News:
January 7, 2021
At the dissolution of the seventh Parliament of the fourth Republic of Ghana at mid-night of January 6, 2021, Tamale South Member of Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu had commended Speaker of the Seventh Parliament Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye for his role in the reforms the house witnessed.
According to him, the former Speaker provided dedicated service with the intention of making the parliament strong, transparent and accountable.
“Parliamentary service is a better institution today, with a well motivated staff, thanks to the revision of CI 118 into a new pay policy and efforts by you and the board to get a dedicate pension scheme”.
He however pointed out that parliament as an institution has lived to some of the calling, but not all the callings and it is a forum for debate where the right and wrong are debated and should not be based on partisanship.
And hoped going forward, Parliament can reflect the whishes and aspiration of the Ghanaian people and wanting to serve them well. He was however quick to point out that when the Akufo-Addo government took over it promised one million dollars for each constituency but, “my constituency has not received it, apart from a borehole and a toilet facility”.
Mr. Iddrisu thanked the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu and Second Deputy Speaker Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin for their support to the Speaker to ensure that a lot of bills were passed by the Seventh Parliament.
Again, we witnessed the huge size of the Akufo-Addo led government and I look forward to him downsizing the number of Ministers. Over one hundred and twenty-five Ministers should be a thing of the past that has some financial implications on the public purse, he expressed.
“Mr. Speaker, the people of Ghana voted in the 2020 elections to indicate that they are not happy with the polarization of our country’s excessive partisanship, they want to see a country which shares it opportunity and benefit together.”
Parliament needs a new and revised standing orders, my colleague “Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu disagreed in the method of adopting it after extensive work, and what I am comfortable with is that my colleagues cannot bully me with numbers 137 and 137”.
He said with this, he pray and looks forward to Ghana which does not have different set of rules for ‘NDC and NPP’, but the rule of law which is accepted and upheld at all times.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com