The Majority Leader and Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has urged Ghanaians to use the occasion of Easter to forgive and reconcile with one another.

According to him, forgiveness in an integral part of a Christian’s life and must necessarily be fulfilled. He made the appeal in his closing remarks at the end of the first sitting of the third session in Parliament.

“Mr Speaker, from 7th April to 9th April 2023, Christians all over the world will be celebrating the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus who Christians believe was raised back to life three days after his crucifixion. It is my fervent prayer that Ghanaians and particularly Christians would use this festive season to reflect on the need to reconcile with one another as the death of Christ symbolizes to love one another and to live in peace. It is only when there is peace that we can develop.”
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu equally advised his colleague Members of Parliament to spend quality time with their families and constituents. He expressed that this is much needed to bond with those who matter to them.

Furthermore, the majority leader expressed gratitude to the Almighty God for His unwavering kindness and strength throughout the sittings. With this, he declared that “indeed, it could only be by His grace that we are still here to perform our duties as Members of Parliament”.

“We should endeavor to take considerable rest with the hope that the Almighty God will grant us refreshed energy and good health to continue with our constitutional mandate.”
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Parliament commended for productive plenary proceedings

Subsequently, the Suame legislator commended the Speaker, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin and his two Deputies Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker and Mr Andrew Asiamah Amoako, the Second Deputy Speaker, for their commitment to parliamentary proceedings.

Additionally, he expressed his appreciation to his colleagues in Leadership, Committee Chairpersons, Vice-Chairpersons, Ranking Members, and his colleague Members of the House for working to ensure that the Business of the House was transacted.

In his statement, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu indicated that the Clerk of Parliament, his Deputies, and other officers of the Parliamentary Service, equally deserved commendation for the valuable service rendered to the House to ensure a fruitful meeting. He further thanked the Marshal and his staff as well as the constabulary for putting various measures in place to protect them.

Addressing the Parliamentary Press Corps, he lauded them for the coverage of proceedings and activities of the House. He further encouraged them to keep their reportage on the happenings of Parliament free from political biases.

Touching on Business in the House, the Majority Leader indicated that the House held 31 plenary sittings within an eight-week period, during which Parliament performed its constitutional mandate. He stated that during the period, eight bills were presented to the House and referred to the appropriate Committees for consideration and report.

These are Wildlife Resources Management Bill, 2022; the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Ghana Industrial Property Office Bill, 2023.

Also, he noted that the House passed the Contracts (Amendment) Bill, 2022; Whistle Blower (Amendment) Bill, 2023; Rent Bill, 2023; the Budget Bill, 2023 and the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

Meanwhile, parliament has passed the three tax bills which were tabled before it as part of government’s measures to generate more revenue. The bills namely the Income Tax Amendment Bill, The Excise Duty Amendment Bill and the Growth and Sustainability Amendment Bill were passed on Friday evening.

Earlier, the government had stated that the revenue bills are needed to help the government complete processes for the about $3 billion IMF deal as well as improve the revenue situation of the country.