News:
February 5, 2021
Former Ranking Member on the Committee for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has demanded the agenda for the first meeting of the 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic, quoting Order 33 clause 1 of the standing orders to back his argument.
According to him the clerk shall send each member an agenda for each meeting if possible fourteen days before the meeting, and if possible looking at the circumstances send supplementary agenda.
“I have not seen an agenda for this meeting, I have been looking forward for it, and there is no indication as to when it is going to happen. Ideally, this should be happening before the meeting starts, more than three weeks now into this meeting we do not have an agenda”.
On Friday, February 5, 2021, he demanded to know the reason for this after the Majority Leader presented Business Statement on the floor of the House. “We are prepared to function fully in this meeting”.
Mr. Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonus noted that ninety percent of the business they perform on the floor of the House are from the Executive arm of government, and as they do know technically Ministers are not in place.
And there is an exercise in place, by next week the president’s nominees for Ministers would be taken through an approval process and when they go through and are at their various Ministries they can bring an agenda to the House.
“It is the reason why, at the beginning of the term of a new Parliament, you cannot have an agenda presented to MPs few days before the first meeting and into the meeting few weeks”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com