The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has announced that the House is unable to continue the processes that would lead to the approval of ministers designate vetted by the Appointments Committee.
He said this decision has been occasioned by the pendency of an interlocutory injunction filed by the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor.
“Hon Members, I also bring to your attention, the receipt of a process from the Courts titled Rockson-Nelson Etse K. Dafeamekpor vrs the Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney-General (Suit no. J1/12/2024) which process was served on the 19th of March 2024 and an injunction motion on notice seeking to restrain the Speaker from proceeding with the vetting and approval of the names of the persons submitted by His Excellency the President until the provisions of the constitution are satisfied.
Hon. Members in the light of this process, the House is unable to continue to consider the nominations of His Excellency the President in the “spirit of upholding the rule of law“ until after the determination of the application for interlocutory injunction by the Supreme Court,” Mr Bagbin stated.
This is contained in a 62-point “Formal statement by the Speaker on the refusal of the President to accept the transmission of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2021” read by Mr Bagbin on March 20, 2024.
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It would be recalled that the Secretary to Cabinet wrote to the Clerk to Parliament to cease and desist from transmitting the aforementioned Bill to Parliament. Mr. Asante Bediatuo contended that such an act is contemptuous of the Supreme Court as there are two suits pending before the apex court in respect of the Bill.
However, Mr Bagbin argued that the transmission of the Bill to the presidency does not, in any way, constitute contempt of court.
“It undermines the constitutionally outlined procedures and also poses a significant threat to the functioning of democracy. Such a perspective could stultify not only the work of Parliament but also that of other arms of government or statutory agencies, based merely on the potential for an injunction. This approach, therefore, is legally unfounded given the clear constitutional mandates and potentially dangerous, as it could serve to undermine the principles of separation of powers and the efficient functioning of government,” he explained.
This notwithstanding, Mr Bagbin decided to use the fact that an injunction has been filed against the approval of the ministers designate to halt the process as indicated above.
The Speaker further noted that, “The Parliament of Ghana will comply with the existing legal framework and reject the attempts by the Executive Secretary of the President, through his contemptuous letter, to instruct the Clerk to Parliament, an Officer of Parliament whose position is recognizably under the Constitution. We shall not cease and desist!”