Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the representative for North Tongu in Parliament, has claimed that the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, treated the minority caucus with disdain when they had an encounter last Friday, in regards to the picketing by the food providers.
He then stated that the Minority would officially complain about the situation to the Speaker of Parliament.
In a possible move against Bryan Acheampong, Okudzeto Ablakwa said that Parliament could opt not to do business with any Minister who disdains the legislature.
It can be recalled that on Friday, July 7, the Minority in Parliament, led by Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, stormed the NAFCO office and demanded to know why the picketing food suppliers’ debts had not been paid.
Legislators from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) visited the National Food Buffer Stock Company office, where the food suppliers had been sleeping for three days, to make a payment demand. However, Bryan Acheampong was not pleased with how his fellow lawmakers approached the situation.
During the conversation, Mr. Ablakwa remarked, “We know what we will do in Parliament.”
Throwing more light on what transpired, Ablakwa stated “When I told him that we know what we will do, I meant tomorrow morning we will be formally reporting his conduct to the Rt Honorable Speaker and we will be asking Parliament to take a serious view of that because we don’t want this very terrible precedence, bad conduct to be seen by other Ministers.”
“So, we will be formally asking the Speaker to act. Remember that Ministers can be disciplined, parliament can even decide that we will not entertain business from ministers who misconduct themselves to Parliamentarians. And we can even decide that any matter that will come from his Ministry, will not be approved if he does not quickly come and render an apology.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has summoned Bryan Acheampong, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, over the issues of the picketing food suppliers. This was after Ablakwa earlier requested the Speaker to summon the ministers.
Spokesperson For Food Suppliers Feels Threatened
Koku Amedume, a spokesman for the National Food Buffer Stock Company’s (NAFCO) food suppliers, voiced concern for his safety after speaking with Bryan Acheampong, the Minister of Food and Agriculture.
He explained that the Minister’s remarks, that he only joined the food suppliers to picket merely for political motives, and this has put his life in danger.
The spokesperson claimed that the Minister’s behavior when they first met, harmed his ambition to become a lawyer. “I feel threatened. I feel that he has something under his sleeves to do” he said.
Koku Amedume also stated that the guarantees they got from Bryan Acheampong were the reason the picketing food suppliers left the NAFCO grounds.
“We thought that we have created an awareness of the situation. Some of our members who came for the picketing were old and came from far so after picketing for a few days and making our situation known, we thought it was time to leave. At least everybody bears witness that the Minister has promised to pay us by 17, July.”
Koku Amedume
