Joseph Osei-Owusu, Ghana’s First Deputy Speaker of Parliament has expressed his utmost disappointment in Ghana’s eighth parliament. According to him, the current parliament is the worst in the country’s history.
Reacting to the Minority’s resolve to boycott parliamentary business in their protest against the prosecution of Gyakye Quayson, Osei-Owusu explained that, initially, with a hung parliament, he assumed the eighth parliament of Ghana would be the most successful and most progressive in the history of the country, however, it turned out to be the worst.
“We have decided to do politics instead of business. This equal number in parliament has brought the worst in MPs, I have repeated it, I will repeat it again – this parliament, the eighth parliament has made the least number of laws.” Osei-Owusu said in an interview with JoyNews.
During Thursday's session, while the House was deliberating on various bills, including the Ghana UNESCO bill, it became apparent that there was an insufficient quorum to proceed with the proceedings. As a consequence, an early adjournment was forced.
In response to this situation, Mr. Osei-Owusu expressed his concerns about the effectiveness of this particular parliament compared to previous ones. Having served in parliament for over a decade, he remarked that never before had the absence of fellow colleagues impeded the day's legislative business.
He said, “Young people are in control; they look at things differently from the rest of us, so it is even good for them when their leaders agree to do it. Check the current parliament, it is always people from the back bench who come to raise this thing and not the leaders. What it means is that at this time in the parliament of Ghana, leaders don’t have control, the back bench has control."
EAN/WA
Parliament of Ghana