The Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has suspended proceedings in the House for 30 minutes awaiting the presence of the Majority side in the main chamber.
Members of Parliament from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) have failed to show up for today’s sittings, where the House is expected to conclude the debate on the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government for the year ending 31st December 2022.
When the Speaker entered the Chamber on Friday, November 26, 2021, the Minority MPs had filled the House, but the Majority side of the aisle was completely empty.
The Speaker decided to suspend sitting after the Deputy Minority Whip, Ibrahim Ahmed, raised the issue of the absence of the Majority Leadership in the House even though they were together in a meeting within the precincts of Parliament.
The Speaker informed the House that he had heard that MPs on the Majority side were in a Caucus meeting, even though he had not been formally communicated to.
“I have just been informed that the Majority side wants to have 30 minutes meeting of the caucus. They have alleged that I was informed; that definitely is untrue.
“I was informed early in the morning that both caucuses were having meetings that I am aware of. However, nobody came to inform me that they (Majority) were having a caucus meeting, so that is why I came to preside only to realize there was nobody on their side”, he said.
Before this, the Minority in Parliament expressed displeasure with the delay in the commencement of the conclusion of the budget debate.
It is unclear when the debate will start, hours after the scheduled commencement.
The Majority Caucus is also of the view that comments from the Minority should be treated with the contempt it deserves.
“So I will plead with you for us to just suspend the sitting for 30 minutes,” the Speaker pleaded. If you will not take the plea, I have decided that we will suspend sitting for 30 minutes, and then we will now come as a House not half of the house to conclude the debate on the Government Economic Policy and Estimate for the Financial Year 2022,” the Speaker pleaded.
