Parliament resumes: Consideration of govt business to face stiff opposition

Parliament resumes to complete critical government businesses after a two-week suspension of the fifth session of the Eighth Parliament.

These government businesses were  not considered after the Speaker, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, adjourned the House indefinitely on October 22, 2024.

However, with the Speaker summoning Members of Parliament (MPs) to return to the House, it is expected that the Majority caucus would go all out to push through these business items in a critical election year.

The items were advertised in the Order Paper for consideration on the very day the House was suspended.

They are a request for tax exemptions for designated beneficiaries under the One-District-One-Factory programme, the consideration of a $250-million International Development Association facility to operationalise the Ghana Financial Stability Fund and six new bills.

The bills include the Environmental Protection Agency Bill, 2024, Social Protection Bill, 2023, the Customs (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Budget Bill, 2023, the Ghana Boundary Commission Bill, 2023, and the Intestate Succession Bill, 2022.

It is, however, anticipated strongly that the consideration and approval of these government businesses would not pass without any showdown in the House from today.

Will reason prevail?

Given the tense atmosphere that characterised proceedings in the House on the day the Speaker declared the seats of four MPs vacant, the Minority Caucus readily accepted the verdict as a factor that shifted the balance of power in the House.

The NDC Caucus claimed that they were now the Majority Caucus since they had 136 MPs as against the 135 MPs of the NPP Caucus.

It is for this reason that at a news conference on October 20, the Leader of the NDC Caucus, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, said his side “shall not” be "impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament.

“Any interference with the business of Parliament is unlawful, unacceptable and shall be resisted,” it said.

While it is difficult to predict what the possible outcomes of proceedings in the House would be like, beginning today, it is certain that the Majority Caucus engage in extensive consultations with their counterparts to allow cool heads to prevail in the House.

However, should the Majority fail in their bid to be on the same page with their counterparts from the Minority Caucus, in terms of having their backing in the consideration and approval of government business, most of the items will be defeated, and may have to be pushed to the next Parliament.

This is because Parliament has barely a few days to sit to consider urgent matters, as MPs have to return to their respective constituencies to campaign for re-election to return to the House, come January 7, 2025.

In the event that reason fails to prevail in the House, the Majority Caucus, given that they still have their 137 members intact, will leverage their numbers to have their way.

This is because currently the MPs whose seats the Speaker declared vacant will take part in all proceedings and decision-makings processes in the House until the Supreme Court determines otherwise.

Until then, the Majority will still enjoy the votes of the Agona West MP, Cynthia Morrison, the Suhum MP, Kwadwo Asante, and Andrew Asiamah Amoako, an independent MP and the Second Deputy Speaker.

The deciding factor in how successful the Majority Caucus will be in having the House approving these government businesses will largely depend on how well they manage to gain the buy-in of the opposition.

The ultimate responsibility will largely rest on the shoulder of the Leader of Government Business, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, and how he will leverage the power of consultations with the opposition. 

Indefinite suspension

The government business in Parliament hit a snag when Parliament was adjourned indefinitely.

That was after the Speaker had acknowledged the legal proceedings surrounding the composition of the House and the attendant public interest over the declaration of the seats of four MPs vacant.