Parliament has apologised to Ghanaians for the chaotic scenes that characterised proceedings on Wednesday.
There were near fisticuffs between members of the Majority and Minority Caucuses during deliberations on the constitutionality or otherwise of the approval of the 2022 Budget.
According to the legislature’s Director of Public Affairs, Kate Addo, the Parliamentarians, no matter how divided, are working with the interest of the people at heart.
In an interview with JoyNews’ Kwesi Parker-Wilson, she explained that it is “not out of the ordinary for MPs to be forceful” in order to get their opinions or positions considered on certain matters.
“We apologise for what may not sit well with people, we promise that as much as possible, we will work bearing in mind the nuances and cultural sensibilities of the people that we serve.
“While what is happening may not be the best, we pray that we don’t see things like that in our Parliament. But when they happen, we must know that everything is being done with the utmost interest of the people,” she said.
On Wednesday, the House became divided after the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu threw out a motion by the Minority who were seeking to have the approval of the fiscal policy rescinded.
The agitated NDC MPs started shouting unprintable words at the Deputy Speaker. But their counterparts across the aisle retaliated.
The Speaker was forced to suspend the sitting for an hour. During the break, Ghanaians witnessed a tussle between the two sides.
This 10-minute commotion is the latest chaos after the incident of January 7, 2021, during which an MP snatched and bolted with some ballots.
But Madam Addo, who is unhappy with the recent development, gave assurance that the achievements chalked since the inception of the Fourth Republic will be guarded jealously.
“Everybody is anxious to see an end to this impasse. It has been a very stressful few days, but we want to assure everybody that this is in the interest of the country.
“As a Parliament, we are working to ensure that as soon as possible, we will be able to put together a resolution that will serve the interest of each and every Ghanaian. So very soon, Parliament is going to come out with a resolution on the matter,” Ms Addo assured.