Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has criticised President John Mahama for what he calls the slow and piecemeal appointment of ministers to his cabinet. This comes after the President, earlier today, nominated his first three Ministers-Designate: Dr Cassiel Ato Forson as Finance Minister, John Jinapor as Energy Minister, and Dr Dominic Ayine as Attorney General and Minister for Justice.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Mr Afenyo-Markin described the nominations as “tot tot” appointments, suggesting they fall short of expectations for a government that had pledged readiness to govern effectively from day one.

“When the names were read out by Mr Speaker, only three names were mentioned. This ‘tot tot’ appointment is unacceptable. This is a government that promised a 24-hour economy while in opposition. They told us they were ready to govern, so where are the rest of the ministers? We expect to hear nominations for critical ministries like Agriculture, Roads and Highways, Lands and Natural Resources, and Education,” he said.

The Minority Leader also criticised the government for releasing the list of nominees in the media before officially presenting it to Parliament, arguing it undermines parliamentary protocol.

Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has assured that the vetting process for President Mahama’s ministerial nominees will be thorough. Speaking in Parliament, he commended the leadership for their preparedness in setting up the Appointment and Business Committees to handle the nominations well.

“The President has made it clear that he will not appoint more than 60 ministers, and I commend the Speaker and leadership for proactively establishing the necessary committees ahead of time to manage this process,” he stated.

Mr Annoh-Dompreh, however, cautioned the nominees to be fully prepared for the vetting process. “We, on the Minority side, will be ready at the Appointment Committee. This is not going to be business as usual. We expect every nominee to come well prepared because it's not going to be business as usual. we will subject them to rigorous vetting process,” he warned.

Majority Leader, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has responded to criticisms from the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, calling for cooperation from the Minority to ensure effective governance.

“We’ve been indulgent with the Minority Leader because we understand this difficult transition. We believe it is important to allow him to express the frustrations that come with being in opposition,” he stated.

Mr Armah-Kofi Buah reminded the Minority of their responsibility to ensure the smooth flow of parliamentary business.

“We expect you to be productive and cooperative, just as we did to ensure that government business was done, and we urge the Minority to work with us to keep this House functional and effective,” he added.