Roads Minister commended for regular appearance before Parliament

Accra, Dec. 8, GNA - Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu on Friday commended Mr Kwasi Amoako Atta, the Minister for Roads and Highways, on his regular appearance before Parliament on issues related to that sector.

He, however, raised alarm over the absence of several ministers, who failed to respond to the invitation of the House and delegated their deputies to respond to the invitation.

Making a point on the approval of the 2018 Budget Estimates soon to be done by the House, the Minority Leader commended the Roads and Highways Minister, for his regular attendance upon the House, adding that the House would not encourage the absence of sector ministers during the consideration of the estimates.

Mr Iddrisu, who is also the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, said there was the need to take the business of the House very seriously, and ministers would have to appear themselves to justify the policies of the Government.

In the morning of Thursday, December 7, 2017, during sittings, five ministers failed to appear before the House to answer questions related to their respective ministries.

Per the Order Paper, the programme scheduled for the House, five ministers were supposed to show up in Parliament to answer questions.

They were the Minister for Railways Development, Minister of Labour and Employment, Minister for Works and Housing, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Minister of Regional Re-organisation and Development; but were absent when proceedings started.

Mr Moses Anim, the Second Deputy Majority Chief whip, said the five ministers had written to Parliament to explain why they were unable to attend Thursday’s sitting, though he did not give the reasons they gave.

“I hold in my hand responses from the ministers to the table office that the table office just submitted to me. So the ministers have responded.

“If you look at the Order Paper we can vary the order paper [and] suspend sitting,” he said.

However, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, the Deputy Minority Chief Whip, expressed dismay about the conduct of the five ministers and said: “I can’t take the response given by the Deputy Whip serious.”

He said it was about time ministers took the business of the House “very seriously”.

Mr Alban Sumana Bagbin, the Second Deputy Speaker, who chaired Thursday’s sitting, said the five ministers could not use unilateral fiat to justify their non appearance before the House.

He asked the Business Committee of the House to reschedule the five Ministers to appear to answer the various questions that had been asked.

Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensa-Bonsu, however, indicated that some members of the Leadership of the House were attending the funeral of the late Asantehemaa, hence their absence from proceedings on Thursday.

GNA

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