Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has accused the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Bernard Ahiafor, of using parliamentary rules to restrict effective oversight and prevent members of his caucus from raising issues of public interest.
The Effutu MP made the allegations during a press briefing on Wednesday following a disagreement in the House over a supplementary question he sought to ask the Minister for Communications regarding the government’s planned re-registration of subscribers’ SIM cards.
Afenyo-Markin said the decision by the First Deputy Speaker to disallow the supplementary question was part of a pattern of actions aimed at limiting the Minority’s ability to hold government accountable.
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“We have observed that the First Deputy Speaker has a way of using the rules to stampede parliamentary oversight,” he stated.
According to him, the presiding officer has repeatedly used the rules of Parliament to frustrate Minority lawmakers, particularly members sitting on the back benches, whenever they attempt to contribute to discussions.
“The rules are not meant to be used to intimidate, frustrate us, and bring Parliament to a standstill,” he added.
The Minority Leader explained that his question to the Communications Minister was intended to seek clarity on the financial implications of the planned SIM re-registration exercise.
He argued that since government had indicated that the process would come at no cost to subscribers, Parliament had a responsibility to know the actual cost to the state.
“This is a government policy that is seeking to start the same registration afresh. They claim that people used unverifiable identities to get some registration cards. Our question is, at what cost?” he questioned.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin said lawmakers needed information on how many people were found to have used stolen identities and how much public resources would be committed to the exercise.
He insisted that the question was in the interest of Ghanaians and fell within Parliament’s oversight mandate.
The Minority Leader said the First Deputy Speaker’s ruling did not reflect the provisions of Parliament’s Standing Orders, which allow members to seek clarification through supplementary questions based on answers provided by ministers.
He claimed that even members of the Majority side disagreed with the ruling, noting that the Majority Leader recognised concerns surrounding the decision.
“We protested the posture of the First Deputy Speaker using the rules to frustrate us,” he said.
Incidentally, the Deputy Speaker subsequently allowed the question, and the Minister for Communications, Samuel Nartey George, in his response, urged the Minority leader to file a fresh question to enable him to prepare the answers, as it requires gathering of data.