The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has expressed disagreement with the reason provided by President Akufo-Addo for refusing to assent to the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill and Ghana Armed Forces Amendment Bill.
To him, the president was “tragically wrong” and “ill-informed” in his rationale for rejecting the bills.
President Akufo-Addo is of the view that there would be financial implications on the state’s consolidated fund and potential breaches of Article 108 of the Constitution if he should assent to the bills.
He noted that based on consultation and advice from the Attorney-General he could assent to the bills because the Ghana Armed Forces Amendment Bill, sponsored by MP Francis Xavier Sosu, will have financial burdens associated with replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment.
But Mr. Bagbin has disagreed with him saying
“Vehemently we disagree with the position taken by the president. The president has gotten it tragically wrong and I will submit in the form of a statement under article 53 my position in this matter and allow members of the house to make comments so that we can take a clear position in this matter.
“And I will do so during this week. The president has not been properly advised. The President has not been properly informed about the processes this bill has gone through. So I will submit a detailed write-up on it for members to make their comments but I am very clear that this message and the contents are irregular, wrongful and unconstitutional.
“The responsibility to decide whether a bill should come from a private member or not rests on the person presiding. The procedure in the act clearly states what the president is expected to do. It is not for the president to decide on the constitutionality or otherwise of a bill that has been presented and considered by parliament. This power of parliament will not be taken away by any exemptive authority,” he said.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
