Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo Markin has slammed the minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) for attempting to make Parliament a busy-body and overburden it with unnecessary work.
He accused the Caucus of politicizing parliamentary processes ahead of the December elections.
Afenyo-Markin’s remarks came in response to the NDC’s recent press conference, where they raised concerns about the SML-GRA contract and the government’s general handling of contracts, suggesting a breach of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act.
The NDC cited section 33 of the PFM Act, arguing that such contracts should be subject to parliamentary approval as per Article 181 of the Constitution.
Responding to the NDC in Parliament on Wednesday, June 5, Afenyo Markin challenged the NDC’s stance that government contracts with local businesses should require parliamentary approval.
Such demands, he said, are an unnecessary strain on Parliament’s already congested itinerary.
“Contracts between government and local businesses do not need to come to Parliament for approval. This will only push the House into unnecessary extra work,” he emphasized.
Afenyo Markin argued that the NDC’s actions are politically motivated and intended to disrupt government operations.
“The NDC should not take advantage of the situation to spread falsehoods, especially when we have an election in December.”
“Their recent press conference raised issues about the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act, particularly Section 33, and they are juxtaposing it against our Constitution to claim that Article 181 requires such contracts to come to Parliament. This is misleading,” he stated.
The Majority Leader clarified that Article 181 of the Constitution, specifically Clause 5, pertains to international business or economic transactions involving the government.
According to him, “The relevant sub-clause of Article 181 is Clause 5, which provides that ‘This article shall, with the necessary modifications, apply to an international business or economic transaction to which the government is a party.
“It does not mean that every contract with a modicum of value should come to Parliament,” he explained.
Afenyo Markin warned that the NDC’s actions are detrimental to the nation’s economic health, obstructing government business and scaring away investors, which negatively affects the economy.
He stressed that investors hear such news and hesitate to commit their resources, ultimately harming the good people of Ghana.
He urged the NDC to focus on factual arguments rather than spreading misinformation.
“It is important to remind our colleagues that they ought not to make Parliament a busybody, nosing for things that are not part of its mandate.”
“Our job as Parliament is provided for in the Constitution. The NDC has been in power before, for eight years, and there were things they could not do. The very things they said they could not do, we have come into office and done them,” the Majority leader stressed.