Speaker lifts suspension of MPs following bi-partisan appeal

 The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin, yesterday lifted the suspension imposed on four members of Parliament for mis­conduct last Thursday.

This follows a plea from both the Minority and Majority leaders of the house for the Speaker to temper justice with mercy.

The Minority leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who, in his plea, described the action of the Speaker as timely, said it would demonstrate to the public the seriousness of procedural processes of the house.

He indicated that the misun­derstanding arose out of peaceful protest and didn’t imagine things would escalate to that level.

Mr Afenyo-Markin said the committee agreed to vet four nominees last Thursday, which was concluded at 10 p.m., only to be informed by the Majority that they were bringing two more nominees and with no room to negotiate over the issue, hence their protest that later went awry.

He indicated that upon deeper consultations with colleagues and having become aware of the consequences of their action, they came to the conclusion that since they could not take the power to discipline from the Speaker, they had to plead with him to calm down.

The Minority, he indicated, believed in constructive criticism and would not do anything to un­dermine the Speaker’s power and authority to discipline.

“That is why we are pleading with you to temper justice with mercy and reinstate those who have been denied access to the pre­cincts of the house,” the Minority leader said.

“Mr Speaker, I today, on behalf of my colleagues, take full respon­sibility as leader of the Minority to assure you that such an action would not occur again and invite you to rescind your decision and pardon our colleagues,” Mr Afen­yo-Markin said.

The Majority Leader, Maha­ma Ayariga, who supported the Minority leader’s plea, quoted the saying “to err is human, to be forgiven is divine” and appealed to the Speaker to reconsider the decision to suspend the MPs and ensure that other measures he would put in place would achieve their objectives.

He noted that the Minority had contributed to the fast vetting and approval of 42 out of the 60 nominees of the President despite the antics and drama and that the lifting of the suspension would rather fast-track the approval of the rest.

The Speaker, after listening to both submissions, said he had accepted the pleas and as such lifted the suspensions, but gave the reminder that “there is no power mightier than that of the Speaker of Parliament” in the circles of the legislature and that going strictly by the rules of the house, it was clear what happened was a clear case of contempt of Parliament.

Mr Bagbin said he was ready to uphold the rules of the house and that was what he did.

He said he had met the leader­ship and could see the demonstra­tion of their remorsefulness and so had lifted the suspension with immediate effect.

The Speaker urged the commit­tee constituted to investigate the matter not to rush to the public but do the work diligently for a decision to be taken.

The vetting of two nominees last Thursday by the Appointments Committee turned chaotic follow­ing violent clashes between the majority and Minority members of the committee.

The Minority had objected to the vetting of the Foreign Minis­ter-designate, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and the Health Minis­ter-designate, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, claiming their names were smuggled into the commit­tee’s records without their consent after earlier vetting the scheduled four nominees for the day.

 BY LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU

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