New Register: How Buabeng Asamoah altered Parliament’s Committee Report on the CI

The Ranking Member on the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament, Yaw Bubeng Asamoa has been caught red-handed by members on the Minority side of the Committee altering the Committee’s Report on the Constitutional Instrument (CI) that is seeking to give the Electoral Commission (EC) the legal backing to compile a new voter Register for the December 7, general elections.

The CI which was due for approval last Friday, June 5, suffered yet another delay due to the Adenta law maker’s clandestine attempts to secretly delete sections of the report that would not favour the EC.

Mr Buabeng Asamoa was alleged to have altered portions of the committee report presented to him by the Chairman of the Committee, Dr Dominic Ayine, for review before he tables it to plenary for debate and consideration.

Though the Chairman is not obliged to present the drafted report to the Ranking, Dr Ayine said he wanted a consensus-building on the CI, hence the decision to let the Ranking see the drafted report and return it to him before the final one is submitted to parliament.

However, Mr Buabeng abused the opportunity and decided to edit portions of the report to favour the EC and this he did without notifying the Chairman.

After doctoring the document to suit the interest of the EC, Buabeng Asamoa who is also the MP for Adenta and doubles as the Director of Communications for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) asked the Clerk to the Committee to print the unsigned report and submit it to the leadership of parliament.

It took the vigilance of the MP for Banda and First Deputy Minority Whip, Hon Ahmed Ibrahim to identify Buabeng Asamoa’s illegal act. He quickly raised the alarm on the Floor of the House and asked that the House wait for the final report from the Chairman, Dr Ayine.

Yaw Buabeng Asamoah

Hon Ahmed told parliament the Ranking Member has edited the report by taking away some portions and adding some other elements without the knowledge of the Chairman and the other members of the committee.

“The report was well written by the Chairman, for consensus building, the Chairman showed the report to the Ranking Member and the Ranking Member cancelled portions of the report.

“As we are speaking, the Chairman is now writing another report. If the Ranking member cancelled portions of the report, then what report are we to debate,” he queried.

As a result, the House could not debate and approve the report ahead of the maturing of the CI on Tuesday, June 9, 2020.

Hon Ahmed’s allegation was confirmed by Chairman of the Committee Dr Ayine when he was asked by the Speaker, Prof Aaron Mike Oquaye.

“Mr Speaker, my Ranking Member decided that he was going to correct my report, which I didn’t have any problems with, but he significantly altered the report such that what he presented to me did not resemble what I had given to him to read over,” Dr Ayine said.

According to Dr Ayine, Mr Buaben Asamoa removed a whole section which captured the justification for the CI as presented by the Electoral Commission (EC).

After back and forth on the issues the Speaker, Mike Oquaye said it was not possible to debate and approve the CI on Friday.

The Speaker then directed the Committee to go back and work on the report and bring it back to the Floor for debate and approval on Tuesday, June 9, 2020.

“We are not in the position to subjugate the chairman’s position to any other view in this particular circumstance. In the circumstances, the Chairman of the Committee should get his members to have a look, as he desires, of the report…”

Nevertheless, the Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim told THE REPUBLIC, the Minority will continue to keep an Eagle eye on the majority side, the EC and the government for any attempt to use the CI to disenfranchised Ghanaians who are eligible to vote.

Hon. Ibrahim Ahmed

He said he raised the alarm on Buabeng Asamoa’s action on the Floor to save Ghanaians, as he found the Ranking member’s action very dishonest and unparliamentary.

Mr Ahmed said if Buabeng Asamoah was mindful of the consequence of his action, he would have let the Chairman have the document before forwarding it to the Clerk.

It was his view that the MP for Adenta deliberately edited portions of the report to favour the political agenda of their party. He also gave a strong indication that the Minority would resist the move through any legal means possible.

Source: Felix Nyaaba || The Republic