The Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has condemned the actions of the Minority caucus, accusing them of intentionally obstructing the payment of public servants’ salaries amidst an ongoing parliamentary impasse.
His comments came after Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, adjourned the House indefinitely on Thursday, November 7, due to a lack of business for lawmakers to deliberate on.
The adjournment followed the failure of the Business Committee to meet and prepare the necessary agenda for the session.
Afenyo-Markin expressed disappointment that the recall session, initially requested by the Majority MPs, could not proceed as planned because the Majority MPs were not present in the Chamber. This led to the Minority MPs occupying the Majority side, forcing the Majority members to remain outside the House.
Speaking to the press after the adjournment, Afenyo-Markin accused the Minority of deliberately stalling government business, which he argued could delay critical processes like the payment of public servants’ salaries.
“We are at a point where the Minority’s actions are threatening to derail the payment of salaries for public servants,” he said.
“If this impasse continues, there will be no budget approved by the first quarter of next year [2025], which is necessary for salary payments to continue. The Minority is playing with the livelihoods of Ghanaian workers.”
Afenyo-Markin also accused the Minority, along with the Speaker, of attempting to block the passage of key legislation such as the Free Senior High School (SHS) bill, which has been a source of contention in Parliament.
He emphasized that the government’s policies, including the Free SHS initiative, could be delayed if the budget is not passed in time for the next parliamentary session.
“They are targeting the Free SHS bill and trying to prevent it from being passed. They will stop at nothing to obstruct this and other important policies. Their objective is clear to cause confusion and halt the government’s agenda, including delaying salary payments,” Afenyo-Markin stated.
He further urged Speaker Bagbin to respect the constitutional requirements and come back to the House to resolve the deadlock instead of indefinitely adjourning the sittings, which he believed was exacerbating the crisis.
The adjournment of Parliament has added to the tensions between the Majority and Minority caucuses, especially regarding the ongoing battle over which group holds the majority in the House.
This ongoing issue has continued to stall parliamentary proceedings, with the legislative agenda now in a state of uncertainty.
With no immediate plans for Parliament to reconvene, the future of the legislative business and important national policies hangs in the balance, leaving many concerns over the impact on the country’s governance and public sector employees.
