Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has attributed the recent parliamentary chaos to the handling of the ministerial vetting process by the Clerk, citing a series of miscommunications and procedural lapses.
Speaking in an interview on JoyNews‘ The Probe on Sunday, February 2, Mr Afenyo-Markin expressed frustration over how the Clerk scheduled and announced the vetting of nominees.
“We’ve agreed to vet three nominees by the time we finished, our colleagues reached out to us that one more should be done making it four. We said, no problem.
“When we finished the fourth, they now came and said, they wanted the Transport Minister-designate because his chiefs were around, and we were okay with her [Clerk]. Finishing with the nominee, we saw many others in the corridors and all had letters so I asked the Chairman are you aware, he said no…”
“What triggered the confusion for the first time on the floor, was how she put out about 10 names for vetting,” he stated, adding that the sudden changes disrupted parliamentary order and caused unnecessary tension.
“Some of the confusion, I don’t know whether the Chairman knows about it and playing as if he doesn’t but I have a very good reason to believe the chairman.”
This comes after the Appointments Committee descended into chaos on Thursday evening as tensions between the Majority and Minority escalated into a heated confrontation.
The dispute arose when the Majority insisted on continuing the vetting session past 10 PM, which the Minority strongly opposed.
In the process, tables were overturned, and microphones were damaged, prompting police intervention. After about 30 minutes of confusion, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and other leaders stepped in to restore order.
The Effutu MP further disclosed that the Clerk had given conflicting information regarding the vetting of Minister for Defence, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah.
He explained that while the Clerk initially informed MPs that Omane Boamah was scheduled for 9 a.m., it later emerged that he had actually been given an 11 a.m. slot.
“When we asked Madam Clerk about Omane’s vetting time, she said she had scheduled it for 9 o’clock. But then Joyce Bawa rushed to me and whispered that Omane was actually given 11 o’clock.
“When Omane eventually came with his letter for 11 a.m., we asked her again, and she claimed she had instructed someone else to handle it. That caused us embarrassment,” he recounted.
The situation escalated further when the Clerk reportedly made last-minute changes to the vetting schedule, publishing updates close to midnight, which left MPs scrambling to prepare.
This, Mr Afenyo-Markin explained, created the impression that leaders were making secret negotiations without informing their respective caucuses.
“I have my side; people must prepare. Then MPs will think that maybe the leader has had some negotiations with the other side without telling us. That’s what triggered all this confusion,” he said.
Mr Afenyo-Markin maintained that he had made several attempts to address the concerns, including engaging key parliamentary figures such as the Chief Clerk of Parliament, but the issues persisted.
“The video you are seeing that night—where she caused a lot of confusion—is because she had paraded people in,” he stated.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
