The Appointments Committee of Parliament began on a disputed note once again over the constitutionality of a Secretary to the Cabinet, who was copied by President John Mahama in his letter to Parliament regarding the vetting of the named appointees.
The Minority Leader and Ranking Member of the Appointments Committee, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, in his opening remarks, objected to the Secretary being copied, arguing that there was no cabinet in place and, therefore, the President could not have included a Secretary to the Cabinet in the correspondence.
“We want to draw the attention of Mr. President that in his letter, since there is no cabinet, he couldn’t have copied the Secretary to the Cabinet. And we noticed from the letter that he has copied the Vice President of Jubilee House, the Chief of Staff of Jubilee House, and also the Secretary to the Cabinet. There is none,” he stated.
Hon. Mahama Ayariga, a member of the committee, raised a point of order in response, countering Afenyo-Markin’s remarks by asserting that the constitution provides for a cabinet as an institution, which inherently includes a Secretary to the Cabinet.
“The constitution makes provision for a cabinet and then it makes provision for appointed ministers to fill the cabinet. So, the cabinet exists as an institution and has its secretary, even as ministers are being appointed to that cabinet. You cannot say that because the cabinet, which is made up of the ministers, is not yet fully constituted, there is no Secretary to the Cabinet,” Ayariga argued.
He further criticized Afenyo-Markin’s objection as an attempt to “belittle everybody and create an impression that people don’t know what they are about.”
In response, the Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah, quoted Article 76(3) of the 1992 Constitution, which stipulates that a Secretary to the Cabinet shall be appointed by the President. He questioned the identity of the Secretary mentioned in the letter, emphasizing that all presidential appointments have been publicly communicated and hence the Secretary should follow due procedure.
“As we speak, all appointments duly made by the President have been communicated to the country. We don’t know of any appointed Secretary to the Cabinet as envisaged under the constitution. So, if a letter is written to the Speaker and copied to the Secretary to the Cabinet, who is unknown, it is right for the Minority Leader to have raised that,” Boamah said.
The Chairman of the Committee concluded that the Constitution stipulates the existence of a cabinet and its Secretary, adding that if a letter is copied to the cabinet, which exists institutionally, there should be no issue with it.
The debate also saw Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, weigh in, unsatisfied with Hon. Mahama Ayariga’s use of the word “belittling” to describe Afenyo-Markin’s remarks.
Meanwhile, the vetting process is currently underway, with Minister-Designate for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, appearing before the Appointments Committee.