Absence of Private Members Bill defeats democracy - MP

The Ranking Member on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee says the inability of members to on their own initiate bills is a constraint and defeats the purpose of democracy.

Joe Osei-Wusu says even though parliament is independent, one arm determines its work.

“Parliament is the holder of the purse and yet we cannot initiate anything in respect to the purse so what kind of holder are we?” he quizzed when contributing to a conversation on the Private Members Bill on Multi TV’s AM Show Tuesday.

Article 108 of the 1992 constitution says that any bill with financial implications that involves a levy on the consolidated fund should emanate from the president or his representative.

The MP for Bekwai says the interpretation by successive speakers to mean that the president or the finance minister must introduce a bill is impracticable.

“The late Peter Ala Adjetey ruled to the extent that even the paper on which the bill will be printed; to the extent that the paper will be a charge to the consolidated fund, it will be unconstitutional”.

That interpretation, the MP says, is what we are living with now and “so far no speaker has been bold to rule otherwise”.

Joe Osei-Wusu disclosed that at the last budget hearing with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, “she was lamenting that the amount of money allocated to her ministry cannot fully pay for her office utilities let alone the other agencies under her so how were they going to operate….I wished parliament had the opportunity, I'm sure we could have made a strong case for that ministry to have been provided a lot more”.

Also contributing on the show, Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee Magnus Kofi Amoatey said allowing MPs to present bills will give a voice to all on the floor.

This means that “you will be in the position to introduce any policy or issue for legislation”.

He, however, sees majority of members giving notice of bills they want to pass into law and that he believes will distract the “economic programme and policies of the government”.

The MP for Yilo Krobo said the implementation of a Private Members Bill is not peculiar to Ghana and that it will take “Africa a bit more time to appreciate this type of democracy”.

Story by Ghana | Joy News| Mamavi Owusu-Aboagye | [email protected]