SoNA heckling: MPs must know when to be measured – NPP MP

Member of Parliament for Okaikwei North, Patrick Yam Boamah, has called on fellow lawmakers to take seriously the way and manner in which they conduct themselves sometimes.

He was speaking in reference to incidents of heckling and singing during the president’s presentation of the State of the Nation Address, SoNA to parliament on Tuesday.

Boamah whiles contributing to the debate on SoNA today said in his concluding remarks: “As a house, our conduct was also put to test. And we must as a house know when to be measured.

"Mr Speaker, the country is looking at us we have to show as a matter urgency show leadership and let the country know that the votes that they cast on Dec 7 to require of us to work together cooperate was not done in vain, we need to earn the public’s respect and work accordingly,” he added.

During today’s debate, Speaker Alban Bagbin also had cause to comment on the incident of heckling stressing that he was not going to allow the house to be turned into a playground by noisy MPs.

“Honourable members, this is not a musical theater. What happened in parliament yesterday, I don’t want to talk about it. Don’t turn parliament into a playground, I am not going to tolerate that at all,” he said.

The SoNA debate will last between today and tomorrow as MPs get ready to listen to the budget presentation on Friday, March 12.

In the absence of a substantive Finance Minister, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has been nominated to do the presentation.