Hand over if you are not ready to govern – NDC MP

The Minority in parliament has charged the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to hand over power to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) if the Akufo-Addo government is not ready to govern.

The call follows the failure of five ministers to appear before the house on Thursday, 7 December to answer questions pertaining to their portfolios.

Second Deputy Majority Chief Whip, Moses Anim, had explained that all the five ministers had written to inform the house of their unavailability.

However, Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, took government to task and said ministers must take the work of parliament seriously.

He said: “Mr Speaker, is he telling this house that all the five ministers of state have written letters that none of them, not even one can avail themselves to respond to the question that is being asked of them?

“We should take the business of this house very seriously. Mr Speaker, today is 7 December and it was 7 December that Ghana went to the elections and just within one year, five ministers of state, not even one is before this house to answer questions? And he’s telling us that all of them have written letters that they can’t come in?

“Mr Speaker, government business must be taken seriously and this is the house of parliament, this is the heart of democracy, this is why 7 December we went into the polls for you to come here and do this work.

“Mr Speaker, if you look at the order paper, the business committee cannot go and sit and arrange business for the day. We come and not one of all the businesses slated for today is ready for execution… Mr Speaker, we can’t believe this and it’s just one year. So if you can’t handle the power, give it to us, we are ready.”

The NPP on Thursday held a thanks-giving ceremony to mark the first-year anniversary of the 2016 general elections that brought the NPP to power.