Samuel Ntim Darkwa, a former Clerk to Parliament, has asked the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin to schedule his time in a manner that will make him available when crucial decisions are going to be taken in the House.
“If he constantly travels out of the country when critical decisions are going to be taken by lawmakers, it will raise suspicions about his intentions, even before he became deputy speaker he was doing that, then you cannot blame him,” he stated.
According to him, when crucial matters are going to be taken the Speaker must ensure his presence at least for a day since his presence in the House was necessary adding that“if consistently, Members of Parliament are going to take crucial decisions and the speaker is seeking medical checks people might become suspicious about his intentions”.
Mr Darkwa noted that he must schedule his programmes in such a way when the House was going to take crucial decision on a particular day, Mr Bagbin must stay for a day to take that decision before leaving the country saying “but as soon as the House is going to take the decision and he goes away it will raise suspicion”.
The Majority in Parliament has accused Mr Bagbin of deliberately frustrating attempts by the government to get crucial policies approved and expressed their disappointment in him over the way and manner he conducted himself in Parliament on December 20.
According to them, Mr Bagbin, for instance, left Parliament to his home on the said date during proceedings without communicating to the Second Deputy Speaker whom he handed over to which they described as unfortunate which resulted in the fight on December 20 when Members of Parliament (MP)could not hold their emotions.
Some exchanged brawls in the House just before the final vote on the controversial Electronic Transfer Levy Bill (E-Levy) when sit-in Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, had announced division would be followed to approve it, under certificate of urgency, and was going to vote as well in his capacity as MP for Bekwai Constituency in the Ashanti Region.
That provoked the National Democratic Congress MPs (NDC MPs), who questioned his decision to vote after presiding over the night’s proceedings, they moved to the front of the dais, issuing threats at him which got the Majority MPs to also start agitations and immediately Mr Osei-Owusu handed the presiding role to the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, the fight broke out. -3news.com
