Ignoring 21-day period to vet Mahama’s nominees indecent – Osei-Owusu

Joseph Osei-Owusu, the immediate past chairman of Parliament’s Appointments Committee, has expressed concerns about the short notice given for the vetting of three ministerial nominees by President John Dramani Mahama.

Osei-Owusu argued that the notice, issued on January 9, 2025, with the vetting taking place just four days later on January 13, 2025, was too rushed and hindered public participation in the process.

The former Member of Parliament for Bekwai and First Deputy Speaker of the 8th Parliament described this decision as a misstep, as it did not provide enough time for stakeholders, including the public, to engage meaningfully in the vetting.

“I would have thought that [a] minimum [of] one week at best or two weeks [is given] to allow people who have issues and wanted to bring them out to the committee to enable them to do that, but I did not see any publication whatsoever. So I was surprised, and I think it was the wrong step.

“The reason we call that a public hearing is that we want to afford the opportunity for the public to participate in it, not because it is in public, but because we want to afford the public the opportunity to participate in it if there is a way.

“I thought that it was needless, hasty, and indecent to go through with this one.”