Minority misunderstood the rules of Parliament - Majority Leader

Accra, Aug. 28, GNA - Mr Felix Owusu-Agyapong, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, said on Thursday that the actions of the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) on the passage of the National Health Insurance Bill indicated that they had a wrong conception of the rules of Parliament.

"We consider the interpretation of the relevant rules governing parliamentary practice by the Minority as a demonstration of misunderstanding of the rules," he said.

The Minister noted "that contrary to the interpretation given by the Minority Leader that the Bill was being rushed, even if the Bill was certified as an urgent one it need not be taken through all stages the same day".

Speaking at the weekly press briefing, Mr Owusu-Agyapong said while Article 106 (13) of the Constitution and Standing Orders 119 and 120 clearly deal with some of the formalities in the passage of Bills certified as urgent, there is no provision that indicates that such Bills were required to be taken through all stages.

"The certification of a Bill to be an urgent nature merely permits or empowers Parliament to pass it in a day. Parliament with such empowerment may or may not pass such a bill in a one day," he explained. He said the impression given by the Minority that if such bills were not taken through all stages in a day it becomes an illegality or unconstitutional was, therefore, clearly wrong.

On the issue of adequate consultation, Mr Owusu-Agyepong said if government were to go by statements of some members of the Minority as to the depth of discussion on the Bill, then government had rather delayed in passing it.

He said before bringing the Bill to the House, the Joint Committee on the Bill upon the request of a Minority Member asked for an extension of time, which was granted, adding that even Mr Moses Asaga, the Minority Spokesman on Finance, did expressed his satisfaction about the level of discussion on the Bill.

Mr Owusu-Agyepong said for Mr Asaga to come back now to say the Bill was being rushed to meet IMF deadline, clearly showed the height of the Minority's determination to misinform the people.

He said opportunities were afforded the major stakeholders such as Organised Labour, Ghana National Association of Teachers, Ghana Registered Nurses Association, Judicial Service and civil society organizations, Ghana Medical Association and Social Security National Insurance Trust during the process of consideration.

The Minister said the Minority has both misapprehended the law and practice relating to the passage of urgent bills and more importantly the procedure for the passage of the NHIB because the process for passing an urgent bill was not only used where national security was threatened.

Giving the highlights of the Bill, which currently is awaiting the President's assent, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Health said there had never been a bill that had enjoyed wider consultation and publicity than the NHIB in present times, adding, "this we all must attest to".

He said it would be a misnomer for one to say or believe that government was going to use workers pension contribution of 2.5 per cent to fund the scheme, adding, "measures have been put in place in the law that will ensure that no matter what happens the worker gets his full benefits".

Mr Afriyie announced that a legal framework of the Bill that would provide the operational issues about the law was ready. He said the full benefit package under the law could be about 90 per cent of all health cases in the country but in most cases districts would be allowed to determine such benefits depending on the amount of ones contribution.