Sam Nartey George, the Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations has stated he did not take offence from the minority grilling him during his vetting.
According to Sam George, he was mentally prepared as he knew what to expect from the minority led by Alexander Afenyo Markin.
Speaking on Channel One TV, Sam George stated, “I didn’t take offence, I was prepared for it. I knew what to expect, I knew that I was one of the people the Minority was going to try to make a case with. Mentally, I was prepared for it. I think it was the first spot”.
Sam George criticized the minority leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin for using the Parliamentary Appointments Committee as a platform to settle scores.
According to Sam George, Alexander Afenyo-Markin’s questioning circled around his past political commentary rather than his expertise in the communications and digital technology space.
He noted that the minority leader or any other person could have asked several questions related to the communication sector and not his opinion on the Chief Justice and former president Akufo-Addo.
Sam George added, “A man must stand by what he believes in. And when people see the Appointments Committee as a platform to settle scores, to basically exact vengeance, it’s unfortunate.
I thought Afenyo-Markin or any other person could have asked a number of questions related to the sector,” he stated.
Sam George added, “Not my opinion on the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, or the former president [Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo]. I honestly thought that a golden opportunity was lost at the vetting to dive deep into the sector.
I thought that the committee lost its focus in that regard,” he added.
It will be recalled Sam George spent over five hours before the appointment committee during his vetting and was grilled on a range of issues which he asserted that were not related to his portfolio as a communication minister.
Meanwhile, Alexander Afenyo-Markin broke his silence after he targeted certain individuals during ministerial vetting.
According to Afenyo Markin, Sam George went extreme in his politics when kept pounding Akufo-Addo without respect so he wanted to scrutinize him.
He asserted that if one makes such strong statements about certain individuals one should be ready to defend those statements.
Speaking in an interview on the KSM Show, Afenyo Markin detailed, “Sam George and I have had a cordial relationship. But I think he went to the extreme in some of his politics”.
“Look, Akufo-Addo has given me a political space through his leadership. He has given the NPP an opportunity to be seen by the nation. He is all we have as our leader”, he added.
The minority leader continued, “So, politically if you keep pounding him, pounding him, pounding him without respect, I will need to scrutinize some of the things you have said about him.”
“The attacks on the Chief Justice, the attacks on Akufo-Addo—there was a lot. If you make such strong statements, you should be ready to defend them when the time comes.”
“Yes, I wanted to scrutinize him. I needed to. That’s politics”, he admitted.
