No job for MPs

The Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho, yesterday urged members of parliament to generate business for consideration on the floor of the house instead of always waiting on the executive arm of government to dictate the business for the house.

He made the comment in reaction to Minority Leader’s concern that business of the house had been very slow and that with members duly represented, there was no government business to consider.

The Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, had expressed concern about the lack of government business for parliament since the house reconvened about two weeks ago and that the house had up to the end of July to rise for the re-configuration and refurbishment of the house to make enough room for the 275 members.

He said the government should not wait till July before making parliament over-saturated with its business stressing that when that happened it put undue pressure on MPs.

“I just want to plead with government to bring its business early to the house so that we will have enough time to deal with it,” he said

He mentioned the financial bills from the Ministry of Finance as very important bills that ought to be laid quickly for parliament to have ample time to consider them.

The Majority Leader and Minister in charge of government business, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, for his part, said the issue of lack of government business had been an issue of major concern to the leadership of the house and that at the appropriate time he would make a strong statement on it.

The speaker agreed with the minority leader and said it did not help parliament for it be saddled with a lot of government business when parliament had some few days to rise.

According to him, when that happens it does not allow parliament to discharge its oversight responsibilities effectively.

He, however, called on members to bring business to the house in the form of questions since that was the only way through which the government would be put on its toes.

Earlier the chairman of the select committee on finance, Mr James Klutse Avedzi, presented the committee’s report on the request for a waiver of duty on an Offshore Syndicated Receivables-backed Trade Finance Facility of $1.5billion for cocoa purchase by the Ghana Cocoa Board for the year 2012/2013 as well as a report on the request for waiver of custom duties, VAT/NHIL, EDIF, ECOWAS Levies, destination inspection fees, withholding taxes, other taxes and levies amounting to $7,413,611 on goods and services relating to the execution of grant agreement between the Japan International Co-operation Agency and the government of the Republic of Ghana for the rehabilitation of the national trunk road N8.