[ 2017-03-16 ]

Professor Mike Ocquaye,Speaker of Parliament

Minority accuse Speaker of bias
Minority Members of Parliament have expressed
anger at what they have described as disrespect
and bias on the part of the Speaker of Parliament,
Professor Mike Ocquaye, towards them.

This is not the first time such an accusation has
been levelled against the Speaker by opposition
National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs.

The latest accusation happened on Wednesday 15
March during the concluding debate on the maiden
budget of the New Patriotic Party government.

Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu and Minority Chief
Whip Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, who stood on their
feet to draw the Speaker’s attention to
inadequate numbers in the chamber to approve the
budget, were ignored when the Speaker rather put
the question to vote at a time the opposition MPs
believed the House did not constitute a quorum to
transact parliamentary business.

This angered Mr Iddrisu, who registered his
side’s displeasure at the Speaker’s action
towards the NDC MPs.

Mr Iddrisu told parliament: “I’d risen
earlier, Mr Speaker, and I don’t want to believe
that we could not catch your eye. That is why we
are in the frontbench and as leadership and we
demand that we are accorded the respect. When it
has to do with back benchers, we can understand,
but not when our leadership will stand on our feet
and more importantly draw your attention to a
matter on the Standing Orders.

“This house is governed by the Standing Orders.
And as Speaker and Chairman, we take inspiration
from you for the standing orders to be respected
and upheld at all times.

“Order 109 is definite and certain, even as Mr
Speaker wants to put the question. If you have
allowed us the opportunity, this is an important
motion and Mr Speaker we want to be respected, we
want the Standing Orders to be respected. Even
when you announced the Elephant government’s
elephant size ministers…again I attempted to
catch your attention. An elephant government has
announced an elephant size government with no
respect for lean government. Mr Speaker, we want
to be respected. We are unhappy about it. Even
when we agree to rules of debate which the
Majority Leader had preceded and I was being
interjected, we imported same. I doubt if fairness
was applied in respect to time allocation but Mr
Speaker, we want to work together, but we feel
undermined by your inability to have recognised
neither the Whip nor the Minority Leader.

“If you want us to guide you in managing this
House, we will do so when we have the assurances
that you are respecting us…”

But Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was
taken aback at the choice of words of the Minority
Leader and urged him to retract them, but the
Tamale South MP would not yield.

Source - classfmonline.com

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