Kobina Tahir Hammond, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi Asokwa, has been moved to tears by the delay in receiving approval from Parliament to serve as Minister of Trade and Industry, and he attributes it to the hostility between members of the Majority Caucus and the Minority Caucus.
On the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, K.T. Hammond, as he is more well known, claimed that conditions in the House had gotten so bad that discussions there now usually end in arguments, with neither side of the House being able to compromise on their viewpoints in the benefit of the country.
He used himself as an example and bemoaned that even though he is a "Big Boy" in the House of Parliament, members of the Minority Caucus were still adamant they would not approve him two weeks after his vetting to become the Minister for Trade and Industry.
This House is falling apart, Mr. Speaker! It is. Mr. Speaker, there is no room for tolerance in this House because there is so much yelling and hostility. This is something we are not used to.”
"Mr Speaker, the whole place descends into lunacy; it isn't right, Mr Speaker. People get offended because these tantrums are thrown all over the place.”
"...Let's try to restore some sanity to the House; occasionally, while I sit here, I become utterly distraught... And here I am, Mr. Speaker, after over two weeks of vetting, I'm sitting here because they claim to be refusing to approve me. Can you imagine looking at all of this?" he asked.
The Deputy Majority Leader of Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, and the Deputy Minority Leader of the House, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, had a disagreement over the former's description of the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, when the Trade and Industry Minister-designate made these comments in response.
He pleaded with the Deputy Minority Leader to retract his statement that Afenyo-Markin became famous by distorting others' words.
Meanwhile, Joseph Osei-Owusu, the head of Parliament's Appointments Committee, has suggested that secret voting may be used to confirm some of the President's candidates for cabinet positions.
When the report is brought to the House this week, he claimed that the Minority's failure to support the committee-level approval process will necessitate a secret ballot.
“Our recommendation will be that, the Majority says yes, the Minority says no. If we recommend approval by consensus, then, the decision is taken by voice vote. But when it’s recommended by a majority decision, then the report is adopted by a secret ballot.”
On February 7, 2023, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo proposed six NPP candidates to take the post of departing ministers.
Following the Appointments Committee's review, they are now seeking Parliament's confirmation.
But, the Minority Caucus in Parliament had been told beforehand by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) not to support the new ministry nominees.
President Akufo-Addo and his Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, are responsible for the current economic problem, according to the NDC, and their selections are insensitive and would have an impact on government spending.
"The NDC has long expressed concern over the very large size of the current government and shares the views of most Ghanaians, including civil society, that it must be reduced bearing in mind the current massive economic mess the country has been plunged into by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government," the NDC stated in a statement signed by its general secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey.
The party claimed that despite repeated requests for a reduction in the number of appointments to the government and president Akufo-Addo, the latter remained stubborn.
According to the statement, the party's option to try to persuade the president to reduce the size of his administration is to instruct its lawmakers in Parliament to vote against the nominees, which include KT Hammond, Bryan Acheampong, Stephen Amoah, Amin Anta, OB Amoah, and Stephen Asamoah Boateng.
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