A private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, says it is legal for a newly-sworn in president to appoint interim ministers until substantive ones are duly nominated, vetted, and approved by Parliament.
His comment follows the leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu saying that President Akufo-Addo is acting unlawfully for allowing some of his first term Ministers hold onto their ministerial positions without following the legal process.
Mr Iddrisu cited the Supreme Court Ruling of the J. H Mensah versus Attorney General 1997 and argued that there is nothing like holding or acting ministers unless they have been nominated by President, and the legislature has vetted and approved them.
However, citing the same Supreme Court Ruling of the J. H Mensah versus Attorney General 1997, Lawyer Kpebu said, the NDC MP got it wrong.
He stressed that to avoid the situation of a vacuum in governance the apex court has granted the power to the executive to appoint holding ministers.
“The clear provision of the law, per the interpretation of the Supreme Court is that the President has power to appoint some persons to act as acting ministers pending nomination vetting and approval of substantive ministers.
“But it makes sense that naturally, the President should be given sometime to organise a new government, so in the interim some people should be giving the power to act,” he stated.
The legal practitioner further noted that until someone challenges the ruling of the Supreme Court in the 1997 case, the citizenry is bound to heed to it.
President Akufo-Addo in a letter on Monday, charged some former ministers to maintain their respective positions pending the appointment and subsequent approval of new ministers for his second term in office.
Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, a Caretaker Minister of information, has also responded to Mr Haruna Iddrisu, NDC Caucus Leader in Parliament’s assertion that, it was illegal for the President to appoint ‘Caretaker Ministers’.
In a message on his Twitter page, Mr Oppong Nkrumah said, “The Presidential Transition Act, passed in 2012 Section 14(5) is a new provision that empowers a new President to do new things that were previously illegal”.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah posted a portion of the Presidential Transition Act, 2012 (845), with Section 14(5) stipulating that “before the assumption of office of the incoming Minister, a person so appointed by the President shall be in charge of the relevant Ministry but shall not take a decision involving a policy issue except in the Ministry of Justice where the Solicitor-General shall be in charge of the Ministry “.
The Presidency has asked Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-Opare to act as the Chief of Staff, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta to act as Finance Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen as Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Dominic Nitiwul, as Minister of Defence, and Mr Albert Kan Dapaah, as Minister of National Security.
The rest are Mr Ambrose Dery, acting as Minister of the Interior, Hajia Alima Mahama, acting as Minister of Local Government and Rural Development
Mr Eugene Arhin is also to act as Director of Communications at the Presidency.
Source: Mypublisher24.com
