Speaker Alban S.K. Bagbin has expressed strong disagreement with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his refusal to assent to the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill 2023, the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill Number 2, 2023, and the Ghana Armed Forces Amendment Bill 2023.
He described the President’s stance as ‘tragically wrong.’
In a fiery address to Members of Parliament on Monday, Speaker Bagbin asserted, “The President has not been properly advised, and the President has not been properly informed of the processes the bills have gone through.”
“So I will submit a detailed write-up for members to read and provide their comments. But I’m very clear that the President’s message and the contents are irregular, wrongful, and unconstitutional.”
Speaker Bagbin emphasized the separation of powers and the role of Parliament in deciding the fate of bills.
He asserted that it is not within the President’s purview to determine the constitutionality of a bill that has been presented and considered by Parliament.
He urged members to familiarize themselves with the relevant legislative provisions.
“The responsibility to decide whether a bill should come on the private member or not rests on the person presiding. The procedure in the Act clearly states what the President is expected to do when a bill passed by Parliament is referred to the President and the President refuses to assent to the bill,” Speaker Bagbin explained.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in a letter to Parliament, justified his refusal to assent to the three bills.
According to him, a careful examination of the bills shows they do not comply with the provisions of the 1992 constitution.
His objections, he said, were based on possible financial effects on the state’s consolidated fund and alleged breaches of the constitution.
The President explained, “After a careful examination of the relevant constitutional legislative frameworks, especially Article 108 of the constitution and section 100 of the Public Financial Management Act 2016, Act 921, it is clear that the bills proposed as private member’s bills do not comply with the provisions of the constitution.”
The bills introduced by MP for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu, sought to replace the death penalty with a life sentence but were questioned for possible financial effects, particularly related to imprisonment costs.
President Akufo-Addo stressed the financial strain these bills could cause for the Ghanaian taxpayer, saying, “These bills, which abolish the death penalty and outlaw the activities of witch doctors, impose significant financial obligations on the consolidated fund and other public funds of Ghana due to the estimated cost related to imprisonment, maintenance, and healthcare for those who will be sentenced under them if they become law.”
“Mr Speaker, I appreciate your efforts in passing the bills, but I cannot approve them at this stage. I believe that the bills have merit and I support their objectives, but I also respect the legislative process and its integrity,” the President added.