Category: General

As part of measures to curtail any possible threats of the novel coronavirus, Ghana’s Parliament would start sitting virtually partially from Tuesday, January 26, 2021. Speaker Rt. Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin on Friday, January 22, 2021 made this known to lawmakers before adjourning the House.

In this direction only one third of the two seventy-five members would be required in the chamber whiles others transact business from their offices. Members of Parliament would however be allowed into the chamber as and when need arises to contribute to debates on the floor.

According to the Speaker, a fumigation exercise will also be carried out during the weekend at the chamber block and offices of MPs to make the place safer. As such, the House may consider holding sittings from the tent erected at the forecourt where the President was sworn into office when the need arise.

Last week, the Speaker directed that members visit the Parliament clinic for health screening and to undertake COVID-19 test. Visit by Ghanamps.com to the clinic on Friday showed that a lot of lawmakers especially the first timers had taken the speaker’s directive serious.

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Speaker Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin has urged lawmakers to put finality to the confusion in the description of the New Patriotic Party (NNP) plus the Independent Fomena MP as “Group or Caucus”.

According to him, the Standing Orders of the House does not recognize the use of the word Majority caucus but by practice the word caucus is used and urged lawmakers to read their standing orders.
And added that in parliamentary practice there are parliamentary parties and the 8th Parliament has the NPP and the NDC and with the Fomena MP electing to do Business with the NPP, they form the Majority Group in the 8th Parliament.

He made this remarks on Friday, January 22, 2021 when the Majority Chief Whip Frank Annoh Dompreh did not take kindly to his colleagues Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu refereed to his side as the “Majority Group”.

Mr. Speaker said, “I don’t want any more confusion on this matter, I have given my ruling your side is the Majority Group”.

He further noted that the Majority Group are led by the Majority Leader Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and the Minority Leader is Haruna Iddrisu and citied Order 168 to back his point and added that, he is guided by the standing orders.

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Speaker, Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin has directed the thirteen member technical Committee set up to review the new Standing Orders started by the Seventh Parliament, to submit its report to the plenary next week Wednesday, January 27, 2021.

On Thursday, January 21, 2021 he pointed out that it is very important that the Committee speed up its work and submit it to the House not later than next week Wednesday.

First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu chairs the Committee and assisted by the Second Deputy Speaker Andrew Asiamah Amoako.

Other members of the Committee are Majority Leader Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, Majority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh and Minority Chief Whip Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak.

The rest are Mr. Joe Ghartey, Cletus Avoka, Ursula G. Owusu-Ekuful, Bernard Ahiafor, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor.

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At the climax of the 2nd ordinary session of ECOWAS parliament held virtually, the Speaker of the regional parliament, Rt. Hon. Sidie Mohammed Tunis on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 confirmed that Sierra Leone will be the next destination to host the 1st ECOWAS Parliament Extraordinary Session 2021.

Rt Honorable Sidie Mohamed Tunis, Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament who himself is a member of the Sierra Leone Parliament representing Constituency 101 in Makpele and Soro Gbaima chiefdoms, Pujehun District, Southern Province of Sierra Leone, said the country is fully ready to host the entire composition of ECOWAS Parliament, comprising of the 115 members drawn from all 15 ECOWAS member states.

The 1st ECOWAS Parliament Extraordinary Session 2021 will be the first parliamentary session to be hosted in Sierra Leone since a Sierra Leonean became head of the regional parliament.

Meanwhile, Leader of Sierra Leone delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah, in his remarks said he is fully ready to welcome the parliament here in Sierra Leone. As a leader of the delegation of Sierra Leone to the ECOWAS parliament, he is the chief-host of the delegation and must ensure that the session is properly conducted within the standards of ECOWAS.

The ECOWAS Parliament is composed of 115 seats from each of the 15 Member states. Each State has a guaranteed minimum of five seats. The remaining seats are shared on the basis of population. Consequently, Nigeria has 35 seats, Ghana 8 seats, Cote d’Ivoire 7 seats, while Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal have 6 seats each. The others – Benin, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo have 5 seats each.

The ECOWAS Parliament, also known as the Community Parliament, is a forum for dialogue, consultation and consensus for representatives of the people of West Africa with the aim of promoting integration.
It is established under Article 6 and 13 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993. The Protocol relating to the Parliament was signed in Abuja on 6th August, 1994 and entered into force in 14th March, 2002. It provides for the structure, composition, competence and other matters relating to the Parliament. At its 25th session held in Dakar, Senegal on the 21st and 22nd December, 2001 the Authority of Heads of State and Government decided that Abuja should be the headquarters of the Parliament.

Normally, based on directives from the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, the Parliament chooses a venue to convey their meetings. Against this backdrop, the Speaker His Excellency Sidie Mohamed Tunis has confirmed Sierra Leone to host the 1st ECOWAS Parliament Extraordinary Session 2021.
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Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin has undergone COVID-19 test at the Parliament clinic, and urged Members of Parliament to avail themselves to undergo similar test, which started Wednesday, January 20, and would end on Friday, 22nd 2021.

According to him MPs need to take advantage of the health screening opportunity to know their status as COVID-19 is real, and there is a list with the name of MPs arranged alphabetically and each member is assigned a specific day to undergo the test.

The Speaker further served notice to Members that the House would advice itself when it notices that after all the announcement and discussion, some members fail to do the test.

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Mr. Clement Kofi Humado, Ghana’s representative on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWA) Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee tasked to draw a road map for the election of lawmakers has said work of the Committee has not ended.

According to him, before the end of the virtual 2020 Extra Ordinary Session which ended on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, he complained to the Director of Administration, K. Bertin Some that in his English version of the report the work programme of the Committee was not included.

He made this remarks when Ghanamps.com wanted to know if the work of the Ad Hoc Committee has come to an end with the presentation made at the just ended Session.

But he stated; “The Ad Hoc Committee has a work programme it was contained in the French version of the report which Some was reading to us, the work of the Ad Hoc study Committee on the universal adult suffrage”.

Mr. Humado further noted that, he believes the correction would be done in the new version where the Committee has programmed a series of meetings to achieve its mandate.

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Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament Rt. Hon. Sidie Mohammed Tunis has commended lawmakers for faithfully executing the order of business and fulfilling their obligation as required by the Supplementary Act.

At the end of a five days 2020 second ordinary virtual session which started from the 13 to19 of January, 2021, he applauded them for demonstrating their collective dedication to serve their Community and the people.

In his closing speech, Speaker Tunis noted that within the five days, the Parliament was able to consider the Community budget required by law and rendered its opinion.

“Members have indeed proven that they are fellow stakeholders in the ECOWAS project and they are dependable allies of the people they represent”.

And commended, the President of the Commission, Dr. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou and his team of Commissioners and technocrats for their collaboration between the two institutions, as the president reported on the implementation of the Community work programme.

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The House at its first sitting of the first session of the eight Parliament of the Fourth Republic on Friday, January 15, 2021 approved the report of the composition of the membership of Committees. Committee of Selection in the current Parliament is made up of twenty members chaired by the Speaker Rt. Honorable, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin.

Members from the Majority group of the House are Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo Markin, Frank Annoh Dompreh, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, Habib Iddrisu, Ambrose Dery, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Sarah Adwoa Safo, Philip Basoah and Bryan Acheampong.

Whiles the Minority group is made up of its Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, James Kluste Avedzi, Mohamed Mubarak Muntaka, Collins Dauda, Richard Acheampong, Laadi Ayii Ayamba, Cassiel Ato Forson, Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi and Doyoe Cudjoe Ghansah.

Both leaders of the Majority group and the Minority group, Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and Haruna Iddrisu recommended for approval of the House a proposed formula based on an agreed ratio of 138:137 for the composition of Membership of Committees.

Again, this would apply to Parliamentary delegation and other parliamentary groups and Associations.
And considering the urgency of the work of the Committee of Selection in the facilitation of business of the House and that of Government, Leadership in consultation with the Rt. Honorable Speaker constituted the Committee.

Standing Order 153 provided that every Member of Parliament shall be appointed to at least one of the Standing Committees established by the House.

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Ghana’s representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee, Clement Kofi Humado has urged his colleagues who are opposed to the idea of election of MPs to be calm.

The Ad Hoc Committee is assigned to draw a road on the election of lawmakers.

According to him the issue of direct election universal adult suffrage has been on the statuary books for a long time and it is not something that is starting now, as the issue has been considered over and over.

Mr. Humado further pointed out in an interview that recent experience where lawmakers of the Parliament are nominated from their National Assembly, burdens them with double assignments, and they are unable to devote full time to the work of the ECOWAS Parliament.

And with the enhancement of the powers of the Parliament, it calls for more dedication, and commitment of the MPs to fulfill their duties; but because of the double allegiance to their national parliament and the Community Parliament, “many people do not stay for the session”.

“That is why the issue of election has come back to the burner. What do we do as lawmakers, do we continue the old system where we are not able to perform, or we do what the statutory books of the Commission has said? In every change there are people who feel uneasy, this particular process is like preparing our own coffins”.

He further added that lawmakers are being elected from their national Assemblies, then they themselves say no they should be elected. It means most of them would not return to the ECOWAS Parliament, “unless we submit ourselves to elections in our various countries, I believe that is the fear of most of our people; the fear of losing our candidacy in the present parliament”.

Mr. Humado further emphasized that his colleagues need to think about the Community as a whole, as the issue of electing lawmakers is the yearning demand of the citizens of the Community and that they want their MPs elected.

Some lawmakers at the just ended second ordinary 2021 virtual meeting were of the view that, they were not ready for election into the Community Parliament. But Mr Humado disagrees, saying; “I do not think so, it is a process, it is not that as soon as we adopt the paper the process starts”.

He gave the example of the monetary union, saying “it has been on the drawing board for a long time and convergence criteria has been set, but any time the deadline approaches there is re-assessment and it comes out that, we are not ready so we should postpone”.

And this one too in the same way, the target is the sixth Parliament 2024, it has been set and if the time comes and assessment done and they are not ready, it would be deferred, “so I don’t see the fears of most of our colleagues”, he concluded.

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Parliament on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 approved the report of the Committee of Selection, which recommended the composition of two Committees the Business and Appointment Committees after its deliberation.

The Business Committee made up of twenty members is chaired by Leader of Government Business Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and vice as Alexandra Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, Ranking member of the Committee is Haruna Iddrisu with his Deputy Ranking Dr. James Kluste Avedzi.

Other members of the Committee include Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, Moses Anim, Mavis Hawa Koomson, Alex Tetteh Domobuah, Habib Iddrisu, Ahmed Ibrahim, Dela Sowah, Joycelin Tetteh, Abdul-Rashid H. Pelpuo, Mohammed Mubarak –Muntaka, Eric Afful, Dr. Zanetor Rawlings and Adamu Ramada.

The Appointment Committee is made up of twenty-six members with the first Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei-Owusu chairing and being assisted by Alexandra Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, with Ranking being Haruna Iddrisu and assisted by Muntaka-Mubarak.

Other members of the Committee include, John Ntim Fordjour, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Patrick Yaw Boamah, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Henry Quartey, Bryan Acheampong, Ursula G. Owusu-Ekuful, Osei Bonsu Amoah, Patricia Appiagyei, John Ampoyuah Kumah, Alhassan Tampoli Suleman, Mahama Ayariga, Sampson Ahi, Eric Opoku, James Agalga, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Alhassan Suhuyini, Elizabeth Ofou-Agyare, Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui, Zuwera Mohammed Ibrahim and Francis Xavier Kojo Sosu.

Committee on Selection, recommended that the Standing Orders of Parliament be reviewed in earnest as it has become necessary in view of the fact that the revision would have numerical consequences on the composition of the various Committees in the House.

And the two Committees work in the interim pending the passage of the reviewed Standing Orders and would stand dissolved upon the coming into force of new Standing Orders.

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