The Ranking Member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and MP for Juaboso, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has asked Ministers-designate to refrain from assuming the role of representatives of the president.
He has also admonished the Chief of Staff to revoke any unauthorized appointments of Minister-designates as presidential representatives.
He was responding to reports that the Chief of Staff has made temporary appointments for Minister-designates, who are awaiting parliamentary approval, and designated them as ‘Representative of the President.’
In a statement issued by Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, he noted that appointing the Minister-designates, as nominees of the President, lack the authority to instruct or implement policy changes within ministry agencies.
He further argued that the 1992 constitution does not support the creation of representatives of the President in Ministries of State.
He added that a Minister, in addition to the power and authority granted by the constitutional instrument of office and legislations passed and assented, is the representative of the President in whichever ministry he/she is assigned.
“The Minister-designate who is only a nominee of the President has no authority whatsoever to instruct or direct, implement or propose policy changes for agencies within a sector ministry and therefore under what power or authority does he/she summon CEOs and other heads of institutions, who may be busy with their official schedules, to grant him audience or presentations on their management of state institutions?
“The Minority in Parliament would therefore like to advise the Chief of Staff to revoke all illegal appointments appointing Minister-designates as Representatives of the President. We further caution persons so appointed to stop holding themselves out as Representatives of the President to designated Ministries. We urge all members of the public, particularly public sector workers not to extend any privilege reserved for Ministers to such persons.
“Therefore, for a highly regulated power centre such as the Presidency, it is ultra vires for the Chief of Staff who derives all her powers from the President as prescribed by the 1992 constitution to be creating new offices alien to the constitution.”
“It is therefore ultra vires for the Chief of Staff to ascribe a primary function of a Minister to a person not so appointed. Article 78(1) of the 1992 constitution states, “Ministers of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament….”
“This clearly indicates that the appointment process can only occur after approval of Parliament. Therefore, Minister-designates are at most nominees whose presence in government institutions should amount to nothing more than a visit of an ordinary citizen and that is without Ministerial privilege or authority whatsoever,” the statement said.
He also deemed it unlawful for an individual to serve as a President’s Representative in a Ministry with executive authority over state institutions in the President’s name.
“It is for this reason that where a substantive appointment has not been made to a specific ministry, a Minister appointed to another ministry and clothed with the constitutional instrument of office is directed by the President to act as ‘caretaker’ Minister for the ministry,” it added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
