Former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay, has underscored the importance of some political developments in the country.
The former Ellembelle MP, responding to a question about the current status of a hung parliament in the country where there is an equal number of Members of Parliament from both the minority and majority sides, said, this makes parliament very effective.
He noted however, that this development creates some difficulty for government, including the risk of government’s budget being “thrown out.”
“It is one of the most interesting times of our political developments and I sit back and I am amused. Indeed, it makes Parliament very important, it is not one-sided, it is balanced,” he said on TV3’s ‘HOT ISSUES’.
Mr. Blay, applauded the President, emphasising that government has “marched on” despite the challenges posed by the hung status of parliament.
“That’s why I would praise the President for conduct of governance in this country, that in spite of the difficulty that he’s faced in Parliament – the difficulty that sometimes government’s budget stands the risk if being thrown out.
“It’s like in America at the moment, it’s almost a hung parliament. The Republicans give hell to government, sometimes it almost runs to a halt and that is what has been happening to Nana Akufo-Addo’s government but irrespective of that, we are still marching on”, he added.
The current hung parliament is the first of its kind to have happened in Ghana’s governance history. This has led to many agitations in Parliament caused by both the majority and minority.
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu in July last year, lamented the effects of the hung parliament.
“When parliament got this close, I said that it would make cooperation better. Unfortunately, I was wrong, it has made cooperation worse, it has brought out the worst in each of us and we are getting the worst performance,” he said.
The Lawmaker further urged Ghanaians to avoid a hung parliament in the future.
“Let me also say that Ghanaians should give each side they decide to give the majority, a large majority,” he told journalists at a press conference in July last year.