Afenyo-Markin criticizes Minority's walkout during approval of new ministers

The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has deemed the Minority Parliament's walkout during the approval of new ministers on Friday, May 17, as “unsurprising.”

Before the approvals, the Minority staged a walkout, objecting to the appointment of new Ministers and Deputy Ministers-designate by President Akufo-Addo. They argue that the government’s mismanagement is responsible for the current economic and power crises and

Read full articlethat new ministerial appointments are not the solution.

During an interview on The Point of View on Citi TV, Afenyo-Markin accused the Minority of acting in bad faith, despite having reached a consensus earlier.

He explained that the Minority’s last-minute request to amend the report to reflect a majority decision was not feasible. “We had agreed at the committee level to proceed on consensus. The report had been laid, and last minute, our colleagues wanted it by majority decision, which is very unusual. Since we had our numbers, we weren’t worried. We agreed to their request but noted it was too late to amend the report.”

Afenyo-Markin defended the government's appointments, stating that the President has the constitutional mandate to form his cabinet as he sees fit. “A President’s decision to constitute his cabinet is his prerogative. Arguing about the number of ministers is trivial. The President determines his government structure for optimal functionality.”

The newly approved ministers include Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye as the Minister of Health, Lydia Seyram Alhassan as the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, and Dakoa Newman as the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, among others.