Minority MPs enraged that their names were recorded absent
Alban Bagbin charges clerks to do whatever it takes to capture records of MPs
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has said that while he was a Member of Parliament, he never signed the attendance book in the House.
He explained that this was because he realized it was a complete waste of time as the records in that book served no purpose.
Alban Bagbin said this when he was giving his ruling on a heated session in Parliament on Thursday, March 31, 2022 when some Minority MPs expressed their discontent about their names being marked absent in the House on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
On the said Tuesday, the controversial Electronic Transactions Levy (E-Levy) was finally approved by half of the House – the Majority side because the MPs on the other side staged a walkout.
Alban Bagbin explained to the MPs that while he understands their frustrations, they should not beat themselves up over whether their names were captured in the attendance book or not.
“As a long-serving Member of Parliament, I understand and appreciate the trauma that you’ve gone through; I acknowledge it and I think that the concerns you raised are genuine. But there is good reason why you have the Order 59. There are no rules and proceedings anywhere in the world that are perfect.
“Usually, they are compiled by the officials at the Table Office and that is a draft and therefore the draft is brought to the office and opportunity is given to members to right the wrongs that may have been captured in the Votes and Proceedings,” he said.
Alban Bagbin then made reference to a ruling by a former Speaker of Parliament that influenced his decision to stop signing the attendance book in Parliament because it became clear to him that it was a waste of time.
“But it’s important I draw your attention to an earlier ruling that was given by my senior and father, the Rt. Hon. Peter Ala Adjetey, (the late), that outstanding orders does not record any document known as attendance book. And so, the clerks at table were called upon to capture the attendance of members using either their eyes or whatever means but not rely on what is called attendance book because it is not in the constitution and not in the Standing Orders of the House.
“Since that ruling, I myself have never signed any attendance book when I was a Member of Parliament: I never because it is a complete waste of time signing attendance book so members should not (sic) the point that they signed a document, whether it is an attendance book or not, recognized by our law. The clerk at table must do everything possible to capture the members in the House,” he said.
View his Timepath below:
