Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has slammed Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision to dismiss the Minority’s motion seeking a parliamentary probe into recent cocaine seizures, arguing that the ruling has weakened Parliament’s constitutional oversight role.
Addressing a press conference after the Speaker’s ruling on Tuesday, September 29, Afenyo-Markin described the decision as a setback for democracy and parliamentary oversight.
“Today is a sad day for democracy. Today is a sad day for parliamentary oversight,” he said.
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According to the Minority Leader, the ruling was particularly concerning because the Speaker relied on pending court proceedings in declining to allow the proposed ad hoc committee to investigate the institutional dimensions of the cocaine seizures.
Afenyo-Markin argued that the Minority’s motion was not intended to determine the guilt or innocence of individuals facing prosecution.
The proposed inquiry, he said, was instead focused on whether state institutions responsible for narcotics control, customs administration, port and airport security, intelligence gathering, maritime surveillance and border protection were effectively performing their duties.
“The ruling by Mr Speaker has failed the integrity tests required of Parliament to discharge its duties,” he said.
Afenyo-Markin cited Articles 93, 103, 115 and 116 of the 1992 Constitution to support the Minority’s position, arguing that Parliament has a constitutional mandate to investigate and inquire into the activities and administration of ministries, departments and agencies.
According to him, Article 103 gives parliamentary committees powers to investigate public institutions, while Article 103(6) provides committees with powers comparable to those of the High Court for compelling witnesses and documents.
The Minority Leader maintained that parliamentary oversight and judicial proceedings could coexist without Parliament determining criminal liability.
He proposed that an ad hoc committee could have been directed to avoid matters directly concerning the guilt of accused persons, the credibility of witnesses or the admissibility of evidence before the courts.
Instead, he said the committee could have examined issues including container scanning, cargo inspection, intelligence sharing, institutional coordination, freight-forwarding regulation, warehouse security and maritime supervision.
Afenyo-Markin also referred to the reported seizures involving cocaine intercepted in France, Pedu Junction and other locations, saying the incidents raise broader questions about Ghana’s border security and institutional accountability.
He said the matter has implications for Ghana’s international reputation and national security.
“If the existence of a pending prosecution were interpreted to prevent Parliament from examining every administrative or institutional failure connected to the underlying facts, then the commencement of criminal proceedings will effectively place entire public institutions beyond parliamentary scrutiny,” he argued.
The Minority Leader said the group would continue to pursue the matter within the Constitution and Parliament’s Standing Orders.
“We will not let this matter rest,” he declared.