Speaker ‘wags rod’ at MPs: No undue politicking this term

Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, has issued a veiled warning to Members of Parliament (MPs) to leave out undue politicking from the Chamber as the House convenes for sitting.

He stressed that being an election year, it is imperative for members to leave out the politics that sometimes go on outside.

He warned that being an election year, it is imperative not to allow that kind of politics to intervene with the work of the House.

Speaker Mike Oquaye gave the warning in a welcome address he delivered to plenary as the House convenes for the Fourth session of the seventh Parliament and effectively the last year of the current Parliament.

The Speaker has not been a fan of gratuitous politicking since he was appointed to the chair of the House and has never failed to express these views to the members of the House.

He said, “Since we are in the election year I will implore that we do not allow undue interventions into this house by the politicking that sometimes go on outside.”

“Everyone here is an experienced politician and you know exactly what I mean.”

“We still want to maintain the dignity, decorum and legacy of this house for posterity.”

He urged members to develop exceptional zeal and commitment to deliver and leave their marks in the history of Parliament in ghana.

The Speaker urged members of the House to collaborate and called on leadership of the Majority and Minority to work effectively with the legislative and drafting unit at the Speaker’s Office to the enable the House leave its mark on private members bill.

The Private Members Bill likely to be considered include, Public Order Amendment Bill, Electoral Offenses and Malpractices Bill, Road Traffic Amendment Bill and Reproductive Assisted Technologies Bill among others.

Parliament commenced its First Meeting of the Fourth Session of the 7th Parliament on Tuesday and during the period, the House is expected to consider some Bills presented to it.

These include Affirmative Action Bill, 2019; Rent (Amendment) Bill, 2019; Ghana Petroleum Hub; Development Corporation Bill, 2019; and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency Reform (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

The House will also continue consideration of 17 Bills that are with various Committees and these include Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill, 2018 (Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs); Intestate Succession Bill, 2018 (Committee on constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary); Office of the Special Prosecutor (Amendment) Bill, 2019, (Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs) and the Ghana Communication Technology University Bill, 2019 (Committee on Education).

The Ghana Cocoa Board (Amendment) Bill, 2017 (Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs); and Customs (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Finance Committee), which will be read a Second time; The Narcotics Control Commission Bill, 2019, the Corporate Insolvency Bill,2019, and the Land Bill, 2018 are at the consideration stage.

The meeting is expected to last approximately 9 weeks and will include a number of Motions for Debate and Referrals at Committee.

However, key among the activities for the meeting is an address on the State of the Nation to be delivered by His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo.