Confusion rocks debate on 2014 budget
Debate on the 2014 Budget on the floor of Parliament yesterday was rocked with confusion when the Minority took offence with the Twi word ‘abro’ (mischief) used in an analogy by a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Hanna Bissiw, when she took her turn.
For more than 40 minutes, the two sides struggled over the use of the word. While the Minority stood their ground that the word should be withdrawn, Dr Bissiw maintained that she did not make reference to any particular people or person.
At the end of her contribution, which touched on all sectors of the economy and what the government had included in the budget to improve the living conditions of the people, the Deputy Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Tano South, narrated a story about mother mouse who went out with her pups in search of food.
After searching for a while, she said, the mice discovered a pepper farm and the mother mouse ordered its pups to consume the pepper.
Dr Bissiw said while chewing the stuff, the little mice complained about the taste and how hot the pepper was in their mouths.
“We are not chewing the pepper because it tasted good but we are doing that because of ‘abro’ (mischief),” Ms Bissiw quoted mother mouse as telling her little mice.
That analogy brought the NPP MP for Kwabre East, Mr Kofi Frimpong, to his feet, complaining that the use of that word was offensive and unparliamentary and asked the Speaker, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, to compel Ms Bissiw to withdraw the word.
But When Mr Adjaho sought assistance from the leadership of the House, the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Dominic Nitiwul, asked him (Adjaho) to allow Dr Bissiw, who maintained that she did not make reference to the Minority but only advised the entire House and Ghanaians as a whole, not to withdraw the word but threatened that the Minority MPs would advise themselves.
That did not go down well with the Speaker, who said that what Mr Nitiwul said was a “threat to the chair”.
The Majority Leader, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, warned that he would be the first person to ask the Speaker to interprete the rules of the House to the letter should the chair be threatened in the discharge of his duties.
Meaning of ‘abro’ (mischief)
When Mr Adjaho called on Dr Bissiw to give the meaning of the word, she said the word could be referred to people who knew the right thing but deliberately refused to acknowledge that fact.
When the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, who is also the MP for Asunafo South, caught the eye of the Speaker, he interpreted the Twi word ‘abro’ to the delight of members from the Minority side.
“Mr Speaker, the word in contention now is a Twi word and as the minister in charge of the Ashanti Region, which is a Twi-speaking area, I am in the position to interprete the word,” he said, explaining that ‘abro’ in Twi was used to describe people who were not interested in progress.
With that interpretation, Mr Adjaho called on Dr Bissiw to withdraw the word to which she complied.
Fracas between Mr Adjaho and Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu
As if the day was meant for controversies, when the dust settled, Mr Adjaho called on the MP for Tema East, Nii Kwatei Titus-Glover, to make his contribution.
But thinking that it was his turn to contribute to the debate, the MP for Dormaa Central, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, stood up to speak.
When Mr Adjaho insisted that Mr Agyeman-Manu was fourth on the list as submitted to him by the Minority leadership, he (Mr Agyeman-Manu) said in a low tone that ”you don’t want me to speak”.
That seemed not to have gone down well with Mr Adjaho, who threatened to walk Mr Agyeman-Manu out of the Chamber.
“Honourable members I take exception to the comment. If you do that I will walk you out of the House.”
Even though both Mr Agyeman-Manu and the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Dominic Nitiwul, apologised, the event seemed to have infuriated the Speaker, who prematurely called on the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Ebo Barton-Odro, to take the chair and withdrew from the Chamber.
