The appointments committee of parliament On Monday vetted Majority Leader Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, who has been nominated as minister for parliamentary affairs, in less than 30 minutes.
In a vetting process that saw some ministerial nominees grilled for over three hours, Mensah-Bonsu’s short appearance before the committee is a testament to the respect he commands among parliamentarian.
Only five members of the committee posed questions the Suame MP during his vetting.
They are Akuapem South MP, Osei Bonsu Amoah, Yileh Chireh and the three leaders - Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu; Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak and Chairman of the committee, Joe Osei-Owusu.
The majority leader revealed as he answered some questions that he was an "astute spare parts dealer" before he ventured into politics.
He said he started his spare parts business while at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and it continued even after school and after he travelled to Zimbabwe.
"When I went to Zimbabwe, every quarter I was coming to Ghana. And coming to Ghana, I stopped over in Nigeria and procured spare parts so I was an astute spare parts dealer. That indeed was fetching me more money than I'm earning here", he said, drawing laughter from the house.
Regarded as one of Ghana's finest MPs in the 4th republic, Mensah-Bonsu was minority leader for 2008 until 2016 when he was promoted to majority leader, following the New Patriotic Party’s victory in the elections.