General News of Tuesday, 7 December 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2021-12-07I ruled on the motion challenging budget approval - Joe Wise insists
Joseph Osei-Owusu, First Deputy Speaker
Chaos erupts in Parliament
Deputy Speaker insists he ruled on a motion by Minority
2022 budget has been controversial, chaotic and confrontational
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has maintained that he gave a ruling
Read full articleduring last Wednesday's parliamentary proceedings in which the Minority MPs challenged the approval of the 2022 budget.
The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, on behalf of his caucus filed a rescission motion for the House to set aside the controversial approval of the policy document.
Earlier on Friday, November 26, 2021, a 137-member Minority group rejected the budget statement only for the Majority in Parliament to approve the same document on Tuesday, November 30, 2021.
The motion by the NDC MPs, which was thrown out by the sit-in Speaker, First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei-Owusu, led to chaotic scenes in the Chamber as the Minority argued it was wrong for the Deputy Speaker who chaired proceedings on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, to count himself as part of the Majority while presiding over the House.
During the correction of Vote of Proceedings for Wednesday’s sitting, the Speaker asked the table to make corrections that there was a ruling.
But Joseph Osei-Owusu has insisted that he ruled, adding that the House may not have heard his ruling before the uproar in the Chamber.
"...What is recorded here is not correct. Whether the Minority leader thinks I was not entitled to rule is another matter. But what I'm saying here is that I ruled. What is recorded here is that, I was ruling and it was interrupted, so it appeared the ruling did not conclude but it did conclude, that's all I want to be reflected. The record is available, the table office watched the video because I played it out to them. So let the votes and proceedings reflect what happened. As to raising issues with the ruling, you are always entitled to raise issues with what you think I ought to have done or not to have done. So let the votes and proceedings reflect that the first Deputy Speaker ruled," he said.
