work.

She sent a caution to the ministers who failed to appear before the committee to ensure that either they themselves or their deputies are present on the rescheduled dates.

“We are all discharging our mandates in different capacities. Let's respect each other's mandates and do what is expected of us. We will have to reschedule you. When you do this, you throw our programme off board. And so we don't expect this to happen again.

“So, tell the Minister of Agriculture that we expect to see him or his deputy heading the delegation. And it's the same with the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. He should come or his deputy should come. That is how we address queries… that is what the protocol is when Parliament calls you on the Auditor-General's Report. It is what is done every time. And I don't expect that under this government they want to do anything different,” she reiterated.

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