Joseph Osei-Owusu rejects Minority application for overturn of budget approval
Chaos erupts in parliament
The Apostle-General of the Royalhouse Chapel International, Rev. Sam Korankye Ankrah, has bemoaned the growing partisan nature of Ghana’s parliament whereas the House is supposed to be working in the interest of the country’s peace.
He said that as the year draws to an end, there is the need that the stability and peace of this country is not compromised.
The veteran preacher was speaking during his Sunday, December 5, 2021, Service in Accra, and monitored by GhanaWeb, on the back of the happenings in the Parliament of Ghana in the past week.
He reminded the Members of Parliament that their duties are to ensure that this nation is held together and not split apart.
“As the church is praying for good Christmas festivities for our families, we are also asking our political leaders to play their role and make sure that this nation is held together and that there is peace and that this Christmas will be the best of all the best,” he said.
Rev. Sam Korankye-Ankrah called on both sides of the House to work in tandem to bring progress to this nation, rather than working along partisan lines that he said, will not inure to the benefit of Ghana.
He also called out the MPs for disturbing the country’s peace, begging them to put the interest of Ghana above all others.
“And as a father in this nation, I’m asking parliament to make sure that the Majority and the Minority come together to work for the common good of this nation. The chaos and the confusions and the misunderstandings in the parliament is disturbing and worrying the stability of this nation and we want them to take notice that as much as possible, they need to sit together and to form an alliance of unity and purpose; the spirit of nationalism and the love for this nation must be number one rather than party entrenchment. They are disturbing the peace of this nation. I hope you are listening. Please! Please! Please!” he said.
Parliament, in the last few weeks has been considering the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government, leading to a number of controversies.
On Friday, November 26, 2021, the House came to a historic point when the budget was rejected, moments after the Majority MPs in the House, staged a walk out.
During its next sitting on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, it was the turn of the Minority as the Majority, with one of its members in the seat of the Speaker, overturned Friday’s rejection of the budget decision, going further to adopt and accept the budget.
The Majority insisted that they formed a quorum after the sit-in Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, counted himself as the 138th MP in the House, although he did not take a vote on the decision.
On December 1, 2021, with a full House this time, the Minority sought an overturn of the previous day’s decision, making arguments from the constitution but they were fiercely countered by the Majority, who were making their own arguments to support their decision.
Soon enough, the House was thrown into near fisticuffs after Joseph Osei-Owusu rejected the Minority’s application, stating that as a Deputy Speaker, he was not the Speaker and subsequently adjourned sitting under very tense circumstances in the House.
Rev. Sam Korankye-Ankrah is the founder of the Royalhouse Chapel International