Parliament On Break - Reconvenes in October

By Julius Yao Petetsi

Parliament on Friday night adjourned sine die bringing the second Meeting of the Third session of the Seventh Parliament of the Republic of Ghana, to an end.

The House is expected to reconvene in October to commence the third meeting of this session.

The forty-two day meeting has been less 'acrimonious' compared to previous sittings where the disagreement between the Majority and Minority caucuses led to, sometimes, walk-outs by the Minority.

During the meeting, the House passed among other bills the Vigilante and Related Offences Bill, 2019 and was also addressed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, Nancy Patricia Pelosi.

It also oversaw the approval of the request by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, for additional GH¢6,370,355,925.82 as supplementary estimate to support government expenditure for the 2019 fiscal year.

Before adjourning, Parliament undertook a marathon sitting, as has become characteristic of it, and approved loan facilities and passed other bills.

Addressing the House in his closing remarks, Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, commended his colleagues for the energies they put in the business of Parliament over the period.

No Parliament in the fourth republic, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said, had enacted many laws as the Seventh Parliament.

Urging his colleagues to increase public engagements with their constituents on important issues to improve their appreciation of the issues, the Suame MP wished the National Democratic Congress (NDC) well in their forthcoming primaries.

On his part, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, appealed to the Minister of the Interior and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to take steps to deal with what he said was growing insecurity in the country.

Calling for a probe into the Power Distribution Services-Electricity Company of Ghana concessionaire scandal, Mr Iddrisu said that was crucial because the House approved the deal.

The First Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, who was in the seat, thanked the leadership of the House, Members, clerks and staff of Parliament for their support and co-operation towards the work of the House.

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