Parliament has once again been forced to early adjournment yesterday as Members of Parliament continue to stay away from the business of the House.
At the time of adjournment yesterday, at about 1:50 pm, only 73 Members – fewer than the 92 needed to form a quorum – were in the chamber.
The issue of quorum came up again during the correction of votes and proceedings of the previous day which reported that 201 lawmakers were present.
Okaikoi Central MP, Patrick Yaw Boamah, had submitted that adjourning the House on Wednesday for lack of quorum was misplaced because more than the required numbers were present.
He argued that on Wednesday, Committees were sitting and members present at those meetings were counted present accusing their colleagues in the minority of mischief intended to frustrate government business.
But, MP for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, who raised the quorum issue on Wednesday, said being at Committee does not constitute a quorum on the floor.
In his view, a quorum of parliament, pursuant to Article 102 of the Constitution, refers to members present on the floor and not plus members at Committee sittings.
The Article reads that “A quorum of Parliament, apart from the person presiding, shall be one-third of all the Members of Parliament”.
This resulted in a debate as the Majority argued that putting that interpretation on the provision and should same be applied as it was suggested, the House would be unable to do anything going forward but the Minority insisted the right thing was done.
In his ruling, the First Deputy Speaker and MP for Bekwai, Joseph Osei Owusu, said a broader conversation would be needed on what defines presence in Parliament to guide the House going forward.
He questioned the basis upon which an adjournment was taken on Wednesday for lack of quorum when over 200 Members were reported to be present.
“When we say quorum, can we count Members who are not in the chamber but are within the precincts of Parliament doing other parliamentary business?
“Because at the time the Second Deputy Speaker brought proceedings to a close the number in the chamber did not constitute a quorum but look at the votes and proceedings,”Mr Owusu said.
Subsequently, questions were answered by the Ministers of Communications and Trade and Industry.
However, during the consideration of the Wildlife Resources Management Bill, Tamale North Member, Alhassan Suhuyini, under Order 113(2) challenged the Speaker’s ruling on a voice vote, which accepted clause 21 to stand as part of the bill. Mr Suhuyini contended that the ‘No’ had it.
Pursuant to that provision, a head count was done and the Majority recorded 46 Members as against the Minority’s 27; still short of the 92 needed to form a quorum as the Minority once again push for an adjournment.
“The total number of the votes clearly show that we don’t have the quorum to do business” Mr Owusu said and adjourned the House.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
