Category: General

A one sided parliament has  rejected government’s Budget Statement and Economic Policy as presented by the finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

The one sided decision was occasioned by the Majority Caucus’ decision to stage a walkout at some point of proceedings on Friday November 26, 2021.

The Majority staged the walkout when

they lost a voice vote to the the minority, when the Finance Minister prayed the House for time to further engage the leadership of the two sides of the House before a decision is taken on the budget.

 However, the Speaker’s ruling on the voice vote was challenged by the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo Markins, who called for ‘Division’.

And as part of the ‘Division’ process, the Speaker directed all members, including ministers in the chamber who are not members of parliament to leave the chamber.

However, when the Finance Minister relactantly left the chamber, after the Speaker threatened to call the Marshall to walk out any of such persons in the chamber, the Majority turned their attention to the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress who was at the public gallery, and asked that he also be asked to leave amidst shouting and banging of tables.

But even before the Speaker made a determination of their request, the Majority left the chamber.

The Speaker subsequently suspended sitting for five minutes.

Upon resumption of proceedings, the Speaker put the question before the House on the request of the Finance Minister, and the ‘Nos’ have it.

This was followed by a voice vote on the budget statement; and on once again the ‘Nos’ have it.

The Speaker as part of his closing remarks stated that “As the Speaker, I will do all I can, not allow the government to obstruct or frustrate parliament in its lawful duty. That is a pledge to the people of Ghana, and there is a reason why the good people of Ghana elected this parliament. It is hung parliament of 137-137, the independent who decided to do business with one side of the majority, there is no majority party in this house. This is a new beginning, where for the first time, a Majority has walked out from its own business”, he stated.

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Rt. Hon Speaker Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin on Friday afternoon at 1:20pm suspended sittings on the floor of the House for thirty minutes when he moved into the chamber and realised that the Majority side of the House was empty.

According to him he has been informed that the Majority side were having caucus meeting and the information that he was informed of the meeting was not true, and that he was informed earlier that  both caucuses were in a meeting which time has long passed.

“I am aware of that, we just finished a meeting, I wanted the first deputy Speaker to come and preside, he left and later came back because of the agitation of members. So I decided to preside and walked straight to our lobby.  I asked if members are in the chamber and they said yes; no one came to inform me that they were having caucus meeting that is why I came to preside”.

Mr. Bagbin noted that he only came to the chamber and noticed there was no one on the side of the Majority;  “I would plead with you for us to suspend for 30 minutes then come as a House, not half of the House to conclude the debate on government Economic Policy estimate for the financial year 2022”

Again, he urged leadership of both sides of the House to activate the usual channel of communication that seems to have been blocked. “Let us all come on board so that we know when to do this, and when not to do that”

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The Rt. Hon Speaker Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin is advocating for strengthening of Parliament’s oversight and accountability role when members of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) had an engagement with him on Thursday, November 25, 2021.

According to him CSOs need to know what parliament is doing in other for parliament to tap into their long years of experience so that Parliament would be able to stand against the all mighty Executive to ensure that what Ghanaians voted for and are promised them is achieved.

As the youth and people of Ghana and Africa can no longer wait, and parliament needs to rely on the expertise of CSOs.

Mr. Alban Bagbin revealed that parliament’s corporate strategic plan talks about them engaging with CSO, but he would want to qualify it as, “creating the enabling environment to partnering CSOs as  we do the same thing eventually when it comes to law making or oversight a lot of you are doing that in the various areas of governance”.

Again, with the long experience and research of CSOs, he noted that they have a lot of documents which Parliament does not have and they need them to support parliament to legislate on critical areas of governance that they have overlooked.

“I have told my colleagues and we have looked at the legislations and we realised that since 1993 we have been passing laws that only talk about the Executive but not Parliament. When I took over office it was an empty office, no handing over note, no staff”.

He recounted that the country has developed a Presidential Transition Act but nothing for parliament. “So we are more concerned with transition in the presidency not parliament”. “How do I get to know what happened before I came,  who am I to work with, and how are they going to be recruited, what is the structure of the Speaker’s secretariat,  what are the professional mix you need? There is nothing to guide the Speaker”, he emphasized.

The Speaker asserted that Ghanaians think that parliament is just MPs, but there are a whole lot of other civil servants. “They do not know that the parliamentary service is part of parliament; they do not know we have auxiliary services here; we have a division of health personal who work in parliament and are paid by the resources of parliament; again they do not know we have police and fire service units who work with parliament.”

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The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu has revealed that neither Ghana nor any other country in the world has been declared COVID-19 free zone since the pandemic is still in existence.

As a result, the Ministry of Health is still working through its agencies, development partners and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to step up public education to ensure strict adherence to the protocols and measures, which are still in full force.

Mr. Agyeman gave the clarification on the floor of the House in response to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Salaga South, Zuwera Mohammed Ibrahimah’s question on the subject matter and additionally wanted to know steps the Ministry is taken to scale up public education to ensure strict adherence to the protocols.

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Government’s quest to construct some hundred and eleven hospitals under the Agenda 111 project is on course, the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu has stated.

His response on the floor of the House follows the Member of Parliament (MP) for Daffiama/Bussie/Issa, Dr. Sebastian Ngmenenso Sandaare who asked when his district would benefit from the construction of hospital in his district under the Agenda 111.

In his response, the Health Minister noted that there was a sod cutting ceremony to herald the commencement of the project in Atwima Kwanwoma district in the Ashanti Region to signal the beginning of these hospitals in all the beneficiary districts, on Tuesday, August 17, 2021.

And Daffiama/Bussie/Issa is included under the Agenda 111; all preparatory works towards commencement of works have been completed.

Currently, zonal consultants and contractors are finalizing mobilization activities to site for works to commence shortly, he told the House.

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 Minister for Health Kwaku Agyeman Manu has revealed that dispute at Kpassa site for the construction of a District Hospital in the Nkwanta North District has delayed the construction of the District Hospital.

The Minister said, according to a National Security report, the land for the Kpassa site is in dispute at the Hohoe High Court, and in view of this, the Site Supervision Consultant has informed the Ministry that the Regional Minister and the DCE have proposed a new site.

 The Nkwanta North District Assembly is therefore liaising with the chiefs to conclude on the new site for the project.

Assuring parliament and the Member of Parliament for Nkwanta North, John Kwabena Bless Oti who wanted to know from the Minister when work on the District Hospital would commence, he said, “Rt. Hon. Speaker, Nkwanta North District Hospital has also been planned under the Agenda 111, to herald the commencement of works on the Agenda 111 project, sod was cut on Tuesday, August, 17, 2021, at the Atwima Kwanwoma District of the Ashanti Region to signal the beginning of these hospitals in all the beneficiary districts, including Nkwanta North under the Agenda 111.

And reiterated that work would commence as soon as a new site is located.

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Minister of Health Kwaku Agyeman -Manu has told Parliament his Ministry did not award the contract on developing a COVID-19 Tracker App to Iquent Technologies and Ascend digital solutions.

According to him none of his 24 agencies under the Ministry of Health was also awarded the contract per his information.

“I am however informed that the contract was awarded by the Ministry of Communication., I will therefore advise that this question be directed to the Ministry of Communication”.

This came to light when the Member of Parliament for Bongo Edward Abambire Bawa wanted to know how the COVID-19 Tracker App contract was awarded.

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Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin is advocating for equity in the distribution of Ghana’s budget by all governments, so that various arms of governments, sectors of society, regions can benefit from the national cake.

According to him when the question is posed how much of the budget would inure to the benefit of women in a year, “who can tell what that percentage would be, to children, the aged, the physically challenged?”

That is the more reason why Parliament is establishing a fiscal office, a new department, as they need expertise to assist them analyzes the issues, stating that the post budget workshop would enable them to discuss how to do some of the things. “This is an opportunity to ask resource persons to give you answers to these questions”, he advised the MPs.

He made the remarks on Saturday, November 20, 2021 when Parliament organised a two days’ workshop for members of parliament where experts would take them through critical ingredients of the budget.

“Our governments are finding it increasingly and it is becoming the order of the day as governments are not living by their means and spending above their means. As lawmakers, you have the responsibility to pull the breaks on that, we have the power”.

He pointed out that Alice Walker, an American novelist said, “the most common way people behave their power is by thinking that they do not have the power they have”, and that is what parliament have been doing since 1993, “the power that we have we think we do not have that power”.

Again, he charged the lawmakers to change the narrative this time around as Ghanaians have toiled, sacrifices their lives, and have invested so much to grow the country’s multi-party democracy; and it is a pity and indictment on all of them as politicians that after twenty eight years of democracy, Ghana’s democracy is not consolidated, yet much more being entrenched despite the three turn overs of power to party in power and opposition.

“Let us prevent our democracy from going into abbeys, and renew the confidence of the good people of Ghana in their elected officials and institutions”.

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Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin said he is the number two gentleman of Ghana constitutionally, but protocol wise when you start from the President as number one you have to get to the Vice President.

According to him there are three arms of government from the Executive arm of Government, you move to the Legislature and the Judiciary.

“I am not saying this, my colleagues in the Supreme Court actually said the Speaker is number two, all those who were present at that meeting were convinced when a Supreme Court judge made the suggestion and justified it”.

Speaker Bagbin said, he had initially said he is number three, “let us be clear in our minds that the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary are equal arms of government and should be treated as such”.

In addressing a post-budget workshop at Ho in the Volta Region, he pointed out that since 1993 the Legislature and Judiciary have never gotten one percent of the country’s total revenue, and stated that discussing this issue with President Nana Akufo-Addo, he was shocked when he saw the data.

And further added that, he had had the opportunity to discuss this issue with both the Majority and Minority Leaders on how to transit from below one percent to five percent within the three years. “You are shouting and complaining that they come to meet you in your house and they take over your bedroom, Government must provide offices for MPs in their constituencies; this thing has been discussed, parliament should get two percent of the budget, judiciary to get two percent, that is four out of 100 percent, 96 is for the executive and state institutions, “is it too much to ask?”, he queried.

He said the presiding members bemoaned the state of the assemblies in the country, stating that contracts are awarded and they are not consulted, they need to be empowered and parliament needs to give them inspiration.

“Speakers retire with only rent allowance, they are not on pension, it is now that I am talking about it and people are shocked whiles other arms you know how they are retired, clerk of parliament retires on five hundred and fifty pension every month”.

He told the gathering that when former president John Kuffour was retiring, he knew how he served Ghana and some of the difficult decision he had to take and he called on the country to take care of him.

And added that, very soon when the reality gets to Ghanaians, “we would be struggling to get people to come to Parliament; now you are riding four wheels because the condition support it, look at your former colleague MPs, which of them is riding in four wheels”.

He revealed that there are a number of funerals he had to send money to support every weekend because some families have rejected the bodies of former MPs and they had to organise to go and bury them.

“Twenty years in leadership, if I want to enjoy, what wouldn’t I enjoy; when I call on government to look favorably on the two arms of government, I need your support”.

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Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Bagbin is advocating for the Legislative arm of government to be well resourced to enable them to do their work very well.

According to him before the presentation of the budget, he discussed with the finance minister non-release of statutory funds in his lobby together with his deputies such funds like District Assembly Common Fund and GETfund, and National Health Insurance.

He admonished that; “If you want the arm of government to work, enable it do its job, otherwise scrap it and stop wasting everybody’s time; we should not pretend we are practicing democracy because every four years we go for an election”.

He told lawmakers that he was having discussion with the finance minister on how parliament should be well resourced and that delayed the presentation of the budget, and he noticed in the media that he was the one who delayed the presentation of the budget because he was demanding double of what was allocated to parliament.

“This is not the way to go, when we sit in conclave and discuss such matters it comes out, I would not have referred to it but it has influenced some peoples’ perception of me but I am not a member of Parliament”.

Again, many of the things MPs benefit from, he does not benefit from it and he is not entitled to common fund, car loan, rent allowance; “I do not get those things, so when I am working and fighting for Parliament, is not for my benefit, at this age if I have not enjoyed life then what again?”.

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