Parliament is once again at a standstill, with political tensions reaching a fever pitch following Speaker Alban Bagbin’s second consecutive adjournment of parliamentary business.
For William Akoto, an executive of the Canada branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the move reeks of partisanship.
Akoto did not mince words, suggesting that the Speaker’s actions were effectively bolstering the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) campaign in the lead-up to Ghana’s general elections next year.
“It seems the speaker is part of the official NDC campaign team,” he alleged. “His behaviour and utterances on this subject matter show he wants to orchestrate a win for the minority before the general election in a democratic Ghana.”
The most recent adjournment came on Thursday (7 November), when Bagbin once again suspended parliamentary sessions indefinitely, citing a lack of business due to the absence of NPP MPs.
According to the Speaker, without adequate representation, meaningful parliamentary debate could not proceed.
However, the NPP camp has a different story. Effutu MP Alexander Afenyo-Markin disclosed that the impasse was due to the Clerk of Parliament’s failure to print crucial documents outlining the day’s agenda.
Without these, the NPP argued, it was impossible for them to participate in any meaningful discussion.
Amidst the mounting blame game, Akoto is urging Parliament to prioritise the needs of the Ghanaian people.
He argued that the leadership in the legislative body should bear responsibility for ensuring that proceedings move forward smoothly, likening the Speaker’s role to that of a manager overseeing employees.
“To put in perspective, when you hire employees, they are managed and led by a manager. The leader or manager is solely responsible for any sort of misfunctioning and lack of working cooperation between the employees,” Akoto stressed.
“A country that has been practicing democracy for well over half a century. How do you suddenly flip and fabricate such a political event in parliament in favour of one specific group?”
The way forward remains unclear as the political standoff drags on, with Parliament’s next sitting yet to be scheduled.
However, Akoto remains hopeful that continuous dialogue with Speaker Bagbin will eventually resolve the impasse and allow the legislative body to get back to the business of serving the nation.
For now, all eyes are on Ghana’s political leadership to see if they can navigate this treacherous path and restore parliamentary order ahead of the 2024 elections.
Reporting by Fritz Amegashie in Greater Accra
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