Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has clarified circumstances surrounding the adjournment of the House on July 30.
The Speaker in a statement said the decision to adjourn the House Sine die on 30th July, was not made in isolation.
“This date was informed by the Parliamentary Calendar of the Fourth Session of the Eighth Parliament, which calls on Parliament to adjourn at the end of the month of July,” he stated.
“This guide was discussed on several occasions at pre-sitting meetings of the Speaker, and Leaders and agreed to, weeks before the 30th of July 2024.”
Following the adjournment of the House, Speaker Bagbin said on 31st July, the Office of the Speaker received a request for a recall of Parliament to a parliamentary Meeting, pursuant to Article 112 (3) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 53 of the Standing Orders of Parliament.
He noted that this request was submitted by members of the Majority side, led by Mr Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader and New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu.
He said the request outlined several matters alleged to be emergencies and needed urgent consideration.
“I was urged, as Speaker of Parliament, to recall the House, which had been adjourned sine die, a day earlier, on the 30th of July 2024,” he said.
In his response to certain issues related to the adjournment particularly as these had been raised by the Majority Leader, Mr Afenyo-Markin, at a Press Conference after the adjournment sine die, the Speaker said: “In my capacity as the Speaker of Parliament, it is part of my duties to uphold the principles of transparency, accountability, and due process”.
“It is also my duty to uphold the dignity and integrity of Parliament, MPs, Officers and Staff of the Parliamentary Service”.
He said, he had throughout his tenure as Speaker, not only sworn but committed to doing exactly that with all my heart and with all his might.
“I am therefore duty bound to clarify the circumstances surrounding the adjournment of the House on July 30, 2024, and to correct any erroneous impressions that may have arisen as a result of the adjournment and the reactions thereafter,” he said.
The Speaker reiterated that it was vital that the facts were understood clearly, and that the dignity and integrity of this institution remains unblemished.
“Firstly, I have been accused of prioritising international travel over parliamentary business and of unilaterally deciding to adjourn the House on 30th July 2024,” he said; adding that “These accusations are unfounded and are made in bad faith.”
Speaker Bagbin said as the official reports, voice, and video recordings of proceedings of the House would clearly demonstrate, he consistently communicated to the House the agreed adjournment date throughout the meeting.
He said the adjournment was neither sudden nor unilateral in this regard as evidenced by the contents of the official reports of 6th, 11th, 25th, and 26th July 2024.
“It is for this purpose that the House prioritised some agenda items and I committed to sit late hours till midnight to ensure that all the prioritised businesses are completed before the House adjourned sine die on the agreed 30th July 2024,” he said.
“This was particularly so, because in the last week to the adjournment, both Deputy Speakers had to be unavoidably absent from the jurisdiction and I had to sit throughout the sittings, as captured by the official reports.”
Speaker Bagbin said admittedly, in the last three days, to the date of the adjournment, the Majority Leader proposed an extension of the meeting to the 2nd of August 2024; declaring that the Minority Leaders opposed the proposal.
He said the Majority Leader was reminded of the commitment of Parliament to send a delegation led by the Speaker, together with the leadership, inclusive of the Majority Leader and Clerk to Parliament to attend a conference in the United States of America.
Speaker Bagbin said this conference had been agreed to and paid for by Parliament even before the commencement of this meeting.
He said the Speaker, Clerk to Parliament and the former Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei–Mensah–Bonsu, being members and Co-Chair of the International Advisory Council of the Conference had to depart earlier.
He said the Speaker had thus committed to leave the jurisdiction on the night of the 30th of July.
“It would mean that from the night of the 30th and the next day the 31st, the Speaker and both Deputies Speakers would have been unavoidably absent from the jurisdiction,” he said.
“The Majority Leader later informed me the Second Deputy Speaker would have returned by the 29th of July to preside on the 30th of July if permitted by me.
“He also argued that a member could be elected to preside in the interregnum. I enquired to know whether he had discussed this with the Minority Leaders. His answer was in the Affirmative. A later enquiry reveals that his answer was inaccurate.”
Speaker Bagbin said further, the attention of the Majority Leader was drawn to the state and tempo of the House and the high risk of disorder, especially as, he the Majority Leader had, as leader of Ghana’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, agreed to host a delocalised meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament at Winneba, without the knowledge of the Speaker or the Clerk to Parliament, from the 29th July to the 2nd of August, 2024.
Speaker Bagbin said the Majority Leader was thus visibly absent on the floor of the House, most of the 29th and 30th July 2024.
He said the Second Deputy Speaker never arrived as submitted by the Majority Leader until the 31st of July after the House had adjourned sine die.
He said while a member elected could have presided in the absence of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers, it was essential to understand that the presiding member could not have effectively handled administrative matters during this period nor presided over the House to take any substantive decision.
Adding that again, at the beginning of the year, the Leadership of the House and the Parliamentary Service Board had decided that the chamber be retrofitted in preparation for the 9th Parliament.
He said the urgency of addressing structural defects and replacing the audio and video equipment could not be overstated as many had witnessed the failure of the equipment and some parts of the structure of the Chamber in recent times, which had in some instances led to the abrupt suspension of sittings or adjournment.
“If Parliament does not undertake this work now, it will face significant challenges in finishing the necessary preparations before the transition to the ninth Parliament,” he said.
The Speaker said the Chamber of Parliament was being retrofitted, upgraded, and was unavailable for use by Parliament now.
He said it was important to note that the request for the recall was based on Article 112 (3) and not 113.
He said it was not a recall based on an emergency; stating that the reasons stated in the request were misconceived and were meant to throw dust into the eyes of the unsuspecting public.
Speaker Bagbin said consequently, most of the issues outlined in the request, including the motion on the $250 million Financing Agreement, are businesses before the House prior to the recess.
He said for instance, the Motion on the loan of $250 million was tabled, debated, and rejected by the House prior to the adjournment of the House sine die.
He said at all material times, therefore, matters, which had been prioritised and agreed to, including the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Bill were handled and passed before the adjournment sine die. “Consequently, I categorically reject the erroneous impression created by the Hon. Majority Leader that my actions were unilateral or that I placed personal travel above my duties to the House and nation,” he stated.
Speaker Bagbin said the decisions taken were in the best interest of the nation, the institution of Parliament and were made with the full involvement of the leadership of Parliament.
Speaker Bagbin said as he had intimated several times to the House before the adjournment sine die, he summons Parliament to meet on Tuesday, 3rd of September, at a place and venue to be communicated as soon as one becomes available; saying “Order 53 cannot therefore be fully complied with”.
“I assure the public that I remain committed to my Oath to inter alia “faithfully and consciously discharge my duties as Speaker of Parliament.”
GNA