News:
First Deputy Speaker
November 30, 2021
Parliament on Tuesday voted to overturn Friday November 26, 2021’s rejection of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of government.
Invoking Order 109 (1) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, and Article 104 of the Constitution, the Majority Leader pleads with the Speaker to uphold the motion and set aside the impropriety.
Order 109(1) – “No question for decision in the House shall be proposed for determination unless there are present in the House not less than one-half of all Members of the House, and except otherwise provided in the Constitution, the Question proposed shall be determined by the majority of the votes of the members present and voting”, And Article 104 (1) “Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, matters in Parliament shall be determined by the votes of the majority of members present and voting, with at least half of all the members of Parliament present”, he argued that the number 137 which rejected the budget statement on Friday did not meet the test of the Constitution under Aticle 104 (1).
According to him, the Speaker erred in relying on Order 102 – “A quorum of Parliament, apart from the person presiding, shall be one-third of all the members of Parliament. Order 102, he noted is appropriate for transacting ordinary business apart from decision making, and described the it as most irregular.
Coming under Order 50(1), the Majority Leader thus plead with the First Deputy Speaker who was presiding to properly pose for determination, the question on the motion moved by the minister of Finance on Wednesday November 17, 2021 in respect of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government for the year ending 31st December, 2022. “Mr. Speaker, it is clear, as I have registered that the number that was invoked, the Article that was invoked was insufficient to cover the determination of the question that was proposed for the support or rejection of the budjet.”
He thus pleaded with the Speaker to uphold the motion and set aside the impropriety.
Upholding the motion and setting aside the impropriety
The Speaker in his ruling said per the records of last Friday’s proceedings, the confirmed numbers of members of parliament at the time the question was put was less than half all the members of parliament. “Clearly the record shows that 137 members were present, that number is less than 50 percent or half of all members“.
He stated that article 104(1) Standing Order 109(1) regulates the process of decision making in the House, “the combined effect if this provision and standing orders are that the question shall not be put on any matter for decision to be made unless one-half of all Members are present in this chamber”, and stated that the Speaker presiding at the time might not have averted his minds to these constitutional and procedural requirements.
He said the putting of the question on the budget statement on Friday, November 26, 2021 was in violation of Article 104(1) of the Constitution, therefore, void and inconsequential, and declared the rejection of the budget statement as of no effect.
Ghanamps.com