Posterity will judge you by your ruling - Muntaka reacts to Joe Wise’ dismissal of motion

First Deputy Speaker throws out minority motion to probe COVID-19 expenditure

Joe Wise incurs wrath of Minority

There will be interesting days ahead of us, Minority tells Speaker

Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, has stated that posterity will judge First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, following the dismissal of their motion to probe government’s COVID-19 expenditure.

According to him, the speaker violated Standing Order 79 by allowing a debate on a motion which was disputed only to rule on it without asking a question for voting.

Reacting after the speaker threw out the motion for probe into the expenditure by the minority, the Minority Chief Whip said,

“Mr. Speaker, what you have done is to simply say our Standing Order 79 where the powers rest on the Speaker on his admissibility on motions is being overruled by you sitting in the chair, is that what you are saying? That after a motion has been debated it will not be put to question? Well there will be interesting days ahead of us since this is your understanding of how after a motion has been debated, question will not be called for but Speaker can rule to push that motion of the floor when 79 has been duly used to admit it, I think posterity will judge this your ruling”.

First Deputy Speaker in Parliament has thrown out a private motion by the minority seeking to enquire into the expenditures made by Ghana government in relation to COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.

According to Joseph Osei Owusu, Alban Bagbin should not have admitted the motion as everything related to the motion falls under the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which is a bi-partisan committee.

“…the matters that were called upon to set up a committee to investigate did not come under any of the select or standing committees of the house. In my view it falls squarely in the PAC, and indeed all the committees of the house including PAC are bi-partisan and PAC is designed to be chaired by the minority so, in all its folds and questions related to the PAC, if it is minded to investigate anything related to the COVID expenditure, it fully sits with the authority and the power to investigate that, particularly because all the accounting for it has been provided for in the budget which budget has been presented before the house and it is before the committee"

“My view is that this motion ought not to be admitted as is improperly before the house,” he added.