Hon Mahama Ayariga, Member of Parliament for the good people of Bawku Central, has disclosed that the Minority Caucus in Parliament will have an orderly transition of leadership in Parliament today when the House reconvenes.

Hon Ayariga, who was speaking in an interview made known that, the National Democratic Congress ( NDC) has managed to resolve all issues after several meetings with aggrieved members over the decision to reshuffle the leadership.

“We have resolved our internal issues, and we thank God. So you will see a very orderly transition from one group of leaders to the other.”
Ayariga

The party, on Monday, February 6, disclosed to the general public that the challenges confronting the reshuffle of the Minority leadership in Parliament have been resolved.

The announcement was made after a meeting between the National Executives, the Council of Elders of the NDC, and the Minority Caucus in Parliament on 6th February.

The meeting which took place at the DF Annan Auditorium in Parliament had stalwarts of the party including the National Chairman of the party, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah and his General Secretary, Mr. Fifi Kwetey. Also at the meeting was the Communications Officer of the NDC, lawyer Sammy Gyamfi, former Deputy Minority Leader, James Klutse Avedzi, and former Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adzaho.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah divulged that the concerns raised during the meeting have offered the party, the opportunity to establish a framework for the running of the Minority caucus in Parliament.

Parliament Commences Sitting Today

Meanwhile, Parliament is expected to commence sittings for the third session of the 8th Parliament today, February 7, 2023.

The House went on recess for the Christmas festivities in December 2022, following the approval of the 2023 Appropriation Bill. The new session is expected to have a new leadership for the Minority side of the House.

Haruna Iddrisu has been removed as Minority leader and replaced with Cassiel Ato-Forson. As part of the leadership changes, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle replaced Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.

The Speaker of Parliament, Hon Alban Bagbin would also be expected to admit papers, petitions, motions for debates and questions to be answered by sector ministers during this meeting.

Before the House rose, it added two new loans to the debt burden of the country’s already debt-distressed economy, which is seeking support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and is currently negotiating thunderous debt exchange programs with domestic and international creditors.

According to parliament, 30 million Euros has been authorised as a loan to Finance the “Government Goes Solar Project” and another 116 million Euros to finance “the 330kv Accra-Kumasi Transmission Line Project.”

Despite the bad state of the nation’s debt situation said to have reached an unsustainable level, the Minority caucus made known to the House that they found it necessary to support the new loans , despite their general aversion to new loans for Ghana, because the terms of the facilities seemed favourable.

A raft of new laws were passed, including legislation providing for a reduction in the E-levy rate from 1.5 percent to 1 percent and an increase in the VAT rate by 2.5 percent in line with the new tax policies of the government. There was also an intense and relentless opposition to the National Cathedral Project by the Minority in Parliament forced the Government to abandon an 80 million Ghana cedis proposed allocation to the controversial project.

The government was forced to abandon its quest for the amount in a bid to save the budget of the Ministry of Tourism which would have been held hostage had the government not yielded to the demands of the Minority.