Parliament adjourns sine die after extraordinary meeting

• Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin,
Speaker of Parliament

Parliament has adjourned sine die after executing one of the four items which necessitated the recall for a two-day extraordinary meeting.

The business which had been successfully executed over the two-day period was the approval of US$250 million loan facility for the Ghana Energy Sector Recovery Project (ESRP).

The facility was earlier rejected by the House on July 30 for the allocation of US$90 million of the expected amount for consultancy.

The other three items, a US$250 million International Development Association facility for the Ghana Financial Stability Project, requests for tax exemptions for ‘one district one factory’ companies to the tune of US$350 million and the consideration of nine bills remain undone.

An attempt by the Majority side of the House to see the exemptions granted the companies was shot down by the Minority who claimed that the exemptions are exit packages for cronies and business partners of the governing party.

On day one of the meeting, apart from concerns of MPs regarding recent reports of illegal mining, developments in the electioneering campaign and the just-ended voter register exhibition exercise, a motion to have the ESRP facility approved failed as the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, had directed further consultations.

According to a parliamentary source, some MPs received GH¢5,000 as transport allowance to attend the sittings of the emergency meeting.

The development has left many parliamentary watchers question the essence of the recall including the Speaker who cautioned MPs against abusing Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution.

The Article 112(3) provides that “…15 per cent of members may request a meeting of Parliament, and the Speaker shall, within seven days after the receipt of the request, summon Parliament”.

The provision, the Speaker held “should not become a tool to keep Parliament in perpetual or continuous session, thereby preventing Parliament and Members from performing the other…constitutional functions and duties to the country and constituencies”.

But a Deputy Majority Whip and MP for Tolon, Habib Iddrisu, said the view that the recall was needless because only one of the four items were executed was misplaced.

“A lot had been achieved no matter how little it is because within the 48 hours, we’ve been able to do a lot and achieved a lot.

“If you followed the proceedings, you would realise that we’ve been able to achieve a lot because before we adjourned sine die (on July 30), you would see that there were a lot of issues with regards to the ESRP loan facility,” he said on Accra-based Joy News on Wednesday night.

However, the first Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, said the recall was not in the interest of the state.

The Banda MP wondered how a country in crisis and out on the international financial market to borrow US$500 million at the two-day sitting would on the other hand be giving US$350 million in tax exemptions.

He dismissed the Majority’s assertion that the Minority had set out to frustrate government business for political advantage.

BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI