The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has issued a stern critique of Speaker Alban Bagbin’s indefinite adjournment of Parliament, describing it as an act that “amounts to supervising chaos” and one that undermines the credibility of Ghana’s democratic process.
Following Bagbin’s decision on Thursday, November 7, to adjourn due to a lack of business—caused by the absence of New Patriotic Party (NPP) members—Afenyo-Markin expressed his discontent with the circumstances that led to the session’s abrupt end.
Afenyo-Markin clarified that the absence of the NPP caucus was not due to negligence, but rather stemmed from a procedural conflict.
He explained that the Clerk of Parliament had failed to print the necessary Order Paper, which details the agenda items to be discussed in the House.
This oversight, he argued, was pivotal in preventing the NPP from engaging in parliamentary proceedings.
The Majority Leader noted that this administrative lapse led to a misinterpretation of the NPP’s absence, with some perceiving it as a lack of commitment to parliamentary duties.
He stressed that this misrepresentation was unfair and that the responsibility for the disrupted session should lie with the Clerk’s failure to issue the Order Paper as directed.
“What Mr. Speaker did today amounts to supervising chaos and tarnishing the image of our democracy. The NDC minority members were claiming that we, the Majority, did not attend a so-called Business Committee meeting they supposedly convened.
“I chair the Business Committee, and when the Clerk of Parliament requested a meeting, I made it clear that the matter of the recall was the main agenda, making an additional meeting unnecessary.
“The Business Committee decides on the business of the House, and in this case, the items approved for consideration were precisely those for discussion. I therefore instructed that the Order Paper reflect all those items,” Afenyo-Markin said.
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