By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Caucus in Ghana’s Parliament has formally petitioned the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin to urgently recall the House to address critical government business requiring immediate attention.
This request follows the indefinite adjournment of Parliament on November 7, 2024, when Speaker Bagbin suspended proceedings when the NPP Caucus led by its leader, Mr. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, failed to show up on the floor of the house, for a meeting they themselves called.
The saddest part of the whole show was that there was not even a prepared agenda from the Business Committee of Parliament. This left the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmakers and the Speaker without substantive issues to address.
The NPP group initially proposed a recall to resolve pressing matters. However, their failure to appear in the Chamber during the proposed session led to disappointment from Speaker Bagbin, who emphasized that parliamentary proceedings cannot proceed without committee input and an approved agenda.
In a letter dated Friday, November 22, 2024, and signed by the Leader of the NPP group, Mr. Afenyo-Markin, urging the Speaker to reconvene Parliament for the third time, suggesting Thursday, November 28, and Friday, November 29, 2024, as suitable dates for the emergency recall.
The letter also urged Speaker Bagbin to exercise his constitutional mandate under Standing Orders 57(3) and 58(4) to reconvene Parliament and address the outstanding business of the House.
Among others, these businesses include the request for tax exemptions for designated beneficiaries under the One District, One Factory Programme; Ghana Financial Stability Fund, an International Development Association facility of Two Hundred and Fifty Million United States Dollars ($250,000,000) and the consideration of the President’s Nominations for Appointment as Justices of the Supreme Court.
Others are the ratification of the mining lease agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana (Represented by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources) and the Ashanti Bauxite Company Limited for the Mining of Bauxite in the Nyinahini Block 2 Area in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region as well as the ratification of the mining lease agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana (Represented by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources) and Barari DV Ghana Limited for the Exploitation of Lithium at Essoym in the Central Region.
“I must emphasise, respectfully, that these are high-priority businesses for Government,” Afenyo-Markin added.
According to the Leader of the NPP group, reconvening Parliament at this juncture would send a powerful message of national unity and institutional stability.
“It would demonstrate that, even as we approach the peak of the electoral season, Parliament remains steadfast in its constitutional duties and committed to advancing the national interest through bipartisan cooperation,” portion of the letter read.
Below is the letter;
