The Minority in Parliament staged a brief walkout on Wednesday in protest against a ruling by First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor, accusing him of using the Standing Orders to prevent the caucus from effectively holding the government to account.
The protest followed Ahiafor’s decision to disallow supplementary questions from Minority MPs to the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, during discussions on the government’s proposed SIM re-registration exercise.
The Deputy Speaker ruled that the questions were inconsistent with the Standing Orders of Parliament.
Speaking to journalists after the walkout, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the caucus believed the ruling was part of a pattern of decisions that limited parliamentary oversight, particularly by preventing backbench MPs from fully participating in debates and questioning ministers.
“We have observed that the First Deputy Speaker has a way of using the rules to stampede parliamentary oversight,” Afenyo-Markin said.
“You’ve all observed that he started an attack on our backbenchers. Any time our backbenchers had the opportunity to be on their feet, he would use the rules to frustrate them.”
According to the Minority Leader, the supplementary questions sought to clarify key issues surrounding the proposed SIM re-registration exercise, including its cost, implementation, and the justification for undertaking another nationwide registration.
He noted that although the Communications Minister had indicated that the exercise would not impose any cost on subscribers, Parliament still had a responsibility to scrutinise the financial implications for the state.
“They claim that people use unverifiable identities to get SIM registration cards. Our question is, at what cost? How many people were identified to have used stolen IDs?” he said.
“It’s in the interest of the Ghanaian public to know how much it is costing the nation. In any event, the previous registration came at a cost, so we need to know what procurement processes are being followed.”
Afenyo-Markin further argued that the Deputy Speaker had misapplied the Standing Orders, insisting that Rule 89(1) permits supplementary questions that seek clarification based on answers already provided by a minister.
“This is a government policy, and the rules under 89(1) allow you to anchor your supplementary question on an answer given by the Minister for the purpose of clarification,” he stated.
He explained that the walkout was intended solely to register the Minority’s dissatisfaction with the Deputy Speaker’s handling of the matter and was not a boycott of parliamentary proceedings.
“This is just our protest. We protested the posture of the First Deputy Speaker using the rules to frustrate us,” he said.
Afenyo-Markin added that the Minority would return to the Chamber immediately after the protest to continue participating in the day’s parliamentary business.
“We’re going back into the chamber to deal with other business. We protested his posture on this very matter, and that is it,” he added.
