Africa-Press – Ghana. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus in Parliament has criticised the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) Majority Caucus for dereliction of duty, citing persistent absenteeism at the plenary, thereby, crippling government business.
The Caucus said the persistent absenteeism of the Majority Caucus with “super majority” was making it difficult for the House to form a quorum.
Speaking to the Parliamentary Press Corps on Thursday, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, Member of Parliament for Damongo and a leading figure of the Caucus, expressed deep concern over the situation, saying, “This is unfortunate and embarrassing”.
He indicated that at the start of parliamentary proceedings on Thursday, October 30, there were only 81 members in the Chamber.
Currently, the NDC has 185 seats with four independent MPs deciding to do business with the Majority side, thereby bringing their numbers to 189, while the NPP Minority has 87 seats.
Mr Jinapor said: “The Minority is prepared and ready to help the Majority to do government business, but the NDC Majority is not ready, and it seems after taking power, they’re taking Ghanaians for granted”.
According to Mr Jinapor, the Majority Caucus, which holds 189 out of the 276 seats in Parliament, has failed to consistently show up for plenary sessions, thereby obstructing the legislative process.
“We cannot conduct government business if we cannot even form a quorum,” he lamented.
The issue was also raised by Speaker Alban Bagbin during Wednesday’s sitting on October 29.
The Speaker warned that he would be forced to take action if the trend of absenteeism continued, stressing the importance of attendance and active participation in parliamentary duties.
The Minority Caucus has called for accountability and urged the leadership of the Majority to address the matter urgently.
They argued that the absence of MPs undermines the democratic process and erodes public confidence in the institution.
As Parliament grapples with this internal crisis, observers are watching closely to see whether Speaker Bagbin would follow through on his warning and what measures might be implemented to restore discipline and commitment among lawmakers.
Earlier in the chamber, Habib Iddrisu, First Minority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for Tolon, referenced article 102 of the 1992 Constitution on the issue of lack of a quorum to do government business.
This caused the Speaker Bagbin to let the bell ring for 10 minutes.
Afterwards, the Speaker asked the Clerks to count the number of MPs at the plenary. When counting was conducted, the Speaker announced that there were 102 members present in the Chamber therefore forms a quorum to do government business.
At the moment, there must be one-third of the MPs to do government business, which translates to 92 members.
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