Month: February 2025

The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Bagbin has with immediate effect lifted the suspension of the four Members of Parliament, Frank Annor-Dompreh, Rockson Dafeamekpor Alhassan Tampuuli and Ahmed Jerry after the Minority Leader in a statement apologized to the Speaker for the conduct of his colleagues that resulted in the chaos.
On the part of the Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga, he agreed with the Minority Leader and urged the Speaker to temper justice with mercy.

Alexander Kwamena Afenyo Markin indicated that as Minority they have collaborated to pass all the forty-two nominees of President John Dramani Mahama, and the Minority cannot take over the powers of the Speaker.
“We will not litigate this and as Minority Leader I take full responsibility of the chaos and appeal to the Speaker to resend his decision”.

According to the Speaker, so far the suspended MPs have complied with his order and thanked the security in Parliament for enforcing the order of the Speaker but the Special Committee will continue to do its work.

The Rt. Hon Speaker further added that since last week Friday, January 30, 2025 he stopped referring to Members of Parliament as Honourables and only restored that today, Tuesday, February 4, 2025.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Minority on the Appointment Committee has given indications that they will have to beef up their security in the wake of their colleagues in the Majority intimidating them as well as calling in their supporters into the premises of Parliament.

The NDC has resorted to carrying their foot-soldiers to come to Parliament to intimidate us; sometimes we will be walking and they will be pushing us; we have brought this to the attention of the parliament police, they stated.

According to the Minority Leader addressing the media on Monday, February 3, 2025, they have informed the marshal of this development.

“We are law abiding and for our security, we will engage the police in Parliament this morning. I engaged the marshal and told them that they should do all they can to protect us; it’s not for us to find our own security and beefing up security should come from Parliament”.

Again, he pointed out that, the vetting of nominees that took place when they boycotted are not valid because the Majority were disregarding the orders of the Speaker who pointed out that the Appointment Committee should be reconstituted.

As to whether the Minority will go to court on the issue of the rights of their members being affected with the suspension orders of the Speaker, he said “we did not have open door policy in the eighth parliament that was why we went to court; but in this case we have an open door policy so we will not go to court”.

He affirmed their commitment to give respect to his high office because he is a democrat and with his years of experience we should seat down and express our views with him. “We hope today will be a happy day for us as we are able to engage with the Majority leader”

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The seven-member Ad Hoc Committee tasked by the Rt. Hon Speaker Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin to investigate the brouhaha that erupted at the working of the Appointments Committee leading to the suspension of four MPs for two weeks has started its work.

The committee on the evening of Monday, February 4, 2025, started watching videos of the chaos that occurred on Thursday, January 30, 2025.

Chairman of the Committee, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah in a media address in Parliament pointed out that the Committee will start holding public hearing on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 at 10:00am in Parliament House.

And further added that they shall expect members of parliament, the media, guests who were present at the vetting room as well as members of the general public to voluntarily appear and assist the committee with relevant information on the incident.

The committee has also created a digital platform where we shall receive multimedia evidence including videos, audios and text to facilitate a speedy execution of the committee’s task. These can be forwarded to the clerk to the committee on 0244926911.

Again, the committee shall solicit the services of a forensic expert from the Ghana Police Service to assist with authentication, analysis and validation of all multimedia evidence that would be received from witnesses.

He also provided the opportunity for in-camera hearing for persons who may wish to utilize such an avenue to provide useful evidence to assist the committee.

“It’s our hope that all citizens would stand with the Parliament of Ghana in this trying moment to assist in rebuilding our enviable democratic attributes as we undertake to execute this task”, he said.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Mr. Thomas Worlanyo Tsekpo, Member of Parliament (MP) for Hohoe Constituency, has pledged to resolve telecommunication network issues to ensure uninterrupted and reliable connectivity within the Gbledi enclave and the Constituency.

The pledge, hinged on Mr. Tsekpo’s dedication to the community’s progress and well-being as he is poised to elevate Hohoe to “unprecedented” levels reaffirming his commitment to serving everyone in the Constituency.

Mr. Tsekpo made the pledge during a “Thank You” tour to Gbi Wegbe and the Gbledi Traditional Area in the company of his Constituency Executives to express his gratitude for the support received during and after the 2024 elections.

He said unity and development were key ingredients that yielded positive results hence urged the traditional rulers and constituents to always embrace peace and remain united in the quest to develop themselves and the constituency in general.

Mr. Tsekpo said he remained resolute in his plans to provide clean drinking water to households in Gbledi Gborgame and Gbledi Chebi communities, adding that plans were already in motion with engineers who came for site inspection.

He said he would be an MP committed to listening to the voices of traditional rulers, stakeholders and constituents while co-creating solutions and advocating tirelessly for the well-being of his constituents.

Togbega Homatekpor V, Paramount Chief of Gbledi Traditional Area, congratulated the Member of Parliament and all executives for their hard work in regaining the Parliamentary Seat and promised to work together with the MP to be successful in his endeavour.

He said the people of Gbledi Paramountcy were looking forward to their share of the development, adding that most of the young people who completed Junior and Senior High Schools had no artisanal skills and jobs.

Togbega Homatekpor urged the MP to ensure that available resources and opportunities available to him, also be extended to the Paramountcy.

He urged his subjects to do away with partisan politics since the period was over and be united, and ready to fully support any projects that would come to paramountcy.

Edward Williams

The Member of Parliament for Klottey Korle Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings said while a holistic improvement of the constituency remains her focus, she will ensure issues around the youth, women, and persons with disability are given priority in the constituency.

According to her she will ensure agencies within her constituency do not ignore the indigenes, when it comes to opportunities in the area of capacity building and employment.

Dr. Zanetor, speaking in an interview with Ghanamps.com added that the provision of sporting facilities is something she is taking greater interest in,  as well as ensuring that sporting facilities within the tertiary institutions are in good conditions so that young people can also take greater interest in sports.

The MP, a health practitioner herself has over the years been actively involved in organizing and making resources available for regular health screening programmes for her constituents; and has promised to maintain that gesture while ensuring that health facilities are enhanced in the area.

On the educational front, she indicated that she would continue to provide scholarships to needy students from the basic level to the tertiary level and make sure issues having to do with enhancing education are taken care of.

With regards to recent fire outbreaks in market centres, she noted that the development is quite devastating particularly on the lives and livelihoods of the affected traders; hence there is the need for collaboration with the Ghana fire and the Municipality to ensure that fire hydrants are working properly and access to all these markets are improved to enhance smooth response in times of emergencies.

She pledged to project issues of importance about the constituency on the floor of the House, including flooding which relates to the proper execution of the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID).

The project, she noted, has some issues around it because of the way some of the funds that were supposed to go to GARID were re-aligned to COVID; thus a lot of the works did not start, and the rains are not too far from now, and added that it is her hope that once we have Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives in place, especially those who are up stream to the constituency, there would be fruitful discussions on the way forward including the management of solid wastes.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Minority in Ghana’s Parliament are unhappy that the Speaker Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Bagbin did not give the four suspended Members of Parliament; Rockson Nelson Etse Kwame Dafeamakpor, Majority Chief Whip; Frank Annor-Dompreh, Minority Chief Whip; Alhassan Sulemana Tampuuli, MP and Jerry Ahmed Shaib , Second Deputy Minority Whip the right to fair hearing.

At a press conference addressed by the Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin on Monday, February 3, 2025, he pointed out that they have had the opportunity to listen to every word and phrase that the Speaker used and have come to the conclusion that he grossly exercised his jurisdiction and his mandate, and in the process arrogated powers that he does not have unto himself.

For emphasis, order 129 and 130 reading them together with Orders 30 to 35 even when there are contempt proceedings which will trigger a breach of privilege and by extension for some action to be taken a committee must be set to look into it, he stated.

On this occasion the Speaker was dealing with disorderly conduct which took place at the Committee level where the Chairman of the Committee had the mandate to deal with the matters; but says on his own that he has suspended these members without hearing them.

According to him, as the Chairman of the Committee did not communicate anything to the Speaker neither did the Speaker invite any of them in leadership for any discussion in any event, “when there is punishment, our rules are clear it can be for four days or eight days according to order 130”.

“We are aware that the NDC Majority itself has disregarded the Speaker’s orders. On that day, one of his orders was that the selection committee must meet immediately and reconstitute the Appointment Committee but the NDC has decided to disregard these orders and proceeded with the vetting. Despite the fact that we disagree with the Speaker, out of respect to him, we must still engage him and we will engage him.”

Hon Afenyo-Markin further pointed out that they started this engagement over the weekend; the Majority Leader and his himself had extensive discussions and he (Majority Leader) elected to reach out to Mr. Speaker and get back to him. He tried to reach out to Mr. Speaker but he was not successful.

“We believe today is Monday, Speaker will be in the office for us to see him and take the discussion further. As a responsible caucus we are going to take our concerns in a memo to his office and we believe that will form the basis for discussion”.

Again, we do not know how to treat Mr. Speaker’s communication; whether is a ruling or communication so-called because there is a provision in the order if a motion of matters come to the floor Mr. Speaker will rule on the matter and if we are not okay with it, we can challenge by filing a motion. That is what the rules say.

He noted that this was the same challenge in the ‘vacant seat’ saga when then Minority Leader Ato Forson said he was raising issue of national interest and when the matter went to the Supreme Court the Speaker said he only delivered a communication.

“So we are careful on how to approach him to know exactly what he meant; he has taken actions that have affected the rights of our colleagues.”

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The parliament of Ghana’s struggle to hit the 30 percent female representation continues to be a mirage with each passing parliament, a situation the Member of Parliament for Klottey Korle, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings requires political will to attain.

Speaking to Ghanamps.com, she said the passage of the Affirmative Action Act must bring some awakening to the political parties to institute measures geared towards actualizing the 30 percent female representation target, adding that parliament itself has no role to play in this, as the whole process of who comes to parliament is carried out on political platforms though independent participation is also allowed.

In the eighth (8th) Parliament, the female representation out of the two hundred and seventy-five seats, was forty females representing 14.5 percent; and the current 9th Parliament also currently has 40 females with Ablekuma North outstanding which by all indication will add one female to the number in parliament as both contenders are females. And that will increase the percentage to 14.8 percent, he stated.

She asserts that there is the need for a paradigm shift to include a lot of sensitization across board, so that people will understand the importance of having the 30 percent and how it will enhance our nation building.

“So the understanding of the value of bringing more women to the decision making table needs to be shared, and not something like being able to attend international conference and all of that; but actually Ghana will suffer for not achieving the thirty percent women representation in Parliament”.

She disclosed that some of the international parliamentary organisations have made it clear that countries that do not reach the thirty percent female representation are not welcomed; and as of last year Ghana was on that lists that has not met that particular requirement.

“It’s unfortunate we know what the percentage of women are in Ghana, we know the value of having women, not just when it’s time to campaign but at the decision table that ultimately affect policy; it also affects legislation which then affect the community as a whole”.

She asserted that we  definitely not doing well enough and that the political parties must do better with regard to representation of women.

“We should stop paying lip service to issues of women representation and actually implement it”, the lawmaker stated.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

With the confusion that has clouded the real roles of the Member of Parliament particular on the issue of spearheading developments in their various constituencies, as to whether he or she a development agent because he is elected and their role as law makers the Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Opoku Ansah has pointed out that the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) would have to improve their engagement with the Ghanaian public to let them know the actual functions of their representatives in parliament .

“Our role as MPs, coming to Accra as legislators is to have oversight responsibility over the Executive arm of Government. When that education goes down well, Ghanaians will begin to appreciate the role of the MP. Then a lot of pressures will be lifted off the MP. If he or she is to ensure that laws are passed, that is the work they are supposed to do rather than MPs coming to fix gutters, toilets and build schools”.

As to whether Parliamentary Candidates or Members of Parliament should not take part of the blame as they go out there to campaign and give a lot of promises, the lawmaker pointed out in an interview that at the time the lawmaker to be was going round campaigning, the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) are not yet known, and it takes the parliamentary candidate to sell the programmes and policies contained in the manifestoes of the political parties they represent.

So in doing so, the people assume the promises were coming directly from the PCs, forgetting that they have presidential candidates seeking executive power who would spearhead the development agenda including the construction of roads, schools, hospitals among others through the MMDCEs who are actually the development agents at the assemblies.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Minority in parliament has rejected the Speaker Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin’s suspension of three of their members; Hon. Frank Annoh-Dompreh (Nsawam-Adoagyiri), Hon, Alhassan Sulemana Tampuli (Gushegu), and Hon. Jerry Ahmed Shaib (Weija-Gbawe) which took effect from Friday, January 31, 2025.

The Minority noted that the decision by the Speaker is “an unfortunate overreach of parliamentary authority, a blatant display of selective justice, and an attack on the democratic principles that underpin our legislative process.”

In a press release, they stated that “The events that transpired during the vetting of ministerial nominees were bore out of deep-seated frustrations regarding the conduct of proceedings, the disregard for due process, and the Majority’s attempt to railroad decisions without consensus building. Parliament, by its very nature, is a forum for robust debate and passionate deliberation. The unfortunate incident that led to minor property damage was not a planned disruption but a manifestation of the growing tensions caused by the Majority and their members and the failure of the Chairman of the Appointments Committee to exercise impartiality.”

They contend that the Speaker’s decision to unilaterally suspend these three MPs—without due process in accordance with provisions enshrined in Standing Orders 130 (a) and (b), without an opportunity for them to be heard under Article 19 (1) of the Constitution and without first exhausting internal disciplinary mechanisms—sets a dangerous precedent. It signals an era where the Speaker can arbitrarily punish Members of Parliament based on perceived disobedience, rather than adherence to parliamentary rules and fairness.

They further stated that Parliament must remain a bastion of democracy, not an institution of oppression. The Ghanaian people deserve a Parliament where all voices are heard, not one where members are punished for their commitment to due process and accountability.

“Democracy thrives on fairness and justice, and we will not sit idle while our parliamentary democracy is undermined by selective application of rules.”

They have therefore rejected the suspension of the three MPs and demand an immediate reversal of the decision.

Ghanamps.com

The Speaker of Parliament’s disciplinary axe has fallen on four Members of Parliament.

The four;
Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, MP for South Dayi;
Frank Annoh-Dompreh, MP for Nsawam Adoagyiri;
Alhassan Sulemana Tampuuli, MP for Gushegu; and
Jerry Ahmed Shaib, MP for Weija-Gbawe have been suspended from Parliament for two weeks, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin announced.

Their suspension is in relation to their involvement in the Thursday, January 30, 2025 chaotic scene at the vetting conducted by the Appointment Committee of Parliament.

A disagreement over whether or not the Committee should continue with the vetting of Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Kwabena Mintah Akandoh Ministers -designate for Foreign Affairs and Health respectively resulted in a brawl disrupting the vetting process.

The unfortunate development also resulted in the destruction of properties including tables and microphones at the vetting centre.

The Speaker described their actions as a direct affront to the dignity of Parliament, warranting immediate punitive measures.

”Let there be no doubt, Parliament’s credibility has been seriously undermined, and urgent punitive action must be taken, as this was done contemptus Parlamenti in facie parlamenti. Consequently, the following members are suspended from the sittings of Parliament for two weeks from today”, he said.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com