Mensah Thompson of ASEPA writes…
Folks yesterday the private member motion initiated by the Honorable Member for Bawku Central Hon Mahama Ayariga was finally rejected by Parliament.
Preceding the rejection was a fierce opposition by members of the NPP MPs caucus led by its leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu and the self acclaimed future Presidential material Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
The Speaker had to eventually put the motion to a vote and nobody knows how it happened but I guess considering the 138:137 majority for the NPP, the Speaker had no choice than to accept the popular acclamation votes in favor of the NPP.
Folks, there are two things that are very striking here considering the outcome of this motion.
- The government before the elections, had made a solemn pledge to absorb the fees of first year tertiary students and to provide relief for continuing ones after his opponent had promise to absorb all fees for tertiary students due to the financial hardship COVID has brought on parents.
How then can members of the same government in Parliament vote against a motion to absorb fees for all tertiary students?
Doesn’t make any sense, does it? - Over the past few weeks, after the election of a Speaker of Parliament from the other side, the conversation by members of the Government have always been centered around the call for consensus building in the house.
In fact the President during his inaugural speech, mentioned that considering the strength of both parties in parliament, the people of Ghana has presented the two parties an opportunity to work together and they can only do so through consensus building and putting the interest of the nation first.
So how then does a government that wants consensus building, a party seeking a compromise from the opposition party in Parliament raise a fierce opposition against the first substantive motion moved by the opposition in Parliament?
Honestly I cannot marry the two thoughts…
You want consensus but you are quick to oppose the first motion I move in the house?
Or when they were taking about consensus they were actually referring to only motions moved by they the NPP or bills initiated by the Executive?
Folks I think the NPP missed a great opportunity yesterday to demonstrate the goodwill that would set the stage for proper consensus building in the house.
Forget about their betrayal to the youth of Ghana or even their regrettable backtrack of their own promises to the students of Ghana, what they have done is to set up a very sharp dagger that would end up consuming them in the house eventually.
Starting from the appointments committee to the floor of house, i hope that the conversation of consensus and national interest do not all of sudden resurface in their vocabulary when the NDC MPs mounts the same resistance they mounted against the private members motion on the absorption of fees.
A motion Ghanaian students and their parents were seriously looking up to for closure in such difficult times…
And as for Kojo Oppong Nkrumah the least said the better…
Mensah Thompson
Executive Director,ASEPA
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