Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has taken a swipe at critics who did not want the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) appointed onto the Parliamentary Service Board (PSB). According to him, the critics, some of whom were on the Advisory Committee of Parliament, resisted the appointment of Johnson Asiedu Nketia with the reason that it is an “undesired intrusion of political parties into the governance of Parliament”. Announcing the new members of the Board, which included leaders of the two caucuses – Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and Haruna Iddrisu – as well as a former Member of Parliament (MP), Abraham Osei Aidoo, Speaker Bagbin said the critics claimed Mr Asiedu Nketia’s appointment did not bode well for the independence of Parliament because of his position. But he announced that he has the powers to appoint the other four persons who together with the Clerks constitute the Board. “It is also our considered opinion that Mr Speaker will do what is appropriate,” the former Nadowli Kaleo MP told the Eighth Parliament on Monday. It was at this point that he traced the membership of the former Board as having a key member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) too. “I want to note that the former Parliamentary Service Board had Honorable Hackman Owusu Agyeman as a member of the board and Hackman Owusu Agyeman later became the Chairman of the Council of Elders of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). “That one was not intrusion into the governance of Parliament by a political party. What is good for the gander is also good for the goose. Honorable members the board will be constituted and we will start our work,” he announced. 3news Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093
Parliament To Roll Out Plan For Vaccination Soon
Parliament on Tuesday resumed for business from a three-week shutdown over upsurge for Covid-19 cases, and would soon announce a rollout plan of vaccination for Members and Staff of the House. The House on February 10, 2021 closed down after results of a screening test for the disease by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in the House showed that 17 Members of Parliament (MPs) and 151 Staff and ancillary workers were infected with the virus. Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament adjourned the House until March 2, 2021, while the premises were disinfected and sanitized. The Speaker then asked the members and staff to comply with the strict COVID-19 protocols and regulations during the shutdown period and those not tested to get tested for the virus in two weeks. Directing the shutdown, Speaker Bagbin asked that by the end of the three weeks, the Appointments Committee of the House, which was yet to begin vetting President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s ministerial nominees should have finished and submitted their reports on the vetting to the House. Welcoming the MPs and Staff to resume full sitting, the Speaker announced that a retesting he directed just before the House re-opened, and done by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in which 550 MPs and Staff took part showed 12 testing positive, representing 2 per cent. The Speaker directed that all MPs that had not done the re-testing to do so and urged the House and Staff to adhere strictly to the COVID-19 safety protocols. He said: “Let us wear our nose masks religiously. “Let us wash our hands at the least opportunity we get while in the House “Let sanitizers be our companions, wherever we find ourselves and maintain social distancing as much as possible.” Speaker Bagbin assured the House and the nation that Parliament would not just adhere to COVID-19 protocols, but also would adopt proactive measures that would ensure the safety of the House and all who were required to engage with Parliament in furtherance of the development of the country. The Speaker sadly announced the death of Mr Robert Apodolla, a former Deputy Clerk of Parliament, on Friday, February 19, 2021, during the break, at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. The House thereafter observed a minute’s silence in memory of the late Apodolla. GNA Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093









