News:
November 13, 2018
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu lamented on Friday 9th of November 2018 that he was embarrassed for using “tricks” to keep business in the House going, when issues of quorum was being raised constantly.
He further lamented over the practice where Members of Parliament (MPs) sign in the register and then go and sit in their offices.
According to Joseph Osei-Owusu who has been presiding over affairs of the House, most part of last week in the absence of the Speaker Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, “when you take the vote and proceedings of the House, over hundred members are recorded to be present, for me it is that part which is frustrating”.
“On paper we are present, but we are sitting in our offices and are not here in the chamber, I must also advice that if a quorum is applied for again, I would apply the rules strictly”, the Joseph Osei-Owusu cautioned the House.
He further warned that the House should be guided by what happened on Friday, the bell was rang for ten minutes, after three hours the numbers were still not encouraging, he lamented.
Out of the two hundred and seventy-five Members of Parliament (MPs) nine-one members needed to for quorum the whole of last week could not be obtain on the floor to do business.
By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com