Sarah Adwoa Safo
THE MAJORITY Caucus in Parliament yesterday questioned the ruling of Speaker Alban Bagbin which said the Privileges Committee cannot make a determination for the House in the matter of Dome-Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo and her two other colleagues.
Mr. Bagbin ruled that the report of the Privileges Committee on the three absentee Members of Parliament (MPs) is not final, noting that the House would have to go through the recommendations of the report and make a determination.
“Once a referral has been made to them (Privileges Committee members), the report of the committee does not complete the enquiry into the matter.
“The report of the Committee on Privileges, just like any other committee, is subject to the consideration of the House by way of a motion,” the Speaker ruled, while dismissing a preliminary objection raised by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.
He continued, “As I have noted in this ruling, the decision as to whether or not to admit a motion is the exclusive preserve of the Speaker.
“In view of the foregoing, the House is well within its right to receive and consider the report of the Committee and make a determination arising out of this recommendation.
“In the circumstances, it is my ruling that the motion rightfully admitted and the report of the [Privileges] Committee is subject to the consideration of the House.
“It goes without saying the preliminary objection by the Majority Leader to the admissibility of the motion for consideration of the report of the Committee is hereby dismissed in limine,” Speaker Bagbin intimated.
Disagreement
However, the Majority Leader, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu argued that the ruling of the Speaker was unfair and fundamentally flawed, asserting that Mr. Bagbin “is totally wrong in his understanding of the constitution.”
“You have taken us on torsion and torturous journey and I must state that I don’t know where you have taken this House to.
“Mr. Speaker, by way of conclusion, you said the House would go through the recommendations of the report and make a determination. You have made a ruling that I totally disagree with.
“I think it doesn’t sit with the constitution. I am expressing my discomfort of this unfortunate ruling you have made,” the Majority Leader contended, while pointing out that Speaker Bagbin had been inconsistent in the matter of the three MPs – Sarah Adwoa Safo of Dome-Kwabenya, Henry Quartey of Ayawaso Central, and Kennedy Ohene Agyapong of Assin Central.
“With your own earlier statement that you made in this House relating to this same matter, is very inconsistent, and to that I am serving notice that we will come with a substantive motion to challenge your ruling, which I find to be very obsequious,” the Majority Leader stressed.
Later at a press briefing, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu explained, “I am insisting that the Speaker is totally wrong in his understanding of the constitution because in this case I have said, the report should be submitted to Parliament by way of information.”
According to him, the assertion by the Speaker that a determination should be made about the report of the Privileges Committee “is not the language contained in the constitution.”
Committee Report
The Privileges Committee, which is a cross-party group of 31 MPs that investigated the conduct of the three delinquent MPs, by a majority decision, recommended that the Dome-Kwabenya seat be declared vacant by the Speaker since it is automatically vacant by operation of law.
In its report, the committee said by the provisions of Article 97 (1)(c) of the 1992 Constitution, the onus was on Sarah Adwoa Safo to provide a reasonable explanation to the Privileges Committee why she shall not vacate her seat, for having absented herself for 42 sittings of Parliament.
She was said to have failed to take advantage of the numerous opportunities and facilities offered to her to provide reasonable explanations to the committee with regard to her absence without leave.
“Therefore, pursuant to Article 97 (1) (c) of the 1992 Constitution and the Court of Appeal decision in the case of Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare v the Attorney General & 3 Others, the Dome-Kwabenya Seat is automatically vacant by operation of law,” the report stated.
BY Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House