General News of Wednesday, 2 March 2022
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2022-03-02I will be impartial and not always neutral - Bagbin tells Council of State
Alban Bagbin is the Speaker of Parliament
Council of State members call on Alban Bagbin
I have many friends on the other side - Speaker
Council of State ready to mediate impasse in Parliament
“In the performance of my functions, I will be impartial, but that doesn’t mean I will be neutral,” the Speaker of Parliament,
Read full article.target='_blank' href='/GhanaHomePage/people/person.php?ID=213'>Alban Bagbin, has said.
The Speaker explained that in his role as the head of the legislature, he can only be impartial but on the subject of being neutral, that is an assurance he cannot give, reports myjoyonline.com.
Alban Bagbin is said to have explained this position with the justification that, the likelihood that he may have equal interests in whatever comes to the floor is a high possibility.
He however stressed that “whether it’s against the left or against the right, I will see it.”
He made this known during a visit by members of the Council of State on him, on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, where he ‘bragged’ that he has “good friends on the other side of the political divide” and as such, he does not expect everyone to be happy with decisions.
Responding to issues on the controversial E-Levy that is yet to be passed by parliament, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, said that there is the need for the House to give way to participatory inclusiveness.
“The concept of majority rule should give way to participatory inclusiveness,” he said.
On their part, the Council of State members shared their worry over recent chaotic trends in parliament with the Speaker, adding that they are ready to play mediatory roles in getting things straightened.
The Chairman of the Council, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, urged the Speaker to appreciate the challenges posed by the hung parliament and work at ensuring that the two sides of the House work together in harmony, and more progress.
“Mr. Speaker, we want to support you to be the best Speaker that Ghana has ever had. We know that these issues that have happened are only ephemeral, and one day, you will look back at them with nostalgic feelings.
“We feel that it is bent and not broken and that it can be mended. However, developments in Parliament have given us a feeling that our hope may not be realised and that if we as the Council of State do not give you the support we pledged you and sat down for things to go haywire, we will equally be accused of not doing our work as expected of us by the people of Ghana,” he said.
Alban Bagbin also shared some of his long-term plans in that direction, hopeful that such things as a workshop on parliamentary leadership will go a long way to bring this dream to a reality.
“None of us is happy with the way things are going. We’ve never had such a hung Parliament before, and you know governance is usually run by the majority, so when you feel you have a majority, decision taking becomes a serious challenge,” he said.
