Efforts to pass the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill suffered a major blow during sitting on Tuesday February 22, after low turnout forced Speaker Joyce Bamford Addo to adjourn sitting till Wednesday.
The Speaker’s decision followed an application moved by the NPP MP for Takoradi, Hon. Kwabena Otchere Darko-Mensah on the issue of poor attendance.
He quoted Standing Order 48 (1) and (2) to back his position that the House did not have the required one-third of the total membership of the legislature to do business.
His application drew strong opposition from the Majority front Bench, with Majority leader, Hon Cletus Avorka, praying the Speaker not to grant the application.
But, after a lengthy debate, which saw the Minority accuse the Majority side of showing lack of seriousness towards Government business in the House, Speaker Justice Bamford-Addo adjourned proceedings.
Soon after proceedings were postponed, Majority Leader Cletus Avorka, accused some elements within the Minority of sabotage, arguing that the issue of quorum as raised by the Takoradi MP was in bad faith.
“There is nowhere where you can have a full house or even half of them present to do some work. If you watch TV and see what happens at the House of Commons in Britain and elsewhere you realize that they are normally less than one third when it comes to deliberations on Bills. So I think that the issue of quorum was raised in bad faith.
In fact, the Minority Leader and his Deputy were not in support of the MP who had raised the issue. But here is a democratic area and nobody gets permission from their leadership before they talk. But I expected the Leadership to talk to their honorable back-bencher to withdraw his demand for quorum so we could do the business” he said.
Hon. Avorka further explained that a number of MPs from both sides were engaged in committee work outside Parliament and dismissed the claim that Majority MPs were not committed enough to government business.
Not more than 60 MPs were present for deliberations on the floor which requires at least 77 MPs for fruitful deliberations.
Minority Chief Whip, Hon Fred Opare Ansah, rejected the Majority leader’s charges, insisting in a Citi News interview that his side was merely inspired by the need to uphold the provisions of the 1992 Constitution as well as those of the Standing Orders of the House.
Speaker Bamford-Addo, who had earlier appealed to the few Minority members to rescind their decision to call for the adjournment, said she had no option than to grant the Minority their wish and constitutional right.
She sent the few home and adjourned proceedings.