Parliament goes on recess for Christmas festivity

Accra, Dec 21, GNA - Members of Parliament are putting finishing touches to business of the House that would rise sine die on Wednesday 21, December 2012, and reconvene on Tuesday January 24, 2012.

Mr Cletus Apul Avoka , the Majority Leader, urged Members of Parliament (MPs) to brace themselves up for the discharge of government business for the first meeting in 2012.

He said this on the floor of Parliament when he read the business statement for the first week ending Friday, 27 January 2012.

According to Mr Avoka, Ministers scheduled to answer questions in the House include Environment, Science and Technology, Education, Local Government and Rural Development, and Finance and Economic Planning.

He said bills may be presented and motions debated and their consequential resolutions if any taken during the week, and added that all outstanding businesses of the House would be carried over the next meeting.

Meanwhile the House has approved GHc 7,927,286,762.00 for the services of other government obligations for the year ending 31st December 2012.

Bills including, Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Bill 2011 and Companies (Amendment)Bill 2011 were presented and read the first time.

Mr Fofu Ampofo, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, who was in the House to lay papers on legislative Instruments (LI) for 30 new District Assemblies, was asked to go and do his homework well.

He was asked to include all the newly created district assemblies on the list before the House would consider the proposal .

Papa Owusu Ankoma, MP for Sekondi, Mr Mathew Prempeh, MP for Manhyia, Mr Ambrose Dery, MP for Lawra- Nandom, as well as the Speaker, Mrs Joyce Adeline Bamford Addo, supported that the Minister should do his homework well and to ensure that all the LIs of the districts assemblies were brought before the house.

Mr Apul Avoka, said there was more important businesses including work on the appropriation bill, which were yet to be handled thus the LIs for the 30 district assemblies were deferred to next meeting.