The Majority New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) have hit back at their counterparts on the Minority side for walking out of Parliament in protest against the conduct of the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, noting that it was about time their colleagues behaved properly in the House.
Majority Leader of the House, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, interacting with journalists on Tuesday over the move by the Minority Caucus said he believes strongly that his colleagues on the Minority side are not subjecting themselves to the rules of the House, hence, their behavior towards the Speaker.
Quoting Orders 91(a), 92(2) and Order 6 of the Standing Orders of the House to buttress his argument, Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said for a Member to disagree with the Speaker, the process to follow is to come with a motion to challenge the decision of the Speaker.
Order 91(a) of the Standing Orders of Parliament states that “Debates may be interrupted by a point of order being raised,” while Order 92(2) states that “When a point of order has been stated, the Member interrupting shall resume his seat and except by leave of Mr. Speaker has decided the matter. When effect has been given to the decision, where necessary, the Member who was speaking shall be entitled to proceed with his speech unless the decision prevents him.”
Order 6 of the Standing Orders of the House on the other hand also states that “In all cases not provided for in these Orders, Mr. Speaker shall make provisions as he deems fit.”
“I think my colleagues are not subjecting themselves to the rules of Parliament. And they want to be granted exemptions of the rules. That certainly cannot be accommodated. So, we are talking about the rules of procedure. Parliament is a House that makes laws and we ourselves are governed by laws. So, at that stage, we were dealing with procedure. He [Haruna Iddrisu] was talking about a judgment that has been passed and the fact that Parliament of today cannot talk about anything decided by Parliament of yesterday. I don’t know where that is coming from. We are not there yet but when we get there, we will litigate that sufficiently and Ghanaians will know that they have no footings at all. They are on wobbling legs,” he noted.
He added “we make bills and a new Parliament will come and to make an amendment. So, when a new bill comes … like today, we have introduced the Northern Development Authority Bill which has been referred to a committee. There is a standing authority now which is SADA. If this new bill comes to be adopted by Parliament, what will be the effect? It will be to repeal the old Act, the Savannah Accelerated Development Act, isn’t that the case? And what is the import of it? That Parliament has rescinded its decision – that is the effect of it. There are many examples and as I have said we will not exhaust what is contained in the bag until we get there.”
Source: kasapafmonline
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Mr. Kwabena you can go with you 1 vote. How can the Minority in Parliament be behaving this way. Have you considered the threats they have been issuing to the Speaker. They need to be handled with tough hands. They are rather making the NDC very unpopular.
Mr. Kwabena, I sincerely without reservations do not agree with your comments and to me do not contribute anything to what is happening in Parliament. What are the issues you want to address let alone laid it in front of the Speaker and Hon. Kyei Mensah Bonsu. In Ghana anybody who seems to knowledgeable and know his/her job very well is arrogant. In all your utterances you have not pointed out even one substantive issue to make us believe these people you are accusing had done anything unconstitutional or being dictators. We know and for even young lawyers in Constitutional Law know that "No Parliament can bound the decisions of any other Parliament" and current Parliament are free to legislate (A. V. Dicey) to the extent that it shall not be inconsistent with the Constitution of Ghana 1992. We are developing our Constitutional and Parliamentary Democracy and so we shall not succumb to unfounded allegations that is not in line with legislation and the RULE OF LAW, Mr. Kwabena. Let the Parliamentary Procedures and rules govern what is happening in Parliament. I know Haruna very well in school at the University, and I know that is one of his traits. To create unnecessary confusion when matters can be easily resolved amicably. We had to walk from Campus to the Ministry of Education. I am not going into whether it is wrong or right.
Herrh Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu let me tell you something, dont ever nd i repeat ever think you are the most sennsible person in this country. I am a sympathizer of the NPP but when it comes to fairness i think it has to be administered. i have been noticing with ***barred word*** attention the manner in which the minority are treated in parliament and it is bad. That isnt how democracy stands for. You Kyei Mensah is arrogant! u always want to dictate to others. you are actually an autocratic person. The speaker is also bias. if you know you cant work as a speaker just resign. the two individuals here should change their attitudes cos it smells and the NPP as a party doesnt support such. IF THE NPP GOES INTO OPPOSITION, BLAME OSEI KYEI MENSAH BONSU AND MIKE OQUAYE FOR THEIR ARROGANCE JUST LIKE THE ARROGANCE OF THE NDC. SEE HOW POWER IS GOING INTO YOUR HEADS!! CHANGE!!