Parliament, yesterday, through a Voice Vote approved six loans at its emergency sitting.
The House first approved US$60,600, 000 as a Third Additional Financing for the Ghana Covid-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project.
They also approved an amount of US$150m to finance the phase two of the West Africa Food System Resilience Program.
Additionally, the House also pushed through an amount of €170m to support the establishment of a Development Bank of Ghana.
Also, an amount of US$30m to finance the Medical Equipment Provision Project in response to Covid-19 got the nod from the House, whilst an amount of US$150m to finance primary healthcare investment project was also approved in addition to an amount of US$150m to finance the Public Financial Management for Service Delivery Programme.
Members reconvened yesterday for an emergency sitting, based on an instrument issued by Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin on April 20.
Speaker Bagbin indicated that the sitting was to consider some urgent parliamentary business.
“In the exercise of the power conferred on the Speaker by Order 42(3) of the Standing Orders of Parliament of Ghana, I, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, do hereby direct that Parliament shall, notwithstanding to the contrary, be recalled from recess to sit on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at 10 O’clock in the forenoon, at Parliament House, Accra, to consider urgent parliamentary business,” the instrument, dated April 20, 2023, and signed by the Speaker said.
Meanwhile, the Minority, who objected to the approval of the loans in the chamber later addressed the Parliamentary Press Corps and still insisted that the loans should not have been taken.
At a time the country is in debt distress, it is very wrong for the government to still have the courage to add onto the public debt, Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson said.
He also noted that the majority, knowing very well that the loans would not have been approved if all minority members were present, chose a very critical moment when most of the minority members are busy with their primaries, to consider the loans.
He said the minority is doing what it can to block some of these loans which only add on to the country’s debt, but can only do their best based on their strength in the House.
He, therefore, called on Ghanaians to join the minority to hold the government accountable, because the NPP government is not one that learns from it mistakes.
However, the Deputy Minister for Finance, Mr John Kuma, said there was nothing wrong with the loans Parliament approved because they were not new loans, but old ones that only needed parliamentary approval.
Aside the loan approvals, the House also referred the nomination of Justice Gertrude Torkonoo as the next Chief Justice to the Appointments Committee for consideration and approval.
Justice Torkonoo’s nomination was contained in an official communication put out by President Akufo-Addo some six days ago.
When approved, she will succeed Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, who is due for retirement on May 24, 2023.
She will also become the third female Chief Justice in history of Ghana.
