THE CHAMBER of Parliament and its premises were fumigated before sitting commenced yesterday as part of “revolutionary” measures to prevent coronavirus, Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, directed.
Addressing Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Chamber on Wednesday, the Speaker said relevant enquiries had been made on steps to take in order to make the legislature stay safe and functional in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prof. Oquaye has been unusually upfront about the need to prevent the virus spreading, asserting that in other organizations some people had stopped working, while others had made “very serious rearrangements, and that we should consider these for Parliament.”
He recently banned the shaking of hands and hugging by MPs and the public gallery of the House was closed subsequently to the general public as part of sweeping restrictions on movement of guests on its premises to stemthe spread of Coronavirus.
The closure had been occasioned by a submission by the Minority Chief Whip, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, to prevent any member of the public from transmitting the disease to MPs.
The Speaker said everything humanly possible would be done to ward off the virus from entering Parliament since the legislative arm of government ought to be functional at all times, including emergency situations to help direct the nation and approve of relevant orders.
“We cannot…even in a matter of emergency Parliament has to act on it. So it means that no matter the emergency that arises, Parliament must be around to take steps under the constitution which are demanded to direct this nation and approve of relevant orders,” he stated.
Prof. Oquaye indicated that he had observed that sitting arrangements in the House were not in accordance with the World Health Organization’s recommendation of distance required among humans when they sat.
“I am directing that the clerk and the leadership of the House must seriously work on this, such that at least there should be an interval of one space between each MP as we are seated right now,” he added.
He said the House was complying with global directives and asked the medical director of Parliament to ensure that the directives were obliged.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House