Speaker of Parliament scolds unruly MPs

The Speaker of Parliament has issued a stern warning to Members of Parliament to desist from their indecent behaviour.

Edward Doe Ajaho said such unruly behavior will no longer be tolerated on the floor. This is the second successive time the Speaker is scolding the MPs for their unruly behavior.

On Wednesday he did not take kindly to KT Hammond's reference to John Mahama as a president with "illusions."

A day later, another MP made an unruly remark about Assin North MP Kennedy Agyepong, a remark that got the Speaker even more angry.

The Assin North MP claimed to have received a letter from a head mistress of a school in his constituency asking for support to pay the school fees of her wards.

Kennedy Agyepong wondered how the president could paint such a glorious picture about the country in his state of the nation address when government has not even paid for the mock examination of students.

Another MP who was not happy with the comment by Agyepong accused him of being a "liar" but the Speaker was unhappy with that.

“All of you do this. Both sides. You keep on screaming at each other…It is unparliamentary,” he warned.

The Speaker had early on raised concerns about the MPs' heckling, cheers and jeers of President John Dramani Mahama during the State of the Nation Address and will no longer countenance their unruly behavior.

He indicated, Thursday, that some Members of Parliament were lucky to get away with the unsavoury comments on the floor in the past but he will no longer tolerate that behavior.

The seethed Speaker said that some Ghanaians have been sending him text messages about the conduct of members of the house and that is embarrasing.

“It is unparliamentary to refer to a member on the floor that he is lying,” angry Doe Ajaho said.

He advised the legislators to raise the point of order and draw the chair's attention to what they feel strongly about instead of making unruly comments.

But all was not gloomy for the MPs as the Speaker cited the conduct of Majority Leader of Parliament, Alban Bagbin and Papa Owusu - Ankomah as good examples worthy of emulation by other members.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah
Meanwhile, the Majority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak believes the Speaker is not using the Standing orders to the fullest.

He said the Speaker can force members who make unsavoury comments to retract or even ask marshals to walk a member out of the house.

He added that the naming and shaming of parliamentarians who misbehave will restore sanity to the house.

Listen to the audio below.