The Minority Group in the Parliament of Ghana has announced that they will boycott parliamentary sittings whenever their leader, Cassiel Ato Forson, appears in court to answer questions related to his alleged involvement in causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state, in a deal to purchase 200 ambulances for the country between 2014 and 2016.
According to the NDC MPs, they will only participate in parliamentary business after the court proceedings have ended on the days scheduled for the hearing of the ongoing ambulance case trial.
The Minority Chief Whip and NDC MP for Adaklu, Kwame Governs Agbodza, addressing a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, June 11, 2024 stated that their move is to show solidarity with their leader.
The decision comes after the presiding High Court Judge, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, refused to grant a request from the lawyers of the Minority Leader to enable him to attend to important parliamentary business on Tuesday, June 11, 2024 when the House resumed its third meeting of the fourth session.
The judge also rejected a similar plea from the Parliament of Ghana to enable Ato Forson to participate in a meeting of the Parliamentary Service Board.
The Minority Leader was expected to join leadership of the House and the Speaker in a conclave to discuss and outline the business of the day before going to the plenary to commence sitting.
However, as at 15:00 GMT, the Minority Leader had not returned from Court, thereby, halting all parliamentary activities he was expected to have taken part in.
He was also expected to take part in a leadership engagement with the press but was not available for the event, leaving his colleague the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, together with the Acting Clerk of Parliament, Ebenezer Ahuma Djetror and the Deputy Clerk in charge of Information Management Service, Gloria Kumawu Sarku, to meet members of the inky fraternity.
Mr Agbodza accused the trial judge of attempting to prevent the Minority Leader from performing his constitutional duties as an elected Member of Parliament and the Leader of the Minority Caucus.
The NDC Minority Caucus has vowed to continue showing solidarity with their Leader anytime he is due to appear in court and reserves the right to apply all other tools available to them in their approach to business on the floor of the legislature.
Background:
Cassiel Ato Forson and Richard Jakpa have been accused of causing a financial loss of €2.37 million to the state in a transaction to purchase 200 ambulances for the country between 2014 and 2016.
They have pleaded not guilty to counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state, abetment to wilfully causing financial loss to the state, contravention of the Public Procurement Act, and intentionally misapplying public property.
By Stephen Odoi-Larbi, reporting from the Parliament of Ghana
