By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Caucus in Parliament, Mr. Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, is blaming the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin for being behind the current impasse between his side and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Caucus on the floor of the House.
The leader of the NPP Caucus in Parliament and groups that called for the recall of Parliament but failed to show up on the floor of the House on Thursday, November 7, 2024, when the Speaker recalled the House, showed up from his hideout after Speaker Bagbin had adjourned Parliament indefinitely, criticizing him (Speaker Bagbin) for doing the bidding of the NDC.
According to him, Speaker Bagbin’s decision to adjourn Parliament indefinitely “amounts to supervising chaos” and undermines the integrity of Ghana’s democratic processes.
Speaker Bagbin’s decision to adjourn the House was due to a lack of business, which was caused by the absence of NPP members on the floor of Parliament.
However, Mr. Afenyo-Markin addressing some members of the press expressed his dissatisfaction with the sequence of events that led to the adjournment.
He forcefully explained that the NPP caucus’ absence was not due to negligence or irresponsibility but rather a procedural dispute. In his opinion, the Clerk of Parliament had failed to print the necessary documentation, specifically the agreed-upon Order Paper, which outlines the issues and agenda items for discussion in Parliament.
The failure to print the Order Paper, Mr Afenyo-Markin, noted was a critical factor that prevented the NPP from engaging in parliamentary proceedings today Thursday, November 7, 2024. Without the document, the session could not proceed as planned.
The leader of the NPP Caucus in Parliament maintained that oversight had significant consequences, resulting in a situation where the absence of NPP MPs was misinterpreted as a lack of commitment to parliamentary business.
He emphasized that the failure to address the procedural issue should not be blamed on the NPP, but rather on the administrative lapse that led to the adjournment.
“What Mr. Speaker did today amounts to supervising chaos and bringing the image of democracy to 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.
“Who are they and when did we constitute a new committee in Parliament? I chair the Business Committee and when the Clerk of Parliament asked for the Business Committee meeting, I was explicit that the subject matter of the recall is the very matter for consideration and so there was no need to have another business committee.
Business Committee is to decide on the business of the House and on this occasion, you have made an application which has been granted and the items that had been approved were the very things to be decided on so I directed that the Order Paper be printed to reflect all those items,” he reiterated.
