A showdown is expected in Parliament later
Tuesday when MPs vote on whether or not to approve Gender minister-designate
Otiko Afisa Djaba.Approval for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Women’s
Organiser was deferred last week Friday after a process to approve her for the
job hit a snag, following the Minority’s refusal to endorse her nomination by
consensus.
All ten Minority MPs say the minister-designate lacks the
temperament to effectively deliver at the Gender, Children and Social Protection
Ministry.
The Minority also insists that Otiko Djaba’s failure to do her
National Service makes her ineligible for the position, a view that has
generated a heated debate.
National Democratic Congress MP for Juaboso,
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, told Joy News’ Joseph Opoku Gakpo that the Minority will
resist efforts by the Majority to push her through. “I am hoping to see a very
quality debate; I am hoping to hear something from them [Majority] like ‘this is
our letter to waive the [mandatory] National Service requirement', but that will
not be so good,” he said.
The Majority, however, disagrees that a
ministerial nominee’s failure to do National Service makes them ineligible to
serve in the executive role.
Ghana’s law mandates persons who graduate
from the tertiary level to do a one-year national service to the
country.
Failure to adhere to this law constitutes an offence and could
stifle moves to service in a public office.
The law regulating the
National Service Scheme (NSS), Act 426, stipulates the following punishment for
persons who fail to enrol and carry their national service duties:
A
person who has not commenced and completed his period of national service shall
not:
(1) (a) Obtain employment outside the Scheme; or
(b) Be
employed by any other person outside the Scheme; or
(c) Be engaged in
any employment outside the Scheme, whether self-employed or otherwise, without
the prior permission, in writing, of the Board.
However, some
commentators have argued that the constitutional requirement of ministers is
similar to that of legislators and if Parliamentarians are not required to
present a National Service certificate before being cleared to contest as MPs,
same must extend to ministerial nominees.
Majority Leader, Osei Kyei
Mensah-Bonsu, thinks the law regulating the Scheme is a bad one.
“The
provision in the Constitution is superior, it is supreme. If we have inferior
laws [NSS law] you cannot subject the Constitution to an inferior law?” he
demands.
He thinks the Minority’s refusal to approve the Gender
Minister-designate boils down to discrimination.
“The [NSS] law itself is
a bad law...it is not well structured,” he surmised.
But with the House
divided on the matter, the Majority is likely to have the upper hand if all 16
Majority MPs on the Appointments Committee vote against the ten Minority MPs on
the committee. |
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