Majority Leader, James Agalga, has taken a subtle swipe at Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, describing his lengthy comments on the Business Statement for next week as a ‘thesis’.
Mr Agalga made the remark on Friday while responding to concerns raised by the Minority Leader during his presentation of the agenda for next week about delays in considering two private members’ motions concerning alleged mass dismissals of public sector workers and losses under Ghana’s domestic gold purchasing programme.
Addressing the motion on alleged mass dismissals, Mr Afenyo-Markin expressed concern that the matter has remained pending for close to a year, calling for Parliament to take action.
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Mr Agalga assured the House that the Majority would respect the Standing Orders and ensure that all outstanding parliamentary business received attention.
He said, “Mr. Speaker, the Minority Leader actually presented a thesis in response to the business statement I just presented.”
The Majority Leader said the government is prepared to support an investigation into the alleged mass dismissals but argued that its scope should be expanded to cover similar incidents under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
“Nobody is running away from accountability,” he stressed.
He maintained that Parliament must adopt a holistic approach rather than selectively investigating developments under one government.
“Mass dismissals happened even under the watch of the NPP. So, if the Minority complains that there were mass dismissals and that same be probed, we are interested in having a probe,” he said.
“But I’m just wondering whether such a probe should not be enlarged in scope to include similar dismissals in the past. I mean, we need to have a holistic approach to these things.”
Mr Agalga insisted that any investigation should examine the circumstances surrounding changes in public sector employment whenever political power changes hands.
The Majority, he said, would support the motion but would insist on broadening its terms of reference to ensure that similar practices under the previous administration are also investigated.
The Majority Leader also addressed another pending motion filed by the Minority Leader seeking an investigation into alleged financial losses under the domestic gold purchasing programme as raised by the Minority Leader.
According to him, the Majority is equally interested in the proposed investigation but challenged the Minority’s position on the programme’s financial performance.
According to him, the Majority’s position, reinforced by reports from the Auditor-General, is that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has recorded surpluses rather than the losses alleged by the opposition.
“Because there have been contradictory claims, the Minority holds a view which is not consistent with views others hold. We on this side of the House are of the view that the Gold Board has actually recorded surpluses. Our views are reinforced by the Auditor-General’s report,” he stated.
Mr Agalga said the Majority is ready for Parliament to consider the motion, provided its scope is expanded to include gold purchasing activities undertaken when the NPP was in government.
He argued that examining the operations of both administrations would help Parliament establish the facts surrounding the programme and identify any underlying challenges.