He made the admonishment in reaction to the fisticuffs in Parliament yesterday.
Hell broke loose in the chamber of the House on Monday, December 20, 2021, when the MPs met to vote on the controversial E-levy bill.
GhanaWeb.com reported the MPs were taking votes on whether or not the E-levy should be adopted under a certificate of urgency.
"At the time, Joseph Osei-Owusu who was presiding stated that he was stepping down to vote so, the Second Deputy Speaker should take over.
"The Minority had earlier contended that per parliament’s standing orders, the Speaker of Parliament does not have a casting vote, however, Joe Osei-Owusu indicated that he would still vote.
"Just when he was about to step down for the Second Deputy to take over, the Minority took the stage. In the process, the Minority clashed with the Majority with members of both sides exchanging blows. One of the MPs on the Majority side was dragged to the floor with his shirt torn," the report said.
However, in A Facebook reaction, Nana Yaw Kesseh described the violent, destructive and confusing scenes on the floor of Parliament as "shameful". According to him, the MPs would not engage in such acts if they meet for the approval of their Ex-Gratia.
He said the lawmakers did not fight themselves for the love of their country but their partisan interest.
Read his full writeup below:
You may mistakingly think they are fighting for Ghana but the truth is they are fighting for their Ex-Gratia (Gratuity) and their partisan interest.
NDC introduced VAT, NPP opposed it but increased the same in Government. NDC introduced ESLA, NPP opposed it, it was described as a nuisance tax but has been maintained in Government. NPP introduced Communication Service Tax, the NDC described it as "talk tax" but increased it when they had the power to rule. NYEP, NHIS among others are a few examples of my point. Assuming E-Levy Bill goes through and NDC comes to power in 2024, do you think they will scrap it? Just thinking aloud.
Now their strengths are at par in Parliament and just as one would have thought they would use that to build consensus to move Ghana forward, they demonstrated signs of things to come at their birth on 7/8th January 2021. Events thereafter haven't been any different.
Now the Alban Bagbin Conundrum. The most experienced lawmaker in the history of Ghana's democratic era couldn't have come as the speaker at an opportune time like this where the Country needs his experience most to guide this "hunger" Parliament. After all that happened after the reading of the budget and the inception of this Parliament, his sick leave among others, one would have thought Bagbin will bring his experience to the table but he checked out at the time the most crucial BILL of their present sitting was to be moved in the plenary to cause another mayhem and unfathomable disgrace to the good people of Ghana in whose interests they claim to be serving.
Unfortunately, they will unanimously approve of their Ex-Gratia at the end of their tenure. Are this Parliament and its parliamentarians really for Ghana? No matter how you look at it, what happened on Monday night (20/12/21) at Parliament is shameful, to say the least. Never again should any electorate vote skirt and blouse if you love Ghana. Read Full Story
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