News:
January 31, 2018
Minority leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu has urged the House to do the right thing, by announcing the absence of the Speaker Professor Mike Oquaye and notify the House that the first Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei Owusu would be presiding in the chair.
The House spent almost 30 minutes in resolving this issue as the Minority, wanted to know the where about of the Speaker.
According to the Minority the usual practice had been anytime the Speaker is not in the chair to preside over business of the House, an announcement is made to that effect. The Minority pointed out that, that should have been the first thing on Tuesday 30th of January 2018 before first Deputy Speaker presided over business of the House.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu called on the first Deputy Speaker, Mr. Joseph Osei Owusu to urge the Clerk who is the Speakers adviser on the standing orders of the House to do the right thing.
The Minority Chief Whip, Mohamed Muntaka Mubarak drew attention of the House that there had been several instances the first Deputy Speaker had traveled on Parliamentary business in the country out of Accra and had been marked absent.
Again when members are seated in committee rooms and did not come to the chamber or go to the mails room to sign they are marked absent.
He quoted standing order 13 (2) “Whenever the House is informed by the clerk at the Table of the unavoidable absence of the of Mr. Speaker, the First Deputy Speaker shall perform the duties and exercise the authority of Mr. Speaker in relations to all proceedings of the House until Mr. Speaker resumes the Chair, without any further communication to the House”.
And added, “Absence from the chair” is the key word that should be dealt with since the Speaker is not in the chair he is absent and the needed announcement should be made.
By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com