Parliament Adjourns Sine die after Minority’s Protest Against 2nd  Deputy Speaker

The Minority in Parliament has expressed disappointment in Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah when he deferred voting on the nine-member Adhoc Parliamentary committee probing the government's procurement of Sputnik V Vaccine from Russia through an intermediary.

The report which was presented late last Friday before parliament adjourned sine dies generated heated debate on the floor as both sides were divided. Chairman of the committee, Alexander Afenyo Markin who presented the report incurred the wrath of the minority when he rather sought to debate the report. 

But Vice-Chair of the committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh disagreed with him on many occasions. The minority, led by its Whip, Muntaka Mubarak who had argued that the Minister was caught in many instances lying under oath moved for his dismissal (vote of no confidence).

But the Second Deputy speaker who was charing proceedings deferred voting on the report when it looked like the Majority did not have the numbers at the time. This infuriated the minority who decided to sing and bang tables in protest against the Speaker's directive. The Speaker, as such had no option than to adjourn sine die in the midst of the confusion. 

In response to the suggestion by Mr Muntaka for an amendment of the Committee’s report with respect to the motion he moved to pass a vote of no confidence(dismissal) on the Minister, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated that the procedure used by the legislator was unorthodox.

“The rules of procedure, the standing orders have no room for such on the spare of the moment decision, because this is a matter dealing with a Member of Parliament that you want to propose an action to be done to.

“It should come by a substantive motion which will be submitted to the Speaker just as this one was originally admitted by the Speaker for it to be tabled,” he explained.

Ahenkorah Odura Mary, Accra