The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin’s decision to halt the approval of Ministers and Deputy Ministers of State has angered the majority in parliament.
This comes after Alban Bagbin declared that the house would not be allowed to proceed with the deliberations over the nominations of the ministers that President Akufo-Addo just made.
Citing ongoing injunctions on the bill, the Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Asante Bediatuo, wrote to the Clerk of Parliament earlier this week, on behalf of the President, directing parliament to refrain from sending the recently passed Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2021 to the president for assent.
However, the Speaker of the House of Commons has stated that the president’s stance undercuts respect for the arms of government.
“Parliamentarians in the house were informed by the speaker that the President’s refusal to accept the transmission of the bill “undermines the spirit of cooperative governance and mutual respect for the arms of government, in addition to deviating from established democratic practices.”
Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the leader of the Majority, raised concern and called the Speaker’s decision “very strange” in a statement he signed.
It is quite disheartening that the Speaker adjourned the house sine die without allowing the house leadership to offer a remark, even after expressing his opinions regarding the letter the president had addressed to the clerk.
We are all aware that the honorable Dafeamekpor’s concern was specifically on the ongoing ministers who had been moved to different ministries. A report that was brought before the house for discussion and a final decision resolved the question of whether or not certain nominees were constitutional. Thus, in my opinion, these two problems are unrelated,” Mr. Afenyo-Markin said.
