Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, Patricia Appiagyei, has attributed the seeming disarray of the Appointment Committee to the lack of exposure of its leadership, particularly the Chairman.

She noted that both the Chair and the Ranking Member are entirely new to the committee, leading to inefficiencies and misunderstandings in the vetting process of the President’s ministerial nominees.

“Currently, we are undertaking the vetting of the President’s nominees for the various sectors, and we’ve had a number of issues—not because of partisanship, but because both of the leadership on the committee now are totally new,” she stated in an interview on PM Express on Joy News on Wednesday, January 29.

She pointed out that while experience in Parliament is essential, exposure to the workings of a specific committee plays a critical role in ensuring smooth operations.

“The Chair of the committee has never been on the Appointment Committee, and then the Ranking Member has never been on the committee. And these are some of the things that we need to iron out,” she explained.

According to her, the Appointment Committee has historically followed certain practices that have helped in the vetting process, but the new leadership has not adhered to them.

“There are rules, or I should say, by practice, what we do. The Appointment Committee that has been there over the years had certain practices, which are not being followed now.

"Because we are masters of our own rules, we can determine to vary them, but the variations now are causing problems,” she added.

Madam Appiagyei also attributed the current controversies surrounding the vetting process to the government’s push to expedite the formation of its cabinet.

“The government of the day made an express indication that it would rather set up the cabinet within about two weeks, which was almost impossible. But as much as possible, we should try to assist so that government business can take off,” she said.

She revealed that one major deviation from previous practices has been the hurried nature of the process, including the failure to adequately advertise nominees for public scrutiny.

“Previously, we were meant to advertise the nomination of everybody appointed for not less than two weeks.

"At a point in time, I remember the last government even had to advertise for just about a week, in some cases three days. But as it is now, due to the exigencies of the time, we have varied most of these. That’s why we see the controversies and misunderstandings breaking out at the meetings,” she stated.

Clarifying her remarks on the Chairman, Madam Appiagyei insisted she was not questioning his competence but rather highlighting his limited exposure to the committee’s past practices.

“I am not saying the Chair is not experienced, I am saying exposure. Because people serve on various committees, and the practices vary from one committee to the other,” she clarified.

Responding to allegations that Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has been bullying the Chairman of the committee, Appiagyei strongly rejected the characterization.

“I object to that word—bullying. No. It’s just about trying to reach some level of consensus with the Chair. And then the Chair also has his own ways and feels that things must be done differently, and that’s why it comes out like that. But I wouldn’t say it is a bullying approach,” she defended.

Despite the ongoing tensions within the committee, Madam Appiagyei remains hopeful that these challenges can be resolved through better cooperation and adherence to established practices.