Adwoa Safo saved again by Alban Bagbin

Many Ghanaians, including Members of Parliament on the Majority side, have been left disappointed after the highly-expected ruling by the Speaker of Parliament on the fate of their colleague ended in the balance. The Majority MPs, led by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, had called for the seat of Sarah Adwoa Safo, MP for Dome Kwabenya, to be declared vacant after she failed to appear in parliament for sittings. Although the Speaker of Parliament was initially expected to deliver his verdict on the matter in the last meeting of parliament in July 2022, he adjourned it, announcing later that he would give his ruling on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. However, when Alban Bagbin did, he gave a ruling that the report of the committee set up to look into the case of the MP and two others who absented themselves for a number of sittings should be presented before the whole house to be debated. He, therefore, dismissed the objection of the Majority Leader to the admissibility of the committee report for the consideration of the house. “As I have noted in this ruling, the decision (sic) on not to admit a motion is the exclusive preserve of the Speaker. In view of the foregoing, the House is well within its right to receive and consider reports of the committee and make a determine arising out of the consideration. “In the circumstances, it is my ruling that the motion was rightfully admitted and the report of the committee is subject to the consideration of the house. It goes without saying that the (sic) objection of the Majority Leader today (sic) is hereby dismissed…” he concluded his verdict. It will be recalled that on July 29, 2022, a day after parliament adjourned its first decision to determine the fate of the Dome Kwabenya MP, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo sacked her as the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection. In a statement, the president said the revocation of the MP’s appointment as minister was to take immediate effect. “In accordance with article 81(a) of the Constitution, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has revoked the appointment of Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo, Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, as Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, with immediate effect. “The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, will continue to act as caretaker Minister for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, until such a time that President Akufo-Addo appoints a substantive Minister,” the statement from the Presidency concluded. Sarah Adwoa Safo has been in the United States of America since 2021. Watch the latest episode of People&Places on GhanaWeb TV below: AE/BOG

Many Ghanaians, including Members of Parliament on the Majority side, have been left disappointed after the highly-expected ruling by the Speaker of Parliament on the fate of their colleague ended in the balance. The Majority MPs, led by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, had called for the seat of Sarah Adwoa Safo, MP for Dome Kwabenya, to be declared vacant after she failed to appear in parliament for sittings. Although the Speaker of Parliament was initially expected to deliver his verdict on the matter in the last meeting of parliament in July 2022, he adjourned it, announcing later that he would give his ruling on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. However, when Alban Bagbin did, he gave a ruling that the report of the committee set up to look into the case of the MP and two others who absented themselves for a number of sittings should be presented before the whole house to be debated. He, therefore, dismissed the objection of the Majority Leader to the admissibility of the committee report for the consideration of the house. “As I have noted in this ruling, the decision (sic) on not to admit a motion is the exclusive preserve of the Speaker. In view of the foregoing, the House is well within its right to receive and consider reports of the committee and make a determine arising out of the consideration. “In the circumstances, it is my ruling that the motion was rightfully admitted and the report of the committee is subject to the consideration of the house. It goes without saying that the (sic) objection of the Majority Leader today (sic) is hereby dismissed…” he concluded his verdict. It will be recalled that on July 29, 2022, a day after parliament adjourned its first decision to determine the fate of the Dome Kwabenya MP, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo sacked her as the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection. In a statement, the president said the revocation of the MP’s appointment as minister was to take immediate effect. “In accordance with article 81(a) of the Constitution, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has revoked the appointment of Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo, Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, as Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, with immediate effect. “The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, will continue to act as caretaker Minister for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, until such a time that President Akufo-Addo appoints a substantive Minister,” the statement from the Presidency concluded. Sarah Adwoa Safo has been in the United States of America since 2021. Watch the latest episode of People&Places on GhanaWeb TV below: AE/BOG