Anti-new chamber campaigner disrupts Parliamentary proceedings

Proceedings in Parliament were disrupted briefly Friday when the convener of the Economic Fighters League, Mr Ernesto Yeboah, unexpectedly shouted “Drop that Chamber. Drop that Chamber” from the public gallery.

When he was being whisked out of the public gallery by security officers, Mr Yeboah, who is leading the social media campaign ‘Storm Parliament Now’, shouted “We don’t want any discussion on that matter.”

Mr Yeboah, who is a former Youth Organiser of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and two of his colleagues, whose names had not been provided, had been taken to the Parliament Police Station for interrogation.

He shouted in Parliament when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi Asokwa, Mr K.T. Hammond, was making a submission on the new chamber.

Mr Hammond had indicated that the discussion of the new chamber was as if the new chamber would be for only MPs.

He said the proposed new chamber would be an important symbol of the country’s Parliamentary democracy.

Mr Hammond wondered whether the public wanted “MPs to work under trees”.

He, therefore, suggested that the issue of a new chamber should be brought to Parliament for a discussion.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for North Tongu, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, first raised the issue of the new chamber in Parliament stressing the need for the leadership of Parliament to table the issue for discussion.

He said MPs were being bashed for taking a decision to construct a new chamber and indicated that the impression had been created as if members had met and taken the decision.

Mr Ablakwa said most of them [MPs] had subscribed to the hashtag “Drop that Chamber”, and that he wanted MPs to be briefed on the matter as indicated by the Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.

Responding, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said a joint caucus meeting would be held next week Tuesday to discuss the issue of the new chamber.

Meanwhile, the Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, had broken his silence on the new chamber and indicated that the issue was discussed in principle at the Board meeting.

He said the financials, procurement or terms of the contract for the project had not been concluded.

Mr Iddrisu said the Speaker of Parliament, Prof Aaron Michael Quaye, had requested to meet him and Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu last Friday for 15 minutes to present the concept of the new chamber.

He said he was a member of the six-member Parliamentary Service Board (PSB) chaired by Prof Oquaye, that considered the issue in principle and he was not ready to breach that confidence.

Source: Graphic.com.gh