Mr Osei-Owusu, who is retiring at the end of his current term, emphasised the importance of longevity and experience in parliamentary leadership.

His comments come amidst intense lobbying by senior NPP Members of Parliament (MPs) seeking to secure the position of caucus leader when the 9th Parliament is inaugurated next year.

He believed for the sake of unity, the Effutu MP Afenyo-Markin must be retained.

“I strongly believe in longevity and experience. From our own actions and inactions, you can see that when Kyei [Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, former Majority Leader] served as both Minority and Majority Leader, he stood out very clearly.

“But it didn’t happen by accident. He started as a Chief Whip and grew up to become a leader. Longevity brings experience and clarity. I would not support any request for a new person to be brought into the picture,” he said.

He further argued that there is no one within the NPP, aside from Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who possesses the necessary experience to lead the caucus as effectively as Afenyo-Markin.

“Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is leaving Parliament.  He is the only person who has some experience which will be useful going forward. So I will not recommend any other person. My view is that, let Afenyo-Markin’s continue,” he stated.

The Deputy Speaker also underscored the critical role of the caucus leader in the next Parliament, given the NPP’s reduced numbers.

Mr Osei-Owusu highlighted the need for a strong and assertive leader who can effectively represent the caucus, even though their influence on decisions will be limited due to their minority status.

“Where we are now, we [NPP] need to be combative. We can never influence decisions. We cannot change any decision, but our voices must be very loudly heard in and out of the chamber, but it requires somebody who is strong and hot-headed and willing to stand the heat,” he added.

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In an interview with Citi News, Joe Wise, as he is commonly known, criticized the current parliamentary session for its lack of focus, persistent controversies, and failure to prioritize its fundamental duty of lawmaking.

He stated that, the 8th Parliament has not met the legislative standards set by its predecessors, ultimately falling short of public expectations.

Joe Wise lamented that instead of dedicating itself to the essential task of creating laws, the House has often been distracted by unnecessary and unproductive disputes.

He particularly noted the inadequate number of laws passed during this session compared to previous ones.

The Member of Parliament for Bekwai said the legislative output of the 8th Parliament has been noticeably low, both in terms of significant legislation and smaller legislative instruments.

“Let me say that I am disappointed in the eighth Parliament, generally. I said the other time that we have done very little in legislation. You can just take the number of laws and smaller legislations we have done. We have wasted so much time on inconsequential things, inconsequential matters. Our main job is making laws.

“You go and take the number of laws we have made in the last four years and compare with the other Parliaments and you see that the eighth Parliament has been the least.

“It has been full of controversy. Matters that previously we used to sit down and discuss and overcome and do, now we take them into fisticuffs and that is most disappointing to me.”

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The first Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joe Osei Owusu,shoot-to-kill strategy as the antidote to ending the galamsey menace.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu, has re-echoed his strong stance on granting security agencies and others the power to shoot and kill any individual found engaging in illegal mining (galamsey) activities.

His comment comes on the heels of recent conversations on the devastation caused by illegal mining activities, prompting calls by Ghanaians and civil society organisations to ban small-scale mining activities in the country.

Speaking on Accra-based Asaase Pa radio, the Bekwai legislator recounted his experience with some miners during one of his tours where they breached prospecting permits to mine in unauthorised areas.

“I visited one illegal mining site where they informed me that they have a prospecting license, and that license only allows you to dig one-foot square and dig down to mine, but with what you’ve dug it’s about 100 meters square. They had destroyed all the land with no license, so with such a person when he is shot, what is wrong? Once we meet you on the river destroying it, we must kill you,” he said.

Mr Osei Wusu made a similar suggestion in 2018 when the country’s lands, rivers and other natural resources were destroyed by illegal mining activities.

Although some people do not subscribe to his suggestion, Mr Osei Wusu is convinced the shoot-and-kill strategy is one of the few means to deter others from participating in that illicit activity.

He believes since it is difficult for the illegal miners to be arrested and made to face the rigours of the law, it would only be prudent to gun them down.

“During the operation galamstop, if the soldiers arrive to arrest them, they all dive into the water and swim away. So, this person, can you arrest him? The only best way is to find a sniper to hide and shoot him,” he added.

Joe Wise portends “Anybody who mines on water bodies is a wicked person and must be killed”.

Some 28 MPs lost their seats to contenders in the just ended New Patriotic Party (NPP) primaries held over the weekend in constituencies the party has sitting MPs.

There are fears those who have lost their seats will be reluctant to partake in parliamentary work, resulting in government business suffering.

But Joe Wise as he is popularly known who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bekwai disagrees.

According to him, MPs will still turn up to carry out government business despite their situation.

“Generally, once we give the date we sufficiently remind people to come. It is the day-to-day business that we have challenges, when an unexpected challenge is thrown people are generally responsible, generally if it’s about the party or government’s policy position. However, of course if we don’t have the numbers we will defer the decision day,” he said.

Prominent amongst the MPs who lost include Sarah Adwo Safo, MP for Dome Kwabenya, Sanitation Minister; Freda Prempeh, and the Minister for Public Enterprises; Joseph Cudjoe.

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According to him, during the framing of the 1992 Constitution, the country’s population was small, and therefore, the maximum number of judges to be appointed to the apex court was 15.

However, since the population has doubled, he believes the number of cases the court arbitrates must be considered in finding a common ground to resolve recent debates.

“The truth of the matter is that 30 years ago, what was the population of the country and what is the population today? The number of cases that are going to the court and then rising to the Supreme Court. Let’s look at the statistics. Can we continue to hold the number at this same level?

“These are matters that are evolving and we should be looking at the number of cases to determine how many judges,” he said on Joy FM’s Newsnight on December 20, 2023.

He was responding to the assertion by the Minority in Parliament that the bench at the Supreme Court was full, and there was no need for more justices.

Mr Osei-Owusu explained that, many of the concerns raised about the Supreme Court judges were at variance with the reality on the ground.

Additionally, he said the constant comparison of the country’s judicial system to that of the United States stemmed from inadequate knowledge about the system practiced in that country.

He clarified that in Ghana, the Supreme Court cannot choose which case it would arbitrate; however, in the US their Apex Court decides which cases to handle.

He added that each state in the United States also has its own Supreme Court. 

Early on Wednesday, December 20, Supreme Court justice nominee, Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie disagreed with concerns that the Apex Court is packed.

According to him, the volume of work at the Supreme Court requires more hands to reduce the burden on the current justices.

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According to the Bekwai lawmaker, the House doesn’t have the logistics to host the workshop.

“We’ve tried it [post-budget workshop] once here [Parliament], it wasn’t effective. We have only one hall but during the workshop, there will be multiple presenters doing different things, so the practicality will not be effective,” he said this an interview on JoyNews’ PM Express.

This was after the host, Evans Mensah said Parliament is reluctant to hold the event at the House because they prefer the “comfort of hotels”.

In response, the First Deputy Speaker vehemently denied the notion, emphasising that the choice of venue is driven by duty rather than a pursuit of comfort.

He said,“No hotel is as comfortable as my home. I’ve traveled around the world and no hotel I have stayed in is as comfortable as my home.”

The First Deputy Speaker, who became an MP in 2009 and has extensive local and international experience, expressed his aversion to travel, even for business or conferences, asserting that it is not a matter of personal preference but a responsibility that comes with the role.

“We don’t do it because of comfort, we don’t do it because we want to, we do it because it is a responsibility.”

His position on the venue of the annual workshop comes after the Buem MP, Kofi Adams asked for this year’s post-budget workshop to be held in Parliament House in Accra.

The NDC MP cited the recent economic hardship and called on the leadership of the House to reconsider and hold the workshop in Parliament to save money.

But the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo Markin, turned down his request.

He believes the request is opportunistic and seeks to put Parliament in a bad light adding that “This is a decision of the committee, it is not about leaders being insensitive.”

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The Deputy Speaker, who was speaking at the 10th-anniversary celebration of Fettehman Senior High School, suggested that the matter could have been handled by the school’s authorities other than the culprit being put before trial in a general court.

“We should look at how we bring up children in this country since it is becoming a challenge. The kind of upbringing is important. There is no need for him to be that violent towards another student. If we discuss this in isolation, we would miss it. What happened in the school is a reflection of what is happening in the country. We think we are not supposed to punish students and this is how we pay for it as a country.

“There is nothing wrong with students being at each other, but when it gets beyond regular bullying, it is bad. I regret that it has been taken to the court since this matter could have been addressed in the school, but the Attorney General thinks otherwise,” Joseph Osei-Owusu said.

Despite condemning the acrimonious act perpetrated by the student, Hon. Osei Owusu said the culprit should have been counselled just so he can concentrate on his studies for the sake of his future.

In the video, a 17-year-old final-year student was seen choking the neck of his colleague and subsequently smashing his head against a metal bed causing injury to the victim.

Mr Osei Owusu also expressed worry over the falling standards of discipline and has questioned the moral upbringing of Ghanaian children and called for more conscious efforts in instilling discipline among children.

“Whatever has happened should be left in the past and look forward to reforming the students involved in the video. We are copying blindly, and we must go back to our roots as Ghanaians,” the First Deputy Speaker noted.

Meanwhile, on the issue of the lack of adequate infrastructure at Fettehman Senior High School, the First Deputy Speaker urged the Member of Parliament to raise concerns on the floor of Parliament for further action while urging students to uphold strong moral values and integrity.

The school has an infrastructure deficit as the facilities available on campus are not enough for the over one thousand five hundred students.
Students are left with no option than to sit under trees to eat.

Quite apart from these challenges, the school has embarked on a project of constructing a bungalow for the headmistress of the school but wants support from the government and well-meaning Ghanaians to complete it.

The board chairman of the School Joseph Annan said the school needs support to cater for the over a thousand students.

“We have a lot of infrastructure deficit as a school, ranging from the lack of accommodation on campus for teachers to the lack of a dining hall among others. This has made it difficult for the school to function,” Board chairman of the school, Joseph Annan said.

“With a little effort we have begun constructing the bungalow for the headmistress, but we will need support from corporate Ghana and the government to finish this project,” the board chairman noted.

Regional Director of Education for the Central Region admits the challenges with infrastructure on campuses of most Senior High Schools is enormous but says the directorate is working hard in addressing these challenges.

“The challenges of infrastructure on the campuses of some schools in the region cannot be left out, but we are working hard to ensure that support comes from government and well-meaning Ghanaians,” Regional Director of Education Emmanuel Essuman said.

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The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament has said he does not know the people nor has he engaged anybody in such a conversation.

One of the persons captured on the leaked tape purportedly claimed he rejected an offer by Joe Wise to give up the Bekwai seat for him once he bows out of parliament.

But reacting to the tape, the MP said his decision to leave parliament in 2024 was public knowledge and cannot comprehend why someone will bring it up in a private conversation he knows nothing about.

“I don’t know the voice or the face of the person who mentioned my name in the audio. He said that I don’t want to run for MP again but that is old news. I announced in 2021 that I was not going to parliament again.

‘It is not surprising that he mentioned my name because everybody interested in politics heard this announcement. However, it is a lie if he says I’ve had conversations with him or any other police officer,” he stated on Accra-based Neat FM.

Meanwhile, he added the content of the widely circulated audio will not in any way influence the decision of President Nana Akufo-Addo who is the appointing authority.

“I don’t believe that the discussion in the audio will alter the decisions of the President. It’s a fact that every leader of an organisation will have subordinates or members who do not agree with you on certain things and that’s how I see the content of the audio,” he noted.

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Mr Osei-Owusu said the efficiency of the house has suffered significantly as compared to previous Parliaments. 

The Bekwai MP said the delivery of governance has suffered significantly due to the equal numbers of the two leading political parties in the current Parliament.

The fourth termed lawmaker, thus, wants voters to vote massively for either the NPP or NDC in the 2024 general election which give one political party an overwhelming majority to control the business of the House.

“It is affecting governance generally. I am saying that next time Ghanaians should vote more. If they want the NPP to be the Majority, they should give them more votes. 

“If you want NDC to be the majority give them more votes. This one is affecting governance very badly.

“The seventh Parliament, probably because of the numbers, passed the highest number of laws since 1993, we passed over 100 laws. 

“This Parliament is our third year, but I doubt we have passed even 10 laws. The level of cooperation that I saw is no longer there,” he lamented in an interview with Citi FM on Friday, March 10. 

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Both the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the largest opposition party in the country, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have equal strength in Parliament. 

They both have 137 members each with one Independent Member who has opted to do business with the NPP. 

However, the First Deputy Speaker is not impressed with the 8th Parliament. 

According to the Member of Parliament for Bekwai, government’s job is to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive to employ the teeming youth of the country.

Speaking on GHOne TV, Mr Osei Owusu described the expectation of the government creating jobs as archaic.

“Look at our Constitution and our structure, the days that government took responsibility for providing jobs are long gone.

“Now, the government’s position is that I will provide the environment for you to create the jobs for yourselves so we should stop placing responsibility where it is not. A lot of the time we make people feel that it is government’s duty to do this, do that so people don’t do the things they can do for themselves.”

He added: “I’m leaving politics, I want to retire quietly and so I will now speak boldly about things that matter. If we are going to move forward, people must take responsibility for their lives.”

“The decision of the Supreme Court on the issue of whether or not a Deputy Speaker of Parliament while presiding can be counted as part of quorum and vote is disappointing and not surprising to some of us because some of us expected it,” he said.

According to him, such ruling is patently unconstitutional and flawed in logic.

He noted that the Supreme Court ruling is an attack on the independence and the functions of Parliament, believing the House should resist.

“It is unholy intuition to the independence and functions of Parliament which I think Parliament should resist,” he said while speaking on Metro TV.

He argued that Article 102 of the 1992 constitution is clear on the exclusion of the Deputy Speaker as part of quorum.

“Article 102 of the 1992 constitution is very clear; it is so clear that even non-lawyers can appreciate what that law is about. So, if a Deputy Speaker is presiding Article 102 says he does not form part of quorum even though he is an MP,” he said.

“Again Article 110 of the constitution is clear. It gave Parliament the power to make standing orders and regulate their own procedures. Therefore, the ruling of the Supreme Court is unconstitutional and an attack on the independence of Parliament,” he added.

He disclosed that the fundamental of democracy of Ghana is Separation of Powers, therefore Parliament is the master of its own rules.

He stated that the Supreme Court has overstepped its boundaries and cannot exercise an authority the constitution has given to Parliament.

“The Supreme Court cannot poke its nose in the affairs of parliament and cannot run the affairs for Parliament,” he stated.

First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu (Joe Wise), has revealed Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament (MP), Adwoa Safo, allegedly told Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, not to call her phone again.

According to him, Miss Safo has indicated she prefers to be communicated to through text messages instead.

The Bekwai MP stated this came up when he last enquired about her colleague but did not disclose when exactly that was.

“The Majority Leader used to communicate with her often but the last time he [Majority Leader] told me she said he shouldn’t call again but send messages instead which she responds but not phone calls,” he said on Kumasi-based Pure FM.

Admitting the MP’s absence is affecting government and parliamentary business, he said it is their hope she returns soon to ensure efficient and effective running of the economy.

“In our strategy, we have taken it as going to rescue a kidnapped person, you presume she is dead but if you go and she is alive, then it is God’s grace and it adds to your gains so that is our approach. So as it stands now, we don’t count her as part of us,” he added.

The lawmaker has come under fire for neglecting her parliamentary duties amid speculations that she has vowed not to return until she is given a leadership role in the August House.

This has infuriated some colleague MPs and members of the NPP who are calling for her removal.

But Ada MP, Comfort Duyoe Cudjoe, says the ‘attack’ on her is a deliberate attempt because she is a woman, adding it can never be done to any of the men on the Majority side.

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Madam Cudjoe has, therefore, vowed she will not support any call in parliament for Miss Safo to be dismissed.

She has since urged the rank-and-file of the New Patriotic Party to hold further consultations, particularly with the MP to know what the actual problem is before making any noise.

Play the audio above:

On February 22, Joe Wise, who is the Bekwai MP and chaired proceedings, dismissed a motion by the Minority to probe the government’s expenditure on COVID-19.

According to him, the Speaker, who was chairing the House before handing it over to him, ought not to have admitted the motion, hence the dismissal.

However, Mr Bagbin reacting to the development on Wednesday said he was not happy and described the action of the Bekwai MP as offensive, illegal and unconstitutional.

In a statement, Joe Wise noted he has characteristically elected not to comment on Mr Speaker’s statement in public in order not to create the impression that there’s tension between him and his Deputy.

“As many times as I have the opportunity to preside I will apply the Standing Orders and
relevant constitutional provisions as I understand them and if need be, be guided by
precedent. I have never entertained any application for a review of a ruling of Rt. Hon. Speaker and I will never do so,” he said.

But to him, the comments are unreflective of his conduct.

“After I heard arguments from the proponents of the motion and adversaries, I was
convinced that the objection was well placed and I, therefore, sustained it.

“It was never a review of any decision earlier taken by Mr speaker to admit the motion to set up a special committee, as he seems to suggest in his formal communication.
I relied on Order 191 of the standing orders in coming to the decision I arrived at,” the statement read in parts.

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Joe Wise maintained has never shied away from showing his disagreement with Mr Speaker if need be.

“In my view, that is what democracy is about and that is what it ought to be. Mr Speaker should have the courage to accept that others may hold a different view from his own even if they are surbonate to him,” he urged.

Read the full statement below:

On Tuesday, February 22, the Minority group, led by the ranking member of the Finance Committee, Ato Cassiel Forson, moved a motion which was for Parliament to constitute a bi-partisan committee to look into the activities of government with respect to Covid-19 expenditure.

Joseph Osei Owusu, who doubles as the MP for Bekwai, assuming the role of the acting Speaker in the absence of Speaker Bagbin, threw out the Minority’s motion for a probe into the government’s covid-19 expenditure.

According to him, the motion ought not to have been admitted by the Speaker in the first place.

Mr Jinapor, reacting to the 1st Deputy Speaker’s action, has expressed his dissatisfaction and disappointment for dismissing a motion admitted by Speaker Bagbin.

He argued that per the standing orders of the House Joe Wise’s ruling is null and void and illegal.

“Standing Order 79 is clear how these things are done. it is the Speaker who can admit such a motion. The issue of admitting ability has been achieved. It is the House that will determine whether to accept it or not and not the deputy speaker to overturn an admitted motion,” he revealed.

He noted that there are procedures before a ruling over a motion admitted by the Speaker can be made in the House.

“The House has the mandate to overrule the Speaker in the House. And we know how we do it. So, what the 1st Deputy Speaker should have said was yes, the Speaker has admitted it but the House has decided through voting that we have disagreed and we won’t table it,” he said.

“So do you know what the 1st Deputy Speaker has done? He has turned himself into an Appeals Court judge. Yes, that is what he is doing,” he said while speaking on Metro TV.

He added that there is nothing wrong for the Minority group to call for accountability of covid-19 expenditure.

The Speaker on Wednesday said he was not happy and described the action of the Bekwai MP as offensive, illegal and unconstitutional.

On February 22, Joe Wise dismissed a motion by the Minority to probe the government’s expenditure on COVID-19.

According to him, the Speaker, who was chairing the House before handing it over to him, ought not to have admitted the motion, hence the dismissal.

But reacting to the development the Suame lawmaker indicated it was the collective decision of the House and not just Joe Wise.

According to him, the issue was raised on the floor of parliament, and following the submissions that came from both the Minority and Majority sides, they concluded it will be premature for a committee to be set up.

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This, he explained, was in order not for them to get ahead of the Public Accounts Committee, hence the dismissal.

However, Mr Mensah-Bonsu noted these were matters the House can resolve, hence there was no cause for alarm.

Play the audio above:

First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has condemned Asiedu Nketia over his comments that the Minority in Parliament can use any possible force to ensure the right thing is done.

According to Joe Wise, as he is affectionately called, it is uncouth for a leader to incite people in such a manner.

“You are a member of the Parliamentary Service Board and how can you stand in public to make such comments and come back to sit on the board?.

“You as a leader, you must be able to think of ways we can move the country forward. So how can you mediate issues and bring peace?” he quizzed on Accra-based Neat FM.

Addressing the party’s youth wing in the Ashanti Region on Saturday, February 5, the Chief Scribe of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) stated that if need be, Deputy Speakers must be compelled through physical means to ensure they execute their mandate while sitting in for Speaker Alban Bagbin.

“As long as impunity does not stop, resistance has been imposed on us as a duty,” he said.

“So if a Speaker or the Deputy Speaker says he will be a referee as well as be the one to kick the ball for a penalty, and also blow the whistle that a goal has been scored – if a slap will ensure he does not do that, slap him so that he comes back to his senses,” he said.

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But Joe Wise emphasised democracy makes room for diverse opinions, hence they must be able to provide their alternatives when necessary.

“Incidentally, democracy has room for everybody including those who think in violence and insults. We are parliamentarians and our duty is to make policies so if you don’t agree, then you bring your own perspective,” he added.

Play the audio above:

Mr George commented when the Deputy Speaker said he was not a Speaker while submitting his ruling over the 2022 budget on Tuesday, 30th November in Parliament.

“If you claim you are not a Speaker, you have absolutely no business presiding over the House, Simple,’’ he wrote.

On December 1, the Deputy Speaker, presiding over the House,

explained that he counted himself as an MP for the Majority to get 138 members needed to approve the 2022 budget despite assuming the role of Speakership.

He argued that the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, is not an MP and cannot be part of a quorum, but he can since he represents a constituency.

He again added that presiding over the House does not take away his right as a legislator.

The Committee, chaired by Assin Central Member of Parliament (MP), Kennedy Agyapong, has four weeks to investigate, collate all facts and submit their report to the House for further action.

This comes after the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, appealed to the Speaker to send a delegation from the Committee to Wa to intervene in the Military brutalities.

Joe Wise, who is also the Bekwai MP, gave the directive when he sat in for the Speaker, Alban Bagbin on Friday, July 2, 2021.

“As proposed by the Minority Leader and seconded by the Majority Leader,  I direct the Committee on Defence and Interior to proceed to Wa to investigate, collect and collate the facts and report to the House within four weeks,” he announced.

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He added: “I am urging you to request your committee on Defense and Interior to act expeditiously if it means visiting Wa to see for themselves. The development and the circumstances leading to the impunity must stop.”

This comes after some soldiers allegedly brutalised some residents of Wa in the Upper West Region on Thursday.

The move is said to have been triggered by the theft of a mobile phone supposedly belonging to one of the military officers.

The victims, who are mostly commercial tricycle operators, motorists and pedestrians, were whipped and made to roll on the bare floor with some forced into gutters nearby.

Several of them are said to have sustained various degrees of injury.

One of the victims, a 29-year-old vulcanizer, Gafur Mahama, is suspected to have developed a fracture in his right thigh during the assault.

Joseph Osei-Owusu said, “she was a passenger on their truck” who was seated right in front of him on her way to school.

He made this revelation during an interaction on JoyNews’ PM Express Personality Profile on Friday, June 25.

The Member of Parliament, affectionately called Joe Wise, further explained that “her school was on the Cape Coast highway by then and the major bridge from her end had collapsed so they had to go to Obuasi before they connect to Dunpaase that’s where she went to school.”

According to him, his shy nature prevented him from initiating a conversation with the lady.

“I was sitting in the truck; she was sitting right in front of me but I was shy I couldn’t talk to her,” he said.

But he eventually had the chat with her, asked of her name and that’s how their friendship began.

“She started the conversation with a mechanic travelling with us and she was able to express her thoughts and so I joined in and asked her name she said she was going to school here that’s how we become friends and continued,” he stated. 

According to him, he joined his father’s truck for eight months right after he completed the sixth form while awaiting his certificate.

“I was a driver’s mate after sixth form for almost eight months. After 6^th form we were home, we were supposed to have gotten admission into the university. I filled my form, we were supposed to go to the university on 24^th October then we heard the announcement that the reopening had been postponed infinitely.

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“So we were just hanging around and then one morning my father said ‘Joe if you are not doing anything at home why don’t you join the truck’. He had a mummy truck being used for commercial purposes passenger services from Bekwai to Obuasi, Obuasi to Kumasi sometimes,” he explained.

Mr Osei-Owusu added that he was always filled with excitement whenever he worked on his dad’s truck growing up.

“I happily joined him and I loved it. That is where I learnt to drive and I also learnt a lot about driver behaviour.  For almost eight months every morning, I will go with them plus it also made sure that there was money in my pocket,” he recounted.

According to him, the Committee, however, approved the nomination of three nominees through a majority decision at the committee level, while the approval of five of them is still pending further investigations before approval.

“So far, we have vetted 29 substantive Ministers-designate out of the 30 apart from the regional ministers, we have approved 21 by consensus, three of them were approved by a majority decision and five nominees are still pending for further investigations before approval,” he told Adom FM’s Akua Boakyewaa Yiadom on current Affairs programme, Burning Issues.

The disclosure follows information circulating around that Minority MPs on the Appointments Committee on Monday, March 1, 2021, voted on the ministerial nominees vetted so far and have unanimously rejected three of the President’s nominees.

The report stated that Information Minister-designate Kojo Oppong Nkrumah; Minister-designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson and Minister-designate for Food Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has been rejected by the National Democratic Congress MPs on the committee for various reasons.

But commenting on the said rejection, the Chairman of the Appointments Committee stressed that the committee lacks the authority to disqualify a nominee but it can only recommend to plenary by either consensus votes or through a majority decision for the entire House to decide.

“We haven’t disqualified any nominee as being speculated around; it is not true,” Mr Osei-Owusu emphasised.

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The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament added that the Appointments Committee within a week will decide on the fate of the remaining five of the ministerial nominees after the said investigations.

The Bekwai legislator said the committee can only recommend disapproval or otherwise of a nominee even if the said nominee lied before the committee or commit a crime which prevents the person from holding public office for the entire House to decide on the nominee.

The Appointments Committee on Tuesday continued vetting of the regional ministers-designate, while the Minister-designate for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta is expected to appear before the committee on March 8, 2021.

The committee, in the coming weeks, will present their report to the plenary on President Nana Akufo-Addo’s nominees for consideration.

According to the Bekwai MP who is also the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, the committee has no such powers.

Joe Wise made the remarks as the vetting continued on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, after the minority side on Monday rejected three nominees with five others deferred.

He argued that the Committee can only make recommendations for a decision to be taken by Parliament.

“This committee has no power to reject anybody and let’s make it clear. Our duty is to make recommendations to the house which the house may accept or refuse. If we understand that it will influence our decisions,” he said.

Going further, he urged members to work together, adding it’s what he has come to learn and understand through training.

“We are supposed to make a decision as a committee which is intended for the House [Parliament]. Sometimes, people say I am too strict but truly that is my training and these are the rules we go by.

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“So please let us work as a team and as a committee. We can always agree to disagree that’s why it is a democracy but we should not take out of here matters which have not been decided by the committee and discuss as if it is a committee decision,” he urged.

Information Minister-designate, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister-designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson and Minister-designate for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto have been rejected for various reasons.

Those deferred are Communications Minister nominee, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful; Railways Minister nominee, John Peter Amewu; Roads Minister nominee, Kwasi Amoako-Attah; Attorney-General and Minister of Justice nominee, Godfred Dame and Health Minister nominee, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu.

Mr Owusu, popularly known as Joe Wise, was declared the Speaker following a nomination from MP for Suame, Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu and MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.

Lawyer Asiamah, who happens to be the only independent Parliamentarian in the House, was nominated by Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak from the NDC Caucus.

In his nomination speech, Mr Mubarak, among other things, reiterated the story of his suspension from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the subsequent declaration of his seat vacant in Parliament after contesting the December 7 election unopposed.

Further describing the action as ‘rambo styled’, he, however, noted that the good works of the legislator won him a second bid from his constituents.

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The motion was supported by the NPP’s Effutu constituency MP, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who also said lawyer Asamoah was capable of occupying the position given his track record and qualification.

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, while acknowledging the nominee, admitted it was not easy to get an independent candidate to occupy such a high position in the House.

He further urged the leadership to make the move a way for the House going forward.

The two were duly declared after a successful swearing-in of Ghana’s 8th Parliament of the 4th Republic.