General News of Monday, 10 January 2022
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2022-01-10Alban Bagbin is still my friend - Majority leader
Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) caucus in Parliament
Fisticuffs in Parliament over E-levy
Parliament to resume on January 25
2022 budget tagged as controversial, chaotic, and confrontational
The Majority Leader in parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu has said, even though there have been some differences between himself
Read full articleand the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, the Speaker is still his friend.
According to him, the fact that they have disagreements in parliament does not mean they are enemies.
Speaking on Kumasi-based Otech FM, he said “Bagbin is my friend since I became a minority. Prior to becoming a minority leader, we were quite close. I hope you are married? Are there no times you have disagreements with your wife? Does that end the marriage? Sometimes we disagree on matters of substance but we move on after that”, mynewsgh.com quoted.
He however added that he is unhappy about the happenings in parliament particularly during the last sitting. He urged the MPs to take a cue from the happenings to prevent future consequences.
Background
There were some scuffles in the chamber in the last parliament.
One of the recent is in regards to the voting on the government’s E-levy bill.
The fight ensued when 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, thereby handing over to the Second Deputy Speaker.
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.
The house was then adjourned to Tuesday, December 20, 2021, after calm was restored. The Majority said the adjournment will allow cooler heads to prevail.
The house is however expected to resume sitting on January 25, 2022.
