Mid-Year Review: Latecomer MPs to be turned away as Parliament consolidates social distancing protocol

Parliament has taken firm steps to consolidate coronavirus safety protocols on Thursday, July 23, 2020, when the Finance Minister delivers the Mid-Year Budget Review.

Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, has said the measures that will be taken are consistent with the national and World Health Organisation established protocols for the prevention and spread of the COVID-19.

According to the Speaker, only about half of the 275 MPs will be admitted into the chamber as there would be an empty seat between every two MPs seated in the plenary when Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, resents the budget review.

MPs will be allowed into the chamber on a first-come, first-served basis

The rest of the MPs, according to Speaker can either sit in the public gallery or monitor proceedings from their offices via TV.

The Speaker announced these on Wednesday, July 22, 2020.

Also, a restricted number of journalists in the press gallery will be ensured and there will be no admittance of visitors in the House.

Furthermore, no crowd will be allowed outside the Chamber area.

The number of journalists that would be allowed in the gallery, the Ghana News Agency learned, is 25.

To ensure free sitting, name tags on seats would be removed and members may only sit alternatively such that there will be an empty seat between every two members seated.

The Speaker reminded the public that the protocols that debarred visitors to the House remained in force, and advised them to watch the proceedings from their homes, as the programme would be aired on both state and private media.

He urged the Public Affairs Department and the Parliamentary Press Corps to ensure social distancing and journalists who may want to cover the event to get the news from the Press Corps or the live broadcasts on radio and television.

Speaker Oquaye stressed that social distancing was imperative and directed the Marshall and Security Department to ensure the protocols were complied with on the day of the presentation and the debates that would follow in the days after.

He urged the legislators to strictly comply with the protocols for their safety and that of their colleagues and be good examples for the citizenry.

The presentation of the budget review by Mr Ofori-Atta as per Section 28 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) and is expected to touch on key economic indicators such as growth rate, primary balance, budget deficit, revenue and expenditure targets among others.