Thursday, 28 March

2022 Budget: NPP, NDC engaged in constitutional nullities – Lawyer

Politics
Parliament

A constitutional lawyer has accused both the Majority and Minority groups in parliament of engaging in constitutional nullities as far as the rejection and approval of the 2022 budget and economic policy statement are concerned.

Mr Paul Kumi said the Minority caucus’ rejection of the budget on Friday, 26 November 2021, and the Majority caucus’ approval of it on Tuesday, 30 November 2021, were both constitutional nullities.

In his view, both caucuses lacked a quorum to vote on the 2022 budget as neither met the constitutional threshold of 138.  

Mr Kumi explained to Kwame Appiah Kubi on Accra100.5FM’s morning show Ghana Yensom that the confusion a lot of Ghanaians are having is the personalisation of the position of the Speaker. 

To him, by virtue of article 104 of the standing orders of parliament, what transpired on either day was a nullity.

He emphasised that the presiding Speaker is excluded as far as forming a quorum is concerned.

Also, he noted that a member presiding as Speaker cannot be factored into a quorum.

He, thus, said that the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Joe Osei-Owusu, cannot be part of the quorum that voted on Tuesday when he presided over the business of the house.

“The standing orders of the house say when acting as Speaker, you cannot vote and cannot be factored in a quorum, so, for the Speaker to say he counted himself as part of a quorum was an absurdity of the highest order,” he stated.

 

 

Source: Classfmonline.com/cecil Mensah