Bagbin supervising chaos, undermining Ghana's democracy

The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has strongly criticized Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision to adjourn Parliament indefinitely, calling it an act that “amounts to supervising chaos” and undermines the integrity of Ghana’s democratic processes.

Following Bagbin’s decision to adjourn the House on Thursday, November 7, due to a lack of business—caused by the absence of New Patriotic Party (NPP) members—Afenyo-Markin expressed his dissatisfaction with the sequence of events that led to the adjournment.

Afenyo-Markin clarified that the NPP caucus’ absence was not due to negligence or irresponsibility but rather a procedural dispute. He explained that the Clerk of Parliament had failed to print the necessary documentation, specifically the agreed-upon Order Paper, which outlines the issues and agenda items for discussion in Parliament.

The failure to print the Order Paper, according to Afenyo-Markin, was a critical factor that prevented the NPP from engaging in parliamentary proceedings. Without the document, the session could not proceed as planned, leaving the NPP unable to participate.

Afenyo-Markin pointed out that this oversight had significant consequences, resulting in a situation where the absence of NPP MPs was misinterpreted as a lack of commitment to parliamentary business. He emphasized that the failure to address the procedural issue should not be blamed on the NPP, but rather on the administrative lapse that led to the adjournment.

“What Mr. Speaker did today amounts to supervising chaos and bringing the image of democracy to disrepute. The NDC minority members were all over claiming that we, the Majority did not attend a so-called Business Committee meeting that they called.

“Who are they and when did we constitute a new committee in Parliament? I chair the Business Committee and when the Clerk of Parliament asked for the Business Committee meeting, I was explicit that the subject matter of the recall is the very matter for consideration and so there was no need to have another business committee.

“Business Committee is to decide on the business of the House and on this occasion, you have made an application which has been granted and the items that had been approved were the very things to be decided on so I directed that the Order Paper be printed to reflect all those items.”