The Majority leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu has received a petition from the youth wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Along with the Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu, they received the petition on behalf of Speaker Alban Bagbin, who is currently not in the country.
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu explained that the Speaker of Parliament has travelled to Nigeria, on official visit.
“The Speaker of Parliament has had to respond to an invitation by his colleague in Nigeria and that is why you are not seeing him here. The Speaker is not by any means avoiding the demonstrators. That is the reason the Minority leader and I are here to receive your petition for and on behalf of the institution and because it was addressed to the Speaker, we are receiving it for and on behalf of the Speaker”.
The national youth wing of the NDC as well as its leadership protested on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 on the “growing levels of insecurity, lawlessness, and impunity” under the current government.
The protestors marched to the Jubilee House to further demand for social justice for the unemployed youth in the country.
Minority assures protestors of ensuring stability
On his part, the Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu assured protestors that government will ensure that their petition is acted on.
Additionally, the Tamale South legislator underscored the need for zero tolerance of misconduct of the military that cannot be tolerated.
“Thank you very much for presenting the petition on behalf of the youth of Ghana. Our assurance to you is that Parliament will not fail the people of Ghana in demanding that right be done to safeguard the peace and stability of our country. Essentially, the unruly behaviour of the security agencies is not acceptable anywhere. We will look into it where it requires that we rid the security agencies of those concerns raised, Parliament will not hesitate in doing that.
“Freedom of expression is important and freedom to demonstrate is important in a democracy for the expression of legitimate grievances. Where you have come is the forum where these grievances will be digested. So, you will hear from the Parliament of Ghana”.
He further noted that there will be a full debate after the Speaker of the House is apprised of the issues raised in the petition.
Right to demonstrate is guaranteed
Corroborating the Minority’s stance, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, expressed the need to protect the lives of civilians. He further expressed his gratitude to the protestors for embarking on a peaceful demonstration.
He believes that the action of the protestor is testament to the fact that democracy works in the country although there is the need to strengthen some legislations.
“The right to demonstrate is guaranteed by the constitution. Every life in this country matters and the expression of our constitutional rights should not result in bloodletting and that is why I am happy you are here, that you have organised this peaceful demonstration and come to Parliament. It should suggest to everybody that democracy is working in Ghana. We are not a perfect democracy and those infractions must be dealt with in order to correct the system”.
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