How Minority blocked approval of $250m loan in Parliament before adjournment despite Majority protest

The minority in parliament blocked a $250 million loan from the World Bank after voting 'no' for the approval.

The facility, which was meant for the Energy Sector Recovery Programme, was supposed to be approved on the final day of sitting, given the consensus reached by the Finance Committee of Parliament.

The Ranking Member for the Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo, indicated that a significant portion of the funds was allocated to consultancy services, which he found problematic.

He urged the House to approve the loan subject to an amendment to the disbursement formula.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawase, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, also raised questions about the loan.

He said he didn’t understand why some of the funds were not used to empower some of the universities in Ghana, like KNUST, to produce their own meters.

Additionally, Patrick Boamah shared details of the loan with the House.

Following these comments, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, proceeded by putting the question before the House.

He said, “Those in favor say 'aye' and those against say 'no.'”

For clarification, he put the question again before the House and concluded, “Well, definitely the nos have it. From the voice vote, the nos have it.”

After the ruling, Patrick Yaw Boamah, the Chairman of the Committee, said he did not think the nos had it.

The Speaker then asked if the Majority wanted a headcount or division.

The Deputy Majority Whip then said that their members did not say yes to the motion because they did not understand the voice vote, and if the question was put before the House again, it would settle the matter.

The Speaker, before his ruling, said he had indicated the House would adjourn on June 30 while making comments about numbers.

“I have always drawn the attention of the leader of government business, who himself is not even now available. Because you always need numbers behind you when you are taking some stands on issues on the floor. Those numbers are not there, and those who support you to run your business, you will run at them, and so when they react, the result will not be in your favor. Clearly, this is what has happened, and there is no way the Speaker can preside and be pretending to be doing the right thing when everybody will see it so visibly that it is wrong for the Speaker. So, I will do what is right, and truly the nos had it, and the motion is accordingly rejected.”

Patrick Boamah then rose again to challenge the decision of the Speaker.

However, the Speaker said the best course of action was for the House to adjourn sine die, and that was what he proceeded to do.

NAY/AE

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