You can’t walk over us - Minority to Mensah-Bonsu

The Minority in Parliament has descended heavily on the Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu for castigating them for boycotting the debate on the report of the 5-member cash for seat committee.

The committee Tuesday February 6, 2018, submitted its report to the House, clearing the Trade and Industry Ministry of any wrong doing over claims that it facilitated the charging of expatriate businessmen a whopping $100.000.00 to sit close to President Akufo-Addo at the last year’s Ghana Expatriates Business Awards (GEBA).

The clearance of the Ministry, according to the Minority is a sham thus storming out of the House to avoid being part pf the debate to approve and adopt the report of the committee.

Reacting to the boycott, Mensah-Bonsu who is also the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs slammed the Minority for attempting to scuttle Parliamentary proceedings.

The debate, he told Starr News’ Parliamentary correspondent Ibrahim Alhassan Tuesday that it would go on with or without the Minority noting that they had been pampered for too long despite their continuous dishonesty to the House.

“This House will not be held to ransom by a single individual who decides to be very dishonest. Mr. Speaker this House will not pander to pedestrianism…clearly they want to hold this House to ransom.

“People are still hallucinating and people are still yet to come out of where they found themselves after the elections,” the Suame MP said.

In his rebuttal, however, the deputy Minority leader James Klutse Avedzi dismissed the Majority leader’s accusation as inaccurate.

“We are not holding parliament to ransom,” he said in an interview with Alhassan Wednesday February 7, 2018.

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Feb 6, 2018 “But we want to tell him also that parliament does not belong to him. We are 106 members of Parliament representing over $4million Ghanaian voters. He should not think that he can also walk over us. No, he needs us to prosecute his agenda.

“But if he thinks that we are not necessary, if he thinks that we are not relevant he should say it that Minority, you are not relevant. We don’t need you. So, why do we come to Parliament where our views have not been inculcated in the report and ask us to debate it?” he added.

Avedzi further tore into shreds calls by the Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen for the prosecution of the Minority Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak for causing financial loss to the state.

According to Kyerematen, the Asawase MP’s championing of the setting up of a committee to probe the cash for seat allegations led to the state investing in a fruitless venture following the dismissal of the allegations as lacking merit.

“It is a matter of record that this August House was summoned on the motion tabled by Hon. Muntaka not in response to a state of emergency but to investigate an allegation of the position of a levy.

“Mr. Speaker, the report of the Special Committee has made it clear that the committee could not substantiate the allegation of levy. In this regard Mr. Speaker, it may be possible that the associated cost for recalling may be a case of causing financial loss,” he said.

In Avedzi’s view however, should anyone be prosecuted Kyerematen would be the first to be hauled.

“He should come and prosecute all of us,” he challenged adding “while you allowed…a private investor to use the name of your Ministry, the name of the President to raise 2.6million and you gave back 2.3million to the private sector.”