Alban Bagbin Summons Parliament To Reconvene On September 3, 2024
- Ghana's Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has summoned parliamentarians to reconvene on September 3, 2024
- This is despite a petition from the majority leader on July 31, 2024, urging MPs to be recalled urgently for business
- According to the Speaker, parliament's chamber is unavailable, and a new venue is being sought, leading to a delay
Alban Sumana Bagbin, Ghana's Speaker of Parliament, has summoned parliamentarians to reconvene only on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
His summons follows a petition on July 31, 2024, from the majority leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, urging the Speaker to recall the house to deliberate on urgent government business.
Source: Facebook
The majority leader was dissatisfied with the Speaker’s decision to adjourn parliament indefinitely on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, while several bills were before the house awaiting approval.
Afenyo-Markin noted that discussions on the Financing Agreement between the government of Ghana and the International Development Association, the requests for tax exemptions for beneficiaries under the One District One Factory Programme, matters concerning the Ghana Financial Stability Fund, and the consideration of several bills were still pending.
Responding to the petition, Alban Bagbin stated that after carefully reviewing the matters listed for consideration by parliament, they did not meet the threshold required by Article 112 of the constitution.
Per Citinewsroom, he explained that most of the issues listed in the petition, including the $250 million IDA financing agreement, had already been tabled before parliament adjourned.
He said the fact that the bills were already under consideration and, in the case of the IDA agreement, had been debated and rejected, undermined the opposition's call for an emergency meeting.
Chamber not available for debate
Bagbin further added that the Chamber of Parliament was also unavailable for the reconvening and he was mandated to find a new venue as under Article 112 (1) of the Constitution, he can only summon members when a suitable meeting place is found.
He explained that the challenge of finding a suitable meeting place in the interim meant the majority leader’s emergency meeting would have to wait until September 3, when a suitable meeting space will hopefully be found.
The Speaker said that when a suitable spot is found, the same information would be communicated to parliamentarians.
Bagbin urges MPs to work harder on bill
Prior to the adjournment, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, stated that more needed to be done to ensure true gender parity in the country.
Reacting to the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill, he said lawmakers need not rest on their oars following its passage but must work assiduously to ensure that the vision set out in the bill is achieved within the set time.
He entreated lawmakers to commit themselves to constitutional reforms to create a truly just and free society to liberate women from societal shackles.
This, he said, would enable women to contribute their quota to Ghana's development.
Bagbin unaware of MP siren exemption bill
YEN.com.gh also reported that the Speaker said he is unaware of legislation to allow ministers and MPs to use sirens and ignore speed limits.
Alban Bagbin explained his side of the matter during a public lecture on private member bills at the University of Ghana last month.
The government was criticised over the alleged proposal to allow ministers and MPs to use sirens and be exempted from speed limits.
Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
