The Programmes Officer at the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Vera Abena Addo has raised concerns about the inefficiencies within the current structure of Parliamentary Appointment Committee.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, February 8, Mrs Addo criticized the existing vetting system, particularly the practice of having 15 members vet all nominees, including regional ministers, which she argued slows down the process and leads to fatigue among committee members.
“The structure of the appointment committee is just not helping us, it is not efficient,” Mrs Addo stated, highlighting the challenges faced by the committee due to its large size and extended sessions.
She acknowledged the understandable exhaustion of members after sitting for long hours but stressed that the process needs to be restructured for better efficiency.
Mrs Addo proposed a more streamlined approach, advocating for “parallel vetting” drawing inspiration from the American system.
“I think we should do the bisector vetting,” she explained, suggesting a more focused and effective method that would allow the vetting process to move more swiftly without sacrificing thoroughness.
While emphasizing the benefits of the current system in promoting social accountability, where citizens hear directly from their ministers, the CDD Fellow pointed out that other countries like the UK do not engage in such exhaustive vetting processes.
“The UK doesn’t even go through this vetting, but we have adopted an approach, which is very good for social accountability,” she said.
Mrs Addo emphasised that the process could be made more efficient.
“We should make this process more efficient,” she concluded, stressing the importance of reform to ensure that the vetting process serves its intended purpose without undue delays or exhaustion among members of Parliament.
Credit: Emmanuel Tetteh
