News:
September 2, 2016
Minority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu says the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has no intention to let go President John Dramani Mahama’s Ford Expedition saga, believing that it’s only an inquest into the issue that will bring matters to rest.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suame said none of his colleagues on the Minority side of Parliament hates the first gentleman of the land, but only wants the truth in the Ford Expedition saga to prevail, hence their move to call for a bipartisan Parliamentary Committee to investigate the matter.
But their proposed motion calling on Parliament to set up a bipartisan Committee to investigate the President for collecting the Ford Expedition gift from a Burkinabe contractor was shot down by the Speaker at a sitting on Thursday.
The Speaker had recalled the legislators who are on recess to consider the minority’s proposed motion invoking Order 38(1) of the Standing Orders of Parliament and Article 112(3) of the Constitution to support their action.
Order 38(1) of the Standing Orders of Parliament states “The Speaker shall, pursuant to clause (3) of article 112 of the Constitution, upon a request of fifteen percent of Members of Parliament summon a Meeting of Parliament within seven days after the receipt of the request, except that the meeting shall commence not later than seven days after the issue of the summons”.
Article 112(3) of the Constitution also states that “Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, fifteen percent of Members of Parliament may request a meeting of Parliament; and the Speaker shall, within seven days after the receipt of the request, summon Parliament”.
The Speaker in dismissing the proposed motion told the House that since the matter was already pending before another constitutionally mandated body, CHRAJ to investigate the conduct of the President, Parliament cannot do same.
That aside, the Minority did not use the proper procedure to submit their motion for admission.
Further to that since Order 79(4) gives him the power to either admit or dismiss any motion submitted to him there was no need to let the House consider the proposed motion which was seeking to seeking for a Special Parliamentary Committee to probe President John Dramani over the Ford gift saga.
Order 79(4) states that “Every notice shall be submitted to Mr. Speaker who shall direct that it be printed in its original terms or with such amendments as he shall direct, or that it be returned to the Member submitting it as being inadmissible”.
“I am unable to admit the motion. I have directed the Clerk to return the motion to the Member who brought it. Since this is the matter which brought us here, I adjourn the House sine die”, he ruled.
But the Minority Leader reacting to the ruling of the Speaker in an interview with Accra-based Okay on Friday said the conduct of Rt. Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho will not stop them from pursuing other ways to press home their demand.
“What he has done, there are other avenues opened to us. While one door is shutting, another is opening. So, there are other avenues we could explore to press home our demand”.