Minority Chief Whip and Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has raised concerns over delays in scheduling parliamentary motions arising from completed committee reports, calling for greater accountability and coordination among parliamentary leaders.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, the Minority Chief Whip questioned why reports submitted by parliamentary committees were yet to be scheduled for consideration by the House, despite the committees having completed their assignments.
He cited the Local Government and Health Committees as examples, saying both had completed work on referrals made to them and submitted their reports, but the corresponding motions were yet to be listed for debate.
According to him, the delays could not be blamed on the committees, as their reports were ready and had been submitted to the appropriate authorities.
“I am aware of committees that have completed their works. I’ll give you two examples: the Local Government Committee and the Health Committee.
On various referrals directed at them, they have completed their works. Reports have been submitted, but motions are not being scheduled to be taken on the floor,” he told the House.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh called for better coordination between the Table Office and the parliamentary whips, particularly the Majority Whip, to establish the reasons behind the delays.
He argued that Parliament needed to determine whether the problem stemmed from communication gaps or other administrative challenges affecting the scheduling of parliamentary business.
Collins-Dalda Report
The Minority Chief Whip also cited the Collins-Dalda matter, insisting that the committee report was ready before Parliament adjourned, contrary to any suggestion that the committee had failed to complete its work.
He explained that the former Majority Leader had requested further consultations before the matter could proceed.
“In the case of Collins-Dalda’s matter, Leader, with greatest respect to you, that report is ready. Before we rose, the report was ready, and then the former Majority Leader said that we should do some consultation. So it is not a question of the report not being ready. The reports are ready. We need to find out why we are not scheduling the motions to be taken,” he said.
He urged parliamentary leadership to address the situation to ensure that completed committee assignments translated into the necessary business on the floor of the House.
Attorney-General’s Absence
Beyond the concerns over committee reports, Mr Annoh-Dompreh also challenged an arrangement that would allow a paper requiring the Attorney-General’s attention to be laid before Parliament in the absence of both the Attorney-General and his deputy.
He insisted that where the Attorney-General was unavailable, his deputy should be present to discharge the responsibilities of the office.
“Mr Speaker, this application doesn’t find favour with us. If the Attorney-General is not here, his deputy must be here,” he argued.
He subsequently appealed to the parliamentary leadership to contact the Deputy Attorney-General and ensure that he appeared in the chamber to lay the required paper.
“Let’s do things properly. Just step out and call the Deputy Attorney-General to come and lay his paper,” he urged.
Emphasising the importance of parliamentary procedures, the Minority Chief Whip cautioned government officials against treating the House with disregard.
“This is Parliament. They cannot treat Parliament anyhow,” he declared.
Although he said he had no intention of turning the matter into an unnecessary confrontation or delaying proceedings, he maintained that Parliament must insist on accountability and ensure that government officials fulfil their responsibilities to the legislature.
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