Mahama Ayariga defends motion to suspend payment of university fees

Bawku Central Member of Parliament Mahama Ayariga has defended a motion he filed in parliament calling for the scrapping of fees for all public tertiary institutions. According to him, the motion is to help cushion parents and students from the economic impact of coronavirus.

He told Accra-based Joy FM that the motion he filed was clear in all regards and that it now rested on the president to confer with relevant university authorities to look at which components of fees can be waived.

“The motion says fees so it is all fees. And that attempt to bifurcate, separate and divide is really unfounded. Every fee that is captured in LI 23/83 is imposed by law.

"So it is up to the president to sit with the vice-chancellors to find out which one he thinks can be suspended … so for us, we have to make a request to the president.

“The fine details of which one he will suspend, which one should not be suspended is up to the president… we are making a request to him, that as a president and a person who can bring an LI to parliament to suspend the application of fees, we are asking him to do so,” he stressed.

He rejected an argument by the majority group in parliament which said he needed not to come with a private member’s bill but rather to file a motion of rescission because government had already made provisions relating to the said motion.

“The argument about rescission etc is not founded in our rules. This is a law that has been passed already and we cannot change it by a motion of rescission. It has to be the president introducing it,” he insisted.

He accused the majority caucus of avoiding the substance of the motion with their posturing on the issue stating that they were only seeking to use technicalities against his motion. “… they are trying to find technical arguments against the motion,” he told Emefa Apawu.

Parliament on Wednesday stood down the motion saying it will deliberate further on it after it had been improved with specifics in the demand.