Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Ocquaye has suspended proceedings as The House could not reach decision to either adopt or reject a report by the privileges committee to sanction MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong for insulting Parliament.
His decisions to delay the ruling and to further suspend sitting followed The Minority ‘Yes Votes” to adopt the report and The Majority ‘No Vote” to reject the report, when he called for voice vote over The Motion.
The Committee Chairman, The First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu recommend that, “The House adopt report and sanction Kennedy Ohene Agyapong by suspending him for the rest of this Session or reprimand him”.
“The Committee has carefully considered the matter in the light of the totality of the evidence gathered and in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the Standing Orders and other relevant enactments and concluded that the Member for Assin Central Constituency, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong is indeed in contempt of Parliament for the remarks he made that “Parliament is cheap” and “Partiament is useless”.
Background:
At the Thirteenth Sitting of the Second Meeting of the Second Session of the Seventh Parliament held on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, the Hon. Member for Asawase, Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak drew the attention of the House to an alleged disparaging comments made by the Member for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong on social media to the effect that “the House is useless and cheap and if the House was not useless, it would not have Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu as its Majority Leader”.
The Member for Asawase indicated in the complaint that the alleged comments were in contempt of Parliament under Standing Order 28 of the House.
He therefore prayed the Chair to refer the conduct of Ken Ohene Agyapong
to the Committee of Privileges for investigation and report.
In accordance with Standing Order 164(2) of the House, the complaint was referred to the Committee of Privileges for investigation and report.
Story by Edzorna Francis Mensah
