Deputy Minority Leader Patricia Appiagyei says she rejected GH¢70,000 that she claims was sent to her by the Majority Chief Whip, stating that she did not want to personally benefit from a parliamentary process involving the vetting of members of the Majority leadership.
The Asokwa MP said she was uncomfortable accepting the money because she had not been told its source and did not want to receive any financial benefit linked to the vetting of Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and Deputy Majority Leader Zanetor Agyemang Rawlings.
In a memorandum dated September 2 and addressed to Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh, with Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin copied, Mrs. Appiagyei instructed that the GH¢70,000 be returned to the Majority Chief Whip.
“It is with regret that I return the amount of seventy thousand cedis (GH¢70,000.00) allocated to me as an advance of money from the Majority Chief Whip of Parliament of Ghana. I am returning the money on the basis of the fact that, primarily, I do not know the source of the money being given to me,” she stated.
Mrs. Appiagyei said her decision was also influenced by the Minority Caucus’s position on the vetting of the three Supreme Court nominees.
“It is also not my intention to extort any money from any of the above judges,” she added.
She reaffirmed her support for the Minority Caucus’s position, saying her decision was in line with that of Mr. Afenyo-Markin, who she said had also returned his share of the money.
‘I don’t want to benefit personally’
Mrs. Appiagyei’s decision comes amid the Minority Caucus’s boycott of the vetting of three Supreme Court nominees over its objections to the procedure adopted by the Parliamentary Appointments Committee.
The nominees are Justice Sophia Rosetta Oduokuwa Bernasko Essah, Justice Edward Amoako Asante and Justice Anthony Forson Jnr.
The Minority walked out of the proceedings on August 27, arguing that the Supreme Court nominees had been scheduled for vetting without adequate notice.
However, Mrs. Appiagyei’s memorandum suggests that her concerns extended beyond the vetting of the judicial nominees. She said she was unwilling to accept money linked to a parliamentary process involving the vetting of members of the Majority leadership.
Minority objects to vetting procedure
Before leading the Minority members out of the Appointments Committee sitting, Mr. Afenyo-Markin challenged the procedure adopted by the committee’s leadership.
“The procedure that has been adopted is at variance with the orders of the House. How can you ask us to vet Supreme Court judges with three days’ notice?” he queried.
He argued that established parliamentary practice required nominees to be given adequate notice before their vetting.
“The standard practice is to give fourteen days’ notice, advertise in the newspapers before the vetting is done,” he said.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin also referred to concerns previously raised by then Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson in a similar instance involving the vetting of Supreme Court nominees after short notice had been given.
Addressing the nominees before the walkout, Mr. Afenyo-Markin emphasised that the Minority’s objection was to the vetting process, not the individuals nominated.
“To the nominees, we are not against your nomination; we are against the procedure, and we cannot be part of this,” he said.
He was subsequently joined by other Minority members of the committee, who also withdrew from the proceedings.
Mrs. Appiagyei’s decision to return the GH¢70,000 therefore reflects both her concerns about the source of the money and her position that she should not personally benefit from a parliamentary process to which the Minority has formally objected.