Public servants’ salaries at risk due to minority's actions—Afenyo-Markin alerts

The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has vehemently condemned the Minority caucus in Parliament, accusing them of deliberately obstructing the payment of public sector salaries amid the ongoing deadlock in the House.

Afenyo-Markin's comments followed an indefinite adjournment of Parliament by Speaker Alban Bagbin on Thursday, 7th November, citing a lack of parliamentary business for lawmakers to discuss.

The adjournment was a result of the Business Committee's failure to convene and prepare the necessary agenda. Despite a recall session being called by the Majority to tackle pressing issues, the Majority MPs were notably absent from the Chamber.

Speaker Bagbin voiced his frustration, noting that the absence of the Majority MPs brought parliamentary proceedings to a standstill. To complicate matters, when Minority MPs eventually entered the chamber, they took over the Majority's side, forcing the Majority MPs to remain outside in the corridor.

In his address, Speaker Bagbin emphasised that without the necessary input from the Business Committee and a set agenda, the session could not proceed as intended.

Following the adjournment, Afenyo-Markin spoke to the press in Accra, accusing the Minority of deliberately stalling government business. He also issued a stark warning: if the deadlock isn’t resolved soon, public servants might face delays in receiving their salaries.

Afenyo-Markin further accused the Minority of colluding with Speaker Bagbin to block the passage of crucial legislation, including the Free Senior High School (SHS) bill. He raised alarms that the government's key initiatives, such as the Free SHS programme and the timely payment of public servants, could face significant delays if the budget remains unapproved before the next parliamentary session.

“Their main target is the Free SHS bill, the pre-announcement of laying it in Parliament. And you remember how they fought against it. It’s an opportunity for them, as it were, to prevent the Free SHS bill from being passed.

“Don’t be swayed by their lies and propaganda. The chaos they started is how they want to end. We will not allow it. Right now, what the NDC [Minority] has done basically is one; they don’t want Ghanaians to receive their pay as public servants, because they know that after the elections, there will be no budget.

“To be able to pay workers, there will be a need for the approval of the budget in the first quarter of next year [2025]. It’s a constitutional requirement, and they want to stampede it.”

He also mentioned that they are hopeful of engaging with the Speaker in the coming hours or days to resolve the deadlock.

This adjournment adds to the growing tensions between the Majority and Minority caucuses, with both sides disputing which holds the majority in the House, further hindering parliamentary proceedings in recent weeks.

With no clear timeline for reconvening, the indefinite adjournment leaves Parliament's legislative agenda in limbo, casting uncertainty over when key issues will be addressed.

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