General News of Friday, 24 December 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2021-12-24Kwesi Pratt recounts how NAPO stormed parliament in clutches after surgery in Dubai
An MP being assisted to Parliament
Chaos breaks in Parliament over E-levy
Pratt calls for dialogue among MPs
Gabby visits Mahama at his house
On the day of the parliamentary debate on the Electronic Transaction Levy Bill, a Member of Parliament was spotted in clutches and being assisted into the house.
The picture trended on the social media with
Read full articlesome Ghanaians questioning why the said MP would take that risk.
Kwesi Pratt Jnr, the Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper has revealed the identity of the said MP.
Pratt disclosed that it was Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South and Minister for Energy.
Pratt says NAPO, as he is called, had to fly to Ghana barely a week after he underwent surgery in Dubai.
“The Minister for Energy just after surgery in Dubai was flown down and went to parliament in clutches. There is a woman who according to story I’ve heard had just delivered and came into this jurisdiction leaving a one-week-old baby where she delivered,” he said on Pan African TV.
Pratt revealed that the current situation where both sides of the house want to rely on their numbers does not auger well for Ghana’s democracy.
He explained that the nature of the 8th Parliament calls for more dialogue and not further division.
“After what has happened in parliament, meaningful dialogue is not possible again. We’ve gone to the extent of people exchanging blows and people have their clothes torn. We’ve now come to a point in our history where dialogue is imperative. Without that, we can’t move forward. It has become imperative.
“If you look at what has happened in parliament, it shows that we are heading for chaos. How callous can we be? We can’t play the numbers game forever. At some point we have to dialogue. I’m deeply worried about the state of affairs.”
Pratt’s comment follows the melee that rocked the house on December 20, 2021.
What happened in Parliament:
On Monday night, the First Deputy Speaker decided to take leave of the Speaker’s chair for the Second Deputy Speaker to take charge allegedly to enable him to participate in voting, which occasioned disagreement from the Minority, and a subsequent tussle over the Speaker’s sitting area ensued.
Dozens of the opposition parliamentarians exchange fisticuffs with their colleagues on the Majority side while some officials of parliament tried to protect the Speaker’s seat and the mace of parliament from being attacked.
However, calm returned moments after, before the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, adjourned the sitting.
Meanwhile, the House, without the Speaker, Alban Bagbin has adjourned sitting to take a break for Christmas and will resume sitting on January 18, 2022.
