Joseph Osei-Owusu, the former chairman of Parliament’s Appointments Committee, has raised concerns over the inadequate notice for vetting three ministerial nominees proposed by President John Dramani Mahama.
He criticized the timeline, noting that the notice was issued on January 9, 2025, with the vetting scheduled just four days later on January 13, 2025. According to Osei-Owusu, this rushed process limited public engagement and participation, which are essential to the vetting procedure.
The former Bekwai MP and First Deputy Speaker of the 8th Parliament described the move as a misstep, emphasizing that such a short timeline undermines meaningful involvement from key stakeholders, including the general public.
“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.”
