Recall Parliament for 2-day urgent business - Majority Leader urges Speaker

The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has requested the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to recall the House to sit on Thursday and Friday for an emergency meeting to consider outstanding public businesses.

He said the sixth meeting of the fourth session of Parliament which was scheduled to take place on November 7, 2024 was adjourned without any consideration of government business.

The Majority Leader explained that the Speaker should consider recalling the House, with the reason that there were a number of urgent government businesses that had been advertised and scheduled to be carried out prior to the adjournment of the House.

Urgent items

In a memo addressed to the Speaker last Friday, Mr Afenyo-Markin listed the urgent items as request for tax exemptions for designated beneficiaries under the One-District, One-Factory programme and the Ghana Financial Stability Fund, an International Development Association facility of $250 million.

He also mentioned the consideration of the President’s nominations for appointment as Justices of the Supreme Court, ratification of the mining lease agreement between the government (Represented by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources) and the Ashanti Bauxite Company Limited for the mining of bauxite in the Nyinahini Block 2 Area in the Atwima Mponua District in the Ashanti Region.

Others are the ratification of the mining lease agreement between the government and Barari DV Ghana Limited for the exploitation of lithium at Ewoyaa in the Central Region.

Bills

Concerning bills, the Leader mentioned the Environmental Protection Agency Bill, 2024, the Social Protection Bill, 2023, the Customs (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Budget Bill, 2024, the Ghana Boundary Commission Bill, 2023, the Intestate Succession Bill, 2022, the University of Mampong Bill, 2024, the Free Secondary Education Bill, 2024, and the Pre-Tertiary Amendment Bill, 2024.

The rest, he said, were the Colleges of Applied Arts, Science and Technology Bill, 2024, the Ghana Book Development Council Bill, 2024, the University for Development Studies Bill, 2024, the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Bill, 2024, the University of Health, Agriculture and Life Sciences (Kintampo) Bill, 2024, the J. B. Danquah University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences (Bunso) Bill, 2024, the University of Sports for Development Bill, 2024, and the University of Engineering and Applied Sciences (Ankrodie) Bill, 2024, 

National unity

Mr Afenyo-Markin submitted to the Speaker that reconvening Parliament at this juncture would send a powerful message of national unity and institutional stability.

“It would demonstrate that, even as we approach the peak of the electoral season, Parliament remains steadfast in its constitutional duties and committed to advancing the national interest through bipartisan cooperation”.

“In view of the urgency of these government businesses, I crave your indulgence to consider exercising your mandate under Orders 57 (3) and 58(4) to recall the House to consider the above outstanding business,” he said. 

High priority

Mr Afenyo-Markin, also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu, emphasised that those businesses were high priority for the government.

He cited Order 57(3) which provides: “The Speaker may summon a sitting of the House before the date or time to which the House has been adjourned or at any date or time after the House has been adjourned sine die.”

Besides, Order 58(4) also states: “The Speaker shall summon Parliament within a period determined by the Speaker and the requirement for a 14-day-notice shall not apply where there is an emergency”.

“Respectfully Sir, if the above request finds favour with you, I propose that you consider Thursday, November 28, 2024 and Friday, November 29, 2024 as the scheduled dates for this emergency recall.

“It is my view that once done, members can go back to their constituencies over the weekend to continue with their campaign towards the December 7 general election,” he said.

He reminded the Speaker that the Supreme Court's recent ruling on Article 97 (1) (g) and (h) provided the House with a clean slate to move forward in unity and purpose.

“Let us seize this opportunity to demonstrate to the people of Ghana that their Parliament can rise above partisan considerations to serve their interests effectively,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.

Will Speaker accede to request?

It, however, remains uncertain whether the Speaker will accede to the Majority Leader’s request, given that it is left with barely two weeks for members of the House to stay and campaign in their constituencies in order to return to the House or otherwise.

Background

The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, on November 16, this year instructed the party’s MPs to boycott any emergency recall of Parliament, saying such sessions were driven by corrupt motives.

Speaking to supporters in the Western Region on November 16, Mr Asiedu Nketiah said with the 2024 general election getting closer, the Majority Caucus had no legitimate reason to reconvene Parliament other than to further their questionable objectives.

“No NDC MP should set foot in Parliament. If they wish, they can go and burn the sea. There is no work in Parliament that can be considered an emergency and there is nothing urgent,” he told charged supporters.