News:
February 23, 2022
The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Joseph Osei-Owusu on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 threw out a motion seeking to have a bi-partisan parliamentary enquiry into the expenditures made by the Government of Ghana in relation to COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.
In his ruling, he noted that there should be guiding principles on matters that they are being called on to set up a committee to investigate, stating that the request did not come under any of the standing and select committee of the House.
According to him, “in my view, it falls under the Public Account Committee and indeed all the Committees of the House including the PAC are bi-partisan and the PAC by nature is designed to be chaired by the Minority in all its forms”.
And further added that the PAC if it is minded to investigate anything related with COVID expenditure is fully faced with the authority and the power to investigate that, as all the accounting of it has been provided for in the budget which has been presented before the House and it is before the committee.
“Anyway, my view is that this motion ought not to be admitted, and is improperly before the House, I so rule”.
Motion 21, he said, was admitted by the Rt. Hon Speaker Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, and is as follows, “this House constitute a bi-partisan parliamentary Committee chaired by a Member of the Minority Caucus to enquire into the expenditure made by Government of Ghana in relation to COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020”, moved by Haruna Iddrisu, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka and Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.”
He quoted standing Order 191, “the House at any time by motion appoints special or Ad Hoc Committee to investigate any matter of public importance to consider any bill that has not come under any of the jurisdiction of the select committees of the House a matter of public importance or a Bill which does not come under the jurisdiction of the of any of the standing or select Committees of the House” to support his ruling.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com