By Love Wilhelmina Abanonave
Minority Leader, Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has accused the Clerk of the Appointments Committee, Gifty Jiagge-Gobah, of mistreating the minority side, citing instances where nominees were invited for vetting without the minority’s knowledge or input, describing it as quite unfortunate.
The Ranking member of the Committee alleged that the Clerk has been forwarding reports directly to the Chairman without allowing him to review them.
Speaking on the GTV Breakfast Show, he expressed concern over the practice, stating that despite his role as Minority Leader, he has been sidelined in the review process.
This, he said, has made it difficult for him to ask pertinent questions during vetting, as he is not privy to the necessary information. According to him, there have been instances where CVs of nominees were brought to him right when vetting was to begin.
The Effutu MP also expressed frustration that the vetting process on Friday began without the minority side being present, indicating that they were indeed in the house but were getting ready for a pre-sitting meeting, which was called only to see on their screens that the vetting process had begun.
‘’We are going through real challenges,” he said.
The Minority Leader further stated that the minority asked for her to be sacked because the Clerk’s behaviour has been partisan, favouring the ruling party. He recalled instances when he was Majority Leader where the Clerk insisted on involving the Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson in reports and decisions, even when Forson was out of the country.
‘’The Clerk has over-shown her partisan colours; she is mistreating us. When NPP was in power, she was neutral, but now when NDC is in power, she is showing her partisanship,’’ Afenyo-Markin vented.
Afenyo-Markin demanded that the Clerk be neutral and professional, urging her to follow established practices and engage the minority side in the vetting process.
‘’The Clerk is a Christian; she should be honest.’’ According to him, he has heard that there will be vetting of nominees today, but he has no notice of it.
He further recounted that Gifty Jiagge-Gobah gave Omane Boamah 11 a.m. to show up for his vetting but told them that she gave him 9 a.m. to come, so the committee ended up waiting for the nominee.
Again he claimed that during a parliamentary vetting session, his attempt to present video evidence was obstructed, recounting how, under the previous NPP government, NDC committee members would present video evidence for nominees to watch and comment on.
However, he alleged that when he, as Minority Leader, submitted video evidence for review, the Clerk cited “technical challenges” as the reason it could not be played. He later learned from a source that Gifty Jiagge-Gobah had instructed officials not to play the video.
‘’How can a clerk act this way?’’ he asked.
The Minority Leader added that he would not allow the minority to be taken for granted, emphasising that the NPP is a party of equals.
