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Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Acting Minister of Information, responded to Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, leader of the NDC Caucus, in Parliament’s assertion that it was illegal for the President to appoint “interim ministers”.
In a message on his Twitter page, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said: “The Presidential Transition Law, passed in 2012, Article 14 (5) is a new provision that empowers a new president to do new things that were previously illegal ”.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah issued part of the Presidential Transition Law, 2012 (845), with Article 14 (5) stipulating that “before the new Minister takes office, a person so appointed by the President will be in office. charge of the But will not make a decision on a matter of policy, except in the Ministry of Justice where the Solicitor General will be responsible for the ministry ”.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, after his inauguration on January 7, 2021, appointed acting ministers to hold the fort pending substantive appointments.
This follows the expiration of his first term and the start of his second four-year term on January 7, 2021.
The action complies with the 2012 Presidential Transition Law (Law 845), in order to avoid gaps in the management of state affairs.
Reliable sources in the presidency said that Ms Akosua Frema Osei-Opare was invited to act as chief of staff, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta as finance minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen as trade minister and Industry, Mr. Dominic Nitiwul, as Minister of Defense, and Mr. Albert Kan Dapaah, as Minister of National Security.
The others are Mr. Ambrose Dery, acting as Minister of Interior, Hajia Alima Mahama, acting as Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, and Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah as Minister of Information.
Mr. Eugene Arhin will also act as Communication Director in the Presidency.
However, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu argued in a media interview that the appointment by the acting president of ministers was unconstitutional and illegal and cited a Supreme Court ruling between Mr. JH Mensah and the Attorney General in 1997 as the basis. of his argument.
Mr Iddrisu alluded to the fact that the country’s supreme court ruled in 1997 that “there is no such thing as acting or detaining a minister”.
But Mr. Oppong Nkrumah, in his tweet, sought to disagree with Mr. Iddrisu’s assertion, noting that the Presidential Transition Law was a new law that allowed the president to appoint acting ministers as indicated in article 14 (5) of the law.
Acting ministers were told not to make decisions on political issues.
They were also informed to be guided by a note issued by the then chief of staff and president of the transitional presidential team, Ms. Osei-Opare, in December 2020, which asked ministers not to sign a new loan agreements, financial commitments and recruitment of permanent supervisory staff during the transition period.
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