There was a near exchange of blows on the floor of the Chamber of Parliament on Wednesday over the approval of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government on Tuesday November 30, 2021.
In an action movie style, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashaiman, Ernest Henry Norgbey rushed to relocate the Speaker’s chair after the First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei Owusu ruled against a motion by the Minority in the House to overturn the approval of the 2022 budget.
It would be recalled that on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, the House had only the members on the majority side present after it reconvened following last Friday’s rejection of the budget that had been presented by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
With all members of parliament on the majority present in the House, and the MP for Bekwai, who doubled as the sit-in Speaker of Parliament, the House overturned the earlier decision on the budget on Tuesday, going on to approve the budget under very controversial circumstances.
Interestingly, after the minority returned to the floor of the House, Haruna Iddrisu, Minority Leader, moved a motion to overturn yesterday’s decision that saw the budget approved.
However, it became serious constitutional interpretation when members on both sides of the House put on legal caps and argued out strong reasons, backed by their own interpretations of the law, on the constitutionality or not of that decision.
After the long run of the interpretation of laws, Osei-Owusu, sitting in as speaker, declared that the decision cannot be overturned, amidst open interjections from the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, and other MPs on that side of the House.
Tension was high amidst confusion and heated argument in the chamber after his declaration on the matter, and his position that “the deputy speaker is not the speaker.”
MPs on the minority side refused to agree with the First Deputy Speaker who happens to be their colleague and suddenly rushed to the platform on which the chair of the Speaker is, dragged it to the main floor of the Chamber.
The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, literally abandoned the chairing of proceedings in Parliament after he had suspended sitting for an hour following the confusion that erupted after he ruled against a motion by the Minority Caucus.
He insisted that he was not wrong in associating himself with the Majority side to approve the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the President Nana Akufo-Addo government on Tuesday, November 30, 2021.
By Vincent Kubi