The Minority in Parliament on Wednesday (15 July) staged a brief walkout after the First Deputy Speaker disallowed supplementary questions on the government’s proposed SIM card re-registration exercise, prompting accusations that the opposition was being prevented from scrutinising the Executive.
The protest followed a ruling by First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor that supplementary questions directed at the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, were not admissible under the Standing Orders.
Addressing journalists after the walkout, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin accused the Deputy Speaker of repeatedly applying parliamentary rules in a manner that frustrates the opposition’s oversight responsibilities.
“We have observed that the First Deputy Speaker has a way of using the rules to stampede parliamentary oversight,” Afenyo-Markin said.
He argued that the Minority’s questions sought clarification on the financial cost of the proposed nationwide SIM card re-registration exercise, the procurement processes underpinning the programme and whether previous registrations had revealed cases of stolen or unverifiable identities.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the Communications Minister had indicated that subscribers would not bear any direct cost of the exercise, making it necessary for Parliament to determine how much public money would be spent to implement the policy.
He also questioned how many people had been identified as using stolen identities during previous SIM registrations, saying such information was necessary to assess whether a fresh exercise was justified.
The Minority Leader maintained that the Deputy Speaker had misapplied Parliament’s Standing Orders, citing Order 89(1), which he said permits supplementary questions arising from a minister’s response for purposes of clarification.
He described the ruling as an attempt to shield the government from scrutiny and said the walkout was intended to register the Minority’s protest.
Afenyo-Markin, however, said the opposition would return to the chamber to participate in the remainder of the day’s parliamentary business, describing the action as a limited protest over the Speaker’s handling of the matter.
The government has proposed a fresh SIM card re-registration exercise as part of efforts to strengthen identity verification and improve the integrity of Ghana’s telecommunications database.
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