Parliament divided over Speaker’s decision to suspend approval of new ministers

The Parliament of Ghana has been thrown into chaos as the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon Alban Bagbin suspended the approval of ministers nominated by President Akufo-Addo.

On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, the Speaker was prompted by a pending court application seeking an injunction against the approval process.

The injunction per court documents was sought by the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Etse K. Dafeamekpor.

The Plaintiff, Mr Dafeamekpor is seeking a declaration that any Ministerial appointment which has not been subject to prior Parliamentary approval is in direct violation of Article 78(1) of the 1992 Constitution.

The South Dayi lawmaker who filed the suit against the Speaker of Parliament (1st Defendant) and the Attorney General (2nd Defendant), contends that, “a Minister of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament.”

He also contends that the failure of the President to refer some of his re-assigned Ministers to Parliament violates provisions of the 1992 Constitution.

This move by the MP and the subsequent suspension of the approval by the Speaker comes on the back of a directive from the Presidency, which issued a cease and desist letter to Parliament, restraining them from transmitting the Bill on Human Sexual Rights and Family Values to the Presidency for President Akufo-Addo’s assent.

Responding to the letter, the Speaker noted that the posture of the presidency undermines the mutual respect for the arms of government.

“The behaviour exhibited by the Presidency in refusing to accept the transmission of this bill not only deviates from established democratic practices but also undermines the spirit of cooperative governance and mutual respect for the arms of government,” the Speaker said.

But the Majority Caucus in Parliament led by Alexander Afenyo-Markin are disappointed over the move by the Speaker of Parliament stating that, “the spirit of the President’s letter is conclusive that the President is constitution-minded and will not undermine the Supreme Court of Ghana in its sacred role of administering justice. The President was in no way being dictatorial in his communication to Parliament given the fact that the content of the letter was not binding on Mr Speaker”.

Meanwhile, the Minority Caucus are fully behind the Speaker for his decision to suspend the approval of new ministers until the court determines the injunction suit before it.

“The NDC Minority is ready to protect the sanity of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and we stand with the speaker on this”.

The anti-gay bill, which was passed on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, after three years of deliberation in parliament, has received a lot of backlash from the international community.

The bill seeks to send anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ to prison for up to three years and also imposes a maximum five-year jail term unto persons who promote, sponsor or support the activities of LGBTQ+.

In light of this, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights cautioned against President Akufo-Addo signing the bill into law indicating that the bill conflicts with Ghana’s constitution as well as the undertaken regional and international human rights obligations and commitments.

Source:myrepubliconline