Speaker of parliament Alban Bagbin today lashed out at the Supreme Court over its recent judgment allowing deputy Speakers to vote while presiding.
The apex court also affirmed article 104(1) of the constitution which requires a quorum of half of entire MPs before voting.
The Speaker blamed the confusion over quorum in the House on the judgment. The minority through its chief whip Muntaka Mubarak has accused Clerk of parliament Cyril Nsiah of masterminding the marking of 7 NDC MPs absent in the votes and proceedings on Tuesday during the passage of the E-Levy. Ablekuma Central Dan Abdul-Latif, New Edubiase MP Adams Abdul Salam, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare of Techiman North, Amenfi East MP Nicholas Amankwa, Zebilla MP Cletus Avoka, Boateng Joseph Appiah of Afram Plains South, and Sissala West MP Sukparu Adam Mohammed were all marked absent even though they were in the chamber.
Muntaka further faulted the clerk’s office for failing to capture the walkout of his side in the records questioning the motive for development.
His deputy Ibrahim Ahmed also spoke passionately about the development asking for the right thing to be done.
Majority whip Frank Annor-Dompreh however took exception to the accusations against the clerk of parliament arguing the development could’ve been a genuine mistake
Deputy majority leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin accused the minority of seeking to gather evidence to support their case at the Supreme Court against the passage of the E-Levy
Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu however refuted the claim his side is on an expedition to gather evidence the house did not have the required numbers for a quorum for decision taking. He repeated accusation of bias against the table office.
Some of the affected MPs took turns to share their ordeals in the hands of their constituents and Ghanaians since their names were put out. According to some, they were accused of taking bribes from government to ensure the bill passed.
Majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu argued the blame from the NDC MPs on the clerk is unfair since he works closely with the speaker on such matters.
The speaker in addressing the matter however attacked the Supreme Court judgment explaining why he called for a review from his base in Dubai.
According to him the fight over passage of E-Levy which has now compelled the minority to return to the apex court is because of the judgment in the Justice Abdulai case which separated quorum for business from quorum for decision taking.
The former Nadowli-Kaleo MP told the Court some things are best known to the house and thus in such cases parliament ought to have been involved.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Ibrahim Alhassan
