Kennedy Agyapong
The much publicised call by the Speaker of Parliament for Parliament to take a final decision on the Privileges Committee’s report on alleged contemptuous remarks by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central against the Parliament of Ghana, could not take place yesterday.
Even though the report was publicised on the Order Paper
yesterday, nothing was said about it after Parliament concluded the
consideration of the Right to Information Bill, 2018, by adopting the proposed
amendment by the MP for Suhum, Frederick Opare Ansah that the bill be made to
take effect after 12 months of passing it.
The Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, on Tuesday
directed the chairman of the Privileges Committee who is also the First Deputy
Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, to present the committee’s report yesterday on the
alleged contemptuous remarks made against the institution by Mr. Ken Agyapong
for the House to adopt it.
During Tuesday’s sitting, it was advertised on the Order
Paper that the report of the committee on the alleged breach of privileges and
the said contemptuous remarks were to be adopted by the House.
The chairman of the Privileges Committee, Joseph Osei-Owusu,
however, pleaded with the Speaker to allow the committee to defer the adoption
and hear another case of contempt made against the same MP which has been
referred to the committee for hearing so that the two reports will be lumped
together and presented for adoption by the House.
The Speaker did not agree with the plea of the chairman of
the Privileges Committee and asked that the report be presented to the House
yesterday for action to be taken on it.
After completing yesterday’s public business without
mentioning the report, MPs retired to Committee of the Whole where they
discussed the formula and distribution of the 2019 District Assembly Common
Fund.
It is not known when the House will eventually adopt the
report of the Privileges Committee on Mr. Kennedy Agyapong.
The Assin Central MP was dragged to the Privileges Committee in June last year by the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, for allegedly referring to Parliament as a ‘useless institution’ when he was asked to tone down on his vituperations on Anas Aremeyaw Anas for coming out with an expose’ on corruption within the Ghana Football Association.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr
