[ 2017-01-20 ]

I’m to coordinate economic sector - Osafo-Marfo
Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo has said President Nana
Akufo-Addo has mandated him, as Senior Minister
– once his nomination is approved by parliament
– to “coordinate” the roles of the various
economic ministries in the new government.

Explaining his mandate to parliament’s
Appointments Committee on Friday, 20 January,
during his vetting, the former Finance Minister
said: “The president told me specifically that
we (NPP) have had a senior minister before in the
person of J.H. Mensah, whom I worked with because
at the time I was the minister of finance and he
coordinated the economic sector ministries.”

“… All the productive sectors are referred to
as economic sector and they will be a major bloc
as a subcommittee of parliament and they
coordinate the activities of the economic sectors
of his cabinet, as it may be, and he wanted me to
bring my experience as a [former] minister of
finance, as somebody who has done a similar job in
Uganda, as somebody who has done a similar job in
Liberia, to bear [on his government] … so, I’m
playing a coordinated role for the economic sector
as it were.

“The economic sector relates to the other
ministries, so, naturally my experience will be
brought to bear on my colleagues to make sure that
we resuscitate the economy in a very homogenised
manner so that there will be harmony,” Mr Osafo
Marfo said, added: “From our manifesto, one of
the major priorities of the president is to
transform the economy because as you are aware,
the economy is in some difficulty, we are in an
IMF programme and we hope to come out with flying
colours.”

The president’s nomination of Mr Marfo as Senior
Minister drew some criticism from opposition MP
Mahama Ayariga who questioned the
constitutionality of the portfolio.

In an open letter to the president, Mr Ayariga
said: “The Senior Minister post which you have
created is demonstrably analogous to the office of
Prime Minister. I will show, from a review of the
history of the enactment of the 1992 Constitution,
that there was a very conscious decision to avoid
creating any office similar to that of a Prime
Minister. The idea of having a Prime Minister was
explicitly turned down.”

“Chapter 8 of the Constitution of Ghana 1992
establishes the Executive branch of government and
spells out the offices, which shall constitute
that branch. Articles 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 88,
and 256 of the constitution deal with matters
relating to the posts of a ‘Minister of State’
and a ‘Deputy Minister of State’. Some of
those provisions often refer to the term
‘Minister’ or ‘Deputy Minister’ when
making references to the post of a ‘Minister of
State’ or a ‘Deputy Minister of State’
respectively and omitting the expression: ‘of
State’”.

“A ‘Minister of State’ is not the same
creature as a ‘Senior Minister’. A ‘Senior
Minister’ suggests the existence of a hierarchy
among Ministers of State. There is no hierarchy
among ‘Ministers of State’ appointed under
articles 58 and 256. At best, there could be
informal seniority protocols within government
once approval as Ministers of State is given by
parliament. I am not operating in the realm of
protocols now. I am asking that we pay attention
to the dictates of the language of our
constitution when communicating to other
constitutional bodies and arms of government.

Co-equal arms of government are guided in the
exercise of their own functions by the dictates of
the same constitution. Remember that in the case
of the requirement of ‘prior approval’ by
Parliament, the Supreme Court said in Mensah
versus Attorney-General that parliament had to
respect the language and act accordingly and not
just retain Ministers of the previous government
because that was not what ‘prior approval’
meant.”

Source - classfmonline.com

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