Majority Boycott Parliament After Primaries

The Minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Parliament yesterday sent a strong notice to the Speaker of Parliament that they will discard government business in the House if most members of the Majority continue to absent themselves from Parliament.

The MP for Manhyia South, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, at the start of government business in the House, raised the issue of quorum and argued strongly that despite the fact that the primaries of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) were over, Majority MPs were still not showing interest in government business in Parliament.

“Mr Speaker [referring to the First Deputy Speaker, Ebo Barton Odro who was in the chair at the time], we on this side strongly raised the issue of quorum at the last adjourned date on Friday and appealed to the speaker to ask members of the Majority to be serious with government business and today we on the Minority side are fully represented but most members of the government side did not come to Parliament even though they have finished with their primaries,” he said, adding that the president had irritatingly accused Minority MPs of coming to sleep in Parliament yet NDC MPs were not present in Parliament to take part in government business.

Incidentally, some of the incumbent NDC MPs who lost in the primaries, including Deputy Majority Leader, Alfred Agbesi; MP for Gomoa West, Francis Arthur; MP for Daboya/Mankarigu, Abudu Baani Nelson and MP for Biakoye, Emmanuel Bandua, were present yesterday.

Despite the Minority’s strong warning of lack of quorum, government business was allowed to go on with the laying of the following papers before Parliament:

Report of the Auditor-General on the accounts of district assemblies for the financial year ending December 31, 2014, report of the Auditor-General on the management and utilisation of the district assemblies common fund and other statutory funds for the year ending December 31, 2014, report of the Auditor-General on the statement of foreign exchange receipts and payments of the Bank of Ghana for half-year ending December 31, 2014, report of the Auditor-General on the public accounts of Ghana (Consolidated Fund) for the year ending December 31, 2014 and performance audit report of the Auditor-General on the management of the Expanded Plantation Programme of the National Forest Plantation Development Programme.

The above reports have all been referred to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament for consideration and subsequent report to the plenary.

A deputy Minister of Education, Alex Kyeremeh, was in the House to answer questions on education; first by the MP for Mpohor who wanted to know when the administration block complex and the three-storey block at the Mpohor Senior High School would be completed while the MP for Tano North, Freda Prempeh, also wanted to know from the deputy minister steps being taken by the ministry to improve educational infrastructure at the Yamfo Senior High School, particularly the provision of girls’ dormitory, classroom and administration block.

The deputy minister said the projects had been included in the ministry’s budget for next year and that the projects would be undertaken by next year.

Debate on the 2016 budget statement is expected to begin today.

By Thomas Fosu Jnr