Prof Mike Ocquaye
The reopening of Parliament yesterday became a contentious issue between the minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu and the majority leader, Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu as to whether the appropriate channel was used to communicate to members about the early reconvening of parliament on October 3, 2017.
But the issue was amicably settled, with the minority leader saying that the minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) was ever ready to work with government to execute all its policies for the benefit of Ghanaians.
Welcoming the MPs, the speaker, Prof Mike Oquaye, said the session would be a busy one with a lot of bills, as well as the budget for next year to be considered.
“As representatives of the people of Ghana, you are the ones charged with the responsibility to work above reproach and see through the wellbeing of the people and you can only make Ghana proud if you attend to your duties with a strong sense of urgency and responsibility,” he said, adding that besides the laws to be enacted, the House will also consider the national budget and the related draft estimates of ministries, departments and agencies.
According to the speaker, the House over the years encountered difficulties during budget sessions that relate mostly to late submission of draft budget estimates of ministries, departments and agencies to parliament and its committees, stressing that this time round, the House expects to avert such a problem, which has been piling a lot of pressure on the plenary work.
The speaker also said wrong public perceptions have been created by members of the public.
He said this follows a survey conducted by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) on MPs in 2015.
Responses show that most people are not in touch with their MPs or do not know much about the work of MPs so the leadership will create various platforms for MPs to interact with their people, he said.
As at the time of filing this report, the activities in the House had been suspended to allow the Committee of Mines and Energy to present a report on the Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) which was urgently laid before Parliament yesterday for consideration.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr