Joseph Osei-Owusu
FIRST DEPUTY Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has asked Members of Parliament (MPs) to stop misinforming the public that the Supreme Court (SC) has taken away the power of Parliament to regulate itself.
“We still have the power to regulate ourselves except that we must work within and not outside the constitution,” he stated, while he was in the Chair presiding over proceedings of the House.
His concerns were in response to assertions by the NDC MP for Bia East, Richard Acheampong, that “Parliament is no longer a master of its own rules” and the Standing Orders had become defective.
“Please for avoidance of doubt, Article 110(1) says subject to the provisions of this constitution, Parliament may, by Standing Orders, regulate its own rules and procedure.”
“Everything Parliament does regarding regulation of its procedure is subject to the constitution. “What the Supreme Court said was that the particular Standing Order is against the constitution. It has not taken away the right to regulate Parliament procedure and that misinformation is going out of gear,” the First Deputy Speaker intimated.
Mr. Osei-Owusu, who is also the NPP MP for Bekwai, said, “I heard one of the leaders this morning and I said no, we should not be misinforming the public when it comes to matters like this. A leader should not speak spirally.”
“Please whatever we do here to regulate our business is subject to the constitution. If for any reason, and anybody says a clause or otherwise is against the constitution, it is the Supreme Court that will determine whether it is against the constitution or we ourselves say no, the constitution does not give us the power to do A, B, or C,” he stressed.
He continued, “Once that determination has been done, if a member wishes to ask for a review, it is open to us. But let’s stop misinforming the public that the Supreme Court has taken away the power of Parliament to regulate itself, no.”
He accordingly adjourned the House to today over the issue of quorum.
BY Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House