Give Ss New Chamber: Speaker

The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye, has appealed to the government to build a new chamber for Members of Parliament.

His appeal follows damages caused to the chamber by Tuesday’s rainstorm. The heavy rains revealed leakages in the roof of parliament as portions of the floor got soaked. The leakages disrupted parliamentary business and forced the house to defer sitting. The rains soaked the carpet in the chamber and also messed up seats in the house.

Briefing the press during the visit of the vice president, the Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, said: “Having heard the problem here, the first thing this morning, he (Dr Bawumia) came to examine the situation. We are told that all relevant persons are in the process of [repairing] the damage and even applying some interim plastic sheets to make us work and you can see our members from both sides are ready to work.

“We need a new chamber and we trust that at the appropriate time, we shall have the ears of the executives.”

Dr Bawumia promised to lay the request before President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo upon his return from Ethiopia where he is attending the African Union summit.

He said: “Of course we heard what happened last night and had to rush here this morning to actually see it. Thankfully, the damage has not been too much and some measures have been taken to try to contain the situation before a permanent roofing is put in place.

“So, I am happy to see the consultant and the contractors are still around and they are going to repair the damage. The legislative body is key for this whole country and I think it is very important that the activities of parliament are not interrupted.

“I will brief the president when he arrives about what has taken place and I am sure we will look at this issue of another chamber very seriously. It is very important that the work of parliament continues.”