Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu is not too impressed about the performance of the sixth parliament of the fourth republic whose tenure will be coming to an end at 12 midnight Friday.
In his closing remarks Friday, barely 12 hours to the end of the sixth Parliament, led by Speaker Edward Doe Adjaho, the leader of the Minority said due diligence was not done in the passage and approval of some loans and international agreements.
He said the alacrity with which some of the loans were passed “was not the best.”
The Minority Leader also raised questions about how some motions sponsored by the Minority was shot down without any effort to consider them.
Even though he did not cite any example of aborted motions during his closing remarks, the Minority has always chided the Speaker for the way in which he handled the controversial Ford saga involving the outgoing president John Mahama.
The Minority tabled a motion requesting a Parliamentary enquiry into the circumstances under which a Burkinabe business man who is doing business with government, gifted the president a $100,000 worth brand new Ford vehicle.
The Speaker somehow had the motion terminated completely without a debate on the floor.
The final embers of the sixth Parliament also saw the Minority Leader and the Speaker go head-to-head with hot verbal exchanges over issues to do with the Right to Information Bill.
Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu minced no words in his closing remarks, saying, if Parliament was a bit more diligent in its approval of loans and was more transparent in the handling of motions parliamentary democracy would have been deepened.
He said the paramount objective of Parliament is to improve the quality of lives of the citizens of Ghana and challenged members to do an introspection by asking themselves if they were able to meet that objective.
Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu also questioned the high attrition rate in Parliament which he said could hamper the progress of work in the House.
On his part the Majority Leader Alban Bagbin in his closing remarks said they have tried to balance the interest of the country and that of their party in the discharge of their duties on the floor.
Joy News’ Joseph Opoku Gakpo reported Bagbin as saying there is a thin line in performing that balancing act but the house, despite being a human institution has done its best to meet the needs of the ordinary Ghanaian.
At 12:00 midnight Friday when the president’s tenure will also come to an end, the Clerk of Parliament will have a unique role to play.
Joy News’ Parliamentary correspondent Elton John Brobbey said the clerk will preside over the sitting of the newly elected MPs, swear them in after which they will in turn vote to confirm the proposal of the new Speaker and his two deputies.
Prof Mike Ocquaye, will hopefully be the Speaker and will be assisted by Joe Osei Owusu and Alban Bagbin as his deputies.
After, the confirmation of Speaker, he will be sworn in by the Chief Justice and will act as president until president elect Nana Akufo-Addo is sworn into office Saturday morning.
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