Minority and Majority in near fisticuffs

2022 budget approved under controversial circumstances

Joseph Osei-Owusu is acting Speaker of Parliament

The Chamber of Parliament is still empty over two and a half hours after the advertised time for today’s proceedings.

This follows the postponement of sitting from yesterday’s chaotic proceedings that was presided over by the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu.

On Wednesday, December 1, 2021, members of the Minority, who had not been in the Chamber the day before, showed up to attempt to overrule the controversially contentious decision of their colleagues that saw the approval of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy.

Joseph Osei-Owusu, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bekwai, sitting in as the Speaker on Tuesday, November 30, counted himself as the 138th MP in the House, forming a quorum and with that, a unanimous voice acclamation gave the budget its approval.

Haruna Iddrisu, who is the Minority Leader, on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, however, put in another motion to overturn that decision, after several arguments and counter-arguments from both sides of the House on the constitutionality or not of that decision.

In the end, after tempers started rising, the heated atmosphere was nearly thrown into chaotic scenes when the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, ruled against the new application by the Minority, amidst open interjections and disagreements by MPs on the Minority side.

The sitting was adjourned to today, Thursday, December 2, 2021, at 10:00am but as GhanaWeb’s reporter at parliament reports, there has been no show yet.

The House is empty with no MP in sight and it is unclear when the MPs will enter the Chamber for the continuation of proceedings, particularly too because tomorrow, December 3, 2021, is Farmers Day, a national holiday, and the House will not sit.