Former Second Deputy Speaker of the sixth Parliament of the fourth Republic and Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan Joe Ghartey says “Speakers of Parliament should not be allow to decide whether they will allow motions or not”.
He noted in an interview with ghanamps.com that Tuesday’s precedent where Speaker Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye allowing Kobina Tahir Hammond’s motion is a good development for our democracy it gives everybody the opportunity.
The Adansi Asokwa MP moved an urgent motion that the House rescinds its decision to approve the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer Agreement between the Government of Ghana and the Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group LIC (Ameri Energy) for the installation of ten GE TM2, 500+ aero derivative gas turbines, operate, maintain transfer and provision of support services that the House took on March 20,2015 for reasons of gross misrepresentation.
According to the former second Deputy Speaker, if the Speaker has not allowed K. T Hammond’s motion it will mean a right is being given to the Speaker to decide whether or not to bring motion before the House.
He further noted that, the Adansi Asokwa MP could not have jumped straight with his motion to the Committee. “Our rules does not allow that, rather there should be a referral from the House”.
Everything that the Minority leader wanted to say I had things to say to those things will be said at the committee level then the committee will bring its report, in fact the committee may disagree with K T Hammond or may agree with him, Parliament as a whole is not bound to agree with the committee, he said.
Also fundamental rule of justice is that nobody should be condemned without being given a hearing,people who are affected by the decision we are about to take, are people who cannot appear before Parliament when we are sitting in the plenary.
The affected people may appear before a committee of the whole in Parliament but how can parliament sit as a committee of the whole to decide on this matter, he remarked.
In addition what comes back to the House is not what K T Hammondthinks, it is the combination of what he thinks all the facts properly adviced then it comes back to the people, the reason why agreements come to the House is that it is because you have the presentative of the people here and they should decide, he said.
“What the Minority leader was doing was wrong this is not a court of law, Speakers have rules on that and in Parliament when a motion is moved then you can make your point before the point could be made the Speaker in his wisdom has referred the matter to the committee”.
He said when you are speaking on the floor and the Speaker rules against you that is the end of your speech, you should not continue speaking if you disagree with him you come by a motion and there are ways of disagreeing and there are procedural way of doing that.
By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com
