The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has requested an extraordinary sitting of Parliament just 24 hours after the House was adjourned.
In a memo addressed to Speaker Alban Bagbin, Afenyo-Markin cited five legal bases to support this demand, urging the Speaker to summon Parliament within a seven-day period.
“Considering the constitutional and statutory provisions cited above, and in the exercise of our rights as Members of Parliament, we respectfully urge you to summon Parliament for an extraordinary session within the stipulated seven-day period,” the memo stated.
According to the memo, certain items have been tabled for consideration since the adjournment of the House on Tuesday, July 30.
These include the Motion on the Financing Agreement between the government and the International Development Association for an amount of $250 million for the Ghana Energy Sector Recovery Programme and the Ghana Financial Stability Fund, another International Development Association facility of $250 million.
Other items on the agenda include a request for tax exemptions for designated beneficiaries under the One District, One Factory programme, the Ghana Industrial Property Office Bill 2024, and the National Petroleum Authority Bill 2024. Additionally, the Budget Bill 2023, Rent Bill 2023, University of Local Governance and Development Bill 2024, Environmental Protection Bill 2024, Social Protection Bill 2024, Intestate Succession Bill 2022, and the Chartered Institute of Reconstruction and Insolvency Practitioners Bill are also up for consideration.
Afenyo-Markin emphasized the urgency of these matters, stating that “reconvening Parliament is necessary to fulfill their constitutional mandate and serve the interests of the Ghanaian people.”
He stressed that this requisition is made in the utmost good faith and in the national interest, to enable the Government to discharge its constitutional and democratic obligations to the people of Ghana.
According to him, the matters outlined are of pressing importance and require the urgent attention of Parliament.
On Tuesday Speaker Bagbin adjourned Parliament sine die.
This is to an end the Third Meeting of the Fourth Session of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.
The Speaker, however, announced that the House would be recalled in September and that he would be available to preside.
During the just ended meeting, the House passed a number of Bills such as the Affirmative Action Bill, 2024, the Ghana Shoppers’ Authority Bill, 2024 and the National Service Authority Bill, 2024.
