Majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has reiterated that the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has no authority to issue orders to either Ministers or their Deputies
He argues that the Bagbin is not a Member of the House though presides over lawmakers and therefore must endeavor to hide his bias.
Speaking in the aftermath of the controversy surrounding the rejection of the 2022 budget, he vowed to lead his side to resist attempts by the speaker to bulldoze his way in the chamber.
“You are not the speaker of one side of this house and yet increasingly, he is beginning to demonstrate that tendency. His attitude… we are all shocked and it is not the best. It does not speak well of a speaker who is neutral. I think this is appalling and from now we are going to signal the speaker that we are not going to tolerate it. The Speaker himself is not a member of this house. As I told him the other time, he has no authority to issue a personal order to any Minister. These illegalities from now on will not be condoned”, he threatened in an interview monitored by MyNewsGh.com.
The outburst of the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs follows the decision by the Speaker last Friday not to allow Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta in the Chamber during voting.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu last Friday night moved the application on behalf of Ken Ofori-Atta to afford him the chance to address concerns of the minority on imposition of taxes such as the E-Levy in order to secure consensus.
But the Speaker rejected the application from Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to be afforded the opportunity to engage the leadership of both majority and minority members of the House ahead of the conclusion of debate on the 2022 budget and economic policy of the government.