Take debate on SONA serious - Haruna blasts colleagues

Minority Leader has expressed displeasure at the attitude his colleagues have put up in the discussions of the President’s State of the Nation Address which he delivered in Parliament last week Thursday

He noted that the manner in which members of the House leave the chamber when it is time for debate on the SONA delivered by the president was unparliamentary and unfortunate.

He posited, the President’s speech contained several details that provoked debate hence the need for members to conduct research and challenge the points made by President

Haruna Iddrisu expressed his disappointment stating that “with the State of the Nation Address and Mr Speaker my concern is that as we will normally get to that item, the chamber and the house appears empty. We need to take this public business and matter of public interest because the president has provoked a number of debates on those issues. What we need to do is to research and speak to the issues but not for the House to be empty when we come to the message of the State of the Nation Address”.

The Tamale South MP made these observations when he rose to second the acceptance of the business for the House for the coming week.

He bluntly admitted that the issue of absenteeism was common to both majority and minority sides of the House and urged colleague members to always put the national interest first before any other interest.

“Both sides are guilty when we get to this matter and we need to do something about it to the service of the Ghanaian public and to do justice to it. On Tuesday we should be bringing closure to that important subject matter but members must take the debate on the State of the Nation seriously” the Minority Leader disclosed.