CDD lauds Speaker Bagbin for not reversing Joe Wise’s counter-ruling

Speaker Bagbin 'calls out' Deputy Speaker, Joe Wise

Private members motion counter-ruled by Majority

Rulings made in Parliament must be devoid of partisan politics, CDD-Ghana

The Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana has lauded the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, for his decision not to reverse a counter-ruling which was made by one of his deputies, Joseph Osei-Owusu.

Joe Wise who was presiding in Parliament dismissed a private member’s motion seeking to probe government’s COVID-19 expenditure. But Speaker Bagbin, in response, described the action as illegal, offensive and one that must not reoccur, especially when he had earlier admitted the motion.

“The penchant of the First Deputy Speaker [Joe Osei Owusu] to overrule my ruling is, to say the least, unconstitutional, illegal, and offensive. Be that as it may, I shall not be taking any steps to overrule the decision of the First Deputy Speaker to dismiss the motion as moved by the Hon. Ranking Member of the Finance Committee,” Speaker Bagbin earlier said.

Reacting to the development on Citi TV’s ‘Big Issue’ on Saturday, Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at CDD-Ghana, Dr. Kojo Asante, said the Speaker's decision will pave way for peace and harmony in an already hung parliament.

“I have to commend Bagbin for the restraint. For me, that is the path that they have to go to correct the way that they are engaging in parliament. On two occasions he has refused to overturn a ruling of his deputy that has overturned his earlier ruling. He has showed restraint and I think that opens the door for talking and discussions on how best to deal with this matter [chaos in parliament,” Dr Kojo Asante is quoted by Citinewsroom.com

The CDD Director said further rulings must be devoid of partisan politics and called for extra caution be taken with regards to rulings made by the Speaker.

“We have to be careful so we don’t play Ping-Pong with it. [Ruling] has to show consistency. If we introduce unnecessary politics into it just to secure something for our benefit, it is going to be a problem, so I am happy that Bagbin took that approach,” Dr Kojo Asante added.