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Tag: Speaker

  • Minority MPs walkout after Muntaka accuses Speaker of lawlessness

    The Minority in Parliament has walked out of the House after it’s Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak accused the Speaker of lawlessness.

    This was after Prof. Mike Ocquaye refused to halt proceedings over lack of quorum.

    The House was considering the Corporate Insolvency Bill with only about 60 MPs in the chamber out of 275.

    One-third parliamentarians are needed to form a quorum.

    Muntaka Mubarak says Prof. Mike Ocquaye’s decision not to halt proceedings amount to a shame.

    Minority Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak

    He interrupted proceedings with his outburst after the Speaker refused to recognise him.

    “You are condoning illegality. That is why there must be rules and order, now what you are doing means you are indulging in illegality,” he said on the Floor.

    He said the Minority kept telling the Speaker the House does not have the numbers and thus they do not have the quorum but Prof Ocquaye carried on with proceedings.

    “What is then the use of our constitution and the standing orders? This is not fair, you are abusing the privileges of this House. You are making this house lawless Mr Speaker,” the Asawase MP told the Speaker.

     

    Source: myjoyonline 

  • Coronavirus: Parliament to temporarily relocate to AICC

    The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, has hinted that the Legislature is likely to relocate to the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) to enable MPs to heed to the Social distancing measures.

    According to the Speaker, the Conference centre is spacious and would allow all parliamentarians to properly observe the measures against the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

    “As the Majority Leader suggested the other day, we are in the process of making all relevant arrangements if we can relocate temporarily to the conference centre…and carry on. Maybe this would make people realise that Parliament is in need of a more spacious place,” the Speaker of Parliament said on Monday.

    Coronavirus cases in Ghana have jumped to 24 from 21, as of Sunday evening.

    The update was posted on the government website dedicated to matters concerning the virus.

    Details of the new cases have not been disclosed.

    Among the confirmed cases, seventeen (17) are of Ghanaian nationality and seven (7) other nationals namely: Norway, Lebanon, China, France, UK.

    With regards to contact tracing, a total of 575 contacts have been identified and are being tracked.

     

    Source: Starrfm.com.gh

  • Speaker orders fumigation of Parliament amid COVID-19 fears

    The Speaker of Parliament has ordered the immediate fumigation of the precincts of the House.

    This forms part of measures to prevent a spread of Coronavirus in the House.

    “The fumigation of every inch of Parliament where we operate should be done immediately. Tomorrow we should see progress in that regard.”

    “This is rather important. Some have made very serious arrangements and rearrangements and we should continue to consider these…Even in the matter of state of emergency, Parliament must be around to take steps,” the Speaker said.

    Speaker advises against handshaking among MPs

    The Speaker of Parliament had early on also advised MPs to shun greeting by handshaking and physical contact.

    Prof. Oquaye also said the House had placed hand sanitizers at vantage points in a bid to strengthen measures against the pandemic.

    “Transmission has been identified particularly through handshaking and using the hands on the face. Sanitizers have been put at vantage points. We [parliamentarians] need to keep sanitizing our hands,” the Speaker said.

    Coronavirus cases in Ghana now 7

    The Ghana Health Service on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, confirmed one new case of Coronavirus in the country.

    The case was reported in the Greater Accra Region bringing to 7, the total number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Ghana.

    A tweet from the Ghana Health Service said, “…we have received report from NMIMR that indicated one (1) more confirmed case as positive for COVID-19 in Greater Accra Region.”

    The patient is a 35-year-old male and a Ghanaian citizen who returned to Accra from France.

    Coronavirus patients in Ghana getting better 

    The Ghana Health Service however says all patients who have tested positive for the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) are getting better.

    Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service in an interview on Eyewitness News on Tuesday said the patients are recovering and will be discharged once they are cleared.

    He said none of the patients had deteriorated since they were isolated and started receiving treatment.

    “They are all doing very well. They are recovering because they are much better than we saw them. When they are fully off, we will let them go home. All of them are better today than they were when we saw them. We have not seen any of them deteriorating. We review them every day so based on the condition, we will discharge them once we see that they have fully recovered and cleared,” he said.

     

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • Speaker directs probe into death of minor during blood donation

    Speaker Aaron Mike Oquaye has directed three committees in Parliament to investigate a blood donation exercise by the National Blood Service at Adjen-Kotoku Senior High School, in the Ga West Assembly, leading to the death of a minor.

    The Committees are the Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Gender and Children, and Health.

    Additionally, the Speaker also requested Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ledzokuku, Dr Zanetor Agyaman-Rawlings, MP for Klottey Korle and Mr Alex Afenyo Markin, MP for Afutu, to join the three committees and report to the House in two weeks to enable the Attorney General to take over the prosecution of the case.

    The directive follows a statement by Mr Afenyo Markin on the Floor of the House to the effect that a blood donation exercise carried out by the National Blood Service (NBS) at the Adjen-Kotoku SHS on February 26, had led to the demise of a student with several others being hospitalised.

    Prof Oquaye stressed the need to tighten the law on blood donation by minors to prevent the abuse of children in the system.

    He said no teacher or school authority had the right to draw the blood a child without the written consent of his or her parents.

    He regretted that, from his readings, the child was actually compelled to give two pints of blood, which he described as exploitative.

    Prof Oquaye emphasised the need for public education on the procedures that should be followed during blood donation exercises.

    He, therefore, charged the House to consider the issue thoroughly so that the Legislature would be seen as being responsive to the needs of the people who sent them there.

    Mr Afenyo Markin, in his statement, noted that on Thursday, March 5, his attention was drawn to the news item on Peace FM concerning a blood donation exercise at the school, leaving several of the students hospitalized.

    He said the report indicated that some of the students who were reluctant to participate in the exercise were, however, coerced by school authorities to do so.

    He cited for example that the required age for blood donation in Ghana ranges from 17 to 60 years and below 17 years parental/guardian consent must be sought.

    Mr Afenyo Markin said the donors are also to take a short physical examination to make sure the donation was not hazardous to their health and expressed surprise that the NBS would supervise blood donation without any precaution.

    “The blood donation that took place at the Adjen-Kotoku Senior High School Campus without considering the age factor of the students and also seeking parental consent, has led to the unfortunate demise of this young school boy,” he said.

    He, therefore, appealed to the Speaker for urgent investigations into the matter to bring to book all persons found culpable and compensate the bereaved family for the loss.

     

    Source: myjoyonline

  • Speaker’s comment unfortunate – Dean of Parliamentary Press Corps

    Dean of Parliamentary Press Corps, Nana Agyeman has described as unfortunate the comment of the Speaker Mike Oquaye threatening to label journalists as unwanted guests.

    Speaking to Citi FM, Nana Agyeman said he thought the issue was solved yesterday after he spoke with the majority side of the House but just to hear the issue on the floor and the Speaker’s directive.

    Explaining further, he said they did not abandon proceedings on the floor totally because after some few minutes after their engagement they came back to the press gallery.

    Nana Agyeman was not happy about the directive indicating that they normally receive a memo from the Public Affairs Director to cover courtesy calls while proceedings are ongoing.

    He said they hope to find a solution to the directive at their meeting with the Public Affairs Director tomorrow.

    Speaker’s decision not to gag journalists

    Public Affairs Director of Parliament, Kate Addo said the decision of Speaker is not to gag journalists in their work in the House.

    Kate Addo said that the main issue is to find common grounds on how journalists are to operate in Parliament.

    Summons

    Speaker of Parliament, Mike Oquaye on Wednesday summoned the Dean of Parliamentary Press Corps and the Director of Public Affairs of Parliament over the conduct of journalists at yesterday’s sitting.

    This follows a complaint from the majority leaders Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu to the effect that journalists abandoned proceedings of the house to give audience to the MP for Ellembelle Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah who had concerns about the energy sector aspect of the State of the Nation Address.

    Speaking on the floor of the House the Speaker indicated that he will not hesitate to declare journalists as strangers to parliament if due coverage is not given to the proceeding of the House.

    “It is forbidden if they have any doubt to abandoned the permission given them to cover proceeding in this honourable House and go outside the chamber itself and do some other work……. and I want to let the media know if that which was reported to have happened should happen anymore I will……on the fact that you are here as a guest……any, such act will make you unwelcomed guest…”

     

    Source: primenewsghana.com

  • Prof. Oquaye advocates for affirmative action law to address gender inequality

    Speaker of Parliament Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye has called for a National Affirmative Action law to correct the gender disparity in our society.

    According to him, although Article 17 (1) and (2) of the 1992 constitution provides for equal rights among all, the reality is different.

    Read: Speaker calls for comprehensive review of Affirmative Action Bill

    “The UN charter indicates that all persons must be treated equally yet what do we see today even in the face of modern development? There is no equality,”he said.

    Speaking to Citi News at a public lecture series at the University of Education, Winneba to commemorate the International Human Rights Day on Tuesday, Professor Mike Oquaye indicated that Ghana is at the bottom of the global order when it comes to gender equality.

    “In countries like Tanzania, Burundi, Malawi, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, Namibia, Mauritius and Rwanda, women have been given a place of pride in the legislature and in local governance and we have to do same since Ghana is beaten to the very bottom of the global order,” he noted.

    The Speaker of Parliament called for reinforcement of the role of women in Ghana, adding that no woman must be left behind in the exercise.

    Read: Affirmative Action Bill: Shut down companies who flout law Mike Oquaye

    He indicated that “we need a National Affirmative Action law to correct the gender disparity in our political, economic and social endeavours.”

    According to him, Ghana is a signatory to many UN charters hence the need to fight for equal right for all.

    “Dozens of human right treaties abound and if you turn to Chapter 5 of the Constitution, the right to life, dignity and property are well provided for but this declaration is manifestly not enough,” he added.

    Professor Mike Oquaye also questioned the imposition of certain foreign practices on Africans by way of gay rights, adding that such practices must be eschewed.

     

    Source: citinewsroom.com

  • Speaker urges MPs to prepare for more work after recess

    The Third Meeting of the Third Session of the Seventh Parliament of the fourth Republic has commenced sitting.

    Parliament went on recess early August and resumed sittings today. Welcoming members during the first sitting today, Tuesday, October 22, 2019, the Speaker, Prof. Mike Ocquaye outlined a number of businesses scheduled for this session including the presentation of the 2020 budget and the passage of a number of bills.

    He asked Members to brace themselves up for the huge volume of work required of them during this meeting.

    The Speaker also informed parliament about events which occurred during recess.

    Source: gbconline.com