Major events in parliament that shocked Ghanaians in 2023

In the hallowed chambers of Ghana's Parliament, where the echoes of democracy reverberates through impassioned debates and the clash of opposing ideologies, each sitting unfolds as a dramatic spectacle, leaving an indelible imprint on the nation's collective consciousness.

Like a theatrical performance on the grand stage of governance, the majority and minority dance in the intricate choreography of political discourse, while the Speaker of Parliament literally orchestrates the symphony of democracy.

Yet, it is within these walls that major events unfurl like scenes from a riveting drama, scripted by the hands of controversy and fate, captivating Ghanaians in fervent conversations that transcend the boundaries of the parliamentary arena.

As the curtains rise with each session, the spotlight shines on the unfolding saga of government affairs, turning the legislative stage into a theatre of national dialogue and discourse.

GhanaWeb's parliamentary correspondent, Nimatu Yakubu Atouyese lists some of the major events in the House during the last sitting (in the year in review) which got Ghanaians talking.

Major shakeup in Minority leader

Barely two weeks before the house resumed sitting in 2023, the NDC leadership made some major changes in the leadership of the Minority in parliament.

The party appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the Minority Leader of the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. He replaced the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, who had served in the position for over 6 years.

Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, also took over as the Deputy Minority Leader, while Governs Kwame Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, replaced Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Minority Chief Whip.

Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, was maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, became the Second Deputy Minority Whip.

This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress, dated January 23, 2023.

This steered some controversies even among the Minority caucus, with claims that they were not informed prior to the party’s leadership making this decision.

The party has since reconciled the differences and is working well with its members in parliament.

Minority clashes with Majority for trying to 'smuggle' new CI into business statement

There was a clash between the Majority and Minority in parliament on February 10 with regards to the draft of a new Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2023.

On Friday, February 10, 2023, after the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, read the business statement for the following week, the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, raised concerns that the agenda that was discussed did not include Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2023.

“… Mr Speaker at the meeting, I have a copy of the draft of the agenda we discussed. But to my surprise, I have seen an introduction of the C1 which was never discussed at the business committee meeting. But the deputy majority leader who did not attend business committee meeting stood here and made a pronouncement that this was agreed upon. Mr Speaker I am deeply disappointed in the Clerks for allowing this to be smuggled into a business statement. This can never be allowed.

“Mr Speaker if that is the way this administration of the house, Mr Speaker this side of the house is ready for them,” Ato Forson said.

The Public Elections (registration of Voters) Regulations, 2023 was captioned in page 4 (iii)(e) of the presentation of papers.

The Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Ahmed Banda, who described the business statement as a smuggled report, said the House will not entertain it in the chamber.

Banda added that the Deputy Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, Frank Annoh Dompreh, had indicated they would smuggle the CI in the business statement and he truly did.

He added that there was a directive that the EC chairperson should appear before the House and brief them on the CI, which includes the rationale behind the CI.

Ahmed Banda said the EC chairperson did not appear before the House and yet the issue had still been brought into the business statement.

In response, Alexander Afenyo-Markin said that the report should not be rejected if the Minority merely disagreed, but that it should be put on hold.

“Sometimes when your brother disagrees with you and you believe in a solution, you could grant us a temporal leave. Today is Friday. I will want to yield to the views expressed that we place the issue of the CI on ice for now. In other words, it won’t be part of the report,” Afenyo-Markin added.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu, in his ruling, said the Majority did not deny that the CI was not part of the business arranged for the week.

“So, what has not been agreed should be excluded and if you discuss and you agree. The leader can make another statement on what was agreed. So, let's exclude what was not part of the business arrangement of the week and proceed with what has been arranged for the week,” Joe Wise said.



Brouhaha over approval of ministerial nominees

Following the appointment of new ministers by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Minority Caucus in Parliament bragged about its position not to approve any of the ministerial nominees despite participating in the vetting process.

The Minority stated that they would not approve any of the nominees appointed by President Nana Akufo-Addo to fill some vacant positions in the government.

The decision followed a directive by the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fifi Kwetey, for Minority members on the Appointments Committee to reject all the nominees to prevent a large size government.

Based on the rejection from the committee, the House was to decide the plenary via secret votes.

Shockingly, after the secret vote, all the nominees were approved despite the absence of three MPs from the Majority side, including Sarah Adwoa Safo.

The party is yet to come to terms with this development.



Death of Kumawu MP

Ghanaians woke up to the sad and shocking news of the death of the Member of Parliament for Kumawu in the Ashanti Region, Philip Atta Basoah.

The three-time MP was reported to have died at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on Tuesday morning March 28.

He died at the age of 53.

He was one of the absentee MPs in parliament when the House voted on the approval of six ministerial nominees and two justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana.

He was a member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).



NPP MP rushed to the hospital after being involved in an accident

Nanton MP, Mohammed Hardi Tufeiru, was involved in an accident on March 31 at a crucial time when the House was considering three tax bills

The MP, who is also the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, said that he was almost at parliament when the accident occurred, as he was driving at top speed and lost control of his vehicle.

He narrated that he left parliament to see his daughter, who was admitted to the International Maritime Hospital because he could no longer get in touch with his wife, who was with her at the hospital.

At the hospital, he received calls from the leadership of the Majority Caucus, where he was told that he was needed in the House because the Minority Caucus was asking for a headcount for the approval of the taxes the government was introducing.

He told them that he had to come to parliament from the accident scene in an Uber, and was heading to the chamber to vote when some colleagues saw the state in which he was and subsequently took him to a washroom for medical attention.

Among others, he was injected, before an incision was made at the top right side of his eye where he sustained a deep cut. In the midst of all this, he restated his desire to be in the chamber to vote on the three bills.

“You may not understand what was happening and I am sure you are also mindful of the important bills that we needed to pass… honestly speaking, I don’t know how you are going to feel about it or whoever is going to feel about it.

“I was for Ghana, I was for my party, my government and I needed to do whatever to get the bill passed,” he told Eyewitness News host, Umaru Sanda Amadu on April 3.

When the host asked: “Did you feel that your life was less important than the bill?” the MP responded: “Yes, yes… if you want you can take it like that. I am fine.”



The one battle the Minority won in parliament under new leadership

The Minority, for the first time, won a battle in parliament despite having 135 members in the House, due to the Supreme Court ruling on James Gyakye Quayson, which prevented him from holding himself as an MP.

This came after the Minority could unanimously reject the draft bill of new Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2023.

The controversial Constitutional Instrument (CI) from the Electoral Commission (EC) was seeking to make the Ghana Card the only identification document to be used for voter registration.

From the time the CI was brought before parliament, the Minority vowed to resist its passage into law.

Following the appearance of the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, the Minority said that the EC needed to amend the CI in the interest of all.

The Minority also wanted the EC to reintroduce the guarantor system to the voter registration processes and decentralize it.

Based on this, the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu, in presenting the report of the committee on the whole process on behalf of the Speaker, on March 31, said the committee concluded that “it would not accept and would reject any effort that is geared towards making the EC use the Ghana Card as the ONLY medium to qualify a person who is eligible to vote in 2024 elections.”

He added that this is premised on the fact that indeed Ghana has come of age and can boast of a credible national identification card (Ghana Card) to transact business with.

However, even in the face of several identification options given in the past, and even in the operation of the NIA, some citizens have been unable to register for the national card, due to the existence of serious challenges the Authority is confronted with.

“It is clear that unless and until the challenges confronting the issuance of the Ghana Card are dealt with, using the Ghana Card as the only medium of voter registration, would negatively impact the electoral roll and thereby deny some otherwise qualified persons from registering to vote.”

The House was informed to “officially communicate to the EC of this decision for favourable consideration before finalization and presentation to parliament for passage into law.”

This is a victory for the Minority as they successfully rejected the CI as they initially stated.

Majority in Parliament walk out ahead of budget approval

Members of the Majority Caucus in Parliament staged a walkout of the Chamber, disrupting the approval process for the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government for the year ending December 31, 2024.

The walkout occurred after the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, put the motion on a voice vote and declared the "Ayes" by the Majority as having carried the motion.

However, the Speaker's ruling was challenged by the Minority Caucus, who argued that there was no clear distinction between the "Ayes" and the "Nays" during the voice vote.

Invoking Order 113(2), the Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Kofi Armah-Buah, called for a headcount or division to determine the outcome of the vote. The Speaker, adhering to the Minority's request, instructed the Clerks at the Table to conduct the headcount.

Speaker Bagbin informed the House that each MP's name would be called out for them to stand up and be counted.

However, the Majority Caucus strongly objected to the Speaker's decision, maintaining that he had already declared the "Ayes" in favour of the motion and should stand by his ruling.

Fearing a potential defeat or the loss of the motion, given the absence of three Majority MPs, the Majority Caucus informed the Speaker that they would not participate in the voting process and consequently walked out of the Chamber amidst booing from Minority MPs.

The walkout followed the conclusion of the one-week debate, with the Majority and Minority Leaders wrapping up their respective positions, and a presentation by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, who urged the House to approve the motion.



Minority blocks laying of LI on restriction on importation of 22 items

The laying of the Import and Export (Restrictions on Importation of Selected Strategic Products) Regulations, 2023, hit a snag following opposition by the Minority to the Instrument in its current form.

On four occasions, the Minority blocked the laying of the LI which sought to abolish the importation of 22 items, including sugar, rice, fruit juice, margarine and other products the government considers “strategic”.

The Minority said it was not against the restrictions on importations but same must be done with tact by ensuring that the country had enough production capacity to make up for the demand, arguing that the necessary consultations had not been done to inculcate the views of stakeholders into the draft Instrument before it was laid.

However, on December 8, the government declared the suspension of the bill, thereby putting a stop to its planned passage.

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NAY/AE