The NPP caucus leader in Parliament and MP Effutu constituency, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has sharply condemned Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision to adjourn Parliament indefinitely.
The Speaker’s decision was prompted by the absence of Majority MPs, who failed to attend the recall session initiated by their own caucus and lack of order paper to transact business due to the failure of the business committee to meet.
Addressing the media, Leader of the NPP caucus Alexander Afenyo-Markin, accused the Speaker of supervising chaos describing this move as one that encourages disorder and poses a risk to the integrity of Ghana’s democracy.
“What Mr. Speaker did today amounts to supervising chaos and bringing the image of our democracy into disrepute. The NDC minority members were all over, claiming that we, the majority, did not attend a so-called business committee meeting that they called. Clearly, the NDC is on a warpath. They want confusion in this country. They want lawlessness in this country. And all of this is being supervised by Mr. Speaker. It is sad.”
He further accused the NDC caucus of intentionally blocking parliamentary proceedings, which could delay public servants’ salary payments .He warned that the Free Senior High School (SHS) bill and other critical policies might also be stalled due to the parliamentary impasse.
“Right now, what the NDC has done, basically, are the following: One, they don’t want Ghanaian public servants to receive their pay because they know that after the elections, there will be no budget. To be able to pay Ghanaian workers, there will be the need for parliamentary approval of the budget in the first quarter. That’s a constitutional requirement. Two, they want to create a certain impression that Ghana is lawless; Ghana is not lawless. We will not allow them to give a wrong impression to the international community. We will respect the law.”
“Now, there are important things to do. We have the free SHS bill, which is before Parliament. Their main aim is to conspire with Mr. Speaker to prevent the free SHS bill from being passed. And in an unlikely situation where they see the light of day in the election, they will cancel it. After all, there is no law backing it. Their main target is the free SHS bill.”
Amidst the accusations and allegations, Afenyo-Markin charged the media to call out the Speaker and the NDC caucus and hold them accountable for the rising developments.
–
Story by: Michelle Lartey | universnews.ug.edu.gh
