Appointments Committee recommends 13 nominees for approval

The Appointments Committee of Parliament has recommended 13 out of the 46 nominations of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for ministerial positions, who were vetted in the last few weeks.

Of the 13, 10 were approved by consensus and three by the majority.

Those recommended by the consensus are Ms Sarah Adwoa Safo, Minister-Designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection; Mr Ignatius Baafour Awuah, the Minister-Designate for Employment and Labour Relations; and Mr Ambrose Dery, the Minister-Designate for the Interior.

The rest are Mr Dan Botwe, the Minister-Designate for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development; Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister- Designate for Energy; and Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Minister-Designate for Parliamentary Affairs.

The others are Dr Yaw Ose-Adutwum, Minister-Designate for Education, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister-Designate for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration; Mr Dominic Nitiwul, Minister Designate for Defence; and Mr Albert Kan Dapaah, Minister Designate for National Security.

Those recommended for approval by a majority are Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister-Designate for Information; Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, Minister Designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development; and Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister-Designate for Food and Agriculture.

When a decision is taken by consensus all the members of the group agree on a proposal, but it does not mean that they all agree on every element of the proposal.

Approval by the majority means more than half the number of people agree on a proposal.

The 26-member Appointments Committee of Parliament is currently chaired by Mr Joseph Osei–Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker and Member of Parliament (MP) for Bekwai, with Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader and MP for Tamale South, as ranking member.