Minority walks out of parliament over Corporate Insolvency Bill

Parliament on Monday witnessed a staged walkout by the minority as the chamber was considering the Corporate Insolvency Bill, 2019.

According to the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, it was inappropriate for the Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Aaron Oquaye, to go ahead with the proceedings requiring members to vote because they do not form a quorum.

He also referred the Speaker to Order 48 of the Standing Orders of Parliament which states that ”The presence of at least one-third of Parliament, besides the person presiding shall be necessary, shall be necessary to constitute a quorum of the House.

“Mr Speaker, I want to draw your attention that we could not have a quorum to take a decision to even sit. So I do not know even if you will take necessary steps, as slated in Order 48, to let us have a quorum or we would not have to continue because even the Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee is not here,” he said.

The MP for Asawasi in Kumasi, however, acknowledged that the Speaker reserved the authority to suspend decision-taking.

The Corporate Insolvency Bill was supposed to be passed within the first quarter of 2019 to promote efficient closure and transfer of assets of businesses which are no longer viable, and a proper winding up of businesses where the members for other reasons, decide to cease operations.

The bill when passed seeks to improve the quality of the legal regime for corporate bodies and their administration when they become insolvent.