Appointments committee has been politicized – Manhyia South MP
New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has raised concerns over what he described as a troubling trend of political interference in the affairs of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Appointments.
According to him, this perceived interference has corrupted the committee’s operations, ultimately eroding public trust in its vetting processes.
During an appearance on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem on Tuesday, Baffour Awuah pointed out that the committee has been “destroyed with politics,” leading to a significant decline in the public’s confidence in how appointments are handled, emphasizing that the openly partisan behavior displayed by members from both the Majority and Minority sides has compromised the neutrality and integrity critical to the committee’s work.
He argued that with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) now holding the majority in Parliament, there seems to be a reluctance to consider views from the Minority during vetting sessions.
“Even Ghanaians have realized that what is happening is not good. The public’s perception of the vetting process is low. If we, as legislators, want to improve confidence in the process, we need to change our approach. We have taken a partisan position; the NDC is the majority and has made up its mind not to listen to the minority NPP,” he stated.
He further stressed that once an individual is approved through this process, they become a government appointee rather than merely a representative of a political party.
“However, they are forgetting that once an individual is approved, he or she becomes a government appointee and not just a party representative. We really need to work on the Appointments Committee and ensure that it is not politicized. If the person is not properly vetted and is potentially corrupt, that won’t help Ghanaians,” he added.
The Manhyia South MP called for reforms within the Committee to restore faith in its operations, urging colleague lawmakers to place national interests above partisan politics.
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