$430m COVID-19 funds: It's offensive and illegal to overturn my decision – Bagbin to Joe Wise

Kandey Alhassan February 26, 2022 0

Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has questioned, First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu's decision to reject the motion filed by the Minority for investigations into the use of COVID-19 funds.

He described the attitude of Joseph Osei-Owusu to overrule his rulings as unconstitutional, illegal, and offensive.

Earlier, Joe Wise rejected a motion filed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs) for investigations into the use of COVID-19 expenditures.

The Minority accused the government of evading accountability on the COVID-19 funds.

According to the ranking member on the Finance Committee Cassel Ato Forson, the government is yet to account for the $430 million it accessed during the height of the pandemic.

The NDC MPs want Parliament to investigate the procurement contracts between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum for the supply of Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccines.

Joe Wise dismissing the motion said "All the committees of the house including the Public Accounts Committee are bipartisan, and the Public Accounts Committee is designed by nature to be chaired by members of the Minority.

"In all its form, the Public Accounts Committee, if it is minded to investigate anything related to the Covid-19 expenditure, fully sees to the authority and power to investigate that, particularly because all the accounting of it has been provided for in the budget which budget has been provided by the House and is before the committee.

"My view is that this motion ought not to have been admitted, and it's improperly before the House."

But Alban Bagbin addressing the House on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, said "the penchant of the First Deputy Speaker to overturn my ruling is, to say the least, is unconstitutional, illegal, and offensive. Be that it as it may I shall not be taking any such to overrule the decision of the First Deputy Speaker to dismiss the motion as ruled by the Honorable Ranking Member of the Finance Committee."

He stated that "Honorable Members it is interesting to note that this is the second time the first Deputy Speaker has taken the chair and has made a ruling which intends was to overrule a position I had earlier on established before the House."

Pulse.com.gh