Appointments Committee Chairperson and 1st Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Bernard Ahiafor has come under fire for supposedly protecting Ministers-designate who appear before the committee.
According to media personality Bernard Avle, Mr. Ahiafor has become a stumbling block in the path of the minority caucus on the Committee, preventing them from asking relevant questions during vetting.
“What I am saying to the MPs is that we are watching you. We are watching you and you have to do a thorough job. A vetting is a very important platform for policy discourse. So, you don’t go and rush people on the basis that we know you’re good. I don’t think that’s right,” he lamented.
He indicated that the vetting process may be the first and maybe last time most Ghanaians will hear these Ministers “make a comment on the sector they’re going to take so you have to be thorough.
Bernard Avle advised Chairman Ahiafor against preventing any person on the committee from asking any questions.
“You have to allow the minority to do their questions. Mr. Chairman, we’ve paid people money… we voted for them to go and sit there for us ..you’re chair so what? Let the people do their work for the taxpayer because they must be scrutinized,” he added.
“We need to assess them well and let’s make it serious and stop all thee shenanigans of who is good and stuff,” he bashed Bernard Ahiafor.
The vetting of Ministers-designate for the John Dramani Mahama administration has been marred by some enchanges between the Bernard Ahiafor, Chairperson of the Appointments Committee and Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
Afenyo-Markin accused the Bernard Ahiafor of preventing him from asking relevant questions during the vetting.
