Unfit ministerial appointees must be rejected - Kofi Bentil

Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil has called for the dismissal of ministerial appointees who woefully fail to impress the Ghanaian public during vetting by the Appointments Committee.

“Qualification is not an issue, but if the people are unqualified, they should reject them,” he stated.

Speaking to Newsfile host, Samson Lardy Anyenini, Mr. Bentil said the Appointments Committee is mandated by law to reject nominees whose submissions fail to indicate well-thought plans to assist President Akufo-Addo in his second term.

“I have a hope that some of the nominees who do not show they are fit for the job will be rejected by the panel members because that is their job.

“It has happened before in our history,” he stated.

Aside from calling for the dismissal of some appointees, Mr. Bentil noted that other nominees also need to reappear before the Committee to answer some pertinent questions asked them before any future approval.

According to the lawyer, the conduct of some ministerial appointees during the vetting was also inappropriate and uncalled for.

“You can see from the attitudes of some appointees that there were times they got irritated; there were times they got almost angry. There were times they were even throwing answers back to the members on the panel.”

These nominees, he said included Communications Minister-designate Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minster-designate for Food and Agriculture, Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and Energy Minister-designate Matthew Opoku Prempeh.

“I think there were times they felt or sounded as if they were being harassed. As if, who are you to ask me that question and they gave all kinds of answers, ” he added.

Mr Kofi Bentil further admonished nominees appointed by President Akufo-Addo to appreciate the idea that members of the Committee are representatives of the Ghanaian citizenry and therefore are to ensure the best people are put in the right state positions.

“Those people questioning them are doing so on behalf of citizens.
The office of the citizens is the highest. There is nothing wrong in saying a question is inappropriate or wrong or even correcting the person.

“There are times where questions are wrong. The whole thing is the attitude. I think that people come to this thing and they are looking at the person that is asking the question.

“They should look at the citizens behind. It is similar to being interviewed by a journalist. Whenever you are interviewed by a journalist, you are actually speaking to the nation. So I think those who present themselves for appointment must appreciate that,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini is resolute that no ministerial appointee would be rejected by Parliament’s Appointments Committee.

His assertion follows heavy criticisms and jabs from social media users against Minister-designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Hawa Koomson for failing to fluently present her submissions to the Committee.

“I have my doubts they will be rejected. Not a single person because all I hear are people talking about the fact that somebody has not been able to speak good English or somebody does not understand the portfolio he or she has been given.

“But you must not take it away from the President that he had a minimum assessment of the capacity of his nominees to deliver on his policies and that is why he nominated them in the first place,” he stated.