GRi in Parliament 13 – 02 - 2003
President
addresses Parliament today
Bagbin makes his statement finally
President
addresses Parliament today
Accra
Papa
Owusu-Ankomah, the Majority Leader, speaking in a brief interview with the
Ghana News Agency on Wednesday said it was expected that the address would
depart from promises.
"I
expect that it would be an acknowledgement and appreciation of Ghanaians'
understanding of the necessary harsh and unpalatable economic situations."
He said he was expecting that the President would commend the nation for
accepting the current fuel prices and setting the tone for development.
However,
Samuel Sallas-Mensah, NDC MP for Upper West Akim, said the address would only compound the economic
problems of Ghanaians because he was sure there would be no tax relief to
salary earners.
He
said the "government needs all the money it can muster up and it is also
expected that there would be more increases in administrative taxes such as
court fees and vehicle licensing fees."
GRi.../
Bagbin makes his statement finally
itself for
acting maturely for being able to maintain the unity and cohesion that should
prevail in the House after Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader, finally made a
statement which was a subject of controversy during the two previous sittings.
The
Majority blocked Mr Bagbin from making a statement on accusations Peter Ala
Adjetey, Speaker, had levelled against him for divulging a communication
between the two of them on the declaration of vacancy on the Wulensi Constituency seat last week Thursday to the media.
The
National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in Parliament walked out from the
House on the same day because the Speaker refused to allow their Leader to
reply to the accusations levelled against him.
Sources
close to the Minority had hinted that if the Majority had not allowed their
Leader to make the statement as it happened on Friday they would have walked
out and boycotted Parliament on Thursday when President John Kufuor would
deliver the State Of
It
was again planned that the budget that would be presented very soon to the
House would also have suffered the same fate.
Papa
Owusu-Ankomah, the Majority Leader, sensing that danger at today's sitting
intimated that the House allowed the Minority Leader to make his statement
because the leadership after exhaustive consultations had come to the decision
that it was in the best interest of the House and the nation for the statement
to be made without interruption. He appealed to his side to avoid any heckling
and interruptions and said in the circumstances it was better for the statement
to be made.
So
when the Speaker subsequently ruled that Bagbin should present his statement
and the Majority New Patriotic Party (NPP) side including Captain Nkrabea Effah-Dartey (Berekum),
Mr Joseph Darko-Mensah (Okaikwei North), Charles Nyanor (Upper Denkyira) and Mr
Edward Osei-Kwaku (Asokwa
West) Minister of Youth and Sports began to protest against the making of the
statement with some of them suggesting that it should be made in closed doors,
the Majority Leadership prevailed on its members to allow the statement to be
made.
The
Speaker ruled that he had made his statement publicly on the floor of the House
and he did not see why the Minority Leader should make his in camera. He said
whether the Minority Leader's statement was an attack on him or not he was
giving him the chance to do so.
Bagbin
reading his statement to an attentive House denied ever divulging any
communication between him and the Speaker on the vacancy of the Wulensi seat to the media. "I think that the attack on
my integrity by Mr Speaker is totally based on suspicion. It is unsupported by
any evidence. "It is my respectful view that Mr Speaker owes me an
obligation to remedy the considerable pain and anguish inflicted on me. I, therefore, humbly call on Mr Speaker to
withdraw those portions of his statement impugning misconduct on my part and
calling into question my hard won reputation."
He
thanked the Speaker, the Leadership and his colleagues for their
"tolerance, patience, understanding and solidarity in this matter."
After
the statement the Majority Leader rose to thank the House for their maturity in
handling the issue while commending the Speaker and the Minority Leader for
their tolerance, forbearance and for their wits.
The
Majority Leader said he was happy that the unity of the House was not destroyed
and there was nothing to undermine its integrity and that the sensibilities of
others should not be abused.
The
Speaker said it did not mean that the wise man should not fall but that he must
not fail to get up adding the solution to the problem was another victory for
parliamentary democracy and that he was happy that the enemies of Parliament,
who were high up and expecting failure, had been disappointed.
The
senior Minister, Joseph H. Mensah commended the Minority Leader for making a
statement which did not raise emotions that would adversely affect the work of
the House.
GRi…/
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